Various renown names in MMA including Cody Garbrandt, Vitor Belfort and Hector Lombard took to social media in their reaction to the new president of the U.S.A, Donald J. Trump.
Trump’s inauguration today ensured that there was a buzz on the social media platform. Various names across the world of MMA had their say on the man of the hour, with the majority of tweets and Instagram posts supporting the 45th president of the United States.
While politics and sports should usually be kept apart, some of the world’s biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts sent their congratulations to the new man inside the White House, or at least were diplomatic in response to his “swearing in” as president:
Various renown names in MMA including Cody Garbrandt, Vitor Belfort and Hector Lombard took to social media in their reaction to the new president of the U.S.A, Donald J. Trump.
Trump’s inauguration today ensured that there was a buzz on the social media platform. Various names across the world of MMA had their say on the man of the hour, with the majority of tweets and Instagram posts supporting the 45th president of the United States.
While politics and sports should usually be kept apart, some of the world’s biggest names in Mixed Martial Arts sent their congratulations to the new man inside the White House, or at least were diplomatic in response to his “swearing in” as president:
Have you ever had one of those things you knew was coming but when it happened you still didn’t feel like you were prepared? That’s how we feel about Tim Kennedy’s post on facebook. In the recent post, Kennedy announces his retirement at the tender age of 37 and gives his reasons as why this should be the end. It’s the age old story, when the body won’t react as fast as the mind wants, and the things you once did you cannot do anymore. In this heartfelt letter, Kennedy thanks everyone involved in his MMA career and even calls out some legendary fighters by name. Robbie Lawler, why you gotta hit so hard?
Have you ever had one of those things you knew was coming but when it happened you still didn’t feel like you were prepared? That’s how we feel about Tim Kennedy’s post on facebook. In the recent post, Kennedy announces his retirement at the tender age of 37 and gives his reasons as why this should be the end. It’s the age old story, when the body won’t react as fast as the mind wants, and the things you once did you cannot do anymore. In this heartfelt letter, Kennedy thanks everyone involved in his MMA career and even calls out some legendary fighters by name. Robbie Lawler, why you gotta hit so hard?
I’m not always the sentimental type but if this doesn’t make you feel something you might be a sociopath or a Russian spy. Either way, enjoy.
Probably one of the best retirement speeches we have ever read. If you followed it all the way to the end you’ll notice he alluded to the Mixed Martial Arts Athelete’s Association when he mentioned some of the young fighters like Paige Vanzant and securing their futures. So it seems Kennedy will still be on the scene.
Not many people can walk the line between crazy and class act, and Tim Kennedy did just that. Range on Mr. Kennedy, Ranger on.
After 16 years of fighting, Tim Kennedy has called it quits on his MMA career… Tim Keenedy’s comeback from two years away did not go well. Facing Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 206, Kennedy was thoroughly and eventually finished with strikes. Having been absent since his crushing and somewhat controversial loss to Yoel Romero, the US
After 16 years of fighting, Tim Kennedy has called it quits on his MMA career…
Tim Keenedy’s comeback from two years away did not go well. Facing Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 206, Kennedy was thoroughly and eventually finished with strikes. Having been absent since his crushing and somewhat controversial loss to Yoel Romero, the US military veteran had an uphill battle in Gastelum. Although we’d seen him surpass obstacles like this in the past, the now-37-year old was simply not up to the task.
Announcing his retirement on Facebook today, Tim Kennedy gave an emotional statement:
Tim Kennedy Retires
Sitting in the ER at Saint Michael’s hospital in Toronto, Canada after my fight, I looked up at my buddy Nick Palmisciano who had ridden in the ambulance with me. This wasn’t our first time in this situation. I’d been here a few times in our past decade together. Sometimes for wins and sometimes for losses. The end result always looked the same: Nick carrying five bags that should have been split among three corners and me and my face are bleeding and swollen. “That’s it man,” I said. “We’re all done.” We had talked about it a lot over the past few years. I’d spoken to Nick, to my wife Ginger, and to Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson ad nauseam about the coming end. No matter how hard I trained, I knew this ride wouldn’t last forever. But saying it out loud definitely brought me both sadness that this chapter was complete and overwhelming relief that it’s a decision I could make without worrying about taking care of my family.
I had just lost to Kelvin Gastelum, a really respectful and hard-working young fighter who went out and did all the things I consider myself good at, but did them better. He actually reminded me of me when I was younger, except I was kind of a jerk back then. As losses go, I was kind of happy I lost to a guy like him. A lot of my coaches, friends and fans immediately tried to build me up again. “Kelvin has the right skillset to beat you and it was your first fight back.” “You had ring rust.” “You’re still a top 10 middleweight.” I appreciated their comments and I don’t think they are wrong. I know I am still a good fighter. I know I was away a while. But they didn’t feel what I felt, and that’s being 37. I felt like I was in slow motion the entire match. I felt tired for the first time ever in a fight. I’m the guy that once graduated Ranger School – a place that starves you and denies you sleep for over two months – and took a fight six days later in the IFL and won. I’m the guy that is always in shape. And I was for this fight. I worked harder than I ever have before for this fight. But I wasn’t me anymore. My brain knew what to do but my body did not respond. I’ve watched other fighters arrive here. I’ve watched other fighters pretend they weren’t here. I will not be one of them.
I want to thank the military community for their support. I’ll never be able to explain how much you motivated me and how much I always tried to make you proud. I’ve been a professional fighter for two decades, but there was no greater moment for me than winning the main event of Fight for the Troops 3. You made me invincible that night. I will keep fighting for you all until the day I die. I want to thank all of my coaches, from the old Days working with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell, to all my military buddies who trained with me while I was on active duty, to Greg Jackson, Mike Winkeljohn, and Brandon Gibson now. That you all thought me worthy of the investment of your time means more than you will ever know.
I want to thank all of my opponents. Iron sharpens iron and every great victory or crushing defeat occurred because there was someone who trained hard and had the courage to meet me across the cage. I want to call a few guys out in particular. To Luke Rockhold and Jacare: you guys gave me two grinding fights that asked for everything I had. You both made me better and I hope I did the same for you. I hope the two of you keep that Strikeforce chip on your shoulders and get back on top. To Robbie Lawler: you hit me harder than anyone ever has. Seriously, that really hurt. To Roger Gracie: My training for your fight reminded me that I love the gi. Thank you for that. To Rafael Natal: It took tremendous guts to take the Fight for the Troops fight. I will always appreciate you for that and cheer for you every time you fight. To Michael Bisping: I’ve never wanted to beat anyone more than I wanted to beat you, and that motivated me to provide the best version of myself. Best of luck to you going forward, Champ.
Finally to my wife: I don’t deserve you and you don’t deserve what I’ve put you through. I could lie to you and tell you it’s all over, but we both know I have already moved onto another super dangerous thing to fill my time, so I’m going to leave it just at “thank you and sorry” for now. So with that, to all of you fighters out there, I am not going anywhere. I love fighting and will always have the heart of a figher. I am committed to growing our sport and taking care of those who are a part of it. As sad as it is for me to walk away, the only thing sadder would be for me to stay because I had no other choice in order to feed my family. Someday the Kelvin Gastelum’s and the Yair Rodriguez’s and the Paige VanZant’s will be sitting in their respective emergency rooms with their respective Nick’s talking about it being over. And when that day comes, I want to make sure their future is secure.
I love you all. Thanks for listening. And thank you most of all for giving me the opportunity to do what I love for all these years.
He may be campaigning for yet another shot at 170 pounds, but Kelvin Gastelum may be adding another top-ranked middleweight to his record early next year. The rising 185-pound fighter, who was forced to go up to middleweight after he badly missed the welterweight limit of 171 pounds once again prior to his scheduled bout with
He may be campaigning for yet another shot at 170 pounds, but Kelvin Gastelum may be adding another top-ranked middleweight to his record early next year.
The rising 185-pound fighter, who was forced to go up to middleweight after he badly missed the welterweight limit of 171 pounds once again prior to his scheduled bout with Donald Cerrone at November 12’s UFC 205, promptly took a short-notice bout with longtime veteran Tim Kennedy and parlayed it into the biggest win of his MMA career.
According to a report from Combate, however, Gastelum may have the opportunity to top even his win over Kennedy if rumors prove true he will face former UFC champ Vitor Belfort at the March 11, 2017 Fight Night event from Fortaleza, Brazil. The rumored bout is the only one to have been discussed for the card.
If it indeed proves true, Belfort will have an uphill climb to get back to the nigh-indestructible form he once exhibited during a torrid, TRT-enhanced run to a title shot in 2013. Belfort has lost two straight and three of his last fights by TKO, absorbing one-sided defeats to Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasi at UFC 198 and UFC 204 this year. He seemed to hint at retirement following his loss to “The Dreamcatcher” in Manchester in early October, but rapidly backtracked on the a cryptic social media post to say he would fight on.
Putting the proverbial train back on the tracks will be a challenge against Gastelum, however, The Ultimate fighter (TUF) 17 winner whose only losses came to current welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley and Neil Magny, each by split decision. His weight management issues his most glaring obstacle, Gastelum also owns wins over former welterweight champion John Hendricks and former middleweight title contender Nate Marquardt.
Securing a win over a time-tested legend like Belfort would certainly plant Gastelum in the thick of the talented middleweight talent pool, making a third run at welterweight – where he’s missed weight three times – extremely unlikely.
Stay tuned for more news and updates about this bout and the March 11 card from Fortaleza.
Kicking off in Toronto, Canada this past Saturday December 10, UFC 206 proved to be a beast of a card. Capping off another double-header of UFC events, the pay-per-view performed strongly in the face of stacked odds. After dramas with Georges St-Pierre, the loss of the main event and Anthony Pettis missing weight, it looked
Kicking off in Toronto, Canada this past Saturday December 10, UFC 206 proved to be a beast of a card. Capping off another double-header of UFC events, the pay-per-view performed strongly in the face of stacked odds. After dramas with Georges St-Pierre, the loss of the main event and Anthony Pettis missing weight, it looked as though UFC 206 was cursed. Although the short notice main event was now only an interim title bout for Max Holloway, this made little difference at the end of the show.
Showing once again that cards can perform well without McGregor or Rousey, at least in terms of entertainment, UFC 206 was spot on. Following such an exciting show, Monday morning will be a mix of joy and sorrow for the card’s competitors. Join us as we recap the action, and pick out who won big, and lost most at UFC 206.
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Max Holloway
The biggest win of his career puts Max Holloway in a very elite bracket. Joining the top five longest win streaks in UFC history is sweet enough, but to taste UFC gold from his victory is the icing on the proverbial cake. Taking out Anthony Pettis with a third round TKO, ‘Blessed’ now lines himself for a unification bout with Jose Aldo.
Holloway out-struck Pettis in every round, landing significant strikes at 45% accuracy with a total of 98 out of 212. Holloway landed both attempted takedowns while stuffing both of Pettis’. The future is very bright for the streaking Hawaiian, and a legacy defining fight with ‘Scarface’ awaits, hopefully.
Anthony Pettis
Taking away literally nothing from UFC 206, Anthony Pettis had a terrible time. Failing to make weight for the first time in his career, ‘Showtime’ looked a shell of his former self. Even in his drained featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira, Pettis looked promising. Clearly the brutal weight cut, which he couldn’t complete, took a lot from the ex-lightweight champion.
At the least now he knows lightweight is the only viable option, but this will likely provide little comfort after such a one-sided loss. This is the fight game, things are often severely difficult, and 1-4 in his last five fights, let’s hope Pettis is able to turn around his run of bad fortune.
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Donald Cerrone/Matt Brown
Leading up to round three, Matt Brown was actually ahead in significant strikes landed. Donald Cerrone had arguably won the first frame, and Brown the second, and the third round was where it was all to play for. Needing just four significant strikes to get the job done in style, ‘Cowboy’ came away with another huge KO win. For Cerrone, either a bout with Demian Maia or a title fight are next, dependant on circumstance.
For ‘The Immortal’ its sadly a very different predicament. After his UFC 206 loss, Brown rides three straight defeats, and has won just once in his last six outings. He’s been knocked out twice in a row, and started his current losing streak with a submission loss against Demian Maia. After talk of serious concussion earlier this year, some decisions clearly need to be made. Matt Brown is an awesome guy, great fighter and entertaining to watch, but maybe 36 fights in to his 12-year career, it’s time to consider retirement.
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports
Swanson & Choi’s War
Although Cub Swanson took the unanimous decision win, Doo Ho Choi loses zero stock from his first UFC defeat. This fight was thrilling from the first punch to the last, with back-and-forth exchanges keeping us on the edge of our seats. Easily a contender for ‘fight of the year,’ Swanson and Choi had the crowds roaring with excitement during their epic slugger.
‘Killer Cub’ made a huge impression, but perhaps needs one or two more bouts before being considered for a title fight. What’s next? Number one contender bout for Swanson. ‘Korean Superboy’ remains fringe top 10, so perhaps a tune-up is on the cards.
Kelvin Gastelum & Tim Kennedy
This was an extremely ugly fight for Tim Kennedy, who hadn’t seen action since 2014. Returning against the middleweight version of Kelvin Gastelum, Kennedy was met with a painful lesson. ‘Mini Cain’ looked sharper, more conditioned and simply better than Kennedy in every respect. Taking nothing away from Gastelum, Kennedy did look quite rusty.
What’s next? After beating Kennedy by TKO at UFC 206, Gastelum clearly needs to stay at 185 pounds. Barely making or missing weight at 170 pounds just wasn’t working out, and he looked great against the bigger man in Kennedy on Saturday. For the latter, there are some great fights to make at 185 pounds, but perhaps someone like Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva would make sense. Maybe Uriah Hall?
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