After watching what was a great Saturday night of free fights, I decided to enjoy them a second time. While they were even better the second time, one thing stood out that I missed the first time: Fungus Killer. What am I referring to? &nbs…
After watching what was a great Saturday night of free fights, I decided to enjoy them a second time. While they were even better the second time, one thing stood out that I missed the first time: Fungus Killer.
What am I referring to? I’m speaking of the giant Fungus Killer logo that was across Lyoto Machida‘s crotch. It’s prominent throughout the fight but what stood out was when he jumped on the cage; it was like a billboard for Tineacide Fungus Killer. That company got its money’s worth, which brings me to the purpose of this article: Is there a negative to the UFC broadening its brand and sponsors?
Just a few years ago it seemed like every other fighter was sponsored by either Condom Depot or Full Tilt Poker (in fact, that was a popular drinking game on my campus). Since then UFC implemented a sponsorship tax to help weed out “fly by night” companies and encourage others to make a real, fully-funded commitment to UFC sponsorship. This has been seen as a negative by some but in truth, it elevates the level of sponsors the UFC and its fighters get because they aren’t going to be associated with smaller companies.
Now with the UFC’s profile expanding we are starting to see companies like Tineacide get into the fight sponsorship business. I fully expect that we will see more and more non-MMA-related companies entering into the MMA market to advertise. Very few avenues can hit the key 18-34 age demographic quite like the UFC can.
Fans will, for better or worse, be seeing more and more new types of products across fighters shorts and backsides in the very near future.
Who knows? Maybe Condom Depot was a trendsetter after all.
Mark Hunt is 3-0 in the UFC in 2012. If you told 99 percent of MMA fans that just a few short years ago they would have laughed, let alone believe you. The Super Samoan is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC and will mostly likely face a…
Mark Hunt is 3-0 in the UFC in 2012. If you told 99 percent of MMA fans that just a few short years ago they would have laughed, let alone believe you. The Super Samoan is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC and will mostly likely face a top 10 opponent in his next fight. That begs the question: is Mark Hunt UNDER-rated?
Let’s face it, the UFC heavyweight roster is filled with some of the biggest, most accomplished names in MMA. From current Champion Junior Dos Santos to Alistair Overeem and “Big Nog,” there aren’t any names that will truly sneak up on anyone. Even mid-tier fighters like Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell and Brendan Schuab are not surprises and seem to be ranked in their proper place. Simply put, there aren’t many fighters who you can say are underrated.
Is Mark Hunt the most underrated heavyweight? To answer that let’s compare him to the only two UFC heavyweights that I can argue are underrated: Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir.
These future opponents are considered top five fighters though they often don’t get enough credit for their accomplishments. With Cain, you are talking about a fighter who has one, quick loss to a dominate record. After that high profile defeat to JDS he seemed to be dropped rapidly by experts when it can be argued he should be ranked along side the current Champ.
With Mir you are talking about a long-time UFC veteran whose only losses since his resurgence have come to bigger, stronger opponents (Lesnar and Carwin). Skill-wise he is among the best and most well-rounded fighters on the entire roster, making this match-up a must-see event.
When discussing where Mark Hunt stands, many people knock him down because of his many past struggles and lacking record of 8-7. However that does not take into consideration his fight-changing power and his seemingly new found dedication to the craft. Hunt has made himself into a more powerful Roy Nelson, a fighter who can give a ton of punishment, takes some shots and avoids the majority of takedowns.
Mark Hunt isn’t a fringe top 20 heavyweight. That’s someone who would need to win by upset to beat a top 10 guy. Hunt, in my eyes, would be even money against anyone 11-20 and could very easily beat top 10 fighters like Carwin, Big Nog and Bigfoot Silva. There are very few fighters in the roster that could explode Hunt’s biggest weakness, making them vulnerable to his KO power.
This Mark Hunt, the 2012 version, has a legitimate shot at becoming a top 10 heavyweight. Don’t let that 8-7 record fool you. He is underrated, scary, and an opponent that no heavyweight wants to be across the cage from.
For all his shortcomings and the tough road he has taken to get into the UFC, Cub Swanson has earned his place with the organization. With a spectacular KO of the always-dangerous George Roop, Swanson won his first fight in the UFC and his first fight …
For all his shortcomings and the tough road he has taken to get into the UFC, Cub Swanson has earned his place with the organization. With a spectacular KO of the always-dangerous George Roop, Swanson won his first fight in the UFC and his first fight in over a year.
The Greg Jackson fighter has now staked his claim to being a UFC-level fighter and a featherweight to fear when he is on the opposite side of the Octagon.
Fans will point be quick to point out that neither fighter has won two fights in a row since 2008, with each entering the Octagon going 1-2 in their last three fights. However, when you look closer, it becomes more apparent that each is better than their record.
Swanson went 4-2 with his losses coming to current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo and former No. 1 contender Chad Mendes before a serious knee injury sidelined him for over a year.
His opponent, George Roop, is the tallest featherweight in the UFC, going 3-2-1 at 145 with his losses coming to former world champion Hatsu Hioki in a close split decision and former title contender Mark Hominick.
Swanson showed that he just needed some time to find his feet after being sidelined for a year and that his loss to Richardo Lamas was more about fatigue than being outclassed.
In his fight against Roop, Swanson showed that his striking and knockout power are something that the division should have to fear. Cub showed a great ability to get inside the long reach of Roop and land big, power punches that turned the tide of the fight.
We all know that Swanson has the skills and backing to win fights. He just needs to find some consistency and build upon his win one at a time.
Despite coming in as a heavy favorite against Michael Bisping, the long-time No. 1 Middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen, got all he could handle last Saturday on UFC on FOX 2. In the end, Sonnen was able to earn his long awaited rematch against th…
Despite coming in as a heavy favorite against Michael Bisping, the long-time No. 1 Middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen, got all he could handle last Saturday on UFC on FOX 2.
In the end, Sonnen was able to earn his long awaited rematch against the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, a man he came within 100 seconds of defeating a few years ago.
With the rematch set to happen this summer in Brazil, Sonnen will need to focus on improving and closing the gaps in his game if he is to finally and truly win UFC gold.
Here are just five things that the All-American wrestler needs to do to beat the champ, Anderson Silva.
Following a close decision loss to the No. 2 middleweight in the world, Chael Sonnen, on UFC on FOX 2, English star Michael Bisping has shown that he can compete with the best. Many fans, including myself and even UFC president Dana White, felt that th…
Following a close decision loss to the No. 2 middleweight in the world, Chael Sonnen, on UFC on FOX 2, English star Michael Bisping has shown that he can compete with the best. Many fans, including myself and even UFC president Dana White, felt that the Brit actually won the fight thanks to his superb takedown defense and solid gameplan.
However, all three judges cageside saw it for the All-American wrestler, leaving Bisping one fight short of his long-desired title shot for the second time in his career. Much like his crushing KO loss to Dan Henderson, “The Count” will need to group and continue to work at making himself a better fighter.
After proving that he can defend some of the best takedowns in MMA and even get up quickly, here are just five key things that Michael Bisping needs to work on to put himself in position for a title shot once again.
In the main event for UFC 142, two fighters with a combined featherweight record of 31-0 will finally face off. Current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will face former NCAA D-1 national wrestling champion runner-up Chad Mendes with the chall…
In the main event for UFC 142, two fighters with a combined featherweight record of 31-0 will finally face off.
Current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will face former NCAA D-1 national wrestling champion runner-up Chad Mendes with the challenger facing a huge step up in competition.
However, Mendes has a great shoulder to lean on and get advice from in his Team Alpha Male leader Urijah Faber, a man who defended the belt five times before. That advice is going to be key for Mendes, as he will need to learn from Faber’s mistakes in order to bring home the belt.
Despite being 16 months older than Aldo, Mendes has 10 less fights under his belt with this fight also being his first main event of his career.
Luckily for Mendes, he has one of the most experienced lighter weight fighters in the world in his training camp and ear every night.
Faber started his career at 21-1 including going 11-0 in title fights before dropping four in a row.
“The California Kid,” more importantly, was defeated in dominant fashion in his last featherweight fight by Jose Aldo just 21 months ago while learning Aldo’s number one weapon against wrestlers: his leg kicks.
One of the most important things Chad can learn from Urijah is that he needs to take Aldo’s kickboxing seriously, if he doesn’t he will end up as bruised and hobbled as Faber did.
Urijah also learned that Aldo cannot just be muscled to the ground; he is a crafty defensive wrestler but can be attacked with the right game plan.
Overall, it is difficult to take much from Aldo-Faber because the champion thoroughly dominated the fight and was never challenged.
What Mendes can truly learn from Faber is what the former champion has done since that defeat.
With a 3-1 record in his last four fights, Faber has redefined himself as a fighter and learned from his mistakes.
Several key points of his redesigned style can be translated to his title challenging teammate.
Being patient, setting up takedowns, using both hands and throwing strikes to the body are just a few things that Faber has done better in his recent run that are going to be things that Mendes needs to incorporate in his game plan if he expects to win.
Against a fighter as skilled and talented as Jose Aldo, a great game plan is going to be key in finding a way to hand him his first defeat at featherweight.
By being patient and not attacking early, Mendes can try and take advantage of Aldo’s suspect gas tank.
“Scarface” will be taking on the most accomplished and skilled takedown artist of his career, yet he will not need to worry if Mendes doesn’t set up his takedowns.
Aldo has the skill to keep the fighting standing if Mendes tries to just use his speed and skills much like Faber did earlier in his career.
The most important lesson Chad Mendes can learn from Faber is how to use his striking and where to place his punches.
Before Faber’s last title defeat, his striking was limited to just a big right hand, with most of his strikes being headshots. Since then, he has expanded his game, developing a left hand and throwing body blows with much more frequency.
This will be key to defeat Aldo because it will not only make Aldo aware of both hands but also burn his stamina quickly. Body blows are a great way to slow down an opponent and they will be that much more important against a fast fighter like Aldo.
If Chad Mendes wants to bring home the UFC gold from Brazil this Saturday, he will need to implement several of the lessons Urijah Faber learned from his nearly 20 title fights.
It will be up to him to end the Team Alpha Male’s current title fight losing streak.
After watching what was a great Saturday night of free fights, I decided to enjoy them a second time. While they were even better the second time, one thing stood out that I missed the first time: Fungus Killer.