Justin McCully
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(Gonzaga’s game-plan begins to fall apart at UFC 80; photo courtesy of UFC.com.)
How far the mighty fall: Once the UFC’s #1 heavyweight contender, Gabriel Gonzaga will reportedly be facing Team Punishment journeyman Justin McCully in his next bout, at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). McCully will be looking for his second win in the Octagon, after defeating Antoni Hardonk by decision at UFC Fight Night 9 in April 2007; he hasn’t competed since then. The match is particularly important for Gonzaga, who’s been on a two-fight skid since knocking out Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70. Not only did Gonzaga lose big matches to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum, he didn’t look impressive in either bout, leading some fans to question his heart. Fighting McCully is Napao’s last chance to redeem himself; if he doesn’t have a successful showing, you can bet he’ll be a victim of the UFC’s ongoing roster cuts.
In other UFC news…
— Due to a busted ankle, Alessio Sakara has been forced to withdraw from The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale (June 21st, Las Vegas). Replacing Sakara in his middleweight bout against Rob Yundt is Rob Kimmons, a 20-3 veteran of an alphabet soup of regional leagues who will be making his UFC debut.
— Yes, you heard that right. Karo Parisyan is the “gatekeeper” of the UFC’s welterweight division, according to Dana White. Ouch, buddy!
— The UFC just sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tito Ortiz for wearing the UFC’s championship belt on the cover of his new autobiography, This Is Gonna Hurt. The belt is “intellectual property of the UFC…as such, its use in promotional materials requires the company’s approval per the terms of its standard contract.” Now who’s the bitch?
Written by admin on June 4th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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According to MMAjunkie.com, a heavyweight clash between Gabriel Gonzaga and Justin McCully has been added to the card for UFC 86 on July 5 in Las Vegas.
McCully, a member of Tito Ortiz’s Team Punishment, has not fought since his successful debut at UFC Fight 9 in April of 2007. During that fight, McCully, who was [...]
Written by admin on June 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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(Frank Mir poses in front of the world’s ugliest ring girls.)
Some UFC-related notes as we build up to tonight’s four-hour block of awesomeness…
— Josh Koscheck, who recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, confirmed yesterday that he will be facing Chris Lytle at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). “Lights Out” Lytle (25-15-5, 4-7 UFC) has lost to a who’s who of welterweight stars during his time in the Octagon — Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Robbie Lawler, and Karo Parisyan among them — but may be on the comeback trail after beating the dogshit out of Kyle Bradley at UFC 81.
— Frank Mir and Justin McCully have also been booked for a bout at UFC 86. With the heavyweight class as thin as it is right now, we wouldn’t put it past the UFC to offer Mir an immediate title shot depending on his performance in July; his disposal of Brock Lesnar at “Breaking Point” proved that he could still be a viable contender. McCully won a decision against Antoni Hardonk during his UFC debut last April, and has won his last four fights overall, but the matchup still feels like it’s intended to be a tuneup for the former champion.
— Xyience Inc. was sold yesterday to Manchester Consolidated Corp. for $15 million. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal:
The sale price will cover only part of the secured debt at Xyience, debtor attorney Laurel Davis said after the hearing. As a result, unsecured creditors and stockholders in Xyience will recover none of their money, she said…
Manchester, which submitted the only approved bid, will pay $200,000 in cash and will assume $14.8 million in debt…
Separately, unsecured creditors on Monday filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying the judge should take $14.8 million in assets from the Fertittas for the benefit of Xyience creditors.
In related news, that hot brunette from the Xyience commercials has been spotted wearing a barrel held up by suspenders. Okay, not really, but it’s an amusing image!
Written by admin on April 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir (11-3) will tangle with Justin McCully (8-3-2) UFC 86 on July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to an MMAWeekly.com report that MMAmania.com has been able to independently confirm.
Mir is fresh of a big submission win over Brock Lesnar at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” in February. The win — his third in five fights since a return from a potentially career-ending motorcycle accident — vaulted the “Baddest Man on the Planet” back atop the division rankings virtually overnight.
That’s the reality even though Mir defeated an inexperienced (albeit massive) former professional wrestler in Lesnar, as well as an unproved commodity in Antoni Hardonk the fight prior at UFC 74: “Respect” back in August 2007.
Regardless, his confidence is back, and by all accounts, he’s also back in the training room — something he admittedly didn’t do much of while preparing for his initial (and lackluster) comeback matches.
McCully will be coming off a year-long layoff after defeating Antoni Hardonk via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 9 back in April 2007. It will mark just the fifth fight for the Team Punishment fighter in the past eight years and only his second appearance inside the Octagon.
“The Insane One” is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt under Allan Goes, which makes this appear to be a showdown between two grapplers — Mir is also a jiu-jitsu blackbelt (under Ricardo Pires) and now works with Marc Laimon to refine his technique.
To check out the most recent UFC 86 fight card click here.
Written by admin on April 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Justin McCully revealed on “Inside MMA” — a program that is featured on the HDNet network — that he is in discussions to fight Brock Lesnar next in a heavyweight bout.
Nothing is official at this time.
McCully is a member of the Team Punishment training camp with one fight inside the Octagon to his credit — a unanimous decision win over Antoni Hardonk at UFC Fight Night 9 in April 2007.
“The Insane One” is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt under Allan Goes. He was contacted about fighting Cheick Kongo at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” earlier in the year; however, McCully reportedly did not respond in time (he was in Iraq on a USO tour with chum Tito Ortiz) and the bout was offered to Heath Herring.
Lesnar is a former collegiate wrestling champion and former WWE professional wrestling superstar. He made his high profile Octagon debut against Frank Mir, losing the contest in 90 seconds via submission after coming out strong.
For the past month Lesnar has been rumored to be on the UFC 85 fight card, which is penciled in to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England on June 7.
Mir is a much more talented fighter than McCully, but it’s a bit odd that the UFC — if the statement is legit — would risk putting Lesnar back in the cage against another submission specialist.
In addition, it begs the question: Would a fight like this be marketable? McCully is not that well known among the masses, having competed in mixed martial arts bouts just five times since 2000.
It sounds like a very big risk and very little reward for a man (Lesnar) who more than likely is responsible for selling the majority of the estimated 650,000 PPV buys at UFC 81: “Breaking Point.”
Let’s see how this situation unfolds. We’ll of course be on top of it every step of the way. Stay tuned.
(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Carlos” for the assist.)
Written by admin on February 22nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Scott Junk (6-1) will make his Octagon debut against Christian Wellisch (7-3) at UFC 76: “Knockout” on September 22, replacing heavyweight fighter Justin McCully.
That’s the latest from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, which did not mention a reason for the ‘enth-hour switch.
Here’s a snip from Junk:
“It’s 100 percent going to happen. It caught me off guard, but it’s good because I have been training this whole time.”
The article goes on to reveal that the winner of this fight will likely face former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir (It also mentions Brandon Vera as a possibility, but I just can’t buy that).
UFC 76 is just 11 days out, giving Junk very little time to prepare. Scrapping this bout was perhaps not an option after Wilson Gouveia recently withdrew from his scheduled light heavyweight bout against Jason Lambert that same night.
As it stands now UFC 76 will feature just eight bouts instead of the usual nine.
Junk has competed primarily in smaller shows such as Maximum Fighting Championships and Rumble on the Rock in his home state of Hawaii. He most recently stopped Jimmy Ambriz via technical knockout back in June for his sixth consecutive MMA win.
For the latest UFC 76 fight card click here.
Written by admin on September 12th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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According to UFCjunkie.com, agent Ken Pavia has confirmed that a contract for a bout at UFC 76 between Justin McCully (who Pavia represents) Christian Wellisch has been signed.
Written by admin on August 10th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Christian Wellisch (7-3) is in talks to fight Justin McCully (8-3-2) at UFC 76: “Knockout” on September 22, according to a UFCmania.com source.
While no bout agreements have been signed at this time, we have learned that the two heavyweights will more than likely clash at The Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
“The Hungarian Nightmare” is looking to build on his unanimous decision win over Anthony Perosh at UFC 66 in December 2006. Prior to that bout, the law student suffered a setback in his Octagon debut against firece striker Chieck Kongo at UFC 62 back in August 2006.
McCully — a last-minute replacement for Frank Mir — shocked a few folks with his unanimous decision win over Antoni Hardonk at UFC Fight Night 9 in April. The Team Punishment disciple is currently overseas with U.S. troops on a tour with ringleader Tito Ortiz.
For the developing UFC 76 fight card click here.
Written by admin on July 28th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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