Top UFC Star A Free Agent, FS1 Airing UFC Doc, UFC 167 Fighter Replaced, McCain Changes UFC Stance
- According to Ariel Helwani from UFC Tonight, Lyoto Machida's knockout of Mark Munoz at Ultimate Fight Night 30 last weekend was a crucial one for The Dragon.
Apparently, the bout with Munoz was the last on Machida's current contract. The impressive knockout now puts him in a much better position for renegotiation. Since the win, Machida's camp has been very vocal about their desire for a bout against fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort — a bout that could carry title implications for either man.
However, Machida's people are inclined to believe that Belfort will avoid the bout.
- The UFC has announced that Gian Villante, training partner to UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, will step up on short notice to take on Cody Donovan at UFC 167 in Robert Drysdale's place. Drysdale was forced out of the bout after registering an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio on an out-of-competition drug test.
Villante has appeared once before in the UFC, losing a majority technical decision to Ovince St. Preux at UFC 159 last April. UFC 167 will take place on November 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- In celebration of the UFC's 20th anniversary, the promotion will be rolling out a documentary entitled Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC. The documentary will air on FOX Sports 1 on November 5 at 9:00PM ET.
The two-hour documentary will feature a host of interviews, from former and current fighters, members of past ownership and even former detractors like Senator John McCain. McCain is famous for labeling the sport "human cockfighting" back in MMA's dark days. According to a press release for the documentary though, McCain has changed his mind.
"I was appalled," McCain said of the sport's less regulated period. "It was a matter of safety, the health and life of the combatants. I was interested in stopping the barbaric behavior that put people's lives at risk. It's become a sport with amazing popularity and success. There are rules, there are regulations, and there are restrictions and that I think has been a dramatic improvement and I'm very pleased to see it."
The documentary will focus on what the UFC means to those interviewed as well as on how the sport of MMA and the promotion have evolved over the years.