It appears that the Hafthor Bjornsson world record deadlift challenge is gaining steam.

Hafthor Bjornsson is looking to cement himself in history. While the global health crisis has plagued the world and shut down events, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man is still looking to attempt the 501 kg deadlift.

The deadlift attempt is being sponsored by Rogue Fitness and is to be streamed online.

“Officially announcing @roguefitness as the 501kg title sponsor!!! So excited to have you guys on board. 19 days out from pulling the heaviest deadlift ever pulled in the history of strength sports.”

 

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Officially announcing @roguefitness as the 501kg title sponsor!!! So excited to have you guys on board. 19 days out from pulling the heaviest deadlift ever pulled in the history of strength sports. #ryourogue #worldrecord

A post shared by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (@thorbjornsson) on Apr 14, 2020 at 5:40am PDT

While many in the strongman community have already been discussing the challenge, it appears that more and more interest is being generated for the event. ESPN is now on board with the deadlift challenge. The major sport programming station will televise the Hafthor Bjornsson deadlift attempt live.

Hafthor Bjornsson was excited to announce the news in a Instagram post.

“I’m so excited to announce that @espn will be broadcasting my world record attempt, live across America! It’s an honour to be able to help bring the sport of strongman forward during such unsure and unprecedented times.”

 

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I’m so excited to announce that @espn will be broadcasting my world record attempt, live across America! It’s an honour to be able to help bring the sport of strongman forward during such unsure and unprecedented times.

A post shared by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (@thorbjornsson) on Apr 15, 2020 at 10:56am PDT

Will you tune into the Hafthor Bjornsson deadlift challenge on ESPN?

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

Header image courtesy of Instagram

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A battle of wild striking technicians!

The last few UFC events have been guaranteed fireworks to say the least. Justin Gaethje proved that he’s a top contender after knocking out UFC veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in under one round at UFC on ESPN+ 16.

Now it’s the featherweights time to shine in the main event as Yair Rodriguez meets Jeremy Stephens in a match that is sure to promise quality striking entertainment.

The Wild Kicker

Yair Rodriguez is a name that has become synonymous with insane flying kicks and wild action. Coming from a taekwondo background, Yair Rodriguez possesses every kick in the book. With such a wide arsenal of kicks at his disposal, Rodriguez has proven to be a handful for most of his opponents throughout his UFC career.

If you’re a fan of martial arts films that feature near impossible acrobatic kicking techniques then you’ll definitely be a fan of Yair Rodriguez.

The Brawling Technician

Jeremy Stephens style is what you’d describe as fan friendly. He often throws caution to the wind with some of his powerful boxing combinations, but that’s not to say there’s no method to the madness. In recent years Jeremy Stephens has shown a willingness to stick to a game plan in order to get the job done inside the cage.

While Jeremy Stephens may be a brawler, his technical aptitude has taken even farther than anyone could have imagined. With a hard hitting style and relentless gas tank, you can expect the UFC veteran to give Yair Rodriguez all he can handle.

The Breakdown

This fight is sure to be a wild ride while it lasts. Check out the breakdown below to get a sense of how each man fights and what they’ll need to do to get a victory in the UFC on ESPN+ 17 main event.

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Who was victorious, Cain Velasquez or Francis Ngannou?

The UFC heavyweight division has become pretty interesting as of late. After defeating consensus number one heavyweight of all-time Stipe Miocic, champion Daniel Cormier has thrown a curve ball back into the 265 pound division. With stablemate and former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez hoping to return to title contention, Cormier being champion could become a bit of a conundrum if the former divisional king continues to win.

Before Cain Veleasquez can worry about title aspirations, he’ll have to focus his full attention on knockout artist Francis Ngannou. The two meet in the main event of the organizations debut on ESPN.

When it was all said and done, Francis Ngannou defeated Cain Velasquez by first round KO.

What did you think of UFC on ESPN 1?

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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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CT Fletcher isn’t happy with ESPN.

For anyone in the bodybuilding and fitness industry, the story behind CT Fletcher and his recent battle with heart issues has been well documented. CT Fletcher himself has addressed his faithful fans keeping them up to date on his condition and how he almost lost his life after suffering another heart attack.

That’s what makes ESPN’s recent video clip featuring the famed powerlifter all the more tasteless.

In a recent episode of Sports Center, a clip of CT Fletcher was used to poke fun at the New England Patriots on their recent loss. While ESPN may have found the joke funny, one person who isn’t laughing is CT Fletcher himself.

The respected powerlifter went to social media to express his distaste on the recent clip that features CT Fletcher recounting his near death experience.

 

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THIS IS @sportscenter & @hawk IDEA OF FUNNY. NOT LAUGHING.

A post shared by The Official C.T. Fletcher (@c.t.ali.fletcher) on Dec 10, 2018 at 9:05pm PST

This was a pretty bad move on ESPN’s part and we’re waiting to see if they give CT Fletcher a much deserved apology. Generation Iron will keep you updated as the story develops.

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Now that the FOX TV deal came to an end, UFC announced that ESPN will become the network to broadcast the upcoming UFC events. The companies signed an epic 5 year deal for 30 fights and the license fee of $1.5 Billion.

Will you subscribe to ESPN to watch UFC?

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Once you’ve tasted  flight, you will forever walk with your head to the sky.

Brock Lesnar had the rest of his life all set up. He just signed a new contract with the biggest name in sports entertainment in the WWE, he’s finally been healthy after years and years of battling a potentially deadly disease, and he’s had a successful MMA career by any means. End of story, right? Wrong, instead of riding off into the sunset like so many others before him, Brock has decided to give it one more shot in the octagon to see what he has left. https://youtu.be/G4ec-j7Kyis In a recent interview on ESPN’s Sportscenter, Brock Lesnar revealed that he “didn’t want it to be over”, he didn’t want to have regrets. He had to prove to himself that he could still do it. While we’re happy for this potential cinderella story, it could have a very abrupt ending. Fighting knockout artist Mark Hunt isn’t an easy feat for any man, nevertheless with his new and improved takedown defense; this fight will be a real challenge for the WWE superstar. No matter what the result, it seems UFC 200 just got a pop from WWE fans as well as some genuine buzz for the blockbuster card that was previously in crisis.

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UFC 200, here we come.

UFC had made it official that Holly Holmes’s next fight will be against Ronda Rousey. The rematch is set to take place at UFC 200 aimed for July 9th in Las Vegas. Dana White reported to the LA Times that “Ronda’s next” for the women’s bantamweight champion despite protest from her manager Lenny Fresquez. Fresquez expressed that Holly’s not used to sitting on the shelf that long and wouldn’t mind taking a fight against No.1 contender Meisha Tate in the meantime. “Holly’s used to staying active,” Fresquez said. “We’re from the old school and we believe the No. 1 contender is there for a reason. … [Tate] deserves a shot, but it’s not for me to decide.” Dana obviously took the request with serious consideration when he responded with a sarcastic “We’re real concerned with his opinion,”- referring to Fresquez. However, an opinion he should be concerned with is that of a one Ronda Rousey who in a recent Espn interview expressed that she would need sometime to recover physically and mentally from the mauling that took place at UFC 193 in November.

“It might be three to six months before I can eat an apple, let alone take an impact.”

Three to six months? Isn’t that pretty much exactly when she’s meant to take the rematch against the woman who broke her face in stunning fashion? This fight doesn’t make sense to us or the rest of the world, but apparently Dana White knows something we don’t – he claims he’s been in contact with Rousey several times a day since her loss.

“I’ve made no secret about it. She’s one of my very close friends,” White said. “Ronda is the fiercest competitor I have ever met in my life and she’s also very proud,” White said. “What made the world love Ronda is that Ronda absolutely 100% knew she was not going to lose. … People rallied around this powerful female figure.

I think that recent comment explains it all. The fact that Dana White is “close friends” with Ronda has skewed his decisions and made him bias towards certain fighters, Ronda in particular. But is this fight good for Ronda? I don’t know. Maybe she’s claiming to be more hurt than she really is as a strategy to get Holmes to put her guard down. In the same interview, ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne claimed that other than some slight “puffiness” around her mouth Ronda looked physically fine. I haven’t seen the medical records, so I digress. I do know however that Dana gives zero F-@cks about the current champion Holly Holm in this situation and that her fight team should take this as a sign of disrespect. The fact that he could disregard their voices so easily and is in constant with her competitor on an intimate basis doesn’t bode well for the kickboxing phenom. There are other theories too. Maybe it’s less about either competitor and all about the dollar bills. With the fight so far out the UFC can build Holly Holm up in a media storm the same way they did for Ronda Rousey. This way when they dance in July the whole world will know and be emotionally invested in both fighters leading to huge ticket/pay per view sales, maybe the biggest of all time. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get the latest and greatest in MMA news.

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Ronda Rousey On Her Tragic Loss : “I Was Out On My Feet From The Very Beginning”

“I’m really fucking sad”

According to ESPN’s exclusive interview Ronda Rousey is down but not out. The former 6x defending champion opened up for the first time after her shocking loss to current champion Holly Holm, telling us what happened during the fight and how her life has changed since. Still healing from her wounds, Ronda isn’t planning on coming back anytime soon.  “It might be three to six months before I can eat an apple, let alone take an impact,”. Like her body, her spirit is hampered but not broken and she already has her sights set on the much anticipated rematch.

“I need to come back. I need to beat this chick. Who knows if I’m going to pop my teeth out or break my jaw or rip my lip open. I have to fucking do it.”

Of what happened in the fight, Ronda said she got hit with a shot early in the first rd. that rattled some teeth and left her dazed for the rest of the fight, “I got hit in that first round. … I cut my lip open and knocked a couple of my teeth loose. I was out on my feet from the very beginning.” “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I had that huge cut in my mouth and I just spit [the blood] out at my feet. Then they brought the bucket over and I’m like, ‘Why didn’t I spit it in the bucket?’ I never spit on the ground.” “It was like a dumbed-down dreamy version of yourself making decisions. … I was just trying to shake myself out of it. I kept saying to myself, ‘You’re OK, keep fighting. You’re OK, keep fighting.'” “I just feel so embarrassed. How I fought after that is such an embarrassing representation of myself. I wasn’t even fucking there.” After the fight Rousey said she slept the whole 15hr plane ride home from Sydney leaving her boyfriend, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne to shoulder messages from friends and family. While she’s still down about the loss Ronda’s starting to come out of her shell as she’s been spotted out recently walking her dog. While they’re many theories on what could’ve contributed to Rousey’s shocking loss on Nov 14th, one of the most popular ones is that the pressure from her media obligations as well as being an icon for the feminist movement took it’s toll. When asked if Rousey would attempt to do it all again, she gave a deeply honest reply. “I feel like I’m grieving the death of the person who could’ve done that,” she says, “I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken. That’s just what fucking happens when you try.” While Many of Ronda’s days are spent lounging with Mochi (her 7-year-old Argentinian Mastiff) or cuddling with Travis, her sights are still set on coming back and re-taking the women’s bantamweight championship. Love her or hate her, Ronda is one of those figures that we can’t help but watch, that we can’t help but talk about. Her courage cannot be denied. Here’s to hoping a swift and safe comeback to the former champ.

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