Author: Ben Fowlkes

UFC 135: By the Odds

Filed under: UFCThe main eventers have worked out their issues with Dr. Phil and the guys lower down the card have had a chance to discuss what their fights ultimately mean, so I suppose it’s time to turn to the betting experts to find out how they see…

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The main eventers have worked out their issues with Dr. Phil and the guys lower down the card have had a chance to discuss what their fights ultimately mean, so I suppose it’s time to turn to the betting experts to find out how they see the action going down at UFC 135.

Jon Jones (-600) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (+400)

Based on all the pre-fight hype, you wouldn’t know this main event is, at least according to oddsmakers, a bit of a squash match. And yet, these are the people who get paid to handicap fights, and this is actually one of the more reasonable lines out there. Some have Jones as high as 7-1. Can so many professional gamblers be wrong?

Well, sure they could. Especially with a fighter who’s as young and untested as Jones. He’s dominated every opponent so thoroughly that it’s hard to imagine a plodding, predictable striker like Jackson surprising him with anything new. If I had to guess, I’d say Jones is thinking the same thing right now. If he goes into this fight thinking that Jackson has nothing for him, he could end up learning a painful lesson about respecting his elders. Punching power is the last desperate hope of many an aging fighter, and it’s been Jackson’s saving grace a time or two in the past. His best chance is to catch Jones slipping and rock him with one hard shot. Then again, no one’s been able to do it yet.
My pick: Jones. The betting line is clearly insane, but money ventured on Jackson is money you need to be prepared to never see again. He needs to get in close and hook in order to have a chance. I fear the closest he’ll get to Jones is during the pre-fight staredown.


Matt Hughes (+300) vs. Josh Koscheck (-450)

I love an underdog pick as much as anyone (see also: my regrettable decision to pick Jason MacDonald last week), but I don’t see how Hughes has much of a chance here. What, does he outwrestle the bigger, stronger Koscheck? Nope. Does he floor him with his polished striking? Probably not. Does he submit him off his back? C’mon son. Hughes holds no obvious advantages over a guy like Koscheck, with the possible exception that he’s been in pre-fight training mode a little longer. But even though Koscheck took this fight on short notice, both men have had comparable layoffs, and both had to deal with a new opponent three weeks out. Maybe Hughes can come right out and put some leather on Koscheck’s surgically-repaired eye, but Country Breakfast wasn’t known for his stellar hand speed even in his prime, and he’s a long way from that now.
My pick: Koscheck. Again, atrocious odds, but fitting ones. We’d probably have more fun betting on whether this will be Hughes’ retirement fight. I got a sawbuck that says it is.

Travis Browne (-350) vs. Rob Broughton (+265)

Browne is now in his fourth UFC fight, and so far the most vulnerable we’ve seen him look was when Cheick Kongo pressed him up against the fence and clung to his shorts en route to a yawn-worthy draw. Maybe that was the smart way to play it, since as Stefan Struve found out back in May, this big man can swat. That could be why oddsmakers aren’t so hot on Broughton’s chances. He’ll be giving up about four inches in height to the 6’7″ Browne, and the Brit has yet to beat any really impressive heavyweights (no offense to James Thompson and Butterbean, both of whom have losses against Broughton). His best chance might be to get Browne to the mat, where his size and reach won’t be such a problem. That’s easier said than done against this behemoth.
My pick: Browne. With all these huge favorites in my parlay, I’m going to have to find a crazier-than-usual underdog pick soon…

Nate Diaz (-250) vs. Takanori Gomi (+190)

After being overpowered at welterweight, Diaz is back in the division where he’s had the most success and is taking on one of his brother’s former foes. It seems like a match-up that’s made for Diaz. Here he has a submittable opponent who probably won’t try to out-wrestle him. All he has to do is not get knocked out. That shouldn’t be so hard, since both Diaz boys seem to have been born with iron chins. It’s a good thing, too, what with their willingness to stand there and let people test their fists on them.
My pick: Diaz. I know, another favorite. Sorry, but I just don’t see Gomi winning too many fights these days that he can’t end with a single punch.

Ben Rothwell (-300) vs. Mark Hunt (+240)

If you’re looking for a big underdog who’s worth a risk, it’s now or never. Hunt has almost zero ground game. We know this — and when I say ‘we,’ I’m including Rothwell. The smart thing to do would be for Rothwell to get it to the mat as early as possible and hope that Hunt still hasn’t learned even the basics when it comes to submission defense. And honestly, I think that’s probably what will happen. But there’s always that chance, however remote, that Hunt lands one good punch and changes everything. Every round does start on the feet, after all. And — who knows — maybe after 15 months away from the scene Rothwell thinks he has to prove something by coming in there and knocking Hunt out. It would be a bad idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the question.
My pick: Hunt. Man, I do not feel good about that. If Rothwell plays it smart, I think he submits him in the first round. But all that time off, plus Hunt’s heavy hands, multiplied by my need to find a crazy underdog, equals small action on Hunt.

Quick Picks:

– Nick Ring (+120) over Tim Boetsch (-150). Call me crazy, but I don’t think Boetsch will be able to run his usual wrestling schtick here. And when that doesn’t work, he’s all out of ideas.

– James Te Huna (-155) over Ricardo Romero (+125). Te Huna’s just a little bigger and more aggressive, plus he needs this more.

The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Jones + Koscheck + Browne + Diaz. It’s not sexy, but at least it’s secure.

 

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The Cut List: Who’s in Desperate Need of a Win at UFC 135?

Filed under: UFCUFC 135 in Denver may feature a title fight at the top of the card, but it also includes its share of fighters who are struggling just to get back in the win column. Some get more second chances than others to turn a losing skid around,…

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UFC 135 in Denver may feature a title fight at the top of the card, but it also includes its share of fighters who are struggling just to get back in the win column. Some get more second chances than others to turn a losing skid around, but there are at least a couple who could be looking at a win-or-go-home scenario.

Who are they, and what are their chances to stay employed after Saturday night? For answers and analysis, we turn to The Cut List.

Nate Diaz (13-7, 8-5 UFC)
Who he’s facing: Takanori Gomi
Why he’s in danger: Don’t look now, but the younger Diaz brother has lost two straight in the UFC after being outgrappled by both Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald. There’s no shame in losing to either of those beasts, but three in a row is still a dangerous place to be, so he needs this one against Gomi. What complicates matters is Nick Diaz’s suddenly shaky footing with the UFC, though I’m not sure if it helps or hurts Nate in the end. With Nick around, you get a real appreciation for how reasonable and easy to work with Nate is. Plus, just how much would the already paranoid, conspiracy theory-prone Nick freak out if the UFC cut his brother so shortly after his own troubles with the Zuffa overlords? I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to find out. The best thing for all non-Gomi parties would be for Nate to win this fight and save his bosses the trouble of making those decisions. Still, you can bet that Gomi remembers what happened in his infamous Pride bout with Nick and is eager for a little revenge against Stockton’s first family of fisticuffs.
Odds of getting cut: 4-1. This is a fight Diaz should win, since Gomi will likely be content to keep it on the feet, where Diaz’s height and reach should give him problems. Even if he loses, he’s still an exciting enough fighter to warrant one more chance. The only thing he really can’t do is follow in his brother’s footsteps and fail the drug test.


Matt Hughes (45-8, 18-6 UFC)
Who he’s facing: Josh Koscheck
Why he’s in danger: Okay, so Hughes isn’t really looking at a potential cut per se, but rather a contract that might not be renewed once this final fight is in the books. And honestly? That’s not such a bad thing. Hughes will be 38 in October, and the welterweight division of today is not the same one he dominated half a decade ago. If he sticks around he’s probably looking at an increasingly depressing game of diminishing returns, and for what? He doesn’t need the money and he’s got nothing left to prove in this sport. In fact, the worst-case scenario might be that he upsets Josh Koscheck and decides that Matt Hughes is back, baby! Then he might actually get a new contract, and before you know it he’s the 40-year-old ex-champion getting thumped by Seth Baczynski in a co-co-main event. The best thing might be for him to ride off into the sunset here, which seems a lot more likely to happen if he ends up taking the beating that oddsmakers are forecasting. Koscheck is like a younger, more powerful, and slightly more abrasive version of Hughes. In a bizarre way, it could be the perfect passing of the torch.
Odds of getting cut not retained: Even. I think Hughes is in for a rough night against Koscheck, and I expect that will only make it easier for him to decide that he’d rather be at home in Hillsboro. It’s the right call and the right time for it.

Takanori Gomi (32-7-1 NC, 1-2 UFC)
Who he’s facing: Nate Diaz
Why he’s in danger: Gomi managed to sandwich a knockout win over Tyson Griffin in between losses to Kenny Florian and Clay Guida, so it’s not as if he’s been fighting chumps since coming to the UFC. At the same time, winning more fights than you lose is the best way to ensure job security. A loss to Diaz and Gomi falls to 1-3 in the Octagon, and right after his 33rd birthday. That might make the Japanese lightweight seem like a bad bet to the UFC brass, especially when you look at the uninspired last few years of his career. He can be an exciting slugger when he gets the chance to fight his fight, but he also seems to lack the overall game necessary to ever become a serious contender in a division full of bull-headed wrestlers.
Odds of getting cut: 5-1. Unless he loses very, very badly, “The Fireball Kid” is probably sticking around at least until the UFC’s Japanese invasion in 2012.

Takeya Mizugaki (14-6-2, 1-1 UFC)
Who he’s facing: Cole Escovedo
Why he’s in danger: Right off I’ll just say it — Mizugaki should consider himself lucky to have made the cut when the UFC absorbed the WEC. He was up and down for his entire stay in the WEC, winning the easier ones and losing the tough ones. Not that defeats to guys like Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres are signs that you suck, but let’s be honest and admit that the current lack of depth in the bantamweight division hasn’t hurt Mizugaki any. This prelim bout against Cole Escovedo is a little like the scene in Dark Knight where The Joker drops a broken pool cue in the middle of some faceless henchmen for “tryouts.”
Odds of getting cut: 2-1. This is a very winnable fight for Mizugaki, who can take a beating with the best of them. If he’s smart, he’ll approach it as a must-win and behave accordingly.

Cole Escovedo (17-7, 0-1 UFC)
Who he’s facing: Takeya Mizugaki
Why he’s in danger: Escovedo’s career has been a rollercoaster ride in more ways than one. He’s been up and down in weight, while also following impressive winning streaks with strings of losses. He’s 1-3 in his last four, and that one wasn’t against a particularly impressive opponent. In his lone UFC bout to date he lost a unanimous decision to Nova Uniao standout Renan Barao. He and Mizugaki are fairly evenly matched, so there’s no better time to show the brass that he can be something other than an opponent. But with the way he’s been going lately, he probably won’t get too many more chances to do it.
Odds of getting cut: Even. I give Mizugaki the slight edge in this one. If Escovedo can’t pull it out, there won’t be many reasons for the UFC to keep him around.

 

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In Last Fight of UFC Contract, Matt Hughes Says Outcome ‘Won’t Really Matter’

Filed under: UFCWhen Matt Hughes steps into the Octagon against Josh Koscheck at UFC 135, it will be the 25th fight of his UFC career and the last on his current contract. The former champ turns 38 this October, and he’s not sure what his future holds….

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Matt HughesWhen Matt Hughes steps into the Octagon against Josh Koscheck at UFC 135, it will be the 25th fight of his UFC career and the last on his current contract. The former champ turns 38 this October, and he’s not sure what his future holds.

“My wife tells me I’m done fighting,” Hughes told reporters on Monday’s media call. “She wanted me to quit after the B.J. [Penn] fight. But we’ll just see. We’ll just see what I feel like and what the UFC wants to do.”

If you’re the UFC, a lot might depend on how Hughes looks against Koscheck. It’s a pairing that Hughes wasn’t eager to accept back when Koscheck and the other welterweights from the AKA squad lobbied for it a couple years ago. But after Diego Sanchez pulled out of the September 24 bout due to a broken hand, Hughes thought he might end up without any opponent at all in Denver.

“The first thing that went through my mind was, here I’ve been training for quite a while and expecting to fight on this card and now it’s not going to happen. It was kind of confusing when [UFC president Dana White] called me,” said Hughes, who added that he was first told he might be fighting another AKA 170-pounder, Jon Fitch.

That was the last he heard before boarding a flight, Hughes said. By the time he landed, he found out the UFC wanted him to face Koscheck instead.

“Really, it’s Dana’s call,” he said. “It’s not even my call to decide who it’s going to be. So I said, yeah, whoever you want.”

Coming off his knockout loss to Penn at UFC 123, Hughes had no problem with a considerable layoff between fights. Having ten months to train more casually and pursue other interests “is fine with me,” he explained.

But as he approaches the final fight of his contract, it’s difficult to tell what kind of future Hughes might have inside the Octagon. It seems unlikely that he’ll ever again find himself as a top contender for the UFC welterweight title, and he’s already secured his legacy as one of the most dominant UFC champions and a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame.

At this point, what’s driving him to keep getting in the cage with younger opponents who are still trying to make their name in the sport?

“It’s competition,” Hughes said. “I think that’s what drives your top athletes in the UFC, getting in there against one other person and mixing it up. I don’t have to rely on four other basketball teammates to score a basket or anything. I just have to rely on myself. The fact that it’s just me and one other person competing in there, that’s my drive right there.”

According to many oddsmakers, Koscheck is somewhere in the neighborhood of a 5-1 favorite to beat Hughes on Saturday night. If they’re right, you have to wonder where that will leave the former champ.

With two consecutive losses in his late-30s, a new contract for Hughes would seem like little more than an insurance policy to keep him from taking his talents outside the organization. With an upset victory over a top welterweight like Koscheck, however, it might only get harder for Hughes to convince himself that it’s time to walk away.

But if his immediate future with the UFC really is riding on this fight, don’t tell Hughes. He insists it doesn’t matter, as if winning and losing in the final fight of your contract both lead to the same end. And, when you’re in Hughes’ position, maybe they do.

“This is the last fight on my contract, so the outcome of this fight won’t really matter, to be honest,” he said. “After this fight — win or lose, doesn’t matter — I’ll talk to the UFC and we’ll figure out what we want to do.”

If things don’t go Hughes’ way in Denver, it could be one more decision that is ultimately Dana White’s call.

 

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Josh Koscheck Talks Matt Hughes: ‘Fans Deserved This Fight a Long Time Ago’

Filed under: UFCWhen Josh Koscheck first heard that there might be an opportunity to finally get a fight with former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes after he’d long since given up lobbying for it, he didn’t have to think too hard about his answer.

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When Josh Koscheck first heard that there might be an opportunity to finally get a fight with former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes after he’d long since given up lobbying for it, he didn’t have to think too hard about his answer.

“Diego Sanchez broke his hand and I eventually got a phone call from [manager] ‘Crazy’ Bob Cook and he’s like, ‘Hey, you want to fight Matt Hughes?'” Koscheck said on Monday’s UFC 135 media call. “I didn’t even hesitate. I was like, when are we fighting him?”


What Koscheck didn’t realize, he said, was that this was a late replacement fight. He’d been “so out of the loop” after coming back from a long layoff following an eye injury he suffered against Georges St-Pierre that he didn’t realize Hughes was supposed to fight Sanchez on September 24 in Denver, so he wasn’t expecting to hear Cook tell him that the bout was just three weeks away.

But, Koscheck said, he’d taken enough time off already. For the man who considers himself “always two or three weeks away from being ready to fight,” it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“I was like, yep, let’s do it,” Koscheck said. “I’m in shape, let’s go. I didn’t hesitate to take the fight.”

Koscheck hasn’t set foot in the Octagon since losing a unanimous decision to St-Pierre in their five-round title fight at UFC 124. He suffered a broken orbital bone in that fight, thanks to an early jab from GSP, and the pain was even worse than when he’d accidentally severed his own toe at four years of age while “doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing with a hatchet,” Koscheck said.

The pain of that experience “didn’t compare to the eye injury,” according to Koscheck, who added that he “got through it via pain pills and morphine that night.”

“It was a fun experience, needless to say, that I don’t want to go through ever again,” he quipped.

That was a little over nine months ago, but Koscheck could have come back sooner, he said. He took a little extra time off to “focus on some other areas outside of fighting,” and was planning to return at UFC 139 in San Jose, possibly at middleweight in a rematch with Chris Leben or even a bout against recent Leben knockout victim Wanderlei Silva.

“I was just looking for a big fight, and things happen for a reason,” he said. “I texted Dana White the day of all the confusion with Diego breaking his hand and I said hey, it’s your favorite son, Kos. Make sure I get that fight with Matt Hughes.”

White did just that, apparently. After Hughes agreed to it, the fight that Koscheck had given up on was finally his, albeit after a long layoff from the sport and a short training camp to prepare.

If the timing is of any concern to Koscheck, however, you sure wouldn’t know it.

“Fighting Matt Hughes is a good comeback fight for me,” he said. “I think the fans deserved this fight a long time ago, and now we’re getting the opportunity to do it.”

Better late than never, perhaps. And after what he went through following the GSP fight — not to mention the vague horror of the hatchet incident — how much can there really be left for him to fear?

 

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‘Rampage’ Jackson: I Got No Respect for Jon Jones

Filed under: UFCAs pre-fight verbal battles go, the one between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is starting to get a little bit meta. During Monday’s UFC 135 media call, it was less about what’s being s…

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As pre-fight verbal battles go, the one between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is starting to get a little bit meta. During Monday’s UFC 135 media call, it was less about what’s being said than what was said, and who said it first.

Not surprisingly, the two could not reach a consensus on the topic.

According to Jackson, it was Jones who kicked things off by acting “real cocky” at the first press conference to hype their main event title fight. Jones, who claimed he was “waiting for an example or a quote” to illustrate Jackson’s point, said he’s doing his best not to get caught up in the pre-fight talk — though, by the way, it’s all Jackson’s doing.

“My job is not to out-talk him,” Jones said on Monday. “You’re talking about an opponent who threatens and harasses literally every opponent in his career’s history, and I’m very aware of this. So I’ll let him talk and have fun and make me look like the scared one, but when I’m in the Octagon on the 24th, that’s when I’ll demand more respect.”


Jackson, of course, bristled at the suggestion that he’s a habitual trash-talker.

“If you go back and look at my interviews [before fights with] Marvin Eastman and Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson and other guys, I react the way the guys act towards me,” he countered, adding that Jones had set him off with his disrespectful, “cocky” attitude at the initial Denver presser.

“The guy has never walked the way I’ve walked in this sport, and basically the guy just said the wrong [expletive] and I treat him the way I treat him because I got no respect for him,” Jackson said.

Still, the most heated public exchange between the two came during Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 25 broadcast on Spike, when the UFC’s Joe Rogan asked about Jackson’s allegations that Jones had a spy in his camp.

Jones seemed flustered by the topic, and said on Monday that what he’s really confused about is how fans could believe he’d actually go to the lengths that Jackson had alleged, all just to get inside information from his opponent’s training camp.

“The only thing that bothered me initially was the spygate situation,” Jones said. “And it wasn’t the situation necessarily, it was the fact that fans actually considered the fact that I would pay someone to…first of all, find someone to go to his camp and then pay someone and try to get Rampage to trust them, and all this ludicrousness, I thought that was pretty interesting that the fans would think I would do something like that.”

While Jones drew contrasts between his bout with former Pride champ “Shogun” Rua and this fight with another Pride veteran in Jackson, he added that it was still “a huge honor” to fight an experienced mainstay of the sport like “Rampage.”

Jackson, too, acknowledged that Jones “has skills,” and said he plans to do his part to help him advance those skills after Saturday night.

“After I relieve him of his first loss, I think Jon will go on to be a better fighter because he won’t have all that pressure of being undefeated,” Jackson said. “…I’m just the person to give him that first [expletive]-whooping so he can go on and be a great fighter that I know he can be.”

If you’re looking for these two to find something nice to say about one another, that might be as close as you’re going to get.

 

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC Fight Night 25

Filed under: UFCThe lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried UFC Fight Night 25 in the headlines, but there were no shortage of ups and downs in New Orleans on Saturday night.

It’s time again to look at the bi…

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The lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried UFC Fight Night 25 in the headlines, but there were no shortage of ups and downs in New Orleans on Saturday night.

It’s time again to look at the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the UFC’s most recent offering.

Biggest Winner: Jake Ellenberger
A 53-second TKO win over a guy who hasn’t been finished in over a decade? Yeah, that’s pretty huge, especially since that guy went five rounds with the champ in a losing effort just five months ago. But now what do you do with Ellenberger? He’s won five straight in the UFC, with only one of those fights going the distance, and yet he’s had trouble gaining traction in the contender conversation at welterweight. This win should change that, but how much? The only people who were surprised to see Ellenberger win this fight were those who hadn’t followed his career before now. He’s a superb athlete, a well-rounded fighter with no glaring weakness, and — maybe soon — a top contender.

Biggest Loser: Jason MacDonald
With the loss to Belcher, “The Athlete” fell to 1-2 in his latest UFC run. Even worse is that he did not look good doing it. MacDonald’s plan seemed to be to get Belcher to the mat however possible, even if he had to pull him straight into his guard. But as soon as Belcher stung him with a couple elbows from the top, MacDonald looked like he might be considering other ways to spend a Saturday night. There’s no shame in losing to a quality middleweight like Belcher, but when you don’t put up much of a fight it makes people wonder: does MacDonald still really want to be doing this for a living, or is it just the best idea he can think of at the moment? If you’re not all the way in this sport, there are plenty of guys who can help you all the way out — but they aren’t going to be nice about it.

Most Sympathetic: Jake Shields
We could argue over whether his loss had anything to do with him fighting just a few weeks after the death of his father (who was also his manager), but it doesn’t matter. The mere fact that he didn’t drop out of this fight, that he kept going to the gym and walked in that cage when his name was called tells you a lot about his character and his determination. I don’t know how he did it, nor do I know if, in the end, it was such a good idea. I just hope the UFC appreciates the kind of person and fighter they have here. A lot of the guys on the roster wouldn’t have done what he did, and nobody could have blamed them. Shields stepped up and got beat, but no one can question his mental toughness. At least now he’ll get some time to go home and grieve.

Best Prospect: Erik Koch
He’s now won four straight dating back to his WEC days, and two in a row in the UFC. The solid takedown defense he showed against Brookins compliments his stand-up game well, even if you’d still like to see him get a little more aggressive with his striking when he’s finding his target as easily as he did on Saturday night. Still, he’s got a ton of potential and he’s not yet 23 years old. I don’t know where Duke Roufus finds these lumps of clay to mold to his liking, but he has something worth developing with Koch.

Not Quite Ready for Primetime: Jonathan Brookins
It’s fine to go into a fight planning on taking it to the ground. But when you can’t get it, you eventually have to change strategies. Brookins didn’t, and after getting out-struck when the fight stayed at a distance, he had to know he wasn’t going to win that decision. On one hand, maybe it’s encouraging that he can stick to a game plan so well. On the other, when you can’t get past step one of that game plan, it’s time to look for a different path. Takedowns and top control might have been good enough to win TUF, but he’s got to find something else to threaten people with if he’s going to find success at the next level.

Least Affected by a Layoff: Alan Belcher
I admit, I was a little worried about how Belcher would look after being gone from the cage for the last 14 months. That’s a tough chunk of time for a 27-year-old fighter to lose, and some need to ease back into action more than others. But as he was putting a serious hurt on MacDonald in the first round, Belcher looked as though he’d never left. We didn’t get to see much of his timing on the feet, but his aggression and finishing instincts are still clearly intact. That’s reassuring, because Belcher seemed like he was just finding his groove when those sudden eye issues halted his progress. Now that he’s back, look out.

Stealthiest Ascent: Court McGee
It’s got to be hard to know what to do with McGee, who is quietly stacking up wins. Nearly a year went by between his first post-TUF UFC bout and this decision win, and that time is critical when you’re riding that fickle reality TV show fame. In his fight against Yang, as in his previous fight against Ryan Jensen, he started a little slow but showed impressive resiliency down the stretch. It’s almost as if he needs to get nailed with a good shot before he steps his game up and gets serious about his offense. He’s now 2-0 in the UFC since winning the reality show, but those two wins were stretched out over eleven months, so it’s not as if there’s a real groundswell of fan energy behind him. Maybe the best thing is for the UFC to keep gradually increasing the level of competition, hoping that he can stay healthy enough to stay in the picture. At least that beard makes him difficult to forget.

 

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