After some down-to-the-wire weigh-in drama earlier today, Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee will face off for the interim lightweight title in the main event of tomorrow’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. But later this year (Sat., November 4, 2017) the promotion will put on a more anticipated […]
After some down-to-the-wire weigh-in drama earlier today, Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee will face off for the interim lightweight title in the main event of tomorrow’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But later this year (Sat., November 4, 2017) the promotion will put on a more anticipated event when middleweight champion finally returns to the Octagon against longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York The last of three title fights
The last of three title fights, the bout presents a rare and even controversial match in that St-Pierre has never fought at 185 pounds and has been out of action for almost four years after vacating his long-held title following his close decision win over Johny Hendricks at 2013’s UFC 167.
After a previous press conference in March that was premature in hindsight, the two oddly-paired rivals met up for another presser in Las Vegas during UFC 216 weekend. When they squared off at the traditional staredown, Bisping got a bit touchy-feely, prompting St-Pierre to give him a shove right back. Check it out right here:
You can watch the press conference in its entirety below:
This weekend’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, features yet another interim title fight when Tony Ferguson takes on Kevin Lee for the second-place strap in the feature bout. And it’s not even the first time that the promotion has tried to make a placeholder title for […]
This weekend’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, features yet another interim title fight when Tony Ferguson takes on Kevin Lee for the second-place strap in the feature bout.
And it’s not even the first time that the promotion has tried to make a placeholder title for the lightweight division that Conor McGregor has kept in limbo, as the promotion attempted to book Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov back at March’s UFC 209 only to see it fall apart when ‘The Eagle’ couldn’t make weight. Add that to the interim light heavyweight, middleweight, and featherweight belts that have been essentially manufactured in the last year-and-a-half, and you can easily surmise why the UFC is having one of their worst years ever in terms of pay-per-view (PPV) sales in 2017.
But it’s not just the UFC’s fault; no, champions holding out for ‘money fights’ and just outright picking and choosing their match-ups has lead to an era where it’s just hard for new UFC owners WME-IMG to build any momentum, and the days when champions defended their belts successfully – and often – in order to build the necessary rapport to become big stars seem to be absent from the sport right now (other than Demetrious Johnson, and we’ve seen how that has worked out). Champions aren’t what they used to be, and whether it’s bad luck or MMA simply evolving to create more parity, a true superstar is tough to come by right now.
What’s apparently not, however, is a fly-by-night champ who fails to live up to the hype and circumstance that carrying the gold brings. While it seems easy to find such fighters throughout the last few years of MMA, there have also been some truly bad champs in the older days of the UFC as well. These fighters from the present or past had enough to get to the mountaintop, so they are or were elite, but they just didn’t deliver when they got there.
Check out our 10 worst champions in UFC history:
Holly Holm:
A decorated multi-time world boxing champion, Holm came to the octagon amidst a ton of fanfare in 2015. After two incredibly lackluster decision wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau, Holm went on to shock the world when she kicked Ronda Rousey into oblivion at November 2015’s UFC 193 from Australia.
The MMA world was suddenly her oyster, but instead of holding out for a rematch with Rousey that legitimately could have been the biggest fight in UFC history, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ decided to make her first title defense against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 the following March. After a tentative, safe four rounds in a fight she was probably winning, Holm was choked unconscious in the fifth round after Tate took her down.
From there, Holm went on to lose a one-sided decision to recent title contender Valentina Shevchenko in her next fight, but she still got a title shot nevertheless when she met Germaine de Randamie for the featherweight title in one of the worst fights of the year at February’s UFC 208. She lost via controversial decision, but has since rebounded by knocking out an overrated and ineffective Bethe Correia this June.
She never made any title defenses and has lost three of her last four fights, but Holm us rumored to be facing Cris Cyborg for the featherweight belt in her next bout. Welcome to today’s UFC, ladies and gentlemen.
The MMA community is currently anticipating just what Conor McGregor’s next move will be. On a weekend without a UFC or Bellator event, the “Notorious” UFC lightweight champion stoked that fire in a big way earlier this week. Opening up on a variety of options in his interview with Caroline Pearce at “An Evening With […]
The MMA community is currently anticipating just what Conor McGregor’s next move will be.
On a weekend without a UFC or Bellator event, the “Notorious” UFC lightweight champion stoked that fire in a big way earlier this week. Opening up on a variety of options in his interview with Caroline Pearce at “An Evening With Conor McGregor” from Glasgow, McGregor proclaimed it was finally time to defend his title and that he would beat Floyd Mayweather in a rematch in the boxing ring.
Leaving all the doors open, McGregor also wouldn’t rule out his sometimes-discussed match-up with longtime former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who will return to action after nearly four years off when he fights current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping for the title in the main event of November 4’s UFC 217 from New York City.
So while defending his title is supposedly his top priority (we’ll have to wait and see if that holds true), the UFC’s only simultaneous two-division champ acknowledged St-Pierre could be a good option down the road. However, it may not matter according to the Irishman, who revealed in his interview (quotes via Peter Carroll of MMA Fighting) that he believes Michael Bisping will ‘whoop his a–‘ when they square off in a month’s time:
“It’s another money fight, even though he’s been retired,” he said. “I don’t know, I think he’s going to get his ass whooped by Bisping. To be honest I think it’s a mistake for him to step in at that weight after so long out.”
It’s definitely another “money fight” for the man who has made that term a reality during his meteoric rise to redefining how an MMA superstar picks his fights, regardless of if you believe it’s good or bad for the sport. Wanting only the biggest fights to close out his historic career himself, St-Pierre has been rumored to be planning on calling out “The Notorious” if he does get past Bisping.
Should the brash Irishman accept, or does he have too much on his schedule already?
Currently on the sidelines for nearly a full year, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been derided as one of the worst UFC titleholders in recent memory for his accused unwillingness to take on the top contenders in the talented 185-pound fray. But that’s just fine with him, as his meticulously planned ‘maneuvering’ has earned […]
Currently on the sidelines for nearly a full year, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been derided as one of the worst UFC titleholders in recent memory for his accused unwillingness to take on the top contenders in the talented 185-pound fray.
But that’s just fine with him, as his meticulously planned ‘maneuvering’ has earned him – deserved or not – a title fight with longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event of November 4’s UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Although the bout will feature the previously awaited comeback of one of MMA’s biggest overall stars in St-Pierre, the growing consensus from the majority of the mixed martial arts community is that it’s a strange fight considering St-Pierre has never fought in the division and will have been out for almost exactly four years by fight time. Again, however, it’s the perceived payday Bisping appears to be looking for, and even though he doesn’t exactly have the best dance partner in terms of trash talk, that, of course, won’t stop the brash “Count” from spouting off on “GSP.”
Case in point, he recently offered a bold prediction for the title fight on his “Believe You Me” podcast this week (via MMA Junkie), claiming he will stop St-Pierre’s grappling with his movement and knock him out in the first round:
“Generally, when I fight wrestlers in the past, I move around a lot,” Bisping said. “I utilize a lot of lateral movement, forward and back movement, side-to-side, because if you’re moving, it’s hard for a wrestler to shoot a double leg on you because you’re a moving target. I won’t be doing that this time.
“I’m going to stand right in front of him, I’m going to plant my feet, I’m going to walk him down, put him on the back foot, and I’m going to knock him out in the first round. You have my word.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports
St-Pierre has only been knocked out in the first round once in his infamous upset loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69 in 2007. It’s regarded as the bout that caused “Rush” to turn from a risk-taking knockout artist to a much more cautious wrestling-centered fighter who picked opponents apart with superior athleticism and gameplans.
It’s true that Bisping has shown he’s more than willing to push the pace at his opponents, especially during his recent run of success where he’s done just that against Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson, but aside from his title-winning knockout of Luke Rockhold at June 2016’s UFC 199, it hasn’t translated into many knockout stoppages.
Perhaps he can score another by facing a man who competed his entire career at 170 pounds and has been out of fighting for quite a long stretch. Do you believe Bisping will knock out St-Pierre?
Following his TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in “The Money Fight” on August 26, the MMA world is anxiously awaiting just what UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move will be. A rumor recently surfaced that longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre would call out “The Notorious” if he were to get by middleweight champion Michael […]
Following his TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in “The Money Fight” on August 26, the MMA world is anxiously awaiting just what UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move will be.
A rumor recently surfaced that longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre would call out “The Notorious” if he were to get by middleweight champion Michael Bisping in his comeback bout in the main event of November 4’s UFC 217 from New York, and it’s hardly a bad idea given the UFC’s need for big-name bouts after a horrendous 2017.
So that’s naturally lead to some discussion about whom would win the proposed super fight, and former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate recently weighed in on the topic on her “MMA Tonight” podcast (via MMA Fighting). According to “cupcake,” McGregor has proven her wrong when she doubted him, so she can no longer count him out.
In her eyes, he holds the speed advantage over the larger GSP – in addition to a strategic edge:
“Conor McGregor, I’ve underestimated the guy a number of times, thinking he wasn’t going to win some of the fights that he won and he did it. The man is truly in a league of his own. When it comes to his game planning, when it comes to his trash talking, when it comes to getting inside people’s heads, nobody does it better than Conor McGregor. So I absolutely would not count him out in a fight like that.
“I think the speed favors him. I think he has great striking and I think the fact that GSP’s been out for so long, I think Conor McGregor can put together a strategy to beat pretty much anybody and I think the matchup actually favors Conor.”
High praise from a woman who’s been around the top levels of the sport for many years, one who’s admittedly a St-Pierre fan. She knows the precision he brings to the octagon, yet gave McGregor a mental edge she deemed difficult to get around for the all-time great:
“I feel almost bad saying that because I’ve been a huge GSP fan for a really long time. He’s perfect when he fights. Maybe not the most exciting fighter you’ve ever watched but he’s almost perfect and that’s so hard to do. If you’ve been an athlete in any sport, to have a perfect game or a perfect match or a perfect bout, it almost never happens.
“You watch him go out there and he’s pretty much perfect in all of his fights. He never waivers from his strategy and he’s like a robot, like somebody’s controlling a controller somewhere and he’s just doing exactly what he needs to do to get through those fights. But I think with this one, Conor’s just so hard to beat and he’s so hard to get around mentally. I think the speed actually, being the smaller guy, does favor Conor.”
Met with at least some degree of doubt, Tate acknowledged that picking the Irish star over St-Pierre may sound a bit crazy, but cited the fact that McGregor has predicted the result of many of his high-profile bouts.
She thought he was going to lose to Nate Diaz in their UFC 202 rematch, and he did not. Tate also thinks St-Pierre has never been made to deal with the nonstop mental onslaught of an elite trash talker like McGregor, something that could affect the fight.
To top it all off, Tate thought he would be easily handled by Mayweather in the boxing ring, yet he again proved her wrong by lasting 10 rounds with arguably the greatest defensive boxer of all time. For that reason, the still-evolving McGregor would do well against the returning – and rusty – all-time great former champion in the potential match:
“Yes. I know that sounds crazy, but dude, crazier things have been said about Conor and he’s done it. He literally predicts his exact what he’s gonna do in every fight. When he lost to Nate Diaz, I thought he was gonna lose again and he came out and he had the right game plan. He’s just brilliant. He knows how to figure out people.
“Not to mention, GSP has never had to deal with someone’s berating, that constant mental barrage that Conor McGregor does. Something is there. People haven’t quite figured it out but there’s something, an element that Conor McGregor adds that’s not just his skillset. He gets inside people’s heads and he ruins them before they even step inside the octagon. To say that he couldn’t do to GSP when he’s done it to everyone else, it’s insane to think that he couldn’t do that.
“So I just think he would probably do well. He’s evolving, he’s very athletic, he’s heavy-handed. I think he could knock out a lot of guys bigger than him. Look how well he did against Mayweather. I was so impressed with how he did there. I thought he was gonna lose that fight handily and he hung in there tough.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold recently got back to his winning ways, finishing veteran David Branch in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 116 main event, which took place in Pittsburgh on Sept. 16, 2017. Now focused on retaining his title, Rockhold was asked on yesterday’s (Sept. 25, 2017) edition of The […]
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold recently got back to his winning ways, finishing veteran David Branch in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 116 main event, which took place in Pittsburgh on Sept. 16, 2017.
Now focused on retaining his title, Rockhold was asked on yesterday’s (Sept. 25, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour if he’d be interesting in fighting fellow top contender Yoel Romero, who’s coming off of a loss to interim champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 215 this past July.
Rockhold, however, made it clear that he’d rather fight Whittaker, although he also said that he’s uninterested in fighting for ‘little change’:
“I’d be interested in Whittaker. I want the title. Everything is gauged to get to the title, to get the money. I want money fights, that’s what I am here for,” he said.
“I am turning 33, I’m not getting any younger and I want to set myself up. I’m not fighting for this little change, you know. I want the real money. Everything is structured to be there. Like I said before, I want a path, I want a direction and with both titles being held hostage, there is no point fighting anybody until they straighten things out. Or unless they pull up the title,” Rockhold said.
Whittaker, however, is currently dealing with an injury. Middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who stole the title from Rockhold in June 2016, on the other hand, is set to defend his 185-pound strap against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017.
With that being said, Rockhold also said that a move up to light heavyweight could certainly take place for him in the future:
“Obviously I’d like to finish my business here at Middleweight, but I have been thinking about it for a long time. I’m a lot more explosive. The weight cut is definitely affecting me, and it takes time to shake off that nerve and get the feel back. I feel good at Light Heavyweight I feel great.”
