The UFC 149 fight card will be headlined by an interim bantamweight title fight between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao on Saturday, July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada.Faber has won three of his past four UFC fig…
The UFC 149 fight card will be headlined by an interim bantamweight title fight between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao on Saturday, July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada.
Faber has won three of his past four UFC fights, while Barao is 28-0-1 in his last 29 fights. In the co-main event, Hector Lombard will make his UFC debut and face Tim Boetsch in a key middleweight clash.
Relive last night’s Strikeforce action with Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Kennedy and Nate Marquardt vs. Tyron Woodley fight highlights, courtesy of Showtime Sports.
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy took place July 14, 2012, at the Rose …
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy took place July 14, 2012, at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold put his title on the line against Tim Kennedy in the main event, while Nate Marquardt and Tyron Woodley squared off for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title in the co-main event. Catch the video highlights below.
For more on Rockhold’s title defense, check out the play-by-play from MMA Fighting’s own Shaun Al-Shatti.
Round 1: Big John is our referee. Rockhold and Kennedy touch gloves, and we’re off. Rockhold tosses out a high check. Kennedy checks it and ties up along the fence. Kennedy lunges forward with a looping hook but Rockhold slips it and misses with his own combination. Rockhold plows in an uppercut to the body then disengages to the center of the cage. Rockhold stumbles Kennedy with a right hand, but the former solider reverses and slams Rockhold to the mat. The Strikeforce champ fishing for an arm from the bottom. Kennedy gives it up, but only to advance his position. Rockhold sees an opening, stands, and ties back up. Right hook from Rockhold on the way out and the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rockhold.
Round 2: A huge head kick dazes Kennedy, who immediately tries to change levels but ends up with Rockhold on his back. Rockhold pummeling Kennedy’s midsection with elbows. Kennedy scrambles to his feet and throws up his hands as if to say, “Come at me.” Rockhold nails a straight right to the body. The champion slips a jab and counters with a front kick, before unloading a flurry. Kennedy scrambles and winds up pressing Rockhold along the fence. Both men disengage and Kennedy eats a counter left hook. Spinning back kick misses for Rockhold. Kennedy finds his mark with a big counter right hand but Rockhold presses forward. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rockhold.
Round 3: Kennedy ducks under a straight punch and ties up. Rockhold fighting off the takedown, grabs the fence and gets a warning from Big John. Kennedy also gets a warning for low blows. A nasty right hook stumbles Kennedy, who slips another punch and tries, unsuccessfully, to secure a takedown. Rockhold checks a head kick and stalks forward before unloading his own head kick. Both fighters tossing out punches but virtually no combinations. Kennedy ties up and drags Rockhold to the ground, securing his back. Rockhold claws back to his feet but Kennedy still has position. Rockhold fights off the takedown attempt. Another flurry ends the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Kennedy.
Round 4: Rockhold unloads a one-two but eats a pair of uppercuts for his troubles. The champ sprawls to avoid a takedown and stalks forward. Kennedy opening up with kicks to keep his distance. The crowd erupts in cheers of “Luke! Luke!” Rockhold connects with a body shot. Kennedy hits the floor after getting blasted by a right hook. Rockhold leaps in and almost instantly finds himself in a guillotine. It’s close. Somehow Rockhold fights it off and scrambles back to his feet. Kennedy traps the champ along the fence, but gets reversed with 30 seconds left. Rockhold whirls around and finds Kennedy on his back, then drags the fight to the mat as the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rockhold.
Round 5: Kennedy trading single shots with Rockhold to open the final round. Kennedy ducks under a hook and lunges in for a double leg, but the champ sprawls and defends it perfectly. Rockhold starting to connect with right hands. Kennedy dives for a single leg but again he can’t get it. Rockhold does him one better and dumps Kennedy down against the fence. Two minutes left and Kennedy probably needs to do something drastic. Rockhold tosses out a pair of kicks but neither lands cleanly. Kennedy presses forward and ties up. Rockhold finds his way out and takes the center of the cage. The crowd hits their feet as the final seconds tick off the clock. Rockhold ties back up and he’s all over Kennedy. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rockhold.
Luke Rockhold def. Tim Kennedy via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
MMA Fighting has Rockhold vs. Kennedy results for all of the July 14 Rockhold vs. Kennedy fights, plus live blogs of all the fights and live Rockhold vs. Kennedy twitter updates.In the main event, Luke Rockhold defends his Strikef…
MMA Fighting has Rockhold vs. Kennedy results for all of the July 14 Rockhold vs. Kennedy fights, plus live blogs of all the fights and live Rockhold vs. Kennedy twitter updates.
MMA Fighting brings you UFC on FUEL 4: Munoz vs. Weidman results. UFC on FUEL TV 4 takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The event is headlined by a middleweight fight between Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. James Te Huna will…
MMA Fighting brings you UFC on FUEL 4: Munoz vs. Weidman results. UFC on FUEL TV 4 takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The event is headlined by a middleweight fight between Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. James Te Huna will square off against Joey Beltran in the co-main event.
The question of who is next for middleweight champion Anderson Silva may be answered after Wednesday night’s UFC on FUEL 4 main event. Mark Munoz clearly has the deeper resume; he’s fought for the promotion for over three years, has won seven of his last eight, and is coming off an impressive TKO over Chris Leben. Chris Weidman, meanwhile, entered the UFC with the tag of promise, and has largely delivered, boasting an unbeaten record and a fast-evolving game.
Both are authentic talents within the division, yet there is no clamoring among the masses for either man as Silva’s next challenge. That could change with a decisive, exciting performance on Wednesday, and that’s probably what it will take to vault into that coveted spot.
It’s a bit surprising that with much less experience, Weidman was installed as a slight favorite by oddsmakers, and bet up even further by gamblers.
He’s coming off a UFC on FOX 2 unanimous decision win over Demian Maia. While the victory was solid if unspectacular, it showcased a few underrated aspects of his game. For example, he was able to pass Maia’s guard twice, no small feat against a highly decorated submission expert.
It’s a skill that could play into the Munoz fight. Of the two, Weidman has a far superior takedown accuracy percentage. Despite much being made of Munoz’s collegiate wrestling credentials, according to FightMetric, he’s successfully landed only a dismal 23 percent of his takedown attempts. While Munoz has looked much better in the category in recent fights — he’s a combined 8 for 16 in his last two fights — he’s shown himself to be vulnerable in that department against other decorated wrestlers. Against CB Dollaway, Munoz didn’t attempt any takedowns, but Dollaway was successful in his only try; against Aaron Simpson, he gave up five takedowns while he could only put Simpson on the mat once.
Now, it certainly bears noting that those stats notwithstanding, Munoz won both of those fights, so he’s not a one-trick pony by any means. If anything, he’s focused far more heavily on improving his striking than anything else, turning a former weakness into a strength. As a result, he lands 50 percent of his strikes, a strong number.
Munoz has flashed plenty of power in his striking, both in standup and on the mat, where his ground and pound can be overwhelming.
Anyway, even if Munoz’s takedowns don’t work, he often uses his positioning to drive his opponent against the cage where he can use his strength in the clinch to dirty box and wear down his opponent. That’s a tactic he’s used in multiple fights, notably against Simpson.
Given Weidman’s size and strength as a big middleweight, that’ll be no easy task against him. Weidman is well schooled in all aspects of the fight game. While he’s no striking technician, he’s serviceable and getting better. When it comes to wrestling, his timing and execution are outstanding, as he’s completed 69 percent of his takedowns and never been taken down himself. And on the mat he’s fast becoming a terror. Maia could do little with him there in extended time.
In that fight, Weidman was seen running out of gas, an issue that would project into the Munoz matchup since it’s scheduled for five rounds, two more than the Maia fight. But it must be remembered that Weidman took that fight on short notice, with just 11 days to cut weight and prepare.
This time around, he had nearly three months to get into proper shape and prepare, and he’s looked good with full camps — just ask Tom Lawlor and Jesse Bongfeldt.
So how does the battle of collegiate wrestling All-Americans with good hands play out? Closely, for at least some time. Munoz is coming back from an injury layoff, but it wasn’t terribly long, so he shouldn’t have developed any major cage rust. Because of that, he should be in prime condition.
The edge in striking goes to Munoz, who has shown more variety and demonstrated more power, but Weidman has a 7-inch reach advantage that should assist him in keeping things even. Weidman gets the edge in wrestling and ground work. If Weidman takes what’s available, he’ll find some success. Going punch-for-punch with Munoz isn’t it. Weidman is an athlete who has exhibited a strong fight IQ, so I expect him to make the quicker adjustments, and mix things up. He won’t hesitate to trade with Munoz, but he’ll also duck under some punches and muscle him to the ground. And I think on the ground, he’ll have a solid advantage with his dynamic abilities there. He’s simply figured out MMA wrestling better than Munoz so far, and that should shine through here.
Weidman is in some ways a newer and more promising version of Munoz. That doesn’t mean the original can’t win, but aside from landing a fight-changing right hand, I think Weidman will out-class him and announce himself as a contender. Weidman via third-round submission.
MMA Fighting has UFC on FUEL 4 results for the Munoz vs. Weidman fight card July 11, plus live blogs of all the fights and live UFC on FUEL 4 twitter updates.In the main event, top middleweights Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman will s…
MMA Fighting has UFC on FUEL 4 results for the Munoz vs. Weidman fight card July 11, plus live blogs of all the fights and live UFC on FUEL 4 twitter updates.
In the main event, top middleweights Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman will square off in a five-round fight. In the co-main event, James Te-Huna will face Joey Beltran.
