Category Archives: Bloodyelbow.com

Pull down the blinds, encrypt those communications, Bloody Elbow’s fearless leader, ‘Kid’ Nate Wilcox returns to Active Duty. He is on lockdown back in his bunker after being MIA from the podcast network for years. Join us exclusively at: BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com, as this content is ONLY available to our Devoted Paid Subscribers.

Welcome to the glorious return of ‘THE MMA BUNKER’ Podcast with ‘Kid’ Nate Wilcox! Bloody Elbow presents our first Paid Substack Subscriber Only BONUS CONTENT podcast.

Pull down the blinds, encrypt those communications, Bloody Elbow’s fearless leader, ‘Kid’ Nate Wilcox returns to Active Duty. He is on lockdown back in his bunker after being MIA from the podcast network for years.

The MMA Bunker was closed at the request of SB Nation management, when Nate’s commentary made things “too hot” for a certain access journalist. That’s no longer our problem and Nate’s MMA commentary is coming back!

‘Kid’ Nate has turned up his mic, and is ready to come at you with his best dissociative rantings about the UFC, the state of the business, incriminating rumors and the latest saucy headlines in MMA. Be sure to pledge your support with a paid subscription so you can follow along with the ‘Kid’ for a deep-dive into hot-button MMA topics.

EPISODE 01

• Get to know ‘Kid’ Nate, the Blogger on a Mission
• The Future of the New Bloody Elbow & our newfound “Freedom of Speech”: Honest opinions blended with in-depth research
• Fights to make throughout combat sports, or fights that should have been made
• ‘BloodyElbow.com 1.6’ launch plans & web presence as an independent entity
• Plans for the ‘Ultimate Fan-Community Platform’, free from extreme censorship
• Nate offers his perspective on the state of MMA and its future globally
• Nate’s vision for MMA Utopia; how he would “run the circus”

‘The MMA Bunker’ is going to be a monthly affair as part of The New Bloody Elbow. Not only will Nate be broadcasting from the Bunker when the moon is low and bright to his back, he will also have the ‘Tête-à-Tête Features’ coming your way (when Nate lets some infamous guests from the MMA Media community hunker down to reconnoiter over the MMA scene in the Bunker – joining in to offer some special ops expertise and insights to his rants).

If you enjoy our variety of shows, please give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, OverCast, PocketCasts, Castro, Castbox, Player FM, imdb, ThisMMALife, Podcast Addict, Podvine, Podchaser, Podbay, Podtail, Owltail, Listennotes, Podcast Republic, MuckRack, Chartable, Podtoppen.se, & now on Substack! Coming soon to Simplecast, Pandora & Sirius XM!

Follow your favorite Bloody Elbow Presents hosts on your preferred apps, such as: Downcast, PodCruncher, iCatcher!, Castaway 2, Podcastapp, Podbean, BeyondPod (Android), & more in your App Store!

For previous episodes, check out our playlists on any of our BE Podcast platforms. To access episodes on Substack you have two weeks as a free subscriber, at that point we would urge you to pledge your support to our efforts to bring you these shows every week and gain access to the full archives and bonus content we will provide 24/7/365.

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UFC 287 has taken another hit. 

Li Jingliang is out of his fight against Michael Chiesa.

On the Chinese social media platform Douyin (H/T Meni Mayer of MMA Ideas), the UFC welterweight announced he was forced to withdraw against Chiesa at UFC 287 due to a spine injury that could require surgery.

In his past six appearances, Jingliang has alternated between wins and losses. After returning to the win column recently with a ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded second-round TKO of Muslim Salikhov at UFC Long Island in July, the ‘Leech’ lost a controversial split decision to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279 this past September.

Chiesa has not fought since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Sean Brady at UFC Vegas 43 over a year ago. That was the second consecutive loss for the ‘Maverick,’ who also fell short against Vicente Luque.

Per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, the UFC is searching for a short-notice replacement for Chiesa. Among the names who have offered to fill in against the Ultimate Fighter 15 winner was Kevin Lee, the recently re-signed UFC staple who already holds a first-round submission win over Chiesa.

The ‘Motown Phenom’ claims his former foe turned down the potential rematch. However, a representative for Chiesa says that was categorically false.

“Or, factually, this is complete bulls—t and NOT A SINGLE NAME has been offered as a replacement option yet,” tweeted Daniel Rubenstein. “Still to be determined if Chiesa stays on the UFC 287 card. My gut tells me him sharing the same manager as Jingliang, his manager offered to put him in and he was shot down.”

If no opponent is found for Chiesa, then UFC 287 moves forward with 13 fights. The upcoming pay-per-view event goes down on Sat., April 8, at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Fla.

About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)

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Just like paying for Twitter Blue became the instant checkmark of a born sucker, the UFC is giving fans the opportunity to pay big bucks for… almost nothing.

There’s nothing in the rule book that says the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization can’t run shop like a high school gymnasium in need of a new hardwood floor. Despite seemingly ever-increasing massive amounts of annual revenue, the UFC is always on the lookout for new ways to disentangle its fanbase from their finances.

Sure, things like VIP experiences, autograph signings, meet & greats, or even fight-worn paraphernalia, might offer diehards a chance to enhance their enjoyment of MMA through actual physical objects and experiences. But, what about the fan that wants spend a whole lot of money and get almost nothing in return?

Say no more, we got you.

In a post to their social media sites, the UFC announced that for the small price of a mere $ 1000, fans can see their name “hand painted” onto the Octagon.

By the look of things, names will be printed on the black band separating the center of the Octagon from the perimeter. Whether that will be big enough to actually make them discernible on camera during the event is anyone’s guess.

It’s a one-event-only offer (for the moment), for the upcoming UFC 288 fight card. After the PPV is concluded, the UFC will mail you proof of your humiliating excess, in the form of a plaque with a photo, and that section of canvas that has your name on it. I suppose if fans are really lucky, maybe one of their favorite fighters will spit on it, or rub their feet over it too.

Then again, maybe this is the best chance for Bloody Elbow to get a shoutout at a UFC event since the glory days of ‘Killa B’ Ben Saunders. I’ll go dig into my couch cushions.

About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)

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Despite ambitious plans to contend with major MMA organizations in the United States, Eagle FC appears to have joined the long list of defunct MMA promotions.

Seated in the centre of a raised dais at a press conference in Miami, Florida, Khabib Nurmagomedov held court with media members ahead of his Eagle Fighting Championship (Eagle FC) promotion’s highly-anticipated debut in the United States.

According to Nurmagomedov, Eagle FC 44—which took place on Jan. 28, 2022 and featured a heavyweight bout between Russia’s Sergei Kharitonov and kickboxer Tyrone Spong in the main event—marked the organization’s emergence as a threat to leading entities such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

“Big organizations like the UFC, Bellator, they have to be careful with their fighters because Eagle FC is here,” Khabib said at the time. “Of course, we are trying to sign good athletes, great athletes with good names. At the same time, we are also working with the younger generations. We have these two goals.

“I just want to say be careful. If they don’t treat their fighters good, Eagle FC is here.”

Nurmagomedov followed through at the time by signing former UFC champions Diego Sanchez and Kevin Lee to headline Eagle FC 46 on March 11, 2022. The organization also signed former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos to headline Eagle FC 47.

However, the May 2022 show also marked the organization’s final event in the United States. Eagle FC went on to host four more event, the last of which took place on Dec. 10, 2022. There are currently no plans for anymore events int eh foreseeable future.

So how exactly did an organization with so much promise suffer such a rapid demise?

The first sign of trouble occurred in January 2023, when Nurmagomedov—Eagle FC’s founder and patron—announced plans to distance himself from his commitments within the sports to spend more time with his family.

Nurmagomedov had acquired the Russian promotion formerly known as Gorilla Fighting Championship (GFC) in 2020. By December 2020, Nurmagomedov rechristened GFC as Eagle FC—paying homage to Nurmagomedov’s nickname, ‘The Eagle’—and assumed the role of promoter and financier.

The former UFC lightweight champion also hired his cousin and fellow fighter Shamil Zavurov to serve as the organization’s president. Once Nurmagomedov stepped away from MMA entirely, Zavurov candidly informed the media that if the former champion does not remain invested in Eagle FC, the promotion would “fall apart.”

“Eagle FC depends on Khabib,” Zavurov said in a recent interview with Russian YouTube channel Ushatayka. “So Eagle FC will go on. We will push it forward. We have so many young guys who are competing. So we don’t want to just stop and leave this behind.”

Zavurov’s fears appear to have come true.

To read the rest of this editorial, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that happens on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

About the author: Karim Zidan is an investigative reporter for Bloody Elbow focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. His is also a contributor to The New York Times and The Guardian. (full bio)

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UFC star Conor McGregor is proposing a new rule change.

No one can deny Conor McGregor’s superstardom and his strong influence on the sport of mixed martial arts. USADA even made some changes to its testing protocols partly thanks to “The Notorious,” something that the Irishman is proud of.

Now, the former UFC “champ-champ” is calling for amendments in some of MMA’s unified rules, particularly on what merits a foul and an eventual point deduction. And as you’ll see in McGregor’s tweets that have since been deleted (but captured by Fansided’s Amy Kaplan), these proposed changes won’t directly affect the outcome of the fight.

McGregor likely saw a few of these instances happen this past weekend at UFC San Antonio, particularly during the headliner between Marlon “Chito” Vera and Cory Sandhagen.

Such actions are generally deemed to be lowbrow and crass by society. The same behavior seems to be somewhat of a norm inside the UFC cage, however, as you’ll see many other fighters do it, whether intentionally or otherwise.

Perhaps this is one of the rare instances where McGregor’s recent statements hold some level of validity, but will it matter in a sporting sense? We’ll just have to see if his influence stretches far enough to result in a rule change in some way shape or form.

About the author: Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments. (full bio)

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Roxanne Modafferi tackles your questions, Happy Warrior style, in her latest ‘Dear Roxy’ column for Bloody Elbow.

Roxanne Modafferi is back again to answer all the burning questions fans have about MMA, training, and life in general, in her latest ‘Dear Roxy’ column.

It’s been a minute since the last one, but back in late January, we took a look at injury rehab and recovery, nutrition supplements, and sparring frequency. We also answered questions about camp management, and finding the perfect ration of cardio & strength training alongside drilling technique.

This time around we’re tackling one of the sport’s longest running topics: MMA Math, does it work? We’re also looking at retirement, how to know when enough is enough, and the recent trend of fighters dropping out of the USADA pool to recover from injuries. Also: Nerves just how bad to fighters get ‘em?

Dear Roxy,

Does MMA math work for professional fighters? If you are scheduled for a match with Fighter A, and both of you have fought Fighter B, can you extrapolate any information from that, or you only really know what you’re in for when the cage door closes? — Peter K

Dear Peter K,

Well, if I am fighting someone, I will watch their previous fights and see how their skillset matches up against someone I know, so it’s helpful to me, yes. In terms of A beat B, and B beat C, so A should beat C. No, MMA math like that does not work at all. I believe each fighter matches up with another differently. For example, I think that only Holly Holm was able, at that time, to defeat Ronda Rousey because of Holly’s unique abilities: her evasive movement, defensive wrestling, striking counters, and offensive counters. Lots of other types of fighters had faced her but to no avail. It’s interesting to try MMA math, but that is not the scientific method—there are too many variables. You also can’t recreate the same fight between two people, although they can be similar. Fighters are human beings. Some days we wake up feeling great, sharp, and ready. Others, not so much.

Dear Roxy,

With so many fighters fighting after they can no longer perform to their best, you seem to stand out as one of the fighters who left the cage more or less on their own terms. What would you say was the biggest sign that led you to commit to retirement? — Professor Big D.

Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages

Dear Professor,

Well, the first and foremost reason I retired was because I started getting headaches after hard sparring matches. I know we all have a timebomb, in a manner of speaking, which determines how much our bodies can take. I felt I reached my physical limit. Other than the headaches, I did feel that my peers were all gradually surpassing me in strength. I don’t consider myself naturally athletic and it’s hard for me to build muscle. I won all my fights with technique and good timing. However, it seemed like my peers had been matching my techniques and good timing, plus they were getting stronger too. I didn’t think I could improve significantly enough to surpass the youngsters and stay in it much longer. I didn’t want to start getting beaten up. Despite my last several fights being loses, I feel they were competitive and I can be proud of them.

Dear Roxy,

How do you feel about fighters dropping out of USADA in order to use PED’s to recover from a serious injury? – Mr Allergic to the Cold

Dear Mr. A to the C,

Well, injuries suck, especially horrific ones like the crazy bad leg breaks where the bones snap in half. However, I’ve heard that certain PEDs add muscle cells to your body and change your body’s structure in ways that stay with you even when you get off the drugs. Take Conor McGreggor. He looks like a different person—his face is wider in addition to clearly having added a lot of muscle. Is that fair for his next opponent? That’s way more than healing an injury. If a competing athlete wants to take steroids to heal an injury, they should do it after they retire and their career is over.

Dear Roxy,

Chael Sonnen once told a story about a fighter who was extremely nervous before a bout and started coming up with a multitude of excuses of why they needed to pull out of the bout, and eventually they just literally ran away from the venue. Have you experienced or heard anything like that throughout your career? – Cyberslick

Dear Cyberslick,

Yes, but only in the amateur circuit. Fight nerves are awful. We go through lots of things that aren’t talked about a lot. Even me! I have fifty pro fights under my belt and am confident in myself. I still get periodic adrenaline rushes throughout the morning and afternoon of fight day. I get diarrhea from my nerves, and I lose my appetite. I can’t eat after lunch. I know people who throw up or can’t eat all day. Of course some people don’t experience that, I’m sure. However, fighting isn’t for everyone. I’m sure everybody gets scared and some people can’t handle it. I’ve had teammates on a local Vegas card lose their opponent to a “no show.”

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at [email protected], with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

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Maybe that’s just how it works now? Hard to tell.

Top-ranked UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has made his reputation, not just as a remarkably talented fighter, but also as a guy with a whole lot to say for himself.

After Cory Sandhagen’s impressive victory this past weekend over Marlon Vera, it seems that O’Malley (16-1) has decided that the win was impressive enough to undo his lone professional loss.

As fans may remember, Vera defeated O’Malley in 2020 at UFC 252. The fight ended in a first round TKO victory that all started with Vera nailing low kicks and pummeling O’Malley with ground strikes as a follow-up.

It was hardly a controversial loss, but O’Malley is sticking to the ancient and time-honored mantra of “hey, that doesn’t count, bruh”.

So once Vera tasted defeat on Saturday night, ‘Sugar’ took to where all the magic happens these days, the splendiferous land of Twitter:

Sweet, simple, to the point.

Okay, perhaps a very dull point.

It may sound like quibbling, but how does Vera losing against someone else undo his win against O’Malley?

Even in some strange world where such a thing might be the case, it seems like it would only apply if O’Malley held his own win over Sandhagen and therefore gets to have his loss overturned due to the transitive property of MMA math. But the man doesn’t even have that going for him. Unless Sandhagen is somehow an ambassador for O’Malley and his record (seems unlikely) that loss still stands. Them’s the breaks.

O’Malley’s imagined victory laps aren’t exactly a new thing. The MMA Lab talent had previously declared himself “mentally undefeated” because he felt his leg was compromised by mere chance, rather than…getting kicked.

Despite the obvious delusion, O’Malley is 4-0 with 1 ‘no-contest’ since losing to Vera. The kind of record any fighter in his right mind would be proud of. The 28-year-old’s latest win over Petr Yan may very well have put him in prime position to challenge for the bantamweight championship sometime in the not too distant future.

It seems inevitable that we’ll all be hearing more about O’Malley’s newly minted unbeaten record in the coming days. In the meantime, he’s sitting pretty near the very top of the division despite his mathematical gymnastics.

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Former UFC title contender Dan Hardy speaks on the Colby Covington-Jon Anik situation, while revealing being banned from UFC 286.

Colby Covington’s usual quotable sound bites last week were directed at UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik. What seemingly upset “Chaos” was Anik’s show of support towards welterweight contender Belal Muhammad.

Covington then responded with this threat.

“So, you wanted to lick my frickin’ balls in London, ‘Oh Colby! This, this, this! But then you want to go back behind the stage and cheerlead for a racist! So he associates with racism and Belal Muhammad.

“And, you know, Jon Anik, dude, I don’t want your kids to grow up without a dad. Just realize you live in Boca, I live in Miami motherf–r. You’re not too far from me. So you better shut your f–ng mouth. You poke the bear? Now you get the bear comes after you.”

At least based on recent history, altercations with a company employee aren’t taken lightly. In 2021, former welterweight title contender Dan Hardy was fired from his commentary duties after an alleged incident with a staff member during a Fight Island event.

In an interview with Petesy Carroll over the weekend, “The Outlaw” was asked about the incident involving Covington and how it relates to his situation. He believes the UFC’s silence and inaction on the matter will remain.

“It’s a very case-by-case basis within the UFC. I probably wasn’t making them as much money as Colby Covington is. And Dana set the standard on New Year’s Eve, didn’t he? You can’t berate a member of your roster after you behaved like that on camera,” he said.

“Dana’s put himself in a difficult position and the UFC has put Dana in a difficult position. My concern is the UFC is such a big player in the sport of mixed martial arts that it would damage the actual sport instead of just damaging the UFC.”

“I think the reason he’ll get away with it, of course, is because Anik is another public figure. Like we had a bit of a back-and-forth between Gaethje and Bisping. As long as both people in the organization are public-facing figures, I don’t think it’s that much of a problem in Dana’s eyes,” Hardy added.

Hardy’s relationship with his former employers was never mended, he says. He even revealed being banned from UFC 286, where his wife Veronica (née Macedo) fought in the early prelims.

“I had a very, very minor disagreement with a member of the staff, and I was banned from all fight week activities last week. It’s a case-by-case basis.

“I went to the official weigh-ins, that was the only thing I went to. But everything else, I was banned from. It’s silliness. It’s massive, massive double standards. But I wouldn’t expect anything less from that organization these days.”

After his departure from the UFC, Hardy continued to grow his YouTube presence. And recently, he was named Head of Fighter operations for PFL Europe, where he will also be part of the broadcast team.

About the author: Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments. (full bio)

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The boxer-turned-soldier was reportedly serving in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk region when he died.

A Ukrainian boxer who was a medalist at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games was killed while fighting for Ukraine during Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Maksym Galinichev was reportedly serving in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk region when he died.

“On March 10, silver medalist of the 2018 Youth Olympics Maksym Galinichev laid down his life for independent Ukraine,” Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wrote on Twitter. “Glory to hero.”

Galinichev won a silver medal at the Buenos Aires 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games. He also gold at the EUBC European Youth Boxing Championships.

The 22-year-old reportedly refused to take part in last year’s European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) Men’s European Boxing Championships in Armenia in order to join his country’s armed forces. His death marks the latest in a number of Ukrainian athletes who have died since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

In March 2022, a kickboxing champion and member of the controversial Azov regiment, an ultra-nationalist unit of the National Guard of Ukraine that includes neo-Nazis, was while fighting Russian forces in Mariupol. Three months later, Ukrainian boxer Oleg Prudky was killed while fighting in the war.

Over the past few months, the Boxing Federation of Ukraine has barred its athletes from competing in tournaments featuring Russian and Belarusian athletes. Most recently, the federation opted not to send any athletes to the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Championships.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee is considering readmitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions as neutral.

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‘Starboy’ went off on his opponent for withdrawing from their fight at UFC San Antonio. 

UFC flyweight Manel Kape went nuclear after his fight against Alex Perez was canceled on Saturday.

During the broadcast of UFC San Antonio, UFC play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald announced that Perez vs. Kape was canceled due to the former dealing with a ‘medical issue’ after he arrived to the arena. That explanation was not enough for Kape, who went off on Perez after he found out he would not step into the Octagon as expected.

“Unfortunately, my opponent just came to the [weigh-in] to pose and take a picture!,” wrote Kape. “Inside me I felt that he would not have the courage to face me, our energies were totally different and I knew that he did not want to be here, he did not want the same as I wanted, and it was notorious the fear that emanated from him. But I was surprised to see him getting on the bus and I really thought we were going to fight. Even after grabbing him by the neck and giving him some good slaps in the chest, in the meeting room.

“We arrived at the Arena, warming up, turned on my hands and only three fights left for our fight, he just gave up!,” continued Kape. “Your DNA is an abomination. Unlike you, my DNA is from fearless warriors coming from Queen NJinga Mbande, my DNA has history. I kill by the sword and die by the sword inside the battlefield. YOU COWARD! Cowards die several times before their death.”

Perez and Kape had one of the most fiery staredowns at the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC San Antonio on Friday, which led to UFC president Dana White and security intervening and separating the fighters. And though there was some heat in this potential fight, Perez had a good reason for withdrawing from it.

Hours after his withdrawal, the Team Oyama product revealed that he suffered a seizure during his pre-fight warm-up. At this time, Perez said he has no other information as to what caused the seizure.

In terms of competition, the former RIZIN FF bantamweight champion is 3-2 in the UFC. Kape is riding a three-fight win streak that includes first-round finishes of Ode’ Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov.

Reserve your user name for the new Bloody Elbow before April 1, 2023. Go here for more details (link).

About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)

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