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Report: Sage Northcutt Unable To Fight Mickey Gall At UFC 205

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24-year-old Mickey Gall picked up the third victory of his professional mixed martial arts career at last weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 by destroying former professional wrestler CM Punk in the very first round of their main card bout. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Gall said that he was interested in fighting ‘killers’ from now on, specifically calling out fellow young gun “Super” Sage Northcutt for a clash at November 12’s UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

UFC President Dana White was quick to comment on the idea, saying that Northcutt’s team was also interested in the fight and that the UFC would make it happen, although that doesn’t seem to be the case as of now.

According to Jonathan Shrager, who recently spoke with Northcutt’s father, Mark, “Super Sage” was never approached regarding the potential scrap and he’s also currently dealing with a staph infection and will be unable to compete at UFC 205:

1/3

I’ve been in contact with Sage Northcutt’s dad, Mark, who informed me that
“No one from UFC has called us yet about Mickey Gall fight”

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

2/3
Re Sage fighting at #UFC205
“Sage would never be able to be ready for that 1 because he hasn’t been able to train due to several things”

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

3/3
Re Sage’s health
“Sage has a staph infection; the UFC’s trying to find an appropriate infectious disease doctor to look at it this week”

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

Mark Northcutt’s (Sage’s dad) reply to my question on whether he’d be willing to go up to 170 to fight Mickey Gall pic.twitter.com/Rvn7IfQHWY

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

Sage Northcutt had a Staph infection before his fight with Barberena
Re Sage’s latest Staph, his father Mark told me pic.twitter.com/PUb2Uubhws

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

Mark Northcutt tells me he’s hoping son Sage can return to the Octagon before end of 2016, after 2nd Staph Infection pic.twitter.com/7oXArIMl9v

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) September 13, 2016

Northcutt is coming off of a decision victory over Enrique Martin at July 9’s UFC 200, a win that extended his UFC record to 3-1. Prior to that, he had suffered a disappointing loss to Bryan Barberena last January. “Super Sage” has competed both at lightweight and welterweight, but as his father said, he’d be willing to meet Gall at 170-pounds when the time is right.

The bout certainly makes sense given the stage each fighter is at, but obviously Northcutt will need to return to full health before the two could sign on the dotted line.

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Mickey Gall Wanted To ‘Make An Example’ Out Of CM Punk

The freak show between Mickey Gall and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion CM Punk has finally come to a close, as Gall made quick work of the former professional wrestling star in their main card clash this past Saturday (September 13, 2016). Gall joined Ariel Helwani on this past Monday’s episode of The MMA

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Gall joined Ariel Helwani on this past Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, courtesy of MMA Fighting, and revealed that he had a strong sense of obligation to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) to make an example out of Punk:

“I 100 percent felt a strong obligation to make an example out of him,” Gall said. “I felt indebted to my sport, to the veterans of my sport — everyone in my sport — to go in there and dominate every second of this fight.”

The 24-year-old welterweight prospect opened up the contest against Punk by shooting in on the Roufusport product, and dominating him on the ground before securing a rear-naked choke for the submission win:

“I kind of expected it,” Gall said. “I had a feeling he was gonna feel like, ‘I have something to prove, I’m a fighter. I’m gonna come in there and be a tough fighter.’

“Once I get in there, I let my training take over. I’m not thinking in there. He crossed the line in my head of how far he should be. I wanted to keep him at a certain range. When you come in that hot, I’m gonna take you down.

“I figured he’d be tough, man,” Gall said. “Those wrestlers, they’re tough guys. They’re slamming themselves around and stuff. It was pretty much what I expected. I knew once he got in there with me, I was gonna be able to just dominate him.”

5674969883475968[1] Although Gall defeated Punk by showing off his signature ground game, the Looking For A Fight alumni desperately wanted to knockout Punk and showcase his striking game as well:

“I’ve been ruthless,” Gall said. “I’ve just been really committed and I’ve been really smart about it. I saw the videos of him and I would have liked to have knocked him out. I wanted a knockout. That was the plan.”

You can check out Gall’s full interview on The MMA Hour here:

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Stipe Miocic Responds To Jon Jones’ Callout

After knocking out Fabricio Werdum to become the undisputed heavyweight champion last May, Stipe Miocic successfully defended his title for the very first time in the main event of UFC 203 this past weekend (September 10, 2016) from his home of Cleveland, Ohio. Despite getting dropped early on, Miocic battled back to score an impressive

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Miocic has a few options for his next title defense, but his name was also recently brought up by former longtime light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones, a man who has teased a jump to heavyweight for quite some time.

Despite currently serving out a temporary suspension that could potentially transform into a two-year suspension, “Bones” said that he’d be the ‘challenge of a lifetime’ for Miocic.
Today (September 13, 2016), Miocic responded to the call out, saying that although Jones is a ‘very nice guy’, he’d be open to fighting him:

“I’ll fight whoever,” Miocic told TMZ. “He’s a great guy, we’ve talked before, very nice guy to me. Like I said, I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight. If they want me to fight Jon, I’ll fight Jon or whoever they want me to fight next — Cain (Velasquez) JDS (Junior dos Santos), (Fabricio) Werdum — I don’t care.”

At this point in time, however, it seems as if Werdum and Velasquez are the leading men for a title shot. Werdum got back in the win column at UFC 203 as well, scoring a decision victory over Travis Browne. Velasquez’s most recent win also came over Browne, as the ex-champion knocked out “Hapa” in the first round of their UFC 200 bout.

Who would you like to see Miocic battle next?

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CM Punk: A Cautionary Tale

If there’s one principal to live by when it comes to combat sports it’s this: you need to be all in or not all. Phil “CM Punk” Brooks had his first and possibly last fight at UFC 203 this past weekend. Now, before you start thinking that this will be a roast of CM Punk, let me save you the time and tell you that you’re dead wrong. If anything CM Punk should be commended for putting everything on the line. In fact, he took MMA very seriously and was all in.

The post CM Punk: A Cautionary Tale appeared first on Cagepotato.

But sometimes it isn’t enough.

What Phil Brooks had to learn on Saturday night is usually something that individuals learn early on in their fighting careers on a local circuit, with few eyes on them. It’s in the small time shows that a person realizes if they have that absolute drive to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Unfortunately CM Punk took another route to the big show.

CM Punk chose to fight his first match in the UFC with millions of eyes on him. Granted, that takes a ton of heart and grit, but ultimately it proved that combat sports aren’t something you simply experiment with. When it comes to fighting it takes a certain dedication, more than simply saying “hey, I’ll give this a shot.” It takes a single-minded commitment nearing on obsession.

Dammit, it still sounds like I’m being harsh on CM Punk. But in reality, whether you love him, hate him, or feel anything in between, you do have to respect the man. Fighting in front of a crowd of individuals in a nerve racking experience. To do so in front of millions is something else entirely. CM Punk put himself on the line and that is something remarkable to behold. But where he may have failed, perhaps another UFC hopeful will examine the story of Phil Brooks and see exactly where he went wrong and right. Who knows, CM Punk’s inspirational turn as a short-lived mixed martial artist is exactly the kind of tale that will allow others to ask themselves the tough question. Just how bad do you want it and what are you willing to go through to get it?

What do you think of CM Punk’s MMA saga?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Video: Joe Rogan Reacts To Brutal UFC 203 Injuries

UFC 203 was arguably one of the strangest cards in MMA history. Leading up to the pay-per-view show in Cleveland there were already a number of bizarre incidents. Perhaps most noteworthy was the elevator accident that caused CB Dollaway to be removed from the card. Following the ‘hellevator’ saga, the UFC 203 card got underway,

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During the co-main and headlining bouts there were a number of very interesting moments. Let’s start with Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne. The former champion Werdum defeated Browne by unanimous decision, but the fight could easily have been stopped when ‘Hapa’ called time. Perhaps the referee thought Browne was having problems with his glove, it would later become clear that he’d actually suffered a broken finger. After defeating his rival, Werdum would kick coach Edmond Tarverdyan in a post-fight scuffle. A gruesome image of Browne’s finger invading Werdum’s eye would later emerge too.

Ouch

Then came the main event action between Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem. It was a wild affair, with both men scoring knockdowns in the early going. Many criticized ‘The Reem’ for running during the fight, truth be told it was probably more due to him being groggy from the punishment he’d absorbed. Miocic defended his title with a clean knockout, but then Overeem had a conspiracy theory to share in the post-fight interview.

The Dutchman claimed Miocic had tapped out during an early grappling exchange on the canvas. Joe Rogan reviewed the footage on the big screen, and it appeared ‘The Demolition Man’ was wrong. Either way, it was certainly a continuation of the overall quirky feeling surrounding UFC 203. Jimmie Rivera also suffered an eye poke during his decision win over Urijah Faber, stating he could not see properly after the fight.

Joe Rogan’s Reaction

During the most recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC color commentator reviewed the madness of UFC 203. Sitting with Duane Ludwig, TJ Dillashaw and Bas Rutten, Rogan had a predictably vivid reaction to the brutal injuries at UFC 203.

“His finger is literally knuckle deep in Werdum’s eye. That’s fucking insane. Something really needs to be done about these eye pokes man. The UFC owned Pride, why can’t they use their gloves? The Pride gloves meant that fighters couldn’t extend their fingers fully”

“It’s almost like they are waiting for something really serious to happen. Look at Michael Bisping; he suffered a detached retina. I think maybe that was from a kick from Vitor Belfort, but he certainly has problems with his eye now. They actually filled it with oil to protect his retina, that’s why one of his eyes are black now.”

The Video

Here’s the full episode of the Joe Rogan Experience number 845. To check out his review of the UFC 203 injuries skip to 7:30 (Werdum’s eye) or 2:01:40 (Browne’s finger). The entire episode is a solid watch as Rogan and his guests discuss women’s gossip, USADA, fighter mentality and some crazy stories from Bas Rutten’s fights.

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Urijah Faber Cut 21 Pounds During UFC 203 Fight Week

The post Urijah Faber Cut 21 Pounds During UFC 203 Fight Week appeared first on LowKick MMA.

After losing a one-sided decision to bitter rival Dominick Cruz in a bantamweight title bout last June, longtime veteran and former WEC champion Urijah Faber seemed to be contemplating his fighting future. While not necessarily saying that he was considering retirement, Faber made it clear that the end could be near, but it wouldn’t come without at least one more fight as he returned to action against Jimmie Rivera on the main card of this past weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203.

Unfortunately, the downward spiral continued for “The California Kid” as he suffered yet another decision defeat in a bout that he had little success in. The somewhat poor performance could be attributed to a grueling weight cut as Faber recently revealed that he shed 21 pounds during the week leading up to the fight:

“I don’t know (what’s next),” Faber told UFC.com (Via MMAJunkie) after his loss. “I’m going to go back and relax. This week I came and I was doing my water load and I cut 21 pounds since Tuesday, so that was kind of rough. I’m going to take some time and think about things and watch the fight and see what happens after that. I’ve got no plans.”

Faber has had trouble dealing with leg kicks at points during his career, and Rivera appeared to have exploited that weakness. “The California Kid” admitted that his leg went numb during the fight, also saying that he saw few opportunities to take the fight to the ground, which was his goal:

“He caught me with a low ankle kick that kind of made my leg go numb for a second for whatever reason,” Faber said on UFC 203’s post-fight show on FS2. “He’s tough. He’s a solid guy. I got my arms on him a couple times and he’s like a slippery barrel. Just round.

“I was going to definitely look for some openings on scrambles and stuff like that, but you get yourself in danger when you’re just hunting for a takedown,” he continued. “I was definitely looking for opportunities to take it to the ground if I could, but he was so compact and small to find any openings for a lot of stuff. There wasn’t as many opportunities.”

Would you like to see Faber continue to compete at this stage of his career?

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