It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.
It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.
There was a great women’s bout between Lauren Murphy and Kelly Faszholz that earned ‘Fight of the Night’ on the Fight Pass prelims, while the fight right after it between Ashlee Evans-Smith and Marion Reneau resulted in yet another MMA scoring controversy that only furthered the backlash towards the scoring system in place and the judges present in Pittsburgh that made some head-scratching errors.
There was also the continued rises of a few strong up-and-coming stars, and another return of sorts as recent lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone returned to winning ways with an impressive first round submission of late replacement Alex Oliveira. All in all, it was a strong card that continued the UFC’s strong recent efforts and will continue promotional momentum into the absolutely blockbuster events scheduled for two weeks to come.
Let’s take a look back at the five biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 83.
Highly ranked middleweight contender Yoel “The Soldier of God” Romero scored a controversial yet pivotal victory over fellow contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at last December’s UFC 194, a win that many felt had put him next in line for a title shot. Title talks were put on hold, however, when it was reported a few
Highly ranked middleweight contender Yoel “The Soldier of God” Romero scored a controversial yet pivotal victory over fellow contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at last December’s UFC 194, a win that many felt had put him next in line for a title shot.
Title talks were put on hold, however, when it was reported a few weeks back that Romero was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential violation to their guidelines.
Remaining relatively quiet since, Romero’s B-Sample was sent out for further testing, and although it returned positive, he and his manager, Malki Kawa, appeared on today’s (February 8, 2016) edition of the MMA Hour to explain the mishap.
Kawa explained that Romero tested positive for a substance that was not listed on the label of a supplement he was taking:
“The substance has a label with a bunch of stuff on it,” Kawa said. “None of that is illegal to take. What he got popped for is not on the label. So it’s obviously not his fault that he popped for this.”
Despite the explanation, “The Soldier of God” did indeed fail a drug test, and as a result, he could be facing up to a two year suspension, although Kawa doesn’t necessarily see that happening:
“I don’t expect it to be two years,” Kawa said. “I don’t think two years would be fair.”
In the end, however, the manager, admitted that it is the responsibility of the fighter to know what he’s taking:
“He did take the supplement,” Kawa said. “If you take a supplement, you run the risk of this happening. The responsibility does fall on Yoel.”
Romero reiterated this statement as well:
“I think it’s my responsibility when I take something. But I think maybe a public warning [would be a fair punishment]. I don’t know. … Nobody knows. When you see the supplement, outside it says it’s clean, you can take it.”
“Given that Mr. Romero has publicly discussed his case, we can confirm that he did test positive for a prohibited substance. At this time we are investigating the circumstances surrounding his positive test to determine the appropriate outcome, in accordance with the rules. It is also to remember that there is a full and fair legal process to handle the adjudication of any case, and all athletes are provided full due to process before any decision is reached.”
What do you think an appropriate punishment for Romero would be?
It looks like Yoel Romero’s ‘potential’ USADA violation may have been confirmed, as ‘Soldier of God’ gets scratched from the official rankings… After marking his territory as the next to face newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero has come unstuck. He defeated Jacare Souza in a close split decision at UFC 194,
It looks like Yoel Romero’s ‘potential’ USADA violation may have been confirmed, as ‘Soldier of God’ gets scratched from the official rankings…
After marking his territory as the next to face newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero has come unstuck. He defeated Jacare Souza in a close split decision at UFC 194, it was revealed that ‘Soldier of God’ had potentially violated the USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) policy, in layman’s terms he’d possibly failed a drug test. Rumours began to swirl about designer steroids being found in the former Olympic wrestlers system, but nothing was confirmed.
Today we learn that the UFC rankings have been updated, and not only has Dominick Cruz debuted on the pound-for-pound list, but Romero has been yanked from the rankings all together. The full and updated list is here for your viewing.
POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Jon Jones
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Conor McGregor
4 Robbie Lawler +1
5 Fabricio Werdum +2
6 Rafael dos Anjos
7 Luke Rockhold +2
8 Jose Aldo -1
9 Dominick Cruz *NR
10 Daniel Cormier
11 Chris Weidman
12 TJ Dillashaw -8
13 Holly Holm +1
14 Joanna Jedrzejczyk -1
15 Cain Velasquez -3
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 John Dodson
3 Henry Cejudo
4 Ian McCall
5 Jussier Formiga
6 Kyoji Horiguchi
7 John Moraga
8 Zach Makovsky
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 Ali Bagautinov
11 Ray Borg
12 Wilson Reis
13 Louis Smolka
14 Chris Cariaso
15 Sergio Pettis
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Dominick Cruz
1 TJ Dillashaw -1
2 Renan Barao
3 Urijah Faber
4 Raphael Assuncao
5 Aljamain Sterling
6 Michael McDonald
7 Bryan Caraway +1
7 Thomas Almeida
9 Takeya Mizugaki
10 Johnny Eduardo
11 Frankie Saenz +2
12 John Lineker -1
13 Eddie Wineland -1
14 Iuri Alcantara +1
15 Francisco Rivera -1
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Chad Mendes
4 Max Holloway
5 Ricardo Lamas
6 Cub Swanson
7 Charles Oliveira
8 Dennis Bermudez
9 Jeremy Stephens
10 Hacran Dias
11 Darren Elkins
12 Tatsuya Kawajiri
13 Brian Ortega +2
14 Clay Guida -1
15 Nik Lentz -1
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Rafael dos Anjos
1 Eddie Alvarez +3
2 Khabib Nurmagomedov
3 Anthony Pettis -2
4 Donald Cerrone -1
5 Tony Ferguson
6 Nate Diaz +1
7 Michael Johnson -1
8 Beneil Dariush
9 Edson Barboza -1
10 Al Iaquinta
11 Bobby Green
12 Dustin Poirier
13 Michael Chiesa
14 Evan Dunham +1
15 Benson Henderson -1
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Robbie Lawler
1 Rory MacDonald
2 Johny Hendricks +1
3 Tyron Woodley -1
4 Carlos Condit
5 Demian Maia
6 Matt Brown
7 Dong Hyun Kim
8 Stephen Thompson +1
8 Neil Magny
10 Rick Story +1
11 Tarec Saffiedine -1
12 Kelvin Gastelum
13 Benson Henderson
14 Thiago Alves
14 Gunnar Nelson +1
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Luke Rockhold
1 Chris Weidman
2 Jacare Souza +1
3 Vitor Belfort +1
4 Lyoto Machida +1
5 Tim Kennedy +1
6 Michael Bisping +1
7 Robert Whittaker +1
8 Gegard Mousasi +1
9 Thales Leites +1
10 Uriah Hall +1
11 Derek Brunson +1
12 Dan Henderson +1
13 Roan Carneiro +1
14 CB Dollaway +1
15 Rafael Natal *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Jon Jones
2 Anthony Johnson
3 Alexander Gustafsson
4 Ryan Bader
5 Glover Teixeira
6 Ovince Saint Preux
7 Rashad Evans
8 Mauricio Rua
9 Jimi Manuwa
10 Patrick Cummins +2
11 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
12 Corey Anderson +1
13 Rafael Cavalcante +1
14 Gian Villante +1
15 Ilir Latifi *NR
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Fabricio Werdum
1 Cain Velasquez
2 Stipe Miocic
3 Alistair Overeem
4 Andrei Arlovski -1
5 Junior Dos Santos
6 Travis Browne
7 Ben Rothwell
8 Josh Barnett
9 Mark Hunt
10 Frank Mir
11 Roy Nelson
12 Jared Rosholt
13 Antonio Silva
14 Matt Mitrione
15 Alexey Oliynyk
Ronaldo Souza might be in the talk of who should be the number one contender for Luke Rockhold’s middleweight title thanks to Yoel Romero. Romero (11-1) was informed on Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 that he potentially tested positive for a failed drug test that was out-of-competition so he could be out of action for a
Ronaldo Souza might be in the talk of who should be the number one contender for Luke Rockhold’s middleweight title thanks to Yoel Romero.
Romero (11-1) was informed on Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 that he potentially tested positive for a failed drug test that was out-of-competition so he could be out of action for a while and Rockhold is going to need a challenger. Following his fight with Souza at UFC 194, Romero was considered as the #1 contender for the title. However, with Romero’s positive drug test hanging over his head, Souza is looking to throw his name into the hat for a title shot even though he lost to Romero at UFC 194.
“He’s back on the title run,” Gilberto Faria today told MMAjunkie in the wake of Romero’s USADA notification of a potential doping violation. “If Luke Rockhold is looking for an opponent, ‘Jacare’ is on the list now. ”
“Any way it goes, ‘Jacare’ is going to be back on the list for a title contender,” Faria said.
Souza (22-4) is currently on a one-fight losing streak.
Faria explained that the camp is going to sit back and wait to see what the UFC does. It’s possible that the promotion books a rematch between former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and Rockhold.
“We’re going to wait to see what else comes out,” Faria said. “We want Luke Rockhold as a possibility for an upcoming fight for ‘Jacare.’”
When asked when Souza could be ready to fight again, Faria said that Souza is willing to fight in April.
“We’ll be ready to fight April. The two names we’re looking at right now are Luke Rockhold or Weidman.”
Do you think Souza deserves a title shot? Let us know.
Last night, the United States Anti-Doping Agency informed Romero of a “potential violation,” claiming that Romero had flunked one of their out-of-competition tests. While the exact substance Romero tested positive for has yet to be revealed, MMAJunkie’s Steven Marrocco took to Twitter to get the rumor mill turning.
“Hearing that Romero popped for a designer steroid – a peptide that increases testosterone production,” wrote Marrocco.
As expected, the UFC released an obligatory statement on Romero’s violation via their website last night.
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Yoel Romero of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Romero. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
*Yawn*
If you’re interested in hearing some actually interesting thoughts on Romero’s potential violation, look no further than Tim Kennedy, who might still be a little bitter over his controversial loss to Romero at UFC 178.
“So Yoel tests positive, not surprised at all #roider of God is a cheating scumbag, Tweeted Bisping, “@TimKennedyMMA I feel ur pain having been there before.”
Newly-crowned middleweight champion Luke Rockhold wasn’t far behind, writing “I’m sick of all these cheaters. It’s pathetic, man up or get the fuck out.”
As of now, Romero has yet to comment on the issue, but as a former Olympian and one of the names on the short list of middleweight contenders, it’s safe to say that his violation, if proven, will have dire consequences.
Related: In light of the Romero news, we’ve gone ahead and updated our MMA Steroid Busts Timeline to include all of 2015′s violators. We’ll hold off on adding Romero to the list until more information is supplied, but check it out and let us know if there’s anyone we missed.
Newly minted UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold may have emerged from last December’s UFC 194 as the promotion’s new 185-pound king thanks to a vicious mid-round onslaught on former champion Chris Weidman, but apparently he didn’t escape without some health issues of his own. After the former Strikeforce champ took advantage of an ill-advised spinning
Newly minted UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold may have emerged from last December’s UFC 194 as the promotion’s new 185-pound king thanks to a vicious mid-round onslaught on former champion Chris Weidman, but apparently he didn’t escape without some health issues of his own.
After the former Strikeforce champ took advantage of an ill-advised spinning wheel kick attempt by Weidman in the third, he swayed the fight in his favor with a takedown and a brutal onslaught of ground and pound that involved some seriously devastating punches and elbows from the mount.
Repeatedly banging his ‘bows against Weidman’s dome must have taken their toll, as Rockhold posted a video to his Facebook page of a trip to the doctor to get his elbow drained. Watch the video on the following page, and be forewarned: it’s most certainly not for the faint of heart.
