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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."
How Cowboy Cerrone wants to be remembered
Gordon Ryan: Gi not as exciting, ultimate goal is MMA
“Gi is just not as exciting for me. I don’t want to invest time into something that’s not as fun as MMA, which is my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal was always to be the best in MMA, not the best in grappling. I’m just gonna keep training in MMA. And whenever John [Danaher] thinks I’m ready to fight, I’m gonna have my first fight. He doesn’t want me to take my first match until I’m on Jon Jones’s level, he says. So hopefully it’ll just take me 10 years to actually have a debut. I’m terrible right now. I’m getting better, definitely. I think I can go in and beat low-level guys, for sure. … I feel like I can go out and beat mid-level guys. But I don’t want to beat mid-level guys. I want to beat like world-champion level athletes.” h/t MMA Fighting • Watch on The MMA Hour
Cage Warriors has three title fights in seven days
The main event at CW102 on March 2 at London’s Indigo at the O2 Arena will be Webb vs. Robertsen for the 185 belt. Webb is on a four-fight streak, all finishes; a title win in the capital could cement him as one of Cage Warriors’ next big UK stars. Norway’s Thomas 'Saint' Robertsen boasts a near-perfect record of 7-1 with 6 first-round finishes. With both men possessing elite-level finishing skills and a relentless determination to get their hands on the belt formerly held by now-UFC names Jack Marshman and Jack Hermansson, it’s all to fight for on March 2nd. That's 3 title fights going down in just 7 days between CW102 and CW103 - Cage Warriors' recently announced Søren Bak vs Dean Trueman for the featherweight title and Nicolas Dalby vs. Alex Lohore for the interim welterweight title for the Copenhagen show on March 9.
Cejudo: I'm the real champ champ, one of one
“He looks like Pee-wee Herman if you ask me. In the physique way, I really do feel like he looks like Pee-wee Herman. … He’s not looking so well. It looks like he needs a cup of water. He looks like a cross country runner. ... I know what it feels like to make that weight, any true flyweight knows exactly what it feels like to cut an extra 10 pounds. He’s going to feel it Saturday night, and I’m looking to expose him. ... A lot of people are talking about, ‘Oh, I’m the champ champ. I got two belts. Blah, blah, blah.’ I just want to let you guys know that T.J. is fighting the champ champ. He’s fighting the Olympic champ and the current UFC flyweight champ that beat the greatest fighter of all-time, and I’m the champ champ. Just FYI, I’m the true definition of champion. I’m the Olympic champ, UFC champ. I’m one of one. Nobody in the UFC could ever say that. Nobody in the history of the world could ever say that. I’m the true champ champ. I want you to put this title: ‘The real champ champ, Henry Cejudo, one of one.” h/t MMA Mania • Watch The MMA Hour
M-1 Global returns China for WKG & M-1 Challenge 100
M-1 Global will return to China on January 26, kicking off its 2019 season, as undefeated M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Roman Bogatov makes his first title defense against dangerous challenger Michel "Sassarito" Silva, in the celebrated WKG & M-1 Challenge 100 main event in Harbin. WKG & M-1 Challenge 100 will be live-streamed from China in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. WKG & M-1 Challenge 100 will also be is available on www.FITE.TV (preliminary card is free, $7.99 for the main card).
MyMMANews details bills unpaid to date by WBKFF
The cost of operating World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation and putting on the organization’s first card more than two months ago seems to grow with each passing week. The looming question, will the bills ever be paid? News continues to spread in regards to monies owed to both fighters and WBKFF staff. MyMMANews was recently notified that the host hotel received a bogus payment and now more than $70,000 in fees are owed to them. Read entire story...
