Author: Adam Wells

UFC Ultimate Fighter 17: TV Schedule and More for Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen

In an effort to boost sagging ratings for its flagship show, UFC is delivering big with the new season of The Ultimate Fighter by making light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Chael Sonnen the head coaches. Jones and Sonnen are s…

In an effort to boost sagging ratings for its flagship show, UFC is delivering big with the new season of The Ultimate Fighter by making light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Chael Sonnen the head coaches. 

Jones and Sonnen are slated to square off for the light heavyweight championship on April 27, so this is the perfect forum for these two charismatic stars to build their fight and help turn the participants on the show into names that fans know. 

One big problem the UFC faces when trying to market the show is the formula is so well-known that you need to provide the audience with stars at the coaching level in order to draw in an audience. Considering how great Sonnen is at talking, it shouldn’t be too hard to convince fans to watch. 

Here is a full look at the television schedule for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter up to and including the finals. 

 

PROGRAM DATE, START TIME NETWORK
 The Ultimate Fighter 17 Season Premiere  Tues. Jan. 22 at 8:00 p.m.  FX
 The Ultimate Fighter 17  Tues. Jan 29-Apr. 9 at 9:00 p.m.  FX
 The Ultimate Fighter Finale  Sat. Apr. 13 at 9:00 p.m.  FX
 UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen  Sat. Apr. 27 at 10:00 p.m.  PPV

Start times listed are ET

 

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 17 CAST
 Dylan Andrews (16-4-1)
 Kito Andrews (9-2)
 Luke Barnatt (5-0)
 Leo Bercier (7-2)
 Ryan Bigler (9-3)
 Kevin Casey (5-2)
 Adam Cella (4-0)
 Zach Cummings (15-3)
 Andy Enz (6-1)
 Nik Fekete (N/A)
 Kelvin Gastelum (5-0)
 Uriah Hall (7-2)
 Collin Hart (4-1-1)
 Clint Hester (7-3)
 Jake Heun (3-2)
 Mike Jasper (6-0)
 Nichaolas Kohring (3-0)
 Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6)
 Fraser Opie (10-5)
 Milton Keynes (3-0)
 Mike Persons (3-0)
 Jimmy Quinlan (3-0)
 Scott Rosa (4-1)
 Joshua Samman (9-2)
 Gilbert Smith, Jr. (5-1)
 Eldon Sproat (3-1)
 Tor Troeng (15-4-1)

 Eric Wahlin (5-1)

 Timothy Williams (7-1)

Cast list courtesy of John Morgan, USA Today.

 

What We Want To See

We know how the show plays out. No one tuning in should expect to see anything different from previous years. You are going to see the fighters battle to make it into the house, then the coaches pick their teams, the cameras capture some drama and at the end of every episode there is a fight. 

What we don’t know is what will happen when you put a camera in the face of Sonnen and Jones. 

Sonnen, in particular, has become a superstar thanks in large part for his ability to cut incredible promos on anyone standing in his way. There might be some controversy about him getting a title shot without winning a fight at 205 pounds, but in terms of marketability, there is no one better. 

It will also be interesting to see how Jones portrays himself on television. There has been some backlash against the light heavyweight champion for being a selfish prima donna after turning down a fight with Sonnen last year that resulted in UFC canceling a pay-per-view. 

Jones’ personality, which can make him come off as an entitled athlete that the rest of the world should admire, is another turnoff for some. 

Putting two lightning rods like Jones and Sonnen under one roof for the next three months as they try to prepare for their fight, mentor other fighters and cut promos on each other should make this one of the most memorable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter ever. 

All FX has to do is shove a camera in the face of Jones and Sonnen, let them talk and the show will be spectacular. If there are great, compelling fights that tell a story, that is an added bonus. 

 

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UFC on FX 7: Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More for Belfort vs. Bisping

UFC returns to free television this weekend with an explosive event on FX and a main event with two stars in Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping. Belfort makes his return to the Octagon after his memorable bout with Jon Jones. We may not know how cl…

UFC returns to free television this weekend with an explosive event on FX and a main event with two stars in Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping. 

Belfort makes his return to the Octagon after his memorable bout with Jon Jones. We may not know how close he actually was to finishing the fight, but Belfort did appear to have Jones on the ropes early before losing his game late.

Bisping will look to take another step towards a title shot. He has spent his career fighting the gatekeeper label, because he always seems to lose the big match that can propel him to a championship fight. 

 

Where: Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil

When: Saturday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. ET

Watch: Main Card starts at 9 p.m. ET on FX; Fuel TV Preliminary Card starts at 6 p.m. ET; Facebook Preliminary Card starts at 5:30 p.m. ET

 

MAIN CARD (FX)
 Middleweight Bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
 Middleweight Bout: Daniel Sarafian vs. CB Dollaway
 Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell
 Lightweight Bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

 

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
 Featherweight Bout:  Godofredo Castro vs. Milton Vieira
 Middleweight Bout: Ronny Markes vs. Andrew Craig
 Featherweight Bout: Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz
 Lightweight Bout: Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins
 Bantamweight Bout: Yuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre
 Light Heavyweight Bout: Wagner Prado vs. Ildemar Alcantara

 

PRELIMINARY CARD (FACEBOOK)
 Lightweight Bout: Francisco Trinaldo vs. CJ Keith

 

Belfort‘s Keys to Victory

Don’t Get Starry Eyes; Stay on the Offensive

Belfort‘s career has been one of the most interesting in the history of mixed martial arts. If you just look at the numbers and championships, he appears to be a superstar. He is a former light heavyweight champion and holds a victory over Randy Couture. 

But this is one instance where the numbers do lie. Belfort has never performed well in a “big-match situation.” He is a front-runner, someone who needs to be in control of every aspect of a fight. If he isn’t, he gets frustrated and leaves himself open to attack. 

In order for Belfort to come out on top in front of a Brazilian crowd that will be going nuts for him, he has to come out of the gate swinging and landing hard shots to put Bisping on his heels. 

Belfort has never had great defense, so his striking and power have to carry him in this match. The earlier the fight ends, the more likely it is that he will walk away with a victory. 

 

Bisping‘s Keys to Victory

Keep the Pressure on; Embrace the Moment

Even though his resume doesn’t look as good as Belfort‘s, Bisping‘s career arc is similar in a lot of ways. He is a fighter who has a tremendous amount of talent and charisma, though he uses it to get under the skin of fans and opponents instead of trying to make them love him. 

The biggest problem Bisping has had in his career is performing in big matches. He has had opportunities to earn a fight against Anderson Silva for the middleweight championship, only to find the banana peel every single time. 

In order to overcome that stigma, Bisping has to embrace the entirety of the moment. He has to accept the villain role he has crafted for himself, as well as let the spotlight be his ally. 

Doing that against a fighter like Belfort isn’t as hard as it seems, because Bisping has the size and reach advantage. Not to mention the fact that Belfort can fold like a cheap tent when the going gets tough. 

As long as Bisping is making adjustments early and staying in Belfort‘s face, he should have no problem finishing this fight. 

 

What They Are Saying

Never one to let a good quote pass him by, Bisping said in an interview with Dann Stupp and John Morgan of MMA Junkie that he is actually getting a lot more love from the Brazilian crowd than he expected.

“I’m shocked. I’m getting a lot of respect. I’m getting a lot of people rooting for me and not Vitor, surprisingly. With that said, I’m still expecting them to boo me on Saturday night.”

That respect is not going to last very long. What happens in the days leading up to a fight and what happens on fight night are seldom the same thing. 

Bisping prides himself on being a great villain, because it allows him to get an easy reaction from the audience. Sometimes that works to his benefit, other times it makes him look like a bad person. 

 

Undercard Fight to Watch: Ronny Markes vs. Andrew Craig

While I am not of the opinion that Markes or Craig has great upside in UFC, I am always intrigued by two young fighters who have had instant success and could take the next step in the right situation. 

Markes is just 24 years old with 14 professional fights under his belt. He has compiled a strong 13-1 record, including 2-0 in UFC. He is making just his second appearance at 185 pounds after fighting at light heavyweight, so there will be a period of adjustment he goes through learning to fight with less weight. 

Craig is 26 years old and boasts a perfect 8-0 record (3-0 in UFC). More impressive than that is the evolution he appears to be going through. He has never been a knockout artist, but was able to score his first KO in UFC against Rafael Natal last July with a head kick. 

By the way, Craig was able to do that after being destroyed for the majority of that fight. He may not be a great fighter, but he has a lot of guts and will keep coming at you until he has nothing left. 

 

Main Event Prediction

Even though Belfort has the home-field advantage, Bisping is the better fighter at this stage of their respective careers. 

Bisping wins via second-round TKO



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UFC 155: Stars Whose Stock Plummeted Following PPV

Winning brings out the joy and emotion in a fighter that is so rarely seen because of that tough exterior you have to show for the cameras. UFC 155 featured the agony and ecstasy, with several stars seeing their stock drop precipitously due to losses a…

Winning brings out the joy and emotion in a fighter that is so rarely seen because of that tough exterior you have to show for the cameras. UFC 155 featured the agony and ecstasy, with several stars seeing their stock drop precipitously due to losses and/or poor performances. 

While there are winners who tend to look bad in victory, we are going to hold this list strictly to the fighters who failed to garner a win on Saturday night. 

The card was built to bring some underrated stars to the forefront, but how many of them were successful? Here are the fighters who left us wanting to see a lot more from them after the event was over. 

 

Junior dos Santos (defeated by Cain Velasquez)

Let me start by saying that I have a newfound respect for dos Santos for at least making it through all five rounds against Velasquez after looking like he wouldn’t even make it out of the first three minutes. 

That being said, dos Santos had a chance to make a statement in this fight and was unable to do anything. He has been lauded for having some of the best takedown defense in the heavyweight division, yet Velasquez threw him around like a ragdoll. 

There is some thinking that another rematch would be in order, but that doesn’t make sense for Velasquez or the UFC. He was completely and utterly destroyed in this fight; so, we want to throw him back in there with Velasquez again?

That first fight was clearly the aberration—possibly because Velasquez was hurt—not a sign that dos Santos had Velasquez’s number. 

Dos Santos may get another title fight in the future, but he has to do a lot to earn it. 

 

Chris Leben (defeated by Derek Brunson)

Leben needed a strong performance after losing two of his previous three fights—his only win came against the artist formerly known as Wanderlei Silva. Instead, he put forth a terrible showing against UFC newcomer Derek Brunson. 

Since he is still a popular enough fighter, Leben probably isn’t in any danger of losing his job anytime soon, but he needs to re-evaluate where is at right now and do something to fix it. 

UFC president Dana White even took to Twitter to tell the world what he thought about the fight, and it wasn’t good. 

Even though his stock wasn’t very high coming into the event, Leben somehow managed to bring it down to new lows following a poor, lifeless showing against Brunson. 

 

Melvin Guillard (defeated by Jamie Varner)

Melvin Guillard continues to be the most frustrating fighter in the world, though perhaps it is my fault for still having some semblance of expectation when he steps into the Octagon. 

I admit I am a sucker for big hitters with a knockout punch, which Guillard definitely has. The problem is, he has never tried to evolve as a fighter. He can only do that one thing, and when an opponent can prevent him from doing it, he is lost. 

Varner wasn’t necessarily overwhelming Guillard in this fight, but he just did too many things that Guillard had no answer for. On top of all that, Guillard had extra time to prepare for this fight since it was supposed to take place two weeks ago, before Varner went down with an illness. 

Guillard has now lost four of his last five fights, three of them coming via finish (two submissions, one knockout). He needs to adjust in a hurry if he wants to keep his spot in UFC. 

 

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Dana White Confirms Anderson Silva Signs New 10-Fight Contract with UFC

Proving that he was serious about his desire to fight for another decade, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has signed a new 10-fight contract to remain with the company, UFC president Dana White told reporters after Saturday’s UFC 155 event (vi…

Proving that he was serious about his desire to fight for another decade, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has signed a new 10-fight contract to remain with the company, UFC president Dana White told reporters after Saturday’s UFC 155 event (via MMAWeekly.com).

He signed a 10-fight deal. I don’t think we’ve ever done a 10-fight deal. Maybe we did one with Forrest once, I don’t remember, but Anderson said, “I want a 10-fight deal, not an eight-fight deal.” I’ll give him a 100-fight deal if he wants one.

Despite being 37 years old, an age when most fighters are holding on to their former glory, Silva has shown no signs of slowing down. He fought twice in 2012, destroying Chael Sonnen in a rematch of their classic battle two years ago, and humiliating Stephan Bonnar in October.  

Domination is nothing new for Silva. He has been the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts basically since he stepped into the Octagon for the first time all the way back in 2006. 

Over the last six years, Silva has amassed a record of 16-0 with 11 knockouts and three submissions. As great as that sounds on paper, The Spider has been even better when you watch him on tape. 

It is one thing for a fighter to dominate against the best in the world, but it is something else to be able to do it with the level of consistency Silva has. Aside from that close call against Sonnen in August 2010, no one has been able to touch him. 

If Silva stays at his current pace of two fights per year, this new deal will take him through 2017 and the age of 42. 

Now that Silva has agreed to this new deal, the constant speculation about potential superfights with Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones, among others, will continue to get louder. All of that is for the future.

Right now is all about celebrating the continued presence of one of the greatest athletes of the last decade in UFC for the foreseeable future. 

 

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UFC 155: Latest News and Rumors Surrounding MMA’s Big PPV

It has taken 13 months, two combined fights and a lot of buildup to get to this moment, but Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, the two best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, will step back into the cage to determine the UFC heavyweight champion at…

It has taken 13 months, two combined fights and a lot of buildup to get to this moment, but Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, the two best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, will step back into the cage to determine the UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 155 on Dec. 29. 

The first time these two stars met in the Octagon was at a special preview UFC on Fox event in Nov. 2011. Velasquez was the reigning world champion with a perfect record, including the destruction of Brock Lesnar 11 months earlier to win his first championship in UFC. 

Dos Santos had long been one of the best and most feared strikers in all of mixed martial arts. His stellar boxing acumen carried him to a 13-1 record leading up to that fight over one year ago. He wasted little time in showing his outstanding boxing skills to win the title in 64 seconds. 

Of course, there have been reports that Velasquez actually suffered a serious knee injury weeks before the fight. 

Now, there are no injuries (hopefully), excuses or roadblocks standing in the way of these two titans. Velasquez and dos Santos are going to settle the score once and for all to determine who the best in the world really is. 

We will have all the latest news, rumors and information for you leading up to the final UFC pay-per-view of 2012. 

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UFC 154 Results: Georges St-Pierre Defeats Carlos Condit

Not even a torn ACL and a 19-month layoff is enough to keep Georges St-Pierre down. The arguably best pound-for-pound fighter in the world returned to the Octagon at UFC 154 to defeat Carlos Condit and become the undisputed welterweight champion on Sat…

Not even a torn ACL and a 19-month layoff is enough to keep Georges St-Pierre down. The arguably best pound-for-pound fighter in the world returned to the Octagon at UFC 154 to defeat Carlos Condit and become the undisputed welterweight champion on Saturday night in Montreal. 

The fight went the distance before St-Pierre earned a victory via unanimous decision. The two fighters went back and forth, trading blows and blood for five rounds, but the officials handed the defending champion the fight in the end.

St-Pierre’s win looked like it could be in jeopardy after taking a Condit kick to the head in the third round, but he used his wrestling and grappling ability to take home the victory.

One of the most anticipated main events of the year, St-Pierre and Condit was truly a pick ’em fight.

St-Pierre has the long, storied resume and the reputation as one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. 

Condit, on the other hand, doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves in the mainstream, though that can be attributed to the fact he isn’t as big a star as St-Pierre. Condit came into this fight with a 28-5 career record with even split between knockouts and submissions (13). He defeated Nick Diaz to become the interim champion back in February.

St-Pierre had his back up against the wall in a way that we haven’t seen since his last loss, against Matt Serra in 2007. It has been five years since St-Pierre has really been tested. Remember, St-Pierre had a long streak of not losing a round up until his fight with Jake Shields at UFC 129. 

But the knee injury and layoff left questions about what kind of fighting shape St-Pierre was going to be in. As he does whenever he steps in the Octagon, St-Pierre put all the skeptics to rest with this performance. 

No one can doubt St-Pierre’s ability ever again. He has handled virtually every test, both physically and mentally, thrown in his direction for five years and come out the other side with flying colors. 

With Condit out of the picture, all the talk is going to turn toward the St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva superfight that has been talked about for two years. Many obstacles stand in the way, and like Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, you can’t believe it will happen until a deal is signed. 

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