Tag: TJ Grant

The Top Five Canadian MMA Fighters Of All Time

Georges St-PierreCanada has been a hot bed for elite level mixed martial artists and has been the host location of countless great fights throughout the years. It is well known that MMA is being extremely popular among fans of betting and gambling. Since MMA events are postponed, MMA fighters train at home and participate in online broadcasts […]

Georges St-Pierre

Canada has been a hot bed for elite level mixed martial artists and has been the host location of countless great fights throughout the years.

It is well known that MMA is being extremely popular among fans of betting and gambling. Since MMA events are postponed, MMA fighters train at home and participate in online broadcasts organized by different gambling providers. So, while events are currently on hold, fans don’t have many options left, to play MMA slots in one the best online casino in Canada to or to check out the list of the top five Canadian MMA fighters of all time, that we’ve put together. 

#1 Georges St Pierre (26 – 2) 

Top of our list of course is Georges St Pierre. The 38-year-old from Montreal is far and away the greatest Canadian fighter of time. He is also for our money the greatest fighter of all-time full stop. Throughout his 28-fight career he has done it all. ‘GSP’ dominated the welterweight division for almost a decade. He made 10 consecutive defences of his 170lb title between 2008-2013 and beat a bunch of elite level fighters including Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Johny Henricks and Jake Shields. ‘GSP’ only lost twice in his career to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, both of which he avenged in emphatic fashion. The Canadian MMA legend even came back to the sport four years after retiring to dethrone middleweight champion Michael Bisping in an epic fight at UFC 217 in November 2017.

#2 Rory MacDonald (21 – 6 – 1)

Former Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is second on our list of great Canadian fighters. He burst onto the scene as a UFC prospect over a decade ago and was touted as the heir to St Pierre’s welterweight throne. His record is littered with big-name wins over BJ Penn, Nate Diaz, Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley, and Douglas Lima. However, he is most known for his Fight of the Decade with Robbie Lawler. MacDonald came up short in lone UFC title shot suffering a fifth-round TKO loss against Lawler. ‘The Red King’ is currently signed to PFL and at just 30-years-old still has plenty of time to build on his already great MMA legacy.

#3 TJ Grant (21 – 5)

Lightweight contender TJ Grant is a sad story of wasted potential, but he nonetheless goes down as our third greatest Canadian MMA fighter of all time. Grant looked unimpressive during his first six fights in the UFC. He won three fights and lost three fights against some of the best fighters at welterweight. Grant decided to drop down to 155lbs and never lost again inside the octagon. He won five straight including a highlight-reel knockout over former title challenger Gray Maynard. The fight earned him a shot at lightweight champion Benson Henderson, but Grant was never able to take it. He suffered a concussion in 2013 and never managed to recover. Grant was still a great fighter and it was a pleasure watching him representing Canada during his rise through the ranks at lightweight. 

#4 Carlos Newton (16 – 14) 

Despite his less than pretty record it’s impossible for us to leave out Carlos Newton from this list. He was a pioneer for Canadian MMA. Starting his career in 1996 he fought and beat the best fighters of his era. He captured the UFC lightweight (now welterweight) title by beating Pat Miletich in 2001. By doing so he became the first Canadian UFC champion and etched his name in MMA history forever. 

#5 Patrick Cote (23 – 11)

Last but by no means least is Patrick Cote – one of the hardest hitters in Canadian history. Throughout his 15-year professional MMA career, Cote came so close to achieving greatness but always missed out. He finished runner-up in The Ultimate Fighter, before falling short in against Anderson Silva in his lone shot at UFC gold. Despite that, he beat a bunch of great fighters including Josh Burkman, Ben Saunders, Kyle Noke, Ricardo Almeida, Kendall Grove, and many more. A Canadian MMA list without him wouldn’t be worth reading. Hat’s off on a hell of a career Mr. Cote. 

10 MMA Stars Whose Careers Were Brutally Cut Short

Deciding the right time to retire is always tough for a professional MMA fighter, but some don’t even get to make that choice, with serious injuries and ailments leaving them with no option but to hang up their gloves for good. In this article, we’ll look at 10 stars whose time in the sport ended […]

The post 10 MMA Stars Whose Careers Were Brutally Cut Short appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Deciding the right time to retire is always tough for a professional MMA fighter, but some don’t even get to make that choice, with serious injuries and ailments leaving them with no option but to hang up their gloves for good.

In this article, we’ll look at 10 stars whose time in the sport ended prematurely while they were still in the prime years of their career, and find out what became of them afterward.

Genki Sudo

Genki Sudo is fondly remembered for his remarkable fight entrances while fighting in Japan that were akin to mini-concerts with elaborate costumes, carefully choreographed dance routines and pyrotechnics.

He was also one of Japan’s best fighters, competing for the likes of the UFC, K-1, Pancrase, Rings and Heroes, and claiming victories over the likes of Nate Marquardt, ‘Kid’ Yamamoto, Mike Brown, Ramon Dekkers, Hiroyuki Takaya and Royler Gracie over the course of his 16-4-1 career.

However, in 2006 after a first-round triangle choke submission win over Damacio Page at the K-1 Premium Dynamite!! Event, Sudo delivered the shock news that he was retiring from the sport with immediate effect.

It transpired that Sudo had been suffering from a serious recurring neck injury that had left doctors fearing that he might suffer paralysis if he continued fighting.

After retiring, Sudo accepted a job as the manager of the Takushoku University’s wrestling team, while he’d also go on to appear in several movies and has written dozens of books.

Sudo also formed the music and dance band World Order, who have released several albums, performed around the world, been featured on numerous TV shows and have a YouTube channel with close to 100 million views.

Sudo retired from being the lead singer in the band back in 2015 but has remained involved as the director and producer for the group.

The post 10 MMA Stars Whose Careers Were Brutally Cut Short appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

12 UFC Stars Who Suffered Career-Threatening Injuries & Illnesses

Ask any professional fighter and they’ll tell you the same thing – injuries are inevitable in MMA. No-one who goes toe-to-toe in the cage is going to emerge unscathed, and it’s an all-too-common occurrence for pro fighters to be dealing with niggling injuries on an ongoing basis, while most will have had spells where they’ve

The post 12 UFC Stars Who Suffered Career-Threatening Injuries & Illnesses appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Ask any professional fighter and they’ll tell you the same thing – injuries are inevitable in MMA.

No-one who goes toe-to-toe in the cage is going to emerge unscathed, and it’s an all-too-common occurrence for pro fighters to be dealing with niggling injuries on an ongoing basis, while most will have had spells where they’ve had to go under the knife or sit on the sidelines for months at a time due to more serious ailments.

In the majority of cases these are not career-threatening issues, but as you’ll read in this article, there are some stars who have had to face up to the possibility that they may lose their livelihood due to brutal injuries they’ve sustained either in competition, in training, or sometimes just in their normal everyday lives away from the cage.

We’ll also take a look at rare examples of fighters who have been competing for years, only to suddenly discover that they have an underlying medical condition that could bring their career to an abrupt halt.

At times it’s tough to read what these guys have gone through, but this the reality of being a fighter, and nobody who sets foot in the Octagon emerges unscathed.

The post 12 UFC Stars Who Suffered Career-Threatening Injuries & Illnesses appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Nate Diaz Removed From UFC Rankings, Pretty Much Out of Spite


(“All I’m saying is, what if Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon are homos? Kinda changes the whole dynamic and sh*t.” / Photo via Getty)

So here’s one more example of the funny things that can happen when a fight promotion organizes its own ranking system, rather than relying on an independent body. This morning, #5-ranked lightweight Nate Diaz was unceremoniously removed from the UFC Rankings page, with no explanation given — although the fact that Diaz has been publicly feuding with the UFC over money lately can’t be a coincidence.

According to UFC.com/rankings, “A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC.” This could help explain why TJ Grant was also suddenly bounced from the rankings page yesterday; he’s been out of commission for nearly a year due to lingering concussion symptoms, and he still hasn’t booked his return fight yet. Diaz, on the other hand, is less than six months removed from his first-round TKO of Gray Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale…


(“All I’m saying is, what if Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon are homos? Kinda changes the whole dynamic and sh*t.” / Photo via Getty)

So here’s one more example of the funny things that can happen when a fight promotion organizes its own ranking system, rather than relying on an independent body. This morning, #5-ranked lightweight Nate Diaz was unceremoniously removed from the UFC Rankings page, with no explanation given — although the fact that Diaz has been publicly feuding with the UFC over money lately can’t be a coincidence.

According to UFC.com/rankings, “A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC.” This could help explain why TJ Grant was also suddenly bounced from the rankings page yesterday; he’s been out of commission for nearly a year due to lingering concussion symptoms, and he still hasn’t booked his return fight yet. Diaz, on the other hand, is less than six months removed from his first-round TKO of Gray Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale.

The only reason Diaz would lose his “active status” is if he was fired, and there’s no indication that he has been. It’s apparently just a case of the UFC saying, “We don’t like you anymore, so we don’t think you should be ranked.” (See also: “We don’t like you anymore, so we don’t think you should be a Hall of Famer.”)

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter because the rankings have no bearings on which fights get made, or who’s in line for a title shot, and the fighters themselves are starting to recognize how meaningless they are. It’s just a petty, childish move intended to devalue Diaz and communicate how disposable he is to the company. Combat sports entertainment, ladies and gentlemen.

If TJ Grant Is Still Suffering Concussion Symptoms, Why Would Anybody Hope for His Return?


(Photo via Getty)

It’s hard not to root for TJ Grant. Here’s a guy who reached the highest level of the sport through talent and hard work alone. He never trash-talked his way into big fights. He wasn’t a good-looking poster boy who was given an easy road by promoters. He’s not known for flashy kicks and sharp grooming. He entered what is arguably the most competitive division in all of mixed martial arts, beat the crap out of five consecutive opponents, and managed to stay humble.

Following his savage first-round TKO of Gray Maynard at UFC 160, Grant was promised a lightweight title shot against then-champ Benson Henderson, but withdrew from the fight due to a concussion suffered during a grappling session, of all things. Anthony Pettis took his spot and made the most of the opportunity. And though we all assumed that Grant would get the first crack at Pettis’s belt, Grant couldn’t commit to a fight because of lingering concussion symptoms.

So here we are in November, four months after Grant first made his concussion public, and he still hasn’t completely cleared the cobwebs. As reported on last night’s episode of UFC Tonight, Grant’s health remains less than 100%, and he’s unsure when he’ll be able to return to competition. MMAFighting passes along more details:


(Photo via Getty)

It’s hard not to root for TJ Grant. Here’s a guy who reached the highest level of the sport through talent and hard work alone. He never trash-talked his way into big fights. He wasn’t a good-looking poster boy who was given an easy road by promoters. He’s not known for flashy kicks and sharp grooming. He entered what is arguably the most competitive division in all of mixed martial arts, beat the crap out of five consecutive opponents, and managed to stay humble.

Following his savage first-round TKO of Gray Maynard at UFC 160, Grant was promised a lightweight title shot against then-champ Benson Henderson, but  withdrew from the fight due to a concussion suffered during a grappling session, of all things. Anthony Pettis took his spot and made the most of the opportunity. And though we all assumed that Grant would get the first crack at Pettis’s belt, Grant couldn’t commit to a fight because of lingering concussion symptoms.

So here we are in November, four months after Grant first made his concussion public, and he still hasn’t completely cleared the cobwebs. As reported on last night’s episode of UFC Tonight, Grant’s health remains less than 100%, and he’s unsure when he’ll be able to return to competition. MMAFighting passes along more details:

Grant is targeting a tentative date of Christmas, after which he hopes to resume training, although that timetable is far from certain. Of late Grant has focused on increasing his heart rate when exercising and not exerting himself too far…

While Grant admits that the uncertainty of his situation has been frustrating, he believes it’s only a matter of time before he fights again. Though when he does, it’s likely he’ll have to re-earn his spot at the front of the line.

“He’s in limbo,” UFC President Dana White recently said of Grant. “He might come back and have to fight another fight. We’ve got to keep this thing rolling.”

I’m sure some fans will see this news and lament the fact that the greatest opportunity of Grant’s life was robbed from him by a training injury. But I think Grant’s situation raises a different, more important point: How long should a fighter suffer symptoms of a concussion before he retires out of concern for his health? I’m sure that he doesn’t want to admit it, and the UFC won’t want to make a big deal of it, but TJ Grant has suffered serious brain trauma. It’s not the kind of thing where he’ll wake up one day and be 100% recovered. For now on, every sparring session and every fight will put his long-term health further at risk.

Maybe it’s the job of the athletic commissions, and maybe its the responsibility of the UFC, but somebody should step in and tell Grant that continuing an MMA career is not in his best interest. The reality is, Grant himself probably won’t walk away willingly. He’s a proud competitor who climbed and climbed until he was one rung away from the top of the ladder. He’s not going to quit now.

As fans, we want to see the good guy get rewarded for his hard work and sacrifice. But throwing support behind TJ Grant’s comeback makes me feel uneasy. If Grant eventually returns to the cage and wins a few fights, is that a triumph? Is that a feel-good story, when it flies in the face of all medical and allegorical evidence that it’s a terrible idea?

TJ Grant has spent four months dealing with the fallout from a concussion. That should be of far greater concern to fans, the media, the UFC — and Grant himself — than the date of his next fight.

(BG)

Anthony Pettis vs. Josh Thomson Booked for UFC on FOX 9 Title Fight, With TJ Grant Still Sidelined Due to Concussion


(Strikeforce neva die. WEC neva die. UFC doing best it can, under circumstances. Images via Getty/FOX Sports)

In July, a concussion suffered in training robbed UFC lightweight contender TJ Grant of his title shot against Benson Henderson. Grant was expected to return to action at UFC on FOX 9 (December 14th, Sacramento) against new champion Anthony Pettis, but news broke last night that the Canadian fighter has still not been medically cleared to compete. As Grant wrote on twitter:

“Hey people. Quick update. Unfortunately I won’t be fighting Pettis on dec 14. I am still not yet 100% n can’t commit to fight. UFC is going with someone else instead. It sucks but it is the best for both myself and the UFC. Please don’t worry. Ill be back and if I gotta fight someone else to get back to where I wanna be then that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not bitter. Thanks”

The promotion confirmed shortly afterward that Pettis will remain on the UFC on FOX 9 card, defending his belt against Josh Thomson. It’s a somewhat unexpected choice, as Thomson’s TKO of Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 7 represented his first victory in 13 months. Still, his performance against Diaz was extraordinary (“bitch-ass lady sounds” notwithstanding), and The Punk’s epic battles against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce always suggested that he might be a better fighter than rankings and records indicate.


(Strikeforce neva die. WEC neva die. UFC doing best it can, under circumstances. Images via Getty/FOX Sports)

In July, a concussion suffered in training robbed UFC lightweight contender TJ Grant of his title shot against Benson Henderson. Grant was expected to return to action at UFC on FOX 9 (December 14th, Sacramento) against new champion Anthony Pettis, but news broke last night that the Canadian fighter has still not been medically cleared to compete. As Grant wrote on twitter:

“Hey people. Quick update. Unfortunately I won’t be fighting Pettis on dec 14. I am still not yet 100% n can’t commit to fight. UFC is going with someone else instead. It sucks but it is the best for both myself and the UFC. Please don’t worry. Ill be back and if I gotta fight someone else to get back to where I wanna be then that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not bitter. Thanks”

The promotion confirmed shortly afterward that Pettis will remain on the UFC on FOX 9 card, defending his belt against Josh Thomson. It’s a somewhat unexpected choice, as Thomson’s TKO of Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 7 represented his first victory in 13 months. Still, his performance against Diaz was extraordinary (“bitch-ass lady sounds” notwithstanding), and The Punk’s epic battles against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce always suggested that he might be a better fighter than rankings and records indicate.

Melendez is coming off a decision loss to Benson Henderson in April, and is already booked to fight Diego Sanchez next month. The only lightweight who might have a legitimate gripe about being passed over is Rafael Dos Anjos, who has won five straight fights in the UFC against increasingly nasty competition. But Thomson is a bigger name — and considering that he lives and trains in NorCal, where the event is taking place, the booking is a no-brainer. Plus, Pettis and Thomson have already talked shit at each other on twitter, so yeah, GRUDGE MATCH.

What do you think? Is Pettis vs. Thomson a more interesting title fight than Pettis vs. Grant? And does Thomson have a chance here?