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Liddell continues trash calls for linguist fluent in Tito
Shevchenko sisters not doing usual training for next figjhts
The Shevchenko sisters usually mimic each other's opponent's style, but not now with Antonina fighting Ji Yeon Kim at the TUF 28 Finale and Valentina fighting at UFC 238, but Antonina says not this time: “She can’t imitate my opponent because she has to be herself for her fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. And I have to be myself for my fight in Las Vegas. There is always pressure of being the first time world champion, or defending it, or fighting in different organizations. Now it’s my first fight in the UFC, in the big leagues of MMA, and there is a kind of pressure and nervousness. But I can control it. I understand what I have to do: train hard and perform well. That’s all that’s important.” H/T MMAjunkie
White hopes DC delays retirement
Champ champ Daniel Cormier turns 40 on March 20, 2019 and plans to retire but UFC president Dana White hopes he fights on: “I don’t know [if Cormier’s last fight will be next year]. We don’t know that either yet. I think Cormier’s got a couple left in him. I hope so. That was what I would like. I would like to see Jones and Cormier fight at heavyweight but right now, Cormier’s team wants him to retire right now. They want him to retire right now. I hope we can get three more fights out of him.” H/T MMA Fighting • Watch
Blaydes ahead of Ngannou fight at UFC Fight Night 141 on 11/25: He's lost his swagger
"I thought he looked tentative [vs. Derrick Lewis at UFC 226]. He looked like he didn't believe in his striking. If you don't believe in it, you're not going to pull the trigger. If I can tell he's not going to pull the trigger, I'm going to get a lot more aggressive. Obviously, in the beginning, I'm going to be cautious but if I can tell that he doesn't want to strike, I'm going to get aggressive. I think that's his biggest issue. He seems to have lost his swagger. He doesn't have it no more. That's to my benefit." H/T Yahoo Sports
Team Lakay earns corporate support
Suntrust president Harry Paltongan held a golf fundraiser and provided some of the proceeds to Team Lakay: “We are now going to turn over to them P721,000 (aprox US$14,000) to further upgrade their gym, not only for them but to enable for them to invite more enthusiasts, more youth to join this martial arts competition in sports, rather than to engage in vices. It is like a contribution to nationhood to support them and today, we are very happy to know the gym was awarded as the gym of the year and we feel we were a part of that. Ever since we became friends with Team Lakay, we saw the value of what they were doing not just for Baguio but for the entire country.” H/T Sun Star
Perry: Jones taught me the secret to MMA
Mike Perry appeared on BJPenn Radio after getting tapped by Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 139, following a camp at Jackson-Wink MMA that saw Platinum join the team, and as a consequence, Cowboy leave: “You need position on the ground. Jon Jones told me the secret to MMA is ground-and-pound. There were some times where I had positions on Cowboy that I should have been able to pop up and explode a little bit, and then drop down shots on him. I wasn’t very comfortable on top of him. I mean, I went for a key lock, and then he just rolled right from under me. There’s a better way to put my weight down. I needed to sit back. I got to work sitting my hips back more so it becomes more of a muscle memory. He had been in the gi for this camp, he had been grappling, and he had been attacking people’s arms. I had not been submitting people in practice. I was trying to ground and pound and hit people, but he knew how to stop me from ground and pounding him in good positions. His jiu-jitsu was just smoother.” H/T BJPenn.com • Listen
Jake Shields contemplates his fight future following a loss to Ray Cooper III at PFL 10 on 10/20
“I’m in a kind of unsure phase right now. I’m just kind of waiting to get through the holidays, Christmas and New Year’s, and then I’ll take it from there. I still like training and enjoy the sport. I don’t want to make a decision so quickly, I want to sit down and give it a thought. I am still under contract for one more season, so we’ll see how that goes. I have had a great career beating guys like Tyron Woodley, I have beaten five UFC champs so that is a good feeling. Memories that really stick out is fighting GSP in front of 60,000 fans, that was awesome. Beating Dan Henderson for the Strikeforce middleweight title. I had a lot of good memories in my career." Might Bellator be next? “Definitely. They seem to have a lot of momentum and me and Scott Coker got along good before,” he said. “It is not something I would rule out because Bellator seems to be getting bigger and bigger. It is a good time for them.” H/T BJPenn.com
Ostovich reportedly attacked and hospitalized and domestic voilence investigation opened
UFC flyweight Rachael Ostovich, 27, was reportedly attacked and suffered a broken orbital bone by a perpetrator known to her. Honolulu police tell TMZ Sports they have opened a felony domestic violence investigation. Ostovich was scheduled to fight Paige VanZant on January 19, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 1; if reports of the attack are correct, the fight will of course not happen on that date. H/T TMZ
Jake Shields explains Diaz brothers abscence from the Octagon
“I have trained with them a lot. Currently, I am in New York so I’m not training with them as much. I have trained with these guys non-stop for years now. I think they both want to fight still, just not as often. Nate is just waiting for the Conor fight or big fights and same with Nick he was just waiting for big fights. They both had great careers already, so they are just looking for the big money fights now.” H/T BJPenn.com
Bas Rutten: Ryan Hall will be tough fight for BJ Penn at UFC 232 on 11/29
“That’s going to be a tough fight for him. Let’s face it, man, these young guys right now, they’re so good, they’re so in shape, and they know everything. In my time, there were still guys, I was good on the ground, I was good on the feet, and in my time, you could get away with that. There were a lot of guys who were strikers, or they were submission guys, but not a lot of fighters had all three components, I never was a good wrestler by the way. But now all these guys are phenomenal everywhere, they have a full gas tank. Nobody runs out of gas anymore like the old times. BJ is a guy that, if he goes to a camp and he has a guy that he listens to, who tell him no, you’re going to have to do an extra round, as long as he is not in control of the training, I think, maybe in this fight he’ll do really good and perform really well." H/T MMA Fighting
Chuck vs. Tito 3 drops to $39.99?
De La Hoya: I'm a promoter who loves to share
Oscar De La Hoya, promoter of Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 on 11/24: “They’re gonna make the most money they’ve ever made in their entire careers. It’s incredible. I’m actually mind blown by that, because I would have thought with Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell — with two names like that — they would have made a lot more money in their careers. We’ve been staging fights at a price point lately at around $80, $75, $69. Let’s give the fans a break here. Let’s give the fans a break and not charge those crazy numbers. So we came up with [the $49.99] price point, which I think is perfect. ... People are responding very well. The indications are that it’s gonna do some great, great numbers. ... I’m a promoter that loves to share all revenues and whatever revenues are coming in, we’re gonna share it. It’s not about the promoter, it’s about the fighters. And that’s exactly why, for instance, Golden Boy Promotions has been very successful, because we treat our fighters the way they should be treated. The fighters are the ones who make these events happen. This is a great indication that, look we’re letting Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell participate in the pay-per-view revenues from top to bottom, they’re gonna be able to make tons of money. The best purse they’ve ever made in their careers.” H/T MMA Fighting • Watch
Cowboy's sage advice for younger fighters coming up
Stay tuned for more more major trade announcements from ONE
CEO Chatri Sityodtong: “There’s a lot of discussions going on globally, that’s all I’ll say. For sure, this historic first trade ever in MMA history has sparked up a lot of discussions globally with all the major organizations. So if I had to predict, I don’t think this will be the last time it happens, which is great for the fans, the organizations, and the athletes. I think it’s something new that’s unprecedented that will cause great positive impact globally. I think everybody wins [in the DJ or Askren trade]., I genuinely believe that ONE Championship wins. I genuinely believe the UFC wins. I genuinely believe Ben Askren wins. I genuinely believe DJ wins. I think in this situation everyone is really happy because for ONE Championship we get the number one pound-for-pound greatest mixed martial artist in history, and his style and who he is as a person is going to resonate very well in Asia. And Ben Askren going to the UFC, he’s going to prove that he’s the best in the world and he’s going to dominate. His style is also something that’s very appreciated by American fans, so I think everyone wins." H/T MMA Fighting
Magny responds to criticism coaches should have stopped fight
"Live by the sword, die by the sword. I’m in there to protect myself at all times. … I think I would be more disappointed in myself if I were to quit or if my coaches were to call it early. I’d rather fight tooth-and-nail until the last possible second and give it all I’ve got. ... Beat up and disappointed; obviously, it wasn’t my night. … His power was impressive. Whether it was a jab or a cross or a hook, I was still looking up wondering where that punch came from. He has speed in his hands, power in his hands, and precision with his punches." H/T MMAjunkie
Cynthia Calvillo discusses missing weight
“Basically what happened is I started my period this week. We were kind of prepared for it, because we could feel the symptoms, but unfortunately this morning when we got up it was about 5:30 and I had two pounds to go. Then, I couldn’t cut any weight at all from 5:30 to 8 a.m. We tried everything and I could not break a sweat. Even when I got up to the scale, I was the same weight that I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. They decided to go ahead and stop me from continuing cutting the weight at 9 a.m. They didn’t want to make me suffer more so that I was still able to fight. So, that’s basically what happened. Unfortunately, we tried to prepare the best for it, but my body was just not sweating due to having to retain the water because of my period.” H/T MMA Fighting
UFC Fight Night 140 post-fight press conference
Dana White shuts down Conor-Cowboy rumors
“That’s not true. Absolutely not true. Obviously, that’s the fight that 'Cowboy' Cerrone wants but that’s not true. We haven’t even thought about an opponent for either one of those guys yet, meaning Khabib or Conor. ... Those guys go before the Nevada State Athletic Commission in December and then we’ll know what’s up. We’re not even thinking about it [Cowboy vs. Conor]. It’s not even worth talking about because we don’t know how long the suspensions are going to be, what their fines are going to be. We don’t know the penalties yet, so you can’t even think about fights until we know what the penalties are.” H/T MMA Mania • Watch
