– Daniel Cormier moved one step closer to a potential meeting with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones this past weekend when he submitted Dan Henderson in the co-main event of UFC 173: Barao vs. Dillashaw. Cormier locked up a rear-naked choke that left Henderson out cold in the center of the Octagon in the third round. You can see highlights from the fight in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-LkhCQ1no
– It just seems that no matter how much some in the public want to see it go away, the idea of Ronda Rousey facing Floyd Mayweather just won’t die. Last week, UFC president Dana White was asked once again about the subject, and he couldn’t resist discussing it.
“It’s hard for guys to wrap their brains around that one. Ronda wouldn’t beat him,” White said, during a pre-fight media scrum ahead of UFC 173. “She’d hurt him badly. She’d hurt him badly.
“She’ll kick the living (expletive) out of me. And you. And everybody else standing here whether you like it or not.”
When the question was posed again to Rousey herself at a kickoff press conference for UFC 175, the UFC female bantamweight champion expressed her own opinion on the subject.
“Of course, Floyd would box the hell out of me if we were in a boxing match,” said Rousey, who faces Alexis Davis this July. “But boxing is a limited form of fighting and we’re in a much less limited form of fighting. I’ve trained my whole life to prepare for things that he hasn’t been preparing for.”
– Michael Bisping will make his return to the Octagon this coming August, and do so against another returning veteran in Cung Le. The bout, set for UFC Fight Night 48, was announced by the UFC over the weekend. It joins a previously reported contest pitting Hector Lombard against Dong Hyun Kim from the Macau, China event.
Bisping (24-6) is coming off a decision loss to Tim Kennedy in a five-round middleweight affair. The Brit suffered an eye injury in training after defeating Alan Belcher last year, forcing him to the sidelines for an extended period.
Le (9-2) has been out of action since 2012 when he bested former UFC champion Rich Franklin via knockout. The ex-Strikeforce champion was a mentor on The Ultimate Fighter: China earlier this year and also has a budding acting career.
“We’re excited to announce our return to Macao and the Cotai Arena, a venue that has seen incredible UFC performances over the last two years,” said Mark Fischer, UFC Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Asia. “Sands China Ltd. has proven to be an exceptional partner and visionary in helping us grow the sport of MMA and the UFC brand in South East Asia.”
Lombard (34-4-1) downed Jake Shields to improve to 3-2 with the UFC after leaving Bellator as the middleweight champion. He will face a fellow Top-10 welterweight in Kim (19-2-1), who is on a four-fight win streak.
