What a year it has been for “The MMA Hour.”
On this “best of” edition of the show, we’ll feature some of our most memorable interviews of 2014. Here’s who you will hear from:
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Under normal circumstances, the question of which fighter deserves the next shot at Anthony Pettis‘ UFC lightweight title would seem pretty much cut-and-dried.
Rafael dos Anjos has been on a fine run over the past three years, winning eight of his past nine fights, with the most recent win a one-sided victory over Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 13.
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Yoel Romero spent almost 30 extra seconds on his stool before the start of the third round against Tim Kennedy. The way Romero sees it he should have gotten five full minutes of rest.
Romero told MMA Fighting that he believes the punches Kennedy rocked him with in the second round of their UFC 178 fight were illegal. Kennedy was holding onto Romero’s glove, an illegal maneuver, with his left hand while he was punching Romero with his right. A .gif of the sequence surfaced after the fact online, but Romero had not commented on it until now.
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ALBUQUERQUE, NM — By now it’s pretty clear the promotional angles for UFC 182 differ greatly from those of most other major UFC pay-per-views.
The biggest culprit for that is the chain of events that took place in early August, when a scuffle between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier tumbled off the stage in the MGM Grand, then continued in expletive-laden form as the two bickered across a live (but assumedly off-the-record) television signal for a majority of the afternoon.
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Putting three heavyweight bouts on a single main card is always a bit of a gamble, but it paid off tonight in Phoenix. After Matt Mitrione and Alistair Overeem each scored impressive first-round knockouts, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and rising contender Stipe Miocic had an absolute war in the night’s main event. Perhaps most impressively, No. 3 lightweight Rafael dos Anjos proved his worth in a three-round domination of Nate Diaz.
See how the pros called the action at UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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LAS VEGAS — For the second straight UFC occasion, a fight finished as the immediate consequence of an eye-poke.
On Friday night, K.J. Noons caught Daron Cruickshank with a finger to the eye in the second round of their The Greatest Combatant 20 Ending spell. Cruickshank was blinded and not able to carry on. The fight, which was shaping up to be among the very exciting of the night time, was called a no contest.
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LAS VEGAS — UFC heavyweight Shane Del Rosario expired nearly exactly one year ago on Dec. 9, 2013. His existence remains felt perpetually at his precious fitness center, Team Oyama in Irvine, Calif.
The plan’s patriarch, Colin Oyama, only talked with Del Rosario’s dad this week. And Carla Esparza said she thought of her former teammate frequently while she was in The Ultimate Fighter house on summer time, heading into her just-finished training camp.
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Angela Magana was known mainly for being a longtime women’s MMA combatant and competition in The Ultimate Fighter 20. Until about monthly past. That is when the seven-year veteran kind of found Twitter, in her very own manner.
“I was never huge supporter of the latest social networking,” Magana told MMA Fighting. “I was too busy living life to share my entire life. Who gives a f—?”
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this is actually the UFC 181 live blog for Todd Duffee vs. Anthony Hamilton, a heavyweight fight at Saturday night’s UFC event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday nightDuffee, who has not fought in the UFC in nearly two years, will confront Hamilton, who’s 1-1 in his UFC profession, on the primary card. Take a look at the UFC 181 live blog below.
More Coverage: UFC 181 Results | UFC newsDownload MMA Fighting iPhone App
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LAS VEGAS – Josh Samman requested a fight at UFC 181 in honor of his late girlfriend, Hailey, whose birthday could have been this weekend.
Granted a chance, Samman made the the majority of his opportunity. The 26-year old middleweight from Miami knocked TUF 19 victor Eddie Gordon chilly in the Mandalay Bay Events Center having a head kick. The time was 3:08 of round two.
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Invicta FC is down a poster girl.
Michelle Waterson, potentially the most widely used fighter in the business, was upset by youthful novice Herica Tiburcio by submission (arm-in guillotine) at 1:04 of the third round in the primary occasion of Invicta FC 10 on Friday night in Houston, Texas. Tiburcio, who’s only 21 years old, is the brand new Invicta women’s atomweight victor. The card aired live on UFC Fight Pass.
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Gilbert Melendez is confronting UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis for that division’s most esteemed title on Saturday. Melendez is definitely a winner in other organizations or highly rated in the UFC. Yet, his present position is one which did not occur organically or by chance. It turned out to be a unified attempt just made possible by contractual openings, the fiscal readiness and skill of some other suitor, and maybe above all, efficient direction.
let us fast piece together the timeline of the important parts of Melendez’s mixed martial arts profession to aid us better comprehend these facts.
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UFC 181 is only days away, meaning the rematch between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler is nearly here. It is a fight enthusiasts have already been expecting, but so have Hendrcicks’ trainers, also. As Marc Laimon described to Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour, they are prepared for Saturday. In addition they consider Hendricks is fighting the correct man in his come back to the Octagon.
“You can not actually refuse Robbie, you know,” Laimon says. “He iced [Jake] Ellenberger and controlled Matt Brown. I do believe he deserves that position. I do not believe there is anyone more worthy than him right now. It is always pleasant to fight somebody brand new, but I kinda look at this as a whole new fight because the past one. Johny had some injuries going into that fight. Johny could get the ‘W’, but right now it is a whole distinct Johny becoming prepared to fight Robbie Lawler.
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Yesterday, the UFC and Reebok declared a fresh uniform and, within this, a fresh UFC uniform policy. Among various other changes, Combatants will not find a way to have their own patrons within any official UFC action, from fights to consider-ins to ‘Countdown’ shows and much more. The changes will not go into effect until July of next year.
In the interim,, there is a whole lot to unpack. We do not understand what the final sum of money Reebok is offering and UFC claims they are just taking enough cash from the plan to insure a tiny fraction of the prices. However, what exactly does this mean for the MMA clothing market? Is this transfer a death blow for supervisors or representatives? Does this help Bellator by giving their combatants an opportunity to advertise or damage them, also, by bringing down all sponsorship opportunities across the board? Above all, is this reasonable to the combatants?
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“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler is definitely known as among MMA’s most clear-cut individuals, whether that is his fighting fashion in the Octagon or with his talking style exterior.
So the 32-year old American Top Team Combatant is not fearful to essentially say “I told you so” about the livelihood revival which has him on the verge of a title.
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The Thugjitsu age has come into a close.
Yves Edwards, among the very respected fighters in the UFC, is calling it quits. The 17-year MMA expert declared his retirement Sunday night on Facebook. Edwards, 38, is winless in his last five fights and is coming off a entry loss to Akbarh Arreola at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson on Nov. 22.
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After seeing every Bellator occasion in the eleventh season – in some ways both the least significant and most – it is time to take a look back at what worked, what did not, what is next and what is missing now that Scott Coker is in charge and Bjorn Rebney (and his tournaments) are gone.
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Wanderlei Silva is at it again with a different video smashing the UFC. Now, his monologue was mainly about his declaration the UFC threatened to sue him if he appeared at a Bellator lover occasion earlier this month.
Silva was advertised for an autograph signing the week of Bellator 131 in San Diego, which went head to head with UFC 180. “The Axe Murderer” said he was guaranteed $10,000 for two hours of signing. Several days before, he received an e-mail in the UFC telling him that the organization would take legal action if he went forward using the occasion, Silva said.
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Without question, a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor would be not only the greatest bout which can be produced in the division, but also among the largest at any weight class. An Aldo McGregor tilt could fill a stadium in Brazil or Ireland.
As for whether McGregor is really the most worthy competitor at 145 pounds right now? Well, that is another narrative.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Undefeated strawweight Claudia Gadelha improved to 12-0 in MMA having a unanimous decision over Tina Lahdemaki in her UFC introduction in July. Aside from the triumph, Gadelha’s abs were one of the very discussed issues that night.
Making her return against fellow undefeated possibility Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 13 on Dec. 13, Gadelha says her abs will seem even better on weigh-ins.
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