On Wednesday night, UFC announced that women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will defend against Amanda Nunes as part of UFC 200.
Tate vs. Nunes will be one of the three top fights on the show, along with featherweight champion Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II (welterweight fight), and Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title.
The fight is perplexing on almost every level. UFC is sitting on a goldmine right now in the women’s bantamweight division with big money fights on the horizon (Tate vs. Ronda Rousey III, Tate vs. Holly Holm II). A Nunes win would hurt that dynamic since she wouldn’t have near the buzz or interest level against any of those other fighters on the level Tate would have. If Tate was a lock to fight on this show, the only logical contenders would have been Rousey or Holm.
Nunes (12-4) has won three straight and five of her six UFC fights. She was last seen downing Valentina Shevchenko by unanimous decision at March’s UFC 196 — the same show on which Tate beat Holm for the gold.
Earlier this week, the fight was said to be under serious consideration for either UFC 200 or UFC 201. Tate signed a new deal with the promotion earlier this week as well.
UFC 200 is scheduled for Saturday, July 9th, in Las Vegas at the new T-Mobile Arena. It is expected to be one of the biggest UFC events of all-time, if not the biggest, in terms of PPV buys, media attention, and overall buzz.
Bryan Alvarez and I will talk more about the fight and the news from pro wrestling and MMA on tonight’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
In an interesting promotional move, the UFC has announced that the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter will be a 16-man tournament for a December shot at the UFC flyweight title. That season kicks off on August 31st on Fox Sports One.
The current champion is Demetrious Johnson, who defends the title against Henry Cejudo on 4/23 in Las Vegas. Based on the timing of when the TUF winner would get the title shot, there could be a Johnson/Cejudo rematch before that if something controversial happens.
The company announced tryouts for season 24 would take place on 4/25 at the Palace Station in Las Vegas, and that they are looking for fighters between the ages of 21 and 34, with at least three pro fights and an above .500 winning percentage. The season will be filmed in June and July.
The finalists will compete in the final regular episode of the season, meaning the opponent for the champion would likely only be advertised for a short period of time, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, before the title match takes place.
What’s notable is that if they are not including fighters on the roster like Joseph Benavidez, Louis Smolka and Zach Makovsky on the competition, it’s pretty ridiculous to bypass legitimate top contenders and bring in only unknowns in a division where virtually every top fighter in the weight class is already in UFC.
The day after news broke that UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was injured and out of his UFC 197 title defense against rival and former champion Jon Jones, Double J now has a new opponent –Ovince Saint Preux — and a new goal: the UFC interim light heavyweight title on April 23rd.
The news was made official by Dana White during ESPN Sportscenter on Saturday night with White saying since Jones never lost the title, they felt it was right for the title to be on the line. Recently, UFC announced an interim featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar for UFC 200, so the buzzword of 2016 is ‘interim”.
Anthony Johnson and Rashad Evans were considered, but Johnson recently had dental surgery that made him unvailable. Jones said Saturday he doesn’t like short notice fights, but was up for anything at light heavyweight or heavyweight.
Jones is returning after more than a year off due to a slew of legal issues. He last fought and beat Cormier in January 2015 and the rematch was expected to do big PPV business. While this match is interesting, the show will no doubt take a hit with PPV buyers, especially with a lack of star power on the rest of the show.
OSP (19-7) is coming off a February decision win over Feijao Cavalcante, and has won three of his last four.
Daniel Cormier has pulled out of his April 23rd rematch with Jon Jones due to an apparent knee injury. There have been reports of people seeing Cormier limping around earlier in the week.
Cormier lost the first bout against Jones by decision in January of 2015 at UFC 182. Cormier then won the UFC Light Heavyweight title over Anthony Johnson by submission in his next fight after Jon Jones was stripped of the title following a felony hit and run incident that ended in a plea agreement. Rumors are that Anthony Johnson has been training and is willing replace Cormier but there is no guarantee that Jones will accept the fight. Anthony Johnson since losing the title fight against Cormier has dispatched both Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader by knock-out.
The title fight was already in doubt when Jon Jones was arrested last week for violating his probation after being cited in Albuquerque, New Mexico for drag racing. Though that was resolved when Jones agreed to anger managment and driver improvement courses along with 60 more hours of community service.
There is already a title fight on the card between Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo.
UFC announced tonight two main events for UFC 200 as well as a huge advance for UFC 198.
UFC Tonight released that Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz in a rematch at 170 pounds will headline UFC 200 on 7/9 in Las Vegas at the new T-Mobile Arena. On the show it was stated that Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and John Kavanagh, the coach of McGregor, all wanted the fight at 155, but said McGregor insisted on fighting at 170.
They also announced Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight title in another five round fight. McGregor has not been stripped of the title, but since he’s been inactive, they will have this fight and the winner will unify the title with McGregor at some point.
At least one more championship fight will be added to the show.
Other fights announced for UFC 200 are Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne in a heavyweight battle where the winner could get a title shot; Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez; Gegard Mousasi vs. Derek Brunson; Johny Hendricks vs. Kelvin Gastelum and Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi.
Tickets went on sale today for UFC 198, which takes place on 5/14 at the Arena de Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. The show, headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title had so much demand that ticket outlets crashed but already 38,000 tickets have been sold to the show. They are looking at a 45,000 capacity for the event.
The UFC 200 Card so far:
Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 2
Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar for the Interim Featherweight Title
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and No. 1 contender Jon Jones was arrested Tuesday for violation of his probation stemming from an altercation with a police officer last Thursday after he was pulled over and accused of drag racing.
Jones had claimed that he had just revved up his engine of his Corvette, and noted that he wasn’t speeding nor arrested for speeding. The entire confrontation was caught on tape, and has inspired a mixed reaction from fans and media.
Jones was taken into custody at 10 AM local time by the Probation & Parole department and taken to the detention center where he was being held at last word.
TMZ Sports first reported the story and posted Jones’ new mug shot. They also reported that EAG Sports, which represents Jones, issued a statement saying, “Jon and his team are taking this very seriously and we will let the legal process play out. We are confident he will be released once he has an opportunity to explain to the judge the facts in this case.”
Jones was sentenced to probation from his hit and run conviction last year, which resulted in his being stripped of his UFC light heavyweight championship. He has not fought since his January 2015 win over Daniel Cormier who subsequently defeated Anthony “Rumble” Johnson later in the year to win the vacant title. The Cormier vs. Jones rematch was scheduled to headline UFC’s next big show on 4/23 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. At this time, no statement has been made regarding if the arrest will affect this match.
Jones’ 18-month probation was not revoked when he got a recent traffic citation because of the feeling that was a minor charge, and Jones proved he had a license and registration, something he didn’t have in his possession when pulled over.
It was a day after his court case when it was agreed all charges would be dropped, pending him not getting in trouble over the next 90 days, when he was pulled over on the claim he was drag racing.
Jones was charged with drag racing, a noise disturbance violation, an illegible license plate, exhibition driving and an inability to maintain being in a traffic lane, which was considered a probation violation.
The UFC released a statement saying, “UFC is aware that Jon Jones turned himself into the Albuquerque Police Department this morning for a potential probation violation stemming from a traffic stop last week. UFC has been in touch with Jones’ legal team and will have no further comment until the organization has had appropriate time to gather necessary information.”
After years of rumors and offers, UFC officially announced today that Cris “Cyborg” Justino will make her debut at UFC 198, set for Saturday, May 14th at the 42,000 seat Arena de Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.
The Invicta featherweight champion will face Leslie Smith in a 140 pound catchweight fight. Justino usually walks around in excess of 170 pounds.
Up until Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey in November for the UFC women’s bantamweight title, a Rousey vs. Justino fight may have been the biggest fight for PPV business that could have been done in MMA.
UFC has attempted to make the fight since the end of 2012, and was looking at it for the debut of women’s MMA with the promotion, but Justino wouldn’t sign the eight-fight deal offered because she believed it was not as good as the deal UFC had offered Rousey.
Since that time, attempts to make that fight have been futile because Rousey has been insistent on fighting her at 135 pounds only, consistenly pointing to Justino’s prior failure of steroid tests. Justino has talked about dropping weight slowly to where she’d finally get to 135, and even hired well-known nutritionist George Lockhart to help. However, those plans to fight at 140 or 135 never materialized, and when Rousey lost to Holm, Justino said that she would no longer attempt to make 135.
Smith is coming off a win over Rin Nakai on last week’s show in Brisbane, Australia.
Cat Zingano, who had been rumored for the fight, confirmed on Friday’s Inside MMA show that she wasn’t going to be the opponent. She said she had a big fight scheduled that she was excited about, but had to wait for UFC to announce it, but teased it would be about the time of her birthday (July 1) which happens to be eight days before UFC 200. She also said it would not be a title fight with Miesha Tate, who she has previously beaten.
After hours of debating, the bill to legalize mixed martial arts and put it under the auspices of the New York State Athletic Commission passed the state assembly by a 113-25 vote.
The bill had already passed the state senate, which means it goes to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign, and UFC is expected to run its first event in Madison Square Garden toward the latter part of this year.
New York had been the lone holdout in UFC’s attempt to get the sport legalized nationwide. The bill had passed the state senate for seven straight years, but it had been blocked from even being voted on in the assembly.
UFC officials believed they had far more than enough votes last year, but time ran out in the session and once again, they could never get the legislation voted on.
There were long impassioned pleas on both sides, with the few dissenters talking about everything from homophobia, domestic violence, violence in society to the condition of Muhammad Ali, to the idea Madison Square Garden should be for team sports.
The vote in the New York assembly regarding MMA being legalized, that is expected to pass, is taking place right now. You can watch live via the video link below. The hearing has been a circus so far with every ignorant statement about MMA imaginable being made.
If it passes, the tentative plan would be to run a big show in November in Madison Square Garden.
UFC had hoped for it to pass for years now, and several times it likely would have, but it was blocked from going to a vote for a number of reasons. Amazingly, amateur mixed martial arts is legal in New York but professional mixed martial arts is not.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talked about this situation in detail in last night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 85: Hunt vs. Mir from the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the heavyweight division as former title challenger Mark Hunt takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. In the co-main event, it is a battle of welterweights looking to get closer to a title shot as Neil Magny takes on Hector Lombard. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ALAN PATRICK (12-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. DAMIEN BROWN (15-8, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Brown is a late replacement from Brisbane. It’s 9 a.m. in Brisbane as this show starts. Patrick took him down right away. Patrick has a guillotine but gave it up. Patrick with some elbows from the top. Brown reversed to the top and landed punches. This picked the crowd up. Patrick escaped and up. Brown took him down into side control and is riding him Patrick backup. Brown with a left hook but Patrick took him down and has his back. Brown working for a Kimura. Crowd liked the round. 10-9 Patrick but close..
Second round: Patrick took him down. Brown with elbows from the bottom. Not much happening this round. Patrick landing some punches Brown again tried or a Kimura from the bottom. Patrick’s round so 20-18 after two.
Third round: Patrick took him down immediately off a kick. Patrick trying for a choke but isn’t close. Now he’s trying an arm triangle but Brown out of trouble. Patrick moved to side control. Patrick now has his back. Patrick with some punches, but he’s more controlling him on the ground. Fans are booing. Brown got up. Patrick took him down again. Patrick 30-27 but could be 29-28, but Patrick has to win.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for Patrick.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ROSS PEARSON (18-10 1 NC, 10-7 1 NC UFC) VS. CHAD LAPRISE (10-1, 3-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise missed a high kick. Slow round. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson and Laprise back with a low kick. Laprise’s left thigh looks bad. Laprise landed a left and right. Body kick by Pearson. Body shot by Laprise. Action picked up late in the round. Pearson 10-9.
Second round: Another low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Laprise. Body kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Pearson with another low kick. Head kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson, Laprise with a left. Pearson with a right. Laprise with high kick. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with a left. Laprise with some punches. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Spin kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Pearson’s left leg is giving him trouble. Laprise with two kicks. Another close round, very good round. Laprise barely so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Low kick by Pearson. Right by Pearson. Pearson is the guy moving forward. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise landed a series including a body kick. Laprise with a left. Head kick by Laprise. Another high kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with an elbow. Pearson went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Left by Pearson. Both throwing like crazy late. Laprise’s round close. 29-28 Laprise. First two rounds were close enough to where this could go either way.
Scores: 30-28 Laprise, 30-27 Pearson 29-28 Pearson. The 30-27 score for Pearson was bad as Laprise won the third.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (9-3, 2-2 UFC) VS. VISCARDI ANDRADE (18-6, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Andrade knocked Walsh down, although some of that was as much a slip. Andrade landing more punches. Walsh landed. Andrade trying for a takedown but Walsh defending well. Andrade got him down. Andrade landing some punches. The ref warning Andrade about not being busy enough from the top. The ref stood them up. Right by Andrade. Andrade 10-9.
Second round: Big right by Walsh knocked him down. Walsh landing punches on the ground. Walslh brought him up against the cage. Walsh landing elbows. Andrade back to his feet. Knee and punches by Walsh. Left by Walsh. Andrade with a right. Andrade with a takedown but Walsh right back up. Walsh landing punches. Elbow by Walsh. Knee by Andrade. Andrade looks tired. Andrade took him down. Andrade working for a choke. Walsh survived the round. The choke made it close but Walsh’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Walsh landing punches early. Andrade took him down. Walsh took him down. Andrade got another takedown. Andrade throwing punches from the top. Andrade 29-28.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 for Andrade.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- LESLIE SMITH (7-6-1, 1-2 UFC) VS. RIN NAKAI (16-1-1, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Smith landing punches. Smith landing more. Nakai couldn’t get the takedown when she tried a hip throw. Crowd is pretty dead at this point. Smith landing more punches. Nakai got the takedown right as the round ended. 10-9 Smith.
Second round: Smith landing some punches. Nakai got the takedown. Nakai keeping her down but doing no damage. Nakai is in side control. Smith working for a triangle but Nakai got out. Nakai working for a head and arm choke. She doesn’t have it. Smith escaped with 1:16 left. Smith landing a hard uppercut. Smith kicked her in the face and Nakai got another takedown. Nakai landing punches from the top. Close round. Smith 20-18.
Third round: Smith landing punches. Nakai has the clinch. Knee and uppercuts by Nakai. Smith landing several punches. Sloppy but the crowd is enjoying this. Right to the body by Smith. Left uppercut by Smith. Nakai working for a takedown but didn’t get it. Nakai got the hip toss into side control. Nakai is trying to get her back. Smith 30-27 but I could see round two and perhaps three going to Nakai because of the ground control. .
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Smith.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DAN HOOKER (12-6, 2-2 UFC) VS. MARK EDDIVA (6-2, 1-2 UFC)
First round: Hooker is fighting at 145. He has fought as a heavyewight before which is crazy. Hooker going for a guillotine. He’s squeezing. Eddiva tapped. Finally a finish.
WELTERWEIGHTS- BRENDAN O’REILLY (6-1 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) VS. ALAN JOUBAN (12-4, 3-2 UFC)
First round: O’Reilly with a foot sweep and got his back. Jouban right back up. Jouban with knees and and elbows. Now Jouban landing all kinds of punches and kicks. O’Reilly also throwing. This was tremendous. Knees and elbows by Jouban. A couple of elbows put him down and it was stopped after punches on the ground. Short explosive great action fight.
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- BEC RAWLINGS (6-4, 1-1 UFC) VS. SEOHEE HAM (16-6, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Han is undersized for this weight class but a good fighter. Han landed a couple of punches. Both landing punches. Crowd is into this one. Han landing more. Big size difference. Rawlings with a nice right and hurt her with another right. Both trading punches. Rawlings landing harder punches. Han landing more again. Good right by Rawlings. Nice left by Rawlings Han 10-9
Second round: Both landing punches. Both landing a lot of punches. Rawlings stating to land but Han right back and landed a good body kick. Rawlings took her down off a punch. Han tried a triangle but Rawlings got her back and is working for a choke. Rawlings with an armbar. Han landing nice punches and a body kick. Rawlings so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Rawlings took her down and Han trying for a triangle. Rawlings throwing knees to the back. Rawlings escaped and on top. Rawlings landed a good punch but Han back up and landed a punch. Han landing a lot of punches. Knee by Rawlings. Knee and punches by Han. Rawlings with a knee to the body. Nice right by Rawlings. Han 29-28. Good fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Rawlings. Please.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAMES TE HUNA (16-8, 5-4 UFC) VS. STEVE BOSSE (10-2, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Te Huna from Australia, Bosse was a cult favorite in Montreal as a former hockey enforcer years back. In other words, if they were on skates, Bosse would have a great advantage. Bosse knoked him out in seconds. He threw some solid shots and Te Huna went down hard. He stopped fighting immediately before Marc Goddard stopped it. Bosse should be getting a bonus. It was a short right that did the job. :52
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (10-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR (5-1 1 NC, 2-1 1 NC UFC)
First round: Carlos with a takedown and has his back. Now he’s got the body triangle. He tried a neck crank. Carlos warned for hitting to the back of the head. Carlos throwing punches from that position. Carlos landing more punches from back position. Carlos working for an armbar as time ran out. 10-8 Carlos.
Second round: Carlos with low kicks. Carlos tried a takedown but Kelly stopped it. Kelly with an uppercut. Kelly bleeding from the nose. Jumping knee by Carlos. Kelly with lefts. Carlos shot and Kelly caught him and landed a knee. Right by Carlos. Left by Kelly. Carlos landed a few shots back. Carlos shot in and Kelly sprawled. Kelly got his back. Kelly landing punches from that position and a knee to the butt. Kelly landing a lot of punches. Carlos got up. Takedown by Carlos. Carlos has his back now. Carlos dropped down but he ref ordered him to stand up. Carlos landing punches. Kelly’s round so 19-18 Carlos.
Third round: Knee and punch by Carlos. Carlos with a low blow and Kelly went down hard. A time out was called. Kelly almost threw him and landed a knee. Kelly took him down, got his back and is pounding on him. Kelly is hurting him now. Kelly throwing tons of of punches and it’s over. Great come from behind win by Kelly.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JAKE MATTHEWS (9-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. JOHNNY CASE (22-4, 4-0 UFC)
First round: Matthews in with punches. Case with a body kick. Case landed a nice punch. Matthews caught a kick but couldn’t get the takedown. Low kick by Case. Both landing big shots. Matthews tried for a takedown but Case ended up on top. Case with a knee. Matthews landed a right. Big left by Matthews. Matthews with a kick to the butt. Left by Case hurt him. Matthews 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Matthews. Case went for a takedown. Case on top but Matthews working for a triangle. Case out and on top and landed some punches. Case landing punches . Knee to the body by Case. Matthews hurt him with a body shot but Case took him down into side control. Case’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Body kick by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Knee by Matthews. Body kick by Matthews. Matthews with a hard left. Trading knees form the clinch. Case going for a takedown but blocked. Left by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Now they are in a clinch against the fence. Knee by Matthews. Matthews has his back. Matthews throwing punches from back position and working for a choke. Case escaped. Matthews is in mount. Matthews has his back again. Matthews got the choke and Case tapped. Good third round.
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#13) HECTOR LOMBARD (34-4-1 2 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC) VS. (#9) NEIL MAGNY (17-4, 10-3 UFC)
First round: Still the same body. Lombard landed hard punches up close. Lombard pounding him on the ground. Lombard with hard punches and elbows. Lombad throwing hard punches from back position. Magny back up and thrown down and Lombard is landing more punches. Lombard in side control. Lombard with an elbow. Hard elbow by Lombard. Magny back up. Magny with a jumping knee and punches but Lombard landed a hard shot. Lombard looks tired. Magny tried a takedown, which was a bad idea as Lombard landed on top. Magny up and started to land. Left by Magny. 10-8 Lombard.
Second round: Magny starting to land. Low kick by Magny. Low kick by Lombard. Knee by Magny. Good right by Magny. Magny landing jabs. Lombard working for a takedown but Magny blocked. Lombard dropped him with a left. Lombard on top. Lombard went for a leglock which wasn’t smart. That allowed Magny to get on top and could cost him the round. Magny moved to mount and is working for a triangle. Magny holding the triangle and punching from the bottom. Magny also working for an armbar. Lombard escaped. Magny now in mount and pounding him. Lombard gave up his back and Magny is throwing a lot of punches. Now Lombard is in real trouble. Lombard is taking a lot of punches. Ref Steve Percival is letting this go way too long. Magny landing a ton of punches, and now elbows. This was ridiculous that it wasn’t stopped. The fans were booing like crazy in the closing seconds because it wasn’t stopped . 10-8 Magny.’
Third round: Lombard is bad shape. Magny landing punches and Lombard is exhausted. Knees and elbow by Magny. Magny with an elbow took him down into the mount. Lombard is bleeding. Magny with more punches and it was stopped. :46
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#9) MARK HUNT (11-10-1, 6-4-1 UFC) VS. (#10) FRANK MIR (18-10, 16-10 UFC)
First round: Mir looks heavy. He weighed in at 260. Hunt is soft like usual but smaller than usual. Hunt landed punches and blocked a takedown. Big right by Hunt. Antoher right by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and walked away and it was over.
