Author: Chris Alfaro

UFC on FX 1: Can Melvin Guillard Get Back into Title Contention?

To say that Melvin Guillard has had an up-and-down career would be an understatement.Since entering the UFC in 2005, Guillard has gone a respectable 10-5 but struggled to make his way to a title fight.His most recent outing in October of last year…

To say that Melvin Guillard has had an up-and-down career would be an understatement.

Since entering the UFC in 2005, Guillard has gone a respectable 10-5 but struggled to make his way to a title fight.

His most recent outing in October of last year ended in just 47 seconds when he was submitted by rear-naked choke to Joe Lauzon. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak that many believed had earned him his shot at gold.

Guillard has shown throughout his career that he has the makings of a champion. He is a devastating striker and finishes his opponents by KO more often than not. He even has a few submissions to his credit.

Unfortunately, he is his own worst enemy.

Dana White has called Guillard the biggest waste of talent he’s ever seen. It’s hard to argue with him.

Guillard often enters fights cocky, almost too sure of himself and has been made to pay for it several times. He refuses to work on his ground game despite it being his biggest weakness as eight of his nine losses come by submission.

Perhaps worst of all is his propensity to party. Guillard has been known to run around the party scene days before fight night and has been well documented in his use of recreational drugs.

He even tested positive for cocaine in a post-fight drug test.

If Guillard really wants to reenter the title hunt, he has many personal problems that he has to overcome. He sticks too steadfastly to what he likes to do and refuses to change himself for anyone.

Melvin Guillard is an extremely talented fighter, but he seems to be doing everything he can to keep UFC gold just out of reach.

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Strikeforce Results: Keith Jardine Should Have Dropped to Middleweight Years Ago

Last night was a sad night for fans of “The Dean of Mean.”After making his first cut to 185, Keith Jardine looked like he was doing pretty well. His movement was fast—if a tad sloppy—and he seemed able to connect with quite a few shots that…

Last night was a sad night for fans of “The Dean of Mean.”

After making his first cut to 185, Keith Jardine looked like he was doing pretty well. His movement was fast—if a tad sloppy—and he seemed able to connect with quite a few shots that surprised Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Jardine was knocked out cold at the end of the first round after what was very clearly a late stoppage.

Where did Jardine go wrong? Quite a few years ago actually.

While fighting in the UFC, Jardine was making a name for himself in the light heavyweight division. He had a rollercoaster career—picking up wins against big names like Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell, and losing to the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson.

After a four-fight skid, Jardine was given the boot.

Now in Strikeforce and at 36 years of age, Jardine finally decided to make the cut to middleweight. While he was unsuccessful in his debut, he proved he could make the limit without difficulty.

Now it’s a question of why he didn’t do that years ago?

The light heavyweight division in the UFC is full of top fighters, and Jardine is a journeyman there at best. If he had dropped to middleweight sooner, he would have enjoyed a size and strength advantage over most competitors.

After finally stepping foot in the cage at 185, it seems like it was just too late.

While he might never have been a champion, Jardine could have been a powerful force in the UFC’s middleweight division.

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UFC 142: Jose Aldo Is the UFC’s Most Beatable Champion

Back when Jose Aldo was a rising prospect in the WEC, it was obvious he was destined for greatness.He destroyed five opponents in a row, knocking all of them out in devastating fashion, including his now infamous eight-second knockout of Cub Swanson wi…

Back when Jose Aldo was a rising prospect in the WEC, it was obvious he was destined for greatness.

He destroyed five opponents in a row, knocking all of them out in devastating fashion, including his now infamous eight-second knockout of Cub Swanson with a double flying knee.

In November of 2009 he earned his title shot against the champion, Mike Brown, and knocked out the champion in just over a minute into the second round.

It seemed like Aldo was unstoppable.

In his first title defense, Aldo would face former champ Urijah Faber. For five rounds Aldo battered Faber with leg kicks to pick up the first decision win of his WEC career.

Fans were confused why Aldo, a renowned finisher, took Faber to a decision when he could have easily pounced on his downed opponent multiple times.

His next and final WEC title defense was against Manvel Gamburyan. In just over a minute and a half into the second round Aldo connected with a perfect punch that sent Gamburyan out for the night. It seemed like the Faber fight was just a fluke.

Then came Mark Hominick.

Aldo looked a mess in his first UFC title defense against Hominick. He fought sluggishly, unable to make combinations and was visibly exhausted as the fight progressed. Hominick even managed to put Aldo on his back in the final frame and unleashed relentless ground and pound for near the whole five minutes.

Aldo managed to survive and retain his belt, but he was far from impressive.

The same can be said about his defense against Kenny Florian.

Again Aldo looked horrible. He was visibly exhausted early into the fight, and he looked sickly as he fought. Aldo performed better against Florian, but nothing like the dominant knockout artist fans had come to know.

Aldo claimed the WEC title in 2009 when he was just 23 years old. It’s possible and likely that he has grown since then. He also looks as if he has become more muscular.

It’s possible that Aldo’s recent poor performances are simply because making the featherweight limit has become too difficult for him and he has to cut more weight than he used to.

Aldo is still one of the best fighters in the UFC, but he shouldn’t be fighting at featherweight anymore. He’s simply gotten too big to cut the weight and remain healthy and strong for fight night.

If Aldo continues to fight at featherweight, it’s only a matter of time until the weight cut becomes too much and he can no longer fight effectively.

At 145 pounds, Aldo is the UFC’s most beatable champion.

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Pride Fighting Is Dead and Has Been for Five Years, Get over It Already

In 2007 Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased Pride Fighting Championships.The plan was simple—take control of their biggest rival and run the organization themselves. They’d corner the market on MMA by owning the two biggest promotions…

In 2007 Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased Pride Fighting Championships.

The plan was simple—take control of their biggest rival and run the organization themselves. They’d corner the market on MMA by owning the two biggest promotions at the same time.

But there was a problem.

The previous owners had ties to the Yakuza. When this information became public, the company began to lose sponsors, television deals and public acceptance. The company began hemorrhaging money which lead to the eventual sale.

When Zuffa bought Pride, they bought Pride’s problems too.

With no Japanese company willing to sponsor the promotion, it was hard to get the money together for a show. When no channel would air anything they put together, it became impossible.

Pride was eventually folded into the UFC in October 2007, marking the death of the organization and one of the worst investments that Zuffa ever made. 

Now, in 2012, people still talk about Pride and how great the organization was. There are still discussions about how the company shouldn’t have been folded and how it never should have been sold.

There are even people who think that the end of Pride meant the end of MMA’s greatest era.

Those people are living in the past.

Pride has been dead for nearly five years. In that time, the UFC has exploded, putting on more fights, more shows and jumping to one of the biggest broadcasting networks in the world.

It’s safe to say MMA is doing just fine.

To those who still claim Pride is the best, take a look at Japanese MMA today. Dream (or Zombie Pride to some) is still alive, but barely, as are Pancrase and Shooto, while Sengoku died quietly last year.

If Pride hadn’t sold and folded into the UFC, it wouldn’t have fared well. It would have slowly crumbled without sponsors or just flat out ceased to exist with its talents spread randomly throughout the world.

Zuffa’s purchase was a fitting end for the organization. It gave its fighters a chance to continue on and keep fighting. It also brought the biggest names in MMA together and let them finally meet.

While Pride will be remembered by MMA fans for a long time, it is time to stop being nostalgic. It is time to accept the truth and move on.

Pride is dead.

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UFC 141: Does the UFC Really Need Brock Lesnar Anymore?

The “Next Big Thing” is starting to look pretty old.Brock Lesnar entered the UFC after only one professional MMA bout and lost in resounding fashion to Frank Mir. Shortly after he claimed the UFC heavyweight title, got revenge on Mir and finally lost t…

The “Next Big Thing” is starting to look pretty old.

Brock Lesnar entered the UFC after only one professional MMA bout and lost in resounding fashion to Frank Mir. Shortly after he claimed the UFC heavyweight title, got revenge on Mir and finally lost the title to Cain Valasquez.

And this Friday we’ll see him for the first time in a year.

Lesnar has always been considered a big draw among casual fans of the sport and this Friday’s pay-per-view will likely draw huge numbers.

But is Lesnar really needed for the UFC to be successful?

Hardly. The UFC is on FOX now and their exposure is only going to keep growing. With every card, national audiences will get to see more and more fighters and get familiar with new faces.

It won’t be long until one particularly exciting fighter starts making headlines.

With the new deal on FOX, the UFC is poised for the fastest growth the company has ever experienced. New fans will start flowing in and picking their favorite fighters.

There will soon be several marketable figures who have the star power of Lesnar through their connection with the casual audience. People will see them for free on FOX and follow them to the pay-per-views.

In just a year or two, don’t expect Brock Lesnar to remain the biggest draw, or even a necessary fighter. That role will be filled by a new fighter, probably one we haven’t even heard of yet.

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Donald Cerrone Will Be on the Cusp of Title Contention with UFC 141 Win

When the UFC and WEC merged late last year, they brought a host of new lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight talent into the world’s largest MMA organization.Putting these fighters on the big stage has allowed many of them to become stars.Donald …

When the UFC and WEC merged late last year, they brought a host of new lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight talent into the world’s largest MMA organization.

Putting these fighters on the big stage has allowed many of them to become stars.

Donald Cerrone has proven to be one of the brightest.

Cerrone is a warrior through and through. Ever time he steps into the octagon, he is quick to engage and fight in crowd-pleasing fashion. He always hunts for a finish.

He has been so impressive in his MMA career that he won five “fight of the night” bonuses in ten WEC appearances and has already claimed one submission and knockout of the night in just four UFC appearances.

The man is amazing.

Couple that with his impressive six-fight win streak, and here is a fighter who is knocking on the door for a title shot.

At UFC 141, Cerrone will face Nate Diaz in the co-main-event, in what is sure to be one of the biggest events of the year.

More eyes will be on him than ever before.

If Cerrone can pull out a win in the jump-out-of-your-seat style he is known for, expect him to make a strong case for a title shot in 2012.

It just wouldn’t make sense to prevent this red-hot prospect from staking his claim at the top.

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