UFC newcomer Hector Lombard was supposed to headline UFC on Fox 4 until a separated shoulder forced Brian Stann to withdraw from the main event match-up. Needless to say, this has put Lombard’s initial fight in the UFC on temporary stand-by. Lomba…
UFC newcomer Hector Lombard was supposed to headline UFC on Fox 4 until a separated shoulder forced Brian Stann to withdraw from the main event match-up. Needless to say, this has put Lombard’s initial fight in the UFC on temporary stand-by.
Lombard may have found a perfect solution, which resulted in him taking to his Twitter account on Wednesday, challenging another middleweight title contender and former Ultimate Fighter winner, Michael “The Count” Bisping.
Lombard simply tweeted, “Bisping I’m calling you out.”
This is definitely a fight that would be accepted by fans and would make the most sense in terms of relevancy to a title shot.
Since the UFC has already named Brandon Vera vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as the new main event for the UFC on Fox 4, UFC 149 would be the more logical card to change.
Bisping’s current UFC 149 opponent is Tim Boetsch, a good fighter in the UFC whom many do not see as a title contender at the moment.
Bisping has been a very reliable and solid competitor inside of the Octagon but lacks a solid top-five win. A win over Boetsch would mean little for Bisping in terms of receiving a title opportunity.
Lombard is riding a 25-consecutive unbeaten streak into the UFC and I think that would be just the recipe if Bisping wants a UFC title shot.
As for benefiting Lombard, Bisping is a top-five contender with a big name, and a win over “The Count” would immediately silence any doubters.
Bisping would be the better pure striker but Lombard brings a wide array of powerful strikes that are somewhat unpredictable.
This would serve as a very entertaining fight for fans and should easily determine who is the No. 1 contender for the middleweight championship.
Let’s just see if the Dana White and the UFC takes this opportunity and makes it happen.
After learning that Thiago Silva had withdrew from UFC 149, it appeared the UFC was aiming to promote another Brazilian in Glover Teixeira, but Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s camp reportedly turned down the offer.But according to TATAME.com, Rua and his camp …
After learning that Thiago Silva had withdrew from UFC 149, it appeared the UFC was aiming to promote another Brazilian in Glover Teixeira, but Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s camp reportedly turned down the offer.
But according to TATAME.com, Rua and his camp have denied the rumors and they were also unaware of Silva’s injury.
“(Turning down a fight with Glover) it’s not true at all,” Rua’s manager Julio Heller said.
Teixeira made his debut last weekend at UFC 146 and defeated Kyle Kingsbury in the opening round. Despite only competing in his first fight with the company, Teixeira is veteran in the sport, having fought in over 20 professional bouts. His dominant victory over Kingsbury should earn a rapid rise throughout the rankings at 205 pounds.
Although Rua and his camp have yet to accept the bout, there is little upside to facing Teixeira for the former UFC light heavyweight champion. Rua is coming off a close unanimous decision loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 137 last year.
However, due to Teixeira’s sudden impact, the UFC might want to jump on the Brazilian’s early success and try to build him as a potential contender.
And with other competitors out due to injury or already scheduled to fight, whether he approves the matchup or not, may have to settle with Teixeira.
Regardless, Rua will be featured in the co-main event when the UFC makes a trip to Calgary, Alberta on July 21.
Based on the way that Bahadurzada smoked Paulo Thiago in his own UFC debut back in April, we have a feeling that Clements could be in deep do-doo here. And speaking of potential mismatches…
(Well if you’re trying to give yourself a hernia and a dislocated jaw, then by all means, keep doing what you’re doing.)
Based on the way that Bahadurzada smoked Paulo Thiago in his own UFC debut back in April, we have a feeling that Clements could be in deep do-doo here. And speaking of potential mismatches…
On paper, Delorme’s 8-1 record and failed TUF stint look far less impressive than Fernandes’s credentials, but he’s already notched two official wins in the UFC — a pair of rear-naked choke victories over Josh Ferguson and Nick Denis — which gives him an experience advantage where it counts. Anybody picking the Canadian for the upset?
Earlier today, it was reported on the MMA Hour that the current DREAM bantamweight champion and former DREAM featherweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes, has signed with the UFC.It was being reported that DREAM had recently closed its doors and would no …
Earlier today, it was reported on the MMA Hour that the current DREAM bantamweight champion and former DREAM featherweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes, has signed with the UFC.
It was being reported that DREAM had recently closed its doors and would no longer be running shows. It was also being said that ONE FC would absorb the roster, which is apparently not entirely true.
Fernandes is a very big name to join the UFC, and according to the official B/R bantamweight rankings, Fernandes is the No. 9 bantamweight in the world and was the second best bantamweight not residing in the UFC.
For those who don’t know much about Fernandes, he is 11-3 in his career with five finishes and wins over Masakazu Imanari, Joe Warren, Joachim Hansen and Antonio Banuelos.
Fernandes most recently won the DREAM 2011 Bantamweight World Grand Prix, where he defeated Takafumi Otsuka in September and then Rodolfo Marques and Banuelos on December 31 at the DREAM New Years Event.
Fernandes will have his debut fight at UFC 149 where he will face off against 8-1 Roland Delorme.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.
(Photographic proof that Mayhem Miller stole his idea to give C.B. Dollaway a noogie just moments before doing so.)
Call it “The Curse of the 140’s,” because it appears that yet another big fight in what has been a goat rope of a month in MMA matchmaking has been scratched from the books. Those of you expecting a sure-to-be-slugfest between former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and noted brawler Thiago Silva at UFC 149 are going to be more disappointed than a CagePotato contest winner, because word broke this morning that Thiago Silva has been forced to withdraw from his co-main event matchup due to a back injury. Go fucking figure. At this point, it seems the only thing that can save Silva’s spine from shattering into a million pieces would be the back brace that Sweet Dee Reynolds wore to her high school reunion. Or perhaps he just needs to find the David Dunn to his Mr. Glass.
But fret not, Potato Nation, for every shit-filled tunnel has a light at the end of it. In Silva’s absence, the UFC has called upon fellow Brazilian slugger Glover Teixeira to step up and fill the void. Here’s where things get a little muddy, so to speak. It was initially reported, by none other than Dana White, that Shogun had apparently turned down the fight. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie:
With Thiago hurt, we turned to Glover and asked him to go right back in to fight ‘Shogun’ at UFC 149. But ‘Shogun’s’ people are adamantly refusing to take the fight. They want nothing to do with Glover.
Shogun’ wants nothing to do with Glover. But that’s the fight Lorenzo and I are trying to put together.
According to members of Shogun’s camp, however, White’s claims are just a bunch of profanity-ridden malarkey, as they had not even been made aware of the fact that Silva was injured, let alone of a potential replacement.
(Photographic proof that Mayhem Miller stole his idea to give C.B. Dollaway a noogie just moments before doing so.)
Call it “The Curse of the 140′s,” because it appears that yet another big fight in what has been a goat rope of a month in MMA matchmaking has been scratched from the books. Those of you expecting a sure-to-be-slugfest between former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and noted brawler Thiago Silva at UFC 149 are going to be more disappointed than a CagePotato contest winner, because word broke this morning that Thiago Silva has been forced to withdraw from his co-main event matchup due to a back injury. Go fucking figure. At this point, it seems the only thing that can save Silva’s spine from shattering into a million pieces would be the back brace that Sweet Dee Reynolds wore to her high school reunion. Or perhaps he just needs to find the David Dunn to his Mr. Glass.
But fret not, Potato Nation, for every shit-filled tunnel has a light at the end of it. In Silva’s absence, the UFC has called upon fellow Brazilian slugger Glover Teixeira to step up and fill the void. Here’s where things get a little muddy, so to speak. It was initially reported, by none other than Dana White, that Shogun had apparently turned down the fight. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie:
With Thiago hurt, we turned to Glover and asked him to go right back in to fight ‘Shogun’ at UFC 149. But ‘Shogun’s’ people are adamantly refusing to take the fight. They want nothing to do with Glover.
Shogun’ wants nothing to do with Glover. But that’s the fight Lorenzo and I are trying to put together.
According to members of Shogun’s camp, however, White’s claims are just a bunch of profanity-ridden malarkey, as they had not even been made aware of the fact that Silva was injured, let alone of a potential replacement.
Rua’s manager, Julio Heller, spoke with Brazilian publication Tatame.com:
TATAME called Rua’s manager, Julio Heller, who guaranteed they never turned down a fight with Teixeira. In fact, Silva’s injury is not official to them yet.
“I just sent a message to the UFC. I’m waiting for their call”, Heller said. “(Turning down a fight with Glover) it’s not true at all.”
Julio said they’ll wait for the UFC before making further comments, and the decision to fight Glover, or any other opponent, is in Shogun and his coach Andre Dida’s hands.
While it’s understandable that Shogun would be hesitant to accept the fight, given he has much more to lose than a relatively unknown (not to mention dangerous) guy like Teixeira has to gain, he has also gone 2-3 in his past five fights, and isn’t exactly in the position to be turning down fights that don’t suit him. Plus, it’s not like a win over Teixeira would lower his stock or anything. Then again, all of his UFC losses have come to either current or former champions (be it PRIDE or UFC), and his loss to Machida at UFC 104 is disputed to this day, so maybe he can do whatever the fuck he wants.
Teixeira is fresh off a first round arm-triangle submission win over TUF 8 veteran Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 146, his sixteenth victory in as many contests, whereas Shogun is on the heels of a unanimous decision loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 139.
As for Silva’s umpteenth injury to his back, his manager, Dan Lambert, told MMAFighting that they are hopeful that he will not be sidelined for too long, but he will surely not be back in enough time to prepare for a guy like Shogun. If you recall, Silva’s ever-aching back was the main factor behind his positive test for steroids following his UFC 125 UD win over Brandon Vera.
As of this writing, there have been no updates on the situation, but we will keep you updated as things transpire.
Would you like to see Rua/Teixeira at UFC 149, Potato Nation? And if not, who would make for a fitting replacement?
With the announcement that Thiago Silva has had to withdraw from his UFC 149 battle with Shogun Rua, the UFC needs to act quick in order to find a high level opponent and give him enough time for a proper training camp.Shogun is a dangerous striker who…
With the announcement that Thiago Silva has had to withdraw from his UFC 149 battle with Shogun Rua, the UFC needs to act quick in order to find a high level opponent and give him enough time for a proper training camp.
Shogun is a dangerous striker who also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. With knockout wins over Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell and Rampage Jackson, Rua is undoubtedly one of the best light-heavyweights in the world. Finding an opponent won’t be easy.
Here is a look at some potential opponents for Shogun, ranked based on how big of a matchup they would create.
Author’s Note: This list originally contained three names and was edited after considering a fourth candidate.
UFC newcomer Hector Lombard was supposed to headline UFC on Fox 4 until a separated shoulder forced Brian Stann to withdraw from the main event match-up. Needless to say, this has put Lombard’s initial fight in the UFC on temporary stand-by.
