Anderson Silva has officially been removed from the UFC 212 card. “The Spider” was originally set to compete against Kelvin Gastelum inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3. Gastelum was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and was yanked from the card as a result. Rumors began swirling on who […]
Anderson Silva has officially been removed from the UFC 212 card. “The Spider” was originally set to compete against Kelvin Gastelum inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3. Gastelum was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and was yanked from the card as a result. Rumors began swirling on who […]
Jose Aldo gave mixed martial arts (MMA) fans yet another scare earlier today (Wed. May 10, 2017). The UFC featherweight champion is set to defend his crown against Max Holloway, the interim 145-pound champion of the world. The pair are set to meet in the main event of UFC 212 on pay-per-view (PPV). Aldo was
Jose Aldo gave mixed martial arts (MMA) fans yet another scare earlier today (Wed. May 10, 2017).
The UFC featherweight champion is set to defend his crown against Max Holloway, the interim 145-pound champion of the world. The pair are set to meet in the main event of UFC 212 on pay-per-view (PPV).
Aldo was the first and only ever UFC featherweight champion and was able to successfully defend that title eight times. It wasn’t until his ninth title defense attempt that he was first defeated under the UFC banner, being knocked out by Conor McGregor in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 back in December of 2015.
The loss marked the Brazilian’s first defeat in over a decade. Aldo was able to capture the interim featherweight strap when he defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 back in July of 2016. Due to inactivity as champion, however, McGregor was stripped of his featherweight title, thus promoting Aldo to undisputed champion once again.
In order to determine “Scarface’s” next challenger, an interim title bout was implemented yet again between Max Holloway and former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Holloway won the bout via third round TKO, setting up his unification bout against Aldo. According to a report from Combate, Aldo suffered a cut above his eyebrow during sparring. It required five stitches to heal but shouldn’t keep the Brazilian champ out of the Octagon next month (quotes via Bloody Elbow):
“This is a normal cut. I’ve fought with my eyebrow stitched up, once. This one is on the top of my head. It’s a sign of victory.” Aldo said. “I was sparring last week, I went for a double leg and there was a clash of heads. I’m training as usual. The placement of the cut doesn’t hinder me in any way. It’s cool. I got five stitches.
“I’m supposed to take them off tomorrow, but we’ll see. It didn’t change my routine. The day I got cut, I got the stitches and then went right back to train jiu-jitsu. It’s right on the top of my head, where there’s no contact or impact. The cut changes nothing.”
As for Holloway, he is on an impressive 10-fight win streak and hasn’t lost since his unanimous decision loss to Conor McGregor back in August of 2013. He has beaten the likes of Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, and Cub Swanson.
Now he’ll get the opportunity to test himself against one, if not the, greatest mixed martial artist to have ever competed at 145 pounds. With a win over Aldo, the 25-year-old will have won 11 straight fights in the UFC.
(Photo by Harry How/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC 212 goes down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3, 2017.
For once in his decorated career, Anderson Silva is saying no to his longtime bosses at the UFC. The longtime former UFC champion was recently denied an interim middleweight title fight against top contender Yoel Romero after his original opponent for June’s UFC 212, rising prospect Kelvin Gastelum, was forced out with a failed drug
For once in his decorated career, Anderson Silva is saying no to his longtime bosses at the UFC.
The longtime former UFC champion was recently denied an interim middleweight title fight against top contender Yoel Romero after his original opponent for June’s UFC 212, rising prospect Kelvin Gastelum, was forced out with a failed drug test for marijuana metabolites.
“The Spider” revealed he’d retire if he didn’t get it, yet UFC President Dana White essentially dared his onetime top draw to retire by calling his bluff. Silva spoke of his own value to a company who needs nothing more than big names like his in a video he posted to his official Instagram account:
“To say yes when you want to say no is to give more value to others than to ourselves, it is not to put your value in the right place, it is to impose no limits, and that is not to respect yourself. It is the same as saying that what we feel Is not worth anything, that others can pass over you at will. And they pass, if you permit it, they will pass without mercy, forgetting all that you have conquered through honor and dedication. If we allow it will destroy our values. This is the way to say no. When I do not want something, I simply say no. With no anger or emotion. It is not just a negative. It’s our limit. A right that we have to decide what we want or do not do. It is a way to make people respect our value, this is the name of dignity. When we put ourselves sincerely, saying what we feel, we are respected. People like it or not. So if you know your worth, do not let anything destroy it nothing and no one. If you take a $100 and knead it, step on it, throw it on the floor and then dismantle, pick it up, ask someone how much it’s worth, smart people will respond that the note is worth $ 100, so no matter how much they step on you, How much they will knead you, your worth no one can change.”
It’s wholly understandable as to why “The Spider” is miffed at not receiving the bout he requested after saving Daniel Cormier’s appearance on three days’ notice at last summer’s UFC 200 and also saving an event in his native Brazil when he decimated Stephan Bonnar in 2012. It doesn’t help that White essentially threw him under the bus in public, making it seem like he has respect for few if any fighters if he won’t reach an agreement with one of his biggest stars.
However, with a record of 1-4(1) in his last six bouts, its also tough to even attempt to justify being booked in a title fight of any sort. Yet star power has certainly appeared to take presedence over any merit under new ownership, and it’s something the promotion is clearly struggling to display in the early part of 2017.
In fact, Silva is probably the biggest star who is willing and able to fight, so perhaps the UFC should deal him some of the respect he’s been speaking out for in the media as of late.
Anderson Silva’s fighting future is currently quite unclear. The 41-year-old former longtime middleweight kingpin, who’s coming off of a decision victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 this past February in Brooklyn, was scheduled to take on rising contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3, 2017 in Brazil, but Gastelum was forced to
Anderson Silva’s fighting future is currently quite unclear.
The 41-year-old former longtime middleweight kingpin, who’s coming off of a decision victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 this past February in Brooklyn, was scheduled to take on rising contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3, 2017 in Brazil, but Gastelum was forced to withdraw from the bout after being flagged by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for an anti-doping violation.
Silva recently announced that he had ended his training camp and that he would not fighting at UFC 212, while hinting at a possible retirement in the process.
Today (May 9, 2017), however, Silva was called out by No. 12-ranked Uriah Hall on Twitter:
@SpiderAnderson let’s make a fight happen for the fans. we have unfinished business….
Silva and Hall were scheduled to do battle at UFC 198 in Brazil last year, but “The Spider” was forced out of the bout after suffering a gall bladder injury.
Hall has hit some rough times as of late, losing three straight bouts to the likes of Robert Whittaker, Brunson and Gegard Mousasi, but he remains an exciting fighter and a known name. He may represent the perfect challenge for Silva at this stage of the Brazilian’s career.
MMA legend Vitor Belfort will be training with one of fighting’s most highly-regarded teams for the final fight of his career at June 3’s UFC 212. Photos surfaced on Alex Garcia’s Instagram of “The Phenom” training at Montreal’s famed TriStar Gym alongside Georges St-Pierre for his upcoming bout agianst fellow longtime veteran Nate Marquardt, a
MMA legend Vitor Belfort will be training with one of fighting’s most highly-regarded teams for the final fight of his career at June 3’s UFC 212.
Photos surfaced on Alex Garcia’s Instagram of “The Phenom” training at Montreal’s famed TriStar Gym alongside Georges St-Pierre for his upcoming bout agianst fellow longtime veteran Nate Marquardt, a move which Belfort later confirmed when questioned by MMA Junkie:
Belfort is unquestionably one of the most powerful knockouts in the short history of MMA, but he’s also undoubtedly fallen upon hard times during a disappointing streak of mounting knockout losses following his unlikely TRT-fueled knockout streak in 2013.
Matching him against Marquardt, who’s also a onetime great past his prime, is an excellent booking for Belfort’s last walk to the cage after recent match-ups with top middleweights like Kelvin Gaastelum, Gegard Mousasi, and ‘Jacare’ Souza. The fight gives him an opportunity to go out with a victory in his native Rio de Janeiro, something many longtime fans of MMA will be rooting for the Brazilian legend.
He’ll always be a polarizing figure, but controversy aside, Belfort secured and still boasts many UFC milestones and could realistically go down as one of them most exciting fighters in MMA history win or lose. Training with Zahabi and St-Pierre in Canada will certainly give him a great chance to deliver one last great performance for his many fans.
If Anderson Silva is to be believed, he is off the UFC 212 card. Silva was originally set to take on Kelvin Gastelum inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3. Gastelum was pulled from the card due to a violation of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) policy. Rumors surfaced regarding “The […]
If Anderson Silva is to be believed, he is off the UFC 212 card. Silva was originally set to take on Kelvin Gastelum inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3. Gastelum was pulled from the card due to a violation of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) policy. Rumors surfaced regarding “The […]
