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'Rowdy' Bec gets America's oldest combat sports belt
Covington manager: UFC interested in Woodley fight at UFC 233 on 1/26
Colby Covington’s manager Dan Lambert to Fightful: “The timing on the September fight [at UFC 228] didn’t work for Colby cause he had just had some surgery and it would have been a crazy quick turnaround. They’ve reached out and asked if Colby would be available in January on the 26th show. But not sure if T-Wood’s gonna be available for that show. He’s still getting over some surgery himself on his hand, so I’m not quite sure on when that fight’s gonna be but if I had to guess, it would be on the January or the February show. Could trickle into March depending on T-Wood’s hand.” H/T BJPenn.com • Watch
Yair Rodriguez gets blue belt
Shades of Danny Mainus
Smolka: Saturday may be only change to revive UFC career.
Louis Smolka re-signed with the UFC this week, after going 3-0 out and fights Sumudaerji Sumudaerji at bantamweight at UFC Fight Night 141. “They told me to do two fights then I’ll get back in and I ended up having a third. I was just kind of getting worried that it wasn’t going to happen. I was getting worried because it was taking a while, but it worked out because it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time is move up in weight. Weight cuts are pretty bad for me. I cut carbs out like two weeks out and every time I’ve had to make the weight it’s been pretty brutal. I’m happy to be done with that. They’re going to cut whoever loses. I think I have to win this fight. I think it’s a four-fight contract, but I’ve got to win this. It’s pressure, but I’m just trying to win. I’m going to put on a good show and I’m going to go out there and fight. I’m going to get this win. I’m going to get it no matter what.” H/T MMAjunkie
'Violent Bob Ross' dropping to featherweight, wants Artem Lobov
Luis Pena lost a Split Decision to TUF 27 lightweight winner Mike Trizano at UFC Fight Night 139 and now plans to drop to featherweight and fight Artem Lobov. “That was always the plan after this fight regardless of outcome,” he said. “I know to a lot of people I probably seem huge at 155, but trust me, it’s a cakewalk for me to make. It just means I’ll have to actually put a little work into cutting now. ...It’s the right move to make when we show up at the arena they have us strip down and weigh in and I weighed 165 on the dot while Davi Ramos weighed like 183. I remember thinking then it might be time to move.... I’m looking for a more favorable match up in my first fight at 145 and this seems like the best one. Plus it kinda makes sense with both of us coming off losses. I know it’s a really good story going into that especially considering my last win was over a good friend of his. I’m hoping this is somehow made before the end of the year.” H/T MMAjunkie
Cody McKenzie gets a 4-year NAC suspension for fake urine sample
At a meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday, which the fighter did not attend, former UFC welterweight Cody McKenzie received a four-year suspension after it was ruled that he attempted to cheat a drug test ahead of a bout scheduled for Sept. 14. McKenzie was asked to submit a sample and he refused, saying he would return to his room and provide one later. When he did submit a sample, officials determined that it was abnormal and McKenzie confessed that it came from a “bottled urine substitute”. He allegedly wanted to avoid the test due to recently smoking marijuana. Because no proper sample was collected, the NAC committee could not rule out that McKenzie was attempting to hide performance-enhancing drugs and not just a drug of abuse. A pair of motions were passed to determine that McKenzie should receive a two-year suspension from competition for “aggravating circumstances” and an additional two years for avoiding the drug test altogether and showing a “disregard for protocol.” H/T MMA Fighting
Rogan names the best heavyweight he has ever seen
“With the 265-pound weight class and the consensus thought seems to be that somewhere around 240 pounds is the magic number ... the amount of weight that you have where you’re strong enough that you can knock out any man but you have more endurance than a man that maybe weighs 265 or heavier and cuts down to 265. ... Cain Velasquez, in my humble opinion, when I look at all of the different heavyweights that I’ve personally seen fight, Cain stands out as the best. The reason why Cain stands out as the best is because he has superhuman endurance and his ability to put a pace on guys. You would see these guys just wilt under the pressure. I think with Cain - and this is where it gets really interesting - what did him in is also brought him to the top: his mental toughness. His body started breaking down. He started having all these back injuries. He needed back surgery, multiple back surgeries, shoulder surgery, knee surgery, everything was getting f***ed up and I think it was getting f***ed up because he was working through pain and he has the ability to tolerate pain that most people don’t have. He’s just a f***ing animal but that’s also probably what led to him having this insane endurance. It’s the same kind of mental toughness.” H/T MMA Fighting
Gina Carano joins βStar Warsβ spinoff series
Gina Carano has joined Pedro Pascal in the live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian; the series will debut on Disney’s streaming service Disney+. Synopsis is thus: "After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic." H/T Hollywood Reporter
White responds to tinfoil hatter who thinks UFC 229 bus attack was arranged (2:44 mark)
Sijara Eubanks calls out Mackenzie Dern
Coming soon: Khabib's autobiography
Patricky Freire is not impressed with T.J. Dillashaw
What Ray Borg truly cares about and it's not missing a fight due to health issues
Cowboy and Perry meet post fight
Neil Magny won't act like a 'douche' to get eyeballs
Neil Magny is the UFC's #8 welterweight' it's arguably the UFC's toughest division. He's probably not as well known as some lesser-skilled mouth runners in the league, and it is what it is. "I don't come across as the douche in the sport. There's a lot of guys like Matt Brown or Colby Covington who tend to go into foreign territory and let their presence be known in a negative way. Matt Brown flipping off the Brazilian crowd and then you have Colby Covington with his whole filthy animal comment down in Brazil. I don't come across as that guy. Whatever state, city or country I go to, the fans can expect me to go in there be super respectful, work my butt off and give them a show. ... When guys are climbing up on top of the cage and going crazy to celebrate a win, it's like did you not expect to win? Why are you so excited? You put the work in, you should expect to win. Why are you acting surprised about it? I go in there, I work for it and I expect the outcome when I go in there to fight." On Saturday Magny fights Santiago Ponzinibbio in Argentina; win or lose, he will show class, in a sport that needs it. H/T MMA Weekly
Al-Selwady vows to dominate Lucas Mineiro and become Brave champion
On Friday 'The Pride of Palestine' Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady fights veteran Lucas 'Mineiro' in the main event of Brave 18, for the lightweight undisputed title; at the press con he made a promise: "I've trained to fight five rounds, just in case I have to go for 25 minutes. I'm ready to dominate my opponent for all rounds. Lucas is a well-rounded fighter, so I can see the fight staying on the feet, going to the ground. Regardless of that, I plan to dominate. I've been training very hard. Some call it conditioning, I call it hell (laughs). I know I have to be in my best shape to be dominant for five rounds. This is just the beginning for me. It isn't the top of the mountain yet, but I'm climbing."
PVZ meets Stephanie McMahon
Paige VanZant is in Portugal attending a conference Web Summit, where WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon is one of the other main speakers, and the pair talked. “I’m not ready to leave the UFC just yet," she said. "I love being a professional fighter and I still have a long career ahead of me. I also think the WWE is an amazing organization and it’s a very athletic entertainment industry which would suit me. There’s probably huge potential for a crossover down the line and of course I’m a big fan of what they do, so it would be great to be a part of. I got the opportunity to talk to Stephanie for a little bit on Tuesday which was great.” That is then, now is UFC on ESPN+ 1 vs. Rachael Ostovich at flyweight. H/T MMA Weekly
Why βShortyβ Torres feels disrespected by the UFC
Jose Torres was one of the first fighters released with the apparent end of the flyweight division; onAriel Helwani’s MMA Show he was not impressed: “When we talked to [matchmaker Mick Maynard], he said they would bump some guys up, so I said cool. I was the Titan FC Bantamweight champion, half of my professional career, four of my eight wins are in the bantamweight division, two world championships as an amateur ... So I have shown I can compete with some of the best. So he said, ‘Nah, your last fight you lost. It’s okay, we don’t want you.’ I was not given the option and it sucks because I have worked so hard to be able to accomplish some of the things that I have, and I get no, in a sense, respect for it. Frustration sets in because I have accomplished so much at both divisions and that is something I wanted to do in the UFC, possibly be a double weight class champion.” Torres is currently at Brave International Combat Week 2018. H/T MMA Mania • Watch
