How he hangs a hammer from those things we’ll never know.
It’s fair to say that this season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t live up to expectations. Despite the inclusion of pay-per-view juggernaut Brock Lesnar, this season posted some of the lowest ratings in the franchise’s history. And yet again, the show’s momentum was halted by the revelation that the coaches would not be facing off at the end of the season. But tonight the UFC has a golden opportunity to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with a night of free fights on Spike TV. The UFC announced last night via Twitter that six prelim fights will be aired on Facebook at 6:30pm (Eastern). Tell us who you got in the comments, and if you’re up early enough there still may be time to enter our MMAOutlet.com UFC Fight-Picking Contest.
Results from last night’s weigh-ins are after the jump.
How he hangs a hammer from those things we’ll never know.
It’s fair to say that this season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t live up to expectations. Despite the inclusion of pay-per-view juggernaut Brock Lesnar, this season posted some of the lowest ratings in the franchise’s history. And yet again, the show’s momentum was halted by the revelation that the coaches would not be facing off at the end of the season. But tonight the UFC has a golden opportunity to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with a night of free fights on Spike TV. The UFC announced last night via Twitter that six prelim fights will be aired on Facebook at 6:30pm (Eastern). Tell us who you got in the comments, and if you’re up early enough there still may be time to enter our MMAOutlet.com UFC Fight-Picking Contest.
Results from last night’s weigh-ins (via BJPenn.com):
MAIN CARD:
Tony Ferguson (169) vs. Ramsey Nijem (170) – “TUF 13″ tourney finale
Clay Guida (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)
Tim Credeur (185) vs. Ed Herman (186)
Kyle Kingsbury (206) vs. Fabio Maldonado (203)
Chris Cope (170) vs. Chuck O’Neil (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Danny Downes (155) vs. Jeremy Stephens (156)
Josh Grispi (145) vs. George Roop (146)
Shamar Bailey (171) vs. Ryan McGillivray (169)
Justin Edwards (170) vs. Clay Harvison (171)
Scott Jorgensen (135) vs. Ken Stone (136)
Reuben Duran (136) vs. Francisco Rivera (136)
(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com. “Roy Nelson is exhausted” gif placed after the jump by popular demand. But if you move your head from side to side while looking at this picture, it’s basically the same thing.)
Yeah, we know what we said we said about last night’s show, but despite the underwhelming co-main events there was a fair amount of action on the card (yes, even from those two fights). Join us after the jump then get something to eat while the page loads.
(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com. “Roy Nelson is exhausted” gif placed after the jump by popular demand. But if you move your head from side to side while looking at this picture, it’s basically the same thing.)
Yeah, we know what we said we said about last night’s show, but despite the underwhelming co-main events there was a fair amount of action on the card (yes, even from those two fights). Join us after the jump then get something to eat while the page loads.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(“Hold up…you mean ya’ll were watching that shit???”)
Coming off of a semi-contested and equally boring win over Lyoto Machida, Rampage’s performance last night was meant to be more than a notch in the win column. If all went according to plan, it would have provided the UFC with the type of highlight-reel footage Jackson hasn’t produced since his knock out victory over Wanderlei Silva in 2008 and had fans clamoring for a fight against Jon “Bones” Jones. But last night’s fight yielded few fireworks if any. Hamill’s mantra in the lead-up to the bout was that he would break Jackson’s will, but only a few minutes into the bout it was “The Hammer” who looked like he’d rather be anywhere than in that cage. Going 0-17 in his plodding, telegraphed takedown attempts, Hamill was unable to get the fight to the ground and understandably reluctant to stand and trade with Rampage. As for Jackson, he did deviate slightly from his hands-heavy style–incorporating knees, elbows, and even a few token kicks into his attack–but he didn’t initiate or go in for the kill against a clearly gun-shy Hamill. After the fight, Jackson put some of the blame on a fractured hand he injured back in December of last year. [Note to Quinton: we believe you and all, but you’re not supposed to talk about that kind of stuff, bruh.] . Despite the lackluster performance, Dana White has stated that pending the positive outcome of tests on Rampage’s hand, he will likely be the first challenger to Jones’s belt.
If there were any questions about Frank Mir’s place in the heavyweight division following his first-round loss to Shane Carwin and coma-inducing win over faded star Mirko Cro Cop, they remain completely unanswered. His one-sided victory over the obese Roy Nelson says less about his dedication to training than it does “Big Country’s” lack of it. The time has come to call the “Big Country” experiment a flop. The myth of his terrific cardio has been dispelled in consecutive losses to Dos Santos and Mir, where he served as a very exhausted, very durable durable punching bag for the full three rounds. The dude has a terrific chin—did he even blink when he ate those crushing elbows late in round three?–but the notion that he can walk into the Octagon with Cheeto fingers and compete with the top of the division is absurd. Fatigue reduced his vaunted ground game to rolling to his ample belly and working his way to his feet; it’s an impressive trick even without Frank Mir on top of him, but it’s not enough to compete at this level. Mir looked good taking Nelson down at will and landing some heavy shots, but it’s fair to say that “Big Country” was looking for the path of least resistance throughout the fight, even if it meant getting smashed in the face or tossed to the mat. Despite his lethargic performance, Nelson does possess power in his hands- Mir left the Octagon with a broken jaw and rib to accompany his win bonus.
As for the rest of the card, they did their part to entertain and it’s a shame that their work was soured by the last thirty minutes of cage-time. Brian Stann opened the night with big knockout over the returning Jorge Santiago in the “Fight of the Night”. UFC heavyweightTravis Browne secured his spot on a future ‘Ultimate Knockouts’ dvd by felling mighty oak Stefan Struve in spectacular fashion. Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a tough-to-call decision over Miguel Torres in a hyper-active fight contested largely on the ground. Top Welterweight Thiago Alves was given no room to work against Rick Story. Story kept constant pressure on Thiago, pressing him to the cage and working for takedowns. His decision victory marks his sixth straight win in the UFC. Tim Boetsch looked dominant in his first fight at Middleweight, rag-dolling Kendall Grove in a one-sided decision. This was Da Spyder’s second consecutive loss and his third in four outings. Late replacement Rafaello Oliveira was overpowered by Lightweight juggernaut Gleison Tibau. Tibau’s second round ground and pound forced Oliveira to surrender his back and tap out to a rear naked choke in the evening’s only submission.
This is a big fight for everyone involved. Following two consecutive stoppage losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, Fedor’s unbeatable mystique has been shattered. With Strikeforce’s top heavyweights competing in the Grand Prix Tournament from which he was exiled, this bout gives Fedor a shot at a meaningful win against a highly respected legend. After all the talk of his possible retirement from the sport, a victory here would prove that Fedor is still very relevant in the MMA landscape.
This is a big fight for everyone involved. Following two consecutive stoppage losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, Fedor’s unbeatable mystique has been shattered. With Strikeforce’s top heavyweights competing in the Grand Prix Tournament from which he was exiled, this bout gives Fedor a shot at a meaningful win against a highly respected legend. After all the talk of his possible retirement from the sport, a victory here would prove that Fedor is still very relevant in the MMA landscape.
Henderson comes into this bout riding a two fight win streak that saw him exit the Nationwide Arena as the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Although the two will meet at heavyweight and Henderson’s title won’t be on the line, belts always lose a little of their luster when their owner suffers a loss. [UPDATE: Scott Coker says this fight will take place at a catchweight of 220lbs).
The pairing also gives Strikeforce some much needed time to determine the number one contender at Light Heavyweight. The Mousasi-Kyle fight was expected to yield Henderson’s next opponent, but that bout got scrapped and replaced with Mousasi-Jardine, which resulted in a painful draw. This fight allows Henderson to stay active while Strikeforce determines a worthy challenger. To that end, some of the evening’s other fights should clear up the division’s hierarchy.
It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that we’d shell out $50 to watch Jens Pulver knuckle up with the top fighters in the world on the sport’s biggest stage. Those days are long gone, brother. Jens’ losing skid on the regional circuit was recently broken by a two-fight win streak, but last night we were reminded once again how far he’s fallen. Pulver took on Brian Davidson and it wasn’t pretty. Unable to match Davidson’s speed in the standup, Pulver looked to take this fight to the ground often, but he found little comfort on the mat. Following his first takedown Lil’ Evil ate an illegal up-kick that had him staggered; his second takedown yielded little action on the ground, and his third attempt ended with Davidson taking his back and securing the rear naked choke. After the fight, Pulver—who has lost seven of his last nine bouts–declared that he had no intentions of retiring and that he wanted to go out on his own terms. He’s a grown man and can do as he pleases, but let’s hope those terms don’t include a long string of KO losses.
In other action, UFC vet Jake Rosholt put a beating on John Ott until landing an illegal knee at 4:23 into the third round. Rosholt used his decorated wrestling background to put Ott on his back and work him over throughout the fight. The bout could easily have been stopped in Rosholt’s favor prior to the knee, as he opened numerous deep cuts across Ott’s face with elbows and punches from full mount and side mount on several occassions. While Ott attempted to stand in the last minute of the fight, Rosholt landed a solid knee to his face, dropping him to the canvas before doctors declared him unable to continue.
It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that we’d shell out $50 to watch Jens Pulver knuckle up with the top fighters in the world on the sport’s biggest stage. Those days are long gone, brother. Jens’ losing skid on the regional circuit was recently broken by a two-fight win streak, but last night we were reminded once again how far he’s fallen. Pulver took on Brian Davidson and it wasn’t pretty. Unable to match Davidson’s speed in the standup, Pulver looked to take this fight to the ground often, but he found little comfort on the mat. Following his first takedown Lil’ Evil ate an illegal up-kick that had him staggered; his second takedown yielded little action on the ground, and his third attempt ended with Davidson taking his back and securing the rear naked choke. After the fight, Pulver—who has lost seven of his last nine bouts–declared that he had no intentions of retiring and that he wanted to go out on his own terms. He’s a grown man and can do as he pleases, but let’s hope those terms don’t include a long string of KO losses.
In other action, UFC vet Jake Rosholt put a beating on John Ott until landing an illegal knee at 4:23 into the third round. Rosholt used his decorated wrestling background to put Ott on his back and work him over throughout the fight. The bout could easily have been stopped in Rosholt’s favor prior to the knee, as he opened numerous deep cuts across Ott’s face with elbows and punches from full mount and side mount on several occassions. While Ott attempted to stand in the last minute of the fight, Rosholt landed a solid knee to his face, dropping him to the canvas before doctors declared him unable to continue.
Brian Davidson def. Jens Pulver via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:04
John Ott def. Jake Rosholt via DQ (illegal knee) – R3, 4:23
Rudy Bears def. Darryl Cobb via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 3:30
Jared Rosholt def. Kirk Grinlinton via TKO (punches) – R1, 1:37
Bobby Cooper def. Nick Budig via unanimous decision
Joe Wilk def. Jesse Zeugin via submission (anaconda choke) – R1, 3:36
Sean Wilson def. Deryck Ripley via submission (toe hold) – R1, 2:00
A rare photo from the Cage Potato staff Christmas party.
When it comes to fan interaction and brand building, the UFC is rewriting the book for sports promotions. Between broadcasting fights on Facebook, their latest Twitter crusade, their ever-growing Fan Expo series, and even some brave fighters doling out their phone numbers, the opportunities for fans to connect with fighters and invest themselves in the world of MMA are plenty. Continuing in that mission, the UFC has launched the “UFC Octagon National Tour”.
Overall, this sounds like a pretty cool chance to meet some fighters, get some autographs, and pick up some UFC schwag. The tour will jump around the country, often making pit stops at large festivals like Bonnaroo and the X-Games. If you’ve ever attended any MMA-related event, you know all too well the type of sophisticates that turn out. For every educated fan, you have two guys in chromed-out Ed Hardy shirts talking about how tough Kimbo Slice is. One component of the tour sure to bring out the meatheads is the competitive physical fitness tests. Fans can weigh-in and test their might at pull-ups, vertical jump, and punching strength. Better than simply flexing their barbed-wire tatted biceps for those in attendance, competitors will be given a stats-card designed for Facebook posting so all of cyberspace can taste their machismo.
Any bets as to which member of the Potato Nation will post the highest scores? A schedule of upcoming tour dates and locations is after the jump…
A rare photo from the Cage Potato staff Christmas party.
When it comes to fan interaction and brand building, the UFC is rewriting the book for sports promotions. Between broadcasting fights on Facebook, their latest Twitter crusade, their ever-growing Fan Expo series, and even some brave fighters doling out their phone numbers, the opportunities for fans to connect with fighters and invest themselves in the world of MMA are plenty. Continuing in that mission, the UFC has launched the “UFC Octagon National Tour”.
Overall, this sounds like a pretty cool chance to meet some fighters, get some autographs, and pick up some UFC schwag. The tour will jump around the country, often making pit stops at large festivals like Bonnaroo and the X-Games. If you’ve ever attended any MMA-related event, you know all too well the type of sophisticates that turn out. For every educated fan, you have two guys in chromed-out Ed Hardy shirts talking about how tough Kimbo Slice is. One component of the tour sure to bring out the meatheads is the competitive physical fitness tests. Fans can weigh-in and test their might at pull-ups, vertical jump, and punching strength. Better than simply flexing their barbed-wire tatted biceps for those in attendance, competitors will be given a stats-card designed for Facebook posting so all of cyberspace can taste their machismo.
Any bets as to which member of the Potato Nation will post the highest scores? Here’s a schedule of upcoming tour dates and locations (via MMAPayout.com)
MAY
Sat 5/28 Las Vegas, NV UFC 130 at MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sun 5/29 Las Vegas, NV Miller’s Ale House
JUNE
Wed 6/1 Phoenix, AZ Tilted Kilt
Fri 6/3 Las Vegas, NV Weigh in @ Palms
Sat 6/4 Las Vegas, NV TUF 13 Finale – Buffalo Wild Wings
Thu 6/9 Chattanooga, TN Bonnaroo
Fri 6/10 Chattanooga, TN Bonnaroo
Sat 6/11 Chattanooga, TN Bonnaroo
Sun 6/12 Chattanooga, TN Bonnaroo
Sat 6/18 Waldorf, MD Country ThrowDown Tour
Mon 6/20 Washington DC Marine Week
Tue 6/21 Baltimore, MD Marine Week
Sat 6/25 New York, NY Times Square
Sun 6/26 Pittsburgh, PA UFC Fight Night Arena Tailgate
