UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakić took a subtle dig at former UFC fighter turned commentator Paul Felder on Twitter.
Rakić is set to face former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz later this year in his return to the Octagon. He most recently defeated Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith in a pair of massive light heavyweight wins.
Rakić has never been afraid to speak his mind, especially when it comes to the UFC commentary team and their supposed bias. He most recently took a shot at Daniel Cormier after Dominick Cruz criticized his fight commentary leading up to UFC 269.
“Just say what you gotta say,” Felder said. “Is this a third-grade crush? Tell me you don’t like my commentary and I’ll tell you some of your fights suck.”
In a series of since-deleted tweets, Rakić said he tends to mute the UFC broadcasts when commentators such as Felder are at the desk. Felder took exception to this and even responded to Rakic in the middle of a fight card.
Rakić has emerged as one of the more outspoken light heavyweight contenders, as evidenced by his recent back-and-forths with Jiří Procházka. Rakić could get the next 205-pound title shot with another impressive win in the Octagon.
Felder also has a history of not letting trolls and critics go unchallenged. He’s notorious for putting harsh critics of his commentary on blast and often engages in Twitter back-and-forths.
What are your thoughts on the UFC commentary team?
The conversation surrounding fighter pay has continued into the new year as expected. Earlier this week, Sean O’Malley stated that he understands why Dana White doesn’t provide better pay for the fighters who do not draw well. On this day five years ago, we ran a story where UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn gave all fighters a bit of advice.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 9, 2017, 7:40 PM]
Headline: BJ Penn to Fighters: ‘Make Yourself The Money Fight’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn knows a thing or two about marquee fights.
“The Prodigy” competed against Georges St. Pierre in a super fight at UFC 94. Penn was the reigning lightweight champion, while “Rush” held the welterweight title. The pay-per-view (PPV) buy rate was estimated at 920,000. Penn’s base salary was $125,000.
A lot has changed since that time and the money has increased. For example, Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis got paid $150,000 to show for their interim title fight at UFC 206. The PPV was only estimated to have done 150,000 buys. Those certainly aren’t buys you’d expect for a super fight, yet both men got paid more than Penn did back in 2009.
Reigning lightweight champion Conor McGregor has played a significant role in some fighters’ change in thinking. With the amount of money “Notorious” makes ($3,500,000 base salary for UFC 205), many competitors, including Tyron Woodley, have tried holding off potential contenders in favor of big money fights.
Penn isn’t thrilled with the new craze. He told FOX Sports that fighters should become the attraction rather than beg to face one:
“I’ll tell you this, I’m not the guy to go out there and say ‘oh give me this money fight, give me that money fight. I look at all these guys doing that and I’m like why don’t you go knock out 100 guys and become the money fight yourself? “(Expletive) (expletive).”
“The Prodigy” will come out of retirement on Sunday (Jan. 15) to face soaring prospect Yair Rodriguez. The bout will be headlining the next UFC Fight Night card. It’ll be Penn’s second fight in the featherweight division. A win over “El Pantera” would be his first in over six years. The action takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).
Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate may consider a run at flyweight, but she’s ruling out a potential gig on OnlyFans.
Tate most recently fell to Ketlen Vieira last November via a unanimous decision, after dominating her UFC return against Marion Reneau. She returned to the Octagon after retiring following her loss at UFC 205 in 2016.
There has been some speculation as to what Tate may do with her career. She’s hinted at a potential move to 125 pounds to challenge for another UFC title but is also still pursuing a run at bantamweight.
But one fan was interested in whether or not Tate would ever join the adult site OnlyFans.com as a side gig, and the former UFC champion shut that idea down quickly.
Miesha Tate has managed to accumulate quite the following on social media despite her prior absence from fighting. As of the publishing of this story, she has earned 2.1 million followers on her Instagram page and is also increasingly active on her YouTube channel.
The biggest win of Tate’s UFC career came when she pulled off a remarkable comeback win over Holly Holm for the bantamweight title at UFC 196. She went on to lose the title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 before her pre-retirement loss to Raquel Pennington.
Tate appears to be rejuvenated in this next chapter of her career, but fans shouldn’t expect any mature content from the star athlete.
Long before Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor was announced, the two superstars were already involved in an inter-sport feud, as captured in the following story.
The following article was published on this day six years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Six Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 9, 2016, 9:00 AM]
Headline: Conor McGregor Calls Out Floyd Mayweather Over Racism Comments
Author: Eric Lynch
Conor McGregor has officially called out undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, saying the two “can organize a fight no problem.”
McGregor recently wrote a message on his Facebook page mostly addressing the media and apologizing for a photo of him with a rifle, but the note also took aim at Mayweather. McGregor responded to an interview Mayweather did in December, where the boxer said he feels the media favors McGregor over him due to racism.
“I don’t really know the McGregor guy, never seen him fight,” Mayweather told FightHype.com. “They say he talks a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I’m cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I’m saying is this: I ain’t racist at all, but I’m telling you racism still exists.”
McGregor, who is fresh off a 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo at UFC 194, fired back at “TBE” on Friday. He told Mayweather not to bring race into his success and made it clear he’s willing to fight over it. McGregor also took the opportunity to say he feels Mayweather only deserves 20% of the revenue from their potential fight, as McGregor’s last pay-per-view event may have had twice as many sales as Mayweather’s last fight against Andre Berto in September.
Here’s what the UFC featherweight champion had to say on Facebook about Mayweather:
“Floyd Mayweather, don’t ever bring race into my success again. I am an Irishman. My people have been oppressed our entire existence. And still very much are. I understand the feeling of prejudice. It is a feeling that is deep in my blood. In my family’s long history of warfare there was a time where just having the name ‘McGregor’ was punishable by death.
“Do not ever put me in a bracket like this again. If you want we can organise a fight no problem. I will give you a fair 80/20 split purse in my favour seen as your last fight bombed at every area of revenue.
“At 27 years of age I now hold the key to this game. The game answers to me now.”
Related: Video: Floyd Mayweather Takes Shots At Randy Couture & MMA
Back in August, McGregor felt confident that both he and Ronda Rousey could defeat Mayweather in a hypothetical scenario.
“In a real fight I would dismantle him in seconds,” McGregor told The Guardian. “Ronda Rousey would dismantle him in seconds – 100%. When you don’t know how to grapple you don’t stand a chance. For us, it’s like playing with a baby. People who don’t understand the sport cannot understand how vulnerable they are. There are always clinches and Ronda is a judo Olympian. She would throw Floyd on his head in a second. Me? I would knock him out. Cold.”
Related: Ronda Rousey Also Says She Could Beat Floyd Mayweather In A No-Rules Fight
Conor McGregor will reportedly be challenging UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 197 on 3/5 in Las Vegas.
UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman has brought with him a zero-tolerance policy for hate entering 2022.
Known for his cool-and-collected disposition, Usman took some time out to address one or two of his all-star haters in a Snapchat Story. On this occasion, rather than playing it cool, “The Nigerian Nightmare” delivered a message that was downright chilling (h/t The Mirror).
“Whomever you are watching my story, please just choke yourself. 2022 started and your life is centered around others,” he wrote in the story. “Better yet, kill yourself. Having fun watching my life and not yours,” Usman posted to his Snapchat Story along with a middle finger emoji.
While it is unknown what was said to draw out this response from Usman, the current pound-for-pound king seemed to recognize the looming controversy that could await when suggesting a fan take their own life. Consequently, Usman would then tone down his rhetoric a couple of notches while still getting a similarly stern message across.
“Let me clear this up, I know that was tough. It was 4am in the morning, it was a little slizzered and obviously, I typed that the wrong way,” he said in the video.
“Let me rephrase this for that hater, you know who you are, that particular hater there’s one of you or maybe two of you that keeps watching my story so you can have something to hate on.
“Choke yourself, it’s me saying it now, choke yourself. For the rest of my fans, my real fans I love and appreciate you guys, I always have and always will.”
It wasn’t all talk of hate and violence. The Nigerian-American also had a more appreciative message for his fans and supporters.
“I love my fans even those that (hate) because you truly only wish you could be me.”
Usman showed more patience during the build-up to his most recent fight against rival Colby Covington. Covington tried everything under the sun to get under Usman’s skin, including repeatedly referencing his father’s stint in prison. And yet, Usman let it all slide off his shoulders prior to defeating Covington for the second time at UFC 268, where the two enemies temporarily squashed their beef with a partial embrace.
What do you make of these remarks from Kamaru Usman?
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo believes the UFC 266 main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is the “greatest fight” in MMA history.
At the start of one of the most memorable sets of final pay-per-views a year has seen in the UFC, reigning featherweight titleholder Volkanovski met with top contender Ortega in the September 25 headliner. The pair were originally set to clash at UFC 260 six months prior, but a positive COVID-19 test forced the Australian out.
In the end, the pair coached the 2021 return of The Ultimate Fighter. Whilst it certainly wasn’t the most thrilling season of the show, it did add an extra pinch of animosity and helped build the matchup more heading into their eventual showdown at UFC 266.
But even in defeat, we saw why “T-City” has a spot among the elite at 145 pounds, with two tight submission attempts in the third round providing one of the most memorable frames in history.
Cejudo Believes Volkanovski vs. Ortega Had Everything
In the eyes of many, the UFC 266 main event was certainly a top contender for the Fight of the Year, in the conversation with the likes of Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 268, Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 42, and Jiří Procházka vs. Dominick Reyes at UFC Vegas 25.
But while many didn’t have Volkanovski’s one and only defense of 2021 in their top spot for the year, one former UFC champion had it there and more. Cejudo, who held both flyweight and bantamweight gold simultaneously during his UFC career, believes the memorable September five-rounder was not only the FOTY, but the greatest fight in the history of mixed martial arts.
“The one I really like the most, I’m going to have to go to with Alexander ‘The Average’ (Volkanovski) and Brian Ortega,” Cejudo said on his podcast with The Schmo. “That isn’t, to me in my eyes, the Fight of the Year, but this is the greatest fight in my eyes in mixed martial arts history. It displayed striking, defense, escaping from submissions, takedowns, takedown defense, I mean, it was everywhere.” (h/t BJPenn.com)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYXgZgqpeu3/
Having extended his win streak and featherweight reign with victory over Ortega, Volkanovski is now in need of a next challenger after Max Holloway had to withdraw from their UFC 272 bout.
As fate would have it, Cejudo, who has been lobbying to fight Volkanovski for several months, has thrown his name into the ring as a potential short-notice replacement. If selected, maybe Cejudo will be the one on the other end of an all-time classic against Volkanovski.
Giga Chikadze isn’t happy with Alexander Volkanovski after the featherweight champion alluded to ‘The Korean Zombie’ getting the next title shot.
Volkanovski was originally supposed to fight Max Holloway in their trilogy at UFC 272 before Holloway reaggravated an injury in recent days. Chikadze is slated to face Calvin Kattar in a UFC Fight Night main event on Jan. 15 and could potentially get a title shot if he wins.
After Holloway pulled out, the UFC and Volkanovski immediately began looking for potential replacements. Chan Sung Jung, otherwise known as ‘The Korean Zombie’, is reportedly at the top of the list, along with possibly Yair Rodriguez.
This appeared to irk Chikadze, who is coming off a dominant win over Edson Barboza. He aired his frustration in a recent Twitter rant.
Giga Chikadze Roasted Alexander Volkanovski On Twitter
@alexvolkanovski The chump Picking up all the easiest link in a division Zombie and specially Rodriguez he’s suck I will handle my business on Saturday and I’m gonna kick your midget head ass back Singapore or Ireland whatever you from@danawhite@seanshelby
Volkanovski most recently defeated Brian Ortega at UFC 266 via unanimous decision, in one of the most gritty performances of 2021. Before that, he had earned back-to-back wins over Holloway inside the Octagon.
It’s still unknown who will get the short-notice bout at UFC 272, but Chikadze appears ready and willing to step up if he can get past Kattar.
UFC heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa fought at the same event as rising bantamweight star Sean O’Malley twice in 2021, a trend he hopes continues this year.
Like O’Malley, Tuivasa has been in fine form as of late. He’s built a destructive four-fight win streak that has seen him climb to within one spot of the top 10 at heavyweight.
Since a submission loss to Sergey Spivak in 2019 added a third straight loss to his skid, “Bam Bam” has knocked out Stefan Struve, Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy, and Augusto Sakai.
Tuivasa’s other 2021 win, a first-round KO against Greg Hardy at UFC 264, provided another memorable moment inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, with members of the crowd pouring their beers into their shoes and either chugging it themselves, or giving it to a victorious Tuivasa as he made his way to the back.
As well as two knockouts and two Octagon shoeys, another constant for Tuivasa’s 2021 was the presence of fellow entertainer Sean O’Malley. Like the Australian heavyweight, “Sugar” recorded triumphs at both UFC 264 and UFC 269.
“Yeah, me and Sean, we talk, and it’s good that we’ve been fighting on the same card the last few times,” Tuivasa told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “Like I say, he’s a showman as well, so it’s good we’re on the same card. We give the fans what they want.”
With their performances last year, both men achieved an impressive 100% bonus record. Out of their five combined appearances, The UFC dished out an additional $250,000. They’ll be hoping for similar success in 2022, and if they believe in lucky charms, both men will be pushing to be on the same card given their results in 2021.
Unless O’Malley is booked swiftly, Tuivasa will be making his first 2022 appearance on a card that will not feature “The Suga Show.” That is because, as of yesterday, it was revealed that Tuivasa will be facing another showman, Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis at UFC 271 next month.
Would you like to see Sean O’Malley and Tai Tuivasa fighting on the same card again this year?
As of this writing, Anthony Smith never was able to get a hold of Luke Rockhold at Walmart. But here’s a story where he expressed a willingness to do just that, even naming his preferred isle for the desired altercation.
The following article is published in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2019, 6:57 PM]
Headline: Anthony Smith Would Fight ‘A**hole’ Luke Rockhold At Walmart
Author: Jon Fuentes
Anthony “Lionheart” Smith is currently expected to be Jon Jones’ next challenger for the 205-pound title. However, it appears he could already have another opponent at light heavyweight lined up as well.
Recently, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold took aim at Smith. Hyping his eventual jump to 205 pounds, Rockhold is also eying a fight with Jones. However, with talk of Jones likely facing Smith next, Rockhold said “Bones” should quit wasting his time with fighters like “Lionheart.”
Speaking to Luke Thomas on Sirius XM Fight Nation Smith got the opportunity to respond. Smith is unsure what he did to provoke Rockhold to speak his name, but one thing is for sure, he certainly isn’t a fan (via MMA Mania):
“For Luke to come and start talking about me, first of all, you’ve been knocked out two of your last three times. Yoel Romero almost f*cking decapitated him. He’s coming off a loss and he can’t even make it to his next fight,” Smith said.
“So who is he to talk about anybody else in the UFC? He’s the most arrogant prick I’ve ever seen or heard speak in my life. And I’ve never done anything to that dude. I’ve never even literally shook his hand. I just don’t know where his sense of arrogance comes from.
“I fought four times in 13 months or something, got three bonuses. What are you doing? You’re not doing sh*t. You’re sitting on the sidelines, limping around.”
Fight Rockhold At Walmart
For the time being, Smith will focus on preparing for a likely title shot against Jon Jones. But if he were ever to run into Rockhold in public, say somewhere like Walmart perhaps, there could be trouble:
“I don’t understand how you can just disparage someone so bad that, number one, has done nothing to you, and number two, is highly-regarded as one of the hardest-working and most devoted guys in the sport,” Smith said.
“I’ve never attacked him, I just don’t get it. I will fight that guy anywhere. I will fight that guy in aisle five of Walmart.”
UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis is hoping to avoid fights like the UFC 265 main event for the remainder of his career in the Octagon.
After falling to back-to-back losses versus then-champion Daniel Cormier and former titleholder Junior dos Santos, Lewis found the form of his life on the way back to the top of the division.
Between late 2019 and early 2021, “The Black Beast” secured victories over Blagoy Ivanov and Ilir Latifi on the scorecards and knocked out Alexei Oleinik and Curtis Blaydes with his devastatingly-powerful hands. That four-fight win streak cemented his spot as number-one contender, a status that was expected to see him challenge former opponent Francis Ngannou for the gold.
But with the UFC’s desire to have Lewis headline Houston’s UFC 265 pay-per-view, and the champion’s inability to make that date, Ciryl Gane was drafted in for a contest for the interim title. In an incredibly disappointing night in front of a home crowd, Lewis was comfortably controlled and beaten throughout, falling to a third-round TKO.
For Lewis, it was a relief to return to the atmosphere and setting of a building he described as “perfect” for him. Not only did his December win, which saw him break the record for most KO triumphs in UFC history, provide an instant rebound from his August failing, but it made his future clearer.
During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Lewis suggested he is finished with the high-intensity fight weeks and pressure-loaded matchups. For the rest of his career, he’s targeting fun and easy-going fights.
“This last fight helped me. (It was) a big experience difference, coming into this fight. I just really wanted to go into a fight week and not have pressure on myself, and it felt great. I plan on doing that for the rest of my career now. I can just go out there and just have fun. I feel like I don’t have to prove anything. That’s one of the reasons I wanna fight Stipe (Miocic) next.”
Discussing his experience leading up to his main event clash with Gane at UFC 265, Lewis admitted the pressure put on him was too much for him to handle. To put his nerves into perspective, “The Black Beast” revealed he’d even tried to acquire marijuana to calm him on fight day.
“I don’t wanna experience that ever again. It was too much pressure. To the point where I was really calling people up like, ‘Let me get some weed off you so I can relax my nerves,’ during fight day; that type of pressure. Never felt it that bad… It felt embarrassing.”
With his latest remarks, it seems like it’s victory dances, cup-throwing, and a laid-back attitude for Lewis moving forward. If that means more brutal KOs, not many fans will be complaining, that’s for sure.
The fact that Ben Askren had just signed with the UFC two months prior to this story did not prevent him from continuing to take shots at company president Dana White. In this story published three years ago, Askren addressed Colby Covington about why he was foolish for trusting White.
The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2019, 12:45 PM]
Headline: Ben Askren Rips Colby Covington For Trusting Dana White
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Ben Askren is getting a laugh out of Colby Covington’s current situation.
Covington is in a tough spot at the moment as he’s gone from interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight titleholder, to not even being next in line to challenge for Tyron Woodley’s gold. That honor went to Kamaru Usman, who will meet Woodley in the planned co-main event of UFC 235 on March 2.
Ben Askren Takes Another Dig At Colby Covington
Covington recently blasted UFC president Dana White, saying he went back on his word. “Chaos” also said White “ain’t got the balls” to fire him. Askren took to Twitter to rag on Covington:
“[Colby Covington] I realized you were dumb but please, please don’t tell me you were dumb enough to really trust Dana.”
Askren and Covington have been trading barbs ever since “Funky” signed with the UFC. Askren is set to make his promotional debut on the same card as Woodley vs. Usman. He’ll go one-on-one with former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder will go into the fight with some serious hype. Time will tell if he can live up to it on the brightest stage.
Do you think Colby Covington put too much trust into Dana White’s “promise?”
On this day five years ago, we ran a story about former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman stating that the WWE would never want Ronda Rousey after Rousey’s crushing loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. One year later, this happened…
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Five Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2017, 7:08 PM]
Headline: Jonathan Coachman: WWE Won’t Be Interested In “Broken Star” Rousey After UFC 207
Former WWE broadcast team member turned ESPN analyst Jonathan Coachman made headlines in the MMA world this week.
In a new interview with SIRIUS-XM “Busted Open Radio Show,” Coachman spoke about Rousey’s devastating 48-second knockout loss to Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207, her second KO loss in a row inside the Octagon. The current ESPN analyst who came up in the sports / sports media industry, spent years working on-camera in WWE before making the transition to ESPN, claims his former place of employment won’t have much interest in the pioneer of Women’s MMA any longer.
“When she lost, not only was she devastated but she admitted that some thoughts that went through her head were not good ones,” said Coachman, before adding, “Hopefully, she understands that she [has] gone much [further] than almost any female in really sports in the last 15 years.”
“The Coach” continued, “As far as WWE is concerned, they don’t bring in .. and I refer to her as a broken star .. because that’s what she is, she’s broken from a professional sense .. they don’t rebuild broken celebrities outside of the WWE.”
According to Coachman, who works alongside Bellator MMA star and former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen on multiple recent ESPN broadcasts covering MMA, Rousey “showed a lot
“They go after, if you’re bringing in somebody from the outside, they go after people with a certain type of makeup and Ronda Rousey showed all of us that, how she responded to a loss, showed a lot about what she’s made of,” Coachman explained. “I’m not saying that’s good, I’m not saying that’s bad, I’m just saying as far as the kind of person you want to go after and build a program around. To bring her in the WWE and build up this perception of what her reality is not, you can’t do that.”
Coachman concluded, “And you can’t disappear, guys, for 13 months from the fight game and then come back and expect all of us to think you’re going to be as nasty as you were before.”
New Eagle FC signing Kevin Lee hopes to one day have the opportunity to exact revenge on UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira.
The pair met in the main event of a Brazil-held UFC Fight Night in March 2020. It was the final card before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the UFC to shut down for a number of weeks.
Heading into the clash, Lee was riding high off the back of a memorable knockout of Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 four months prior. Oliveira, meanwhile, carried a six-fight win streak into the headline bout.
While he didn’t have the support of a home crowd behind him, Oliveira secured a submission victory that would have had the fans on their feet inside the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, had it not been empty.
After that fight, Oliveira went on to dominate Tony Ferguson and win the vacant lightweight gold with a TKO victory over Michael Chandler soon after. Last month he defended the title against Dustin Poirier, whom many considered to be the best lightweight on the plant, cementing his spot on the 155-pound throne.
While he’ll be focusing on returning to form when he debuts for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion this year, Lee still has one eye on the past. During an appearance on The Schmozone Podcast, “The Motown Phenom” admitted he wants to get his loss to Oliveira back.
“There’s a lot of things surrounding that fight. I want that fight back. We’ll see. We’ll make that happen in the future, at some point. I gotta prove I’m the best at ’65 first. And then, at some point, maybe we make that fight.”
Discussing what he’d have changed leading up to his defeat to “Do Bronx,” Lee suggested he should have taken more time after his KO win against Gillespie. According to the former interim title challenger, he was “talked” into returning so soon.
“(I’d have) took more time. Took more time, for sure. After I fought Gillespie, I needed some time off. I needed some time to let it sink in. Instead, I just rode the wave, and I was talked into riding the wave and going into the next fight.”
Lee went on to describe what went wrong prior to UFC Brasilia. As well as the quick turnaround, the 28-year-old cited his first winter in Canada at the Tristar gym, travel, and the fact he underestimated Oliveira as reasons behind the devastating loss.
“That moment (the Gillespie KO) was so big, that I knew I had to let it sink in. It was my first real camp with Firas (Zahabi). So I felt like we learned a lot about each other. I was just trying to get my feet underneath me in Canada and in Montreal, but then I had to go back home to kinda handle some stuff here in Vegas. Then I took that fight and it was right back into it. It was right back to Canada, in the middle of winter; it had been six or seven years since I had dealt with the winter. That’s another layer on top of it.
“It was a lot to deal with. On top of that, they flew me to Brazil on one day, and then back; all this happened within a five-week span of getting ready to fight someone like Oliveira. I think part of it was I underestimated Oliveira until mid-way through the second round. Then I was like, ‘This dude’s legit, fuck.’”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgsHVpJkL5/
If he’s to make his way back to a clash with the reigning 155-pound UFC titleholder, Lee will have to make a splash in the rising Eagle FC promotion. Having finally been given the chance to show his talents at 165 pounds, “The Motown Phenom” must prove his claim to be the best at that weight to be true.
If he can find success in the coming months and years, starting with his likely debut against Diego Sanchez in March, perhaps we’ll see Lee get the chance for redemption against Oliveira before his career is done.
How do you think Kevin Lee would fare in a rematch against UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira?
One of Cody Garbrandt’s biggest nemeses in his MMA career is TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw is now 2-0 over his former training partner, but almost a year prior to their first contest, Garbrandt was already throwing shots at his future opponent and showing him “No Love.”
The following article was published on this day five years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Five Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2017, 3:25 PM]
Headline: Cody Garbrandt: ‘T.J. Dillashaw Can’t Even Draw PPV Buys’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Cody Garbrandt may have just won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title, but he’s already looking to call the shots. Big money fights seem to be a recurring theme these days and “No Love” is no exception. Garbrandt hasn’t been shy about his interest in fighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo and lightweight title holder Conor McGregor.
One fighter that doesn’t seem to pique Garbrandt’s interest is his former Team Alpha Male training partner, T.J. Dillashaw. For Garbrandt, it boils down to Dillashaw’s pay-per-view (PPV) drawing abilities (via MMAFighting.com):
“Like I said, I went for the title shot…it was a two man race. Really it was just about getting paid, getting a contract, is why T.J. squeezed back in. You know, he was selling peanut butter, and anteing up $100,000 to bribe Cruz into a title shot. Dude, I don’t want to even speak on Dillashaw. He doesn’t even draw pay-per-view buys. It’s not even a fight that makes sense from that standpoint.”
“No Love” knows what it was like to be a teenager hoping to one day capture UFC gold. It’s something he had visualized for over 10 years and it came to fruition at UFC 207 against Dominick Cruz. Garbrandt says he’s now the hunted and wants to keep evolving.
“But like I said, I got my eyes on Jose Aldo. I saw something that he wanted to fight me, so I’m ready to take down another legend. That’s why I got into this sport. I’m ready to build my legacy, and then to defend it. There’s going to be kids like me, that are teenagers, watching right now that want to whoop my ass. So I got to make sure that I keep improving and improving and doing my legacy. That’s why I jumped into the UFC and the fight game to do this, it’s to be the greatest. Lord willing, I’ll have longevity and have a lot of success.”
Despite Garbrandt’s comments, few would argue that Dillashaw is deserving of a title shot. The former bantamweight champion swept John Lineker on the same card “No Love” won the 135-pound strap. The Elevation Fight Team standout is 6-1 in his last seven bouts.
Junior dos Santos is ecstatic to get in the ring with vicious European boxer Kubrat Pulev for his debut boxing match.
Although the former UFC heavyweight champion dos Santos ended his contract with the UFC on a four-fight loss streak in March 2021, his love for the sport of fighting remains intact.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
However, fans of Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos are worried the fighter might be biting off a bit more than he can chew. His very first opponent, Kubrat “Cobra” Pulev, holds a professional boxing record of 28 wins and 2 losses, was the European heavyweight champion twice between 2012 and 2016, and recently destroyed mixed martial artist Frank Mir by first-round TKO at the first Triller Triad event.
In a recent interview with ESPN, dos Santos expressed his gratitude for the fans’ concern but has a message for them:
“Well, for all of those, I (know there will be) some bad comments but also some comments coming from people that believe in me and support me. And like you said, they will be worried about me, you know? But I appreciate that. Thank you for the comments and for the worry. But you know what? This time, I took to myself and to my family to think about everything, decide what to do. Man, I’m 37 years old now, and I was feeling like—I was thinking about stopping. Maybe it’s not for me anymore. But that’s not my truth.”
Despite the defeats and controversial departure from the UFC, “Cigano” is happy and doing what he loves. Now that the spark of joy is once again within him, we could see an improved version of dos Santos when he steps in the ring.
Goodbye UFC, Hello Triller Triad
The end of February marks the beginning of Junior dos Santos’ boxing career with Triller at Triad Combat II.
dos Santos wants fans to understand that his exit from the UFC was crucial. The fighter blames the promotion’s “unprofessionalism” for hindering his success within the platform but does not allow the situation to negatively impact his goals.
“My truth is I love this thing, and I still can do it. I’m 37 years old, like I said. If you go to the gym and see me training, man, I’m getting better, with some great skills every time. So the moments I was going through right now in the UFC, that’s not me. This fight now will show all those people, all the people that support or those who doesn’t support, this fight will show everybody who I am for real,” he continued in the interview with ESPN.
Lest we forget dos Santos has wins against Derrick Lewis and Stipe Miocic, two renowned names in the heavyweight division, in his MMA career. Now, it will be former heavyweight champion vs former heavyweight champion when dos Santos’ boxing debut commences.
Are you excited to see Junior dos Santos’ boxing debut?
Before the pub attacksand alleged DJ abuse, Conor McGregor was in hot water for….a photograph?
In January 2016, then-UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was under investigation in Ireland for a photo he posted on Instagram that appeared to depict him holding an automatic rifle. The Notorious then returned to Dublin and had the Gardai looking into whether the weapon was real or a replica.
“We are investigating the circumstances under which the photo was taken,” a Gardai spokesperson told The Irish Independent. “Gardai from Crumlin are investigating.”
Here’s the photo in question:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAOA3AHrztJ/
Some believed the firearm to be a replica Heckler and Koch MP5 machine pistol with a silencer attached.
One day later, McGregor revealed released the following Instagram post to explain the image.
“Media instigators/An Garda Siochana. I apologise for having the air-soft in public. I was simply rehearsing for a potential upcoming film role. I understand that the more traffic a story can get the more revenue it generates. So I understand and respect that the media must create these stories and these situations even if at times it is at other people’s expense. We’ve all got to eat. And I eat well. So I will not complain.”
Despite the alleged investigation, McGregor went on to become obscenely rich, famous, and very much free to involve himself in multiple legitimate criminal investigations over the years.
Most recently, McGregor was hit with assault charges after an alleged attack on famous Italian DJ Francesco Facchinetti while in Rome last October and breaking his nose.
As it stands, McGregor continues to live life lavishly and comfortably. Indeed, the only cage he can be found in is the UFC Octagon, where he continues to smash pay-per-view records quicker than a fan’s cell phone.
The Notorious One is expected to make his UFC return this year after recovering from leg surgery. There is no word yet on who he will face next.
Sean O’Malley understands why some fighters aren’t getting the money they’d like.
The UFC’s fighter pay has been a hot topic for quite some time. Recently, it’s gained more traction since Jake Paul has called out UFC President Dana White multiple times about how he and the company underpay their fighters.
While each fighter has their own opinion, it seems as though many fighters stand by Paul’s opinions in thinking that they are underpaid. Some fighters get paid as little as $10,000 to $30,000 while a select few make around or a little north of $500,000 per fight.
#12-ranked bantamweight Sean O’Malley addressed the topic yesterday on his YouTube channel during his most recent episode of TimboSugarShow. O’Malley seems to support White based on the numbers.
“Dude, like I don’t even blame Dana. It’s like some of these f*cking people have zero following. They’re not making the UFC one hundred thousand. I mean, they’re not making the UFC fifty thousand. They’re not making the UFC any money really. But that’s from a business perspective, from Dana’s business perspective, I can see that,” said O’Malley.
Jake Paul, on the other hand, thinks fighters are underpaid, they don’t receive the right medical attention, and that the fighter’s minimum should be increased. Paul made a proposal to Dana White that he’d retire from the sport of boxing if was granted permission from the UFC to box Jorge Masvidal. In the proposal, White would pay his fighters $50,000 minimum per fight, 50% revenue for the first five years, and long-term healthcare.
At the end of the day, the UFC is a business and operates as such. They would probably agree with O’Malley’s take in regards to how the majority of the fighters don’t generate that much revenue for the company.
Do you think fighters are currently underpaid in the UFC?
Francis Ngannou’s animosity towards the UFC could be keeping him from the UFC stardom he deserves according to Brendan Schaub.
Francis Ngannou is the UFC heavyweight champion. He is considered to be the “Baddest Man on the Planet” and rightfully so. He is a hard hitter who can put people out with one strike. Now, Ngannou might have his toughest fight in front of him as he prepares for his UFC 270 fight against Ciryl Gane. However, leading up to this fight bigger news might have been the feud that has been brewing between Ngannou and the UFC.
Brendan Schaub Thinks UFC Friction Will Continue To Hold Ngannou Back
Dana White, Francis Ngannou (via Zuffa LLC)
Rumors that Ngannou will leave the UFC with a loss have been circling. A former UFC heavyweight turned podcaster, Brendan Schaub, thinks that Ngannou’s relationship with the UFC brass will continue holding him back.
“Francis Ngannou has been in a fight with the UFC brass. Which is, whenever you’re in a fight with the UFC brass you’re never going to get the shine you deserve,” Schaub said on his podcast, The Schaub Show. “Take a page out of [Tyron] Woodley’s book, even the Diaz brothers man, whenever you get into a dispute with the UFC they control the narrative, unfortunately. And it’s not like Francis Ngannou has a big podcast where he can go on and rip off what’s going on.” (h/t The Mirror)
Ngannou has expressed interest in leaving the UFC to try his hand at boxing. If that is the road he is looking to follow, leaving the UFC might be the only way to do it. The UFC and Dana White in particular have been adamant about not letting fighters who are under contract do any crossover fights, aside from the Conor McGregor one-off with Mayweather in 2017.
“He’ll do an interview with TMZ or an outlet or Marquel Martin, his agent at CAA, will do some interviews but those aren’t going mainstream,” Schaub said. “The UFC controls the narrative and it’s a bit of a shame.”
Do you think Francis Ngannou is better off leaving the UFC after his next fight?
Artem Lobov recently retired from combat sports, but he’s still receiving big offers.
After Lobov suffered a TKO loss to Denys Berinchyk in a bare-knuckle fight, the fan-favorite announced his retirement from combat sports. Although Lobov didn’t have the best record, he always looked to fight the best fighters around and always put on entertaining fights.
With that, even though he is retired, Lobov says he is still getting big offers to fight and end his retirement, but he isn’t interested in doing that.
“I still have offers. There are still offers in my inbox. And actually, I’ve got some of the better offers since I retired,” Lobov said on The MMA Hour. “I couldn’t even believe it. Some offers were coming up to like, nearly half a million, some of the offers I’ve been getting. I’ve got some sh*t offers as well, but I’ve got a lot of offers. But I gave myself a promise, ‘Artem, you will not go back in there, no matter what.’
Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
“Very difficult (to say no to them). The thing as well, all this has been like, with some YouTubers, you know, in Russia, I’ve had an offer from Poland as well, to box a YouTuber there,” Lobov continued. “So it’s kind of like, I used to fight really tough guys for 100 euros, 500 euros, now I’m getting offered to box exhibition bouts against guys that aren’t even that good, and I have to turn it down. But I have to be like, ‘Are you a man of your word, or are you not a man of your word?’ That’s what I ask myself.”
Artem Lobov ends his career with a professional MMA record of 13-15-1 and one No Contest along with a bare-knuckle record of 2-2. He also went 2-6 inside the Octagon but headlined a Fight Night card, thus showing his star power. In his career, he did beat Paulie Malignaggi in BKFC and holds decision wins over Chris Avila and Teruto Ishihara inside the Octagon.
Chael Sonnen has responded to Paddy Pimblett accusing him of clickbait after the recent rumors surrounding a possible Donald Cerrone fight.
Pimblett is coming off an impressive UFC debut over Luigi Vendramini in 2021. After a long tenure with Cage Warriors, he made the move to the UFC as arguably the biggest signing by the promotion in recent years.
Speculation has run rampant in recent weeks and months regarding who Pimblett will face next. Some pundits, including Sonnen, have alluded to a possible matchup with Cerrone happening for his next UFC test.
Pimblett ruled out Cerrone being his next opponent in recent days and also accused Sonnen of pushing a false narrative for his next fight. During a recent video on his YouTube channel, Sonnen took exception to Pimblett’s jab.
“Is Paddy secretly one stupid son of a bi**h?” Sonnen said. “Paddy woke up, took stupid pills, and goes on Michael Bisping’s show. On Michael’s show, Paddy accuses me of using his name for clickbait… I’d never do it and I’m also irritated that Paddy thinks his name is big enough that I would clickbait him. That might sound arrogant but that’s the truth. It pissed me off…
“Three weeks ago, I was sitting with Cerrone. He asked me what weight Paddy is. I had beautiful things to say about him. As I’m having this conversation, Cowboy’s texting Sean Shelby saying does Paddy have an opponent. I asked him, ‘Can I talk about this? He said, ‘Yes.’ So that’s what we did.” (h/t Sportskeeda)
Paddy Pimblett Pointed To Chael Sonnen For Starting The Rumors
Sonnen has never been unafraid to state what he thinks on a variety of topics, specifically when it comes to MMA. Regarded as one of the best trash talkers in the sport’s history, Sonnen has transitioned well from fighting to a career in broadcasting.
Pimblett and Sonnen will more than likely bump into each other at some point this year, and it’ll be interesting to see if they bury the hatchet and settle their differences.
What are your thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s comments? Who do you want to see Paddy Pimblett fight next?
“A lot of people inside the top 15, top 5, top 10 they’re gonna say, ‘What the f**k is happening? Why is Conor McGregor getting to skip the line?’ Well, guess what? As I said, this is prizefighting, this is pay-per-views, this is the UFC, and they put on the fights, historically that we want to see, okay?” Bisping said on his YouTube channel.
Charles Oliveira Conor McGregor
“The fights that we want to see, they are the fights the UFC put up. So, if you’re not happy that Conor McGregor might get to skip the line and fight the champion when he’s not even ranked, don’t blame Conor McGregor, don’t blame Dana White, don’t blame the UFC, blame your-f**king-self because you are ultimately responsible.”
Although Bisping says McGregor is unranked, that is not true. He is ranked ninth but he still is well outside the top-five, which is generally where you need to be to get a title shot. However, even when Bisping fought Dan Henderson for the belt, Henderson was ranked 10th, so we have seen this before. Additionally, Georges St-Pierre was also unranked at middleweight when he defeated Bisping for the title at UFC 217.
McGregor is the biggest star in MMA history and draws a ton of pay-per-views, so financially it does make sense for the UFC to put the Irishman in the title fight, even if he is on a two-fight losing skid.
Do you think Conor McGregor should get the next lightweight title shot?
Gregor Gillespie showed more color than usual when calling out Tony Ferguson recently.
Gillespie wants to get more recognition in the lightweight division. As he put it, he feels the need “to start climbing” up the rankings. He has recently been publicly calling out #7 ranked lightweight Ferguson, who he sees as a good opponent.
While Gillespie has called out Ferguson before, his message Thursday showed more aggression than usual. In the message, he mentioned his frustration with Ferguson seemingly being more interested in a fight against former title challenger Michael Chandler.
In a short one-minute message via Instagram, Gillespie addressed Ferguson after receiving word that he allegedly turned down a fight between them.
“I just got word again through my manager that Tony Ferguson will not accept the fight against me. And then I see you online, Tony, calling out f Michael Chandler? Saying ‘it’s wrestling season bro,’ dude … If you’re looking for a wrestler, accept the fight [against me], dude.”
Gillespie’s reference to Ferguson talking about Chandler likely refers to a Twitter back-and-forth that the fighters had last week. In that conversation, both Ferguson and Chandler discussed potentially meeting later this year.
Last month, Gillespie uploaded a video that was politely calling for a fight with Ferguson. In what he noted was only his second time calling out someone, he jokingly said to Ferguson that “It’s time for me to ankle pick you in that Octagon.”
Gillespie, currently ranked #10 at lightweight, has a strong pro record of 14 wins through 15 fights. His sole pro loss came in 2019 when he was knocked out by Kevin Lee. He bounced back from that result in May of last year, stopping Diego Ferreira with strikes.
The next time Ferguson steps in the cage, he will be attempting to break a three-fight losing streak. The first part of this skid came at UFC 249 in 2020, when he lost an interim title fight against Justin Gaethje. Later that year, he lost to Charles Oliveira, who went on to become a champion a year later.
His most recent fight was a loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC 262.
Do you think Gregor Gillespie’s recent message will interest Tony Ferguson?
UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich has reflected on his participation in the January 6 protest rally at the Capitol, an experience he says resulted in him losing his job.
January 6, 2021 is a day that will forever be marked in American history. On that day, over 10,000 protestors congregated outside the US Capitol in protest of the 2020 United States Presidential Election results. However, there are wildly varying interpretations of what the precise purpose of the protest was and whether the participants were “terrorists” or “patriots.”
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
The use of either label on the protesters is likely to draw strong reactions that are equal parts confused and angry from the opposing viewpoint, but the inaugural UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich is confident about who and what he saw from the majority of people who were alongside him at the rally.
“That day in Washington D.C., I went there,” Miletich told ABC WQAD8. “I went there and all the people I talked to, which were people of all walks of life…All they were talking about was election integrity and freedom…The thing that actually motivated me to go was thinking about my children’s freedoms…
“There was no talk of violence. It was a love fest.”
Once a large portion of the protestors began storming the Capitol, that is when Miletich says he realized this was no longer the same event he was originally participating in.
“When that took place, myself and my friends all looked at each other and said, nope, it’s too obvious. The optics don’t look good,” he said.
When Miletich’s attendance at the protest became public, there was strong backlash, which he said contributed to the loss of his job working with an MMA promotion.
“Suddenly there was an uproar that I had been responsible for some sort of domestic terrorism and a supporter of white supremacy, which is a joke…” Miletich said. “I did nothing but show up and express my First Amendment rights.”
Pat Miletich can be found in the center, second from the left. The man to the far right is flashing what has been determined by multiple sources to be a symbol for “White Power,” a determination that is often contested.
There were reports last year of Legacy Fighting Alliance distancing itself from Miletich as a color commentator prior to an event, but the promotion was not directly mentioned by Miletich in this recent interview.
Many people who were active participants of the riot portion of the protest have faced stiffer penalties, including jail time. Among them is ex-MMA fighter Scott “Wildman” Fairlamb, who was sentenced to 41 months for assaulting a police officer during the riot.
Looking back, Miletich stands by his participation in the non-violent portion of the protest because he feels it was the exercising of his rights as an American in the fight for something bigger and that he hopes will impact future generations.
“To me, that’s what’s most important,” Miletich said. “What kind of world are we going to leave our children…
“We’ve got serious problems on our hands if citizens can’t come together and understand who the real enemy is, the problems are never going to be solved,” Miletich said.
No specifics were provided regarding who the precise enemy is or the world Miletich is fearful of that contributed to his attendance of the protest and is thus open for interpretation. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research from various sources to learn more about the Jan. 6 Capitol protest and the ideologies associated with it.
Miletich still works as a freelancer in sports broadcasting and also teaches self-defense classes in addition to training military members and law enforcement officers.
Miletich retired with an MMA record of 29-7-2 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history. As champion, Miletich had four successful title defenses and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2014. His last professional bout was in 2008 in a victory over Thomas Denny.
MMA News had the chance to catch up with Pat Miletich last year, where the Hall of Famer discussed a wide array of topics. You can view that interview below.
The third meeting between UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway will have to wait after Holloway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury.
The new matchup was a chance for Holloway to regain the 145-pound belt and avenge the two previous losses he took to Volkanovski in recent years. ESPN broke the news Friday about Holloway’s withdrawal. There is currently no timetable set for his return.
The two featherweights first met in late 2019. Volkanovski went five rounds with Holloway in that fight to walk away with a unanimous decision win. The fight was re-booked for just seven months later, giving Holloway an opportunity to even his score with Volkanovski.
Volkanovski pulled off the win in that meeting as well—albeit in a closer split-decision outcome.
Calvin Kattar & Max Holloway (Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Holloway has worked his way towards another title opportunity since then, fighting in two UFC main event bouts. He kicked off his 2021 with a dominant striking performance against Calvin Kattar. Later in the year, he fought in a more competitive five-round battle against Yair Rodriguez for another decision win.
Volkanovski defended his belt for the second time in September, defeating Brian Ortega in a hard 25-minute scrap. The result not only continued Volkanovski’s reign as champ but marked his 10th consecutive win since joining the UFC in 2016.
MMA News will keep you posted on if this trilogy fight is rebooked or if Volkanovski draws another opponent for the UFC 272 event.
Lewis (26-8-1) is currently the #3-ranked heavyweight and is looking to build off of his most recent win against Chris Daukaus last month, where he KO’d Daukaus in just over three and a half minutes at UFC Vegas 45. Tuivasa (13-3), the #11-ranked heavyweight, is riding a four-fight win streak that includes three first-round knockouts.
As much potential this fight has to produce fireworks, it’s more than just that. For Lewis, he gets a chance to show out and put on the performance that his hometown Houston fans deserve. Lewis was disappointed the last time he fought in Houston, where he lost to Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in an interim heavyweight title fight.
And “Bam Bam” gets what he wished for. Tuivasa recently stated in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hourthat he’d like a potential fight with Derrick Lewis.
“I’d love to step in the cage with him one day. I think he’s a bit up from me at the moment, especially coming off his last win,” said Tuivasa. “But definitely, I would love to fight Derrick Lewis. We both have good personalities, we are the fun of the division,”
Who do you have winning between Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa at UFC 271?
