21 Health Insurance for Fighters Posted by Zach | at 1:03 PM

Now if you've followed my blog or another MMA news sites you'll see where the UFC has offered to give the free health insurance benefits to fighters, which is a huge step forward for the sport.

Here was the original quote from the UFC press release about the health insurance:

To date, Zuffa event-related insurance has always met or exceeded Athletic Commission requirements and has covered all injuries sustained during competition. After exploring the purchase of “training insurance” for its athletes for several years – much of which was met with difficulty in finding an insurance company willing to insure mixed martial artists – Zuffa officials were able to secure a comprehensive plan through A+ rated Houston Casualty.

The new policy adds 24-hour worldwide medical life insurance and dental coverage, as well as emergency medical evacuation. Zuffa will pay 100 percent of the premiums for its athletes and have an employee dedicated to handling and filing all claims.

 Now of course, having this health insurance plan is a great way to insure fighters won't go broke if they injure themselves in training camp (reason being because they won't get the fight pay), and now there is a lot less fear due to having a legitimate health insurance coverage.

However, I have been noticing some things that may have been influenced off the new health coverage. Any UFC or really general MMA fans will know that a lot of the past couple of events have had a plethora of injuries (compared to the earlier UFC events). It raises an interesting question, and I'd like to see some of my readers join in on answering:

1. Were fighters that were previously injured in camp (before this health insurance update came about) coming in injured even before the fight started?

or

2. With the new benefits of health insurance are the fighters more willing to gain insurance benefits from smaller injuries? (IE pulling out of a fight for a minor injury that they might not have pulled out of pre-health insurance)

Of course, if you disagree with either please let me know, I'm all about opinions!

5 UFC 134 - Results and GIFs Posted by Zach | at 5:58 PM

So the UFC returned to Rio last night, and it's return was the first UFC event held in Rio since the original UFC event. As expected, the crowd was absolutely insane. Dana White tweeted saying that the crowd was the best it had in UFC history. The only negative I'd say about the event was Kenny Florian's commentation, he's a bit boring. Joe Rogan was gone because he is starting to film for the upcoming season of Fear Factor.

Main Event

-Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:04 - 

Lets face it, Anderson has been cleaning out the MW division for a long time now. Okami, who had previously been on a UFC tear was definitely a title contender, and a training partner to Chael Sonnen (who lost previously to Silva). Okami is also the last man to 'beat' Silva. I say 'beat' because the win was by DQ, so nothing really impressive. However, last night Silva absolutely had his way with Yushin Okami, knocking him down with jabs and straight punches. 

A fucking jab with his hands completely at his side.

4 UFC 134 - Weigh In Results Posted by Zach | at 11:09 AM

UFC 134 is returning to RIO this Saturday night, and it brings a stacked card with it. Here are the results of yesterday's weigh ins.

MAIN EVENT:

Anderson Silva (184) vs. Yushin Okami (183)

5 Skilled Security Guard vs Man (street fight) Posted by Zach | at 11:59 AM

I saw this fight on mixedmartialarts.com. It's a pretty crazy fight, and the guard showed a decent knee and boxing skills. I haven't seen a guy keep his hands up in a street fight like that in awhile. Although with the wild flailing from the other man you'd think he would be able to land a KO shot.



Even funnier that the guy on the other end thought he won the fight.

6 The Ultimate Fighter S14 - Promo Video Posted by Zach | at 12:57 PM

TUF Season 14 starts September 21st on SpikeTV, but here's a promo video to keep your appetites satiated. This season should be awesome, with the lower weight classes we will see much more skill involved, and I'm going to guess some exciting fights.

TUF 14: Premieres September 21
Get More: Watch The Ultimate Fighter TUF 14 Michael Bisping Jason "Mayhem" Miller bantamweights featherweights