In an interview with the Associated Press, Dana White discussed CM Punk’s future and whether or not Brock Lesnar will fight in the UFC again.
Though he was overmatched in his first fight against Mickey Gall and hasn’t fought since September of 2016, Punk will be getting another chance to step back into the Octagon. “I like that guy. He’s a good dude,” White said. “He wants one more. He wants to get another shot. I’m going to give it to him.”
White told the AP that he doesn’t have a date or opponent in mind for Punk’s next appearance but is working on it. Prior to UFC 218 last month, White said he was going to meet with Punk at the pay-per-view to discuss his future.
Duke Roufus, the head coach at Roufusport, wrote on Instagram that Punk has “improved dramatically” and they’re grateful to get another opportunity.
White also expressed optimism when asked about Lesnar returning to the UFC. “I think he’ll give it one more run,” White said. “I just think Brock loves to fight.”
Until August, Lesnar would need WWE’s approval to fight in the UFC. He would also need approval to fight again if he re-signs with WWE, with April being the last pro wrestling dates on his current contract. And the one-year suspension that Lesnar received from USADA for his drug test failures surrounding UFC 200 would have to be resolved.
Lesnar’s suspension was frozen when he retired from mixed martial arts last year.
Following Sunday’s UFC Fight Night show in St. Louis, Dana White strongly hinted on FS1 that Conor McGregor could be stripped of the lightweight championship.
White said that McGregor was talking about fighting again in September which would be nearly two years since he won the title from Eddie Alvarez in the promotion’s debut in New York City. He said that would be too long and if that was the case, they would match up interim champion Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov for the belt — a fight they have been trying to make for nearly a year. He didn’t say when, but it is known that UFC has been attempting to make that fight for April. White said that if it goes down like that, McGregor would get a shot against the winner if he returns in September.
Some other news from White:
– When asked about Vitor Belfort, he said that the UFC was able to get a last minute replacement for Belfort to fight on the show in place of the injured Uriah Hall, but Belfort turned the fight down. He said that he also turned down a fight this Saturday in Boston, but that he asked for a fight with Michael Bisping in London on March 17th instead. White said he would get back in the office and try and put things together. Bisping was on set as an analyst and joked about it, but didn’t jump on the offer either. He indicated that he’d wait for the call.
– Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is getting a welterweight title shot at Tyron Woodley when Woodley recovers from surgery to repair a torn labrum.
– He also spoke of doing an outdoor show in Honolulu, HI, with featherweight champion and native son Max Holloway as the headliner.
– There was also some talk of a show in Russia, but White didn’t confirm that story.
– If you didn’t see the tremendous Matt Hughes tribute video segment with his walkout from last night, give it a watch:
Earlier this week, a report from the Irish Sun claimed that Conor McGregor was in talks with WWE to make his in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans next April.
Dave Meltzer noted in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE claimed the report was “completely inaccurate” and that there had been no negotiations with McGregor, and Dana White reiterated that while appearing on Good Day New York this morning.
“It’s not true. It’s absolutely not true,” White said. He revealed that he had just texted with Vince McMahon about the story and that McMahon had said it wasn’t accurate. The hosts of the show urged White to let them see the text messages, with White then showing them his phone.
McMahon texted White that he didn’t know anything about McGregor being in talks with WWE and that it was news to him, with White replying that he figured that was the case because WWE is always great about communicating with him. McMahon wrote that McGregor appearing in WWE may be a good idea someday but not now.
While a WrestleMania appearance may not be in the works, McGregor should be back in the UFC Octagon at the end of this year or in early 2018. A lightweight title defense against new interim champion Tony Ferguson has been mentioned as the most likely option, and a third matchup against Nate Diaz has also been speculated about as a possibility if Diaz will fight at a reasonable price.
Video of White discussing the McGregor-WWE rumors is available to watch below:
For years, UFC president Dana White has wanted a show similar to USA’s long-canceled series Tuesday Night Fights: a weekly fight show featuring a variety of prospects and veterans looking to achieve/get back to prominence and big paychecks.
His dream became a reality Tuesday as Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Seriesdebuted on UFC Fight Pass with five fights airing live from the TUF gym in Las Vegas, NV.
You might be asking why you need more MMA in your life given the current output of the UFC, Bellator, etc. In The Content Era, however, there is no such thing as too much of anything. Hence, we get five more fights every Tuesday this summer.
If you’re deciding on whether to add DWTNCS to your MMA viewing diet, may this look at the first episode be a helpful friend in your decision.
The Production
The show featured former NFL Network host Dan Hellie making his UFC play-by-play debut alongside retired fighter Yves Edwards while Snoop Dogg and Urijah Faber provided gin and juice fueld commentary on an alternate feed called Snoopcast.
For their first outing, Hellie and Edwards were average, but you could tell they hadn’t spent that much broadcasting time together, so it’s tough to be that harsh on them. While insightful at times, Edwards needs to be a little more vocal at higher volumes and less promotional in some of his thoughts, while Hellie is a relative MMA newbie that simply needs more reps. There will be some different pairings throughout the summer, so perhaps UFC is using this as a training ground for future big show backups.
The production of the show is toned down, right down to the lack of the UFC logo on the gloves or the mat, save for the UFC Fight Pass logo. There’s no entrance music, nor a ring announcer. There’s video packages, but no in-cage post fight interviews, just quick backstage interviews after the fight is over. After years of a certain format, it’s a little disarming at first but you get used to it.
If you’re into no frills MMA production, this show is for you.
This opened the show and was kind of a blah fight. Sanchez is a fairly forgettable former UFC fighter who hasn’t been in the Octagon since late-2015 while Vasquez is a prospect from Illinois. Vasquez looked decent in the first, but Sanchez turned it on the 2nd/3rd in relatively unspectacular fashion, taking advantage of an energy-sapped Vasquez. I scored this 29-28 for Sanchez, but I have no idea what the scores were because they didn’t read them.
– Charles Byrd (8-4) def. Jamie Pickett (7-3) by first round submission Middleweights
The 33-year-old Byrd survived a stretch of Pickett pressing him up against the cage, rocking him with a spinning back elbow. He reversed a Pickett takedown attempt, leading to a head and arm choke in the round’s waning seconds for a tap and win. This was quick, but nothing to write home about.
– Boston Salmon (6-1) def. Ricky Turcios (8-1) by unanimous decision Bantamweights
Turcios is a character, a Team Alpha Male guy who was shown jumping off trees in the lead-in package and ran out to the cage screaming. Salmon is Hawaiian and is the exact opposite of Turcios.
Salmon’s steadiness was the key here, leveraging his amateur boxing background to rip up Turcios’ face and body. He was just too much for the game Turcios who had no answer. This was an entertaining fight that would have some implications later on in the night.
Zu Anyanwu (14-4) def. Greg Rebello (22-7) by 2nd round KO Heavyweights
After a plodding first round in which there was a lot of circling and not much action, Anyanwu hit an overhand right in the second round that dropped Rebello, hitting hammer fists that knocked Rebello out. Both guys looked to be carrying some additional weight in the midsection and not the type of heavyweight that is ruling the top 10 of the UFC.
Kurt Holobaugh (18-4) def. Matt Bessette (22-8) by 1st round KO Featherweights
This was the night’s featured fight (not called a main event, mind you). Holobaugh performed like it was a main event though, ripping through Bessette like he wasn’t even there. The ex-UFC vet bloodied up Bessette early on in the first and was unrelenenting, finally dropping Bessette with a right hook that caused ref John McCarthy to call it.
In an appropriately non-descript manner, White told the backstage interviewer that both Hollobaugh and Salmon were being offered contracts. And in 2 hours and 10 minutes, we were done. I would have liked to see the announcement played up a bit more, maybe in the middle of the cage with all of the winners there, but there’s time to improve.
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In general, this wasn’t the worst MMA show I’ve seen but it’s essentially a weekly regional main card with a potential big reward for the winner(s). Since it’s on Fight Pass, it’s playing to the hardest of the hardcores so big numbers aren’t really the game here. What it does give UFC is the ability to essentially do tryouts for young fighters and veterans without having them actually compete in the UFC or TUF.
If you have a FP subscription and just feel like watching fights while doing other things this summer, there are worse directions to point you to. The full impact and relevance won’t truly be felt from the show until the guys that get contracts make waves in the UFC. If they truly get behind this as a developmental group of sorts and not just a summer time filler, the importance could, and hopefully will, grow.
And hey, maybe they could run out CM Punk on one of these someday. He’s certainly not doing anything on the main roster these days.
Dana White and Conor McGregor have come to terms for one side of the Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing match.
White announced that tonight on TNT after the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics basketball game.
“McGregor’s side is done,” said White, when being interviewed by Shaquille O’Neal, a longtime UFC fan who at one point asked if he could fight in the organization. “I’m starting to work on the Mayweather side now. I got one side done, now it’s time to work on the other. If we can come to a deal with Haymon and Mayweather, the fight’s going to happen.
McGregor, on his own website TheMacLife.com, confirmed that he has signed for the fight.
“It is an honor to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Paradigm Sports Management,” McGregor said. “The first, and most important part of this historic contract has now officially been signed off on. Congratulations to all parties involved. We now await Al Haymon and his boxer’s signature in the coming days.”
Dana White said tonight that after Georges St-Pierre said he would be ready to fight Michael Bisping in November, that the plans for what was the biggest fight on the books for this year are off.
“I made this GSP fight, we did a press conference, the thing was supposed to happen in July,” said White on the UFC Fight Week television show that airs on Fox Sports in Australia. “Michael Bisping is going to have to defend his title now. We’re not waiting for GSP.”
White said that Bisping would instead be defending his middleweight title against former Olympic wrestling medalist Yoel Romero, who has been considered the top contender since he defeated Chris Weidman in Madison Square Garden in November.
St-Pierre, the greatest welterweight champion in UFC history, vacated the title at the end of 2013 and hasn’t fought since. He talked in early 2016 about wanting to come back, but attempts to put together a deal sputtered due to St-Pierre’s demands because he was used to making so much for sponsorships that UFC’s deal with Reebok wouldn’t allow. It wasn’t until early this year that St-Pierre agreed to terms, and to an opponent, Bisping.
UFC was attempting to make the fight on July 8th, as the main event for the International Fight Week show at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But St-Pierre would never commit to the date.
The entire middleweight division was unhappy when St-Pierre released a statement five days ago, saying he’d be ready for Bisping after the end of October. A few weeks ago, when it seemed clear he wasn’t going to agree to fight on that date, Bisping spoke of it happening in the fall and seemed willing to wait.
“(Yoel) doesn’t need to voice his opinion on why he needs a title shot,” said White. “He definitely deserves a title shot. He’s next in line. He’s the No. 1 ranked guy in the world.”
“Georges St-Pierre is saying he will not be ready to compete now until November,” said White. “Who knows if that’s even the case. It could be next year. So we’re not waiting for Georges St-Pierre anymore. We’re moving on with the division, and Yoel Romero will get the next shot.”
While an exact date for the fight hasn’t yet been determined, Georges St-Pierre has an opponent for his UFC return.
Dana White appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday afternoon to announce that St-Pierre will challenge for Michael Bisping’s middleweight championship upon his return. Though neither a date nor a venue have officially been announced, White said that GSP vs. Bisping will take place in the second half of 2017.
White also noted that there would be a press conference with GSP and Bisping on Friday in Las Vegas.
The fight will be St-Pierre’s first since November 16th, 2013, where he picked up a controversial split-decision win against Johny Hendricks to retain the welterweight title. GSP will debut at middleweight against Bisping after White previously said that welterweight, middleweight, and even lightweight were all in play.
Yoel Romero had been thought to be Bisping’s next challenger, with the two seemingly constantly engaged in a war of words over the last several weeks. But Bisping had maintained that it wasn’t definitive that he would face Romero next and said that he wanted the biggest money fight possible.
Though it’s been assumed by most that Ronda Rousey would retire from mixed martial arts after her loss against Amanda Nunes, there hasn’t been much said by Rousey or those close to her since the immediate fallout of UFC 207.
That changed with Dana White’s appearance on Tuesday’s UFC Unfiltered podcast. While responding to a question about Rousey’s MMA future, White noted that he had talked to her earlier in the morning and didn’t think that she would fight again.
“She’s good, man. Her spirits are good. She’s doing her thing. In the conversation that I had with her, if I had to say right here, right now, and again I don’t like saying right here, right now because it’s up to her and it’s her thing, but I wouldn’t say she fights again,” White said. “I think she’s probably done. I think she’s going to ride off into the sunset and start living her life outside of fighting.”
White said that Rousey’s career record meant everything to her before she lost to Holly Holm at UFC 193, but she began questioning what she was doing and wanted to do more after that fight. He said that Rousey has enough money and wouldn’t need to make any again if she didn’t want to after earning so much in her career.
“I’m happy for her. She came in, she changed the world, she put female fighting on the map. she’s been part of the biggest fights in the history of women’s fighting, and I hope those records can be broken,” White said. “I don’t know if they can, but I hope they can.”
Rousey returned to the Octagon after an absence of more than a year following her loss to Holm to challenge Nunes for the women’s bantamweight championship last December. While putting up almost no resistance against Nunes’ strikes, Rousey was knocked out in 48 seconds.
In a statement that she put out after losing that fight, Rousey said that she would need to take some time to think about her future.
Mark Hunt today filed a lawsuit in Nevada District Court against the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported the story earlier tonight. It’s a landmark case because Hunt is claiming that the defendants “affirmatively circumvented and obstructed fair competition for their own benefit.”
Hunt had been threatening legal action, feeling that his career has been harmed by facing people who have cheated. Hunt was upset because he felt Lesnar was not punished enough for a failed drug test before their fight took place, and that he went into the cage without knowledge that Lesnar had already failed a test, as the result of a June 28th test didn’t come back until after the July 9th fight.
The tough aspect of this case is that Lesnar failed for Hydroxy Clomiphene, and not for steroids or another PED. So while there are two failed tests, on June 28th and July 9th, there is no evidence that specifically ties Lesnar to PED usage for the Hunt fight.
Lesnar is currently serving a one-year suspension from UFC competition as well as within commission states that license pro fighters and wrestlers due to the positive tests.
The biggest star in women’s mixed martial arts history is making her return to the Octagon.
Dana White announced during an in-studio appearance on the Colin Cowherd show that Ronda Rousey would make her much anticipated return to the UFC later this year on December 30th. Rousey will immediately challenge Amanda Nunes for the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 207 in Las Vegas, NV
Nunes defeated Miesha Tate to win the title in the main event of UFC 200 earlier this year. The Rousey fight will be her first title defense.
It has been a longer than expected road back to the Octagon for Rousey after her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 nearly a year ago. Rousey was dropped by a now iconic head kick in the second round before being finished with punches as Holm picked up the shocking victory.
White was questioned by Cowherd about Cris “Cyborg” Justino facing Rousey, and said that they both want the fight and it will definitely happen if Rousey is victorious against Nunes.
Before the loss to Holm, Rousey had amassed a series of quick victories that led to her becoming one of the biggest crossover stars in MMA history. The only fighter other than Holm to ever take Rousey past the first round was Tate at UFC 168.
Also during the appearance, White said that Conor McGregor told him that he never wants to fight in Nevada again after being fined $150,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday. McGregor was fined for his bottle-throwing incident at the press conference prior to his UFC 202 rematch against Nate Diaz.
Video of White’s appearance the Cowherd show is available to watch below:
CM Punk vowed to fight again after his loss to Mickey Gall at UFC 203, but it doesn’t look like it will be in the UFC if he does.
According to Live Audio Wrestling’s John Pollock, Dana White told him that Punk’s next fight probably shouldn’t be in the UFC if he chooses to continue to pursue his mixed martial arts dreams.
Punk tapped out to a rear naked choke just minutes into his fight against Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Gall immediately took Punk down, and Punk never once looked competitive in the fight. He was able to avoid being finished for a bit, but eventually was forced to submit
In a post-fight interview, Punk called it the second best night of his life (only behind his wedding night) even in defeat. He talked about following his dreams and said that you go big or go home in life.
Video of Pollock’s interview with White is available to watch below:
Making a brief appearance as one of the guests on this week’s Ric Flair Show, UFC president Dana White commented on his relationship with Vince McMahon.
“I’ve been working, or trying to work, with Vince for years.” White said. “It was obviously very difficult… Vince is a maniac, he’s a f*cking competitor, man. That’s what he is. If you look at what Vince McMahon has accomplished in all of his years, and to still be on top, still doing it, the guy’s got enough money, he’s in it ’cause he loves it, he’s in it ’cause he’s passionate about it.”
White was asked what it has been like to negotiate with WWE, “I would say that this last Brock deal, and when Ronda went over and did the WWE WrestleMania, I’d say those were the two, out of all the years of dealing with Vince and everybody, those were probably the two best experiences. I think that Vince, and definitely Stephanie and Triple H, Stephanie and Triple H are always great, always great, always cool to work with, Vince has been very difficult in the past, but in the last several years he’s been much better.”
But White made sure to note that he respects McMahon, “He’s a f*cking maniac, he’s an animal, he’s a competitor, he wants to win, and you know, that’s his nature, and I respect it.”
During the short interview, White also talked with Flair and co-host Conrad Thompson about the early days of the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk’s transition to the Octagon.
In an interview today with the nationally syndicated Jim Rome Show, UFC president Dana White gave credence to Jon Jones’ claims Monday that good news could lead to him returning to the Octagon sooner than anticipated.
White told Rome, “It’s coming back now that it looks like he did not take the supplement everyone thought he took.”
On June 16th, Jones failed a test for clomiphene, an estrogen blocker commonly used for steroid users coming off of cycles. The test was taken in advance of his scheduled UFC 200 light heavyweight title unification fight at UFC 200 with champion Daniel Cormier.
White later said in the interview, “We’ll let this thing play out. If that’s true, and that’s what USADA and the Nevada State Athletic Commission say happened, it could look good for Jon Jones.”
White added, “Where he doesn’t come off clean is you have to tell USADA everything that you put into your body leading up to the fight and he did not.”
Jones has yet to have a hearing with the NSAC following his failed test. If he did take a banned substance, he would’ve been subject to a two-year suspension.
In the interview, White talked at length about Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II and McGregor’s future-post UFC 202.
On the newest Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, we dive deep into the big news of the week: the sale of the UFC. And who better to help us wade through the murky waters than one of the captains of the story: FloSports.com managing editor Jeremy Botter!
According to TMZ, UFC is refusing to put Conor McGregor back on the UFC 200 show after his Facebook post today where he made it very clear he still wanted to be on the show and was not retiring.
Given that UFC has not announced a new main event and thus started promoting a new fight, it makes no sense at this point not to put McGregor back on, unless the dispute was something very different than has been portrayed or if McGregor would not do the necessary promotional work such as appear on the promo commercial.
McGregor’s earlier post was a public statement that he wanted to be on the show, but it was posturing for him to not be blamed for any issues that led to the fight falling apart. It is still unknown what the real behind-the-scenes issues are that are keeping the fight from taking place.
But it is also still in everyone’s best economic interest for UFC 200 to be as big as possible, which can only happen if the fight ends up happening.
