Another Fighter Suspended, Former UFC Title Challenger Headed To Bellator, UFC 202 Behind-The-Scenes
- The videos for UFC 202 just keep coming, as "The Thrill and the Agony" has been put together. The video, which is available for full viewing on UFC Fight Pass, can be previewed above. It highlights the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz main event and Anthony Johnson's victory over Glover Teixeira.
In it we see a meeting backstage between Johnson and UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, along with behind-the-scenes footage of Diaz talking to his teammates, McGregor celebrating with his family and his coach discussing the bout.
- Rory MacDonald is headed to Bellator MMA. The former UFC welterweight title contender is expected to finalize details of a new contract soon. The signing was first reported by FloCombat.
MacDonald lost to Stephen Thompson via decision earlier this year after falling to then-UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in January. The Canadian fighter would join the likes of Benson Henderson, Matt Mitrione and Josh Thomson to sign with Scott Coker's Bellator MMA promotion after runs with the UFC.
The current Bellator welterweight champion is Andrey Koreshkov, who bested Henderson earlier this year via decision.
- UFC welterweight George Sullivan has been handed an interesting suspension, as USADA gave him a provisional suspension for admitting to using a banned substance. Sullivan was removed from a July fight card after coming forward ahead of the test results.
The UFC released a statement regarding the matter recently:
"UFC was made aware today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, that it has informed George Sullivan of a potential anti-doping violation and provisional suspension based on his declaration of a prohibited substance. UFC previously announced that Sullivan voluntarily disclosed this information to USADA and, out of an abundance of caution, Sullivan was removed by UFC from his scheduled bout on July 23, 2016, in Chicago. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Sullivan's declaration of the use can be taken into consideration by USADA during the results management and adjudication process.
"USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, a full and fair legal review process is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed."