moraes-knee-sterling

The MMA Ten keeps you updated on the latest news from the world of the UFC and beyond!

This week: We have the MMA Knockout of the Year, part two, Floyd Mayweather says he has a UFC contract offer, plus concaved skulls, horrendous hematomas, and a UFC fighter bites his opponent!

Here is Your MMA Knockout of the Year, Pt. 2

We told you last week that Francis Ngannou’s savage finish of Alistair Overeem was the Knockout of the Year in MMA, but Marlon Moraes’ knee of death that landed square on the chin of Aljamain Sterling demands consideration. Moraes kneed Aljo so hard that he actually dabbed while unconscious.

After watching that, you’re probably wondering if Aljo survived. He reports he’s doing just fine. But he knows “The Dab” will live on forever.

Your MMA Hematoma of the Week

Alexis Davis won a narrow decision over Liz Carmouche last weekend, but she paid quite a price for it. She left with a massive hematoma.

December 9, 2017; Fresno, CA, USA; Alexis Davis (red gloves) fights Liz Carmouche (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Save Mart Center. Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s another look at it from her post-fight interview with MMAJunkie:

UFC Alexis Davis hematoma

“I don’t get hit well in the temple. It never really turns out well for me,” Davis said.

Floyd Mayweather: I Can Make a Billion in UFC

LAS VEGAS, NV – AUGUST 26: (R-L) Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a punch at Conor McGregor during their super welterweight boxing match on August 26, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Floyd Mayweather retired from boxing, but now claims he has been offered a multi-fight deal to fight in the UFC. Mayweather was doing a live Periscope session when he uttered this:

“They just called me not too long ago and asked me to come back. I can come right back. If I want to, I can come right back to the UFC. I can go fight in the Octagon – I can go and do a three or four-fight deal in the octagon and make $1 billion.”

I’m not sure how Floyd would get $250 million per fight, but even if that were the case, a four-fight deal assumes he actually competes four times. Without a wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu background, Mayweather would get choked out in a hurry, similar to the fate James Toney suffered at the hands of Randy Couture. Toney took his paycheck from that fight and never came back.

I doubt Floyd would humiliate himself repeatedly just to make some more money but if he wants to try, we want to watch.

UFC’s Jason Knight Does His Mike Tyson Biting Impression

Jason Knight battled Gabriel Benitez last Saturday and there was one sequence that stood out in the fight. Knight broke out his Mike Tyson impression, biting down on Benitez’s finger during a submission attempt.

Benitez described the incident to MMAFighting.com:

“All of the sudden, I just felt the bite, and it happened twice,” Benitez explained. “The first one, I stopped for a second and thought, ‘no, it can’t be,’ and the second one, that’s when I yelled because it hurt a lot. My finger is actually a bit swollen, but nothing major happened. He was wearing a mouthpiece but that protected the top teeth, not the bottom, so I did feel the teeth but it didn’t open (cut) me or anything, it was just the pressure of the bite which hurt a lot.”

Fighter Models New Version of Skull Island

A Muay Thai fighter found himself with a new version of Skull Island after some nasty, well-placed elbows concaved his forehead in Thailand.

The good news is he had surgery and will make a full recovery.

Brett Johns Hits Rare Calf Slicer

The Calf Slicer is an extremely painful submission, and it’s rarely hit in MMA competition. Brett “The Pikey” Johns pulled off just the second one in UFC history last week.

Johns explained the feeling of being caught in a calf slicer to MMAFighting.com:

“It’s a horrific little submission, and its a pretty painful one,” Johns said. “The best way to describe it was, when you get a door, and when it’s just about to shut, you put a plank of wood by the joint, obviously it’s going to snap off the hinges. And that’s the exact similar thing, but with the knee. It’s a horrific injury, it is. I’ve been badly hurt by it before and you struggle to walk for a couple days.”

Your MMA Twitter Beef of the Week

Oct 28, 2017; Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; Demian Maia (red gloves) fights Colby Covington (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ibirapuera Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, rising prospect Colby Covington and UFC analyst Kenny Florian went at it on Twitter. Apparently, Covington wasn’t happy with a segment Florian took part in with champion Tyron Woodley in which they described Covington’s potential path to a title shot. Florian, a former UFC contender, bears a solid resemblance to Ben Stiller, and Covington used that in his first tweet.

Florian with the counter punch:

Covington slapped back:

Apparently, it ended there — at least for now. It seems Covington is trying to become the new Conor McGregor, at least in terms of running his mouth to get attention. Who can blame him? It’s a tactic that works in the UFC: talk trash, make noise and you will be rewarded.

Australia Fines Fabricio Werdum for Boomerang Incident

Speaking of Covington, it wasn’t long ago that he got into a scuffle with former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum down under. Covington allegedly said something like “filthy Brazilians” in front of Werdum, who proceeded to knock a cell phone out of Covington’s hand. Covington responded with a kick and eventually Werdum threw a boomerang that struck Covington in the neck. Werdum was fined $600, approximately $460 in US currency.

Let’s relive that brilliant moment, shall we?

Your MMA Nickname Battle of the Week

The UFC is in Winnipeg for UFC Fight Night: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos Saturday night and we’ve selected Julian “The Cuban Missile Crisis” Marquez vs. Darren “The Dentist” Stewart for your MMA nickname battle of the week. Marquez appeared on the UFC’s Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series over the summer and delivered a knockout kick that earned him a UFC contract.

Snoop Dogg wanted Marquez to change his nickname to Big Foot, but MMA already has one of those and “The Cuban Missile Crisis” is hard to improve on. As for Stewart, he has his nickname “The Dentist” because he rearranges teeth during his fights.

Before his fight with Francimar Barroso, Stewart said, “He’s just another patient who’s gonna get drilled.” Stewart might want to check the power on that drill He’s 0-2 in the UFC and needs a win here or he may be cut from the promotion. You can see this fight Saturday night on FS1.

MMA Calendar

Dec. 15 – Bellator 191: McDonald vs. Ligier
Dec. 16 – UFC on Fox 26: Lawler vs. dos Anjos
Dec. 30 – UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm
Jan. 14 – UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi
Jan. 20 – Bellator 192: Lima vs. MacDonald

About Matt Lo Cascio

Matt Lo Cascio has been covering MMA since 2009, mostly in the midwest for ChicagosMMA.com. He also writes UFC previews for Draft Kings, and is the play-by-play announcer for the XFO, seen on UFC Fight Pass.