Chael Sonnen Hit with Eleven Criminal Charges, and a Lawsuit

First, Chael Sonnen was facing five criminal charges relating to a brawl in a hotel hallway in Las Vegas late last year. Then, those charges were dismissed without prejudice. Now, he’s been slapped with eleven counts — 10 misdemeanor battery charges and one count of felony battery by strangulation. Plus a civil lawsuit.

The lawsuit has been brought about by an alleged victim, Dr. Christopher Stellpflug, and his wife, who claim the retired Bellator and UFC star attacked them without provocation. They told their story to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In comments to the paper, both Stellpflugs claimed to be recovering from concussions and and bruises, while Mrs. Stellpflug suffered a split lip.

A police report listed only that five individuals had suffered “apparent minor injury.”

Previously, fellow fighter Brendan Schaub let slip that Sonnen was defending his wife in the altercation. Or at least his wife’s honor. Sonnen himself, wisely, has not commented, but there’s likely more to this story than we’re getting. As for loading up on 10 battery charges in a brawl involving five other individuals, that’s the usual tactic used in the hopes of forcing a plea deal on a suspect. Whether Sonnen takes the bait remains to be seen.

Sonnen is currently suspended from his duties with ESPN while the legal process plays out.

And then there were fewer

Scratch that. Later in the week, Chael Sonnen saw a felony charge and four misdemeanor counts dropped by prosecutors. Sonnen’s lawyer, Dayvid Figler, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the D.A. “realized that the more appropriate way to move forward would be with this amended complaint.”

Sonnen still faces the remaining misdemeanor charges, and the civil lawsuit.

Deiveson Figueiredo wants “Dirty Kiwi” Kai Kara-France Next

UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo — or whoever is working his social media accounts these days — says he wants “dirty Kiwi” Kai Kara-France next.

The comments were made in a post following the New Zealand flyweight’s win over Askar Askarov at UFC Columbus. Currently, the UFC is thought to be working on a fourth fight between Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, given their career series is tied 1-1-1.

According to the “God of War,” or more likely, manager Walid Ismail, “Assassin Baby” Brandon Moreno “just took the back seat.”

Honestly, both of these fights sound fun, so, whatever.

Congratulations you dirty kiwi @kaikarafrance you just punched your ticket with the God of War. @theassassinbaby you just took the back seat. You are 0- 2 against @Pantojamma if you could beat him I’ll give you the next title shot. 🇧🇷 Vs🇦🇺 let’s make it happen @danawhite pic.twitter.com/mysuGl9Wsa

— Deiveson (@Daico_Deiveson) March 27, 2022

Curtis Blaydes Hits Back

Curtis Blaydes had a little message for the “all you do is wrestle” crowd following his main event win at UFC Columbus.

“aLl YoU dO iS wReStLe” pic.twitter.com/pqQkHhamEk

— Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) March 27, 2022

Felder Plays Matchmaker, Strikes a Nerve

Paul Felder’s attempt at booking future title shots for the welterweight division got a cool reception this past week.

“After what Belal [Muhammad] showed in his last performance with [Stephen] ‘Wonderboy’ [Thompson] and what Sean [Brady] has shown throughout his career, I think it’s one of those two guys in the future [fighting for the title],” he told MMA Fighting recently.

That was after noting that Leon Edwards deserves the next shot, which he will likely get this July.

Khamzant Chimaev, meanwhile, still has more to prove as a welterweight, Felder believes — primarily when it comes to making the weight.

Chimaev has competed twice in the UFC as a welterweight, beating Rhys McKee and Li Jingliang. He successfully made weight both times, despite it being a struggle ahead of the Jingliang fight, and will get another shot at it when he faces Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.

Fans online were quick to chastise Felder for his picks, noting that Brady and Muhammad seemingly have little to offer champ Kamaru Usman. Chimaev, should he get past Burns, is another story entirely.

The Oscars Incident Somehow an MMA Story?

This isn’t unique to MMA media, because some pro wrestling dirt sheets did it as well. But conjuring up a story on the Will Smith-Chris Rock incident at the wholly unnecessary Academy Awards (as in, the entire sorry show is unnecessary at this point, the slap included) is the worst example of clickbait journalism. Well, maybe not the worst. But up there.

Yes, big news happened. It didn’t happen in your sphere. Sometimes, it’s okay to let things pass. No, we didn’t need a comparison of Smith-Rock to Masvidal-Covington.

That said, Rock took the slap and carried on like a pro, while Smith is being mercilessly reminded of his failed marriage on social media. There is a story — it’s just not an MMA one.

LFA fighter’s pre-fight medical exams detect brain aneurysms, will undergo surgery

In a shining example of why medicals are important, LFA featherweight Rafael Barbosa had brain aneurysms detected prior to a title challenge in mid-March. As a result, he was pulled from the LFA 126 card for precautionary reasons (read: he had brain aneurysms!), and will have further testing and surgery later in April.

Barbosa announced the news on social media; the full story from MMA Fighting is well worth a read.

The cost of pre-fight medicals is often a sore spot for fighters, who normally foot the bill. This is a reminder that such exams can save lives.

It’s not the first time pre-fight medicals have potentially averted tragedy. Ahead of UFC 129 in Toronto back in 2011, Brian Foster’s MRI revealed a brain hemorrhage. He was pulled from his planned bout with Sean Pierson, underwent surgery, and returned to competition, fully healthy, later that year.

Melvin Manhoef 3, Burglars 0

If you’re going to break into someone’s house, well, don’t. And if you absolutely, positively must break into someone’s house, make sure they’re not a professional fighter. Especially make sure they don’t have the striking skills of Melvin Manhoef. Oh, and make sure they aren’t actually Melvin Manhoef.

There’s dumb, and then there’s these three — who Manhoef chased down and detained for police. Technically, they didn’t even get to the breaking part of breaking and entering, let alone entering, but they were caught casing Melvin’s house, and fled the scene when he caught them in the act. Manhoef actually crashed his car into the suspect’s vehicle, and they allegedly had burglary tools on hand.

https://twitter.com/GS_Hollanda/status/1508482677267120147

Jon Jones Admits “Candle for Light Heavyweight Blew Out”

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is focused on a move to heavyweight, which may or may not come sometime this year.

However, he recently opened up about the end of his run at 205lbs, and admitted to his fight against Dominick Reyes being a “bad performance.”

“My candle for light heavyweight blew out, it showed in my last fight, instead of being discouraged by a bad performance, I’m stoked about this new season,” Jones wrote on social media this past week. “New energy. My time at LWH was over, I see that more clear today than ever.”

Jones’ (26-1, 1NC) last fight, against Reyes, came at UFC 247 in February 2020. Although the record shows it as a unanimous decision victory for Jones, many saw the fight in favor of Reyes. The bout followed another close win, a split decision victory against Thiago Santos.

More Fighter Pay Controversy

With Ohio being one of the rare athletic commissions to still publicly disclose purses, we got a look at exactly what each fighter on the UFC Columbus card made last week.

It wasn’t always a pretty picture.

First, the bright spots. Matt Brown made $105,000 in a losing effort against Bryan Barberena, and picked up an extra $50,000 by way of the Fight of the Night bonus. Add in his outfitting pay, and that’s okay money.

Neil Magny was able to pocket $230,000 ($115,000 to show, and that again for the win) for his decision victory against Max Griffin. Given how often Magny fights, he’s getting a decent bump thanks to outfitting pay on top of that.

But let’s be real: Askar Askarov getting $26,000 for what amounted to a title eliminator is pathetic.

Viachaslav Borshchev, Denis Tiulinin, and Bruno Souza all made just $12,000 in their first or second fights with the company. All three lost, so no win bonus there. Aliaskhab Khizriev made $20,000 — $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win. And Luis Saldana made $24,0000 at 12/12.

Those numbers are frankly sad to see, coming off a year which many saw as the promotion’s best ever. At least Curtis Blaydes had a good night, walking away with $312,000 (including a Performance bonus), without factoring in outfitting pay. But when you consider that Mark Hunt was making $950,000 as a heavyweight six years ago, and Blaydes was in the main event, you really have to wonder.

MMA Fighting has the numbers for the full card.

Bas Rutten Believes Dale Brown’s Methods Are Going to Get People Dusted

D.U.S.T. Commander Dale Brown became a viral sensation over the past year, and even turned up in the corner of UFC middleweight Joaquin Buckley. But the self-defense guru’s methods have been a constant point of contention, and the legendary Bas Rutten is among those critical of Brown — who he sees as the type of snake oil salesman who is going to get someone killed.

“The not real guy? With the black hair and ‘stache, that guy? Very funny… Guys like that get people killed, because they give them a false sense of security,” Rutten said during an appearance on The MMA Hour recently. “That’s why I don’t teach self defense in my classes.”

Suggesting that defending against a knife was “almost worse” than defending against a gun, Rutten explained that “imagine I just teach a knife defense and then a friend of a person I taught it to is getting in trouble. Someone pulls a knife and he goes, ‘Hey, step back, I got it. They just taught me this in class.’ And then he gets stabbed to death. That’s a problem.”

Beyond that, what works in a classroom may play out very differently under pressure in a life or death situation.

“It’s like fighting. It looks real easy and in the dojo, you’re really good and everything works, but that’s without stress,” Rutten noted. “How many fighters do we have that are dojo fighters. Every fighter you hear talks about this, they work circles around world champions and then under pressure they can’t perform. They can’t bring out what they can do without any pressure. And that’s just fighting, now imagine a weapon presents itself. Even I’m gonna go like, ‘Sh*t.’ There’s gonna be a lot of nerves and you better make everything perfect.”

Rutten might know a thing or two about the self-defense subject: he released his own video on it, Lethal Street Fighting, back in the early 2000s.

Amosov retrieves Bellator championship belt from rubble in Ukraine

Yaroslav Amosov is the reigning Bellator MMA welterweight champion. He’s also actively defending the European nation from invasion by neighbouring Russia. Prior to the bombs falling, Amosov’s mother apparently hid his championship belt — which he recovered in the video below.

No words.

🇺🇦 @YaroslavAmosov defending his country, but reminding everyone who the champ is. pic.twitter.com/lwWMkPR3fX

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 1, 2022

Bonnar and family lose home to fire, Go Fund Me established

A fire has destroyed Stephen Bonnar’s home in Henderson, Nevada, with a Go Fund Me campaign established to help the Bonnar family recover. The UFC Hall of Fame member and his wife have said they’ve essentially lost everything, although Bonnar was able to at least retrieve a couple of keepsakes. Still, small solace in the face of massive loss.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbz2RHMFcTT/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f9dc2b34-284f-4842-b2f1-95657788c1b1

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We’re back with another installment of the Weekly MMA Prospect report, and just like last week, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has plenty to offer fight fans. PFL 8 is a card to watch, but overseas action has plenty of prospects on display as well, including Russia’s M-1. Without further adieu, let’s get to the prospects!

PFL #8 | Nevada | Thursday

Lightweight, Islam Mamedov (18-2)

A top-level wrestler, Mamedov finds the takedown naturally, and on top, he is as good as it gets. He sticks like glue, he moves well and is even excellent at taking the back. His ground-and-pound is very solid — not heavy strikes but constant strikes. Once Mamedov gets the separation, he has a good submission game. On the feet, he is explosive, and he lunges forward with hooks and flying knees. He has power but his ground game is where he is best. He fights Loik Radzhabov (12-1).

Featherweight, Movlid Khaybulaev (14-0-1)

Movlid is a very solid fighter all around, and he is really technical in his stand-up. He throws a lot of spinning attacks, not overdoing it, but that is a good thing. Movlid uses the flying knee often, with which he knocked out his last opponent. With that said, he also has good wrestling; he is able to shoot in for a double leg or he can lift and slam you to the mat. Movlid can usually get the fight down multiple times in a bout. He fights former UFC fighter Daniel Pineda (26-13).

Featherweight, Andre Harrison (21-1-1)

“The Bull” is a two-time All-American DII wrestler who lives up to his nickname by pulling his opponents down to the mat and staying on top with heavy pressure. His wrestling is excellent and striking-wise he is also dangerous. He has power in his hands, as he has dropped opponents in the past but his wrestling is his bread and butter. He is a grinding type of fighter who likes to wear down his opponents and he has used his wrestling to take out some top-notch competition. He fights Alex Gilpin (13-2).

  M-1 Challenge 105 | Saturday | Kazakhstan

Flyweight, Asu Almabaev (10-2)

An under-the-radar prospect, Asu Almabaev is on a six-fight win streak. On the feet, he relies on his movement. He’s not the most skilled upright but is quick with what he throws. His takedown defense isn’t too great but on the mat anywhere is his strong suit. Almabaev has solid jiu-jitsu and that’s with five submission wins. He’s good off his back going for submissions to create scrambles. He moves very well on top as well. We’re still not fully sold on him though. He fights Mikael Silander (19-7), who is a good test.

Future FC 9 | Saturday | Brazil

Featherweight, Rafael Barbosa (12-1)

Barbosa has looked impressive and at only 21-years old, he has a high ceiling. He fights with a karate stance, lasering the jab along with an excellent right kick to the liver. The Brazilian is slick on the feet and does a good job with his movement. Barbosa has some solid head movement, slipping and ripping his counters. He is still green on the mat though, but at his young age, there is still lots of room for improvement. He fights Luis Nogueira (21-8-2).

MFC 18 | Saturday | Nebraska

Flyweight, Nate Smith (5-0)

Still so young in his career, Smith has looked pretty good thus far. On the feet, it would be nice to see him be more willing to throw more than one strike at a time. Smith does a good job picking his shots and is accurate for the most part. His wrestling is still a work in progress but it’s on the mat where he excels. Smith takes the back fairly easily and in his last three fights he’s finished with a rear-naked choke. He fights Delfino Benitez (3-1).

GFC 10 | Sunday | Russia

Featherweight, Migran Arutyunyan (2-0)

The Armenian is only 2-0 in MMA but has a background in another combat sport. Arutyunyan is an Armenian and Russian Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. He’s seemed a bit lost on the feet but has shown excellent wrestling and ferocious ground and pound. Arutyunyan still has a lot to show and has a long way to go. He fights Zhasulan Akimzhanov (3-1).

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: Another Big Week for the PFL appeared first on Cageside Press.

Combate Americas | Friday | Mexico

Lightweight: Rafa Garcia (10-0)

Garcia is a top prospect out of Mexico who has beat some credible guys, even former UFC fighter Estevan Payan. Garcia is a solid wrestler/grappler with an overhand right. He’s not too technical on the feet but Garcia does hit hard mainly with leg kicks and that right hand. Garcia is really good at executing the single leg takedown and just using his wrestling in general. He has eight wins by submission which is proof that his jiu-jitsu is very solid. He fights Erick Gonzalez (10-3), who is a good test.

Strawweight: Yasmine Jauregui (3-0)

Still very green, Jauregui really impressed me in her last two outings. Her style really reminds me of UFC fighter Maycee Barber is a few ways. Jauregui as she’s shown solid ground and pound she looks to be more skilled on the feet. She will throw a lot of volume with her kicks and punches putting it all together well. Yasmine Jauregui is always throwing and looking to end the fight, which is why she has a 100% finish rate. She does need to work on some things like her movement and striking defense. With that said, I believe she can be very good. She fights Yajaira Romo (5-3), who at this point is a good test for Yasmine.

WWFC 16 | Saturday | Ukraine

Strawweight: Svetlana Gotsyk (12-4)

Gotsyk is mainly a wrestler with ferocious ground and pound until she sees an opening for an armbar. On the feet, she stands at 5″2′ making it hard for her to get inside and strike but that doesn’t affect her being able to stand and brawl, which is where she thrives. She is still really green, is lacking cardio and she pulls guard way too much, but she is only 22, so she has all the time in the world to develop. She fights Magdalena Sormova (9-1), who she did lose to, but I think has the better future.

Lightweight: Kirill Goroberts (8-1)

Ukraine’s Goroberts is a human highlight reel who has three wins by a head kick and a submission via banana split. Goroberts is very explosive who uses a lot of feints and explosiveness to find big shots. Being both creative and explosive, Goroberts is an ultra dangerous guy on both the feet and the mat. He’s very quick on the release and is diverse in his attack throwing good combos and likes to use spinning attacks. He fights Rinat Sayakbaev (13-5-1).

Featherweight: Khasan Askhabov (20-2)

A Luxembourg native and product out of Tiger Muay Thai, Khasan is the current WWFC Featherweight Champion. Khasan is a fighter who picks his shots and his spots being a reason that he has exceptional cardio. On the feet, he has a diverse kicking attack as he likes to spin and is accurate when doing so. What he does best is timing takedowns. His ability to trip his opponents to the mat or time a kick from his opponents and get the takedown is perfect. Khasan could be a bit more active, and if so, he’ll just be that much better. He fights Elismar Lima (19-7).

Bantamweight: Khusein Askhabov (19-0)

The twin brother of Khasan Askhabov, Khusein shares something with his sibling: they are both talented prospects. The 24-year-old star is also a top product out of Tiger Muay Thai. His stand up is good, he is quick and explosive and displays good kickboxing by throwing a lot of different kicks and staying active. It’s his ground game where Askhabov is best, using good wrestling and getting dominant positions easily. His submission awareness is very clean as he can go for submissions at a drop of a dime. He is quick but he has some work to do to mix all his skills to improve. He fights Luiz Filho (10-4), who is coming off a loss.

CFFC 78 | Saturday | Pennsylvania

Middleweight: Kyle Daukaus (7-0)

A veteran of the Contender Series this past summer, Daukaus is a good prospect despite not getting the contract. On the feet, he’s not great but throws a lot of volume and is very good using his length. He’s much more versed on the mat and his wrestling to get in there is good. Daukaus has a good submission base with six wins by submission and his D’Arce choke being a prime choice. He’s active with his submission attempts and his ground and pound as well. He fights former Contender Series fighter, Stephen Regman (9-4).

Lightweight: Pat Sabatini (11-2)

Sabatini has only two losses in his career to top prospects in Jose Mariscal and Robert Watley. Sabatini does have a background in grappling, competing in several competitions, and has a background in combat sambo. Sabatini is clearly dangerous on the mat with nine finishes all coming by submission. He is very improved with solid trip takedowns, good ground-and-pound, improved stand up and excellent cardio. He fights Rafael Barbosa (12-1)

Featherweight: Rafael Barbosa (12-1)

Barbosa has looked impressive and at only 21-years-old, he has a high ceiling. He fights with a karate stance, lasering the jab along with an excellent right kick to the liver. The Brazilian is slick on the feet with his jab and does a good job with his movement. Barbosa has some solid head movement, slipping and ripping his counters. He is still green on the mat though, but at his young age, there is still room for improvement. He fights Pat Sabatini (11-2).

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: Combate Americas, CFFC, and More appeared first on Cageside Press.

Combate Americas 38 | Friday | Peru

Lightweight, Daniel Zellhuber (7-0)

At only 19-years-old, there will for sure be way more to learn for Zellhuber, but at this point in his career, Zellhuber has looked good. The Mexican has a tall lanky build at 6’1″ and while he does use his range at times, he’s more so a Muay Thai fighter. Zellhuber has excellent clinch work with knees and elbows. He has had some problems with his takedown defense, though. While he does have a decent rubber guard, he will need to learn to keep range more. He fights Gian Franco Cortez (4-0) who lacks footage.

Bantamweight, Eduardo Matias Torres (9-0)

In all likelihood the best prospect out of Chile, Torres holds an impressive undefeated record. The competition Torres has beaten hasn’t been great but he’s disposed of his opponents the way he should. Torres is always bringing forward pressure as he looks to force his way into the clinch. His wrestling needs some work but he does a good job at utilizing trips in the clinch. On the mat is where Torres wants it, where he is dominant. He has very technical grappling where he makes all the right moves and his BJJ IQ is perfect at only 24-years-old. He fights Rodrigo Vera (8-0) who is his toughest test to date.

Flyweight, Jennifer Gonzalez (11-5)

Gonzalez has lost to a few decent fighters but her wins have come over pretty bad opposition. She still has a good record and currently on a four-fight win streak. Gonzalez doesn’t have much to offer on the feet. With that said, she doesn’t waste time closing the distance, getting double underhooks, and slamming her opponent to the mat. Gonzalez has eight submissions with six by armbar showing she is a big submission threat. She fights Dana Grau (2-0), who is an aggressive striker so this is a test for both ladies.

LFA 68 | Friday | Minnesota

Bantamweight, Raufeon Stots (11-1)

Stots is a former NCAA Division II national wrestling champion at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. In June of last year, Stots suffered his only loss to current UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili. Since that loss, Stots has won his next four fights and is one of the best bantamweight prospects today. Stots is a fantastic wrestler but his stand has come along nicely. Along with some great movement, he is the total package. He fights Ralph Acosta (18-13), who is coming off a loss.

Featherweight, Rafael Barbosa (11-1)

Barbosa has looked impressive and at only 21-years-old, he has a high ceiling. He fights with a karate stance, lasering the jab along with an excellent right kick to the liver. The Brazilian is slick on the feet with his jab and does a good job with his movement. Barbosa has some solid head movement, slipping and ripping his counters. He is still green on the mat though, but at his young age, there is still room for improvement. He fights Nate Jennerman (13-4), who is a threat on the mat, so this is a good fight.

Ring of Combat 68 | Friday | New Jersey

Middleweight, Joseph Pyfer (4-0)

Pyfer is a dangerous man who has had huge knockout wins as an amateur and a pro. On the feet, he has a good jab, but it’s the power in his hands that has been a big difference-maker. Using more than just single strikes, Pyfer does a nice job throwing the one-two combinations and can end the fight standing at any time. He is well-rounded as he has finishes from brutal ground-and-pound and three career submissions. Pyfer is a strong guy, showing that with his takedowns, getting the body lock and dumping his foes on their back. At only 22-years-old, Pyfer has a bright future. He fights Elijah Gbollie (5-7) who is on a five-fight skid.

Rizin 16 | Sunday | Japan

Lightweight, Tofik Musaev (14-3)

With a 100% finish rate, Musaev is good everywhere as he has striking with knockout power, combinations, and counter-striking along with some decent wrestling and some effective ground-and-pound. He needs to improve his takedown defense but is still an impressive prospect regardless. He fights his biggest test in former UFC fighter Daron Cruickshank (21-11).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY-yrLw8t4I

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