Tag: UFC 207

Quote: TJ Dillashaw vs. Demetrious Johnson Will Happen In July

As a 35-fight MMA veteran, Muay Thai world champion and former UFC fighter Duane Ludwig spent 15 years competing in combat sports. After retiring from fighting in 2012, ‘Bang’ settled into a role as a full-time Muay Thai and MMA striking coach by propelling California’s Team Alpha Male to new heights in a short amount of […]

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As a 35-fight MMA veteran, Muay Thai world champion and former UFC fighter Duane Ludwig spent 15 years competing in combat sports. After retiring from fighting in 2012, ‘Bang’ settled into a role as a full-time Muay Thai and MMA striking coach by propelling California’s Team Alpha Male to new heights in a short amount of time.

In particular, current UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw found the most success from Ludwig’s tutelage. After he won the bantamweight title from Renan Barao at UFC 173 in 2014, Dillashaw and Ludwig moved their fight camp – amidst a highly-publicized spat with TAM that exists to this day – to Colorado where ‘Bang’ opened his own gym.

Since then, Dillashaw lost the title to Dominick Cruz in a close split decision in 2016, before winning it back against Cody Garbrandt after the feud started by Dillashaw and Ludwig moving away from TAM. A possible rematch between Dillashaw and Garbrandt was rumored for March 3’s UFC 222, but Dillashaw and his team were understandably much more interested in a champ vs. champ super fight with dominant flyweight king Demetrious Johnson, although no official details have been confirmed.

Speaking during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour today, Ludwig discussed why Dillashaw vs. Johnson is the much better fight:

“The better fight is against Demetrious Johnson, he is the only real big fight for TJ Dillashaw right now. Cody (Garbrandt) doesn’t deserve a rematch. (Cody) got knocked out in the second round, he hasn’t really earned that rematch. I know TJ got dropped in the first round but he came back and knocked Cody out.”

‘Bang’ also detailed why Dillashaw vs. Johnson was the best fight for ‘The Viper’ and why a rematch with Garbrandt was not.

The longtime coach said he understood that new UFC owners Endeavor were trying to make back their investment when featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced out of his headlining bout with Frankie Edgar, but he insisted the timing was wrong for Dillashaw given that he had just had a child, and also thought Garbrandt just didn’t deserve the fight:

“What we’ve got here is an entertainment business taking over a martial arts company. TJ just had a kid, and the timing wasn’t right for the Johnson fight at that time, but the company is trying to make their investment back, but TJ vs. Johnson has to happen. They must really like Cody right now because he doesn’t deserve that rematch.”

He then reiterated their team was looking for the super fight, and that it would happen this July during International Fight Week while touting Dillashaw’s standing as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in his mind:

“We are hunting for that Johnson superfight. TJ is not a big 135-pounder, he has to lift quite a lot make 135 pounds. He is basically between the two weight classes, he could defend both titles. We’ve trained from day one to be the best, our main goal is to see how good we can get him. It’s time to have the two best mixed martial artists in the lower weight classes meet and test TJ’s skill set again Demetrious. The fight with DJ will happen in July, at international fight week, and TJ will be the new 125-pound champion of the world.

“I think right now, TJ is the best fighter in the world regardless of weight class. Who knocked Cody out in the second round, anybody else? No, he ran through Renan Barao twice.”

Yet while it seems Ludwig is only focused on grabbing the highest-profile fight he can for his best student, ‘Bang’ also discussed a bigger picture view of his career as a martial arts coach, noting that he was excited to have a rewarding non-stressful career teaching. He’s apparently parlayed that into a seminar with Dillashaw and Bas Rutten in addition to a few other high-profile names, and wants to use that forum to pass on his wealth of fighting skill to those willing to learn:

“I’m super happy and I just love teaching martial arts. I focus on just teaching martial arts to martial artists, it’s not stressful, it’s pretty much rewardable and enjoyable. I have a huge seminar coming up this weekend.”

“I’ll be in New York this weekend with TJ Dillashaw, Bas Rutten, Andy Souwer, Chinzo Machida and also Shane Fazen. We are going to be doing a three-day seminar in New York City, teaching the best martial arts to all the people we can get together. It’s open to the public.

“I love being the Google of martial arts, finding the best martial artists and picking their brains and passing that information on to the people who are attending.”

So while Ludwig may be the in the media for his connection to Dillashaw, he also wanted to clarify that he doesn’t run an MMA team any longer, and wants to teach the current students at his MMA academy to be the best martial artists they can be:

“I want to help other people become better people and martial artists now. If I was running a fight team still, I would have the best fighters, but I’m running a martial arts academy and I try to teach them to be the best martial artists.”

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Say What? Ronda Rousey Is Now Managing Boxers

Ronda Rousey may now be in the WWE, and she also may have been blasted for her obvious lack of striking skill during her precipitous MMA downfall, but apparently, that doesn’t mean she’s giving up on the sweet science. Except for this time, she’ll be doing it in a managerial role. Yes, Ronda Rousey is […]

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Ronda Rousey may now be in the WWE, and she also may have been blasted for her obvious lack of striking skill during her precipitous MMA downfall, but apparently, that doesn’t mean she’s giving up on the sweet science.

Except for this time, she’ll be doing it in a managerial role. Yes, Ronda Rousey is reportedly a boxing manager.

News came this week that Rousey had procured her first client Ferdinand Koberyan while seemingly partnering with Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Productions, who announced the signing online:

Koberyan is a 20-year-old fighter who currently resides in Rousey’s home state California after moving from his native Armenia.

Rousey has long been linked to the Armenian community, specifically in her relationship with highly criticized coach Edmond Tarverdyan, but her ties to the people hearken back to her time as an Olympic medal-winning judo player.

Rousey also discussed the signing on Instagram, congratulating Koberyan:

Finally, Koberyan expressed excitement at his signing in his own post:

Scheduled to team with Olympic wrestling medalist Kurt Angle and take on WWE executives Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque in her first official pro-wrestling match at April 8’s WrestleMania 34, Rousey left the UFC after two consecutive knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.

The 31-year-old women’s MMA legend recently said the chances of her returning to the UFC were very slim and were as likely as her returning to judo to make the Olympics.

Exactly what she will do in terms of being a manager for fighters is unknown, and some are speculating she’ll simply be a public face for signing fighters to Tarverdyan’s Glendale Fighting Club.

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Video: Ronda Rousey Slams Triple H Through A Table

Former dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently made the transition to her beloved pro-wrestling when she debuted at last month’s Royal Rumble. “Rowdy” made another appearance in the squared circle at tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, receiving a massive reception from the crowd that had her noticeably emotional: #WWEChamber just got ROWDY!!!!! @RondaRousey has […]

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Former dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently made the transition to her beloved pro-wrestling when she debuted at last month’s Royal Rumble.

“Rowdy” made another appearance in the squared circle at tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, receiving a massive reception from the crowd that had her noticeably emotional:

There, she signed her contract to compete at April’s WrestleMania, where it was announced she’ll team with former Olympic medalist and WWE champion Kurt Angle to battle WWE elite Stephanie McMahon and her husband, longtime wrestling superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Watch the reveal here:

When Triple H got a little mouthy, Rousey made a statement by slamming Triple H through a table. Watch it here:

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Report: Two Huge Replacement Fights Targeted For UFC 222

Earlier today the UFC saw another high-profile title fight fall apart when it was announced featherweight champ Max Holloway had been forced out of his UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar due to injury. The news was extra concerning given that UFC 222 had few other anticipated bouts on the card, but according to […]

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Earlier today the UFC saw another high-profile title fight fall apart when it was announced featherweight champ Max Holloway had been forced out of his UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar due to injury.

The news was extra concerning given that UFC 222 had few other anticipated bouts on the card, but according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC is working on making the card potentially even bigger by adding replacement bouts to the March 3 event from Las Vegas.

Apparently, the UFC is looking to book TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt II for the bantamweight in a rematch of their UFC 217 grudge match, while still giving Edgar to fight on the card against top contender Brian Ortega:

But after Dillashaw knocked out Garbrandt in November, rumors surfaced he was waiting for his oft-teased super fight with record-breaking flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, a fight that has been discussed for July’s UFC 226.

Helwani spoke to Dillashaw’s coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, who reiterated they’re still aiming for “Mighty Mouse” because Garbrandt needs to earn a rematch:

Garbrandt fired back at Ludwig’s suggestion, presumably trying to goad Dillashaw into taking a rematch by suggesting he had been nearly out towards the end of the first round of their first bout, something that may be true but also remains a moot point considering Dillashaw came back to finish “No Love” in the second.

Regardless, Garbrandt quickly clapped back by saying he had accepted and the ball was in their camp’s court:

Nothing official has been announced by the promotion for UFC 222’s replacement main event, yet it appears something big is in the works.

Is a bantamweight title rematch the right fight to make? Does the UFC have another option?

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UFC Rankings Update: Ronda Rousey Stays Put Despite Move To WWE

After an extremely quiet event last weekend in UFC on FOX 27, which brought in the lowest television numbers ever for the series, the focus of the activity for this week’s official UFC rankings is actually on two fighters who may never fight in the UFC again. Former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was […]

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After an extremely quiet event last weekend in UFC on FOX 27, which brought in the lowest television numbers ever for the series, the focus of the activity for this week’s official UFC rankings is actually on two fighters who may never fight in the UFC again.

Former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was finally removed from the 185-pound rankings after vacating the belt roughly a month after winning it from Michael Bisping at November’s UFC 217. The MMA great cited a bout with colitis as a result of the increased diet needed to move up to middleweight, and with his coaches claiming he might take two more years off or even retire, his status in the UFC remains tenuous.

‘Rush’ stayed but also dropped on the pound-for-pound rankings, coming in at No. 6 after falling three spots.

One storied champion who didn’t fall out the rankings even though there wasfor more reason for her to was former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Rousey made her debut appearance with pro-wrestling giant WWE at their Royal Rumble pay-per-view event last Sunday, noting afterward that ‘was her life’ for the next several years.

But even though she’s now competing in sports entertainment and have given absolutely no indication she would ever return after two consecutive knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, Rousey somehow stayed pat on the women’s bantamweight rankings at No. 9.

Perhaps it’s wishful thinking.

Anyway, here are the fully updated rankings via UFC.com:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Demetrious Johnson
2 Conor McGregor
3 Daniel Cormier +1
4 Stipe Miocic +2
4 Max Holloway
6 Georges St-Pierre -3
7 TJ Dillashaw
8 Tyron Woodley
9 Cris Cyborg
10 Tony Ferguson
11 Cody Garbrandt
12 Robert Whittaker
13 Amanda Nunes
14 Khabib Nurmagomedov
15 Joanna Jedrzejczyk

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Ray Borg
4 Jussier Formiga
5 Sergio Pettis
6 Wilson Reis
7 Brandon Moreno
8 Ben Nguyen
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 John Moraga
11 Matheus Nicolau
12 Tim Elliott -1
13 Alexandre Pantoja
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Magomed Bibulatov

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Jimmie Rivera
5 Marlon Moraes
6 John Lineker
7 Bryan Caraway
8 John Dodson
9 Aljamain Sterling
10 Pedro Munhoz
11 Rob Font
12 Thomas Almeida
13 Eddie Wineland
14 Brett Johns
15 Matthew Lopez

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Brian Ortega
4 Josh Emmett
5 Cub Swanson
6 Ricardo Lamas
7 Chan Sung Jung
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Darren Elkins
10 Yair Rodriguez
11 Renato Moicano
12 Mirsad Bektic +3
13 Dooho Choi
14 Myles Jury
15 Calvin Kattar *NR

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Tony Ferguson (Interim Champion)
2 Khabib Nurmagomedov
3 Eddie Alvarez
4 Edson Barboza
5 Dustin Poirier
6 Justin Gaethje
7 Kevin Lee
8 Nate Diaz
9 Michael Chiesa
10 Al Iaquinta
11 Beneil Dariush
12 James Vick
13 Anthony Pettis
14 Francisco Trinaldo -1
15 Evan Dunham

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Stephen Thompson
2 Rafael Dos Anjos
3 Colby Covington
4 Robbie Lawler
5 Demian Maia
6 Jorge Masvidal
7 Darren Till
8 Neil Magny
9 Kamaru Usman
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Donald Cerrone
12 Carlos Condit
13 Gunnar Nelson
14 Dong Hyun Kim
15 Yancy Medeiros

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Robert Whittaker
1 Yoel Romero
2 Luke Rockhold
3 Jacare Souza
4 Chris Weidman +1
5 Kelvin Gastelum +1
6 Michael Bisping +1
7 Derek Brunson +1
8 David Branch +1
9 Uriah Hall +1
10 Vitor Belfort +1
11 Brad Tavares +4
12 Krzysztof Jotko
13 Lyoto Machida +1
14 Paulo Costa -1
15 Thiago Santos *NR

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Glover Teixeira
2 Volkan Oezdemir
4 Jimi Manuwa
5 Ovince Saint Preux
6 Mauricio Rua
7 Misha Cirkunov
8 Ilir Latifi
8 Corey Anderson
10 Patrick Cummins
11 Jan Blachowicz
12 Gadzhimurad Antigulov
13 Tyson Pedro
14 Gian Villante
15 Jared Cannonier

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Francis Ngannou
2 Alistair Overeem
3 Fabricio Werdum
4 Cain Velasquez
5 Mark Hunt
6 Derrick Lewis
7 Alexander Volkov
8 Marcin Tybura
9 Curtis Blaydes
10 Stefan Struve
11 Aleksei Oleinik
12 Andrei Arlovski
13 Junior Albini
14 Travis Browne
15 Tim Johnson

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Carla Esparza
7 Michelle Waterson
8 Felice Herrig +1
9 Cynthia Calvillo -1
10 Alexa Grasso
11 Randa Markos
12 Cortney Casey
13 Joanne Calderwood
14 Maryna Moroz
15 Tatiana Suarez

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Sijara Eubanks
2 Lauren Murphy
3 Alexis Davis
4 Roxanne Modafferi
5 Barb Honchak
6 Liz Carmouche
7 Katlyn Chookagian *NR
8 Jessica-Rose Clark -1
9 Jessica Eye +1
10 Montana De La Rosa -2
11 Mara Romero Borella -2
12 Rachael Ostovich -1
13 Paige VanZant -1
14 Shana Dobson -1
15 Gillian Robertson -1

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Holly Holm
3 Julianna Pena
4 Raquel Pennington
5 Germaine de Randamie
6 Ketlen Vieira
7 Cat Zingano
8 Sara McMann
9 Ronda Rousey
10 Marion Reneau
11 Leslie Smith +1
12 Bethe Correia +1
13 Aspen Ladd +2
14 Sarah Moras
15 Irene Aldana *NR

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Watch: Ronda Rousey Makes Surprise WWE Debut As Full-Time Pro Wrestler

After months and months of speculation, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has made her official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut. Heading into the promotion’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view this evening (Sun., January 28, 2018), speculation was that Rousey, a longtime pro-wrestling fan, was not going to debut at the show because she was […]

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After months and months of speculation, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has made her official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut.

Heading into the promotion’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view this evening (Sun., January 28, 2018), speculation was that Rousey, a longtime pro-wrestling fan, was not going to debut at the show because she was filming her movie Mile 22 despite several teasing appearances and endless rumors she was soon signing with the pro-wrestling giant.

Some bought it, some did not.

Well, in classic pro-wrestling style, the WWE surprised both MMA and wrestling fans when Rousey came out at the very end of the pay-per-view to confront three top female wrestlers and greet WWE executive Stephanie MacMahon, whom she once put in some sort of armlock at WrestleMania almost three years back before pointing at the sign for the upcoming WrestleMania 34 this year.

Check it out:

It was noted that Rousey showed up in a leather jacket and shirt similar to that of Roddy Piper, her late wrestling mentor and the man who handed her her ‘Rowdy’ namesake:

What’s more, Rousey stated in an interview with ESPN that she had signed with WWE to be a full-time performer, not a part-time wrestler making a quick appearance for a big one-time payday:

“This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt,” Rousey told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne of her decision to join WWE. “When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’”

Rousey will now go on to instantly be one of the WWE’s biggest stars despite having little actual experience in pro-wrestling. Based on what she was able to accomplish in Judo and mixed martial arts, however, there’s little doubt Rousey will get the hang of it rather quickly.

It would also appear to officially close the door on her MMA career, where she was dominant and peerless up until the point she wasn’t in back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes to close out her career, at least for now.

Will you pay attention to pro-wrestling just to see how Rousey’s new career plays out?

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