Tag: UFC Fight Night 26

Shogun Releases Statement: ‘I Still Want to Be World Champion Again’

Following his disappointing loss to Chael Sonnen at the UFC Fight Night 26 main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has said he is not interested in leaving the sport.
In a press release picked up by MMA Fight…

Following his disappointing loss to Chael Sonnen at the UFC Fight Night 26 main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has said he is not interested in leaving the sport.

In a press release picked up by MMA Fighting, Rua stated:

I have 11 years in MMA and Vale Tudo, I won everything I always wanted. I achieved everything I dreamed, but I want to do that again. I still want many victories; I still want to become the world champion again. Who decides when I will stop (fighting) or not is myself, no one else. Thank God I’m financially stable, and I keep fighting because I love it.

The loss to Sonnen gave Rua his first losing streak of his professional career. It also marked his first first-round submission loss since turning pro. Despite the setback and just how underwhelming his performance was, Rua‘s team seemed confident that his training was adequate leading up to the bout.

Leonardo Salomao, Rua’s manager, stated in the release:

Mauricio invested a lot in this camp, trained with the best, went to the United States to learn new techniques, so we decided to maintain the same team. He trained with Freddie Roach in the US, took Jacob Harman to Curitiba, had the support of Glaube Feitosa, Roberto Gordo and Renato Babalu on his corner. He was really well prepared, but Sonnen was better. Mauricio is a winner and I’m sure he will be back.

While cardio has been pointed to by Rua defenders on the various forum boards across the internet following losses, there was no opportunity for an excuse against Sonnen. The fight was only reaching the end of the first round by the time Rua was forced to tap.

The Brazilian stuck to his guns regarding his own future, emphasizing that a loss is no reason to consider a career a failure as a whole:

I’m a big fan of Ayrton Senna, but I didn’t think he was bad when he lost. I was a true fan, I admired him for what he did, winning or losing. His name is in history now and I believe mine will be in the history of MMA. I thank the fans for their words on social media, you are very important for me.

Despite Shogun’s assertion that he did his best to prepare for the fight, brother and former cornerman Murilo Rua voiced his own concerns following his brother’s loss. In a story from MMA Fighting, “Ninja” stated that his brother “Has a lot of shady persons around him, people trying to take advantage of him.”

People from his camp said I wasn’t good for Mauricio because I made him nervous when I was on his corner, and he listened to that, so I decided to leave. If something is wrong I would point it out, I wouldn’t just lie to please him.

Time will tell whether a change of camps, the reintroduction of his brother, or a whole new outlook on fighting can give Rua one last run at the title. For now, the bad taste left from the bitter loss will have to be burdened by Rua‘s fans and team, as each tries to figure out if there is anything left to salvage from a sinking career.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Cole Miller to Contest Loss to Manvel Gamburyan

In a rare move, Cole Miller has decided to dispute his decision loss to Manvel Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston Saturday night.
Miller is not contesting the judges’ decision, though one might believe he ought be inclined to do so. Instead, Mil…

In a rare move, Cole Miller has decided to dispute his decision loss to Manvel Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston Saturday night.

Miller is not contesting the judges’ decision, though one might believe he ought be inclined to do so. Instead, Miller is contesting that the extended break for Gamburyan between Rounds 1 and 2 renders the remainder of their featherweight bout moot.

Near the end of Round 1, Miller struck Gamburyan twice in the head with legal elbows. Gamburyan was visibly shaken and refused to stand or return to his corner. In a display of apparent incompetence, referee Yves Lavigne allowed Gamburyan an additional 70 seconds following the elapse of the one-minute mandatory corner break between rounds.

Mike Chiappetta and FoxSports.com report that Miller and his team found the extra time awarded to his foe an unfair and illegal advantage:

“It was just real odd,” Miller told Fox Sports. “The referee didn’t give any indication the fight was over, he also didn’t signal it was a foul. I looked at Manny and then the ref to see what was going on. I had my hand on Manny in a sportsmanlike way to sort of encourage the process and get things moving.

“A referee doesn’t have to say if a strike is legal, a referee has to say if a strike was illegal,” he continued. “No indication was made, but after the fight, the strike was deemed legal. The referee said it was a legal strike. To me, I’ve seen the footage and they all seem to indicate a legal strike.”

Miller does have a reasonable case. Since the strikes were indeed deemed legal, the referee should have demanded Gamburyan either answer the start of the second round or forfeit the match. Given Gamuryan was not ready within the mandated 60 seconds, the proper outcome would be a TKO victory for Miller.

Miller’s team has since indicated it plans to put forth a motion for appeal for the September 12 meeting of the Massachusetts state athletic commission. However, Miller has his doubts the case will bring any positive outcome.

“You see these types of things happen often, and very rarely does it go to the fighter making the dispute,” he said.

“I just know that fighters can’t get two minutes between rounds because they can’t answer the bell when their head hurts due to a legal strike. That’s not the way the rules work. I can only hope that they see it my way.”

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Watch This: ‘Phantom Cam’ Highlights from UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen

UFC Fight Night 26 was a fight card filled with plenty of action and highlights.
It was actually one of the better UFC events in recent memory, and it pulled a great rating for the launch of the newest member of the Fox family.
As good as it …

UFC Fight Night 26 was a fight card filled with plenty of action and highlights.

It was actually one of the better UFC events in recent memory, and it pulled a great rating for the launch of the newest member of the Fox family.

As good as it was live, it might be even better when watched with the footage shot with the special Fox Sports Phantom Cam. Take another look at Travis Browne’s knockout of Alistair Overeem and the other memorable moments from the night as the Phantom Cam captured some of the best action in breathtaking fashion.  

The typical high-definition camera records footage at 380 frames per second. The Phantom Cam, however, records at up to 5,000 frames per second. As you can imagine, the result is a level of detail that is amazing to take in.

The Phantom Cam is slowly making its way into other sports—nearly the entire family of Fox regional cable networks already utilizes it for baseball, where you can actually see details as minute as wood splinter from bats—but there’s no sport better suited to capturing the level of detail the camera provides than mixed martial arts. 

So kick your shoes off, pour yourself a tasty beverage, lean back in your recliner and check out these sweet Phantom Cam highlights from UFC Fight Night 26 with Browne, Overeem, Michael Johnson, Joe Lauzon and more. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Rankings for Each Weight Division Following UFC Fight Night 26

Chael Sonnen wasn’t going leave the 205-pound division without making some kind of impression.
After being dominated by champion Jon Jones, Sonnen met Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of the UFC’s debut on Fox Sports 1. Expected to be lacking in…

Chael Sonnen wasn’t going leave the 205-pound division without making some kind of impression.

After being dominated by champion Jon Jones, Sonnen met Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of the UFC’s debut on Fox Sports 1. Expected to be lacking in the striking and jiu-jitsu departments when compared with Rua, Sonnen was predicted by many to use takedowns and ground-and-pound en route to a decision win.

Instead, Sonnen shocked Rua with a submission in the first round.

The result shook up a light heavyweight class that Sonnen may now be leaving for another middleweight title shot run. 

With UFC Fight Night 26 in the books and UFC Fight Night 27 ahead, here are the latest official UFC rankings. 

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UFC Fight Night 26 Winner Matt Brown, ‘I Can Outwrestle Georges St. Pierre’

Matt Brown turned a few heads when he mentioned Georges St. Pierre’s name in his post-fight speech. Brown may make those people go into full Exorcism mode and have them turn their heads all the way around with his latest statement.
Speaking to MMA Junk…

Matt Brown turned a few heads when he mentioned Georges St. Pierre’s name in his post-fight speech. Brown may make those people go into full Exorcism mode and have them turn their heads all the way around with his latest statement.

Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio, the surging welterweight believes he has the skills to beat GSP at his own game.

“I know where my wrestling stands,” Brown said. “It’s simply a matter of executing those abilities in the ring with ‘GSP.’ I can outwrestle him. I’m calling it right now.”

No really he’s serious. This isn’t some kind of late April Fools joke.

“It sounds f—ing ridiculous, and everybody is going to laugh at me, and I know the forums, everybody’s going to talk about how I’m delusional and this and that. …I know where I’m at.”

Brown trains with members of the Ohio State wrestling team and at the Ohio Regional Training Center, which hosts a number of Olympic hopefuls and World Team members. If he’s putting in the time there, he may be right in that his wrestling would shock people, but that’s only because few would peg Brown to survive, let alone win a wrestling meet with GSP.

Many welterweight title hopefuls attempt to peg one area of St. Pierre’s game as the key to victory but very few, if any, have ever looked to beat GSP on the mat. Brown’s ground game may be improving, but given what GSP has done, it’s hard to imagine him stopping the fast and powerful takedowns of St. Pierre.

Given that GSP has already beaten better wrestlers like Josh Koscheck (twice), Jon Fitch, and Matt Hughes (twice) among others, is there anyone who’d give Brown a chance at outwrestling GSP? Well, any sober people?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 26 Results: Most Impressive Performances from Boston

Fox Sports 1’s gamble with the UFC paid off on Saturday with Fight Night 6 proving a success on every count.
This was a stacked card from the beginning, and certainly showed why the promotion chose to lead with these men.
They all stepped up to deliver…

Fox Sports 1’s gamble with the UFC paid off on Saturday with Fight Night 6 proving a success on every count.

This was a stacked card from the beginning, and certainly showed why the promotion chose to lead with these men.

They all stepped up to deliver a night of action and shaking up their respective divisions. With three submissions and three knockouts, there’s plenty to talk about. Here’s a look at the best performances from the night.

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