The UFC has decided to go head-to-head with your significant other for your attention on Valentine’s Day 2015. The promotion announced on Monday that three fights have been made official for a February 14 show at 1stBank Center in Broomfield,…
The UFC has decided to go head-to-head with your significant other for your attention on Valentine’s Day 2015. The promotion announced on Monday that three fights have been made official for a February 14 show at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.
The event will feature a featherweight fight between Max Holloway and Cole Miller, as well as two flyweight contests pitting Zach Makovsky against Tim Elliott and Ray Borg against Chris Kelades.
Cole Miller comes into the bout having won three of his last four. He hasn’t fought since January, when he stopped Sam Sicilia in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
Top-10 flyweights Makovsky and Elliott will look to get back on the winning side of things when they clash at the Valentine’s Day event. Makovksy is coming off of a unanimous-decision loss to Jussier Formiga in August, and Elliott suffered a first-round submission loss to Joseph Benavidez at UFC 172 in April by a modified guillotine that Benavidez dubbed the “Joa Constrictor.”
Borg suffered his first loss when he made his Octagon debut against Dustin Ortiz, which came by split decision at UFC on Fox 11 in April. He rebounded with a first-round rear-naked choke submission over Shane Howell in June.
Kelades made his UFC debut a successful one, defeating Patrick Holohan in October, and will be looking for his third straight victory.
The event will air on Fox Sports 1, and the main event has yet to be announced.
Aisling Daly has a crystal clear voice, and message: women’s sport in Ireland needs greater funding. That clear method is also in her UFC fighting style: relentless.
The 26-year-old from Dublin has been pushing the boundaries as a pioneer i…
Aisling Daly has a crystal clear voice, and message: women’s sport in Ireland needs greater funding. That clear method is also in her UFC fighting style: relentless.
The 26-year-old from Dublin has been pushing the boundaries as a pioneer in women’s MMA, just as fellow Irish woman and atomweight Catherine Costigan has. Yet they are like two islands in the sea.
Daly, a product of John Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym (SBG) team, told Telegraph Sport: “I honestly just think that women in sport in Ireland isn’t very popular. There’s a huge obesity problem and from th … Read the Full Article Here
The UFC’s lightweight division is one of the most competitive weight classes in the promotion and it has found a new contender in Bobby Green.
The red-hot Green made his debut at UFC 156 and is on a four-fight win streak, holding victories over J…
The UFC’s lightweight division is one of the most competitive weight classes in the promotion and it has found a new contender in Bobby Green.
The red-hot Green made his debut at UFC 156 and is on a four-fight win streak, holding victories over Josh Thomson and Pat Healy. The former Strikeforce fighter has marveled competitors and fans alike with his impressive footwork, head movement and pin-point striking. Despite beating Thomson in a close contest, the American Kickboxing Academy product sits ahead of him in the 155-pound rankings. With a bout lined up against the unpredictable EdsonBarboza on tap, what will a win prove?
The 28-year-old Green has quietly climbed the lightweight ladder. After compiling a 4-1 record in Strikeforce, Green set his sights on UFC gold, beginning with his domination over veteran Jacob Volkmann. From there, the California native put all lightweights on notice, finishing an accomplished James Krause before his breakthrough performances over Healy and Thomson.
Nobody has been able to replicate the timing and movement of Frankie Edgar, in the 155-pound division, but Green has. He is a versatile fighter, who some call dirty. His loss against Dan Lauzon and win over Volkmann have brought to light questionable tactics.
“It bothered me a lot. I play by the rules, I’m a man of respect and honor,” Green said in response to the allegations, per MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani. “I don’t believe in cheating. Cheaters never prosper.”
Poor aiming could not mar Green’s unblemished UFC record. He was virtually went untested in his run through the lightweight division, aside from his last victory over fellow Strikeforce alum Thomson. Prior to the contest, Green was a 155-pounder with intrigue and raw potential. He was on the outside looking in on the lightweight division.
In a bout that would’ve won fight of the night on any other card, the two men put on a show, trading kicks, combinations and anything else you can possibly think of. The 35-year-old Thomson landed a number of sharp kicks to the head and body, as did his counterpart Green, with the fight rarely making it to the ground. Green appeared to relish the opportunity of fighting the former third-ranked lightweight in the world in his own backyard, taunting San Jose’s own as he took the center of the Octagon. Utilizing speed and movement, as he always does, was Green’s sticking point to winning the fight.
“I was being way more active in the fight because Josh is the type of guy who picks when he’s going to attack and can dictate the pace. I wanted to take that from him,” Green toldMMAJunkie following the win.
Green was able to take Thomson’s best, and was taken down, but he came out more aggressive in the last round, which impressed the judges enough to score a huge upset decision. Fight metric reports back up the victory for Green, who improved to 23-5 and is now the seventh-ranked lightweight in the UFC.
Curiously enough, it’s Thomson who sits above Green in the rankings at number six. While a bit odd, many a times has there been an exciting fight with no clear-cut winner. So Thomson, while scorned by the judges, doesn’t lose much ground—he still dropped three spots from number three—in the division.
Green answered many questions in the Thomson fight, he withstood pressure, he expanded his arsenal and proved he could hang with the best the sport has to offer. But Thomson is a much more calculated fighter than the next man Green is set to face.
EdsonBarboza sky-rocketed up the lightweight ladder, delivering blistering knockouts to would-be challengers. Barboza owns victories over Ross Pearson, Danny Castillo and most recently Evan Dunham. The Brazilian has been stopped twice, once by Donald Cerrone and the other by Jamie Varner. A win over a name like Green would do wonders for Barboza‘s confidence, who has previously been halted by those at the top of the food chain.
In what is a potential FOTN candidate, both men share similar attributes. Make no mistake about it, Green and Barboza are two dynamic strikers. Like Green, Barboza boasts deadly kicks which, if they land flush, usually end the night very quickly. He won the 2012 KO of the Year from UFC Brazil.
Barboza has fought, and beaten, some heavy-handed strikers such as Lucas Martins, Ross Pearson and Anthony Njokuani. However, he is prone to being tagged, as he was against Pearson and Njokuani. Barboza absorbs 3.5 significant strikes per minute. But as the saying goes, styles make fights, and Barboza is a willing brawler.
Luckily for fight fans, maybe not Barboza, Green doesn’t mind trading leather either. Green’s approach to standing and banging doesn’t differ that much from his opponent’s. Each can pull off a wide variety of kicks, body shots and jabs. It’s Barboza, who comes from a striking background—he compiled a 25-3 professional Muay-Thai record—who might have the advantage on the feet.
Aside from his unorthodox style, the Brazilian also possesses a four-inch reach advantage over Green. Reach can come into play if Barboza chooses to neglect his explosive striking repertoire for a more channeled approach. If he so chooses, he could keep the fight on the outside and away from a potential takedown by Green.
Although it’s not typically part of his game plan, Green can wrestle. He may not sport the highest of accolades held by many of mixed martial arts’ wrestling titans, but he has taken down the likes of Healy and Thomson. Still, it’s highly unlikely that we see any wrestling take place from these two sparkplugs. Both Green and Barboza defend the takedown at a clip of over 80 percent.
Both men are coming off of impressive victories and are looking to solidify themselves as top-10 lightweights. Green would appear to be the favorite based off of his wins over top-flight competition but one concern going into his fight with Barboza is how he will deal with the Brazilian’s power.
Green’s last three opponents have a total of 17 KO victories combined, while Barboza has 10 alone. There is also concern for the lack of power on Green’s end. Aside from his body-kick win over Krause, he hasn’t dropped, let alone ring the bell of, any of his UFC opponents. Because of the reach and activity of Barboza, Green will have to be as aggressive as he has ever been in the cage.
A win would reward Green with an opponent atop the heap of the 155-pound division. A fight with the winner of the Dec. 13 bout between Rafael Dos Anjos and Nate Diaz might seem logical, but then again, the winner may be clamoring for a title shot. A tussle with everyone’s favorite gate keeper, Jim Miller, would provide Green with a tough fight and a good measuring stick. Other intriguing scenarios include fights with: The loser of Anthony Pettis/Gilbert Melendez, the loser of Cerrone/Myles Jury and a scrap with injured KhabibNurmagomedov.
All of this hinges upon Green getting past Barboza, which will be no easy task. It also depends on how quickly he recovers, and how quickly the remainder of these lightweights recover by the end of January, which is when we will have a much clearer picture of the lightweight division. If he’s smart, Green will take a look at what Cerrone did to embarrass Barboza in the first round this past summer.
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.
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.
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 LyotoMachida 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.
The UFC has decided to go head-to-head with your significant other for your attention on Valentine’s Day 2015. The promotion announced on Monday that three fights have been made official for a February 14 show at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.