Tag: TUF

Paige VanZant’s UFC Flyweight Debut Is Official

Paige VanZant’s UFC flyweight debut is official. After a report surfaced earlier this month that the popular women’s strawweight contender would take on former bantamweight Jessica Eye at October 7’s UFC 216 pay-per-view (PPV) card, the bout has been made official by the promotion according to Adam Hill of The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The UFC […]

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Paige VanZant’s UFC flyweight debut is official.

After a report surfaced earlier this month that the popular women’s strawweight contender would take on former bantamweight Jessica Eye at October 7’s UFC 216 pay-per-view (PPV) card, the bout has been made official by the promotion according to Adam Hill of The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The UFC will implement a women’s 125-pound division during the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) featuring coaches Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez after many female strawweights called for a division where they could cut less weight, while some female bantamweights are willing to cut to 125 pounds to not have to deal with as much of a size discrepancy against larger 135-pound competitors. TUF 26 will crown the first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion at its finale in December.

VanZant has been out of action since last December when she was submitted by Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on FOX 21. She’s accepted as one of the most popular faces on the UFC roster, but in reality, she’s only won a single fight over unranked fighter Bec Rawlings since September 2015, losing two of her last three fights (albeit to top contenders) by submission.

She’ll face off with a contender who’s in even more need of a win, as Eye has dropped her last four bouts in the bantamweight division, losing each by decision. She was set to fight Aspen Ladd at July 7’s TUF 25 Finale but Ladd was forced out the week of the bout.

UFC 216 is set to feature an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Next Season Of TUF Introduces Women’s Flyweight Division

The UFC is preparing to implicate its fourth female weight class. Currently the UFC has three female weight divisions, bantamweight (135 pounds), strawweight (115 pounds), and featherweight (145 pounds). Now the UFC is set to introduce a female flyweight division (125 pounds), per a report from FOX Sports’ Damon Martin: The new season of The Ultimate

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The UFC is preparing to implicate its fourth female weight class.

Currently the UFC has three female weight divisions, bantamweight (135 pounds), strawweight (115 pounds), and featherweight (145 pounds). Now the UFC is set to introduce a female flyweight division (125 pounds), per a report from FOX Sports’ Damon Martin:

The report suggests the inaugural champ will be crowned via the next season of The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 (TUF 26). Women currently in the UFC, as well as women not in the UFC, will be allowed to submit their names for the tournament.

Current UFC bantamweight contender Lauren Murphy has already confirmed that she intends to volunteer for the show via a report from MMA Fighting. Tryouts for the show are currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 23 at 8 A.M. PT in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This isn’t the first time the UFC has decided on an inaugural champion for a new division via TUF, as the first ever women’s strawweight champion was crowned on TUF 20. The winner of that season was Carla Esparza, the first ever women’s 115-pound champion.

We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available…

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TJ Dillashaw: Urijah Faber Is Cody Garbrandt’s “Daddy”

If you thought the trash talk between UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt and former champ TJ Dillashaw was going to be good heading into their season as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 25, you were right. After a photo leaked of Garbrandt choking Dillashaw on the set, “The Viper” spoke to the Fight

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If you thought the trash talk between UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt and former champ TJ Dillashaw was going to be good heading into their season as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 25, you were right.

After a photo leaked of Garbrandt choking Dillashaw on the set, “The Viper” spoke to the Fight Society podcast to preview the show, and called out “No Love” for not being able to make his own decisions with his Team Alpha Male leader Urijah Faber.

So much so, in fact, that he’s his ‘daddy’:

“Urijah is Cody’s daddy. Cody can’t make any decisions without Urijah. Urijah’s involved with everything. That’s why Urijah was mad when I left. He likes to be in control. He wants to be the top dog. I hardly even know Cody. It’s kind of comical that Cody wanted to get mad about this whole thing cause I hardly even know the guy. He was on his way in when I was on my way out.”

Garbrandt and Dillashaw are on a collision course not only because they are two of the top three bantamweights in MMA, but also because of the long-standing bad blood Dillashaw has with TAM after his now-infamous falling out with Faber when he chose to leave the team for Denver’s Elevation Fight Team.

But “The Viper” insists he hardly knew Garbrandt, so he finds it funny that his feud with Fader is spilling over into “No Love’s” disposition towards him even though it should not:

“He was on the team when everyone was making fun of him for who he was. Now everyone’s got his back cause he’s doing great. He’s doing good for the team and getting a good name out there. But really the beef with Cody is just comical because it shouldn’t concern him at all. Just because it involves Urijah, he wants to get all riled up and puff out his feathers and act like a tough guy. I expected this from Cody. He’s a hot head and just for him to not really be able to express himself mentally but just get all worked up.”

Dillashaw then took a shot at the whole team, offering the view that rather than come up with their own promotional material, they listen to lightweight champion Conor McGregor and repeat what he says:

“They’ve got Conor’s [expletive] in their mouth talking about what he’s talking about and they can’t really come up with their own [expletive]. They don’t really have anything.”

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Pic: Cody Garbrandt Chokes TJ Dillashaw On TUF 25

After winning the UFC bantamweight title with a dominant performance over Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of this past December’s UFC 207 from Las Vegas, Nevada, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt expressed interest in facing off with ex-teammate and former titleholder TJ Dillashaw. Garbrandt was granted his wish, as he will indeed defend his strap

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After winning the UFC bantamweight title with a dominant performance over Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of this past December’s UFC 207 from Las Vegas, Nevada, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt expressed interest in facing off with ex-teammate and former titleholder TJ Dillashaw.

Garbrandt was granted his wish, as he will indeed defend his strap against Dillashaw later this year, but not before the two coach opposite each other on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which has been labeled Redemption.

It was clear that the two 135 pounders had some bad blood between them, but it appears as if the two actually got into a physical altercation while filming the reality show. A screenshot, which was grabbed from a recent UFC 209 promotional video (Via MMAMania), shows “No Love” grabbing the neck of Dillashaw.

Check it out below:

Are you excited for the next season of TUF, and who do you expect to come out on top when the two men meet later this year?

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Dominick Cruz Says He’s Fighting For The Title When He Comes Back

No. 4-ranked UFC bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao picked up a win over No. 7-ranked Aljamain Sterling at this past weekend’s (Jan. 28, 2017) UFC on FOX 23 from Denver, Colorado. After the win, the Brazilian called out former champion Dominick Cruz, who lost his title via unanimous decision to Cody Garbrandt at last December’s UFC

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No. 4-ranked UFC bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao picked up a win over No. 7-ranked Aljamain Sterling at this past weekend’s (Jan. 28, 2017) UFC on FOX 23 from Denver, Colorado. After the win, the Brazilian called out former champion Dominick Cruz, who lost his title via unanimous decision to Cody Garbrandt at last December’s UFC 207:

“I think Dominick Cruz would make a lot of sense right now,” Assuncao said on UFC on FOX 23’s post-event show on FS2. “He’s right there up at the top of the rankings. I don’t see any other guy.”

Cruz, however, doesn’t seem to be too interested in the idea, as he responded by saying that he will fight for the title upon his return:

“It’s not a question of if I’ll fight him,” Cruz said. “I fight the best in the world. I’m ready to fight for the belt. That’s what I’m in line for. That’s who I’m here to fight – the best. That would be the next guy who thinks they’re the champion, and I can take the belt from him. That’s not Assuncao, and I’m not the guy for him. … I’m fighting for the title when I come back, and that’s the end of it.”

Garbrandt is set to defend his title next against fellow former champion TJ Dillashaw, a man Cruz beat last January, after the two coach opposite each other on the upcoming season of The Ulitmate Fighter (TUF). That fight, however, is not yet set for a certain date, which means Cruz could spend some significant time on the sidelines if he does indeed to wait for a title shot.

Should “The Dominator” be awarded a title shot upon his return?

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Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott Full Fight Video Highlights

Creeping ever so close to Anderson Silva’s revered UFC title defense record of 10, dominant flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson picked up his ninth straight when he outclassed game TUF 24 champion Tim Elliott in the main event of Saturday night’s (December 3, 2016) The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 from the Palms Resort Casino in

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Creeping ever so close to Anderson Silva’s revered UFC title defense record of 10, dominant flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson picked up his ninth straight when he outclassed game TUF 24 champion Tim Elliott in the main event of Saturday night’s (December 3, 2016) The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 from the Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Interestingly enough, the impromptu fight, which came to fruition only because “Mighty Mouse” had cleaned out most of the Top 10 of his division, opening the gate for a season of TUF where the cast were all flyweight champions from different promotions, nearly ended up being one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when Elliott locked on a first-round choke on the champion. It was tight, yet “Mighty Mouse” stayed calm and took over the later rounds with his smothering top game.

The crowd was chanting Elliott’s name, and indeed the returning UFC vet put on a strong performance against the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But at the end of the day, it was Johnson who proved why he’s nearly impossible to deny as the best fighter in the world. Watch the full fight video highlights of his latest title defense below:

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