The MMA Ten keeps you updated on the latest news from the world of the UFC and beyond. This week: Hank Hill’s UFC 200 promo, Jimmy Kimmel’s hilarious UFC prank, and the champ puede hablar espanol?
Checking In with the Champ
We can’t get enough Michael Bisping. The new UFC middleweight champ is always doing something noteworthy. This week the champ was cutting promos in Spanish — and he thinks that’s downright hilarious.
I’ve no idea whether or not Bisping will successfully defend his title even once, but until we get there it’s going to be a lot of fun.
I Sell Propane and UFC 200
We knew Hank Hill loved Texas Rangers baseball, but had no idea he was such a big UFC fan. Hank teamed up with George Liquor from Ren and Stimpy to promote UFC 200 on Adult Swim. Watch as they swill some beer and argue about who will win the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Hank Hill is looking different these days, but he’s still got that great voice. I’ll tell you h-what.
DC, I Am Your Father
Daniel Cormier continues to try to rattle Jon Jones with trash talk, but Jones says it’s not working at all. Their first fight was rather one-sided, and most expect the rematch to go the same way if not worse for Cormier. After Jones won the first fight he gave Cormier the DX ‘Suck It’ gesture. He has a new plan for the rematch, and he talked about it on Fox Sports Live.
“I’ve been thinking, I remember one of the guys refused to call Ali, Muhammad Ali; they were calling him Cassius Clay. And I remember Ali beat the shit out of the guy and was like, ‘What’s my name? Say my name!’ So I may just have DC call me ‘daddy’ on the night of the fight.”
Personally, I’d rather see more WWE bits from Jones. A post-fight Ric Flair strut and some wooing would be amazing.
Kimmel Wants to Clean Up the UFC
Jimmy Kimmel and company thought it would be fun to prank the UFC. They sent ‘community activists’ Jack and Becky to picket and demand that the UFC remove all punches and kicks from their fights. They talk with fighters Luke Rockhold, Urijah Faber, Michael Bisping, and president Dana White. Hilarity ensues.
We picked a fight w/@DanaWhite @CowboyCerrone @Bisping @PaigeVanZantUFC @UrijahFaber @LukeRockhold – @UFC #TLCnotUFChttps://t.co/2pbWxKdEIT
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 29, 2016
Jon Jones Not A Big John Fan
One of the odder stories this week: Jon Jones would like referee Big John McCarthy to step away from reffing his UFC 200 fight with Daniel Cormier. Jones didn’t go into great detail as to why he’s not a fan of Big John reffing his bouts, but he did make his case as to why someone else should be the third man in the cage.
“He [officiates] probably once a week somewhere. For me, this is my life, this is my story, this is my legacy. This is everything to me, and if I don’t agree with his energy that he brings to the fight, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to be a part of it. You know what I mean? If you’re not welcome, why would you even want to be part of someone’s big night who doesn’t want you there. I would say, ‘you know, I’ll back out of this one, I don’t need to be a part of this one.'”
Why would McCarthy want to be there? Maybe — just maybe — because it takes place at the historic UFC 200 event, it’s a title fight, and because that’s his assignment. Jones has the horrible habit of leaving his hand open when parrying punches and trying to find his range, which in turn leads to an inordinate amount of eye pokes.
McCarthy is likely more apt to take a point from Jones than other refs, so perhaps that’s the real reason Jones prefers someone else. McCarthy has been doing this since Jones was in grade school. He’ll be just fine come fight night.
Diaz Bros. Still Doing Triathlons
Nick and Nate Diaz have the reputation of being big weed-smokers, but you have to question those accounts when you see them continually competing in triathlons. In their most recent race, Nate finished eighth and Nick finished ninth for their 30-34 age group. Remember that Nate took the Conor McGregor fight on just 11 days notice and claimed he had been “on the couch” before he got the call.
Both the Diaz brothers are very skilled fighters, but one of their biggest strengths is endurance. Competing in triathlons has a lot to do with that. They get a lot of flak for being crass, but when you look past that you see two of the more amazing athletes in pro sports today.
Pumped Up Kicks
Chi Lewis-Parry is a professional kickboxer for Glory. He has a little fun here with his coaches. Watch as he demonstrates a combination, then turns and plasters coach Rosendo Sanchez with a leg kick. Sanchez is able to check the kick, but hits the deck nonetheless.
A video posted by Daniel “DC” Cormier (@dc_mma) on
Daniel Cormier was very impressed with how Ro checked the kick, but we’re thinking Ro couldn’t care less about his defense right there. He’s dreaming of a nice ice pack while laying on the floor.
Super Samoan Knows Who’s the Boss
Mark Hunt recently appeared on axsTV’s Inside MMA for an interview with Mauro Ranallo and Bas Rutten. His phone rang, and when he saw it was his wife he knew he had just one option: answer it.
Hunt takes on Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, and he is the favorite in that fight. Perhaps no other fighter has the natural power that Hunt has. Brock Lesnar might be in for a rough ride that night unless he can get Hunt to the ground. Don’t miss it.
Home Depot…Bed Bath & Beyond If There’s Time
The amazing UFC weekend is almost here. The UFC will put on three events in three days beginning July 7. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Thursday, July 7 – UFC Fight Night 90. Rafael dos Anjos defends his UFC lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez, and Roy Nelson and Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis do battle in an exciting heavyweight matchup.
- Friday, July 8 – The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. The two coaches from this season of the UFC reality show will do battle for the UFC women’s strawweight title. Champion Joanna Jedrzekczyk looks to defend her title against Claudia Gadelha. This is a rematch of their non-title fight from 2014, a fight that Jedrzejczyk won via split decision. Plus, former Bellator champ Will Brooks makes his UFC debut against heavy-hitter Ross Pearson.
- Saturday, July 9 – UFC 200. The card to end all cards with three title fights and many of the best and most notable UFC fighters doing battle. Jones vs. Cormier, Tate vs. Nunes, and Aldo vs. Edgar are the three title fights, plus we get to see the return of Brock Lesnar as he fights Mark Hunt, Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon, Travis Browne vs. former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and much more. We’ll have a thorough UFC 200 preview for you next week.
Your MMA Knockout of the Week
Watch the aptly-named Brieta “Tank Girl” Carpenter wreck Serena DeJesus in just ten seconds at Tuff-N-Uff: Pack the Mack 3.
The Black Beast In Action
We cap off this edition of The MMA Ten with some footage of Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis training for his UFC Fight Night 90 fight with Roy Nelson. Lewis is 6’3″ and likely cuts weight to get to the 265lb. heavyweight limit. Lewis’ speed and power are exceptional.
There are an enormous amount of fights to look forward to in the next week, but don’t sleep on the Lewis vs. Nelson fight. Someone is going to sleep in that one, and most likely in epic fashion.
