Author: Andrew Saunders

UFC 149 Results: Two Fights in One Month Was Too Much for Brian Ebersole

Few believed that the king of fight-night bonuses Chris Lytle would find himself bested by a late replacement journeyman like Brian Ebersole, but that is precisely what happened in the UFC 127 contest.Ebersole would repeat his success with big wins ove…

Few believed that the king of fight-night bonuses Chris Lytle would find himself bested by a late replacement journeyman like Brian Ebersole, but that is precisely what happened in the UFC 127 contest.

Ebersole would repeat his success with big wins over Dennis Hallman, Claude Patrick and TJ Waldburger to start out his UFC career at 4-0.

Quickly becoming an unlikely contender in the welterweight division, “The White Anderson Silva” illustrated a desire to be a company man by signing on to fight James Head at UFC 149.

The choice of opponent seemed to be underwhelming, and there was only 29 days between UFC 149 and Ebersole’s hard-fought victory at UFC on FX 4. However, that didn’t stop the fearless practitioner of the cartwheel kick.

Perhaps it should have. In the main-card contest, Ebersole’s wrestling was telegraphed and he looked flat-footed. In fact, Head was able to easily defend 14 of Ebersole’s 15 takedown attempts throughout the battle en route to a split decision victory.

With a proper training camp, it is unlikely that a veteran like Ebersole would have faired so poorly in the contest. In fact, the one time that “Bad Boy” got the ground control that he desired, Head ate some ground and pound that made him very uncomfortable. Imagine how the fight would have looked if he had focused on wrestling for a full fight camp.

While Chris Leben’s amazing win over Yoshihiro Akiyama shows us the best possible outcome of taking a fight on short notice, the risks truly outweigh the rewards. With the loss, Ebersole blew an 11-fight winning streak that would have seen his status in the organization elevate tremendously.

This loss won’t completely send the Indiana native back to the drawing board. Post-fight, Ebersole had an exchange with Joe Rogan where he indicated that he will be dropping down to 155 pounds. With many excellent fighters in need of a quality opponent, there are lots of places for Ebersole to go from here. It’s just a shame that he won’t be taking his incredible momentum with him.

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UFC 149 Results: Urijah Faber vs Miguel Torres Needs to Happen Now

Ever since losing his WEC Featherweight Championship, Urijah Faber has come up short in bids to regain a big golden belt against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. After losing his fifth title fight in as many chances, the …

Ever since losing his WEC Featherweight Championship, Urijah Faber has come up short in bids to regain a big golden belt against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. After losing his fifth title fight in as many chances, the California Kid needs to take a big step back and assess his situation. 

Going 0-5 in title fights but remaining “in the mix” is absolutely unheard of, and the Alpha Male fighter knows it. At this point in his career, Faber simply needs to stay active and keep his mind on winning fights, not titles.

An ultra-popular fighter with well-rounded skills who used to be on top, but can’t seem to beat the champion, Faber looks to have become the Rich Franklin of the lighter weight classes.

Like Franklin, Faber should embrace the role of elite gatekeeper and sign up for big-name fights in whichever division has the most exciting opportunity available that month. And first on his agenda should be none other than former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.

Torres is another fighter who has not had the most luck since losing his championship. Going 3-3 since a KO to Brian Bowles cost him his championship, Torres is a fantastic fighter who has only failed when facing the best fighters in the world.

Angel’s losses include Joseph Benavidez, Michael McDonald and a controversial decision to Demetrious Johnson. In that time, the former champion has stayed in the public eye after a Twitter joke about the content of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia was deemed too controversial by Dana White and cost Torres his roster spot.

Now back in the UFC, Torres remains one of a few former champions still on the roster who has yet to face Faber. With a seven-inch reach advantage and a grappling game that could give anyone fits, this fight represents a champion vs. champion superfight from 2008, when each men ruled their division with an iron fist.

Are there other interesting fights for Faber out there? Sure. But just like Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell, Faber vs. Torres is a fight between the two fighters who were considered the best of their respective divisions only a few years ago. 

Faber and Torres are still relevant fighters with something left to give to this sport. Let them duke it out and see who the better man is.

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UFC 149 Results: Top 10 Bantamweights in the UFC

Last night, Calgary witnessed the top bantamweights in the sport battle for the UFC interim bantamweight championship. For 25 minutes, the fighters exchanged strikes without any desire to go to the ground. With never-ending cardio, the bantamweigh…

Last night, Calgary witnessed the top bantamweights in the sport battle for the UFC interim bantamweight championship. For 25 minutes, the fighters exchanged strikes without any desire to go to the ground. 

With never-ending cardio, the bantamweight division may go to the judges scorecards more often than not, but the fights are always exciting to watch. Just like the limitless footwork of the division’s top stars, it seems as if the rankings at 135 pounds never seem to stand still.

Five months after the creation of the flyweight division, along with the rise of new stars like Renan Barao, Michael McDonald and Mike Easton, let’s take a look at the radically different landscape of the UFC bantamweight division.

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UFC 149 Results: 5 Fights for Cheick Kongo to Take Next

Big Cheick Kongo fought in the UFC for the 17th time last night and pulled out his 11th Octagon victory when he won an exhausting decision against Shawn Jordan.Overcoming the wrestling-centric attack of his opponent, Kongo was able to do damage with kn…

Big Cheick Kongo fought in the UFC for the 17th time last night and pulled out his 11th Octagon victory when he won an exhausting decision against Shawn Jordan.

Overcoming the wrestling-centric attack of his opponent, Kongo was able to do damage with knees from the clinch and win the favor of the judges, who awarded him the unanimous decision victory.

The victory doesn’t erase the memory of seeing Kongo eat the first knockout loss of his career back in February; however, it does show us that he isn’t an aging veteran who is ready to bow down to the new breed of young heavyweights.

Where does the 37-year-old Frenchman go from here? Here is a look at five fights for Cheick Kongo to take next.

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UFC 149 Results: Post-Fight Stock Report

While UFC 149 wasn’t the fight card that we originally expected, there were some fighters who made the best of a bad situation.Some fighters on excellent winning streaks would fall for the first time in years, while one tasted gold for the first time i…

While UFC 149 wasn’t the fight card that we originally expected, there were some fighters who made the best of a bad situation.

Some fighters on excellent winning streaks would fall for the first time in years, while one tasted gold for the first time in his career.

There were big-time upsets on the scorecards, but also some fights that didn’t come off smelling like a rose.

Here’s the post-fight stock report for each fighter from UFC 149.

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UFC 149 Results: 5 Fights for Matt Riddle to Take Next

Matt Riddle looked solid in his 10th UFC contest last night at UFC 149. The Ultimate Fighter contestant showed a variety of attacks from the clinch, along with an improved ground game.However, Riddle remains a banger at heart. Several times in the…

Matt Riddle looked solid in his 10th UFC contest last night at UFC 149. The Ultimate Fighter contestant showed a variety of attacks from the clinch, along with an improved ground game.

However, Riddle remains a banger at heart. Several times in the first round, “Deep Waters” would abandon a dominant or controlling position in order to go back to the center of the cage and exchange punches.

In the end, the youngster would catch Chris Clements throwing a spinning back fist and make him pay for it. By ducking the strike, he latched onto a standing arm-triangle choke and tripped his opponent to earn the win and a Submission of the Night bonus. 

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