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7/1/16: Top Five Stories of the Week
In our regular Friday feature, we list out the most newsworthy stories/articles from the past week in MMA.
5. Anthony Johnson-Glover Teixeira shifted to UFC 202; more fights booked: A family emergency took Anthony Johnson off this month’s UFC on Fox 20 event, and as a result Glover Teixeira was pulled as well. They’re only being delayed a month, though, with the UFC announcing this week that they’ll fight at UFC 202. Several other intriguing fights have been added to that August 20 card as well in Demian Maia vs. Carlos Condit, Rick Story vs. Donald Cerrone, Cody Garbrandt vs. Takeya Mizugaki, and more.
4. Rampage beats Ishii in Bellator return; Chandler KOs Pitbull: At Bellator’s “Dynamite II” card last week, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson returned to action for Bellator. He edged a questionable decision over Satoshi Ishii in the main event, and he’s believed to have one more fight remaining with the organization after reaching a settlement to their legal matters. In other MMA action on the card, Michael Chandler scored a highlight reel KO over Patricky “Pitbull” Freire to take the vacant Bellator Lightweight Championship.
3. Michael Chiesa injury takes Tony Ferguson out of UFC Fight Night 91 main event: Tony Ferguson was supposed to face off with Khabib Nurmagomedov in April in what could have been a No. 1 contender fight. Then injury pushed him out until July, and the UFC booked him against Michael Chiesa in a main event fight in South Dakota. A step down, but an entertaining fight nonetheless. Now, an injury to Chiesa has taken him out of that fight, and Ferguson now faces a newcomer in featherweight Landon Vannata, moving up a class to make his UFC debut on short notice. In turn, Michael McDonald and John Lineker will now headline the July 13 card on Fox Sports 1.
2. B.J. Penn gets six month sanction from USADA, calls out GSP: B.J. Penn may yet return to the Octagon in 2016. The former two-division champ got pulled from UFC 199 when he admitted to getting a doctor administered IV which was above the threshold of fluid allowable under USADA rules prior to an out of competition drug test. After adjudication, Penn accepted a six month sanction, and can return in the fall. The day the news came down, Penn responded to longtime foe Georges St-Pierre saying he could make lightweight by calling for that fight in New York.
1. UFC vet Ryan Jimmo killed in hit and run; suspects charged: In an absolutely tragic and eerily familiar story, the MMA world lost yet another fighter in a hit and run incident. Longtime light heavyweight vet Ryan Jimmo was run down after a verbal altercation in Edmonton over the weekend, passing away due to “blunt force trauma” from the incident. After a brief investigation, Edmonton police located the vehicle and apprehended two suspects, one of whom has been charged with second degree murder. It’s of little consolation to the family and friends of the 34-year-old Jimmo, who had last competed in the UFC, but those responsible will be held accountable.
[Photo (c) Jason Silva via USA Today Sports]
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