Update On UFC Deciding On Their Plans For CM Punk’s Octagon Debut This Year

As noted earlier, UFC President Dana White announced that Mickey Gall, the fighter who asked White, who was in the crowd at the time as the scene was filmed for his new “Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight” reality show, to let him be CM Punk’s debut oppon…

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As noted earlier, UFC President Dana White announced that Mickey Gall, the fighter who asked White, who was in the crowd at the time as the scene was filmed for his new “Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight” reality show, to let him be CM Punk’s debut opponent in the UFC, will in fact be fighting for that exact opportunity at the UFC 196 pay-per-view in February.

Gall will be fighting Michael Jackson, another fighter who will be making his debut in the UFC, in a preliminary bout on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the UFC 196 event. UFC 196 takes place on Saturday, February 6th in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Punk scheduled to be cageside to watch in hopes that Gall pulls off the victory, as it would give his highly-anticipated UFC debut has a nice organic build-up.

If Gall manages to get past Jackson on 2/6, the fight would go from step one — Gall calling Punk out on White’s new show — all the way to the final step before they enter their respective fight camps — Punk reacting to Gall winning from the front row, similar to the infamous shot of Conor McGregor reversing the roles in a similar situation and reacting to Jose Aldo being in the crowd after his win over Dennis Siver.

As things stand right now, Punk is scheduled to make his official fighting debut in the UFC at their landmark UFC 200 event on Saturday, July 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Report: Vitor Belfort Turned Down Rematch With Anderson Silva

Former legendary UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva is set to make his return to action after serving out a year-long suspension at February 26’s UFC Fight Night 83 against Michael Bisping. Originally, however, it was thought that “The Spider” would be rematching Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort at March’s UFC 197 in Brazil. The

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Former legendary UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva is set to make his return to action after serving out a year-long suspension at February 26’s UFC Fight Night 83 against Michael Bisping.

Originally, however, it was thought that “The Spider” would be rematching Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort at March’s UFC 197 in Brazil.

The promotion was aiming to have heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum defend his title against former champion Cain Velasquez at this card, but that rematch has now been scheduled for next month’s UFC 196 in Las Vegas.

With the moving of the heavyweight title tilt, the plan was to have the two Brazilian legends square off in their native land, but obviously the situation fell through.

According to UFC senior vice president Giovani Decker, “The Spider” had accepted the bout, but it was Belfort who had turned it down:

“With the card losing a title fight as big as that one, we thought this card would fit better at the Arena, no longer at a soccer stadium,” Decker told Combate. “But we couldn’t get the deal done with Vitor Belfort. Anderson accepted the fight, but Vitor decided to wait to see what would happen in the fight between Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold (at UFC 194), and he was right, because Rockhold won and called him out at the UFC 194 post-fight press conference, which was a good sign for him.”

Continuing on, Decker made it clear that “The Phenom” didn’t necessarily not want the fight with Silva, but apparently his eyes are on a title shot, leading the UFC to bump Werdum vs. Velasquez up a month earlier:

“Many people said Vitor didn’t want this fight, and that wasn’t the truth,” he continued. “He wants it, he made it clear it will happen at some time, but for him, thinking about his career and what he has ahead of him at this moment, this fight wouldn’t make sense. We were running out of time, and the UFC needed to announce the UFC 196 main event in Las Vegas. That’s why the fight between Werdum and Velasquez ended up there.”

UFC 197 has now been moved to Las Vegas, and has been turned in to a blockbuster event. Featherweight champion and mega star Conor McGregor will jump up a weight class to challenge for his second title against 155-pound boss Rafael dos Anjos. Newly minted bantamweight champion Holly Holm will also defend her crown against Miesha Tate.

As for Belfort, it’s currently unclear as to what we’ll be next.

The post Report: Vitor Belfort Turned Down Rematch With Anderson Silva appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Dana White Announces CM Punk’s Opponent To Officially Be Decided In Fight At UFC 196

https://youtu.be/AGm-U8rYNb8

On his appearance on TSN’s “Off The Record with Michael Landsberg” on Wednesday, UFC President Dana White revealed exactly when, and more than likely who, CM Punk’s first opponent will be inside the Octagon.

White ann…

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https://youtu.be/AGm-U8rYNb8

On his appearance on TSN’s “Off The Record with Michael Landsberg” on Wednesday, UFC President Dana White revealed exactly when, and more than likely who, CM Punk’s first opponent will be inside the Octagon.

White announced that after winning his pro MMA debut and calling out Punk after the fight in a scene that aired on the UFC President’s new reality show, Mickey Gall has signed with the UFC and will debut in a preliminary bout at the UFC 196 pay-per-view in February. If Gall wins the fight, he will officially become the opponent for Punk’s UFC fighting debut, which is as things stand now is still scheduled to happen at some point this year.

You can watch Dana White’s appearance on TSN’s OTR, which includes the Punk announcement, above. To find out who Mickey Gall will be fighting at UFC 196, what CM Punk will be doing the night of the Gall-Jackson fight and when and on which show Punk will fight the winner, read our following update here: Update On UFC Deciding On Their Plans For CM Punk’s Octagon Debut This Year.

For the full story on who Mickey Gall is, the man who called out Punk on White’s new reality show, including the video of Gall making the official challenge, click here for a full breakdown.

UFC 196: Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez 2 Fight Card Preview and Predictions

UFC 195 featured what could easily be the 2016 Fight of the Year, but don’t get too cozy just yet! UFC 196 is just around the corner on Feb. 6 and might end up featuring a deep card stacked with talent.
Unfortunately, the UFC has been slow in announcin…

UFC 195 featured what could easily be the 2016 Fight of the Year, but don’t get too cozy just yet! UFC 196 is just around the corner on Feb. 6 and might end up featuring a deep card stacked with talent.

Unfortunately, the UFC has been slow in announcing fights of late, but here are the bouts announced for the event:

  • Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez 
  • Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt
  • Derrick Lewis vs. Damian Grabowski
  • Josh Burkman vs. KJ Noons
  • Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
  • Ovince Saint Preux vs. Rafael Cavalcante

Those seven fights each include recognizable talents.

In all likelihood, the UFC will announce four to six more fights for this event, but it’s worth looking over the ones that have been publicized. So read on, ladies and gentlemen, and start preparing for February’s biggest MMA card!

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