First-round brackets for the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) were released earlier this week for the upcoming grappling tournament on Aug. 16-17 from inside Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to the $ 1 million grand prize, CJI will also pay out $ 50,000 for “Submission of the Night.”
CJI will run head-to-head with ADCC 2024, also being staged in “Sin City.”
Check out the first-round brackets below:
Under 80kg:
Tye Ruotolo vs. Jason Nolf Roberto Jimenez vs Levi Jones-Leary Lucas Barbosa vs. Kenta Iwamoto Jozef Chen vs. Andy Varela
Kade Ruotolo vs. Matheus Diniz Renato Canuto vs. Tommy Langaker Magid Hage vs. Eoghan O’Flanagan Nicky Ryan vs. Andrew Tackett
Over 80kg:
Nicky Rodriguez vs. Max Gimenis Owen Livesey vs. Mahamed Aly Adam Bradley vs. Kyle Boehm Luke Rockhold vs. Pat Downey
Victor Hugo vs. Lucas Kanard Inacio Santos vs. Pedro Alex Fellipe Andrew vs. Daniel Greg Kerkvliet William Tackett vs. Joao Gabriel Rocha
Minimum prize purse for each competitor is $ 10,001.
In addition to the bracketed showdowns, CJI will also feature a pair of super fights, starting with former ADCC champion Mackenzie Dern taking on defending ADCC gold medalist Ffion Davies. Elsewhere on the card, event organizer Craig Jones battles nine-time world champion Gabi Garcia in a special crossover match.
For much more on the upcoming CJI tourney click here.
Daniel Cormier is against the recent rule change to legalize 12-to-6 elbows in MMA.
But not for the reasons you’d assume.
“I don’t like that. I don’t like 12-to-6 elbows and I don’t like soccer kicks. I do not want to see soccer kicks,” Cormier said this past week on his YouTube channel.
“So here’s my thought, because there’s a little bit of a difference, right? So when I was fighting [Anthony] ‘Rumble’ Johnson, you can’t [throw a 12-to-6 elbow], but if you do a little bit of an arch, it’s OK. Angle and arch. So I was able to cut ‘Rumble’ with an arching elbow, but it really did come straight down. It was very little in terms of not being straight up and down. I just don’t want anything that makes fighting look like a street fight. That’s it.”
In July, the Association of Boxing Commissions voted to remove the 12-to-6 elbow as a foul as one of two key rule changes for the unified rules of MMA. The other rule change altered the definition of a “downed fighter” to open up more offensive opportunities in scrambling and wrestling transitions. Those changes are due to go into effect on November 1.
The most infamous incident of a 12-to-6 elbow occurred in Jon Jones’ controversial 2009 loss to Matt Hamill. Jones, a fierce rival of Cormier’s during Cormier’s UFC career, was disqualified for hitting Hamill with a downward elbow in a fight he was otherwise dominating. Fifteen years later, that fight still stands as the only loss on Jones’ pro MMA record. UFC CEO Dana White and Jones have both spoken openly over the years about wanting to get the loss reversed, and did so again after the rule change was finalized.
Considering their rivalry, which included two heated UFC championship bouts from 2015-17, it’d be only natural to assume Cormier dislikes the decision to legalize 12-to-6 elbows because of Jones’ history with the no-longer-banned technique. But Cormier says that’s not the case. Instead, he says, it has to do with the slippery slope the decision could kick off.
“John McCain, before he passed, was against fighting [MMA] because he said it’s human cockfighting,” Cormier said of the once-critical U.S. Senator who reversed course on MMA later in life. “But then they would show these videos of like gang fights, and people running around and people on the ground and they would just kick them in the face. You know how that happens. If we get to soccer kicks, it starts to look like that again, and that’s not good.
“Everything kind of looks clean [without 12-to-6 elbows]. I’m telling you, bro, these are my reasons. I don’t like the [12-to-6 elbow rule change]. I mean, 12-to-6 elbow, I don’t feel as strongly about — I don’t care as much about 12-to-6 elbows, but I think the moment we start opening those rules again, then it’s going to be more and more and more, and then ultimately we’ll get back to soccer kicks. Because you do know that now, hands down, starting in November, is not grounded anymore. … Again, that’s one move back toward that, then there will be something else moves closer to that. That’s just my biggest worry.”
Alex Pereira has gained massive popularity in the UFC, not just for his fighting style and consistency, but also for his cold walkouts to the Octagon. He starts with a hobbled, limping walk and then mimics shooting an arrow towards the opponent while screaming at them.
Unlike stars such as Israel Adesanya, “Poatan” has used the same walkout since his debut at UFC 268. In return, fans regularly appreciate and imitate him on social media platforms and it is unlikely that he would change his walkout going forward.
Pereira has also used the same walkout song in his UFC fights, and here’s everything to know about it…
The Story Behind Alex Pereira’s Walkout Song
Itsári by Brazilan heavy metal band Sepultura is the song Pereira has used for all his UFC walkouts. In the Xavante language, Itsári means “Roots” and the instrumental track is an ode to Brazilian traditions.
Like the song, Pereira’s walkout routine is also inspired by his indigenous history. His first kickboxing coach was indigenous and after enquiring his parents about it, the UFC light heavyweight kingpin became aware of his cultural heritage.
In an interview with ESPN MMA in November 2022, “Poatan” explained how he came up with his UFC walkout theme and song:
“My first teacher had indigenous roots. I went home the same day and asked my mom. She said my grandparents were indigenous. It made me feel more confident. We wanted to resurrect my origins and indigenous culture. I made a ritual with a bow and arrow. Then a sequence with the indigenous music and that’s how it started.”
Pereira’s bow and arrow sequence depicts an early ritual in his culture. When matched with Itsári and his stoic face, it undeniably becomes one of the most intimidating walkouts in UFC history.
The former UFC middleweight champion proudly represents Brazil’s indigenous Pataxo tribe through walkouts, face paint, and interviews. He’s also popularized terms like Chama from Portuguese and Poatan from Tupi in MMA circles.
Read More: Umar Nurmagomedov Touts Bellator Champion As Islam Makhachev’s UFC Lightweight Successor
Continue Reading What Is Alex Pereira’s Walkout Song In The UFC? at MMA News.
UFC CEO Dana White recently announced several matchups for the October UFC 308 event that takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The fight card is headlined by featherweight tile bout between champion Ilia Topuria and former titleholder and ‘BMF’ belt holder Max Holloway.
The main card featured a middleweight bout between former champion Robert Whittaker and undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. The two were scheduled to meet at UFC on ABC 6 on June 22 but Chimaev was forced out of the bout due to illness. Whittaker instead faced Ikram Aliskerov and won by knockout in less than two minutes.
Whittaker revealed that he contacted the fight promotion requesting a fight with Chimaev be rebooked. He also explained why he wanted to fight “Borz.”
“I saw that there was an Abu Dhabi card in October, timeline fits perfectly, and I was like, ‘I’ll fight Chimaev again,’” Whittaker told the MMArcade podcast. “Let’s do it again. Just make sure he turns up (laughs). I look forward to hard fights, I look forward to these fights, and I know that if I beat Chimaev there is nothing in my way to getting my belt back.”
“Chimaev is a hard fight. He’s obviously a big draw, especially over there in Abu Dhabi. He’s done the welterweight thing. He’s done the middleweight thing,” Whittaker continued.
“So, he’s a draw, and I think the UFC, story-wise, wants to see Chimaev get a shot at the champion. They want to see Chimaev up the top of the ladder. They want to see him in that picture. But I love disrupting their plans. I love derailing their stories, and that’s why I took the fight. I asked for the fight. It wasn’t offered to me.”
The United States had an up and down day in wrestling action on Thursday with one athlete moving onto a gold medal match, but two more falling in the semifinals.
Former Iowa standout Spencer Lee continued his run at 57kg with another dominant performance as he shut down Gulomjon Abdullaev from Uzbekistan with a 14-4 win by technical superiority. While injuries stopped him from even attempting to make the 2020 Olympic team, Lee came storming back with his showing in Paris.
On Friday, Lee faces Rei Higuchi from Japan, who also won his match in lopsided fashion after he eliminated Aman Sehrawat from India with a 10-0 score by technical superiority.
While Lee has a chance at gold on Friday, two of his teammates from the U.S. weren’t as fortunate.
Four-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks, who eliminated 2020 Olympic gold medalist David Taylor to make the U.S. team, suffered a last-second loss in his match against Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov.
Wow! Ramzanov emerges victorious against Aaron Brooks. We are proud of you, and we respect the great Aaron Brooks! pic.twitter.com/HPyx1ZyJz7
— DopamineO (@dopamineo_world) August 8, 2024
Brooks started strong and looked like he was in control but after giving up a two-point takedown, Ramazanov grabbed a leg and started twisting in an attempt to get another turn. While Brooks didn’t surrender the points, his foot was torqued backwards at the same time Ramazanov was pulling on his head.
A stall call from the referee saw the wrestlers stand up again but Brooks was clearly bothered with a potential injury to his back. The match continued with Brooks up 3-2 and he desperately tried to hold on for the win while grabbing onto Ramazanov’s foot during a takedown attempt.
Just before the horn sounded, Ramazanov worked his foot free and secured the takedown for two points and the win to defeat the American. A disappointing result for Brooks, who was favored to win in Paris, but he’ll still get a chance to claim a bronze medal on Friday.
The same goes for two-time Olympic medalist Helen Maroulis in what is almost certainly one of the final competitions of her career. After becoming the first woman to ever win gold for the United States in wrestling back in 2016, Maroulis followed that up with a bronze medal win in 2020.
She’ll go for bronze again on Friday after falling to Japanese phenom Tsugumi Sakurai, who took over the match after giving up points early but then shutting down the American the rest of the way. The final score was 10-4 with Sakurai moving onto the gold medal match.
Both Brooks and Maroulis will still wrestle for bronze while Lee attempts to become the first men’s team member from the United States to win gold after Amit Elor and Sarah Hildebrandt captured gold for the women’s team.
Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
UFC pay-per-view prices have increased four times since inking a broadcast deal with ESPN, and that’s led to even more piracy of events.
During a quarterly financial call on Thursday, TKO Group Holdings president Mark Shapiro acknowledged that ESPN controls the costs of the pay-per-views, which is the company’s right after signing a deal to include those premium events as part of the company’s broadcast rights deal with the UFC. Since striking that deal in 2019, ESPN has raised the prices of pay-per-views from $ 59.99 at launch to the current $ 79.99 cost, which started in 2023.
While the UFC constantly battles against piracy of those pay-per-view events, Shapiro mentioned that the increased cost almost certainly resulted in even higher numbers of pirated cards, which led to a conversation with ESPN about those rising prices.
“ESPN and Disney were very aggressive, if you will, on pricing the pay-per-views and they have full control over that, but they have control given what they’re paying us for those rights,” Shapiro said. “Over the period of our partnership, they probably went a little quicker and a little higher than we would have liked.
“We voiced that to them, especially in this era of piracy where we’re seeing our piracy numbers really jacked up and we think that’s driven by them pricing it too high. They were very receptive to that feedback.”
Shapiro revealed that executives from TKO sat down with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro to express concerns over the increased price of pay-per-views.
That led to new package deals where ESPN offered lower pricing on events where fans could purchase a card well ahead of time to save money versus purchasing a card on fight night or within a few days of an event, which is typical.
“We had a meeting in Las Vegas a few months ago with Jimmy Pitaro and Dana [White],” Shapiro said. “They took the price down, if you will, in terms of offering a new marketing promotion where if you buy by a certain date, well in advanced of the numbered fights, you are going to get a discount and then the price of course increases once you pass that date. They’re seeing good success with that.”
While live event revenue for the UFC has exploded in recent years, it doesn’t seem like pay-per-view sales have seen the same success..
That said, Shapiro believes the overall market for UFC pay-per-views is finally settling down again, which he expects to lead to increased revenue in the future.
“Like audiences in the live events where we’re selling out and breaking records and you see it all in the press release, and like the yield that we’re commanding, which in many cases specifically with WWE have been higher than we even planned for, we’re also sustaining our buys when it comes to pay-per-view,” Shapiro said. “So we feel really good about that.”
Since announcing an increase in cost for UFC pay-per-views at the end of 2022, ESPN has not changed the price for those events over the past 20 months.
ESPN maintains broadcast rights over the UFC until the end of 2025. The two sides are expected to begin negotiations on potentially reaching an agreement on a new deal early next year.
File under: Mmamania.com | Leave a comment »