When Michael Bisping received the call from UFC management offering him the title fight against Luke Rockhold in the UFC 199 main event on short-notice, “The Count” was the guy to count-on for the company, however he wasn’t their first choice.
As noted, UFC initially contacted Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who was coming off a dominant performance in stopping MMA legend Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil earlier this month. Jacare, however, turned down the bout.
When Bisping found out about the fact that Souza had declined the title fight with Rockhold, which would have also been a rematch for the UFC 185-pound champion, he took the Brazilian contender to task, openly criticizing him for turning down such a big opportunity.
Upon hearing about Bisping’s comments, Souza spoke with MMAFighting.com, where he offered his retort.
“Honestly, I didn’t know I’d get hurt so bad,” Souza told MMA Fighting about the reason why he had to turn down the short-notice offer to fight Rockhold in the UFC 199 main event on June 4. “I felt the pain before UFC 198, but was well trained and strong, so I didn’t train for a week. I felt the knee again during the fight. I was devastated because I did the MRI on May 16 and on May 17 I got the news that Weidman was injured. If I knew about it, I wouldn’t even do the MRI [laughs]. I had to open the black box to see what was going on with my knee.”
Souza continued, “It was a clean surgery, and I’m walking normally now. I had to do this surgery. I had a meniscus injury, and it would definitely get worse if I didn’t do this now. I was physically well in the fight, could move normally. Everybody has injuries going into a fight, it’s impossible to be 100 percent, but thank God I had the best strategy and won.”
As he would go on to explain, Jacare is scheduled to start rehab with his doctor and physical therapist and is expected to be cleared to train in approximately 20 days.
“I was going to say yes (and fight at UFC 199), but the MRI was done. I couldn’t just ignore the results,” he said. “Healthy first. I’m a Christian man, so I prayed. Whatever was in the MRI results would determine my future, if I would take the fight or not. The doctor told me ‘you fought Belfort for five minutes and can’t walk now. Imagine yourself fighting Rockhold for 25 minutes. You’ll lose your leg’. I decided not to fight because of my health.”
Jacare was scheduled to be ringside for the originally scheduled Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman title fight at UFC 199, however he still plans to be in attendance when Bisping challenges Rockhold for the title in Inglewood, California.
“I am the next challenger,” said the Brazilian. “Weidman won’t be back in a while, (Yoel) Romero was caught in a doping test, and I’ve earned a shot. I already asked the UFC for my flight ticket.”
In the end, Jacare made it clear that he’s next in line for a shot at the 185-pound title, and despite Bisping’s harsh criticism of his decision to turn down the short-notice opportunity at UFC 199, he wished the Englishman good luck in his upcoming title fight.
“(Bisping) is in the UFC for a long time, but that means nothing,” Souza responded. “I fought the guy that knocked him out, so no way he’s in front of me. The guys I beat are tougher than the ones he defeated. Time means nothing, what really means is what you’ve done to earn it. I earned it. They called me on short notice and I couldn’t take it, but I’m next. No need to say anything else. My loss to Romero was a robbery and then he got caught. Weidman won’t return until November. And I beat Vitor up, so I’m next.”
“But I wish him good luck, a good fight,” he continued. “He can say whatever he wants, and I’ll say what I want. I hope he does a good fight. He’s in the UFC for 10 years and does a good job, so I hope he fights well.”
UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping II is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 4, 2016 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Make sure to visit MMANews.com on 6/4 for the best UFC 199 live results coverage on the web!
When Michael Bisping received the call from UFC management offering him the title fight against Luke Rockhold in the UFC 199 main event on short-notice, “The Count” was the guy to count-on for the company, however he wasn’t their first choice.
As noted, UFC initially contacted Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who was coming off a dominant performance in stopping MMA legend Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil earlier this month. Jacare, however, turned down the bout.
When Bisping found out about the fact that Souza had declined the title fight with Rockhold, which would have also been a rematch for the UFC 185-pound champion, he took the Brazilian contender to task, openly criticizing him for turning down such a big opportunity.
Upon hearing about Bisping’s comments, Souza spoke with MMAFighting.com, where he offered his retort.
“Honestly, I didn’t know I’d get hurt so bad,” Souza told MMA Fighting about the reason why he had to turn down the short-notice offer to fight Rockhold in the UFC 199 main event on June 4. “I felt the pain before UFC 198, but was well trained and strong, so I didn’t train for a week. I felt the knee again during the fight. I was devastated because I did the MRI on May 16 and on May 17 I got the news that Weidman was injured. If I knew about it, I wouldn’t even do the MRI [laughs]. I had to open the black box to see what was going on with my knee.”
Souza continued, “It was a clean surgery, and I’m walking normally now. I had to do this surgery. I had a meniscus injury, and it would definitely get worse if I didn’t do this now. I was physically well in the fight, could move normally. Everybody has injuries going into a fight, it’s impossible to be 100 percent, but thank God I had the best strategy and won.”
As he would go on to explain, Jacare is scheduled to start rehab with his doctor and physical therapist and is expected to be cleared to train in approximately 20 days.
“I was going to say yes (and fight at UFC 199), but the MRI was done. I couldn’t just ignore the results,” he said. “Healthy first. I’m a Christian man, so I prayed. Whatever was in the MRI results would determine my future, if I would take the fight or not. The doctor told me ‘you fought Belfort for five minutes and can’t walk now. Imagine yourself fighting Rockhold for 25 minutes. You’ll lose your leg’. I decided not to fight because of my health.”
Jacare was scheduled to be ringside for the originally scheduled Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman title fight at UFC 199, however he still plans to be in attendance when Bisping challenges Rockhold for the title in Inglewood, California.
“I am the next challenger,” said the Brazilian. “Weidman won’t be back in a while, (Yoel) Romero was caught in a doping test, and I’ve earned a shot. I already asked the UFC for my flight ticket.”
In the end, Jacare made it clear that he’s next in line for a shot at the 185-pound title, and despite Bisping’s harsh criticism of his decision to turn down the short-notice opportunity at UFC 199, he wished the Englishman good luck in his upcoming title fight.
“(Bisping) is in the UFC for a long time, but that means nothing,” Souza responded. “I fought the guy that knocked him out, so no way he’s in front of me. The guys I beat are tougher than the ones he defeated. Time means nothing, what really means is what you’ve done to earn it. I earned it. They called me on short notice and I couldn’t take it, but I’m next. No need to say anything else. My loss to Romero was a robbery and then he got caught. Weidman won’t return until November. And I beat Vitor up, so I’m next.”
“But I wish him good luck, a good fight,” he continued. “He can say whatever he wants, and I’ll say what I want. I hope he does a good fight. He’s in the UFC for 10 years and does a good job, so I hope he fights well.”
UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping II is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 4, 2016 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Make sure to visit MMANews.com on 6/4 for the best UFC 199 live results coverage on the web!
After over a decade of competing inside of the UFC Octagon, veteran mainstay Michael “The Count” Bisping will finally receive his shot at middleweight supremacy when he rematches reigning champion Luke Rockhold at June 4’s UFC 199. Rockhold was scheduled to meet ex-champion Chris Weidman, but Weidman was forced to withdraw with an injury, leading
After over a decade of competing inside of the UFC Octagon, veteran mainstay Michael “The Count” Bisping will finally receive his shot at middleweight supremacy when he rematches reigning champion Luke Rockhold at June 4’s UFC 199.
Rockhold was scheduled to meet ex-champion Chris Weidman, but Weidman was forced to withdraw with an injury, leading the UFC to call on Bisping.
When the two men first met in 2014, Bisping suffered a disappointing loss to Rockhold, but he’s now extremely confident about his chances in the rematch despite the fact that he’ll be fighting on just a few week’s notice.
“The Count” admits that he made mistakes in the first bout, but claims that when he and Rockhold trained together a few years back that he got the best of the champion:
“Look, I know I’m the underdog, Luke is a great fighter, he finishes guys and he’s finished me before. But, nothing about Luke scares me, it really doesn’t. I know this guy, it’s not like I’m going into unknown waters. I know exactly what to expect. Apart from that one head kick that dropped me, none of his shots hurt me at all. I believe I’m faster than him and I have the ability to beat this guy, believe you me. We trained before and I made mince meat out of him. When we fought, God bless him, he got the job done. But, every fight is different and I will approach this fight very differently. I made some mistakes in that last fight — I closed the distance then I went out of range. I was going in and out the whole time. This time, I am not going to play the long game, I can’t afford to do that. “ Bisping said on today’s (May 23, 2016) edition of The MMA Hour.
Bisping is well aware that he’ll likely be giving up the conditioning advantage, but in the end, he whole-heartedly feels as if he can finish Rockhold:
“He’s going to have the better conditioning, let’s be honest. If it goes five rounds, I have to go slower, but I am going to look to take him out early by closing the distance, push him up against the fence and unleash what I got and I believe I can take him out.”
“The Count” has always been a polarizing trash talker, but his apparent beef with Rockhold appears to be more than just hype and promotion. In fact, Bisping admitted that this fight is ‘personal’, and he also had a few choice words for the 185-pound kingpin:
“He’s a smug asshole, let’s be honest. Listen, as I said, I want the shot, want to be the champion, but I have this this inner fight in me, I pride myself in being a fighter, even in school. If there was a kid who was a couple of years older who thought he could beat me in a fight, I was like, ‘Cool, let’s go to the Castle Field and let’s figure it out. I’ve always been like that, it’s to my detriment, of course. Rockhold owns a victory over me, I want to rectify that. I want to set the record straight. Yes, I want to be the victor, world champion, but I also want to beat Luke Rockhold, it is personal to me. And when I look at him, I just want to knock that smug look off his face. I really do because you’ve never seen someone who walks around so smug. He’s just the biggest, smug prick you’ve seen in your life and I would love another opportunity to punch him in the face and be world champion at the same time.”
The Brit seems to be riding a wave of confidence, but does he have what it takes to steal the title away from Rockhold?
Michael Bisping is not oblivious to the fact that he is an enormous underdog heading into his short-notice rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 next month, in fact, he’s well-aware of that fact heading into their second fight…
Michael Bisping is not oblivious to the fact that he is an enormous underdog heading into his short-notice rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 next month, in fact, he’s well-aware of that fact heading into their second fight.
“Look, I know I’m the underdog, Luke is a great fighter, he finishes guys and he’s finished me before,” Bisping said on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com. “But, nothing about Luke scares me, it really doesn’t. I know this guy, it’s not like I’m going into unknown waters. I know exactly what to expect. Apart from that one head kick that dropped me, none of his shots hurt me at all. I believe I’m faster than him and I have the ability to beat this guy, believe you me. We trained before and I made mince meat out of him. When we fought, God bless him, he got the job done. But, every fight is different and I will approach this fight very differently. I made some mistakes in that last fight — I closed the distance then I went out of range. I was going in and out the whole time. This time, I am not going to play the long game, I can’t afford to do that. He’s going to have the better conditioning, let’s be honest. If it goes five rounds, I have to go slower, but I am going to look to take him out early by closing the distance, push him up against the fence and unleash what I got and I believe I can take him out.”
Heading into their second Octagon meeting, “The Count,” who was told it was his “destiny” to be Rockhold’s “bitch” during a recent interview with the champ, has no love-lost for the reigning 185-pound king. As he points out, he’s very much looking forward to punching Rockhold, who he referred to as a “smug assh*le.”
“He’s a smug assh*le, let’s be honest,” said Bisping. “Listen, as I said, I want the shot, want to be the champion, but I have this this inner fight in me, I pride myself in being a fighter, even in school. If there was a kid who was a couple of years older who thought he could beat me in a fight, I was like, ‘Cool, let’s go to the Castle Field and let’s figure it out. I’ve always been like that, it’s to my detriment, of course. Rockhold owns a victory over me, I want to rectify that. I want to set the record straight. Yes, I want to be the victor, world champion, but I also want to beat Luke Rockhold, it is personal to me. And when I look at him, I just want to knock that smug look off his face. I really do because you’ve never seen someone who walks around so smug. He’s just the biggest, smug prick you’ve seen in your life and I would love another opportunity to punch him in the face and be world champion at the same time.”
UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping II is scheduled for Saturday, June 4, 2016 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Featuring a co-main event of Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber for the UFC Bantamweight Championship, UFC 199 will air live on pay-per-view.
Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on 6/4 for the best UFC 199 live results coverage on the web!
Michael Bisping is not oblivious to the fact that he is an enormous underdog heading into his short-notice rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 next month, in fact, he’s well-aware of that fact heading into their second fight…
Michael Bisping is not oblivious to the fact that he is an enormous underdog heading into his short-notice rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 next month, in fact, he’s well-aware of that fact heading into their second fight.
“Look, I know I’m the underdog, Luke is a great fighter, he finishes guys and he’s finished me before,” Bisping said on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com. “But, nothing about Luke scares me, it really doesn’t. I know this guy, it’s not like I’m going into unknown waters. I know exactly what to expect. Apart from that one head kick that dropped me, none of his shots hurt me at all. I believe I’m faster than him and I have the ability to beat this guy, believe you me. We trained before and I made mince meat out of him. When we fought, God bless him, he got the job done. But, every fight is different and I will approach this fight very differently. I made some mistakes in that last fight — I closed the distance then I went out of range. I was going in and out the whole time. This time, I am not going to play the long game, I can’t afford to do that. He’s going to have the better conditioning, let’s be honest. If it goes five rounds, I have to go slower, but I am going to look to take him out early by closing the distance, push him up against the fence and unleash what I got and I believe I can take him out.”
Heading into their second Octagon meeting, “The Count,” who was told it was his “destiny” to be Rockhold’s “bitch” during a recent interview with the champ, has no love-lost for the reigning 185-pound king. As he points out, he’s very much looking forward to punching Rockhold, who he referred to as a “smug assh*le.”
“He’s a smug assh*le, let’s be honest,” said Bisping. “Listen, as I said, I want the shot, want to be the champion, but I have this this inner fight in me, I pride myself in being a fighter, even in school. If there was a kid who was a couple of years older who thought he could beat me in a fight, I was like, ‘Cool, let’s go to the Castle Field and let’s figure it out. I’ve always been like that, it’s to my detriment, of course. Rockhold owns a victory over me, I want to rectify that. I want to set the record straight. Yes, I want to be the victor, world champion, but I also want to beat Luke Rockhold, it is personal to me. And when I look at him, I just want to knock that smug look off his face. I really do because you’ve never seen someone who walks around so smug. He’s just the biggest, smug prick you’ve seen in your life and I would love another opportunity to punch him in the face and be world champion at the same time.”
UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping II is scheduled for Saturday, June 4, 2016 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Featuring a co-main event of Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber for the UFC Bantamweight Championship, UFC 199 will air live on pay-per-view.
Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on 6/4 for the best UFC 199 live results coverage on the web!
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier has been enjoying a huge career resurgence with three straight wins since returning to his original home of 155 pounds following his first-round TKO loss to featherweight champion Conor McGregor at 2014’s UFC 178. Poirier has beaten Carlos Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros, and finally, rising prospect Joseph Duffy in rapid succession, and
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier has been enjoying a huge career resurgence with three straight wins since returning to his original home of 155 pounds following his first-round TKO loss to featherweight champion Conor McGregor at 2014’s UFC 178.
Poirier has beaten Carlos Diego Ferreira, Yancy Medeiros, and finally, rising prospect Joseph Duffy in rapid succession, and now he’s eying a rise up the rankings with his next fight.
In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Poirier spoke up about his upcoming bout with the No. 13-ranked Bobby Green at UFC 199 on June 4 from Inglewood, California, saying that he doesn’t expect much from Green after his near two-year layoff:
“I’m expecting the same stuff he always does,” Poirier said. “Dance around, talk (expletive), throw big punches, big kicks. He doesn’t really set anything up that well. Seems like he has good instincts, he’s a good athlete and he has a lot of experience.”
Poirier, who is coming off of a nose procedure after his UFC 195 bout with Joseph Duffy, talked about coming back from injury and how he has evolved as a fighter:
“After the last fight I had the procedure on my nose and once I was cleared to get back in the gym I was right back in the gym and I’ve been grinding, learning, training,” Poirier said. “(Just) keeping it fresh, man. Working on different things, always trying to evolve and get better.”
‘The Diamond’ then went on to make an official prediction on how he believes the bout will conclude:
“He’s been out a while so I’m sure he’s hungry to get in front of those cameras and put on a show.
“We’ll see who’s tougher, who’s better that night. I think I’m going to pick him apart and put him away. I’m going to knock Bobby Green out.”
Poirier is currently undefeated in his lightweight tenure since making the jump up from 145-pounds, after suffering a first round KO loss to current featherweight champ Conor McGregor, and is currently the No. 11-Ranked lightweight in the UFC and is hopping to crack the top-ten in the 155-pound standings with a potential win over Green.
Poirier and Green are set to open the UFC 199 pay-per-view (PPV) card co-headlined by a bantamweight title bout between bitter rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber while Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping will battle in a 185-pound title bout as the main event.
August 1st is right around the corner, and if you are a Stockton native, a hardcore MMA fan, or just flat-out a fan of the Diaz Brothers, then you know what that means. Nick Diaz’s 18-month suspension for a failed drug test at UFC 183 will be up on that day, and it’s time for
August 1st is right around the corner, and if you are a Stockton native, a hardcore MMA fan, or just flat-out a fan of the Diaz Brothers, then you know what that means.
Nick Diaz’s 18-month suspension for a failed drug test at UFC 183 will be up on that day, and it’s time for the MMA star to step back inside the cage and deliver some more ‘Stockton Slaps’.
Initially, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) suspended Diaz for five years and levied a hefty $165,000 fine for good measure. However, after appealing the suspension as well as a flurry of support from fellow fighters, media, and fans, the suspension was reduced to a mere 18 months with a smaller fine of $100,000.
With that said, let’s look at some of the top candidates to welcome Diaz back to the Octagon upon his return.
Poirier is currently undefeated in his lightweight tenure since making the jump up from 145-pounds, after suffering a first round KO loss to current featherweight champ Conor McGregor, and is currently the No. 11-Ranked lightweight in the UFC and is hopping to crack the top-ten in the 155-pound standings with a potential win over Green.