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Ronda's fight was absolutely ridiculous. There is no one at 135 right now, outside of Cristiane Justino, that poses a challenge to her. Her judo is massively powerful, she tossed Davis like she was nothing. And with that, Ronda now has 2 TKO victories and pretty much no credible challengers left in the UFC as I don't see Cat Zingano being able to keep up with her coming off a massive knee injury like that. She's head and shoulders above the rest of the roster.

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Also, in WSOF, Gaethje KO'ed Newell and probably punched his ticket into the UFC. .

 

Justin_Gaethje___vs.___Nick_Newell.gif

 

Nick Newell is a great feel good story about MMA and he can fight but this was just too much.

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Ronda's fight was absolutely ridiculous. There is no one at 135 right now, outside of Cristiane Justino, that poses a challenge to her. Her judo is massively powerful, she tossed Davis like she was nothing. And with that, Ronda now has 2 TKO victories and pretty much no credible challengers left in the UFC as I don't see Cat Zingano being able to keep up with her coming off a massive knee injury like that. She's head and shoulders above the rest of the roster.

 

Still, if Nakai beats Miesha Tate (toss up), she has the (padded) record to be sold as a contender. Barring that, Bethe Correia if she gets by Shayna Baszler because it's the right kind of storyline (unless Marina Shafir drops to 135). And the hail mary option that would get destroyed in 30 seconds by the top WMMA grappler in the world: Holly Holm.

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Did you see the interview where Dana asked the journalists who wants to see Cyborg in UFC, he said he will do it but I think he was joking.

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Did you see the interview where Dana asked the journalists who wants to see Cyborg in UFC, he said he will do it but I think he was joking.

 

According to Dana (salt required), she was offered the same deal that Ronda has and turned it down. I imagine lots of drug testing was involved. Holly Holm will probably be brought into the fold by a big money deal sooner rather than later seeing how they have Ronda on the shelf for 6 months (knee surgery) and no return fight lined up. Bring Holm in, have her fight the winner of Tate vs Nakai or Zingano, throw the winner of that against Ronda. Or get ready for a ton of headaches bringing a 135lbs Cristiane in. Would probably pop in the first test for a hardcore diuretic in order to make the weight.

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Watching the TUF Finale now. Main event = LOL? Jumabieke Tuerxun vs. Leandro Issa was much better than what I expected for a fight in the prelims. Not a good technical fight, but fun as hell.

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UFC president Dana White appeared furious at the question and explained later to the media in attendance that he was upset at the production truck for feeding Rogan the question to ask Rousey and put her on the spot. "I was upset with the truck telling [Rogan] to tell Ronda that she's going to fight again. That wasn't true. That was some [expletive] that somebody made up back there.

 

 

sure Dana, sure.

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sure Dana, sure.

 

It was a dumb call. She was visibly bleeding from the knuckle and the UFC had no one that could fight her and sell the event, much less after she trucked Alexis Davis in 16 seconds.

 

Some events aren't fit to be saved. The UFC needs to dial down the programming a bit. They're trying to do too much and spreading themselves too thin in the process.

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It was a dumb call. She was visibly bleeding from the knuckle and the UFC had no one that could fight her and sell the event, much less after she trucked Alexis Davis in 16 seconds.

 

Some events aren't fit to be saved. The UFC needs to dial down the programming a bit. They're trying to do too much and spreading themselves too thin in the process.

 

UFC 176 scrapped, all fights to be re-scheduled for upcoming cards

 

Aldo being made of glass, this was the expectable outcome. Well, another cancelled event due to lack of star power. At least they didn't shove it into Fight Pass like Bellator did with their first failed PPV.

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e92oJF0.jpg

 

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Courtesy of Miesha Tate, the only woman to last until the 3rd round against Rousey (but still getting destroyed for 2 rounds).

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In other news, Holly Holm signs with UFC. Since Zingano is taking on Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, they're going to set her up with the winner of Rin Nakai vs Miesha Tate or Bethe Correia vs Shayna Baszler and then send her to the slaughter.

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In other news, Holly Holm signs with UFC. Since Zingano is taking on Amanda Nunes at UFC 178, they're going to set her up with the winner of Rin Nakai vs Miesha Tate or Bethe Correia vs Shayna Baszler and then send her to the slaughter.

About time! Bloody hell. Finally some real competition (other than Zingano) for Rousey. Though I still feel like Rousey will throw her down like everyone else. Hopefully Holm can land a knockout punch. I hope she has a fight in between fighting her though.

UFC flyweight Ali Bagautinov tested positive for EPO prior to UFC 174, suspended for one year

 

EPO? Seriously? You're a flyweight and you use EPO? :|

 

UFC needs to start getting a serious anti-doping program into gear. No way he was going to beat Mighty Mouse but if he did...

I am willing to bet at least 65% of fighters use something. Though the flyweight division is a bit divided, I can still see the desire to want to get ahead of competition. DJ is miles ahead of most of the weight class, just like Rousey.

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This may be a month old now, but I didn't know about it and it's quite a surprising move by the UFC...

 

UFC inks distribution deal of all Invicta events for Fight Pass

 

The UFC announced something that it has never done in the past Thursday, announcing a distribution deal with the all-women Invicta Fighting Championships that will lead to all the company's content being put on Fight Pass.

The new agreement will see Fight Pass, UFC's worldwide Internet-based subscription channel, airing every Invicta show live, from start to finish. In addition, the content from all seven prior Invicta shows, which includes a number of current UFC fighters as well as the majority of the fighters on the fall season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, will be up on Fight Pass shortly.

The first live show is tentatively slated for late summer. The company has never distributed content from another promotion unless it owned the company outright, or purchased its content after the company ceased operations. The deal is clearly big for Invicta, which has only run two shows in the last 12 months, and nothing since Dec. 7, since attempting to make it work as a traditional pay-per-view company but without a U.S. television deal.

"We've never done this with a company before unless we've bought them," said UFC Chief  Content Officer Marshall Zelaznik. "We're not buying. We're truly a distributor. It's pretty historical in the way UFC has operated."

"Now that we have a stable foundation, we're going to increase the number of events," said Invicta promoter  Shannon Knapp.  "We want to see how things go, and look at the frequency (of live shows).  Those are things we're still ironing out. We're capable of doing more events and we're looking to ramp things up. We can put on cards as often as they want. I think it's going to be a great thing."

Live events up to this point have been a strong catalyst in bringing new subscribers to the platform.   

As part of the deal, UFC will help promote the events, and will also aid in distribution of the content on traditional television. UFC is looking at using its contacts to help broker international deals for Invicta, which can include both the prior shows as well as either live simulcasts on television or tape delayed broadcast of the upcoming events, with UFC holding the digital distribution rights.

Invicta will remain in charge of the production of the shows.

"We'll make sure we're comfortable with things," said Zelaznik.

He said the decisions regarding the number of fights and length of the shows would be up to Invicta, but they are committed to airing the entire cards.

"We've been working with Shannon for a while trying to come up with a way to have Invicta events within Fight Pass," said Zelaznik, whose duties include heading up Fight Pass.  "We've recently come to terms on that. It's a mutli-year deal, multi-fights. Our commitment to Shannon is every event they produce will air on Fight Pass around the world. Everyone has looked at UFC as a promoter, but now you can look at us as a distributor as well for broadcasting at this point. We're hoping for the first event later this summer. Shannon's working hard locking down the date and we're super thrilled about it, everyone from Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) on down. Everyone is excited to bring Invicta to Fight Pass and bring that value to our fans.

"I think it's an amazing opportunity for the athletes and for Invicta, teaming up with the UFC and having there marketing power behind us, giving us exposure to UFC fans," said Knapp.

Knapp called Kansas City, where the previous seven Invicta shows have taken place from, as "highly possible" for the first event, but said with the new deal they could start promoting throughout the country.

Zelaznik talked about creating an Invicta area on Fight Pass and having it ready soon.

"Two to three weeks is the hope," he said. "That library has current fighters in the UFC like Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano, Liz Carmouche and Sara McMann. This will continue to deliver on the philosophy of Fight Pass - you'll be more ingrained in the sport and smarter in he sport because of Fight Pass."

The UFC and Invicta have worked together in the past. The UFC recently purchased the contracts of the top fighters in Invicta's strawweight division (115 pounds) to create a new division and run a tournament for the championship on the fall season of The Ultimate Fighter. The filming begins in four weeks. This six-week long tournament that will culminate in a championship fight at the end of the year. Sarah Kaufman, while under UFC contract, fought on an Invicta show last year. Both sides expect that working relationship to continue.

Knapp said since the last show, she's signed 20 or 21 new fighters from around the world, including replenishing the strawweight division. Unlike the UFC, where fighters will compete in two weight classes, Invicta will have fighters in five weight classes ranging from 105 to 145 pounds.

It's possible the Invicta deal will be just the start of UFC broadcasting events with other smaller groups.

"I think it's a unique opportunity," said Zelaznik. "We have a good relationship with Shannon and Invicta. We think that the Invicta fan base crosses over, but they also will bring in a different fan to Fight Pass. I have no doubt  the exposure we can bring to Invicta will help our female divisions. There are so many discussions about what Fight Pass will become. It's now part of the lexicon of MMA. This opportunity with Shannon was unique because of what Shannon brings to the business. As far as bringing in other promotions, other promotions are reaching out to us. We've got a list of promotions running.  Will we pull the trigger on them? It's too early to tell. But we feel real confident this deal will serve out existing costumers and bring in new customers."

There is talk of Cris "Cyborg" Justino (12-1, 1 no contest), the group's biggest star and featherweight champion, defending against Ediane Gomes (10-2), on that debut event,  but Invicta promoter Shannon Knapp said it's too early to make that announcement official.

Justino, whose 2009 win over Gina Carano was the fight that showed the potential appeal of women's MMA fighting,  has talked this year of dieting down to make 135 pounds for a potential UFC bantamweight title fight with Ronda Rousey, which could be the biggest woman's combat sports bout of this era. The deal would give Justino's current fights exposure to a new audience of hardcore UFC fans around the world. Most of her previous North American bouts, in both Elite XC and Strikeforce, are already owned by UFC and will also be on Fight Pass.

"It's highly possible that (Justino vs. Gomes) will be a match that can air on the next show," said Knapp. "But both athletes have shown interest in dropping down to 135. I think it's possible you can see Cris fight at 135 in the next few months. I haven't had time to verify the game plan. It'll be interesting."

Source - MMA Fighting

Official UFC Announcement

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