Its convenient to say that but in reality it may only appear that way because he's that good. Not losing a match in over 11 years is remarkable by any stretch.
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Its convenient to say that but in reality it may only appear that way because he's that good. Not losing a match in over 11 years is remarkable by any stretch.
http://www.the42.ie/kavanagh-nurmagomedov-bahrain-team-2249318-Aug2015/?utm_source=twitter_self
Interesting development if true. That Arab money going to start seeping into MMA? Unlike in football it might actually do some good, giving fighters a way to make some good money which 95% of fighters are struggling to do at the moment. Also the thought of McGregor and Khabib (as well as their coaches Kavanagh and Khabib's dad) training together is a scary one. Mix Conor's stand up with Khabib's wrestling, throw in Gunnar's BJJ for good measure and you'd nigh on have the perfect fighter.
JOHN KAVANAGH IS to play a key role in the establishment of a new mixed martial arts team, which will be financially supported by the fifth son of the King of Bahrain.
Kavanagh, who is head coach to Conor McGregor, Gunnar Nelson and several more UFC stars at Dublin’s Straight Blast Gym, has been contacted by representatives of Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa with a view to getting involved with KHK MMA.
The new team will aim to bring together a host of top fighters from around the world, varying from up-and-coming prospects to established professionals competing in leading organisations such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
They have already secured the services of UFC lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, while two of Ireland’s most promising young fighters will also be part of the team.
James Gallagher and Frans Mlambo, both of whom lit up the recent IMMAF Amateur World Championships in Las Vegas, will continue their development as part of KHK MMA while remaining under John Kavanagh’s stewardship. Kavanagh says he will also contribute with regular seminars and training camps.
“This is a very exciting development for MMA and it offers a unique opportunity for these fighters. It’s something I’m privileged to be involved in and I think the potential here is enormous,” Kavanagh told The42.
“The people behind this venture are clearly passionate about the sport and I’ve been very impressed by their enthusiasm. This will give young fighters, such as James and Frans, the ability to achieve their goal of reaching the top without having to cope with financial concerns.”
UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.Source: Reinhold Matay
Former UFC fighter Alex Soto will also be part of the team, along with Russian prospect Eldar Eldarov, top US amateur Jose Torres and Bahraini duo Hamza Kooheji and Mohammed Shahid.
No further details have been disclosed thus far but a press conference is expected to take place in Bahrain on Saturday, 15 August, when more information will be revealed.
Interesting development if true. That Arab money going to start seeping into MMA? Unlike in football it might actually do some good, giving fighters a way to make some good money which 95% of fighters are struggling to do at the moment. Also the thought of McGregor and Khabib (as well as their coaches Kavanagh and Khabib's dad) training together is a scary one. Mix Conor's stand up with Khabib's wrestling, throw in Gunnar's BJJ for good measure and you'd nigh on have the perfect fighter.
Boxing is different, even the greatest boxers aren't going to score a lot early round KOs, except at heavyweight. Joshua is certainly reminiscent of Tyson in that respect, remains to be seen how he handles the step up. At middleweight no one is going to do what Tyson did, so you judge fighters differently. Mayweather is arguably the greatest of all time,though hugely different to Tyson.
Not only has he not avoided anyone, he's fought everyone of note in the division -- beating many undefeated fighters.
I could say the same about Rousey's division -- how good are they?
I'd love to see her kick Di Maria's ass.
You are right, I don't like the way he fights but his control of the space is amazing and his opponents can't do anything about it. The difference with Rousey is that she doesn't fight for the judges, she goes after her opponents, she evolves, she improves. I like that.
I need to say that Mighty mouse Johnson fights against very strong opponents and dominates them easily, I think that he is up there with the greats.
That's a good question, that's why I think Mighty Mouse Johnson might be a superior fighter.
The division has the likes of former Olympic medalist McMann and 18 time world champion in boxing Holly Holm, among a bunch of other talent. Ronda hasn't been beating bums, she's been beating legit fighters. The division is very good, if Ronda retired tomorrow it'd be a brilliantly competitive division (in fairness it still is even with her there).
The comparisons with other sports are a bit silly anyway. In terms of MMA there's no real denying that she's one of the most dominant fighters ever, if not the most dominant. And she's also a fecking massive star too which helps even more for the UFC. She's brilliant for the sport.
The comparisons with other sports are a bit silly anyway. In terms of MMA there's no real denying that she's one of the most dominant fighters ever, if not the most dominant. And she's also a fecking massive star too which helps even more for the UFC. She's brilliant for the sport.
In other news ..... 
Straight back into antagonising Aldo, that's his game.
There's talk of a Aldo vs. McGregor and Rousey vs. Tate super card in Dallas in December.
There's talk of a Aldo vs. McGregor and Rousey vs. Tate super card in Dallas in December.
Yeah they're thinking about doing it in a stadium. Would probably not be the best idea imo because it would create a lopsided situation where all the biggest and most hyped fights would be on 1 night and there would be scraps for the other nights.
Bit of a cooling down period now after a big amount of cards recently.
UFC Fight Night next weekend and then a few weeks break until the next show (UFC Fight Night: Holloway/Oliveira). Just the two shows in September after that which are UFC 191: Mighty Mouse/Dodson and then Barnett/Nelson at the end of the month (it's always fun seeing Big Country get smashed). Cormier/Gus kicks off October.
Quite like next weekends card. Teixeira/OSP main event the card. Teixeira coming off of back to back losses (Jones and Davis in fairness) after a lot of hype behind him. OSP coming in on the back of back to back wins. Have to feel Teixeira badly needs a win in this one.
Michael Johnson in the co-main, McMann/Nunes on the prelims. Uriah Hall headlines the prelims but to be honest I've pretty much given up on him. Genuinely one of the most disappointing fighters I can remember.
UFC Fight Night next weekend and then a few weeks break until the next show (UFC Fight Night: Holloway/Oliveira). Just the two shows in September after that which are UFC 191: Mighty Mouse/Dodson and then Barnett/Nelson at the end of the month (it's always fun seeing Big Country get smashed). Cormier/Gus kicks off October.
Quite like next weekends card. Teixeira/OSP main event the card. Teixeira coming off of back to back losses (Jones and Davis in fairness) after a lot of hype behind him. OSP coming in on the back of back to back wins. Have to feel Teixeira badly needs a win in this one.
Michael Johnson in the co-main, McMann/Nunes on the prelims. Uriah Hall headlines the prelims but to be honest I've pretty much given up on him. Genuinely one of the most disappointing fighters I can remember.
Waste. of. space.
Whats so super about that? Two fights against Tate and two armbars....Rousey needs to quit ducking Cyborg and sign the fight that the fans want...Rousey has shown up at a perfect time in womens mma...shes a great fighter in a division of subpar fighters...and apparently she came up with the cure for cancer the other night if you were listening to Joe Rogan....Cyborg is her only competition...meet at a catch weight of 140 and have at it...Cyborg has already said she doesnt want the belt, just wants to beat Rousey.
Dillashaw said on an interview he'd like a superfight with Mcgregor. two questions. How likely is the fight if Mcgregor loses to Aldo and in hypothetical land who wins the fight?
Personally i think TJ dominates.
Personally i think TJ dominates.
TJ should fight Demetrious or ask for a rematch against Dodson, but McGregor? cmon... he surely is confident. (oh and still needs to fight Cruz)
But, The Notorious would take him just like he did Mendes.
But, The Notorious would take him just like he did Mendes.
I wanna see that too. still remember the first fight in ultimate fighter 14 i think.
Cyborg has also said many times she will get down to 135. Cyborg is also a cheat and if she wasnt so pumped with steroids could probably make weight easily
Ronda isnt ducking anybody
hasn't she been clean for her last few fights?
It seems like the only way RR will take on Cyborg is if Cyborg drains herself to 135, which in my opinion will not be a good fight for the fans. Cyborg doesn't give a shit about the belt so why don't they meet in the middle and catch weight at 140? Because Dana won't stop sucking on RR's clit. Wants her to have as much advantage as possible.
On another note, why hasn't Cat Zingano fought since her loss to Rousey? After the fight she was all eager to go at it again but haven't heard from her since... is she injured?
On another note, why hasn't Cat Zingano fought since her loss to Rousey? After the fight she was all eager to go at it again but haven't heard from her since... is she injured?
She's getting a lot of mainstream press, why should the UFC and Dana White risk that? When you have Joe rogan tearing up after Rousey just beat a 20/1 underdog or however ridiculous it was , when you se eher ranking in th epound for pound lists, it's quite obvious RR is the UFCs golden goose right now.
Ronda doesn't need to meet her for anything. She's got nothing to prove. Cyborg's main reign came through being juiced up to high heavens. Ronda is the 135 champion, why should she have to be the one going out of her way to make different weight? She's the best female fighter in the world. The only way the fight will happen is if either Cyborg finally makes the weight (and wins one or two tune up fights doing so) or it's in two-three years and Ronda decides to go up in weight for her retirement fight. Not that it matters, I'd expect the same outcome anyway. Cyborg is a reckless fighter that against somebody as technical and good as Ronda will get beaten.
As for Zingano, likely a mental thing. I think a rematch with Ronda is one of the more interesting matches in the division but it's a matter of whether Zingano can recover mentally from that loss. She claims she's over it, needed some time off for niggling injuries and personal stuff and is looking to fight before the end of the year.
I agree with @Pscholes18 with regards to womens MMA. It's pretty much the equivalent of the early UFC's when Royce used to school a bunch of part timers (Royce = Rhonda in this instance). She's someone that's trained in combat sports all her life and some of her opponents don't even belong in the same cage as her. There's bugger all technical about her striking btw. She had her chin up in the air for the entire 35 seconds of that last fight although she obviously has power in her hands. That style of bull rushing her opponents works well for her though because she's not scared of eating a few shots and it puts her in close enough range for a takedown which = instant death for whoever she's facing.
The hyperbole from the likes of Rogan and the other UFC shills is just ridiculous though. I can't believe anyone wants to honestly see her fight Tate again.
The hyperbole from the likes of Rogan and the other UFC shills is just ridiculous though. I can't believe anyone wants to honestly see her fight Tate again.
Might Mouse stepped up a weight class to fight Cruz, and got roundly schooled. It's amazing what 10 pounds comes to at the top of combat sports. And all the more amazing that BJ Penn was able to beat Hughes, who is a legend himself, by going up a weight class.
You hear a lot of talk about champs moving weight classes but it's very, very very rare.
You hear a lot of talk about champs moving weight classes but it's very, very very rare.
They would both have to move up/down weight so it's not like only Ronda will be doing the hard work... I agree about Cyborg being a filthy cheat for most of her career but there's a lot of animosity to settle, lots of fans to shut up and lots of money to be made... It makes perfect sense for the fight to happen. The only downside I can see from the UFC is the implications if RR loses to Cyborg, which is why I think they will force Cyborg to their stipulations for the fight... which will be pretty shit for the viewer as I'm sure we'd all love to see them duke it out at their best.
The hyperbole from the likes of Rogan and the other UFC shills is just ridiculous though. I can't believe anyone wants to honestly see her fight Tate again.
I wouldn't write off that fight just yet. Of course Rousey is a huge favourite here but Tate fared much better in their second fight and now knows RR's game really well, which Rousey herself said is interesting as none of her opponents know what to expect when they step into the cage with her. She was also the only one to take Rousey past round 1 and is probably the best opponent Rousey can face until Zingano pushes for another crack (minus the rush of blood to the head that ruined her last time).
Well that or let her fight TJ Dillashaw
Nope Mighty Mouse was a bantham weight and went down when UFC introuduced the flyweight division
I reckon MM would beat a lot of the current bantham weights and would love to see him against TJ
Details details, he's a natural flyweight, is my point, fighting up a division made him look just good, not maybe p4p best and future legend.
I have to say, imho, Bethe Correia shouldn't have been allowed to fight against Rousey, it was a mauling not a fight.
I was thinking about it yesterday. Correia was clearly scared and trying to compensate her fear by pretending to be angry and talkative. Once the fight started, she seemed to lose focus of any strategy she may have had coming in and simply let the adrenalin take over. Rousey was obviously laser focused on obliterating her and swiftly took advantage.
Personally, I don't know how much better Cyborg would fare. Rousey is just too complete a fighter.
If Rousey adopted the same game plan against Cyborg as she did against Correia I'd give Cyborg a huge chance. She's too smart for that though and she'd surely just use her superior grappling. At least there'll be some level of doubt about the outcome going into a Cyborg fight though.
I'm baffled as to why its so difficult for her to drop 10lbs to fight Rousey. A professional athlete should have little trouble doing that over the next 6 months.
She does have a huge frame in fairness. She dwarfs Edgar, an (admittedly small) former LW champion.
That said, I read a comment from that Mike Dolce guy that she's actually about 10lbs heavier between fights now than she was a few years back when the Ronda fight was first mooted, so that's hardly a sign of good faith on her part.
Cyborg would never pass a UFC drug test and she knows it. That's why the fight won't happen, not because of 10lbs.
She carries most of her weight in her head tbf. Skull water can be tricky to shift.
She does have a hell of a dome on her.I don't know if this article has already been posted but this sounds a bit more promising as regards Cyborg being willing and able to make 135lbs:
A relatively easy weight cut to 145 pounds last week in Las Vegas has Cris Justino's camp more confident than ever about slimming down further later this year.
Justino (14-1) defended her Invicta FC featherweight title on July 9, knocking out Faith Van Duin in 45 seconds. The day before the fight, Justino weighed in at 144.6 pounds.
The 30-year-old Brazilian has been angling toward a megafight against UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. A fight between them would generate massive business for the UFC, but Justino has to prove she can make 135 pounds first. The UFC does not currently promote a 145-pound weight class.
According to Justino's manager, George Prajin, she actually cut as low as "a little under 143 pounds," before last week's weigh-in. Nutritionist George Lockhart even allowed her to eat before getting on the scale.
"That says a lot," Prajin said. "George said he could have gotten her to 140 on this one. We're confident about 140 pounds -- 135 is still iffy, but we're moving in the right direction."
Before Justino's title defense, Prajin told ESPN.com he was hopeful her next appearance might take place in the UFC, at a 140-pound catchweight. He even mentioned a potential opponent in Miesha Tate, who is fighting Jessica Eye later this month.
UFC president Dana White shot down the Tate fight in an appearance during International Fight Week, however. Coming out of the weekend, Prajin said it's most likely Justino will have at least one more fight in Invicta, hopefully in early fall.
"I don't think the UFC shot down the idea [of promoting Justino's next fight], but realistically I think her next fight will be in Invicta, sometime in October," Prajin said. "November at the latest. At that time, we'll know better if she can make 135."
UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN.com he hasn't discussed specific options with Justino's camp but did acknowledge that there is a growing need to see her face better competition.
"The game plan has been for her to make 135 pounds in Invicta, but [a non-title fight] could happen in the UFC -- it's possible," Fertitta said. "At the end of the day, I think everybody wants to see her fight better competition because these fights are only lasting 45 seconds."
Rousey (11-0) is scheduled to defend her UFC title against Bethe Correia (9-0) at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro. Currently, she is a 15-1 betting favorite to retain the title.
Prajin said that, as of now, the highly anticipated fight between Rousey and Justino could happen by the UFC's annual Memorial Day weekend event in 2016. That would provide Justino a chance to fight at 140 pounds and -- after seeing how her body responds -- cut to 135 pounds for a non-title 135-pound fight to prove she can make the weight.
Absent Rousey agreeing to meet Justino at a 140-pound catchweight, Prajin says that's the quickest the fight will happen.
"Two fights before Ronda -- one in early fall and one in the winter," Prajin said. "We're trying to get Cris to fight every four months. Hopefully, we'll be getting into that timeline of having it on or before Memorial Day weekend.
"Or, Ronda can step up and be the champ she claims to be and fight on the UFC New Year's Eve card at 140. We'll see what happens in her fight against Correia. People are going to start complaining about seeing these fights. Cris' fights are still exciting because people like to see a beatdown. Ronda's fights are ending in a technical way, and there's not much excitement. People want to see this fight between these two."
Justino (14-1) defended her Invicta FC featherweight title on July 9, knocking out Faith Van Duin in 45 seconds. The day before the fight, Justino weighed in at 144.6 pounds.
The 30-year-old Brazilian has been angling toward a megafight against UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. A fight between them would generate massive business for the UFC, but Justino has to prove she can make 135 pounds first. The UFC does not currently promote a 145-pound weight class.
According to Justino's manager, George Prajin, she actually cut as low as "a little under 143 pounds," before last week's weigh-in. Nutritionist George Lockhart even allowed her to eat before getting on the scale.
"That says a lot," Prajin said. "George said he could have gotten her to 140 on this one. We're confident about 140 pounds -- 135 is still iffy, but we're moving in the right direction."
Before Justino's title defense, Prajin told ESPN.com he was hopeful her next appearance might take place in the UFC, at a 140-pound catchweight. He even mentioned a potential opponent in Miesha Tate, who is fighting Jessica Eye later this month.
UFC president Dana White shot down the Tate fight in an appearance during International Fight Week, however. Coming out of the weekend, Prajin said it's most likely Justino will have at least one more fight in Invicta, hopefully in early fall.
"I don't think the UFC shot down the idea [of promoting Justino's next fight], but realistically I think her next fight will be in Invicta, sometime in October," Prajin said. "November at the latest. At that time, we'll know better if she can make 135."
UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN.com he hasn't discussed specific options with Justino's camp but did acknowledge that there is a growing need to see her face better competition.
"The game plan has been for her to make 135 pounds in Invicta, but [a non-title fight] could happen in the UFC -- it's possible," Fertitta said. "At the end of the day, I think everybody wants to see her fight better competition because these fights are only lasting 45 seconds."
Rousey (11-0) is scheduled to defend her UFC title against Bethe Correia (9-0) at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro. Currently, she is a 15-1 betting favorite to retain the title.
Prajin said that, as of now, the highly anticipated fight between Rousey and Justino could happen by the UFC's annual Memorial Day weekend event in 2016. That would provide Justino a chance to fight at 140 pounds and -- after seeing how her body responds -- cut to 135 pounds for a non-title 135-pound fight to prove she can make the weight.
Absent Rousey agreeing to meet Justino at a 140-pound catchweight, Prajin says that's the quickest the fight will happen.
"Two fights before Ronda -- one in early fall and one in the winter," Prajin said. "We're trying to get Cris to fight every four months. Hopefully, we'll be getting into that timeline of having it on or before Memorial Day weekend.
"Or, Ronda can step up and be the champ she claims to be and fight on the UFC New Year's Eve card at 140. We'll see what happens in her fight against Correia. People are going to start complaining about seeing these fights. Cris' fights are still exciting because people like to see a beatdown. Ronda's fights are ending in a technical way, and there's not much excitement. People want to see this fight between these two."
Skull water
Ronda may be waiting to improve her striking enough to stand with Cyborg. Ronda's striking has come on leaps and bounds since her first UFC fight. KOs are very rare in WMMA, she didn't have one until the TKO with the knee to the liver, now she has two KOs with her hands. Impressive.
Bethe Correia was 9-0, has pretty much no athletic ability, and the past record of her opponents was 1-9 or something stupid. She was a can. I think Ronda is great, and is miles apart from anyone in her division but the WMMA 135lb division is hardly stacked with talent. It's like what Cassius said - similar to early UFC and Ronda's striking is fecking terrible.
Correia is decent, but not to where she can get in the same ring as the GOAT of WMMA.
Rousey's fellow 'horsewomen' (ahem) don't deserve to be in the same ring as Ronda either, of course, so Correia defeating them didn't mean much, in MMA terms.
But as a storyline, it was fantastic. "Hey Bethe, how'd you like to be famous, and ghetto rich? Cool, this is what you say about Ronda, right here, I've highlighted it for you..."
It sold, UFC are happy. I doubt Correia has any ill will towards Rousey at all, nor do 99% of the UFC with each other. But the UFC has decided to follow the boxing model of invented 'beefs' between fighters, because it works to sell tickets and viewers. They've also taken a big nod from the WWF model of an endless 'soap opera'.
Hey, if it didn't sell we wouldn't have to put up with it.
Rousey's fellow 'horsewomen' (ahem) don't deserve to be in the same ring as Ronda either, of course, so Correia defeating them didn't mean much, in MMA terms.
But as a storyline, it was fantastic. "Hey Bethe, how'd you like to be famous, and ghetto rich? Cool, this is what you say about Ronda, right here, I've highlighted it for you..."
It sold, UFC are happy. I doubt Correia has any ill will towards Rousey at all, nor do 99% of the UFC with each other. But the UFC has decided to follow the boxing model of invented 'beefs' between fighters, because it works to sell tickets and viewers. They've also taken a big nod from the WWF model of an endless 'soap opera'.
Hey, if it didn't sell we wouldn't have to put up with it.
She is signed with zuffa and already goes through the same drug testing as anyone in the ufc.
That logic doesn't really work. She's the same size as Conor if not bigger, so it's akin to saying he should be able to easily drop down to bantamweight which is obviously ridiculous. They both cut a lot of weight to make 145 as it is. Fact is if she even can make weight she'd have to have a horrible cut as well as losing all ofthe muscle mass which is the advantage she'd need to have any hope. At 135 it's aserious disadvantage for her and she knows it. 140 catchweight is the fairest solution as both fighters need this fight as much as each other at this point. Obviously Ronda doesn't need it for her stardom but she does for her fighting legacy. Important to remember that Rousey was a 145'er who moved down to Bantamweight and fught even higher at judo I believe so it's not as if she'd be vastly disadvantaged by meeting a few pounds up at 140. I think she wins via armbar either way.