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The Strength Of The “Silverback”: Exclusive Interview With Ian Butler

On January 21st Ian “The Silverback” Butler (3-2) will step into the Bellator Cage for his 6th professional fight, seeking his 3rd straight victory. A huge card headlined by Chael Sonnen v.s. Tito Ortiz at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. With an opportunity to make a name for himself on a big stage, everything seems to be in line for the Missouri native. Training under one of the best coaches in the sport with Jason Parillo, living a clean lifestyle, and engaged to be married to his beautiful fiance of 3 years.

Butler talked with us about his love and passion for the sport of MMA, what he see’s coming for himself in 2017, and how meeting your hero’s isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Butler has been sober since a near death experience 11 years ago and while he doesn’t have an issue with people who drink, he has seen how badly drugs and alcohol can affect a fighter first hand. “…Like I said, I’ve been around some other people in this sport, who I’m not going to name. That I’ve seen the bad in. There’s a saying out there that you should never meet your heroes. I met some MMA guys, that were my heroes, that got sloppy. I’m looking at them and saying ‘You use to be World Champion. What the hell is going on?’ Ya know?”

Listen to the whole interview below and find out everything you need to know about Ian Butler before his fight at Bellator on January 21st at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. Make sure to follow him on twitter @Silverback_mma to see everything coming up in2017.

“Bearjew” Has Next Opponent, Wants For Four More in 2017 (Exclusive Interview)

Scotland’s rising star Paul “Bearjew” Craig has been the talk of the Light Heavyweight division since finishing Luis Henrique Da Silva via submission in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 22 in December. A performance that not only earned him fans all around the world, but also a Performance of the Night bonus.

Paul spent some time with Tim Thompson and Josh Stephens on this week’s episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports and talked about still trying to come down from the high of his UFC debut, his life in Scotland now that he is a big star, and how many times we can expect to see him step into the Octagon in 2017.

Just today it was announced that Paul will be fighting Tyson Pedro on March 4th at UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paul gave the guys his plans for 2017, “…I want to be active. That’s why. I don’t have a long time left on my clock in regards to fighting. I want to go out of this sport with my mind in tact and my body the same. I want to do as much damage as I possibly can, so two fights before the UFC Glasgow (Scotland) is achievable and I would like it to happen…”

Make sure to listen to the full interview and the third episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports below.

You can contact the guys via e-mail at [email protected] and follow them on Twitter @PonyKegSports and @MMANews_Tim. Make sure to also follow Paul on twitter @PCraigmma to find out the latest on his career.

Make sure to listen to the full interview and the third episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports below.

Jon Jones On Rousey’s Loss: “What She Does Next Will Truly Determine Her Legacy”

Many have reacted to the second professional MMA loss UFC mega-star Ronda Rousey suffered at the hands of UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes in their 48-second main event at UFC 207 this past Friday night, the latest of which is a teammate of the first woman that handed Rousey the taste of defeat, Holly Holm, as Jon “Bones” Jones has chimed in with his thoughts on the matter.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, who is currently serving a one-year suspension for testing positive ahead of his scheduled rematch with Daniel Cormier at the landmark UFC 200 event in July of 2016, took to social media this weekend where he posted a series of tweets to Rousey regarding her loss to Nunes.

“My advice to Ronda [Rousey] would be to pick yourself up and try again,” wrote Jones. “I believe Rousey will be a champion for the rest of her life, even if she never wins another fight I think it’s important for Ronda to show her fans how great she truly is by displaying her courage and giving it another try.”

Jones continued, “What she does next will truly determine her legacy. I really hope she chooses to be a unbroken. Her story doesn’t have to be over here. I also still believe she beats 90% of the division. Lots of ass kicking still to be done, lots of money to be made.”

Agreeing with what has been a big part of the story coming out of both of her losses, Jones pointed to the team and coaches Rousey currently works with as something that he feels would be wise to address if she were to consider a return to the Octagon.

“Maybe she just needs to [compliment] her coach with an MMA family,” Jones continued. “Maybe she should join one of the bigger MMA teams. Being around other bad asses and constantly sharing your spotlight could be good for you [in] so many ways.”

“They can improve on your humility,” said Jones. “Constantly being humbled is never a bad thing in a sport like this.”

For video highlights of Ronda Rousey’s 48-second TKO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 from this past Friday night, click here.

My advice to Ronda would be to pick yourself up and try again.

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

I believe Rousey will be a champion for the rest of her life, even if she never wins another fight

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

I think it's important for Ronda to show her fans how great she truly is by displaying her courage and giving it another try.

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

What she does next will truly determine her legacy. I really hope she chooses to be a unbroken. Her story doesn't have to be over here

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

I also still believe she beats 90% of the division. Lots of ass kicking still to be done, lots of money to be made

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

Maybe she just needs to complement her coach with an MMA family. Maybe she should join one of the bigger MMA teams

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

Being around other bad asses and constantly sharing your spotlight could be good for you and so many ways. They can improve on your humility

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

Constantly being humbled is never a bad thing in a sport like this

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2016

Rizin FF World Grand Prix 2016 Results — Cro Cop Wins Open Weight Tournament

At the Rizin FF World Grand Prix Finals event held at the famous Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan early Saturday morning, the new Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Champion was crowned.

MMA/Kickboxing legend and former winner of the PRIDE FC …

Rizin FF World Grand Prix 2016 Finals

At the Rizin FF World Grand Prix Finals event held at the famous Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan early Saturday morning, the new Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix Champion was crowned.

MMA/Kickboxing legend and former winner of the PRIDE FC Open Weight Grand Prix tournament, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic advanced to the finals with stoppage wins over Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the quarterfinals earlier this weekend, as well as Baruto Kaito in his first of two fights on Saturday.

Cro Cop would go on from his semifinal victory over Kaito to meet Amir Aliakbari in the finals of the tournament. Aliakbari defeated former PRIDE Heavyweight Title contender and UFC veteran Heath Herring in the quarterfinals, as well as Valentin Moldavsky in the first of his two bouts on Saturday in the semifinals.

In their meeting in the Rizin FF ring in the Open Weight Grand Prix tournament finals,

Below are complete results from the Rizin FF World Grand Prix Finals 2016 event:

Rizin FF World Grand Prix 2016 Finals Results

* Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Amir Aliakbari via TKO (strikes) to win the Rizin FF Open Weight Grand Prix 2016 tournament.
* Kron Gracie def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via submission (rear-naked choke) in round 2.
* Erson Yamamoto def. Hideo Tokoro via submission (armbar) in round 1.
* Rena Kubota def. Hanna Gujwan via KO (body kick) in round 3.
* Andy Nguyen def. Miyu Yamamoto via submission (armbar) in round 1.
* Kizaemon Saiga Dillin West via TKO (strikes) in round 1.
* Gabi Garcia def. Yumiko Hotta via TKO (punches) in round 1.
* Hayato Sakurai def. Wataru Sakata via TKO (punches) in round 2.
* Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Baruto Kaito via TKO (knee to the body) in round 1.
* Amir Aliakbari def. Valentin Moldavsky via split decision.
Tenshin Nasukawa def. Dylan Kawika Oligo via submission (choke) in round 2.

Report: Rousey Earns $3 Million, Nunes $200k For UFC 207 Fight, Cruz/Garbrandt Purses

A lot of money will exchange hands after Friday night’s UFC 207: Nunes vs. Event pay-per-view event, the final UFC offering of their history-making 2016 calendar year.

According to figures released to MMAFighting.com via the Nevada State Athleti…

A lot of money will exchange hands after Friday night’s UFC 207: Nunes vs. Event pay-per-view event, the final UFC offering of their history-making 2016 calendar year.

According to figures released to MMAFighting.com via the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey earned a guaranteed fight purse of three million dollars, with the always lucrative pay-per-view points on top of the large base pay.

With the three million dollar guaranteed payday, Rousey ties the all-time UFC record for largest guaranteed purse paid to a fighter, equaling the mark set by two-division UFC World Champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor earlier this year.

For her part, her opponent, reigning UFC 135-pound women’s champion Amanda Nunes earned a reported $200,000 fight purse ($100,000 to show, $100,000 for winning). Because she was the champion going into the event, Nunes will also enjoy some financial back-end participation from the pay-per-view sales generated by Friday’s show at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The MMA Fighting article with figures released by the NSAC also reports that former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz, who also had a share of participation in the back-end on the pay-per-view, earned a guaranteed fight purse of $350,000.

Team Alpha Male undefeated knockout artist and new UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody “No Love” Garbrandt earned a reported guaranteed fight purse of $200,000 for the biggest victory of his pro MMA career on Friday night.

For video highlights of the Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey main event title fight at UFC 207 on Friday night, click here.

For video highlights of the Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt co-main event title fight at UFC 207 on Friday night, click here.

For complete round-by-round results of Friday night’s pay-per-view, read our detailed report here: UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey Results

Video: Dana White Gives His Thoughts On UFC 207 On FS1 Post-Fight Show

https://youtu.be/T2UW6XKvxeE

2016. What a year it has been for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On Friday night, UFC wrote the final chapter in their book of 2016, with their final event of the year — UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey, which took pla…

https://youtu.be/T2UW6XKvxeE

2016. What a year it has been for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On Friday night, UFC wrote the final chapter in their book of 2016, with their final event of the year — UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey, which took place live on Friday night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Featured above is the complete segment from the official UFC 207 Post-Fight Show on FOX Sports 1 on Friday night that features an interview with UFC President Dana White.

Watch the above video to find out what the UFC boss man thought of UFC’s final pay-per-view offering of 2016, including his comments on how Ronda Rousey handled her second taste of defeat inside the Octagon to reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight queen, Amanda Nunes.

For complete round-by-round results of Friday night’s pay-per-view, read our detailed report here: UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey Results