Tag: WMMA

Cris Cyborg Steps Up To Save UFC 222

The all-out mess that is March 3’s UFC 222 pay-per-view from Las Vegas finally has a replacement headliner. News broke from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was rumored to be fighting Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya in place of the originally booked Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar featherweight championship. Edgar […]

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The all-out mess that is March 3’s UFC 222 pay-per-view from Las Vegas finally has a replacement headliner.

News broke from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was rumored to be fighting Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya in place of the originally booked Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar featherweight championship.

Edgar is reported to be taking on Brian Ortega in the co-headliner as has been talked about ever since Holloway was forced off the event last weekend:

The fights were soon confirmed, good news for the UFC as they attempt to crawl out of an early-year funk that’s seen two consecutive pay-per-view main events fall apart after middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was also unable to fight at this weekend’s UFC 221.

TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt in a rematch of their UFC 217 bout was talked about but ultimately shot down by Dillashaw, who had a litany of reasons for not giving his former Team Alpha Male teammate-turned-rival an immediate rematch.

Some will deride the UFC’s decision to have Cyborg continue facing bantamweights she outweighs by gross margins, but at this point in time, there wasn’t much else they could do.

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UFC Rankings Update: Ronda Rousey Stays Put Despite Move To WWE

After an extremely quiet event last weekend in UFC on FOX 27, which brought in the lowest television numbers ever for the series, the focus of the activity for this week’s official UFC rankings is actually on two fighters who may never fight in the UFC again. Former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was […]

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After an extremely quiet event last weekend in UFC on FOX 27, which brought in the lowest television numbers ever for the series, the focus of the activity for this week’s official UFC rankings is actually on two fighters who may never fight in the UFC again.

Former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was finally removed from the 185-pound rankings after vacating the belt roughly a month after winning it from Michael Bisping at November’s UFC 217. The MMA great cited a bout with colitis as a result of the increased diet needed to move up to middleweight, and with his coaches claiming he might take two more years off or even retire, his status in the UFC remains tenuous.

‘Rush’ stayed but also dropped on the pound-for-pound rankings, coming in at No. 6 after falling three spots.

One storied champion who didn’t fall out the rankings even though there wasfor more reason for her to was former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Rousey made her debut appearance with pro-wrestling giant WWE at their Royal Rumble pay-per-view event last Sunday, noting afterward that ‘was her life’ for the next several years.

But even though she’s now competing in sports entertainment and have given absolutely no indication she would ever return after two consecutive knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, Rousey somehow stayed pat on the women’s bantamweight rankings at No. 9.

Perhaps it’s wishful thinking.

Anyway, here are the fully updated rankings via UFC.com:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Demetrious Johnson
2 Conor McGregor
3 Daniel Cormier +1
4 Stipe Miocic +2
4 Max Holloway
6 Georges St-Pierre -3
7 TJ Dillashaw
8 Tyron Woodley
9 Cris Cyborg
10 Tony Ferguson
11 Cody Garbrandt
12 Robert Whittaker
13 Amanda Nunes
14 Khabib Nurmagomedov
15 Joanna Jedrzejczyk

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Ray Borg
4 Jussier Formiga
5 Sergio Pettis
6 Wilson Reis
7 Brandon Moreno
8 Ben Nguyen
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 John Moraga
11 Matheus Nicolau
12 Tim Elliott -1
13 Alexandre Pantoja
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Magomed Bibulatov

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Jimmie Rivera
5 Marlon Moraes
6 John Lineker
7 Bryan Caraway
8 John Dodson
9 Aljamain Sterling
10 Pedro Munhoz
11 Rob Font
12 Thomas Almeida
13 Eddie Wineland
14 Brett Johns
15 Matthew Lopez

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Brian Ortega
4 Josh Emmett
5 Cub Swanson
6 Ricardo Lamas
7 Chan Sung Jung
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Darren Elkins
10 Yair Rodriguez
11 Renato Moicano
12 Mirsad Bektic +3
13 Dooho Choi
14 Myles Jury
15 Calvin Kattar *NR

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Tony Ferguson (Interim Champion)
2 Khabib Nurmagomedov
3 Eddie Alvarez
4 Edson Barboza
5 Dustin Poirier
6 Justin Gaethje
7 Kevin Lee
8 Nate Diaz
9 Michael Chiesa
10 Al Iaquinta
11 Beneil Dariush
12 James Vick
13 Anthony Pettis
14 Francisco Trinaldo -1
15 Evan Dunham

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Stephen Thompson
2 Rafael Dos Anjos
3 Colby Covington
4 Robbie Lawler
5 Demian Maia
6 Jorge Masvidal
7 Darren Till
8 Neil Magny
9 Kamaru Usman
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Donald Cerrone
12 Carlos Condit
13 Gunnar Nelson
14 Dong Hyun Kim
15 Yancy Medeiros

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Robert Whittaker
1 Yoel Romero
2 Luke Rockhold
3 Jacare Souza
4 Chris Weidman +1
5 Kelvin Gastelum +1
6 Michael Bisping +1
7 Derek Brunson +1
8 David Branch +1
9 Uriah Hall +1
10 Vitor Belfort +1
11 Brad Tavares +4
12 Krzysztof Jotko
13 Lyoto Machida +1
14 Paulo Costa -1
15 Thiago Santos *NR

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Glover Teixeira
2 Volkan Oezdemir
4 Jimi Manuwa
5 Ovince Saint Preux
6 Mauricio Rua
7 Misha Cirkunov
8 Ilir Latifi
8 Corey Anderson
10 Patrick Cummins
11 Jan Blachowicz
12 Gadzhimurad Antigulov
13 Tyson Pedro
14 Gian Villante
15 Jared Cannonier

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Francis Ngannou
2 Alistair Overeem
3 Fabricio Werdum
4 Cain Velasquez
5 Mark Hunt
6 Derrick Lewis
7 Alexander Volkov
8 Marcin Tybura
9 Curtis Blaydes
10 Stefan Struve
11 Aleksei Oleinik
12 Andrei Arlovski
13 Junior Albini
14 Travis Browne
15 Tim Johnson

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Carla Esparza
7 Michelle Waterson
8 Felice Herrig +1
9 Cynthia Calvillo -1
10 Alexa Grasso
11 Randa Markos
12 Cortney Casey
13 Joanne Calderwood
14 Maryna Moroz
15 Tatiana Suarez

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Sijara Eubanks
2 Lauren Murphy
3 Alexis Davis
4 Roxanne Modafferi
5 Barb Honchak
6 Liz Carmouche
7 Katlyn Chookagian *NR
8 Jessica-Rose Clark -1
9 Jessica Eye +1
10 Montana De La Rosa -2
11 Mara Romero Borella -2
12 Rachael Ostovich -1
13 Paige VanZant -1
14 Shana Dobson -1
15 Gillian Robertson -1

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Holly Holm
3 Julianna Pena
4 Raquel Pennington
5 Germaine de Randamie
6 Ketlen Vieira
7 Cat Zingano
8 Sara McMann
9 Ronda Rousey
10 Marion Reneau
11 Leslie Smith +1
12 Bethe Correia +1
13 Aspen Ladd +2
14 Sarah Moras
15 Irene Aldana *NR

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Watch: Ronda Rousey Makes Surprise WWE Debut As Full-Time Pro Wrestler

After months and months of speculation, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has made her official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut. Heading into the promotion’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view this evening (Sun., January 28, 2018), speculation was that Rousey, a longtime pro-wrestling fan, was not going to debut at the show because she was […]

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After months and months of speculation, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has made her official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut.

Heading into the promotion’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view this evening (Sun., January 28, 2018), speculation was that Rousey, a longtime pro-wrestling fan, was not going to debut at the show because she was filming her movie Mile 22 despite several teasing appearances and endless rumors she was soon signing with the pro-wrestling giant.

Some bought it, some did not.

Well, in classic pro-wrestling style, the WWE surprised both MMA and wrestling fans when Rousey came out at the very end of the pay-per-view to confront three top female wrestlers and greet WWE executive Stephanie MacMahon, whom she once put in some sort of armlock at WrestleMania almost three years back before pointing at the sign for the upcoming WrestleMania 34 this year.

Check it out:

It was noted that Rousey showed up in a leather jacket and shirt similar to that of Roddy Piper, her late wrestling mentor and the man who handed her her ‘Rowdy’ namesake:

What’s more, Rousey stated in an interview with ESPN that she had signed with WWE to be a full-time performer, not a part-time wrestler making a quick appearance for a big one-time payday:

“This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt,” Rousey told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne of her decision to join WWE. “When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’”

Rousey will now go on to instantly be one of the WWE’s biggest stars despite having little actual experience in pro-wrestling. Based on what she was able to accomplish in Judo and mixed martial arts, however, there’s little doubt Rousey will get the hang of it rather quickly.

It would also appear to officially close the door on her MMA career, where she was dominant and peerless up until the point she wasn’t in back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes to close out her career, at least for now.

Will you pay attention to pro-wrestling just to see how Rousey’s new career plays out?

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Joanna Jedrzejczyk Details Drastic Weight Cut Before UFC 217

Most in the mixed martial arts world were shocked when former women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk lost her title to Rose Namajunas via first-round knockout at November’s UFC 217. After defending the title five times, Jedrzejczyk lobbied for an immediate rematch with ‘Thug’ Rose despite the quick and vicious nature of her loss. Ultimately, she got […]

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Most in the mixed martial arts world were shocked when former women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk lost her title to Rose Namajunas via first-round knockout at November’s UFC 217.

After defending the title five times, Jedrzejczyk lobbied for an immediate rematch with ‘Thug’ Rose despite the quick and vicious nature of her loss. Ultimately, she got it as well, signing on for the rematch at April’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, New York.

When she does, however, she’ll prepare for the bout without the aid of her former nutritionists Perfecting Athletes, whom she fired following a disagreement about how her weight management was handled prior to the Namajunas fight. Details were scarce about just what prompted Jedrzejczyk to incite such drastic change, but today (Mon., Jan. 22, 2018), the former champ revealed why to Ariel Helwani on today’s The MMA Hour in a graphic description.

Jedrzejczyk said she cut an alarming 15 pounds in only 14 hours and was surprised to even make weight:

“Man, I felt so bad, I had to cut 15 pounds in 14 hours; I did it in 14 hours.

“I think Perfecting Athletes couldn’t believe that I did that. I start my weight cut at 5 pm on Thursday and I was on weight five minutes before 11 am on Friday, so it was a miracle. I was praying to God for this miracle. And it happened. I took this mentally. I was crying, I was so weak but I believed it. I said to one of the Perfecting Athletes team, ‘Hey, it’s a shame for a champion to not make her weight’, and then I made it — a thing I couldn’t believe.”

Photo by Noah K. Murray for USA TODAY Sports

The title challenger continued on about the drastic cut, detailing how things got worse when her legs began to numb, which returned the day of the fight:

“After the weigh-ins, I had only fluids and I went to bed because I took just two 15-minute naps during the weight cut.

“The thing is, my legs got numb after I woke up. I said to my doctor, ‘Hey, my legs are numb’, and she said, ‘nothing to worry about, we’re going to hydrate you more’ and ‘you’re going to be fine’.

“But the next day, I felt the same and thought the most crazy things. I took the fight mentally. I wanted to go into the fight and push away all of the worries.”

With her rematch now in sight, Jedrzejczyk said that she had trusted her advisors at Perfecting Athletes, but they made a mistake – a mistake which she paid the ‘ultimate price’ for after being light all training camp before running into serious trouble  towards the tail end:

“They were like family, you know. I trusted them so much and I paid the ultimate cost for someone’s mistake,” she said. “They agreed with me. We sat and talked on Monday after the fight and they agreed with me that they made a mistake, but I paid the ultimate price.”

“I was light in this camp,” Jedrzejczyk continued when asked what mistake had been made by Perfecting Athletes.

“I was like 127 on the Friday and Saturday a week before the fight. We were planning to get me to 125 by Tuesday, but my weight went up on Sunday to 130 and I couldn’t drop the weight for three or four days. I did everything that I could, and it’s their mistake. I started my weight cut with the limit at 130, so it was almost impossible to make that weight.”

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Cyborg Announces She’s Agreed To Fight Amanda Nunes

After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great. Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only […]

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After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great.

Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only name anyone could really come up with for Cyborg was women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who appeared somewhat lukewarm on the bout.

But there is not a clear contender for The Lioness,” either, making Cyborg vs. Nunes by far the biggest women’s title fight the UFC could make at the current time. While it’s uncertain to happen for one reason or another, Cyborg revealed on her Instagram account tonight that she had agreed to fight Nunes at July’s UFC 226:

“I have agreed to fight @amanda_leoa July 7th in Las Vegas as part of #UFC226 and #InternationalFightWeek. I am now waiting for my manager to work with the @ufc on a bout agreement so we can make #CyborgVNunes #TheSuperFight official. #CyborgNation us versus them!”

It would appear that the ball is in Nunes’ court now, as a superfight with Cyborg would undoubtedly be the most lucrative fight she could sign to participate in.

However, it’s by far the most dangerous as well, and with a peerless run at 135 pounds in tow, “The Lioness” may not want to spoil a good thing and risk her rep facing a fighter most would pick to demolish her inside the distance.

If Cyborg and her management can get Nunes to agree to the first-ever champion vs. champion bout in UFC women’s history, the July 7 pay-per-view card from Las Vegas would receive a significant boost.

Will the UFC be able to pull it off?

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Complete Invicta FC 27 Weigh-In Results, Video Replay

Invicta FC 27 is now official, as weigh-ins for the card went down on Friday. There was a little trouble with the main event, as Pannie Kianzad came in over the maximum for her bout with former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. Despite that, the bout…

Invicta FC 27 is now official, as weigh-ins for the card went down on Friday. There was a little trouble with the main event, as Pannie Kianzad came in over the maximum for her bout with former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. Despite that, the bout will go on, as Kianzad has been fined a portion […]