UFC light heavyweight prospect Johnny Walker is training with Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Ireland ahead of his next fight. Walker is set to take on Corey Anderson at UFC 244 which takes place November 2 in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The winner of the fight is more than likely to be next in […]
UFC light heavyweight prospect Johnny Walker is training with Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Ireland ahead of his next fight.
Walker is set to take on Corey Anderson at UFC 244 which takes place November 2 in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The winner of the fight is more than likely to be next in line to challenge current light heavyweight king Jon Jones.
And Walker, who usually trains out of IF Team in Barra de Sao Joao, Rio de Janeiro, or in England with his coach and brother, is now enlisting the help of John Kavanagh.
“Pleasure having @johnnywalkerufc train with the team for a few weeks,” Kavanagh wrote. “His ability to generate power with no tell is eye opening. Explains a lot of those quick finishes! Great spar today with @karlmoore91 @everlast @sbgireland.”
It’ll be interesting to see if training at SBG will produce anything different for Walker, or if it was an unnecessary change.
Regardless, fans have come to expect quick knockouts from the Brazilian who has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the ranks since debuting for the promotion in 2018.
What do you think of Walker training at SBG? Do you think he should keep training there?
The feud between lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson rages onward after an incendiary tweet by McGregor’s head coach was met with equal aplomb by “El Cucuy.” Ferguson responded to John Kavanagh, McGregor’s head coach at Straight Blast Gym in Ireland, who mocked fans who adopted a “defend or vacate” take […]
The feud between lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson rages onward after an incendiary tweet by McGregor’s head coach was met with equal aplomb by “El Cucuy.”
Ferguson responded to John Kavanagh, McGregor’s head coach at Straight Blast Gym in Ireland, who mocked fans who adopted a “defend or vacate” take on “The Notorious”, who hasn’t defended the title once since winning it back in November 2016.
The lightweight division has been in flux ever since its’ champ took time off from MMA to pursue a boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather. Khabib Nurmagomedov had a stellar performance at UFC 219 last weekend, brutalizing the-always Edson Barboza for three grueling rounds.
Many lightweights have staked a claim for McGregor’s next fight, with Ferguson winning the interim strap after submitting Kevin Lee in McGregor’s absence.
Ferguson has been angling for a unification bout with McGregor for quite some time, but with the Irishman’s unpredictable nature, not much is known about the champion’s next move. Some reports have suggested another boxing bout, and others a return to the UFC. Just who will be the man to meet him is still very much in the air.
A few years ago, a sidelined champion would without question take on the interim champ after returning from their injury or absence. GSP fought Condit, Cormier fought Jones, Lesnar fought Carwin. The list goes on. But this is the McGregor era, and the champ-champ apparently does whatever he wants.
The more Ferguson goads McGregor the better, as the Irishman has a mercurial temper and is ego driven. If the interim champion can irk McGregor well enough, he might just get the fight.
Here’s to hoping for a McGregor vs. Ferguson lightweight title fight in 2018!
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and No. 4-ranked Chad Mendes put on a hell of a main event back at UFC 189, that saw the Irish phenom down ‘Money’ in the closing moments of the second round to secure the interim 145-pound title. Since then Mendes has been on a downward spiral as he was
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and No. 4-ranked Chad Mendes put on a hell of a main event back at UFC 189, that saw the Irish phenom down ‘Money’ in the closing moments of the second round to secure the interim 145-pound title.
Since then Mendes has been on a downward spiral as he was viciously knocked out by No. 2-ranked Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale (TUF 22 Finale), and now his recent troubles with the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA).
The UFC released an official statement Friday afternoon, stating that Mendes had been flagged for a potential doping violation after an out-of competition USADA drug test.
Now amongst the two-time title challenger’s highly publicized issues, 145-pound champion McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh has taken to Twitter to react to Mendes’ potential violation:
Dun dun dun….another one bites the dust #CleanSport ????????
Kavanagh and his Straight Blast Gym (SBG) star-pupil McGregor are currently preparing for their upcoming rematch bout, against Stockton native Nate Diaz at UFC 202 this upcoming August.
Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC loss back at UFC 196 in March, choking out the brash Irishman in the second round of their headliner bout. Now McGregor will get his opportunity to run it back again, as he looks to avenge his first loss in nearly six years.
Kavanagh is also set to release his autobiography this summer, as the SBG head coach has signed a deal with Penguin to take over the publishing of his book.
While further news is currently being awaited on Mendes’ status, McGregor and Diaz are set to throw down in the main event of UFC 202 on pay-per-view (PPV), live from the T-Mobile Arena on August 20, 2016.
The tragic circumstances surrounding Joao Carvalho’s last mixed martial arts fight may be disturbing to some, but it’s a story that needs to be told. At this weekend’s ‘TEF’ event in Dublin, Ireland, young MMA hopefuls Joao Carvalho and Charlie Ward faced off in a three round fight. Carvalho, of Portugal, travelled to the national
The tragic circumstances surrounding Joao Carvalho’s last mixed martial arts fight may be disturbing to some, but it’s a story that needs to be told. At this weekend’s ‘TEF’ event in Dublin, Ireland, young MMA hopefuls Joao Carvalho and Charlie Ward faced off in a three round fight. Carvalho, of Portugal, travelled to the national arena in Dublin to face Ward in front of the Irishman’s home crowd. The fight went in to the third and final round, where Ward rallied for a hard fought TKO win. Sadly, Carvalho began suffering the side effects of concussion/compression, including nausea and headaches, and was rushed to the Beaumont hospital.
Carvalho remained in critical condition for 48 hours as doctors attempted emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on the fighter’s brain, but alas they were sadly unsuccessful. As per the Team Nobrega, Carvalho’s gym, he tragically passed away n the late hours of last night:
“It is with great sorrow and sadness that we write these words, that the death of the athlete Joao Carvalho happened after 48 hours in critical condition,” the statement read.
“On the site (Carvalho) was immediately assisted by the medical team this, and then quickly transported to the hospital Beaumont, where he was subjected to a brain surgical intervention, after which the athlete remained in critical condition during the 48 hours following, eventually passed away on this Monday the 21:35 hours.”
As Charlie Ward is a team mate of UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, ‘The Notorious’ was in attendance at the event when the fight went down. He offered his opinion, stating the ‘Referee should have stopped it sooner, I feel like these referees need to be a bit more on the ball.’ The promotion released an official statement on the harrowing news of Carvalho’s passing, as per SevereMMA:
“The doctors checked him between each round and each time he gave a full response to them. He responded to each question. He was asked where he was, what round he was going in to and what day of the week it was, and all of his answers were perfect.
“When the referee stopped the fight in the third round, our team of doctors and medics looked after him as he was bleeding quite heavily from his nose. He was asked if he felt any pain or was suffering with any headaches directly after the fight, and he said he had no pain or headaches, but he did feel quite tired.
“It was explained to him that he had to visit the medical room that was set up in the venue and that he would have to go to the hospital afterwards, because the doctor recommended that he should have a CT scan after the fight. At this stage, the fighter was walking, talking and smiling. Everything seemed perfectly fine.
“After he walked back to the medical room the doctors did some tests backstage and there was nothing out of the ordinary about their results. They prepared the ambulance to take him to the hospital.
“Ten minutes later he started complaining that he was suffering from headaches. He felt a lot of nausea and he began to vomit. Five minutes later he was significantly worse so we got him into the ambulance and rang the hospital to let them know he was coming.”
This is a harrowing reminder of the harsh realities of the fight game, and also a prompt that we as fans, and also the promoters and fighters, should do away with the ‘go out on your shield’ attitude. But that’s another subject for another day, for now, we send our hopes and wishes to the family and friends of Joao Carvalho, who was tragically taken last night. RIP.
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