The UFC is more stacked than it’s ever been.With the emergence of Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz as perennial champions, a lot of fighters are being overlooked heading into 2012.But along with the UFC’s dynamic capitalization of the WEC’s B…
The UFC is more stacked than it’s ever been.
With the emergence of Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz as perennial champions, a lot of fighters are being overlooked heading into 2012.
But along with the UFC’s dynamic capitalization of the WEC’s Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions, the sheer evolution of the modern day mixed martial artist has given fans and experts the privilege in witnessing top-notch bouts on an event-to-event basis.
With that said, beyond the explosive knockouts, come-from-behind victories, unprecedented upsets and toe-to-toe battles of 2011, it’s time to reign in the new year.
Wily veterans, top prospects and near-contenders are continuously fighting for their chances to revenge a championships loss, or spark a new era of excellence in their respective divisions.
Here are 15 fighters who have the opportunities to shock the UFC community and capture 2012 gold.
At this point, your jaw is probably still unhinged after witnessing Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua’s epic fight Saturday night at UFC 139.An absolute instant classic.Neither guy slowed down or shut down, proving that will and a good chin can do wonders i…
At this point, your jaw is probably still unhinged after witnessing Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua’s epic fight Saturday night at UFC 139.
An absolute instant classic.
Neither guy slowed down or shut down, proving that will and a good chin can do wonders in a five-round UFC bout. But beyond the obvious highlight-reel punches, a bloodied face and a stacked bank account, how exactly does Henderson stack-up against the likes of UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon “Bones” Jones?
Regardless of what you may think a 41-year-old power wrestler is capable of against some of the world’s best fighters, Hendo has enough left in the tank to make a run at one of these UFC work horses.
Silva is currently the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the universe, and Jones isn’t too far behind him. Both have similar unpredictable offenses that have proven deadly for nearly every top-contender in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.
With that said, Henderson has always been regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, so why change that notion now?
Henderson has already faced-off with Silva for middleweight superiority back at UFC 82, ultimately losing in the second round via submission. However, he was able to disrupt Silva on the feet to the point where he scored a take-down.
The first round was ultimately a split, but Silva’s ground game proved more worthy than Henderson’s submission defense.
As far as Jones is concerned, it seems as if he’s poised to run the 205 lb. division for the foreseeable future, but his chin has never really been tested. Henderson landed some vicious strikes on Rua this weekend, ones that could have knocked the light heavyweight champion off his block. (Jones did toy with Rua back at UFC 128, resulting in him becoming the youngest UFC champion ever.)
But almost every fan knows that the past doesn’t necessarily tell the future. Henderson had Rua rocked in the first round Saturday, earlier than Jones had done. Henderson also took a bunch of shots stretching over five rounds, something that Jones really hasn’t experienced throughout his UFC career.
Think about it this way. Over his past three fights, Jones has been exposed to a total of 30 strikes.
Now that proves two things. One is that Jones is that darn good. To avoid serious damage from top-fighters like Rua, Rampage Jackson and Ryan Bader immediately secures his title as the most elusive fighter in the division.
The other outlook is that Jones’ chin and ability to offensively attack after being smashed in the grill hasn’t been tested. With Henderson being known as powerful striker, sometimes deliberately wild, his abilities could match up well with the light heavyweight champ.
On the other side of things, a rematch with Silva would be pretty damn entertaining.
After four years removed from their first battle in the Octagon, Henderson could fare better this time around. Chael Sonnen proved that taking down Silva is the best plan possible, using wrestling and a crisp ground game to secure points by the bunches.
Sonnen is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC, but so his Henderson. Although, that was not the case Saturday as Henderson usually gets sucked into slug fests when it would benefit him more to bring the fight to the canvas.
So by standing and trying to land a heavy strike to Silva’s chin, which has been impossible to do, Henderson’s chances of capturing a revenge-win doesn’t look so good.
However, if the wrestler is able to bring Silva to the ground, similar to Sonnen’s destruction of the champ at UFC 117, he may be able to secure a win early, something that would be much harder to do against a better ground specialist like Jones.
Whichever UFC champion you match Henderson against, they’ll easily surpass him in the stand-up department.
Jones and Silva are easily two of the most prolific strikers in the world, using unorthodox kicks and quick punches to unload on their opponents. Now while Henderson posses a lot of power in his hands, his inability to swiftly move around the ring and throw strikes with consistency would realistically diminish his opportunities to knock either guy down.
By calculating how good Jones and Silva are on their feet, Henderson’s chances of beating either one of them would seemingly come down to his ability to score takedowns. Silva’s ground game has been sort of suspect (at least what we’ve seen), while Jones’ has proved helpful in the past.
However, Silva is simply too good all-around to keep him on his back once you get him there, using his long reach to land strikes in the guard or lock in a submission using his top-notch Brazilian Jiu-Jistu.
What it would come down to is Henderson sticking to his game plan of bringing the fight to the mat. While he does have the power to land a one-punch KO, Jones and Silva are too elusive on their feet to get into a tactical brawl with.
So when you add into the mix that Jones is a stronger and bigger wrestler than Silva, it would likely benefit Henderson to take on the middleweight champion in a rematch for UFC gold.
Let’s hope he gets a chance to prove me right, or wrong.
UFC 139 was downright awesome.It should have been the card featured on the UFC’s debut on FOX, but let’s just agree that Dana White dropped the ball on that one.Regardless, Saturday proved that even without a title bout on the main card, fireworks can …
It should have been the card featured on the UFC’s debut on FOX, but let’s just agree that Dana White dropped the ball on that one.
Regardless, Saturday proved that even without a title bout on the main card, fireworks can still go off.
Beyond the immediate showdowns that featured an epic fight between Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua, a submission victory for Urijah Faber and a KO by Wanderlei Silva, the Spike prelims showcased one of the best prospects that the UFC has to offer.
Twenty-year-old Michael “Mayday” McDonald.
I’ve written about this kid a few times in the past, and everything I thought he’d be, he is.
McDonald has easily become one of the most explosive fighters in the bantamweight division, and with his age and room for improvement, he’s currently on the fast track to UFC supremacy.
With that said, alongside McDonald, here are the top 10 prospects in the UFC today.
Ever since mixed martial arts made its transition to the American sports world, hardcore boxing fans have been sparking competitive arguments as to which action sport is more relevant.The discussion between MMA and one of America’s most prestigious and…
Ever since mixed martial arts made its transition to the American sports world, hardcore boxing fans have been sparking competitive arguments as to which action sport is more relevant.
The discussion between MMA and one of America’s most prestigious and infamously wealthy sports has forced many people to chose sides.
Is there a clear-cut difference between organizations like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the World Boxing Association?
Yes, there is—and boxing enthusiasts know this.
Simply put, boxing is the sport of punching, and MMA is the sport of fighting.
Does that automatically discredit either one? Not at all. In fact, it helps separate the two sports and plays a major role in forming a hypothesis as to why boxing fans refuse to, or genetically don’t understand, mixed martial arts.
A few reasons distinctly come to mind, but before we continue, it’s important that you accept the rise of MMA in the United States and realize that statistically, it’s getting bigger by the moment.
With that said, the gap between the two sports may never be bridged.
Boxing fans wholeheartedly refuse to accept that MMA and the UFC are a competitive alternative to contact sports. Fans and martial arts enthusiasts will always make the argument that boxing simply doesn’t possess the all-around competitive nature that MMA has to offer.
So, which side has the advantage in this decade-long debate?
With a completely unbiased opinion, it’s MMA fans, and here’s why.
Boxing is always going to have a spot in American sports. There’s no arguing that. It’s been around far too long and holds too much prestige to just fade away behind the shadow of another rising sport.
Fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are the shoulders that the boxing world is currently leaning on. Once those two fighters meet in the middle of the ring, or retire for that matter, boxing will be left scrambling for other marketable champions.
Whether or not the sport has enough left in the tank to maintain its productive nature has yet to be seen, and there’s a reason for this.
Boxing is not what it once was.
Many aspiring fighters see boxing as a second choice to MMA and ultimately decide to take their chances at making the UFC, Pride or K-1 in Tokyo, Japan. This covers the decline of professional wrestling as well, but that’s better left for another day.
For boxing fans, diving into viewing UFC events, gaining the knowledge of the sport and putting their beloved sport in the back seat often becomes too difficult to manage.
Personally, I completely understand why boxing fans would be hesitant to drop $44.99 on a UFC event when they barely have an idea as to who’s fighting and how they score points in the octagon.
Price isn’t the only issue.
As far-fetched as it sounds, boxing fans sometimes find that mixed martial arts is more violent and often barbaric in comparison to punching a guy in the face 200 times with 10-ounce gloves.
But, MMA fighters actually endure less long-term damage than boxers do. It’s scientifically proven. Instead of getting repeatedly bashed in the skull for 36 minutes in every career fight that goes the distance, MMA fighters could simply take an elbow to the chin and the fight is stopped.
That distinction between damage and gladiator-esque sportsmanship often gets in the way of boxing fans understanding the nature of MMA and the safety precautions that MMA organizations adhere to.
What else?
There’s always the macho boxing fans’ argument that MMA is simply two guys wrestling on the ground in short, tight spandex shorts. Those people are the exact reason why ignorant boxing fans will never open their minds to a more diverse, competitive contact sport.
Those people are better left watching a sport that’s currently dwindling. Those are the people that simply don’t get the world of MMA, what it has to offer, how fighters train 24/7 and how organizations like the UFC are finally reaching mainstream markets.
What it comes down to is the fact that many boxing fans will never let go of their sport.
MMA is boxing’s bitter rival, for whatever reason. The difference between the two worlds isn’t that far apart, but the inability to adapt to another sport of fighting has left boxing fans dangling.
The possibility for change is there, but for the moment, trying to skew the minds of people who disregard MMA as a credible sport is a lost cause.
For the most part, the reason why boxing fans don’t get the sport of MMA is because they choose not to.
The training that MMA fighters and boxers go through is roughly similar. Each sport produces nearly identical advertising. Money is presumably not the culprit, and the skill level of each fighter has never been the issue.
The problem is boxing fans’ reluctance to accept that their beloved sport is being overtaken by the next big thing.
Prior to reigning in the new year, Dana White and company have scheduled one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts of all time for UFC 141 in late December. Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem.While that titanic fight alone is worth the price of…
Prior to reigning in the new year, Dana White and company have scheduled one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts of all time for UFC 141 in late December.
While that titanic fight alone is worth the price of PPV fees, UFC 141 also features one of the most dynamic and explosive fights the welterweight division could offer.
Both guys have been more than spectacular during their tenure in the UFC, Fitch going 13-1-1 and Hendricks going 6-1.
Now while Fitch has knocked off more relevant fighters in the UFC, including Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves twice, Hendricks has done more than a fair share of showcasing elite talent inside the octagon.
On Dec. 30, these two men with go to battle. Each have a storied background in wrestling. Each have the strength to impose their wills and finish fights when others might back off. Each are striving for a shot at the winner of Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, which is now scheduled to happen sometime in the early quarter of 2012.
Each are well-rounded, offer excellent striking games, know when and how to finish fights on the ground and each possess a high level of intensity.
Considering all that, I think it’s safe to say this fight is going to be a one of the best bouts of 2011.
Here is an early breakdown of Fitch vs. Hendricks and how each fighter fares in regards to their respective game plans.
At this point, your jaw is probably still unhinged after witnessing