Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” discuss the latest MMA news and notes, including Mike Perry’s use of the N-word.
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,016 of the podcast, the gentlemen discuss the latest news and notes, including some unexpected controversy.
THE RUNDOWN:
[autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag] finds himself at the center of controversy after calling actor Michael Jai White the N-word as part of their Twitter beef this week. Perry’s use of the racial slur (slang version) incited a reaction from fellow UFC fighter [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag], who denounced this. What’s even going on here? Why does Perry have to go there in the first place?
A UFC 246 pre-fight news conference is happening. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] will come face to face. What impact will this have on the event and overall future for McGregor the rest of this year?
“The Korean Zombie” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] simply will not stop pushing for a title shot against UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Could he actually get the fight?
MMA Junkie has handed out its awards for 2019, including Male Fighter of the Year ([autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]), Female Fighter of the Year ([autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]), Knockout of the Year ([autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]), Submission of the Year ([autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]), Fight of the Year ([autotag]Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]), and more. The fellas react to the winners and share their personal selections.
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Bryce Mitchell responds to Dan Ige’s criticism of his twister submission, telling him he can “get it next.”
It seems [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] wasn’t quite as impressed with [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]’s twister as everyone else seemed to be.
Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) scored only the second twister in UFC history when he submitted Matt Sayles in the first round at UFC on ESPN 7. The finish won Mitchell MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” accolade and was an easy choice for many others’ similar end-of-year awards.
But Ige (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) thinks Sayles didn’t offer much of a fight, and suggested he didn’t even try to fend off the submission attempt.
“It’s definitely not an easy sub,” Ige added in the comments section. “Especially against a tough opponent, but if you watched the fight the guy did absolutely nothing on the ground and laid down for him. He gave up mount, he gave up the back. And gave him a free twister.”
Mitchell was quick to respond, suggesting he’d be more than happy to dish out a similar submission to Ige inside the octagon. Both have expressed interest in fighting each other in the past, but a fight hasn’t come to fruition.
Even UFC bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo wants to see that fight, chiming in and suggesting that the UFC matchmakers book it.
But Ige is currently slated to face Mirsad Bektic at UFC 247 on Feb. 8, whereas Mitchell recently said on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” that he’s targeting a return in May after taking some time to train and develop.
So we might have to wait a little longer before we see that fight.
A full recap of 2019’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2019’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
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EVENTS
Octagon girls at UFC 238
The UFC held 42 events in 39 different cities across 15 countries and five continents.
Within those events, there were 516 fights across 13 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).
Those 516 fights combined for a total cage time of 94:59:04.
The longest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN+ 19: Joanna vs. Waterson” in Tampa, Fla., at 2:57:27. It was the second longest in company history behind “UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” (3:04:18).
The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” in Minneapolis at 1:38:12.
“UFC on ESPN+ 13: de Randamie vs. Ladd” featured 62 seconds of total fight time in the main and co-main event, the single-event record in company history.
At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 548,023 for a live gate total of $61,050,133.74 (Note: Live gate was not announced for 11 events; no attendance was revealed for one event).
The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in Melbourne (57,127), which was the all-time company record, while the lowest attended event was “UFC on ESPN+ 20: Maia vs. Askren” in Singapore (7,155).
The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” in New York ($6,575,996.19) while the lowest reported income gate of the year went to “UFC on ESPN+ 4: Lewis vs. Dos Santos” in Wichita, Kan. ($636,417.26).
In 2019, 168 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $8.4 million.
The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos,” “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” and “UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington” with seven each.
Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes
“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a new single-event record. UFC 231 held the previous high with 1,647.
The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 5: Covington vs. Lawler” with five.
The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” with 10.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” featured nine consecutive decision results, tied for the single-event UFC record.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” started with nine consecutive decision results, the single-event record.
“UFC on ESPN 7: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik” marked the third event in company history to feature two draws. UFC 22 and UFC 216 were the others.
Betting favorites went 319-182. Fifteen fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
Betting favorites went 22-18 in event headliners. Two fights ended in a no contest or had even odds.
“UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” and “UFC on ESPN+ 22: Blachowicz vs. Jacare” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 10 each. On the flip side, seven underdogs won at three separate events.
Aspen Ladd
A total of 30 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 28 fighters in that group to compete went 10-17-1 in their respective bouts.
A total of 135 fighters made their UFC debut in 2019. Those fighters went 57-74-2 with two no contests. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 43-58-2 with two no contests.
A variety of circumstances caused a total of 19 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.
One entire event was canceled (UFC 233 in January in Anaheim, Calif.)
Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Submission of the Year.”
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Honorable mentions
Aviv Gozali def. Eduard Muravitskiy at Bellator 225
It only took [autotag]Aviv Gozali[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) 11 seconds to imanari roll his way into the fastest stoppage victory in Bellator history against Eduard Muravitskiy (9-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).
The 18-year-old Israeli fighter started out the bout with one move on his mind – a heel hook. As the opening bell sounded, Gozali rolled towards opponent Muravitskiy and snatched a leg. A few adjustments, and Gozali forced the tap by heel hook for a third consecutive win to open his career.
4. Ovince Saint Preux def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 18
[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) added to his legend with another one of his signature submission wins, this time at the expense of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.
A rough first round looked like it was going to lead to a bad night for Saint Preux. When the second round arrived, though, Oleksiejczuk was the more fatigued fighter, and when Saint Preux got on top, he wasted little time securing the Von Preux choke to tie the all-time submission record at 205 pounds.
3. Patrick Mix def. Isaiah Chapman at Bellator 232
[autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) achieved a first in Bellator history when in his bantamweight fight he managed to force Isaiah Chapman (9-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to tap out with a rarely seen submission.
After just a few minutes of action, Mix found himself on Chapman’s back during a grappling exchange. He went after the leg and got in position to secure the Suloev stretch, which he fully locked in to become the first in Bellator to win with the technique.
2. Brent Primus def. Tim Wilde at Bellator Europe 2
After losing his Bellator lightweight title in lopsided fashion to close out 2018, [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) got back in the win column in resounding fashion with a finish of Tim Wilde (13-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who never saw it coming.
It was a matter of moments before Primus started working of for the finish. After finding himself on his back, Primus maneuvered his legs into position for a gogoplata. Such attempts rarely bare fruit, but Primus was able to get his shin under Wilde’s neck and force the tap just 80 seconds into the match.
Winner: Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7
[vertical-gallery id=468764]
[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.
Facing off against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout, Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.
As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.
UFC HISTORY 📝
🇺🇸 @ThugnastyMMA records the second twister EVER in the Octagon!
From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.
The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.
“It’s something I do in practice a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen Eddie Bravo doing it on YouTube and I practiced it, practiced it, and practiced it. I remember every step that he told me. I even know the Peruvian twister – it’s the tighter version. I really paid a lot of attention to that video. Shout out to Eddie Bravo. Yeah, that’s where I got it from.
“If your opponent doesn’t know how to defend it, if they don’t know how to defend, then it’s going to be a one- or two-step process because they will just give you the arm. But if they defend, then it’s like a six-step process, so it takes time. I think that’s why it’s so uncommon because people don’t know all the steps and how to do it.”
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from December 2019.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from December 2019. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for December.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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The Nominees
Virna Jandiroba def. Mallory Martin at UFC on ESPN 7
After stumbling in her octagon debut, [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) showed what she’s all about when she rolled over Mallory Martin (6-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in their strawweight bout for her 12th career submission victory.
Jandiroba managed to assert her game over Martin in the first round. Then, in the second, she earned an advantageous position to lock in a rear-naked choke. Martin had no answer, and the result was a submission victory for the former Invicta FC champion.
Former Invicta FC champ Virna Jandiroba (15-1) secures her inaugural UFC win, imposing her grappling on Mallory Martin en route to a second-round RNC. The self-proclaimed "Female Demian Maia" owns 12 finishes, each by sub. #UFCDCpic.twitter.com/dJvlWjzXlE
[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off the rarest of submissions in his featherweight bout against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to remain undefeated in his young career.
Mitchell became just the second fighter in octagon history to finish a fight by twister submission. After getting Sayles on the mat, he began to set up the multi-step process for the difficult technique. Sayles couldn’t defend it, though, and “Thug Nasty” got his place in the record books.
UFC HISTORY 📝
🇺🇸 @ThugnastyMMA records the second twister EVER in the Octagon!
Billy Quarantillo def. Jacob Kilburn at UFC on ESPN 7
[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) used the platform of his octagon debut to showcase the full extend of his ability by utterly dominating Jacob Kilburn (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) before earning a merciless finish.
Quarantillo did everything he wanted to and more in inflicting a one-sided beating of Kilburn in the lightweight matchup. He finished the with a triangle choke in the second round, but not before landing 139 total strikes and threatening with five total submission attempts.
[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] (29-11-1 MMA, 11-8 UFC) and Thiago Alves (23-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) have built up reputations as violent, high-action fighters in the welterweight division. And once again, he delivered.
The two fighters did not disappoint in a short, but action-packed spectacle. They traded heavy shots on the feet before Alves got hurt and Means was able to take advantage and lock in a tight guillotine choke that forced the former UFC title challenger to tap out.
Derek Campos (20-10 MMA, 9-8 BMMA) showed off his trademark toughness, but it wasn’t enough to stop [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA) from picking up another impressive win to extend his record winning streak in Bellator.
McKee fought Campos from every area over the course of the bout, then suddenly in the third, from his back, he pulled off a slick armbar that forced Campos to tap out and made him the first man to advance to the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix.
Mitchell pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.
Facing off against Sayles, pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.
As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.
From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.
The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.
Here are 20 fights MMA Junkie hopes to see happen in 2020.
With a new year comes new things, including good ol’-fashioned fist fights. What kinds of matchups are we hoping to see in 2020? What kinds of bookings do we want the MMA gods to bless us with?
Here’s a list of some ideas and why they may (or may not) make sense:
Dillon Danis
20. [autotag]A.J. Agazarm[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag]
This list is being kicked off by “El Jefe” himself. I know this will automatically trigger the Twitter trolls, but hear me out. Danis and Agazarm easily are two of the best grapplers Bellator has in its lighter weight classes. The two have competed against each other plenty of times in the grappling world and they don’t have a lot of love for each other. Their name value doesn’t match their experience level in MMA, so they both often have fights against unknown opponents, which makes their fights hard to promote.
So why not pit them against each other? It makes sense for both fighters skill-level wise, it could be a fun buildup, and we could certainly see some fun, world-class jiu-jitsu.
Bryce Mitchell
19.[autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]
Let’s keep the jiu-jitsu train rolling. Gracie is jiu-jitsu royalty and Mitchell scored a cool-looking submission in his most recent fight – a twister. The UFC certainly is not shy about throwing Gracie against someone with far more experience (cough, cough – Cub Swanson). I know Mitchell is a bit more experienced than Gracie, but not by a crazy margin. Both guys need fights and have interesting and opposing personalities. Why not?
Well, if Reebok won’t get [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] some camo shorts, he’ll find someone who will.
Mitchell famously has asked Reebok to make him some custom camo shorts in his post-fight interviews, but to no avail.
But it appears that someone has answered his plea as, Mat Viper, a no-gi jiu-jitsu clothing brand, has made Mitchell a pair of signature camo fight shorts that are now for sale.
Mitchell took to Twitter to show off the new pair of shorts.
*Link in Bio*
I’m pumped to announce the Mat Viper has produced me some signature Camo shorts that r now available for sale. These guys r payin me a good percentage of these sales so everytime u purchase ur puttin food on my table. Tag me when u do! 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/XOlTOQwk1x
The undefeated Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is off to a perfect start to his UFC tenure and is coming off a “Submission of the Year” candidate, a first-round twister submission over Matt Styles at UFC on ESPN 7, only the second in UFC history.
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.
Now Matt Sayles isn’t the only one who’s fallen victim to Bryce Mitchell’s epic twister submission.
Now Matt Sayles isn’t the only one who’s fallen victim to [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]’s epic twister submission.
Comedian Theo Von found himself in Mitchell’s clutches earlier this week. A guest on Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast, Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) demonstrated the maneuver on the comedian.
“This is not a sexual thing,” Mitchell said, as he wrapped Von up on the ground. “… Don’t make it into something sexual. Don’t make eye contact.”
On the floor of the studio, Mitchell walked Von through the process of securing a twister. The Arkansas-based featherweight displayed how a gentle stretch can quickly escalate into a brutal crank. “I don’t want that,” Von said, understandably.
Watch Bryce Mitchell demonstrate a twister on Theo Von in the video clip below. You can also watch Mitchell’s full appearance on “This Past Weekend” podcast in the video above.
At UFC on ESPN 7 in early December, Mitchell became only the second fighter in UFC history to pull off the submission. The only other man to do it? “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, who TKO’d Frankie Edgar on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea.
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.
Following their first-round finishes at UFC on ESPN 7, Bryce Mitchell and Tim Means have signed new deals with the UFC.
[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] had a lot to celebrate after their fights this past Saturday.
Mitchell and Means fought at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C., and both picked up first-round finishes.
The undefeated Mitchell stopped Matt Sayles with just the second twister submission in UFC history. It earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and following the win, Mitchell shared the news that he has signed a new four-fight deal with the promotion.
I’m pumped to announce I’ve signed a new 4 fight deal with the @ufc
Heading into UFC on ESPN 7, Means had lost three of his past four. But he picked up a first-round finish of former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves with a guillotine choke submission. It was his 24th career finish. Twenty fights into his UFC career, Means still is trucking. He, too, shared news that he has signed a new deal with the UFC.
Signed a new deal with @ufc started this thing when I was 17. 42 professional fights later and 20 fights in the ufc I am still going strong. pic.twitter.com/A2UJcQlcW3
UFC on ESPN 7 took place Saturday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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.
