A disappointing UFC career continues for The Korean Superboy. Doo Ho Choi, the 24-year-old South Korean featherweight who made a name for himself with his highlight-reel knockouts, has again been forced out of a match with Sam Sicilia. That’s according to a report from MMA Junkie, citing unnamed UFC officials. The bout was set for […]
A disappointing UFC career continues for The Korean Superboy. Doo Ho Choi, the 24-year-old South Korean featherweight who made a name for himself with his highlight-reel knockouts, has again been forced out of a match with Sam Sicilia. That’s according to a report from MMA Junkie, citing unnamed UFC officials. The bout was set for […]
An intriguing featherweight matchup between hard-hitting Sam Sicilia and South Korean super-prospect Doo Ho Choi now seems like it might be back on the UFC docket, months after the original date was scuttled because of a Choi injury. The news was first reported by the English-language Asia MMA site, citing a conversation with Choi himself. […]
An intriguing featherweight matchup between hard-hitting Sam Sicilia and South Korean super-prospect Doo Ho Choi now seems like it might be back on the UFC docket, months after the original date was scuttled because of a Choi injury. The news was first reported by the English-language Asia MMA site, citing a conversation with Choi himself. […]
Brazilian super prospect Gilbert Burns will remain on the card at UFC Fight Night 62 on March 21 and will do so against another up-and-comer in Alex Oliveira. Oliveira, who has never fought in the UFC, will step in to replace Josh Thomson, who announced his withdrawal from the lightweight contest earlier this week. Portuguese-language […]
Brazilian super prospect Gilbert Burns will remain on the card at UFC Fight Night 62 on March 21 and will do so against another up-and-comer in Alex Oliveira. Oliveira, who has never fought in the UFC, will step in to replace Josh Thomson, who announced his withdrawal from the lightweight contest earlier this week. Portuguese-language […]
“The Next Jon Jones” he may not be, but undefeated bantamweight Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is one of the more promising prospects to be scooped up by the UFC in recent years. On Saturday, it was announced that the Team Alpha Male standout had signed with promotion and would face Marcus Brimage at UFC 182 in January, which is not exactly a cakewalk for any up-an-comer (not named Conor McGregor).
Despite holding a professional record of just 5-0, Garbrandt will bring a ton of experience into his UFC debut. A boxer since the age of 14 with a 32-1 record, Garbrandt also made waves on the mat while in high school, eventually earning an invite to wrestle at the University of Michigan. After transitioning to MMA in 2009, “No Love” racked up a 4-2 amateur record before turning pro just two years ago and has stopped all five of his opponents with strikes in the time since (four of those in the first round).
BloodyElbow’s Zane Simon has done a great little writeup on Garbrandt that we’d highly recommend you check out, but in the meantime, join us after the jump to see his most recent fight against Charles Stanford.
(via Met Con Photos.)
“The Next Jon Jones” he may not be, but undefeated bantamweight Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is one of the more promising prospects to be scooped up by the UFC in recent years. On Saturday, it was announced that the Team Alpha Male standout had signed with promotion and would face Marcus Brimage at UFC 182 in January, which is not exactly a cakewalk for any up-an-comer (not named Conor McGregor).
Despite holding a professional record of just 5-0, Garbrandt will bring a ton of experience into his UFC debut. A boxer since the age of 14 with a 32-1 record, Garbrandt also made waves on the mat while in high school, eventually earning an invite to wrestle at the University of Michigan. After transitioning to MMA in 2009, “No Love” racked up a 4-2 amateur record before turning pro just two years ago and has stopped all five of his opponents with strikes in the time since (four of those in the first round).
BloodyElbow’s Zane Simon has done a great little writeup on Garbrandt that we’d highly recommend you check out, but in the meantime, join us after the jump to see his most recent fight against Charles Stanford.
So yeah, the kid can bang.
Then again, Marcus Brimage is no stranger to playing the role of spoiler. In back-to-back appearances in 2012, “The Bama Beast” derailed the Jimy Hettes and Maximo Blanco hype trains via hard fought decisions despite being a massive underdog heading into both contests. His most recent appearance – a first round head kick KO over Jumabieke Tuerxun at Fight Night 55 — also proved that he is the kind of fighter who will throw caution to the wind in pursuit of a finish. So tell me, Nation, will Brimage put a damper on yet another prospects title hopes, or do you think Garbrandt is the real deal?
He’s been called “The Greatest MMA Prospect” by Bob Cook. He’s been called “The Next Jon Jones” by The MMA Corner. At just 18 years of age, he’s already inked a sponsorship deal with Nike. He’s a FILA national championship winner in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling and a Junior Golden Gloves national champion. His name is Aaron Pico, and he just inked a “long-term contract” with Bellator.
The announcement was made by the promotion during Bellator 131 on Saturday, who insisted that their contract with Pico (the terms of which have yet to be disclosed) would not interfere with his upcoming bid for the 2016 Olympics. Said Bellator President Scott Coker:
Simply put, Aaron has all the makings of MMA’s next great superstar, and to have him here at Bellator is something special. Like many of us in the MMA community, Aaron is someone we’ve been watching closely over the last few years, and after sitting down with Bob Cook and his team, getting a chance to meet Aaron, and hearing his long-term aspirations, the fit became very obvious.
Brush up on Pico’s incredible list of accomplishments after the jump.
(Photo via Dave Mandel/ Sherdog)
He’s been called “The Greatest MMA Prospect” by Bob Cook. He’s been called “The Next Jon Jones” by The MMA Corner. At just 18 years of age, he’s already inked a sponsorship deal with Nike. He’s a FILA national championship winner in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling and a Junior Golden Gloves national champion. His name is Aaron Pico, and he just inked a “long-term contract” with Bellator.
The announcement was made by the promotion during Bellator 131 on Saturday, who insisted that their contract with Pico (the terms of which have yet to be disclosed) would not interfere with his upcoming bid for the 2016 Olympics. Said Bellator President Scott Coker:
Simply put, Aaron has all the makings of MMA’s next great superstar, and to have him here at Bellator is something special. Like many of us in the MMA community, Aaron is someone we’ve been watching closely over the last few years, and after sitting down with Bob Cook and his team, getting a chance to meet Aaron, and hearing his long-term aspirations, the fit became very obvious.
A wrestler since the age of 4, a boxer since he was 10, and a Pankration tournament competitor since about 13, Aaron Pico is arguably one of the most accomplished athletes to ever crossover to mixed martial arts — someone who truly lives up to the “fighting is in our DNA” mantra that Dana White loves to reminds us of. As MMAFighting detailed in their write-up of Pico, a few more of his already legendary accomplishments include:
As a boxer, when he was 12, he captured not only the PAL national championship in his age group in that sport, as well as the Upstanding Boxer award, but followed it up the next year at the Junior Golden Gloves championships. He also won the European Pankration championship in the Ukraine.
And in his most impressive accomplishment, in November, the high school sophomore, in tournament competition, defeated Alibeggediz Emeev, the No. 3 Olympic caliber wrestler on the Russian national team in his weight class, an unheard of accomplishment in that sport.
He was 42-0 at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., winning both the California state and national championships. The closest anyone came to him in a match was losing by ten points, and this was as a freshman. He was considered by many as the best pound-for-pound high school wrestler in the country, but he’s not going after any of Hodge’s collegiate records.
Why won’t Pico be chasing any of Danny Hodge’s records? Because Pico announced back in January that he would finish up his high school classes online and travel abroad to focus on freestyle wrestling full-time in preparation for the Olympics. In the time since, he’s already trained with the Russian and Cuban national wrestling teams, as well as continued with his boxing training back here in the States.
And now, it appears that Bellator’s bantamweight division will be his new home. Whenever Pico does decide to don the 4 oz. gloves, Pico will do so as the only national champion wrestler *and* boxer in MMA History. So tell me, Taters, is this kid destined to become the next Jon Jones, or the next Henry Cejudo?
Undefeated women’s bantamweight prospect (7-0) Holly Holm has suffered an undisclosed training injury and will not be able to fight Raquel Pennington December 6 at UFC 181. Brazilian media outlet MMA by Neko first reported (as translated by LowKickMMA) the news, and Bleacher Report has subsequently confirmed with Doris Robinson of Holm’s management that Holm has withdrawn from her […]
Undefeated women’s bantamweight prospect (7-0) Holly Holm has suffered an undisclosed training injury and will not be able to fight Raquel Pennington December 6 at UFC 181. Brazilian media outlet MMA by Neko first reported (as translated by LowKickMMA) the news, and Bleacher Report has subsequently confirmed with Doris Robinson of Holm’s management that Holm has withdrawn from her […]
