Issue 134
November 2015
Shogun back under the knife
A fresh bout of surgery has ruled Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua out of action until spring 2016 at the earliest. The former light heavyweight champion required an operation on his right shoulder, which follows repeated surgeries on his knees. The Brazilian last fought at UFC 190 in August, when he took a points decision win from a rematch with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. At the post-fight press conference he also verbally agreed to a rematch with ‘Rampage’ Jackson, but it looks like he’ll have to look elsewhere to stay busy.
5
Shogun has had more rematches than any other active fighter in top-flight MMA. He’s twice faced: Alistair Overeem, Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson and ‘Minotouro’ Nogueira.
Mendes wants McGregor rematch
Chad Mendes stepped up his campaign to rematch Conor McGregor by insisting the two-weeks’ notice he had to replace José Aldo at UFC 189 ultimately handed the Irishman the advantage. ‘The Notorious’ won via a late second-round TKO. “It was 110% the factor of the loss in that fight,” Mendes said, when asked about his lack of training camp. “Yeah, I’d been training and keeping in decent shape but there was no way you could ever be in five-round shape in two weeks. Like I said, he knows it, I know it, everybody knows it. With a full camp I destroy that guy.”
On the radar
Unsigned talent with big potential
DeAnna Bennet (Argentina)
With wins over TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena and veterans Michelle Ould and Jennifer Maia, the 30-year-old has proved she can hang with the best. Now at 115lb with a 7-0 record, she looks destined for UFC’s strawweight division.
Tyrell Fortune (USA)
A standout in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, the 25-year-old from Portland, Oregon has been compared to Cain Velasquez due to his relentless grappling prowess. Look for this Blackzilians novice to make his debut after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Marc Diakese (UK)
Fresh from a stint at Allstars Training Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, this 22-year-old British lightweight is already 7-0 in his pro career and has shown great natural ability in transition from striking to grappling.
POLL POSITION
Aldo vs. McGregor
Rescheduled for UFC 194, FO’s social media followers predict the result
#FOmag poll on the 145lb championship fight result
Aldo KO
23.2%
Tyler Martin: “Aldo 3rd round KO via knees.”
Conor KO
31.4%
Chris Gaye: “King Conor 3rd round TKO!”
Aldo sub
11.0%
Santino Luigi Saieva: “Aldo submission!”
Conor sub
0%
Josh Thier: “Aldo is the P4P king right now.”
Aldo pts
28.3%
@Bjj_bill: “Aldo has got this by decision.”
Conor pts
6.1%
Colin Bassett: “War!!! McGregor split decision.”
What's hot
The Ultimate Fighter 22
Every new season, the critics write the show off, but be honest, have you failed to tune in to a single episode yet? Us neither. McGregor is unmissable.
Free TV blockbusters
Brown vs. Gastelum, Henderson vs. Alves, Edgar vs. Mendes and Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone – all free, free, free. Christmas is indeed coming early!
MMA movie stars
Couture, Rousey, Anderson, GSP, Bisping, Werdum: it seems you ain’t made it in MMA any more unless you’re making silver screen appearances too.
What's not
Early retirements
We don’t blame anybody for walking away from the cage. MMA is as brutal as sport gets, but quitting aged 25 surely comes with regrets later in life.
Rousey vs. Mayweather
OK, this was brilliant at first with the Octagon’s first lady scoring big points in their verbal battle, but enough is enough. Let’s turn the page, please.
IV ban backlash
Surely if you can’t safely cut weight without having intravenous (IV) therapy after stepping off the scales, then isn’t that a sign you’re cutting too much?
900,000+
UFC 190, headlined by Ronda Rousey’s 34-second title defense against Bethe Correia was a surprise pay-per-view hit in the US, despite being staged in Brazil. Initial estimates revealed the show did just north of 900,000 PPV buys, which is the organization’s largest number since UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 in December 2013.
