Need a reason to get excited already for UFC 205? Well, here you go.
Officials released an extended video preview for the November 12 event from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Interviews and feature spots on all six champions and challengers are included in the preview.
Three UFC championship belts are on the line at UFC 205 – as well as history. Hear from the champions and challengers in this extended preview: Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor, Tyron Woodley, Stephen Thompson, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
As Jose Aldo does not want to step back into the Octagon with Conor McGregor. At least that’s ‘The Notorious One’ himself thinks. The UFC 145-pound champion recently took part in a Facebook chat for LAD Bible, and gave his thoughts on the man he knocked out in 13-seconds to win the featherweight title’s attempt to terminate his
As Jose Aldo does not want to step back into the Octagon with Conor McGregor. At least that’s ‘The Notorious One’ himself thinks.
The UFC 145-pound champion recently took part in a Facebook chat for LAD Bible, and gave his thoughts on the man he knocked out in 13-seconds to win the featherweight title’s attempt to terminate his UFC contract and walk away from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA):
“I don’t think he wants the rematch,” McGregor said. (courtesy of FOX Sports). “I think he’s happy with this feud and this ‘get out’ clause.
“I knocked him out, he came back, won a decision, he has an interim belt. I think he wants this kind of feud with the UFC and he wants to just separate himself. He doesn’t want this again.”
After being knocked out in rather dramatic fashion of the first round of his UFC 194 match-up with McGregor last December, Aldo would go on to regroup with a unanimous decision win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to win the interim featherweight title. Instead of rematching the Brazilian champion to unify the two titles, however, McGregor instead opted to attempt UFC history and challenge UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez.
If the Irishman is successful he will become the first man in UFC history to hold two titles in different weight classes at the same time. This did not sit too well with Aldo, who would respond by expressing his desire to terminate his contract with the UFC and move on from his fighting career.
Aldo has since decided to rethink his retirement path, leaving an immense question mark on the Octagon future of the interim featherweight champ.
No. 3-ranked UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway is looking to get back inside the Octagon soon, and he wants a big name fight to help propel him into the title picture. With current 145-pound champ Conor McGregor booked to challenge for the lightweight title at UFC 205, Jose Aldo embroiled in a contact dispute with
No. 3-ranked UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway is looking to get back inside the Octagon soon, and he wants a big name fight to help propel him into the title picture.
With current 145-pound champ Conor McGregor booked to challenge for the lightweight title at UFC 205, Jose Aldo embroiled in a contact dispute with the UFC, and No. 2-ranked Frankie Edgar set to throw down with Jeremy Stephens, that leaves the Hawaii native waiting in the wings for his next scrap to get booked.
Holloway recently spoke to MMA Junkieabout his frustrations over not yet having a fight booked, claiming the rest of the featherweight division is running away with a case of ‘pu**y-itis’:
“I’m a fighter, man; I just want to fight,” Holloway said. “I don’t care who it is or whatever. I can’t change what they personally feel, but like I said, I got that vaccine for that (expletive)-itis that’s been going around with all these people running away. They got to let me know when they’re ready to fight.”
While Holloway would love another crack at McGregor for the 145-pound title, that bout is not a possibility at the moment with ‘The Notorious One’ attempting to make history by becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two titles in different weight classes simultaneously with a potential win over Eddie Alvarez in November.
Instead ‘Blessed’ would gladly take a fight against the current interim featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, who Holloway says is making his blood boil at the moment:
“In a perfect world, if I could fight Conor, that would be great,” Holloway said. “But the person that’s really got my blood boiling is Jose Aldo. He’s (expletive) talking bubbles. I don’t know what he’s talking. I think Conor hit him too hard in that fight, so he’s losing his mind. That guy’s got to get his (expletive) together, get his ass in the cage and do less talking and more fighting.”
“I respect him, I respect him a lot, but at the end of the day, people keep forgetting how much times he left the UFC high and dry in a main-event slot or a co-main event slot that he was supposed to be because of injuries,” Holloway said. “I know injuries sucks, but it happens more than (expletive) a couple of times, and he had to pull out due to injury or whatever or personal reasons. It is what it is. They remember that kind of stuff.”
Holloway is dead set on one day hoisting up UFC gold above his head for the first time in his career, as the 24-year-old knows without a shadow of a doubt he is the best fighter in the world at 145 pounds:
“My gold belt is going to come, and I know it is,” Holloway said. “My job is winning fights. I’m confident in myself. I know I’m the best guy in the world. … I just can’t wait to go in there and show the world what’s up.”
If Aldo is able to fix up his contract issues with the UFC soon, Holloway might just get his opportunity to step into the cage with the Brazilian champ.
Conor McGregor’s outlandish actions may finally be catching up to him. The reigning UFC featherweight champion is set to challenge lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez in the main event of Nov. 12’s UFC 205 from the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, but he has yet to be licensed to fight in the state despite
Conor McGregor’s outlandish actions may finally be catching up to him.
The reigning UFC featherweight champion is set to challenge lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez in the main event of Nov. 12’s UFC 205 from the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, but he has yet to be licensed to fight in the state despite the card being just weeks away.
McGregor recently received a $75,000 fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) due to his roll in the bottle throwing incident with Nate Diaz at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference. McGregor then taunted the commission, implying that he wasn’t going to pay the fine, something the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) is ‘closely monitoring’, per MMAFighting:
“The New York State Athletic Commission is aware of the Order issued by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Conor McGregor has not yet completed his application to the New York State Athletic Commission for a license, nor, to our knowledge, has he agreed to the fine levied by Nevada or exercised an appeal. It is also our understanding that the time within which Mr. McGregor may seek a legal challenge to the Nevada Order has not yet expired. An administrative fine without a concurrent suspension is not a mandatory bar to licensure. The New York State Athletic Commission expects its licensees to resolve disciplinary actions and comply with lawful final orders issued by the states in which they have chosen to compete, and will be closely monitoring this matter.”
After receiving the fine, the “Notorious” one told UFC President Dana White that he no longer had any interest in competing in the state of Nevada, and that New York and Ireland were fine for him, but his actions in Las Vegas may affect these plans.
Do you expect the 145-pound kingpin to sort out his issues with the New York commission before he attempts to make history next month?
The UFC has evolved dramatically since its inception in 1993, seeing the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) establish itself as one of the fastest growing phenomenons across the world today. One man who knows quite a bit about the evolution of the UFC after having been with the promotion for nearly a decade is No.
The UFC has evolved dramatically since its inception in 1993, seeing the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) establish itself as one of the fastest growing phenomenons across the world today.
One man who knows quite a bit about the evolution of the UFC after having been with the promotion for nearly a decade is No. 14-ranked welterweight ‘The Immortal’ Matt Brown.
Brown recently joined me this past week on the Right Hook Radio podcast to discuss the current state of the UFC, as to where ‘The Immortal’ took the opportunity to express his concerns with the integrity of the sport of MMA as a whole:
“The only changes I think I’d like to see, and not even necessarily change, but I think they’re kind of straying away a little bit from the integrity of the sport. In terms of — well I think like Conor not defending his title is exactly what I’m talking about. Just maintaining the purity of the sport, even like Maia getting the title shot. There is no question that he deserves the title shot. That’s the only thing I’d be concerned about — I don’t care as much about the corporate side and the business side of things, even though that’s important also. But that’s a whole different subject. I only really care about the integrity, I want people who deserve to get the fights that they should get, to get them.
“I care about — that’s the great thing about the UFC that’s always been, when you earn your way to get a fight, you get that fight. In boxing it’s ridiculous, you see these guys going 20-0 and nobody has even heard of them, these world title holders who nobody has even heard of. And rightfully so because they haven’t fought anybody, they’ve just been fed these cans. In the UFC it’s different, it doesn’t work that way. That’s what I wanna maintain, I don’t wanna see the integrity lost in the competition.”
The UFC recently had a test run with allowing former professional wrestlers try their hand inside the Octagon, as former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star CM Punk was given a UFC contract and was given the opportunity to fight Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203.
Punk, who dedicated over a year of his life to train for his first MMA fight in Cleveland, was made quick work of at the hands of the 24-year-old Gall, as ‘The Cult of Personality’ was subsequently choked out after two minutes in the first round of the contest.
While Brown understands the UFC’s move to bring in the former professional wrestling star in order to help further grow the sport, the Elevation Fight Team member believes it can be done organically and without damaging the sport’s integrity in the process:
“That’s probably an even better example. To me that’s just brick by brick just taking down the integrity of the sport. You wouldn’t see that in any other — I’d like to see the sport grow organically, grass-roots. It’s going to grow, people relate to fighting, we don’t need CM Punk to grow our sport. I believe that very strongly. But who am I to say? I’m not in a position to be making these calls, and I don’t blame them for doing what they do but that’s the only thing that I want to — that’s the number one main thing on my mind when I think of what I want with this sport overall to happen.”
One man who currently sits atop the UFC as a result of his unparalleled ability to trash talk on the mic and drive ticket sales, is featherweight champion Conor McGregor. McGregor has yet to defend his 145-pound title that he won nearly a year ago, and has instead embarked on a tenure at Brown’s home of welterweight in his feud with Nate Diaz.
Now McGregor has the opportunity to challenge for a second UFC title, in attempt to become the first man in UFC history to hold two belts in different weight classes at the same time, while still not having defended the 145-pound title that he currently sports. When asked if he feels fighters such as McGregor get a bit more leeway due to their ability to sell tickets, Brown had this to say:
“Yeah and deservedly so, but I think it can be done without sacrificing the integrity. Like he didn’t need to go up to 170, he didn’t need to fight Nate Diaz twice, he didn’t need to not defend his title as long as he’s had it. Things like that I guess when you talk about Conor specifically.
“And I don’t blame Conor at all, and I don’t blame the UFC at all, it’s just — I’m not a business man, I’m no-one to be sitting here and talking about what they should or shouldn’t be doing, but I only look at it from one perspective and that perspective is from integrity. I just don’t wanna see it get lost, and I don’t wanna see it disintegrate at all.”
When it comes to who Brown believes is the most deserving of a title shot in the UFC based purely off of their results inside the Octagon, ‘The Immortal’ points to No. 3-ranked Demian Maia who is currently riding an impressive six-fight win streak (that includes a third round submission win over Brown in May):
“I thought he should’ve got the shot after he beat me. He probably was even deserved so before that, but he was still taking fights with guys like me and Condit, and beat both of us. To say he doesn’t deserve a title shot is ridiculous. There’s probably not a more deserving person of a title shot in the UFC right now. Maybe Max Holloway might be number two?”
Brown will meet Tarec Saffiedine at UFC 207 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30, 2016.
You can listen to Brown’s full interview on Right Hook Radio here:
USADA has forced the UFC to remove Lyman Good from UFC 205.
Officials announced that Good has been notified of a potential anti-doping violation from a collection obtained on October 14. Good was scheduled to meet Belal Muhammad at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“USADA has provisionally suspended Good based on the potential anti-doping violation,” the statement read. “USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Good (19-3) scored a win in his Octagon debut over Andrew Craig, improving to 8-1 with one no-contest over his last 10 fights. He is a native of New York and a former Bellator champion.
Officials are expected to try and find a replacement for Muhammad (10-1) to keep him on the card.
USADA has forced the UFC to remove Lyman Good from UFC 205.
Officials announced that Good has been notified of a potential anti-doping violation from a collection obtained on October 14. Good was scheduled to meet Belal Muhammad at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“USADA has provisionally suspended Good based on the potential anti-doping violation,” the statement read. “USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Good (19-3) scored a win in his Octagon debut over Andrew Craig, improving to 8-1 with one no-contest over his last 10 fights. He is a native of New York and a former Bellator champion.
Officials are expected to try and find a replacement for Muhammad (10-1) to keep him on the card.
Instead ‘Blessed’ would gladly take a fight against the current interim featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, who Holloway says is making his blood boil at the moment:
While Brown understands the UFC’s move to bring in the former professional wrestling star in order to help further grow the sport, the Elevation Fight Team member believes it can be done organically and without damaging the sport’s integrity in the process: