UFC Drops 16 Fighters

 

The UFC has dropped 16 fighters from its promotion, according to reports in various outlets. Confirmation came from Dana White, via MMA Fighting that the fighters had been let go on Tuesday, February 19. The fighters included some names that fans will likely know very well. Each of the fighters who was dropped lost the last fight they were in, and some had lost several of the last fights that they had been featured in.

 

Likely the biggest name that people will remember among the fighters who were let go from the UFC promotion was Jon Fitch, who was once a contender for the welterweight championship in the UFC. The full list includes:

 

• C.J. Keith
• Che Mills
• Jacob Volkmann
• Jay Hieron
• Jon Fitch
• Jorge Santiago
• Josh Grispi
• Mike Russow
• Mike Stumpf
• Motonobu Tezuka
• Paul Sass
• Simeon Thoresen
• Terry Etim
• Ulysses Gomez 
• Vladimir Matyushenko
• Wagner Prado

 

According to reports in multiple sources, letting Fitch go has caused quite a bit of ire among fans. Fitch hasn’t been in a fight since UFC 156, which he lost by a decision, but he has a large fan base due to his impressive performance prior to his losses over the previous couple of years.

 

Fitch’s dismissal has been racked up to him not being the most exciting fighter to watch, according to chatter on MMA fan forums. Many fans brought up the fact that Fitch was ranked number nine out of the top 10 welterweights in the UFC welterweight rankings and that, overall, his record stands at 14-3-1 in UFC and 24-5-1 across his total MMA career, certainly not an unimpressive performance. His last four fights, however, gave him a 1-2-1 record. Nonetheless, his victory over Erick Silva was a contender for Fight of the Night, according to MMA Weekly, and a lot of fans are surprised to see the welterweight being sent out of the promotion.

Jason MacDonald Retires from MMA

 

Sportsnet.ca announced on February 28 that Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald has decided to call it quits in his MMA career. The fighter is 37 years old and holds a career MMA record of 25-16. He has been fighting in the UFC promotion since 2006.

 

Career

 

MacDonald is known for his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. His last two fights were losses, mirrors of his performance when he first fought in the UFC and managed to defeat his first two opponents. The fighter was very well known as an excellent grappler and won both of his first matches via submissions. He was fighting in the middleweight division of the UFC.

 

MacDonald was a favorite of fans, particularly among the Canadian crowd, where he got his start fighting in promotions such as Punch and Crunch, Northern Lights Out and MFC.

 

In his first UFC fight in 2006, he managed to choke Ed Herman, who was predicted to win the fight, in the first round, getting him the win. He took Chris Leben in his next match, also via submission.

 

The last two fights that MacDonald participated in didn’t go well for the fighter. He got knocked out by Tom Lawlor in the first round of their UFC 129 match up in 2011. Prior to that, he got submitted by punches by Alan Belcher in 2001. His final fights in the UFC were also marred by an injury he sustained during training that took him out of UFC 124, where he was supposed to fight Rafael Natal.

 

Future

 

MacDonald owns a gym in Alberta, Canada, that gives instruction in MMA and he is a CrossFit trainer. He is also the owner of the Pure Fighting Championship, which has a page located at PureFighting.ca. He currently appears on the SportsNet.Ca site as one of their weekly bloggers.

Strikeforce Champions to Compete in UFC in Brazil

 

Multiple sources have announced that two Strikeforce champions will be taking to the cage when the UFC heads back to Brazil in May. According to MMAFighting, the event will likely be billed as “UFC on FX8” and will be fought at Arena Jaragua in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Tatame broke the news on February 14.

 

The two Strikeforce champions competing both earned their belts in the middleweight division. Vitor Belfort will be taking on Luke Rockhold in the event. Rockhold got the Strikeforce middleweight division belt in September of 2011 in a fight against Ronaldo Souza.

 

Souza will be fighting in the same event, as well, against Constantinos Philippou. Philippou will come into the match on the heels of five wins. His last win was over Tim Boetsch in UFC 155, which he took with a TKO. The fight was a lucky opportunity for Philippou, who got to take on Boetsch because his teammate had an injury that prevented him from competing. Philippou was formerly a boxer before heading into the world of MMA and is well regarded as a powerful striker.

 

Souza is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, known for his submissions, who is also coming off of a winning streak in his last three fights. Before Strikeforce packed it up, he took Ed Herman in the last event held in that promotion.

 

The UFC hasn’t made any official statements announcing the fights, but they are expected to be on their way shortly. The event will take the UFC to the home nation of some of its best fighters and, with two middleweight champions competing in separate fights, it promises to be an interesting evening in Brazil. The event is slated for May 18 of this year. For fight fans, May promises to be an excellent month, as UFC 160 will be held over Memorial Day weekend, as well.

New Fights Announced for UFC 160

 

UFC 160 is still a long way off, but two new fights were announced by the UFC just before Valentine’s Day. Antonio Silva has earned a title shot following his last two wins and that alone should make the May 25 fight worth watching.

 

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will be taking on Cain Velasquez at UFC 160, according to the UFC. This heavyweight bout is, thus far, the biggest fight announced for the night. Silva managed to win his last two fights. He got a first-round TKO against Travis Browne, who was undefeated until he took to the cage to fight Bigfoot. Silva also won a dramatic match against Alistair Overeem in the last UFC event, foiling the conventional wisdom and earning himself this shot at the title.

 

Another heavyweight matchup promises to be equally engaging. Alistair Overeem will take to the cage once more, this time to fight Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos. Overeem is the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and Dos Santos has held the UFC heavyweight championship in the past, so UFC 160 offers two fights with champion-level fighters meeting in the ring, with some interesting personality conflicts likely to be settled—or exacerbated—by the time the dust settles.

 

The down ticket fights promise to be good at UFC 160, as well. According to the release, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Amir Sadollah will meet in the welterweight division at the May fight. Sadollah is the winner of TUF season 7 and the UFC is billing the match as a great contest of styles.

 

According to the release, the verbal agreements have already been made for all of these matchups. Fans will, no doubt, be glad to see Bigfoot back in the cage after his win over Overeem. The event will be held in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend.

Dana White Says MMA May Have Shot as Olympic Sport

 

Wresting is slated to be dropped from the lineup of Olympic sports as of 2020. This, obviously, will come as a disappointment to many UFC fighters and those trying to get into the UFC, as Olympic wresting is sometimes the springboard that propels them into MMA fighting. At a press conference following UFC on Fuel 7, Dana White said that MMA may be on its way to becoming a Olympic sport for a very simple reason: it draws viewers.

 

“The problem is, nobody wants to watch it,” White said at the conference, a video of which was posted on YouTube. White noted that there is a heavy commercial foundation to the success of any sport in the modern world and that wresting doesn’t seem to bring in viewers. He did praise what wrestling does for fighters, however, stating that it’s a great base for MMA and that it takes a great deal of dedication and work on the part of wrestlers to become successful at the fighting art.

 

Asked about the naysayers who claim that the elimination of wrestling from the Olympics indicates that MMA would never be an Olympic sport, White noted that MMA brings a great deal of public interest with it and that may mean all the difference in getting MMA recognized as an Olympic sport. “Whether it’s on TV or wherever it is, this sport draws. Wrestling doesn’t.” White said.

 

White said that he’s funded quite a few wresting programs over recent years and that he didn’t want to see it go away. He said he felt wresting would evolve into MMA or something else.

 

The cut is not said and done as of yet. The International Olympic Committee has the option to overturn the decision and reinstate wrestling as an Olympic event when it meets in September.

UFC Expanding into Indonesia, Cultivating Local Talent

 

The UFC announced that it will start expanding its reach farther into the Asian market, this time bringing the popular fighting promotion to Indonesia. Indonesia is a massive market, the fourth most populated nation on the planet, with nearly 240 million people living within its borders.

 

According to a press release, UFC will start by creating a Fighter Development Program in the nation so that they can reach out to local martial artists. The expansion is being done through a partnership with MNC Media, which is based in Jakarta. Eventually, the two organizations will team up to bring live events to Indonesia.

 

The Fighter Development Program is slated to start in February. There will be tryouts on March 9 and 10. The tryouts bring martial artists into a competition and the winners go to the next phase of the program. The fighters that prove themselves will be sent to a training camp, which is to be located in Jakarta. This provides another way to winnow out the fighters until the top candidates are identified. Those top contenders will be sent to the US for the rest of their training and will work toward participating in UFC events.

 

Benson Henderson, UFC Lightweight Champion, was present for the announcement. He said that “everyone knows that martial arts were born in Asia, now it’s time to create UFC world champions from Asia!”, according to the release.

 

Rudy Tanoesoedibjo, CEO of MNC Sky Vision, said that he’s looking to create a “strong, market-driven content offering” and that the new partnership will expand the access that Indonesian viewers have to high quality programs.

 

In addition to live events, MNC will show Countdown, The Ultimate Fighter reality show, UFC Magazine programs and UFC Unleashed, according to the release. The company is confident that their new programming will appeal to all Indonesian sport fans.

Strikeforce May Be Gone, but Fighters Make Huge Impact on UFC

 

The Strikeforce promotion, long regarded as second-fiddle to UFC may be gone, but fighters who hailed from that promotion made a big impact on the UFC during UFC 156. As reported by Yahoo Sports, some of the biggest surprises of the night and some of the most impressive victories were in the hands of Strikeforce veteran fighters.

 

Fighters who hailed from the Strikeforce promotion won all four of the bouts in which they were featured on Friday night. Tyron Woodley, more known for his wrestling skills than his striking, knocked Jay Hieron out just more than 30 seconds into the fight. According to Yahoo’s reporting, this temporarily won Woodley the knockout bonus for the night, but that was eclipsed by Antonio Silva’s brutal knockout of Overeem in one of the night’s best and most memorable fights.

 

Bobby Green brought his record to 5-0 following his win against Jacob Volkmann. His victory came from a rear-naked choke against Volkmann, who was an All-American wrestler.

 

Of course, the biggest upset of the night and one of the most dramatic UFC moments in recent history came in the Overeem vs. Silva match. Overeem had already garnered the ire of Silva for trash talking before the fight and Silva had vowed to earn the respect of the heavily-favored Overeem. Silva did more than that. After knocking Overeem out in the final round of their fight, he screamed that he wanted to fight more and got himself the knockout of the night.

 

Strikeforce fighters, sometimes publically, complained about the second-tier treatment—and pay—that they got fighting in that promotion. As they’ve made their way into the UFC, however, it’s become apparent that some of the most intriguing fighters have come up from that promotion and that there’s much more to come in the future.