UFC On Fox 14 Weigh Ins, Why UFC Re-Signed Legend, Possible Break For UFC In New York?
- Regarding the UFC's signing of Mirko CroCop, it's widely considered that the company didn't have any interest in bringing the MMA legend back to the company until rumors of a Bellator deal circulated. The UFC stepped in and offered him a deal.
The 40-year old CroCop has only two losses in MMA and kickboxing outside of the UFC since 2007. He'll be taking on Gabriel Gonzaga later this year in a re-match from their famous 2007 upset in which saw Gonzaga use CroCop's signature head kick against him to score a major KO victory.
- The UFC and MMA in general has had a highly publicized war to become legalized within New York state for several years. That war may have just taken a big swing in UFC's favor.
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested on charges of corruption this week. Silver turned himself in after accusation that he received millions of dollars in bribes over several years. Silver has adamantly opposed the regulation of MMA within New York.
It also doesn't help that UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta also co-owns a chain of casinos in which has been in a unionization battle with the Las Vegas Culinary Union. The UFC has accused the Culinary Union of using their influence and power to sway the votes.
- The UFC on Fox 14 weigh-ins are in the books, and several big fights are official. Featherweight Paul Redmond missed the featherweight mark, but all other fighters were successful The full weigh-in results are below:
Main Card (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
Alexander Gustafsson (#1) (205) vs. Anthony Johnson (#3) (204)
Dan Henderson (#9) (185) vs. Gegard Mousasi (#8) (185)
Ryan Bader (#7) (205) vs. Phil Davis (#5) (206)
Akira Corassani (145) vs. Sam Sicilia (145)
Prelim Card (FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET)
Nico Musoke (171) vs. Albert Tumenov (170)
Sultan Aliev (170) vs. Kenny Robertson (170)
Makwan Amirkhani (145) vs. Andy Ogle (146)
Nikita Krylov (205) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (205)
Anthony Christodoulou (156) vs. Mairbek Taisumov (156)
Mirsad Bektic (145) vs. Paul Redmond (149)*
Prelim Card (UFC Fight Pass, 4 p.m. ET)
Konstantin Erokhin (229) vs. Viktor Pesta (239)
Chris Beal (126) vs. Neil Seery (125)
L.O.S. The Butcher contributed to this article.