Tag: UFC 252

Daniel Cormier formally withdraws from USADA testing pool, sealing retirement

In case you needed any more convincing Daniel Cormier is really through, he’s officially withdrawn from the USADA testing pool.

LAS VEGAS — [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] already let the world know he was retiring from mixed martial arts back at UFC 252, telling Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview following his loss to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic that he was through.

But nothing quite formalizes things like the moment a retiring fighter drops out of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s UFC drug testing program.

According to UFC president Dana White, the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion formally notified the company Tuesday that he’s withdrawing from the USADA testing pool, and has also requested to be removed from the UFC’s official rankings.

“He told us today to take him out of USADA and take him out of the rankings,” White said at the DWCS 31 post-fight news conference. “Doesn’t get any more official than that.”

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If a fighter removes himself or herself from the testing pool and wished to return to the sport, the competitor would have to wait six months before they are eligible to fight again.

So the 41-year old Cormier has turned the page, and he’s already continuing in his other role, as a color commentator. DC was in the booth at Tuesday’s DWCS 31, marking his first appearance since the loss to Miocic and also his first time working “Contender Series.”

For White, having DC around as a commentator has helped cushion the blow of losing him as a fighter.

“I had such a great time with him, but he’s such a great commentator, so, he’ll still be around and he’ll be with this company forever, so it’s not like we’re losing him and I’ll never see him again.”

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Daniel Cormier: Dropping gloves after Stipe Miocic loss would’ve been like ‘stealing his thunder’

Daniel Cormier didn’t want to distract from Stipe Miocic’s big moment after their trilogy was complete.

There are few more honored rituals in combat sports than the on-the-spot retirement ceremony in which a competitor leaves his or her gloves on the mat at the end of their final fight.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] could’ve had such a moment on Aug. 15 at UFC 252. Win or lose, Cormier’s main event in Las Vegas against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] was expected to be the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion’s final fight.

After dropping a unanimous decision to Miocic, though, Cormier declined to make a spectacle of himself in the octagon, although he later admitted in a post-fight interview that his career was done.

On Monday, Cormier explained his reasoning bending foregoing a drop of the gloves, saying that he also understood his trilogy with Miocic was a piece of history, too, one which many considered the determining factor in the argument of greatest heavyweight of all time.

By winning at UFC 252, Miocic took the last two fights from Cormier and thus the series. And Cormier told ESPN he has too much respect for Miocic to step on his big moment.

“In my mind, I lost the fight,” Cormier said. “It’s Stipe’s moment. He’s the champ. Why would I do that? Because a guy like me retires in the octagon there, and that’s what people talk about. I think in the standings of the world, there’s a difference between Stipe and I. And if I’m in there and take my gloves off, it’s almost like I’m stealing his thunder. I wasn’t going to that.”

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Cormier also sees this as a matter of reciprocation. When Cormier knocked out Miocic to take the heavyweight belt and become champ-champ at UFC 226, Miocic get out of the way and let DC have the limelight.

“I went to the back to get out of there and (let him) have his moment with his team and let him celebrate,” Cormier said. “He’s done that for me, so I got out the way.”

With two weeks to reflect on the bout, there’s no bitterness on Cormier’s part. He believes the champ won fair and square.

“I thought he won the fight,” Cormier said. “He did a good job, and he deserved to get his hand raised on that night. He won the fight.”

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Daniel Cormier expects to avoid surgery on eye injured in Stipe Miocic fight

Daniel Cormier has made great progress from the torn cornea in his left eye, and he’s optimistic he’ll be able to avoid surgery.

It was one of the more memorable – albeit unintentional – eye pokes in recent memory: [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] hit [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] in the left eye in the closing seconds of the third round of their UFC 252 heavyweight title fight.

The foul, which looked gruesome when shown on slow-motion replay, went unpenalized. And while Miocic was already winning their trilogy fight in the main event of the Aug. 15 card in Las Vegas, the eye poke did Cormier no favors as he valiantly fought through the fourth and fifth rounds essentially a one-eyed fighter before losing a unanimous decision.

On Monday, Cormier had good news when he updated his condition during his “Helwani and DC” show on ESPN: While the left eye hasn’t come all the way back around, he’s made great progress. And at the moment, it appears the torn cornea he suffered will not require surgery.

“It was concerning initially, because they did not know how severe the impact was going to be going forward. They didn’t know if I wasn’t going to need surgery and do all these other things,” Cormier said. “But luckily I was able to recover, and I feel better, and I prefer not to have surgery. I don’t want to go under the knife for everything. If it’s something that I can avoid, if it’s an option to not do it in that way, I’ll always use that option.”

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Still, as anyone who watched the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champ during his post-fight interview could gather just from looking at him, Cormier had a rough time in the aftermath of the fight before things started turning around.

“It was very bad initially,” Cormier said. “The first week-and-a-half or so, it was really bad. It wasn’t open. It was completely blurry. But now it feels like I have an eyelash in it. I went and saw the doctor last week, and he told me that I’m probably not going to need surgery. It was bad for like a week, and then it started to get better. I got medicine, antibiotics and stuff that kind of goes into my eye three times a day.”

“It’s starting to get better and better and better,” Cormier continued. “It feels good but just feels like there’s something in there. Like, you know when you get an eyelash in there and you can’t get it out? It’s like that. It’s not bad, though, not bothering me that much.”

Besides, when you have a contact sports career that encompassed both world-class amateur wrestling and a championship-level MMA career, you get used to things being a little out of sorts in a way most people can’t grasp.

“You can almost get used to pretty much anything if you get used to it so long,” Cormier said. “I’m almost used to it. When my eye is opening, it’s like a little bit smaller, but it’s not as bad as it was the day of the fight.”

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UFC champ Stipe Miocic: Francis Ngannou rematch ‘isn’t exciting to me,’ fresh challenger preferable

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic doesn’t appear all that keen to run it back with Francis Ngannou.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] doesn’t appear all that keen to run it back with [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag].

All signs point to Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) getting the next title shot at Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) after the champ successfully defended the belt in his trilogy fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 252 this month. UFC president Dana White has said multiple times that’s “definitely” the fight he wants.

The problem, however, is that Miocic has already thoroughly beaten Ngannou. He handed “The Predator” his first octagon defeat by unanimous decision at UFC 220 in January 2018, but since then Ngannou has worked his way back up.

With the exception of an infamously lackluster bout with Derrick Lewis after the first Miocic fight, Ngannou has been in a tear. He’s scored first-round knockouts over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Curtis Blaydes to earn his rematch.

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That isn’t enough to get a rise out of the always even-keeled Miocic, who said in a recent Instagram Q&A with fans that he would prefer to fight someone new next, and not another rematch.

“Francis isn’t exciting to me, already put a 25 minute clinic on how to beat him. Want a new challenge! Would love to box.”

Although Miocic isn’t overly enthusiastic about rematching Ngannou, this isn’t an unfamiliar stance from him. He didn’t love the idea of having a third consecutive fight with Cormier after going back-to-back, but ultimately accepted the title defense that was offered to him.

Ngannou caught wind of the statement from Miocic, and responded on social media (via Twitter):

Is this your way of avoiding me? 🙄

Miocic said in the immediate aftermath of UFC 252 that he would take on all comers as he goes for the second defense of this title reign. Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight could provide a potential wildcard, but UFC boss White has already said “Bones” won’t jump Ngannou in the pecking order.

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Sean O’Malley responds to criticism from Ben Askren: I thought he was smart

Sean O’Malley thinks Ben Askren’s criticism toward him was unwarranted.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag]’s criticism toward him was unwarranted.

O’Malley (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who suffered his first pro loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252, was stretchered out of the arena after rolling his ankle multiple times in the fight, which visibly hindered his movement. Vera took advantage and stopped O’Malley with a TKO late in Round 1.

Askren ripped O’Malley, claiming it was a sign of weakness for him to get carted out and that he should have just hopped on one leg.

But O’Malley can’t understand why Askren would criticize him for using a stretcher to prevent further damaging his ankle when exiting the arena.

“I thought Ben Askren was smart,” O’Malley said on “The Timbo and Sugar Show” podcast. “I didn’t know he was slow. You have an opportunity, you (expletive) your foot up. I had an opportunity. Your foot’s (expletive) up, and you have to walk here to there. Or they said, ‘Here, we’ll push you on a little thing with wheels so you don’t have to walk on your (expletive) up foot, make it worse.’ I’m like, ‘God, big Ben – I thought you were smarter. I didn’t know you were stupid.’ It’s just stupid. If you ask the smartest person in the world, you smash their foot and you say, ‘Do you want to walk over there or do you want to be carted?,’ they would take the cart.”

O’Malley’s coach Tim Welsh claimed “Suga” tried to say that he didn’t need a stretcher, but it was forced on him.

According to O’Malley, he suffered no serious damage to his ankle. He hasn’t been medically cleared yet, but plans on visiting another doctor for an MRI this week. He recently posted a video of him dancing, saying he’s good and he just “tripped” in the fight.

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Sean O’Malley vents on Marlon Vera fight: ‘I lost to someone who I look at as not very good’

Sean O’Malley has no intention of humbling himself after losing for the first time against Marlon Vera at UFC 252.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] has no intention of humbling himself after losing for the first time against [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] at UFC 252.

In fact, O’Malley (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) doesn’t feel the setback against Vera (16-6-1 MMA, 10-5 UFC) this past weekend was particularly legitimate, and days later the outcome is eating away at him.

O’Malley brought a lot of hype and an unbeaten record into his bantamweight co-headliner with Vera at UFC 252. He was comfortable to start the fight, but then things quickly took a turn as an ankle issue started to hinder his movement. “Chito” capitalized and got top position, where he landed some big shots that forced the referee to step in and set up the first-round TKO.

According to O’Malley, there’s not serious damage to the ankle. He said he “just rolled it about seven times,” and indicated the problem could’ve stemmed from his pre-fight decision to loosen the wraps on his feet.

“Warming up in the back everything was perfect,” O’Malley said on “The Timbo and Sugar Show” podcast. “I’m in (expletive) good shape. I’m breaking this mother(expletive) 100 percent in my mind. I get back there, doing our warmup, everything is going perfect. About five minutes before we’re set to walk I’m like, ‘Do you think you could (expletive) loosen up my ankle brace? It’s (expletive) tight.’ So he’s sitting back loosening up my ankle braces because they were tight. That’s about it. Walked out, everything felt good, got in there. I was in front of him and I’m like, in my mind, I’m like, ‘This is easy. He’s slow. He can’t hit me.’ You can’t hit me and you can’t take me down. I didn’t think he was going to be able to take me down because he was so slow. … God just standing there knowing I had one leg and like, ‘He still sucks.'”

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O’Malley afforded Vera with zero credit for the outcome of the contest. He said he felt he was in “complete control” from the very start, but then it turned on a dime and his hand wasn’t raised on the end. There are parts of that reality O’Malley can accept, and others he’s still grappling with.

“We picked the date, we picked the time and we both walked out: It doesn’t matter what the (expletive) happens,” O’Malley said. “Whoever wins, how it happens, however they win, wins. He won. It sucks for me because I lost to someone who I look at as not very good. I look at him and I’m like, ‘He’s not that good.’ And I (expletive) lost to him. That’s what’s the most frustrating thing. Losing to someone I’m better than. That ‘humble’ post was a (expletive) joke. So for everyone commenting stupid (expletive), I’m not humble.

“Let’s look at his career in five years let’s look at mine. I’m going to be (expletive) world champ and he’s going to be a (expletive) journeyman. That’s just what his style is. He wins some he loses some. He’s slow, but he’s gritty so he’s going to be able to finish some people after they beat him up for a while. … He gets lucky and beats me and jumps up like he won the (expletive) lottery. That just shows what kind of a (expletive) he was.”

O’Malley said he hasn’t received medical clearance in the aftermath of UFC 252. He’s visiting another doctor for an MRI this week, then said he hopes to “get this taste out of my mouth.”

Days after the fight, though, it’s obvious that taste is still strong.

“Literally the only thing that bugs me is lost in a way where I feel like I didn’t lose and I lost to a guy I feel like is not that good,” O’Malley said. “I had the same pain but all around my ankle and I remember dragging my foot up against the cage like, ‘(Expletive).’ Even still, didn’t feel in danger. I’m like, ‘OK. I’m not very mobile but I don’t feel in danger. I don’t feel like he’s a threat.’ I was hoping he would shoot in on me so I could try to guillotine him. (Expletive) cracked him with a good shot, then that last little flurry I had. I don’t think he punched me once on my feet, even after my foot was (expletive) up.”

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Ben Askren thinks Sean O’Malley ‘needs to grow up’ because he left UFC 252 on a stretcher

According to Ben Askren, Sean O’Malley showed weakness after his loss to “Chito” Vera.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] didn’t protest what some considered a quick stoppage in his loss to Marlon Vera this past weekend at UFC 252. Instead, he laid on the mat writhing in pain.

An apparent left foot injury suffered during the fight led to O’Malley leaving the octagon on a stretcher. And the way [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] sees it, that was a show of weakness from the 25-year-old prospect.

“He wanted to just be out of there for whatever reason,” Askren said Monday while stepping in to co-host ESPN’s “DC & Helwani.”

When it was brought up that the reason probably was O’Malley being in a lot of pain, Askren nearly blew a gasket.

“It’s a fist fight! Deal with that sh*t!” Askren yelled. “Deal with it! It’s a fist fight!”

Askren calmed down and continued.

“I’m saying he shouldn’t have done that. It’s a fist fight,” he said. “Yes, (O’Malley) was in pain obviously. Listen, if you don’t have the expectation that you’re gonna be in pain when you get into a fist fight, you’ve got some bad expectations.”

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The full extent of O’Malley’s injury remains unknown. According to ESPN, an X-ray on his ankle/lower leg revealed no fractures, but an MRI would still be needed once swelling subsides to reveal any possible ligament or tendon tears, as well as in his knee.

Despite this, Askren still heavily criticized O’Malley for even allowing himself to be taken off on a stretcher. The former Bellator and ONE Championship title holder considers it a sign of weakness.

“If they tried carting me out because of an ankle injury, I would’ve fought someone over that,” Askren said. “You’re not putting my ass on a stretcher because I got an ankle injury. I got one other good leg, and I’m gonna hop all the way to the back. Leave me the eff alone. I think he needs to grow up. …

“It’s part of growing up. In life, you have failures, you have struggles. You’re gonna learn from them. Obviously he hasn’t lost a fight to this point, so he probably hasn’t experienced those really hard things and really, at this point, embarrassment also. He was building himself up and got his ass kicked by ‘Chito’ Vera. He’s probably a little embarrassed by that, as well. Hey, that’s part of it. Get up, rub some dirt on it, hop yourself to the back.”

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Virna Jandiroba has a unique reason why she wanted a quick win over Felice Herrig

Take a look inside Virna Jandiroba’s first-round submission of Felice Herrig at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] beat Felice Herrig with a first-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Jandiroba, who picked up her second straight first-round submission win.

Result: Virna Jandiroba def. Felice Herrig via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:44
Updated records: Jandiroba (16-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Herrig (14-9 MMA, 5-4 UFC)
Key stat: Jandiroba has 13 of her 16 career wins by submission.

Jandiroba on the fight’s key moment

“As everybody knows, I’m a (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) specialist. As I said in my interviews, I had a Plan A or a Plan B. Plan A worked.”

Jandiroba on trying to have a quick finish

“I didn’t mention this to anybody before, but during camp I had a little bit of a problem: I lost my front teeth and I didn’t want to lose them again, so I tried to make it as quick as possible.”

Jandiroba on what she wants next

“Felice was ranked, so hopefully come next week, I’m ranked. I think this maybe made a statement in the division and hopefully the UFC is going to look with some more caring eyes to me and give me a top 10 opponent – just someone ranked, top five, who knows. Whatever they want to give me, I’ll be happy with it. But if I could keep on climbing the rankings, that would be great. As far as name goes, I’m just really focused on getting up in the rankings. So whoever is available, I’m more than happy to take them on. As far as the time frame, I could fight tomorrow – honestly, I didn’t take that much damage. Maybe next week. I think I have a mandatory suspension or something. As soon as that’s done, I’m ready to fight.”

To hear more from Jandiroba, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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Daniel Pineda ‘ain’t no punk’ after proving haters wrong with upset of Herbert Burns

Take a look inside Daniel Pineda’s TKO of Herbert Burns at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] beat Herbert Burns with a second-round TKO Saturday on the main card at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Pineda, who returned to the UFC for the first time since March 2014 and got his first win in the promotion in more than seven years.

Result: Daniel Pineda def. Herbert Burns via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:37
Updated records: Pineda (27-13 MMA, 4-4 UFC), Burns (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
Key stat: At +230, Pineda was the third biggest underdog on the card.

Pineda on the fight’s key moment

“He’s good. He’s really strong. He took my back quick. I ain’t no punk on the ground. He was strong. He was strong – I just had to stay calm and I did my thing.”

Pineda on pulling the upset

“It feels good. It feels really good, especially being the underdog. Everybody always (is) counting me out. They just don’t know that I’m a dog. … I made a big statement – for all them haters out there too. I’m here. We’re here. He’s a good fighter. I think he’s going to make it somewhere. I’m just going to be a little more on top now.”

Pineda on what he wants next

“Whoever they put in front of me, as soon as this cut heals up, I’m going to try and get a camp, a full camp – not no freaking two weeks, and get it going, get better cardio.”

To hear more from Pineda, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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Spinning Back Clique: Did the Stipe Miocic-Daniel Cormier trilogy reach a satisfying conclusion?

Check out this week’s edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” which answers the key questions coming out of UFC 252.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, Simon Head hosts and is joined by MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze,” as well as MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn. It’s an all-UFC 252 show. Let’s go!

SHOW TOPICS

  • Saturday night saw the epic heavyweight title trilogy between [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] come to a close as Miocic claimed a unanimous decision on the scorecards after five grueling rounds at the UFC Apex. It meant Miocic won the trilogy and cemented himself as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, but it wasn’t without controversy as Cormier sustained a debilitating eye poke in the third round. With that in mind, did we get a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy at UFC 252?
  • After the loss, Cormier confirmed his retirement in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. But, as we all know, MMA retirements aren’t always set in stone. DC has been talking about retirement for a while, and now that his final fight has come and gone, do you truly believe that’s the last we’ve seen of him as a professional fighter? And if so, what legacy has he left on the sport?
  • While Cormier looks set to hang up the gloves, Miocic seems like he’ll keep things rolling. How do you rate Miocic right now? Is he the best heavyweight ever in the UFC, or is he the best ever period? Or do you have a completely different take?
  • It appears two big names are vying for the next title shot. [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] has been waiting patiently for his opportunity, while [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] threw his name in for a crack at the heavyweight title. Which fight would you rather see?
  • The night’s co-main event at UFC 252 left plenty of question marks and talking points, too, as the highly touted [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] suffered his first career loss to [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] in their bantamweight matchup. O’Malley sustained a foot injury that opened the door for Vera to claim his first-round TKO finish, which has led some to question the validity of Vera’s win. What do we make of that fight, and how should the UFC look to book O’Malley moving forward?