What can be said about Jon “Bones” Jones that hasn’t already been said? The man is the youngest fighter to ever hold a UFC title, has the longest reach in the UFC, and is considered to be one of the most dominant ever in the sport. Jones has a near flawless record of 14-1 with his sole loss coming by way of disqualification in a bout with Matt Hammil that he was dominating before using illegal 12-to-6 elbows, leaving Hammil unable to continue.
There are still many questions left unanswered about the young professional. He has yet to take any real damage inside the cage, so his chin still hasn’t been proven. He has also never been taken down, and the only time he has really done any work inside the cage off of his back was when he pulled guard in his most recent title fight against Rampage Jackson. It came in the closing seconds of the round, and there wasn’t much time for work to be done.
The biggest thing that Jones does not have in his young career is certainty. There has only been one UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in the last four years to defend the belt more than once, and that is MMA legend and UFC Hall-of-Famer Chuck Liddell. To ask Jones to live up to a legend is a tall task, but one not outside the realm of possibility.
Since his sole loss inside the cage, Jones has gone on to win five straight, finishing all of his opponents in stunning fashion. His fight with Brandon Vera saw a badly disfigured Vera exit the cage on his way to the hospital for a badly broken nose. In his next performance, against Vladimir Matyushenko, he landed a total of ten elbow strikes from the crucifix position in just four seconds to end the fight.
Jones defeated then-unbeaten, Ryan Bader by guillotine choke to earn himself a shot at Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s UFC Light Heavyweight title. It was the most dominant performance Jones had put forth to date, frustrating Shogun in all aspects of the fight. Rua was helpless to do anything in the standup game, getting out struck 75-9. He eventually succumbed to Jones’s onslaught of strikes in the third round and Jones was left as the youngest champion in UFC history at just 23 years of age.
His first title defense was against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jones was worried about Rampage’s aggressive style coming into the fight. He didn’t want to be rushed by an aggressive flurry and be knocked unconscious seconds into his first title defense, so he elected to try something new. Jones came out of his corner, three points on the ground. His variation of a shoot-wrestling style protected him from Rampage’s hands on his way in for a takedown to open the fight. It is this type of ingenuity and his ability to adapt in his fights that allowed him to cruise past Rampage, and will aid him in keeping his title for many years.
First, before he can cement his legacy as one of the division’s, if not the sport’s greats, Jones has to figure out his next opponent, Lyoto Machida. Machida is one of the very few karatekas in MMA, and he favors a counter-striking style. Add to that the fact that he was able to outwrestle former NJCAA Champion Rashad Evans, and Machida is a pretty scary obstacle. Jones should still have an edge in wrestling, as I believe he has a better wrestling base than Evans. This is an intriguing matchup because of Jones’s reach advantage versus Machida’s style. Jones’s aggressive striking style plays right into the hands of Machida, but because Jones doesn’t have to get very far inside to land strikes, Machida’s countering may be rendered useless.
The fight will most likely be a strong striking match, but look for Jones to shoot early. He wants nothing to do with the kick that ended MMA legend Randy Couture’s career, so expect to see Jones mix in a few takedowns to throw Machida off balance. As surprising as it may seem, I’ve got Jones and Machida going to decision, and Jones’s streak of five straight finishes coming to a close. Jones gets the unanimous nod, and moves into the annals of UFC history as one of four champions to defend the title more than once.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Machida, Victim of the "Jones Era?"
Upon winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Title in 2009, it was proclaimed that a new era had begun. “The Machida Era” as it was called had begun, and it didn’t look like anyone would be able to figure out Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida’s style, let alone beat him and take his title.
Machida began his martial arts career at a very young age. He already had his black belt in karate when he was thirteen years old. He also began training in sumo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before he was fifteen years of age. It is this combination of karate, and ground control that makes Machida a hard opponent to figure out.
His style consists mainly of counterstriking, and he truly uses every limb to strike, his most deadly being his straight right. Machida has shown proficiency in all aspects of his Mixed Martial Arts game, and is truly one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA.
Machida also boasts one of the most impressive records in all of MMA history. He has squared off with the best of the best, including Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and Randy Couture. The only foe on his record he could not best in the Octagon is Rampage Jackson, who he lost a controversial split decision to. In total, he has faced seven former UFC Champions, a UFC Hall-of-Famer, two future Hall-of-Famers, and two former Pride Champions. Lyoto Machida has seen and done it all, and has arguably the best record in all of MMA.
The aforementioned, “Machida Era” was not long lived, and ended after just one controversial title defense over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The unanimous decision, awarded to Machida, was contested within the MMA community, and UFC President Dana White gave the green light for an immediate rematch between the two. Shogun took the second contest decisively, winning with the 2010 knockout of the year in the first round.
After his loss to Rua, Machida was put into the middle ranks of the highly competitive light heavyweight division. He was arranged to square off with the ever-rising Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. More controversy followed at the end of the fight when Rampage was given the unanimous nod over Machida. Rampage, in a post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that he felt Machida had won the fight and even suggested a rematch. White denied the rematch, and Machida was put on the hot seat, facing the prospect of three straight losses.
Machida was determined to not leave his fate up to his bosses, and put on a stunning performance at UFC 129, the biggest UFC event to date. Machida showed early on against Randy Couture that he wanted to strike. He consistently avoided Couture’s clinch attempts, and landed kicks and punches with pinpoint accuracy. Late in the second round, he landed the kick that ended Couture’s career. A fantastic jumping front kick to Couture’s jaw knocked out more than just a tooth and sent Couture to the mat. The fight was called, and it appeared that maybe The Dragon could be champion again one day.
His title aspirations were put on the backburner in possibly the most competitive division in the UFC. Rampage Jackson got his shot, and failed. Rashad Evans was arranged to have his crack at titleholder, Jon Jones, but due to injury he was forced to pull out. Could it have been fate? Machida, after just one win, is back in the title picture, and at the head of it.
The matchup with Jones is scary for fans of Jones, and quite interesting for Machida’s supporters. Jones, who may be considered the most dominant champion aside from Anderson Silva, has yet to taste legitimate defeat in his MMA career. The sole blemish on his record is the result of a questionable stoppage against Matt Hammil after Jones delivered illegal 12-to-6 elbow strikes. Jones is a very aggressive striker, and that plays right into the hands of Machida, a strong counter striker.
If Machida wants his title back, he will have to work for it against one of the best wrestlers in the UFC. Machida will have to carefully counter, and avoid being put on his back against Jones, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Jones has a massive reach at 84.5 inches, the longest in UFC history, and even against a superb counter-striker like Machida that will be a huge advantage. Jones will work his ground game effectively, but it is his striking where he will dominate. No one so far has been able to stop the reach of the freakishly athletic Jones, and don’t expect Machida to do that. Jones will mix in a few takedowns as well en route to his first unanimous decision since UFC 100 in 2009.
Machida began his martial arts career at a very young age. He already had his black belt in karate when he was thirteen years old. He also began training in sumo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before he was fifteen years of age. It is this combination of karate, and ground control that makes Machida a hard opponent to figure out.
His style consists mainly of counterstriking, and he truly uses every limb to strike, his most deadly being his straight right. Machida has shown proficiency in all aspects of his Mixed Martial Arts game, and is truly one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA.
Machida also boasts one of the most impressive records in all of MMA history. He has squared off with the best of the best, including Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and Randy Couture. The only foe on his record he could not best in the Octagon is Rampage Jackson, who he lost a controversial split decision to. In total, he has faced seven former UFC Champions, a UFC Hall-of-Famer, two future Hall-of-Famers, and two former Pride Champions. Lyoto Machida has seen and done it all, and has arguably the best record in all of MMA.
The aforementioned, “Machida Era” was not long lived, and ended after just one controversial title defense over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The unanimous decision, awarded to Machida, was contested within the MMA community, and UFC President Dana White gave the green light for an immediate rematch between the two. Shogun took the second contest decisively, winning with the 2010 knockout of the year in the first round.
After his loss to Rua, Machida was put into the middle ranks of the highly competitive light heavyweight division. He was arranged to square off with the ever-rising Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. More controversy followed at the end of the fight when Rampage was given the unanimous nod over Machida. Rampage, in a post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that he felt Machida had won the fight and even suggested a rematch. White denied the rematch, and Machida was put on the hot seat, facing the prospect of three straight losses.
Machida was determined to not leave his fate up to his bosses, and put on a stunning performance at UFC 129, the biggest UFC event to date. Machida showed early on against Randy Couture that he wanted to strike. He consistently avoided Couture’s clinch attempts, and landed kicks and punches with pinpoint accuracy. Late in the second round, he landed the kick that ended Couture’s career. A fantastic jumping front kick to Couture’s jaw knocked out more than just a tooth and sent Couture to the mat. The fight was called, and it appeared that maybe The Dragon could be champion again one day.
His title aspirations were put on the backburner in possibly the most competitive division in the UFC. Rampage Jackson got his shot, and failed. Rashad Evans was arranged to have his crack at titleholder, Jon Jones, but due to injury he was forced to pull out. Could it have been fate? Machida, after just one win, is back in the title picture, and at the head of it.
The matchup with Jones is scary for fans of Jones, and quite interesting for Machida’s supporters. Jones, who may be considered the most dominant champion aside from Anderson Silva, has yet to taste legitimate defeat in his MMA career. The sole blemish on his record is the result of a questionable stoppage against Matt Hammil after Jones delivered illegal 12-to-6 elbow strikes. Jones is a very aggressive striker, and that plays right into the hands of Machida, a strong counter striker.
If Machida wants his title back, he will have to work for it against one of the best wrestlers in the UFC. Machida will have to carefully counter, and avoid being put on his back against Jones, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Jones has a massive reach at 84.5 inches, the longest in UFC history, and even against a superb counter-striker like Machida that will be a huge advantage. Jones will work his ground game effectively, but it is his striking where he will dominate. No one so far has been able to stop the reach of the freakishly athletic Jones, and don’t expect Machida to do that. Jones will mix in a few takedowns as well en route to his first unanimous decision since UFC 100 in 2009.
The Ultimate Fighter Finale Fighter Preview - Michael "The Count" Bisping
The sport’s brashest of Brits, Michael “The Count” Bisping has done it again. At the weigh ins for his clash with Jason Miller at The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale, Bisping was booed under the direction of Miller. Announcer Joe Rogan urged fans to give Bisping some love. Bisping proceeded to tell the fans that he doesn’t “give a [expletive] about getting [expletive] love. All I care about is smashing this dickhead’s head in.”
Bisping has always been a bully of sorts, and often, the king of trash talk. It seems simply fitting that he enter the cage on Saturday night opposite the former host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown.”
Bisping, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, has tussled with the best of the best at 185 pounds in the UFC. He started his career a perfect 14-0 at light heavyweight before dropping a split decision to Rashad Evans who later went on to win the 205-pound title. Bisping currently stands at 21-3, with his only losses coming to a former UFC champion, and two former Pride champions, Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson.
After his loss to Evans, Bisping dropped to 185 pounds and went on a three-fight streak that culminated in his defeat of Chris Leben. His next fight was set against Dan Henderson, the man coaching opposite him on that season of The Ultimate Fighter.Many remember the signature knockout loss against Henderson at UFC 100 after The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K, but what was even more memorable was Bisping’s time on the show as a coach. After rattling off victories over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera, Bisping was again selected to coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He was originally slated to coach opposite, and eventually square off with the true king of trash talk, Chael Sonnen, but various issues pertaining to alleged steroid usage prevented Sonnen from obtaining his fighting license in time.
Jason Miller was selected as the newest coach, after pleading his case to UFC President Dana White over the social networking site, Twitter. White had Miller installed as the newest coach in a matter of days, clearly a result of his interesting persona. The trash talk on the show was kept to a minimum to begin the season, and there was no bad blood going into the show, but Miller’s pranks got the best of Bisping. Bisping decided to play some pranks of his own and even had Miller’s car towed at one point during the season. The antics between the two fighters came to a head at the weigh-ins Friday night, when Bisping missed weight by one-quarter of a pound. Miller antagonized him, and Bisping shot back with vulgarities. It is sure to be an exciting finale.
Statistically and stylistically, the two fighters couldn’t be more different. Bisping, a striker, holds the majority of his wins by knockout, whereas Miller, a grappler, holds the majority of his wins by submission. The bottom line is that these two fighters know how to finish. Miller has only been to a decision eight times and is an even 4-4 in fights that go all rounds. Bisping has only been to six, and has only lost two of them. Both have impressive cardio, so that shouldn’t be an issue even if this one does reach the later rounds.
Miller has stated that he wants to stand and trade with Bisping, and grudge matches such as these often bring out a fighter’s inner slugger. Bisping has to be careful though. He is a better striker, but if Miller can manage to catch him and send him sprawling he could find himself on the wrong side of a rear-naked choke. It will be surprising if this one goes the distance; I’ve got Miller by rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
Bisping has always been a bully of sorts, and often, the king of trash talk. It seems simply fitting that he enter the cage on Saturday night opposite the former host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown.”
Bisping, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, has tussled with the best of the best at 185 pounds in the UFC. He started his career a perfect 14-0 at light heavyweight before dropping a split decision to Rashad Evans who later went on to win the 205-pound title. Bisping currently stands at 21-3, with his only losses coming to a former UFC champion, and two former Pride champions, Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson.
After his loss to Evans, Bisping dropped to 185 pounds and went on a three-fight streak that culminated in his defeat of Chris Leben. His next fight was set against Dan Henderson, the man coaching opposite him on that season of The Ultimate Fighter.Many remember the signature knockout loss against Henderson at UFC 100 after The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K, but what was even more memorable was Bisping’s time on the show as a coach. After rattling off victories over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera, Bisping was again selected to coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He was originally slated to coach opposite, and eventually square off with the true king of trash talk, Chael Sonnen, but various issues pertaining to alleged steroid usage prevented Sonnen from obtaining his fighting license in time.
Jason Miller was selected as the newest coach, after pleading his case to UFC President Dana White over the social networking site, Twitter. White had Miller installed as the newest coach in a matter of days, clearly a result of his interesting persona. The trash talk on the show was kept to a minimum to begin the season, and there was no bad blood going into the show, but Miller’s pranks got the best of Bisping. Bisping decided to play some pranks of his own and even had Miller’s car towed at one point during the season. The antics between the two fighters came to a head at the weigh-ins Friday night, when Bisping missed weight by one-quarter of a pound. Miller antagonized him, and Bisping shot back with vulgarities. It is sure to be an exciting finale.
Statistically and stylistically, the two fighters couldn’t be more different. Bisping, a striker, holds the majority of his wins by knockout, whereas Miller, a grappler, holds the majority of his wins by submission. The bottom line is that these two fighters know how to finish. Miller has only been to a decision eight times and is an even 4-4 in fights that go all rounds. Bisping has only been to six, and has only lost two of them. Both have impressive cardio, so that shouldn’t be an issue even if this one does reach the later rounds.
Miller has stated that he wants to stand and trade with Bisping, and grudge matches such as these often bring out a fighter’s inner slugger. Bisping has to be careful though. He is a better striker, but if Miller can manage to catch him and send him sprawling he could find himself on the wrong side of a rear-naked choke. It will be surprising if this one goes the distance; I’ve got Miller by rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
The Ultimate Fighter Finale Fighter Preview - Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Jason “Mayhem” Miller has done a lot with his career in Mixed Martial Arts over the years, but most of his career has taken place outside of the Octagon, until now.
Mayhem earned his nickname for his antics in and outside of the cage. In his first fight in the UFC, he wore a mask as he entered the cage, and he attempted to flip off of his back straight onto his feet when he found a young Georges St-Pierre standing in his guard. It didn’t work, and Mayhem was kicked back to the mat, but he got up chuckling.
Since that unanimous decision loss at welterweight to St-Pierre in 2005, Miller has fought at middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, winning a contest at each weight. Any fighter who can go on a two-fight win streak while struggling to find his fighting weight is a pretty talented one. Shortly after his fight against Lodune Sincaid at 205 pounds, Miller realized that 185 pounds was the place for him. He cemented his place in the ranks at 185 as he captured the Icon Sport Middleweight Championship from Robbie Lawler in 2006, just a year after his sole, lackluster performance in the UFC.
Miller has also built a strong fan base through the use of his “Mayhem” image. His fans, which he personally calls “Mayhem Monkeys,” have come to follow him through his fights, as well as his television and radio personality. Mayhem regularly hosts a radio show on Sirius XM, and hosted three seasons of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, before deciding to take his MMA career to the next level.The current coach of Team Miller on The Ultimate Fighter 14 lucked into his role on the show. Originally, top middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, was asked to be the coach, but due to several incidents relating back to his August 2010 clash with Anderson Silva he was unable to get his fighting license cleared. The title fight, where Sonnen tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, possibly indicating steroid usage, essentially set everything in motion for Miller to become the new coach. He tweeted UFC President Dana White several days later that he wanted the spot, and White named him coach in a matter of days.
The opposing coach, Michael Bisping, and Miller will square off on Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale, which is set to take place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miller comes into the fight as the favorite over the UFC veteran, Bisping. The fight could have title implications for either fighter down the line, as Bisping is currently riding a three-fight win streak, and Miller is on a two-fight streak.
Miller is known for his stellar ground game, as he owns 15 of his 25 wins by submission. Bisping has become known as a power puncher with 13 of his 21 victories by knockout. In the fighters’ combined 55 fights, only 14 have gone to a decision, so this is sure to be a barnburner. Miller’s maturation as a fighter and his willingness to take his career more seriously has brought him a lot of respect within the MMA community, but will it have an impact in his return to the UFC? The task of the night for Miller will be getting Bisping, to the mat. Bisping who has a career takedown defense of 58 percent, has fought a lot of pure strikers over his career, and the times in which he found himself matched up with a wrestler, he ended up on his back quite a bit.
Miller has openly stated that he will knock Bisping out and wishes to stand and trade with the Brit. If Mayhem opts to follow this game plan, he may find himself in a spot of trouble, but Bisping isn’t a world-class striker by any means. If Miller can pick his shots and go in for the big punches when the opportunity presents itself, he could easily find himself on top of Bisping, pummeling him to a TKO victory. I’m not sure that Miller has the power to take out Bisping, so watch for him to knock Bisping down, and go in for the rear naked choke. Miller takes this one is such a fashion, in the fourth round.
Mayhem earned his nickname for his antics in and outside of the cage. In his first fight in the UFC, he wore a mask as he entered the cage, and he attempted to flip off of his back straight onto his feet when he found a young Georges St-Pierre standing in his guard. It didn’t work, and Mayhem was kicked back to the mat, but he got up chuckling.
Since that unanimous decision loss at welterweight to St-Pierre in 2005, Miller has fought at middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, winning a contest at each weight. Any fighter who can go on a two-fight win streak while struggling to find his fighting weight is a pretty talented one. Shortly after his fight against Lodune Sincaid at 205 pounds, Miller realized that 185 pounds was the place for him. He cemented his place in the ranks at 185 as he captured the Icon Sport Middleweight Championship from Robbie Lawler in 2006, just a year after his sole, lackluster performance in the UFC.
Miller has also built a strong fan base through the use of his “Mayhem” image. His fans, which he personally calls “Mayhem Monkeys,” have come to follow him through his fights, as well as his television and radio personality. Mayhem regularly hosts a radio show on Sirius XM, and hosted three seasons of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, before deciding to take his MMA career to the next level.The current coach of Team Miller on The Ultimate Fighter 14 lucked into his role on the show. Originally, top middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, was asked to be the coach, but due to several incidents relating back to his August 2010 clash with Anderson Silva he was unable to get his fighting license cleared. The title fight, where Sonnen tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, possibly indicating steroid usage, essentially set everything in motion for Miller to become the new coach. He tweeted UFC President Dana White several days later that he wanted the spot, and White named him coach in a matter of days.
The opposing coach, Michael Bisping, and Miller will square off on Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale, which is set to take place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miller comes into the fight as the favorite over the UFC veteran, Bisping. The fight could have title implications for either fighter down the line, as Bisping is currently riding a three-fight win streak, and Miller is on a two-fight streak.
Miller is known for his stellar ground game, as he owns 15 of his 25 wins by submission. Bisping has become known as a power puncher with 13 of his 21 victories by knockout. In the fighters’ combined 55 fights, only 14 have gone to a decision, so this is sure to be a barnburner. Miller’s maturation as a fighter and his willingness to take his career more seriously has brought him a lot of respect within the MMA community, but will it have an impact in his return to the UFC? The task of the night for Miller will be getting Bisping, to the mat. Bisping who has a career takedown defense of 58 percent, has fought a lot of pure strikers over his career, and the times in which he found himself matched up with a wrestler, he ended up on his back quite a bit.
Miller has openly stated that he will knock Bisping out and wishes to stand and trade with the Brit. If Mayhem opts to follow this game plan, he may find himself in a spot of trouble, but Bisping isn’t a world-class striker by any means. If Miller can pick his shots and go in for the big punches when the opportunity presents itself, he could easily find himself on top of Bisping, pummeling him to a TKO victory. I’m not sure that Miller has the power to take out Bisping, so watch for him to knock Bisping down, and go in for the rear naked choke. Miller takes this one is such a fashion, in the fourth round.
UFC 137 Preview - Nick Diaz
We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Nick Diaz has passed his pre-fight medical screening. No marijuana this time folks.
The California native, Diaz, had a decision overturned against Takanori Gomi in early 2007 because he tested positive for marijuana after the fight. It was a fight in which he again was able to use his fantastic jiu-jitsu to win. He caught Gomi in a gogoplata with 3:14 remaining in the second round, to solidify himself as a force in Pride Fighting Championships. It was only the second gogoplata ever in Pride, the first having been done by Shinya Aoki just two months prior.
NSAC officials went on to test Diaz’s THC levels and they found him to be at 175, 125 over the limit allowed for athletes. A level of 175 during the fight indicates that he was intoxicated and clearly under the influence of the drug during the fight. Commission Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo said that he felt the drug made Diaz numb to the pain of a large cut that had been opened under his eye early in the fight.
The Gomi fight being his last with Pride, he didn’t have many places to turn due to the penalties imposed on him by the NSAC. He was suspended for six months and forced to turn over 20 percent of his earnings from the fight. The fight was also declared a no contest.
With his options running thin, Diaz turned to now-defunct promotion EliteXC. In his first of four fights under the EliteXC banner, Diaz took a split decision over Mike Aina. In his next fight, he took on K.J Noons for the vacant 160-pound title. Diaz was dropped early by Noons, and from then on opted to go in for the takedown. In doing so, he was stuffed multiple times, one time in particular left a massive gash on his forehead. The fight was called to a halt by the cage side doctor due to various cuts on Diaz’s forehead.
Diaz bounced all over, fighting for Japan’s Dream, and finishing up his deal with EliteXC before finding his home in Strikeforce. His first fight for the promotion was against MMA legend Frank Shamrock at a catchweight of 179 pounds. Diaz, aware of a nagging rib injury that Shamrock had sustained during training, attacked his body relentlessly. He eventually finished Shamrock with a body shot that sent him sprawling and followed up with strikes on the ground.
After his victory over Shamrock, Diaz’s next two fights were in Strikeforce, and after a bout in Dream in 2010, he fought solely for the promotion in 2011. He claimed the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title at Strikeforce: Miami with a win over newcomer, MariusŽaromskis.Žaromskis has oftentimes been compared to Mirko Cro Cop because of his striking prowess, specifically with head kicks. Another commonality between the two is their takedown defense, which is among the best in MMA. Because of this, Diaz opted to stand and strike, with the takedown in his back pocket. He scored an early one after a few knees in the clinch, but his submission attempts were quickly shrugged off. Žaromskis floored Diaz with a left, and Diaz was punished on the ground. Once he recovered, he came back aggressive, and effectively landed many combinations, forcing the referee to step in with under a minute left.
With his new Strikeforce belt, Diaz was the king of the division, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker made sure Diaz got the one fighter he had wanted since his loss in EliteXC, K.J. Noons. Diaz was offered a rematch with Noons while still in EliteXC, and promptly accepted, but Noons declined the offer, stating that he felt Diaz wasn’t the number one contender. In the rematch, Diaz went on to win a five-round decision.
His next two title defenses were against Cyborg Santos, and Paul Daley respectively. Diaz handled the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Santos, showing off his own impressive ground game, ending the fight via armbar with less than ten seconds remaining in the second round. It marked the first time anyone had ever finished the Brazilian, Santos by submission.
The fight with Daley was a wild one, featuring two unorthodox strikers. The fight opened with a lot of aggressive striking from both fighters, and ended that way too. With just three seconds left in the first round, the fight was called, with Diaz the victor. The fight saw Diaz get stumbled early on, but he recovered quickly, and baited Daley into aggressively exchanging, a decision that was also his undoing.
After the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC. bought the rights to Strikeforce in March of 2011, many felt a matchup of UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St-Pierre and Diaz was immanent. The match finally came to fruition and was booked for UFC 137, but was eventually scrapped because Diaz failed to attend the mandatory press conferences. He was demoted to the second slot on the same card, and matched up against lightweight and welterweight ace, B.J. Penn. After St-Pierre was forced to pull out of his title bout due to a knee injury, Diaz versus Penn was upgraded to the main event.
The fight, featuring possibly the two best jiu-jitsu fighters the UFC has ever known, should be an interesting one. Given that both are so experienced and well versed in the ground game, both may try and avoid it. Diaz has developed more of a striker-first mentality since his stint with the UFC in 2003 that saw his ground game suffocated under more powerful wrestlers. Diaz will keep his takedowns in check, and be ready when the opportunity presents itself, much as he did in the Žaromskis fight.
Penn doesn’t provide as much a striking threat as Žaromskis by any means, but with his 21-second knockout of future UFC Hall-of-Famer, Matt Hughes, his hands aren’t to be underestimated. Diaz has a rather wild-striking style, as seen in his fight with Paul Daley. His aggressiveness got him into a lot of trouble in that fight, but he was able to recover quickly. He had better hope he can control his aggression in his fight with Penn, because the experienced veteran will not allow him to recover. Penn will move forward and pick his shots carefully, mixing in a takedown to add some additional strikes, en route to a unanimous nod over Diaz.
The California native, Diaz, had a decision overturned against Takanori Gomi in early 2007 because he tested positive for marijuana after the fight. It was a fight in which he again was able to use his fantastic jiu-jitsu to win. He caught Gomi in a gogoplata with 3:14 remaining in the second round, to solidify himself as a force in Pride Fighting Championships. It was only the second gogoplata ever in Pride, the first having been done by Shinya Aoki just two months prior.
NSAC officials went on to test Diaz’s THC levels and they found him to be at 175, 125 over the limit allowed for athletes. A level of 175 during the fight indicates that he was intoxicated and clearly under the influence of the drug during the fight. Commission Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo said that he felt the drug made Diaz numb to the pain of a large cut that had been opened under his eye early in the fight.
The Gomi fight being his last with Pride, he didn’t have many places to turn due to the penalties imposed on him by the NSAC. He was suspended for six months and forced to turn over 20 percent of his earnings from the fight. The fight was also declared a no contest.
With his options running thin, Diaz turned to now-defunct promotion EliteXC. In his first of four fights under the EliteXC banner, Diaz took a split decision over Mike Aina. In his next fight, he took on K.J Noons for the vacant 160-pound title. Diaz was dropped early by Noons, and from then on opted to go in for the takedown. In doing so, he was stuffed multiple times, one time in particular left a massive gash on his forehead. The fight was called to a halt by the cage side doctor due to various cuts on Diaz’s forehead.
Diaz bounced all over, fighting for Japan’s Dream, and finishing up his deal with EliteXC before finding his home in Strikeforce. His first fight for the promotion was against MMA legend Frank Shamrock at a catchweight of 179 pounds. Diaz, aware of a nagging rib injury that Shamrock had sustained during training, attacked his body relentlessly. He eventually finished Shamrock with a body shot that sent him sprawling and followed up with strikes on the ground.
After his victory over Shamrock, Diaz’s next two fights were in Strikeforce, and after a bout in Dream in 2010, he fought solely for the promotion in 2011. He claimed the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight Title at Strikeforce: Miami with a win over newcomer, MariusŽaromskis.Žaromskis has oftentimes been compared to Mirko Cro Cop because of his striking prowess, specifically with head kicks. Another commonality between the two is their takedown defense, which is among the best in MMA. Because of this, Diaz opted to stand and strike, with the takedown in his back pocket. He scored an early one after a few knees in the clinch, but his submission attempts were quickly shrugged off. Žaromskis floored Diaz with a left, and Diaz was punished on the ground. Once he recovered, he came back aggressive, and effectively landed many combinations, forcing the referee to step in with under a minute left.
With his new Strikeforce belt, Diaz was the king of the division, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker made sure Diaz got the one fighter he had wanted since his loss in EliteXC, K.J. Noons. Diaz was offered a rematch with Noons while still in EliteXC, and promptly accepted, but Noons declined the offer, stating that he felt Diaz wasn’t the number one contender. In the rematch, Diaz went on to win a five-round decision.
His next two title defenses were against Cyborg Santos, and Paul Daley respectively. Diaz handled the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Santos, showing off his own impressive ground game, ending the fight via armbar with less than ten seconds remaining in the second round. It marked the first time anyone had ever finished the Brazilian, Santos by submission.
The fight with Daley was a wild one, featuring two unorthodox strikers. The fight opened with a lot of aggressive striking from both fighters, and ended that way too. With just three seconds left in the first round, the fight was called, with Diaz the victor. The fight saw Diaz get stumbled early on, but he recovered quickly, and baited Daley into aggressively exchanging, a decision that was also his undoing.
After the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC. bought the rights to Strikeforce in March of 2011, many felt a matchup of UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St-Pierre and Diaz was immanent. The match finally came to fruition and was booked for UFC 137, but was eventually scrapped because Diaz failed to attend the mandatory press conferences. He was demoted to the second slot on the same card, and matched up against lightweight and welterweight ace, B.J. Penn. After St-Pierre was forced to pull out of his title bout due to a knee injury, Diaz versus Penn was upgraded to the main event.
The fight, featuring possibly the two best jiu-jitsu fighters the UFC has ever known, should be an interesting one. Given that both are so experienced and well versed in the ground game, both may try and avoid it. Diaz has developed more of a striker-first mentality since his stint with the UFC in 2003 that saw his ground game suffocated under more powerful wrestlers. Diaz will keep his takedowns in check, and be ready when the opportunity presents itself, much as he did in the Žaromskis fight.
Penn doesn’t provide as much a striking threat as Žaromskis by any means, but with his 21-second knockout of future UFC Hall-of-Famer, Matt Hughes, his hands aren’t to be underestimated. Diaz has a rather wild-striking style, as seen in his fight with Paul Daley. His aggressiveness got him into a lot of trouble in that fight, but he was able to recover quickly. He had better hope he can control his aggression in his fight with Penn, because the experienced veteran will not allow him to recover. Penn will move forward and pick his shots carefully, mixing in a takedown to add some additional strikes, en route to a unanimous nod over Diaz.
UFC 137 Preview - B.J. Penn
Plain and simple B.J. Penn will go down as one of the best fighters to ever step inside the UFC Octagon, but the question that remains is how he will go out. Perhaps the more pressing question is when he will retire.
Penn broke on to the scene in 2001 with a TKO victory over Joey Gilbert. Penn is one of very few modern-day fighters to have started his career in the UFC. Most fighters start their careers in smaller, regional promotions, and wrack up a few wins before the UFC comes calling. The former dual-weight titleholder, Penn received his call after his success on the world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu circuit. The ink was all but signed on Penn’s UFC contract after he became the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
Penn has had a storied career, both at welterweight and lightweight. Starting at lightweight, he went on a three-fight win streak that saw him beat talented striker Caol Uno. He was then given the chance to fight for the UFC Lightweight Title at just 3-0, against Jens Pulver. Penn lost the decision, and went on to challenge for the title again when Pulver vacated the title due to contractual disputes. A tournament was organized to crown a champion, and in the final bout, Penn fought Uno to a draw and no champion was crowned. The UFC subsequently suspended its lightweight division, so Penn moved back to his home state of Hawaii to fight for the Rumble on the Rock promotion.
Penn defeated Takanori Gomi by submission with a rear-naked choke in the third round to claim the Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship. Soon after, Penn decided to return to the UFC, but with the lightweight division still on the shelf, he opted to return as a welterweight. At welterweight, he defeated future UFC Hall-of-Famer, and former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes to unrest the title from one of the longest reigning champions. Hughes had defended the belt five times prior.
Penn had a successful career at welterweight, until the rise of current champion, and pound-for-pound top dog, Georges St-Pierre. Penn lost a welterweight number one contender bout against St-Pierre in 2006, but shortly after bounced down to lightweight and won the UFC Lightweight Title. Amid defending his strap at 155, Penn was also climbing the welterweight ranks, and eventually was booked for another match with St-Pierre, this time for St-Pierre’s welterweight title. Penn lost the bout by a TKO in the fourth round in one of the more brutal beat downs of his career.
After UFC 94, Penn decided to remain on the UFC’s roster as a lightweight only. He defended his title twice more, against Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez, before losing it to current champ, Frank Edgar. The fight with Edgar was not the first time fans had seen Penn simply outclassed. UFC President Dana White mentioned at a UFC 107 press conference, that he though Penn had little work ethic and had skated through the UFC ranks on talent alone.
The factor that proved to be vital was speed. Edgar had incredible head movement, and shot around the cage, while Penn slowly moved forward into an onslaught of strikes. Fans were shocked to see a fighter who they thought would retire with the lightweight title, and was considered among the best pound-for-pound for years, get beat by a fighter who walks at 160 pounds.
Penn was granted an immediate rematch, but the second bout with Edgar was pretty much the same as the first, Penn just could not compete with the faster Edgar. After losing back-to-back title shots at lightweight, Penn decided to give it another go at welterweight. His first fight back in the ranks at 170 was a rubber match with former nemesis Matt Hughes. Penn solidified his return to welterweight with a stunning knockout in just 21 seconds. Penn then moved on to challenge Jon Fitch, and the two of them fought to a majority draw.
Penn, after an eight-month layoff, was slated to fight Carlos Condit, in a high stakes, contender bout. After a lot of shuffling, due to Nick Diaz’s refusal to attend mandatory press conferences, and Georges St-Pierre having to pull out of his title fight, Diaz and Penn find themselves in the main even of UFC 137. Diaz had a run with the UFC from 2003 until 2006 when the promotion released him after his third consecutive loss.
The matchup could be rather one-sided, depending on how much Diaz has learned since his last UFC stint. He was oftentimes found on his back being manhandled by wrestlers, and unable to use his very impressive jiu-jitsu game. Penn isn’t the best wrestler on the UFC roster, and his top game isn’t stellar, but it shouldn’t be underestimated. Both Penn and Diaz have some of the best jiu-jitsu the UFC has ever seen, so the ground game may be an area to avoid for the both of them. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a slugfest, but it very well could end up that way. Penn has shown that his striking game is vastly improved since he lost his title, and Diaz has always been a very accomplished striker.
If this fight stays standing, Penn will need to be very careful and pick his shots, because Diaz’s wild striking style could play into his hand very well. Diaz’s last title fight, in Strikeforce against Paul Daley, saw him almost get knocked down several times with almost no respect for defense. The X-factor in this fight is whether Penn took his camp seriously. As White said, he has relied on talent for a while, and as he gets older, he has to rely more on work ethic. If Penn has aptly prepared for this fight, he can easily take a decision over Diaz. He has better jiu-jitsu, and more experience, so if he is careful and waits for his openings, he can whittle away at the impulsive Diaz brother. Penn takes this one by unanimous decision, possibly vaulting him into the conversation to fight for the UFC Welterweight Title.
Penn broke on to the scene in 2001 with a TKO victory over Joey Gilbert. Penn is one of very few modern-day fighters to have started his career in the UFC. Most fighters start their careers in smaller, regional promotions, and wrack up a few wins before the UFC comes calling. The former dual-weight titleholder, Penn received his call after his success on the world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu circuit. The ink was all but signed on Penn’s UFC contract after he became the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
Penn has had a storied career, both at welterweight and lightweight. Starting at lightweight, he went on a three-fight win streak that saw him beat talented striker Caol Uno. He was then given the chance to fight for the UFC Lightweight Title at just 3-0, against Jens Pulver. Penn lost the decision, and went on to challenge for the title again when Pulver vacated the title due to contractual disputes. A tournament was organized to crown a champion, and in the final bout, Penn fought Uno to a draw and no champion was crowned. The UFC subsequently suspended its lightweight division, so Penn moved back to his home state of Hawaii to fight for the Rumble on the Rock promotion.
Penn defeated Takanori Gomi by submission with a rear-naked choke in the third round to claim the Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship. Soon after, Penn decided to return to the UFC, but with the lightweight division still on the shelf, he opted to return as a welterweight. At welterweight, he defeated future UFC Hall-of-Famer, and former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes to unrest the title from one of the longest reigning champions. Hughes had defended the belt five times prior.
Penn had a successful career at welterweight, until the rise of current champion, and pound-for-pound top dog, Georges St-Pierre. Penn lost a welterweight number one contender bout against St-Pierre in 2006, but shortly after bounced down to lightweight and won the UFC Lightweight Title. Amid defending his strap at 155, Penn was also climbing the welterweight ranks, and eventually was booked for another match with St-Pierre, this time for St-Pierre’s welterweight title. Penn lost the bout by a TKO in the fourth round in one of the more brutal beat downs of his career.
After UFC 94, Penn decided to remain on the UFC’s roster as a lightweight only. He defended his title twice more, against Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez, before losing it to current champ, Frank Edgar. The fight with Edgar was not the first time fans had seen Penn simply outclassed. UFC President Dana White mentioned at a UFC 107 press conference, that he though Penn had little work ethic and had skated through the UFC ranks on talent alone.
The factor that proved to be vital was speed. Edgar had incredible head movement, and shot around the cage, while Penn slowly moved forward into an onslaught of strikes. Fans were shocked to see a fighter who they thought would retire with the lightweight title, and was considered among the best pound-for-pound for years, get beat by a fighter who walks at 160 pounds.
Penn was granted an immediate rematch, but the second bout with Edgar was pretty much the same as the first, Penn just could not compete with the faster Edgar. After losing back-to-back title shots at lightweight, Penn decided to give it another go at welterweight. His first fight back in the ranks at 170 was a rubber match with former nemesis Matt Hughes. Penn solidified his return to welterweight with a stunning knockout in just 21 seconds. Penn then moved on to challenge Jon Fitch, and the two of them fought to a majority draw.
Penn, after an eight-month layoff, was slated to fight Carlos Condit, in a high stakes, contender bout. After a lot of shuffling, due to Nick Diaz’s refusal to attend mandatory press conferences, and Georges St-Pierre having to pull out of his title fight, Diaz and Penn find themselves in the main even of UFC 137. Diaz had a run with the UFC from 2003 until 2006 when the promotion released him after his third consecutive loss.
The matchup could be rather one-sided, depending on how much Diaz has learned since his last UFC stint. He was oftentimes found on his back being manhandled by wrestlers, and unable to use his very impressive jiu-jitsu game. Penn isn’t the best wrestler on the UFC roster, and his top game isn’t stellar, but it shouldn’t be underestimated. Both Penn and Diaz have some of the best jiu-jitsu the UFC has ever seen, so the ground game may be an area to avoid for the both of them. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a slugfest, but it very well could end up that way. Penn has shown that his striking game is vastly improved since he lost his title, and Diaz has always been a very accomplished striker.
If this fight stays standing, Penn will need to be very careful and pick his shots, because Diaz’s wild striking style could play into his hand very well. Diaz’s last title fight, in Strikeforce against Paul Daley, saw him almost get knocked down several times with almost no respect for defense. The X-factor in this fight is whether Penn took his camp seriously. As White said, he has relied on talent for a while, and as he gets older, he has to rely more on work ethic. If Penn has aptly prepared for this fight, he can easily take a decision over Diaz. He has better jiu-jitsu, and more experience, so if he is careful and waits for his openings, he can whittle away at the impulsive Diaz brother. Penn takes this one by unanimous decision, possibly vaulting him into the conversation to fight for the UFC Welterweight Title.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
'Dexter' unable to pull in a new audience with sixth season
I did it. I finally succumbed to the cries of all of my friends and I sat down and watched an episode of "Dexter." Admittedly, I jumped on the bandwagon a wee bit late, as I jumped in at the start of season six, but it was worth it.
The show centers on the daily life of bloodstain pattern analyst, Dexter Morgan. He works for the Miami Metro Police Department, and is also, coincidentally, a serial killer. Sounds like quite a conundrum, doesn’t it? I thought so, which is why I always stayed away from the hit show. It all just sounded a bit too farfetched for me.
Dexter is, basically, a modern day Batman. He kills criminals, and people who do wrong by his moral code of ethics. He learned the skills from his adoptive father, Harry who also used to work for MMPD. Enough of the back-story. I’m hardly the guy to give it to you anyway.
So, the first episode of season six, I sit down with a five-pound bag of gummy bears that I bought from Emporium (cheaply priced at only four meals!) and get ready for the mind trip that is Dexter. The show opens with a short recap to get viewers like me up to speed.
The twists start early, as Dexter is (spoiler alert) already seen killing two people within the first five minutes. Feigning as a stabbing victim, he attacks the paramedics, and those sent out to save him unknowingly meet their demise. I find that I don’t really like how the show starts off with high-paced action. It seems to me, a ploy to hook viewers in quick, and oftentimes leads to a weak plot.
The plot here is that he is still trying to cope with the murder of his wife. Many storylines weave their way off of that. From the character aspect, Dexter now has more time for his son, and ultimately is shown as becoming a better father. This is something many felt he needed to focus more on considering the trauma he endured through watching his own mother being killed with a chainsaw. I must note, that is one of the more brutal things I have seen on television. It’s not everyday you see a child spattered with his own mother’s blood — kudos Showtime for stepping outside the box with this series.
From the director’s aspect, the death of Dexter’s wife allowed more freedom to return to focusing on the serial killings that made the show so popular in the beginning. Many fans cried about how terrible season five was, so if I decide to watch the show the whole way through, I’ll be dreading that one. The sixth season already has several dead bodies in its closet, so fans needn’t worry about there not being enough excitement. Dexter is hot on the blood trail again.
Having said all this, I still don’t foresee a happy relationship with Dexter and me in the future. It’s still a little too farfetched for me. Dexter isn’t a big man by any means, and his ability to hide his crimes by simple knowledge of blood spatters makes the show almost laughable. For the future, I think I’ll stick to my "Sons of Anarchy" and "White Collar," but it was nice to tag along with the bandwagon, even if only for a moment.
The show centers on the daily life of bloodstain pattern analyst, Dexter Morgan. He works for the Miami Metro Police Department, and is also, coincidentally, a serial killer. Sounds like quite a conundrum, doesn’t it? I thought so, which is why I always stayed away from the hit show. It all just sounded a bit too farfetched for me.
Dexter is, basically, a modern day Batman. He kills criminals, and people who do wrong by his moral code of ethics. He learned the skills from his adoptive father, Harry who also used to work for MMPD. Enough of the back-story. I’m hardly the guy to give it to you anyway.
So, the first episode of season six, I sit down with a five-pound bag of gummy bears that I bought from Emporium (cheaply priced at only four meals!) and get ready for the mind trip that is Dexter. The show opens with a short recap to get viewers like me up to speed.
The twists start early, as Dexter is (spoiler alert) already seen killing two people within the first five minutes. Feigning as a stabbing victim, he attacks the paramedics, and those sent out to save him unknowingly meet their demise. I find that I don’t really like how the show starts off with high-paced action. It seems to me, a ploy to hook viewers in quick, and oftentimes leads to a weak plot.
The plot here is that he is still trying to cope with the murder of his wife. Many storylines weave their way off of that. From the character aspect, Dexter now has more time for his son, and ultimately is shown as becoming a better father. This is something many felt he needed to focus more on considering the trauma he endured through watching his own mother being killed with a chainsaw. I must note, that is one of the more brutal things I have seen on television. It’s not everyday you see a child spattered with his own mother’s blood — kudos Showtime for stepping outside the box with this series.
From the director’s aspect, the death of Dexter’s wife allowed more freedom to return to focusing on the serial killings that made the show so popular in the beginning. Many fans cried about how terrible season five was, so if I decide to watch the show the whole way through, I’ll be dreading that one. The sixth season already has several dead bodies in its closet, so fans needn’t worry about there not being enough excitement. Dexter is hot on the blood trail again.
Having said all this, I still don’t foresee a happy relationship with Dexter and me in the future. It’s still a little too farfetched for me. Dexter isn’t a big man by any means, and his ability to hide his crimes by simple knowledge of blood spatters makes the show almost laughable. For the future, I think I’ll stick to my "Sons of Anarchy" and "White Collar," but it was nice to tag along with the bandwagon, even if only for a moment.
UFC 136 Preview - Gray Maynard
One of the most dynamic wrestlers in the UFC will step into the cage this Saturday and attempt to do what only he has before. Gray “The Bully” Maynard will finally get his second shot at the UFC Lightweight Title on Saturday as he takes on Frank “The Answer” Edgar.
Maynard comes into the fight undefeated, with one draw and one no contest on his record. The draw was against Frank Edgar, and the no contest came against Rob Emerson in a bout where both fighters were declared unfit to continue. In the bout with Emerson, Maynard was executing a slam to escape a submission. Emerson’s ribs snapped and he immediately tapped out, while Maynard was judged to have knocked himself unconscious with the force of the slam.
In his Mixed Martial Arts career, Maynard has defeated talented Russian striker Dennis Siver, Jim Miller, Nate Diaz, and constant title-challenger, Kenny Florian. His most notable victory is against the man with whom he also holds a draw, current UFC Lightweight Champion, Frank Edgar.
In their first outing, Maynard utilized his wrestling background, honed at Michigan State University, to outpoint Edgar. At the time of their initial meeting, they had both had three fights inside the Octagon, and both were undefeated. Neither was thought of as the next big thing, but here they are, winners of last year’s Fight of the Year award. The second meeting was a highly anticipated one. Fans all over the world tuned in to see the two incredible lightweights go at it, and go at it they did. Both fighters swung for the fence from the get-go, and didn’t stop, even in the closing seconds of the fight. Edgar-Maynard II is famous for its first round; because it was one of the most dominant rounds a fighter has ever turned it.
Maynard threw all he had at Edgar. He knocked him down three times, and it looked like he was going to put Edgar away early, but Edgar showed incredible resolve and fought through the round. In total, Maynard landed 43 strikes to Edgar’s head, and still just couldn’t capture the finish.
From there, Maynard looked sluggish, and got tagged over and over. It never looked like Edgar was going to finish the fight, but it became clear that he was on his way to out-pointing the exhausted Maynard. When the final results come in, the judges split between the two champs at 48-46 apiece and the final judge scored the contest at draw at 47-47, making the fight a split draw.
Both fighters were understandably frustrated, and a rematch was instantly booked. Injuries to both fighters postponed the bout from its original booking at UFC 130. In their third, and final meeting according to UFC President Dana White, Maynard will have a tough fight. He unloaded everything he had in the first round and couldn’t finish, so he will try and spread out his attack over the five rounds. Doing this will enable Edgar to execute his game plan and pick his shots. With his superior speed, Edgar will trounce Maynard on the feet, and his speed will also nullify Maynard’s stellar wrestling. Besides, even if he can’t avoid the ground, Edgar is by no means a slouch on the ground. The assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University will take this one with a TKO in the second round, and move on to a whole host of challengers in the loaded lightweight division.
Maynard comes into the fight undefeated, with one draw and one no contest on his record. The draw was against Frank Edgar, and the no contest came against Rob Emerson in a bout where both fighters were declared unfit to continue. In the bout with Emerson, Maynard was executing a slam to escape a submission. Emerson’s ribs snapped and he immediately tapped out, while Maynard was judged to have knocked himself unconscious with the force of the slam.
In his Mixed Martial Arts career, Maynard has defeated talented Russian striker Dennis Siver, Jim Miller, Nate Diaz, and constant title-challenger, Kenny Florian. His most notable victory is against the man with whom he also holds a draw, current UFC Lightweight Champion, Frank Edgar.
In their first outing, Maynard utilized his wrestling background, honed at Michigan State University, to outpoint Edgar. At the time of their initial meeting, they had both had three fights inside the Octagon, and both were undefeated. Neither was thought of as the next big thing, but here they are, winners of last year’s Fight of the Year award. The second meeting was a highly anticipated one. Fans all over the world tuned in to see the two incredible lightweights go at it, and go at it they did. Both fighters swung for the fence from the get-go, and didn’t stop, even in the closing seconds of the fight. Edgar-Maynard II is famous for its first round; because it was one of the most dominant rounds a fighter has ever turned it.
Maynard threw all he had at Edgar. He knocked him down three times, and it looked like he was going to put Edgar away early, but Edgar showed incredible resolve and fought through the round. In total, Maynard landed 43 strikes to Edgar’s head, and still just couldn’t capture the finish.
From there, Maynard looked sluggish, and got tagged over and over. It never looked like Edgar was going to finish the fight, but it became clear that he was on his way to out-pointing the exhausted Maynard. When the final results come in, the judges split between the two champs at 48-46 apiece and the final judge scored the contest at draw at 47-47, making the fight a split draw.
Both fighters were understandably frustrated, and a rematch was instantly booked. Injuries to both fighters postponed the bout from its original booking at UFC 130. In their third, and final meeting according to UFC President Dana White, Maynard will have a tough fight. He unloaded everything he had in the first round and couldn’t finish, so he will try and spread out his attack over the five rounds. Doing this will enable Edgar to execute his game plan and pick his shots. With his superior speed, Edgar will trounce Maynard on the feet, and his speed will also nullify Maynard’s stellar wrestling. Besides, even if he can’t avoid the ground, Edgar is by no means a slouch on the ground. The assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University will take this one with a TKO in the second round, and move on to a whole host of challengers in the loaded lightweight division.
UFC 136 Preview - Frankie Edgar
The UFC Lightweight division is filled with excellent competition for the only man to defeat future UFC Hall-of-Famer B.J. Penn in back-to-back fights, Frankie Edgar.
In his quest for the title, Edgar defeated names like Sean Sherk, Spencer Fisher, Tyson Griffin, Jim Miller and Mark Bocek. The sole stumble in his Mixed Martial Arts career was against Gray Maynard. The heated rivalry between UFC Lightweight Champion, Frank “The Answer” Edgar, and the only man to defeat him, Gray “The Bully” Maynard is one of the best the UFC has seen in a while.
Maynard managed to win their first outing by using his stiff wrestling to control Edgar, and eliminate his quickness. He attempted a few submissions, but mostly controlled the smaller Edgar. Edgar is one of the smallest lightweights, as he typically walks around 160 pounds pre-fight. Maynard used his ground striking skills, as well as his superior wrestling to outpoint the future champion. Later, in the rematch once Edgar became champion, the two fighters fought to a draw in the Fight of the Year.
The first round of their title fight alone could have easily garnered Fight of the Year honors. There were a total of 57 strikes landed in just that first round, 47 of which were by Maynard. Maynard dominated the first round, but Edgar miraculously hung around and recovered to make it out of the first. In the second round, Edgar began to out strike Maynard, and landed a few stellar takedowns, including a modified double leg. The fans slowly got behind Edgar, and his momentum just kept building until he was declared the UFC Lightweight Champion once again, sort of.
The fight was scored 46–48 for Edgar, 48–46 for Maynard, and 47–47 to declare the fight a majority draw. It was the first time in UFC history that a championship fight had been declared as such, and both fighters were left with unresolved anger. Neither knew how to take the draw. Sure, Edgar was still the champ, but it was like the fight never happened, as everyone was immediately sure there would be a rematch.
In the latest installment, there isn’t really a way in which Edgar can’t walk away with the belt. Maynard spent every ounce he had in that first round to try and put Edgar out, and Edgar showed how tough he was, and how determined he is to hold that belt. Maynard is going to have some trouble putting Edgar out that much is clear. The factor that remains to be seen is whether he can pace himself and land his shots and not gas early. In doing this, he will have to be more calm, and Edgar won’t be dazed the entire fight as he was before. Edgar will therefore be freer to get in and out and land heavy shots, he just has to be careful and nullify Maynard’s wrestling. If he can do that, Edgar wins this one by second round TKO.
In his quest for the title, Edgar defeated names like Sean Sherk, Spencer Fisher, Tyson Griffin, Jim Miller and Mark Bocek. The sole stumble in his Mixed Martial Arts career was against Gray Maynard. The heated rivalry between UFC Lightweight Champion, Frank “The Answer” Edgar, and the only man to defeat him, Gray “The Bully” Maynard is one of the best the UFC has seen in a while.
Maynard managed to win their first outing by using his stiff wrestling to control Edgar, and eliminate his quickness. He attempted a few submissions, but mostly controlled the smaller Edgar. Edgar is one of the smallest lightweights, as he typically walks around 160 pounds pre-fight. Maynard used his ground striking skills, as well as his superior wrestling to outpoint the future champion. Later, in the rematch once Edgar became champion, the two fighters fought to a draw in the Fight of the Year.
The first round of their title fight alone could have easily garnered Fight of the Year honors. There were a total of 57 strikes landed in just that first round, 47 of which were by Maynard. Maynard dominated the first round, but Edgar miraculously hung around and recovered to make it out of the first. In the second round, Edgar began to out strike Maynard, and landed a few stellar takedowns, including a modified double leg. The fans slowly got behind Edgar, and his momentum just kept building until he was declared the UFC Lightweight Champion once again, sort of.
The fight was scored 46–48 for Edgar, 48–46 for Maynard, and 47–47 to declare the fight a majority draw. It was the first time in UFC history that a championship fight had been declared as such, and both fighters were left with unresolved anger. Neither knew how to take the draw. Sure, Edgar was still the champ, but it was like the fight never happened, as everyone was immediately sure there would be a rematch.
In the latest installment, there isn’t really a way in which Edgar can’t walk away with the belt. Maynard spent every ounce he had in that first round to try and put Edgar out, and Edgar showed how tough he was, and how determined he is to hold that belt. Maynard is going to have some trouble putting Edgar out that much is clear. The factor that remains to be seen is whether he can pace himself and land his shots and not gas early. In doing this, he will have to be more calm, and Edgar won’t be dazed the entire fight as he was before. Edgar will therefore be freer to get in and out and land heavy shots, he just has to be careful and nullify Maynard’s wrestling. If he can do that, Edgar wins this one by second round TKO.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
UFC on Versus 6 Preview - Dominick Cruz
The UFC’s young bantamweight division is very uncertain right now. With fighters like former title challenger, Urijah Faber trying his hand at the division, and other fighters like Demetrious Johnson considering an exit, there isn’t a lot of stability. The one thing that is consistent is Champion, Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz.
Cruz became famous for his WEC 26 featherweight title fight against Urijah Faber. The champion, Faber, handled Cruz with relative ease, submitting him with a guillotine choke in just over a minute into the fight.
After his first loss, and such a quick one, his camp decided that it would be a wise move to drop to 135 pounds and make a name for himself in the bantamweight division. He did just that as he went on a tear defeating the sport’s top 135ers. He took down Charlie Valencia, Joseph Benavidez and Brian Bowles. In his fight against Bowles, he claimed the WEC Bantamweight title, a title he has yet to relinquish.
Cruz’s first title defense was against Joseph Benavidez. In the rematch with the only man to hand him a loss, Benavidez defeated once again by split decision. Cruz’s next opponent was announced to be Scott Jorgenson for the last WEC Bantamweight title fight.
The fight lasted all five rounds and was one of the most highly contested bouts of Cruz’s career. Cruz dominated the striking game and each got their shots in on the ground. Cruz was obviously the more talented wrestler, controlling the position for most of the fight. Cruz retained his fight with a unanimous decision victory and became the Undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion in the UFC-WEC merger.
Cruz’s first title defense was against Urijah Faber, the only loss on his record. Faber lost the featherweight title to Mike Brown, and then later lost the rematch. After stringing together a few wins, he was awarded a title bout with current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo. Faber was unable to reclaim his title and subsequently dropped down to bantamweight to chase after his former nemesis, Cruz.
Cruz handled Faber’s aggressive style by countering effectively, and stuffing many of his takedowns. It was clear that Cruz had improved vastly since his last fight with Faber, and Faber just had no weapons to use against the champ. Cruz earned another unanimous nod, and retained his title while winning his rematch.
Coming off of his impressive win over Faber, there is little doubt about whether Cruz can retain his title against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. The shortest fighter in the UFC, at five feet three inches, Johnson poses few problems for Cruz. Cruz has already demonstrated that he can triumph over a dominant wrestler many times through his wins over Faber, Benavidez and Jorgensen, coincidentally all fighters from Team Alpha Male. Cruz only has a short two-inch reach advantage, but he has a five-inch height advantage, much of which is in his legs. Cruz will need to utilize his kickboxing skills to keep Johnson at bay, as he will immediately look to bring the fight to the mat. In the end, Cruz will continue his career with only one loss as he rolls past Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision.
Cruz became famous for his WEC 26 featherweight title fight against Urijah Faber. The champion, Faber, handled Cruz with relative ease, submitting him with a guillotine choke in just over a minute into the fight.
After his first loss, and such a quick one, his camp decided that it would be a wise move to drop to 135 pounds and make a name for himself in the bantamweight division. He did just that as he went on a tear defeating the sport’s top 135ers. He took down Charlie Valencia, Joseph Benavidez and Brian Bowles. In his fight against Bowles, he claimed the WEC Bantamweight title, a title he has yet to relinquish.
Cruz’s first title defense was against Joseph Benavidez. In the rematch with the only man to hand him a loss, Benavidez defeated once again by split decision. Cruz’s next opponent was announced to be Scott Jorgenson for the last WEC Bantamweight title fight.
The fight lasted all five rounds and was one of the most highly contested bouts of Cruz’s career. Cruz dominated the striking game and each got their shots in on the ground. Cruz was obviously the more talented wrestler, controlling the position for most of the fight. Cruz retained his fight with a unanimous decision victory and became the Undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion in the UFC-WEC merger.
Cruz’s first title defense was against Urijah Faber, the only loss on his record. Faber lost the featherweight title to Mike Brown, and then later lost the rematch. After stringing together a few wins, he was awarded a title bout with current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo. Faber was unable to reclaim his title and subsequently dropped down to bantamweight to chase after his former nemesis, Cruz.
Cruz handled Faber’s aggressive style by countering effectively, and stuffing many of his takedowns. It was clear that Cruz had improved vastly since his last fight with Faber, and Faber just had no weapons to use against the champ. Cruz earned another unanimous nod, and retained his title while winning his rematch.
Coming off of his impressive win over Faber, there is little doubt about whether Cruz can retain his title against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. The shortest fighter in the UFC, at five feet three inches, Johnson poses few problems for Cruz. Cruz has already demonstrated that he can triumph over a dominant wrestler many times through his wins over Faber, Benavidez and Jorgensen, coincidentally all fighters from Team Alpha Male. Cruz only has a short two-inch reach advantage, but he has a five-inch height advantage, much of which is in his legs. Cruz will need to utilize his kickboxing skills to keep Johnson at bay, as he will immediately look to bring the fight to the mat. In the end, Cruz will continue his career with only one loss as he rolls past Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision.
UFC on Versus 6 Preview - Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson may be the shortest fighter in the UFC at five feet three inches, but his heart makes up for what he lacks in stature.
Johnson, a former WEC fighter, made his UFC debut against Japanese phenom, Norifumi Yamamoto in a relatively young bantamweight division. Johnson earned the win over Yamamoto through his superior conditioning, and his sheer will to win. Johnson worked tirelessly on the ground to control the pace of the fight and frustrated Yamamoto. Johnson solidified himself as a force within the division with a unanimous nod over the favorite.
After such a big win, it was arranged for Johnson to fight up-and-coming Brazilian, Ranan Barão. He caught a stroke of luck when former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres’ opponent, Brad Pickett was forced off of the same card. Johnson stepped in to fight Torres, and put on the defining moment of his career.
Johnson’s superior heart was the deciding factor in a fight of two possible future title contenders. He used his superior wrestling to control the taller Torres. Johnson was picking apart Torres with his boxing, when early in the second round, he checked a leg kick and his fibula snapped in two. Johnson played off the injury so the fight was not called, and allowed Torres to put him to the mat. Once there, Johnson worked off of his back, and executed sweeps and reversals when they were available. The judges thought he did enough, even with the broken leg to earn the unanimous victory.
In his fight for the title at UFC Live 6, versus Dominick Cruz, he will need a lot more than just heart and determination to wrest the bantamweight title from Cruz’s waist. Cruz, even though he stands five feet eight inches, incredibly, he only has a two-inch reach advantage. The height difference won’t play much of a factor in the fight, but Cruz’s takedown defense will. In his most recent title defense, against Urijah Faber, he was only taken down once, and he stuffed 4 of Faber’s takedowns. His career takedown defense is an astounding 83 percent.
Johnson has shown improved striking skills, but they aren’t on the level of “The Dominator” just yet. If Johnson can get inside Cruz’s guard, he still isn’t safe. Shortly after his UFC 132 title defense, he was awarded his BJJ blue belt, under Lloyd Irvin, Jr. If Johnson decides to be content and strike from within Cruz’s guard, he will find himself waking up from a triangle choke. Johnson will have to try and play this one safe, but doing so will result in Dominick Cruz retaining his title with a unanimous decision.
Johnson, a former WEC fighter, made his UFC debut against Japanese phenom, Norifumi Yamamoto in a relatively young bantamweight division. Johnson earned the win over Yamamoto through his superior conditioning, and his sheer will to win. Johnson worked tirelessly on the ground to control the pace of the fight and frustrated Yamamoto. Johnson solidified himself as a force within the division with a unanimous nod over the favorite.
After such a big win, it was arranged for Johnson to fight up-and-coming Brazilian, Ranan Barão. He caught a stroke of luck when former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres’ opponent, Brad Pickett was forced off of the same card. Johnson stepped in to fight Torres, and put on the defining moment of his career.
Johnson’s superior heart was the deciding factor in a fight of two possible future title contenders. He used his superior wrestling to control the taller Torres. Johnson was picking apart Torres with his boxing, when early in the second round, he checked a leg kick and his fibula snapped in two. Johnson played off the injury so the fight was not called, and allowed Torres to put him to the mat. Once there, Johnson worked off of his back, and executed sweeps and reversals when they were available. The judges thought he did enough, even with the broken leg to earn the unanimous victory.
In his fight for the title at UFC Live 6, versus Dominick Cruz, he will need a lot more than just heart and determination to wrest the bantamweight title from Cruz’s waist. Cruz, even though he stands five feet eight inches, incredibly, he only has a two-inch reach advantage. The height difference won’t play much of a factor in the fight, but Cruz’s takedown defense will. In his most recent title defense, against Urijah Faber, he was only taken down once, and he stuffed 4 of Faber’s takedowns. His career takedown defense is an astounding 83 percent.
Johnson has shown improved striking skills, but they aren’t on the level of “The Dominator” just yet. If Johnson can get inside Cruz’s guard, he still isn’t safe. Shortly after his UFC 132 title defense, he was awarded his BJJ blue belt, under Lloyd Irvin, Jr. If Johnson decides to be content and strike from within Cruz’s guard, he will find himself waking up from a triangle choke. Johnson will have to try and play this one safe, but doing so will result in Dominick Cruz retaining his title with a unanimous decision.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Titan Fighting Championship 20 Recap
Titan Fighting Championships held its 20 th event on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The card saw a lot of shuffling due to injury and other factors.
The event featured a lot of local talent from Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. The first fight of the evening featured Laramie Shaffer and Andrew Whitney. Whitney was thrown into the card on one week’s notice, but made the best of it.
Shaffer opened the fight looking for the takedown. Much of the fight took place on the ground, with Whitney working to get off of his back.
“I knew he couldn’t break me,” Whitney said. “I just knew I had to stay calm and work, because one shot could end it.”
One shot could end it, and a flying knee did just that for Shaffer in the third round. Shaffer led with a hard right that missed. When he stepped back and came back in with another right, Andrew Whitney was waiting, with a knee to the face.
“He kept dropping his hands, and I knew the head kick or the flying knee was there,” he said. “I’ve tried the kick in my last four fights, and it didn’t work so I went with the knee.”
Next into the cage was local favorite Alex Huddleston. Huddleston entered the cage 1-0 against Justyn Riley. Riley dropped his opponent early with a right, but Huddleston was immediately back to his feet. It was a back and forth battle that saw both fighters getting dropped early and often. Huddleston eventually gained the mount and started to reign down strikes, but he was quickly reversed. As Huddleston fought for a Kimura, Riley landed a few hard elbows to end the round.
The second round started and saw Huddleston absolutely exhausted. He was thrown to the canvas, and Riley continued to reign down punches until his TKO victory mid-way through the second round.
The two fights that followed were over in the blink of an eye. Sean Wilson came out of the gate swinging against James Krause, and dropped for the takedown. He was subsequently sprawled, and Krause locked in a front choke. He dropped back, and sunk in the deep guillotine choke to end the fight in the very first round.
After such a quick finish, fans were eager to see another, and they got what they were wishing for. Shane Hutchinson and Anthony Gutierrez began the fight with some wild striking. Gutierrez attempted a superman punch, and Hutchinson countered with a flying knee, but neither landed. Hutchinson, weary of the standup game, took Gutierrez down and was reversed almost immediately. Once Gutierrez gained top position, he locked in the anaconda choke, and rolled Hutchinson over for the win.
In the co-main event of the evening, Brett Rogers and Eddie Sanchez attempted to resurrect their careers. They had short stints with Strikeforce and the UFC respectively, but both were short lived.
Much of the fight took place in the clinch, with Rogers keeping Sanchez’s back to the cage. Sanchez got the better of the striking game, but didn’t get a chance to show off his improved striking, as Rogers controlled him for most of the fight.
“I wanted to control Sanchez and eliminate his striking,” Rogers said. “I wanted to take my time and then go in for the kill.”
Sanchez’s game plan consisted of using leg kicks to keep Rogers at a distance, and he worked it very well. His leg was split open late in the second round, when he unleashed a vicious leg kick on Rogers.
“I caught his knee with my shin, and the leg just split open,” Sanchez said, “It’s just going to require a few stitches.”
The judges decided in favor of Sanchez with a split decision. As with any split decision, it was quite controversial.
“I felt like the decision was wrong,” Rogers said. “Sanchez landed the leg kicks, but I was controlling him the entire fight. I don’t know what those judges saw out there.”
Sanchez, laid up from his injury, said that he felt the decision was fair.
“I was landing a lot more strikes, and when he had me in the clinch, he wasn’t doing much other than holding me there.”
Both fighters spoke of how much they appreciate the chance Titan gave them to fight, but it is not their ultimate goal to fight there.
“Obviously, I had that stint with the UFC, and I’m better than I was before,” Sanchez said. “I would love to make a comeback.”
In the main event, Dakota Cochraine, who took the fight on just two days notice, squared off against former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. A fight against a former champion is a tough fight in itself, let alone taking it on short notice.
“I really didn’t think about it too much,” Cochraine said. “I knew over thinking the fight, and [hyping up his image as a former champion] would only make things harder.”
The fight began with Varner being the aggressor. He opened with a tough push kick that sent Cochraine sprawling into the fence. Cochraine recovered, and the cat-and-mouse game that is technical striking began. Cochraine began to take over, and pushed the pace of the fight. He landed a few tough shots, but Varner took them in stride and continued to go for the homerun hit.
“My plan going in was to stick and move, and avoid his heavy hands,” Cochraine said.
Cochraine was able to execute his game plan spectacularly, and frustrated Varner through the entire fight. Cochraine was able to pull off the upset on two-days notice and defeat Varner by unanimous decision. Jamie Varner was unavailable for comment after the fight.
The event featured a lot of local talent from Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. The first fight of the evening featured Laramie Shaffer and Andrew Whitney. Whitney was thrown into the card on one week’s notice, but made the best of it.
Shaffer opened the fight looking for the takedown. Much of the fight took place on the ground, with Whitney working to get off of his back.
“I knew he couldn’t break me,” Whitney said. “I just knew I had to stay calm and work, because one shot could end it.”
One shot could end it, and a flying knee did just that for Shaffer in the third round. Shaffer led with a hard right that missed. When he stepped back and came back in with another right, Andrew Whitney was waiting, with a knee to the face.
“He kept dropping his hands, and I knew the head kick or the flying knee was there,” he said. “I’ve tried the kick in my last four fights, and it didn’t work so I went with the knee.”
Next into the cage was local favorite Alex Huddleston. Huddleston entered the cage 1-0 against Justyn Riley. Riley dropped his opponent early with a right, but Huddleston was immediately back to his feet. It was a back and forth battle that saw both fighters getting dropped early and often. Huddleston eventually gained the mount and started to reign down strikes, but he was quickly reversed. As Huddleston fought for a Kimura, Riley landed a few hard elbows to end the round.
The second round started and saw Huddleston absolutely exhausted. He was thrown to the canvas, and Riley continued to reign down punches until his TKO victory mid-way through the second round.
The two fights that followed were over in the blink of an eye. Sean Wilson came out of the gate swinging against James Krause, and dropped for the takedown. He was subsequently sprawled, and Krause locked in a front choke. He dropped back, and sunk in the deep guillotine choke to end the fight in the very first round.
After such a quick finish, fans were eager to see another, and they got what they were wishing for. Shane Hutchinson and Anthony Gutierrez began the fight with some wild striking. Gutierrez attempted a superman punch, and Hutchinson countered with a flying knee, but neither landed. Hutchinson, weary of the standup game, took Gutierrez down and was reversed almost immediately. Once Gutierrez gained top position, he locked in the anaconda choke, and rolled Hutchinson over for the win.
In the co-main event of the evening, Brett Rogers and Eddie Sanchez attempted to resurrect their careers. They had short stints with Strikeforce and the UFC respectively, but both were short lived.
Much of the fight took place in the clinch, with Rogers keeping Sanchez’s back to the cage. Sanchez got the better of the striking game, but didn’t get a chance to show off his improved striking, as Rogers controlled him for most of the fight.
“I wanted to control Sanchez and eliminate his striking,” Rogers said. “I wanted to take my time and then go in for the kill.”
Sanchez’s game plan consisted of using leg kicks to keep Rogers at a distance, and he worked it very well. His leg was split open late in the second round, when he unleashed a vicious leg kick on Rogers.
“I caught his knee with my shin, and the leg just split open,” Sanchez said, “It’s just going to require a few stitches.”
> Check out the great MMA gear & apparel including Jaco fight shorts, Dethrone Royalty clothing & more available through ProFighting-fans.com!The final round saw the most action. Rogers continued to work his counterstriking game, and wobbled Sanchez with a stiff knee, but Sanchez recovered quickly. Sanchez kept with the strategy of using the leg kicks, and landed a nice leg kick- right combination and knocked Rogers to the mat. Rogers ended the round with a strong effort, reigning down punches from the top after a brutal takedown on the fence.
The judges decided in favor of Sanchez with a split decision. As with any split decision, it was quite controversial.
“I felt like the decision was wrong,” Rogers said. “Sanchez landed the leg kicks, but I was controlling him the entire fight. I don’t know what those judges saw out there.”
Sanchez, laid up from his injury, said that he felt the decision was fair.
“I was landing a lot more strikes, and when he had me in the clinch, he wasn’t doing much other than holding me there.”
Both fighters spoke of how much they appreciate the chance Titan gave them to fight, but it is not their ultimate goal to fight there.
“Obviously, I had that stint with the UFC, and I’m better than I was before,” Sanchez said. “I would love to make a comeback.”
In the main event, Dakota Cochraine, who took the fight on just two days notice, squared off against former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. A fight against a former champion is a tough fight in itself, let alone taking it on short notice.
“I really didn’t think about it too much,” Cochraine said. “I knew over thinking the fight, and [hyping up his image as a former champion] would only make things harder.”
The fight began with Varner being the aggressor. He opened with a tough push kick that sent Cochraine sprawling into the fence. Cochraine recovered, and the cat-and-mouse game that is technical striking began. Cochraine began to take over, and pushed the pace of the fight. He landed a few tough shots, but Varner took them in stride and continued to go for the homerun hit.
“My plan going in was to stick and move, and avoid his heavy hands,” Cochraine said.
Cochraine was able to execute his game plan spectacularly, and frustrated Varner through the entire fight. Cochraine was able to pull off the upset on two-days notice and defeat Varner by unanimous decision. Jamie Varner was unavailable for comment after the fight.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Brett Rogers vs Andre Arlovski - Possible Rematch?
After Brett Rogers was released from Strikeforce following a domestic assault charge, his future was relatively uncertain. He landed rather quickly with Titan Fighting Championships and was featured as the co-main even along Jamie Varner at Titan FC 20 on Saturday. Following a hard fought, split decision loss to Eddie Sanchez, Rogers’ future again may look uncertain, but Rogers’ new manager, and Fedor Emelianenko’s former manager, Jerry Millen assures fans that Rogers has quite an exciting future ahead of him.
“The word on the grapevine is that Andre Arlovski wants a rematch,” Millen said.
The possible rematch between the two provides for a lot of exciting buzz surrounding both fighters. Rogers is a few big wins from resurrecting his career, and Arlovski just needs a chance to save his legacy.
In their first meeting, Rogers won via TKO in just 22 seconds. It was Rogers’ tenth win, and his last as an undefeated fighter. For Arlovski, the fight came after a knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko. And was the second in an eventual four-fight losing streak.
Stay tuned to Profighting-fans.com for more updated on this story as they come.
“The word on the grapevine is that Andre Arlovski wants a rematch,” Millen said.
The possible rematch between the two provides for a lot of exciting buzz surrounding both fighters. Rogers is a few big wins from resurrecting his career, and Arlovski just needs a chance to save his legacy.
In their first meeting, Rogers won via TKO in just 22 seconds. It was Rogers’ tenth win, and his last as an undefeated fighter. For Arlovski, the fight came after a knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko. And was the second in an eventual four-fight losing streak.
Stay tuned to Profighting-fans.com for more updated on this story as they come.
UFC 135 Preview - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
There are few Mixed Martial Artists in the world who demand more respect than Rampage Jackson. Sure, there are a handful of fighters that deserve more respect than him, but few seek it out in the way Jackson does.
A man fueled by ego and emotion, Rampage was made famous for his wolf-like howls pre and post-fight. He always sports a gaudy, and flamboyant metal chain so big it could have been ripped off of a tow truck, and is notorious for his pre-fight antics. Leading up to his UFC 114 clash with Rashad Evans, Jackson openly talked of his pure hatred for Evans. As a result, they were both selected to coach opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
The banter back and forth between the two coaches was some of the better trash talking that the UFC reality show has seen so far. The two had several face-to-face confrontations and the anticipation for their meeting grew, culminating in a buy rate of 1.05 million for the pay-per-view event. Jackson was wobbled early by a short combination, and driven to the mat by the former Michigan State University wrestling standout, Evans. The fight went on much the same, Rampage struggling to gain position under the superior wrestling of Evans. Jackson eventually mounted a solid offensive attack, but it was too little too late, as Evans went on to win a unanimous decision.
The winner of the Rampage-Rashad fight was promised the next title shot at Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but when Evans suffered a knee injury, rising star, Jon Jones was called in to replace him. Jones manhandled Shogun en route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, and upon recovery, Rashad was promised the next title shot. Through various shuffles due to injuries to Jones, and to Evans’ new opponent, Phil Davis, Rampage found his way to the top of the division and was awarded the title shot. Ironically, the bout between Evans and Rampage was to determine who would get the next title shot, but it is Rampage who is to have the first shot at taking down Jones, not Evans.
Rampage had finally bested Evans, and gotten the last laugh, but the trash talking was not over yet. Evans, who is a known enemy of Jones, began poking fun at Jones on twitter, hoping Rampage would join in and berate his upcoming opponent. Jackson instead chose to call out Evans, and give respect to Jones. For the first time, fans saw the humane side of Rampage, and came to expect a respectful slew of press appearances.
Rampage’s ego eventually got the best of him and he began calling for Jones to return “his” belt. He also alleged that Jones had a spy in his training camp, and was recording his workouts to get an edge. Jones refuted the claims, and continued to respect his opponent. Any average fan could see Jones was just seconds away from losing his composure as the two met for a meeting at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger. Rampage later went on to reveal his source for his claims as MusclePharm Vice President Leonard Armenta, who subsequently lost his job.
It will be a tough fight for Rampage, as he has never faced anyone the size of Jones. Most of the time when fans see Rampage in the cage, he is outmuscling his opponents, slamming them into the mat and putting them out with vicious strikes. It will be a different story when he faces a man with such athletic prowess.
Jones has a clear reach advantage, possessing the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches. He also has a height advantage, and is clearly the better wrestler. This one could play out similar to Rampage’s matchup with Evans, so he better have learned from his mistakes. The only difference here is that Jones is on a completely different level from Evans when it comes to his striking game. They may be close to equal in their wrestling, Rashad could even have an edge, but Jones is an astronomically better striker. He also has a better chin than Evans, who was knocked out by Lyoto Machida’s less-than-stellar right hand. Jones will take it slow and dictate the pace of the fight. Jones wins this one by TKO in the fourth round.
Jon Jones will walk out of the Octagon on Saturday night as, in the words of Bruce Buffer, “the reigning, defending, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
A man fueled by ego and emotion, Rampage was made famous for his wolf-like howls pre and post-fight. He always sports a gaudy, and flamboyant metal chain so big it could have been ripped off of a tow truck, and is notorious for his pre-fight antics. Leading up to his UFC 114 clash with Rashad Evans, Jackson openly talked of his pure hatred for Evans. As a result, they were both selected to coach opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
The banter back and forth between the two coaches was some of the better trash talking that the UFC reality show has seen so far. The two had several face-to-face confrontations and the anticipation for their meeting grew, culminating in a buy rate of 1.05 million for the pay-per-view event. Jackson was wobbled early by a short combination, and driven to the mat by the former Michigan State University wrestling standout, Evans. The fight went on much the same, Rampage struggling to gain position under the superior wrestling of Evans. Jackson eventually mounted a solid offensive attack, but it was too little too late, as Evans went on to win a unanimous decision.
The winner of the Rampage-Rashad fight was promised the next title shot at Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but when Evans suffered a knee injury, rising star, Jon Jones was called in to replace him. Jones manhandled Shogun en route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, and upon recovery, Rashad was promised the next title shot. Through various shuffles due to injuries to Jones, and to Evans’ new opponent, Phil Davis, Rampage found his way to the top of the division and was awarded the title shot. Ironically, the bout between Evans and Rampage was to determine who would get the next title shot, but it is Rampage who is to have the first shot at taking down Jones, not Evans.
Rampage had finally bested Evans, and gotten the last laugh, but the trash talking was not over yet. Evans, who is a known enemy of Jones, began poking fun at Jones on twitter, hoping Rampage would join in and berate his upcoming opponent. Jackson instead chose to call out Evans, and give respect to Jones. For the first time, fans saw the humane side of Rampage, and came to expect a respectful slew of press appearances.
Rampage’s ego eventually got the best of him and he began calling for Jones to return “his” belt. He also alleged that Jones had a spy in his training camp, and was recording his workouts to get an edge. Jones refuted the claims, and continued to respect his opponent. Any average fan could see Jones was just seconds away from losing his composure as the two met for a meeting at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger. Rampage later went on to reveal his source for his claims as MusclePharm Vice President Leonard Armenta, who subsequently lost his job.
It will be a tough fight for Rampage, as he has never faced anyone the size of Jones. Most of the time when fans see Rampage in the cage, he is outmuscling his opponents, slamming them into the mat and putting them out with vicious strikes. It will be a different story when he faces a man with such athletic prowess.
Jones has a clear reach advantage, possessing the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches. He also has a height advantage, and is clearly the better wrestler. This one could play out similar to Rampage’s matchup with Evans, so he better have learned from his mistakes. The only difference here is that Jones is on a completely different level from Evans when it comes to his striking game. They may be close to equal in their wrestling, Rashad could even have an edge, but Jones is an astronomically better striker. He also has a better chin than Evans, who was knocked out by Lyoto Machida’s less-than-stellar right hand. Jones will take it slow and dictate the pace of the fight. Jones wins this one by TKO in the fourth round.
Jon Jones will walk out of the Octagon on Saturday night as, in the words of Bruce Buffer, “the reigning, defending, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
UFC 135 Preview - Jon "Bones" Jones
Many people are anointing Jon “Bones” Jones the future of Mixed Martial Arts. With the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches, and standing an imposing six feet four inches tall, he may be just that. The real question, and the question already posed by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, is whether Jones is the present.
En route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at just 23 years of age, “Bones” defeated a long list of competitors. Sure, he beat Shogun Rua, Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader, but his record isn’t as impressive as someone like Lyoto Machida’s. The fighters Machida had to face to claim his belt were a completely different caliber than the ones Jones has faced. Another interesting factor to Jones’ title run is that he faced Shogun as he was coming off of a knee injury. Rua’s camp says that he wasn’t fully recovered, and he did look pretty sluggish in the Octagon.
Still, Jones has had a lot of doubters in his last two fights. In his fight versus Ryan Bader, critics pointed out the fact that Bader was an All-American from the well-respected Arizona State wrestling program, whereas Jones went pro after two years at Iowa Central Community College. Those who doubted Jones stood behind Bader’s supposedly stronger wrestling and said that Jones would have to stand with the former Sun Devil. Jones ultimately outwrestled Bader and forced him to submit to a guillotine choke in the second round.
It was the same case against Shogun. Critics said that Rua’s superior ground game would force Jones to stand, and that if he did try and take it to the ground, he would be easily submitted. This was not the case at all, as fans saw Jones dominate every aspect of the fight, including a stellar, near finish on the ground.
It is this point that makes his title run valid. Maybe all of the opponents he faced weren’t top ten, but he got his title because he defied the odds against him, and he won all of his fights in a dominant fashion. Every time someone said Jones couldn’t do something against another fighter, or use a certain technique because it would lead to his demise, he went out and proved he could. Every time a critic said he would have to fight a certain way to win, it was as if he altered his game plan just to show he could do whatever he wanted. He is just that much better.
The latest talk is that Jon Jones won’t be able to stand with Rampage, and will instead have to rely on his ground skills. Rampage has always been one of the better strikers in the UFC, but that doesn’t seem to be true anymore. A man who couldn’t put Matt Hammil away is going to out strike the most dynamic Light Heavyweight Champion the UFC has seen so far?
Jones and Rampage are pretty equal in their conditioning, so this one won’t be over quick. It could be a long, drawn out wrestling match, but this is a fight between two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Neither fighter wants to simply go out and win. Rampage has developed a profound hatred for Jones, and for the first time, fans have seen Jones get a little bit angry in the pre-fight talks between the two. The allegations of spies in training camps have amped things up a bit, and Jones looks ready to go out and close Rampage’s mouth. Jon Jones will use his superior reach to dictate the pace of the fight, and keep it standing. Jones will pick Jackson apart with his jab, and avoid the clinch, as that is one of the few ways ‘Page could score a victory. This one ends in a TKO victory for the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones in the fourth round.
En route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at just 23 years of age, “Bones” defeated a long list of competitors. Sure, he beat Shogun Rua, Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader, but his record isn’t as impressive as someone like Lyoto Machida’s. The fighters Machida had to face to claim his belt were a completely different caliber than the ones Jones has faced. Another interesting factor to Jones’ title run is that he faced Shogun as he was coming off of a knee injury. Rua’s camp says that he wasn’t fully recovered, and he did look pretty sluggish in the Octagon.
Still, Jones has had a lot of doubters in his last two fights. In his fight versus Ryan Bader, critics pointed out the fact that Bader was an All-American from the well-respected Arizona State wrestling program, whereas Jones went pro after two years at Iowa Central Community College. Those who doubted Jones stood behind Bader’s supposedly stronger wrestling and said that Jones would have to stand with the former Sun Devil. Jones ultimately outwrestled Bader and forced him to submit to a guillotine choke in the second round.
It was the same case against Shogun. Critics said that Rua’s superior ground game would force Jones to stand, and that if he did try and take it to the ground, he would be easily submitted. This was not the case at all, as fans saw Jones dominate every aspect of the fight, including a stellar, near finish on the ground.
It is this point that makes his title run valid. Maybe all of the opponents he faced weren’t top ten, but he got his title because he defied the odds against him, and he won all of his fights in a dominant fashion. Every time someone said Jones couldn’t do something against another fighter, or use a certain technique because it would lead to his demise, he went out and proved he could. Every time a critic said he would have to fight a certain way to win, it was as if he altered his game plan just to show he could do whatever he wanted. He is just that much better.
The latest talk is that Jon Jones won’t be able to stand with Rampage, and will instead have to rely on his ground skills. Rampage has always been one of the better strikers in the UFC, but that doesn’t seem to be true anymore. A man who couldn’t put Matt Hammil away is going to out strike the most dynamic Light Heavyweight Champion the UFC has seen so far?
Jones and Rampage are pretty equal in their conditioning, so this one won’t be over quick. It could be a long, drawn out wrestling match, but this is a fight between two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Neither fighter wants to simply go out and win. Rampage has developed a profound hatred for Jones, and for the first time, fans have seen Jones get a little bit angry in the pre-fight talks between the two. The allegations of spies in training camps have amped things up a bit, and Jones looks ready to go out and close Rampage’s mouth. Jon Jones will use his superior reach to dictate the pace of the fight, and keep it standing. Jones will pick Jackson apart with his jab, and avoid the clinch, as that is one of the few ways ‘Page could score a victory. This one ends in a TKO victory for the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones in the fourth round.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Bellator Recap & Results: Bellator 49 Recap & Results
Bellator Fighting Championships held Bellator 49 this past Saturday to kick off its fifth season. The card that took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey featured Chris Lozano, Brent Weedman, Dan Hornbuckle and former UFC welterweight fighter Ben Saunders. It was a successful season debut for the still-young promotion. Airing on MTV2 live in primetime, the card garnered a total of 235 thousand viewers, close behind Strikeforce’s 274 thousand from the same night.
In the main card, Steve Carl faced off against Douglas Lima and dropped a unanimous decision to the Brazilian challenger. Luis Santos stepped into the cage against former welterweight title challenger, Dan Hornbuckle, and won a unanimous decision. In more exciting action, Ben Saunders, in just his second Bellator fight, defeated Chris Cisneros with a brutal knockout in the closing seconds of the final round. In the main bout of the evening, Chris Lozano won a unanimous decision over Brent Weedman. All the winners will advance to the semifinals of the welterweight tournament, and the winner will earn a shot at undefeated champion, Ben “Funky” Askren.
Bellator as an organization has grown immensely over the past three years. CEO Bjorn Rebney has garnered immense respect from his fighters, like Bellator Heavyweight, Ron Sparks.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of.”
Sparks isn’t the only one who feels the need to speak out on behalf of Bellator’s upper management. Lightweight titleholder, Eddie Alvarez has spoken out on more than one occasion about his love for Bellator, and even his dislike for the way the UFC is run.
The draw for Bellator isn’t in its fighters, that much is obvious. Bellator has a lot of great talent, but they just don’t have stars like the UFC does, yet. If the UFC keeps dropping talented fighters like they have been of late, Bellator is sure to come up behind them quickly in terms of major market share. Bellator’s takeover of the MMA scene is at least five years off, and I don’t expect it to happen given the insane growth of the UFC in the last ten years, but it is possible.
The tournament style of Bellator is the main reason for the viewings it gets. Add in the fact that it is on a major cable channel like MTV2, and the fights are free, and that makes for some pretty good competition for the market share.
Bellator is a really interesting take on MMA. In an age where it’s not possible to hold tournaments in one night, Bellator provides a nice break from the sometimes-confusing matchmaking of other organizations. There is never a dispute in Bellator about who deserves a title shot, because the fighter who gets the shot, has fought his way through a tournament to get there. Sure, there are still discussions of whether the same fighter would make it past a certain guy in the tournament, if done over, but it is almost never questioned that a certain fighter is getting the shot.
Bellator is here to stay. I don’t believe it will ever overtake the UFC, but it has carved out its own niche in the MMA world, and will continue to operate side-by-side the UFC when all the other promotions eventually bow to Zuffa.
In the main card, Steve Carl faced off against Douglas Lima and dropped a unanimous decision to the Brazilian challenger. Luis Santos stepped into the cage against former welterweight title challenger, Dan Hornbuckle, and won a unanimous decision. In more exciting action, Ben Saunders, in just his second Bellator fight, defeated Chris Cisneros with a brutal knockout in the closing seconds of the final round. In the main bout of the evening, Chris Lozano won a unanimous decision over Brent Weedman. All the winners will advance to the semifinals of the welterweight tournament, and the winner will earn a shot at undefeated champion, Ben “Funky” Askren.
Bellator as an organization has grown immensely over the past three years. CEO Bjorn Rebney has garnered immense respect from his fighters, like Bellator Heavyweight, Ron Sparks.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of.”
Sparks isn’t the only one who feels the need to speak out on behalf of Bellator’s upper management. Lightweight titleholder, Eddie Alvarez has spoken out on more than one occasion about his love for Bellator, and even his dislike for the way the UFC is run.
The draw for Bellator isn’t in its fighters, that much is obvious. Bellator has a lot of great talent, but they just don’t have stars like the UFC does, yet. If the UFC keeps dropping talented fighters like they have been of late, Bellator is sure to come up behind them quickly in terms of major market share. Bellator’s takeover of the MMA scene is at least five years off, and I don’t expect it to happen given the insane growth of the UFC in the last ten years, but it is possible.
If Dana White keeps letting big names like Nate Marquardt, and Paul Daley go, whether warranted or not, other organizations like Bellator will snatch them up and that will give them a much bigger draw.> Buy TapouT shirts & apparel through Pro Fighting Fans as well as great MMA clothing as well as Round 5 MMA toys online!
The tournament style of Bellator is the main reason for the viewings it gets. Add in the fact that it is on a major cable channel like MTV2, and the fights are free, and that makes for some pretty good competition for the market share.
Bellator is a really interesting take on MMA. In an age where it’s not possible to hold tournaments in one night, Bellator provides a nice break from the sometimes-confusing matchmaking of other organizations. There is never a dispute in Bellator about who deserves a title shot, because the fighter who gets the shot, has fought his way through a tournament to get there. Sure, there are still discussions of whether the same fighter would make it past a certain guy in the tournament, if done over, but it is almost never questioned that a certain fighter is getting the shot.
Bellator is here to stay. I don’t believe it will ever overtake the UFC, but it has carved out its own niche in the MMA world, and will continue to operate side-by-side the UFC when all the other promotions eventually bow to Zuffa.
Bellator Fighting Championships Heavyweight - Ron Sparks Interview
Bellator fans are awaiting the highly anticipated heavyweight tournament this fall, but they aren’t the only ones.
“There are some good guys in this tournament,” Bellator heavyweight Ron “The Monster” Sparks said. “Bellator is really starting to bring it out.”
Sparks, an undefeated prospect, says he is excited to get into the cage and kick off the tournament in September. He also said that being undefeated doesn’t wear on his mind.
“I don’t put much stock in it,” he said. “Most guys will tell you that. What they won’t say is that it’s going to happen. You’re going to get that first loss, its MMA, man.”
Sparks also said that he wants to be like Wanderlei Silva when he steps into the cage.
“I just want to go out there and put on a show,” he said. “I really want to be like Wanderlei Silva, just out there knocking heads off. Everybody loves that guy."
Sparks comes into the tournament with seven wins under his belt, six of which he has finished inside the first round. Sparks has only gone the distance once in his short MMA career, a four-round decision win over Jonathan Ivey. The Ivey fight, Sparks said, was his toughest to date.
“I fought a hard four-rounds against Jonathan Ivey. A lot of people just see that, they don’t realize that fight was outside in the blazing sun in 95-degree heat. I can go the distance if I have to.”
The Louisville MMA standout says his current trainer, Jason Y got him into the sport.
“Jason has been doing Mixed Martial Arts since he was five years old,” Sparks said. “He is the most fundamentally sound fighter I have ever seen, he just doesn’t fight.”
Louisville MMA is a small and upcoming gym with not many well-known stars. The faces of Louisville MMA are relative unknown John Foyer, and none other than Ron Sparks.
“I love being looked up to,” he said. “There are a lot of young guys in here, and I love helping them get better, the same that the guys I look up to did for me.”
As for the upcoming tournament as a whole, Sparks said he is really looking forward to seeing all the new talent Bellator has.
“Bellator is here to stay,” he said. “No one else does these exciting tournaments like they do.”
Sparks also spoke highly of the organization itself.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of. We get paid really well, and the [upper management] really cares about our well-being. [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] makes me feel like a champ whenever I’m around him,” he said. “He really cares about the lower level fighters like me. I’m trying to move up and Bjorn really makes me want to do that.”
Whoever his next opponent may be, Sparks said he planned to keep the game plan simple: come forward.
“I was always told to strike first,” Sparks said. “I always want to be the aggressor. I’m going to come forward and go in there for the knockout. He better bring it because I’m going to bring it too. Let’s have a great fight.”
“There are some good guys in this tournament,” Bellator heavyweight Ron “The Monster” Sparks said. “Bellator is really starting to bring it out.”
Sparks, an undefeated prospect, says he is excited to get into the cage and kick off the tournament in September. He also said that being undefeated doesn’t wear on his mind.
“I don’t put much stock in it,” he said. “Most guys will tell you that. What they won’t say is that it’s going to happen. You’re going to get that first loss, its MMA, man.”
Sparks also said that he wants to be like Wanderlei Silva when he steps into the cage.
“I just want to go out there and put on a show,” he said. “I really want to be like Wanderlei Silva, just out there knocking heads off. Everybody loves that guy."
Sparks comes into the tournament with seven wins under his belt, six of which he has finished inside the first round. Sparks has only gone the distance once in his short MMA career, a four-round decision win over Jonathan Ivey. The Ivey fight, Sparks said, was his toughest to date.
“I fought a hard four-rounds against Jonathan Ivey. A lot of people just see that, they don’t realize that fight was outside in the blazing sun in 95-degree heat. I can go the distance if I have to.”
The Louisville MMA standout says his current trainer, Jason Y got him into the sport.
“Jason has been doing Mixed Martial Arts since he was five years old,” Sparks said. “He is the most fundamentally sound fighter I have ever seen, he just doesn’t fight.”
Louisville MMA is a small and upcoming gym with not many well-known stars. The faces of Louisville MMA are relative unknown John Foyer, and none other than Ron Sparks.
“I love being looked up to,” he said. “There are a lot of young guys in here, and I love helping them get better, the same that the guys I look up to did for me.”
As for the upcoming tournament as a whole, Sparks said he is really looking forward to seeing all the new talent Bellator has.
“Bellator is here to stay,” he said. “No one else does these exciting tournaments like they do.”
Sparks also spoke highly of the organization itself.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of. We get paid really well, and the [upper management] really cares about our well-being. [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] makes me feel like a champ whenever I’m around him,” he said. “He really cares about the lower level fighters like me. I’m trying to move up and Bjorn really makes me want to do that.”
Whoever his next opponent may be, Sparks said he planned to keep the game plan simple: come forward.
“I was always told to strike first,” Sparks said. “I always want to be the aggressor. I’m going to come forward and go in there for the knockout. He better bring it because I’m going to bring it too. Let’s have a great fight.”
Thursday, August 25, 2011
UFC 134 Preview - Anderson Silva
When Anderson Silva steps into the cage this weekend in his native Brazil he will be facing the only man to defeat him in five years, Yushin Okami. In those five years, Silva has dispatched Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Damian Maia, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. There are several things impressive about this streak other than just the simple list of the fighters he has bested.
First, the length of the streak is unprecedented. It is the longest of its kind in the UFC. No fighter has won as many fights in a row, let alone title fights. Silva hasn’t compiled this streak fighting no names and cans; he has done it by destroying every fighter UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva can possibly come up with to throw at him. Every one of the fighters he has faced worked their way up the middleweight ranks only to be sent packing in mere minutes.
The mention of minutes brings up another point, time. The way with which Silva won those fights is absolutely unheard of. By the numbers, Silva has, in that span, eight knockouts and three submissions. Seven of these fights came to a close in the first round and three of them occurred right around the one-minute mark.
The most competition Silva has received in this five-year span was against Chael Sonnen, though some debate what was actually going on during that fight. Sonnen, who some call the worlds best trash talker, made some comments about how useless he thinks Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is, and many people speculate that Silva continually pulling guard is indicative of this. At the same time, Silva did get hit by a few good shots that sent him sprawling. Either way, Silva won the fight and held on to his belt, in a show of how versatile his skills are.It would be quite a tall order to ask Okami to win this fight. In their previous meeting, Okami won by disqualification, not by any legitimacy, as he was knocked unconscious by a kick to the head while grounded. The only reason Okami was even on top of Silva was because Silva failed a triangle choke and was subsequently reversed. Silva-Okami 1 was just as one-sided as any other fight Silva has been in for the last seven years.
Okami should be an interesting match-up for Silva because he is the same height as Silva, and has a two-inch reach advantage, but he simply won’t be. Silva-Okami 2 was decided the night Silva decided to put his foot in Okami’s brain from guard for even thinking that he might beat him. This one should end quickly if Silva acts professionally. We have seen him take it to extreme measures and fool around in the cage delaying the inevitable, but avoiding that, Silva wins by knockout in the first round.
First, the length of the streak is unprecedented. It is the longest of its kind in the UFC. No fighter has won as many fights in a row, let alone title fights. Silva hasn’t compiled this streak fighting no names and cans; he has done it by destroying every fighter UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva can possibly come up with to throw at him. Every one of the fighters he has faced worked their way up the middleweight ranks only to be sent packing in mere minutes.
The mention of minutes brings up another point, time. The way with which Silva won those fights is absolutely unheard of. By the numbers, Silva has, in that span, eight knockouts and three submissions. Seven of these fights came to a close in the first round and three of them occurred right around the one-minute mark.
The most competition Silva has received in this five-year span was against Chael Sonnen, though some debate what was actually going on during that fight. Sonnen, who some call the worlds best trash talker, made some comments about how useless he thinks Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is, and many people speculate that Silva continually pulling guard is indicative of this. At the same time, Silva did get hit by a few good shots that sent him sprawling. Either way, Silva won the fight and held on to his belt, in a show of how versatile his skills are.It would be quite a tall order to ask Okami to win this fight. In their previous meeting, Okami won by disqualification, not by any legitimacy, as he was knocked unconscious by a kick to the head while grounded. The only reason Okami was even on top of Silva was because Silva failed a triangle choke and was subsequently reversed. Silva-Okami 1 was just as one-sided as any other fight Silva has been in for the last seven years.
Okami should be an interesting match-up for Silva because he is the same height as Silva, and has a two-inch reach advantage, but he simply won’t be. Silva-Okami 2 was decided the night Silva decided to put his foot in Okami’s brain from guard for even thinking that he might beat him. This one should end quickly if Silva acts professionally. We have seen him take it to extreme measures and fool around in the cage delaying the inevitable, but avoiding that, Silva wins by knockout in the first round.
UFC 134 Preview - Yushin Okami
Yushin Okami, the last man to defeat the great Anderson Silva, could he possibly the next? The thought brings chills to any MMA fan’s spine. The thought of Anderson Silva not being the UFC’s Middleweight Champion is as strange as it was to think of B.J. Penn not being the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Okami, since he beat Silva via disqualification in 2006 under the Rumble on the Rock promotion, has beaten Mike Swick, Mark Muñoz and Nate Marquardt. Okami also dropped fights to Jake Shields, Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen. Sonnen and Franklin are two fighters that Silva has been able to beat. Franklin was bested by Silva twice.
It can’t really be said that Okami can’t win the big fights because he has lost to some big names, but he has beaten as many as he has lost to. Okami is still a relative unknown, as his only claim to fame is beating Silva by getting knocked out. He has never been a champion, and even though he advanced in the Rumble on the Rock tournament after his win over Silva, he lost to Shields immediately after, crushing his title hopes.
Okami does have a shot at beating Silva, but it is a rather slim one. He has managed to beat elite and strong wrestlers like Muñoz, and Sonnen, and he beat a great striker with an equally great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game in Nate Marquardt. He has the skills and the tools at 6’2’’ to beat someone of Silva’s caliber, but maybe not Silva himself.
Silva is more than his height, weight and skill set. He is Anderson Silva, winner of thirteen straight fights, eight of which were title fights, eight-time winner of UFC Fight Night bonuses, and widely considered the best of all time at any weight. At least half of the fight game, if not more, is mental, and for Okami that’s a lot to swallow before the first punch is even thrown.
Okami will undoubtedly have a more solid game plan than Silva, whose game plan consists of ending the fight as quickly as possible. Okami recently began training with his old foe, Chael Sonnen, the man to have the most success against Silva in his five-year title run. The combination of Sonnen’s hatred for Silva and Okami’s thirst for a title could culminate in a new UFC Middleweight Champion. The game plan that Sonnen develops for Okami could give him the tools to grind out a decision over the champion, but again, it is highly unlikely.
Even though Okami has a two-inch reach advantage, he will start the fight with an uphill climb. To beat a man who can pretend to play a banjo, while still not getting hit, well it hasn’t been done in five years and Okami won’t be the man to do it. Silva wins by knockout in round one.
Okami, since he beat Silva via disqualification in 2006 under the Rumble on the Rock promotion, has beaten Mike Swick, Mark Muñoz and Nate Marquardt. Okami also dropped fights to Jake Shields, Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen. Sonnen and Franklin are two fighters that Silva has been able to beat. Franklin was bested by Silva twice.
It can’t really be said that Okami can’t win the big fights because he has lost to some big names, but he has beaten as many as he has lost to. Okami is still a relative unknown, as his only claim to fame is beating Silva by getting knocked out. He has never been a champion, and even though he advanced in the Rumble on the Rock tournament after his win over Silva, he lost to Shields immediately after, crushing his title hopes.
Okami does have a shot at beating Silva, but it is a rather slim one. He has managed to beat elite and strong wrestlers like Muñoz, and Sonnen, and he beat a great striker with an equally great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game in Nate Marquardt. He has the skills and the tools at 6’2’’ to beat someone of Silva’s caliber, but maybe not Silva himself.
Silva is more than his height, weight and skill set. He is Anderson Silva, winner of thirteen straight fights, eight of which were title fights, eight-time winner of UFC Fight Night bonuses, and widely considered the best of all time at any weight. At least half of the fight game, if not more, is mental, and for Okami that’s a lot to swallow before the first punch is even thrown.
Okami will undoubtedly have a more solid game plan than Silva, whose game plan consists of ending the fight as quickly as possible. Okami recently began training with his old foe, Chael Sonnen, the man to have the most success against Silva in his five-year title run. The combination of Sonnen’s hatred for Silva and Okami’s thirst for a title could culminate in a new UFC Middleweight Champion. The game plan that Sonnen develops for Okami could give him the tools to grind out a decision over the champion, but again, it is highly unlikely.
Even though Okami has a two-inch reach advantage, he will start the fight with an uphill climb. To beat a man who can pretend to play a banjo, while still not getting hit, well it hasn’t been done in five years and Okami won’t be the man to do it. Silva wins by knockout in round one.
Monday, August 15, 2011
UFC Live 5 Preview - Chris Lytle
There are very few professional fighters who have never been knocked unconscious in a Mixed Martial Arts fight, and Chris “Lights Out” Lytle’s lights have shone bright since the dawn of his MMA career.
As one of those fortunate, and skilled few that have avoided such defeat, Lytle has experienced a long MMA career so far, and looks as if he will continue for many years to come. At 36 years old, Lytle holds the record, in a two-way tie with Anderson Silva, for most UFC fight bonuses. “Lights Out” has one Knockout of the Night bonus, two Submission of the Night bonuses and five Fight of the Night bonuses to his credit.
Adding to his credibility as a top level fighter is the fact that he has also never been submitted. All of Lytle’s 18 career defeats have come by decision, save two. The two exceptions were TKO losses due to doctor stoppage because of cuts.
Lytle has faced the who’s who at welterweight, and was a semifinalist on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback. Lytle has a pair of impressive wins over Matt Brown, and notched a decision victory over former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra. His losses, really, are more impressive than his wins, and tell the story of who he is as a fighter.
“Lights Out” has faced top welterweights such as Robbie Lawler, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, Nick Diaz, Josh Koscheck and Thiago Alves. He suffered losses to all of them, but the only one that didn’t reach a hard-nosed decision was the Thiago Alves fight where the cage-side doctor stopped it just before the third round. He has been competitive in all of his fights, and a lot of them could have gone the other way with just one more flurry.
His last fight, against Brian Ebersole and his trademark “manscaped” chest hair arrow, he looked tired through the entire fight. It was a rather lackluster performance for the final two rounds. Ebersole tried a few cartwheel kicks, and none landed, but the UFC newcomer did make quite a fool of “Lights Out”. The fight consisted, mainly, of Lytle swinging at air, and Ebersole countering with one wildly painful strike after another.
In his upcoming fight with Dan Hardy, Lytle knows that he has suspect takedown defense, but he also knows that Hardy doesn’t want to risk trying to exploit that. Hardy is going to go for a win, but it has to be an exciting one. Hardy, who is on a three-fight skid, can’t win this fight in a boring lay-and-pray decision. It’s not his style anyway, but Dana White wouldn’t look so favorably upon a boring win for a fighter who really needs to rescue his career.
Hardy is going to be overly aggressive looking for the highlight reel knockout, so if Hardy leads with his familiar left hook, Lytle may be able to catch him with a counter right uppercut and put him to sleep. More than likely, Lytle will try to emulate Georges St-Pierre when he fought Hardy. If Hardy goes in for a power strike, Lytle can get him on his back and put his second-degree black belt skills to work and possibly end the fight with a submission. Hardy has such incredible willpower, as evidenced by the St-Pierre fight, that he probably wont submit until his arm rips off and Lytle starts beating him senseless with it. Lytle will use his technical grappling to keep Hardy’s back to the mat, and will stay busy enough to not get stood up and cruise to a unanimous decision and end Dan Hardy’s run with the UFC.
As one of those fortunate, and skilled few that have avoided such defeat, Lytle has experienced a long MMA career so far, and looks as if he will continue for many years to come. At 36 years old, Lytle holds the record, in a two-way tie with Anderson Silva, for most UFC fight bonuses. “Lights Out” has one Knockout of the Night bonus, two Submission of the Night bonuses and five Fight of the Night bonuses to his credit.
Adding to his credibility as a top level fighter is the fact that he has also never been submitted. All of Lytle’s 18 career defeats have come by decision, save two. The two exceptions were TKO losses due to doctor stoppage because of cuts.
Lytle has faced the who’s who at welterweight, and was a semifinalist on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback. Lytle has a pair of impressive wins over Matt Brown, and notched a decision victory over former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra. His losses, really, are more impressive than his wins, and tell the story of who he is as a fighter.
“Lights Out” has faced top welterweights such as Robbie Lawler, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, Nick Diaz, Josh Koscheck and Thiago Alves. He suffered losses to all of them, but the only one that didn’t reach a hard-nosed decision was the Thiago Alves fight where the cage-side doctor stopped it just before the third round. He has been competitive in all of his fights, and a lot of them could have gone the other way with just one more flurry.
His last fight, against Brian Ebersole and his trademark “manscaped” chest hair arrow, he looked tired through the entire fight. It was a rather lackluster performance for the final two rounds. Ebersole tried a few cartwheel kicks, and none landed, but the UFC newcomer did make quite a fool of “Lights Out”. The fight consisted, mainly, of Lytle swinging at air, and Ebersole countering with one wildly painful strike after another.
In his upcoming fight with Dan Hardy, Lytle knows that he has suspect takedown defense, but he also knows that Hardy doesn’t want to risk trying to exploit that. Hardy is going to go for a win, but it has to be an exciting one. Hardy, who is on a three-fight skid, can’t win this fight in a boring lay-and-pray decision. It’s not his style anyway, but Dana White wouldn’t look so favorably upon a boring win for a fighter who really needs to rescue his career.
Hardy is going to be overly aggressive looking for the highlight reel knockout, so if Hardy leads with his familiar left hook, Lytle may be able to catch him with a counter right uppercut and put him to sleep. More than likely, Lytle will try to emulate Georges St-Pierre when he fought Hardy. If Hardy goes in for a power strike, Lytle can get him on his back and put his second-degree black belt skills to work and possibly end the fight with a submission. Hardy has such incredible willpower, as evidenced by the St-Pierre fight, that he probably wont submit until his arm rips off and Lytle starts beating him senseless with it. Lytle will use his technical grappling to keep Hardy’s back to the mat, and will stay busy enough to not get stood up and cruise to a unanimous decision and end Dan Hardy’s run with the UFC.
Dan Hardy - Hero or Villain?
A brash, ill-tempered, powerful English-born fighter with a knack for theatrics, it’s got to be Bisping, right? Wrong. Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy is quickly following in the footsteps of fellow Brit, Michael Bisping as he carves out his image as a UFC welterweight.
Hardy, with his flashy red and black Mohawk, and various tattoos, was nominated for “The Most Metal Athlete” by Revolver Magazine, but later lost to American extreme athlete, Shawn White. The mouth that his red mouthguard, adorned with sharp fangs, resides in on fight night is quite a nasty one. Hardy can talk some trash and hold his own in doing so with the big boys like Chael Sonnen, but can he back it up?
If going by his title bout versus the impeccable Georges St-Pierre, it doesn’t seem so. He said that he could, ”Give [St-Pierre] hell when the time comes.” and that St-Pierre’s fan’s would be “very disappointed [the next] morning.”
Anyone who saw the Hardy vs. St-Pierre fight knows that it was an incredible show of heart for Hardy, refusing to tap to several tight submissions, a few of which almost left him without an arm to be raised even if he had won the fight. Hardy had no weapons against St-Pierre, and did little offensively to the champion.
One of his most memorable fights, for the outcome as well as the pre-fight theatrics, was his fight with Marcus Davis. It was the age old clash of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hardy was upset with Davis’ beatdowns of several of his countrymen and openly stated that he did not want Davis in England. As Hardy was a native Brit, he went so far as to call Davis a “fake Irishman” for having not been born in Ireland.
The fight was a back and forth battle that saw Hardy prevail, and afterward he claimed the theatrics were simply to hype the fight and get into his opponent’s head. Davis would not hear it and immediately requested a rematch in Ireland or Boston. The rematch never came to fruition, as Davis was cut from the UFC less than a year later.
Hardy has become known for his theatrics and his mouth, and it isn’t clear yet whether he should really be the one talking trash, but one thing is for sure, he is an exciting draw.
His upcoming fight with Chris Lytle, who is arguably the most exciting fighter in the UFC due to his record 8 Award of The Night bonuses. Five of those awards have been Fight of The Night, and the fight with Hardy could be his sixth, and would make Hardy’s first.
The battle between Hardy and Lytle on Sunday will pan out a lot like Hardy’s title attempt against Georges St-Pierre. Lytle’s superior grappling will prevail. Hardy may not get rag dolled like he did against St-Pierre on the ground, as he moved his camp to Las Vegas to train his grappling skills with Roy Nelson, but the second degree black belt, Lytle will easily win the ground battle. That having been said, Lytle will not win this fight by submission. In similar fashion to the title fight, fans will not see Chris Lytle break Dan Hardy’s will, or his limbs for that matter. Hardy, who is just an average striker, won’t win the standup game in stunning fashion, but he will have a slight edge. The point is moot, because Lytle, a true student of Mixed Martial Arts has taken a page from St-Pierre’s book and will win the fight by controlling “The Outlaw” on the ground en route to a unanimous decision.
The loss would drop “The Outlaw” to 4-4 in the UFC, and would be his fourth straight loss. It may be the last time fans see Dan Hardy in The Octagon, unless he can pull a “Tito” and hang around without a win for five years, which is highly unlikely.
It would be sad to lose Hardy, as the English fan base has only one prominent hero to turn to. The question is whether Hardy is really an English hero or just a British villain. Either way fans will always tune in to see “The Outlaw’s” latest heist.
Hardy, with his flashy red and black Mohawk, and various tattoos, was nominated for “The Most Metal Athlete” by Revolver Magazine, but later lost to American extreme athlete, Shawn White. The mouth that his red mouthguard, adorned with sharp fangs, resides in on fight night is quite a nasty one. Hardy can talk some trash and hold his own in doing so with the big boys like Chael Sonnen, but can he back it up?
If going by his title bout versus the impeccable Georges St-Pierre, it doesn’t seem so. He said that he could, ”Give [St-Pierre] hell when the time comes.” and that St-Pierre’s fan’s would be “very disappointed [the next] morning.”
Anyone who saw the Hardy vs. St-Pierre fight knows that it was an incredible show of heart for Hardy, refusing to tap to several tight submissions, a few of which almost left him without an arm to be raised even if he had won the fight. Hardy had no weapons against St-Pierre, and did little offensively to the champion.
One of his most memorable fights, for the outcome as well as the pre-fight theatrics, was his fight with Marcus Davis. It was the age old clash of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hardy was upset with Davis’ beatdowns of several of his countrymen and openly stated that he did not want Davis in England. As Hardy was a native Brit, he went so far as to call Davis a “fake Irishman” for having not been born in Ireland.
The fight was a back and forth battle that saw Hardy prevail, and afterward he claimed the theatrics were simply to hype the fight and get into his opponent’s head. Davis would not hear it and immediately requested a rematch in Ireland or Boston. The rematch never came to fruition, as Davis was cut from the UFC less than a year later.
Hardy has become known for his theatrics and his mouth, and it isn’t clear yet whether he should really be the one talking trash, but one thing is for sure, he is an exciting draw.
His upcoming fight with Chris Lytle, who is arguably the most exciting fighter in the UFC due to his record 8 Award of The Night bonuses. Five of those awards have been Fight of The Night, and the fight with Hardy could be his sixth, and would make Hardy’s first.
The battle between Hardy and Lytle on Sunday will pan out a lot like Hardy’s title attempt against Georges St-Pierre. Lytle’s superior grappling will prevail. Hardy may not get rag dolled like he did against St-Pierre on the ground, as he moved his camp to Las Vegas to train his grappling skills with Roy Nelson, but the second degree black belt, Lytle will easily win the ground battle. That having been said, Lytle will not win this fight by submission. In similar fashion to the title fight, fans will not see Chris Lytle break Dan Hardy’s will, or his limbs for that matter. Hardy, who is just an average striker, won’t win the standup game in stunning fashion, but he will have a slight edge. The point is moot, because Lytle, a true student of Mixed Martial Arts has taken a page from St-Pierre’s book and will win the fight by controlling “The Outlaw” on the ground en route to a unanimous decision.
The loss would drop “The Outlaw” to 4-4 in the UFC, and would be his fourth straight loss. It may be the last time fans see Dan Hardy in The Octagon, unless he can pull a “Tito” and hang around without a win for five years, which is highly unlikely.
It would be sad to lose Hardy, as the English fan base has only one prominent hero to turn to. The question is whether Hardy is really an English hero or just a British villain. Either way fans will always tune in to see “The Outlaw’s” latest heist.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Hendo
Strikeforce and M-1 Global have partnered to present one of their most impressive cards to date. Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson is sure to bring the fire. The card features two legends, and quite a few up and comers, and will take place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL this Saturday.
Since the purchase of Strikeforce by UFC parent company, Zuffa, LLC, there hasn’t been much excitement about the former UFC competitor. All of the talk about Strikeforce has been centered around merging the UFC and Strikeforce, and about dream matchups between the two organizations’ stars.
The July 30th card features two bouts that fans and the fighters themselves have been talking about for a long time. Fedor Emelianenko versus Dan Henderson is a dream matchup for any MMA fan, and both fighters have been talking about it for some time now. Another of the interesting matchups on the card is undefeated Tyron Woodley versus Paul Daley.
Even the prelims feature some high level fighters, which has been unheard of in Strikeforce. Gisias “JZ” Cavalcante squares off against Bobby Green and Julie Kedzie fights Alexis Davis.
The match with the biggest implications unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle of such a monster card. Marloes Coenen will step up to defend her welterweight title against Miesha Tate, but amid all the other stars, odds are that they will go unnoticed. Thus is the casualty of trying to promote women’s MMA on such a big card.The first matchup on the main card will be Scott Smith versus Tarec Saffiedine. Both California natives are coming off loses, but to high level fighters. Coincidentally, the fighters that Saffiedine and Smith most recently lost to are fighting one another later in the evening. Smith was most recently dispatched by a knockout courtesy of Paul Daley, and Saffiedine dropped a decision to Tyron Woodley.
Smith, the former UFC fighter, has hit a rocky spot in his career but looks to use the somewhat green Saffiedine to launch his career once again. Saffiedine doesn’t look like he is going to let that happen. The Team Quest representative, Saffiedine was able to last three rounds against a welterweight elite in Woodley, and has a very underrated ground game. Saffiedine wins the fight by unanimous decision.
The second most highly anticipated fight on the card comes next. Paul “Semtex” Daley goes toe to toe with Tyron Woodley. Daley is on a road back to the top after being booted from the UFC for a late hit on Josh Koscheck in their title elimination bout in May of 2010. With wins over the aforementioned Scott Smith and BAMMA’s Yuya Shirai, Daley finds himself in the biggest fight of his career aside from the Koscheck fight.
With the Strikeforce welterweight title expected to be relinquished by champion Nick Diaz in order to fight for the UFC Welterweight title, this could very well be Daley’s second title elimination bout.
Tyron Woodley, a former standout wrestler for the University of Missouri, was a teammate of current Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren in college. Woodley has finished five of his eight fights inside the first round. He has never lost in eight professional appearances, and has been campaigning for a title shot for some time. Woodley, in his latest campaign move, wore a shirt to Nick Diaz’s last title defense against Paul Daley that read: “I’ve got next.”
Woodley is incredibly driven, and is excited about the chance to possibly be fighting for the title on Saturday. With Nick Diaz giving up the title, the winner of the fight could possibly be awarded the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title at the end of the night. Best-case scenario is that the fight ends up being for the title, the worst case is that it is for the right to fight for the title. This is a fight with huge implications either way.
This should be a great fight with a lot of action. Woodley will look to get the fight to the ground, but not desperately. Woodley is bigger than Daley, and has some solid striking skills. If the fight goes to the ground Daley is done for. If Woodley watches Daley’s right hand, and gets in and out with his jab and scores a few takedowns he will win by TKO in the second round.
The next bout on the card is Robbie Lawler versus Tim Kennedy. The fight between the two former middleweight contenders should be a battle of two opposite strengths. Kennedy had better get Lawler on his back early or it will be a short night. Lawler, who has over 80 percent of his wins by knockout, poses a serious threat to Kennedy’s consciousness. Lawler has as much to worry about as Kennedy, though in the grappling department. Lawler is very susceptible to the choke, as he has lost four times because of the submission.
The edge still goes to goes to Lawler in this fight, though by a very slim margin. If he can stay off of his back, and time his onslaughts carefully, he has the tools to end the fight with a crushing knockout early.
The women's welterweight title fight between Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate is one shrouded in mystery. Not much is known about Tate other than the fact that she, ironically enough, trains with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male. Coenen has squared off against elite female fighters like Liz Carmouche and the unstoppable Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. She managed to survive three rounds against Cyborg before failing in her quest to capture the women’s middleweight title, losing by TKO.Coenen is a pure ground specialist, and has the ability to capitalize on any small mistake. Tate is an all around fighter, and this will play right into Coenen’s hands. She isn’t elite in any part of her game, so Coenen will look to get the fight to where she is comfortable and end the fight before Tate has a chance to get into her groove. Coenen wins by choke in the third round.
Finally, all that is left is the most exciting fight of the year, Fedor versus Hendo. Fedor is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his illustrious career. Having not lost in the eight-year span from 2001 to 2009, Fedor has been considered the best fighter in the world for a long time. Entering the fight against Hendo he has just been eliminated from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand-Prix, a tournament that he was one of the favorites to win. The question that everyone is still trying to figure out is whether Fedor is really past his prime. At 34 years old, it is not out of the question, but the fact that he was so dominant has the MMA community unwilling to believe such things.
Dan Henderson comes into the fight with as many, if not more shining credentials than Fedor. He won the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament, won the PRIDE Welterweight and Middleweight titles, and most recently, captured the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title. The man has belts on belts on belts, to say the least. At 40 years old, it is odd that no one is questioning his ability, but it’s because he is still smashing opponents as he always has. His last win, for the light heavyweight title, was over Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. He won the fight in the third round with his signature right hand.
It truly does appear that Fedor is past his prime whether fans want to believe it or not. His submission loss to Fabricio Werdum was sloppy, and he was battered by Antonio Silva in his last fight. He still has the tools to win this fight, but his game isn’t as sharp and fine tuned as it once was. Dan Henderson, on the other hand hasn’t seemed to lose any power over the years, and his overhand right is as technical as it always was. This fight doesn’t look like it will end up as a technical grappling match, but more of a sloppy slugfest. Dan Henderson will retire the legend of Fedor Emelianenko, and the fighter himself after he scores TKO victory in the second round. It looks like the true “Last Emperor” may be Hendo.
Since the purchase of Strikeforce by UFC parent company, Zuffa, LLC, there hasn’t been much excitement about the former UFC competitor. All of the talk about Strikeforce has been centered around merging the UFC and Strikeforce, and about dream matchups between the two organizations’ stars.
The July 30th card features two bouts that fans and the fighters themselves have been talking about for a long time. Fedor Emelianenko versus Dan Henderson is a dream matchup for any MMA fan, and both fighters have been talking about it for some time now. Another of the interesting matchups on the card is undefeated Tyron Woodley versus Paul Daley.
Even the prelims feature some high level fighters, which has been unheard of in Strikeforce. Gisias “JZ” Cavalcante squares off against Bobby Green and Julie Kedzie fights Alexis Davis.
The match with the biggest implications unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle of such a monster card. Marloes Coenen will step up to defend her welterweight title against Miesha Tate, but amid all the other stars, odds are that they will go unnoticed. Thus is the casualty of trying to promote women’s MMA on such a big card.The first matchup on the main card will be Scott Smith versus Tarec Saffiedine. Both California natives are coming off loses, but to high level fighters. Coincidentally, the fighters that Saffiedine and Smith most recently lost to are fighting one another later in the evening. Smith was most recently dispatched by a knockout courtesy of Paul Daley, and Saffiedine dropped a decision to Tyron Woodley.
Smith, the former UFC fighter, has hit a rocky spot in his career but looks to use the somewhat green Saffiedine to launch his career once again. Saffiedine doesn’t look like he is going to let that happen. The Team Quest representative, Saffiedine was able to last three rounds against a welterweight elite in Woodley, and has a very underrated ground game. Saffiedine wins the fight by unanimous decision.
The second most highly anticipated fight on the card comes next. Paul “Semtex” Daley goes toe to toe with Tyron Woodley. Daley is on a road back to the top after being booted from the UFC for a late hit on Josh Koscheck in their title elimination bout in May of 2010. With wins over the aforementioned Scott Smith and BAMMA’s Yuya Shirai, Daley finds himself in the biggest fight of his career aside from the Koscheck fight.
With the Strikeforce welterweight title expected to be relinquished by champion Nick Diaz in order to fight for the UFC Welterweight title, this could very well be Daley’s second title elimination bout.
Tyron Woodley, a former standout wrestler for the University of Missouri, was a teammate of current Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren in college. Woodley has finished five of his eight fights inside the first round. He has never lost in eight professional appearances, and has been campaigning for a title shot for some time. Woodley, in his latest campaign move, wore a shirt to Nick Diaz’s last title defense against Paul Daley that read: “I’ve got next.”
Woodley is incredibly driven, and is excited about the chance to possibly be fighting for the title on Saturday. With Nick Diaz giving up the title, the winner of the fight could possibly be awarded the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title at the end of the night. Best-case scenario is that the fight ends up being for the title, the worst case is that it is for the right to fight for the title. This is a fight with huge implications either way.
This should be a great fight with a lot of action. Woodley will look to get the fight to the ground, but not desperately. Woodley is bigger than Daley, and has some solid striking skills. If the fight goes to the ground Daley is done for. If Woodley watches Daley’s right hand, and gets in and out with his jab and scores a few takedowns he will win by TKO in the second round.
The next bout on the card is Robbie Lawler versus Tim Kennedy. The fight between the two former middleweight contenders should be a battle of two opposite strengths. Kennedy had better get Lawler on his back early or it will be a short night. Lawler, who has over 80 percent of his wins by knockout, poses a serious threat to Kennedy’s consciousness. Lawler has as much to worry about as Kennedy, though in the grappling department. Lawler is very susceptible to the choke, as he has lost four times because of the submission.
The edge still goes to goes to Lawler in this fight, though by a very slim margin. If he can stay off of his back, and time his onslaughts carefully, he has the tools to end the fight with a crushing knockout early.
The women's welterweight title fight between Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate is one shrouded in mystery. Not much is known about Tate other than the fact that she, ironically enough, trains with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male. Coenen has squared off against elite female fighters like Liz Carmouche and the unstoppable Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. She managed to survive three rounds against Cyborg before failing in her quest to capture the women’s middleweight title, losing by TKO.Coenen is a pure ground specialist, and has the ability to capitalize on any small mistake. Tate is an all around fighter, and this will play right into Coenen’s hands. She isn’t elite in any part of her game, so Coenen will look to get the fight to where she is comfortable and end the fight before Tate has a chance to get into her groove. Coenen wins by choke in the third round.
Finally, all that is left is the most exciting fight of the year, Fedor versus Hendo. Fedor is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his illustrious career. Having not lost in the eight-year span from 2001 to 2009, Fedor has been considered the best fighter in the world for a long time. Entering the fight against Hendo he has just been eliminated from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand-Prix, a tournament that he was one of the favorites to win. The question that everyone is still trying to figure out is whether Fedor is really past his prime. At 34 years old, it is not out of the question, but the fact that he was so dominant has the MMA community unwilling to believe such things.
Dan Henderson comes into the fight with as many, if not more shining credentials than Fedor. He won the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament, won the PRIDE Welterweight and Middleweight titles, and most recently, captured the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title. The man has belts on belts on belts, to say the least. At 40 years old, it is odd that no one is questioning his ability, but it’s because he is still smashing opponents as he always has. His last win, for the light heavyweight title, was over Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. He won the fight in the third round with his signature right hand.
It truly does appear that Fedor is past his prime whether fans want to believe it or not. His submission loss to Fabricio Werdum was sloppy, and he was battered by Antonio Silva in his last fight. He still has the tools to win this fight, but his game isn’t as sharp and fine tuned as it once was. Dan Henderson, on the other hand hasn’t seemed to lose any power over the years, and his overhand right is as technical as it always was. This fight doesn’t look like it will end up as a technical grappling match, but more of a sloppy slugfest. Dan Henderson will retire the legend of Fedor Emelianenko, and the fighter himself after he scores TKO victory in the second round. It looks like the true “Last Emperor” may be Hendo.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
UFC 132 - Cruz vs. Faber
When Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz enter the cage on Saturday night, the long awaited rematch will be underway. It seems this match has been years in the making.
Cruz, after losing a featherweight title bout against WEC champ Urijah Faber was seen in his next fight with the WEC as a bantamweight. From a fan’s perspective, it seemed Cruz was retreating to a lower weight class after losing to Faber in less than two minutes.
Faber went on to be the longest reigning WEC Champion in the promotions short history, defending the belt five times until relinquishing the title to Mike Brown in 2008. After a submission of the night victory over the UFC’s first lightweight champion, Jens Pulver, Faber had another title shot against Brown. The rematch ended with Faber on the wrong side of a five-round decision, and Faber was back in the hunt for another shot at his belt.
After yet another submission of the night victory, this time over Raphael Assuncao, Faber was awarded his next shot at the title, this time against reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo. As one could guess, with Aldo being labeled “reigning UFC Featherweight Champion” Faber was unsuccessful yet again. The man who was the face of the WEC, and still today the most popular fighter at the weight classes under 155, seemed to have hit a wall in his MMA career.
Meanwhile, Dominick Cruz went on a tear through the WEC’s bantamweight division and captured the title just three years after his loss to Faber for the featherweight title. After snatching the title from Brian Bowles, Cruz went on to defend against two top 5 opponents both of who have close ties to Faber. Joseph Benavidez, a teammate of Faber, and Scott Jorgensen, a close friend and training partner of Faber both dropped decisions to Cruz in 2010. All three of these fighters, Benavidez, Faber and Jorgensen are sponsored by the Urijah Faber created, Form Athletics fight team.
So does Cruz have a personal vendetta against Faber? Slowly dispatching his team, one would think so. Cruz has his sights on the team leader, the man who handed him his only, and quite embarrassing defeat. These two have apparently been on a crash course for a rematch.
Fans anxious for the title fight don’t necessarily have to wait until Saturday night to see the two fighters exchanging shots. “The Dominator” and “The California Kid” have been firing at one another through their Twitter accounts for the past week leading up to fight night. Faber has dubbed Cruz, “The Irritator” and Cruz sent Faber a video making fun of his “butt chin.” Faber, in retribution, fired back by making a video that poked fun at Cruz’s weasel-like chuckle.
A fight with so much hype and trash talk behind it, coupled with a nice back-story is just the main event the UFC has been missing lately. Faber-Cruz 2 for the UFC’s Bantamweight title is sure to deliver. Faber, a slim underdog in the betting world poses a serious threat that Cruz’s other opponents have not. Faber possesses something Jorgensen and Benavidez do not, and that is star power. No Super Mario reference here, Faber’s popularity may not inherently be what wins him the fight, but there is a reason the guy is so popular, and that is what will win him the fight. Fans like to see scrappers, and that is exactly what Faber is. He isn’t afraid to stand and trade with anyone, and he is a very dynamic striker, meaning he is quick and powerful.
Cruz is a different kind of fighter. He is a workhorse. He outworks and outlasts all of his competitors, and his heart is unquestionable. While this isn’t necessarily the recipe for a bad fighter, it isn’t the type that wins over fans. This is not to say that the man with the fans always wins the fights, but fans don’t like losers either. Fans like dynamic strikers that win fights, and that is Urijah Faber.
10 of Cruz’s 17 victories have been by decision, while Faber has finished 20 of his 25 victories. Again a finisher wins over fans. The combination of winning, finishing fights and being a great striker won Urijah Faber his vast fan base and it will win him the title of UFC Bantamweight Champion this Saturday night with a TKO victory in round 2.
Cruz, after losing a featherweight title bout against WEC champ Urijah Faber was seen in his next fight with the WEC as a bantamweight. From a fan’s perspective, it seemed Cruz was retreating to a lower weight class after losing to Faber in less than two minutes.
Faber went on to be the longest reigning WEC Champion in the promotions short history, defending the belt five times until relinquishing the title to Mike Brown in 2008. After a submission of the night victory over the UFC’s first lightweight champion, Jens Pulver, Faber had another title shot against Brown. The rematch ended with Faber on the wrong side of a five-round decision, and Faber was back in the hunt for another shot at his belt.
After yet another submission of the night victory, this time over Raphael Assuncao, Faber was awarded his next shot at the title, this time against reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo. As one could guess, with Aldo being labeled “reigning UFC Featherweight Champion” Faber was unsuccessful yet again. The man who was the face of the WEC, and still today the most popular fighter at the weight classes under 155, seemed to have hit a wall in his MMA career.
Meanwhile, Dominick Cruz went on a tear through the WEC’s bantamweight division and captured the title just three years after his loss to Faber for the featherweight title. After snatching the title from Brian Bowles, Cruz went on to defend against two top 5 opponents both of who have close ties to Faber. Joseph Benavidez, a teammate of Faber, and Scott Jorgensen, a close friend and training partner of Faber both dropped decisions to Cruz in 2010. All three of these fighters, Benavidez, Faber and Jorgensen are sponsored by the Urijah Faber created, Form Athletics fight team.
So does Cruz have a personal vendetta against Faber? Slowly dispatching his team, one would think so. Cruz has his sights on the team leader, the man who handed him his only, and quite embarrassing defeat. These two have apparently been on a crash course for a rematch.
Fans anxious for the title fight don’t necessarily have to wait until Saturday night to see the two fighters exchanging shots. “The Dominator” and “The California Kid” have been firing at one another through their Twitter accounts for the past week leading up to fight night. Faber has dubbed Cruz, “The Irritator” and Cruz sent Faber a video making fun of his “butt chin.” Faber, in retribution, fired back by making a video that poked fun at Cruz’s weasel-like chuckle.
A fight with so much hype and trash talk behind it, coupled with a nice back-story is just the main event the UFC has been missing lately. Faber-Cruz 2 for the UFC’s Bantamweight title is sure to deliver. Faber, a slim underdog in the betting world poses a serious threat that Cruz’s other opponents have not. Faber possesses something Jorgensen and Benavidez do not, and that is star power. No Super Mario reference here, Faber’s popularity may not inherently be what wins him the fight, but there is a reason the guy is so popular, and that is what will win him the fight. Fans like to see scrappers, and that is exactly what Faber is. He isn’t afraid to stand and trade with anyone, and he is a very dynamic striker, meaning he is quick and powerful.
Cruz is a different kind of fighter. He is a workhorse. He outworks and outlasts all of his competitors, and his heart is unquestionable. While this isn’t necessarily the recipe for a bad fighter, it isn’t the type that wins over fans. This is not to say that the man with the fans always wins the fights, but fans don’t like losers either. Fans like dynamic strikers that win fights, and that is Urijah Faber.
10 of Cruz’s 17 victories have been by decision, while Faber has finished 20 of his 25 victories. Again a finisher wins over fans. The combination of winning, finishing fights and being a great striker won Urijah Faber his vast fan base and it will win him the title of UFC Bantamweight Champion this Saturday night with a TKO victory in round 2.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
DREAM 17 Preview & Predictions
Japanese promotion Dream’s next event is called Dream 17 “Fight for Japan”, an appropriate title, given the massive earthquakes that decimated much of the Japan’s Tōhoku region earlier this year.
Dream event producer, Keiichi Sasahara put together the card in hopes of reuniting Japan, and giving them a motivating force from which to rebuild. The earthquakes, which have been seen as the worst crisis in Japan since the end of World War II, only added to the problems of the ailing promotion. Dream has recently fallen behind on paying fighters, as well as marketing shows. Dream hasn’t yet held an event in 2011, and their last show, Dream 16 only pulled in a rating of 11.9%. Things are looking grim for the promotion to say the least.
Even with all these troubles, Sasahara is hopeful for Dream 17. A card filled with 4 bantamweight tournament fights, and non-tournament action featuring Caol Uno, Katsunori Kikuno, Shinya Aoki and Rich Clementi, comes filled with a lot of excitement and hope for Dream.
Yoshiro Maeda and Hideo Tokoro kick off the action in the bantamweight tournament with a fight that is sure to showcase the technicality of Dream fighters. Maeda, who is a calm, patient striker, will look to dictate the pace and pick his spots. Tokoro, against a fighter with such standup prowess will look to get the fight on the ground as he has 17 of his 27 wins by way of submission. Maeda is no slouch on the ground though; he has been submitted only 3 times in his eight-year professional career. The more rounded fighter, Maeda will walk away with a TKO victory.
Next up is Yusako Nakamura versus Atsushi Yamamoto. Not much is known about Nakamura. he is 3-0 with all first round knockout victories, other than that, all that is known is that he took the fight on short notice. His opponent, Yamamoto, an accomplished striker will look to stand and trade with the young knockout artist. Expect to see a lot of leather flying, as Nakamura pulls the upset over the savvy vet.
In the most boring fight of the night, Kenji Osawa squares off against Takafumi Otsuka. This fight won’t be boring at all; it’s just the most boring out of a stacked card. It’s the dumbest rocket scientist, if you will. Two of the most well rounded fighters in the tournament go toe-to-toe in this one. That being said, it’s almost a pick ‘em kind of fight, but it will have been a full year to the day since Osawa stepped into the ring last when he faces Otsuka on May 29. Ring rust will prove a factor as Otsuka claws his way to a hard-fought decision.
The final fight of the tournament features the winner of the tournament in either Keisuke Fujiwara or Masakazu Imanari. Fujiwara has never been submitted in his 17 professional fights, and that’s all Imanari has. Imanari is reminiscent of Shinya Aoki in the way that he is as unorthodox a grappler as any, want his fists would do little against a small child. At least Aoki has solid kicking strikes, where Imanari has none. Fujiwara, while he doesn’t have many skills that stand out above others, he is a really strong bantamweight, like Urijah Faber. Fujiwara will use his godlike submission defense and negate the only thing Imanari has going. Don’t blink on this one, Fujiwara will end it with a wild knockout as Imanari gets frustrated and goes for a wild takedown. Look for Fujiwara to move on and take the bantamweight tournament crown.
The first of five non-tournament bouts features fan favorite, Caol Uno against Akiyo Nishiura. Uno, whose best days are behind him, is looking to end his career on a high note. Win or loss, this could be his last fight. If he wins, he realizes it may be his last win to go out on, and if he loses, it will be his fifth in his last six fights, the sole bright spot being a draw versus Fabricio Camoes. Uno needn’t worry about that grim fate, because Nishiura is a perfect style matchup for him. Nishiura, who fought a similar fighter to Uno in Mitsuhiro Ishida, was unable to come away victorious. In a fight that could easily be tipped the other way, Caol Uno will get the win by decision if everything goes his way.
Former Akiyo Nishiura foe, Mitsuhiro Ishida squares off with former featherweight, Joachim Hansen in his return to lightweight. This fight is a clash between two lightweights past their prime, struggling to find their current identity in MMA. The safe pick, Mitsuhiro wins by out wrestling “Hellboy” to a decision.
Katsunori Kikuno versus Daisuke Nakamura should be a one-sided affair in which Kikuno walks away as the victor. Kikuno is one of Dream’s elite fighters, and has put up tough competition against names like Eddie Alvarez and JZ Cavalcante. Kikuno will cruise past Nakamura en route to a TKO finish.
The final fight before the highly anticipated, Aoki-Clementi bout is Takeshi Inoue-Koichiro Matsumoto. The much better striker Inoue should prevail here, but Matsumoto is a talented enough game planner that he could pull the upset. That having been said, he won’t, Inoue wins this one by KO.
The main event, Shinya Aoki versus Rich Clementi is the promotional debut for Clementi, and the thirteenth time Aoki will enter the ring for Dream. It is only fitting that Japan’s best fighter, Aoki, represent the country on what may be its biggest and most meaningful event to date. After a revolving door of potential opponents, first Antonio McKee, next Shane Nelson and then Jamie Varner and Williamy Freire, Dream finally tracked down Clementi. Aoki is on a four-fight tear including a first round submission of Lyle Beerbohm with a neck crank.
Clementi has had an up and down run since his release from the UFC in 2009 after back-to-back losses to Gray Maynard and Gleison Tibau. Clementi is known for having over 50 professional fights to his credit, and having over half of his 40 wins by submission.
In a true main event, this should be a very exciting one. Aoki, who many consider to be the best submission grappler in the game at any weight, might find some trouble breaking Rich Clementi down as he has to so many opponents over his young career. Clementi will try and keep the fight standing for as long as he can until he is forced to shoot in for a takedown. Then he will look to use his ground and pound against the smaller Aoki. He dare not try busting any of Aoki’s rubber-like limbs, lest he find himself on the wrong end of one of Aoki’s tricky subs. Aoki will do all he can short of laying down (and he may even do just that) do force the fight to the ground. Look for Aoki to utilize a few kicks before taking the fight to the mat, and winning by a submission off of his back. At a guess, maybe his signature gogoplata, but with Aoki, (Shin)ya never know.
Dream event producer, Keiichi Sasahara put together the card in hopes of reuniting Japan, and giving them a motivating force from which to rebuild. The earthquakes, which have been seen as the worst crisis in Japan since the end of World War II, only added to the problems of the ailing promotion. Dream has recently fallen behind on paying fighters, as well as marketing shows. Dream hasn’t yet held an event in 2011, and their last show, Dream 16 only pulled in a rating of 11.9%. Things are looking grim for the promotion to say the least.
Even with all these troubles, Sasahara is hopeful for Dream 17. A card filled with 4 bantamweight tournament fights, and non-tournament action featuring Caol Uno, Katsunori Kikuno, Shinya Aoki and Rich Clementi, comes filled with a lot of excitement and hope for Dream.
Yoshiro Maeda and Hideo Tokoro kick off the action in the bantamweight tournament with a fight that is sure to showcase the technicality of Dream fighters. Maeda, who is a calm, patient striker, will look to dictate the pace and pick his spots. Tokoro, against a fighter with such standup prowess will look to get the fight on the ground as he has 17 of his 27 wins by way of submission. Maeda is no slouch on the ground though; he has been submitted only 3 times in his eight-year professional career. The more rounded fighter, Maeda will walk away with a TKO victory.
Next up is Yusako Nakamura versus Atsushi Yamamoto. Not much is known about Nakamura. he is 3-0 with all first round knockout victories, other than that, all that is known is that he took the fight on short notice. His opponent, Yamamoto, an accomplished striker will look to stand and trade with the young knockout artist. Expect to see a lot of leather flying, as Nakamura pulls the upset over the savvy vet.
In the most boring fight of the night, Kenji Osawa squares off against Takafumi Otsuka. This fight won’t be boring at all; it’s just the most boring out of a stacked card. It’s the dumbest rocket scientist, if you will. Two of the most well rounded fighters in the tournament go toe-to-toe in this one. That being said, it’s almost a pick ‘em kind of fight, but it will have been a full year to the day since Osawa stepped into the ring last when he faces Otsuka on May 29. Ring rust will prove a factor as Otsuka claws his way to a hard-fought decision.
The final fight of the tournament features the winner of the tournament in either Keisuke Fujiwara or Masakazu Imanari. Fujiwara has never been submitted in his 17 professional fights, and that’s all Imanari has. Imanari is reminiscent of Shinya Aoki in the way that he is as unorthodox a grappler as any, want his fists would do little against a small child. At least Aoki has solid kicking strikes, where Imanari has none. Fujiwara, while he doesn’t have many skills that stand out above others, he is a really strong bantamweight, like Urijah Faber. Fujiwara will use his godlike submission defense and negate the only thing Imanari has going. Don’t blink on this one, Fujiwara will end it with a wild knockout as Imanari gets frustrated and goes for a wild takedown. Look for Fujiwara to move on and take the bantamweight tournament crown.
The first of five non-tournament bouts features fan favorite, Caol Uno against Akiyo Nishiura. Uno, whose best days are behind him, is looking to end his career on a high note. Win or loss, this could be his last fight. If he wins, he realizes it may be his last win to go out on, and if he loses, it will be his fifth in his last six fights, the sole bright spot being a draw versus Fabricio Camoes. Uno needn’t worry about that grim fate, because Nishiura is a perfect style matchup for him. Nishiura, who fought a similar fighter to Uno in Mitsuhiro Ishida, was unable to come away victorious. In a fight that could easily be tipped the other way, Caol Uno will get the win by decision if everything goes his way.
Former Akiyo Nishiura foe, Mitsuhiro Ishida squares off with former featherweight, Joachim Hansen in his return to lightweight. This fight is a clash between two lightweights past their prime, struggling to find their current identity in MMA. The safe pick, Mitsuhiro wins by out wrestling “Hellboy” to a decision.
Katsunori Kikuno versus Daisuke Nakamura should be a one-sided affair in which Kikuno walks away as the victor. Kikuno is one of Dream’s elite fighters, and has put up tough competition against names like Eddie Alvarez and JZ Cavalcante. Kikuno will cruise past Nakamura en route to a TKO finish.
The final fight before the highly anticipated, Aoki-Clementi bout is Takeshi Inoue-Koichiro Matsumoto. The much better striker Inoue should prevail here, but Matsumoto is a talented enough game planner that he could pull the upset. That having been said, he won’t, Inoue wins this one by KO.
The main event, Shinya Aoki versus Rich Clementi is the promotional debut for Clementi, and the thirteenth time Aoki will enter the ring for Dream. It is only fitting that Japan’s best fighter, Aoki, represent the country on what may be its biggest and most meaningful event to date. After a revolving door of potential opponents, first Antonio McKee, next Shane Nelson and then Jamie Varner and Williamy Freire, Dream finally tracked down Clementi. Aoki is on a four-fight tear including a first round submission of Lyle Beerbohm with a neck crank.
Clementi has had an up and down run since his release from the UFC in 2009 after back-to-back losses to Gray Maynard and Gleison Tibau. Clementi is known for having over 50 professional fights to his credit, and having over half of his 40 wins by submission.
In a true main event, this should be a very exciting one. Aoki, who many consider to be the best submission grappler in the game at any weight, might find some trouble breaking Rich Clementi down as he has to so many opponents over his young career. Clementi will try and keep the fight standing for as long as he can until he is forced to shoot in for a takedown. Then he will look to use his ground and pound against the smaller Aoki. He dare not try busting any of Aoki’s rubber-like limbs, lest he find himself on the wrong end of one of Aoki’s tricky subs. Aoki will do all he can short of laying down (and he may even do just that) do force the fight to the ground. Look for Aoki to utilize a few kicks before taking the fight to the mat, and winning by a submission off of his back. At a guess, maybe his signature gogoplata, but with Aoki, (Shin)ya never know.
Friday, May 27, 2011
TUF- No Cinderellas
The Ultimate Fighter (said in a deep, gruff voice) is the UFC’s way in for unknown MMA fighters across the globe. Is it really? Let me throw a few names out there: Shamar Bailey, Len Bentley, Jonathan Brookins and Wes Sims. What do all of these Ultimate Fighter contestants have in common? They all fought in major promotions before their stint on TUF.
Two contestants from this season of TUF, Bailey and Bentley both fought in Strikeforce, considered to be the second biggest MMA promotion, behind the UFC. Season 12 winner, Brookins fought José Aldo in the UFC’s sister promotion, WEC prior to his victory on TUF. The most confusing name on this list is Wes Sims. Many older UFC fans will see this name and think: “Why was he on TUF after he had already been in the UFC and cut by the promotion?” Your guess is as good as mine, MMA fans.
As I read the e-mail my editor sent to me about the idea for this column, my true feelings were realized, and they were much the same as his. The Ultimate Fighter, while entertaining, is a sham! It is supposed to be the ultimate showcase of the underdog fighting (literally) against all odds to become the one fighter out of over a dozen who gets a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Another flaw is evident here. The Ultimate Fighter implies one fighter rising above all the rest. That hardly ever happens anymore, and it hasn’t really ever since the first season of the show. When Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar battled out a three-round bloodbath at The Ultimate Fighter season 1 finale, both were awarded a contract for their stellar performances. Out of the fighters in that season, 11 of the 16 fighters fought at least one fight under contract with the UFC, and half of the fighters on the show still fight in the UFC today.
Many will argue that TUF was the first season of the show and it was absolutely stacked with talent, a statement with which I wholly agree. However, TUF: United States vs. United Kingdom was one of the least talent-laden seasons and 5 of the fighters still fight in the UFC today.
So basically, TUF isn’t a show for the underdogs, it’s a show for professional mixed martial artists to make the switch from one major promotion to the biggest one. The fighters are not to blame here, they see an opportunity and they take advantage of it.
The fracture is in the system itself. The requirements to be on the show are as follows, and taken straight from The Ultimate Fighter website. All applicants must: be 21 years of age, have at least three professional MMA fights, complete and sign the application and attend the open tryouts.
I understand all of the requirements except for one. The applicants must have three professional MMA fights? Wait, I thought this show was billed as a bunch of starry-eyed hopefuls looking for their chance to break onto the MMA scene? You’re telling me they’ve already been professional athletes for some time?
Look, I get that the higher-ups in the UFC don’t want every guy who thinks he can swing his fists trying out for TUF, they have enough guys to sort through as it is. Roughly 250 fighters try out for every show, and the evaluations are as imperfect a system there is, but adding more fighters to it would only make it worse.
I set out writing this to say, “Here’s how we should fix The Ultimate Fighter,” but the answer is that there is no good answer. Either the UFC stops billing the show as a bunch of nobodies trying to make their dream and admits that these guys are all pros, or they let a bunch of amateur fighters onto the show and give a six-figure contract to a guy who isn’t ready to fight in the big leagues. Honestly, if the show were actually what it was billed as, there would be no Ultimate Fighter left in the UFC. What amateur fighter could fight his very first professional fight in the UFC and it not be a borderline assault with a deadly weapon on a civilian?
So, at the end of a long Wednesday when you finish work, and tune into the next episode of The Ultimate Fighter, just know that sometimes even these great stories where the little guy prevails have to be fabricated. Sorry to crush your dreams folks, but many of you have a long road ahead before even applying for The Ultimate Fighter.
Two contestants from this season of TUF, Bailey and Bentley both fought in Strikeforce, considered to be the second biggest MMA promotion, behind the UFC. Season 12 winner, Brookins fought José Aldo in the UFC’s sister promotion, WEC prior to his victory on TUF. The most confusing name on this list is Wes Sims. Many older UFC fans will see this name and think: “Why was he on TUF after he had already been in the UFC and cut by the promotion?” Your guess is as good as mine, MMA fans.
As I read the e-mail my editor sent to me about the idea for this column, my true feelings were realized, and they were much the same as his. The Ultimate Fighter, while entertaining, is a sham! It is supposed to be the ultimate showcase of the underdog fighting (literally) against all odds to become the one fighter out of over a dozen who gets a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Another flaw is evident here. The Ultimate Fighter implies one fighter rising above all the rest. That hardly ever happens anymore, and it hasn’t really ever since the first season of the show. When Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar battled out a three-round bloodbath at The Ultimate Fighter season 1 finale, both were awarded a contract for their stellar performances. Out of the fighters in that season, 11 of the 16 fighters fought at least one fight under contract with the UFC, and half of the fighters on the show still fight in the UFC today.
Many will argue that TUF was the first season of the show and it was absolutely stacked with talent, a statement with which I wholly agree. However, TUF: United States vs. United Kingdom was one of the least talent-laden seasons and 5 of the fighters still fight in the UFC today.
So basically, TUF isn’t a show for the underdogs, it’s a show for professional mixed martial artists to make the switch from one major promotion to the biggest one. The fighters are not to blame here, they see an opportunity and they take advantage of it.
The fracture is in the system itself. The requirements to be on the show are as follows, and taken straight from The Ultimate Fighter website. All applicants must: be 21 years of age, have at least three professional MMA fights, complete and sign the application and attend the open tryouts.
I understand all of the requirements except for one. The applicants must have three professional MMA fights? Wait, I thought this show was billed as a bunch of starry-eyed hopefuls looking for their chance to break onto the MMA scene? You’re telling me they’ve already been professional athletes for some time?
Look, I get that the higher-ups in the UFC don’t want every guy who thinks he can swing his fists trying out for TUF, they have enough guys to sort through as it is. Roughly 250 fighters try out for every show, and the evaluations are as imperfect a system there is, but adding more fighters to it would only make it worse.
I set out writing this to say, “Here’s how we should fix The Ultimate Fighter,” but the answer is that there is no good answer. Either the UFC stops billing the show as a bunch of nobodies trying to make their dream and admits that these guys are all pros, or they let a bunch of amateur fighters onto the show and give a six-figure contract to a guy who isn’t ready to fight in the big leagues. Honestly, if the show were actually what it was billed as, there would be no Ultimate Fighter left in the UFC. What amateur fighter could fight his very first professional fight in the UFC and it not be a borderline assault with a deadly weapon on a civilian?
So, at the end of a long Wednesday when you finish work, and tune into the next episode of The Ultimate Fighter, just know that sometimes even these great stories where the little guy prevails have to be fabricated. Sorry to crush your dreams folks, but many of you have a long road ahead before even applying for The Ultimate Fighter.
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