Tag: UFC 168

Kamaru Usman eyes another finish of Colby Covington at UFC 268, vows to make this performance ‘more flawless’

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman predicts a ‘more flawless’ performance in the rematch against Colby Covington in New York City.

NEW YORK – Welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] is just days away from stepping inside the octagon to face a familiar opponent at UFC 268, and even though he finished Colby Covington in their first meeting, there are improvements he wants to make this time around.

Two years ago at UFC 245, Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) took on Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in an intense fight that was just shy of a minute away from heading to the judges’ scorecards. That was until Usman put together the finishing touches and turned Covington away with a broken jaw to record his first title defense.

Since that fight, Usman has gone on to record three more defenses by defeating Jorge Masvidal twice and former teammate Gilbert Burns. When reflecting on the first fight with Covington, the champ hopes to focus more on execution in their second meeting, which headlines Saturday’s event.

“For me, the wrong that I want to right is in that fight, I fought with emotion,” Usman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day. “As much emotion I was willing to display is what I fought with, which is why I think I got hit quite a bit – but it was fun. I had fun. That lets you know that I got a little mad man in me too. I don’t mind getting hit.”

Usman was hit more frequently by Covington than his two recent opponents, and that is something he wants to rectify in the rematch as he eyes another finish of the former interim champion.

“I want to make it a little bit more flawless this time around,” Usman said.

Even if things go according to plan and he records his second stoppage victory over Covington, Usman hopes his foe gets back in the win column and builds his way back up to earn another title challenge.

“Now I’m in the business of pay-per-view,” a smiling Usman stated. “I don’t know if I want him that far back. Of course, I want to go out there and stop him, but I want him to quickly make his way back so I can stop him again for a little bit more money.”

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Other welterweights are quickly entering the title picture, namely Khamzat Chimaev, who recently made a statement in his return to action at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. After just four fights, all very impressive stoppage wins, he is already being mentioned as a potential title challenger in the near future.

While Usman seems to be a fan of the hype that is around Chimaev, he believes there may be work to be done before he earns a title shot, considering it took him nine fights to get his title shot. However, if Chimaev does get a shorter path to the top, the champ won’t complain about how things unfold.

“He’s done a tremendous job with the opposition he’s been presented with,” Usman said. “No shame in that, he’s doing great. I like it, I love all the hype that’s been there, but let’s all be honest. Life is not fair. We learn that as kids. Some guys get a faster push, some guys don’t. It is what it is.”

UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, airing live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

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Chris Weidman: ‘Anyone saying I celebrated when Anderson Silva’s leg snapped is entirely wrong’

Chris Weidman clarifies what happened at UFC 168 in response to critics claiming karma after his own gruesome leg break at UFC 261.

When [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] broke his leg this past Saturday at UFC 263, many people jumped to say it was karma.

Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC), who had his right leg snapped after throwing a kick that was checked by Uriah Hall, was on the receiving end of the same injury that [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] suffered when Weidman checked his leg kick in their December 2013 rematch at UFC 168.

As soon as Silva went down, then-middleweight champion Weidman threw his hands up in celebration, an action for which he was heavily criticized at the time. But Weidman said that he initially had no idea Silva suffered such a gruesome injury and went to console him as soon as he realized what actually happened.

Weidman felt the need to explain himself Tuesday after some people unfortunately reveled in his horrific leg break, as though it was karma for the way he handled Silva’s injury.

“Anyone saying I celebrated when Anderson’s leg snapped is entirely wrong. I didn’t know his leg snapped. I just thought I checked his leg kick good, and he went down in pain, which often happens in sparring. Painful for a short time, but gets better quickly – kind of like a body shot. After circling the octagon, I realized that he was in severe pain by his yelling and immediately went and checked on him and tried to console him. That’s when I noticed him holding his leg in place. There was no happiness on my behalf from that point on. I then went and pushed security out of the way so his coaches could get into the octagon and he could have some familiar faces next to him during that horrific event.”

Following Weidman’s injury, Silva took to social media to wish him a speedy recovery, which Weidman was very appreciative of. In his most recent update, Weidman shared the positive news that he’s moving around with a walker just three days later and is expected to be discharged from the hospital Tuesday, He’ll fly home in a private jet courtesy of UFC president Dana White.

“Update day number 2.
The PT team got me to walk with a walker today. Not fun. Also, my bladder numbers were high, and I couldn’t go to the bathroom, so they told me I would have to get a catheter. I don’t want that, so I told them to give me an hour, and if I couldn’t do it by then, they could do Catheter. Thank God I was able to get it done. After deep concentration for an hour, I could pee that out, so I didn’t have to get the catheter. The reason why it was so hard is that I’m doing it lying down, and I have Anesthesia and pain killers in me. 👍 #ufc261 #recovery”

https://www.instagram.com/p/COI5tccLk65/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Anderson Silva sends classy message after Chris Weidman suffers eerily similar leg break

Anderson Silva’s leg snapped, too, once … while facing Chris Weidman.

Nobody could know what Chris Weidman is going through better than Anderson Silva.

Because Silva has experienced the pain and fear of having his own leg buckle, both bones broken, after having a kick blocked. Because it happened to him in 2013, at UFC 168, against Weidman.

On Saturday night at UFC 261, of course, it was Weidman whose leg broke in one of the most gruesome injuries ever televised. Just 17 seconds into a match against Uriah Hall he flung his right leg out for a low kick. Both bones broke and when he tried to plant, his leg bent in half.

Silva, one of the best ever in UFC, sent a classy massage to Weidman, who was scheduled to have surgery today:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COE62W6gU30/

Silva missed more than a year but did return to fighting after his injury.

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‘TUF’ Moments: Ronda Rousey stunned when Miesha Tate steps in to coach

In one of the most memorable moments in “Ultimate Fighter” history, Ronda Rousey was none too pleased when Miesha Tate was revealed as coach.

Nearly seven years later, it remains one of the most memorable moments in the history of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

The series’ 18th season was a landmark. It marked the first time women not only competed on the show, but also served as coaches.

The inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion, [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag], was expected to coach against rising star Cat Zingano, who had burst onto the scene earlier in the year with a wild rally to finish [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag].

Zingano, however, had lingering injuries, and she had to withdraw from her position coaching against Rousey.

So Tate, the former Strikeforce champ, was brought in to oppose her most heated rival on the show.

But there was one missing little detail: They didn’t bother telling Rousey about this first. And Rousey was none too pleased when she learned about the coaching change on the set of the show.

As it turned out, Team Tate outcoached Team Rousey on the show, as both winners, Julianna Pena and Chris Holdsworth, came from Tate’s side.

But Rousey got the last laugh during the coaches fight at UFC 168, when she defeated Tate with a third round finish for her second victory over her rival.

Rousey also famously refused Tate’s handshake after the fight, tying back to the moment at the start of the series.

To relive that memorable “TUF” moment, watch the video above.

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