The Raw after WrestleMania is always such a huge event with WWE bringing all of the newly crowned winners and world champions.
The Raw after WrestleMania is always such a huge event with WWE bringing all of the newly crowned winners and world champions from the weekend’s WrestleMania.
As they continue to use the WWE Performance Center for their events, the fans will not be attending Monday Night Raw like years past. The WWE delivered on their promise to bring an amazing show to their fans this weekend with some great matches and some surprising winners.
We expect to see some WWE superstars including Drew McIntyre, who has been waiting for 19 years to become WWE champion. Along with Edge continuing his comeback run after defeating Randy Orton this weekend.
Some fans were disappointed by Gronk’s hosting ability but he ended up creating an ongoing personality within WWE by winning the 24/7 Championship, I’d expect to see more of him in the coming weeks.
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Catch the hour-long WWE WrestleMania 36 kickoff show including appearances from all your favorite superstars.
WWE fans will witness history this weekend as WrestleMania will not only go down over the course of two nights but also be broadcast without fans. The WWE is continuing to shoot their shows from their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With a host like Rob Gronkowski, former New England Patriot you should expect a lot of fireworks during the weekend of festivities which is sure to keep WWE fans intrigued.
This weekend’s matches are stacked including The Main Event featuring Goldberg against Braun Strowman, due to Roman Reigns being out of this match which seems like a last-minute decision from Roman, himself. A few other WWE Superstars that you’ll see this weekend are Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre, Edge vs. Randy Orton, and Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler.
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WWE champion Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, and Becky Lynch all scheduled to make an appearance tonight.
WWE continues to broadcast its shows from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and tonight will be no different, where WWE stars have been performing without fans for the last month.
Fans watching on television should expect another big show with this being the last Raw until WrestleMania 36. WWE champion Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, and Becky Lynch all scheduled to make an appearance tonight.
WWE is learning quickly how to keep the fans engaged during this time by keeping the storyline alive leading up to WrestleMania 36. I’d expect to see a few surprises especially with this being the final Monday Night Raw before this weekend’s extravaganza.
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Dana White is predicting 2020 will be a star-studded year for the UFC and calculates the odds for Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones and more.
Dana White is predicting 2020 will be a star-studded year for the UFC.
In his annual predictions for the year with TSN, White weighed in on the odds of [autotag]Brock Lesnar[/autotag] competing in the UFC in 2020; [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] moving up to heavyweight; [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] walking away from the sport; [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]’s “BMF” title; and what’s next for [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] after Saturday’s UFC 246 main event against Donald Cerrone.
White also discussed the likelihood of the [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag], [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] and [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] competing this year, [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag]’s return in 2020, and if boxing champion [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] will fight in the UFC.
If things go White’s way, we could be looking at some massive fights and numbers for the promotion.
Check out White’s predictions in the video above.
The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly seriously, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
In case you’re curious, Brock Lesnar is still a monster.
[autotag]Brock Lesnar[/autotag] is retired from MMA, but he hasn’t stopped drilling his combat sports roots.
The WWE superstar spent time Friday at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, wrestling Gophers sophomore Gable Steveson.
Lesnar wrestled his junior and senior years at Minnesota after transferring from Bismarck State College in North Dakota. Over the span of his four-year career, Lesnar compiled a 106-5 record. A two-time All-American, Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA Division-I heavyweight wrestling championship.
A video posted Friday by “Minnesota on BTN” shows Lesnar tangling on the mats with current wrestler Steveson. Steveson also posted a pair of images of the two behemoths post-workout on Twitter.
He’s only 19, but Steveson’s wrestling abilities are highly touted. As a freshman, he recorded a 35-2 record during the 2018-19 season. He recently qualified for the Olympic trials.
The sophomore athlete recently was reinstated after a suspension during a 100-plus day sexual assault investigation. The investigation concluded after the Hennepin County attorney’s office declared there was inadequate evidence to prosecute Steveson.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
There has only been one fight the UFC president wishes he could have booked, but was never able to.
UFC president Dana White has booked a lot of fights in his career.
The promotion has held more than 500 events since its inaugural show in November 1993, and White has steered the ship for most of them.
Just the past decade alone saw Conor McGregor superfights, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva title defenses, and two grudge matches between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. It saw McGregor cross over into boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather and two of the greatest female fighters of all time square off. It was the home for Ronda Rousey and the pro MMA debut of CM Punk.
But there’s one missed booking that escaped White – one he really wishes could have come to fruition: a megafight between two of MMA’s heavyweight icons.
In an interview with UFC.com released Thursday, White was asked outside of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson (which has been rebooked for April 2020), what fight he wished he could have booked.
“The only fight that I wanted to make that was never made was [autotag]Brock Lesnar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag],” White said. “We were going to do it at Texas Stadium. But I couldn’t get a deal done with Fedor, so it never happened.”
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In the past, White has spoken about the failed Lesnar vs. Emelianenko booking. In early 2013, White revealed the promotion was deep into negotiations in 2012. However, the death of Emelianenko’s father temporarily halted the Russian heavyweight’s professional career. In turn, it permanently ended the talks of a matchup with Lesnar.
“We were in deep talks with (Emelianenko),” White said in January 2013. “We were that close to signing him recently, right before his dad died. We were right there. When I was talking about doing the big Dallas, Texas, stadium show? It was going to be Brock Lesnar vs. (Fedor Emelianenko).
“Remember when I met with him and said it didn’t go well? It actually went well. It went well, and Brock wanted to fight Fedor. Then (Fedor’s) dad died, and he was done.”
Since talks fizzled in 2012, Lesnar has retired from MMA twice. Emelianenko had also called it quits, but has since returned. Fighting under the Bellator banner, Emelianenko and the promotion have implied he has two fights left before he hangs the gloves up for good.
The past decade has proven incredibly intriguing for the sport of mixed martial arts, and these moments explain why.
The past decade has proven incredibly intriguing for the sport of mixed martial arts.
While organizations continue to come and go across the global scene, the UFC remains the dominant brand, but the changes even the sport’s leading promotion has undergone over the 10-year span stand testament to how much the landscape continues to evolve.
In 2011, the UFC was still partnered with Spike TV for its U.S. broadcast deal, and prelim broadcasts bounced around between the likes of Facebook, Ion Television and UFC.com – if they aired at all.
The entirety of the UFC’s next broadcast deal, which saw the promotion move to network television courtesy of FOX, ran its course during the decade. And as the 10-year span closed, the UFC signed on with ESPN, one of the most recognized brands in sports and a leading digital distributor in the space.
And that’s without even speaking of what happened in the cage.
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The decade started with the UFC hosting fights in five different weight classes. Ten years later, that number has grown to 12. Promotional stalwarts such as [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] and [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] gave way to names like [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]. Women stepped into the octagon for the first time, and new markets around the globe were visited.
We could probably list 20 of the biggest moments from each year along the way, but you don’t have time for that, so here’s a sampling of 20 defining moments from 2010 through 2019.
Without further ado …
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July 3, 2010: Brock Lesnar defeats Shane Carwin at UFC 116
Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. (Associated Press)
Whether it’s boxing or MMA, there’s just something special about a heavyweight title fight. In MMA, you don’t get much heavier than [autotag]Brock Lesnar[/autotag] and Shane Carwin. Say what you will about the WWE star’s skills as a martial artist, the man moves the needle, and this was the absolute peak of his popularity, with Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena absolutely buzzing for this battle of behemoths.
After a tense opening minute, Carwin hurt Lesnar and sent him toppling to the canvas, seemingly destined to wrap the belt around his waist. But Lesnar was able to stay just busy enough for referee Josh Rosenthal, somehow lasting until the bell. Carwin was clearly gassed, and Lesnar capitalized on it in the second, taking his opponent to the floor and cinching in an arm-triangle choke, scoring the submission win and adding to his legend – though it would be the last time he ever proved victorious in the octagon.
Aug. 7, 2010: Anderson Silva defeats Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
Every great fighter needs a rival to be pushed to the limit, and for longtime UFC middleweight champion and future Hall of Famer Anderson Silva, that man was very clearly [autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag], who in just four UFC appearances – and some 13 years into his professional career – went from relative journeyman to absolute star through an incredible ability to promote fights through his quick with and sharp tongue. Sure, it was his wrestling that helped propel him to victories in the cage, but it was his mouth that made him a star.
Sonnen went hard on Silva, bordering, at times, on a line of indecency, as he helped first to book the fight, then to promote it. Still, few thought he had a real chance to unseat the reigning pound-for-pound great. Then the unthinkable happened: Sonnen’s aggression saw him walk forward and take Silva down, time after time for four-and-a-half rounds. Then the really unthinkable happened, and Silva pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in UFC history with a fifth-round triangle armbar. The fight was one of the biggest of the year and made stars of both men.
Oct. 28, 2010: Dana White announces UFC-WEC merger
Old school fans will tell you all about the fantastic fights that took place on the blue canvas of the WEC, both before and after the promotion was purchased by the UFC’s parent company in December 2006. But running a secondary MMA brand proved to be only so effective. The real value of the company came when UFC president Dana White announced the brands would be merged, adding both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions to the UFC ranks.
Of course, this would later open the door to the addition of flyweights, as well. But the initial run saw [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] crowned the UFC’s first featherweight champion, while [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] earned the first UFC bantamweight belt. Both remain marketable commodities to this day. So do names like [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag], [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag], [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag], Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas, Anthony Pettis, Dustin Poirier, and Cub Swanson, who all came over as part of a massive talent migration to the UFC.
Feb. 5, 2011: Anderson Silva defeats Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
It’s a highlight that is still played ad nauseam, and it isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Anderson Silva’s front-kick-to-the-face knockout of [autotag]Vitor Belfort[/autotag] was one of the most stunning finishes in UFC history, and it had lasting ramifications. First, while front kicks had largely been used as pushing strikes and range setters, Silva showed what an effective concussive blow it could be. But the impact on the global MMA scene was massive as well.
This bout is largely recognized as the moment MMA gained modern mainstream notoriety in Brazil, one of the UFC’s biggest markets in terms of financial revenue, as well as talent creation. Consider this: Prior to this fight, the UFC had held one event in Brazil, a 1998 card that marked the organization’s only visit to South America until the octagon returned to Brazil six months after UFC 126. In the time since Silva’s iconic KO, Brazil has hosted 35 UFC cards, with the promotion also visiting Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
March 12, 2011: UFC purchases Strikeforce
While the UFC has been the dominant name in MMA since the promotion’s launch in 1993, Strikeforce had acquired an impressive amount of talent despite operating on a much tighter budget. As the UFC looked to ramp up the number of events it was producing for prospective TV partners, the organization needed as many marketable stars as it could find, and the promotion’s parent company, Zuffa, made a major play.
Buying Strikeforce, which was shuttered less than two years later, gave the UFC access to a stunning number of athletes, including future UFC champions such as [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag]. It also shut down the company’s chief rival at the time.
Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirer, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, and more make the list.
There have been numerous highly anticipated UFC matchups that have fallen through over the years because of unfortunate circumstances, and they easily could’ve produced fireworks.
From championship fights, to rivalries, to intriguing stylistic pairings, here are 10 of the best scheduled matchups that never ended up happening.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson
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While it appears that another [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] fight booking is imminent at the time of this writing, let’s just hope the fifth time is the charm.
These two were scheduled to fight on four other occasions, but a series of unfortunate circumstances and injuries has resulted in it never happening. The first booking was during The Ultimate Fighter Finale card on Dec. 11, 2015, when Nurmagomedov was forced out due to injury and replaced by Edson Barboza. Ferguson submitted Barboza in the second round via D’Arce choke, earning both “Performance” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses.
They were then scheduled to fight at UFC on FOX 19 on April 16, 2016, but this time it was Ferguson who pulled out. Ferguson was replaced by newcomer Darrell Horcher, whom Nurmagomedov battered before earning a second-round TKO win.
Then, an interim lightweight championship fight was scheduled to take place at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017, but the fight was canceled due to Nurmagomedov falling ill from a bad weight cut.
Finally, the two were set to meet a fourth time. At UFC 223 in April 2018, Nurmagomedov and then-interim champ Ferguson were going to fight for the undisputed lightweight title. But in a freak accident, Ferguson tripped over a wire and blew out his knee. Max Holloway stepped in briefly, but the New York State Athletic Commission deemed Holloway unfit to compete due to a severe weight cut. Al Iaquinta, who was scheduled to face Paul Felder on the same night, stepped in for the massive opportunity but was dominated by Nurmagomedov in a five-round battle.
Nurmagomedov finally realized his dream of becoming the UFC lightweight champ, and here’s hoping the fight with Ferguson will finally come to fruition in early 2020 as expected.
