Sunday, January 31

UFC Officials Set November as Newest Target Date for New York Event

You have to hand it to the UFC: They refuse to give up on New York.

After yet another recent setback scuttled a planned UFC event in April, company officials have now established November as the newest date for the UFC's entrance into the Empire State.

To turn their dreams of seeing the Octagon in Madison Square Garden into reality, UFC leaders will need to solve a heretofore unsolvable obstacle: lifting the ban on professional MMA competition in New York, the only state where the sport remains illegal.

"We feel pretty confident that 2016 is the year. ...The next date we're targeting is November," said UFC public relations head Dave Sholler at a Saturday news conference following UFC on Fox 18, which happened across the river from Manhattan in Newark, New Jersey (h/t Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting). "We're committed to bringing the UFC to New York."

Madison Square Garden was the intended venue for the April event, but it ultimately failed to come to fruition when a federal judge recently denied the UFC's request for a preliminary injunction, which would have essentially granted the UFC an exception to the state's MMA ban.

All is not lost for the cause, however, as the injunction request was just one front in the UFC's increasingly complex effort to overcome deep-seated resistance in the New York House of Representatives and overturn the MMA ban.

In fact, although the effort has failed for years. There is reason for optimism, as new political allies, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, add new weight to the legalization push.

That may be why Sholler sounded an upbeat note for November when he spoke to reporters Saturday night.

"We're going to still work hard and get here in New York and Madison Square Garden, the Barclays Center [in Brooklyn], to the entire state," Sholler said. "It's absolutely, 100 percent a top priority for us."

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With Rematch, Aging Champs Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson Vie for Relevance

Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson are going to wage a rematch.

Though the UFC has made no official announcement, the two middleweights verbally agreed to the contest, according to recent reports from Brazilian website Combate and broadcaster Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (h/t Hunter Homistek of MMA Fighting). 

The two sides are reportedly targeting April 16 and UFC on Fox 19 for the fight.

If the match does come to pass, it will be as the two graying champions—combined age: 82—continue slides into mediocrity—or worse—that were already underway at their first meeting back in February 2013. (Machida won by a lackluster split decision.)

A rematch in 2016 could help determine whether either fighter has enough left to be considered relevant outside the novelty circuit. Since their first meeting, the two men are a combined 5-9 in the UFC, with neither appearing able to gather much in the way of competitive momentum.

Tweeted fan Gavin Brash, "Dan Henderson vs Lyoto Machida is a rematch absolutely nobody, not even in their cruellest idea of Hell, wants to see again."

The Machida and Henderson resumes are well known to fight fans. Karate prodigy Machida (22-7) is a former UFC light heavyweight champion. While Olympic wrestler Henderson (31-14) has never worn UFC gold, he can claim multiple middleweight and light heavyweight belts in venerated promotions like Pride and Strikeforce and is the UFC 17 tournament champion.

This fan also weighed in: "Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida are coming off KO losses their first meeting was extremely close I like that they're rematching at 185lbs!!"

The latter data point in particular helps illustrate Henderson's longevity. At 45 years old (eight years older than 37-year-old Machida), Henderson first competed in pro MMA in 1997. Though his staying power is admirable, Henderson is far slower and less dynamic than he was in his prime and has lost three of his last four. Henderson's saving grace is probably his powerful right hand, which knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds last June and accounts for Henderson's only victory in his past four contests.

Machida and his famously elusive style have lost a step as well. Never what you'd call a high-output fighter even in the best of times, Machida now has stretches during which he has trouble mounting any offense at all.

Granted, Machida's level of competition has been notably higher than Henderson's. Although like Henderson, he is 1-3 in his last four contests. Those defeats came against current champ Luke Rockhold, immediate past champ Chris Weidman and elite contender Yoel Romero. 

Machida is currently ranked No. 4 on the UFC's official middleweight rankings, while Henderson sits at No. 11. However, those rankings might speak more to the division's thinness than anything else.

With this in mind, Machida will likely be installed as an early favorite over Henderson if the bout is signed and announced as reported.

Henderson's living-legend status and formidable right hand have continuously earned him plum positions on UFC cards. But a bad or flat performance against Machida might finally burst that bubble and would certainly ignite yet another round of calls for Henderson's retirement.

A win over Machida, though, would give Henderson's career much-needed life, even if it wouldn't establish him as immediately relevant to the upper echelon of the division.

A Machida win, particularly if earned in impressive fashion, could give the Brazilian a substantial boost and might even see him vaulted back into title talk.

The contest will ultimately provide a new piece of evidence for both fighters' cases. The cases themselves, though, could vary widely.

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UFC on Fox 18 Results: Cloak or No Cloak, Rothwell Deserves Next HWT Title Shot

Not even the UFC’s new dress code could stop Ben Rothwell.

Rothwell said he was preparing to make his walk to the cage on Saturday for his co-main event bout against Josh Barnett at UFC on Fox 18 when company officials told him he had to lose his trademark druid cloak and assassin’s mask.

Obviously, this was a bummer for all involved.

No matter. On this night, it just so happened that Rothwell made a strong impression once he actually arrived in the Octagon.

Following a tepid first round between the two lumbering heavyweights, he used a series of strikes to force Barnett into an ill-advised takedown attempt against the fence midway through the second. As Barnett struggled for a single-leg, Rothwell secured his jiu-jitsu coach’s funky signature “gogo choke” and scored one of the more shocking submission wins in recent memory.

In so doing, he collected his fourth straight stoppage dating back to August 2013 and became the first MMA fighter ever to coax a tap-out from Barnett using a submission hold.

“I’m a man of my word,” Rothwell told MMA Fighting.com’s Ariel Helwani after the fight. “When I say that I can end anyone in any position, I mean it. ... I’m like a bear trap. You put your neck in there, you’re not getting it back.”

Despite the fact that his pre- and post-fight performances were more subdued than we’re used to seeing to from him, Rothwell may also have done a lot to clear up the current confusion around the heavyweight title scene.

As noted by FightMetric's Michael Carroll, the victory over Barnett gave him the second-longest active win streak in the weight class, behind only champion Fabricio Werdum's:

With a highlight-reel submission over one of the greatest grapplers in MMA history now on his record, it’s unclear what else Rothwell has to do to prove he deserves the next shot at the championship.

Still, we would’ve liked to see the cloak.

During his curious march to contender status, Rothwell has cast himself as the dark lord of the 265-pound division. With his hooded robe, foreboding entrance music and menacing laugh, he has finally managed to separate himself from the herd and become perhaps the fight company’s most unlikely fan favorite.

But either because of the UFC’s beleaguered exclusive uniform deal with Reebok or the bout’s prime-time slot on network television, executives allegedly put the kibosh on Rothwell’s evil-wizard routine this weekend.

“I’ve got to get a Reebok mask and a Reebok hoodie or something,” he said to Helwani. “They’ve got to let me do this. Maybe that’s what it was [causing the slow start]. Maybe in the first round I was like, ‘Man, they made me take my cloak off!’”

Here it is in all its glory, from simpler times:

Forcing Rothwell to ditch the theatrics was one thing. Continuing to deny the 34-year-old Wisconsinite’s claim to No. 1 contender status might prove to be a slightly more difficult magic trick.

It does not exactly qualify as breaking news that the UFC heavyweight title picture is a mess. Even before Cain Velasquez and then Werdum dropped out of the event formerly known as UFC 196 with injuries this month, there was a longstanding lack of clarity.

A gaggle of challengers that at one time or another has included Rothwell, Stipe Miocic, Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos have all been jockeying for position.

Unfortunately, owing to Velasquez’s perennially injured status, the title has been locked in a protracted series of delays and rematches.

In the interim, Arlovski and Dos Santos have fallen off the pace with losses, while Overeem has become a free agent. That pretty much makes the choice for next No. 1 contender unusually cut-and-dried at the moment.

Will it be Rothwell or Miocic?

The two were supposed to meet in a title eliminator in Dublin last October, but the fight was scrapped when Miocic pulled out with a back injury. Oddly, the 33-year-old Ohio native appeared to use the delay to his advantage, defeating Arlovski by first-round TKO earlier this month to make his own case as top contender.

Amid the chaos of UFC 196, Miocic was even briefly linked to a short-notice title shot before Werdum demurred. Conventional wisdom now says he’ll be the one waiting in the wings once Velasquez and Werdum finally settle their business.

But if that’s the case, what of Rothwell?

It’s pretty easy to make the case that he deserves the next championship opportunity more than anyone else in the Top 10. His win streak is longer than Miocic’s, his level of competition is comparable and—as Rothwell himself will point out—he’s not the one who pulled out of their fight with an injury.

Perhaps the only real argument against him at this point is his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone in the wake of a victory over Brandon Vera in 2013.

This week, Rothwell told Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter that his testosterone use stemmed from injuries suffered in a years-old car accident. At the time, the Wisconsin State Athletic Commission saw it fit to issue him only an “administrative warning,” though the UFC suspended him for nine months anyway.

As a result, Rothwell’s resume as a potential contender isn’t completely spotless.

Then again, in the heavyweight division, nothing is ever perfect.

We’re talking about a weight class where the consensus best fighter has had his career nearly completely derailed by injuries, where a high percentage of top contenders are pushing 40 and where at least four members of the current UFC Top 15 have had some documented dalliance with performance-enhancing drugs.

All things considered, Rothwell’s recent victories should rightly put enough distance between himself and that positive test to earn him a title shot—especially in this weight class.

After all, this victory over Barnett was as convincing a single-night resume-builder as a heavyweight can make in the UFC in 2016.

Even if it was disturbingly cloak-less.

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MMA Fighters' Lives Are Endangered When They Fall Through Faulty Cage Door

One would think that MMA is treacherous enough on its own. After all, fighters step into the cage with the intent of knocking out their opponents with punches, kicks, knees and elbows. The environment itself isn't supposed to be part of the danger...theoretically.

That's not how things shook out at Cage Titans 27 on Saturday, though, as debuting amateurs Marty Navis and James Collins crashed to the outside during a takedown attempt because of an unsecured door. Video of the scary scene was captured and posted to Instagram by UFC veteran Joe Lauzon (h/t MMA Fighting):

In the clip, one of the fighters attempts a driving double-leg takedown that lines up perfectly with the cage door. For some reason, however, the door swings open on impact, causing them to plunge down past the stairs. The bout was immediately ruled a no-contest. According to MMA Fighting, Collins was fine, but Navis suffered a rib injury and was taken to the hospital.

It isn't all that uncommon to see faulty cages result in abbreviated fights, but this is easily one of the scariest such incidents in memory.

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UFC on Fox 18 Results: 5 Burning Questions Heading into Fight Night 82

UFC on Fox 18 is in the books. The results are as follows:

UFC on Fox 18 Main Card 

  • Anthony Johnson def. Ryan Bader, knockout (Round 1, 1:26)
  • Ben Rothwell def. Josh Barnett, submission (Round 2, 3:48)
  • Jimmie Rivera def. Iuri Alcantara, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Bryan Barberena def. Sage Northcutt, submission (Round 2, 3:06)

Prelims on Fox Sports 1

  • Tarec Saffiedine def. Jake Ellenberger, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Rafael Natal def. Kevin Casey, TKO (Round 3, 3:37)
  • Wilson Reis def. Dustin Ortiz, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Alexander Yakovlev def. George Sullivan, knockout (Round 1, 3:59)
  • Alex Caceres def. Masio Fullen, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Prelims on UFC Fight Pass 

  • Randy Brown def. Matt Dwyer, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili, majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
  • Tony Martin def. Felipe Olivieri, submission (Round 3, 3:02)

Next up? UFC Fight Night 82 on Saturday.

Previously known as UFC 196, the pay-per-view card that was once headlined by the heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez has moved to Fox Sports 1 and now has welterweight contenders Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson at the helm. That's a strong main event for a TV card and when names like Roy Nelson, KJ Noons and Joseph Benavidez are added to that, it's easy to get excited about this free card.

So what questions demand answers on this card? Find out here!

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Fighters, Pundits React to Sage Northcutt's UFC on Fox 18 Loss

That burning heap over on the side of the hill? Yeah, that's the Sage Northcutt hype train. It got derailed in Hollywood fashion at UFC on Fox 18.

Northcutt is a 19-year-old super athlete and very good prospect for the UFC. They scooped him up and instantly put the marketing machine behind him. Anytime that happens, there can be backlash or ill feelings. And none of that is the fault of a 19-year-old prospect who only accepted what was offered to him.

What really caused the ruckus online was how Bryan Barberena defeated Northcutt.

Barberena was moving toward an arm-triangle choke, but he had not even passed over to the correct side to tighten it up before Northcutt was tapping out. Joe Rogan stated on the broadcast it was an early choke. It should be noted that Northcutt did not come from a grappling background. He is still learning and becoming a well-rounded fighter.

And Twitter reacted in all its glory to the result.

All was normal during the first round

And then it happened...

The Fighters (h/t MMA Supremacy for compiling a list of fighters' reactions)

The Pundits

And some words of encouragement.

Northcutt will undoubtedly learn from this experience, and he has all the physical abilities to make a serious run up the ranks as he matures physically, mentally and overall as a fighter. He has a lot to learn and a lot of time to accomplish all that he needs.

Now that he has lost, perhaps some pressure will be lifted as well and the UFC can pull the reins back a bit to allow him room to grow.

And when he returns, win or lose, perhaps Twitter won't react as harshly as it has following his first career loss.

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After Another Finish, Ben Rothwell Proves He Is a True Title Contender

No. 7-ranked heavyweight contender Ben Rothwell picked up his fourth consecutive victory in the division on Saturday night, and in the process, he became the first man to ever legitimately submit Josh Barnett in an MMA competition. Following UFC on Fox 18, the question is where does he stand in the title picture?

No. 1 contender and former champion Cain Velasquez was granted an immediate title rematch but bowed out again due to injury. No. 2-ranked Stipe Miocic stepped in, but then Werdum pulled out with an injury of his own.

The curious thing about Miocic's standing in the division as a top contender is that he has only put together back-to-back victories, and the quality of his opponents during his UFC tenure has not been head and shoulders above Rothwell's. Yet, he is next in line.

Then there is No. 3-ranked Alistair Overeem.

Rothwell knocked Overeem out in 2014. Since then, Overeem has put together three straight wins over impressive competition. But why is he so far ahead of Rothwell in the rankings when Rothwell has a head-to-head victory and a longer active win streak? Oh, and Rothwell has finished all four of his opponents during his streak.

The unassuming heavyweight is clearly not getting the respect he deserves, and he should make a lot of noise about his divisional standing to the UFC brass.

Given the mess that is the UFC heavyweight title picture, Rothwell will have to fight before another title tilt. Either Velasquez or Miocic will get the next bid. The UFC has shown its hand in that regard. Whoever gets left out is who Rothwell needs to pinpoint for his next opponent.

He has already proven he's able to beat Overeem, and that rematch makes little to no sense for the American. But a title eliminator with Velasquez or Miocic would be a worthy fight for a worthy contender. Rothwell has done everything that every other contender the UFC is eyeing for a shot at gold has, if not more. He should not accept any fight short of a title eliminator.

Rothwell knows where he stands, and he's familiar with the landscape of the division. He told Fox Sports that if the UFC goes with the formally proposed title rematch, that would leave him and Stipe available. And for a rematch of his own, he wouldn't mind avenging the loss to Velasquez. Andrei Arlovski is another previous loss he would like to get back, and “The Pitbull” is currently ahead of him in the rankings as well.

That simply would not be the most prudent fight following Arlovski's recent loss to Miocic.

Rothwell has a case to be in Miocic's current position or even to be the next title challenger, but the UFC does not seem to see it that way, despite his resume. After an impressive submission performance at UFC on Fox 18, Rothwell has to capitalize on the opportunity and only accept fights with title implications.

You only get what you take in this sport.

Make noise, Big Ben. Make noise. Force the UFC to notice your accomplishments and abilities. You are a contender. You've proved it in the cage.

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UFC on Fox 18 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from New Jersey

One of the great things about MMA is its athletic purity. Not to get all purple on you, but nothing else strips physical competition down to bare wood like fighting.

The same goes for the mind and spirit. If you're not properly prepared or girded, a fight will expose that posthaste.

All of these tenets were on full display Saturday in the main event of UFC on Fox 18, which went down from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Said main event featured a stylistic matchup as old as organized combat itself. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, the favorite, is a knockout artist, with 14 of his 20 professional wins arriving at the ends of his heavy fists and feet. He has also been dogged by a tendency throughout his career to tire and flag in later rounds.

As it happens, Ryan Bader, the underdog, was an All-American wrestler in college, more of a grinder who, the assumptions went, would try to control and outlast the dangerous striker on the mat. But a game plan is only as good as the person executing it, and Bader has historically struggled to perform in big fights, like this one.

The main event was only one of the 13 bouts on Saturday's docket. In the co-main event, bruising heavyweights Josh Barnett and Ben Rothwell met, and the meeting had implications for the top end of that division.

Oh, and there was that Sage Northcutt guy, too.

As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 18.

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Anthony Johnson Crushes Ryan Bader, States Claim for Second UFC Title Shot

Anthony Johnson might be the most terrifying three minutes in pro sports. The UFC light heavyweight slugger has made a career of quick and devastating knockouts—the kind that pull you out of your chair and make you bow your head in honor of the vanquished. He added another one of those to his ledger on Saturday night. The man called "Rumble" put an emphatic end to Ryan Bader's title hopes, finishing him in an 86-second, soul-crushing knockout.

The UFC on Fox main event win at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, puts Johnson firmly in line for a title shot against the winner of the expected rematch between current champ Daniel Cormier and the soon-to-be-returning Jon Jones, who never actually lost the belt but was stripped due to legal issues.

Johnson's win was impressive on its face, but even more so given the setting.

Bader came into the fight riding high on a five-fight win streak, including wins over former champion Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, but all of that positive momentum lasted precisely as long as the sportsmanlike tap of fists between opponents to start the bout. After that, it was all Johnson.

In the opening seconds, Bader, a former Arizona State University wrestling standout, immediately shot for a takedown, but Johnson stuffed the attempt and pivoted to Bader's back. Bader attempted a kimura from beneath Johnson, but Johnson was never in danger and ended up on top, in full mount. 

From there, he rained down a hail of thunderous strikes that put Bader out. It was quick. It was brutal. It was vintage Johnson.

It was the seventh time in his 17-fight UFC career that he knocked out an opponent in less than three minutes.

"I will be waiting for whoever has that belt," Johnson told Joe Rogan on the Fox broadcast following his dominant win. Twitter posts echoed Johnson's "dominance" factor in this fight:

Johnson, currently 20-5 and sitting at No. 2 in the UFC rankings, needed a showcase win to campaign for a second attempt at gold. He faced Daniel Cormier in May 2015, and after rocking Cormier early, he faded, ultimately losing by third-round submission.

He rebounded in September with a second-round knockout of Jimi Manuwa, but coming into this bout, UFC president Dana White was only willing to say Bader would earn a title opportunity by defeating Johnson. He never said Johnson was fighting for the same stakes, but after dispatching Bader, there are few other options for the UFC.

Cormier, who worked the fight in the Fox booth, said on the broadcast he expects to beat Jones and set up a rubber match between them, putting Johnson on the back burner in the process. However, most experts expect Jones to defeat Cormier once again, as he did at UFC 182 in January 2015. 

The past results tell a fair story of the division. Jones soundly defeated Cormier, who aside from one moment of danger, soundly defeated Johnson. That is fairly universally accepted as the division's hierarchy. However, Johnson's otherworldly power, particularly in the opening minutes of a fight, is one of the sport's premier weapons. According to MMAJunkie's stat wizard Mike Bohn, Johnson's 10th career UFC knockout tied him for third all time with Chuck Liddell, behind only Vitor Belfort (12) and Anderson Silva (11).

Amazingly, however, Johnson's power has followed him through three weight-class changes, from welterweight all the way up to light heavyweight. 

That means that no matter who he is facing, whether it is Jones or Cormier or anyone else, he always brings that element of sudden danger that must be respected—even feared. That also makes him an intriguing title challenger, if he indeed gets that second opportunity.

In the event's post-fight press conference, Johnson first said he would be willing to wait as long as the end of the year for a title shot, but later acknowledged he would probably take a fight in the interim, saying, "Yep, that's a paycheck."

As matchups go, a bout with Jones looms as the more intriguing of the two, only because Jones has never faced anyone with Johnson's power, with the possible exception of Belfort. 

"Jon and I will fight one day," Johnson said in the post-fight press conference. "We have mutual respect. We show each other respect. We show each other love. I was supposed to be the guy to knock him out. I think we definitely want to challenge each other and see what we're made of. We're just two alpha males like that; we're competitive."

That said, Johnson would likely be an underdog against either Jones or Cormier. His past issues with conditioning and submission defense will continue to follow him into big fights until he washes them away. On any given day, he can do that. Critics be damned, on any given day, an Anthony Johnson right hand can take him to the top spot in the world.

"People can say whatever they want to say," he said on the Fox broadcast. "I'm always going to train hard and do my best to the best of my ability. I'm just trying to have fun. I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody."

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