Short, but sweet! It isn’t an adjective commonly used to describe Fight of the Night candidates. In fact, the fights that are considered to be the best of the sport are typically lengthy affairs.Griffin/Bonnar, Liddell/Silva and Shogun/Henderson all ma…
Short, but sweet! It isn’t an adjective commonly used to describe Fight of the Night candidates. In fact, the fights that are considered to be the best of the sport are typically lengthy affairs.
Griffin/Bonnar, Liddell/Silva and Shogun/Henderson all made their way to the scorecards, as did several other fights that immediately come to mind when thinking about outstanding MMA. However, that doesn’t mean that quick bouts can’t be thrilling engagements.
Here is a look at the five best one-round fights of 2012.
Donald Cerrone battled Ultimate Fighter star Melvin Guillard in the evening’s co-main event. Both men were in the hunt for the belt in 2011, but losses shut down their momentum. Looking for their second win in 2012, the bout between lightweig…
Donald Cerrone battled Ultimate Fighter star Melvin Guillard in the evening’s co-main event. Both men were in the hunt for the belt in 2011, but losses shut down their momentum. Looking for their second win in 2012, the bout between lightweight contenders is one we will remember for a long time.
As former training partners under Greg Jackson, Cerrone and Guillard have spent a lot of time training together, and Cerrone reportedly got the better of those encounters.
What We’ll Remember about This Fight:
The excitement. Guillard hurt Cerrone badly early in the first round, and Cowboy showed his ability to fight through adversity with a major head kick. One big punch later and it’s all over, only 1:16 into the first round.
What We Learned about Donald Cerrone:
The amazing finishing power of Donald Cerrone. We all knew that he was a dangerous creature on the ground, but to knock out a brilliant striker like Guillard is an incredible feat.
What We Learned about Melvin Guillard:
That submissions aren’t the only way he can lose. We can’t forget that his loss to Joe Lauzon was technically by submission, although a big punch wobbled Guillard and set it all up.
What’s Next for Donald Cerrone:
Anthony Pettis. Cerrone wants this fight, and he earned it with this performance tonight.
What’s Next for Melvin Guillard:
A record of 1-3 in his last few fights, plus missing weight for tonight’s contest are not factors that shine in his favor. Stepping up on short notice against an elite fighter will keep him off of the chopping block, but he will likely get a big step down in competition.
Melvin should fight someone like Terry Etim or Jamie Varner in his next fight.
The main card of UFC 150 kicked off with a monster striking battle between Justin Lawrence and 20-year-old Max Holloway. With both men coming off wins in their last fights, a win on the main card of a PPV would do great things for their future marketab…
The main card of UFC 150 kicked off with a monster striking battle between Justin Lawrence and 20-year-old Max Holloway. With both men coming off wins in their last fights, a win on the main card of a PPV would do great things for their future marketability.
What we’ll remember about this fight
Seeing two young lions duking it out in a close affair. Both fighters had their moments, but ultimately, Holloway did major damage to the body to earn the TKO stoppage.
What we learned about Justin Lawrence
He is susceptible to body shots. Both times he was hurt during the contest, it came from body blows. A knee hurt him, but a left hook finished the job shortly afterwards.
What we learned about Max Holloway
He can push through adversity. Losing several exchanges in the first round, it looked as if Lawrence was the better striker. However, Holloway recognized that his body shots were doing damage and finished a tough opponent with a strong left hook to the liver.
Fun Fact: Holloway is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster.
What’s next for Justin Lawrence
This was the first professional loss for Lawrence. It’s possible that he meets a promotional newcomer in his next appearance, although I’d think that a fight with the loser of Akira Corassani vs. Andy Ogle would be a good matchup.
What’s next for Max Holloway
A fight against a notable opponent would be a good fit. Dennis Bermudez looked solid tonight and would be a worthy test.
On the heels of an amazing UFC on Fox card, the Zuffa boys look as if they will deliver their second night of incredible action over the course of only eight days on Saturday night when they present UFC 150: Henderson vs Edgar II. The main event featur…
On the heels of an amazing UFC on Fox card, the Zuffa boys look as if they will deliver their second night of incredible action over the course of only eight days on Saturday night when they present UFC 150: Henderson vs Edgar II.
The main event features a battle of highly-motivated and highly-skilled lightweights who are looking to leave with a big gold belt wrapped around their waist. When the cage locks behind Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, make sure that you don’t miss a second of the breathtaking action.
The lightweight action continues, as Donald Cerrone will battle Ultimate Fighter star Melvin Guillard in the evening’s co-main event. Both men were in the hunt for the belt in 2011 and are looking for their second win in 2012.
The middleweights are also well represented on PPV, as Jake Shields meets Ed Herman and former title contender Yushin Okami returns in a replacement bout against Buddy Roberts.
Kicking off the show is a striker vs. striker battle between featherweight yutes when 22-year-old Justin Lawrence meets a 20-year-old in a fight that should be electric.
Here are the B/R MMA odds and predictions for UFC 150.
Former PRIDE and UFC star Mirko Cro Cop last fought in October of last year when he met Roy Nelson at UFC 137. In a discouraging site for fans, the Croatian was knocked out for the third consecutive time and announced his retirement after the contest.W…
Former PRIDE and UFC star Mirko Cro Cop last fought in October of last year when he met Roy Nelson at UFC 137. In a discouraging site for fans, the Croatian was knocked out for the third consecutive time and announced his retirement after the contest.
While it was sad to see an influential star hang up his gloves, fans were happy that their hero would no longer be woken up by a cageside physician shining a flashlight in his eyes.
In an interview with USAToday.com, Filipovic announced that he is still training in the sport and envisions a return to the world of mixed martial arts.
“Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, ‘I won’t keep fighting,’ ” Filipovic said. “I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight.”
After undergoing surgery to fix some torn muscles and tendons in his arm, the head-kick legend returned to a career in kickboxing and has put together a 2-0 record under the K-1 banner since his retirement. Reportedly, the heavyweight feels like a brand new fighter.
“I feel like a little kid,” Filipovic said. “I’m so happy. I’m training every day. I usually train twice a day, and Thursdays and Sundays are supposed to be my days off. But even on those days I’m training at least once. I have to do at least one session each day to be happy.”
In October, Cro Cop will fight again for K-1 in a World Grand Prix with a $1 million prize. After the tournament concludes, the police officer believes that he will reenter the world of MMA.
“If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again,” Filipovic said. “People don’t get it. Martial arts is my life.”
The former PRIDE star had trouble “pulling the trigger” after joining the UFC roster, leaving many to question why the stone-cold fighter had become tentative inside the cage. That issue led to knockout losses to Frank Mir, Brendan Schaub and Nelson.
“My motivation now is to prove to everyone that I’m still capable of being in the cage. I’m not old. I’m 37, but I can do things that fighters 10 years younger cannot.
I will prove that, or I will die trying.”
While his final quote is clearly a figure of speech, it isn’t the first time that he has made the bold statement. Prior to his UFC 137 fight, Filipovic said that he would be the old Cro Cop or die trying.
No word from Zuffa or Bellator on whether they are interested in signing the Croatian mega-star, but stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more on the story as it breaks.
The final show of the year for the UFC is typically a showcase for the best talent that the world of mixed martial arts has to offer. From title fights to grudge matches to marketable behemoths, the biggest stars in MMA history have been booked on a Ne…
The final show of the year for the UFC is typically a showcase for the best talent that the world of mixed martial arts has to offer. From title fights to grudge matches to marketable behemoths, the biggest stars in MMA history have been booked on a New Year’s card or two over the years.
For example, let’s take a look at some past events. UFC 66 was the home of Liddell vs Ortiz II, which was the biggest fight in UFC history at that point, and the event also booked top stars Forrest Griffin, Andrei Arlovski and Michael Bisping on the main card.
Considered to be one of the best cards in UFC history, UFC 92 took place at the end of 2008 with a pair of title fights. Not only did Ultimate Fighter winners collide in the main event, but Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans were also battling for the UFC Light-Heavyweight championship. Frank Mir and Big Nog fought over the UFC Interim Heavyweight title, while Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva ended their epic rivalry on the same card.
In history, only three UFC events have sold 1,000,000 or more events without the star power of Brock Lesnar. Both UFC 66 and UFC 92 are on that short list. What kind of fights could we make on this year’s card to break that number?
Keeping in mind fighters’ rankings within their division, as well as their marketability and timeline for return, I have put together a proposed fight card for the 2013 New Year’s card. Similar to UFC 144, I have decided to book this event with a seven-fight main card.
Donald Cerrone battled Ultimate Fighter star