Nick Diaz Hints at UFC Return Following Clearance From USADA

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion and fan favorite, Nick Diaz, could be set to return to the UFC soon. The Stockton local posted a hinting message on Instagram. Diaz is currently serving a suspension that concludes on the 19th of April. Diaz las…

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion and fan favorite, Nick Diaz, could be set to return to the UFC soon. The Stockton local posted a hinting message on Instagram. Diaz is currently serving a suspension that concludes on the 19th of April. Diaz last fought in January 2015 against UFC legend, Anderson Silva, falling to a unanimous […]

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UFC Mexico Could Shape Rashad Evans’ Legacy

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad “Suga” Evans could be fighting for much of his career legacy at UFC Fight Night 114 in Mexico City tonight (Sat., Aug. 5, 2017). The 37-year-old will face “Smile’N” Sam Alvey in a must-win situation for “Suga” since dropping down to middleweight (185 pounds), and is currently on a […]

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Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad “Suga” Evans could be fighting for much of his career legacy at UFC Fight Night 114 in Mexico City tonight (Sat., Aug. 5, 2017).

The 37-year-old will face “Smile’N” Sam Alvey in a must-win situation for “Suga” since dropping down to middleweight (185 pounds), and is currently on a three-fight losing streak. The last time Evans won was back in 2013, when he beat Chael Sonnen at UFC 167.

Evans’ last two fights were hard to watch.

In April 2016, Glover Teixeira sent Evans to another planet with a left hand that forced “Suga” to drop from 205 pounds to 185. After a year of recovery, Evans returned to the Octagon to debut as a middleweight and fought Daniel Kelly at UFC 209 in March of this year.

 

Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports

What should have been a return to form for Evans turned out to be a snoozefest where Evans looked tentative and lazy. He lost via split decision in a less-than-stellar fashion.

Tomorrow, Evans will face heavy-handed Alvey, who is coming off a loss after a four-fight win streak. If his performance does not improve and he loses, the UFC could decide Evans should no longer be fighting the best MMA combatants in the world.

“Suga” has said the 20-pound weight cut did not affect his performance in the Kelly fight; if anything, he feels like he is finally in the proper weight division. Evans’ problems are more mental than anything else, and he recently spoke to MMA Junkie about his state of mind:

“It’s the hardest part because you’re constantly compared to what your results used to be. For the longest time, I went undefeated. And that’s great. But in life and in your career, sometimes you hit those valleys. And it’s about making it past those things.

And when you get stuck in one, or when you’re in one, don’t start second-guessing yourself. It’s a difficult process, and it’s easier said than done. But at the end of the day, as long as you stay with that belief inside, you’ll be OK.”

Rashad Evans
Image Credit: Joe Camporeale of USA TODAY Sports

“There was definitely a part where I had that doubt, and I started to give in to what people were saying. Just the mental weaknesses, just giving into the pressures of whatever was causing me to not go out and compete and be at my best.

The easiest thing in the world is to just give in and to give up. And I really had to have a gut check. Just be honest with myself and just face some of the things that I didn’t want to face. Get my mind turned around in order to put myself in the position where I feel like I can compete.”

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Tyron Woodley Opens Up About Reconciling With Dana White

UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley opened up about resolving his feud with UFC President Dana White, following a series of hostile public statements by both parties after UFC 214 last Saturday (July 29, 2017). Woodley spoke to ESPN this week and said that after a few phone calls, the beef has been […]

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UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley opened up about resolving his feud with UFC President Dana White, following a series of hostile public statements by both parties after UFC 214 last Saturday (July 29, 2017).

Woodley spoke to ESPN this week and said that after a few phone calls, the beef has been squashed.

“I still feel he should apologize publicly, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The conversation ended with respect and that was really my goal. Dana knows all about talking off emotion. I went a little (crazy) and was talking off emotion, too. Did I really plan on leaking stuff? Probably not. But at the time, I was mad and it sounded good.”

White criticized “The Chosen One” for his performance at UFC 214 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Demian Maia, in a co-main event that broke the record for least amount of strikes thrown in a title fight.

Woodley, along with some mixed martial arts (MMA) analysts, defended the champion for his smart approach to the fight.

Since then, it has been revealed that Woodley suffered a torn labrum in the first round which prevented him from throwing his fierce right hand. He has been medically suspended for 180 days for a torn labrum.

Furthermore, the champion also opened up about his fight with Georges St-Pierre, originally offered to the winner of Maia vs. Woodley, but since given to middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping.

“That was never going to happen. My fight played no factor in that.

“I want Georges to know there’s no shame in his game. I’m not saying he’s scared. He’s not coming back for a belt or to be the best. He’s coming back for big-money fights. He sees a sport in which he helped the pay-per-view model grow and he wants to get on it. There’s no shame in that. But don’t say you’re here for any other reason.”

Woodley will have to stay on the bench for some time while his shoulder heals, and in the meantime, St-Pierre and Bisping are expected to face off at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

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Michael Bisping: Maybe Two More Fights & That’s Me Done

On the most recent episode of “The Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast,” UFC Middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping was asked about retirement, to which he replied “Maybe two more fights and that’s me done.” The 38-year-old Englishman won the title over a year ago when he knocked out Luke Rockhold, since then he […]

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On the most recent episode of The Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast,” UFC Middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping was asked about retirement, to which he replied “Maybe two more fights and that’s me done.”

The 38-year-old Englishman won the title over a year ago when he knocked out Luke Rockhold, since then he has only defended the belt once against now-retired Dan Henderson. The inactivity of the champion has brought the middleweight division to a standstill.

Bisping was set to fight newly-crowned interim middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker next, but Whittaker is suffering from a knee injury sustained in his Interim title fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 213 (July 8, 2017), and is not set to be back until sometime in 2018, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre is trying to make his return and fight Bisping for the middleweight title. Originally, the Bisping fight fell through, and UFC President Dana White was going to offer the winner of Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia at welterweight to St. Pierre, but after a lackluster performance from champion Woodley, White reinstated Bisping vs. St-Pierre as the fight to make.

Bisping is still recovering from a knee injury and will be out for a while, while St-Pierre said he will not be able to fight until after October. However, both fighters have expressed interest in the fight.

“The Count” said he is thinking about retirement, and if he only has two fights left before he leaves the sport, his last fights will probably be against St-Pierre, and if he wins, he will have to face “The Reaper.”

Below is Bisping’s full quote from “The Anik and Florian Podcast”:

Retirement scares me. But I can’t wait to f****** retire because believe me, getting punched in the face is getting kind of old, but at the same time, I do enjoy delivering a good punch to the face. So maybe two more fights, and that’s me done.

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Robert Whittaker Could Save Middleweight, But He Has Work To Do

On Saturday, July 8, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker put on a brilliant performance in the main event of UFC 213, winning the interim middleweight title against longtime contender Yoel Romero by unanimous decision. Whittaker and Romero closed out the depleted International Fight Week-ending card with an instant classic, and to hardcore fans, that more than […]

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On Saturday, July 8, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker put on a brilliant performance in the main event of UFC 213, winning the interim middleweight title against longtime contender Yoel Romero by unanimous decision.

Whittaker and Romero closed out the depleted International Fight Week-ending card with an instant classic, and to hardcore fans, that more than made up for the scrapped main event between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko.

With the victory, “The Reaper” won himself a guaranteed shot at middleweight champion Michael Bisping and shook up the division to its core. And let’s be honest, because after all, the UFC 185-pound landscape, although deeply talented with top contenders, has been in shambles ever since “The Count” shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world when he knocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 in June of last year.

The weight class that had been dominated for so long by Anderson “The Spider” Silva had a very clear structure for many years, one that went like this: become a contender, fight Silva, lose, get back in line.

Then one bad decision by Silva to clown the entire fight and one perfectly-timed left hook by Chris Weidman changed everything, and made Weidman the undisputed champion. It looked like Weidman, an All-American wrestler and crisp striker, would stay on top for a while; after all, he beat one of the all-time greats twice.

But his reign ended when he threw an ill-advised wheel kick at Rockhold and got his face smashed in. And we know how Rockhold lost the belt, which brings us back to Bisping.

Bisping is not a popular champion. He has never faced the top three contenders in the division and was the benefactor of good timing in his title shot against Rockhold after Weidman was forced to withdraw from their scheduled rematch with a neck injury.

His on-camera personality is brash and rude, even taunting Rockhold after knocking him out. His antics, like throwing the middleweight belt at Whittaker’s feet on Saturday night, reminds some UFC fans too much of pro-wrestling.

While some fans may argue that his personality comes from the desire to sell more pay-per-views (PPV), the main issue with Bisping so far has been his dodging of top contenders. His only title defense came against an aging Dan Henderson, who was ranked number 14 in the division at that time, in a very close fight at UFC 204 last October that almost saw Bisping knocked out twice.

Since then, the only other fight Bisping was going to take was against Georges St. Pierre, the welterweight legend somehow fighting for the middleweight title and pole-vaulting every contender waiting for their title shot. The fight with St. Pierre fell through, Bisping injured his knee, and the middleweight division was at a standstill.

Then, through the underbrush came “The Reaper.”

For a while, Whittaker had been a sleeper in the middleweight division who showed a lot of promise but wasn’t quite yet championship caliber. He had a fun fight with Derek Brunson last year, but hadn’t really broken through the top five contenders.

However, on April 15, the 26-year-old Australian destroyed Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, a perennial contender and one of the best in the division, with savage striking that left “Jacare” splayed on the canvas by the second round.

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The knockout propelled “Bobby Knuckles” to number three in the division and set up a clash with Romero, one of the scariest fighters on the UFC roster. Fast-forward three months later, and Romero has his first loss in the UFC and Whittaker is the new interim champ.

As of today, he’s guaranteed a crack at ‘The Count’ in order to unify the two middleweight belts. If Whittaker looks any bit as good as he did against Romero, Bisping could be in deep trouble.

If the UFC overlooks Whittaker and schedules Bisping for some other opponent such as St-Pierre, the backlash would be swift and fierce, but that is (hopefully) unlikely. If Whittaker beats Bisping and becomes the champion, the middleweight division could finally be untangled, as “Bobby Knuckles” has shown no hesitation when accepting fights. With no lack of contenders in the division,  middleweight could turn into the division to watch, and Whittaker could be one of the best champions to watch.

The match ups for “The Reaper” are mouth-watering, but it all depends on the UFC, and – here’s the hard part – on Bisping, who may stand in the way of an exciting new prospect in the promotion. But if he owns up to his allegiance to defending the belt, “The Reaper” could come calling for the polarizing champ from across the Pond.

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Yoel Romero Continues Attack on Michael Bisping and UK Flag

The feud between Middleweight contender Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero and champion Michael “The Count” Bisping has spilled out of the Octagon and into social media. The Cuban and British citizens have now involved their national flags as means to insult each other. The first offense came at the hands of Bisping, who tore up […]

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The feud between Middleweight contender Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero and champion Michael “The Count” Bisping has spilled out of the Octagon and into social media. The Cuban and British citizens have now involved their national flags as means to insult each other.

The first offense came at the hands of Bisping, who tore up the Cuban flag and threw it at Romero after the Cuban’s UFC 213 loss against Robert Whittaker. See here via Twitter:

Needless to say, Romero did not take the disrespect lightly, and was swift to make a video burning a picture of Bisping with the UK flag. See here via Instagram:

Although the message of hostility was clear, Bisping laughed off on an Instagram post of his own, where he posted screenshots of the video with nothing but emojis as the caption. (Via Instagram):

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A post shared by Mikebisping (@mikebisping) on

The beef between the UK and Cuba seemed to be over after a lackluster response of three laughing face emojis, but “Sodier of God” was not done with Bisping or the Union Jack. In a profanity-filled, high-production value Instagram video, Romero called out Bisping and challenged him to fight in London or Manchester. See the video here (Via Instagram):

It seems that Romero is campaigning for a fight against Bisping, an unlikely reality since he just lost the Interim belt to Whittaker. For Romero, a lot of things need to happen for him to ever see “The Count” in the Octagon, including Bisping accepting a fight with him, something that has never happened.

The Middleweights has become the division to watch. The feud between Romero and Bisping, the new exciting, young Interim champion and a roster full of killers promises great match-ups. Romero took his first loss but he expressed that he is not done in the UFC, but Bisping’s future is uncertain.

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