Jones sends Smith to his knees in UFC

LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on Saturday night, overcoming a two-point deduction for an illegal knee to Smith’s head in the fourth round.

Kamaru Usman claimed the UFC welterweight title in the penultimate bout at T-Mobile Arena, dominating Tyron Woodley in a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

Ben Askren, Woodley’s close friend and training partner, survived an opening-minute beating and rallied to choke out Robbie Lawler midway through the first round of his own UFC debut.


Jones (24-1) had little trouble in an expert display of his all-around brilliance against the overmatched Smith (31-14), who had no answers for the likely pound-for-pound champion of mixed martial arts.

Jones dominated on his feet, against the cage and on the ground until he got in trouble in the fourth round when his knee struck Smith’s head while the challenger was in a downed position. Referee Herb Dean deducted two points from Jones, who apologized to Smith after the bell.


``This MMA thing is really hard,’’ Jones said. ``Some days you’re going to look amazing, and some days at work you’re not going to perform at the level you hold yourself to.’’

Jones finished uneventfully and remained unbeaten since 2009, winning a decision for the fifth time in his last seven fights.

Jones won 48-44 on all three scorecards.

source: philstar.com

Dope-free Jones sees new hope vs Smith

LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones used to cry for days when he heard about his positive doping tests.

Although his system still isn’t clean, Jones’ eyes are finally dry heading into UFC 235.

The UFC’s light heavyweight champion memorably wept in a news conference after getting pulled from UFC 200 in 2016, realizing his career was headed into a spiral. Jones cried again in a friend’s arms a few months ago when tests showed more traces of the steroid metabolite that could be in his system for years.


But when two more tests last month revealed tiny amounts of the metabolite, Jones finally didn’t cry. Although the results are casting a shadow over his every achievement, he has come to grips with his predicament – and more importantly to Jones, he is allowed to fight on.

Jones said he will take on Anthony Smith on Saturday night in the main event at T-Mobile Arena with clear eyes and a clean conscience.

“I’m at a place now where I’ve been hurt so many times,” Jones said. “So many things have happened – I’ve caused a lot of my own pain, and there’s been a lot of pain inflicted – that I just feel like I’m so comfortable with this scenario. I’m not going to allow anybody to hurt me anymore. ...I take responsibility for this whole thing, (but) I’m not going to let it bend me or break me.”

Jones has always denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing substances, and mixed martial arts’ various regulatory bodies believe his recent results are microscopic echoes of past violations, not a reason to ban arguably the most gifted fighter of his generation.

Jones has grown increasingly defiant in recent months, standing up to condemnation for what he claims to be an honest mistake with a supplement – a stance that makes his opponents laugh.

Now 31, Jones (23-1) is moving on to chase big paydays and career-defining excellence.

source: philstar.com

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor suspended

LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was fined $500,000 and suspended for nine months for a brawl inside and outside the octagon after his fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 229. McGregor was fined $50,000 and suspended for six months.

Nurmagomedov climbed over the cage and scuffled with a fighter in McGregor’s corner after McGregor (21-4) tapped out during a chokehold by Nurmagomedov (27-0) in the fourth round of UFC 229.         

source: philstar.com

Nunes KOs Cyborg in 51 seconds, Jones stops Gustafsson at UFC 232

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Amanda Nunes knocked out Cris "Cyborg" Justino 51 seconds into the first round at UFC 232 on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time), ending the featherweight champion's 13-year unbeaten run with one of the most surprising victories in mixed martial arts history.

Jon Jones also reclaimed his light heavyweight title in his return from a 17-month cage absence, stopping Alexander Gustafsson with strikes on the ground in the third round.

Nunes, the UFC's bantamweight champion, made history when she moved up 10 pounds to challenge Justino (20-2), widely considered the world's greatest female fighter. Nunes became the third fighter in UFC history to hold two title belts simultaneously, joining Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier.

"I knew this was happening, I told you all!" Nunes said. "Cris is a great fighter, nothing but respect. It was an awesome opportunity to share the octagon with her. I'm very thankful to her for this. I'm the new 'champ-champ.' I said that before, and now I'm just achieving this dream."

Nunes (17-4) was thought to be an undersized underdog, but she seized her second title belt by overwhelming her fellow Brazilian. Nunes buckled Justino's knees in the opening seconds, and she eventually knocked down Justino twice.

She ended the fight spectacularly with an overhand right to the ear, putting Justino face-down on the canvas.

Nunes also knocked out Ronda Rousey in less than a minute two years ago.

Jones (23-1, 1 no-contest) followed up that bout with a methodical dismantling of Gustafsson in a rematch of Jones' toughest fight. Jones earned a thrilling decision in 2013 over Gustafsson, who tested the champion to the limits of his ability.

But in Jones' first fight since completing his second drug suspension, the star picked apart Gustafsson with kicks in the first two rounds. He got a takedown in the third and finished the fight with several brutal shots to Gustafsson's head on the ground.

The 31-year-old Jones had fought only twice in the previous 47 months, losing an enormous chunk of his fighting prime due to his misbehavior.

During 2015 alone, he tested positive for cocaine use and was later stripped of his 205-pound title because of a hit-and-run accident in which he broke a pregnant woman's arm. He returned in early 2016, but was pulled from a title bout at UFC 200 later that year after testing positive for two banned substances often taken in concert with steroid use.

Jones returned from his first doping suspension with a stoppage of Cormier in July 2017 to reclaim his light heavyweight title, but he lost the belt again after testing positive for steroids.

Jones' latest tests revealed extremely low levels of the same substance, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it considered the results to be an echo of his previous positive test, not a new violation. California officials agreed, allowing Jones to fight in Inglewood after Nevada demanded more answers in a hearing in January.

Gustafsson was thoroughly infuriated by Jones' misbehavior, flatly calling Jones a cheater and vowing to wreck his latest comeback. The Swede lost to Anthony Johnson and Cormier after Jones beat him, but won his last two fights to vault back into contention.

Just six days after the UFC moved the entire show from Las Vegas to the famous Forum south of downtown Los Angeles, a capacity crowd watched another groundbreaking achievement by Nunes, the ferocious brawler who calls herself "The Lioness."

Nunes' punching power is often too much for her male sparring partners, and she carved up the formidable Justino with astonishing ease despite a size disadvantage. Justino had won 20 consecutive fights since her MMA debut in 2005, and she had dominated since the inception of the UFC's 145-pound division, which was created largely as a showcase for her talent.

The UFC made the extraordinary decision to move its show 280 miles to California to keep Jones on the card. The former champion recently tested positive for low levels of a banned steroid, but California regulatory officials didn't consider the result serious enough to keep the long-troubled star out of the octagon, while Nevada's commission did.

Australian featherweight prospect Alexander Volkanovski (19-1) won his 16th straight bout in the PPV opener, stopping veteran Chad Mendes with right hands in the second round of a back-and-forth bout. Michael Chiesa also won his welterweight debut with a second-round submission of former champ Carlos Condit, who lost his fifth straight fight.

Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn tapped out for the first time in his MMA career, losing to Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz Ryan Hall on a heel hook in the first round. Penn (16-13-2), an MMA pioneer who turned 40 this month, is 0-6-1 in his last seven fights since 2010.

Despite the late move to LA, the UFC sold out the Forum after just six days of ticket sales. The crowd included Justino friend Halle Berry, Dolph Lundgren, David Spade, NL MVP Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, Travis Barker, Mick Foley and Amber Valletta.

source: philstar.com

Conor is back: UFC says McGregor will fight in Vegas this October

LOS ANGELES — Conor McGregor will return to mixed martial arts on Oct. 6 (Sunday, Oct. 7 in Manila) in Las Vegas for a title bout against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC dramatically announced the matchup Friday with a promotional video to close a news conference promoting its slate of fight cards for the rest of 2018.

“The fight is done,” UFC President Dana White said.

McGregor (21-3) simultaneously held the featherweight and lightweight championship belts during his meteoric UFC career, but he hasn’t fought in MMA since taking the 155-pound lightweight belt from Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. The loquacious Irishman hasn’t competed at all since losing his lucrative boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in August 2017, and his UFC lightweight title was stripped and subsequently claimed by Nurmagomedov in April.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov will meet in the main event of the UFC 229 pay-per-view show at T-Mobile Arena, the same spot where Mayweather stopped McGregor in the 10th round of their one-sided prizefight.

McGregor also has resolved his legal troubles after throwing a hand truck at a bus containing UFC fighters during a one-man rampage last April at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Nurmagomedov was the intended target of McGregor’s wrath after a previous spat between the fighters’ camps.

Nurmagomedov (26-0), who wasn’t actually on the bus, won the vacant lightweight belt by beating Al Iaquinta in Brooklyn two days after McGregor’s attack, which injured uninvolved fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg. McGregor was arrested, but was sentenced last month to perform five days of community service, avoiding jail time in a plea deal.

Nurmagomedov, the Dagestan-born Russian champion, has been one of the pound-for-pound greats of MMA when healthy, racking up 10 consecutive victories since joining the UFC.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov weren’t at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles along with the other headlining fighters of the autumn cards, but the announcement of their bout set off wild cheering among the fans.

Nurmagomedov is a formidable challenger for McGregor in a return from a 23-month break in MMA competition, but McGregor has never backed down from a challenge.

Once McGregor resolved to return to the octagon earlier this year, Nurmagomedov was the obvious choice to be his next opponent — but the biggest obstacle to this bout appeared to be money. Negotiations for this bout dragged on for many weeks while McGregor argued a highly lucrative deal, even demanding an ownership stake in the UFC in exchange for returning to the cage, and Nurmagomedov also asked for a hefty raise.

White didn’t disclose terms of the deal that was reached. McGregor didn’t immediately react to the bout announcement on social media.

Earlier in the news conference, the UFC also promoted the long-awaited return of Nate Diaz, who memorably split two bouts with McGregor in 2016. The popular Diaz (19-11) hasn’t fought since that majority-decision loss to McGregor in August 2016, but he agreed to fight Dustin Poirier in a lightweight bout in New York at UFC 230 on Nov. 3.

“It’s time to go, so it’s time to go,” Diaz said.

Although Diaz alluded to unspecified legal troubles that kept him out of action, the veteran brawler also had waited two years in hopes of getting a highly lucrative third fight with McGregor.

Diaz didn’t seem happy about the surprise announcement of McGregor’s next bout.

“I’m not fighting on that show,” Diaz tweeted moments after stepping off stage, adding an expletive directed toward the UFC.

source: philstar.com

Nunes beats Pennington to retain UFC title

RIO DE JANEIRO — Amanda Nunes of Brazil beat American Raquel Pennington early Sunday to defend her UFC bantamweight title for the third time. The heavily favored Brazilian won by technical knockout in the fifth round in front of her home fans in Rio de Janeiro.

Nunes said winning against her friend Pennington was the hardest challenge she had to face in her career.

“I respect this woman so much,” the Brazilian said with tears in her eyes after her victory. “This was the hardest thing I did in my career. I had to do it to defend this belt, defend my biggest dream.

“We will have some beers as friends later tonight.”

Before the decisive round, Pennington was heard saying “I’m done,” but her coach insisted she should return to the bout.

The American hadn’t fought since November 2016 because of injuries. The two friends were scheduled to clash in December, but Pennington broke her left leg in an ATV crash.

In the opening of the event’s main card, former lightweight champion Vitor Belfort announced his retirement after losing to countryman and former champion Lyoto Machida by knockout.

“Everything in life has beginning, middle and end,” Belfort said. “I will stop fighting here because I think I reached the end. Thanks for your love.”

American Kelvin Gastelum beat crowd favorite Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a split-decision that was booed by local fans.

Unbeaten Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Mackenzie Dern needed less than three minutes to overcome American Amanda Cooper in the strawweight division. Dern, who made her UFC debut only two months ago and weighed in seven pounds above the limit on Friday, won by submission.

“I try not to cry,” Dern said, “but my camp was very hard and I had the weight issue.”

John Lineker beat Brian Kelleher in their bantamweight bout by knockout.

source: philstar.com

Retire or fight back? UFC stars offer advice to Ronda Rousey

LAS VEGAS — Ronda Rousey is taking time off to ponder her future after her 48-second loss in her comeback fight at UFC 207.

Amanda Nunes thinks Rousey must retire.

Jon Jones believes Rousey should fight again.

The UFC's biggest names offered strong opinions about Rousey's future Saturday, a day after Nunes punched Rousey into submission in less than a minute. Rousey (12-2), once the most dominant fighter in the sport, has now lost two straight boutss 13 months apart, looking unprepared and overmatched against both Holly Holm and Nunes.

After Nunes easily defended the bantamweight belt once held by Rousey, the champion encouraged Rousey to move on.

"That's it for her," Nunes said Friday night. "For sure, she's going to retire. She can't take it anymore. If she wants the rematch, I'm going to do the same thing, because she can't take my punches."


Other major figures in mixed martial arts disagree.

Jones was arguably the most feared fighter in the sport before failing a drug test last summer. The suspended former light heavyweight champion took to Twitter on Saturday to encourage Rousey.

"My advice to Ronda would be to pick yourself up and try again," Jones wrote. "I think it's important for Ronda to show her fans how great she truly is by displaying her courage and giving it another try."

Rousey declined to promote her comeback bout, and she refused to discuss her loss with fans or reporters after making a guaranteed $3 million along with undisclosed millions in bonuses and pay-per-view revenue from the UFC's year-end show. She issued a statement to ESPN on Saturday.

"Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year," Rousey wrote. "However, sometimes — even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly — it doesn't work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women's division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.

"I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding."

Nunes acknowledged feeling sorry for Rousey after landing 27 punches on the former champion in just 48 seconds. Nunes believes the cumulative stress of Rousey's first loss, her acting career and numerous outside-the-cage responsibilities combined to "pressure her too much."

Nunes spoke directly to a bloodied Rousey in the cage after the loss.

"I told her, 'You did a lot for this sport,'" Nunes said. "'Thank you so much. Now, take some time to rest and maybe do something else.' Why should she keep doing this? She's a millionaire already. Why would she want to keep doing this? She'll hurt herself."

But Jones sees a ferocious competitor in Rousey behind the acting jobs and modeling gigs.

"What she does next will truly determine her legacy," Jones wrote. "I really hope she chooses to be ... unbroken. Her story doesn't have to be over here. I also still believe she beats 90 (percent) of the division. Lots of ass kicking still to be done, lots of money to be made."

Jones also joined Nunes and innumerable MMA figures in questioning the effectiveness of Rousey's coaching.

Edmond Tarverdyan, Rousey's coach, was widely criticized for his uneven, unusual coaching methods even before Rousey's career faltered. Even Rousey's mother, AnnMaria De Mars, has ripped Tarverdyan, but Rousey has remained fiercely loyal to her longtime guru.

Jones is based at the Albuquerque gym of respected trainer Greg Jackson, the mastermind behind several UFC champions. Rousey's striking has long been a weak spot for the Olympic judo medalist, and she was utterly unable to cope with Nunes' punching ability, showing little growth in the past year from the weaknesses exposed by Holm.

"Maybe she just needs to complement her coach with an MMA family," Jones wrote. "Maybe she should join one of the bigger MMA teams. ... Being around other bad asses and constantly sharing your spotlight could be good for you (in) so many ways. They can improve on your humility."

Rousey turns 30 years old in February, with several years of her ostensible athletic prime before her. While she has circled several major acting jobs after playing three supporting roles in recent years, she doesn't appear to have any major film commitments.

But Rousey took several months off after her first defeat, and she seems likely to be deliberate again. De Mars, who cradled Rousey as the fighter left the T-Mobile Arena cage, took to her blog Saturday to offer support.

"She cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don't believe the average person can wrap his/her head around," De Mars wrote. "I am very proud of my daughter."

source: philstar.com

UFC 196: Tate dethrones Holm, McGregor stunned by Diaz

Miesha Tate scored a sensational victory over reigning bantamweight champion Holly Holm in Las Vegas, choking her out late in the fifth round to win the title Holm took from Ronda Rousey in November.

After a cagey first round in which few significant blows were landed, the 34-year-old Holm was in trouble in the second round but managed to survive by keeping Tate at bay with her longer reach.

Tate managed to get Holm back on the mat late in the fifth and final round, but despite an acrobatic attempt to escape by the champion, Tate clung on to render her unconscious and claim the title.

“She went out like a champion. I have so much respect for this woman,” the 29-year-old told the octagon announcer as she received the belt.

McGregor stunned

Meanwhile, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was choked into submission by Nate Diaz in a stunning reverse at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

McGregor, who was denied a chance to become the first fighter to hold two UFC belts at the same time when lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos pulled out with a foot injury, struggled in the second round after Diaz landed a heavy blow.

McGregor had landed some heavy shots of his own in the first round but couldn’t put the 30-year-old away, and an effort to take the fight to the mat backfired when Diaz got behind him to apply the rear naked choke hold that ended the fight.

source: interaksyon.com

Brandon Vera crowned inaugural ONE heavyweight champion after 1st round KO win

Fil-American MMA fighter Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera won the inaugural ONE heavyweight world championship on Friday after a quick knockout of Taiwan’s Paul Cheng in the main event of ONE: Spirit of Champions fight card at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Vera stopped his opponent 26 seconds into the first round, dropping Chen with a left hook and a high kick before finishing the fight off with some heavy hammer fists.

The rest of the card saw mixed results for the other Filipinos seeing action in front of their home crowd, with Mark ‘Mugen’ Striegl and former world boxing champion Ana ‘Hurricane’ Julaton losing their respective fights and Eugene Toquero emerging victorious via technical knockout against a Chinese foe.

Striegl was defeated by Australian Reece ‘Lightning’ McLaren via submission (rear naked choke) in the second round of their bantamweight bout. Julaton, meanwhile, dropped a unanimous decision to Russian kickboxer Irina Mazepa in the women’s bantamweight division.

Flyweight Toquero handed Li Wei Bin, who entered the match undefeated in three ONE fights, his very first loss in an MMA cage. He battered his opponent for two rounds before Li failed to answer the call for round three, awarding the win to the Pinoy striking specialist.

Another Filipino, Ruel Catalan, fell by submission to Brazilian Alex Silva.

In the other fights, Angela Lee of Singapore defeated Lena Tkhovervska of Poland and Brazil’s Bruno Pucci beat the Netherlands’ Anthony Engelen, both by submission. Christian Lee also knocked out David Meak in the first round.

source: interaksyon.com

Mark Striegl disappointed after foe missing weight results in scrapped PXC 41 fight

Filipino-American featherweight contender Mark ‘Mugen’ Striegl was just raring to get back into the Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) cage to wash away some of the sting of his previous fight – a loss to current 145-lb. division champion Jang Yong Kim.

Unfortunately for Striegl, his return is going to have to wait after scheduled foe Ev Ting missed weight by a whopping seven pounds, leaving the Baguio-based fighter without an opponent for the night.

“Of course I’m bummed out. I trained really hard for this fight, especially after my last fight with Jang Yong Kim,” a disappointed Striegl told InterAKTV during the PXC 41 event at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Striegl expressed some frustration after seeing his return fight scrapped from the schedule through no fault of his own.

“I feel as a professional fighter, you have two jobs – one is to make weight and the other is show up on fight night and fight. Ev Ting failed to make weight. It is what it is,” he said.

“And he didn’t try to make weight either. PXC gave him time and he quit.”

The Fil-Am fighter is looking to get his career arc back on track after suffering his first professional loss against Kim last September. While this sets his plans back a little, he’s more concerned about his fans that he is about himself at this point.

“I just feel I let down some of my fans who showed up and bought tickets and wanted to see me fight tonight.”

Striegl is now set for a possible February return against a yet-to-be-named opponent. But given the choice, he would rather it not be Ting, whom he doesn’t trust not to repeat his actions in this one.

He is ready to move past it, though, and is preparing for the next challenge ahead.

“It sucks, but I just have to look forward to the next one,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

PXC star Mark Striegl to headline four-man tournament for featherweight belt

Filipino rising MMA star Mark ‘Mugen’ Striegl is set to headline a four-man featherweight tournament that will decide the fate of the vacated Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) 145-lb. division title.

With champion Joe Taimanglo making a move to US-based MMA promotion Bellator, the featherweight belt is now very much up for grabs, and two matches with major title implications will be on the PXC 37 card slated for May 18 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Striegl, one of the country’s fastest-rising local stars, will fight debuting Japanese fighter Yusuke Yachi, a Shooto champion from the famed Krazy Bee dojo in Tokyo, while longtime contender Jang Yong Kim of Korean Top Team takes on Hawaii’s Nate Thorell in the other side of the bracket.

The winners will be scheduled to fight for the title in August.

Striegl, undefeated in 12 MMA fights and 2-0 in the PXC, catapulted himself into contention after a high-profile win over PXC lightweight champion Harris Sarmiento at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in PXC 34.

The Filipino-American fighter out of Fight Corps MMA in Baguio has breezed through his PXC opposition, winning both of his fights with submission finishes in the first round.

Striegl was actually in line to fight for the belt before Taimanglo was released so he could pursue a title in a US mainland-based promotion.

But Striegl’s young opponent figures to be a challenge, touting an impressive 9-3 Shooto record and becoming a champion at only 22 years old, with significant victories over veterans like Wataru Miki and Yuji Hoshino. One of his losses was to PXC fighter Guy Delameau in 2011.

Yachi joins the crop of new talent in the PXC, a promotion that has prided itself on showcasing future MMA stars on their way to the top level of the sport like the UFC.

“We pride ourselves on recruiting young talent and giving them exposure with tough fights against some of the best fighters from California to China,” said PXC CEO and promoter EJ Calvo. “We are happy to welcome Yusuke Yachi to our PXC roster of elite featherweights. He is an exciting technical fighter on his feet as well as on the ground.”

On the other end of the bracket, South Korean challenger Kim , whose most recent fight was a loss in a title fight against Taimanglo, looks to re-establish himself in the division as he takes on 808 Fight Factory’s Thorell, who is 4-1 as a pro and 1-0 in the PXC so far.

Kim, like Striegl, holds a win over lightweight champ Sarmiento in the 145-lb. division.

PXC 37 will also feature Filipino bantamweight champion Crisanto ‘The Slugger’ Pitpitunge defending his belt against dangerous challenger Michinori Tanaka and another homegrown PXC titlist, flyweight champ Ale Cali, making a defense against young contender Louis Smolka.

The event will be broadcast nationwide on AKTV via IBC-13 and streamed online via PXC’s Facebook page. Those interested can visit www.pxc.com.ph or www.facebook.com/pxcmma for more news and information.

PXC 37 is presented by San Mig Strong Ice and Sports 5. With special thanks to PLDT MY DSL, Fitness First, FHM Philippines, FHM.com.ph, Premiere Condoms, Healthway Agility Philippines, Beer Below Zero, Real Sports Radio, Loqal.ph, Filquest Media Concepts, Eden Night Club, SM Tickets and TicketWorld.

source: interaksyon.com