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UFC 171’s Woodley sounds off on title shots, Condit, Diaz, MacDonald, avocados, Kim
Tyron Woodley has a strong opinion about nearly everything going on in the UFC’s welterweight division.
The most blunt of those opinions starts with his UFC 171 opponent, Carlos Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC), whom Woodley (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) views as a “point fighter.”
Normally that term is meant as an insult to fighters who try to edge out rounds for a decision victory. But in this case, Woodley said he means it with no malice – and that it’s simply how he defines Condit’s style.
“He point fights,” Woodley told MMAjunkie. “He moves around. He sticks and moves. He doesn’t just come out there and start banging on people. That’s not his style. He comes out there, and he overwhelms you with volume. He point fights.”
Condit currently owns a career finishing rate north of 90 percent and has a reputation as one of the most violent competitors in the sport. Hence his nickname “The Natural Born Killer.”
Woodley is aware of that fact, but he feels Condit is more about being defensive and waiting for an opportunity for a finish rather than pressing the issue on the offensive end.
“Point fighting is point fighting,” Woodley said. “When you have enough points and you overwhelm guys, you do have the ability to finish toward the end of the fight. He makes you chase him, and when he has enough points, he’ll finish you.”
Regardless of how he views Condit’s style, Woodley still has to find a way to beat the former interim titleholder when they clash at Dallas’ American Airlines Center on March 15 in UFC 171’s pay-per-view co-headliner. A title shot could be on the line and set up a fight with either Johny Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) or Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who headline UFC 171 and fight for a welterweight title recently vacated by Georges St-Pierre.
Although the division has many potential contenders, Woodley thinks no one is more worthy of the next title shot. He said that includes vets Rory MacDonald (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Dong Hyun Kim (19-2-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC), both of whom are coming off impressive performances.
“Rory MacDonald should go and cut another avocado because I don’t think he deserves a world title fight,” Woodley said. “He didn’t want to fight the champion when he was there. He was a top three welterweight, and he refused to fight for a title, but now all of the sudden GSP hangs it up for a little bit, and he wants to jump in after a victory over Demian Maia? Not sure about that.
“Dong Hyun Kim, he’s a great fighter. He was losing that fight to Erick Silva, and he got reckless, and he caught him and knocked him out. [John] Hathaway is not a top 10 welterweight.
“Maybe Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald should fight each other.”
While Woodley agrees both fighters at least belong in the title discussion, he feels very differently about another welterweight who also wants a title shot: Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who recently said he should be the one to fight the Hendricks-Lawler winner.
Woodley finds that idea laughable, though mostly because Diaz was the one originally offered the Condit fight at UFC 171 but turned it down.
“He hasn’t won a fight since 2011,” Woodley said of Diaz. “He lost to Carlos Condit, he lost to GSP, and he hasn’t beat a wrestler in his life. So you’re going to come out retirement whenever you feel like it and just jump right into a title shot? I don’t buy it.”
With UFC officials yet to formally announce who will be next to challenge for the welterweight title after UFC 171, there’s no doubt Woodley’s fight with Condit will be under the microscope. Woodley said everyone else can plead for a shot, but in the end, he’s the one facing the second-ranked fighter in the division and hopes he’ll be rewarded with a crack at No. 1 should he emerge victorious.
“For those guys coming off big wins, that’s great, but who stepped up and fought Carlos Condit when he needed an opponent?” Woodley said. “He’s the No. 2 in the world. Everyone was sitting around knowing Condit didn’t have a fight, and I was the only one who stepped up.”
Tyron Woodley has a strong opinion about nearly everything going on in the UFC’s welterweight division.
The most blunt of those opinions starts with his UFC 171 opponent, Carlos Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC), whom Woodley (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) views as a “point fighter.”
Normally that term is meant as an insult to fighters who try to edge out rounds for a decision victory. But in this case, Woodley said he means it with no malice – and that it’s simply how he defines Condit’s style.
“He point fights,” Woodley told MMAjunkie. “He moves around. He sticks and moves. He doesn’t just come out there and start banging on people. That’s not his style. He comes out there, and he overwhelms you with volume. He point fights.”
Condit currently owns a career finishing rate north of 90 percent and has a reputation as one of the most violent competitors in the sport. Hence his nickname “The Natural Born Killer.”
Woodley is aware of that fact, but he feels Condit is more about being defensive and waiting for an opportunity for a finish rather than pressing the issue on the offensive end.
“Point fighting is point fighting,” Woodley said. “When you have enough points and you overwhelm guys, you do have the ability to finish toward the end of the fight. He makes you chase him, and when he has enough points, he’ll finish you.”
Regardless of how he views Condit’s style, Woodley still has to find a way to beat the former interim titleholder when they clash at Dallas’ American Airlines Center on March 15 in UFC 171’s pay-per-view co-headliner. A title shot could be on the line and set up a fight with either Johny Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) or Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who headline UFC 171 and fight for a welterweight title recently vacated by Georges St-Pierre.
Although the division has many potential contenders, Woodley thinks no one is more worthy of the next title shot. He said that includes vets Rory MacDonald (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Dong Hyun Kim (19-2-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC), both of whom are coming off impressive performances.
“Rory MacDonald should go and cut another avocado because I don’t think he deserves a world title fight,” Woodley said. “He didn’t want to fight the champion when he was there. He was a top three welterweight, and he refused to fight for a title, but now all of the sudden GSP hangs it up for a little bit, and he wants to jump in after a victory over Demian Maia? Not sure about that.
“Dong Hyun Kim, he’s a great fighter. He was losing that fight to Erick Silva, and he got reckless, and he caught him and knocked him out. [John] Hathaway is not a top 10 welterweight.
“Maybe Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald should fight each other.”
While Woodley agrees both fighters at least belong in the title discussion, he feels very differently about another welterweight who also wants a title shot: Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who recently said he should be the one to fight the Hendricks-Lawler winner.
Woodley finds that idea laughable, though mostly because Diaz was the one originally offered the Condit fight at UFC 171 but turned it down.
“He hasn’t won a fight since 2011,” Woodley said of Diaz. “He lost to Carlos Condit, he lost to GSP, and he hasn’t beat a wrestler in his life. So you’re going to come out retirement whenever you feel like it and just jump right into a title shot? I don’t buy it.”
With UFC officials yet to formally announce who will be next to challenge for the welterweight title after UFC 171, there’s no doubt Woodley’s fight with Condit will be under the microscope. Woodley said everyone else can plead for a shot, but in the end, he’s the one facing the second-ranked fighter in the division and hopes he’ll be rewarded with a crack at No. 1 should he emerge victorious.
“For those guys coming off big wins, that’s great, but who stepped up and fought Carlos Condit when he needed an opponent?” Woodley said. “He’s the No. 2 in the world. Everyone was sitting around knowing Condit didn’t have a fight, and I was the only one who stepped up.”
Chael Sonnen: With TRT going away, 'I may have to stop the sport'
With the apparent elimination of therapeutic-use exemptions for testosterone-replacement therapy in the sport of MMA on the horizon, Chael Sonnen admits his fighting days may be over.
On Wednesday’s new edition of “UFC Tonight,” Sonnen said if he can’t find a suitable way to help elevate his lagging testosterone to a normal level, he may not be able to continue competing in the octagon.
“If it doesn’t work, I may have to stop the sport,” Sonnen said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Sonnen’s comments were part of a discussion on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s recent decision to ban TRT in the state. Afterward, the UFC followed suit and said it will take a similar position on all the international events it oversees when a governing body isn’t present.
Sonnen, who has previously been granted a TUE for his own testosterone use, said he and is team are still educating themselves on the new process and any potential alternatives. Until one can be found, Sonnen said his days in the cage could be quickly drawing to a close.
“The problem is, it’s a little bit early,” Sonnen said. “I don’t know myself. I know I have to sit down with my team, not only my management, and understand the rules, but we also have to then talk with doctors and figure out your health. An athlete should not have to choose between sport or health. It should be a combination of both.”
UFC officials have said they will recommend other state athletic commissions follow Nevada’s lead, though monitored TRT currently remains legal in numerous jurisdictions.
With the apparent elimination of therapeutic-use exemptions for testosterone-replacement therapy in the sport of MMA on the horizon, Chael Sonnen admits his fighting days may be over.
On Wednesday’s new edition of “UFC Tonight,” Sonnen said if he can’t find a suitable way to help elevate his lagging testosterone to a normal level, he may not be able to continue competing in the octagon.
“If it doesn’t work, I may have to stop the sport,” Sonnen said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Sonnen’s comments were part of a discussion on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s recent decision to ban TRT in the state. Afterward, the UFC followed suit and said it will take a similar position on all the international events it oversees when a governing body isn’t present.
Sonnen, who has previously been granted a TUE for his own testosterone use, said he and is team are still educating themselves on the new process and any potential alternatives. Until one can be found, Sonnen said his days in the cage could be quickly drawing to a close.
“The problem is, it’s a little bit early,” Sonnen said. “I don’t know myself. I know I have to sit down with my team, not only my management, and understand the rules, but we also have to then talk with doctors and figure out your health. An athlete should not have to choose between sport or health. It should be a combination of both.”
UFC officials have said they will recommend other state athletic commissions follow Nevada’s lead, though monitored TRT currently remains legal in numerous jurisdictions.
Hendricks sees Condit-Woodley winner up next, says Nick Diaz doesn't yet deserve titl
Johny Hendricks will soon get a chance to win the UFC welterweight belt that eluded him this past November when he lost a controversial split decision to now-former champ Georges St-Pierre.
If he’s successful, he already has an idea of who’s next as No. 1 contender – and who isn’t.
Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who headlines next Saturday’s UFC 171 against Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a bout for the title left vacant by St-Pierre, believes the winner of a fight between Carlos Condit and Tyron Woodley will get a title shot. The welterweight fight also serves on the March 15 pay-per-view card at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.
“If I win this fight, it’s going to be between one of them two,” he today told MMAjunkie.
Hendricks already has history with both fighters. The two fought one year ago at UFC 158 as he sought the No. 1 contender spot to then-champ St-Pierre’s title. In a hotly contested fight, he outpointed the onetime title challenger and former WEC champ and secured a shot at the belt.
In 2005, Hendricks handed Woodley a defeat not in the cage, but on the wrestling mats. While wrestling for Oklahoma State University, he bested the University of Missouri standout in the finals of the NCAA’s Big 12 championships by a score of 4-1.
“Carlos is always a tough opponent; same thing with Woodley,” Hendricks said. “Those two, they’re fighting the same night. But a fight’s a fight. You never know what’s going to happen. You just have to say whoever wants to come after you, let them come at you, and you move forward from that.”
Hendricks also praised welterweights Rory MacDonald and Dong Hyun Kim, who both have been mentioned as possible contenders after recent wins, but said Condit and Woodley are closest to a title shot on the welterweight ladder.
Not as close, he said, is onetime title challenger Nick Diaz, who made headlines this past month by saying he would come out of retirement for a shot at the belt.
Diaz said despite his absence, he remains the UFC’s only draw and deserves a title shot if the promotion can make it worth his while.
Asked whether he would fight Diaz in his first defense of the welterweight belt, Hendricks initially joked, “What do they say, no comment?”
Then, he added: “Realistically, I think he needs to fight a couple of times. What is he, 0-2 in his last few fights? It is what it is, but if the UFC said, ‘Hey Johny, you’ve got to fight him,’ well guess what? I’m not going to say no.”
Hendricks agreed that a fight with Diaz would generate interest, though from a sporting perspective, the brash fighter lacks the credentials to drop straight into another huge opportunity after falling short to St-Pierre in his most recent fight and to Condit in his previous bout.
Diaz is reportedly set to serve as an assistant coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 20,” which starts filming in May.
“His stock is always high,” Hendricks said of the retired fighter. “He’s a great fighter, but if he beats up one or two people, then yeah. He’s earned it.”
Firstly, though, Hendricks needs to earn the UFC belt. Before that, he lacks the credentials to decide who’s next.
Johny Hendricks will soon get a chance to win the UFC welterweight belt that eluded him this past November when he lost a controversial split decision to now-former champ Georges St-Pierre.
If he’s successful, he already has an idea of who’s next as No. 1 contender – and who isn’t.
Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who headlines next Saturday’s UFC 171 against Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a bout for the title left vacant by St-Pierre, believes the winner of a fight between Carlos Condit and Tyron Woodley will get a title shot. The welterweight fight also serves on the March 15 pay-per-view card at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.
“If I win this fight, it’s going to be between one of them two,” he today told MMAjunkie.
Hendricks already has history with both fighters. The two fought one year ago at UFC 158 as he sought the No. 1 contender spot to then-champ St-Pierre’s title. In a hotly contested fight, he outpointed the onetime title challenger and former WEC champ and secured a shot at the belt.
In 2005, Hendricks handed Woodley a defeat not in the cage, but on the wrestling mats. While wrestling for Oklahoma State University, he bested the University of Missouri standout in the finals of the NCAA’s Big 12 championships by a score of 4-1.
“Carlos is always a tough opponent; same thing with Woodley,” Hendricks said. “Those two, they’re fighting the same night. But a fight’s a fight. You never know what’s going to happen. You just have to say whoever wants to come after you, let them come at you, and you move forward from that.”
Hendricks also praised welterweights Rory MacDonald and Dong Hyun Kim, who both have been mentioned as possible contenders after recent wins, but said Condit and Woodley are closest to a title shot on the welterweight ladder.
Not as close, he said, is onetime title challenger Nick Diaz, who made headlines this past month by saying he would come out of retirement for a shot at the belt.
Diaz said despite his absence, he remains the UFC’s only draw and deserves a title shot if the promotion can make it worth his while.
Asked whether he would fight Diaz in his first defense of the welterweight belt, Hendricks initially joked, “What do they say, no comment?”
Then, he added: “Realistically, I think he needs to fight a couple of times. What is he, 0-2 in his last few fights? It is what it is, but if the UFC said, ‘Hey Johny, you’ve got to fight him,’ well guess what? I’m not going to say no.”
Hendricks agreed that a fight with Diaz would generate interest, though from a sporting perspective, the brash fighter lacks the credentials to drop straight into another huge opportunity after falling short to St-Pierre in his most recent fight and to Condit in his previous bout.
Diaz is reportedly set to serve as an assistant coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 20,” which starts filming in May.
“His stock is always high,” Hendricks said of the retired fighter. “He’s a great fighter, but if he beats up one or two people, then yeah. He’s earned it.”
Firstly, though, Hendricks needs to earn the UFC belt. Before that, he lacks the credentials to decide who’s next.
lol so they put sonnen silva TUF show on fight pass thats gay also they have two events on may 31 TUF finale and ufc fight night 41 this fight pass stuff is gay as fuck
Props:
Foul Mouth and Foul Mouth
Putting on way too many events. Its watering down the cards, getting spread to thin
Props:
Foul Mouth and Foul Mouth
Reminder: Saturday's UFC 171 prelims move to FOX Sports 2
As a reminder, a four-bout preliminary card for Saturday’s UFC 171 event will air on FOX Sports 2 rather than FOX Sports 1.
The temporary move was needed to accommodate FOX Sports 1′s broadcast of the Big East men’s college basketball semifinals. The UFC’s prelims will return to FOX Sports 1 for future events, barring other scheduling conflicts.
UFC 171 takes place at Dallas’ American Airlines Center, and the main card airs on pay-per-view. In addition to FOX Sports 2, four other prelims stream on UFC Fight Pass.
The FOX Sports 2 prelims feature four bouts, including welterweights Kelvin Gastelum (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Rick Story (16-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC), female bantamweights Jessica Andrade (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Raquel Pennington (4-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC), featherweights Dennis Bermudez (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) vs. Jimy Hettes (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and welterweights Alex Garcia (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Sean Spencer (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
The full UFC 171 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
•Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler – for vacant welterweight title
•Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley
•Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
•Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
•Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince St. Preux
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 2, 8 p.m. ET)
•Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
•Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington
•Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes
•Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)
•Renee Forte vs. Frank Trevino
•Will Campuzano vs. Justin Scoggins
•Robert McDaniel vs. Sean Strickland
•Daniel Pineda vs. Robert Whiteford
As a reminder, a four-bout preliminary card for Saturday’s UFC 171 event will air on FOX Sports 2 rather than FOX Sports 1.
The temporary move was needed to accommodate FOX Sports 1′s broadcast of the Big East men’s college basketball semifinals. The UFC’s prelims will return to FOX Sports 1 for future events, barring other scheduling conflicts.
UFC 171 takes place at Dallas’ American Airlines Center, and the main card airs on pay-per-view. In addition to FOX Sports 2, four other prelims stream on UFC Fight Pass.
The FOX Sports 2 prelims feature four bouts, including welterweights Kelvin Gastelum (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Rick Story (16-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC), female bantamweights Jessica Andrade (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Raquel Pennington (4-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC), featherweights Dennis Bermudez (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) vs. Jimy Hettes (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and welterweights Alex Garcia (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Sean Spencer (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
The full UFC 171 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
•Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler – for vacant welterweight title
•Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley
•Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
•Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
•Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince St. Preux
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 2, 8 p.m. ET)
•Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
•Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington
•Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes
•Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)
•Renee Forte vs. Frank Trevino
•Will Campuzano vs. Justin Scoggins
•Robert McDaniel vs. Sean Strickland
•Daniel Pineda vs. Robert Whiteford
'Rampage' vs. Lawal joins 'Bellator 120: Alvarez vs. Chandler III' PPV in Memphis area
Bellator MMA’s debut event on pay-per-view has a new addition, and the event will take place near one of the fighter’s hometowns.
Officials today announced that Memphis-born Quinton Jackson (34-11 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will met Muhammed Lawal (12-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in the Season 10 light-heavyweight tournament final at the May 17 event.
The show, which also features a previously announced headliner and trilogy bout between lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, takes place at Landers Center in Southaven, Miss., just outside Memphis. The PPV main card is expected to follow prelims on Spike TV.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday.
“I’ve been wanting to come back to Memphis for the last decade, and I’m finally getting that chance to fight in one of the biggest fights of my career for Bellator,” Jackson stated. “After being part of the Bellator family for a while now, I feel like the old ‘Rampage,’ and that’s not a good thing for Mo. I’m back, I’m a monster, and I’m looking to put on another entertaining fight for all my fans on May 17.”
Jackson and Lawal, longtime rivals (though part real and part manufactured), recently took part in the Season 10 tourney’s opening round. The field included just four competitors, and Jackson knocked out former champ Christian M’Pumbu (watch the Bellator 110 video highlights) while Lawal scored a shutout decision win over Mikhail Zayats.
Jackson, a former UFC champion who’s now 2-0 since a move to Bellator, is ranked No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings. Lawal, an ex-Strikeforce titleholder who’s an honorable mention in the rankings, moved to 3-1 in his past four fights with the Zayats win.
“We now have two fights on this card that are absolute fireworks,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. “Like I said before, we have Alvarez and Chandler headlining a card that will end the best trilogy ever in MMA, and now we’ve added two more superstars to the mix with ‘Rampage’ and ‘King Mo.’ May 17 is going to be an absolutely huge night for Bellator, live on pay-per-view.”
Bellator MMA’s debut event on pay-per-view has a new addition, and the event will take place near one of the fighter’s hometowns.
Officials today announced that Memphis-born Quinton Jackson (34-11 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will met Muhammed Lawal (12-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in the Season 10 light-heavyweight tournament final at the May 17 event.
The show, which also features a previously announced headliner and trilogy bout between lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, takes place at Landers Center in Southaven, Miss., just outside Memphis. The PPV main card is expected to follow prelims on Spike TV.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday.
“I’ve been wanting to come back to Memphis for the last decade, and I’m finally getting that chance to fight in one of the biggest fights of my career for Bellator,” Jackson stated. “After being part of the Bellator family for a while now, I feel like the old ‘Rampage,’ and that’s not a good thing for Mo. I’m back, I’m a monster, and I’m looking to put on another entertaining fight for all my fans on May 17.”
Jackson and Lawal, longtime rivals (though part real and part manufactured), recently took part in the Season 10 tourney’s opening round. The field included just four competitors, and Jackson knocked out former champ Christian M’Pumbu (watch the Bellator 110 video highlights) while Lawal scored a shutout decision win over Mikhail Zayats.
Jackson, a former UFC champion who’s now 2-0 since a move to Bellator, is ranked No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings. Lawal, an ex-Strikeforce titleholder who’s an honorable mention in the rankings, moved to 3-1 in his past four fights with the Zayats win.
“We now have two fights on this card that are absolute fireworks,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. “Like I said before, we have Alvarez and Chandler headlining a card that will end the best trilogy ever in MMA, and now we’ve added two more superstars to the mix with ‘Rampage’ and ‘King Mo.’ May 17 is going to be an absolutely huge night for Bellator, live on pay-per-view.”
Anti-aging doctor linked to Vitor Belfort: TRT ban pushes fighters to black market
By Steven Marrocco
Dr. John Pierce, a Las Vegas-based anti-aging doctor, has heard from several fighters who say they’d rather go to the black market for performance-enhancing drugs than get a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) for testosterone.
But now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has closed the TUE program for testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), he believes everyone will go the illicit route.
“What they’ve in essence done is taken people that were forthright about their usage of testosterone for a medical purpose and punished them for it,” Pierce told MMAjunkie. “That makes no sense because, bottom line, it’s going to happen.
“Instead of having a physician involved in the care of a patient – monitoring their levels, where you’re getting a test all the time, much more so than you would a normal patient because of the nature of their work – you’re going to get people doing it underground, using black market steroids, not bio-identical hormones that have not been tested. They could potentially get themselves sick injecting themselves with whatever.
“And then, at that juncture, they’re cheating because they’re not being forthright about it.”
Among thousands seeking a license to fight in the state, the NSAC has issued a total of six exemptions to MMA fighters over the past seven years until its decision this past month to ban them outright. The regulatory body also turned away several fighters who sought a TUE as the exemption process became more public – and more controversial. There was, however, widespread belief in the MMA community that prior to the ban, the NSAC was helping to legitimize the use of a performance-enhancing drug.
NSAC’s TRT ban sets off dominoes
NSAC representatives repeatedly defended the practice of granting exemptions in the past, citing safeguards to avoid abuse, but they starkly reversed course in the recent meeting that produced the ban.
Asked whether the NSAC’s now-shuttered exemption process had steered athletes from the black market to above-board medical professionals, Pierce, an emergency medicine doctor who heads Las Vegas’ Ageless Forever clinic, initially said, “It had the potential to do that, and in my experience, it did do that.” He then clarified that he hadn’t explicitly treated any fighters in such a situation, but he had spoken casually about it among Las Vegas’ large fight community.
“I actually have had people tell me that doing it the illicit way was much easier,” he said. “They wouldn’t even consider doing it the legal way, because it would be much easier to do it the illicit way. They wouldn’t be under as much scrutiny.”
In the wake of the NSAC’s bold move, prominent athletic commissions have pushed to decide where they stand on TRT. California’s athletic commission recently placed a temporary ban on exemptions with the aim of revising their policy to make exemptions more difficult to acquire. The Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission, the country’s regulatory body and whose medical director has worked as an advisor to the UFC, said it will shut down the process after TRT user Dan Henderson fights Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 38 on March 23. The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and Association of Boxing Commissions have expressed confidence that the existing protocols are sound.
Industry-leading MMA promotions UFC and Bellator have backed the ban. UFC President Dana White openly celebrated the decision, saying that TRT “needed to go away.” Meanwhile, for at least two fighters, including one linked to Pierce, the decision has presented a crossroad as they decide whether they’ll continue their careers without the controversial treatment, and how.
The focus on Belfort
Shortly after Nevada moved against TRT, another public user of the treatment, Vitor Belfort (24-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC), was removed from a UFC 173 title fight against middleweight champion Chris Weidman (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and replaced by Lyoto Machida (21-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). Belfort asserted he will fight the winner of the bout.
Pierce’s name came to light in a story on therapeutic exemptions for ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” when Belfort referred to him on questions about his testosterone use. Pierce told MMAjunkie he could not confirm he treated Belfort due to medical privacy laws and said he merely spoke in general to ESPN about treating a patient who was hypogonadal, or lacking the ability to naturally produce testosterone.
“I said ‘if I had a patient that’s hypogonadal, than that’s what they’re being treated for: hypogonadism.’ What the reasoning is, sometimes, you can’t figure that out,” Pierce said.
The doctor’s stance on TRT nonetheless has placed him at odds with the Nevada commission, whose medical consultant, Timothy Trainor, advised a previous TUE applicant to see another doctor and informed the UFC that he didn’t trust Pierce.
In the ESPN story, Trainor said Pierce failed to submit proper paperwork when UFC heavyweight Frank Mir applied for a TUE for UFC 146. In a previous interview with MMAjunkie, former NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer said the doctor pushed back after the NSAC recommended the fighter maintain a more conservative level of testosterone in his system. Pierce disputed Kizer’s recollection and said he generally only recommends that his patients stay within the ranges recommended by drug-testing laboratories.
At the NSAC meeting that led to the TRT ban, Trainor told the commission that legitimate cases for the treatment were rare and there was a potential to abuse the exemption process. He said it was medically proven that prior steroid abuse could cause low testosterone, and he expressed doubt that repeated head trauma caused a deficiency, as Pierce asserted in the ESPN story.
Pierce disputed Trainor’s statements, saying the link between previous steroid use and low testosterone was “the biggest crock of nonsense I’ve ever heard.” While he backed the work of a colleague whom he said is working on a National Institute of Health-backed study that links head trauma to low testosterone, he said it was only one possible cause.
He openly questioned why Trainor, an orthopedic surgeon by trade, had such a central role in the testosterone policies of the NSAC and disputed the notion that prior steroid use set fighters up for TRT. He also reacted strongly to reports that the ban was put in place, in part, because exemptions were a drain on the NSAC’s resources.
“If that’s the case, boy, that’s terrible because that’s what the commission is there for,” Pierce said. “If they’re saying, well, what the hell are you doing? Maybe bring Keith Kizer back because he wasn’t afraid of that work.”
NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar and Trainor did not immediately respond to MMAjunkie’s request for comment.
Pierce on misconceptions about TRT
Pierce said there are widespread misconceptions about the process and effects of hormone-replacement therapy and called the NSAC’s ban a “shortsighted” decision based on a lack of understanding. He particularly took umbrage to the idea that fighters needed the treatment because of prior steroid use.
“If any of these people that are saying they have any experience dealing with people who’ve done steroids in the past, you can get their systems turned back on, unless they’ve done high dosages for years,” he said. “Then, I’ve had very difficult times getting their system back on. But for the majority of people, they can be on testosterone, and you can take them off and get their natural system producing right back to normal within six weeks.
“So it’s laughable when I read some of the stuff that you guys write. People that are naysayers go, ‘If he did steroids, then that’s why he has a low level.’ Well, no, because No. 1, you guys don’t know how to read the labs. I do. And you can see the other hormones that are being sent from the brain down to the testicles to get them to work, and they’re not working. It has nothing to do with steroid use in the past.”
By Steven Marrocco
Dr. John Pierce, a Las Vegas-based anti-aging doctor, has heard from several fighters who say they’d rather go to the black market for performance-enhancing drugs than get a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) for testosterone.
But now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has closed the TUE program for testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), he believes everyone will go the illicit route.
“What they’ve in essence done is taken people that were forthright about their usage of testosterone for a medical purpose and punished them for it,” Pierce told MMAjunkie. “That makes no sense because, bottom line, it’s going to happen.
“Instead of having a physician involved in the care of a patient – monitoring their levels, where you’re getting a test all the time, much more so than you would a normal patient because of the nature of their work – you’re going to get people doing it underground, using black market steroids, not bio-identical hormones that have not been tested. They could potentially get themselves sick injecting themselves with whatever.
“And then, at that juncture, they’re cheating because they’re not being forthright about it.”
Among thousands seeking a license to fight in the state, the NSAC has issued a total of six exemptions to MMA fighters over the past seven years until its decision this past month to ban them outright. The regulatory body also turned away several fighters who sought a TUE as the exemption process became more public – and more controversial. There was, however, widespread belief in the MMA community that prior to the ban, the NSAC was helping to legitimize the use of a performance-enhancing drug.
NSAC’s TRT ban sets off dominoes
NSAC representatives repeatedly defended the practice of granting exemptions in the past, citing safeguards to avoid abuse, but they starkly reversed course in the recent meeting that produced the ban.
Asked whether the NSAC’s now-shuttered exemption process had steered athletes from the black market to above-board medical professionals, Pierce, an emergency medicine doctor who heads Las Vegas’ Ageless Forever clinic, initially said, “It had the potential to do that, and in my experience, it did do that.” He then clarified that he hadn’t explicitly treated any fighters in such a situation, but he had spoken casually about it among Las Vegas’ large fight community.
“I actually have had people tell me that doing it the illicit way was much easier,” he said. “They wouldn’t even consider doing it the legal way, because it would be much easier to do it the illicit way. They wouldn’t be under as much scrutiny.”
In the wake of the NSAC’s bold move, prominent athletic commissions have pushed to decide where they stand on TRT. California’s athletic commission recently placed a temporary ban on exemptions with the aim of revising their policy to make exemptions more difficult to acquire. The Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission, the country’s regulatory body and whose medical director has worked as an advisor to the UFC, said it will shut down the process after TRT user Dan Henderson fights Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 38 on March 23. The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and Association of Boxing Commissions have expressed confidence that the existing protocols are sound.
Industry-leading MMA promotions UFC and Bellator have backed the ban. UFC President Dana White openly celebrated the decision, saying that TRT “needed to go away.” Meanwhile, for at least two fighters, including one linked to Pierce, the decision has presented a crossroad as they decide whether they’ll continue their careers without the controversial treatment, and how.
The focus on Belfort
Shortly after Nevada moved against TRT, another public user of the treatment, Vitor Belfort (24-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC), was removed from a UFC 173 title fight against middleweight champion Chris Weidman (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and replaced by Lyoto Machida (21-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). Belfort asserted he will fight the winner of the bout.
Pierce’s name came to light in a story on therapeutic exemptions for ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” when Belfort referred to him on questions about his testosterone use. Pierce told MMAjunkie he could not confirm he treated Belfort due to medical privacy laws and said he merely spoke in general to ESPN about treating a patient who was hypogonadal, or lacking the ability to naturally produce testosterone.
“I said ‘if I had a patient that’s hypogonadal, than that’s what they’re being treated for: hypogonadism.’ What the reasoning is, sometimes, you can’t figure that out,” Pierce said.
The doctor’s stance on TRT nonetheless has placed him at odds with the Nevada commission, whose medical consultant, Timothy Trainor, advised a previous TUE applicant to see another doctor and informed the UFC that he didn’t trust Pierce.
In the ESPN story, Trainor said Pierce failed to submit proper paperwork when UFC heavyweight Frank Mir applied for a TUE for UFC 146. In a previous interview with MMAjunkie, former NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer said the doctor pushed back after the NSAC recommended the fighter maintain a more conservative level of testosterone in his system. Pierce disputed Kizer’s recollection and said he generally only recommends that his patients stay within the ranges recommended by drug-testing laboratories.
At the NSAC meeting that led to the TRT ban, Trainor told the commission that legitimate cases for the treatment were rare and there was a potential to abuse the exemption process. He said it was medically proven that prior steroid abuse could cause low testosterone, and he expressed doubt that repeated head trauma caused a deficiency, as Pierce asserted in the ESPN story.
Pierce disputed Trainor’s statements, saying the link between previous steroid use and low testosterone was “the biggest crock of nonsense I’ve ever heard.” While he backed the work of a colleague whom he said is working on a National Institute of Health-backed study that links head trauma to low testosterone, he said it was only one possible cause.
He openly questioned why Trainor, an orthopedic surgeon by trade, had such a central role in the testosterone policies of the NSAC and disputed the notion that prior steroid use set fighters up for TRT. He also reacted strongly to reports that the ban was put in place, in part, because exemptions were a drain on the NSAC’s resources.
“If that’s the case, boy, that’s terrible because that’s what the commission is there for,” Pierce said. “If they’re saying, well, what the hell are you doing? Maybe bring Keith Kizer back because he wasn’t afraid of that work.”
NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar and Trainor did not immediately respond to MMAjunkie’s request for comment.
Pierce on misconceptions about TRT
Pierce said there are widespread misconceptions about the process and effects of hormone-replacement therapy and called the NSAC’s ban a “shortsighted” decision based on a lack of understanding. He particularly took umbrage to the idea that fighters needed the treatment because of prior steroid use.
“If any of these people that are saying they have any experience dealing with people who’ve done steroids in the past, you can get their systems turned back on, unless they’ve done high dosages for years,” he said. “Then, I’ve had very difficult times getting their system back on. But for the majority of people, they can be on testosterone, and you can take them off and get their natural system producing right back to normal within six weeks.
“So it’s laughable when I read some of the stuff that you guys write. People that are naysayers go, ‘If he did steroids, then that’s why he has a low level.’ Well, no, because No. 1, you guys don’t know how to read the labs. I do. And you can see the other hormones that are being sent from the brain down to the testicles to get them to work, and they’re not working. It has nothing to do with steroid use in the past.”
As to whether the commission should approve testosterone use for someone whose deficiencies may have been caused by fighting, he said regulatory bodies can and should make sure that a combatant is healthy enough to compete.
“They get cleared by the commission,” he said. “If the the commission wants a CT scan, then that’s what they should require. I’m treating an aspect of it. Just like if a guy broke his hand, he would go see an orthopedic surgeon. What if he has something else? [The doctor] is just treating the broken hand. I can’t comment on something. If head-trauma causes [testosterone deficiency], I’m treating the [testosterone deficiency], not the head trauma.”
Belfort recently posted a statement from an unnamed doctor that said the fighter would need 90 days to adapt his “treatment and nutrition in order to support his extremely hard training routine.” Pierce, however, estimated the process would take between six and seven weeks.
“After that, in his unique situation, he’ll be left with whatever amount that he can produce,” he said. “Testosterone isn’t the only thing in the world to make a fighter a fighter. There are women fighting, and they don’t have a lot of testosterone. He’s a well-rounded and experienced fighter, so I’m sure he can compete.”
The UFC, meanwhile, is taking a hands-off approach to the issue. White said the question of whether Belfort can continue to compete or needs to hang up his gloves is not his problem.
“Is [Belfort's] level of performance going to drop? I don’t know,” Pierce said. “That all depends on his training. Does testosterone help? Absolutely. Can he still function and perform? Absolutely. Will his testosterone levels be where they were when he was on testosterone therapy? Who knows. The idea is that if he’s truly hypogonadal and incapable of producing that on his own, and he needs exogenous testosterone to maintain a decent level, then he won’t be able to get to those levels. So there’s going to be some adjustment. But as with anybody in the world, we have the ability to adapt.”
Pressed on whether Belfort should compete, however, he added that if the fighter’s levels were below those accepted by endocrinology experts, “he or anybody is at a marked disadvantage, in my opinion.
“Everybody who likes NASCAR, it would be like when you start with NASCAR, this is car that you can get, and you can’t change it. So 10 years down the road, the new rookie comes in, and he’s got a car that’s brand new, and you can’t beat him. Why? I’m a better driver, I’m better than everybody. He’s got a better machine. To me, athletes are machines. You’re asking for a high level of performance from them at all times. It makes it more difficult for them, but it doesn’t make it impossible.
“I truly hope for [Belfort's] sake that he can compete at the same level, and then all the naysayers can just button their lips and say no more. Because it seems to me that everybody’s trying to take away from this particular individual’s accomplishments, and all the time and effort that he’s put into his career.”
“They get cleared by the commission,” he said. “If the the commission wants a CT scan, then that’s what they should require. I’m treating an aspect of it. Just like if a guy broke his hand, he would go see an orthopedic surgeon. What if he has something else? [The doctor] is just treating the broken hand. I can’t comment on something. If head-trauma causes [testosterone deficiency], I’m treating the [testosterone deficiency], not the head trauma.”
Belfort recently posted a statement from an unnamed doctor that said the fighter would need 90 days to adapt his “treatment and nutrition in order to support his extremely hard training routine.” Pierce, however, estimated the process would take between six and seven weeks.
“After that, in his unique situation, he’ll be left with whatever amount that he can produce,” he said. “Testosterone isn’t the only thing in the world to make a fighter a fighter. There are women fighting, and they don’t have a lot of testosterone. He’s a well-rounded and experienced fighter, so I’m sure he can compete.”
The UFC, meanwhile, is taking a hands-off approach to the issue. White said the question of whether Belfort can continue to compete or needs to hang up his gloves is not his problem.
“Is [Belfort's] level of performance going to drop? I don’t know,” Pierce said. “That all depends on his training. Does testosterone help? Absolutely. Can he still function and perform? Absolutely. Will his testosterone levels be where they were when he was on testosterone therapy? Who knows. The idea is that if he’s truly hypogonadal and incapable of producing that on his own, and he needs exogenous testosterone to maintain a decent level, then he won’t be able to get to those levels. So there’s going to be some adjustment. But as with anybody in the world, we have the ability to adapt.”
Pressed on whether Belfort should compete, however, he added that if the fighter’s levels were below those accepted by endocrinology experts, “he or anybody is at a marked disadvantage, in my opinion.
“Everybody who likes NASCAR, it would be like when you start with NASCAR, this is car that you can get, and you can’t change it. So 10 years down the road, the new rookie comes in, and he’s got a car that’s brand new, and you can’t beat him. Why? I’m a better driver, I’m better than everybody. He’s got a better machine. To me, athletes are machines. You’re asking for a high level of performance from them at all times. It makes it more difficult for them, but it doesn’t make it impossible.
“I truly hope for [Belfort's] sake that he can compete at the same level, and then all the naysayers can just button their lips and say no more. Because it seems to me that everybody’s trying to take away from this particular individual’s accomplishments, and all the time and effort that he’s put into his career.”
just watched Curran-Straus from last night. That fight was fucking ridiculous. I hope they end up fighting once a year for the next 5 years haha. Jimmy Smith had Straus ahead on the scorecards but he tapped with 15 seconds left in the 5th round to an RNC.
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They may not be without some controversy when they’re ordered up, but Bellator appears to have a handle on this rematch thing.
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran put on a fight for the ages on Friday night. With just 14 seconds left, and possibly behind on the scorecards, Curran submitted the champion to recapture Bellator’s feature weight title at Bellator 112.
Straus beat Curran this past November to take the title, and Bellator elected to go forward with a rematch – the third fight between the two, with the series knotted at 1-1 – rather than keep Patricio Freire next in line, much to the chagrin of “Pitbull.” But after nearly 25 minutes of fight time between Curran and Straus, it became evident why Bellator wanted to see them do it again.
“All I can say is mad respect for Daniel Straus,” Curran said afterward. “But I was able to push through. I had to dig deep and come out with the win. I knew it was close. But I think Daniel was up on the scorecards. So I had to just let it all on the line and get that choke in the fifth. I can’t even explain it. This is my passion, my life, and I’m just happy to have the belt back so I can go back and relax.”
Straus came forward first with a left hand as Curran danced outside before throwing a right kick up high. He then tried to get a right hand through. Straus kicked high with the left and had it blocked. But he fell, and then ate a big knee from Curran as he tried to get back to his feet. The two tied up, and Curran pushed Straus to the cage looking for the takedown. He finally got it 90 seconds into the round and went to work from guard. But while looking to land punches, he got caught in a quick triangle choke attempt from Straus, and while working free from that had to defend a brief ankle lock attempt. But once recovered, Curran kept Straus tied up while looking for a choke. Curran tried to take Straus’ back, but couldn’t get it and the champion worked back to his feet. Straus did some major work on a guillotine choke late in the round, but Curran was able to survive the attempt.
Curran landed a right hand quickly in the second, but then ate a couple punches and a kick to the body. The two landed leg kicks at the same time, but when Curran slowly spun around, he ate a massive left hand to the eye that floored him. Straus pounced on him looking for the finish, but Curran survived and got to his feet with a big cut and welt near his right eye. The two touched gloves as a sign of respect and went back to the middle. Moments later, Curran hurt Straus with a right and threatened him along the fence as the fight started to turn into a slugfest. Straus continued to look for the big left hand, but Curran was good at defending it from getting all the way through again.
Straus came out slugging in the third, but Curran worked through it and threw a pair of high kicks. Curran pushed Straus to the cage and tied him up with a clinch, where he landed several knees and kicks. But the result? Straus walked through them and stretched his hands out, letting Curran know he was still right there. Moments later, back in the same spot, Curran again backed Straus to the fence. But Straus worked through it and bullied the challenger to the canvas for a takedown. Curran left his neck exposed, and Straus looked for it before Curran got back to his feet. After another flurry in the center, Straus got Curran down again and finished the round on top.
To the surprise of no one, both fighters came out swinging to start the fourth. But then the action stalled out for a minute before the referee restarted things in the middle. Curran got a knee through and a pair of punches, and Straus tried to land a flying kick seconds later. A Straus uppercut was on the button, and another left landed right after that – but Curran wouldn’t go down in yet another close frame.
The two hugged to open the fifth, but then started slinging. Straus pushed Curran to the cage, but the challenger reversed and looked for knees. After 45 seconds there, they were put back in the middle, and Curran landed several punches and a pair of knees. Midway through the round, it was a couple clean combinations for Curran that were on the money. With 90 seconds left, after working for a takedown, Curran finally got it and took Straus’ back. He went after a rear-aked choke as the crowd cheered against a visibly tired Straus. Straus defended at first, but Curran tried to tighten it up with 40 seconds left, And finally, with just 14 seconds left in the fight, Curran got the tap.
Curran (20-5) got back in the win column after his loss to Straus in the fall and has won seven of his past eight. Straus (22-5) had his six-fight winning streak snapped.
Koreshkov makes quick work of Burrell
Andrey Koreshkov hardly had to break a sweat against Nah-Shon Burrell. Koreshkov landed a knee to the chin, then pounced on Burell to get a quick TKO finish and move into the welterweight tournament semifinals.
Koreshkov landed a kick early against the UFC veteran. But when he threw his next one, it came not just with a foot to the ribs, but with a knee to the chin. Burrell quickly fell to the canvas, and Koreshkov was on top of him just as quickly. He landed several big punches there until referee Rob Hinds jumped in to stop things – just 41 seconds into the fight.
“Don’t underestimate Russian fighters,” Koreshkov said through his interpreter.
Koreshkov (15-1) won for the second straight time since losing a welterweight title fight to former champion Ben Askren. Burrell (10-4) heads back to the loss column after a November win in his Bellator debut.
Oropeza knocks out Souza in first round
Sam Oropeza knew Cristiano Souza had some power and had the potential to throw it in unconventional ways. But he put that all to rest fairly quickly with a first-round knockout to move into the welterweight tournament semifinals.
It took only about 30 seconds for Souza to throw a capoeira attack Oropeza’s way. But it was Oropeza who tied the Brazilian up seconds later and tried to work him over in the clinch. After they broke, Oropeza landed a kick that stifled Souza, and he used it to take him to the ground, where he landed several big punches as Souza worked back to his feet. Oropeza landed another kick to the body seconds later, and Souza was stunned.
Right after that, as the Brazilian backed up, Oropeza dropped a massive right hand on his chin. Souza fell to the canvas, where Oropeza dropped several more punches on him to get the stoppage. When Souza brought his head up, he protested the stoppage – but he was clearly unsure of exactly what had happened.
“I felt his power, and it didn’t really hurt me,” Oropeza said. “That’s when I knew I could walk in and finish this fight. I’m showing up to fight. I’m here to put on exciting fights for the fans.”
Oropeza (11-2) won for the sixth straight time. Souza (7-1) lost for the first time in his professional career.
McDonough outlasts Juarez to move into semifinals
Adam McDonough battled back and forth against Jesse Juarez, but ultimately did just enough to move into the welterweight tournament semifinals. After two competitive rounds with chances for each fighter, to work for finishes, it was McDonough who took control in the third round. He took Juarez’s back and spent a good share of the round working for a rear-naked choke. Juarez fought it off, though, and got back to his feet with two minutes left to bring the fight back to standing before taking McDonough down along the fence. Moments later, he took McDonough down a second time, then went after a choke of his own. McDonough fought it off, but left himself open to eat some shots before a reveresal had him on top to close the frame – which may have been enough to get him the nod from all three judges with 29-28 scores. McDonough (10-0) stayed unbeaten, while Juarez (21-9) had a four-fight winning streak snapped.
Coy outstrikes Bradley to reach Bellator tourney semis
In a battle of Division I wrestlers, Nathan Coy punched his ticket into the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 10 featherweight tournament with a unanimous decision win over Paul Bradley. Coy bloodied Bradley in the first round and got the best of the striking game. When Bradley started to find success striking in the second, Coy shot for a takedown, but couldn’t get the fight to the canvas. The fight was contested almost entirely on the feet, and though Coy seemed to land the bigger strikes, Bradley stayed in the pocket and even knocked Coy down in the third round. But Coy took home all three rounds from all three judges. Coy (14-4) won for the sixth straight time. Bradley (21-6) returns to the loss column after a win over Karl Amoussou.
Caldwell dominant on preliminary card
In a close fight contested largely in the kickboxing realm, Belal Muhammad took a unanimous decision from A.J. Matthews, likely thanks to well-timed takedowns in the second and third rounds. Muhammad (4-0) stayed unbeaten and won for the second time under the Bellator banner. Matthews (6-2) had a two-fight winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in Bellator.
In his highly anticipated Bellator debut, NCAA national champion wrestler Darrion Caldwell did not disappoint. He stormed Lance Surma early, then spun him around on the cage and wrapped up a guillotine choke in short order. Surma was forced to tap just 50 seconds into the fight. Caldwell (4-0) stayed unbeaten with his quickest win yet. Surma (2-1), fighting for the first time in 17 months, suffered the first loss of his pro career.
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They may not be without some controversy when they’re ordered up, but Bellator appears to have a handle on this rematch thing.
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran put on a fight for the ages on Friday night. With just 14 seconds left, and possibly behind on the scorecards, Curran submitted the champion to recapture Bellator’s feature weight title at Bellator 112.
Straus beat Curran this past November to take the title, and Bellator elected to go forward with a rematch – the third fight between the two, with the series knotted at 1-1 – rather than keep Patricio Freire next in line, much to the chagrin of “Pitbull.” But after nearly 25 minutes of fight time between Curran and Straus, it became evident why Bellator wanted to see them do it again.
“All I can say is mad respect for Daniel Straus,” Curran said afterward. “But I was able to push through. I had to dig deep and come out with the win. I knew it was close. But I think Daniel was up on the scorecards. So I had to just let it all on the line and get that choke in the fifth. I can’t even explain it. This is my passion, my life, and I’m just happy to have the belt back so I can go back and relax.”
Straus came forward first with a left hand as Curran danced outside before throwing a right kick up high. He then tried to get a right hand through. Straus kicked high with the left and had it blocked. But he fell, and then ate a big knee from Curran as he tried to get back to his feet. The two tied up, and Curran pushed Straus to the cage looking for the takedown. He finally got it 90 seconds into the round and went to work from guard. But while looking to land punches, he got caught in a quick triangle choke attempt from Straus, and while working free from that had to defend a brief ankle lock attempt. But once recovered, Curran kept Straus tied up while looking for a choke. Curran tried to take Straus’ back, but couldn’t get it and the champion worked back to his feet. Straus did some major work on a guillotine choke late in the round, but Curran was able to survive the attempt.
Curran landed a right hand quickly in the second, but then ate a couple punches and a kick to the body. The two landed leg kicks at the same time, but when Curran slowly spun around, he ate a massive left hand to the eye that floored him. Straus pounced on him looking for the finish, but Curran survived and got to his feet with a big cut and welt near his right eye. The two touched gloves as a sign of respect and went back to the middle. Moments later, Curran hurt Straus with a right and threatened him along the fence as the fight started to turn into a slugfest. Straus continued to look for the big left hand, but Curran was good at defending it from getting all the way through again.
Straus came out slugging in the third, but Curran worked through it and threw a pair of high kicks. Curran pushed Straus to the cage and tied him up with a clinch, where he landed several knees and kicks. But the result? Straus walked through them and stretched his hands out, letting Curran know he was still right there. Moments later, back in the same spot, Curran again backed Straus to the fence. But Straus worked through it and bullied the challenger to the canvas for a takedown. Curran left his neck exposed, and Straus looked for it before Curran got back to his feet. After another flurry in the center, Straus got Curran down again and finished the round on top.
To the surprise of no one, both fighters came out swinging to start the fourth. But then the action stalled out for a minute before the referee restarted things in the middle. Curran got a knee through and a pair of punches, and Straus tried to land a flying kick seconds later. A Straus uppercut was on the button, and another left landed right after that – but Curran wouldn’t go down in yet another close frame.
The two hugged to open the fifth, but then started slinging. Straus pushed Curran to the cage, but the challenger reversed and looked for knees. After 45 seconds there, they were put back in the middle, and Curran landed several punches and a pair of knees. Midway through the round, it was a couple clean combinations for Curran that were on the money. With 90 seconds left, after working for a takedown, Curran finally got it and took Straus’ back. He went after a rear-aked choke as the crowd cheered against a visibly tired Straus. Straus defended at first, but Curran tried to tighten it up with 40 seconds left, And finally, with just 14 seconds left in the fight, Curran got the tap.
Curran (20-5) got back in the win column after his loss to Straus in the fall and has won seven of his past eight. Straus (22-5) had his six-fight winning streak snapped.
Koreshkov makes quick work of Burrell
Andrey Koreshkov hardly had to break a sweat against Nah-Shon Burrell. Koreshkov landed a knee to the chin, then pounced on Burell to get a quick TKO finish and move into the welterweight tournament semifinals.
Koreshkov landed a kick early against the UFC veteran. But when he threw his next one, it came not just with a foot to the ribs, but with a knee to the chin. Burrell quickly fell to the canvas, and Koreshkov was on top of him just as quickly. He landed several big punches there until referee Rob Hinds jumped in to stop things – just 41 seconds into the fight.
“Don’t underestimate Russian fighters,” Koreshkov said through his interpreter.
Koreshkov (15-1) won for the second straight time since losing a welterweight title fight to former champion Ben Askren. Burrell (10-4) heads back to the loss column after a November win in his Bellator debut.
Oropeza knocks out Souza in first round
Sam Oropeza knew Cristiano Souza had some power and had the potential to throw it in unconventional ways. But he put that all to rest fairly quickly with a first-round knockout to move into the welterweight tournament semifinals.
It took only about 30 seconds for Souza to throw a capoeira attack Oropeza’s way. But it was Oropeza who tied the Brazilian up seconds later and tried to work him over in the clinch. After they broke, Oropeza landed a kick that stifled Souza, and he used it to take him to the ground, where he landed several big punches as Souza worked back to his feet. Oropeza landed another kick to the body seconds later, and Souza was stunned.
Right after that, as the Brazilian backed up, Oropeza dropped a massive right hand on his chin. Souza fell to the canvas, where Oropeza dropped several more punches on him to get the stoppage. When Souza brought his head up, he protested the stoppage – but he was clearly unsure of exactly what had happened.
“I felt his power, and it didn’t really hurt me,” Oropeza said. “That’s when I knew I could walk in and finish this fight. I’m showing up to fight. I’m here to put on exciting fights for the fans.”
Oropeza (11-2) won for the sixth straight time. Souza (7-1) lost for the first time in his professional career.
McDonough outlasts Juarez to move into semifinals
Adam McDonough battled back and forth against Jesse Juarez, but ultimately did just enough to move into the welterweight tournament semifinals. After two competitive rounds with chances for each fighter, to work for finishes, it was McDonough who took control in the third round. He took Juarez’s back and spent a good share of the round working for a rear-naked choke. Juarez fought it off, though, and got back to his feet with two minutes left to bring the fight back to standing before taking McDonough down along the fence. Moments later, he took McDonough down a second time, then went after a choke of his own. McDonough fought it off, but left himself open to eat some shots before a reveresal had him on top to close the frame – which may have been enough to get him the nod from all three judges with 29-28 scores. McDonough (10-0) stayed unbeaten, while Juarez (21-9) had a four-fight winning streak snapped.
Coy outstrikes Bradley to reach Bellator tourney semis
In a battle of Division I wrestlers, Nathan Coy punched his ticket into the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 10 featherweight tournament with a unanimous decision win over Paul Bradley. Coy bloodied Bradley in the first round and got the best of the striking game. When Bradley started to find success striking in the second, Coy shot for a takedown, but couldn’t get the fight to the canvas. The fight was contested almost entirely on the feet, and though Coy seemed to land the bigger strikes, Bradley stayed in the pocket and even knocked Coy down in the third round. But Coy took home all three rounds from all three judges. Coy (14-4) won for the sixth straight time. Bradley (21-6) returns to the loss column after a win over Karl Amoussou.
Caldwell dominant on preliminary card
In a close fight contested largely in the kickboxing realm, Belal Muhammad took a unanimous decision from A.J. Matthews, likely thanks to well-timed takedowns in the second and third rounds. Muhammad (4-0) stayed unbeaten and won for the second time under the Bellator banner. Matthews (6-2) had a two-fight winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in Bellator.
In his highly anticipated Bellator debut, NCAA national champion wrestler Darrion Caldwell did not disappoint. He stormed Lance Surma early, then spun him around on the cage and wrapped up a guillotine choke in short order. Surma was forced to tap just 50 seconds into the fight. Caldwell (4-0) stayed unbeaten with his quickest win yet. Surma (2-1), fighting for the first time in 17 months, suffered the first loss of his pro career.
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RM211 and RM211
Cub Swanson-Jeremy Stephens set for main event of UFC Fight Night in San Antonio
The UFC’s first visit to San Antonio, announced over the weekend, now has its main event.
A key featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson (20-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jeremy Stephens (23-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) will headline the card. UFC officials confirmed the news to FOXSports.com on Wednesday. The winner could emerge as the next top contender in the 145-pound division.
“UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens” will take place June 28 at AT&T Center, the home of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Although the UFC has not visited the city and venue, the now-defunct WEC put on a card there in October 2009 headlined by a title fight between Benson Henderson and challenger Donald Cerrone.
Swanson has won five straight fights since his lone loss in the UFC, a submission setback to recent title challenger Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FOX 1. Since then, he has four knockouts, leaving George Roop, Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira and Dennis Siver in his wake. Only Dustin Poirier was able to go the distance with him, and he dropped a decision. Swanson has three fight-night bonuses in that five-fight stretch, as well. But it will be nearly one year since his most recent fight, the knockout of Siver at UFC 162, when he steps in against Stephens.
Stephens snapped a three-fight skid at lightweight by dropping down to featherweight, where he has gone 3-0 with wins over Estevan Payan, Rony Jason and, most recently, Darren Elkins, whom he outpointed at UFC on FOX 10 in Chicago in January. Prior to the move to featherweight, Stephens had been one of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights with three “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and a “Fight of the Night” on his resume, even if his record in the division – 7-8 – wasn’t stellar.
The UFC’s first visit to San Antonio, announced over the weekend, now has its main event.
A key featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson (20-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jeremy Stephens (23-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) will headline the card. UFC officials confirmed the news to FOXSports.com on Wednesday. The winner could emerge as the next top contender in the 145-pound division.
“UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens” will take place June 28 at AT&T Center, the home of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Although the UFC has not visited the city and venue, the now-defunct WEC put on a card there in October 2009 headlined by a title fight between Benson Henderson and challenger Donald Cerrone.
Swanson has won five straight fights since his lone loss in the UFC, a submission setback to recent title challenger Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FOX 1. Since then, he has four knockouts, leaving George Roop, Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira and Dennis Siver in his wake. Only Dustin Poirier was able to go the distance with him, and he dropped a decision. Swanson has three fight-night bonuses in that five-fight stretch, as well. But it will be nearly one year since his most recent fight, the knockout of Siver at UFC 162, when he steps in against Stephens.
Stephens snapped a three-fight skid at lightweight by dropping down to featherweight, where he has gone 3-0 with wins over Estevan Payan, Rony Jason and, most recently, Darren Elkins, whom he outpointed at UFC on FOX 10 in Chicago in January. Prior to the move to featherweight, Stephens had been one of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights with three “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and a “Fight of the Night” on his resume, even if his record in the division – 7-8 – wasn’t stellar.