Month: July 2020

‘A bigger cage is better’ – Stipe Miocic lobbied against small cage at UFC 252

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

If the pandemic has proved anything to fans, it’s that the UFC’s smaller Octagon provides a more action-packed viewing experience. That’s old news for anyone who was watching back in the WEC days, but the UFC’s time at their Apex facility – where they’ve exclusively used their 25-foot cage – really drove the point home.

Over the 55 bouts hosted at the UFC Apex across the month of June (including an event in late May), 29 fights ended inside the distance. That’s a 53% finishing ratio. Move over to July, and the big, 30-foot cage used for the UFC’s events in Abu Dhabi, and the finishing rate dropped down to 45%—with just 23 of 51 bouts ending before the final bell.

But, while fans may be happy to see the UFC return to Vegas and their smaller Octagon, at least one person isn’t all that thrilled about it. Current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic recently revealed to ESPN that he lobbied the promotion to use the big cage for his upcoming trilogy bout against Daniel Cormier, at UFC 252. Unfortunately for him, it seems his protest fell on deaf ears.

“A bigger cage is better of course,” Miocic said. “It is what it is. I’m not going to cry about it. I definitely tried to get a bigger cage, but it wasn’t in the cards.”

“There are a lot more angles and stuff, and getting pushed against the cage, you don’t have that extra five feet,” Miocic explained. “We’ve definitely been training wrestling more. He said to bring my wrestling shoes. He’ll definitely try to wrestle me, but every fight starts standing, don’t forget that.

“We’ll see. Take me down then. We’re wrestling? I thought we were fighting.”

All that said, it doesn’t sound like the champ is very concerned, especially since the 25-foot Octagon mirrors what he’s been working with in training.

“What are you gonna do?” Miocic added. “I’m not worried. My [gym’s] cage is the same size and I’ve been working on everything.”

In their first bout, Daniel Cormier knocked Miocic out at just 4:33 of round 1, having not even attempted a single takedown (although Miocic did complete one on Cormier earlier in the round). In the rematch, both men attempted three takedowns and completed only one apiece—with Miocic rebounding from Cormier’s early pressure to win via TKO in the 4th round.

Miocic vs. Cormier 3 is set to go down on August 15th in Las Vegas. A heavyweight bout between Junior Dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is also planned for the event. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and notes as fight night approaches.

Dana White: It makes a lot of sense for Conor McGregor to ‘come back at the right time’

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

For fans hoping to see Conor McGregor back in the Octagon sometime soon, 2020 may not be their year. UFC president Dana White has been fairly unwavering in his assertion that the former featherweight & lightweight champion is very much retired from MMA. In combat sports, however, few things are less definitive than a fighter who says they’ve left their competitive career behind.

And when speaking to CNN in a recent interview, White made it clear that while his current goals are just to see out the rest of the year without another major scheduling disaster, further down the line a return to the UFC could still be in the cards for the promotion’s biggest star.

“We’ve talked, in just little spurts, but just about life and family and stuff like that—not about fighting,” White said of McGregor’s future. “Conor McGregor is retired.

When pressed if McGregor’s retirement was “for sure, this time,” however, White added, “You never know. You never know. Listen, it makes a lot of sense for him to come back at the right time. I don’t know when the right time is yet.

“Like I said—listen, man, I’m trying to get to January 1st. That’s my goal this year, is to get to Jan-1 without anything blowing up anymore this year, in 2020. I can’t wait for 2020 to be gone. This will go down as the worst year in history ever.”

McGregor was last seen in the cage back in January, when he ran through Donald Cerrone for a decisive first round TKO win. That fight was his first in over a year, following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title. In the months since, he has been briefly linked to bouts with Justin Gaethje and Anderson Silva, but instead announced his retirement in early June, stating that, “the game just does not excite me, and that’s that.”

It just might be, however, that with the right fallout from Gaethje’s planned bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov come October, McGregor could find himself once again staring at a potential chance to reclaim the lightweight title—and maybe even avenge one of his most humiliating career losses. Just the kind of motivation he might need to get him excited for another return to fighting.

MMA Vivisection – UFC Vegas 5: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan picks, odds, & analysis

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, MMA Podcasts, UFC Gambling

There’s not any one really big exciting highlight for this week’s UFC card, but it should be a pretty entertaining set of bouts from beginning to end. Edmen Shahbazyan takes another strong step toward contention against Derek Brunson in the middleweight main event. Joanna Calderwood puts her contender status at heavy risk against Jennifer Maia in the co-main. And Lando Vannata and Bobby Green get a chance to settle their draw from a few years back. Oh, and welterweight power puncher Vicente Luque is back.

For fans who want to dive deeper into the undercard, check out the Prelims Vivi below.

The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by Combat Wombat, makers of combat sports themed artwork featuring MMA’s legendary fighters and legendary fights. Visit chrisrini.com for the latest pieces and commissions. Get your Combat Wombat themed Vivi t-shirts today! cottonbureau.com/products/dr-wombat

Here’s a look at the UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan fight card as it stands right now:

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | 9pm/6pm ET&PT
Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan – At 1:23, Odds 24:40, Picks – Both: Shahbazyan Joanne Calderwood vs. Jennifer Maia – At 26:12, Odds 36:23, Picks – Both: Calderwood
Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown – At 37:08, Odds 49:53, Picks – Both: Luque
Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green – At 50:17, Odds 1:00:40, Picks – Both: Vannata
Kevin Holland vs. Trevin Giles – At 1:01:27, Odds 1:06:34, Picks – Both: Holland

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6pm/3pm ET&PT
Frankie Saenz vs. Jonathan Martinez – At 2:15, Odds 11:14, Picks – Both: Martinez
Ed Herman vs. Gerald Meerschaert – At 13:25, Odds 25:03, Picks – Both: Herman
Ray Borg vs. Nathan Maness – At 26:23, Odds 32:48, Picks – Both: Borg
Eric Spicely vs. Markus Perez – At 34:10, Odds 42:54, Picks – Both: Spicely
Jamall Emmers vs. Timur Valiev – At 44:41, Odds 56:15, Picks – Both: Valiev
Chris Gutierrez vs. Cody Durden – At 58:12, Odds 1:03:46, Picks – Both: Gutierrez

* For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th Vivi for ‘Kattar vs. Ige’, so far the standings are: Zane went 21/39 & Connor went 23/39 – last week they both went 10/15.

Be sure to follow Zane on twitter @TheZaneSimon, follow Connor, @BoxingBusch, and follow @BloodyElbow for all the latest in MMA happenings. If you enjoyed our show, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, or give us a “like”, share & subscribe over on one of our other BE Presents Channels: SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, OverCast, or Player FM– whichever one happens to be your listening platform of choice. While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to Bloody Elbow Presents; that way you’ll always be the first to get all of BE’s daily MMA offerings. For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on all of our BE Presents channels.

Report: Sean O’Malley’s custom basketball jerseys sell out in under a minute

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

It seems clear that Sean O’Malley has carved out his place with the MMA fanbase. The ‘Sugar Show’ has been making major waves lately with a pair of stunning KO wins off a long layoff from UFC competition. However, those wins don’t appear to have come with quite the weight in O’Malley’s wallet that he may have been looking for.

The streaking bantamweight recently told reporters that he planned on starting his own clothing line, to make up for what he calculates to have been around $8,000 in revenue received for over $1 million in Reebok apparel sales carrying his name and likeness. The first entry into that new clothing line dropped last week, and word on the street is that it sold out instantly (h/t MMA Mania).

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As mentioned in O’Malley’s instagram post, numbers 69 and 420 sold separately, in auctions on ebay—where both jerseys ended up bringing in around $2000.

All told that makes somewhere in the neighborhood of $24,000 for O’Malley’s debut effort in to the world of fashion. If he can keep up that kind of success he may just find the kind of robust secondary income stream he hadn’t found in the UFC’s outfitting partner.

Peter Sobotta retiring after loss to Cowboy Oliveira, broke arm early in fight

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News, UFC Results

Peter Sobotta first came to the UFC all the way back in 2009. His first stint with the promotion would last only a year and a half and three fights, all losses. However, the Polish-born athlete, fighting out of Germany hit the regional scene running after getting cut, and rattled off five straight victories—alongside a controversial draw. Four years later, he made his UFC return on the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi in Berlin.

Sobotta’s second run with the UFC was much more successful, going 4-3 over six years, including wins over Nicolas Dalby and Ben Saunders. Unforuntaley for him, it’s also been marred by ongoing injury problems; it was more than two years between his loss to Leon Edwards and the final bout of his career last Saturday night.

Following a tepid performance against welterweight action staple Alex Oliveira in Abu Dhabi, at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till, Sobotta announced his retirement from MMA. As well as explaining his decision to hang up his gloves, the 33-year-old revealed that Oliveira broke his arm early in the bout, likely the result of a blocked body kick (which commentary astutely pointed out at the time).

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win tonight,” Sobotta wrote in a post on Instagram (via automatic translation). “I’m also not particularly well. I broke my right arm early in the fight, my face had to be sewn in four places. I’m not looking for excuses. I was the worse fighter tonight. Not ready to grit your teeth and go forward. Too little pressure, too little courage, too few hits. I could not play my greatest strength because several takedown attempts failed. Oliveira deservedly won. I have to recognize that my path as an active MMA fighter ends after 17 years. I felt that in the ring today. I really love this sport with all my heart and this decision hurts more than any broken bones and ligaments.

“But I just don’t have the toughness, robustness and willingness to take risks to fight at the top. It was a damn wild ride and I am infinitely grateful for the emotions and experiences that I was able to experience. Thanks to EVERYONE who accompanied and supported me”

Sobotta will leave MMA with a pro record of 17-7-1 over his sixteen+ years fighting in MMA. Outside of his work inside the cage, he’s also the CEO of German MMA camp ‘Planet Eater MMA,’ as well as the president of regional MMA Promotion NOVA Fights. The gym has been the longtime home of UFC middleweight Krzysztof Jotko.

Gilbert Melendez busted by USADA after UFC release, still hit with 2 year suspension

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

At this point, it’s just salt in the wound for Gilbert Melendez’s UFC career. The former Strikeforce champion came to the Octagon with high expectations, that he would be a major player among the promotion’s lightweight elite.

And while he battled for the lightweight title twice, losing controversially to Benson Henderson in his debut – and not at all controversially to Anthony Pettis a little more than a year later – the rest of his time with the UFC was marred by a 2015 failed drug test and injury troubles. He was officially released from his UFC contract in late 2019, having won just one bout over six years and seven fights.

Exactly when he was released, however, has become a point of controversy. It’s the centerpoint of an announcement from USADA, that Melendez has failed a second drug test, and been handed a 2-year suspension by the organization. According to arbitration documents released by the agency, the date of that test was October 16th—a full four days after the UFC had apparently cut Melendez from the organization.

Following notification of his failed drug test, Melendez field a “Request for Arbitration,” arguing that USADA no longer had jurisdiction over him at the time of the test. Unfortunately for him, while the UFC may have made the internal decision to release Melendez on October 12th, it seems that they failed to notify either the fighter or drug testers.

In fact, the arbitration documents show that the UFC did not notify Melendez’s manager for approximately two weeks after the decision. Melendez himself stated he didn’t know his contract had been terminated until he received an email from the UFC on November 6th. USADA claimed that they were not told to remove Melendez from their database until December 5th—more than a month after the UFC terminated his contract. As such, the UFC’s drug testing partner argued that…

“USADA asserts it had jurisdiction to collect Mr. Melendez’ urine sample on October 16, 2019 because Mr. Melendez’s contract as a fighter with the UFC was in effect, he was a member of the UFC RTP [registered testing pool] on this date, and neither he nor USADA was notified that the UFC terminated his contract before his sample was collected.”

At the time of Melendez’s removal from the USADA testing pool in December, the agency notified him that even if an athlete “ceases to be under contract with the UFC, or is removed from the UFC RTP while the results management process for a possible Anti-doping Policy Violation (“ADPV”) is ongoing, USADA retains jurisdiction to complete the results management process.”

Eventually, despite Melendez’s release from the promotion on October 12th, because of the UFC’s delays in notification, and USADA’s position as an independent administrator, the arbitrator of his suspension ruled that…

“Therefore, because USADA independently administers the UFC ADP, which includes “exclusive results management authority for any [ADPV],” the Arbitrator concludes that USADA is not obligated to accept, is not bound by, and is not estopped from challenging the statement in Mr. Campbell’s Declaration that the effective date of the termination of Mr. Melendez’ contract with the UFC is October 12, 2019.”

Essentially, until Melendez and USADA both were notified that he had been released, it appears that the drug testing agency was legally within their rights to consider him as being under contract—no matter the decisions the UFC had made previously about his future with the promotion.

Melendez tested positive for a substance known as GHRP-6, a growth hormone-releasing peptide, which USADA notes is “prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.” At no point during arbitration did Melendez appear to contest the presence of the substance in his collected samples, “nor identify a source of the prohibited peptide.” He has been suspended for two years, stretching back to November 1st, 2019 when USADA notified him of the drug test failure, and will be eligible to return to competition on November 1st of 2021.

UFC Fight Island 3: Whittaker vs. Till – Fights to Make

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC Editorial, UFC Results

The final event of UFC’s ‘Fight Island’ month had some serious potential to stretch out into oblivion. But, while the main event may have slowed a bit, the whole card ended up as a pretty fantastic mix of high level, striking, grappling, and narrative importance. Robert Whittaker kept his spot among the middleweight elite with a narrow win over Darren Till. Shogun Rua closed the book on Lil’ Nog’s career, and Fabricio Werdum rode out of the UFC on a big win.

So, is Whittaker once again the top contender at 185 lbs? Does Carla Esparza have a path back to a title shot in the strawweight division? And how much is too much for Khamzat Chimaev in his quest to become champion of all the UFC?

To answer those questions – as well as a few other things – I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights.

ROBERT WHITTAKER

I won’t say I came out of this fight with more questions than answers for Whittaker, but he did struggle more than I’d have expected with Till’s ranginess. Almost certainly a big part of that was the Englishman’s improved counter-game—one that put Whittaker on the mat early and, by his own admission, had him reassessing strategy. Still, off that fight, I don’t see much reason for Whittaker to be instantly back in the title hunt. Especially not if Adesanya beats Paulo Costa. If Costa wins the belt that may be a different conversation, but for now, Whittaker doesn’t feel like a guaranteed no. 1 contender.

Instead, that call-out from Jack Hermansson last week is looking a lot more reasonable. If Whittaker can keep picking off opponents floating around the top 5, then at some point, his contender status will be undeniable. A bout with Hermansson would no doubt see him the favorite walking in. An opportunity for the ‘Reaper’ to build a streak, an opportunity for the ‘Joker’ to grab his own title shot; Whittaker vs. Hermansson could make either man a surefire contender.

DARREN TILL

Honestly, this was a much, much better fight than I expected out of Till. For just about the first time in his career he was dedicated to throwing on the counter when Whittaker came forward. The one time he really hesitated on that front, he got dropped. But he did enough damage with his shots the rest of the fight to scare Whittaker off of leading exchanges with confidence. It all made the fight a nail-biter down the stretch with neither man really willing to commit to offense. No matter the outcome, it much better establishes Till as a potential top contender at 185. It’s just too bad there’s no obvious bout out there waiting for him in the wings.

Instead he’ll have to look out for the other planned bouts between top-10 fighters. Could be the loser of Adesanya vs. Costa, or any combination of winner or loser coming out of Romero vs. Hall (I’d love the UFC try pushing Romero on Till, just to see what he’d say). But, with Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan right around the corner, how about Till vs. the winner of that fight? It’s a chance for Till to better assert his middleweight bonafides and a path for either Brunson or Shahbazyan to continue their climb toward contention. Till vs. the Brunson/Shahbazyan winner should give everyone a chance to make a point.

SHOGUN RUA

Not the cleanest win. (May honestly be the most controversial score of the trilogy.) Still, it was a solidly contested, close fight between two long-time legends. And while it may not be the kind of fight that would fill anyone with confidence that Shogun is about to go on a run to the belt, he’s also 5-1-1 in the UFC over the past few years. Might as well let him jump in against a few fighters clawing their way up the edges of the top 15 again. He could take on Misha Cirkunov, or Ryan Spann. But I think there’s one really solid, fun fight for Rua that should allow his veteran savvy to play a big role—while also being dangerous enough to make things thrilling. Nikita Krylov. Krylov is fresh off a surprising victory over Johnny Walker, but he’s had trouble really finding traction among the light heavyweight elite. Rua vs. Krylov should be a crazy, back-and-forth, thrill-a-minute fight. Make it happen.

FABRICIO WERDUM

Of all the things I’d love to see Werdum do (including stick around in the UFC for a rematch with JDS), I’d most prefer to see him go over to Bellator to get that fight with Josh Barnett that somehow never materialized over the course of both men’s historic (and often promotionally paralleled) careers. But word on the street is that he’ll probably end up over with Kadyrov’s Absolute Championship Akhmat. The Chechyn dictator has long been a supporter of Werdum’s career, and the former UFC champion would be a major get for his regional promotion. Look for Werdum vs. Ruslan Magomedov sometime in 2021.

CARLA ESPARZA

Not any kind of dominating win for Esparza, but it is one that continues to prove that she can’t be taken lightly by any prospect in her division that hopes to make a run at the belt. There were reports floating around that Dana White was considering this fight a potential title eliminator for Weili Zhang (given that Rose wouldn’t be ready to fight soon), but my guess is that really only was going to count for Rodriguez if she came out and got a big win. More likely for Esparza would be Tecia Torres or Jessica Andrade. With Joanna sitting on the sidelines, there’s not a clear next fight for Andrade right now, so why not Esparza vs. Andrade. The ‘Cookie Monster’ is looking for her path back to title contention again and beating someone like Andrade is likely to be exactly what achieving that dream will take. Carla Esparza vs. Jessica Andrade—give Esparza a shot to be a contender again.

PAUL CRAIG

This fight was kinda tailor made for Craig to show off his aggressive ground game. An opponent without a great defensive style and with a tendency to gas while pushing a high wrestling pace just seemed well set for Craig to work off his back. Lo and behold, he snatched the early triangle to run his UFC record out to 5-4-1. That could put him in line for a fight with Ryan Spann, Jamahal Hill, or Roman Dolidze. But I think a bout with Devin Clark feels like it’d be just perfect right now. Clark has been looking a lot more controlled and consistent lately. But, much like Antigulov has a tendency to want fights on the mat, and to get a bit sloppy with position. Can Craig stay dangerous against someone that won’t gas out quite so bad? Or will his lack of positional control just get him run over? Craig vs. Clark is a rock solid LHW fight at the edges of the top 15.

KHAMZAT CHIMAEV

As good as Chimaev’s performance over Phillips looked he demolished Rhys McKee with that much more ease. Picked the man up, set him down and beat him for almost two minutes straight. He’s got all the look and feel of a serious top prospect at 170 lbs. A future contender for the welterweight crown. And the UFC being the UFC, they’ll probably willingly give him a decent step up next time. Fights against Muslim Salikhov, Jake Matthews, or Warlley Alves all seem like they’d be reasonable (if still big) steps up. But it’s hard not to feel like they’re steps Chimaev is ready to take. However, there’s a fight I think would be a great next bout for Chimaev, and that’s against Claudio Silva. Much like I’m sure Chimaev will be, Silva’s a man nobody at 170 lbs wants to fight. And, given the Chechen-born Swede’s call out of Demian Maia, it’s a great mid point to facing that level of world class grappling. Chimaev vs. ‘Hannibal’ Silva should be a crazy grappling battle.

FRANCISCO TRINALDO

An absolute hell of a win from Trinaldo, who was getting badly, badly beaten in the second round by Jai Herbert. The fact that ‘Massaranduba’ came out in round 3, leaning on his low kicks and throwing his left hand like there was no tomorrow was a remarkable feat of grit and determination. The shot he landed to knock Herbert cold looked like it would have stopped a horse. Afterward, Trinaldo said he’d be moving up to 170 lbs and called for bouts against Donald Cerrone or Mike Perry. It seems unlikely he’d get either fight, especially not if Cerrone’s headed back down to lightweight again in the near future. Instead, I’d love to see Trinaldo take on James Krause or maybe Elizeu Zaleski. That Kruase vs. Trinaldo bout feels like an especially great matchup of crafty, gritty veterans who are used to showing up the youngsters around them. Trinaldo vs. Krause for some serious old man strength at 170 lbs.

MOVSAR EVLOEV

The featherweight division is Evloev’s oyster at this point. He could nip at the heels of the top 15 or fight any other random winning fighter in the middle third. Bouts against Makwan Amirkhani, Jared Gordon, Julian Erosa, Grant Dawson, or Bryce Mitchell would all be rock solid options. Of all those, I think I’m most interested to see what Evloev can do against Mitchell. It may be a case of one future contender getting pushed back too soon. But, I think both of them are so likely to be longtime ranked talents in the division it could just give them the start of a running rivalry. Evloev vs. Mitchell is a must make fight at some point, so why not now.

TANNER BOSER

Two wins over just one month is a hell of an achievement for Boser, who darted pretty easily around Raphael Pessoa before landing the big hook that had Pessoa clutching his right eye and reeling. He called out Maurice Greene after the bout, citing and old feud revolving around a past bout that didn’t quite get made. And while I’m not all that sure the fight is necessary at this point, it may still be the best option he has with Pavlovich injured and Abdurahimov already booked. I’d say Marcin Tybura is also a pretty reasonable test, to see how Boser can do against another tough heavyweight used to out-lasting and out-working opponents. But, if Tanner Boser really wants to fight Maurice Greene, then the UFC might as well make it happen.

OTHER BOUTS: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Ben Rothwell, Marina Rodriguez vs. the Hill/Waterson loser, Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Dalcha Lungiambula, Alex Oliveira vs. Elizeu Zaleski, Peter Sobotta vs. Bryan Barberena, Rhys McKee vs. Gabriel Green, Jai Herbert vs. Devonte Smith, Jesse Ronson vs. Luis Pena, Nicolas Dalby vs. Lyman Good, Tom Aspinall vs. Sergey Spivak, Jake Collier vs. Maxim Grishin, Mike Grundy vs. Charles Jourdain, Raphael Pessoa vs. Yorgan de Castro, Pannie Kianzad vs. the Avila/Montano winner, Bethe Correia vs. Sarah Moras, Ramazan Emeev vs. Song Kenan, Niklas Stolze vs. Jason Witt, Nathaniel Wood vs. Ricky Simon, John Castaneda vs. Ode Osbourne

Till sees Gaethje and Holloway ‘slurring a little bit,’ would rather emulate Mayweather’s style

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

The wear and tear a hard-fought combat sports career has on the brain been evident almost as long as modern combat sports have been a major source of entertainment. Stories of former champions becoming ‘punch drunk,’ losing motor skills, and having trouble speaking clearly or remembering details go back all through the 20th century, long before more the more formal diagnoses of CTE and traumatic brain injury.

Every athlete that chooses to make a long career out of fighting has to face the potential that they could end up carrying the damage of their craft for the rest of their lives, well after they’ve decided to stop competing. It’s not a fact lost on current middleweight contender Darren Till has he prepares for his headlining bout this Saturday against Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi.

While speaking to reporters during media day, Till spoke about his desire to mold his in-cage style more around defense, like Floyd Mayweather Jr. did in boxing, rather than the exciting wars of fan favorites like Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“One big thing I’ve always known throughout my career, the wars take the toll on you, and whoever you are, you can see them taking the toll,” Till said.

“No disrespect, but when you look at guys like Justin Gaethje, and I look at Max Holloway now, and sometimes I seem glimpses of them slurring a little bit cause of the wars they’ve been in,” he added. “All respect to the wars, but it ain’t a smart choice when you’re fighting.”

“You want to sort of look in the direction of someone like Floyd Mayweather. Someone like that. He’s 40-plus [years old], whatever he is now, and he’s got all his brain cells because he hardly got hit.

“So I think them wars, they take the toll on you, and they do take the toll on your chin. I think anyone I touch anyway at middleweight, I found myself I’m going to hurt with that left hand but we’ll see.”

Till added that he plans to stick to stay cautious and stick to the gameplan, especially after his loss to Jorge Masvidal, who Till admits he “sort of overlooked.”

“If only I had done it against Masvidal, I would probably be on the cover of EA Sports right now,” Till remarked, speaking of his 2019 KO loss to the recent welterweight title contender.

UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till takes place on July 25th at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The card will feature a trilogy bout between former PRIDE Grand Prix and UFC champion Mauricio Shogun Rua and longtime rival Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event. The heavyweight debut of former light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustfasson will take place on the main card as well, when he faces former heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum.

Healthy & wealthy GSP praises ‘very smart’ Kamaru Usman, has no desire to return to MMA

Posted on by Zane Simon in Front Page, UFC News

When asked who he wanted to face next in a recent interview with TMZ, Kamaru Usman had one name ready to go. None other than former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion, and all-around MMA legend, Georges St-Pierre.

“Georges is a guy who has put his time in and is considered one of the best and that’s where I aim to be at,” Usman said. “He’s still able to come in and be that opponent where people are unsure. Like, ‘You know what? We don’t know if Usman’s got this one.’”

GSP walked away from MMA, belt in hand, back in 2013 having clearly established his legacy as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. Four years later he challenged Michael Bisping for the middleweight title, defeating the ‘Count’ via 3rd round submission. It was an incredible feat of sporting prowess. Still under 40-years-old, is there a chance that GSP could come back one more time for another chance at UFC gold?

Speaking to TMZ, GSP told the outlet he has nothing but respect for Usman and his skill. But, while he’s flattered by the offer, he has no interest in stepping back in the cage (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“I think for me it’s better if I stay retired and I have other big projects right now,” St-Pierre explained. “I still stay a big fan of the sport, I love to watch Kamaru, I love to watch all the best guys in the sport. … I saw the fight, he’s amazing. What a great fight. He’s very, very smart. Everybody talks about his physical abilities and his skills, but I think what his best attribute is his brain. He’s very, very smart. He’s very good at becoming the perfect nemesis for his opponent. He fought almost a perfect fight. He’s an amazing fighter and he’s gonna go far, he’s gonna be one of the best if he keeps going like that.”

St-Pierre compared jumping back into a fight camp to putting himself “in jail,” and “getting ready for hell.”

“I’ve done it for a very long time and unfortunately, in my sport, there’s too many guys that retired too late and I do not want to be one of these guys. I’m very fortunate. I’m healthy, most importantly, and I’m also wealthy. I came at the right time, the right timing, I made a lot of money, and I think when I measured and calculated the pros and cons, it’s better that I stay retired.”

Of course, in the world of combat sports, it’s never too late to try and mount a comeback. Former UFC action-fight staple Marcus ‘The Irish Hand Grenade’ Davis recently announced he’d be fighting again for the first time since 2014 later this year. And Former UFC champ Pat Miletich recently stepped back in the ring against former boxing champ Michael Nunn for a kickboxing exhibition bout.

Even Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. are planning to put on an upcoming exhibition boxing match. So, it may be a no today from St-Pierre, but there’s still plenty of time for the all time great to change his mind.

The MMA Vivisection – Bellator 242: Bandejas vs. Pettis picks, odds, & analysis

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bellator, Front Page, MMA & Boxing Gambling, MMA Podcasts

Bellator returns this week for the first time since February with a quick little fight card featuring some fun prospects and a former UFC top contender. In the main event, former top ranked flyweight Sergio Pettis takes center stage after a successful Bellator debut against Alfred Khashakyan back in January. This time he’ll be facing all-action bantamweight Ricky Bandejas, fresh off KO’s of Frans Mlambo and Ahmet Kayretli. Also on the card, is longtime UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jordan Mein, making his Bellator debut, and super-prospect Aaron Pico.

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Here’s a look at the complete Bellator 242 card as it stands right now:

PARAMOUNT MAIN CARD | 10pm/7pm ET&PT
Sergio Pettis vs. Ricky Bandejas – Picks – Zane & Eddie: Pettis, Victor: Bandejas
Jordan Mein vs. Jason Jackson – Picks – Zane & Victor: Mein, Eddie: Jackson?
Ty-wan Claxton vs. Jay Jay Wilson – Picks – Zane & Eddie: Claxton, Victor: Wilson
Aaron Pico vs. Solo Hatley Jr. – Picks – All: Pico

ONLINE PRELIMS
Jake Smith vs. Mark Lemminger – Picks – Eddie & Victor: Lemminger
Raufeon Stots vs. Cass Bell – Picks – Victor: Stots
Rudy Schaffroth vs. Ras Hylton – Picks – Eddie & Victor: Schaffroth

Be sure to follow Zane on twitter @TheZaneSimon, follow Eddie, @TheEddieMercado, Victor, @VicMRodriguez and follow @BloodyElbow for all the latest in MMA happenings. If you enjoyed our post-fight show, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, or give us a “like”, share & subscribe over on one of our other BE Presents Channels: SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, OverCast, or Player FM– whichever one happens to be your listening platform of choice. While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to Bloody Elbow Presents; that way you’ll always be the first to get all of BE’s daily MMA offerings. For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on all of our BE Presents channels.