Rampage vs. Maldonado: Latest Predictions Before Rampage’s Return at UFC 186

After two years and one lawsuit, Quinton Jackson finally makes his return to the Octagon against Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 on Saturday. 
It was uncertain Jackson vs. Maldonado was going to happen on this card. On April 7, Rampage’s form…

After two years and one lawsuit, Quinton Jackson finally makes his return to the Octagon against Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 on Saturday. 

It was uncertain Jackson vs. Maldonado was going to happen on this card. On April 7, Rampage’s former employer, Bellator MMA, which filed a lawsuit against him claiming he only completed three fights on a six-fight contract, was granted an injunction that forced UFC to take him off the card, per MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:

On April 21, four days before the event, UFC announced (via Nancy Gay of UFC.com) that a New Jersey judge reversed the injunction that will allow Jackson to compete at UFC 186. The report also notes it will be a catchweight bout at 215 pounds instead of a traditional light heavyweight fight (205 pounds). 

This is a huge moment for the 36-year-old Jackson, who did not leave UFC in 2013 on a high note. He lost three consecutive fights against Jon Jones, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira in his final fight before moving to Bellator. He also missed weight for his bout against Bader at UFC 144.

One of those defeats can’t be held against Jackson because it came against Jon Jones, who has yet to be legitimately beaten. (Jones’ only career defeat was the result of a disqualification due to illegal elbow strikes against Matt Hamill.)

Following his loss against Teixeira in January 2013, Jackson said during the UFC on Fox post-fight telecast (via Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie) that he wasn’t sure of his ability against elite competition:

I don’t know if I can compete with the top people in the world (anymore). This is my first time losing three in a row. I’m not going to give up though. It’s not my last MMA fight. I might try some boxing. But no, I still want to fight; it’s still in my heart. I’ve just got a lot of reevaluating to do.

Jackson did have a successful run with Bellator, going 3-0 with wins over Joey Beltran, Christian M’Pumbu and Muhammed Lawal. Two of those wins came by knockout, which is a positive sign since he hadn’t won a UFC fight by stoppage since December 2008 against Wanderlei Silva. 

Maldonado is the perfect opponent for Jackson on his comeback tour. He’s an aging fighter at 35 years old who had his own three-fight losing streak with UFC in 2011-12 and has a pedestrian 5-4 mark with mixed martial arts’ top organization. 

That’s not to say Maldonado is out of his element against Jackson. Quite the opposite, actually. Elias Cepeda of Fox Sports came up with a logical scenario for Maldonado to win this fight:

Jackson could very well use his good wrestling to put Maldonado on his back, but he’ll have to have the endurance to do it over and over again, or keep him there. Maldonado is resilient and superbly conditioned — despite his appearance — and Jackson will have to show him stuff that he hasn’t shown many in years in order to be able to finish him.

That’s not a glowing review of how Maldonado can win, but it does paint a reasonable picture for the veteran fighter. Given some of the issues Jackson has had with his weight, going back to the Bader fight, and the fact that this bout won’t be fought at 205 pounds could cause Rampage to look softer than he normally would. 

It’s such a difficult fight to predict with any certainty because so much of it depends on which Jackson will show up. If he’s interested and wants to prove a point in his return to UFC, there’s no reason he shouldn’t win. 

Maldonado’s UFC wins aren’t an impressive collection. No one gets hyped seeing Hans Stringer or James McSweeney or Gian Villante on a fight card. 

Ryan Frederick of Wrestling Observer also noted that Maldonado’s boxing style is what Jackson likes and makes a nice contrast to the wrestlers like Jones, Bader and Teixeira that he was taking on before leaving:

He gets a match-up he should enjoy in fighting Fabio Maldonado, who is a boxer who likes to stand and exchange punches. Maldonado tires easily, but he is willing to take a beating in order to dish one out. Jackson likes to stand and trade and entertain the fans, so he has a perfect match-up for him. If both are at the top of their game, this could be an entertaining slugfest of a bout.

Assuming all things are equal, Jackson should win. Even at this stage of his career, the former UFC light heavyweight champion has the power and wrestling ability to get by a mid-level fighter. This is Jackson’s last chance to prove himself and make significant money in UFC. 

Sometimes the threat of becoming irrelevant can provide the kind of motivation a fighter like Jackson needs. UFC has put him in a prime spot to succeed, giving him the co-main event slot on the card, so it’s on him to make the most of it. 

Jackson will take his moment in the spotlight, though it’s going to come from the judges in a tense three-round affair. 

 

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Nick Newell Comments on Win vs. Joe Condon at WSOF 20

Nick Newell has been defying odds all his life and continued that trend on Saturday night with a victory over Joe Condon at the World Series of Fighting event in his home state of Connecticut.    It’s notable not just because it was…

Nick Newell has been defying odds all his life and continued that trend on Saturday night with a victory over Joe Condon at the World Series of Fighting event in his home state of Connecticut.    

It’s notable not just because it was his first win with the promotion, but also because the 29-year-old was born with congenital amputation in his left arm which resulted in his arm ending just below the elbow.

No stranger to mixed martial arts, Newell has a 12-1 career record as a professional in the sport. The unanimous decision victory over Condon was his first with WSOF, coming nine months after he lost to Justin Gaethje

Speaking to ESPN’s Phil Murphy after his victory, Newell talked about what it meant being able to fight so close to where he grew up.

“It was crazy,” Newell said. “The roar of the crowd and everything, it was a little overwhelming for me, and the adrenaline was so crazy. I needed that though. I needed a fight like that, and I came out with a win, so I’m happy.”

Newell also said that he “tried to drown it all out” with regards to the hundreds of ticket requests and celebrity status he had walking around the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. 

Once Newell was able to settle down on his own after the fight, the veteran mixed martial artist took to social media to thank everyone who made this particular dream possible:

As far as what’s next, Newell told Murphy that he “wants to do a quick turnaround.” He even offered to fight on the next show, which is June 5 in Canada, but details would still have to be worked out before that can come to fruition.    

Whatever happens, Newell continues to prove he has a bright future in mixed martial arts. He won the lightweight championship while competing in Xtreme Fighting Championships and is off to a solid start in World Series of Fighting.   

 

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Conor McGregor’s Actions at UFC 189 Press Conference Are Perfect Marketing Tool

A mixed martial artist can only climb so high with the mainstream public when looking strictly at fighting ability. In order to move to the next level, one must possess something unique that people can latch on to in a positive or negative way. 
W…

A mixed martial artist can only climb so high with the mainstream public when looking strictly at fighting ability. In order to move to the next level, one must possess something unique that people can latch on to in a positive or negative way. 

Whether it was just a marketing strategy, or an expression of some kind of deeper animosity toward Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor‘s histrionics at the UFC 189 World Tour press conference on Tuesday were brilliant. In case you didn’t see it or want to watch it again, here’s the video footage of what went down:

While that was the end result of the press conference, let’s go back a few minutes to describe what brought us to that particular moment. 

First, it’s important to set the stage. The press conference took place in Dublin, Ireland, which is where McGregor is from and is a popular MMA area.

Aldo, who hasn’t lost since November 2005 and is the UFC featherweight champion, found this to be a good time to rile up the crowd and his opponent. He proclaimed himself the “King of Dublin,” per Damon Martin of Fox Sports. 

As you would expect, especially with a rowdy hometown crowd to support him, McGregor took offense to the remarks and decided to fire back verbally before grabbing Aldo’s belt, with UFC tweeting out one of McGregor‘s key points:

The two had a brief shouting match that nearly came to blows, with UFC president Dana White keeping them apart. Even though Aldo and McGregor have not hidden their disdain for each other throughout this tour, Tuesday was a cut above anything else. 

This is nothing but good news for the UFC, which has three months to build the fight off of the mayhem of this press conference, since the event doesn’t take place until July 11. As great as Aldo is as a fighter, and as much as McGregor‘s star has risen, neither one is doing much to sell the fight on his own. 

While it’s not entirely fair to say McGregor can’t sell a fight to casual fans, since he’s only headlined shows that aired on national television instead of pay-per-view, here are numbers from Aldo’s events as the main event performer:

The featherweight title is one of the youngest major titles in the UFC, making its debut in 2010 when Aldo defeated Mark Hominick. Fans need time to get acclimated with the fighters in a division, but the fact that buy rates have stayed at 180,000 for Aldo’s last two fights is troubling. 

So how do you put together a fight that will break through the 180,000-buy barrier? Have two fighters who seem to genuinely dislike each other, or are at least doing a good job of faking it, take part in a perfect moment at a press conference in which they nearly come to blows. 

It’s a simple marketing premise that is used all the time. Chael Sonnen was a solid fighter when he competed, and he became a sensation thanks to his ability to talk as well as any professional wrestler prior to two fights against Anderson Silva. 

Aldo and McGregor are better fighters now than Sonnen was at any point in his career. They deserve to have as many eyeballs as possible watching their fight. Now, thanks to this one brief moment at a press conference three months before the event, the UFC has the perfect marketing strategy to make sure it happens. 

In addition to increasing the pay-per-view buys, Aldo and McGregor get their moment in the spotlight to become superstars who can draw consistently big numbers. There’s no downside for the fighters or the UFC in this instance. 

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Ronda Rousey Doesn’t Have to Fight Men to Justify Historic Accomplishments

Lost in all the talk about whether or not Ronda Rousey could beat a man in a UFC fight is the fact that she’s doing something historic that needs no further justification.
Yet the discussion of Rousey being able to beat a UFC bantamweight fighter has s…

Lost in all the talk about whether or not Ronda Rousey could beat a man in a UFC fight is the fact that she’s doing something historic that needs no further justification.

Yet the discussion of Rousey being able to beat a UFC bantamweight fighter has seemingly become the hot topic thanks to comments made by Joe Rogan, who was only trying to talk about her greatness—though in a poorly worded way.

Rogan, the UFC’s color commentator, said in an interview on The Dan Le Batard Show (h/t Sporting News) that Rousey could beat guys in her weight class.

“There’s a lot of guys her size she could beat,” Rogan said. “I mean, a lot. If you took the roster of the UFC’s bantamweights, 135 pounds, and you paired them up against Ronda Rousey, she might be able to beat 50 percent of them. That’s not a joke.”

It’s not a joke, as Rousey has proved herself to be a world-class athlete in her 11 career mixed martial arts fights and by winning a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics. But the fact that it’s even being brought up is a sign of disrespect to her and female mixed martial artists everywhere.

Rousey hasn’t helped the situation by saying on SportsCenter (via For The Win’s Nick Schwartz) that she believes she “could beat 100 percent of them.” That’s not something you hold against her, though, because any athlete should have the confidence to say he or she can win in any situation, and in part, that seemed to be her point.

Yet the UFC women’s bantamweight champion finally defused the situation by telling Marlow Stern of The Daily Beast that there are much more serious issues at play in everyday life that could make a sanctioned fight between a man and a woman irresponsible:

I don’t think it’s a great idea to have a man hitting a woman on television. I’ll never say that I’ll lose, but you could have a girl getting totally beat up on TV by a guy—which is a bad image to put across. With all the football [domestic violence] stuff that’s been happening, not a good idea. It’s fun to theorize about and talk about, but it’s something that’s much better in theory than fact.

There’s already a stigma that some people have attached to sports like mixed martial arts and boxing because they are violent by nature. Setting up a man vs. woman fight could potentially make things worse, as Rousey implied—not to mention what this conversation says about how little respect is shown to women who compete in athletics.

Think about it: When Anderson Silva went seven years without a loss, did anyone think he needed to prove anything? Jon Jones is making the light heavyweight division look like a breeze, yet no one thinks he has anything left to prove.

Billie Jean King’s famous 1973 victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes was a stepping stone in the battle for gender equality, though it’s unfortunately a battle that still persists 42 years later.

By suggestingeven in a joking mannerthat Rousey could beat men, it shows on a conscious or subconscious level that there’s something less impressive about beating female fighters in dominating fashion.

It’s not true in any way, shape or form.

Nothing that Rousey has done in her MMA career needs justification. Analysts don’t need to suggest she could beat a man to highlight her greatness. Her greatness is evident in everything she’s done in the cage.

Her career is ascending because she’s great at what she doesnot because of whom she could theoretically beat.

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UFC 185: Latest Fight Card Predictions and Projected Winners

UFC has been on a roll lately with incredible fight cards and compelling main events, a trend that seems destined to continue on Saturday night at UFC 185. The card is headlined by Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight championship.&n…

UFC has been on a roll lately with incredible fight cards and compelling main events, a trend that seems destined to continue on Saturday night at UFC 185. The card is headlined by Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight championship. 

One selling point for this card is the main event figures to go a little longer than 14 seconds, though it might be more interesting if either Pettis or Dos Anjos ended the fight in Ronda Rousey-like fashion.

The main reason this has the makings of a special event is a loaded undercard, which features a women’s strawweight title fight and a heavyweight showdown between two of the most powerful punchers in the business, Roy Nelson and Alistair Overeem. 

As the final predictions roll in for UFC 185, here’s a look at the card and a breakdown of what the experts are saying will happen. 

 

Main Event Prediction

There are moments in certain athlete’s careers where they go from being good at what they do to a true superstar. These are the franchise players, ones who move merchandise and bring eyeballs to their sport regardless of who they are taking on. 

Anthony Pettis seems poised to take that next step, as he’s been one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for years and has won his last five UFC fights since losing to Clay Guida in his debut with the promotion. 

As Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports wrote, Pettis has been on a Rousey-esque run in his last four victories:

In his last four fights, he’s won by knockout twice and submission twice and never once entered the third round. More impressively, those wins came over Joe Lauzon (first-round KO by head kick); Donald Cerrone (first-round TKO by body kick); Benson Henderson (first-round submission by arm bar) and Gilbert Melendez (second-round submission by guillotine choke).

Dos Anjos isn’t exactly a slouch in the Octagon, having won his last three fights, with victories over Jason High and Benson Henderson using an impressive barrage of punches to score knockouts. That’s a key point for this fight since striking used to be a liability for the Brazilian star. 

Yet there are certain fighters who tend to operate on another level. Anderson Silva was there at his peak, Georges St-Pierre was there before he walked away, Jon Jones is living in that world right now and Pettis isn’t far behind. 

UFC lightweight Ross Pearson, who predicts a win for Pettis, believes this is the kind of fight that will allow the champion to show all the things that make him special (via ESPN.com):

I think this is a great fight for him, stylistically, to go out there and put on a show. So, yeah, my money is on Pettis to do something pretty fancy. I don’t think dos Anjos moves a lot. I don’t think his defense is that good.

His offensive and power striking is very good, but I think he’s a sitting duck. He’s a little flat; he needs angles. Pettis is all about movement, and I think the shots will be there for him. 

UFC isn’t hurting for stars right now, especially with Rousey turning into a crossover star like few fighters have been able to in the past, but it never hurts to have depth in that area. Pettis should already be at that level given his history, only being 28 years old and having a terrific personality. 

A win in this spot, especially if he continues to dominate the way he has the last four fights with only one reaching the second round, puts Pettis on that next level. There’s nothing that Dos Anjos does which Pettis can’t counter. 

Dos Anjos isn’t a great striker, despite adding some power as he’s gotten older, and he has been passive at times by letting opponents come toward him instead of staying on the attack. If that happens against Pettis, it’s going to be a short fight. 

Regardless of what this fight turns into, a slugfest or methodical mind duel, Pettis is going to come out on top because he’s better and a more complete fighter.

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Ronda Rousey Discusses Possibility of Fighting a Man in Daily Beast Interview

Ronda Rousey is one of the biggest draws in mixed martial arts, winning 10 of her 11 career fights in the first round and needing 96 seconds to win each of her last three UFC women’s bantamweight title fights, but don’t think she’s looking to fight a m…

Ronda Rousey is one of the biggest draws in mixed martial arts, winning 10 of her 11 career fights in the first round and needing 96 seconds to win each of her last three UFC women’s bantamweight title fights, but don’t think she’s looking to fight a man anytime soon. 

Even though fans have speculated about a crossover fight since Rousey’s win over Cat Zingano at UFC 184, the undefeated champion told Marlow Stern of The Daily Beast that it’s not practical for a man-vs.-woman fight.

I don’t think it’s a great idea to have a man hitting a woman on television. I’ll never say that I’ll lose, but you could have a girl getting totally beat up on TV by a guy—which is a bad image to put across. With all the football [domestic violence] stuff that’s been happening, not a good idea. It’s fun to theorize about and talk about, but it’s something that’s much better in theory than fact.

The possibility of a crossover fight needlessly picked up steam when UFC announcer Joe Rogan said during an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show (h/t The Sporting News) that Rousey “might be able to beat 50 percent” of the 135-pound fighters in UFC. 

Rousey has helped fuel some of the fan speculation when she said during a recent appearance on SportsCenter, via Nick Schwartz of USA Today, that she “could beat 100 percent” of male bantamweight fighters in UFC. 

The UFC champion has never said she’s looking to fight anyone on the male side, just that she would have no doubts about being able to beat any of them. 

There was also no chance Rousey would ever fight a man, even if she wanted to, because no athletic commission would sanction it. It’s also incredibly demeaning to female fighters everywhere, including Rousey, that their accomplishments are made to seem lesser because they aren’t fighting men. 

It’s in Rousey’s best interest, both as a fighter and a woman, that she shot down the notion of a man fighting a woman. She doesn’t need to fight a man to prove her greatness, as it’s been on display all 11 times she has stepped into a cage or the Octagon to do battle with many tremendous athletes. 

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