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Joanna J?drzejczyk Sums Up Her Career In One Word

UFC 275 included some tremendous fights and individual performances, but it also marked the final appearance for one of the sport’s most popular fighters. Following her second-round knockout loss to rival Zhang Weili, Joanna J?drzejczyk removed her gloves and announced that she was retiring from the sport. Speaking at the event’s post-fight press conference, the…

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UFC 275 included some tremendous fights and individual performances, but it also marked the final appearance for one of the sport’s most popular fighters.

Following her second-round knockout loss to rival Zhang Weili, Joanna J?drzejczyk removed her gloves and announced that she was retiring from the sport.

Speaking at the event’s post-fight press conference, the former strawweight queen was asked to sum up her career in one word. J?drzejczyk considered the question for a moment before answering.

“Legacy. When you read about legacy, it means everything, you know? That you’ve done big things. So it’s legacy. And I always wanted to be remembered as one of the greatest, and I will. I’m just the girl from the hood, you know? JJ from the hood. And I did big things. Quite big. I have to sit and think about what I have approached.”

After entering the UFC in 2014 with an undefeated record of 6-0, it only took two wins before J?drzejczyk found herself as the first challenger for inaugural strawwweight champion Carla Esparza. The Polish striker overwhelmed Esparza at UFC 185 and captured the strawweight title via second-round stoppage.

J?drzejczyk claimed the UFC strawweight title from Carla Esparza in 2015. (Associated Press)

J?drzejczyk successfully defended the belt 5 times before losing to Rose Namajunas at UFC 217. She came up short again in an immediate rematch with Namajunas, and in 2018 she lost to Valentina Shevchenko in a fight for the promotion’s vacant flyweight title.

The 34-year-old had an opportunity to regain her strawweight title in 2020 against Zhang, and the two ended up putting on what is widely considered to be one of the greatest fights in the history of the sport. Zhang retained her title via split-decision, though some argued that J?drzejczyk deserved the nod.

This rematch with Zhang was J?drzejczyk’s first fight since the two battled for the title in 2020. Although she retires on two-straight losses, J?drzejczyk went undefeated through her first 14 fights and was instrumental in establishing the popularity of the UFC’s women’s divisions.

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Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva III Nearly Happened This Year

In only two days’ time, it will be the four-year anniversary of when Chris Weidman shocked the whole mixed martial arts (MMA) universe by knocking out a clowning Anderson Silva at UFC 162, changing the course of revered UFC middleweight division in the process. After their UFC 168 rematch six months later where Silva broke […]

The post Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva III Nearly Happened This Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

After their UFC 168 rematch six months later where Silva broke his leg, Weidman went on to defend the title twice against two former light heavyweight champs in Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort at UFC 187. Four straight wins over true UFC legends in tow, it looked as if Weidman was on his way to becoming a legend himself.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports

Fast-forward two years, though, and after a brutal beating from Luke Rockhold, a devastating flying knee from Yoel Romero, and a controversial TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi, and Weidman is suddenly fighting to merely be a top contender in the deeply talented 185-pound fray heading into his headlining bout against rising star Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of July 22’s UFC on FOX 25 from the Nassau Coliseum.

During an appearance on today’s episode of The MMA Hour, however, Weidman revealed he almost had another big fight lined up this year after the UFC offered him a trilogy match at June 3’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after Gastelum of all foes was forced out for failing a drug test for marijuana. Weidman was still getting the injuries from his fight versus Mousasi checked out, and had to decline:

“The UFC was asking me if I would fight Anderson Silva. This was, I think three and a half weeks before that fight was going on. In Rio, and I’m just like ‘no’. I was still getting things checked out on my body, and going to different doctors.”

Photo Credit: Kevin Hoffman for USA TODAY Sports

And even though he’s on by far the worst run of his career, Weidman still wasn’t desperate enough to fight a man he’s already beaten twice before in his volatile hometown on super-short notice:

“I had just gone to Vegas, got it all checked out. I already beat the guy twice, I’m going to take a fight on short notice and head to his hometown to fight him? I’m like ‘yeah, that’s not happening. If you want me to fight Anderson again, bump it up a couple of weeks, if you want to do it in Nassau Colosseum or some other time, but I’m not going to do it on short notice.”

Weidman was ultimately booked versus Gastelum in his present must-win fight, yet it’s at least somewhat legitimate to wonder if Weidman would be better off fighting an aging 41-year-old superstar with huge name value rather than a surging 25-year-old knockout striker who’s looked nothing less than lethal in recent outings.

If he does somehow get past Gastelum, perhaps a trilogy match with “The Spider” could be a possibility while the all-out mess of the middleweight division is sorted out when Yoel Romero meets Robert Whittaker for the interim belt at this weekend’s UFC 213 and then waits for injured champion Michael Bisping to finally return and defend the title against a real contender.

The post Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva III Nearly Happened This Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Chris Weidman Set Up for a Potentially Huge 2015…If He Can Stay Healthy

Chris Weidman is on the cusp of mixed martial arts stardom. Since the start of his run in the UFC, Weidman’s maturity in competition has been something worth watching. As 2015 approaches, the current middleweight champion finds himself in a posit…

The UFC has set up an interesting start to next year. The middleweight division is filled with a number of contenders. Vitor Belfort, Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold are the four names that leap to recognition as potential challengers for the current champion. Belfort has his shot at the belt in two months at UFC 184. Romero and Souza are set to fight that same evening, with the winner presumably getting the next shot at the belt, per a report by Adam Guillen Jr. of MMA Mania.

If Weidman can defeat any three of those competitors next year, it would be hard to deny him a nomination for “Fighter of the Year” in 2015. Defending his title multiple times in 12 months would help him put together one of the most difficult runs in recent MMA history. However, Weidman has one factor working against him at times—his physical health.

As with many other fighters, Weidman has been forced to back out of multiple fights due to injury. His proposed bout against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 was pushed back due to a shoulder injury (via MMA Fighting). Weidman’s next complication would come before facing Lyoto Machida in which a knee injury pushed that fight from UFC 173 to UFC 175 (via UFC.com). His title defense against Belfort was originally scheduled for this weekend’s UFC 181, but a broken hand suffered by Weidman caused this fight to be postponed to UFC 184 (via Newsday).

These are just the injuries that are known to the public. As with every other mixed martial artist who competes, chances are that Weidman has and will continue to compete while dealing with other physical issues. This is a serious precaution when predicting how great of a fighter he may become.

At 30 years old, Weidman has nearly six years of professional experience. That combination may allow him to stay around in the sport longer, but his potential for greatness and bout with injuries can draw a comparison to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Rua is just 33 years old, but numerous dealings with knee injuries have stifled his ability to remain at the top of the light heavyweight division (via Sports on Earth).

Weidman has already broken through some of the barriers that have stopped other MMA athletes. Appearances in major magazines and on networks such as ESPN will only fuel his rise within the sport. If he can stay healthy and victorious throughout 2015, Chris Weidman may finally reach the point of super stardom that has been projected for his career.

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The UFC 177 Danavlog Asserts That Dana White Might Not Be Such a Sleazeball After All

Recently, UFC President Dana White was named the 8th biggest sleazeball in all of professional sports by GQ magazine, placing just behind War Machine and just ahead of Lance Armstrong. While we’ve had our barbs with The Baldfather in the past, even we think it might be a little much to lump him in with the likes of a woman-beating multiple felon and a steroid-abusing sociopath who built his entire empire on a throne of deceit and manipulation.

I mean, sure, DW may fly off the handle and do something detrimental to the sport every now and again, and he may treat any media member who has the balls to call him out for doing so like a hostile witness in a murder trial, but for the most part, he seems relatively harmless for a multi-millionaire in charge of (what was once) the world’s fastest growing sport, right guys? (*narrowly ducks beer bottle*)

Just take a look at the UFC 177 Danavlog — which grants us a behind-the-scenes look at the drama-filled evening of UFC 175 — if you don’t believe me. Whether he’s informing Matt Mitrione that his fight with Stefan Struve had been cancelled at the last minute, bitching out Joe Rogan for his infamous “f-up” during Ronda Rousey‘s post interview, or simply posing for photos with fans, White handles it all with the grace of someone who definitely wouldn’t drive a railroad spike through a dog’s head to intimidate a rival promoter, unlike some of his former peers.

As a matter of fact, maybe we’ve been wrong about ol’ Dana all this time. For Christ’s sake, look how he recently handled being called a bitch on Twitter. HAS SOMEONE HIJACKED YOUR SOUL, BALDFATHER?!!

Is it possible that Dana White’s not actually that bad of a guy, and that we’ve been the assholes this entire time? And by “we” I mean, like, the collective MMA community. Certainly not CagePotato. We are rebels without a cause and can therefore do no wrong. We’re cowboys, on a steel horse we ride. Wanted (Waaaanteeeddd!!) dead or alive.

What was I talking about again? Oh right, the UFC 177 Danavlog, which, true to Dana’s words, is one of the more powerful vlogs that has been released so far. In it, you will also find a heartbroken Matt Mitrione consoling an even more heartbroken Stefan Struve, Uriah Hall (rightfully) screaming like a bitch while having his broken toe put back in place, and a closer look at Ronda Rousey’s nasty gash. (I’m referring to the one she suffered in her fight with Alexis Davis, you perverts.)

Check it out above, then let us know if we should continue our War on Whitey (phrasing) in the comments section.

–J. Jones

UFC Drug-Fail Alert: Kevin Casey Tests Positive for Steroids, Robert Drysdale Tests Positive for Elevated Testosterone (Again)

(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)

Drug testing at the UFC’s back-to-back events in Las Vegas earlier this month caught two more PED-cheaters, who will be facing fines, suspensions, and the overturning of their victories. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday evening.

We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.

Fun fact: Though 2014 has been plagued by positive drug tests for elevated testosterone, HGH, EPO, hCG, and assorted hormone regulators and diuretics, this is the first time all year that a fighter has tested positive for old-school steroids. UPDATE: I was wrong. Bellator welterweight Herman Terrado tested positive for the same steroid in April.

And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news…

(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)

We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175 on July 5th. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.

And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news, light-heavyweight jiu-jitsu phenom Robert Drysdale was caught with an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 12:1 following his first-round submission win over Keith Berish at the TUF 19 Finale on July 6th. The allowed ratio in Nevada is 6:1, which is already a much higher T/E ratio than any human being should have naturally.

Even though Drysdale’s appearance at the TUF 19 Finale marked his UFC debut, it’s actually the second drug test he’s failed for elevated testosterone. In 2013, Drysdale was denied a license to compete at UFC 167 after an out-of-competition drug test came back with a whopping 19.4:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. Following his first failed drug test, Drysdale claimed that he was only on TRT for a little over a month, and he wasn’t on it long enough to feel much of an effect. (“I will not take an ounce of blame for dishonesty, because there was no dishonesty on my part. I would take some blame for not understanding the process.”)

I wonder how much blame Drysdale will accept for this one. At any rate, having more failed drug tests than actual fights in the UFC is a bad look. We’ll keep you posted when punishments are officially handed down for Drysdale and Casey.

In the wake of this news, we’ve made a long-overdue update to our MMA and Testosterone Bust Timeline, which turned five years old yesterday. Time flies when you’re juiced to the gills.

Robert Drysdale and Kevin Casey Fail Drug Tests Following UFC Wins

Less than a month after scoring their first UFC wins, grappling aces Robert Drysdale and Kevin Casey each failed drug tests administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Drysdale improved to 7-0 when he won via first-round submission over Keith…

Less than a month after scoring their first UFC wins, grappling aces Robert Drysdale and Kevin Casey each failed drug tests administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Drysdale improved to 7-0 when he won via first-round submission over Keith Berish at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale on July 6. The day before, Casey notched his fourth straight win by recording a first-round KO of Bubba Bush at UFC 175.

Drysdale failed his test due to an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 12-to-1, according to Deputy Attorney General Christopher Eccles, per a report by MMAJunkie.com. The NSAC allows a (T/E) ratio of 6-to-1.

Casey, meanwhile, tested positive for drostanolone, an anabolic steroid.

Update: Kevin Casey apologies for his actions via Twitter.

—end of update—

Both wins will likely be deemed no contests, and Casey and Drysdale could receive suspensions and fines. It’s yet to be scheduled, but both fighters will stand before the NSAC in a future hearing.

No other competitor from UFC 175 or The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale tested positive for any banned substances or elevated (T/E) ratios. The NSAC used blood and urine tests for UFC 175. Only urine screens were utilized for The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.

Two fighters were pulled from UFC 175 due to issues with drug tests and the NSAC. Wanderlei Silva first refused to take a random drug test in May, and then later admitted to taking diuretics. And Chael Sonnen tested positive for five banned substances in June, an incident that led to his retirement.

The 33-year-old Drysdale has struggled personally since signing with the UFC in 2013. Drysdale had to pull out of his first scheduled bout with the company at UFC 163 due to a staph infection. The submission wizard was then denied at license by the NSAC following a pre-fight drug screen for UFC 167 that showed his testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio at 19.4-to-1.

Casey, also 33 years old, failed a drug test for the first time in his seven-year career. Casey dropped his promotional debut to Josh Samman via TKO (knees) at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.

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