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Vanessa Porto vs. Pearl Gonzalez for vacant flyweight belt at Invicta FC 34 on 2/15
Porto is riding the momentum of back-to-back wins, having earned a stoppage win at Invicta FC 26, before submitting Mariana Morais at Invicta FC 27. The 34-year-old will fight for Invicta gold for third time after coming up short on the scorecards in two prior attempts. The Chicago native Gonzalez has been on a tear since joining the Invicta roster. After defeating Kali Robbins at strawweight in her promotional debut, the Team Hurricane Awesome product moved up to 125 pounds and has continued to find success. She submitted Brazilian Barbara Acioly last March and then topped Daiane Firmino on the scorecards at Invicta FC 29. h/t Invicta
Ryan Bader knocks out King Mo in Bellator Slo-Mo
Dillashaw doesn't care about future of the flyweight division
“I’m not really too worried about it. This is a selfish sport. I’m not worried about what they’re going to do with the weight class or what they’re doing with everyone else. I’m worried about being the greatest of all time. ... There’s always rumors of stuff going on. The first conversation is me taking over and winning that belt.” h/t MMA Weekly
Latest 10 UFC fight announcements, today's in bold
•Jorge Masvidal vs. Darren Till headlines UFC on ESPN+ 5 in London on 3/16
• Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson co-headlines UFC on ESPN+ 5 in London on 3/16
•Curtis Blaydes vs. Justin Willis at UFC Fight Night 148 on 3/23 in Nashville
•Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje is in the works for UFC on ESPN+ 6 on 3/23 or UFC on ESPN 2 on 3/30
•Anthony Pettis vs. Stephen Thompson to headline UFC Fight Night 148 on 3/23 in Nashville
•Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Curtis Millender at UFC on ESPN+ 4 on 3/9 in Wichita
•Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Mariano at UFC 234 on 2/9 in Melbourne
•Jair Rozenstruik in for Dmitriy Sosnovskiy vs. Junior Albini at UFC on ESPN+ 2 on 2/2 in Fortaleza
•Devonte Smith vs. Ma Dong Hyun at UFC 234 on 2/9 in Melbourne
•Kyle Stewart in for Dwight Grant vs. Chance Rencountre at UFC Brooklyn
Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong vs. Tai Chi master in November
Bellator's 'Jack Swagger' on comparisons to Brock Lesnar: ‘My hands are better’
Former NCAAA Div I All-American turned WWE Superstar Jake 'Jack Swagger' Hager MMA debuts at Bellator 214, and draws comparisons with ormer NCAAA Div I All-American turned WWE Superstar Brock Lensar: “We both have big teeth and no necks. What Brock did was incredible. He raised the bar to new heights, to something a lot of people didn’t think would ever happen. To have entertainers cross over into this highly physical industry. It’s the toughest sport in the world, bar none. Before I started training for MMA, I was like ‘I’ve wrestled all of my life, I know how to train hard.’ No. MMA training is way hard than wrestling and it has proven that over the last year and a half. But if I could make some comparison to me and Brock, I’d say very similar wrestling, though he might have the edge on that, but I think my hands are better.”... I left a giant company, making hundreds of thousands of dollars for a chance to cross over into another industry. So, it’s a big investment on myself and a huge risk as far as career goes. This is very serious for me. This is life. Nobody loves cash more than I do and I want more of it. I don’t need it all, I just need a lot.” h/t MMA Fighting
PVZ: Why Ostovich fight on ESPN debut is my most important ever
“This one is more important, I feel, than any fight. ... I need to show everybody who I am and why I belong in the UFC. I feel like fighting is a career where athletes are easily forgotten. If you’re not in front of the crowds, then people don’t remember your name. I’ve been out for a year and I still have those fans who have stuck by me. But I need to show everybody and the new fans of the UFC why I belong there. I feel like this is the fight I have to prove myself with. ... I was meant to fight on the first ESPN card. It’s monumental. It’s huge. ESPN is the biggest sports network in the world. When you think of sports, you think of ESPN. I want to be the face of ESPN and I hope that me fighting on this card will help solidify and help prove that I belong on this network. It’s huge. And on top of that, fighting in New York is a dream of mine. ... I think that obviously, this is a fight a lot of male fans really like. I’m excited that me and her can go out there and put on a show. I have met her in person and she’s a super, super nice person. So I’m excited we get to share an Octagon together and try to rip each other’s heads off.” h/t MMA Fighting
Ryan Bader: UFC light heavyweight division is shallow
“I don’t feel the UFC’s light heavyweight division is very deep at all. There’s a handful of guys they keep regurgitating to fight for the belt. There’s not too many to pull from there. ... Bellator is doing a great job attracting these high-level guys, and that’s going to come with just a little bit of time. The word’s getting out we’re treated well over here. To be able to have this (Bellator heavyweight) grand prix, and we saw Darrion Caldwell fight in Japan, and so that’s attractive to us." h/t MMAjunkie
Darren Till: 'D!$%head' Colby Covington scared of Tyron Woodley
“Aside from the fact Colby’s a d!$%head, I think he did deserve the shot because he did beat a lot of guys to get there and obviously he did win the interim belt and he was only stripped of that when I fought Woodley. I’ll be honest, I think he’s scared to fight Woodley. I don’t think he wants the fight. I think he’s making out that he wants the fight but I don’t think he wants the fight. I think he wants to fight on his terms. That being said mate, it’s the UFC you’re talking about. There’s no terms negotiable. If they want you to fight, you have to fight unless you can come up with a good injury or excuse. It is how it is. It’s the same thing with Dana. He’s talking $#!@ about Dana. If I had a problem with Dana, I’ve got his number. I’d just message him and say, ‘You got a f@$%ing problem with me or something?’ I just think it’s bad. I think it just looks stupid and it looks like you’re b!@ching. ... If you want to create a bad boy persona, don’t let people throw boomerangs at you in Australia, because if someone’s done that to me, mate, that’s a f@$%ing face off, so he’s not really that much of a bad boy is he?” h/t MMA Fighting
Conor McGregor makes SI's world's 10 fittest male athletes list
10. CANELO ALVAREZ, Boxing • 9. CONOR MCGREGOR UFC, boxing, Though he wasn’t victorious against Khabib Nurmagomedov in his much-anticipated return to the octagon, Conor McGregor’s ability to swing from UFC to boxing and then back again is a testament to his superior fitness. A multi-weight champion in UFC, the 30-year-old from Ireland packs precision and punishing power into his signature punch. Derp. • 8. JORDAN BURROUGHS, Wrestling • 7. LEBRON JAMES, Los Angeles Lakers • 6. MAT FRASER, CrossFit • 5. KEVIN MAYER, Decathlon • 4. NOVAK DJOKOVIC, ATP tennis • 3. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, Milwaukee Bucks • 2. CRISTIANO RONALDO, Juventus • 1. SAQUON BARKLEY, New York Giants. h/t SI
Amanda Nunes makes SI's world's 10 fittest female athletes list
10. SERENA WILLIAMS, WTA tennis • 9. EMMA COBURN, Track and field, steeplechase • 8. DANIELA RYF, Triathlon • 7. AMANDA NUNES, UFC, After ending Cris Cyborg’s unbeaten streak at UFC 232 with a stunning 51-second knockout to become the first female fighter to win UFC titles in multiple weight classes, Amanda Nunes confidently declared herself as the sport’s greatest fighter. While some may debate that claim, there’s no denying the dominance of the 30-year-old Brazilian, who trains only with men and delivers a lethal combination of powerful striking and underrated grappling skills. • 6. KATIE LEDECKY, Swimming • 5. GWEN JORGENSEN, Triathlon, marathon • 4. DINA ASHER-SMITH, Track and field • 3. TIA-CLAIR TOOMEY, CrossFit • 2. CATERINE IBARGUEN, Track and field • 1. SIMONE BILES, Gymnastics. h/t SI
Cejudo vows to defend belt, then move up and take bantamweight
“In reality, I’m probably one of the greatest competitors to ever step foot in sports,” Cejudo said. “I may not be the greatest wrestler of all-time. I may not be the greatest MMA fighter of all-time. But I’m probably the greatest competitor of all-time. I’m going to find a way to win no matter what. From being the youngest Olympic champion in U.S. history at the age of 21 to defeating the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, that’s who Henry Cejudo is. That’s what I’m about. I became the best in the world in two very difficult and entirely different sports. Nobody can say that except for me. ... I know there are always a lot of doubters and haters out there, so after I win this fight on Saturday, I’m going to give T.J. a rematch and I’m going to go up to 135 and snatch that belt there. I’m already at a level nobody else has reached, but imagine what doing that will do for me." h/t Yahoo Sports
Black breaks down the art of the headbutt
Fedor and Bader Bellator highlights
Jon Jones may be G.O.A.T. but this profile pic may not be
T.J. Dillashaw has a shoe
Jennifer Maia accepts six-month USADA suspension for tainted supplement
Jennifer Maia, of Curitiba, Brazil, has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for prohibited substances from a contaminated dietary supplement. Maia, 30, tested positive for furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide, and the thiazide metabolite 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB), following an out-of-competition test conducted on August 16, 2018. During an investigation into the circumstances of her case, opened and sealed containers of a dietary supplement she was using at the time of the August 16, 2018 sample collection, and that she declared on her doping control form, were sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Brazil for analysis. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, the analysis revealed that both contained the prohibited substances for which Maia tested positive. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code, the determination that an athlete’s positive test was caused by a contaminated product may result in a reduced sanction. The sanction for a doping offense resulting from the use of a contaminated product ranges from a reprimand and no period of ineligibility to a two-year period of ineligibility. Maia’s six-month period of ineligibility began on August 31, 2018, the date on which she was provisionally suspended from competition. h/t UFC.USADA.org
ONE champ Geje 'Gravity' Eustaquio believes holiday sacrifices will be worth it
ONE flyweight champion Eustaquio has a rubber match vs. Adriano 'Mikinho' Moraes in the main event of ONE: HERO’S ASCENT in Manila, Philippines on Friday, 25 January: “The life of a professional martial artist is difficult, but I understand that in order to be the best, we have to make certain sacrifices. Spending time away from friends and family to train isn’t easy. It’s part of being a professional martial artist. A lot of sacrifices have been made. Training in December was one of them. I had to give up Christmas celebrations for this fight. I missed a lot of family activities such as birthdays and reunions. If I want to consider myself as a championship-quality athlete in this sport, I have to make that sacrifice. In the end, I will reap the fruits of my labor. Hard work cannot be denied forever."
