In case you missed it, Eddie Alvarez and Bellator finally reached a settlement on Tuesday. Instead of fighting for a title on a UFC pay-per-view main event like he once hoped, Alvarez is now scheduled to rematch the last man to defeat him, Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, on a pay-per-view headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Rampage Jackson.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, Alexandra Robinson, daughter of Blackzilians founder Glenn Robinson, in conjunction with Bleacher Report, released the interview you see below. In it, Alvarez explains the reasons why he elected to settle after waging a public war tooth and nail against Bellator for eight bitter months.
I’m no body language expert, but Alvarez doesn’t exactly give off a ‘happy to be here’ vibe.
6 MUST-READ STORIES
Chandler-Alvarez 2. The long and bitter saga of Eddie Alvarez is finally over. Alvarez re-signed with Bellator MMA and is scheduled to rematch Michael Chandler in the co-main event of the promotion’s inaugural pay-per-view.
Bellator WMMA fallout. A trio of top-ranked female Belllator fighters received their release from the promotion on Tuesday, likely signaling the end of Bellator’s involvement in WMMA. Felice Herrig went on to ink an exclusive multi-fight contract with Invicta FC, while Jessica Eye and Jessica Aguilar remain free agents for the time being.
Miller update. Officials within the Orange County Sheriff’s Department released details regarding the arrest of retired mixed martial artist Jason “Mayhem” Miller.
Jackson reveals ‘secret’ Jones Jr. plans. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had this to say about his spoiled fight with Roy Jones Jr. (via Fighthub): “Man, you guys don’t know how close it was, it was really close. Honestly, I was just as surprised as you guys were. But, the thing is, I wanted to do a boxing match. I’m going to let you in on a secret. We were going to do a boxing match and then a MMA match. I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, but, it could still happen. He’s good (at jiu-jitsu), he say he down with it.”
Maia-Shields. A welterweight bout pitting Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields is expected to headline UFC Fight Night 29 on Oct. 9 in Barueri, Sao Paulo. Erick Silva vs. Dong Hyun Kim is set for the co-main event.
WSOF 4 ratings. Saturday night’s WSOF 4 event drew 268,000 viewers to NBC Sports Network, marking a new record rating for the upstart promotion despite minimal advertising and an event headlined by non-UFC names.
MEDIA STEW
For anybody who wants to remind themselves how ridiculously intense Chandler-Alvarez 1 was, I offer you this gift.
As always, Nick Diaz dishing out wisdom and life lessons.
I could do without the STEMM, but damn that’s a fun card.
Joe Lauzon posted the following question in the comments of his latest video blog: “Win via Flying Triangle off the? cage?” I swear, if that happens the internet might implode.
Jimi Manuwa, aka the undefeated Nigerian-Englishman who did this to Kyle Kingsbury and Cyrille Diabate in his first two Octagon excursions, now finds his sights set squarely on Ryan Jimmo, with a potential shot into the LHW top-10 up for grabs.
Ain’t no workout like a Gokhan Saki workout.
Props to @cgarcia_notary for the find.
RELUCTANT REMATCH
I hope you guys are as excited as I am! I promise I’ll put on a great show! pic.twitter.com/7Vsas2peGe
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) August 13, 2013
@TalkMMA hahaha might have to call Jose Canseco see of hell lend me his
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) August 13, 2013
NO MORE BELLATOR
Hi:)! The rumors R true, I have been released by @BellatorMMA. I Want 2 thank them 4 everything they did 4 me & excited for what’s next! #1
— Jessica Aguilar (@jagatt) August 13, 2013
And the big news is out.. I have signed a multi fight deal with @invictafights http://t.co/WdULl7tBDs
— Felice Herrig (@feliceherrig) August 13, 2013
Super excited and honored RT @shanknapp: @feliceherrig welcome to @InvictaFights! Happy to have you … http://t.co/8UxjkgA7gq
— Felice Herrig (@feliceherrig) August 13, 2013
Yes everyone rumor TRUE.. I have been released by Bellator. Please be respectful to them they helped me to grow Into fighter I am . #blessed
— Jessica Eye (@jessicaevileye) August 13, 2013
For all the question why. It doesn’t matter they did good for me it’s now time to move on 😉
— Jessica Eye (@jessicaevileye) August 13, 2013
Every fighter see adversity in there career . This is not adversity this is my opportunity to be more than I could ever imagine .
— Jessica Eye (@jessicaevileye) August 13, 2013
CONGRATS
Finally our little bundle of joy has arrived !!! Welcome little Faith Rosemary Dollaway to the world ! Pictures to come very soon !!!
— CB Dollaway (@cbdollaway) August 12, 2013
TUF WINNINGS?
I cant believe I’m headed to meet my brand new Range Rover! Thank you @ufc @danawhite @lorenzofertitta #Tuf18
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) August 13, 2013
FATHERHOOD DONE RIGHT
My day so far, started with strenght training and ended up at the retro video game store. Now to spend… http://t.co/hQUcgGozQB
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) August 10, 2013
Dan Dan is hooked haha. #duckhunt http://t.co/f10q1zDBKD
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) August 10, 2013
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Monday, August 12, 2013):
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day is a tremendously thorough piece by LawrenceKenshin: Uriah Hall: An In-depth Look Part 1
The Ultimate Fighter and UFC tried to hype Uriah Hall as the best striker the show has ever seen, or the “next elite striker”. Surely, this lost some or much of its momentum when he lost to his teammate Kevin Gastelum. While Uriah has showcased some rare skills thus far, he has also showcased several flaws.
Format:
1. The strength and weaknesses of Uriah’s striking.
2. A brief discussion on John Howard and the match up.
2. Discussion of the importance of human physiology and anatomy in relation to striking.
3. Cross comparing different elite fighter’s shoulder mobility, posture, and muscle balance.
*Part 1 focuses on #1 & #2
Strengths:
Uriah’s kick(s) are what really put him on the map. With plenty of flash and shock value, he dispatched Adam Cella with a spinning heel hook kick in a spectacular fashion. At the time, the only other UFC fighter to win with such technique was Edson Barboza.
Something that Uriah does is back-pedal and then launch explosive jabs. Often, fighters will opt to parry a left jab with with the right hand, as taught generally in boxing. To exploit this, Uriah feints a jab, drawing a right hand parry, and spun to throw the powerful heel hook kick with magnificent results. When the right hand is drawn out to parry, the timeframe to block or react to such a kick is significantly reduced. With near perfect timing and sense of distance, Adam Cella was knocked out cold with this maneuver: a more in-depth breakdown of this technique by Jack Slack.
The problem with this kick however, is that once an opponent knows that you have such weapon, he will be much more conscious of his parries and your positioning to create a spin. The positioning to create such a spin is vastly different from most striking positions, thereby making it relatively simple to see the shift unless properly setup. An opponent that has become cognizant of this kick is automatically less vulnerable due to the advanced footwork, accuracy, balance, flexibility, and timing involved.
This is precisely why we don’t see a lot of high spin kicks. Though powerful and beautiful, they are generally as hard to do as they are risky. And obviously, a fighter generally won’t win a fight just by being able to spin kick, it’s simply a wonderful and powerful trick shot in a fighter’s arsenal.
So then, what are other effective strikes under Uriah’s arsenal? In short, other kicks. Lots of other kicks.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.