Tag: UFC 206

Mark Hunt Turns Down UFC 206 Rematch With Junior dos Santos

UFC and Pride FC veteran heavyweight Mark Hunt has experienced a rough time in 2016. Starting off the year with a vintage one-punch KO of Frank Mir, ‘The Super Samoan’ was paired with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. Undoubtedly the biggest fight of his career, Hunt faced the former champion in the milestone pay-per-view event.

The post Mark Hunt Turns Down UFC 206 Rematch With Junior dos Santos appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC and Pride FC veteran heavyweight Mark Hunt has experienced a rough time in 2016. Starting off the year with a vintage one-punch KO of Frank Mir, ‘The Super Samoan’ was paired with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. Undoubtedly the biggest fight of his career, Hunt faced the former champion in the milestone pay-per-view event. Unfortunately for Hunt, Lesnar came to wrestle, and the bout ended up being one-sided in the favor of the WWE crossover. Humble in defeat, the former K-1 champ looked forward to returning in the near future.

Once USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) revealed Lesnar’s failed drug test, Hunt’s attitude towards fighting took a 180. Suddenly irate with his employers and USADA, ‘The Super Samoan’ went on a series of scathing rants. Furious that Lesnar had been allowed to fight at UFC 200, Hunt pointed out the pro wrestler’s four-month USADA exemption during his tirades. The disgruntled knockout artist accused the UFC of knowingly harbouring a drug cheat, and revealed he’d be putting in action steps to create a fighters union.

lesnar-vs-mark-hunt-800x521[1]

Lawsuit & JDS Snub

Earlier this week Mark Hunt revealed he’s considering a lawsuit against the UFC for alleged racketeering. An interesting report surfaced later in the week that suggested a long-told fairy tale about Dana White offering to pay Hunt to ‘ride off in to the sunset’ was actually BS. Hunt’s attorney, Christina Denning, claims her client actually successfully sued the UFC for breach of contract when he crossed over from Pride.

As the history of beef between Hunt and the UFC grow, his attorney told Sirius XM’s Luke Thomas Show, as quoted by Bloody Elbow, ‘The Super Samoan’ turned down a big fight at UFC 206.

Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Hunt Says No

“I flew out to Vegas — I believe it was in late September — and met with three attorneys on behalf of the UFC to try to talk about a resolution, because [Hunt] wants to fight. Mark turned down the upcoming UFC 206 fight against Junior dos Santos because the UFC wouldn’t agree to the terms that we had proposed.”

“The UFC folks, they haven’t shut any doors on us, they haven’t said, ‘We’ll never talk to you about a provision like this in the contract,’” Denning said. “I’m waiting for my phone to ring, for the UFC to call us and come up with a resolution. Normally, I’d just file a lawsuit. Or I’d just wait for the Lesnar hearing to file a lawsuit. But we’re coming down and talking about it, because we want to resolve it and he wants to fight. He just wants fair fights.”

‘JDS’ famously knocked out Mark Hunt with a spinning wheel kick at UFC 160, a loss which the K-1 legend has since expressed interest in avenging. UFC 206 continues to lose out on some monster opportunities, as both Hunt and Georges St-Pierre remain at loggerheads with the promotion.

Stay tuned!

The post Mark Hunt Turns Down UFC 206 Rematch With Junior dos Santos appeared first on LowKick MMA.

After Calling Out GSP & Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping Won’t Be Fighting Soon

In the weeks after his close decision win over Dan Henderson at October 4’s UFC 204, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been busy calling out two big names in Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz for the feature bout of December 10’s UFC 206 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Neither fight seemed to materialize, yet “The

The post After Calling Out GSP & Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping Won’t Be Fighting Soon appeared first on LowKick MMA.

In the weeks after his close decision win over Dan Henderson at October 4’s UFC 204, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been busy calling out two big names in Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz for the feature bout of December 10’s UFC 206 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Neither fight seemed to materialize, yet “The Count” was tabbed to talked about as a replacement for Luke Rockhold against Jacare Souza in the main event of November’s UFC Fight Night 101 from Melbourne, Australia.

However, while serving as host of “UFC Tonight” on FOX Sports 1, he revealed that wouldn’t be fighting any of those big names, as he’s healing from a broken orbital suffered against Henderson and also has to get treatment on his knee:

“As you all know, I fought Dan Henderson very recently. I’ve got a busted orbital, I’m getting injections in my knee.”

That seems like a peculiar set of circumstances considering he was calling out GSP and Diaz so recently, but Bisping clarified that he miraculously could have recovered to take on either of those two superstars because of the payday involved, something that was absent from the bout with Jacare:

“Now I know what everyone at home is going to say: ‘Didn’t you call out GSP a couple weeks ago? Yes, I did, but really, think about this, that was a massive payday, roughly $3-4 million I would have earned from that fight. Against Jacare, I’m going to get around about a quarter.”

So the MMA world – in addition to Jacare’s manager – thinks Bisping is somehow ducking the lethal submission artist, but the British titleholder insists that is not what he’s doing and something he’s never done. In his opinion, he’s going to face the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero at UFC 205 or Jacare:

“I’m assuming they’re saying that I’m ducking Jacare,” Bisping said. “I’ve never ducked anybody in my life. … Next week, Yoel and Weidman are fighting. Whoever wins, either that guy, or Jacare, will be my next fight, make no mistake. But I’m not doing it in a few weeks.”

While it’s no surprise Bisping is unable to fight Souza in November, it is a curious scenario that he could seemingly fight only three weeks later if he does have a serious injury, especially considering his history of eye issues. Bisping is looking for the big payday, and unfortunately for the Fighter of the Year candidate (whether you like it or not), that’s something he’s been accused of doing rather than facing the best 185-pound martial artists in the UFC.

The only thing he can do to silence those haters is face and defeat Jacare, Weidman, or Romero in his next title fight.

The post After Calling Out GSP & Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping Won’t Be Fighting Soon appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The UFC Needs To Swallow Their Pride & Book GSP

Throughout the three-week lull proceeding one of the busiest periods in MMA history surrounding UFC 205, the contract standoff between the UFC and former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has perhaps been the most discussed topic. St-Pierre revealed he considered himself a free agent after the UFC failed to give him a realistic fight in a timeframe

The post The UFC Needs To Swallow Their Pride & Book GSP appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Throughout the three-week lull proceeding one of the busiest periods in MMA history surrounding UFC 205, the contract standoff between the UFC and former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has perhaps been the most discussed topic.

St-Pierre revealed he considered himself a free agent after the UFC failed to give him a realistic fight in a timeframe set forth by his lawyer. While the UFC predictably asserted St-Pierre was under contract and that they would hold him to his obligations, it’s simply a sad state of affairs that the situation has been allowed to reach this level.

Tempers were apparently calmed during a recent meeting between new UFC headman Ari Emanuel and St-Pierre, and “Rush” also released a video declaring that his relationship with Dana White had “never been better.” But that still wasn’t enough to get him in the main event slot of UFC 206, a card from Toronto in his native Canada that fans are threatening to boycott if he was not signed.

georges st. pierre ufc stats

It’s looking like they’ll have to boycott, as St-Pierre said the fight, which was rumored to be against Michael Bisping, just isn’t happening as of now. With its Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson rematch in the main event and a lackluster undercard, UFC 206 is set to struggle in the UFC’s return to Toronto as it’s sandwiched in between UFC 205 and UFC 207, where Ronda Rousey will return, but this could have easily been avoided.

There are whispers that St-Pierre’s management company CAA and their status as UFC owners WME-IMG’s direct competition in in the talent industry is directly interfering with any deal St-Pierre may sign, and there are other rumors GSP wants $10 million for his return fight that the new ownership isn’t willing to pay. Regardless of the reasoning, however, this is a situation that could have been avoided to make UFC 206 a truly special event – and a massive PPV success.

Instead, it’s just another bad look for the UFC’s new owners, who have stayed stalwart in their plan to cut overhead by releasing employees and playing hardball with St-Pierre in a time where fighter pay and treatment is one of the most hotly debated topics in the sport. The idea that the UFC would take a great financial risk and be forced to spend a large amount of money to re-introduce St-Pierre to a new fanbase is ludicrous, as is WME-IMG’s withdrawal of an offer St-Pierre had received from previous owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

GSP Rogan

True, St-Pierre may have been losing fans towards the end of his dominant run when he chose to fight safe and coast to dominant decision wins rather than finish his overmatched opponents, but he’s still one of the most popular fighters the Octagon has ever hosted. He may not bring in the million-plus buys that Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey do, but he can bring in more buys than nearly every other MMA star can.

He’s also the key to a currently struggling Canadian market in MMA, where he ruled for many years as the sport boom North of the Border. His presence would have instantly reinserted a ton of interest and attention into the fight-crazed Canadian MMA market, which has undoubtedly fallen into a funk since he left. Now, however, in an effort to save a few millions off the bottom line, the UFC is content to let UFC 206 fall by the wayside as a wholly forgettable event in a sea of high-profile cards.

It’s purely a business decision, but this decision is not best for business. Maybe St-Pierre is playing hardball; it cannot be denied he’s simply the most high-profile name to speak up for fighters being treated fairly. That’s something that needed to happen and was an eventuality rather than something the UFC could have held off forever. They did a good enough job doing that for several years as it stands.

He’ll most likely eventually reach middle ground with WME-IMG, yet UFC 206 could have been so, so much bigger. For a company that’s clearly about the bottom line, the decision to not back down to St-Pierre’s request is a puzzling one, and one that’s going to cost them millions of dollars in the short run.

The post The UFC Needs To Swallow Their Pride & Book GSP appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Michael Bisping Says He Still Wants GSP Or Nick Diaz At UFC 206 In December

As noted, UFC was apparently trying to put together a fight between reigning UFC Middleweight Champion and arguably the best-ever UFC Welterweight Champion in MMA history, Georges St-Pierre for their upcoming UFC 206 event in December.

During the la…

bisping-ufc-title-204

As noted, UFC was apparently trying to put together a fight between reigning UFC Middleweight Champion and arguably the best-ever UFC Welterweight Champion in MMA history, Georges St-Pierre for their upcoming UFC 206 event in December.

During the latest episode of his SIRIUS-XM radio show, “The Countdown with Michael Bisping,” the UFC’s top dog at 185-pounds spoke about the negotiations for the GSP fight this week and why “Rush” is still someone he wants to see standing across the Octagon at some point before his career is over.

“In a perfect world, for me, I’d fight Georges St-Pierre in six weeks time. That’s just around the corner and all the other guys are tied up. Georges St-Pierre would be the biggest payday of my career, bar none. So excuse me for trying to get the biggest payday of my career…

“It would end off a perfect year for me. I’ve had the best year of my career and to finish it off with a guy like Georges St-Pierre, another legend, a former champion, a Hall of Famer, a guy who was a pioneer of the sport, an undoubtedly a guy who was pound for pound one of the best in the history of this sport, to beat him and to get my biggest payday, that would end the best year of my career; and my next fight would be against Chris Weidman. In a perfect world, that is what I would like.”

Additionally, “The Count” spoke about his desire to get right back into action and also mentioned how Nick Diaz is another top star in the UFC that he would like to be matched up against when the time does come to sort out when, where and whom he will be fighting in his next Octagon appearance.

“I’m down to fight ASAP because Dana and the UFC put this in my mind, fighting at 206. So now in my mind I want to fight at 206. I was ready to take the rest of the year off and do nothing and enjoy being the champion and have some time with my kids and go away for Thanksgiving. But then this was put in my mind again and now I want to fight in Toronto.

“So yeah, if it’s not gonna be GSP, I don’t mind being on the card against somebody else and Nick Diaz is somebody else that moves the needle… His last fight was against Anderson Silva so he’s fought at 185, and if Nick Diaz wants to do it, I’ll fight Nick Diaz. If anybody wants to do it, I’ll do it.”

Below are a couple of excerpts from the latest edition of “The Countdown with Michael Bisping.”

Anthony Pettis Promises To Find Whoever Attacked His Home

A report surfaced yesterday (Oct. 27, 2016) indicating that three of Anthony Pettis’ cars had been set on fire and burned in his driveway at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today (Oct. 28, 2016), the former UFC lightweight champion commented on the horrible situation via his official Instagram account. While “Showtime” admitted that he won’t

The post Anthony Pettis Promises To Find Whoever Attacked His Home appeared first on LowKick MMA.

A report surfaced yesterday (Oct. 27, 2016) indicating that three of Anthony Pettis’ cars had been set on fire and burned in his driveway at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today (Oct. 28, 2016), the former UFC lightweight champion commented on the horrible situation via his official Instagram account.

While “Showtime” admitted that he won’t be ‘defeated’ by the situation, he did say that he was ‘saddened’, and that he plans to do everything in his power in order to find out who committed the crime:


After dropping two straight bouts at lightweight, the ex-champion recently dropped down to 145-pounds where he scored an impressive victory over then No. 6-ranked Charles Oliveira last August. Pettis is now set to take on No. 3-ranked surging contender Max “Blessed” Holloway at Dec. 10’s UFC 206 from Toronto, Canada with a potential title shot on the line.

The post Anthony Pettis Promises To Find Whoever Attacked His Home appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Dana White Reacts To Meeting With Georges St. Pierre

When former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced last week that he was a free agent after a near three year hiatus, it appeared as if his relationship with the promotion had never been worse. After all, UFC President Dana White has been saying for months that St. Pierre no longer had the

The post Dana White Reacts To Meeting With Georges St. Pierre appeared first on LowKick MMA.

When former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced last week that he was a free agent after a near three year hiatus, it appeared as if his relationship with the promotion had never been worse. After all, UFC President Dana White has been saying for months that St. Pierre no longer had the desire to fight, a comment that “Rush” consistently declined.

Since GSP made that shocking announcement, the ex-champion has said that he has made ‘peace’ with White, although a return still hasn’t been set. The UFC boss, however, also took the time to comment on the meeting:

dana-white-ufc-fight-night-macao[1]

“My relationship has never been better with GSP. I’m glad we got together,” White said in a text message to Postmedia News.

St. Pierre, a man many consider to be amongst the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time, hasn’t competed since 2013 after scoring a highly-controversial decision victory over fellow former champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Prior to that, he had won 11 straight bouts and defended his title a divisional record nine consecutive times.

Do you ever expect to see the Canadian star back in the Octagon?

The post Dana White Reacts To Meeting With Georges St. Pierre appeared first on LowKick MMA.