Tag: Stipe Miocic

Quote: We’ll See If Francis Ngannou Ever Gets Back On Track

Will Francis Ngannou ever return to his once-feared form?

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The MMA world is waiting to see if Francis Ngannou ever gets back on track.

The recent UFC title contender was the talk of the sport as recently as last December’s UFC 218. There, he bludgeoned longtime veteran Alistair Overeem with one of the most iconic uppercut knockouts in history.

It was a win that propelled him to a title shot against then-champion Stipe Miocic at January’s UFC 220. A one-sided decision loss derailed “The Predator’s” hype train, however, things got much worse. Ngannou signed on to fight Derrick Lewis at July’s UFC 226. Losing a second straight bout, he appeared scared to even throw in one of the worst heavyweight fights of all-time.

After the loss, UFC President Dana White was quick to take Ngannou to task for supposedly letting his ego get out of control. White recently opened up about the scenario on the ‘UFC Unfiltered’ podcast (via MMAjunkie):

“Francis Ngannou at the time he was coming up, I believed this guy was going to be the guy, was going to be the heavyweight champion. He lost his mind. This guy completely lost his mind and started to act – I don’t know – in a way you just don’t act.

“I completely saw it coming. Obviously Francis Ngannou is a massive, strong, hard-hitting guy, and anything can happen when he gets in there, but Stipe had this thing where he feels completely disrespected. This guy’s always on fire and pissed off at the world and pissed off at us. I saw that coming. I knew he was going (to win).”

White detailed a scene where Ngannou was so sure he was going to dethrone Miocic. The UFC exec claimed he actually left the UFC Performance Institute to go train in France:

“Francis Ngannou left the training center here (in Las Vegas) where he trained for previous fights, took off to France, was in France training or doing whatever he was doing leading up to the Stipe fight because he absolutely, positively knew he was going to be beat Stipe.”

White then closed on the subject by posing the question if Ngannou would ever be able to make it back to the position he enjoyed months ago:

“Ngannou has a lot – I don’t know – he has a lot of things he needs to fix personally and professionally. We’ll see if he ever gets back on track again.”

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UFC 229: Conor vs. Khabib May Have Heavyweight Co-Main Event

Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov looks like it will serve as the co-main event for UFC 229: Conor vs. Khabib

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UFC 229: Conor vs. Khabib is already expected to set MMA PPV records, but it appears a heavyweight fight between Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov may serve as the co-main event of the evening.

ESPN.com first reported the possible heavyweight scrap and MMAjunkie later confirmed.

Lewis (20-5) is the #2 ranked heavyweight in the world. The only man ranked higher than him is the recently dethroned Stipe Miocic. The Houston native is riding a two-fight win streak. With an impressive win over Volkov Lewis could find himself as the next man up for Daniel Cormier’s heavyweight belt.

Volkov has been on a terror since entering the UFC. He is on an impressive six-fight win streak with the last four coming inside the octagon. He most recently picked apart Fabricio Werdum en route to a fourth-round TKO stoppage over the former champion. A win over Lewis would all but assures the Russian a crack at the heavyweight title.

UFC 229 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 6, 2018.

Here is the card so far with the rumored Lewis vs. Volkov fight:

Yana Kunitskaya vs. Lina Länsberg

Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga

Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor

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Curtis Blaydes Calls Out Former UFC Champion Stipe Miocic

Curtis Blaydes calls for a bout with Stipe Miocic in perhaps the most respectful challenge to date. Blaydes is coming off a brutal TKO victory over Alistair Overeem. Blaydes was able to take down Overeem and finished him with ground-and-pound. Many bel…

Curtis Blaydes calls for a bout with Stipe Miocic in perhaps the most respectful challenge to date. Blaydes is coming off a brutal TKO victory over Alistair Overeem. Blaydes was able to take down Overeem and finished him with ground-and-pound. Many believed the win was enough to get Blaydes a title shot, but Brock Lesnar […]

The post Curtis Blaydes Calls Out Former UFC Champion Stipe Miocic appeared first on MMA News.

Daniel Cormier Discusses Only Way He’ll Fight Stipe Miocic Again

Daniel Cormier would entertain it again.

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UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is at least willing to entertain the idea of fighting former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic again but there’s one catch and it’s a big one.

Cormier scored a KO win over Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title in the main event of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, which marks history as Cormier is now a two-division champion, and is expected to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in January.

Cormier called the fights at the UFC 227 pay-per-view event where after the event had ended, he talked with Joe Rogan and Jon Anik where he pitched the case that Demetrious Johnson should get a third fight against Henry Cejudo, who beat him to win the UFC flyweight title in the co-main event due to him being a longstanding champion.

“I love Henry and I love his idea that he wants to be a two-weight champ,” Cormier said (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “Cool thing to do now. But if anybody deserves a rematch, it’s Demetrious Johnson. Come on, he lost a split decision after 11 title defenses. If Demetrious Johnson doesn’t get a rematch, there is no hope for any of us in the entire world, because that means that nothing you could ever do will warrant getting an immediate title shot [rematch].”

This is when Rogan brought up the difference between Johnson not getting an immediate rematch and Cormier passing over a Miocic rematch in favor of fighting Lesnar due to the fact that Miocic made history himself at heavyweight by defending the title more than twice.

“[Miocic] should [get a rematch], but he went three [defenses]. Three is a lot different than 11,” Cormier said. “And also, if Brock Lesnar was staring at Stipe, that would happen, but I’ll tell you this right now, I’ll tell you this on record: If Brock Lesnar doesn’t make it to the fight for any reason, I’ll fight Stipe again. That is not a problem.

“There is no reason I wouldn’t fight Stipe. I’m only fighting Brock because I’m fighting Brock. But if he doesn’t make it, I’ll fight Stipe again. There you go.”

Cormier has already gone on record by stating that he will retire in March of 2019 and with Lesnar’s issues with USADA in the past, it will be interesting to see how all of this shakes out.

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Brock Lesnar Tested Three Times In First Month Back Under USADA

USADA is keeping a close eye on Brock Lesnar – as they should.

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As expected, USADA is keeping a close eye on USADA.

Ahead of the hulking “Beast’s” expected UFC return against heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, Lesnar has already been tested three times in his first month back under the UFC’s anti-doping protocol.

That’s according to the USADA website which chronicles athlete testing history and was updated on August 1 (via Bloody Elbow):

Lesnar is infamously still suspended for positive tests for a banned estrogen blocker in conjunction with his decision win over Mark Hunt at July 2016’s UFC 200, a bout that was eventually overturned to a no contest when Lesnar was fined $250,000 and suspended for one year by the NSAC.

The former UFC heavyweight champion retired shortly thereafter, freezing his suspension that would have otherwise long been expired. Lesnar will be eligible to return to the Octagon on January 8, 2019, at the earliest.

The controversial pay-per-view megastar recently returned to mixed martial arts at July 7’s UFC 226, storming the cage following Cormier’s historic knockout win over Stipe Miocic to shove “DC” and create a carnival-like scene in the wake of one of the most accomplished victories in the sport’s history.

While it was derided as far too much like pro-wrestling by many onlookers, that’s clearly what the current regime running the UFC wants – for better or for worse. Now, it’s just a matter of Lesnar being able to get past all of USADA’s tests until his fight with Cormier actually happens.

Hold on to your seats, because that’s no given.

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Jon Jones Says Public ‘Will Never Understand’ His Hardship

Jon Jones is back playing the victim again. Will it ever stop?

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One year seems like a lifetime in mixed martial arts.

Just ask former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

When the news broke this time last year that Jones had tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol in a sample collected the day of weigh-ins for UFC 214, the entire MMA world came to a screeching halt. What should have been Jones’ crowning achievement quickly became his latest nightmare.

Jones is now facing up to a four-year suspension for his second USADA violation, an outcome the 31-year-old is still waiting to be settled. Conversely, his longtime rival Daniel Cormier has soared to new heights in Jone’s absence. “DC” not only reclaimed the light heavyweight title due to Jones’ ban but became the first fighter in history to simultaneously hold both the light heavyweight & heavyweight straps when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in the first round of their main event fight at UFC 226 earlier this month.

Last weekend was the anniversary of UFC 214, a night that will live in infamy for Jones. But the youngest light heavyweight champion in history wants everyone to know that he will be back and better than ever in due time, posting an emotional update of what he’s been doing the last year on Instagram.

“Time has a way of putting things into perspective. One year ago today I knocked out Daniel Cormier to reclaim my light heavyweight title. It was the culmination of all the sacrifice and hard work put in on the road back to where I truly know I belong. That’s at the top…the only place I’ve ever dreamed of being. Turns out it wasn’t a forever moment but a fleeting one as two weeks later I find out on TMZ of all places my title has been stripped and I’m suspended once again.

“To go from the spotlight to darkness, and have everything taken away from me again was a hardship the public will never truly understand. It bent me but did not break me and I had to learn to fight in a different way. I’ve spent the last year living right and getting healthy, but much of that work was spent correcting and repairing my mental space. Call it weakness if you will but even the toughest individuals need assistance getting back on track.

“I’ll be back, and when I am it will be a more complete version than the world has ever seen. You have to turn the lemons life gives you into lemonade, and you have to take time to sit back and enjoy it. The struggles don’t define you. It’s how you handle them that determines who you are. Be good, enjoy the day and God bless.”

You can read Jones complete Instagram post here:

Time has a way of putting things into perspective. One year ago today I knocked out Daniel Cormier to reclaim my light heavyweight title. It was the culmination of all the sacrifice and hard work put in on the road back to where I truly know I belong. That’s at the top…the only place I’ve ever dreamed of being. Turns out it wasn’t a forever moment but a fleeting one as two weeks later I find out on TMZ of all places my title has been stripped and I’m suspended once again. To go from the spotlight to darkness, and have everything taken away from me again was a hardship the public will never truly understand. It bent me but did not break me and I had to learn to fight in a different way. I’ve spent the last year living right and getting healthy, but much of that work was spent correcting and repairing my mental space. Call it weakness if you will but even the toughest individuals need assistance getting back on track. I’ll be back, and when I am it will be a more complete version than the world has ever seen. You have to turn the lemons life gives you into lemonade, and you have to take time to sit back and enjoy it. The struggles don’t define you. It’s how you handle them that determines who you are. Be good, enjoy the day and God bless.

A post shared by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on

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