With Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann II on deck for Wednesday night, fans might already feel more than excited for what this week has in store. But after Fight Night 27 comes to a close, the combat will only be getting started—on Saturday, Augu…
With Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann II on deck for Wednesday night, fans might already feel more than excited for what this week has in store. But after Fight Night 27 comes to a close, the combat will only be getting started—on Saturday, August 31 the UFC will finish off this frenzied week by granting Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis a second go at one of the most iconic matchups in MMA history when the two square off during UFC 164‘s championship main event.
Will Henderson erase any memory of the “Showtime kick,” or will Pettis dazzle us all with a new technique that manages to overshadow one of the most memorable strikes to ever grace a highlight reel?
It’s worth noting the nostalgia doesn’t end with the main event. Two of the sport’s grittiest veterans will square off as Frank Mir and Josh Barnett go toe-to-toe in the evening’s co-main event.
And just think: this will all be taking place when the result of Condit vs. Kampmann II will still be fresh in our minds. So many bouts in so little time.
Super fight week, indeed.
It’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed as to the specifics. Thankfully, Bleacher Report has you covered with an in-depth guide as to the what, when, where and how of UFC 164 on Saturday night.
Full Fight Card and Start Times
Main Card
PPV
10PM EST
Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson
vs.
challenger Anthony Pettis
Josh Barnett
vs.
Frank Mir
Clay Guida
vs.
Chad Mendes
Ben Rothwell
vs.
Brandon Vera
Erik Koch
vs.
Dustin Poirier
Preliminary Card
Fox Sports 1
8PM EST
GleisonTibau
vs.
Jamie Varner
Tim Elliott
vs.
Louis Gaudinot
Pascal Krauss
vs.
HyunGyuLim
Chico Camus
vs.
Kyung Ho Kang
Preliminary Card
Facebook
6:30PM EST
Nikita Krylov
vs.
SoaPalelei
Ryan Couture
vs.
Al Iaquinta
MagnusCedenblad
vs.
Jared Hamman
Countdown to UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis
Countdown to UFC 164: Mir vs. Barnett
Countdown to UFC 164: Mendes vs. Guida
UFC 164 Main Card Key Stats
Number of losses shared by both Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis: Two
Percent of Benson Henderson’s 18 victories that have gone to decision: 47 percent
Total number of career fights between Josh Barnett and Frank Mir: 61
Percent of victories by submission shared by both Josh Barnett and Frank Mir: 56 percent
Chad Mendes‘ takedown average: 4.72 per 15 minutes
Chad Mendes‘ takedown defense: 100 percent
Percent of Ben Rothwell‘s 32 victories that have gone to decision: nine percent
Dustin Poirier‘s significant strike average: 4.14 per minute
With less than four days left before the official launch of Fox Sports 1, MMA fans are left a bit bewildered as to the specifics of UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen. Sure, the UFC is participating in the festivities by presenting one of the best f…
With less than four days left before the official launch of Fox Sports 1, MMA fans are left a bit bewildered as to the specifics of UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen. Sure, the UFC is participating in the festivities by presenting one of the best fight cards to ever grace your television screen, but there are still some details to iron out.
What’s this situation with Speed? Will every cable and satellite service provider have it come Saturday night? Who’s fighting and at what time exactly?
These are valid questions, to be certain. Unfortunately, not all have an answer as of yet. Thankfully, I’ve got you covered on those that do.
First and foremost, let me highlight one of the more important answers provided by the official Fox Sports 1 FAQ:
Q: Will I be able to get Fox Sports 1 on my TV?
A: For many operators, FOX Sports 1 will launch in the same channel location now occupied by SPEED. We hope that all major cable, satellite and telephone video services will offer FOX Sports 1 at the time of its August launch, giving it wide distribution in over 90 million homes. Specific channel information will be posted at FOXSports.com closer to the launch date.
So there you have it—be sure to determine which channel your current provider uses for the Speed network. Chances are that, come Saturday night, said channel will be your destination Fox Sports 1.
Here’s the full schedule for Saturday, August 17:
Portion of Fight Card
Where to Watch
When to Watch
Facebook Prelims
Facebook
4 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET
FS1 Prelims
Fox Sports 1
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. ET
FS1 Main Card
Fox Sports 1
8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET
Now that you know the where, when and how, allow me to shed some light on what’s likely to happen during the stacked main card at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
If you were to imagine the ultimate laboratory specimen engineered for combat sports domination, you’d likely dream up a physically daunting, hyper-trained fighter intent on destruction. He’d need to have the kind of physique that can give opponents fi…
If you were to imagine the ultimate laboratory specimen engineered for combat sports domination, you’d likely dream up a physically daunting, hyper-trained fighter intent on destruction. He’d need to have the kind of physique that can give opponents fits and the wealth of skills to maximize what that frame offers him.
Just look at the photo above. Before we begin to digress with rants over the effects of artificial enhancement, let’s remind ourselves that his body—that surreal layer of muscle packed onto even more muscle—is routinely used to inflict harm to opponents.
He’s a terror with the training to back up the appearance—a fact that makes it strange to question whether he can ever prove himself in the UFC.
Perhaps that’s the consequence of his obliteration at the hands of Antonio Silva, a defeat so jaw dropping that the UFC deemed it as the biggest upset of the first half of 2013. Referee Herb Dean struggled to restrain an enraged Silva yelling atop the collapsed body of Overeem.
Meanwhile, his detractors rejoiced in assuming that the loss proved his monstrous transformation was unworthy of respect, but MMA analysts knew the situation was far more disheartening.
On its surface, it seemed so clear: Silva burst the “Ubereem” bubble by demonstrating that, after returning from a brief suspension for elevated testosterone, the Dutch superstar wasn’t ever UFC caliber.
Yet as is often the case in MMA, there were more wrinkles to the story.
Overeem lost for a reason even more disappointing—he was outstruck by a fighter with nowhere near his striking pedigree or skill set. He was beaten at his own game because of pure arrogance.
Rather than initiating the clinch work and knees that had brought him a wealth of success, he instead chose to press toward Silva with his hands at his waist and his chin in the air.
His demise at UFC 156 was no fault other than his own—he had accomplished the unthinkable by buying into his own hype.
Nevertheless, make no mistake about it: Overeem is one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in history, if not the most accomplished. The first and only fighter to hold titles in both MMA and the venerable K-1 kickboxing grand prix, he has crafted a lethal offense based on tactical punches, relentless knees and laser-guided kicks.
Why didn’t he employ any of these assets against Silva?
Overeem could have brutalized Bigfoot in the clinch or bludgeoned him with kicks and heavy punches. Instead, he chose to dance around, slip punches with no guard up to protect himself and generally try to prove through unnecessary means the end which we all already knew—that he was a better fighter than Bigfoot. This brings me to the sad conclusion about Alistair Overeem. He should be able to beat just about everyone who is put in front of him, but he probably won’t. If he did match up against Dos Santos—as we have all wanted for so long—I would put money on him being able to hang decently on the feet with Dos Santos. I would also expect Overeem to completely avoid moving to the clinch, working his trips or doing work in any of the areas in which he has an advantage.
When analyzing Overeem’s chances at continued success, it’s important to be mindful of his experience—and that applies in both the positive and negative sense. Casual fans may forget that he underwent a brutal year-and-a-half in his professional history—starting with a May 2006 submission loss to Fabricio Werdum and ending with a September 2007 KO loss to Sergei Kharitonov—that resulted in five brutal defeats in a short time frame.
That kind of mental baggage can stay with a fighter long after its expiration date.
Of course, he eventually added on the characteristic bulk that transformed him into the wrecking machine he is today. Better yet, striking coach Roberto Flamingo molded that raw clay into the nearly unstoppable juggernaut who went on to win the Dream, K-1 and Strikeforce championship belts.
But without a UFC belt to his name, many fans are unconcerned with his former accomplishments.
Regardless of the circumstances or justifications, the reality remains the same: Overeem was so brutally stopped by Silva that his next fight against Travis Browne at the launch of Fox Sports 1 on August 17 will be viewed as less of a comeback and more of a revival.
Over his storied 36-12-1 record, Overeem has battled opponents inside every known battleground of combat sports and endured a deluge of criticism the entire time.
Despite the recent setbacks, his head seems to be in the right place. In an interview with Bleacher Report’s Damon Martin, Overeem revealed that his sights are locked on the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
“I believe that both Browne and myself are top ranked fighters and the winner of this fight will be one step closer in getting a title shot, so in that sense I know this fight can put me right on track as I still have one goal in life and that’s becoming the UFC heavyweight champion.”
Though it’s positive to hear that he’s still determined to sit atop the division, Overeem can’t underestimate the challenge in his return fight. Browne’s 14-1 record includes 10 knockouts.
To put himself back on the radar, Overeem will have to act as if the challenge was never even a concern. To get back into title contention, he’ll need to plow through Browne like attentive fans expect him to.
Overeem is the consummate elite fighter. He has the physique, accolades and athleticism necessary to achieve absolute victory. But after a chaotic career punctuated by a widely publicized knockout loss in the world’s most prominent fight promotion, he won’t be able to ease his way into further success.
Sitting comfortably at No. 6 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings, he is in a prime position to make people forget about what happened between delivering a brutal liver kick against Brock Lesnar and the present. He can continue to enter the Octagon with the type of striking skills that no other man can hope to rival.
If he expects to challenge for the UFC heavyweight strap, he will need to remind the world why he earned the nickname “Demolition Man.”
In the land of mixed martial arts, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones are more than the sport’s foremost champions—quite honestly, they’re the UFC’s invaluable, prime real estate.
Arguably the purest …
In the land of mixed martial arts, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones are more than the sport’s foremost champions—quite honestly, they’re the UFC’s invaluable, prime real estate.
Arguably the purest form of competition, cage fighting is established, carried and progressed by its athletes to such an extent that it would be tough to imagine the sport’s continuation without the shoulders of the elite champions who carry it. The value in watching MMA is undoubtedly rooted within the roster of fighters striving for championships and beyond.
The UFC is well aware of this principle; though Zuffa has always invested in the brand before the fighter, they’ve done so in the knowledge that stars could only be established when the UFC identity had become virtually synonymous with MMA.
With a deeply entrenched network of television, sponsor and cross-promotional ties, the organization opens the window for transcendent stars to lead the sport forward.
Enter St-Pierre and Jones.
Stablemates at the famed Jackson’s MMA training center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, both champions have evolved into ambassadors of this subset of professional sports.
With his iconic loss now firmly entrenched in the minds of every fight fan, recently deposed middleweight champion Anderson Silva relinquished the distinction of holding the longest title reign of any current champion. That badge of honor now belongs to St-Pierre, with Jones trailing just behind him.
Thankfully, Jones seems to harbor no delusions of invincibility. During the UFC 165 pre-fight press conference, he made it adamantly clear that Silva’s loss would serve as an haunting reality check:
Martial arts is traditionally a sport that is based on honor and integrity and treating people with respect, and he somehow lost sight of that and he paid the ultimate price for it. I think he just got disrespectful, and the war gods just made him pay for it… It actually motivates me a lot, too, to watch somebody who I look up to lose. It’s just a reality check. I try to keep my ego in check when it comes to the fight game, and watching Anderson lose like that—first of all, it’s something I would never do, put my hands down and fight my opponent that way. But watching Chris Weidman‘s dream come true, I have to make sure to be a dream crusher.
In some bizarre way, Jones translates his whirling dervish of spinning elbows inside the cage into crossover assets when out of it. For the UFC to continue to back him, he’ll need to ensure that the only loss on his record continues to be mentioned with an asterisk and a disclaimer.
Both fighter and organization are banking on “Bones” evolving into MMA’s magnum opus. The rush of sponsors and interests from outside of combat sports originates from Jones’ status as the fiercest fighter currently competing for the UFC.
It’s clear, then, that each and every Octagon outing for either of these champions is a gamble of the highest magnitude—and the UFC knows it.
But is unrelenting domination truly a requirement for the kind of status that St-Pierre and Jones currently have with the UFC? Would there really be upheaval if they lost?
If history is any indicator, the answer would be a resounding yes.
Now residing in the UFC Hall of Fame, former light heavyweight kingpin Chuck Liddell was once the UFC’s prized effort towards the creation of a breakout superstar. But as soon as his chin started to betray him, Liddell‘s world, along with the UFC’s promotional push, came crashing down around him.
Though he stands proudly as the incumbent light heavyweight champion, Jones is perpetually walking the tightrope that separates adoration from obscurity—likely the very same balancing act Liddell experienced before him.
In light of his unprecedented run, the UFC has anointed Jones one of MMA’s chief ambassadors.
The expectation to represent an entire sport on a global stage as prominent as the UK’s BBC is nothing to be scoffed at. Yet note how calm and collected Jones is as he delivers his responses. The charm he summons in his current media affairs is no doubt the result of his aura crafted inside the cage.
In light his September title defense against Alexander Gustafsson, it’s a good thing he’s so objective about the possibility of defeat. With a recent promotion to the UFC’s vaunted No. 1 pound-for-pound distinction, pressure and expectations are at an all-time high for the budding champion.
St-Pierre’s position isn’t any easier.
Undefeated for over 2,300 days—with over 1,930 of those days representing his present title reign—the French Canadian has long been MMA’s golden prodigy. Put simply, an unblemished record of that magnitude means that, on the casual MMA fan’s radar, you may as well be undefeated.
Always polished and ever presentable, GSP knows that the UFC’s investment in his particular brand hangs in the balance when he faces off against Johny Hendricks during November’s UFC 167 title fight. Whether his income is active or passive, St-Pierre’s value to the UFC is, in principle, based upon the gold that’s been wrapped around his waist for over five years and 11 straight bouts.
In spite of their awe-inspiring string of victories paired with championship-material performances, St-Pierre and Jones are still subject to the same truism as any other MMA combatant: You’re only as good as your last fight. The consequence of sitting on a throne and breathing such rarefied air is that, if they happen to slip up, they’ve got an unimaginably great distance to go crashing down.
GSP has long been the UFC’s most lucrative pay-per-view draw. Not surprisingly, Jones is following suit. So long as they continue to be unstoppable, the organization that ushered them into the limelight will ensure the number of eyes on them continues to increase.
The mutual success shared between the UFC and these two titans is founded in their auras as longstanding, nigh-invincible champions. If Silva’s defeat at the hands of Chris Weidman was any indicator, a St-Pierre or Jones loss would be felt throughout every wrinkle and fold of the UFC.
Follow @RuskiTyoma Artem Moshkovich is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for MMA news and more.
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, UFC 163 was still left muddled by the injuries that had originally rearranged it. The otherwise-explosive champion avoided his signature leg kicks—the result of an injury to his foot shortly after the …
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, UFC 163 was still left muddled by the injuries that had originally rearranged it. The otherwise-explosive champion avoided his signature leg kicks—the result of an injury to his foot shortly after the fight began—and instead elected to attempt takedowns. Not exactly what you might expect from one of the UFC’s signature strikers.
Yet in spite of a controversial co-main event and injury-based TKO in the title fight, the bouts in Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena answered some noteworthy questions and offered a few vital lessons.
Some fighters walked away with highlight-reel submissions (see: Moraes, Sergio), while others simply walked away (see: Magalhaes, Vinny). To be completely honest, an argument can be made that Brian Stann’s commentary stole the entire show.
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, UFC 163 was still left muddled by the injuries that had originally rearranged it. The otherwise-explosive champion avoided his signature leg kicks—the result of an injury to his foot shortly after the …
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, UFC 163 was still left muddled by the injuries that had originally rearranged it. The otherwise-explosive champion avoided his signature leg kicks—the result of an injury to his foot shortly after the fight began—and instead elected to attempt takedowns. Not exactly what you might expect from one of the UFC’s signature strikers.
Yet in spite of a controversial co-main event and injury-based TKO in the title fight, the bouts in Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena answered some noteworthy questions and offered a few vital lessons.
Some fighters walked away with highlight-reel submissions (see: Moraes, Sergio), while others simply walked away (see: Magalhaes, Vinny). To be completely honest, an argument can be made that Brian Stann’s commentary stole the entire show.
With Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann II on deck for Wednesday night, fans might already feel more than excited for what this week has in store. But after Fight Night 27 comes to a close, the combat will only be getting started—on Saturday, August 31 the UFC will finish off this frenzied week by granting Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis a second go at one of the most iconic matchups in MMA history when the two square off during UFC 164‘s championship main event.
