Cole Miller Out of UFC Fight Night Dublin With Thumb Injury; Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao Booked as New Main Event


(No, Conor. It was certainly *not* as good for us as it was for you. / Photo via @TheNotoriousMMA)

After tearing ligaments in his thumb, UFC featherweight Cole Miller has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled main event meeting with Conor McGregor at UFC Fight Night 46 (July 19th; Dublin). UFC officials announced yesterday that TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao will be subbing in for Miller against the Irish rising star.

Brandao hasn’t competed since UFC 168 in December, where he missed weight by 6.5 pounds, threatened to stab Dustin Poirier in the neck, then got knocked out in the first round. (Not your best work, dude.) He’s had some bad luck getting a fight since then. First, he was supposed to fight Will Chope in March at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2, but Chope was removed from the card at the last minute after some brutal domestic violence charges from his past were uncovered. Then, Brandao was slated to fight Brian Ortega at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale last weekend, but pulled out two weeks before the event due to an undisclosed injury.

Now, Brandao is in a main event against The King of Dublin — which kind of seems undeserved, but considering that McGregor and Brandao have had their eyes on each other since last year, it could still be an entertaining scrap. The current fight-lineup for UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs. Brandao is…


(No, Conor. It was certainly *not* as good for us as it was for you. / Photo via @TheNotoriousMMA)

After tearing ligaments in his thumb, UFC featherweight Cole Miller has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled main event meeting with Conor McGregor at UFC Fight Night 46 (July 19th; Dublin). UFC officials announced yesterday that TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao will be subbing in for Miller against the Irish rising star.

Brandao hasn’t competed since UFC 168 in December, where he missed weight by 6.5 pounds, threatened to stab Dustin Poirier in the neck, then got knocked out in the first round. (Not your best work, dude.) He’s had some bad luck getting a fight since then. First, he was supposed to fight Will Chope in March at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2, but Chope was removed from the card at the last minute after some brutal domestic violence charges from his past were uncovered. Then, Brandao was slated to fight Brian Ortega at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale last weekend, but pulled out two weeks before the event due to an undisclosed injury.

Now, Brandao is in a main event against The King of Dublin — which kind of seems undeserved, but considering that McGregor and Brandao have had their eyes on each other since last year, it could still be an entertaining scrap. The current fight-lineup for UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs. Brandao is…

Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao
Gunnar Nelson vs. Zak Cummings
Ian McCall vs. Brad Pickett
Ilir Latifi vs. Tom Lawlor
Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
Trevor Smith vs. Tor Troeng
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Norman Parke

UFC Ireland: Can It Happen Without Conor McGregor?

It feels like forever ago since the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to Ireland, but in all fairness, a lot of things have transpired since UFC 93, the promotion’s most recent event in the republic. The UFC expanded, traveled to a plethora of countries, witnessed the departure of some top draws and recognized the […]

It feels like forever ago since the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to Ireland, but in all fairness, a lot of things have transpired since UFC 93, the promotion’s most recent event in the republic. The UFC expanded, traveled to a plethora of countries, witnessed the departure of some top draws and recognized the […]

The UFC’s International Plans for 2014 Include Events In Ireland, Scotland…Turkey?


(Literally every street corner in Istanbul, sans heroin.) 

Want to know how I know that none of the other MMA sites who reported on this morning’s UFC/EA Gamescom presentation actually watched a second of it? Because not one of them noted that the presentation began with Bruce Buffer introducing Head of EA Sports, Andrew Wilson, and Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC Europe, Garry Cook, via A GOLDEN MICROPHONE, the glossy reflection of which would have burned a hole in Thor’s retina had the albino shut-ins who go to these things allowed even a crack of sunlight into the building. And behind Buffer on the jumbotron during his epic introduction? You best believe it was a giant photo of himself in action — his eyes more piercing as the night, his suit classier than your Grandfather’s high school portrait. A visual echo, if you will.

Anyway, it was at this presentation that Cook announced the UFC’s international plans for 2014. Although he got off to a rough start when he said that mixed martial arts integrates such “popular Olympic sports as wrestling,” Cook quickly recovered by reciting some diversity stats like he was MMA Supercomputer Bjorn Rebney before laying out the UFC’s goals for 2014:

We have athletes representing 37 countries. We broadcast our events in 28 languages. And we’ve established major broadcasting partnerships in 145 countries around the world.

And in 2014, you’ll see more live events. England, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, and most importantly, we will be back in Germany in 2014. 

Cook conveniently neglected to mention Scotland, which also was highlighted on the jumbotron, as among the UFC’s scheduled trips in the coming year. Man, those British sure can carry a grudge.


(Literally every street corner in Istanbul, sans heroin.) 

Want to know how I know that none of the other MMA sites who reported on this morning’s UFC/EA Gamescom presentation actually watched a second of it? Because not one of them noted that the presentation began with Bruce Buffer introducing Head of EA Sports, Andrew Wilson, and Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC Europe, Garry Cook, via A GOLDEN MICROPHONE, the glossy reflection of which would have burned a hole in Thor’s retina had the albino shut-ins who go to these things allowed even a crack of sunlight into the building. And behind Buffer on the jumbotron during his epic introduction? You best believe it was a giant photo of himself in action — his eyes more piercing as the night, his suit classier than your Grandfather’s high school portrait. A visual echo, if you will.

Anyway, it was at this presentation that Cook announced the UFC’s international plans for 2014. Although he got off to a rough start when he said that mixed martial arts integrates such “popular Olympic sports as wrestling,” Cook quickly recovered by reciting some diversity stats like he was MMA Supercomputer Bjorn Rebney before laying out the UFC’s goals for 2014:

We have athletes representing 37 countries. We broadcast our events in 28 languages. And we’ve established major broadcasting partnerships in 145 countries around the world.

And in 2014, you’ll see more live events. England, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, and most importantly, we will be back in Germany in 2014. 

Cook conveniently neglected to mention Scotland, which also was highlighted on the jumbotron, as among the UFC’s scheduled trips in the coming year. Man, those British sure can carry a grudge.

Unfortunately, this recent announcement all but closes the door on the possibility of a Paraguay vs. Uruguay: One Guay Out season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2014. We really tried, you guys, but sometimes a petition with 7 signatures just isn’t enough. Perhaps even more befuddling than Eitherguay’s exclusion from the list of future UFC visits was the inclusion of Turkey. Then again, perhaps the move is simply part of the UFC’s plan to treat ONE FC like a child who has never played Risk before. Yes, perhaps.

One thing’s for sure: If the UFC plans on holding an event in Poland, they might want to look into the judging situation over there. I personally cannot have another one of my bets coming down to which judge is on Team Coco and which is not. My bookie has already warned me about this like three times.

J. Jones