BODIE’S BREAKDOWN: MARCH EDITION

INTRO

Welcome everybody to the first of hopefully many editions of Bodie’s Breakdown. I gotta say right off the bat, my intentions for this ongoing article is to bring you the latest news from behind the scenes. Whether it's matchmaking, contracts, post fight analysis, or any circulating rumors, I'm here to bring you my opinions on it all.

UGP 18 DELIVERS WITH THREE EXCITING TITLE FIGHTS

To kick things off, let's talk about the last couple of shows that has brought our first title fights of 2020. UGP 18 came with a big bang with three title fights, but before we dive into those matchups, let's first discuss the Killa callout early in the show. Heavyweight contender Mike Hunt was cageside with Dylan Carter and he offered a challenge to his head trainer and former two-time Cruiserweight Champion Daniel Fisk! This took the world by storm and Fisk later responded by telling Hunt to meet him in the inaugural Openweight Grand Prix. However, the two are now scheduled in a boxing match, so it's a big question whether or not we see these two inside a cage standing across from each other.

Delaney Donovan retained his title against August Pope via TKO in a three round thriller and continues to build his case as the best Lightweight of all-time. The big question for Donovan now is who's next? With some of the top contenders already getting their shot at Donovan’s title, UGP President Dante Reed was asked about this and he said that there's no clear cut contender next in line. We could potentially see Donovan sit out a few cards in order to clear the air for his next opponent. One thing that has stayed steady in the back of my mind is the fact that Middleweight contender Byron McCall has flirted with the idea of dropping to 155 in the past, and with him finding a new gym with 36th Street MMA, could there be something in the works for the former two-time MMA champ? I think MMA fans worldwide would love to see the possibility of a new landscape for ”The Last” McCall.

The Middleweight Title rematch between Asher Jrue and Robert Guilliman ended in a way we've all become familiar with Guilliman fights. The Primarch reclaimed the 185-pound crown with one of his signature first-round KO head kicks, once again planting himself on top of the mountain and with very little arguments as the best pound-for-pound fighter. Dante Reed was asked if we will see an immediate trilogy between the two, and he was hesitant to greenlight the idea, given that Jrue did not have a successful defense to his reign. We could very likely see a title eliminator bout with Jrue — question is who will be his opponent?

Then in the main event, another rematch took place as Kennard Rozier retained the Heavyweight title from former champ Donnie Calabrese, but left some fans questioning the TKO stoppage. At this moment, Union GP President Dante Reed doesn't foresee another clash between the two happening anytime soon. During a post fight interview, Reed said that he agreed with the stoppage and has an opponent already lined up for Rozier. He said that he felt like Rozier held the division hostage for several months with a contract dispute, but now that things are squared away, he wants to keep the Heavyweight Champion active and make up for lost time. Rumor has it that it will happen as soon as UGP 19.

ROSCOE PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF, MEECHAN CAPITALIZES ON BRILLIANT STRATEGY

Now we move on to the most recent event, Boss Fight XVII that took place in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cruiserweight Championship was on the line in a Killa Party Main Event, while the Bantamweight Championship Co-Main Event saw a 2019 inaugural Championship Grand Prix first-round rematch. This card delivered from top to bottom in which a handful of debuting fighters, namely Cruiserweight contenders, saw action for the first time on the pro level.

The first title fight of the night was the fan-favorite Zari Aliyah’s first title defense and it was against a familiar adversary in Dallas Meechan. The Scottish slugger made his debut one to remember as he defeated the number one seeded Aliyah in the first round of the inaugural Bantamweight Championship Grand Prix tournament. Meechan has quickly made a name for himself, especially after winning the 2019 Prospect of the Year award, but this night he was ready to take things to a whole new level. The two slugged it out for four rounds, but Dally was clearly the more dominant fighter and capped the fight off with a TKO victory to bring another championship to the ScrapYard Gym. Now that Playboy is at the helm of the throne, who’s next for him? Some have claimed his next opponent should be against the fighters who’s given him his only defeat thus far, which is another rematch against the inaugural Bantamweight Champ Lauren Moore. L-Mo bested Meechan in an exciting four round Grand Prix finals bout to capture the title, and I don’t think you’ll find too many who would be upset on seeing them run it back. Another contender is coming off a resounding victory after a return to injury, Lena Lyons. One thing is for sure, Dallas has plenty of big fight options available, and could certainly see himself headlining a card real soon.

Then in the Main Event, Roscoe Robinson makes his first title defense in his second championship reign against fellow Killa camp-mate, Jakko Wirman, in his hometown Atlanta, Georgia. The Shooter has been making headlines as of late fighting within his gym as he just finished a trilogy fight with Daniel Fisk back in December. The Reaver was able to stretch this fight into the fourth round with a masterful game plan of takedowns and ground game that chewed up over nine and a half minutes, but Roscoe put an end to any chances of Wirman winning with a devastating head kick KO. After the fight, Wirman made a shocking announcement, declaring that he is retiring from the sport. However, we’ve seen it all too often these announcements don’t often stick, but Jakko seemed pretty certain in his decision. Now that The Shooter has stacked up his sixth total title defense, what's next for the Atlant native? Could we see a fourth installment of Robinson versus Fisk? A rematch against Ardan Kelly who's a little more seasoned now? Or perhaps a super fight cathweight bout? Those options are all enticing and would surely draw big numbers, but nothing clearly points in any direction right now. Like Lightweight Champ Delaney Donovan, Roscoe could potentially take some time off to allow the playing field time to settle in and become a little clearer.

THE REAVER’S RETIREMENT

Now that we are all waiting for the UGP 19 card to drop, President Dante Reed has been busy with contract negotiations. As with most things in life, there is both good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad and get it out of the way, so we can end this on a high note. As mentioned earlier, Cruiserweight contender Jakko Wirman has announced his retirement and thus has terminated his competition contract. However, I’ve heard some whispers that Dante Reed May be trying to work a deal with The Reaver to bring him on as a coach for the upcoming Everest MMA contender series. I’ll keep you up to date on that one.

NEW SCENERY FOR DOG FACE

Another face from Real Killas we won’t be seeing for a while in a Union GP cage is former Heavyweight Champion Donnie Calabrese. His contract expired after his rematch Bout with Kennard Rozier, and sources say that Calabrese has opted not to re-sign. Fear not though fight fans, from what I’ve been told, this isn’t a goodbye but rather a see ya later. Donnie recently made his debut in the Battleground Network affiliate G2 promotion, and wants to focus his attention in Japan. Hopefully we see Dog Face return to Union sooner rather than later, but you can still see him compete on the same Network.

LEFT ON READ

A handful of other fighters’ contracts have also expired and Dante Reed has reached out to them but has yet to hear a response from either fighters or agents. Two of which include Cruiserweight contender Seth Daniels and Middleweight contender Navorro Williams.

FUTURE ENDEAVORED

And now the last batch of bad news, the releases. A handful of top contenders have asked for and have been granted their released following Boss Fight XVII. Those include Middleweight contender Travis Decker, Lightweights Gracyn Knight, Yasmine Ryan, Lexi Scheckler, and most surprisingly two-time Union GP Lightweight Champion Jordan Parker-Kane. Also, Lightweight contender Zoe Sinani has completed her fight contract but isn’t expected to be re-signed. There have been whispers that a handful of other contracted fighters may be on the chopping block, but as of now nothing has been official.

FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS

I promised you all this is gonna get better. While a lot of contract negotiations have been made over the last week or so, Dante Reed has reached new deals on a handful of the promotion’s biggest names.

In the 225 pound Cruiserweight Division, two fighters have been in talks and are nearing deals. Cruiserweight Champ Roscoe Robinson is expected to sign a new deal but a few fine print details still need to be hashed out. Also preliminary talks have begun with the notorious Cal McCluskey. You can expect to see him back in a Union cage sometime in 2020.

In the 185 pound Middleweight Division, Robert Guilliman has signed an exclusive 10 fight deal at $800,000 per fight, former Middleweight Champion Asher Jrue re-signs with an exclusive 4 fight deal at $400,000 per fight, and Zion Momo’a has signed an exclusive 3 fight deal at $300,00 per fight. These three guys may see each other very soon, and it’s great to see them signed on for the haul.

In the 155 pound Lightweight Division, Xabier Belazco has signed a new 5 fight deal worth $100,000 per fight, which also includes a $100k signing bonus and August Pope has signed an exclusive 4 fight deal worth $250,000 per fight.

In the 135 pound Bantamweight Division, newly crowned Champ Dallas Meechan has signed an exclusive 5 fight deal worth $800,000 per fight and former Bantamweight Champ Zari Aliyah has signed an exclusive 4 fight deal worth $500,000 per fight.

OUTRO

And with that ladies and gentlemen, this has been Bodie’s Breakdown. I hope to continue this piece with some valuable consistency and content for all of the latest news and rumors.