The 2012 calender year is well underway, but the same can hardly be said for the 2012 MMA season.While the year got off to a typical start, a lapse in UFC events has left a ZUFFA-centric fanbase scrambling to get their fix from Bellator and regional pr…
The 2012 calender year is well underway, but the same can hardly be said for the 2012 MMA season.
While the year got off to a typical start, a lapse in UFC events has left a ZUFFA-centric fanbase scrambling to get their fix from Bellator and regional promotions.
Though the UFC has been out of sight it certainly has not been out of mind, the break in action having functioned as an offseason typical of most major sports.
During this offseason fans have not let discussions, debates and projections fall off with the action. On the contrary, the offseason has been a time when anything seems possible and anything may lie on the MMA horizon.
In this spirit, let us look ahead to the “upcoming season,” and examine what each top 10 heavyweight should seek to accomplish before January 1, the unofficial end to the 2012 season.
Still to Come
2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Light Heavyweight
2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Middleweight
2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Welterweight
2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Lightweight
2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Featherweight
It seems “The Last Emperor” will rely on home-field advantage for his next bout, assuming his opponent is not a fellow Russian.News broke earlier today that Fedor will get back into action on June 21, against a yet to be named opponent. The update…
It seems “The Last Emperor” will rely on home-field advantage for his next bout, assuming his opponent is not a fellow Russian.
News broke earlier today that Fedor will get back into action on June 21, against a yet to be named opponent.
Breaking!!! Fedor Emelianenko fighting on June 21st, Ice Palace, St Petersburg, Russia. News on the opponent to come!
Since coming down to Earth with three consecutive losses between June 2010, and July 2011, Fedor has reeled off back-to-back wins.
Last November, the MMA legend defeated veteran Jeff Monson via unanimous decision, and followed up with a December knockout of Japanese judo deity Satoshi Ishii.
Despite the rebound attempt, Fedor news does not get the motor of MMA fans revved in the same way that it used to. Unless, of course, you have a stake in M-1 Global and a penchant for exclamation marks.
Throwing out any names as a possible opponent is conjecture at this point, but don’t rule out former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
I’m excited to be coming home to Maine in the next week or so… and I have a big announcement my fans won’t want to miss!
Could a rematch with Emelianenko be on the horizon?
While there is nothing but timing to link the upcoming announcements of Sylvia and Kogan, it is not so far-fetched. Both guys are looking for a recognizable opponent to regain some lost credibility, and both can still make promoters some cash fighting in a main event.
The recent Alistair Overeem fiasco has prompted a great deal of discussion on the Bleacher Report and various MMA sites around the web.Rather than a united cohort of angry fans condemning “The Demolition Man” (though many people have), there has been a…
The recent Alistair Overeem fiasco has prompted a great deal of discussion on the Bleacher Report and various MMA sites around the web.
Rather than a united cohort of angry fans condemning “The Demolition Man” (though many people have), there has been a handful of those calling for a change to the regulations. There have been some calling for the legalization of steroids.
As I write this article, the poll on the Bleacher Report’s UFC homepage reads 12.9% of fans in favor of legalization, 87.1% condemning it.
Though 12.9% is not a terribly large number, it is significant. And it is bewildering to me that any significant number of people could support such an action.
I am not here to discuss morality. I am not here to chastise anyone for their opinion. I am only here to question whether those who are pro-legalization are looking at the big picture.
Some say that legalization would level the playing field. If everyone is using, everyone is equal. And besides, if an individual wants to put something into his body, the resulting problems are his to deal with.
I get the logic here. I do. It seems pretty well put together. But it is flawed, it is wrong and the effects precipitated by legalization would be the precise opposite of what the people calling for it would expect.
If steroids are allowed and condoned, they are essentially made mandatory. After all, how could one fighter refusing to use them match up against 99 others that are medically engineered specimens? Probably not very well.
Consequently, fighters who decide they don’t want to deal with hormone swoons and shrunken testicles are more or less told MMA is not for them.
I’m no doctor and I don’t know the side effects of steroids beyond the ones synonymous with the drugs themselves, but particulars aside, I think we can agree that steroids are dangerous.
Now, some people won’t have sympathy for fighters who chose to put steroids into their body to gain a competitive advantage. That’s fine. I understand that line of thought.
But what about the guys who dream about becoming an MMA fighter, but don’t really want to deal with a slew of adverse medical issues? Are we just to say, “screw them?”
That’s what legalization says.
Sympathy may be in short supply, but to embrace legalization is to peer-pressure anyone who wants to be a fighter (true athletes and competitors) into using steroids, and into serious harm.
To allow steroids is to encourage their use, because no fighter could seriously ignore the benefits of using while every single one of his opponents embraces it.
Beyond this platitude is the flimsy reasoning that MMA is already dangerous, and that it is an entertainment sport, which benefits from its own inherent violence.
This is akin to suggesting we should give each fighter a sword. The movie Gladiator was pretty good, if its “caution to the wind” entertainment we seek, let’s just give up the pretense of rules and safety altogether.
Of course, that wouldn’t fly, so why make the compromise on the steroid issue?
Besides, steroids pose a different kind of threat than fighting does. While the dangers of fighting are apparent, the dangers of steroids are intangible, allowing people to look the other way on their effects. This makes them far more dangerous than physical pain, broken bones and repetitive concussions, all serious dangers in their own right.
Certainly, permitting steroid use would solve some problems.
I was just as upset as anyone else that Overeem’s failed drug test means we may not get to see him battle UFC heavyweight kingpin Junior Dos Santos. It sucks, and there are no two ways about that.
But does our disappointment really warrant putting anyone who aspires to be a high-level mixed martial artist at risk of early death?
Besides, let’s put blame where blame is due: on Alistair Overeem. That we may not see him fight Junior Dos Santos is his fault, and his fault alone. Blame, in no part, belongs to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
If the Commission enforced a rule that blue shirts were not allowed at press conferences, and a fighter showed up to one in a blue shirt, it is the fighter’s fault and no one else’s.
Unlike my blue shirt analogy, the ban on steroids is not stupid, nor arbitrary. It is there for a reason and a good one at that.
Condoning the legalization of steroids puts more fighters at risk and essentially crushes the dream of any fighter unwilling to deal with a bunch of adverse medical issues once he is retired.
Right now, the rules say that if a fighter uses steroids, he cannot fight. If steroids are legalized, the rules will implicitly say that you can only fight (successfully) if you do use steroids. At least in top-tier promotions.
I think the way it is right now is the better option.
Rising welterweight star Rory “Ares” MacDonald will look to build on a two-fight win streak when he locks horns with English veteran Che Mills later this April.The fight will be broadcast as part of the UFC 145 main card, which features longtime r…
Rising welterweight star Rory “Ares” MacDonald will look to build on a two-fight win streak when he locks horns with English veteran Che Mills later this April.
The fight will be broadcast as part of the UFC 145 main card, which features longtime rivals Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
MacDonald, a native of Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada, will enter his fifth UFC contest as a decided favorite and is confident that he will come away victorious.
“I’m not worried about [Mills] and I’m not worried about this fight,” wrote MacDonald. “I feel like I’m at such a high level right now and my confidence is at an all-time high.”
The 22-year-old youngster exudes self-confidence heading into the fight, but he’s not willing to discount his opponent simply because Mills lacks the name recognition of a top-ranked fighter. MacDonald wrote:
Honestly, rankings are all incredibly subjective anyway. Nobody has a true set of rankings they can offer me. It’s all just opinion. Sure, you can figure out a top five or a top ten, but it will always be adjusted to your personal preference.
But to MacDonald, fighting an unranked guy like Mills or a highly regarded welterweight like Carlos Condit is ultimately the same task.
“I’m confident of beating every man currently competing in the 170-pound division, and that’s the truth,” he explains. “I’m ready for them all.”
But before he begins wading through the upper echelon of the welterweight class, the prospect must pay his dues, fighting against lesser known competition. MacDonald wrote:
I didn’t know who my next opponent was to begin with when I was offered him for my upcoming fight. I was given the name, Che Mills, but wasn’t able to put a face to it or even remember whether I’d seen him fight before.
After doing a little research on Mills, MacDonald remains certain that he will make a stepping stone out of his opponent. “I hold no fear standing toe-to-toe with this guy,” he notes. “I’m fairly certain I’ll be better than he is in every single area of this fight.”
MacDonald’s certainty is echoed by oddsmakers, fans and analysts alike, who all see him pulling out a win. Though MacDonald does not provide a precise prediction regarding the outcome of his bout with Mills, he ends the blog entry with an exclamation point.
He writes, “I don’t visualize this fight with Che Mills going very long…”
The bout goes down April 21 at UFC 145 in Atlanta.
Aug. 14, 2011 was a bad night for Jim Miller. It was the night he fought Ben Henderson.The rising lightweight star had been on a torrid run of seven straight wins inside the octagon, but could not come away with an eighth consecutive “W.”Miller was out…
Aug. 14, 2011 was a bad night for Jim Miller. It was the night he fought Ben Henderson.
The rising lightweight star had been on a torrid run of seven straight wins inside the octagon, but could not come away with an eighth consecutive “W.”
Miller was out-struck and out-wrestled for 15 minutes by Henderson, who has since laid claim to the UFC lightweight title.
Though the loss is going nowhere, the New Jersey native will do all he can to ensure it stands as an anomaly on his official record as he readies to take on Nate Diaz this May.
One way to ensure this is, of course, train hard and dedicate himself to the fight. But that has never been an issue for Miller, who is regarded as one of the most energetic competitors in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.
What Miller needs to do is listen to his body.
Before his bout with Ben Henderson, he knew something didn’t feel right.
“I should have known something was going wrong,” Miller recalled to FightersOnly, while also noting that he was diagnosed with a kidney infection and mononucleosis after the bout.
While many fighters would excuse their performance because of the illnesses, Miller decrees that Henderson simply beat him. He states, “He was the better man that night.”
For his less-than-stellar performance, the lightweight standout only blames himself.
“I am a big boy. I still signed all the waivers, stepped inside the octagon, still made my mistakes and he capitalized on them.”
While he claims full responsibility for the loss, he also notes his eagerness to rectify his mistakes.
“If I can earn my opportunity at him again, I’ll put on a show,” promises Miller.
But now that Henderson is the UFC lightweight champion, earning a rematch will not be easy. Before he even warrants consideration from the UFC brass, Miller will have to defeat Nate Diaz, which is a stiff test in itself.
But the challenge, and knowing what’s at stake, only gets Miller more geared up.
This is a really exciting [match] and I’m really fired up. I have a ton of respect for [Diaz]. His whole camp is a great group of guys, so I know what he is training with every day. So I really have a fire under my ass for this one, and I am looking at coming in the best I’ve ever been.
With a win over Diaz, Miller will position himself precisely where he wants to be—knocking on Ben Henderson’s door, calling for a chance at redemption.
Cain Velasquez will get back on that horse this May at UFC 146, as part of the all heavyweight main card headlined by Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. The former champion will match submission wizard Frank Mir to kick off his journey down comeba…
Cain Velasquez will get back on that horse this May at UFC 146, as part of the all heavyweight main card headlined by Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. The former champion will match submission wizard Frank Mir to kick off his journey down comeback lane.
While Velasquez is sure to keep his sights on his own opponent heading in to UFC 146, he offers up some pre-fight analysis to the heavyweight title bout, around the 4:00 mark of the video.
It’s going to be a hard one to choose. In the distance, Overeem with his long kicks, and in the clinch with his knees, I think he’s dangerous there. But Dos Santos, in the punching range, nobody has been able to test him really, so it’s going to be interesting to see.
As Cain highlights, both guys find their fortes in the standup game—Dos Santos with his advanced boxing skills and Overeem with his Thai clinch and distanced striking. But he knows that that does not make the contest invulnerable to a little ground fighting.
They both have pretty good takedowns. I’ve seen Overeem do some takedowns and he has good technique, good power. And I’ve seen Dos Santos, in the later rounds, get takedowns on guys too. So it will be interesting to see who tries one first, because they both have pretty good takedowns.
While Cain uses the old side-step—the prediction move that athletes have become so skilled at—he does offer some useful analysis here. Most people expect the heavyweight title fight to be fought on the feet, and the range that it’s fought at just might determine the victor.
Furthermore, what happens if one of the combatants starts getting picked apart? Dos Santos has yet to exhibit his ground game in the UFC, but he owns a reasonably strong one. Likewise, Overeem is no stranger to finishing fights on the mat, having compiled 19 submission wins over his career. So despite the penchant of each fighter to strike, neither will feel out of their element working for position on the mat.
Velasquez also notes that he “would definitely love to fight [Dos Santos] again.”
Whether the Brazilian remains champion after UFC 146, or finds himself back in the cluster of contendership, it seems likely that he and Cain are not too far removed from a rematch.
But for now, Cain remains focused on climbing the heavyweight ladder. Regardless of who lies in wait, the first stop is Frank Mir—not an opponent to look past.
It seems “The Last Emperor” will rely on home-field advantage for his next bout, assuming his opponent is not a fellow Russian.