Author: Dan Talintyre

UFC on Fox 7 Results: Breaking Down Event’s Biggest Takeaways

Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez in the headline fight of UFC on Fox 7 in controversial circumstances, with a close and hard-fought match finishing in a split points-decision victory.However, there were several other thrilling fights fro…

Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez in the headline fight of UFC on Fox 7 in controversial circumstances, with a close and hard-fought match finishing in a split points-decision victory.

However, there were several other thrilling fights from San Jose this weekend, with plenty of big talking points and takeaways to emerge from the action on Saturday—many of which will have profound impacts on the UFC as a whole.

Read on to see some of the biggest takeaways from UFC on Fox 7.

 

Big Victory for Josh Thomson and Strikeforce

Thomson walked away from San Jose with a huge victory to his name, after becoming the first-ever man to finish Nate Diaz by strikes. He executed his game plan perfectly and wasn’t drawn in to playing Diaz’s style—emerging victorious from the fight as a result.

The fact that this was Thomson’s first fight in the UFC in over eight years is simply phenomenal, and he has shown himself to be a genuine top-10 contender.

The win showed that Strikeforce’s best are capable of mixing it with their UFC counterparts and are more than capable of chalking up wins in the process.

It’s a big win for Thomson and Strikeforce on the night.

 

Jordan Mein Not as Dominant as Expected 

Mein was a fighter on the way up, heading into his fight against Matt Brown this weekend, but he quickly saw that rise come to an end with a thrilling defeat this weekend.

The Canadian will head back to the undercard after an avalanche of elbows from Brown saw him finish off his highly favored opponent—giving Brown a huge victory, but perhaps more importantly, showing that Mein still has some serious work to do to be considered an elite fighter.

Mein was second-best to Brown for the majority of the fight and wasn’t able to break down his opponent on the night. He’ll likely spend plenty of time reliving what went wrong and trying to correct that for his next undercard opponent, whilst Brown could well try his hand against the top 10—something he’s shown he’s more than capable of competing with.

Mein has a promising future ahead, but he definitely took several steps backward this weekend. 

 

Benson Henderson: Double-Winner, But Bad Timing

Benson Henderson emerged from UFC on Fox 7 with a close, difficult victory to his name—and he also emerged with a fiancee, making him somewhat of a double-winner on the night.

Benson won a split decision against Gilbert Melendez which saw key moments for both fighters, and he could well have walked away with defeat in this one—such was the close nature of the fight that many had falling the other way on the night.

A big win for Henderson to erase some of those doubters, though it’s hard to say he did himself any favors with his post-fight actions.

Well, other than becoming engaged, that is.

There just seemed to be a serious lack of judgment from Henderson and a very bad case of bad timing. Despite the fact, he was on Melendez’s home turf and the recipient of a questionable split decision, he proposed, and the crowd quickly let him know what they thought about the actions, with 15,000 boos reigning down on the “winner.”

At least she said yes, I guess. It could have been worse.

 

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UFC on Fuel TV 9 Results: Breaking Down Top Performances from Sweden

Another big night of UFC action took place this weekend from Stockholm, Sweden, with a number of big standout performances taking place on the night.From rapid-fire knockouts to courageous comebacks, UFC on Fuel TV 9 was certainly not short of talking …

Another big night of UFC action took place this weekend from Stockholm, Sweden, with a number of big standout performances taking place on the night.

From rapid-fire knockouts to courageous comebacks, UFC on Fuel TV 9 was certainly not short of talking points—and it certainly wasn’t short of speculation about where the future lies for certain fighters. Yet, before we go down that path, we’ve first got to see what made their performances in Stockholm so special and worth getting excited about.

Read on to see the top performances from UFC on Fuel TV 9. 

 

Gegard Mousasi: Def. Ilir Latifi

It might not have been the dominant performance that many wanted to see from Mousasi in his UFC debut, but with a concise and well-calculated victory, he still emerged looking very strong on the night.

In his first UFC fight, Mousasi was tactical and refused to give in to Latifi, and in the end, that style saw him emerge victorious. Which, given how dangerous his opponent was in terms of takedowns and grappling, is a very fair achievement.

The fact that all of this happened on one leg is even more remarkable, with reports emerging afterwards that Mousasi won the fight with a busted knee that will now require immediate surgery (Yahoo! Sports).

Talk about a memorable performance for your UFC debut.

 

Conor McGregor: Def. Marcus Brimage

It took McGregor just 67 seconds to go from starting a fight to celebrating wildly with an Irish flag—such was his dominance in UFC on Fuel TV 9.

McGregor came into the fight with a strong following and the belief that he could challenge Brimage, but few expected that he would do it in the way that he did. After all, Brimage is a solid fighter who was more than capable of challenging the young Irishman.

Or so we thought.

McGregor showed he is the real deal with a devastating victory here and will now look forward to his next fight, which could see him against some very strong fighters. But, having seen him thrive here, you’d have to think he’ll be more than okay there as well.

 

Matt Mitrione: Def. Philip De Fries

If you thought 67 seconds was quick, then the 19 seconds that Mitrione took to get past De Fries was just something else. And whilst many might want to point out that Mitrione didn’t really do anything to get the win here, the reality was that this was a big performance.

Without a win in nearly two years of fights, Mitrione showed that he hasn’t lost a step at the top level and that he is more than capable of mixing it with the best. What’s more, he showed that understanding of the Octagon can be a real weapon moving forward—perhaps even enough to bring him out of his slump and into the winners circle once more.

A win is a win regardless of how it comes about, and Mitrione will gladly take the victory and the confidence that it will no doubt give him.

 

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Silva vs. Stann: Wanderlei Silva Silences Retirement Rumors with Impressive Win

Wanderlei Silva has fielded the retirement rumors and heard suggestions that he should give up the sport many times during his career.And the veteran delivered the most emphatic answer to them all in his impressive performance against Brian Stann in UF…

Wanderlei Silva has fielded the retirement rumors and heard suggestions that he should give up the sport many times during his career.

And the veteran delivered the most emphatic answer to them all in his impressive performance against Brian Stann in UFC on Fuel 8—knocking out the 32-year-old American in the second round and sending the crowd at the Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo into delirium.

The man known as “The Axe Murderer” delivered his answer to the retirement rumors and the doubts that he didn’t have what it took to be a successful fighter anymore.

Both Silva and Stann would now suggest otherwise.

Data from FightMetric showed that the American Stann had been the more dominant fighter in the first round—landing 53 strikes to just 30 from Silva. The veteran had been knocked down on more than one occasion and had the wobbles at times throughout the fight.

But at 4:08 in the second round, Silva connected on a right hook to the ear of his opponent, sending him to the ground. He would then wrap up the fight with four hard strikes that would knock both Stann and the retirement rumors straight out of the building.

Silva commented after the fight on the likelihood that he will retire from the sport following the win—telling MMA Junkie that he’s not planning on quitting just yet:

I feel really happy. I don’t know what happens in Japan, but it makes me feel young. I’m happy to fight in Japan again.

I have the best moments in my life here, and today is one more. I feel the energy here, the energy of the Brazilian fans, the Japanese fans. I feel really happy to fight over here.

I’m fighting one fight at a time right now. I feel healthy. A couple of injuries are normal, you know? I know sooner or later I’m going to need to stop this job, but I’m happy for this feeling and this energy from my fans.

I’m so happy to make a show for the fans. I’m so glad to make my fans happy around the world. I had a dream before I retired to fight in Brazil and fight here. I’m so glad the UFC gave me the opportunity to fight one last time in Brazil and fight here.

I hope the UFC will give me a chance to come back here…

And with that, it seems that the calls for retirement have ended, for now.

Silva has a professional record of 35 wins, 12 losses a draw and a no contest, but like Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports says, the veteran is a “guy who cares more about bringing the fans from their seats than having his arm raised” at the end of a fight.

He did both in Tokyo this weekend, and as long as he continues to turn up to professional events, he’ll continue to draw a huge following from around the world.

Silva proved that he still has the ability and talent to remain competitive in the UFC, and given he still loves the sport, he will surely not retire now. He’s simply got too much left to give to the fans and to the sport as a whole to call it a career just yet.

Perhaps it’s not time to say goodbye after all.

 

Should Wanderlei Silva retire after his win at UFC on Fuel 8?

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Rousey vs. Carmouche: Biggest Takeaways from UFC Women’s Championship

Ronda Rousey became the first women’s UFC champion to make a successful title defense with a first-round defeat of Liz Carmouche in their headline fight at UFC 157.The former Olympic judo champion came into the event undefeated in her MMA career and th…

Ronda Rousey became the first women’s UFC champion to make a successful title defense with a first-round defeat of Liz Carmouche in their headline fight at UFC 157.

The former Olympic judo champion came into the event undefeated in her MMA career and the overwhelming favorite to walk away with the title here, and she did not fail to deliver on the hype—chalking up a submission from Carmouche with an armbar at 4:49 in the first.

What did we learn, however, from that four minutes and 49 seconds of UFC action in Anaheim? Read on for the biggest takeaways from Saturday’s UFC championship fight.

 

Ronda Rousey is the best female fighter on the planet

It seemed so obvious that Rousey would cruise to victory here, but until she actually had the claim of being the official UFC champion, it was hard to declare that the former judo champion was the best female mixed-martial arts fighter on the planet.

Now we can.

The 26-year-old chalked up the first-round victory here that many expected her to, and she did in the style that many had assumed she would as well. 

It was quick, it was simple, and it confirmed the assumptions that Rousey is simply the greatest—with no obvious opponent forthcoming as being able to beat her.

Just where Rousey can go from here is mind-blowing.

 

Liz Carmouche is certainly no slouch of the sport

She won’t get any recognition out of this one for her efforts against Rousey, but credit must be given to Liz Carmouche for her appearance here.

She was up against a highly-favored opponent who has a multi-pronged attack in her arsenal, and yet it was the 29-year-old who very nearly won this fight.

Carmouche stunned many with her early chance on Rousey in a rear-naked choke that very nearly ended this fight, but she was unable to properly close. From there, the former Olympic judo medalist was able to take control of the fight and finish this one with her first opportunity at an armbar.

She will get few of the headlines after this one, but given the dominance that Rousey has had over several fighters before, Carmouche certainly did herself no shame in this one. Even if the final result does show a first-round victory to Rousey, as expected.

 

How will judo-based fighters fare in the future of women’s UFC?

Given her judo background (and success in that background also), Rousey was always going to win this event when the fight went to ground.

She is simply too strong and too skilled to lose a fight on the ground, with her career wins thus far showing how skilled she is in that department.

Questions must then be asked as to what impact this will have on the future of women’s UFC, and particularly on what background will dominate the sport. Rousey‘s judo background is clearly showing to be highly effective, but will similar judo-based fighters win in the women’s UFC as a result?

Moreover, will there now be an influx of women originally trained in judo heading towards the UFC and mixed-martial-arts side of things with Rousey‘s success?

You’d have to think it is more likely—especially if they have some sort of a standing-up game to complement their ground attack—like Rousey has shown that she has in her arsenal as well.

The complete impacts of this result cannot yet be known, but one must think that the win goes a long way to creating a judo-based legacy in women’s UFC.

 

What did you take away from Ronda Rousey‘s win at UFC 157?

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UFC 157: Predicting Winners from Every Fight on Main Card

UFC 157 will take place on February 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, with a number of great matchups set on the main card.Former champion Dan Henderson will fight Lyoto Machida, whilst the UFC women’s bantamweight title will be on the line when…

UFC 157 will take place on February 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, with a number of great matchups set on the main card.

Former champion Dan Henderson will fight Lyoto Machida, whilst the UFC women’s bantamweight title will be on the line when Ronda Rousey takes on Liz Carmouche.

Read on to see who will triumph in those fights and more at UFC 157, with a full list of predicted winners from every fight on the main card this weekend.

 

Court McGee vs. Josh Neer

The winner of the 11th season of Ultimate Fighter has dropped to welterweight here and will take on Josh Neer, who is riding a two-fight losing streak into this one.

Justin Edwards and Mike Pyle both got the better of Neer in recent fights, and given Neer‘s tendency to be a touch careless at times, I’m leaning McGee in this one.

I’d say that it stays relatively close throughout, but expect McGee to continue his strong run since joining the UFC ranks with a solid victory.

Prediction: Court McGee

 

Josh Koscheck vs. Robbie Lawler

Josh Koscheck is still a genuine threat in the welterweight division and can’t be written off in this one—despite going 3-2 in his last five UFC fights. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from Koscheck every time he steps into the octagon—the biggest question here will be as to how good Robbie Lawler looks at 170 pounds in his UFC return.

If he’s switched on, it’ll be tough to stop Lawler‘s power striking from connecting at least once or twice—that could well be the difference in this fight.

I’m going with another close one, but picking Lawler to prevail.

Prediction: Robbie Lawler

 

Urijah Faber vs. Ivan Menjivar

 Ivan Menjivar has shown a susceptibility to being outworked by his opponents throughout his career, including a DQ against Urijah Faber previously.

And whilst it might not come in the exact same style here, expect Faber once again to get the better of his opponent and ram home the advantage. I think this could really open up for Faber early as Menjivar tries to avoid a repeat performance. If Faber sees the opening, he could wrap this fight up early with a submission or a knockout in the first round.

Prediction: Urijah Faber

 

Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson

Lyoto Machida will certainly be able to take some of the body blows that Dan Henderson throws in this one—the question is, how much will he be able to take?

Machida will get his chances to topple Henderson, but it just won’t happen. Hendo has too much riding on this one—with a fight against Jon Jones looming should he win—and will be able to take whatever Machida throws his way.

Then he’ll send it back with some interest—I’d say Henderson finishes this one early in the second round to finally book his shot at taking on Jones.

Prediction: Dan Henderson

  

Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche

Rousey will surely earn herself the title of women’s bantamweight champion of the UFC with a defeat of Carmouche—there’s just no other option in this one.

Carmouche has already been defeated once in a bantamweight title fight (losing to Marloes Coenen) and will not be able to match Rousey. 

This one will seemingly be lucky to make it out of the first round, like many of Rousey‘s fights, with the Olympic judo champion proving herself to be the legitimate UFC champion as well.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey

 

Who do you think will be the winners and losers from UFC 157?

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UFC on Fuel TV 7 Results: Biggest Winners from Epic Night in London

Renan Barao came into his UFC bout as the interim bantamweight champion and was able to leave with exactly the same title next to his name after a telling victory over Michael McDonald.Tom Watson too earned himself a huge victory against&nbsp…

Renan Barao came into his UFC bout as the interim bantamweight champion and was able to leave with exactly the same title next to his name after a telling victory over Michael McDonald.

Tom Watson too earned himself a huge victory against Stanislav Nedkov when it looked like the latter of those two would cruise to an easy win this weekend.

Both came away from UFC on Fuel TV 7 as huge winners on the night and will no doubt take plenty away from their respective bouts. But who else were the big winners from an epic night in London? 

Read on to find out.

 

Tom Watson

We start with Watson here, who did incredibly well to come back from a crushing first-round to record a key victory in the second round against Stanislav Nedkov.

The Brit looked for all money like he would lose this fight, but showed great heart and determination to will his way back into the contest—and then to take the result.

True grit from Watson no doubt made him a big winner on the night.

 

Renan Barao

Barao did everything he needed to do in this fight—beat Michael McDonald and set himself up for a key fight against Dominick Cruz sometime in the future.

His victory here in a dominant performance showed that he is without doubt the bantamweight division’s best fighter at the moment, and he could well turn out to be a huge threat to Cruz’s title chances when the pair eventually clash.

He was patient in this one and endured some difficult strikes from his opponent but was too strong in the end—capping off a very clinical fight with a great arm-triangle choke midway through the fourth round.

 

Jimi Manuwa

Jimi Manuwa was the only other fighter to stop his opponent in their UFC fight this weekend, but it was the complete game that the Englishman showed in his fight against Cyrille Diabate that made him a real big winner on the night.

Manuwa showed off his prolific striking ability once more with some clean punches but also achieved several effective takedowns as well—one of which seemingly injured the Frenchman and handed Manuwa the fight in the end.

If he can continue to develop his game to become a more complete fighter, like he showed in just one round tonight, Manuwa will certainly progress to even greater heights and become an even tougher fighter to defeat.

 

Who were the big winners for you from UFC on Fuel TV 7?

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