Category: UFC News

Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux weigh-ins from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on FOX Sports 1 at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 2 at 8 PM eastern time. This will be the third event held in the city of Nashville, and the first since UFC On FX 1 in January 2012.

The event is headlined by a five-round light heavyweight bout as former title challenger Glover Teixeira looks to end his two-fight losing skid when he meets former University Of Tennessee football player Ovince Saint Preux, winner of seven of his last eight bouts. In the co-main event, it is a lightweight battle between two men riding four-fight win streaks as Michael Johnson takes on Beneil Dariush. Also on the main card is an interesting bout in the women’s bantamweight division as former Olympian Sara McMann takes on Amanda Nunes.

Ray Borg weighed in .75 over and didn’t look too surprised.  He did not try to make the weight and will forfeit 20% of his purse.

Sara McMann looked really surprised at her .5 pound over.  She did not strip down as the men did before her.  They did reference Gina Carano is the only woman who has before.

MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT):

Glover Teixeira (205.5) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (206)
Michael Johnson (155.5) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
Derek Brunson (186) vs. Sam Alvey (186)
Jared Rosholt (237) vs. Timothy Johnson (265)
Sara McMann (136.5) vs. Amanda Nunes (136)
Ray Borg (126.75!!!) vs. Geane Herrera (126)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 2- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):

Uriah Hall (185.5) vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (184.5)
Chris Camozzi (185.5) vs. Tom Watson (185)
Dustin Ortiz (125.5) vs. Willie Gates (126 – 126.5 on first try)
Frankie Saenz (136) vs. Sirwan Kakai (136 – 136.5 on first try.  Had to remove the shorts!)

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT):

Chris Dempsey (204.5) vs. Jonathan Wilson (205)
Marlon Vera (135.5) vs. Roman Salazar (135)
Anthony Christodoulou (156) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)

By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

The UFC returns yet again this weekend for a free event on FOX Sports 1 as the Octagon heads back to Tennessee, stopping in Nashville for UFC Fight Night 73. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 2 for additional preliminary action at 8 PM eastern time.

The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the light heavyweight division as former title challenger Glover Teixeira looks to snap a two-fight losing streak when he faces rising contender Ovince Saint Preux. In the night’s co-main event, it will be lightweights in action as Michael Johnson and Beneil Dariush both look to score their fifth straight win and move into the title hunt. Also on the card are such notables as Uriah Hall, Derek Brunson, Ray Borg, Dustin Ortiz, Amanda Nunes and Sara McMann. Let’s dive deeper into the 13-fight card as we look at five storylines to keep an eye on for UFC Fight Night 73.

1. Can Glover Teixeira snap his two-fight losing skid in the main event against Ovince Saint Preux?

Glover Teixeira has had back luck as of late and is looking to right the ship on Saturday night when he steps foot inside the Octagon for the main event of UFC Fight Night 73. Teixeira has lost two straight fights after winning 18 straight, including his first five in the UFC, that led to him challenging for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, held at the time by Jon Jones, at UFC 172 in April 2014. While he took Jones the distance, Teixeira was unable to do much against Jones as Jones was able to retain the championship, winning all five rounds on all three scorecards. Teixeira then dropped his last fight to Phil Davis, losing a decision in dropping all three rounds on all three scorecards. After losing not just his last two fights, but all eight rounds, and with having two fights cancelled due to injury, Teixeira returns from a ten-month layoff wanting to start a new win streak.

Teixeira’s opponent in the main event is Ovince Saint Preux, winner of two straight and 15 of his last 17. Saint Preux’s last two wins have come by knockout in the first round. He got a TKO win over Mauricio Rua in just 34 seconds at UFC Fight Night 56 in November, then finished Patrick Cummins at UFC On FOX 15 in April. Saint Preux has been impressive in winning seven of his last eight fights by stoppage, and after a slow start to his career when he started with just a 3-4 record, his only two losses since 2009 have come to Gegard Mousasi and Ryan Bader, both of whom are contenders in their divisions in the UFC. Saint Preux has rised to sixth in the UFC’s rankings, and he gets the third main event of his short UFC career in Nashville, which is big for him as he played football at the University of Tennessee.

These are two big light heavyweights with finishing ability and they could provide an entertaining 25-minute bout. Saint Preux has a four-inch reach advantage and both have shown knockout power. Teixeira has a better ground game and Saint Preux can be taken down if there are openings. Teixeira was really outmatched by Davis, and Saint Preux may be a more powerful Davis, at least on the feet. It is really a close fight on paper and on the betting odds. Saint Preux being more impressive lately and fighting in his home state may give him the slight edge, but Teixeira is a tough opponent. Teixeira will likely be permanently out of the title picture with a loss, but a win gives him new life in a current post-Jones light heavyweight division. I like Teixeira by decision in a close fight that goes the distance.

2. Who makes it five straight in the night’s co-main event?

The co-main event is an interesting lightweight bout between ranked fighters as fifth-ranked Michael Johnson and 12th-ranked Beneil Dariush put their respective four-fight win streaks on the line. Johnson was briefly linked to a bout with Benson Henderson for an event last month, but when that fell apart due to injury, Johnson was booked with the less-known but equally dangerous Dariush. Johnson has won his four straight over Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, Melvin Guillard and Edson Barboza, while Dariush’s win streak has come over Tony Martin, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Daron Cruickshank and Jim Miller. While Johnson’s win streak has come over higher-profile competition, Dariush’s may be more impressive as he has been more dominant with the four wins in less than a year, and he has two wins since Johnson last fought.

Johnson has put together the tools many thought he had when he made it to the finals of season twelve of The Ultimate Fighter. He was inconsistent in going just 4-4 in his first eight UFC bouts, but the four wins have shown he has improved greatly under the guidance of the Blackzilians. Dariush comes from a top camp in the Kings MMA group, and with eleven wins in twelve fights including eight by stoppage, he is a solid prospect making the jump up. Both men are under 30 years of age, and both have bright futures in the UFC. A win makes a solid contender in a crowded 155-pound division while the loser won’t take much of a step back. I like the experience of Johnson to give him the win in this bout.

3. Will Ray Borg’s potential continue to show?

Ray Borg is celebrating his 22nd birthday this fight week, and he still remains one of the youngest and brightest prospects in all of the UFC. Borg will be stepping inside the Octagon for the fourth time in his career, and he is looking to score his third straight win. He has scored back-to-back submission wins over Shane Howell and Chris Kelades that have netted him two “Performance Of The Night” bonus awards. His lone loss in the UFC, and in his career, came in a split decision loss to Dustin Ortiz in his Octagon debut, a fight he took on just eight days’ notice after having fought just two weeks prior.

Borg being so young and raw with an exciting style has fans talking of him being a future title contender, and his fights have been among some of the fun flyweight contests over the past year. He meets Geane Herrera in this bout, a man making his UFC debut. Herrera enters the UFC with a perfect 8-0 record and six stoppage wins, with five by submission. These men are both entertaining, and they get the main card opener slot on FOX Sports 1. It should be an entertaining fight between two young prospects. Borg having the experience in the Octagon, coupled with the potential he has shown, will give him the edge. You could be seeing a future title challenger in him.

4. Will the stocks of Uriah Hall and Sara McMann ever go back up?

When Uriah Hall and Sara McMann both entered the UFC, they came with a lot of hype as future title challengers. Hall was a killer on season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter”, but he came up short in the finals against Kelvin Gastelum. He then lost his next fight to John Howard, but then bounced back with three straight wins, two coming by stoppage after dominating performances. He looked to have righted the ship, but then looked like the Hall who lost two straight when he dropped a decision to Rafael Natal at UFC 187 in May. While all three losses have been by split decisions, he has looked different in them, perhaps due to the stiffer competition. He fights the debuting Oluwale Bamgbose, who is taking the fight on short notice. He is 5-0 with five first-round TKO wins, and while he will be a tough opponent for Hall, this is his chance to bounce back.

McMann is in a different position. She has fought for the title, losing by first-round TKO to Ronda Rousey at UFC 170 in February 2014. She had won the first seven fights in her career until then, and she hasn’t necessarily looked the same since. While she won her next fight over Lauren Murphy, it was a split decision where she didn’t look all that impressive. She then lost her last fight to Miesha Tate by majority decision at UFC 183 in January. She dominated the first round but then dropped the last two, and is now 1-2 in her last three after starting 7-0. She has been outspoken about the business practices of the UFC, and she isn’t someone who promotes her fights, so perhaps that is why she isn’t as recognized despite being the fourth-ranked fighter in the division. She has a tough fight against Amanda Nunes, one that could easily favor Nunes, who is a power striker, but also tends to fade in long fights. McMann needs to use her wrestling to stifle Nunes on the feet if she wants to bounce back with a win.

5. What else is there to watch for on the card?

The main card for this event may not be huge on star power, but it has some compelling match-ups. Middleweights Derek Brunson and Sam Alvey put their win streaks on the line when they square off. Brunson has won two straight while Alvey has won three straight. Heavyweights Jared Rosholt and Timothy Johnson look to score another knockout win inside the Octagon, and middleweights Chris Camozzi and Tom Watson look to get back on track after a string of bad luck.

In various preliminary action, flyweights Dustin Ortiz and Willie Gates look to establish themselves in the 125-pound division. Gates takes the fight on short notice after Ortiz’ original opponent, Ian McCall, was forced out due to injury. Sirwan Kakai looks to extend his three-fight win streak as he makes a quick turnaround against Frankie Saenz. In the opener, Tennessee native Scott Holtzman makes his UFC debut with a 7-0 record against Anthony Christodoulou. The night is set up to what should be a solid night of action.

Full UFC Fight Night 73 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions

MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

Light Heavyweights: (#4) Glover Teixeira vs. (#6) Ovince Saint Preux
Betting Odds: Teixeira (-120), Saint Preux (+100)
Prediction: Teixeira by decision

Lightweights: (#5) Michael Johnson vs. (#12) Beneil Dariush
Betting Odds: Johnson (-160), Dariush (+140)
Prediction: Johnson by decision

Middleweights: (#15) Derek Brunson vs. Sam Alvey
Betting Odds: Brunson (-430), Alvey (+345)
Prediction: Brunson by submission in round 2

Heavyweights: Jared Rosholt vs. Timothy Johnson
Betting Odds: Rosholt (-245), Johnson (+205)
Prediction: Rosholt by knockout in round 2

Women’s Bantamweights: (#4) Sara McMann vs. (#7) Amanda Nunes
Betting Odds: McMann (-255), Nunes (+215)
Prediction: McMann by decision

Flyweights: (#14) Ray Borg vs. Geana Herrera
Betting Odds: Borg (-470), Herrera (+375)
Prediction: Borg by submission in round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 2- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

Middleweights: Uriah Hall vs. Oluwale Bamgbose
Betting Odds: Hall (-420), Bamgbose (+335)
Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2

Middleweights: Chris Camozzi vs. Tom Watson
Betting Odds: Camozzi (-150), Watson (+130)
Prediction: Watson by decision

Flyweights: (#11) Dustin Ortiz vs. Willie Gates
Betting Odds: Ortiz (-440), Gates (+350)
Prediction: Gates by decision

Bantamweights: (#14) Frankie Saenz vs. Sirwan Kakai
Betting Odds: Saenz (-130), Kakai (+110)
Prediction: Kakai by decision

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)

Light Heavyweights: Chris Dempsey vs. Jonathan Wilson
Betting Odds: Dempsey (+150), Wilson (-170)
Prediction: Wilson by knockout in round 2

Bantamweights: Marlon Vera vs. Roman Salazar
Betting Odds: Vera (-130), Salazar (+110)
Prediction: Vera by decision

Lightweights: Anthony Christodoulou vs. Scott Holtzman
Betting Odds: Christodoulou (+600), Holtzman (-900)
Prediction: Holtzman by knockout in round 2

UFC announced these two matches tonight on UFC Tonight:

Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit for the welterweight title will headline the 11/15 (11/14 U.S. time) show in Melbourne, Australia.  It has not been announced the location, whether it will be the stadium or Rod Laver Arena, to host the show.

Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley in a top contenders match will be on the 10/3 UFC 192 PPV show from Houston.

By Steve Juon, WrestlingObserver.com

Here’s what I DON’T get about the Diaz brothers. I know that their ascendance in popularity over the last decade is owed largely to them being surly malcontents who don’t say or do the right things when the spotlight is shone on them. I get why people who feel like outsiders themselves would embrace that, cling to that, and feel that the Diaz brothers are their champions and that everybody else “just doesn’t get it.” They are outsiders who refuse to play by mainstream rules who bow to no one.

The problem for me is the same problem I have with Ric Flair “living the gimmick”. After years of failed relationships and unpaid bar tabs and a life of constant turbulence, wouldn’t you +WANT+ to stop being a rebel? What kind of effect does it have on your psyche to willingly choose a life where you live from one court date to the next and get banned from buildings and promotions everywhere you go? Why on earth would you crave such discord and disharmony for yourself?

Everybody loves a trainwreck. They’ll happily proclaim themselves a “fan” and cheer you on as you descend slowly or quickly into the abyss, but they won’t be there to pull you up when you finally hit rock bottom. If I was as talented as Nick or Nate Diaz, and had the kind of opportunities that are literally handed to them on a silver platter, I wouldn’t keep pissing them away just to keep up the image of being a bad boy. It’s overrated, self-destructive, and it’s honestly disrespectful to everybody in the sport that they compete in to behave like goons at major events.

You’d at least not want to make your friends and training partners not come off like lunatics, instead of them having to jump in and save you when you start a wild brawl at a show. That’s potentially ruining other people’s lives with fines, sanctions and suspension – not just your own.

Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting old, or maybe it’s a sign that I’m maturing as I age, but I don’t crave a wild life any more. An exciting day for me is trying to interview three fighters in 24 hours, or cover two shows in one night, or taking a road trip to a show where I’m credentialed to sit cageside and cover the fights. I’ve made my share of mistakes over the years, I’ve partied too hard and had to pay the price (I nearly got kicked out of college over it) but at some point you either look at the yawning abyss that looms ahead and turn away, or you hit the accelerator and drive toward it at top speed.

Maybe the Diaz brothers wouldn’t be popular or successful if they weren’t such colossally self-destructive human beings, but is fame and popularity now worth it when you’re broke and in jail (or worse) in five years? I’d personally trade being a little less famous for sleeping in my own bed at night and not a cot in a 6×8.

For all of the success they’ve each achieved in mixed martial arts, based on both natural talent and the hard work to cultivate it, it’s hard to believe they couldn’t have achieved so much more. Nick has been a WEC and a Strikeforce Welterweight Champion – maybe he could have been a UFC one too. Nate Diaz won season five of The Ultimate Fighter and has had multiple Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses since – as well as a wealth of inconsistency in his performances. Imagine a two year stretch of their career without suspensions, crowd brawls, DUI arrests or failed drug tests.

Imagine what they could accomplish with two solid years of total dedication to their craft.

Now resign yourself to the fact that’s never going to happen, because whatever “happy” is to a Diaz, they’re happier pissing it all away than actually living a drama-free life. It’s a shame to see so much potential wasted, but it’s also a shame they don’t just get on with the wasting instead of making us sit and watch the trainwreck month after month, year after year.

Invicta 145-pound featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino will be appearing on ESPN SportsCenter at about 12:30 PM EST Wednesday. She would probably not be on the show unless it relates to some significant news about a potential fight with UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

UFC 190 Feedback
Thumbs in the Middle: The card was too long and too old.  I couldn’t watch half of the fighters without thinking how great their matches would have been 5…or 10 years ago.

Best Fight: REGINALDO VIEIRA VS. DILENO LOPES. Despite growing a bit restless, this was a good fight with a nice back and forth.  I like watching Rousey win, but she didn’t have the best fight.

Worst Fight: GLAICO FRANCA VS. FERNANDO BRUNO.  Awful fight.  I don’t know where Bruno’s head was at and Franca took a long time to close the match (despite being given control repeatedly).

Other notes:

Production- The Silva v. Palelei finish didn’t look good. Couldn’t see what caused Palelei to shut down. Need a better replay, because it just looked like he stopped fighting and walked to the cage.
Production- Putting Ultimate Fighter finals in the middle was a bad idea.  I watched people get restless.
It’s hard giving a fair thumbs up/thumbs down rating when 189 was so exceptionally good.
Missed opportunity: Rhonda should have approached the octagon in a kilt.

Nick Garcia
Columbus, Oh
@foothands

Thumbs Up
Best match: Nakamura vs Ishii
Worst match: Takahashi vs Kojima

From watching just the tournament matches this was the best night of the tournament so far.

Yujiro Takahashi vs Satoshi Kojima: Usual Takahashi match where it’s not that good but Kojima did his best. Outside interference from Cody Hall really ruined the match. Why there isn’t more DQs is confusing. ** 1/2

Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata: Good solid match. Great selling and psychology by Nagata focusing on his ribs which he injured in a previous match. Good finish with the Gun Stun Outta Nowhere. *** 3/4

Michael Elgin vs Tomoaki Honma: This was Elgin’s best match in Japan, maybe all year. Fantastic match with a hot crowd behind Honma. **** 1/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii: Nakamura did well despite having his elbow all taped up. Not as good as their match last year but they tore it up. Outstanding match. One of the best matches of the tournament. **** 1/2

Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada: Another great match even following the previous two. Thought this was going to go to the time limit but a great outing by both guys and it’ll be interesting how the rest of the block will end up. ****

Josh Hayes

Hi Dave,

i’ll dive right in.

g1 – saturday – thumbs in the middle – best match – honma vs elgin. Honma is absolutely brilliant and elgin is doing really well in the g1. Great match with crowd totally into it.
worst match – anderson v nagata. i’m keeping the best/worst matches to the g1 matches only, otherwise it’d probably be a tag match here.

nakamura’s arm looked like it was hurting, bad times.

g1 sunday – thumbs up, no great matches but all the g1 matches were interesting to good(no great ones mind) but i enjoyed the show. 
best match – this is a tough one as none stood out. probably ibushi/tenzan. ibushi is absolutely incredible, great selling in this.
worst match – this is also a tough one as all the matches were of a similar level… I’d prefer not to pick but if you put a gun to my head, probably aj v gallows because I wasn’t as into it as the rest of them, even with the story they told (props to shibata for putting a watchable match with fale on – i can’t vote a shibata match the worst one!)

ufc – thumbs down
boring night really. enjoyed the two womens fights the most.
best – ronda
worst – second ultimate fighter, the heavier weight class

thanks,

Steve Maginnis

ufc 190 
thumbs in the middle 
best fight REGINALDO VIEIRA VS. DILENO LOPES

i watched the show at hooters in Lexington, ky and it was super packed lots of people…very different crowed that normally shows up. Lots of older woman and younger woman athletes from surrounding collages, but there was lots of minorities. Very loud chants for ronda and cheers and claps when she won from everyone in the bar. the bar was very packed all night. The only thing that i can compare this crowed two was a uk basketball game…those games draw a wide verity of people to the bars around town. It was not at all similar to the world cup that was lots of younger woman and there were very few minorities at those shows.  

g1 
thumbs up- for the most part (i have downed my expectations at this point) 
Kota Ibushi- i love ibushi he has turned out to be one of my favorite guy’s with finn and owens (but they were always up there for me)
Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito

John Juett

I think this weekend really highlighted the issues with this year’s G1 format. We had a great set of tournament matches from the B Block on Saturday, followed by a lackluster set of matches from the A Block on Sunday. Having all G1 matches on the show would have remedied that problem and made for a great show where they could have had the A Block matches underneath the B Block, with the Goto vs Okada main event. As much as I do enjoy Yano’s heel tactics, I don’t feel that that should be main eventing a G1 show in a singles match.

Overall I’d have to give the G1 a thumbs up because I have been enjoying it, but having it so spread out with the blocks split up has taken away some of its aura. Hopefully next year they go back to all G1 cards. They should still spread out the days to help with recovery, but keep the entire focus on the G1.

Larry Huber Jr.

OK, so my 21-year old stepdaughter HATES MMA.  To the point where she will go in the other room when she sees I am watching.  HATES.

It just so happened she came home during the PPV on Saturday and stayed in the room because she was joining in the conversation we were having.  In other words, not paying attention to the PPV.  But when Ronda came on, everyone stopped talking and watched and after the fight my MMA hating stepdaughter said “I never thought I’d have a new hero who is an MMA fighter”

Mike DeGeorge

Hi Dave. 

Thumbs up for the G1 show in Osaka. I haven’t managed to watch the undercard yet.

Best match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto.

Kojima vs. Yujiro – ***1/4
Nagata vs. Anderson – ***
Honma vs. Elgin – ****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ishii – ****1/4
Okada vs. Goto – ****1/2

Thumbs in the Middle for G1 in Aichi.

Best matches: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano and Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe 

Worst match: Cody Hall and Yujiro vs. Jay White and Michael Elgin.

Ibushi vs. Tenzan – **3/4
Shibata vs. Fale – *3/4
Styles vs. Doc – **1/2
Naito vs. Makabe – ***3/4 (not at the level as their excellent G1 match last year)
Tanahashi vs. Yano – ***1/2

I couldn’t agree with you more regarding your tweets about Dana and the wrestling industry doing more harm than good when it comes to exposing the business. However, with the fans and workers not taking too kindly to Dana’s words, Jeremy Borash decided not to order UFC 190, but rather donate the money to ME and as a result blew up my Twitter feed! About 5 years ago, I got paralysed wrestling on a show here in the UK (story for another time). In a nutshell, I broke my neck and it left me in a bad state at that point. I’m doing a whole lot better now. Borash actually donated way more than $50 and someone else from the TNA office did so too. I got to know JB during TNA’s UK tour last year January through Rockstar Spud, who is a very good friend of mine. JB and I bonded over our love for the Howard Stern Show. 

Keep up the great work, Dave. I just re-subscribed last night. 

Nik

By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

Paramount Pictures announced Monday that they have finalized a deal to have Ronda Rousey star in a major movie about her life, based on Rousey’s recently-released autobiography, “My Fight/Your Fight,” which she wrote along with her sister.

Mark Bomback has been hired as executive producer. Variety broke the story, saying Bomback has just started working on adapting the book to the big screen. Rousey has three upcoming movie projects on her plate with the next one being “Mile 22,” which is scheduled to shoot in January 2016.

TJ Dillashaw returned to the latest episode of Submission Radio to discuss fighting Conor McGregor and to respond to Dominick Cruz.

According to TJ there’s no time like now to make the super fight between him and Conor McGregor especially after seeing his performance against Chad Mendes “I don’t think he’s gonna last that long. I would like to do it now if I could, because I don’t think he’s going to last and be champion forever. He’s definitely going to get beat. I think Mendes showed the holes in his game and I think people will take advantage of it. I think Chad Mendes beats him, I think Frankie Edgar beats him. You know, I don’t know if he’s going to beat Aldo after watching that.” While on the subject of McGregor TJ Dillashaw  discussed if the lack of training camp was a major factor on Chad Mendes performance with Conor at UFC 189“Oh absolutely. I mean Chad was out drinking beer, fishing and hunting when he got the phone call. I mean he got 10 days to train for a guy that’s been training for three months for a title fight, you know, and Chad always had to work really hard to get in peak conditioning shape anyways because of the way he’s built. You know, he’s a very strong muscle-bound guy and he’s gotta work really hard on getting that cardio up for his fights. And anybody on 10 days notice and that much pressure and that much adrenalin going into the fight, I mean for one, he had an adrenalin dump, and two, he was out of shape. So it was hard to even think that Chad would have enough cardio to last five rounds. I don’t think Chad was going to finish him. I thought he had – I know he has the skills to do it, and he showed that in the fight. He was dominating the two rounds until the very end of the second round, and I still feel like it got stopped a little early.”


When it comes to Dominick Cruz TJ responded to his ‘wannabe’ comment made on the MMA Hour “He’s acting like Conor. He’s acting like Conor McGregor right now is what I really think. He’s just talking a bunch of nonsense, he’s trying to stay relevant while being hurt. You know, he’s been out of the game for the last four years, I mean no one’s seen him fight, and all of a sudden he thinks he’s a tough guy ’cause he got one finish in his career. You know what I mean? Like this guy’s crazy. He’s just talking a lot and keeping himself relevant so that he can get the next title shot, ’cause really he doesn’t even deserve it. He can’t even stay healthy for one fight. Only way he deserves it is by talking it up and making it a big fight. So I think that’s his strategy.” In the same interview Dominick said that the division has struggled without him commenting “Now that I’m coming back, it can get back on its feet again. That’s the truth.” TJ responded “I think it’s just trash talk. He knows I’m a good fighter. I’m gonna come in there and I’m gonna put it on him, man. I mean he keeps saying that I haven’t fought a guy like him, well he’s never had a guy in his weight class like me until now. You know what I mean? Like that’s what everyone always says “oh you haven’t fought a guy like me before”. Well yeah because I haven’t fought Dominick Cruz. He also never fought me. So it’s kinda just ridiculous things that I feel like he’s been saying and I’m gonna make sure to shut his mouth when we fight.” TJ is ready for Cruz but he won’t wait around for the match up forever “It’s all about him, I’m healthy. I came out of that fight unscathed and I’m ready to fight tomorrow. He’s the one with the bum leg and has to heal up and get ready, so I think that’s why he’s talking all this crap. He can’t actually even fight so the only way you’re still going to work your way to a title shot is by talking, and that’s the only shot. So as soon as he gets healthy, you know I gotta figure out when that’s going to be because I mean I don’t want to wait forever, and who knows if he can even get healthy. The guy’s been injured more than he hasn’t.”

Finally TJ responded to a recent call out by John Dodson where in an interview he said “When I’ve beat up Demetrious Johnson, I’m going to beat T.J. Dillashaw. He can sit there or run around and tell everybody that I’m just running my mouth, but I’ve seen him with his eyes glazed over, him being hurt, being cuddled after I knocked him out the last time.” TJ said in response

“Yeah I mean he’s not going to beat Demetrious either. I mean that guy gasses out as well. He’s got zero cardio, I’m not worried about John Dodson. I was a very immature fighter [in the original fight]. I had four fights back then, you know, and that fight got stopped early as well. So he got a little lucky. Looked like he closed his eye and threw a big left hook and I was the dumb guy running in with my hands down. So I’m a completely different fighter and I would tear that kid up.”

Full Interview: http://bit.ly/1UhWVqg

Transcript

TJ Dillashaw Transcript

On if his performance over Renan Barao lived up to his expectations

“Yeah, I mean I don’t know what the expectations were. I was just going in there with the mentality of wanting to punk him, stand in front of him and beat him. I wanted to beat him and break him all in the same fight.”

If he thinks Renan should move up a division after this loss

“I’m not really sure. I mean he was on weight, he was on weight early this time. He was on weight the morning of check-in. So I mean he looked a lot leaner, looked like he got his diet under control. I think he just needs to maybe change up some training a little bit. I’m not really sure. I mean he’s been doing the same stuff for so long now, been working with the same coaches. I’m not really sure, it’s a tough one. Maybe moving up makes him faster in his weight class. You know, he is a big dude, he could go to 145 very easily. You know, he might be a faster athlete if he does that. I don’t think it would hurt.”

Thoughts on Dominick Cruz calling TJ  a ‘wannabe’ who doesn’t know what it’s like to fight a ‘real’ champion

“He’s acting like Conor. He’s acting like Conor McGregor right now is what I really think. He’s just talking a bunch of nonsense, he’s trying to stay relevant while being hurt. You know, he’s been out of the game for the last four years, I mean no one’s seen him fight, and all of a sudden he thinks he’s a tough guy ’cause he got one finish in his career. You know what I mean? Like this guy’s crazy. He’s just talking a lot and keeping himself relevant so that he can get the next title shot, ’cause really he doesn’t even deserve it. He can’t even stay healthy for one fight. Only way he deserves it is by talking it up and making it a big fight. So I think that’s his strategy.”

Thoughts on Dominick saying that the division has struggled without him and commenting “Now that I’m coming back, it can get back on its feet again. That’s the truth.”

“I think it’s just trash talk. He knows I’m a good fighter. I’m gonna come in there and I’m gonna put it on him, man. I mean he keeps saying that I haven’t fought a guy like him, well he’s never had a guy in his weight class like me until now. You know what I mean? Like that’s what everyone always says “oh you haven’t fought a guy like me before”. Well yeah because I haven’t fought Dominick Cruz. He also never fought me. So it’s kinda just ridiculous things that I feel like he’s been saying and I’m gonna make sure to shut his mouth when we fight.”

If  TJ Dillashaw feels Cruz went too far by saying the following comments about his coach Duane Ludwig on the MMA Hour “I could be Duane Ludwig’s coach. Straight up. And so could (Alliance MMA head trainer) Eric del Fierro”

“Absolutely. Like I said, he’s trying to raise a stink and he’s doing a good job of it. I mean does he have any fighters, you know, other than himself? So right now I don’t think he could train Duane Ludwig at all. I think it’s just Duane being confident in me and saying in interviews that I would knock him out in two rounds, and I think that kind of pissed Cruz off so he’s just firing back.”

On when the fight between him and Cruz could take place and how it would go

“It’s all about him, I’m healthy. I came out of that fight unscathed and I’m ready to fight tomorrow. He’s the one with the bum leg and has to heal up and get ready, so I think that’s why he’s talking all this crap. He can’t actually even fight so the only way you’re still going to work your way to a title shot is by talking, and that’s the only shot. So as soon as he gets healthy, you know I gotta figure out when that’s going to be because I mean I don’t want to wait forever, and who knows if he can even get healthy. The guy’s been injured more than he hasn’t.”

On if Chad Mendes not having a proper training camp against McGregor had a major factor on his performance in the fight

“Oh absolutely. I mean Chad was out drinking beer, fishing and hunting when he got the phone call. I mean he got 10 days to train for a guy that’s been training for three months for a title fight, you know, and Chad always had to work really hard to get in peak conditioning shape anyways because of the way he’s built. You know, he’s a very strong muscle-bound guy and he’s gotta work really hard on getting that cardio up for his fights. And anybody on 10 days notice and that much pressure and that much adrenalin going into the fight, I mean for one, he had an adrenalin dump, and two, he was out of shape. So it was hard to even think that Chad would have enough cardio to last five rounds. I don’t think Chad was going to finish him. I thought he had – I know he has the skills to do it, and he showed that in the fight. He was dominating the two rounds until the very end of the second round, and I still feel like it got stopped a little early.”

On if TJ thinks if an in-shape Chad Mendes beats Conor McGregor

“Absolutely. 100 precent. I put my money on it.”

On if TJ Dillashaw still wants to have the Super Fight with Conor McGregor

“Absolutely, but I don’t think he’s gonna last that long. I would like to do it now if I could, because I don’t think he’s going to last and be champion forever. He’s definitely going to get beat. I think Mendes showed the holes in his game and I think people will take advantage of it. I think Chad Mendes beats him, I think Frankie Edgar beats him. You know, I don’t know if he’s going to beat Aldo after watching that.”

Response to John Dodson saying in a recent interview  saying “When I’ve beat up Demetrious Johnson, I’m going to beat T.J. Dillashaw. He can sit there or run around and tell everybody that I’m just running my mouth, but I’ve seen him with his eyes glazed over, him being hurt, being cuddled after I knocked him out the last time.”

“Yeah I mean he’s not going to beat Demetrious either. I mean that guy gasses out as well. He’s got zero cardio, I’m not worried about John Dodson. I was a very immature fighter [in the original fight]. I had four fights back then, you know, and that fight got stopped early as well. So he got a little lucky. Looked like he closed his eye and threw a big left hook and I was the dumb guy running in with my hands down. So I’m a completely different fighter and I would tear that kid up.”

UFC 190

Thumbs Up! Went to the same bar where I always watch UFC events. The place was packed, more than in any other UFC fight. At first I thought that it was due to the Danny Garcia Boxing match but to my surprise most people there weren’t paying attention to it. After the boxing everyone look at the tv for the UFC event and started asking when the Ronda fight was coming. Most of them didn’t even know her name, they just new that “the women” was fighting. Some went desperate because of the so many matches on the card, most lost interest in the undercard macthes but once the main event came everyone was watching. The match was short but nobody complaint, they just praised Ronda. First time that that ever happened on the place for a UFC event. Not a GSP, Silva, or even the recent McGregor match was ever been able to “outdraw” boxing. Ronda did it. 

For what I saw, from the Big Foot fight going on…
Best Fight: First match of the TUF final
Worst Fight: The second TUF final

Leonardo II Mendez
San Sebastian, PR

UFC 190

Thumbs up. Another very consistent card. Better in reality than on paper.
Best fight: Vieira vs. Lopes, L Nog vs. Shogun
Worst fight: B Nog vs. Struve
Best performance: gonna say Maia considering degree of dominance and quality of opposition
Worst performance: Hester
KO: Ronda
Sub: Maia

Guido Canetti takes a very close 29-28 UD over Hugo Viana in what was essentially a guy fighting himself in the mirror. Credit to the judges for an anti-hometown decision. Could have gone either way. Surprisingly easy win for Vitor Miranda over Clint Hester, finishing with giftwrap G&P in the 2nd.

In an interesting fight, Iuri Alcantara’s excellent standup and decent grappling too much for Leandro Issa’s poor standup and excellent grappling. Issa takes the 1st but Alcantara takes the last two wide, one or both possible 10-8s. I would say 29-26. Judges go 29-28,28,27. Much better performance than last time from Warlley Alves, frustrating the more technical Nordine Taleb with his athletic advantages, then capitalizing on a slightly telegraphed shot with a Guillotine for the tap in the 2nd. Extremely talented, would like to see a rematch of the hometown decision over Jouban. Pat Cummings drubs and wears out Rafael Feijao, finishing early in the 3rd with his 9th TD and a series of elbows, but fight was made dramatic by Feijao doing visible damage with every one of the few shots he landed. I thought it was time for Neil Magny, but Demian Maia just takes him to school, controlling every second of the fight till Magny gives up his back and finishing with body tri/leg grapevine & RNC midway through the 2nd. Completely onesided. 

Claudia Gadelha just wrecks the much smaller Jessica Aguilar for two rounds, ragdolls her, breaks her nose and busts her up. Probably at least some 8agon jits as Aguilar comes back well in the 3rd but it’s still a hometown 30-27 X 3. No question Gadelha won but Aguilar certainly seemed to win the 3rd.  Gadelha cuts a good bilingual promo and earns a rematch of the disputed loss to JJ, this time for the title. 

Soa Palelei never lands the big one but Bigfoot Silva does early in the 2nd and doesn’t let Soa off the hook, finishing with a series of knees and uppercuts.

Basically Big Nog walks in for three rounds, Stefan Struve hits him about 10 times, Nog hits him back about 2 times, lather rinse.  Fight looks like it’s taking place underwater, it’s so slow. Struve wins the correct 30-27 UD and Nog fortunately retires.

In by far the most spirited fight of the night so far, Reginalso Vieira and Dileno Lopes go 3 at a ridiculous pace for the TUF BR BW title, just going for everything. Vieira takes the UD with two 30-27s. It was way closer than the score.

Gleiso Franca (btw Buffer, Rogan, Goldberg,the ‘c’ is soft, don’t you guys even listen to the Brazilians?), looking at least 3 divisions bigger, dominates Fernando Bruno and finishes just inside the distance with RNC for the TUF BR LW title. Apparently he’s the brother of former UFC fighter Hermes Franca (they couldn’t say it then either)—they look nothing alike.

Shogun Rua and Little Nog both look surprisingly good going the distance. Nobody gasses. The last half of the 1st round was a back and forth war like their first fight in PRIDE 10 years ago. Very close fight. I think Nog edged it. So does a lot of the audience (he’s the local). The judges all think otherwise, 29-28. Shogun repeats the previous decision win.

My sympathy to anyone who conned themself into thinking Bethe the Bithe had a chance. Ronda takes a whole 34 seconds to knock her cold standing.
Crimson Mask

Thumbs down
Best fight: Vieira vs. Lopes

Bad show and way too long. I understand they were kind of stuck with the two TUF Brazil fights and didn’t want to put them on FS1 but they really dragged down the show despite Vieira/Lopes being fight of the night.

Both Noguieras, Struve, and Shogun looked like they shouldn’t be fighting so it was just kind of a sad night.

Ronda continues to impress and is dominant beyond words. She’s the UFC’s only true crossover star and I don’t think she should ever be in the #2 fight on any card, no matter how big.

I loved how they referred to her as UFC Bantamweight Champion, not Women’s Bantamweight Champion. I hope Stephanie McMahon was truly paying attention to how Rousey is promoted.

Mike Hiscoe

Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort will headline the 11/7 UFC show in Sao Paulo, Brazil according to a tweet tonight by Henderson.

The show will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, and will be the third meeting between the two fighters.  Henderson beat Belfort on October 21, 2006, in Las Vegas on a Pride show via decision while Belfort beat Henderson on November 9, 2013, on a UFC show in Goiania Brazil via knockout in 1:17.