Tag: UFC 198

Holly Holm Reveals Why She Turned Down “Cyborg” Fight

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm is slated to meet No. 9-ranked Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of July 23’s UFC on FOX 20 from Chicago. This will be Holm’s first performance since surrendering her title in a submission loss to Miesha Tate last March. “The Preacher’s Daughter” was hoping to receive an

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Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm is slated to meet No. 9-ranked Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of July 23’s UFC on FOX 20 from Chicago.

This will be Holm’s first performance since surrendering her title in a submission loss to Miesha Tate last March. “The Preacher’s Daughter” was hoping to receive an immediate rematch with Tate, but “Cupcake” will instead face off with Amanda Nunes at July 9’s UFC 200.

Many were surprised when Holm was booked against Shevchenko, and it appears as if she was actually offered another high profile fight: a catch weight bout with Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino.

Justino recently destroyed Leslie Smith at UFC 198 in her Octagon debut, but a bout between herself and Holm would’ve been massive.

Recently speaking on the matter, Holm admitted that she turned down the bout with “Cyborg” simply because she was hoping to land the rematch with Tate. The former champion also very clearly stated that she’d be willing to fight Justino at any weight:

“I’m not even stuck on the 135 compared to 140, that’s not really a big thing for me. They did call me for the fight, that is definitely true. I was so focused and I really wanted to see if I was going to get that rematch for the belt because that is where my passion was really facing. And that was around the time they asked me for the fight with Cyborg and I was holding out to see if I could get the rematch. To me, I am not against fighting Cyborg, it just didn’t really seem like the right time. In boxing, I fought in three weight classes, so I am not opposed to fighting at 140. I actually think Cyborg might make 135, who knows. But that could be an option for the future. I am actually very happy for her victory. I really like Cyborg, I think she’s a great gal.” Holm told 120 Sports.

Would you like to see “The Preacher’s Daughter” do battle with the Brazilian slugger in the future?

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Video: Preview Of “UFC 198: The Thrill And The Agony”

https://youtu.be/ADqN47Gqwuc

UFC has released the preview for their new “The Thrill and the Agony” series, which focuses on Stipe Miocic’s shocking knockout victory over Fabricio Werdum to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion at UFC 198 in Curitiba, …

werdum-vs-miocic-ufc-198

https://youtu.be/ADqN47Gqwuc

UFC has released the preview for their new “The Thrill and the Agony” series, which focuses on Stipe Miocic’s shocking knockout victory over Fabricio Werdum to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil this past Saturday night.

The official description for the episode, which is available on UFC Fight Pass, reads as follows:

“Go behind the scenes to watch the thrill and the agony for both new heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former champ Fabricio Werdum after their dramatic bout at UFC 198. Watch the entire episode on UFC FIGHT PASS.”

Cris Cyborg Says Her Next Fight Won’t Be In The UFC

Interesting… Fiery Invicta FC featherweight champion, former Strikeforce queen and current UFC catchweight wrecking machine Cristiane Justino made a big splash in Brazil this past Saturday (May 14, 2016). Facing Leslie Smith in a 140-pond bout at UFC 198, Cyborg terminated Smith in a fantastic first round display of brutal striking prowess. The future for

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Interesting…

Fiery Invicta FC featherweight champion, former Strikeforce queen and current UFC catchweight wrecking machine Cristiane Justino made a big splash in Brazil this past Saturday (May 14, 2016). Facing Leslie Smith in a 140-pond bout at UFC 198, Cyborg terminated Smith in a fantastic first round display of brutal striking prowess. The future for Cyborg in the UFC is bright, but as is always the case with the Brazilian brawler there’s a catch (weight).

Without a featherweight division for Cyborg to compete at in the UFC, available fights are limited to say the least. Much the same as when she was feuding with former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, Cyborg’s weight seems to be a very difficult hurdle to overcome. Perhaps she could safely make the cut to 135 pounds, but she’d likely lose a lot of her power and strength in doing so.

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Then we got reports of her next fight being targeted for UFC 201, as the promotion appeared to be wasting no time in keeping Cyborg on the move. Undefeated Dutch kickboxer and 6-3 MMA prospect Germaine de Randamie was allegedly on the schedule for a UFC 201 fight with Justino, but Cyborg herself has shot down those reports, and revealed her plans for the immediate future.

Responding to widespread reports started by Megan Olivi, Cyborg says her health is more important to her than another catchweight fight in the UFC, and states she’ll be defending her Invicta FC belt next:


Looks like now she has shown her chops in the UFC, Cris Cyborg is willing to wait for the 145-pound division to become a reality in the UFC.

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Cris Cyborg Can ‘Absolutely’ Make Bantamweight – But There’s a Price

Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino is a massive 145-pounder, and her weight has kept her out of the UFC for years given the fact that the promotion currently doesn’t have a featherweight division. She has attempted to cut down to 135-pounds before, but has yet to compete at that weight. With her UFC

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Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino is a massive 145-pounder, and her weight has kept her out of the UFC for years given the fact that the promotion currently doesn’t have a featherweight division.

She has attempted to cut down to 135-pounds before, but has yet to compete at that weight.

With her UFC debut, which was an 81-second destruction of Leslie Smith in a 140-pound catch weight bout at UFC 198 (May 14, 2016), now in the rearview mirror, talks have unsurprisingly turned to whether or not the Brazilian slugger would ever really be able to make the bantamweight limit safely.

A plethora of fights would await her at 135-pounds including the long rumored super fight with ex-champion Ronda Rousey as well as a possible clash with current divisional title holder Miesha Tate.

Speaking on the topic, “Cyborg’s” nutritionist, George Lockhart, said that she could ‘absolutely’ make the cut down to bantamweight, although it would likely come at a price:

“Could she make the cut? Absolutely,” Lockhart explained on The Luke Thomas Show (Transcription via MMA Fighting). “She can make 135. She can make 130, but performing? That’s another question. That right there comes down to time. She put in a lot of time for this.”

“People don’t realize how hard it was just to get down to 139. She had to do three-a-days every single day of the week. Sundays she had a day off, but still. Three-a-days, it’s a lot. She’s running, doing a lot of road work.”

Lockhart may have a point here, as a draining weight cut could take away some of Justino’s advantages, specifically her brutal knockout power.

At the end of the day, however, the coach feels as if making bantamweight is possible, although he doesn’t know how realistic the move would be:

“If she ever said, ‘You know what? I want to come down to the 135.’ I think it’d be possible,” Lockhart said. “But is it definite? Honestly, I don’t know.”

What do you expect of “Cyborg’s” future in the UFC?

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Six Ways Stipe Miocic Is Changing The HW Division For Good

It’s often said in mixed martial arts that although getting to the top of the food chain is difficult, staying on top is simply that much harder. We have seen that to be true time and time again, and most clearly within the UFC’s heavyweight division, a division in which a champion has never defended

The post Six Ways Stipe Miocic Is Changing The HW Division For Good appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It’s often said in mixed martial arts that although getting to the top of the food chain is difficult, staying on top is simply that much harder.

We have seen that to be true time and time again, and most clearly within the UFC’s heavyweight division, a division in which a champion has never defended his title more than twice.

In fact, the title once again changed hands this past weekend (May 14, 2016) for the second time in less than 12 months. Stipe Miocic seized the opportunity of a lifetime in his main event bout with Fabricio Werdum in Brazil at UFC 198, finishing “Vai Cavalo” with a clean right hand in the first round to become the new titleholder.

Now the king of the mountain, the Croatian-American will be faced with the daunting task of keeping a shiny gold belt strapped around his waist in the unforgiving waters of the heavyweight division.

But he may be up to the task. He’s not exactly young at 33 years old, yet that does make him surprisingly spry in the quickly aging heavyweight landscape, and he is clearly defining a new breed of heavyweight fighter by himself.

Let’s take a look at six reasons why Miocic may defy the odds and continue to wreak havoc on the heavyweight class for more than just two title defenses….

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Jon Jones Takes Drug Testing Shot At Vitor Belfort, Fabricio Werdum?

So it was a rather amazing weekend just gone for fight fans as UFC 198 put on a star studded show in Brazil. The heavyweight main event did not disappoint, as Stipe Miocic claimed the championship with a stunning first round knockout of Fabricio Werdum. The likeable Croatian silenced the entire arena as he smashes

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So it was a rather amazing weekend just gone for fight fans as UFC 198 put on a star studded show in Brazil. The heavyweight main event did not disappoint, as Stipe Miocic claimed the championship with a stunning first round knockout of Fabricio Werdum. The likeable Croatian silenced the entire arena as he smashes the Brazilian ‘Vai Cavalo’ with conviction, but the home fans were able to get the pound of flesh elsewhere on the card. Cris Cyborg made her debut and splattered the brains of Leslie Smith for a brutal first round TKO, making her long awaited landing in the UFC, albeit in a catchweight 140-pound bout.

Demian Maia also buoyed the crowd with a slick submission of public enemy number one, at least in Brazil, Matt Brown, and then of course there was the fight between Jacare Souza and Vitor Belfort. Both Brazilians but at contrasting points in their respective careers, the battle between the new and old guard went just as many had predicted.

It was at this moment that Vitor Belfort first began considering Buddhism. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
It was at this moment that Vitor Belfort first began considering Buddhism. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Jacare smashed his way to a first round TKO win over ‘The Phenom,’ who had rather disastrously pulled guard from the standing position in the lead up to the grizzly finish. Although he’d bounced back from the last loss of this kind Chris Weidman at UFC 187, with a storming knockout of Dan Henderson, Belfort’s number was clearly available in this fight, and Souza was more than happy to capitalize.

Jon Jones watched as the card unfolded, and posted the following Tweets, although it’s not clear exactly who he was getting at, it pays to remember that Jones has beefed with Werdum and also fought Vitor Belfort when he had muscles growing like a stud bull.
Jones vs. Belfort

Nate Diaz is probably not surprised.

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