Trending Content
Where did the term mixed martial arts come from?
The first documented use was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic and Los Angeles Times writer Howard Rosenberg in 1993; term gained popularity when newfullcontact.com hosted and republished the article. The first use by a promotion was in September 1995 by Battlecade Extreme Fighting CEO Rick Blume, just after UFC 7. Former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling Jeff Blatnick and referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy proposed the name “MMA” at the UFC 17 rules meeting in response to increased public criticism; it had formerly been referred to as Ultimate Fighting and NHB; the latter term distinguished it from the open-handed "Pancrase rules" also widely in use. H/T My MMA News
Cowboy hinted at 'big fight' now says he's waiting on McGregor
Al Selwady vs. Mineiro Brave 18 main event: There can only be one king
Liddell defends against charges that he's slow
Chuck Liddell has been criticized for training clips for the Tito Ortiz trilogy fight on 11/24, during which he doesn't look like he used to; however, Liddell defended the most recent: “They put out a video of me warming up my legs right when I got in the gym. Out of all the video they took, why they would choose to put that out, I have no idea. I challenge anyone talking trash about it to take one of those kicks anyway; they’re not that soft.” H/T MMA Weekly • Watch
Tito believes Liddell is sandbagging
A series of Chuck Liddell training clips have emerged in which 'The Iceman' looks like a 48 year who partied a lot. Ahead of their trilogy fight on 11/24, Tito Ortiz isn't buying it: “ think he’s sandbagging, in the fact that I don’t think he’s that slow. I hope he’s not that slow. It’s going to be a short night for him if he’s that slow. I’ve watched it and I had to take a step back and kind of think of the promotion side of it, think back to the physiological side of it. Is he trying to make sure he slows down a little bit to make me think he’s that slow? But at the same time I’m ready for him to be super faster. ... His job is to try to knock me out the first round. Go ahead, prove that. I’m willing to see if he can try to prove that, because I’m going to prove I’m going to knock his ass out. ... I don’t think about what I watched that Chuck Liddell did. I think about the Chuck Liddell that beat me the first and second time. That’s the Chuck Liddell that I’m ready to fight.” H/T MMAjunkie
Perry: Arm is damaged but not broken
Gaethje vs. Pettis in the works
DLH interested in putting MMA on DAZN
Oscar De La Hoya did a deal with DAZN for his Golden Boy Promotions boxing events, but hope to get MMA streaming as well, once he has proof of concept with Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 on 11/24: “Once this fight card takes place, I’m going to have some serious talks with [former ESPN president turned DAZN executive] John Skipper. If I’m serious about promoting future MMA cards, I’m very positive and certain DAZN will back us 100 percent. I want to see how (Nov. 24) turns out. I want to see if the card turns out good. I want to see what the PPV numbers are. I want to see if Chuck and Tito were happy the way I promoted them. And then we’ll take it from there.” H/T MMAjunkie
Kayla Harrison has a Ronda complex
PFL star and 2x Olympic gold medalist in Judo Kayla Harrison: "I probably wouldn't have a job if it weren't for Ronda. We were teammates back in the day, roommates. I was her training partner. ... She was older than me. I was 16 when I moved to Boston, so she used to beat the crap out of me. But it made me into the strong fighter I am today. ... For me, she's always been someone I strive to follow in her footsteps. I always call it my Ronda complex. Anything she does, I have to do." H/T The Post Game
Henry Cejudo sees possible free agency in his future
The UFC may be winding down the flyweight division. Current champ superfights bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw at 125, at UFC 233, and that could be it. Cejudo on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show said he wants a trilogy fight vs. Demetrious Johnson, but where? "That is to be announced," said Cejudo. “I think everything changes once they dismiss the flyweight division, if that's going to be the plan. I believe there's free agency in there, possibly. I believe the contract is signed at 125 pounds." Read more at H/T Sherdog
DLH: Chuck vs. Tito 3 ticket sales are strong
Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions is getting into the MMA business with a trilogy fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz on 11/24: "The price points are perfect for this type of fight, and fans are coming out and supporting it. Everywhere I go, they don’t talk to me about the boxing cards I’m putting on. They talk about Canelo or Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. ... The profits are going to be for Chuck and Tito. That’s exactly the way it’s structured. We feel that the gate being 70 percent sold, once you sell out the gate, the pay-per-view numbers are going to be relatively high. Every boxing show that I’ve promoted, you have to start with the gate. Once you sell out the gate, the pay-per-view numbers will be higher than expected." H/T MMAjunkie
Dillashaw: I'm getting paid F@$%load of money to drop and kill the flyweight division
UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and discussed his drop to 125 for a fight with flyweight champ Henry Cejudo at UFC 233 on 1/6, and the potential demise of the division: “The UFC wants to get rid of the division and they hired me to go down and close it and get another belt in the process. It’s a win-win for me. They’re paying me a f***load of money to move down and kill the 125-pound division and collect a second belt. So, it’s game time. ... If I’m the champ in both weight classes, why even have it? All the attention is at 135 anyway so at the end of the day, make the guys that they believe should stick around, come up and challenge for the belt.” H/T MMA Fighting • Watch
Khabib and co doing good works in Nigeria
Blaydes: Ngannou's got to be in a dark, dark place
Francis Ngannou beat Curtis Blaydes via doctor stoppage in April of '16. Blayes went 5-0 since, with a win changed to NC due to the presence of the demon weed marijuana. Ngannou went 4-0 and gave every appearance of being the Next Big Thing, but has dropped his last two fights, by decision. Ngannou-Blayes 2 takes place at UFC Fight Night 141 on 11/24, and 'Razor' is confident about the rematch: “It was inevitable. I knew he’d be around, I’d be around. The UFC likes natural stories like this. We already have a natural storyline. It’s not fake. We had a fight, he won, but I didn’t get to finish it. So I do have a bit of redemption I want to get. He’s probably in a hole right now. 0-2 after being the hotshot? That’s got to be a dark, dark place. I want him to be his best. I don’t want any excuses out of his camp or the fans or the company. I want him at his best. I’ll beat him 10 out of 10 times.” H/T MMAjunkie
Rogan REACTS to Yair KO of TKZ
The prince makes a precious dream come true
Yair's coach: Every fighter needs one of those
Israel Martinez on The MMA Hour: “We believe every fighter needs one of those. It’s one of those things you tell a young fighter, even the older guys: You need to get your ass kicked to kinda be woken up a little bit, and you need to go through some dirty fights, some trenches. But you don’t need to do that every day. ... And that’s one of those fights that we’re gonna have in our bag and we’re always going to be able to pull out all the things we’re learned from that, but there’s no way we want that type of fight again. Those things are deadly. Yair is beat up, and that’s going to be stuck in his head, good and bad, for the rest of his life. So we want to make sure that we take the positives over the negatives and move forward. ... Those long five-round fights are good for the fans, but they’re not good for us. We want to try to [win] early.” H/T MMA Fighting • Watch
Tate: There is a power shift in MMA
Former UFC women's bantamweight champ Miesha Tate has a taken a VP brand ambassador role with ONE Championship, and sees a major change: “I think that there’s been a power shift, I just think that the Western media didn’t know about it, to be honest. I think that we were receiving the information we were receiving but if you really look at what ONE is doing in Asia… ONE is the UFC in Asia. I want to compare because that’s where I’m from, you know everyone where I’m from is all about the UFC, but you come here, and it’s all about ONE Championship. The UFC comes here, and it’s not quite the same. So again, I think that the branding of it, it speaks to the honor and it speaks to the true martial artist. I think that it fits over here well. I think it actually has a better appeal with the Asian culture, which is right up my alley too, so I think it’s the perfect home for me. ... I love the fact that ONE Championship appeals to the true martial arts fans and the true martial artists. It’s not about who has the biggest mouth, who can talk the biggest trash, it’s about who can get in there and fight the best and put on the best performances. To me, that speaks to my heart. That’s why I got into martial arts.” H/T BJPenn.com
