Tag: UFC 209

John Kavanagh ‘Too Afraid to Ask’ About Interim Title

SBG’s John Kavanagh has indicated his confusion at the announcement of yet another interim belt in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 in March.

It is truly a matter of East meets West in the lightweight division at UFC 209 in March. The highly anticipated bout between two of the 155 pound division’s top three fighters will have the extra spice of an interim lightweight title added to the mix.

Confirmation of the anticipated fight came from no other than UFC president Dana White, however there was no allusion to an interim belt in White’s declaration. Fight fans will undoubtedly be thrilled that the face-off between two of the promotions most elite fighters will stretch a full 5 rounds.

Another anticipated fight which was previously announced as the headliner for UFC 209 is for the welterweight crown; Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson were separated by only the finest of margins in what was a majority draw decision for “T-Wood” at UFC 205 in New York last November.

Interim titles are not always the most popular among the MMA masses. One man in particular who seems to treat the concept with contempt is the trainer of the current lightweight champion of the world, Conor McGregor. John Kavanagh expressed his confusion at the decision of the UFC hierarchy to offer an interim belt,  by posting the meme below:

😶

 Whether Kavanagh held the same view following McGregor’s capture of the UFC featherweight interim title following his KO victory over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 is not clear, however.

In addition to the Nurmagomedov v Ferguson fight collapsing previously due to financial dispute, both fighters have had injury problems which have prevented their meeting in the past. With all now appeared to be resolved, fans will wait with bated breath that both fighters can maintain fitness and avoid injury before they square off in the octagon.

There is absolutely no doubt in stating that this fight represents the most significant of both Nurmagomedov and Ferguson’s respective careers, as the winner will edge one square closer to UFC gold, and hopefully their very own “red panty night”.

SBG’s John Kavanagh has indicated his confusion at the announcement of yet another interim belt in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 in March.

It is truly a matter of East meets West in the lightweight division at UFC 209 in March. The highly anticipated bout between two of the 155 pound division’s top three fighters will have the extra spice of an interim lightweight title added to the mix.

Confirmation of the anticipated fight came from no other than UFC president Dana White, however there was no allusion to an interim belt in White’s declaration. Fight fans will undoubtedly be thrilled that the face-off between two of the promotions most elite fighters will stretch a full 5 rounds.

Another anticipated fight which was previously announced as the headliner for UFC 209 is for the welterweight crown; Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson were separated by only the finest of margins in what was a majority draw decision for “T-Wood” at UFC 205 in New York last November.

Interim titles are not always the most popular among the MMA masses. One man in particular who seems to treat the concept with contempt is the trainer of the current lightweight champion of the world, Conor McGregor. John Kavanagh expressed his confusion at the decision of the UFC hierarchy to offer an interim belt,  by posting the meme below:

15h15 hours ago

?

 Whether Kavanagh held the same view following McGregor’s capture of the UFC featherweight interim title following his KO victory over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 is not clear, however.

In addition to the Nurmagomedov v Ferguson fight collapsing previously due to financial dispute, both fighters have had injury problems which have prevented their meeting in the past. With all now appeared to be resolved, fans will wait with bated breath that both fighters can maintain fitness and avoid injury before they square off in the octagon.

There is absolutely no doubt in stating that this fight represents the most significant of both Nurmagomedov and Ferguson’s respective careers, as the winner will edge one square closer to UFC gold, and hopefully their very own “red panty night”.

Tyron Woodley: ‘If I go 100 Percent, Wonderboy May Never Wanna Fight Again’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c1CHO5qDSo

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title holder Tyron Woodley wants to put the “Wonderboy” chapter to rest. While the champion retained his championship against Stephen Thompson at …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c1CHO5qDSo

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title holder Tyron Woodley wants to put the “Wonderboy” chapter to rest. While the champion retained his championship against Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 in New York City, the result of the bout was a majority draw.

The result wasn’t ideal for either man in the UFC’s Madison Square Garden debut. Still, Woodley wasn’t keen on granting Thompson a rematch. He kept gunning for big money fights with Nick Diaz, Georges St. Pierre and current middleweight title holder Michael Bisping. “The Chosen One” even tried to ruffle feathers with lightweight king Conor McGregor.

Thompson wasn’t thrilled. The No. 1 ranked welterweight kept calling for a rematch and said Woodley wanted to fight anyone but him. “T-Wood” finally signed the bout agreement.

Woodley said he agreed to the bout to “shut everybody up.” He argued that he clearly won their first encounter and insinuated the judges were inexperienced. Thompson claimed he has the champion’s number and that he will leave no doubt that he’s the better fighter.

“The Chosen One” recently appeared on Luke Thomas’ show on SiriusXM Rush. Woodley said his first encounter with Thompson saw him execute a small portion of his gameplan. The champion warned his opponent of what he may do at UFC 209.

“I gotta do more of what I did, just execute things gameplan wise that I didn’t execute. I was prepared for it. I was conditioned for it. I think I just got into a rhythm and I saw some things working and I just kind of started hanging on those areas. We talked about this, it’s probably 25 percent of what we planned that I executed. And even with only doing 25 percent of the gameplan, I feel like I was victorious. Doing 50 percent is a landslide and if god forbid I do 100 percent, ‘Wonderboy’ may never wanna fight again.”

Tyron Woodley Reveals Nick Diaz Turned Down UFC 209 Title Fight

With fan favorite Nick Diaz’s 18-month suspension over last August and the Stockton slugger done paying his hefty fine, the MMA world just can’t help but wonder when – and against whom – the enigmatic star will return. The most outspoken prospective opponent of Diaz has been UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who began voicing

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With fan favorite Nick Diaz’s 18-month suspension over last August and the Stockton slugger done paying his hefty fine, the MMA world just can’t help but wonder when – and against whom – the enigmatic star will return.

The most outspoken prospective opponent of Diaz has been UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who began voicing his aim at a “money fight” with Diaz a few minutes after he won the belt from Robbie Lawler in July 2016. He’s now set to rematch Stephen Thompson at March 4’s UFC 209 after he and ‘Wonderboy’ fought to a rousing draw at last November’s UFC 205, but Woodley’s inability to get a high-level bout with Diaz isn’t for his own lack of trying.

As usual, longtime veteran Diaz isn’t fond of the grind of fighting despite it being the only life he knows, and he’s often been seen and heard retiring after a loss only to come back for another pay-per-view (PPV) headliner when the offer contains enough commas. So much so, in fact, that Woodley said Diaz even turned down potential fights with Lawler (whom he’s knocked out) and even Conor McGregor because the money just wasn’t enough:

“It is not like Nick is scared of fighting you know,” Woodley said laughing. “He’s not scared to fight me or Robbie or Conor McGregor. Nick wants to get paid man. He’s held out in the past and it has worked out in his favor. He went out there and fought Anderson Silva for close to a million bucks. He knows that he pushes the needle. Plus there is a card, 209, so he understands what he is worth to that card. So I can’t knock him for that. It’s more of a situation of him wanting to get paid.”

Those are obviously huge fights, and a grudge match with current lightweight champ McGregor, who had an infamous rival with his brother Nate last year, would arguably be one of the biggest match-ups the UFC could sign for 2017.

But Diaz isn’t taking the bait, and he also reportedly turned down an immediate title shot against Woodley at UFC 209, the upcoming spring PPV card that bears the number of his honored area code. The current champion told MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas that Nick was offered the fight but wanted to make more cash:

Apparently Woodley very nearly had a huge payday PPV main event, which means the UFC wanted to bring Diaz straight back into a title fight with one of the most powerful fighters in MMA, despite him only having fought twice in the Octagon in almost four years, instead of the consensus most deserving contender in ‘Wonderboy.’

The oldest Diaz brother hasn’t won a fight since he bludgeoned a fading BJ Penn way back at UFC 137 in 2011, a once-dominant champion who will return, ironically enough, to the 145-pound division to face rising star Yair Rodriguez this Sunday night.

Diaz may be dreading the cut down to 170 pounds as well, having not fought at the class where he rose to superstardom in Strikeforce since his UFC 158 decision loss to all-time great former champion Georges St-Pierre in March 2013. Although he returned to battle another one of the UFC’s greats in Anderson Silva, yet another failed drug test for marijuana metabolites, albeit amongst contested circumstances, served as a reminder why a main event with Nick Diaz is such a rare sight.

At this point, however, it would seem like the other kind of green is what’s holding back his latest MMA return.

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Tyron Woodley to Stephen Thompson: ‘Be Careful What You Ask For’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ug1N_7PJc0

It was like pulling teeth, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley will finally face Stephen Thompson in a rematch at UFC 209. Woodley eyed many high profile fights before finally giving “Wonderboy” another title shot. He did so because he wanted to, “shut everybody up.”

“The Chosen One” took to his “Morning Wood” podcast with co-host Din Thomas to warn his opponent:

“He got under my skin so much that I’m just going to go ahead and fight the dude. He got under my skin that bad where I don’t even care about the ration and the money and what fight makes the most sense. You need to be careful what you ask for. ‘Wonderboy,’ if you want it, come get it. You want to fight? You want to get done worse than you did the first time? Some people have got to be real careful.”

Thompson doesn’t share the same views on the bout. “Wonderboy” recently said he has Woodley’s number. Woodley said he didn’t like how Thompson was viewed as a champion for taking their first encounter to a majority draw.

“What ever happened to the phrase, ‘You have to beat the champion’? Is that a lost art? Can you go in there and make it close with the champion and walk around as if you’ve beat the champion? I’m just not cool with the way the fight was promoted, as if I was the challenger. I don’t like that the challenger thinks he can call the shots.”

To take things a step further, the champion reaffirms that Thompson never dominated a round, while he was dominant in two.

“Two rounds were completely lopsided, and three rounds outside of that were very close. He never dominated a single round of that fight. So now if you can tell me I did not win either round one, round three or round five, then I would agree he deserves a rematch. But I do believe I won round three. I do believe round one or four would be a 10-8. Then on a third category, some people would have stopped that fight. There are three ways I could have won that fight.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ug1N_7PJc0

It was like pulling teeth, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley will finally face Stephen Thompson in a rematch at UFC 209. Woodley eyed many high profile fights before finally giving “Wonderboy” another title shot. He did so because he wanted to, “shut everybody up.”

“The Chosen One” took to his “Morning Wood” podcast with co-host Din Thomas to warn his opponent:

“He got under my skin so much that I’m just going to go ahead and fight the dude. He got under my skin that bad where I don’t even care about the ration and the money and what fight makes the most sense. You need to be careful what you ask for. ‘Wonderboy,’ if you want it, come get it. You want to fight? You want to get done worse than you did the first time? Some people have got to be real careful.”

Thompson doesn’t share the same views on the bout. “Wonderboy” recently said he has Woodley’s number. Woodley said he didn’t like how Thompson was viewed as a champion for taking their first encounter to a majority draw.

“What ever happened to the phrase, ‘You have to beat the champion’? Is that a lost art? Can you go in there and make it close with the champion and walk around as if you’ve beat the champion? I’m just not cool with the way the fight was promoted, as if I was the challenger. I don’t like that the challenger thinks he can call the shots.”

To take things a step further, the champion reaffirms that Thompson never dominated a round, while he was dominant in two.

“Two rounds were completely lopsided, and three rounds outside of that were very close. He never dominated a single round of that fight. So now if you can tell me I did not win either round one, round three or round five, then I would agree he deserves a rematch. But I do believe I won round three. I do believe round one or four would be a 10-8. Then on a third category, some people would have stopped that fight. There are three ways I could have won that fight.”

Dana: Khabib vs. Ferguson Set For Interim Title At UFC 209

The highly-anticipated match-up between No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson is nearly finalized, and when it is finally set in stone, it will be for the interim 155-pound title. According to the LA Times’ Lance Pugmire, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that all that is left to do is

The post Dana: Khabib vs. Ferguson Set For Interim Title At UFC 209 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The highly-anticipated match-up between No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson is nearly finalized, and when it is finally set in stone, it will be for the interim 155-pound title.

According to the LA Times’ Lance Pugmire, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that all that is left to do is get Ferguson’s bout agreement back, and the lightweight clash will be a go for UFC 209:

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto also confirmed the news, including a quote from White who confirmed the interim strap will be on the line:

“Khabib is in. If we get Tony’s back, it’s for the interim title.”

Current undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor won the division’s crown back in November with a second round knockout win over Eddie Alvarez, and is expected to take a lengthy amount of time off to enjoy the birth of his first child. Upon ‘The Notorious One’s’ return, the winner of the planned bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov is expected to welcome the Irishman back to the Octagon to unify the two titles.

Nurmagomedov is currently undefeated in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, and has racked up an insane record of 24-0 over the course of nearly a decade. His most recent win saw him put on an utterly dominant performance over Michael Johnson, in which he submitted ‘The Menace’ with a third round Kimura.

Ferguson is on a rather impressive win streak of his own, after having racked up a record nine-fight UFC winning line, with his most recent victory coming via unanimous decision over former 155-pound champ Rafael dos Anjos.

UFC 209 goes down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4, 2017. The card is headlined by a welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

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Tyron Woodley: Stephen Thompson Is In For Rude Awakening

UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen” One Woodley put his title on the line against No. 1-contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at last November’s UFC 205. After a five round back-and-forth war, Woodley retained his title, although the judges deemed the bout a majority draw. Due to the controversial conclusion, the two have exchanged words through

The post Tyron Woodley: Stephen Thompson Is In For Rude Awakening appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen” One Woodley put his title on the line against No. 1-contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at last November’s UFC 205. After a five round back-and-forth war, Woodley retained his title, although the judges deemed the bout a majority draw.

Due to the controversial conclusion, the two have exchanged words through the media since with Thompson actively campaigning for a rematch. It was announced earlier this week that the two will indeed fight for a second time in the main event of March 4’s UFC 209 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

With the rematch now set in stone, Woodley admits that Thompson has gotten under his skin over the last few months:

“He got under my skin so much that I’m just going to go ahead and fight the dude,” Woodley said on the newest edition of “The Morning Wood Show” podcast. “He got under my skin that bad where I don’t even care about the ration and the money and what fight makes the most sense. You need to be careful what you ask for. ‘Wonderboy,’ if you want it, come get it. You want to fight? You want to get done worse than you did the first time? Some people have got to be real careful.”

As far as the first fight goes, many feel as if it was an extremely close bout, while many feel as if Thompson should have had his hand raised at the end as well. Woodley, however, feels as if he clearly won the fight:

“Two rounds were completely lopsided, and three rounds outside of that were very close,” he continued. “He never dominated a single round of that fight. So now if you can tell me I did not win either Round 2, Round 3 or Round 5, then I would agree he deserves a rematch. But I do believe I won Round 3. I do believe Round 1 or 4 would be a 10-8. Then on a third category, some people would have stopped that fight. There are three ways I could have won that fight.”

“The Chosen One” appears to be fired up as well as confident heading into the rematch and he warned “Wonderboy” that he’s in for a ‘rude awakening’:

“He’s going to get in that octagon, and he’s going to be in for a rude awakening because if he thought that was something the last time, I’m going all the way up,” Woodley said. “I want him to tremble when I walk past him and him have a flashback of when I knocked him to the canvas and he woke up and the referee was counting ‘A-B-C, 1-2-3’ with him. I’m just tired of these guys that just feel entitled.”

Who do you see walking away with 170-pound gold when Woodley and Thompson lock horns again in March?

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