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.

Velasquez Takes Top LA Times MMA Ranking

 

According to the LA Times, Cain Velasquez is the top heavyweight in MMA at present. Todd Martin of the Times compiled the rankings. According to his reporting, Velasquez, at least in part, earned that ranking because of his performance against Dos Santos in their 2012 rematch. Dos Santos knocked out Velasquez the first time they met in the first round of their match. When the two met again, Velasquez went for 25 minutes against Dos Santos to claim the UFC Heavyweight title. The fight was widely considered a victory in every regard for Velasquez, who owned the cage for the entire time that the fight went on.

 

Where the Light Heavyweight class is concerned, the Times gives it to Jon Jones, followed by Rashad Evans in the second spot. The upcoming fight between Jones and Sonnen may be dominating the news right now, but plenty of fighters out there want to take a shot at the title for this division. The Times mentioned that Glover Teixeira might be a contender for this division that isn't getting the consideration he deserves. He meets Quinton Jackson this Saturday night on Fox.

 

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Anderson Silva holds the top ranking in the LA Times's listing of fighters for the Middleweight class. According to Martin, Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold are both seeing their chances of getting a shot at Silva. He doesn't believe that Costa Philippou, Vitor Belfort or Yushin Okami are likely to meet Silva in the cage anytime soon.

 

In the Welterweight class of fighters, Martin gives it to popular fighter Georges St. Pierre, with Johny Hendricks occupying the Number 2 spot in the listing. The rankings given cover MMA in general, and include fighters from UFC and other promotions among their number.

Alvarez Heads to Court on Friday

 

Eddie Alvarez will be heading to court on Friday to find out whether or the US District Court in New Jersey agrees that Bellator failed to match a Zuffa contract and whether that means that Alvarez will be able to fight with Zuffa at all. Reporting in MMA Fighting reveals that a memorandum filed by Alvarez's attorney's claims that Bellator made changes in their contract to try to match what Zuffa was offering, but that the contract still falls short and that honoring it at the expense of passing up the fight for Zuffa would cause the fighter irreparable harm.

 

UFC guaranteed the fighter one fight minimum on network television. According to the reporting, Bellator was only able to guarantee that the fighter would appear on Spike TV, a popular network that still has a much smaller reach than regular network television. The reporting also reveals that the contract Bellator offered, according to Alvarez's attorneys, didn't match up with what Zuffa offered in terms of pay-per-view advantages. The UFC contract, according to the reporting, would have given Alvarez a chance to get some of the revenue for the pay-per-view sales in events in which he fought.

 

The UFC contract was impressive, as demonstrated in the report. Alvarez would get $250,000 for singing the deal. He would also get $70,000 as a purse for the fight and another $70,000 if he won. This would cover the first fight. If Alvarez was to win and keep on winning, the deal would become more lucrative as he continued on in the contract.

 

Alvarez will need to get court permission if Zuffa is to allow him fight in UFC 159. The reporting says that the permission has to be given by January 27. The fight is scheduled for April 27.

Dan Hardy Claims Many MMA Fighters Use PED

 

Largely because of the recent confessions of cyclist Lance Armstrong, performance enhancing drugs (PED) have been all over the news lately. Dan Hardy got on his Twitter account on January 21 and claimed that most of the elite fighters in MMA use PED.

 

His Tweet read "Every single elite level athlete's on the same page—they all dope. –Not all of them, but yes…most do for sure." Asked by a Twitter follower if he would fight someone who he knew was doping, Hardy said that he already had, "lots of times".

 

Testosterone replacement therapy has been a controversial subject in sports. Testosterone replacement therapy is used in men who have low levels of the essential hormone to restore normal red blood cell levels, psychological health and bone health. In a Tweet where he was asked about this type of therapy, Hardy acknowledged that some men to require it—"If you need it, cool'—but said that he had seen "both sides", meaning having seen men who need testosterone replacement therapy for legitimate reasons and men who use it to increase their performance levels.

 

ESPN once asked Vitor Belfort if he was on testosterone replacement therapy or if it was something he would consider. Belfort hedged on the question, saying that he had the choice of whether or not to answer a question that was private and to make that private matter public in a rather rambling way.

 

UFC has had its share of doping issues. Belfort once tested positive for steroids, as reported by MMA Weekly. Testosterone replacement therapy, however, is sometimes used as a legitimate medical treatment, which can earn a fighter an exemption from having that use considered as a performance enhancing drug.

 

Hardy himself will be taking to the cage in April on UFC on Fox 7, where he will fight Matt Brown.

Javier Vasquez Retires

 

Javier Vasquez announced his retirement from MMA on January 14. His record, as of his retirement, is 16-5. Vasquez is primarily known for his fighting in the WEC. He has deep roots with the UFC, however, being the son-in-law of Rorion Gracie. The fighter fought in the lightweight and featherweight divisions, starting in the latter in 2007. He fought in the lightweight division from 1998 until 2007.

 

Javier holds a 3^rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

 

Vasquez took Joe Stevenson in UFC on Versus 4 in June of 2011. That marked his last fight. In the interview on Sherdog where he announced his retirement, he did acknowledge that he still has fights left on his UFC contract but that he "just doesn't want to do it." He mentioned that he doesn't want to be someone that "everyone is begging to retire" in the interview, as well.

 

Vasquez was very candid and modest in the interview. He said that he didn't want to face the fear of going into the cage anymore and that his body had taken as much as it could take. He said that the Stevenson fight made him feel that he had nothing left to give and that he had nothing left to prove.

 

In the end, Vasquez will leave MMA in a very good place. He's taken three of the last four fights he's been in. He's fought in 21 fights total during his MMA career and, as his record attests, has certainly proven quite a lot in that time.

 

If Vasquez is remembered for anything in particular, it will probably be for his fight against Alberto Crane. During that fight, he tore his ACL during the first round. He managed to hang on for the entire fight, even though he couldn’t throw a punch without falling. As Vasquez said, he has nothing left to prove.

Bisping Talks Belfort Fight

 

Michael Bisping is getting ready to fight Vitor Belfort, his last opponent that he has to face before getting a shot at the middleweight title in the UFC. He sat down with MMA Fighting to talk about the fight. Rather than engaging in a lot of the usual trash talking, he was straightforward and honest, though he's confident that he could win the title if given the chance.

 

Bisping did admit that there is a chance that he won't win. Bisping has been fighting in the UFC for seven years already but he did say that, if he should happen to lose, he has no intention of giving up his career over it. He said that he would "dust myself off" and that he'd build himself right back up to where he is now, according to the interview.

 

Bisping has taken 5 out of the last 6 opponents he's faced in the cage. He believes that he has all the physical and mental requirements to take the championship, according to the interview and that he's ready now, if he wasn't in the past.

 

Even though he's confident, he's not arrogant. He said in the interview that Belfort is the toughest opponent out there in the middleweight division, aside from Anderson Silva. Bisping and Belfort will face off in UFC on Fox7. The fight has drawn a lot of interest, with Wanderlei Silva commenting that he felt that Belfort was likely to come out on top but that Bisping might take it if the fight goes beyond the 3^rd round.

 

Bisping characterized his upcoming fight against Belfort as a "perfect warm up" for Silva in an interview with ESPN. He pointed out that both fighters are excellent strikers and that they're both left handed. Bisping has been training to improve his performance against southpaws, according to the interview.

Jabouin will Fight Eduardo at UFC 158

 

Yves Jabouin will be taking on Johnny Eduardo at UFC 158, according to reports. The fight will take place in Montreal on March 16. This new announcement means that two fighters from the same gym in Montreal will be taking to the cage.

 

Jabouin currently has a record of 18-8. He trains at the TriStar Gym, the same gym where teammate Georges St. Pierre trains. Eduardo promises to be a tough opponent for the Canadian fighter. Eduardo hails from Brazil and currently holds a 26-9. He has won 12 of the last 13 matches he's participated in. Jabouin has managed to win 3 of the five fights he's been in since coming over to the UFC from the WEC. He lost his last fight to Brad Pickett. They will fight in the bantamweight division.

 

The main event of the night will features Jabouin's teammate, Georges St. Pierre. The popular fighter will step into the cage against Nick Diaz and the two will be fighting for the UFC welterweight title. While GSP will be the main event of the night, the participation of two Montreal-based fighters will likely keep the fans in the arena very involved.

 

Jabouin will have to come back from a rather decisive defeat in September of last year. The fighter was knocked out by Brad Pickett, whose nickname is, appropriately enough, "One Punch" during Jabouin's last match. Jabouin managed to land quite a few good shots during the match, but a devastating uppercut sent him to the mat and the ensuing ground and pound took him out of the fight.

 

Jabouin is known for his excellent striking abilities and his highly developed technique. Eduardo won his last match, which took place in the spring of 2012. Other fights scheduled for the evening include Carlos Condit against Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks against Jake Ellenberger.

UFC Purchases LA Boxing

 

When UFC first came onto the scene in the 1990s, it revolutionized professional fighting. It also revolutionized the way that people view, learn and practice the martial arts in general, providing the first venue in which various styles could be tested. Over time, MMA has become popular among martial arts practitioners of all levels and types, and to that end, UFC has purchased LA Boxing, planning to convert the gyms to MMA training facilities in the future.

 

The UFC will convert all of the gyms to UFC-branded facilities, according to reports. The sale is slated to be completed in January, according to reporting in MMAWeekley. The LA Boxing franchise is well known and has an impressive share of the market. It opened up in 1992 and, since then, it has grown to include 60 different facilities. More than 20 states have LA Boxing franchises located in them.

 

LA Boxing has garnered a reputation for having facilities that are suitable for very serious boxers but for also being a place where newcomers can learn how to handle themselves in the ring. The facilities typically include plenty of heavy bags and an elevated ring, where instructors coach students in the finer—and cruder—points of boxing. It remains to be seen what UFC plans to do with the rebranded gyms, but the franchise has proven to have a lot of appeal to the fighting and workout crowds. The typical workout lasts an hour and includes high-intensity, calorie burning workouts combined, of course, with the opportunity to learn genuinely effective self-defense techniques.

 

MMA isn't currently marketing these as training camps, but they are likely to include many opportunities to learn the same martial arts that professional MMA fighters learn, to get into great shape and to keep the UFC and MMA brands in front of people's minds.

Bellator Matches Alvarez UFC Contract

 

UFC has been courting Eddie Alvarez but, according to reports, that might just have gotten harder. Multiple reports say that Bellator has matched the contract that UFC offered Alvarez. The former Bellator champion said on his Twitter feed that the contract matching provisions weren't quite the same, but Bejorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator, said that they matched it point by point on an interview with MMAWeekley radio.

 

Rebney said that Alvarez had the right to go out and get an contract offer from UFC, but that Bellator had the right to match that contract, as well. He referenced Hector Lombard who went over to UFC from Bellator. Rebney said that, after they're presented with the offer that UFC gave, they have the option to match that contract exactly. If they elect not to match that contract, the fighter goes over to the UFC or whoever else is offering the contract. If Bellator chooses, however, they match the contract, which they did in Alvarez's case. The contract was sent to him signed, requiring only that he sign the contract and send it back.

 

According to the interview, Bellator does want to hang onto Alvarez. The promotion will be appearing on Spike TV this year and they wanted Alvarez to be part of the promotion. The decision now rests with Alvarez as to whether he wants to move to the UFC or if he wants to stay with Bellator. According to what Rebney said in the interview, the contracts match in every regard, including the amount of money the fighter stands to make when he steps into the cage. Bellator was considering putting Alvarez up against Michael Chandler, who took Alvarez's lightweight title in 2011, when he was fighting as a lightweight. Alvarez did say that he would be willing to fight for Bellator but that he wanted to make sure that he was getting a fair deal.