Cat Zingano walks towards the Octagon for her UFC 200 fight against Julianna Peña. | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Cat Zingano calls for independent drug testing if she does end up clinching a title shot against Cris Cyborg.
Former UFC title contender Cat Zingano has found renewed success under Bellator. Now on a two-fight win streak, “Alpha” Cat will look to extend it to three when she faces Pam Sorenson this Friday at Bellator 282.
Should the 39-year-old Zingano emerge victorious, she could land a title shot against reigning title holder Cris Cyborg. And if that happens, she wants the champ to undergo independent testing.
“Independent testing for both of us — [an] independent resource, just making sure there are no biases, there’s no people that we know, and just making sure everything is fair,” Zingano said during Wednesday’s media teleconference (via MMA Fighting).
In a separate interview with MMA Fighting, Zingano said she called for independent testing for both her and Cyborg upon her entry into Bellator in 2020, should they cross paths eventually. However, the matchup never materialized.
“I did tell them, in the beginning, there were things that I want to do, where both of us would do [it], to make sure it’s a fair fight, and to make sure it’s a safe fight,” she said. “And with those guidelines, it just never came out.
“Every time we talked about the fight being between us, or she was calling me out online or I was saying something about her out online, I was kind of waiting for the phone calls, and the phone calls would come, but it was never her name.”
Currently, Bellator does not do independent testing and instead relies on the state athletic commission for it. For any additional testing outside of state requirements, fighters and promoters would usually rely on the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
It’s worth noting that Cyborg did fail a USADA drug test in 2016, her debut year in the UFC. But as she said at the time, it was because she was prescribed a drug for a “medical treatment” she was going through.
Zingano last fought at Bellator 256 in April 2021 against Olivia Parker and won via first-round submission. Cyborg, on the other hand, successfully defended the Bellator featherweight title for the fourth time in April against Arlene Blencowe, whom she defeated by unanimous decision.
Khabib Nurmagomedov poses with the UFC lightweight title backstage at the du Forum in Abu Dhabi. | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Ali Abdelaziz believes Khabib Nurmagomedov would beat Israel Adesanya.
Ali Abdelaziz believes Khabib Nurmagomedov would beat reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya if ‘The Eagle’ came out of retirement and cut to 185 pounds.
Abdelaziz, who manages Khabib at Dominance MMA, pointed to Nurmagomedov’s manhandling of heavier fighters at the gym as proof that the former UFC lightweight champion would dominate and finish Adesanya inside three rounds.
Abdelaziz, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, acknowledges Adesanya is ‘the best striker’ in the world but claims he wouldn’t be able to stop Nurmagomedov’s takedowns.
“If Khabib comes tomorrow and cut to 185, he will stop Israel Adesanya in three rounds, this is my opinion,” Abdelaziz told Sherdog in a recent interview (h/t The Mirror).
“I see it [at the gym]. He beat heavyweights, light heavyweights, welterweights, lightweights. He’s unstoppable. He’s like a tractor-trailer. Styles, if Khabib wants to come back and talk with [UFC president] Dana White, say, ‘Let me fight at middleweight,’ he will finish Israel Adesanya in three rounds because the style of fights.
“Adesanya cannot stop his wrestling, he cannot stop his grappling. Striking, of course, Israel is the best striker on this planet. But Khabib can come back and fight middleweight and become a champion today.”
Khabib retired undefeated with a professional record of 29-0. The Russian is considered the greatest lightweight fighter of all time and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in UFC history.
It isn’t clear what Khabib’s current walkaround weight is, but the 33-year-old would surely be at a disadvantage against Adesanya, who has competed at middleweight and light heavyweight.
As fun as it is to speculate, this fight will never happen. But this footage of Khabib dominating Luke Rockhold in training may indicate how well Khabib would have fared at middleweight.
Josh Emmett after his fight against Calvin Kattar at UFC Austin. | Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
A few fighters from UFC Austin could be on the sidelines for a while.
Josh Emmett is one of six fighters facing some time away from the Octagon after UFC Austin this past Saturday.
Emmett earned a split decision over Calvin Kattar but sustained a ton of damage around his left eye. There was severe swelling and small cuts, which was likely why he was given an indefinite medical suspension from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) on Tuesday.
The five other fighters who received indefinite medical suspensions were Tim Means, Albert Duraev, Julian Marquez, Deron Winn and Kyle Daukaus. The TDLR provided no further details, so the reasons for these suspensions (ex. potential injury) are unknown. It should be noted that Duraev and Winn suffered eye injuries in their fights against Joaquin Buckley and Phil Hawes, respectively. An update on Duraev has not been shared, but Winn already revealed he would be undergoing surgery for a broken orbital bone.
The full list of suspensions can be seen below (obtained by Nolan King of MMA Junkie):
Josh Emmett: Indefinite suspension until cleared by a physician with a minimum of 45 days
Calvin Kattar: 15 days
Kevin Holland: Seven days
Tim Means: Suspended indefinitely until cleared by a physician with a minimum of 30 days
Joaquin Buckley: 30 days
Albert Duraev: Indefinite suspension until cleared by a physician with a minimum of 45 days
Damir Ismagulov: Nine days
Guram Kutateladze: 30 days
Gregory Rodrigues: Seven days
Julian Marquez: Indefinite suspension until cleared by a physician with a minimum of 60 days
Adrian Yanez: 14 days
Tony Kelley: 14 days
Natalia Silva: Nine days
Jasmine Jasudavicius: Nine days
Jeremiah Wells: Seven days
Court McGee: 60 days
Ricardo Ramos: Nine days
Danny Chavez: 60 days
Maria Oliveira: Nine days
Gloria de Paula: Nine days
Cody Stamann: Seven days
Eddie Wineland: 30 days
Phil Hawes: Seven days
Deron Winn: Indefinite suspension until cleared by a physician with a minimum of 45 days
Roman Dolidze: Seven days
Kyle Daukaus: Indefinite suspension until cleared by a physical with a minimum of 45 days
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Check out the announced fights for UFC 278 in Salt Lake City.
The UFC is going to Salt Lake City, Utah for the first time since 2016, and for only the second time overall. On August 20th, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will rematch Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 278. Usman defeated Edwards by unanimous decision back in December 2015, but Edwards hasn’t lost since then and is finally getting his first UFC title shot.
Also official for the card is a bantamweight top contender bout between legendary former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili. I’d like to think it’s a title eliminator but you never really know. Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold takes on Paulo Costa in Rockhold’s first fight since 2019. Also watch out for heavyweight prospect Alexandr Romanov getting a step up in competition against Marcin Tybura.
No bout order is set but here are the 12 fights confirmed for UFC 278:
YouTuber Jake Paul speaks to reporters ahead of the boxing match between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. | Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Jake Paul has offered to fight Nate Diaz for free.
Jake Paul is willing to fight Nate Diaz in the UFC for free, but under one — or two — conditions: The UFC increases fighter pay and offers healthcare across the board.
Paul made the offer following Diaz’s latest request to be released from the UFC where the Californian teased a switch to boxing.
Dana – I’m happy to be Nate’s last fight in UFC. You know the terms: pay fighters more and give them healthcare.
Sweetener: I will fight for free. https://t.co/fhj6Ig9bS2
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 21, 2022
“Dana – I’m happy to be Nate’s last fight in UFC. You know the terms: pay fighters more and give them healthcare. Sweetener: I will fight for free,” Paul, who is 5-0 in boxing, Tweeted in response to Diaz.
Paul’s comments come after UFC president Dana White agreed that Diaz “probably should go on and fight Paul” in boxing.
Note that Paul has agreed to fight Diaz in MMA, not boxing. But it’s unlikely White would consider the matchup in the UFC let alone agree to the aforementioned terms on healthcare and fighter pay. It’s also highly unlikely White would enter negotiations with a YouTuber who wrote a diss track about him.
25-year-old Paul is also interested in a boxing match with former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and is confident the fight gets made by the end of the year.
Paul last fought under the SHOWTIME banner in 2021 where he knocked out former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the sixth round.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor at the 75th Cannes film festival in May. | Photo by Edward Berthelot/GC Images
Jorge Masvidal is still angling for a fight against Conor McGregor.
For years now, Jorge Masvidal has been calling for a fight against Conor McGregor, and like many others who want the money that comes with it, very understandably so. UFC boss man Dana White already shut down the said match-up, but that didn’t stop “Gamebred” from continuously shooting his shot.
Three years into his callouts, Masvidal remains eager to fight “The Notorious” sometime in the near future. And as he told Adam Catterall and Nick Peet for the Blockparty podcast, he wants it to happen sooner than later, given McGregor’s reputation for decadence.
“Before this guy, like, overdoses on cocaine and the fight never happens, I get to make all that easy money,” Masvidal said. “I just wanna break Conor’s face.
“Let’s get that paycheck, let’s get that out of the way. Sell out the most pay-per-views ever before this guy harms himself or somebody else, and I’ll just, like, boom! Get that check real quick, ‘cause I got kids and I need the f—ng money.”
Masvidal – who is facing charges for his alleged assault on Colby Covington in March – says he expects to fight sometime in 2022, “no matter what.” And if he cannot get a fight with the UFC’s biggest cash cow, he has another name in mind.
“If I can’t get Conor, I’m thinking probably Gilbert (Burns). Gilbert’s a good fight for me, I like him as a fighter ‘cause he comes to fight. He comes to either submit a guy or knock a guy the f—k out.
“We’re gonna give the fans a f—ng bloody fight if that goes down. I think everybody will be very happy with that fight, so it’s a fight that I’d love to make.”
Masvidal (35-16) is on a three-fight losing streak. He last fought at UFC 272 against Colby Covington and lost via unanimous decision. He did, however, take home a $ 50K bonus for Fight of the Night.
Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Josh Emmett’s close win over Calvin Kattar could earn him a title shot.
The UFC’s return to Texas saw some great action in the cage, and the main event produced a new featherweight contender. Josh Emmett’s slim split decision win over Calvin Kattar cemented him at the top of the 145-pound division, putting him in the top four of the class in the official UFC rankings.
Other than that though, not a lot happened rankings-wise. Adrian Yanez is now in at bantamweight after taking out Tony Kelley and making some bounty money in the process. And that’s about it.
Here’s a look at all the changes this week.
Men’s P4P – New light heavyweight champ Jiri Prochazka rises into a tie for ten with flyweight beltholder Deiveson Figueiredo. Glover Teixeira and Robert Whittaker flip-flop the 14 and 15 spots.
Heavyweight – No changes.
Light Heavyweight – No changes.
Middleweight – Derek Brunson drops from a tie for four to take over five on his own.
Welterweight – No changes.
Lightweight – Tony Ferguson now occupies the nine spot after falling out of a tie for eight with Conor McGregor.
Featherweight – Emmett is up three spots to four following his win. Kattar drops one to five. The Korean Zombie is down one to six, and Arnold Allen falls to seven.
Bantamweight – Ricky Simon rises into a tie for 11 with Frankie Edgar. Yanez enters at 15.
Josh Emmett defeated Calvin Kattar at UFC Austin | Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
A thorough analysis of Rd 4 of UFC Austin’s main event – under two scoring criteria
When the UFC Austin main event bout ended, the judges awarded Josh Emmett a split decision victory over Calvin Kattar. While the fight was a close one, there was one judge who drew the ire of those following the fight and commenting on social media. That judge was Chris Lee and the round in question was the fourth, which he awarded to Emmett by a score of 10-9.
#UFCAustin Official Scorecard: Calvin Kattar vs Josh Emmett (@JoshEmmettUFC)
All Tonight’s Scorecards: https://t.co/BSPcdaQrlC pic.twitter.com/3pzPT9vJ33
— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 19, 2022
For background on the “Scouring the Scoring” series and details on the review process, GO HERE.
After the fight, both competitors took umbrage with the scoring. Kattar said, “I thought I was landing the better shots but I’m not a judge. So it went the way it did but I thought I did enough to win the fight.”
As for Emmett, he thought he earned a clean win, “I thought I won four [rounds] to one. I had four to one. At least three to two and when they went split [decision], I was like. ‘come on!’ But it worked out in my favor.”
With questions surrounding Lee’s scoring of Round 4 — judges Doug Crosby and Sal D’Amato gave that round to Kattar — I did a deep dive into the action in that round and I fall on the side of Crosby and D’Amato.
According to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts here is the scoring criteria:
Effective Striking/Grappling
“Legal blows that have immediate or cumulative impact with the potential to contribute towards the end of the match with the IMMEDIATE weighing in more heavily than the cumulative impact. Successful execution of takedowns, submission attempts, reversals and the achievement of advantageous positions that produce immediate or cumulative impact with the potential to contribute to the end of the match, with the IMMEDIATE weighing more heavily than the cumulative impact.”
It shall be noted that a successful takedown is not merely a changing of position, but the establishment of an attack from the use of the takedown.
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation:
Judges must evaluate mixed martial arts techniques, such as effective striking, effective grappling, fighting area control, and effective aggressiveness/defense. Using the 10-point must scoring system, judges use a 10-point must scoring system to determine a winner of a contest that ends after the scheduled number of rounds have been completed. Ten points must be awarded to the winner of each round 9 and 9 points or less must be awarded to the loser, except for a rare even round, which is scored a 10-10.
What I saw in that round, breaking down each of the striking exchanges in slow motion, was that Emmett didn’t land many clean shots. His punches were “bigger” as far as effort. energy and appearance, but they did not have any immediate effect on the outcome of the fight. In fact, most of Emmett’s strikes were at least partially blocked by the guard of his opponent.
Kattar also had few strikes that had immediate effect on the outcome of the fight either, but he had some and they landed clean.
Most of Kattar’s landed strikes were jabs. Those jabs accounted for some damage over the course of the round as Emmett’s face looked worse at the end of the stanza than it did at the start, but with 1:34 left in the fourth, Kattar landed the first of three strikes that had an immediate impact on the fight. The first of those blows was a spinning elbow that landed without obstruction. A few seconds after that, Kattar landed a crisp one-two that staggered Emmett.
When judging the round (and here I’m going to consider both the Unified Rules and Texas Rules), Kattar’s jabs had more cumulative impact on the fight and those three big strikes he landed had more immediate effect. With that, Kattar had the more effective striking (there was no grappling to judge).
Kattar did more damage over the course of the five minute fourth round. As for fighting area control, I awarded that to Kattar because he controlled the fight with his jab and higher output.
Kattar’s defense was much stronger that Emmett’s thanks to his high boxing guard. Kattar absorbed fewer clean strikes and his guard deflected most of Emmett’s power shots.
As for aggression, that’s about the only area where Emmett might have earned the nod, but the criteria says effective aggressiveness and throwing big punches that miss, which Emmett did a great deal of, did not meet the standard of effectiveness.
After watching the round back with an eye on the scoring, I just can’t find a way to award it to Emmett. Judging from the criticism I saw on fight night in the aftermath of the UFC Austin card, I don’t think I am in the minority when I say that Chris Lee got that round wrong.
The human rights organization urged Joshua to “to show solidarity with those who’ve been persecuted under Mohammed bin Salman’s sweeping crackdowns.”
One of the world’s leading human rights organizations has spoken out against the decision to host the rematch between Oleksander Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International stated that it was “no surprise” that yet another major international sports event was set to take place in the kingdom, though added it was time for athletes to use this as an opportunity to speak up on human rights issues.
“As we said with golfers in the LIV series and with the sale of Newcastle United, we’d like to see high-profile sporting figures speaking out about human rights to break the malign spell of Saudi sportswashing,” said Peter Frankel, economic affairs director at Amnesty International UK.
“We would urge Anthony Joshua to use his platform to show solidarity with those who’ve been persecuted under Mohammed bin Salman’s sweeping crackdowns.”
The Usky vs. Joshua rematch is the latest example of how Saudi Arabia is using sports to distract from its well-documented human rights abuses. The tactic is known as sportswashing and it allows dictators to launder their image by investing in prestigious events such as the biggest boxing event of the year.
By 2021, Saudi had already spent at least $ 1.5 billion on high-profile international sports and entertainment events, including a long-term deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), golf, tennis and horse-racing. Earlier this year, the kingdom purchased Premier League team Newcastle United through its public investment fund, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman.
The strategic investment in sports is part of the kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’ masterplan that aims to reduce Saudi’s economic dependence on oil. However, the plan also led to a brutal crackdown on dissent, including feminist activists, religious clerics and opposition leaders.
Saudi has also continued to wage war in Yemen, which has led to a humanitarian crisis among the worst in the world, with widespread hunger, disease and attacks on civilians. More than four million people have fled their homes while another 21 million are in need of humanitarian aid and assistance.
The Usyk vs. Joshua rematch is scheduled to take place on Aug. 20 at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia.
Adrian Yanez received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his knockout of Tony Kelley at UFC Austin | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Everyone wins if the UFC rolls out $ 50,000 per stoppage bonus
If, like me, you pay attention to the fight-night bonuses the UFC distributes after each fight card, you’ll know that for the past two events, the promotion has awarded nearly every fighter who earned themself a stoppage victory a “Performance of the Night” bonus. The sole exception being Jiri Prochazka, who was part of the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 275. Now is the time for the UFC to make this a permanent part of its post-event festivities.
There are a few reasons for this.
No more “Holy sh-t!” factor
First, it removes the arbitrary nature of the post-fight bonus process. Currently, there are no rules or guidelines as to what constitutes a bonus-earning performance. From what I can see, it’s motivated mostly — but not entirely — by the “holy sh-t!” factor. Which is to say, did the performance make UFC president Dana White or whoever doles out the extra scratch, exclaim, “holy sh-t!”?
If the UFC says “every stoppage gets a bonus” from now on, every UFC fighter knows precisely what they must do to achieve that bonus. It’s simple. There are no gray areas. No one can claim favoritism. Frankly, it makes things easier for the fighters — and the UFC.
It’s a good PR move
Earlier this month, Bloody Elbow published a story that showed the UFC’s revenue was over $ 1 billion in the last 12 months (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022). That story extrapolated that the fighter share of that revenue was 17.5 percent. When compared to other major sports (NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL) that percentage falls far short of the 50 percent revenue split (via collective bargaining agreements) those sports have between ownership and athletes.
White loves to sound off about how great the UFC is doing when it comes to bringing in cash. However, he’s not so quick to boast about how little the athletes — who are responsible for nearly all that revenue — receive as independent contractors.
Adopting the all finishes earn $ 50,000 structure would allow the UFC to claim they are sharing more of the revenue while also putting the ability to earn that extra money into the hands of the fighters.
White loves to say, “Don’t let it in the hands of the judges” when it comes to wins and losses. Making every finish worth $ 50,000 would allow him to crow about fighters having the ability to earn extra money by going for a finish in every fight.
I can almost guarantee that if the UFC implements the change, White will bluster about how much “X” fighter earned in bonuses in a given year whenever someone asks him about low fighter pay.
It’s relatively cheap
There were 243 finishes in the UFC in 2021. Under the “all finishes earn a $ 50,000 bonus” program, that would equate to $ 12.15 million. If you assume that every current Performance of the Night bonus is a finish, the UFC already budgets $ 4.35 million for those bonuses under a schedule of 43 fight cards per year. In short, the promotion would add less than $ 8 million to its budget with the “stoppage” bonus change. Assuming $ 1 billion in revenue, that would be less than one percent of the promotion’s yearly revenue.
With that, White’s past concerns of f—king up the budget should be shrugged off and ignored.
$ 50,000 isn’t $ 50,000 any more
The UFC made the post-fight bonus awards all worth $ 50,000 in 2013. Before that, the number sometimes fluctuated up or down. That was nearly 10 years ago. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $ 50,000 in March 2013 is equal to $ 39,818.03 in May 2022. With that, it kind of makes sense that the UFC allow more fighters to share in the post-event spoils.
Make it a part of the 10th annual “International Fight Week”
The UFC is scheduled to hold its 10th annual “International Fight Week” this year from June 27 through July 3. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the festivities than the UFC announcing that each finish in a UFC contest, starting with UFC 276, will earn $ 50,000.
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