Mixed Martial Arts

[Guiness]

UFC owner teases 'epic, massive' event for debut in New York

 

Lorenzo Fertitta reveals the UFC's plans for New York in 2016 now that the sport has been legalized there for the first time in nearly 20 years.

 

Following the historic vote that legalized mixed martial arts in New York, UFC officials immediately started plans for events that will be held in the Empire State by the end of 2016.

According to UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, the promotion will obviously target at least one massive event for the launch in New York with potentially a second show taking place there before the year is over.

"We're hoping that (Governor Andrew Cuomo) will sign the bill in fairly short order here. Once that happens the New York State Athletic Commission will have to promulgate rules, adopt rules and regulations and we are hopeful that we'll be holding one, possibly two events, before the end of the year here in 2016," Fertitta said during a media conference call on Tuesday.

"The minute that the vote passed, our teams started calling various arenas and looking at what dates are available. Obviously as I mentioned before, we don't to put the cart before the horse, the governor still has to sign the bill, the athletic commission needs to adopt the rules, promulgate regulations, 120 days from when the governor signs the bill before we could hold an event. So we're hopeful that we'll be able to get at least two in by the end of the year."

 

Fertitta said that the UFC obviously has plans to put the first big event in New York at the world famous Madison Square Garden in Manhattan but he can't guarantee anything until the bill is signed into law and they can begin securing dates and venues.

Ferttita also mentioned the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, as another destination the UFC holds in very high regard and as a possible landing spot for a landmark event. The UFC will also plan events in many other cities around New York, including Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and even Utica.

"Our first major event, we expect to be at Madison Square Garden. I'll tell you one thing, they've been incredible supporters of the MMA bill from day one," Fertitta said.

"We anticipate the first major event will be at Madison Square Garden. We haven't signed any contracts, we don't have any exact dates held, we are talking to them about some potential weekends."

 

Fertitta stressed that no dates would be locked down until the MMA bill to legalize New York is signed into law and the state commission finalizes the rule set for New York. The commission has 120 days from the day the bill is signed into law to finalize those rules and regulations and then MMA can begin in New York.

The one thing Fertitta could guarantee is that when the UFC finally books their first major card, the promotion and the magnitude will be off the charts.

"I think it's going to be an epic moment for the sport and for our company," Fertitta said. "Obviously, right now all of our focus is on trying to put together the matches for UFC 200, but when we go to New York and we eventually debut at Madison Square Garden, me and Dana (White) and the rest of the team are going to be very focused on delivering for the fans. We're going to put together the best available matches that we can. You'd have the biggest names that we can possibly put on, the biggest names that are available at the time. Believe me, we want to knock it out of the park and we want to deliver to New York in a big way.

"It's going to be massive and when you do massive events it takes time, it takes runway, it's going to be a tremendous amount of promotion, a ton of marketing assets, we're going to have to book the fights that make sense for there, it's going to be big. I think the fourth quarter is a good target for us. A realistic target for us."

[Manilatonight2016]

Faber vs Cruz. Who are you picking?

[bughaw1]

Wow....ufc na si cyborg sana maglaban sila ni rousey.

[GTO15]

The Dominator syempre. Declining na si Faber.

[Guiness]

With UFC debut coming at 'right time,' Cris 'Cyborg' eyes fights with Tate, Rousey, Holm

 

To steal one of the UFC’s promotional phrases, the time is now for Cristiane Justino to make her octagon debut.

For “Cyborg,” finally getting the chance to compete under the UFC banner isn’t a case of better late than never. It’s happening at the exact right moment, Justino (15-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) said, and she will look to prove that statement against Leslie Smith (8-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC 198.

“I don’t think it was soon or late, I think it was at the right time,” Justino told reporters at today’s UFC 198 news conference. “I think everything that I went through in my career (is) going to culminate in this UFC in Curitiba and UFC 198. I’ve prepared very well and I want to put on a great fight for everyone and bring a great knockout for Brazil.”

UFC 198 takes place May 14 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, and the main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Justino, who is the current Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion, meets Smith in a 140-pound catchweight bout in her hometown of Curitiba. The option of Justino fighting in the UFC has long been discussed, but for one reason or another terms could never be settled on.

A fight with former UFC champion Ronda Rousey was repeatedly teased over the years. However, Rousey and UFC boss Dana White’s insistence she had to fight at 135 pounds prevented anything from coming to reality.

With Rousey no longer holding the UFC women’s bantamweight belt and the division more or less blown wide open after Miesha Tate took the title from Holly Holm at UFC 196 earlier this month, it opened the door for Justino to get a fight – even if it wasn’t in the bantamweight division.

For now, it seems the UFC 198 showdown with Smith is a one-off and doesn’t indicate a permanent move. Justino said she intends to hold and defend her Invicta FC title for as long as possible, however, the chance to compete at an event as significant as UFC 198 was something she couldn’t pass up.

“I’m going to continue in my division; I’m going to continue holding my belt,” Justino said. “I think it’s what people want to see. It’s a great opportunity at UFC 198, and I want to have a great fight. After this fight, I think the doors are going to open for a lot of things. That’s it. I want to keep fighting in my division.”

White said Smith was the “only one” willing to accept the fight, which Justino said she’s grateful for, even if others have refuted his statement. “Cyborg” is undefeated over her past 15 fights and has won 13 of those contests by knockout. She plans to add Smith to her list of victims and afterward will turn her attention to bigger targets.

“(Smith) chose to fight – she accepted to fight me,” Justino said. “I think a lot of them would not do the same. I’m thankful for the opportunity to fight her, and obviously after this fight I want to fight Ronda, I want to fight Holly, I want to fight Miesha.

“We’re going to talk to the boss, Dana White, (and UFC Senior VP and GM of Brazil) Giovanni (Decker) to give me that opportunity and I hope they can take it to fight at this weight. Not just talk about it, actually accept it.”

[Guiness]

In this ESPN interview, Dana White explains that it was Mcgregor who requested or asked to fight Diaz, even though Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta said that he should defend the FW title. I guess the Diaz loss really got to him and he wants to get him back since he felt he should have won the fight. Dana also mentioned that if he fights Diaz, he should fight at 155. But again, Mcgregor said no, he wants to fight him at 170. I'm guessing he actually feels great at that fighting weight. He definitely had more definition than when he fought at 145.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJmV95gVWew

[Guiness]

Jon Jones ordered to attend anger management class

 

Former UFC champion Jon Jones appeared before a judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday and was ordered to enlist in a driver improvement course, anger management class and 60 hours of community service.

The Bernalillo District Attorney's Office also requested Jones be placed under curfew, however Jones' defense successfully argued against it. According to a court spokesperson, Jones was released from a local detention center Thursday.

Jones, 28, was arrested Tuesday for violating probation. He is currently serving an 18-month supervised probation sentence, which stems from a felony hit-and-run charge for which he entered into a plea agreement last year. In February, Jones was pulled over and received citations for driving without a license, registration or proof of insurance. Those citations did not trigger a violation of his probation, but last week, Jones was pulled over again in downtown Albuquerque and issued a ticket for drag racing.

Jones, who is originally from New York, has adamantly denied he was drag racing, saying he simply revved the engine of his white Corvette to acknowledge a nearby fan. Footage released by the Albuquerque Police Department shows Jones arguing with the officer who pulled him over, at one point calling him "a f---ing liar." Jones has since apologized for those comments but maintains his innocence.

Although Judge Michael Martinez ruled against enforcing a curfew on Jones, he did order the fighter to not drive a vehicle without approval from his probation officer. The judge placed no travel restrictions on Jones as a condition of release, meaning he should be free to travel to Las Vegas for a scheduled title fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 on April 23.

Before Jones left the courtroom, Martinez stated to Jones, "If you do come back, it won't go well."

Despite the potential distraction of the recent events, Jones remains focused on the April 23 title fight, according to a prepared statement from his representatives at EAG Sports Management.

"Jon is focused on the fight, and we are focused on the traffic charges that were brought against him," the statement read. "We are confident that those charges will be dismissed because they are baseless.

"More importantly, however, Jon has done extremely well while he's been under supervision. He has been sober for more than 6 months, and he has completed more than 100 hours of community service, working with those most at need in New Mexico: our youth."

The UFC said later that Jones' title fight is still on.

"The organization was disappointed to learn that Jones was cited for several traffic offenses last week, as well as concerned by the nature and tone of portions of the conversation between Jones and the citing officer," the UFC said in a statement. "Still, UFC respects Jones' right to contest those traffic citations in court and receive a fair hearing on the matter. Jones' scheduled bout on April 23 will proceed as planned, however, Jones understands that the UFC expects him to fully cooperate with the terms of his probation as set forth by Judge Martinez."

Last April, Jones became the first champion in UFC history to be stripped of his title for disciplinary reasons, after he fled the scene of a three-car accident that left a pregnant woman injured. At a news conference earlier this month, Jones said he was sober for the first time in his athletic career. His defense made mention of that during court proceedings on Thursday as well.

[Manilatonight2016]

Putting an interim belt at featherweight would allow UFC to explore setting up a fight between Mcgregor and GSP at MSG (If Mcgregor wins against Diaz). If Mcgregor loses to Diaz,MSG is still open for Mcgregor v Edgar (if edgar wins against Aldo). Both options will sell big in NY given the Irish ethnics in NY and Canada and New Jersey around the border. Mcgregot v Aldo 2 would still sell but not as big as a GSP or an Edgar fight.

[theluffy99]

Poor Edgar, he deserves that FW championship match after he whooped mini Mendez. McGregor will get his ass whooped again in UFC 200. The L from Nate definitely hurt his ego. He overrated himself to the point that he thinks that he is unstoppable. Now he wants to get the W from Nate even though he is easily gassed, cant take a punch from a heavier guy and no ground game. He cannot overcome this adversity.

[theluffy99]

dc out for ufc 197.. they'll probably move him and jon jones to ufc 200 for the main event..

Si DJ nanaman mag main? baba nanaman ng PPV buys nyan hahaha.

[Guiness]

Ovince Saint Preux replaces Daniel Cormier at UFC 197

 

Jon Jones will still compete at UFC 197 this month, as the former light heavyweight champion is now scheduled to fight Ovince Saint Preux for the UFC's interim title.

UFC president Dana White announced the matchup on SportsCenter. Jones, 28, was originally scheduled to fight defending champion Daniel Cormier on April 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but Cormier recently withdrew because of a lower leg injury.

 

Jones (21-1) hasn't fought since he defeated Cormier via unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January 2015. The victory marked Jones' eighth consecutive title defense, a record for the 205-pound division.

He was scheduled to defend the title against Anthony Johnson in May but was arrested one month before the fight on a felony hit-and-run charge in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The UFC stripped Jones of the title shortly after his arrest. Jones eventually entered a plea agreement on the case and was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation.

Once Cormier withdrew from the event, the UFC initially turned to Johnson (21-1) as a replacement, but Johnson was unable to accept due to a recent medical procedure.

"Obviously, the No. 1 choice would be Anthony Johnson, who is the No. 2-ranked guy in the world and a fight that everybody wants to see," White said. "But Anthony Johnson just had surgery on his mouth and can't even put a mouthpiece in for at least three weeks."

That opened the door for Saint Preux (19-7), who is 7-2 in the UFC. A former college football player at Tennessee, Saint Preux, 32, is coming off a decision win over Rafael Cavalcante in February. He trains out of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Although Saint Preux doesn't carry the same history with Jones as Cormier, he is the UFC's sixth-ranked fighter in the weight class.

"The one thing we've learned in the 16 years in this business is you never know what's going to happen," White said. "Anything is possible when two guys get in there. Jon Jones and OSP have never faced off before. No. 1 versus No. 6. Two big, strong, athletic, explosive guys. Anything is possible."

Cormier (17-1) won the official title by submitting Johnson at UFC 187. He has recorded one successful defense, a split decision against Alexander Gustafsson in October.

In a statement to ESPN, Cormier said his recovery time is estimated at four to six weeks.

"The decision not to fight on April 23 was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make," Cormier said. "I've been scheduled to fight 18 times, and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title.

"The recovery should not take very long, and I can't wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support. I appreciate each and every one of you."

Unfortunately for Cormier, his inability to fight Jones will lead to him losing his belt. White explained on SportsCenter the decision to make Jones-Saint Preux an interim title fight.

"Thing is, Jon has never lost his title in the Octagon," White said. "He was stripped of his title because of problems outside. We think it's the right thing to do. It's not his fault that Cormier is injured so. He will fight for the interim light heavyweight title. When Cormier comes back, they'll decide who the real champ is."

[Guiness]

Video of Jon Jones being stopped by the police officer for Drag Racing which Jon objects to, strongly. I thought the cop was being an a-hole giving sarcastic remarks and harrassing him. Hate these types of people who think because they can, they will give you s@%t without a reasonable reason other than just being a cop they want to dump on you.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HrtXOM295M

 

 

 

 

This is the probation hearing of Jones after he spent 3 days in jail for violating his parole after he got a citation for a traffic violation where he issues a plea agreement for a curfew because of the traffic incident. It looks like the judge was easier on him and allowed him to continue his training for the upcoming fight this month with OSP

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5No9zYLE9OU

Edited April 3, 2016 by hahnz

[theluffy99]

nope. jon jones vs ovince st preux for interim lhw championship. main event at ufc 197. my guess is, if jon jones wins this fight, uninjured and dc recovers from his injury, jon jones vs dc for ufc 200 main event, coz its still 3 months away. ufc 200 isnt as appealing to me, a fight with 2 rematches and just 1 title fight, i thought it was going to be 3.

Jones would have more to lose than OSP. Damn AKA stop with your injury prone training!

[Alex2003]

Jones will ne the underdog because he in not mentally fit for the upcoming fight.

[Guiness]

Jose Aldo: Interim belt 'means nothing,' UFC 200 is 'first step towards' undisputed title

Capturing the UFC interim featherweight championship at UFC 200 in July means nothing to ex-undisputed titleholder Jose Aldo.

 

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will rematch Frankie Edgar with the interim 145-pound championship on the line at the UFC 200 mega-show later this year, while current champ Conor McGregor will square off with Nate Diaz a second time in a non-title welterweight bout.

As expected, the Brazilian isn't too fond of the Diaz vs. McGregor rematch, as the first fight occurred less than a month ago and didn't involve any controversy.

"He will be fighting at the same night in a different division, in a rematch that means nothing," Aldo said during a recent media scrum in Rio de Janeiro (via MMAFighting.com). "We asked for a rematch. For everything I’ve done, all the years as champion, I deserved a rematch, but what can I do? I had to accept. We’re not the ones making the call. We’ll go there and win. I respect Frankie Edgar, but it’s our first step towards the belt.

"It’s a bit frustrating, of course, because we expected the title fight, but it’s kind of what they said they would do, that we would fight Frankie Edgar for the belt, but it’s not the undisputed belt. But what can I do? We’re hired to go there and fight."

Aldo held the undisputed belt for years, so capturing the interim championship against Edgar doesn't mean much to him at all. Instead, he looks at the Edgar fight as his first step towards re-gaining the undisputed gold in a rematch with McGregor.

"It means nothing," Aldo said. "I want the victory so I get the belt next. That’s the first step we’re taking. Interim belt is made for media and fans, not for me. I want the undisputed belt. I respect Frankie Edgar, but I’ll get there and win. This lit that fire again, this desire to go there and win."

Aldo (25-2) has not fought since his 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in the main event of UFC 194 last December. He already owns a decision win over Edgar from early 2013.

UFC 200 takes place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 9.

[Guiness]

Fighters talk moving to Bellator: 'There is no negotiation' with the UFC

More name fighters are taking a chance on free agency than any time since the dark ages of the UFC. Now, several name fighters that made the jump from the UFC to Bellator are speaking out about why.

 

What is there to complain about? That's the big question that fighters are answering in the ongoing battle between Bellator and the UFC over free agent talents. As always, the UFC is winning that war. They have more resources, bigger platforms, more fighters, more prestige, and the lure of bigger paychecks at the top. But now more than ever (or at least since the dark days of the late 90's, when the UFC was bleeding talent) fighters are out testing free agency to see if they can get a better deal than what the UFC has to offer.

And it appears that at least a few of them have. Mike Chiappetta over at Bleacher Report spoke to Matt Mitrione, Josh Thomson, and Benson Henderson to get their thoughts on why a move out of the UFC and over to Bellator made sense. Mitrione laid out the groundwork of his argument with his thoughts on the seeming lack of interest from fighters in putting business first:

"Some people are so brainwashed," Mitrione said. "They say, 'How dare you think about business like that?' If you cite money, you're a greedy pig. If you cite anything else, you're a scared p---y. It's crazy. The thing is, the UFC has become bigger than the sport, and what's bad about that is so many people want to be in the UFC that everyone else is an afterthought. There are guys in smaller organizations that their only goal is 'I want to go to the UFC.' And I'll tell them there might be more money in another place. And they'll say, 'It doesn't really matter. That's my goal.' But once people get to the UFC, they might get the disenchantment of what's going on. If you're a veteran in the UFC, you'll see it."

Benson Henderson gave his insights on why the promise of "Fight of the Night," or various other locker room incentives, in place of a better salary became a major sticking point with him in his decision to move on:

"When you talk about backroom bonuses and discretionary bonuses, they're awesome, they're cool, but it's not a steady salary, it's not promised," Henderson told Bleacher Report. "Some guys never get a bonus. It's all at the whim of the higher-ups. And you shouldn't have a problem paying your mortgage because of the whim of the higher-ups, because they didn't feel your fight was worthy of a bonus.

"That struck me as wrong. It's not right at all. Fighters are professional athletes. As much as we sacrifice, we shouldn't have to live hoping that we get a bonus, hoping that we did enough to impress them."

And Josh Thomson made his feelings clear about what it was like to work with the UFC, or more specifically, that he never really felt like he was able to do so.

"I couldn't tell you what it was like to do business with the UFC, because there never was a business side of it as far as, there is no negotiation," Thomson said. "There were times we've heard there's talks and negotiations, but you really don't need a manager because, 'This is the deal you're going to get.' There's been talks like, 'Sure, you can negotiate for an extra two or three grand, but don't expect to get any backroom bonuses.' So then you question, is it really even worth negotiating that extra two or three grand?"

There's a lot more in the interview, including Henderson's claims that the UFC wouldn't let him fight out his WEC contract to renegotiate for a better UFC deal, and Mitrione's thoughts on maximizing his value as a fighter while he still has time to fight. So, check the whole thing out, it's a rare and comprehensive look at fighters who left the UFC on their own terms.

Obviously, on the other side of the fence there are free agents re-signing too. Alistair Overeem recently re-upped his UFC deal, and it sounds like his proximity to a heavyweight title shot was a key factor in staying put. Aljamain Sterling chose to stick with the UFC as well, when it came down to a bidding war between Zuffa and the WSOF. And of course, Rampage Jackson has been notably changeable in his desire to fight either for Bellator or for the UFC. Currently the former UFC light heavyweight champ is under contract with Bellator under a two fight deal, without matching rights, 30 days after which he'll be back on the open market again.

In any case, this looks to be a long-term battle over veteran talent between the two promotions. So stay tuned for all the news and updates on upcoming potential free agents, especially with Rory MacDonald about to hit the market.

[Guiness]

UFC 200: Conor McGregor wants UFC 'bums' to thank him for pay raise

Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Nate Diaz made more money in one fight against Conor McGregor than he did in all of his previous fights combined. And to think he didn't even have the nerve to say "thanks" to his "Notorious" counterpart.

That makes him a "bum" according to the reigning featherweight kingpin.

 

I guess we should lump Jose Aldo in there, as well (because of this).

Diaz will have a chance to show his gratitude at the UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) on July 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada, though I can't help but wonder if it's McGregor who should be saying "thanks" for getting the chance to redeem himself after coming up lame at UFC 196.

Edited April 7, 2016 by hahnz

[Manilatonight2016]

Tank me! Tank me!

[tamago]

Meisha Tate vs Amanda Nunes at UFC 200

 

Rumor has it Tate denied Holm a rematch

[WitMystery]

Man, that whiff though. Could've KO'ed Rothwell right there.

[Zometa23]

Jon Jones over Cormier...

[jakero]

McGregor is the UFC's best seller

but his head has been filled with air

now Uncle Dana can't contain him

 

luck of the Irish because RDA won't be able to abuse him

Mr Irishman may truly believe he can beat RDA, but it ain't happening

the version of RDA we have right now is a fooking DESTROYER (in a Joe Roganesque scream)

 

http://cdn.mmaweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DONALD-CERRONE-RAFAEL-DOS-ANJOS-.jpg

[spicycurry30]

let's go jon jones

[Manilatonight2016]

Thats f#&king illegal - Dana White

[monsignor28]

I believe they are just trying to build a hype for UFC 200.