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TJ Dillashaw Promises He’ll ‘Ruin Cody Garbrandt’s Career’

TJ Dillashaw plans on ruining Cody Garbrandt’s career at UFC 227.

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T.J. Dillashaw had some strong words for Cody Garbrandt heading into their bantamweight title rematch at UFC 227.

One of the most anticipated rematches in the 135-pound weight class will serve as the main event for UFC 227 a little over a week from now when Dillashaw defends the bantamweight title against former champion Garbrandt at August 4’s UFC 227 from Los Angeles, California.

Both of these men know each other quite well having trained together side by side at Team Alpha Male for the better part of their careers. That all changed, however, when “Killashaw” decided to move his camp to Colorado and continue working with Duane “Bang” Ludwig, a decision that has splintered more than a friendship.

But it’s also lead to Dillashaw knowing what’s coming from his opponents – or so he claimed:

“You kind of prepare the same for every fight,” Dillashaw told Bloody Elbow. “You add a few tricks to try and keep your opponents guessing, but that’s about it. I love rematches, though. I’ve always done great in rematches. The more I can figure out my opponent the better and I’m going to know Cody like the back of my hand. It’s going to be a good night for me.”

Despite the fact that Dillashaw and Garbrandt have spent countless hours preparing each other for battle in their Team Alpha Male days; the champion believes he is the superior fighter and knows exactly how to beat Garbrandt again:

“You always train for your opponent to be the best possible opponent no matter who it is,” Dillashaw explained. “You obviously look for their strengths and weaknesses. I know the technical difficulties [Garbrandt] has. I know where he’s good, where he’s not. But you always train for the best. You train for everything.”

“He knows I’m the better fighter,” said Dillashaw. “He’ll pump himself up. He’ll talk; that he’s great, that he’s better, and all this stuff, but he knows. He knows the truth. I’m the better all around fighter. I’m the smarter fighter. And this is a bad situation for him, to go right back into a rematch for the title.”

There is no love lost between “No Love” and “The Viper.” Both men have been vocal about their dislike for one another in the media. But Dillashaw doesn’t want to just beat Garbrandt in their rematch at UFC 227, he wants to end his career:

“I’m going to ruin his career,” Dillashaw said. “I’m going to ruin his career at this weight class. He’s already getting his second shot, he should of worried about getting better, but I don’t know if he really can. I don’t know if he’s that smart of a fighter, but I plan on ruining his career at 135.”

“This sport’s crazy, obviously anything can happen,” continued Dillashaw. “You’ve always got to be ready for it and be nervous for that fight, but he doesn’t have a chance. I’ll be ready for anything he can bring to the table. You’ve always got to expect the toughest fight, but he doesn’t have a chance.”

The second chapter in this bantamweight feud will culminate in the main event of UFC 227.

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Anderson Silva Destroys Daniel Cormier’s GOAT Denial

Anderson Silva just put Daniel Cormier in his place.

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This week, Daniel Cormier claimed that only two fighters could join him in the conversation for MMA’s greatest fighter of all-time.

The two high-profile names he left out of the conversation were predictably Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, dominant, dynamic champions who destroyed endless top contenders in the Octagon but also had their careers muddied by drug test failures for performance-enhancing drugs.

Silva responded to the slight in a recent interview with CBS Sports, saying Cormier got lucky when he saved his paycheck at UFC 200 two years ago, and even luckier because he wasn’t even the best fighter at light heavyweight:

“So, it’s very interesting because I take the fight against Daniel [on two days’ notice at UFC 200 in 2016] and I had been training absolutely nothing for months and I had surgery already in my body and I took the fight in saving Daniel money because Jon Jones failed the test. But it’s very interesting Daniel talking about that because when you have problems, everybody has problems.

“When you talk about people, you need to be careful because you never know about your life. You never know about your future. I think Daniel is very lucky and completely lucky because never beating Jon Jones, of course, because Jon Jones in my opinion is the best fighter at 205 [pounds].”

Silva continued to go off on Cormier for his UFC 200 performance, claiming “DC” was lucky he didn’t take the fight for five rounds and only laid on top of him, which he did. “The Spider” respects Cormier, but said he was crazy to talk about him and Jones:

“When I took the fight, Daniel didn’t do nothing. He was completely lucky. He was more lucky because I didn’t take the fight for five rounds and just three, and he don’t do nothing but just hit the ground and use his weight. Why are you talking? Why does Daniel talk?

“I respect, but Danny don’t have to talk about that because I’m very sad about that. That’s the first time I saw this news. I respect Danny, but when he is talking about me and Jon Jones, he’s completely crazy because Jon Jones is the best fighter. I tried to make everything perfect inside the cage for my fans. I don’t know but it’s OK … this is Daniel Cormier.”

Silva then expressed his respect for Jones, the man who beat Cormier and is still considered by many to be by far the best light heavyweight in UFC history.

“The Spider” wasn’t sure about “Bones’” upcoming hearing with USADA, but hoped he returned soon:

“I don’t know. I love Jon Jones, he is my young brother and I hope he comes back fast.”

The longtime former champ has had enough of Cormier’s trash talk and claims, and now that he’s eligible to return after he was exonerated on his second failed USADA drug test, Silva is getting his name back out in the media.

He may not be considered the greatest fighter to ever compete in the UFC by Cormier, yet Silva put “DC’s” position in sharp perspective with his comments – even if it is shrouded by Jones’ controversy.

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Anthony Smith Responds To Alexander Gustafsson’s UFC 227 Withdrawal

Anthony Smith discussed Alexander Gustafsson pulling out of UFC 227:

The post Anthony Smith Responds To Alexander Gustafsson’s UFC 227 Withdrawal appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Anthony Smith got his biggest win today, but he won’t be getting the fight he wants.

Following his first-round demolition of former champ Shogun Rua (highlights here) in the main event of today’s (Sun., July 22, 2018) UFC Fight Night 134 from the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany, ‘Lionheart’ called out former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson for August 4’s UFC 227 after “The Mauler’s” original opponent Volkan Oezdemir pulled out last week.

However, news soon arrived that Gustafsson had been forced off of the August 4 event from Los Angeles due to an undisclosed injury, sparking speculation that the Swedish veteran simply didn’t want to face the lesser-known but increasingly more dangerous fighter in Smith.

At the UFC Hamburg post-fight presser, Smith reacted to the news by saying it was “mighty ironic” that Gustafsson was now off the card after he knocked out Rua:

“That’s ironic, isn’t it?” Smith told reporters. “That’s kind of weird how that works out. He needed an opponent yesterday. What happened between then and now? I don’t know. That’s mighty ironic. I think that I’m a hard guy to train for; I really do. I show up with a different product every time I fight.”

So with the Gustafsson fight on the cutting room floor now – and uncertain to ever materialize – Smith shifted focus to what his next fight may be. He noticed knockout artist Jimi Manuwa in the crowd at UFC Hamburg, so he tabbed the British “Poster Boy” as a potential foe in his pending rise:

“I’ve seen Jimi Manuwa out there – Jimi’s a great fighter,” Smith said. “He’s a hell of a striker, he’s powerful, and he’s ranked. He’s ranked pretty high in the division. I’m not 100 percent sure. I’ll let the UFC and my management figure that out. If it’s not Gustafsson, then I don’t know.”

Finally, with champion Daniel Cormier now injured and returning at heavyweight to fight Brock Lesnar in his next bout, the UFC light heavyweight title picture is an unclear one at best and an unmitigated mess at worse.

No one is sure if and when he’ll return to 205 pounds for one of final two fights, but Smith said he owed it to the rest of the division to clear that up soon:

“I think that’s the first step: We need to figure out if Cormier’s staying or going,” Smith said. “(UFC President) Dana (White) even said this before, ‘I think Daniel is an honorable man.’ It wouldn’t be very honorable to hold up the division. Because he knows right now. You guys can ask him 100 times, and he won’t tell you, but he knows if he’s coming back down or not. I think he needs to make that public so we can figure out what we’re all doing.”

“Lionheart” may have a good point, as Cormier most likely only has one fight left if he ever decides to undergo one final draining weight cut to 205 pounds.

No one would blame him if he didn’t, yet he does owe it to fighters like Smith and Gustafsson to let them know what they’re actually fighting for, and when they can win it. With Smith knocking out former champs left and right, you can see why.

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UFC Rankings: Chad Mendes Returns – But Is It High Enough?

Is this spot right for Chad Mendes’ return to the UFC rankings?

The post UFC Rankings: Chad Mendes Returns – But Is It High Enough? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The official UFC rankings have been updated following last weekend’s (Sat., July 14, 2018) UFC Fight Night 133 from the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.

Although Junior dos Santos headlined the event with an uneventful decision win over debuting heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov (for which “JDS” rose one spot to No. 7), perhaps a more significant change on the rankings was the return of former three-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes, who re-debuted on the rankings at No. 7 following his first-round technical knockout over Myles Jury in his long-awaited return from a two-year USADA suspension.

“Money” may have a Top 10 spot, yet it may not be enough considering how dominant he looked in his return against a veteran over two-and-a-half years out of the cage. True, he may have lost back-to-back fights versus Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar – and the time off probably did him some good – but the Team Alpha Male star brings it every time out and has only lost to true legends of the featherweight division. With another win, he should find himself in the top five and above soon.

Also at featherweight, rising prospect Alexander Volkanovski made his debut at No. 11 after beating previous No. 10 Darren Elkins, who fell to No. 13.

Check out the full updated rankings courtesy of UFC.com right here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Daniel Cormier
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Max Holloway
4 Conor McGregor -1
5 Georges St-Pierre
6 TJ Dillashaw
7 Tyron Woodley +1
8 Stipe Miocic -1
9 Khabib Nurmagomedov
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 +1
9 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 +1
10 Cody Stamann -1
11 Rob Font
12 Alejandro Perez +1
13 Thomas Almeida -1
14 Brett Johns
15 Douglas Silva de Andrade *NR

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

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Khabib Nurmagomedov
1 Tony Ferguson
2 Conor McGregor
3 Eddie Alvarez
4 Dustin Poirier
5 Kevin Lee
6 Edson Barboza
7 Justin Gaethje
8 Anthony Pettis
9 Nate Diaz -1
10 Al Iaquinta
11 James Vick
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 Glover Teixeira
4 Ilir Latifi
5 Jan Blachowicz
6 Jimi Manuwa
7 Ovince Saint Preux
8 Mauricio Rua
9 Corey Anderson
10 Misha Cirkunov
11 Dominick Reyes
12 Patrick Cummins
13 Tyson Pedro
14 Gadzhimurad Antigulov
15 Sam Alvey

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 +1
8 Mark Hunt -1
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 Cortney Casey
11 Alexa Grasso
12 Randa Markos
13 Nina Ansaroff
14 Joanne Calderwood
15 Angela Hill

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Sijara Eubanks
3 Alexis Davis
4 Liz Carmouche +3
5 Roxanne Modafferi -1
6 Lauren Murphy -1
7 Katlyn Chookagian -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 +1
15 Paige VanZant -1

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

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Anthony Smith Says Daniel Cormier Unintentionally Made Him Contender

Anthony Smith thinks Daniel Cormier unknowingly made him a contender at light heavyweight.

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Daniel Cormier may have unintentionally created one of the next title challengers in the light heavyweight division.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take on rising light heavyweight prospect Anthony “Lionheart” Smith in the main event of UFC Hamburg this weekend (Sunday, July 22nd, 2018).

Smith is coming off an impressive KO over former champ Rashad Evans at June’s UFC 225, a performance that “Lionheart” has parlayed straight into a short notice main event fight with former light heavyweight champ “Shogun” Rua.

Rua, on the other hand, has had a bit of a resurgence as of late. The Brazilian is riding a three-fight win streak, and with an impressive performance could be looking at another title shot, at least according to Cormier.

For Smith, the chance to main event a UFC card against a legend like “Shogun” is validation that all his hard work is starting to pay off, along with his new outlook on life.

“Since I moved up to 205, the weight is no longer an issue, and the name literally doesn’t matter,” Smith told MMAjunkie Radio on Monday. “You could have said it’s Brock Lesnar, and I would have had the same reaction.”

The move to 205 pounds has been a long time coming for the Nebraska native. Smith is every bit of his 6’4″ frame and could easily compete in the heavyweight division if he chose to.

Still, “Lionheart” doesn’t foresee Rua standing and trading with him for too long anyway.

“He’s not an idiot, and he knows if you look at my record, I have the ability to knock you out with anything,” Smith said. “And I’m younger, and I’m going to be bigger than he is.”

“You can’t let ‘Shogun’ bully you and push you around in there,” Smith added. “If you meet ‘Shogun’ in the middle, there’s going to be two bulls running into each other, and we’re going to figure out which one is bigger. And I’m OK with that.”

Much is still to be decided in Hamburg, however, “DC’s” comments leave much to be desired.

That is, if “Shogun wins impressively then he deserves a light heavyweight title shot, but if Smith is victorious he believes he should be the next man to challenge the new champ-champ for the 205-pound strap. In that sense, Smith thinks Cormier unintentionally made him a title contender:

“If he thinks ‘Shogun’ is the next guy, and I beat him, then I think rightfully, he gave me the opportunity to put my hand up,” Smith explained. “I think that he did that for me, and I don’t even know if he realizes that.”

“He isn’t excited about the Gustafsson fight, whether it’s a money thing or a new match-up. I think I’m a fresh face, and that’s an exciting match-up for the fans, me versus ‘DC.’ But I haven’t even thought about that right now.”

Smith made quick work of former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 225, thus igniting the talk of the “Lionheart” being a modern day legend killer.

“The whole legend killer thing is cool,” Smith said. “That’s the thing people are attaching to me, but eventually, people are going to wonder how I’m going to fare with guys who are closer to my age.”

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Khabib Reveals Why There Was No Conor McGregor Confrontation At World Cup

Those looking for a Khabib vs. Conor McGregor faceoff yesterday will have to wait.

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Yesterday while the soccer world was fixated on the World Cup final between France and Croatia, the mixed martial arts world was more concerned with the fact that rivals Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were finally in the same place at the same time.

It turned out that McGregor was a guest of Russian president Vladimir Putin, oddly enough, as it would have been thought that the Dagestani Nurmagomedov would have been a much more likely guest of the leader.

Regardless, Nurmagomedov and the controversial former UFC champ McGregor are rumored to be headed for a massive megafight sometime later this year, although nothing concrete has arisen in terms of details of the booking. “The Notorious” is still awaiting his next court date for the insane assault he initiated by throwing a metal dolly through the window of a bus containing Nurmagomedov and other fighters days prior to April’s UFC 223, so we have no clue as to where negotiations truly stand.

Because of that, some may have been hoping that public clash between the two superstars would provide some direction in that regard, but during a recent interview translated by Express.co.uk (via MMA Fighting), “The Eagle” said that while he did expect he may run into McGregor at the World Cup, he would have kept it professional in hopes of actually getting the fight:

“I thought I’d meet McGregor at the Luzhniki Stadium. But even if we meet now, we still will not be able to find out who is stronger. If there was a cage in the middle of the arena, it would be more interesting. And now something to find out on the street and so on. We are not at that age and not in that position.

“It would be ideal if there were no one around. Or vice versa — to the full stadium, in the middle of the cage, and in it — we. In general, I see no reason to approach him now. We are hospitable people. Let the football look, enjoy Russia.”

A calm, collected outlook from the highly reserved-yet-calculating champion, who apparently wants to let his fighting do his talking in the Octagon. There’s a decent chance we may not get to see the McGregor match-up this year, however, and even a chance it never happens at all.

“The Eagle” is aiming for that fight, yet if it doesn’t materialize, he recently revealed on his YouTube show that he’s eying a fight with his idol Georges St-Pierre, the winner of July 28’s Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier main event at UFC on FOX, or perhaps even a fifth scheduled fight with Tony Ferguson:

“If not Conor, if not (Georges St-Pierre), I think winner of Eddie Alvarez versus Dustin Poirier.

”The winner deserves a title shot. About Tony Ferguson, I don’t know. He has surgery but if he can [fight], why not? Tony Ferguson is the biggest matchup for me. It is the match I want.”

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