During Saturday night’s telecast of UFC on FOX 13 from Phoenix, color commentator Joe Rogan conducted an interview between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Daniel Cormier. They will meet in the main event at UFC 182 in Las Vegas on Jan. 3.
Cormier was on hand live as a FOX analyst, and Jones joined the interview via satellite.
Read more from original source
LAS VEGAS – UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey has mastered the skill of the staredown.
Rousey, that has prepared using the Diaz brothers, can mean-mug with the best of them, which was on display within an extreme staredown between Rousey and her next competition, Cat Zingano, at last week’s “The Time is Now” press event.
Read more from original source
Get ready for the WBO welterweight title bout between champion Manny Pacquiao and challenger Chris Algieri with with preview from SB Nation Studios.
Read more from original source
“The American Gangster” will return to TV as a MMA analyst.
Fired from FOX Sports after testing positive for five banned substances in two different random drug tests, Chael Sonnen, a former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger, has signed with ESPN as the channel’s new MMA analyst, The Associated Press reported Tueday.
Read more from original source
Though there’s been much conjecture why Ronda Rousey’s following bantamweight title shield against Cat Zingano was transferred from Jan. 3 to Feb. 28, most of it’s been off base.
According to your report on UFC Tonight, the substitution in date had less to do with Rousey’s marketability as a headliner than it did a schedule for retrieval. Zingano’s management team told Ariel Helwani the opposition continues to be coping with a back injury, and would not have been prepared for UFC 182 in Las Vegas on Jan. 3.
Read more from original source
Houston Alexander is now scheduled to fight Strikeforce veteran Virgil Zwicker in a 215-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 129, as Alexander’s original opponent, James Thompson, has withdrawn due to injury. Bellator officials announced the switch on Sunday.
Zwicker (12-4), a knockout artist with over a decade of experience in the game, has split his two career Bellator appearances. The 32-year-old finished Nick Moghadden via first-round TKO in his promotional debut, but succumbed to a 67-second rear-naked choke at the hands of upcoming title challenger Linton Vassell in his follow-up effort.
Read more from original source
If you saw the Nevada Athletic Commission hearing on Tuesday you realize that the press conference brawl doesn’t add as much as a smack in the wrist — as some anticipated — but more like a force to the economic teeth. And additionally that reality is clearly fiction, and so “reality.” Now, the NAC hearings are the success show of Fight Pass, the UFC’s digital streaming service for the fights and play. We are able to laugh and shout combined with cast, from the ever-forgiving grandpa figure Bill Brady to the no nonsense Anthony Marnell III to the recurring cameo role of Floyd Mayweather as Floyd Mayweather, whose lines are almost always hilarious. Mayweather again appeared prior to the commission, this time to sort of chat about affecting footage on Showtime’s “All Access” program, which aired before he fought Marcos Maidana on Sept. 13. In the event you presume Mayweather has elaborate footwork in the ring, you need to see him in the court. My buddies, he’s a vaporman. A totally untouchable hologram. Only a nine-amount mirage. Did I mention he understands the best way to make use of the Force? (SPOILER ALERT in the event you truly do not understand). (Because he does!)On this episode of the NAC’s on-going hearing set, he and CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, told the commission that everything they’d seen in the reality show was of course constructed fiction, from the 31-minute “dog house” rounds to the pot the remora smoke throughout the shark himself. Imitation, fake, and more imitation. Everybody understands that reality shows are only fiction and that fiction is wild in reality, anyhow, simply look around at all of the fake people doing imitation things — plus, there are editors bending reality into fiction that will be made conscious of, it is a slick gotdamb slope.”You Have acquitted yourself well,” harrumphed commissioner Skip Avansino, no slouch in regards to differentiating between B.S. and…well, I think non-B.S. I am suggesting, within the course of the season the banter involving the boxer as well as the Nevada commission edges on bonhomie! So great. Can not wait to see how these characters grow. That brought matters around to the instance of of the Daniel Cormier-Jon Jones UFC 178 press conference brawl, the one that occurred in early August and turned a rather powerful title fight right into a viral high fiving can not-miss mega-event. Jones went first. He asked for leniency in the issue. The NAC saw the footage of what went down in the MGM Grand foyer, subsequently deliberated on the UFC champ’s participation for over 48 minutes and change. Throughout that time they attempted to determine a suitable punishment for Jones — commissioner Pat Lundvall even went up to now as to inquire Jones what should be the punishment for Jones — before ultimately framing a motion. Jones clarified that he had already been coping in the repercussions of the brawl, beginning with Nike drawing its endorsement deal with him. He seemed “contrite” for his part in the brawl, in the impact on down to the consequences, and Brady pointed out this display of contrition had “softened” his heart. If Fight Pass ever decides to play scripted sitcom laughter over these event, this could happen to be a nice spot to make use of it. A hug between Jones and Brady would happen to be a great “awwww” moment, but in this reality show the producers showed admirable restraint. Anyway, the verdict: Forty hours of community service in Vegas, as well as a $50,000 fine. Since a press conference brawl was (comparatively) new to the commission, they wished to create an impression to discourage copycats. “To permit it to go with no more than the usual smack to the hand will be an offense to those that run themselves gentlemanly,” said Avansino, a little overly 19th century because of this court. (But throw in certain situation comedy applause? That line could have been perfect!).Next they brought up the competition Cormier, who used the self defense shield, building a claim he was simply reacting to some hazard when Jones set his brow on him. Brady wished to understand if “Cormare” had “wrassled” in school, and Cormier said did he ever, boy, and he could tell you a few stories! And he did. After about an incident using a wrestler from Iran, and another having a man who poked his eye. Cormier was not as contrite as Jones, but he was not uncontrite either. He talked about having lost some of the children in his wrestling course, in addition to the humiliation the event had caused him elsewhere. “I do not enjoy people being disappointed in me,” he said. “It sucks.” Marnell wished to understand why he went on FOX later and said that he had do it the same way again, and Cormier talked about an “avocado room” in which chit chat amongst combatants takes place (or something similar to that), and this was a reasonable solution. He also spoke about an encounter with “Bigfoot” Silva, which a number of the commission settled in for like it was a campfire story. Turns out it was not. That component had really occurred. Because it had been decided that Jones was more culpable in the brawl for inciting the shove and for that reason inciting the brawl, Cormier was given a reduced sentence. For his part he got 20 hours of community service, which he can do in San Jose where he trains, and was fined $9,000, which is ten percent of his fight purse. As expected, the January 3 fight involving both remains on. Jones and Cormier were given fines and community service. Later on, the recently retired combatant Wanderlei Silva was banished forever from fighting in Nevada and socked with a $70,000 fine for the Houdini performance he pulled in May when presented with a random drug test. And Mayweather, who’s fast becoming a fan favorite with this reality show inside the reality show, made off along with his real life entourage after describing that fact is, actually, only “truth.” Is it? Hell if I understand, but after Tuesday’s hearing I can not help but believe he is onto something. Stay tuned.
Read more from original source
Two new entrants are added to Battlegrounds MMA’s one-night, eight-man tournament field, as onetime WSOF title rival Jesse Taylor and expert Joe Ray have replaced Dennis Hallman and Chris Honeycutt in the welterweight bracket, promotion officials declared on Tuesday.
“we’re thrilled to bring two more exceptionally skilled rivals like Jesse and Joe to the tournament fold, and are excited by the higher amount of likely future consequences that their inclusion creates for this unbelievable, one-night event,” BattleGrounds MMA President Kenny Monday said in statement.
Read more from original source
The announcement of Invicta FC’s move to the broadcast streaming service of UFC’s Fight Pass was largely heralded as a positive development for the all-pro women’s MMA league. And for much of the organization’s debut on Fight Pass on Saturday night during Invicta FC 8, it was a rousing success.
Then came the third round of the main event between champion Michelle Waterson and challenger Yasuko Tamada.
Read more from original source
