Tag: UFC 178

Alexander Gustafsson Out, Daniel Cormier in vs. Jon Jones at UFC 178

The too-good-to-be-true UFC 178 card took its first hit Wednesday evening, as light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson was forced out of his main event against Jon Jones due to injury. 
The news came via UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi, wh…

The too-good-to-be-true UFC 178 card took its first hit Wednesday evening, as light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson was forced out of his main event against Jon Jones due to injury. 

The news came via UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi, who also reported that Daniel Cormier (15-0, 4-0 UFC) will step up in Gustafsson’s place to face the champ. 

Gerbasi writes: 

The long-awaited rematch between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, scheduled for UFC 178 in Las Vegas on September 27, has been postponed after the Swede suffered an injury in training this week. Although there are scores of hungry challengers waiting for a crack at Jones’ crown, few can rival Daniel Cormier’s burning desire to topple the champ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

For fans, this is a bittersweet announcement. 

On one hand, the rematch between Jones and Gustafsson was one of the most anticipated bouts of the year. Fans eagerly awaited this fight since the moment their first bout at UFC 165 ended and Jones’ hand was raised. Gustafsson, fighting the best fight of his life that night, gave the champion all he could handle, and we saw Bones look human for the first time in his career. 

Could the Swede do it again at UFC 178 on September 27? We were all set to find out, but an undisclosed injury now puts those plans on hold.

On the bright side, Cormier is most definitely a worthy challenger. A former Olympic wrestler, he brings a ridiculously powerful array of takedowns in the cage, and his striking and submission games are ever-improving. 

He’s a menace, and nobody has put him in any sort of danger so far in his mixed martial arts career. 

Jones, however, is a different beast. 

At 20-1 (with his one loss being a disqualification in a fight he was clearly winning), Jones has enjoyed perfection throughout his professional fighting career, and he’s blended every facet of the MMA game with unparalleled skill and grace.

His lone slip-up came against Gustafsson, and even in that scrap he won enough rounds to take home the judges’ decision. Even when he wasn’t totally on his game, he was good enough to beat the No. 1 challenger in the world. 

That’s special. 

Now, Jones puts his title and his light heavyweight-record seven consecutive title defenses on the line against Cormier in a fight we all suspected would happen, just not this soon. 

For their part, Jones and Cormier seem to be ready for battle, as Cormier recently tweeted a pointed exchange between the two (NSFW).

How do you feel about the switch? Do you like Jones vs. Cormier better, or were you frothing over Jones vs. Gustafsson II?

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Conor McGregor on UFC 178: ‘Tell Jon (Jones) I’m Taking a Cut of His PPV’

Surging UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor has a chance to prove he’s truly an elite talent at UFC 178 when he squares off with perennial contender Dustin Poirier. 
Although the event is headlined by a long-awaited light heavyweight champi…

Surging UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor has a chance to prove he’s truly an elite talent at UFC 178 when he squares off with perennial contender Dustin Poirier. 

Although the event is headlined by a long-awaited light heavyweight championship rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, “The Notorious” warns the 205-pound titleholder he’s going to make his paycheck for the event a little lighter than usual. 

According to MMA Payout, the O2 in McGregor‘s homeland of Dublin, Ireland did a whopping 9,500-person gate and raked in $1.4 million. 

While the fighter salaries from the event haven’t been released yet, it seems safe to say that McGregor will be making a nice chunk of change at this next Octagon outing based on the amazing turnout his previous bout turned in. 

In the UFC, it is not uncommon for big draws to get a cut of the pay-per-view points the event sells, and obviously McGregor now wants his piece of the pie. 

His grudge match with Poirier is rumored to be the co-main event of UFC 178, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the UFC has yet to confirm that. 

Barring any injuries, the September 27 card looks to be a stellar one. 

Other matchups finalized for the card include a pivotal women’s bantamweight scrap between Cat Zingano vs. Amanda Nunes, a middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero and the return of ex-bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz against Takeya Mizugaki. 

In the event that McGregor vs. Poirier goes down as planned, does the Irish sensation deserve some additional compensation for competing at the event—win or lose?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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Barnburner Alert: Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier a Go for UFC 178


(“No, I’d rather not fight Ronda Rousey at UFC 176. Why would you ask me that, Joe?” Photo via Getty.)

Maybe it’s just me, but people seem to be riding pretty high on this Conor McGregor character following his first round destruction of Diego Brandao at what Kevin Iole referred to as “the greatest UFC event of all time” with 100% sincerity. Great job, Kevin. I hope Dana gave you the week off for partaking in such blatant shillery.

Right, back to McGregor. Following his win over Brandao, the Irish phenom was called out by Dustin Poirier on Twitter, who had a late September matchup in mind. McGregor quickly agreed at the Fight Night 46 press conference, and as luck would have it, they are now set to meet at UFC 178: Jones vs. Gustafsson II on September 27th.

“The fights were good and the crowd loved the show.” — Kevin Iole, describing UFC 75 to his fullest capabilities before declaring Fight Night 46 as the greatest UFC event of all time. If you ever thought this MMA writing stuff was easy, you’re right.

I’m sorry, I keep getting off track. Anyway, here’s what Poirier had to say about McGregor and how he carries himself on The MMA Hour yesterday. Spoiler: It is not exactly a ringing endorsement…


(“No, I’d rather not fight Ronda Rousey at UFC 176. Why would you ask me that, Joe?” Photo via Getty.)

Maybe it’s just me, but people seem to be riding pretty high on this Conor McGregor character following his first round destruction of Diego Brandao at what Kevin Iole referred to as “the greatest UFC event of all time” with 100% sincerity. Great job, Kevin. I hope Dana gave you the week off for partaking in such blatant shillery.

Right, back to McGregor. Following his win over Brandao, the Irish phenom was called out by Dustin Poirier on Twitter, who had a late September matchup in mind. McGregor quickly agreed at the Fight Night 46 press conference, and as luck would have it, they are now set to meet at UFC 178: Jones vs. Gustafsson II on September 27th.

“The fights were good and the crowd loved the show.” — Kevin Iole, describing UFC 75 to his fullest capabilities before declaring Fight Night 46 as the greatest UFC event of all time. If you ever thought this MMA writing stuff was easy, you’re right.

I’m sorry, I keep getting off track. Anyway, here’s what Poirier had to say about McGregor and how he carries himself on The MMA Hour yesterday. Spoiler: It is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I mean, come on man. The guy runs his mouth too much. Right off the bat I’m fired up about this guy. I’ve been in this division since the WEC merged (with UFC), I’ve paid my dues and I’ve stayed quiet and busted my ass day in and day out. I’ve won the fights that I’ve needed to win, I’ve had some tough fights. I feel like I need to be up there. I need to be up there where people are talking about me. His name in the same sentence as featherweight title should never come out of anybody’s mouth.

I can’t believe the hype this guy is getting man. I think he is over-hyped, no doubt about it, 100 percent. And to tell you the honest truth, I feel like I should be fighting Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson again. I should be fighting the top guys. But, I’ve asked for those fights and I haven’t got them. What should I do?

The answer is simple, Dustin: Find yourself a big audience and then just start spewing nonsense until you become a commodity. It’s worked for all of the UFC’s heavy hitters: Rousey, Jones, Sonnen, Iole, and so on.

Look, I know everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but calling Fight Night 46 the greatest UFC event of all time is just poppycock. Pure, unadulterated, poppycock. What has the UFC done with your soul, Iole? What are you going to tell me next, that the Phantom Menace is your favorite Star Wars movie? When you finished the final sentence of that article, did a single tear roll down your eye? Or have the years spent transforming from a legitimate reporter into a UFC PR robot eradicated your ability to emote? I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION, DAMN YOU.

………….

Also being rumored for UFC 178 is a welterweight showdown between top contenders Tarec Saffiedine and Rory MacDonald. The former is fresh off a decision win Hyun Gyu Lim in one of the greatest brawls of the year so far. The latter is on the heels of a dominant return to form over Tyron Woodley at UFC 174. So that should be fun.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go punch some trees in Minecraft until my Iole rage dissipates.

–J. Jones

Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier Official for UFC 178 in Las Vegas

Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier will go down September 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at UFC 178.
The news comes via the UFC UK Twitter account just three days after McGregor defeated Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin, Ireland. 

While thi…

Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier will go down September 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at UFC 178.

The news comes via the UFC UK Twitter account just three days after McGregor defeated Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin, Ireland. 

While this bout was largely expected by the MMA community, it’s no less exciting now that it’s here. 

McGregor, equally recognized for his mouth as his fists, is 3-0 since entering the UFC in April 2013 with two first-round finishes. Even without a Top 10 win in his UFC career, he’s talked about as much as the division’s Top Five, a testament to his polarizing attitude and his sharp tongue. 

Poirier, meanwhile, is not so impressed with the Irish superstar. 

He recently deemed McGregor “not even top 10” on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, and the Diamond is on a three-fight winning streak of his own, so Notorious’ accomplishments mean little in his eyes. 

Poirier has previously sniffed No. 1 contender’s fights in the division, stumbling to both Chan Sung Jung and Cub Swanson and keeping himself away from the title in the process. If, however, he can defeat McGregor, he will launch himself right back into another high-profile bout or, potentially, the title fight itself. 

McGregor may not be a top-10 fighter in the Diamond’s eyes, but there’s no doubt that this fight will receive significant media and fan attention, and the fight’s victor will be primed for greatness in the increasingly stacked UFC featherweight division. 

With the addition of this fight, UFC 178 is looking phenomenal. It’s arguably the most stacked event of the year, and there’s still time to add another big-time showdown or two to the card, so stay tuned to Bleacher Report as the event assumes its final form. 

For now, here is the current lineup for the September show: 

Which fight are you most looking forward to? 

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Conor McGregor Agrees to UFC 178 Fight with Dustin Poirier If Poirier Shows Up

After picking up a win in front of his countrymen, Conor McGregor has no shortage of options for his next fight in the UFC.
That’s due in large part to the brash comments he has made on a regular basis since joining the UFC’s ranks. One man who wo…

After picking up a win in front of his countrymen, Conor McGregor has no shortage of options for his next fight in the UFC.

That’s due in large part to the brash comments he has made on a regular basis since joining the UFC’s ranks. One man who wouldn’t mind “whipping his a-s” is Dustin Poirier. Matt Erickson of MMA Junkie has the response from McGregor, and it’s what most people would expect from the Irishman.

That would be perfect for me. His teammate Cole Miller, he pulled out. You’re trying to tell me that Dustin Poirier, Nik Lentz, both top 10 guys, no fights scheduled, didn’t know about Cole’s injury? They would’ve known before the UFC would’ve known. And yet nothing. They didn’t campaign for this. This is a main-event slot. It’s a big, big event. And yet there wasn’t a peep out of both of them.

So I know he doesn’t want that fight. He can pretend that he wants the fight and send out tweets and this and that. Let’s do it. One by one, I’ll take every single one of them out.

McGregor was originally scheduled to face Cole Miller, but the American Top Team product had to pull out of the fight due to a thumb injury. Poirier last competed in April against Akira Corassani, winning by TKO in the second round. The bout earned both competitors Fight of the Night honors.

Meanwhile, Lentz rebounded from his first defeat at featherweight by taking out Manny Gamburyan in May. He was subsequently paired up with Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 50.

If McGregor vs. Poirier does materialize, it has the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate. Both Poirier and McGregor have fan-friendly styles and don’t know how to move anywhere but forward. The buildup to the fight would likely help secure some undecided buyers for a pay-per-view card as well.

It would be a quick turnaround for McGregor, but considering he’s been on the shelf since last year prior to his fight against Brandao, it’s a good bet the Irishman wants to strike while the iron is hot.

It’s the perfect opportunity for Poirier to stay busy while the top handful of fighters in the division wait on the health of Jose Aldo. Quite a few people in the division could be competing for the UFC title, and with Poirier seemingly on the outside looking in, fighting McGregor would give him a high-profile bout to take.

UFC 178 is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Las Vegas and already features a stacked lineup that will be headlined by the much-anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.

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Donald Cerrone vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov Booked for UFC 178, Immediately Canceled

Donald Cerrone helped even the most cynical fans rekindle their love of MMA with his tantalizing fight with Jim Miller on Wednesday, and the future seemed even brighter when rumors swirled that he was set to face Dagestani sensation Khabib Nurmago…

Donald Cerrone helped even the most cynical fans rekindle their love of MMA with his tantalizing fight with Jim Miller on Wednesday, and the future seemed even brighter when rumors swirled that he was set to face Dagestani sensation Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

When news broke that Cerrone vs. Nurmagomedov was booked for UFC 178, there was much rejoicing. When UFC President Dana White discussed how the operative word in that sentence is “was,” however, there was much melancholy. 

According to White (h/t Chuck Mindenhall from MMAFighting.com), Nurmagomedov and Cerrone signed the contract, only for Nurmagomedov to suffer a serious injury just minutes later. “It was done. The bout agreements, done. Email went out last night from Joe Silva saying that this fight is done, both contracts were signed,” he said. “Boom, 20 minutes later, you’re not going to f—ing believe this, the fight is off.”

Cerrone and Nurmagomedov represent two of the hottest names in the lightweight division right now.

Cerrone, a top fighter in the WEC who has cemented himself as one of the best 155-pounders in the world in the years since, is on an impressive four-fight win streak. After dropping a troubling decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos in August 2013, Cerrone bounced back with an impressive submission win over Evan Dunham. From there he racked up three more stoppage victories over Adriano Martins, Edson Barboza and, most recently, Miller.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has made waves with his ability to demolish solid lightweights. He made his UFC debut by submitting Kamal Shalorus and has since put up dominant wins over Gleison Tibau, Thiago Tavares, Abel Trujillo, Pat Healy and Rafael dos Anjos. He finds himself out indefinitely now, however, which puts his electrifying career on an awkward hold that could last for a full year.

The lone bright spot is that UFC 178 remains stacked. The card is headlined by the long-anticipated rematch between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson and backed up by the returns of former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (opposite Takeya Mizugaki) and women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano (opposite Amanda Nunes). Add in a big middleweight tilt between Tim Kennedy and Yoel Romero and a battle between welterweight strikers Patrick Cote and Stephen Thompson, and UFC 178 boasts an incredibly strong card on September 27.

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