Tag: WMMA

Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year

Josh Barnett is ready to get back to his fighting ways next year.

The post Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Its been two years since former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett has competed in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Barnett submitted Andrei Arlovski under the UFC banner in Germany, earning both Performance Of The Night and Fight Of The Night honors. Shortly after, Barnett had a falling out with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and subsequently came to terms with a release from his UFC deal.

He’s currently a free agent and ready to listen to offers for an MMA return that interests him. Away from fighting, Barnett is active in the worlds of grappling and professional wrestling. He is a commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on AXS TV.

Barnett is also a part of Kazushi Sakuraba’s team for an upcoming four-team Quintet show. At the Quintet 3 open workouts, Barnett spoke about a possible MMA return. He said fans can expect to see him back sometime next year (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It’s got to excite me,” said Barnett. “It has to be the right name, the right time, the right setting, it has to fit in with the rest of my schedule.

“I’m not going to lock down to one promoter. I still want to fight, you’ll see me fight sometime next year, it’s just a matter of when and where.”

Bellator MMA has made a habit of picking up former UFC stars. They have signed the likes of Rory MacDonald, Gegard Mousasi, Benson Henderson, Matt Mitrione, and many more. Perhaps Scott Coker will ink Barnett down to a deal as well.

The post Josh Barnett Plans For MMA Return Next Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me”

Ben Askren has come to the defense of his teammate, Tyron Woodley, against expected opponent Colby Covington.

The post Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me” appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

With Tyron Woodley’s title defense against Darren Till in the rear-view, “T-Wood” can move on to a bigger and more personal feud.

Woodley is believed to be fighting Colby Covington for the welterweight title next. The pair are former teammates who have built up a ton of animosity towards one another in the past several months.

Recently, Woodley’s training partner from Roufusport Training Center, Ben Askren, took to Twitter to offer some comments on Covington.

The recently retired mixed martial artist said the following about Covington, who he described as “a poor man’s version of me”:

“Cmon is a poor mans version of me. Couldn’t accomplish in wrestling, got choked out by subpar Wallrey Alves and trash talking sounds like his IQ is 85(which it may be although I can’t confirm)!”

Shortly after his victory, Covington called out Woodley to fight at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV). The Madison Square Garden card is currently without a main event. Woodley said that he believes he could make that date and called Covington an embarrassment to the sport.

Covington has yet to respond to Askren’s remarks on Twitter.

The post Ben Askren Calls Colby Covington “Poor Man’s Version Of Me” appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her

Nicco Montano has heard enough of Valentina Shevchenko’s criticism after UFC 228.

The post Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Valentina Shevchenko has been very vocal about the events that transpired at UFC 228 fight week.

Initially, Shevchenko was expected to co-main event the pay-per-view (PPV) opposite Nicco Montano for the UFC women’s flyweight title. Unfortunately, Montano suffered complications during her weight-cut and was subsequently hospitalized.

She was deemed medically unfit to compete and removed from the card. Shevchenko, however, wasn’t buying it. She believes Montano was searching for a way out of their fight all along.

Shevchenko even foreshadowed these events happening with some comments during media day. “The Bullet,” said she’ll believe the fight is happening when Montano actually makes the walk to the Octagon. As we all know, that walk never happened.

Montano has finally offered her side of the story in a recent interview on “The MMA Hour.” She said that she believes Shevchenko was hoping for something like this because she’s scared to fight someone like her (quotes via MMA Mania):

“I think she lives in la la land for a reason. I think she really wanted that to happen, unless she’s another Mrs. Cleo and has a (psychic) job, because she’s good at that.

“But I think she was hoping for it. I think she’s a little scared to fight somebody like me. I think deep down she was hoping this fight was not going to happen so that she could have more ammo to be a cyber bully and she wouldn’t have to face me in the Octagon.”

As for Shevchenko, she’ll now be fighting for the 125-pound title after Montano was stripped.

UFC President Dana White teased he already has a name in mind for the match-up. Early speculation suggests that name is former 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The post Nicco Montano Claims Valentina Shevchenko Is Scared To Fight Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next

This fight could solidify Tatiana Suarez as the next challenger for the UFC women’s strawweight title.

The post Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

There’s an interesting race going on right now for a UFC strawweight title opportunity.

At UFC 228 this past weekend, Jessica Andrade shut out Karolina Kowalkiewicz with a first-round knockout in the co-main event. The Brazilian expressed her desire to challenge Rose Namajunas for the 115-pound strap next.

Another woman with a claim to the next title shot is former Ultimate Fighter winner Tatiana Suarez. She made quite the statement Saturday night with a third round TKO win over former women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza.

Suarez dominated Esparza in the wrestling department and battered her with ground-and-pound. In the third round, she did enough for the referee to call the action off.

Should Andrade get the title nod before her, however, Suarez tells MMA Junkie she’s okay with a fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz first:

“It’s up to the UFC, but I feel like (I could deserve a title shot) after a performance like that, against a former champion,” Suarez said.

“(Esparza) beat Rose in a dominant fashion, I beat (Esparza) in a dominant fashion. But if (Namajunas is) not who they give me, I’ll take whoever loses (between Andrade and Kowalkiewicz). Whoever wins that fight is probably going to get a title shot.

“I’ll go ahead and dominate (the loser), and then I’ll get my title shot.”

Suarez currently holds an undefeated record of 7-0. In that time she has finished five of those fights via either knockout or submission.

The 27-year-old has really impressed the MMA community with her ability, drawing comparisons to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for her dominant grappling ability.

The post Tatiana Suarez Open To Potential Karolina Kowalkiewicz Fight Next appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Shevchenko Blasts Nicco Montano’s ‘Crazy’ Weight Miss

Shevchenko is not taking Nicco Montano’s failure to show up to fight night well.

The post Shevchenko Blasts Nicco Montano’s ‘Crazy’ Weight Miss appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Valentina Shevchenko is not happy about missing out on yet another UFC title opportunity.

The former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger was scheduled to take on Nicco Montano in the co-main event of this past weekend’s UFC 228 pay-per-view (PPV). Montano was set to make her first career 125-pound title defense.

Instead, Montano experienced a complication during her weight-cut and was hospitalized. As a result, Montano was pulled from the card by UFC medical officials. UFC President Dana White subsequently made the decision to strip Montano of her title.

Today (Mon. September 10, 2018) Shevchenko took to The MMA Hour and voiced her frustrations on the matter. She blasted Montano for coming in “20 pounds over” on fight week (quotes via MMA Mania):

“She had enough time to prepare for the fight,” Shevchenko said. “Only she was the one, the one who was responsible for the weight cut was she. She knows her body, how it reacts. And she had to be able to make it earlier, to start her weight cut.

“Not come into fight week weighing 20 pounds over. It’s crazy. Even for the boys, they’re cutting much more than the girls, it’s crazy to come 20 pounds over for fight week.

”You have to start your diet earlier, you be professional,” she continued. “You have to be responsible about what you have in your hands. But this is total irresponsibility.

“Totally unprofessional things from her. And now complaining about everything, making statements like everyone is at fault. She gets what she deserves, in fact.”

Dana White has said that he will give Shevchenko the opportunity to compete for the vacant 125-pound title. White also said he already has a name in mind that he’d like Shevchenko to face for the opportunity, but he didn’t divulge who.

Early speculation points to former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk being the front-runner.

The post Shevchenko Blasts Nicco Montano’s ‘Crazy’ Weight Miss appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC 228 Video Highlights: Andrade KOs Kowalkiewicz At 1:58 Of Round One

In the co-main event at Saturday night’s UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till event at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, UFC Women’s Strawweight contenders Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade each tried to get through the other in hopes…

In the co-main event at Saturday night’s UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till event at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, UFC Women’s Strawweight contenders Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade each tried to get through the other in hopes of moving one step closer to a UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship fight against current title-holder Rose Namajunas. […]

The post UFC 228 Video Highlights: Andrade KOs Kowalkiewicz At 1:58 Of Round One appeared first on MMA News.