Tag: Instant Articles

Former UFC Champ Agrees With Nate Diaz In UFC Standoff

One prominent fighter is siding with Nate Diaz in his current battle with the UFC.

The post Former UFC Champ Agrees With Nate Diaz In UFC Standoff appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nate Diaz may be back – or so we think – but his discord with the UFC rages on.

The MMA world was dealt some somewhat shocking but highly desired news last week when it was revealed that Diaz would finally be returning to fight surging contender Dustin Poirier at November 3’s UFC 230 from NYC. The two were scheduled to appear at Friday’s 25th Anniversary Press Conference and did so, squaring off in a faceoff that had it feeling like Diaz was on the cusp of fighting after more than two years off.

But like it often does when the situation involves a Diaz brother, things were “all good” for only a short time. He stormed out of the presser when a promo for Conor McGregor’s UFC 229 return versus Khabib Nurmagomedov was airing, and soon tweeted he was off of UFC 230 with a classic ‘f*** the UFC.’ A video of Diaz sounding off on his employers soon surfaced, apparently having to do with the UFC failing to promote Diaz while Dana White claimed he repeatedly turned down fights while he was supposedly dealing with a lawsuit.

So there’s still some unpacking to do, but one former UFC champion can sympathize with Diaz. Miesha Tate spoke about the topic on Sirius XM Fight Nation (via MMA Fighting) and likened Diaz’ plight to her own when she was promised a title fight with Ronda Rousey in 2015:

“I would feel the same way as Nate does,” Tate said. “Nate has a different personality than I do, he’s expressive in a different way, but of course [I would be mad]. I remember when I threatened retirement because I was so pissed off that they had promised that I would fight Ronda and then they ended up switching that out and having Holly [Holm] but they didn’t tell me. It’s the same thing that happened to Nate, essentially, it’s just that Nate was in front of everybody. I was pissed too, believe me.”

The currently retired Tate believes Diaz is in a tough spot because the UFC will always have the final say and won’t care about the fighters more than what is best for business. Based on that dynamic, she said fighters can either accept it or retire – something Diaz has seemed close to more than once:

“I was mad but they don’t care,” Tate said. “They know that they have a strong arm in a lot of this and it doesn’t really matter. Or if they do care, it’s not enough. Like, ‘I’m sorry but this is what you have to do for business.’ You can’t really argue with them. They’re the ones who are gonna make the final decision, so what can you do? What can Nate do?

“For me it was a whirlwind of emotions, just trying to decide what I even wanted to do next because I felt like it was so unfair. Then it was just coming to terms with, ‘Well, life’s not fair. What do you want to do about it? Are you ready to retire now or not?’ And the truth was I wasn’t ready to retire at that time. Obviously I still went on to fight Jessica Eye after that and went on to win the title against Holly later, so I wasn’t ready to retire but it was just the frustration.”

Tate resolved the sticky situation and obviously went on to have a highly successful career as both the UFC and Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champions, but Diaz’ current spot remains unresolved. To make things even muddier, White recently said he has no idea what’s going on with Diaz, but Tate doesn’t think a conversation with the harsh UFC head man would really change things due to his brutal honesty:

“Having a talk with Dana White helps but it still stings because he’s not the one to have a filter on,” Tate concluded. “The conversation was like, ‘Yeah, but you’re not Ronda Rousey.’

“It’s part of just recognizing that. I have a different value than Ronda and hers is what it is and mine is what it is so I have to continue to work to build mine even more. What else can I do? Get back to the grind. You just try to leverage yourself as much as you can but there’s a point where you don’t have the leverage. You don’t have the final leverage, the UFC does.”

The post Former UFC Champ Agrees With Nate Diaz In UFC Standoff appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Dana White Reacts To Henry Cejudo Dethroning Demetrious Johnson

Find out how Dana White reacted to Henry Cejudo’s shocking win over Demetrious Johnson.

The post Dana White Reacts To Henry Cejudo Dethroning Demetrious Johnson appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Demetrious Johnson’s record-breaking run of title defenses came to a screeching halt when he lost a close split decision to Henry Cejudo at last night’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The fight may just have been the best flyweight title fight in the history of the UFC (watch highlights here), with each elite competitor having their moments. Cejudo was more successful with his Olympic gold medal-winning wrestling and top control, and Johnson landed a steady stream of kicks. It came down to the judges’ scorecards, and “The Messenger” won the fifth and final frame on all three judges’ cards to score the huge upset.

After the jaw-dropping win, UFC President Dana White addressed the title bout and the score at the post-fight press conference, giving respect to both fighters for their amazing effort:

“Yeah. It’s incredible what he’s done. And tonight’s fight was close. I don’t know how you guys scored it but I had it 2-2 going into that last round, but who gives a **** what I think, but that’s how I had it. Very close fight. First of all, what a technical battle that fight was. Both guys are so incredibly talented. And, um, how much better Henry Cejudo is now from the first time he fought Demetrious Johnson is impressive.”

White was asked about Cejudo’s callout of bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for his next fight, and he noted that while he didn’t know what was next for the new champ, he loved the attitude. In fact, he even compared the optimistic callout to the strategy of Conor McGregor:

“I love guys that wanna fight everybody. I love guys who are willing to jump in, and I think the fans love guys like that too. So that’s always good to hear, I love; I don’t know but we’ll see what’s next and we’ll figure it out.

“But you know, the reason Conor McGregor’s such a huge star is cause he’s that guy – he’ll do that and jump around and fight anywhere and fight anybody, and when you have that mentality, people like it.”

White then addressed the supposed criticism UFC 227 was receiving in the week leading up to the card, with much of it being because the lineup featured fighters from lower weight classes. White brushed it off, focusing on the fact they had sold out The Staples Center in Los Angeles:

“I didn’t hear that. Alright, when isn’t there criticism? We’re always gonna have criticism. This card was full of the small guys, you know what I mean? The first fight of the night, the second fight was women and small guys. We sold out The Staples Center, every A-list celebrity and you know, whos-who in Hollywood was here tonight; you know, what are you gonna do?

“It was an awesome night, a very successful night, and I’m happy.”

Further expounding on the popularity of the flyweight division, White said that after years of essentially being the stepchild of the UFC, tonight’s card full of great fights at the lower weight classes attended by many top celebrities was an indicator why it was now making waves.

And even though Johnson may have lost to Cejudo on the night, his body of work proved the overall evolution of the division – something the fans loved according to White:

“Listen, I think the popularity of the flyweights was there tonight. I mean, what more do we need? I told you the place was packed with A-list celebrities, sold out The Staples Center, you know, the small guys did almost a $3 million gate tonight with a sold-out Staples Center. And the crowd was very into that fight, it’s the “Fight of the Night,” and I think that when you saw scrambles with these guys, the crowd reacted to ’em, they were very educated on what was going on.

“I mean, I think we’re there, and I think that Demetrious Johnson’s reign, and what he’s done, and I’ve talked about this to many of you this week, this guy not only got better with every fight but he started finishing people in spectacular fashion. And I think that from the walk-in to their announcement that Buffer gave ’em to the fight to the end, the crowd loved it and they were into it, and you know, it was a very successful night.”

The post Dana White Reacts To Henry Cejudo Dethroning Demetrious Johnson appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz Returns Come Right On Time For UFC

Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz’s comebacks came at the exact right time.

The post Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz Returns Come Right On Time For UFC appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Yesterday, the UFC went big and announced the long-awaited returns of rivals Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at their 25th Anniversary Press Conference from Los Angeles, California.

They won’t be fighting each other in their long-rumored trilogy bout – at least not yet – as it was announced McGregor will meet lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229 and Diaz will face surging top lightweight Dustin Poirier in the co-main event of November 3’s UFC 230.

At least, that’s the plan for now, as Diaz soon claimed he wouldn’t be fighting at UFC 230 after walking out of the presser during the announcement of McGregor’s return. The Stockton bad boy soon went off on the UFC and Dana White for supposedly telling lies about him turning down fights while he was dealing with a lawsuit and failing to promote him effectively. So just like everything seemingly involving the Diaz brothers, nothing is for certain, although it seems like he will be back to fight Poirier this fall.

As for McGregor, well, his return was much more anticipated than the late-night revelation of Diaz’ return this week, with signs pointing to him returning to action against Nurmagomedov ever since he cleared up his assault charges from his UFC 223 melee in a Brooklyn, New York, courtroom last month. Regardless of the specifics of each, however, both come at a time when the UFC needs them most.

Pay-per-view (PPV) buys and television ratings have literally been at all-time lows in 2018, with July 7’s UFC 226 barely breaking 400,000 buys despite a historic champion vs. champion superfight in the main event and July 28’s UFC on FOX 30 drawing the lowest ratings in history even though it had two pivotal knockouts at the top of the billing. That’s all about to change, of course, as McGregor’s return against the undefeated “Eagle” could legitimately be the first UFC card to bring in 2 million buys. Even if it doesn’t, the Irishman’s return to the Octagon will almost assuredly save an otherwise disastrous year for UFC owners Endeavor like his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather did last year.

Diaz’ return a month later against Poirier, a perhaps lesser-known but maybe more exciting opponent in terms of in-cage action, is simply icing on the cake, and he reminded us why he’s so unique and valuable to the sport of MMA at the tail-end of his on-camera rant yesterday. Asked about the outcome of Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor, Diaz unleashed a classic tirade about how the outcome didn’t matter because both were his “b****’:

“I whipped one’s a** and I slapped the f*** outta the other one, so they’re both my little b*****s, that’s who I got. F***, right in his face, he didn’t do s***. Scared for his life, him and all his Russian friends. He’s from a third-world country, n****a, I’m from Stockton, he got his a** slapped, didn’t do s***. All their eyes lit up, didn’t do s***, his whole team, f****n’ all p*****s.”

Photo Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports

Crude, some may claim, yet it’s a rant only Diaz could come out with and get so many heads turning, so his return is more than a breath of fresh air no matter what his in-cage record may state he deserves or doesn’t deserve.

The fight game has been waiting for Diaz to return since he lost a thin majority decision to McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016, and he’s still the only man to defeat “The Notorious” in the Octagon. Part of that is because McGregor hasn’t competed in MMA since 2016 himself, and while his August 2017 boxing match with Mayweather. was a fun enough spectacle in its own right, the UFC and MMA as a whole have been aching to see their biggest star compete as they watched him go down a concerning path outside the cage.

He’s appeared to have righted that ship – at least for now – and will swoop in to save the year with quite possibly the biggest mixed martial arts contest of all-time.

Make no mistake, even though “The Eagle” is their biggest asset in their desired and expanding Russian market, the UFC wants McGregor to win and presumably face off against the winner of Diaz vs. Poirier a month later. Both would be rematches of fights he’s already won and the kind of massive business the UFC’s current ownership seems to be trying to manufacture out of thin air with their ridiculous creation of never-ending interim titles that are stipped from their winners as quickly as they are won.

But all the fake UFC titles in the world won’t even add up to one one-thousandth of one Conor McGregor, and we’re already seeing that the day after his return was announced.

Couple that with Diaz’ unexpected comeback to stir the pot, and you have all the ingredients to end 2018 with a unique mix of MMA action never before staged in one months’ span.

It’s been a brutal year for MMA and its fans; no serious follower of the sport could or would dispute that statement. All of that is about to turn around exactly at the right time, ladies and gentlemen.

The post Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz Returns Come Right On Time For UFC appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nate Diaz Reveals Why He Hasn’t Fought For Over Two Years

Nate Diaz revealed his reason for staying on the sidelines for over two years.

The post Nate Diaz Reveals Why He Hasn’t Fought For Over Two Years appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nate Diaz’s awaited UFC return against Dustin Poirier was made official for November’s UFC 230 at today’s (Fri., August 3, 2018) UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference.

Diaz was inexplicably absent from the presser at first, to which UFC President Dana White was questioned about his whereabouts. The UFC frontman assured the press that he would be showing up soon, but not before Poirier detailed why he had taken the fight with the fan favorite veteran after previously suggesting he’d only answer the phone for a title shot.

For him – a fighter who simply loves to fight – battling Diaz at Madison Square Garden was simply too good to pass up:

“You know man, I’m a fighter, I feel good, I have no injuries. And, Nate’s a guy I’ve been watching for a long time; I’ve been a fan of. If you’re a fan of fighting, you’re a fan of this fight. I’ve always wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden. I just wish we had a few extra rounds, three rounds, I wish it was a five, but I’m excited about this fight, you guys should be too.”

Diaz then did make his first appearance in more than two years, leading to his first faceoff with Poirier in L.A. He was promptly asked why he returned to face Poirier and answered with a short and simple response:

“It’s time to go, so it’s time to go.”

Diaz also offered his view of the fight with Poirier when “The Diamond’s” stance of only wanting a title shot came up:

“This is a championship fight right here.”

While it may not actually be a championship fight, Diaz vs. Poirier obviously brings the likelihood of it being an all-out slugfest that is worth the price of admission for paying customers, something that MMA fans have been complaining has been absent from recent UFC pay cards. Poirier asserted his belief that the bout would deliver, to the point of being one of the best fights of all-time:

“We’re gonna show up and deliver, I promise that. This is going to be one of the most exciting fights you’ve ever seen.”

Finally, Diaz was asked about the timing of his return, and why he would return to face “The Diamond” when it was thought he was holding out for a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. To that, the younger Diaz brother said he had actually been dealing with a lawsuit since his last match with McGregor and was ineligible to fight:

“Since my last fight, I’ve been in a lawsuit so I wasn’t eligible to fight. I don’t know why nobody told you guys that.”

There’s no telling just what is now allowing Diaz to set foot back into the Octagon, but the good news for fight fans is that he’s going to.

And he has one of the most potentially action-packed match-ups he could hope for.

The post Nate Diaz Reveals Why He Hasn’t Fought For Over Two Years appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Climb On Lightweight List

Conor McGregor continues to rise up the rankings without fighting.

The post UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Climb On Lightweight List appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The official UFC ranks have been updated following last weekend’s (Sat., July 28, 2018) UFC on FOX 30 from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and not surprisingly, Dustin Poirier was one of the main benefactors.

However, an impressive second-round TKO over Eddie Alvarez in the UFC on FOX 30 main event couldn’t push him past former champion Conor McGregor, who somehow overtook former interim champion Tony Ferguson despite not fighting in the UFC for going on two years.

“The Diamond” rose one spot to No. 3 for his win over Alvarez, and McGregor overtook the No. 1 spot at 155 pounds, presumably because of the excitement over his expected return against current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year. “The Eagle” rose one spot on the pound-for-pound list, overtaking Stipe Miocic at the No. 8 spot.

You can check the fully updated rankings courtesy of UFC.com here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Daniel Cormier
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Conor McGregor
3 Max Holloway
5 Georges St-Pierre
6 TJ Dillashaw
7 Tyron Woodley
8 Khabib Nurmagomedov +1
9 Stipe Miocic -1
10 Robert Whittaker
11 Cris Cyborg
12 Tony Ferguson
13 Amanda Nunes
14 Cody Garbrandt
15 Rose Namajunas

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Henry Cejudo
2 Sergio Pettis
3 Joseph Benavidez
4 Ray Borg
5 Jussier Formiga
6 John Moraga
7 Wilson Reis
8 Alexandre Pantoja
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 Brandon Moreno
11 Ben Nguyen
12 Matheus Nicolau
13 Tim Elliott
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Ulka Sasaki

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Marlon Moraes
5 Jimmie Rivera
6 John Lineker
7 John Dodson
8 Aljamain Sterling
9 Pedro Munhoz
10 Cody Stamann
11 Rob Font
12 Alejandro Perez
13 Thomas Almeida
14 Brett Johns
15 Douglas Silva de Andrade

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Brian Ortega
2 Jose Aldo
3 Frankie Edgar
4 Jeremy Stephens
5 Cub Swanson
6 Chad Mendes
7 Josh Emmett -1
8 Mirsad Bektic
9 Chan Sung Jung
10 Renato Moicano
11 Alexander Volkanovski
12 Ricardo Lamas
13 Darren Elkins
14 Yair Rodriguez
15 Zabit Magomedsharipov

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Khabib Nurmagomedov
1 Conor McGregor +1
2 Tony Ferguson -1
3 Dustin Poirier +1
4 Eddie Alvarez -1
5 Kevin Lee
6 Edson Barboza
7 Justin Gaethje
8 Anthony Pettis
9 Al Iaquinta +1
10 James Vick +1
10 Nate Diaz -1
12 Michael Chiesa
13 Alexander Hernandez
14 Dan Hooker
15 Francisco Trinaldo

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Colby Covington (Interim Champion)
2 Darren Till
3 Rafael Dos Anjos
4 Stephen Thompson
5 Robbie Lawler
6 Kamaru Usman
7 Demian Maia
8 Neil Magny
9 Jorge Masvidal
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Leon Edwards
12 Donald Cerrone
13 Gunnar Nelson
14 Alex Oliveira
15 Dong Hyun Kim

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Robert Whittaker
1 Yoel Romero
2 Luke Rockhold
3 Chris Weidman
4 Kelvin Gastelum
5 Jacare Souza
6 Derek Brunson
7 David Branch
8 Paulo Costa
9 Israel Adesanya
10 Brad Tavares
11 Antonio Carlos Junior
12 Uriah Hall
13 Thiago Santos
14 Elias Theodorou
15 Krzysztof Jotko

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Volkan Oezdemir
3 Ilir Latifi
4 Jan Blachowicz
5 Jimi Manuwa
6 Corey Anderson
7 Ovince Saint Preux
8 Glover Teixeira
9 Anthony Smith
10 Misha Cirkunov
11 Mauricio Rua
12 Dominick Reyes
13 Patrick Cummins
14 Tyson Pedro
15 Sam Alvey *NR

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Stipe Miocic
2 Derrick Lewis
3 Curtis Blaydes
4 Francis Ngannou
5 Alexander Volkov
6 Alistair Overeem
7 Junior Dos Santos
8 Mark Hunt
9 Marcin Tybura
10 Tai Tuivasa
11 Aleksei Oleinik
12 Andrei Arlovski
13 Stefan Struve
14 Shamil Abdurakhimov
15 Justin Willis

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Carla Esparza
7 Michelle Waterson
8 Felice Herrig
9 Tatiana Suarez
10 Nina Ansaroff +3
11 Cortney Casey -1
12 Alexa Grasso -1
13 Randa Markos -1
14 Angela Hill +1
15 Joanne Calderwood -1

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Sijara Eubanks
3 Katlyn Chookagian +4
4 Roxanne Modafferi +1
5 Liz Carmouche -1
6 Alexis Davis -3
7 Lauren Murphy -1
8 Jessica Eye
9 Barb Honchak
10 Jessica-Rose Clark
11 Ashlee Evans-Smith
12 Andrea Lee
13 Mara Romero Borella
14 Montana De La Rosa
15 Paige VanZant

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Holly Holm
2 Ketlen Vieira
3 Julianna Pena
4 Raquel Pennington
5 Germaine de Randamie
6 Cat Zingano
7 Marion Reneau
8 Sara McMann
9 Aspen Ladd
10 Bethe Correia
11 Lina Lansberg
12 Irene Aldana
13 Lucie Pudilova
14 Sarah Moras
15 Gina Mazany

The post UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Climb On Lightweight List appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Featherweight Contender Isn’t Buying Tainted Supplement Excuses

This UFC star has weighed in with his opinion on USADA.

The post Featherweight Contender Isn’t Buying Tainted Supplement Excuses appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Top UFC featherweight contender Cub Swanson has his mind open when it comes to dealing with USADA, but not so much with those fighters who have been flagged in the past due to tainted supplements.

Swanson returns this weekend at the upcoming UFC 227 pay-per-view event, where he’ll look to get a W in the win column after sustaining back-to-back losses following a four-fight win streak with wins over Hacran Dias, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Dooho Choi, and Artem Lobov. In his last two fights, he was submitted by Brian Ortega this past December and then lost by decision to former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in April.

While speaking with Luke Thomas on this week’s episode of The MMA Hour, Swanson talked about how his latest loss cost him significant leverage in talks with the UFC about a new deal that saw him sign a contract that would keep him with the promotion. One of the reasons he made this decision was the organization’s commitment to random drug testing with USADA, but make no mistake about it, he does have his doubts about the excuses made by those who have failed tests.

“I feel like when it was all said and done, we were able to see eye-to-eye [financially],” Swanson said Monday on The MMA Hour. “It was more than they were initially offering me. I did get some huge offers, but the companies weren’t as stable and things like that, and it was really making me really think hard. But one of the biggest things is, I’m all for USADA.

“I spent a long time fighting for the company without the major drug testing, and I feel like I wasn’t a big fan of that, so I just was thinking in my head, ‘Do I really want to be fighting guys who I know are just cheating?’ And I’m not one to do that, so I was happy to sign back with the UFC and be in a clean sport.”

“I don’t think they’re catching everybody. I think there are some people who are getting around it, but for the most part, they are catching people,” Swanson said of USADA. “A lot of the people who are getting caught, everyone’s making excuses. Maybe a handful of those people are legitimate, but I doubt it.

“I have a hard time believing a lot of those [tainted supplement excuses]. I mean, you’re supposed to be on top of all that stuff. With our coach Sam (Calavitta), everything that we take, he’s putting a stamp of approval on it, and if we were to test positive, he’s basically putting our whole team — like, ‘Hey, we all take this stuff. We give it to USADA, this is what we’re taking. Feel free.’ And I feel very confident every time they test me. I’m like, yeah, come on, test me, I’m good, I’m clean.”

Swanson is set to take on Renato Moicano in a featherweight bout at the UFC 227 pay-per-view event, which is headlined by two title fights from Los Angeles, California, this Saturday.

The post Featherweight Contender Isn’t Buying Tainted Supplement Excuses appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.