With NJPW Sakura Genesis coming up this Sunday (April 1) and WrestleMania week upon us, things are getting wild in the world of wrestling. Over on the mixed martial arts side, things are just as hectic. The night before WrestleMania 34, UFC 223 will take place inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. On that same night, Supercard of Honor XII goes down.
If you’re a fan of both wrestling and MMA, it can be difficult to keep tabs on everything. That’s why SEScoops.com and MMANews.com have you covered. If you aren’t up to speed on the latest MMA news, then have no fear. Here’s the latest edition of the MMA News Roundup.
Let’s dive in:
3. Josh Barnett Has USADA Suspension Revoked
Since late 2016, Josh Barnett had been on a provisional suspension under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Barnett was flagged for use of ostarine, which falls in the class of anabolic agents. “The Warmaster” fought the ruling and insisted that the substance in question was in tainted supplements he had used.
After going through arbitration, Barnett was able to prove that he did indeed take tainted supplements. As a result, Barnett is no longer suspended and can return to active competition but there is a catch. Barnett must undergo a series of tests for six months before he can have another fight under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner. Of course, those tests results must come back clean.
2. MMA News’ Exclusive Interview With Bas Rutten
UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten spoke to MMANews.com during the Super Seminar World Series event in Queens College. Rutten talked a bit about what his recent ventures. “El Guapo” is hoping that a third season of “Kevin Can Wait” gets renewed and he’s working with a new organization called Karate Combat.
Rutten also gave us a breakdown for the two title bouts at UFC 223. Rutten explained the possible outcomes of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk II. You can check out the interview here.
1. UFC & FOX Splitting Once Current Deal Expires?
We’re in the seventh year of the UFC and FOX partnership. When UFC on FOX made its debut, it drew an average of 5.7 million viewers. The event peaked at 8.8 million viewers for the heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Fast forward to UFC on FOX 28 and that show’s final numbers averaged just over two million viewers with a 2.73 million peak.
While initial interest seems to always win out when it comes to viewership, one can imagine that FOX didn’t anticipate numbers to sink this low. While the UFC has given up on putting together big cards on the major FOX network, they have done their due diligence on FOX Sports 1 and 2 events.
A large bulk of the programming on FS1 and FS2 have been thanks to UFC content. Still, FOX has its eyes on another promotion and it isn’t MMA. A report recently claimed that talks are swirling that FOX is more interested in signing a deal with the WWE than keeping the UFC. The report also notes there’s a good chance that FOX will be done with the UFC once the current deal expires.
That’ll do it for this edition of the MMA News Roundup. There are no major events this weekend, but be sure to check us out at MMANews.com. We have two more exclusive interviews with Duane Ludwig and Shane Fazen of fightTIPS.
Also be sure to stick with us for UFC 223 fight week. MMA News will be on the scene for all the events leading up to and including UFC 223.
