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Michael Bisping Denies UFC Is Targeting Luke Rockhold Trilogy Match

Following a third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero at February’s UFC 221, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold revealed the UFC was targeting a trilogy match-up with Michael Bisping for his next fight on The MMA Hour yesterday. The booking makes a ton of sense considering the two have fought twice before with each man picking […]

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Following a third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero at February’s UFC 221, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold revealed the UFC was targeting a trilogy match-up with Michael Bisping for his next fight on The MMA Hour yesterday.

The booking makes a ton of sense considering the two have fought twice before with each man picking up a victory, but according to “The Count,” who miraculously won the title by knocking Rockhold out cold at 2016’s UFC 199, told MMA Fighting that he hasn’t been offered any such bout.

According to him, Rockhold, who recently signed on as the face of Ralph Lauren’s new cologne, should stick to modeling after two knockout losses in his last three fights:

“I can categorically on the record state that I have not been offered a fight with (Rockhold) on July 7,” Bisping said. “He shouldn’t be so keen to get knocked out again anyway. Stick to modeling. Judging by his last three fights, MMA certainly doesn’t appear his thing anymore.”

Piercing words from Bisping, who has lost his last two fights by stoppage himself after Georges St-Pierre submitted him in November before Kelvin Gastelum brutally knocked him out only three weeks later when he filled in for Anderson Silva at UFC Shanghai.

It’s largely accepted that Bisping has one fight left in his decorated career, and a trilogy match-up with Rockhold would be quite the send-off for the British MMA great.

He’s been linked to retirement fights with Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort, but none of them have come to fruition thus far.

Rockhold insists the UFC is pursuing the fight, but Bisping insists he’s heard nothing of it. Who do you believe?

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Yoel Romero Reveals Why He Kissed Luke Rockhold At UFC 221

Yoel Romero did the strangest thing after knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 221. He kissed his defeated foe on the lips moments after the referee called the fight off. Fight fans were at a loss over the kiss, but Romero revealed that Rockhold’s trash talk before the fight was the inspiration for the post-fight […]

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Yoel Romero did the strangest thing after knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.

He kissed his defeated foe on the lips moments after the referee called the fight off.

Fight fans were at a loss over the kiss, but Romero revealed that Rockhold’s trash talk before the fight was the inspiration for the post-fight loss (MMA Junkie):

“In my country, there’s a code. When you lend a hand to another person, you don’t backstab him. Never. If there’s a situation, and you don’t want to be in trouble, just keep away from it.”

“He was the second person who started talking, and then he actually (invited) me to hang out. When we were hanging out, he asked me, ‘Do you want to fight me?’ And I told him, ‘No, that’s not the question. Do you want to fight me?’ And he said, ‘No,’ so you don’t want to fight with me, I don’t fight you.

“If you don’t want to fight me, move to another division. Or when the UFC says, ‘Do you want to fight Yoel? (You say), ‘No, I don’t want to fight Yoel.’ Call (UFC President Dana (White) and say, ‘He’s my friend, and I won’t want to.

“But you know what? if you have to fight, you need to have respect. I fought Lyoto Machida; I have a great respect for Lyoto Machida. I fought Robert Whittaker; I have a great respect for Lyoto Machida. Because they were always professional. But then when you hang out and (invite) you (to take) a cup of water or fruit or something, and then start doing math. …”

Romero will likely rematch Robert Whittaker for the middleweight belt in the near future as Whittaker heals up from a nasty staph infection.

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Joe Rogan Trashes Referee For Blatant UFC 221 Eye Gouge

Although it was a back-and-forth bout worthy enough to win UFC 221’s ‘Fight of the Night’ in Perth, Australia, last weekend (Sat., Feb. 10, 2018), the welterweight match-up between Jake Matthews and Li JingLiang was marred by a blatant eye gouge from Jingliang that many felt should have disqualified him – let alone allow him […]

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But a point was not even taken away from “The Leech,’ leading to a justified outcry from many MMA fans. Earlier this week, Octagon commentator Joe Rogan joined those legions, blasting the officiating during the most recent episode of The JRE MMA Show (transcribed by MMA Junkie). To Rogan, Jingliang’s eye poke was simply cheating:

“I thought it was f-cking bullsh-t,” Rogan said. “You can’t let a guy get away with that, or he’s going to do it again. … You don’t do it that way. You tap. It’s straight up cheating; it’s not just shady. It’s cheating.

“They should tell him, ‘If this ever happens again, if you ever think you’re going to do this again, we’re going to kick you out of the league.’ You can’t do that. You can’t gouge someone’s eye when they’re choking you.”

Several fighters have been permanently injured by far less egregious fouls, and Matthews sported what looked like a significant cut despite holding no ill will towards Jingliang, who he thought merely acted in the heat of the moment.

But he may not have brushed the blatant foul off so easily if he had lost the fight, something that was a possibility once Jingliang escaped a potentially fight-ending guillotine choke with the gross infraction.

Because of that, most felt a point should have been deducted at the very least, but the referee instead brushed Jingliang’s fingers nonchalantly, leading to some justifiable outrage. Due to the referee’s perceived incompetence, Rogan said the official should be suspended or fined and unable to referee any longer because a fighter’s vision could be lost:

“It felt like the fingers were in long enough for him to know the fingers were in there,” Rogan said. “The referee f-cked up. The UFC should do something. Someone should do something. Maybe, even in Nevada? You’ve got to look at that and go, ‘Hey man, you can’t ever do this again. And we have to fine you. You should be suspended, and if you ever do this again, you’re out.’ You can’t gouge someone’s eyes. They’ll lose their vision. We can’t have any leniency whatsoever toward intentional eye-gouging. Zero.”

In his opinion, even an unintentional eye gouge should involve the point, but one so obvious and intentional is clearly grounds for disqualification:

“Every time an eye-poke happens, whether it’s intentional or not, take a point away,” Rogan said. “I think it’s a good move. Eye-gouges like that, I think is grounds for disqualification. You can’t allow any room for that. Guys are going to get blind. It could happen. Most guys are completely ethical and would never think of doing this.”

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Joe Rogan Reacts To Yoel Romero’s Brutal Knockout At UFC 221

Although he was unable to win the interim UFC middleweight title after missing weight, Yoel Romero put one of the most brutal knockouts of the young year on Luke Rockhold in the main event of last Saturday’s UFC 221 from Perth, Australia. The win put ‘The Soldier of God’ in line for the next title […]

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The win put ‘The Soldier of God’ in line for the next title shot at middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who’s currently on the sidelines recovering from staph and chickenpox. But on an even bigger level, the KO showed just how scary and explosive Romero is, perhaps to the point of him being the most athletically talented fighter to ever step into the Octagon.

One man believes that could be the case, and that’s longtime Octagon commentator Joe Rogan. Rogan recently opened up on Romero’s dominant stoppage on a recent edition of The JRE MMA Show, noting to Brendan Schaub that Rockhold’s recent camp change may have been a great idea, but he simply ran into a buzzsaw in Romero:

“Look, it might have been a good move for him but he fought Yoel Romero. I mean the reality is, Yoel Romero is f****** horrifying.”

UFC veteran Schaub then said Rockhold could beat Romero on any given day as well, something that Rogan wasn’t as quick to agree with:

“He might be able to, but he also might be able to get hit exactly like he got hit in that fight every time they fight. Dude, you don’t know, man.”

As for Rockhold’s next move after two brutal knockout losses in his last three UFC bouts, Rogan actually suggested a move up in weight may help Rockhold just as it has surging fighters Whittaker and Rafael dos Anjos:

“Who knows? Maybe, I mean, he’s been talking about an inevitable climb to 205. He might be just like Whittaker, and like, um, who else are we talking about? Rafael dos Anjos, he might be a better fighter at 205.”

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Joe Rogan Reacts To Yoel Romero’s Brutal Knockout At UFC 221

The post Joe Rogan Reacts To Yoel Romero’s Brutal Knockout At UFC 221 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

“Look, it might have been a good move for him but he fought Yoel Romero. I mean the reality is, Yoel Romero is f****** horrifying.”

UFC veteran Schaub then said Rockhold could beat Romero on any given day as well, something that Rogan wasn’t as quick to agree with:

“He might be able to, but he also might be able to get hit exactly like he got hit in that fight every time they fight. Dude, you don’t know, man.”

“Who knows? Maybe, I mean, he’s been talking about an inevitable climb to 205. He might be just like Whittaker, and like, um, who else are we talking about? Rafael dos Anjos, he might be a better fighter at 205.”

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UFC 221 Medical Suspensions: Six Fighters Face Long Layoffs

With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC 221, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions. UFC 221 took place on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card aired on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. […]

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With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC 221, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions.

UFC 221 took place on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card aired on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card aired on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 6:45 p.m. ET.

Luke Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title served as the main event while Curtis Blaydes vs. Mark Hunt in a heavyweight bout served as the co-main event. Rounding out the five bout card was Cyril Asker vs. Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight bout, Li Jingliang vs. Jake Matthews in a welterweight bout, and Tyson Pedro vs. Saparbek Safarov in a light heavyweight bout.

Here are the entire medical suspensions:

Yoel Romero: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for left middle finger; suspended a minimum of 30 days

Luke Rockhold: suspended 180 days or until cleared by dentist

Curtis Blaydes: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for for left knee; suspended a minimum of 30 days

Mark Hunt: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for left ear laceration
Tai Tuivasa: suspended mandatory 7 days

Cyril Asker: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for TKO

Jake Matthews: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for eyebrow laceration

Li Jingliang: suspended mandatory 7 days

Tyson Pedro: suspended mandatory 7 days

Saparbek Safarov: suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact for TKO

Dong Hyun Kim: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for left proximal fibula fracture; suspended a minimum of 30 days

Damien Brown: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for right eyelid laceration

Israel Adesanya: suspended mandatory 7 days

Rob Wilkinson: suspended 180 days or until cleared by ear, nose, and throat or oral and maxillofacial doctor; suspended a minimum of 60 days with 45 days no contact

Alexander Volkanovski: suspended mandatory 7 days

Jeremy Kennedy: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for TKO

Jussier Formiga: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for scalp laceration

Ben Nguyen: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact for TKO

Ross Pearson: suspended 45 days for dental evaluation

Mizuto Hirota: suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact

Jose Quinonez: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for right foot

Teruto Ishihara: suspended mandatory 7 days

Luke Jumeau: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for right hand and second metacarpal fracture

Daichi Abe: suspended 45 days due to hard bout

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