Andrew Brining | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC on Versus 4 Results: 1st 2 Fights in the Books by Way of Stoppages

What’s that line again about the best laid plans of mice and men?The cool thing about the UFC is that it streams most of its preliminary cards via the social media phenomenon Facebook. That’s a pretty nice little free perk for its devoted fans. The pro…

What’s that line again about the best laid plans of mice and men?

The cool thing about the UFC is that it streams most of its preliminary cards via the social media phenomenon Facebook. That’s a pretty nice little free perk for its devoted fans. The problem is, at least as far as yours truly is concerned…

THE DAMN THING NEVER FREAKIN’ WORKS!!!!!!

Yes, it’s a tad frustrating—even more so because it always almost works. So I’ll get a few seconds, maybe as much as a minute, of rounds here and there before the thing cuts out. As my man Richard Pryor used to say, it’s…enough…too make…ya CRAZY.

Anyhow, I can’t tell you exactly how the ending came to be, but the first two fights of the night are booked courtesy of technical knockouts.

Lightweight Michael “The Menace” Johnson of The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 fame put Edward Faaloloto to sleep with a flurry of punches as the first round was winding to a close in the opener. Then, Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas did the same to Matt “The Real One” Grice in their featherweight bout.

If my Facebook feeds cooperates, I’ll bring you more details of subsequent bouts.

Michael Johnson defeats Edward Faaloloto by TKO (punches) at 4:42 of the first round.

Ricardo Lamas defeats Matt Grice by TKO (strikes) at 4:41 of the first round.

UFC on Versus 4 Fight Card Preview: Nate Marquardt Off Card and Out of UFC

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story has suddenly become UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry in one of the stranger and most last-minute pre-fight twists you’ll ever see.It turns out that all is not right with Nate Marquardt; the Great mysteriously failed to get medica…

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story has suddenly become UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry in one of the stranger and most last-minute pre-fight twists you’ll ever see.

It turns out that all is not right with Nate Marquardt; the Great mysteriously failed to get medical clearance for his main event bout with Rick “The Horror” Story on Saturday and has consequently been scratched from the headliner. Not only that, but Marquardt was also cut from the organization according to the video blog posted by UFC President Dana White (shown above).

Talk about a dramatic change of events.

The fourth installment of the UFC on Versus just lost, by far, it’s most titillating fight and the organization just booted one of its heretofore “good soldiers.”

Marquardt was a serious player at middleweight, was theoretically being groomed to assume that same mantle at welterweight and had never elicited anything less than glowing praise for his attitude as well as professionalism.

And now he’s nothing but a UFC memory.

Oops.

Meanwhile, UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry was left scrambling to pick up the pieces, ultimately thrusting the underwhelming matchup between heavyweight strikers Cheick Kongo and Pat “HD” Barry into the main event. That’s not to say the tussle won’t be exciting or a feast for the senses—the brutish duo can certainly light up an arena—but the outcome simply won’t move the needle as far as the other 265-pound contenders are concerned.

The one-dimensional Kongo is playing out the back nine of his MMA career at the age of 36 while HD is only flirting at the fringes of legitimacy at this point.

All is not lost as there are other bouts on the card that offer some juice if you’re looking for genuine heirs to various thrones—Matt “Meathead” Mitrione’s date with Christian “World of” Morecraft deserves a mention here as does Rick Story’s continued presence (he’ll fight Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman now).

Nevertheless, the shocking turn of events stings both the UFC and the fans, and it does so badly.

Which explains Dana White’s barely contained anger in the video and Nate Marquardt’s quick exile from the highest echelon of the sport.

It also guarantees that this isn’t the last we’ve heard on the matter, so stay tuned.

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story Fight Card Streaming Online—Prelims on Facebook

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story’s preliminary card will be streamed live via Facebook as has become the organization’s habit. What’s not quite so habitual is the caliber of the prelims.There aren’t any fading-but-still-large names as you might might…

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story’s preliminary card will be streamed live via Facebook as has become the organization’s habit. What’s not quite so habitual is the caliber of the prelims.

There aren’t any fading-but-still-large names as you might might find on the appetizers for the bigger events, but there are some excellent clashes plus a couple up-and-comers:

—Daniel “Ninja” Roberts gets a stiff challenge from TUF alumnus Rich “Raging Bull” Attonito as he tries to get back on the winning track.

—Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon looks to bounce back from his loss to George Sotiropoulos in the Fight of the Night at UFC 123 against the Brit, Curt Warburton, who hopes to add to his momentum.

—Tyson Griffin returns to featherweight, which seem to be a better fit for the undersized dynamo, and he attempts to prove it against Manvel “The Anvil” Gamburyan. The Anvil was last seen napping in the middle of the cage with UFC Featherweight Champion Jose “Junior” Aldo celebrating in the background.

Of course, the most intriguing tussle might just be the one between lightweight shooting stars Nik “The Carny” Lentz and Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira.

The Brazilian Oliveira is the sexy pick here; he’s coming off his only loss in 15 career fights (suffered to Jim Miller) and he’s only 21 with a vicious all-around attack. On the other hand, the Carny has proven to be tough as nails and not one to back off a challenge. He’s one of those competitors who seems to be most dangerous when he’s discounted.

Add it all up and you have the recipe for what could be one of the entire card’s best bouts.

UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story Fight Card Preview—Rick Story’s Uphill Run

Rick “The Horror” Story must’ve angered someone in the UFC front office—president Dana White, matchmaker extraordinaire Joe Silva or another kingpin with equal influence.Check out the names on his six-fight rampage through the welterweight ranks…

Rick “The Horror” Story must’ve angered someone in the UFC front office—president Dana White, matchmaker extraordinaire Joe Silva or another kingpin with equal influence.

Check out the names on his six-fight rampage through the welterweight ranks and you’ll find it doesn’t included too many cream puffs.

Story got two warm-up fights after dropping a decision in Germany to John “The Hitman” Hathaway at UFC 99. Since those two bouts, however, it’s been an array of names he probably wasn’t supposed to beat—”Slick” Nick Osipczak was a hot commodity at the time, after a strong showing on The Ultimate Fighter’s ninth season and a domination of Matt Riddle; Dustin “McLovin'” Hazelett had just been knocked senseless by Paul “Semtex” Dailey, but was still thought to be a future contender; Johny Hendricks was undefeated; and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves was fresh off his eye-popping performance against John “Doomsday” Howard.

In each of those pairings, it would’ve been tough to call the Horror the favorite.

Well, guess what?

With Nate “The Great” Marquardt dropping down to 170 pounds for his scrap with Story, it’s tough to say the pattern has changed. Marquardt—as legitimate a contender to Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s middleweight throne as there was—is going to be a handful at the lighter weight unless the cut has sapped him of his usual pep. Given the Great’s reputation and history, that proposition is highly dubious.

Word is finally leaking out about the Horror so I won’t go so far as to call him the underdog and, if I’ve got this right, Vegas even likes the him a shred more than his opponent. Nevertheless, consider Nate Marquardt yet another serving in a steady diet of leaps up the degree of difficulty scale.

Which seems to be just the way Rick Story likes it.

UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry Results and Live Reactions to the Steel City Scraps

UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry marks the second mixed martial event this weekend after the latest installment of the Strikeforce Challengers series on Friday. It also caps the fifth consecutive weekend of action in a busy two-month slate of MMA.What’s more,…

What’s more, the frenzy isn’t over. Not with UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber cued up next weekend as the organization gets an early jump on the country’s 235th birthday.

Sure, the fourth edition of the UFC on Versus represents a bit of a lull in the all-you-can-eat (metaphorically) buffet of flying leather and straining joints, but who cares? You can’t have title fights and top contenders in the Octagon every weekend, at least not yet.

And as far as non-title, non-cusp-of-a-title fights go, this collection ain’t too shabby.

Or at least it wasn’t until Nate “The Great” Marquardt was a Saturday scratch from the main event.

Originally, Marquardt was supposed to tussle with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, but that bout had to be scrapped thanks to yet another injury suffered by Johnson. In related news, Rumble is apparently contemplating a nickname change to “Papier Mache.”

Weak jokes aside, the UFC scrambled its stable once Johnson’s rotator cuff proved to be a deal breaker and the contingency plan was a winner.

Rick “The Horror” Story is one of the most underrated yet dangerous fighters in the welterweight division. He doesn’t have the flashy appeal of Johnson, but he just might be a bigger challenge at 170 pounds. Alas, Story now faces Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman in a ho-hum confrontation.

However, all is not lost.

Pat “HD” Barry and Cheick Kongo now move their pairing of plus strikers to the main event. Additionally, Matt “Meathead” Mitrione is set to continue his assault on the heavyweight ranks and John “Doomsday” Howard takes his explosive act back to the cage in hopes of ending a two-fight losing streak.

As always, Bleacher Report will be cage-side and couch-side, bringing you live results and reactions every step of the way.

So join us on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT for the preliminary bouts on Facebook before the proceedings go live on Versus at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Results and Cageside Coverage from Dallas

Join Bleacher Report cageside for live Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum results, analysis and commentary.There is a strong chorus of voices out there that will tell you Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum features the two hottest heavyweights that mixed mar…

Join Bleacher Report cageside for live Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum results, analysis and commentary.

There is a strong chorus of voices out there that will tell you Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum features the two hottest heavyweights that mixed martial arts has to offer at the moment.

Given the injury to UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and the demise of Brock Lesnar, that chorus can make a pretty persuasive argument for Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem and Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum.

Granted, the UFC’s new top contender at 265 pounds, Junior “Cigano” dos Santos, slammed his name into the discussion with his decisive win over Shane Carwin at UFC 131, but you get the point.

Overeem and Werdum are both scorching at the moment.

That fact has given the second installment of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal bouts a considerable buzz.

The Demolition Man has, well, demolished his last three opponents and hasn’t lost since suffering a 2007 knockout at the hands of Sergei “The Russian Mercenary” Kharitonov (who lurks on the other side of the bracket). Meanwhile, his Brazilian counterpart is “The Man Who Beat Fedor” and who, one fight before that, also defeated the behemoth awaiting the Overeem/Werdum winner in the semifinals (Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva).

Not to mention the victory Werdum already boasts over Overeem from 2006.

And that’s just the main event.

The card also features Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” vs. Brett “The Grim” Rogers in the other heavyweight quarterfinal bout, K.J. “King” Noons in a lightweight match with Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal and everyone’s favorite anarchist, Jeff “The Snowman” Monson making his return to the bright lights of a big event.

So join Bleacher Report at cageside in the heart of the Lone Star State and get up-to-the-minute results for each fight listed below:

Main Card Bouts on Showtime

Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum

Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers

K.J. Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal

Daniel Cormier vs. Jeff Monson

Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs

Preliminary Card Bouts on HDNet

Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox

Conor Heun vs. Magno Almeida

Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Joe Ray

Todd Moore vs. Mike Bronzoulis

Brian Melancon vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com