Tag: ufc 270

UFC Threaten To Sue Francis Ngannou’s Manager For Jake Paul Talks

Francis Ngannou, Jake PaulUFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s manager was allegedly threatened with a lawsuit by the UFC for engaging in talks with Jake Paul‘s team. Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane over the weekend via a unanimous decision at UFC 270. Like Ngannou, Paul has been vocal about the issue of fighter pay and the UFC. It’s unclear what […]

Francis Ngannou, Jake Paul

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s manager was allegedly threatened with a lawsuit by the UFC for engaging in talks with Jake Paul‘s team.

Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane over the weekend via a unanimous decision at UFC 270. Like Ngannou, Paul has been vocal about the issue of fighter pay and the UFC.

It’s unclear what the context of the initial reach out was, but Paul’s team allegedly contacted Ngannou’s management leading up to the fight. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Ngannou explained what happened once the UFC found out that Paul’s team was looking to connect with him.

Francis Ngannou’s Management Was Contacted By Jake Paul’s Team

“My manager said he received an email from the UFC saying they were going to sue him,” Ngannou said. “Nakisa [Bidarian]. I don’t know him, but someone from Jake Paul’s team reached out to us. I was like ‘Is he a promoter or something?’. But it doesn’t look like they don’t want to talk to me anymore. I don’t him, I couldn’t recognize him if you put him in front of me.”

In addition to making waves in the world of boxing, Paul has also been supportive of various UFC fighters who have spoken out on the fighter pay issue. Ngannou has been one of the biggest names in the promotion to go toe-to-toe with the UFC regarding how fighters are treated financially.

Ngannou’s win over Gane was the second to last fight on his current UFC deal. However, it’s unclear if he’ll fight again later on in the year as he undergoes knee surgery and continues negotiations.

Before the fight with Gane came to fruition, Ngannou was expected to face former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones next. But negotiations never materialized as Jones and Ngannou both wanted a big paycheck.

Ngannou could be on the verge of becoming a free agent, and it’s certainly possible he may be in touch with Paul’s team in the future.

What are your thoughts on Francis Ngannou‘s contract situation?

Usman: Ngannou Showed The Evolution of Heavyweights At UFC 270

UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman has praised heavyweight king Francis Ngannou for his adaptability at UFC 270, branding him the “evolution” of the heavyweights.

At the opening pay-per-view of 2022 this past weekend, Ngannou returned to defend…

Francis Ngannou & Ciryl Gane, Kamaru Usman & Francis Ngannou

UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman has praised heavyweight king Francis Ngannou for his adaptability at UFC 270, branding him the “evolution” of the heavyweights.

At the opening pay-per-view of 2022 this past weekend, Ngannou returned to defend his title for the first time since winning it at UFC 260 last March. Ahead of his unification showdown with former teammate Gane, a lot was being made about his future, preparation, and mindset.

Would his ongoing contractual dispute with the UFC affect his performance? Would his desire for a crossover to boxing distract him from the threat of “Bon Gamin?” Would Gane’s technical style and fast movement nullify his power? Was a knockout his only path to victory?

When the iconic voice of Bruce Buffer called out “and still” after 25 minutes of action, Ngannou had successfully answered all of those questions.

Usman: Even I Don’t Do That Sweep

After struggling on the feet for the opening two rounds, it appeared “The Predator” was on his way to a first defeat since 2018 and a potential departure from the promotion. But in the third frame, a momentous takedown changed the game.

After seeing the control he could employ on the ground, the UFC’s hardest-hitting knockout artist put his grappling improvements on full display, earning the nickname “Francis Ngannoumedov” from some fans with the performance.

One man who had a front-row seat for Ngannou’s impressive strategy towards the end of the UFC 270 main event, and who knows a bit or two about wrestling, was reigning welterweight king Usman.

Speaking to BT Sport in the aftermath of his fellow African champ’s victory, “The Nigerian Nightmare” described Ngannou as the evolution of the heavyweights and suggested even he doesn’t perform the sweep “The Predator” employed while on his back in the fifth and final frame.

“Francis, that’s the thing about him, he’s one of those special athletes that he takes everything as it comes,” said Usman. “He was gonna be able to deal with whatever was coming at him. He didn’t initially engage in the clinch or the wrestling the first round. That came from Gane, which I thought was an excellent game plan.

“But we’re just seeing the evolution of heavyweights. I mean, did you see that sweep in the fifth? I mean, damn. Even I don’t do that one. So you’re seeing the evolution of the game, and Francis is a scary man.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZEAYxtrwZf/

While an Ngannou prediction was hardly left field prior to UFC 270, the manner in which he defeated the previously unbeaten Gane was one in which not many, if anybody, had seen coming.

With a clearly developed ground game to go along with the immense KO power that has left the likes of Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Stipe Miocuc unconscious, the champion is a scary prospect for the rest of the division—if he remains in the promotion beyond 2022, that is.

What did you make of Francis Ngannou’s performance at UFC 270?

Continue Reading Usman: Ngannou Showed The Evolution of Heavyweights At UFC 270 at MMA News.

Coach: Doctor Urged Francis Ngannou To Withdraw From UFC 270 Due To Knee Injury

Francis NgannouEric Nicksick, the head coach of UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has claimed that a doctor had urged his student to withdraw from last weekend’s UFC 270 heavyweight title unification bout with Ciryl Gane. Headlining UFC 270 on Saturday, Francis Ngannou managed to successfully unify the heavyweight championships with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) […]

Francis Ngannou

Eric Nicksick, the head coach of UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has claimed that a doctor had urged his student to withdraw from last weekend’s UFC 270 heavyweight title unification bout with Ciryl Gane.

Headlining UFC 270 on Saturday, Francis Ngannou managed to successfully unify the heavyweight championships with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) victory over the undefeated interim titleholder, Gane, utilizing a surprising gameplan of grappling and wrestling.

Francis Ngannou completed his contractual obligations with the UFC with Saturday’s outing

However, prior to the fight, speculation began to mount that Francis Ngannou had suffered a knee injury in the run-up to his title unification bout. And fuel was further added to the fire when the Batie native made his Octagon walk – sporting a pair of knee braces. 

Securing a whopping four separate successful takedowns against Gane as well as attaining significant periods of top control in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, Ngannou confirmed post-fight that he had suffered a knee injury.

Speaking with UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, Ngannou confirmed that he had suffered a complete tear of his ACL and partial tear of his MCL just 25 days before his title unification clash with Gane during a training session at home base, Xtreme Couture. 

Expected to undergo a surgical procedure in order to address his right knee injury, Francis Ngannou, as per his head coach, Nicksick, was urged to withdraw from UFC 270 by a doctor during a pre-fight consultation just days before the bout.

“I was a nervous wreck,” Erick Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “I think a lot of the things that my head was telling me was to pull out of the fight, and I just didn’t like the way that the knee injury was and the situation that the opponent that we had with the particular injury that we had. Obviously, we did want to get into some wrestling, but I didn’t know how we were going to be able to wrestle without having the cardio the last three-and-a-half weeks, as well as the stability of the knee, and I’ve just got to give all the credit to Francis (Ngannou). That guy’s willpower, his mental capacity, what he wanted to do, he just unwavered (sic) the entire camp.”

“We had kind of that come-to-Jesus moment last Friday before we left,” Eric Nicksick said. “We got word from a second opinion doctor out here in L.A. that he was adamant that Francis (Ngannou) should pull out. He thought that he could ultimately lose a year-and-a-half to two years after a full knee reconstruction surgery if that leg would have gone wrong, something would have gone wrong. So we got that word last Friday. We had practice that day so we all met at the (UFC Performance Institute), and thart’s kind of when I just said (to Francis Ngannou), ‘Dude, what are we doing here? I love you, bro. You’re my brother. But as your coach, I do have to tell you what I think is right, and this is what I feel is right in this situation.” 

“But if you as the fighter say that you’re going to fight, I’m going to have your back 110 percent,” Eric Nicksick explained. “But I can’t live with myself without telling you how I truly feel., This isn’t about anything other than your safety and your legacy, in my opinion,’ So we agreed upon what we were going to do was, we were going to come to California fight week, (and) we were going to meet with the doctor out here in L.A. The moment we landed, we went right to his office and basically waited outside and he came out and I could tell by his face, I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re fighting.’ Once we knew that, I didn’t bring his knee up one. I didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore because that, as far as I was concerned, was behind us. We’re going to fight with what we’ve got.” 

Saturday’s victory for Francis Ngannou came as his sixth consecutively, as well as his second in a championship bout following last March’s undisputed title success against two-time opponent, Stipe Miocic.

Vanessa Demopoulos Credits BJJ Expertise To Her Time As A Pole Dancer

Vanessa DemopoulosRallying from a massive knockdown against Silvana Gomez Juarez on the preliminary card of UFC 270 last weekend, Ohio grappling expert, Vanessa Demopoulos, scored an impressive first round armbar win. And has credited her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ability to her time as a stripper and exotic dancer. Demopoulos, who improved to 7-4 as a professional mixed […]

Vanessa Demopoulos

Rallying from a massive knockdown against Silvana Gomez Juarez on the preliminary card of UFC 270 last weekend, Ohio grappling expert, Vanessa Demopoulos, scored an impressive first round armbar win. And has credited her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ability to her time as a stripper and exotic dancer.

Demopoulos, who improved to 7-4 as a professional mixed martial artist at UFC 270, is a former LFA strawweight champion, and secured her first UFC victory on Saturday with her rallying performance against Gomez Juarez. 

Finding herself on the receiving end of a massive, clubbing overhand right, Demopoulos suffered a heavy knockdown, before recovering guard.

Attempting to setup a submission off of her back, Demopoulos then swept Gomez Juarez eventually, before forcing a timely tap courtesy of an armbar.

Vanessa Demopoulos scored her seventh professional win at UFC 270 on Saturday

A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Giva Santana, Demopoulos, who earned her UFC call last year, revealed she handed in her resignation notice in the weeks leading up to her fight, quitting her profession as a stripper and exotic dancer in a bid to pursue a professional mixed martial arts career on a full-time basis.

“I don’t think it’s a secret – I was an exotic entertainer for 13 years and I didn’t actually say it on the mic, but I’d like to say it right now: I walked away from being a stripper to continue this camp,” Vanessa Demopoulos told assembled media post-fight during the UFC 270 press conference. “I quit dancing about six to eight weeks ago just so I could focus full-time on MMA, take this extremely seriously in the gym every single day.” 

Attributing her grappling ability to her time as a pole dancer, Demopoulos lodged her fourth submission win against Gomez Juarez at UFC 270. 

“A lot of my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu actually comes from my expertise as a pole dancer,” Vanessa Demopoulos said. 

Following her victory over Gomez Juarez, an ecstatic, Demopoulos completed her post-fight Octagon interview by leaping into the arms of long time color-commentator, Joe Rogan, resulting in a viral moment across social media.

Victor Henry: Those Counting Me Out Were UFC Fans, Not MMA Fans

Victor Henry has won his UFC debut despite feeling overlooked by fans.

Victor Henry is fresh off his first UFC win at UFC 270. After his first UFC booking against Raoni Barcelos was rescheduled twice in the last month, Henry finally was able to ste…

Victor Henry

Victor Henry has won his UFC debut despite feeling overlooked by fans.

Victor Henry is fresh off his first UFC win at UFC 270. After his first UFC booking against Raoni Barcelos was rescheduled twice in the last month, Henry finally was able to step into the UFC Octagon and show the fans what they had been missing.

UFC News on Twitter: "#UFC270 Official Result: Victor Henry (@VictorHenryMMA 30-27, 30-27, 30-27) defeats Raoni Barcelos by Unanimous Decision" / Twitter
Victor Henry takes the fight to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 270

The California native was able to pick up the unanimous decision victory win over a tough Barcelos on the prelim portion of the card and then took his post-fight presser conference moment to call out the MMA media and some fight fans.

“Initial thoughts is I told y’all. I mean, a lot of media outlets was counting me out, but that’s only because I feel, personally, a lot of people are UFC fans, not MMA fans,” Henry said during a media scrum following the win. “They don’t watch MMA from around the world. They know what they see in the UFC. And I’ve been traveling around the world fighting a lot of tough guys. And I knew Raoni was gonna be real tough. No doubts about it. But initial thoughts: I told y’all.”

Although Henry just made his first walk to the Octagon on Saturday night, he is no stranger to the fight game. 22-5 now in MMA, Henry got his start. like most fighters, on the regional scene. His road to the UFC was long in comparison to some fighters’ journey but now that he is in, he is looking to be a tough test for anyone in the division.

Henry’s claims that some fans are only watching UFC is a valid one. Henry is 34 years old and has racked up 22 professional wins now. He is the #1-ranked bantamweight in Japan, and he has a right to be upset that more people don’t know him just yet.

The good thing is now Henry has the “I told you so” swagger and the eyes of the public after his first UFC win. He showed that he can compete on the highest level and could find himself in the top 15 soon. He spoke a bit about wanting a fast rise now that he is in the UFC and could be back in the cage very soon.

Do you watch all MMA promotions of just the UFC?

Continue Reading Victor Henry: Those Counting Me Out Were UFC Fans, Not MMA Fans at MMA News.

Micheal Bisping Tells Jon Jones: ‘Stop Tweeting, Start Fighting’

Jon JonesESPN Analyst and former UFC Middleweight Champion, Michael Bisping didn’t seem to be a fan of Jon Jones’s Twitter antics during UFC 270. Jones took to the social media platform during the main event and voiced his opinion on the heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. He went on to state that […]

Jon Jones

ESPN Analyst and former UFC Middleweight Champion, Michael Bisping didn’t seem to be a fan of Jon Jones’s Twitter antics during UFC 270.

Jones took to the social media platform during the main event and voiced his opinion on the heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. He went on to state that he would be able to break even more MMA records amid the current state of the current Heavyweight division.

During Bisping’s latest episode of his ‘Believe You Me’ Podcast he questioned Jones’s level of respect and asked the former UFC number one pound-for-pound fighter to “stop tweeting and start fighting”.

“Jon Jones tweeting there, inserting himself once again. As I said last night, stop tweeting and start fighting. Listen, I’m a fan of Jones. You know, but you’re not competing… You’re not putting it on the line so to sit there on the sidelines and talk a little bit of sh**… I get it. He’s entitled to do that. Anyone can jump on Twitter but it isn’t the best look. You moved up from light heavyweight, what was it two years ago now? It’s been a while since his last fight,” said Bisping.  (Transcribed by SportsKeeda)

‘Bones’ decided to relinquish his Light Heavyweight belt in 2020 so he could prepare for his jump up to Heavyweight, in hopes of becoming a two-division champion. To which he admitted it would “take some time.”

Henry Cejudo applauds Jon Jones as he names him his ‘GOAT’ of MMA

After Jones was suspended from long-time gym ‘JacksonWink’ by co-founder and coach Mike Winklejohn. The former 205lb Champ began to train alongside, Henry Cejudo, Davison Figueiredo, Zhang Weili, and Head Coach Eddie Cha – just to name a few – at Fight Ready gym in Arizona. 

New workout partner, Cejudo praised Jones for his elite-level MMA IQ and ability during a recent interview on the ‘Weighing In podcast’. ‘Triple C’ claimed Jones is the best MMA fighter of all-time. Demetrious Johnson comes in second place according to Cejudo.

“I tell you what, man. That dude is a gifted a** human, bro. Like as a fighter you know what I mean. It’s like this dude has natural abilities. I am a lightweight and I can’t even see that he just threw. You are a heavyweight… Jon’s a competitor. He wants to put a stamp on top of a stamp. He is already the GOAT in the sport of mixed martial arts. There’s nobody there. I think the second person that comes behind him is Demetrious Johnson just based on his title defenses… Jones is in a mountain of his own,” said Cejudo.

Do you think Jon Jones will have success at heavyweight?