Possibly the most polarizing figure in all of Mixed Martial Arts, Nick Diaz will fight for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship on Saturday.
Diaz, who is known for his brawling style, dropped out of high school after just one year, and began training in all sorts of martial arts from Sambo to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Nick was also on the swim team in high school and credits that for his high level of cardio during fights. As a regular triathlon competitor, cardio is easily one of the
Stockton, California native’s biggest strengths.
Diaz began his first stint in the UFC at UFC 47 in 2004. After two straight wins over Jeremy Jackson and Robbie Lawler, he dropped one to famed Judoka, Karo Parisyan. It was an up and down road for Diaz, who won two straight again, over less-than-notable opposition, and went on to drop three straight against the upper echelon of the UFC. He was cut from the promotion, and went on to make a name for himself in the now defunct EliteXC, and Strikeforce.
As a member of Strikeforce’s welterweight roster, Diaz rose to prominence quickly. After a win over the legend, Frank Shamrock, Diaz was awarded a title shot against Marius Žaromskis. Dubbed,“Little Cro Cop,” Žaromskis was little more than a footnote on Diaz’s MMA career. After dispatching him in just under a round, Diaz went on to defend his belt three times, against rival KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos and Paul Daley. He finished all but his arch nemesis, Noons in his Strikeforce run before being called back to the UFC after its parent company, Zuffa LLC., bought Strikeforce in 2011.
Diaz had finally made it back to the top. As the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, he was guaranteed an immediate title shot at welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre’s UFC title. That meeting has still yet to happen. Diaz, on the eve of their bout at UFC 137, missed the pre-fight press conference. As a result, he was pulled from the main event, and scheduled to fight B.J. Penn in the co-main event.
St-Pierre was scheduled to square off against Carlos Condit for the welterweight title. In a very interesting saga of events, St-Pierre was forced out of the bout with an apparent knee injury, and Condit was removed from the card. Diaz-Penn was promoted to the main event, and Diaz found himself again at the top of the UFC 137 card, though not exactly against who he had planned. Nonetheless, Diaz went out and took care of business as he always does.
The first round began with what many fans wanted to see, as the fan favorite, Penn was landing heavy shots in the pocket. Penn landed a takedown, and attempted to take Diaz’s back. The position that has spelled the end for so many fighters was not a factor as Diaz was able to escape it in just seconds.
In the second frame of their three-round contest, Penn looked tired, and Diaz capitalized. Diaz began to mix up his striking with hard body shots. It was at that point, Diaz began to taunt Penn in the Octagon as he often does. Throwing his hands up wildly, reminiscent of his clash with Robbie Lawler, Diaz forced Penn against the cage and went to work. Landing shots to the liver and head, Penn looked utterly defenseless against the onslaught. The fight from that point on was more of a boxing clinic than a brawl like fans had expected. Penn kept coming, and attempted to take a round to win the fight, but the volume of Diaz’s punches was too much. Diaz won the fight with a unanimous nod, and established himself as one of the best strikers in the UFC.
At the post-fight press conference, Diaz spoke about how he was supposed to fight St-Pierre and that he still wanted that fight. Adding to the interesting saga, St-Pierre had a miraculously quick recovery from his knee injury, which was found to not be as serious as originally thought. Carlos Condit “decided” to step out of his title fight with St-Pierre, and Diaz was back in to fight for the title. It was later revealed by Condit’s manager that he did nothing of the sort, which makes perfect sense, because why would anyone simply step down from a title defense?
Either way, all the controversy would be for naught, as St-Pierre was again sidelined due to injury. This time, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Expected to be out over 10 months, an interim title was created, and Diaz finds himself fighting Carlos Condit for the right to that title.
The fight, billed as, “The fight they weren’t seeking, just became the biggest of their lives,” is exactly that. With a win here, either fighter could find himself fighting St-Pierre next. Originally, the UFC brass thought the interim titleholder to have to defend that title, but St-Pierre’s recovery is coming along quickly, and after surgery in January, he is already back on the mat.
The matchup is as explosive as any in recent memory inside the Octagon. Diaz has already proven to be one of the most prominent strikers at 170, and Condit has a habit of knocking guys’ heads off. With a combined 26 knockouts, an even 13-13 split between them, heads are sure to roll.
The biggest factor here will be technical striking. Diaz is among the finest in the UFC, whereas Condit is a power puncher. Condit has much more power in his hands, but Diaz has the ability to mix up his strikes and wear his opponent out. If the fight does go to the ground, Diaz has a significant advantage but I guarantee it will not go to the ground. This war will be won on the feet, with Diaz winning a unanimous decision over Condit and getting his wish: a bout with Georges St-Pierre.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
UFC 143 - Soft Spoken Condit Wants His Shot, Finally Gets It at UFC 143
“The Natural Born Killer”, Carlos Condit has slain many a foe in his WEC and UFC careers. He was the last WEC Welterweight Champion, and ended his run in the WEC in 2008 with a 5-0 record.
When the WEC’s welterweight roster was absorbed by the UFC in 2008, Carlos Condit made his debut against Martin Kampmann. In the closest fight of the year, Condit lost a split decision to Kampmann. He moved on to fight Jake Ellenberger next, and got another split decision, but this time he was on the right side of it.
After winning his first fight in the UFC, but still being at 1-1 inside the promotion, Condit had to prove himself before moving up in competition. He was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer Rory MacDonald, and put on a Fight of the Night performance. The fight looked to be going MacDonald’s way until late in the third round, Condit caught MacDonald with an elbow, and finished him off with punches with just seven seconds left in the fight.
After finishing MacDonald, Condit was given Dan Hardy, fresh off of a title shot loss. His biggest jump in competition yet came in the form of a talented striker, who showed the ability to escape submissions in his fight against the champion, Georges St-Pierre. Condit proved to be the better striker as he landed a left hook that floored Hardy. After swarming him with punches on the ground, the fight was called in the first round. Condit cruised past Hardy, becoming the first man to ever defeat him by knockout, and awaited Chris Lytle.
Condit and Lytle had been scheduled to meet before. At UFC Fight Night 19, where he faced Ellenberger, Condit was originally scheduled to face off against the fan favorite, but Lytle was forced out because of a knee injury sustained in training. Their next scheduled meeting was to be at UFC 127, but Condit had his own knee injury this time around.
After recovering without surgery, Condit was given the tough task of stopping Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132. Kim came into the bout a highly regarded Judoka, and undefeated. Condit won the fight in stunning fashion, when he landed a spectacular flying knee that threw Kim against the cage. From there, he finished Kim with strikes to hand Kim his first loss.
After defeating Kim in brutal fashion, Condit was given another massive step up in competition when he was set to square off against UFC legend, B.J. Penn at UFC 137. Problems arose, and the UFC 137 card underwent a facelift. Nick Diaz, who was scheduled to fight Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship, missed the pre-fight press conference, and was disciplined by being removed from the fight. Carlos Condit was given the opportunity of a lifetime, promoted to the main event and given the chance to fight for St-Pierre’s strap.
St-Pierre tweaked his knee in training for their bout, and withdrew from the fight. Condit was subsequently pulled from the card altogether, awaiting St-Pierre’s return. Diaz went on to defeat Penn via unanimous decision, and in the UFC 137 post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White announced that Carlos Condit had agreed to step aside and let Diaz fight St-Pierre for the title. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa later confirmed this statement to be untrue. As St-Pierre had recovered quickly from his first knee injury scare, he injured the same knee severely as he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, one of the most serious injuries an athlete can suffer. St-Pierre was forced out of any possible bout with Diaz, and underwent surgery.
With St-Pierre possibly out in excess of 10 months, White was forced to create an interim belt, with Condit and Diaz squaring off for the rights to it. An interesting shuffle has led to one of the most exciting bouts of the year.
Condit isn’t called “The Natural Born Killer” for no reason. He holds 13 knockout wins in his career, and many of them are true knockouts like what fans saw versus Hardy and Kim. Not the type where the referee runs in and stops the fight and the loser rolls over, but where the referee runs in to save the guy’s life and the loser simply lies there, wondering where they are. Condit has finished a fight time and time again; he has only been to three decisions in his 32-fight career. Nick Diaz holds similar accolades, finishing 21 of his 26 professional wins.
The biggest difference in these two fighters is the technicality of their striking. Diaz throws crisp, calculated strikes, whereas Condit throws power punches. Diaz will wear Condit out with his striking, and frustrate him with his movements. The reach is even, Condit is an inch taller and they both prefer a pure boxing style of striking. I really see Diaz’s volume punching playing a big role in this one. Diaz wins a relatively close one by unanimous decision.
When the WEC’s welterweight roster was absorbed by the UFC in 2008, Carlos Condit made his debut against Martin Kampmann. In the closest fight of the year, Condit lost a split decision to Kampmann. He moved on to fight Jake Ellenberger next, and got another split decision, but this time he was on the right side of it.
After winning his first fight in the UFC, but still being at 1-1 inside the promotion, Condit had to prove himself before moving up in competition. He was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer Rory MacDonald, and put on a Fight of the Night performance. The fight looked to be going MacDonald’s way until late in the third round, Condit caught MacDonald with an elbow, and finished him off with punches with just seven seconds left in the fight.
After finishing MacDonald, Condit was given Dan Hardy, fresh off of a title shot loss. His biggest jump in competition yet came in the form of a talented striker, who showed the ability to escape submissions in his fight against the champion, Georges St-Pierre. Condit proved to be the better striker as he landed a left hook that floored Hardy. After swarming him with punches on the ground, the fight was called in the first round. Condit cruised past Hardy, becoming the first man to ever defeat him by knockout, and awaited Chris Lytle.
Condit and Lytle had been scheduled to meet before. At UFC Fight Night 19, where he faced Ellenberger, Condit was originally scheduled to face off against the fan favorite, but Lytle was forced out because of a knee injury sustained in training. Their next scheduled meeting was to be at UFC 127, but Condit had his own knee injury this time around.
After recovering without surgery, Condit was given the tough task of stopping Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132. Kim came into the bout a highly regarded Judoka, and undefeated. Condit won the fight in stunning fashion, when he landed a spectacular flying knee that threw Kim against the cage. From there, he finished Kim with strikes to hand Kim his first loss.
After defeating Kim in brutal fashion, Condit was given another massive step up in competition when he was set to square off against UFC legend, B.J. Penn at UFC 137. Problems arose, and the UFC 137 card underwent a facelift. Nick Diaz, who was scheduled to fight Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship, missed the pre-fight press conference, and was disciplined by being removed from the fight. Carlos Condit was given the opportunity of a lifetime, promoted to the main event and given the chance to fight for St-Pierre’s strap.
St-Pierre tweaked his knee in training for their bout, and withdrew from the fight. Condit was subsequently pulled from the card altogether, awaiting St-Pierre’s return. Diaz went on to defeat Penn via unanimous decision, and in the UFC 137 post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White announced that Carlos Condit had agreed to step aside and let Diaz fight St-Pierre for the title. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa later confirmed this statement to be untrue. As St-Pierre had recovered quickly from his first knee injury scare, he injured the same knee severely as he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, one of the most serious injuries an athlete can suffer. St-Pierre was forced out of any possible bout with Diaz, and underwent surgery.
With St-Pierre possibly out in excess of 10 months, White was forced to create an interim belt, with Condit and Diaz squaring off for the rights to it. An interesting shuffle has led to one of the most exciting bouts of the year.
Condit isn’t called “The Natural Born Killer” for no reason. He holds 13 knockout wins in his career, and many of them are true knockouts like what fans saw versus Hardy and Kim. Not the type where the referee runs in and stops the fight and the loser rolls over, but where the referee runs in to save the guy’s life and the loser simply lies there, wondering where they are. Condit has finished a fight time and time again; he has only been to three decisions in his 32-fight career. Nick Diaz holds similar accolades, finishing 21 of his 26 professional wins.
The biggest difference in these two fighters is the technicality of their striking. Diaz throws crisp, calculated strikes, whereas Condit throws power punches. Diaz will wear Condit out with his striking, and frustrate him with his movements. The reach is even, Condit is an inch taller and they both prefer a pure boxing style of striking. I really see Diaz’s volume punching playing a big role in this one. Diaz wins a relatively close one by unanimous decision.
Davis About To Get Some "Suga" In His "Wonderbar"
As the UFC hosts its first event of the New Year on Fox, could fans finally see “Suga” Rashad Evans complete his long deferred title run?
Evans, who was originally awarded a shot at champion Shogun Rua at UFC 128, injured his knee in training camp, and Rua was left without an opponent. After his short victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Jon Jones was called up to fight Rua for the belt.
Jones went on to destroy Rua, frustrating the champ in all aspects of the fight. After the fight, Evans, fully recovered from his knee injury, entered the cage. He congratulated his training partner at Jacksons MMA, and UFC President Dana White announced that the two would square off for Jones’s newly acquired gold. Jones accepted, adding that he would fight anyone the UFC put in front of him. The unwritten rule that training partners do not fight one another, regardless of the circumstances had been broken, and Evans angrily accepted.
Shortly after UFC 128, and the announcement of the Jones-Evans fight, Evans left Jacksons MMA, where he had trained since he won The Ultimate Fighter season 2 as a heavyweight. He went to Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida and formed what is now known as “The Blackzilians” with a group of top Brazilian fighters shortly after their departure from American Top Team.
Evans versus Jones was supposed to happen several times. The first time, at UFC 133, Jones was forced out of the bout with a hand injury sustained while fighting Rua. Evans, wanting to stay active in the interim, agreed to fight rising prospect Phil Davis at the event instead. With less than a month before the fight, Davis was forced out due to a knee injury, and Evans was left without an opponent in the main event. Enter Tito Ortiz, a man with which Evans fought to a unanimous draw at UFC 73. The rematch was booked for UFC 133, and on four weeks notice, Ortiz stepped into the Octagon to square off against the perennial number one contender.
The fight began back and forth, with Ortiz getting the better of the early exchanges. Evans was backed up into the corner and taken down. After an exhausting struggle from both fighters, Evans made his way back to his feet and began to take the round. Evans amped up his striking and scored a massive slam. From top position, he improved to full mount and ended the ground with hard strikes from the top.
Despite ending the round throwing a lot of punches, Evans came out in the second the fresher of the two. He came at Ortiz, aggressive with his punches. Evans landed a combination that floored Ortiz, but on the way down he locked up a tight guillotine choke. Ortiz spent all of his energy on the choke, but Evans was able to wiggle free, spelling the end for Ortiz. He rolled over to avoid the punches of Evans, but was trapped in a crucifix, and later finished on the ground after a knee to the liver.
The title fight was finally in Evans’s sights, and was confirmed to happen at UFC 140. Evans decided to forego the opportunity of a lifetime to be 100 percent, as he had a nagging thumb injury to take care of. Lyoto Machida stepped in, and Jon Jones handled him with a guillotine choke in the second round. Jones and Evans keep tearing through opponents, and it seems these two are destined to meet. Before that can happen, Evans must get past the undefeated Phil Davis.
Evans and Davis both wrestled collegiately at Michigan State and Penn State respectively. Evans is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Rolles Gracie, where Davis is just a blue belt. Early on in his career, Davis has shown that he has an impressive arsenal of submissions. A variation of the kimura is now known as the “Wonderbar,” in homage to Davis’s nickname, “Mr. Wonderful.” The edge in the wrestling goes to Evans, but black belt or not, Davis is the better submission guy here. Evans probably has a stronger knowledge of grappling and positioning, but Davis has a much stronger arsenal of submissions. In terms of the striking game, I’m not sure either fighter really has an advantage. They both use their striking to set up takedowns, and neither can really be called a boxer. Evans however, has a superior ground striking game.
Time and time again, predictions have been cast aside when it comes to two spectacular wrestlers, as they end up in an all out striking brawl when their wrestling cancels out. I don’t believe we will see a stalemate in this one, but more of a back and forth grappling brawl. Expect Evans to get the better of the takedowns, and rain down punches. Davis won’t be held down for long, and will look for submissions from every position possible. Davis has a strong enough will, and a good enough ground game to not get suffocated and finished quick, but I still do not believe he has the tools to stop a highly motivated Evans, who takes a decision victory on his way to his ill-fated match with Jon Jones.
Evans, who was originally awarded a shot at champion Shogun Rua at UFC 128, injured his knee in training camp, and Rua was left without an opponent. After his short victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Jon Jones was called up to fight Rua for the belt.
Jones went on to destroy Rua, frustrating the champ in all aspects of the fight. After the fight, Evans, fully recovered from his knee injury, entered the cage. He congratulated his training partner at Jacksons MMA, and UFC President Dana White announced that the two would square off for Jones’s newly acquired gold. Jones accepted, adding that he would fight anyone the UFC put in front of him. The unwritten rule that training partners do not fight one another, regardless of the circumstances had been broken, and Evans angrily accepted.
Shortly after UFC 128, and the announcement of the Jones-Evans fight, Evans left Jacksons MMA, where he had trained since he won The Ultimate Fighter season 2 as a heavyweight. He went to Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida and formed what is now known as “The Blackzilians” with a group of top Brazilian fighters shortly after their departure from American Top Team.
Evans versus Jones was supposed to happen several times. The first time, at UFC 133, Jones was forced out of the bout with a hand injury sustained while fighting Rua. Evans, wanting to stay active in the interim, agreed to fight rising prospect Phil Davis at the event instead. With less than a month before the fight, Davis was forced out due to a knee injury, and Evans was left without an opponent in the main event. Enter Tito Ortiz, a man with which Evans fought to a unanimous draw at UFC 73. The rematch was booked for UFC 133, and on four weeks notice, Ortiz stepped into the Octagon to square off against the perennial number one contender.
The fight began back and forth, with Ortiz getting the better of the early exchanges. Evans was backed up into the corner and taken down. After an exhausting struggle from both fighters, Evans made his way back to his feet and began to take the round. Evans amped up his striking and scored a massive slam. From top position, he improved to full mount and ended the ground with hard strikes from the top.
Despite ending the round throwing a lot of punches, Evans came out in the second the fresher of the two. He came at Ortiz, aggressive with his punches. Evans landed a combination that floored Ortiz, but on the way down he locked up a tight guillotine choke. Ortiz spent all of his energy on the choke, but Evans was able to wiggle free, spelling the end for Ortiz. He rolled over to avoid the punches of Evans, but was trapped in a crucifix, and later finished on the ground after a knee to the liver.
The title fight was finally in Evans’s sights, and was confirmed to happen at UFC 140. Evans decided to forego the opportunity of a lifetime to be 100 percent, as he had a nagging thumb injury to take care of. Lyoto Machida stepped in, and Jon Jones handled him with a guillotine choke in the second round. Jones and Evans keep tearing through opponents, and it seems these two are destined to meet. Before that can happen, Evans must get past the undefeated Phil Davis.
Evans and Davis both wrestled collegiately at Michigan State and Penn State respectively. Evans is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Rolles Gracie, where Davis is just a blue belt. Early on in his career, Davis has shown that he has an impressive arsenal of submissions. A variation of the kimura is now known as the “Wonderbar,” in homage to Davis’s nickname, “Mr. Wonderful.” The edge in the wrestling goes to Evans, but black belt or not, Davis is the better submission guy here. Evans probably has a stronger knowledge of grappling and positioning, but Davis has a much stronger arsenal of submissions. In terms of the striking game, I’m not sure either fighter really has an advantage. They both use their striking to set up takedowns, and neither can really be called a boxer. Evans however, has a superior ground striking game.
Time and time again, predictions have been cast aside when it comes to two spectacular wrestlers, as they end up in an all out striking brawl when their wrestling cancels out. I don’t believe we will see a stalemate in this one, but more of a back and forth grappling brawl. Expect Evans to get the better of the takedowns, and rain down punches. Davis won’t be held down for long, and will look for submissions from every position possible. Davis has a strong enough will, and a good enough ground game to not get suffocated and finished quick, but I still do not believe he has the tools to stop a highly motivated Evans, who takes a decision victory on his way to his ill-fated match with Jon Jones.
Davis Looks To Add To Wonderful UFC Run With Title Shot
A former NCAA National Champion wrestler, and four-time All-American, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis has another big wrestling match ahead of him, and this time its for the right to challenge for another kind of championship.
A UFC Championship belt, it’s the dream of every fighter that puts on those four-ounce gloves. With a win over Rashad Evans at UFC on FX 2 this weekend, Davis could have the chance to do what no other has done before him: claim Jon Jones’s UFC Light Heavyweight title belt as his own.
That would be quite a step up in competition for a man who only has nine fights under his belt, all of which he has won. He began his professional career with four-straight wins on the east coast, near his home state of Pennsylvania. After finishing three of his four opponents, the UFC began to take interest in the young star.
The UFC had big things in mind for Davis the second they signed him. They certainly didn’t waste any time in building up this young star, but rather threw him to the wolves, hoping he would survive. His first fight in the UFC was against former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion, and Silver Star recipient, Brian Stann. It was Stann’s last fight at 185 pounds, as Davis was able to control Stann on the ground, whilst landing solid combos and looking for the submission.
He showed a lot of promise in his initial fight under the UFC banner. He scored three takedowns, and was able to transition at will. He almost locked up a kimura and an arm-triangle late in the second, adding to the buzz already surrounding his ground game.
Davis’s ground game was next on display versus fellow rising prospect, Alexander Gustafsson. Mr. Wonderful only scored one takedown in the fight, but it was all he needed as he sunk in an anaconda choke late in the first round. If not for Rafael dos Anjos’s spectacular armbar submission over Terry Etim, it might have received Submission of the Night honors.
Davis wouldn’t wait long to claim those honors, and after a lopsided win over Rodney Wallace, Davis put on the performance of his career in Auburn Hills, Michigan against Tim Boetsch at UFC 123. With Boetsch on the cage, and Davis holding him in side control, he trapped Boetsch’s left arm behind his back. From there, he proceeded to lock both of his hands behind Boetsch’s back and crank the arm almost up to the back of his neck. The modified kimura, dubbed the “Wonderbar” was granted Submission of the Night honors, and solidified Davis’s threat to end the fight on the ground.
His next test would come in the form of Brazilian grappler Antônio Rogério Nigeria. After an unsuccessful first round full of failed takedown attempts, and failure to mount any significant offensive attack, Davis showed his versatility in switching to the single-leg takedown in the second round. The first round saw Nogueira stuff five Davis takedowns, but the second told a much different tale. Davis landed two of his three takedowns, and late in the round was able to do some ground and pound.
By the start of the third frame, it was anyone’s guess as to who was going to win the fight. Davis, using his adapted single-leg, was able to get Nogueira to the ground, and hold him there for the majority of the round. Davis took a unanimous decision over the highly touted Brazilian, and though delayed several months, he now finds himself in a fight to decide the number one contender.
Davis versus Evans is one of the few matches that I feel can be predicted on paper. Look at both of the fighters’ records. Davis, 9-0 and undefeated, Evans, 16-1-1, both quite impressive. Once you take a look at the level of competition each has faced, Evans’s record shines much brighter than Davis’s. With wins over Stephan Bonnar Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz, Evans has done and seen it all and he is only 32. He has defeated four former champions, one of whom still holds the record as longest reigning champ at light heavyweight. Still, fights cannot be predicted based off of records, so we must delve deeper into their skill sets.
Evans, a former wrestler at Michigan State University faces Davis, a former Penn State wrestling standout. What a match this would have been to see on the college mat. Davis has an NCAA National Championship, and four All-American bids, while Evans has only a Junior College National Championship. One intriguing thing about Evans is that he is one of three people to defeat arguably the best wrestler in college history, Greg Jones on the mat. Phil Davis is not one of those three people. Davis may have the better accolades at the collegiate level, but Evans has shown that he knows how to adapt wrestling to MMA, and has done it better than most in the light heavyweight division.
Davis versus Evans will be won in the trenches. In a high-stakes wrestling match, Davis may be able to pull of a surprise submission, but I’m not confident he will be able to put Evans on his back very easily. A wrestler, who couldn’t take down Little Nog with a double leg, gives me a lot of reason to doubt that he can floor a wrestler like Evans. Davis has yet to face an elite wrestler inside the Octagon, and the final paper factor for Evans, experience will prevail. Evans takes a hard-nosed decision over the young prospect.
A UFC Championship belt, it’s the dream of every fighter that puts on those four-ounce gloves. With a win over Rashad Evans at UFC on FX 2 this weekend, Davis could have the chance to do what no other has done before him: claim Jon Jones’s UFC Light Heavyweight title belt as his own.
That would be quite a step up in competition for a man who only has nine fights under his belt, all of which he has won. He began his professional career with four-straight wins on the east coast, near his home state of Pennsylvania. After finishing three of his four opponents, the UFC began to take interest in the young star.
The UFC had big things in mind for Davis the second they signed him. They certainly didn’t waste any time in building up this young star, but rather threw him to the wolves, hoping he would survive. His first fight in the UFC was against former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion, and Silver Star recipient, Brian Stann. It was Stann’s last fight at 185 pounds, as Davis was able to control Stann on the ground, whilst landing solid combos and looking for the submission.
He showed a lot of promise in his initial fight under the UFC banner. He scored three takedowns, and was able to transition at will. He almost locked up a kimura and an arm-triangle late in the second, adding to the buzz already surrounding his ground game.
Davis’s ground game was next on display versus fellow rising prospect, Alexander Gustafsson. Mr. Wonderful only scored one takedown in the fight, but it was all he needed as he sunk in an anaconda choke late in the first round. If not for Rafael dos Anjos’s spectacular armbar submission over Terry Etim, it might have received Submission of the Night honors.
Davis wouldn’t wait long to claim those honors, and after a lopsided win over Rodney Wallace, Davis put on the performance of his career in Auburn Hills, Michigan against Tim Boetsch at UFC 123. With Boetsch on the cage, and Davis holding him in side control, he trapped Boetsch’s left arm behind his back. From there, he proceeded to lock both of his hands behind Boetsch’s back and crank the arm almost up to the back of his neck. The modified kimura, dubbed the “Wonderbar” was granted Submission of the Night honors, and solidified Davis’s threat to end the fight on the ground.
His next test would come in the form of Brazilian grappler Antônio Rogério Nigeria. After an unsuccessful first round full of failed takedown attempts, and failure to mount any significant offensive attack, Davis showed his versatility in switching to the single-leg takedown in the second round. The first round saw Nogueira stuff five Davis takedowns, but the second told a much different tale. Davis landed two of his three takedowns, and late in the round was able to do some ground and pound.
By the start of the third frame, it was anyone’s guess as to who was going to win the fight. Davis, using his adapted single-leg, was able to get Nogueira to the ground, and hold him there for the majority of the round. Davis took a unanimous decision over the highly touted Brazilian, and though delayed several months, he now finds himself in a fight to decide the number one contender.
Davis versus Evans is one of the few matches that I feel can be predicted on paper. Look at both of the fighters’ records. Davis, 9-0 and undefeated, Evans, 16-1-1, both quite impressive. Once you take a look at the level of competition each has faced, Evans’s record shines much brighter than Davis’s. With wins over Stephan Bonnar Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz, Evans has done and seen it all and he is only 32. He has defeated four former champions, one of whom still holds the record as longest reigning champ at light heavyweight. Still, fights cannot be predicted based off of records, so we must delve deeper into their skill sets.
Evans, a former wrestler at Michigan State University faces Davis, a former Penn State wrestling standout. What a match this would have been to see on the college mat. Davis has an NCAA National Championship, and four All-American bids, while Evans has only a Junior College National Championship. One intriguing thing about Evans is that he is one of three people to defeat arguably the best wrestler in college history, Greg Jones on the mat. Phil Davis is not one of those three people. Davis may have the better accolades at the collegiate level, but Evans has shown that he knows how to adapt wrestling to MMA, and has done it better than most in the light heavyweight division.
Davis versus Evans will be won in the trenches. In a high-stakes wrestling match, Davis may be able to pull of a surprise submission, but I’m not confident he will be able to put Evans on his back very easily. A wrestler, who couldn’t take down Little Nog with a double leg, gives me a lot of reason to doubt that he can floor a wrestler like Evans. Davis has yet to face an elite wrestler inside the Octagon, and the final paper factor for Evans, experience will prevail. Evans takes a hard-nosed decision over the young prospect.
The Young Assassin Hunts Next Victim at UFC on FX 1
Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard is a true veteran of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. With over 30 professional fights under his belt, at just 28, Guillard has a bright future ahead.
Guillard recently left Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico to train full time with the “Blackzilians” at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida. Co-founded by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Rashad Evans, the “Blackzilians” feature stellar kickboxer Tyrone Spong, Strikeforce lightweight, JZ Cavalcante, former UFC welterweight and middleweight Anthony Johnson and UFC middleweight Jorge Santiago.
The new move could provide a lot of things Guillard had been missing at Jackson’s MMA. Guillard seemed to be getting lost in the shuffle of a training center featuring dozens of stars, including UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.
Guillard is coming off of a submission loss to Joe Lauzon back at UFC 136. Prior to that, he had strung together five wins in a row, dating back to 2009, where he lost to Nate Diaz by submission. In the five-fight streak, he dispatched Ronys Torres, Waylon Lowe, Jeremy Stephens, Evan Dunham, and Shane Roller. Three of the five wins in that streak were by knockout, all before the first round had come to an end.
Guillard has eight of his nine career losses by submission, so it stands to prove that the ground game is his weakness. Guillard has been choked out in some fashion, seven times, and frequently gives up his back in battles taking place on the mat.
In his clash with Lauzon at UFC 136, he came out aggressive, looking for the early knockout as he had done so many times in his career. Lauzon caught him coming in with a short left hook and Guillard, surprisingly welt sprawling to the floor. From there, Lauzon pounced on Guillard, and took his back in a matter of seconds, slapping on a rear-naked choke just 47 seconds into the bout.
After being the heavy favorite, and losing by yet another submission, Guillard’s title hopes were immediately derailed. Guillard had again shown that he couldn’t hang with a fighter with a good arsenal of submissions. Enter Jim Miller, a man who, before a loss to current title challenger Ben Henderson, was at the top of the title talks in the lightweight division. With 11 submission victories, this could prove another deadly matchup for Guillard.
Miller only has three losses on his record, all of which have come by decision. Another frightening fact for Guillard, Miller has only lost to the current UFC Lightweight Champion, the current lightweight number one contender, and the contender previous. Frank Edgar, Ben Henderson and Gray Maynard have been the only fighters to best him, and none of them have been able to finish him. It appears Guillard has a lot of work ahead of him.
Guillard has exceptional takedown defense at 65%, and has some decent takedowns of his own, but I’m sure Guillard will try and stay off the ground by any means necessary. His game plan will be similar to all of his fights, rush out and get the quick knockout and go home. Guillard has said in the past that he felt like Lauzon just got a lucky punch, and it doesn’t seem Guillard has taken much from the fight. Miller isn’t known as a guy who will immediately rely on his ground game, but it has been there countless times for him to pull off the win. If anyone has learned something from the Guillard-Lauzon fight it is Jim Miller. If he can use his decent striking to set up a takedown, or even score a knockdown as Lauzon did, he could submit Guillard with ease. In this one, Miller pulls off a submission in the second round to vault himself back into the title picture at 155.
Miller only has three losses on his record, all of which have come by decision. Another frightening fact for Guillard, Miller has only lost to the current UFC Lightweight Champion, the current lightweight number one contender, and the contender previous. Frank Edgar, Ben Henderson and Gray Maynard have been the only fighters to best him, and none of them have been able to finish him. It appears Guillard has a lot of work ahead of him.
Guillard has exceptional takedown defense at 65%, and has some decent takedowns of his own, but I’m sure Guillard will try and stay off the ground by any means necessary. His game plan will be similar to all of his fights, rush out and get the quick knockout and go home. Guillard has said in the past that he felt like Lauzon just got a lucky punch, and it doesn’t seem Guillard has taken much from the fight. Miller isn’t known as a guy who will immediately rely on his ground game, but it has been there countless times for him to pull off the win. If anyone has learned something from the Guillard-Lauzon fight it is Jim Miller. If he can use his decent striking to set up a takedown, or even score a knockdown as Lauzon did, he could submit Guillard with ease. In this one, Miller pulls off a submission in the second round to vault himself back into the title picture at 155.
Guillard recently left Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico to train full time with the “Blackzilians” at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida. Co-founded by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Rashad Evans, the “Blackzilians” feature stellar kickboxer Tyrone Spong, Strikeforce lightweight, JZ Cavalcante, former UFC welterweight and middleweight Anthony Johnson and UFC middleweight Jorge Santiago.
The new move could provide a lot of things Guillard had been missing at Jackson’s MMA. Guillard seemed to be getting lost in the shuffle of a training center featuring dozens of stars, including UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.
Guillard is coming off of a submission loss to Joe Lauzon back at UFC 136. Prior to that, he had strung together five wins in a row, dating back to 2009, where he lost to Nate Diaz by submission. In the five-fight streak, he dispatched Ronys Torres, Waylon Lowe, Jeremy Stephens, Evan Dunham, and Shane Roller. Three of the five wins in that streak were by knockout, all before the first round had come to an end.
Guillard has eight of his nine career losses by submission, so it stands to prove that the ground game is his weakness. Guillard has been choked out in some fashion, seven times, and frequently gives up his back in battles taking place on the mat.
In his clash with Lauzon at UFC 136, he came out aggressive, looking for the early knockout as he had done so many times in his career. Lauzon caught him coming in with a short left hook and Guillard, surprisingly welt sprawling to the floor. From there, Lauzon pounced on Guillard, and took his back in a matter of seconds, slapping on a rear-naked choke just 47 seconds into the bout.
After being the heavy favorite, and losing by yet another submission, Guillard’s title hopes were immediately derailed. Guillard had again shown that he couldn’t hang with a fighter with a good arsenal of submissions. Enter Jim Miller, a man who, before a loss to current title challenger Ben Henderson, was at the top of the title talks in the lightweight division. With 11 submission victories, this could prove another deadly matchup for Guillard.
Miller only has three losses on his record, all of which have come by decision. Another frightening fact for Guillard, Miller has only lost to the current UFC Lightweight Champion, the current lightweight number one contender, and the contender previous. Frank Edgar, Ben Henderson and Gray Maynard have been the only fighters to best him, and none of them have been able to finish him. It appears Guillard has a lot of work ahead of him.
Guillard has exceptional takedown defense at 65%, and has some decent takedowns of his own, but I’m sure Guillard will try and stay off the ground by any means necessary. His game plan will be similar to all of his fights, rush out and get the quick knockout and go home. Guillard has said in the past that he felt like Lauzon just got a lucky punch, and it doesn’t seem Guillard has taken much from the fight. Miller isn’t known as a guy who will immediately rely on his ground game, but it has been there countless times for him to pull off the win. If anyone has learned something from the Guillard-Lauzon fight it is Jim Miller. If he can use his decent striking to set up a takedown, or even score a knockdown as Lauzon did, he could submit Guillard with ease. In this one, Miller pulls off a submission in the second round to vault himself back into the title picture at 155.
Miller only has three losses on his record, all of which have come by decision. Another frightening fact for Guillard, Miller has only lost to the current UFC Lightweight Champion, the current lightweight number one contender, and the contender previous. Frank Edgar, Ben Henderson and Gray Maynard have been the only fighters to best him, and none of them have been able to finish him. It appears Guillard has a lot of work ahead of him.
Guillard has exceptional takedown defense at 65%, and has some decent takedowns of his own, but I’m sure Guillard will try and stay off the ground by any means necessary. His game plan will be similar to all of his fights, rush out and get the quick knockout and go home. Guillard has said in the past that he felt like Lauzon just got a lucky punch, and it doesn’t seem Guillard has taken much from the fight. Miller isn’t known as a guy who will immediately rely on his ground game, but it has been there countless times for him to pull off the win. If anyone has learned something from the Guillard-Lauzon fight it is Jim Miller. If he can use his decent striking to set up a takedown, or even score a knockdown as Lauzon did, he could submit Guillard with ease. In this one, Miller pulls off a submission in the second round to vault himself back into the title picture at 155.
UFC on FX 1, It's Miller Time
Jim Miller was, at one time, the hottest prospect in the lightweight division, and the most talked about fighter, short of the champ.
Most expected to see Miller fighting champion Frank Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title in a rematch of their previous clash in the Reality Fighting promotion in New Jersey. The fight ended in a unanimous decision nod for Edgar. After suffering the first loss of his professional career, Miller at 5-1 went on a tear, shredding through his next eight opponents before running smack into Gray Maynard.
His eight-fight streak, which included a unanimous triumph over Bart Palaszewski, saw him finish all but two of his opponents. Entering the fight with Maynard, many thought it would be grappler versus wrestler, but it turned out to be mostly a standing affair. Miller attempted several takedowns, but just could not get the former Michigan State wrestling product to the ground. Maynard was simply the better fighter all around, and walked away with the unanimous nod.
Miller was forced to reevaluate his game plan, as he had just been embarrassed on the feet by a mediocre striker. A master of beating adversity, Miller again went on a massive win streak, seven in total. This streak was much more impressive than his previous one, because all seven wins were against UFC competition. He finished four of his opponents, two by submission, and two by knockout, including a spectacular finish of the previously unbeaten Kamal Shalorus.
After beating 7 fighters in the top promotion in the world, it would make sense that Miller be given someone from the upper echelon. He was given former WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. Not a top five guy, but definitely in the title hunt.
The fight panned out much as the Maynard fight was expected to. There was a lot of grappling, which saw Henderson dominate from top position. The first round saw the two engage in the grappling game early on. They latched up in the clinch just seconds into the fight, and shortly thereafter Henderson scored the first takedown. Miller scrambled from the bottom, attempting an array of submission holds, but was unable to stick any. Henderson closed out the round with some short strikes.
The second began with some quick striking on the feet, but didn’t stay there very long. Henderson scored another takedown, and opened a cut above Miller’s eye with strong elbows. Miller, again attempted to grab hold of every submission in the book, and came close with a kneebar, but Henderson found his way out. Henderson continued to sit on top of Miller, nullifying his submissions, and punishing him with strikes from the top.
A frustrated Miller entered the third round fairly winded. Two solid rounds of Henderson imposing his will on him had taken its toll, and Henderson got him down easily. After a few time up and down, Henderson was able to control Miller on the ground, attempting a few submissions of his own, while still peppering him with ground strikes. Henderson, the clearly fresher of the two, dominated Miller to close out the fight. Henderson walked away from the fight with the unanimous victory; one judge even awarded him a 10-8 final round.
It seemed Miller’s weakness had been exposed. Put him in the cage with a superior wrestler, someone who can nullify his submissions, and he will lose his form and crumble. Still, having come back from his previous two losses in spectacular fashion, the future looks very bright for Miller.
Scheduled to face off with Melvin Guillard this weekend at UFC on FX 1 in Nashville, Tennessee, Miller can get back into the title picture with a win over the knockout artist. Guillard is undoubtedly the better wrestler here, but he hasn’t made a name for himself in the UFC for his brutal takedowns, he has done it with his explosive hands. With Guillard clearly being rather susceptible to the submission, he will look to avoid the ground at all costs, as is usually his game plan. Miller is relatively comfortable off of his back, and will welcome the ground game.
Look for Miller to use his striking to set up a takedown. He could even stand to pull guard against Guillard, as he can easily submit him from his back. Guillard better end this one quick, lest he face Miller’s spectacular submission holds. If he can’t get the first one, he will keep trying, and eventually sink one in. As evidenced in his fight with Henderson, he will not give up on his submissions. Miller takes it by submission in the second round.
Most expected to see Miller fighting champion Frank Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title in a rematch of their previous clash in the Reality Fighting promotion in New Jersey. The fight ended in a unanimous decision nod for Edgar. After suffering the first loss of his professional career, Miller at 5-1 went on a tear, shredding through his next eight opponents before running smack into Gray Maynard.
His eight-fight streak, which included a unanimous triumph over Bart Palaszewski, saw him finish all but two of his opponents. Entering the fight with Maynard, many thought it would be grappler versus wrestler, but it turned out to be mostly a standing affair. Miller attempted several takedowns, but just could not get the former Michigan State wrestling product to the ground. Maynard was simply the better fighter all around, and walked away with the unanimous nod.
Miller was forced to reevaluate his game plan, as he had just been embarrassed on the feet by a mediocre striker. A master of beating adversity, Miller again went on a massive win streak, seven in total. This streak was much more impressive than his previous one, because all seven wins were against UFC competition. He finished four of his opponents, two by submission, and two by knockout, including a spectacular finish of the previously unbeaten Kamal Shalorus.
After beating 7 fighters in the top promotion in the world, it would make sense that Miller be given someone from the upper echelon. He was given former WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. Not a top five guy, but definitely in the title hunt.
The fight panned out much as the Maynard fight was expected to. There was a lot of grappling, which saw Henderson dominate from top position. The first round saw the two engage in the grappling game early on. They latched up in the clinch just seconds into the fight, and shortly thereafter Henderson scored the first takedown. Miller scrambled from the bottom, attempting an array of submission holds, but was unable to stick any. Henderson closed out the round with some short strikes.
The second began with some quick striking on the feet, but didn’t stay there very long. Henderson scored another takedown, and opened a cut above Miller’s eye with strong elbows. Miller, again attempted to grab hold of every submission in the book, and came close with a kneebar, but Henderson found his way out. Henderson continued to sit on top of Miller, nullifying his submissions, and punishing him with strikes from the top.
A frustrated Miller entered the third round fairly winded. Two solid rounds of Henderson imposing his will on him had taken its toll, and Henderson got him down easily. After a few time up and down, Henderson was able to control Miller on the ground, attempting a few submissions of his own, while still peppering him with ground strikes. Henderson, the clearly fresher of the two, dominated Miller to close out the fight. Henderson walked away from the fight with the unanimous victory; one judge even awarded him a 10-8 final round.
It seemed Miller’s weakness had been exposed. Put him in the cage with a superior wrestler, someone who can nullify his submissions, and he will lose his form and crumble. Still, having come back from his previous two losses in spectacular fashion, the future looks very bright for Miller.
Scheduled to face off with Melvin Guillard this weekend at UFC on FX 1 in Nashville, Tennessee, Miller can get back into the title picture with a win over the knockout artist. Guillard is undoubtedly the better wrestler here, but he hasn’t made a name for himself in the UFC for his brutal takedowns, he has done it with his explosive hands. With Guillard clearly being rather susceptible to the submission, he will look to avoid the ground at all costs, as is usually his game plan. Miller is relatively comfortable off of his back, and will welcome the ground game.
Look for Miller to use his striking to set up a takedown. He could even stand to pull guard against Guillard, as he can easily submit him from his back. Guillard better end this one quick, lest he face Miller’s spectacular submission holds. If he can’t get the first one, he will keep trying, and eventually sink one in. As evidenced in his fight with Henderson, he will not give up on his submissions. Miller takes it by submission in the second round.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
UFC 142 - José Aldo's Homecoming
The best Brazilian in Mixed Martial Arts may not be Anderson Silva for much longer, given the rise of UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo.
Aldo, who has an astounding 20 wins and only one loss, defended his WEC featherweight title two times before the WEC was dissolved and he was promoted to the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion. He has since defended his UFC title twice, against worthy competition in Mark Hominick and former lightweight title challenger, Kenny Florian. Aldo has finished 14 of his 21 opponents, with 12 of those finishes coming by way of knockout.
Aldo began his career with five straight stoppage victories in his native Brazil. He travelled to England for two straight fights, which took place in consecutive months, and won both by knockout. Aldo was at the top of his game, a perfect 7-0, heading back to Brazil for his first fight at lightweight against fellow countryman Luciano Azevedo. Aldo suffered his first, and only loss of his career to Azevedo, and dropped back to featherweight before rattling off three straight. After an impressive 10-1 start to his career, Aldo joined the UFC sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting.
In his first four fights under the WEC banner, Aldo finished all of his opponents by knockout, and earned a number one contender bout against fellow rising prospect Cub Swanson. Swanson had 13 wins under his belt, with 10 finishes. Aldo came into the bout with a similar record of 14-1 with 11 finishes. It was sure to be an exciting fight to say the least. Aldo made quick work of his foe, knocking Swanson unconscious just eight seconds into the fight with a spectacular double flying knee. After ending the fight with possibly the biggest highlight of his career, Aldo moved on to challenge dominant champion, Mike Brown. Aldo made the champ look like an amateur, pushing the pace in the first round, and in the second round taking his back and raining down punches. The fight was halted at 1:20 of the second round, and Jos é Aldo was crowned the WEC Featherweight Champion.
WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby did not give Aldo any breaks as it was announced that his first title defense would be against former titleholder and a man many thought would never lose the title, Urijah Faber. In what could still be considered his most dominant performance, Aldo kept Faber at bay utilizing over 30 successful leg kicks that left Faber badly bruised following the fight. Aldo effectively dodged, as Faber only landed 27 strikes in their five-round affair. In the fourth round, Aldo sent Faber sprawling and pounced on him, quickly trapping Faber’s arm in a crucifix and raining down punches. The fifth round saw Aldo not engage much, and carefully secure the unanimous victory.
The next time Aldo entered the WEC cage, it was against The Ultimate Fighter 5 finalist Manvel Gamburyan. Aldo did not miss a step as he throttled his opponent with an onslaught of kicks and punches, ultimately knocking out his foe in fewer than two rounds. With his quick victory over the Armenian, Aldo was eager to defend his WEC belt again.
In October of 2010, the WEC merged with the UFC, and on November 20, 2010 Aldo was upgraded to the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion. After recovering from a neck injury, and after six-months on the shelf, Aldo was set to face the Canadian, Mark Hominick at UFC 129 in Hominick’s native Ontario. Slated as the co-main event alongside a welterweight title clash between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields, Aldo and Hominick stole the show, winning Fight of the Night honors.
The fight began with both fighters exchanging quick on the feet. Aldo’s speed advantage was immediately obvious, but Hominick looked to actually be a bit bigger than his Brazilian foe. The fight didn’t stay standing for long, as Aldo quickly tossed Hominick to the mat. To defend, Hominick quickly attempted to lock up and armbar but Aldo slipped out, and landed some heavy elbows. The second round continued much the same as Aldo scored two takedowns, and won on points.
The third and fourth frames saw Aldo and Hominick get into more than a few heated exchanges on the feet. In the third round, more strikes were thrown than in either of the previous two. If not for a perfectly timed one-two combination that set Hominick to the floor late in the round, Hominick would have walked away with a round. It was in round four that the biggest punch of the night was thrown, and fans saw possibly one of the most gruesome sights in MMA history.
Aldo came out with his typical strong leg kicks, and Hominick was beginning to slow. He knocked Hominick down again with a nice combination and began to rain down strikes from top position. A hematoma close to the size of a golf ball developed on Hominick’s head, but he continued to come forward, looking like sloth from The Goonies. The fight was halted to examine the lump, and the doctors allowed the action to continue, and essentially gave the okay for Aldo to destroy him for one more round. The fifth round saw Aldo and his traditional points stall. He had four rounds under his belt, and sat back and basically took a nap, much like the final round of his first title defense against Faber.
After a one-sided, and rather uneventful unanimous decision victory over former lightweight title contender Kenny Florian, Aldo was named one of the UFC’s most dominant fighters, and considered a pound-for-pound stalwart.
The Brazilian striker’s next challenge lies in undefeated wrestler Chad Mendes. Mendes, who was also a fellow WEC fighter, is a teammate of Urijah Faber, so he will have some insights into Aldo’s game. Mendes, one of the division’s top wrestlers, compiled a 30-1 record his senior year, so there should be no secret as to what his game plan is going into the biggest fight of his life.
Aldo’s takedown defense is the second best among champions in the UFC, at 90 percent; a statistic Mendes will have trouble swallowing. Another tool he will have in defending the takedown other than the outright sprawl is his vicious leg kicks. Look for Aldo to use those to keep Mendes off balance.
The takedown is really Mendes’s only option offensively, but he does have a decent counter striking game. His striking defense is an impressive 74 percent, and his takedown defense is even better than Aldo’s. He has never been taken down in his seven fights with the WEC and UFC. The weak side to this statistic is that he has only faced seven takedown attempts.
In his last four fights, Mendes has scored 20 takedowns. He earned eight of them in a fight against striker, Cub Swanson in 2010. It has been hammered over and over again, Mendes is an incredible wrestler, but what is it that Aldo possesses?
Aldo has over half of his career wins by knockout, and he has shown that he isn’t afraid to take chances in order to score the knockout early in his career, ala Cub Swanson. Lately, he has been rather cautious in his striking, and even gave up the fifth round to Hominick in a fight that he dominated. The question is whether we will see a motivated Aldo, or a bored one like we saw in the Hominick and Florian fights. The skill he possesses is unquestionable, but he hasn’t pushed the pace to apply in it some time. Is this the fight where we will see a highlight reel knockout?
If Aldo decides to sit back and admire his performance early like he has in the past, then we could see a new champion at the end of the night. Still, Aldo has enough skills on the ground, with his take down defense, and his submission skills to not get suffocated by Mendes. Mendes keeps it close, but Aldo pulls it out in the fourth, with a late knockout.
Aldo, who has an astounding 20 wins and only one loss, defended his WEC featherweight title two times before the WEC was dissolved and he was promoted to the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion. He has since defended his UFC title twice, against worthy competition in Mark Hominick and former lightweight title challenger, Kenny Florian. Aldo has finished 14 of his 21 opponents, with 12 of those finishes coming by way of knockout.
Aldo began his career with five straight stoppage victories in his native Brazil. He travelled to England for two straight fights, which took place in consecutive months, and won both by knockout. Aldo was at the top of his game, a perfect 7-0, heading back to Brazil for his first fight at lightweight against fellow countryman Luciano Azevedo. Aldo suffered his first, and only loss of his career to Azevedo, and dropped back to featherweight before rattling off three straight. After an impressive 10-1 start to his career, Aldo joined the UFC sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting.
In his first four fights under the WEC banner, Aldo finished all of his opponents by knockout, and earned a number one contender bout against fellow rising prospect Cub Swanson. Swanson had 13 wins under his belt, with 10 finishes. Aldo came into the bout with a similar record of 14-1 with 11 finishes. It was sure to be an exciting fight to say the least. Aldo made quick work of his foe, knocking Swanson unconscious just eight seconds into the fight with a spectacular double flying knee. After ending the fight with possibly the biggest highlight of his career, Aldo moved on to challenge dominant champion, Mike Brown. Aldo made the champ look like an amateur, pushing the pace in the first round, and in the second round taking his back and raining down punches. The fight was halted at 1:20 of the second round, and Jos é Aldo was crowned the WEC Featherweight Champion.
WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby did not give Aldo any breaks as it was announced that his first title defense would be against former titleholder and a man many thought would never lose the title, Urijah Faber. In what could still be considered his most dominant performance, Aldo kept Faber at bay utilizing over 30 successful leg kicks that left Faber badly bruised following the fight. Aldo effectively dodged, as Faber only landed 27 strikes in their five-round affair. In the fourth round, Aldo sent Faber sprawling and pounced on him, quickly trapping Faber’s arm in a crucifix and raining down punches. The fifth round saw Aldo not engage much, and carefully secure the unanimous victory.
The next time Aldo entered the WEC cage, it was against The Ultimate Fighter 5 finalist Manvel Gamburyan. Aldo did not miss a step as he throttled his opponent with an onslaught of kicks and punches, ultimately knocking out his foe in fewer than two rounds. With his quick victory over the Armenian, Aldo was eager to defend his WEC belt again.
In October of 2010, the WEC merged with the UFC, and on November 20, 2010 Aldo was upgraded to the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion. After recovering from a neck injury, and after six-months on the shelf, Aldo was set to face the Canadian, Mark Hominick at UFC 129 in Hominick’s native Ontario. Slated as the co-main event alongside a welterweight title clash between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields, Aldo and Hominick stole the show, winning Fight of the Night honors.
The fight began with both fighters exchanging quick on the feet. Aldo’s speed advantage was immediately obvious, but Hominick looked to actually be a bit bigger than his Brazilian foe. The fight didn’t stay standing for long, as Aldo quickly tossed Hominick to the mat. To defend, Hominick quickly attempted to lock up and armbar but Aldo slipped out, and landed some heavy elbows. The second round continued much the same as Aldo scored two takedowns, and won on points.
The third and fourth frames saw Aldo and Hominick get into more than a few heated exchanges on the feet. In the third round, more strikes were thrown than in either of the previous two. If not for a perfectly timed one-two combination that set Hominick to the floor late in the round, Hominick would have walked away with a round. It was in round four that the biggest punch of the night was thrown, and fans saw possibly one of the most gruesome sights in MMA history.
Aldo came out with his typical strong leg kicks, and Hominick was beginning to slow. He knocked Hominick down again with a nice combination and began to rain down strikes from top position. A hematoma close to the size of a golf ball developed on Hominick’s head, but he continued to come forward, looking like sloth from The Goonies. The fight was halted to examine the lump, and the doctors allowed the action to continue, and essentially gave the okay for Aldo to destroy him for one more round. The fifth round saw Aldo and his traditional points stall. He had four rounds under his belt, and sat back and basically took a nap, much like the final round of his first title defense against Faber.
After a one-sided, and rather uneventful unanimous decision victory over former lightweight title contender Kenny Florian, Aldo was named one of the UFC’s most dominant fighters, and considered a pound-for-pound stalwart.
The Brazilian striker’s next challenge lies in undefeated wrestler Chad Mendes. Mendes, who was also a fellow WEC fighter, is a teammate of Urijah Faber, so he will have some insights into Aldo’s game. Mendes, one of the division’s top wrestlers, compiled a 30-1 record his senior year, so there should be no secret as to what his game plan is going into the biggest fight of his life.
Aldo’s takedown defense is the second best among champions in the UFC, at 90 percent; a statistic Mendes will have trouble swallowing. Another tool he will have in defending the takedown other than the outright sprawl is his vicious leg kicks. Look for Aldo to use those to keep Mendes off balance.
The takedown is really Mendes’s only option offensively, but he does have a decent counter striking game. His striking defense is an impressive 74 percent, and his takedown defense is even better than Aldo’s. He has never been taken down in his seven fights with the WEC and UFC. The weak side to this statistic is that he has only faced seven takedown attempts.
In his last four fights, Mendes has scored 20 takedowns. He earned eight of them in a fight against striker, Cub Swanson in 2010. It has been hammered over and over again, Mendes is an incredible wrestler, but what is it that Aldo possesses?
Aldo has over half of his career wins by knockout, and he has shown that he isn’t afraid to take chances in order to score the knockout early in his career, ala Cub Swanson. Lately, he has been rather cautious in his striking, and even gave up the fifth round to Hominick in a fight that he dominated. The question is whether we will see a motivated Aldo, or a bored one like we saw in the Hominick and Florian fights. The skill he possesses is unquestionable, but he hasn’t pushed the pace to apply in it some time. Is this the fight where we will see a highlight reel knockout?
If Aldo decides to sit back and admire his performance early like he has in the past, then we could see a new champion at the end of the night. Still, Aldo has enough skills on the ground, with his take down defense, and his submission skills to not get suffocated by Mendes. Mendes keeps it close, but Aldo pulls it out in the fourth, with a late knockout.
UFC 142 - Money Mendes Seeks UFC Gold This Weekend At UFC 142
Team Alpha Male, who has produced such stars as Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez, has another prospect making his way through the ranks and he has been hungry for the featherweight title for some time now.
Chad “Money” Mendes was promised a title shot at UFC 133. He was 10-0 at the time, and titleholder Jos é Aldo was running through opponents like water. He had just defeated Mark Hominick in stunning fashion, and Mendes looked to be the only potential threat to his title. Aldo declined the bout at UFC 133 due to a myriad of injuries sustained while fighting Hominick.
Mendes was undeterred, and to stay active took a fight with Brazilian Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestler, Rani Yahya. When Aldo came back from injury, Mendes was booked, so he was signed to defend his belt against Kenny Florian. Needless to say, Chad Mendes’s title shot has been a long time coming.
His Mixed Martial Arts career started fast and took off even faster. He began his career fighting under the reputable Tachi Palace Fights banner. He went undefeated, the highlight of his run being his knockout of Steven Siler, a future competitor on The Ultimate Fighter, and at the time, riding a nine-fight win streak. Mendes took out the 21-fight veteran in just 44 seconds.
After dominating all of his opposition in TPF, he was invited to compete in the UFC’s sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting. Mendes continued to use his wrestling base to suffocate his opponents, as he always had. Mendes, a former All-American wrestler at Cal Poly, finished his senior season 30-1 and placed second in the 2008 NCAA Championships at 141 pounds.
In his first fight in the WEC, he scored six takedowns en route to a unanimous decision win over Eric Koch. He followed up that impressive performance just one month later with a first round guillotine choke against Anthony Morrison. Mendes showed some impressive striking in his clash with Morrison. They weren’t knockout caliber strikes, but they set up his takedown nicely, and kept Morrison guessing.
His most dominant fight in the WEC came four months later in August against Cub Swanson. Mendes showed that he had some power in his hands with an early shot that rocked Swanson. He followed Swanson to the ground, and the two fighters eventually made their way back to their feet. After a short exchange, Mendes scored another takedown to end the round.
The second began much the same as the first. Mendes continued to use his striking to set up his monstrous takedowns. He wasn’t able to hold Swanson on the ground for very long, and did scattered damage. In the third, Swanson opened up his arsenal of submissions, almost catching Mendes in an omoplata. Mendes closed out the final round using his striking, and taking Swanson to the mat when he felt threatened.
Mendes didn’t do a lot of damage to Swanson, and he wasn’t able to keep Swanson on his back, so how can this be considered dominant? Mendes was able to execute his takedowns at will, whenever he wanted, and he completely neutralized Swanson as any kind of threat. Even when on the ground, Mendes was able to shrug off submissions, and on the feet, Swanson looked to only still be there because Mendes allowed it.
As the UFC did not have any weight classes below 155 when Mendes was coming up, the WEC was the outlet for smaller fighters to make their way into the big leagues when the UFC inevitably merged with the WEC. That merger happened in October of 2010, and all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC’s roster. Mendes had one final exit fight in November, a unanimous decision win over Javier Vasquez, before his transfer to the UFC was official.
Since becoming a UFC fighter, Mendes has kept his undefeated streak alive, and is still a perfect 11-0, with four finishes to his credit. After a win over submission specialist Rani Yhaya, Mendes finds himself heading to his opponent’s native Brazil to challenge for the UFC Featherweight Championship.
As if the fight itself wasn’t tough enough, fighting in Aldo’s backyard will prove to be difficult to say the least. The last time the UFC was in Rio de Janiero in August of 2011, the HSBC Arena sold out to capacity of 14,000 in mere minutes. UFC President Dana White said that easily over 300,000 people were trying to get tickets to the event. There were plans in the works to book a soccer stadium to hold UFC 142, but plans fell through, so Aldo and Mendes will square off again at the HSBC Arena, to a sold out, fanatic Brazilian crowd.
The atmosphere and the crowd will be one thing to have to deal with, but Jos é Aldo will be another. With a four-inch reach advantage, and a one-inch height advantage, as well as being the vastly better striker, Mendes has his hands full. As if that wasn’t enough, Aldo is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and has shown his prominence on the ground before with a 90 percent takedown defense. With all this, it would be easy to say Aldo will dominate Mendes in yet another title defense, but I don’t believe that to be the case.
Mendes uses his striking well to set up his takedowns. I don’t expect him to look for the takedown until about the two-minute mark. Mendes wants to keep Aldo guessing, much as he did against Vasquez when he executed a front flip and landed on him, and when he did a somersault to escape Vasquez’s standing back control. He has expressed his desire to develop his standup, and its functionality in wrestling. He isn’t looking to be a knockout artist, but to find a way to meld his striking game to better his already incredible wrestling.
This one will stay very close, with no competitor having a distinct edge until its end. Mendes will work his ground game, stifling Aldo’s submission attempts, much like he did to Swanson. I see this fight playing out similar to Mendes’s fight With Swanson, except Aldo will be more of a force on the feet, landing combinations, and utilizing his hard leg kicks to wobble Mendes. I don’t see Mendes getting eight takedowns, but the two fighters will be up and down quickly. Mendes keeps it close, until Aldo defends his title with a late, fourth round knockout.
Chad “Money” Mendes was promised a title shot at UFC 133. He was 10-0 at the time, and titleholder Jos é Aldo was running through opponents like water. He had just defeated Mark Hominick in stunning fashion, and Mendes looked to be the only potential threat to his title. Aldo declined the bout at UFC 133 due to a myriad of injuries sustained while fighting Hominick.
Mendes was undeterred, and to stay active took a fight with Brazilian Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestler, Rani Yahya. When Aldo came back from injury, Mendes was booked, so he was signed to defend his belt against Kenny Florian. Needless to say, Chad Mendes’s title shot has been a long time coming.
His Mixed Martial Arts career started fast and took off even faster. He began his career fighting under the reputable Tachi Palace Fights banner. He went undefeated, the highlight of his run being his knockout of Steven Siler, a future competitor on The Ultimate Fighter, and at the time, riding a nine-fight win streak. Mendes took out the 21-fight veteran in just 44 seconds.
After dominating all of his opposition in TPF, he was invited to compete in the UFC’s sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting. Mendes continued to use his wrestling base to suffocate his opponents, as he always had. Mendes, a former All-American wrestler at Cal Poly, finished his senior season 30-1 and placed second in the 2008 NCAA Championships at 141 pounds.
In his first fight in the WEC, he scored six takedowns en route to a unanimous decision win over Eric Koch. He followed up that impressive performance just one month later with a first round guillotine choke against Anthony Morrison. Mendes showed some impressive striking in his clash with Morrison. They weren’t knockout caliber strikes, but they set up his takedown nicely, and kept Morrison guessing.
His most dominant fight in the WEC came four months later in August against Cub Swanson. Mendes showed that he had some power in his hands with an early shot that rocked Swanson. He followed Swanson to the ground, and the two fighters eventually made their way back to their feet. After a short exchange, Mendes scored another takedown to end the round.
The second began much the same as the first. Mendes continued to use his striking to set up his monstrous takedowns. He wasn’t able to hold Swanson on the ground for very long, and did scattered damage. In the third, Swanson opened up his arsenal of submissions, almost catching Mendes in an omoplata. Mendes closed out the final round using his striking, and taking Swanson to the mat when he felt threatened.
Mendes didn’t do a lot of damage to Swanson, and he wasn’t able to keep Swanson on his back, so how can this be considered dominant? Mendes was able to execute his takedowns at will, whenever he wanted, and he completely neutralized Swanson as any kind of threat. Even when on the ground, Mendes was able to shrug off submissions, and on the feet, Swanson looked to only still be there because Mendes allowed it.
As the UFC did not have any weight classes below 155 when Mendes was coming up, the WEC was the outlet for smaller fighters to make their way into the big leagues when the UFC inevitably merged with the WEC. That merger happened in October of 2010, and all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC’s roster. Mendes had one final exit fight in November, a unanimous decision win over Javier Vasquez, before his transfer to the UFC was official.
Since becoming a UFC fighter, Mendes has kept his undefeated streak alive, and is still a perfect 11-0, with four finishes to his credit. After a win over submission specialist Rani Yhaya, Mendes finds himself heading to his opponent’s native Brazil to challenge for the UFC Featherweight Championship.
As if the fight itself wasn’t tough enough, fighting in Aldo’s backyard will prove to be difficult to say the least. The last time the UFC was in Rio de Janiero in August of 2011, the HSBC Arena sold out to capacity of 14,000 in mere minutes. UFC President Dana White said that easily over 300,000 people were trying to get tickets to the event. There were plans in the works to book a soccer stadium to hold UFC 142, but plans fell through, so Aldo and Mendes will square off again at the HSBC Arena, to a sold out, fanatic Brazilian crowd.
The atmosphere and the crowd will be one thing to have to deal with, but Jos é Aldo will be another. With a four-inch reach advantage, and a one-inch height advantage, as well as being the vastly better striker, Mendes has his hands full. As if that wasn’t enough, Aldo is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and has shown his prominence on the ground before with a 90 percent takedown defense. With all this, it would be easy to say Aldo will dominate Mendes in yet another title defense, but I don’t believe that to be the case.
Mendes uses his striking well to set up his takedowns. I don’t expect him to look for the takedown until about the two-minute mark. Mendes wants to keep Aldo guessing, much as he did against Vasquez when he executed a front flip and landed on him, and when he did a somersault to escape Vasquez’s standing back control. He has expressed his desire to develop his standup, and its functionality in wrestling. He isn’t looking to be a knockout artist, but to find a way to meld his striking game to better his already incredible wrestling.
This one will stay very close, with no competitor having a distinct edge until its end. Mendes will work his ground game, stifling Aldo’s submission attempts, much like he did to Swanson. I see this fight playing out similar to Mendes’s fight With Swanson, except Aldo will be more of a force on the feet, landing combinations, and utilizing his hard leg kicks to wobble Mendes. I don’t see Mendes getting eight takedowns, but the two fighters will be up and down quickly. Mendes keeps it close, until Aldo defends his title with a late, fourth round knockout.
'Ubereem' Looks To Clinch a Title Shot With Win at UFC 141
Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem, possibly the most highly touted heavyweight since the heydays of Fedor Emelianenko, will finally grace the UFC Octagon on Friday.
With 35 wins and 11 losses, all outside what many consider to be the sport’s top promotion, fans have been waiting for a long time for the Dutchman to make the transition. Overeem made a name for himself in Pride Fighting Championships as a light heavyweight, fighting some of the best in the sport. He is most well known for his battles with Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.
In 2005 until mid-2006, while fighting under the Pride banner, Overeem flirted with fighting at heavyweight, bouncing back and forth between his natural weight at 205 pounds, and at one point fighting as heavy as 256 pounds against Fabricio Werdum. He lost the fight with Werdum by submission in the second round, setting up their rematch years later.
In 2007, he decided to make the move to heavyweight a full time occupation. After a rematch with Kharitonov that ended with Overeem on his back seeing stars, he moved on from Pride to Strikeforce to capture the vacant heavyweight title after forcing opponent Paul Buentello to submit early in the second frame.
After becoming the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Overeem went on a two-fight win streak, finishing both of his opponents. He also squared off with Mirko Cro Cop in a highly anticipated bout under the Dream banner, but it ended in a no contest after Overeem landed an inadvertent knee to the groin while working in the clinch.
Overeem was set to make his first title defense against the then unbeaten, Brett Rogers. The fight was scrapped due to Overeem sustaining a hand injury. In his off time Overeem decided to turn his sights back to the world of K-1 Kickboxing, where he had fought since he was 17 years old. He shocked the kickboxing world when he upset the legendary, three-time champion, Peter Aerts by decision. Overeem couldn’t finish the tournament with a victory, bowing out in the final following a loss to Badr Hadri.
Overeem later made his first Strikeforce title defense against Rogers, but it was after Fedor Emelianenko had already bested Rogers, handing him his first loss. Overeem handled Rogers effectively for half of the first round before ending the fight with a TKO. Just seven months after Overeem successfully defended his title, he went on to win another, this time besting Aerts again for the K1 Kickboxing title. The fight lasted just one round, and Overeem was able to secure the finish to definitively win the K1 World Grand Prix 2010 title.
As if a kickboxing world title, along with the Strikeforce Heavyweight title wasn’t enough, Overeem was booked to fight ex-UFC fighter, and former UFC record holder for the fastest knockout, Todd Duffee under the Dream banner at its annual New Year’s Eve bash. In appropriate fashion, Overeem knocked Duffee unconscious with a strong left hook just 19 seconds into the fight to win the vacant Dream Heavyweight title. With the win, Overeem became the first man in history to win the esteemed K1 Kickboxing tournament, and hold two MMA championship belts at the same time.
The next challenge for the Dutchman came in the form of another tournament, this time in the cage. Overeem was cast as part of Strikeforce’s eight-man heavyweight tournament, where he was set to face Fabricio Werdum in a rematch of their bout five years prior. In the opening round, Werdum looked comfortable to stand and strike with Overeem, which was puzzling to the champ. Overeem took it in stride and began to work his game, but when he shot back with punches, Werdum shot to his back, hoping to bait Overeem into a ground exchange. Overeem would have none of it. The fight played out much the same for the two remaining rounds, and Overeem cautiously played his way to a decision win.
After his quarterfinal win, Overeem was set to advance in the tournament, awaiting the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. A controversy between Overeem’s management, Golden Glory, and the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, caused strife in the negotiations for his next fight. The fissure between the two sides proved to be too great, and Overeem was released from Strikeforce and pulled from the tournament, vacating his title in the process. He later went on to express his dissatisfaction with the way Golden Glory had handled the situation, and fired them.
The UFC quickly snatched him up and negotiated a deal, with his first fight being a number one contender bout against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and NCAA wrestling Champion, Brock Lesnar. The matchup could not be more perfect, as there is no other MMA athlete that can come close to Overeem in size, and their skill sets could not be more different. To the naked eye, this is a matchup of a specialist versus a specialist, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that Overeem has a significant upper hand. Lesnar, while his wrestling base can be considered among the best in the sport, lacks the skills to even be considered a competent boxer. His footwork is dismal, and his chin lies untested because of the fact that he simply can’t tolerate being hit. The loss to Cain Velazquez exploited this, and Overeem will look to improve upon that notion.
Brock has no choice but to get this fight to the ground as fast as he can, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Overeem, while he doesn’t possess the wrestling chops that Lesnar does, owns over half of his wins by submission. Now to be fair, three of those submissions are due to strikes. Only counting legitimate submissions, The Demolition Man has exactly half of his wins by submission, still an impressive and often-overlooked fact.
Lesnar did show vast improvement in all of his skills in his UFC 116 fight with Shane Carwin, where he won by an arm-triangle choke. Overcoming an early onslaught, Lesnar showed a solid chin, and he didn’t turtle up when he was hit by one of Carwin’s bombs. After overcoming an adverse first round, Lesnar showed a deadly new tool to add to his ground game with a submission. Lesnar already possesses undoubtedly the best ground and pound skills since Mark Coleman invented the technique, and if he can add the threat of submission, his ground game could become one of the best in the division.
Still, even with such a stellar ground game, it won’t be easy to take down the 250 plus pound behemoth that is Alistair Overeem. Overeem doesn’t have a fantastic sprawl, but what he does have is what many call the “Uberknee.” Overeem’s clinch knees are among the best in MMA, and he owes several of his victories solely to the tree trunks he calls legs. If Lesnar chooses to use his trademark bulrush to take Overeem to the ground, he may find one of Overeem’s brutal knees greeting him on the way in. The only protection Lesnar has from these knees is that his takedowns aren’t a typical double-leg. When Lesnar goes in for a takedown, he uses his hips to lift his target, and puts his head into the chest, not next to the hip. With his head elevated, he won’t be as susceptible to the night-ending knee. He still won’t be safe from the clinch game, and that is where Overeem will stop Lesnar’s takedowns, and end his night with a late second round TKO.
With 35 wins and 11 losses, all outside what many consider to be the sport’s top promotion, fans have been waiting for a long time for the Dutchman to make the transition. Overeem made a name for himself in Pride Fighting Championships as a light heavyweight, fighting some of the best in the sport. He is most well known for his battles with Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.
In 2005 until mid-2006, while fighting under the Pride banner, Overeem flirted with fighting at heavyweight, bouncing back and forth between his natural weight at 205 pounds, and at one point fighting as heavy as 256 pounds against Fabricio Werdum. He lost the fight with Werdum by submission in the second round, setting up their rematch years later.
In 2007, he decided to make the move to heavyweight a full time occupation. After a rematch with Kharitonov that ended with Overeem on his back seeing stars, he moved on from Pride to Strikeforce to capture the vacant heavyweight title after forcing opponent Paul Buentello to submit early in the second frame.
After becoming the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Overeem went on a two-fight win streak, finishing both of his opponents. He also squared off with Mirko Cro Cop in a highly anticipated bout under the Dream banner, but it ended in a no contest after Overeem landed an inadvertent knee to the groin while working in the clinch.
Overeem was set to make his first title defense against the then unbeaten, Brett Rogers. The fight was scrapped due to Overeem sustaining a hand injury. In his off time Overeem decided to turn his sights back to the world of K-1 Kickboxing, where he had fought since he was 17 years old. He shocked the kickboxing world when he upset the legendary, three-time champion, Peter Aerts by decision. Overeem couldn’t finish the tournament with a victory, bowing out in the final following a loss to Badr Hadri.
Overeem later made his first Strikeforce title defense against Rogers, but it was after Fedor Emelianenko had already bested Rogers, handing him his first loss. Overeem handled Rogers effectively for half of the first round before ending the fight with a TKO. Just seven months after Overeem successfully defended his title, he went on to win another, this time besting Aerts again for the K1 Kickboxing title. The fight lasted just one round, and Overeem was able to secure the finish to definitively win the K1 World Grand Prix 2010 title.
As if a kickboxing world title, along with the Strikeforce Heavyweight title wasn’t enough, Overeem was booked to fight ex-UFC fighter, and former UFC record holder for the fastest knockout, Todd Duffee under the Dream banner at its annual New Year’s Eve bash. In appropriate fashion, Overeem knocked Duffee unconscious with a strong left hook just 19 seconds into the fight to win the vacant Dream Heavyweight title. With the win, Overeem became the first man in history to win the esteemed K1 Kickboxing tournament, and hold two MMA championship belts at the same time.
The next challenge for the Dutchman came in the form of another tournament, this time in the cage. Overeem was cast as part of Strikeforce’s eight-man heavyweight tournament, where he was set to face Fabricio Werdum in a rematch of their bout five years prior. In the opening round, Werdum looked comfortable to stand and strike with Overeem, which was puzzling to the champ. Overeem took it in stride and began to work his game, but when he shot back with punches, Werdum shot to his back, hoping to bait Overeem into a ground exchange. Overeem would have none of it. The fight played out much the same for the two remaining rounds, and Overeem cautiously played his way to a decision win.
After his quarterfinal win, Overeem was set to advance in the tournament, awaiting the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. A controversy between Overeem’s management, Golden Glory, and the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, caused strife in the negotiations for his next fight. The fissure between the two sides proved to be too great, and Overeem was released from Strikeforce and pulled from the tournament, vacating his title in the process. He later went on to express his dissatisfaction with the way Golden Glory had handled the situation, and fired them.
The UFC quickly snatched him up and negotiated a deal, with his first fight being a number one contender bout against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and NCAA wrestling Champion, Brock Lesnar. The matchup could not be more perfect, as there is no other MMA athlete that can come close to Overeem in size, and their skill sets could not be more different. To the naked eye, this is a matchup of a specialist versus a specialist, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that Overeem has a significant upper hand. Lesnar, while his wrestling base can be considered among the best in the sport, lacks the skills to even be considered a competent boxer. His footwork is dismal, and his chin lies untested because of the fact that he simply can’t tolerate being hit. The loss to Cain Velazquez exploited this, and Overeem will look to improve upon that notion.
Brock has no choice but to get this fight to the ground as fast as he can, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Overeem, while he doesn’t possess the wrestling chops that Lesnar does, owns over half of his wins by submission. Now to be fair, three of those submissions are due to strikes. Only counting legitimate submissions, The Demolition Man has exactly half of his wins by submission, still an impressive and often-overlooked fact.
Lesnar did show vast improvement in all of his skills in his UFC 116 fight with Shane Carwin, where he won by an arm-triangle choke. Overcoming an early onslaught, Lesnar showed a solid chin, and he didn’t turtle up when he was hit by one of Carwin’s bombs. After overcoming an adverse first round, Lesnar showed a deadly new tool to add to his ground game with a submission. Lesnar already possesses undoubtedly the best ground and pound skills since Mark Coleman invented the technique, and if he can add the threat of submission, his ground game could become one of the best in the division.
Still, even with such a stellar ground game, it won’t be easy to take down the 250 plus pound behemoth that is Alistair Overeem. Overeem doesn’t have a fantastic sprawl, but what he does have is what many call the “Uberknee.” Overeem’s clinch knees are among the best in MMA, and he owes several of his victories solely to the tree trunks he calls legs. If Lesnar chooses to use his trademark bulrush to take Overeem to the ground, he may find one of Overeem’s brutal knees greeting him on the way in. The only protection Lesnar has from these knees is that his takedowns aren’t a typical double-leg. When Lesnar goes in for a takedown, he uses his hips to lift his target, and puts his head into the chest, not next to the hip. With his head elevated, he won’t be as susceptible to the night-ending knee. He still won’t be safe from the clinch game, and that is where Overeem will stop Lesnar’s takedowns, and end his night with a late second round TKO.
Brock Lesnar, A Kickboxer's Worst Nightmare?
From the WWE, to the NFL and to the UFC, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has done it all in the sports world. After losing his title to up-and-comer Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar has dealt with several bouts of diverticulitis, and come out on the winning end, with an insatiable bloodlust. He wants his title back, and it seems nothing can stop him.
Lesnar, a former NCAA National Champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota, began his career in MMA relatively young, considering his various other athletic ventures. Lesnar entered into the MMA landscape in 2007 after a storied career in the WWE, and after being cut by the Minnesota Vikings following a short stint with the team in 2005.
At the age of 30, Lesnar made his MMA debut against Min-Soo Kim. Lesnar quickly blitzed the former K-1 World Grand Prix finalist and pummeled him for almost the entire first round before Kim simply tapped due to strikes. With such a dominant debut, and given his prior fame as one of the WWE’s biggest stars, the UFC quickly came calling, and Lesnar was signed to the heavyweight roster, eyeing an early year debut with the promotion. Lesnar was set to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, who would later become Lesnar’s biggest rival.
At UFC 88, the two met, and Lesnar immediately looked to bring the fight to the ground. He gained a dominant position and began reigning down punches, but referee Steve Mazagatti halted the fight and deducted Lesnar a point for repeated strikes to the back of Mir’s head. The inexperience of Lesnar proved to be a factor in the closing seconds of the fight. He stood up to get out of Mir’s guard, instead of passing to a more dominant position. As he did so, Mir rolled spectacularly into a kneebar, forcing Lesnar to tap out at 3:30 of the opening frame.
The loss to Mir, albeit a controversial one, didn’t set Lesnar back much, as after a decision victory over Heath Herring, Lesnar found himself in the fight of his life against UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight strap. After a contentious first round, Lesnar dominated the older Couture to become the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion at just 32 years of age.
After becoming champion, only one thing was on Lesnar’s mind, and that was avenging the only loss on his ledger. He wanted Frank Mir, and he got him as the headliner for the historic UFC 100. The rematch was rather unspectacular as Lesnar beat his opponent into the ground early. Securing the early takedown, Lesnar pushed Mir against the cage, and beat his head through the mat. There was no controversy, there was no question, Brock Lesnar was for real and he was at the top of the sport’s biggest division.
The Minnesotan was next set to face supreme knockout artist, Shane Carwin to defend his UFC Heavyweight Title for the second time. The champ quickly became concerned with a bigger foe than Carwin, and thus began his first bout with the digestive tract disease, diverticulitis. Lesnar was out of action for almost three-quarters of the year, but came back strong when he finally faced Carwin at UFC 116, ten events later than their first scheduled meeting.
The fight began frustrating at the very least for Lesnar fans. Carwin rocked Lesnar early on with his heavy hands, and followed up with an onslaught on the ground. With a meager three power strikes landed in the first round, versus Carwin’s 40, the champ looked to be completely outmatched. In a stunning turn of events, Lesnar looked completely rejuvenated in the second round. Carwin had completely gassed himself out, in an attempt to end the fight, and Lesnar pounced on him. Shortly after taking the fight to the mat, Lesnar transitioned to full mount and wrapped up an arm-triangle choke. He quickly stepped over into side-control to tighten the choke, and his chokehold on the UFC Heavyweight division.
After his defense against Carwin, Lesnar was matched up against another top wrestler in the undefeated Cain Velasquez. Velasquez, who has eight of his nine wins via knockout, chose to handle Lesnar on the feet, and handle him he did. Lesnar was tossed around the Octagon like a child, and looked lackluster at best. Velasquez opened a cut on Lesnar’s cheek midway through the first round that still hasn’t healed properly to this day, en route to a first round TKO victory. Lesnar had finally lost the title after 707 days, the longest single reign for a UFC Heavyweight.
The future for Lesnar was uncertain, as he was manhandled by a fighter who he outweighed by more than 35 pounds. Lesnar was next set to coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Junior Dos Santos. The two agreed to a bout to fight to decide the number one contender for Velasquez’s title, but after the filming of the show had concluded, Lesnar entered into his second bout with his intestines. The bout concluded with a surgery to remove a 12-inch section of his colon, and put him on the shelf for close to seven months.
Upon his return, it was announced that Lesnar would face off against former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, former Dream Heavyweight Champion, and K-1 Kickboxing World Champion Alistair Overeem. That’s a tall order, even for a man with all the accolades Brock Lesnar possesses. Lesnar will have to get it to the mat quickly to stand even a chance, given his poor boxing skills. Look for Lesnar to shoot for a takedown early, much like he did at UFC 88 against Mir. The fight looks to take place in several series on the ground, as I don’t see Lesnar being able to control Overeem on the ground for long.
Overeem will look to deny Lesnar’s takedowns with his striking, rather than a sprawl. Lesnar can still achieve a dominant position when sprawled, and there has yet to be a fighter to sprawl him. Overeem will pepper Lesnar with strikes on the way in, and bring the fight up to the clinch, into his domain. From there he has a completely new arsenal of strikes to unload on the former wrestler, who has shown he is not particularly fond of taking a punch. Look for Overeem to keep his distance and wait for Lesnar to attack with a takedown, and then end the fight in the clinch, likely by way of a brutal “Uberknee.”
Lesnar, a former NCAA National Champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota, began his career in MMA relatively young, considering his various other athletic ventures. Lesnar entered into the MMA landscape in 2007 after a storied career in the WWE, and after being cut by the Minnesota Vikings following a short stint with the team in 2005.
At the age of 30, Lesnar made his MMA debut against Min-Soo Kim. Lesnar quickly blitzed the former K-1 World Grand Prix finalist and pummeled him for almost the entire first round before Kim simply tapped due to strikes. With such a dominant debut, and given his prior fame as one of the WWE’s biggest stars, the UFC quickly came calling, and Lesnar was signed to the heavyweight roster, eyeing an early year debut with the promotion. Lesnar was set to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, who would later become Lesnar’s biggest rival.
At UFC 88, the two met, and Lesnar immediately looked to bring the fight to the ground. He gained a dominant position and began reigning down punches, but referee Steve Mazagatti halted the fight and deducted Lesnar a point for repeated strikes to the back of Mir’s head. The inexperience of Lesnar proved to be a factor in the closing seconds of the fight. He stood up to get out of Mir’s guard, instead of passing to a more dominant position. As he did so, Mir rolled spectacularly into a kneebar, forcing Lesnar to tap out at 3:30 of the opening frame.
The loss to Mir, albeit a controversial one, didn’t set Lesnar back much, as after a decision victory over Heath Herring, Lesnar found himself in the fight of his life against UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight strap. After a contentious first round, Lesnar dominated the older Couture to become the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion at just 32 years of age.
After becoming champion, only one thing was on Lesnar’s mind, and that was avenging the only loss on his ledger. He wanted Frank Mir, and he got him as the headliner for the historic UFC 100. The rematch was rather unspectacular as Lesnar beat his opponent into the ground early. Securing the early takedown, Lesnar pushed Mir against the cage, and beat his head through the mat. There was no controversy, there was no question, Brock Lesnar was for real and he was at the top of the sport’s biggest division.
The Minnesotan was next set to face supreme knockout artist, Shane Carwin to defend his UFC Heavyweight Title for the second time. The champ quickly became concerned with a bigger foe than Carwin, and thus began his first bout with the digestive tract disease, diverticulitis. Lesnar was out of action for almost three-quarters of the year, but came back strong when he finally faced Carwin at UFC 116, ten events later than their first scheduled meeting.
The fight began frustrating at the very least for Lesnar fans. Carwin rocked Lesnar early on with his heavy hands, and followed up with an onslaught on the ground. With a meager three power strikes landed in the first round, versus Carwin’s 40, the champ looked to be completely outmatched. In a stunning turn of events, Lesnar looked completely rejuvenated in the second round. Carwin had completely gassed himself out, in an attempt to end the fight, and Lesnar pounced on him. Shortly after taking the fight to the mat, Lesnar transitioned to full mount and wrapped up an arm-triangle choke. He quickly stepped over into side-control to tighten the choke, and his chokehold on the UFC Heavyweight division.
After his defense against Carwin, Lesnar was matched up against another top wrestler in the undefeated Cain Velasquez. Velasquez, who has eight of his nine wins via knockout, chose to handle Lesnar on the feet, and handle him he did. Lesnar was tossed around the Octagon like a child, and looked lackluster at best. Velasquez opened a cut on Lesnar’s cheek midway through the first round that still hasn’t healed properly to this day, en route to a first round TKO victory. Lesnar had finally lost the title after 707 days, the longest single reign for a UFC Heavyweight.
The future for Lesnar was uncertain, as he was manhandled by a fighter who he outweighed by more than 35 pounds. Lesnar was next set to coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Junior Dos Santos. The two agreed to a bout to fight to decide the number one contender for Velasquez’s title, but after the filming of the show had concluded, Lesnar entered into his second bout with his intestines. The bout concluded with a surgery to remove a 12-inch section of his colon, and put him on the shelf for close to seven months.
Upon his return, it was announced that Lesnar would face off against former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, former Dream Heavyweight Champion, and K-1 Kickboxing World Champion Alistair Overeem. That’s a tall order, even for a man with all the accolades Brock Lesnar possesses. Lesnar will have to get it to the mat quickly to stand even a chance, given his poor boxing skills. Look for Lesnar to shoot for a takedown early, much like he did at UFC 88 against Mir. The fight looks to take place in several series on the ground, as I don’t see Lesnar being able to control Overeem on the ground for long.
Overeem will look to deny Lesnar’s takedowns with his striking, rather than a sprawl. Lesnar can still achieve a dominant position when sprawled, and there has yet to be a fighter to sprawl him. Overeem will pepper Lesnar with strikes on the way in, and bring the fight up to the clinch, into his domain. From there he has a completely new arsenal of strikes to unload on the former wrestler, who has shown he is not particularly fond of taking a punch. Look for Overeem to keep his distance and wait for Lesnar to attack with a takedown, and then end the fight in the clinch, likely by way of a brutal “Uberknee.”
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