Former dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently made the transition to her beloved pro-wrestling when she debuted at last month’s Royal Rumble. “Rowdy” made another appearance in the squared circle at tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, receiving a massive reception from the crowd that had her noticeably emotional: #WWEChamber just got ROWDY!!!!! @RondaRousey has […]
Former dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently made the transition to her beloved pro-wrestling when she debuted at last month’s Royal Rumble.
“Rowdy” made another appearance in the squared circle at tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, receiving a massive reception from the crowd that had her noticeably emotional:
There, she signed her contract to compete at April’s WrestleMania, where it was announced she’ll team with former Olympic medalist and WWE champion Kurt Angle to battle WWE elite Stephanie McMahon and her husband, longtime wrestling superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Watch the reveal here:
Ronda Rousey is getting ready for her WWE debut. This weekend at the WWE pay-per-view event dubbed “Elimination Chamber”, Rousey will engaged in a “contract signing” to officially kick off her career with the professional wrestl…
Ronda Rousey is getting ready for her WWE debut. This weekend at the WWE pay-per-view event dubbed “Elimination Chamber”, Rousey will engaged in a “contract signing” to officially kick off her career with the professional wrestling organization where she will join the roster on Monday Night Raw. WWE splits the talent on their roster between […]
Fan favorite Heather Hardy thought she made weight earlier today for her flyweight bout against Ana Julaton at tomorrow night’s (Fri., February 16, 2018) Bellator 194 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., but controversy erupted when she found out that wasn’t the case. Hardy, a boxing champ who will return to action following a […]
Fan favorite Heather Hardy thought she made weight earlier today for her flyweight bout against Ana Julaton at tomorrow night’s (Fri., February 16, 2018) Bellator 194 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., but controversy erupted when she found out that wasn’t the case.
Hardy, a boxing champ who will return to action following a brutal TKO loss to Kristina Williams in her last MMA bout at Bellator 185, stepped on the scales and expressed apparent relief at having made weight, at which point she exited the stage and being rehydrating for her flyweight fight.
But she was a fraction over the fight’s 126-pound limit – officially coming in at 126.25 pounds. However, despite the ability for her to remove her bikini and weigh in with the towel to most likely drop the extra quarter of a pound, she did not do so after it was announced she was overweight, as it appeared a decision had been made. Hardy most likely would have made weight if given instruction to weigh in nude, and if needed, she also would have the additional two hours to drop any excess weight, something would seem unnecessary given her original weight.
Weigh-ins continued as planned and Hardy left thinking she was fine.
It was later released that Hardy did not make weight, and 20 percent of her purse would go to Julaton. That understandably confused and angered her, but Mike Mazzulli, the president of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, the commission presiding over Bellator 194, told MMA Junkie that Hardy wouldn’t be allowed to drop any more weight, and he would cancel the match if she did:
“It was never said she was good. She got on the scale, (and) she was 126.25 … she was a quarter-pound over. At that point, I explained to her – after evaluating her and seeing how she was – that she was not going to lose anymore. The fight’s not going to happen (if she has to lose anymore) – I’ll cancel the fight. Fighter safety is the most important at Mohegan, and I make sure of it.”
Hardy predictably had a different side of the story, revealing that Mazzulli looked at her and said 126 and a man behind him even said they made an allowance for the bikini so she wouldn’t have to strip – something that was a source of the controversy:
“I did make the weight. I was two (tenths) over and they gave me the allowance for bikini top and bottom without making me strip in front of the room. (I’m) not sure about there having been a problem at all – I was backstage after the weigh-in hydrating and doing interviews for like an hour after.
“I was shocked when they called in and said they were fining me. Yes, it was a rough-ass weight cut – (it) was totally clear on my face. But (Mazzulli) looked at me and said 126. There was a guy behind him that said, ‘We make the allowance for your bikini. She isn’t stripping. We don’t need the towel.”
Mazzulli stood by his original decision, however, explaining his call to not let Hardy strip down was due to her action on the scale and his concern for her safety:
“I evaluated her, and I felt I didn’t even want her to (remove her clothes to use the towel), because at that point she wasn’t even speaking to me (on the scale),” Mazzulli said. “I made the decision as the commissioner that I wasn’t going to put her on the scale with no clothes on – that’s how concerned I was about her. And my doctors will re-evaluate her tonight at the (ceremonial) weigh-in, as well.”
He insisted he didn’t know why Hardy thought she had been told she made weight, and attribute to her lacking the ability to speak coherently:
“I explained to her (on the scale) that she did not (make weight) – that she was over a quarter-(pound), but I was not going to allow her to lose any more weight,” Mazzulli said. “… I explained to her, ‘I’m not even going to have you remove your clothes, because at this point you can’t even speak to me coherently. That concerns me.’”
With weight cutting a big in MMA right now, Mazzulli closed by detailing where they are with the fight currently:
“Rich Chou, the matchmaker, came to me, and I automatically fined Ms. Hardy 20 percent,” Mazzulli said. “(Julaton) came in, and I explained to her that it’s your decision if you’re going to fight, but Ms. Hardy is going to get a 20 percent fine, which is $2,400. And instead of me keeping $1,000 of it, which I have the right to, I provided the $2,400 to her opponent. At that point, (Julaton) accepted it, and that’s where we are right now.”
After losing the title to Rose Namajunas at last November’s UFC 217, former dominant UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk began a veritable media tour explaining why a botched, drastic weight cut was to blame for her first-round knockout loss to ‘Thug.’ She detailed her experience of having to cut 15 pounds in only 14 […]
After losing the title to Rose Namajunas at last November’s UFC 217, former dominant UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk began a veritable media tour explaining why a botched, drastic weight cut was to blame for her first-round knockout loss to ‘Thug.’
She detailed her experience of having to cut 15 pounds in only 14 hours before the fight, leading to her experiencing numbness in her legs and ultimately firing her nutritionists, Perfecting Athletes.
But that wasn’t all.
Yesterday, Jedrzejczyk doubled down on the blame game by claiming that her doctor had failed her before the fight, creating a web of finger pointing that really could not be quantified, and also one that was a moot point by now. Jedrzejczyk will meet Namajunas again in an immediate rematch at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn and will have her chance to quiet her doubters by winning back her coveted belt.
Until then, however, her detractors are going to keep doubting her blaming. One such person is UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje, who, as a friend of Namajunas, may be a bit biased but also knows the ins and outs of the fight game himself. “The Highlight” recently discussed Jedrzejczyk’s recent blaming with MMA Fighting, noting that cutting weight is simply part of a fighter’s job, making the blame fall solely on her at the end of the day.
To him, it was weak-minded to publicly bring it up:
“I don’t know her or what happened to her, so I can’t judge her for it. I think she’s weak-minded for saying it, even if it is true. It’s her own business. And no matter what, it could be true to the core and you could have proof, who’s going to [care]? Like, I’m not going to support you. Okay, whose fault was it? At the end of the day, whose fault was it? It was your fault. Do you have a scale at your house? Then you get to step on the scale every single morning, just like every single one of us do. We worry about our weight the whole camp, and I’ve never had a nutritionist help me in my entire life.
“I made weight in college eating McDonalds every day. It’s willpower. You either f*cking do it or you don’t do it. Like, the nutritionist does not cut the weight for you. And yeah, it could be detrimental to your performance, so if she did cut a tremendous amount of weight, then I’m sure that she suffered tremendously, and I am excited to see Rose fight the best Joanna whenever she doesn’t f*ck up and f*ck her weight cut up.”
Gaethje clarified his stance on the matter, adding that Jedrzejczyk knew Namajunas had cut and made weight, ultimately making whatever reason for her miss an excuse:
“Because she knows that Rose cut weight. She knows that Rose made weight. And at the end of the day, it is an excuse. Even if it’s fact, it’s still an excuse, because it was still her fault. So, I mean, as a wrestler — I’m not calling Joanna weak-minded, I’m saying that statement is weak-minded.”
Fans will see whether or not Jedrzejczyk’s insistence on passing the blame is real or not when she rematches Namajunas in just over a month. While Gaethje acknowledges her skill as one of the best in her class, he also believes Namajunas will prove her first win was no fluke because she has the former ‘Joanna Champion’ figured out:
“It’s a fight. [Jedrzejczyk] is one of the highest-level fighters in that weight class in the world,” Gaethje said. “Anybody in the top-five can beat each other on any given night in this sport. So I think she has a possibility (to win), but I don’t think — she can’t just go and change her whole (style). She can’t change the way her feet move. And Rose beat her because of the way her feet move, because she could time the way her feet move, and Rose is going to do the same thing with her feet.
“She’ll get her reaching, and then she’ll get her overreaching, then she’ll come in while she’s overreaching and capitalize. There’s no other way for it to go.”
It appears Mario Yamasaki’s days working as a referee in the UFC may be finished. Last Saturday night, Yamasaki served as the third man in the Octagon for a flyweight fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira that ended up as one …
It appears Mario Yamasaki’s days working as a referee in the UFC may be finished. Last Saturday night, Yamasaki served as the third man in the Octagon for a flyweight fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira that ended up as one of the most lopsided bouts in recent UFC history. Shevchenko battered Cachoeira, out […]
Long before Ronda Rousey was deemed the face of women’s mixed martial arts, Gina Carano was the first true superstar to gain national attention for her work inside the cage. Transitioning from kickboxing in K-1 to a highly successful career in bo…
Long before Ronda Rousey was deemed the face of women’s mixed martial arts, Gina Carano was the first true superstar to gain national attention for her work inside the cage. Transitioning from kickboxing in K-1 to a highly successful career in both Elite XC and Strikeforce, Carano was considered the top star in all of […]
