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Earlier today (Wed., October 24, 2018) the mixed martial arts (MMA) universe was hit with the shocking news that the UFC was reportedly ‘trading’ Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship for Ben Askren.

The move, though wholly exciting itself, left many an MMA fan with their jaw wide open to the floor. There had never really been a trade in MMA until now. The deal is not official yet, so it may not happen. If it does, it will amount to both Johnson and Askren being released from their current contracts with the UFC and ONE Championship.

MMA’s First Trade

They will then sign with the other promotion in an unprecedented move. It appears to be all but a formality. That was clear after Askren said there was a ’98 percent’ chance he’d go to the UFC. The signing would come on the heels of ONE’s highly publicized signing of former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. ONE Championship is an up-and-coming force, and they’re doing excellent by making waves with such high-profile acquisitions.

You also can’t blame Johnson for trying to maximize his earning potential after years of complaining about pay in the UFC. He was the most dominant pound-for-pound force in the UFC up until his razor-thin split decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. Yet that lofty status on every UFC rankings update never translated into mainstream star success. That’s a shame, really.

If he can get paid by ONE and become one of their biggest stars, he should absolutely take advantage of that. It may not come along again.

The One Bad Thing

But there’s just one thing that makes it feel like the timing was a bit off. That’s simply because the 32-year-old “Mighty Mouse” had a score to settle with Cejudo. He lost a close fight many felt he still won. In their first fight, he demolished ‘The Messenger’ with ease. It’s easy to see how much Cejudo has evolved, but he didn’t run through ‘Mighty Mouse’ whatsoever.

Building on that, with Johnson rumored to be leaving, the UFC flyweight division’s future looks to be on shaky footing. Cejudo has been teasing a superfight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw ever since he won the belt. Johnson defeated most of the top contenders handily. There’s not much to suggest fans want to see Cejudo do the same. He’s had to beat many of them to earn his title shots in the first place.

Let Cejudo fight Dillashaw. “Mighty Mouse” has some significant injuries to take care of anyway. Those injuries may have affected his performance at UFC 227. I won’t make any excuses for the former champ, because Cejudo’s gameplan was a great one. The Johnson vs. Cejudo trilogy was one match-up the sport deserved to witness. We had to know if ‘Mighty Mouse’ was truly no longer the top dog at flyweight.

Division In Peril

Now, we may not even see the division survive in the UFC. That, of course, isn’t ‘Mighty Mouse’s’ problem. A fighter’s window to get paid is short and volatile. The chance to finally get treated how they feel they should have been all along is arguably priceless.

No one can hate on the former champ for getting paid like he does deserve. He’s one of the best to ever step foot into the cage. Good on ONE Championship, too, for continuing to make the only type of signings that will push them to the UFC’s level.

But man, that Johnson vs. Cejudo was one hell of a fight we may never get to see again.

The post If We’ve Seen Last Of “Mighty Mouse” In UFC, The Timing Was Bad appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Artem Lobov has a fight at this weekend’s UFC Moncton, but it’s not the one he was looking for.

Perhaps best known as Conor McGregor’s longtime friend and teammate, Lobov will meet former lightweight contender Michael Johnson in Canada. However, he had his eyes set on formerly scheduled opponent Zubaira Tukhugov, and for good reason.

Tukhugov rose to infamy by jumping into the cage to assault McGregor during the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. He then exacerbated the situation by bragging about it on social media. The already bitter feud was sent into a never-before-seen territory. And it’s far from over. Tukhugov was pulled from his fight with Lobov as Dana White claimed he would never fight in the Octagon again.

The Feud Rolls On

That lead to his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov threatening to leave the UFC. That situation has since been diffused.

But from Lobov’s point of view, it has not. Speaking up in a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Lobov claimed he would leave the UFC if Tukhugov was released. For him, they must fight in the Octagon:

“If they cut him, I want to be gone as well,” Lobov said. “I will fight him in ACB, Bellator or any league he wants to do it. But I will get him.

“It has to be done inside the Octagon. I want to look this man in the eyes, one-on-one. Once you’re inside that Octagon, it’s one-on-one. Your skill versus his skill. Your heart versus his heart. I want to test his heart in the Octagon. I want to see what he’s got.”

He then dove into detail about his views of Tukhugov’s assault on McGregor. “The Russian Hammer,” like many, thought the fact he hit a man who had just been submitted after four rounds of fighting was a cowardly move. To then brag about it online was simply not honorable:

“The one thing that I did not like is the fact that after all of this happened, Zubaira sat down in front of his phone and recorded the video bragging about punching a guy who had just gone four rounds and just fought, hitting him from the side when he wasn’t looking.

“Do you think that’s an honorable thing to do? To sit down about bragging about hitting someone from behind? That’s not an honorable thing to do. They must get it for that.”

Ready To Leave

Lobov’s record in the UFC isn’t exactly shining. He has a 2-4 mark in the world’s MMA leader since officially debuting in December 2015. But he’s been able to maintain a prominent persona thanks to his lasting connection to the sport’s most popular fighter.

Because of that, many promotions made offers to him. It wasn’t about the money, however. It was about getting revenge on Tukhugov. That’s what made it sting so badly when the fight fell apart – that he could have had so much more. Regardless, he still has his sights set on his Russian archnemesis:

“I was ready to leave the UFC,” Lobov said. “But when I sat down, I said, ‘I have to fight Zubaira. That’s the only fight that makes sense to me. I don’t want to fight anyone else. It doesn’t matter how much they pay me.’

“As a result I ended up staying with the UFC and taking the fight with Zubaira. Then he got pulled from the fight. I thought, ‘oh my god, I stayed with the UFC and took a pay cut compared to other offers just to fight him and now I don’t get to fight him?’ I have to get him back.”

Staying Focused

Lobov will face longtime lightweight contender Michael Johnson at UFC Moncton this Saturday. He may have his sights on Tukhugov, a featherweight who has not fought since 2016 due to a USADA suspension and the current drama.

“The Russian Hammer” may be best served to watch out for “The Menace” in Canada this weekend. Will he emerge with a much-needed win?

The post Artem Lobov Threatens To Leave UFC appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Disgraced former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is eligible to return to mixed martial arts (MMA) soon.

The controversial legend will rematch longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of December 29’s UFC 232 from Las Vegas. The fight will finally settle the score of their historic first bout at September 2013’s UFC 165.

There, Jones came from behind to beat an incredibly game “Mauler,” resulting in the greatest light heavyweight title bout of all-time. Jones furthered his legacy that night. It was thought to be a foregone conclusion he would become the best 205-pound fighter of all-time. However, “Bones” has been plagued by a concerning series of events since then. Two failed USADA drug tests coupled with other controversy has held him to three fights since April 2014.

He’s become an incredibly polarizing figure in the sport. Many believe his legacy is tainted. Many others believe he’s the true UFC light heavyweight champion. Indeed, he’s the only man to beat current champion Daniel Cormier in the UFC. Like him or not, “Bones” is back – for now. The embattled star recently addressed his PED issues on an episode of Jackson-Wink show JW RAW.

PEDs ‘Didn’t Matter’

Jones said those doubting his legacy are simply looking to detract from his accomplishments (transcribed by MMA Fighting). He noted that in both drug tests, he was supposedly proven innocent. While that’s not the full truth so to say, he claimed it couldn’t have affected his performance:

“I would say that those would be people looking for an excuse not to give it to me, not to give credit where it’s due,” Jones said. “Because in the first situation, it was proven — well, in both situations, whatever was in me chemically was proven scientifically that the amounts were so small that there was no way possible to affect my performance in a positive or a negative way.

“The two times where I’ve failed drug tests for performance enhancers, it’s been so small that it can’t affect your performance.”

Jones dove into detail about both drug tests. The first was his infamous “dick pill” situation before his scheduled UFC 200 bout with Cormier. “Bones” insisted his team found the pills and proved they were the tainted supplement in question. A sexual enhancer wouldn’t make him fight better anyway, he said:

“The dick pill situation, that was proven that it was a mistake,” Jones said. “Who takes a male enhancement pill expecting to fight better? I mean, nobody. We actually found the company, we found the exact pills, we ordered the pills and the pills came back with stuff in it that wasn’t supposed to be in there. Such a small amount that it’s not going to make you fight any better or make you stronger.”

Latest Failure

The second instance was much more impactful, however. Jones tested positive for anabolic steroid Turinabol. He then knocked out Cormier with a vicious head kick at 2017’s UFC 214. But the win was soon overturned to a no contest due to the failure. Jones was facing a potential four-year suspension. But he got off with 15 months because he supposedly ratted on other UFC fighters on drugs.

Jones downplayed the failure in a big way. He called it a “pinch of salt in a swimming pool.” His claim was that USADA said it never helped him knock out “DC”:

“Then in the second situation, we just found out to have USADA say ‘the amount of steroids we found in your body Jon, it was like taking a pinch of salt and throwing it in an Olympic size swimming pool’.

It was such a small amount that it’s pretty obvious that this was an accident. And then for this to be something that got into your body two weeks before the fight — so two weeks before the fight, you took a pinch of steroids and threw it in an Olympic size swimming pool. It’s very clear that this is nothing that helped you knock out Daniel Cormier.”

Few could ever doubt Jones’ talent and creativity inside the Octagon. He’s a fighter unlike any other who, before his repeated and concerning issues with drugs, was a shoo-in for the greatest fighter in MMA history.

That hasn’t happened yet, however. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of his issues is the fact that he always seems to blame something else for his nonstop problems.

No Credit?

The troubled great took that stance again by blasting those who claim he cheated:

“For anybody who’s saying, ‘Well, he must have been cheating,’ it’s like, okay, after what I just said, if you still want to call me a cheater, then you just don’t want to admit that I’m f**king pretty good at this.”

Again, it’s not really an issue of if he’s good at this or not. He absolutely is. Making it to the fight or having the result hold up is more his problem. Regardless, Jones is set for his umpteenth comeback.

Do you trust him to get clean and stay that way long enough to prove himself yet again?

The post Jon Jones Claims Failed Drug Tests Didn’t Affect Performance appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

As expected, Chael Sonnen hasn’t kept his mouth shut since his first-round TKO loss to MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of October 13’s Bellator 208 from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

The former UFC title contender has been respectful of Fedor in the time since. Sonnen admitted he’s never been ground and pounded like he was last week. The win shot “The Last Emperor” into the finals of the ongoing Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. There, he will fight Ryan Bader for the vacant title next January. Sonnen had his moments, but ultimately the Russian great’s power was too much.

‘The American Gangster’ has fought most of his career at middleweight and light heavyweight. He took a big risk moving up to face much larger fighters in the Grand Prix. While he paid for it to some degree, Sonnen also came away with a renewed perspective on the heavyweight G.O.A.T. conversation as a result. Sonnen recently told Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour that he’s narrowed the conversation down to three:

“I have it down to three. My three might surprise you and I actually enjoy this topic. I have Fedor in the conversation, I have Werdum in the conversation but I‘m always surprised people don’t say [former UFC champion] Josh Barnett in that conversation. I feel like they weren’t watching back in 1999 and 2002 and 2003.”

Chael’s Top Choice

Sonnen went on to state his top fighter in the debate. Based on his last loss, it’s not much of a surprise who it is:

“So I have those three guys. What order do you want to do it? I would probably put Fedor at number one. I love the debate, but for me it’s down to those three.”

Many would include two-time former UFC champion Cain Velasquez in that conversation. But Sonnen said that while there was a time Velasquez was unstoppable, he ultimately failed to show his top-class skills enough to secure a spot in the top three:

“I think Cain took himself out. How disrespectful, but Cain sits in the locker room to much to put him on that list. He had some fantastic moments and I’m not sure there was anybody alive that could beat him. But all we can do is discuss that because just didn’t walk out there and show it enough.”

He noted that these were purely hypothetical conversations, however.

It would come down to an argument with no real way to settle the debate. Discussing Velasquez, Sonnen paid him his respect with a comparison to an all-time great boxing heavyweight:

“But these are just conversations anyway. It comes to down to popular opinion. You’ve got to be able to out-argue the guy across from you. That’s how these pound-for-pound greats last.

“But I do think Cain shortened himself. He was the most intimidating heavyweight when he was in there. I’d put him right up there with George Foreman as far as the scariest guys to get into the ring with. But I kind of have him as a fourth or a fifth and out of the conversation.”

Sonnen will look to continue his Bellator career at light heavyweight. He’s had a taste of fight-ending power from his pick for the heavyweight G.O.A.T., and he acknowledged it was one of his worst nights.

As he always does, “The American Gangster” will bounce back. Do you agree with his assessment of heavyweight’s all-time hierarchy?

The post Chael Sonnen Breaks Down Heavyweight GOAT Debate appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Daniel Cormier is focused on his short-notice main event against Derrick Lewis at November 3’s UFC 230. But questions about Khabib’s team and the UFC 229 brawl are still following the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion.

The undefeated lightweight champion is a longtime American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammate of Cormier. “DC” was present when Khabib submitted Conor McGregor at October 6’s UFC 229. Yet what followed has gotten much more press than his actual win over the Irish star in the Octagon.

A brawl erupted when Khabib jumped into the crowd to battle Dillon Danis. Khabib’s team followed suit by jumping in the cage with the recently submitted McGregor. It was all-out chaos that “DC” had to diffuse despite his initial reaction being to defend his close friend. Cormier discussed his initial reaction during the UFC 230 media day this week (via MMA Fighting).

He called the brawl the “funniest s**t he’s ever seen”:

“You know what the crazy thing is, we’re fighters, so the initial reaction is like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna go help my teammate. I’m gonna go fight,’” the UFC heavyweight champion said. “But then I got out, I was like wait a minute, what am I thinking? So when I finally get to Khabib, he’s going crazy. It was the funniest shit I’ve ever seen, honestly.”

The Brawl For Everyone To See

But all jokes aside, Cormier did say that the brawl being in front of the UFC’s biggest viewership ever wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Fights happen all the time according to Cormier, so he had to realize the weight of the situation when it was transpiring:

“For me, it sucks that it was in front of all these people. But again, it was just a whole bunch of dudes just kind of fighting, acting crazy. Like, what are you guys doing? Every city in the country, every Saturday in some frickin’ street bar or a club, this is going on.

“It just happened between a whole bunch of Russian guys and a whole bunch of Irish guys in front of millions of people. So for me, I had to kind of separate the idea that I was kind of laughing to try and to go like, guys we are probably in front of the biggest viewership we’ve ever had.”

A Tense Scene

The double champion was then asked if he was surprised Khabib’s team fought McGregor, who had verbally assaulted Khabib’s family and manager in the lead-up to the fight. Cormier gave a surprising response when he told a story about Khabib’s fiercely loyal friends almost jumping him in his own gym because he hurt “The Eagle” in training:

“No, because one time I did him something, hurt his neck in practice and they were about to kick my ass,. Like seriously, they all started standing up and they were kind of surrounding me.

“Those guys don’t play around, man. They got up. They actually got up. I was like, ‘Hey man, don’t ever come in here and jump me. It’s my gym.’ But they don’t mess around, man. Khabib does not play around and he is honestly the crown jewel of that circle. They love him and rightfully so. We all do, too.”

Not A Black Eye?

Khabib is clearly the “crown jewel” of his inner circle, but he’s approaching that status in the overall sport of MMA as well. He’ll face some form of punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on October 24, and he had some discord with the UFC over his team’s employment status.

But things between him and the UFC are reportedly all good. And while the UFC 229 post-fight brawl was controversial, Cormier believes it wasn’t really the black eye for the sport many made it out to be:

“It’s no black eye for the sport, man,” Cormier said. “We fight. That’s what we do — we fight. You got a lot of very smart, educated men in this game, but sometimes emotion drives the ship. And on that night, emotions drove the ship. This fight was kind of built in a very bad place.”

The post DC Claims Khabib’s Team Nearly Jumped Him appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.