UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley opened up about resolving his feud with UFC President Dana White, following a series of hostile public statements by both parties after UFC 214 last Saturday (July 29, 2017). Woodley spoke to ESPN this week and said that after a few phone calls, the beef has been […]
UFC welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley opened up about resolving his feud with UFC President Dana White, following a series of hostile public statements by both parties after UFC 214 last Saturday (July 29, 2017).
Woodley spoke to ESPNthis week and said that after a few phone calls, the beef has been squashed.
“I still feel he should apologize publicly, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The conversation ended with respect and that was really my goal. Dana knows all about talking off emotion. I went a little (crazy) and was talking off emotion, too. Did I really plan on leaking stuff? Probably not. But at the time, I was mad and it sounded good.”
White criticized “The Chosen One” for his performance at UFC 214 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Demian Maia, in a co-main event that broke the record for least amount of strikes thrown in a title fight.
Woodley, along with some mixed martial arts (MMA) analysts, defended the champion for his smart approach to the fight.
Since then, it has been revealed that Woodley suffered a torn labrum in the first round which prevented him from throwing his fierce right hand. He has been medically suspended for 180 days for a torn labrum.
Furthermore, the champion also opened up about his fight with Georges St-Pierre, originally offered to the winner of Maia vs. Woodley, but since given to middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping.
“That was never going to happen. My fight played no factor in that.
“I want Georges to know there’s no shame in his game. I’m not saying he’s scared. He’s not coming back for a belt or to be the best. He’s coming back for big-money fights. He sees a sport in which he helped the pay-per-view model grow and he wants to get on it. There’s no shame in that. But don’t say you’re here for any other reason.”
Woodley will have to stay on the bench for some time while his shoulder heals, and in the meantime, St-Pierre and Bisping are expected to face off at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On the most recent episode of “The Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast,” UFC Middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping was asked about retirement, to which he replied “Maybe two more fights and that’s me done.” The 38-year-old Englishman won the title over a year ago when he knocked out Luke Rockhold, since then he […]
On the most recent episode of “The Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast,” UFC Middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping was asked about retirement, to which he replied “Maybe two more fights and that’s me done.”
The 38-year-old Englishman won the title over a year ago when he knocked out Luke Rockhold, since then he has only defended the belt once against now-retired Dan Henderson. The inactivity of the champion has brought the middleweight division to a standstill.
Bisping was set to fight newly-crowned interim middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker next, but Whittaker is suffering from a knee injury sustained in his Interim title fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 213 (July 8, 2017), and is not set to be back until sometime in 2018, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre is trying to make his return and fight Bisping for the middleweight title. Originally, the Bisping fight fell through, and UFC President Dana White was going to offer the winner of Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia at welterweight to St. Pierre, but after a lackluster performance from champion Woodley, White reinstated Bisping vs. St-Pierre as the fight to make.
Bisping is still recovering from a knee injury and will be out for a while, while St-Pierre said he will not be able to fight until after October. However, both fighters have expressed interest in the fight.
“The Count” said he is thinking about retirement, and if he only has two fights left before he leaves the sport, his last fights will probably be against St-Pierre, and if he wins, he will have to face “The Reaper.”
Below is Bisping’s full quote from “The Anik and Florian Podcast”:
Retirement scares me. But I can’t wait to f****** retire because believe me, getting punched in the face is getting kind of old, but at the same time, I do enjoy delivering a good punch to the face. So maybe two more fights, and that’s me done.
A welterweight bout between former 170-pound champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and longtime veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone will be taking place at UFC 214 this Saturday, July 29, 2017, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight was originally scheduled for last November’s UFC 205, and was then rescheduled for UFC 213 on July 8 […]
A welterweight bout between former 170-pound champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and longtime veteran Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone will be taking place at UFC 214 this Saturday, July 29, 2017, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The fight was originally scheduled for last November’s UFC 205, and was then rescheduled for UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas, but according to UFC President Dana White, Cerrone suffered from a pulled groin and a staph infection, and was forced to pull out
To recover from the infection, ‘Cowboy’ had to be hooked up to an IV for seven days. In an Instagram post from June 28, Cerrone talked about his condition:
A post shared by Donald Cerrone (@cowboycerrone) on
Fast-forward a month later, and we have ourselves a highly anticipated fight between a brawler like Lawler,\ and a fan favorite like Cerrone. But is ‘Cowboy’ ready to take on the former welterweight champion?
Staph infections can range from simple skin boils to life-threatening, flesh-eating infections. These are common amongst fighters due to the highly infectious nature of the bacteria that causes it and the fact that it spreads through physical contact.
Most people only develop blisters, but in ‘Cowboy’s’ case, the infection spread into his bloodstream. It’s unclear how serious his condition was, but some of the symptoms of an infection of that nature could be nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, fever, joint, and muscle pain.
It can be treated within days or weeks of diagnosis, and according to Cerrone, he only needed a week of IV to treat it. But ‘Cowboy’ has been known to be careless with his own well-being in order to fight, and Lawler might make him pay for it.
The last time Cerrone rushed a fight, it cost him dearly.
He had been on a tear after making the move from lightweight to welterweight early in 2016 as he had finished all four opponents who fought him that year. With three spectacular knockouts and one brilliant submission, ‘Cowboy’ was on his way towards UFC gold, until he ran into a brick wall by the name of Jorge Masvidal.
Even though Cerrone had a war with Matt Brown in December 2016 where he was dropped multiple times, he insisted in fighting in his hometown of Denver, CO, just slightly over a month later.
‘Cowboy’ probably did not give himself enough time to recover and even less time to prepare for an opponent as dangerous as Masvidal. His desire to fight in his hometown clouded his judgment and he was absolutely destroyed by Masvidal, getting brutally knocked out in the second round after barely making it out of the first.
Following his loss, the UFC gave him a medical suspension for 45 days. Regardless, this time Cerrone gave himself over six months to recover to the point any leftover damage from his knockout had been taken care of. Now, he will just have to deal with injuries from training camp and with his staph infection.
On the other hand, Lawler has given himself an entire year since his last fight where he was obliterated by a big shot from Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 last July, losing his title in the process.
Lawler was clearly hurt by the knockout, as he declined to fight ‘Cowboy’ at the UFC 205 last November, asking for more time to recover. Hopefully ‘Ruthless’ is back to full health by now, as he has not cited any training camp injuries, so he could be walking into this fight with a health advantage.
‘Cowboy’ could be fully recovered by now, but it is not in his character to admit weakness or pull out of fights for his own sake. If he is still suffering the effects of the infection and other training camp injuries, he could be once again running headfirst into another brick wall.
On Saturday, he will share the Octagon with a healthy Lawler, a ruthless post-fight bonus machine all-too-familiar with classic bouts. We will see if Cerrone has what it takes to overcome personal health problems, defeat the ‘Ruthless’ one, and offer us the incredible fight this was destined to be.
Fans of Conor McGregor reportedly harassed Floyd Mayweather Jr. outside of the SSE Arena in London after the last press conference of the fighters’ world tour, swarming Money’s Rolls-Royce as he tried to leave.
TMZ Sports reported the news and als…
Fans of Conor McGregor reportedly harassed Floyd Mayweather Jr. outside of the SSE Arena in London after the last press conference of the fighters’ world tour, swarming Money’s Rolls-Royce as he tried to leave.
TMZ Sports reported the news and also shared this video, in which Mayweather’s car appeared to hit a member of the security team as he tried to escape (warning: video NSFW):
Mayweather and McGregor embarked on a four-day press tour to promote their bout Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, and it finished in London on Friday. UFC President Dana White correctly predicted Mayweather’s reception in England, as the crowd had been on the Irishman’s side throughout the tour, per UFC commentator Jon Anik:
Per CNN’sNicholas Glass, the tour accomplished its purpose, attracting tons of new fans and adding to the gigantic purse.
At 49-0 for his career, Mayweather is the clear favourite inside the ring.
Despite rumors, Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Monday that he doesn’t believe Conor McGregor was knocked out during a sparring session.
As seen in the following video courtesy of Villainfy Media, boxer Jessie Vargas said last week that the reigning UFC ligh…
Despite rumors, Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Monday that he doesn’t believe Conor McGregor was knocked out during a sparring session.
As seen in the following video courtesy of Villainfy Media, boxer Jessie Vargas said last week that the reigning UFC lightweight champion was dropped by his sparring partner (discusses it around the 2:05 mark):
According to Ben Thompson of FightHype.com, Mayweather responded by saying: “If I ain’t seen no footage, I don’t believe it … me and Jessie Vargas are in communication.”
The 29-year-old McGregor is 21-3 during his MMA career, but his clash with Mayweather on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas will be the first professional boxing match of his life.
McGregor has never lost in the Octagon via knockout, with all three of his defeats coming by way of submission.
During a recently concluded four-city press tour, Mayweather made light of that fact by calling McGregor“Mr. Tap Out.”
Mayweather, 40, has never been knocked out as a professional either, as evidenced by his perfect 49-0 record.
During the press tour in Los Angeles, McGregor guaranteed he wouldknock out Mayweatherwithin the first four rounds of their fight.
Mayweather’s last knockout victory came in 2011, when he stopped Victor Ortiz in the fourth round.
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks continues to disappoint everyone by not only missing weight, but losing fights in ways that are hard to watch. On Sunday’s (June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from Okalhoma City, Oklahoma, Hendricks found out what it is like to be head-kicked by Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch, who […]
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks continues to disappoint everyone by not only missing weight, but losing fights in ways that are hard to watch.
On Sunday’s (June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from Okalhoma City, Oklahoma, Hendricks found out what it is like to be head-kicked by Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch, who then proceeded to uppercut “Bigg Rigg” into the nether realm.
The stoppage defeat was Hendrick’s fourth loss in five fights, and his only victory was a mediocre unanimous decision win over Hector Lombard. Not very impressive for the former welterweight champion and a man once ranked as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
However, Hendrick’s problems don’t stop at his performances in the octagon. He was forced out of the welterweight division for constantly missing weight, so the UFC let him be 15 pounds heavier and he’s still missing weight. He weighed in at 188 pounds against Boetsch. C’mon.
His once-inhumanly powerful left hand seems to have lost its touch, and his wrestling was as nonexistent as his cardio. He was never in the fight, and mentally, he seems to be out of focus and lacking confidence.
Regardless of Bigg Rigg’s issues, “The Barbarian’s” performance cannot be overlooked. His constant pressure and crisp kickboxing were impressive to say the least, and the way he set up that right high kick was nothing short of spectacular.
Photo by Sean Pokorny for USA TODAY Sports
That brings up the question – has Hendricks just become another bag of meat for fresher fighters to feast on? He certainly became the man to fight if you want to get an extra 20 percent in your paycheck, but not the man to watch for a good fight in recent years, which is both a shocking and disappointing reality considering where he was less than three years back.
There are few solutions to “Bigg Rigg’s” problems that haven’t already been applied. He went up a weight class and he has fought lower-ranked opponents. Perhaps it is time he switches gyms and coaches, and starts from scratch; that is, if his head is still in the fight game.
If he doesn’t improve, Hendricks will soon join the exclusive “cannon fodder” club along with flagship members Travis Browne, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, Vítor Belfort, Anthony Pettis and Bethe Correia – former contenders that were once surging but are now just seemingly knocked out by more determined fighters on a regular basis.
The precipitous fall from grace has been a shockingly fast and disturbing one for “Bigg Rigg,” and it’s fair question if he’ll ever be able to fill up a tank that’s currently running on fumes – and has been for a while. A reinvention of his camp could certainly help, but Hendricks has to be brutally honest with himself at this point if he truly wants to continue fighting the best in mixed martial arts.
Fans of Conor McGregor reportedly harassed Floyd Mayweather Jr. outside of the 