Category: UFC News

On UFC Tonight, UFC president Dana White announced two new championship fights but no dates for when those fights will take place.

The first was Daniel Cormier defending his light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson, not Ryan Bader as previously expected. Bader and Cormier had a verbal altercation at the UFC 187 post-fight press conference after Cormier’s win over Anthony Johnson. Gustafsson hasn’t fought since losing to Johnson in Stockholm, Sweden, via first round stoppage.

White’s second reveal was that Chris Weidman would be defending his middleweight title against Luke Rockhold. That fight makes the most sense given Rockhold’s impressive win over Lyoto Machida on 4/18 in Newark, NJ. The reason that fight’s date wasn’t announced is UFC is still hoping it could be on 12/6 in Madison Square Garden, but time is running out on getting legislation passed in New York to allow that show to take place.

For Immediate Release:

UFC® LAUNCHES ATHLETE MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Program includes first all-encompassing, independently administered, professional sports organization anti-doping policy, to be administered by USADA

New partnerships with Fusionetics and EXOS to provide UFC athletes with key tools to improve performance both inside and outside the Octagon®

Las Vegas – UFC® announced today the unveiling of its new, ground-breaking Athlete Marketing and Development program, introduced to provide athletes with programs and tools to help them maximize their careers and succeed long-term, both inside and outside the Octagon®. In coordination with key organizations such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Fusionetics, and EXOS, UFC continues to be at the forefront of athlete development, making a significant investment into the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) and, most importantly, the athletes who step into the Octagon.

“Earlier this year, we vowed to take a leadership position on key areas impacting our sport, fighter health and fighter safety,” UFC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta said. “After months of hard work, and the addition of Jeff Novitzky, we have taken the opportunity to not only launch an elite anti-doping policy, but to invest, develop and deploy a year-round Athlete Marketing and Development program focused on the preparation, performance and education of our athletes.”

As UFC continues to evolve as one of the world’s leading sports organizations, it has engaged USADA to run the first all-encompassing, independently administered, anti-doping policy for a professional sports organization. The policy is a central part of UFC’s expanded efforts to protect the health and safety of its athletes, and to protect their right to compete with natural ability on an even playing field.

USADA, universally recognized as a premier anti-doping agency, will act as the independent administrator of the anti-doping policy, beginning July 1, 2015. As the policy ramps up, UFC and USADA will provide athletes with multiple levels of education including: written copies of the policy and accompanying materials, in-person presentations, hands-on demonstration of online and mobile applications, and on-line education courses. Jeff Novitzky, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, will spearhead the roll out of the anti-doping policy.

UFC and USADA will release the finalized policy to the athletes, the media and the public by mid-June.

Fusionetics, developed under the leadership of Dr. Micheal A. Clark and a group of scientists, sports medicine professionals, coaches, athletes and business leaders, is a system that was designed and is utilized in the world of professional sports to help athletes improve their performance, speed up their recovery and avoid future injury. The newly announced partnership will allow UFC athletes to access Fusionetics facilities and interact with their staff, providing individualized digital plans that can be utilized on the athletes’ tablets and phones.

EXOS, the leaders in training, nutrition and physical therapy for elite athletes, have worked with some of the best professional athletes in sport and will now begin working closely with UFC athletes. The goal is to help UFC athletes maximize performance and minimize injury risk. During the last week of May, middleweight Luke Rockhold, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and newly signed middleweight CM Punk became the first UFC athletes to take part in a full week of training at the EXOS facilities in Phoenix learning innovative ways to train, plan and prepare for competition. Phase two of the program will include sending additional athletes to the EXOS facilities, as well as deploying a mobile EXOS team to some of the top gyms in the sport.

Lastly, on June 1 and 2, UFC gathered nearly fifty up-an-coming athletes for its Athlete Summit to unveil the new anti-doping policy and deploy its new Athlete Marketing and Development program. The two-day summit offered classes featuring experts in financial planning, nutrition, and health and wellness, press and social media training, and allowed for personal interaction with all three organizations: USADA, Fusionetics and EXOS.

This new program, and future initiatives to be developed under its umbrella, reflects UFC’s absolute on-going commitment to the health and well-being of its contracted athletes.

 Zuffa, LLC | P.O. Box 26959 | Las Vegas, NV 89126

By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

June is shaping up to be another big month in the UFC with events on all four Saturdays of the month as the Octagon will be in three different countries during the month. Up first will be UFC Fight Night 68 on June 6 in New Orleans, followed by UFC 188 on June 13 in Mexico City, then a trek overseas for UFC Fight Night 69 in Berlin on June 20, and ending the month in Hollywood, Florida for the The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 Finale on June 27. With a full slate of fights coming our way this month, it is time to take a look at ten fights to keep an eye on during the month of June.

Honorable Mentions:
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill-UFC 188-June 13
Dennis Siver vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri-UFC Fight Night 69-June 20
Lorenz Larkin vs. Santigao Ponzinibbio-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

10. Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt-UFC 188-June 13

Gastelum is a former TUF winner who had some success competing in the welterweight division. However, he also had trouble making weight, missing weight in two of his last three fights, and having trouble making weight for other fights. He missed weight by ten pounds for his last bout, prompting UFC President Dana Whtie to force him to move up to middleweight. Marquardt is another fighter moving to middleweight from the welterweight division, though he fought at middleweight for the majority of his career. The move down to 170 pounds didn’t pan out for Marquardt, and it took a toll on him physically, so he moved back up. He is 1-1 since going back to 185 pounds, while Gastelum will be coming into this fight off of his first career loss. Gastelum scored the biggest win of his career the last time the UFC was in Mexico City, a first-round submission of Jake Ellenberger, and he is hoping that history will repear itself.

9. Tim Boetsch vs. Dan Henderson-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6

Tim Boetsch and Dan Henderson will headline UFC Fight Night 68 in New Orleans after the original main event, Daniel Cormier against Ryan Bader, was changed when Cormier was moved to a title fight, which he won last month at UFC 187. Boetsch and Henderson were tapped as the new main event despite the fact both men are coming in off of losses, and have only won a combined three fights in their last twelve combined fights. Henderson still has that vicious right hand power, but he has faded as he has entered the twilight of his career. He is better fit at 185 pounds, but Boetsch is a powerful middleweight fighter. Boetsch has had some knockout victories, and he gets the chance to compete in his first main event UFC bout. This fight probably isn’t even the best fight on the June 6 card, but it gets the chance to shine in the showcase spot.

8. Rick Story vs. Erick Silva-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

Story and Silva were originally supposed to headline the TUF Brazil 4 Finale when it was scheduled for Sao Paulo, but with the event moving to Florida, they were bumped down to the semi-main event in favor of a more marketable main event. That isn’t to say this won’t be a fun fight. Silva is known for exciting fights as he comes out quick and looking to finish. Story is a more methodical fighter, and he can be in some boring fights, but he has been in some exciting fights as well. Story is currently ranked at number eleven in the UFC’s welterweight rankings following a split decision win over Gunnar Nelson in October. Silva is looking to crack into the top 15 of the rankings after two straight wins, but he will need to get out of that first round as all of his UFC wins have come in the first round, having yet to win a fight that has gone past five minutes in the Octagon. This is a pretty underrated fight this month, and one to definitely keep an eye on.

7. Henry Cejudo vs. Chico Camus-UFC 188-June 13

This is a fight that could have title shot ramifications, and is the only fight currently scheduled for the preliminary card to make this list. Cejudo is being built as a flyweight contender as long as he can show he can continually make weight. After winning in his flyweight debut over Chris Cariaso at UFC 185 in March, Cejudo was open about wanting to fight on the UFC 188 card in Mexico City as he has a Hispanic heritage. It took some time to announce this bout as Cejudo was rumored to be dealing with an injury, but the fight with Camus that was in the works was finally announced in late April. Camus had a successful flyweight debut win over Brad Pickett in November, and he will be looking to score the upset and make it two straight wins. Cejudo is the guy buing built for Demetrious Johnson, and this is a fight made for him to use his wrestling to domiante in, but he shouldn’t take Camus lightly. This will be another interesting test for Cejudo.

6. Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6
Honestly, this bout probably should have been named the main event of UFC Fight Night 68 when the original headliner was cancelled. Rothwell has won two straight, and three of his last four overall, and is coming off a big first-round knockout win over Alistair Overeem in September. He has been out of action for nine months and makes his return against Mitrione. Mitrione is coming in as perhaps the hottest fighter in the heavyweight division, having won three straight fights, all by knockout in the first round, and four of his last five overall. He has improved dramatically, and eight of his nine career wins have come by a finish. More importantly, this fight will have some title contention meaning as the UFC’s heavyweight division is open to all contenders at the moment. This is a big fight to watch, and one that probably will see a finish.

5. Dustin Poirier vs. Yancy Medeiros-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6
This fight has the chance to be the best fight on the UFC Fight Night 68 card on June 6 in New Orleans. Poirier gets what he wants, a chance to fight in New Orleans just two months after his last bout, and this will be his second fight since returning to the lightweight division. He scored a first-round knockout over Carlos Diego Ferreira in April, and he has looked strong with wins in four of his last five fights, the only loss coming to Conor McGregor. Medeiros will be coming into the bout with Poirier having won two straight fights by submission, scoring wins over Damon Jackson and Joe Proctor, and he has been honored with “Performance Of The Night” in both fights. Both men come out swinging in their fights, and both have solid submission skills. This has the makings of being the best fight in the month of June.

4. Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

This fight was announced kinda out of nowhere in the middle of May as the new headliner for the TUF Brazil 4 Finale on June 27. That event was originally scheduled to be in Sao Paulo, Brazil and to be headlined by Rick Story against Erick Silva, but the event was moved to Florida and needed a bigger main event, and this bout was made. It is a very interesting fight and a chance for Romero to prove if he can be a contender at 185 pounds. Romero was supposed to fight Ronaldo Souza in April but was forced out due to a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee. He may be coming back too soon from that injury, especially against an opponent like Machida. Machida is coming off a disappointing submission loss to Luke Rockhold in April, and it was the worst loss of his career. He will be looking to bounce back, and a second straight loss would likely end any chance Machida would have of fighting for the championship again. Romero winning would put him in the same group as Rockhold and Souza looking for the next crack at Chris Weidman.

3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Penne-UFC Fight Night 69-June 20 
For the first time in the history of the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass, a championship will be on the line when the Octagon returns to Germany on June 20 for UFC Fight Night 69. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrezjczyk will make her first title defense against the challenger, Jessica Penne, in the headliner in Berlin. Jedrezjczyk won the championship at UFC 185 in March in a dominant win over former title holder Carla Esparza, finishing her with punches in the second round. Penne was selected as the challenger when the original main event for this card was cancelled and they needed a fill-in, and she was probably the best available opponent for Jedrzejczyk. Penne is a former Invicta Atomweight Champion, but she is probably still a little undersized for the strawweight division. She defeated Randa Markos in a close fight in her UFC debut, and has won five of her last six fights.

2. Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez-UFC 188-June 13

This is a fight that has been years in the making since when Melendez was the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and Alvarez was the Bellator Lightweight Champion. There was talk of an inter-promotional bout between the two six years ago, but it went nowhere as their was little chance of it even happening. Now, both are in the UFC, both are no longer champions, and both are looking to get to the title fight. Melendez has surprisingly had two title shots in three UFC bouts, but has come up on the short end to Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis. Alvarez has only fought in the Octagon once so far, losing a decision to the red-hot Donald Cerrone. Both men have Hispanic heritage, and they get the semi-main event slot on UFC 188 in Mexico City on June 13. This has the makings of a great fight, and Melendez and Alvarez are both known for putting on great fights. This is another potential fight of the month.

1. Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum-UFC 188-June 13

It looks like we will finally get the long-awaited heavyweight championship battle between current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum as we will finally get an undisputed champion. They will headline when the Octagon returns to Mexico City on June 13, just like they were scheduled to in November when the UFC went to the city for the first time for UFC 180. Velasquez was forced out due to injury, and Werdum went on to defeat Mark Hunt for the interim belt. Velasquez hasn’t fought since defending the title against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 166 in October 2013, and he has a bad history of injuries. He has seen his teammates do well in his absence, with Daniel Cormier becoming a champion and Luke Rockhold becoming the top contender. Velasquez wants to return with a statement and make himself the undisputed champion. With this being the biggest fight of the month, it rightfully takes our top spot as the fight to watch in June.

The following is from a third party:

Top UFC contender Ryan Bader came on Submission Radio this week to break down the latest updates on his feud with Daniel Cormier.

Thoughts on Jon Jones hit and run:

“Yeah so I got the call, kind of in that morning from my manager, saying there’s rumours around. And then I got, you know I was kind of campaigning to get that fight with Anthony Johnson. I was probably four weeks into my camp with DC and I was feeling good and still had about two and a half weeks left, and I felt like I could go in there and win that belt. And as it plays out, Jon Jones gets stripped and all that kind of stuff. So I think he’ll be out for a li’l while. I do think he’s going to come back at some point. You know, he’s going to have to go through the legal process here and figure out what’s going on with that. That’s going to take a while. Then he might have some civil suits on him and all that kind of stuff from the person he hit. So he’s going to have to deal with that for a while, you know and it definitely shook up the 205 pound division too. He was such a dominant champ and he beat a lot of tough guys, all in a row, all the title defences. And so he really opened this [division] up.”

What went through Ryan’s mind when he was walking to confront Daniel Cormier on stage at UFC 187 post-fight press conference and what he would have done if Security didn’t step in:

“In my mind, when I was walking up there I was like “I wanna get my hands on him somehow”, you know. But walking up there – you know obviously the security guards and everything came up and kind of got in my way and grabbed me. And then you start thinking “I’m not going to make a fool of myself and flip over the table or try to hit him or slap him or something.”

“Going through my mind when I was walking up there, I wanted to slap him. But you know, we’re professionals and he’s actually been through that stuff before, and I don’t want to make a fool of myself and get into that kind of confrontation. So I just kind of backed off at the end there. But when he was yelling over me and he had the mic, ’cause nobody could hear me at all, I decided to walk up there. In my mind at the time it was the right thing to do”

“I’ve been thinking about that guy for a long time now. I was supposed to fight him one other time. Then I was supposed to fight him after Phil Davis. Was supposed to fight him in June. And we had plenty of time. We had lots of time to prepare for that fight, think about him, watch tape. And so I’ve been thinking about him ever since the Phil Davis fight, you know to this day. And for that to get pulled for me, it was just all kinds of frustration. And me not getting that shot, and seeing him as the champ too, and that could have been me and all that. But that’s beside the point. Now I just want to go out there fight him.”

On not getting the respect from DC that he deserves after all his fights in the UFC’s light heavyweight division

“He drops down to 205 pounds, and then he fights Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson, and then gets a title shot. He gets his butt whooped, and then gets gifted another title shot, and then finally wins the belt. You know, that’s pretty much the easiest path that I’ve ever heard or ever seen anybody getting that belt, the UFC belt. So for him to say that, then by his logic, then let’s do it. But I know I can go out there. I know I can beat him.”

“Yeah I haven’t gotten the respect, especially from him. So that’s why I wanna go out there, that’s why I wanna fight him, that’s why I wanna prove to him and everybody else that not only do I belong in the same octagon with him, I’m gonna beat him and I deserve to have that belt around my waist.”

On if Ryan thinks the fact that DC has lost to Jon Jones and never really beat him for the belt takes away from him being the real champion:

“Yeah I kind of do. I have two thought processes on this whole situation. The first is; everybody in the 205 pound division, we didn’t get together and cast Jon Jones out because he was dominating or anything like that. You know? He put himself in this position. So we’re just making the best of what we have. What else can we do? We can’t sign a petition saying ‘Hey we want Jon Jones back, because this belt doesn’t feel right’. You know? So we just carry on business as usual, and our main goal is to fight those fights in front of us, win those fights, and ultimate goal is to have that belt around your waist. So we’re doing what we want, and have been striving to do since we were wrestling as little kids and what not.”

“On the other side of that, it does feel like a consolation prize. And same deal if I go in there and beat DC and I have that belt, I still know there’s somebody out there that never really lost the belt. It was kind of taken from him. So you know, until Jon Jones comes back and that belt holder fights him and beats him, then I would say you’re the real champ. But this belt definitely would make you feel like it’s a consolation prize, for sure. If I had it, if DC has it. Anybody really in the division”

On Ryan’s response to DC’s comments on the MMA Hour, saying he was disrespectful to Anthony Jonson and that Anthony should beat him up for it:

“I think their [Cormier’s comments] are a bunch of BS. I never was disrespectful to Anthony Johnson at all. Like going back to what I was saying before the fight, DC is the one that came out there and did that interview saying I haven’t beaten anybody. I was just responding to that interview and that’s it. I sent out a tweet before the fight [saying] who I thought was going to win, and that was it. I thought DC was going to go out there, it was gonna be tough for the couple of first rounds, then DC would take control. And that’s what happened. And so I was in no way at all disrespecting Anthony Johnson. I was just going at Cormier after that interview, and he’s saying that I was disrespectful to DC also? That’s ridiculous. ”

“I think he talks so much that everything is a tangled web. He doesn’t remember what he said in the last interview and he can’t shut his mouth. So everything, he just keeps spewing out crap and then when you call him on something, you know it’s a whole other story. So he wants to fight me, he wants to shut my mouth, he wants this, and then he thinks I should fight him, and then he wants to fight Jon Jones, but Jon Jones is going to be out for a while, so he’ll fight me again. So who knows. I have no clue what he’s doing.”

Ryan expands on his comments from a recent interview saying that Daniel Cormier has changed:

“Just randomly people come up and just say his whole demeanour [has changed] and he’s not the guy he used to be. And not even fighters or anything, just people; your regular Joe kickboxing, you know cardio-kickboxing people that go the gym. And so that’s what I was just saying, just that whole deal. We come from a wrestling background where we never got any accolades. You go out there, win nationals or become an All-American, you get a hug from your Mom and handshake from your Dad and that’s it. And that’s what we’re used to. And you go through your life humbly and you go into this whole MMA deal and people want your autograph and you’re like “Holy crap. Why do people want my autograph?”. And you respect the fans and just respect yourself and the sport itself. That’s what people love about MMA. They love that there’s no real divas and we’re all accessible, and they can come up and shake your hand and take a picture. And 99 precent of the fighters are like that. You know? I just don’t want to see Cormier or any other fighters start taking that Diva route. And so like you saw right when he came to the press-conference, he goes “address me as champ”. And you know he could be kind of joking around here and there, but you know I’ve been around him, and I can just see it just piling on, piling on, and pretty soon he’s going to be a full blown diva.”

On being able to threaten DC in areas other people can’t in their fight:

“I just feel I can threaten him more than other people can. You know, on the mat, get him down with my takedowns and then put some power on him because I know he’d get hit.”

Official prediction on how he beats DC:

“I’m gonna stop him. You know, I hate doing predictions. I hate doing – you know it’s so hard. You never know. People ask “what round you doing? What’s this?”. You have no clue in MMA. You know? I guarantee I’ll go out there, I’ll put on an exciting fight, and my goal is to go out there and stop him. And I want that belt so bad. I should be in this title fight. I want to fight DC. We’ve been scheduled before. But I guarantee you this, I’ll go out there, put it all on the line and take that belt.”

By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 67: Condit vs. Alves from the Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The event, headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves, airs on FOX Sports 1, with preliminary card action starting on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1. We have a preview for the event HERE and results of the weigh-ins HERE.

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT):

WELTERWEIGHTS: LUIZ DUTRA VS. TOM BREESE

First round: Body kick by Dutra.  Trading knees.  Dutra with an elbow inside.  Body kick by Breese.  Dutra landed a left.  Elbow by Dutra.  Breese with a hard low kick.  Dutra with a body shot and a left.  Breese working for a takedown but didn’t get it.  Low kick by Breese.  Reese dropped him with a left and landed a lot of hammer punches on the ground and it was stopped at 4:58.  Dutra was real upset.  He wasn’t hurt bad and there were two seconds left, but he was in a bad position and didn’t move.

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS: JULIANA LIMA VS. ERICKA ALMEIDA

First round: Almeida with headlock takeover.  Lima reversed to the top.  Lima landing punches.  Almeida worked for an armbar but didn’t get it.  Lima back on top.  Lima landing more punches.  Lima landing more punches.  Lima 10-9.

Second round: Almeida landed a punch and Lima took her down.  Big punch by Lima.  The ref ordered a stand-up.  Lima with punches and knees.  Lima took her down again.  Lima 20-18.

Third round: Pretty even first minute.  Both landing punches.  Right by Almeida.  Nice right by Lima.  Hard right by Almeida.   Lima with a takedown.  Lima 30-27.

Scores 30-27, 30-27 and 30-25 for Lima.

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):

FEATHERWEIGHTS: LUCAS MARTINS VS. MIRSAD BEKTIC

First round: Bektic swinging and high slam takedown.  Martins bleeding from the left eye.  Bektic landing a lot of punches on the ground.  Bektic landing more punches.  Martins got to his feet.  His right eye is bloody.  Front kick by Bektic.  Bektic moved in.  Bektic took him down again.  Nice punches by Bektic.  Bektic now working for a choke as time is running out.  10-9 Bektic you could argue a 10-8.

Second round: Bektic knocked him down with a right and Bektic is pounding on him on the ground.  It’s about time to stop this.  And it was waved off.

WELTERWEIGHTS: ELIZEU ZALESKI DOS SANTOS VS. NICOLAS DALBY

First round:   Dalby throwing kicks.  Dos Santos landed some good punches.  Dalby took him down.  Body kick by Dalby.   Dos Santos tried a spin kick and missed and Dalby took him down off it.  Dos Santos back up.  Dalby with another takedown.  Dalby 10-9.

Second round: Both throwing big punches.  Another takedown by Dalby.  Dalby throwing punches as Dos Santos got up, and Dalby took him down again.  Nice spinning kick by Dos Santos.  Accidental low blow by Dalby.  Dos Santos with an overhand right.  Closer round.  Dalby 20-18.

Third round: Both swinging.  Dos Santos landed the right. Knees by Dos Santos.  Knee by Dos Santos.  Dos Santos with a body shot.  Dos Santos with a combo.  Dalby landing kicks and Dos Santos with knees.  Hard knees by Dos Santos  Takedown by Dalby.  Dos Santos landing more punches.  Dos Santos continuing to land.  Dos Santos round 29-28 Dalby as the score.  This could go either way.  Great fight.

Scores: 29-28 Dalby 29-28 Dos Santos 29-28 Dalby.  The crowd is booing.  I thought he won the fight but it was going to be tough in a close fight in Brazil.

FLYWEIGHTS: JUSSIER FORMIGA VS. WILSON REIS

First round: Formiga dropped him with a left.  Body kick by Reis.  Formiga with a right.  Low kick by Formiga.  Right landed by Reis.  Formiga with a right.  Right by Formiga.  Reis working hard for a takedown but didn’t get it.  10-9 Formiga

Second round: Formiga dropped him with a right.  Reis went for a leg but couldn’t get it.  Formiga has his back on the ground.  Reis reversed to the top.  Formiga back up.  Reis working for a takedown but can’t get it.  Right by Formiga.  Formiga landing more punches.  Formiga took him down.  Reis working for a leglock and Reis got to his feet.   Formiga 20-18.

Third round:    Reis moving in looking for a takedown.  Flying knee by Reis.  Formiga with a right.  Reis tied him up.  The problem is Reis needs a knockout.  Instead he’s working for a takedown from the clinch.  Knee by Reis.  Forminga landed some punches and took him down and got his back on the ground.  Formiga took the round in the last 30 seconds, so 30-27 Formiga.

Scores:   All three have it 29-28 Formiga.

FEATHERWEIGHTS: RONY JASON VS. DAMON JACKSON

First round: Flying knee by Jason but Jackson blocked and working for a takedown.  Jason shoved him off.  Takedown by Jackson.  Jackson landing punches from the top.  Jackson threw a knee to the head when Jason’s hand was down.  Takedown by Jackson.  Jason swept to the top and working for the armbar.  Jason has an armbar and a triangle but Jackson defended the armbar.  Jason used the triangle for the submission.

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

WELTERWEIGHTS: WENDELL OLIVEIRA VS. DARREN TILL

First round: Till with a body kick.  Oliveira moved in for a takedown.  Body kick by Till.  High kick and left by Till.  Till landed a left.  Crowd booing because not much happened.  Till 10-9.

Second round: Till grabbed a bodylock, took him down but Oliviera back up right away.  Olveira went for a takedown but Till ended up on top.  Elbow by Till.  Till dropping another elbow.  He dropped three more elbows and knocked Oliveira out.

LIGHTWEIGHTS: FRANCISCO TRINALDO VS. NORMAN PARKE

First round: Trinaldo with a low kick.  Nice left by Parke but a hard body shot by Trinaldo.  Left to the body and right to the head by Trinaldo.  Parke took him down.  Trinaldo throwing elbows as Parke held him down.  Judo takedown by Parke.  Knee and punches by Trinaldo.  Trinaldo  10-9.

Second round: Parke working for a takedown.  Trinaldo with a left to the body.  Trinald with another body punch.  Knee by Trinaldo.  Parke couldn’t get the takedown.  Elbow by Trinaldo.  A left and another left.   Knee by Trinadlo.  Left by Triandlo.  Another left by Trinaldo. Body kick by Trinaldo.  Right by to the body by Trinaldo.  Trinaldo 20-18.

Third round: Parke took him down.  Parke has his back.  Parke is working for a choke.  Trinaldo escaped.  Another takedown by Parke.  Parke threw a few punches from the top late.  Parke’s round, I’ve got Trinaldo 29-28 but the first round was close so it could go either way.

Scores: 29-28 Parke 29-28 Trinaldo 29-28 Trinaldo

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: FRANCIMAR BARROSO VS. RYAN JIMMO

First round: Barroso pushed him up against the fence.  Barroso still working for a takedown but can’t get it.  Barroso finally took him down but Jimmo right up.  Barroso throwing punches in the clinch.  Head kick by Jimmo.  Left by Jimmo.  Barroso missed a kick.  Barroso 10-9

Second round: Trading kicks.  Barroso with a low blow.  This was a nasty one.  Jimmo is hurt.   Jimmo throwing.  He may be done.   After a long break, Jimmo agreed to continue after the five minute break.  Barroso landed right.  Uppercut by Jimmo and a right by Jimmo.  Right and left by Barroso.  Barroso 20-18.

Third round: Crowd booing.  This is a boring fight.  Barroso moved in with a punch.  Barroso 30-27.

Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Barroso

LIGHTWEIGHTS: K.J. NOONS VS. ALEX OLIVEIRA

First round: Noons landed a left hook.  Noons landing some punches.  Nice left by Noons.  Oliveira got behind him.  Oliveira took him down and has his bak.  Noons back up.  Another slam takedown by Oliveira.  Another slam by Oliveira.  He’s working for a choke.  He got it and Noons tapped out.

FEATHERWEIGHTS: NIK LENTZ VS. CHARLES OLIVEIRA

First round: Body kick by Lentz and he’s working for a takedown.  Two punches by Lentz and he’s working for a takedown.  Oliveira tried a guillotine but Lentz used it to get the takedown and on top.  Lentz went to the ground and fired punches.  Oliveira back and Lentz took him down briefly.  Oliveira took Lentz down.  Knee to the head.  Knees and elbows by Oliveira.  Both landing punches.  Lentz landing more punches.  Lentz landing several punches.  He got Oliveira’s back.  Both are trading.  This is a great fight.  Oliveira with an elbow and a knee and put him down and is pounding on him on the ground.  Oliviera with punches on the ground.  Oliveira with more punches.  Oliveira with a knee to the body.  Olivera got full mount with time running out.  10-9 Oliveira.

Second round: Body kick by Oliveira and more punches.  Lentz took him down and moved to side control.  Another slam takedown by Lentz and he’s working for a guillotine.   Oliveira with up kicks.  Oliveira reversed to the top.  Lentz trying for a guillotine again.  Lentz used the gullotine to reverse.  Lentz now landing elbows onthe ground.  Lentz with punches.  Lentz going for a heel hook.  Both with punches.  Lentz ended up on top.  Lentz keeping top position.  Lentz’s round so 19-19 after two.

Third round: Olivera landed a knee and kick.  Another knee by Oliveira.  Oliveira working for a guillotine again and it’s tight.  Lentz was caught and had to tap.  

WELTERWEIGHTS: CARLOS CONDIT VS. THIAGO ALVES

First round: Body kick by Condit.  Condit landing more kicks.  Alves back with a low kick.  Condit with a combination.  Left and right by Condit.  Alves with a low kick.  Body kick by
Condit.  Low kicks by Condit.  Nice right by Alves.  Condit with a body kick.  Condit 10-9.

Second round: Both landing.  Condit dropped him with a left.  Condit with punches on the ground.  He’s in full mount.  Condit throwing a lot of punches.  He’s throwing elbows from the top.  Alves has a bloody nose.  Knees to the body.  Alves back up and Alves going for a guillotine himself but Condit out.  Both trading punches.  Alves tagged him.  Condit landed a punch and some elbows and suplexed him down.  Condit punching on the ground.  He’s working for a choke.  He’s working for a choke but Alves looks like he’s out of it.  Condit landing good punches on the ground.  Condit landing punches on the ground.  Condit tried a kravat choke.  Alves back up.  Condit with an elbow.  Body kicks and Alves with a kick to th head.  Elbows by Condit and a knee.  Condit took him down as the round ended.  Condit 20-18.

Third round: The doctor stopped it due to his broken nose.  The last two fights were great. 

Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 67: Condit vs. Alves weigh-ins from the Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil kicking off at 3 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on FOX Sports 1, with a main card start time of 10 PM eastern time. A full slate of preliminary card action kicks off at 7 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 1 for more coverage at 8 PM eastern time. This will mark the UFC’s second event in Goiania following UFC Fight Night 32 in November 2013.

The event will be headlined by a potential fight of the year in the welterweight division as former Interim UFC and WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit returns from an injury layoff to battle former title contender Thiago Alves in the five-round main event. The semi-main event is a rematch of a controversial 2011 bout as Nik Lentz takes on Charles Oliveira in a featherweight bout. Also on the main card, K.J. Noons battles Alex Oliveira in a lightweight contest and TUF: The Smashes winner Norman Parke takes on Francisco Trinaldo in a lightweight bout.

Uneventful weigh-ins this week when compared to last week.  Everyone made weight.  

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

Carlos Condit (170) vs. Thiago Alves (170)
Nik Lentz (146) vs. Charles Oliveira (144)
K.J. Noons (170) vs. Alex Oliveira (170)
Francimar Barroso (205) vs. Ryan Jimmo (206)
Francisco Trinaldo (156) vs. Norman Parke (156)
Wendell Oliveira (170) vs. Darren Till (171)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):

Rony Jason (146) vs. Damon Jackson (145)
Jussier Formiga (126) vs. Wilson Reis (126)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (171) vs. Nicolas Dalby (171)
Lucas Martins (145) vs. Mirsad Bektic (146)

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT):

Juliana Lima (115) vs. Ericka Almeida (116)
Luiz Dutra (170) vs. Tom Breese (171)

By Steve Juon, Wrestling Observer

Quick update: American Top Team has cut the lead to 100-50 after Hayder Hassan knocked off Andrews Nakahara last week in the first round. Glenn Robinson: “Nothing changes. We lost a fight. So now our job is to avenge Naka’s loss.”

Marcelo Alfaya from ATT says he’s living a dream just being in the TUF house, but he wants to fight. His teammates joke that if they win the six figure contract, they can afford to pay THE TAXES on the mansion they’re in for one year.

At the Blackzilians’ gym they’ve chosen Jason Jackson to have the next fight. Rashad Evans says this show is a microcosm of your life, how sometimes you’ll get the call to fight again two weeks later after a big win. Robinson: “He really loves that feeling of adversity. He begged to go to the opponent’s gym because he wanted the feeling of being booed.” Tyrone Spong: “F#%! strategy – who wants to win?”

Jackson talks about hailing from Jamaica. “I was lost as a person and as a fighter. Blackzilians, they took me under their wing. Everybody is like family. The life I’ve chosen is to take care of my son. My mom is struggling every day and I want that to stop. If you underestimate me I’ll come at you like a shark – pull you down and drown you.”

ATT is debating about who to pick next, and they either want Nate Coy or Marcelo Alfaya to go next. Alfaya suspected he would be next because he’s already in a sauna suit trying to get the weight off, and says he knew there was a chance as far back as Monday. He talks about his family back in South Brazil. “I believe in God, if he wins I win and if I lose he loses.”

15 minutes into the show and it’s time for the weigh-in. Jackson is 170.5. Alfaya is 170 even and he screams in joy on the scale. He puts his shades on, then takes them off for the staredown with Jackson. The two coaches line up behind their men. Dana White says Alfaya has great jiu-jitsu and Jackson has great stand-up plus a reach advantage.

Marcelo Alfaya (American Top Team) vs. Jason Jackson (Blackzilians)

The fight gets underway at 10:34. Alfaya is in the blue trunks, Jackson is in the black. Neither man gives up an inch for the first thirty seconds, staying right in the center and feleing out the range. The ref calls time at 45 seconds because Alfaya’s mouthpiece comes out and he gets a verbal warning. Alfaya goes for a takedown at 2:10 but Jackson winds up on top. They both get up quickly. He goes for it again but can’t keep Jackson down. Jackson does a foot stomp and they break at 2:38. Alfaya keeps going for the takedowns over and over again but all he’s really doing is sticking Jackson to the fence and not letting him do much but block the takedowns. If it weren’t for ATT buzzing in the background it would be a boring round. Nobody knows who won it.

R2 is underway at 10:44. Alfaya gets off a couple of good shots and Jackson backs up briefly. Alfaya is slowly pushing him toward to outer circle. Jackson is getting through with his jab on the counter strikes though and Alfaya’s face is turning red. Scoring is going to be all about what you’re looking for as a judge. Alfaya is controlling the Octagon, but Jackson is doing more damage. Again it’s the crowd that’s making this. A Las Vegas crowd would be much less invested and excited about it. Either way with ten minutes left in the show there’s less than a 50/50 chance of a sudden victory round.

One judge has it 19-19 and the other two have it 20-18 for Jason Jackson. The Blackzilians regain control and go up 150-50. Dana White: “That was not the fight I was expecting. That was a huge disappointment.”

That’s all for TUF this week!

By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

The UFC heads to Brazil once again on Saturday night, making a stop in Goiania for the second time for UFC Fight Night 67. The event’s main card airs on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday at 10 PM eastern time, with a preliminary card start time of 7 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass, and transitioning over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time.

The event will be headlined by a five-round welterweight main event bout as former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit returns from an injury layoff to take on former title challenger Thiago Alves. In the night’s semi-main event, it will be a long anticipated rematch of a no contest bout from 2011 as Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira square off in a featherweight bout. Let’s take a closer look at the action on the fight card as we delve deeper into the card and find five storylines to look out for on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 67.

1. Carlos Condit returns from a torn ACL. How will he fare against Thiago Alves?

Carlos Condit is one of the more exciting fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division, and he is a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. He was looking to get back into title contention when he fought Tyron Woodley at UFC 171 in March 2014. He was having trouble with Woodley, but was hanging in there until blowing out his knee in the second round. He was eventually diagnosed with a torn ACL and underwent surgery. He hasn’t fought since then, and will be making his return after 14 months on the shelf in the main event of UFC Fight Night 67 against Thiago Alves.

Alves is someone who has a long history of injuries himself. He also has fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship, coming up on the losing end to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009. He has fought just seven times in the nearly six years since that fight, going just 4-3 in that span. He missed a year of action following the loss to St. Pierre, then missed over two years of action following a loss to Martin Kampmann in March 2012. He has won two straight fights since returning from the two-year layoff, scoring wins over Seth Baczynski and Jordan Mein. Alves will now compete in his first five-round bout since the title loss to St. Pierre, and his first fight in his native Brazil in over twelve years.

While Condit and Alves have been big name fighters in the 170-pound division for many, many years, both are still relatively young at just 31-years-old. Condit comes into the fight ranked number four in the rankings, while Alves is ranked at number twelve. Both men are exciting fighters that will take a lot of risks in fights, and this is one of the more interesting fights of the year, and an excellent way to cap off a big month of fights in May. Condit may have the ring rust coming in after being out of action for so long, but Alves should know how that feels, and he didn’t show much in the way of ring rust after his two-year layoff. All things being equal, this fight should slightly favor Condit due to his speed and technique, but Alves is still a big welterweight with knockout power and good takedown defense. This should be an exciting five-round fight.

2. Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira will finally meet in their long-awaited rematch. Who wins?

At least, we hope they will finally meet in their long-awaited rematch. They were scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night 50 in September, but Oliveira came up ill on the day of the fight after having a brutal weight cut, and the fight was cancelled. Oliveira has been known to have brutal weight cuts since moving down to 145 pounds as it was the second of three times he had missed weight in six scheduled fights. Lentz has been wanting to get his hands on Oliveira since their first fight in June 2011, and if tensions were already high the day before they were supposed to last fight, they will be even higher now.

Lentz and Oliveira first fought at UFC Live 4 in June 2011. It ended in major controversey as Oliveira hit Lentz with a knee to the face as Lentz had his knees firmly planted on the ground. It was missed by the referee, and Oliveira capitalized by locking in a rear-naked choke and forcing Lentz to submit. It was originally a win for Oliveira, but was later changed to a no contest after Lentz filed an appeal. Lentz has been waiting for nearly four years to get his revenge, and he does at a time when he is coming in having won four of five fights since moving down to 145 pounds, with his only loss coming to perennial contender Chad Mendes.

Oliveira is coming in on a hot streak as well having won three straight fights since dropping back-to-back fights to Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. Oliveira has been more active of late, fighting three times in 2014, while Lentz has fought just once in 18 months after having his two most recent fights cancelled within 24 hours of them being scheduled to take place. Oliviera has more upside and a better chance to fight for the title, but Lentz has the solid wrestling skills to give Oliveira trouble. Their first fight was going back-and-forth before the unfortuante end, but Oliveira was getting the upper hand, and I expect him to do so again.

3. Can Jussier Formiga or Wilson Reis sneak into the flyweight title picture?
Buried all the way down in the preliminary card is a flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Wilson Reis. It is a fight that certainly has a lot more on the line than it’s placement would lead you to believe. Formiga is currently ranked number four at 125 pounds while Reis is ranked at number twelve. Both men have won two straight fights in impressive fashion. Both have seemed to gotten lost in the shuffle of the four flyweight contenders who fought this past Saturday, but they both have the potential to get themselves in the mix when talking about the next title contender.

John Dodson won a decision at UFC 187, but it was in lackluster fashion over Zach Makovsky. He likely is next to fight Demetrious Johnson as Dodson has been marketing himself as the guy who can defeated the only flyweight champion in UFC history despite having lost to Johnson once before. Joseph Benavidez also scored a win, but he has two losses to Johnson. Both of those men have won three straight fights, which will be identical to the winner between Formiga and Reis. Neither Formiga nor Reis have fought Johnson, but Formiga’s two UFC losses have come to Dodson and Benavidez. Reis has yet to fight a ranked flyweight contender until he steps inside the Octagon with Formiga on Saturday.

In order to get themselves in the mix, the winner between Formiga and Reis has to be impressive, and that is going to equal a finish. They have to stand out if either wants to get ahead of Dodson and Benavidez, and perhaps even ahead of Henry Cejudo. Formiga has the better chance of a knockout, but Reis is a tough opponent and has good submission skills. Reis has been really solid since dropping down to the flyweight division, and he has actually won seven of his last eight fights. I actually slightly favor him in this bout, but Formiga is going to be a tough out. Either way, the winner needs a finish if they’re going to be able to sneak themselves into a title fight opportunity in the near future.

4. Should more attention be paid to the bout between Lucas Martins and Mirsad Bektic?

The simple answer is yes. It is opening the preliminary card action on FOX Sports 1, and it is a fight worthy of being on the main card, especially a main card the caliber of this one. This fight was put together on short notice as Bektic was originally scheduled to fight Renato Carneiro, but Carneiro was forced out due to a knee injury in late April. Martins stepped in just a few weeks ago, but he is someone who has taken fights on short notice before as he made his UFC debut on short notice against Edson Barboza. Martins has been playing around with which weight class he is going to fight in, as he has fought at lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight in his five UFC bouts, but he has seemed to find a permanent home at 145 pounds.

Bektic is a big-time prospect at 145 pounds as he is undefeated in his nine career fights, including his last two inside the UFC Octagon. He is coming off a dominant, one-sided win over Paul Redmond in January. Martins is coming in off a loss after being defeated by Darren Elkins at UFC 179 in October, which ended a three-fight win streak. Bektic is a patient fighter who relies on dominant takedowns and wearing opponents out on the ground. Martins had trouble defending the takedowns of Elkins, and Bektic will look to implement a similar gameplan. Martins is a dangerous fighter as 14 of his 15 wins have come by a finish. We have a fighter who is 15-2 against a fighter who is 9-0, and both are solid prospects in the featherweight division, and this will be a quality fight to watch out for.

5. What are some other things to watch for on this fight card?

As is typical with fight cards taking place in Brazil, there are a lot of Brazilians fighting on the card as every fight features a Brazilian fighter. On the main card, K.J. Noons is making the trip to Brazil to take on Alex Oliveira, who is taking his second straight UFC bout on very short notice. Oliveira came close to scoring the upset over Gilbert Burns, but he faded late and gave the fight away in the third round. Noons is more dangerous on his feet than Burns, and it will be a different fight for Oliveira.

Former TUF winner Norman Parke also gets a late notice opponent as Francisco Trinaldo steps in on short notice. Parke was supposed to fight the aforementioned Gilbert Burns, and Trinaldo is the same style of opponent as Burns, but not as well touted on the ground. Another former TUF winner headlines the preliminary card action as Rony “Jason” Bezerra takes on Damon Jackson. Both men are looking to rebound from disappointing losses in their last fight, and Jackson is making his UFC featherweight debut in this fight. He had travel issues earlier in the week, so it will be interesting to see if it affects his weight cut and his performance.

Full UFC Fight Night 67 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions

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

Welterweights: Carlos Condit vs. Thiago Alves
Betting Odds: Condit (-260), Alves (+220)
Prediction: Condit by decision

Featherweights: Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Betting Odds: Lentz (+230), Oliveira (-270)
Prediction: Oliveira by submission in round 2

Lightweights: K.J. Noons vs. Alex Oliveira
Betting Odds: Noons (+110), Oliveira (-130)
Prediction: Noons by decision

Light Heavyweights: Francimar Barroso vs. Ryan Jimmo
Betting Odds: Barroso (+230), Jimmo (-270)
Prediction: Jimmo by decision

Lightweights: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Norman Parke
Betting Odds: Trinaldo (+200), Parke (-240)
Prediction: Parke by decision

Welterweights: Wendell Oliveira vs. Darren Till
Betting Odds: Oliveira (-120), Till (+100)
Prediction: Till by decision

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

Featherweights: Rony Jason vs. Damon Jackson
Betting Odds: Jason (-190), Jackson (+165)
Prediction: Jason by submission in round 2

Flyweights: Jussier Formiga vs. Wilson Reis
Betting Odds: Formiga (-155), Reis (+135)
Prediction: Reis by decision

Welterweights: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Nicolas Dalby
Betting Odds: dos Santos (+290), Dalby (-350)
Prediction: Dalby by knockout in round 1

Featherweights: Lucas Martins vs. Mirsad Bektic
Betting Odds: Martins (+300), Bektic (-360)
Prediction: Bektic by decision

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)

Women’s Strawweights: Juliana Lima vs. Ericka Almeida
Betting Odds: Lima (-200), Almeida (+170)
Prediction: Lima by decision

Welterweights: Luiz Dutra vs. Tom Breese
Betting Odds: Dutra (+135), Breese (-155)
Prediction: Breese by knockout in round 3

The UFC announced Monday that Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites will headline its debut show in Scotland, taking place on 7/18 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. The event will air on Fox Sports One.

#10 Bisping is coming off a convincing recent victory over C.B. Dolloway, while #9 Leites has an eight fight winning streak, a perfect 5-0 in his second UFC run. He has finishes in his last three. Bisping is 4-4 in his last eight.

In a lightweight clash, Ross Pearson vs. Evan Dunham is the co-main event. Pearson has won two of his last three, while Dunham snapped a three-fight losing streak with a decision win over Rodrigo Damm in January. The show will also feature Joanne Calderwood vs. Bec Rawlings.

The following is from a third-party:

Frank Trigg came on Submission Radio to discuss his UFC Hall of Fame fight induction for his second fight with Matt Hughes.

Trigg is still yet to get his head around the big news:

“It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s still kind of surreal. You know, I didn’t know about it until about 4 o’clock on Tuesday night, and then about 5:15 or thereabouts they announced it on Wednesday night. Karen Bryant announced it on UFC Tonight and it still hasn’t set in much.”

Frank was clear that his animosity with Matt was created by him to sell tickets and nowhere close to being real

“No, there never really was. It was all made up. It was a rivalry set because when UFC was squared away back then, there was only eight fights a year. Now they’re doing almost four fights a card. So it’s a different ball game. They’d have a face, they’d have a heel. Matt was the champ, he gets to play face. He’s not much of a talker anyway publicly, and I am. So I played the heel and we showed it off. You know it’s, it was a rivalry to set people to want to buy tickets and want to see this fight, and that’s just kind of what’s up”

Frank also discussed why he thought people needed to stop feeling sorry for Jon Jones

“People have to stop making excuses for this guy and feeling sorry for this guy. I feel sorry for his Mom and Dad. I feel sorry for his brothers, I feel sorry for his Girlfriend and for their kids. I feel sorry for the team, the team around him. You know the guys at Jackson’s that have to deal with this whole fallout. Don’t feel sorry for Jon Jones. He’s a grown ass man. He’s a man that’s an adult, that pays his own bills and has his own pay cheque, can drive his own car, can make his own decisions. He’s making dumb decisions. So when you make bad decisions you have to pay for them.”

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

When it came to Conor McGregor, Frank admitted he hasn’t been a fan of some of his antics during the world tour with Jose Aldo

“I’m just one of those guys that I’m kind of a traditionalist. I know that if you look at how I act you would think that I wouldn’t be that much of a traditionalist, but I’m a traditionalist. You never touch the belt till you’ve earned the belt. You don’t go and grab it away from the champ. That’s just not what you do. You don’t do that. It’s kind of disrespectful to the promotion and it’s disrespectful to what we’re trying to accomplish. I get his antics, I get what he’s doing, but that for me is the line-crosser.”

Check out the rest of the interview in the transcript below featuring Frank’s thoughts on the Reebok deal, never getting paid 10,000 dollars that Pride owed him and if any of his feuds were ever really real.

Transcript:

Reaction to finding out his fight second with Matt Hughes will be inducted into the UFC HOF

“It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s still kind of surreal. You know, I didn’t know about it until about 4 o’clock on Tuesday night, and then about 5:15 or thereabouts they announced it on Wednesday night. Karen Bryant announced it on UFC Tonight and it still hasn’t set in much. You know and really, it’s just kind of been so much of a whirlwind. But to be honest with you, I don’t really know what’s happening. Like I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve been told that I’m in the Hall of Fame. I’ve been told I’ve got some stuff I have do the week of the fight expo in July, but other than that I don’t really what else is going on.”

If he expected to ever be inducted into the hall of fame

“No. No I never thought I would be inducted in. I mean my record obviously shows that I’m not a great champ like a Matt Hughes was, and obviously he’s already been in the hall of fame. He’ll be a double inductee now. He’ll in one as a fighter and for his fight history as being a champ, and now one for this fight. But I never thought it was going to happen. I was completely blindsided when they gave me the phone call that this was going to happen for me.”

On the animosity towards Matt Hughes never really being real

“No, there never really was. It was all made up. It was a rivalry set because when UFC was squared away back then, there was only eight fights a year. Now they’re doing almost four fights a card. So it’s a different ball game. They’d have a face, they’d have a heel. Matt was the champ, he gets to play face. He’s not much of a talker anyway publicly, and I am. So I played the heel and we showed it off. You know it’s, it was a rivalry to set people to want to buy tickets and want to see this fight, and that’s just kind of what’s up”

If Matt knew that the rivalry was made up

“I have no Idea. I can’t speak for what Matt thought or didn’t think at that time. I have no clue.”

How it was decided that Frank would play the ‘Bad Guy”

“I just decided to play the heel and sell the fight. Like I said, he’s not much of a talker. He doesn’t go out publicly and talk trash. It’s not his style. His style is very quiet and very humble and he goes in there and does his job and beats. You know and I had to get people to wanna watch these fights and wanna buy tickets, so one of us had to talk. And so I ended up – you know because I enjoy speaking, I enjoy the public aspect of selling stuff like that – so I went out and chose that role on my own  to do it and it seemed to work.”

If any of his rivalries with guys such as GSP or Matt Serra were ever real

“No. To me it’s always been…I’ve never been one of those guys that has to hate my opponent to have to beat them up, you know like have to hate them and have to hate everything about them to fight them. I was always one of those guys where it’s all about business. It’s all about trying to get the next meal on the table for my kids and try to provide for housing and provide for the college fund. So for me it was always business. You know there’s a multitude of fighters that don’t like me, but there’s no fighter that I can really think of off the top of my head that I don’t like. I don’t like some of the things that some of the fighters do outside of the cage. I mean I don’t like some of the things that how they act or how they conduct themselves, but those things don’t really affect me. So I kind of separate myself from that kind of mindset. So there’s no real rivalry between any of those fighters to my knowledge.”

If it would be tough reliving the losses to Mat Hughes when Frank gets inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

“Well no because now – like you said, the UFC hall of fame is the most prestigious hall of fame in mixed martial arts. It’s one of the most prestigious hall of fames of all hall of fames. You know of course you go against boxing and football and basketball and hockey, you know you have a longer hall of fame for those. The UFC hall of fame is newer but it’s a very prestigious hall of fame. Now it actually helps take away some of the bitterness of the fight. You know I’ve come to terms with it, it’s a piece of history. I lost the fight, I lost to Matt twice. He was the champ and I couldn’t defeat him either time and that’s the reality of those fights. And now it kind of takes away – for the rest of my life I will always have that on my business card. For the rest of my life, it will always be in my bio page of all my social networks and my bio page on Wikipedia that right now I am a UFC inductee. That I’m in the hall of fame. Come July 11th I will be a UFC hall of fame member. And that will always be on my business card for the rest of my life because that is the reality.”

Thoughts on the Reebok deal numbers and fighters complaining about losing money through it

“The fighters can complain all they want. If they don’t like it then leave. Go someplace else. You don’t get what you deserve. Athletes don’t get what they deserve. Every athlete deserves at least two or three times more than they’re actually getting paid from their promotion, or from their team, or from whatever. The reality of it is, you get what you negotiate. And these guys are negotiating, and this is part of the negotiation deal that these Reebok deals will be a part of their deal, a part of their contract now.”

Frank on if any sponsors never paid him his money

“That was back in the day. I’ve had, you know Pride still owes me 10,000 dollars and they closed shop and never paid me. It’s always been one of those deals where you can stuff the fighter and all he can do is complain about it and it won’t do him any good. And I’ve had sponsors bail out on me and I’ve called them to task. And I’ve been real lucky that my management team – you know I’ve had different managers throughout my career, but they’ve always been able to hunt down the money and get it for me. And so literally the only time I really didn’t get paid was when Pride walked away and they owe me 10,000 dollars. Other than that, I got the money that I could get and that was how the game was, and when I was in there, there wasn’t that many sponsorships that you could actually have, because people didn’t have money and the game wasn’t that big. And when they finally put a lockdown on them, a lot of sponsors got pulled out and they couldn’t afford to be in as much as they were. So that’s the game. That’s just how it goes. You know and I’ve been very lucky, I haven’t had to worry about sponsorship money and didn’t have to worry about sponsorship deals like that, but of course I wasn’t in the heyday. My payday was not in the heyday.”

Thoughts on Conor McGregor and they was he carried himself in the press tour with Aldo

“I’m just one of those guys that I’m kind of a traditionalist. I know that if you look at how I act you would think that I wouldn’t be that much of a traditionalist, but I’m a traditionalist. You never touch the belt till you’ve earned the belt. You don’t go and grab it away from the champ. That’s just not what you do. You don’t do that. It’s kind of disrespectful to the promotion and it’s disrespectful to what we’re trying to accomplish. I get his antics, I get what he’s doing, but that for me is the line-crosser. But then of course you have Chael Sonnen talking about, you know smacking Anderson Silva’s wife on the ass was a line crosser for me as well. Like it’s always been trash talking for you between the fighters. Keep the families out of it. But Chael made a career out of it and I didn’t like it, but I laughed at it. It was funny. The same thing with Conor McGregor. I don’t like it, but I got it. I understand what he’s doing.”

“Right now honestly, and people ask and ask about it, that he is the number one draw right now for the UFC. Right now, he’s the biggest name the UFC has. Bigger than Ronda Rousey, bigger than Jose Aldo, bigger than – obviously bigger than Jon Jones now that he’s out, bigger than anybody else in the UFC right now. Conor McGregor the challenger is the biggest name we have going on.”

Reaction to Jon Jones hit and run and him being suspended by the UFC

Like, I’m on the fence with the Daniel Cormier side, in where people have to stop making excuses for this guy and feeling sorry for this guy. I feel sorry for his Mom and Dad. I feel sorry for his brothers, I feel sorry for his Girlfriend and for their kids. I feel sorry for the team, the team around him. You know the guys at Jackson’s that have to deal with this whole fallout. Don’t feel sorry for Jon Jones. He’s a grown ass man. He’s a man that’s an adult, that pays his own bills and has his own pay cheque, can drive his own car, can make his own decisions. He’s making dumb decisions. So when you make bad decisions you have to pay for them. Sometimes the payment is smaller and easier, and this payment that he’s about to make is going to be huge.

“It’s going to be crazy for him to try to even think about trying to get out of this. And he’s in a difficult place right now. And you know for the UFC – and I think Dana White came out and said “hey, he’s going to have an immediate title shot when he comes back after everything gets settled”. It’s kind of early to say that. You know, we love Dana and the fact that he says everything that comes to his mind, he holds true to his word and he wears his heart on his sleeve, but the reality of it is that it’s too early to say that because, you know he could be doing six months. You know six months in jail in New Mexico. And then to come out and start training again and try to get ready, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I don’t know if he could pull that off.”