Rory MacDonald may not be a lock for a title shot after all. UFC President Dana White is mulling over the possibility of an immediate rematch between Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks following a controversial decision at UFC 181 in another epic slugfest. “I don’t know. The trilogy wouldn’t be a bad idea,” White said […]
Rory MacDonald may not be a lock for a title shot after all. UFC President Dana White is mulling over the possibility of an immediate rematch between Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks following a controversial decision at UFC 181 in another epic slugfest. “I don’t know. The trilogy wouldn’t be a bad idea,” White said […]
UFC 181 ended on an extremely contentious note. Robbie Lawler became the first team member of American Top Team to earn a UFC title, and much of the MMA community is questioning the validity of that victory. With their second close fight to close out 2014 now in the books, the UFC could score big […]
UFC 181 ended on an extremely contentious note. Robbie Lawler became the first team member of American Top Team to earn a UFC title, and much of the MMA community is questioning the validity of that victory. With their second close fight to close out 2014 now in the books, the UFC could score big […]
Anderson Silva is willing to do whatever it takes to once again be a UFC champion, even if that means throwing down with Chris Weidman for a third time. It has been nearly a year since Silva’s horrific leg injury against Weidman at UFC 168. Echoes of the former middleweight champ’s blood-curdling screams reverberating […]
Anderson Silva is willing to do whatever it takes to once again be a UFC champion, even if that means throwing down with Chris Weidman for a third time. It has been nearly a year since Silva’s horrific leg injury against Weidman at UFC 168. Echoes of the former middleweight champ’s blood-curdling screams reverberating […]
None of these missteps have had any impact on Silva himself, mind you. While we are *still* awaiting word as to the length of Silva’s suspension for said skipped drug test, “The Axe Murderer” has continued to call out guys like Luke Rockhold as if nothing has happened at all. But with Rockhold too busy tearing down Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort* at every possible opportunity, Wanderlei has been forced to shift his sights elsewhere. More specifically, to Dan Henderson, whom Silva split a pair of contests with in his PRIDE heyday:
It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen. But Dan Henderson is another guy that I want to fight, it’s a viable possibility. We’re 1-1 tied and it would be nice to have a tiebreaker of our score. In my last fight at PRIDE, I lost my belt to him and I couldn’t have a rematch because we left. If this fight happens, I’ll ask him to bring the belt so the winner can have it after the fight.
(On second thought, we could probably watch this again.)
None of these missteps have had any impact on Silva himself, mind you. While we are *still* awaiting word as to the length of Silva’s suspension for said skipped drug test, “The Axe Murderer” has continued to call out guys like Luke Rockhold as if nothing has happened at all. But with Rockhold too busy tearing down Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort* at every possible opportunity, Wanderlei has been forced to shift his sights elsewhere. More specifically, to Dan Henderson, whom Silva split a pair of contests with in his PRIDE heyday:
It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen. But Dan Henderson is another guy that I want to fight, it’s a viable possibility. We’re 1-1 tied and it would be nice to have a tiebreaker of our score. In my last fight at PRIDE, I lost my belt to him and I couldn’t have a rematch because we left. If this fight happens, I’ll ask him to bring the belt so the winner can have it after the fight.
“It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen.” That’s true, Wandy, but only because one is challenging for the title and the other is, you know, retired. Also, you refused to fight Sonnen on no less than three occasions, which removes some of the credence from that statement. I do like the idea of holding a fight in the UFC for a PRIDE belt, though, and can’t tell you how excited I am at the prospect of Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley II for the UFC Strikeforce Welterweight One-Round Championship.
Not that it matters, because again, Silva is likely facing an incredibly lengthy suspension whenever the NSAC gets its shit together, but Hendo is open to the idea of a trilogy fight:
So Nation, anyone interested in seeing Silva vs. Hendo III when the former returns from his stay on Planet Crazypants Bananas?
“We weren’t able to do the first one on pay-per-view, and I definitely want to headline a pay-per-view card, and we get an opportunity to do that. What better way to do that than to have one of the best trilogies in MMA history? Why not fight the guy three times, four times, five times? Who cares? It’s a hell of a fight every time.”
“We weren’t able to do the first one on pay-per-view, and I definitely want to headline a pay-per-view card, and we get an opportunity to do that. What better way to do that than to have one of the best trilogies in MMA history? Why not fight the guy three times, four times, five times? Who cares? It’s a hell of a fight every time.”
I’m halfway-convinced that this was Bellator’s plan all along. (They couldn’t have possibly expected Ortiz and Rampage to stay healthy, right?) At any rate, it all worked out for the best. Alvarez won a narrow split-decision after five rounds, avenging his previous submission loss against Chandler, and over a million viewers tuned in to see it.
We already know that MMA fans will show up to watch Alvarez and Chandler beat the crap out of each other when it’s aired on cable. The question is, are you willing to pay $34.95 for a fight that was already given away twice for free?
Yes, folks, it’s official, and kind of bizarre: BJ Penn is coming out of his temporary hiatus to coach against Frankie Edgar on the 19th season of TUF (debut date TBA). The two former lightweight champs will face off in a featherweight bout next April. The news was confirmed on this evening’s installment of UFC Tonight. As UFC president Dana White explained, the UFC was originally thinking of putting together Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber as TUF 19 coaches, but the fighters couldn’t agree on a weight class. (Edgar didn’t want to drop down to 135, Faber didn’t want to go back up to 145, and Dana White wasn’t sold on the idea of a catchweight fight.)
So then (as the story goes), BJ Penn randomly calls Dana White and says he wants to fight Benson Henderson (?), as a way to earn his way back to a redemption fight against Frankie Edgar at featherweight (??). Does that plan make tons of sense? Not really. But White was happy to take the opportunity that presented itself, and offered Penn an immediate fight against Edgar if he coached TUF. White also claimed that Penn is super fired up about fighting Edgar again, because his previous losses to Edgar feel like “a pebble in his shoe.”
(Quick, BJ! Lose ten pounds! It’s your only hope! / Photo via Getty)
Yes, folks, it’s official, and kind of bizarre: BJ Penn is coming out of his temporary hiatus to coach against Frankie Edgar on the 19th season of TUF (debut date TBA). The two former lightweight champs will face off in a featherweight bout next April. The news was confirmed on this evening’s installment of UFC Tonight. As UFC president Dana White explained, the UFC was originally thinking of putting together Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber as TUF 19 coaches, but the fighters couldn’t agree on a weight class. (Edgar didn’t want to drop down to 135, Faber didn’t want to go back up to 145, and Dana White wasn’t sold on the idea of a catchweight fight.)
So then (as the story goes), BJ Penn randomly calls Dana White and says he wants to fight Benson Henderson (?), as a way to earn his way back to a redemption fight against Frankie Edgar at featherweight (??). Does that plan make tons of sense? Not really. But White was happy to take the opportunity that presented itself, and offered Penn an immediate fight against Edgar if he coached TUF. White also claimed that Penn is super fired up about fighting Edgar again, because his previous losses to Edgar feel like “a pebble in his shoe.”
First off, we’re a little skeptical about BJ’s chances of making 145 pounds. (If he goes down with a sudden injury a month out from the fight, don’t say we didn’t warn you.) But more than that, we’re talking about the third fight in a series that already seemed to be settled in the rematch, when Frankie Edgar dominated Penn at UFC 118. Will there be any interest in another go-round where Penn is at an even greater disadvantage, coming back from a 16-month layoff and fighting in a weight-class he’s never competed in before?
It’s a good publicity stunt, but I’m not buying this one as a competitive fight. What do the rest of you shmoes think? The Answer vs. The Hawaiian Skeleton — who ya got?
