It’s hot, it’s cold. Sometimes you’re sweating it out of your pores and sometimes you’re dry as a bone. If it’s in you, you’re ready to move mountains, and, when it’s not, it’s a chore to get off the couch. When UFC featherweight Steven Siler has that flame lit, he’s an overachieving onslaught of offense with a penchant for guillotine chokes. And when the pilot light isn’t catching, he is still a cardio machine without a quit switch.
“There was a definitely a spark in me before that [Joey] Gambino fight,” asserts Siler. “My last two fights went to decision and I was just fed up going to decisions. I was motivated to get a finish. I didn’t have that same look going into [Darren] Elkins. I knew it was going to be a grind out fight and was going to be three rounds. Against Gambino, I knew I needed to finish. I have that same spirit right now. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to get another finish this fight.”
Born in California, trained in Utah, and fired up about making a triumphant return to the “Garden State,” Siler is entering his sophomore season inside the Octagon in a tilt against a debuting Strikeforce slugger in Kurt Holobaugh After an admitted underwhelming appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 14, Siler earned a three fight win streak, including the Gambino stoppage at UFC on FX in Atlantic City and a unanimous decision over Cole Miller. For some, seeing him as a featherweight force was a surprise, but Siler’s confidence in himself as a dangerous opponent has never wavered.
“I think I got underestimated because of getting knocked out pretty quickly by Diego [Brandao],” tells Siler. “It could happen to anyone. Someone gets flash knocked out real quick and people think they’re not good just because they got knocked out. But in these fights I have been able to show off my skills. I’ve taken more of a beating and more punches in these fights, but have been able to battle back and show off my skills and show off how good I really am. It has been my dream to be in the UFC. The fact that I made it was great and I think that I surprised people with how good I have done – that’s awesome. I’m hoping the second year will be even better than the first.”
The lone loss Siler’s suffered in the UFC was at the hands of fellow divisional dark horse Darren Elkins in November. At UFC 154, Siler couldn’t stop the bevy of takedowns from Elkins, who successfully scored six of seven. Obviously, it was far from his best offensive performance, but it did show Siler’s heart, grit, submission defense, cardio, and a determination to never quit. The decision defeat did teach “Super” a lesson in appreciating the talent level of all UFC fighters and the need to always bring one’s A game into the Octagon.
“I knew what his game plan was going to be and I thought I was going to be able to stop it,” reveals Siler. “He was a lot stronger than I thought he would be. I thought I would be able to keep it on the feet and pick him apart. He implemented his game plan really well and ground it out. I wouldn’t say I was training lightly, but I realize how much more I need to work on my wrestling now than I did before. I was coming in on a three fight win streak and I thought I was going to just cruise through Elkins. I’m definitely more hungry now than I was before that fight.”
Up next for Siler is another rumble in New Jersey when he takes on Holobaugh at UFC 159. “My manager just told me I was fighting the guy who fought Pat Healy in the last Strikeforce, so I was like, ‘oh, I’ll go look up who that is’,” jokes Siler, who, for the second time, was scheduled to square off against Jimy Hettes in “Dirty Jersey” with Hettes being forced out due to injury. In Hettes’ stead enters Holobaugh, the 8-1 product of Gracie Barra Northshore in his native Louisiana. Even though Holobaugh’s sole Strikeforce scrap was a decision loss, it was an action-packed, 15 minute melee against Strikeforce’s #1 contender Pat “Bam Bam” Healy.
“The change in opponent, no matter how different they are, it doesn’t matter,” states Siler. “I’m training to do what I want to do and I’m going in there to implement my game plan. There was a little worry about Hettes’ judo and Kurt doesn’t have that. At the same time, I was planning on doing what I wanted to do to Hettes and he wasn’t going to judo throw me no matter what he was going to try. I was going to go forward and hit him in the face and make him not want to clinch up with me. No matter who I fight, I’m going to hit them in the face and they’re going to back up and not want to do anything.”
In theory, this featherweight fracas could be a show stealer. “I think it’s going to be a more fun fight to watch, actually,” estimates Siler, whose unbridled aggressiveness is ready to butt heads with Holobaugh, who proved in January he doesn’t back down from a challenge. “Everyone was excited about Hettes and I wouldn’t say that fight was going to be boring, but Kurt likes to brawl. I have a feeling we’re both looking to just bang this out. I’m hoping this gives me more of a chance to get Fight of the Night instead of with Hettes I would have just gotten a victory.”
In preparation, Siler has been training with The Pit full-time, whether he’s been at home or on the road. Siler’s base is at head coach Jason Mertlich’s The Pit Elevated in Orem, Utah, alongside well-regarded TUF alums like Ramsey Nijem, Josh Burkman, and TUF 11 winner Court McGee. There was also a working vacation of sorts to The Pit in Arroyo Grande, California with famed striking coach John Hackleman.
“I feel like my standup is getting a lot better,” says Siler. “I keep hearing during my last few fights that I’m keeping my chin up and Coach Hack’s trying to fix that. He’s tightening up my punches, so that I don’t let them hang out there anymore. He’s just great to be around and likes to joke around and it makes it a lot easier to train with him. Before I started working with him, I was worried that he would be what he looks like – this hard ass that no one would want to mess with – and he is that, but at the same time he’s probably one of the most fun coaches I have been around and I enjoy him teaching me.”
The standup is an admitted work-in-progress, but Siler shines when it comes to submissions. More than half of Siler’s wins are by some variety of choke (13 of 21) with almost all of them coming in the first round. It’s an interesting dynamic of teacher to student as Mertlich’s FOUR7 jiu-jitsu style is top-heavy, offensive, and control oriented whereas Siler has more of a frenetic, no-gi, high-pace style. As Mertlich evolves Siler’s grappling to a more systematic and positional approach, the prospect knows that when a fight breaks down and gets messy that he knows how to capitalize.
“A lot of that is my natural ability to scramble,” affirms Siler. “I like to scramble. When we’re in a scramble, I look for them to make a mistake and I catch onto it very quickly. It’s where I know they’re going to leave their neck out there for a triangle or a guillotine or something where I’m able to get them. I make them scramble and I make them make a mistake. Hopefully, I can make them make a mistake before I make one.”
This Saturday at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey, “Super” Steven Siler starts his second year in the Octagon against Kurt Holobaugh. “I think it’s going to be a fun, fast fight because he likes to brawl and I’m not scared to take some punches and trade with him,” says Siler, who is motivated to make lightning strike again in the “Garden State” with another scintillating stoppage. “I think we’re going to be brawling a bit before I finish it. I think people are going to be entertained by it and I think it’s going to be fun for the fans to watch.”
Motivation is a strange mistress.
It’s hot, it’s cold. Sometimes you’re sweating it out of your pores and sometimes you’re dry as a bone. If it’s in you, you’re ready to move mountains, and, when it’s not, it’s a chore to get off the couch. When UFC featherweight Steven Siler has that flame lit, he’s an overachieving onslaught of offense with a penchant for guillotine chokes. And when the pilot light isn’t catching, he is still a cardio machine without a quit switch.
“There was a definitely a spark in me before that [Joey] Gambino fight,” asserts Siler. “My last two fights went to decision and I was just fed up going to decisions. I was motivated to get a finish. I didn’t have that same look going into [Darren] Elkins. I knew it was going to be a grind out fight and was going to be three rounds. Against Gambino, I knew I needed to finish. I have that same spirit right now. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to get another finish this fight.”
Born in California, trained in Utah, and fired up about making a triumphant return to the “Garden State,” Siler is entering his sophomore season inside the Octagon in a tilt against a debuting Strikeforce slugger in Kurt Holobaugh After an admitted underwhelming appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 14, Siler earned a three fight win streak, including the Gambino stoppage at UFC on FX in Atlantic City and a unanimous decision over Cole Miller. For some, seeing him as a featherweight force was a surprise, but Siler’s confidence in himself as a dangerous opponent has never wavered.
“I think I got underestimated because of getting knocked out pretty quickly by Diego [Brandao],” tells Siler. “It could happen to anyone. Someone gets flash knocked out real quick and people think they’re not good just because they got knocked out. But in these fights I have been able to show off my skills. I’ve taken more of a beating and more punches in these fights, but have been able to battle back and show off my skills and show off how good I really am. It has been my dream to be in the UFC. The fact that I made it was great and I think that I surprised people with how good I have done – that’s awesome. I’m hoping the second year will be even better than the first.”
The lone loss Siler’s suffered in the UFC was at the hands of fellow divisional dark horse Darren Elkins in November. At UFC 154, Siler couldn’t stop the bevy of takedowns from Elkins, who successfully scored six of seven. Obviously, it was far from his best offensive performance, but it did show Siler’s heart, grit, submission defense, cardio, and a determination to never quit. The decision defeat did teach “Super” a lesson in appreciating the talent level of all UFC fighters and the need to always bring one’s A game into the Octagon.
“I knew what his game plan was going to be and I thought I was going to be able to stop it,” reveals Siler. “He was a lot stronger than I thought he would be. I thought I would be able to keep it on the feet and pick him apart. He implemented his game plan really well and ground it out. I wouldn’t say I was training lightly, but I realize how much more I need to work on my wrestling now than I did before. I was coming in on a three fight win streak and I thought I was going to just cruise through Elkins. I’m definitely more hungry now than I was before that fight.”
Up next for Siler is another rumble in New Jersey when he takes on Holobaugh at UFC 159. “My manager just told me I was fighting the guy who fought Pat Healy in the last Strikeforce, so I was like, ‘oh, I’ll go look up who that is’,” jokes Siler, who, for the second time, was scheduled to square off against Jimy Hettes in “Dirty Jersey” with Hettes being forced out due to injury. In Hettes’ stead enters Holobaugh, the 8-1 product of Gracie Barra Northshore in his native Louisiana. Even though Holobaugh’s sole Strikeforce scrap was a decision loss, it was an action-packed, 15 minute melee against Strikeforce’s #1 contender Pat “Bam Bam” Healy.
“The change in opponent, no matter how different they are, it doesn’t matter,” states Siler. “I’m training to do what I want to do and I’m going in there to implement my game plan. There was a little worry about Hettes’ judo and Kurt doesn’t have that. At the same time, I was planning on doing what I wanted to do to Hettes and he wasn’t going to judo throw me no matter what he was going to try. I was going to go forward and hit him in the face and make him not want to clinch up with me. No matter who I fight, I’m going to hit them in the face and they’re going to back up and not want to do anything.”
In theory, this featherweight fracas could be a show stealer. “I think it’s going to be a more fun fight to watch, actually,” estimates Siler, whose unbridled aggressiveness is ready to butt heads with Holobaugh, who proved in January he doesn’t back down from a challenge. “Everyone was excited about Hettes and I wouldn’t say that fight was going to be boring, but Kurt likes to brawl. I have a feeling we’re both looking to just bang this out. I’m hoping this gives me more of a chance to get Fight of the Night instead of with Hettes I would have just gotten a victory.”
In preparation, Siler has been training with The Pit full-time, whether he’s been at home or on the road. Siler’s base is at head coach Jason Mertlich’s The Pit Elevated in Orem, Utah, alongside well-regarded TUF alums like Ramsey Nijem, Josh Burkman, and TUF 11 winner Court McGee. There was also a working vacation of sorts to The Pit in Arroyo Grande, California with famed striking coach John Hackleman.
“I feel like my standup is getting a lot better,” says Siler. “I keep hearing during my last few fights that I’m keeping my chin up and Coach Hack’s trying to fix that. He’s tightening up my punches, so that I don’t let them hang out there anymore. He’s just great to be around and likes to joke around and it makes it a lot easier to train with him. Before I started working with him, I was worried that he would be what he looks like – this hard ass that no one would want to mess with – and he is that, but at the same time he’s probably one of the most fun coaches I have been around and I enjoy him teaching me.”
The standup is an admitted work-in-progress, but Siler shines when it comes to submissions. More than half of Siler’s wins are by some variety of choke (13 of 21) with almost all of them coming in the first round. It’s an interesting dynamic of teacher to student as Mertlich’s FOUR7 jiu-jitsu style is top-heavy, offensive, and control oriented whereas Siler has more of a frenetic, no-gi, high-pace style. As Mertlich evolves Siler’s grappling to a more systematic and positional approach, the prospect knows that when a fight breaks down and gets messy that he knows how to capitalize.
“A lot of that is my natural ability to scramble,” affirms Siler. “I like to scramble. When we’re in a scramble, I look for them to make a mistake and I catch onto it very quickly. It’s where I know they’re going to leave their neck out there for a triangle or a guillotine or something where I’m able to get them. I make them scramble and I make them make a mistake. Hopefully, I can make them make a mistake before I make one.”
This Saturday at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey, “Super” Steven Siler starts his second year in the Octagon against Kurt Holobaugh. “I think it’s going to be a fun, fast fight because he likes to brawl and I’m not scared to take some punches and trade with him,” says Siler, who is motivated to make lightning strike again in the “Garden State” with another scintillating stoppage. “I think we’re going to be brawling a bit before I finish it. I think people are going to be entertained by it and I think it’s going to be fun for the fans to watch.”
Finally, “El Niño” is entering the UFC at the top, where he’s always belonged.
It’s been a long, long time in the making, but Gilbert Melendez is debuting inside the Octagon in the UFC on FOX 7 main event this Saturday, fighting Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight championship. This momentous occasion for MMA fans could have or should have happened in 2004 after Melendez won the WEC lightweight title or 2006 when he won the Strikeforce lightweight strap or at any point post-2009, as “El Niño” has blown through Strikeforce’s competition as their seven win streak owning two-time lightweight champ. Arguably the most decorated, accomplished, exciting, and winningest MMA fighter over the past decade to not step foot inside the Octagon is Melendez and, finally, that wrong is being unwritten.
While, Melendez could easily point to the glittery gold belts that adorn his sparkling record as reason enough for fans to stand and cheer for him, he is a proud fighter first and a consummate winner second. On April 20th, with the world watching and the UFC’s lightweight title on the line, he will walk to the Octagon to get into a fist fight.
“I think sometimes it’s more important than winning to show that you’re a warrior,” asserts Melendez. “I’m definitely a proud American, but I’m Mexican-American and I have that Mexican blood. You put your life on the line out there, you put your heart on the line out there, and you really fight. A fight’s a fight. It’s not a point match. I want people to see that I’m a warrior. I think the best compliment is respect and for people to call me a warrior; not a winner, but a warrior. That’s more important for me. I hope people get that from me after this fight.”
At 31 years old with 21-2 pro career, the fourth and final horseman of Cesar Gracie’s Skrap Pack is joining the UFC’s ranks after ten years of battling for belts the world over. A lifetime ago, Melendez grew up in Santa Ana, California, where he wrestled in high school and, eventually, began attending San Francisco State University with aspirations of becoming a teacher and a wrestling coach. It was friend, SF State University alum, and fellow UFC fighter Jake Shields who threw the biggest monkey wrench into that perfectly acceptable plan by introducing Melendez to MMA. As they say, the rest is history; “El Niño” was born, becoming a featured member of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu’s fearsome foursome of Melendez, Shields, Nick and Nate Diaz.
“We all basically started off as white belts together,” tells Melendez. “We are not a made up team where we grab stars and put them together and just decide to come over for a training camp. We’re grass roots. I drove my white Ford Tempo and Nate would cruise in with his Focus with a bullet hole in it. We came up together like that. Jake with his f’ed up car. It’s hilarious, this journey we had. I’m so proud of my team and so proud to be a part of it. We know what we’re fighting for. We fight for ourselves, our team, each other, and to challenge ourselves. We like to do it our way. It’s a great team to be a part of. People are trying to call us failures right now, and I’ve been saying that people have no idea what we’ve accomplished and how hard it is to get to this level. There’s a lot of pressure out there. But I’m not done. I don’t think any of us are done right now. I think we still want more. I think we all want that UFC strap.”
The combined record of the original 209 Stockton crew is 90-25-1, 2 NC with three Strikeforce titles, two WEC belts, four UFC title shots earned, and numerous awards and straps from smaller organizations. While a five round, headlining clash with Henderson to determine who is the unquestionable best at 155 pounds is more than enough pressure for any fighter, Melendez has a wealth of experience triumphantly tangling with the division’s top talent, and he has done that in Japan as well as his home-state of California. For those who are strictly Octagon enthusiasts, Melendez may be an unknown, but make no mistake, he has been championship material for a long time and will look to solidify that in his first UFC appearance.
“I’m happy that when the common person asks me, ‘hey, do you fight in the UFC?’ I can now say, ‘Yes!’” says Melendez. “That’s actually a big plus. I hate having to explain the whole Strikeforce thing and people thinking I’m in the minor leagues. It has set in, but you never know until you get there. Maybe it will set in more once I get there and I’m walking around, but it’s just another fight to me. I’ve fought in rings, I’ve fought in Japan, I’ve fought and beat the Shooto champ, I’ve beat the DREAM champ, I was the first WEC champ, I’ve fought in Hawaii, I’ve fought with knees to the head – I’ve done it all. This is just a different place and a different belt and a different opportunity for me and I see it as another person standing across the cage from me. It’s set in. I am happy to say I’m a UFC fighter though.”
It has been almost a year since Melendez added his last W to his record, as he victoriously finished his tremendous title trilogy with Josh Thomson in May. At their first meeting in 2008, Thomson took a unanimous decision over Melendez and the belt, which sparked a change in “El Niño”. Following that loss, Melendez started his own gym, El Niño MMA in San Francisco, which began as a loft and has ballooned into a 7,000 square foot home away from home with 275 students, coaches like Shields and striking coach Jongsanan “The Wooden Man”, and open mats for him to train full-time. Riding a seven fight win streak featuring three TKOs, Melendez is healthy and ready to take on the UFC’s elite.
“I kind of reinvented myself,” explains Melendez. “There was a point where I was 13-0, 15-0 with my two amateur fights, and I was ranked at the top in the world and kind of reached my goals and the UFC buys out PRIDE and things go for a curveball again. You’re on the shelf for a while and then you’re in Strikeforce and you kind of lose motivation and then someone kicks your ass like Josh Thomson and you reinvent yourself. You realize this is going to be your career. I’ve really taken the sport serious since that. I take pride in my seven fight win streak. I can’t always guarantee a win, but I can always guarantee I’m going to come in to a fight pretty well-prepared. When I come into a fight really well-prepared, I’m an animal. When I come in dang-prepared, I’m still an animal. I just take pride in performing.”
Up next for Melendez is the UFC championship collision with Henderson at UFC on FOX in San Jose. “I mean jeez, he’s the UFC champ, what can I say – he’s amazing,” admits Melendez of his 18-2 opponent, who most recently fought a near flawless performance against Melendez’s teammate Diaz in December. “He’s an amazing athlete, big, strong, great tactics, good transitions, he’s got great grappling and submissions, and he’s mentally strong. Obviously, ‘watch out for his kicks, Gil;’ everyone tells me that. He’s the UFC champ, what can I say, dude.”
One can easily sell this bout’s emotional edge between Melendez and Henderson because of the Diaz fight, but that’s oversimplifying the significance of this matchup. “I did want to fight him that night, that’s for sure, but I’m doing this for myself and it would make it that much better to avenge my friend in the process and bring the title back for my team,” reveals Melendez. But the draw of this main event is the UFC’s current lightweight boss sharing the cage with one of the perennially toughest 155ers on the planet who ruled the roost of the rival Strikeforce for years.
This Saturday, debuting Strikeforce lightweight king Melendez tangles with UFC lightweight champ Henderson. With the added Strikeforce chip on his shoulder and looking to redeem his teammate, Melendez’s usual fists of fury will be downright terrifying as “El Niño” prepares to storm Henderson inside the Octagon. It’s champion vs. champion with Henderson’s belt on the line in Melendez’s home arena and both are looking to earn each other’s respect.
“I kind of live by the motto of kill or be killed,” states Melendez. “I go in there thinking I have to kill this guy or he’s going to kill me. People can talk about good sportsmanship all they want, and I am a good sport, but the truth is is that this guy in there wants to beat me and wants to hurt me. The truth is, I want to do the same to him. Call me a bad guy, but, at that moment, he’s my enemy and I have to destroy him. That’s just my mentality. Afterward, we can be cool and whatever you want. But don’t shake my hand or high five me when we’re in there. I come in there with bad intentions, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad, that’s just how it is.”
This Saturday, UFC fans will finally know Melendez; with a win, they’ll never forget him.
Finally, “El Niño” is entering the UFC at the top, where he’s always belonged.
It’s been a long, long time in the making, but Gilbert Melendez is debuting inside the Octagon in the UFC on FOX 7 main event this Saturday, fighting Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight championship. This momentous occasion for MMA fans could have or should have happened in 2004 after Melendez won the WEC lightweight title or 2006 when he won the Strikeforce lightweight strap or at any point post-2009, as “El Niño” has blown through Strikeforce’s competition as their seven win streak owning two-time lightweight champ. Arguably the most decorated, accomplished, exciting, and winningest MMA fighter over the past decade to not step foot inside the Octagon is Melendez and, finally, that wrong is being unwritten.
While, Melendez could easily point to the glittery gold belts that adorn his sparkling record as reason enough for fans to stand and cheer for him, he is a proud fighter first and a consummate winner second. On April 20th, with the world watching and the UFC’s lightweight title on the line, he will walk to the Octagon to get into a fist fight.
“I think sometimes it’s more important than winning to show that you’re a warrior,” asserts Melendez. “I’m definitely a proud American, but I’m Mexican-American and I have that Mexican blood. You put your life on the line out there, you put your heart on the line out there, and you really fight. A fight’s a fight. It’s not a point match. I want people to see that I’m a warrior. I think the best compliment is respect and for people to call me a warrior; not a winner, but a warrior. That’s more important for me. I hope people get that from me after this fight.”
At 31 years old with 21-2 pro career, the fourth and final horseman of Cesar Gracie’s Skrap Pack is joining the UFC’s ranks after ten years of battling for belts the world over. A lifetime ago, Melendez grew up in Santa Ana, California, where he wrestled in high school and, eventually, began attending San Francisco State University with aspirations of becoming a teacher and a wrestling coach. It was friend, SF State University alum, and fellow UFC fighter Jake Shields who threw the biggest monkey wrench into that perfectly acceptable plan by introducing Melendez to MMA. As they say, the rest is history; “El Niño” was born, becoming a featured member of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu’s fearsome foursome of Melendez, Shields, Nick and Nate Diaz.
“We all basically started off as white belts together,” tells Melendez. “We are not a made up team where we grab stars and put them together and just decide to come over for a training camp. We’re grass roots. I drove my white Ford Tempo and Nate would cruise in with his Focus with a bullet hole in it. We came up together like that. Jake with his f’ed up car. It’s hilarious, this journey we had. I’m so proud of my team and so proud to be a part of it. We know what we’re fighting for. We fight for ourselves, our team, each other, and to challenge ourselves. We like to do it our way. It’s a great team to be a part of. People are trying to call us failures right now, and I’ve been saying that people have no idea what we’ve accomplished and how hard it is to get to this level. There’s a lot of pressure out there. But I’m not done. I don’t think any of us are done right now. I think we still want more. I think we all want that UFC strap.”
The combined record of the original 209 Stockton crew is 90-25-1, 2 NC with three Strikeforce titles, two WEC belts, four UFC title shots earned, and numerous awards and straps from smaller organizations. While a five round, headlining clash with Henderson to determine who is the unquestionable best at 155 pounds is more than enough pressure for any fighter, Melendez has a wealth of experience triumphantly tangling with the division’s top talent, and he has done that in Japan as well as his home-state of California. For those who are strictly Octagon enthusiasts, Melendez may be an unknown, but make no mistake, he has been championship material for a long time and will look to solidify that in his first UFC appearance.
“I’m happy that when the common person asks me, ‘hey, do you fight in the UFC?’ I can now say, ‘Yes!’” says Melendez. “That’s actually a big plus. I hate having to explain the whole Strikeforce thing and people thinking I’m in the minor leagues. It has set in, but you never know until you get there. Maybe it will set in more once I get there and I’m walking around, but it’s just another fight to me. I’ve fought in rings, I’ve fought in Japan, I’ve fought and beat the Shooto champ, I’ve beat the DREAM champ, I was the first WEC champ, I’ve fought in Hawaii, I’ve fought with knees to the head – I’ve done it all. This is just a different place and a different belt and a different opportunity for me and I see it as another person standing across the cage from me. It’s set in. I am happy to say I’m a UFC fighter though.”
It has been almost a year since Melendez added his last W to his record, as he victoriously finished his tremendous title trilogy with Josh Thomson in May. At their first meeting in 2008, Thomson took a unanimous decision over Melendez and the belt, which sparked a change in “El Niño”. Following that loss, Melendez started his own gym, El Niño MMA in San Francisco, which began as a loft and has ballooned into a 7,000 square foot home away from home with 275 students, coaches like Shields and striking coach Jongsanan “The Wooden Man”, and open mats for him to train full-time. Riding a seven fight win streak featuring three TKOs, Melendez is healthy and ready to take on the UFC’s elite.
“I kind of reinvented myself,” explains Melendez. “There was a point where I was 13-0, 15-0 with my two amateur fights, and I was ranked at the top in the world and kind of reached my goals and the UFC buys out PRIDE and things go for a curveball again. You’re on the shelf for a while and then you’re in Strikeforce and you kind of lose motivation and then someone kicks your ass like Josh Thomson and you reinvent yourself. You realize this is going to be your career. I’ve really taken the sport serious since that. I take pride in my seven fight win streak. I can’t always guarantee a win, but I can always guarantee I’m going to come in to a fight pretty well-prepared. When I come into a fight really well-prepared, I’m an animal. When I come in dang-prepared, I’m still an animal. I just take pride in performing.”
Up next for Melendez is the UFC championship collision with Henderson at UFC on FOX in San Jose. “I mean jeez, he’s the UFC champ, what can I say – he’s amazing,” admits Melendez of his 18-2 opponent, who most recently fought a near flawless performance against Melendez’s teammate Diaz in December. “He’s an amazing athlete, big, strong, great tactics, good transitions, he’s got great grappling and submissions, and he’s mentally strong. Obviously, ‘watch out for his kicks, Gil;’ everyone tells me that. He’s the UFC champ, what can I say, dude.”
One can easily sell this bout’s emotional edge between Melendez and Henderson because of the Diaz fight, but that’s oversimplifying the significance of this matchup. “I did want to fight him that night, that’s for sure, but I’m doing this for myself and it would make it that much better to avenge my friend in the process and bring the title back for my team,” reveals Melendez. But the draw of this main event is the UFC’s current lightweight boss sharing the cage with one of the perennially toughest 155ers on the planet who ruled the roost of the rival Strikeforce for years.
This Saturday, debuting Strikeforce lightweight king Melendez tangles with UFC lightweight champ Henderson. With the added Strikeforce chip on his shoulder and looking to redeem his teammate, Melendez’s usual fists of fury will be downright terrifying as “El Niño” prepares to storm Henderson inside the Octagon. It’s champion vs. champion with Henderson’s belt on the line in Melendez’s home arena and both are looking to earn each other’s respect.
“I kind of live by the motto of kill or be killed,” states Melendez. “I go in there thinking I have to kill this guy or he’s going to kill me. People can talk about good sportsmanship all they want, and I am a good sport, but the truth is is that this guy in there wants to beat me and wants to hurt me. The truth is, I want to do the same to him. Call me a bad guy, but, at that moment, he’s my enemy and I have to destroy him. That’s just my mentality. Afterward, we can be cool and whatever you want. But don’t shake my hand or high five me when we’re in there. I come in there with bad intentions, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad, that’s just how it is.”
This Saturday, UFC fans will finally know Melendez; with a win, they’ll never forget him.
A title bout in mixed martial arts is five rounds at five minutes a pop. The ominous hour and 15 minutes mentioned is the accumulation of three particular championship scraps that went the distance and left frenzied fight fans with even less of an understanding of who is the better fighter. While judges have scored it twice in favor of one fighter and once for the other, as time ran out on all three occasions, neither athlete was backing down or close to being finished, clenching their fists for the impossible rounds six and seven.
If the cage is the crucible to determine who the better MMA fighter is, then Strikeforce’s fence failed at giving us all a clear answer between the organization’s final lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champion Josh Thomson. Three fights and three decisions, with their most recent outing ending in the always controversial razor-thin split decision. While Melendez did leave the arena with the belt, “The Punk” Thomson knows he has beaten the champ before and that their trilogy hasn’t truly determined a winner, but has solidified his place with Melendez at the top of the 155-pound division.
“Some fighters are just cut out to fight each other and I think that’s just the case with us,” says Thomson. “We bring the best out in each other. The fans get what they want, we put on a good show, and it benefits everybody. It’s an interesting matchup.”
At 34 years old and with a 19-5, 1 NC career dating back to the opening weeks of 2001, the San Jose superstar hasn’t slowed a step and is only revving up to stake his claim amongst the UFC’s premier lightweights. The Octagon isn’t unfamiliar territory for Thomson, who fought three times (2-1) during the company’s pre-TUF dark days and began fighting elsewhere while the UFC had its lightweight title on the shelf. The majority of Thomson’s tangles have taken place in the Strikeforce cage, where he fought 13 times and won the belt off Melendez in their first encounter back in June 2008. As evidenced by Melendez’s sole loss in Strikeforce and the two follow-up close decisions, Thomson was the stiffest competition by far, which created a respected rivalry that gave true integrity and excitement to the belt.
“I think people became addicted after our first fight,” tells Thomson. “The first fight was kind of one-sided where I put a pretty good beating on him. Add to that I was a 3 to 1 or a 4 to 1 underdog going into that fight. And Gilbert kept coming. Even though he knew he was behind and knew he was losing, he never gave up hope and fought his butt off. The second fight, I think was a war. We both threw down and had a great fight. He had got the better of that fight. I think it’s just one of those things where if fans see us on the card they know what they’re getting. They know they’re going to get their money’s worth, they know they’re going to get what they paid for. They don’t have a problem putting up that money to buy PPVs or the front row seats. I think any organization that has us knows that is what they’re buying into. They know that we’re going to come out there and lay it on the line.”
Some rivalries are built on contrasting styles (grappler vs. striker) or polar opposite origins (East vs. West, North vs. South), but Thomson and Melendez were perfect foils for one another because of their similarity. Some might give the speed advantage to Thomson and the power advantage to Melendez, but what made their scraps fun for fans was how well-rounded both athletes are and how both pushed the pace until the bitter end. While both come from excellent camps – Thomson hails from the American Kickboxing Academy gym and Melendez is about an hour away as a member of the Cesar Gracie Fight Team – the pair had trained together prior to their first fight, which is the true foundation of this excellent matchup.
“I think it’s a mutual respect we have for each other,” reveals Thomson. “I respect him a whole lot. To me, he’s a great fighter. He brings it every time. He lays it out there on the line. I trained with him a couple years before that. We trained together for about two years. We kind of knew what each one of us could do inside the gym and also inside the fight. I think it has made it easier to train for knowing and having expectations that I can take his punch and he can take mine and it’s really going to come down to whoever has the better camp and who fights better that night. I feel like anytime we fight each other, it’s just one of those things where whoever has the better night is going to be the one who wins. I think that showed in the last fight; it came down to whoever had the better night.”
As the UFC acquired Strikeforce and their top talent are making their Octagon debuts, it seemed fitting that Thomson and Melendez would also appear on the same card in the same arena where their trilogy took place: the HP Pavilion in San Jose. “We’re put into a position trying to stake our claim in the UFC and that we’re the top lightweights,” states Thomson, who has his eyes on the UFC title Melendez is fighting for, but on Saturday, he has his sights set on Melendez’s teammate Nate Diaz as the first hurdle needed to clear to get the belt. “That’s what I’m focused on now. I’m focused on Nate and not what happened in the past. I am just getting ready for what is about to happen.
“I told the UFC I have no restrictions, so it’s whoever you want me to fight, but as long as it’s the fastest way to push me toward a title shot,” reveals Thomson, who will be taking on a fighter whose last outing was the December unanimous decision loss for gold against UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Leading up to that headlining bout, Diaz was in rare form, winning back-to-back-to-back Fight Night bonuses in dominant performances over Takanori Gomi (SOTN), Donald Cerrone (FOTN), and Jim Miller (SOTN).
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” affirms Thomson. “I think [Georges St-Pierre] kind of said it the right way; it’s hard to find guys who are of the style of Nick [Diaz, older brother] and Nate. It’s hard to find a long, good boxer that’s left-handed. It’s hard to find those and to find one that’s good on the ground. I don’t really know anyone in the sport that has those skills. So that being said, as far as stylistically, he poses a lot of problems. I’ve just been preparing. I’ve got a couple good left-handers, pro-boxers. As far as the grappling, I’ve got a good source of guys I’ve been training with at Checkmat, they’re good jiu-jitsu guys. I’ve been really just focusing on whatever it takes to win this fight.”
In preparation for Diaz, Thomson is busy training in his hometown at the gym that he’s been with since the very beginning: AKA. For the standup, Thomson works his kickboxing with instructor Derek Yuen. For the ground game, Thomson shares the mats with Leandro Vieira and his decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu team Checkmat. As many of the Strikeforce fighters are coming over to the UFC with a chip on their shoulder just like the WEC fighters did, Thomson’s motivation is the same regardless of the company, shape of the cage, or location – put on a show by giving it his all.
“I’m going to go out there and put on a show,” states Thomson. “I’ve been in this sport for too long. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t bother me when I lose, but I don’t think about losing when I go out there. I’m just focused on doing the best that I can and putting on a show and making sure I give it all I got. The fans will always get the best out of me knowing that it was what I’m planning on doing.”
This Saturday in sunny San Jose, two lightweights clash to establish who is where amongst the division’s elite. “I have to make sure he is on his heels and make sure to keep him guessing and beat him to the punch every time,” asserts Thomson, who knows a win over Diaz could mean a fourth fight with Melendez or a first with Henderson, because whomever wears the gold is who he wants. “That’s what I have to do with Nate. If I come off this with a win, I want to fight the winner of Gil and Benson. I want to fight the winner.”
If “The Punk” can take out the younger Diaz, then Thomson is eager to either make it an even 100 minutes with Melendez or start a new series with Henderson.
75 minutes.
A title bout in mixed martial arts is five rounds at five minutes a pop. The ominous hour and 15 minutes mentioned is the accumulation of three particular championship scraps that went the distance and left frenzied fight fans with even less of an understanding of who is the better fighter. While judges have scored it twice in favor of one fighter and once for the other, as time ran out on all three occasions, neither athlete was backing down or close to being finished, clenching their fists for the impossible rounds six and seven.
If the cage is the crucible to determine who the better MMA fighter is, then Strikeforce’s fence failed at giving us all a clear answer between the organization’s final lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champion Josh Thomson. Three fights and three decisions, with their most recent outing ending in the always controversial razor-thin split decision. While Melendez did leave the arena with the belt, “The Punk” Thomson knows he has beaten the champ before and that their trilogy hasn’t truly determined a winner, but has solidified his place with Melendez at the top of the 155-pound division.
“Some fighters are just cut out to fight each other and I think that’s just the case with us,” says Thomson. “We bring the best out in each other. The fans get what they want, we put on a good show, and it benefits everybody. It’s an interesting matchup.”
At 34 years old and with a 19-5, 1 NC career dating back to the opening weeks of 2001, the San Jose superstar hasn’t slowed a step and is only revving up to stake his claim amongst the UFC’s premier lightweights. The Octagon isn’t unfamiliar territory for Thomson, who fought three times (2-1) during the company’s pre-TUF dark days and began fighting elsewhere while the UFC had its lightweight title on the shelf. The majority of Thomson’s tangles have taken place in the Strikeforce cage, where he fought 13 times and won the belt off Melendez in their first encounter back in June 2008. As evidenced by Melendez’s sole loss in Strikeforce and the two follow-up close decisions, Thomson was the stiffest competition by far, which created a respected rivalry that gave true integrity and excitement to the belt.
“I think people became addicted after our first fight,” tells Thomson. “The first fight was kind of one-sided where I put a pretty good beating on him. Add to that I was a 3 to 1 or a 4 to 1 underdog going into that fight. And Gilbert kept coming. Even though he knew he was behind and knew he was losing, he never gave up hope and fought his butt off. The second fight, I think was a war. We both threw down and had a great fight. He had got the better of that fight. I think it’s just one of those things where if fans see us on the card they know what they’re getting. They know they’re going to get their money’s worth, they know they’re going to get what they paid for. They don’t have a problem putting up that money to buy PPVs or the front row seats. I think any organization that has us knows that is what they’re buying into. They know that we’re going to come out there and lay it on the line.”
Some rivalries are built on contrasting styles (grappler vs. striker) or polar opposite origins (East vs. West, North vs. South), but Thomson and Melendez were perfect foils for one another because of their similarity. Some might give the speed advantage to Thomson and the power advantage to Melendez, but what made their scraps fun for fans was how well-rounded both athletes are and how both pushed the pace until the bitter end. While both come from excellent camps – Thomson hails from the American Kickboxing Academy gym and Melendez is about an hour away as a member of the Cesar Gracie Fight Team – the pair had trained together prior to their first fight, which is the true foundation of this excellent matchup.
“I think it’s a mutual respect we have for each other,” reveals Thomson. “I respect him a whole lot. To me, he’s a great fighter. He brings it every time. He lays it out there on the line. I trained with him a couple years before that. We trained together for about two years. We kind of knew what each one of us could do inside the gym and also inside the fight. I think it has made it easier to train for knowing and having expectations that I can take his punch and he can take mine and it’s really going to come down to whoever has the better camp and who fights better that night. I feel like anytime we fight each other, it’s just one of those things where whoever has the better night is going to be the one who wins. I think that showed in the last fight; it came down to whoever had the better night.”
As the UFC acquired Strikeforce and their top talent are making their Octagon debuts, it seemed fitting that Thomson and Melendez would also appear on the same card in the same arena where their trilogy took place: the HP Pavilion in San Jose. “We’re put into a position trying to stake our claim in the UFC and that we’re the top lightweights,” states Thomson, who has his eyes on the UFC title Melendez is fighting for, but on Saturday, he has his sights set on Melendez’s teammate Nate Diaz as the first hurdle needed to clear to get the belt. “That’s what I’m focused on now. I’m focused on Nate and not what happened in the past. I am just getting ready for what is about to happen.
“I told the UFC I have no restrictions, so it’s whoever you want me to fight, but as long as it’s the fastest way to push me toward a title shot,” reveals Thomson, who will be taking on a fighter whose last outing was the December unanimous decision loss for gold against UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Leading up to that headlining bout, Diaz was in rare form, winning back-to-back-to-back Fight Night bonuses in dominant performances over Takanori Gomi (SOTN), Donald Cerrone (FOTN), and Jim Miller (SOTN).
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” affirms Thomson. “I think [Georges St-Pierre] kind of said it the right way; it’s hard to find guys who are of the style of Nick [Diaz, older brother] and Nate. It’s hard to find a long, good boxer that’s left-handed. It’s hard to find those and to find one that’s good on the ground. I don’t really know anyone in the sport that has those skills. So that being said, as far as stylistically, he poses a lot of problems. I’ve just been preparing. I’ve got a couple good left-handers, pro-boxers. As far as the grappling, I’ve got a good source of guys I’ve been training with at Checkmat, they’re good jiu-jitsu guys. I’ve been really just focusing on whatever it takes to win this fight.”
In preparation for Diaz, Thomson is busy training in his hometown at the gym that he’s been with since the very beginning: AKA. For the standup, Thomson works his kickboxing with instructor Derek Yuen. For the ground game, Thomson shares the mats with Leandro Vieira and his decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu team Checkmat. As many of the Strikeforce fighters are coming over to the UFC with a chip on their shoulder just like the WEC fighters did, Thomson’s motivation is the same regardless of the company, shape of the cage, or location – put on a show by giving it his all.
“I’m going to go out there and put on a show,” states Thomson. “I’ve been in this sport for too long. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t bother me when I lose, but I don’t think about losing when I go out there. I’m just focused on doing the best that I can and putting on a show and making sure I give it all I got. The fans will always get the best out of me knowing that it was what I’m planning on doing.”
This Saturday in sunny San Jose, two lightweights clash to establish who is where amongst the division’s elite. “I have to make sure he is on his heels and make sure to keep him guessing and beat him to the punch every time,” asserts Thomson, who knows a win over Diaz could mean a fourth fight with Melendez or a first with Henderson, because whomever wears the gold is who he wants. “That’s what I have to do with Nate. If I come off this with a win, I want to fight the winner of Gil and Benson. I want to fight the winner.”
If “The Punk” can take out the younger Diaz, then Thomson is eager to either make it an even 100 minutes with Melendez or start a new series with Henderson.
Get your chuckles in while you can because Tim Means isn’t joking around.
“I’m better than Gilbert Melendez, so I’m going to stop Jorge Masvidal on the 20th,” declares Means. It’s always exciting hearing a fighter full of spit and grit say he’s going to do something and, at the same time, actually sounding like he can.
Maybe it’s the Oklahoma accent, the time-served in prison, the 18-3-1 record, not losing at lightweight since 2005, the tutelage of New Mexico’s utility knife Tom Vaughn, the nine fight win streak or, maybe just maybe, it’s all of the above. Of course, one has to consider the video evidence of the 6’2” Means hammering his opponents with reach and power in back-to-back victories inside the Octagon last year. When all the factors are added together, the result is an even blend of success and seriousness that is gunning to make its mark in the most talent-rich division in the UFC.
“There are a lot of good guys in this weight class like Melendez fighting [Benson] Henderson,” states Means. “These are all good athletes, but when it comes down to it – I’m meaner than all of them. And I’m going to exploit that in all of my fights.”
At 29 years old, “The Dirty Bird” is ready to rule the roost. The product of Albuquerque’s FIT NHB made his Octagon debut in February 2012 with the unanimous drubbing of Bernardo Magalhaes. Means grabbed a couple 10-8 rounds, threw almost 200 strikes while landing nearly half of them, and successfully defended 11 takedowns. As a follow-up to that one-sided performance, he only needed a minute to drop and stop Justin Salas with punches in June. Now, Means has his sights set on former Strikeforce #1 contender Jorge Masvidal, who he faces this Saturday in San Jose.
“I feel that I’m the most aggressive 155-pounder in the UFC,” affirms Means. “I’m going to get in your face and I’m going to force you to go backwards. Masvidal does really good going backwards when he fights, but I don’t think he likes a lot of pressure. Melendez was able to pressure him a lot. He got in his face, hit him with shots, tricked him with the takedown, and things of that nature. Pressuring him and making him feel uncomfortable is what I’m looking to do. Masvidal has done really good keeping fights at his pace and that’s the reason why he lasts so long. People don’t pressure him. I’m going to do that to him.”
A veteran brawler from American Top Team, Masvidal is set to make his Octagon debut after battling with some of the best lightweights and welterweights the world over, including Yves Edwards, Paul Daley, K.J. Noons, and Strikeforce lightweight champ Melendez. With a penchant for staying in the pocket and scrapping, “Gamebred” has won big fights and lost big fights, but is rarely finished, with his lone TKO loss gathering dust from five years ago. While a win over Masvidal would improve any lightweight’s stock, a stoppage would skyrocket it.
“Let me think how to say this politely, I have to finish Masvidal to get people to start putting me into those title talks,” explains Means. “I can’t decision a guy that a former champion decisioned. I have to go beat him. I have to put the brakes on him and make people notice. If I just decision him, he’s lost decision fights. But who has stopped him? That’s my mentality going into the fight – I have to stop him. That’s from post to pillar and that’s all I have in my head right now.”
While Means didn’t need any added motivation to continue his impressive win streak and continue his loss column clean in the UFC, there were two freak occurrences that clipped the wings of “The Dirty Bird” for the second half of 2012. The first was the cancellation of UFC 151 in September, where Means was originally scheduled to tangle with Abel Trujillo. The second incident he might have got a laugh out of if it didn’t happen to him, as Means slipped in the sauna the morning of UFC on FOX in December’s weigh-in and nearly knocked himself out. While these have been frustrating moments, they’re nothing in comparison to what he’s previously overcome in life and will only be chalked up as more fuel for this emerging lightweight’s fire to keep his chin down, his punches up, and his movement forward onto another victory.
“Every fight is going to be harder than the last one,” tells Means. “I just have to focus on the opponent at hand. The win streak is cool. Since being out of prison, I’ve been motivated and I needed to make some money. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work at McDonald’s or a library or fight. I started training again and started taking fights again and I started winning fights. I fought Jamie Jara and I realized then that I need to stay in my weight class and take things more seriously instead of jumping around taking fights whenever. Trial and error for me. I’m still going through that at 29 years old. A slip in the sauna is a trial and error. The funniest joke for me was when Joe Rogan interviewed the sauna on the internet. All that stuff is funny, but people will be looking at me in a different life after me and Masvidal square off.”
In preparation for this bout, Means is busy training at altitude at FIT NHB under the watchful eyes of Vaughn and Arlene Sanchez-Vaughn. For wrestling, Means has rededicated himself to the grappling mats with coach Jon Judy. As luck would have it, Vaughn is also the head coach for the UFC studded cast at Power MMA in Arizona, where Means gets work in with Ryan Bader, CB Dollaway, Aaron Simpson, and Seth Baczynski. An added bonus this time around was some sparring with #1 ranked UFC welterweight Johny Hendricks.
“I feel my cardio is on a whole new level, my nutrition is different, my strength and conditioning is different,” asserts Means. “I’ve matured as a person and a fighter. It’s taken those trials and errors to help me get into a confident mind-frame to get up to do what I have to do. Bleeding a little bit for a paycheck is well worth it. I’m more than excited to work for the company that I’m working for. I just want my style to be liked by the fans and that’s what I’m going for. I might have put in the blood and the sweat physically, but they’ve put in a lot of time and hours to beat me up and to make sure that I’m going into this fight 100% and I couldn’t appreciate that any more.”
Easily, the most important member of team Means is an MMA fighting flyweight of a different gender: Brenda “Boom Boom” Gonzalez. The engaged cagefighting couple are each other’s rock before, during, and after training. While “The Dirty Bird” is making strides in the Octagon, “Boom Boom” is 4-0 with three TKO finishes since turning pro in 2011, with a big bout in May against the undefeated Rin Nakai in Japan. With the women’s bantamweight division on The Ultimate Fighter next season, Gonzalez is planning on trying out, with the very real possibility of being on the show and making their household all UFC employed. Honestly, it would be all types of incredible if a husband and wife earned Fight Night bonuses on the same card.
“I see her cutting her weight and she’s suffering and sucking it up and it makes me want to work harder,” reveals Means. “She’s pulling her weight to make her fights happen and to make her paycheck; it makes me try that much harder to make my end of the deal work. She’s a hard worker! I’ve got more experience as far as fights and I’ve been in the game longer, but overall work ethic and heart – she beats me in that. I have to compete with her in that to outwork her and to outdrive her. Breaking her doesn’t work. She spars with all males. She spars with 125 and 135 pound males in practice. She’s going to be trying out for The Ultimate Fighter in April. Her nutrition, her weightlifting, she tends to beat me up to make me do the dishes, which is messed up (laughs). It works. We fight, we bicker, we get along, and thank goodness for training because it helps us get through every day.”
On April 20th at UFC on FOX in San Jose, California, Means is locked and loaded to put a stop on Masvidal. “Just expect a fist fight,” affirms Means, who has skillfully earned 15 of his 18 wins by finish. Making short work of Masvidal will definitely put an end to any sauna jokes and mark the beginning of “The Dirty Bird” as a lightweight contender.
Get your chuckles in while you can because Tim Means isn’t joking around.
“I’m better than Gilbert Melendez, so I’m going to stop Jorge Masvidal on the 20th,” declares Means. It’s always exciting hearing a fighter full of spit and grit say he’s going to do something and, at the same time, actually sounding like he can.
Maybe it’s the Oklahoma accent, the time-served in prison, the 18-3-1 record, not losing at lightweight since 2005, the tutelage of New Mexico’s utility knife Tom Vaughn, the nine fight win streak or, maybe just maybe, it’s all of the above. Of course, one has to consider the video evidence of the 6’2” Means hammering his opponents with reach and power in back-to-back victories inside the Octagon last year. When all the factors are added together, the result is an even blend of success and seriousness that is gunning to make its mark in the most talent-rich division in the UFC.
“There are a lot of good guys in this weight class like Melendez fighting [Benson] Henderson,” states Means. “These are all good athletes, but when it comes down to it – I’m meaner than all of them. And I’m going to exploit that in all of my fights.”
At 29 years old, “The Dirty Bird” is ready to rule the roost. The product of Albuquerque’s FIT NHB made his Octagon debut in February 2012 with the unanimous drubbing of Bernardo Magalhaes. Means grabbed a couple 10-8 rounds, threw almost 200 strikes while landing nearly half of them, and successfully defended 11 takedowns. As a follow-up to that one-sided performance, he only needed a minute to drop and stop Justin Salas with punches in June. Now, Means has his sights set on former Strikeforce #1 contender Jorge Masvidal, who he faces this Saturday in San Jose.
“I feel that I’m the most aggressive 155-pounder in the UFC,” affirms Means. “I’m going to get in your face and I’m going to force you to go backwards. Masvidal does really good going backwards when he fights, but I don’t think he likes a lot of pressure. Melendez was able to pressure him a lot. He got in his face, hit him with shots, tricked him with the takedown, and things of that nature. Pressuring him and making him feel uncomfortable is what I’m looking to do. Masvidal has done really good keeping fights at his pace and that’s the reason why he lasts so long. People don’t pressure him. I’m going to do that to him.”
A veteran brawler from American Top Team, Masvidal is set to make his Octagon debut after battling with some of the best lightweights and welterweights the world over, including Yves Edwards, Paul Daley, K.J. Noons, and Strikeforce lightweight champ Melendez. With a penchant for staying in the pocket and scrapping, “Gamebred” has won big fights and lost big fights, but is rarely finished, with his lone TKO loss gathering dust from five years ago. While a win over Masvidal would improve any lightweight’s stock, a stoppage would skyrocket it.
“Let me think how to say this politely, I have to finish Masvidal to get people to start putting me into those title talks,” explains Means. “I can’t decision a guy that a former champion decisioned. I have to go beat him. I have to put the brakes on him and make people notice. If I just decision him, he’s lost decision fights. But who has stopped him? That’s my mentality going into the fight – I have to stop him. That’s from post to pillar and that’s all I have in my head right now.”
While Means didn’t need any added motivation to continue his impressive win streak and continue his loss column clean in the UFC, there were two freak occurrences that clipped the wings of “The Dirty Bird” for the second half of 2012. The first was the cancellation of UFC 151 in September, where Means was originally scheduled to tangle with Abel Trujillo. The second incident he might have got a laugh out of if it didn’t happen to him, as Means slipped in the sauna the morning of UFC on FOX in December’s weigh-in and nearly knocked himself out. While these have been frustrating moments, they’re nothing in comparison to what he’s previously overcome in life and will only be chalked up as more fuel for this emerging lightweight’s fire to keep his chin down, his punches up, and his movement forward onto another victory.
“Every fight is going to be harder than the last one,” tells Means. “I just have to focus on the opponent at hand. The win streak is cool. Since being out of prison, I’ve been motivated and I needed to make some money. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work at McDonald’s or a library or fight. I started training again and started taking fights again and I started winning fights. I fought Jamie Jara and I realized then that I need to stay in my weight class and take things more seriously instead of jumping around taking fights whenever. Trial and error for me. I’m still going through that at 29 years old. A slip in the sauna is a trial and error. The funniest joke for me was when Joe Rogan interviewed the sauna on the internet. All that stuff is funny, but people will be looking at me in a different life after me and Masvidal square off.”
In preparation for this bout, Means is busy training at altitude at FIT NHB under the watchful eyes of Vaughn and Arlene Sanchez-Vaughn. For wrestling, Means has rededicated himself to the grappling mats with coach Jon Judy. As luck would have it, Vaughn is also the head coach for the UFC studded cast at Power MMA in Arizona, where Means gets work in with Ryan Bader, CB Dollaway, Aaron Simpson, and Seth Baczynski. An added bonus this time around was some sparring with #1 ranked UFC welterweight Johny Hendricks.
“I feel my cardio is on a whole new level, my nutrition is different, my strength and conditioning is different,” asserts Means. “I’ve matured as a person and a fighter. It’s taken those trials and errors to help me get into a confident mind-frame to get up to do what I have to do. Bleeding a little bit for a paycheck is well worth it. I’m more than excited to work for the company that I’m working for. I just want my style to be liked by the fans and that’s what I’m going for. I might have put in the blood and the sweat physically, but they’ve put in a lot of time and hours to beat me up and to make sure that I’m going into this fight 100% and I couldn’t appreciate that any more.”
Easily, the most important member of team Means is an MMA fighting flyweight of a different gender: Brenda “Boom Boom” Gonzalez. The engaged cagefighting couple are each other’s rock before, during, and after training. While “The Dirty Bird” is making strides in the Octagon, “Boom Boom” is 4-0 with three TKO finishes since turning pro in 2011, with a big bout in May against the undefeated Rin Nakai in Japan. With the women’s bantamweight division on The Ultimate Fighter next season, Gonzalez is planning on trying out, with the very real possibility of being on the show and making their household all UFC employed. Honestly, it would be all types of incredible if a husband and wife earned Fight Night bonuses on the same card.
“I see her cutting her weight and she’s suffering and sucking it up and it makes me want to work harder,” reveals Means. “She’s pulling her weight to make her fights happen and to make her paycheck; it makes me try that much harder to make my end of the deal work. She’s a hard worker! I’ve got more experience as far as fights and I’ve been in the game longer, but overall work ethic and heart – she beats me in that. I have to compete with her in that to outwork her and to outdrive her. Breaking her doesn’t work. She spars with all males. She spars with 125 and 135 pound males in practice. She’s going to be trying out for The Ultimate Fighter in April. Her nutrition, her weightlifting, she tends to beat me up to make me do the dishes, which is messed up (laughs). It works. We fight, we bicker, we get along, and thank goodness for training because it helps us get through every day.”
On April 20th at UFC on FOX in San Jose, California, Means is locked and loaded to put a stop on Masvidal. “Just expect a fist fight,” affirms Means, who has skillfully earned 15 of his 18 wins by finish. Making short work of Masvidal will definitely put an end to any sauna jokes and mark the beginning of “The Dirty Bird” as a lightweight contender.
Sorry, Bing Crosby, but being home for Christmas in his dreams simply was not good enough for Matt Mitrione.
“Legitimately, one of the biggest reasons why I took the fight with [Roy Nelson]: I needed to be home for Christmas,” reveals Mitrione. “I needed to be. I was gone for so much. I missed my kids’ birthdays. I missed so much that I needed to be home for Christmas. This fight came up and it let me be home for Christmas and spend time with my kids for New Years. It made the biggest the difference for them. For my kids and my family, it was humongous.”
The 34-year-old father of three spent the majority of last year roughly a thousand miles Southeast of his Indiana home, training with the Blackzilians in Florida. Originally, Mitrione was set to make his seventh Octagon appearance in August against England’s Rob Broughton, following a short time off to deal with injuries and rehab. After a few scrapped and rescheduled dates with Broughton, Mitrione was paired against another Englishman in Phil De Fries at UFC 155 on December 29. All told, Mitrione had been away from home for nine months and away from the cage for 14 months; when offered to fill-in for Shane Carwin against Roy Nelson at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale – Mitrione jumped at the fight.
“It did not matter if it was four days before I fought Phil De Fries or the two weeks it was, I needed to fight,” explains Mitrione. “I needed to compete. I needed to get in there and do something. I needed the money too. I hadn’t fought for so long. I was also gone for so long; I was in Florida for nine months. I have three kids! I made sure to go down there early in March to rehab because I had some surgeries. I went down in March to do two months of rehab and two months of training, and the fight got pushed back and the fight got pushed back again and again. It kept getting pushed back one month at a time, so it wasn’t enough time to go back to see my kids. I just stayed down here the whole time.”
The scrap was short and sweet and, for the first time, Mitrione was on the wrong end of it. The former defensive tackle for Purdue University’s Boilermakers has only laced up a pair of MMA gloves for a professional bout inside the Octagon. At 5-2, Mitrione finished four of his first five opponents with his patented punching power and took a lone tangle the distance in a Fight of the Night unanimous decision win over Joey Beltran at UFC 119. Aggression appeared to be Mitrione’s middle name until the uncharacteristic stale decision loss against Cheick Kongo in October 2011. After sitting out nearly all of 2012, Mitrione wanted a firefight and, win or lose, he had the right dance partner to give him one.
“Once the fight happens, I bring the fight to Roy,” tells Mitrione. “I’m obviously aggressive and pushing the pace and I got caught up in the emotion of the moment and I got caught by a punch I didn’t see. I didn’t lose consciousness, I just got knocked down, and I was like ‘what the hell just happened,’ and Roy’s on top of me – the fight is over. It showed that I brought the fight to Roy. It was exciting because it was my seventh fight in my life and I’m fighting in the main event against a guy who is in the top seven in the world. Seventh fight in my life! That’s pretty damn exciting. It’s something that, as a man, will get your blood pumping again and be like ‘holy s**t’ let’s do something in here. It’s a moment in your life. I was excited when it came up. Roy’s a friend, I respect him, but it’s time to see what happens. Roy’s a real ‘Ultimate Fighter’ and he showed that. I made two mistakes and he took advantage of them and capitalized on them and that’s what happens. You make the wrong choice at the wrong time and you’re going to get caught; that’s what happens in our sport. It was exciting. Even though it only went three minutes, it was still damn exciting.”
Up next, Mitrione will look to get back on the winning track and get back to regularly slated Octagon competition at UFC on FUEL TV in Sweden with a familiar European opponent in De Fries. This Saturday, the Sunderland submission specialist with a 2-2 UFC record will most likely drag this fight to the floor looking for the finish. The purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu has moved training camps to sunny California to improve his overall fight game with Alliance MMA. Earning eight of his nine victories via tap out, De Fries is at his most dangerous on the ground, and he would like to take the knockout artist Mitrione off his feet.
“I think Phil is a good fighter and a good grappler,” asserts Mitrione. “What he does, he does well. He gets guys up against the wall, he doesn’t get reversed very much against the wall, and he’s got a decent grappling game. He isn’t afraid of going for submissions, he can hold guys for positions, he’ll go for elbows, and he tries to finish fights. I think he’s a good fighter. I’m really excited to get in there with him. If it goes to the ground, I have a relatively well-developed ground game that I don’t ever really show and, if it goes there, I would love to be able to show it. Obviously, I would rather stay on my feet and let my hands and my shins do the talking for me.”
While Mitrione hasn’t shown any real weakness on the ground in his seven UFC fights, De Fries has displayed a slightly fragile chin in two first round KO/TKO losses to heavy-handed adversaries Stipe Miocic and, most recently, Todd Duffee at UFC 155. It’s almost an unnecessary confidence boost for Mitrione, considering that no matter who he stares across the cage from, his game plan will be to unleash his 82 inch reach on them. Whether it’s simply good scouting or mild baiting or both, Mitrione is expecting to defend De Fries’ takedowns and wall work in between firing his own combinations of fists and feet.
“As a striker, I think I can put my hands on anybody and put them in a bad situation,” affirms Mitrione. “Phil is no fool. Phil going to do whatever he can to get me against the wall. He’s not going to stand in space with me and trade off. If he does, that would be awesome. I don’t think he will. I think he’s going to come out, throw a jab, a looping right hook, and then try to rush me against the wall. He may just throw a jab and drop in for a double. We’ll see. But I don’t think he’s the type of guy who is going to stand there and trade off with me.”
At the Blackzilians camp, Dutch kickboxing coach Henri Hooft is in charge of sharpening Mitrione’s striking skills.
“Henri is an exceptional standup coach and he’s taught me a lot about my range and my power,” says Mitrione, who hasn’t lacked in top tier sparring partners like K-1 star Tyrone Spong, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, Thiago Silva, and Anthony Johnson, to name a few. As far as the ground game, Mitrione refers to the Blackzilians’ approach as “coaching by a village” with teammates like Jorge Santiago or Vitor Belfort running BJJ classes or visiting black belts like Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu open to teaching their craft.
On top of the work being done in Florida, Mitrione has trained at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and is a part-owner of a gym in Indianapolis with mentor Chris Lytle. When at home, Mitrione learns as much as he can from “Lights Out” Lytle, whether it is a lesson on life inside or outside the cage. From Xtreme Couture, Mitrione is in heavy contact with their head grappling coach Neil Melanson. These past three years in the UFC have all been on the job training for Mitrione, who is evolving as an athlete in a new sport while competing in the preeminent organization for it.
“My game is developing,” affirms Mitrione. “There are a lot of things that I can do that I haven’t been able to show off and I think that’s because I had a lot of time off, so I have developed quite a bit. Right now, I’m as good as I can be. I want to maintain where I’m at right now, so when I go back in I’m always growing. That means I’m training catch wrestling when I’m not training jiu-jitsu and I’m training jiu-jitsu when I’m not training catch. I work on offensive wrestling, sit-outs, peak outs, doubles, defenses, wall work, judo, and blah blah blah. Developments in my combinations, punching in bunches instead of just throwing one or two. Timing on kicks, locations of kicks, and combinations after that. I’m always trying to add another card to the deck, but I’m not trying to overwhelm myself.”
As the Octagon has traveled all over the world, this will be Mitrione’s first fight off the continent. “I love to travel and I’ve been to a lot of places, but I haven’t been to Sweden yet,” says Mitrione. who will have an impromptu adventure with a couple training partners and friends following the caged combat with De Fries. “I’m going to spend a couple extra days afterward. It’s kind of my family away from home with Michael Johnson and Ryan Couture also fighting, so it’s exciting. My coaches are going to be there, a couple of guys I train with everyday are going to be there, a couple of my idiot friends are going to come through, so it should be a great time.”
This Saturday at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, two heavyweights will collide in a classic “striker vs. grappler” clash as Mitrione battles De Fries. “I’m going to come out there and try to do a standup war,” states Mitrione, who will look to push the pace and get into a fist fight while gunning for a fifth stoppage victory inside the Octagon. “I’m going to give my best effort and earn my keep. Whatever happens happens; I’ll be ready for everything, and I’ll give them a good show.”
If he can grab his first Knockout of the Night bonus, then Christmas will come very early to the Mitriones this year.
Sorry, Bing Crosby, but being home for Christmas in his dreams simply was not good enough for Matt Mitrione.
“Legitimately, one of the biggest reasons why I took the fight with [Roy Nelson]: I needed to be home for Christmas,” reveals Mitrione. “I needed to be. I was gone for so much. I missed my kids’ birthdays. I missed so much that I needed to be home for Christmas. This fight came up and it let me be home for Christmas and spend time with my kids for New Years. It made the biggest the difference for them. For my kids and my family, it was humongous.”
The 34-year-old father of three spent the majority of last year roughly a thousand miles Southeast of his Indiana home, training with the Blackzilians in Florida. Originally, Mitrione was set to make his seventh Octagon appearance in August against England’s Rob Broughton, following a short time off to deal with injuries and rehab. After a few scrapped and rescheduled dates with Broughton, Mitrione was paired against another Englishman in Phil De Fries at UFC 155 on December 29. All told, Mitrione had been away from home for nine months and away from the cage for 14 months; when offered to fill-in for Shane Carwin against Roy Nelson at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale – Mitrione jumped at the fight.
“It did not matter if it was four days before I fought Phil De Fries or the two weeks it was, I needed to fight,” explains Mitrione. “I needed to compete. I needed to get in there and do something. I needed the money too. I hadn’t fought for so long. I was also gone for so long; I was in Florida for nine months. I have three kids! I made sure to go down there early in March to rehab because I had some surgeries. I went down in March to do two months of rehab and two months of training, and the fight got pushed back and the fight got pushed back again and again. It kept getting pushed back one month at a time, so it wasn’t enough time to go back to see my kids. I just stayed down here the whole time.”
The scrap was short and sweet and, for the first time, Mitrione was on the wrong end of it. The former defensive tackle for Purdue University’s Boilermakers has only laced up a pair of MMA gloves for a professional bout inside the Octagon. At 5-2, Mitrione finished four of his first five opponents with his patented punching power and took a lone tangle the distance in a Fight of the Night unanimous decision win over Joey Beltran at UFC 119. Aggression appeared to be Mitrione’s middle name until the uncharacteristic stale decision loss against Cheick Kongo in October 2011. After sitting out nearly all of 2012, Mitrione wanted a firefight and, win or lose, he had the right dance partner to give him one.
“Once the fight happens, I bring the fight to Roy,” tells Mitrione. “I’m obviously aggressive and pushing the pace and I got caught up in the emotion of the moment and I got caught by a punch I didn’t see. I didn’t lose consciousness, I just got knocked down, and I was like ‘what the hell just happened,’ and Roy’s on top of me – the fight is over. It showed that I brought the fight to Roy. It was exciting because it was my seventh fight in my life and I’m fighting in the main event against a guy who is in the top seven in the world. Seventh fight in my life! That’s pretty damn exciting. It’s something that, as a man, will get your blood pumping again and be like ‘holy s**t’ let’s do something in here. It’s a moment in your life. I was excited when it came up. Roy’s a friend, I respect him, but it’s time to see what happens. Roy’s a real ‘Ultimate Fighter’ and he showed that. I made two mistakes and he took advantage of them and capitalized on them and that’s what happens. You make the wrong choice at the wrong time and you’re going to get caught; that’s what happens in our sport. It was exciting. Even though it only went three minutes, it was still damn exciting.”
Up next, Mitrione will look to get back on the winning track and get back to regularly slated Octagon competition at UFC on FUEL TV in Sweden with a familiar European opponent in De Fries. This Saturday, the Sunderland submission specialist with a 2-2 UFC record will most likely drag this fight to the floor looking for the finish. The purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu has moved training camps to sunny California to improve his overall fight game with Alliance MMA. Earning eight of his nine victories via tap out, De Fries is at his most dangerous on the ground, and he would like to take the knockout artist Mitrione off his feet.
“I think Phil is a good fighter and a good grappler,” asserts Mitrione. “What he does, he does well. He gets guys up against the wall, he doesn’t get reversed very much against the wall, and he’s got a decent grappling game. He isn’t afraid of going for submissions, he can hold guys for positions, he’ll go for elbows, and he tries to finish fights. I think he’s a good fighter. I’m really excited to get in there with him. If it goes to the ground, I have a relatively well-developed ground game that I don’t ever really show and, if it goes there, I would love to be able to show it. Obviously, I would rather stay on my feet and let my hands and my shins do the talking for me.”
While Mitrione hasn’t shown any real weakness on the ground in his seven UFC fights, De Fries has displayed a slightly fragile chin in two first round KO/TKO losses to heavy-handed adversaries Stipe Miocic and, most recently, Todd Duffee at UFC 155. It’s almost an unnecessary confidence boost for Mitrione, considering that no matter who he stares across the cage from, his game plan will be to unleash his 82 inch reach on them. Whether it’s simply good scouting or mild baiting or both, Mitrione is expecting to defend De Fries’ takedowns and wall work in between firing his own combinations of fists and feet.
“As a striker, I think I can put my hands on anybody and put them in a bad situation,” affirms Mitrione. “Phil is no fool. Phil going to do whatever he can to get me against the wall. He’s not going to stand in space with me and trade off. If he does, that would be awesome. I don’t think he will. I think he’s going to come out, throw a jab, a looping right hook, and then try to rush me against the wall. He may just throw a jab and drop in for a double. We’ll see. But I don’t think he’s the type of guy who is going to stand there and trade off with me.”
At the Blackzilians camp, Dutch kickboxing coach Henri Hooft is in charge of sharpening Mitrione’s striking skills.
“Henri is an exceptional standup coach and he’s taught me a lot about my range and my power,” says Mitrione, who hasn’t lacked in top tier sparring partners like K-1 star Tyrone Spong, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, Thiago Silva, and Anthony Johnson, to name a few. As far as the ground game, Mitrione refers to the Blackzilians’ approach as “coaching by a village” with teammates like Jorge Santiago or Vitor Belfort running BJJ classes or visiting black belts like Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu open to teaching their craft.
On top of the work being done in Florida, Mitrione has trained at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and is a part-owner of a gym in Indianapolis with mentor Chris Lytle. When at home, Mitrione learns as much as he can from “Lights Out” Lytle, whether it is a lesson on life inside or outside the cage. From Xtreme Couture, Mitrione is in heavy contact with their head grappling coach Neil Melanson. These past three years in the UFC have all been on the job training for Mitrione, who is evolving as an athlete in a new sport while competing in the preeminent organization for it.
“My game is developing,” affirms Mitrione. “There are a lot of things that I can do that I haven’t been able to show off and I think that’s because I had a lot of time off, so I have developed quite a bit. Right now, I’m as good as I can be. I want to maintain where I’m at right now, so when I go back in I’m always growing. That means I’m training catch wrestling when I’m not training jiu-jitsu and I’m training jiu-jitsu when I’m not training catch. I work on offensive wrestling, sit-outs, peak outs, doubles, defenses, wall work, judo, and blah blah blah. Developments in my combinations, punching in bunches instead of just throwing one or two. Timing on kicks, locations of kicks, and combinations after that. I’m always trying to add another card to the deck, but I’m not trying to overwhelm myself.”
As the Octagon has traveled all over the world, this will be Mitrione’s first fight off the continent. “I love to travel and I’ve been to a lot of places, but I haven’t been to Sweden yet,” says Mitrione. who will have an impromptu adventure with a couple training partners and friends following the caged combat with De Fries. “I’m going to spend a couple extra days afterward. It’s kind of my family away from home with Michael Johnson and Ryan Couture also fighting, so it’s exciting. My coaches are going to be there, a couple of guys I train with everyday are going to be there, a couple of my idiot friends are going to come through, so it should be a great time.”
This Saturday at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, two heavyweights will collide in a classic “striker vs. grappler” clash as Mitrione battles De Fries. “I’m going to come out there and try to do a standup war,” states Mitrione, who will look to push the pace and get into a fist fight while gunning for a fifth stoppage victory inside the Octagon. “I’m going to give my best effort and earn my keep. Whatever happens happens; I’ll be ready for everything, and I’ll give them a good show.”
If he can grab his first Knockout of the Night bonus, then Christmas will come very early to the Mitriones this year.
There have been plenty of insane occurrences inside the Octagon since we last brought you a list of crazy fight finishes. From comebacks to underdog victories, here are the most bananas bouts in the last few years. 1. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at U…
There have been plenty of insane occurrences inside the Octagon since we last brought you a list of crazy fight finishes. From comebacks to underdog victories, here are the most bananas bouts in the last few years.
1. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116 – Two titans with UFC belts clashed, with Carwin dominating the opening frame with punches and vicious GnP. It seemed like the fight was just waiting to be stopped — but Lesnar somehow survived that round, beaten up and bleeding but still smiling. Carwin, on the other hand, looked bewildered. When the two came out for the second stanza, Lesnar scored an immediate takedown (expected), then locked in an arm-triangle choke (definitely unexpected). Whether it was fatigue, techinique or just shock that *Brock Lesnar* was going for a submission, Carwin tapped, unifying the UFC heavyweight title. watch fight
2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 – It may be the greatest fight in the company’s history, all due to the twist ending that proved a champion’s mettle warranted his metal. After a solid year of Sonnen’s trash talk, he backed it up by taking down Silva every chance he got. Sonnen pummeled the previously untouchable Brazilian for the first four rounds to easy 10-9 victories. But with less than two minutes left in this 25 minute epic, the UFC middleweight champion established wrist control, locked up Sonnen in a triangle (his nemesis), and attacked Sonnen’s prone arm for the tap at 3:10 of the 5th. watch fight 3. Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 144 Yushin Okami looked dominant, fast and accurate, as he beat up Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch for 10 minutes, threatening a fight stoppage with ground-and-pound against the fence when the second bell went off. Back in their corners, it was clear that a Boetsch win would require a miracle, so that’s what “The Barbarian” did. The round started and Boetsch landed punches and head kicks, staggering the spent Okami before TKOing him in only 54 seconds. watch fight
4. Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry at UFC Live – Two former professional kickboxers delivered on the promise of a strikers’ duel inside the Octagon. Shocker one: Pat Barry dropped the bigger Chieck Kongo twice in the opening 2 minutes. Shocker two: Kongo battled back from what looked like a flash knockout, stood up and reflexively caught the granite-chinned Barry with a knockout punch. The former K-1 star Barry had never been knocked out in kickboxing, MMA or sparring — until 2:39 into the first round of that main event. watch fight
5. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125 and UFC 136 – In the two incredible title fights between then-champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, “The Answer” had his clock cleaned over and over again in the first round but gutted it out and showed up for the second. At UFC 125 (watch fight), Edgar’s nose was bleeding like a faucet after eating what seemed like a thousand of Maynard’s devastating uppercuts and overhand rights. At UFC 136 (watch fight), it was a nearly identical story of taking punishment that would stop about any other fighter, but Edgar simply refused to quit. Both times, Edgar worked his way back with his speed and resilience, first to a deserved (if disheartening) draw at 125, and then with an exclamation point fourth-round KO to finish the series at UFC 136.
6. Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140 – The end result of Frank Mir’s second tangle with fellow former champion Minotauro Nogueira became a career-defining moment for Mir. Nogueira put Mir in a bad spot early with punches that wobbled then dropped Mir. Smelling blood, BJJ black belt “Big Nog” latched on a guillotine choke and pulled guard. Unfortunately for him, Mir is also a BJJ black belt who defended the choke and reversed into top position. Then Mir locked on a kimura and, when Nogueira refused to tap, broke Nogueira’s arm right, forcing the ref to wave off the fight. watch fight
7. Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger at The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale – Martin Kampmann has made a career of comeback victories, including submission finishes over Jorge Rivera and Drew McFederies in bouts where the Danish “Hitman” was dropped early. Probably the most amazing of these comeback wins by Kampmann was against the explosive and powerful knockout artist Jake Ellenberger. Ellenberger flattened Kampmann with strikes and appeared to have the fight won, but Kampmann defended well enough to see the second.That’s when the Hitman turned the tide with a series of knees that dropped and finished Ellenberger for a win and a Knockout of the Night bonus. watch fight
8. Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard at UFC 150 – In what may be a UFC record, Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard earned Fight of the Night and Knockout bonuses in only 76 seconds inside the Octagon. Former teammates and training partners, Cerrone and Guillard brought their trademark come-early-and-often fighting styles to the center of the Octagon in a bout that looked kind of like Barry/Kongo, but at 155 pounds and 9 times as fast. Guillard pounced first, dropping Cerrone with hard strikes. “Cowboy” fought back and slammed a kick into the side of Guillard’s unsuspecting head, then followed up with punches. The end result? $2,376 per second of bonus material. watch fight
9. Bobby Green vs. Jacob Volkmann at UFC 156 – Debuting Strikeforce fighter Bobby Green faced overcame obstacles in both his opponent and in his referee in his UFC debut, taking him from unknown to teacher’s pet. In the first two rounds, Jacob Volkmann, a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, took Green down, got his back, and ended the round positioning for a rear-naked choke. Even when Green mounted some offense in the second — in the form of effective elbows from the inarguably dominant top position — referee Kim Winslow intervened with a standup. Despite the gods seemingly conspiring against him, Green pushed the pace in the third and landed even more elbows on the ground, forcing Volkmann to give up his back,. Then Green sunk in a rear naked choke of his with only 35 seconds remaining for a Submission of the Night win. When later asked how UFC fighters could keep their jobs safe, president Dana White gave this advice: “Be like Bobby Green!”
10. Antonio Silva vs. Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 – In the co-main event, two angry behemoths collided in a heavyweight struggle that had become very personal: At the pre-fight press conference, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva scowled “I’ll make you respect me” and Alistair Overeem retorted “I’m going to @#$%ing destroy you”. The early rounds were all Overeem, who used his K-1 striking and superior speed to pick “Bigfoot” apart, while taunting Silva by keeping his hands low. At the start of third, “Bigfoot” capitalized on his opponent’s hubris, rushing forward and clobbering Overeem him against the cage for an emotional KO only 25 seconds into the round. watch fight
11. Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 – It was the first-ever women’s bout, first-ever women’s bantamweight title fight, first-ever women’s main event, first-ever near-finish of undefeated Ronda Rousey and first-ever women’s sensational comeback. After a scramble on the ground against the cage, Liz Carmouche took Rousey’s back and put the clamps on the champ with a rear-naked choke attempt that landed in a neck crank. The “Girl-rilla” was squeezing Rousey’s jaw so hard that there were teeth marks in Carmouche’s forearm. Despite the peril, “Rowdy” kept her composure, peeling off Carmouche’s hooks and freeing herself. A minute later, “Rowdy” finished via her signature armbar with 11 seconds remaining in the round — still undefeated, still the champ. watch fight
Motivation is a strange mistress. 
