CombatSports.org

Bad Blood
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Chumps drink water. Champs faint from dehydration. Don’t be a chump!

Former UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, is coaching The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32 opposite current 125-pound titleholder Alexa Grasso. At the conclusion of the combat sports reality show, “Bullet” is expected to complete her championship trilogy against her longtime rival atop the UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) event at The Sphere.

During last night’s TUF 32 season premiere (see the full roster here), Shevchenko caused quite a stir after banning water from her squad’s daily training sessions. According to “Bullet,” prolonged dehydration during intense physical activity is what develops a champion’s mindset

It also develops dizziness, cramping, and heart palpitations; but who cares, we’re here to WAR!

“On the training, we don’t drink water, nothing,” Shevchenko said. “When you are drinking water you kind of like focusing on that you are tired. This is a way how you kind of like develop your champion’s mindset. Water before or after. During the training, nothing, we don’t drink.”

I think Jimmy put it best: NUTTIN?!?

MMA fighters have already faced criticism for extreme dehydration during pre-fight weight cuts, which in rare cases, has led to death. It seems counterproductive to ban hydration during practice, but I’m not a UFC champion and don’t frequent MMA gyms because they smell like the inside of a bowling shoe, so I’m hardly an expert on this sorta thing.

Fans on social media remain divided over Shevchenko’s training methods, at least in terms of hydration. That said, does any coach in the NFL ban Gatorade during practice to help its players develop a “champion’s mindset?”

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/ToronoRapture [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dustin Poirier still hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll fight again, but some time off is coming his way regardless of a potential retirement.

On Wednesday, the former interim lightweight champion revealed the litany of injuries he suffered during his war against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past weekend. Despite a valiant effort from Poirier, he ultimately came up short after Makhachev locked on a fight-ending submission in the fifth and final round.

“Nose is broken bad, rib is broken and my ACL is partially torn,” Poirier revealed on social media platform X. “Fight life.”

Immediately after the fight ended, Poirier remarked that his nose was “shattered,” which is an injury he’s suffered before during his career. He also commented that he dealt with some kind of knee injury after defending a third-round takedown from Makhachev against the cage.

Poirier’s longtime friend and coach Yves Edwards then revealed on Monday that the Louisiana native dealt with a rib injury leading up to the fight that prevented him from doing much grappling in wrestling during the final weeks of his training camp.

While Poirier got the diagnosis on the extent of his injuries, sources told MMA Fighting on Wednesday that the fighter will seek out a second opinion on his knee to determine whether or not he’ll need surgery to repair the damage done.

Even in cases of a complete ACL tear, surgery isn’t always necessary, but is likely for most athletes. A partial tear gives Poirier hope that perhaps he’ll be able to rest, recover, and eventually undergo physical therapy to deal with the injury rather than going under the knife.

No final determination on a course of treatment has been decided just yet.

Poirier did receive an indefinite suspension from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board following his fight due to the severity of his nose and knee injuries. As a result, Poirier needs clearance from an ear, nose, and throat specialist, as well as an orthopedist regarding his left knee.

The 35-year-old veteran hasn’t indicated yet if that will even matter or not. He stated this past Saturday that he may have fought for the final time in his losing effort against Makhachev, but he wasn’t ready to make that decision yet.

For now, Poirier has to take mandatory time off to recover from the multitude of injuries suffered in the fight against Makhachev before he can really consider when he could compete again.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Leon Edwards plans on adding more UFC gold to his collection.

After landing “the kick heard ’round the world” at UFC 278, ‘Rocky’ has successfully defended his welterweight world title twice, securing unanimous decision wins against former champion Kamaru Usman and three-time title challenger Colby Covington. On Saturday, July 27, he’ll step inside the Octagon for defense number three when he meets the division’s No. 1 ranked contender, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 304 in Manchester.

Though Edwards is not the kind of fighter to look past any of his opponents — even as a 2-to-1 favorite — that doesn’t mean the UK fan favorite isn’t already making some big plans for his future.

During a recent interview with Sky Sports, ‘Rocky’ revealed plans to move up to middleweight in hopes of obtaining the ever-elusive champ-champ status.

“My excitement is me getting another belt,” Edwards said. “My plan was to go next year. Defend my belt twice this year, that will be four defenses. Maybe one more [defense] next year, that’s five defenses. Then later on in the year, have a big middleweight fight. That’s six title fights… That is my goal. Two [defenses] this year, one next year, then end of next year move up.”

Leon Edwards will likely have to go through Islam Makhachev before making the move to 185

Chances are to achieve that status, he’ll have to go through another fighter with two-division glory on his mind.

After finishing Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner on June 1, reigning lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev called for a champion vs. champion clash between himself and Leon Edwards. As of now, ‘Rocky’ believes that both of them have plenty big enough backlog to keep them busy in their own divisions for the time being. Though, he can’t deny it would be a “massive fight” for both men.

With Edwards already scheduled to give ‘Remember The Name’ his long-awaited title opportunity, Makhachev will likely move on to a rematch with his division’s No. 1 contender, Arman Tsarukyan, with October in Abu Dhabi or November in New York hosting.

LowKickMMA.com

submitted by /u/ToronoRapture [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The MMA gods have a wicked sense of humor.

Podcast pals Mike Heck and Jed Meshew join co-hosts Shaun Al-Shatti and Alexander K. Lee this week to unpack the inauspicious double-dose that struck Michael Chandler over the past few days, with the status of Conor McGregor and UFC 303 hurled into doubt just as Chandler was removed from MMA Fighting’s lightweight rankings for inactivity. The gang talks the latest whispers around UFC 303, tries to figure out the best back-up options for the event, and debates whether even a best-case win for either man could get them back into the rankings. Then, the crew sifts through the wreckage of UFC 302 to determine where Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier sits in the Fight of the Year race, figure how it became Dana White and Jon Jones against the world, plus much more.

Listen to the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Jamahal Hill will not forget how UFC 300 ended anytime soon.

Hill returned from a torn Achilles tendon to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title in the main event of the historic UFC pay-per-view card. After a somewhat awkward moment with referee Herb Dean, Pereira delivered a brutal knockout in the opening round, and then proceeded with a viral meme celebration.

A little less than two months later, Hill opened up about the finish to the fight, calling out Pereira for the celebration, as well as MMA fans for reacting to it in the way that they did.

“Now I haven’t really spoke on this but I went to Brazil and [dog walked] your guy [Glover Teixeira in one of the most one sided ass [whoopings] in championship history and after showed nothing but respect and paid homage,” Hill wrote on Instagram.

“I’ve never celebrated over an opponent I beat and even called out my fans for disrespecting Johnny Walker after I slept him!! But because I showed competitive fire and was excited to be back after an injury that could of ended my career, y’all think this [was] funny or cool!! [Alex], you really setup a punch you couldn’t get to without a weird confusing moment and did some weak shit, but [it’s] OK because you will fight me again and my eyes won’t leave you until your as stiff as Izzy left you in Miami!

“And y’all remember I’ve lost before in the first round and remember how I responded, this time will be even better.”

Hill is scheduled to face surging contender Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303 on June 29 in the co-main event. “Sweet Dreams” got a lot of negative comments on his post, and before he faces Ulberg later this month, Hill laid out a challenge to any of the fans who had something to say about his post.

“F*ck all that, bro, at the end of the day, bro, y’all can only talk so much shit before somebody starts to say something back,” Hill said on his Instagram Stories. “So for all y’all that’s talking shit about this fight and sh*t, and y’all want to speak on some fighting shit, we can talk money shit — [$ 20,000], pull up to the gym. Anybody, all y’all that’s talking on these posts and all of that shit, and talking this and that, I’ve got [$ 20,000]. Pull up to the gym, bro. Come get paid. I know y’all broke and need it.”

Hill defeated Teixeira in a dominant decision win at UFC 283 in January 2023 to capture the vacant 205-pound title before suffering his injury during International Fight Week six months later. Hill made a miraculous turnaround to compete at UFC 300, and has a second fight scheduled before the one year anniversary of his injury.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Michal speaks out
| BJPenn.com