Michael Bisping ‘probably retired’ but says if Nick Diaz met him at 195 pounds he’s ‘down’ for fight
(https:)We may have seen the last of Michael Bisping.
While Brad Tavares is set on being Bisping’s retirement fight, it appears that the future UFC Hall of Famer has other ideas. On the most recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, Bisping addressed rumors of a potential fight between him and Nick Diaz as Bisping’s final bout, saying they are completely untrue and that he is “probably retired” anyway, he just hasn’t officially said it.
A Diaz fight, it appears, is one that would interest Bisping though. The former middleweight champion says that he has a lot of respect for the Stockton product and would be willing to forego retirement for a bout with Diaz, with one caveat.
Ronda Rousey admits she never learned how to lose: 'I did a whole lot of crying' after UFC defeats
(mmajunkie.com)Ronda Rousey broke down in tears Wednesday night as she spoke out publicly for the first time about the painful aftermath of the two stunning defeats that prompted the end of her UFC career.
Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has remained silent on the shocking upset to Holly Holm in 2015 that broke her unbeaten record in MMA, and the crushing beatdown she suffered against Amanda Nunes a year later.
However, during a public question and answer session hosted by Hollywood director Peter Berg at the Wild Card West boxing gym, Rousey revealed just how deeply the loss of her reputation as the biggest star in the UFC had hurt.
Rory MacDonald and Ben Askren tweet about fighting each other in Bellator, but how possible is that?
(mmajunkie.com)Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald vs. Ben Askren: Is this a matchup that piques your interest?
Because it’s been talked about now between the two fighters.
A Twitter user today asked MacDonald, who already said he wants to move up to middleweight, if he would be interested in facing Askren, the former ONE Championship and Bellator 170-pound titleholder, who retired undefeated last November.
MacDonald responded, and that got things going between him and Askren. Check it out:
PFL reveals rosters, event schedule for 2018 season
(https:)The Professional Fighters League is starting over in a big way.
After holding three small shows in 2017, the former World Series of Fighting promotion announced Monday that it will kick off its inaugural PFL season on June 7 at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in what is scheduled to be the first of 11 events this year culminating in a year-end card on Dec. 31 that will see six fighters walk away with $1,000,000 in prize money.
Gabi Garcia returns to MMA action at ROAD FC show in May
(https:)Gabi Garcia’s MMA journey continues.
Fighting outside of Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation promotion for the first time, the 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will look to remain undefeated in her MMA career when she fights Veronika Futina at ROAD FC 047 on May 12 at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China, the South Korea-based promotion announced on Sunday.
Bellator signs former UFC veteran Timothy Johnson
(https:)Former UFC veteran Timothy Johnson is headed to Bellator.
The heavyweight fighter has signed an exclusive, multi-fight deal with the promotion, MMA Fighting has learned.
Johnson (12-4) leaves the UFC with a 4-3 record inside the Octagon. He’s coming off a unanimous decision win over Marcelo Golm at UFC Belem in February, which was the last fight on his contract.
Khabib Nurmagomedov receives hero’s welcome in return to Dagestan
(https:)Khabib Nurmagomedov has spoken often of the massive following he has in his native Dagestan, and if his return home on Monday was any indication, he wasn’t kidding.
The newly crowned undisputed UFC lightweight champion was swarmed by a legion of his fans as he touched down at Uytash Airport in Makhachkala on Monday.
Nick Diaz accepts one-year USADA suspension for 2017 whereabouts violation
(https:)Nick Diaz has cleared up his latest issue with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
On Monday, the drug testing organization announced that Diaz has accepted a one-year sanction for a whereabouts violation dating back to April 2017. The 34-year-old UFC welterweight failed to make himself available for out-of-competition testing on three occasions ranging from 2016-2017.
Dana White says Brock Lesnar could fight for title in UFC return, and Daniel Cormier is ecstatic
(mmajunkie.com)UFC President Dana White says there’s a possibility Brock Lesnar will get a shot at regaining the UFC heavyweight title the next time he steps in the octagon.
White recently said Lesnar (5-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who hasn’t fought for the promotion since the well documented UFC 200 debacle in July 2016, which led to a suspension for multiple failed drug tests, would “definitely” be making a return to the UFC in the future. The current WWE Universal Champion is currently an active member of the UFC roster and will reportedly be available following Sunday’s WrestleMania pay-per-view event in New Orleans.
Lesnar still has slightly more than six months to serve on his suspension, but that time will only begin to tick down once he re-enters the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool. Once his time is up, though, White said Lesnar could challenge the winner of July’s UFC 226 headliner between current heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and Daniel Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC).
Ben Rothwell accepts two-year USADA sanction for failed drug test
(https:)It will be a while before we see Ben Rothwell back inside the Octagon.
The 36-year-old UFC heavyweight accepted a two-year sanction for failed out-of-competition drug tests taken back on Feb. 6 and Feb. 15, 2017, USADA officials announced Friday. Rothwell tested positive for “an anabolic androgenic steroid of exogenous origin” according to the release.
Rothwell explained that the test results were due to his physician prescribing him testosterone, but the USADA determined that did not meet the criteria to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption for the prohibited substance.
He will be eligible to compete again on Feb. 6, 2019.
Al Iaquinta meets Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223
(mmajunkie.com)The lightweight title still will be up for grabs in the UFC 223 main event.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) will stay in the headliner in New York and will fight Al Iaquinta (13-3-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who will move up from the main-card opening fight against Paul Felder (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) for the fight. A person close to the fight revealed the news to MMAjunkie today. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the booking news.
But because Iaquinta weighed in for his fight with Felder at 155.2 pounds, he will be ineligible to win the title since that number is two-tenths of a pound over the title-fight limit.
Ariel Helwani - @arielhelwani
Dana White just announced that Al Iaquinta, if he wins, will be considered UFC champion. White said that NYSAC may not recognize him as champ because of the .2 but he will. That is a new one.
Conor McGregor charged with three counts of assault, one count of criminal mischief for bus attack / Conor McGregor’s bail set for $50,000, has next hearing June 14
(https:)Conor McGregor and SBG teammate Cian Cowley were arrested in New York late Thursday night, a spokesman for the New York Police Department confirmed with MMA Fighting.
McGregor has been charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief due to his involvement in a fracas at the Barclays Center following the UFC 223 media day. Cowley, an SBG teammate of McGregor’s and a fellow MMA fighther, was charged with one count of assault and one count of criminal mischief.
Posted by Braden
Conor McGregor’s bail set for $50,000, has next hearing June 14
In handcuffs, UFC superstar Conor McGregor stepped in front of a judge on Friday afternoon in Brooklyn.
The Irishman had a hearing on Friday afternoon at the Kings County Criminal Court. Heading into the hearing, the 29-year-old McGregor faced three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief due to his UFC 223 bus attack on Thursday.
The judge issued an order of protection in favor of Michael Chiesa, Ozzy Arias, Ray Borg, Ricardo Chico on both Conor McGregor and his SBG teammate Cian Cowley, who was also involved in the attack.
The judge also set a $50,000 bail on Conor McGregor and a $25,000 bail on Cowley. Both fighters will be allowed to travel. McGregor’s next hearing is set for June 14.
Artem Lobov, Khabib Nurmagomedov involved in hotel confrontation
(https:)Khabib Nurmagomedov might not be getting his hands on Conor McGregor anytime soon, but he almost settled for a piece of one of his pals on Tuesday.
Courtesy of Sikjitsu head coach Rick Little (who can be heard narrating the action), footage has emerged of an altercation between the undefeated lightweight and McGregor’s close friend and SBG Ireland teammate Artem Lobov. The duo are in Brooklyn preparing for their respective bouts at UFC 223 on Saturday, and they had to be separated several times after confronting each other at the host hotel.
USADA suspends UFC’s Amanda Lemos two years for testing positive for steroid
(https:)Amanda Lemos is the latest fighter to be suspended by USADA for a UFC anti-doping policy violation.
USADA suspended the women’s bantamweight athlete two years for testing positive for the steroid stanozolol and its metabolite, stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected Nov. 8, 2017, the UFC’s anti-doping partner announced Wednesday. Lemos won’t be eligible to fight again in the UFC until November 2019.
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