MMA Thread (UFC/Bellator et al)

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Nasty.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

In an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of the MMA Hour, Mark Hunt passionately vented his frustrations about Brock Lesnar and fighters who cheat, but seemed more frustrated with the UFC for not doing enough to combat doping.

"Fuck that company. They’re shit. They’re fucking worthless scum," Hunt said. “Fuck the UFC. You’re shit. You motherfuckers don’t look after nobody.”

Hunt lost to Lesnar by decision at UFC 200, but it was later revealed that Lesnar was flagged by USADA for an out-of-competition doping violation taken before the fight, and that Lesnar also failed his drug test taken the night of the fight. Both failures were reportedly for the estrogen blocker clomiphene, which is regularly used when cycling off of steroids.

Lesnar has not yet been officially suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and retains the right to due process. His only public statement was vowing to get to the bottom of the initial flagging.

Hunt said that he hasn't been contacted by anyone in the UFC after either of Lesnar's test failures were announced.

Hunt's primary argument was that the UFC doesn't do enough to combat cheating. And he repeatedly harped on the company for not getting rid of the incentives that cheating brings. The UFC has been seemingly inundated with test failures since turning their anti-doping policy over to USADA, but Hunt said that the testing doesn't matter if the penalties aren't harsh enough.

Notably, Hunt once again called for fighters to unionize after initially doing so immediately after Lesnar's first failure was announced. And Hunt wanted all of the fighters in the UFC who were listening to get behind his unionization efforts.

Hunt claimed that these companies make nothing without fighters and that the main reason people watch is the fights, not people making their money off of fighters.

He said that the reason why he is so upset is that this is the third time he has fought someone who had failed a drug test.

Hunt repeatedly called for fighters who are caught doping to be fined their entire purse, and for opponents that face confirmed cheaters to be able to sue them in court. Hunt also said that the maximum suspension for taking performance-enhancing drugs should be raised from the current two-year ban to requiring cheaters to be out of action for five to 10 years.

Hunt said that he wasn't complaining, he just wants something done about it. He said that inaction was telling the whole world that their sport is a pack of cheater and liars, and telling aspiring fighters to stick a needle in their ass if they want to make it.

"If I do fight again and get put in a coma or die what happens to me?" Hunt said. And he brought up the dangers that facing a cheating fighter could bring several times.

Hunt said that he assumed before the fight that Lesnar was cheating, but it's different now that he has actually failed two tests. Hunt framed the problem as not specific to Lesnar, and said Lesnar was "sticking needles in his ass like the rest of these cheaters."

He said there is nothing special about Lesnar since he couldn't even finish him while allegedly cheating. Hunt said that if he was on what Lesnar was reportedly on, Lesnar's head would have come off.

After not being contacted by the UFC in the wake of Lesnar's failures, Hunt said that he doesn't want to be a part of the company unless they do something about this, and said that it seems like the whole roster is cheating.

He also wondered if either the UFC or USADA knew about Lesnar being flagged before the fight. And he seemed especially concerned that Lesnar was given an exemption that allowed him to forego the standard four months of testing before a fight.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

Woodley is so fast I didn't see the punch live. It looked like Lawler just fell down until the slow motion replay. He got him with a scary bomb. And Lawler has a great chin. I don't know if any Welterweight can beat a guy who throws bombs a million miles an hour. That was like Chuck Liddell x 1000.

[Bandit]

Woodley called out GSP. That won't happen.

[Big Boss Man]

Nope, don't think GSP will come out of retirement, unless they offer him mega money. Some good fights on the UFC 201 prelim card, like the older UFCs had names they should called this one "Night of the Knockouts" on DVD/Blu-Ray

Upcoming UFC/Bellator cards

UFC
-----
UFC Fight Night Sat. Aug. 6 Rodriguez vs Caceres

UFC 202 Sun. Aug. 21 Diaz vs McGregor 2

UFC Fight Night Sat. Aug. 27 Maia vs Condit

UFC Fight Night Sat. Sep. 3 Arlovski vs Barnett

UFC 203 Sat. Sep. 10 Miocic vs. Overeem (CM Punks UFC debut)

UFC Fight Night Sat. Sep. 17 Poirier vs Johnson

Bellator
---------

160: August 26, 2016 Henderson vs. Pitbull

161: September 16, 2016 Kongo vs. Johnson

[Bandit]

Congratulations to Urijah Faber on his gold medal win.

[Bandit]

At the press conference McGregor told Diaz that his camp looks like "The Crackhead SS" (as in the Schutzstaffel, not the boat prefix.) , that's certainly an original insult.

[Bandit]

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz put on the fight of the year at UFC 202 with McGregor walking out victorious and evening the series at one win each. Unfortunately for McGregor, the win came at a cost.

McGregor is listed on the Nevada State Athletic Commissions injury suspension list with a "foot/ankle fracture" and must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor in order to fight again before Feb. 17, 2017. He will serve a minimum suspension of two months with the earliest he can return being Oct. 20, even if cleared by a doctor.

McGregor unleashed heavy leg kicks to Diaz's lead leg to weaken the bigger fighter and slow his advancement forward, and that may have taken its toll on the Irish star's left foot. The strategy worked to an extent as Diaz was clearly bothered by the hard leg kicks; however, being Nate Diaz, he was not deterred from marching forward and trying to apply pressure to McGregor.

According to MMAFighting.com, the suspension might not have much impact on the Irish star as he may get cleared of having any significant injury. McGregor indicated that his injury was a sore shin, but not a serious issue and that he is otherwise healthy. McGregor's coach John Kavanaugh also noted on the MMA Hour that McGregor's injury was a pre-existing issue and not something new that he sustained in the fight.

Diaz, for all the abuse he took, has been handed an injury suspension of one month for a severe cut above his left eye. Diaz cannot take contact until Sept. 11 nor fight until Sept. 20, though that's merely a formality as he was not going to return before then anyway.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

-- One of the best welterweights in the world is headed to Bellator.

Rory MacDonald is close to finalizing a new fight contract with Bellator, MMA Fighting has learned. MacDonald's management team was informed Tuesday night by the UFC that they were not able to match the terms of a contract offered by Bellator.

While MacDonald has yet to put pen to paper, that is a formality at this point, sources say. So much so that the UFC has already removed him from their official welterweight rankings.

MacDonald (18-4) made his UFC debut in Jan. 2010. He will leave the organization with an 9-4 record inside the Octagon, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Stephen Thompson in June.

Nicknamed "Red King," MacDonald is considered to be best active Canadian fighter. His 2015 UFC welterweight title fight against then-champion Robbie Lawler was a unanimous choice for Fight of the Year.

The 27-year-old's Bellator debut has yet to be decided, but sources say he's currently targeting a fight in the first quarter of 2017.

[Big Boss Man]

I saw Rory Mac turn up at a Bellator show and thought he must be going there. I think they are still a way behind the UFC and they need a PPV model going forward as majority of their shows are on Spike. I think Bellator 120 with King Mo vs Rampage is their only pay per view.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Big Boss Man]

UFC 203 on Saturday, which will feature Punk vs Gall. He has now made weight after a weight cutting issue so his fight will be going ahead. Should be super interesting to see what will transpire in the fight. I think maybe Punk should have fought on a few fight pass only shows against lower ranked opponents to build up to a bigger fight. I'd like to see him get the win but I think his lack of experience is what could cost him the fight. It's also not like he's a massive guy ala Brock who has a amateur wrestling NCAA background and he doesn't have Lesnars punching power either. Punks key to success is to fight smart, avoid takedowns, maybe absorb some punches, get a takedown and go for a submission victory. I don't think he has heavy hands so I doubt we'll see a KO victory unless he catches him with a god punch, but I imagine he'll be on the defensive so he'll be hanging back looking to shoot in for a takedown. I'd legit LOL if he hits the GTS and hooks in the anaconda vice. Gall wants to do some Pro Wrestling moves if his comments on Evolution of Punk are to believed. So will be something to see. Overeem/Miocic is an interesting fight too, I'm going for a Overeem win. I think he's stepped his game up and his career is going in an upwards trajectory.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Punk time!

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Hey Mickey! Meltzer will be happy.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Punk got smashed.