Latest news with #TheSchmo
USA Today
6 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Valentina Shevchenko calls for professionalism after Maycee Barber's fight night withdrawal
Valentina Shevchenko calls for professionalism after Maycee Barber's fight night withdrawal UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko believes Maycee Barber's medical issue could be related to her weight cut. Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) withdrew from her UFC on ESPN 68 headliner against Erin Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas just 30 minutes before she was scheduled to make the walk. She was transported to the hospital and still requires more medical testing to find out exactly what happened. Although Barber missed the non-title flyweight limit by half a pound, she doesn't believe her medical issue is weight-cut related. However, Shevchenko does. "Of course, everyone is now saying like, the health issue and they are seeing results, right? And definitely we all wish (Barber) a speedy recovery," Shevchenko told The Schmo. "The health is No. 1 for every athlete, but let's not forget that we are professional fighters, and we have to do everything. Not starting fight week, not starting one day before the weigh-in. We have to start it back. If we know that the weight cut will affect us somehow, we have to put our efforts to make it smoother." Shevchenko thinks after all the pre-fight hype and build-up, fighters have an obligation to make the walk. "You kind of like think what you have to do to make everyone not disappointed, what you have to put on a list when everyone is so attentive watching you. We have to be professionals, and not professional only in the last week," Shevchenko said. "We have to start it like, back, back over there, when we just hear the notice when our fight is going to be, then we start our like, going slowly down our weight cut, and if we know it's going to be affected, we have to take some measures to not be affected by circumstances. This is what I call professionalism."
USA Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Chael Sonnen on Belal Muhammad's UFC title loss: 'They don't ever give him his credit'
Chael Sonnen on Belal Muhammad's UFC title loss: 'They don't ever give him his credit' Chael Sonnen doesn't understand the criticism surrounding former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) lost his welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 last month in a Fight of the Night battle. Muhammad is often criticized for his fighting style, but he stood toe-to-toe with Della Maddalena for five rounds. Sonnen says the hate toward Muhammad is unwarranted. He praised him for taking on all comers and taking the long road to the top. "Why does the whole world treat him like crap? What did Belal ever do to anybody," Sonnen told The Schmo. "Half of the UFC, it's divided in the first floor and second floor. The guys on the second floor don't like him; the guys on the first floor do like him. I don't understand this. All Belal has ever done is fight the hardest guys, ask for opportunities and keep his mouth shut when it doesn't go his way. "He walks out there in an undercard against Sean Brady, who by the way nobody else has ever, prior or since, even come close to beating. They don't ever give him his credit. The best thing he's done, which was about two weeks after his fight, he called for his next fight which by the way had he won, is what he would have done days ago." Sonnen also liked the way Muhammad handled his loss, and his determination to get his belt back. "There's a time in life where if you ever want to become a gentlemen you have to learn how to lose," Sonnen added. "You have to learn that if things don't go your way, you get back on that horse. That's a great example that Belal set for everybody and it's yet another thing that he won't get credit for, but he deserves it."
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Former UFC champion Jamahal Hill shares an unusual interaction with upcoming rival Khalil Rountree Jr. - 'It's weird to me'
Jamahal Hill with The Schmo. Image via The Schmo/YouTube (screengrab) Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill Khalil Rountree Jr Jamahal Hill details the weird interaction with Khalil Rountree Jr, tags Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria bout as the best possible matchup for IFW Jamahal Hill Details 'Weird" Locker Room Encounter with Khalil Rountree, Alex Pereira Title Rematch will face light heavyweight contender. in Azerbaijan on June 21, 2025. The fighters were supposed to face each other earlier at UFC Kansas City, which got replaced by the Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates bout. Both Hill and Rountree are looking for redemption following the previous losses faced by the fighters. In a recent interview, Hill deep dives into the relationship he shares with Rountree while talking about the possible main card event of the upcoming International Fight and awkward conversations between fighters are quite common in the world of combat sports. And former UFC champion Jamahal Hill is not new to the experience. The fighter has had such interaction with other athletes like Alex Pereira ahead of Pereira's bout against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Hill's recent confrontation involves his upcoming opponent for UFC Azerbaijan, Khalil Rountree Jr. Both fighters are currently training for their upcoming bout in Las Vegas, specifically at the UFC Performance Institute , a place that facilitates innovation, research and training for the athletes and members of the MMA in his recent interview with the Schmo, shares an awkward incident that the fighter had to face while confronting his rival Rountree in the locker I was in the UFC PI, walked into the locker room, and I'll say 'What's up' to anybody. And I walked into the locker room and he's like, 'Man, you really don't like me do you?'…and I was like what? And he was like 'You really don't like me, do you?'', The statement took Hill by surprise and he continued, 'I was like 'I don't even know you, we haven't even had a conversation'.It's almost like he's gotta build me up as this villain or this person that he hates, which is fine with me.'Hill further explained the possible repercussions of such an attitude, 'But whenever you start putting the energy off the UFC staff and sh*t like that like we can't be around each other, or something's going to happen, you're not going to do sh*t. So what's the point of that? It's weird to me.'When Hill was asked about what he is most prepared for in context of his rival, the fighter talked about the consistency that Rountree showcases within the Octagon, 'He is able to take damage and still have a game to throw and deal it out. So you got to be ready for that. He's got some fast twitches on some of his strikes into his game. So you got to be ready for that as well.'Towards the end of the 10-minute-long interview, Hill puts his opinion in on the possible main card event of the International Fight Week, 'I am hearing Islam and Topuria, but who knows man!' The fighter continued, 'If they want to make a lot of noise about it, I don't see too many other fights outside of that, you know.'Also read: 'I want to fight asap' - UFC Middleweight contender Bo Nickal opens up on future plans following the first loss of his pro-MMA career Both Hill and Rountree faced defeats in their previous matchups and are looking for a redemption towards the next title shot of the division. After losing the belt to Pereria, Hill lost another bout against Jiří Procházka and is aiming to bounce back and claim the light heavyweight championship belt.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jiri Prochazka open to facing winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg at UFC London
Jiri Prochazka will have his eyes peeled for the UFC Fight Night 255 co-main event. Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) meets rising contender Carlos Ulberg (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in a pivotal light heavyweight clash Saturday at The O2 (ESPN+). Originally eyeing a title shot next, Prochazka's plans pivoted after all signs are pointing to a title-fight rematch between champion Magomed Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) and Alex Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC). Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who's coming off a knockout of Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 in January, wants to stay busy and thinks the winner of Blachowicz vs. Ulberg makes sense for him next. 'I'm just looking for a good fight,' Prochazka told The Schmo. 'But after today's information, like Alex and Ankalaev, they're already confirmed their fight. I don't want to just stay and watch them and wait for the winner. Maybe I will fight with one of these guys with the winner from Saturday night. So let's see who will be the winner. Let the better (man) win.' After three title defenses over Jamahal Hill, Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree, Pereira lost his light heavyweight title to Ankalaev by unanimous decision at UFC 313. Prochazka has no issues with 'Poatan' getting an immediate rematch. 'I think for Alex, it's right,' Prochazka said. 'He has to have the first chance to – he deserves that, to fight against the champion right after. But still, I think he needs a little bit of time to refresh himself and take a little bit of time to upgrade his style, upgrade a few things, and win the battle.' For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall thinks Curtis Blaydes win should be considered legit title defense
UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall wonders if he's already notched his first official title defense. Aspinall is just over a month away from surpassing Renan Barao's record of holding the interim title at 535 days. Aspinall claimed the interim belt with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023, and has since defended it with a first-round TKO of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July. Chomping at the bit to get his title-unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will meet with company brass in London this week to seek answers. 'I don't know. You see, it gets a bit complicated with that because to be the best heavyweight ever, you only need three title defenses, and do I have one or not?' Aspinall told The Schmo. 'I don't know. I'm not sure. But I think I should have one because it was a legit title defense, but it was for an interim title, and it becomes a bit weird. So these are the questions I'm going to be asking the UFC.' After finishing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones said he would need 'f*ck you' money to consider facing Aspinall over Alex Pereira. But after Pereira lost his light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, Aspinall says Jones now has no other choice but to fight him. 'I'm an Alex Pereira fan. I love his style. I love the run he has been on,' Aspinall said in a one-on-one interview with Adam Catterall. 'I really respect where he's come from and everything like that, but it couldn't have happened at a better time for me, personally. 'There's nowhere to go for Johnny. He either has to fight me or retire now. If he does retire, everyone knows that he will have been avoiding me. Literally, there isn't another fight for Jon at the moment, so it works out pretty good.'
