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What, If Anything, Can the UFC Do to Protect Its Champs from Injury?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, just like any other major sports promotion, is susceptible to injury-plagued moments. Just like a team in the NFL or NBA can have its season hopes ruined by one misstep, an entire MMA event can be blown up due to one…

Mixed martial arts is a violent sport—a sport in which the athletes must train hard in order to be ready for high-level competition. Unfortunately, the UFC cannot do more than it is to protect its champions from sudden injury. Yet, it can do more to protect its cards from falling apart when it occurs.

Injuries within mixed martial arts are going to happen. When they do, the results are going to be catastrophic at times and “minor” in others. The moments that have struck UFC 177 and UFC 178 will ring out as two examples etched in the fight community’s mind.

If the UFC expects these fighters to come in and compete as world-class athletes, then hard training is a must. This hard training will lead to accidental injuries that will keep big-name athletes from upcoming events. The UFC can respond by having a match-making system in place that would help prevent cards from being drastically weakened if major players are forced to back out.

As the UFC moves forward with having all pay-per-view events headlined by title fights, the undercard should also feature title contenders from the same weight class. What this strategy would do is allow the UFC to shift its cards around in the moment of an injury or other change. UFC 158 can be pointed to as an example of how this card structure would work.

Georges St-Pierre was set to defend his title against Nick Diaz, who had been pulled from a previous title shot at UFC 137 due to missing media requirements (via MMA Fighting). If the UFC was forced to do so again, it could have filled his spot with either Johny Hendricks or Carlos Condit, who were in the co-main event. The UFC also booked Jake Ellenberger against Nate Marquardt, both of whom could have stepped in to face other men if needed and would have kept the welterweight division moving forward that night.

Keeping key fighters active within the same time span or on the same cards would help stop injuries from ruining event expectations. This would ensure that specific fighters are training in preparation for the moment in which their number is called.

UFC 146 is another example of a card that was shaken up due to a fighter being taken off the card. When Alistair Overeem was removed because he failed his pre-fight drug test, all of the heavyweight bouts were moved around (via MMAjunkie). Frank Mir was originally supposed to face Cain Velasquez, but instead he was bumped into the main event spot against Junior dos Santos.

Ben Fowlkes of MMA Fighting reported that Mir volunteered his services once it was official that Overeem was pulled from the card. He volunteered to do so at the right moment, and the fact that he was preparing to compete already could have helped the UFC select him to take the spot. Had the company not had any other heavyweight bouts in place, the promotion would have had a much harder time finding a replacement.

Injuries are going to happen in mixed martial arts no matter what the UFC or any other promotion tries to do. However, creating a card development system that books multiple contenders on the same event will help ease the pain of replacements when needed. The UFC will never be able to prevent injuries, but being prepared to face them is its next best option.

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3 Fights That Make Sense for Anderson Silva If Nick Diaz Falls Through

There were few other fights that the UFC could pull together that would excite fans more than Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz did when the bout was first announced earlier this year.
In the blue corner you have the former Strikeforce welterweight ch…

There were few other fights that the UFC could pull together that would excite fans more than Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz did when the bout was first announced earlier this year.

In the blue corner you have the former Strikeforce welterweight champion making his return to the Octagon after what would have been a 22-month hiatus. In the red corner you have the former UFC middleweight champion making his return from a yearlong absence that came as a result of one of the most gruesome injuries most of us have ever seen.

Both men were poised to take the center of the Octagon and piece together what could have been one of the most fan-friendly striking matches anybody could ask for.

So when most of us heard that Diaz was arrested under suspicion of DUI, the concerns started to grow—who would Silva fight if the highly anticipated bout with Diaz fell through?

Like it or not, this was a fight that Silva was supposed to win. Diaz was supposed to do what he always does: move forward, throw strikes aplenty and collect his paycheck. Silva, being the counterstriker that he is, was supposed to bob, weave and pounce his way back into relevancy.

None of the following fighters would make for quite as an exciting fight, especially when you consider the amount of attention Diaz garners when he steps inside of a cage. That doesn’t mean this pay-per-view is already destined to fail, though.

Here are some alternative options:

Gegard Mousasi

No, he may not have the same rhetorical abilities that Diaz has developed over the years, but he certainly has a similar striking game that could make for an equally exciting fight. Akin to Diaz, Gegard Mousasi doesn’t always throw heavy, but he surely throws often.

Coming off of a one-sided loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza earlier this month, Mousasi fell to the bottom of the already-crowded middleweight pool of title contenders. A victory against Silva—which could happen—would likely toss him ahead of a lot of the current crop of contenders.

A win for Silva here would likely provide a little more validation than he would receive in defeating Diaz, further convincing the public that he’s still worthy of the No. 1 spot in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Dan Henderson

Sure, Dan Henderson hasn’t necessarily looked impressive since he took part in a five-round war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in 2011. He also hasn’t fought at 185 pounds since he challenged for Jake Shields’ Strikeforce middleweight title back in 2010.

But after getting rag-dolled by Daniel Cormier, knocked out by Vitor Belfort and split-decisioned by faster fighters in Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, it’s obvious that Hendo needs to make some changes before he’ll start seeing any sort of success inside of the Octagon again.

Squaring off against Silva—in what would be the sequel to their 2008 title unification bout—could be the sort of motivation that Henderson needs to make the difficult weight cut at 44 years old.

Rashad Evans

With back-to-back victories against Henderson and Chael Sonnen, it’s not as if Rashad Evans needs to make the move down to middleweight. He sits firmly as the light heavyweight division’s No. 3 contender, likely only needing one or two more victories before he’ll find himself in a rematch against Jon Jones.

But that’s just it—it’ll be a rematch against the man who beat him in every feasible way for five whole rounds. And it’s not as if Jones suddenly plateaued upon defeating Evans—he’s gotten much, much better.

He’ll be looking to make his return to the Octagon in early 2015 after tearing his ACL in the weeks leading up to his bout against Cormier back in March. He did say he’d be willing to come back as early as February, per The MMA Hour, via Dana Becker of Fightline.com, but who’s to say he’d be opposed to the idea of pushing his ETA a month early to step up and fight the former pound-for-pound king?

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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JoJo Calderwood: They Say I’m Too Sweet And Innocent To Be A Fighter

Joanne ‘Jojo’ Calderwood, 28, from Kilmarnock, Scotland, is taking part in the first women-only season of BT Sport’s The Ultimate Fighter – a reality TV series where she will compete against other female fighters from around the world.
‘People say “your face is too pretty to be getting hit”. I just laugh. I train hard every day so that I don’t get hit in the face!’ she said.
Although some may be shocked at Jojo’s vocation because of her gender, she said there’s no such sexism within the fighting industry.
She said: ‘Luckily, I’ve been in an environment where I’ve never be … Read the Full Article Here

Is New and Improved Thales Leites Contender Material?

Thales Leites has found a way to bring his mixed martial arts career full circle. A little more than five years ago he was jettisoned from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and an afterthought in the middleweight division. Now, not only has he returned to the largest stage in MMA; he’s put himself into a position where he should begin to receive consideration as a potential name to watch in the 185-pound group.

After his split-decision defeat at the hands of Alessio Sakara at UFC 101, Leites found himself outside of the UFC and looking for work. From that point forward, the Rio De Janeiro, Brazil native turned his career around in a way that very few individuals can after receiving a UFC pink slip. Leites has put together a 10-1 record, that includes four straight wins since being brought back into the promotion in 2013. His current run has allowed him to reach the 11th spot on the current UFC rankings.

However, one must wonder if this new and improved Thales Leites is a true contender in a new-look middleweight division. According to his stats provided by Fight Metric, Leites is much of the same fighter that earned a title shot years ago; except for one recent new wrinkle. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has found the ability to finish opponents by knockout to go along with his high-level grappling. When he knocked out Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night: Minotauro vs. Nelson, he earned his first KO victory in nearly 10 years. He then followed up that performance months later by becoming the first man to knockout Francis Carmont in a decade.

Quite the resurgence for a fighter that could have faded away to obscurity. Leites recognizes the importance of finishing fighters at this point in his career.

“I will always try to finish the fight before the decision,” Leites said to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. “We’re fighting in a big promotion, with high-level athletes, and sometimes it won’t happen.”

Leites has taken the opportunity to seize the moment as he’s started calling out bigger-named opponents in the middleweight division. He took to that same interview to reiterate his thoughts about facing Michael Bisping next.

“He’s [Bisping] well ranked, has a big name, and I think it would be great if we fight,” Leites said. “It can be in Brazil or England. I think it would be an interesting fight” (via MMA Fighting).

Since then, Bisping has been paired with Luke Rockhold (via Sherdog) but that still leaves a number of other interesting matchups for the Brazilian competitor. With one or two more victories, Leites can find himself on the short list of men ready to face the champion, or be placed in a title-eliminator in 2015. Not many fighters have found a way to turn around their career in such a dramatic way after being cut by the UFC. Thales Leites has proved that it’s possible and his story is yet to be complete.

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TUF20: The Tough Girl Lifestyle

On first meet, JoJo and Aisling are both polite, sweet, good-natured girls.
In fact, JoJo seems almost bashful – she’s quieter than Aisling and looks up at you, doe-eyed, through long lashes as she talks. If it weren’t for her partially shaven locks and shoulder tattoo, she wouldn’t fit the fighter stereotype at all.
But hey, stereotypes are for losers anyway.
These girls might be sweet as you like over a post-sparring sandwich in Prêt-A-Manger, but meet either of them in a ring (or a cage) and you’d be lucky to come out with all your teeth.
Actually, you’d be lucky to walk out sti … Read the Full Article Here

Is the UFC Making a Concerted Effort as of Late to Stack PPVs?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has had quite the hard time fighting off its critics this year. One of the main reasons that many have taken to their pitchforks and torches is the perception that the UFC is not presenting the best fight cards possib…

However, the promotion has recently put together some events that should quell the words of their detractors. The UFC has a slate of upcoming events that will remind fans of the old “stacked” cards of lore.

Yes, the year 2014 has seen some less than desirable cards that featured mid-tier competitors in the main event contests. Names such as James Te Huna, Nate Marquardt, Tarec Saffiedine and Hyun Gyu Lim have taken headline spots that were usually held for titleholders or those on the cusp of shots at the belt. These are just a few examples of the cards that have garnered a lackluster response from fight fans. They are quite different from the cards that were put on when the promotion and the sport itself battled for mainstream recognition.

Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow has presented commentary pleading with the UFC to no longer present their fights as they have in the past.

“It is simply no longer enough to just say ‘the UFC is on, now watch it,’ you have to make the audience interested in your product and interested in your fighters, and they do neither,” he wrote.

One must also not forget about the injuries that have torn into shows. UFC 178 was one of the biggest planned events that the promotion would have put on in recent memory. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier were set to meet in the main event until an injury forced Jones out of the fight.

However, the UFC was able to move Demetrious Johnson’s next title defense against Chris Cariaso into the main event slot. Still, the excitement level around that card is not the same, even though it still features 12 fighters who are currently ranked officially, per UFC.

Looking beyond UFC 178, it seems as if the UFC is making an effort to present better cards to the public. Lorenzo Fertitta has gone on record to state that pay-per-view events should feature a main event contest with a title belt on the line, per Fox Sports Live. Below those headliners, the organization plans to put together not only exciting fights, but also contests that have value within specific weight classes.

Bleacher Report lead writer Jeremy Botter recently wrote a piece on the improved cards the organization planned to give fight fans:

There is hope peeking over the horizon. If the slate of upcoming UFC pay-per-view events is any sign, the promotion has heard our cries. After a dismal season of PPV events (at least from a monetary perspective), the world’s largest MMA promotion is loading up for bear hunting season.

Take a look at UFC 181 set for December 6. Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort will meet for the middleweight title. This fight will occur just after Anthony Pettis defends his lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez. These are two highly anticipated title defenses, and they will occur on the same night.

A month before this event, UFC 180 will feature Cain Velasquez against Fabricio Werdum. The undercard doesn’t have any other title bouts, but still includes fights such as Diego Sanchez versus Norman Parke, Dennis Bermudez versus Ricardo Lamas and the continued emergence of Kelvin Gastelum. All of these examples are key fights within their respective weight classes that fans should enjoy on an excitement level as well.

As the UFC makes more of an effort to make itself a force within the worldwide fight game, fans will continue to complain about “weaker” cards that will house lesser-known and local talent. These events are being used correctly as a chance to build foreign talent in their home countries.

In North America, the UFC is working and presenting examples of cards that feature more well-known talent in an effort to rekindle the excitement that once accompanied every UFC PPV. Starting with UFC 178, the promotion is clearly headed in the right direction.

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