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Last weekend’s (Sat., April 27, 2019) Bellator 220 from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., was a brutal, bloody affair that saw several injuries such as this graphic, gruesome cut and this broken jaw.

Not surprisingly, the bouts resulted in quite the lengthy medical suspension list. According to the numbers released to MMA Fighting by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), five fighters received potential 180-day suspensions.

Chief among them was welterweight champion Rory MacDonald, who received a potential max term for a possible right later epicondyle injury. in his main event draw versus Jon Fitch. He was also suspended 60 days for a facial cut but can return to action sooner if cleared by a medical doctor.

The other fighters to receive potential max terms were women’s flyweight contender Veta Arteaga, who sustained a gruesome cut to the point her skull was exposed against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. But her potential six-month sit was actually for a knee injury. Like MacDonald, she only got 60 days for her cut.

Light heavyweight Liam McGeary received a potential max suspension for his fractured jaw suffered against Phil Davis. Finally, Adam Piccolotti could be out six months for nasal and left orbital fractures, and Jordan Williams could see the same sit for a fractured nose.

You can check out the full Bellator 220 medical suspensions below.

Full Bellator 220 Medical Suspensions:

-Rory MacDonald: Must be cleared by physician for potential right later epicondyle injury or suspended 180 days; must be cleared by physician due to facial cut on right side or suspended 60 days
-Veta Arteaga: Must be cleared by physician for potential left knee injury or suspended 180 days; suspended 60 days no contact due to laceration on forehead
-Adam Piccolotti: Must be cleared by physician for potential nasal and left orbital fractures or suspended 180 days; suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact
-Liam McGeary: Must be cleared by physician for fractured jaw or suspended 180 days; suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to TKO
-Jordan Williams: Must be cleared by physician and x-ray for potential fractured nose or suspended 180 days
-Jon Fitch: Must be cleared by physician for scalp laceration or suspended 60 days
-Bruno Casillas: Suspended 60 days due to lacerations on lower lip; suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to KO
-Diego Herzog: Suspended 60 days due to lacerations over left eyelid and nose
-Nathan Stolen: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to TKO
-Travis Crain: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to TKO
-Justin Tenedora: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to KO
-Peter Ishiguro: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to KO
-Justin Roswell: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to TKO
-Tom Ponce de Leon: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to hard bout
-Jamario Mulder: Suspended 45 days no contest, 30 days no contact due to hard bout
-Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Benson Henderson: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Phil Davis: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Gaston Bolanos: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Aviv Gozali: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Brandon Faumui: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Chris Avila: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Matt Perez: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Cass Bell: 7-day suspension for mandatory res
-Chuck Campbell: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Hyder Amil: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Paradise Vaovasa: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Josh San Diego: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Brandon Laroco: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Abraham Vaesau: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Chris Inocencio: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Boris Novachkov: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Ignacio Ortiz: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Roger Severson: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Jon Adams: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest
-Erick Gunha: 7-day suspension for mandatory rest

The post Bellator 220 Medical Suspensions: Rory MacDonald Receives Potential Max Term appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The long, winding case between UFC middleweight Paulo Costa and USADA finally has some clarity.

USADA announced on their official website today that Costa had received and accepted a six-month suspension for using an IV prior to his UFC 212 win over Oluwale Bamgbose. He also apparently used one before his UFC 217 win over Johny Hendricks in November 2017:

“USADA announced today that UFC Athlete Paulo Costa and one of his Athlete Support Personnel, Carlos Costa, of Contagem, Brazil, have each accepted a six-month sanction for violations of the UFC^® Anti-Doping Policy for use and administration, respectively, of a prohibited method.

“Based on video and other corroborating evidence, USADA determined that on June 2, 2017, Paulo Costa, 27, received an intravenous infusion (IV) of permitted substances, including saline solution and a stomach medication, of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period after weigh-in for UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, without a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). On November 3, 2017, Paulo Costa again received an IV infusion of permitted substances of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period after weigh-in for UFC 217 in New York City, New York, without a TUE.

“Both infusions were administered by Carlos Costa.”

Retroactive Ban For Paulo Costa

USADA explained why IVs are currently banned under their anti-doping program with the UFC. They also noted that Costa’s six-month suspension was retroactive to August 2018 and had been shortened because he provided them assistance:

“IV infusions or injections are included on the WADA Prohibited List because they can be used to enhance performance by increasing plasma volume levels; to mask the use of a prohibited substance; and to distort the values of an Athlete Biological Passport. USADA has additional information regarding IV infusions available here. The evidence in this case corroborated Paulo Costa’s explanation that the purpose of his over-the-limit infusions was to recover from the effects of weight cutting prior to UFC 212 and UFC 217, not to mask the use of a prohibited substance.

“Paulo Costa’s and Carlos Costa’s six-month periods of ineligibility began on August 10, 2018, the date Paulo Costa acknowledged receipt of these intravenous infusions. Both sanctions were reduced based on substantial assistance the Costas provided to USADA.”

Costa was recently offered a fight with Yoel Romero at this weekend’s UFC Ft. Lauderdale. This issue prevented him from fighting at the card, however. Jacare Souza replaced him before Romero pulled out with his own illness. Souza will now face Jack Hermansson in the main event.

As for Costa, he is currently eligible to compete after his retroactive suspension expired in February.

The post Paulo Costa Finally Receives USADA Suspension appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Speculation about former UFC champion Conor McGregor’s return continues to be one of the most discussed topics in all of mixed martial arts (MMA).

‘The Notorious’ has been out of action since his fourth-round submission loss to rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at October’s UFC 229. Of course, he was then suspended for the post-fight brawl that followed that loss. Now free and clear of that ban, McGregor has now been embroiled in several other outside-the-cage controversies.

Those issues don’t seem to be getting ‘The Notorious’ down, however. In the time since his loss to Khabib, his Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey brand has soared to incredible success. It’s even boosted Irish Whiskey sales to record numbers in the United States. But the more hardcore fight fans aren’t necessarily concerned about all of that.

They are much more interested in when McGregor will return to the cage – or if he ever will. Much of the uncertainty may stem from McGregor’s latest social media ‘retirement’ earlier this month, which he seemed to walk back. It seems like he’ll fight again, but whether or not fight fans see the motivated version of McGregor is very much in question.

His Coach’s Take

A man with at least some knowledge of the situation recently spoke up about McGregor. His longtime head coach John Kavanagh appeared on Ireland’s ‘The Late Late Show’ (via Express) to discuss McGregor’s retirement and pending return. Kavanagh was uncertain when or if he would come back.

He did admit that McGregor winning two UFC titles was a ‘coach’s nightmare’ because he had accomplished all his goals. It was difficult for McGregor to keep training for a pro fight after that, he claimed:

“You know as much as I do. It’s funny, when he won the second world title, as a coach it’s almost like a nightmare because he achieved everything he set out to do; he won the world titles, he broke every meaningful record in the UFC, he made enough money to retire a few times over.

“Training MMA for fitness or recreation is fun, but training for professional fighting is very tough, it’s very tough on the body. You’re losing all the desire to do those things because it’s either about winning titles or making money, he done those, so what was going to keep motivating him, to keep putting him through that grind?”

Every Record?

Fair enough, but to claim McGregor had every meaningful UFC record is a stretch. He never even defended a single title. McGregor was also stripped of both the featherweight and lightweight belts for failing to defend them. So perhaps decorated former champions like Demetrious Johnson and Anderson Silva would have something to say about that claim. McGregor does no doubt have some solid records on his resumé, but far from every important one.

Kavanagh moved on to detail how often he had spoken to or seen McGregor recently. He claimed he hadn’t seen his star pupil for months, further fueling rumors of discord between the two:

“There had been a couple of texts exchanged back and forth and I’m hoping to sit down next week and see what the plan is.

“[It had been] months [since I saw him]. “He had been in Miami taking a break but also training. Physically, I hadn’t seen him in quite a while.”

Rekindled Passion For Fighting

Finally, Kavanagh had an update of what he thought McGregor’s fighting status was. He believes the Irish superstar has seen a resurgence in his passion for fighting. Because of that, he will potentially return to MMA once the right match-up presents itself:

“I think there has been a resurgence in his passion and his love and I think if the right contest comes along, something that’s very interesting to him, a good challenge, something that will get the crowd going. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t fight again…as soon as…it could even be the summer.”

The post Coach Kavanagh Admits Conor McGregor Lost Motivation After Winning UFC Titles appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has always been about proving himself in the cage.

He’s shown just that during his workmanlike path to both the WEC and UFC lightweight titles. Throughout those elite runs, Henderson fought a whos-who of elite-level competition. His list of decorated opponents includes Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis, Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Donald Cerrone.

‘Smooth’ exited the UFC following a split decision win over the surging Masvidal in 2015. The win has aged like an expensive fine wine in hindsight. Afterward, he signed with Bellator MMA for a multitude of reasons.

Yet while his UFC prime was borderline dominant, his start in Bellator wasn’t as smooth. Henderson lost three of his first four fights at his new home, all by decision.

Bouncing Back

Henderson rebounded with two wins over Roger Huerta and Saad Awad in 2018. He’s now set to take on Adam Piccolotti at Saturday’s Bellator 220 from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. But like every Henderson fight, you won’t be hearing a bunch of trash talk coming out of his mouth.

Contrary to the smack talk-focused climate in the UFC, he told MMA Fighting he’s glad he doesn’t have to deal with that aspect of fighting anymore:

“I thank the Lord I don’t have to deal with that part of the job. And I never really dealt with it in the first place, I wasn’t one of those guys that was like, ‘Aw, I gotta deal with this.’ But whatever, it’s like water off a duck’s back. It’s no big deal.

“But man, when you’re on a six-fight, seven-fight win streak and you can’t get a title shot call, or it just doesn’t go your way. There’s a bunch of stuff, but it’s just like the politics of it, you’re not known for what you do inside the cage. You’re more known for what you do outside the cage. That very much irks me, because I’m pretty boring outside the cage.”

‘Smooth’ Won’t Sell Out

One could argue being ‘exciting’ outside of the cage with an engaging social media presence is necessary for top fighters to break through in terms of scope of attention. It’s not for everyone, however, and many fighters prefer to let their fists and feet do the talking. Henderson is obviously among those, and he won’t compromise his values for popularity:

“I’m a blue collar, I go to work, I bust my ass in the gym, but I’m not somebody who’s going to say something outlandish just for the sake of getting a few more Twitter followers or I’m not gonna pose naked for more Instagram followers. I’m not one of those guys that says something stupid just for the sake of getting more attention.”

Becoming Someone You’re Not

Henderson expounded on the expectations heaped upon today’s UFC fighters. He hinted that perhaps one certain (who remained unnamed) fighter changed the game with his over-the-top appearances in press conferences. It’s led to young, up-and-coming fighters feeling they have to go an inauthentic route.

To ‘Smooth,’ that’s unfortunately the road UFC fighters must travel to be successful these days:

“I think in the UFC that’s exactly the route you have to go. You have to say something incredibly stupid, you have to wear sunglasses inside to get the attention,” Henderson said.

“You have to start wearing fur coats. I see these younger guys, when they get into the UFC, they’re pretty normal, straight-laced, good guys, just hard workers, that’s how they got to the UFC. And then they go on a two-fight, three-fight win streak and all of a sudden they’re wearing fur coats to media interviews and wearing sunglasses inside. It’s like, who is this guy? Where’d you come from?

“Yeah, we’re all growing, we’re all changing, you’re not going to be the same person at 29 that you were at 24, but that being said, you’re going to become somebody who wears a fur coat in the middle of July, like, come on, be serious there, kid. It is what it is, so I am very happy, very thankful that I don’t have to deal with that for sure.”

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