Tag: UFC 186

UFC 186: It Would Be a Total Buzzkill If Rampage Jackson Can’t Fight on the Card

With T.J. Dillashaw dropping out of the main event, it is now even more important to have Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fighting at UFC 186. The card lacks star power with Rampage off the card. If politics and legalities go through, MMA fans will be let do…

With T.J. Dillashaw dropping out of the main event, it is now even more important to have Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fighting at UFC 186. The card lacks star power with Rampage off the card. If politics and legalities go through, MMA fans will be let down. 

There are two things that fans love about Rampage: his persona and his desire to participate in exciting fights.

According to Fox Sports’ Elias Cepeda, when Rampage was fighting in the now defunct Pride organization, he had a cell phone number he made public and would chat with fans for a few minutes if he was available.

Cepeda also notes that as Rampage’s fame grew, he had less privacy and wanted financial compensation to balance that out:

To be brutally honest—I love the fans but I can only take them in small doses. Man, I’m just like them. MMA fighters are so accessible to fans. I just want to be able to enjoy some private times. If not, there has to be the financial compensation to cover it.

On top of that, Rampage is a character.

During a media scrum at UFC 182, he flirted with a female reporter, challenged a male reporter to a fight and complimented another’s mustache (h/t Heidi Fang of The Fight Corner).

Rampage also noted a lack of personality in the fighters in the UFC during the media scrum: 

I think the UFC needs a little more excitement. I’ve been following a little bit and it’s been kind of boring.

It needs a little personality. Should I do personality classes for some of these fighters or something like that? Fighting is only half of it. You guys need some personality sometime.

Sometimes fighters are just too uptight, their egos. They want to be tough guys and stuff like that. Come on man, you’re an MMA fighter. Everybody already knows you’re tough.

Fans also know that when Rampage is in the Octagon, it will be an exciting fight. He has been a part of three fights deemed “Fight of the Night,” including his loss to Jon Jones. He has also been awarded two “Knockouts of the Night,” including his knockout victory over Chuck Liddell. 

Perhaps due to his older age and established career, he doesn’t care about the outcome of fights anymore. He tells Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com:

People are stuck on winning and losing, that’s an American mentality. I’m over it. I don’t need to think the way everyone else does. I just want to come and focus on what made me popular—giving exciting fights. The fans love me, so the UFC brought me back.

Rampage is right: The fans do love him. Otherwise, there would be very little buzz for UFC 186. Hopefully, all of his efforts in the gym were not due to his legal issues with Bellator.

But Rampage doesn’t appear to have any hard feelings, as he sent out a playful shot to Bellator president Scott Coker: 

 

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UFC 186 Loses TJ Dillashaw, And Therefore All Fan Interest, to Rib Injury


(WHAT ARE YOU SMILING AT, TJ? CAN’T YOU SEE THAT *WE’RE* THE ONES IN REAL PAIN?!! via Getty.)

Perhaps the most shocking thing about UFC 185 was not the pair of title fight upsets that occurred that night, but that all of the fighters competing in said title fights even managed to make it to fight night at all. There aren’t many injury-free fighters like Jeremy Horn these days, to the point that the UFC is forced to abandon plans for a card containing just one title fight more often than not, or just cancel the card altogether. With UFC 186, they were attempting to do the impossible again, booking both the TJ Dillashaw–Renan Barao bantamweight title fight rematch and a flyweight bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and Kyro…Kyjo…some other guy.

What I’m saying is, we probably shouldn’t be that surprised to learn that one of those 2 title fights (the one we were interested in, more specifically) will no longer be happening.

Details after the jump. 


(WHAT ARE YOU SMILING AT, TJ? CAN’T YOU SEE THAT *WE’RE* THE ONES IN REAL PAIN?!! via Getty.)

Perhaps the most shocking thing about UFC 185 was not the pair of title fight upsets that occurred that night, but that all of the fighters competing in said title fights even managed to make it to fight night at all. There aren’t many injury-free fighters like Jeremy Horn these days, to the point that the UFC is forced to abandon plans for a card containing just one title fight more often than not, or just cancel the card altogether. With UFC 186, they were attempting to do the impossible again, booking both the TJ Dillashaw–Renan Barao bantamweight title fight rematch and a flyweight bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and Kyro…Kyjo…some other guy.

What I’m saying is, we probably shouldn’t be that surprised to learn that one of those 2 title fights (the one we were interested in, more specifically) will no longer be happening.

Details after the jump. 

Winning a UFC title nowadays is akin to moving into the Amityville house, or feeding your Mogwai after midnight and not expecting some serious shenanigans to transpire. As such, newly-crowned bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw — who has pulled out of exactly zero fights in his UFC career due to injury — has been forced out of UFC 186 with a fractured rib. (via the UFC’s official report):

UFC President Dana White said Tuesday that TJ Dillashaw has sustained a rib fracture that will force a postponement of his much-anticipated UFC 186 bantamweight rematch against Renan Barao in Montreal on April 25.

White revealed the news during an interview with Los Angeles radio personality Kurt “Big Boy” Alexander on KRRL-FM 92.3.

Dillashaw’s injury occurred during training on Monday, White said. There is no immediate timetable for his return.

Fantastic.

This of course bumps the flyweight title match between Johnson and the other guy into the main event slot, which has been taken with the kind of grace you’d expect from MMA fans with Twitter accounts:

Great stuff, you guys. I guess the UFC can sleep easy knowing that most of these people weren’t planning on actually paying for UFC 186 in the first place. Go team!

UFC 186: TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao 2 Full Preview and Predictions

UFC 185 was an absolute treat for fans, with compelling fights from top to bottom. The pay-per-view card with the unenviable task of following that act? UFC 186, of course!
The full card is as follows:

TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao

Demetrious Jo…

UFC 185 was an absolute treat for fans, with compelling fights from top to bottom. The pay-per-view card with the unenviable task of following that act? UFC 186, of course!

The full card is as follows:

  • TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao
  • Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
  • Quinton Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado 
  • Michael Bisping vs. CB Dollaway 
  • Yves Jabouin vs. Thomas Almeida 
  • Patrick Cote vs. Joe Riggs 
  • Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman 
  • Chad Laprise vs. Bryan Barberena 
  • John Makdessi vs. Abel Trujillo 
  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. David Michaud 
  • Nordine Taleb vs. Claudio Silva 
  • Jessica Rakoczy vs. Valerie Letourneau

Like UFC 185, it sports not one but two title fights at the top of the card in the bantamweight rematch between TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao and the flyweight tilt between Demetrious Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi. 

Past that is a wealth of veteran talent up and down the card, most notably the UFC return of a former light heavyweight champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Not only that, but the UFC stacked the card with interesting Canadian talent, including Patrick Cote, Alexis Davis and Jessica Rakoczy.

So why not take a quick look at the UFC 186 main card? Read on for our previews and predictions of each fight!

Begin Slideshow

Sarah Kaufman Fights Alexis Davis at UFC 186 in Next UFC Trilogy

Canadian fight fans will have to settle for the return of two of the most exciting women in the 135-pound division, not former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
UFC bantamweight competitor Sarah Kaufman has finally found herself an Octagon o…

Canadian fight fans will have to settle for the return of two of the most exciting women in the 135-pound division, not former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

UFC bantamweight competitor Sarah Kaufman has finally found herself an Octagon opponent. The 29-year-old former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion will face off with former title challenger Alexis Davis for the third time at UFC 186.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the news. Kaufman also made the announcement on her Twitter account.

The No. 5-ranked Kaufman has been on the shelf for the past nine months due to injuries sustained in a car accident and has been campaigning tirelessly on social media for a return fight.

Well, the UFC obliged by pitting her against the No. 3-ranked Davis in the promotion’s latest trilogy fight.

Davis and Kaufman have met twice before; once in Strikeforce and another time on the Canadian mixed martial arts circuit. Kaufman bested her fellow Canadian on both occasions, earning TKO and majority decision victories. 

Kaufman, a native of Victoria, British Columbia, sports a 1-0 Octagon record with one no-contest. She last fought former Invicta FC flyweight title challenger Leslie Smith in April, defeating her for the second time via unanimous decision.

Her lone no-contest was originally a split-decision loss to former Bellator fighter Jessica Eye in her Octagon debut. It was a decision that several MMA media outlets scored for Kaufman. 

Meanwhile, Davis hasn’t fought since her 16-second beatdown at the hands of undefeated bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey at UFC 175 in July. The 30-year-old was previously riding a five-fight win streak, notching victories over top-10 opponents Eye and Liz Carmouche.

Kaufman, a Jackson/Winkeljohn MMA product, bloodied Davis in a 15-minute striking battle under the Strikeforce banner in March 2012. For three rounds the Columbus, Ohio audience was treated to a thrilling back-and-forth bloodbath in which Kaufman squeaked out a majority decision win. 

The win earned her a shot at the bantamweight queen Rousey in August 2012. Kaufman would end up falling victim to the arm collector within the first minute of their tussle.

In the initial meeting between the two Canadian fighters, which took place in April 2007, Kaufman put away Davis via third-round TKO.

The pair’s next fight promises to be filled with as many knees, elbows and haymakers as their prior two bouts were. 

We’d be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the growth that Kaufman and Davis have shown in the three years since they last fought. 

Kaufman’s striking has looked better each time she has set foot in the Octagon. In fact, her former opponent Smith probably still feels the stinging of the crisp boxing on her face. Kaufman recorded over 200 significant strikes against Smith in their April encounter. 

The Canadian battered Smith for 15 minutes and nearly finished Eye in their UFC 166 war.

Davis looked equally impressive against Eye and the former 135-pound title challenger Carmouche. The San Jose-based fighter picked apart Carmouche with leg kicks in their November 2013 fight, and utilized ground and pound to eek out a close decision over Eye at UFC 170. 

Both Davis and Kaufman need a victory to keep pace with former title challenger Miesha Tate, who has compiled three straight victories in the last 12 months.

The 28-year-old Tate has been one of the more busy women in the bantamweight division, most recently earning a hard-fought win over former Olympic wrestler Sara McMann at UFC 183. Her only professional losses have come against those at the top of the 135-pound food chain, including bouts with the champion Rousey and current No. 1 contender Cat Zingano.

Kaufman has taken to Twitter in the new year in hopes of securing bouts with burgeoning Brazilian star Bethe Correia and Tate, who she holds a May 2009 victory over. 

UFC 186 will take place April 25 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao. 

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Hector Lombard Fails UFC 182 Post-Fight Drug Test for Designer Steroid

The hits just keep on coming when it comes to MMA and performance-enhancing drugs, as Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com is reporting that UFC welterweight contender (and former Bellator middleweight champion) Hector Lombard has failed a drug test admini…

The hits just keep on coming when it comes to MMA and performance-enhancing drugs, as Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com is reporting that UFC welterweight contender (and former Bellator middleweight champion) Hector Lombard has failed a drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. According to the NSAC, Lombard failed a post-fight drug test at UFC 182 for desoxymethyltestosterone, a designer steroid. The failed drug test resulted in the sudden cancellation of Lombard’s UFC 186 fight with fellow contender Rory MacDonald.

A date for Lombard’s preliminary hearing has not been set, but it is possible he may appear at the Commission’s February 17 hearing. He likely faces a suspension and fine, and he will also likely see his win over Josh Burkman overturned to a no-contest.

The news is the latest drug test-related hit to the UFC, which has seen multiple prominent fighters get flagged for PEDs and drugs of abuse. Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was discovered to be using cocaine through a pre-fight drug test for his UFC 182 bout with Daniel Cormier. At UFC 183, both main event fighters failed drug tests, with Anderson Silva failing a pre-fight drug test for two steroids, and Nick Diaz failing a post-fight drug test for marijuana.

Worth noting is that while MacDonald vs. Lombard was a particularly strong fight, UFC 186 remains very interesting. Two championship bouts headline the card in T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao 2 and Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi. The card also features the likely UFC return of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson opposite Fabio Maldonado and an important middleweight fight between Michael Bisping and CB Dollaway.

A date for Lombard’s preliminary hearing will likely be set in the coming days. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details as they become available.

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MacDonald vs. Lombard Off, Mighty Mouse vs. Horiguchi New Co-Main at UFC 186

UFC 186 just added a little more shine to its lineup. 
According to the UFC, the originally scheduled co-main event between top-five welterweights Rory MacDonald (18-2) and Hector Lombard (35-4-1, 1 no-contest) has been called off due to unknown c…

UFC 186 just added a little more shine to its lineup. 

According to the UFC, the originally scheduled co-main event between top-five welterweights Rory MacDonald (18-2) and Hector Lombard (35-4-1, 1 no-contest) has been called off due to unknown circumstances. The press release said “updates for both fighters will be provided when available.” 

Sliding into this co-headlining slot on April 25 in Montreal is a flyweight title fight between the champion, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (21-2-1), and his challenger, Kyoji Horiguchi (15-1). 

Johnson is the only flyweight champion in UFC history. He first won the belt in September 2012, earning a split-decision victory over Joseph Benavidez (21-4) at UFC 152. Since then, he’s defended his strap five times, establishing himself as the clear-cut No. 1 flyweight in the world in the process.

He’s finished three of his five title defenses, and his two decisions were unanimously decided in his favor.

To his credit, Horiguchi has looked phenomenal since coming to the UFC in October 2013.

The Japanese standout is 4-0 inside the Octagon, finishing half of his bouts via TKO and generally dominating his competition along the way.

Against Mighty Mouse, he’s facing a different animal than the likes of Louis Gaudinot and Darrell Montague, but he’s proven himself a worthy challenger throughout the course of his 16-fight professional career.

Interestingly enough, Johnson recently told Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, via Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com, that he’d fight UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw (11-2) for the low, low price of $2 million.

Dillashaw headlines UFC 186 in a rematch against Renan Barao (33-2, 1 no-contest), so if both Johnson and Dillashaw notch victories on the evening, we may hear these “superfight” talks heat up a bit during the post-fight press conference. 

With this switch-up, the UFC 186 card now looks like this: 

Do you think Horiguchi has a chance against Johnson, or will this be another relatively stress-free title defense for the 125-pound king? 

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for updates on MacDonald and Lombard as details are released. 

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