UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and upcoming challengerSara McMann had their first official staredown yesterday at a media event in Los Angeles, which luckily didn’t end in an awkward face-butt. (Although the pretend crane-kick that McMann flashed was kind of awkward in its own way.) It’s hard to imagine these two undefeated Olympic medalists developing an intense hatred for each other by the time they meet in the cage at UFC 170, which is a little over six weeks away. And that’s perfectly fine. We don’t need a “storyline” for every title fight, do we? Can’t this just be a simple squash match between two talented athletes who respect each other?
After the jump: Rousey gives her thoughts on her UFC 168 fight against Miesha Tate (and the resulting handshake controversy), the pressure of being the face of WMMA, her inability to pronounce “tournament,” and her love of Fedor Emalienenko. Plus, Sara McMann discusses how she got the opportunity to compete for the UFC title, preparing for Ronda, and motherhood.
UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and upcoming challengerSara McMann had their first official staredown yesterday at a media event in Los Angeles, which luckily didn’t end in an awkward face-butt. (Although the pretend crane-kick that McMann flashed was kind of awkward in its own way.) It’s hard to imagine these two undefeated Olympic medalists developing an intense hatred for each other by the time they meet in the cage at UFC 170, which is a little over six weeks away. And that’s perfectly fine. We don’t need a “storyline” for every title fight, do we? Can’t this just be a simple squash match between two talented athletes who respect each other?
After the jump: Rousey gives her thoughts on her UFC 168 fight against Miesha Tate (and the resulting handshake controversy), the pressure of being the face of WMMA, her inability to pronounce “tournament,” and her love of Fedor Emalienenko. Plus, Sara McMann discusses how she got the opportunity to compete for the UFC title, preparing for Ronda, and motherhood.
As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier are set to do battle as the co-main event at a Ronda Rousey-charged UFC 170.
Their light heavyweight bout has massive title implications as Cormier is making his division deb…
As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier are set to do battle as the co-main event at a Ronda Rousey-charged UFC 170.
Their light heavyweight bout has massive title implications as Cormier is making his division debut following back-to-back one-sided victories at heavyweight.
Considering “Suga” and “DC” are two of the most athletic fighters in the world, sparks shall fly on Feb. 22. But that doesn’t mean the UFC Tonight co-hosts will remain all buddy-buddy leading up to Fight Night.
“I think he’s kind of scared to text me now,” said Evans in a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio. “But the thing about it is, you’ve got to put it on hold. You can’t be palling around, because it’s a fight. If I allow myself to think any other way than he’s someone who’s trying to separate me from consciousness, I’ve already lost.”
If you remember, Evans just fought another one of his MMA pals as he absolutely destroyed ChaelSonnen at UFC 167. Leading up to their fight the former champion made numerous suggestions about Sonnen being the aggressive outlet for countless weeks of training, not eating and not seeing his kids, so this time should be no different.
As far as Cormier is concerned, he hasn’t cut this much weight since his days as an Olympic standout.
“He couldn’t make 211 (pounds) five years ago or so for the Olympics, so it’s going to be hard if he’s a little bit older,” added Evans. “So it’s going to be hard, but maybe he has discipline now that he didn’t have then.”
In any case, Cormier should provide Evans with one of his toughest fights to date. Even after dropping all that weight, the former Strikeforce king still possesses the best wrestling in MMA and very heavy hands.
“Man, I hope it will be a big factor,” said Evans regarding the potential speed difference. “But you never know. I can just imagine the transition from going against a guy who is fast and is one of the smaller (guys) at light heavyweight, versus going with the guys that he’s used to going against with heavyweights”
Daniel Cormier is a funny customer.
He’s an undefeated heavyweight at a time (and in a sport) where that’s not a routine commodity.
He’s an Olympian wrestler with the type of track record and character that most people could only dream of.
He can talk …
He’s an undefeated heavyweight at a time (and in a sport) where that’s not a routine commodity.
He’s an Olympian wrestler with the type of track record and character that most people could only dream of.
He can talk a little trash when he wants, and it’s usually more clever than the standard “Imma beat that dude bad” that’s shown up on more than one UFC Countdown special.
He’s made the deft career decision to drop a weight class, where he’ll be met by longtime contender Rashad Evans. Pass that test, and he’ll fight Jon Jones for the 205-pound title at some point in 2014.
And yet people don’t really seem to care that much.
There isn’t even really a great reason for it. They just don’t seem to care.
Coming off of his surprise win in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix a couple of years ago, Cormier had hype. He’d walked into that tournament as an alternate and romped to the crown, starching Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and trouncing Josh Barnett.
But long delays between fights and uninteresting showings when he has been in the cage have hurt his marketability. It isn’t as easy to sell Cormier as it was before he was in the UFC, which is both backwards and bewildering.
The encouraging part, though? Jones being on the horizon. Many have tipped Cormier as the last great hope to dethrone the light heavyweight king, particularly if Swedish slugger Alex Gustafsson can’t get it right on his second try sometime this year.
It’s a fight that’s interesting because of Cormier’s skills and how they mesh with those of the champion, and also because the two genuinely seem to dislike one another. Jones has come to embrace his heel persona, and Cormier has proved he has enough silver in his tongue to ruffle his feathers.
In terms of a recipe for stardom, a bout between Jones and Cormier places all the ingredients on the table. It’s up to those two to mix them all up and throw them in the oven.
If that mix goes awry for Cormier though—be it in his lead-up to a Jones fight, his performance once he gets there or should he blow it before he ever gets that chance by losing to Evans—that’s basically the end of the line.
Not for him as a fighter, but definitely for him as a draw.
He’s simply not going to have a better chance at a star-making turn than in a fight with Jones, and turning 35 this year doesn’t give him much time for second chances anyway.
Thus, that’s what it boils down to for Daniel Cormier in his quest for MMA stardom: Get your fight with Jon Jones, or fade into bolivian. It’s not about his perfect record or his Olympic background or his personality, it’s about getting to Jones, getting that spotlight and getting that cheddar.
That’s not an easy road. But if being a star was easy, everyone would do it.
We have over a month until UFC 170, but fans and media alike are speculating the main event bantamweight title fight that will take place between Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann.
In a bout pitting Olympic medalists against one another, the UFC has their f…
We have over a month until UFC 170, but fans and media alike are speculating the main event bantamweight title fight that will take place between Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann.
In a bout pitting Olympic medalists against one another, the UFC has their face of women’s MMA taking on likely her biggest test to date in McMann. It will be a tactical battle that will see the one with the better game plan and more well-rounded skills take the bout.
So, who is going to win this fight? Let’s take an early look at the head-to-toe breakdown and get some insight on who could be walking out of UFC 170 with gold.
(He may look happy, but everyone knows that is Nurmagomedov’s *sad* afro. Photo via Getty.)
Keeping with the UFC’s recently instituted tradition of announcing a fight and immediately shuffling it to another card or cancelling it outright, it appears that the exciting matchup between top lightweight contenders Gilbert Melendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been scrapped from UFC 170. Dana White elaborated on the cancellation in an interview with FOX Sports yesterday:
Not happening.
OK, so maybe “elaborate” wasn’t the best word to use there.
Melendez vs,. Nurmagomedov was made official in the wake of UFC 168 last weekend, but details are still scarce as to why the fight has suddenly been cancelled. Official CP theory: The bears finally had their revenge on the Nurmagomedov family. Both “The Nurm” and Melendez are coming off big wins, over Pat Healy and Diego Sanchez at UFC 165 and 166, respectively, so the fight made perfect sense from a matchmaking standpoint. Be that as it may, the UFC is currently seeking a replacement opponent for the Russian.
(He may look happy, but everyone knows that is Nurmagomedov’s *sad* afro. Photo via Getty.)
Keeping with the UFC’s recently instituted tradition of announcing a fight and immediately shuffling it to another card or cancelling it outright, it appears that the exciting matchup between top lightweight contenders Gilbert Melendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been scrapped from UFC 170. Dana White elaborated on the cancellation in an interview with FOX Sports yesterday:
Not happening.
OK, so maybe “elaborate” wasn’t the best word to use there.
Melendez vs,. Nurmagomedov was made official in the wake of UFC 168 last weekend, but details are still scarce as to why the fight has suddenly been cancelled. Official CP theory: The bears finally had their revenge on the Nurmagomedov family. Both “The Nurm” and Melendez are coming off big wins, over Pat Healy and Diego Sanchez at UFC 165 and 166, respectively, so the fight made perfect sense from a matchmaking standpoint. Be that as it may, the UFC is currently seeking a replacement opponent for the Russian.
A highly anticipated lightweight bout between Gilbert Melendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been removed from the UFC 170 card. The news was originally reported by Mike Chiappetta for Fox Sports.
The bout between the former Strikeforce champion and the …
The bout between the former Strikeforce champion and the surging Russian seemed to be a sure thing, to the extent that the fight was displayed prominently on the poster for UFC 170. News that things were on the rocks first trickled through a few days ago when it was revealed the fight wasn’t “official.”
Apparently, the situation didn’t resolve itself to the point where Gilbert Melendez was taken off the card. The UFC is seeking a new opponent for Nurmagomedov, but whether or not he will remain on the card is a mystery. So, too, is the reason why the UFC was unable to come to terms with Melendez on the fight.
Nurmagomedov has been on a tear since joining the UFC. He debuted in the promotion in 2012 opposite KamalShalorus at UFC on FX 1, choking out the veteran in the third round. Since then, he has racked up four straights wins for a 5-0 UFC record. Most recently, he beat well-regarded Strikeforce alumnus Pat Healy in impressive fashion at UFC 165.
Potential opponents are many for the 25-year-old Russian lightweight. The division is stacked with emerging and veteran talent, which gives the UFC numerous options to turn to. The short list of names includes Michael Johnson, Jim Miller and EdsonBarboza.
UFC 170 takes place February 22 in Las Vegas. The card is headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship and is co-headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Cormier in the latter’s light heavyweight debut.
We’ll keep you posted if any new details emerge regarding Melendez.
As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, 
