Tag: UFC 184

Antonio Silva vs. Frank Mir Booked for UFC 184, Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann a Go for UFC 183


(#ForaWin. Via Mir’s Instagram.)

According to a report on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, heavyweight staples Frank Mir and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva have been booked to throw down at UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort in Los Angeles.

In a previous, less saturated era of the UFC, this fight would likely be considered one of the “do-or-die” nature for both guys, who have been struggling as of late to put it lightly. Since breaking Big Nog’s arm back in December of 2011, Mir has fallen on a rather tough-to-watch 0-4 skid, which has included TKO losses to Junior Dos Santos and Josh Barnett and decision losses to Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem. Despite this, the former champion is somehow still ranked #13, which should really tell you something about the depth of the heavyweight division right now.

Silva, on the other hand, has been run over by Cain Velasquez, busted for elevated testosterone, and hammerfisted into oblivion by Andrei Arlovski in his past three appearances. So yeah, both guys could use a win, but a loss a won’t likely result in either of them being let go. But what do you think, Nation, does Mir still have enough in the tank to avoid the dreaded 0-5 stretch (a.k.a The Cantwell)?

In other fight booking news…


(#ForaWin. Via Mir’s Instagram.)

According to a report on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, heavyweight staples Frank Mir and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva have been booked to throw down at UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort in Los Angeles.

In a previous, less saturated era of the UFC, this fight would likely be considered one of the “do-or-die” nature for both guys, who have been struggling as of late to put it lightly. Since breaking Big Nog’s arm back in December of 2011, Mir has fallen on a rather tough-to-watch 0-4 skid, which has included TKO losses to Junior Dos Santos and Josh Barnett and decision losses to Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem. Despite this, the former champion is somehow still ranked #13, which should really tell you something about the depth of the heavyweight division right now.

Silva, on the other hand, has been run over by Cain Velasquez, busted for elevated testosterone, and hammerfisted into oblivion by Andrei Arlovski in his past three appearances. So yeah, both guys could use a win, but a loss a won’t likely result in either of them being let go. But what do you think, Nation, does Mir still have enough in the tank to avoid the dreaded 0-5 stretch (a.k.a The Cantwell)?

In other fight booking news, bantamweight bridesmaids Miesha Tate and Sara McMann have agreed to face one another at UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st in Las Vegas. Tate was most recently able to improve her UFC record to an even .500 via a unanimous decision victory over Rin Nakai at Fight Night Japan, whereas McMann is fresh off a split decision win over promotional newcomer Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 47.

While the fighter formerly known as “Takedown” Tate has been rallying to get an opponent that will stand and trade with her in recent weeks (specifically, Bethe Correia), it looks like she’ll have to settle with another “lay-n-prayer” in McMann. Not that *I* think the Olympic silver medalist is a “lay-n-prayer,” it’s just that I’ve read such things in comments sections across the MMA blogosphere, which we all know is where the real experts are found.

Random note: At the time being, the co-main event of UFC 183 is being listed as Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz. The fuck is that shit?

–J. Jones

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva Slated for UFC 184 in February

UFC 184 on February 28, 2015, continues to get better and better.
On Wednesday evening, the UFC announced the addition of a top-15 heavyweight battle between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-6-1) and Frank Mir (16-9).

Eighth-ranked Silva will be coming off…

UFC 184 on February 28, 2015, continues to get better and better.

On Wednesday evening, the UFC announced the addition of a top-15 heavyweight battle between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-6-1) and Frank Mir (16-9).

Eighth-ranked Silva will be coming off a knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski, and he is winless in his last three outings. His last victory came in February 2013 against Alistair Overeem.

Mir, ranked No. 13, has not fared any better. His last win came in 2011 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140 and has dropped his last four fights inside the Octagon.

Both heavyweights will have their backs against the wall in this fight and could potentially be fighting for their UFC careers given recent results. The desperation could lead to an exciting heavyweight tilt with a big finish.

Mir has finished 12 of his 16 victories, and Silva has finished 16 of his 18 wins. A decision is not likely in this fight.

The two veterans of the sport will be looking for one more run up the heavyweight ladder. Their hopes will hinge on a win at UFC 184 at the Staples Center.

UFC 184 is headlined by two title bouts. In the main event, Chris Weidman defends his middleweight crown against Vitor Belfort. In the co-main event, Ronda Rousey defends the women’s bantamweight title against top-ranked Cat Zingano.

Bleacher Report will continue to keep you up to date on any and all additions to the UFC 184 fight card.

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So It Turns Out a Back Injury Was to Blame For Rousey vs. Zingano Being Delayed (Again)

We know what you’re thinking, “How could someone with the kind of dexterity displayed above ever suffer from back problems?” And to be honest, we can’t really tell you, but we do now know that back issues were to blame for the most recent delay in the Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano title fight.

If you recall, Zingano vs. Rousey was supposed to serve as the co-main event of UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier on January 3rd, but was suddenly pushed back 2 months to the co-main event of UFC 184 in February for undisclosed reasons. The online community’s reaction to this development came swiftly and with vengeance, falling just below their reaction to the title of the next Stars Wars movie on the scale of Faux Internet Outrage.

“I’ve gotta wait two more months for this sh*tty fight? Rousey is so fake!” cried @DopeBeatzforJeezus.

“Oversaturation in MMA is the single biggest problem facing America, and this is proof of that. #ThanksObama #TBT #PrayforWeezy” wrote @Uzi4U2.

Well, it turns out the UFC actually had a legitimate reason for delaying Rousey vs. Zingano…AND YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT IT IS.

We know what you’re thinking, “How could someone with the kind of dexterity displayed above ever suffer from back problems?” And to be honest, we can’t really tell you, but we do now know that back issues were to blame for the most recent delay in the Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano title fight.

If you recall, Zingano vs. Rousey was supposed to serve as the co-main event of UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier on January 3rd, but was suddenly pushed back 2 months to the co-main event of UFC 184 in February for undisclosed reasons. The online community’s reaction to this development came swiftly and with vengeance, falling just below their reaction to the title of the next Stars Wars movie on the scale of Faux Internet Outrage.

“I’ve gotta wait two more months for this sh*tty fight? Rousey is so fake!” cried @DopeBeatzforJeezus.

“Oversaturation in MMA is the single biggest problem facing America, and this is proof of that. #ThanksObama #TBT #PrayforWeezy” wrote @Uzi4U2.

Well, it turns out the UFC actually had a legitimate reason for delaying Rousey vs. Zingano, and it once again falls on the shoulders of the challenger. According to a report on UFC Tonight, Zingano had been booked for a quick turnaround against Rousey despite being handed down a 6-month suspension following her win over Amanda Nunes at UFC 178 in September. Knowing that her “ailing back” would not be ready to compete by then, Zingano’s camp requested that the fight be pushed back to UFC 184, which it then was. One can only imagine how this news will affect my bookie’s already insane view of Zingano’s chances.

But there you have it, nerds, now can we please get back to what’s *really* important here? I mean, The Force Awakens? More like The Force Needs to Awaken Some Better Writers, amiright?

–J. Jones

Bisping, Rockhold, Weidman Unite to Rip Vitor Belfort for Past PED Use

UFC middleweight contenders Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, as well as champion Chris Weidman, may not agree on much, but they found common ground on not being big Vitor Belfort fans. 
At the UFC Fight Night 55 pre-fight press conference (…

UFC middleweight contenders Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, as well as champion Chris Weidman, may not agree on much, but they found common ground on not being big Vitor Belfort fans. 

At the UFC Fight Night 55 pre-fight press conference (NSFW language) in Sydney, Bisping, Rockhold and Weidman all took shots at The Phenom’s past usage of performance-enhancing drugs (h/t MMA Fighting).

“But yes, listen, Vitor was juiced to the gills for many years, and now, he’s not,” Bisping said when asked about who would win when Weidman and Belfort square off at UFC 184. “Now, Chris is going to win that fight, first and foremost. [Weidman‘s] at an advantage…because [Belfort‘s] no longer juiced to the gills.” 

“Vitor’s a joke to me,” Rockhold said. “We’ll see what comes out. I’m very interested…to see what happens in his drug test he took the other day. We’ll see if the fight even takes place.” 

Weidman also expressed concern about Belfort‘s recent Nevada State Athletic Commission-administered random drug test (per Yahoo Sports). 

“Yeah, I’m worried about that,” Weidman admitted. “You want him to get drug-tested until he actually gets drug-tested.”

Belfort was originally slated to face Weidman at UFC 173 in May but withdrew from the bout shortly after the NSAC banned testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), per Fox Sports.  

The Brazilian slugger’s showdown with “The All-American” will be the first time he competes in the United States since August 2011, compiling a 4-1 record in Canada and Brazil while using TRT. 

Back in February, Belfort revealed he had failed a random drug test for elevated levels of testosterone but was still later granted a conditional license to fight Weidman by the NSAC since he was not licensed at the time of the test failure, per MMA Fighting.

Additionally, Belfort failed a drug test for the anabolic steroid 4-hydroxytestosterone back in October 2006 after a decision loss to Dan Henderson, per MMA Weekly.

After a great 2013 scoring headkick knockouts over Bisping, Rockhold and Henderson, Belfort did not manage to get inside the Octagon in 2014.

Assuming he keeps his pre-fight drug screenings clean, Belfort meets Weidman on UFC 184 on February 28, serving as the pay-per-view show’s main event.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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UFC 184 Betting Odds: Ronda Rousey Opens at a Totally Reasonable -1300 Over Cat Zingano


(Quick Cat, now’s your chance! It’s literally your only chance!!)

Back when Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano were originally booked to fight following a coaching stint on TUF 18, the champion was being given something around 7-to-1 odds over the undefeated #1 contender. One ACL tear and a little over a year later, Rousey and Zingano have once again been booked to throw down — this time in the co-main event of UFC 184 in February. And if the early odds are any indication, Zingano is even deader than before.

While it’s true that “Alpha Cat” looked impressive in her come-from-behind TKO of Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, Rousey has been making mincemeat of so-called “top contenders” lately and appears to hold a definitive size advantage over Zingano to boot. What I’m saying is, if you add all these factors together, you wind up with an even bigger squash match that what already was. You wind up with Ronda Rousey being listed as a flabbergasting -1300 favorite over Zingano, which is exactly what happened when the gambling lines opened this morning.

To be fair, Rousey has since dropped to around a -1000 favorite, and Zingano’s chances have improved slightly (from +700 to +600), but you’d have to be Lloyd Christmas to find those odds even slightly intriguing. For context: Rousey was listed at 20-1 over Alexis Davis, and that fight lasted 16 seconds.

So basically, Rousey should still wrap things up inside a minute despite the fact that Zingano is arguably her toughest challenge yet (she’ll be marketed that way, in any case). Are all the incredibly awkward interviews worth this, Cat? GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

We now go live to our gambling expert, Stephan Bonnar, for analysis…


(Quick Cat, now’s your chance! It’s literally your only chance!!)

Back when Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano were originally booked to fight following a coaching stint on TUF 18, the champion was being given something around 7-to-1 odds over the undefeated #1 contender. One ACL tear and a little over a year later, Rousey and Zingano have once again been booked to throw down — this time in the co-main event of UFC 184 in February. And if the early odds are any indication, Zingano is even deader than before.

While it’s true that “Alpha Cat” looked impressive in her come-from-behind TKO of Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, Rousey has been making mincemeat of so-called “top contenders” lately and appears to hold a definitive size advantage over Zingano to boot. What I’m saying is, if you add all these factors together, you wind up with an even bigger squash match that what already was. You wind up with Ronda Rousey being listed as a flabbergasting -1300 favorite over Zingano, which is exactly what happened when the gambling lines opened this morning.

To be fair, Rousey has since dropped to around a -1000 favorite, and Zingano’s chances have improved slightly (from +700 to +600), but you’d have to be Lloyd Christmas to find those odds even slightly intriguing. For context: Rousey was listed at 20-1 over Alexis Davis, and that fight lasted 16 seconds.

So basically, Rousey should still wrap things up inside a minute despite the fact that Zingano is arguably her toughest challenge yet (she’ll be marketed that way, in any case). Are all the incredibly awkward interviews worth this, Cat? GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

We now go live to our gambling expert, Stephan Bonnar, for analysis…

Well put, Stephan. Well put.

–J. Jones

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort, Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano Confirmed for UFC 184 on Feb. 28th


(Surprisingly decent photoshop job via the MMAJunkie forums)

As confirmed earlier today by UFC president Dana White, Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort will indeed headline UFC 184, February 28th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The date and location for the middleweight title fight has been rumored since last week, and Belfort let the cat out of the bag this afternoon.

White also announced that Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano will now serve as the co-main event for UFC 184. The bantamweight title bout was originally slated as the co-main event for UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier on January 3rd, but has been bumped back nearly two months for undisclosed reasons. Instead, the lightweight scrap between Donald Cerrone and Myles Jury has been confirmed as the UFC 182 co-main event.

UFC 184 will be the third time that a Ronda Rousey fight has supported a Chris Weidman main event on pay-per-view — following UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 in December 2013 and UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida in July. It’s been a winning strategy so far, and we don’t expect that to change in February.


(Surprisingly decent photoshop job via the MMAJunkie forums)

As confirmed earlier today by UFC president Dana White, Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort will indeed headline UFC 184, February 28th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The date and location for the middleweight title fight has been rumored since last week, and Belfort let the cat out of the bag this afternoon.

White also announced that Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano will now serve as the co-main event for UFC 184. The bantamweight title bout was originally slated as the co-main event for UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier on January 3rd, but has been bumped back nearly two months for undisclosed reasons. Instead, the lightweight scrap between Donald Cerrone and Myles Jury has been confirmed as the UFC 182 co-main event.

UFC 184 will be the third time that a Ronda Rousey fight has supported a Chris Weidman main event on pay-per-view — following UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 in December 2013 and UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida in July. It’s been a winning strategy so far, and we don’t expect that to change in February.