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Combate announces five fights for San Antonio including 'Thunder Rosa' debut
Professional wrestling sensation Melissa “Thunder Rosa” Cervantes will make her MMA debut vs. Nadine “Too Much” Mandiau at strawweight • U.S. Airforce Staff Sergeant and MMA upstart Chris “Dirty Texas” Cortez will face Spain’s Oscar “Jacare” Suarez at a 130 catchweight • Plus Ray “The Judge” Rodriguez vs. Andy “Golden Boy” Perez at a 140 catchweight, bantamweights Justin “The Therapist” Governale vs. Peter Caballero, and featherweights Roy “The Red Rooster” Sarabia vs. Carlos Melara. Additional bouts for the TS-1 Promotions hosted, Combate Americas live television event in San Antonio will be announced soon.
Cage Warriors appoints Richard FitzGerald as new chairman
Richard FitzGerald, the Chief Executive of Racecourse Media Group, has joined the Board of Europe’s leading MMA promotion as Non-Executive Chairman. The highly-respected sports industry veteran FitzGerald worked for many years at IMG and was CEO at Aston Villa FC before taking on the CEO role at Racecourse Media Group back in 2008. Richard was one of a number of sports and media figures to invest in Cage Warriors, and is now stepping forward to help the management take the business to the next level: “Graham Boylan and Casimir Knight promised the investors to deliver a stable and credible MMA business in three years. They have certainly done that – and more. I’m delighted and excited to be asked to help them on the next stage of the journey.”
Conor McGregor to hold press conference in Moscow on Thursday
McGregor’s latest visit to Russia coincides with his recent announcement that his brand of Irish whiskey, Proper No. Twelve, is soon to be released to the Russian market. The press conference, which was revealed by Russia's largest news agency, Tass, comes in conjunction with Parimatch, a sports betting company of which McGregor is an ambassador. “McGregor will meet with reporters on October 24. This is the first such event involving McGregor in Russia,” the release stated, also going on to say that the Dubliner will provide an update as to his plans in Russia, his training regime and his current physical condition. “Perhaps he will make statements about his imminent return to the Octagon,” it continues. h/t The Mac Life
Wanderlei Silva’s son Thor to make Muay Thai debut in December
A longtime regular at NAGA grappling events, Thor Silva, 16, will make his amateur Muay Thai debut on 12/8 in Curitiba, Brazil, at Evolucao Thai leader Andre Dida's Money Belt: “I’m always training, and then one day I thought to myself, ‘Why am I training? Oh, I want to fight, I want to be like my father. My dad inspired me to fight. I’m good at countering, but I also want to attack. I want to mix both styles. If my opponent is attacking more, I’ll counter. But I also want to attack like my father does, to use him as inspiration when I’m fighting.” h/t MMA Fighting
10 Latest UFC Fights: Today's in bold
•Ji Yeon Kim vs. Sabina Mazo at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on 12/21 in Busan, South Korea
•Doo Ho Choi vs. Charles Jourdain at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on 12/21 in Busan, South Korea
•Chris Fishgold vs. Billy Quarantillo at UFC on ESPN 7 on 12/7 in Washington, D.C.
•Karol Rosa OUT with knee injury, replacement sought vs. Julia Avila at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on 10/26 in Kallang, Singapore
•Thiago Alves vs. Tim Means at UFC on ESPN 7 on 12/7 in Washington, D.C.
•Santiago Ponzinibbio OUT with staph infection vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 245 on 12/14 in Las Vegas, NV
•Thiago Alves vs Tim Means at UFC on ESPN 7 on 12/7 in Washington, DC
•Irene Aldana vs. Ketlen Vieira set for UFC 245 on 12/14 in Las Vegas, NV
•Enrique Barzola vs. Movsar Evloev at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on 10/26 in Kallang, Singapore
•Mike Davis IN vs. Thomas Gifford on 4 days notice at UFC on ESPN+ 19 on Sat in Tampa, FL
Yair Rodriguez praises Jeremy Stephens, asks for shot at Max Holloway's belt
"Despite all the bitterness that can become an experience, we always look for the positive side of things and improve as human beings. I had a pending account against a great rival, I knew it would be a hard test in my career but I feel grateful and blessed by God for the opportunity to win this victory. ... I go with everything and everything but I do not go alone. I HAVE A GREAT TEAM! My respects for this warrior who, despite all that happened before this fight at the end, showed respect and that this is only part of the business. I only seek to face the best of the best in the division and I hope that the UFC after 9 fights for them, within which 8 are victories, 7 bonuses for fight and performances of the night, give me the opportunity to fight soon for a world title." h/t Instagram
Jon Jones kicks Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold while they're down
This is the world's toughest blue belt
Man grapples 60 people in 60 mins on 60th bday, raises 62k
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard trains with Weili Zhang at Roufusport
Dana White is excited for 'The Future'
“She’s a gangster, this girl. I love everything about this girl. You should see the crazy texts she sends me all the time, including tonight. As soon as the fight was over she started texting me. She wants to fight everybody and she wants to do this and: ‘I told you! I told you I was gonna do this!’ ... She’s fun and it’s going to be fun for all of us and the fans to watch her grow over the next couple of years. ... I don’t know if I’d call her Ronda Rousey, but if you look at a young Ronda Rousey, she was arm-barring everybody. This girl put on a striking clinic ... I think Maycee is Maycee. She’s somebody completely different. But I love her intensity, I love her attitude I love that she wants to be a world champion before everybody else was. ... she speaks really well, she’s very smart and, yeah, I can’t say enough good things about her. She’s fun.” h/t MMA Junkie • Watch post-fight press conference
John McCarthy wants to see a point deduction for eye pokes
MMA refs are hesitant to take a point, as with just 3 rounds it's a huge penalty, as the Dean of MMA Referees John McCarthy acknowledges, but the eye poke problem is so major, he wants the deduction used uniformly: "Any time you take a point, it's kind of like in football. They do the Hail Mary pass and there's pass interference and the ball moves 80 yards down the field to the 1-yard line based upon the penalty. That's what taking a point in MMA basically is. You are influencing that fight a lot. Officials are always trying to be judicious when taking a point. ... It does not matter intent, it does not matter anything. Every time there's gonna be a point taken if the referee sees someone sticking a finger out and we have a thumb or a digit going into the eye socket. It's an automatic deduction -- you know it's gonna happen." h/t ESPN
Why Alex Davis appeals fights
When Edson Barboza lost to Paul Felder in Abu Dhabi by 27-30, 30-27, and 29-28, Barboza's manager, the highly-principled Alex Davis appealed. When Davis's Dhiego Lima won in Australia via split decision Luke Jumeau, Davis appealed to make the win unanimous. Davis appealed Alex Oliveira’s loss to Nicolas Dalby in Copenhagen. The odds of success are vanishingly slight, but Davis is undeterred: “I’ll appeal every time there’s a mistake, not because I think I’ll win, but because we have to fight it. A mistake happens, everyone forgets about it in three or four days, and life goes on. We can’t let that happen. The mistake in (Oliveira’s) fight cost him half of his purse. The mistake in Dhiego Lima’s fight almost cost that. I’ll complain every time something like this happens, and I think everyone should, too. If we don’t do this, no one else will. My fighters, their teams, and myself are the ones who lose with that. It’s a matter of principles.” h/t MMA Fighting
Mackenzie Dern reflects on no longer being undefeated
“You’re a bit worried when you’re undefeated - ‘is this opponent a good fight for me?’ - thinking about strategies and whatnot. And now, after you have your first loss, you just want to get in there and fight and take risks. A fight shows up and I’m training, let’s do it. I’ll fight on short notice. I feel like I can fight better now. I’m hungrier to fight all the time. I want to get in there and do my best and continue to evolve as an athlete and as a fighter. To always choose fights that your coaches think are good for you is good, but being a fighter that fights any type of opponent is tougher. That’s life. You have wins, you have losses, but the plan remains the same: climb the rankings and win the belt. Nothing has changed.” h/t MMA Fighting
WILD flying knee by Jonas Bilharinho at Future MMA 9 in Brazil
Napao beats Bigfoot at BKFC
Combate signs 3-year deal with Univision and Televisa
Combate Americas has reached a three-year partnership with Univision and Grupo Televisa worth an eight-figure sum. This is the first cross-border deal for combat sports, with Univision and Televisa set to deliver live fights via their recently relaunched TUDN sports brands in the U.S. and Mexico. While Combate fights have aired on Univision since 2018, the new deal dramatically expands the relationship. The agreement includes more than a dozen live events through the end of 2019 and 35 of them in 2020. CEO Campbell McLaren: “Not since I launched the UFC, have I done anything this big for the sport. This historic deal will bring MMA to a completely new audience and new generation of fans and accelerate our company mission to become the No. 2 sport globally with Hispanic fans.” h/t Deadline
DC: Dominick Reyes has the one key to give Jon Jones problems
“I think it’s a good matchup. Dominick Reyes has a good body. He showed he can stop takedowns. I think it will be a great fight between those two. I believe this kid is the real deal. He’s done everything right up to this point. I’m really impressed with Dominick Reyes. He’s healthy after that big fight and Jones just got through his most recent court problems or whatever it was – so why not let him fight? He has the one key thing that has proven to give Jones pause, and that’s size.” h/t MMA Junkie
