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Evan Tanner biopic ‘The Power of 1’ in the works
Producers Christopher Scheimann and Olcun Tan have partnered with top sports director Bobby Razak on “The Power of 1,” a feature biopic of UFC fighter Evan Tanner. Co-written by Scheimann and Razak, the movie is slated to go into pre-production toward the end of this year, with principal photography planned for early next year.Razak said Tanner “was an incredible human being, and it’s important to me to make a film that would dispel the myth that he committed suicide. Like any of us, he had his dark days, but the truth is that he was a man genuinely in love with life and its possibilities. Being able to tell the stories of the fighters who helped build the UFC — while also being true to who they were as people — is essential for this sport’s history.” With more than 150 commercials to his credit, Razak has also directed or produced more than 12 features and short films, including “The Striking Truth,” “Fallen Solider,” “Sangre Nueva,” and “The History of MMA.” h/t Variety • Watch Evan Tanner '1'
Leslie Smith: ‘Strings were pulled’ in UFC lawsuit
Project Spearhead leader Leslie Smith filed a lawsuit with the NLRB and saw it dismissed, something she believes is tied to the close relationship between Donald Trump and Dana White: “I need to get money together so I can put down our retainer so that I can get a breach of contract lawsuit against the UFC. ... We filed charges with the NLRB with regent four. ... The two charges were that I was retaliated against and that we are misclassified and that we’re actually statutory employees. Even though Regent Four didn’t give me a verdict or an official decision saying, ‘yes we agree with you,’ they had a merit determination which means they thought my claims were legitimate enough to warrant further investigation. That was wonderful, that was a first victory, everything was great. But less than twelve hours later, the Washington office of the NLRB pulled that decision back and said they would have to advise on it. Over the next two months while they held onto it, that was the time period when Dana White and Colby Covington took pictures with the belt inside the Oval Office with Donald Trump — our current President — and it was also when Dana said they had a three-hour dinner after meeting in the Oval Office, and how they were going to make this short tribute video about how wonderful President Trump is. ... I have a very strong belief that a lot of strings were pulled. Lucas Middlebrook, who has been my friend and lawyer throughout the whole process, he has requested a bunch of Freedom of Information acts, like a lawyer’s request. The ones that he has gotten back... he feels like they point to the string pulling as well.” Smith now fights for Bellator MMA. h/t BE • Listen to Pull No Punches podcast
Dana White responds to complaints that he’s denying Tony Ferguson a title shot
“When did I say that this guy doesn’t deserve anything? I mean if you do your homework on the Tony Ferguson thing, how many times have Tony Ferguson and Khabib been lined up to fight? It didn’t work out. He was the interim champion, blew his knee out, he had to have ACL surgery. He was out. We just offered him the fight with Poirier to fight Khabib next, he turned the fight down. Then he came back a few weeks later and was ready to fight again. Everybody’s acting like I’ve denied Tony his shot at the title. It’s just that he’s had a bad string of luck and things haven’t gone his way. He just looked phenomenal in the fight [vs. Donald Cerrone]. I just posted something the other day about his last seven opponents. The guy’s a stud and he’s in a good place right now mentally and physically and we’ll see how this thing plays out in September and then we’ll go from there. But everybody’s terrorizing me like I’m not giving him what he deserves. If you’re a fan of the sport, you saw how this whole thing played out. That’s how we got where we are now.” h/t MMA Fighting •
One Championship plans 80 shows, big roster expansion in '20
CEO Chatri Sityodtong: "Definitely a very tough task, but I think it's very doable, knock on wood. We're on this rocket ship, and I've just got to hold on. The market can't get enough. Our fans can't get enough of our content, so we're trying to satiate demand, but every time we put out more content, things just go more viral. A lot of the free-to-air TV broadcasters, the digital broadcasters, they're all demanding more and more content from us, so we have to provide more and more content to the world. [The UFC's] approach right now is they're behind a double paywall on ESPN Plus, which limits their reach. That partnership is great for both companies and also great for the sport. That being said, it's a very different strategy from what One Championship is doing. We are focused on maximum distribution, maximum reach, frequency and engagement, and making our product accessible to the entire world. That's just a philosophical difference. ... We look for athletes that we can appreciate and admire for their mastery of martial arts, but also admire their life stories and their values," Sityodtong said. "That's very important, and I think that's the biggest differentiating factor for One Championship versus our global competitor in the West." The company is opening offices in Los Angeles and New York this summer. h/t San Francisco Chronicle
Henry Cejudo undergoes shoulder surgery, out for rest of the year
Ben Askren believes he could jump Colby Covington for title shot with win at UFC 239
“I think it is [possible]. I don’t think people are too into Colby’s schtick anymore. They realize it’s old, it’s washed up, it’s just not that exciting. The guy is doing one of these things where you sit out and wait for a title fight and that is something I will never, ever do. How long ago was Colby’s last fight? Last June? What is this motherf@$%er going to sit out for 16 months and expect to get a title shot? The only way to stay relevant in this sport is to stay in there and keep getting after it. So yeah, if I go beat up Jorge, I’m going to have a lot more momentum. And if 'Marty' wants to make some money, I’m sure 'Marty' has a pay-per-view clause in his contract, you’re damn sure that I’m going to sell a whole bunch more pay-per-views against him than Colby would. ... At the end of the day what the UFC sees more than anything are dollar signs and right now when they look at me, that’s what I present.” h/t MMA Fighting
Latest 10 UFC fights, today's in bold
•Roxanne Modafferi vs. Jennifer Maia rematch at UFC on ESPN 4 in San Antonio on 7/20
•Sara McMann injured OUT Julianna Pena IN vs. Nicco Montano at UFC on ESPN+ 13 on 7/13 in Sacramento
•Valentina Shevchenko vs. Liz Carmouche headlines UFC on ESPN+ 14 on 8/10 in Uruguay
•Journey Newson IN with Sergio Pettis OUT vs. Ricardo Ramos
•Vince Murdock IN with Chas Skelly OUT vs. Jordan Griffin at ESPN 3 on 6/29 in Minneapolis
•Alexander Hernandez vs. Francisco Trinaldo at UFC on ESPN 4 in San Antonio on 7/20
•Misha Cirkunov vs. Jim Crute at UFC on ESPN+ 16 on 9/14 in Vancouver
•Bruno Silva OUT Eric Spicely IN vs. Deron Winn at ESPN+ 12 on 6/22 in Greenville
•John Phillips OUT newcomer Wellington Turman IN vs. Karl Roberson at UFC on ESPN+ 13 on 7/13 in Sacramento
•Marina Rodriguez vs. Tecia Torres at UFC on ESPN+ 14 on 8/10 in Uruguay
Bubba Jenkins to defend Brave CF title vs. Lucas Martins in London on 7/25
Brave Combat Federation considered booking featherweight champion Bubba Jenkins in a superfight vs. bantamweight king Stephen Loman at either 135 or 145, at the invitation-only Brave CF 24 on July 25 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. However, it was ultimately decided to have 'Bad Man' defend his title vs. Lucas 'Mineiro' Martins. Martins, who competed in three different weight classes in the UFC, became the Brave interim lightweight champion with a victory over Luan Santiago in April 2018, but lost the belt vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady in November. The Brazilian was riding a four-fight winning streak as a featherweight before moving up to 155 pounds. h/t MMA Fighting
The Story of the UFC Anti-Doping Program with USADA
2019 ESPY nominations released for Best MMA Fighter
Previously, an ESPY was awarded for Best Fighter, including MMA and boxing. Now the two have been split: BEST BOXER (Canelo Alvarez, Vasily Lomachenko, Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford) and BEST MMA FIGHTER (Israel Adesanya, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, Amanda Nunes). Ronda Rousey got an award nomination for BEST WWE MOMENT. The 27th edition of the ESPY Awards will air ABC at 8PM ET live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. h/t ESPN
Santiago Ponzinibbio home after 2nd hospitalization in one month
Santiago Ponzinibbio, on a seven-fight win streak, planned to headline UFC Uruguay on 8/10, but was hospitalized with a bacterial infection in his knee and underwent emergency surgery in Florida, remaining hospitalized for a week. Less than two weeks later the Argentinian had a reaction to medication he was taking post surgery, and was hospitalized for eight more days. Ponzinibbio was released Tuesday, saying: “I want to fight soon, of course, but I have to get back to 100 percent first. I know I’ll come back better than ever and win the fights I have to win to win my title.” h/t MMA Fighting
KSW's Martin Lewandowski heads Polish amateur MMA org
Headed by KSW founder, Martin Lewandowski, as president, a new Polish federation for Mixed Martial Arts, the MMA Polska Association, has been established under the auspices of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF |WMMAA) to represent the national MMA community. The main objective of the Association is the development of MMA as a sport discipline. Alongside sport development and regulation, the long term goal is to see MMA into the Olympic Games. Lewandowski: “After 15 years in professional MMA, the time has come to organize the amateur side of the sport. This is the next step in strengthening this discipline. We can say that the MMA University is already here in Poland, but now it is time to build the elementary school and high school. I have walked a bumpy road building MMA from the beginning, making it acceptable in the media, among sponsors, fighting stereotypes, pulling MMA out of discos and dingy training rooms which lacked even basic medical care. This is all behind me, behind us."
Lyoto Machida's one goal
Lyoto Machida, 41, is coming off a win over Chael Sonnen so spectacular he believes it earned him a title shot: "It can be in both classes. [Whichever] comes first, I’ll be ready. I’d like to be a champion. That’s my goal here in Bellator. I love being here in Bellator because I feel a lot of respect from the fans and the press, [talking to] everybody. ... At 185, I have to cut a lot of weight. At 205, I barely cut any weight – just a couple of pounds, ten pounds at most. It’s easy for me. It’s going to be so easy for me. If I have to fight at 185, it’s good. If I have to fight at 205, it’s good. But in terms of cutting weight, I prefer to fight at 205 for sure. I feel like I’m too fast for 205 because I came from karate. Karate requires a lot of speed in training, so I train a lot of that. When I train with other heavyweights and light heavyweights, I can feel the difference in terms of speed because I can move fast. I can move a lot. And also, I have this strength. This strength is so important because once I hit the guy at 205, I feel the difference if I compare myself and 185 – much more power, much more impact in each technique.” h/t MMA Junkie
Dana White willing to do Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise
The most widely covered news in MMA last week was Justin Bieber, 25, tweeting a challenge to fight Tom Cruise, 56, in the UFC. 'Bubba', as he's known to his wife 'Bean', later tweeted that he was joking, but UFC president Dana White would entertain the idea: "I saw it like everybody else did and I didn’t pay much attention to it. It picked up a lot of steam and was everywhere. I’m not gonna say any names but I’m just gonna tell you that I got a phone call from a couple of real guys that said that they really do want to do this fight and they believe that Tom Cruise would do the fight. And I told them, ‘Well, I’ll tell you this, if that’s true, if that’s true and everybody involved in this thing really wants to do it, we can talk.’ ... I’d be an idiot not to make this fight. That would be the easiest fight to ever promote in the history of my career. I didn’t think that Floyd and Conor was gonna happen and it did. Anything is possible these days." h/t MMA Fighting
Bellator 222 Highlights (4:22)
Hannity brags about his mixed martial arts training in BJJ, Krav, Kenpo, guns, and blades
Modafferi responds with rare swear to losing Carmouche, who gets title shot
Valentina Shevchenko: How I lost to Liz Carmouche
UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko rematches Liz Carmouche at UFC on ESPN+ 14 on 8/10; 'Bullet' won the first fight at C3 Fight on 9/30/2010: “Our history… it was like some kind of medical stoppage. I was dominating all round, I was throwing combinations, I even took her down. I came for the leg lock and she threw from the ground — I was standing on my feet — she throws the heel and it landed right on my brow. So [I got] this cut on the eye and the doctor decided to stop the fight. This was not the way I planned [it], I was ready to continue the fight but the doctor decided different way. ... You can never erase [a loss] it but you still gain another [win]. I’m here to continue my victory, I’m here to continue to be the champion and I will never let no one take this belt because I will train harder than any one of them, that’s why this is going to be a good [fight]. ... Let’s see how is everything plays out. I just will continue my martial arts way, my martial arts life to do what I love the most. Martial arts for me, it’s my lifestyle, [it’s] everything. I just will do everything as best as I can to bring good fights for all fans of UFC or fans of MMA and just to make them happy.” h/t BJPenn.com • Listen to BJ Penn Radio
Jessica Eye has some solid fighter advice
Dana White explains controversial pass on Brendan Loughnane
Lou Neglia’s RISE Invitational returns to Westbury, NY on 6/21
RISE Invitational was created to provide a platform for MMA stars and the best Grapplers on the circuit today to showcase their skills and compete under Submission Only rules. The Main Card will be LIVE and Exclusive on UFC Fight Pass at 10pm, and the Undercard will be available on Video On Demand the following week. RISE 7 competitors include: Pete “Drago” Sell, Josh Burkman, Gian Villante, Chris Camozzi, Dennis Bermudez, Adam Collarile, Frank Rosenthal, Carlos Rosado, Zach Maslany, Joao Miyao, Sergio DaSilva, Rey Deleon. Limited tickets still available at RISEInvitational.com.
PVZ plans to test free agency after final fight on contract
“I am, yeah. You know, it’s more for me, I want to prove my worth. And obviously, with my arm injuries I’ve had three surgeries in a row now. Even though I’m so popular, I guess... I’ve been doing amazing things outside the UFC—Sports Illustrated, Dancing with the Stars, all these amazing things. I want to show, ‘Hey, I’m a huge player in this division. I’m a huge player in the UFC.’ And I think it’s going to take one more fight to do that. And more than anything, I’m just focused on getting back in the cage. I don’t want to put any pressure on myself, or any stress behind anything. I just want to fight.” PVZ is currently recovering from arm surgery, so no fights are scheduled. h/t BE • Watch Ariel Helwani's MMA Show
