MMA news

• Nate Diaz: Rift with UFC 'exaggerated,' but push of Conor McGregor is 'artificial'

  25-05-2016 23:57
  
  According to TMZ, last Friday's lunch meeting held by UFC head honchos Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White with Nate Diaz ended on horrible terms, with White storming out on a pub in Diaz's hometown of Stockton, Calif.
  But Diaz disputes this version of events. On Wednesday's special edition of The MMA Hour, Diaz admitted it wasn't the most productive meeting, but also said that the reports on the way it finished were blown way out of proportion.
  "That was exaggerated," Diaz said of the TMZ repo
  
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• Fernando Gonzalez Out of Bellator 158; Promotion Seeking New Opponent for Michael Page

  25-05-2016 22:10 via sherdog.com
  
  A proposed showdown between Bellator MMA welterweights Fernando Gonzalez and Michael Page has been scrapped once again.
  
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• Bellator seeks new opponent for Michael Page after Fernando Gonzalez removed

  25-05-2016 21:45
  
  Bellator officials are determined to make sure Michael Page fights at home in London on July 16. But his opponent won't be Fernando Gonzalez.
  MMAFighting.com confirmed an initial Wednesday report by MMAJunkie.com that Gonzalez has pullled out of their Bellator 158 welterweight bout due to visa issues. But a Bellator rep says the company is "actively seeking an opponent" to keep "Venom" on the show at O2 Arena.
  Page is a perfect 10-0 with nine finishes in his mixed martial arts career. That inclu
  
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• Robert Whiteford On His UFC Release: “F*ck, What Can You Do? Life Goes On”

  25-05-2016 21:26
  
  While he was respectful in his public tweet regarding his recent UFC release, Robert Whiteford opened up while speaking with veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of "The MMA Hour" at MMAFighting.com.Whiteford wrote the following on social media shortly after his UFC release became public this past Saturday."Released [from the] UFC this morning. Truly grateful for the opportunities [and] memories. It was a blast."On Monday's edition of "The MMA Hour," Whiteford spoke at length
  
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• Frankie Edgar Reacts To Jose Aldo’s Trash-Talk Ahead Of Their UFC 200 Showdown

  25-05-2016 21:10
  
  As their interim featherweight title fight at the landmark UFC 200 event in July draws closer, Jose Aldo has surprised some in the MMA community with the way he has been talking about his opponent, Frankie Edgar.Aldo out-pointed Edgar in their previous fight for the 145-pound title back in early 2013, and according to the Brazilian, Edgar has not evolved much in the three years that have passed since their initial meeting.After hearing Aldo's brash comments, Frankie Edgar spoke with MMAFighting.
  
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• Diego Brandao Gets 9-Month Suspension, Fined 30 Percent of UFC 195 Purse for Failed Drug Test

  25-05-2016 19:47 via sherdog.com
  
  Former UFC featherweight Diego Brandao was suspended for nine months and fined 30 percent of his purse by the Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday for a positive marijuana test at UFC 195.
  
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• Jeremy Stephens Looking to Take Out ‘Mentally Broken’ Renan Barao

  25-05-2016 19:24 via sherdog.com
  
  When former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao makes his debut as a featherweight, he will have the hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens there to greet him.
  
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• Diego Brandao suspended nine months, fined by Nevada Athletic Commission for positive marijuana test

  25-05-2016 19:13
  
  The Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to suspend ex-UFC featherweight Diego Brandao for nine months stemming from a positive in-competition drug test for marijuana metabolites that Brandao submitted on Jan. 2 at UFC 195.
  Brandao's test results exceeded the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) limit of 180 ng/ml. The suspension is retroactive to the day of the test, meaning Brandao will be allowed to return to active competition on Oct. 2.
  Brandao also received a 30-percent fin
  
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• Thomas Almeida’s Trainer Predicts KO of Garbrandt, Says ‘Thominhas’ Is No Longer a Prospect

  25-05-2016 19:09 via sherdog.com
  
  Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt are two of the hottest commodities currently fighting at 135 pounds, and both have proven themselves to be true knockout collectors.
  
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• Robert Whiteford 'f--king devastated' by UFC release, unsure of fighting future

  25-05-2016 18:00
  
  The mixed martial arts world is unpredictable no matter your station or vantage point. That's not a lesson lost on Robert Whiteford, necessarily, but one he was reminded of this week. The one-time UFC featherweight was given his walking papers over the weekend, although he hadn't competed since April.Released @ufc this morning,truly grateful for the opportunities & memories,it was a blast ✌ ️
  — Robert Whiteford (@Flyinjudoka) May 21, 2016"Ah, s--t happens, doesn't it? F--k
  
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• ‘Minotouro’ Nogueira hopes to stop retirement talk with knockout over Patrick Cummins

  25-05-2016 17:00
  
  CURITIBA -- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stopped Patrick Cummins in the first round at UFC 198, and hopes to have ended the talks about retirement with his finish.
  "Minotouro" ended a two-fight losing skid with a devastating win over Cumming in front of 45,000 fans in Curitiba, Brazil, stopping his opponent with eight seconds left in the first round. The Brazilian fighter, who admits to have taken a few pages off of Glover Teixeira’s previous win over Cummins, was impressed by his opponent&rsq
  
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• Unbeaten Thomas Almeida Ready To Highlight UFC Fight Night 88 (Video)

  25-05-2016 16:43
  
  With a perfect 21-0 record, including 20 finishes, Thomas Almeida just might be on the verge of becoming a superstar.Almeida will headline Sunday night's UFC Fight Night 88 card vs. fellow bantamweight contender Cody Garbrandt live on FOX Sports 1.Check out a promo video for Almeida below:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1tzSXfu6yg[/embed]
  
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• UFC Fight Night 88 Free Fights With Aljamain Sterling, Bryan Caraway

  25-05-2016 16:37
  
  This Sunday night, bantamweight contenders Aljamain Sterling and Bryan Caraway meet in the UFC Fight Night 88 "Fight Pass" prelim main event.But before that, check out the two in action from earlier in their UFC careers in the video below:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_S23xt-Cs[/embed]
  
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• BJ Penn Talks About Being Pulled From UFC 199, Hopes For Short USADA Suspension

  25-05-2016 16:37
  
  https://youtu.be/Gd-3Hg_gQbEUFC legend BJ Penn spoke with KHON2 News in Hawaii (see above) about being flagged by USADA for use of an IV ahead of his scheduled Octagon comeback bout against Cole Miller at UFC 199, a fight that was officially cancelled earlier this week."I wasn't aware that I couldn't take an IV 365 days a year," said Penn. "I got an IV back in March and USADA came to do a test. We did the test and they asked me, when was the last time I got an IV. I told them ‘the week bef
  
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• Videos: Paige VanZant Finishes Second On ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”

  25-05-2016 16:31
  
  UFC Women's Strawweight contender Paige VanZant finished second on this season of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" reality show on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, California.VanZant was considered one of the favorites to win the show from the very first episode due to her dance background, however she and her dance partner Mark Ballas finished second to Deaf male model Nyle DiMarco and his dance partner, Peta Murgatroyd.You can check out clips of Paige VanZant on the latest episode of "Dancing With
  
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• Frankie Edgar knows Jose Aldo is ‘trying to create buzz,' but he's ‘not that great at doing it'

  25-05-2016 16:00
  
  Frankie Edgar didn't have to wait long to hear from Jose Aldo. Less than a week after the two featherweights were formally booked to rematch on July 9 at UFC 200, Aldo went on the offensive, telling reporters in Rio de Janeiro that Edgar's game has stagnated since Aldo eked out a decision win over the former UFC lightweight champion in early 2013.
  The early jab surprised Edgar, as Aldo has historically shied away from trash talking opponents, however Edgar simply chalks it up to Aldo trying
  
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• Live Chat: BJ Penn's USADA suspension, Conor McGregor on ESPN, UFC Fight Night 88 preview

  25-05-2016 15:00
  
  This is the Promotional Malpractice Live Chat.
  Big names are making big news in the sport. Former welterweight and lightweight champion BJ Penn has been notified of a potential violation by USADA for using an IV. The circumstances behind it remain unclear, which means it's not altogether obvious he committed a true anti-doping infraction. However, it's not surprising fighters who didn't have a hand in helping to make the rules set are unfamiliar with the rules themselves.
  Conor McGregor also mad
  
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• Morning Report: B.J. Penn hopes for a short suspension, plans to return after USADA 'speed bump'

  25-05-2016 14:00
  
  Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J.Penn says he doesn't think Greg Jackson would let this USADA suspension be the thing that keeps him from returning. Perhaps he should have stayed retired.
  In January B.J. Penn announced he was coming out of retirement to return to the UFC. Feeling the urge to get back to fighting, Penn began training at the fabled Jackson-Winklejohn camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico with MMA guru/"sport killer" Greg Jackson who he seems to connect
  
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• With blueprint in hand, Sterling ready to perform

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
   //
  Most fighters go into fights hoping to get in the win column. After all, the fight business is a game of numbers: wins vs. losses. However, for undefeated UFC bantamweight and native New Yorker Aljamain Sterling, the fight business is like earning a postgraduate degree in theater.“I look at it as performance,” he said. “I study how guys before me succeeded and how guys are currently succeeding and I use that as a blueprint for how I can succeed, whether that’s in
  
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• The Ultimate Fighter Blog: Eric Spicely - Ep. 6 Recap

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  Man, Elias is one tough dude.I felt great and confident going into the fight but once we were in the cage Elias’ length and awkwardness was tough to deal with. I didn’t feel like I could get any of my striking off. I pressured him back and ate a straight left as I came in for a single leg. It didn’t really stun me but my eye immediately started to swell. He ended up reversing my take down and ended up on top. He threw a hard elbow as soon as I locked my legs around him. He surp
  
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• The Ultimate Fighter Blog: Eric Spicely - Ep. 6

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  It’s finally my turn to fight. I couldn’t be more excited. It’s been a tough few weeks getting here but I feel ready to go. We’ve settled in with the coaches and mentally I feel more than ready - physically I feel great. I don’t have to cut any weight as I am naturally a middleweight. I’ve never fought a 6-foot-5 lefty so it should be interesting. I’m confident in my ability, though Elias is a scrappy young fighter who’s kind of wild with a lot of
  
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• The Ultimate Fighter 23: Ep. 6 Recap

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  The domination for Team Claudia continued on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter, as Eric Spicely moved his team to a perfect 5-0 with a dominant win over Elias Urbina in a light heavyweight matchup. It's a demoralizing loss for Team Joanna because, at this point, her team can't possibly catch up in the overall competition, and the only hope she has is for one of her three remaining fighters to push through the next two rounds to make it to the finals. Before the fight went down this week
  
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• The Ultimate Fighter 23: Ep. 6 Preview

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  It's been a very tough run through the first few weeks of The Ultimate Fighter, with Team Joanna once again facing defeat last week as Lanchana Green defeated Helen Harper in a three-round war.It's the closest strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has come to victory, with Harper pushing the action to a third, decisive round, but in the end, Green got the job done and put Team Claudia up 4-0 in the competition.To push her team even further ahead this week, Claudia Gadelha decided to match up h
  
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• Miocic-Overeem Headlines UFC 203 in Cleveland

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  Hello Cleveland! After bringing his hometown its first major pro sports championship in 52 years, Stipe Mioic will defend his UFC heavyweight title for the first time at home on Saturday, September 10, when he faces No. 3-ranked contender Alistair Overeem at Quicken Loans Arena.The bout marks the UFC's first ever visit to Cleveland, and its first event in Ohio since UFC 96, which was held in Columbus in March of 2009.On May 14 in the main event of UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil, Miocic made good on
  
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• Caceres to Battle Miller at UFC 199

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  With BJ Penn out of his UFC 199 bout against Cole Miller, Alex Caceres has stepped in to take on "Magrinho" at The Forum in Inglewood, California on June 4.In the UFC 199 main event at the Forum, which airs live on Pay-Per-View, Luke Rockhold defends his UFC middleweight title against Michael Bisping. In the co-featured bout, Dominick Cruz defends his UFC bantamweight crown against Urijah Faber.Unbeaten in three of his last four bouts, a stretch that includes wins over Andy Ogle and Sam Sicilia,
  
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• Alers vs. Knight Set for Chicago Bout

  25-05-2016 07:00 via ufc.com
  
  Featherweight prospects Jim Alers and Jason Knight will travel to Chicago on July 23, as they meet in a FOX UFC Fight Night bout at United Center.In the main event, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm faces rising star Valentina Shevchenko, and in the co-featured bout, light heavyweight contenders Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Glover Teixeira collide.Mississippi's Knight has won eight of his last nine bouts, finishing six of those victories. In Alers, he faces a grappling sp
  
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• UFC Strawweight Paige VanZant Finishes in 2nd Place on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 22

  25-05-2016 05:09 via sherdog.com
  
  She was pegged as the bookmakers’ favorite to win -- but in the end, Paige VanZant finished as the runner-up on the 22nd season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
  
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• Paige VanZant finishes as runner-up on 'Dancing With The Stars'

  25-05-2016 05:04
  
  So close.
  Paige VanZant, the popular UFC fighter, finished second on this season of "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. VanZant and partner Mark Ballas earned a perfect score of 30 for their salsa-jiva amalgamation on the second night of the finals, but it was not enough. Deaf male model Nyle DiMarco and his partner Peta Murgatroyd took home the title when the scores and fan votes were combined.VanZant and Ballas got a 29 out of 30 with a paso doble routine Monday on the fi
  
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• 'Ultimate Fighter' winner Ryan Hall meets Alex White at UFC Fight Night 91

  25-05-2016 04:22
  
  Ryan Hall will try to build on his "Ultimate Fighter" win this summer.
  The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist takes on Alex White at UFC Fight Night 91 on July 13 in Sioux Falls, S.D., according to a report Tuesday in the Argus Leader. Hall is coming off a victory over Artem Lobov in December win TUF 22.
  Hall (5-1) is one of the best-known jiu-jitsu experts fighting in mixed martial arts, famous for his innovation of the 50-50 guard. The Virginia native finished two opponents via heel hook on "
  
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• Ryan Hall vs. Alex White Set for UFC Fight Night in Sioux Falls

  25-05-2016 03:53 via sherdog.com
  
  “The Ultimate Fighter 22” winner Ryan Hall will make his first appearance since winning the reality show when he faces Alex White at UFC Fight Night “Ferguson vs. Chiesa.”
  
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• Bellator 159 To Feature Melvin Guillard Vs. David Rickels

  25-05-2016 03:48
  
  For the sixth time in his last seven fights, Kansas' own David Rickels will compete in front of the home crowd.Rickels and Melvin Guillard will tangle at Bellator 159 this July from the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.Since 2014, Rickels (17-4) has fought five times in Mulvane, going 3-1 with one no-contest. This past February, he scored a first round finish vs. Bobby Cooper.Guillard (32-16-2) has lost three in a row and is just 1-4 with a no-contest over his last six fights spanning time w
  
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• TUF Winner Ryan Hall Meets Alex White At UFC Fight Night 91

  25-05-2016 03:32
  
  Ultimate Fighter 22 winner Ryan Hall will return to the Octagon this July at UFC Fight Night 91, taking on Alex White.Hall (5-1) stepped in for Saul Rogers in the finals and earned a decision over Artem Lobov. He has yet to compete since that fight.White (11-2) has split his four Octagon appearances, scoring two wins against two losses. He also holds a win over Lobov.UFC Fight Night 91 takes place July 13 from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and features Michael Chiesa vs. Tony Ferguson in the main ev
  
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• Augusto Mendes undergoes knee surgery, hopes for late-2016 return to the UFC

  25-05-2016 02:00
  
  Augusto Mendes came up short in his UFC debut, suffering his first MMA loss to Cody Garbrandt in February, and won’t be back in action for awhile. The multiple-time jiu-jitsu champion was forced to undergo surgery last week to repair a left knee injury.
  "I got hurt training and had to go under the knife again," Mendes told MMA Fighting. "I tried to train for weeks, but couldn’t do it. I decided to do a MRI almost a month after I got hurt, and the exam showed that I tore my ACL and al
  
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• UFC Champ Conor McGregor to Appear in ESPN The Magazine’s ‘Body Issue’

  25-05-2016 01:02 via sherdog.com
  
  At least one media obligation wasn’t too taxing for Conor McGregor.
  
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• Floyd Mayweather Believes UFC Star Jon Jones Will Eventually Join ‘The Money Team’

  25-05-2016 00:30 via sherdog.com
  
  Retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and ex-UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones could be working together soon.
  
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• Bob Sapp Returns to MMA, Headlines Road FC 32 in China on July 2

  25-05-2016 00:29 via sherdog.com
  
  Heavyweight veteran Bob Sapp will end his retirement from mixed martial arts this summer after nearly three years away from the sport.
  
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• RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara says company will promote in America at 'the right time'

  25-05-2016 00:00
  
  SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Oct. 21, 2006, and Feb. 24, 2007 are dates that will forever live in mixed martial arts lore.
  Those are the respective dates for PRIDE 32 and 33 in Las Vegas, the opportunity to see the legendary Japanese promotion in person that American fight fans had awaited for years.
  The pair of cards at UNLV's Thomas and Mack Center delivered, too. Especially PRIDE 33, which featured a matchup between Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi that is regularly name-checked among the most exciting
  
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