Official MMA Appreciation Thread

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Jessica Eye [14-6-0-1 MMA, 4-5-0-1 UFC] will soon face former UFC Women's Bantamweight
Championship challenger and current Women's Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko
[16-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC] for the UFC Flyweight Championship.


Shevchenko is on a 2-fight win streak and won the title last month by defeating 6-time UFC Women's
Strawweight Champion and WMMA magnate Joanna Jędrzejczyk [15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC] at UFC 231.
Eye is on a 3-fight win streak.


I would probbaly take Shevchenko in this one.

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[[MERIT]]

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Former CITC Welterweight Champion and former ISCF East Coast Welterweight Champion Matt Brown
[21-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC] is expected to return to the UFC this summer [probably June or July]. He is gunning
for a welterweight bout with Mike Perry [12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC].



Brown is on a 1-fight win streak, but hasn't competed since November 2017. Perry is on a 1-fight losing streak.
I hope Brown murders this douche bag.

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Former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Yoel Romero [13-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC] is expected to return on April
27th at UFC On ESPN 3 in Miami. He is expected to face former Face To Face Middleweight Champion and 2-time
Jungle Fight Middleweight Champion Paolo Costa [12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC].



Romero is on a 1-fight losing streak, while Costa is undefeated in all 12 of his professional fights. I would take Romero
in this one.

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2-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum [23-8-0-1 MMA, 11-5
UFC] recently rescued a teen from drowning in California

Werdum was spending the day relaxing with his family at the beach near their home in Torrance, California. About an hour after they hit the sand, the local fire department arrived on scene in order to rescue two teenagers who were trapped at sea. When Fabricio Werdum noticed that there was only one lifeguard attempting to rescue the kids, he immediately jumped into action.


“... there were two tiny heads at sea yelling 'help.' They were very far [out], about 70 meters away. When the lifeguard grabbed the board by himself, I took off my coat and ran. I took the orange floater, threw it across my chest and I arrived with him, a little further ahead even. I told him to get the girl, who was screaming a lot, and I got the boy, who was already limp. I was able to get him, and we swam toward the beach ... Then, at shore, an old man helped me. The waves were big. The girl sank about three times.”

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[[MERIT]]

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Former USKBA Light Heavyweight Champion, 11-time UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion and GOAT contender Jon Jones [23-1-0-1] pissed dirty . . . AGAIN . . .



His drug test from his UFC 232 rematch with 3-time UFC Light Heavyweight
Championship challenger Alexander Gustafsson [18-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC] in
December tested positive for steroid metabolites [specifically, turanibol].



According to California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer [CSAC]
Andy Foster, the CSAC will not take disciplinary action against Jones.

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Former KOTC Canadian Lightweight Champion, former KOTC Lightweight Champion,
former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger, former Bellator Middleweight
Championship challenger and current Bellator Welterweight Champion Rory
MacDonald [20-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA] will face former UFC Welterweight Championship
challenger, 2-time WSOF Welterweight Champion and former PFL Welterweight
Champion Jon Fitch [31-7-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA] for the Bellator Welterweight
Championship in Bellator's Welterweight Grand Prix on April 27th in San Jose.



MacDonald is on a 1-fight losing streak, while Fitch has won his last 5 fights.

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UFC heavyweight Walt Harris [12-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC] has been suspended by the
California State Athletic Commission [CSAC] after he tested positive for a banned
substance [specifically, LGD4033] following his UFC 232 win over 3-time UFC
Heavyweight Champion and former WAMMA Heavyweight Championship challenger
Andrei Arlovski [27-17-0-1 MMA, 17-11 in December.

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[ManifestBlasphemy666]

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So, Bellator 214 is coming up in < 48 hours. I don't know much about this J.W. Kiser dude who is fighting Jake
Hager [WWE's "Jack Swagger"] in Hager's MMA debut. Sherdog attributes him a professional record of 0-1,
but MixedMartialArts.com has him listed at 1-1.


MixedMartialArts.com lists his amateur record as 4-5, but Kiser claims to have 52 fights under his belt. That's a HUGE
difference. If Kiser DOES have that many fights under his belt, Hager could be in serious trouble. No matter how much
training you have, it is hard to make up for that much experience. I'm guessing that Kiser is lying about how many
fights he has because he's sore about being such an underdog, so he's trying to talk himself up. If I was him, I'd shut
the fuck up and thank my lucky stars for getting gifted such a marquee fight.


Kiser is listed at 6' 0" [183 cm] and 220 pounds [100 kg]. Hager is 6'4" - 6'5" [193 - 196 cm] and 254 - 265 pounds [115 - 120 kg].


Kiser is something like a 25:1 underdog.


Hager has LEGIT amateur wrestling chops. In high school, he was the 215-pound Oklahoma State Amateur Wrestling
Champion, and ranked #5 in the country in that weight class. Later, at the University of Oklahoma, he was named an All-American
amateur wrestler. In 2005, he made it to the second round of the NCAA Division 1 Amateur Wrestling Championship
tournament. The following year, he placed 7th in the country in that same tournament. He holds the University of Oklahoma's
heavyweight amateur wrestling record for the most pins in a single season.

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[[MERIT]]

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[ManifestBlasphemy666]

[[MERIT]]

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Bellator 214 Results:

Ryan Bader > Fedor Emelianenko
Won by KO [punches] in Round 1 @ 0:35
Won the 2018-2019 Heavyweight Grand Prix
Won the Bellator Heavyweight Championship

Henry Corrales > Aaron Pico
Won by KO [punches] in Round 1 @ 1:07

Jake Hager > J.W. Kiser
Won by submission [arm-triangle choke] in Round 1 @ 2:09

Juan Archuleta > Ricky Bandejas
Won by unanimous decision [29-28, 29-28, 29-28] after 3 rounds

Adel Altamimi > Brandon McMahan
Won by submission [armbar] in Round 1 @ 1:16

Thor Skancke > Jesse Merrit
Won by submission [north-south choke] in Round 1 @ 4:26

Jesse Roberts > A.J. Agazarm
Won by split decision [29-28, 28-29, 29-28] after 3 rounds

Weber Almeida > Odan Chinchilla
Won by TKO [punches] in Round 1 @ 3:04

Art Rivas > Sean Johnson
Won by TKO [strikes] in Round 1 @ 4:30

Jay Jay Wilson > Tyler Beneke
Won by submission [rear-naked choke] in Round 1 @ 1:31

Ryan Lilley > James Barnes
Won by KO [head kick] in Round 1 @ 1:03

Craig Plaskett > Ian Butler
Won by unanimous decision [30-27, 30-27, 30-27] after 3 rounds

Desmond Torres > Steve Ramirez
Won by submission [arm-triangle choke] in Round 1 @ 4:21

David Pacheco > Jorge Juarez
Won by TKO

Osman Diaz > Christopher Reyes
Won by TKO in Round 1

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[[MERIT]]

Man, I don't care if Fedor lost at Bellator 214, he's still the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter of all time.

He's professional record is 38-6-1. His record SHOULD be 38-5-1-1, because one of his "losses" should have been a no-contest. His December 2000 fight against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka ended via doctor stoppage ater just 17 seconds when Fedor was opened up by Kohsaka's elbow. Elbow strikes were illegal, and it was less than half way into the first round, so it CLEARLY should have been ruled a no-contest. But since it was a tournament that had to see a winner advance to the next round, they improperly scored it as a loss for Emelianenko.

He put together an insane win streak of 16 fights, followed up by another win streak of 11 fights.

Just look at his list of victims:

Andrei Arlovski
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira [TWICE]
Brett Rogers
Chael Sonnen
Frank Mir
Gary Goodridge
Heath Herring
Hong-Man Choi
Jeff Monson
Kazuyuki Fujita
Kevin Randleman
Mark Coleman [TWICE]
Matt Lindland
Mark Hunt
Mirko Filipovic
Pedro Rizzo
Renato Sobral
Ricardo Arona
Semmy Schilt
Tim Sylvia