Tag: UFC 161

Eddie Wineland Issues a Warning to Renan Barao: ‘That’s My Belt’

It’s been nearly seven years since Eddie Wineland captured the first-ever WEC bantamweight title, and now at UFC 161, he has the chance to reclaim it when he faces Renan Barao in the main event on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The WEC title was re-inv…

It’s been nearly seven years since Eddie Wineland captured the first-ever WEC bantamweight title, and now at UFC 161, he has the chance to reclaim it when he faces Renan Barao in the main event on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The WEC title was re-invented as the UFC bantamweight belt when the promotions merged, and the title has been held by five different men since Wineland last clutched it, but it’s something that’s never been far from his mind.

Following back-to-back wins over Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett, Wineland knew his name could be called to face interim bantamweight champ Barao next.  On Monday he finally got the news he’d been longing to receive.

A simple text message from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby read, “June 15. Renan Barao in Canada. Can you be there?”

It took Wineland seconds to return with an emphatic “yes.”

The downside of Wineland‘s title shot is that it means the “other” UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is still on the sidelines recovering from two ACL surgeries in his knee.  Wineland has nothing but respect for Cruz, but this is a golden opportunity to face Barao for the belt, and he’s not going to look at it as anything other than a chance to reclaim the title.

“I wish Dominick the best and I hope he gets better soon.  That being said, it’s a good thing for me,” Wineland told Bleacher Report on Wednesday after his title fight was announced.   “Him being injured is good for me, it was always just in the back of my head—how many more fights to do I have to win?  My last two wins were over top five/top ten guys and they were pretty decisive.  Even the split decision over Pickett, in my eyes it was unanimous but you never know what the judges see.”

Wineland knows Barao is the real deal, even if the tagline on his belt still technically says “interim.”  Still, Wineland has faced the best of the best before and as good as Barao might be, no man is unbeatable.

“He’s for sure going to be my toughest fight to date.  He’s beat the top level competition, he’s beat Pickett, he’s beat Jorgensen, he’s beat [Urijah] Faber, he beat [Michael] McDonald, those are all one-, two-, three-[ranked] guys.  That being said he hasn’t fought me yet,” Wineland said.  

“In his last fight, I saw some holes.  Everybody has holes in their game, I have holes in my game, he has holes in his game and unfortunately for him I’m going to take advantage of that and I’m going to be bringing that belt home for sure.”

Wineland is in a rare position to capture the UFC bantamweight belt so long after he was the first WEC 135-pound champion.  The way he’s looking at it, the bantamweight belt has always had his name on it, Barao is just keeping it warm for him.

“I took two top five guys and ran right through them.  When I first started fighting, Keith Wisniewski was one of the first people I ever trained with and he looked at me and said ‘if you want a future in this, I think you can be one of the best fighters in the world’ and I thought he was nuts. I thought he was bat sh—t crazy and didn’t know what he was talking about.  Now here we sit and we’re going to fight for an interim belt,” Wineland said.

“In my eyes, that belt is my belt.  I was the first bantamweight champion, granted it was in the WEC and it wasn’t under the Zuffa organization yet, but that trail leads back to the WEC and that trail leads back to the WEC bantamweight belt.  That’s my belt.”

Wineland is going to do everything in his power to reclaim the title and proudly once again call himself the best bantamweight on the planet.

 

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 161 Gets Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland as Main Event for June 15

After just a few days of fight announcements, we have a main event for the upcoming UFC 161 card in Winnipeg’s MTS Centre.ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has confirmed that the headliner will be a title fight starring none other than the promotion’s interim …

After just a few days of fight announcements, we have a main event for the upcoming UFC 161 card in Winnipeg’s MTS Centre.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has confirmed that the headliner will be a title fight starring none other than the promotion’s interim bantamweight champion, Renan Barao:

This will be Barao’s second defense of his interim title, following a successful first run against top contender Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel 7 in London’s Wembley Arena.

Before his bout with McDonald, Barao had caused a minor dust-up with UFC president Dana White by stating that he intended to wait for current bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz to recover from a string of knee surgeries (via Bloody Elbow).

However, Cruz’s timetable for a return to the Octagon is still uncertain, although White stated (via MMA Junkie) that the champion would likely have to retire before the UFC stripped him of his title.

With the latest fight announcement, here’s the UFC 161 card as it stands:

• Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland
• Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Maurício Rua
• Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
• Soa Palelei vs. Stipe Miocic

Wineland, a former WEC champion, will enter the match coming off back-to-back wins against Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen, the latter being a “Fight of the Night” bonus winner from UFC on FX 3.

Barao aims to continue winning and eventually head toward a title unification bout with Cruz, as the interim champion currently rides an impressive 31-fight unbeaten streak—his only loss coming in his professional MMA debut over seven years ago.

Update: UFC Canada’s official Twitter account has additionally confirmed Barao vs. Wineland as the UFC 161 main event. While the other matches on the pay-per-view have been reported, each have yet to be set in stone, so the card order will likely be set up in the coming weeks.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and tech writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, PC World, 1UP, NVision, The Los Angeles Times, FightFans Radio, MMA Mania and Bleacher Report. Talk with him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dan Henderson vs Rashad Evans Head-to-Toe Breakdown

The UFC has just confirmed that Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans will face off against each other at UFC 161 in June.Both men have had illustrious careers in the light heavyweight division and each were title hopefuls only a year ago.  How…

The UFC has just confirmed that Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans will face off against each other at UFC 161 in June.

Both men have had illustrious careers in the light heavyweight division and each were title hopefuls only a year ago. 

However, each has suffered recent losses, setting back their title aspirations in a heavily packed division. Their contest will be crucial in establishing the pecking order at 205 pounds, as the UFC continues to search for worthy opponents for Jon Jones’ belt.

Here’s how the two break down.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 161: What’s at Stake When Dan Henderson Meets Rashad Evans

When former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans meets multi-promotional former title-holder Dan Henderson at UFC 161, the two fighters won’t be competing for a belt or even a No. 1 contender’s spot. They will be battling for relevancy in a grow…

When former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans meets multi-promotional former title-holder Dan Henderson at UFC 161, the two fighters won’t be competing for a belt or even a No. 1 contender’s spot.

They will be battling for relevancy in a growing division.

Both Evans and Henderson have got to look at their fight as the last man standing survives—the loser may never get back to a title shot again.

Since losing the UFC light heavyweight title to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98, Rashad Evans has been in a position to battle for the belt again on a couple of notable occasions, but only one actually came to fruition.  Injuries kept Evans from fighting Maurcio “Shogun” Rua when he still had the belt.

Eventually he earned a shot at former teammate Jon Jones at UFC 145.

Evans lost the fight by unanimous decision, but he was in a prime position to jump right back into the title conversation until his loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 in a vastly underwhelming performance.  He could have also been in a spot where with a win he could have dropped to 185 pounds and challenged middleweight king Anderson Silva for the belt, but that also went up in smoke after his loss in early February.

Dan Henderson finds himself walking into UFC 161 in almost the exact same spot, although under different circumstances.

Six months ago, Henderson was supposed to be fighting Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 151. But a knee injury forced him out of the fight and back to the sidelines, where he watched Vitor Belfort get a crack at the belt, and where he now has to watch his former training partner Chael Sonnen take on Jones in April. 

Henderson had a chance to solidify his place back atop the rankings but lost a close decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 just weeks ago in Anaheim.  Henderson was none too happy about the judges’ call in the fight, but his record still reads loss and he’s not getting a title shot right now.

It also can’t be forgotten that Henderson is 42 years old. While he’s had some of his best performances since turning 40, it doesn’t mean he can do this forever, especially considering the new blood slowly climbing the ranks at 205 pounds.

Alexander Gustafsson will likely earn the next crack at the UFC light heavyweight title with a win over Gegard Mousasi at UFC on Fuel TV 9 in Sweden in early April, and then there’s the possibility that Daniel Cormier could win his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 7 and then drop down to 205 pounds to challenge for the belt.

Of course, there is also Lyoto Machida, who has been declared the UFC’s No. 1 contender at 205 pounds. He happens to hold wins now over both Evans and Henderson.

The list seems to be growing longer by the day. Both Evans’ and Henderson’s prospects of reaching title contention almost evaporate with a loss at UFC 161. 

For Evans, a loss would mean three defeats in a row. Granted, one of those came in a title fight against Jon Jones, but rarely do fighters lose three fights in a row in the UFC and somehow work their way back to a title shot.

Patrick Cote lost his first four fights in the UFC, left the promotion and won four in a row before earning his crack at the belt at UFC 90 against Anderson Silva.  Nick Diaz lost three in a row in the UFC as well, but he left the promotion following the last fight against Sean Sherk in 2006 and fought in several organizations before coming back to get his title shot at next weekend’s UFC 158 show.

A third loss in a row for Evans would be devastating and almost eliminates him from title contention in the foreseeable future, especially if Jones continues to hold the belt because they’ve already faced each other in the past.

As for Dan Henderson, his path back to at title doesn’t appear as treacherous as Evans, but a loss would almost certainly put him out of the picture for good.

Adding to this pressure-cooker situation is UFC president Dana White, who was unimpressed by both Evans and Henderson in their recent performances.  White joked after Henderson and Machida fought at UFC 157 that he wished he could have turned their bout into a two-round affair.

White also commented about Evans, saying “he has lost that hunger” when speaking about his drive to be the best in the sport.  Ominous comments coming from the boss, and Evans had to be listening when his name was mentioned.

The stakes are higher than ever for both Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson. For the winner, it’s back into title contention and a race towards the 205-pound gold continues. For the loser, it could mean being relegated to obscurity in the division and a battle for relevancy.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 161 Winnipeg: UFC Announces Second Canadian Show on June 15th in Manitoba

It was announced yesterday by Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro that the UFC has confirmed their second event for Canada in 2013.UFC 161 will be held on June 15th, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba and will mark the first time the UFC w…

It was announced yesterday by Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro that the UFC has confirmed their second event for Canada in 2013.

UFC 161 will be held on June 15th, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba and will mark the first time the UFC will hold an event in Manitoba.

True North Sports and Entertainment, the owners of the MTS Centre has called a press conference at 10:30 a.m. MT Tuesday to make the announcement.

With UFC 158 set to take place next weekend in Montreal, the June show will be the second event held in Canada 2013. Winnipeg joins Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary as the only Canadian cities to host a UFC event.

Two fights have been announced and confirmed for the card so far, a heavyweight match between Stipe Miocic and Soa Palelei and a light heavyweight match between Brazilian contenders Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. There is no main event booked for the card yet, but rumours have begun to swirl about other possible match ups for the card including big name fights between welterweights Jake Shields and Tyron Woodley and Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson could possibly fight on the card as well.

Manitoba has held many successful MMA events in recent years, and sanctioning for the province is handled by Manitoba Combative Sports Commission.

Following a disappointing, injury riddled UFC 149 card in Calgary last July, UFC president Dana White said he wanted to make things up to the fans in Alberta.

There is no word yet whether the Winnipeg booking will preclude a return trip to Calgary in 2013.

UFC 161 will be a pay-per-view event, which typically suggests a high-profile main event. Stay tuned for future fight announcements for UFC 161.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report UFC and regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s UFC section. Follow him on Twitter @wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 161 Set for June 15th in Winnipeg With Henderson vs. Evans, Shogun vs. Lil’ Nog 2


(Keep in mind that Rashad makes $300,000 to show. Flowchart rules are officially in play. / Photo via USA Today Sports)

As confirmed by UFC president Dana White, the UFC will make its first visit to the Canadian province of Manitoba for UFC 161, which is slated for June 15th at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. Two big-name light-heavyweight bouts are already tied to the card.

First up, Dan Henderson will try to bounce back from his split-decision loss against Lyoto Machida with a match against Rashad Evans, who could also use a little redemption following his own low-energy loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156. That defeat made it back-to-back losses for Suga, who previously fell short in his title challenge against Jon Jones. (Fun fact: The “Blackzilians” team that Evans belongs to currently holds a record of 12-15 in the UFC, with only Michael Johnson batting above .500.)

Speaking of Lil’ Nog, the Brazilian vet will be carrying a two-fight win streak into the Octagon with him at UFC 161 when he faces Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who’s coming off his defeat against Alexander Gustafsson. The fight will come eight years after Rua won a decision against Nogueira in their first meeting at Pride Critical Countdown 2005, during the quarterfinals of PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix — and apparently, these guys have been jawing about a rematch for some time now. But of course, Shogun isn’t the young phenom he used to be, and Nogueira definitely has some miles left in him. Any predictions for the rematch?


(Keep in mind that Rashad makes $300,000 to show. Flowchart rules are officially in play. / Photo via USA Today Sports)

As confirmed by UFC president Dana White, the UFC will make its first visit to the Canadian province of Manitoba for UFC 161, which is slated for June 15th at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. Two big-name light-heavyweight bouts are already tied to the card.

First up, Dan Henderson will try to bounce back from his split-decision loss against Lyoto Machida with a match against Rashad Evans, who could also use a little redemption following his own low-energy loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156. That defeat made it back-to-back losses for Suga, who previously fell short in his title challenge against Jon Jones. (Fun fact: The “Blackzilians” team that Evans belongs to currently holds a record of 12-15 in the UFC, with only Michael Johnson batting above .500.)

Speaking of Lil’ Nog, the Brazilian vet will be carrying a two-fight win streak into the Octagon with him at UFC 161 when he faces Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who’s coming off his defeat against Alexander Gustafsson. The fight will come eight years after Rua won a decision against Nogueira in their first meeting at Pride Critical Countdown 2005, during the quarterfinals of PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix — and apparently, these guys have been jawing about a rematch for some time now. But of course, Shogun isn’t the young phenom he used to be, and Nogueira definitely has some miles left in him. Any predictions for the rematch?