Author: Cody Guinn

UFC 152 Results: What’s Next for Cub Swanson?

Cub Swanson is one of the top guys at 145 pounds, and in what once seemed like a shallow division, the featherweight division is now one of most top-heavy divisions in the UFC.Swanson had a chance to move up in the division at UFC 152 when he faced tal…

Cub Swanson is one of the top guys at 145 pounds, and in what once seemed like a shallow division, the featherweight division is now one of most top-heavy divisions in the UFC.

Swanson had a chance to move up in the division at UFC 152 when he faced talented Charles Oliveira. With yet another knockout win, it’s safe to say he’ll be on his way up.

Coming off knockout wins against Ross Pearson and George Roop, Swanson was on one of the best rolls of his MMA career. Tonight, Pearson impressed again with a lethal combination that finished Oliveira in the first round.

So, what’s next for the exciting featherweight?

Swanson has lost to both Ricardo Lamas and Chad Mendes in his career, so it’s likely a rematch won’t be booked. Therefore, two opponents come to mind: Chan Sung Jung or Erik Koch.

Chan Sung Jung recently underwent surgery and will be out of action until early 2013, but upon his return, Jung could find himself matched with Swanson. Both men have looked top notch in their past few bouts, therefore a fight between the two men will really show which one is the true contender at 145. 

On the flip side, Erik Koch has had some terrible luck lately. First, his title shot was forced to be rebooked following an injury to champion Jose Aldo. Then, Koch was forced to pull out of the fight scheduled for UFC 153 and was replaced by former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, creating a superfight. Last week, Aldo was forced to pull out once again, causing the fight with Edgar to be postponed.

With all that mess, it appears Koch will not receive his title shot, therefore a matchup with Swanson would make sense.

Either way, Swanson has transformed into one of the must-watch fighters in the featherweight division, and I, personally, can’t wait to see him again.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 152: What We Learned from Seth Baczynski vs. Simeon Thoresen

In the third feature bout on the UFC 152 preliminary card airing on Facebook, talented up-and-comers Seth Baczynski and Simeon Thoresen faced off. In a fight in which we saw Thoresen looking very good standing up, it eventually turned on him as Baczyns…

In the third feature bout on the UFC 152 preliminary card airing on Facebook, talented up-and-comers Seth Baczynski and Simeon Thoresen faced off. In a fight in which we saw Thoresen looking very good standing up, it eventually turned on him as Baczynski finished Thoresen with a beautiful one-punch knockout.

It was quick, but impressive nonetheless. Here is what we learned from the welterweight bout.

 

What we’ll remember about this fight:

The one-punch knockout power of Seth Baczynski. Thoresen was easily winning the round and was doing so on his feet against Baczynski, but one punch changed everything. Baczynski threw one punch and that was all she wrote for Simeon Thoresen.

 

What we learned about Seth Baczynski:

Coming in, we knew Baczynski was very comfortable on his feet, but tonight we learned that the welterweight has a ton of power as well.


What we learned about Simeon Thoresen:

Thoresen is a submission specalist, but he showed tonight that he can be dangerous on his feet when he can utilize his reach and time his punches. Thoresen was winning the round and looked excellent standing, but one punch by Baczynski ended the night quickly for Thoresen.

 

What’s next for Baczynski:

A match-up against another winner on the preliminary card in Kyle Noke could be next for the powerful Baczynski.


What’s next for Thoresen:

With Thoresen‘s combination of submission skills and how improved he looked on his feet tonight, he could be a threat someday at 170. A bout with either Jorge Lopez or T.J. Waldburger seems like a good matchup to me.

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UFC 153: Stephan Bonnar Turned Down Fight with Glover Teixeira

One of the biggest problems in the sport of MMA right now is obviously injuries. It seems we can’t go a week without a major fight having to be scrapped because someone was hurt. Another part of the game that is becoming a growing problem is fighters p…

One of the biggest problems in the sport of MMA right now is obviously injuries. It seems we can’t go a week without a major fight having to be scrapped because someone was hurt. Another part of the game that is becoming a growing problem is fighters picking and choosing their fights, and in result, turning down fights.

One of the first names that come to mind is, of course, Jon Jones rejecting the idea of facing Chael Sonnen, which resulted in the cancellation of UFC 151. Today, we find out about another fighter that turned down a fight, although this one had a much better result and a much more odd reasoning.

According to MMAJunkie.com, Stephan Bonnar got the call to step in and face Glover Teixeira first at UFC 153, but Bonnar rejected the idea because Teixeira didn’t have more Twitter followers than Bonnar.

Bonnar would go on to say:

I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. That’s how I feel. That’s a measure of someone’s popularity, and I just want a bigger name. The last three opponents, I’ve had more Twitter followers than them, and I’ve beat them, and I feel like I deserve a bigger name now.

Luckily for Bonnar, as well as the UFC, another call would be made and this time the fight on the table was none other than UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

“It’s great, though, because I feel like I have nothing to lose. Fighting Anderson in his backyard, I’m a record-setting underdog. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said the original Ultimate Fighter runner-up on facing Silva.

Many fans won’t ridicule Bonnar for turning down the fight with Teixeira because the result has a happy ending, so to speak, with fans. But the UFC can’t allow fighters to keep picking and turning down fights. For Bonnar, you could say the semi-retired fighter deserved to have that one last major fight, but if more fighters follow the “Twitter Rule” of picking fights, the UFC could have a major problem on its hands in the future.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Frank Mir Injured; Withdraws from Strikeforce Fight Against Daniel Cormier

It appears the MMA injury bug isn’t quite done as yet another major fight will be scrapped due to injury.As reported on Twitter as well as on MMAjunkie.com, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir was injured and has been forced to withdraw from his …

It appears the MMA injury bug isn’t quite done as yet another major fight will be scrapped due to injury.

As reported on Twitter as well as on MMAjunkie.com, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir was injured and has been forced to withdraw from his Strikeforce bout against Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier.

 

 

Following a very rough week of injuries for the UFC in which UFC 153 was nearly destroyed, one of the most anticipated Strikeforce fights of the year will now have to find a way to feel in a massive void.

The Strikeforce event in which Cormier and Mir were slated to fight was scheduled for November 3 in Oklahoma City. 

After Strikeforce saw many of their top fighters leave for the UFC, Frank Mir was to break ground on the possibility of UFC fighters taking fights in Strikeforce. Mir is coming off a championship loss to UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos.

For Daniel Cormier, this was going to be a major test and likely his final fight before entering the UFC. Many believed a win over Mir in Strikeforce would secure an immediate title shot when Cormier stepped into the Octagon for the first time.

While losing the Cormier-Mir fight is a huge loss to Strikeforce, the November card will also feature another title fight between Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and exciting up-and-comer Lorenz Larkin. An anticipated fight between Liz Carmouche and Sara McMann is also scheduled on the card.

There is no word yet whether Cormier will face a new opponent or be removed from the card, but for now, it doesn’t look good for one of the best fighters remaining in Strikeforce.

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Dana White Says Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar Will Happen

While most fans are still trying to understand the new main event at UFC 153, fans of Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar can now relax knowing the “superfight” will still take place sometime down the road.MMAJunkie.com reported Thursday night that Dana White …

While most fans are still trying to understand the new main event at UFC 153, fans of Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar can now relax knowing the “superfight” will still take place sometime down the road.

MMAJunkie.com reported Thursday night that Dana White has confirmed that when Jose Aldo heals from a foot infection he suffered following his motorcycle accident, he’ll be matched with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

The fight was originally booked for the main event at UFC 153 in Rio after Aldo’s original opponent Erik Koch went down with injury. Edgar stepped in on short notice just after he announced his intentions to drop down to the featherweight division.

Dana White said, “Camp costs money. These things aren’t free. You don’t just go to the gym and everything is free. He’s got to put some time and effort into it, start calling in sparring partners and trying to find people. He was well into that when Aldo got hurt, so we’re going to give it to him.”

Edgar is coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of lightweight champion Benson Henderson, and honestly, I’m not sure if he deserves an immediate title shot, but after that quote from White, it’s clear now that Edgar is being rewarded for stepping up to take the fight on short notice.

It’s not clear what the timetable is for Aldo to return, although White did say that he hopes the fight can be made by the end of the year.

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UFC 153: 5 Potential Fights to Save the Card

Here we go again.It seems like when it rains, it pours. Now, following the cancellation of UFC 151 due to injuries to just one fighter in the main event, UFC 153 today saw BOTH the co-main and the main event lose a fighter due to injury.Dana White anno…

Here we go again.

It seems like when it rains, it pours. Now, following the cancellation of UFC 151 due to injuries to just one fighter in the main event, UFC 153 today saw BOTH the co-main and the main event lose a fighter due to injury.

Dana White announced both injuries via Twitter.

 

 

 

Many fighter claimed they tried to save UFC 151, but all efforts were unsuccessful. Now, with UFC 153 on the verge of collapsing, I present to you five fights that could possibly be made that would save the card and possibly even make it one of the best cards to 2012.

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