It was recently posted on Twitter by Fight Network’s John Pollock that Middleweight Champ Michael “the gifted” Bisping is out due to a meniscus tear and will not be eyeing a return until May. With all the hooplah about interim titles, it seems like there’s another on the horizon. The only question is, who gets the shot?
It was recently posted on Twitter by Fight Network’s John Pollock that Middleweight Champ Michael “the gifted” Bisping is out due to a meniscus tear and will not be eyeing a return until May. With all the hooplah about interim titles, it seems like there’s another on the horizon. The only question is, who gets the shot?
We call him “the gifted champ” because it took a whole lot of luck for Bisping to get here. First being blessed with a win against Anderson Silva (having the event in his motherland didn’t hurt), gifted by the Gods with the Luke Rockhold knockout, and then gifted again by Dana White with his first title defense being against 46 year old Dan Henderson (some thought he was gifted with that decision too), but we digress.
The real question is, who does Yoel Romero fight until then? The obvious choice is Jacare Souza. If Jacare can overcome the great American Grizzly that is Tim Boetsch at UFC 208 in February then he should be a shoo in for the rematch against Romero. In case you didn’t catch the first one, it was a highly controversial decision that in my opinion went the right way (hear that? that’s the sound of 10,000 people unsubscribing). But the key term there is SHOULD, and we all know Dana loves to throw in wrenches. If the fight doesn’t eventuate it could be Gegard Mousasi; the 31 year old dutch fighter (41-6-2) has just secured a fight with Chris Weidman and some are even calling him the most well rounded in the division. Former champ Luke Rockhold could also be in the conversation depending on how he heals from a recent knee injury.
If Dana White doesn’t make an interim title then my guess is Yoel Romero holds out until he can get his shot. But with the way MMA is going nowadays our guess is just as good as yours. What do you think is next for the middleweight division, does the number #1 contender wait it out or fight for the interim belt?
Hit us up in the comments section below.
Lionel Harris-Spence is a writer, filmmaker, and functioning alcoholic. You can catch him screaming obscenities at flat screens on fight night.
The Englishman had talked about the possibility of fighting UFC legend George St-Pierre at UFC 206, but not long after this news of an “orbital injury” circulated. On Thursday, confirmation was all but made that yet another division’s champion (following on from Cormier and McGregor at light heavyweight and lightweight, respectively) will be out of action. Alarm bells are ringing, and they seem to indicate the emerging of another “interim title”. While not too completely jump the gun, a title eliminator between the top ranked middleweights in UFC (Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold) could be put into place without the need for another “secondary belt”.
Conjecture aside, the next few weeks will undoubtedly reveal all as Dana White and co will certainly look to patch up the middleweight division in Bisping’s absence. With a division as stacked and as dangerous as the one Bisping currently heads, anything can happen between now and May. Until then, it is a case of get well soon, Michael Bisping.
Michael Bisping will not fight Yoel Romero or Luke Rockhold after news broke on Thursday of an injury to “The Count” which will require surgery.
The Englishman had talked about the possibility of fighting UFC legend George St-Pierre at UFC 206, but not long after this news of an “orbital injury” circulated. On Thursday, confirmation was all but made that yet another division’s champion (following on from Cormier and McGregor at light heavyweight and lightweight, respectively) will be out of action. Alarm bells are ringing, and they seem to indicate the emerging of another “interim title”. While not too completely jump the gun, a title eliminator between the top ranked middleweights in UFC (Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold) could be put into place without the need for another “secondary belt”.
Conjecture aside, the next few weeks will undoubtedly reveal all as Dana White and co will certainly look to patch up the middleweight division in Bisping’s absence. With a division as stacked and as dangerous as the one Bisping currently heads, anything can happen between now and May. Until then, it is a case of get well soon, Michael Bisping.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans currently await the next match-up for UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, but it appears they’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. Per a report from John Pollock, the UFC’s 185-pound champ will be out-of-action until May after being notified that he will require surgery to repair a torn
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans currently await the next match-up for UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, but it appears they’ll have to wait just a little bit longer.
Per a report from John Pollock, the UFC’s 185-pound champ will be out-of-action until May after being notified that he will require surgery to repair a torn meniscus. No information was given on when exactly the injury was suffered:
Michael Bisping recently found out he will need knee surgery for slightly torn meniscus in next few weeks, hopes to fight around May
Bisping is currently on a five-fight win streak which includes a unanimous decision win over former 185-pound king Anderson Silva. The victory over ‘The Spider’ earned the Englishman the right to step in for an injured Chris Weidman to challenge for the middleweight strap, and he would go on to knockout Luke Rockhold in the first round to win his first career UFC title at UFC 199 this past June.
‘The Count’ followed up his spectacular performance with a successful title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in October, earning a unanimous decision victory in his home-country of England.
Current No. 1-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero has emerged as the prime candidate to challenge Bisping for the title next, after downing the former champ Weidman at UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden in New York City with a grizzly flying knee knockout in the third round. ‘The Soldier Of God’ currently rides an eight-fight win streak with victories over names such as Derek Brunson, Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, and now Weidman.
Given Bisping’s injury, however, the 39-year-old Romero will appear to have to wait until near mid-year for his opportunity at 185-pound gold.
One day after calling former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Luke Rockhold a “chicken,” Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has taken things a step further. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion is now targeting reigning 185-pound champion Michael Bisping, and likely contender Yoel Romero.
Speaking with MMAJunkie.com, “Jacare” said he believes “The Count” will defend his belt against “The Soldier of God.” He didn’t speak highly of either fighter:
“I believe (Bisping vs. Romero) will happen. The dirty one, because Romero is a dirty fighter, against the chicken, the scared one – Bisping. So it will be kind of a weird fight. The dirty (fighter) against the chicken. I believe this will be the fight.”
Souza may have had harsh words for Bisping and Romero, but he was respectful of his next opponent Tim Boetsch. Souza will go toe-to-toe with “The Barbarian” at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, NY. “Jacare” is aware of Boetsch’s dangerous punching power.
“My opponent is trouble. He has a very hard hand – it can make it difficult for any opponent. His hook makes it tough. He’s very strong and his wrestling is very good, as well. So to sum it all up, he’s trouble.”
Many questioned why Boetsch was booked to fight Souza. With higher ranked fighters such as Gegard Mousasi and Robert Whittaker, “The Barbarian” was the last opponent fans expected for “Jacare.” Souza said the options were limited.
“My idea was to fight – that was my goal. I accepted everyone that was offered to me, and I accepted Boetsch. So it was kind of, I had to accept. There’s only that option.”
UFC 208 will be held inside the Barclays Center on Feb. 11. The main event will feature the inaugural women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBWxXCDUJLY
One day after calling former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Luke Rockhold a “chicken,” Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has taken things a step further. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion is now targeting reigning 185-pound champion Michael Bisping, and likely contender Yoel Romero.
Speaking with MMAJunkie.com, “Jacare” said he believes “The Count” will defend his belt against “The Soldier of God.” He didn’t speak highly of either fighter:
“I believe (Bisping vs. Romero) will happen. The dirty one, because Romero is a dirty fighter, against the chicken, the scared one – Bisping. So it will be kind of a weird fight. The dirty (fighter) against the chicken. I believe this will be the fight.”
Souza may have had harsh words for Bisping and Romero, but he was respectful of his next opponent Tim Boetsch. Souza will go toe-to-toe with “The Barbarian” at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, NY. “Jacare” is aware of Boetsch’s dangerous punching power.
“My opponent is trouble. He has a very hard hand – it can make it difficult for any opponent. His hook makes it tough. He’s very strong and his wrestling is very good, as well. So to sum it all up, he’s trouble.”
Many questioned why Boetsch was booked to fight Souza. With higher ranked fighters such as Gegard Mousasi and Robert Whittaker, “The Barbarian” was the last opponent fans expected for “Jacare.” Souza said the options were limited.
“My idea was to fight – that was my goal. I accepted everyone that was offered to me, and I accepted Boetsch. So it was kind of, I had to accept. There’s only that option.”
UFC 208 will be held inside the Barclays Center on Feb. 11. The main event will feature the inaugural women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is highly unpredictable and championship level MMA shares this sentiment. Simply put, anything can happen in a fight and we learned that throughout 2016, especially in the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. Specifically regarding title fights, we saw 10 new champions crowned in the UFC last year and
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is highly unpredictable and championship level MMA shares this sentiment. Simply put, anything can happen in a fight and we learned that throughout 2016, especially in the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion.
Specifically regarding title fights, we saw 10 new champions crowned in the UFC last year and that’s not including the crowning of two interim titleholders. We have seen titles tossed around like hot potatoes and fighters that we never expected to reach the pinnacle with belts around their waists.
It’s certainly an interesting time in the sport of mixed martial arts and 2017 could potentially bring more of the same as the sport continues to evolve and the competition continues to elevate.
With that being said, take a look at who we predicted to be wearing each UFC title by the end of the year below:
Women’s Strawweight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Reigning UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has formed a tight grip on the 115-pound division and in the process she has become one of the promotion’s most dominant champions. The Polish striker has defended her title four consecutive times over the likes of Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, which is second most only behind longtime flyweight king Demetrious Johnson.
While Jedrzejczyk did face some adversity in her most recent fight against Kowalkiewicz at Nov. 12, 2016’s UFC 205, she has been relatively dominant throughout her title reign and she has appeared to improve each and every time out. She doesn’t have her next fight scheduled as of now, but I expect her to continue to improve on her dangerous skill set and end off 2017 with the strap still around her waist.
Earlier today (Tues., December 20, 2016) surging UFC middleweight Gegard Mousasi called out former champion Chris Weidman in forceful fashion, implying that the New York native had already been sent a bout agreement to face “The Dreamcatcher” but was dragging his feet on signing. However, Weidman, who just got knocked out by a brutal flying knee
Earlier today (Tues., December 20, 2016) surging UFC middleweight Gegard Mousasi called out former champion Chris Weidman in forceful fashion, implying that the New York native had already been sent a bout agreement to face “The Dreamcatcher” but was dragging his feet on signing.
However, Weidman, who just got knocked out by a brutal flying knee from Yoel Romero at UFC 205 on November 12, was quick to reply with confirmation that Mousasi’s name was only one of several he was presented with, and still needed time to heal up from his defeat anyhow:
Easy, Pal. You were just one of a few names given by @UFC, and I'm still healing up. Glad you're finally speaking, though! https://t.co/TVPH6KWWfi
It sense that the former champ needs more time to heal up from “Soldier of God’s” devastating knee, as Weidman was left bleeding profusely in the first-ever card from his home state of New York. Since he changed MMA history by knocking out Anderson and defending his belt three times against Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Vitor Belfort, Weidman has fallen on incredibly tough times, losing by way of brutal stoppage to Luke Rockhold for the title at UFC 194 and Romero.
Mousasi, meanwhile, has been on a tear after he lost to a highlight reel spin kick from Uriah Hall in September 2015, defeating Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort, and finally, Hall in their rematch last month to rack up a four-fight win streak with three finishes. He’s dangerously close to a title shot, but getting matched with Weidman would buck the UFC’s usual trend of booking fighters coming off of wins against one another. Still, Weidman could be the big name Mousasi needs to get over the top.
But if he wants to fight now, “The Dreamcatcher” will apparently have to look elsewhere.
