UFC 197: Rumored to Feature McGregor/RDA and Holm/Tate

Who wins in a potential fight?

Rafael dos Anjos

Conor McGreggor

polling

Who wins in a potential fight?

Holly Holm

Miesha Tate

Quiz Maker

The MMA world is buzzing about the news of a possible headliner and co-headliner between some of the UFC's biggest stars.  It has been rumored that the UFC soon be announcing title fights between UFC Lightweight Champion, Rafael do Anjos, and UFC Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor at UFC 197 in March.  Rumors are also spreading that Holly Holm will be defending her UFC Womens' Bantamweight Championship against longtime contender and former Strikeforce Champion, Miesha Tate.  The fight has yet to be confirmed by the UFC, but sources are confident that these two title fights will be happening.  Stay posted to Tough Spar MMA for the latest news regarding this fight on our Facebook Page Tough Spar MMA and our Twitter @Toughsparmma.

Lookin' for a Fight - Episode 1

Leaked Ronda Rousey SI Swimsuit Photo

Former UFC Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey, has given her Instagram followers a sneak peak of her feature in the 2016 SI Swimsuit Edition.  This will not be her first time being featured in the annual issue of the magazine.  Be sure to check out her post here.  The magazine features the former champion posing covered only be body paint.

UFC 195 Recap

Quick opinion piece on UFC 195.  Enjoy and Subscribe to our YouTube page!

UFC 195 Results

UFC 195 Complete Results
Pay-per-view

UFC Welterweight Championship: Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit via Split Decision
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic def. Andrei Arlovski via KO Round 1
Welterweight: Albert Tumenov def. Lorenz Larkin via split decision
Featherweight: Brian Ortega def. Diego Brandao via Submission Round 3
Lightweight: Abel Trujillo def. Tony Sims via submission Round 1

Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Bantamweight: Michael McDonald def. Masanori Kanehara by submission Round 2
Welterweight: Alex Morono def. Kyle Noke via split decision
Women's Strawweight: Justine Kish def. Nina Ansaroff via unanimous decision
Lightweight: Drew Dober def. Scott Holtzman via unanimous decision

UFC Fight Pass Prelims
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier def. Joe Duffy via unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Michinori Tanaka def. Joe Soto via split decision
Welterweight: Sheldon Westcott def. Edgar Garcia via TKO Round 1.

Donald Cerrone Moves Up to Welterweight for UFN 82

Recent UFC Lightweight challenger and perennial contender, Donald Cerrone, will be making his UFC Welterweight debut against tough Welterweight stand-out, Tim Means, in Pittsburgh in the main event of UFC Fight Night 82. Donald Cerrone has had great success in the lightweight division, both in the UFC and the WEC. It is unsure as to whether this is a permanent move or a temporary move to get back in the cage sooner.

Benson Henderson debuted in the 170 lb weight class last year and was able to get a win. I believe that Donald Cerrone posses to defeat "larger" opponents with his tremendous Muay Thai and submission talents. I don't think it would benefit him to permanently move to welterweight, but one fight won't hurt.  I still believe that Cerrone has the tools to be a UFC champion at some point before his career is over.  He gets so close to the title then has some setback. Recently he finally got his title shot, but suffered a TKO loss to the champion, dos Anjos. This should be an interesting match to see what Cerrone is capable of.

UFC 195 Weigh-in Results

Who wins at UFC 195?--Tough Spar MMA

Robbie Lawler - Decision

Robbie Lawler - KO

Robbie Lawler - Submission

Carlos Condit - Decision

Carlos Condit - KO

Carlos Condit - Submission

Poll Maker

Below is the Weigh-in video for UFC 195:

Main card:

Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Carlos Condit (169)

Stipe Miocic (241.5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (246.5)

Albert Tumenov (171) vs. Lorenz Larkin (171)

Diego Brandao (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5)

Abel Trujillo (156) vs. Tony Sims (156)


Undercard:

Michael McDonald (136) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135)

Kyle Noke(170.5) vs. Alex Morono (170)

Justine Kish (116) vs. Nina Ansaroff (116)

Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)

Dustin Poirier (155.5) vs. Joseph Duffy (155)

Joe Soto (135.5) vs. Michinori Tanaka (135.5)

Edgar Garcia (170) vs. Sheldon Westcott (170)

Gray Maynard Moving to Featherweight

Former UFC Lightweight title challenger, Gray Maynard has had a rough few years following his TKO loss to former UFC Lightweight Champion and #2 ranked featherweight, Frankie Edgar, in their third clash.  Since that fight he has been unable to produce a win streak in the lightweight division.  He won a split decision win against Clay Guida, but has taken four straight losses since that win.  Previously, Maynard was on an eight fight win streak before he and Edgar fought to a draw before they fought a third time.

Recently, Maynard has stated that he has been walking around smaller than normal, due to more running and cardio in place of weight training.  He now would like to try his hand at the UFC's featherweight division.  Maynard believes he will have no trouble making the weight despite rumors in the past of him having trouble making weight in the past.  Maynard denies the rumors and has stated that he never had issues making weight in the past.

Maynard will be doing what many fighters have done when they have had trouble in their original weight class.  It has worked for a few other fighters in the past.  BJ Penn moved up to Welterweight after a failed attempt at the UFC Lightweight Championship against Jens Pulver.  He would go on to defeat Matt Hughes to win the title.  He would later move back down to his natural weight class and gain the Lightweight title.  Sean Sherk began his UFC career in the welterweight division, but would find championship success in the UFC's Lightweight Division. Clay Guida moved down to Featherweight and done pretty well for himself there.  Maynard's former nemesis, Frankie Edgar moved to featherweight after being unable to recover his UFC title from Ben Henderson.  Edgar is currently on a five fight win streak and it could be debated that he is the next in line at a title shot against Conor McGregor.

Many other fighters have renewed their careers in different weight classes, such as Demetrius Johnson, Denis Siver, Dominick Cruz and Uriah Faber.  A move to 145 lbs, just might be what Maynard needs to get back in the winners' circle.

Holly Holm vs. Cyborg?

In a recent media scrum with UFC Bantamweight Champion, Holly Holm, we as an MMA community have learned that the newly crowned champion is willing to take on one of Ronda Rousey's arch-rival Chris Cyborg.  The two are cast mates in the film "Fight Valley", but it is now possible that the two could be opponents in the cage.

Former UFC Champion, Ronda Rousey has stated many times that she would be willing to fight Cyborg as long as she was willing to drop down to 135lbs for their fight.  Cyborg, who is the Invicta 145lb champion, has stated that she doesn't believe that she could medically make 135lbs.  Now with that Ronda Rousey is no longer the champion, we will probably never see the two of them fight.  The fight has always been presented as a "super fight" that would be a crowd pleaser.  As an MMA fan, I can honestly say that I was never truly interested in seeing Cyborg take on Rousey.  In my opinion, I felt that it would be a one-sided win for Cyborg.  I don't like seeing one-sided fights, so the idea never really appealed to me.

On the other hand, Holly Holm has stated that she isn't opposed to the idea of meeting Cyborg in a super fight and would be okay facing the Invicta champ in a higher weight class.  For me this is music to my ears.  Both women are superior strikers to most of the other women in similar weight classes and I think the fight would be more exciting.  I believe that Holly Holm's high level of striking would give Cyborg more of a challenge than Ronda Rousey's mediocre striking abilities.  I would watch this fight if it were to happen whether it was a $100 PPV or just a small fight in front of 100 people recorded on a crappy cell phone.  I would watch this fight no matter what.  I wouldn't pay to watch Cyborg dismantle Rousey on the feet.  This is truly a fight that the fans would deserve, despite the fact that Holm and Cyborg aren't bigger draws with the casual mainstream fight fans, but the die hard, long-time MMA fans would explode with excitement at the news of such a fight.  I really hope that we can witness this fight.  Below is the video of the media scrum, provided by Marc Raimondi of MMAfighting.com:

Which fight would you rather see?--Tough Spar MMA

Rousey vs. Cyborg

Holly Holm vs. Cyborg

Poll Maker

Who would win in a super fight between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm?--Tough Spar MMA

Cris Cyborg

Holly Holm

Poll Maker

UFC 195 Preview

The UFC has released two fights for us via YouTube to get us hyped for the upcoming UFC 195 showdown in Las Vegas.  The main event features a showdown between two fan favorite fighters.  Carlos Condit challenges Robbie Lawler for his UFC Welterweight Championship on January 2, 2016.

The challenger, Carlos Condit, is not a stranger to championship gold, as he is a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion and former WEC Welterweight Champion.  Condit defended his WEC title in three battles before jumping over to the UFC to face greater competition.  He would eventually work his way to an interim title shot and eventual clash with then champion, Georges St. Pierre.

Robbie Lawler is a UFC veteran that most early fans of the sport remember for his wild, yet effective striking and knockout power from the early years of the UFC.  Lawler would eventually part ways with the UFC in 2004.  He would go on to fight for Elite XC as well as Strikeforce (at 185lbs) before returning to the UFC in 2013.  Lawler got a chance to fight for the vacant UFC Welterweight title in 2014 against Johnny Hendricks after Georges St. Pierre stepped away from competition.  Lawler would lose the bout to Hendricks, but eventually get a rematch with Hendricks and earn the victory the second time around.

Both men have evolved tremendously over the years, but one could argue that Lawler has had the greatest evolution in MMA that we have ever seen.  Both men are warriors and don't back down from a fight.  Both men a well rounded and possess the ability to finish a fight.  MMA fans, we are in for a treat!  Not to mention - Andre Arlovski vs. Stipe Miocic.  Enjoy the fights!

Here is the Countdown video for the Main Event:

Here is the Countdown video for the Co-main event:

Who wins at UFC 195?--Tough Spar MMA

Robbie Lawler - Decision

Robbie Lawler - KO

Robbie Lawler - Submission

Carlos Condit - Decision

Carlos Condit - KO

Carlos Condit - Submission

Poll Maker

Silva vs.Bisping On UFC Fight Pass

UFC President Dana White has announced that former UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson "the Spider "Silva, will be making his UFC return against Michael "the Count" Bisping in London.  The fight will take place on February 27 and air exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.  This fight will be the first fight for Silva since his five round clash with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January.  This should be an excited fight that is years in the making.

Who wins in the Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping bout?

Anderson Silva

Michael Bisping

Poll Maker

Is the Bisping/Silva fight a big enough draw to get you to subscribe to UFC Fight Pass?

Yes

No

I already have Fight Pass and will be watching it.

I have Fight Pass already, but will not be watching it.

facebook poll

UFC Fight Night Cincinnati: Event Results

Main Card:

Matt Brown def. Erick Silva via third-round TKO
Costas Philippou def. Lorenz Larkin via first-round KO
Daron Cruickshank def. Erik Koch via first-round TKO
Neil Magny def. Tim Means via unanimous decision
Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via first-round KO
Chris Cariaso def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card:

Ed Herman def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrell Montague via unanimous decision
Zak Cummings def. Yan Cabral via unanimous decision
Johnny Eduardo def. Eddie Wineland via first-round TKO
Nik Lentz def. Manvel Gamburyan via unanimous decision
Justin Salas def. Ben Wall via first-round KO
Albert Tumenov def. Anthony Lapsley via first-round KO

UFC Fight Night Cincinnati: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Matt Brown (170.5) vs. Erick Silva (170.5)
Lorenz Larkin (185.5) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185)
Daron Cruickshank (156) vs. Erik Koch (155)
Neil Magny (170.5) vs. Tim Means (170)
Soa Palelei (263) vs. Ruan Potts (244)
Chris Cariaso (125.5) vs. Louis Smolka (126)

Preliminary Card:

Ed Herman (185) vs. Rafael Natal (185.5)
Kyoji Horiguchi (125) vs. Darrell Montague (125)
Yan Cabral (170.5) vs. Zak Cummings (169.5)
Johnny Eduardo (136) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)
Manny Gamburyan (145.5) vs. Nik Lentz (145)
Justin Salas (155.5) vs. Ben Wall (155)
Anthony Lapsley (174) vs. Albert Tumenov (170.5)

Anderson Silva Returning in 2015

Former UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, was last seen in action at UFC 168 in which he tried to recover the UFC title that he lost at UFC 162 to Chris Weidman.  During their clash, Anderson Silva broke his leg throwing a kick that was checked by Chris Weidman.  Since that moment Silva has been out of action trying to recover from his injury.  Silva quickly underwent surgery and has slowly been recovering and even sharing videos of him training on his various social media accounts.  This week, Anderson Silva's doctor in Brazil has cleared him to begin training and resuming his MMA career.  MMA H.E.A.T.'s Karyn Bryan sat down with Silva and asked him about his future in MMA.



Silva is expecting to return in 2015 and doesn't yet have an opponent in mind yet.  Many are buzzing about possibly seeing a bout that has seemed to elude the UFC fans for years--a fight between Silva and Michael Bisping.  I personally wouldn't mind seeing Silva go up to 205lb for a fourth time or possibly see him face Vitor Belfort or Rich Franklin in a rematch.  Franklin believes that he could defeat Silva if he got his hands on Silva for a third time.  Franklin has one last fight on his contract and I wouldn't be opposed to another round of Silva and Franklin.  If Penn can get a third shot at Edgar in a similar situation, why shouldn't we see Franklin try to redeem himself against the man who took his title?  Also a super fight with Georges St. Pierre has been buzzed about, but I'd rather see a clash with Franklin, Belfort or Bisping over a fight with GSP.  Who would you all like to see the Spider face?

Junior dos Santos Out of Miocic Fight

UFC Heavyweight and former champion, Junior dos Santos, is being forced to pull out of his TUF Brazil 3 bout with Stipe Miocic.  It seems that Junior dos Santos has developed a hand injury during training for the fight.  As of right now, there hasn't been a replacement opponent to face Miocic.

Nelson vs. Hunt Rumored for September Card in Japan

According to MMAFighting.com reporter, Ariel Helwani, the UFC is planning on putting a heavyweight clash together between Roy Nelson and Mark Hunt.  According to Helwani, the UFC is targeting a fight between the two heavy-handed sluggers on a Japanese card in September.  Both men are coming off of phenomenal performances in their most recent outings.  Roy Nelson is coming off of a first round finish of PRIDE legend, Minotauro Noguiera last month while Hunt had a five-round war with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva that was originally scored as a majority draw, but was overturned to a no contest after Silva failed the post-fight drug test.

Both men have heavy hands and it would be possibly one of the biggest heavyweight fights in the history of the UFC.  Hopefully we see this fight come into fruition, but it is possible that it may not come to be as Roy Nelson is still recovering from an injured hand.  Be sure to stay posted to Tough Spar MMA for future updates on this possible fight.

TUF Latin America PLUS Velasquez vs. Werdum Announced

UFC fans, I am pleased to report that the UFC is finally trying it's hand at the Latin American community as the will finally be hosting a season of the Ultimate Fighter Latin America.  This season will feature fighters from various countries in the Latin America region.  The show will beginning filming very shortly with May 12th as the estimated date to begin filming.  UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez and #1 Contender, Fabricio Werdum are going to be coaching against each other and are expected to face off against each other at UFC 180 in Mexico City, Mexico on November 15.  This will be the UFC's first fight card taking place in Mexico in the company's 20 year existence.  This TUF season will feature fighters from smaller weight classes as featherweights and bantamweights will compete for a coveted spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster. 

The Latin region is a hot bed for talented fighters in combat sports especially boxing.  Though boxing is the largest combat sport in Latin America, MMA is growing at a rapid speed and we are beginning to see more Latin fighters competing with the best in the world in MMA.  Latin fighters tend to have a in-your-face exiting style that always leaves fans wanting more.  If you don't believe me, go watch a Erik Perez, Roger Huerta or Leonard Garcia fight and you'll thank me.  I think that this season will be a great move the UFC and will offer more talent for two the UFC's weakest divisions in my opinion.  The Featherweight Division has a decent talent pool, but there is nothing exciting about the UFC's bantamweight division if you mention it without the name Renan Barao.  Hopefully this season is able to bring two fighters that can give Jose Aldo, Renan Barao and Nova Uniao a run for their money.

I have a great deal of optimism for this season of the Ultimate Fighter and hope that it will be as successful as the Ultimate Fighter Brazil and similar TUF foreign spinoffs.  I can't wait to see the title fight between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum in November.  I like the idea of seeing a huge fight between Cain and someone who is as dynamic as he is.  Before a loss to dos Santos during his first run, Werdum was so close to a title shot and we could have possibly seen he and Velasquez possible fight earlier in their careers.  I feel that Werdum presents probably the biggest challenge to the Heavyweight Champion to date.  He has faced hard-hitting strikers such as Junior dos Santos and Cheick Kongo and great wrestlers like Brock Lesner and Ben Rothwell, but he has never faced a fighter with a high-level BJJ pedigree such as Werdum.  Not only great jui jitsu is possessed by Werdum, but a scarily improving stand-up game that proved to be too much for a KO artist in Travis Browne.  Also it has been about 3 1/2 years since we saw Velasquez face a  fighter that is named Junior dos Santos or Antonio Silva and it is refresshing to see him face a new  challenge.

I feel that Cain Velasquez can beat Werdum, but I think that he will truly be challenged for the first time in his career as the champion.  I am thrilled at the announcement of the new season of TUF and the announcement of the coming title fight in November.

UFC 172: Event Results

Main Card:

Jon Jones def. Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision
Anthony Johnson def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision
Luke Rockhold def. Tim Boetsch via submission (kimura)
Jim Miller def. Yancy Medeiros via submission (guillotine choke)
Max Holloway def. Andre Fili via submission (guillotine choke)

Preliminary Card:

Joseph Benavidez def. Tim Elliott via submission (guillotine)
Takanori Gomi def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision
Bethe Correia def. Jessamyn Duke via unanimous decision
Danny Castillo def. Charlie Brenneman via second-round KO (0:21)
Chris Beal def. Patrick Williams via second-round KO (1:51)

UFC 172: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Jon Jones (205) vs. Glover Teixeira (205)
Phil Davis (205.5) vs. Anthony Johnson (205)
Tim Boetsch (185.5) vs. Luke Rockhold (185.5)
Yancy Medeiros (155.5) vs. Jim Miller (155)
Andre Fili (145) vs. Max Holloway (145)

Preliminary Card:

Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Timothy Elliott (125.5)
Takanori Gomi (155.5) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (155.5)
Bethe Correia (135) vs. Jessamyn Duke (135.5)
Charlie Brenneman (155.5) vs. Danny Castillo (156)
Chris Beal (135) vs. Patrick Williams (135)

UFC 172: Countdown to UFC 172