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Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Times are tough for the top mixed martial arts promotion on the planet. While it once planned to bring the undisputed baddest man on the planet to the very soil into which his family roots are entrenched, an unfortunate knee injury took a highly antici…

Times are tough for the top mixed martial arts promotion on the planet. While it once planned to bring the undisputed baddest man on the planet to the very soil into which his family roots are entrenched, an unfortunate knee injury took a highly anticipated heavyweight championship bout and effectively morphed it into a shell of its former self. 

Don’t get me wrong—this is undoubtedly a phenomenal opportunity for Mark Hunt, Cain Velasquez’s replacement. He’ll look to shatter all former expectations placed upon him and his old 5-7 professional record by having Dana White wrap a shiny interim title around his waist in the heart of Mexico. 

But improving his record to 11-8-1 won’t come without breaking a sweat. He’ll have to get past surging heavyweight title contender Fabricio Werdum, who’s authored a four-fight winning streak since finding his way back under the bright lights of the UFC. 

Scroll along as we provide a head-to-toe breakdown and explain which of the two fighters holds the upper hand in striking, grappling and wrestling. 

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Shogun Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux: What We Learned from Light Heavyweight Tilt

Ovince Saint Preux was in the right place at the right time. He jumped at the opportunity to take a short-notice bout against Mauricio Rua and walked out of the Octagon with a 34-second victory on Saturday. As the Brazilian crowd looked on in sile…

Ovince Saint Preux was in the right place at the right time. He jumped at the opportunity to take a short-notice bout against Mauricio Rua and walked out of the Octagon with a 34-second victory on Saturday. As the Brazilian crowd looked on in silence, they were witness to a number of different lessons from the UFC Fight Night 56 main event.  

The first lesson took less than a few moments to recognize: Saint Preux was ready to leap into the “deep waters” on late notice. Rua was caught losing his footing when OSP was about to pounce on him to finish the former champion via strikes. Rua tried to quickly get back to his feet, but he could not stop his opponent from pouncing for the finish. OSP looked just as shocked as the packed crowd as he danced around the cage in celebration.

This result reflects the close odds that were being posted coming into this fight. Even media professionals such as James Lynch of Sportsnet were not caught off guard with the win:

Second, the mixed martial arts community once again witnessed another all-time great go down in violent fashion. This is Shogun’s fifth loss since losing the 205-pound title to Jon Jones back in 2011. Of those five defeats, the last two have been by devastating TKO.

We have seen UFC President Dana White step in for competitors such as Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell to keep them out of the cage; perhaps it is time for him to do the same with Rua.

Third, the UFC may have received an early Christmas present with the rise of Saint Preux. Leading up to the fight, the promotion pushed his college football career with the Tennessee Volunteers. The hyperbole provided by the UFC machine created the story that Saint Preux was a star player in every definition of the term. However, according to his alma mater, the UFC light heavyweight only earned three solo tackles during his two seasons on the team.

This fact did not go without notice by the media members who cover mixed martial arts:

Saint Preux will forever remember UFC Fight Night 56 as the moment he defeated a legend in mixed martial arts. This win opened the sports community’s eyes to a few different lessons pertaining to both OSP and Shogun as they prepare for the next stages of their careers.

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Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping: What We Learned from Middleweight Tilt

UFC Fight Night 55 featured a major rivalry in its main event. Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold have attacked each other verbally for an extended period of time. This fight gave them the chance to add violence into the mix.
Rockhold and Bisping a…

UFC Fight Night 55 featured a major rivalry in its main event. Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold have attacked each other verbally for an extended period of time. This fight gave them the chance to add violence into the mix.

Rockhold and Bisping are two well-respected middleweights in the UFC. This fight had the bad blood factor, but the hatred that continued to come out with every interaction made this fight much more interesting. A victory for either man would also go a long way toward getting either individual a shot at the current 185-pound king, Chris Weidman.

There were a number of questions coming into this main event. Bisping seemed to be struggling against prime opponents as of late, and Rockhold presented a similar type of challenge. This fight would help show whether Rockhold is truly a contender in the UFC or if Bisping still has a place as an upper-echelon fighter at 185 pounds.

Coming into the main event of the night, every other fight on the UFC Fight Night 55 docket ended in a finish. That added to the pressure for Rockhold, who promised to finish Bisping in the first round (via MMA Junkie).

While that quick finish didn’t come, Rockhold was able to put an end to the rivalry before the full 25 minutes. In the second round, he caught Bisping with a head kick that caused him to stumble to the canvas. In the ensuing scramble, he locked in a guillotine choke, rolled to mount and coaxed Bisping to tap.

There are a number of different lessons that can be taken from this main event.

First, with this win, both MMA experts and fans should see Rockhold as a contender to Weidman‘s title. Rockhold may not have much experience in the sport’s largest stage of the Octagon, but he looked calm and ready to compete in Sydney, Australia. He controlled the range from start to finish and used his striking skills to land powerful shots on his opponent. The two kicks that caused the finish came from angles that Bisping was not ready to deal with.

Rockhold called out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, a competitor he holds a win over. But there are a number of other interesting matches that could materialize. Names such as Lyoto Machida and Yoel Romero could stand across from Rockhold in the Octagon at some point in 2015.

A second lesson learned from this fight is that Bisping has to go back to the drawing board once again. Since 2012, he has traded wins and losses, which have cut any momentum that the British athlete was able to create. At 35 years of age, his best fighting days may be behind him. But that does not mean retirement talks should start.

Bisping is still a pioneer in the sport who commands attention when he fights. Interesting opportunities could see Bisping face men such as Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva—two other fighters who are out of title contention at this point but still grab views and large paydays for the UFC.

Another point of interest that can be drawn from this card is that UFC Fight Night 55 made history by closing out the show with every fight ending in some sort of finish. With 11 stoppages in a row, that record is now solidly owned by this special night. This night stands as an example that even though the UFC Fight Pass cards may not carry the biggest names, they still have value in the sport.

UFC Fight Night 55 from Sydney was an exciting card from start to finish. From the opening bout all the way through to the main event, all of the competitors put on a show for the fans that will be talked about in positive fashion.

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Todd Duffee Quietly Puts Together One of UFC’s Oddest Back Stories

Professional athletes fall off of the radar quite often. Numerous factors, such as injuries and personal situations, push competitors out of their sport before they had the opportunity to make a true impact. Todd Duffee was once considered such an indi…

Professional athletes fall off of the radar quite often. Numerous factors, such as injuries and personal situations, push competitors out of their sport before they had the opportunity to make a true impact. Todd Duffee was once considered such an individual, yet he has slowly made his way back into the world of professional fighting. Looking at his story opens up an interesting chapter in the development of mixed martial artists that is very unique in its own right.

Travel in a time machine five years back to 2009. Duffee would have just faced Tim Hague back at UFC 102. In this fight he would snatch the recognized UFC record of fastest knockout with a seven-second stoppage. There would be an explosion of excitement surrounding the potential that Duffee would have within MMA, but that storyline would not come to fruition.

Duffee would then begin to experience the injuries that have continued to plague his career. He would be pulled from a planned fight on UFC 107 but would make his return to the Octagon against Mike Russow at UFC 114. That is where the wheels began to fall off.

Duffee would dominate Russow for 10 minutes of this contest before being knocked out in the third round. This is well-known information. However, the peculiar moment came before the fight when Duffee would make some interesting comments that should have raised concerns about his mental state in relation to the sport.

A 2010 piece by Ray Hui of MMA Fighting revealed an honest side to Duffee before the Russow fight in which he called himself “overhyped.” He would go on to reveal other internal feelings that he had about the sport that are refreshing to hear from a fighter now and were even more so back then.

“I’ve been overhyped but I’m not overrated by any means,” Duffee said on the MMA Hour, MMA Fighting’s weekly studio show (as reported by Hui). “The guys I train with. The people I’m around … If I’m overrated, they are too.”

That statement, coupled with the result of the fight, put Duffee in a very hard place to recover from. Months after that defeat he would find himself on the outside of the UFC as he was cut from the promotion. He was just as shocked as much of the MMA community. 

“I thought it was a joke at first,” Duffee said in a MMA Fighting report by Ben Fowlkes. “I mean, they’re not cutting me off one loss. They don’t do that. It didn’t make sense to me.”

Duffee would fight one more time in 2010, a first-round defeat to Alistair Overeem, before disappearing from the sport all together. Two years and a movie later, Duffee crept his way back into the MMA scene. One victory in Super Fight League would allow him to be welcomed back into the UFC at UFC 155, where he stopped Phillip De Fries.

This point in his career deserves a huge reference point as he was competing without the full abilities available to other fighters. He was diagnosed with a rare condition that threatened his entire career, via MMA Mania. Being an athlete is hard enough, but doing so while battling Parsonage-Turner Syndrome (PTS) is amazing in its own right. However, this hurdle has not stopped Duffee as he is expected to face Anthony Hamilton at UFC 181 in December.

Todd Duffee’s story is interesting for a number of reasons. From hot prospect to potential bust, Duffee is still a name to watch in the heavyweight division. At just 28 years old he still has a lot to offer the sport at its highest levels. However, he seems more comfortable riding under the radar rather than being the face that everyone expects to smash opponents.

“I always want to be an underdog going into a fight, no question,” said Duffee before his fight with Russow. It’s just more exciting. Your training camps are so long and there is so much room for injury in your career, so sure you want to try to fight the best opponents you can fight always.”

He may finally have his request as he looks to rebuild his name among the biggest men in mixed martial arts. The heavyweight division needs a fighter who can establish himself as the man to watch. Duffee has shown the flashes in the past, but this more quiet approach—along with his backstory—make him a name to watch in the near future.

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Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping: Keys to Victory for Each Fighter

Friday night’s main event in Sydney, Australia will play host to more than just a fight between two of the best middleweights on the planet.
It’ll give Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping an opportunity to put a stamp on their ongoing feud and help give …

Friday night’s main event in Sydney, Australia will play host to more than just a fight between two of the best middleweights on the planet.

It’ll give Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping an opportunity to put a stamp on their ongoing feud and help give us a better idea of who’ll be standing across the middleweight champion as they duel for the crown. 

Rockhold will step into the cage to prove himself a worthy candidate and give everybody reason to forget about the unfortunate night he had with Vitor Belfort in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. 

Bisping will look to finally overcome his title-eliminator misfortunes along with a very similar night with Belfort in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

With all that’s been said, neither man can afford to lose this bout. Here’s how they avoid shouldering the shame:

 

Luke Rockhold: Use Your Length and Get the Fight to the Ground

Save for two fateful nights during his seven-year career, Rockhold has always been above average at recognizing his opponent’s weaknesses and capitalizing on said weaknesses. 

He did it when he fought Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza for the Strikeforce middleweight title in 2011. Rockhold avoided hitting the mat with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and saved himself from suffering the first submission loss of his career. He kept the fight standing, shining a bright light on the champion’s shortcomings as a striker.

He did it again in defending his title against a smaller, better wrestler in Tim Kennedy. With four inches of height and three inches of reach on his challenger, Rockhold utilized his height to stifle Kennedy from his second opportunity at the middleweight title.

Stepping in against Bisping—who’s proven to struggle against grapple-heavy fighters like Kennedy and Chael Sonnen—Kennedy should have his game plan set: Out-grapple his British counterpart en route to handing his opponent with first submission loss. 

 

Michael Bisping: Utilize Your Jab Often and Circle Away

It’s hard to blame Bisping for the Belfort loss—just about anybody would have lost to Belfort that night. 

You can certainly blame him for the Kennedy loss, though—he wasn’t able to establish his patented Bisping-jab or avoid getting smothered into a five-round, unanimous-decision loss. It wasn’t the Bisping we’d gotten used to seeing since he joined the UFC’s ranks. 

If The Count wants to see his hand raised, he’ll have to do just that: Establish his jab against a more well-rounded striker and avoid getting smothered by the longer grappler. 

Peppering the former Strikeforce champion should be plenty to give Bisping room to move around, which he’ll need to do early and often in order to avoid Rockhold‘s liver kicks. The Count would be wise to learn from his loss to Dan Henderson and realize that circling toward a fighter’s strength—especially one named after an atom bomb—all but ensures his demise. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA. 

 

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UFC: 1 Fight to Book Now in Every Division

2014 has been a chaotic year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Nearly every event the UFC has put on has been in one way or another impacted by injury.  The end of the year is shaping up nicely though, as is the first qu…

2014 has been a chaotic year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Nearly every event the UFC has put on has been in one way or another impacted by injury.  The end of the year is shaping up nicely though, as is the first quarter of 2015.  

At The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale on December 12, we will see the crowning of the inaugural women’s strawweight champion and the unofficial launch of the UFC’s newest division.  Over the next three months, we’ll (hopefully) get to witness eight UFC title fights, as well as the Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz superfight.  

As the UFC gears up to unveil its schedule for 2015, now is the perfect time to look at each division and zero in on one fight that would be just fun to watch.  

Most of the fighters occupy spots on the UFC.com Top 15 rankings, but for a few matchups, I strayed a bit outside the top of the heap to find intriguing matches.  

The only real criteria I used when deciding these fights was that as of this writing, these fighters are not currently matched up with anyone.  

Let’s take a look at one fight in every division (sans women’s strawweight) that the UFC should book right now.

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