A huge bombshell was dropped tonight after the post-fight press conference in a discussion with Dana White. While speaking with the MMA media, White was asked about the proposed VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) testing in the B.J. Penn-Rory Mac…
A huge bombshell was dropped tonight after the post-fight press conference in a discussion with Dana White. While speaking with the MMA media, White was asked about the proposed VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) testing in the B.J. Penn-Rory MacDonald fight.
The follow-up question was, if one of the fighters tests positive, would White pull them from the card? His response was the very definition of breaking news.
“We don’t have to worry about that anyway. It won’t happen. Rory’s out. He got cut open today, wide open. 38-48 stitches. No contact for a month. It’s off.”
White learned (as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was walking out to the cage), that Rory MacDonald suffered a cut in training and had been forced out of the fight scheduled for September 22, 2012.
White’s delivery of his words really showed how shocked he was at receiving the news from Rory’s management.
White was also unsure if this meant that B.J. Penn would also be pulled from the event. It was a situation where there was no perfect response.
Fans are obviously disappointed that the fight was pulled from the card—losing B.J. Penn entirely would really set the UFC back.
To his credit, Rory MacDonald didn’t wish for the UFC to pull Penn from the event. He wants to see him face another opponent as one of the main draws of UFC 152.
There is no word on when fans can expect to see Rory MacDonald again in the Octagon.
(No, Rampage, that’s not a white tiger! Bad Rampage! Down!)
Can MMA fighters just start referring to these so called “retirements” as what they really are (an extended vacation), or do they simply have too much pride? I only ask because, after retiring less than twenty pay-per-views ago (that’s roughly a year in human people time), it appears that TUF 3 light heavyweight alum Matt Hamill will be returning to action at UFC 152, where he will be taking on promotional newcomer and Bellator veteran Roger Hollett.
Being that Matt is one of the more inspirational figures in the sport, not to mention hails from just a few towns away from me, I was initially excited to hear this news. Sure, Matt will probably not be getting his revenge (or whatever you’d call it considering he won) on Jon Jones anytime soon, but he makes for a great addition to any card, and produces good fights for the most part with the occasional skull shattering KO mixed in. However, upon reading over what BG (or at least who I assume was BG, being that I’m the only one who signs his damn posts around here) wrote when Hamill originally announced his retirement, I couldn’t help but reconsider:
Prior to Saturday night, Hamill’s only career losses came against former champions Quinton Jackson and Rich Franklin, as well as his controversial split-decision loss against Michael Bisping…But losing to a mid-level up-and-comer like Gustafsson (Ed note: How things change in a year, amiright?) was apparently the final sign that the game was passing him by. It’s rare to find an MMA fighter who hangs up the gloves before the sport has completely chewed him up. Hats off to Hamill for a fantastic career, and for knowing when to walk away.
Granted, Hammil stated that part of the reason he had decided to retire was due to a “career [that] has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since,” so perhaps he has finally had the time to sufficiently heal up. That being said, what do you think of his decision? Will it go the way of Jamie Varner, or is “The Hammer” just setting himself up to get dicknailed?
(No, Rampage, that’s not a white tiger! Bad Rampage! Down!)
Can MMA fighters just start referring to these so called “retirements” as what they really are (an extended vacation), or do they simply have too much pride? I only ask because, after retiring less than twenty pay-per-views ago (that’s roughly a year in human people time), it appears that TUF 3 light heavyweight alum Matt Hamill will be returning to action at UFC 152, where he will be taking on promotional newcomer and Bellator veteran Roger Hollett.
Being that Matt is one of the more inspirational figures in the sport, not to mention hails from just a few towns away from me, I was initially excited to hear this news. Sure, Matt will probably not be getting his revenge (or whatever you’d call it considering he won) on Jon Jones anytime soon, but he makes for a great addition to any card, and produces good fights for the most part with the occasional skull shattering KO mixed in. However, upon reading over what BG (or at least who I assume was BG, being that I’m the only one who signs his damn posts around here) wrote when Hamill originally announced his retirement, I couldn’t help but reconsider:
Prior to Saturday night, Hamill’s only career losses came against former champions Quinton Jackson and Rich Franklin, as well as his controversial split-decision loss against Michael Bisping…But losing to a mid-level up-and-comer like Gustafsson (Ed note: How things change in a year, amiright?) was apparently the final sign that the game was passing him by. It’s rare to find an MMA fighter who hangs up the gloves before the sport has completely chewed him up. Hats off to Hamill for a fantastic career, and for knowing when to walk away.
Granted, Hammil stated that part of the reason he had decided to retire was due to a “career [that] has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since,” so perhaps he has finally had the time to sufficiently heal up. That being said, what do you think of his decision? Will it go the way of Jamie Varner, or is “The Hammer” just setting himself up to get dicknailed?
Prior to the second round loss he suffered at the hands of Gustafsson at UFC 133, Hammil dropped the aforementioned unanimous decision to Jackson in a snoozer at UFC 130, but prior to that, he collected five straight victories over the likes of Keith Jardine (via MD), Tito Ortiz (via UD), and Jon Jones (via DQ) among others. His record currently stands at 10-4, with 6 of those victories coming by way of (T)KO.
Hamill will be squaring off against 13-3 Roger “The Hulk” Hollett, who has put together a five fight win streak of his own over the past three years. Though he doesn’t hold many notable victories to his credit, Hollett most recently scored a split decision victory over John Hawk in his Bellator debut last November. Upon doing a little research, I found that John is in no way related to Lincoln Hawk, who would have totally thrown Hollett through a glass door on his way to the ring and that would’ve been the end of it. So……there’s that.
After one year out of the Octagon, Matt Hamill has decided to return to the UFC, and will make his return at UFC 152 in Toronto, Canada.Hamill will face Roger Hollett, who is 13-3 with 11 finishes and will be making his UFC debut.Hamill was last seen i…
After one year out of the Octagon, Matt Hamill has decided to return to the UFC, and will make his return at UFC 152 in Toronto, Canada.
Hamill will face Roger Hollett, who is 13-3 with 11 finishes and will be making his UFC debut.
Hamill was last seen in the Octagon at UFC 133, where he was TKO’d in the second round by Alexander Gustafsson. Prior to that, he dropped a unanimous decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the main event of UFC 130.
Hollett will be making his Octagon debut, after fighting one time with Bellator, where he earned a split decision victory over John Hawk.
Overall, Hollett has four (T)KO victories and seven submission victories, while fighting in Bellator and MFC. He is currently on a five fight winning streak, with two decisions, two submissions and one TKO.
It is unclear at this time if this fight will be a part of the preliminary card or the main card.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.
(RagePotato: Using the sleekest technology possible to combine MMA and stupid internet trends since 2007.)
Not many of us expected Brazilian up-and-comer Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira to absolutely manhandle TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in the fashion he did at the TUF 15 Finale. Sure, Brookins’ head movement and general striking stance most closely resembles a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot when his block has been knocked off, but Oliveira’s performance, which improved his featherweight record to 2-0, was truly a coming out party for a fighter who already had a considerable amount of hype behind him. Given the circumstances, it’s all the more appropriate (not to mention exciting) that Oliveira has been booked to take on fellow ever-rising featherweight Cub Swanson at UFC 152, which goes down on September 22nd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Swanson has looked nothing short of spectacular lately, blistering George Roop and Ross Pearson in consecutive bouts at UFC on FOX 2 and UFC on FX 4.
After falling to the secret death-touch taught to Demian Maia by Sensei Seagal at UFC 148, Dong Hyun Kim is set to return to action against the always dangerous but struggling Paulo Thiago at UFC on FUEL 6, which will make for the UFC’s first ever trip to China on November 10th from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. Thiago last performed a dead-on impression of a cadaver in his bout with Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on FUEL 2 (his first career loss via KO) and has dropped three of his last four bouts, so look for him to try and end things impressively against Kim because his career may be on the line.
And in heavyweight booking news…
(RagePotato: Using the sleekest technology possible to combine MMA and stupid internet trends since 2007.)
Not many of us expected Brazilian up-and-comer Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira to absolutely manhandle TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in the fashion he did at the TUF 15 Finale. Sure, Brookins’ head movement and general striking stance most closely resembles a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot when his block has been knocked off, but Oliveira’s performance, which improved his featherweight record to 2-0, was truly a coming out party for a fighter who already had a considerable amount of hype behind him. Given the circumstances, it’s all the more appropriate (not to mention exciting) that Oliveira has been booked to take on fellow ever-rising featherweight Cub Swanson at UFC 152, which goes down on September 22nd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Swanson has looked nothing short of spectacular lately, blistering George Roop and Ross Pearson in consecutive bouts at UFC on FOX 2 and UFC on FX 4.
After falling to the secret death-touch taught to Demian Maia by Sensei Seagal at UFC 148, Dong Hyun Kim is set to return to action against the always dangerous but struggling Paulo Thiago at UFC on FUEL 6, which will make for the UFC’s first ever trip to China on November 10th from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. Thiago last performed a dead-on impression of a cadaver in his bout with Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on FUEL 2 (his first career loss via KO) and has dropped three of his last four bouts, so look for him to try and end things impressively against Kim because his career may be on the line.
And in heavyweight booking news…
Former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga is set to return to action for the second time in 2012, at UFC 153 in Rio. Since being fired from the UFC, then retiring from the sport over two years ago, the star of the Jack Links beef jerky commercials has collected two straight victories, including a first round submission over promotional newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira in his return to the octagon at UFC 142.
Gonzaga will have his hands full when he takes on 6’2”, 264-pound powerhouse Geronimo Dos Santos. Dos Santos will be making his UFC debut after collecting 9 victories in 2011 alone (You hear that Travis? Step it up!). While his win streak is pretty impressive, the fact that he is debuting doesn’t bode well against a guy like Gonzaga, who has built a career out of the crushed dreams of promotional newbies. Based on his last performance, it seems that Gonzaga has also learned to finally use his BJJ wizardry to his advantage, so let’s hope he doesn’t revert back to the guy who thinks he can stand and trade with the best of ‘em, or he could be in for a long night against Dos Santos.
To familiarize you with Dos Santos a little bit (and to spice up these fight booking-style posts), here is a video of a fight in which Dos Santos goes all Kongo vs. Barry on some fatass.
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn didn’t stay retired for long, accepting a high-profile match up with rising star Rory MacDonald in June. “The Prodigy” told MMA Weekly his bout with the 23-year-old Canadian is a “dream figh…
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn didn’t stay retired for long, accepting a high-profile match up with rising star Rory MacDonald in June.
“The Prodigy” told MMA Weekly his bout with the 23-year-old Canadian is a “dream fight” for him, despite the criticism he received for accepting the challenge.
Everybody was like, “Well, you have nothing to gain, why are you doing this? C’mon, go fight someone else. This is a dream fight for Rory, he can get motivated,” and this and that, but what they’re gonna find out soon is that this is my dream fight, going up there and beating them in Toronto, in their hometown in front of everybody. I’m excited to fight in Toronto. Perfect. There couldn’t be a better place to get this done.
One of only two fighters to hold a UFC title in two separate weight classes, with “The Natural” Randy Couture being the other, Penn seems to be a sure thing for the UFC Hall of Fame one day.
However, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert is just 1-3-1 in his past five fights, going winless in 2011. Prior to losing the decision to Diaz, Penn fought perennial contender Jon Fitch to a draw at UFC 127.
On the other hand, MacDonald is 13-1 as a professional fighter, with his sole blemish coming at the hands of UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit in June 2010.
“Ares” is currently a 3 to 1 favorite over Penn, but could the Hawaiian have one more vintage performance left in the tank?
Fans will have a chance to see for themselves at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada on Sept. 22.
Michael Bisping thinks that Chris Weidman is a weasel. It doesn’t seem to bother the surging title contender too much. The Serra-Longo prodigy recently gave a sound off on Bisping and his upcoming fight with Brian Stann for Fighters…
Michael Bisping thinks that Chris Weidman is a weasel. It doesn’t seem to bother the surging title contender too much. The Serra-Longo prodigy recently gave a sound off on Bisping and his upcoming fight with Brian Stann for FightersOnly.
It’s an interesting fight and I think either Stann knocks him out or Bisping wins the decision. I know he is good and talented and he has faced some good guys but every time he has faced a top ten guy he has lost.
Like with the Chael Sonnen fight he did awesome and a lot of people thought he could have won but he didn’t find the way to win. And I am not knocking him – I think he’s a great fighter, I really do – but I question his mentality against top guys when the pressure is on. Which is pretty much what everyone says about him. He has had chances to fight for the title twice now and he doesn’t come through when the pressure is on.
This backhanded compliment goes to show that Weidman knows how to play the game. He is respectful enough to avoid being put in a scrap with the TUF star, but makes sure to point out that Bisping has failed each time he has been given previous opportunities in the UFC.
Bisping performed admirably against Chael Sonnen in January; however, Weidman has a point. When given the opportunity to step up into the elite, the British star dropped fights to both Sonnen and Dan Henderson. The Count has come up short in bouts with Rashad Evans and Wanderlei Silva too.
Currently scheduled to face Stann in the co-main event of UFC 152, Bisping should try and keep Weidman off of his mind. With a dangerous fight right around the corner, focusing on the task at hand is of the utmost importance.
Supposedly told that he will get the ever-evasive title fight if he defeats Stann, the 16-fight UFC veteran has been looking for this opportunity to arrive since his coaching stint on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter.
Weidman is also under consideration for a title shot after his thrashing of Mark Munoz in the main event of UFC on FUEL 4 in July. With a limited roster of fresh contenders for Anderson Silva, it appears as if the win has pushed Weidman to the front of the line.
Will Bisping choke against Stann and miss out on a title shot once again?
Andrew Saunders is a syndicated writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Follow him on Twitter for late-breaking news and analysis for all things MMA.
