Michael Bisping says retirement fight vs. Luke Rockhold would ‘stoke the fires’
(https:)After Michael Bisping lost his UFC middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre last year, and then subsequently lost to Kelvin Gastelum just a few weeks later as a short-notice replacement fight at UFC China, the former Ultimate Fighter winner made it clear that his time as a professional fighter was rapidly coming to a close. Bisping said he wanted one more fight to end his career on but as possible bouts with Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida have fallen through, the question became, ”what fight could interest Bisping enough to return one more time instead of heeding the wishes of his family and walking away from MMA?”
Well now we may have an answer.
Speaking recently on his Believe You Me podcast, Bisping said that a trilogy fight with the man Bisping took the title from, Luke Rockhold, would certainly interest him as a swan song.
UFC 225 adds pair of fights, including return of Joseph Benavidez vs. Sergio Pettis
(mmajunkie.com)The UFC’s return to the “Windy City” has started to build with the addition of a pair of fights, including the return of one of the world’s top flyweights.
Joseph Benavidez (25-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) will return after what will be a year-and-a-half-long injury layoff to take on Sergio Pettis (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at UFC 225. In addition, Rashad Coulter (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) will take on Allen Crowder (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a heavyweight bout.
UFC's debut event in Chile gets first five bouts, including Grasso, Lee and Luque
(mmajunkie.com)The UFC will land in a South American country other than Brazil for the first time ever this May.
The promotion today confirmed the UFC Fight Night event, which has yet to be numbered, will take place May 19 in Santiago, Chile. The event goes down at the Movistar Arena and will air on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Five matchups already have been confirmed, though no headliner is official.
Walt Harris vs. Daniel Spitz, two other fights official for UFC Utica
(https:)The UFC’s first trip to Utica has its first three fights.
On Monday, officials confirmed that Walt Harris will battle Daniel Spitz in a heavyweight bout, and flyweights Hector Sandoval and Jarred Brooks will throw down at the June 1 Fight Night event, which will take place at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, N.Y. The Utica Observer-Dispatch was first to report these matchups.
A previously reported bout between women’s flyweight contenders Sijara Eubanks and Lauren Murphy was also confirmed.
Josh Emmett to appeal UFC on FOX 28 loss to Jeremy Stephens
(https:)Josh Emmett is not going to accept his controversial loss to Jeremy Stephens without an added effort.
The Team Alpha Male product will appeal the knockout defeat in the main event of UFC on FOX 28 on Saturday night with the Florida State Boxing Commission, his team informed MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
UFC On Fox 28 - Stephens Vs. Emmett Results: Bonus Winners, Highlights, Attendance And Gate
(https:)Controversy struck in the UFC on Fox 28 main event from Orlando, Florida on Saturday night.
Jeremy Stephens seemingly secured a future shot at the UFC featherweight title with a destructive TKO victory over Josh Emmett. After being dropped in the first round, Stephens rebounded to put Emmett in trouble in the second with a hard left hook.
Emmett went down and Stephens vigorously looked for the finish. He landed a good number of shots leading to the finish, but unfortunately, a few of them looked to be illegal.
A series of elbows to the back of the head and a knee to the face of his grounded opponent should have led to a pause in the action–at the very least–and perhaps a point deduction.
Performance Bonus - Jeremy Stephens and Ilir Latifi
Fight Of The Night Bonus - Alan Jouban vs Ben Saunders
Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington title fight targeted for UFC 224
(mmajunkie.com)The UFC 224 fight card gets stronger every day.
The UFC is targeting a matchup between women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington for the pay-per-view, two people with knowledge of the situation told MMAjunkie. They requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement, although one side already has agreed to the bout.
UFC 224 takes place May 12 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The event’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
UFC planning return to Dublin
(https:)The UFC is planning to make its fourth trip to Dublin, Ireland in 2018.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the event will take place on Sunday, May 27, MMA Fighting has learned.
The event will take place at the 3 Arena, the same venue that hosted the promotion’s three previous visits to the Irish capital.
UFC targeting Sijara Eubanks vs. Lauren Murphy
(https:)Sijara Eubanks is going to get another shot in the UFC.
The promotion is currently targeting Eubanks vs. Lauren Murphy for the June 1 UFC Fight Night card in Utica, N.Y., MMA Fighting has learned. The bout, which isn’t signed just yet, would be contested at 125 pounds.
‘Jacare’ Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum official for UFC 224
(https:)With no return date set for UFC champion Robert Whittaker, the rest of the middleweight division will continue to jockey for position in his absence.
On Thursday, officials announced that Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Kelvin Gastelum will fight at UFC 224, which takes place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on May 12.
Frankie Edgar’s manager, coach go off on ‘prostitute’ Conor McGregor’s latest comments
(https:)Frankie Edgar’s team have flipped out about Conor McGregor’s latest comments.
On Thursday, McGregor wrote on Instagram that he offered to fight Edgar on short notice at UFC 222 on March 3 when Max Holloway withdrew from the scheduled featherweight title fight. McGregor is the former featherweight champion and never lost the belt inside the cage. The UFC stripped him after he didn’t defend it and won the lightweight title.
Edgar’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz blasted McGregor and the remarks on TMZ shortly later, saying McGregor had the chance to fight Edgar multiple times and didn’t take it. Abdel-Aziz said McGregor could have fought Edgar at UFC 189 in 2015 after Jose Aldo pulled out, but chose Chad Mendes instead.
Mark Henry, Edgar’s striking coach, also blasted McGregor in an Instagram post, acknowledging the “The Notorious” as a great fighter, but basically telling him to keep Edgar’s name out of his mouth, because of the class individual and fighter Edgar has been for years. Henry said Abdel-Aziz asked about fighting McGregor when Holloway went down, but the UFC said it wouldn’t be possible.
Conor McGregor says he offered to face Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, will fight again ‘period’
(https:)Conor McGregor wants to make one thing very clear: He will absolutely fight again. And he wanted to do it sooner than you think.
The UFC lightweight champion wrote Thursday on Instagram that he offered to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 on March 3 when Max Holloway pulled out of the scheduled featherweight title fight, but the UFC said “there wasn’t enough time to generate the money that the UFC would need.”
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