Tag: NYC

Dana White Clarifies Future Of Light Heavyweight Division

It looks like Daniel Cormier’s days as champion in the light heavyweight division are numbered. Dana White has clarified his future vision of the 205-pound weight class and “DC” is nowhere to be found. Double-champ Cormier has been sidelined since winning the heavyweight title back at UFC 226 in July over then champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier […]

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It looks like Daniel Cormier’s days as champion in the light heavyweight division are numbered. Dana White has clarified his future vision of the 205-pound weight class and “DC” is nowhere to be found.

Double-champ Cormier has been sidelined since winning the heavyweight title back at UFC 226 in July over then champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier broke his hand in the fight, adding to his lengthy history of broken hands.

Further complicating matters the UFC has been urging “DC” to relinquish the title in hopes of booking the newly reinstated Jon Jones vs. anyone. Cormier, however, seems focused on defending his heavyweight title against the returning Brock Lesnar.

How White Sees It

Unfortunately for Cormier, White believes the time is coming when the UFC will have to strip “DC” of the 205-pound strap.

“Cormier is hurt right now, said on the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast. “He broke his hand in the Stipe [Miocic] fight. So when they’re in these types of situations, much like the Conor [McGregor] situation and others that it’s happened to, Georges St-Pierre, whoever, Cormier by tying up two belts is going to have to give up one of the belts.”

White isn’t opposed to a third Cormier vs. Jones fight, however, he wants that fight to take place in the heavyweight division. Cormier insists he wants to finish the trilogy with Jones where it started – at 205 pounds.

What Cormier Wants

“[Cormier] wants to fight Jon Jones and beat Jon Jones at 205 [pounds],” White revealed. “Not that that’s going to happen, but that’s what he wants in a perfect world. I would obviously rather see them fight at heavyweight, but I really don’t know if Jon Jones wants to move up to heavyweight. It really hasn’t played out yet.”

White had hoped to announce Jones vs. Gustafsson for the light heavyweight title as the main event for UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

That fight is definitely worthy of such accolades, but with Cormier unwilling to play ball, the future of the light heavyweight division is very much up in the air.

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UFC 229 Countdown: Bad Blood Full Episode

The full UFC 229 countdown episode has been released.

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UFC is gearing up for their next PPV event as the UFC 229 show is just less than a week from taking place and the hype is on.

The UFC 229 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor for the UFC lightweight title will headline the show while Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis in a lightweight bout will co-headline.

Rounding out the five bout main card is Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes in a light heavyweight bout, Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight bout, and Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig in a women’s strawweight bout.

The UFC has released the full episode of UFC 229 Countdown, which is subtitled, Bad Blood, to their YouTube channel to not only get the fans excited for this upcoming event but to give insight into the background of the current stories revolving around the fighters. You can watch the full episode here:

UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor Fight Card

Main Card (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

Lightweight Title Bout: Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Conor McGregor

Lightweight Bout: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis

Light Heavyweight Bout: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes

Heavyweight Bout: Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov

Women’s Strawweight Bout: Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig

Prelims (FOX Sports 1 /8 p.m. ET)

Flyweight Bout: Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga

Welterweight Bout: Vicente Luque vs. Jalin Turner

Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Aspen Ladd vs. Tonya Evinger

Lightweight Bout: Scott Holtzman vs. Alan Patrick

Early Prelims (Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)

Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Lina Länsberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya

Lightweight Bout: Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz

Welterweight Bout: Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin

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Jon Jones Flames Daniel Cormier: “Daddy’s Home Now”

It’s that time of the year when Jon Jones flames the double champ Daniel Cormier on social media…again. The back-and-forth between 205-pound champion Cormier, Jones, and Alexander Gustafsson has been hard to follow these last couple of days. It’s been unfolding at a breakneck pace. Just earlier today Gustafsson claimed Jones had ‘gone missing’ in an […]

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It’s that time of the year when Jon Jones flames the double champ Daniel Cormier on social media…again.

The back-and-forth between 205-pound champion Cormier, Jones, and Alexander Gustafsson has been hard to follow these last couple of days. It’s been unfolding at a breakneck pace.

Just earlier today Gustafsson claimed Jones had ‘gone missing’ in an attempt to get the recently-reinstated fighter to sign their perceived contract to fight.

While its unlikely Gustafsson’s antics will get “Bones” any more excited to fight him, Jones did sound off on Twitter. However, Jones took aim at his bitter rival “DC” instead.

Jones Flames Cormier…Again

The UFC has been urging Cormier to relinquish the title but the double champ doesn’t seem to keen on that proposition.

Muddying the waters even more, the UFC announced a rather head-scratching main event for the highly anticipated UFC 230 next month in New, York. Still, Jones and Gustafsson could end facing off for “DC’s” belt. Should they?

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Gustafsson Claims Jon Jones Refuses To Sign UFC 230 Contract

Alexander Gustafsson claims Jon Jones ‘has gone missing’ before November 3’s UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York. After Jones was recently given a reduced suspension by USADA, speculation ran rampant that ‘Bones’ would meet longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 230. Current UFC 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier even said the UFC was […]

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Alexander Gustafsson claims Jon Jones ‘has gone missing’ before November 3’s UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

After Jones was recently given a reduced suspension by USADA, speculation ran rampant that ‘Bones’ would meet longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 230. Current UFC 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier even said the UFC was attempting to get him to vacate his belt for the fight. UFC President Dana White confirmed on the ‘UFC Unfiltered’ podcast that the promotion was indeed looking into it.

But when a head-scratching main event was confirmed for UFC 230 today, the fight seemed like it wasn’t happening for now.

It’s lead Gustafsson to suggest Jones has gone into hiding. He trolled the troubled former champion on Instagram with a post claiming he signed his bout agreement before suggesting Jones was chicken:

@jonnybones, you are pissing me off! I signed my agreement. Where are you?? Are you chickening out again?? Stop being a coward! #chicken#signthecontract #scared

Gus Is Getting Impatient

‘The Mauler’ suggests that the ball is in Jones’ court. Apparently, all he need do is sign the contract so they can fight. But White has repeatedly said Jones will return in 2019 rather than at UFC 230.

It’ll be interesting to see how this situation plays out. There’s a lot of doubt that Cormier will cut back down to 205 pounds to defend that title before he fights Brock Lesnar at heavyweight. Jones vs. Gustafsson is the only fight to make for the belt if that’s the case. There’s not enough talent at light heavyweight to avoid it due to the division’s pure lack of depth at the top.

Gustafsson, meanwhile, has been out of action for too long. He was last seen defeating Glover Teixeira in May 2017. Time could be running for his title relevancy. He’s been chasing a rematch with Jones ever since their classic first fight at UFC 165 in 2013.

Will he finally get the fight he’s been chasing for five years? Or is Jones truly M.I.A.?

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UFC 229 Embedded Episode 2

The UFC has released the second episode of UFC 229 Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel as this event draws near with just less than a week away.

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UFC 229 is less than a week away and the second episode of Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel.

In the episode, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov takes in BJJ and BBQ with the Vegas branch of his MMA family. Two-division champion Conor McGregor tapers his training at the UFC Performance Institute.

Lightweight Tony Ferguson stays sharp with elements of basketball and rola bola, while opponent Anthony Pettis keeps comfortable in combat at his longtime Milwaukee gym. And strawweight star Michelle Waterson kicks off her fight week with a song.

You can watch it here:

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Connor McGregor Boasts Record ‘Eight-Figure’ Payday For UFC 229

It’s fight week, and that means Conor McGregor boasts about his latest monster payday. McGregor will make his awaited MMA return against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of this weekend’s October 6, 2018) UFC 229 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. When he does, he’s claiming a record-setting payday for the […]

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It’s fight week, and that means Conor McGregor boasts about his latest monster payday.

McGregor will make his awaited MMA return against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of this weekend’s October 6, 2018) UFC 229 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

When he does, he’s claiming a record-setting payday for the sport of mixed martial arts. McGregor revealed on this week’s episode of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” that his purse would set a record for the most ever made in MMA. He said the deal wasn’t quite on par with his haul to box Floyd Mayweather, but it was getting here:

“The deal I’m on now, it’s breathtaking what we have achieved,. It’s a tasty, tasty, record-breaking deal. It’s give or take [nine figures]. The Mayweather [fight] was nine figures but we’re almost there. It’s a good, solid eight figures, halfway there. We’re very happy with the deal.”

The Irish crossover star made a disclosed $30 million to box Mayweather in August 2017. He lost the bout by 10th-round TKO but made himself MMA’s richest fighter as a result. McGregor is rumored to have ultimately earned between $85-100 million when all pay-per-view figures were taken into account.

It’s come at a price to his MMA domination, however. McGregor will have been out of action for almost two years when he steps into the Octagon to face Khabib this weekend. He’ll also be facing arguably his toughest test in the undefeated “Eagle.”

All that means McGregor will most certainly bank his biggest MMA payday of all-time, yet it could come for his biggest beating as well.

Will he buck the odds like he has so many times before?

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