Jose Aldo is defending his featherweight championship this Saturday in Houston, Texas against Kenny Florian. Florian is in his second fight at featherweight, and will face a big step up in competition against the Brazilian knockout artist. This will be…
Jose Aldo is defending his featherweight championship this Saturday in Houston, Texas against Kenny Florian. Florian is in his second fight at featherweight, and will face a big step up in competition against the Brazilian knockout artist. This will be an entertaining fight, and has big implications for the loser.
Florian’s first fight at featherweight was against Diego Nunes, and KenFlo was able to grind out a decision. He looked good at 145, and proved that it’s a weight he can hang at.
Jose Aldo won the belt back at WEC 44, and hasn’t looked back. He’s catapulted himself up the pound-for-pound rankings, while destroying everyone put in front of him.
At UFC 136 this is on the card as the co-main event, but it could turn out to be the biggest fight of the night.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been growing at an astronomical rate ever since Dana White and the Fertitta brothers gained ownership and control. There were many landmark events in the sport’s growth, but fighter bonuses were pivotal in turning…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been growing at an astronomical rate ever since Dana White and the Fertitta brothers gained ownership and control. There were many landmark events in the sport’s growth, but fighter bonuses were pivotal in turning the company around.
Boxing has been losing some of its fan base with the way that top fighters are performing. I love boxing, and enjoy watching a technical match, but I can see how the casual fan would get bored. Boxing isn’t delivering slugfests and brutal knockouts like it used to.
The UFC recognized this problem with combat sports, and sought to change the stigma. Their goal was to appeal to fans who are not as intense following the sport.
Bonuses were the program that they put in place to try and change the pace of fights. They have ‘fight of the night’, ‘knockout of the night’, and ‘submission of the night’. They’ve been a massive success.
Legally, the UFC isn’t allowed to tell fighters how to fight.
They found their way around that though, with bonuses. Many undercard fighters will never get a chance to get a proper UFC paycheck. They make very little money for the body of work that they put in.
Rising the UFC ranks is hard.
They only sign fighters who have winning records, and have fought in smaller promotions. Even stringing together a bunch of victories and getting on the main card won’t guarantee you a six-figure paycheck.
Most guys will get cut, and never get more than three fights. Going for a crazy submission, knockout or just fighting their heart out with an opponent could multiply their paychecks exponentially.
This goes back to the UFC vs. boxing argument. The UFC tries to make every fight entertaining. Boxing tries to save money on undercard fights, as fans usually only care about the high-profile main event.
The skill level of the guys at the bottom of the undercard in both sports are similar, but the UFC has managed to make their guys fight a whole lot harder.
The UFC is still growing, and boxing is losing its fan base. Fight bonuses are undoubtedly one of the reasons this is happening.
Jon Jones methodically dismantled Rampage Jackson at UFC 136 like everyone expected him to. His striking was top quality, and he was clearly dictating the pace of the fight.Jones will be fighting Rashad Evans next; maybe Evans has more to bring to the …
Jon Jones methodically dismantled Rampage Jackson at UFC 136 like everyone expected him to. His striking was top quality, and he was clearly dictating the pace of the fight.
Jones will be fighting Rashad Evans next; maybe Evans has more to bring to the fight, and can exploit untapped weaknesses of Jonny Bones.
Jones doesn’t have many weaknesses standing, and he’s an extremely effective clinch fighter. No fighter has been able to put a dent in his armour standing, mostly because of his very large frame and reach.
Jones’ size is a strength, but in certain situations could be a weakness. Rampage showed that leg kicks can be an effective attack against the champion. Due to the small size of his limbs, it could be easier to wear him down.
Wrestling could also be a place to try to beat Jones. It could be easier to take him down with leverage because he has a higher center of gravity.
We haven’t really seen Jon Jones on his back. His guard is very likely a weakness due to the fact that he rarely uses it. It would be interesting to see if he’s comfortable in that position.
Rashad Evans has a skill set that could prove effective against Jon Jones.
Rashad has good leg kicks, powerful hands, and is probably the best wrestler in the light heavyweight division. He’s a smart guy too, and will have a better game plan than Rampage did.
Evans will come out and try to pepper Jones with leg kicks and quick, short punches. He’ll undoubtedly go for a takedown at some point, and he has a good chance of landing it due to his wrestling skill.
Another interesting dynamic of the fight will be Rashad’s knockout power. He has more power than Jones, and can end the fight with one punch or kick.
Rashad Evans is Jon Jones’ biggest challenge in the light heavyweight division; it will be interesting to see if he can expose a weakness in the young champion.
Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for all things UFC 135. B/R is your home for MMA, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, and post-fight analysis…which you can check out at our event hub.
On Saturday, Jon Jones will make his first title defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He will face a very dangerous competitor in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jon Jones appears to be invincible; if he can run through Rampage the way that he…
On Saturday, Jon Jones will make his first title defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He will face a very dangerous competitor in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jon Jones appears to be invincible; if he can run through Rampage the way that he has the rest of his competition, he could be poised to hold the title for a very long time.
Jon Jones is a physical freak who has some of the most exciting and unorthodox striking that MMA has ever seen.
Rampage Jackson has been a man on a mission trying to get his belt back after he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. His boxing is top-notch, and he can knock out any fighter in the blink of an eye.
This fight could be one of the best in UFC history; only one of these light heavyweight warriors can emerge victorious.
The UFC usually does a good job of matchmaking and putting together entertaining fight cards. I think they made a mistake with Henderson vs Guida though. This has fight of the night written all over it, and it could be wasted on the undercard.Most UFC …
The UFC usually does a good job of matchmaking and putting together entertaining fight cards. I think they made a mistake with Henderson vs Guida though. This has fight of the night written all over it, and it could be wasted on the undercard.
Most UFC fans know Clay Guida; he looks like a caveman and fights like he’s on some type of crazy stimulant. Guida has a motor that’s constantly going, and the only way to slow him down is to submit him, or knock him out (if it’s possible).
Ben Henderson is relatively unknown to UFC fans, but made a lot of noise in the WEC. Henderson fought for the WEC Lightweight Championship, won it and then defended his belt twice.
You’ve probably seen the fight where Henderson lost his belt; it was the fight where Anthony Pettis ran off the fence like a ninja and kicked him in the face. Henderson wasn’t knocked out by the kick and finished the fight, only to lose by decision.
The UFC has now merged with the WEC, and Henderson is a rising star. He has racked up two consecutive wins against Mark Bocek and Jim Miller. Guida is a step up in competition.
Guida is a decent striker, but focuses mostly on his wrestling. Fighters need to make sure that Guida doesn’t get on top. His hair is annoying when he is on top, as is his control and relentlessness.
Ben Henderson is more well rounded. Physically he’s one of the most gifted lightweights in the division. He’s a top-notch wrestler, and has solid kicks and average boxing.
Henderson’s most impressive attribute might be the fact that his limbs are made of something that would make Superman jealous. To this point in his career, it appears that Henderson can’t be choked out or have limbs broken.
It’s not for lack of effort. Against Donald Cerrone, Henderson got put in every kind of submission imaginable, and walked away unscathed.
The energy of this fight will be through the roof. It’s a shame that it will only be three rounds, because these guys could go for seven and still be exciting to watch.
Let’s hope that the UFC snaps out of it, and puts this potential fight-of-the-year onto the main fight card.
At UFC 134 in Rio De Janeiro, Anderson Silva showed once again that he’s on another level than any fighter at 185 pounds.He dismantled his opponent Yushin Okami, who appeared unworthy of even being in the ring with the champion Silva.Silva’s striking i…
At UFC 134 in Rio De Janeiro, Anderson Silva showed once again that he’s on another level than any fighter at 185 pounds.
He dismantled his opponent YushinOkami, who appeared unworthy of even being in the ring with the champion Silva.
Silva’s striking is brilliant, and it was on full display Saturday night. Silva mixes up combinations well, and is capable of landing one-punch knockouts. He is pinpoint accurate, and very rarely wastes any strikes.
On the ground he is vastly underrated. He manages to beat anybody he fights on the ground, and has good submission ability.
ChaelSonnen was able to hold down Silva for the majority of five rounds, but was submitted in the last 30 seconds of the fight. Apparently Silva had a broken rib for that one, which would explain his poor performance.
I personally don’t give that any credit though. I believe that if a fighter steps into the ring, he should accept whatever outcome results. He was healthy enough to still pull off the victory though.
The Sonnen fight proved significant, in that it exemplified Silva’s resiliency. The fact that he was able to win a fight after being beaten up for so long really showed that he is a true champion.
Other than ChaelSonnen, no fighter has seemed to have even the slightest chance of winning.
It’s clear that middleweight has nothing left to offer to the MMA legend. A fight at any other division would prove to be more intriguing than another one-sider middleweight beat down.
The UFC keeps saying that Silva will get a bigger fight after his middleweight title fights; the time is now.
Anderson Silva is big enough to move up to light heavyweight and still be among the tallest and largest in the division. When he isn’t fighting he walks around above 220 pounds.
The middleweight division is stagnant and has nothing to offer its remarkable champion. It’s time for The Spider to make his run at another division title.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been growing at an astronomical rate ever since