You know a couple things for sure when you sit down to write a column about the UFC’s flyweight division. For starters, you know not many people will read it. (Not unless you can figure out a way to get Conor McGregor’s name in the headline, which, if you tried hard enough, you probably could.) More
Demetrious Johnson refused to play Georges St. Pierre to Tim Elliott’s Matt Serra.
“Mighty Mouse” stayed calm in the face of early adversity to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown with a unanimous decision over Elliott in “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale main event on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Johnson was awarded 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45 marks from the judges, as he made his ninth consecutive successful title defense — one shy of former middleweight boss Anderson Silva’s all-time UFC record.
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Elliott did all he could to unseat the incumbent champion. He caught Johnson in a tight guillotine in the first round and transitioned to a brabo choke, squeezing until his arms could squeeze no more. The AMC Pankration ace extricated himself, worked back to his feet and restored order. Johnson spent much of the next 20 minutes assuming top position — either through takedowns or scrambles — and compromising the Elliott guard with a series of passes.
Johnson has now sat atop the flyweight division for 1,534 days and has not lost a fight since his unanimous decision defeat to reigning bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on Oct. 1, 2011.
In wake of “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale, here are five matches that ought to be made:
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez: While a rematch with the aforementioned Cruz remains a part of any future…
If Conor McGregor agreed to give up his featherweight world title that’s news to him.
Last week the UFC announced that McGregor relinquished his 145-pound title, which then made Jose Aldo the new undisputed champion while Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis prepared to fight for a new interim belt at UFC 206 in Toronto.
Just days ago, UFC president Dana White said that the promotion didn’t strip McGregor of the belt but instead said it was his decision to give it up.
According to McGregor, who spoke to a raucous crowd in Northern Ireland on Friday, he didn’t agree to relinquish anything and he still considers himself a two division UFC champion.
“They’re trying to strip me. Well, I ain’t stripped. I still got that belt,” McGregor said. “That belt’s sitting in my home right now. I’m still the two-weight world champion. Someone’s got to come take that off me. I see articles. I see stuff online, but I don’t see the belt not in my presence.
“The belt is right there. There’s two world titles in my home.”
Legally, the UFC has the right to strip McGregor of the featherweight world title not to mention White warned the Irishman numerous times during his campaign to add the 155-pound championship…
Conor McGregor’s run as the the first two-class champion in UFC history came to a swift end Saturday after he relinquished his featherweight title.
McGregor has opted to vacate the featherweight crown in favor of holding onto the 155-pound title he won in a knockout fight against Eddie Alvarez two weeks ago in UFC 205.
UFC necessitated the…
– The UFC has taken one title away from Conor McGregor, as “Notorious” has relinquished his featherweight belt. McGregor remains the UFC lightweight champion, but officials announced on Saturday night that the titleholder of the featherweight division will once again be Jose Aldo.
With that, the UFC 206 main event next month from Toronto will see Anthony Pettis – a former UFC lightweight champion – and Max Holloway square off for the interim belt at 145 pounds. The winner of Pettis-Holloway is expected to face Aldo in 2017 to unify the belts.
Last year, McGregor defeated Aldo in a similar match, knocking out the long-time champion in a matter of seconds. Interestingly enough, Aldo was first rewarded the UFC featherweight title after the merger between the UFC and WEC was complete.
Below is a statement from the UFC:
UFC announced on Saturday that world lightweight champion Conor McGregor has vacated his featherweight title and opted to keep the 155-pound title he won by defeating…
It turns out Derek Brunson was an ideal dance partner for Robert Whittaker.
“The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” winner cut down Brunson with a first-round head kick and follow-up punches, as he continued his climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ladder in the UFC Fight Night 101 “Whittaker vs. Brunson” headliner on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia (online betting). Whittaker (17-4, 8-2 UFC) drew the curtain 4:07 into Round 1.
Brunson (16-4, 7-2 UFC) charged out of the gate like a madman, leading with his chin while winging power punches. He was effective early, but his lack of control proved costly. Whittaker waited for his opening and did not miss it, as he uncorked a left hook that set the Strikeforce veteran on rubbery legs. Rapid-fire uppercuts followed before Whittaker reset himself and fired a kick upstairs that marked the beginning of the end. He drove Brunson to the canvas and showed no mercy, prompting referee Herb Dean to act with a continues barrage of punches.
Whittaker, 25, has rattled off six straight wins.
Andrew Holbrook sprang the upset in the three-round lightweight co-main event, as he captured a three-round split decision from “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” graduate Jake Matthews. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Anthony Dimitriou and Evan Field for Holbrook, Charlie Keech for Matthews.
Neither man showed any desire to cede ground to the other. Matthews leaned on stinging right hands, leg kicks and takedowns but struggled to keep momentum; and an apparent foot injury suffered in the first round did little to aid his cause. Holbrook (12-1, 2-1 UFC) was relentless on the mat, where he transitioned from one submission attempt to another. He advanced to Matthews’ back in the first round, answered two takedowns with aggression off his back in the second and threatened the Australian prospect throughout the third.
Matthews (10-3, 4-3 UFC) has lost consecutive fights for the first time as a professional.
Takedowns and skin-splitting ground-and-pound carried…
The UFC 206 main event took a major hit on Friday, as an undisclosed injury has forced Daniel Cormier out of his light heavyweight title defense.
Cormier was supposed to put his belt on the line in a rematch with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. The initial news came from an MMAFighting.com report that Cormier suffered an injury and had to withdraw.
Johnson confirmed the fight was canceled via his Instagram account, and tweeted to the champion, “I wish nothing but the best for DC and I hope you have a full recovery champ.”
Promotion officials…