Titan Fighting Championship 20 Recap

Titan Fighting Championships held its 20 th event on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The card saw a lot of shuffling due to injury and other factors.
The event featured a lot of local talent from Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. The first fight of the evening featured Laramie Shaffer and Andrew Whitney. Whitney was thrown into the card on one week’s notice, but made the best of it.
Shaffer opened the fight looking for the takedown. Much of the fight took place on the ground, with Whitney working to get off of his back.
“I knew he couldn’t break me,” Whitney said. “I just knew I had to stay calm and work, because one shot could end it.”
One shot could end it, and a flying knee did just that for Shaffer in the third round. Shaffer led with a hard right that missed. When he stepped back and came back in with another right, Andrew Whitney was waiting, with a knee to the face.
“He kept dropping his hands, and I knew the head kick or the flying knee was there,” he said. “I’ve tried the kick in my last four fights, and it didn’t work so I went with the knee.”
Next into the cage was local favorite Alex Huddleston. Huddleston entered the cage 1-0 against Justyn Riley. Riley dropped his opponent early with a right, but Huddleston was immediately back to his feet. It was a back and forth battle that saw both fighters getting dropped early and often. Huddleston eventually gained the mount and started to reign down strikes, but he was quickly reversed. As Huddleston fought for a Kimura, Riley landed a few hard elbows to end the round.
 
The second round started and saw Huddleston absolutely exhausted. He was thrown to the canvas, and Riley continued to reign down punches until his TKO victory mid-way through the second round.
 
The two fights that followed were over in the blink of an eye. Sean Wilson came out of the gate swinging against James Krause, and dropped for the takedown. He was subsequently sprawled, and Krause locked in a front choke. He dropped back, and sunk in the deep guillotine choke to end the fight in the very first round.
After such a quick finish, fans were eager to see another, and they got what they were wishing for. Shane Hutchinson and Anthony Gutierrez began the fight with some wild striking. Gutierrez attempted a superman punch, and Hutchinson countered with a flying knee, but neither landed. Hutchinson, weary of the standup game, took Gutierrez down and was reversed almost immediately. Once Gutierrez gained top position, he locked in the anaconda choke, and rolled Hutchinson over for the win.
In the co-main event of the evening, Brett Rogers and Eddie Sanchez attempted to resurrect their careers. They had short stints with Strikeforce and the UFC respectively, but both were short lived.
Much of the fight took place in the clinch, with Rogers keeping Sanchez’s back to the cage. Sanchez got the better of the striking game, but didn’t get a chance to show off his improved striking, as Rogers controlled him for most of the fight.
“I wanted to control Sanchez and eliminate his striking,” Rogers said. “I wanted to take my time and then go in for the kill.”
Sanchez’s game plan consisted of using leg kicks to keep Rogers at a distance, and he worked it very well. His leg was split open late in the second round, when he unleashed a vicious leg kick on Rogers.
“I caught his knee with my shin, and the leg just split open,” Sanchez said, “It’s just going to require a few stitches.”

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The final round saw the most action. Rogers continued to work his counterstriking game, and wobbled Sanchez with a stiff knee, but Sanchez recovered quickly. Sanchez kept with the strategy of using the leg kicks, and landed a nice leg kick- right combination and knocked Rogers to the mat. Rogers ended the round with a strong effort, reigning down punches from the top after a brutal takedown on the fence.
The judges decided in favor of Sanchez with a split decision. As with any split decision, it was quite controversial.
“I felt like the decision was wrong,” Rogers said. “Sanchez landed the leg kicks, but I was controlling him the entire fight. I don’t know what those judges saw out there.”
Sanchez, laid up from his injury, said that he felt the decision was fair.
“I was landing a lot more strikes, and when he had me in the clinch, he wasn’t doing much other than holding me there.”
Both fighters spoke of how much they appreciate the chance Titan gave them to fight, but it is not their ultimate goal to fight there.
“Obviously, I had that stint with the UFC, and I’m better than I was before,” Sanchez said. “I would love to make a comeback.”
In the main event, Dakota Cochraine, who took the fight on just two days notice, squared off against former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. A fight against a former champion is a tough fight in itself, let alone taking it on short notice.
“I really didn’t think about it too much,” Cochraine said. “I knew over thinking the fight, and [hyping up his image as a former champion] would only make things harder.”
The fight began with Varner being the aggressor. He opened with a tough push kick that sent Cochraine sprawling into the fence. Cochraine recovered, and the cat-and-mouse game that is technical striking began. Cochraine began to take over, and pushed the pace of the fight. He landed a few tough shots, but Varner took them in stride and continued to go for the homerun hit.
“My plan going in was to stick and move, and avoid his heavy hands,” Cochraine said.
Cochraine was able to execute his game plan spectacularly, and frustrated Varner through the entire fight. Cochraine was able to pull off the upset on two-days notice and defeat Varner by unanimous decision. Jamie Varner was unavailable for comment after the fight.

Brett Rogers vs Andre Arlovski - Possible Rematch?

After Brett Rogers was released from Strikeforce following a domestic assault charge, his future was relatively uncertain. He landed rather quickly with Titan Fighting Championships and was featured as the co-main even along Jamie Varner at Titan FC 20 on Saturday. Following a hard fought, split decision loss to Eddie Sanchez, Rogers’ future again may look uncertain, but Rogers’ new manager, and Fedor Emelianenko’s former manager, Jerry Millen assures fans that Rogers has quite an exciting future ahead of him.
“The word on the grapevine is that Andre Arlovski wants a rematch,” Millen said.
The possible rematch between the two provides for a lot of exciting buzz surrounding both fighters. Rogers is a few big wins from resurrecting his career, and Arlovski just needs a chance to save his legacy.
In their first meeting, Rogers won via TKO in just 22 seconds. It was Rogers’ tenth win, and his last as an undefeated fighter. For Arlovski, the fight came after a knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko. And was the second in an eventual four-fight losing streak.
Stay tuned to Profighting-fans.com for more updated on this story as they come.

UFC 135 Preview - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

There are few Mixed Martial Artists in the world who demand more respect than Rampage Jackson. Sure, there are a handful of fighters that deserve more respect than him, but few seek it out in the way Jackson does.
A man fueled by ego and emotion, Rampage was made famous for his wolf-like howls pre and post-fight. He always sports a gaudy, and flamboyant metal chain so big it could have been ripped off of a tow truck, and is notorious for his pre-fight antics. Leading up to his UFC 114 clash with Rashad Evans, Jackson openly talked of his pure hatred for Evans. As a result, they were both selected to coach opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
The banter back and forth between the two coaches was some of the better trash talking that the UFC reality show has seen so far. The two had several face-to-face confrontations and the anticipation for their meeting grew, culminating in a buy rate of 1.05 million for the pay-per-view event. Jackson was wobbled early by a short combination, and driven to the mat by the former Michigan State University wrestling standout, Evans. The fight went on much the same, Rampage struggling to gain position under the superior wrestling of Evans. Jackson eventually mounted a solid offensive attack, but it was too little too late, as Evans went on to win a unanimous decision.
The winner of the Rampage-Rashad fight was promised the next title shot at Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but when Evans suffered a knee injury, rising star, Jon Jones was called in to replace him. Jones manhandled Shogun en route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, and upon recovery, Rashad was promised the next title shot. Through various shuffles due to injuries to Jones, and to Evans’ new opponent, Phil Davis, Rampage found his way to the top of the division and was awarded the title shot. Ironically, the bout between Evans and Rampage was to determine who would get the next title shot, but it is Rampage who is to have the first shot at taking down Jones, not Evans.
Rampage had finally bested Evans, and gotten the last laugh, but the trash talking was not over yet. Evans, who is a known enemy of Jones, began poking fun at Jones on twitter, hoping Rampage would join in and berate his upcoming opponent. Jackson instead chose to call out Evans, and give respect to Jones. For the first time, fans saw the humane side of Rampage, and came to expect a respectful slew of press appearances.
Rampage’s ego eventually got the best of him and he began calling for Jones to return “his” belt. He also alleged that Jones had a spy in his training camp, and was recording his workouts to get an edge. Jones refuted the claims, and continued to respect his opponent. Any average fan could see Jones was just seconds away from losing his composure as the two met for a meeting at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger. Rampage later went on to reveal his source for his claims as MusclePharm Vice President Leonard Armenta, who subsequently lost his job.
It will be a tough fight for Rampage, as he has never faced anyone the size of Jones. Most of the time when fans see Rampage in the cage, he is outmuscling his opponents, slamming them into the mat and putting them out with vicious strikes. It will be a different story when he faces a man with such athletic prowess.
Jones has a clear reach advantage, possessing the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches. He also has a height advantage, and is clearly the better wrestler. This one could play out similar to Rampage’s matchup with Evans, so he better have learned from his mistakes. The only difference here is that Jones is on a completely different level from Evans when it comes to his striking game. They may be close to equal in their wrestling, Rashad could even have an edge, but Jones is an astronomically better striker. He also has a better chin than Evans, who was knocked out by Lyoto Machida’s less-than-stellar right hand. Jones will take it slow and dictate the pace of the fight. Jones wins this one by TKO in the fourth round.
Jon Jones will walk out of the Octagon on Saturday night as, in the words of Bruce Buffer, “the reigning, defending, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.”

UFC 135 Preview - Jon "Bones" Jones

Many people are anointing Jon “Bones” Jones the future of Mixed Martial Arts. With the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches, and standing an imposing six feet four inches tall, he may be just that. The real question, and the question already posed by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, is whether Jones is the present.
En route to claiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at just 23 years of age, “Bones” defeated a long list of competitors. Sure, he beat Shogun Rua, Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader, but his record isn’t as impressive as someone like Lyoto Machida’s. The fighters Machida had to face to claim his belt were a completely different caliber than the ones Jones has faced. Another interesting factor to Jones’ title run is that he faced Shogun as he was coming off of a knee injury. Rua’s camp says that he wasn’t fully recovered, and he did look pretty sluggish in the Octagon.
Still, Jones has had a lot of doubters in his last two fights. In his fight versus Ryan Bader, critics pointed out the fact that Bader was an All-American from the well-respected Arizona State wrestling program, whereas Jones went pro after two years at Iowa Central Community College. Those who doubted Jones stood behind Bader’s supposedly stronger wrestling and said that Jones would have to stand with the former Sun Devil. Jones ultimately outwrestled Bader and forced him to submit to a guillotine choke in the second round.
It was the same case against Shogun. Critics said that Rua’s superior ground game would force Jones to stand, and that if he did try and take it to the ground, he would be easily submitted. This was not the case at all, as fans saw Jones dominate every aspect of the fight, including a stellar, near finish on the ground.
It is this point that makes his title run valid. Maybe all of the opponents he faced weren’t top ten, but he got his title because he defied the odds against him, and he won all of his fights in a dominant fashion. Every time someone said Jones couldn’t do something against another fighter, or use a certain technique because it would lead to his demise, he went out and proved he could. Every time a critic said he would have to fight a certain way to win, it was as if he altered his game plan just to show he could do whatever he wanted. He is just that much better.
The latest talk is that Jon Jones won’t be able to stand with Rampage, and will instead have to rely on his ground skills. Rampage has always been one of the better strikers in the UFC, but that doesn’t seem to be true anymore. A man who couldn’t put Matt Hammil away is going to out strike the most dynamic Light Heavyweight Champion the UFC has seen so far?
Jones and Rampage are pretty equal in their conditioning, so this one won’t be over quick. It could be a long, drawn out wrestling match, but this is a fight between two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Neither fighter wants to simply go out and win. Rampage has developed a profound hatred for Jones, and for the first time, fans have seen Jones get a little bit angry in the pre-fight talks between the two. The allegations of spies in training camps have amped things up a bit, and Jones looks ready to go out and close Rampage’s mouth. Jon Jones will use his superior reach to dictate the pace of the fight, and keep it standing. Jones will pick Jackson apart with his jab, and avoid the clinch, as that is one of the few ways ‘Page could score a victory. This one ends in a TKO victory for the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones in the fourth round.

Bellator Recap & Results: Bellator 49 Recap & Results

Bellator Fighting Championships held Bellator 49 this past Saturday to kick off its fifth season. The card that took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey featured Chris Lozano, Brent Weedman, Dan Hornbuckle and former UFC welterweight fighter Ben Saunders. It was a successful season debut for the still-young promotion. Airing on MTV2 live in primetime, the card garnered a total of 235 thousand viewers, close behind Strikeforce’s 274 thousand from the same night.
In the main card, Steve Carl faced off against Douglas Lima and dropped a unanimous decision to the Brazilian challenger. Luis Santos stepped into the cage against former welterweight title challenger, Dan Hornbuckle, and won a unanimous decision. In more exciting action, Ben Saunders, in just his second Bellator fight, defeated Chris Cisneros with a brutal knockout in the closing seconds of the final round. In the main bout of the evening, Chris Lozano won a unanimous decision over Brent Weedman. All the winners will advance to the semifinals of the welterweight tournament, and the winner will earn a shot at undefeated champion, Ben “Funky” Askren.
Bellator as an organization has grown immensely over the past three years. CEO Bjorn Rebney has garnered immense respect from his fighters, like Bellator Heavyweight, Ron Sparks.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of.”
Sparks isn’t the only one who feels the need to speak out on behalf of Bellator’s upper management. Lightweight titleholder, Eddie Alvarez has spoken out on more than one occasion about his love for Bellator, and even his dislike for the way the UFC is run.
The draw for Bellator isn’t in its fighters, that much is obvious. Bellator has a lot of great talent, but they just don’t have stars like the UFC does, yet. If the UFC keeps dropping talented fighters like they have been of late, Bellator is sure to come up behind them quickly in terms of major market share. Bellator’s takeover of the MMA scene is at least five years off, and I don’t expect it to happen given the insane growth of the UFC in the last ten years, but it is possible.

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If Dana White keeps letting big names like Nate Marquardt, and Paul Daley go, whether warranted or not, other organizations like Bellator will snatch them up and that will give them a much bigger draw.
The tournament style of Bellator is the main reason for the viewings it gets. Add in the fact that it is on a major cable channel like MTV2, and the fights are free, and that makes for some pretty good competition for the market share.
Bellator is a really interesting take on MMA. In an age where it’s not possible to hold tournaments in one night, Bellator provides a nice break from the sometimes-confusing matchmaking of other organizations. There is never a dispute in Bellator about who deserves a title shot, because the fighter who gets the shot, has fought his way through a tournament to get there. Sure, there are still discussions of whether the same fighter would make it past a certain guy in the tournament, if done over, but it is almost never questioned that a certain fighter is getting the shot.
Bellator is here to stay. I don’t believe it will ever overtake the UFC, but it has carved out its own niche in the MMA world, and will continue to operate side-by-side the UFC when all the other promotions eventually bow to Zuffa.

Bellator Fighting Championships Heavyweight - Ron Sparks Interview

Bellator fans are awaiting the highly anticipated heavyweight tournament this fall, but they aren’t the only ones.
“There are some good guys in this tournament,” Bellator heavyweight Ron “The Monster” Sparks said. “Bellator is really starting to bring it out.”
Sparks, an undefeated prospect, says he is excited to get into the cage and kick off the tournament in September. He also said that being undefeated doesn’t wear on his mind.
“I don’t put much stock in it,” he said. “Most guys will tell you that. What they won’t say is that it’s going to happen. You’re going to get that first loss, its MMA, man.”
Sparks also said that he wants to be like Wanderlei Silva when he steps into the cage.
“I just want to go out there and put on a show,” he said. “I really want to be like Wanderlei Silva, just out there knocking heads off. Everybody loves that guy."
Sparks comes into the tournament with seven wins under his belt, six of which he has finished inside the first round. Sparks has only gone the distance once in his short MMA career, a four-round decision win over Jonathan Ivey. The Ivey fight, Sparks said, was his toughest to date.
“I fought a hard four-rounds against Jonathan Ivey. A lot of people just see that, they don’t realize that fight was outside in the blazing sun in 95-degree heat. I can go the distance if I have to.”
The Louisville MMA standout says his current trainer, Jason Y got him into the sport.
“Jason has been doing Mixed Martial Arts since he was five years old,” Sparks said. “He is the most fundamentally sound fighter I have ever seen, he just doesn’t fight.”
Louisville MMA is a small and upcoming gym with not many well-known stars. The faces of Louisville MMA are relative unknown John Foyer, and none other than Ron Sparks.
“I love being looked up to,” he said. “There are a lot of young guys in here, and I love helping them get better, the same that the guys I look up to did for me.”
As for the upcoming tournament as a whole, Sparks said he is really looking forward to seeing all the new talent Bellator has.
“Bellator is here to stay,” he said. “No one else does these exciting tournaments like they do.”
Sparks also spoke highly of the organization itself.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of. We get paid really well, and the [upper management] really cares about our well-being. [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] makes me feel like a champ whenever I’m around him,” he said. “He really cares about the lower level fighters like me. I’m trying to move up and Bjorn really makes me want to do that.”
Whoever his next opponent may be, Sparks said he planned to keep the game plan simple: come forward.
“I was always told to strike first,” Sparks said. “I always want to be the aggressor. I’m going to come forward and go in there for the knockout. He better bring it because I’m going to bring it too. Let’s have a great fight.”