Author: Andrew Saunders

Jones vs. Sonnen Fight Card: Which Fight Stole the Show at UFC 159?

As the old saying goes, April comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb. For the UFC, the latter half was especially true, as UFC 159 didn’t deliver the sort of action that fans have come to expect from the Zuffa boys.A series of peculiar finishes…

As the old saying goes, April comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb. For the UFC, the latter half was especially true, as UFC 159 didn’t deliver the sort of action that fans have come to expect from the Zuffa boys.

A series of peculiar finishes and lackluster action lessened a night of fights that certainly could have been more entertaining. However, there were definitely highlights throughout the evening.

So, which fight stole the show?

Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones was the one-sided pummeling that the world expected to witness, and although the injury to Jones’ toe will forever be scarred into our brains, the fight itself was fairly forgettable.

With Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher ending on a sour note due to an eye poke, that fight is out of the running as well.

Just prior to that matchup, the heavyweights found themselves on the highlight reel when Roy Nelson blasted Cheick Kongo with a big right hand that left the Frenchman wondering where he was. It was enough to be the KO of the Night, but there was better action earlier on the card.

The show kicked off with a bang when featherweights Steven Siler and Kurt Holobaugh went to war on the Facebook prelims. Siler looked as if he would earn a quick finish in the first round, but Holobaugh was tough enough to survive.

Although a thriller, this fight doesn’t take top honors due to its lack of visibility on the card. Instead, the bout that stole the card is none other than Jim Miller vs. Pat Healy.

Fight of the Night honors went to the lightweights who nearly went three full rounds before Healy pulled off the upset by securing a rear-naked choke on a jiu-jitsu wizard.

This matchup was one of the few highlights on a night that lacked excitement overall.

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UFC 159: Twitter Reacts to Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen

On Saturday night, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen met in the main event of UFC 159. Jones dismantled Sonnen by outwrestling the longtime middleweight and scoring a first-round stoppage due to ground-and-pound.With MMA fans being vocal about their thoughts …

On Saturday night, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen met in the main event of UFC 159. Jones dismantled Sonnen by outwrestling the longtime middleweight and scoring a first-round stoppage due to ground-and-pound.

With MMA fans being vocal about their thoughts on the sport, it’s always entertaining to turn to social media after any big fight. In this article, we take a look at some of the best tweets about Jones vs. Sonnen.

Before we go any further with the Twitter reactions, let’s turn to Dan Stupp from MMAjunkie, who was kind enough to share the .gif image of Jon Jones breaking his toe while hunting for the finish.

Professional fighter Nick Newell has certainly seen that photo way too many times. Apparently, social media has been fairly liberal in sharing the image of Bones’ bones.

One common theme that continued to pop up across Twitter throughout the evening is the connection between the possible early stoppage in the main event and whether or not Jones could have continued into the second round.

Would the championship have been handed over because Jon Jones has so much power that his own body can’t handle it?

The MMA Corner’s Rob Tatum was quick to point out that while the injury to Jon Jones is the one we will be talking about for a bit, it is Alan Belcher who may be in the worst shape after UFC 159.

While the injury to Jones is a topic that will be talked about for a while, it hasn’t completely overshadowed Chael Sonnen‘s hint that retirement is just around the corner. Some fans rejoice in his departure from the sport.

Others can’t stand the idea of a UFC without the American Gangster.

Jones’ agent, Malki Kawa, turned to Twitter after the card and hoped to use Saturday’s performance as proof that Jon is now the best fighter on the planet.

What do you think about the main event? Was the stoppage too early? Could Jones have continued into the second round? Did Jones earn the right to call himself the best fighter in the world? Let us know in the comment section below.

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The 10 Luckiest Fighters in MMA History

No matter what sport in which an athlete participates, talent can take you far, but you can’t get to the top of the mountain without a little bit of luck on your side.In MMA, good luck can come in many forms. Opportunities arise when high-profile match…

No matter what sport in which an athlete participates, talent can take you far, but you can’t get to the top of the mountain without a little bit of luck on your side.

In MMA, good luck can come in many forms. Opportunities arise when high-profile matchups are scrapped due to injury. Sometimes a pair of incompetent judges will give you a win that you don’t remotely deserve.  

After seeing UFC middleweight Francis Carmont gifted a controversial win on Saturday night, here is a look at the luckiest fighters in MMA history.

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UFC on Fox 7 Results: Has Frank Mir Reached the End of the Road?

What can be said about Frank Mir that hasn’t been said time and time again? With 14 victories inside the Octagon, he is the winningest heavyweight in the history of the UFC.In addition, the Vegas-born fighter has incredible submission skills as well as…

What can be said about Frank Mir that hasn’t been said time and time again? With 14 victories inside the Octagon, he is the winningest heavyweight in the history of the UFC.

In addition, the Vegas-born fighter has incredible submission skills as well as a black belt in kenpo karate. These skills led Mir to a pair of world titles, as well as wins against some of the biggest names that the sport has ever seen, including Brock Lesnar, “Minotauro” Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop and more.

That being said, Mir’s biggest wins came against a rookie who was greener than the Garden of Eden and fading stars who had waved bye-bye to their competitive primes years earlier.

When facing the top stars of the modern era, Mir was on the receiving end of beatdowns from the likes of Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos and Lesnar, who avenged the prior loss in violent fashion.

On Saturday night, Mir was absolutely manhandled by Olympian Daniel Cormier en route to a unanimous-decision victory. It was the second consecutive loss for Mir, who had never previously suffered a losing streak.

Many question whether or not Frank has what it takes to be relevant in the title scene. After all, he has lost decisively to the guys at the top of the division and does not match up well stylistically with reigning champion Cain Velasquez.

Is this the end of the road for Mir? That depends on what you mean by the term.

There are no signs to indicate that Mir is ready to call it quits. He seems happy with his new relationship under coach Greg Jackson and will likely compete several more times before calling it a career.

Under no circumstances do I see a scenario where Mir becomes a world champion again. His current skid has him no less than three wins away from another shot at the belt. Considering that Mir tends to fight no more than twice in a calendar year, the jiu-jitsu wizard would be 36 years old by the time he would challenge for gold.

Then again, what do I know? Along with most of the MMA world, I’ve had doubts about Mir ever since his 2004 motorcycle accident, and since that time, the guy has found the most success of his life.

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3 Reasons Daniel Cormier Doesn’t Present a Real Threat to Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier is an absolute monster in the heavyweight division. After manhandling Frank Mir in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 7, “DC” now holds a profession record of 12-0 and additional wins over the likes of Josh Barnett and title contender Anton…

Daniel Cormier is an absolute monster in the heavyweight division. After manhandling Frank Mir in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 7, “DC” now holds a profession record of 12-0 and additional wins over the likes of Josh Barnett and title contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

Due to his shorter stature, talks of Cormier moving to light heavyweight have been heard since his Strikeforce debut. However, after the Olympian called out champion Jon Jones in January, fans have been calling for a title shot as soon as possible.

But Daniel Cormier simply doesn’t have what it takes to be a real threat to the reigning champion. Here is a look at three reasons why.

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Henderson vs Melendez: Breaking Down the FightMetric Numbers

Gilbert Melendez got robbed on Saturday night! Or did he?Fans who attended UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose were very vocal about their disagreement with the judges decision to award Benson Henderson a split-decision victory.The controversy grew even more when…

Gilbert Melendez got robbed on Saturday night! Or did he?

Fans who attended UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose were very vocal about their disagreement with the judges decision to award Benson Henderson a split-decision victory.

The controversy grew even more when Fox commentators Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann both told the home audience that they scored each of the first three rounds for Melendez.

However, thanks to the stat-counting website FightMetric, we can take a look at the numbers and see whether or not the judges got it right. 

In terms of strikes attempted, we can see that Melendez was the more active fighter in four of the five rounds, but he did not outscore Henderson in terms of landed strikes in any of the rounds.

Let’s take a look at the scoring criteria for UFC contests: 

  • Effective striking
  • Effective grappling
  • Octagon control
  • Effective Aggression

Of the strikes that technically scored for Benson Henderson were his series of leg kicks that were thrown in all five rounds. However, Melendez did a fantastic job of countering those kicks by catching the leg and countering with a trip or strike.

For that reason, it’s difficult to suggest that Benson clearly won any of the early rounds, despite his margin of victory in significant strikes.

In terms of effective grappling, we see that Henderson went 0-for-4 in takedown attempts throughout the fight. Meanwhile, he was taken down by Melendez in Round 1 and tripped at several points. That leans us towards Melendez in terms of effective grappling throughout the contest.

Then when you consider that Melendez spent a healthy portion of the contest pushing the pace and going toe-to-toe with the champion, it’s hard to justify El Nino not pulling ahead in the areas of Octagon control or effective aggression.

However, the numbers dictate that Henderson did enough to earn the victory by allowing Melendez to score less than 10 significant strikes in each of the final three frames. In a fight that was largely contested on the feet, that is fairly damning evidence.

What do you think about the decision? Tell us in the comments below.

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