Issue 110
January 2014
3 rounds of action
1 UFC PRESIDENT WHITE ‘DID EVERYTHING’ TO MAKE LESNAR-FEDOR BOUT
Dana White has revealed more details about Zuffa’s negotiations with revered heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, and the UFC president insists he and the company “did everything” to set up a bout between the Russian and the UFC heavyweight kingpin at the time, Brock Lesnar.
Recounting to reporters that the fight was planned for the 100,000-plus capacity Cowboys Stadium in Texas, and that the contract stipulations of Fedor’s management included building a stadium in Russia, White added: “Someday I’ll tell you the story of how much we offered that f**ker… This was one of those deals where it’s like, this makes no f**king sense whatsoever.
“Literally when we got on the plane, when we were flying back, we were like, ‘Thank f**king God they turned that offer down.’”
FO SCORE: If only because it might have answered all those questions about hypothetical Emelianenko matchups, it would have been great if Fedor and his management could have agreed on terms with the UFC. However, it’s worth remembering the heavyweight’s contract with then-rival promotion Strikeforce is thought to be partly responsible for events which led to the company’s sale.
2 UFC HAS ‘NO INTEREST’ IN RELEASED ASKREN
UFC president Dana White says the promotion has “no interest” in signing Ben Askren, the Bellator 170lb champ until the promotion released the wrestler in November.
Bellator also waived any right to match offers on him, opening the door to Askren signing with the UFC. However, White shot down the former Olympian’s chances, telling reporters: “It’s (Bellator’s) champion, and they don’t want him. What does that say?”
Askren held the Bellator title for three years, and became notorious for grappling-heavy decision wins.
FO SCORE: In August, White, who has called Askren “boring,” said the UFC would talk to ‘Funky’ about a potential contract, so it remains to be seen if an offer will be made. The 29-year-old has been bullish about his chances in the UFC.
3 UFC BUILDING WOMEN’S 115LB DIVISION SAYS WHITE
The UFC’s next female weight class will be 115lb, UFC president Dana White recently confirmed. Speaking to Fox Sports podcast The Fighter and the Kid, White revealed the promotion was looking to offer more women’s bouts by adding a strawweight division rather than a class that neighbors the current 135lb division.
White said: “I never in a million years thought it would take off the way it has.”
FO SCORE: Episodes that featured women’s fights on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter often drew more viewers than those showcasing men’s bouts, so perhaps a TUF season featuring 115lb females is in the UFC’s sights.
Sourcing from the strawweight division might seem counterintuitive but the female talent pool is deeper at the lower weights, and it lessens the likelihood of women light for bantamweight leaving or opting against the UFC’s 135lb class.
ON THE RADAR
Three red-hot prospects worth keeping an eye on...
Aljamain Sterling, 8-0
There’s buzz growing around Serra-Longo bantamweight, and Cage Fury Fighting Championships belt holder, Aljamain Sterling. A former member of Team Bombsquad (recommended to him by college wrestling pal UFC star Jon Jones when ‘Bones’ was still with the New York group), the undefeated 24-year-old is explosive thanks to his NCAA Division III wrestling past, and has a smart submission game to go with it. Several injuries kept him out of the ring for most of 2013, but a 1:49 rear naked choke victory in his November return suggests he hasn’t lost a step.
Jack McGann, 4-0
Sherdog has 20-year-old British striker Jack McGann as 3-0
(at the time of writing), but rest assured the son of Wolfslair boss Anthony has picked up four impressive first-round stoppages as a pro since debuting in 2012. Due to his family ties, McGann has trained around top-tier talent (‘Rampage’ Jackson, Cheick Kongo) from a young age and it shows in both his slick stand-up technique and composure. Currently working at SBG Manchester with TUF vet Aaron Wilkinson and coach Karl Tanswell, McGann’s next fight was planned for Manchester in December, before he jets off for a training stint in Sydney, Australia.
Joshua Aveles, 14-9-1
By going 12-3 in 15 bouts in the last two years, King of the Cage welterweight champion Joshua Aveles has righted the 2-6-1 start to his career that currently skews his record. He has hands of stone, (T)KOs account for over 70% of his wins, but being on the smaller side for his weight class could mean an upgrade in competition involves a drop in divisions.
REWIND / FAST FORWARD
Legend reborn: linking two combatants – one past, one present
KEVIN JACKSON
Wrestled at the Olympics and Pan Am games:
Won gold both times
Made name in MMA by winning:
UFC 14 tournament
DANIEL CORMIER
Made name in MMA by winning:
Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix
Wrestled at the Olympics and Pan Am games: Took gold at Pan Ams
QUOTES
“After a fight, my management and PR people would call it my cave because all communication was over. It was me and my Xbox, and no one knew where I was or what I was doing for at least a week.”
Welterweight standout Jon Fitch, occasional hermit
“Definitely Wanderlei Silva (hit the hardest). Sparring with him, that’s a horrible idea. It’ll take years off your life; don’t do it.”
We could probably have told UFC veteran Forrest Griffin that before he touched gloves with the Muay Thai ‘Axe Murderer’
“I wanted to win that money for a lot of reasons, but one of them was that if I didn’t win I would have had to come home and sell some ovaries or something. I didn’t know what I would have done. Now I was able to come home and pay some rent.”
Female featherweight Ashlee Evans-Smith was on the breadline before TKO’ing controversial cross-gender athlete Fallon Fox in October
“Until I can be Natalie Portman’s butt with my butt, I don’t want to be in Hollywood.”
Let’s hope a Tinseltown turn for UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy never happens
“She will put Cain’s name in her mouth and not mine. She is an actress after all. Talking about a fantasy fight when there’s a superfight right in front of her.”
Invicta FC 145lb champ Cris ‘Cyborg’ was none too pleased with UFC women’s 135lb queen Ronda Rousey asserting she could hypothetically beat heavyweight king Cain Velasquez
DWIGHT HOWARD - STAR SIGHTING
Who? Center/power forward for the Houston Rockets
Where? UFC 166, Houston, Texas
MMA fan Dwight Howard didn’t just watch UFC 166, he got in the Octagon prior to the night of fights for a bit of tomfoolery with the UFC’s Chael Sonnen and Kenny Florian, and even hung out with company president Dana White backstage.
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