Michael Bisping edged out Dan Henderson in an epic encounter at UFC 204. It was the main event that everyone wanted to see and the fans were not disappointed as Bisping and Hendo were involved in an all-out war. While the entire week was filled with the buildup of the pay-per-view, there were some other topics that the MMA community touched.
A super fight being planned for UFC 206, retirement of a UFC veteran after UFC 204 and many others featured on the speculation list and as always, we are going to list down the most notable ones and take a closer look at them.
#5 Vitor Belfort to retire after UFC 204
UFC 204 proved to be the platform for Dan Henderson and from the looks of it; it could also be the last UFC pay-per-view of another veteran, Vitor Belfort. Belfort faced off against Gegard Mousasi at UFC 205 and lost, marking his second successive loss in UFC.
It was the Brazilian media that reported about Belfort’s retirement but nothing has been confirmed as of now.
Belfort has a career record of 25-13 to his name with 12 fights in UFC. He last won a fight against Dan Henderson back in November 2015 but suffered a loss to Ronaldo Souza afterwards at UFC 198 in March 2016. If Belfort does decide to retire, it would be a big loss for the sport.
#4 Drug testing rumour about UFC Manila
The UFC fans in Manila were left disappointed after the promotion decided to cancel the event. The failure to find a replacement for BJ Penn was pointed out as the reason for the same and UFC officials confirmed that the fighters would be rescheduled in the upcoming cards.
However, rumours surfaced suggesting that the country’s policy of drug testing every UFC official was the reason why the event was cancelled. The country of Phillipines is going through its’ own war on drugs at the moment.
The Philippines government came out with a statement and addressed the rumours. They said that it is the country’s policy to do so. Though a UFC representative denied the reports, a handful of MMA media reporters are still suggesting that this full blown drug testing was the reason why the event was called off.
#3 Roy Nelson facing suspension and fine
Roy Nelson kicking referee John McCarthy after his fight against ‘Bigfoot’ Silva had kick started a string of social media reactions. Nelson said that he did it in the heat of the moment. The incident happened when John McCarthy called for an allegedly late TKO on Silva after he was knocked down by Nelson.
Nelson has stated that he did not want to hurt his friend, Silva. The kick, however, could land him is huge trouble. A complaint was filed against Nelson with the Superior Justice Court of MMA (STJDMMA).
If the court decides to charge Nelson, he could be out for two years apart from a fine of nearly $20,000. There is another set of rumours that suggest Nelson would only be suspended for 30 days to six months with a fine of $10,000.
#2 UFC sale under investigation
The $4 Billion sale of UFC had broken the internet a couple of months back. The figures were apparently exaggerated to make UFC look profitable and the sale will apparently be subjected to investigation. A report released by Bloomberg suggested that Goldman Sachs exaggerated the figures without considering the debts.
Though the investigation will not be causing any problems to UFC or WME-IMG, Goldman Sachs would have to run around a bit to clear up the situation. WME-IMG brought UFC from the Fertitta brothers. The Fertittas had earned a huge profit as they had purchased the promotion for $2 Million back in 2001.
#1 Super fight being planned for UFC 206
The UFC fans could be treated to a super fight during UFC 206 as there are rumours about UFC trying to put together Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva for the pay-per-view. GSP and Silva are two of the most successful MMA fighters out there and for years, this had been a dream scenario for the fans.
UFC has already announced that Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson would headline the pay-per-view but as the event is being held in Toronto, UFC would want to bring in GSP into the card. And if it’s a super fight like this, that he is returning for, then we could expect UFC 206 to break a string of records.
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