(Julie Kedzie steals the show at the EliteXC: Destiny weigh-ins, while some creepy chick named Gina lurks in the background. / Photo via George Ruiz)
What the hell, guys…it’s like the UFC is actually assembling a real women’s bantamweight division, with contenders and prospects and even gatekeepers. Color us impressed. The UFC’s latest female fight-booking is veteran Jackson’s MMA product Julie Kedzie vs. Dutch kickboxer Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie, both of whom spent time in Strikeforce before that organization’s collapse. As first revealed by FOX Sports, the two fighters will meet at UFC on FOX 8, July 27th in Seattle.
A decorated practitioner of the “Fuck This” fighting style (seriously), Kedzie has unfortunately lost her last two contests against Miesha Tate and Alexis Davis, which dropped her career record to 16-11. Since then, she’s kept busy as a member of the Invicta FC broadcast team, and according to Wikipedia, Kedzie is also Greg Jackson’s personal assistant.*
(Julie Kedzie steals the show at the EliteXC: Destiny weigh-ins, while some creepy chick named Gina lurks in the background. / Photo via George Ruiz)
What the hell, guys…it’s like the UFC is actually assembling a real women’s bantamweight division, with contenders and prospects and even gatekeepers. Color us impressed. The UFC’s latest female fight-booking is veteran Jackson’s MMA product Julie Kedzie vs. Dutch kickboxer Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie, both of whom spent time in Strikeforce before that organization’s collapse. As first revealed by FOX Sports, the two fighters will meet at UFC on FOX 8, July 27th in Seattle.
A decorated practitioner of the “Fuck This” fighting style (seriously), Kedzie has unfortunately lost her last two contests against Miesha Tate and Alexis Davis, which dropped her career record to 16-11. Since then, she’s kept busy as a member of the Invicta FC broadcast team, and according to Wikipedia, Kedzie is also Greg Jackson’s personal assistant.*
A former WIKBA World Muay Thai Champion, Germaine de Randamie is just 3-2 overall in MMA, going 2-1 under the Strikeforce banner in 2011-2012. She most recently defeated Hiroko Yamanaka by decision last August. Kedzie and de Randamie were originally supposed to meet at a Strikeforce Challengers event in September 2011, but Kedzie was forced to withdraw due to injury. Wild guess: The winner of this fight will take on the female winner of TUF 18. Random thought: So is Liz Carmouche coming back any time soon or what?
* “Goooooood job, Julie. This is exactly how I want my coffee. Now listen, a little more coffee grounds in the filter next time, and a little less water in the pot. We’re increasing intensity, just like we visualized yesterday. Hey, coffee’s ready Don-Ald-Suh-Ro-Nay.” — made-up quote from Greg Jackson
In one of the greater upsets of 2013 thus far, Robbie Lawler returned to the UFC last February and successfully smashed former top contender Josh Koscheck in the opening round of their UFC 157 main card scrap. Although the fight was not without its share of controversy (because it is physically impossible to fully knockout a Fraggle), the UFC quickly took notice nonetheless and has now booked “Ruthless” against the final Strikeforce welterweight champion, Tarec Saffiedine, at UFC on FOX 8.
In one of the greater upsets of 2013 thus far, Robbie Lawler returned to the UFC last February and successfully smashed former top contender Josh Koscheck in the opening round of their UFC 157 main card scrap. Although the fight was not without its share of controversy (because it is physically impossible to fully knockout a Fraggle), the UFC quickly took notice nonetheless and has now booked “Ruthless” against the final Strikeforce welterweight champion, Tarec Saffiedine, at UFC on FOX 8.
Also set for UFC on FOX 8 is a battle of exciting lightweights when Team Alpha Male’s Danny Castillo takes on Strikeforce import Bobby Green. Currently 5-2 in the UFC (4-1 in his last 5), “Last Call” recently rebounded from a second round KO loss to Michael Johnson at UFC on FX 5 with a unanimous decision victory over Paul Sass at UFC on FUEL 7. God dammit, we are less than 10 FXs and FUELs in and I am already getting confused by this bullshit. When UFC on Fox Sports 1 1 rolls around, I am out of this bitch. Anyways, Bobby Green will be looking to improve upon a successful SOTN victory over Jacob Volkmann in his UFC debut that earned the seal-of-approval from DW himself. Expect some fireworks in this one.
While MacDonald is riding a four-fight win streak dating back to his domination of Nate Diaz at UFC 129 in April 2011, Ellenberger is coming off his nasty knockout of Nate Marquardt at UFC 158, which upped his Octagon record to 8-2. With previous UFC wins over Jay Hieron, Diego Sanchez, Jake Shields, and Mike Pyle, Ellenberger has become one of the most accomplished fighters in the division, and this fight could go a long way to secure the future title prospects of the winner.
While MacDonald is riding a four-fight win streak dating back to his domination of Nate Diaz at UFC 129 in April 2011, Ellenberger is coming off his nasty knockout of Nate Marquardt at UFC 158, which upped his Octagon record to 8-2. With previous UFC wins over Jay Hieron, Diego Sanchez, Jake Shields, and Mike Pyle, Ellenberger has become one of the most accomplished fighters in the division, and this fight could go a long way to secure the future title prospects of the winner.
A welterweight showdown of major proportions has been added to the upcoming UFC on Fox 8 card, as Canadian Rory MacDonald will return to action against Jake Ellenberger. The two UFC contenders have agreed to meet as part of the upcoming card in Seattle…
A welterweight showdown of major proportions has been added to the upcoming UFC on Fox 8 card, as Canadian Rory MacDonald will return to action against Jake Ellenberger.
The two UFC contenders have agreed to meet as part of the upcoming card in Seattle on July 27.
UFC officials announced the bout via The Province on Wednesday.
It will be familiar surroundings for MacDonald, as he last fought in Seattle as part of UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz, where he put on a dominant, one-sided performance over former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn.The young Canadian was then scheduled to meet Carlos Condit at UFC 158 in March, but a neck injury sidelined him from avenging the only loss on his record.
Instead of facing Condit when he returns from injury, MacDonald draws a tough test against a contender who has been looming around a title shot for the past year.
Ellenberger was potentially one fight away from battling for UFC welterweight gold before he suffered a loss to Martin Kampmann in 2012.Since that time, he has returned to form with two wins in a row including a blistering knockout of former Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt in March.
Ellenberger has been charging toward the top of the UFC’s 170-pound division since losing to Kampmann. Since coming to the UFC in 2009, he has gone 8-2 overall, with his first defeat coming to Condit in his debut fight that he took on one month’s notice.
The winner of Ellenberger vs. MacDonald will be in prime position to pounce on a title shot against the victor of champion Georges St-Pierre vs. top contender Johny Hendricks.
While that fight has yet to be scheduled, it looks like St-Pierre vs. Hendricks will go down in the late summer or early fall.Either Ellenberger or MacDonald could potentially be one fight away or even next in line depending on their performance at UFC on Fox 8.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
It all started with a message on Twitter less than a week ago. Melvin Guillard declared that he was leaving his camp at the Blackzilians and rejoining his old teammates at Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico. It seemed simple enough at the time, but 24 h…
It all started with a message on Twitter less than a week ago.
Melvin Guillard declared that he was leaving his camp at the Blackzilians and rejoining his old teammates at Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico. It seemed simple enough at the time, but 24 hours later things became much more difficult.
Before Guillard could even pack his bags and head to the airport, he started seeing messages on Twitter that he was not going to be welcome back at Jackson’s MMA, and he would have to find a new team.
Guillard explained when speaking to Bleacher Report on Thursday that the team at Jackson’s MMA took a vote and ultimately decided against his return.
“I guess what happened was everybody read the tweet saying I was going back, and there were other things that happened. Some of the guys voted whether or not I was going to be able to go back or not, and some of the team was okay for it; some of the team wasn’t. Coach Greg calls me up and tells me ‘Melvin, some of the guys are for it, some aren’t, so for right now my answer would have to be no. Maybe if some of the guys over time have a change of heart or whatever then it can be yes at some point, but just not right now,'” Guillard explained. I still have the invitation, it’s still a possibility I can go, but at this point in my career I just turned 30 years old; I’m beginning that journey down the hill.
“I’m on the down slope of my career, and right now it’s about getting as many wins as I can, and being able to even fight for a UFC lightweight title.”
At first the news about being denied a return to Jackson’s camp came as a shock, and after shock came some anger from Guillard, who couldn’t understand why his former teammates would opt against him coming back there again. It took some wise words from his wife to make him understand just how the team at his former gym probably felt when he left to go train with the Blackzilians in Florida right in the midst of a war between two of the team’s top fighters.
“There’s no hard feelings. It is what it is,” Guillard stated. “When you really look at the situation, I left Jackson’s at a critical time. I left when Rashad (Evans) and Jon (Jones) was going through their little beef, and I took myself out of the equation and my wife made me look at it like this—take yourself out of the situation and look at someone else. ‘If someone else had left the team and went to an opposing team and then tried to go back to that team, how would you feel about that?’ I said, ‘yeah you’ve got a good point.’ That’s kind of how it looked. Even though it wasn’t like that, that’s what it looked like to them.”
Guillard holds no ill will towards the team at Jackson’s the same way he has nothing against his former team at the Blackzilians. While Guillard admits the move to Florida was great for his home life, it didn’t do as much as he hoped for his professional career.
During his time with the team, Guillard went 1-4 overall and to hear him explain it, he just never felt like he quite fit in with the coaches and other fighters there. Last week he knew it was time to move on.
“It was just me as a person, on a chemistry side I just didn’t fit,” Guillard said. “I just felt like it was time to go. I’ve got to go somewhere where I can get back to winning fights. Right now my job is probably on the line and my upcoming fight is a must-win fight. I feel like I need to do good work to get that win. That’s why my decision was made.
“I love Florida and I don’t think I’ll ever leave Florida, but that said, I was kind of like a loner. I was an outsider. I was there when it was time to train, but I just didn’t think it was fair to the other guys that were there. I think that was a reason why I had to leave as well—because it wasn’t being fair to the other guys on the team.”
When he first decided to leave the Blackzilians, Guillard admits he thought about joining American Top Team, another huge camp in Florida but because of a past strained relationship between that team and his manager Glenn Robinson, he didn’t want to “put gasoline on the fire”. For a few days, Guillard was a fighter without a home, but all it took was a call from a close friend and old mentor to set things back on track.
“Pat Barry called me when the tweets started going around that I got denied at Jackson’s. Pat Barry calls me and goes ‘I want you to call Coach Leister (Bowling), he’s the wrestling coach out there at MusclePharm, and he works with a lot of great guys,'” said Guillard. “Me and Pat go way back since New Orleans, fighting when I was 16 years old. Pat’s been like my big brother my whole career.
“When he reached out to me it was kind of cool. It was like a big brother saying it’s time to get your butt back home and come train with me and that’s kind of how I took it.”
Leister Bowling is the head wrestling coach at the Grudge Training Center, where he works with several top UFC fighters including Shane Carwin and Brendan Schaub, and the head coach there is striking guru Trevor Wittman. Guillard and Wittman actually crossed paths before and even worked together briefly when he was preparing for his bout in Denver against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 150.
Quickly Guillard packed up a few things, boarded a plane to Colorado and sat down with Wittman to plot a course for his training camp and begin work on rebuilding “The Young Assassin.”
“Coach Trevor welcomed me with open arms,” said Guillard. “We put everything out on the table up front, we discussed what we needed to discuss and now we’re on the same page. It works.”
At home in Florida, Guillard was greeted everyday by his wife and he was able to relax on his couch and play video games on his giant screen television. Now he’s literally living in the basement at the gym and the only thing he does is eat, sleep and train.
Guillard is looking to redeem himself on July 27 when he meets Mac Danzig at UFC on Fox 8, and between now and then the only thing on his mind is getting back to the place that saw him only one fight away from a UFC lightweight title shot less than two years ago.
“It’s like watching that Rocky III movie,” said Guillard. “It’s like where you lose that hunger and you’ve got to go back to where you started and go back to the gutter and get hungry again. That’s kind of how I feel sleeping in this basement. I need this basement, I’m going to stay down here in this basement. Right now I’m loving my little basement cot.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
“I feel me and him have a very good connection, and I know him pretty well,” Wittman said. “I feel we can really help him turn his career around…He asked me to hit mitts with him for the week, and it was a very good connection, and I think that was a part of what helped him make his choice to come here.”
“Melvin’s one of those guys that’s a spot fighter. He has shown spots of greatness…Seeing a guy like that, you can either be at the top of the game or the bottom of a game, or you can be a gatekeeper. When you’re mind is not right and you’re fighting for the wrong reasons and [acting] outside of what you do well, that’s where you see an athlete going downhill. To me, it’s all about where you are mentally.”
Though Grudge has long had a strategic affiliation with Jackson’s MMA — with fighters like Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, and Shane Carwin shuttling between the two camps in the past — the Colorado facility is an independent operation, not subject to the edicts of Pope Greg. And with a fresh start at Grudge, the Young Assassin will look to snap his two-fight losing streak this summer.
“I feel me and him have a very good connection, and I know him pretty well,” Wittman said. “I feel we can really help him turn his career around…He asked me to hit mitts with him for the week, and it was a very good connection, and I think that was a part of what helped him make his choice to come here.”
“Melvin’s one of those guys that’s a spot fighter. He has shown spots of greatness…Seeing a guy like that, you can either be at the top of the game or the bottom of a game, or you can be a gatekeeper. When you’re mind is not right and you’re fighting for the wrong reasons and [acting] outside of what you do well, that’s where you see an athlete going downhill. To me, it’s all about where you are mentally.”
Though Grudge has long had a strategic affiliation with Jackson’s MMA — with fighters like Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, and Shane Carwin shuttling between the two camps in the past — the Colorado facility is an independent operation, not subject to the edicts of Pope Greg. And with a fresh start at Grudge, the Young Assassin will look to snap his two-fight losing streak this summer.
While Guillard and Danzig have been given numerous chances to rebound after setbacks in the past — Guillard has lost four of his last five bouts, and is riding back-to-back losses against Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone — they’re both entering must-win territory, considering the UFC’s recent push to shed dead weight off its rosters. So who will come out on top in this one?
No other fights have been announced for the July 27th FOX event.
* You know a TUF winner’s UFC career hasn’t been much of a success if you still have to refer to him as “TUF [x] winner” when you’re writing a blog post about him, years after he won the show.
Guys you don’t have to refer to as “TUF [x] winner” anymore:Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Matt Serra, Nate Diaz, Ryan Bader, Roy Nelson
Guys you still have to refer to as ”TUF [x] winner”: Kendall Grove, Travis Lutter, Mac Danzig, Amir Sadollah, Efrain Escudero, James Wilks, everybody after TUF 10.
