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Category: UFC News

  • Fights To Make Following UFC Fight Night 74

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    UFC Fight Night 74 ended with a whimper on Sunday night. Max Holloway extended his win streak to seven straight, and he now has ten wins in the UFC at just 23-years-old. It wasn’t the way he wanted to win as his opponent Charles Oliveira suffered a neck injury just 99 seconds into the bout, and was stretchered out of the Octagon following the fight. Holloway was looking good on his feet before the injury, but without a satisfying ending, it remains to be seen whether Holloway is ready to fight for a title.

    The UFC’s debut in Saskatoon may have had a disappointing ending, but there was some solid action on the card. Neil Magny and Patrick Cote were among the winners on the main card, and as we move past UFC Fight Night 74, it is time to play matchmaker and come up with some fights to make in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 74.

    Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar

    Max Holloway was able to take home the win in the main event of UFC Fight Night 74, scoring a TKO victory over Charles Oliveira after Oliveira suffered a neck injury very early in the fight. While it was not the type of win Holloway was looking for, it still extended his win streak to seven and keeps him in the top five of the UFC’s featherweight rankings. He’s ready for the next level of competition and a title eliminator bout, and that means one man right now- Frankie Edgar. Edgar is, without a doubt, next in line for a shot at the UFC Featherweight Championship when the saga between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor ends. However, he isn’t going to sit around and wait and wants to remain active. Holloway is the right fight for him to take at this time, and it would be a fine addition to a December card in Las Vegas, whether it be a main card bout for UFC 194, or even a headliner for the TUF 22 Finale.

    Neil Magny vs. Rick Story

    Neil Magny made a quick turnaround at UFC Fight Night 74, coming back 22 days after seeing his seven-fight win streak stopped by Demian Maia. It was a solid bounce back for Magny, who scored a split decision win over Erick Silva, who didn’t look like himself on Saturday night. The fight shouldn’t have even been a split decision and Magny was lucky he didn’t get robbed of a decision as he clearly won. Magny is now 8-1 in his last nine fights and is still a top-flight welterweight. He will definitely be back in action, likely sooner rather than later, this year, and a fight against the man he replaced on Sunday, Rick Story, looks to be a solid match-up. Story has won two straight fights and three of his last four, and both are similarly ranked. Story should be back in action before the end of the year.

    Patrick Cote vs. Hector Lombard

    Patrick Cote scored an impressive third-round technical knockout win over Josh Burkman in a fun fight at UFC Fight Night 74. Cote rocked Burkman several times throughout the fight, but Burkman showed heart in surviving. It was a battle in the final round and Burkman looked to have Cote hurt before Cote rocked Burkman with a right hand and finished him with more shots on the ground. It was Cote’s first stoppage win in the Octagon since 2008, but his resurgence since coming back has seen him win five of his last six fights. Cote is in line for a solid fight, and he called out a fighter in his post-fight interview- Hector Lombard. Lombard did call out Cote a while back, but is currently out of action until at least January due to a drug test failure. Cote let it be known he wants Lombard when he comes back, calling him a cheater in the process. Let’s get that fight booked for Lombard’s return.

    Francisco Trinaldo vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier

    Francisco Trinaldo and Olivier Aubin-Mercier both picked wins on Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 74 and extended their win streaks in the process. Trinaldo picked up his fourth straight win when he became the first man to defeat former TUF winner Chad Laprise, finishing him by TKO in the first round. Aubin-Mercier scored his third straight win, going to a decision with Tony Sims. He wasn’t as impressive, only landing three significant strikes in the full 15 minutes, the least amount of significant strikes ever landed in that length of time. Aubin-Mercier only has eight fights in his career, but he is ready for the next level of competition. Trinaldo is that next level. It makes sense to book them against each other.

    Valerie Letourneau vs. Joanne Calderwood

    Valerie Letourneau remained undefeated in her UFC career as she moved to 3-0 inside the Octagon win an unanimous decision win over Maryna Moroz. It was the fourth straight win overall for Letourneau, and she has now won seven of her last eight fights. Her last loss came at the hands of Claudia Gadelha, who will next challenge for the title in the women’s strawweight division. Letourneau is ready for a step up in competition, so why not against the woman that was derailed by Moroz- Joanne Calderwood. Calderwood scored a win in her last fight and she is looking at getting back into contention. She has just one blemish on her career, to Moroz, and now that Letourneau has blemished Moroz’ career, she and Calderwood would be a solid booking.

  • UFC Fight Night 74: Holloway vs. Oliveira weigh-in results and live video

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 74: Holloway vs. Oliveira weigh-ins from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan kicking off at 6 PM eastern time. The event airs on Sunday on FOX Sports 1 at 9 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 1 at 7 PM eastern time. This marks the first time the Octagon has been seen in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

    The event is headlined by a five-round featherweight bout as rising contenders and top-ranked fighters Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira square off in the first main event of both men’s UFC careers. Holloway puts a six-fight win streak on the line while Oliveira puts his four-fight win streak on the line. In the co-main event, Neil Magny looks to rebound from seeing the end of his seven-fight win streak as he takes a short notice bout against the tough Brazilian, Erick Silva. Also on the main card is a welterweight bout between long-time UFC veterans Patrick Cote and Josh Burkman.

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 9 PM ET/6 PM PT):

    Max Holloway (145) vs. Charles Oliveira (145.5)
    Neil Magny (170.5) vs. Erick Silva (171)
    Patrick Cote (170) vs. Josh Burkman (170)
    Chad Laprise (155.5) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (155.5)
    Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. Tony Sims (155.5)
    Maryna Moroz (115) vs. Valerie Letourneau (116) This was the second attempt.   Letourneau weighed in at 117 the first try.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT):

    Sam Stout (155) vs. Frankie Perez (155.5)
    Yves Jabouin (135.5) vs. Felipe Arantes (135.5)
    Marcos Rogerio de Lima (205) vs. Nikita Krylov (205.5)
    Chris Kelades (125.5) vs. Chris Beal (126)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6 PM ET/3 PM PT):

    Shane Campbell (155) vs. Elias Silverio (154.5)
    Misha Cirkunov (205) vs. Daniel Jolly (204)

  • UFC: Ronda Rousey to fight Holly Holm at January’s UFC 195, why Miesha Tate didn’t get the call (updated)

    By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com

    One of the UFC’s most popular fighters has her next fight booked, but it isn’t against who everyone expected after all.

    Just before 8 AM EST on ABC’s Good America America, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey announced via satellite that she will defend her title against Holly Holm at UFC 195 on January 2nd. The fight will main event a show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. 

    Rousey (12-0) was expected to fight rival Miesha Tate for a third time after Rousey dispatched Bethe Correia in August and Tate won her fourth straight in July. Instead, she’ll fight the undefeated Holm (9-0) who is 2-0 in the Octagon.

    When Holm was finally signed to the UFC after a long negotiation period, it was expected that the heavily experienced boxer-turned-MMA-fighter would be groomed to face Rousey at some point. However, due to two decisions that were tepidly received by fans and media, that fight wasn’t seen as next for either woman. 

    In an interview with the L.A. Times, UFC president Dana White told Lance Pugmire that while Tate was the initial thought, they were sitting around and determined that people had already seen that fight already. 

    “A third fight in a rivalry usually comes after the stuff we’d see in [Arturo] Gatti-[Micky] Ward,” White said of the classic boxing trilogy. “With Miesha, the result has been the same twice. Everyone’s already seen that fight.”

    White also said that if both sides are healthy, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will face Claudia Gadelha in the co-main event of that show, effectively kililng the speculation that Tate would face Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino in the co-main event with the winners going onto UFC 200.

    There is now thought that Tate will fight Amanda Nunes on that show with the winner facing Rousey if she can get past Holm. If that rounded out the top three fights on that card, that would be an excellent main card already.

    The January show will come less than a month after the monolith of UFC 194 that features a featherweight title unification bout between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo, and an excellent middleweight title fight between champion Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold.

  • UFC News: UFC issues statement on Rumble Johnson

    UFC issued a statement today regarding Anthony Rumble Johnson:

    “UFC is aware of the situation involving Anthony Johnson.  We take these matters seriously and have commenced a formal investigation by a third party law firm.  We will act accordingly once we gather more information.”

    The Johnson situation was reported here in the daily update at http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/44148-wed-update-qrumbleq-brags-about-attacking-woman-summerslam-week-schedule-a-much-more

  • UFC News: UFC announces stadium event in Australia

    The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Herald Sun reported today that UFC 193 will be taking place at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

    The show, which takes place on 11/15 (it will air in the usual PPV time slot on 11/14 in North America) had been earmarked for Melbourne but the decision had not been made whether to run at the 55,000-seat stadium or the smaller Rod Laver Arena. 

    It will be the first UFC event in Melbourne.  The top fights on the show will be Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit for the welterweight title and a rematch between Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Bigfoot Silva, of one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history.

  • UFC News: Tom Lawlor to battle Fabio Maldonado in Brazil

    Tom Lawlor — UFC light heavyweight and co-host of “Filthy Four Daily” with Bryan Alvarez — has his next fight booked: a tilt with Fabio Maldonado on November 7 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was announced first on Brazil’s Combate Channel.

    The fight was agreed to a while ago, but not officially announced until today. The fight will be on the undercard of Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort III, along with the newly announced co-main event of Glover Teixeira vs. Patrick Cummins. The Lawlor fight is expected to be on the main card of the event, a Fox Sports 1 show.

    The 32-year-old Lawlor (10-5-0-1) returned to action for the first time in two years on UFC on FOX in July, knocking out Gian Villante in the second round for his second straight victory. He recently signed a new four-year deal with the organization, announced during his appearance on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out.

  • UFC Fight Round-Up: Several bouts announced including key UFC 194 addition

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    Monday was a busy day when it comes to fight announcements for several upcoming events, including fights with title implications, one of which is a key addition to December’s big UFC 194 event in Las Vegas.

    A middleweight bout between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero was the big addition, joining the already loaded UFC 194 event on December 12 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The bout was confirmed by UFC officials after an initial report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Souza and Romero will meet in what is likely a title eliminator bout for the UFC Middleweight Championship, which will be on the line at that UFC 194 event when champion Chris Weidman defends against top contender Luke Rockhold. It also sets up a situation where should one of those fighters get injured, Souza or Romero could slide in as a replacement. This is the third time that Souza and Romero have been booked to fight as injuries to each man have previously caused cancellations of those scheduled fights. That event is headlined by the much anticipated UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.

    UFC 192 on October 3 in Houston, Texas saw two fights added to the event, which were first reported by the Houston Chronicle. In a flyweight bout, it will be a battle of former title challengers as Joseph Benavidez takes on Ali Bagautinov. Benavidez is riding a three-fight win streak, and his only losses  at 125 pounds have come to Demetrious Johnson, the current title holder. Baguatinov returns from a year-long drug suspension following his title loss to Johnson at UFC 174 in June 2014. Also, in the women’s strawweight division, Rose Namajunas will take on Angela Hill. That event is headlined by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier defending against Alexander Gustafsson, and the fight card also includes bouts between Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader, and Johny Hendricks against Tyron Woodley.

    Another key flyweight bout with title shot implications was also announced as Henry Cejudo takes on Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night 78 in Monterrey, Mexico on November 21. Cejudo, a former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, is undefeated in his nine career fights, and has won three since joining the UFC. Formiga is riding a three-fight win streak. That event airs on FOX Sports 1 and is headlined by a welterweight bout between Matt Brown and Kelvin Gastelum. 

  • UFC officially announces Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold title fight for UFC 194

    On Thursday, the UFC announced that middleweight champion Chris Weidman will defend his title against Luke Rockhold as the co-main event of UFC 194 on Saturday, December 12th in Las Vegas, NV.

    The highly-anticipated bout will be on the same card as another highly anticipated title fight: the featherweight title unification bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.

    That combo alone should push the show in the million PPV buy range.

  • UFC releases statement on Anderson Silva ruling

    The UFC released the following statement on Anderson Silva’s 1-year ban and fine by the Nevada Athletic Commission today:

    “Following the Nevada Athletic Commission’s hearing today, Anderson Silva is required to serve a 12-month suspension from competition, retroactive from his last fight on January 31. At the conclusion of his suspension, Silva must present a clean test upon reapplication of a license before his next fight in Nevada.

    “The UFC organization maintains a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes, and fully supports the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure clean competition by all MMA athletes. 

    UFC recognizes Silva’s great career and looks forward to his return to the Octagon in 2016.”

  • UFC: Anderson Silva suspended for one year, fined $380,000

    Anderson Silva was given a one year suspension and fined $380,000 today at the Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing for testing positive for anabolic steroids and anti-anxiety medications in January.

    Silva failed a test for two steroids on 1/9, and then, the night of his fight with Nick Diaz, failed a test for one steroid (Drastanolone) and anti-anxiety meidcations.

    Silva was lucky that the failure took place before both the UFC and Nevada had increased its punishment time frame for drug failures.

    Silva’s won over Diaz was also overturned and ruled a no contest.

    The fine consisted of his $200,000 win bonus, along with $180,000, which was $600,000 of his guaranteed purse for the fight.

    An almost comical at times hearing, saw Silva claim the Drostanolone came from a tainted supplement for sexual performance that a friend of his had gotten in Thailand, because it wasn’t available in the U.S. or Brazil, which is why he never went to a doctor and got a prescription for it.