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UFC to return to Fortaleza, Brazil on 2/2
The UFC will hold a Fight Night event at the new 14,069 capacity Centro de Formacao Olímpica do Nordeste, Fortaleza, capital of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara. UFC Senior VP for International and Content David Shaw also said there would be a total of three fight cards in Brazil in 2019, one of them a PPV. The dates and locations of the other two events are TBA. H/T Combate
Namajunas on the best thing about being the title holder
UFC women's strawweight champ Rose Namajunas on being the title holder: “I don’t know if necessarily I get to enjoy the title so much as I get to enjoy thinking about somebody else other than Joanna for however long. I’m always enjoying the title as long as I’m blessed to have it in my possession. That’s going to be an everyday thing. But yeah, I’m really excited to look to keep developing my skills and get better as a martial artist in general, and I’m looking forward to a different storyline. Maybe one day me and Joanna’s storylines will meet up again, but it’s nice to not have to think about her for a second.” H/T UFC.com
UFC building on-site arena
The UFC is building a 60,000 ft sq production facility around an arena of up to 1,700 capacity, just east of their current facility. The site will be used for TUF and DWTNCS, with Dana saying: “You could do boxing in there, for sure. You could do kickboxing, jiu-jitsu tournaments, anything we’d want to do. We could even let other promoters do fights in there." Work began Friday, with completion anticipated by July 1. H/T Yahoo Sports
Khabib's dad invites Conor to Dagestan
Then UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor called Khabib Nurmagomedov's dad a coward, and much worse, but Notorious lost the belt, and now The Eagle's father Abdulmanap wants all to be forgiven, and has invited his Irish tormentor to a Sambo tournament in Dagestan in December: “Distinguished guests, I invite again to the tournament our close friend Oleg Taktarov and McGregor. ... I said that I forgive him, it’s important to be kind-hearted!” H/T Russia Today
USADA clears Mara Romero Borella to fight, despite Italian suspension over recreational drug charge
UFC women’s flyweight Mara Romero Borella reportedly was jailed years ago for her role in a recreational drug trafficking ring in Italy. She was suspended for 15 years by NADO, Italy's anti-doping agency, a signatory to the WADA code. When Borella continued to compete and train, she ended up with a 26-year suspension for something that has nothing to do with performance enhancement. Now USADA, also a WADA signatory, has decided rightly to ignore the dopey NOLA suspension: “we have determined and then subsequently informed the UFC that Maria Borella is eligible to compete in UFC events because the violation that resulted in her ban by the Italian national anti-doping agency is not a recognized offense under the UFC Anti-Doping Program.” H/T MMAjunkie
White plans to book Nate Diaz when 'he's dying to fight'
'Jacare' steps in for Rockhold vs. Weidman at UFC 230
UFC 230 has seen some quick switches. Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is injured and out of his fight vs. former middleweight champ Chris Weidman, and Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza has stepped in. Jacare had been scheduled to fight David Branch. Branch, a former two-division WSOF champ, will now fight Jared Cannonier. The event takes place on November 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Uriah Hall vs. Bevon Lewis at UFC 232 on 12/29
Middleweights Uriah Hall and Bevon Lewis will fight at UFC 232 onDecember 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Hall entered the UFC from TUF with whispers about being the next Anderson Silva. However, he has lost four of the last five, albeit against top competition. Lewis is undefeated, most recently winning twice on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Rockhold out of Weidman fight at UFC 230 due to leg injury
White: GSP needs to beat a contender before getting title shot vs. Nurmagomedov
Welterweight G.O.A.T. Georges St-Pierre moved up and beat then light heavyweight champ Michael Bisping, but immediately gave up the belt due to health issues associated with putting on weight. Now GSP says the fight he most wants is lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, so the negotiation is underway, and this is Dana White's opener: "How does Georges St-Pierre jump over all the guys fighting in that division to face Khabib? Just because all of a sudden he wants to come out and fight this guy -- he doesn't get to do that. If Georges St-Pierre is serious, listen, I'll give you a fight with one of these guys in the top five. If you win, you'll be in position for a title shot. We don't even know if Georges St-Pierre can make 155 pounds. You know what I mean?" H/T ESPN
UFC boss: Don't pay attention to Nurmagomedov vs. Mayweather talk
Floyd Mayweather is starting talk about a boxing match vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dana White says to ignore it. "Don't pay attention to it. First of all, the Mayweather team has not approached us at all. Khabib is under contract with the UFC; we haven't talked to anybody from the Mayweather team. Floyd is very good at getting his name back out there when he's ready to. ... I haven't even thought about a [McGregor] rematch. Obviously, I know Conor wants a rematch. We need to do what's right and what's fair. We'll see how it plays out. We literally haven't thought about it yet. ... As a fight fan, you've got to go with Tony. Tony had the belt, tweaked his knee, got stripped, this fight happens -- Tony never lost the belt in a fight. Neither did Conor, but Conor got the opportunity to actually fight. I think Tony deserves the next shot." H/T ESPN
ONE plans to scale to 104 events per year by 2021
ONE Championship owner Chatri Sityodtong hosted a media call Thursday night and offer an audacious prediction: "We’re throwing 30 events next year, which is a record high for us. Over the next three years, we plan to scale to 52 events and then eventually to 104 events. So, every Friday and Saturday across the entire continent of Asia - four billion people here. If you look at 2019, we have major, major footprints we are literally at the very initial phases of either entering or have just entered. It’s China, it’s Korea, Japan, and India. You’re going to see some noise over there in 2019. Each of these countries is massive in terms of the fanbase, but also in terms of just the economy.” H/T MMAjunkie
Adam Hunter's MMA Roasted does Saturday's PFL 10
DC: Why would I be afraid of Stipe Miocic?
Former UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic is stridently calling for a rematch vs. champ champ Daniel Cormier, who is fighting Derrick Lewis next. "I swear I’m not afraid of Stipe Miocic. Why would I be? It just did not make sense right now. Again, if it happens, it will happen. I don’t mind fighting him again. It’s not like it was the hardest fight. ... I think it’s crazy in the sense that he says ‘you won the first one, that will be the last one you ever win’. It’s not like he was smashing me. He says he was winning the fight. I was hitting him with some clean shots. It was an even round and he got knocked out. ... I do appreciate that he’s being vocal cause s*** man maybe if he had done that in the beginning, maybe we would have made some money. The pay-per-view didn’t do that well because we did not make money. Obviously, issues sell. Maybe he’s trying to stir the pot a little bit to get some interest in our fight.” H/T MMA Weekly
Dillashaw: I'm ruining Garbrandt's career, as promised
Most heat in MMA is manufactured. UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw vs. former champ Cody Garbrandt isn't. Garbrandt is down after T.J. dropped and stopped him twice, so Dillashaw is kicking him: “Hell yeah I’m cool with how it unfolded. It’s exactly as I said it was going to go down. I told you I was going to knock him out in the first round, I did. I said I’d ruin his career, I’m doing it. The guy is screwed at 135. ... I’m happy. It’s not only him, it’s the whole team. The whole team needed a f***ing ass-whooping. They talked all that crap, they want to accuse me of a bunch of bulls***. That’s the game. Karma’s a b****.” Dillashaw hopes he next drops to 125 to challenge flyweight champ Henry Cejudo. H/T MMAjunkie
Woodley, Cowboy, Anders, Florian to appear in MMA drama Embattled
Director Nick Sarkisov’s MMA drama “Embattled" is currently shooting in Alabama, and will feature appearances by Tyron Woodley, Donald Cerrone, Eryk Anders, and Kenny Florian. The film centers on a high school judo prodigy who steps into the MMA cage for a vicious battle of retribution against his father. “It’s been really important to me that the film feels as authentic as possible and that it respects the world of MMA – from the fight choreography to the commentary to capturing the intense feeling of being in the cage,” said Sarkisov. “These guys are the real deal, and incorporating them into the film is helping us achieve that.” H/T Variety
Vinny Magalhaes: $1 million is a big thing, but the PFL belt is bigger
Vinny Magalhaes earned the #1 seed in the PFL light heavyweight playoffs, winning both regular season fights via submission in a combined three minutes. He's in the finals on New Year's Eve, with $1 million on the line, and talked about it on MMAjunkie Radio: “I would be lying really badly if I said [$1 million] wasn’t a big thing – it is. But halfway through this whole thing, it was like, ‘It’s going to be really cool if I can go (to the finals) – and get five wins in a row within a six-month period. … If I win this whole thing, five wins in a row, have a title, then I’m going to realize with everything combined, it was great – but I have $1 million. I have the competition and drive going on again. I want to get the belt, and it’s been really motivating me more than the money. It’s the belt that I really want right now.” H/T MMAjunkie
Lewis: That punch was worth $1,000,000
Derrick Lewis was far behind Alexander Volkov on the judge's scorecards at UFC 229 earlier this month, until with one punch he made the judges irrelevant. Now he fights champ champ Daniel Cormier at UFC 230 on 11/3. So what was the punch worth? “It’s probably a million,” estimated Lewis. “Probably about a million. It’s probably more than I made this year already.” H/T MMA Fighting
Mom faces charges after using jiu-jitsu to get phone from knucklehead son
Tracy Shelley, a single mother described ny neighbors as "a very nice woman" is free on bond and facing child abuse charges after police say she used a choke to take away her son's cell phone. According to the police report, Shelley said she went to get his cellphone since he'd been using it for several hours. He refused to give it up. Shelley said she put him in a submission hold, a Jiu-Jitsu move with both her arms around his head and neck. He gave up the phone and she released the hold. Investigators said the boy claimed he never lost consciousness but had red marks on his neck. H/T CBS12 News
Shields vows Cooper Jr's overconfidence will be his downfall at PFL 10
Jake Shields lost to Ray 'Bradda' Cooper Jr. in the PFL regular season, but gets a rematch in the all-important welterweight playoffs, with $1 million at stake. Shield beat Bradda Cooper Sr, so the fight at PFL 10 is a generational rubber match on Saturday night. "It gives me a chance to get my revenge after going out there and getting embarrassed in the first match. ... With two fights in one night, you don’t want to go out there and take any big shots and have to do a second fight. It’s one of those fights that could go either way. He can hit fast and he’s got a lot of power but I can also take him down fast and submit him. So that’s obviously what I want to do. He’s overconfident. I plan on going out there and putting a beating on him. ... it’s going to be a wake up call for him." H/T MMA Weekly
Lewis warning: I'm serious, take me serious
Derrick Lewis spoke recently at a UFC 230 media event, ahead of his main event fight with champ champ Daniel Cormier: “I will be 100 percent going into this fight. I believe he’s thinking this is going to be an easy fight for himself. Go ahead and think that. It’s crazy I even made it this far without the training I put in before each and every fight. I don’t stay in the gym each day like my opponents. I spend probably 30 minutes [training], five minutes sitting, and five minutes on my phone posting memes and stuff. I go into every fight with a bad back and overweight and a damn-near diabetic. It doesn’t matter to me that he’s coming into a fight with just a bad hand. That’s good for him, then. ... If you don’t take me serious, it’s a mistake. I want him to take me serious, I don’t want no excuses or nothing like that. I can’t wait for that fight.” H/T MMAjunkie
UFC 231 card great, poster, not so much
Poirier avoids surgery on hip issue that caused cancelation of fight vs. Diaz
Wonderboy still wants Lawler
In August it was announced that former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler vs. multi-time title challenger Stephen Thompson was being targeted for January. Wonderboy still wants it: “It’s all up to him right now. We’re both coming off a knee injury. He also ended up tearing his MCL in his last fight with dos Anjos, but I think he’s back in the gym now training. I really want this fight, but to be honest with you the ball is now in his court. I tried poking at him a little via social media and we’ve been in contact with his management. It sounds like he wants to make it happen so we’re just kind of just waiting on him.” H/T MMAnytt
