Author: Cody Guinn

Chael Sonnen vs Forrest Griffin: Why this Fight Makes Sense for Both Fighters

Former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen announced on UFC Tonight last night that he would be moving up to light heavyweight and his first opponent will be Forrest Griffin.Chael Sonnen was ranked by many as the No. 2 middleweight for nearly tw…

Former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen announced on UFC Tonight last night that he would be moving up to light heavyweight and his first opponent will be Forrest Griffin.

Chael Sonnen was ranked by many as the No. 2 middleweight for nearly two years now and is 5-2 in his last seven fights, with his only losses coming at the hands of middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Griffin is coming off a win against Tito Ortiz at UFC 148 and is 3-3 in his last six bouts. So does this matchup makes sense?

I believe it does.

Although Forrest Griffin’s win against Tito Ortiz wasn’t spectacular, it was still a much-needed win for the former champion. The top of the division is already mainly booked, with the champion Jon Jones meeting No. 1 contender Dan Henderson in a couple weeks, Lyoto Machida waiting for the winner of that fight and Shogun Rua and Alexander Gustafsson just announced as likely candidates for the next title challenger. 

That takes out the top five guys in the division. Chael Sonnen arriving in a new division coming off a loss isn’t a top-five light heavyweight, so the decision to match him with a 6-10 fighter is a great decision.

Not to mention the fact that Griffin actually holds a win over Sonnen way back in 2003, so there is even a little story to build the fight on.

Both men are likely looking at their final chance to purse one final run at a championship, so while this fight most likely won’t propel either man to a title shot, it’ll definitely get either Sonnen or Griffin closer and back into contention at 205.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The 25 Most Epic Non-Title Fights in UFC History

What makes a fight epic?Really any fight is epic in its own way, besides the occasional snooze-fest bouts like Boetsch and Lombard put on a few weeks ago.Epic fights are the ones that aren’t just talked about the day after the event, but two …

What makes a fight epic?

Really any fight is epic in its own way, besides the occasional snooze-fest bouts like Boetsch and Lombard put on a few weeks ago.

Epic fights are the ones that aren’t just talked about the day after the event, but two weeks later when you look at your buddy and say, “I still can’t believe Silva pulled off that triangle.”

A fight for the UFC Championship automatically makes a fight a little more epic simply because there is gold on the line, so with this list, I wanted to exclude all title fights and find the most epic non-title bouts in UFC history.

Besides UFC Championships, I also chose to exclude fights to determine The Ultimate Fighter winner (you know, Griffin-Bonnar) because that, in my opinion, is sort of similar to a title fight.

See a fight that’s missing? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Anderson Silva: What If He Moves to 170 Pounds?

He’s dominated the UFC’s middleweight division for six years now and defended the Middleweight Championship ten times. He’s even won two fights at 205 pounds. He is coming off a knockout win against his bitter rival Chael Sonnen.With all that, one has …

He’s dominated the UFC’s middleweight division for six years now and defended the Middleweight Championship ten times. He’s even won two fights at 205 pounds. He is coming off a knockout win against his bitter rival Chael Sonnen.

With all that, one has to wonder: What’s next for Anderson Silva?

With contenders in the middleweight division emerging like Chris Weidman, that isn’t what’s been talked about here lately when it comes to the champ.

Reports broke last week that the UFC middleweight champion is considering a move to 170 pounds to possibly challenge his longtime pound-for-pound foe Georges St-Pierre.

Fans have been referring to the Silva-St-Pierre match-up for years as the “Superfight,” and to this day, it still gets my blood pumping thinking about the fact that the fight could happen.

Would Silva’s stay at 170 be a one-time thing or would he make the move permanent and finish his career in the welterweight division?

Say St-Pierre defeats Condit and then Silva defeats St-Pierre and becomes champion, does Silva retire knowing he’s now won gold in two divisions and fades off into the sunset, or would Silva possibly defend the title against an up-and-coming welterweight challenger such as Rory MacDonald?

Also, Silva could face Nick Diaz at 170, considering the fact that it wasn’t too long ago Diaz called out the Middleweight Champion.

Anderson Silva is unpredictable to say the least when it comes to career moves, but a move down to 170 would open a lot of doors for Silva.

At 185, it seems as if there really is nothing left to accomplish. What would defeating Weidman do for Silva’s legacy?

Beating GSP? Now, that would go down as one of Silva’s greatest wins. Whether the fight has the same anticipation behind it like it did say three years ago, it’s still a battle of two of the best fighters of this era.

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Nike Removes Manny Pacquiao’s Sponsorship After Sponsoring Jon Jones

It’s no secret that the sport of mixed martial arts is growing rapidly just like it’s no secret that the sport of boxing is on the steady decline.Today might have just been further proof of that.Just recently, it was announced that UFC Light Heavyweigh…

It’s no secret that the sport of mixed martial arts is growing rapidly just like it’s no secret that the sport of boxing is on the steady decline.

Today might have just been further proof of that.

Just recently, it was announced that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones had inked a multi-year global sponsorship deal with Nike. Jones will receive his own signature line of Nike gear and we will likely see that come September 1 when Jones steps back into the Octagon against Dan Henderson.

How does this have anything to do with boxing?

Well, today, we’ve learned that Nike is likely dropping Manny Pacquiao with the signing of Jones.

According to MMAweekly.com, Dana White while speaking about Jones signing with Nike said, “They’re shutting down the Manny Pacquiao line and starting up the Jon Jones line.”

This may come as a surprise to many, but one of the men most surprised was White himself who went on to say, “I don’t know why they shut down the Pacquiao line, but they did and that (expletive) was selling like hot cakes. I got Manny Pacquiao (expletive) from Nike.”

Whether this is a sign of MMA taking over the combat sports world and the end of boxing nearing or if maybe it’s just a coincidence that I’m looking too much into, there is no question that Nike is saying hello to the ‘new’ and goodbye to the ‘old.’

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UFC on FOX 5: Rory MacDonald vs. BJ Penn Rumored as Co-Main Event

While it’s still pretty disappointing the fight isn’t happening at UFC 152, we’ll still get to see a bout between B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald.As MMAjunkie.com reported on Friday, the Penn-MacDonald matchup will take place on December 5th at …

While it’s still pretty disappointing the fight isn’t happening at UFC 152, we’ll still get to see a bout between B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald.

As MMAjunkie.com reported on Friday, the Penn-MacDonald matchup will take place on December 5th at UFC on Fox 5.

The major factor many are overlooking is that the report claims Penn and MacDonald will serve as the co-main event. Therefore, the UFC must have a major idea for a main event for the final UFC on Fox of 2012.

Initial reports were that Penn and MacDonald couldn’t agree on a fight date. Penn wanted to fight in Brazil at UFC 153 while MacDonald wanted to fight in Canada with teammate Georges St-Pierre at UFC 154, but it turns out neither will happen.

The best thing about this is that now the fight will be featured on national television and free for mostly everyone to see.

Also, one has to wonder what will headline UFC on Fox 5? Possibly the lightweight title fight between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz or Lyoto Machida’s Light Heavyweight Championship shot?

December is still a long way off, but details will hopefully emerge soon. Either way, if healthy, we will get treated to B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald on December 5th. 

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Benson Henderson’s Next Fight: Head-to-Toe Breakdown vs. Nate Diaz

Last night, Ben Henderson once again defeated former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar by decision. This contest was much closer than their last meeting—a split decision which felt the wrong man won.Nonetheless, Dana White has said no more remat…

Last night, Ben Henderson once again defeated former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar by decision. This contest was much closer than their last meeting—a split decision which felt the wrong man won.

Nonetheless, Dana White has said no more rematches, and Nate Diaz will face Henderson next (per MMA Weekly).

Diaz is coming off possibly one of his most impressive performances—a fight against Jim Miller back in May—and will now have a chance at UFC gold.

The matchup is an exciting one and one that I can’t wait for, so let’s take a look at how the two match up on paper with the Henderson-Diaz head-to-toe breakdown.

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