In addition to a stacked main card, next week's UFC on FOX 5 event includes a super-sized preliminary-card lineup with nine fights. 
While fighters will continue to control their destiny in the Bellator cage, chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney has given himself some wiggle room. Two more fights announced for M-1 Challenge 52 on Oct. 17 is a post from: MMA Interplay
Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/mma/two-more-fights-announced-for-m-1-challenge-52-on-oct-17-68433/
The UFC is back on October 25 with UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2 and they have released an extended preview of the main event. UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will put his title on the line for a second time against Chad Mendes and the preview will take you through the first fight and […]
The post UFC 179 Preview Video: Aldo Vs Mendes II appeared first on Fighters.com.
Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/09/ufc-179-preview-video-aldo-vs-mendes-ii/
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Dealing with adversity, with loss, is often what defines a champion. Long streaks of dominance are fine and preferable, but they don't tell someone what kind of fighter they are.
Heading into his light heavyweight fight against UFC hall of famer Tito Ortiz, Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko had won thirteen straight fights. So, it is little wonder that he felt so confident heading into the fight.
After being dispatched via choke by Ortiz in under three minutes, however, the Russian admits to being "shaken up." Shlemenko's dominant streak of wins had just come crashing down, but he responded to the fall like a true champion - by getting back in the gym immediately.
"I started training again the next day, after the fight [with Ortiz]," he tells Cagewriter through a translator, two days before returning to the cage in Phoenix against Brandon Halsey.
"I was so upset and not just because I lost, but because of the way I lost. I didn’t even get punched once. I didn’t get scratched in the fight...the loss really shook me up. It shook me to the point where, after the fight, I feel like a new fighter. So, that and because I had to help a student of mine get ready to fight, it was easy psychologically and physically for me to get back into training hard."
Shlemenko also says he made a great deal of changes in his training, from stand up striking to wrestling and submission work. However, the biggest change in his training was his attitude towards it.
"Yes, I made some significant changes," he reveals.
"First and foremost, however, I changed my attitude towards training. During my preparation for Tito, I felt way too relaxed. I have changed my mental approach to training, in addition to learning a lot of new techniques."
Shlemenko may need all that in order to win his next bout on Friday. According to the champion, his opponent Halsey brings a strong grappling game and a sharp mind into the fight.
"He's a strong, big guy with a lot of weight. Obvisouly he's a great wrestler and against Brett Cooper he showed that he's also a thinking fighter," he says.
"He thinks about strategy before his fights and he utilizes that strategy well in the fight."
In Halsey, Shlemenko will fight an undefeated contender who doubtless has the confidence of a professional who has never tasted defeat. "Storm" has the confidence of a champion recently wounded, however, and the lessons learned from recent defeat may make him all the more dangerous.
He doesn't know what will happen on fight night, but he has visualized one thing over and over, in the weeks leading up to Friday - Winning. "It is difficult to visualize what may happen in a fight," he admits.
"But the one thing I can visualize is that, at the end of the day, my hand will be raised again and I will keep my belt."
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Dominick Cruz was justifiably proud of being one of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound. The former WEC and UFC bantamweight champion worked hard to develop into a champion, after all.
However, the fighter says that the quest to become and then remain champion became all-consuming not just in terms of his time and effort, but also in terms of his identity and self-worth. Three years away from competition because of injuries, revealed this to "The Dominator."
"For a long time, I felt like my identity was to fight," Cruz said in a recent interview.
"My identity was to be a world champion. That almost defined me. Then, over the course of these last three years, I really found that had nothing to do with me. All that was was just something that I did, and I'm happy that I've had to go through this, because I've had to learn a new piece of myself. I had to find a new piece of myself, take away what I thought defined me completely out of my life, and I had to redefine myself."
Cruz, who returns to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC 178 against Takeya Mizugaki, said that he began to use MMA fighting as a crutch, and in order to avoid dealing with himself. He loved and still does love martial arts and competing, but has become a more well-rounded person during his time away from fighting.
"I feel that I fell somewhat under that category where I was using fighting to kind of run from my own self to an extent, to kind of numb the things that I thought about myself," Cruz explained.
"When I had fighting taken away, I was forced to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'What are you without fighting? What are you without being a champion? What are you without being able to train every single day to numb whatever you're trying to run from?'
"What I found out is that what I needed was to do that, to look at myself in the mirror and to recreate myself, find a new person inside me,. And I've done that. I've been able to become an analyst over this time, learn more about fighting. I was able to help coach and help my teammates become better athletes. I was able to get involved in some charity stuff and help others with their lives. I was able to build my relationship with god closer. There were so many things I've been able to switch my hats on and really focus on something other than beating people up for a living, and it's just really changed me. Now I can add that to the fact that I also get to fight, I get to re-live my passion all over again."
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Josh Barnett talks Victor Henry and Colleen Schneider's SFL 35 title victories, when we could potentially see him back in the Octagon, the UFC heavyweight division, his podcast and more
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Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/torchtoday/article_23415.shtml
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Conor McGregor won his fourth straight UFC fight Saturday night in Las Vegas but it wasn't without controversy. The brash Irishman moved ahead in the featherweight rankings with a first round TKO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 178, but the unfortunate manner in which it ended still left plenty of questions regarding not just the fight but the rising star's ability to take on and possibly take out the very best in the world.
After a good number of striking combinations thrown from both men, with mostly only glancing connections for either, McGregor caught a ducking Poirier with a left hook to the back of the head. The American appeared to go out and fell to the mat.
McGregor followed up with strikes to the downed Poirier, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and call a stop to the fight. Strictly speaking, strikes to the back of the head area that McGregor hit Poirier on are not allowed in unified MMA rules.
However, Dean either didn't notice the placement of the quick shot or, decided no foul could be called because McGregor's punch seemed to be aimed and thrown at a legal area of Poirier before the Louisiana fighter ducked into it. In either case, McGregor moves on in the 145 pound class with this high-profile, though controversial win, and was quick to call for a title shot in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
"What the other featherweights don't understand, is that it's a whole ‘nother game when they get hit by me," McGregor told interviewer Joe Rogan.
"The world title is next."
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UFC Fight Night 53 is underway in Stockholm, Sweden, and the main card will feature Swedish fighters like Niklas Backstrom and Ilir Latifi. In the headliner, Rick Story will throw hands with rising welterweight Gunnar Nelson. Here is what’s going down in the main card action (prelim fight summaries can be found here). Mike Wilkinson vs. Niklas […]
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/109905/ufc-fn-53-main-card-play-play/
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Gunnar Nelson made a statement when he defeated DaMarques Johnson. Now, the unbeaten fighter from Iceland will try to do it again. Nelson meets Rick Story in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 53 main event from Sweden. But, before you see that bout on Fight Pass, check out Nelson-Johnson in this fight replay in the video […]
The post UFC Fight Night 53 Primer: Gunnar Nelson Dominates TUF Competitor appeared first on MMA Convert.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/70DetyPGX-I/
Brandon Halsey (7-0) gets a shot at the Bellator middleweight title Friday in Phoenix, when he challenges champion Alexander Shlemenko (50-8). The undefeated American wrestler has motivation beyond the gold belt, however - he wants to keep the "0" on his record.
"Yeah it feels good to keep the momentum going and stay undefeated. I want to keep that going," he tells Cagewriter.
Up until he lost a non-title, light heavyweight fight with Tito Ortiz last May, Shlemenko had a great deal of momentum going himself. It had been years, and thirteen fights since the Russian had dropped a fight before getting submitted in the first round of his fight with the former UFC champ.
Shlemenko recently told us that he's a new and more dangerous fighter since that loss. Halsey doesn't doubt it, and expects the champion to have all his confidence back come fight night.
"I have no idea what his mindset is but I know he is capable of overcoming adversity," the challenger says.
"I’m expecting him to bring his best. I’m prepared for the best Alexander Shlemenko."
One of the champion's main strengths is his almost ridiculous amount of fight experience. He estimates that he's competed in fight sports over a thousand times, and his professional MMA record lists nearly sixty fights.
With just seven pro fights in total, Halsey would seem to be at serious disadvantage when it comes to experience and the savvy that comes with it. The Californian says he's more than an MMA newcomer, however - he's a life long combat sports competitor.
"I've been wrestling a long time," he explains.
"I've been on this type of big stage before. Having seventy fights doesn’t mean that you have the experience advantage. I'm looking forward to the spotlight. I'm ready to go."
Halsey's goals don't just include staying undefeated and winning the Bellator title, either. The 28 year-old wants to become the best fighter in the world, pound for pound, by the time he's done.
"[Winning] is going to be a good feeling," he says.
"Everyone looks forward to holding a title. But I'll still have to move forward. I want to be the best fighter in the world, pound for pound, one day."
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Our friends up North delivered another great night of fights. Here are the highlights from MFC 41 featuring Brad Katona, Andrew McInnes, Jeremy Osheim, and Shane Campbell. AXS TV is Your Home for MMA every Friday Night! Find AXS TV HERE: http://bit.ly/WtTUDr
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Marcos Villegas speaks to Sergey Kovalev's trainer, John David Jackson about his man's fight on Nov 8th against Bernard Hopkins and asks the question, Can a 49 year handle that much body wor and pressure? For more Boxing and MMA videos log onto http://www.fighthubtv.com Like us:http://on.fb.me/xWRC1f follow us:http://bit.ly/wACkIv Boxing videos! MMA videos! uploaded daily! Subscribe:http://goo.gl/vnzIb
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The live fighter weigh-ins for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 54: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine event went down earlier today from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and you can see complete results right here on FightLine. Rory MacDonald meets Tarec Saffiedine in a welterweight main event, while Raphael Assuncao battles Bryan Caraway in another main card bouts. FightLine […]
The post Complete Weigh-In Results Are In For UFC Fight Night 54 appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.
Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2014/10/03/complete-weigh-in-results-are-in-for-ufc-fight-night-54/
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Even if the Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre super fight never happens, it sure has given fans plenty to talk about. Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/QmshJdmNpwo/the-sunday-junkie-nov-25-edition.mma
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So far, 2014 has unfolded without a performance from UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis, which any fan knows, are not typically something you want to miss. In a year where the UFC has had to do without the services of stars like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, the promotion certainly could have used “Showtime” earlier […]
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/109783/ufc-anthony-pettis-talks-gilbert-melendez-wont-need-one-round/
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The first tiny steps down the path that may lead to a match with UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be taken on Dec. 5, when Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino will make her 135-pound debut in the main event of an Invicta card that will be streamed on UFC FightPass.
No opponent or venue has been announced.
Since the night in 2012 that Rousey defeated Miesha Tate on Showtime to win the Strikeforce bantamweight title, there have been calls for a match between the ex-American Olympian and Justino, the Brazilian striker who'd held the Strikeforce 145-pound title.
UFC president Dana White has so far steadfastly refused to pit the two, citing a news conference Justino and then-manager Tito Ortiz held in which Ortiz said a doctor told Justino she could be risking her life trying to cut to 135 pounds. Ortiz, who is a longtime White nemesis, was hoping to make the fight at 145 pounds, the weight in which Rousey began her mixed martial arts career.
White also pointed to Justino's suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug in her Dec. 16, 2011, fight with Hiroko Yamanaka as a reason for not making the fight.
In an attempt to remove himself as an obstacle, Ortiz resigned as Justino's manager, but it did little to change White's mind.
Justino told Yahoo Sports earlier this year she used steroids before the Yamanaka fight as a way to help her make weight.
She said she was hurt by White's frequent disparaging comments about her looks and said she was always a big, even in her childhood days. She said she walks around at 170 pounds.
I don't need [steroids] for muscles. I always had muscles for as long as I remember. It's how I was born. I did it for the weight. It was a mistake, but it wasn't to cheat and get muscles. It was weight [loss].
White has more recently said that if Justino shows she can successfully, and safely, make 135, he'd at least consider a Rousey-Justino fight.
Rousey has cited Justino's use of performance-enhancing drugs as a reason she was wary of the fight because she feels Justino is undeserving. Rousey has frequently called for Olympic-style drug testing in MMA and told Yahoo Sports that Justino has used steroids for so long she no longer can be considered a woman.
I've said before, I don't care if she's injecting horse semen into her eyeballs, I'll fight her, but that's just my personal decision. But I can't make a decision for the whole division. I can't say it's the right thing. This girl has been on steroids for so long and [has been] injecting herself for so long that she's not even a woman anymore. She's an 'it.' It's not good for the women's division. It's not good at all.
The fight between the two, if made, would be a massive bout and likely the biggest women's match ever. Only a Rousey-Gina Carano fight could be considered bigger among the women. Carano is retired and has become an actress, but the UFC has been negotiating with her for a return.
When a staph infection recently caused an ensuing skin infection for Jake Rosenbaum, it wasn't hard to spot. The UFC is headed to Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday, and if you haven’t noticed, it’s doing so at a time when the nation is making some waves throughout MMA. Sure, Alexander Gustafsson is becoming one of the UFC’s top stars, but the promotion’s roster also includes Swedes like Niklas Backstrom, Ilir Latifi, Nicholas Musoke, Akira […]
MMAjunkie.com returns from vacation with UFC on FOX 5 main-card fighter Matt Brown (in studio) and his opponent, Mike Swick, who both join today's show.
Resurrection Fighting Alliance puts its featherweight title up for grabs when it returns this week. It's not all that surprising when a fight with fighters weighing a combined 524 pounds ends in a devastating one-punch knockout.
What is surprising, though, is that one of them was able to score a massive knockout after having a pretty incredible battle with the scale.
A UFC source who asked not to be identified told Yahoo Sports a day before the weigh-in at UFC Fight Night 52 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo that Mark Hunt had to cut 19 pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265. Hunt, who was 284 the day before the weigh in, worked the weight off and weighed 264 officially.
He then went out and performed like a star, catching Roy Nelson with a perfectly placed right uppercut that knocked "Big Country" cold. Nelson went down face first as referee Leon Roberts immediately stopped the fight while Hunt simply walked away.
Hunt denied at the post-fight news conference that he weighed 284 the day before the weigh-in, but Yahoo Sports spoke to multiple sources in the UFC both before and after the fight, all of whom confirmed that Hunt indeed was 20 pounds over.
Hunt didn't admit to having dropped that much at the post-fight news conference, but he did say he was struggling with his weight.
"Uh, no. I don’t know where they got those rumors from. I didn’t have to cut 19 pounds. I think I had to cut eight or nine."
Cutting large amounts of weight the week of a weigh-in is a common (albeit dangerous) occurrence in mixed martial arts, but it is unusual to see it in the UFC heavyweight division.
It was an astounding performance by Hunt given his weight loss and it capped a solid night of fights.
UFC president Dana White was typically excited by the Hunt-Nelson fight, but said he didn't know what would be next for Hunt.
"I need to talk to [matchmaker] Joe Silva and see what he thinks," White said of Hunt's next opponent. "They both really look good when they're fighting guys outside of the top 10. But those guys in the top 10 give them both a lot of trouble. Stipe [Miocic] is a great athlete and he gave Roy a lot of trouble with his movement. Look at what happened in the JDS [Junior dos Santos] fight with Hunt. Those guys are good, but they have had trouble with the top, top guys.
"But when you hit that hard, anything can happen. As Hunt showed, all it takes is one shot with guys that hit as hard as they do."
Tim Kennedy had good reason to be upset heading into the third round of his featured middleweight fight Saturday night at UFC 178 in Las Vegas against Yoel Romero. After all, he had been pushed around for nearly two rounds before landing monstrous punches to the head of his opponent Yoel Romero at the end of the second period that appeared to have the Cuban out on his feet before the horn sounded and saved him.
Then, once the rest period between the second and third round had ended and referee John McCarthy instructed both fighters to get off their stools and resume fighting, Romero did not rise and was tended to by his corner for a bit longer. Kennedy immediately protested the default extra rest and recovery time the hurt Romero was given but McCarthy allowed the fight to continue and without penalty to Romero.
Then, the former Olympic silver medalist managed to pounce on Kennedy and knock him out early in the third round. Needless to say, Kennedy was furious at the turn of events, and he wasted little time seeking out Romero and telling him as much backstage, afterwards (video above).
"If you can't get off the stool, that's the end of the fight," a frustrated Kennedy told Romero.
Check out the Vine clip above for yourself and see the brief moment captured on tape. Then, let us know what you think of the controversy in the comments section.
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The UFC produced a show for the upcoming card in Stockholm and you can watch it right here on Fighters.com. The video focuses on the ALLSTARS Training Center and the four fighters they have fighting on the card. The show focuses on Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi, Magnus Cedenblad, Tor Troeng and Niklas Backstrom. The show […]
The post Stories From Stockholm (Full Video) appeared first on Fighters.com.
Source: http://www.fighters.com/09/29/stories-stockholm-full-video/
http://fightnetwork.com/ - Fight Network's boxing analyst Corey Erdman speaks with former WBC female super welterweight champ Mia St. John at the Box Fan Expo about training with Robert Garcia, rivalry with Christy Martin & thoughts on women's combat sports. For additional coverage of MMA, boxing and pro-wrestling check out http://fightnetwork.com/ or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fightnet or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FightNetwork
Invicta Fighting Championships is set to crown its second champion on Jan. 5 with 115-pounders Claudia "Claudinha" Gadelha vs. Carla "Cookie Monster" Esparza. While fighters will continue to control their destiny in the Bellator cage, chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney has given himself some wiggle room. 