Tag: Stipe Miocic

I’m Speechless: The UFC Reportedly Offering Anthony Joshua a $500 Million, Multi-Fight Contract

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The Telegraph – The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making an audacious bid to sign a promotional multi-fight deal with Anthony Joshua which could earn the Londoner $500 million (£353 million) and make him the richest British boxer of all time.

As the title suggests, I am absolutely fucking speechless. No idea how to react. Is this a negotiation tactic with Floyd? Is this Dana White letting his dick swing in capital-B Boxing’s face a little? I just don’t know. All I know is that if Anthony Joshua ever competes with a UFC emblem anywhere near his name, either in a cage or in a ring, it would be a massive coup and a combat sports changing moment.

What makes me think this is not just posturing is that Joshua himself has made it clear in the past that he could see himself competing in MMA. I always saw it as a mix of him being a real true, blue competitor and someone that wants all the glory in the world. He wants it all. And whether or not you are a Boxing fan or an MMA fan, can you really call the heavyweight champion of either the “baddest man on the planet” nowadays? Not really right? I don’t know how Joshua would do if he ran into Stipe Miocic in a dark alley or vice versa.

This, in the end, would be a hell of a culmination for this era of the post-Zuffa UFC. It would take MMA and it’s entities onto the next level. And it would only, apparently, cost them $500 million. Stay tuned.

Brock Lesnar Probably In, Jon Jones Probably Out, And The State of UFC Headliners

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Sherdog – …During a hearing on Tuesday, the California State Athletic Commission revoked Jones’ license in the state and fined him 40 percent of his purse — $205,000 – from UFC 214. The revocation comes with a one-year period of ineligibility, meaning that Jones will not be able to reapply for a license until August at the earliest….“Let USADA give their discipline, when that’s completed, I’ll be inclined to support Jones in getting his license back,” CSAC Executive Officer Andy Foster said. “”I do not believe we should end Mr. Jones’ career today, but I do believe he should sit out for a while.”

sky sports – Lesnar is currently the WWE Universal champion but did not attend Raw this week…He was also absent from Sunday night’s Sky Sports Box Office event, Elimination Chamber, although he was not scheduled to appear, and was photographed in the host city Las Vegas with White…..That led to speculation that Lesnar will return to UFC after WrestleMania, and when asked on Sirius XM radio what the odds of that happening were, White said: “Very, very, very good.”

Express – Conor McGregor is reportedly in talks with the UFC to fight twice this year. That’s according to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, who last week revealed that negotiations between the UFC and their poster boy are going swimmingly. “The word is that negotiations with Conor McGregor are going well,” he wrote in his subscription-only newsletter.

It is surely a very odd time to be a UFC fan right now. It seems like the injury bug is biting everyone, including those at the top, and what seems to be compounding everything is that the few folks that could be counted on to carry a PPV simply aren’t around. In Brock Lesnar’s case, he hasn’t been for awhile, save a cameo at UFC 200. Jon Jones actually hasn’t been around much either, fighting once a year since 2014 and prefering weed, coke, hitting and running, and steroids to fighting, or so it seems. We’ll get to the man with the red panties later. What that makes for is this sort of holding period for the leader in MMA while they build up new superstars with peculiarly-placed headlining and co-headling bouts while biding their time with fan friendly duels between veterans and solid title fights that move divisions along the best they can.

There is a reason, after all, That previously barely-knowns Darren Till and Josh Emmett were both recently given quick turnaround, high profile fights (Till vs. Cowboy Cerrone, a success, Emmett vs. Jeremy Stepehens, not) after a noted highlight-reel knock out. The UFC is desperate to quickly build up names and star power, hoping to get one or more of the next generation of revenue generators into the title picture while they await Jones and Lesnar to cycle off and for Conor McGregor to stop slinging whiskey and shoes and get back in the gym.

This is the same reason behind Brian Ortega stepping in against Frankie Edgar in this weekend’s UFC 222 co-main event. Frankie Edgar has been a longtime top-10 pound for pound talent and has been breathing down the belt’s neck for awhile now, save for an admittedly lackluster performance against Jose Aldo at UFC 200. He could have either dropped from the card and waited for his title shot or faced a better known opponent, as it is rumored McGregor himself offered to step in to some capacity. However, Edgar has also proven to be willing and able to provide his services as the gatekeeper to the 145 top -3ish as well, e.g when he took on the highly-touted Yair Rodriguez last May. “The Answer” demolished Rodriguez, who was clearly not ready for what he had bitten off, and sent the prospect back home to catch up to the 36 year old veteran. Enter Ortega – coming off a convincing, if not a little sloppy, guillotine finish over perennial top-10 145er Cub Swanson. If Ortega is able to beat Frankie Edgar, it sets up a HUGE Featherweight Title fight between two of the best young fighters to come along in a who knows how long: Ortega and 145lb Champion Max Holloway. If he loses, it only cements Edgar’s claim to his title shot and his place among the featherweight elite. Either way, it clears the way for a big PPV headlining fight for the UFC; one less that they have to worry about.

Besides Till and Ortega, there are a few other guys you can be sure the UFC will try and build quickly over the next few months. At 170lbs with Till there is Santiago Ponzinibbio (Dana White doesn’t seem too pleased with the pace of a lot of Kamaru Usman’s fights and Colby Covington’s behavior is too erratic for the UFC to trust him yet; see Jones, Jonathan Dwight). At Middleweight, champion Robert Whitaker should be a household name soon if he can stay healthy, with stud Kelvin Gastelum, a 170-185lb tweener, always on the verge of stardom. There’s a bit of dearth in the heavier weight classes, but I could see Volkan Oezdemir sticking in the title picture and gaining popularity at 205. I could also see Aussie Tyson Pedro making the jump at some point, should he string together some wins. Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic should already be a star and the UFC is foolish to not have capitalized on his bankable skills and personality already. Up-and-comer Curtis Blaydes has star potential and pedigree and returning legend Cain Velsaquez has one more run in him should he stay healthy. In the lower weight classes, the Dillashaw-Garbrandt feud should be around awhile and a money maker. Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes are also breathing down their necks at 135 lbs. 155lb is ready to blow up with Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and maybe some day Nate Diaz gunning for a part in the enjoyable feud between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, with McGregor soon returning to join the fracas.

That paragraph, if you stuck around for it, was probably a long, boring read of a list of potential superstars who you probably don’t care about yet. But it illustrates my point that the lack of RIGHT NOW star power is not so much of a problem for the UFC if they can capitalize on what they have on their AAA team. With Lesnar possibly coming back to fill in a space and McGregor supposedly fighting twice this year, the UFC may only need a Fox card and a high-PPV spot for a couple of these guys to be pushed into contention and headliner status. If you are as much of an MMA nerd as I am, you’re also excited to see how it plays out.

 

This Week In MMA and UFC

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UFC 214 is next week and is a STACKED card so instead of just putting out something next Friday or peppering in periodic updates, starting Monday I am going to use the entire week to cover it, save a quick peek you’ll find below. That leads to a pretty non-eventful few days over here on the MMA blog, but there are a few items of note to mention.

Brock Lesnar Returning?

This JUST broke yesterday evening. Twitter provocateur and MMA scoop ninja “Dizz” came out of America’s heartland to state that Brock Lesnar met with the UFC during International Fight Week, entered USADA’s testing pool, and will be returning to the Octagon. The UFC would obviously be all for a Lesnar return as he is an enormous draw, but it is a head-scratcher as to why Lesnar would do it, as he makes plenty of money on limited WWE appearances and has never seemed to really love professional fighting. I suppose his relationship with WWE could have soured again or something. Either way somehow Dizz is usually if not always fucking right so keep an eye on this.

https://twitter.com/TalkMMA/status/887612744060612608

Conor McGregor KO’d In Sparring?

Honestly either way this is much ado about nothing either way. Sometimes you just get caught, as many fighters have attested.

That said, the story went that two high-level pro boxers, Brandon Rios and Jessie Vargas, had come out and said they knew for a fact Conor had been KO’d in sparring, or something. Then Vargas came out and said he knew nothing and never said he did, or something. Then the picture below surfaced which clearly shows…something. Again, no matter which way you slice it it shouldn’t change anyone’s opinion of the fight. When highly trained grown men are swinging on each other, once in awhile someone is going to go down.

The Jon Jones/DC Social Media Beef Continues

I once threw down $10 on roulette in a small Indian casino in middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire in hopes it would grow to $50 to buy the PPV and watch DC-Jones I. I pulled it off and watched the fight, the disappointment cascading down my spine as Jones lackadaisically toyed with a mentally burnt-the-fuck-out DC. I am trying to stay hype for DC-Jones II as on paper it could be one of the best ever, but shit like you see below makes me not want to even watch as it is not only annoying, but evidence we’re probably going to see a repeat of the first fight.

Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series” Seems Pretty Cool, I’m Still Not Buying Fight Pass

So every Tuesday this summer, Dana White will put together five or so fights made up of contenders from regional promotions around the country with the possibility that one or more of the more impressive combatants will be signed to the UFC. This is a really cool idea and the fights have seemed to be really entertaining, especially considering the commentary is provided by Urijah Faber and Snoop Dogg. However, and I’ll admit I don’t know how TV deals work, I’m skeptical that there is really something so important going on that FS1 can’t air “DWTNCS” rather than it. I’m not sure what it’s going to take to finally get me to order UFC Fight Pass, but this isn’t it.

Anderson Silva Calls Out Nick Diaz Because Sure, Why Not

I’m not a psychologist, but it would seem Anderson Silva, who I regard as the GOAT for what it’s worth, is having just as much trouble letting go of the spotlight and prestige of being a prizefighter as he is the actual act of getting in the cage and competing. This week, he is trying to bait Nick Diaz to come out of unofficial retirement and rematch him, as he knows this is a run-back Diaz himself has even pined for in the past. The problems number two, one being that this fight lacks any of the intrigue or relevance the original did and two, even more importantly, Diaz has not only shown an apathy for the fight game but is kind of in a bit of shit with USADA for not telling them where he is….4 times. After a life of not exactly loving being punched in the face, Nick Diaz has figured out a way to support himself by showing up places as Nick Diaz, and I don’t know if anything would make him give that up to train for and participate in a fight. However, if anyone could lure him back, it would be Anderson

Cain Velasquez Is Returning To Fight Stipe Miocic In October?

Back in March Cain Velasquez’s coach said the oft-injured former Heavyweight champ was rarely training and didn’t seem to be in a rush to resume his MMA career. Dana White has said himself in the past that when you stop giving a fuck to that extent maybe it’s time to pack it in. At 35 with more injuries than I care to even add up all over his Goddam body on his resume, maybe Velasquez is done.

OR MAYBE, as reported a couple days ago on bjpenn.com, which shoots about 50% from the line, Cain Velasquez is returning to face Stipe Miocic for the title at UFC 216 In October. Although I know I JUST speculated Cardio Cain could be finished with his career, making this bout would not be as unlikely as it seems. Velasquez was last expected to fight for belt last February, beat Travis Browne (before we realized he was spent) in July, and was supposed to fight Werdum in December before the NSAC was like, “bro, you are wayyyy too fucked up to fight“. Basically if he has healed enough legally he could be good to go. And you know what the crazy part is? He could pull it off.