Match Ups
The UFC wants to match up Tyron Woodley with Hector Lombard. Woodley just earned a huge knockout over Dong Hyun Kim this past weekend and that was on short notice. The original opponent was supposed to be Lombard himself. Lombard has gone 2-0 since dropping to 170 with a knockout win over Nate Marquardt and a dominating decision over Jake Shields. Fresh off his first Octagon loss to Ryan Bader, Ovince St Preux already has a return to the cage to face Rafael Cavalcante.
Another fighter having a quick turnaround is Max Holloway. He earned his third straight win, and sixth overall, this past weekend, but when Chan SUng Jung fell out of his fight with Akira Corassani the UFC came calling. Corassani may be coming off a loss, but a fourth straight win could give Holloway the chance to earn a shot at the top 15 of the featherweight division.
UFC Sells Out
While the UFC has been notorious for putting up huge numbers across the sea, they have actually had their best luck just south of the border. That is right, the first foray into Mexico has been a huge success for Zuffa with the event selling out in just a few hours. The biggest draw for UFC 180 is the Heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez, but the card also has a great match up between Kelvin Gastelum and Jake Ellenberger on the card.
UFC Boss Named Sleazebag
In one of the weirdest stories of 2014, Dana White has been named one of the top 25 sleaze bags in sports by the magazine GQ. This surely lit up all over the internet but the first question should have been what does GQ know about MMA? Not that much. OF course this article was all about sports, but they were right in naming War Machine in the article. They pointed to the UFCs low paying method, but in all honesty no one knows what fighters truly make and a lot of them seem happy. Look at Eddie Alvarez and Ben Saunders who nearly went to court to try and make it to the Octagon.
Aldo to Sonnen
The story may change depending on who you ask or have to translate for you, but Jose Aldo seems to be looking to jump in popularity. Ahead of his rematch with Chad Mendes, he has said he wants to make the fight more exciting. Instead of working on being a finisher again, he has decided to try and garner attention by shoving his opponent ahead of their match. His manager said that it was due to trying to up tick sales, but White said it was due to words that were exchanged between the two fighters. Who know who is truly right but it made people more intrigued for this fight, that is for sure.