The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2019, 12:32 PM]
Darren Till suffered the first defeat of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in his last fight. “
The Gorilla” was submitted in the second round of his UFC welterweight title contest with Tyron Woodley in September. Now, he’s looking to bounce back this weekend (Sat. March 16, 2019) against Jorge Masvidal at UFC London.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Till admitted that his loss to Woodley still stings, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever move past it. In fact, he’s realistic that the same thing could happen to him this weekend, and he’s not scared to talk about it:
“I don’t think I’ll ever move past it,” Till said. “I’m not ashamed to say it still hurts every day if it comes to mind. I’ve watched the fight many times, and it’s just something inside of me. Even if I get the rematch with Woodley and beat him, the first fight will still be a thorn inside of me.
“I’ve always said that openly, you can’t really go through this life – a normal life or the fighting life – with it all being highs. The lows do come, and I always said that a loss would come. A loss may come again. A loss may happen Saturday. I’m not scared to talk about it because it’s all reality. I am a realist.”
With a new champion at the helm, the welterweight division is ripe for the picking in regards to big fights. Should Till emerge victorious this weekend with a big showing, he could be right back in line for title contention. However, he needs to get past a hungry Masvidal first.
“Gamebred” hasn’t won a fight since January of 2017. After back-to-back losses, and not having fought since November of 2017, Masvidal might have to shake off some ring rust before he gets going against a striker the caliber of Till on Saturday.
Who are you picking for Till vs. Masvidal this weekend?
The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2019, 10:13 AM]
Conor McGregor landed himself behind bars once again this week. “The Notorious” was arrested in Miami Beach after allegedly smashing a fan’s phone and stealing it. The victim, who has since been identified as Ahmed Abdirzak, gave his side of the story to TMZ Sports. The London resident claims McGregor actually fooled him, going in for a handshake before taking his phone and smashing it (via MMA Junkie):
“He came to shake my hand, and as soon as he came to shake my hand, he pulled me in and grabbed my phone and started smashing it,” Abdirzak said. “All these security guards literally surrounded me and pushed me out of the way. And he’s stomping on it.
“He was a lot rude. He was like, ‘Get the (expletive) out of my face. Move.’ And I was like, ‘Yo, sir can I have my phone back?’ And (security guards said), ‘Move, man. Conor said what Conor said.’”
Abdirzak then claims McGregor picked up the phone, pocketed it, and walked off while laughing. The 30-year-old was arrested hours later that day on strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief charges. Abdirzak said his phone is valued at $1,000, but the photos of his child are priceless, and he might never get them back:
“I’ve got pictures of my son I’ll probably never get again,” Abdirzak said.
What do you think about McGregor’s phone-smashing incident in Miami?
The following article featuring UFC 272 headliner Colby Covington was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2019, 9:22 AM]
Colby Covington wasn’t even competing at UFC 235 over the weekend but was still one of the event’s biggest stories. “Chaos” had confrontations with the likes of UFC President Dana White, Kamau Usman, NFL star Todd Gurley, and more. However, it sounds like he also had a brief run-in with UFC mega-star Nate Diaz.
Speaking to “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show”, Covington said the Stockton native flipped him the bird while passing by cageside (via MMA Mania):
“Our skill level is way apart from each other. He’s a bottom feeder,” said Covington. “It was funny because he walked by me and he said, ‘F*ck you Colby.’ And he flipped me off when I was sitting front row and he walked by cageside. It’s just funny. keep that energy Nate. If you’re so tough, let’s see it inside the cage, b*tch.”
Diaz hasn’t fought since his 2016 rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202. He was briefly scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230, but an injury to “The Diamond” forced that fight off. Now, Diaz’s return to the Octagon remains up in the air.
After Usman was crowned the new king of the UFC’s welterweight division, Covington is expected to get the next crack at the title. A key reason for Covington’s ruckus all weekend was his lobbying for a title opportunity. It looks like all the self-promotion finally paid off.
What do you think about Covington’s comments regarding his run-in with Diaz?
Vitor Belfort would go on to defeat a boxing legend two years after the following article was published. Indeed, Belfort beat 58-year-old Evander Holyfield via R1 TKO last September in an exhibition bout. But in 2019, Belfort wanted to box another former boxing champion, Roy Jones Jr.
You can see how Roy Jones Jr. responded to this challenge in the following article published three years ago today.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2019, 12:19 PM]
Vitor Belfort is now a member of the ONE Championship roster. “The Phenom” joins the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, and “Super” Sage Northcutt as former UFC stars who recently made the move. The 41-year-old spoke to media recently after the announcement of his signing with ONE.
“One fight that I’d really like, I told Chatri [Sityodtong] I’d really like to put on this fight, is me vs. Roy Jones Jr. So Roy, wherever you are, I want to come challenge you for a boxing match — but with this condition. I’m going to be able to dirty box with you.
“I won’t be able to kick you, but I will be able to dirty box with you. I’m going to be in your face the whole time so it’s going to be a different boxing match. So that would be a very fun thing to do.”
Speaking to TMZ Sports recently, Jones got the chance to respond to Belfort’s challenge. Jones said he’s down to step into the squared circle with the mixed martial arts (MMA) legend (via Boxing Scene):
“This is what I do for a living. Y’all must’ve forgot. That’s who I am. I love a battle. I love a challenge. So, if that’s what you want, that’s what you get. Ain’t like you gotta ask me twice,” Jones said.
Jones then said he’d need at least six weeks of a training camp to “whoop” Belfort, but he’d need eight so he can showboat:
“Well, I would like eight weeks, ’cause I like to get right. I need two extra weeks just to make sure I can showboat. But, six weeks, I can whip you,” Jones said.
“I got nothing but the utmost respect for you. You were a helluva MMA fighter. You one of the best of all time. But, when it comes to boxing, this is what I do. I’m the ruler. I’m the king of this thing.
“Ya understand me? Since Muhammad Ali is not on Earth anymore, I don’t think there’s nothing ever on this Earth as bad as I am with these hands.”
What do you think about Jones accepting Belfort’s challenge to box?
The following story was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2019, 9:11 PM]
Headline: Jon Jones Dispels Israel Adesanya Comparisons
Israel Adesanya has been receiving a lot of comparisons to his upcoming opponent, Anderson Silva, as of late. However, there’s also another name he has been compared to quite often recently. That name being UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Speaking to the UFC recently, Jones addressed the recent comparisons to “Stylebender”. Other than their frame and the color of their skin, Jones doesn’t really believe there are too many similarities (via MMA Mania):
“We have similar body types and we’re both black,” Jones said. “And that’s about it. I don’t think we fight alike, I don’t think we fight similar. I do a lot of wrestling, heavy ground-and-pound, a lot of submissions – I strike in both stances, I feel like our games are very different.
“But I do respect him, a lot. I think he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. He is great for the sport, great talker and he finishes fights. He is a very exciting young man.”
Adesanya will take on Silva in the co-main event of this weekend’s (Sat. February 9, 2019) UFC 234 pay-per-view (PPV) from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. As for Jones, he will be defending his championship in the main event of UFC 235. That PPV goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 2, 2019.
What do you think about Jones’ reaction to comparisons to Adesanya?
As Joe Rogan is embroiled in the most controversy and backlash as he has ever been under his decades under the spotlight, here is an opportunity to reflect on a warm story of how he became the voice of the UFC.
In a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña as a guest, Rogan shared how he began doing UFC commentary for free:
“In 2001, I met Dana, and I became friends with him, and then he’s the one that talked me into doing commentary. The first time I ever did commentary was UFC 37 and a half. That was the Vitor Belfort versus Chuck Liddell fight, and that was on Best Damn Sports Show Period. So it was a big deal that they were on Best Damn Sports Show Period and I was on Fear Factor. So he was like, ‘Would you do me a favor and do commentary?’ So I did the first 15 shows I did for them for free. I didn’t even have a contract. I was just doing it for fun. I said, ‘Listen, I don’t even need any money.’ I said, ‘Just give my friends tickets so my friends could watch the fights, and I’ll do commentary. It’s no big deal.”
In the below article published on this day three years ago, we published an article of Rogan telling the same story. Below, you’ll find more detail provided for your reading pleasure, as the following article is shared in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2019, 8:05 PM]
Headline: Joe Rogan Reveals How He Became The Voice Of UFC
Author: Jon Fuentes
Joe Rogan has become synonymous with mixed martial arts (MMA) and the UFC. Rogan is undoubtedly the greatest MMA commentator of all time and is beloved by nearly all MMA fans across the world. Fans have become so used to Rogan being around, but many might not know how he ended up cage-side for some of the best MMA events of all time.
During a recent episode of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience”, with Sebastian Maniscalco, Rogan told the story about how he found himself as the main commentator of the UFC. Here’s how he detailed his journey:
“Well, I started in 1997. I was the post-fight interviewer. It just was a position that was available. The UFC was very small back then, very few people knew what it was. It was off of cable. You couldn’t get it on cable, you could only get it on satellite. And, they needed someone to do post-fight interviews.
“I was in the martial arts world, I used to teach martial arts for a living. Before I became a comedian I used to fight. I fought in a lot of Tae Kwan Doe tournaments, had some kickboxing fights, I’d always been a martial artist. Since I was a kid. I was just interested in watching the UFC. And then I started training jiu-jitsu, and when I was training in jiu-jitsu, I was just a white belt, I was just starting out, that’s when I got hired by the UFC to be a post-fight interviewer. But I only did that for two years.
“And then I quit, it was just too much. It was actually, just – I was actually losing money. I would make more money doing a weekend at a comedy club than I would doing the UFC. And it just got to a point where it was just too much of a pain in the ass. So I still remained a fan, but I backed away. And then the UFC was purchased by this company named Zuffa in 2001.
“When that happened, they started putting on shows in Vegas, and I would go there with my friends. They got me free tickets, they reached out. They would try and get celebrities to go sit there so that – cause they were very small at the time, they were hemorrhaging money, they were trying to build it up.
“And in talking to Dana White, one day I was talking to him about fights going on in Japan. “Do you know this guy?” – and I was bringing up all these names – “Do you want to do commentary?” “I don’t want to do commentary, man. I’m here to get drunk and watch people kick the shit out of each other. I’m not here to work.” And he talked me into it for one show. UFC 137.5.
“It was a show that was on one of those FOX Sports networks, one of the smaller networks. I did that, and the rest was history. I did like 12 of them for free. The UFC didn’t have any money. They were hemorrhaging money. There were rich people that owned it, but it was not a profitable venture. And I said, “Look, just get me there, get me and my friends tickets, and I’ll do it.” And that’s how I operated for over a year, and then I just became “The Commentator.” It’s just weird.”
What do you think about Rogan’s journey to becoming the voice of the UFC?
The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2, 2019, 11:24 AM]
HEADLINE: Archives: McGregor Sends Jon Jones Gift After UFC 232 Win (2019)
Author: Jon Fuentes
Jon Jones is back. “Bones” made dominant work of Alexander Gustafsson this past weekend (Sat. December 29, 2018) at UFC 232. The two main evented the pay-per-view (PPV) with their rematch from their legendary 2013 title fight. While their first fight went all five rounds, Jones finished Gustafsson in the third round via TKO in their rematch. Now, he’s once again the 205-pound champion of the world.
It looks like former “Champ Champ” Conor McGregor has offered Jones a congratulatory gift. Per Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole, “The Notorious” has sent Jones and his team a few bottles of Proper 12 Whiskey to celebrate the occasion:
“Ran into @jonnybones in the hotel lobby and he said @TheNotoriousMMA sent him and his team a bunch of Proper 12 whiskey!”
Ran into @jonnybones in the hotel lobby and he said @TheNotoriousMMA sent him and his team a bunch of Proper 12 whiskey!
This certainly might not be the best gift to offer Jones at the moment. Jones has had some issues with drugs and alcohol in the past, which have greatly affected his career inside the cage. McGregor received a lot of criticism for this on Twitter. He even responded to one fan, who called the Irishman a ban influence.
McGregor responded by saying, “I prefer the term “influential”. But McGregor soon made the decision to delete the Tweet:
Earlier this year, Tyson Fury closed the book on his trilogy against Deontay Wilder with a second stoppage. But on this day three years ago, there were still plenty of questions about their rivalry, including a little matter of a 10 count. The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 5, 2018, 11:10 AM]
Over the weekend, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury put on a tremendous heavyweight contest. Wilder defended his WBC heavyweight title against “The Gypsy King” in a 12 round war. “The Bronze Bomber” was able to knock Fury down twice during the contest despite getting out-boxed by the Englishman for most of the fight. However, the second knockdown Wilder scored in the 12th round was a highly controversial one.
Wilder obliterated Fury, who went down on his back to the canvas, seemingly unconscious. However, somehow, Fury mustered up the strength to get back to his feet and finish the fight. The result was a split draw decision on the judges’ scorecards. Recently, Wilder took to Twitter to make the case that he should’ve actually been declared the winner via knockout.
He shared the following video of his knockdown of Fury, which included a 10-count timer. In the video, Fury doesn’t make it up in time to beat the count:
“Keep the vids coming for The Sick MFs That hate I won, The Blind MFs that can’t face reality and the MFs that just don’t want to see US Succeed”
Former mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Big Jon McCarthy took to Twitter to explain the situation:
“Yes sir, I can explain it to you. You need to understand the mechanics for a knockdown which is as soon as the referee calls the fighter down the time keeper starts a count. The referee moves the standing fighter away towards a neutral corner and then picks up the count from the timekeeper at we will say somewhere around 3 or 4.
“The referee then continues his count up to 10 if the fighter is still down. It is a “10” count not 10 seconds of time. The referee was perfect in this situation. Hope this helps. It was a great fight, wasn’t it”
1/2 Yes sir, I can explain it to you. You need to understand the mechanics for a knockdown which is as soon as the referee calls the fighter down the time keeper starts a count. The referee moves the standing fighter away towards a neutral corner and then picks up the count from https://t.co/OWVqdORZuS
2/2 the timekeeper at we will say somewhere around 3 or 4. The referee then continues his count up to 10 if the fighter is still down. It is a “10” count not 10 seconds of time. The referee was perfect in this situation. Hope this helps. It was a great fight, wasn’t it https://t.co/OWVqdORZuS