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- I'm Giving Away 2 x Free Tickets To Sydney's UFC 293
Above all else, I value loyalty.
Which is why as a thank you to everyone supporting my little side project, I want to give back.
I have in my possession two tickets to Sydney’s forthcoming UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland (September 10th) — acquired via the Tixel resale platform — that’ll be randomly gifted to someone on the Chin Tucker subscriber list.
Full disclosure: they are in the nosebleed sections… but free is free.
And if it turns out to be a shit experience, I’ll be hanging around Qudos Bank Arena afterwards (somewhere cageside by the media desk) ready to shout a round of beers for the aggrieved parties.
To increase your chances of winning, get your mates to rally around this newsletter. The winner will be announced later next week (just days before the event), so be sure to get subscribing and keep an eye on your inbox.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
— GL
Ronda Rousey Is Apparently Considering A Return To MMA — Here’s Why That’s A Terrible Idea
As she approaches the “hard out” from her tenure at WWE, Ronda Rousey may soon be un-retiring from mixed martial arts.
At least according to the ever-trustworthy bastion of quality journalism that is The Daily Mail (via Bleacher Report).
One of Rousey’s “confidants” has indicated the former Strikeforce/UFC bantamweight champion, pioneer of women’s MMA, and highly-decorated judoka is:
“… looking to wind down her time and commitments with the WWE and she is now focusing on potentially making a run to have one last fight in the UFC and compete at UFC 300 when that presents itself sometime next year.”
The inside source added the female multi-hyphenate is, “at a current crossroads in her life and career as she is looking to see what she might want to do next,” beyond the UFC’s forthcoming marquee pay-per-view event, i.e. film and television.
Now don’t get me wrong.
There’s no denying the impact Ronda Rousey has had upon the sport — she, alongside Conor McGregor, were responsible for elevating MMA to the current levels of mainstream popularity.
Nor can we forget her six consecutive title defences, a historic feat which was only surpassed last year by Valentina Shevchenko (six whole years after Rousey’s retirement).
A “comeback,” however, wouldn’t be in the UFC Hall of Famer’s best interest. Like at all.
Her chapter of dominance was closed by two nasty KO/TKO defeats, perhaps among the nastiest in women’s MMA history, which occurred within the span of a year.
The first involved that ballistic missile of a head kick dealt by Holly Holm at UFC 193 (Round 2); which we could honestly spend days dissecting given the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding Rousey’s conman head coach in Edmond Tarverdyan.
We could also spend days dissecting the confounding decision to stand and trade with a goddamn boxing champion who made her look like a blind bull charging at a veteran matador instead of leveraging that world-class grappling skillset which earned her an Olympic medal. But that’s neither here nor there.
The second being when she was completely dismantled inside 48 seconds by the undeniable GOAT of women’s MMA, Amanda Nunes, at UFC 207 — a lopsided battering that effectively retired Rousey, which words still fail to fully encapsulate. Hence the video below.
That calibre of damage isn’t exactly something even the most elite athletes can just shrug off, despite the years since, and the full extent of its long-term implications has still yet to be seen.
Furthermore, while she pretty much dictated the game back in the day, at 36 years old, being anywhere close to competitive at this stage in her life is simply impossible.
Beyond the fitness aspect and seven-plus years spent away from MMA, the game has — for lack of a better phrase — evolved without her. Nobody becomes better after that lengthy of a period away from competition (except maybe Jon Jones but he’s an absolute freak of nature).
In fact, if you reviewed her classic moments right now, you’d be struck by how primitive they appear in comparison to present-day bouts.
Thankfully, this all appears to be nothing more than your run-of-the-mill bullshit report, as per the Daily Mail’s standard; with everyone from UFC President Dana White to renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani shutting down the rumours.
“There’s no shot. She’s accomplished everything she set out to do… Her dream was to win a UFC championship, then win a WWE championship, and she’s done it. Now she’s starting a family.”
For Ronda Rousey’s sake, let’s hope that really is the case.
We Like Those Odds
In defiance of the Vegas odds for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night, we’re backing the underdogs for both co-main bouts.
Punt at your own risk.
Rose Namajunas (+162) > Manon Fiorot (-188)
Manon Fiorot (10-1) has been steadily climbing the UFC ladder — currently #3 in the women’s flyweight rankings and #10 in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings — but I feel as though she has yet to be tested. Truly tested.
Personally, I’m picking up on a Mateusz Gamrot pre-Beneil Dariush bout vibe from her. Fiorot’s most impressive victory to date has been her last fight against Katlyn Chookagian (18-5); the latter of whom is clearly in the twilight years of her own career.
Aside from that, however, Fiorot’s record has largely been padded with Ws over journeywomen like Jennifer Maia (21-9). She hasn’t faced championship-calibre talent.
Rose Namajunas (11-5), on the other hand, is a proven championship-calibre talent.
And despite her past two lacklustre title fight performances against reigning division champion Zhang Weili (24-3) and Carla Esparza (19-7), at 31 years old — that’s two years Fiorot’s junior — we believe Thug Rose will have another shot at the belt within the coming 12 months.
You can bet on Rose Namajunas at $2.50 via Boss Bet.
Serghei Spivac (+162) > Ciryl Gane (-188)
A massive hole in Ciryl Gane’s (11-2) otherwise lethal game was exposed during his most recent title fight against Jon Jones (27-1). Well, actually… it was exposed a few fights prior to that; all the way back in UFC 270 against former champ and PFL signee Francis Ngannou (17-3).
Yes, Gane is an absolute technician when it comes to striking. By no means are we downplaying that facet of his arsenal. But to date, it’s clear he hasn’t been able to grapple at the same level as the heavyweight division’s championship-calibre talent. I mean… how do you get outwrestled by a boxer??!
So the questions become:
Has Gane and head coach Fernand Lopez made the necessary adjustments ahead this Fight Night?
How much progress can he have made in four months?
Will he be able to square away his opponent before he begins drowning on the canvas?
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Serghei Spivac (16-3) isn’t exactly a slouch, either. In fact, at face value, he’s a stylistic nightmare for Ciryl Gane.
Why? The Polar Bar has a tendency to come up against heavy-handed strikers with instant lights-out punching power like Derrick Lewis (27-11) and Australia’s own Tai Tuivasa (14-5), only to submit them — both by arm-triangle choke, in case you were wondering.
You can bet on Serghei Spivac at $2.42 via Boss Bet.
Upcoming Events
September 3rd [2 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Ciryl Gane vs Serghei Spivac
Accor Arena, Paris | FranceSeptember 10th [10 AM AEST]
UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney | AustraliaSeptember 17th [9 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko II
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas | USSeptember 24th [1 AM AEST]
Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs Fabian Edwards
3Arena, Dublin | IrelandSeptember 24th [6 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Rafael Fiziev vs Matteusz Gamrot
UFC APEX, Las Vegas | USSeptember 30th [10 AM AEST]
ONE Fight Night: Stamp Fairtex vs Ham Seo Hee
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang | Singapore