(via reddit/MMA)
On Saturday night, protesters in Mexico City set fire to the front doors of the National Palace and attempted to break inside, in response to the abduction and mass murder of 43 students by drug cartel gangsters in September. Protests have been escalating since late last week, as outraged citizens and families of the victims blame local government officials and crooked police for the horrific incident.
The National Palace is about 7.5 miles away from the Arena Ciudad de México, which will host UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt this weekend, a card that has already been torn apart by injuries. Things were bad enough when the card lost Cain Velasquez as a headliner — now the UFC will have to pull off a show during a period of civil unrest, where people are literally trying to burn a palace down. International attention is on Mexico City right now for the worst possible reasons. Can an American cage-fighting promotion bring some healing to this terrible moment?
Short answer: No, of course not. At this point, UFC 180 has to be one of the top 5 most cursed events ever, and I honestly feel bad for the UFC, which really doesn’t happen often. Stay safe, everybody.
(via reddit/MMA)
On Saturday night, protesters in Mexico City set fire to the front doors of the National Palace and attempted to break inside, in response to the abduction and mass murder of 43 students by drug cartel gangsters in September. Protests have been escalating since late last week, as outraged citizens and families of the victims blame local government officials and crooked police for the horrific incident.
The National Palace is about 7.5 miles away from the Arena Ciudad de México, which will host UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt this weekend, a card that has already been torn apart by injuries. Things were bad enough when the card lost Cain Velasquez as a headliner — now the UFC will have to pull off a show during a period of civil unrest, where people are literally trying to burn a palace down. International attention is on Mexico City right now for the worst possible reasons. Can an American cage-fighting promotion bring some healing to this terrible moment?
Short answer: No, of course not. At this point, UFC 180 has to be one of the top 5 most cursed events ever, and I honestly feel bad for the UFC, which really doesn’t happen often. Stay safe, everybody.
(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)
During a press conference today in Mexico City, UFC president Dana White announced that Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum will appear as rival coaches on the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America (aka EL TUF), which will air this fall in Mexico and the United States. Velasquez and Dos Santos will then meet at the show’s Finale, “the week of November 15th,” according to White.
Though no other fights on the card have been booked, White vowed to bring a stacked lineup to Mexico City. “You know I want to come to Mexico with a bang,” he said. “We’re gonna bring some good fights here, I promise you.”
When a media member asked White if the UFC would postpone the event or set up a new headliner if Velasquez got injured before the fight, White tried to ward off the bad juju: “Bite your tongue. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
Lots more details to come. Stay tuned.
Update, via MMAFighting: Velasquez vs. Werdum and the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America will take place at UFC 180, November 15th at Mexico City’s Arena Ciudad. TUF: Latin America will feature bantamweights and featherweights, and will air on Televisa in Mexico beginning the week of August 18th. The show begins filming on May 12th in Las Vegas.
(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)
During a press conference today in Mexico City, UFC president Dana White announced that Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum will appear as rival coaches on the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America (aka EL TUF), which will air this fall in Mexico and the United States. Velasquez and Dos Santos will then meet at the show’s Finale, “the week of November 15th,” according to White.
Though no other fights on the card have been booked, White vowed to bring a stacked lineup to Mexico City. “You know I want to come to Mexico with a bang,” he said. “We’re gonna bring some good fights here, I promise you.”
When a media member asked White if the UFC would postpone the event or set up a new headliner if Velasquez got injured before the fight, White tried to ward off the bad juju: “Bite your tongue. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
Lots more details to come. Stay tuned.
Update, via MMAFighting: Velasquez vs. Werdum and the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America will take place at UFC 180, November 15th at Mexico City’s Arena Ciudad. TUF: Latin America will feature bantamweights and featherweights, and will air on Televisa in Mexico beginning the week of August 18th. The show begins filming on May 12th in Las Vegas.