Issue 176
March 2019
International Fight Week 2018 hosted two events and the Fighters Only MMA Awards on July 4. Hosted by Jeremy Piven at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, 23 awards were handed out in an event attended by members of the MMA community from all over the world.
Notable winners on the night included Max Holloway who won Male Fighter of the Year, Rose Namajunas; Female Fighter of the Year, Brian Ortega; Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, and Robert Whittaker; International Fighter of the Year. Eddie Alvarez vs Justin Gaethje at UFC 218 was crowned Fight of The Year.
The two award winners Holloway and Ortega were scheduled to feature in the co-main event of UFC 226, but Holloway was pulled from the fight just 24 hours after the awards night following concerns about his health.
The fight falling apart was a bitter blow for fans worldwide, but the night ended in truly epic fashion anyway after Daniel Cormier became only the second man in UFC history to hold two UFC titles at the same time after he finished the then-UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic inside one round.
The sight of Cormier replicating Conor McGregor and lifting two world titles above his head should’ve been the last memory from the night, but in true pantomime fashion Brock Lesnar announced his return after the bout and stormed the Octagon to confront the new champion. The scuffle that occurred was mostly innocent, but oddly it foreshadowed a much more serious incident that would occur in the same venue just three months later.
Israel Adesanya’s ascendancy also continued that week after he put on another convincing display at The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale dominating Brad Tavares. At the same event, Brad Katona was crowned the champion of the TUF: Undefeated featherweight tournament and Mike Trizano the winner of the TUF: Undefeated lightweight tournament.
On July 28, the UFC returned to Calgary, Canada and put on a stacked show that was headlined by Dustin Poirier ending his feud with Eddie Alvarez after finishing him via TKO in the second round. Little did we know, but the fight was the last on Alvarez’s UFC contract.
Also this month
- Bellator 202 and Bellator 203 ran on back-to-back nights. Jullia Budd defended her Bellator featherweight title against Talita Nogueira in Thackerville, Oklahoma, before Patricio Freire defeated Daniel Weichel via split decision in Rome, Italy at Bellator 203.
- UFC announced a landmark partnership with Russian promotion M-1 Global to form ‘UFC Russia.’ A press release on July 18 stated that “M-1 will be responsible for scouting and signing Russian athletes to prepare them to fight in the UFC. M-1 Challenge champions will have a unique opportunity to sign contracts with the UFC.”
- Congenital amputee fighter Nick Newell got his long-awaited chance to fight for a UFC contract but unfortunately lost a unanimous decision to Alex Munoz on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series on July 25.
