Follow along on Chad Mendes’ journey to his shot at the featherweight title against Jose Aldo at UFC 179 in Brazil.
Go behind the scenes during the lead up and during the fight to hear Mendes talk about the experience.
Fight Night Fairfax Free Fight: Ricardo Lamas vs. Dennis Bermudez
Mexican featherweight contender Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas battles Dennis Bermudez in his home country of Mexico.
Lamas looks to make his climb back into title contention as he takes on Chad “Money” Mendes in the main event at UFC Fight Night 63 Fairfax, this Saturday April 4th.
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UFC Fight Night 63 Fairfax Weigh-In Results
UFC Fight Night 63, comes from Fairfax in Virginia. Headlined by featherweights Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas, with up-and-coming lightweight Al Iaquinta taking on Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event.
As always before any of the fights can take place it is the all important weigh-ins.
Here are the weigh-in results:
Main Card
Chad Mendes (145.5 lbs) vs. Ricardo Lamas (145.5 lbs)
Jorge Masvidal (156.5 lbs)* vs. Al Iaquinta (155.5 lbs)
Michael Chiesa (155.5 lbs) vs. Mitch Clarke (155 lbs)
Julianna Pena (136 lbs) vs. Milana Dudieva (135.5 lbs)
Clay Guida (146 lbs) vs. Robbie Peralta (145 lbs)
Dustin Poirier (155.5 lbs) vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (155.5 lbs)
Preliminary Card
Liz Carmouche (134.5 lbs) vs. Lauren Murphy (135 lbs)
Gray Maynard(155 lbs) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (155.75 lbs)
Shamil Abdurahimov (255 lbs) vs. Timothy Johnson (263.5 lbs)
Ronald Stallings (185 lbs) vs. Justin Jones (185.5 lbs)
* Has 2 hours to make-weight
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‘I know I will never have an opponent as tough as my teammates’ Lauren Murphy
Lauren Murphy [8-1] will this weekend be facing Liz Carmouche [9-5] in her second outing for the UFC at Fight Night 63 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Not only is Lauren one tough athlete in the octagon, she also says exactly how she feels without holding back.
In this interview, I asked Lauren not only about her upcoming fight with Liz Carmouche, her thoughts on the Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia fight but the current scoring system in place, amongst a few other gems and let’s just say Lauren has not minced her words. Have a read.
First of I’d like to take you back to your fight with Sara McMann and I’d like to ask, as Joe Rogan puts it “UFC jitters really exist”. Did you feel this in your UFC debut fight, and did that did happen for you or as you stated in our last interview “It is just another cage. There maybe a few more cameras, a few more lights, a few more people in the audience, but there is only one opponent and she is human, just like me”.
I got a little jittery. I was under the bright lights, fighting a woman I’d only ever seen on TV in the world-famous Octagon. It was a little nerve-wracking. I got excited and didn’t think as well as I wanted to.
Talking of your debut fight against Sara McMann, having being scored in the way that it was and although you were the more active fighter, even from bottom position landing shots (and I’m not taking anything away from Sara McMann in that fight), do you feel the judging system as a whole needs to be looked at in the way judges are scoring these kind of fights?
I think the thing that we could really revise would be, I’d like to see judges explain why they think one fighter won a particular round. Just a quick sentence on the scorecard would be sufficient: “Maintained top position”, “was more active fighter”, “landed more effective punches/kicks”; something like that. Sometimes after fights we’re all left wondering what fight the judges were looking at, and I think if they had to provide an explanation we wouldn’t be so confused.
It was announced 10 weeks ago that you would be facing Liz Carmouche at UFC Fight Night 63 in Fairfax on April 4th for your second UFC outing. True Lauren Murphy fans will know that you never shy away from a tough fight, infact you welcome them. What was your initial reaction when Sean Shelby offered you this fight, as I know you had been vocal on social media about other possible match-ups?
I said yes right away. My manager called me with the matchup and I knew it was perfect immediately. I’d still like to fight Bethe Correia.
Okay so I’m just going to throw this one in here! When I saw on your Twitter feed a fair few weeks back, that you were asking to fight Bethe Correia, my own eyes lit up. Lauren Murphy fans that know you, know that you bring it in every fight that you have, so in saying that, you and Bethe in my own opinion would have made perfect sense in adding value and integrity, let alone a perfect match up stylistically, but it was not meant to be! How do you feel that the champion Ronda Rousey has a crack at putting Bethe Correia in her place, as Ronda Rousey has clearly stated it was her choice because of it being personal?
I think it’s ridiculous. Bethe is not a great fighter. She has zero punching power, is a mediocre grappler and can’t wrestle. She’s always talking about the “power of her hands” and “the weight of her fists”….no one believes that shit. She beat Jessamyn Duke in a decision and then beat Shayna Baszler. No one is impressed by that. They are the two worst fighters in any division in the UFC, who cares if she beat them. Her opponents have a combined record of 1-6 in the UFC, and the “1” is a win over Peggy Morgan who is no longer in the UFC after having one fight. I guess the UFC gave Bethe to Ronda to fight as a favor…that’s a pretty big favor.
You’ve been at The MMA Lab for quite a while now. How do you find that you have settled in, and how are you finding that you have been evolving, whilst being under the tutelage of John Crouch and training with arguably some of the best athletes around at the moment such as Benson Henderson, Jocelyn Lybarger, Joe Riggs and Mitch Clarke?
I’ve been at The MMA Lab for a year! I love it there. The team is a family, everyone is very kind. When I got there I felt like the worst fighter in the room, and maybe I was, but because of that, I’ve come a loooong way. The training is difficult but the reason I love it so much is because I know I will never have an opponent as tough as my teammates, and no fight will be as hard as any fight camp I go through.
Once again according to MMA Odds for your upcoming fight against Liz Carmouche, it appears you are ‘The underdog’ – I know you have previously stated you ‘like being the underdog’ but just for once, wouldn’t it be nice to have the betting odds on your side? (although self belief beats betting odds any day in my opinion).
It doesn’t matter to me. The odds makers don’t know shit. They don’t know how hard I’ve worked, they don’t see the progress I’ve made. It doesn’t matter to me what they think. It’s just like the media controlled rankings. The rankings are a joke. The media decides who they like by who gives the best interviews, creates the most traffic for their site, and who they are buddies with, not by who fights the best. I decided a while ago that none of that matters.
Looking at Liz Carmouche’s record, she has 6 TKO wins, 2 Submission wins, 1 decision win and 5 losses, subsequently you also have 6 TKO wins, 2 decisions and the split decision loss to Sara McMann. On paper this looks set to be pretty much a great striking battle with knockout potential, although, this is MMA we are talking about, therefore anything can happen. Without giving your own game plan away, what do you hope Liz Carmouche brings to the cage On April 4th?
I don’t know what Liz will do. Neither of us have ever been known as great strikers, all our TKO’s come on the ground from ground and pound. If it comes to a striking battle, it’ll be because we’re evenly matched as grapplers. It doesn’t matter, I’m ready for anything!
What challenges do you think Liz Carmouche may pose on the night and where do you feel that you will be stronger in this fight?
Liz is strong, and tough, and she works hard…But no one works harder than I do, no one is harder on themselves than I am, so no one makes the progress between fights that I make. I am not underestimating how physical she is, or how tough she is. Those are her biggest strengths. I’ve just been working on being a better MMA fighter. I think that’s where I’ll be strongest.
Liz Carmouche broke WMMA history in being one of the first women to compete in the new UFC bantamweight division, with obviously the title holder and current champion Ronda Rousey, for which she gladly asked for the fight. When news came through that the UFC were now having 1) a female bantamweight division, 2) Ronda Rousey was given the title, 3) Liz Carmouche offered to fight Ronda Rousey and in turn made WMMA history. Did this motivate you even harder in striving to becoming a better athlete yourself, for when you finally accepted the UFC’s offer this time around?
Yes.
In the eight months you have been ‘off’, as there have been no scheduled fights for you (not, that you have not been asking of course), have you been competing in any BJJ/Grappling competition’s at all just so you can sharpen up your arsenal of weapons in your ever-growing box of tools? If so can you talk me through your achievements you have gained during this time competing.
I competed at no-gi worlds this year and won my division and placed in the open. That was pretty cool, but next year I’d like to do it again at a higher belt level. I also did a couple gi tournaments and stuff, just working on my grappling in general.
UFC Media Days! How do you think you managed your first one back in August 2014, for your debut fight against Sara McMann and how are you feeling about this one coming up for your fight against Liz Carmouche, is it a case of knowing what is to be expected from you now?
I haven’t been a part of any media days. I just give a couple of interviews to different outlets through the week, but it’s been like that for every fight for the last several years.
Let’s talk about ‘The Lauren Murphy Documentary’ – I heard it is now complete and you had your own private viewing so you could sit back and enjoy the moment. What was it like to finally see it on-screen completed and did it exceed your expectations?
A guy named Jay Clark edited the documentary and put all the footage together, and he did an amazing job. It was really well done. It just shows a small part of my story, who I am, what I’ve done. Maybe someone somewhere will be inspired by it.
I’m still not sure where it’s going to be released, probably at small theaters locally around Houston and Alaska, and then we’ll go from there. It might end up on YouTube.
Lastly are there any sponsors or Thank You’s you would like to give to anyone?
Always I want to thank my team, which not only includes my coaches and team mates, but also my husband, who is my rock, and my best friends, who are the peanut butter and jelly of the bread slices of my life. I’d like to thank everyone who sponsored me for this fight, particularly MMA Signatures. AJ Hiller (the owner of the company) is a great dude and has a really cool business idea, so make sure you check him out.
Many thanks for your time Lauren it is always appreciated.
You can keep up to date with Lauren on her Twitter account here.
You can keep up to date with Lauren of her Facebook page here.
You can keep up to date on The Lauren Murphy documentary here.
UFC Fight Night 63, happens this Saturday, April 4th from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virgina. Headlined by Chad Mendes vs. Ricardo Lamas and free to air on FOX Sports 1, BT Sports in the UK.
If you have missed any of the previous articles on Lauren you can view them here:
https://fiveroundswithemma.com/2013/12/12/part-2-introducing-the-inspiring-lauren-murphy/
https://fiveroundswithemma.com/2014/08/07/i-like-being-the-underdog-lauren-murphy-on-ufc-debut/
Photo Credits: Lauren Murphy Facebook
Photo Credits: Altanta Open/Kill Cliff/Moskova
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‘Park is a good kicker, but as soon as I am inside kicking range, he will go to sleep’ Chi Lewis-Parry on GLORY WS Debut
British athlete Chi Lewis-Parry will be making his GLORY World Series debut this Friday, April 3rd in Dubai on the Superfight Series 20 section of the card.
The 6ft 9in, 115 Kg heavyweight, who, is also still actively signed to Asian Mixed Martial Arts company ONE Championship, will be facing Yong-Su Park in his debut performance for GLORY World Series.
I caught up with Chi before he flew out to Dubai and all I can say is, we managed to cover, GLORY WS, Yong-Su Park, ONE Championship, Brandon Vera, Alistair Overeem, and much more, have a read.
I know you have had a family vacation in Canada, was there any ‘slipping off’, say to Tri-Star Gym to fit some training in or was it purely a family vacation?
I did think about it and it did cross my mind. I did contact Tri-Star but because I was only in Canada for seven days to see my family as it was my sons 2nd birthday, I would have been there a whole day. As anyone who knows me, family come’s first.
It was announced on 24th February 2015, that you signed to GLORY World Series, congratulations. Can you talk me through how that opportunity presented itself to you?
I got a call from my management (Mogul Fight Management) whilst I was in Canada on vacation, stating that GLORY World Series were interested in me. I asked my manager to email me over the contract there and then so I could look it over, after going down to concierge to receive it, I signed it practically straight away and emailed back. I was more than excited to showcase my striking skills to the world.
Your opponent for your debut GLORY bout has now changed and you will now be facing Yong-Su Park instead of Xavier Vigney. How long ago did you know of the change and what was your initial reaction to the news?
I found out Vigney had pulled out before I had another opponent; obviously I was disappointed. I’d been struggling to get fights and thought ‘oh no am I cursed’ but it didn’t take them [GLORY] long to get another opponent for me, within a week. It is a testament to GLORY as a promotion for how they got another opponent so quick. I didn’t think for one second I wouldn’t get a fight, I knew I would get one.
As for Vigney it would have been a one-sided fight if he was still my original opponent, he would have had nothing to trouble me with. When our paths cross meet again, and they will, he wont trouble me. I also see no problems with Park, ‘he is a good kicker but as soon as I am inside kicking range he will go to sleep’. Everyone has got a punchers chance. Every fight starts standing on their feet. I do not see any of these fights lasting [Vigney and Park]. You can read that anyway you want. I am not arrogant or cocky in that way. Buy the fight you will see.
Yong-Su Park brings a lot more wealth and experience than your original opponent. I for one know you will welcome that, having said that, do you feel that there maybe any pressure on yourself now?
There is never any pressure. I feel pressure to hurry up and get a flight to Canada and go and see my son, watch him grow up. Everyday, is a day lost not watching him grow up. This is a guy fighting for whatever his reasons are, just like I am. His skillset vs. my skillset although, my skillset is ultimately better. He is a good kicker for which I am excited about and that is a good scalping for me, coming from a Taekwondo background and saying I knocked you out with my hands, I didn’t kick you, what good were your kicks when you got knocked out?!
MMA fans know you for being signed to Asian Mixed Martial Arts company ONE Championship, now that you are also signed to GLORY World Series can you clear up the confusion between the two organisations and set the record straight?
I’m still very much with ONE Championship. I’m an active fighter within their promotion and I am very happy with them. I will be fighting for the title very soon, I don’t doubt that for a second, they are fully aware that I have signed with GLORY WS and vice versa. They are both totally different promotions one in Kickboxing and one in MMA , ultimately both great promotions. I feel this is the dawn of a new era, not just for fighters, but for british fighters coming out and with that I am saying we can fight on the biggest kickboxing shows and the biggest MMA shows side by side.
You have always stated that you have a great friendship in Alistair Overeem who has been a wealth of support and knowledge to yourself. With you now competing in both MMA and Kickboxing do you see yourself aiming to achieve what Alistair has already achieved in both sports thus far?
Absolutely. That’s exactly what goes through my mind. No one has done it since Alistair. It has come full circle. Alistair has been my inspiration, from watching him in the sport to becoming my friend and training partner. I am in the position where I can repeat what Alistair has done for which there has already been a mapped out plan and it is running its course, that is the penultimate, that is where I want to be. It’s not like it can’t happen, I have to get through some tough guys, guys who are worthy of being champion, but I am not focussing on anybody else, I am just focussing on me. I’m not even thinking about Park and what he can do, I am thinking about me and what I can do, where I am going and where I am going to be in a year from now. I’m not doubting that I can achieve the greatness on the level that Alistair Overeem has previously shown, that will happen. I will get a shot at Rico Verhoeven [current heavyweight champion] and I will be the ONE Championship Heavyweight champion.
Talking of Alistair Overeem, the performance he gave at UFC 185 was in my opinion reminded me of the old Alistair Overeem and what he is still truly capable of. What were your own thoughts on his performance that night?
Brilliant. I spoke to him after the fight and said “Dude you were a scary man before, but you looked monstrous out there despite you were caught in the third round you looked very elusive”. Being down at Jackson’s MMA you can see he is absorbing a lot of other styles in him, you can see Jon Jones in him a lot, he looked like an animal.
His [Overeem’s] knees are hard, I know having sparred with him plenty of times, now I have to look for new patterns in him!
Being amongst one of the most mentally focussed athletes I have met and interviewed, where do you see yourself going in the ranks of GLORY World Series and ONE Championship?
In the title mix for GLORY and I will be the champion of ONE Championship. I will earn my stripes for GLORY World Series but I will definitely be in the mix as a title contender. The promotion is bigger, it will take a bit longer, but I am willing to earn my stripes, but I will be in the mix. ONE Championship it is a lot smaller division and I will be Heavyweight Champion.
In ONE Championship it appears Brandon Vera is hot on your list of opponents for whom you would like to respectfully challenge next, also it appears this is one the fans would also like to see, but he appears to be somewhat maybe, avoiding you?
I’ve had enough trying to be diplomatic about it, he is fat when he fights, he is out of shape when he is not fighting so he is probably super fat and super out of shape, therefore thinks this……This guy is on it, younger than me, he’s hungrier than me, hes game. Eventually he has 3 options 1) Drop down the division and go to Light Heavyweight, 2) Retire or 3) Face me. I’m ready to face him.
Chi Lewis-Parry GLORY 20 DUBAI Photoshoot by James Law
Who would you like to face next at GLORY World Series? Is there anyone that you already have on your ‘respectful achievement list’ so to speak?
I’m happy to earn my stripes. I’m happy to face whoever GLORY World Series put in front of me. I’m sure they a plan for me.
At GLORY ’10’ Nick Diaz’s good friend ‘Joe Schilling’ was taking part (for which he won) and he was quoted on saying “For me this is a little more of a hardcore sport than MMA or Boxing” with that in mind, what are your thoughts on the two different sports; MMA and Kickboxing?
You’re going to come across a different level of striker in GLORY as that is all they do, for a guy to come from a MMA world to go against a 100% striker you will be naive to think you can out strike a guy who does this all the time, everyday. I have to break my training up, wrestling, jiu jitsu, striking so everything flows, my timing will be impeccable, so in that respect, yeah you’re just standing there taking a beating, especially if you’re losing, you can’t take the guy down so you better man the fu*k up. Take care of business.
Your legendary training videos with best friend and training partner Danny Brennan; for people who do not know you or have not met you, can you describe the movement and motivation behind them?
I have a great relationship with Danny, we are the best of friends aswell as training partners. I was born a kid, I am still a big kid, I just like to have fun. When you’re in the gym everyday, all day, just battering your body you need to have a bit of a laugh. That is the method behind my goofy antics.
Your training camp for your upcoming GLORY World Series debut, has that solely been based here in the UK or have you managed to train anywhere else at all?
I will eventually move it to the US at the end of the year. All my camps have been here. Nothing is broke. I’ve have not needed to fix anything so I’ve stayed here.
Lastly, is there any sponsors you would like to give a shout out to and anyone you would like to thank at all?
Golds Gym UAE, Hooligans United, JYNutrition, Danny Brennan, Nick Chapman, Ollie Beard at Uniq Physique Gym.
Thank you for your time Chi, as always I appreciate it.
You can keep up to date with Chi’s movements by following his Twitter account here.
Chi’s website page here.
You can help support Chi by heading over to his clothing line here.
GLORY 20 DUBAI and GLORY Superfight Series 20 take place on Friday, April 3 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The former airs in the US on Spike TV at 10pm ET while the latter airs via tape-delay on the CBS Sports network on Saturday April 4th. 8pm ET.
Uk viewers follow the link below:
Click here on how to watch GLORY 20 DUBAI from their LIVE stream from around 2.30pm on Friday, April 3rd, for only £6.74 ($9.99).
For the full fight card on GLORY 20 DUBAI click here.
Photo Credits: James Law
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UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Ep 9 ‘As a Champion, you have to promote the fight well’ Jose Aldo
On Episode 9 of UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded, featherweight champion Jose Aldo and challenger Conor McGregor cross the pond to London, England.
Aldo cheers on his countrymen to victory in a soccer game at Emirates Stadium, both men visit the London Eye and the two face off once more at a tension-filled press conference.
Tickets for UFC 189 are now on sale at UFCFIGHTWEEK.com.
Video Credit: UFC
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UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Ep 8 ‘I want to smell his Pu**y, I can smell that pu**y from here’ Conor McGregor
On Episode 8 of UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded, featherweight champion Jose Aldo and challenger Conor McGregor take over chilly Toronto.
Aldo’s patience for McGregor’s trash talk wears thin, UFC President Dana White is forced to play peacemaker on set, on stage and behind the scenes.
Tickets for UFC 189 are now on sale at UFCFIGHTWEEK.com.
Video Credit: UFC
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Dwayne’The Rock’ Johnson Spoiler alert on Wrestlemania 31, talks FURIOUS 7, CM Punk in UFC and Roman Reigns!!
If you are anything like me, then you will find the following video interview interesting, after all it is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who is talking with 3-time Emmy winner Chris Van Vliet about FURIOUS 7, including how he asked Jason Statham if he could do his ‘Rock Bottom’ move in the movie, CM Punk in the UFC, and also if Roman Reigns is ready to be a WWE Champion.
What is more interesting, is that this could possibly, contain a huge spoiler alert for tonight’s WrestleMania 31, as Chris Van Vliet asks if “The Rock” will be facing Brock Lesnar at Summer Slam next year!
Enjoy.
You can also watch the preview of FURIOUS 7 below, which hits cinema screens on April 3rd.
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‘A true Sportsman in every sense of the word’ – Rare video documentary of Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is arguably one of the most entertaining, charismatic, humble, born fighters ever to grace the world of sports.
Having succeeded in becoming a NCAA Champion, a UFC Heavyweight Champion and a WWE Heavyweight Champion (for which he still is), Lesnar also spent some time prior to the UFC in the NFL.
In a very rare video documentary (for which you can view below), you can see how it all began for Lesnar growing up on a dairy farm in Webster, South Dakota, through his hard work to making the NCAA Wrestling Championships, WWE and up to the point where is about to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Lesnar goes on to win the UFC Heavyweight title by defeating Randy Couture via TKO in the second round.
Fast forward to present day and Lesnar has now retired from the UFC for good, re-signed his contract with the WWE and will be facing Roman Reigns in tonight’s WrestleMania XXXI.
Being a brand of #Eat #Sleep #Conquer #Repeat is truly what Brock Lesnar is all about.
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UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Ep 7 ‘These are not lines, I am saying what I am going to do to him [Aldo]’ Conor McGregor
![UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Ep 7 ‘These are not lines, I am saying what I am going to do to him [Aldo]’ Conor McGregor](https://fiveroundswithemma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ufc-189-world-championship-tour-embedded-ep-7.jpg?w=300)
On Episode 7 of UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded, featherweight champion Jose Aldo channels Tony Montana while his opponent Conor McGregor channels Muhammad Ali on a busy day in New York City.
Aldo trains with his coaches while McGregor schools UFC President Dana White in jiu-jitsu.
After another fan-filled press conference, the gang is off to Toronto, with welterweight contender Rory MacDonald now in tow.
Courtesy of: The Clock Tower Building
2927 41st Avenue, Long Island City, NY
Location courtesy of Property Markets Group, Inc. / The Hakim Organization
Video Credit: UFC
Five Rounds with Emma 
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