Tag: WMMA

Team JacksonWink Issues Statement On Cyborg Instagram Controversy

In the hours after UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought decision win over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the main event of December 30’s UFC 219, a photographer named Marc Aragon for Team JacksonWink, where Holm has trained for many years, issued some incendiary, gender-based insults toward Cyborg. Cyborg, being no stranger to […]

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In the hours after UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought decision win over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the main event of December 30’s UFC 219, a photographer named Marc Aragon for Team JacksonWink, where Holm has trained for many years, issued some incendiary, gender-based insults toward Cyborg.

Cyborg, being no stranger to such criticism, responded that the photographer should be forced to apologize or have his credentials to attend UFC events revoked. Overall, Team JacksonWink received a ton of bad publicity and attention right after one of their main stars had lost a potentially history-making bout, and regardless of whether you agree with them, they just came out of the situation poorly.

Their reputation in tatters for the time being, JacksonWink issued a statement on the matter on their official Facebook page that told a different side of the story where Cyborg supposedly called Holm a “b***h” backstage while mocking her. They defended their ‘media guy’ by saying he was only defending Holm and they wouldn’t avoid pointing out Cyborg’s past history of steroid use, even though the ‘media guy’ didn’t mention it in his original post:
It’s a bit of backhanded congratulations, but at least it serves to explain exactly why Aragon made the mistake he did, I suppose. It’s understandable he was in an emotional state after Holm lost arguably the biggest bout in women’s MMA history, a loss that pushed her down to a tough 1-4 in her last five matches since her upset of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.

A rematch with Cyborg – who has demolished 17 straight opponents – most likely isn’t going to be in the cards for Holm right now, even if Cyborg has few if any true challengers at 145 pounds. Holm is still ranked No. 2 at women’s bantamweight, and with that division currently lacking anything even resembling clarity, could find herself back int contention with only one or two quality wins.

As for the insults made by Aragon, it feels like JacksonWink knows it was a mistake, but they feel it was at least somewhat justified. Are you buying what they’re selling tonight?

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Cyborg Reacts To Gender-Based Insults From Jackson-Winkeljohn

Cyborg may have scored her first UFC title defense over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm at last weekend’s UFC 219, but she was made to unnecessarily suffer some unneeded insults at the hands of Holm’s Team JacksonWink. A photographer for the team named Marc Aragon made an Instagram post in the hours after the fight […]

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Cyborg may have scored her first UFC title defense over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm at last weekend’s UFC 219, but she was made to unnecessarily suffer some unneeded insults at the hands of Holm’s Team JacksonWink.

A photographer for the team named Marc Aragon made an Instagram post in the hours after the fight which repeatedly called Cyborg a ‘dude’ and ‘he,’ making it seem like a serious case of sour grapes from a losing side. The post was later deleted.

Obviously it’s nothing new for Cyborg, who has been made the butt of gender-based jokes from former UFC athlete Angela Magana, whom Cyborg attacked at last year’s UFC Athlete Retreat after a long smear campaign online, and even Octagon commentator Joe Rogan, whose ill-advised genitalia joke about Cyborg in the aftermath of 2015’s UFC 193 drew much attention.

Understandably sick of it, Cyborg issued her own post on Instagram clarifying her views on the verbal assault, adding that Aragon should apologize for the insults or have his credentials to UFC events revoked:

Cyborg called Aragon’s insults ‘unacceptable’ and expressed desire for him to come clean on the transgender insults:

It is not acceptable for an official representative of @hollyholm@jacksonwink_mma to call me transgender following my Fight. Their official photographer was given a backstage credential to attend the @UFC and I expect an apology or their ability to get credentials for future UFC events to be affected by these actions. @ma2_media

As noted by MMA Fighting, Team JacksonWink has been deemed insensitive towards transgender issues before, with a Twitter account tweeting and deleting (again) a link to an old Instagram post that appeared to speak out against the controversial transgender bathroom laws:

WTF

A post shared by Mike Winkeljohn (@mmacoachwink) on

Not surprisingly, the post got a mixed bag of reactions from the community that was similar to the polarizing, divided climate on many prominent, socially-relevant issues today.

In terms of fighting, Cyborg is justified in speaking out another tired instance of being made fun of for her appearance, because it’s clear that she’s one of the most talented and dominant fighters in the sport regardless of how she looks. As for JacksonWink, well, it’s simply not a good look for a highly-regarded team that is going through a disturbing streak of in-the-cage defeats.

Perhaps that’s making them a bit on edge.

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Holly Holm vs. Cris Cyborg Full Fight Video Highlights

In the last UFC bout of 2017, women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg took on Holly Holm for the title in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hyped headliner was touted as being for the title of the greatest women’s MMA fighter of […]

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In the last UFC bout of 2017, women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg took on Holly Holm for the title in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The hyped headliner was touted as being for the title of the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, and indeed there were arguments to be made supporting that theory – especially in the case of dominant champion Cyborg. But Holm had already toppled one MMA legend when she upset Ronda Rousey just over two years ago and set ‘Rowdy’s’ downfall into motion, so if she could do it again, and this time against a far more dangerous opponent, she should also be in consideration for the young sport’s G.O.A.T.

So much was resting on the result of UFC 219’s main event, and despite being taken into deeper waters than she ever had been in the UFC, Cyborg emerged with a convincing, hard-fought win that showed why she’s the champ and the most powerful woman to ever compete in MMA. With Holm attempting to control the clinch early on, Cyborg stayed patient to pick her spots and land with accuracy, each blow landing with her trademark power and adding up on Holm’s face.

As the fight wore on, Holm seemed to land on air far too much as she telegraphed too many shots, and Cyborg only seemed to grow stronger with her endurance appearing to be enough for far more than five rounds. It wasn’t the kind of win we’re used to seeing from Cyborg, but it showed she could go the distance with an elite challenger and still come out on top. Watch the highlights of her first UFC title defense right here:

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UFC 219 Post-Fight Press Conference

The UFC’s year-ending pay-per-view of UFC 219 is in the books from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, dominant women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg faced off with former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm arguably for the title of the greatest female fighter in MMA history. Cyborg put on another defining performance, […]

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The UFC’s year-ending pay-per-view of UFC 219 is in the books from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the main event, dominant women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg faced off with former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm arguably for the title of the greatest female fighter in MMA history. Cyborg put on another defining performance, proving she could go five full rounds with a fellow champion by outlasting Holm for her first UFC title defense.

The co-main event saw a pivotal lightweight bout between returning oft-injured Khabib Nurmagomedov and surging striker Edson Barboza, a fight that only served to further muddy the all-out mess that has developed at the top of the UFC 155-pound fray. And muddy it did, as Khabib dominated the Brazilian Barboza from pillar to post to win a lopsided affair and insert his name firmly in the title picture.

Join LowKick MMA for the event’s post-fight press conference as the fighters unpack the fallout of 2017’s last PPV:

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Cris Cyborg Defeats Tough Holly Holm To Secure First UFC Title Defense

In what was  – hyperbole aside – genuinely one of the biggest female mixed martial arts bouts of all time, dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg met former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cyborg had […]

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In what was  – hyperbole aside – genuinely one of the biggest female mixed martial arts bouts of all time, dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg met former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cyborg had been exactly what people expected her to be in the UFC, winning three straight by finish and winning the women’s 145-pound title with a third-round knockout of Tonya Evinger at last July’s UFC 214. She was already regarded as the best female fighter in the history of the sport, and a victory over Holm would go further in solidifying that.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” was presented with another golden opportunity in many ways like her shocking UFC 193 win over dominant then-champion Ronda Rousey. However, the pride of Albuquerque walked an up-and-down path after defeating “Rowdy” that fateful November night two years ago, losing three straight fights before finally rebounding with a brutal and impressive head kick knockout of Bethe Correia this June.

It was as pivotal a match-up the UFC women’s arena could stage, and it would shape the direction of a female featherweight division that had little competition outside of these two recognizable names.

The fight started with Cyborg aggressive and Holm using more movement. Holm landed a right hand and then briefly dropped Cyborg off a kick attempt. Holm looked to clinch but soon broke, and Cyborg landed a low kick. Holm landed a hard right hand followed by a left as Cyborg stalked her. Holm’s rushing strikes were working early as she stuck and move in and out of the pocket, but Cyborg appeared unfazed. The champ landed a body kick and a flurry of punches, but Holm scored a combo of her own and clinched. ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ appeared to control the clinches, and landed a kick as Cyborg threw a Superman punch as the first frame ended.

The second kicked off with Holm snapping a straight shot as Cyborg threw a low kick. Cyborg answered with a big combo and followed with another to counter a Holm strike. As Holm rushed in, Cyborg kept nailing her with solid shots and a body kick. However, Cyborg was bleeding from the nose, more damage than anyone else had been able to hand her in the Octagon. Holm clinched again and rushed in on the break, only to eat another hard punch from Cyborg. But she landed a big elbow off the break, following it with a left hand. Holm controlled a clinch again, and Cyborg ended the round strong with another kick and power punches.

A close fight was on, and the third saw Holm come out with a swollen left eye. Cyborg looked for a clinch of her own, landing a knee to the body The action slowed a bit until the fighters exchanged strikes and Holm barely missed with her trademark left kick. Cyborg landed a huge right hand as she stalked forward, but Holm answered with a two-punch combo followed by a kick. Cyborg scored with a knee to the body again and kept the pressure high. Holm went for the kick again but Cyborg responded with a takedown attempt. Pressure came nonstop from Cyborg, who rocked Holm as the third frame ended.

The fourth round kicked off and Cyborg was in rare territory. Holm tagged her with a left hand and rushed in again, but Cyborg countered her. A body kick scored from Cyborg and more hooks followed. She landed a high kick and a right hand as she kept the pressure on. Holm landed again with her left hand, but it didn’t have nearly the same pop as Cyborg’s punches. Holm clinched on the fence again and Cyborg broke to chase her down. A decent combo arrived from Holm, but Cyborg rocked her with a jab soon thereafter.

Few expected a fifth and final round from this fight, yet it arrived nonetheless and was kicked off with a strong kick from Holm. Holm pressed the pace somewhat more, and Cyborg clinched her up close to the cage wall to land a body kick. Kicks landed from Holm, yet Cyborg’s appeared to have more juice on them. The champ landed several big punches and another kick. Straight punches landed for the champ followed by a head kick. Cyborg’s jab was stifling to Holm’s forward pressure, as ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’s’ combos fell short while the champion’s landed. Holm scored some good shots in the last minute, to which Cyborg responded with big knees to the body. The back-and-forth fight ended with more vicious knees from the Brazilian legend.

In the end, Cyborg deservedly earned her first title defense with a unanimous decision win over Holm.

Final Result: Cris Cyborg def. Holly Holm via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)

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Five Ways The UFC Is Becoming More Like WWE

When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion. It may have been extremely rough around the edges in […]

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When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion.

It may have been extremely rough around the edges in those ‘dark’ days where the sport having few rules and regulation had it on the precipice of doom, but the opposite is very much true today. After the Fertitta brothers along with Dana White purchased the UFC for a paltry sum and turned it into a legitimately regulated competition watched on pay-per-view the world over, the UFC exploded into a global brand that put shows on nearly every weekend.

When its popularity peaked in 2016 on the heels of the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rivalry, the Fertitta brothers saw an opportunity to cash in, and cash in they did. Selling the UFC to Hollywood talent giant WME-IMG (now Endeavor) for a then-record $4.2 billion, one of the biggest franchise sales in sports (of any kind) history was complete. But all was not rosy. This year has seen the advent of some truly horrific pay-per-view and television ratings, with UFC 213, UFC 215, and UFC 216 ranking as three of the lowest-watched PPVs ever, while December’s TUF 26 Finale was the least-watched UFC live event of all-time.

So while it was undoubtedly rough around the edges in its infancy, the UFC is dealing with a whole different set of problems heading into 2018, and many would argue that the UFC owners don’t exactly know what they’re doing. A growing sense is that the Hollywood agency is now trying to book the more mainstream, over-the-top spectacle fights rather than those that clearly have a more legitimate meaning based on meritocracy.

It’s lead to a steady stream of criticism that the UFC is becoming more like pro-wrestling and their WWE counterpart, obviously not the most endearing of words from fight fans. The argument, unfortunately, cannot be totally denied. Let’s take a look at the reasons why:

Jason Silva/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire

5.) Titles Mean Next To Nothing:

Endeavor has to be commended for finally getting the middleweight division moving in the right direction by booking Robert Whittaker vs. Luke Rockhold for UFC 221, but there is one weight class that is an absolute mess in the UFC.

It’s obviously Conor McGregor’s held-hostage lightweight division, where “The Notorious” fought once and won the belt way back at UFC 205 in November 2016 before leaving to box – and lose – to Floyd Mayweather for the entirety of 2017. McGregor made the record-setting payday he was always looking for and can’t be blamed for doing it, but the fact remains the 155-pound landscape, which is still one of the most talented in MMA, has no clarity whatsoever at the current moment.

An interim belt was given to Tony Ferguson at October’s UFC 216, but without a path to a unification bout with McGregor, he opted to have elbow surgery, leaving not one but two champions on the sidelines with no real news about a return. Take into account the middleweight situation as well, where Michael Bisping was allowed to avoid the top 10 contenders by facing a retiring No. 14 Dan Henderson and an unretiring Georges St-Pierre, who had never even fought in the division. St-Pierre won and vacated the belt hardly a month later.

Interim titles are also created around much more frequently, making them seem more like the WWE titles that are handed over and won back on a never-ending cycle.

Because of these occurrences, UFC titles seem like little more than gold belts to be flaunted after a win rather than symbols of true MMA supremacy to be defended with pride.

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