Fighters Only

Issue 098

February 2013

ROUSEY AND LIZ CARMOUCHE TO BE FIRST HEADLINING UFC FEMALES

Bantamweight Ronda Rousey, the first-ever UFC women’s champion, and Liz Carmouche will become the first females to headline a UFC card, when they square off in the main event of UFC 157 in Anaheim in February. The UFC confirmed the bout just weeks after announcing Rousey, the last Strikeforce women’s bantamweight queen, would jump to the UFC. Carmouche will also make history independently as the UFC’s first openly gay fighter.

GSP VS SILVA... OR NOT?

The talked-about UFC superfight between welterweight king Georges St Pierre, and middleweight honcho Anderson Silva may not happen in the first half of 2013 as expected, according to comments from promotion president Dana White.

The long-reigning title-holders had been expected to face off with one another in their next bouts following St Pierre’s defeat of Carlos Condit at UFC 154 in November. But, White revealed recently St Pierre instead asked for a bout with long-time antagonist Nick Diaz. White told reporters: “We were talking about Anderson Silva. He (Georges St Pierre) said, ‘I want Nick Diaz. Me and Nick Diaz have unfinished business. We were supposed to fight. That’s the fight I want now.’”

White added St Pierre “doesn’t ask for things,” saying: “If he wants to fight Nick Diaz, and Nick Diaz wants to fight him, that’s probably the fight we’ll make.”

BACK TALK

KENNY FLORIAN (UFC commentator):

“I think we are going to see (Silva vs St Pierre) happen, but I think right now we’re going to see a battle between pounds. I think the main issue is agreeing on weight, because at the end of the day it depends on which fighter is going to get the advantage before the fight.

“I think both of them will make more money than they ever had in their whole life. It’ll be the biggest fight in mixed martial arts – period. Jon Jones is a huge star, but when GSP fights people watch from all over the world. People will want to tune in, and I can guarantee he gets more pay-per-view buys than Anderson. I don’t know if it’ll be GSP’s next fight, but I’m close to 100% sure we’ll see that fight in the near future.”

$20m

At $20m, BJ Penn has the highest net worth of any UFC fighter in history, according to celebritynetworth.com.

Brazilian light heavyweight Thiago Silva was recently given a six-month suspension by the UFC for testing positive for marijuana metabolites after fighting on UFC Macau in November.

WHAT'S HOT

FIGHTER TV DEBATES

Politics had Obama vs Romney, why can’t MMA have Hughes vs Hardy on hunting?

BELLATOR TITLE REMATCHES

Great to keep champions legitimately busy outside of tourney winners

BRAZIL

The MMA-mad nation knows no bounds to its UFC adoration

WHAT'S NOT

JACKSON’S MMA NIPPLE TWEAK

Jardine, GSP, Marquardt were all prolific pre-fight twisters. What happened?

THE TERM ‘NHB’?

Bet MMA die-hards reclaim the word one of these days