[CW: Suicide]

Back in 2016, Ronda Rousey did a candid and tearful interview with Ellen Degeneres about contemplating suicide. Around this time, “Rowdy” Ronda had just lost the UFC women’s bantamweight title to Holly Holm two months prior.

“I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself, and that exact second I’m like, ‘I’m nothing. What do I do anymore? And no one gives a shit about me anymore without this,’” Rousey said at the time, adding she snapped out of it after seeing then boyfriend Travis Browne and the “need to have his babies.”

Recently, UFC middleweight Sean Strickland opened up this discussion six years later. In an Instagram post over the weekend, the controversial and outspoken fighter unloaded his “hate” for Rousey.

“I explained why I hate Ronda Rousey, why I find she is everything that’s wrong with the f–g world,” he said (transcribed by MMA Mania).” [Her Ellen appearance] was on the news, it was f–ng everywhere.

“I don’t know when suicide became cool but it became cool, like they made a Netflix show ‘13 Reasons.’ Everybody’s f–ng depressed, everybody is suicidal, and let me f–ing tell you guys, it is not f–ng cool.

“Depression is like cancer, it’s f–ng terminal. It’s like herpes, you might not have it but you always f–ng have it and it’s waiting to f–ng come out.”

Strickland continued…

“Suicidal thoughts, for the people who have it, it’s even f–ng worse. You fixate on it, you dwell on it. You start thinking about how you’re gonna do it. You start thinking about where you’re gonna do it.

“You start think about how your people are gonna take it. You really fantasize about it and it’s f–ng miserable. It’s not a fleeting thought because you lost a fight.

“And I hate Ronda Rousey because she used something so f–d up and so serious as a ‘but I overcame it’ strong moment, when it’s f–ng not.”

The 35-year-old Rousey (12-2 in MMA), whose father died by taking his own life, has so far done well for herself since turning her back from MMA. She’s now one of the more recognizable talents under the WWE and in 2021, gave birth to her first child with Browne.

As for Strickland (25-4), he’s getting ready to face fellow top ten contender Jared Cannonier on December 17.

Free and confidential support for individuals who are in crisis and are thinking about taking their own lives, or have loved ones who are in crisis, can be found with the following organizations.

USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Canada: Crisis Services Canada: Call 1 833 456 4566 or text 45645.

UK and Ireland: Samaritans: Call 116 123 (UK) or 116 123 (ROI) or email [email protected]/[email protected]

New Zealand: Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or Text ‘Help’ to 4357.

Australia: Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.

Rest of the world

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Jake Paul wants Nate Diaz matchup after his upcoming fight against former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Jake Paul sounds confident he will defeat former UFC champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match on October 29. Once that business is settled, the ‘Problem Child’ has his eyes on Nate Diaz—a man who he says he still has issues with.

Paul is 5-0 as a boxer. All three of his most recent victories have come against former MMA champions. In April 2021, Paul knocked out former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren. He followed that with back-to-back wins over ex-UFC welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley, including a viral KO victory this last December.

Silva has a 3-1 pro boxing record. He is coming off 2021 wins over Julio César Chávez Jr. and Tito Ortiz.

The odds for the matchup opened in favor of Silva, but those numbers have evened out over time and the fight is currently a pick ‘em.

Paul claims he’s not overlooking Silva, but it sounds like he’s got his sights focused further down the line as well.

“I would be surprised if [Nate Diaz] actually was a free agent,” Paul told MMA Junkie. “I feel like Dana (White) has a way of tying these guys in, like hidden into the contract. That’s just how I feel about it, I don’t know if it’s true or not. But yeah, if he can actually become a free agent then I think that’s a cool fight. I would love to do that. I’m not overlooking Anderson Silva, but there’s beef between Nate Diaz and I.

“He’s a big name. He went out with a bang, had an electric performance, and people are saying, ‘Oh, you’re fighting these retired MMA fighters.’ No I’m not. Anderson never retired and Nate Diaz left winning and he’s one of the baddest men on the planet. So what about fighting an active UFC fighter? What now? So that’s why I think that fight is interesting. Hopefully I get through Anderson, and hopefully Nate Diaz can get out of his contract and we’ll see if that makes sense.”

While Diaz has completed all the bouts under his most recent UFC deal, contracts with the promotion almost always carry a 90-day exclusive negotiation period—which would expire on December 10th. After that, the Endeavor-owned organization still retains a 1-year matching period. If the UFC really wants to play hardball with Diaz, they could possibly keep him out of action until next September.

Silva and Paul face off on October 29 at Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Alongside the 187 lb catchweight main event, the card is also expected to host the boxing debut of former Ultimate Fighter winner Uriah Hall against ex-Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.

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The wrestler-turned-actor and entrepreneur revealed he is no longer interested in running for president of the United States.

For years, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was viewed as a potential candidate for U.S. president, with polls suggesting that almost half of Americans would be interested in seeing him run for office.

However, during a recent interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, the blockbuster actor and businessman revealed that a bid for president is “off the table.”

“I love our country and everyone in it,” the former WWE wrestler said in the interview. “I also love being a daddy. And that’s the most important thing to me is being a daddy. Number one, especially during this time, this critical time in my daughters’ lives.

“‘Cause I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I was absent for a lot of years when my first daughter’s growing up in this critical age and this critical time in her life.”

Johnson, who is a father of three, including two children under the age of 7, added that being president would take him away from precious time with his growing family.

“Sure, CEO sounds great!” Johnson said. “But the number one thing I want to be is daddy. That’s it.”

Last year, Johnson shared an article on Instagram which noted that “at least 46 percent of Americans would support a presidential run from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson”.

“Humbling,” Johnson wrote in the caption. “I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club – but if it ever happens it’d be my honour to serve you, the people.”

Despite his popularity, Johnson drew the ire of MMA fans and fighters after the actor’s Project Rock footwear was announced as an official UFC sponsor. BloodyElbow reported that UFC fighters wearing Johnson’s shoes would not benefit from the new sponsorship, while prominent fighters publicly noted their displeasure with the deal.

“These shoes f–king suck,” Diaz said in an interview with UFC and ESPN’s Megan Olivi. “Look at these shoes, they made me put this shit on. F–k these shoes!”

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Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

Thanks to Cage Warriors and GLORY, we were busy with some great fights on Friday and Saturday. Michele Martignoni dethroned ex-bantamweight champion Dominique Wooding in a close, back-and-forth affair at Cage Warriors 144, while Alistair Overeem closed the Badr Hari chapter of his career with a unanimous decision win at GLORY: Collision 4. The ‘Reem’ even set up a fight against Rico Verhoeven after the victory! With those events now in the books, we can look at what lies ahead of us on the upcoming schedule.

The UFC either announced or finalized 18 fights this week, and the first-ever tetralogy in the promotion is happening.

Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno are set for their fourth (and potentially final) fight at UFC 283, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for Jan. 21, 2023, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Figueiredo and Moreno fought to a majority draw in their first outing at UFC 256 nearly two years ago. ‘Deus Da Guerra’ was deducted a point in the third round for a groin strike, which evened up two of three judges’ scorecards. Because of the ending, the promotion scheduled an immediate rematch at UFC 263, where the ‘Assassin Baby’ submitted Figueiredo via third-round rear-naked choke to become the new UFC flyweight champion. A few months later, the pair would share the Octagon once again. Figueiredo reclaimed his championship with a unanimous decision win over Moreno at UFC 270 this past January.

Now 1-1-1, Figueiredo and Moreno were expected to compete in the first-ever tetralogy earlier this year. However, that was delayed after the champion suffered injuries in both hands and and had to be sidelined for several months. In an effort to keep the flyweight division moving, an interim championship fight between Moreno and Kai Kara-France was scheduled. The ex-champion finished Kara-France by third-round TKO, setting up what could be his final meeting with Figueiredo at the beginning of 2023.

UFC Fight Night — October 15
Joanderson Sá Brito vs. Lucas Alexander — featherweight
First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie

UFC Fight Night — October 29
Drakkar Klose vs. Mark O. Madsen — lightweight
First rep. by Vegas Insider

UFC Fight Night — November 5
Chase Sherman vs. Josh Parisian — heavyweight
First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Neil Magny — welterweight
Rodriguez vs. Magny was already finalized, but shifted from UFC Vegas 62 to UFC Vegas 64, per the UFC
Jailton Almeida vs. Maxim Grishin — catchweight (220 lbs.)
First rep. by Laerte Viana of Super Lutas

UFC 281 — November 12
Frankie Edgar vs. Chris Gutierrez — bantamweight
First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN

UFC Orlando — December 3
Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland — welterweight
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Istela Nunes — women’s strawweight
First rep. by Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting
Rafel dos Anjos vs. Bryan Barberena — welterweight
First rep. by Raphael Marinho of Combate

UFC 282 — December 10
Ronnie Lawrence vs. Cameron Saaiman — bantamweight
First rep. by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting

UFC Fight Night — December 17
Hayishaer Maheshate vs. Rafa García — lightweight
First rep. by Bloodline Combat Sports Agency
Cheyanne Vlismas vs. Cory McKenna — women’s strawweight
First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov — bantamweight
First rep. by Red Fury MMA

UFC Fight Night — January 14
Carlos Hernandez vs. Allan Nascimento — flyweight
First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov — welterweight
First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN

UFC 283 — January 21
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno — flyweight
First rep. by Rodrigo Del Campo González of Claro Sports
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Ihor Potieria — light heavyweight
First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania
Johnny Walker vs. Paul Craig — light heavyweight
First rep. by Gaspar Bruno of Ag Fight

Announced Bellator fights:

Bellator 288 — November 18
Daniel Weichel vs. Akhmed Magomedov — featherweight
Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James — heavyweight
Roman Faraldo vs. Levan Chokheli — welterweight
Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo — bantamweight
Lucas Brennan vs. Nick Talavera — featherweight
Archie Colgan vs. Jesse Hannam — lightweight
Isaiah Hokit vs. Matias Nader — featherweight
Otto Rodrigues vs. Khasan Askhabov — featherweight
Jordan Newman vs. Jayden Taulker — middleweight
Imamshafi Aliev vs. Sean Fallon — middleweight
Vlad Gouvea vs. Kory Moegenburg — heavyweight

Announced Cage Warriors fights:

Cage Warriors 145 — November 5
Daniel Skibiński vs. Oban Elliot — welterweight

Cage Warriors 146 — November 12
Luke Riley vs. Karol Kutyła — featherweight

Announced KSW fights:

KSW 77 — December 17
Mamed Khalidov vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski — heavyweight
Sebastian Przybysz vs. Jakub Wikłacz — bantamweight

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Greg Hardy’s boxing transition appears to be going well for him.

Greg Hardy ended his UFC run in March after his contract ended on a three fight losing streak. Three months later, it was announced that “The Prince of War” will be making a transition to boxing while also inking a deal with BKFC.

Hardy’s pro boxing debut took place this weekend under Black Sheep Boxing Promotions in Delray Beach, Florida against fellow debuting competitor Mike Cook. As seen in the video below, it took two rounds for the former NFL player to get the job done via knockout.

Despite his involvement in a domestic violence case, the UFC chose to sign the 34-year-old Hardy in 2019 via Dana White’s Contender Series. His official debut was off to a bad start, losing the bout to Allen Crowder via disqualification due to an illegal knee.

After picking up four wins, Hardy went on a three-fight skid beginning in 2020. His last fight happened at UFC 272 in March against Sergey Spivak, to whom he lost via first-round TKO.

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The legendary guitarist shared the news via social media this weekend.

Heavy Metal icon and Megadeth co-founder Dave Mustaine has added another title to his long list: BJJ brown belt.

The 61-year-old guitarist was promoted by Gracie Barra Spring Hill head coach, Reginaldo Almeida, and accompanied by fellow Megadeth guitarist and 1-stripe white belt Kiko Loureiro.

Almeida was also responsible for promoting Mustaine to purple belt in January of 2021, and to blue belt years prior. The professor joined the original Metallica lead guitarist in sharing the news, posting a video of the promotion to his Instagram page.

A longtime public advocate for martial arts, Mustaine also holds black belts in Ukidokan Karate, Songhai Taekwondo, and with the World Taekwondo Federation. He stands amongst fellow high-profile musician grapplers such as Five-Finger Death Punch’s Zoltan Bathory and Hate Breed’s Chris Beattie.

“Behind every mountain is more mountains,” Mustaine wrote in his brown belt announcement post.

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Billionaire Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg recently made headlines when he rented out an entire UFC event for just him and his wife to enjoy.

It was a secret all fight week in late September: why had the UFC closed its doors to fans and media? Why were they hosting a card not just without an audience, but with seemingly no one in attendance beyond necessary staff? Rumors ran wild, but the truth couldn’t be contained for long. The world’s largest MMA promotion became a private function for one of the world’s richest men, Mark Zuckerberg, so that he and his wife could enjoy the event without rubbing elbows with the hoi polloi.

The move sparked some serious blowback from fans, and even a few former fighters, who saw the decision to close the Apex to the public as something of a slap in the face from both from the promotion and from billionaire Facebook CEO. That doesn’t mean everyone was against it, however. Former UFC champion, and current commentary team member, Michael Bisping talked about Zuckerberg’s UFC attendance on a recent episode of his podcast. It seems as far as he’s concerned, it was all good news.

“They’re all good points,” Bisping said, in response to UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith’s feeling that Zuckerberg’s fame could bring the UFC to new audiences (transcript via MMA Fighting). “And this isn’t meant as an insult to him—and it sounds like a meathead comment—but [more fans can get into the sport because of] someone that’s as nerdy as him. He’s a tech genius. You’ve seen him, and he can be described as, quote unquote, a bit of a nerd. But to see a guy like him who does have that influence, who does that wealth, who does have that power, and I don’t know what to think about Mark Zuckerberg, he’s a f-cking nerd, let’s be honest, but he’s awesome because he’s there and he’s watching the UFC.

“I believe this will open up, potentially, another realm of people because MMA is hugely and wildly popular, but there’s still skeptics, there’s critics, and there’s still people that won’t give it a shot. But seeing someone that’s clearly wildly intelligent as he is, to be an admirer of the sport, and his wife is there enjoying it, it’s only going to bring in more fans.”

Just how much impact Zuckerberg might actually have on UFC viewership is hard to measure. A cursory glance at stories indexed by Google around the fight card show little reach beyond the standard MMA outlets that would have been covering the Fight Night card in the first place. And given the level of secrecy around the whole thing in the lead-up, it seems likely that most people would only know he was in attendance if they were already watching the event live.

At the very least, however, the UFC has clearly captured the interest of one of the world’s most powerful men. Who knows what that may lead to down the line?

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F2W brought a national roster alongside local talent for their Pittsburgh show this weekend, headlined by UFC and Bellator vet Chris Dempsey and 10th Planet’s Jason Robinson.

The 211th Fight 2 Win card lit up the Pittsburgh grappling scene this past weekend. Showcasing an ensemble of local and national talent, gi players, no-gi submission specialists, adult and juvenile competitors—the longstanding tournament gave everyone something to enjoy.

Headlining the show were 10th Planet representative Jason Robinson and UFC vet Chris Dempsey, alongside fellow 10th Planet athlete and Combat Jiu-Jitsu standout David Weintraub and Hometown favorite Evan Anastacio in the co-main. Under the F2W ruleset, special emphasis is placed on submission attempts rather than just positional dominance to incentivize constant attacks from participants.

In the co-main, Weintraub and Anastacio opened with heavy collar ties on the feet. Anastacio went in for an early single, but Weintraub countered with a kani basami to bring both men down into 50/50 position. The 10th Planet rep latched down hard on a heel hook attempt, but Anastacio slipped out and quickly jumped back to the feet. Both men resumed fighting for grips, and Weintraub secured a front headlock before snapping his opponent down. But as he circled around to the back, Anastacio was able to escape again and return the fight to the feet.

Finding a second front head lock, Weintraub went for the snap down and instead went for a D’arce choke. Ever resilient, True Believer BJJ’s Anastacio escaped to stand again, quickly going on the offensive with a second takedown attempt. But Weintraub was able to sprawl out, returning them to a familiar position in the match.

Weintraub returned to passing attempts from the top as Anastacio worked his knee shield in for half guard. Maintaining his frames, he was able to briefly lock Weintraub in closed guard before finding himself passed to bottom side control in the closing minute. Desperate for another sub attempt, Weintraub exploded to the back hoping to find Anastacio’s neck. As time expired, Weintraub’s constant offense was rewarded with a decision win.

FloGrappling

Our main event began with brief collar ties, before Robinson opted to pull half guard on the MMA alumni. Dempsey brought himself up as Robinson attempted to lock down his right leg, and used a knee cut to begin passing to side control. Free to move, Dempsey moved to north/south position looking to lock in a north/south choke. Jason tried to hip escape to create space, and moved to re guard.

Dempsey, still on top, briefly courted an arm attack before returning to the north/south choke. Feeling an opening, Jason exploded free and returned the fight to the feet only to pull half guard again. A short scramble gave Dempsey the opportunity to pass and return to north/south off of an abandoned guillotine attempt. Committed to the choke, he squeezed as the clock wound down to the final minute. Robinson desperately tried to escape once again, but was forced to give the tap with 57 seconds on the clock. Dempsey was declared the winner by submission.

FloGrappling

Full Results:

Jake Wrenn Def. Matthew Darwin (Decision)

Keegan Blakenship Def. Ryder Farrell (RNC) (Juvenile)

Kenneth Burrs Def. Roman Flenory (Decision)

Christopher Smiley Def. Trace Ricketts (Decision) (Gi)

Cody Gamble Def. Garrett Lyle (Americana)

Justin Singer Def. Jacob Fenton (Triangle)

Abigail Mueller Def. Kylee Cipolla (Decision)

Jessica Dury Def. Summer Hannah (Kneebar) (Gi)

Ferdaws Nayimi Def. Jacob Crissman (Decision)

Liam Jones Def. Alessio Farrell (Decision) (Juvenile)

Selina Vith Def. Kayleigh Bortolussi (Decision)

Dan Dykeman Def. Jake Temple (Kneebar)

Addison Miller Def. Zack Recklein (Decision)

Jonathan Church Def. Lucas Jones (Decision)

Gerry Rayburn Def. Jeremy Dekenipp (Heel Hook)

Jared Magers Def. Dakota Dahler (Heel Hook)

Noah Miller Def. Rocco Colavecchia (Decision)

Brigid Chase II Def. Summer Hannah (Arm Triangle)

Donte James Def. Ben Waltz (Decision) (Gi)

Alesha Zappitella Def. Ashley Gargasz (Americana)

Max Stiers Def. Matthew Wallenstein (Armbar)

Khalid Qureshi Def. Juan Vega (Decision)

Bobby Mader Def. Noah Torrieri (Triangle) (Gi)

Dan Dykeman Def. Sean Foster (Heel Hook)

Matthew Baugher Def. Drew Shields (Decision)

Dustin Wagner Def. Zack Graham (Armbar) (Gi)

Joshua Lorton Def. Jonathan Coffman (Decision)

Joshua Bergfelt Def. Luke Murrin (Decision) (Gi)

Devin Pillar Def. Justin Pferdehirt (Decision)

Sean Barrett Def. Ian Binotto (Decision)

Maiah Yankello Def. Faith Nichols (Decision)

Shane Valko Def. Cody Hummel (Guillotine)

Anthony Molina Valdes Def. Ronald Snee (Straight Ankle Lock)

Ken Robison Def. Joshua Cummings (Heel Hook)

Chase Thomas Boyde Def. Zachary Humberton (RNC)

Trenton Zdarko Def. Joshua Baker (Straight Ankle Lock)

Christopher Passerrello Def. Daniel Sala (Decision) (Gi)

Jeff Mock Def. Cody Legendre (Twister)

Co-Main

David Weintraub Def. Evan Anastacio (Decision)

Main Event

Chris Dempsey Def. Jason Robinson (North/South Choke)

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A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.

Multiple-time IBJJF world champion Mikey Musumeci won the very first ONE Championship submission grappling title last weekend, defeating Cleber Sousa for the Flyweight belt. While an achievement like this would normally be cause for celebration for most competitors, Musumeci has wasted no time in searching for the perfect opponent to attempt his first title-defence.

Musumeci made a polite request to compete against ONE Championship Flyweight MMA world champion and UFC legend Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson beforehand, and has now issued a public challenge to the Sambo community as well. Musumeci wants to defend his title against the current Sambo world champion in his weightclass, testing himself against a completely different grappling style for the very first time.

John Hansen retains openweight title at Grapplefest 13

After the Daisy Fresh team made the trip to the UK to take on the best that the country has to offer back at Grapplefest 12, several members of the team decided to make another trip for the very next event. Of course, John Hansen had a pretty convincing reason to do so seeing as he won the promotion’s openweight title at GF 12 and had a new challenger to face this time around.

Hansen won a unanimous decision against Arya Esfandmaz and retained his title shortly before the main event saw his teammate, Jacob ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch competing against Silviu Nastasa. Couch also won a unanimous decision in a night that was pretty full of them, although there was plenty of exciting matches throughout and Adam Ellis stunned the fans with a buggy choke finish earlier on in the night.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Bellator signs Olympic wrestler and PFL Champion Ali Isaev

Ali Isaev has already reached the highest levels of one sport when he attended the 2008 Olympic games to compete in freestyle wrestling and although he couldn’t reach the podium, he quickly bounced back to win a gold medal at the European championships in 2009. Isaev then turned his hand to MMA and made his professional debut in 2016, quickly amassing a 4-0 record competing at Fight Nights Global in Russia.

That attracted the attention of PFL and Isaev competed in their 2019 Heavyweight season, defeating all five of his opponents and coming away with the championship and million-dollar prize. After a few years away from competition Isaev has now signed a contract with Bellator and he will be making his debut for the promotion shortly, looking to increase his perfect undefeated record to double-digits.

Polaris announces Middleweight grand prix with title on the line

Polaris will be returning to the UK for Polaris 22 after the promotion hosted their first event outside of the country’s borders. This event will mark a change of pace for the promotion as they are choosing to do something a little different from the traditional fight card format and their patented Squads events. Polaris 22 will feature a Middleweight grand prix as the main attraction, with the winner being crowned the promotion’s Middleweight champion.

It’s a title that has only ever been held by Craig Jones, who won it all the way back at Polaris 6 and has defended it twice since. With Jones moving up in weight to 99kg at ADCC 2022, he has decided to vacate his Polaris Middleweight title and the promotion will hold a single-night tournament featuring some of the most talented grapplers in that weightclass to determine his replacement at the top of the mountain.

Quick Hits

• Nathalia ‘Sonny’ Santoro has just become the second woman to receive her BJJ brown belt from legendary coach, John Danaher.
• Grappling legend, MMA pioneer, and popular Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki passed away at the age of 79 years old.
• Megadeth founder and frontman, Dave Mustaine, has just been promoted to brown belt in BJJ a little under a month after he turned 61.
• BJJ legend Romulo Barral was hopitalized during a European seminar tour due to a blood infection, although thankfully he eventually made a full recovery.

Technique Corner

Three heelhooks from top position

Triangle choke from Mount

Drill to improve the windshield wiper

Meme of the Week

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Watch highlights from Alistair Overeem vs Badr Hari 3.

Well over a decade since their first two fights, Alistair Overeem and Badr Hari finally settled their score and completed their trilogy.

In their first meeting at Dynamite 2008, Overeem pulled off a huge upset by knocking out Hari in the very first round. Their second meeting was a year later, in the 2009 K-1 World Grand Prix semi-final round, with Hari getting revenge and badly dropping Overeem twice and securing a TKO with the two knockdown rule.

The hulking figure dubbed as “Ubereem” went on an incredible tear holding multiple belts in both kickboxing and MMA in that era. For their main event bout at Glory Collision 4 several years later though, the now 42-year-old UFC veteran came in as an underdog to the 37-year-old Hari.

Hari started out strong but Overeem secured an incredible comeback by knocking him down twice. The UFC vet ended up with a unanimous decision win to close out their rivalry.

Check below for highlights and videos of the kickboxing headliner from Glory Collision 4.

Tyjani Beztati def. Stoyan Koprivienski via Split Decision (48-47×3, 49-46×2)[Lightweight title]

Petchpanomrung def. Abraham Vidales via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 50-45×4) [Featherweight title]

Sergej Braun def. Michael Boapeah by Majority Decision (28-28×2, 29-27×2, 30-26)

Sergej Maslobojev def. Tarik Khbabez by Split Decision (48-47×2, 47-48×2, 49-46) [Light heavyweight title]

Tiffany van Soest def. Sarah Moussaddak via Unanimous Decision (48-47×4, 49-46) [Super bantamweight title]

Alistair Overeem def. Badr Hari via Unanimous Decision (29-26, 28-27×4)

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