UFC 135 Official Weigh-ins are today at 4 p.m. MT, 6 p.m. ET. All 20 fighters are set to step on the scale, including Jon Jones, who will look to defend his light heavyweight belt for the fight time against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In the co-mai…
UFC 135 Official Weigh-ins are today at 4 p.m. MT, 6 p.m. ET.
All 20 fighters are set to step on the scale, including Jon Jones, who will look to defend his light heavyweight belt for the fight time against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In the co-main event, the legendary Matt Hughes will be taking up Josh Koscheck.
There has been a ton of hype surrounding the main event, as “old school” battles “new school” in one of the most anticipated fights of 2011.
Be sure to check back to watch the live stream of the UFC 135 Weigh-ins, right here at Bleacher Report.
Popularity contests aren’t just for high school.Being popular and having success often go hand in hand, whether in your personal life…or professional. Popularity in the UFC can translate to higher PPV buy rates, which means more into m…
Popularity contests aren’t just for high school.
Being popular and having success often go hand in hand, whether in your personal life…or professional. Popularity in the UFC can translate to higher PPV buy rates, which means more into money in the bank.
It’s good to be king.
The UFC has seven kings, or champions if you will. So which one is the most popular?
B/R MMA put a poll up on the front page to find out and here are the seven UFC champions ranked in order from least to most popular. After almost 1,000 votes, it’s time to pick a winner.
Did your favorite UFC champion get underrated, overrated or is he right where he belongs?
UFC 134 gave Anderson Silva one more occasion to prove he is a genius inside the cage. It also gave more ammo for those who argue—and there is little argument—that he is greatest fighter in MMA history. For many, it strengthened their …
UFC 134 gave Anderson Silva one more occasion to prove he is a genius inside the cage. It also gave more ammo for those who argue—and there is little argument—that he is greatest fighter in MMA history.
For many, it strengthened their case that Silva has no business continuing to take fights at middleweight. Either face Georges St-Pierre in a super fight, move up and take on the elite at light heavyweight, hell even go all the way to heavyweight and trade punches with the best of the biggest.
By continuing to fight at middleweight, Silva can showcase new and fun ways to dismantle men that are clearly not from the same planet. He can rack up UFC records and add to his “legacy,” but he won’t be creating that much more distance between him and the other “greats” of all time, will he?
Lets REALLY see what Anderson Silva is made of shall we. Because, if we are being honest, who is the best fighter that he has picked apart in his career: Forrest Griffin? Dan Henderson? Rick Franklin? Need I continue?
And then there was “that Gangster from Oregon” a.k.a. Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen pushed Silva to the brink back at UFC 117. For four-and-a-half rounds Sonnen took Silva down—at will—and laid on top of him, stifling him. Sonnen also set a record for most strikes thrown in fight—although they clearly didn’t do that much damage.
Silva ended the fight in dramatic and confusing fashion when he was able to wrap his legs around Sonnen’s head and force him to tap due to triangle choke. It was dramatic because Sonnen had been dominating the fight and it was nearly over, confusing because it wasn’t completely clear if Sonnen tapped or not and no one knew for a moment if the fight was actually over or not.
So even after UFC 134, fans still want to see a rematch between two of the most Shakespearean characters in MMA history. On paper, a case can be made for Silva vs. Sonnen II. But does anyone honestly think that Sonnen can do any better then he did in that first fight?
The answer is no. No he cant.
But alas, people still want to see it. They want to see it more then Silva vs. GSP, Silva vs. Jon Jones, even Silva vs. current Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. At least, according to the latest poll on the Bleacher Report UFC page. Jones and St-Pierre come in second and third.
If you want to know who this particular writer thinks Silva should push up against next, think big. Silva is nearing that point in his career when we could see that proverbial drop off, so it’s time to go big, or go home.
Time, and UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva, will ultimately determine who ‘The Spider’ tangles with next, but don’t be surprised if it’s who the majority of people seem to want him to battle with next. It makes “sense” and would seemingly be the most simple fight to book, assuming Sonnen wins his next bout.
Homeostasis is a state of stability obtained when tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated. The seven divisions within the UFC would embody a thing that never reaches a state of homeostasis.That is because there is always tension between …
Homeostasis is a state of stability obtained when tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated. The seven divisions within the UFC would embody a thing that never reaches a state of homeostasis.
That is because there is always tension between fighters as they look to best the other, with the drive to one day earn a much coveted and always elusive title shot.
But that is not to say that a division cannot become a wasteland: terrain that is desolate, barren or ravaged. Ravaged (wreak havoc on) is a wonderful word to describe what current No. 1 and only Anderson Silva has done to the middleweight division.
It is barren of any legitimate contenders with most having been plundered by Silva at some point. Chael Sonnen came closest to usurping the title back at UFC 117, but Silva choked him out in the nick of time. Currently being kept out of the sport against his will, it is unknown exactly when he will be allowed to return…if ever.
Yushin Okami, who was out-wrestled by Sonnen back at UFC 104, is now the man chosen to go up against Silva and upend a man boating 13 consecutive wins inside the Octagon. Vitor Belfort was violently laid to rest back at UFC 126. Nate Marquardt was whacked back at UFC 73 and never got a second title shot before dropping down to welterweight and dropping out all together.
Demian Maia got his shot at glory back at UFC 112 and fought gallantly in a bizarre fight under the sweltering dessert heat. Maia was recently seen losing to Mark Munoz at UFC 131. It has been over five years since Chris Leben welcomed Silva to the UFC and had his lights turned out in the process. The only other man to turn out Leben’s lights was Brian Stann, who crushed Leben at UFC 125.
So that leaves us with Mark Munoz and Brian Stann, along with the winner of Michael Bisping versus Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who will get it on after completing their coaching duties for TUF 14.
Munoz is 6-1 at middleweight with his best win being a razor-thin victory over Maia, and his lone loss coming against Okami where he got bested in every facet. Stann is 3-0 at middleweight with a win over the aforementioned Leben as well as one over Jorge Santiago. Both Munoz and Stann previously fought at light heavyweight before dropping down after peaking out.
As far as Bisping, he is a combined 11-3 inside the Octagon. Miller was a one-and-done inside the Octagon when he got thrashed by GSP back at UFC 52. The biggest wins of Mayhem’s career are over Tim Kennedy (more than three years ago) and Robbie Lawler (almost five years ago). He also nearly submitted Jake Shields in their Strikeforce title fight.
There is nothing to really get overly excited about but the UFC must work to build up both Munoz and Stann separately toward a title shot to get some fresh faces. They would also likely prefer to see Bisping be able to thwart the shenanigans of Mayhem so they can set up a title fight in England.
With Silva taking on Okami in August (at UFC 134), assuming he wins injury free, he could fight again by year’s end. But based on his 2009 and 2010 schedule (he only fought twice in both years) perhaps it is more likely he takes a fight in early 2012 (although main eventing UFC 140 in Montreal on December 10 would be great).
Whoever Silva fights after Okami, the opponent needs to be built up more, unless of course it is against GSP.
Let Munoz get through Leben while Stann can have Belfort if he gets though Akiyama at UFC 133. If they both come out victorious then book Munoz vs. Stann and let the last man standing take on Silva in the first half of 2012.
Munoz, for his part, would be 8-1 at 185 pounds while Stann would be a perfect 5-0. Silva would be a fairly legitimate contender that fans could get excited about. With the volatile nature of MMA, though, is it likely to play out as scripted? “Teenage wasteland, they’re all wasted.”
Peak performance can be defined simply as: able to do one’s best in one’s best physical state. Math tells us that what goes up must come down, and in between, there is by and large a moment in time when you reach your peak. Such is the case…
Peak performance can be defined simply as: able to do one’s best in one’s best physical state.
Math tells us that what goes up must come down, and in between, there is by and large a moment in time when you reach your peak. Such is the case for fighters who, if they do everything right, go from prospect to contender to champion. And then, at some point, our bodies start to betray us, and the cruel circle of life comes full circle.
The last painful—and drawn out—display of a champion we once thought of as indestructible played out with Chuck Liddell. It had also been occurring with Wanderlei Silva…and last night was likely the exclamation point of that decline from former champ to shell of former self.
Wanderlei has been past his peak for sometime now. There are other fighters that are somewhere between possibly past their peak (but it’s hard to say for sure) and very far past their peak. And some fighters, well, they make it hard as they look to be on the decline…only to get back up again.
Let’s take a look at some of the more notable ones, shall we.
A champion has to be at his very best in every fight if he wants to ensure that the belt stays around his wait. During the second half of 2011, we may be treated to seeing all seven UFC belts being defended. Every champ is at a different place in their…
A champion has to be at his very best in every fight if he wants to ensure that the belt stays around his wait. During the second half of 2011, we may be treated to seeing all seven UFC belts being defended.
Every champ is at a different place in their career: From Jon Jones making his very first defense against the grizzled Rampage Jackson to Anderson Silva defending his belt for the ninth time against a formidable Yushin Okami.
Lets take a look at which champs have the best chance of coughing up their belt, shall we?
