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.
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.
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.
After last three fights on UFC contract, Mark Hunt plans to leave organization
(https:)It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for Mark Hunt fighting for (and with) the UFC, and he’s ready to move on to the next stage of his career.
The 43-year-old MMA and kickboxing veteran recently appeared on Submission Radio to talk about where he stands with the world’s largest fight promotion. Hunt had a disagreement with the UFC recently after he was pulled from a Nov. 19 show due to comments he made to “Players Voice”. In that article, Hunt admitted to having issues with his memory and that he sometimes slurred his words, which prompted officials to seek further testing before allowing Hunt to compete again.
Hunt was not happy with the decision and suggested that it was tied to his ongoing lawsuit against the UFC, company president Dana White, and Brock Lesnar over the promotion allegedly knowing that Lesnar was taking performance enhancing drugs ahead of a fight with Hunt at UFC 200 in July 2016.
Regardless, the UFC has since deemed Hunt fit to fight and he meets Curtis Blaydes at UFC 221 on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia. According to Hunt, that’s one of the last three fights on his current contract, and he was asked if his run in the Octagon will soon be over.
Floyd Mayweather squashes fighting in the UFC talk: ‘I’m not doing it’
(https:)Floyd Mayweather in the UFC? Think again.
Hours after UFC president Dana White said the promotion was having “real” talks with Floyd Mayweather about competing in the Octagon, Mayweather himself shot down the rumblings.
In an interview with FightHype (h/t MMA Weekly), Mayweather said people misconstrued what he said last week about the UFC. He didn’t say he was going to compete in MMA — he said he could make a billion dollars in the UFC if he chose to. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something he will be doing.
Longtime MMA head coach Robert Follis dies
(https:)One of the most accomplished coaches in mixed martial arts has died.
Robert Follis, who most recently was the head coach at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, died Friday, his girlfriend Myra Fukuno confirmed Sunday on Facebook.
UFC's Joseph Benavidez on initial pain, isolation, helplessness of injury recovery
(mmajunkie.com)Scrolling through Joseph Benavidez’s Instagram account, you’ll see a few things: pictures of him with wife Megan Olivi, snapshots of movies, and cute selfies with their dog, Benny.
What you won’t see are too many pictures of his recovering knee.
That doesn’t mean that the two-time UFC flyweight title challenger isn’t going to the UFC Performance Institute every day. Or that he isn’t training. Or that he isn’t powering through every rough stage of rehabilitation after surgically repairing a torn ACL.
In the more than six months that have passed since Benavidez announced that an injury had forced him out of a scheduled bout with Ben Nguyen, he’s done all those things.
We just haven’t since much of it.
Ex-UFC star Keith Jardine finding successful second act in Hollywood
(https:)In the fall of 2007, two days after Keith Jardine celebrated his most famous victory by defeating UFC legend Chuck Liddell, he was back home in New Mexico. The adrenaline of the win had long since worn off, leaving Jardine feeling as though he’d suffered through a car crash. After visiting his doctor to address some of the injuries he’d sustained throughout his training camp and in the fight, he was relaxing in a cafe in Bernalillo with his fiancée Jodie Esquibel when he noticed two people slowly approaching them.
He assumed the duo to be shy fans, but instead, they introduced themselves as Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, co-directors of a movie that was in pre-production in the area. After a few minutes of speaking, and out of the blue, the duo asked him if he was interested in reading for a part in their movie, Gamer, which starred Gerard Butler and was eventually released in 2009.
For Jardine, it was a strange but welcome bit of serendipity. He’d grown up a huge movie fan and had contemplated acting; now an opportunity was presenting itself to him. Jardine won a part, and in the decade since, has earned over 30 credits in film and television.
The last year has been a particularly productive one in Jardine’s second act. During the course of 2017, he has appeared in nine releases, including a recurring role on the long-running Showtime series Shameless and more recently, a regular role on the new, critically acclaimed Netflix western Godless.
There are long odds on building a successful career in professional sports. Jardine beat them; to do the same in another wildly challenging venue is his next trick, and one he is fully embracing.
Dana White interested in re-signing Cub Swanson: ‘I want him to be happy’
(https:)Cub Swanson’s first loss in over two years couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The 34-year-old featherweight veteran entered Saturday’s UFC Fresno main event with a four-fight winning streak and the knowledge that this would be the last fight of his current contract. Unfortunately for “Killer Cub,” his successful run came to a halt when opponent Brian Ortega submitted him with a guillotine choke in the second round.
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