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MAN
UP AND STAND UP Today!
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
DEVON MINA 80 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
NYLEN KUKAHIKO 80-90 RADRAJAH BRAZWELL
BRONSON SARDINHA 200 MARLEY
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE 185 MILLER UALESEI
SCOTT ENDO 185 DAMON TURCOIS
SPENCER QUELL 200 JONAH AFOA
LEE HARPER SHW ALBERT CAMBRA
JADA PEREIRA 112 LISA HA
JUSTIN PACARRO 60 AINSLEY
CHANCE CENO 80 KONA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
SHW BRICESON
AIONA
KAI KUNIMOTO 140 OLA
LUM
GAVIN PAGUYO 185 NAINOA LEFLER
BARNAIRE MADALORA 160 JON BURGESS
DONALD PETERS 140 TOFI MIKA
FATS VAISAU 175 LOMBARD MADALORA
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD 115 NELSON KUKAHIKO
EUGENE
ANGUAY 130
THOMAS REYES
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 135 ANTHONY REYES
NATHAN WOODE 125 KALAI
KWAN
DARRYL DANO 150 SHAWN MIYAHARA
FREDDY RAMAYLA 145 JORDAN TIMBLE
JENNA GANABAN 135 ALSHADAINE MONTIRA
LAAKEA 160 MATT FISHER
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
143 Today
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hawaii
Air Time:
Preliminaries 3:00-5:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
Event 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Dark matches
Middleweights: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Welterweights: Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Bantamweights: Bruce Leeroy vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweights: Matt Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Main card
Middleweights: Ed Herman (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Cliff Starks
(+200)
Bantamweights: Renan Barao (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Scott
Jorgensen (+200)
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (-260, 13 to 5 favorite) vs. Mike
Pierce (+200)
Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum (PICK ‘EM)
Welterweight eliminator (interim championship): Nick Diaz (-180)
vs. Carlos Condit (+150)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dan
Henderson Likely to Sit and Wait for Winner of Jones/Evans
by Damon
Martin
When
Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2, it locked up
his position as the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight
division, and assured him of the next shot at champion Jon Jones.
Unless
something unfortunate happens, Evans will finally face Jones
on April 21 at UFC 145 in Atlanta, but that still leaves one
big lingering question.
What
about Dan Henderson?
The
former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion was the other name
that was vying for a shot at Jon Jones after his ‘Fight
of the Year’ performance against Mauricio ‘Shogun’
Rua at UFC 139 last November.
Henderson
was originally offered a fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira,
but turned it down on the prospect that he could still get a
fight with Jones.
Now
that Rashad Evans has been given the next shot at Jones, it appears
Henderson is happy to sit and wait for the winner of that fight
later this year.
“Dan
Henderson’s in a position right now where it looks like
he wants to wait for Jon Jones,” UFC President Dana White
said on Thursday. “We’ll see what happens with this
Rashad fight.”
Traditionally,
Henderson has been a fighter that hasn’t enjoyed sitting
out for long periods of time, and reportedly called White asking
to compete again right after his last bout with Rua ended.
Now
it looks like Henderson would rather wait for his opportunity
to fight for the UFC title as opposed to taking another fight
for the time being.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
143 Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Condit has 26 finishes.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s traditional Super Bowl
weekend card almost always manages to provide mixed martial arts
fans with a reason to ignore chores and family-related functions
for two days instead of one. Last year gave us Anderson Silva’s
front kick knockout on Vitor Belfort, as well as the opening
chapter in The Year of Jon Jones. This year promises to deliver
the goods, as well, as Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz figure to
be a tough act for the Giants and Patriots to follow.
With
Georges St. Pierre sidelined after knee surgery, an interim welterweight
champion must be crowned in his absence. So before Tom Brady
or Eli Manning gets to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday in
Indianapolis, Condit or Diaz will have his first taste of UFC
gold.
Just
do not expect either man to announce post-fight Disney World
plans in the aftermath.
Going
down from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, UFC 143
on Saturday also features a key heavyweight clash between Fabricio
Werdum and Roy Nelson, as well as the return of exciting up-and-coming
bantamweight Renan “Barao” Pegado. Here is a closer
look at the main draw, with analysis and picks.
UFC
Interim Welterweight Championship
Nick Diaz (26-7, 7-4 UFC) vs. Carlos Condit (27-5, 4-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Over the past few months, Condit has been hypothetically
matched against B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck
without ever stepping into the Octagon against any of the three.
Finally, the “Natural Born Killer” will get his moment
in the sun in the form of an interim UFC title bout against former
Strikeforce welterweight king Diaz.
It
is as attractive a fight as one could hope for, with both Condit’s
and Diaz’s intensity and aggression bound to generate fireworks
come fight night. Fight card shuffling has kept Condit out of
action since July, but his performance at UFC 132 should not
be overlooked. Faced with a physical judoka in Dong Hyun Kim,
many expected that the lanky Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
product would have to figure out a way to score points and win
the fight from his back. Instead, the New Mexican swept Kim and
got to his feet after being taken down. He then knocked out the
Korean with a spectacular flying knee. It was yet another example
of Condit’s extraordinary finishing instinct, as 26 of the
former WEC champion’s 27 career victories have come by way
of knockout, technical knockout or submission.
That
sense of urgency should serve him well against Diaz, whose volume
punching style first mesmerizes -- then breaks -- lesser opponents.
Diaz was at the height of his powers in 2011, landing nearly
11 strikes per minute, according to FightMetric.com. In his return
to the Octagon, he overwhelmed Penn by pummeling the Hawaiian
with a then-record 178 significant strikes over the course of
three rounds; his brother, Nate Diaz, has since surpassed that
mark.
The
Stockton, Calif., native has improved by leaps and bounds since
his first UFC stint, when wrestlers would plant Diaz on his back
with little fear of repercussion. Now Diaz’s jiu-jitsu game
is so advanced that most fighters would rather stand and trade
in the pocket, a decision that suits the 28-year-old just fine.
While certainly not the most technical, Diaz is nonetheless one
of the best boxers in the sport today, and his great gas tank
allows him to apply unyielding pressure as his foes begin to
wilt. Diaz is known for his great chin, and he is often willing
to absorb a shot or two for the opportunity to land multiple
combinations of his own. Diaz works the body better than anyone
in MMA, and his long frame usually allows him to throw punches
at difficult angles while avoiding significant punishment in
return.
Condit’s
versatile kickboxing game gives him the tools he needs to disrupt
Diaz. Consistent kicks to the lead leg of the former EliteXC
competitor will slow his pace and allow Condit the space he needs
to unleash a varied attack that includes high kicks, knees and
punches.
Exchanging
in the pocket will be a losing battle for Condit, who struggled
to defend himself there against the likes of Jake Ellenberger
and Martin Kampmann earlier in his career. Rather than risk death
by a thousand cuts, Condit needs to force tie-ups when Diaz presses
forward; there, he is good at landing strikes, as well as takedowns.
Condit’s ground-and-pound can be lethally effective -- witness
his late rally against Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 -- but he will
need to temper his all-offense approach if he finds himself in
guard, because Diaz will work constantly and is capable of turning
the tide at a moment’s notice.
The
Pick: Condit has a better gas tank than Penn, greater versatility
than Paul Daley and a more measured approach than Evangelista
“Cyborg” Santos. In short, he can test Diaz in ways
recent foes have not. Much of the challenge in facing Diaz is
mental, and Condit must not let the inevitable barrage put him
in an early hole. This is the type of fight where both men are
capable of attacking from any position, and both have shown remarkable
composure in fighting out of tight spots. Condit is intelligent
enough to not allow Diaz to get too comfortable, and the well-rounded
skills of the “Natural Born Killer” will allow him
to hang on for a wildly entertaining -- and sometimes harrowing
-- decision victory.
Heavyweights
Roy Nelson (16-6, 3-2 UFC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1, 2-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Werdum returns to the UFC after a three-year absence
and a couple of high-profile bouts against Alistair Overeem and
Fedor Emelianenko.
Most
recently, the Brazilian dropped a disappointing unanimous decision
to Overeem in June, when his insistence on trying to bait the
hulking Dutchman into a ground game made for less than scintillating
action. It was a testament to Werdum’s all-world jiu-jitsu
skills that Overeem was reluctant to comply, and that wariness
allowed Werdum to land a decent volume of strikes on the feet.
While Werdum seemed to do a solid job of throwing off Overeem’s
timing, he did not connect with enough power to sway the judges.
The standup of “Vai Cavalo” has improved over the years,
but it is not enough to earn win bonuses on its own.
A
slimmed-down Nelson did what he was supposed to do at UFC 137,
stopping Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic on strikes in the
third round. It was a much better performance than the one he
gave against Frank Mir five months earlier, when a bout with
walking pneumonia sapped his cardio. Like Werdum, “Big Country”
is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but that does not mean their
skills are equal. Nelson is at his best in top control, where
he can use his girth and strength to pass guard and bully opponents.
A favorite weapon of his is the mounted crucifix, which allows
him to enlist his bulge in launching an unimpeded assault on
the ground.
Werdum,
meanwhile, is capable of stringing multiple submissions together,
whether on top or on his back. Both men like to use the clinch
to set up takedowns, and whoever can get the best of these battles
will have a significant advantage. Werdum is generally craftier
in these situations and will make it difficult for Nelson to
execute his favored outside-trip-to-half-guard maneuver.
On
the feet, Nelson has a granite chin, as demonstrated by his going
the distance with Junior dos Santos at UFC 117, and can score
the occasional knockout with his overhand right. Mostly, he prefers
to fire off one-two combos at a relatively safe distance before
moving forward to force the clinch. Likewise, Werdum uses his
striking as a precursor to getting fights to the ground. After
facing Overeem, he is not likely to be scared of anything Nelson
has to offer in the standup. However, Werdum’s tendency
to drop his hands in exchanges could come back to haunt him if
“Big Country” connects on one of his haymakers.
The
Pick: Nelson is solid as a middle-of-the-road contender, but
he tends to falter against Top 10-level competition. His best
chance is to hurt the Brazilian with something big early. Nelson
tends to take a decent amount of damage standing, which will
allow Werdum to soften him up for takedowns. Werdum wins by third-round
submission.
Welterweights
Josh Koscheck (16-5, 14-5 UFC) vs. Mike Pierce (13-4, 6-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Koscheck has to be as interested as anyone in the current
landscape of the welterweight division. Two dances with Georges
St. Pierre have proven that Koscheck’s world-class wrestling
and athleticism are no match for the champ, but if St. Pierre
struggles to defend his title upon his return from injury, “Kos”
might have new life.
None
of that matters if he cannot take out Pierce, a leather-tough
grinder whose only losses have come to elite wrestlers Jon Fitch
and Johny Hendricks. Pierce, who has not been finished in 17
professional bouts, had his chances against both men. He needs
a signature win to move up the 170-pound ranks, and Koscheck
provides that opportunity.
Koscheck,
a former NCAA national champion wrestler at Edinboro University,
has a lightning-quick shot that few in the sport outside of St.
Pierre can defend. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1
alumnus also has knockout power, particularly in his right hand,
and can fall in love with his standup, as a result. Koscheck’s
overhand right can be a game changer, but he is not particularly
adept at putting together combinations or connecting with power
at close range. Pierce’s striking is somewhat similar, if
less dangerous, as he often hunts for the single power shot.
He did make diligent use of his jab and leg kicks in a split
decision win over Paul Bradley at UFC on Fox 1.
Pierce
has fairly stout takedown defense, so expect Koscheck to be content
to keep it standing, especially early. Pierce will want to close
distance and force tie-ups, where his striking is generally more
effective. When the two combatants break away from the clinch,
Pierce will try to punish Koscheck with elbows.
The
Pick: Coming off a spectacular finish of Matt Hughes at UFC 135,
Koscheck would no doubt like to overwhelm again to impress UFC
brass, but Pierce is not the type to be easily dominated. Koscheck
will win the majority of exchanges on the feet and eventually
create openings for his explosive shot as the fight advances.
Pierce hangs tough but falls via unanimous decision.
Bantamweights
Renan “Barao” Pegado (27-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Scott Jorgensen
(13-4, 2-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Every part of Pegado looks like a star in the making,
from his Nova Uniao pedigree and his 17-fight winning streak
to his flair for finishing.
“Barao”
officially announced his presence to the mixed martial arts world
at UFC 138, where he submitted Brad Pickett with a rear-naked
choke inside of a round. It was not just the swiftness with which
he pounced for the submission that was impressive, however, as
the Brazilian looked fearless in a firefight with the dangerous
Brit before connecting with a knee that set up the decisive choke.
Dominick Cruz has been doing his best to clean out the bantamweight
division, but another dominant victory for Pegado would certify
him as a viable challenger.
Jorgensen
has firsthand knowledge of the champion, having dropped a five-round
decision to Cruz at WEC 53. An All-American wrestler at Boise
State University, he should provide a good test for Pegado, who
has not faced someone who can consistently plant him on the canvas.
Pegado’s
varied striking arsenal -- he can attack with punches, kicks
and knees -- will keep Jorgensen guessing and limit the effectiveness
of his takedowns. “Young Guns” will need to make judicious
use of his quick right hand to aid him in getting the fight to
the mat. Jorgensen has good conditioning and works at a high
pace, and if he can control Pegado from the top for an extended
period of time, things will get interesting.
It
is no guarantee that Jorgensen survives on the ground, because
“Barao” has shown a wicked submission game. With that
in mind, Jorgensen must be conservative if he finds himself inside
Pegado’s guard. It is worth noting that the former WEC standout
worked timely ground-and-pound against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt Jeff Curran at UFC 137.
The
Pick: Jorgensen will put the pressure on “Barao” early,
but if he cannot get the Brazilian down, his time will be limited.
Jorgensen has demonstrated the ability to recover quickly when
hurt, but whether that is quick enough to hold off a submission
from Pegado is another story entirely. Pegado stuns Jorgensen
on the feet and then pounces to elicit a tapout in the second
round.
Middleweights
Ed Herman (19-8, 6-5 UFC) vs. Clifford Starks (8-0, 1-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Herman seems to have made a full recovery from the reconstructive
knee surgery that kept him out of action for nearly two years,
as he finished both Tim Credeur and Kyle Noke inside of a round
last year.
“The
Ultimate Fighter 2” alumnus masks his average standup with
good takedowns, submissions and a high work rate on the ground.
He will have a like-minded opponent in Starks, a former collegiate
wrestler at Arizona State University who won his UFC debut over
Dustin Jacoby on the strength of scoring a takedown in each round.
It was a fairly slow-paced fight, however, and the Arizona Combat
Sports representative will have to improve if he wants to implement
a similar game plan against Herman.
“Short
Fuse’ will look to close the distance on Starks as soon
as possible. While not especially adept at landing punches from
the outside, Herman is dangerous in the clinch, as he proved
by dropping Credeur with an uppercut in tight at “The Ultimate
Fighter 13’ Finale. Once on the canvas, Herman’s cardio
and physical strength allow him to impose his will with relentless
ground-and-pound.
Starks
showed a decent counter left hand in the third round of his match
with Jacoby, and he will need to find it again as Herman attempts
to apply pressure. Should he get Herman to the mat, awareness
when attempting to pass guard is essential; the 31-year-old Oregon
native slapped an inverted heel hook on Noke when the Aussie
attempted to move to full mount in their UFC Live 5 tussle.
The
Pick: Do not be fooled by Starks glossy record, as Herman is
easily the toughest and most experienced foe he has faced to
date. If Starks can sprawl effectively and force Herman to stay
upright, he has a chance. It is an unlikely scenario, however.
Herman captures his third straight victory via TKO in the second
or third frame.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Roger
Gracie: “I’m changing my game”
Raphael
Nogueira
“I’m
changing my game,” said Roger Gracie this Friday behind
the scenes at the 2012 European Championship, the welcoming Jiu-Jitsu
tournament going on in Lisbon, Portugal, until Sunday.
“For
my whole career as a black belt I got used to starting out slow
and calm in my matches. I never felt the need to go all out against
my opponents during the first two minutes, since a match lasts
ten. I always started out slow and brought up the rhythm progressively,
hitting max intensity towards the end. However, ever since losing
in MMA [to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by knockout at
Strikeforce in September 2011] it dawned on me; if I don’t
change my way of fighting, I’ll lose again,” said the
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-London, England transplant.
The
Gracie gave hints that he won’t be able to be an “explosive
MMA fighter” so long as he remains a, shall we say, “excessively
calm” Jiu-Jitsu competitor. The essence [Jiu-Jitsu] is what
dictates the rules for all the other facets of Roger Gracie,
even when he steps into the ring sporting gloves and trunks.
IN
THE NAME OF THE SON AND JIU-JITSU
The
Gracie gets emotional (teary eyed) as he remembers the moment
he first caught sight of his son after his fight with “King
Mo”. “I don’t want to ever feel like that again;
my son is the most important thing to me, and I want to be the
best example possible for him; so I can’t let myself go
home defeated,” said Roger.
“So
I’m focused on my MMA career now. I believe that, in the
gi, this year I’ll only compete at the Worlds. That’s
why I didn’t sign up for the European. I’d really like
to compete at a high-level championship but my priority right
now is MMA training. That was the big career lesson I learned
from losing: I have to be more determined, enter the fight at
a more intense pace. In Jiu-Jitsu, I often get taken down early
on, but I have around eight minutes to recover, which is plenty
of time. In MMA, one punch or a knee can end the fight instantly;
there’s no time to recover from a knockout.”
Through
the bustle of attending to the fans, students and friends surrounding
him, Roger took the reporter’s question pertaining to the
absolute black belt title in Lisbon: In the end, who’s going
to be the big winner of the 2012 European Championship.
“Well,
Rodolfo Vieira is the favorite, there’s no denying it. He’s
been coming up with great results. But everyone has a chance.
I got to see Lagarto training up close, for instance, and he’s
in excellent form. But if what you’re asking is that I point
out the favorite, there’s no denying it’s Rodolfo.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
FRESH
OFF KO WINS, PAT BARRY VS. LAVAR JOHNSON SET FOR UFC ON FOX 3
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
It
won't take either Pat Barry or Lavar Johnson long to get right
back in the cage after knockout wins within the last two weeks.
The
two heavyweight sluggers have agreed to face each other at the
upcoming UFC on FOX 3 event this spring, the UFC confirmed early
Tuesday morning.
Johnson
(16-5) made his UFC debut at last weekend's UFC on FOX 2, knocking
out Joey Beltran with a hail of first-round uppercuts. Meanwhile,
Barry (7-4) returned to the win column at the UFC on FX show
on Jan. 20, overcoming some early first-round troubles on the
ground to KO Christian Morecraft.
Both
fighters took nightly awards for their performances, with Johnson
winning KO of the Night for becoming the first man ever to knockout
Beltran, while Barry won a Fight of the Night award for his comeback.
Meanwhile,
the UFC also confirmed that the previously announced lightweight
bout pitting Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller during the same show would
serve as the evening's main event and be scheduled for five rounds.
It is possible that the winner will become the No. 1 contender
for the lightweight title, though the promotion did not confirm
that.
UFC
on FOX 3 will take place on May 5 at the Izod Center in East
Rutherford, New Jersey.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Diaz
vs. Miller Set as UFC on Fox 3 Main Event; Barry vs. Johnson
on Tap for Main Card
by Damon
Martin
The
UFC on Fox 3 fight card now has its main event along with a heavyweight
battle that has fireworks written all over it.
First
off, the main event is a fight that everyone already knew about
after UFC president Dana White announced it just over a week
ago.
Lightweight
contenders Jim Miller and Nate Diaz will square of in a five-round
main event on May 5 in Miller’s home state of New Jersey,
with the winner more than likely gaining a shot at the UFC lightweight
strap in 2012.
The
bout was already set for the UFC on Fox 3 card, but now it’s
officially the main event.
White
confirmed last week during the UFC on Fox 2 festivities that
the bout between Miller and Diaz would most likely be a No. 1
contender’s bout.
In
addition to Miller vs. Diaz, a heavyweight scrap has been added
to the card featuring highly popular fighter Pat Barry taking
on Strikeforce transplant and recent Knockout of the Night recipient
Lavar Johnson.
MMAWeekly.com
first learned of the possibility of the Barry vs. Johnson fight
just 24 hours removed from the latter’s fight at UFC on
Fox 2 in Chicago, and now the match-up is official.
Barry
competed just a week prior when he knocked out Christian Morecraft
at UFC on FX 1, and he’ll likely be in for another stand-up
war when he faces the heavy handed Johnson at UFC on Fox 3 in
New Jersey.
Barry
vs. Johnson will be on the main televised card for the Fox show.
The
UFC on Fox 3 card takes place at the IZOD Center in New Jersey
on Saturday, May 5, and will air live on Fox.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jiu-Jitsu
champ Demian Maia reviews main mistake at UFC on Fox
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Jiu-Jitsu
and ADCC 2007 star Demian Maia had a crack at the UFC middleweight
title back in 2010, even racked up five back-to-back submission
wins in the promotion.
Now
after his participation in the main card at UFC on Fox 2 last
Saturday, the Brazilian black belt had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com
in which he recognized where he went wrong. Coming up, Demian
Maia addresses his tactics and points out the mistakes he has
identified and the lessons he has derived since dropping a unanimous
decision to the tough young Chris Weidman, another ADCC alumnus.
OVERCONFIDENT
STANDING
“I
really put a lot of faith in my standup, since I felt quick and
heavy handed, and thought I could knock him out boxing. I based
my strategy on that confidence, which in fact wasn’t what
I had agreed to do with my trainers,” said Demian. “I
was confident and believed in it; that’s why I took that
risk. That was my belief at that time,” he admitted to reporter
Junior Samurai, while also remembering that Weidman is quite
a piece of work on the ground himself.
Fired
up to win the fight by knockout, the Jiu-Jitsu champ ended up
running out of steam and unable to rally back.
“I
was in great shape for this fight, really well prepared. Now
I don’t know if it was the adrenaline from wanting the knockout
too much; that could have sapped my energy,” Maia added.
TARGET
VICTORY, NOT JUST THE KNOCKOUT
“The
lesson I ended up learning was that all I should be thinking
about is winning. In this fight, I went in dead set on getting
the knockout and, after staggering him standing, getting him
to the ground to finish him. But I think I have to start fighting
with winning on my mind, fighting to always be in a dominant
position, and that’s not what I did. I went in there thinking
about ending the fight, and that wore me out a lot, hindered
me. I should have fought thinking about winning, no matter what.
Because I already knew he’d taken me down, so my goal should
have been to score too, to get a takedown back on him, like I
always used to do,” recalled the Fabio Gurgel black belt.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Dana
White uses 9/11 analogy for Anonymous UFC site hack, says they’ll
get “Bin Laden’d”
By Zach
Arnold
In
an explosive 13-minute interview with Mauro Ranallo and The Score,
UFC President Dana White doubled-down his attacks on the group
Anonymous. The way in which Dana calls out Anonymous is breathtaking
in its stupidity. As UFC found out last night, challenging Anonymous
is a bad, bad idea.
(It
should be noted, for the record, that the initial hackers last
weekend claimed they weren’t affiliated with Anonymous but
sympathized with them.)
The
interview starts off with a preview of Saturday’s UFC on
Fox fight card. Mauro then transitions into asking why the upcoming
Montreal event, scheduled for March, got postponed. Dana started
to get riled up here, wondering how that information was pushed
hard as a public story. After he explained why the show got postponed,
the topic moved onto the future of Strikeforce. Dana says he
has a battle plan to make Strikeforce high quality (as good as
WEC was)… if he can sit down with the powers-that-be at
Showtime and get what he wants done.
Mauro
then asked him about the UFC web site getting hacked last weekend.
For about three minutes, White goes into combat mode saying that
he’s not afraid of the Internet unlike the MMA media because
the media lives and breathes the Internet but he doesn’t.
Dana strongly claims that no customer information was put at
risk in the hacks, only that the URL got manipulated. He starts
to amp up the testosterone quotient as he gets worked up about
not ‘messing with the Government.’
Bizarrely,
Dana feels the need to say: “Has the government (FTC) ever
come out and said that we’re investigating the UFC?”
and “Have you ever seen a press release come out?”
He then concludes, “No. Exactly. You don’t mess with
the Government.”
MMA
Fighting: Dana White thinks revealing fighters’ actual salaries
would be harmful… for the fighters
He
manages to lump in the fact/fiction about an FTC investigation
with the topic of ESPN doing a story about fighter pay in the
UFC, basically discrediting everything that’s put out online
and in the media. At around the 10 minute mark, Dana starts drawing
a line in the sand (or digging his own proverbial grave, your
viewpoint may vary here).
DANA
WHITE:“My point is… you know, like I said, you don’t
mess with the Government. You start messing with the Government
and what these Internet guys done now is in a situation where,
um, you know it’s almost like New York (9/11), you know,
in New York when the Towers got hit. People didn’t run away
in fear. Did people run in fear? People mourned and then this
country got together, you know, and went out and kicked some
ass. That’s what happened. And now you guys on the Internet,
doing this goofy stuff playing your little nerd games, you’ve
pissed some people off.”
MAURO
RANALLO:“Including you.”
DANA
WHITE:“Including me, and you don’t scare me.”
MAURO
RANALLO:“What are you guys going to do about it?”
DANA
WHITE:“Sit back and see what happens over the next several
months, you know, and just like any other war, any other fight,
that’s what this is going to be, you know? But let me tell
you what — you want to get out there and they always talk
about me and bullying people or whatever, I’m not a bully,
man. If you want a fight with me, let’s fight. We’re
going to fight then!”
MAURO
RANALLO:“We’re not going to see a change? Even now
with Fox and we’ve talked about this before, too, I mean
you go on the Internet and you tell people off when they have
something bad to say for you. For Dana White, this is what we’re
always going to get. No one, Fox won’t change you, no one
will change you?”
DANA
WHITE:“No. What’s [to] change?! I mean, these guys
are hacking my web site. What do you want me to do? Go, ’stop
hacking my web site!’ No, I’m going to kick your ass.
Go ahead, you want to keep playing these games? Play ‘em.
You’re going to lose. You’re going to lose, you can’t
stop the Internet… you cowards all hide on the Internet,
you don’t scare us. We’re going to find you. Believe
me… this is bigger than me. This is bigger than me! This
is bigger than the UFC. You go out there and start acting like
a terrorist? You’re going to get Osama Bin Laden’d.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Ronaldo
‘Jacare’ Souza Meets Derek Brunson at Strikeforce:
Tate vs. Rousey
by Damon
Martin
Undefeated
prospect Derek Brunson will jump into the deep end of Strikeforce’s
middleweight division on March 3 as he faces former champion
Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
Brunson
confirmed the fight via his Twitter account on Thursday, stating
that he had just signed his bout agreement for the fight.
At
9-0, Derek Brunson is one of the brightest rising stars under
the Strikeforce banner. A former collegiate wrestler from North
Carolina, Brunson burst onto the scene in Strikeforce in mid-2011
and has gone 3-0 since that time.
Now
Brunson will try to take a big step forward in the middleweight
division, facing a former champion in Ohio.
Ronald
‘Jacare’ Souza returns to action for the first time
since losing his Strikeforce middleweight strap to Luke Rockhold
ironically enough also in Ohio last September.
The
road back to a title shot will start again in the Buckeye state
where he faces Brunson in a battle of middleweight contenders.
Strikeforce:
Tate vs. Rousey takes place on March 3 at the Nationwide Arena
in Columbus, OH.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘Minotouro’
Nogueira wants to KO Gustaffson at UFC Sweden
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Rogerio
“Minotouro” Nogueira is fighting Alexanser Gustafsson
on the first UFC show in Sweden, on April 14, and warned, on
an exclusive interview with TATAME TV, what the fans might hope
of his fight. “I train harder when I’m fighting a striker,
I can do a good fight. I was born a counter attacker and that’s
how I have greater chances to get the knockout… I’ll
go for the knockout until the end”, shoot the Brazilian,
who has knocked out names like Tito Ortiz and Luiz Cane in UFC,
commenting on adapting his lifestyle to UFC, in comparison to
the extinct Pride and his journey ‘step by step’ until
the chance at the title. Check it:
You’re
fighting in Sweden. You’ve asked for a striker and UFC gave
you one.
That’s
right. I train harder when I’m fighting a striker, I really
like training Muay Thai, Boxing. I guess I can do a good fight.
I’m a good fighter in the end of the fights, I can hold
my impulse and do better later, I was born a counter attacker
and that’s how I have greater chances to get the knockout.
Tito Ortiz came to strike against me, and I got the knockout.
Cane tried to sant-up and I got to knock him out. I can do a
good fight against striker. It’s not because I don’t
know Wrestling. Yes, I’m actually a lot better defending
the takedowns, after I left Pride I had to adjust because the
rules and the cage are different. I guess I can fight anywhere,
but I rather stand-up because fans dig the knockouts and I’m
a fighter who likes giving the KO to the fans.
You’re
coming from a great win against Tito Ortiz, a former champion.
Now you’re fighting against a growing athlete. A win can
put you on the line for the title. How are the trainings and
the expectations for the fight?
The
trainings are hard, I’m doing a background check, I’m
working on my strength, my resistance, endurance, focusing on
my conditioning now. I’m getting my body ready to train
hard and begin the sparing sessions. I’m training each modality
separately: Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Boxing, strength, cardio…
So then later I train MMA. The trainings are already tough and
we’re training hard to handle it. There’re three months
to go, but the important thing is starting to train hard two
months before the bout.
Where
do you think a victory against him leaves you at in the division?
Well,
it depends a lot of the win. A win via points makes me move one
step further, a win via knockout, two, three. It depends a lot
on how I win. I really want to get a knockout to be in a good
position. I’m a fighter who doesn’t like to get stuck
during the fight. It’s hard to see me doing that. If I take
someone down, I’ll try to use the ground and pound until
the end. If I’m standing up I’ll go for the knockout.
It’s something like that: if you knock me out, I’ll
knock you out (laughs). I’ll go for the knockout until the
end, absolutely. I’m moving forward. I’ll try to do
a good fight to be in a good spot on this ranking. I’ll
go for the knockout and I’ll stay among the top 3 of the
division.
UFC
is promoting its first event in Sweden and you’re fighting
in the main event of the evening. What do you think about that?
I
can’t complain about UFC. They’re being good for me,
I did a co-main event against Phil Davis and now against Tito
Ortiz it was supposed to be the co-main event, but then they
matched Lyoto up (with Jon Jones) and it was the third fight,
but it’s really a big fight, almost a co-main event. Now
they really know what I’m capable of and they’re really
proving that and I’ll have to prove them right. I have great
responsibility and I know my talent, I know what I can do, so
let’s bet on my experience. I’m much more experience,
I have a bigger name and I’ll bet on my name to bring this
win home.
Source:
Tatame
|
Nick
Diaz: 10 Crazy Moments
By Todd
Martin
Few
figures in MMA are as intriguing as the favorite son of Stockton,
Calif., Nick Diaz. Inside the Octagon, his fighting style is
as crowd-pleasing as they come. Armed with exceptional heart
and courage, he pushes forward and tries to finish from the moment
a fight starts until the moment it ends. It has led to some wild
and unpredictable wars.
Outside
the Octagon, Diaz has been no stranger to controversy. He has
gotten into trouble with promoters, athletic commissions and
other fighters, and the sense that he could do anything at any
time only enhances his appeal. As his longtime trainer, Cesar
Gracie, put it succinctly: “You can’t out-crazy Nick
Diaz.”
As
Diaz fights Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title
at UFC 143 this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in
Las Vegas, he finds himself on the cusp of superstardom. UFC
“Primetime” has shined a spotlight on his unique career
and personality, introducing him to a new base of fans. A fight
with Georges St. Pierre, should Diaz get past Condit, would take
him to an even higher level.
If
Diaz does become one of the UFC’s top stars, it will be
a wild ride. Like former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson,
Diaz is simultaneously uniquely suited for fame and uniquely
unsuited for dealing with the trappings of it. This is an entertaining
but dangerous combination. Already, it has produced no shortage
of wild events. These are 10 crazy moments from Diaz’s MMA
career.
Cocky
Upstart
UFC 47 “It’s On”
April 2, 2004 -- Las Vegas
When
Diaz, at the age of 20, entered the Octagon for the second time,
he was known as a jiu-jitsu specialist. His fight against Robbie
Lawler was thought to be a classic striker-versus-grappler matchup,
so it came as a shock to many when Diaz stood and traded toe-to-toe
with the slugger. The result of their battle would come as even
more of a surprise.
With
pinpoint punches, Diaz got the better of early exchanges with
Lawler. Then, he began to taunt. Lifting his hands up in the
air and daring Lawler to punch him, Diaz showed no fear and gave
no hint of backing off. It seemed like a suicidal strategy against
one of the most powerful punchers in the weight class, but when
Diaz landed a looping right hand to the jaw, Lawler collapsed
face first to the canvas, and the fight was called.
Diaz
had delivered one of the most memorable UFC performances of the
year. A “jiu-jitsu fighter” had stood, taunted and
knocked out one of the welterweight division’s most feared
strikers. Everything about the contest was startling, and Diaz
had demonstrated the approach to fighting that would eventually
make him a champion and star.
Shoe
Tossing Good Time
“The Ultimate Fighter 2” Finale
Nov. 5, 2005 -- Las Vegas
When
the UFC showcased and made into stars a number of young fighters
on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, some prominent
veterans expressed resentment at perceived preferential treatment.
Few expressed their aggravation as loudly as Diaz did in the
lead-up to his fight with Diego Sanchez. Diaz and Sanchez waged
a war of words and even exchanged adversarial emails prior to
the bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 2” Finale.
The
tumult did not end when fight night arrived. The match between
Sanchez and Diaz took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino,
a small venue in Las Vegas in which fighters wind up in close
proximity. This led to Diaz famously hurling a shoe at Sanchez
backstage as they were waiting to come out for their fight. Unfortunately
for him, the gesture would not secure Diaz the win. Diaz landed
more total strikes than Sanchez, but “The Dream” connected
with more significant strikes and received a unanimous decision
with 30-27 scores.
Hospital
Brawl
UFC 57 “Liddell vs. Couture 3”
Feb. 4, 2006 -- Las Vegas
Diaz
and Riggs battled it out.
When
Diaz fought Joe Riggs at UFC 57, it was just another competition,
and it fit a pattern of Diaz fights at the time. He outstruck
Riggs by nearly a 2-to-1 margin and was more active working for
submissions on the ground, but Riggs won the judges’ decision
on the basis of takedowns. The fight did not stand out on a night
when Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell completed their classic
trilogy.
What
happened after the fight ended was a completely different story.
Diaz and Riggs were sent to the same hospital. Big mistake. Diaz
began jawing with Riggs inside the hospital, even as Riggs was
being fed fluids through an IV in his arm.
Words
quickly escalated, and Diaz threw the first punch. A wild brawl
broke out in the hospital room, as the two adversaries had to
be separated by police officers. The fight was untelevised, but
hospital attendants and nurses got free front row seats.
Diaz
later explained why he fought with Riggs in the hospital to MMA
Weekly Radio.
“I
ain’t no bitch,” he said. “You know what I mean?
That’s why I said I’ll fight him all night. I’d
fight him right now. If he were here, I’d fight him right
now.”
Gogoplata
for Naught
Pride 33 “Second Coming”
Feb. 24, 2007 -- Las Vegas
Pride
33 was dubbed “Second Coming” for obvious reasons,
as it was the sophomore American show for Japan’s Pride
Fighting Championships promotion. However, it could just as easily
have been a description of Diaz’s performance at the event.
Diaz burst on the scene in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
with his wins over Jeremy Jackson and Lawler but went on to drop
a series of decisions. When Pride signed him to fight its lightweight
champion, Takanori Gomi, at Pride 33, Diaz was viewed as just
another opponent. He had dropped three of his past six fights
and entered the ring as a heavy betting underdog.
If
Gomi did not take Diaz seriously as an opponent, it was an enormous
mistake. The fight turned into a brawl quickly, with Diaz taunting
and throwing up his hands even more wildly than he did against
Lawler. As the two fighters traded power punches, the crowd exploded
with enthusiasm. Gomi connected with much harder blows but Diaz
answered with volume punches, and the Japanese star eventually
wilted under the pressure.
In
the second round, an exhausted Gomi finally took the fight to
the ground. Diaz immediately locked in the exotic gogoplata submission
and coaxed the tapout. It was the crowning victory of Diaz’s
career, full of drama and capped by a spectacular finish -- until
his drug test results were in. Diaz tested positive for a high
amount of marijuana, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission
later elected to switch the result of the bout to a no contest.
The decision was widely criticized, with many arguing that marijuana
simply was not a performance-enhancing drug. Still, the failed
drug test only added to the intrigue surrounding one of the most
talked about fights of 2007.
Familial
Conflict
EliteXC “Return of the King”
June 14, 2008 -- Honolulu
One
Diaz brother is difficult enough to handle. Dealing with two
is an even trickier proposition. After K.J. Noons defeated Yves
Edwards to retain his EliteXC lightweight title in his birthplace
of Hawaii, Diaz was brought into the cage as the next challenger
for Noons’ championship. Noons had with him his father,
a former professional kickboxer. Diaz had with him his younger
brother, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate
Diaz. With former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg conducting
the post-fight interview, a tag team brawl broke out: the Diaz
brother duo against the father and son Noons tandem.
Tag
teams are not particularly well suited for legitimate competition,
but it made for an entertaining spectacle in Hawaii. After Noons’
father charged the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate were escorted
from the cage. They left receiving a negative reaction from the
Hawaiian crowd. They proceeded to give the Noonses the finger
and then flashed their middle fingers at the crowd for good measure.
UFC
color commentator Mike Goldberg would not have labeled the display
classy, but it was prototypical Diaz.
Retiring
a Legend
Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz”
April 11, 2009 -- San Jose, Calif.
While
Diaz’s fight with Frank Shamrock did not bring with it the
unpredictability of many other moments in his career, it produced
an unlikely result. Diaz, who broke into Bay Area MMA as a teen-ager,
when Shamrock was the king, handed him a loss in the final fight
of his storied career.
Diaz
kicked off the hype for his fight with Shamrock by flipping off
the former Strikeforce and UFC champion. Shamrock had knocked
out Diaz’s mentor, Gracie, and it was played up as a grudge
match. However, during and after the fight, Diaz showed Shamrock
respect. Diaz’s striking was simply too much for Shamrock
to withstand, and the veteran succumbed to a second-round technical
knockout at the HP Pavilion.
After
the fight, Diaz again expressed his respect for his opponent
before Shamrock retired. It was a surprising turn from the often
disrespectful but always authentic Diaz.
Tennessee
Brawl
Strikeforce “Nashville”
April 17, 2010 -- Nashville, Tenn.
Some
eyebrows were raised when UFC President Dana White announced
Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will fight on Fox in May. It certainly
was not because Diaz-Miller made for a bad matchup. However,
the Diaz Brothers are not necessarily custom-made for network
television, and the last time they appeared on the stage was
not coincidentally also the last time CBS ever broadcast MMA.
After
Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson to retain the Strikeforce
middleweight title, he was interviewed about his win over the
two-time Olympian. Jason “Mayhem” Miller, the next
likely challenger, decided to get in the cage to say a few words
to promote a potential rematch between the two. That proved to
be a mistake. Shields was flanked by stablemates Gilbert Melendez
and the Diaz Brothers. None took too kindly to Miller interrupting
their friend’s victory parade.
Within
seconds, the melee was on. The Diaz Brothers were in the middle
of it, kicking and punching Miller repeatedly. It was not a scene
CBS wanted to see, and it never brought back Strikeforce. Not
that Nick Diaz cared much: he had sent a loud-and-clear message
to someone who had disrespected a training partner and friend.
Epic
Battle
Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley”
April 9, 2011 -- San Diego
Diaz
and Daley went to war.
The
typical game plan against Paul Daley was well-known. A particularly
dangerous striker, Daley has proven far from lethal on the ground.
Fighters who stand with Daley almost always lose; fighters who
take down Daley almost always win. However, Diaz does not always
take the easiest path, and so, in his final Strikeforce appearance,
he traded punches with Daley for five minutes in the wildest
round of the year.
When
Diaz and Daley did not touch gloves and began taunting one another
at the start of the fight, it was a harbinger of what was to
come. Daley got the best of Diaz first, flooring him and nearly
finishing it with punches on the ground.
Diaz
worked his way back up to his feet, and the pendulum swung wildly.
Diaz began peppering Daley with shots, forcing the Brit to shoot
for a desperation takedown.
Moments
later, a recuperated Daley returned to his feet and again started
to get the best of the standup exchanges. Diaz went down, and
Daley pounded him with punches and elbows. At the point Diaz
began to recover, Daley backed off. Back on his feet, the tide
again swung in Diaz’s favor. He knocked down Daley and,
this time, was finally able to finish the fight with strikes.
Only three seconds were left in the round.
Diaz-Daley
was a reminder that even Diaz’s craziest moments outside
the cage struggle to compete with the excitement he brings inside
of it.
Public
Relations Penalty
Sept. 7, 2011 -- Las Vegas
UFC
President Dana White is typically forgiving of fighter transgressions.
So when he announced on Sept. 7 that Diaz had been yanked from
a blockbuster welterweight title showdown with Georges St. Pierre
and that he might never again fight for the UFC, it spoke loudly
to how frustrated he was with the controversial California fighter.
Diaz
has never much cared for doing press, and his discomfort with
doing interviews often becomes painfully obvious. Of course,
there are a lot of fighters who dislike doing interviews but
still do them. When Diaz skipped a pair of pre-fight press conferences
to promote his fight with St. Pierre at UFC 137, a fed-up White
removed him from the main event. It was an unprecedented turn
of events in UFC history, and the fighting world was abuzz when
the decision came down.
As
it turned out, White’s leniency still came back to the fore.
Diaz returned to the show in a fight against B.J. Penn, which
wound up as the headliner when St. Pierre injured himself in
training. Now, Diaz will fighting for a UFC title again, albeit
an interim crown, and a bout with St. Pierre later in the year
could be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event in years. Fans may
volunteer to shuttle Diaz to the airport to ensure the fight
goes on.
Triumphant
Return
UFC 137 “Penn vs. Diaz”
Oct. 29, 2011 -- Las Vegas
Some
critics suggested Diaz would not fare well returning to the UFC
for the first time in five years. He had fought against subpar
opposition and would struggle when put in with the UFC’s
elite, they claimed. Those critics were quickly silenced when
Diaz gave B.J. Penn one of the worst beatings of his career over
the course of three rounds in Las Vegas. Penn fought gamely but
could not handle Diaz’s pressure attack. With that, Diaz
announced loudly his presence in the UFC welterweight division.
Diaz
followed up his “Fight of the Night” performance against
Penn with one of the most bizarre post-fight press conferences
in UFC history. A dour Diaz seemed to have little excitement
about winning a main event against a legend or being granted
a title shot in his next fight. Rather, in an almost stream-of-consciousness
series of remarks, he complained about everything from a lack
of training partners to a referee’s decision in a Shields-Jake
Ellenberger bout that had taken place six weeks earlier.
The
coup de grace was a rant about going jogging through nice areas
with fountains and picnic patios and then having to return to
his neighborhood, where people were getting robbed. Diaz sounded
vaguely like 1990s hip hop character The Madd Rapper, but he
made it clear he was not joking. It was just another night in
the career of one of the sport’s most unique figures: a
transcendent fight performance followed by a surreal post-fight
spectacle. Diaz is nothing if not entertaining.
Source
Sherdog
|
My
Network Can Beat Up All of Yours; UFC on Fox 2 Wins Key Demographics
Overall
viewership for UFC on Fox 2 compared to UFC on Fox 1 may be down,
but there were also positive indicators for the MMA juggernaut’s
sophomore effort on “Big Fox.”
The
overall average audience dipped from 5.3 million viewers for
the inaugural UFC on Fox broadcast to 4.7 million for the two-hour-and-19-minute
UFC on Fox 2.
UFC
on Fox 1 was a one-hour telecast that featured the highly anticipated
heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos
Santos. UFC on Fox 2 was slated for two hours and a tripleheader
bill on non-title bouts, Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis headlining.
The
fight between Velasquez and dos Santos piqued at 8.8 million
viewers, the highest of any single MMA fight in broadcast television
history in the United States. The Evans vs. Davis bout was the
high point of UFC on Fox 2, topping out at slightly more than
six million viewers.
Fox
officials are still touting the numbers turned in by UFC on Fox
2, especially in the key advertiser demographics.
UFC
on Fox 2 pulled in an overall national rating of 2.6 for a 5
share. In the coveted Adults 18-49 demographic, the event pulled
a 2.4 ratings, which was only a tenth below the 2.5 total off
all three of the other major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and
NBC) combined. In addition to that, Fox trumped the other networks
by dominating the Adults 18-34 demographic, pulling a 2.5 rating
compared to the other three networks combined total of 1.4.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MAN
UP AND STAND UP Tomorrow
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
DEVON MINA 80 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
NYLEN KUKAHIKO 80-90 RADRAJAH BRAZWELL
BRONSON SARDINHA 200 MARLEY
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE 185 MILLER UALESEI
SCOTT ENDO 185 DAMON TURCOIS
SPENCER QUELL 200 JONAH AFOA
LEE HARPER SHW ALBERT CAMBRA
JADA PEREIRA 112 LISA HA
JUSTIN PACARRO 60 AINSLEY
CHANCE CENO 80 KONA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
SHW BRICESON
AIONA
KAI KUNIMOTO 140 OLA
LUM
GAVIN PAGUYO 185 NAINOA LEFLER
BARNAIRE MADALORA 160 JON BURGESS
DONALD PETERS 140 TOFI MIKA
FATS VAISAU 175 LOMBARD MADALORA
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD 115 NELSON KUKAHIKO
EUGENE
ANGUAY 130
THOMAS REYES
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 135 ANTHONY REYES
NATHAN WOODE 125 KALAI
KWAN
DARRYL DANO 150 SHAWN MIYAHARA
FREDDY RAMAYLA 145 JORDAN TIMBLE
JENNA GANABAN 135 ALSHADAINE MONTIRA
LAAKEA 160 MATT FISHER
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
143 Tomorrow
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hawaii
Air Time:
Preliminaries 3:00-5:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
Event 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Dark matches
Middleweights: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Welterweights: Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Bantamweights: Bruce Leeroy vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweights: Matt Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Main card
Middleweights: Ed Herman (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Cliff Starks
(+200)
Bantamweights: Renan Barao (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Scott
Jorgensen (+200)
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (-260, 13 to 5 favorite) vs. Mike
Pierce (+200)
Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum (PICK ‘EM)
Welterweight eliminator (interim championship): Nick Diaz (-180)
vs. Carlos Condit (+150)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Pros
Pick: Diaz vs. Condit
By Mike Sloan
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual Super Bowl weekend
event has set the stage for some of the sport’s more memorable
moments.
UFC
143 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas
could do more of the same, as Nick Diaz meets Carlos Condit for
the interim welterweight championship in the five-round headliner.
The winner figures to move on to a unification bout with Georges
St. Pierre, once the reigning 170-pound king recovers from reconstructive
knee surgery.
Sherdog.com
caught up with a number of professional fighters and trainers
to gauge their opinions on the UFC 143 “Diaz vs. Condit”
main event:
Ricardo
Liborio: Diaz by decision. Amazing matchup.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz: I am so much more excited about this fight than
I was now that GSP is not included. I probably would not have
watched if GSP was fighting. I don’t like to go to bed that
early on the weekends, and he would surely put me to bed faster
than if I chugged a bottle of Nyquil. I know this fight will
be super exciting. It’s actually one of the best possible
fights I can think of as a fight fan. As for the skill sets and
strategy, I believe Diaz has the punching advantage and Condit
is better with knees and kicks. I think neither guy has great
wrestling, so that should cancel out. In the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
department, Diaz has the advantage, although Condit is surely
[at a] black belt level himself. Just like most of the Diaz fights
I have seen of late, this will come down to pace and cardio and
the relentless attack. I believe Condit is a beast and has excellent
strength and conditioning, but Diaz will wear him out and take
over as the fight progresses. I am calling Diaz by unanimous
decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Gabe
Ruediger: It’s going to be a great fight. Both guys come
in ready and just fight. I think Diaz has the hardest time with
controlling wrestlers, which Condit is not. Diaz wins by late
sub or TKO.
Keith
Berry: I really want Condit in this fight. I think the “Natural
Born Killer” will rise to the occasion and get the decision.
Bart
Palaszewski:. Personally, I’m pulling for Carlos.
Mark
Bocek: Diaz [wins], I think, but it’s a good fight, [with]
high-volume punching from Nick. But Condit beat Ellenberger ...
it’s a great fight. Whoever makes the first mistake will
lose.
Condit
is an underdog to the pros.
Jim Hettes: I gotta go with Diaz, not just because of his outstanding
combination of jiu-jitsu and boxing, but [because] being employed
by the UFC means I might actually come face-to-face with one
of these fighters. I’m willing to bet Diaz will actually
beat me up for picking against him (laughs), so let’s go
Diaz.
Shane
Roller: Close fight -- leaning towards Condit.
Travis
Wiuff: Diaz is unbeatable right now. I don’t see anyone
beating him, including GSP. Diaz wins by TKO in the third round
after the ref stops the fight.
Kyle
Kingsbury: I got Diaz winning by chanting “209” until
Condit taps.
Javier
Vazquez: These are two of my favorite fighters. I think it's
going to be a great fight [and] it’s going to be a back-and-forth
war. I think Diaz is going to set a crazy pace and try to take
Condit into deep water. I think, eventually, Diaz will be too
much for Condit and will either submit him in the fifth round
or will stop him via TKO in the fifth.
Nam
Phan: Diaz all the way.
Ben
Askren: I think Diaz will win. His standup has continued to improve,
[and] I think he will out-strike Condit. We already know Diaz
has him if it goes to the ground, so I think, barring a KO, Diaz
takes it.
Johny
Hendricks: Man, I am thinking that Carlos is going to win. He
has heavy hands and good BJJ. I know Nick is the same type of
fighter, which will [make for] a great fight to watch for the
fans. I just think Carlos is going to win.
Alan
Belcher: Diaz all the way. I roll with the 209.
Michael
Guymon: Diaz-Condit is so evenly matched in my eyes. I just see
Diaz winning this one with his constant pressure style.
John
Hackleman: I have Court McGee sitting right here next to me,
and we both kind of agree. We both think Nick-Condit is going
to be a lot like Nate [Diaz] and [Donald] Cerrone. Nick is a
lot like Nate in style, and Cerrone’s style is a lot like
Condit’s style. I think it’ll turn out the same. I
think Condit will be sharper and land early. He might even cut
Nick, heaven forbid. That’ll be a first (laughs). But I
think Nick is going to weather an early storm, throw sharper
techniques and he’s going to plow forward like he always
does. I think he’s going to stop him in the third. So, yeah,
the styles are the same, and it’s an interesting matchup
because of that.
Joe
Duarte: I got Diaz. He is as tough as they come. He probably
even mouthwashes with bleach. Condit is good, but this one is
going to come down to who is tougher. Diaz takes it.
Jeff
Hougland: I can’t wait for this fight. I am a fan of both
of these guys’ style. They are both well-rounded and don’t
just fight to win; they fight to hurt their opponents. I think
all the fans watching are in for an amazing fight. My pick is
Diaz by third- or fourth-round TKO. I grew up in the 209, so
I always root for the Diaz Brothers.
Benji
Radach: This is going to be an awesome fight, but I gotta pull
for Diaz. Both fighters are talented, but I think Diaz’s
boxing is going to deliver the victory.
Pros
Picking Diaz: 15
Pros Picking Condit: 3
No Pick: 2
Source:
Sherdog
|
MMA
Link Club: A connection between weight cutting & PED usage
By Zach
Arnold
King
Mo and his manager, Mike Kogan, did the media rounds everywhere
yesterday to basically go on the offensive in terms of public
relations. If you’re looking for a summary of what their
stance is on the failed Nevada drug test for masteron (drostanolone),
you can read an in-depth summary here.
Masteron
is known for being used to help recovery time and/or keep lean
muscle for those who do weight cutting. In other words, it’s
a ‘good’ drug for MMA fighters who are looking to use
something for performance enhancing benefits. One of the connections
that no one has made yet is the fact that in many PED cases where
guys got busted on drug tests, the drugs in question are less
about bulk and more about maintaining strength while minimizing
weight gain.
Both
steroid usage & weight cutting can damage the body’s
endocrine system. If you’re a steroid user, you use drugs,
damage your endocrine system, and end up using synthetic testosterone
to get your endocrine system back to ‘normal’ because
you damaged your body with steroids. It’s double-dipping.
With weight cutting, you damage your body and you end up using
testosterone (steroids) because your body can’t naturally
produce what is needed.
I
bring this up because I wanted to recall a recent interview that
Dr. Johnny Benjamin did with Mauro Ranallo about Anthony Johnson’s
massive weight cutting problems. I hate the concept of weight
cutting in MMA that involves dropping down more than one weight
class from your normal weight… but I suppose I’m in
the minority. The idea of guys cutting 30, 40, even 50 pounds
to make a weight limit is completely unhealthy and sickening
to think about given the damage you are doing to your body.
Dr.
Benjamin’s message about Anthony Johnson: don’t hate
the player, hate the game.
“All
the blame is getting placed on Anthony Johnson but, unfortunately,
we reward guys for being able to cut weight to fight at a weight
class that is not their own. So, everybody’s throwing Anthony
Johnson under the bus and, yes, he missed and he’s missed
it before (but) he can get rewarded for that because when he
come in for fight night 20 or 30 pounds larger than his competitor
and maybe 40 or 50 pounds greater than the limit for the weight
class, that’s really in his best interest if he wants to
proceed up the ladder in the UFC.”
Dr.
Benjamin says that it’s time for UFC to implement a regulated
weight-cutting policy for its fighters. Why the onus on UFC?
Because what UFC wants, UFC gets and they can set the tone.
“(There
are) some very serious health concerns (with weight cutting).
I mean, the one that everybody thinks about is kidney damage
or kidney failure. It happens. Everybody says, ‘oh, it’s
not that big deal.’ The hell it’s not! Go spend an
hour at a dialysis center and watch someone take every drop of
blood taken from their bodies and put through a machine and ask
them how big of a deal it is to have to do that three times a
week just to live. I mean, your kidneys are at risk. The other
thing that people don’t consider is your brain is at risk
because water makes up 97% of the CSF, the Cerebral Spinal Fluid,
that’s the fluid that is around the brain that protects
and cushion the brains from blows. So, any time you lose massive
amounts of water you shrink the amount of cushioning and protection
that there is around the brain. Now you’re going to ask
Vitor Belfort to punch you in the face, it’s a bad combination.
“People
always say, ‘hey, what’s the solution? There is no
solution, this is a time-honored tradition.’ There’s
a lot of things that we’ve done for a long time that didn’t
make sense and people always say, ‘well, these guys have
been doing it since High School, most of them are wrestlers,
they know how to do it.’ Just because you’ve done something
for a long time doesn’t make it safe. My uncle, you know,
drives with no seat belt and he’s done it forever. It doesn’t
make it safe. Rides a motorcycle with no helmet, doesn’t
make it safe just because you’ve done it forever. It makes
you particularly lucky.
“The
thing that I would say is simple — find out what the person’s
normal weight is … it’s really simple. All you do is
show up and weigh the guy when he’s not training, when he
knows he doesn’t have a fight coming up. And let’s
think how simple that’d really be — when you go to
a normal UFC fight in Las Vegas, how many other fighters who
are not on the card are there on that night? Dozen? 20 or more?
There’s a lot of fighters around. Hey, throw a scale down,
make them get on it. Three or four times a year, check the fighters,
put them on the scale, and get an average of what their walking-around
weight is. And guess what, if a guy normally walks around at
200 pounds, you say you know what? The new rule’s going
to be you can’t fight at a weight class less than 90% of
your normal weight. So, if a guy normally walks around from the
three or four times you caught them for random weigh-ins throughout
the year, if his average weight comes out to be 200 pounds you
say, you know what, 90% of 200 is 180 pounds. That means the
least you can fight at is at Middleweight. I don’t care
what you can cut your body down to, we want you fighting at a
fair weight. You’ve been given 10% that you can cut your
body weight and that’s it.
“There
were plenty of media reports that said that 7-to-10 days before
the fight, [Anthony Johnson] was walking around at 215 (pounds).
Well, wait a minute… 7 to 10 days he’s 215 but he has
to fight at 185? So, this guy’s got another 30 pounds to
lose in 10 days? That’s ridiculous. I mean, he should be
no more than 5% above that body weight the week to go out.”
As
for his thoughts on the King Mo suspension: King Mo acknowledges
taking an OTC testosterone (T) supplement. Everyone knows that
altering T levels is banned. Doesn’t really make sense.
Officially no difference where the testosterone comes from. All
sources are banned. He appears to be saying that he took an OTC
supplement T booster with a precursor in it that breaks down
to T.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
NICK
DIAZ 'SICK' OF GEORGES ST-PIERRE OVERSHADOWING CARLOS CONDIT
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
Feb
2, 2012 - One thing can be certain after Thursday afternoon's
UFC 143 press conference: Nick Diaz has a great deal of respect
for Carlos Condit. Breaking custom, he even shook Condit's hand
after the two posed for photographers at the conclusion of the
event, held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
It was a noticeable change for Diaz, who has flipped off, shoved
and otherwise attempted to menace several prospective opponents
in the days before a fight.
But
this Diaz was different: quiet, mellow and reserved. There were
no outbursts or complaints about respect. There were no scathing
criticisms of anything surrounding the sport. In fact, he saved
his only prolonged oration to defend his opponent.
Yes,
Diaz came to the side of Condit, after being asked about Georges
St-Pierre overshadowing Condit in the lead-up to UFC 143.
"Yeah,
I think it makes me sick," he said. "This is Carlos’
time to be here, and to be a part of this main event. This is
... half of the show is built up around me fighting Georges St-Pierre.
But that's not [right]. I’m fighting Carlos Condit. So,
I don't like it."
As
Diaz observed, St-Pierre has been noticeably visible during event
week, even holding court with reporters on Wednesday to offer
a status update on his injured knee. Of course, he also spoke
about the UFC 143 main event, saying that he "hopes and
prays" Diaz wins, so that he eventually gets to fight him.
Because
of that, along with the contrasting archetypes the two represent,
Condit has been something of an odd-man out, even though he has
the chance to play spoiler to the story line and capture the
interim welterweight title in the process.
Diaz
reiterated his belief that Condit is actually a more dangerous
foe than St-Pierre is, meaning that quite literally. As in, Condit
is much more likely to do physical harm in an octagon than St-Pierre
is.
"You’re
more in danger of losing a decision to Georges St-Pierre,"
he said. "I think you’re more in danger of losing your
teeth if you're fighting Condit here."
Aside
from those two telling answers, Diaz seemed a bit unengaged in
the proceedings, asking reporters to repeat questions on at least
two occasions. Contrary to his normal, digressive speaking style,
he was short and concise, rarely offering more than a one-sentence
response.
Of
course, that's not that unusual for fighters who are making their
final weight cut, but Diaz is facing a whole new level of scrutiny
as he's ascended up the welterweight rankings and become seen
as a real threat to St-Pierre.
All
of that buildup will essentially be wasted if Condit pulls the
mild upset (Diaz is about a 2-to-1 favorite). Condit has won
12 of his last 13 fights, so the suggestion that the fight is
a gimme for Diaz is a ridiculous assertion.
Condit
himself admitted that at times, it's felt that the St-Pierre
vs. Diaz fight is being planned "before this one even happens,"
but likes his chances of playing spoiler. Regardless, he suggested
that while fans may be clamoring for St-Pierre vs. Diaz, they
may be missing a gem right under their noses.
"I
expect a war," he said. "Honestly, Nick is probably
the toughest dude I've ever fought. He's well-rounded, he has
a pretty dynamic skill set. He's pretty similar to me. We both
come to fight. No matter who wins, fans are going to win because
it’s going to be a phenomenal fight."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Not
Looking Past Nelson, Werdum Eyes Overeem Rubber Match
LAS
VEGAS – It’s been more than three years since Fabricio
Werdum set foot in the Octagon. He returns Saturday night in
Sin City to face Roy Nelson at UFC 143… and it is but the
first step in what Werdum expects to be many battles under the
UFC banner.
Though
he won’t look past Nelson, Werdum surely wants a rematch
with current No. 1 heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem, whom
he has split two fights with in the past, most recently losing
to him at Strikeforce this past June.
“Yes,
I want to fight (Overeem) again,” said Werdum. “But
it’s not my next goal, now my next goal now is Roy Nelson,
that’s it.”
Roy
Nelson: If You Punch a Guy More in the Face, You Win
LAS
VEGAS – For whatever reason, Roy Nelson’s fight against
Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143 isn’t getting much attention,
whether it be a lack of interest or a lack of promotion.
Regardless,
Nelson knows how important this fight is. It’s not the fact
that he’s welcoming Werdum back to the UFC; it’s the
fact that this fight positions the winner as one of the top contenders
to the belt current held by UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos
Santos.
“It’s
definitely one of those big game changers,” said Nelson,
who believes he’s got a tough task on his hands come Saturday
night.
“He’s
definitely, the older he’s gotten, he’s gotten better,
so I’m getting the best Fabricio out there.”
But
best Werdum or not, Nelson knows that magic formula to winning,
“You punch a guy more in the face, you’re definitely
going to win.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Minotauro
says he’ll be at Abu Dhabi tryouts in Gramado, even Dilma
watching Jiu-Jitsu
Mohamad
Jehad
Besides
funding an outreach project for needy kids in Rio de Janeiro
with his own money, Jiu-Jitsu and MMA star Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira is now using his image to draw society’s attention
to young people in other places, as GRACIEMAG.com found out.
Ever
since he first started appearing in the media, the onetime interim
champion of the UFC heavyweight division has gone out of his
way to share his life experience with kids needing inspiration.
At 11 years of age, as is now common knowledge, Rodrigo suffered
a serious accident in which he was run over by a truck, and martial
arts was the path he sought to making a full recovery.
RODRIGO
MINOTAURO’S 40
At
the invitation of the Jiu-Jitsu federation of the Brazilian state
of Rio Grande do Sul, Minotauro is set to take part in a workshop
for kids during the March 3 and 4 Gramado leg of the South American
tryouts for the WPJJ. The federation will pick 40 kids from four
municipalities to participate in the tryouts, take a tour of
the city, and later meet with the superstar at a mat set up in
the city center.
The
idea arose at a meeting between the tryouts organizers and sponsors,
who brought up the need for the event to address social responsibility.
DILMA,
JIU-JITSU AND SOCIAL ADVANCES
Kevin
Krieger, president of Fundação de Assistência
Social e Cidadania (foundation for social assistance and citizenship)
of the city of Porto Alegre, implemented Projeto Arte Suave (gentle
art project) in high risk areas of the city, and now Jiu-Jitsu
has joined the fight against society’s problems in the metropolis.
Krieger commented on the idea:
“Minotauro
is undeniably a national hero. His story speaks for itself. We’ve
made some major advances and our goal is to get kids off the
street by appealing to them through Jiu-Jitsu, and he is here
to help us out in our efforst. I hope more public administrators
join us in sharing our vision for the good of the children,”
said Kevin, who has already presented some of the strides they
have made to President Dilma Roussef.
For
athletse interested in competing at the tryouts in Gramado, they
are open only to South Americans, and sign-ups can be performed
at www.abudhabiprojj.com,
The
winners earn a trip to Abu Dhabi for the main event in April.
In
the USA, the final qualifying tournament for the main event in
the Emirates will take place March 10 and 11 in San Diego, California.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Carano
Watch: “Haywire” Fizzles, Nets Only $9 Million in Opening
Weekend
You
see, Potato Nation? This is why we can’t have nice things.
Continuing the decades-old trend of movie going audiences and
critics having the exact opposite opinion of what correlates
a decent film, the Gina Carano starring, Steven Soderbergh directed
action thriller Haywire opened with a measly 9 million dollars.
This, in a weekend that saw Underworld: Rise and Fall of Vamipirous
Werewolves 3:The Awakening’s Resolution take in over 25
million and Marky Mark Action Movie #346 take in over 12 million.
Now,
it is a well known fact that most movie studios save their biggest
cinematic turds for January (this is the month that brought us
Season of the Witch, people), but this has to be a disheartening,
if not foreboding sign to Gina Carano 2.0, or whatever we refer
to her as now that she isn’t actually fighting MMA anymore.
Is it too early to write her off? Of course; that moment will
come after one of us manages to get off our lazy asses and check
out the movie. Shit, I still haven’t seen Warrior, and I
watch a disturbing amount of movies.
As
you’ve already heard, the critics thus far have praised
Haywire for its stripped down feel and intense pace, scoring
it an 82% on the Tomatometer. Audiences, on the other hand, have
unanimously trounced Haywire, giving it a D+ on Cinemascore.
These are the same audiences, mind you, that gave Transformers:
Baygasm an A.
[*Pours
first glass of scotch for the day.*]
And
could you guess which film achieved the lowest score on the Tomatometer
and the highest on CinemaScore? That’s right, Underworld
Colon Lycan Power 4. As a man with a near crippling latex fetish,
I can slightly understand this, because no one rocks the tighty
nighties better than Kate Beckinsale, but God dammit people,
seriously?
The
good news, if any, is that Haywire cost a mere 23 million dollars
to make, and will likely earn its investment back, barring a
huge second week drop ala The Devil Inside. And considering that
Warrior only opened with 5 million dollars, Haywire could be
looked at as a step in the right direction, right? I ask unto
you, Potato Nation, has anyone actually seen this thing yet?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Demian’s
strategy against Weidman was to use his BJJ, not striking
By Guilherme
Cruz
Demian Maia was not as good as expected against Chris Weidman
at UFC on FOX 2, which happened last Saturday, and ended up being
beat on a unanimous decision of the judges. The BJJ black belt
kept trading punching on the stand-up during the entire fight,
and his Boxing coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, revealed it was not
the game plan they had set for the bout.
“It wasn’t what we expected. We wanted him to use Boxing
moves to try to take him down or bring him to the guard and use
his Jiu-Jitsu. He focused a lot in Jiu-Jitsu on his trainings,
but he kept fighting on his feet”, explains Dorea.
Frustrated on the stand-up, Demian tried to take his opponent
down on the following rounds, but was not successful. “He
couldn’t find the right distance to take him down and, when
he tried, he was already tired. So it wasn’t like we were
expecting it to go”, regrets.
At the end of the bout, the announcer Bruce Buffer also announced
wrongly the scores, informed Demian had won on the judges’
score card. But not even that gave Demian hope of a possible
win, on a split decision.
“We knew he had loss because it was even on the stand-up,
but the takedowns made the difference. The guy took him down
in every round, always in the end, and he worked on that. he
used the rules in his favor”, says.
Source: Tatame
|
Why
the sports media are turning their fire on UFC
By Zach
Arnold
It
is no secret in the MMA online community that the viewpoint of
UFC towards MMA writers is extremely hostile. Hell, we have been
debating this forever and a day. Everyone already has picked
a side on this issue as to whether or not MMA writers, mostly
from web sites, should get credentialed to go to UFC events.
The attitude on behalf of Zuffa has been the following: hey,
we’re doing you a favor, shut up and play by our rules.
Rather than play the politics & optics right on this issue,
most MMA writers have demonstrated a high level of sycophantic
behavior that has only buttressed the arguments that Zuffa officials
have made in regards to why they have the media policy as currently
implemented.
It’s
not just management that is often hostile to MMA media writers,
either. There are plenty of fighters who have the attitude that
writers should be grateful that said fighters are even giving
them a limited amount of time to talk for interviews or to get
comments for various stories. Instead of demonstrating integrity
and independence, most MMA writers cower down and ‘play
the game.’ No fighter has been more shallow & demonstrative
on this front than Chael Sonnen. He attacks the media because
he knows most media members are weak & will eat a crap sandwich
if it means they get web page traffic. Chael’s bombastic
blustering towards the media would make Newt Gingrich blush.
On
Wednesday afternoon, Sonnen gave us a perfect example of this
when he went on the attack against Kenny Rice & HDNet, repeatedly
calling Rice a liar.
The
issue of UFC and its fighters beating up on the media is an old
& tired issue… which is why I found it extremely curious
that CBS Sports columnist & flame thrower Gregg Doyel decided
to bring up the issue yesterday in his column online. Doyel basically
admits that he is a UFC fanboy but that he’s all of a sudden
had a change in heart to speak truth to power in only a way he
possibly can. The timing of this attack raised my eyebrows.
Why?
Because a sports writer protesting about treatment of MMA writers
by Zuffa is as curious as ESPN going on the attack against UFC
on the issue of fighter pay. Again, just like execrable UFC/media
relations is old hat, the issue of UFC/fighter pay is an issue
that has been debated for many years online. So why are these
topics being brought up all of a sudden by the general sports
media? Doyel claims that he’s protesting the way UFC treats
MMA writers because, hey, someone has to stand up to those bullies.
ESPN said that the FTC investigation is the reason that they
started their report about how much fighters under the Zuffa
umbrella make.
To
me, the FTC investigation as the impetus for why the sports media
are speaking out against UFC makes little to no logical sense.
If I didn’t know any better, I would suspect that there’s
a sports media mailing list ala Journolist style where UFC has
suddenly become a hot talking point or easy target point to coordinate
against to generate manufactured article content. If you want
to argue ‘better letter than never,’ fine, but that’s
not the road I’m going down here in this article. Our friend
Larry Brown advises that CBS/Viacom owning Bellator should be
taken into consideration here for motive.
With
no apparent logical reason on the surface as to why UFC is getting
incoming fire from the general sports media, one has to make
an educated guess as to why these attacks are starting to appear.
The only semi-logical answer I can come up with is the following:
UFC’s
boorish PR response to ESPN’s report about UFC fighter pay
now has the general sports media, which largely has been skeptical
of the rise of MMA and has largely detested the behavior of Dana
White, smelling blood in the water. You have to admit, if you
are a UFC fan you, too, probably came away with a ‘what
is UFC hiding?’ vibe to the ham-handed PR campaign UFC launched
against Outside the Lines. The OTL story was a rather benign
story as far as having any sort of impact on UFC’s core
business model and, yet, given the way Zuffa overreacted and
gave ESPN some oxygen & free PR for it… there’s
probably reason to think that this overreaction now has sport
media types that were afraid to comment on UFC in the past a
path now to launch some attacks.
Dana
White is giving the sports media all the ammunition they could
possibly want to go after him. We all know about his infamous
Youtube video rant against Loretta Hunt. Now that topic is being
brought up by Gregg Doyel in his CBS column.
The
sport media, in general, is beginning to launch a series of attacks
on Dana White on big platforms and is ready to launch a public
case against him in similar fashion to a prosecutor laying out
a criminal case. First, bring up all the old ‘evidence’
that has been discussed on MMA web sites in the past but not
on major sports sites. Once you build up a foundation for a narrative
in this manner, then you can bring up recent examples (like Dana
White constantly attacking fans on Twitter) and start fusing
a media narrative by waiting for Dana to say some more stupid
things. Once you start building up that media narrative, it snowballs
quickly and becomes very easy to use in a broad & generalized
attack.
Dana
White is not helping his own cause. I stated last November that
his stance on backing SOPA & ProtectIP would become a demerit
used against him. Then the UFC web site got hacked and Dana’s
response to that was boorish in nature, especially given that
people have ordered PPVs through the UFC web site and have given
their personal financial information for said transactions. Dana’s
response to this situation today? He’s taunting the hackers
to go after him again and he isn’t too worried about the
feelings of those who ordered PPVs through the web site.
And,
right on cue, the hackers went after Dana White this time around.
Dana’s response to the hack attacks tonight? Get into Twitter
flame wars with the hackers, which is prompting the hackers to
claim that they will do more document dumps. Dana here is tone
deaf and clueless, which feeds right into the narrative that
ESPN & CBS is starting to cultivate against him in a negative
campaign.
I
know a thing or two about the effects of elongated negative media
campaigns against an MMA entity. (See: Shukan Gendai taking down
PRIDE.)
As
much fault as I give to Dana White & UFC in the way they
have handled these affairs, I also find great irony in Gregg
Doyel’s attack against UFC. In his zeal to speak truth to
power against Zuffa, he’s all but admitting that he loved
sucking up to Zuffa in order to get credentialed to go to shows.
His admission that only now he cares about the plight of MMA
writers basically implicates him (like many in other fields of
the sports media) as cowardly and not willing to stand up for
what’s right unless there’s a self-promotional benefit
at stake. Only now is our brave warrior interested in speaking
out about a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam in MMA circles
for years?
As
you often see with flame-throwing writers like Gregg Doyel, the
most damaging & incriminating quotes are the ones the flame-throwers
often write themselves.
To
give you a real-life, real-time contrasting example of Gregg
Doyel’s truth to power spiel versus a more genuine truth
to power response, I present to you Mike Florio and his 100%
correct defense of now-former Cleveland Browns sports writer
Tony Grossi who lost his newspaper beat position job after The
Cleveland Plain Dealer decided to give Grossi the demotion for
an ‘insulting’ tweet about Browns owner Randy Lerner.
Unlike our brave warrior Mr. Doyel, Mike Florio made an immediate
and full-throated defense of an obvious case of blowback &
intimidation. It won’t save Tony Grossi’s job, but
it was the right thing for Mike to say. He didn’t sit on
the sidelines and say nothing about the story only to speak truth
to power years later after receiving benefits for being a professional
suck-up.
A
pox on all the houses of those who are hypocritical on this matter.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Tom
DeBlass – The Way of the Samurai
by Damon
Martin
In
the world of MMA, most times the competitors that step into the
cage or ring are referred to as fighters, but for New Jersey’s
Tom DeBlass, he wants to be known as a martial artist.
DeBlass, who is a long time student of retired UFC competitor
Ricardo Almeida, learned long ago that he’s not involved
in MMA because he wants to talk the most trash or hype up a fight.
He’s there to carry on the traditions that his teacher taught
him, and his teacher before him.
He
carries a sense of respect, honor and tradition with him whenever
he steps foot in the cage. It’s something that DeBlass learned
early on from Almeida, and he’s carried it with him everyday
since.
“Ricardo’s
a gentleman rather than just a fighter. I don’t think you’d
ever hear Ricardo be disrespectful, you couldn’t hear anyone
say a bad word about him. Unfortunately, a lot of MMA guys now
have a persona almost of a WWE wrestler, ‘I’m going
to smash this guy, I’m going to beat this guy’ and
I think with Ricardo and he really lived the way of the warrior.
Almost the samurai approach,” said DeBlass when speaking
with MMAWeekly.com.
“I
know myself I’ve done the same. I’ve been with him
since I was 20 and I’m 29 now, he actually molds who you
are as a person in many ways.”
It’s
that certain code of honor that DeBlass learned from Almeida
that he uses whenever he prepares for his own fights. Currently
6-0 as a pro fighter, looking to move to 7-0 with his next fight
in Ring of Combat in February, DeBlass is carrying on a proud
tradition in the Gracie family.
From
the lessons handed down from Renzo Gracie to Ricardo Almeida,
the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor now passes those down to DeBlass.
With that knowledge, DeBlass hopes to one day pass the torch
to his students, but for now he’s carrying the family flag
himself into the cage every time he competes.
“As
a martial arts instructor, it’s what my teacher did, it’s
what my teacher’s teacher did. I never wanted to be an instructor,
I wanted to be the instructor that my students can say ‘yeah,
my instructor did that.’. I never wanted to be an instructor
that gives orders, but never does. I always want to step up to
the plate and prove who I am. Not just with winning, I’ve
been lucky in that sense, but just to prove that I am who I say
I am,” said DeBlass.
“It’s
what Ricardo did, it’s what Renzo did, it’s in the
bloodline. Even though we may not share the same blood, it’s
in the bloodline, it’s what we do, it’s what warriors
do.”
“Those
who shed blood with me will forever be my brother.”
That’s
what Almeida told DeBlass a long time ago after learning the
same from his instructor Renzo Gracie. While DeBlass isn’t
actually related to Almeida or Gracie by blood, they are family
and like all of the teammates that work under the Gracie name,
they are like brothers and sisters.
From
UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to former welterweight
champion Matt Serra, the Gracie bloodline flows through the team
and with each new branch that grows in the family tree, the tradition
carries on.
DeBlass
is proud to be the latest family member to be able to bring the
Gracie tradition to MMA through his own blood, sweat and tears.
“We
joke around, we have fun, we fool around always, but when it
comes time to train, we battle. It’s a great deal of pride
we carry into that cage,” DeBlass stated. “It’s
us in there together. I want to fight hard for my team.”
With
a perfect record thus far in MMA, DeBlass is carrying that flag
proudly and he will look to do so again in his next fight in
February. If all goes well, then it might be time for DeBlass
to make his next move, something his teacher did, and his teacher
did before him.
“As
long as I’m fighting, my goal is to be the best in the world.
Anything I do, I want to be the best in the world,” DeBlass
said.
“Right
now, the goal is to get in the UFC. I think I’m improving
at a fast rate with the help of my coaches, Mark Henry, Professor
Ricardo, and I’m a man on a mission right now.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Matches
to Make After UFC on Fox 2
Rashad
Evans wanted Jon Jones. Barring an injury, he will get him.
Evans
dispatched previously undefeated four-time NCAA All-American
wrestler Phil Davis with surprising ease in the UFC on Fox 2
main event on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, utilizing
his superior all-around skills in capturing a woefully one-sided
unanimous decision -- 50-45 from all three judges. The still-green
Davis, who figures to benefit from the experience, was never
a factor in the fight.
The
result clears the way for the long-awaited Jones-Evans grudge
match. Former training partners turned sworn enemies, the backstory
between the two has been covered ad nauseum.
A
knee injury to Evans ahead of his scheduled title fight with
then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March
opened the door for Jones, who stepped up in his stead. “Bones”
demolished Rua inside of three rounds to become the youngest
champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history and went on
to defend the crown against two former titleholders: Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 and Lyoto Machida at UFC
140. Evans left the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts camp for
the upstart Imperial Athletics dojo shortly after, and the two
men have feuded publicly ever since.
In
what amounted to a tune-up fight in hindsight, Evans bested Davis
in every facet, moving into the mounted crucifix position on
three different occasions in the five-round bout. According to
FightMetric.com figures, Evans outlanded Davis 106-61 in total
strikes, 98-22 in strikes to the head. He also was successful
on three of the four takedowns he tried, achieved side control
three times and seized Davis’ back once. All his performance
lacked was a finish.
With
that, Jones-Evans becomes a given. In wake of UFC on Fox 2, here
are five other matches we want to see made:
Anderson
Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: He did not set the world on fire against
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping,
but Sonnen’s strong third round gave rise to a unanimous
decision and set in motion the rematch with Silva, a man who
has held the middleweight crown for more than five years now.
The two met at UFC 117, where Silva, nursing a pre-fight rib
injury, landed a triangle armbar for a dramatic fifth-round submission.
Sonnen later tested positive and was suspended for suspected
use of performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps their second encounter,
ticketed for a stadium show in Brazil this summer, will settle
their score.
Phil
Davis vs. Ryan Bader: Life as an elite light heavyweight may
be in Davis’ future, but, for now, he remains a largely
unproven commodity with plenty of questions to answers. His lopsided
decision loss to Evans highlighted the holes in his game and
showed Davis was not yet ready for what the alpha males in the
division have to offer. Still, “Mr. Wonderful” does
not turn 28 until September, giving him more than enough time
to fulfill his considerable promise. Bader finds himself at a
similar stage in his career, though he bounced back from consecutive
defeats to Jones and Tito Ortiz with a 77-second knockout against
Jason Brilz at UFC 139. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
8 winner faces a former champion in Jackson at UFC 144 on Feb.
26 in Japan. Should Bader falter there, as some suspect he might,
a matchup with Davis would make perfect sense.
Weidman
is now 8-0.
Chris Weidman vs. Rousimar Palhares: Weidman effectively shed
what was left of his prospect label, as the unbeaten Serra-Longo
Fight Team representative won a unanimous decision from 2007
Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
winner Demian Maia on just 11 days’ notice. A grueling weight
cut sapped Weidman of his endurance late in the fight but made
his victory no less significant. He has put himself in position
to climb the middleweight ladder in the UFC and, perhaps by the
end of 2012, move towards title contention. In the meantime,
potential potholes abound. Palhares may be the most feared submission
fighter in the UFC, and he, too, wants a piece of the 185-pound
pie, as evidenced by his three-fight winning streak. Let the
leg lock master have a go with Weidman and let the chips fall
where they may.
Michael
Bisping vs. Demian Maia: Love him or hate him, Bisping did virtually
everything right against Sonnen, only to come up short on the
scorecards.
In
defeat, however, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner
likely quieted some of his detractors by more than holding his
own with an opponent most view as the No. 2 middleweight in the
world. Bisping fought back to his feet when taken down, delivered
the more consequential strikes and even kept Sonnen, a world-class
wrestler, pinned to the cage at various moments in their 15-minute
battle. Bisping was originally booked to face Maia before an
injury to Mark Munoz forced matchmakers to shuffle the deck.
With both world-ranked middleweight now on the rebound, a bout
between them seems even more appropriate.
Evan
Dunham vs. Edson Barboza: The buzz over Barboza’s scintillating
wheel kick knockout on Terry Etim at UFC 142 has not died down.
With that said, talk of pairing the Brazilian with someone much
higher on the food chain -- there were calls for him to tackle
Jim Miller at one point -- appears to have been premature. Having
just turned 26 and with only 10 professional MMA fights under
his belt, Barboza deserves time to cultivate and sharpen his
potent skills, especially in a division as cutthroat as the one
in which he competes. Dunham overcame a slow start to stop the
gritty Nik Lentz on a second-round technical knockout, winning
for the sixth time in eight trips inside the Octagon. He has
the experience and the skill set needed to provide Barboza with
a worthwhile test.
Source: Sherdog
|
By
the Numbers: UFC on Fox 2
The
UFC’s first Fox appearance was short-lived, as Junior dos
Santos stopped Cain Velasquez in a mere 64 seconds. UFC on Fox
2 provided viewers with considerably more fight time, as all
three main card bouts inside the United Center in Chicago went
the distance. It wasn’t all about quantity, however, as
two of those bouts revealed No. 1 contenders in the light heavyweight
and middleweight divisions.
Rashad
Evans finally has his long-awaited showdown with Jon Jones, but
he needed to put in a full night’s work to get there. The
former light heavyweight champion outclassed top prospect Phil
Davis over the course of five rounds, getting the best of the
Alliance MMA product both on the feet and on the mat.
Chael
Sonnen earned himself another crack at the middleweight strap
by taking a hard fought decision over Michael Bisping. Sonnen
struggled to keep “The Count” down in the bout’s
first two rounds, but managed to hold his own in the standup.
He was able to control Bisping with his wrestling in round three
to seal the decision. Here is a by-the-numbers look at the UFC
on Fox 2 card, with statistics provided by FightMetric.com:
55:
Minutes of total fight time broadcast during the UFC on Fox 2
main card, a total that exceeded the UFC on Fox 1 total by 53:56.
50:
Total ground strikes by which Evans outlanded Davis over five
rounds. Davis, a four-time All-American wrestler at Penn State
University, twice had to escape from the mounted crucifix position
against the former light heavyweight champion.
3:
Successful takedowns for Evans. In his previous five Octagon
appearances, Davis had never been taken down. Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira, Tim Boetsch and Brian Stann didn’t even attempt
a takedown in their encounters with “Mr. Wonderful,”
while Rodney Wallace and Alexander Gustafsson went a combined
0 for 7.
48:
Career takedowns for Evans, tying him with former Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts stablemate Clay Guida for No. 6 all time in
UFC history.
.220:
Takedown success rate for Davis, who was just 2-for-9 in his
attempts to get Evans to the mat.
31:
Total number of strikes to the body and legs by which Davis outlanded
Evans. “Suga” landed 98 strikes to the head compared
to Davis’ 22, however.
33: Total strikes by which Sonnen outlanded Bisping in their
middleweight No. 1 contender bout. The Team Quest representative
connected on more total strikes than Bisping in every round.
He also successfully landed more significant strikes than “The
Count” in rounds one (24 to 13) and three (5 to 2).
1,269:
Total strikes landed by Sonnen in his Octagon tenure. That number
is No. 9 all time in the UFC, and leaves him just five strikes
behind Sean Sherk for No. 8.
0:
Number of times that an opponent has landed more strikes than
Sonnen in his UFC and WEC career. Even in his five submission
defeats, Sonnen has outlanded opponents a combined 152 to 54.
4:
Takedowns by Sonnen, the most Bisping has allowed since Evans
took him down on six occasions at UFC 78.
1.01:
Strikes absorbed per minute in the UFC career of Sonnen, the
third lowest figure in the promotion, behind Pete Spratt (1.04)
and Davis (1.01).
58:
Significant strikes landed by Chris Weidman against Demian Maia,
three more than the Serra-Longo product landed in his first three
UFC appearances combined.
6:
Consecutive bouts involving Maia that have gone the distance.
The Brazilian’s first-round knockout loss to Nate Marquardt
at UFC 102 was the last time one of his fights didn’t go
to the judges’ scorecards.
.800:
Significant striking accuracy for Evan Dunham in the second round
of his technical knockout win over Nik Lentz. Dunham landed 29
more power strikes than his opponent over the course of their
lightweight bout.
50:
Significant strikes by which Mike Russow’s opponents have
outlanded him during his four-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC.
John Olav-Einemo outlanded the Chicagoan 31 to 21 on Saturday
night. Russow has a 17-0 edge in total takedowns over those same
four bouts.
1:
Fights decided by calf slicer in UFC history, after Charles “do
Bronx” Oliveira utilized the hold to tap Eric Wisely in
the Brazilian’s featherweight debut.
4:26:
Average fight time for Oliveira in six Octagon appearances, the
seventh fastest average time in UFC history for competitors with
a minimum of five fights.
11:
Takedowns defended by Michael Johnson in his unanimous decision
triumph over Shane Roller. Roller, an three-time All-American
wrestler from Oklahoma State University, converted his lone successful
attempt in the third frame.
6:
Difference in significant strikes landed by Johnson in the first
round (35) and the second and third frames combined (29).
17:
Difference in weight for Joey Beltran (228 pounds) in his first-round
knockout loss to Lavar Johnson on Saturday and his (245) unanimous
decision setback to Stipe Miocic at UFC 136.
19:
Professional bouts in which Beltran avoided defeat by knockout
or technical knockout before falling to Johnson in his 20th outing.
In fact, “The Mexicutioner” had only been stopped once
previously, submitting to a kimura from Tony Lopez in 2008.
Source: Sherdog |
Paulo
Thiago wants three fights in 2012
Paulo
Thiago was one of the stars at UFC Rio, but an injury forced
him to stay out of the Brazilian party. Healed, the fighter will
return to the cage on April 14, when he confronts the tough Afghan
Siyar Baharduzada, in Sweden. It’ll be the Paulo’s
first step towards his three fights in 2012.
“I
want a winning sequence this year, to do three fights in 2012,
to begin 2013 with a title in mind. I gotta win now to start
a sequence”, said the athlete, on an exclusive interview
with TATAME.
“I’ll
do my very best to do the fight of the night and get the win,
I’ll prepare myself like I’ve never done before”,
guarantees.
Paulo
knows he needs to be at his best to defeat Baharduzada, a fighter
who’s coming from a 6-win streak in events in Hollander
and Brazil, being five of them by knockout.
“Baharduzada
is debuting in the UFC, but he’s pretty tough, has heavy
hands and many belts... He’s on a great streak, but we’re
training for the win”, analyzes the Brazilian.
“He
has heavy hands and likes to stand-up. When people play his game
he does well at striking. I’ve seen him doing some positions
on the ground, working the ground and pound game and submissions,
and you can tell he can fight you anywhere. I’ll be prepared
for anything”.
Source: Tatame
|
Cordeiro
analyzes Werdum VS. Nelson
The
coach Rafael Cordeiro is confident of Fabricio Werdum’s
win over the tough Roy Nelson, on a bout scheduled for February
4. While talking to TATAME’s crew, Rafa analyzed their styles,
affirming that the Brazilian will bet on his Jiu-Jitsu skills.
“Werdum
will explore his strongest weapon, which is Jiu-Jitsu. People
will realize how badly he wants to be in the UFC”, warns
Cordeiro, who has the backup of Renato Babalu, Marcos Buchecha
and Lucas Leite at Kings MMA, gym he leads in California.
“He’s
a tough opponent, he has a whole history in there. He has fought
many tough guys… The expectations are the best possible.
Werdum is coming from tough fights, he’s used to it, so
he’s training a lot in respect to Roy… He’s ready
for a big fight”.
Cordeiro
opens partnership with Black House
Besides
training Werdum, Rafael has to worry about his students at Black
House, gym he started teaching classes in Los Angeles. “I’ve
started teaching pros three times a week. I got a good partnership
with Joinha and Ed. It’s been a great experience, I’m
sending my good vibes to the guys there”, tells.
Among
the students, the coach tells he has started working with Rafael
dos Anjos, novice of Roberto Gordo and a UFC lightweight fighter,
who’s staying in the United States for a training season.
“There’re many Americans here, besides Rafael dos Anjos…
There’s a big and good team there. The guys Ed manages are
here, and we’re here to support them”.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
on FOX 2 proves good for business
UFC’s
second show on FOX delivered in the two ways that counted the
most, but when it came to the action, it didn’t come close
to most of the company’s recent shows.
From
a business perspective, the two keys were drawing a good rating
and building the strongest matches possible for future business.
Both goals were accomplished.
Chael
Sonnen (28-11-1) beat Michael Bisping (23-4) in a unanimous decision
that could have gone either way. After two close rounds, when
Bisping did better on the stand-up, Sonnen dominated the third,
controlling almost the entire round on the ground.
Sonnen
recorded two takedowns in the first, but he didn’t keep
Bisping down for long either time. In the second round, Sonnen
recorded a takedown, kept Bisping down a little longer and did
a little more damage, but Bisping landed a lot late in the round
after getting up.
Sonnen’s
performance wouldn’t make you think that he could beat middleweight
champion Anderson Silva. But one would have said the same thing
about Sonnen’s victory over Nate Marquardt in 2010, and
in his next fight with Silva, he dominated him for four-and-a-half
rounds before being caught with a triangle in one of the most
dramatic fights in UFC history.
Rashad
Evans didn’t need luck from the judges in winning all five
rounds against Phil Davis. Evans was too quick standing, and
he even got the better of a former NCAA champion at the wrestling
game.
Evans
never landed the big shot standing on Davis. He did have Davis
in some trouble on the ground, getting a crucifix position and
throwing punches in the first and fifth rounds. But the fight
came across as lackluster.
When
it was over, UFC president Dana White set the stage for the two
highly anticipated future bouts. Silva will defend against Sonnen
in June, in Brazil, potentially at a soccer stadium in Sao Paulo.
The UFC has been negotiating for a June 16 date at Estadio do
Morumbi, which holds 67,428 fans for soccer, and could set the
company’s all-time attendance record.
It
was also announced that Jon Jones would defend his title against
Evans on April 21 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, provided neither
gets injured.
That’s
a big “if” since injuries to Evans, former champion
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jones have kept Evans from
getting a title shot since becoming the top contender 20 months
ago. Evans gave no indication of any injuries after the fight.
In having the matchup in Atlanta, Evans would return to the arena
where he first established himself as a legitimate superstar
in the sport with a devastating knockout of Chuck Liddell on
Sept. 6, 2008.
Silva
vs. Sonnen and Jones vs. Evans would likely be much bigger draws
than Silva vs. Bisping and Jones vs. Davis.
Perhaps
even more important, in the long run, is the show established
that UFC on primetime network television isn’t a novelty
act. It also proved that UFC doesn’t have to give away a
heavyweight title match – a major pay-per-view main event
– or get the ridiculous amount of promotion the first show
received to be able to draw highly-competitive ratings.
Full
ratings for the show will not be available until Monday afternoon,
but the overnight ratings showed that FOX did 4.37 million viewers
between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday.
What
that number means is very confusing, but what is for certain
is that it more than doubled anything on network television in
the key 18-49 age group on what was admittedly a weak night.
The
first rating measures the audience watching the UFC fights in
three of the four time zones and measures what aired in primetime,
from 8-10 p.m., on the West Coast. The UFC is still stronger
on the West Coast than anywhere else. In addition, because the
last two rounds of Evans vs. Davis took place after 10 p.m.,
how they did is not figured into the original rating. The last
18 minutes would, in theory, have a double-dip advantage, where
non-fight fans would have tuned in to see the local FOX news.
In
short, the final number will be significantly higher. Based on
the overnights, the audience was about four percent lower than
the first number for the initial UFC show on FOX on Nov. 12.
The final rating of that show, when the West Coast was figured
in, was 24 percent higher than the first national number. If
anything, this should be even bigger because you’re also
adding whatever growth took place in the final 18 minutes of
the show.
It’s
a win for the UFC’s business plan, which is to use FOX specials
for top contender and showcase matches. The idea is to put upcoming
stars on before the largest number of viewers, and, like Saturday,
matches that create pay-per-view main events down the line, since
the successful pay-per-view fights carry the promotion.
But
by no means was the show all roses. The Demian Maia vs. Chris
Weidman fight that started the show saw two exhausted grapplers
trying to kickbox. Weidman at least had an excuse. Being asked
to fight only 11 days before, he had to drop from 217 pounds
to weigh in at 185. That combination can leave you far from your
best. Maia, who was contacted about the fight in early December,
has less of an excuse. But neither came across like a future
star, even though Weidman, under better circumstances, does have
the skills to be one.
Sonnen
vs. Bisping matched two compelling personalities. The fight went
the distance, and the outcome was in question from start to finish.
It was not a classic fight, but it was good enough. Plus, Bisping
won a lot of respect in losing and elevated his standing.
Even
though Evans showcased a lot of ability – and made Davis
look overmatched – the fight itself wasn’t exciting,
and it went five rounds.
Still,
the audience grew consistently, at least based on the available
data that ended at 10 p.m. There were 3.68 million people based
on what could be measured watching Maia vs. Weidman and 4.91
million watching the build up and first three rounds of Evans
vs. Davis.
So,
while the show garnered a lot of criticism going in about how
people who saw it would be bored and would have turned it off
during the first fight or during the show with the lack of big
finishes, the opposite happened.
But
there are areas that need work. One of the big problems with
MMA is that it resides in a unique world. White often points
out that its audience knows triangle chokes and uma platas, but
to the world at large that is a foreign language. It’s fine
for its regular shows, but on FOX the goal is you have millions
of viewers – many watching for the first time or who rarely
watch. The entire idea of how to present the show has to be different.
There were times when everyone involved – from the fighters
to the announcers – seemed like they were talking to people
who only reside in that world. This is a unique show where the
aim needs to be different.
A
specific example is Jones vs. Evans. There is a great back story
of the former friends and training partners. Jones stepped in
for Evans when he was hurt, with his blessing, took his title
shot and won it. Since then, circumstances not only caused a
falling out between the two, but also led to Evans starting his
own training camp. UFC was smart to have Jones in the booth,
although he did appear nervous as a first-timer compared to sidekick
Randy Couture. Jones did tell the story in a manner those who
already knew understood, but to first-time viewers they likely
wouldn’t have fully gotten the gist of it.
Evans,
who is more media savvy than most UFC fighters, didn’t have
a great interview after winning, missing a huge opportunity to
gain more fans and sell his next fight.
MMA
is as unpredictable as live prime-time programming can be. At
most sporting events, you have a pretty decent gauge on how long
they will last. In this case, they went from one extreme –
a one-minute fight within a one-hour show – to three fights
that all went the distance.
Most
UFC shows are good, and of late, the percentage has been higher
than usual. However, neither FOX show came close to the usual
level. The ceiling probably rose a little here, just not as much
as it could have.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Sonnen
earns his rematch against Silva, grinds out win over Bisping
at UFC on Fox 2
Sonnen
doing damage on the groundCHICAGO -- It was a rough 15 minutes,
but Chael Sonnen did enough to get the fight he's coveted for
17 months.
The
middleweight title contender locked up a shot against the UFC's
185-pound champ Anderson Silva with a surprisingly tough win
over Michael Bisping.
In
a fight, that appeared to be a toss-up for some, Sonnen took
a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the co-main
event of the UFC on Fox 2 card at the United Center.
Sonnen's
win sets up an intriguing scenario.
UFC
president Dana White guaranteed the winner of tonight's tilt
the next shot at Silva. The champ has been sidelined since August
with shoulder and back issues and the promotion is pointing towards
a summer return. But Silva recently hinted that he may be out
beyond the summer.
Sonnen
(27-11-1, 6-4 UFC) believes Silva is ducking him and has done
everything he can to call out the champ. Tonight, he made the
wise decision of not poking Silva. Instead, he delivered a hilarious
postfight speech talking about his own greatness.
"As
I've told everyone before, when you're the best fighter in the
world, they don't call you champion, they call you Chael Sonnen,"
said Sonnen.
Sonnen
was good, not great tonight, but much of that had to do with
the opponent. Bisping (22-4, 10-0 UFC) rubs plenty of fans and
media members the wrong way and, as a result, he's a bit underrated.
The common thought was that the Brit would get eaten alive by
Sonnen's Olympic-level wrestling, but that didn't happen in the
first two rounds.
Sonnen
scored two takedowns in the first, but Bisping got to his feet
in less than 25 seconds on both occasions. He also stuffed two
more takedown attempts. In the second, Sonnen scored a takedown
with 2:58 left. Bisping was up a minute later and took minimal
damage. The Brit was effective in the striking game, landing
a few good combinations, but nothing appeared to rock the hard-charging
American. Sonnen admitted during the postfight press conference
that he was shaky on one occasion after a big shot from Bisping.
UFC
color voice Joe Rogan was convinced Bisping had won the first
two rounds. That wasn't the case on the judges' scorecard, but
two of them did have things 19-19. Sonnen did what he needed
to in the final round. He scored a big takedown and really dominated
the position for over three minutes.
Sonnen
scored that takedown just 12 seconds into the round. Bisping
defended well for the next minute but got a little impatient
as he was just about to rise to his feet. Bisping gave up his
back standing and Sonnen squashed him. Then he did a brilliant
job of getting both hooks in and rolling to dominant position
on the ground. He worked to lock on a rear-naked, but it didn't
happen. Bisping was protecting from the choke, lost his focus
and allowed Sonnen to roll the position into the mount with 2:31
left. With 1:31 left, Bisping hip escaped to full guard. Bisping
eventually got to his feet with less than 20 seconds left and
scored a takedown of his own. He even landed a few big elbows,
but it was too little, too late.
Bisping
thought he won the first, but didn't flip out.
"That
was a great fight. My hat goes off to Chael, he won the fight
tonight. But, I really felt that I did enough in rounds one and
two to secure the victory. He won the third, but I really felt
that I was up on the judges' scorecards. They saw it differently
and it is what it is," said Bisping.
Now
the question is when will the fight everyone wants - Sonnen vs.
Silva II - actually go down? Sonnen turned up the heat in recent
weeks, plainly stating that he'll never get to face Silva because
the champ won't accept the fight.
"I'm
not going to fight Anderson either way. They can say whatever
they want. Anderson is never going to do that fight," Sonnen
told "The MMA Insiders" show on Las Vegas' ESPN1100/98.9
FM. "I hope he's healthy and has a good life, but I'm not
buying into this mythical world that Anderson is going to some
day sign a contract to fight me."
Silva
beat Sonnen at UFC 117 via fifth-round submission, but that was
after getting dominated for 23 minutes. He's had to hear about
it ever since. This is a chance to shut Sonnen's mouth and likely
do it in front of a record-sized crowd in Brazil. Why would he
pass on the opportunity?
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Rolles
about fighting Sapp: ‘He’s a monster’
Ten
years after losing to Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride, Bob Sapp will
have another Brazilian in his way. Among the main events of One
FC, event that happens in Jordan on February 11, the giant of
341lbs will confront the Brazilian Rolles Gracie, who weights
“just” 242lbs.
“He’s
a monster, it’s even hard for me to find training partners
his size… The biggest guys I know are my size, so it’s
hard to find someone as big as him… I’ll train against
two guys at the same time, maybe that’s the solution (laughs)”,
jokes Rolles, on an exclusive interview with TATAME. “I’ll
prepare myself to feel a strength I’ve hardly experienced
before, but I’m confident. I believe my Jiu-Jitsu techniques
will stand out to his brute power”.
Rolles
will try his third win after leaving UFC, while the American
guy wants to scare the rough path off, since it’s been lasts
four years now (seven losses in nine MMA fights and seven consecutive
losses at Kickboxing).
“Despite
he’s not fighting guys that tough on the last years, he’s
a dangerous guy. You can kid about him”, affirmed Gracie,
seeing it for other angles. “Independently if he’s
or he’s not on his best phase (six losses on the seven last
fights), he still is an opponent that would be good to defeat.
I’m fighting in a different division from the one I’m
used to against a known guy”.
Outside
the fight, Rolles tells that his main goal is to conquest a belt
at a big event. “I’m still rising, I didn’t reach
the top. Each win, each loss, each train is part of my journey
to the top. I want the belt of a big organization, like UFC,
One FC, anyone”, warns.
Source: Tatame
|
Underappreciated
Evans earns his shot
CHICAGO
– For the last six-plus years, Rashad Evans has basically
done nothing other than win against the best fighters the UFC
has to offer.
The
next challenge, though, will be the biggest mountain to climb.
Evans
earned a shot at the light heavyweight title against his one-time
close friend, training partner and protègè, Jon
Jones, by easily dispatching of Phil Davis on Saturday in the
main event of UFC on Fox 2 at a sold-out United Center.
Evans
swept all five rounds on all three judges’ cards in a typically
brilliant performance, a five-star effort that has become so
common that he doesn’t get enough credit for what he does.
Since
losing his belt to Lyoto Machida on May 23, 2009, Evans has reeled
off four consecutive wins, beating Thiago Silva, who was 14-1
at the time, ex-champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
and Tito Ortiz and then Davis, who entered the bout 9-0. Evans
is now 17-1-1 in his pro career and 12-1-1 in the UFC. If he’s
not one of the 10 best fighters in the world, there’s probably
no point in ranking the fighters any more.
Despite
all his accomplishments, however, Evans admitted that he awakened
on Saturday with a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Yeah,
I felt the pressure and this morning, it kind of crept up on
me,” Evans said. “I woke up this morning and I was
like, ‘Man, I can’t lose this fight.’ You never
want to lose a fight, but at the same time, it played on my mind
a little more than it normally does. I really had to sit down
and have a talk with myself and get my mind wrapped around it.
“I
talked to my performance coach, Al Fuentes, and we talked about
it, talked it through, and really got my mind on the right path
again. It’s so easy to make it so much bigger than it really
is.”
It
won’t get much bigger than the next one. It pits a pair
of bitter rivals against each other with much riding on the outcome.
It
will also put friends on opposite sides. Jones still trains at
Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., where Evans first made
his name and became a star. Evans has many friends at Jackson’s,
including former UFC light heavyweight Keith Jardine, who routinely
refers to Evans as a brother. If Jardine stays at Jackson’s,
he’ll wind up helping Jones, his teammate, to prepare to
fight his best friend.
It’s
going to be awkward on all sides.
“Yeah,
it’s tough and I hate to even put those guys in that position,”
said Evans, who left Jackson’s last year after Jones replaced
him in a title fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
and won the belt. “There’s been kind of a rift. They’ve
let me know, you know what, ‘I kind of feel a little problem.
I have loyalties to you, but at the same time, I’m on the
team with Jon.’ It sucks it even has to be that way, but
the stage was set for it to happen. I feel bad for everybody
else who gets caught in the collateral damage.”
It
was Davis who was caught on Saturday and taking the damage. Evans
caught a kick in the first round and trapped Davis in a crucifix,
battering him for the final part of the opening round.
Evans’
hands were much faster and he had a more varied attack. He praised
Davis, but in truth, Evans was never really threatened.
“Normally,
my strategy is to strike first and use that to control the tempo
of the match,” Davis said. “He was able to really use
his hand speed to be more offensive than I was.”
Evans
won’t get the benefit of Jones not being offensive. He is
6-foot-4 – five inches taller than the 5-11 Evans –
and has an 84-inch reach, the largest in the UFC. He has become
a fabulous offensive fighter with a wide variety of tools. Jones
is a master wrestler and his elbows are as dangerous as any in
MMA.
But
Evans and Jones went at it many times in practice and Evans knows
his game as well as anyone. That, Evans suggested, could be an
advantage for him when they meet at UFC 145 in Atlanta on April
21.
“I
feel like I can beat Jon Jones,” Evans said. “I see
areas in his game I can capitalize on. I know it’s going
to be a good fight. We’re very familiar with each other.
Jon Jones has one thing over other opponents that he doesn’t
have over me: We’ve faced each other many times, and I’m
not too worried about the mystique of Jon Jones. I know Jon Jones
at his core. I remember Jon Jones when he was like, ‘Hey
man, what is it like when everybody takes pictures with you?’
I see Jon Jones a little bit differently than everybody else
sees Jon Jones.”
It
figures to be one of the biggest pay-per-view shows the UFC has
ever done. Jones will be a heavy favorite, and deservedly so.
He
has grown dramatically just in the 10 months since he and Evans
split. Jones is in the midst of a special run, having beaten
Ryan Bader, Rua, Jackson and Machida in a stellar 2011 and doing
so in impressive fashion.
Evans,
though, is convinced Jones hasn’t improved enough to defeat
the one man he most wants to beat.
“In
some respects, that’s true [to say Jones has improved so
much, the past doesn’t matter], but at the same time, there
are fundamental things that stay the same,” Evans said.
“There are things I feel have stayed the same about Jon.
When I get in there and I face him, I’m sure I’ll be
able to feel the familiarity and all those things that can’t
change about a person.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
On Fox 2 Results: Sonnen Edges Bisping for Shot at Anderson Silva
The
UFC’s most charismatic middleweight, Chael Sonnen, will
now get his wish to rematch Anderson Silva after edging out a
close decision victory over TUF 3 light heavyweight winner Michael
“The Count” Bisping at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago on Saturday
night.
It
wasn’t as easy as expected for Sonnen, as the first two
rounds were incredibly close. Bisping was able to scramble and
get the slight better of Sonnen standing. The few clean takedowns
Sonnen secured made it difficult to score.
In
round three, the fight clearly shifted towards Sonnen, as the
Team Quest standout was able to successfully take Bisping down
and control him on the ground. Sonnen would eventually take the
back of Bisping and transition into full mount. Bisping was not
deterred despite the heavy grappling onslaught of the former
Olympic alternate in wrestling and even took him down late in
the round.
After
the bout all three judges awarded the contest to the No. 1 contender
Sonnen (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a close affair. In the post-fight
interview with Joe Rogan, Sonnen left the Chicago fans in style
and told them how he’s the greatest fighter in the world
today.
“When
you’re the greatest fighter in the world today, they’ve
got a name for you,” Sonnen said post-fight. “They
don’t call you a great fighter, they call you Chael Sonnen.”
Now
with the close decision victory over Bisping, Sonnen moves his
record to 27-11-1. Sonnen’s win over the TUF 3 winner, has
secured him the all-important rematch against the pound-for-pound
king Anderson Silva in Silva’s backyard of Brazil.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on FOX 2 Results: Rashad Evans Decisions Phil Davis in Chicago
Rashad
Evans is on his way to fighting for the light heavyweight title.
At
UFC on FOX 2, Evans shutout Phil Davis with a unanimous decision
win in the evening’s main event at Chicago’s United
Center.
Davis
displayed some improved striking, throwing combinations not seen
in previous fights of his. He established a standing offense
and traded strikes with Evans. The first round’s momentum
changed when Evans caught a Davis kick then tripped him down
to the ground. Evans put him in a crucifix and worked in some
punches before the end of the round.
Davis
slowed down in the second round, while at the same time, Evans
began to land punches with more accuracy. Evans caught another
Davis kick and followed through with a takedown to finish out
the second round on the ground.
Davis
had his opponent down early in the third round, but Evans was
able to reverse and gain top position. On the feet, Evans did
well to score points from the clinch with uppercuts and short
punches. Davis scored a takedown, but Evans was able to work
his way back to the feet where they would close out the round
in a clinch.
Evans’
speed advantage over Davis became more evident in the fourth
round. He was able to land strikes a lot quicker and more accurately,
while Davis’ punches came slow and with little power. The
same theme carried into the final round.
The
fifth frame had Evans getting a hold of Davis’ leg and throwing
strikes, rocking him as he fell to his back. Overwhelming Davis,
Evans controlled the fight to the very end. Just before the final
horn, Evans pushed forward and capped the fight off with punches
in bunches.
Judges
saw Evans winning the fight with scores of 50-45 across the board.
The
win wasn’t the kind Evans was looking for. In his post-fight
interview with Joe Rogan, the victor admitted he wanted to finish
Davis, but didn’t find the opening he was seeking.
“I
felt like I wanted to put him away and I just didn’t get
a chance to land those big punches,” Evans said. “I’m
kind of disappointed about it, but when you fight a guy as tough
as Phil Davis sometimes things like that happen.”
The
win puts Evans in line for a shot at regaining the light heavyweight
title held by his former teammate, Jon Jones. When asked about
it, Evans said, “this is the monkey on my back that I had
to get over. It was hard to really focus on this fight because
everyone kept talking about that fight.
“Now
that I won, I get an opportunity to fight Jon and I’m very
excited about it.”
With
the win, Evans improves his record to 22-1-1, but it is unknown
if injuries sustained on Saturday night will allow him to fight
Jones at UFC 145 in Atlanta. In defeat, Davis drops to 9-1.
Source: MMA Weekly |
What’s
different about how Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares handles
feet in Jiu-Jitsu?
The
only thing harder to do than figure out what’s going on
in Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares Rousimar Palhares,
o Toquinho’s head is escaping one of his submission holds.
What’s
so special about the way the BTT star does leglocks? Why is he
so devastating in the UFC middleweight division?
The
theories answering that are far-reaching and varied, and they’re
pretty much all valid.
1.
REPETITIONS
Ever
since he first started training Jiu-Jitsu in Minas Gerais, under
Iran Brasileiro, the rookie Toquinho had faith in the position
, and he does repetitions of them to exhaustion to this day,
now in the UFC. The fact that heelhooks are very conducive to
injury means most folks forgo using them too often in training.
Toquinho didn’t want to hear it, though, and he set about
polishing up the technique, even if his matmates had to suffer
some as a result…
2.
MORE THAN MERELY THE RIGHT SQUEEZE, ROUSIMAR’S GOT POWER
Even
in training, the desire and pressure with which Toquinho applies
holds rarely allow his prey to escape. They either tap or lose
a limb. “Even when he does it real slow, during training,
it comes on really strong. If just because of his natural explosiveness,”
remarks Miltinho Vieira, a training partner of Toquinho’s
who recently got the call-up for the UFC featherweight division,
now dominated by José Aldo. “The one who polished
up Toquinho’s footlocks with him was the late Eraldo Paes,
who was a specialist on the holds; he came from a luta livre
background and was always using foot attacks,” Vieira adds.
The man who beat Palhares in the final at ADCC 2011, in Nottingham,
England, André Galvão concurs: “That creature
is real strong; that’s the thing that sets him apart the
most, as I see it.”
3.
ANATOMICALLY PERFECT JIU-JITSU MACHINE
At
ADCC 2011 everyone was noticing: “Look at Toquinho’s
torso; it’s shaped like a T! How would anyone be able to
get their foot out once he fits it under his arm?” Indeed,
the former cowboy’s powerful arms and even more powerful
legs are a major boon in trapping an enemy leg. Fit in just right,
his skill with the torque technique does the rest.
4.
TRAP THE LEG, NOT THE FOOT!
As
we mentioned above, most fighters are overly concerned about
their foot being caught and don’t pay enough heed to the
hold on their leg. “In MMA, as you get all sweaty, the hold
ends up getting loose. Toquinho does a good job of adjusting
the leg positions, and he sinks it in such a way that keeps the
guy from spinning away,” says observant black belt Francisco
“Sá”, a frontrunner in the Jiu-Jitsu scene in
the Brazilian state of Ceará, in a conversation with our
Junior Samurai.
5.
DESPERATE OPPONENTS
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Viewpoint:
Setting the Stage
Actually
Chael, we were not all that mesmerized.
No
amount of pre-packaged professional wrestling microphone work
can change the fact that the UFC on Fox 2 main card on Saturday
did not provide the type of transcendent moments likely to convert
a skeptical observer into a lifelong fan. A quick perusal of
the Internet on Sunday morning revealed as much, with critiques
targeting everything from the broadcast team to the action in
the cage.
That
said, do not blame Chael Sonnen. The 34-year-old Oregonian did
what he usually does in taking a unanimous decision against Michael
Bisping. He found a way to win. Anyone who has been following
the sport for any period of time knows that the majority of Sonnen’s
recent wins -- Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, Dan Miller and Paulo
Filho, for example -- are decided by the cageside judges.
Unfortunately,
many of the viewers who tune in to a national television broadcast
do not consider this type of information to be common knowledge.
Of course, these are probably the same people who cried foul
when Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds
in November. The UFC’s debut on Fox demonstrated that, given
the unpredictable nature of mixed martial arts, even a great
champion can get caught with a punch. The UFC on Fox 2 displayed
a different side of the sport: that many of the athletes who
step into the Octagon are quite difficult to finish.
Still,
it is safe to say more than a few of the fighters felt like Rashad
Evans, who outclassed Phil Davis over the course of five lopsided
rounds in the main event.
“I’m
happy I got the win, but I wanted to do better. I wanted to put
on a more spectacular win for the Chicago fans and the Fox fans,”
he said during the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t
do it like I wanted or I envisioned myself doing it, but, at
the same time, I got the job done. I can’t be too overly
critical because, [with] nights like this, winning on this stage
in the UFC, wins are hard to come by, so I should really just
be thankful.”
Whether
it is 64 seconds or 55 minutes, some people are bound to be unhappy.
Evans is right about being thankful, however, because while the
fights themselves might not have been all that enthralling, the
end result should make for a pleasing year for both the UFC and
fight fans alike.
Evans’ win sets up the long-awaited grudge match with light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The former training partners
waged a bitter verbal war last year that figures to heat up again
as their proposed bout on April 21 draws near. On Saturday, Evans
sounded subdued at the prospect of settling the score with the
man he once referred to as “Judas.”
“I
definitely want to put the rivalry to bed and, more importantly,
get a chance to get my belt back,” he said, before later
adding “I’ll get my mouth going probably a little later
on.”
Theirs
is the type of blockbuster bout that -- with the proper promotional
push -- can crack the UFC’s all-time Top 10 in terms of
pay-per-view buys.
Sonnen
predictably had his mouth already going on Saturday, standing
by his conspiracy theory that middleweight champion Anderson
Silva would rather hide in Brazil than face him.
“I
know I’ll do my part in that. Do I think he’ll sign
the fight? No, I don’t. We’ll see. I’ve been wrong
before. The one thing [the UFC] hasn’t revealed is they’ve
offered him the fight four times, and he’s said no four
times,” Sonnen said. “Mysteriously, he’s supposed
to accept on the fifth.”
It
is laughable to think that Silva -- who submitted Sonnen while
battling a rib injury at UFC 117 -- is ducking the Team Quest
product, but that does not matter. Sonnen lives to antagonize
“The Spider,” and their rematch is another budding
pay-per-view bonanza.
The
point: the UFC got what it really needed on Saturday in Chicago.
The format of the Fox broadcast and the matchmaking can be improved
over time. The pairing of Jim Miller and Nate Diaz for UFC on
Fox 3 suggests the latter is already being addressed. Is there
any argument that UFC on Fox 1 could have benefitted from televising
Clay Guida-Ben Henderson or that Frankie Edgar-Henderson would
have been a perfect fight for the United Center?
Those
well-versed in MMA already had an idea that the UFC on Fox 2
main-card matchups all stood a reasonable chance of going the
distance. None of the fighters -- Evans, Davis, Sonnen, Bisping,
Demian Maia or Chris Weidman -- have forged reputations as go-for-broke
finishers. The real intrigue was in the future title implications.
Two No. 1 contender’s fights for free ain’t all that
bad.
So,
no, nobody from the Fox broadcast captured a post-fight bonus.
None of the six fighters produced a where-were-you-when it-happened
moment. Still, it has to be regarded as a successful and productive
night. Evans and Sonnen, two of the most polarizing figures in
the sport today, earned significant fights in the months to come.
Fans have something to look forward to, and it all happened without
the benefit of a sports entertainment script.
Source: Sherdog
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