Tag: UFC 197

Derrick Lewis Claps Back At Francis Ngannou’s Callout

Derrick Lewis is apparently sick of playing games with Francis Ngannou. After Lewis repeatedly called out the hulking Cameroonian in the weeks after Ngannou lost his title bid against current UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic at January’s UFC 220, Ngannou recently revealed he was ready to meet “The Black Beast,” imploring Lewis’ management to get […]

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Derrick Lewis is apparently sick of playing games with Francis Ngannou.

After Lewis repeatedly called out the hulking Cameroonian in the weeks after Ngannou lost his title bid against current UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic at January’s UFC 220, Ngannou recently revealed he was ready to meet “The Black Beast,” imploring Lewis’ management to get the ball rolling.

Today, Lewis replied while smoking a cigar in Jamaica, poking at Ngannou by saying someone should translate that he wants the fight to him while using a couple classic Yoel Romero hashtags:

@francisngannou it’s about time someone translated to you that I’ve been wanting this fight since last year #seeyousoonboy #iuhhyou

Ngannou had won all six of his UFC bouts by vicious stoppage prior to facing Miocic, an elite champion who showed “The Predator” what a true top mixed martial arts skillset looks like.

Lewis has won 10 of his 13 total UFC bouts and recently rebounded from a TKO loss to Mark Hunt by destroying Marcin Tybura at February’s UFC Austin. He’s repeatedly criticized Ngannou’s supposed gassing against Miocic, but “The Black Beast” has also been pegged as someone who falters when taken to the later rounds.

Both their styles are all-out, explosive, and knockout-focused, making this potential match-up one of the most explosive heavyweights fights the UFC could put on.

Should the UFC capitalize on the online heat and book the fight right away?

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Alexander Gustafsson Continues Assault On Luke Rockhold’s Move To Light Heavyweight

With champion Daniel Cormier heading up to heavyweight to face Stipe Miocic, top light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has recently been involved in a rivalry with former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold. The beef initiated when Gustafsson called out Rockhold, who has been hinting at a move to 205 following increasingly hard weight cuts, in the days after his […]

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With champion Daniel Cormier heading up to heavyweight to face Stipe Miocic, top light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has recently been involved in a rivalry with former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold.

The beef initiated when Gustafsson called out Rockhold, who has been hinting at a move to 205 following increasingly hard weight cuts, in the days after his vicious knockout loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 221 in February. Many criticized that move as incredibly bad given Rockhold would likely need a lengthy recovery from possibly the most earth-shaking knockout of 2018 thus far.

But Rockhold hasn’t shied away – quite the opposite.

He’s been in the headline for a litany of topics, and he added onto that by reacting to Gustafsson’s callout by promising he would be ‘coming for that a**.’

As expected, the Swede didn’t take kindly to that, quickly blasting Rockhold for being ‘chinny’ and calling his blaming of the weight cut an excuse. ‘The Mauler’ doubled down on his needling of Rockhold during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour as well, stating that his new rival opened the doors about his divisional shift and he only responded:

“First of all, he’s a good fighter, but he was saying a lot, that it’s easier to fight at 205 and just a lot of stuff.

“It feels like, to him, he was going up in weight just to have an easier fight, more or less, and I just told him that’s not case and here I am. So basically he was the one who started all of this, and I just followed up on it.”

As for his recent callout of Rockhold, who has lost two of his last three fights by way of brutal knockout, Gustafsson said he was only going on historical fact:

“I just go by facts,” Gustafsson said. “That’s all we’ve seen so far. And he thinks an easy thing coming up to light heavyweight, but I’m there to welcome him.”

‘The Mauler’ was thought to have a title shot in the wings after he demolished Glover Teixeira in an amazing match last May, but rising contender Volkan Oezdemir swooped in with three wins in 2017 when Gustafsson had surgery and was rapidly trounced by Cormier in January.

With the light heavyweight title picture uncertain for now as Cormier moves up to heavyweight for at least one bout, the title still remained the only goal of the towering striker.

If a shot isn’t available again, he said he would still settle for Rockhold and then move his focus to the championship:

“For me, it’s the belt basically. That’s my top priority right now because I feel like I’m the No. 1 contender and I’ve been fighting most of the guys in my division. So that’s my top priority. But if that can’t happen, I’m up for suggestions and we’re looking at, for example, Luke Rockhold, and then see if we can [figure] something good out.”

Gustafsson has lost two previous title bids in classic bouts with both decorated former champion Jon Jones and Cormier, and with Jones’ license revoked as he awaits his USADA sanctions for testing positive for anabolic steroids, ‘The Mauler’ doesn’t foresee a rematch with ‘Bones’ anytime soon, even if he wants one:

“He’s in a tough situation,” Gustafsson said.

“He feels like he’s too far away now. But if somehow he comes back, he has a way and he comes back, that’s also a fight I have to do. We need to do a second round, him and me, but let’s see how it plays out for him.”

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Alexander Gustafsson Reacts To Luke Rockhold’s Recent Threat

Earlier this week, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold opened up about his reasons for moving up to light heavyweight for his next bout, describing the weight cut to 185 pounds as simply too draining for him as he aged. Rockhold said the cut played a part in him not performing his best during his […]

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Earlier this week, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold opened up about his reasons for moving up to light heavyweight for his next bout, describing the weight cut to 185 pounds as simply too draining for him as he aged.

Rockhold said the cut played a part in him not performing his best during his recent knockout loss to Yoel Romero at February’s UFC 221, a fight before which he said he spent several hours in a depleted state.

With weight cutting and its effects a hot topic in MMA, Rockhold made the call that many top fighters have recently and will move to a division much more suited to his natural weight. And when he does, he already has a high-profile dance partner waiting for him.

After his loss to Romero, he was surprisingly called out by former two-time light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson, who lost to Rockhold’s longtime training partner Daniel Cormier at 2015’s UFC 192. The former Strikeforce and UFC 185-pound champ understandably didn’t take too kindly to ‘The Mauler’s’ impromptu callout, saying he was ‘coming for that ass’ earlier this week.

Gustafsson apparently got word of it as well, and he issued a response on Twitter calling Rockhold ‘chinny’ earlier today:

“The Mauler” had previously hinted he may move up weight classes himself to avoid fighting friends and teammates Jimi Manuwa and Ilir Latifi, yet it seems like he’s willing to wait at 205 for Rockhold to make his debut.

There’s little doubt Rockhold would have a significant test on his hands in the top-ranked Gustafsson, who knocked out Glover Teixeira in a scintillating “Fight of the Night”-winning affair last May before undergoing shoulder surgery.

Rockhold has also been linked to a trilogy bout with rival Michael Bisping, who is rumored to be retiring and infamously ripped the title from Rockhold’s hands at UFC 199. But if he’s serious about a move up to light heavyweight, the ‘Mauler’ fight would be an immediate proving ground to find out if it was the weight cut affecting his recent effort.

Is this the best fight to make for Rockhold’s light heavyweight debut?

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Miesha Tate Responds to Jon Jones’ Latest Barbs

Earlier this week, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones issued a seething comeback to Miesha Tate‘s insistence that she was tired of hearing his ‘sob story’ as he played the victim every time he stood in his own way. The criticism came the day after his highly-publicized hearing with the California State Athletic Commission […]

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Earlier this week, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones issued a seething comeback to Miesha Tate‘s insistence that she was tired of hearing his ‘sob story’ as he played the victim every time he stood in his own way.

The criticism came the day after his highly-publicized hearing with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) where he offered scant little evidence but swearing to high Heaven that he hadn’t taken steroids prior to his UFC 214 win over Daniel Cormier – or ever. ‘Cupcake’ publicly voiced her displeasure at Jones’ behavior, focusing on how many times he found himself in needless outside-the-cage trouble.

Jones was quick to blast the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion by taking a thinly-veiled jab at her decision to retire in November 2016, adding that he didn’t quit when things got tough.

But Tate isn’t buying it.

She responded to Jones earlier today (Fri., March 2, 2018) by offering the belief that things didn’t necessarily get tough for him – he instead made them tough for himself:

There’s no doubt Jones has had almost certainly the longest list of drug-related troubles in UFC history, both performance-enhancing and recreational.

He’s claimed innocence yet again, however, and after the CSAC fined him $205,000 and revoked his license last Tuesday, he’ll now have to appear before USADA to face what could be a lengthy suspension.

Every time he tells it, he’s innocent and the victim of strange circumstances beyond his control, an act that may be wearing thin on even fervent Jones supporters. He didn’t take long to respond to Tate again, this time saying he shouldn’t have responded to her in the first place:

Whatever that means, many close to the situation feel that Jones simply hasn’t learned from his many lessons and second chances, and will continue to be reckless outside of fighting.

Tate called him out on it, and she wasn’t fond of the way he criticized her walking away from the fight game when she no longer felt the desire to compete.

Do you agree with the longtime women’s MMA star on Jones?

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Alexander Gustafsson Hints At Move Up To Heavyweight

When Alexander Gustafsson knocked out Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their “Fight of the Night”-winning slugfest last May, it was thought that the power-punching Swede had earned a third shot at the UFC 205-pound gold. However, shoulder surgery and the rise of recent title challenger Volkan Oezdemir put that on hold, and the […]

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When Alexander Gustafsson knocked out Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their “Fight of the Night”-winning slugfest last May, it was thought that the power-punching Swede had earned a third shot at the UFC 205-pound gold.

However, shoulder surgery and the rise of recent title challenger Volkan Oezdemir put that on hold, and the opportunity appeared to slip through his grasp once more when divisional champion Daniel Cormier announced he was moving up to heavyweight to meet Stipe Miocic at July’s UFC 226.

With Jon Jones out and his future very uncertain, that’s created a strange position for Gustafsson, who told Viaplay Fight Week (via MMANYTT) that his situation in the division has gotten a little tricky due to his own desire to not fight training partners and close friends Ilir Latifi and Jimi Manuwa:

“We’re teammates, we are friends — close friends — first and foremost and we won’t fight each other,” Gustafsson said of Latifi and Manuwa. “I want to start our discussion by making it clear that we will not fight each other, so now you all know.”

“It’s a tricky situation, for sure. But I mean, we’ll see what happens. [Daniel Cormier] is now going up to face [Stipe Miocic], Ilir Latifi has heavyweight as a possibility,” he continued. “We’ll sort it out somehow. Of course, we both should be able to dream of the belt and we both should get our chances to fight for the title, but we’ll see how it all turns out when we get there.”

Gustafsson then discussed a potential solution, adding that he could move up to heavyweight:

“I can move up to heavyweight, in the light heavyweight division we have Jon Jones coming back, [Daniel Cormier] who maybe is coming back or maybe not. We’ll see how it all plays out.

But me and Ilir Latifi will not compete against each other and the same goes for Jimi Manuwa.”

‘The Mauler’ then declared that he and his teammates would simply have to sit down and talk out the tough spot before once again suggesting he could go up a division:

“We’ll simply have to sit down and talk.” Gustafsson said about the messy situation. “How are we going to solve this in the best possible way? Time will tell — but trust me, we’ll sort it out.

“Heavyweight is also an option. I’m a heavyweight today. I’m actually only a light heavyweight during one day and that’s the weigh-in, after that I’m a good heavyweight.”

The 6′ 5″ Swede is certainly one of the biggest competitors at light heavyweight, evident by his narrow split-decision loss to Jones in their classic UFC 165 fight that many consider the best title fight in the historic division’s decorated timeline.

But would he be able to take on the big dogs at heavyweight?

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Jon Jones Fires Back At Miesha Tate After ‘Sob Story’ Criticism

Earlier today, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion gave her seething (although not untrue) opinion of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was fined $205,000 and had his license revoked yesterday at a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) hearing for his UFC 214 failed drug test. Tate was harsh on Jones during an appearance with […]

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Earlier today, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion gave her seething (although not untrue) opinion of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was fined $205,000 and had his license revoked yesterday at a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) hearing for his UFC 214 failed drug test.

Tate was harsh on Jones during an appearance with MMA on SiriusXM for his repeated outside-the-cage troubles, noting that she no longer wanted to hear his ‘sob story’ after feeling sorry for him many times before (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“The thing is, I don’t really care at this point if he comes back because I’ve lost the motivation and the interest, and the faith that I have in Jon Jones has been lost,” Tate said. “Now maybe in three, four years, if he gets a great suspension [from the USADA], if he gets the book thrown at him and he really does make those changes, maybe he has a chance at restoring [his legacy], but at this point I just don’t care anymore. I don’t care. I’m over Jon Jones. I’m done with it.

“I don’t want to hear his sob story. I felt sorry for the first, second time he kind of had me. But it’s like, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I mean, come on, am I waiting for a fourth now? I just don’t — I’m over it.

The retired women’s MMA star continued on that she did wish Jones would actually change, but after so many issues after he said he was a changed man, Jones would have to show her actions speak louder than words:

“I wish and I hope that it does change Jon Jones, but I’m also not invested in Jon Jones anymore,” Tate said. “I guess it’s what it is. I’m kind of checked out at this point. It’s just been too many times, too many instances. And I’ve heard this story one, two, three, four, five times already, so unless he shows me something different than just saying ‘I’m a changed man,’ he’s got to do a lot more to gain me back as a fan and to care to see him compete again. I just don’t want to be let down again.”

Jones found out about Tate’s disowning him as a fan, writing back to her on social media with a thinly-veiled shot accusing Tate of retiring when the going got tough before saying she might find ‘motivation’ in his life and to enjoy retirement:

Ouch.

It would seem that Jones took Tate’s words rather hard to issue an almost immediate response containing so many seething accusations at the longtime women’s MMA veteran.

As Jones prepares to face a possibly lengthy suspension from USADA in his next drug-related hearing, this reaction may go along with the consensus that he had learned precious little and was behaving like the victim during a CSAC hearing where he admitted his manager had forged his signature on USADA-related tutorials.

Finding ‘motivation’ in having to constantly return from one drug-related issue to the next is a difficult situation to envision for Tate, who fought a literal whos-who of women’s MMA stars during a 10-year career in fighting where she won titles in three promotions.

She may not be the best fighter in her sport’s history like Jones arguably is, yet she’s hardly the first person whom Jones’ drug issue-tired victim act is wearing thin on.

What do you think about “Bones’” latest statement?

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