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UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 Weigh-in Video

(Courtesy of UFC)

Watch the UFC 236: Holloway vs Poirier 2 Ceremonial Weigh-in LIVE Friday, April 12th at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT on MMAWeekly.com.

UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 is topped by an interim lightweight title fight between current featherweight champion Max Holloway and top contender Dustin Poirier. The winner will be crowned the interim titleholder and slotted as the next challenger to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov when he returns to the cage later this year.

It actually marks the second time the two have fought, although it has been quite a while since they shared the Octagon. Holloway and Poirier last fought more than seven years ago, with Poirier winning. Since that time, Holloway has run away with the UFC featherweight division.

He’s won 13 consecutive fights, become the UFC featherweight champion, and is considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Poirier hasn’t been on quite the streak that Holloway has, but returned to lightweight a few years after defeating Holloway, and is currently on a run of 8-1-1, including three consecutive wins over Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, and Eddie Alvarez to put himself in title contention.

The UFC 236 co-main event pits Kelvin Gastelum against Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight title with the winner getting a crack at current champion Robert Whittaker.

Gastelum was supposed to have already fought Whittaker for the undisputed middleweight title, but was derailed the day of their fight when Whittaker had to be rushed into an emergency dual surgery because of a hernia and collapsed bowel.

With Whittaker out of action for the next few months, the UFC moved swiftly to put Gastelum in a fight for an interim version of the title.

Adesanya and Anderson Silva stepped up when Whittaker dropped off the bill to give the Australian fans a UFC 234 main event. Though Silva fought a solid fight, Adesanya lived up to his promise leading the next wave of middleweight contenders.

After Adesanya defeated Silva, the UFC matched Gastelum and Adesanya for the belt in the UFC 236 co-main event, which takes place on Saturday in Atlanta.

Tune in Saturday, April 13, for UFC 236 full live results, where Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier battle for the next shot at UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya meet in the UFC 236 co-main event for the interim middleweight title and a chance to unify the belt with champion Robert Whittaker.

Where do the UFC 236 betting lines stand following the weigh-ins?

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-236-holloway-vs-poirier-2-weigh-in-video

Steven Nguyen focused on himself heading into EFC 11 title defense

Since turning pro in April of 2016, featherweight up and comer Steven Nguyen has performed just about as well as anyone could want to.

In five victories, Nguyen has managed to finish all but one his opponents, culminating in picking up an Evolution Fighting Championship 145-pound title.

“Every single fight I’ve evolved,” Nguyen told MMAWeekly.com. “I’ve learned a lot. I’m so much better than I was even just in my last fight.

“I took a little bit of a layoff, pretty much a year, but I’ve trained my ass off. I’ve improved so much that I feel like I’m at that level that I need to be. I’m ready to keep these fights going. Instead of taking these long layoffs, I’m ready to fight back-to-back and get the ball rolling more now.”

Having spent the last year not having to do multiple fight camps has been beneficial according to Nguyen. It’s allowed him to make the improvements in his game that he otherwise can’t during fight camp.

“Because of the off season I get to focus a little bit more on what I need to work on personally, because when I’m training I’m cutting weight, dieting, and drawing game plans out that I have to stick to,” said Nguyen.

“At the end of the day I’m getting better all around when I’m fighting, when in training camp, but when I’m in the off season I get to focus a little bit more on myself and take my time with it and improve my game all the way though.”

On Saturday in Mulvane, Kansas, Nguyen (5-0) will look to defend his title for a second time when he faces Brandon Bailey (3-2) in the 145-pound championship main event of EFC 11.

“I know he’s a legit grappler, and that’s the only thing I really know about him,” Nguyen said of Bailey. “I feel like he’s a tough challenge; he’s a tough guy; but at the end of the day I try not to worry too much about my opponents. I focus on myself.

“I know that I’m better than him everywhere. I’m going to in there and do what I do. I’m going to go in there and try and finish the fight, but at the same time I’ll be ready for a five-round war.”

While Nguyen likes to take things one step at a time, he would like to see himself move up to the next level of his career before 2019 closes out.

“My next fight is always my most important fight, but hopefully this year is the year I make it to the UFC,” said Nguyen.

“I have a great (management) agency and a great team behind me, with them pushing me hard and we keep winning, winning will take care of everything. I’ve just got to keep fighting hard, grinding hard, taking it fight by fight knowing my time will come.”

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/steven-nguyen-focused-on-himself-heading-into-efc-11-title-defense

Conor McGregor reveals he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov on a broken foot

Conor McGregor is no stranger to fighting injured and it turns out the former two-division UFC champion was less than 100-percent yet again for arguably the most important contest of his career.

On Wednesday, McGregor revealed that he walked into his fight against reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov with a broken foot.

According to McGregor, the injury occurred a few weeks out from UFC 229 this past October but it didn’t stop him from stepping into the cage and fighting the ferocious Russian.

“I broke my foot three weeks out from the bout,” McGregor wrote on Twitter. “I still marched forward however, and also landed the final blows of the night. On his blood brother.

“I am happy with how the contest went and the lessons learned. In my fighting and more importantly my preparation. Time will reveal all.”

I broke my foot 3 weeks out from the bout.
I still marched forward however, and also landed the final blows of the night.
On his blood brother.
I am happy with how the contest went and the lessons learned.
In my fighting and more importantly my preparation.
Time will reveal all. https://t.co/VNxbrfk6qx

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 11, 2019

The “final blows” as McGregor describes it references the post fight brawl that broke out seconds after the fight ended with Nurmagomedov leaping into the crowd to go after the Irishman’s teammate, Dillon Danis. McGregor ended up trading punches with two of Nurmagomedov’s teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov.

The incident cost McGregor a six month suspension and a $50,000 fine while Nurmagomedov was hit with a nine month suspension and a whopping $500,000 fine for his part in instigating the brawl.

McGregor also defended his performance on the ground where Nurmagomedov did the majority of his damage over the course of three-plus rounds before finishing the fight by rear naked choke in the fourth.

Nurmagomedov is best known for his ground game where he has routinely mauled his competition since first joining the UFC roster.

“Very happy with my defense,” McGregor said. “A precarious position with the head pinned against the fence. Every movement must be calculated as any over exertion leaves the guard open and could lead to a finishing blow. None of which came close.

“Zero facial damage taken and I won the next round.”

Very happy with my defense.
A precarious position with the head pinned against the fence. Every movement must be calculated as any over exertion leaves the guard open and could lead to a finishing blow. None of which came close.
Zero facial damage taken and I won the next round. https://t.co/1bcPWNQfRy

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 11, 2019

McGregor was the first fighter in the UFC to earn a round against Nurmagomedov when he won the third round on the judges’ scorecards.

Still the fight came to an end in the fourth round after Nurmagomedov secured yet another takedown and then finished McGregor on the mat.

Judging by McGregor’s latest responses, he’s still contemplating a rematch against Nurmagomedov in the future but what it will take for that to happen remains to be seen. Nurmagomedov is out of action until at least July but most likely won’t return until September.

Upon his return, Nurmagomedov is then expected to face the winner of the UFC 236 interim title fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/conor-mcgregor-reveals-he-fought-khabib-nurmagomedov-on-a-broken-foot

Joe Rogan on TJ Dillashaw testing positive for EPO: ‘This is just cheating’

Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was suspended for two years by USADA on Tuesday.

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan is a fan of Dillashaw’s fighting, but admitted on a recent podcast that there is no other way to characterize Dillashaw’s positive drug test result for EPO, “This is just cheating. This isn’t any accident.”

USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) announced the news while revealing that Dillashaw tested positive for EPO, which is typically used in blood doping to help athletes for better endurance and conditioning. It’s a drug that has been abused for years in the professional cycling and endurance athletics worlds.

EPO is one of the key substances that helped Lance Armstrong ride to seven Tour de France titles. Eventually exposed for his systematic approach to doping, Armstrong has since been banned from cycling for life.

As this was considered a first-time offense under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Dillashaw received the maximum penalty of a two-year suspension and voluntarily relinquished the UFC bantamweight championship.

“To me, it’s a shame, too, because I’m a TJ fan,” Rogan said on his Wednesday podcast. “I think he’s a phenomenal fighter and I’m a big fan of watching him perform. But it taints his legacy. It just does. There’s no way around it.

“When you get caught cheating… this stuff, there’s no way it’s not cheating. This is just cheating. This isn’t any accident. It taints your legacy. The guy had an amazing legacy: two-time bantamweight champion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. The way he beat Renan Barao. I was like holy s–t.”

Having specifically tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) – synthetic EPO – it was clear that the drug had to have been injected and couldn’t have been caused by a tainted supplement, as so many athletes have claimed as a defense recently after testing positive for other banned substances.

Dillashaw has not issued a statement since the USADA ruling. A couple of his coaches have commented, condemning the use of banned substances, but supporting Dillashaw.

Joe Rogan still admires TJ Dillashaw’s fighting ability

Similarly, Rogan still respects Dillashaw’s abilities as a fighter, but can’t deny the potential benefits that Dillashaw received from using EPO.

“It doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s amazing. TJ’s an amazing fighter, but f—, man,” Rogan continued. “To test positive for EPO in the Henry Cejudo fight. You’ve got to think, if you’re on EPO, how much does that allow you to train extra time? How much does it allow you to recover? What is the quantifiable benefit? It must be pretty significant. A lot of the cyclists, a lot of heavy duty endurance athletes use it. I almost want to try it.

“I think what it does is it raises your threshold if you’re already an elite endurance athlete, too. They’re already looking for that extra edge… then they take that EPO… it jacks them up, they can do more work. They don’t run out of oxygen. They don’t run out of juice. And for a guy like TJ, his style is so kinetic, so much movement, explosion. He needs that juice.

“It’s crazy. It’s a hard one to swallow.”

What happens to the UFC bantamweight title following Dillashaw’s suspension

Despite the advantages of EPO, Cejudo knocked Dillashaw out just 32 seconds into their UFC on ESPN+ 1 headlining bout in January, retaining his UFC flyweight championship. Cejudo will now face Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 in June to determine who will take Dillashaw’s place as the bantamweight champion.

Meanwhile, Dillashaw will be forced to sit out for the next two years.

Following a pair of knockout wins over Cody Garbrandt, Dillashaw was considered arguably the best bantamweight fighter of all time. Now following this suspension for a doping violation, Dillashaw’s accomplishments will undoubtedly come under a tremendous amount of scrutiny.

Joe Rogan’s dishes on TJ Dillashaw testing positive for EPO

(Courtesy of JRE Clips)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/joe-rogan-tj-dillashaw-drug-test-epo-cheating

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