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January
2011 News Part 1
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Cris
Cyborg Says Test Failure Due to Supplement
Cris "Cyborg" SantosThe California State Athletic Commission
on Friday announced that Strikeforce women’s featherweight
champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos failed her required drug
test for Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal.
Santos
tested positive for stanozolol metabolites, an anabolic steroid.
She was fined $2,500 and suspended for one year.
“I
would like to sincerely apologize to Strikeforce, the Zuffa organization,
Hiroko Yamanaka, and my fans for my failed drug test,” Santos
said on Saturday in a statement on her personal website.
“I
am ultimately responsible for everything I put in my body, and
at the end of the day, there is no excuse for having a prohibited
substance in my system. I do not condone the use of any performance
enhancing drugs by myself or any other professional athlete,
and willingly accept the penalties and fines that have been handed
down to me by the California State Athletic Commission and those
of the Strikeforce/Zuffa organization.”
She
did not, however, admit to knowingly taken a steroid. Santos
said that she believes the positive test result was due to a
dietary substance she took to cut weight for her fight with Yamanaka.
“While
I was preparing myself for my last fight I was having a difficult
time cutting weight and used a dietary supplement that I was
assured was safe and not prohibited from use in sports competition.
It was never my intention to obtain an unfair advantage over
Hiroko, mislead Strikeforce, the Commission or my fans. I train
harder than any fighter in MMA and do not need drugs to win in
the cage, and I have proven this time and time again!
“My
only mistake is not verifying the diet aid with my doctor beforehand,
and understanding that it was not approved for use in the ring.
Unfortunately in the end I suffer the consequences and must accept
the responsibility for my actions.”
UFC
president Dana White has stated that Santos would be stripped
of her title, and that the entire 145-pound Strikeforce women’s
division is in jeopardy.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Strikeforce
Results: Saffiedine Edges Stinson
Tarec
Saffiedine had to go to plan B to get the job done, but his mission
was accomplished as he defeated Tyler Stinson to kick off Strikeforce
on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
An
accomplished striker, Saffiedine has gone toe-to-toe with most
past opponents and in the opening moments of his fight with Stinson
it looked like much of the same strategy.
Saffiedine
fired off good inside leg kicks and put together solid combinations
to keep Stinson playing defense in the early going. That changed
however when the fighters separated from the clinch against the
cage as Stinson cracked Saffiedine with a huge elbow that rattled
the fighter from Belgium.
It
was all about survival for Saffiedine at that point, who did
manage a takedown, but almost got caught in an armbar for his
trouble. He was able to stand back up and avoid damage until
the round ended.
In
between rounds, Saffiedine’s coaches decided to switch up
his attack and he opted for the takedown route instead. Once
he put Stinson on his back, Saffiedine was all about control
and landing elbows.
“Tyler
is a really tough opponent, he cut me the first round so I thought
I’m going to take him down the second and third rounds,”
Saffiedine said after the fight.
Stinson
was unable to get back up from the bottom, and he was the recipient
of a nasty barrage of elbows that opened up some cuts on his
head.
The
fighters were stood up late in the fight and Stinson came out
firing looking for the strike to put Saffiedine away. Try as
he did, Stinson just couldn’t land the right punch or kick
as Saffiedine stayed elusive until the final horn sounded.
The
judges ended up with a split decision, but two gave the fight
and the win to Tarec Saffiedine, who now hopes to earn a shot
at the Strikeforce welterweight title.
“It
wasn’t the best performance tonight, but I got the job done.
I’m pretty happy,” Saffiedine stated.
With
the win, Saffiedine headed to the back to watch the next fight
between Tyron Woodley and Jordan Mein with hopes that if Woodley
is successful he could possibly face him later this year with
the Strikeforce welterweight belt on the line.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Strikeforce
Results: Tyron Woodley Tops Jordan Mein
Tyrone Woodley defeated Jordan Mein in their main card fight
at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine.
Woodley
didn’t do much for fan enjoyment, however, as the crowd
booed him for not providing much offense while in Mein’s
guard.
Woodley
gave up an obvious size advantage in this fight and did well
to avoid the longer fighter’s strikes. Woodley stayed on
Mein and looked to clinch, getting the fight to the ground in
the first round. From there, “T-Wood” worked the ground-and-pound.
The fight went back to the feet for a majority of the final minute,
but neither fighter landed anything effective.
Woodley
landed a clean right hand early in the second round and used
that to lead into a clinch against the cage and get the fight
to the ground. Woodley stayed active for a short period, but
didn’t do much for offense thereafter. The round ended to
jeers from the crowd for the lack of action on the ground.
Round
three started with Woodley shooting for a takedown and almost
eating a Mein knee. The fight went to the ground and Woodley,
once again, did little to improve position or provide offense.
Mein tried to do a kimura, but the referee stood them up at that
point. Woodley shot in and kept a bodylock for the remainder
of the round to the dislike of the crowd.
Woodley
won by split decision with scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 30-27.
“I
wish I would have been a little more offensive with my strikes,”
he said following the win.
With
the win, Woodley puts himself in place to fight for the vacant
Strikeforce welterweight title.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Rio: Terry Etim ready to grapple or stand against Edson Barboza
Terry
Etim is an expert when fighting on the ground, and he trusts
his talent to overcome Edson Barboza Junior at UFC Rio, next
Saturday (14th). Before the bout, the English talked exclusively
with TATAME and analyzed the duel, guaranteeing he will be ready
for anything – even striking.
“I
am sure that if the fight goes to the ground I can submit him…
I think it is one of the ways. Although he is a good striker
I feel confident to strike with him too”, warns Terry, who’s
coming from a great win at UFC 138, which happens in England,
when he submitted in 17 seconds. “(He is) a very talented
and well rounded fighter. I respect Barboza a lot and I am aware
of his skills. That’s why I have trained so much for this
fight”.
How
was the preparation for this fight?
The
preparation was really good. It’s been great to get prepared
under the eyes of my coaches Marcelo Brigadeiro and Colin Heron,
it gave me even more confidence.
Why
you decided to come earlier to Brazil and train here?
Because
my coach Brigadeiro is here and I wanted to be at my best to
this fight, so I came with my coach Colin and my team mate Uche
Ihiekwe. It was also good to acclimatize.
Did
you learn any trick that you might use in the fight?
Yes,
we have been working a lot in new tricks that I intend to use
on my fight.
What
are your thoughts on Edson Barboza?
A
very talented and well rounded fighter. I respect Barboza a lot
and I am aware of his skills. That’s why I have trained
so much for this fight.
Do
you think the ground is the best way to defeat him?
I
think it is one of the ways. Although he is a good striker I
feel confident to strike with him too.
He
trains with guys like Pablo Popovitch and Vagner Rocha. Do you
believe you have what it takes to submit him?
Definitely.
I have trained all over the world and I know that Brigadeiro
is one of the top ground coaches in the world. I also have been
training with great grapplers as Franklin Jensen, Juliano Ninja,
Rafael Morcego and others. I am sure that if the fight goes to
the ground I can submit him.
You’re
coming of a huge win in your home country. How did you feel about
that?
I
feel great. Winning a fight on the UFC is amazing and doing it
in your home country is even better.
You
had the support of the fans in that fight. Did that help you
at all?
Yes,
it helps you to get pumped for the fight.
Now
it’s a different situation in Rio. Do you feel under pressure?
Not
really. I am very focused on this fight and nothing will make
me lose my focus.
Edson
is considered by many as Brazil’s best lightweight in UFC.
Do you think a win over him puts you closer to the title?
I
think it will put me closer to the top guys but I am not in a
rush for a title shot. I am improving everyday and when the time
comes I will be ready.
Feel
free to send a message to the Brazilian fans, who’ll probably
boo you at the arena.
I
want to say that I love Brazil a lot. My coach is Brazilian and
I have many friends here. Unfortunately, I will have to face
a Brazilian but I hope that once the fight is over I can have
the support from the Brazilian fans in my next fights.
Source: Tatame
|
Post-surgery,
Lyoto challenges Sonnen “with just one arm”
A
UFC star with a caustic tongue, Chael Sonnen rankled away on
American TV at year end, and one of his targets was Lyoto Machida.
Chael says the karate stylist deserved a bottle of mouth wash
for Christmas due to his habit of drinking his own urine first
thing in the morning, being the urinetherapy practitioner he
is.
Having
undergone surgery on his left elbow this Monday, the Brazilian
made a point of getting on Twitter to let his fans know that
all went well and he’s all set to begin physiotherapy. As
he tweeted, though, he couldn’t fight back the urge to send
a message out to Sonnen.
“Chael
Sonnen, I just had surgery but I can still give you your present
in the octagon with just one arm. All you have to do is accept,”
posted the onetime light heavyweight champion.
The
fight would be a gift for the public. Chael Sonnen has a middleweight
match-up scheduled against Mark Muñoz on the coming 28th
of January at UFC on Fox 2. If he beats the Filipino-American,
he’ll get his coveted rematch with Anderson Silva in June
at São Paulo’s Morumbi stadium. Sonnen has fought
at light heavyweight on a number of occasions, though, which
would make a showdown with Lyoto possible sometime later in 2012.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ultimate
Fighter Brazil Expected to Air on Fuel TV
The first international season of The Ultimate Fighter will be
available on American television.
UFC
President Dana White said on ESPN 1100 in Las Vegas that although
the UFC isn't ready to make an official announcement yet, the
upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil is slated to air
on Fuel TV, which White hailed as one example of why the UFC's
new television deal with fights on Fox, FX and Fuel is a major
plus for UFC fans.
"The
UFC has so much content that even Spike, if you look at what
a huge percentage of their content we used to be, we still needed
more," White said. "The Ultimate Fighter Brazil will
air on Fuel TV. All this unique content that we're doing in other
parts of the world, Fuel TV is going to take. I've been saying
for the last six months, if you're a UFC fan and you really love
the UFC, it's impossible not to have Fuel."
It's
not yet known whether the Brazilian season of the UFC's reality
show will be taped in advance, as past seasons have been, or
whether fights will be shown live, as the upcoming season of
The Ultimate Fighter on FX will be.
The
UFC has announced that Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort will
coach against each other on the Brazilian reality show and then
fight against each other at the end of the season, and the Brazilian
season will conclude with a live Ultimate Fighter Finale, just
as the American show always has. And American fans will be able
to watch it all, if they're in the minority of households that
have Fuel TV.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Rockhold
demeans win, Strikeforce with UFC talk
LAS
VEGAS – In the last three months, a trio of Strikeforce
champions have left the promotion, joined the UFC and scored
exceptionally impressive victories.
And
yet, when a Strikeforce fighter wins or successfully defends
a title, almost as if on cue, they call out their brethren in
the UFC. In December, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez did
it after taking apart Jorge Masvidal. And on Saturday at the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Luke Rockhold did it again after
stopping Keith Jardine at 4:26 of the first round to make the
first defense of his Strikeforce middleweight title.
It’s
almost as if the Strikeforce fighters, despite the wins in the
UFC by guys like Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem,
have an inferiority complex.
Rockhold
had few problems with Jardine, a six-year UFC veteran who had
victories over ex-champions Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
Rockhold landed 37 of 50 strikes, finishing Jardine on the ground
after knocking him down.
His
next challenge is likely going to be Tim Kennedy, but Rockhold’s
first comments in the ring were about taking on UFC fighters.
A
half hour later at the post-fight news conference, he didn’t
seem particularly enthralled by the prospect of a bout with Kennedy.
And Rockhold never mentioned the possibility of a fight with
Robbie Lawler, a winner earlier on Saturday’s card who was
seated only a few feet away from him.
“If
that’s the plan, then that’s the plan and I’ll
make the most of what we’ve got here,” Rockhold said.
“Me and Tim Kennedy, the fight was supposed to happen quite
a few times, but the fight just hasn’t seemed to come [together].
I always look to bigger and better things, and so if the UFC
wants to bring in some top contenders, I’m more than happy
to welcome them to our hexagon, like Gilbert [Melendez] would
say.”
When
the plan was finalized last month for Strikeforce to return in
2012, the idea was to run it as a separate and distinct league.
That, though, hasn’t stopped its biggest stars from eyeing
bouts against those signed to UFC contracts.
On
the one hand, it’s understandable, because the UFC is the
best-promoted MMA company in the world and its fighters are far
better known as a result than a comparable fighter elsewhere.
That results in more money, in terms of purses and sponsorships,
along with the recognition that goes along with being associated
with those three letters.
Unfortunately,
it’s not good for the Strikeforce brand. If it’s going
to be viable long-term, the Strikeforce fighters are going to
have to want to go up against the best in their league. Otherwise,
they make it look like nothing more than a developmental league
with the UFC as the Promised Land.
“They’d
just like to be in a position where they can fight anybody in
any other league,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said following
the news conference. “But you know, it’s already been
decided that these are going to be separate leagues. We’re
going to provide them great fights and we’ll still have
some great fights ahead of them. But these guys have a lot to
prove.”
Rockhold’s
close buddy and training partner, Muhammed Lawal, seems to get
it. He’s gotten into a Twitter-inspired feud with former
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
and has begun to take heat from fans for not making an effort
to fight Jackson.
Lawal,
though, recently signed a contract extension with Strikeforce
and isn’t going to be available for that fight. And so he
did the right thing on Saturday by trying to quash talk of it
for fear it would diminish his upcoming Strikeforce bouts.
“Why’d
you bring up that bum’s name?” Lawal said when asked
about Jackson. “It’s like this: If he wants to come
to Strikeforce and get beat, he can. To me, he should stick to
acting and doing movies. To me, in my mind, in my eyes, he ain’t
got it no more. He can hit me up on Twitter and talk trash and
try to get me off my game, but we all know the truth. He’s
an actor; a sub-par actor. He should be on ‘The B-Team,’
not ‘The A-Team’.”
Pressed
more on it, Lawal didn’t bite.
“I’m
in Strikeforce,” Lawal said. “The fans who are asking
me about the UFC, they’re stupid, man. I’m in Strikeforce.
What can I say about the UFC? I’m in Strikeforce. The UFC
has their own thing and Strikeforce has their own thing. I can’t
be concerned with what they’re saying.”
As
long as Lawal’s peers keep bringing up fights against UFC
opponents as a means of validating themselves, though, the Strikeforce
fighters are never going to get the respect they crave, or deserve,
for what they’ve done.
Strikeforce
is putting on major league-caliber fights and Showtime puts on
first-rate broadcasts, but until the fighters accept that Strikeforce
is a destination and not a steppingstone, they’ll never
fully earn the respect of the public.
Coker
insists it doesn’t bother him – “I want guys who
want to be the best and who want to fight the best guys in the
world,” he said – but it’s making his job that
much easier.
As
Diaz, Henderson and Overeem have shown in the last three months,
being a Strikeforce champion is a pretty significant achievement
in and of itself.
It’s
about time guys like Rockhold and Melendez learn to appreciate
that.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Strikeforce
Results: Rockhold Blasts Through Jardine, Calls Out UFC Middleweights
Luke
Rockhold vs Keith Jardine at StrikeforceJust after winning the
Strikeforce middleweight title in September, Luke Rockhold wasn’t
even sure he’d get a chance to defend the belt with the
promotion’s future in question for almost the rest of 2011.
Zuffa
and Showtime breathed new life into Strikeforce for 2012 and
beyond and so Rockhold got the chance to put the title back around
his waist and climb into the cage to prove his championship mettle.
Facing
Rockhold was former UFC light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine,
who got the opportunity to fight for the belt in his first fight
at 185 pounds.
Prior
to the fight, Rockhold expressed his desire to face a more worthy
and established fighter at 185lbs, so to back up his words he
executed a picture perfect performance on Saturday night.
Extremely
confident, Rockhold threw a variety of strikes at Jardine, almost
as if he didn’t fear any reprieve from the veteran fighter.
Rockhold
caught Jardine with a quick and powerful spinning back kick to
the midsection, and his aggressiveness only grew from there.
The
champion never slowed down and after pushing forward with his
left hand, Rockhold blasted Jardine with a huge right that floored
the New Mexico based fighter.
Rockhold
knew the fight was his and just unloaded with an onslaught of
monstrous punches, and with each landed Jardine faded more and
more. Finally, referee Herb Dean saw enough and came in to stop
the fight.
The
win is very special for Rockhold because it was his first title
defense, and it came over a very tough and veteran fighter like
Keith Jardine.
“It
means a lot. Fighting a guy like Keith Jardine, he’s a proven
opponent, he’s tough and he came to fight. Too bad for him
I love fighting and when the cage door shuts I feel like it’s
my world,” said Rockhold.
Prior
to this fight coming together, Strikeforce was working on a fight
between Rockhold and Army Ranger and middleweight contender Tim
Kennedy, but an injury befell the military veteran and so Jardine
got the fight instead.
It
would appear that Kennedy is next in line once he’s healthy
and Rockhold is ready to go, but the champion sounds like he’s
looking for a different kind of challenge.
“I
like fighting, I like getting paid, but I love competition and
striving to be the best. Right now, all the best guys are in
the UFC at least the top ten ranked besides myself maybe in some
rankings, those are the guys I want,” Rockhold said.
“I
want to climb to the top, I want to fight the best in the world,
and I think they should bring over some top contenders. Let’s
see who the true No. 1 contender is, cause I believe I am and
I’d love the chance to prove it.”
It’s
hard to tell if the bosses at Zuffa will actually bring any top
middleweights over to Strikeforce to face Rockhold, but for now
he may want to get comfortable with the idea of facing Kennedy
because all signs are pointing to him being next.
No
matter what happens tomorrow, Luke Rockhold can celebrate being
the reigning and now defending Strikeforce middleweight champion
tonight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Strikeforce
Rockhold vs. Jardine Quick Results
Main Bouts (on Showtime):
-Luke Rockhold def. Keith Jardine by TKO (strikes) at 4:26, R1
-Robbie Lawler def. Adlan Amagov by TKO (knee and strikes) at
1:48, R1
-Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal def. Lorenz Larkin by TKO
(strikes) at 1:32, R2
-Tyron Woodley def. Jordan Mein by split decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29)
-Tarec Saffiedine def. Tyler Stinson by split decision (29-28,
29-28, 28-29)
Preliminary
Bouts (on Sho Extreme):
-Nah-Shon Burrell def. James Terry by split decision (29-28,
29-28, 28-29)
-Gian Villante def. Trevor Smith by TKO (punches) at 1:05, R1
-Ricky Legere def. Chris Spang by unanimous decision (29-28 on
all cards)
-Estevan Payan def. Alonzo Martinez by unanimous decision (30-27
on all cards)
Source: MMA Weekly |
Former
UFC Fighter Hermes Franca Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison
Former UFC lightweight contender Hermes Franca has been sentenced
to 42 months in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting
an underage student at one of his academies in Oregon.
The
news was first reported by The Oregonian on Friday.
Franca
was brought up on charges in May with seven counts of first-degree
sexual abuse, and two counts of second-degree unlawful sexual
penetration.
In
his plea agreement with the state, Franca eventually copped to
one count of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of unlawful
penetration. He will spend the next three and a half years in
prison.
Following
his stint in prison, Franca will also have four and a half years
of post-prison supervision, and must register wherever he lives
as a sex offender.
Franca
last appeared in the UFC in 2009 where he was TKO’d by Tyson
Griffin. Since that time, the former title contender has bounced
around several small promotions in different locations around
the world.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Shogun
says Jose Aldo is the Anderson Silva of the featherweight division
Jose
Aldo rules his weight class, collecting 13 consecutive triumphs,
and he will face the undefeated Chad Mendes at UFC Rio, next
Saturday (14th). Former heavyweight champion, Shogun Rua believes
Aldo will get the win, reaching Anderson Silva’s level,
biggest champion in all UFC history.
“Jose
Aldo is the man to be defeated on his division, like Anderson”,
highlights Shogun, while talking to TATAME.
After
experimenting fighting on the Wonderful City for Ultimate, Mauricio
warn that Aldo, like all other Brazilians on the card, will have
a wonderful night ahead of them.
“There’s
nothing more motivating than fighting for your fans. I was really
glad with their support and affection. Fans are good all over
the world, but here in Brazil it’s special”, tells
Shogun, excited about the show. “There’ll be great
fights, great MMA names”, concludes.
Source: Tatame
|
5
reasons Cigano should fear Overeem’s Jiu-Jitsu
Overeem
didn't need to rely on his Jiu-Jitsu on his UFC debut. His next
challenge is the champ, Cigano.
Just
after Alistair Overeem pummeled Brock Lesnar into retirement
in the first round of their encounter at UF 141, there were hordes
of reporters on Junior Cigano’s tailcoats with a simple
and inevitable question: “What now, champ?”
Cigano,
as calloused as his right fist, remarked that he wasn’t
impressed by the Dutchman’s Muay Thai or the liver kick
that crumpled the monstrous-proportioned Lesnar to the ground
and opened the way to the technical knockout.
“Overeem
is a great fighter; he hits hard but I have faith in my boxing,”
said the heavyweight champion in summary.
Where
fists are concerned, it’s hard to argue against the Brazilian
heavyweight holding his own when the two square off midway through
the year. On the ground, though—should it go there—,
that’s where the danger lies. Cigano knows it.
On
paper, Overeem, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2007, has
put away 17 opponents using his Jiu-Jitsu, eight of them with
his notorious guillotine choke. But his game is more well-rounded
than that, as GRACIEMAG.com will paint a picture of below, with
five of Alistair Overeem gentle art highlights.
1.
OVEREEM NABS BELFORT’S NECK
Vitor
Belfort and the Dutchman tangled at the Saitama Super Arena for
the opening stage of the Pride middleweight GP of 2005. Already
dazed on his feet, Vitor was easy pray for “The Reem’s”
Jiu-Jitsu.
2.
BEST GRAPPLER IN EUROPE
At
the European tryouts for the 2005 ADCC, Overeem was a cut above
the rest, choking every one of his opponents out for the win.
In the final he took on Mikael Grothe and spent most of the match
in the Swede’s half-guard. He made a few unsuccessful attack
attempts; they were important in that they diverted his opponent’s
attention, though. Until the final attack came, from side-control
Overeem allowed Grothe enough room to turn on all fours; that’s
when the guillotine showed up in Overeem’s cross-hairs.
3.
OVEREEM’S GOT GUARD TOO
In
the year 2000, Alistair the rookie was just the promising brother
of Valentijn Overeem, the man who the following year would submit
Randy Couture. Alistair took on local boy Yasuhito Namekawa in
Japan and showed that his guard was more than just a shield;
it was a lethal weapon.
4.
REVERSE JIU-JITSU
At
Dream 5 in 2008, facing the heavy-handed Mark Hunt, Overeem put
all his chips on his ground game, sinking a reverse americana
armbar, which the Kiwi tried defending by flipping over. Watch
how it ended.
5.
STRANGLING THE GEORGIAN GOOSE WITH JIU-JITSU
In
2000, Overeem again proved Helio Gracie’s Law: “There
isn’t a tough guy out there who can hold out against oncoming
sleep.” Against Vladimer Tchanturia at Rings 2000, Overeem
faked a lunge at an arm, but what he really wanted was a neck.
With his enemy’s throat exposed, the Dutchman sunk a goose-strangler,
the nickname for a rear-naked choke without the arm behind the
head.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
No
Pressure, Chad Mendes Plans to Blast Jose Aldo Off His Feet
by Ken
Pishna
Chad
Mendes is a decided underdog heading into his UFC 142 Rio bout
with Jose Aldo.
Why
should he be considered any threat to the UFC featherweight champion,
who has rolled over nearly every one of his opponents since signing
on with Zuffa’s WEC promotion in 2008. That’s 13 consecutive
victories, including four title defenses against the likes of
Urijah Faber, Mark Hominick, and Kenny Florian.
What’s
Mendes ever done?
Sure
he was a NCAA wrestling national championship runner-up and PAC-10
Wrestler of the Year.
He’s
only won 11 fights – out of 11 attempts – in his mixed
martial arts career, including six fights between his tenures
in the WEC and UFC.
His
hit list includes former Top 10 ranked fighters Rani Yahya and
Michihiro Omigawa, as well as current No. 5 ranked Erik Koch.
But,
really, how does any of that really count?
There
may be many people that feel Mendes isn’t ready for a title
shot, but don’t count him among them.
“The
Aldo camp saying I am not ready for a title shot? They don’t
know how good I am,” said Mendes on Wednesday. “They’ve
never fought me or trained with me. I am very, very ready for
this title shot. He has great takedown defense, but my type of
shot is a ‘blast-you-off-your-feet’ type of shot.”
And
everyone disregarding him, just stacks the chips that much more
in Mendes’ favor. When there are no expectations, it’s
much easier to lay everything on the line. Why not? He’s
not supposed to win, right?
“He’s
the one with the pressure,” said Mendes. “He’s
the champ. He’s the headliner in his own town, while I am
the up-and-comer, the underdog. There’s no pressure on me.”
Not
only that, but Mendes believes he’s got Aldo figured out.
He’s
not taking the champ lightly, of course, but he also has the
added benefit of training alongside Urijah Faber, who has fought,
and lost, to Aldo in the past.
Mendes,
in fact, was one of Faber’s main training partners for that
fight, so he’s all too familiar with Aldo and where they
may have gone wrong in preparing Faber to fight him.
“When
Urijah fought him, we didn’t red-flag his leg kicks, but
obviously we have prepared for that in this fight,” Mendes
relayed, although that is but one small piece of the overall
puzzle.
“Other
fighters have stood there and let him take them apart; I think
I will get in there and get my hands on him. No one else he’s
fought has my level of wrestling, to where I will get him down
and keep him down.”
Confidence,
belief, and expectation, of course, are all well and good, but
execution, particularly against a champion as dominant as Aldo
has been, is another story altogether.
Mendes,
however, believes he has what it takes to blast Aldo off his
feet, and we’ll all find out if that’s true come Jan.
14 in Brazil.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
Lesnar Made Right Decision
By Tristen
Critchfield
A little less than two and a half years ago, Brock Lesnar was
king of the hill.
As
the centerpiece of the UFC 100 extravaganza, Lesnar dominated
his rematch with Frank Mir in spectacular fashion, and the bout
itself was just the beginning. Afterward, he taunted and flexed,
spewing saliva toward the cameras that were fixed on the spectacle
that this mountainous man had become. He dissed one prominent
sponsor before informing the world of his post-fight plans with
his wife.
The
heel script seemed as though it came straight from the desk of
World Wrestling Entertainment head Vince McMahon, and it elicited
a strong reaction from those who resented the notion that a sports
entertainment star could go from choreographed tough guy to legitimate
champion in such a short time. Here was a monster, who, while
weighing in the vicinity of 290 pounds on fight night, could
redefine the heavyweight division with his frightening blend
of size and athleticism. “He’s just too big” seemed
a worthy explanation when forecasting Lesnar’s dominance
for years to come.
It
was polarizing. It was entertaining. It was fleeting.
On
Friday, after succumbing to Alistair Overeem -- who is nearly
his physical equal -- at UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Lesnar called
it career. There would be no sound bites, no theatrics, no hoopla,
just a man at peace with his decision.
“I’ve
had a really difficult couple of years with my disease,”
Lesnar said, referring to the diverticulitis that claimed nearly
a foot of his colon. “I’m going to say that tonight
is the last night you will see me in the Octagon. Brock Lesnar
is officially retired. I promised my wife and kids if I won this
fight that I would get a title shot and that would be my last
one, but if I lost tonight ... everyone, you’ve been great.”
Ardent
followers of the sport are not typically fond of Lesnar, but
they, too, always watched. Lesnar is responsible for three of
the 10 highest-grossing MMA gates in Nevada, and his victory
over Mir at UFC 100 is surpassed only by the second meeting between
Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in 2006.
Overeem
demolished Lesnar's body.
While
it is likely that Lesnar would have remained marketable in 2012,
even on a two-fight losing streak, the former NCAA national wrestling
champion picked the right time to leave. He never quite looked
as imposing as he did that night against Mir in 2009. The diverticulitis
threatened his life outside of the cage, and punches from Shane
Carwin and Cain Velasquez shattered the aura of invincibility
inside it.
When
Lesnar stepped into the Octagon to face Overeem, he barely resembled
the cocky villain that defended the heavyweight title against
Mir. Knees from the K-1 veteran gradually weakened Lesnar's resolve,
and a well-placed kick to the body sealed his fate. It remains
unclear how much 24 months of health issues sapped Lesnar’s
physical abilities, but those alone cannot account for the fact
that he never got comfortable with being hit. Lesnar’s Achilles’
heel was painfully evident against a striker with Overeem’s
considerable tools.
Sheer
size is a nice asset to have, but it does not rule all in the
heavyweight division like some expected it would when Lesnar
first captured the championship. The current titleholder, Junior
dos Santos, is a sleek 240 pounds. Velasquez, who had Lesnar
in a world of panic at UFC 121, is no behemoth, either. Overeem,
while similar in stature to Lesnar, is feared more for his standup
technique.
In
reality, Lesnar is probably closer to the humble fighter who
announced his retirement than the brash former professional wrestler
who inspired so much hate upon his arrival to the UFC. He is
more recluse than showman, comfortable with the anonymity that
his Minnesota ranch provides. If he craved the limelight, Lesnar
could have made a big production of the days leading up to his
potential farewell fight. Instead, he kept his thoughts private.
“I
had no idea he was going to do that,” UFC President Dana
White said during the post-fight press conference. “Am I
surprised? No. Brock Lesnar’s made a lot of money in his
career, and he’s achieved a lot of things. Brock Lesnar
came to me one night at the MGM, pulled me aside and said, ‘I
want to fight in the UFC.’ I laughed. He was 1-0, came from
the WWE and he brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight
division. What that man accomplished in a short amount of time
-- with one fight -- is amazing.”
As
a high-profile crossover from the sports entertainment business,
Lesnar proved to be more than a Johnny-come-lately hoping to
capitalize on his celebrity to make a quick buck. Instead of
being spoon-fed opponents to help build hype, Lesnar was given
Mir in his Octagon debut. His least accomplished foe in the UFC
-- relatively speaking -- was Heath Herring, a Pride Fighting
Championships veteran with more than 40 professional bouts.
Lesnar
became a star, not by way of promotional smoke and mirrors but
by virtue of his own talent. And while not a pioneer, he certainly
helped grow the UFC brand, giving the company a bankable star
that could drive pay-per-view buys. The eyes Lesnar brought to
the Octagon could very well be some of the same ones that decided
it was a worthwhile venture to bring the UFC to Fox.
For
that, Lesnar would be welcomed with open arms if he chose to
make a comeback someday. It will not happen. The publicity that
an encore run would generate matters little to Lesnar. When he
told White he wanted to fight in the UFC several years ago, he
meant it. Now Lesnar says he is done. It only makes sense to
take him at his word.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Strikeforce
stars hope victories bring recognition
By Sergio
Non, USA TODAY
Strikeforce
middleweight champion Luke Rockhold should be basking in accolades
heading into his first title defense this weekend.
He
has a 7-0 record in Zuffa's Strikeforce brand. He captured his
title belt a few months ago by winning a difficult fight against
one of the most accomplished grapplers in mixed martial arts'
185-pound division. At No. 9 in the USA TODAY/MMA Nation consensus
rankings, he's the top-rated middleweight outside the Ultimate
Fighting Championship.
But
competing outside UFC dims the spotlight Rockhold seeks.
"I
don't feel like I'm probably getting enough respect," he
says. "I'll just keep looking to prove myself and make everybody
a believer."
Rockhold's
situtation exemplifies the dilemma facing Strikeforce. Showtime
recently agreed to keep airing Strikeforce for at least eight
more events this year, so the promotion will have to find ways
to keep itself viable as a top-tier promotion to satisfy the
network. Yet Zuffa has been touting UFC for years as the most
prestigious brand in the sport.
ROCKHOLD:
Strikeforce elite deserves more respect
'KING
MO' LAWAL: 'Strikeforce went through chemotherapy'
After
Zuffa bought Strikeforce last year, the organization lost three
of its reigning champions to the allure of UFC. In their debuts
for the larger brand, they went 3-0 against ex-titleholders of
UFC, underscoring the quality that Strikeforce had at the top
of its roster.
But
this weekend's show illustrates Strikeforce's shallow pool of
talent and points to the issues it will face in giving Showtime
a premium product.
The
first Strikeforce card under the new deal will take place Saturday
(8 p.m. ET, Showtime Extreme; 10 p.m. ET, Showtime) in Las Vegas.
Rockhold will face veteran Keith Jardine in the main event.
Jardine
has name recognition from his years in UFC, but Strikeforce lacks
a compelling case for putting Jardine in a middleweight championship
fight.
Saturday's
challenger has never competed at 185 pounds. His last fight was
a controversial draw in April against light-heavyweight Gegard
Mousasi, whom Rockhold believes should have been awarded the
win. Jardine lost his last four bouts in UFC, leading to his
release from that promotion in September 2010.
No.
14 Tim Kennedy would have been Rockhold's first challenger if
not for an injury. Rockhold views Jardine as a "far-fetched"
choice.
"I
was definitely just dumbfounded by that one," Rockhold says.
"It didn't make much sense, of course. But I started to
think about it a little bit outside of the box. This is my first
main event. He does have a big name. … Me beating him will
show me to the rest of the public, I guess."
Rockhold
won the belt in September with a hard-fought decision over No.
11 Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, a highly decorated grappler.
Other than Kennedy and Souza, the only fighter in Strikeforce
who might emerge as a middleweight contender in the near future
is unranked Adlan Amagov, who faces UFC and EliteXC alumnus Robbie
Lawler on Saturday's card.
The
consensus top 20 includes 14 UFC fighters. Zuffa should feature
some of its top-10 UFC talent competing in Strikeforce, Rockhold
says.
"Right
now, all the highest-rated guys are in the UFC," he says.
"I think me, Kennedy and Jacare are very underrated in this
sport and in our divisions. … Bringing over UFC guys would
be a huge role in propelling Strikeforce to that next level."
Strikeforce's
205-pound division has even fewer notable names than the middleweight
class, especially since Dan Henderson vacated the title and jumped
to UFC last fall. But lack of fame doesn't equate to lack of
talent, says light-heavyweight Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal,
a former champion in Strikeforce who was an internationally accomplished
amateur wrestler before going into mixed martial arts.
"It's
not about the organization," says Lawal, who will face undefeated
Lorenz Larkin on Saturday. "It's about the fighters."
Free
preview: Strikeforce will pitch itself to a larger-than-usual
audience this weekend. Normally a premium channel that requires
a separate monthly subscription, Showtime will be available free
through several cable and satellite providers from Friday through
Sunday.
"The
free preview for Showtime is going to be a big boost for all
of us," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says. "That's why
instead of promoting this fight at the end of the month, it was
moved to the free preview weekend, so we can showcase these guys
and showcase Strikeforce."
Source:
USA Today
|
'UFC
Primetime: Diaz vs. Condit' Premieres Later This Month
By Ariel
Helwani
UFC
143's main event -- Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit -- will get the
"Primetime" treatment later this month on FX and FUEL
TV.
According
to a network official, the UFC Primetime: Diaz vs. Condit series,
will premiere Friday, Jan. 20, at 11:00 p.m. ET on FX, following
UFC on FX: Miller vs. Guillard. The second episode will premiere
the following week on Jan. 27 at the same time, while the third
and final episode will air Feb. 3, just 24 hours before the pay-per-view
event.
Replays
of the show will air Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 4 on FUEL TV.
UFC
143 airs Saturday, Feb. 4, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas.
This
will mark the eighth installment of "UFC Primetime."
The multi-part series, which launched in Jan. 2009 for the Georges
St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn rematch at UFC 94, made its debut on FOX
in November to promote the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos
heavyweight title fight.
UFC
Primetime will follow Condit and Diaz for three straight weeks
as they prepare to fight for the UFC interim welterweight title.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Two
Lighter Bouts Added to UFC on Fuel TV 1
It’s
fight day around the UFC as its early 2012 schedule unfolds.
Following
a slew of other fight announcements on Thursday, UFC officials
added two lighter weight bouts to its return to Omaha, Neb.,
on Feb. 15.
UFC
president Dana White announced that verbal agreements are in
place for T.J. Dillashaw to face Walel Watson and Jonathan Brookins
to square off with Vagner Rocha at UFC on Fuel TV 1.
Dillashaw
(4-1), after competing in the finals of the featherweight division
on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, makes the cut down
to bantamweight. Dillashaw did well on the reality show, but
lost via TKO to John Dodson in the TUF 14 Finale.
He’ll
take on Watson (9-3), who has split his first two UFC bouts.
He defeated Joseph Sandoval at UFC on Versus 6, but then lost
his most recent fight to Yves Jabouin at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Brookins
(12-4) was on a four-fight winning streak, including winning
the TUF 12 Finale, before Erik Koch scored a unanimous decision
over him last September.
Rocha
(7-2) was originally slated to face Mike Brown at the inaugural
UFC on FX fight card in January, but Brown fell out due to injury.
Rocha enters the fight with Brookins coming off of a win over
Cody McKenzie at the same UFC Fight Night 25 event where Brookins
lost to Koch.
A
welterweight showdown between Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger
headlines the UFC on Fuel TV 1 fight card.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Hannette
Staack: Profile of a champion and eternal optimist
By Valerie
Worthington
If
you are a grappling enthusiast of any level and you are not familiar
with Hannette Staack, you are missing out. One of the most highly
decorated competitors—male or female—in the world,
Hannette possesses eight world titles at the brown/black level
and three Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) gold medals.
If
you ARE familiar with Hannette and have had the opportunity to
watch her compete, you have witnessed her intimidating pre-competition
game face, her strong connection with her coach and husband,
Andre “Negao” Terencio (a well-respected IBJJF referee
and an accomplished grappler in his own right), and her unflappable
demeanor during her matches. To watch Hannette compete is to
watch an expert in the sport systematically and calmly execute
her game plan, making it look easy. At the most recent Mundial
in June 2011, for example, she won her division in spectacular
fashion, executing a textbook flying armbar just seconds into
the finals match.
What
you might not have had the opportunity to learn about Hannette
is that she is a warm, funny, caring person, in addition to being
a technical, detailed instructor. In person, she is just as likely
to crack a joke as she is to revamp your perspective on a technique
you thought you already knew, by sharing a few details that make
all the difference. And if you do meet her in person, she will
know your name by the time your conversation is over.
Hannette
demonstrated all of these facets of her personality at the most
recent Women’s Grappling Camp (http://www.womensgrappling.org),
held at Princeton BJJ (http://www.in Princeton, NJ, November
11-13, 2011. She was the featured instructor for a weekend of
technique, training, and stories; she also ran a co-ed seminar
on the afternoon of November 13, which enabled some men to learn
more about how much she has to offer. The techniques she showed
were all from the same starting position and built sequentially
and logically off of one another. She also provided time and
a unique method for drilling the techniques.
One
of the most significant things Hannette shared with the campers
was the story of her personal journey with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ). In a very real way, her personal journey is reflective
of the overall story of BJJ, which is frequently lost on those
of us who discovered it in the United States. BJJ had a long
and storied history before it ever made it to the US, and it
behooves those of us who love the sport to understand it. Hannette’s
story can help provide us in the US with a living, breathing
link to the history of the sport we all love.
As
a child, Hannette had always participated in sports, but never
Brazilian jiu jitsu, as the cost was prohibitive. In those days,
for Hannette’s family, the cost of a gi was equivalent to
half of her parents’ monthly salary. Overcoming this, she
found her way to her first grappling academy when she was 18,
just out of school. Her first instructor was a police officer,
who agreed to take her on even though her father could only afford
half of the tuition. Given this opportunity, Hannette promised
to give her all.
For
the first 5 months of her training, she was ubiquitous at the
academy, as well as the only woman. It was difficult, she notes,
because the guys didn’t always understand what she was doing
there. Many of them assumed she was there only looking for a
boyfriend, though the suggestion made her bristle, as did the
women she observed who actually were doing this. As evidenced
by the fact that she earned her blue belt in 4 months, Hannette
had a different agenda. She also started competing early on,
winning 3 tournaments as a white belt; her mother could barely
watch because of nerves! It was after competing that she realized
she loved BJJ and competition, and her life changed forever.
Training
BJJ caused Hannette to tone down her life. She stopped being
a “wild child,” as she had been earlier in her teens.
And while 18 was relatively late to start BJJ by Brazilian standards,
Hannette quickly realized she always wanted to keep going, keep
learning, keep training.
After
a certain amount of success, she lost in the final of her first
national competition in Brazil, after 5 months of training. This
was a good experience for her. It put her back in the “humble
shoes,” as a Portuguese idiom puts it, and helped her redouble
her determination to progress in BJJ.
Things
took an unexpected turn, however, when she started dating a white
belt after she earned her blue belt. This man started asking
Hannette to stop training. He didn’t understand that Hannette
truly was training BJJ because she loved it and wanted to learn.
He thought she was there to meet men. He became wildly jealous,
and this only worsened after they moved in together, even though
she gave up training for a year and a half to be with him. Ultimately,
this man started beating Hannette.
Eventually,
Hannette had an epiphany; while at her job at a cell phone company,
she stayed late to work with a client. Her boyfriend showed up
at her job when she didn’t come home “on time,”
and became physical with her and threatened the safety of her
family. That was the final straw, and she left him that day,
going to the safety of her mother’s home. She decided she
had had enough and that it was time to leave him—and to
train again.
While
this was obviously a traumatic chapter in Hannette’s life,
she is grateful for the fact that it helped her realize she would
never ever again give up on her dreams.
After
this difficult time, Hannette moved on and continued training,
when her life took another momentous turn. Her instructor, Master
Flavio, brought her to a different academy to train with some
of the students there. She felt fairly confident—until she
got “schooled” by one of the students. The instructor
of this student was one Andre Terencio, then a brown belt. Some
months passed after this event, because although she wanted to
train with Andre, she needed to put some money together to be
able to afford it.
But
eventually, they ran into each other at a club, where she was
dressed up and dancing samba. One thing led to another, and they
started dating—at which point she got to train with him
for free! She decided she’d never stop training again for
anyone or anything.
In
addition to becoming the man she would marry, Andre also helped
Hannette become more disciplined. By this time, she had started
to entertain the dream of becoming a BJJ world champion, and
Andre helped her develop the discipline she needed to achieve
this goal, which she eventually did multiple times. The first
three times, she won as a purple belt, a brown belt, and a black
belt, consecutively.
Despite
the fact that she still gets nervous when she competes, and that
she did not want her black belt when it was awarded to her, she
frequently returns to Andre’s mantra for her: “BELIEVE!
You have to believe!!” This mantra has come in handy in
many situations. For example, in 2005, she had a run of bad luck,
including a torn ACL and various other injuries stemming from
some substandard judo instruction. She had to have surgery, and
jokes that it was during this year that she developed a bottom
game, because playing on top was too painful.
2005
was the first year the ADCC tournament was open to women, and
Hannette desperately wanted to go. It was invitation only, but
she didn’t have any connections. Nor, as it turns out, did
she have the necessary paperwork to enter the USA (the tournament
was held at the Pyramid in Long Beach, CA, a familiar sight for
many grapplers.) Up until the eleventh hour before the tournament,
Hannette was struggling in the Brazilian consulate, trying desperately
to gain permission to travel to the US to compete in the tournament,
for which she had finally received an invitation.
At
the end of her rope, Hannette despaired of things working out
until Andre implored her to BELIEVE and they ultimately received
the approval they needed and were off to the US.
Hannette
ruminated about the treatment of women in those early days; at
that ADCC, there were two weight classes, and she had to share
a room with her opponent, Juliana Borges. Borges ultimately beat
Hannette in the final on a takedown, and Hannette had to see
the trophy in their hotel room. In 2007, she returned and won
the tournament, but she still had difficulty because she was
not directly acquainted with anyone related to the tournament.
In
short, Hannette has experienced challenges in BJJ because of
her gender and because she doesn’t have the connections
that some people have. But she has advice for any grappling women
on those days when they are feeling doubt and asking themselves
why on earth they do this crazy sport: Never give up. Follow
your dreams. And BELIEVE!
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Is
the pro-wrestling influence in UFC unattractive to female sports
fans?
By Zach
Arnold
An
introduction, courtesy of our friend Beau Dure on the general
theme at hand:
MMA
— like all sports — has to watch its image. The challenges
in MMA are unique in the sense that we still have grumpy old
sports editors and corporate sponsors who don’t want to
deal with the sport. But they’re not unique in the sense
that any sport can be stereotyped. Browse any sports site and
read the comments about people who think the NBA is populated
by “thugs.” Look at the damage control baseball has
had to do in the wake of its drug scandals and labor strife.
MMA
has unique ties to pro wrestling, particularly in Japan but also
in the USA with crossovers such as Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.
But MMA and wrestling are a volatile mix. Handle with care.
Here’s
the needed background information on this video clip so you can
get a summary as to what the context of the discussion is. Hint:
The firestarter for this discussion is CM Punk and Convict Chael
Sonnen being bestest buddiess in Chicago.
Here’s
our summary of some of what was said in the video clip.
“For
me, it’s like I’m constantly, it’s like to borrow
the words of Bill Hicks, it’s like gnats on a camping trip.
I just can’t get rid of it. We can debate about whether
it’s got merits or not. I think that’s sort of a fruitless
debate. I personally think it’s gutter theatre mixed with,
you know, steroid-infused acrobatics. That’s me. But others
obviously have a different take. If you like it, it’s not
a matter of whether you like it. It’s a question about having
ownership over it. People are like, you know, there are reporters
out there who like MMA and who like pro-wrestling and they don’t
get the influence… ‘what’s wrong with pro-wrestling?’
Here’s a little litmus test — if you were dating a
chick who was totally out of your league or even in your league
but you really coveted her and she asked you what your interests
are, are you really going to say ‘pro-wrestling’? Like,
‘my interests are… uh… pro-wrestling! I’m
super interested in pro-wrestling.’ You’ll never get
laid! You’d never get laid. And, you know, it’s a stupid
litmus test but it’s explanatory on a level of cultural
acceptance…
“The
pro-wrestling fans who are MMA fans (as well), they never ask
themselves ‘is this appropriate?’ Because you have
to admit, at some level, some measure of equivocation between
MMA and pro-wrestling would be unhealthy for either parties and
it seems to me that there is never any moment where when there’s
crossover they pause to question whether that’s appropriate…
ever. You never see them ever say to themselves, ‘well,
hang on a second… do we really want this? OK, it’s
OK this time.’ Now, obviously again, we’re talking
about a situation that pretty much on its face is… um…
not that big a deal. But have you ever seen that impulse, that
trigger mechanism where pro-wrestling fans among themselves ever
ask if there’s a healthy infuse… and the answer is
no because if you view both things as virtuous and if you view
both things as unproblematic, you’re not in a position to
question whether or not this is appropriate for audiences unlike
yourself. And I can tell you, I can tell you… you have to
ask yourself, partly it’s MMA’s violence that mainstream
sponsors haven’t come along but I can tell you sports fans
are not stupid. They’re not stupid. They recognize and they
like pro-wrestling, too. It’s not about liking pro-wrestling.
It’s about the context in which they enjoy it and I don’t
think they like it in the context in which they enjoy sports.
And this whole part about moving to Fox, this whole part about
growing the UFC to the next level… you can’t do that
on the backs of pro-wrestling fans. They’ve got them already,
they’re not going anywhere. Now, you can spike them here
and there for like a Brock Lesnar event or, you know, for Chael
Sonnen, you can spike them. But you pretty much got the ones
you’re pretty much going to get. The next level, and frankly
the more lucrative level in terms of sponsors and in terms of
the right kinds of demos, are sports fans. Now, will the CM Punk
thing help attract them? Maybe there’s an argument to be
made that it could. I tend to think it won’t effect it either
way. But, you know, if you’re never asking yourself and
not just any kind of influence here, you know, not just pro-wrestling
influence, any kind of influence, is this the appropriate kind
of influence that we want? I think those are important questions,
especially for a sport that is still peaking (or) some phase
of transition.
“Now,
I will say again, it’s not that big a deal in and of itself.
But, you know, one thing to know is that the UFC insulated themselves.
In the main event and co-main event, you have four guys (Rashad
Evans, Phil Davis, Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz) who all wrestled
Division I college. You have three of them who are All-Americans
and two who are national champions. What do you think I want
to talk about when I do radio interviews at sports stations?
You think I’m going to mention CM Punk? And more to the
point, do you think that guys at 710 ESPN care about CM Punk
walking to the ring with Chael Sonnen? They don’t. They
want to know what they’re watching is respectable enough
to cover. That is the reality. Is this enterprise, despite the
fact… ask yourself, with record audiences, with records
on PPV, maybe even with a year of decline, some sense of record
TV ratings… why is there still so much hesitation? Is it
just violence? I don’t think it’s just violence. I
think it’s a huge component of it. I think they wonder,
is this activity (Mixed Martial Arts), is this worthy enough
as an activity despite it’s financial successes to be covered
legitimately? And even if you disagree with, you know, mainstream
media’s hesitation to get on board, sure would be nice if
The New York Times had an MMA blog. Sure would be nice if it
wasn’t just The LA Times on the West Coast giving big coverage.
Sure would be nice to get a bunch of audiences we don’t
really get right now. That’s kind of my point. Every time
you see a pro-wrestling influence directly on MMA and you never
ask yourself, ‘well, hold on, are we going too far or not?’
In this case we’re not, I don’t think, but if you’re
not even having those kinds of questions then you’re not
in a proper position to weigh whether or not audiences are being
effected in the right way.
“I
can take a girl to a Redskins game. Can I take a girl to an MMA
match if she thinks this is basically pro-wrestling? Really?
I mean… you know, look at the ads the NFL rolls out with
now women in jerseys greeting each other at the door with these
different kinds of handshakes… they’re making a concerted
effort to reach across to get families, women, to get older people,
younger people, they want all the demos, they want to be it to
be a full affair. if UFC ever wants to share anything like that
and, you know, realistically they probably never will but if
they want to approach that is making this ‘real pro-wrestling’
the way to do it? I would humbly submit to you that it’s
not.
“Don’t
like pro-wrestling and you’re a boxing fan? It doesn’t
really effect you. But if you’re an MMA fan and you’re
like me and you don’t even, you came into this sport not
even conceiving of it this way and not enjoying it on those terms
and frankly find it distracting… perfect example, this whole
Donald Cerrone/Nate Diaz fight. This was a perfectly good fight
between top contenders that was ruined for me going into it,
I couldn’t even enjoy it properly, because the whole time
we had to manufacture some sort of significance around two donks
not liking each other at a staged workout. Really? How old are
we? And this is reported on in the media ad nauseam! The tones
of language devoted to an act of nothingness promoted by each
competitor over an act of nothingness completely distracted from
what you were going to get any way! If they had never even seen
each other before, never even interacted before and just had
to face one another, you’d probably would have gotten the
exact same fight. You would have gotten the exact same fight
and you wouldn’t have had to swallow, ‘he knocked off
my cowboy hat! this guy! you don’t have to be from Stockton
to be tough!’ Word? Word? You don’t have to be from
Stockton to be tough? I didn’t know you could be tough and
be from Quezon City.
“There
are pretty clear cases to me where we are… it’s a crutch
to keep audiences you already have and we don’t really expand
the scope of MMA promotion to get audiences that we don’t
(have).
“If
you’re an MMA fan, you need to ask yourself what it is about
the sport that you love, OK? There’s probably a combination
of things that you love for anybody. For me, it’s a certain
balance of goods. For you, it’s a different one. But you
need to have an honest evaluation about what it is where you
derive enjoyment. Maybe you derive enjoyment through the entire
fight process. Maybe you’re a little more, I don’t
know, less sanguine…
“I
get labeled incorrectly, I feel like. ‘Oh, you don’t
like pre-fight build-up!’ I do like pre-fight build-up.
I don’t like pre-fight build-up that is hamfistedly put
in front of my face. When Wanderlei (Silva) was fighting Michael
Bisping, remember this, and Wanderlei was like, ‘I hate
Michael Bisping!” And someone’s like, “Why do
you hate Michael Bisping?’ and he goes, ‘I don’t
know! I just hate him!’
“I
mean, what are we doing? What are we doing?”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Minotauro
expected to return to training in March
By Guilherme
Cruz
Rodrigo
‘Minotauro’ Nogueira was deadly perfect against Frank
Mir, at UFC 140, but a mistake cost him the fight. To make things
worse, a broken arm will make him stay off UFC for a while longer.
Brother
of the heavyweight fighter, Rogerio ‘Minotouro’ Nogueira
revealed to TATAME that Rodrigo is to come back to the trainings
in March.
“The
prediction is that he comes back in March, and he will get ready
to fight in the middle of the year”, tells the Brazilian,
revealing the tough healing routine of his brother, who had to
go through a surgery after being submitted in Canada, in December.
“He
was in pain for a while, like a week, and he couldn’t do
much because of the stitches, but now he’s doing physiotherapy,
moving his arm, pressuring the ball… He’s regaining
all his moves”, ended.
Source:
Tatame
|
5
MMA Stories to Monitor in 2012
By Brian
Knapp
From the rise to superstardom of Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos
to the retirement of Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar and everything
in between, the past 12 months in mixed martial arts can only
be described as historic.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship landed a major network television
deal, introduced health coverage for its 350-fighter roster,
bought out another would-be competitor, drew 55,000 fans to a
single event and returned to Brazil for the first time in more
than a decade. The Japanese MMA scene, once the heart and soul
of the sport, continued to decline but nevertheless faced a natural
disaster of unimaginable scope when the earth shook and the sea
moved in March. Meanwhile, Bellator Fighting Championships secured
much-needed investment capital from Viacom and announced plans
to move to Spike TV in 2013, filling the void left by the UFC’s
departure to Fox.
As
the calendar flips and another year dawns, storylines abound.
Here are five stories worth keeping an eye on in 2012.
Shelved
Champions: The UFC enters the New Year with significant uncertainty
surrounding its top two fighters. Battling a shoulder injury,
middleweight champion Anderson Silva has not fought since he
blitzed Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in August. He has won a record
14 consecutive fights inside the Octagon but may not return to
active competition until summer. Silva turns 37 in April. Welterweight
titleholder Georges St. Pierre tore a knee ligament in training,
withdrew from his scheduled showdown with Nick Diaz in February
and underwent reconstructive surgery. Cut down in the prime of
his career, he figures to return sometime during the third quarter
of 2012. With that said, St. Pierre turns 31 in May, and one
has to wonder if he can come back to the cage in top form.
Chandler
is an elite lightweight.
Viable
Alternative: With Bellator still a year away from arriving on
Spike TV, questions remain about whether or not the tournament-based
promotion can emerge as a viable alternative to the UFC. To this
point, Bellator has done an excellent job of mining and developing
young talent. However, that has not always translated into hearty
television ratings and gate receipts. Until it can make itself
available to a wider at-home audience, Bellator needs to stay
focused on promoting emerging stars like Michael Chandler, Eduardo
Dantas, Ben Askren and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and
hanging on to established veterans like Hector Lombard and Eddie
Alvarez. It returns to MTV2 in March, switching to Friday telecasts
in a clear effort to avoid head-to-head conflict with UFC pay-per-views.
The pieces for success are in place.
Flyweights
Take Flight: The UFC will introduce flyweights to its rotation
in March, with the start of its 125-pound tournament. The four-man
draw will feature the top-ranked Ian McCall, Shooto champion
Yasuhiro Urushitani, onetime UFC bantamweight title contender
Demetrious Johnson and Team Alpha Male
ace Joseph Benavidez.
The
division figures to serve as a consistent source of action and
entertainment as the UFC beefs up its schedule. In the semifinal
round of the tournament that will give rise to the UFC’s
first-ever flyweight champion, McCall will face Johnson and Benavidez
will lock horns with Urushitani on March 3 in Sydney, Australia.
Buckle up.
Network
Growth: The UFC debuted on the Fox network on Nov. 12 with a
heavyweight title bout between dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.
It took the Brazilian a little more than a minute to dethrone
Velasquez, and while many viewed the finish as anti-climactic,
nearly nine million people tuned in to see it. In August, the
UFC reached a landmark seven-year agreement with Fox, which includes
televised events on FX, Fuel TV and Fox Sports Net, along with
four live shows annually on the flagship network. The second
of those events will unfold on Jan. 28 in Chicago, headlined
by a pivotal light heavyweight matchup between former champion
Rashad Evans and the unbeaten Phil Davis. How the UFC audience
grows or shrinks in the next 12 to 24 months will be fascinating
to watch, all while providing valuable insight into the future
health of mixed martial arts.
Murky
Future: The Strikeforce promotion was granted a stay of execution
when its broadcast deal with Showtime was renewed in December.
However, with the dissolution of the heavyweight division and
the exit of former champions Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair
Overeem, the situation bears monitoring. That is especially true
as it pertains to lightweight titleholder Gilbert Melendez, who
has all but run out of worthy contenders and has done nothing
to hide his interest in moving to the UFC. The Cesar Gracie protégé
remains one of Strikeforce’s few bankable stars and, along
with women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos, will be looked upon to push the interest needle and keep
the organization afloat.
Source
Sherdog
|
Sarah
Kaufman: Reported Miesha Tate-Ronda Rousey Title Fight Is 'Pretty
Ridiculous'
By Ben
Fowlkes
Sarah
Kaufman saw the internet reports of a Miesha Tate-Ronda Rousey
title at about the same time the rest of the MMA world did. She
wasn't terribly surprised, she told MMA Fighting on Thursday,
but neither was she particularly pleased.
"I
think it's terrible news," the former Strikeforce 135-pound
women's champ said, and you can probably guess why.
"I
put in my time and, being the former champ and having had two
fights since the only loss of my career, I've definitely earned
the right to fight Miesha Tate and fight for the 135-pound title
with Strikeforce," Kaufman explained. "Then there's
Ronda, who's only been fighting for a year. Granted, she has
her judo experience, but she hasn't fought anyone of a high caliber.
She's fought at 145 pounds -- hasn't even competed at 135 pounds
at all -- and for her to be given the opportunity to fight for
the title, it's pretty ridiculous."
The
good news, if there is any for Kaufman, is that the fight is
not yet official. Though first reported by MMA Weekly on Wednesday
evening, both Tate -- the current 135-pound women's champ --
and the unbeaten Rousey took to their Twitters to explain that
the rumored March 3 title fight wasn't yet signed. Kaufman said
she was still holding out hope that her phone might ring with
a fight offer before Rousey's does, but noted that "usually
when rumors happen it's for a reason."
The
way Kaufman sees it, if Rousey has earned herself a title shot
in any division it's the 145-pound class, where most of her professional
bouts have taken place. That Rousey is angling for a shot at
Tate rather than at Strikeforce 145-pound champ Cristiane "Cyborg"
Santos can only mean one thing, Kaufman said.
"She's
scared to fight Cyborg, for sure, and understandably. Cyborg
is a formidable fighter. But if you're saying you want a title,
it shouldn't matter whether it's at 145 [pounds] or 135 [pounds].
Now she's backpedaling and saying, 'Oh, I want Cyborg to come
to 135.' Or maybe she'll do it as a catchweight. Or maybe in
four or five fights. She's pretty much just pushing the fight
off, clearly running from it."
Kaufman's
not the only one to question whether Rousey deserves a crack
at the title. Tate had a memorable confrontation with the Olympic
bronze medalist in a recent episode of The MMA Hour, during which
Tate accused her of trying to leverage her looks for an opportunity
she hadn't earned in the cage.
"It's
frustrating to see," Kaufman said. "Gina [Carano] is
a prime example, but she didn't push her own looks. Everyone
else pushed her looks, and she fought. She had good fights that
she looked impressive in. Miesha's been a little bit the same.
She's definitely pushed her looks and marketed herself in that
manner, but she's also put her time in and worked her way up
in the fighting game. Ronda's just the opposite. She's had a
couple impressive wins, and really fast, and then just told people,
'I'm pretty so I deserve it.'"
While
there's no official word on whether Rousey will get the next
shot at Tate, all signs seem to be pointing in that direction,
and even Kaufman seems resigned to it. She might have nearly
four times as many fights as Rousey, and five years more experience
in MMA, but with the fickle nature of the women's division she
knows that doesn't guarantee her a title shot. What she's left
wondering is, what will?
"I've
been pushing for the Miesha fight since I fought her," said
Kaufman. "That's all I can do, is get in interviews and
say what I think, which is that I deserve the fight. Maybe that's
not what they want to hear. They want to hear, 'I'm the prettiest
and you can market me and sell me to guys.' That's not my thing,
and I won't do that. I'll present myself as an athlete and be
feminine in my own way without being over the top."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
'King
Mo' Lawal: 'Strikeforce went through chemotherapy'
By Sergio
Non, USA TODAY
Mixed
martial arts' self-styled monarch likely will get a chance to
reclaim his Strikeforce throne with a victory this weekend.
"Absolutely,"
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says of a title fight for 205-pounder
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal if he beats Lorenz Larkin.
"We haven't sat down with (matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) and
talked about it, but I think that's a natural progression."
Lawal
(8-1) will face Larkin (12-0) on Saturday as part of a Strikeforce
event (10:30 p.m. ET, Showtime) in Las Vegas. A former champion
of Strikeforce's light-heavyweight division, Lawal could play
a significant role with the promotion as it goes into a new contract
with Showtime that calls for eight events this year on the premium
network.
USA
TODAY spoke to Lawal recently about his upcoming bout. Excerpts
from the conversation:
Q:
I understand that you and your teammate Luke Rockhold have been
sparring together quite a bit lately. What do you bring to each
other?
Lawal:
The game plans that you need to use to beat him, I have to implement
on my opponent. And the game plans that he needs to use for him
to win to beat his guy, he has to use on me. So we're perfect
for each other.
He's
long, unorthodox, has power, has high volume and good jiu-jitsu.
He's a well-rounded fighter.
He's
a bit smaller than your weight class. Is it the speed that you
find most beneficial?
Luke
ain't that small like everybody thinks he is. Luke is a big dude.
He's a big 185-pounder. He's taller than me. He's taller and
longer. He's got a big frame. If we're both in the off-season,
I'm probably five to 10 pounds bigger than him if we're not training.
He gets up to maybe 215, I bet, or 210. I get up to like 215,
220.
He'd
be playing the of Lorenz Larkin in this case. How would you describe
Larkin as a fighter?
He's
quick, crafty and unorthodox and flashy.
Does
flash mean he's not as fundamentally sound as some fighters?
He's
fundamentally sound for his style.
Larkin
hasn't beaten any really big names. Do you see him as a guy who
can move you up the ladder back to some sort of title contention
or greater notoriety?
Yeah,
you know why? Because a win's a win. You rack up enough wins,
that's all that matters. Lorenz Larkin, he's undefeated.
Look
at Dan Cormier. Dan Cormier came up and then beat Bigfoot. Came
up and beat -- what's that boy's name, the bald-headed dude?
-- Jeff Monson. Daniel fought some tough people but no one knew
who they were. So everyone (said), "Oh, Daniel's going to
be overmatched." But really, he wasn't. Daniel was comfortable
and confident. Usually when a person's comfortable and confident,
they're hard to beat.
In
Larkin's last couple of fights, he was on the wrong end of a
few takedowns by Gian Villante and seemed to have a bit of a
tough time in the clinch against Nick Rossborough. How much can
you take from those bouts?
Not
too much, because the thing is, Rossborough, he trained for a
totally different fighter; he ended up getting Rossborough, who's
a tall, lanky, jiu-jitsu guy. With me, he's had time to train
for me. I think he's been training with Phil Davis and other
wrestlers, so he's had a good camp to prepare.
I
look at all of his stuff, but it's just a different fight, different
fighters. I'm just going to go out there and do what I've been
training to do.
You're
not quite the kind of wrestler that Phil Davis is. Do you think
he'd be able to replicate the kind of wrestling and transitions
that you do?
No.
Phil Davis, we're two different wrestlers. He can try to, but
Phil Davis is like a black Ben Askren. He's unorthodox and he's
lanky.
He's
not a power wrestler. I'm a power wrestler. He's smooth but unorthodox.
He's a scrambler and I'm not much of a scrambler.
(But)
the thing is, any type of feel is better than no feel.
When
did you learn you'd be on this card, and when did you learn who
your opponent would be?
I
didn't know until a few weeks ago. It's just weird because I
thought this fight was going to be Jan. 21st or 28th, and then
all of a sudden, bam, the 7th. I didn't know who I was fighting
and then all of a sudden, I'm fighting Lorenz Larkin.
What
did the relatively short notice prevent you from doing?
I
wish I would have had more time to spar with Luke. We spar three
times a week, so we get in plenty of sparring.
At
your last show, in September, you expressed some irritation with
the level of promotion. How concerned are you about it this time,
given the compressed time putting together this card?
I
was just mad because my boy Daniel (Cormier) was fighting one
of the biggest fights of his career, and same thing with Luke.
I wasn't worried for myself, because I've been on big shows.
... I was hoping that they'd get more shine. They did, but I
felt they should have had more.
Before
that September show, you compared Strikeforce to a dying cancer
patient. How much does the new deal with Showtime change that
perception?
Strikeforce
went through chemotherapy and was brought back strong, so I see
it now.
At
first, I wasn't sure because no one knew anything. Everyone was
asking me questions and I was asking them questions. Now we know.
... That's cool, I guess.
Last
time out, you didn't have your dancing girls, which had become
something of a trademark for you. What can you do to convince
Zuffa to let you use them again?
Yeah,
I don't know what I can do. There's nothing I can do except come
out and go win this fight.
I
guess they want to make it more vanilla? It's all a show. Entertain
the crowd. ... I feel like the entrances weren't bad. I never
saw anything bad in them. But I guess Zuffa didn't like them,
so they're gone.
Do
you think the entertainment aspect of MMA is unfairly overlooked?
I
think it is, because I think some of the fans don't get that
it's a sport and it's entertainment. All sports are. You have
to sell yourself. Chael Sonnen and Ronda Rousey, they get it.
Koscheck gets it. Michael Bisping gets it. They do have a personality.
Even "Mayhem" Miller. They get it. There's a personality,
to stand out and make the crowd either love you or hate you.
How
many fights are left on your Strikeforce contract after this?
I
think one more.
Perhaps
you'd be free to join UFC afterward?
We'll
see. I don't know what's going on. There's always talk, but you
never know until it happens. I remember last year, "Strikeforce
is going to be done. There's going to be no more Strikeforce."
... I'm done speculating. I'm just going to see what happens.
Anyone
in particular you'd like to fight?
All
of them. All of them except Rashad Evans. Whoever's at 205. Jon
Jones. Rampage. All of them. Shogun.
How
about Dan Henderson? You were interested in him when he was Strikeforce's
champion.
Yeah,
Dan Henderson, yes. The thing is, it's going to be bittersweet,
because Dan Henderson was part of the RAW team back in the day.
My goal, when I first started watching NHB at the time, I was
like, my goal is to be a RAW (Real American Wrestling) team member.
Because I looked up to Dan; Vladimir Matyushenko; Matt Lindland;
Randy Couture. I was like, those are guys I want to be fighting
with. I always wanted to be like them.
Like
Matt Lindland, I think he's one of the most underrated fighters
ever. Because Matt Lindland had great ground-and-pound. He was
always busy and found ways to win; he was a great grappler.
Randy
finds ways to win. Randy's a solid fighter. Great game plans
and smart.
Dan
has that big right hand and just finds ways to win.
That's
what it was like with the RAW team back then, Frank Trigg and
all those guys. They found ways to win.
You
left Rashad out of the list of guys you would fight. How come?
He's
like family to me. I talk to him like two or three times a week,
if not more. He's cool, like my brother and everybody. We train
together. We trade ideas and technique. That's family. Me and
Rashad have been cool since college.
Money
matters, but at the same time, Rashad's my boy. I wouldn't fight
Daniel. There are a lot of guys I wouldn't fight, especially
if we're teammates and we're real cool.
What
if one of you had the title and the other was the No. 1 contender?
For
me, I wouldn't take the fight unless he agrees. He agrees, then
I'd be like, "Ok, well..." Other than, I wouldn't jump
at it. I wouldn't jump at fighting with my friends and my family.
Not at all. I would not jump at that.
Zuffa
likes that sometimes.
Sometimes
they want it, but we're not slaves to the game. ... It's not
like that.
Source:
USA Today
|
Tarec
Saffiedine Carries Title Pressures into Saturday’s Strikeforce
Fight
by Andrew
Gladstone
On
Saturday night, two of Strikeforce’s most dynamic strikers
will square off in the welterweight division when Tarec “The
Sponge” Saffiedine meets Tyler Stinson at Strikeforce: Rockhold
vs. Jardine in Las Vegas.
Saffiedine
returns to the Strikeforce hexagon after a calculated three-round
decimation of veteran Scott Smith. The Belgian didn’t appear
to be troubled at all during the bout and landed his strikes
almost at will.
Now
moving forward with Stinson, the Team Quest pupil knows that
the pressure is on and expects his opponent to come out guns
blazing in the first round, but he’s prepared for it to
go anywhere at anytime.
“I
take this fight as any other fight,” Saffiedine told MMAWeekly.com.
“This
fight doesn’t have to be a bigger fight because the pressure
is on me and I really need to win this fight. I train as hard
just like I’m fighting anybody else and it’s going
be a good fight and I’m looking forward to it. He’s
aggressive on his feet, especially in the first round. I’m
expecting him to do that, but if it goes another way I’m
prepared to do so.”
Saffiedine’s
bout against Stinson isn’t just any other fight though.
Former adversary Tyrone Woodley will be competing on the same
card against a hungry up-and-comer in Jordan Mein. Whoever emerges
victorious could be in line for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight
title.
Revenge
is still on the mind of Saffiedine after losing to Woodley, and
it would be the icing on the cake if Saffiedine could get the
rematch for the title, but Saffiedine never looks too far forward
and knows that he has his hands full with Stinson this Saturday
night.
“It’s
definitely on the back of my mind. I’m focused on Tyler
right now, but it’s definitely a boost and if I can get
a rematch with Woodley it would mean even more if it is for a
title. I can’t even ask for more.
“I
never underestimate anybody and I’m not going to start with
him. He’s really tough and I trained really hard for this
fight and I won’t let (Stinson) get this chance.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Toughman
Hawaii Today!
Hilo Civic Center,
Hilo, Hawaii
January 7, 2012
|
Hawaii
Triple Crown 2012 Schedule
March
Hawaiian Open Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/16-17/12
State of Hawaii BJJ Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Arena)
October
Aloha State BJJ Championship
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Source:
Romolo Barros
|
UFC
on Fuel 1: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger Official, Tickets on Sale
This Week
The
UFC has officially announced their first card for Fuel TV set
to go down Feb 15 from Omaha, Neb. with tickets on sale for the
event this week.
The
card will be headlined by rising welterweight contender Jake
Ellenberger as he faces former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner
Diego Sanchez.
While
he now trains full time in California, Ellenberger was born and
raised in Nebraska and will obviously look to have hometown support
behind him when he faces Sanchez in Feb.
“Sanchez
has fought a lot of great fighters and he brings a lot of good
tools to the table, but he won’t beat me,” Ellenberger
said. “I’ve always prepared for the worst and hoped
for the best. I always look to finish fights as fast as I can,
just being prepared as I can. But I can see a TKO in the first
or second round.”
Following
a stint in the lightweight division that included a shot at the
title, Diego Sanchez returned home to welterweight where he spent
most of his career. Since that time, Sanchez has won 2 out of
his last 3 bouts, and most recently picked up a decision win
over Martin Kampmann last March.
A
hand injury prevented Sanchez from coming back in Sept. against
UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, so now a very motivated fighter
will return almost one year later to try and stop Ellenberger
from his recent run of success.
“I
am expecting an electric atmosphere for my fight against Jake
Ellenberger in the UFC on Fuel TV card,” Sanchez said. “Not
only is Omaha in the heart of some of the best wrestling in the
U.S., but it is also Ellenberger’s home. I have never been
more ready for a fight in my career. Fans are going to see a
focused and well-rounded Diego Sanchez stepping into the Octagon.
I promise they will like what they see.”
Also
announced for the card are a pair of heavyweight match-ups for
the broadcast. Heavy hitter Dave Herman meets 6’11”
Dutch fighter Stefan Struve while undefeated prospects Stipe
Miocic faces Phil DeFries.
In
addition to the 3 hour broadcast that kicks off at 8pm ET/5pm
PT on Fuel TV, the network will also air a one hour special pre-show
at 7pm ET/4pm PT and a one hour post show that will air at 11pm
ET/8pm PT.
Fuel
TV will also air the weigh-ins for the event on Feb 14 at 5pm
ET/2pm PT.
Tickets
for the UFC on Fuel event will go on sale to the general public
this Friday, Jan 6 at 10am CT with prices ranging from $150 down
to $35. UFC newsletter subscribers will have special access to
ticket sales starting at 10am CT on Jan 5.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
By
the Numbers: UFC 141
By Tristen
Critchfield
By the Numbers: UFC 141 Alistair Overeem announced his arrival
to the UFC with authority on Friday night, punishing Brock Lesnar
with a kick to the liver to claim his spot as the top heavyweight
contender in the promotion. The former Strikeforce, Dream and
K-1 champion stopped Lesnar’s only takedown of the evening
while repeatedly punishing his foe with brutal knees in the clinch.
At
the 2:26 mark of round one, the colossal clash was all over.
Moments later, Lesnar announced his retirement in the Octagon,
ending a short but memorable run in the UFC for the Minnesota
native.
Equally
as impressive as Overeem was Nate Diaz, who ruined Donald Cerrone’s
bid for a perfect 2011 by outboxing the Jackson’s Mixed
Martial Arts product over three action-packed rounds. The performance
was reminiscent of his brother Nick, who will battle Carlos Condit
for the interim welterweight title on Feb. 4. Here is a by the
numbers look at UFC 141, with statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.
13:
Significant strikes by which Alistair Overeem outlanded Brock
Lesnar in his first-round technical knockout victory on Friday.
Lesnar, a former national champion wrestler at the University
of Minnesota, had his lone takedown attempt stuffed by the former
Strikeforce heavyweight champion.
34:
Finishes among 36 career victories for Overeem. The Dutchman
has only gone the distance in victory against Fabricio Werdum
in June and versus Vitor Belfort in 2006.
22.3:
Average number of strikes by which Lesnar has been outlanded
in his last three Octagon appearances. Overeem outlanded the
former WWE star by 13 strikes on Saturday. Cain Velasquez landed
22 more strikes at UFC 121, while Shane Carwin connected 32 more
times than Lesnar at UFC 116.
120-44:
Combined record of Lesnar’s opponents during his seven-fight
UFC tenure. The former heavyweight champion retires with victories
over Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin
inside the Octagon.
Diaz
outboxed Cerrone all night.
238:
Significant strikes landed by Nate Diaz in his unanimous decision
victory over Donald Cerrone. For three rounds, Diaz consistently
outboxed his opponent, landing no less than 69 power strikes
in each frame. The total was 144 strikes better than his previous
career best of 94, which came against Marcus Davis at UFC 118.
2-6:
Record for Diaz in fights that go to the judges’ scorecards.
Prior to his triumph over Cerrone, Diaz last got the nod in a
three-round fight against Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 15.
.530:
Striking accuracy for Cerrone, ahead of his career clip of 47
percent. Diaz outlanded “Cowboy” by 142 significant
strikes overall, however.
7:
Fight of the Night Awards in Cerrone’s career. His first
such honor came in a victory over Rob McCullough in 2008. Diaz
has five Fight of the Night awards of his own.
0:
Submissions attempted by Diaz against Cerrone. The Stockton,
Calif., native’s 18 career submission attempts are good
for 10th all time in the UFC.
1,973:
Total strikes landed by Jon Fitch in his UFC career, second all-time
in the organization behind Georges St. Pierre. The American Kickboxing
Academy product remains stuck on that number after failing to
throw a punch in a 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks
on Saturday night.
17:
Seconds difference between the time of Hendricks’ win over
Fitch and his previous career best, a 29-second technical knockout
of Amir Sadollah at UFC 101.
3,304:
Days since Fitch’s last knockout loss, when a Wilson Gouveia
knee finished him in round one at HooknShoot “Absolute Fighting
Championships 1” in 2002. The former Purdue Boilermaker
had never been stopped in his previous 15 UFC appearances.
.0001:
Percentage of Fitch’s career Octagon time -- 3 hours, 28
minutes and 58 seconds -- represented by Saturday’s short-lived
appearance.
103:
Total strikes landed by Jimy Hettes in the first round of his
lopsided unanimous decision win against Nam Phan, who managed
to land only three strikes of his own in that same time frame.
Overall, Hettes outstruck his opponent 221 to 25 over three rounds.
.620:
percent of significant strikes successfully landed by Junior
Assuncao in his decision loss to Ross Pearson, whose career significant
strike defense rate is 70 percent.
15:
Failed takedowns by Assuncao against Pearson. The Brazilian was
1-for-7 on takedowns in both the second and third frames.
6:
Takedowns by Danny Castillo in his split decision win over Anthony
Njokuani, the most allowed by the muay Thai specialist since
Ben Henderson took him down seven times at WEC 38. In the eight
bouts between, Njokuani was taken down a combined seven times.
.670:
Career takedown accuracy for Jacob Volkman, good for fourth best
among all fighters in the UFC.
Source:
Sherdog
|
MMA:
Fitch’s fight philosophy
by CARLOS
ARIAS
UFC
welterweight contender Jon Fitch said there is no reason to dumb
down MMA in a recent interview with Sherdog.com. Fitch, who has
been the distance in his past nine fights, gave his thoughts
about the argument that mixed martial artists need to entertain
the masses with their fights.
Here’s
what Fitch, a black belt in Guerilla jiu-jitsu, had to say:
“A
fight is a fight. We fight to find out who’s the best, whose
the best style is. The whole point of UFC 1 was to find out what
style was the most effective and whose is the best, and I think
we’ve gotten away from just styles, you know, jiu-jitsu
or boxing or whatever, and we’ve gotten into games, like
what kind of game is dominant, who’s going to apply which
types of pieces from each style in their game to make it dominant.
And I think that’s exciting and fun to watch, and if people
don’t think that’s exciting and fun to watch, then
I don’t think they’re a fan of MMA. I think they’re
a pro wrestling fan and I think they’re a kung fu movie
fan, and that’s what they want to see. I think they want
to see pro wrestling or kung fu movies, and I don’t think
that we should dumb down the sport to make that small percentage
of people happy. I don’t think it makes sense. I don’t
like soccer, but I don’t go on forums all day and bitch
and moan about how they don’t use their hands.”
Source:
Orange County
|
Anthony
Johnson in No Hurry to Go Back to Welterweight After UFC 142
By Ariel
Helwani
Anthony
Johnson is considered to be one of the top welterweights in the
UFC, but his days of fighting at 170 pounds may be over.
"Rumble,"
who will make his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort at
UFC 142 next week, said on a Wednesday conference call that he
isn't thinking about fighting at welterweight anymore.
"Right
now, middleweight is where I am," Johnson said. "That's
all I'm thinking about, and I really don't mind fighting middleweight
because I get to eat more now. So like I said, I feel 1000 times
better than I did when I fought [at] 170, so that's why I'm so
happy and want to fight really bad."
Johnson,
who said he currently weighed 215 pounds, would sometimes cut
as much as sixty pounds to make the 171-pound welterweight limit.
He even missed weight twice (UFC 76 and UFC 104), but despite
the struggle to make weight, he never seriously flirted with
the idea of moving up to 185 pounds.
That
is until the UFC offered him a shot against Vitor Belfort in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"This
is going to be a lot of fun for me," Johnson said. "So
that's why I feel so good because I don't have to cut the weight
that I used to cut and I'm more explosive; I'm more athletic.
Everything has just come to where it needs to be right now. I'm
peaking at the right time."
Asked
whether he was officially done as a welterweight, Johnson simply
said, "so far."
UFC
142, headlined by Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes for the UFC featherweight
title, airs live on pay-per-view from the HSBC Arena in Rio on
Jan. 14. The prelims will air on FX.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Undefeated
Prospect C.J. Keith Signs with UFC
by Damon
Martin
Undefeated
prospect C.J. Keith has signed a deal with the UFC and will compete
for the promotion beginning in 2012.
Keith’s
management team at Iridium Sports Agency confirmed the signing
on Thursday.
With
a perfect 8-0 record, C.J. Keith comes to the UFC with not only
a solid resume, but dangerous skills to back it up in the Octagon.
Over
his last three fights, Keith has won all three by knockout or
TKO, blasting through opponents with a variety of strikes.
Now
Keith will move to the UFC and compete in a very tough lightweight
division.
A
time and opponent have not been announced for Keith’s debut
in the UFC.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Gray
Maynard earns Jiu-Jitsu blue belt in Rio
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
The
“vacation” in Rio de Janeiro two-time UFC title challenger
Gray Maynard is on has panned out to be a tad bit more entertaining
than he could have expected.
New
Year’s Eve festivities on Copacabana Beach, training with
José Aldo in Flamengo, chit-chat with our GMA Vitor “Shaolin”
and a spanking new belt with the Nova União seal of approval—the
lightweight powerhouse posted about it on Twitter.
Gray,
a star of a couple of the finest fights of the year, in his title
bids against Frankie Edgar, has been helping José Aldo
out with is wrestling in preparing to face Chad Mendes at UFC
142 on the coming 14th. Yesterday, Gray donned a borrowed white
gi and, for the proficiency he displayed on the ground, Coach
André Pederneiras awarded him his blue belt.
“I
did some Gi Jiu-Jitsu training at Nova União. I got my
blue belt from André Pederneiras. I’m honored,”
he tweeted.
Gray
Maynard fought Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight strap on
two occasions in 2011. Their tussle in January of last year came
to an historic draw. In October again their fight was considered
one of the most thrilling of the 2011 season. In both cases,
Maynard nearly knocked Edgar out in the first round, but a spectacular
come-from-behind performance saw the champion retain his title.
In January it went to the judges; but in October Edgar knocked
Maynard out in the fourth round.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Sherdog.com’s
2011 All-Violence Team
2011 All-Violence Team
By Jordan
Breen
For
those sick of mid-fight hugs and high fives, this is the list
you waited all year for.
On
the very first day of 2011, UFC 125 in Las Vegas featured Jeremy
Stephens blowing Marcus Davis’ doors off in stark fashion,
Dustin Poirier using Josh Grispi as a heavy bag, Thiago Silva
using Brandon Vera as a bongo drum, and Brian Stann using Chris
Leben as a tent peg.
Then,
imagine our surprise then when Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard
-- two fighters tabbed to have a blasé rematch of little
note, title fight or not – went out and staged a 25-minute
classic. Yet, it wasn’t even the most violent fight they
would even have this year.
On
Dec. 31, as the year came to a close, Shinya Aoki forced Satoru
Kitaoka to respire the blood from his own mangled nose before
heavyweight icon Fedor Emelianenko clobbered Olympic gold medalist
Satoshi Ishii before the stroke of midnight. 2011 was a year
of particularly intense action, perfectly book-ended. This is
the second annual All-Violence team, the roster of 2011’s
MMA action heroes.
If
you are unfamiliar with the mandate, read this. This is where
we reward those exceptional athletes with a flair for the dramatic
and jaw-dropping, those with the ecstatic fusion of technique,
artistry and brutality, the prizefighters who keep us glued to
Youtube, and stroking the Retweet button.
The
nature of 2011’s All-V roster perhaps suggests something
about how action-packed and dramatic the year was. This squad
returns only four members from 2010’s All-Violence Team,
with Jon Jones, Junior dos Santos, Hector Lombard and Alexander
Shlemenko earning repeat honors. However, this year’s list
features five divisional aces -- four of whom garnered First-Team
status -- and many notable top challengers. Quite simply, in
2011, MMA’s alpha dogs showed off their offensive skills.
It
was a year where flying front kick knockouts and broken arms
became nearly passé. However, MMA’s violence landscape
did have a notable departure, as longtime welterweight brawler
and All-Violence inspiration Chris Lytle decided to call it a
career this past August.
After
12 years and over 50 MMA bouts, Lytle went out in a befitting
fashion: he went out with integrity and dignity, tapping Dan
Hardy out in the third round, but not before landing 127 significant
strikes by FightMetric.com count.With that performance, Lytle
recorded his fourth bout with over 100 significant strikes landed,
a categorical lead that he now shares with Nick Diaz. An All-Violence
first-team entrant in 2010, few men were as generous with their
public offerings of violence as Lytle, and for that, we’re
indebted.
Now,
here’s 24 athletes that not unlike Chris Lytle, know exatly
how to get into an animated .gif.
2011
All-Violence First Team
•
Heavyweight: Junior dos Santos
• Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones
• Middleweight: Anderson Silva
• Welterweight: Nick Diaz
• Lightweight: Nate Diaz
• Featherweight: Chan Sung Jung
• Bantamweight: Urijah Faber
• Flyweight: Ian McCall
Heavyweight:
In most years, if you’re the most successful heavyweight
in MMA, you’ll get on this list. If you win the UFC title,
your chances are stronger still. But, if you knock out Cain Velasquez
-- 2010’s All-Violence first team heavyweight rep -- in
64 seconds on primetime network TV with pinpoint punching standing
and on the ground, you’re a lock. And that is to say nothing
of dos Santos’ one-sided shellacking of Shane Carwin, either.
According to FightMetric.com, dos Santos landed more strikes
(116) than his two combined opponents threw (102). A third-teamer
in 2010, it’s hard to imagine dos Santos not putting an
all-V streak together for himself.
Light
Heavyweight: Who else was going to be here? With a wide variety
of tools, Jon Jones thrashed his 2011 opposition with startling
ease, and as such, repeats as a first-team All-Violence entry.
His schedule included three previous UFC champions, but it didn’t
matter, as Jones buzzsawed everything in sight en route to a
2011 campaign that re-defined single-year success in MMA. Though
Jones’ trio of submissions were set up with his unique blend
of offensive tools, his sustained, whole-body beatdown of Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua to take the title in March would’ve
been enough to get Jones the top spot by itself. In a year full
of sensational violence, Jones’ title capture was one of
the year’s most grisly, hard-to-watch moments, and somehow,
it was wholly fitting.
Middleweight:
One never knows what they’re going to get with Anderson
Silva in any given fight, let alone an entire year. In 2011,
in between Nike sponsorships and Burger King ads, Silva managed
to front kick the face off of Vitor Belfort before styling all
over Yushin Okami in front of a partisan Rio crowd. After dropping
Okami twice, Silva now holds the record for most knockdowns in
UFC history at 15, usurping Chuck Liddell’s 14. Flying front
kicks to the face were all the rage in 2011, and Silva lit that
fuse with his knockout over Belfort, which Brazilian fight fans
immediately immortalized as “bicuda na fuca” -- Portuguese
slang loosely meaning “boot to the dog’s snout.”
After all, when it comes to Silva, common words and phrases just
can’t conjure the magic.
Welterweight:
No need to recite a hit list for Nick Diaz in 2011; we all watched
and rocked to this man’s V. So, let’s go to the boffins:
according to the number crunching gurus at FightMetric, Diaz
topped 2011’s list of Strikes Landed per Minute (SLpM) among
fighters with at least three fights in UFC, Strikeforce, and
Dream. How dominant was he? Second-place Melvin Guillard clocked
in at 6.22 SLpM. Diaz? 10.95. He set the all-time record for
significant strikes landed in a single fight by Fightmetric,
with 178 against B.J. Penn, a record his younger brother would
later break -- more on that later. He’s the only man to
ever put up two 100-plus significant strike performances in the
same year. He also ties All-V legend Chris Lytle with four 100-plus
significant strike performances. No one else has more than two.
Lightweight:
What started with a one-sided loss to Rory MacDonald at 170 pounds
in April ended with two capital-V performances. In destroying
Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone, the younger of the esteemed
Diaz brothers had the crew at Fightmetric tweaking. Against Cerrone,
Nate Diaz shattered the record for most significant strikes landed
in a single fight with 238, wiping out older brother Nick’s
mark of 178 from his victory over B.J. Penn in October. Fightmetric
tabbed Diaz as landing 65.8 percent of his significant strikes
against Cerrone, nearly doubling the expected accuracy of a fight
with 200-plus significant strikes. Diaz landed 300 significant
strikes, the most in any calendar year in UFC history. For violence
in 2011, 209 was the only number you really needed to know.
Featherweight:
In 2011, Chan Sung Jung turned in the first twister submission
in UFC history over Leonard Garcia and followed up with a seven-second
knockout of Mark Hominick that may or may not have tied a UFC
record -- applicable apologies to Duane Ludwig. Jung’s “Korean
Zombie” persona embodies much of the spirit that this list
celebrates, and this year, the cult favorite featherweight did
it with the highest degree of style, whether striking or submitting.
That, in a nutshell, is the violence yin and yang.
Bantamweight:
Watching a relatively ho-hum March effort against previous All-V
first-teamer Eddie Wineland, you’d be hard-pressed to figure
out how Urijah Faber could end up on his list. But, with a thrilling,
give-and-take 25-minute bout with Dominick Cruz -- one in which
he actually did work with his hands -- Faber got back on the
right track. In November, he put it in fifth gear against fellow
former WEC champion Brian Bowles, who he positively savaged standing,
in the scramble and on the ground in one of the year’s most
consummate, complete asskickings.
Flyweight:
Sherdog.com’s “Comeback Fighter of the Year,”
Ian McCall deserved mention for “Breakthrough Fighter of
the Year,” as well. That’s all part of the enormous
striking and grappling improvements he’s shown under Colin
Oyama and Giva Santana. In February, he overcame a tough first
round against previously unbeaten Jussier da Silva to outslug
him, before putting on a 15-minute virtuoso beatdown of another
previously unbeaten fighter, Dustin Ortiz. “Uncle Creepy”
capped the year by outdueling Darrell Montague and tapping him
out in masterful fashion for the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight
title. This is what 125-pound action is supposed to look like,
and it came against three opponents likely to follow McCall to
the UFC. That’s why he’s getting a chance to be a UFC
champion, creeps.
2011
All-Violence Second Team
•
Heavyweight: Frank Mir
• Light Heavyweight: Dan Henderson
• Middleweight: Hector Lombard
• Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger
• Lightweight: Frankie Edgar
• Featherweight: Pat Curran
• Bantamweight: Bibiano Fernandes
• Flyweight: Dustin Ortiz
Heavyweight:
Few in MMA have ever shown off the kind of submission-oriented
violence that Frank Mir has, and that was prior to his magnum
opus in 2011. In May, Mir was solid if unspectacular in a one-sided
beatup of Roy Nelson. However, in December, the former UFC champion
got into the All-V pantheon once again as he came back in thrilling
fashion not just to beat, not even just to submit, but to break
the right humerus of legendary heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Mir is not only now the first man to knock out and to tap Nogueira
in MMA competition, but he did both of them after flying off
of his motorcycle seven years ago, an injury that once threatened
his career.
Light
Heavyweight: If not for the success of Jon Jones, Dan Henderson
might’ve been a consensus Fighter of the Year. That notwithstanding,
the 41-year-old Henderson turned in some sensational violence
in 2011. Even if we ignore his heavyweight handling of the legendary
Fedor Emelianenko -- the first man to stop Emelianenko in that
kind of fashion -- his 205-pound accomplishments were sensational.
Henderson started the year by blasting Brazilian Rafael “Feijao”
Cavalcante to the Strikeforce title, and ended it by beating
the tar out of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for 15 minutes
of their 25-minute slobberknocking war. Henderson’s right
hand continues to be the very substance this list is made of.
Middleweight:
Another year, another handful of hapless Hector Lombard foes.
Lombard, first-team All-V in 2010, returns to the list after
another vicious year. There’s no question that the Cuban
ex-pat faced limited opposition, as his best foe was TUF 7 castoff
Jesse Taylor, the rest a faded bunch of serviceable veterans.
Nonetheless, the gruesome way in which Lombard was able to both
absolutely destroy both Falaniko Vitale and Trevor Prangley is
worth consideration, as well as giving Joe Doerksen a bloodbath,
and his nifty heel hook on Taylor. In 2011, Lombard’s violence
was as multi-faceted as it was brutal.
Welterweight:
In February, Jake Ellenberger got some flak for a conservative
decision over an unwieldy Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Unsatisfied,
the nasty Nebraskan smashed Sean Pierson so bad in April that
his opponent forgot to fall down for a moment. However, Ellenberger’s
appearance on this list is largely due to the fact that he drove
his kneecap into two-division standout and pound-for-pound entrant
Jake Shields’ face in a mere 53 seconds. It was the first
time in over 11 years and 30 fights that Shields had been stopped.
Lightweight:
Frankie Edgar is one of 2011’s simultaneously most unlikely
and most deserving All-V entrants. On the first day of the year,
Jan. 1, Edgar made his second UFC lightweight title defense against
Gray Maynard, and took an arguable 10-7 smashing for the ages
before roaring back to a draw in one of the best fights in MMA
history. Ten months later in Houston, he repeated his Rocky antics,
except this time, he turned Gray Maynard’s lights out in
shocking fashion. Edgar’s unparalleled resolve coupled with
his thrilling surprise stoppage of Maynard made his appearance
on this list a no-brainer.
Featherweight:
He didn’t offer Eddie Alvarez much in April, but after dropping
back down to 145, Pat Curran got nasty in the Bellator cage.
Not unlike his undead Korean counterpart, the 24-year-old Curran
also turned in one of 2011’s best submissions, as well as
one of the year’s best knockouts. In June, Curran had a
deliciously poetic Peruvian necktie submission over Peru native
Luis Palomino, but excelled himself two months later with a decapitating
head kick of former All-V first-teamer Marlon Sandro. Like Jung,
Curran knew the violent flavor combination we so crave.
Bantamweight:
Bibiano Fernandes was no pussycat prior to 2011, but the former
Dream featherweight champion seriously wasn’t an offensive
wizard. Dropping to bantamweight, the former BJJ world champion
stepped up his offense big time, quickly choking out super-tough
Takafumi Otsuka in 41 seconds. On Dec. 31, he busted up rock-solid
Brazilian Rodolfo Marques Diniz before clearing out UFC vet Antonio
Banuelos in 81 seconds with his hands to take the Dream bantamweight
crown. Good on you, Bibi.
Flyweight:
Dustin Ortiz proved himself to be the owner of some Tasmanian
Devil-like offense and an indomitable spirit in 2011. Though
he couldn’t top Ian McCall in May, Ortiz’s toughness
was on vivid display and he never stopped landing licks. In December,
Ortiz sealed the deal by having an insane action fight with Midwesterner
Josh Rave. Although a ringside doctor saw to it that Rave was
stopped unnecessarily with 22 seconds to fight, that does nothing
to impeach the thrill and efficacy of Ortiz’s scrambling
and scrapping at 125 pounds.
2011
All-Violence Third Team
•
Heavyweight: Konstantin Gluhov
• Light Heavyweight: Alexander Gustafsson
• Middleweight: Alexander Shlemenko
• Welterweight: Douglas Lima
• Lightweight: Shinya Aoki
• Featherweight: Patricio Freire
• Bantamweight: John Dodson
• Flyweight: Jussier da Silva
Heavyweight:
Who? That’s right, V-lovers. Latvian kickboxer Konstantin
Gluhov isn’t on the radar of many fans, and he’s not
exactly a top shelf talent. But, in 2011, Gluhov posted a 6-3
mark, with a six-fight winning streak in which he stopped all
half dozen foes. Three crippling body punch stoppages, and two
toe holds, plus he battered one of Poland’s best fighters
in Michal Kita into quitting. Do yourself a favor, get on YouTube,
and bask in one of the most lovely left hooks to the liver you’ll
ever see. In the heavyweight division, this kind of diverse,
highlight-making ability deserves acknowledgment.
Light
Heavyweight: Valkommen, Mr. Gustafsson. The other 24-year-old
at 205 pounds quietly had a fantastic year, emerging as a present-and-future
standout in the division. More importantly to this list, Gustafsson
showed a well-rounded violence game this year, using his ground-and-pound
and top game to choke out big-hitting Kiwi James Te Huna before
using his already nasty yet rapidly improving boxing to knock
out respected vets Matt Hamill and Vladimir Matyushenko. It was
Gustafsson’s handling of Hamill that led the TUF alum to
finally decide to hang up his gloves. Besides, you had to imagine
that a talent prospect nicknamed “The Mauler” would
end up on this list eventually.
Middleweight:
In 2011, Alexander Shlemenko only managed a 7-0 record. He only
stopped four of those opponents and -- can you believe the nerve?
-- he didn’t even finish anyone with a flying or spinning
something-or-other. However, like so many men with Ph.D’s
in V, it’s easy to critique a fighter based on a previously
insane standard they established. Shlemenko was dominant, he
was entertaining, and he even power guillotined Zelg Galesic
off of his feet in September. Any other doubts can be addressed
to victims Brian Rogers and Nick Wagner, who can attest to this
Russian’s penchant for punishment.
Welterweight:
At 2011’s outset, Douglas Lima was a good prospect with
great grappling skills. By the year’s end, he was one of
the sport’s hottest prospects, quickly gaining a rep as
a dangerous puncher. His 74-second blowout of veteran Terry Martin
was a teaser of his developing boxing, which would show up in
the Bellator Season 5 welterweight tournament, where he used
his brilliant counter right hand to clobber both Chris Lozano
and Ben Saunders and earn a crack at Ben Askren’s title
in 2012. And, like so many violence heroes, Lima doesn’t
seem to get really nasty until he gets dropped himself.
Lightweight:
Us violence lovers are equal opportunists, but fact is, it is
the fistically gifted who so often end up on this list. Shinya
Aoki, however, remains a shining example of how cutthroat and
violent a dynamic submission game can be. In 2011, Aoki beat
four good lightweights. He tapped three of them -- talented grappler
Lyle Beerbohm, UFC vet Rich Clementi and former WEC champion
Rob McCullough -- with little more than a crossface. Against
Satoru Kitaoka on New Year’s Eve, Aoki smashed his foe’s
nose with knees whilst constantly trying to choke him out from
back mount, leading to the crimson-masked Kitaoka gasping for
breath while choking on mouthfuls of his own blood. That’ll
get you on this list almost any year.
Featherweight:
In just nine weeks, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire took
apart two sturdy, skilled fighters in Georgi Karakhanyan and
Wilson Reis, stopping both with his heavy punching in the third
round. Though he was unable to stop the underrated Daniel Straus
in the Season 4 featherweight tournament final, his offensive
ability was still on firm display. A broken hand nixed a Bellator
title rematch with Joe Warren, but in just a few short weeks,
“Pitbull” showed off why he is one of MMA’s foremost
instances of controlled-but-brutal, well-rounded aggression.
Bantamweight:
Does this deserve an asterisk? TUF 14 bantamweight winner John
Dodson only has one official win on the books in 2011, cracking
T.J. Dillashaw in under two minutes to win the season. However,
that victory was the culmination of an impressive exhibition
run on the reality show, in which Dodson, more natural as a 125-pounder,
moved up 10 pounds and developed a more consistent, focused attack.
Gone were days of Dodson on his back pedal, now a predator with
a monster lead left hook. Brandon Merkt, John Albert and Johnny
Bedford all got whooped before Dillashaw, and with three impressive
stoppages on the year, Dodson belongs on this, exhibition bouts
or not.
Flyweight:
Jussier da Silva brings a different kind of violence to the table.
Though he’s a competent striker, he doesn’t use much
of it in his fights. Like 2011’s hottest fad animal, the
honey badger, da Silva is single-minded in his MMA focus: he
wants your back. He took flyweight king Ian McCall’s back
in February and rode it for almost five minutes until falling
in the final two frames. May? Three full rounds on flyweight
legend Mamoru Yamaguchi’s back. Solid Brazilians Michael
William Costa and Rodrigo Santos? Rear-naked chokes. Da Silva
is out for one prize in every fight, and even good opponents
can scarcely stop him from taking it. That, folks, is pure V.
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
January fight cards (1/14 Rio, 1/20 Nashville, 1/28 Chicago)
By Zach
Arnold
Date/Location:
UFC 142 on Saturday, January 14th, 2012
Rio at HSBC Arena
TV: PPV
Dark
matches
Featherweights:
Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
Light Heavyweights: Fabio Maldonado vs. Caio Magalhaes
Welterweights: Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
Featherweights: Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Heavyweights: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Edinaldo Oliveira
Lightweights: Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
Main card
Lightweights:
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim
Welterweights: Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater
Welterweights: Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
Middleweights: Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
UFC Featherweight title match: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
Date/Location:
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena
TV: UFC on FX
Dark
matches
Bantamweights:
Joseph Sandoval vs. Nick Denis
Light Heavyweights: Karlos Vemola vs. Ryan Jimmo
Lightweights: Kamal Shalorus vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Welterweights: Charlie Brenneman vs. Daniel Roberts
Middleweights: Jorge Rivera vs. Eric Schafer
Main card
Heavyweights:
Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft
Bantamweights: Ken Stone vs. Mike Easton
Welterweights: Duane Ludwig vs. Josh Neer
Lightweights: Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller
Date/Location: Saturday, January 28th, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois
at the United Center
TV: UFC on Fox (network/broadcast over-the-air)
Dark
matches
Welterweights:
Chris Camozzi vs. Dustin Jacoby
Heavyweights: Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson
Lightweights: Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely
Featherweights: Cub Swanson vs. George Roop
Heavyweights: Mike Russow vs. J.O. Einemo
Lightweights: Cody McKenzie vs. Michael Johnson
Lightweights: Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz
Main card
Welterweights:
Michael Bisping vs. Demian Maia
Middleweights: Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz
Light Heavyweights (eliminator): Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Shogun
Rua expects a tough fight in the UFC
By Guilherme
Cruz
Mauricio
Shogun Rua was the main star against Dan Henderson on one of
the best fights in all UFC history. The defeat, however, delayed
his plans of regaining the title of the division. Back to the
trainings in 2012, the Brazilian talked to TATAME about his plans
for the future, anticipating a duel against one of the top guys
of the division. “I’m sure it’ll be a tough guy
because there’re only tough guys on the division. I’ll
keep training to fight the bests”, said Shogun, who also
commented on Jon Jones’ rise.
What
are your plans for 2012? Have you come back to the trainings?
The
expectations are good and I’m already training. I hope I
get better soon so I can fight for my fans, family and team.
Are
you doing hard trainings already?
Actually,
now I’m taking it slow, just training. I don’t know
when I’m fighting. Next week I might make some deal, but
for now I don’t know anything about it, so I’m taking
it easy. When I know it for sure, I can set a plan and work on
it.
You
just did an amazing fight against Dan Henderson, who was the
champion in Strikeforce. How do you see the division now?
This
is the most disputed weight class, and I don’t have an opponent
yet because it’s too messy right now. I guess Dan Henderson
is getting a title shot and I have no idea of who I’m fighting
against. I want to get ready for my next fight.
Who
can be your next opponent?
I’m
sure it’ll be a tough guy because there’re only tough
guys on the division. I’ll keep training to fight the bests.
When
you fought Jon Jones you were the champion and he came by surprise.
He defested Quinton Jackson and now Lyoto Machida. What are your
thoughts about him? Did you think he’d get this far after
he beat you?
Yeah,
I did. He’s very eclectic, a good guy and, absolutely, a
guy who’s making room for himself in MMA. He has beaten
many good fighters, top guys of the division and he’s proven
to be a good athlete.
Source:
Tatame
|
Matches
to Make After UFC 141
By Brian
Knapp
Alistair Overeem evidently takes the whole first impression thing
to heart.
In
his first Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance, Overeem
blitzed and abused former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar en
route to a first-round technical knockout in the UFC 141 main
event on Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The
“Demolition Man,” having softened Lesnar with repeated
knees to the abdomen, polished off the onetime World Wrestling
Entertainment superstar with a wicked kick to the body and follow-up
punches 2:26 into round one.
Afterward,
Lesnar retired from mixed martial arts. His career was twice
interrupted by diverticulitis -- a condition in which small pouches
form in the wall of the colon and become inflamed or infected.
The 34-year-old Minnesotan underwent surgery in May to remove
roughly a foot of his troublesome intestine.
The
victory, Overeem’s eighth in a row, thrusts the Dutchman
into the brightest of spotlights as the top contender for UFC
heavyweight gold. Unbeaten since 2007, he has finished seven
of his last eight foes inside one round.
In
wake of UFC 141 “Lesnar vs. Overeem,” here are seven
matchups we want to see made:
Alistair
Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos: Overeem walked through Lesnar
knowing the prize behind the curtain was dos Santos, the Brazilian
juggernaut who captured the UFC heavyweight crown with a first-round
knockout against Cain Velasquez in November. Provided dos Santos
recovers as expected from knee surgery, a showdown with Overeem
will serve as one of the UFC’s centerpieces during the first
half of 2012. Easily the two most feared standup fighters in
the heavyweight division, any encounter between dos Santos and
Overeem will be greeted with massive anticipation.
Nate
Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis-Joe Lauzon winner: No one did more to
improve his stock at UFC 141 than Diaz. The 26-year-old Cesar
Gracie protégé halted the tear of Donald Cerrone,
as he battered the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts standout
with accurate punches to the head and body in a one-sided unanimous
decision. Wrestling remains his kryptonite, but it has become
harder and harder to imagine Diaz not being competitive against
anyone willing to engage him on the feet. Now a real player at
155 pounds, he could be in line for the winner of the Pettis-Lauzon
match at UFC 143 on Feb. 4.
Donald
Cerrone vs. Pettis-Lauzon loser: Perhaps Cerrone’s 2011
schedule was a bit too ambitious. A five-fight-in-10-month-span
can improve one’s resume in a hurry, but it also comes with
a price. After a first-round exchange with Diaz, Cerrone looked
listless and lethargic, unable to mount meaningful offense against
a relentless and calculated opponent. While costly in the short-term,
the defeat to Diaz could prove a valuable learning experience
for the high-strung Cerrone, who remains one of the lightweight
division’s most exciting fighters. A duel with the Pettis-Lauzon
loser seems certain to keep his competitive juices flowing.
Hendricks
knocked Fitch flat.
Johny
Hendricks vs. Jake Ellenberger-Diego Sanchez winner: Hendricks
needed all of 12 seconds to drive a stake through former welterweight
title contender Jon Fitch. It came in the form of a hellacious
left hook that sent Fitch crashing to the canvas before the two
men were even able to break a sweat. With that, Hendricks announced
his arrival as a serious force at 170 pounds. A two-time NCAA
wrestling champion with thunder in his hands, he has all but
erased the memory of his unanimous decision loss to Rick Story
in December 2010. With champion Georges St. Pierre on the sidelines
with a serious knee injury, the welterweight division is as wide
open as it has been in many a year. Ellenberger and Sanchez will
do battle on Feb. 15. Give Hendricks the winner, with the aim
of establishing another title contender.
Jon
Fitch vs. Carlos Condit-Nick Diaz loser: Fitch was a consummate
winner for the better part of a decade, but even he could not
escape MMA’s predictable unpredictability.
His
ill-fated encounter with Hendricks’ booming left fist resulted
in one of the more shocking knockouts in UFC history, as Fitch
had not been finished in more than nine years and had lost only
once in his previous 23 appearances. The defeat to Hendricks
notwithstanding, his run of sustained excellence in one of the
sport’s deepest divisions cannot be ignored. Fitch remains
a threat to almost anyone at 170 pounds and could serve as the
filter through which the UFC separates its contenders from its
pretenders. Condit and Diaz will vie for the interim welterweight
crown at UFC 143 in February. The loser could find himself across
the cage from Fitch.
Alexander
Gustafsson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Outside of champion
Jon Jones and the unbeaten Phil Davis, Gustafsson appears to
be the most promising light heavyweight prospect in the sport.
The gifted 6-foot-4 Swede carved through respected former International
Fight League champion Vladimir Matyushenko in a tidy 2:13 and
has pieced together an impressive four-fight winning streak since
his submission defeat to Davis in April 2010. Is Gustafsson ready
for primetime? The time has come to answer that question. A potential
bout with the seasoned Antonio Rogerio Nogueira could provide
insight into his development and perhaps set him up as a possible
title contender at 205 pounds in 2012.
Jim
Hettes vs. Jonathan Brookins-Rani Yahya winner: Hettes was utterly
spectacular in dissecting “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
12 semifinalist Nam Phan with trip takedowns from the clinch,
brutal ground-and-pound and a frenzied submission game. A talented
prospect in a division suddenly teeming with them, the 24-year-old
Ricardo Almeida protégé could move quickly if the
breaks go his way. Brookins, the scramble-happy winner of “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 12, and Yahya, the respected submission
savant, will toe the line against one another on Feb. 15. Turn
Hettes loose on the winner and see what happens.
Source
Sherdog
|
UFC
TV Partner Comparison (Past and Present)
The
UFC's move to FOX already looks like it's paying off. The promotions
first showing on the network with "UFC Primetime" received
an average of 2 million viewers (1.3 household rating).
I
decided to compare the coverage size of each of the UFC's television
partners, both past and present, based on the total number of
households each network is available in and the percentage of
overall national coverage.
TV
Network
Houesholds (in million)
Coverage %
FOX
120.6
96%
SPIKE TV
99.9
86%
FX
99.3
74%
VERSUS
76
65%
FUEL TV
32
27%
It's
no surprise that the major network FOX tops the list, and is
available in just over 120 million homes throughout the U.S.
FOX is in about 10% more homes then SPIKE. The UFC's move to
the FOX family, which includes FX and FUEL, will not only put
the promotion on more channels but they'll also be available
in more homes throughout the United States. This give's the promotion
a larger platform to help promote their Pay-Pay-View events which
remain at the core of their business model. With a decline in
the Pay-Pay-View business throughout 2011, it will be interesting
to see if the new FOX television deal will have a significant
impact in 2012 and aid the UFC's attempt of breaking into the
mainstream.
Source:
MMA Metric
|
TUF
Winners Square Off at UFC 145
by Damon
Martin
A
lightweight match-up of former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winners
has been added to UFC 145 in Montreal with season 6 winner Mac
Danzig facing season 8 winner Efrain Escudero.
Danzig
first confirmed the fight via his Twitter account on Thursday,
and separate sources confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com as well
with bout agreements issued for the March contest.
Going
2-2 in his last four fights, Mac Danzig has faced some inconsistencies
in his career of late, but not without putting up a great fight
along the way. A controversial stoppage against Matt Wiman accounted
for one loss, and the other, also against Matt Wiman, was a slugfest
that stole the show at UFC on Versus 6 in October.
Still,
Danzig will be looking for a win to avoid back-to-back losses
when he returns to Montreal in March.
Facing
Danzig will be fellow ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner Efrain
Escudero, who books his next fight just a week removed from his
last one.
Escudero
stepped in on short notice to face Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141.
Volkmann controlled the majority of the fight with his wrestling,
but Escudero powered back in the third round almost ended the
fight with a modified guillotine choke.
The
fight ended however before Escudero could put Volkmann away and
he came out on the losing end of a decision.
Escudero
will be gunning for the win against Danzig to avoid the dreaded
two fight losing streak when he gets back in the Octagon in March.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Toughman
Hawaii Tomorrow!
Hilo Civic Center,
Hilo, Hawaii
January 7, 2012
|
Miesha
Tate Faces Ronda Rousey at Strikeforce March 3
by Damon
Martin
In
what has to be one of the most anticipated women’s title
fights since Cris Cyborg met Gina Carano in 2009, Strikeforce
bantamweight women’s champion Miesha Tate will meet former
Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey for the title on March 3 in Columbus,
Ohio.
Sources
close to the contest confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.
Ronda
Rousey has made a meteoric rise in MMA in her brief stint in
the sport. A former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo, Rousey burst
onto the scene in 2011 and racked up four wins in a row.
She
most recently defeated Julia Budd in Strikeforce in only 39 seconds,
and immediately called for a fight with champion Miesha Tate.
The
sparks began to fly at that point with Rousey and Tate going
back and forth in interviews and over Twitter.
It
now appears Rousey will get her wish and face Tate in her first
title defense in March. Tate captured the belt last year when
she defeated Marloes Coenen in July as part of the Strikeforce:
Fedor vs. Henderson card in Chicago.
A
winner of six fights in a row, Tate now faces Rousey in what
will be a marquee match-up on the March 3 Strikeforce card headed
for Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Arena.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sherdog’s
Top 10: MMA’s Most Dangerous Weapons
By Tristen
Critchfield
Ask
most any mixed martial artist these days about his greatest strength
and you are likely to get a stock answer regarding a “well-rounded”
skill set. Wrestlers, boxers and jiu-jitsu specialists train
side by side on a daily basis to gain knowledge and experience.
None of the cool kids are interested in specialization anymore.
The
continuing evolution of MMA is a boon to the sport, and it practically
guarantees competitive fights between opponents who are well-versed
in all aspects of their craft. Rare is the athlete who can truly
excel in one area, however, and even rarer still is the fighter
who has mastered something so well that it can turn the tide
of a fight without fail, even if a foe knows it is coming.
Think
Dan Henderson with his right hand cocked, ready to unleash his
great equalizer at a moment’s notice; or Anderson Silva
relentlessly hammering an adversary with knees as he is trapped
in “The Spider’s” deadly Thai plum; or maybe it
is something more intangible, like Frankie Edgar rallying back
from certain defeat to achieve yet another unlikely victory.
These are the types of weapons that every fighter strives to
attain but only a few actually possess. Henderson’s right
hand, Silva’s Thai plum and Edgar’s resolve are just
three of the Top 10 most dangerous weapons in MMA today, as selected
by Sherdog.com’s editorial staff. Of course, no Top 10 list
would be complete without argument, so let the debate begin.
1.
Anderson Silva’s Thai Plum
It
almost does the UFC middleweight champion a disservice to limit
him to just one weapon because, in reality, the entire striking
arsenal of “The Spider” is formidable. However, specificity
is the goal.
Silva
has released a book explaining his effective use of the muay
Thai clinch, but one need look no further than his second Octagon
appearance in 2006 to truly appreciate the effectiveness of his
Thai plum. At the time, Rich Franklin was one of the promotion’s
most respected champions, a former school teacher who brought
an eight-fight winning streak into UFC 64.
Once
Silva was able to lock his hands behind his opponent’s head,
with his forearms tight against Franklin’s neck, it was
quickly apparent that the reign of “Ace” was about
to come to an end. In complete control, Silva landed knees to
the body and face with precision and fury. Franklin, thoroughly
helpless in the clutches of The Spider, was finished before the
opening frame expired. A rematch came less than a year later
in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati at UFC 77, and there
was little question that he had spent time preparing for Silva’s
vicious clinch game. It proved to be all for naught, however,
as a knee from the Brazilian ended his night again, this time
in the second round.
Over
the years, Silva has demonstrated many spectacular elements of
his striking, such as the front kick that felled Vitor Belfort
at UFC 126, but there is little doubt that the Thai plum is the
foundation of his dominance.
2.
Jon Jones’ Elbows
The
world was officially introduced to Jones’ weapon of choice
at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” Finale Finale in 2009,
as an otherwise dominant performance was marred when the New
York native was disqualified for using 12-to-6 elbows against
Matt Hamill.
Unfortunately
for future opponents, Jones was not discouraged by the setback,
and his elbows have continued to leave a mark ever since. Brandon
Vera will not soon forget the strikes that broke his cheekbone
in three places, nor the resulting surgery that left him joking
that the hardware in his face consistently set off airport metal
detectors. Likewise, Vladimir Matyushenko certainly remembers
the feeling of helplessness as the future UFC light heavyweight
champion pummeled him with those same elbows from a mounted crucifix
position at UFC Live 2.
Perhaps
no moment demonstrates the influence of a Jones elbow more than
his most recent win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. For a round,
Machida used his odd movement and striking to keep Jones guessing,
leaving some to wonder if the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
representative had finally met his match. It took only a couple
of well-placed elbows on the ground in round two to change that
line of thinking. Not only was “The Dragon” bleeding
from his forehead, but his will appeared to be sapped, as well.
The highlight reels might focus on the guillotine choke that
sealed the victory, but it was the elbows that set it all up.
3.
Nick Diaz’s Body Punches
Diaz
has long been known as one of the best volume punchers in the
sport today, and body shots play a significant part in that attack.
In his unanimous decision victory over B.J. Penn at UFC 137,
the Stockton, Calif., native connected on a whopping 67 body
punches, according to FightMetric.com. The former Strikeforce
welterweight champion was precise, landing 76 percent of his
power strikes and 89 percent of his jabs to the body of Penn.
Diaz
is adept at using his punching style to his advantage, setting
up hard body strikes with flurries of punches to the head. A
lesser fighter puts himself at risk by throwing multiple body
punches, leaving an opening for an opportunistic opponent to
capitalize with a timely counter. Diaz, with his crafty combinations
and durability, is usually able to avoid serious consequences.
Paul
Daley dropped Diaz with a left hook during their April encounter,
but the Californian’s chin allowed him to recover, and he
finished the British slugger with an onslaught that included
another steady diet of punches to the body. Few things break
a fighter’s will more than a series of well-placed punches
to the ribs, gut and sternum, and Diaz has proven that no one
in the game today can match his prowess in that area.
4.
Dan Henderson’s Right Hand
Regardless
of whatever nickname it might have earned (read: H-bomb), Henderson’s
powerful right hand is the stuff of which legends are made. It
was that very same right hand that connected in the third round
of his UFC 139 classic with Mauricio Rua and sparked a debate
as to whether the Team Quest product had earned a 10-8 frame
by virtue of dropping “Shogun” with the punch.
Perhaps
the most famous right from “Hendo” came versus Michael
Bisping at UFC 100. The Californian loaded up and connected with
his trademark punch after Bisping momentarily dropped his guard;
Henderson added another punch on the ground against the unconscious
Brit for good measure.
Solid
wrestling and a sturdy chin also help to make Henderson a tough
out for anyone, but the dangerous right hand has been his meal
ticket as his memorable string of success continues into his
40s. It allowed him to capture the Strikeforce 205-pound strap
from Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in March, and it also
helped end heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko’s time with
the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion in July.
On
the heels of his memorable bout with Rua, Henderson has his sights
set on Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title. As impressive
as Jones has looked, it is impossible to count out Henderson.
As long as his right arm is attached, he always has a puncher’s
chance.
5.
Georges St. Pierre’s Power Double-Leg
St.
Pierre’s methods inside the Octagon seem to draw more and
more critics these days, but no one can dispute their effectiveness.
It is a recurring image in a GSP fight, one that begins with
his opponents getting planted on their backs repeatedly and ends
with the welterweight champion’s hand being raised in victory.
What
makes the Canadian’s takedown dominance even more impressive
is his lack of an amateur wrestling background. As his career
progressed, St. Pierre became confident enough in his wrestling
to consider a tryout for the Canadian Olympic team. While that
dream never became a reality, many foes have found themselves
struggling to overcome St. Pierre’s suffocating dominance
from top position. Achieving that position is the beauty of St.
Pierre’s game, as he shoots with lightning-quick precision
before driving his victims forcefully into the canvas. Making
matters more complicated is his solid jab, which keeps opponents
guessing while making the threat of the power double-leg all
the more dangerous.
In
his UFC 100 win over feared striker Thiago Alves, St. Pierre
took the Brazilian down an unfathomable 10 times en route to
a one-sided victory. In his next outing, fans were convinced
that knockout artist Dan Hardy had at least a fighting chance
to put St. Pierre to sleep at UFC 111 -- until the champion made
sure the cocksure Englishman spent most of his 25 minutes in
the cage looking up at the ceiling.
When
he returns from injury, it is unclear if St. Pierre’s takedowns
will be as crisp as they were prior to reconstructive knee surgery,
but it is a question future challengers will no doubt be forced
to answer.
6.
Rousimar Palhares’ Heel Hook
To
be fair, Palhares actually possesses a wide variety of leg locks
that he can utilize to finish a fight, but it is the heel hook
that appears most often in the win column beside his name. Of
“Toquinho’s” 13 career triumphs, nine have come
via submission. Five of those have come by way of heel hook,
including three of the Brazilian’s last four wins in the
UFC.
A
powerfully built 5-foot-8, Palahares appears to have all the
physical tools to be a threat in the middleweight division for
years to come, but it is his mentality that is even scarier.
If Palhares gets a hold of a leg, he has a nasty streak. Against
Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111, Palhares needed less than a minute to
make his foe tap to his submission of choice. Toquinho was not
satisfied, however, and held on well after referee Kevin Mulhall
had intervened to stop the fight. The result was a 90-day suspension
issued by the UFC for failing to release the submission in a
timely manner. Palhares later stated that he did not feel Drwal
tap and apologized.
Rather
than risk injury at hands of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt,
future Palhares foes would be wise to consider the Nate Marquardt
approach. A nice lather might be the best defense against his
heel hook prowess.
7.
Marlon Sandro’s Right Uppercut
Perhaps
no fight explains the danger of Sandro’s uppercut than his
2010 meeting with Sengoku Raiden Championship featherweight titleholder
Masanori Kanehara. The Nova Uniao representative leveled Kanehara
with a right uppercut 38 seconds into the opening round, sending
the champion face first to the floor. The Japanese star had to
be carried out of the ring on a stretcher. Up to that point,
Kanehara had been finished only once over the course of 27 fights.
That
brutal knockout was part of a late power surge for the Brazilian,
who began his career on a 14-fight winning streak in which half
of his victories went the distance. The win over Kanehara was
part of a five-bout stretch in which he scored four knockouts
in a combined 3:39.
With
11 stoppages now among his 20 career victories, Sandro has proven
he can finish a fight in a multitude of ways. His heavy hands
-- especially that right uppercut -- are likely to remain at
the top of that list as his tenure inside Bellator Fighting Championships
progresses. The image of Kanehara, face down on the canvas after
his first Sengoku title defense, has assured him of that.
8.
Shinya Aoki’s Rubber Guard
Those
who favor a top game-heavy approach might want to rethink that
strategy against Aoki, who can control the action from his back
like few fighters in the sport today. Against Aoki, a confident
ground-and-pound specialist can quickly find himself in survival
mode. Aoki’s unnatural flexibility allows him to be the
aggressor from places where most fighters get conservative. Getting
into the rubber guard is easy; getting out is the problem.
What
makes the Dream lightweight champion’s skill set even more
impressive is that it comes with only passable wrestling and
mediocre standup. Aoki is more than willing to be taken down,
and, often, his foes find his techniques to be as unorthodox
and unconventional as any mixed martial artist. Aoki is even
more formidable when fighting outside of the United States, as
his colorful pants allow him to secure submissions with alarming
proficiency.
With
19 career tapouts to his credit, Aoki has proven himself more
than capable of turning around an overeager foe’s aggression,
and his holds are some of the most innovative in the sport. The
rubber guard sets the table for all of it, and Aoki is notoriously
difficult to contain on the mat, winning scrambles and transitions
while finishing with rainbow-colored flair.
9.
Frankie Edgar’s Resolve
It
might seem strange at first to call resolve a weapon, but highlights
from Edgar’s 2011 bouts against Gray Maynard prove otherwise.
Twice the UFC lightweight champion appeared to be on the brink
of defeat against Maynard, and twice the New Jersey native battled
all the way back to retain his title -- once via split draw and
once via fourth-round knockout. Not bad for a guy whose biggest
claim to fame early in his career was appearing on an episode
of MTV’s “True Life.”
At
UFC 125, Maynard blasted Edgar with a left hook that had the
champion in retreat mode for most of the opening round. On more
than one occasion, Edgar looked to be finished, but he survived.
By the time the bout entered the championship rounds, it seemed
like the first five minutes had never happened. “The Answer”
could not do enough to pull out an improbable victory, but a
rematch was inevitable.
Ten
months later, Maynard began UFC 136 much like he did in their
first encounter, battering Edgar over the course of a dominating
opening five minutes. Again “The Bully” slowed, and,
this time, Edgar left nothing to chance, finishing the contest
with strikes in the fourth round. Critics who once doubted Edgar’s
ability to succeed at lightweight were now praising him for his
heart and determination. There is no quit in Edgar, and that
is a dangerous weapon indeed.
10.
B.J. Penn’s Back Control
Penn’s
jiu-jitsu prowess is well known, having studied under the likes
of Ralph Gracie and Andre Pederneiras over the course of his
black belt education. As time has passed, “The Prodigy”
has often neglected his dangerous ground game in favor of boxing.
It is hard to argue with the strategies employed by Penn, who
is as gifted a fighter as there is in the sport. Still, some
of Penn’s greatest moments have come from his jiu-jitsu
wizardry. At the forefront is his uncanny ability to dominate
the action from his opponent’s back.
The
Hawaiian’s flexibility often aids him, not only in taking
an adversary’s back but in maintaining the position. Penn’s
high level of MMA awareness makes it extremely difficult to shake
free, and he is also adept at sinking in his hooks.
Penn
showed some solid work from back control in the opening frame
against Jon Fitch at UFC 127, the first time he had put those
skills on display for an extended period since stopping Kenny
Florian with a rear-naked choke at UFC 101. After standing for
the majority of the first three rounds with Florian, Penn took
the fight to the mat in round four. He went from side control
to mount before taking Florian’s back twice. The Boston
native did his best to defend but eventually succumbed to the
choke before the round expired.
While
there is no question the gifted Penn has a wide array of options
at his disposal, his relentless attacks from back control have
been successful more often than not.
Honorable
Mentions: Katsunori Kikuno’s crescent kick to the liver;
Paul Daley’s left hook; Urijah Faber’s guillotine choke;
Vitor Belfort’s hand speed; Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s
head kick.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Five
big items of fallout from the two NYE shows
By Zach
Arnold
Very
sad & discouraging to hear the news about 30-year old DEEP
fighter Tomoya Miyashita dying on New Year’s Eve. He had
fought one round of cancer (seminoma) and then was diagnosed
with leukemia and lost the battle. He had a personal blog online
at Ameba where he commented on his struggles and also posted
pictures of those in the fight community who came to visit with
him.
Steve
Cofield & Cagewriter.com/Yahoo Sports team discuss Brock’s
UFC retirement
1.
Expect a legal war between UFC & WWE over Brock Lesnar
Dave
Meltzer claims that the Brock ‘retirement’ rumors were
floating around all week long. If that’s the case, I find
it kind of odd that Dana White wouldn’t know it was coming.
Nevertheless, I’m sure UFC had an inkling in their back
of their minds that this was a possibility.
WWE
right now is desperate to bring back an old name and Brock fits
the bill. The problem? He’s not going to generate the same
kind of buzz that The Rock did and if Rock can’t heavily
move the PPV needle for WWE, Brock won’t either. Which means
we could easily see Vince McMahon overvalue Brock and pay him
more than he’s worth. It also means that UFC, not wanting
to lose any of their PPV customer base, will fight tooth and
nail in court to prevent Brock from going back to WWE.
From
UFC’s perspective, it’s totally understandable why
they don’t want Brock heading back to Vinceworld. If Brock
averages 1M PPV buys at $55USD versus Jon Jones drawing 400,000
buys at $55USD, that gap is $33 million dollars. Even if UFC
only gets half of that after distributors take their cut, that’s
$16.5M USD. That money pays some real bills.
Ask
yourself this — if UFC goes to Vince and asks for, say,
$10M or $15M in order to allow him to go back to WWE, is Brock
worth it? The idea, of course, is that Brock would be a Wrestlemania
headliner. If WWE goes ahead and puts their ‘PPV big shows’
on their WWE network in 2012, then the move does not make much
financial sense. At that point, it’s likely that we would
see Brock and WWE go to court to try to get out of the UFC deal.
What
makes the situation so ironic is that WWE is now likely going
to be Brock’s legal tag team partner. Brock was able to
pry loose away from WWE because he wanted to wrestle in a different
country. He doesn’t have that legal out this time around.
It helps to have WWE legal on your side but UFC is quite a strong
court opponent as well.
2.
Alistair Overeem is on his way to becoming the biggest global
MMA star
He
is, by far, the biggest non-Japanese name UFC has on their roster
that they could draw a substantial house with in Japan given
his K-1 background. In Europe, Overeem is also well-known. With
a win over Brock Lesnar, the US mainstream media tried their
best to ignore him after his win over Brock and instead focus
on Brock retiring. That will work for a couple more days, at
best.
Overeem
is the perfect guy to be an ace for UFC in a lot of ways. If
he can beat Junior dos Santos (a challenge indeed), Zuffa will
hand someone as their ace a fighter who is experienced, confident,
extremely talented, and very articulate when doing the media
rounds. It’s unfortunate that K-1 is dead because I would
have loved to have seen him continue his kickboxing career on
a high level. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to see him faring
well in MMA and silencing his critics.
3.
Fedor is as beloved in Japan in 2012 as he was in 2005
The
most remarkable, yet predictable development this week between
the UFC & Inoki NYE shows was the revival of Fedor’s
star power. On a fight card that was literally promoted as a
one-match show, it ended up becoming a one-man show and that
man was Fedor. I’m not just talking about his fight performance
against Satoshi Ishii, either. In the press and amongst the fans,
the Inoki NYE show was all about Fedor’s return to Japan.
He got an incredibly positive reaction from the fans who still
romanticize about the PRIDE days. While nostalgia acts tend to
fade quickly, Fedor has a few advantages in his favor that will
allow him to be a headliner in Japan for as long as he wants
to be one.
Japanese
matchmaking usually breaks down into three categories: native
vs. foreigner (always been most successful formula), native vs.
native, and foreigner vs. foreigner. Because the purses in Japan
have gotten smaller, much of the top flight foreign talent is
with the UFC. Native vs. native fights tend to have a high burnout
ratio and they can be more damaging for promoters in Japan than
other formulas. Foreigner vs. foreigner is the worst scenario.
What
made Fedor/Ishii so intriguing is that the fans treated it for
what it was — foreigner vs. foreigner. However, they decided
to consider Fedor as a native hero coming back home, so it became
native vs. foreigner with Ishii being the outsider (and rightfully
so). I didn’t see numbers for the gate released on the newspaper
sites, but I know on TV the number 25,000 was claimed. Yeah,
OK. Nonetheless, the Inoki 2011 NYE show will go down as the
show where Fedor made his triumphant return back home to where
he made his bones. Good for him for finding the perfect landing
place for the end of his career.
M-1
is quoted as saying that Fedor will fight in Russia either in
March or April and then have a fight in Monaco.
Read
the comments section where I address criticism towards Fedor
for the Inoki show not drawing well.
4.
Satoshi Ishii’s career prospects as a high-level MMA fighter
have been neutered
Satoshi
Ishii says that his fight with Fedor yesterday was his last match
in Japan and that he will aim his sights to emigrating to the
States in order to fight in the UFC. Delusional.
Ishii
got promptly hammered in the daily newspapers for his showing
against Fedor. Words like ‘humiliating,’ ‘crushing,’
and ‘rock bottom’ were used. I wouldn’t say it
was bad as the beating he took last year in the press when he
got booed loud by the fans against Jerome Le Banner… but
it’s close. If Inoki wanted to protect Ishii, the press
would have held back some of their fire. For the second year
in the row, they haven’t held anything back.
The
Japanese MMA game desperately needed someone to fill the void
as the ace that the country could rely upon to enter the real
world of MMA. Ishii’s career failure has consequences far
beyond just his own financial situation. Fairly or unfairly,
his demise impacts a lot of people.
5.
Antonio Inoki’s shadow war on NYE and the results it produced
On
Christmas Eve, I talked about Inoki’s shadow war on NYE
and the annual 1/4 Tokyo Dome show that New Japan has produced
for many years. While DREAM did not get Tokyo Broadcasting Support
for the Saitama Super Arena event, you would have to classify
the show as a win for Inoki’s vision of blending MMA &
wrestling fights together.
Don’t
get me wrong — I’m not saying that I approve of the
vision. I’d be just fine separating the MMA & wrestling
fights from each other. However, I’m not offended by the
mixture of the bouts on a single card, either. The anger &
frustration from both foreign MMA fans online & the hardcore
Japanese DREAM fans was brutally palpable, almost borderline
hysterical. I get it. MMA is a sport, pro-wrestling is not. Newsflash:
in 2012, pro-wrestling is still covered as a sport in the sports
section of media outlets in Japan. The fans may know what’s
up in regards to the differences between MMA & pro-wrestling
but it’s still all a ‘fantasy fight’ to them just
like it always has been to Antonio Inoki. Plus, the numbers are
against the hardcore fans. For casual Japanese fight fans, hardcore/casual
pro-wrestling fans, and a decent portion of Japanese MMA fans…
they didn’t mind the mixed matchmaking concept at all.
In
many ways, Inoki won the NYE battle in terms of the creative
direction that the Japanese fight industry is headed towards.
None of the DREAM guys (Aoki, Kawajiri, Takaya) got any serious
media play in the newspapers or on TV. They simply don’t
draw heavy fan support and that’s not because they’re
MMA fighters, it’s because they just don’t appeal to
the masses. The wrestling bouts on the NYE card drew solid headlines
in the press. A smiling Sakuraba and an excellent Josh Barnett
showing drew way more attention than Aoki got for making his
friend Satoru Kitaoka gurgle on his own blood.
Aoki
is a very interesting character for a lot pf reasons. No matter
how violent he gets on New Year’s Eve, the masses in Japan
largely ignore him. He can break someone’s arm in a disgusting
manner, he can make his friend taste his own blood… and
nobody cares. Aoki was teamed with Inoki for the last two weeks
to do the media rounds to promote the NYE show… and Inoki
got all the attention. Fedor got all the attention. Aoki? Largely
meaningless to the public. In many regards, Aoki is viewed with
much more respect by the world MMA community than he is in Japan.
It’s quite a remarkable situation. Only a few Japanese fighters
have experienced that. The one that comes to mind is Tsuyoshi
Kohsaka. He was in RINGS early, he went to UFC, he came back
to RINGS and still was second dog to Kiyoshi Tamura.
Back
to Inoki for a second… The fans yesterday popped as much
for the wrestling fights as they did for the MMA bouts and the
wrestling matches Inoki often books are nowhere near the same
in quality as NOAH or New Japan matches are. In many ways, I
felt like the fans cheering for Sakuraba in a tag match and Josh
Barnett pulling off what he did to Hideki Suzuki was a sentimental
tribute to the days of UWF. I’m not ready to predict that
the Japanese MMA scene will transform back to the days of the
UWF in the 1980s but there’s a strong possibility that we
could end up seeing Inoki pushing a UWF-style product to come
on a large scale to fill that void between traditional Japanese
pro-wrestling and pure MMA. In that sense, he may have very well
gotten the last laugh yesterday.
As
for Inoki celebrating himself yearly on the big NYE stage…
I
totally understand the mass confusion he creates. A lot of times,
nobody else in Japan knows what he’s doing either. I remember
several years ago when Brock Lesnar headlined the worst-drawing
Tokyo Dome event for a wrestling card (October 2003), Antonio
Inoki had someone come out during his ring introduction as a
character from the Edo period with a basket on their head. Inoki
loves to celebrate history, he loves obscure references, and
he loves to talk about history that revolves around his whole
life & career. HDNet should be embarrassed that they called
Tiger Jeet Singh a terrorist but… it is what it is. Jeet
Singh and his son were brought in for the Inoki segment because
Tiger was Inoki’s top gaijin rival and Tiger’s tag
partner, the late Umanosuke Ueda, died last week at the age of
71. Ueda’s photo was the one they focused on during the
interview. Ueda brought ‘weapons’ into the fold in
Japanese wrestling with the sword and the bamboo stick. So, when
all this crazy talk starts happening during an Inoki skit, I
sympathize with the legions of people who have zero clue what
the hell he is talking about. Maybe 20 people on the planet could
watch that skit and put 2 + 2 together. Scarily, I’m one
of those people and it makes feel really, really old as a human
being… even when I’m not. Inoki talks about his past
days in the Showa era as if it yesterday and not, say, 40 or
50 years ago.
Inoki
is Inoki, Japan is Japan, and the prospects of a pure MMA product
working again on a consistent basis in the post-PRIDE era without
any sort of network TV support is dead on arrival.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Strikeforce
Fight Card: Rockhold vs. Jardine
By Ray
Hui
Luke
Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine headlines the Strikeforce fight card
on Jan. 7 at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in
Las Vegas.
"Rockhold
vs. Jardine" is the first of up to eight events in 2012
under Strikeforce's new deal with Showtime. Under the new agreement,
preliminary bouts will air on Showtime Extreme, while the main
card bouts will remain on the standard Showtime channel.
This
particular card will be free for cable viewers as it takes place
during Showtime's free preview weekend beginning Friday, Jan.
6 and through Sunday, Jan. 8.
The
complete lineup is below.
Showtime
Bouts
Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine
Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov
King Mo Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin
Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson
Showtime
Extreme Preliminary Bouts
Alonzo Martinez vs. Estevan Payan
James Terry vs. Nah-Shon Burrell
Gian Villante vs. Trevor Smith
Ricky Legere vs. Chris Spang
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
Marathon a Ratings Bonanza for Fuel TV
Fuel
TV is counting on its UFC programming to significantly improve
the networks reach among viewers, forcing more cable and satellite
television providers to include Fuel TV in their line-ups.
New
Year’s Day was just the first day of a seven-year deal that
blasts UFC coverage across the network, but the early indications
are that the partnership will do everything that Fox and Fuel
TV executives anticipated and more.
Fuel
TV ran 24-hour UFC marathon on New Year’s Day; covering
a wide variety of UFC programming from “best of” shows
to fight replays to documentaries and more.
The
ratings for the marathon are in and the results were extremely
positive.
The
Jan. 1 UFC programming produced the second most-watched day in
the network’s history with the average viewership for the
day up 378 percent over Sunday’s average for 2011. Fuel
TV also had its most-watched Primetime night ever, which was
493 percent higher than Sunday’s average for 2011.
The
top show of the 24-hour marathon was UFC: Bad Blood, a documentary
covering the feud between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. It clocked
in as the fourth most-watched show on Fuel TV since the network
became nationally rated.
“Fuel
TV’s New Year’s Day Marathon of UFC programming was
essentially Day 1 of FOX’s seven-year relationship with
the UFC,” said George Greenberg, Executive Vice President
and General Manager, Fuel TV.
“We
are confident that this exceptional and powerful programming,
our cross-network promotional strategy, along with a great working
relationship with UFC management, will continue to drive growth
for UFC and Fuel TV over the long term.”
In
2012, Fuel TV telecasts more than 2,000 hours of UFC programming,
with more than 100 hours of live fights, weigh-ins, preliminary
bouts, and pre- and post-fight shows.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Post-surgery,
Lyoto challenges Sonnen “with just one arm”
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
A
UFC star with a caustic tongue, Chael Sonnen rankled away on
American TV at year end, and one of his targets was Lyoto Machida.
Chael says the karate stylist deserved a bottle of mouth wash
for Christmas due to his habit of drinking his own urine first
thing in the morning, being the urinetherapy practitioner he
is.
Having
undergone surgery on his left elbow this Monday, the Brazilian
made a point of getting on Twitter to let his fans know that
all went well and he’s all set to begin physiotherapy. As
he tweeted, though, he couldn’t fight back the urge to send
a message out to Sonnen.
“Chael
Sonnen, I just had surgery but I can still give you your present
in the octagon with just one arm. All you have to do is accept,”
posted the onetime light heavyweight champion.
The
fight would be a gift for the public. Chael Sonnen has a middleweight
match-up scheduled against Mark Muñoz on the coming 28th
of January at UFC on Fox 2. If he beats the Filipino-American,
he’ll get his coveted rematch with Anderson Silva in June
at São Paulo’s Morumbi stadium. Sonnen has fought
at light heavyweight on a number of occasions, though, which
would make a showdown with Lyoto possible sometime later in 2012.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Strikeforce
‘Rockhold vs. Jardine’ Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Jardine
is moving to 185.
Strikeforce
“Rockhold vs. Jardine” marks the first of at least
six offerings from the promotion on Showtime in 2012.
Keith
Jardine receiving a title shot in his middleweight debut might
come as a surprise to some, but “The Dean of Mean”
has name value and is guaranteed to be game no matter the opponent.
This is the type of bout in which Luke Rockhold, who was originally
scheduled to face Tim Kennedy, can solidify his status as champion.
Jardine may have fallen on rough times in recent years, but he
is the type of foe who can pull an upset if Rockhold is not properly
motivated.
Going
down from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the event
features several of the organization’s top remaining prospects
and title contenders. Fighters like Adlan Amagov, Tyron Woodley,
Jordan Mein and Tarec Saffiedine can continue their ascent in
a now wide-open talent pool, while Muhammed Lawal and Robbie
Lawler have the opportunity to maintain a foothold as established
stars.
At
any rate, it is the kind of show that proves Strikeforce can
still offer a night of quality violence and entertainment.
Here
is a look at the main card, with analysis and picks:
Strikeforce
Middleweight Championship
Luke Rockhold (8-1, 7-0 SF) vs. Keith Jardine (17-9-2, 0-0-1
SF)
The
Matchup: Rockhold entered his 185-pound title tilt against Ronald
“Jacare” Souza in September as a clear underdog, fighting
for the first time in a year and a half against what was easily
the most accomplished opponent he had faced.
Having
never been past the first round in any of his previous seven
victories, the American Kickboxing Academy product alleviated
any doubts regarding his ability to go deep into a fight, capturing
the Strikeforce middleweight gold with a five-round unanimous
decision triumph over “Jacare.” Rockhold showed solid
takedown defense throughout, and when the Brazilian did get the
action to the canvas, Rockhold was able to get right back up.
On the feet, he weathered an early storm from Souza and rebounded
with a varied striking attack -- led by a solid lead left --
to become perhaps the promotion’s most unlikely champion.
His
first defense comes against Jardine, a longtime UFC veteran who
is making his middleweight debut. Jardine began his career as
an undersized heavyweight on Season 2 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
before dropping to light heavyweight and fashioning a solid career
there until four consecutive losses resulted in a pink slip from
the UFC. Jardine is expecting a rebirth at middleweight, but
it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the initial cut
after 27 fights at 205 pounds. No matter the weight, he figures
to benefit from an extended training camp, a luxury he was not
allowed in taking a fight with Gegard Mousasi on short notice
in April. Jardine proved to be a tough out nonetheless, taking
down Mousasi repeatedly in the opening frame while benefitting
from a point deduction to come away with a surprising draw.
Jardine
figures to be the underdog against Rockhold, but he is by no
means a guarantee for the 27-year-old champion. The Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts representative has a knack for making fights
ugly with his unorthodox style, and it would not be surprising
to see him pull out a close decision if Rockhold cannot solve
it. Jardine can confound opponents by using awkward timing and
odd angles, while snapping leg kicks keep his adversaries at
bay. While Rockhold would prefer to keep a standup exchange on
the outside, Jardine would prefer to close the distance in this
one. He will have to proceed with caution, because he has proven
vulnerable to the left hook in the past.
Rockhold
demonstrated that he can take a punch in the first round of his
win over Souza, and that type of durability should allow him
to put together effective combinations versus Jardine.
If
he is getting outpointed on the feet, look for Jardine to utilize
takedowns to try and turn the tide in his favor. However, getting
Rockhold to the floor will not be an easy task considering the
plethora of talented wrestlers that train at the American Kickboxing
Academy. Rockhold is dangerous once on the ground, as well, as
the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt has earned six of his eight
wins via submission.
The
Pick: Jardine has enough left in the tank to make this interesting
and test Rockhold, but the skill the champion displayed in dispatching
Souza is hard to overlook. Jardine will get the best of a few
exchanges, but, eventually, Rockhold will find his rhythm to
take a hard-fought decision victory.
Middleweights
Robbie Lawler (18-8, 2-4 SF) vs. Adlan Amagov (9-1-1, 2-0 SF)
The
Matchup: Amagov has not lost a fight in four years, but that
streak figures to face a stern test against Lawler, a veteran
of some of MMA’s most memorable slugfests. Amagov put his
own knockout power on display at Strikeforce Challengers 20,
finishing Anthony Smith inside of a round. Now 2-0 on American
soil, the Russia-based Chechen can add a significant feather
to his cap with an upset against Lawler.
The
heavy-handed Lawler is well known for his one-shot finishing
power, but in recent losses, opponents like Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza have forced him out of his element by
keeping him grounded. Amagov would be wise to take a similar
approach. Although he has shown knockout power himself, his tendency
to throw wild punches plays right into Lawler’s hands. The
UFC and Pride Fighting Championships veteran is at his most dangerous
when he can stand outside the pocket and measure his power punches.
A reckless Amagov would create just the type of opening Lawler
needs to land a devastating lead right hook or overhand left.
Amagov’s
best hopes lie in countering his opponent, slowing him down with
inside and outside leg kicks and getting the fight to the canvas.
Lawler possesses tremendous upper body strength and explosiveness,
so Amagov will have to set up his takedowns behind well-timed,
precise strikes. A prolonged exchange only increases the likelihood
of Lawler landing one decisive kill shot. Further complicating
matters is Lawler’s skill at shedding opponents when they
get a hold of him, as well as creating scrambles to get to his
feet when on the mat.
The
Pick: It takes a skilled wrestler or grappler to throw Lawler
off his game, but given his recent history, Amagov is more likely
to want to test his skills on the feet against one of the game’s
most dangerous strikers. Amagov has shown a decent right hand,
but he must be cautious even if he connects because Lawler’s
power makes him capable of rallying at a moment’s notice.
A conservative game plan would serve Amagov well here, but sometimes
temptation can be too great, and Lawler will catch him in the
second round for a knockout victory.
Light
Heavyweights
Muhammed Lawal (8-1, 3-1 SF) vs. Lorenz Larkin (12-0, 3-0 SF)
The
Matchup: This is the type of matchmaking that separates the prospects
from the pretenders, as Larkin puts his well-rounded striking
skills to the test against Lawal’s powerful wrestling game.
Lawal
has good timing on his takedown shot, and it is backed by knockout
power and a solid jab. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight
champion has experienced mixed results against standup artists,
suffocating Gegard Mousasi with positioning and control to capture
the belt, while gassing when his takedowns failed in relinquishing
the title to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in his next
outing. When not threatened by the power of his opponent, “King
Mo” has shown a willingness to stand, as he did in a first-round
knockout of Roger Gracie in September.
He
will want to take Larkin to the ground, however, because the
Riverside, Calif., native has yet to face a wrestler of his caliber.
Larkin can attack with kicks, punches and knees, and he has shown
the ability to recover from bad positions in recent performances.
Nick Rossborough made his life difficult at Strikeforce Challengers
19 by forcing him into the clinch and battling for position.
He asserted himself later, blasting Rossborough with a knee to
the gut to change the momentum. At Strikeforce Challengers 16,
he displayed a decent offensive arsenal against Gian Villante,
even with his back against the cage.
Larkin
will need to put all his tools to use against Lawal, who will
test his resiliency with a smothering top game. Lawal’s
wrestling base is good enough that he can limit an opponent’s
offense while in his guard, but it is not likely that Larkin
will want to fight from his back.
The
Pick: With Dan Henderson gone to the UFC, the Strikeforce light
heavyweight title is up for grabs. If Lawal can make an emphatic
statement against Larkin, he will be back in the running for
the division’s top contender spot. Larkin’s aggression
is going to be hindered by the constant threat of a Lawal shot,
and if he does not have solid takedown defense in place, it is
going to be a long night. Lawal controls the pace of the fight,
taking a third-round technical knockout via ground-and-pound.
Welterweights
Tyron Woodley (9-0, 7-0 SF) vs. Jordan Mein (23-7, 1-0 SF)
The
Matchup: This is a meeting between two of the promotion’s
most interesting remaining welterweights, and the winner would
seem like a solid choice to sit atop the division.
Woodley
has yet to taste defeat in his professional career, and while
his style is not always crowd pleasing, it is effective. Exhibit
A is Woodley’s most recent outing versus Paul Daley. For
the majority of the contest, the American Top Team product contained
the British striker with clinch work, takedowns and top control.
He never allowed Daley to unleash his considerable power, and
the result was a decision win. Woodley’s standup is still
developing; he has power in his hands, but the two-time NCAA
All-American always has the option of taking the fight to the
mat and riding out a victory. So far, opponents have not had
an answer for the overall speed and athleticism that accompany
his wrestling. Woodley could stand to improve his offense from
top position, but, as was the case in his win over Tarec Saffiedine,
a conservative approach eliminates the risk of being submitted.
At
the other end of the spectrum is Mein, an exciting young fighter
who made an impressive Strikeforce debut against Evangelista
“Cyborg” Santos in September, bloodying the Brazilian
with a series of standing elbows to earn a stoppage. Already
a veteran of 30 professional fights at just 21 years old, the
Canadian has acquired plenty of experience, including wins over
Marius Zaromskis, Josh Burkman and Joe Riggs.
Mein
has good kicks and quick hands to go with solid upper body strength,
which will come in handy when attempting to thwart Woodley’s
wrestling. Mein will have to keep Woodley at a distance to unleash
his striking; once Woodley can press him against the cage, he
can wear most anyone down. Mein will have to mix up his strikes,
using counter hooks and strikes to the body, while hoping Woodley
fades as the fight progresses.
The
Pick: It is not always pretty, but Woodley has the right blend
of strength, quickness and athleticism to make his game plan
work. Mein has the edge on the feet, but, eventually, Woodley
is going to impose his will. Woodley will get popped a couple
of times early, but he will recover and grind out a decision.
Welterweights
Tarec Saffiedine (11-3, 3-1 SF) vs. Tyler Stinson (22-7, 1-0
SF)
The
Matchup: Saffiedine showed what he is capable of when faced with
a fellow striker in his victory over Scott Smith in July, as
he dismantled the veteran knockout artist over the course of
three rounds. The Team Quest export landed more than five times
as many strikes as his opponent, mixing in a variety of punches,
kicks, knees and elbows to get the win.
It
was a far cry from Saffiedine’s previous outing, when the
Belgian strayed from his game plan of fighting on the outside
and was lured into a clinch battle against Tyron Woodley. There
is no shame in being outwrestled by Woodley, who has nullified
many a talented striker with his approach. In Stinson, Saffiedine
should have an opponent who will be willing to oblige his desire
to keep the action on the feet.
Stinson
is coming off an impressive Strikeforce debut, where he ended
the 10-fight winning streak of Eduardo Pamplona in 15 seconds.
Sometimes a quick knockout can be detrimental, however, if a
fighter comes out looking for the one-punch finish in his next
outing. Stinson will want to avoid falling into this sort of
trap against Saffiedine, who is superior on the feet. While Stinson
has shown decent boxing, his opponent has a more diverse arsenal,
as well as a solid understanding of how to apply his skills inside
the cage.
Stinson
is not a dominant wrestler, but he is adept at hunting for submissions
and attacking with strikes from his guard. Saffiedine has good
submissions, as well, so even baiting him into a ground game
is no guarantee for Stinson.
The
Pick: Stinson has never been finished by strikes in his 29-fight
career, so he will be more than game on the feet. Eventually,
Saffiedine will hurt him there, however, and pounce to finish
the fight via second-round submission.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Fans
believe Anderson Silva is the one to stop Jon Jones
With
only one loss in 16 fights and coming from a sequence of six
wins in a row, Jon Jones seems, to many, invincible. No one seemed
to be able to reach the light-heavyweight champion of UFC until
Lyoto Machida start to show a possible way to beat him, until
he got submitted. But who will be the one to defeat “Bones”
Jones?
On
a poll promoted by TATAME, six names figured the top candidates,
but one stood out. Better pound for pound of the world, Anderson
Silva holds the middleweight title and haven’t loss since
200t6, collecting 15 consecutive wins. With a such impressive
record, Spider is the name that 41,87% of the fans picked as
the one to beat Jones out.
And,
at least for the fans, Jon Jones may not stay with the title
for too long. Different than what many could predict, only 13,27%
believe there’s no one who can beat him. Meanwhile, Dan
Henderson and Lyoto Machida seem to be the most likely options.
Who
will defeat Jon Jones?
Anderson
Silva – 41,87%
Dan
Henderson – 15,77%
Lyoto
Machida – 13,45%
Nobody
– 13,27%
Maurício
Shogun – 7,94%
Rashad
Evans – 4,99%
Phil
Davis – 2,71%
Source:
Tatame
|
Overeem
Predicted Liver Kick Finish of Lesnar at UFC 141
By Mike
Whitman
Alistair
Overeem knew it was coming.
The
hulking former Strikeforce heavyweight champion stopped Brock
Lesnar Friday night at UFC 141, sending the onetime UFC king
into retirement at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
During
Friday’s post-fight press conference, “The ‘Reem”
stated that he foresaw the exact way the fight would go down
on the day prior to his showdown with Lesnar.
“The
funny thing was I predicted the [fight’s finish] the evening
before, to my fiancé,” Overeem explained. “I
said, ‘First I’m gonna do this, then I’m gonna
do that, and I’m gonna finish it with a liver kick.’
I don’t know if it’s luck or if it’s strategy,
but it just turned out that way, and I’m happy that it did.”
Overeem
appeared slightly tentative in the early going, and Lesnar was
equally cautious. Rather that rushing the K-1 grand prix champion,
Lesnar looked to establish his standup by throwing a pair of
low kicks and pawing with a jab.
“[Lesnar]
hasn’t fought in a long time, so I think he upgraded his
game. That is what every fighter should do,” Overeem said.
“He was getting predictable only going for the takedowns.
I was ready for whatever he was gonna throw at me.”
Apparently
unconcerned with Lesnar’s standup arsenal, Overeem continually
walked forward, meeting Lesnar with punches and knees to the
body, discouraging his massive foe from shooting in for a takedown.
His foe reeling, Overeem landed a perfectly placed round kick
to the liver, doubling the Minnesotan over and finishing the
job with punches against the cage.
“After
one of the first knees ... he didn’t come for the takedown,
as [I knew] he would,” said Overeem. “After that, we
would come in the clinch and he would disengage. Usually, Brock
is a guy that comes straight forward, but he was not doing that.
Then I knew that the knees bothered him.”
Leading
up to the bout, Overeem was forced to split training time between
Las Vegas and the Netherlands in order to be close to his mother,
who is suffering from cancer. Distractions aside, Overeem credits
his camp for aptly preparing him for such a tough test.
“I
get my confidence from training. Training, despite the distractions,
was going good,” said Overeem. “Guys couldn’t
take me down, so I felt good and I felt confident even though
Brock is a big, strong guy. I just felt that I was going to beat
him up.”
With
his conquest of Lesnar, Overeem earned a shot at Junior dos Santos
and the UFC heavyweight championship in 2012.
“Junior
dos Santos is a very different fighter [than Lesnar], so the
game plan will be very different. But both are very aggressive,
and I like to be aggressive. I just like to be dominant. I don’t
like to be going backwards, waiting. Sometimes you have to, but
I prefer to go in there and beat the opponent up.”
While
an exact date for Overeem’s collision with dos Santos has
not yet been set, “The Demolition Man” said that fighting
for the UFC belt will be a career highlight.
“I’m
very excited to be fighting for the title. It’s my goal
and, at this point, the highest achievement for every martial
artist in the world,” said Overeem. “My experience
[with] the UFC is huge; I think it’s 100 times bigger than
Strikeforce. K-1 is big, but [the UFC] is even a lot bigger than
K-1. I was a little bit blown away with all the fans and when
you walk in [the Octagon]. It’s crazy. I loved it, every
second of it.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Alistair
Overeem receives full UFC purse
By Josh
Gross
Despite
a court order calling for over 90 percent of Alistair Overeem's
guaranteed purse to be held in escrow following his fight on
Friday against Brock Lesnar, the 31-year-old Dutch heavyweight
was paid in full.
A
Nevada court, citing an existing and enforceable pact between
Overeem and Knock Out Investments, a fighter management group,
decreed that UFC parent company Zuffa "is directed to issue
a check from the portion of the purse owed to Overeem in the
respective amount of $241,285.49, made payable to Knock-Out Investments;
and that the Nevada State Athletic Commission shall hold"
the check pending further order of the court.
That
order was contingent on KOI, also known as Golden Glory, posting
a $200,000 surety bond by fight time.
Nevada
State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer told
ESPN.com it was his understanding that the bond was not posted,
therefore Overeem received a check for $385,714.28 -- his bout
fee and win bonus. Overeem will also earn a signficiant portion
of UFC 141's pay-per-view proceeds.
But
the attorney for KOI/Golden Glory, Roderick J. Lindblom, said
the UFC paid Overeem in full immediately after his win Friday
night prior to posting the bond.
KOI/Golden
Glory filed suit against Overeem in Nevada on Thursday, citing
breach of contract claims. The Dutch management firm stated because
it negotiated Overeem's current contract with the UFC, which
calls for three guaranteed bouts with a potential extension to
eight, it is owed 30 percent of Overeem's compensation, a fee
agreed upon when the fighter signed a five-year management contract,
over the life of the deal.
A
court-ordered writ of attachment was sought on Friday, said Lindblom,
because of the risk that Overeem would not pay a commission to
the management company with which he was closely associated for
11 years.
Filing
suit against Overeem "was merely the first step in a long-term
litigation strategy that KOI and Golden Glory will prosecute
in Nevada," Lindblom said in a statement released Monday
night. "The writ of attachment remedy remains fully available
to my clients and will be sought as to Mr. Overeem's future pay-per-view
payout, which we expect will be more lucrative than his initial
fight purse."
Last
November, Overeem sued KOI/Golden Glory over breach of contract
claims.
Josh
Gross is a mixed martial arts writer for ESPN.com.
Source:
ESPN
|
UFC
Sweden Filling Up; Includes Stann vs. Sakara
Less
than 24 hours after confirming UFC on Fuel TV 2 on April 14 in
Stockholm, Sweden, UFC officials have also firmed up a significant
portion of the fight card.
Including
a middleweight bout between Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara, UFC
officials on Thursday confirmed six bouts for its debut event
in Sweden.
The
UFC on Fuel TV 2 main card will feature the previously reported
bout between DeMarques Johnson and John Maguire, as well as the
Stann vs. Sakara bout.
The
four preliminary bouts announced, not surprisingly, include several
Swedes and a heavy dose of European flavors.
Swede
Besam Yousef (6-0) squares off with Norway’s Simeon Thoresen
(16-2-1) in a welterweight bout. Magnus Cedenblad (10-3), fighting
in his hometown, faces Frenchman Francis Carmont (17-7). Also
fighting on his home turf is Jorgen Kruth (5-0), who steps in
the Octagon for the first time against another Frenchman in Cyrille
Diabaté (17-8-1). The final confirmed bout pits James
Head against Papy Abedi in a welterweight contest previously
reported by MMAWeekly.com.
Tickets
for UFC Sweden (UFC on Fuel TV 2) will go on sale in the next
few weeks. MMAWeekly.com will continue to fill you in as the
fight card fills out.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Newcomer
and Hawaii's
Own Max Holloway
In To Face Dustin Poirier at UFC 143
Undefeated
newcomer Max Holloway will step in and face Dustin Poirier at
UFC 143 on Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas.
Sources
close to the match-up confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that verbal
agreements are in place for the match-up with bout agreements
to follow.
Holloway
becomes Poirier’s third opponent over just a matter of weeks.
Erik Koch was originally slated to face Poirier, and after injury
struck it was Ricardo Lamas.
Lamas
fell out of the fight due to injury earlier this week, so in
steps Max Holloway.
Max
Holloway comes to the UFC with an unblemished 4-0 record and
at only 20 years of age, already one of the youngest competitors
in the Octagon.
In
only his third professional fight, Holloway defeated Strikeforce
and IFL veteran Harris Sarmiento, and has continued to improve
with every fight.
A
strong striker with aggressive stand-up, Holloway will definitely
have a challenge on his hands when he debuts against top ten
featherweight Dustin Poirier, but with great opportunity sometimes
comes great success.
Holloway
did recently sign on with the management team at Suckerpunch
Entertainment, who represent several UFC fighters including Pat
Barry and Jeff Curran, and have pulled in past short notice opponents
for their Octagon debuts in the past.
The
fight between Poirier and Holloway will take place at UFC 143,
although its placement on the card has yet to be determined
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Lesnar’s
retirement leaves UFC short on stars
LAS
VEGAS – Minutes after the last fight that Brock Lesnar ever
won ended, he grabbed the microphone from Joe Rogan, looked into
the camera and declared to a worldwide pay-per-view audience,
“I’m the baddest s.o.b. on the planet.”
The
crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center roared its approval as
Lesnar exulted in a heavyweight title victory over Shane Carwin
at UFC 116 on July 3, 2010.
Lesnar
was never remotely close to being the baddest man on the planet.
Heck, he was probably never really the baddest man in his own
division.
His
impact upon the business side of the UFC and the sport of mixed
martial arts was significantly greater than his actual fighting
ability. Young fighters like Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks, who
both scored important victories at UFC 141 on Friday to move
inexorably closer to the riches that come with a UFC title shot,
owe Lesnar more than they could ever repay.
Guys
like Diaz and Hendricks will make more money in future fights
due to Lesnar, who attracted a slew of new fans to the sport
during his three-year run in the UFC.
Pay-per-view
sales were the biggest when the big man fought. Tickets were
harder to get when he was topping the bill. Media interest was
at its highest. Merchandise sales were more robust. The celebrity
quotient was off the charts.
His
time as a professional wrestler taught him how to attract attention,
how to work a crowd. He commanded a room when he entered it,
his booming voice taking over a press conference.
He
was similar to ex-boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. You
watched because you never quite knew what he was going to do.
He always seemed as if he were going to erupt, lose his cool
and go on some sort of epic rant.
He
was, without question, the biggest star in a star-driven sport.
Any
individual sport relies on stars to boost its image. In team
sports, it’s the logo. I cheer for Troy Polamalu because
he plays for my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. If he
were to leave the Steelers and sign with the Seattle Seahawks,
he’d quickly became as anonymous to me as a rookie free
agent from Slippery Rock who was cut in training camp.
Individual
sports, though, rely on personalities such as Tyson and Tiger
Woods and, yes, Lesnar to give them relevance. With Woods no
longer dominating the competition, golf seems far less cool and
less relevant than it did when he was collecting major championships
as if they were trading cards.
The
UFC will enter 2012 without its biggest attraction and with its
second-biggest draw, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre,
sidelined by a serious knee injury and facing an uncertain future.
The
new year will bring great things for the UFC. It begins the first
full year of its seven-year relationship with Fox networks with
a 24-hour marathon Sunday on the Fox-owned Fuel TV. The exposure
it will get on television will never be greater.
But
for those television ratings to turn into pay-per-view sales,
the UFC needs to come up with a superstar who people will clamor
to see no matter who he fights or how he’s been doing.
When
it scheduled Lesnar, the UFC could reasonably count on a multi-million
dollar paid gate and pay-per-view sales that would at least approach
a million.
Without
him, it’s a much greater, though hardly impossible, challenge.
In
the last year, big stars and established draws such as Lesnar,
Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture have retired. Matt Hughes is
also giving indications he’s done and Tito Ortiz is begging
for just one more fight.
The
UFC has invested so much money in building its brand that it
can survive the loss of headliner talent in the short term. It
has been able to cover for the loss of some of those stars by
the presence of president Dana White, a savvy media personality
who is a bigger star than just about all of his fighters.
White,
though, is simply one man and the UFC’s global expansion
has clearly taken a toll on him. He’s got a legendary work
ethic, but he’s shown signs of slowing down a bit. He won’t
be doing as many press conferences in 2012 as the UFC tries to
find a way to lighten his burden and preserve its best asset.
In
the long-term, the UFC must develop new stars. It simply won’t
work if some of the younger fighters on the roster, such as light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones, don’t morph into reliable
drawing cards.
Lesnar
was money in the bank from the day he announced he was joining
the company with only one fight under his belt.
Just
like PGA Tour players came to understand in the late 1990s when
Woods was responsible for the soaring prize money that was available
to them, so, too, should current UFC fighters be cognizant of
Lesnar’s contributions to the same effect.
And
it would help if one of them had been taking notes over the last
three years and can mix a bit of the old Brock bravado into their
games.
The
UFC is going to need it.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
141 Three Stars: Overeem, Hendricks and Hettes
The
last card of 2011 started slowly, but became must-watch when
the pay-per-view fights started. In the last five bouts, three
fighters earned first-round knockouts. Here are our three stars
from the eve of the Eve. Tell us yours in the comments or on
Facebook.
No.
1 star -- Alistair Overeem: Any question about his lack of competitive
opponents was answered with a first-round knockout of former
champ Brock Lesnar. Overeem overwhelmed Lesnar from the bell,
then used knees to attack where Lesnar was most vulnerable. Next,
he'll get to match up with Junior dos Santos in a fight that
is nearly guaranteed to end in a knockout.
No.
2 star -- Johny Hendricks: You could practically hear the MMA
world groan as the Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks match-up was
announced. Fitch's last nine fights went the distance, and Hendricks
is a top-notch wrestler. Of course this would be another boring
grapplefest. Hendricks proved us all wrong with a 12-second knockout
of a man with a tough chin.
No.
3 star -- Jim Hettes: Did you expect Hettes to put on a three-round
beatdown of Nam Phan? Me neither. "The Kid" is now
10-0, and ready for a step up in competition. After that display,
he has earned it.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Easton
vs. Stone Added to UFC on FX 1 Fight Card
A
bantamweight bout has been added to the UFC on FX 1 fight card
later this month with Mike Easton taking on Ken Stone.
UFC
officials announced the new booking on Monday.
Rated
as one of the top bantamweight prospects in the sport, Easton
finally got his shot at the big time when he debuted at UFC on
Versus 6 last October.
The
longtime training partner of UFC champion Dominick Cruz finished
Byron Bloodworth while fighting in his hometown of Washington
D.C. Now, he’ll hit the road to Nashville for his second
trip to the Octagon.
Despite
a 1-2 record combined in three fights under the Zuffa banner,
Stone has proven he belongs in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
The
American Top Team fighter has shown up in all of his fights,
and finally got a win in his last fight as he dominated and finished
Donny Walker at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans last September.
The
new bout will be added to UFC on FX 1 airing Friday, Jan. 20,
from Nashville.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
142 Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes Fight Card Rumors
Powered by Xyience LogoUFC 142 Aldo vs. Mendes (UFC Rio 2)
Date: January 14, 2012
Venue: HSBC Arean
Location: Brazil
Main
Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo (21-1; #1 Featherweight) vs. Chad Mendes (11-0; #2
Featherweight)
-Vitor Belfort (20-9; #8 Middleweight) vs. Anthony Johnson (10-3)
-Erick Silva (13-1) vs. Carlo Prater (29-10-1)
-Terry Etim (15-3) vs. Edson Barboza, Jr. (9-0)
-Rousimar Palhares (13-3) vs. Mike Massenzio (13-5)
Preliminary
Bouts (on FX):
-Mike Pyle (21-8-1) vs. Ricardo Funch (8-2)
-Fabio Maldonado (18-4) vs. Caio Magalhaes (5-0)
-Thiago Tavares (16-4-1) vs. Sam Stout (17-6-1)
-Yuri Alcantara (26-3) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (13-10-1)
-Felipe Arantes (13-4) vs. Antonio Carvalho (13-4)
-Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1)
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
143 Primetime Debuts on FX on Jan. 20
UFC
143 on Super Bowl weekend may have lost its biggest draw in UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, but that doesn’t
mean that the promotion isn’t going to do everything in
its power to promote the two fiery foes now headlining the fight
card.
Both
Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit are known for their fiery attitudes
at times. The UFC plans to play off of that leading up to their
interim title showdown at UFC 143 with the first episodes of
the UFC Primetime series to air as part of its new televisions
deal with Fox.
UFC
143 Primetime premiers on FX on Friday, Jan. 20, immediately
following the first live UFC event on the network, UFC on FX
1: Guillard vs. Miller.
UFC
on FX 1 airs live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while UFC 143 Primetime
follows at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
The
Primetime series features three 30-minute episodes that delve
into the behind-the-scenes lives of the featured fighters; in
this case, Diaz and Condit, as they prepare to battle for the
interim UFC welterweight title, as St-Pierre sits on the sidelines
with a knee injury.
Episodes
2 and 3 of UFC 143 Primetime will air in the same Friday night
timeslot on Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, leading up to UFC 143: Diaz vs.
Condit on Feb. 4 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dos
Santos doesn’t wanna revenge Minotauro Nogueira
The
Brazilian Junior “Cigano” dos Santos this Tuesday,
November 27th, on an event promoted by the UFC with children
with cancer held by “It Ain’t Chemo” association.
The event is part of “UFC Community Program” and it
happened at TUF’s gym, in Las Vegas. Besides Cigano, there
were on the event names like Roy Nelson, Dominick Cruz, Travis
Browne and Frank Mir. It was the first time Dos Santos stared
at Mir after the bout on which the American broke Rodrigo Nogueira’s
arm, a friend of the Brazilian, at UFC 140.
When
asked about how he felt to share the same room with Mir, Junior
stated: “I didn’t even talk to him. I said hi to Mir
because he said to me before”, said the Brazilian, who also
claimed not to be upset about the outcome of the fight between
the American and Nogueira. “I just think it was a complicated
fight for all Brazilians, mainly for us at Team Nogueira. He
(Rodrigo) had the win in his hands and with Frank Mir knocked
out in front of him, and, for some reason, he didn’t keep
punching him, he tried to fit a guillotine choke and Frank Mir
was lucky enough to grab his arm, and grabbed the chance when
he had one”, said Junior.
“The
problem was that he broke Rodriogo’s arm, and he has just
recovered, and now he’ll stay some time off. But we know
it already, I know what it’ll be the result of it: Rodrigo
will comeback and bring much joy to all of us”, completed.
Junior
dos Santos also stated he doesn’t want to revenge his friend’s
loss. “I don’t need to revenge him. I guess there’s
no such thing, I guess he (Rodrigo) can do it himself. But I
confess I have never picked out opponents and I won’t, but
if someday I fight Frank Mir, absolutely it’d be an interesting
fight”, affirmed.
Dos
Santos might train again in 10 days
On
a visit to Las Vegas to watch UFC 141, which main event will
define Junior dos Santos’s next opponent, the Brazilian
athlete takes some time off. The athlete remains in the city
until January 3rd. “I want to go shopping, spend some time
with my wife. I know I’ll have a good start in 2012, but
I can’t wait to train again”, stated the fighter, who
also explained that his recovering after the knee surgery is
going better than expected.
“It’s
great. There’re 17 days I’ve gone through the surgery
and I’m feeling fine. I just got to regain confidence and
train again, but in 10 days I’ll be training normally”,
completed.
As
for Brock Lesnar VS. Alistair Overeem, a bout that will define
his next opponent, the Brazilian said he believes it’ll
be tied. “It’s a tough fight for the both of them.
I’m saying it’ll be 50-50, but Brock has more chances
on the beginning of the fight because he’s more explosive
and goes for it”, analyzed the champion.
Source:
Tatame
|
MMAWeekly.com
Fight of the Year: Henderson, Shogun Make for Memorable War
When
considering the MMAWeekly.com Fight of the Year candidate, it
takes little time to choose which fight sticks out the most in
2011.
Dan
Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua put on what many
considered one of the greatest fights of all time on Nov. 19.
It makes an argument for that, too, but let’s just focus
on this past year.
When
MMAWeekly.com first reported the UFC’s plans to make this
fight the UFC 139 main event, the buzz was instant. Both Henderson
and Shogun made careers out of smashing opposition and already
guaranteed being looked back on as legends for years ahead.
What
made the build-up to the fight that much more intriguing was
the amount of time it took to finally make it happen. For years,
the two fought in Pride Fighting Championships promotion, but
never crossed paths. Rua won the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix
and was widely considered the best 205-pounder in the world by
most popular opinion, even though his teammate, Wanderlei Silva,
held the division title. Henderson held Pride hardware, also,
but more than his UFC 139 counterpart. “Hendo” won
the 185-pound Pride Grand Prix, as well as the weight class’
title. He then went on to dethrone Wanderlei Silva and capture
the 205-pound strap, becoming the only two-division Pride fighter
to do so.
Then
Pride fell and was never seen by the MMA world again…
But
from Shogun’s and Hendo’s perspectives, Pride’s
demise didn’t falter their careers. The UFC almost immediately
scooped up the high-profile fighters and placed them on the promotion’s
roster after acquiring Pride’s assets. Fast forward four
years and Shogun-Hendo headlines a UFC pay-per-view in San Jose,
Calif.
Finally,
Henderson and Rua took each other on in a highly anticipated
contest, and for the first three rounds, Henderson got the best
of the Brazilian. Hendo admitted that he hit Rua as hard as he
could, but just couldn’t finish him because his opponent
was able to take a punch so well. And anyone familiar with Henderson’s
right hand will know that’s a whole lot of punch to take.
It
didn’t reflect on the scorecards, but Henderson could have
garnered a 10-8 round in the third because he rocked Shogun to
the point where the fight looked moments from being over.
“In
my mind, the third round can be a 10-8 round for Dan,” Henderson’s
striking coach, Gustavo Pugliese, told MMAWeekly.com. “He
was really close to finishing that fight. He knocked him down
twice.”
But
referee Josh Rosenthal didn’t stop the action, and the fight
went on. It looked like Henderson punched himself out in the
rounds that followed, and Shogun began to turn the offense on
in the fourth and fifth frames. The fifth round stood out for
Shogun because he stayed in top position for a majority of it,
giving whatever he had left in the tank in the form of strikes
from mount. To a lesser extent than Henderson’s third, Rosenthal
could have stepped in to stop the contest in the fifth because
of the domination by Rua. And it might have been stopped in any
other fight, but the momentum moving back and forth kept the
fight exciting and MMA fans got to see two warriors give whatever
they had to top each other.
After
some time for deliberation, judges scored the bout 48-47 across
the board.
One
look at Twitter following the fight would show updates from MMA
followers expressing their extreme pleasure for having witnessed
such an epic display of fortitude. Fans recorded their reactions
to the fight on video and posted them online. Tears, smiles,
anger – they were all uploaded and shared. Even article
leads after the fight read “wow, wow, wow, wow.”
Being
there to watch it in person, however, was an experience all unto
its own. The vibe in the arena was like nothing one can feel
at a professional sporting event. Reporters on press row, which
doesn’t generate a ton of visible emotion during most events,
had trouble containing themselves. UFC president Dana White was
extremely jovial at the post-fight press conference.
Battered
and bruised after a five-round war, Shogun and Henderson rode
their wave of awesomeness for weeks following the fight. It will
forever be etched in the minds of MMA faithful, and as a result,
wins MMAWeekly.com’s Fight of the Year award. Congratulations,
Hendo, and parabéns, Shogun!
Honorable
Mention: Eddie Alvarez vs. Mike Chandler
Step
outside of the UFC Octagon for a moment and drink up some action
that made MMA’s radar. Bellator’s Mike Chandler and
Eddie Alvarez tested each other in a lightweight championship
contest where Chandler dethroned one the world’s best lightweights
in Alvarez.
Alvarez,
who was on a seven-fight win-streak and was yet to see a loss
in the Bellator cage, was favored to take out the undefeated
youngster, Chandler. That being the case, Alvarez was surprised
by a Chandler right hand in the first 20 seconds. A couple punches
later, Chandler had Alvarez against the cage and dropped him
with another hard right hand.
Alvarez
miraculously recovered from the first-round barrage and got in
a few good shots of his own, but Chandler added another uppercut
towards the end of the round to add to the punishment.
Rounds
two and three saw Chandler continuing to put on the pressure,
but a stiff opposition by Alvarez excited the crowd that night
in Hollywood, Fla. The two seemed to go all out and not lose
any energy in doing so. Alvarez began to pick up speed and land
more strikes as time went on, especially in the third, where
he landed several strikes that rocked Chandler halfway through
the round. Chandler persevered, however, and the fight went to
the fourth.
The
intense standoff finally came to an end at 3:06 when Chandler
sunk in the rear-naked choke after dropping Alvarez with another
right hand and mounting the champ on the ground.
Bellator
got themselves a new lightweight champion that night, and MMA
fans got them selves an exciting contest with two guys willing
to throw leather at any expense. Because of these things, Alvarez-Chandler
has to get mention when considering the MMAWeekly.com Fight of
the Year.
See
you in 2012!
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Gracie
Meets Sapp at One FC in Jakarta
Rolles Gracie will look to continue his recent winning streak
when he returns in February at One FC in Jakarta, Indonesia,
to face former Pride and K-1 fighter Bob Sapp. Gracie’s
manager Ali Abdel-Aziz from Dominance MMA confirmed the fight
with MMAWeekly.com late Monday evening.
Since
his lone fight in the UFC, Gracie has shown much improvement
in his last two bouts, picking up wins by submission in both.
Gracie
has worked tirelessly to improve his overall MMA game, working
with his coaches at the Renzo Gracie academy in New York, as
well as adding boxing coach Mark Henry, who is also the boxing
coach for UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
He
faces former Pride and K-1 fighter Bob Sapp, whose MMA career
has taken more twists and turns than a pretzel over the last
several years.
Once
a feared, powerful giant, Sapp has not performed well over the
last few years and hasn’t won an MMA fight since March 2010.
Still,
Sapp’s size and power will always create an interesting
match-up. He’ll try to stop a three fight skid when he faces
Gracie in February.
Also
added to the One FC card in February will be Rustam Khalibov
against Evolve MMA’s Rodrigo Ribeiro.
Khalibov
also comes from the Dominance MMA family, working under head
coach Greg Jackson in New Mexico. Khalibov has become one of
the team’s top lightweight prospects. He’ll look to
prove that in February when he faces Ribeira in Indonesia.
“One
FC has been a great promotion to work with and I believe they
will be the new Pride (Fighting Championships),” said Abdel-Aziz
on Monday. “Very professional and my fighters have really
enjoyed working with them.”
The
One FC card in Jakarta takes place on Feb. 11 at the Kelepa Gading
Sports Mall.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MMAWeekly.com
Fighter of the Year: Jon Jones
‘Be
not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and others have greatness thrust upon them.’
~ William Shakespeare
If
there was ever a definition of greatness in MMA, UFC light heavyweight
champion Jon “Bones” Jones may have surpassed that
in 2011.
It’s
for that reason he is the clear choice for MMAWeekly.com‘s
2011 Fighter of the Year award.
At
only 23 years of age to start the year, Jones was already ahead
of the curve for achievements as 2011 opened.
Jones
absolutely mauled both Brandon Vera and Vladdy Matyushenko in
2010 to bring his UFC record to 5-1, with the loss coming by
way of disqualification in a fight with Matt Hamill that he was
dominating.
Kicking
off the year, Jones took on fellow young gun and former Ultimate
Fighter winner Ryan Bader at UFC 126, to see who would be the
205-pound fighter most likely to succeed for the rest of the
year.
Like
virtually every fight before it, Jones was masterful in his performance
as he picked Bader apart and finished him by guillotine choke
in the second round.
It
was that moment when UFC president Dana White entered the cage
and informed Jones that his then training partner Rashad Evans
was injured and out of his upcoming title fight. White asked
Jones to step in and face champion Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua at UFC 128 just over a month later.
The
New York native gladly accepted and went right back into training
camp to prepare for his title fight.
Some
would argue that being thrust into a title fight on that kind
of notice could be too much, too soon, but it was anything but
that for Jon Jones.
Taking
on one of the most veteran and dangerous fighters in the sport
in Shogun, Jones once again showed off a strategic and accurate
dismantling, this time over a legend in the sport.
When
the fight was over, Jones was as calm and composed as he was
when the fight started, while Rua looked like he had just gone
10 rounds with a pitbull and had one arm tied behind his back
the whole time. Oh yeah, and just as a side note to the work
that Jones did in the cage, he also managed to stop and subdue
a thief outside the cage just hours before his fight at UFC 128.
For
his next challenge, Jones was matched up with former UFC light
heavyweight champion and perennial bad boy Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson. This was a test of not only his physical attributes,
but for the first time, Jones had to deal with an opponent that
would put his mental toughness to the test as well.
Rampage
is known for his trash talk and ability to get in any opponent’s
head, and he didn’t change that approach for Jones either.
The crafty Memphis native dropped one-liner after one-liner,
and said that Jones was getting cocky and had way too much praise
dropped on his head for how little he had actually done in the
sport so far.
All
that mattered to Jones, however, was facing Rampage in the Octagon,
and if there was any mismatch in the talking game prior to the
fight, there was definitely a mismatch in the cage on fight night.
With
surgical precision, Jones once again picked an icon apart, blasting
Jackson any time he wanted with punches and kicks, and eventually
put the former Pride fighter on the mat. Like a mercy rule in
football, Jones locked on a rear naked choke to stop the carnage.
Three
fights down with two title fights already in the books, Jones
could have stopped fighting at that point and already had a phenomenal
year, but he wasn’t done yet.
With the UFC in need of a main event for their shwo in Toronto
on Dec. 10, they once again called on Jones to save the day.
He stepped up to face former champion Lyoto Machida on the UFC
140 fight card. It’s almost unheard of in this day and age
of MMA for a champion to fight more than twice a year, much less
three times with a fourth non-title fight happening that year
as well, but that’s exactly what Jones was about to do.
Machida’s
awkward karate style had been a nightmare for so many past opponents,
and in the opening minutes of his fight with Jones, it looked
like maybe he had the puzzle figured out.
Not
so fast. The puzzle got figured out alright, but it was Jones
who put the pieces in place and finished off Machida in the second
round to win his fourth fight in 2011.
After
bludgeoning Machida with a nasty elbow to open a cut on the Brazilian’s
face, Jones then locked on a suffocating standing guillotine
choke to put his opponent away. As Machida crashed to the mat
after being put away, Jones walked across the cage with the type
of championship swagger only a great fighter can truly have.
Following
the fight, despite his words of respect towards Machida and the
accomplishments he had in 2011, Jones was once again accused
of being cocky or arrogant to a fault. People try to call him
fake or a fraud when he’s smiling on the microphone, because
they just can’t believe that Jones, or anyone for that matter,
is really just a good guy.
His
coach, Greg Jackson, would argue with anyone on that point and
says that people picking on Jones for his personality have to
grab onto that because no one has been able to find a flaw in
his fight game.
“There’s
nothing really phony or fake about Jon Jones, as much as people
want there to be. You can’t really attack his fighting,
he’s rolling through everybody. So the only thing you can
really attack is his character. But if people knew him in real
life, they’d know he’s really the sweetest, nicest
guy,” Jackson told MMAWeekly Radio.
“People
are desperate to find some hole with this guy. People don’t
like to have a guy that’s a genius combat striker and also
a good guy. You can have one, but you can’t have the other.
They’re looking hard for a hole in his game.”
Thus
far no one has found that hole, and if Jones continues to improve
and stay dedicated to his training, they may never find one.
Jon
Jones’ 2011 is arguable the greatest single year in MMA
history, and at 24, the future still has a lot to show from the
talented young fighter. He may go down one day as the greatest
fighter to ever compete in MMA, but there’s no doubt that
2011 belonged to Jon Jones and no one can take that away from
him.
Honorable Mention: Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva
It’s
pretty crazy to think that Dan Henderson won the Strikeforce
light heavyweight title by defeating Rafael “Feijao”
Cavalcante, knocked out former heavyweight king and the man considered
by many to be the greatest fighter ever in Fedor Emelianenko,
and capped off his year with what some people call the best fight
ever, against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and he’s
still not Fighter of the Year.
Henderson
definitely deserves credit however for his incredible run in
2011, and if not for Jon Jones, he’d be a virtual lock for
the award.
Dan Henderson
Also, lest we forget about the man who has probably most defined
greatness over the last few years, UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva also went 2-0 in 2011 with two astonishing performances.
Silva
bested countryman Vitor Belfort with a front kick that somehow
thrust B-movie star Steven Seagal back into the spotlight, as
well as his stifling performance over Yushin Okami to defeat
the last person to technically hold a win over him.
It’s
hard to deny that if Anderson Silva can keep this streak alive
through his eventual retirement that we may call him the greatest
fighter ever, and that’s surely a trophy even better than
Fighter of the Year.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Charles
Oliveira ready for a new start at the UFC featherweight division
After
five bouts in the UFC, the young Charles do Bronxs lived distinct
moments on the event. He experienced the glory of submitting
Darrem Elkins and Efrain Escudero, but was stopped by Jim Miller.
He suffered a No Contest against Nik Lentz, when he was being
perfect and, with a big weight gap, was knocked out by Donald
Cerrone, what made Chales rethink his career and wonder about
dropping down one weight division. Jim Miller, when talked to
TATAME, said he was impressed by his talent, but that he was
fighting on the wrong division. Realizing the physical advantage
of his opponents, Chales got together with his coaches Erick
Cardozo and Jorge Patino Macaco and decided he’d go to the
featherweight division, where Jose Also rules and the champion.
Check below the interview with all the athlete said about joining
the featherweight class, the expectations for the fight against
Eric Wisely, that happens on January 28, and the dreamy bout
against Jose Aldo.
Previously,
you said you wouldn’t drop because it was already hard to
cut weight for the lightweight division. Why did you change your
mind?
Everybody
saw that when I fought on the lightweight division I didn’t
quit against anyone and I said I couldn’t drop because it’s
already hard on me. But the truth is that I’ve always been
the tiniest fighters of the division, I was always there trading
punches with the guys and when I hit them it seemed that it didn’t
hurt them, and when they hit me, I got hurt. But, since it was
working out, I decided to stay on the division. After my first
loss, me, Erick (Cardozo) and Macaco (Jorge Patino) sat down
and I asked them what they thought about me dropping. I had two
options: I could do a serious work with nutritionists and take
more supplements to get bigger or I could drop to the featherweight
division and would cut weight. I was scared of gaining much muscles
for the lightweight division and get slower, losing my main characteristic.
It was then that we decided I should drop to the featherweight
and cut weight like all fighters do and since I would gain muscles
and start to get slower otherwise, and that’s not what I
want. So that’s how we got to this conclusion. Get bigger
to remain on the division or drop and that’s why I decided
to do. I won’t get bigger and I’ll drop.
How
are you doing it? How much do you weight now? Are you suffering?
I
started to adapt now, we started the process not a long time.
I was normally weight in 165lbs. I cut few pound already and
I’m now with 154lbs, I’m starting to lose little by
little so I don’t have to go crazy to lose weight because
it’s very harmful. I’ll make it step by step. I started
eating salad, I stopped eating a lot like I used to, I quit soda,
sandwich, snacks. I’m eating rice, beans, salad and grilled
chicken. I’m quitting snacks and trying to get healthy and
see what happens, if I can cut and make it to the weight-in.
You
fought five times on the UFC and suffered two losses. Do you
see this new division as a fresh start? Does this experience
among the lightweights will make you more mature for the new
weight class?
It’s
what I told everybody: each fight I do, independently if I win
or lose, I learn more, I get smarter, tuned, I train more, I’m
a bit more professional. It’ll be like a fresh start to
me. It’s like people say: when you get to the black belt,
it seems like you’re a white belt, because you’re beginning
a new stage. And that’s what is happening to me, in my story,
mi life. I’ll train from the beginning, train hard because
everybody’s thinking “he’s switching to a weaker
division”. It’s so not true. You can tell it by the
champion, Jose Aldo, who’s a really tough guy. There’s
Iuri Alcantara, Felipe Sertanejo, and other good guys. It’s
a tough division. To me, it’s a new beginning. I want to
set the same goal I did on the lightweight division: I want to
become the belt holder. Nothing’s changed. The only think
that changed it that I’ll cut weight too, just like everybody
else. When I fought on the lightweight I didn’t. it’s
a tough division and I want to learn a lot. I’m training
hard to get this win on my next fight.
You’re
fighting Eric Wisely at UFC on FOX 2. He’s an experienced
guy but, at the same time, he’ll be debuting on the UFC.
Will you take advantage of that?
I
compare it to what happened to me. When I debuted in the UFC
I had blood on my eyes, I really wanted to win, I was thirsty,
wanting to move forwards all the time. If he’s like that,
I know it’ll be a tough fight. I’m coming from a loss
and I don’t wanna lose again. I’m going for the win,
I’ll move forwards the entire time, it doesn’t matter
who’s on the other side, it doesn’t matter if he’s
gonna be tough. To me, it’s a very important fight. I’m
not under pressure. The only pressure I’m under is my own
because I want to win it one way or another. I’ll walk forwards,
show my work and if Eric comes liked that, like I was on the
beginning, on my first fight, it’ll be a great bout. But
yeah, I’ll take advantage of it, because I fought five times
on Ultimate, I’ve lived many things in there. UFC is a unique
show and if he doesn’t get amazed by all that it’ll
be a good fight. I’ll used a little of what I’ve learned
on the UFC, what it is and what it is not. I’ll use my experience
and with God’s help I’ll get off there with a win.
It’s
impossible not to talk about Jose Aldo, since he’s the champion
of the division. What is your relationship with him? How do you
see this fight going?
Man,
I know Aldo, he’s a good friend of mine. I knew Aldo because
of his fights and I liked his style. I knew him though Pretorian
and from then on we’re good friends. We call each other,
talk about things, he knows my number, I got his. When we’re
fighting, we call each other to wish good luck. Someday, God
bless me, we’ll fight each other and I hope he feels the
same, so I hope to fight it in there and independent of who wins,
we’ll stay friends. I’ve learned a lot from watching
Aldo and I still do. I respect him a lot for everything he is,
but when I got into the UFC I came with the will to become a
champion. I was on the lightweight and now I’m on the featherweight
division. He’s the champion and I hope he remains that way
for many years, but if we fight each other, it’ll be busy,
pretty aggressive, since we both are fast and quick. Aldo wants
to remain as the title holder and I really want to become the
champion, to put that belt on my waist. It’s a good match-up.
Source:
Tatame |
Bibiano
beats two and takes Dream GP
The
traditional New Year’s Eve event in Japan, now the charge
of the Dream promotion, saw Brazilian black belt Bibiano Fernandes
enter 2012 on the right foot.
In
winning the Dream bantamweight GP, first Bibiano took a unanimous
decision over his countryman Rodolfo Marques in one of the two
semifinals. Next, he made quick work of Antonio Banuelos, getting
the knockout just 1:21 minutes into the gran finale.
Check
out the complete results from the Dream bantamweight GP:
Antonio
Banuelos defeated Masakazu Imanari via split decision;
Bibiano Fernandes defeated Rodolfo Marques via unanimous decision;
Bibiano Fernandes defeated Antonio Banuelos via TKO at 1:21 min
of R1.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Lesnar
drops retirement bombshell on White
LAS
VEGAS – Brock Lesnar’s four-year foray into mixed martial
arts apparently ended on Friday night. He announced his retirement
in the Octagon after losing to Alistair Overeem in just 2:26
in the main event of UFC 141 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The
announcement apparently blindsided UFC president Dana White,
who said he had no indication his former heavyweight champion
was going to call it quits. But he said that this isn’t
a sport for people who don’t want to be there.
“I
had no idea he was going to do that,” White said at the
post-fight news conference. “Am I surprised? No. He’s
made a lot of money in his career. He’s achieved a lot of
things.
“Brock
came to me one night here at the MGM [in 2007]. He said he wanted
to fight in the UFC and I laughed. He had only had one fight.
What that man accomplished coming in with only one fight is amazing.
I get it. I doesn’t shock me. But I didn’t know it
was coming.
“When
a guy wants to retire, it’s his thing,” White said.
“This isn’t a game where you hit a ball with a stick.
You don’t half-ass this stuff. When you know it’s over,
it’s over. The bad part is when I think it’s over and
the guy doesn’t.”
In
his post-fight interview, Lesnar said that he promised his wife,
Rena, a former pro wrestling star and Playboy cover girl who
was a celebrity in the late 1990s known as “Sable,”
that if he won, he would challenge Junior dos Santos for the
heavyweight title, the shot promised to the winner of the Lesnar-Overeem
scrap.
He
said even if he had won the title in that fight, he then would
have retired as champion.
Lesnar
did not attend the post-fight news conference. He told White
that he believed one of his ribs was broken by the kick to the
liver that was the key finishing blow of the fight. Lesnar had
taken several hard knees to the body in the short fight.
He
had surgery on May 27, in which 12 inches of his intestine was
removed after recurring attacks of diverticulitis. There was
obvious question as to whether his body would be able to hold
up to hard shots, and that was the spot at which Overeem aimed
his offense.
“My
hat’s off to Alistair Overeem,” Lesnar said in the
Octagon after the fight. “I want to take my hat off to all
my training partners, to my wife, my family. I’ve had a
really difficult couple of years with my disease. I’m going
to say officially, tonight was the last time you’ll see
me in the Octagon. I want to thank everyrone. I want to thank
the Fertittas [co-founders of Zuffa, UFC’s parent company].
Brock Lesnar is officially retired. I promised my wife and kids,
if I won I’d get a title shot and it would be my last fight.
It’s been a pleasure.”
Going
in, the fight was expected to be quick. The thinking went that
either Lesnar would take down Overeem and hurt him on the ground
and finish him quickly, or he would not take down Overeem and
the world champion kickboxer would finish Lesnar quickly and
brutally in a standing fight.
But
Lesnar never really committed to his wrestling game. There was
one moment when he briefly went for a single-leg takedown but
didn’t get it right away and gave up on it. He never really
committed a shot for a takedown, or even tried upper body control
to push Overeem against the fence and soften him up from short
range before trying to get him down.
This
came just seven weeks after Junior dos Santos’ first-round
knockout of Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title, where
Velasquez’s coaches’ battle plan was to get the fight
to the ground and Velasquez also didn’t commit to a wrestling
game. Lesnar and White were doing commentary on that fight, and
White questioned Velasquez’s strategy.
“I
have the same assessment,” White said of Friday’s fight.
“When you’re in with a striker, you don’t stay
in his range. He was close and grabbed a single and didn’t
commit to it. I’m not a trainer. I’m nobody’s
coach. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t take one
shot, especially when you’re getting kicked and hit.”
While
Lesnar had talked about how he hadn’t felt this good in
years since recovering from his surgery, and physically looked
in great shape, there were natural questions coming into the
fight. He had a 14-month layoff and had taken a beating in his
prior two fights. There was the surgery, being 34, an age most
wrestlers are past their peak in their original sport.
And
even though he had fought nothing but top-level competition in
his four years in UFC, it was only his eighth pro fight, so he
was both older and still relatively inexperienced in MMA. He
did not have the skill level, aside from the wrestling, of his
elite opponents in the heavyweight division.
Lesnar’s
success was based on superior athletic ability, a combination
of his power wrestling and amazing speed at that size. But speed
often fades with age, and physically, he had beaten up his body
for several years after college as a pro wrestler. Although wrestling
is entertainment and not sport, it is, in the view of most who
have done both, harder on the body than MMA because of the constant
travel.
So
even though Lesnar was world champion and became one of the biggest
drawing cards in the history of the pay-per-view industry, his
career, ending with a 5-3 record, always will be the subject
of debate. Some will dismiss him as an overhyped freak show,
the UFC’s answer to Kimbo Slice, as a man lucky to face
an aging and undersized world heavyweight champion in Randy Couture
and a Shane Carwin whose body shut down and was easy pickings.
Of
course, that would ignore his total destruction of Frank Mir,
who has proved time after time to be a top-level heavyweight.
Others will point to how amazing it was that, after years away
from competitive sports – his NCAA title was in 2000 and
he started in UFC eight years later, at age 30 – that he
was able to beat top guys in their own sport.
But
the real story of Lesnar is a question of what could have been.
What would have happened had MMA been a viable professional sport
that would have offered a competitive pay scale to pro wrestling
when he was 22 and his athletic ability was at his peak? Would
he have been able to develop all the skills in the manner of
someone like Velasquez? What would have happened if he had not
developed diverticulitis because it was clear he never was the
same after his near-fatal attack at the end of 2009?
The
other question is what is next. Lesnar earned millions in his
few years in the sport, in the range of $3 million or more, not
including endorsements, in each of his four previous fights.
Overeem,
who talked about how he really had enjoyed watching Lesnar fights
because of the excitement they brought, said he hoped Lesnar
would stay in the sport.
“My
thought is I think he shouldn’t walk away,” said the
new No. 1 contender. “Love him or hate him, but it’s
always something exciting when Brock’s fighting. He’s
a guy who goes for it. He achieved a lot in a short span. It’s
a shame if he stops now. I think there’s more in the game
for him.” Whether true or not, the speculation was abuzz
that Lesnar’s retirement was the signal of a return to pro
wrestling, where he was a major star from 2002 to 2004, and he’s
far more famous now than he was then. If that happens, it almost
surely will be on a limited basis because he is well-known for
hating the travel demands that went with the profession.
It
is well-known that WWE boss Vince McMahon wanted Lesnar to appear
at last year’s WrestleMania to face The Undertaker, but
Lesnar was under an exclusive contract to UFC and Dana White
wasn’t going to let his biggest draw do a show for a rival
pay-per-view entity.
All
week there had been rumors that had Lesnar lost, he may retire
and go back to pro wrestling. But White confirmed Lesnar had
significant time once again left on his contract. The subject
clearly was something White didn’t want to talk much about,
particularly with the bombshell that Lesnar, had he won the title,
was going to retire as champion. That would have made it possible
for him to walk back into pro wrestling as the rightful UFC champion,
which would have been a tremendous marketing coup for McMahon.
Lesnar
leaving UFC as a champion and conquering hero in another arena
is far more valuable to McMahon than Lesnar as a guest star coming
off two straight losses.
“I’ve
had moments with Brock Lesnar, but overall we’ve had a great
relationship,” White said. “I’ve never had a situation
with the guy where we haven’t done the right thing.”
But
as far as specifics, when first asked, White said that even though
Lesnar had retired as a fighter, that doesn’t invalidate
the remaining time on his contract.
When
it was brought up that the Internet was abuzz with speculation
on Lesnar, that in fact Lesnar and WrestleMania was one of the
hottest topics of discussion late Friday night, White didn’t
have much to say.
“I
don’t know. We’ll figure it out,” said an exasperated
White. “The Internet is abuzz; mind your own business.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
141 Fighter Salaries: Brock Tops List, but Calls It Quits After
Loss to Overeem
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday released the UFC 141:
Lesnar vs. Overeem fighter salaries.
The
main event featured a heavyweight showdown between Brock Lesnar
and Alistair Overeem to determine the No. 1 contender to current
UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. Overeem came out
and crushed Lesnar in short order, earning the shot at dos Santos,
and then Lesnar decided he’d had enough of the fight game
and called it quits.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record,
just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any
undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but
does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically,
pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are
not included in the figures below.
UFC 141 FIGHTER SALARIES
Alistair
Overeem: $385,714.28 (includes $121,428.57 win bonus)
def. Brock Lesnar: $400,000 (flat rate; no win bonus)
Nate
Diaz: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
def. Donald Cerrone: $30,000
Johny
Hendricks: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Jon Fitch: $60,000 ($60,000 win bonus)
Alexander
Gustafsson: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Vladimir Matyushenko: $40,000
Jim
Hettes: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Nam Phan: $8,000
Ross
Pearson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Junior Assuncao: $8,000
Danny
Castillo: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Anthony Njokuani: $12,000
Dong
Hyun Kim: $82,000 (includes $41,000 win bonus)
def. Sean Pierson: $8,000
Jacob
Volkmann: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Efrain Escudero: $10,000
Luis
Ramos vs. Matt Riddle was cancelled
Diego
Nunes: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Manny Gamburyan: $18,000
UFC
141 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $1,369,714.28
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
$75,000
Bonuses Handed Out Following UFC 141
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $75,000 bonuses for
in-Octagon performances following UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem
on Friday night. Three fighters took home the bonus checks: Nate
Diaz, Donald Cerrone, and Johny Hendricks.
Fight
of the Night honors went to the co-main event fighters. Nate
Diaz and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone didn’t touch
gloves before the fight. It was a grudge match and Cerrone charged
across the cage at the opening bell. Diaz took over the fight
with his precision punching and boxing ability. He landed his
jab at will and put together combinations throughout the fight.
In the end, it went the distance with Diaz winning by unanimous
decision.
The
Knockout of the Night award went to Johny Hendricks. He put away
previously No.2 ranked welterweight Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds.
Hendricks landed a straight left hand that knocked Fitch down.
His body went stiff and Hendricks finished up with another well-placed
left hand forcing the referee to stop the fight.
There
were no submissions on the UFC 141 fight card, so no Submission
of the Night bonus was awarded.
Total
bonus money handed out following UFC 141 was $225,000.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dos
Santos Opens as Solid Favorite Over Overeem
Following
a dominant performance at UFC 141, Alistair Overeem has now earned
a shot at heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.
With
12 wins in a row, Overeem has proven he is one of the most dominant
big men in the sport, but how does he match-up with the top ranked
fighter in the division?
According
to oddsmaker Nick Kalikas from BetOnFighting.com, Overeem’s
win may earn him a title shot, but he’s still going to come
in as a decided underdog to the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.
The
odds opened up with Dos Santos as a -240 favorite, with the comeback
on Overeem as a +190 favorite.
“I
was very impressed with Overeem’s performance tonight against
Brock. I think we might see his domination of Lesnar impact the
betting line early so wouldn’t be shocked if we see the
initial line drop slightly,” said Kalikas on Friday night.
“As
we get closer to fight day I think we might see it climb back
up some. Should be a great fight, but make no mistake JDS is
the rightful solid favorite heading in. I firmly believe he’s
currently the best heavyweight in the world.”
Dos
Santos has been perfect since coming to the UFC holding an unblemished
8-0 record, and he’ll now face one of the best strikers
and heavyweights in the entire sport in Alistair Overeem with
the heavyweight title on the line.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Junior
dos Santos not scared of Alistair Overeem: “He’s big,
but he ain’t two”
Current
heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos visited MGM Hotel &
Cassino in Las Vegas last Friday (30th) to check out the bout
between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, which defined his
next opponent and challenger at the division belt. On an exclusive
interview given to TATAME after UFC 141, Cigano stated he hopes
more of Brock Lesnar.
“I
thought Brock would move forwards, I hoped more of him. But he
told me on the octagon he felt the knees and kicks of Overeem
and that he thought he broke his rib. I saw it and it was really
red. He told me the last kick destabilized him”, said Junior.
“And then he wished me good luck on this title defense and
that was it”, completed.
When
asked about what are his thoughts about Lesnar announcing his
retirement after the fight, Dos Santos claimed to agree with
the American guy. “He’s completely right to retire
since he doesn’t feel fine when fighting anymore. He said
he promised it to his wife and kids… I guess everybody knows
when it’s time to stop”, affirmed.
The
Brazilian also stated he is not worried about fighting Overeem.
“Each fight is different and you gotta be prepared for your
next opponent the best way you can. I got to the title with much
effort and I’ll do my best to remain as the champion. Overeem
is a very strong fighter, but there’s no easy fight when
you’re fighting a title fight. He’s big, but he ain’t
two”, concluded.
Source:
Tatame
|
Lorenzo
Fertitta targets Olympic MMA in 2020
MMA
is the fastest growing sport in the world, and making the most
of the momentum, the UFC is on a mission to get it into the Olympics.
“We’re aware that the sports have already been determined
for the Rio Games, so we’re working on the Olympics after
that,” UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta is quoted as saying
in Brazil’s “Estadão” newspaper.
For
the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the IOC has picked rugby and
golf as the extra sports, but Lorenzo has been working behind
the scenes on the 2020 Games, for which a host nation has not
yet been established: “We had lots of positive responses
from members of the International Olympic Committee, including
Carlos Nuzman. I know it will take some time to educate people
but if you take a look at our sport, you can see it’s a
combination of several Olympic sports: boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling,
taekwondo and judo. That’s what mixed martial arts are.”
For
the sport to be part of the Olympics, it first needs to pass
through a number of prerequisites, like having an International
Federation to oversee the sport, a certain number of countries
practicing the sport, and broad popularity, among other things.
“MMA should already be in the Olympics. All you have to
do is take a look at the sports already in the Games: boxing,
where there’s punching; taekwondo, where you can punch and
kick; judo, where there are submissions; and wrestling. Everything
we do in MMA is already in an Olympic sport. I feel it should
be added to the program soon,” remarked UFC president Dana
White, who is already keenly tuned in to the vote for the host
city, which shall take place September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
The
candidates to host the 2020 Olympic Games are: Rome, Madrid,
Istanbul, Baku, Tokyo, and Doha.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
making inroads in China one fighter at a time
LAS
VEGAS – Zhang Tiequan returned to Beijing after making his
UFC debut in Australia last year and was in for a shock when
he sat down at his computer.
Weibo
is a social networking site in China, similar to Twitter. When
Zhang logged into his account after returning home, he had 100,000
friend requests awaiting him.
Zhang Tiequan, who fights as a featherweight, is 1-1 in the Octagon.
In
a country of 1.3 billion people, 100,000 might not seem like
a significant number. But Zhang, who is working with the UFC
in an effort to develop mixed martial arts in his country, expects
that one day MMA will surpass basketball as the most popular
sport in China.
And
that’s also why the UFC is making such a concerted effort
to develop Chinese talent. Zhang, along with Yao Honggang, Li
Jinliang Li, A Mu Ri Ji Ri Ga La and Cui Liucai, are in Las Vegas
for the month, training with some of the city’s top fighters
and trainers.
The
plan, according to UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, is to properly train
the Chinese fighters so they can train others in an attempt to
tap into the country’s love of martial arts.
“We’ve
talked a lot about our international expansion and China is one
of the focal points for the company,” Fertitta said. “We
know it’s going to be a long-term play there. It’s
got a tremendous amount of potential, primarily for two reasons.
One, obviously, is because of the size of the market. It’s
a huge market. And two, there is a long-standing martial arts
background that the country has from a cultural standpoint.
“Consumers
like fighting and we feel very strongly that once the UFC becomes
more exposed in China that it will become a top sport there.”
The
UFC has found from experience that a market will develop much
quicker if there is local talent to display when the first event
is held in a particular country.
The
UFC’s first trip to the United Kingdom in 2002 spawned a
growth spurt in MMA and the UFC benefitted by landing a number
of talented British fighters, including “The Ultimate Fighter”
winners Michael Bisping and Ross Pearson.
Fertitta
has seen the pattern repeat around the world and believes it’s
particularly important in China.
“We
also know one of the keys to being successful in a lot of these
countries is having local talent,” he said. “We’re
very popular in Canada, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that
[welterweight champion] Georges St. Pierre is from Canada. Look
at the success we’ve had in Brazil and a lot of that is
because there’s so much talent in Brazil. In America sometimes,
we kind of take things for granted and we’re not as nationalistic
as a lot of other countries. Places like Brazil, places like
Japan and, obviously, places like China, it’s huge. As you’ve
seen, when a Chinese athlete medals in the Olympics, or wins
a gold medal, it’s a very big deal.
“When
you see someone like Yao Ming have success on an international
level, the whole country stops and watches when he plays. The
idea when we went over and assessed the market … we realized
there were a lot of great athletes there, but they weren’t
up to speed on the different styles of fighting.”
The
UFC sent Sean Shelby, one of its matchmakers, to China. He spent
two weeks touring the country and evaluating fighters in various
gyms.
Shelby
reported that the Chinese fighters were quality strikers, but
were lacking in wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills. There were many
men whom Shelby watched work out who were athletic enough to
be successful fighters in the UFC, but they were primitive in
their knowledge of MMA and their training methods.
Fertitta
wanted to change that because of the potential in China. Zuffa,
the UFC’s parent company, already has a six-person office
in Beijing, headed by Mark Fischer. UFC programming is shown
in 10 provinces in China and already reaches 200 million people.
Zuffa has also partnered with several prominent Chinese Internet
portals that reach 500 million people.
Fischer
said the results of that groundwork are just beginning to be
seen.
“Over
the past year, we have made significant progress toward building
our long-term goal of building our fan base in China, mainly
by building up media presence across the mainland,” said
Fischer, the executive vice president and managing director of
UFC Asia. “Online, our events are covered on all the top
portals such as Sina, Sohu, and QQ, and we have recently set
up accounts for both UFC and Zhang Tiequan on Weibo.com, which
is the Chinese equivalent of Twitter and is hugely popular there
now.
“On
TV, our events have been on Guangdong, Chongqing, and Shanghai
TV for most of the past year and will be carried either live
or on delay by more than 10 regional TV channels across China
by early 2012. We have also built important infrastructure here
to set the stage for long-term growth in China, such as the Beijing
office and development relationships with leading China MMA groups
such as the China Top Team.”
Zhang
is the founder of the China Top Team and he has worked closely
with Fischer, Fertitta, Shelby and trainer Mark DellaGrotte to
help improve the sport.
Fertitta
said it made sense to bring the fighters to Las Vegas given the
large number of gyms as well as elite fighters and coaches based
there.
“Vegas
is kind of the Mecca of mixed martial arts in a lot of ways,”
Fertitta said. “We just said, ‘Hey, let’s get
them exposure with, literally, the best trainers in the world.’
… They literally will go from gym to gym every day to train
and learn different aspects of MMA.”
Among
the trainers will be UFC fighter Fredson Paixao, noted jiu-jitsu
coach Robert Drysdale, wrestling and grappling expert Ricky Lundell,
striking coach Jimmy Gifford and DellaGrotte. The Chinese fighters
will spar at Wanderlei Silva’s gym.
Shelby
said they may expand the program to include other trainers, but
they’re going to take it on a day-to-day basis.
“Really,
what this is is an effort to find our version of Yao Ming,”
Fertitta said. “There’s more than a billion people
in China and I guarantee you, somebody there can fight. Our goal
is to find that guy.
“The
U.K. is a great example of what we’re trying to do. Before
we got there, there were a lot of tough guys. The Brits have
a lot of tough, brawler-type guys, but they really weren’t
competitive in the UFC. After we brought [UFC 38] there, in three
or four years, we found guys like Bisping and John Hathaway and
Ross Pearson and guys like that who were coming up. Once we were
there and they were getting exposure to trainers from the U.S.
and around the world, the level of their competitiveness went
through the roof. That’s what the idea here is.”
The
population of the U.K. is 65 million, which is about five percent
of the population of China.
Fertitta
is excited by the possibilities and expects a show to be in Macau
in the fourth quarter of this year. He plans to move slowly in
regard to mainland China and said it may be as long as four years
before a UFC card goes there.
The
possibilities, he said, are significant. The UFC has a name recognition
of about 15 percent, according to research done by the UFC Asia
office. As the Chinese fighters develop and the television exposure
continues, Fertitta expects the 15 percent figure to rise substantially.
“This
is a small little deal with a few fighters here trying to learn,
but its impact on our overall strategy in China can’t be
understated,” he said. “Once we develop that market
and there are world-class gyms with world-class instructors working
there, the type of talent that will come out of that will be
very significant. That’s going to lead to a lot of big things.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Schaub
Meets Rothwell in Montreal
Former
Ultimate Fighter runner-up Brendan Schaub will get back in action
in March at UFC 145 in Montreal as he faces Ben Rothwell in a
heavyweight bout on the card.
UFC
officials announced the new bout late Tuesday evening.
Following
a string of four wins in a row, including victories over Gabriel
Gonzaga and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Brendan Schaub
tasted defeat in his last fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria
at UFC 134 in Brazil.
Schaub
definitely had his moments in the early part of the fight, but
eventually fell to the former Pride champion. Now the Colorado
based fighter will look to get back in the win column when he
faces Ben Rothwell in Canada.
It
might be win or go home time for Rothwell when he returns at
UFC 145.
The
former IFL standout has gone just 1-2 in his three fights in
the UFC, and struggled mightily with cardio issues in his last
fight against Mark Hunt in September.
The
last fight was also after a lengthy layoff for Rothwell due to
injury. So now that he’s healthy and ready to go, he’ll
look for a better performance this go round.
UFC
145 takes place on March 24 in Montreal.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
In
His Blood
Born to Fight
By Tristen
Critchfield
ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. -- Donald Cerrone was at the racetrack recently, watching
some of the finest thoroughbreds in New Mexico do their work.
He marveled at the speed and athleticism of the animals but was
especially interested in how they seemed hell-bent on a singular
goal: crossing the finish line. That day, Cerrone made it a point
to ask one of the trainers what she did to motivate the horses.
“They’re
just born like this,” she told him. “It’s in their
blood.”
Cerrone
can relate.
“[When]
you’re a fighter, it’s in your soul; you’re born
with it,” he says. “I do believe there are people that
are actually born better at something than other people. Some
people don’t have it when they get hit; they just curl up.
Some people just [expletive] knuckle down and go.”
“Cowboy”
is clearly one of the latter, and 2011 has unequivocally been
the best year of his professional life. At UFC 126, Cerrone made
his Octagon debut in the midst of personal tragedy. Though the
fight occurred on the same day his grandfather died, the Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts product choked out Paul Kelly in the second
round and has not looked back since, posting a 4-0 mark within
the UFC while racking up racking up “Fight of the Night,”
“Submission of the Night” and “Knockout of the
Night” honors in the process. On Friday, he goes for five
in a row against Nate Diaz in the UFC 141 co-main event at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Were
it not for the overwhelming excellence of teammate Jon Jones,
Cerrone could easily be “Fighter of the Year” for 2011.
The Colorado native was a star long before he ever set foot inside
the Octagon, however. Outside of Urijah Faber, he was probably
the biggest draw in the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting
organization, and that was without ever capturing championship
gold. It was not for a lack of opportunity. Three times Cerrone
had title fights, and three times he came up short, once to Jamie
Varner and twice against Ben Henderson. The difference between
now and then, Cerrone says, is mostly mental.
“When
I used to kickbox, I used to go out there and just throw the
[expletive] down, just go hard,” he says. “I went to
the WEC, and I was, like, ‘Oh, man, I’m in the WEC.’
I kind of let my emotions take over. The Jamie Varner fight and
the Ben Henderson [fights], my losses that I have, just really
got me in a hole.”
To
help with Cerrone’s mental preparation, Georges St. Pierre
referred him to Brian Cain, the same sports psychologist that
helped the UFC welterweight champion following his upset loss
to Matt Serra in 2007.
Diaz
comes to fight.
“He
asked me, ‘Why do I belong in the UFC,’ and I said,
‘Because I’m the best. That’s why,’”
Cerrone recalls. “He was asking me all these questions ...
and getting me to believe in myself, to believe the hype.”
Cerrone
says he no longer works with Cain, but the visits made enough
of an impression that he attempts to replicate them in Albuquerque
with Marc Stevens, a Ball State University graduate who is continuing
his education in sports psychology.
“He
was pretty sporadic [early] in his career, where you have a really
good fight, and then, in his next fight, he’d have trouble
getting started,” says Stevens. “Just getting him to
push the pace without the support of the other [fighter] is definitely
the biggest thing -- and being consistent at it. It’s about
getting him in the zone every single time. You can peak physically
-- all these guys are in great physical shape -- but showing
up mentally for a fight, making sure you’re 100 percent
there, that’s the toughest part.”
There
is something of a stigma attached to when an athlete seeks out
such help, as B.J. Penn proved when he mocked St. Pierre for
his treatment before their bout at UFC 94. Of course, Penn did
not make it off his stool for the fifth round of that fight,
and it is hard to argue with the results Cerrone has produced.
“Just
getting my mind right, getting everything fired up, getting everything
running together makes it the best year for me -- physically,
mentally and being in the UFC and making it happen,” Cerrone
says.
Inside
the cage, trainer Greg Jackson had a similar emphasis, working
hard on getting his charge to begin with a flourish. When the
longtime Ring of Fire veteran faltered in the past, it was often
because of slow starts on fight night. In losses to Varner at
WEC 38 and Henderson at WEC 43, Cerrone began tentatively, digging
himself a hole on judges’ scorecards that a strong push
in later rounds could not overcome. In the rematch with Henderson,
Cerrone was not allowed the opportunity to mount a comeback,
as the current UFC lightweight No. 1 contender caught him in
his patented guillotine choke in the opening frame.
Jackson
wanted to see his fighter bring a sense of urgency from the get-go.
While Cerrone was already performing at a high level, it was
not as consistent as what he showed in the gym on a daily basis.
“He
was trying to figure out what I do here [at Jackson’s MMA]
to bring it alive in the cage,” Cerrone says. “You
see those guys that are great gym warriors. They go hard, but
they get in there and freeze up. It’s a hard thing to do
-- to go out there and perform.”
Anything
remotely resembling the tentative side of Cerrone was last seen
at UFC 131, when he scored a one-sided unanimous decision over
Vagner Rocha. It was the only time this year that he has not
brought home a post-fight award. Just moments after the match,
Cerrone acknowledged that it was not a vintage performance.
In
his next two appearances, Cerrone has, as he puts it, “come
alive” in the Octagon. He garnered the first technical knockout
of his MMA career when he finished Charles Oliveira with strikes
in the opening round at UFC Live 5. Then, in his most significant
victory to date, Cerrone smashed the surging Dennis Siver with
a head kick and wobbled the Russian-born German less than a minute
into their fight at UFC 137. Never given a chance to recover,
Siver submitted to a rear-naked choke before the round expired.
“I
think in his experience he has learned that he will not gas out
in his fights,” says striking coach Mike Winkeljohn. “He’s
in great enough shape that he can start fast and work that pace
the whole fight. He believes in his conditioning now more than
ever before.”
By
awakening his killer instinct sooner, Cerrone is getting closer
to harnessing his considerable potential.
“He’s
just a lot more focused. He listens better, but also, right before
fight time, he gets real motivated to go out and do what he does,”
Jackson says. “I think that’s the big thing. He’s
not holding back.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
141 Blog: Donald Cerrone on Getting Snubbed by Nate Diaz
By Donald
"Cowboy" Cerrone
Where
I am from, if you are cool with someone, you are cool with their
friends. If you are not cool with me, then don't go talking to
my best friend when I am in the room unless you can be cool with
me for a couple of seconds, too.
A
couple of months ago at UFC 137, at the open workout at the TUF
Gym in Vegas, Nate Diaz was in the room talking to my best friend,
Leonard Garcia, so I went over to shake his hand. Nothing major
just like, "Hey man, what's going on? Nice to meet you."
This
was the first time I've ever met the dude and I was being polite.
Y'know, because that what you do when you are in a room and your
friend is talking to a dude right in front of you, you introduce
yourself.
But
Diaz slapped my hand away and called me a 'punk-ass b**ch' and
walked off.
I
was like, really?
Okay.
This
guy thinks you've got to be dumb or come from Stockton, wherever
that is, to be tough. But I've got the same 'I don't give a f**k'
gene he has, and I also got genes for better striking and better
wrestling. He pissed me off, he lit my fire up and as soon as
I beat Dennis Siver at UFC 137 I knew that I wanted to fight
again before the end of the year, and I knew I wanted to fight
Nate Diaz.
The
weird thing is, I like the Diaz brothers. They come to fight.
They are crazy. They bring it. Diaz is going to show up Friday
night at UFC 141 and we will have a war. Do I respect him as
a fighter? Yes I do. He comes to throw down. He comes and fights
with everything he's got. Is that enough to stop me from beating
him up? No, it is not. Not anywhere near.
If
he wants to stand, let's stand. He won't last a round with that
funny hands above his head like he's riding a Harley stance.
And if he wants to take me down, first he has got to beat my
wrestling, and he isn't good enough to do that. And I don't know
if it is a good idea for him to even try to take me down. My
BJJ isn't great, but it is as good as his.
Diaz
doesn't make a whole lot of sense when he talks. He said if I
don't knock him out or win a decision, I am in trouble. What
does that mean? I know how to co-exist in this world, and part
of that is to say 'Hi' and shake hands with people. Diaz can't
do that. I guess he didn't go to school to learn how to shake
hands... sorry, inside joke.
Yesterday
we had the open workouts at the same TUF gym where Diaz slapped
my hand away in October. I was in the locker room waiting for
him to get done doing interviews with press, but then I decided
to go out and give him something to worry about. I purposely
went out there knowing he wasn't done and started hitting pads.
He kept turning around real skittish.
I
got this. If he makes it to the second round, he's had a lucky
night.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Shinya
Aoki Didn’t Want to Fight Friend & Teammate Kitaoka,
but It’s Just Business
by Damon
Martin
It’s
just business; it’s nothing personal.
Those
are the words that rang through Shinya Aoki‘s head when
he got the call from the promoters at Dream when they told him
who his opponent was for their big year end show in Japan.
It
was none other than his good friend and teammate Satoru Kitaoka.
Aoki was none too thrilled about it.
“He
is one of my closest friends and training partners for the last
10 years. In fact, we got our black belts in BJJ together under
Sensei Yuki Nakai. It is not my choice to fight him,” Aoki
told MMAWeekly.com.
“But
I am a professional fighter. It is my job. He is one of the best.
I am ready.”
Knowing
your opponent very well can be a big help going into a fight,
but training with a fighter like Kitaoka over the last decade
means he knows Aoki pretty well, too.
A
submission machine in his own right, Kitaoka presents an interesting
match-up for Aoki, and he knows that to win on New Year’s
Eve he has to be at his absolute best, or he won’t walk
out a winner.
“(Kitaoka)
is one of the best fighters. It will be a tough fight. He’s
also very strong physically. He is a great submission fighter,”
said Aoki. “It will be a tough fight, but I am ready. I
had a very hard eight-week training camp in Singapore at Evolve
MMA. It will be a very exciting fight.”
The
hard training camp in Singapore is something Aoki talks about
often these days.
The
Dream lightweight champion has never been accused of not training
hard for a fight, but he has been the victim of parts of his
game not evolving as fast as others.
Possibly
the most dangerous submission fighter in the history of MMA,
Aoki’s ground skills are unmatched, but he’s never
been accused of having the slickest striking in the sport. To
work on that and become a more well rounded fighter, Aoki has
spent his last few fight camps at Evolve MMA in Singapore, working
with a team of top Muay Thai fighters and several different coaches.
“I
am a new fighter because of Evolve,” Aoki stated. “At
Evolve MMA, there are so many world champions in every discipline.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to improve every area of
my game. Thank you to Evolve. Thank you to my teammates on the
Evolve Fight Team. We are a family. Thank you Namsaknoi, Zoro,
Attachai, Orono, and everyone at Evolve. Thank you to Chatri-san!
Evolve MMA is the best MMA camp in Asia.”
Because
of the team surrounding him at Evolve, Aoki believes he is a
fighter reborn and plans on showing off some of his newfound
skills on New Year’s Eve and beyond into 2012.
It’s
a new age for the Tobikan Judan, and he’s ready for the
world to see just exactly what he’s become over the last
12 months.
“I
am a totally different fighter today compared to the beginning
of the year. This year, I spent most of the off-season at Evolve
MMA in Singapore, training with all the world champions over
there,” said Aoki. “The training is the best I have
ever had in my career and I do not say those words lightly. I
train with world champions in Muay Thai, BJJ, boxing, no-gi grappling,
etc.
“I
learn something new every day at Evolve. Every aspect of my game
has improved a lot: grappling, takedowns, striking, etc. My home
camp is there now and you will see a new Shinya Aoki over time.”
The
fight with Kitaoka will be the fourth for Aoki in 2011, and he
plans on being just as busy in 2012. Following this bout, Aoki’s
goal is to land on the proposed March card taking place in Singapore
as a co-promoted show between Dream and One FC.
“I
want to fight in Singapore in front of my Evolve family,”
said Aoki. “I want to fight the best.”
The
first order of business is for Aoki to face his friend and teammate
on New Year’s Eve in Japan, and then he’ll move on
to think about what’s ahead in 2012.
(Dream’s
New Year’s Eve show airs live in its entirety on Friday
night live on HDNet.)
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Rodolfo
ready for Bibiano: “I trained plenty of ground defense;
things will get rough”
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Rampant
on an 11-fight win streak, team Nova União’s Rodolfo
Marques has his work cut out for him this Saturday at Japan’s
traditional New Year’s event at the Saitama Super Arena.
At the temple of the now-defunct Pride FC promotion, Rodolfo
will take on the dangerous Bibiano Fernandes (Carlson) in one
of the Dream bantamweight GP semifinals. The winner will go through
to the final on the same night.
Focused,
the Nova União athlete expects a barn burner against the
Jiu-Jitsu World Championship winner: “I expect the best.
I’m very focused for this fight, I trained a lot, and it’ll
be a show,” he told GRACIEMAG.com, direct from Japan. (Watch
Rodolfo in action at the April IFC show.)
Undefeated
since March of 2009, Rodolfo guarantees that he is as prepared
for the GP finals as he has ever been for a fight. “I trained
lots of wrestling and ground defense. My boxing is sharp, and
I’m in great physical shape—that’ll be one of
my strengths in the fight,” he said assuredly. “Anything
can happen in the fight but I feel sticking with the standup
is the way to beat him. You can expect one of the best fights
of the event. Things will get rough,” said Marques in closing.
The
other GP semifinal has Antonio Banuelos squaring off with Masakazu
Imanari.
This
Saturday’s Dream 17 show has other enticing match-ups in
store for Saitama, like Fedor Emelianenko’s showdown with
Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Satoshi Ishii, choreographed
pro-wrestling matches between Tim Sylvia and Jerome LeBanner,
Josh Barnett and Hideki Suzuki, Peter Aerts and Kazutuki Fujita,
and a tag-team match featuring Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuyori
Shibata against Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada. Check out
the complete card:
Dream
“Genki Desu Ka”
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
December 31, 2011
Hiroyuki
Takaya vs Takeshi Inoue
Antonio
Banuelos vs Masakazu Imanari
Bibiano
Fernandes vs Rodolfo Marques
Fedor
Emilianenki vs Satoshi Ishii
Shinya
Aoki vs Satoru Kitaoka
Tatsuya
Kawajari vs Kazuyuki Miyata
Megumi
Fujii vs Karla Benitez
Hayato
Sakurai vs Ryo Chonan
Hideo
Tokoro vs Yusup Saadulaev
Pro-Wrestling
Tim
Sylvia vs Jerome Le Banner
Josh
Barnett vs Hideki Suzuki
Peter
Aerts vs Kazutuki Fujita
Kazushi
Sakuraba e Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinichi Suzukawa e Atsushi Sawada
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Johnny
Eduardo: “There’s no pain, just desire”
By Marcelo
Barone
Due
to an injury on his left shoulder, Johnny Eduardo was prevented
from doing his second fight in Ultimate. But, now 100 percent
healed, after an arthroscopy and physiotherapy sessions, the
athlete of Nova Uniao team little by little is regaining rhythm.
Although he has no date settled to return to the octagon, the
fighter affirmed, on an interview conceded to TATAME, that he’s
anxious about a match-up.
“There’s
no pain anymore, just a great desire of reaching the top again.
But I’m pretty sure it’ll happen. Andre (Pederneiras)
said an athlete who’s coming from great performances, has
a good ground base, doesn’t take long vacations, that guy
can recover. I’m training, but it’s not like I’m
waiting to sign the contact, but I’m looking forwards for
them to invite me to fight in 2012. I don’t know in which
month yet, but I’m sure I’ll come back and do a good
fight”.
Despite
not knowing when he will be back, Johnny, who fought in Ultimate
on August for the first time, in Rio de Janeiro, hopes to find
his way on the super event.
“I’m
where many fighters dream of being, but I don’t want just
to get here. I want to overcome all obstacles, win all fights
and dream about my division’s belt. I want to grow a lot
in the UFC, along with the fighter who just came. I have a lot
to learn in there and I really want to come back”, affirmed
the tough guy, who analyzed 2011.
“It
was a good year. I was hired by UFC, I can’t forget it,
because it’s a great chance in every fighter’s life.
I gotta thank God for all the doors he’s opening to me,
to Andre, who’s my coach, my sponsors and the companies
that sponsor me”.
Source:
Tatame
|
145
King Aldo Signs Sponsorship Deal with Soccer Team Flamengo
By Gleidson
Venga
RIO DE JANEIRO -- In the latest in a rush of MMA-soccer sponsorships,
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo signed a sponsorship contract
with his favorite soccer team, Rio de Janeiro’s Clube de
Regatas do Flamengo, on Wednesday.
The
145-pound ruler will stamp his shell with Flamengo’s red
and black jersey for his title defense against undefeated challenger
Chad Mendes in the main event of UFC 142 in Rio on Jan. 14.
"It's
a dream that’s been realized," said Aldo. "I always
cheered, cried and followed Flamengo since childhood and now
to be part of this company is wonderful.”
“He
had already shown on several occasions the love he has for Flamengo.
We had a few meetings before, but today, we confirmed our partnership,”
added team president Patricia Amorim. “After dating for
a long time, it has finally become a marriage. Jose Aldo now
is part of our team!”
Aldo
follows in the footsteps of recent MMA standouts signing with
their favorite soccer clubs, including UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva signing with Sao Paulo-based club Corinthians
and Paulo Thiago with Cruzeiro of Belo Horizonte.
Source
Sherdog
|
How
Will Fans Respond to a Friday Night UFC Event? Even Dana White
Wonders
By Ben
Fowlkes
LAS
VEGAS -- The MMA world is so used to Saturday night pay-per-view
events that even UFC president Dana White was bound to slip up
when promoting the rare Friday night outing this week. Unfortunately,
he made the mistake when talking with the people at the UFC's
new wireless partner, MetroPCS.
"I
just met with the MetroPCS people and I said, 'I'll see you Saturday,'"
White told reporters following Wednesday's UFC 141 press conference.
"I'm promoting this thing and I said, 'I'll see you Saturday.'"
It's
so easy to do. The UFC has gotten its fight week routine down
to such a consistent rhythm, fans and media alike are conditioned
to expect things in a certain order. Press conference on Thursday,
weigh-ins on Friday, fights on Saturday. Only the names and locations
change -- until this time. But in order to avoid the colossal
headache of trying to promote a fight on New Year's Eve in Las
Vegas, the UFC had to move everything up a day this week. Now
even White isn't sure how fans will react.
"To
be honest, we're a little concerned about Friday night,"
White said. "Everybody's programmed for Saturday, Saturday,
Saturday."
And,
in theory, the UFC could have slated UFC 141 for Saturday night.
After all, big fights on New Year's Eve are a tradition in Japan,
but then so is staying home to watch TV that night. The UFC could
have tried to convince fans to order a pay-per-view rather than
go out and party, but then, that wouldn't have been the only
gamble, White pointed out.
"The
problem is, you can't put on fights in Las Vegas on [New Year's
Eve]," he said. "They shut the strip down. You can't
even get around here. It would be a nightmare."
At
one point, the UFC president was "almost 100 percent confident"
that the organization was headed back to Abu Dhabi for a New
Year's Eve show, he said. And yet here we are again, back in
the UFC's hometown, with White hoping that fans won't wake up
on Saturday morning eagerly anticipating some big fights that
they already missed.
It's
one variable of many that makes it hard to predict this event's
chances for success. With UFC 141, the organization is returning
to the 10 p.m. ET start time that it had previously abandoned
in favor of moving the action up an hour. The UFC also turned
to its new friends at FUEL TV -- a FOX cable channel that is
available in about 60 million fewer homes than the UFC's former
TV partners at Spike -- to help promote the event with the customary
"Countdown" show.
Ratings
were dismal for that effort, with a measly 15,000 viewers for
its Dec. 21 premiere, according to MMA Junkie. But White, of
course, claimed that this was more or less what he expected so
early in the game.
"It
wasn't alarming at all," he told reporters. "Those
are the type of ratings that that network pulls. ...Those numbers
will build. We're going to build that network."
Part
of the problem is availability. Fight fans know where Spike TV
is on the dial, and most of them probably have it in their cable
packages. The same can't be said of FUEL, though White seems
to be hoping that fans will pipe up once the UFC takes its act
there full-time in 2012.
"I
think that once all this programming goes out on FUEL, I think
the fans are going to end up [requesting it from cable operators],"
he said. "More and more people are going to want FUEL."
That's
fine for next year, but what about Friday night? The UFC is offering
up one of its biggest pay-per-view draws in Brock Lesnar, not
to mention a simmering feud between Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz,
and it risks waving goodbye to a healthy chunk of pay-per-view
revenue if it can't get the word out and convince fans to find
a seat on the couch by Friday night.
It
might not be quite as difficult as putting on a fight in Vegas
on New Year's Eve would have been, but it's no small challenge,
either. When even the president of the company occasionally flubs
the night of the show while selling it out in public, you know
there are potential problems on the horizon. Once you have to
deviate from your own dependable schedule, there are bound to
be some people who don't get the message in time.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Miguel
Torres Admits Without the UFC, His Fighting Career May Have Been
Over
by Damon
Martin
It
might be safe to say that the last few weeks have been the worst
of Miguel Torres’ life.
Following
an ill-fated message on his Twitter account about rape, Torres
was promptly fired from the UFC for his actions.
There
wasn’t a discussion, there wasn’t a grace period, he
was just gone.
For
the last decade, a third of his life, all Miguel Torres has known
is mixed martial arts, and with one horribly distasteful tweet,
his UFC career was over.
“I
took a lot of heat for what I said. I realized my words are very
powerful and I’m very sorry,” Torres said on Wednesday.
“What I said was very wrong and I had to learn from my mistake.
I took this opportunity to grow.”
The
way that Torres decided to learn from the experience was to visit
five local rape crisis centers in the Chicago area. He also donated
money to them, but meeting with the people in those centers,
and the victims in those horrific crimes made him realize just
how much something as simple as a joke to some can be hurtful
to others.
Torres
also felt the brunt of it when he was in his out and about in
an area he’s called home his whole life. People labeled
him as a rapist, and he got stares from passers by who heard
about the story and saw his picture on the internet or in the
local newspaper.
“It’s
a heavy thing to carry,” Torres admitted. “I can’t
go to the grocery store. (I’m on) the front page of the
paper, nobody knew my side of the story, why I said what I said,
what was going on. I stayed quiet because I knew the first move
I had to make had to be the right one.”
Torres
and his manager Glenn Robinson finally made their move this week.
They
made the trip to Las Vegas to meet with Dana White and discuss
with him what happened, and how it all went down and what Torres
had done since that time. Torres and White hadn’t met face
to face or talked since the incident occurred.
What
resulted from the meeting was White believing that Torres felt
regret for his ill timed decision to post that message about
rape, and had truly learned from his mistake. At that point,
Torres was offered to come back to the UFC and fight there once
again.
White
says that he doesn’t care much what anyone thinks about
his decision to first fire and then re-hire Torres because it’s
his company and he’ll run it the way he wants.
For
Torres though, White’s decision to bring him back was the
only thing he’s ever wanted, and he was extremely grateful
for the second chance.
“All
I wanted for Christmas was to be back in the UFC. I dedicated
my whole life since I was 13 years old, since I watched the first
UFC, to be a UFC fighter, to be a champ. I dedicated my whole
life to this sport. When I got cut it showed me that what I say
on Twitter, what I say on social media’s very powerful,”
Torres said.
Over
the past few weeks, Torres has concentrated on learning from
his mistake and moving forward, but without the UFC fighting
may not have been part of it for him.
“I
didn’t have a back-up plan,” Torres said. “I knew
I’d always have a career doing something, I’ve pretty
much made my way up here fighting one fight at a time. I had
no other choice. The end game is the UFC. If I can’t fight
in the UFC then I’m going to train my fighters at my gym
and continue with my life.”
For
now the situation is past and Miguel Torres is back in the UFC.
Does
this mean the problem with social networking will never happen
again? No, it’s probably going to happen sooner rather than
later unfortunately, but Torres seems to have learned his lesson
and will surely appreciate his next fight in the UFC more than
any before it.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Toughman
Hawaii
January 7, 2012
Hilo Civic Ctr
|
|