Ronda Rousey Gets Downgrade For Next Acting Role

Her fighting career remains uncertain at best, but former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be returning to acting soon. In a press release issued today (Tuesday, February 21, 2017), news came that Rousey will be featured on an upcoming episode of NBC’s “Blindspot” as a female prisoner called “Devon Penberthy”: Rousey will be

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Her fighting career remains uncertain at best, but former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be returning to acting soon.

In a press release issued today (Tuesday, February 21, 2017), news came that Rousey will be featured on an upcoming episode of NBC’s “Blindspot” as a female prisoner called “Devon Penberthy”:

Rousey will be playing DEVON PENBERTHY: a female prison inmate who grew up in a working class family from the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and is serving time for transporting weapons across state lines. She is a tough, athletic woman who knows how to fight and handle a weapon.

While it sounds like a role obviously tailor made for Rousey, it can also be called a severe downgrade for the once-featured movie actress, who has played roles in high-budget feature films like “Fast & Furious 7,” “The Expendables 3” and, “Entourage.”

That should probably come as little surprise based on Rousey’s recent results in the octagon, where the once-feared champion has lost her last two bouts by devastating knockout to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. She’s yet to publicly address her 48-second defeat to Nunes at December 30’s UFC 207 except for a canned statement on social media, and it’s largely thought we may have seen the last of her in a MMA cage.

And in the cutthroat world of show business, one’s window to enjoy the limelight – just like it is in the fight game – can close in an instant, as rumors circled about that Rousey’s acting skills were beginning to become less and less desireable in the months after her upset loss to Holm.

She was supposed to star in Mark Wahlberg’s “Mile 22,” but it was rumored her part was reduced significantly due to her acting skills – or lack thereof. A “Roadhouse” remake starring Rousey has also been delayed multiple times with no official release date known.

“Rowdy” is now doing guest roles on cable network crime dramas,  quite the setback from being one of the most sought-after female faces in Hollywood less than two years ago. The MMA great doesn’t need the money, but it doesn’t seem like something that will occupy the competitive drive of the Olympic bronze medalist.

Hey, there’s still fighting, as many feel she could rekindle her past success if she’d just leave a certain downtrodden head coach.

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GSP’s Coach Wants ‘Huge Fights’ With McGregor & Bisping

Although he hasn’t fought since he vacated his title in 2013 following a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks, former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced late last week that he had inked a new deal with the promotion and would finally be returning to the Octagon he once ruled. His return

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Although he hasn’t fought since he vacated his title in 2013 following a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks, former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre announced late last week that he had inked a new deal with the promotion and would finally be returning to the Octagon he once ruled.

His return fight has not yet been set, but there are no shortage of opponents waiting for St. Pierre, as he still remains one of the biggest names in the sport.

He was in talks to fight middleweight champion Michael Bisping late last year, which is still an option, as is a potential superfight with lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Both of these options interest his coach, Firas Zahabi, who recently offered his opinion on the sure-to-be-hot topic:

“My ideal scenario, I don’t know if it’s still up for grabs, but I was really happy when there was a buzzing of Bisping or McGregor,” Zahabi told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I thought those two would be two epic fights. One, he would go a little lower [in weight]; one, he would go a little higher. But those are really, really intriguing fights. Of course, Tyron Woodley, he’s the [welterweight] champion and et cetera, but he has his fight with ‘Wonderboy’ [Thompson]. And if ‘Wonderboy’ wins, then they’ll have a trilogy. And of course we don’t want to fight with ‘Wonderboy,’ we go way back together.

“So I think the welterweight title is not really something he (St-Pierre) is thinking about right now because of the current landscape, but there is always the 185-pound belt. And of course, McGregor is such a mega-star that if you put those two on a main event, I don’t think that anybody in the world wouldn’t watch that. I think that even non-MMA fans would watch that. But again, I don’t do the match-ups, I don’t do the managing, I’m just talking as a trainer.”

Do either of these options interest you, or would you rather St. Pierre face a different opponent in his long-awaited comeback fight?

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Germaine de Randamie Responds to Holly Holm’s Dirty Punch Claims at UFC 208

UFC fighter Holly Holm claimed in her post-fight press conference that Germaine de Randamie intentionally hit her after the bell following both the second and third rounds during their matchup at UFC 208.
On Thursday, De Randamie dispute…

UFC fighter Holly Holm claimed in her post-fight press conference that Germaine de Randamie intentionally hit her after the bell following both the second and third rounds during their matchup at UFC 208.

On Thursday, De Randamie disputed those claims.

“I never threw any dirty shots,” she said in a Thursday conference call, per Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com. “I never threw any cheap shots around the referee. As soon as he stepped in and put his arm in, I stopped. Of course, I try to hear the bell and stop, but sometimes when you’re in the heat of the moment you’re in the fight. You get hit, you hit somebody.”

“It was never intentional. That’s what upsets me so much,” she added. “People try to say I’m a dirty fighter. I’m not a dirty fighter. It really hurts me when people say that. I never had any bad intentions, I truly respect Holly. I respect the UFC. I respect Holly’s camp.”

De Randamie won the five-round thriller between the two fighters, with the judges ultimately giving her the 48-47 advantage and making De Randamie the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion. 

But Holm pointed out that referee Todd Anderson didn’t dock De Randamie a point the second time she hit Holm following the conclusion of a round.

You can see Holm’s full comments below:

Holm took it a step further after the fight, filing “an official complaint with the New York State Athletic Commission, hoping to get the result overturned,” per Doyle. De Randamie disputed any suggestion that the result shouldn’t stand, not surprisingly, but did offer Holm a rematch:

If Holly believes the point deductions are the reason she lost the fight, and she’s looking to make it a no-contest or a draw, she should simply put out the offer for a rematch I put out. If she feels that way there’s nothing I can say much about. I respect everyone’s opinion, I truly do. I believe I was the fair winner, I believe I had the better shots, I believe I dominated the standup. I understand Holly is sad she lost the fight. I’m sad certain occasions happened during the fight that was not in my plan and not intentional. … I believe justice will be served and the athletic commission will make the right decision.

Holm might want to take her up on that offer. She’s now 0-3 since shocking the world by upsetting Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 and acknowledged in her post-fight press conference that she would take any fight she could get in the wake of her recent struggles.

It’s certainly hard to imagine any fans complaining about a rematch between the two fighters after their excellent battle at UFC 208. And the rematch would also give De Randamie another opportunity to prove that she’s a clean fighter whose win wasn’t tainted, and Holm the chance to prove she’s the better fighter of the two.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Two-Division Champ Leaves WSOF For UFC

World Series of Fighting has taken a big blow and has lost one of their top fighters to the UFC. Former WSOF light heavyweight and middleweight champion David Branch, who has fought in the UFC before, is headed back to the promotion. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting is reporting that Branch has signed a new

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World Series of Fighting has taken a big blow and has lost one of their top fighters to the UFC.

Former WSOF light heavyweight and middleweight champion David Branch, who has fought in the UFC before, is headed back to the promotion. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting is reporting that Branch has signed a new multi-fight contract with the promotion.

Branch left the UFC in 2011 after he went 2-2 in the promotion. Since then, he has won 12 of his 13 bouts with his only loss in that stretch coming from Anthony Johnson in 2012. He recently left WSOF after an undisclosed issue with the promotion before and after his fight win over Louis Taylor on December 31st.

“Here’s the thing, it was just a lot of things that went on that night, and like right now … it’s just really complicated,” he said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “If I’m coming into a show, okay, and I’m coming in to fight my opponent, that should be the only opponent I have to worry about fighting. I shouldn’t have to worry about politics, I shouldn’t have to worry about all these other things. I’m not going to go into details, but these are somethings the things fighters have to face. My reasons for leaving are a bit similar. I’m not going to go into detail, but that’s just one of those things that happens. This is the fight game. It gets crazy sometimes. Sometimes promoters have problems with fighters, and sometimes fighters have problems with promoters.”

Although his return fight in the UFC has yet to be finalized, he is expected to compete in the middleweight division.

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Conor McGregor’s Las Vegas Agenda Revealed

Conor McGregor has a lot on his plate today (Tues. February 14, 2017) for his business trip to Las Vegas. With rumors running rampant that a highly-anticipated superfight between McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. is close to being finalized, ‘The Notorious One’ finds himself in ‘Sin City’ today to perhaps get one step closer

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Conor McGregor has a lot on his plate today (Tues. February 14, 2017) for his business trip to Las Vegas.

With rumors running rampant that a highly-anticipated superfight between McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. is close to being finalized, ‘The Notorious One’ finds himself in ‘Sin City’ today to perhaps get one step closer to making the blockbuster bout happen.

According to a report from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, McGregor is in town to clear up an issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), speak to Mayweather’s ‘The Money Team’, and then attend a meeting with the UFC:

Amongst the madness McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, also took to Twitter to tease that some ‘big announcements’ are imminent:

The UFC lightweight champ won the strap back in his last Octagon appearance in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, where he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the second round to become the first ever dual-weight champion in promotion history. Now just four months later in the co-main event of UFC 209 live on pay-per-view (PPV), No. 1 and 2-ranked lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will collide for the interim title.

If McGregor does indeed step into the boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather for his next combat sports competition, it is highly possible that the future first-time father will walk off into the sunset with a boat-load of cash.

Do you think McGregor will ever fight under the UFC banner again? And will the fight with Mayweather really come to fruition?

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Cyborg: I’m The Real 145-Pound Champion

Cris Cyborg feels that she is the true pound-for-pound best female mixed martial artist in the world, and she has the stats to back it up. Justino was in attendance during this past weekend’s (Sat. February 11, 2017) inaugural women’s featherweight title bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208, and is

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Cris Cyborg feels that she is the true pound-for-pound best female mixed martial artist in the world, and she has the stats to back it up.

Justino was in attendance during this past weekend’s (Sat. February 11, 2017) inaugural women’s featherweight title bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208, and is likely to challenge the new Dutch champ after her unanimous decision win over ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’.

During a recent interview with FOX Sports, Cyborg stated that regardless of who is currently holding the title at 145 pounds, mixed martial arts (MMA) fans know who the true champion of the division is:

“ESPN and FOX Sports both have me ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound in women’s mixed martial arts. I haven’t lost in 10 years,” Cyborg said. “Until someone beats me I am No. 1 in the world no matter what belt is around my waist.”

The UFC’s original plans preferred Cyborg to be a part of the inaugural 145-pound title contest this past weekend, but the Brazilian knockout artist turned the bout down on multiple occasions due to the inability to make weight on time. Now Justino finds herself in a battle with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential violation.

While in attendance at the Barclays Center this past weekend and watching De Randamie take home the featherweight crown, however, Justino was not disappointed that she was cage-side rather than inside the Octagon for the historic moment; but happy that the division has finally found its way to the UFC:

“I was not ready to fight Feb.11th. Germaine is a great fighter and a win over Holly only helps increase her star power,” Cyborg said. “It wasn’t disappointing to be sitting cage side, I was excited because the UFC has made the division. I am ranked No. 1 in the world at 145-pounds and feel confident the fans know that too.”

Photo by Ed Mulholland for USA TODAY Sports

De Randamie took home a controversial unanimous decision win over Holm after delivering late punches after the horn that signaled the round’s end, on two separate occasions. The referee failed to deduct a point from ‘The Iron Lady’ for the late shots, and given that each judge scored the contest 48-47 for De Randamie, the contest could have arguably ended in a draw had a point been taken.

As for how Cyborg had the bout scored, she believes the judges made the right decision in giving the former muay thai champ the nod:

“I had Germaine de Randamie winning. It was a close fight but the damage done by significant strikes by de Randamie made the difference in my opinion,” Cyborg said. “Holly needed to chain her wrestling transitions better to get that takedowns.”

After the contest De Randamie claimed she will need some time off to get surgery on her injured hand before making her first title defense. Cyborg is happy to give the featherweight champ the time she needs to recover, and already has an opponent in mind that she’d like to step into the Octagon with next to keep her busy:

“I am ready to enter fight camp now. If [de Randamie] is injured and can’t fight I would like a chance to fight Megan Anderson,” Cyborg said. “She is an interim champion for the belt I own and calling out fighters in the UFC.

“It only makes sense if [de Randamie] is not ready to fight that the UFC would offer her a contract and a chance to fight me on the biggest stage, inside the UFC octagon. I think it would be a great addition to the June event in Rio if she’s ready to fight.”

When asked why she turned down the two opportunities to compete for the inaugural featherweight title before, Cyborg revealed that her body was not ready to go through another vigorous weight cut so soon once again:

“I needed to give my body time to recover from my past two weight cuts. I’ve given my body a proper off season allowing it to recover and am ready to start training camp soon,” Cyborg said.

“My USADA situation is still ongoing and at this time I have no comment, but am hopeful my lawyer and doctors will resolve this and are cooperating fully with USADA.”

“Let’s go champ,” Cyborg said.

Do you think Cyborg will win her case against USADA? Who do you think we’ll see her fight next upon her Octagon return?

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