Tag: 7

NYSAC Bans Female Fighter From UFC 210 Because Of Breast Implants

If you thought today’s UFC 210 weigh-ins from Buffalo couldn’t get any weirder, well, they just did. After a strange scene where UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier weighed in at 206.2 pounds with only moments left to weigh in for his main event versus Anthony Johnson at tomorrow’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from

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If you thought today’s UFC 210 weigh-ins from Buffalo couldn’t get any weirder, well, they just did.

After a strange scene where UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier weighed in at 206.2 pounds with only moments left to weigh in for his main event versus Anthony Johnson at tomorrow’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center and somehow lost the weight in two minutes, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has actually taken a fighter off the card for a far more ridiculous reason.

Debuting women’s strawweight Pearl Gonzalez, who was set to meet Cynthia Calvillo on the main card and was allowed to weigh in and make weight, has been removed by the commission for having breast implants, something that apparently isn’t allowed for female fighters in the state of New York.

Gonzalez was reportedly informed she would not be able to take part in the bout after the weigh-ins, odd timing considering she was allowed to appear at all pre-fight media obligations and had passed all medicals. It’s even stranger considering female fighters, such as retired former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who took on Raquel Pennington in her final fight at last November’s UFC 205, have been allowed to compete with breast implants.

The UFC 210 main event avoided a narrow miss in New York, but the debut of Gonzalez didn’t and will have to wait until a later date and time.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where they couldn’t have informed Gonzalez of this until she was done weighing in the day before the fight.

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Can Will Brooks Regain His Momentum?

It wasn’t too long ago that the acquisition of Will Brooks by the UFC was viewed as a pretty big deal. Two fights and one loss later, it seems that fans have quieted down a bit where the former Bellator lightweight champion is concerned. As he sets his sights on victory once more ahead of UFC 210, the question remains: can Will Brooks regain his status as a prospect to watch?

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It wasn’t too long ago that the acquisition of Will Brooks by the UFC was viewed as a pretty big deal. Two fights and one loss later, it seems that fans have quieted down a bit where the former Bellator lightweight champion is concerned. As he sets his sights on victory once more ahead of UFC 210, the question remains: can Will Brooks regain his status as a prospect to watch?

I’ve been pretty high on Will Brooks for some time now simply because of the way he’s blended different arts into his game. Karate fanatic that I am, it’s been pleasing to see Brooks implement a bit of the footwork of the traditional arts and look impressive doing it. The footwork made him hard to hit and also made his entries during takedowns buttery smooth. It’s the kind of thing you want to see from an athlete the likes of Brooks who has such dangerous wrestling and striking.

After his fight with an overweight Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira, we learned a few things about Will Brooks. While many will simply choose to focus on the outcome of the match up, the reality is that Brooks acquitted himself well during the bout, especially when you consider that his ribs were busted up pretty good after the opening frame. The second round was probably even more impressive for that fact. But those kind of injuries wear on a fighter and it would prove to be Will Brooks’ undoing.

Despite the loss, Will Brooks still has a ton of upside and has the natural ability and technique to make a fierce comeback.

This weekend will see Will Brooks return to action against another Oliveira, Charles Oliveira to be exact. Oliveira makes a return back to lightweight after a stint at featherweight and is likely to be the smaller man when he enters the cage against Brooks this Saturday. While it isn’t a sure thing, Brooks should have some advantages in this match up, specificlally his wrestling ability. But I have a sixth sense that we’re going to see Brooks out strike Oliveira and once again announce himself as one of the top lightweight prospects in the world.

Oliveira is a submission threat and does have some good Muay Thai skills. But with so much riding on this fight, with the opportunities to potentially secure another belt in the biggest organization in MMA, this Saturday we’re likely to see the best version of Will Brooks to date. Until then, take a glimpse at some of the highlights that has made so many people jump on the Will Brooks hype train.

Do you think Will Brooks gets the win at UFC 210?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

 

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Alexander Gustafsson Still Gunning For Jon Jones Rematch

Alexander Gustafsson is still on the hunt for Jon Jones. ‘The Mauler’ comes off of a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz last September, where he snapped a two-fight losing skid to Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Feeling revitalized in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after the win, Gustafsson will now step into the

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Alexander Gustafsson is still on the hunt for Jon Jones.

‘The Mauler’ comes off of a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz last September, where he snapped a two-fight losing skid to Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Feeling revitalized in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after the win, Gustafsson will now step into the Octagon against UFC veteran Glover Teixeira.

The pair will headline the UFC Fight Night 109 card from Gustasson’s hometown of Stockholm, Sweden on May 28th from the Ericsson Globe arena. Earlier today (Wed. March 29, 2017) a press conference in Sweden was held to promote the event, where Gustafsson was asked about his thoughts on a possible rematch with Jon Jones.

The UFC light heavyweight title will be contested for at UFC 210 between champion Daniel Cormier and No. 1-ranked Anthony Johnson next month (April 10th), and Jones – who is currently serving a one-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) – is likely to get the first crack at the winner. The bout between Gustafsson and Teixeira could very well be heavily involved in the 205-pound title picture moving forward (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Jones is one of those fights I think everybody wants,” Gustafsson said. “It’s a hard choice because you have the belt, and you have Jones. Jones is a true champ in my eyes (because he never lost the belt in the octagon). There’s no one like him, and to beat him would be as big as being the world champ.”

alexander gustafssonJones and Gustafsson fought in the main event of UFC 165 back in September of 2013. ‘Bones’ won the bout with a heavily controversial unanimous decision, after one of the greatest light heavyweight title fights of all time. They were originally set to rematch at UFC 178, however, Gustafsson was forced out of the bout do to a torn meniscus.

Now the Swede has an opportunity to get himself back in the mix for not only a shot at the 205-pound crown, but redemption against Jones, whom he feels he beat that night in Toronto. Before he begins planning any of that, however, Gustafsson is 100 percent focused on the task at hand, Teixeira:

“I will be the winner of this fight, I can tell you that,” Gustafsson said. “We’ll see what happens. My focus is on Glover right now. That’s a tough challenge for me. I’m going to score that, and we’ll see what happens for me. We’ll move forward.”

Teixeira is fine with the fact that Gustafsson is ultimately gunning for a rematch with Jones, as he would rather focus on becoming the light heavyweight champion of the world:

“Jones is coming back, so who knows (about a title shot),” Teixeira said. “But after I beat Gustafsson I can fight for the title, and Gustafsson can have his rematch with Jones.”

Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland of USA TODAY Sports

 

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Gunnar Nelson Rocks & Submits Alan Jouban In London

Alan Jouban will have to wait a bit longer to debut on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings thanks to Gunnar Nelson. Jouban was aggressive at the start, landed a couple of leg kicks. Nelson moved in and tied up his opponent near the fence. Jouban got out of the clinch. He threw some

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Alan Jouban will have to wait a bit longer to debut on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings thanks to Gunnar Nelson.

Jouban was aggressive at the start, landed a couple of leg kicks. Nelson moved in and tied up his opponent near the fence. Jouban got out of the clinch. He threw some kicks to the leg and body. “Gunni” went for a takedown and eventually got it. He moved to mount. Jouban was able to avoid much damage for the remainder of the round.

Jouban moved forward with strikes at the start of the second stanza. Nelson rocked Jouban with a straight right hand and he jumped on a choke to forced the submission victory.

Final Result: Gunnar Nelson def. Alan Jouban via Submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 2, 0:46

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UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban?

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

The post UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban? appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

Alan Jouban opened a lot of eyes with his disciplined win over the slugging Mike Perry. He utilized some slick movement, hard left body kicks, sharp left straights, and an overall disciplined boxing game to shut down Perry even hurting the durable welterweight a number of times throughout the encounter. He faces a far more difficult challenge in this match as he faces off with the puzzle that is Nelson. What Jouban will need to do in order to be successful against Nelson is control the middle and short range. While at middle distance Jouban will need to keep busy, immediately firing with jabs as well as that left leg and body kick he’s fond of. Considering that Nelson likes to strike at long range and look for takedowns at short range, whoever establishes dominance at middle distance will likely win this match. If he is taken down, Jouban can’t be content to regain guard or patiently wait for opportunities. Nelson is calculated when he gets things to the ground. Scrambles will be important to getting back to his feet, but Jouban will have to be careful when doing so as Nelson is keen at getting back control and holding the position.

Gunnar Nelson on the other hand faces a similar problem in this matchup as he did when he faced Brandon Thatch. Controlling the middle distance is paramount for the karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert. He’ll have to bounce in and out of range and either force Jouban to throw and miss or move forward with too much aggression. It’s when Jouban decides to push forward that a blitzing counter should be awaiting him. Gunnar Nelson has a clear boxing deficiency and does struggle at times when facing opposition with superior hands at middle distance. That’s why it’s important that he turns this into a karate match on the feet. After a short combo burst he should get out of dodge ASAP. When he full commits and transition to his takedown game, he should look to mix things up, disengage to throw off Jouban then re-enter with another strike before pushing for a legit trip or double leg.

With two talented welterweights the sky’s the limit on how entertaining (or boring) this match can be. Who do you think gets the win?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

 

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Roy Nelson’s Return Set For UFC On FOX 24

The UFC continues to add bouts to the UFC on FOX 24 card, and the latest bout just got a little bit bigger as a heavyweight fight has been announced for the event. UFC officials announced on Tuesday afternoon that fan favorite Roy Nelson (22-13) would take on former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov (27-6) at

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The UFC continues to add bouts to the UFC on FOX 24 card, and the latest bout just got a little bit bigger as a heavyweight fight has been announced for the event.

UFC officials announced on Tuesday afternoon that fan favorite Roy Nelson (22-13) would take on former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov (27-6) at the event.

After dropping five of his last six bouts, Nelson has had a resurrection of sorts and has won two of his past three. He is coming off of a second-round knockout win over Antonio Silva last September in Brazil. While Nelson’s UFC record (9-9) sits at .500, he has fought the best heavyweights the UFC can offer in that span, as his losses have come to Derrick Lewis, Mark Hunt, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, Fabricio Werdum, Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.

Volkov has won three straight fights, including his latest bout (his UFC debut) in November at UFC Fight Night 99 in Northern Ireland, where he took a split decision from Timothy Johnson.

UFC on FOX 24 takes place April 15 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. It will be the promotion’s first visit to the state. The main card will air on FOX while the prelims will air on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis for the flyweight title will headline this event. Here is the updated card as it currently rates:

Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis – for flyweight title

Rose Namajunas vs. Michelle Waterson

Ronaldo Souza vs. Robert Whittaker

Renato Moicano vs. Jeremy Stephens

Roy Nelson vs. Alexander Volkov

Tim Elliott vs. Louis Smolka

Devin Clark vs. Jake Collier

Nathan Coy vs. Zak Cummings

Andrew Sanchez vs. Anthony Smith

Tom Duquesnoy vs. Patrick Williams

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