Tag: UFC News

‘Shogun’ Rua: ‘The Subject of Retirement Bothers me a Little’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Mauricio Rua is a battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran. He has had 34 professional fights and amassed a record that currently stands at 24-10. “Shogun” won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title along the way.

Now at the age of 35, fans are wondering when Rua will decide to hang up his gloves. While “Shogun” has achieved great success in his career, he has also been finished seven times. He hasn’t looked stellar in his last two wins either.

MMAJunkie.com reached out to Rua recently. The former champion said he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about retirement:

“The subject bothers me a little. Because I’m experienced – I’ve been fighting for many years – but I’m also a young guy. I’m 35. People stop at 40, 38, 39. Depends. I think every athlete has the liberty to stop whenever they want.”

While there are many long-term health implications that come with fighting, Rua has compared it to any other occupation. He said a few bad outings doesn’t mean he should stop doing what he loves.

“People speculate that a lot about me because I’ve had a few losses, but everyone has losses. So if a doctor doesn’t perform a perfect surgery, they need to retire? If a dentist doesn’t perfectly extract a tooth, they need to retire? A businesswoman goes into a meeting and it’s not successful, she needs to retire? If I’m happy to be fighting, and the UFC is happy to have me fighting for them, I don’t know why people are so bothered by it.”

Rua will meet Gian Villante inside the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The event will take place on March 11. The event’s headliner will be a middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 17 middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Mauricio Rua is a battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran. He has had 34 professional fights and amassed a record that currently stands at 24-10. “Shogun” won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title along the way.

Now at the age of 35, fans are wondering when Rua will decide to hang up his gloves. While “Shogun” has achieved great success in his career, he has also been finished seven times. He hasn’t looked stellar in his last two wins either.

MMAJunkie.com reached out to Rua recently. The former champion said he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about retirement:

“The subject bothers me a little. Because I’m experienced – I’ve been fighting for many years – but I’m also a young guy. I’m 35. People stop at 40, 38, 39. Depends. I think every athlete has the liberty to stop whenever they want.”

While there are many long-term health implications that come with fighting, Rua has compared it to any other occupation. He said a few bad outings doesn’t mean he should stop doing what he loves.

“People speculate that a lot about me because I’ve had a few losses, but everyone has losses. So if a doctor doesn’t perform a perfect surgery, they need to retire? If a dentist doesn’t perfectly extract a tooth, they need to retire? A businesswoman goes into a meeting and it’s not successful, she needs to retire? If I’m happy to be fighting, and the UFC is happy to have me fighting for them, I don’t know why people are so bothered by it.”

Rua will meet Gian Villante inside the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The event will take place on March 11. The event’s headliner will be a middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 17 middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.

MMA Personalities Address New President Donald Trump via Social Media

Various renown names in MMA including Cody Garbrandt, Vitor Belfort and Hector Lombard took to social media in their reaction to the new president of the U.S.A, Donald J. Trump.

Trump’s inauguration today ensured that there was a buzz on the social media platform. Various names across the world of MMA had their say on the man of the hour, with the majority of tweets and Instagram posts supporting the 45th president of the United States.

While politics and sports should usually be kept apart, some of the world’s biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts sent their congratulations to the new man inside the White House, or at least were diplomatic in response to his “swearing in” as president:

https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/822496713336242176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/NikLentz/status/822469445947981825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPfu89jjRr4/

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

https://twitter.com/EddieWineland/status/822513165858721793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/TimKennedyMMA/status/822516045193867264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/NikLentz/status/822512347591933959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/patrick_cote/status/822491491822080000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Various renown names in MMA including Cody Garbrandt, Vitor Belfort and Hector Lombard took to social media in their reaction to the new president of the U.S.A, Donald J. Trump.

Trump’s inauguration today ensured that there was a buzz on the social media platform. Various names across the world of MMA had their say on the man of the hour, with the majority of tweets and Instagram posts supporting the 45th president of the United States.

While politics and sports should usually be kept apart, some of the world’s biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts sent their congratulations to the new man inside the White House, or at least were diplomatic in response to his “swearing in” as president:

Michael Bisping on Chael Sonnen Fight: ‘He Was Juiced Out of His Mind’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chmTapSF52c

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Michael Bisping made his debut for the promotion in 2006. He didn’t get a title shot until June 2016. “The Count” had a chance to get…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chmTapSF52c

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Michael Bisping made his debut for the promotion in 2006. He didn’t get a title shot until June 2016. “The Count” had a chance to get a championship opportunity in 2012, but he fell just short against Chael Sonnen.

Speaking with John Pollock on the MMA Report (via Flo Combat), Bisping claimed Sonnen wasn’t clean for their fight:

“Any fighter wants to get a rematch with a fighter that has a victory over them. I think we all know that he was juiced out of his mind for that one and I think the general consensus was that I won that fight anyway, it was just the judges that got it wrong. It’s all good though and I wish him the best.”

Many expected Bisping’s next title defense to be against Yoel Romero. That bout is going to have to wait if it ever materializes. “The Count” is out with an injury. The champion isn’t too concerned about the damage to his knee.

“I found out just recently that I’ve got to have knee surgery. It’s nothing major, I just slightly tore my knee up and have a torn meniscus. I’ve got to have that knee surgery taken care of and we scheduled that for the next couple of weeks.”

Bisping has his sights set on a return in about four months. He is also tackling another venture.

“I’ll get that taken care of and then I’ll probably be defending the belt around, I don’t know–May or something like that I’d guess. Acting wise there’s a few things in the pipeline. I fly up to Toronto on Saturday for at TV show that I’m filming and yeah, I got a few things in the pipeline, but until you sign a contract it’s all talk.”

Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao ‘Will Fight Conor McGregor’

Fans finding the Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor debacle tiring now have another boxer vying to take on Conor McGregor in Filipino ring legend and Senator Manny Pacquiao. 

“Pac Man” made the claim that he would take on “The Notorious” with Fox Sports, recently. Pacquiao has casually agreed to take on the UFC superstar. The man who lost a decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2015’s “Fight of the Century” confirmed that he would be willing to meet him in the ring, despite having never even seen footage of him as a boxer. The devastating soutpaw explicitly ruled out meeting McGregor in MMA rules:

“In boxing? In boxing [I would fight McGregor] but not in the UFC, just boxing,” Pacquiao said.

“I didn’t see footage of Conor sparring,” Pacquiao said. “But if we are talking about Conor McGregor and boxing, it’s different. Boxing is different than MMA.”

News of Pacquiao involving himself into the MMA mix is bound to interest Floyd Mayweather, considering the wealth of publicity “Money” has amassed since declaring himself open to contract negotiations for a fight. Mayweather went as far as to make an offer to the Irishman for a superfight recently, yet the finances were deemed unacceptable by McGregor’s camp. Likewise, Dana White’s counter offer to the 49-0 star was laughed off.

It is no secret that Pacquiao is hoping to capitalize on a second fight with Mayweather, having amassed a giant sum for their first fight in 2015. A fight between Mayweather and the greatest Asian boxer of all time looks more likely than a crossover bout featuring any of the two with “The Pride of Ireland”.

Fans finding the Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor debacle tiring now have another boxer vying to take on Conor McGregor in Filipino ring legend and Senator Manny Pacquiao. 

“Pac Man” made the claim that he would take on “The Notorious” with Fox Sports, recently. Pacquiao has casually agreed to take on the UFC superstar. The man who lost a decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2015’s “Fight of the Century” confirmed that he would be willing to meet him in the ring, despite having never even seen footage of him as a boxer. The devastating soutpaw explicitly ruled out meeting McGregor in MMA rules:

“In boxing? In boxing [I would fight McGregor] but not in the UFC, just boxing,” Pacquiao said.

“I didn’t see footage of Conor sparring,” Pacquiao said. “But if we are talking about Conor McGregor and boxing, it’s different. Boxing is different than MMA.”

News of Pacquiao involving himself into the MMA mix is bound to interest Floyd Mayweather, considering the wealth of publicity “Money” has amassed since declaring himself open to contract negotiations for a fight. Mayweather went as far as to make an offer to the Irishman for a superfight recently, yet the finances were deemed unacceptable by McGregor’s camp. Likewise, Dana White’s counter offer to the 49-0 star was laughed off.

It is no secret that Pacquiao is hoping to capitalize on a second fight with Mayweather, having amassed a giant sum for their first fight in 2015. A fight between Mayweather and the greatest Asian boxer of all time looks more likely than a crossover bout featuring any of the two with “The Pride of Ireland”.

Stephen Thompson on Tyron Woodley’s Racism Claims: ‘I Don’t See it’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBVwshq3Amc

Stephen Thompson will get his title rematch with champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 209. The event will be held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.

“The Chosen One” caused quite a stir when he…

Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (Source: UFC on YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBVwshq3Amc

Stephen Thompson will get his title rematch with champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 209. The event will be held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4.

“The Chosen One” caused quite a stir when he said he was the “worst-treated” champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also claimed if his skin was a different complexion, he’d be better received by the fans.

“Wonderboy” spoke with the media (via MMAWeekly.com) and appeared confused over Woodley’s comments:

“You know what, I don’t get it and I just don’t see it. I’m not seeing any issues and I’m not seeing his part of it. I mean everybody knows who Tyron is man. I know there’s some things that he has turned down that the UFC tried to get him to do. I think he’s an exciting fighter. I know he brought up Demetrious Johnson and I just don’t think Demetrious has a draw as some of these other fighters do.”

One of the things that irked Woodley was Thompson coming out with the American flag during his UFC 205 entrance. Thompson explained that bringing the flag out is a sign of respect for a special group of people.

“The reason I walked out with the flag is I support our wounded vets. I want to let him know and the fans know why I walked out with the flag and I know he brought it up. I support our wounded vets and they had actually did a motorcycle ride for hundreds of miles to get there. They had the flag and they just wanted me to walk out with it.”

The co-main event of UFC 209 will feature an interim lightweight title bout between undefeated Sambo master Khabib Nurmagomedov and “El Cucuy” Tony Ferguson. Also on the card will be a heavyweight tilt between Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt.

Jimi Manuwa Rips Light Heavyweights: ‘Why Does no One Want to Fight?’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rs2uKFf-S8&t=12s

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa hasn’t had much luck finding opposition it seems. The “Poster Boy” rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson by deliveri…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rs2uKFf-S8&t=12s

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa hasn’t had much luck finding opposition it seems. The “Poster Boy” rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson by delivering a knockout of his own. Manuwa’s victim was former interim title contender Ovince Saint Preux back in October.

Since that time, Manuwa said he’s tried to step inside the Octagon with three 205-pounders. He told Flo Combat that all of them avoided him. First was Glover Teixeira:

“I signed the contract and everything and then they went and scrapped the card. They then asked me to fight him in Denver, Colorado at altitude so I would’ve had to go [through] massive expenses flying my team out there for [a] month. I told them that and tried to negotiate with them, but they said no. So then I said I’d fight him on the Brooklyn card [UFC 208]. They were then considering it and I told them I really wanted to fight Glover because it makes good sense for everyone.”

“They came back to me and said that Brooklyn was a no go. The next thing I know, Teixeira is fighting some guy that’s not even in the top 15 [Jared Cannonier]. It makes zero sense to anybody. Why does that fight make sense? I don’t understand it.”

Next on Manuwa’s radar was Ryan Bader. The problem there is that “Darth” is currently a free agent and Bellator is looking to scoop him up.

“After that happened, I said give me Bader, it’s another one that makes sense because he’s ranked above me and I think it will be another good fight. They came back to me and said that Bader was a no go because of his contract situation. I was thinking, ‘why does no one want to fight?'”

The final straw was when Manuwa couldn’t secure a bout with former UFC champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

“They came back and they said no–Shogun said no. I was just like, ‘what the f*ck is going on here?’ Where is everyone? I hate calling people out and saying people’s names, but now I can understand why they do it. There’s way too much cherry picking going on and people that just want to hold on to their spot.”

Luckily for Manuwa, Corey Anderson stepped up to take the challenge. They will be competing at a UFC Fight Night event in London on March 18.