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Featherweight Contender Isn’t Buying Tainted Supplement Excuses

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

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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.

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Conor McGregor’s Return Will Snap UFC Cold Streak – But For How Long?

Conor McGregor will probably save 2018, but the UFC has bigger problems long-term.

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It’s not official just yet, but signs are pointing to Conor McGregor finally making his Octagon return in what could be the biggest MMA fight of all-time against lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The path to the anticipated title fight becoming official was cleared substantially last week when McGregor resolved his legal issues for the assault charges gained by throwing a metal dolly through a bus containing Nurmagomedov days prior to April’s UFC 223; the Irish former champ avoided jail time and will serve community service along with a few other minor stipulations.

The rumored match-up is supposedly headed for October’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas, an event that only this week McGregor openly discussed as the frontrunner for his return. Another possible date and location is November 3’s UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York City; it was at that exact venue where McGregor last fought in the UFC by winning the lightweight title from then-champion Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

But no matter where and when McGregor does return, it will be perhaps the most-needed jolt that the UFC has ever begged for, and certainly the most crucial of new owner Endeavor’s tenuous two-year period of running the world’s MMA leader. The UFC hit a new low in terms of ratings with last week’s UFC on FOX 30 from Calgary despite the fact that the main and co-main events featured two jaw-dropping knockouts in fights with serious backstories, an ominous sign for a company that has seen steadily declining ratings since 2017 began.

Pay-per-view sales are hitting new lows as well, with July 7’s packed UFC 226 only bringing in around 400,000 buys despite a historic championship win by Daniel Cormier that made him only the second-ever simultaneous UFC champion other than McGregor. By comparison – and it’s really not one – McGregor brought in three separate pay-per-views that brought over a million buys in 2016 alone. That’s why the UFC is willing to overlook the concerning streak of outside events McGregor has exhibited since making a reported $85 million to box Floyd Mayweather last summer, they need a big star more than ever and he’s their biggest of all-time.

McGregor’s return could push for the record of the biggest UFC PPV buyrate ever, it will remain to be seen if a UFC event can sell that well anymore. If it does, it will show just how vital “The Notorious” is to their success, and at this point, that’s shaky ground to stand on. It was uncertain he would ever return to the UFC last year, and even though it’s looking more likely with each day, how long will they really be able to bank on the Irish superstar? He’s often stated his intentions to get rich and get out with his health, and he’s already beyond rich.

True, his lavish spending would drain almost anyone’s account, so he may need one more blowout fight to refill his reserves a bit. It all depends on if he loses to “The Eagle” as well – if he wins, expect to see him back one or two more times, if he loses, he may retire. Regardless, the UFC can’t count on magical years like 2016 where McGregor blew the roof off the record books with three all-time great PPV cards.

So while he will probably save an otherwise dismal 2018 for Endeavor, the problems that currently plague it right now will still remain. They’ve been discussed over and over again, with the oversaturation of events being pointed to as the main culprit -while it is true to some degree and fans are simply exhausted, the UFC won’t stop putting on event after event if it’s profitable. They have a $4.2 billion loan to pay back and at the end of the day, this is a business – big business.

Another not-always-discussed point that I think is highly relevant was brought up by Marc Raimondi and Shaun Al-Shatti on their live chat on MMA Fighting today, the concern that fighters being forced to wear essentially the same monotone Reebok clothing every time out to the cage is diminishing (or outright negating) their personal connection to the fans. They put it in the terms of wondering if Chuck Liddell would have been as big a star without his trademark blue Iceman shorts, or if Tito Ortiz would have resonated as a heel so much without his own flame-adorned outfits. They said they would have been big stars but not as much and I tend to agree.

This level of personalization was all but ripped from the UFC when the Reebok deal went into effect, and while the uniforms have evolved somewhat over the past two years, they haven’t really gotten to the point where they make one high-profile fighter or another stand out from the crowd. Along those lines, fans are perhaps also growing wise to the UFC’s brutal business practices of paying fighters incredibly low wages compared to other professional sports, and the issue of labeling them ‘independent contractors’ rather than employees while they’re forced to wear one company’s apparel remains, and will until fighters finally unionize – if they ever do.

So in summation, McGregor’s return to the Octagon will save 2018 for the UFC just like his boxing loss to “Money” did for 2017, and that will mask the huge gaping problems they have staring them in the face.

The real question is, how much longer can they count on McGregor to fix the issues they clearly don’t know how to mend without him?

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Cyborg Goes Off On Amanda Nunes For Pushing Back Superfight

We’re going to have to wait a bit longer for Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes.

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UFC president Dana White has acknowledged that a fight between featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is the fight to make next.

Cyborg wants to stay as active as possible. Her last fight took place back in March when she finished Yana Kunitskaya in the first round. Cyborg wanted to jump back into the cage in September, but Nunes has already announced that she has signed a contract to fight her fellow Brazilian in December.

Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Cyborg voiced her displeasure with Nunes requesting to push back their superfight, thus only allowing her to fight twice in 2018:

”Amanda has talked a bunch of stuff, saying she couldn’t fight, that she was injured and would take her six months to recover,” Cyborg said. “She challenged me in January and said she’s injured and needs some time. Ok, fine, but I’m a champion in my division and I’m always fighting.

”She’s used to fighting only once a year, but I’m ready to fight now. It’s been four months since my last fight, and I’m ready.

“There’s no excuse. ‘Oh, but there aren’t opponents for you.’ There are. If you look out there, there are. I’ve always fought in Invicta and always had opponents.”

”If you watch her interviews, it’s like she’s going out on vacation,” Cyborg said. “My job is fighting. I want to fight. I don’t want to stay out for almost a year in my prime. I think it’s disrespectful. … Dana (White) took Colby Covington’s belt. He won that belt two months ago and was stripped because (Tyron) Woodley wants to fight and he’s injured.

“How about me, who wants to fight? She challenged me six months ago and still needs six months? She said she’s going to travel with her girlfriend. No problem with that, but I’m ready to fight. A champion must be ready at all times. I want to fight now, and when she’s ready we can fight.”

Cyborg also suggested that the UFC doesn’t promote Brazilians as heavily as other fighters. She pointed to Ketlen Vieira as one of her prime examples, and also included names like “Jacare” Souza and Demian Maia:

”It’s no secret that the UFC doesn’t promote Brazilians,” she continued. “Ketlen Vieira will fight Tonya Evinger now. She has 10 straight wins and should be fighting for the belt. OK, Amanda wants to move up, so she deserves an interim belt in Sao Paulo against a ranked girl. She’s fighting Tonya Evinger, who’s not even ranked in the UFC, in a non-title fight.

“Why are they doing that? Because they will do Holly Holm with someone else for the interim belt. I’m almost positive of that. But that’s not right with Ketlen Vieira, who is ranked. You see what happened with ‘Jacare’ (Souza) and Demian Maia… But that doesn’t even frustrate me anymore.

”With my fans helping me, I think I can fight sooner. It’s not fair to have me sidelined in my prime because Amanda wants to go out on vacation. I’m the champion for 10 years, before the UFC had women fighting. I’m the champion and that’s how I make a living. We only get paid when we fight, and I’ll stay out for almost a year waiting for Amanda.”

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Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare

Max Holloway opened up on his health and a possible return to fighting.

The post Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s been almost four weeks since Max Holloway was forced out of his awaited featherweight title fight with Brian Ortega at July 7’s UFC 226 due to concerning concussion-like symptoms.

There has been precious little concrete information about “Blessed’s” health in the time since, with the Hawaiian champion flying to Las Vegas to undergo a battery of medical tests to figure out just what went wrong International Fight Week. But apparently, those tests haven’t yielded much in the way of confirmation, leaving the 26-year-old rising star with a large chunk of uncertainty surrounding his fighting future.

Holloway addressed the sticky situation on today’s edition of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” (via ESPN.com), declaring that while he’s seen many doctors and none of them can figure out just what went wrong, he will still return to MMA at some point:

“I’ve seen multiple doctors and experts but they haven’t been able to give any answers about what happened,” Holloway said. “But I’m okay. I’m going to fight again. That’s all we know.”

Rumors ranged from Holloway suffering a mild stroke to actually experiencing poisoning from water loading, but when UFC Tonight co-host Michael Bisping called Holloway out for being tired and lethargic during an interview on the show, most thought it was the effects of another draining weight cut for “Blessed” after he was pulled out of a short-notice main event with Khabib Nurmagomedov at April’s UFC 223 due to a botched – and drastic – weight cut.

It’s more than a bit concerning to hear Holloway state that he doesn’t know what happened to him or how it’s affecting his long-term health but will still fight again regardless. He seemed to contradict himself a bit by saying he was ‘glad to be healthy’ while confirming it was ‘crazy’ he still didn’t know what was wrong with him:

“All of the tests were great,” Holloway says. “When you hear those kind of things, but also scary. You want to know what’s wrong. It’s crazy we just don’t have the answers. I’m just glad I’m healthy and okay.”

Perhaps in a specific sense, the tests were ‘great’ in that they didn’t reveal any serious illness that required immediate attention, yet Holloway did still sound drained and less than himself during his interview with Helwani, a point of view many of the online listeners focused on during the spot.

Holloway insisted he never sustained a concussion in training, but after he was pulled out of an alarming three straight fights this year without competing once, it’s become obvious that his health is indeed on the line and that should come first before he steps back into the cage.

There’s no questioning Holloway’s toughness or desire; that simply has to be at the forefront for him, his team, and his employers.

So don’t expect that you’ve seen the last of Max Holloway, just hope that when he does come back, he’s fixed the issues that are significantly plaguing the career path of a fighter who was on top of the world less than eight months ago.

The post Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare

Max Holloway opened up on his health and a possible return to fighting.

The post Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s been almost four weeks since Max Holloway was forced out of his awaited featherweight title fight with Brian Ortega at July 7’s UFC 226 due to concerning concussion-like symptoms.

“I’ve seen multiple doctors and experts but they haven’t been able to give any answers about what happened,” Holloway said. “But I’m okay. I’m going to fight again. That’s all we know.”

“All of the tests were great,” Holloway says. “When you hear those kind of things, but also scary. You want to know what’s wrong. It’s crazy we just don’t have the answers. I’m just glad I’m healthy and okay.”

There’s no questioning Holloway’s toughness or desire; that simply has to be at the forefront for him, his team, and his employers.

The post Max Holloway Unveils Fighting Future After Recent Health Scare appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Jose Aldo Reminded Us Why He’s MMA’s Forgotten GOAT

Jose Aldo turned back the clock to remind why he’s the greatest featherweight ever.

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Last night (Sat., July 28, 2018) longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world with a brutal first-round TKO over Jeremy Stephens (watch highlights) in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 30 from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The victory gave Aldo’s supposedly fading career a much-needed shot in the arm after a pair of consecutive stoppage losses to current champion Max Holloway in his previous two fights, a skid that sent MMA’s longtime pound-for-pound king to three such defeats in his last four fights. Despite the fact that his otherwise peerless record at 145 pounds still meant he was the greatest featherweight in MMA’s short history, it seemed many had already written off the all-time great against the surging Stephens, who had recently knocked out Doo Ho Choi and Josh Emmett during a late-career resurgence.

But Aldo came into Canada – the place where he first defended his UFC championship in 2011 – with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders and delivered perhaps what may be his single greatest performance in the hallowed Octagon. True, in a time overflowing with hyperbole and extremes seemingly everywhere you look, that may sound like a bit of recency bias, and indeed it’s a point of view that must be taken into account in a ‘what have you done for me lately’ sport like MMA.

This one lives up to its lofty billing, however. Aldo obviously strung together a record-setting title reign at featherweight in the UFC, but the explosive stoppages that came so easily back in his WEC days had largely evaded him throughout his UFC tenure.

With his back against the wall against arguably the most dangerous pure knockout striker competing in the 145-pound division, Aldo took some huge shots from Stephens, exhibited the heart of a true champion to persevere when he was hurt, and ultimately blew the roof off the Scotiabank Saddledome with two of the most earth-shattering body shots ever landed in the Octagon.

The win put ‘Scarface,’ whom many were ready to write off as a has-been, back into the title discussion at 145 pounds, and he revealed that was his renewed goal at the post-fight press conference (via MMAjunkie):

“I think the performance was good enough to catch the eyes of the matchmakers again, and show that I do belong here. I am a top fighter in this division, and I’m ready to get another title shot eventually in this run.”

Photo by Sergei Belski for USA TODAY Sports

Aldo also touched on the doubt many (perhaps justifiably) had about him going into the bout with “Lil’ Heathen.” He knew there were several doubters predicting his demise, but he used the support of his team to rise above that and calmly do his job:

“A lot of people were looking at me and thinking, ‘Where is he now? Is he the same fighter that he was before?’ But I had my group behind me,” Aldo said. “I was able to keep calm and do the work.”

So with his decorated fighting career back on track in a big way for now, Aldo is looking to make his own late-career run that ends with an unheard-of third title reign.

That may be difficult with Holloway still the champion, and it’s even more uncertain with him sidelined while undergoing tests for the concerning concussion-like symptoms “Blessed” recently experienced the week before his awaited title bout with top contender Brian Ortega earlier this month. We don’t know when Holloway will be back, and with two prior losses to the champion, it’s going to be tough for Aldo to get a third shot at “Blessed.”

He could possibly face Ortega for the top contender spot, yet “T-City” doesn’t seem to want any fight that isn’t for the title after he earned his shot by knocking out Frankie Edgar, ironically enough, in a fight where “The Answer” stood to gain little facing Ortega as a late replacement after Holloway fell out with a leg injury. If that fight did happen, it would be nearly impossible to deny the winner the next shot, even with Aldo’s two losses to Holloway.

So we’ll have to wait and see what Aldo’s next move will be in a suddenly confusing 145-pound weight class, yet two things are certain based on his performance in Calgary: Aldo was wrongly overlooked last night, and he reminded us why he is MMA’s forgotten GOAT by providing one of the most brutal wins of the year against a contender many picked to do just that to him.

For that, Jose Aldo deserves our respect. In fact, he never deserved to lose one shred of it.

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