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Anthony Smith has 2nd surgery on broken hand, hopes for Jan return
Smith broke his hand vs. Alexander Gustafsson in June, and had surgery days later, with an expected 4 month recovery period. It didn't work and 10 days ago, he had surgery again: “It completely restarted my healing process. The first one wasn’t successful and then had to completely redo it. They had to take bone grafts from my leg. That kind of pushes it back, too. I think we’re still looking at that January timeline, but unfortunately, I had to completely restart.” h/t MMA Junkie
Jungle Fight signs 33 month deal with DAZN
Since the UFC Reebok deal, MMA in Brazil has been in a slump. Wallid Ismael's Jungle Fight has held more than 1,000 bouts across 16 years, with fighters including Jose Aldo, Stephan Bonnar, Bethe Correia, Jacare, Lyoto Machida, and Fabricio Werdum. But there hasn't been a show this year. However, starting in September, Jungle Fight will stream monthly on DAZN, for 33 months. Ismael plans to bring the number of events up to three or four per month: “We’re working with the biggest streaming service in the world now. The sport will finally be strong again in Brazil, and we’ll show that to the entire world. You usually just see the tip of the iceberg in Brazil, and now we’ll show the entire iceberg.” Sign up for DAZN here. h/t MMA Fighting
Embedded: UFC 241, episode 2: Ninjas
PVZ to fight out UFC contract, test free agency
“It’s the last fight on my current UFC contract so I’ll be fighting it out. I think I’m just curious to see what I can do. I feel like I want to prove to the UFC what I’m worth, and I think it’s going to take one more fight for me to do that, especially because fight fans are so – you’re easily forgotten in the fight world. They watch a fight happen and they’re already focused on the one that’s happening next week, so I want it to be fresh in their minds going into a contract negotiation, not fresh off of a broken arm. ... I still haven’t gotten the all-clear to train. I’m hoping to get cleared by Wednesday to start doing a little bit more with my arm. I’m not supposed to hold anything more than a coffee cup or a cell phone, like, in my right hand. It’s still extremely limited, so I did start hitting pads just with my left hand and with my legs and knees and doing as much as I can, but I’m hoping to get the all-clear soon.” h/t MMA Junkie • Watch The Score interview
Duke Roufus: Anthony Pettis win over Nate Diaz will get Conor McGregor's attention
"When Anthony does the business Saturday, I see him and Conor McGregor being on a collision course. I think it’s definitely going to get Conor’s attention when Anthony beats a guy that beat him and another guy that he won by close decision – especially if Anthony does what I think he’s capable of doing and stopping Nate Diaz. ... I think Anthony’s trying to get those big challenges on the way out the door of his career. Anthony was the Conor before Conor was Conor, the kid with the flashy suits, the look, the style, the pizazz, and he could fight like that, so it would be the makings of quite the super fight. ... For years, Nate’s just attacked him, not only verbally, but even in a nightclub. They tried to jump him, him and Nick. It gets to a point where stuff just boils over. I mean, I get the perspective of where Anthony is coming from.” The pair fight on Saturday night. h/t MMA Junkie • Watch Ariel Helwani's MMA Show
Poster drop: UFC on ESPN+ 18 in Copenhagen
Valentina Shevchenko responds to Quadruple C's callout
"I don’t know [if he is serious] because he is very insistent in this. But I say, be careful what you wish. I am not afraid of anything. ... Be careful what you wish because he is the all gold hunter, but I can make it happen that he will lose all of his gold forever." h/t MMA Mania • Watch Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show
DC: Miocic acted a little bit like a brat
Daniel Cormier: "Him sitting out this whole time ... I feel like he acted a little bit like a brat. Like, ‘I should get a rematch!’ I just thought he should have fought again. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way but you know what, it worked and now he gets a chance to fight for the title again. So yeah, there are things that we both dislike about each other but at the end of the day I’m not losing any sleep over Stipe Miocic not liking me. ... The reality is, [Stipe] just sat around. He didn’t go back and do what he’s supposed to do. He was talking about me in a way that just was like I annoy him and everything so, you know what man, sometimes you get what you ask for and when you get it, when you really get it like he’s gonna get it on Saturday, now you’ve got to live with that. It’s gonna take a very, very tough man to bounce back from what I do to Stipe on Saturday night.” h/t MMA Fighting • Watch ESPN interview
Fabricio Werdum: Fedor is the heavweight G.O.A.T.
“In my opinion, for sure [Daniel Cormier] is a very good fighter – two belts, different divisions – but the best fighter, in my opinion, is Fedor. He deserves [it]. Ten years, he never lost before, and I believe Fedor continues to be the best heavyweight in the world. ... Not because I finished him. Before, I looked at him as my idol, but when I fought him, I wanted to finish him. That’s it. ... This [rematch vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 on Saturday] is so hard for Cormier now. I don’t believe Cormier has the same focus as before. He’s like a heavyweight now, for sure, but I feel like maybe a Stipe Miocic victory on points. Miocic will beat him this time I think.” h/t MMAJunkie • Watch (6:31)
Gabriel 'Fly' returns to face Colombian bad boy Jhon Zarate at BRAVE 26
Featherweight contender Gabriel "Fly" Miranda will look to go back to the win column, vs. Jhon Zarate in the co-main event of BRAVE 26, on 9/7 in Bogota, Colombia. A BJJ black belt training out of CM System gym, in Curitiba, Brazil, all Miranda's 13 wins finished inside the distance, 12 by submission. Coming off a loss to Akhmed Magomedov at BRAVE 21 on 12/28 in Saudi Arabia, Miranda fights Jhon "The Problem" Zarate, the self-proclaimed most hated fighter in Colombia. Zarate, who was subject of a Fightland VICE profile, is known for his willingness to go toe-to-toe with his opponents. Medellin, 'The Problem' spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn, New York, and represents Bareknuckle gym.
Istela Nunes fails anti-doping test, out vs. Angela Hill
UFC strawweight Istela Nunes has been removed from her fight vs. Angela Hill at UFC on ESPN+ 17 on 9/21 in Mexico City, Mexico, reportedly for failing a USADA anti-doping test. There is no definitive word on what the test failure was for. The ATT fighter is 7-1, with her sole loss coming vs. ONE champion Angela Lee in May of 2017. Hill, who fought three times in 2019, will need a new opponent. h/t Globo
Jon Jones: There's no way trilogy fight vs. DC happens
UFC 241 Embedded, Episode 1: Kill this motherf@$%er
John Allan Arte fails anti-doping test, UFC debut win changed to No Contest
UFC light heavyweight John Allan Arte failed a test for the prohibited drug tamoxifen during an in-competition test administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC's anti-doping partner, at ESPN+ 13 on 7/13, 2019 in Sacramento, California. His win over Mike Rodriguez has been changed to a No Contest. The fighter also faces a fine and suspension. Tamoxifen has estrogen-blocking properties, which can alleviate the side effects of anabolic steroid use. h/t ESPN, MMA Fighting
Invicta announces flyweight tournament fighters
Phoenix Series II will take place on 9/6 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, and will stream live on UFC Fight Pass at 8:00 p.m. ET. The 8-woman tournament will consist of DeAnna Bennett, Miranda Maverick, Cheri Muraski, Milana Dudieva, Marilia Santos, Maiju Suotama, Daiana Torquato, and Liz Tracy Opening round will be decided by random draw, and the fastest finisher will choose her opponent for the semis. Flyweights Alexa Conners vs. Mariya Agapova and Josee Storts vs. Helen Lucero will also fight that night, in regular, non-tournament fights. h/t Invicta FC
Nate Diaz: F@$% me, then f@$% you
“I for sure didn’t lose [the McGregor rematch], but they treated it like, ‘You lost, go down the list, get out of here,’ type of thing. When he lost the first time to me, it was the biggest thing, and he needed his rematch and he’s obsessed with Nate and all this marketing on how much he needed to get this back and how great he is for actually jumping in there and doing it. I’m like, ‘Hold up, how about all the rematches I’ve ever wanted?’ That’s when I should have jumped in my contract, like, ‘Hold up, if I’m going to do this rematch, I want all my rematches that you guys never gave me.’ ... Then two years flew by, and the whole time I’m sitting there like, ‘When is somebody going to step their stupid ass up and start calling for a fight,’ because that’s what I did. ... two years flew by, and I’m like, ‘I don’t need to be begging anyone to fight.’ I don’t need to fight. I beat the best guy at the moment. I beat the best guy, and you’re treating me like, ‘Vanish.’ Then I’m like, ‘F@$% me? Well then f@$% you.’ Then after a certain while, I’m like, ‘What’s wrong with these fighters?’ I’m a bigger draw, a bigger fight than anybody in the game, and you guys are just going to sit back and not participate, put me in the outskirts: 'He dropped from the rankings, he’s turning down fights.'” h/t MMA Junkie
DC: I don't want to be that guy that leaves on his back
Daniel Cormier had long planned to retire at 40 on 3/20/2019, but he rematches Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 on Saturday. After that, DC isn't certain what he wants, but knows what he doesn't want: “We just go one at a time at this point. Because for a champion and a guy that’s been around and been a champion for a long time, at a point you start making such amazing amounts of money and the fame level is so high, people struggle to walk away. ... It’s whether you get shown the door or you choose to walk out. That’s what I have to decide. I’ve long said I don’t want to be a guy that goes out on my back. A lot of our greatest champions they leave the sport on their back. ... I want to be a guy that goes out on his own terms. I know that as you turn 40 years old, that time starts to near. I just have to decide if that time is now or a little bit later down the line. ... It needs to be something big.” h/t MMA Fighting
Perry, Luque comment on Fight of the Night
Mike Perry: “FOTN! It takes 2! Thanks for the bonus, you didn’t have to do my face like that tho sheesh. Cursed with this chin, should’ve had my guard up like you. KO or not one significant strike can do the job. When I’m healed we’ll train so you can beat these wrestlers. Congrats Vicente Luque!”
Vincent Luque: “Look forward to train with you! I’m sure we can learn a lot from each other. No doubt you’re the toughest man I’ve fought and we showed everyone out there what fighting is about. Respect”
h/t Instagram
DC on E:60: Coaching hs wrestling (3:01)
MMA needs more callouts like Katlyn Chookagian's
Bullet can dance
Werdum eligible to return May 2020, wants Ngannou
“I like the big guy, Francis Ngannou. He’s like a huge guy, a very strong guy but I visualize the fight with him, and I saw when I finish him. I do this a lot, I visualize my fights, all the time. When I had a fight against Cain Velasquez, when I got the belt, I visualized everything. I go to Mexico, I stayed there two months, I was very focused. I like the fight versus Francis Ngannou, a big challenge for me. I know he’s strong, but I believe I finish him on the ground.” h/t APMMA • Watch Sherdog interview
