Tag: UFC 226

Carlos Condit vs. Michael Chiesa Reportedly Set For UFC 232

An action-packed welterweight affair is reportedly set for UFC 232. Source reportedly confirmed to ESPN tonight that former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit will meet former lightweight contender Michael Chiesa at December 29’s pay-per-view from Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight is set to be Chiesa’s debut at 170 pounds. ‘Maverick’ recently ditched the draining cut […]

The post Carlos Condit vs. Michael Chiesa Reportedly Set For UFC 232 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

An action-packed welterweight affair is reportedly set for UFC 232.

Source reportedly confirmed to ESPN tonight that former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit will meet former lightweight contender Michael Chiesa at December 29’s pay-per-view from Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight is set to be Chiesa’s debut at 170 pounds. ‘Maverick’ recently ditched the draining cut to lightweight after a frightening cut at July’s UFC 226. Chiesa was submitted by top contenders Anthony Pettis and Kevin Lee in his last two fights at lightweight. It’s been a trying year for Chiesa after his first bout with Pettis was delayed by Conor McGregor’s bus attack.

The TUF contract winner currently has a lawsuit pending for the ordeal. Chiesa still has to get paid to fight. He’ll have no easy task in perennial top contender Condit.

Once one of the most feared competitors at welterweight, Condit has now lost four fights in a row. They were against top competition like Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia, Neil Magny, and Alex Oliveira. Condit was submitted by Oliveira and Maia.

It promises to be a challenging, telling bout for Condit. We’ve seen many fighters like Rafael dos Anjos and Robert Whittaker go up in weight and find immediate success. Chiesa needs to pick up a win in the worst way. That means it will also be a wholly telling bout for him. The weight cut could enable him to finally fight to his full potential. He could also find himself over his head in a much bigger weight class.

UFC 232 features Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes for the women’s featherweight title, but the main event has not been officially confirmed.

The post Carlos Condit vs. Michael Chiesa Reportedly Set For UFC 232 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Manager Shoots Down Jon Jones Return At UFC 230

The stage seems to be set for one of MMA’s most anticipated rematches. But all early indications point to a Jon Jones return at November 3’s UFC 230 not happening. Last week Jones was cleared to return to action as early as October 28, 2018, by USADA. His PED-related suspension was greatly discounted for snitching […]

The post Manager Shoots Down Jon Jones Return At UFC 230 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The stage seems to be set for one of MMA’s most anticipated rematches. But all early indications point to a Jon Jones return at November 3’s UFC 230 not happening.

Last week Jones was cleared to return to action as early as October 28, 2018, by USADA. His PED-related suspension was greatly discounted for snitching on other fighters. The return was a shocking reveal for many fighters in the sport of MMA.

Jones has yet another life in the UFC. The timing of his 15-month suspension with USADA seemed all too curious as well. It gave him just a few days of eligibility before the lucrative UFC 230 pay-per-view from his home state of New York in November. Most predicted he would rematch longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson on the card.

Gustafsson continues to lobby for the bout, but others aren’t so sure. UFC President Dana White claimed Jones would return in early 2019 and now his longtime manager Malki Kawa insists Jones won’t return at UFC 230. Kawa appeared on today’s edition of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” (via ESPN’s Greg Rosenstein) to shoot down the possibility of Jones fighting at UFC 230 for the time being:

“Malki Kawa, the manager of former UFC champion Jon Jones, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani his client likely would not be fighting at UFC 230 in New York in November. The event, taking place at Madison Square Garden, still has yet to announce a main event.”

“Gus” Won’t Give Up

Gustafsson was also on Helwani’s show today.

He agreed that the booking was a no-brainer. It’s also the only fight that makes sense for him in his opinion. The UFC has not yet reached out to him in an effort to book it, however:

UFC 230 is currently without a main event as of this writing. Nate Diaz will make his long-awaited return versus Dustin Poirier at the event. It’s a huge fight, yet the return of New York native “Bones” is the biggest possible spectacle they can book for the card.

We’ve seen and heard White and the UFC do one thing and claiming it would never happen. Is Kawa playing the same game?

The post Manager Shoots Down Jon Jones Return At UFC 230 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Surging UFC Contender Vows To Win Three Titles & Retire

Paulo Costa may be the most powerful rising contender in mixed martial arts (MMA) right now. The hulking Brazilian knockout artist has surged to four straight wins since debuting in the UFC in March 2017. His most recent win came over longtime vet Uriah Hall in a bad blood-fueled bout at July’s UFC 226. The […]

The post Surging UFC Contender Vows To Win Three Titles & Retire appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Paulo Costa may be the most powerful rising contender in mixed martial arts (MMA) right now.

The hulking Brazilian knockout artist has surged to four straight wins since debuting in the UFC in March 2017. His most recent win came over longtime vet Uriah Hall in a bad blood-fueled bout at July’s UFC 226. The win earned him a perceived shot at former interim title challenger Yoel Romero at November 3’s UFC 230 from New York City.

That bout fell apart, unfortunately, when “The Soldier of God” was forced to heal from facial injuries. That put Costa’s return timetable on hold for the time being. However, it’s not affecting his extremely lofty career goals as a result.

Costa recently told Ag Fight (via Bloody Elbow) that he’s aiming to win three UFC titles and retire. He claimed he can fight at welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight:

“My career plan is simply to retain three belts and retire. I can fight at welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. I want to do boxing afterwards, before I turn 35. Who was a plan B never accomplishes plan A or B. You can’t have a plan B in life. When you have a plan B, you’ll give up in the first adversity you face. So what did I do? I said I would never have a plan B. My only one is plan A.”

Accomplishing those goals would obviously rank Costa as one of the best UFC fighters of all-time – if not the best. But it’s tough to doubt him at this current point of his career.

Costa has racked up a spotless 12-0 record in MMA, and he’s finished every single one of those wins. He now owns the No. 8 spot on the official UFC rankings at middleweight There’s little doubt he’s fully deserving of a fight against someone like Romero, a scary thought considering he only made his octagon debut last year.

His full focus is on becoming UFC champion. To him, he never had any other plan because he simply couldn’t afford one:

“I never had money to catch the bus to go train, nor to buy my supplements. I spent six months away from home, I spent Christmas, New Year’s, everything, away from my family, with no means to go visit them, I simply soldiered through all that, because I had no plan B.”

The post Surging UFC Contender Vows To Win Three Titles & Retire appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Jon Jones Issues Statement On Latest UFC Comeback

Jon Jones is eligible to return next month. And now it’s time Jones issues his first statement on that pending return. The sport of MMA is on fire with the deluge of news surrounding Jones’ pending comeback after he was given a 15-month USADA suspension. The MMA world offered their mixed reactions online. One popular UFC […]

The post Jon Jones Issues Statement On Latest UFC Comeback appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Jon Jones is eligible to return next month. And now it’s time Jones issues his first statement on that pending return.

The sport of MMA is on fire with the deluge of news surrounding Jones’ pending comeback after he was given a 15-month USADA suspension. The MMA world offered their mixed reactions online. One popular UFC champion ripped USADA for their call on Jones’ behalf.

Daniel Cormier offered his own seething assessment of the scenario, taking USADA to task for his own history of being clean.

It’s time to hear from the man himself. Jones issued his own statement on Instagram. He was understandably emotional before saying “comeback season” was underway. Check it out here:

“It’s difficult to express myself at this moment but I can definitely say my heart is filled with gratitude and appreciation. I want to thank all of you who have stood by me during the toughest stretch of my life. It has meant the world to me and always will. But now is the time to shift the focus front and center to the road ahead. Greatness is what I’m chasing and the path to reclaiming my throne is now officially open. Comeback Season begins now.”

The post Jon Jones Issues Statement On Latest UFC Comeback appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Daniel Cormier Reacts To Jon Jones’ Pending Return

It didn’t take long for Daniel Cormier to react to Jon Jones’ pending return. News broke tonight that Jones had been given a 15-month suspension for his positive drug test last year. He is now eligible to return on October 28, 2018. The date was curiously close to November 3’s UFC 230 from New York […]

The post Daniel Cormier Reacts To Jon Jones’ Pending Return appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It didn’t take long for Daniel Cormier to react to Jon Jones’ pending return.

News broke tonight that Jones had been given a 15-month suspension for his positive drug test last year. He is now eligible to return on October 28, 2018. The date was curiously close to November 3’s UFC 230 from New York City, New York.

Jones’ punishment elicited a wide range of reactions from the mixed martial arts universe because of a polarizing nature. Lightweight ruler Khabib Nurmagomedov ripped USADA due to having “too much politics.” Khabib’s American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammate Cormier offered his own position as a co-host of tonight’s ‘UFC Tonight.’

A fired-up Cormier claimed he only talked about Jones because he had to. Cormier reiterated he’s the double-champ. He’s moved past Jones – or so he says:

“I’m the UFC double champion,” Cormier said. “I have bosses in the back and I’m talking about this guy because I have too. I’ve moved past that guy. I went about my business. I went and won another title. Now this guy’s suspension is up, so we’ll see what happens.”

Cormier then posed the question of why he should fight Jones a third time. He’s headed for a title defense versus Brock Lesnar early next year. Cormier believes he should stay focused on that, but many would argue he still has to defeat Jones to legitimize his 205-pound throne:

“I think people get excited, people get excited about the prospect of us fighting again, but I’ve got a fight with Brock Lesnar. Why would I look back? Why would I look back to Jones now when I’ve got a fight? Obviously as a competitor I want to fight the guy whose beat me twice, but I’ve got a fight. Why go back? I’ve got a bigger fight with Brock Lesnar, why should I go back?”

The UFC two-division champ then went off on USADA like Nurmagomedov. He cited his shining record with drug testing and then blasted USADA for him even having to discuss this circumstance:

“Here’s the deal: When it comes to USADA, they can’t come to my house anymore at 6 a.m,” Cormier said. “What’s the point? They’ve been to my house 15 times. USADA, don’t come to my house anymore. You don’t need too. You don’t need to come. I’m not going to fail a test, I’m not going to make any mistakes,

“I’m not going to have to sit up there and go, ‘I’m serious this time, guys. I promise I wasn’t really trying to cheat.’ It’s never going to happen with me. 70 times. 70 times since I started wrestling internationally and I’ve never made a mistake. It’s not that hard. So even to be sitting here and doing this again shows – guys are ridiculous.”

The post Daniel Cormier Reacts To Jon Jones’ Pending Return appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Rips Jon Jones’ USADA Suspension

The MMA world is spinning. Earlier tonight news of Jon Jones’ USADA suspension broke, giving ‘Bones’ a rather rapid return date. The somewhat shocking news resulted in Twitter reacting with a mixed bag of responses. Some fighters criticized USADA for taking it too easy on the oft-troubled former champion. One of those fighters is UFC lightweight […]

The post Khabib Nurmagomedov Rips Jon Jones’ USADA Suspension appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The MMA world is spinning. Earlier tonight news of Jon Jones’ USADA suspension broke, giving ‘Bones’ a rather rapid return date.

The somewhat shocking news resulted in Twitter reacting with a mixed bag of responses. Some fighters criticized USADA for taking it too easy on the oft-troubled former champion.

One of those fighters is UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov “The Eagle” isn’t a fan of Jones’ USADA suspension due to the supposed politics involved. He hopped on social media to criticize the decision:

Nurmagomedov will defend his 155-pound title against Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229.

Jones, meanwhile, could headline his own massive card in New York City. UFC 230 will go down on November 3. Jones has been rumored for a fight with rival Alexander Gustafsson.

The results of his USADA suspension are sure to rate as MMA’s hottest topic for days to come. There’s the school of thought he was let off easy. On the other hand, there are those who want to see him fight due to his historic talent.

Khabib believes that USADA simply has too much politics involved. What do you think?

The post Khabib Nurmagomedov Rips Jon Jones’ USADA Suspension appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.