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Anthony Johnson Admits Fighting Gegard Mousasi Was Too ‘Risky’

No. 1-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was scheduled to rematch 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of Dec. 10’s UFC 206 from Toronto, Canada, but Cormier was unfortunately forced to withdraw from the bout with an injury. The plan was initially to keep Johnson on the card and the UFC

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The plan was initially to keep Johnson on the card and the UFC even offered him an interim light heavyweight title bout against surging middleweight contender and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. “Rumble”, however, recently admitted that the bout was simply too ‘risky’ to accept:

“No, not at all. I didn’t interest me at all,” said Johnson on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

“When Gegard was presented to me, it would’ve been a good fight, but it wouldn’t have done anything for me,” said Anthony. “Fighting him and becoming the interim champion, as much trash as I’ve talked and ‘DC’ has talked about interim titles being fake champions, if I would have beat him, it wouldn’t mean anything.”

“And if I had lost, I would have to start from scratch. It was just too risky.”

Since first losing to Cormier at UFC 187, Johnson has scored three straight stoppage wins and he will now wait for Cormier to heal to receive his title shot. While he likely would’ve prefered the fight to take place in a few weeks, “Rumble” admitted that he wasn’t too disappointed with Cormier:

“I was disappointed, but I didn’t take it to heart because he is actually hurt. It’s not like he just popped a rib or twisted his ankle; the man is actually hurt. It didn’t bother me too bad,” Johnson said.

Do you agree with Johnson’s decision?

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John Kavanagh Reacts To Conor McGregor Being Stripped Of Title

Conor McGregor hasn’t yet commented on the UFC stripping him of his featherweight title, but his longtime coach John Kavanagh recently did and it’s safe to say that Kavanagh is ‘disappointed’ in the way things unfolded: “It was more the UFC (who decided),” Kavanagh said in an appearance at the Red FM breakfast show. “For

The post John Kavanagh Reacts To Conor McGregor Being Stripped Of Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

“It was more the UFC (who decided),” Kavanagh said in an appearance at the Red FM breakfast show. “For me personally, I was very disappointed with how they went about doing it.”

McGregor, who most recently won the lightweight title at Nov. 12’s UFC 205, hadn’t defended the 145-pound title since winning it last December, but that may not have been the main reason behind the UFC’s decision.

Rather, the promotion needed a new main event for Dec. 10’s UFC 206 after light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced to withdraw from his scheduled rematch with Anthony Johnson. The UFC then elected to bump the co-main event, a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis, up and make it for the interim title, while promoting Jose Aldo to undisputed champion.

“It was a very messy set of circumstances which led to doing it,” Kavanagh said. “They lost a main event and then they haphazardly threw together a new main event.”

“They felt they had to make this for a title in order for it to sell so they brought in another interim title that Jose Aldo already has and then bumped Jose Aldo up to the current undisputed champion. Which just seems ridiculous to me.”

It was Aldo, after all, that McGregor brutally knocked out in just 13 seconds last December, and Kavanagh simply feels as if the UFC was ‘shortsighted’:

“Conor has only been 11 months since he won that title,” he said. “There have been many, many examples of fighters waiting 15 months, 18 months before defending it. He’s 11 months and they stripped him of it.”

“I thought it was very shortsighted by the UFC how they went about doing it.”

Do you agree with Kavanagh’s comments?

The post John Kavanagh Reacts To Conor McGregor Being Stripped Of Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Anthony Johnson On Proposed Gegard Mousasi Fight: “Didn’t Interest Me”

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Anthony Johnson wants to be UFC light heavyweight champion.

And he doesn’t want to do it against anyone but Daniel Cormier – and he definitely doesn’t want an interim tag attached to it.

“Rumble,” who was set to meet Cormier for the belt next month at UFC 206, told “The MMA Hour” recently that he wasn’t interested in a proposed interim title fight with Gegard Mousasi at the event.

“Not at all,” he said. “When Gegard was presented to me, it would’ve been a good fight, but it wouldn’t have done anything for me. Fighting him and becoming the interim champion, as much trash as I’ve talked and ‘DC’ has talked about interim titles being fake champions, if I would have beat him, it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Johnson, who lost to Cormier last year via submission, admitted that he was “disappointed” the bout was delayed, but “I didn’t take it to heart because he is actually hurt.” Cormier suffered a groin injury, but is hopeful for an early 2017 return.

Anthony Johnson wants to be UFC light heavyweight champion.

And he doesn’t want to do it against anyone but Daniel Cormier – and he definitely doesn’t want an interim tag attached to it.

Daniel Cormier Has Yet To Decide If Surgery Needed For Groin Injury

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UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is focusing on a return in early 2017 – but he has yet to decide if surgery will be needed for his injured groin.

Cormier was forced to p…

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is focusing on a return in early 2017 – but he has yet to decide if surgery will be needed for his injured groin.

Cormier was forced to pull out of a championship rematch with Anthony Johnson set for next month at UFC 206 after suffering a torn right abductor muscle.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, “DC” revealed that he has options moving forward. He can undergo surgery, rest or have platelet-rich plasma injections.

“I don’t know, man,” Cormier said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “It’s a weird deal, because I always try not to have surgery. That’s kind of my thing. I do whatever I can to not go under the knife. I’ve got some decisions to make.”

Cormier, who fights out of AKA, said there was “no backlash” from the UFC or Dana White after he was forced off the pay-per-view. In the past, White has called out the gym for training too hard before fights.

Tim Kennedy-Kelvin Gastelum Not Official For UFC 206 Yet

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There still appears to be a hold up involving the UFC 206 card, as the Ontatio Athletic Commission has yet to receive confirmation that will allow the Tim Kennedy-Kelvin Gastelum contest to take place.

Gastelum was suspended six months by the New York Athletic Commission after failing to weigh-in. The former Ultimate Fighter winner remains hopeful that his management team will get the suspension lifted so he can compete.

“The OAC honors all suspensions by members of the Association of Boxing Commissions,” Denelle Balfour, a spokesperson for the commission, wrote today in an email to MMAjunkie.

Gastelum has struggled with his weight, forcing the UFC to move him to middleweight once again. He is planning to try his hand at welterweight next year.

“The OAC honors all suspensions by members of the Association of Boxing Commissions,” Denelle Balfour, a spokesperson for the commission, wrote today in an email to MMAjunkie.

Gastelum has struggled with his weight, forcing the UFC to move him to middleweight once again. He is planning to try his hand at welterweight next year.

Max Holloway “Blessed” To Fight Anthony Pettis For UFC Gold

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Max Holloway doesn’t care that an interim tag is attached to his UFC 206 main event bout with Anthony Pettis.

The proud Hawaiian is just happy to be competing for UFC gold – something he has been dreaming about for years.

“I’m just blessed to have the opportunity to be here,” Holloway told MMAjunkie. “I always wanted to fight for a title, and I always wanted to be the main event of a pay-per-view. I can knock two off the list come Dec. 10, and I think the world is in for a treat.

“I thought I was going to get Pettis as the main event and move to five rounds. I didn’t think it was going to get elevated to a title shot. But the featherweight division was in murky waters, and now it’s super clear. I’ve been telling everybody this is God’s plan, not mine, and God’s plan is perfect. We’re here now, and it’s all about taking opportunities. This is an opportunity I need to take, and it’s the first step toward greatness.”

Holloway (16-3) has won 12 of his 15 Octagon bouts, including each of his last nine since a 2013 decision loss to Conor McGregor.

After McGregor won the UFC lightweight title, UFC officials removed his featherweight belt and gave it to Jose Aldo. That allowed them to create the interim title match next month between Holloway and Pettis, a former UFC lightweight champion himself.

Max Holloway doesn’t care that an interim tag is attached to his UFC 206 main event bout with Anthony Pettis.

The proud Hawaiian is just happy to be competing for UFC gold – something he has been dreaming about for years.

Holloway (16-3) has won 12 of his 15 Octagon bouts, including each of his last nine since a 2013 decision loss to Conor McGregor.