Author: Ben Fowlkes

Junior dos Santos Plans to Target Brock Lesnar’s ‘Weak Chin’

Filed under: UFCJunior dos Santos said he knows exactly what he has to do to beat Brock Lesnar when the two heavyweights meet at UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada, and the game plan shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

As dos Santos told Ariel H…

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Junior dos Santos said he knows exactly what he has to do to beat Brock Lesnar when the two heavyweights meet at UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada, and the game plan shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

As dos Santos told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, success in this fight will depend on his ability to defend against Lesnar’s takedowns and target the former champ’s suspect chin.

“He’s a wrestler, so he feels uncomfortable when people throw punches on him,” dos Santos told Helwani. “I think his fight against Cain Velasquez shows good things for me, because I think he’s got a weak chin. I will try to use that, try to throw some punches and…try to use my boxing.”

Junior dos Santos Plans to Target Brock Lesnar’s ‘Weak Chin’

Filed under: UFCJunior dos Santos said he knows exactly what he has to do to beat Brock Lesnar when the two heavyweights meet at UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada, and the game plan shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

As dos Santos told Ariel H…

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Junior dos Santos said he knows exactly what he has to do to beat Brock Lesnar when the two heavyweights meet at UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada, and the game plan shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

As dos Santos told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, success in this fight will depend on his ability to defend against Lesnar’s takedowns and target the former champ’s suspect chin.

“He’s a wrestler, so he feels uncomfortable when people throw punches on him,” dos Santos told Helwani. “I think his fight against Cain Velasquez shows good things for me, because I think he’s got a weak chin. I will try to use that, try to throw some punches and…try to use my boxing.”

How a Decision Victory Left Pat Barry Shaken and Confused

People keep telling Pat Barry he needs to get over the Joey Beltran fight. You won the decision, they say. So what if you didn’t knock him out? A victory is a victory. Take it and move on.

Barry hears them, and he knows they’re right. But after landin…

People keep telling Pat Barry he needs to get over the Joey Beltran fight. You won the decision, they say. So what if you didn’t knock him out? A victory is a victory. Take it and move on.

Barry hears them, and he knows they’re right. But after landing so many of his trademark kicks to Beltran’s legs and head throughout their three-round affair at the UFC’s second ‘Fight for the Troops’ event in January, Barry is still shaken by his inability to stop, or even seriously damage Beltran with what he thought were fight-ending strikes.

“I can’t let it go,” Barry told MMA Fighting. “I’m baffled. That’s a riddle I can’t solve. Out of the hundreds of kickboxing fights I’ve had and all the MMA fights I’ve done, I’ve never seen that. I’m shocked. It makes no sense, and I can’t figure it out. I’ve never kicked a heavybag that many times, and the guy was still walking. No bruises, no swelling, nothing. [He was] back in the gym on Monday doing squats and getting kicked by other people.”

From Drinking Buddies to Champs, Melendez and Shields Pushed Each Other

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceJake Shields and Gilbert Melendez would love to be able to tell people that it was their mutual love of martial arts that first united them in friendship, but it isn’t true.

These days the top UFC welterweight contender a…

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Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez would love to be able to tell people that it was their mutual love of martial arts that first united them in friendship, but it isn’t true.

These days the top UFC welterweight contender and the Strikeforce lightweight champ seem like dedicated training partners who have successfully pushed each other toward a common goal, but it wasn’t always the case. Instead, it was their shared interest a completely different pursuit that first brought them together.

“Jake was looking for someone to party with,” Melendez recalled. “I was like, hell yeah.”

Then a student at San Francisco State, Melendez wasn’t the type to turn down that request, so the two future MMA champions got together over a drink or twelve.

Eight Ways of Looking at the Enigma of Nick Diaz

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceMiscreant, malcontent, misunderstood genius, rebel with a mostly imagined cause. Whatever you think of Nick Diaz, everyone thinks something.

After his 10th straight win and third consecutive title defense against Paul Dal…

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Miscreant, malcontent, misunderstood genius, rebel with a mostly imagined cause. Whatever you think of Nick Diaz, everyone thinks something.

After his 10th straight win and third consecutive title defense against Paul Daley in what may have been one of MMA’s greatest one-round fights, it seems fitting to take a closer look at one of our sport’s most fascinating – and, at times, frustrating – figures.

I. Diaz is a man with the virtues of his faults. When it comes to stuff like showing up for media responsibilities or doing interviews (without threatening anyone) or doing any of the other little things that normal people take for granted, he struggles. When it comes to slugging it out against a man with the proven ability to knock people unconscious with a single blow – also known as the kind of thing most normal people could never do – he excels. The easy things are hard for him, and the hard things are easy. It’s the same with his fighting style. The qualities that make him capable of brawling to a win over a guy like Daley are the same qualities that make him refuse to use his own ground game even when it might be the smarter choice. He never backs away from conflict, and yet he sees conflicts even when there are none. At least he’s consistent.

Falling Action: Diaz vs. Daley

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceBeing at the Valley View Casino Center for a Strikeforce event and watching the occasional ‘Ultimate Fighter’ ad on the big screen while Dana White and Scott Coker sat nearby, there were moments on Saturday night that felt …

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Being at the Valley View Casino Center for a Strikeforce event and watching the occasional ‘Ultimate Fighter’ ad on the big screen while Dana White and Scott Coker sat nearby, there were moments on Saturday night that felt a little too much like a dream you might have after drinking too much Rockstar and passing out on the couch with Spike TV on.

The fact that Nick Diaz brawled his way to a victory over Paul Daley only made it seem more surreal, and in the end I found myself wondering whether this was the best single night of Strikeforce fights I’d ever seen.

The answer? Probably, yeah. Which makes it seem a little bittersweet that it came on a card that Coker and his staff set up, only to have the UFC swoop in just in time to reap the rewards.

Now that it’s all over, time to sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley.