Author: Brian Mazique

Anderson Silva: Spider Would Be Wise to Avoid Jon Jones

Anderson Silva is the middleweight king, but Jon Jones is too big and too skilled at his size for even the Spider to handle.Jones recently appeared on the Max and Marcellus show, and he discussed the prospects of the fight. He was very clear in stating…

Anderson Silva is the middleweight king, but Jon Jones is too big and too skilled at his size for even the Spider to handle.

Jones recently appeared on the Max and Marcellus show, and he discussed the prospects of the fight. He was very clear in stating that it wasn’t something he was interested in:

It’s not that he won’t fight me or I won’t fight him. To be dead honest, it’s that we both have a lot to lose and we both respect each other a lot and we both are striving for personal greatness. I don’t want to crack on his greatness and I don’t want him cracking on my greatness.

I respect Jones’ honesty. He didn’t try to make it seem like others were holding a fight back. Though he may get some flack for allowing his financial reasons and personal feelings about Silva to interfere, I understand his position.

At Jones’ height (6’4″) and age (24), it isn’t likely he could come down to fight Silva at middleweight. He’s still growing into his body, Silva would have to come up to light heavyweight to make it happen.

Silva is 6’2″ and 37 years old, he is what he is at this point.

Because of the size difference, calling a Jones vs. Silva fight a mismatch doesn’t mean that Jones is a better fighter. It’s just that seeing Silva that heavy wouldn’t really be the Spider we know, and the matchup would not end well for the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

Jones is considered a big light heavyweight at 6’4″. Dana White believes Jones will eventually be a heavyweight, per David King of Yahoo. Putting Silva in the octagon with a light heavyweight/heavyweight tweener is a bit much.

Not to mention one as skilled and dangerous as Jones.

Jones and Silva at middleweight would be a real challenge for the Spider, having Silva move up is suicide. I hope Spider finishes his career at middleweight.

There is no need to cloud his greatness with an unfair fight.

 

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Ronda Rousey: Strikeforce Champ Lights Up ESPN Body Issue

Ronda Rousey can fight, specifically she is a vicious submission artist. Her fighting style is exciting and aggressive. She may be set to excite her fans in a new way.Once they get a load of the Strikeforce champ in the new ESPN the Body issue, it’ll c…

Ronda Rousey can fight, specifically she is a vicious submission artist. Her fighting style is exciting and aggressive. She may be set to excite her fans in a new way.

Once they get a load of the Strikeforce champ in the new ESPN the Body issue, it’ll change the way you look at her.

For those that are unaware of the concept, ESPN does an annual issue of their self-titled magazine that shows prominent athletes “tastefully” nude.

Rousey is one of the athletes that appear this year, and she does not disappoint. She and surfer Maya Gabeira stole the show for me. Click here to see the full slideshow.

The 5’6″, 135 pound Rousey hails from Venice, California, and she certainly has a body fit for the beach—or the cage, the swimming pool, the grocery store or wherever else she lets you take her.

One look at these pictures, and if you didn’t already know, you would never guess that this young lady goes by the name: Rowdy Ronda.

She is the current Strikeforce bantamweight champion, having defeated all of her opponents via armbar. Her base discipline is Judo, and she is so accomplished in that discipline that she qualified for the 2004 Olympic team at 17 years old.

Now she’s 25 years old, and most would agree that she has grown up nicely.

She was already gaining popularity because of her fighting skills; this will only augment her rise. Ronda, I salute you for your multitude of talents and girl-next-door sexiness.

 

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UFC 148: Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin Should Retire After Thrilling Bout

Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin put on an entertaining—but slow—show at UFC 148. For the sake of themselves and MMA fans, I hope this is the last time we see them competing.The two warriors have tremendous heart and resolve, and I will forev…

Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin put on an entertaining—but slow—show at UFC 148. For the sake of themselves and MMA fans, I hope this is the last time we see them competing.

The two warriors have tremendous heart and resolve, and I will forever respect the Huntington Beach Bad Boy as the first true personality in the sport. That said, everything has to come to an end at some point.

It was clear last night that the time has come for both men.

Griffin won a controversial decision, but the outcome was secondary to the bottom line.

Through a slow but steady flurry of punches, both men breathed heavily through their mouth. It’s obvious, neither of them could compete against the best in the sport.

It appears that Tito knows this was the end of the line for him, as he was just inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Everything about this night said farewell for the Bad Boy. But Griffin is delusional enough to believe that he still has some fights left in him.

He seems even more out in left field than normal.

Not only did he leave the Octagon immediately after the fight (Dana White had to chase him down and tell him to get back in there), but he went even more weird.

He took the mic from Joe Rogan upon his return and insisted on doing the post-fight interview with Ortiz. His in-fight actions demonstrated that he is past his prime, even in victory, and his post-fight actions proved he isn’t all there mentally.

Ortiz and White weren’t happy with Griffin’s display. Check out this video from MMA Weekly:

If Griffin wants to be with the UFC going forward, maybe he can pine to become a part of the commentating crew. It’s obvious he has an itch to get involved in that aspect of the business.

It was a weird end to what should have been a respectful bout. A bout that should be both men’s swan song.

 

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UFC 147 Results: Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva Was Pointless Main Event

Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva’s rematch at UFC 147 was mildly entertaining, but in the grand scheme of things, it was pointless. The best thing about the UFC is that the titles actually mean something.It’s not like boxing where being the biggest na…

Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva’s rematch at UFC 147 was mildly entertaining, but in the grand scheme of things, it was pointless. The best thing about the UFC is that the titles actually mean something.

It’s not like boxing where being the biggest names is all that matters, and there’s more titles being thrown around than there are punches. That said, each main event of a pay-per-view should have some effect on the title picture.

Win or lose, spectacular or boring, the winner of Franklin-Silva II is not in any title picture. Both of these warriors are past their prime, and they wouldn’t be considered top five fighters in any practical weight class they fought in.

This was a main event that should have been on FX or Fuel TV.

It’s not to put those networks down, but the UFC has routinely had its second-tier, but intriguing bouts on those networks.

In my opinion a pay-per-view main event should land in one of two categories:

It should be for a title, for the right to fight for a title, or at least to gain significant placement in the title picture. When none of those things are in play, and it’s the final bout of the day, I’m left wondering why.

I understand the UFC keeps a steady diet of content flowing to its customers, but I don’t enjoy the one good-one bad pay-per-view schedule.

Most MMA fans are looking forward to UFC 148. It features the rematch of Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, and it’s for Silva’s title. Now that’s a main event, Franklin-Silva II is not, but it follows the predictable pattern.

I wondered what would happen if fans started buying every other event?

It’s certainly a thought.

Perhaps there should be fewer pay-per-views, or at least a significantly decreased amount for obviously inferior cards. The two legends fought their hearts out, but Franklin-Silva II would have been better if I hadn’t paid $45 bucks for it.

 

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UFC 147 Results: Fabricio Werdum’s Win Highlights Weak Card

Fabricio Werdum was not on my list of favorite fighters coming into last night—he still isn’t, but I like him a little more now than I did yesterday. His win over Mike Russow last night at UFC 147 was the most meaningful result to come out of a w…

Fabricio Werdum was not on my list of favorite fighters coming into last night—he still isn’t, but I like him a little more now than I did yesterday. His win over Mike Russow last night at UFC 147 was the most meaningful result to come out of a whack card.

Werdum is the man I watched lie on his back every time he got in close quarters against Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce. He wanted to invite the Reem to the ground, but his methods were terrible.

He lost that fight because he did nothing, and rightfully so. Check out these ridiculous highlights:

His career has been up-and-down in the past two years. He was the man that gave legendary Fedor Emelianenko his first loss in 10 years, and then he was the guy that literally laid down against Overeem.

Last night in Brazil, Werdum did something in front of his countrymen. He scored only the fifth KO of his MMA career by stopping Russow’s 11-fight win streak.

Russow had not tasted defeat in four UFC bouts, and seven MMA clashes in other organizations before last night.  

It didn’t take Werdum long to make his statement.

In a striking contrast to the man we saw fight like a protester against Overeem, Werdum was on the attack from the beginning. He launched a good variety of knees and punches, and the activity may have caught Russow off-guard.

Just under two-and-a-half minutes into the fight, Werdum landed a solid uppercut and Russow went down. Werdum pounded him out and referee Herb Dean moved in for the stoppage.

That’s the type of performance that will have UFC fans wanting to see Werdum again. He is a skilled fighter, but his approach against Overeem left me sour on him.

Now Werdum is in the heavyweight title picture, but the question is, will he go back to his old mat-laying ways against big strikers like Junior dos Santos if he gets the opportunity?

We’ll have to see, but for now, he has some redemption in my eyes.

 

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UFC 147 Start Time: Boring Main Event Will Highlight Weak Card

I wasn’t overly enthused about Vitor Belfort taking on Wanderlei Silva on June 23 at UFC 147, but it was easier to accept as a main event than Rich Franklin and Silva. Three years ago, the two men fought in an impressive bout that Franklin won by decis…

I wasn’t overly enthused about Vitor Belfort taking on Wanderlei Silva on June 23 at UFC 147, but it was easier to accept as a main event than Rich Franklin and Silva. Three years ago, the two men fought in an impressive bout that Franklin won by decision.

Had they immediately had a rematch, it would have been more appealing.

Since then, Franklin has lost two of his last three fights. The only win in that span came over an over-the-hill Chuck Liddell, who retired right after the fight.

Silva has won two of three bouts since their first meeting, but at 35 years old, the Axe-Murderer is not exactly in his prime. This is a main event in name only, as the fighter’s stardom is sure to outweigh their in-ring ability.

The fight will take place in Silva’s home country Brazil, so he will undoubtedly have the crowd behind him. I think that will be a significant edge for Silva and he’ll pressure and pound Franklin into a stoppage.

Franklin seemed a step slow in his last bout against Forrest Griffin, and he seems to be on the decline faster than Silva. He’s 37 years old and has been looking every day of it in the octagon recently. 

The rest of the card at UFC 147 isn’t exactly exciting either. This figures to be a card for the hardcore fan only, as it lacks the overall wow factor.

Here are the specifics for following the action, and the rest of the card:

 

Where: Estádio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

When: Saturday, June 23 at 10 p.m. ET

Watch: Facebook under-card fights at 7 p.m. ET, preliminary fights at 8 p.m. ET on FX, Main Card fights at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view; online pay-per-view streaming (must pay $44.99) at UFC.tv, Yahoo! Sports, UStream, Android or iPhone

 

Full Fight Card

Main Card (PPV)

Catchweight (190 lb.): Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin

Middleweight: Cezar Ferreira vs. Sergio Moraes

Featherweight: Godofredo Pepey vs. Rony Mariano Bezerra

Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow

Featherweight: Yuri Alcantara vs. Hacran Dias

 

Preliminary Card (FX)

Featherweight: Anistavio Medeiros vs. Rodrigo Damm

Middleweight: Delson Heleno vs. Francisco Drinaldo

Featherweight: John Teixeira vs. Hugo Viana

Middleweight: Thiago Perpétuo vs. Leonardo Mafra

 

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

Featherweight: Vinicius Borges Pancini vs. Wagner Campos

Featherweight: Felipe Arantes vs. Milton Vieira

 

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