Tag: UFC 217

Cody Garbrandt: TJ Dillashaw Is A “Mental Midget”

Cody Garbrandt made it personal with his longtime rival TJ Dillashaw:

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Former Team Alpha Male teammates-turned-rivals Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw simply don’t like each other. The two have engaged in trash talk ever since the lead up to their first fight at UFC 217.

Now, the two are slated to fight again at UFC 227, and the bickering has already started.

Garbrandt (11-1) said the current bantamweight champion is spoiled and hasn’t overcome real adversity during Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (via MMA Mania):

“T.J. wants to go in there and talk all kinds of shit saying that I don’t deserve this and that, and he worked two years to get it back. He feels like he’s entitled because he’s been living with a silver spoon, getting spoon fed with that thing.”

“He’s never had to overcome any adversity. Hats off to him for being able to come back and get me in the fight, but (we’ll see) come August 4. He can talk all the shit he wants, I’m focused on my book doing well, hopefully it inspires and motivates people around the world.”

Since losing the belt to Dillashaw at UFC 217, “No Love” has become a father and written a book “The Pact,” and has relentlessly skewered Dillashaw (15-3) at every opportunity possible.

Garbrandt appears to be brimming with confidence leading into their highly anticipated rematch, yet still managed to slight Dillashaw in the process:

“He’s kind of a mental midget, he’s got to have those coaches around him, people like that are ‘yes men’ to fill his head. I’m excited for this fight.

“It’s (like he thinks it’s) going to be the Barao fight. I will tell you now, I am no Barao and he knows that. He knows I can keep it up from the first round to the fifth round, the way I whooped his ass like that. He is going to be in for a long night.”

Does Garbrandt have a point about TJ Dillashaw? Or is he just talking trash to a heated rival?

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Rose Namajunas Refuses Conor McGregor’s Online Apology: ‘F**k That’

Rose Namajunas wasn’t about to accept Conor McGregor’s apology on Instagram:

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Many prominent MMA personalities were affected by Conor McGregor’s chaotic Brooklyn outburst two days before April 7’s UFC 223.

The attack, where the former champion threw a metal dolly threw a bus containing rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, left two fighters injured and unable to compete on the event and also forced a third fight off the card when McGregor friend (and accomplice) Artem Lobov was pulled from his scheduled fight with Alex Caceres.

But the incident, which eventually saw McGregor incarcerated for assault charges overnight and awaiting court this June, almost had a far more impactful effect on the event, as UFC women’s strawweight Rose Namajunas was in the bus and visibly shaken by the events, to the point where she even considered not fighting Joanna Jedrzejczyk on the card.

While “Thug” Rose did decide to fight on and beat her rival by unanimous decision, things are still not good between her and McGregor. According to Outside the Cage on Twitter, Namajunas had a seething reply to “The Notorious” when he tried to apologize to her on Instagram, simply saying, “F*** that, call Pat,” in reference to her longtime partner Pat Barry.

Namajunas also addressed the incident during a recent appearance on The Jim & Sam Show (via MMA Mania), noting that the situation is far from ideal because even though she picked up a second victory over a woman who just months ago was talked up as the best female MMA fighter of all-time, she’s only asked about the attack, so that accomplishment will always be overshadowed by what McGregor did:

“It just sucks because that’s the question that’s always gonna be asked. And it’s like, ‘Look what I did.’”

A fair point from “Thug” Rose to be certain because her second consecutive win over a historic women’s champion is undoubtedly being overshadowed by a needless, violent event that not only injured innocent people but forced three fights off of the most anticipated pay-per-view of the year thus far.

The focus will likely always remain on McGregor and his antics from the weekend, however, and it’s hard to look past Namajunas’ desire for her efforts in the cage to be focused on rather than a crime committed by a superstar who has shown he cares about little else than going off the rails in his post-Mayweather period of debauchery.

In that sense, you can see why she isn’t accepting McGregor’s apology.

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Report: Yair Rodriguez’ UFC Return Set For Stacked PPV

Once-touted featherweight star Yair Rodriguez is finally set to make his UFC return. A report broke tonight from The Los Angeles Times’ Lance Pugmire (via MMAjunkie) that the No. 11-ranked 145-pound fighter will return to action on August’s stacked UFC 227 pay-per-view from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it won’t be an […]

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Once-touted featherweight star Yair Rodriguez is finally set to make his UFC return.

A report broke tonight from The Los Angeles Times’ Lance Pugmire (via MMAjunkie) that the No. 11-ranked 145-pound fighter will return to action on August’s stacked UFC 227 pay-per-view from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it won’t be an easy comeback fight if the report proves true.

“El Pantera” will reportedly return against surging Russian prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov, marking his first match since he was dominated by former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in a one-sided, violent stoppage at UFC 211 last May.

He’ll have no easy task in the 15-1 Magomedsharipov, who won an exciting war with Kyle Bochniak in one of this year’s “Fight of the Year’ contenders at UFC 223. ‘ZaBeast’ has won all three of his UFC bouts and has arguably replaced Rodriguez as featherweight’s most touted rising challenger.

Rodriguez won his first six UFC bouts beginning with The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, and will look to restart a journey back into the top 10 by defeating the lanky, multi-talented Magomedsharipov. Also joining UFC 227 is another reported featherweight bout between Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano. If officially confirmed, the two 145-pound match-ups will join a bantamweight title rematch between rivals TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.

UFC 227 will also supposedly feature a lightweight match between former middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Nate Diaz, as well as a light heavyweight bout between former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and Alexander Gustafsson, but neither fight has been officially announced.

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Report: Nate Diaz Headed For Big-Money UFC Return

A close friend of Nate Diaz just claimed the Stockton star wasn’t only looking for a Conor McGregor trilogy in his return bout, and that scenario is reportedly developing rapidly. A report surfaced from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto that Diaz and the UFC are in talks for a high-profile return for Diaz at August 4’s UFC 227 […]

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A close friend of Nate Diaz just claimed the Stockton star wasn’t only looking for a Conor McGregor trilogy in his return bout, and that scenario is reportedly developing rapidly.

A report surfaced from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto that Diaz and the UFC are in talks for a high-profile return for Diaz at August 4’s UFC 227 event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Diaz supposedly wants to return at the event in his home state and is also interested in one of the names the UFC has given him after turning down many top opponents in recent months.

According to MMA Fighting, however, neither of those names is Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov, so Diaz would likely be matched with a top 155-pound contender like Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, or Kevin Lee.

There’s also the possibility, of course, that Diaz stays at welterweight, where he fought McGregor twice at in 2016, and meets welterweight champ Tyron Woodley in “The Chosen One’s” return from shoulder surgery last year. The fight has been discussed over the past year or so, and Woodley has repeatedly made it overtly apparent he wants a lucrative fight with a Diaz brother – be it Nick or Nate.

Out of action since his thin majority decision loss to McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202, Diaz hinted at a comeback in “May-June” earlier this year. He’s reportedly turned down several fights with the top-ranked lightweights during his latest sit on the side, so the UFC must have come with a suitable amount of cash to bring the popular, polarizing Stockton slugger out of his self-imposed hiatus.

There’s been nothing official from the UFC on the awaited return as of yet.

If Diaz does decide to come back at the Calif.-based card, he would add another huge name to an event that already has an anticipated, bad blood-fueled rematch between bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw and former champion Cody Garbrandt.

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Quote: Nate Diaz ‘Not Just Looking For Conor McGregor’

It’s been almost two years since fans have seen Nate Diaz compete in the octagon when he lost a razor-thin majority decision to archrival Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202. The younger Diaz brother has stayed on the sidelines since, holding out for the monstrous trilogy fight with McGregor that has been looked at as […]

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It’s been almost two years since fans have seen Nate Diaz compete in the octagon when he lost a razor-thin majority decision to archrival Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202.

The younger Diaz brother has stayed on the sidelines since, holding out for the monstrous trilogy fight with McGregor that has been looked at as a foregone conclusion ever since ‘The Notorious’ tied the score at one apiece following Diaz’ shocking submission victory in their short-notice first match-up at UFC 196.

He’s remained active on social media in the time since as well, calling out many of the top lightweights on social media to elicit criticism from said fighters that he’s been turning down high-profile bouts at an incredible clip. He’s reportedly been offered opponents like Eddie Alvarez, Tony Ferguson, and even welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, only to turn them down and stay on the bench.

So even though Diaz claims he wants to be active, it seems he’ll only consider a return fight against McGregor, and for a longtime veteran clearly only motivated by the biggest and best payday right now, you can hardly blame him based on that point of view.

However, that’s not succinctly the case according to Diaz’ longtime friend and teammate Jake Shields, who revealed during this week’s edition of The MMA Hour (via MMA Mania) that Diaz is not only looking for McGregor but simply the biggest and most lucrative fight possible:

“He’s not just looking for Conor. He’s looking for a fight that makes sense and that’s going to give him a big payday and a lot of hype.”

There’s little evidence to doubt that any fight involving Diaz’ return would be big business no matter whom he fought, yet the obvious blockbuster is the third fight with McGregor that seemed like it was a stark eventuality but now may be in doubt considering the Irish former champion is awaiting court and perceived to be facing current 155-pound champion Khabib Nurmagomedov if and when he does return.

That would leave precious few opponents who truly move the needle for Diaz, and that count could be even fewer when names he would actually fight are taken into account.

It’s laughable to consider him a welterweight title contender, especially with Rafael dos Anjos facing Colby Covington for the interim welterweight title at UFC 225 and Woodley expected to return from surgery to fight the winner. That makes Woodley vs. Diaz unlikely, although there may not be another bout Diaz is willing to return for.

Shields may claim Diaz isn’t just looking for his last McGregor payday, but who else may he be looking for?

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Dana White Says Tyron Woodley Brought Him ‘Doctor’s Note’

The MMA world got some exciting news – in many different forms – this week, and part of that was the interim welterweight title fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington at May’s UFC 224 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Apparently still recovering from shoulder surgery, current 170-pound champion Tyron Woodley questioned the need […]

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The MMA world got some exciting news – in many different forms – this week, and part of that was the interim welterweight title fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington at May’s UFC 224 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Apparently still recovering from shoulder surgery, current 170-pound champion Tyron Woodley questioned the need for another interim belt, but it was reportedly due to him turning down an opportunity.

Although he did fight in four title fights in just under a year from July 2016 – July 2017, Woodley has been out since undergoing a procedure for a torn labrum suffered in his incredibly boring decision win over Demian Maia at last July’s UFC 214.

And according to UFC President Dana White, “The Chosen One” likely won’t make his return to the Octagon until August 2018 at the earliest:

“Tyron Woodley, we were trying to get him to fight,” White told UFC Tonight. “He came back with a doctor’s note that says he is injured and cannot fight until August.”

Prior to his victory over Maia, Woodley had successfully defended his title twice against Stephen Thompson, fighting “Wonderboy” to a majority draw at UFC 205 and winning a decision in their rematch at UFC 209.

Upon his return, it’s likely that Woodley would take on the winner of the bout between dos Anjos and Covington, but the welterweight division is moving forward as a whole as well.

For example, Kamaru Usman will face off against Sanitago Ponizinibbio in the main event of UFC Fight Night 129 on May 29, 2018 in Chile.

Then, Thompson and rising contender Darren Till will meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 130 on May 27, 2018 in Liverpool.

Which fight are you most looking forward to and who would you like to see Woodley square off with upon his return?

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