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Manager refutes report that arrest warrant issued for Alex Oliveira
“The story being circulated on the media about the incident involving UFC athlete Alex Oliveira does not reflect the reality of the facts. The news that there is an arrest warrant issued for him is false. He will, along with with his layer, meet with the precinct chief in charge to give his side of what happened in a timely manner” h/t Facebook
UFC reportedly releases 4, including Elias Theodorou after a single loss
Why Valentina Shevchenko trains worldwide
The ethnic Russian 'Bullet' was born and raised in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, lives in Peru, has a Russian coach, and trained for her next fight vs. Jessica Eye at UFC 238 on 6/8, 2019 in Russia, Thailand, and at the UFC PI in Vegas, with a side trip home to meet Kyrgyz president Sooronbay Jeenbekov: "It’s our lifestyle. I know, even when I’m for a long time in one place I feel that I have to move somewhere, I have to get new energy, and of course to train in different training camps, for me it’s a good opportunity to train with different kind of opponent, different kind of technique, everything, because you never know who you’re going to fight next. You have to be ready for everything. This is what we’re doing, training with different sparring partners and that’s why I know what to expect from, like, anything, and from other side I really love to travel, and this every time gives me a lot of energy, and I just feel very fresh when I’m moving.” h/t MMA Junkie
Tank Abbott, 54, looks different after liver transplant
Joe Rogan: Kevin Lee needs Firas Zahabi
Kevin Lee won five in a row. Then coach Robert Follis died, and 'The Motown Phenom' is 1-3 since. Joe Rogan believes that's not a coincidence: “Kevin Lee needs a camp. ... There’s a defining moment in a fighter’s career, where they realize they need to make changes, they’re not doing things the way they should be doing them, and they need to make changes. He 100 percent can be champion. He’s just gotta make some changes – he needs a maestro, he needs a f@$%ing conductor. He needs a Greg Jackson or a Matt Hume, Firas Zahabi, Duke Roufus. ... I think Kevin Lee should go to Firas Zahabi. The reason why Firas Zahabi is, Kevin Lee’s skill set is very similar to Georges St-Pierre’s. Good striking, very athletic, great timing of takedowns, no one knows how to coach that better than Firas Zahabi. That’s what I think. It’s no disrespect to any small camps." h/t Low Kick MMA • Watch JRE clip
Bryan Caraway reportedly no longer with the UFC
S&C with Baby Slice and AJ McKee
Conor McGregor reportedly at odds with UFC over ESPN+ PPV deal
McGregor reportedly wants to return to the Octagon in late summer or early fall, and the UFC attempted to book him for PPVs on July 6 and July 27, and reserved Madison Square Garden for UFC 240 on the latter date, but no deal was made. A sticking point between the two sides has been the new PPV landscape after ESPN+ became the UFC's exclusive PPV provider in the USA. McGregor is the biggest PPV draw in MMA history, so he will be the most affected fighter on the roster since the new deal went into effect in April. h/t ESPN
What Tyron Woodley learned from Jon Jones
“I am best when I’m in chaos. And I had to come to grips with that. I heard Jon Jones say he didn’t train in between camps. I’m like, damn, I thought I was the only one. It was kind of my hidden secret. And if you notice, Jon - not to compare myself to Jon because, in my opinion, he may be the best MMA athlete we’ve ever seen - but Jon has had so much chaos in his life outside the Octagon, but he’s managed to hone in inside the Octagon. And I’ve found that, don’t run from it. Don’t hide from it. God built you a certain way. And I say this time and time again, the renaissance man was a man that did a lot of things good but did no things great. But that was his ass; that ain’t me. I won’t sit on gifts. I won’t sit on gifts that God gave me. Because if you sit on them, you bury them, they get taken away,(and) somebody else do it.” h/t MMA Mania • Listen to The Ariel Helwani MMA Show
Rogan: Northcutt accepting Alexandre fight was mismanagment
When Sage Northcutt was matched vs. Cosmo Alexandre, MMA fans saw an opponent near the end of his career, hadn't fought MMA since 2016, coming off a loss in his last kickboxing contest. What they missed was a striker who beat John Wayne Parr, twice; Joe Rogan thinks it was an error in judgment to take the fight: “Cosmo Alexandre is a world class Muay Thai fighter. He is world class as far as striking, it’s a completely different level, but I guess because it was an MMA fight he was willing to take it. They fought stand up and Sage took that karate stance and the dude circled off to his right and landed that f@$%ing right hand. It’s a terrible matchup, I don’t know why they agreed to let him fight that guy. It’s just not smart…Sage is good, he’s very good, but these kinds of losses are terrible for his future because they are mismanagement losses in my opinion.” h/t BJPenn.com • Watch JRE MMA podcast
Alexander Volkanovski: How I beat Jose Aldo
“I had him puzzled pretty much that whole fight. Going in we had a game plan, I stuck to it really well and that’s why you seen him sort of struggling with it. ... He’s a counter-striker, he loves to counter, he’s always based very heavily. He loves the leg kicks. Look, if you stand still in front of him, he’s going to fire them big leg kicks. I’m sure that was his game plan with me, to fire off the leg kicks, but I always had him adjusting so that’s why you’ve seen me with a lot of movements, a lot of fakes, a lot of feints. ... I actually was trying to draw him into pulling the trigger, I think he noticed that so that’s why he wasn’t pulling the trigger at all. ... If I throw a fake and then fire, which a lot of people do, obviously he’s very good at adjusting and countering and that’s why he lands a lot of these knees and he knows when to fire. If you throw a jab and follow up with something, you do that two or three times, he’s going to capitalize on it. Just changing the timing with things and momentum changes, there’s so many different things getting thrown at him and that’s what kept him puzzled. ... It was an honor to fight him, much respect, it was such a great honor." h/t MMA Fighting • Watch The MMA Hour
Call for PEI to establish an AC
According to Canada's Criminal Code, prizefighting {MMA, boxing, or any combat sport) is illegal unless it is sanctioned by an athletic commission set up under the authority of the province's legislature. John Morrison, director of sport, recreation and physical activity with P.E.I.'s Department of Health and Wellness, said there have been discussions over the years about setting up such an AC, "but up to this point in time there really hasn't been a decision to move forward in that direction." Paul Abel, owner of Wulfrun MMA in Charlottetown, notes hundreds of fans will travel out of province to watch local pro Morgan Rhynes fight: "We can hear our fans in the audience but it's different than say somebody who's fighting from New Brunswick who builds a local fan base. And this is a negative for our fighters, for sure. ... I think done properly and marketed properly and everything, I do think that it would be well-received. I'm amazed how many people cross that bridge to follow this sport and to follow their local fighters. It really is quite impressive." h/t CBC
Ken Shamrock wants Brock Lesnar in the UFC HoF
Valentina Shevchenko names her #1 handgun
Why Anthony Smith dislikes Luke Rockhold in reality
“The Conor thing, there’s either real beef, or he’s funny about it. It’s very clear that what Conor is doing is promotion. But Luke’s isn’t like that. He’s genuinely attacking me. There’s no promotion here, he’s just being an @$$#0!#. ... I wasn’t raised like that. You talk like that in Nebraska, you’re going to get dragged out by your ears and get the $#!@ beat out of you. ... You don’t get pay-per-view points. I don’t get PPV points. You’re not making any more money by being an @$$#0!#. So what are we doing here? ... I’m not a pretty boy like him. Nobody wants to take pictures with me in the club. I’ve got to work for a living, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m working. I’m not out here trash talking people for no reason. That’s why nobody likes him. Nobody in the UFC likes him. None of the staff likes him. None of the executives like him. None of the fighters like him. So he can sit pretty and eat his meals on TMZ and talk all the $#!@ all he wants. But at the end of the day, no one likes you, and sometimes that’s what matters most.” h/t MMA Junkie
Edilceu Alves oblique kicks Wellington Kakaroto at Future FC 5 in Sao Paulo
Why Ronys Torres just parted ways with PFL
The Brazilian lightweight was not licensed for a fight vs. Ramsey Nijem on Thursday, reportedly over eye surgery he had over a decade ago. However, as PFL does many events in NY, he came to an agreement with the promotion for a release. “It’s upsetting because I’ve trained hard and cut weight for this fight. It was a dream for me to be part of this show. They have great athletes, the level is high, but I knew I could get to the finals, but I always leave my life in God’s hands. The good thing is that the doors are open for me at PFL. I spoke with Ray Sefo, told him that I wanted to continue on the league, and he told me to take care of my eye and come back in 2020, that he wants to see me fighting there next year because he likes my style, he likes that I always going for the finish.” h/t MMA Fighting
Dakota Bush drop kick at LFA 67
Justin Willis disputes reports he has been released from UFC
A UFC official confirmed that ‘Big Pretty’ had been released; the cause is believed to be turning down a fight vs. Walt Harris at UFC on ESPN 4. However, Willis notes he's 4-1 in the league, so a release “doesn’t make sense. ... It was a big miscommunication and a technical difficulty between me and the UFC. I’ll put it like that. But everything has been worked out, and you will have a fight in the near future. ... If it was August, or he had a bigger name … just because you want something doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. I’m after people with bigger names. ... My goal is to be quicker, faster and prettier. When I come back, I’m coming back with a vengeance. Picasso didn’t rush his art, and I’m not going to let these f@%$ing boys rush ‘Big Pretty’s’ art. And [Harris, Tai Tuivasa, and Curtis Blaydes] can kiss my black ass.” h/t MMA Junkie
JUDGEMENT DAY: The story of the UFC getting run out of town
Alexander Volkanovski reveals he could have lost his leg
"We were pretty lucky the plane stopped in Chile rather than if I'd got on the next flight. Within a couple of hours I would have had to tell them we've got to turn this flight around, and by then the damage would have been done and I could have lost the leg, lose your life. That stuff's very, very serious, but it didn't get to that stage. We got it just at the right time; we left it too long where it rocked me so much, but we got in just in time for it not to do serious damage." h/t ESPN
