Category: UFC News

UFC needs Mexico, but not Mexico City

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC Editorial, UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval, UFC News

In a lot of the classic markets around the world, it feels like the UFC is a bit of a fading concern. The Canada boom is long over, the J-MMA glory days have been gone for more than a decade. Even the UFC’s trips to Brazil feel like no real big deal anymore. Ireland’s MMA craze came and went with the McGregor era, and experiments with regular UFC cards in Germany and Sweden produced absolutely nothing.

There are still markets where the UFC looks like it has room to expand, however. China seems to be a steady partner, for one, and Middle East is hungry for all the combat sports it can get right now. Most notably, though, if UFC Noche was any sign last year, MMA is starting to gain a real fanbase down in Mexico.

The promotion’s first trip back to the country since 2019 this past Saturday highlighted how much it needs to keep putting on cards for its Hispanic fanbase. Cain Velasquez may not have been the crossover star that the UFC had hoped for, but a steady diet of raiding Combate and Entram gym has provided Dana White & co. with a healthy stable of Mexican and Mexican-American talent that get real national support. Fans showed up in droves.

UFC at altitude is not good MMA

That said, despite clear signs that the company had learned from past forrays to the CDMX, it’s clear that Mexico City is not built for MMA. The UFC didn’t put on a single fight over the lightweight division for their Moreno vs. Royval 2 fight card, but it didn’t seem to matter. At 7,349 feet in elevation the climate was still brutally punishing for multiple five minute rounds of action…

It’s a fact that was clear in the results all night. Fighters up and down UFC Mexico City struggled with pace and cardio. Most notably, unfortunately, in the main and co-main events, where both Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez looked like they were trying hard to measure their exertion. There were a couple standout fights and performances, but most of the evening felt like it was marked by lackluster action. The crowd was hyped, but the fighters couldn’t match it.

Even events in places like Denver and Salt Lake City have been notable for the rate at which fighters gas out—add an extra 2,000 feet of elevation on that and it wasn’t pretty. Hell, Mexico City is only 600 feet closer to sea level than Machu Picchu. It’s a massive metropolis; I get that the promotion doesn’t want to write it off—hell they’re even building a new performance institute there—but surely there has to be better options.

Can UFC find other options?

Guadalajara may still be at a mile, but Monterray’s elevation is only 1,700 feet, and the UFC went there back in 2015. I’m only spitballing, but there’s gotta be something they can do to get cards out of the literal stratosphere and back down on solid ground. It seems absurd to think that the UFC is going to make a base of operations in a city where they can’t even book 1/3 of the roster without risking a heart attack.

They’ve got the fans, they’ve got the talent, even a healthy portion of their American-born fighters identify strongly with their Mexican roots. It’s clearly a market that the world’s largest MMA promotion needs to pour themselves into. But fight cards where bantamweights look like they’re sucking wind just six minutes into the bout are no bueno.

Maybe a future will come along where a sizeable portion of fighters train out of Mexico City year around, I think that’s honestly what it would take to make this altitude reasonable. But as veteran sports broadcaster Rodrigo Del Campo González recently noted speaking of this card on social media, even the Mexican fighters here weren’t routinely using the city as a home base. Will that change with the construction of a UFC complex? Or will it just remain a place that the UFC only visits once every few years, when they feel they really have to? Either way I can’t help but think fans deserve something better.

No surprise here: Full list of fighters and managers set to defend UFC in lawsuit

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC Antitrust Lawsuit, UFC News

The UFC antitrust lawsuit continues its slow and steady march toward trial. First filed in 2014, the claim from a group of former fighters that the world’s largest MMA promotion has abused their power while effectively operating as a monopoly in the world of mixed martial arts achieved class action status only just last year.

In the months since, things have been moving at a much more serious pace, with both sides gearing up for what seems like a surefire showdown in the courtroom. Most recently, the UFC filed a list of the fighters, some of whom qualify for class status (competed in one or more live professional UFC-promoted MMA bouts taking place or broadcast in the United States from December 16, 2010, to June 30, 2017), that will be testifying on their behalf. It comes with absolutely no surprises.

July 23, 2022, Greenwich, London, London, UK, United Kingdom: LONDON, UK - JULY 23: Michael Bisping, UFC commentator and retired mixed martial artist during the UFC Fight Night: Blaydes v Aspinall event at The O2 Arena on July 23, 2022, in Greenwich, London, United Kingdom. Greenwich, London United Kingdom - ZUMAp175 20220723_zsa_p175_017
UFC commentators are going to defend their current employers? | Scott Garfitt / ZUMA Wire, IMAGO

Donald Cerrone, Michael Bisping among fighters set to testify for the UFC

As we already reported, no fighters included in the qualifying bout class (about 1200 athletes in total) chose to remove themselves from the lawsuit against the UFC. So even among those set to testify on the promotion’s behalf, most of them stand to gain if the plaintiffs succeed. That said, there is one notable exception.

Bloody Elbow’s John Nash shared the details from the UFC’s filing on Twitter.

Fighters set to testify for the UFC:

  • Michael Bisping: A former champion and current regular member of the UFC broadcast team, Bisping has long been a supporter of the promotion’s pay structure.

    “To be honest, it makes me mad, because people don’t understand,” Michael Bisping said back in 2012, when asked about critics of the UFC’s pay structure. “I’ve worked hard, and I get [the amount stipulated in the contract], but when Dana comes into the locker room and gives me a check afterwards, they don’t have to do that.
  • Donald Cerrone: Known throughout his career for being one of the promotion’s most loyal ‘fight anyone at any time’ company men, Cerrone retired from competition in 2022 to focus on his acting career. During his time in the Octagon, however, he was also a vocal supporter of the promotion’s pay structure.

    “It’s like, listen, you just fought on a regional show for $2,000. Now the UFC’s giving you whatever the 12 and 12 or whatever that is, so that’s clearly more than what you’re earning now,” Cerrone told reporters, speaking of younger fighters complaining over pay at a 2022 presser. “They work so hard, they put their whole life on hold to get in the UFC. And then they get in the UFC and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m here.’ And they kind of just back off the training. They’re no longer the killers and doing what they need to do to become the entertainers and the person that the UFC signed them to be.”
  • Michael Chandler: Not part of the class for this version of the lawsuit, Chandler does meet the standards for inclusion in a separate class action case filed by former UFC lightweight Kajan Johnson. Despite spending the majority of 2010-17 fighting for Viacom-owned rival, Bellator, Chandler has been a vocal supporter of his new home since making his Octagon debut in 2021.

    “…I don’t have a problem with the quote/un-quote ‘fighter pay’ argument,” Chandler explained in a 2022 interview. “I think people think we should make a lot more money because the UFC makes a ton of money on their shows. Well, the UFC’s been at it since 1993. Dana White has had 10,000 sleepless nights when most of us fighters are just showing up to practice and going to bed, laying our head on the pillow and getting after it—and getting paid a decent wage for what we do.”
  • Chael Sonnen: A former multiple time title contender, Sonnen’s relationship with the UFC hasn’t always been a rosy one. The ‘American Gangster’ ended his Octagon run in ignominy, following a failed drug test. After four years of retirement, he made his return to competition with Bellator and even had a stint working the desk with the WSOF. In more recent years, however, he’s been working more closely with UFC broadcast partner ESPN and has been a noted supporter of Endeavor/Zuffa business strategy.

    “Can you name 1 company on Earth that gives 50/50 revenue split?” Sonnen social media post replying to Combat Sport’s Law’s Erik Magraken, before going on to argue that the UFC is simply operating within the parameters of natural market forces in a much longer video reply.

    In a separate attempt to try and defend UFC’s controversial low fighter pay, Sonnen previously made dubious claims about supposedly earning $8,800,000 in the rematch against Anderson Silva. In reality, lawsuit documents showed that Silva got just $2.5 million while the full payout for Sonnen was just $1.05 million — over eight times less than his claim.
  • Miesha Tate: Unlike Sonnen, while Tate has had significant roles with promotions outside the UFC (a 3-year stint with ONE Championship as a Vice President in the promotion’s front office), she’s also never had a public falling out with them either. Tate hasn’t been nearly as active in the fighter pay debate as the other names on this list, but did come to the promotion’s defense after revealing that she had spent all of her $200,000 purse on fight camp expenses.

    “I’m not complaining about what the UFC pays me,” Tate told the MMA Hour back in 2021. “The UFC paid me $200,000. I wouldn’t get that anywhere else I don’t think. So look, I got $200,000 to spend on my camp. I reinvested it in myself, almost all of it. It wasn’t a bad choice. I’m not broke. I own my house free and clear. I own my cars free and clear. I have a great life. So I know I’ll make hand over fist when I’m a champion again, that’s the ultimate goal. Some fighters don’t spend that much money. There’s some fighters out there who cut corners.”

MMA managers coming to UFC’s aid as well

Outside of the UFC’s obvious market dominance when it comes to prominence and opportunity for fighters looking to ‘make it big’ in MMA, one of the longstanding criticisms around the sport is the seemingly often cozy relationship that talent managers have with UFC brass. Nothing brings that critique into sharper focus than the noted figures said to be representing athletes’ best interests that are prepared to offer their testimony for the UFC.

That list includes Dominance MMA founder Ali Abdelaziz, Iridium Sports Agency CEO Jason House, KHI vice president Josh Jones, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert, and RFA/LFA president Ed Soares.

Documentation from the filing notes that these men represented talent including Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Gleison Tibau, Rosa Namajunas, Donald Cerrone, Miesha Tate, Bobby Green, Fabricio Werdum, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Rafael dos Anjos among dozens of others.

The UFC antitrust lawsuit is set to go to trial on April 8th, 2024, barring any pre-trial settlement agreement. If it does proceed as planned it should be fascinating to hear the arguments presented by these fighters and managers in support of the UFC.

UFC Mexico: Whole fight misses weight

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval, UFC News

Usually when one fighter misses weight, their opponent gets a chance to grab a small bump in pay and the bragging rights that come with having been the more professional party during fight week. That’s not quite the way things went down this week in Mexico City, however.

The UFC returns south of the border this Saturday, February 24th for their first event at the Arena Ciudad de México since 2019. Headlining the card will be a top-flight flyweight rematch between former champion Brandon Moreno and recent title challenger Brandon Royval. But, further down on the undercard, there’s been a little trouble with the scales.

UFC Mexico: Chairez vs. Lacerda 2 misses weight

The highlight of this weekend’s UFC action will be a pair of rematches up at the top of the card, but another pair of flyweights also have some unfinished business to settle. Or, at least they will if the promotion can get them both to the Octagon.

Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda first faced off back in September of last year, at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Grasso 2. The bout saw a solidly competitive couple of minutes before Chairez wrapped up a standing guillotine that looked to have Lacerda in a whole heap of trouble. Stuck tight and seemingly on the verge of passing out, the Brazilian was nonetheless defiant when referee Chris Tognoni made the decision to stop the bout despite no tap from Lacerda.

A quick video review in the Octagon confirmed Lacerda’s protests, that he had neither gone completely unconscious, nor submitted to the choke. And the fight was ruled an official ‘no contest.’

The UFC was set to run the whole thing back in Mexico City this Saturday, but hit something of a stumbling block when Lacerda came in at 127 lbs, one pound over the flyweight limit. To make matters even more awkward, however, Chairez weighed in just a short time later, hitting the scales at a whopping 131 lbs. No other fighters missed weight for the event.

Chairez vs. Lacerda will proceed at a catchweight

Whether Edgar Chairez was set to miss weight anyway, or whether he simply took the opportunity of his opponent’s mistake to stop what must be an absolutely brutal cut for the 5’7″ flyweight with a 72″ reach is unclear. Either way it has to be something of a relief for Daniel Lacerda, who saw a fight against Vinicius Slavador in December of 2022 scrapped due to a botched weight cut.

MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura reports that, following the double miss, the fight will go ahead as planned. A penalty will be assessed to both fighters by the UFC, although the exact figure has not yet been reporeted.

UFC Mexico City airs on ESPN+ starting at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific. Alongside the flyweight main event, the card will also play host to a featherweight bout between top contenders Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega. The two men first fought in July of 2022, with Yair claiming victory via verbal submission due to injury. This bout will be Ortega’s first fight back since the loss.

UFC 300: Fans had ‘unrealistic expecations’ says Jamahal Hill

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

UFC 300 is now nearly a fully booked fight card. The April 13th PPV event currently has 12 bouts listed, including an official main event between former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and current champ Alex Pereira. That fight, alongside Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan and Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway seems likely to guarantee fans get a thrilling night of action from the UFC.

However, that doesn’t mean everyone is entirely happy with the event. The UFC’s past attempts to pull out all the stops for their 100th and 200th PPV cards have left some fans feeling underwhelmed by a PPV headliner that lacks the kind of dynamic star power of a Conor McGregor, GSP, Jon Jones, or Ronda Rousey.

Jamahal Hill fires back at UFC 300 critics

Never one to ignore the discourse or step back in the face of criticism, Jamahal Hill had some words for fans that might be feeling somewhat shortchanged by his spot in the UFC 300 headliner. In a recent video released to his YouTube channel, ‘Sweet Dreams’ took umbrage with the idea that the upcoming card was anything less than a massive showcase of the promotion’s best talent.

“The reaction to this has been kind of a mix of things and there and whatnot,” Hill explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “There’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things like that. To be honest, it’s crazy to me, because for the most part a lot of these people are the same people that have spent the better part of a year or however long calling me ‘cry baby.’

But it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked—the main card literally has a former champion or champion in every single fight and some even facing former champions. In every single fight in the main card, each one of the prelims is worthy of being its own separate main event and people are crying. Like, let’s really be real. It’s really, really crying because you had unreal expectations for something.”

Hill did add that he felt Dana White might be in part to blame, for overselling his main event announcement, but he felt that was likely because the UFC boss really was working on something “that you people would feel is mind-blowing or otherworldly,” but couldn’t get it done.

“I think I saw one comment that said, ‘I was expecting Conor vs. Jesus Himself,’ Hill said. “At this point, now I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Y’all could have got Mario vs. King Kong, y’all could have got Wolverine vs. Iron Man, you could have gotten anything, Hulk vs. Superman, Spider-Man vs. Batman, you could have got any of this and you wouldn’t have been happy. So all I can say as far as the whole ‘this is a disappointment’ and it not being worthy of this spot and things like that is that’s crazy.”

Jamahal Hill reassures fans he’s healthy for the fight

A major point of concern about the UFC’s decision to go with Hill as the headliner has to come from the severity of the injury that took Hill off his spot as king of the mountain in the first place. Not long after winning UFC gold over Glover Teixeira, Hill ruptured his Achilles tendon in a UFC-organized pick-up basketball game during International Fight Week.

Even Dana White seemed somewhat unsure if Hill was already entirely healthy, telling fans after UFC 298 that he didn’t know how Hill would respond to the injury.

“I don’t know.” White told reporters when asked about Hill’s recovery. “I’m friends with Kelsey Plum from the WNBA — she had the same injury. She came back [from an Achilles tear] and won MVP, a national title. [Hill] has been going to [UFC’s Performance Institute]. She recovered from that injury at [UFC’s Performance Institute]. So, hopefully he’s good.”

As for Hill himself? He says he’s already been sparring and drilling and doesn’t expect to have any problems with his preparations for Pereira.

“Another one of the big questions has been my health, ‘he’s rushing back’ and things like that,” Hill said. “No, I’m not rushing back. I’ve been training, I’ve been sparring, I’ve been at a full go now for a few weeks now. There’s been no setbacks, nothing hindering anything. When I’m saying full go I mean this is me doing everything full speed, full-on like I would when I normally train, so there’s no concerns.

“My Achilles is not an issue, it’s not a problem at all. I’m just ready to go.”

Coach reveals UFC champ Islam Makhachev’s welterweight roadmap

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

The UFC’s habit of keeping the purse strings tight when it comes to fighter pay has had a couple of long term unintended consequences. First and foremost, over the past handful of years, fans have begun to see increasing stagnation among the title contenders all up and down the promotion’s 12 weight classes. Fighters know that if they’re going to get paid they need to fight for a belt, taking on lower-ranked rising prospects is an all risk, no reward scenario.

The other trend that’s emerged in recent years has been that of the ‘superfight’ and the double champ. Much like the contenders below them, champions are starting to realize that benefits to taking on new challengers are few and far between. If they’re going to make the most money they can by A) keeping their title and B) fighting on the biggest PPVs possible, then it’s not hard to see why a champion vs. champion matchmaking is has only become more popular.

UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley campaigning for fight with Ilia Topuria

It was something of an interesting twist, then, when Sean O’Malley announced last year that he had no real interest in fighting Alexander Volkanovski, in part, it seems, because of Volk’s dominance over the division at 145 lbs.

“[Volkanovski] would be a very very difficult fight,” O’Malley explained at the time. “I mean, do I believe I could knock him out? 100%. I believe I could knock out anybody around 135-145. 55? That would be a little tougher, I’d need to put on some L-Bs. But Volk’s a very difficult fight. I’m not saying I’ll never fight him, that’s just not what I want now.”

That said, with a new champion now in place, it seems O’Malley’s reservations are a whole lot lower. Ilia Topuria took the crown this past weekend at UFC 298. While O’Malley recognizes he’s still got a couple challengers ahead of him, on a recent episode of the MMA Hour he made it sound like the Georgian is definitely on his radar for a future battle.

“I’m trying to call out a fight that I feel is exciting, that’s like holy s***,” O’Malley explained, defending his interest in fighting Topuria (transcript via MMA Fighting). “But I got a lot of pushback on it. I don’t know if people actually want me to fight Merab as much as they just hate the confidence that I have that I would go out there and knock out Ilia.

“But I decided, I’ve said what I needed to say, I’ve sent my message to Ilia. If Merab is next, Merab is next. I can get Ilia whenever, whenever the time comes. I haven’t talked to the UFC because obviously there’s nothing to talk about. I’ve got Chito Vera, March 9. That’s what’s next. That’s what I need to focus on.”

Islam Makhachev’s coach makes case for welterweight title fight

Sean O’Malley isn’t the only one setting his sights on a potential double-champ run. Heir to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s lightweight crown, Islam Makhachev has two title defenses under his belt now, after winning gold back in October of 2022. Both of those, as it happens, against then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Among current lightweight contenders, Makhachev has a win over Charles Oliveira, whom he defeated to claim the belt back at UFC 280, and a narrow 2019 victory over Arman Tsarukyan. The path should be wide open for fighters like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, or Michael Chandler to make a run, but that hasn’t stopped Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, from positing a potential path to fighting for welterweight gold instead in a recent interview with Casino Alpha (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“After Ramadan, I’m hoping the UFC will fight Islam at Madison Square Garden—only because it’s good for his marketability to fight in the U.S.,” Mendez explained. “That’s what I’d like, but right now there’s no fight on the horizon for him just yet. I’m sure soon the UFC will announce a return for him, but just not yet.

“Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, and then the welterweight title. They would be my three next fights for Islam. I’d like to see Islam become the welterweight world champion in 2025. I’d love to see that, and I know he would too. If we get two fights this year, who knows, you might see the UFC offer him a title shot sooner.”

I guess for the moment we should all just be glad that Alexandre Pantoja… uhh… Dricus Du Plessis? No??? Leon Edwards!? … well I guess there’s nowhere else for Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall to go, so at least we’ve got that. In the meantime, it seems like every other champ in the UFC has their eyes set on an eventual run at an upper-division belt.

UFC boss Dana White forgot to ‘Pete Rose’ Wanderlei Silva

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

Even Dana White knows he talks a whole lot of nonsense. The longtime president and current CEO of the UFC has been feuding with the talent going all the way back to his time as an MMA manager. Whether it’s Frank Shamrock, Paul Daley, Roy Nelson, Nate Marquardt or a dozen other notable fighters from the promotion’s past, White is no stranger to animosity.

It’s something of a surprise, then, to see the UFC putting Wanderlei Silva in the Hall of Fame, considering the place ‘The Axe Murderer’ was in when he left the company back in 2013.

Dana White once banned Wanderlei Silva from UFC Hall of Fame

Wanderlei Silva’s inglorious UFC exit came on the heels of one of the most disastrous fight build-ups in MMA history. A season of the Ultimate Fighter, pitting Chael Sonnen against the Brazilian PRIDE legend was meant to lead to a showdown between the two. Then Silva injured his hand fighting with Sonnen during filming. It only got worse from there.

The bout was immediately re-booked, and then scrapped wholesale when Silva refused to submit to NSAC pre-fight drug testing. In an ultimate case of tragic irony, however, Sonnen failed his own pre-fight drug test shortly thereafter—leading to a four year retirement from competition.

As for Silva? He got stuck with a lifetime ban from the NSAC, as well as a $70,000 fine.

“Nobody has ever run from a drug test before. I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming. Nobody will let him fight. He’s in a very serious situation,” Dana White explained in a 2014 interview.

“There’s going to be no Hall of Fame. The guy’s been Pete Rose’d. There’s going to be no Hall of Fame offers.”

Eventually, Silva’s ban was overturned, and he returned to competition for a short, unsuccessful stint with Bellator. But, the rift between Silva and the world’s largest MMA promotion continued to grow. At one point, it got so bad that the former Chute Boxe talent accused the UFC of fight fixing. The threat of a lawsuit forced a swift apology, and seemingly severed the Brazilian’s ties with Zuffa for good.

Dana White forgot about Silva ban

They say time heals all wounds, however. There may be no better evidence of the truth in that turn of phrase than UFC 298, where the promotion announced that Wanderlei Silva would be part of the next UFC Hall of Fame inductee class. Seated cageside for the event, Silva was all smiles to receive the honor.

“I had no idea, it was a huge surprise. It makes me feel really happy,” Silva told ESPN in a backstage interview.

Dana White was feeling pretty good about it too, even when a reported asked him about his past ‘Pete Rose’ comments to the 2003 PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix champion.

“He deserves to be. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” White told reporters after the most recent PPV event, speaking of Wanderlei Silva. “Back when me and the Fertittas got into this sport, we were huge Wanderlei Silva fans. Everybody that was a hardcore fan back then was a big fan of PRIDE. A lot of big stars came out of there, and Wanderlei has done a lot for the sport in the early days, he deserves to be in there.”

“I’ve been in so many beefs with so many people that I didn’t even remember that until you just told me,” White added, when asked about banning Silva. “It’s a good thing I forgot!”

Silva’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame is expected to take place during International Fight Week 2024, sometime in late June/early July. At the moment, Frankie Edgar is the only other fighter who has been announced for this year’s event.

Dana White rips ex-UFC champ for early retirement

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 298, UFC News

UFC 298 looks all set to be an action-packed night of PPV action for the world’s largest MMA promotion. The main event features a top-tier featherweight fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria alongside a middleweight top contender’s bout with former champion Robert Whittaker taking on fan favorite Paulo Costa.

Further down the card, however, there’s another fight that deserves just as much interest and attention as the top-billed action for the night. A bantamweight scrap between top ranked Merab Dvalishvili and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. Dvalishvili hopes to earn his first shot at gold and pick up his 10th straight victory, while Cejudo is looking to bounce back from a closely contested loss to then champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 last May.

UFC boss Dana White lays into Henry Cejudo for retiring ‘in his f***ing prime’

Fans might excuse Henry Cejudo for failing to recapture UFC gold by only the narrowest of margins last year, considering he had spent the previous three years sitting on the sidelines, but in a recent interview ahead of UFC 298 Dana White made it clear that he considers the time off something of a stain on ‘Triple C”s legacy. Most notably because White feels Cejudo had no reason not to be fighting.

“I mean, I think it was ridiculous that Henry Cejudo retired.” White explained (Transcript via MMA Junkie). “When you retire, you should stay away and never come back. This guy retired when he was in his f***ing prime. He looked good. This is a big fight for both of these guys.”

“Merab [Dvalishvili] sat out, and didn’t take a title fight because his friend had the title—all that stuff,” White added. “So I think you’re looking at two guys that, in my opinion, have made some mistakes in their careers. Saturday night’s a big deal for both of these guys. This whole f***ing card is incredible. I love this card.”

Dana White spin control

In the case of Merab Dvalishvili, there are two sides to this story in clear opposition to one another. Back in March, Dvalishvili made it clear that he didn’t want anyone asking him about fighting Aljamain Sterling.

“If they want me to fight Aljo, maybe they have to pay $10 billion,” Dvalishvili said at the time. “Then yes, I’ll be ready.”

Shortly afterward, Dana White sort of claimed that the UFC had offered Dvalishvili a chance to fight Sterling for the belt and that he had turned it down.

“Oh, yeah.” White stated when asked if Dvalishvili had been offered the Sterling fight, “He could have that fight tomorrow.”

It’s a claim Dvalishvili has denied on several occasions now, saying that he has never been offered a fight against Sterling. From the sound of things, it doesn’t seem like he’s ever officially been offered a UFC title fight at all. But, considering that most bout negotiations are usually handled by matchmakers and managers, it’s impossible to know where the truth of that lies.

As for Henry Cejudo, however, his case for mid-career retirement has always been crystal clear.

“Show me the money,” Cejudo said in a 2020 interview. “That’s it. I’ve got my legacy. My legacy is written. Everybody knows what I’m after. I’m out here chasing green now. That’s what I want. I’ve got all the gold. I want the green.”

Whether or not Cejudo was able to finally really get paid big money by the UFC or not? We should know better this Saturday in Anaheim since California is one of the few states that still releases fighter contract information to the public. Even if he’s making serious ends now, however, the longtime Fight Ready talent has made it clear that it’s win or go home this time around. At 37-years-of-age he’s looking for one more run at gold. If he can’t get that, it sounds like he won’t stick around.

Ari Emanuel swept up in Road House reboot drama

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA Business, MMA News, UFC News

MMA and Hollywood have had a somewhat tortured relationship over the last few decades. While there have been a couple decent high points like Warrior and Redbelt, most of the time when MMA is appearing in a major motion picture, it’s gonna be a hot mess.

That probably extends to one of 2024’s most anticipated fight-adjacent cinematic projects as well, the long awaited remake of the Patrick Swayze classic Road House. Once anticipated as a potential Ronda Rousey vehicle (before her limitations as an onscreen talent became more apparent), the movie is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal as Elwood Dalton, an MMA fighter turned night club bouncer. Filmed in part during UFC 285, production problems have become a noted part of the movie’s upcoming release.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel tried to save Road House producer

A few weeks ago, signs of problems behind the scenes became apparent with reports that star Jake Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman had tried desperately to secure a theatrical release for the film with a a screening on Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ yacht. That report came via Puck News and former Hollywood Reporter Matthew Belloni.

Despite the film’s apparent popularity with screening audiences (no word on what Bezos thought), it’s still geared for a prime exclusive release. A recent report from Variety, however, laid out more details on how the decision became so fraught.

According to Variety’s sources, early on in the project, director Liman and producer Joel Silver (who produced the Swayze original), as well as Gyllenhaal all signed off on the film as a streaming exclusive with the promise of an extra $25 million in the budget for passing on a theatrical release.

From the sound of things, however, it seems that was a deal quickly regretted. And while Gyllenhaal and Liman both campaigned to get the movie to the big screen, Silver especially became contentious with studio staff. So much so that Ari Emanuel tried to step in and save his job, despite few real connections to the project.

Silver continued to push for a theatrical release and grew so combative that the studio threatened to cut ties with him. That prompted Emanuel, CEO of WME parent Endeavor, to lobby on Silver’s behalf. Sources say Emanuel reached out to Salke and begged her not to fire the legendary producer. One source familiar with the back and forth described his pleas as “desperate.” Emanuel enlisted private investigator-turned-quasi consultant Anthony Pellicano in an effort to help Silver keep his job. (WME declined comment.)

“It made no sense why Ari cared,” says an insider. “WME doesn’t even rep Liman. CAA does.”

Despite Ari Emanuel’s attempts, Silver was removed from the project in 2023, and although the filmmakers continued their campaign without him, their pleas fell on deaf ears. Hopefully audience reactions are a better sign of the film’s merits than the studio infighting. The remake feels terribly unnecessary considering that the first one is already a timeless classic, but it’d be nice if it was at least a fun watch.

Rose Namajunas gets executive producer credit on ‘Strawweight’

Speaking of MMA themed movies, it looks like UFC fans will be getting a project sometime in the near future with more than just tenuous ties to the world’s largest MMA promotion. In this case, it’s a fight drama starring Chloe Grace Moretz of Kick Ass fame, alongside Black Panther’s Lupita Nyong’o. Variety reports that former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been tabbed as a “fight consultant” for the film and will get an ‘executive producer’ credit as well.

The film — being launched at the European Film Market by WME Independent and CAA Media Finance — follows the journeys of two fighters who find themselves competing against each other in the Octagon. One is a young woman (Moretz) whose life is changed forever when she discovers her passion for the UFC, while the other is a former champion (Nyong’o) who is determined to reclaim her title by reinventing herself. Both want the same thing — respect — but only one can come out on top.

The film will mark the feature directorial debut of James M. Johnston, who served as second unit director for the Green Knight.

UFC Atlantic City sees main event swap

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC News

New year, same UFC main event problems.

Really, if we’re being fair the world’s largest MMA promotion has already had a much better start to the year than they did in 2023 when it comes to keeping fight cards together, but the good times couldn’t last forever. Amid numerous reports of struggles to find a headlining fight for UFC 300 a smaller Fight Night main event looks to be the first major cancelled booking of the year.

Vicente Luque gets new UFC Atlantic City opponent, moves to co-main

The UFC had been hoping to book a top flight welterweight bout between action talent Vicente Luque and rising potential contender Sean Brady. Unfortunately, despite announcing the contest to the public, it later turned out that contracts had never actually been signed. Brady was sidelined by injury and couldn’t recover in time to make the booking.

Fortunately for fans, it looks like the UFC found a fun replacement. With Brady out, MMA Junkie reports that Luque will take on human highlight machine Joaquin Buckley. The 29-year-old St. Louis native first shot to prominence back in 2020, with an all time great KO over recently crowned PFL champion Impa Kasanganay. Consistency has been a little hard to find in the time since, but Buckley dropped down to welterweight last year and picked up a head kick KO over Andre Fialho for his trouble. Most recently, Buckley defeated longtime UFC veteran Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green.

For his part, the 32-year-old Luque will enter the bout off a victory in August of last year, over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. That win broke a two-fight losing skid for the Brazilian, dropping a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad, followed by a KO loss to Geoff Neal. Shortly after the Neal loss, Luque was diagnosed with a brain bleed, keeping him sidelined for a year before he was cleared to fight again.

Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot elevated to main event

Despite Luque staying on the card, it seems the UFC didn’t feel his new dance partner merited retaining the main event slot. Instead, that position will go to a women’s flyweight top contender fight between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot. It’s a move that the New Jersey native has been campaigning for over the last several weeks.

“I don’t know yet,” Blanchfield told MMA Junkie back in December when asked about the possibility of headlining in Atlantic City. “I’m pushing, I want it to be a main event. I’d love to fight five rounds. I feel like that fits my style really well, and prepping myself for a title fight, I think going five rounds would be super beneficial. So I don’t know for sure, but I’m going to push for five rounds.”

Both Blanchfield and Fiorot have looked like obvious contenders over the course of their runs in the Octagon. However, both women are currently coming off less than spectacular showings against elite opposition—with ‘Cold Blooded’ grinding out a decision over Taila Santos last time out, and Manon Fiorot gutting out a hard fight against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

Outside of the flyweight bout, the Atlantic City fight card may also play home to the last fight of Chris Weidman’s career. The former middleweight champion has struggled badly with injuries in recent years, and largely failed to find the form that saw him take the belt from Anderson Silva. Weidman last competed at UFC 292 in August of 2023, losing to Brad Tavares via unanimous decision. He’s expected to take on power punching former M-1 champion Bruno Silva on March 30th.

UFC 300: Khamzat Chimaev shuts down fight rumors

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

We recently got a peak behind the curtain of the UFC’s fight booking apparatus and their struggles to find a headlining fight for the centennial UFC 300 PPV card this coming April. It’s a night that Dana White has promised will wow fans from start to finish with electric matchmaking from the opening prelim all the way to the main evnet.

At the moment, the world’s largest MMA promotion has announced 11 bouts for the card, including a women’s strawweight title fight between Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan and a BMF title fight between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. But, as of yet, there’s been no word of an official headliner. Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall both announced that they had been asked to take the spot, but Jones declined the offer and Aspinall says Stipe Miocic turned down an opportunity to take him on.

Khamzat Chimaev says no to UFC 300

Following those revelations, MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani threw a little grist into the rumor mill. According to conversations he’d had with various industry insiders, the UFC was working to book any one of four potential fights: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards, Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus du Plessis, or Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.

If that was enough to get fans hyped once again, it didn’t take long for another harsh dose of reality to kill the vibe. Shortly after Helwani’s report, Chimaev released a statement to MMA Uncensored; a resounding denial of any intention to fight on the April 13th card.

“I will fight everybody,” Chimaev explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Leon [Edwards], [Dricus] du Plessis, anyone, but not [during] Ramadan. I think Ramadan [is during] UFC 300.

“Maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia. I want to fight there. Not fighting in Ramadan anymore.”

Alongside the concerns over fighting too near Ramadan, it has to be noted that Chimaev has also recently been struggling to get a visa for travel to the US. Likely, in part, owing to his seemingly increasingly close relationship with Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

“The thing is, Chimaev doesn’t have Swedish passport,” his coach Alan Nascimento explained back in October of last year. “He’s not a Swedish citizen. He never was. He has a Russian passport. With this situation going on, the war, it’s hard for anyone to travel around the world with a Russian passport. Especially for a Chechen.

“I won’t go into details, but anyone who knows the story and is following what’s going on in the world knows that everybody is trying to corner Russia with sanctions. He’s living that. That’s one of the reasons why he chose to leave Sweden. Like, ‘I fight for the country, I live there since I was a teenager and pay taxes, and I always apply for a citizenship, but never get it.’”

Chimaev training the Kadyrov children

Back in late 2022, around the same time as the mysterious disappearance (and reported death) of former UFC light heavyweight and noted Kadyrov inner circle member Abdul Kerim Edilov, Khamzat Chimaev began appearing in more social media featuring the Chechen dictator and his kids.

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Chimaev attended UFC 280 with the family, and still regularly posts pictures of himself hanging out with Kadyrov’s sons both in and out of the gym. He dropped this post with Dustum Kadyrov just last week on Instagram.

Chimaev last fought on US soil back in September of 2022, taking a submission victory over Kevin Holland in a hastily rearranged fight card after ‘Borz’ missed the welterweight limit by nearly 10 pounds for a planned fight with Nate Diaz.

Since then, and despite repeatedly claiming that he’s been healthy, training, and ready for action, Chimaev has only fought once, against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Given all that, it’s something of a shock that the UFC thought they could book him for UFC 300 at all, main event or no. For now it seems likely that Chimaev will have to limit his fights to international events, and the UFC’s desperate search for a massive main event battle will have to continue.