Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Thursday, May 5:UFC 129: Cesar Gracie surprised by Jake Shields’ boxing skills.UFC 131: Rani Yahya out, Jason Young to fight Dustin Poirier.UFC 130: Gray Maynard talks Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis and Rashad Evans….
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Thursday, May 5:
UFC 129: Cesar Gracie surprised by Jake Shields’ boxing skills.
UFC 131: Rani Yahya out, Jason Young to fight Dustin Poirier.
UFC 130: Gray Maynard talks Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis and Rashad Evans.
UFC 129 Results: Could Mark Hominick get another title shot with a couple of wins?
UFC 130: Roy Nelson talks UFC Fan Expo, mullets and Frank Mir.
UFC Rio: Ben Rothwell’s return and rumored opponent.
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:At UFC 129, Mark Hominick gave Jose Aldo a run for his money even with a hematoma on his head. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to grasp the UFC featherweight title from Aldo.Hominick though, may get another crack at t…
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:
At UFC 129, Mark Hominick gave Jose Aldo a run for his money even with a hematoma on his head. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to grasp the UFC featherweight title from Aldo.
Hominick though, may get another crack at the featherweight title with a couple more wins under his belt after he impressed the UFC with his UFC 129 performance.
“Oh, they were thrilled. They were like, ‘Heal up and we want you back as soon as you can. In another two fights you will get another crack at the title,’” Hominick told The Fan 590 Radio on Monday. “I know some of the things I have to work on to take him out. I don’t think he would be lining up to fight me to tell you the honest truth.”
Hominick took the fight to Aldo and in the fifth round made an impressive comeback to try and sway the judges in his favor. Hominick though lost to Aldo by unanimous decision and is now out for a little bit while he heals.
Hominick’s performance took place at home in Canada in front of 50,000 at Roger Centre in Toronto.
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:UFC 130 is the unfortunate card that gets to follow the great UFC 129 event. UFC 130 features a lot of good fighters, including some on the undercard like Thiago Alves.UFC 130 will showcase the rematch between Gray Mayn…
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:
UFC 130 is the unfortunate card that gets to follow the great UFC 129 event. UFC 130 features a lot of good fighters, including some on the undercard like Thiago Alves.
UFC 130 will showcase the rematch between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar. At UFC 125 these two fighters fought valiantly to a draw and now Maynard will get yet another shot at the lightweight title.
So with all the great matchups and fighters on the UFC 130 card, who wins and who loses?
UFC 130 is the unfortunate card that gets to follow the great UFC 129 event.UFC 130 features a lot of good fighters, including some on the undercard like Thiago Alves.UFC 130 will showcase the rematch between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar.At UFC 125 t…
UFC 130 is the unfortunate card that gets to follow the great UFC 129 event.
UFC 130 features a lot of good fighters, including some on the undercard like Thiago Alves.
UFC 130 will showcase the rematch between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar.
At UFC 125 these two fighters fought valiantly to a draw and now Maynard will get yet another shot at the lightweight title.
So with all the great matchups and fighters on the UFC 130 card, who wins and who loses?
At UFC 131 Brock Lesnar will get a chance to become the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight title. The only problem is he will have to go through Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos is 12-1 with eight knockouts. Dos Santos has only went the distance once. Th…
At UFC 131 Brock Lesnar will get a chance to become the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight title.
Just hours before his fight with Tory Bogguess at North American Fighting Championships (NAFC) – Mayhem, UFC lightweight Danny Downes took some time to sit down for an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report.Like many former WEC fighters, Downes was e…
Just hours before his fight with Tory Bogguess at North American Fighting Championships (NAFC) – Mayhem, UFC lightweight Danny Downes took some time to sit down for an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report.
Like many former WEC fighters, Downes was excited for the opportunities that were created for him through the WEC’s recent merge with the UFC.
“When I heard about the merger, I thought it was great. It was great for fighters; a higher profile organization, better money and things like that.”
“The WEC had great fighters, but for some reason it didn’t have that name recognition. I run into random people that don’t know anything about MMA, even old ladies on the street, they’ve heard of the UFC, so you get that name recognition.”
“It’s definitely nice to be in there and I look forward to having a long and prosperous career in there after I take care of business tomorrow night.”
With the depth of talent in the lightweight division, the UFC has been slowly phasing in the former WEC lightweights. Wanting to continue to gain experience rather than sit idle waiting for a UFC bout to present itself, Downes accepted an NAFC fight against Bogguess.
“There’s nothing like that ring rust. I mean we’ve been training, we spar, we do all that stuff, but there’s just nothing that’s the same as actually getting to fight and doing it.”
“So, this opportunity presented itself and I wanted to take it. You sit out that really long time and then it kind of ends up biting you in the butt.”
During a time when we have seen fighters like Rashad Evans pay a price for sitting out while waiting for a fight, Downes and Roufusport teammate Anthony Pettis have chosen a much different and possibly riskier path by remaining active.
“There’s definitely similarities. Anthony [Pettis] could’ve waited and waited, but he wanted to take another fight to stay sharp, stay in there and I’m kind of doing the same thing.”
Pettis, who had previously been promised a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship, has taken a fight with Clay Guida since the announcement that UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar would be having a rematch with Gray Maynard.
As for the reason why Downes has not yet been scheduled to make his UFC debut, he remains unsure.
“You know, I’m not really sure. Usually the way it works out is you say you wait for a phone call and then you get it, and then that’s it. I just kinda go and train and wait until they tell me what to do and then I do it.”
Taking a fight outside of the UFC against a lesser-known opponent like Bogguess, Downes is aware of the risk he is taking with regards to his career with the UFC.
Downes says the UFC has not alerted him that his job would be in jeopardy in the event of a loss, but he still isn’t planning on walking away with anything but a win.
“No, [the UFC] haven’t said anything. I think it’s just kind of like common sense I suppose. If this goes poorly, whether I get cut or anything, it’s not good.”
“So, there’s definitely a risk to it, but it’s a calculated risk and I feel good about it. Tomorrow night, after I get the victory, all that worrying will be for nothing and I’ll just get onto the next one.”
Despite the danger involved in accepting this fight, Downes isn’t looking at the bout any differently than he has in his past appearances.
“There’s always second thoughts whenever you take any fight. Every time I fight, I’m like ‘Aw man, why am I doing this?’ There’s always the nerves before a fight. I mean, I’d love to say that I have a fight and I don’t care and I’m totally cool, but it’s definitely a nervous situation getting in there with a grown man who’s trying to punch your face in, in front of a crowd, for money.”
“Bad things happen and then you always say, ‘What if?’ But I think this is the right decision for me and I’m confident in my abilities and I’m sure it’s all going to work out the way I want.”
Fighting an opponent in Bogguess that he knows very little about, Downes’ game plan is to simply be the better fighter in all situations.
“I’m just going to go in there and kind of take what he gives me. I don’t know a whole lot about him, but it doesn’t really matter. I had to square off with him at weigh-ins today, so I know I’m taller than him.”
“He’s a shorter, stronger guy, kind of stockier, so we’ll see. If he thinks he can come in and try to out-muscle me, he’s got another thing coming.”
Despite the long delay in making in his debut with the UFC, even longer than that of a fighter he defeated in the WEC in Tiequan Zhang, Downes does not feel upset or disrespected by his current employer in any way.
“It’s just the way things work out. There’s no malevolence on [the UFC’s] part. It’s just how things work out. That’s the way the game is. The lightweight division is obviously kind of crowded right now, so I don’t think much of it. Just kind of gotta roll with the punches.”
After his fight with Bogguess, Downes doesn’t have any specific UFC opponents that would interest him, but there is an event in the city he trains in that he is interested in competing at.
“There’s no one in general. I just heard a rumor that they’re coming to Milwaukee in August, so I’d really love to get on that card and then use that as a jump-off for bigger and better things.”
Downes will headline NAFC – Mayhem, which will take place on Friday, May 6 at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Expo Center in Milwaukee, Wisc.
For more info on NAFC – Mayhem, check out the organization’s website here.
Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith.
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