It’s been a busy week in the ever-evolving world of MMA, complete with major surprises, scandal, matchup announcements, and of course, plenty of airtime from “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. Here’s a rundown of the week’s biggest headlines for those who have been away from the World Wide Web!
Ronda Rousey Wrestles
Perhaps the most notable of this week’s headlines was UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey’s sojourn into the WWE ring. At WrestleMania 31, Rousey took center stage alongside Furious 7 co-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, where she dispatched Triple H with a hip-toss and Stephanie McMahon with a modified armbar. The surprising segment garnered some of the night’s loudest cheers.
Yet as massive a moment as it was for both MMA and pro wrestling, it was also a bit of a confusing one. UFC contracts, after all, do not generally allow fighters to moonlight as wrestlers—hence the recent WWE-UFC bidding war for Brock Lesnar’s employ. This raised questions as to what kind of contractual anomalies allowed Rousey to jump into the ring with The Rock.
As it turns out, Rousey’s WWE cameo was the result of months of negotiations, and though the champ herself hinted at further involvement, will go down as a one-time thing. That fact, which was confirmed by statements from the UFC and Rousey’s agent, is likely to break the hearts of some fans, but the event as a whole speaks to Rousey’s ever-growing fame and massive crossover appeal. It’s also proof that—despite the groans of MMA purists—the two sports are, and always will be, inexorably linked.
McGregor Snatches Aldo’s Belt
Love him or hate him, Conor McGregor has emerged as one of MMA’s brightest shining stars—and that’s thanks largely to his ceaseless trash-talk and hijinks. The antics continued throughout the press rodeo that was the UFC 189 World Tour, and climaxed with a stop in McGregor’s native Dublin. There, in front of some 3000 rowdy Irish fans, McGregor swiped the belt from reigning champion Jose Aldo, and held it above his head like a playground bully.
Aldo didn’t seem to think it was funny, and really, that’s not surprising. This is a piece of hardware that he’s worked tirelessly to defend, after all. And though it didn’t result in a Jon Jones/Daniel Cormier style brawl, it did earn the ire of the Brazilian champ. Whether that turns out to be an advantage or a disadvantage for McGregor remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Jose Aldo is scary when he’s not angry. We do not envy the man who has to enter the cage with him when he’s truly pissed off. All the luck of the Irish to ya, Mr. McGregor!
UFC 189 Gets Even Sweeter
Anchored by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, and supported by a welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, UFC 189 has emerged as one of the most anticipated events on the MMA horizon. Until this week however, those were the only two fights confirmed for the July 11 pay-per-view.
Over the last few days, the lineup has begun to inflate with a number of intriguing additions. First, there was the announcement of a Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens bout, a featherweight gunfight between two top-15 fighters looking to bounce back after tough defeats. With a whopping ten fight night bonuses between them, there’s no way this one won’t be exciting.
Then, there was the addition of a welterweight scrap between Brandon Thatch, who will look to rebound from a loss to former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, and John “Doomsday” Howard, who is currently riding a three-fight losing streak. In defeat, Thatch will take another step down the ladder, while Howard would almost certainly be cut from the organization—for a second time.
Finally, there’s perhaps the most exciting of UFC 189’s newly-announced bouts: a welterweight scrap between European prospects Gunnar Nelson and John Hathaway. Iceland’s Nelson, who is one of the best grapplers on the UFC roster, will look to bounce back from a split decision loss to Rick Story back in October of 2014. England’s Hathaway, on the other hand, will look to right his ship after a dazzling knockout loss at the hands—well, elbow—of a spinning Dong Hyun Kim.
UFC 189 will probably get 6 or 7 more matchups before its lineup is finalized, but already, it’s looking like a card of the year contender.
Duffee and Mir Get Set to Get Down
After several days of Twitter trash talk, massive UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee appears to have been granted his wish: a clash with former heavyweight champ, Frank Mir.
It’ll be the biggest fight yet for the young Duffee, who is now on track after back-to-back losses to Mike Russow and Alistair Overeem. Mir, on the other hand, for all his previous accolades, is on fairly shaky ground. Though he scored an impressive knockout win over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in his last bout, it was the first victory he’d enjoyed since 2011.
A definitive date for this heavyweight collision has not yet been set, but it’s rumored to be headed for a summer card. Whenever the bout happens, it will be interesting to see what prevails: Duffee’s octagon-shaking power, or Frank Mir’s legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu arsenal.
Sonnen Says: ‘Jones vs. Johnson Won’t Happen’
Take it for what’s it worth, but Chael Sonnen has a hunch: he believes that UFC 187’s main event, a light heavyweight title clash between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and reigning champ Jon “Bones” Jones won’t actually happen. Yes, it’s scheduled, yes, the bout agreement is signed, but everyone’s favorite bad guy is certain it won’t actually go down—at least, that’s what he said during a recent Reddit AMA.
What information Sonnen actually has in this regard is difficult to say, but the certainty with which he made his claim is a worrying thing for fight fans. While UFC 187 also boasts a middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort, the loss of Jones vs. Johnson would be absolutely heartbreaking. Here’s hoping the “Gangster from West Linn” has got his facts wrong.
GSP Still Isn’t Sure About a Comeback
UFC president Dana White recently voiced his opinion that former welterweight champion and all-time great Georges St. Pierre will never return to the octagon. In response to this, St. Pierre himself announced that he’s still not sure what the future holds.
So, the GSP waiting game continues, and we’ll all just have to sit tight until the Canadian has decided his fighting future one way or the other. In the meantime, here’s hoping he decides on a comeback so that maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get to enjoy an Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre superfight. Better late than never, as they say.
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