The MMA Prospectus – UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz & UFC on Fox 14 (Rumble Edition)

Why would an MMA prospect show be talking about Anthony Johnson? Why does the sun shine? Why is the sky blue? Some things are beyond explanation. Okay… all of those have perfectly good scientific explanations, but that’s really not my point. It’s a metaphor, a bit of poetic happenstance. Really, it’s just because in a lot of ways, Anthony Johnson represents your prototypical MMA prospect, while at the same time having a career that in no way resembles what we’ve been trained to think of as an MMA prospect’s career. So, we figured it was worth a bit more of a look, just for that alone.

We’re also talking about all the great prospect performances from UFC on Fox 14, including Viktor Pesta (no more tears… I can handle it), Mirsad Bektic, Makwan Amirkhani, and Albert Tumenov. As well as the guys we had hoped to see shining at UFC 183. Most notably Kelvin Gastelum, although news of his missed weight cut broke mid show, so this turned into a “How screwed is he?” discussion more than anything.

Anyhow, if you liked this show, head on over to the YouTube version and give it a like (you can also watch it there if the Ooyala embed isn’t working for you). And remember to subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM, because where else are you going to find this kind of great commentary and analysis? (nowhere, that’s where)

And for all you people that just can’t handle the handsome, here’s the audio only version: MMA Prospectus: UFC 183 & Fox 14 AUDIO ONLY

Report: Sources say Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout date and location are set

The biggest fight in boxing, could be on, if TMZ is to be believed (HT Bad Left Hook). The noted gossip site is reporting that a fight between the two most notable names on the current boxing landscape have finally come to an agreement. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have a deal in motion that both sides are ready to agree to… maybe.

A source involved in the negotiations tells TMZ Sports both fighters have agreed to fight and a date and location (Vegas) have already been set.

The source says the formal agreement has not been signed but everyone expects the signatures “soon.” Negotiators are putting “finishing touches” on the deal.

Along with these reports, the NY Post spoke to Bob Arum, who said that a deal could be done in “the next couple of days.” If so, the TMZ report could be building off that news, that negotiations are moving forward as planned.

“The issues are being narrowed down to extraordinarily small points,” Arum said. “I’m optimistic it will all be put together in the next couple of days.”

Watch Connor Ruebusch breakdown Pacquiao’s style on Frame by Frame Fights

To go along with this news, Pacquiao and Mayweather were recently spotted, meeting up at an NBA game between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks. While there sources claim that the two men also met in private and talked about getting a deal done for “a good hour or more” along with exchanging personal phone numbers. All of which appeared to be a serious attempt to keep negotiations between their two teams moving forward.

That hasn’t stopped some notable figures from denying the TMZ report outright however. Yahoo Sports columnist Kevin Iole was the first to throw cold water on the TMZ story:

My information from multiple sources is that the TMZ report about Mayweather-Pacquiao being done is inaccurate. Close but not done

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 31, 2015

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That could change, obviously, but as of now no deal

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 31, 2015

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When @FloydMayweather Twitter account tells you to go to @shots for an announcement, THAT will be the puff of white smoke from the Vatican

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 31, 2015

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Also denying the reports is Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza:

TMZ usually has good sources. This time, not so much. “@Woodsy1069: http://t.co/gFOQB06ogq“

— Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) January 31, 2015

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Watch what? There is no deal right now. “@VanLathan: @bomani_jones @StephenEspinoza @Woodsy1069 don’t believe me just watch…”

— Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) January 31, 2015

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Of course, this fight has been teased so long that it’s reasonable for anyone to be gun shy about reports that it could actually be a done deal. It may be that an official announcement is just around the corner, as TMZ reports, or it could still be as much a pipe dream as it’s ever been. Be sure to stay tuned for more news and updates as the story continues to develop.

Wonderboy injured, main event for UFC Fight Night Broomfield up in the air

Friday, January 30th, 2015 may well go down in history as one of the most miserable news days for the UFC and it’s fans. The day started promisingly enough. The build up to UFC 183 had been huge, no one fighter had dropped off the card due to injury (which thankfully hasn’t changed), all was well. Then, reports surfaced that Chris Weidman had been injured and that his title fight against Vitor Belfort at UFC 184, was off. Then, news broke that both Kelvin Gastelum and John Lineker had terrible weight cuts, to the extent that Gastelum had to be taken to the hospital. Now, already burdened beyond reason the final straw has just been thrown onto the camels back, Stephen Thompson is out of his main event fight against Brandon Thatch for UFC Fight Night Broomfield. The news broke on Fox Sports 1 during the UFC weigh ins, and Shaun Al-Shatti relayed the sadness via Twitter.

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is out of his UFC Fight Night main event fight against Brandon Thatch with a rib injury. Announced on FS1.

— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) January 31, 2015

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There’s currently no word as to whether the UFC will try to find a replacement main event, or go forward with the card as it stands, so stay tuned for more updates. UFC Fight Night Broomfield takes place on February 14th at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Here’s the card, as we know it:

Max Holloway vs. Cole Miller

Neil Magny vs. Kiichi Kunimoto

Dan Kelly vs. Patrick Walsh

Michel Prazeres vs. Kevin Lee

Ray Borg vs. Chris Kelades

Nik Lentz vs. TBA

Efrain Escudero vs. Rodrigo de Lima

Chas Skelly vs. Jim Alers

Zach Makovsky vs. Tim Elliott

James Moontasri vs. Cody Pfister

Joe Lauzon on his first fight: ‘We were playing backyard football…”

Joe Lauzon is known as one of the UFC’s most exciting action fighters. He’s coming up on his 18th UFC bout, and the chance for his 14th performance of the night bonus. He’ll be taking on Al Iaquinta at UFC 183 this Saturday, January 31st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. But, before he stepped in the cage, he took a moment to speak with Phoenix Carnevale about his diet, his workout regiment, his relationship with the martial arts, and most notably, his first fights ever.

Here’s what Lauzon had to say about the first time he ever threw hands with someone:

So, the first time I ever got in a fight was actually my buddy Jake. We were playing backyard football and he… My brother Danny, he was actually the youngest UFC fighter ever, but he hit my brother Danny, we were playing football, tackled him. And I thought it was a little cheap shot. Danny is four years younger than us. We were like… Danny was probably 12, we were probably like, 16. And I didn’t like it, so me and Jake got in a fight and just… I hit him with a really good hook and bloodied his nose. And then he came to Six Flags with us the next day. So, it wasn’t that big of deal, he wasn’t that upset.
…
And this was a little bit before I was actually training. So, I wasn’t as comfortable as I am now, but it’s one of those things were like, you know, just friends got in an argument, neither one of us hated the other one.

But, that’s not all. He also had a pretty interesting story about the first time he ever officially stepped in the cage for an MMA bout:

My first official fight, I ended up fighting main event. So, I was supposed to fight someone else. It was on a small show in Taunton, Massachussets and the guy in the main event had a school, a Tang-Soo-Do school, and he sold a ton of tickets. So, he had two or three hundred people there, and his opponent fell through. So, rather than giving away all his ticket money, back, they had me fight him. And I ended up… He dropped me with a punch, right off the bat, and then I leg locked him. So, I submitted him in like, a minute in.
…
Yep history repeats itself, you know? I’m always trying to get the upset. Hopefully it’s not an upset on Saturday, I think I’m the favorite, but you know, always looking for submissions.

Be sure to check out the whole interview, there’s a lot of interesting tidbits in there, including Joe’s self described eating habits (he “eats like a fat kid) and whether he considers himself more of a fighter or a martial artist. And, if our Ooyala embed isn’t working for you, you can find the interview over on YouTube as well.

Weidman injured, Belfort fight scrapped; Rousey vs. Zingano headlines UFC 184

Bad news everybody, Weidman vs. Belfort is scrapped… again. Originally scheduled for UFC 173 back in May of 2014, and then re-scheduled for December 6th and UFC 181, and finally scheduled for UFC 184 on February 28th, the middleweight title bout between Vitor Belfort and Chris Weidman just can’t seem to get in the cage. Once again, reports are that Weidman has suffered an injury. MMAJunkie broke the news.

Get your non-fighting fix of Weidman, from his recent appearance on the MMA Hour

In place of Weidman vs. Belfort, it appears the UFC will go forward with Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano as the event headliner. Rousey is coming off a 16 second shellacking of Alexis Davis back in July, at UFC 175. After the event she took some time to recover from a hand injury and rest up. Zingano had originally been scheduled to face Rousey as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter 18, culminating in a title fight between the two women. A knee injury scrapped the bout, and put Zingano out of action for nearly a year and a half.

Cat Zingano returned to action last September, besting Amanda Nunes for a 3rd round TKO. She was re-booked to face Rousey at UFC 181, but that bout was pushed back to UFC 184, which it will now headline. UFC 184 takes place on February 28th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Here’s a look at the card as it currently stands:

Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano

Jake Ellenberger vs. Josh Koscheck

Raquel Pennington vs. Holly Holm

Tony Ferguson vs. Yancy Medeiros

Mark Muñoz vs. Roan Carneiro

Alan Jouban vs. Richard Walsh

Ramon Salazar vs. Norifumi Yamamoto

Derrick Lewis vs. Ruan Potts

James Krause vs. Valmir Lazaro

Dhiego Lima vs. Tim Means

Masio Fullen vs. Alexander Torres

Ray Longo on UFC 183 main event: ‘Can the pressure of a young guy going forward break down Anderson Silva?’

Most often heard barking orders from cage side, Ray Longo took a moment to give a few thoughts to Phoenix Carnevale on the UFC 183 main event, as well as other goings on for one of MMA’s best trainers. He also had some interesting things to say about a potential reality show, his desire to see Chris Weidman on a Wheaties box or Sports Illustrated cover, and his thoughts on being nominated for a “Trainer of the Year” award.

Here were his thoughts on planning for Anderson Silva, and Nick Diaz’s chances:

Yeah, I mean obviously [Anderson]’s cagey, he’s quick, he moves. I don’t know if age is going to play a factor. You know, Nick’s a pressure fighter, normally uses his reach. I don’t think he’s got the reach in this one, but we’ll see. Can the pressure of a young guy going forward, absorbing punishment, and putting punishment on, break down Anderson Silva? We’ll see.

And his take on the middleweight champion, Chris Weidman:

How could you resist the boyish good looks and charm?
..
100%, man if there’s a cover of Sports Illustrated or Wheaties, it’s him. He looks the part to me, so I’m with you.
…
Great guy, terrific guy, and I’m with you 100%. I think, hopefully in the future, we’ll correct all of that.

And what he thinks will be Chris Weidman’s legacy, down the road:

I’m gonna say, Chris Weidman is gonna go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. And, if I have anything to do with it, hopefully undefeated.

If our Ooyala player isn’t working for you, you can find this interview over on our YouTube channel, MMANATIONDOTCOM.

Gina Carano is back in training

Although it’s been more than four years since she last set foot in a cage, Gina Carano remains one of the most notable names in women’s MMA. She was the first big star of the women’s circuit, something she parlayed into a successful film career. Since leaving, however, rumors of a return have hung in the air. Every time Ronda Rousey seems to run out of big fights, Carano’s name is one of the first to be brought up.

Whether it portends bigger things in the future, or whether she was just getting a few rounds in to stay in shape, Gina Carano has added a little fuel to the fire of those hoping to see her back in a cage sometime down the road. She was recently spotted training at Combat Sports Academy in Dublin, California, home camp of Zoila Frausto-Gurgel and Miriam Nakamoto. Jennifer Ferguson posted a picture of herself, Zoila, and Carano to Instagram, shortly after their workout.

Today’s training session @csagym was with these two!! They were awesome and I feel so fortunate! #lovedit #beautifulladies #ginacarano #zoilafrausto

A photo posted by Jennifer Guerrero (@jenniferg217) on Jan 23, 2015 at 5:05pm PST

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Today’s training session @csagym was with these two!! They were awesome and I feel so fortunate! #lovedit #beautifulladies #ginacarano #zoilafrausto

While there were reports that the UFC was close to brining Carano back for an immediate title shot against Ronda Rousey last year, nothing was ever finalized. In the meantime, Bellator has developed their own 145 lb division and signed away Julia Budd and Marloes Coenen from Invicta, meaning that if Carano did want to re-enter the market, competition for her contract could be fierce.

UFC 183: Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz – Media day staredown

Fans turned out in droves to see Nick Diaz and Anderson Silva face off in front of the gathered press and fans. Diaz was absent from yesterday’s open workouts, in what may or may not have been a UFC publicity stunt to capitalize on Diaz’s well known penchant for blowing off promotional duties. If social media narrative is anything to go by, he arrived in Vegas yesterday afternoon and was present for the media, along with Anderson Silva, to take photos, and to speak with the assembled press. In response to questions of whether Diaz and Dana White have been in touch, Diaz apparently told reporters “I got a new Apple ID thing, situation. So I lost all my old numbers.”

UFC 183 takes place Saturday, July 31st at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting at 6:30 PM EST on Fight Pass and 8PM EST on FS 1, and 10 PM EST on PPV.

And, if you want to get caught up on how the experts think this fight is going to go down, check out the latest episode of the MMA Vivisection, with Zane Simon and Connor Ruebusch:

UFC makes PPV price hike official for 2015: ‘Our costs have gone up’

Earlier this year, the UFC bumped up PPV prices. At the time, it was expected that the measure could be a temporary one, in response to a very poor 2014 PPV showing. A price increase for a few big shows to start the year, and then everything would return to normal. Looks like that’s not happening. Now MMAJunkie reports that the UFC has made their PPV price hike official. Form hear on out it looks like the standard def. price will go from $44.99 to $49.99 with HD going from $54.99 to $59.99.

According to the UFC, it’s all down to rising production costs:

“In an effort to provide UFC fans with the best possible matchups and highest quality programming, we have maintained the same suggested retail price for our U.S. pay-per-view events since February 2008 (UFC 81), with one exception – UFC 168 in 2013,” the statement reads. “As with most industries, our costs have gone up significantly over this period and we have determined it is necessary to institute a minimal cost increase beginning in 2015.

“UFC considers its pay-per-view events to be a tremendous value for the consumer and it continues to make that value proposition better every year through features such as advanced analytics, real-time interviews and breaking news.”

Of course, there’s never a better time to bring up Dana White’s classic quote on PPV price hikes in which he was steadfast in his resolution that the UFC wouldn’t be raising the rent on fans.

UFC President Dana White makes it as plain as he can that prices for UFC pay-per-views aren’t going up: “I’ll f**king go on record right now and say I will not raise pay-per-view,” White said. “I won’t do it.”
…
“The UFC is a cheap night at home,” White said. “It’s a cheap night of entertainment.”

Of course, all that was back in 2009 and nothing stays static forever.

MMA Vivisection – UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz

We’re back with another MMA Vivisection. Dallas was out battling for truth and justice in a world short on both (his words, not mine). So, Kid Nate has taken over hosting duties for the day; the show’s not less snarky, just different snarky. Connor and I still have all the fight picks and info on a reasonably competitive card and a very interesting main card.

If, for some reason, you can’t get our Ooyala player to work for you, you can watch the video over on YouTube. And if you do so, remember to give it a like and Subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM, for more of our breakdowns, analysis, and video content.

And if you can’t watch the video at all, here’s a link to the audio only version: MMA Vivisection – UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz AUDIO ONLY

Here’s a look at the complete card as it stands:

PPV Card

Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz

Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta

Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch

Jordan Mein vs. Thiago Alves

Fox Sports 1 Card

Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann

Ed Herman vs. Derek Brunson

Ian McCall vs. John Lineker

Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson

Fight Pass Card

Diego Brandão vs. Jimy Hettes

Richardson Moreira vs. Ildemar Alcântara

Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz