Nate Marquardt announces retirement
(https:)Former Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt is done with professional fighting.
The 56-fight veteran announced on his website Thursday that he is hanging up the gloves after 18 years of MMA competition. Marquardt, 38, made a name for himself as a top-ranked fighter during his time with the UFC, Strikeforce, and Japan’s Pancrase promotion.
Bellator parts ways with announcer Jimmy Smith
(https:)Longtime color commentator Jimmy Smith will no longer announce fights for Bellator MMA.
A press released issued by the company on Thursday announced that the company and the popular announcer “have mutually agreed to part ways.” The release did not give a reason for the decision.
Additionally, sources tell MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that Chael Sonnen will be a frequent presence in Bellator’s announce booth, and Frank Mir, who earned plaudits several years ago for his work as a WEC color commentator, is also expected to be in the mix.
Dana White hopes to get Conor McGregor fighting next summer, ‘He needs to defend that title’ vs. Tony Ferguson
(https:)Even though Conor McGregor has given no indication of when he plans to fight again, UFC president Dana White is optimistic that the company’s biggest star will be back in 2018.
McGregor was last seen making his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in August. The fight did not go the Irishman’s way, but McGregor was paid a handsome sum of $30 million for the crossover bout and his earnings were expected to approach the nine-figure mark once a number of other factors were taken into consideration.
That has left “The Notorious” in the enviable position of calling his own shots on his own time and White hopes that McGregor decides he still wants to compete soon.
Dana White having meeting with Floyd Mayweather’s team: ‘Don’t count anything out
(https:)The last time Dana White said something with Floyd Mayweather wasn’t going to happen, it eventually led to one of the most lucrative bouts in combat sports history.
White isn’t taking any chances now when it comes to the recent discussion of Mayweather possibly working with the UFC in some capacity. The two raised eyebrows last week when White said his promotion was “interested in doing something with Floyd” after Mayweather himself teased the possibility of competing inside the Octagon. The superstar pugilist defeated UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in a highly-publicized boxing match in August.
However, Mayweather subsequently dismissed the idea as something that he could do, not necessarily something that he would do.
The rumor does not appear to be completely dead just yet. White appeared on FOX Sports’ Undisputed program on Thursday and according to the UFC president, he’s still engaged in talks with Mayweather’s people.
Dana White: Georges St-Pierre 'ain't fighting Conor McGregor' if he returns to UFC
(mmajunkie.com)Is Georges St-Pierre’s alleged “master plan” to fight Conor McGregor currently in motion? If so, it sounds like UFC President Dana White is ready to put an end to it.
Back in March, it was Michael Bisping who claimed St-Pierre was scheming to beat him for the middleweight title, drop the belt and ultimately land a super fight with McGregor in an attempt to win a UFC title in a third division. The first two parts are complete, with St-Pierre submitting then-champion Bisping last month at UFC 217. One month later, St-Pierre vacated the title, leaving doubt about his fighting future.
But if it’s McGregor who St-Pierre hopes to eventually fight, White has a stern response.
Gabi Garcia badly misses weight for Rizin fight with 53-year-old Shinobu Kandori
(https:)The controversial fight between Gabi Garcia and Shinobu Kandori took an odd twist on Thursday.
The six-time jiu-jitsu world champion stepped on the scale to take on 53-year-old Kandori, who hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts in 17 years. News broke that Garcia had missed weight by 12kg (26.4 pounds) for their 95kg-fight (209.4 pounds) and the bout was off of the Dec. 29 card.
Speaking with MMA Fighting hours after, Garcia said that she only got to Japan a day before the official weigh-ins, and claims that she missed weight by 8.8 pounds.
The promotion has yet to make an official announcement if the bout will in fact be cancelled.
Strawweight contenders Jessica Andrade, Tecia Torres meet at UFC on FOX 28
(mmajunkie.com)A key strawweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres is the latest addition to February’s UFC on FOX 28 lineup.
UFC officials today announced the bout between Andrade (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Torres (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) via Orlando Sentinel.
UFC on FOX 28 takes place Feb. 24 at Amway Center in Orlando. The event airs on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the bout order hasn’t been finalized.
UFC reportedly planning star-studded press conference leading up to UFC 219
(https:)Big announcements could be on their way.
UFC 219 is already looking to be a pretty big event, headlined by Cris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Edson Barbosa. But there may be even more stars from the promotion headed to Las Vegas for a surprise media event.
According to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, the UFC is planning another big press conference in the style of their 'The Time Is Now' and 'Summer Kickoff' pressers.
Donald Cerrone vs. Yancy Medeiros slated to headline UFC Austin
(https:)A popular veteran with a long-established reputation for exciting scraps will tangle with a competitor fresh off one of 2017’s most exciting bouts.
A welterweight match between Donald Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros is all but official for the UFC Austin main event on Feb. 18, sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday.
MMA’s Naughty or Nice List: 2017 Edition
(https:)I believe it was the late great John Lennon who turned an ordinary statement into an accusatory question — “So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” John didn’t waste time getting to his point, especially when harvesting suspicions that other people wasted time in general. What does Lennon’s song have to do with an MMA column on Christmas? Everything!
Or nothing.
The truth is it’s just a cheap way to set up a premise for this year’s MMA list of who’s been naughty, and who’s been nice.
Some people did good things in MMA. Some didn’t. Some were decent people. Some were not. And some, like UFC president Dana White, just fanned their faces with cash while mouthing the words over and over again, “it is what it is.”
Let’s get right into it.
John Lineker off Saturday' UFC 219 main card due to injury
(mmajunkie.com)Saturday’s UFC 219 lineup has lost one of its most anticipated matchups.
An injury has forced bantamweight slugger John Lineker (30-8 MMA, 11-3 UFC) out of his main-card bout with fellow contender Jimmie Rivera (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), UFC officials today told MMAjunkie.
A replacement search is underway.
The latest UFC 219 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Holly Holm – for women’s featherweight title
Edson Barboza vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Jimmie Rivera vs. TBA
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Carla Esparza
Carlos Condit vs. Neil Magny
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Khalil Rountree
Marc Diakiese vs. Dan Hooker
Rick Glenn vs. Myles Jury
Matheus Nicolau vs. Louis Smolka
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
Mark Delarosa vs. Tim Elliott
Omari Akhmedov vs. Marvin Vettori
Mackenzie Dern believes she’s ready to fight in the UFC
(https:)Undefeated prospect Mackenzie Dern discusses her recent win over Kaline Medeiros at Invicta FC 26 and successfully making weight for a strawweight bout, the improvements as an athlete a little over a year since her first fight, balancing her careers in MMA and jiu-jitsu, when she hopes to fight in the UFC, and much more.
Alex Volkanovski vs. Jeremy Kennedy booked for UFC 221 in Perth
(mmajunkie.com)A pair of rising-star featherweights will mix it up when the UFC returns to Australia in February after having their original booking scrapped.
Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will put his unbeaten record on the line when he travels “Down Under” to meet Australia’s own Alex Volkanovski (16-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 221. The fight booking was reported by MMA-Today.com,
UFC champ Max Holloway impressed with new contenders Brian Ortega, Josh Emmett
(mmajunkie.com)December was a good month for the UFC’s featherweight division. Champion Max Holloway made his first successful title defense, Brian Ortega scored a slick submission in a televised main event, and Josh Emmettconnected with a massive knockout in the co-headliner of a network-televised fight card.
Holloway, who defended his title with a third-round TKO of Jose Aldo at UFC 218, said he liked what he saw out of the latter two, who are making a surge up the 145-pound rankings toward a crack at the gold.
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