Tag: UFC 226

Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier Set For Huge Superfight At UFC 226

A fight that UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier said would happen because he ‘can’t beat Cain Velasquez’ is happening. News arrived from the UFC tonight that Cormier will coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and the two will fight at July 7’s UFC 226 from the […]

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A fight that UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier said would happen because he ‘can’t beat Cain Velasquez’ is happening.

News arrived from the UFC tonight that Cormier will coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and the two will fight at July 7’s UFC 226 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cormier successfully defended his reclaimed title with a second-round TKO over Volkan Oezdemir in the main event of last weekend’s UFC 220 from Boston, Massachusetts, a card where Miocic broke the UFC record for most consecutive heavyweight title defenses at three with a dominant five-round decision win over hyped contender Francis Ngannou.

Talk after UFC 220 was that Miocic may face Cormier’s AKA teammate Cain Velasquez, who is rumored to be making his return sometime soon, and Cormier was linked to a rematch with top contender Alexander Gustafsson – even if UFC president Dana White teased a Miocic vs. Cormier superfight.

But with “The Mauler” still healing from a recent surgery and the UFC perhaps not keen on the idea of booking Velasquez in another main event after yet another two-year absence from the octagon, they instead chose to book the biggest fight they could for both divisions by pitting the two champs against one another for the heavyweight title.

It’s an interesting pairing considering Cormier was given the title back after losing to archrival Jon Jones by third-round KO in the main event of last July’s UFC 214, only to see “Bones” fail for yet another head-scratching issue with performance-enhancing drugs and have his belt stripped. If Jones had tested clean, he could very well be facing Miocic for the chance to become the fifth two-weight titleholder in UFC history and the second concurrent two-weight champion of all-time.

Instead, it’ll be Cormier, who’s paid his dues over a grueling combat sports career and could cement his spot as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, but he’ll have to get through the upcoming season of TUF 27, which will feature undefeated lightweights and featherweights.

The finals of the show will take place the day before UFC 226 on July 6, 2018.

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Demetrious Johnson Discusses Why He’ll Only Fight Dillashaw On ‘Stacked’ Pay-Per-View

Dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has accomplished just about everything in mixed martial arts (MMA), including breaking Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive title defense with a jaw-dropping submission of Ray Borg at UFC 216, but he’s yet to attain a status that may be desired above all else in today’s UFC – becoming […]

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Dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has accomplished just about everything in mixed martial arts (MMA), including breaking Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive title defense with a jaw-dropping submission of Ray Borg at UFC 216, but he’s yet to attain a status that may be desired above all else in today’s UFC – becoming a legitimate pay-per-view draw.

The fact he has not after essentially cleaning out the 125-pound weight class with one dominant performance after another could mean ‘Mighty Mouse’ will need to take on bigger challenges to get headlines, the reason he’s been linked to a super fight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for the better part of the last year.

Although resistant at first, Johnson has seemed to warm up to the idea, recently targeting International Fight Week in July for the champion vs. champion tilt. And in a recent discussion about the scenario with ESPN, Johnson flatly said he’s aiming for the biggest show he can get on because he’s deserving of such a spot:

“That’s what the UFC wants. It’s the superfight everyone wants. I think TJ and I are both on board. We just want to make sure it’s on a stacked card. We want to make sure we can benefit from a good pay-per-view buy. I think I deserve it, and I think he deserves it.”

Seemingly coming to terms that he could not headline a pay-per-view smash only by himself, ‘Mighty Mouse’ admitted he wanted a true draw in the headliner’s spot so he could get paid.

To him, it’s not a way to duck fights or any other criticism he hears about, but more of a way to maximize your earnings by being a savvy businessman:

“I’d rather have somebody else [be the] main event, who is going to bring in way more PPVs. In my opinion, that’s held up the fight on my end.

“I’ve seen guys jump on [stacked] PPV cards and make $1.5 million, fighting an inferior opponent than who I’m about to fight. Me and TJ could fight on a smaller card and pull 275,000 buys, get an extra check for $75,000. My management told me, ‘You know what, we’ll hold out for a big event.’

“A lot of media and fans think that’s a way of turning down fights or ducking someone, but that’s a way of being a smart businessman and getting the most money you can get. … I’ll wait for that opportunity, because in that one card, I’ll basically make more money than three fights — a year and a half of my life — [combined].”

Finally, not only does he insist it be on a massive card, but ‘Mighty Mouse’ even knows what kind of an event he’s looking for – one with three title fights on it – and he even named which bouts he wants on the card:

“If we can get three title fights — a champions vs. champions edition — that should do well,” Johnson said. “If they did Georges St-Pierre vs. Tyron Woodley, Amanda Nunes vs. Cyborg [Cris Justino] and me vs. TJ, they can send me the contract. They can negotiate that contract now.”

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Cris Cyborg: ‘I Have Agreed to Fight Amanda Nunes on July 7’

Cris Cyborg may be in for a “super fight.” Much has been made over the desired bout between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s featherweight title holder Cyborg and women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Both titl…

Cris Cyborg may be in for a “super fight.” Much has been made over the desired bout between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s featherweight title holder Cyborg and women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Both title holders have expressed interest in fighting one another. Perhaps we are one step closer to seeing the fight come to […]

Cyborg Announces She’s Agreed To Fight Amanda Nunes

After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great. Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only […]

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After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great.

Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only name anyone could really come up with for Cyborg was women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who appeared somewhat lukewarm on the bout.

But there is not a clear contender for The Lioness,” either, making Cyborg vs. Nunes by far the biggest women’s title fight the UFC could make at the current time. While it’s uncertain to happen for one reason or another, Cyborg revealed on her Instagram account tonight that she had agreed to fight Nunes at July’s UFC 226:

“I have agreed to fight @amanda_leoa July 7th in Las Vegas as part of #UFC226 and #InternationalFightWeek. I am now waiting for my manager to work with the @ufc on a bout agreement so we can make #CyborgVNunes #TheSuperFight official. #CyborgNation us versus them!”

It would appear that the ball is in Nunes’ court now, as a superfight with Cyborg would undoubtedly be the most lucrative fight she could sign to participate in.

However, it’s by far the most dangerous as well, and with a peerless run at 135 pounds in tow, “The Lioness” may not want to spoil a good thing and risk her rep facing a fighter most would pick to demolish her inside the distance.

If Cyborg and her management can get Nunes to agree to the first-ever champion vs. champion bout in UFC women’s history, the July 7 pay-per-view card from Las Vegas would receive a significant boost.

Will the UFC be able to pull it off?

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