In today’s MMA odds and ends, USADA clears three fighters of any wrongdoing, and the UFC announced its main event for Hamburg, Germany:
USADA Clears JDS, Little Nog, De Lima
USADA announced Monday that three Brazilian fighters have been cleared of any wrongdoing after testing positive for banned substances found in a tainted supplement. The three fighters are Junior dos Santos, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Marcos Rogerio de Lima. USADA’s explanation in full can be found here. Each of these three fighters were retroactively suspended six months, but those suspensions are now over and each guy is ready to return and fight at anytime. I’m especially excited to see JDS come back to the Octagon. Though he’s on the decline of his career, he’s still a dangerous fighter in the heavyweight division who can never be counted out. As well, Noguera and De Lima are solid additions back to 205lbs. All in all, great news for the fighters and for the fans, and hopefully these fighters take legal action against the nutritional company responsible for their drug test failues.
Shogun vs. Oezdemir Official For UFC Hamburg
After Volkan Oezdemir was scratched from UFC Chile due to a visa issue, he has been re-booked for his matchup against MMA legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 134, which takes place Saturday, July 22 at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The UFC has officially announced this matchup, which is a five-round main event. And just as it was originally, I view this as a mismatch in Oezdemir’s favor. Oezdemir (15-2) lost to UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in his bid to become the new division’s new king, but won three-straight fights in the UFC before that. Oezdemir has a ton of KO power and is one of the division’s most dangerous fighters at the moment. Rua (25-10) is surprisingly on a three-fight win streak and is coming off of a knockout win over Gian Villante. But he’s still very much on the decline. I fully expect Oezdemir to be a big favorite in this fight.
Santiago Ponzinibbio Scratched From UFC Chile
An unfotunate injury to Santiago Ponzinibbio has left UFC Fight Night 129 without a main event. Now, Kamaru Usman awaits a new opponent on short notice. UFC Fight Night 129 takes place Saturday, May 19 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. The card currently lacks both a main event and a co-main event. There are suggestions the card may be outright cancelled, though I personally believe the UFC will be able to find a replacement opponent for Usman. Possible contenders to take the bout include Demian Maia, Alex Oliveira and Dong Hyun Kim.
