Tag: UFC 197

Report: McGregor vs. Dos Anjos, Holm vs. Tate Set For UFC 197


(Meanwhile, the Rafael Dos Anjos “1:06 TKO” shirt is nowhere to be seen.)

Following his 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194, the future of Conor McGregor oddly seemed more uncertain than ever. His coach, John Kavanagh, insisted that he didn’t want his fighter making the huge cut to 145 lbs. anymore, while McGregor himself stated that there was “no way in Hell” he would ever give up his featherweight belt should he seek out a title fight at lightweight next. With Frankie Edgar all but refusing to fight unless he receives a shot against McGregor at 145, the UFC was left with a bit of a mess on their hands to put it lightly.

But then, things started to sort themselves out on Wednesday’s edition of when Dana White told the UFC Tonight gang that “If anyone can hold two belts, it’s Conor McGregor.” With that ringing endorsement now out there in the universe, it was pretty much a given that McGregor would challenge lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos next, which recent reports now indicate will be the case.

Details after the jump.

The post Report: McGregor vs. Dos Anjos, Holm vs. Tate Set For UFC 197 appeared first on Cagepotato.


(Meanwhile, the Rafael Dos Anjos “1:06 TKO” shirt is nowhere to be seen.)

Following his 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194, the future of Conor McGregor oddly seemed more uncertain than ever. His coach, John Kavanagh, insisted that he didn’t want his fighter making the huge cut to 145 lbs. anymore, while McGregor himself stated that there was “no way in Hell” he would ever give up his featherweight belt should he seek out a title fight at lightweight next. With Frankie Edgar all but refusing to fight unless he receives a shot against McGregor at 145, the UFC was left with a bit of a mess on their hands to put it lightly.

But then, things started to sort themselves out on Wednesday’s edition of when Dana White told the UFC Tonight gang that “If anyone can hold two belts, it’s Conor McGregor.” With that ringing endorsement now out there in the universe, it was pretty much a given that McGregor would challenge lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos next, which recent reports now indicate will be the case.

Details after the jump.

As first reported by Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter (citing multiple sources), McGregor will in fact be moving up to lightweight next to take on Dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 197 on March 5th in Las Vegas.

And not only that, but Botter also confirmed that Holly Holm will be getting her wish to fight once more before rematching Ronda Rousey, squaring off against former title challenger Miesha Tate in UFC 197′s co-main event. Which, wow. It’s getting harder and harder to be a cynical, biased, UFC h8ing MMA blog these days when looking at the absolutely amazing run they’ve been on lately. (Luckily, there’s still their Nazi-esque outfitting policy to take shots at or we’d probably have to close up shop.)

It’s worth mentioning that Ariel Helwani hinted at “a couple of big fights” being looked at for March 5th back in December, only to be immediately shut down by Dana White for being “full of shit.” Here’s hoping that he has the balls to hit Dana with a zinger like this the next time they’re face-to-face.

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Conor McGregor vs. Rafael Dos Anjos, Holm vs. Tate Booked for UFC 197

The UFC’s two most intriguing champions now have fights, with word breaking that UFC 197 will feature a blockbuster pair of main events in Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title and Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate for the UFC wome…

The UFC’s two most intriguing champions now have fights, with word breaking that UFC 197 will feature a blockbuster pair of main events in Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title and Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. 

Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report reported the bouts will take place in Las Vegas on March 5.

Both fights are a welcome surprise for longtime observers.

Discussion over who McGregor should face after his UFC 194 win over Jose Aldo has gripped the MMA universe for a month now, with a slew of names popping up at both 145 and 155 pounds. High-profile call-outs have included Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz and Max Holloway, in addition to the obvious possibility of a rematch with Aldo.

A fight with Dos Anjos, however, represents the biggest “money” fight available for McGregor. While Dos Anjos lacks name recognition, the bout is huge based on the storyline of McGregor potentially becoming just the third man to hold UFC titles in two different divisions (the first two being BJ Penn and Randy Couture) and the first ever to hold two UFC titles at the same time.

There is a lot to love about the co-main event as well. 

Holm became a breakout star in 2015 with her upset win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, but her future was left in limbo due to the UFC’s insistence on an immediate rematch. With no clear return date for Rousey, however, the UFC must have softened on the notion of Holm defending the title before Rousey’s return.

Tate is the best option available for Holm’s first title defense. Despite being best known for her lack of success against Rousey in their two fights, Tate has been a Top Five mainstay in the women’s bantamweight division. Riding a four-fight winning streak with her most recent victory coming over Jessica Eye, she comfortably slides into the No. 1 contender spot and should be an interesting opponent for the new champ.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II Reportedly Booked for UFC 197


(Never go full Ritor. via Getty.)

When Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort first met in the octagon, the former was an unstoppable, arrogant-bordering-on-cocky champion and the latter was a battle-tested veteran who would supposedly serve as his toughest test to date. They shared many similarities beyond their penchant for knocking people out (they’re both Brazilian!), but when push came to shove, Silva emerged as the clearly superior fighter.

Four years later, Silva has lost his title, broken his leg in the cage, and been popped for PED’s which may or may not have been caused by Thai black market sex pills, while Belfort himself has also lost a title bid and done pretty much everything within his power to deflect criticism from his PED-riddled past. Again, the similarities are striking here, which is perhaps why the two former champions have once again been booked to throw down.

Details after the jump. 

The post Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II Reportedly Booked for UFC 197 appeared first on Cagepotato.


(Never go full Ritor. via Getty.)

When Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort first met in the octagon, the former was an unstoppable, arrogant-bordering-on-cocky champion and the latter was a battle-tested veteran who would supposedly serve as his toughest test to date. They shared many similarities beyond their penchant for knocking people out (they’re both Brazilian!), but when push came to shove, Silva emerged as the clearly superior fighter.

Four years later, Silva has lost his title, broken his leg in the cage, and been popped for PED’s which may or may not have been caused by Thai black market sex pills, while Belfort himself has also lost a title bid and done pretty much everything within his power to deflect criticism from his PED-riddled past. Again, the similarities are striking here, which is perhaps why the two former champions have once again been booked to throw down.

Details after the jump. 

According to a report by Brazilian publication Globo, Belfort and Silva have agreed to face one another at UFC 197 in March. UFC officials have yet to confirm the booking, which will serve as a rematch of the pair’s infamous title fight back at UFC 126.

Most recently, Belfort bounced back from a quick loss to champion Chris Weidman at UFC 187 with an even quicker starching of Dan Henderson at Fight Night 77 earlier in the month. If confirmed, the fight will serve as Silva’s first since his unanimous decision win over Nick Diaz at UFC 183, the aftermath of which saw him test positive for several banned substances.

Meanwhile, Tim Kennedy, who has been calling out both Silva and Belfort for some time now, remains on the sidelines. His reaction to the potential booking between the two was about the most Tim Kennedy thing ever (via Twitter):

For what it’s worth, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza also seems to think that this fight is a bad idea for Silva, telling MMAFighting that:

I believe the result would be the same. Anderson is impressive, but, in my opinion, as a friend and seeing him as guy that is helping me now, I think he should fight again before fighting Belfort to get his rhythm back.

Belfort is in a strong rhythm now, he fought three times in a row now. Anderson spent some time off, had this issue now and spent a year off, so I think Anderson should fight again first.

So yeah, this should be an interesting fight, with even more interesting drug test results. Who you go, Nation?

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