At WSOF 19 on Saturday, featherweight champion Justin Gate-gee (I’m spelling it how it’s pronounced from now on. You hear me, Joanna Unj8chick?!) took on AFC and Bellator veteran Luis “Baboon” Palomino. The young phenom was being listed as high as a 5-to-1 favorite over his journeyman opponent, but instead of a quick and easy squash match, what transpired at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Phoenix, Arizona might just have been the greatest title fight in WSOF history.
Scratch that, it was *easily* the greatest fight in WSOF history. Period. Exclamation Point. Smiley face. #YOLO
But Gaethje vs. Palomino wasn’t the only highlight of the night. No, another came in the form of noted dirtbag Thiago Silva getting pounded out, prison-style, by late replacement opponent Teddy Holder. A gif of that finish and the full WSOF 19 results are after the jump.
At WSOF 19 on Saturday, featherweight champion Justin Gate-gee (I’m spelling it how it’s pronounced from now on. You hear me, Joanna Unj8chick?!) took on AFC and Bellator veteran Luis “Baboon” Palomino. The young phenom was being listed as high as a 5-to-1 favorite over his journeyman opponent, but instead of a quick and easy squash match, what transpired at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Phoenix, Arizona might just have been the greatest title fight in WSOF history.
Scratch that, it was *easily* the greatest fight in WSOF history. Period. Exclamation Point. Smiley face. #YOLO
But Gaethje vs. Palomino wasn’t the only highlight of the night. No, another came in the form of noted dirtbag Thiago Silva getting pounded out, prison-style, by late replacement opponent Teddy Holder. A gif of that finish and the full WSOF 19 results are after the jump.
You guys are never going to believe this, but after retiring and unretiring about a half dozen times in the past couple of years due to nagging injuries, Matt Hamill was once again forced out of making his WSOF debut (this one scheduled against Thiago Silva) due to injury. It was probably for the best considering how their first fight went down, but late replacement opponent Teddy Holder made the most of his big shot, finishing Silva with a flurry of ground-n-pound after being dropped early. Silva was less-than-thrilled with the stoppage in his post-fight interview:
I kid. Silva probably did have a gun on him, though.
WSOF 19 Full Results
Main card (NBC Sports at 9 p.m. ET)
Justin Gaethje def. Luis Palomino via TKO (strikes) at 3:57 of round 3
Teddy Holder def. Thiago Silva via TKO (punches) at 2:00 of round 1
Timur Valiev def. Ed West via TKO (strikes) at 1:39 of round 1
Clifford Starks def. Jake Heun via submission (arm triangle choke) at 4:11 of round 2
Undercard (MMA Fighting at 6:15 p.m. ET)
Jimmy Spicuzza def. Benny Madrid via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Joseph Giglioti def. Brendan Tierney via TKO (strikes) at 4:45 of round 3
Andres Ponce def. Juan Archuleta via submission (triangle choke) at :53 of round 2
Dan Huber def. Israel Aquino via TKO (punches) at 3:03 of round 1
Matthew Frincu def. Eric Regan via knockout (head kick) at :14 of round 2
Erik Villalobos def. Joe Madrid via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jose Aldo versus Conor McGregor at UFC 189 will be one of the biggest fights of the year, and even Thiago Silva of Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil has an opinion on the July bout.The defender was heard talking to compatriot Aldo in a video montage …
Jose Aldo versus Conor McGregor at UFC 189 will be one of the biggest fights of the year, and even Thiago Silva of Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil has an opinion on the July bout.
The defender was heard talking to compatriot Aldo in a video montage of the fighters’ promotional tour. Speaking in less than flattering terms about the Irishman, he said: “Dude, you have to finish him. He’s such a douchebag. He’s got to fall and never get back up, that motherf—-r.”
Aldo agrees with the sentiment, saying: “I’m going to release the beast on him.”
(There’ll be plenty more of this after the jump. Trust me.)
It’s February 18th, 2016 (or something like that), which can only mean one thing: There dun been a whole lotta MMA fights booked today! And rather than give you some paint-by-numbers fight booking breakdown (looking at you, Goldsteen), I’ve decided to do pretty much that, but with gifs. So without further askew, let’s get to it!
#6: Matt Hamill vs. TBA — WSOF 4-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament
Although he won’t be getting that rematch with Rampage Jackson in Bellator he was hoping for, Hamill has in fact signed an exclusive contract with World Series of Fighting, and is expected to make his debut as part of a 4-man tournament for the promotion’s light heavyweight belt. There’s no word on who he’ll be facing yet (our guess is another UFC veteran, which is all this tournament is made up of), but we feel confident not giving two shits about this fight regardless. Ranking:
(There’ll be plenty more of this after the jump. Trust me.)
It’s February 18th, 2016 (or something like that), which can only mean one thing: There dun been a whole lotta MMA fights booked today! And rather than give you some paint-by-numbers fight booking breakdown (looking at you, Goldsteen), I’ve decided to do pretty much that, but with gifs. So without further askew, let’s get to it!
#6: Matt Hamill vs. TBA — WSOF 4-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament
Although he won’t be getting that rematch with Rampage Jackson in Bellator he was hoping for, Hamill has in fact signed an exclusive contract with World Series of Fighting, and is expected to make his debut as part of a 4-man tournament for the promotion’s light heavyweight belt. There’s no word on who he’ll be facing yet (our guess is another UFC veteran, which is all this tournament is made up of), but we feel confident not giving two shits about this fight regardless. Ranking:
Remember that time I mentioned how the WSOF light heavyweight tournament is entirely made up of former UFC fighters? Well, enter Thiago Silva, who was just signed by the WSOF to a multi-fight contract despite being a reprehensible piece of human garbage.
(*exhale*) In any case, Silva has been booked in the WSOF’s 4-man lightweight tourney opposite former UFC middleweight Ronny Markes in the semifinal round.
You see what’s happening here, right? WSOF is unabashedly setting up Thiago fucking Silva to be the face of their light heavyweight division. My reaction to this can only be summed up in the immortal words of David Caruso. Ranking:
‘Page is back, baby! Lovers of MMA circa 2005, rejoice!!
I kid (sort of), but according to MMAFighting, Jackson’s return to the Octagon is being eyed for UFC 186 in April, with his opponent potentially being Fabio Maldonado. The Brazilian former pro boxer is fresh off a second round TKO of Hans Stringer at UFC 179, and has won 4 of his last 5 overall. Say what you want about Rampage (or Maldonado) being past his prime…
I suppose I should have finished that thought with a counterpoint, but what I’m getting at is Rampage vs. Maldonado has slugfest written all over it. In blood. Ranking:
Jim Miller is a gamer through and through, and Paul Felder kicked off 2015 with a KO of the Year-worthy spinning backfist over Danny Castillo at UFC 182. This fight will win all of the performance bonuses. Ranking:
Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, UFC Tonight is reporting that the UFC is looking to book Dillashaw vs. Barao II for the April 25th card in Montreal now that Dominick Cruz has once again gone down with an ACL injury.
This rematch makes a hell of a lot more sense now than it did when Barao and Dillashaw were originally scheduled to lock horns again at UFC 177, which as we all know, ended with Barao withdrawing from the fight on 24 hours notice following a botched weight cut. While Dillashaw went on to starch Joe Soto that night, Barao would bounce back with a third round submission win over top contender Mitch Gagnon at Fight Night 58. The scales are finally starting to even in the battle of Team Alpha Male vs. All of Brazil, so we’ll go ahead and slap this one with a Ranking of:
Thiago Silva? Thiago Silva.
Silva, the former UFC light heavyweight contender who has recently faced domestic assault charges and other serious controversies outside of the cage, has signed with the World Series of Fighting promotion and will participa…
Thiago Silva? Thiago Silva.
Silva, the former UFC light heavyweight contender who has recently faced domestic assault charges and other serious controversies outside of the cage, has signed with the World Series of Fighting promotion and will participate in a four-man tournament to determine the first WSOF light heavyweight champion.
During his days in the Octagon, Silva (16-3-2) was known for an aggressive striking style, which earned him memorable knockout wins over fighters like Keith Jardine, Rafael Cavalcante and Houston Alexander.
But major trouble appeared last February, when Silva allegedly threatened to kill his estranged wife and barricaded himself in his South Florida home. Silva was eventually arrested, but only after an armed standoff with a SWAT team.
He was briefly charged with attempted murder, though the charge was later downgraded to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with other related charges.
The UFC released Silva shortly after news of the incident surfaced.
However, in September, the UFC reinstated Silva after a judge dropped all charges against him when Silva’s ex-wife, ThaysaKamiji, declined to cooperate with the investigation and departed the United States for Brazil.
But there was another turn of events.
Shortly after that reinstatement, Kamijiposted two videos to YouTube that respectively appeared to depict Silva carrying a gun and allegedly high on cocaine. The UFC again released Silva.
Fast-forward about three months, and Silva has now signed with WSOF. WSOF President Ray Sefo told Helwani that he believed Silva deserved another chance in professional MMA.
“We researched his situation, and the charges were dropped,” Sefo told Helwani in Wednesday’s report. “[Silva] wasn’t convicted. In my opinion, you’re innocent until proven guilty. The guy is a great fighter so we want to give him an opportunity.”
The WSOF light heavyweight tournament will reportedly pit Silva against another UFC vet and current WSOF 205-pounder Ronny Markes. Matt Hamill, famous for achieving a lengthy UFC career despite a hearing impairment, is also in the tournament.
The world of professional sports is marred by a situation that doesn’t involve action within the realm of play. Domestic violence allegations have swarmed the National Football League and other professional organizations. Ultimate Fighting Champi…
The world of professional sports is marred by a situation that doesn’t involve action within the realm of play. Domestic violence allegations have swarmed the National Football League and other professional organizations. Ultimate Fighting Championship has not been able to escape criticism as it has been mentioned in multiple incidents as well. Whether it is the allegations surrounding Anthony Johnson, Thiago Silva or Will Chope, UFC has shown a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence.
The stigma surrounding professional athletes and heinous situations such as domestic violence is that the alleged individuals are given a “pass” because of their celebrity status. The NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice situation caused a firestorm that led to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitting to making a mistake in how he punished him. Since then, the league has had the opportunity to retrace its steps and suspend him indefinitely due to the release of videotaped evidence (via NFL.com).
Still, UFC can learn much about how that situation was handled and seems to have started with steps in the right direction.
Johnson was recently suspended amid reports of a restraining order filed against him by the mother of two of his children (via Sherdog). According to UFC President Dana White, the issue is not a positive one for the developing star.
“He’s not in a good position right now,” White said in a report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “(An indefinite suspension) doesn’t mean he’s definitely going to fight here. Even if (the latest allegations) go his way. We’ll see what happens.”
This article also mentions UFC and its zero-tolerance policy toward domestic violence. In recent months, the organization has had the opportunity to flex that muscle. For example, Chope was released mere hours before a scheduled fight in the Octagon when it was revealed he was discharged from the military in 2011 due to charges of assault (via MMA Mania).
Unfortunately, the question will still arise as to what will happen if a big-name fighter is caught up in these allegations. Silva, who is far from being a mainstream headliner, was recently welcomed back to the organization once the criminal charges he faced were dropped. However, the UFC re-released him as more evidence was made public (via MMA Fighting).
The company should still go forth and make its policy public for fans and media alike to show that the organization is transparent in a time when most major promotions are not. If a situation arises in which a major star, such as a current champion, is caught in a similar situation, UFC will have to respond with the same severity that it has in the cases of Johnson, Chope or Silva. At the same time, the company has to be careful in allowing due process to proceed before making any concluding moves.
It is often forgotten that the athletes who make up the professional sports world are human beings who make mistakes. When their names cross the police blotters, many media members and fans want to see them dealt with in a harsh manner. The UFC has stepped up and created a zero-tolerance policy for its fighters when it comes to domestic violence. Here is to hoping the company will not have to enforce it at any point in the future.
