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Always a Bridesmaid: The Six Best UFC Fighters Who May Never Taste UFC Gold

(Look into my crystal ball Kenny, and ye shall see thine future.)

There is a lot on the line at UFC 136. Not just the two titles and the future title match implications, but a chance for two men to finally capture the gold that has long eluded them. I’m speaking of Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard of course, who’ve both been chasing UFC gold for the better part of their careers, only to fall inches short of the finish line. For Gray, who many people felt deserved a title shot over current champion Frankie Edgar in the first place, it was the resilience of the champ that proved to be his undoing. And for Florian, it was just a terribly unlucky spell when it came to title fights. But come Saturday, both men will have a chance to erase our doubts and finally move up to that deluxe apartment in the sky.

Unfortunately, Florian and Maynard are not the only men who have felt the repercussions of looking directly into the belt. There are a few guys out there who just seem destined to be number 2 in a company that loves to fuck with the number 2. Anyway, we thought we would awkwardly point out six of them, excluding “Kenflo” and “The Bully,” from across the room for your reading pleasure. And we’re going by Brock Lesnar rules here, so interim belts don’t count. Enjoy.

(Look into my crystal ball Kenny, and ye shall see thine future.)

6. Jon Fitch

Poor Jon Fitch. Not only did it take the man 8 straight UFC wins to earn his first title shot, but when he finally got there, it got really, really ugly. Following his unanimous decision loss to George St. Pierre at UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, Fitch went on a five fight win streak, scoring wins over Paulo Thiago, Ben Saunders, and Thiago Alves, the latter of which was originally slated to be a number one contender match. After Fitch picked up another lackluster victory, Dana White changed his mind, proving the theory that he is truly a man of smoke and mirrors when it comes to title shots. Fitch’s hopes for another go at GSP were further crushed at UFC 127, when his fight with B.J. Penn went on to a majority draw. A rematch was originally planned to be rescheduled, but instead a match between Penn and Nick Diaz was put together, most likely for a number one contender spot. But if Fitch can impressively (re: finish) get past Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 in December, maybe he’ll finally earn the chance at redemption he deserves. But we won’t be holding our breath, because 15 minutes is an awfully long time to do so.

5. Jim Miller

The story of Jim Miller is not unlike that of Fitch. After dropping a unanimous decision to Gray Maynard at UFC 96, Miller went on a seven fight killing spree, scoring wins over Mark Bocek, Duane Ludwig, and Gleison Tibau, among others. But with the clusterfuck of contendership that is the lightweight division, it seemed that Miller would be passed over due to his lack of name power, despite the fact that he was knocking off every fighter before him in increasingly impressive fashion. It was finally at UFC Live: Lytle vs. Hardy that Miller was given a legit contender in former WEC lightweight champ Ben Henderson, in a bout that had title implications written all over it. Miller came up short however, dropping a bloody unanimous decision to “Smooth” and likely erasing his streak in the eyes of the UFC’s head honchos. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have to win another seven before he’s given another top contender.

4. Joseph Benavidez

Joseph Benavidez is in a tough spot a this point. Both losses in his seventeen fight career have come at the hands of current champ Dominick Cruz, and though he continues to knock off top contenders, it’s hard to believe he’ll be given another shot at the “The Dominator” anytime soon. And it’s a shame, because he arguably gave Cruz his toughest test to date in their battle back at WEC 50, which he lost by split decision. His refusal to fight teammate Urijah Faber only further eliminates any hopes of a clear cut number one contender, so where does Benavidez go from here? The biggest factor in Benavidez’s title hopes is that of his size, and until the UFC decides to add a flyweight class to their roster, Benavidez seems destined to be Team Alpha Male’s other number 2 man. Speaking of which…

3. Urijah Faber

At one point in time, Urijah Faber seemed so beyond the abilities of the challengers he was facing as the WEC featherweight champion that people were clamoring for “The California Kid” to change divisions and seek another title. He was even given his own day for Christ’s sake. But then, Faber ran face first into the fist of Mike Brown, the impact of which was so devastating that it may have cursed him forever. His rematch against Brown was perhaps even more unsuccessful; not only did he break both his hands in the unanimous decision loss, but in doing so he ended the rumors that Brown’s original victory was a fluke. Things would only get worse, as Jose Aldo would soon become the featherweight champ and inflict the above damage to Urijah’s leg in his second failed attempt to reclaim his title. Faber soon found himself doing the only thing he could do, making the drop to bantamweight. And after a couple nice wins over Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland, he again found himself running face first into the frail but deadly hands of Dominick Cruz, dropping his third straight unanimous decision title bout. Though Faber (and a lot of us) rallied for an immediate rematch, it looks like Faber will have to get another couple wins before he can give the title another go. Fourth time’s the charm, Urijah.

2. Diego Sanchez

Diego Sanchez is probably in the worst position of any fighter on this list. For a while, he was the assassin of the welterweight division, dismantling the likes of Joe Riggs and Karo Paryisyan. Consecutive losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch effectively killed most of his hype, so after a couple wins against lesser opponents, Diego decided to drop to lightweight, where he picked up quality wins over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. The bout with Guida was so epic that Sanzchez was given a shot against B.J. Penn for the title. Sanchez was simply outclassed from the very beginning by Penn, who after dropping “The Dream” in the opening minute, went on to inflict the pictured cut on Sanchez and scare him out of the lightweight division for good. Sanchez packed the pounds back on for his return to welterweight, where he again found himself on the receiving end of a beatdown, this time compliments of John Hathaway. Luckily, Sanchez was able to rebound with victories over top contenders Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, and again finds himself on the cusp of title-hood when he faces Jake Ellenberger at UFC 141. If he is unable to best “The Juggernaut,” then we could be looking at Sanchez’s long awaited return to middleweight in the near future.

And that takes us to number 1…

1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria

We all know the story of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria, so I’ll make this short. Since winning (and then losing) the very first Pride heavyweight championship, it pains me to say that Nogueria’s career has dwelled on the outskirts of contender-ship. Fedor Emelianenko took Nogueria’s belt in his first defense, and with it he took Big Nog’s thunder for the better part of his career. Nogueria would fall again to Emelianenko in their eventual rematch, and when he came to the UFC, the interim title he choked Tim Sylvia out for was quickly taken away compliments of Frank Mir. A follow up victory over Randy Couture was soundly eradicated by a brutal knockout loss to current champ Cain Velasquez, and it seemed as if we had seen the last of the legend known as “Minotauro.” Well, shame on us. Nogueria was given rising prospect Brendan Schuab for his next challenge, and knocked that sum’ bitch out faster than we could pick the color scheme for his retirement party. Could we be witnessing yet another resurgence of Big Nog, this time capped off with UFC gold? One can only hope.

-Danga

Technique Video of the Day: The Calf Crank/Slicer from Arm Triangle Position

You know, if everyone stopped hating on Eddie Bravo and Joe Hogan for their personal beliefs related to “the heefer,” they might be able to learn a thing or two when it comes to Jiu-Jistu. But here at Cagepotato, we are all about putting judgments aside for the sake of the sport. In the above video, Bravo demonstrates a beautiful bait-and-switch submission on Joanne of MMAGirls.net, and though he may not be up to par on his English (it’s sunk, Eddie) there is no denying the man’s abilities to pull off some brilliant transitions on the ground.

Today, he teaches us that a failed submission attempt does not always mean going back to square one. Let’s say your arms are blown out and you find yourself unable to finish your opponent with an arm triangle choke. Well, as Bravo puts it, “Just because you can’t squeeze anymore, doesn’t mean you can’t pull anymore.” So, when you’ve come to this realization, simply slide your foot back between your opponent’s legs, placing yourself into quarter guard. Bravo points out that it is crucial you don’t extend your leg and put yourself in half guard for this move to be successful. Next, figure four your legs around one of your opponent’s. Then, using as much Jedi force as you can muster, release the arm triangle, roll onto your back, and pull the shit out of your opponent’s foot until they are forced to tap or walk funny for the rest of their life. Just ask Joe Lauzon.

It really is an awesome little move for any of you BJJ practitioners out there, but be sure to try this out on your little brothers and sisters before attempting something so bold in an actual competition and looking like a fool. Now, here’s some Bob Marley. Enjoy it.

-Danga

Should the Winner of the Brian Stann/Chael Sonnen Match Get the Chance to Be Slaughtered by Anderson Silva Next?

(Who honestly wouldn’t want to see this again?)

Dana White is like a walking, talking, movie trailer. He reveals just enough to get his audience hot with anticipation, only to deny them with the necessary answers as to why they were watching him in the first place. During the UFC 136 pre-fight press conference, and in accordance with multiple sources, “The Baldfather” apparently revealed that the winner of the upcoming bout between Brian Stann and submission savant Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 would be next in line for a chance to dethrone Anderson Silva. Sort of. Maybe.

The question that sparked all the fuss was as follows: “How could you feel that if Sonnen wins, he deserves a shot at the title but if not Stann doesn’t?”

To which DW responded:

(Who honestly wouldn’t want to see this again?)

The question that sparked all the fuss was as follows: ”How could you feel that if Sonnen wins, he deserves a shot at the title but if not Stann doesn’t?”

To which DW responded: “Stann’s been on a tear and has beat some good guys and has looked good doing it. Leben, Santiago, and now Chael? It would be tough to deny him.”

Dana went on to further confuse everyone when questioned by Megan Olivi following the press conference, stating that Dan Henderson would most certainly be in the mix if he gets past Maricio Rua in their upcoming fight at UFC 139. Truly the David Lynch of straight answers.

I’m assuming that this is one of DW’s many ways to get the notion across to his fighters that title shots are often based on impressive performances rather than win streaks (ie. Jon Fitch). Hopefully this will provide some much needed spark for Sonnen, who has admitted to not feeling his best leading up to his match with Stann. Keep in mind, the last person that apparently fought Stann at less than 100 percent was Chris Leben, and it did not end well for him.

And it is hard to deny that Stann has earned it. The man has had possibly the best year of any non-title holding fighter out there, scoring back-to-back TKO’s of Leben and Jorge Santiago, respectively. Combine that with a successful win in his middleweight debut against *cough* Mike Massenzio *cough* and that would be enough to earn Kenny Florian a title shot in any division he wanted for the next few years.

Now, I must admit that I am a little conflicted about who I want to win this one. On one hand, I am a big fan of Brian Stann, because how can you not be? But on the other, I don’t see Stann’s orthodox striking being very effective against a freak like Silva, and though I consider Chael to be a troll of sorts, there’s no denying that he had the best showing against Silva and could give the champ another run for his money in a possible rematch. But now with Henderson in the mix, it’s likely that Stann could get overlooked based on his ability to draw PPV numbers alone.

Another outside factor here is the simple fact that the Hendo/Rua match is being held at light heavyweight, yet Dana is making no mention of the winner getting the next shot against Jon Jones, after Rashad Evans of course. Either way, it looks like Dana has got some ‘splainin to do.

What say you Potato Nation? Stann or Sonnen, who takes it and how, and does the winner deserve the title shot? Also, would you rather see Hendo fight Jon Jones or Anderson if he is successful against Rua?

-Danga

Inaugural UFC on Fox Adds Three More Bouts

(Awwwww yeah.)

When the UFC decided to add a couple more fights to their first card on Fox, we figured it was the inevitable result of our time tested, sound advice. And now, Sherdog has confirmed that they are in fact adding three additional bouts to the card, so I’d say our theory is pretty much a lock at this point.

Though the fights may not be composed of big names like “Dos Santos” and “Velasquez,” there are still some pretty interesting match-ups with the definite potential for fireworks, the first of which is a featherweight contest between Virginian powerhouse Mackens Semerzier and Robert Peralta. Semerzier most recently broke a 3 fight skid with a first round submission victory over Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres back at UFC Fight Night 24. Peralta is coming off a successful UFC debut at UFN 25 where he scored a unanimous decision victory over Mike Lullo.

(Awwwww yeah.)

Mike Pierce has compiled a respective 4-2 record in his octagon run, scoring notable victories over Brock Larson and Amilcar Alves, though is coming off a close split decision loss to welterweight contender Johny Hendricks. This fight will be held at lightweight however, against Paul “The Gentleman” Bradley, who dropped a unanimous decision of his own to Rafael Natal in his UFC debut at UFC 133. These two have actually fought before, with Pierce coming away the victor via unanimous decision.

And finally, Matt Lucas will be making his octagon debut against tough veteran Aaron Rosa in a light heavyweight tilt. Rosa is perhaps best known for his gritty back and forth brawl with Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran back at UFC 131, which he eventually lost by TKO in the third round. Rosa will be making the drop to 205 lbs. for this fight, and will face a tough test in UFC newcomer Lucas, who is riding a five fight win streak including 4 (T)KO finishes within the first two minutes.

With the addition of these three fights, it’s safe to say the UFC on Fox card is shaping up to be as epic as the deal itself. Not only does it feature the heavyweight championship fight between Dos Santos and Velasquez, but the extensive preliminary card features a lightweight battle of top contenders when former WEC lightweight champ Ben Henderson takes on Clay Guida. Norifumi ”Kid” Yamamoto also returns to action against Darren Uyenoyama, and featherweight highlight reel Pablo Garza takes on Dustin Poirier.

-Danga

Mark Your Calenders: Bobby Lashley vs. Darrill Schoonover at Shark Fights on Nov. 11

(So close to validation, yet soooo far away…)

Former/possibly current professional wrestler Bobby Lashley returns to mixed martial arts action this November, taking on TUF 10 alum Darrill “The Boss” Schoonover for the Shark Fights Heavyweight title.

Since making his MMA debut in 2008, Lashley has put together a 6-1 record with ~~notable~~ wins over Bob Sapp, Jason Guida, and Wes Sims. Lashley’s hype train was derailed by Chad Griggs at Stikeforce: Houston however, where after a moderately successful first round, “The Dominator” gassed in the second and was unable to answer the third round bell. Lashley has since picked up a unanimous decision victory over journeyman John Ott at Titan Fighting Championships 17.

(So close to validation, yet soooo far away…)

Current Shark Fights heavyweight champ Darrill Schoonover made his name as the focus of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s verbal assault on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, so much so that he even challenged the former UFC light heavyweight champ to a fight after the show was over. What a mistake that would’ve been. Though Schoonover won his first fight on the show by choking Zak Jensen to sleep with a triangle, the man known as “Titties” ran out of steam in the quarterfinals, where he was knocked out by Marcus “Big Baby” Jones. Schoonover’s lone shot in the octagon was equally devastating, where he suffered a third round TKO loss at the hands of fellow cast mate James McSweeney at the TUF 10 Finale.

One thing of note: After winning the title in 2009, Schoonover was called up to The Ultimate Fighter, and has yet to defend it. In the time since, he has compiled a less than stellar 1-5 record in various smaller promotions, most recently TKO’ing Adam Padilla in July.

Fool Me Once, Shame on You: Five UFC Rematches We’d Love to See Happen

Let’s be honest, there weren’t many of us out there biting our nails in anticipation of Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman Part II in the weeks leading up to it, but boy were we wrong. The rematch, which took home Fight of the Night Honors, was a back and forth, blood soaked brawl, and we loved every second of it. So it is in light of their triumph that we present you, Potato Nation, with five rematches, in no particular order, that we can expect to see as soon as Joe Silva starts returning our calls.

5. Carlos Condit vs. Rory Macdonald

Depending on how well Carlos Condit does in his upcoming title fight against GSP, the possibility of seeing these two welterweight brutes tangle again seems pretty high. Both have been on a tear as of late, and the first fight between them was nothing short of extraordinary.

5. Carlos Condit vs. Rory Macdonald

Macdonald, a relatively unknown at the time, gave the final WEC welterweight champ all he could handle, utilizing a beautiful array of kicks and takedowns to keep Condit off balance for the better part of two rounds. Condit was able to shake off the cobwebs and mount a ground and pound clinic on Macdonald in the third however, finishing him off with just 7 seconds left in the fight. If Condit is able to defeat GSP, and if Rory can get by Brian Ebersole at UFC 140 (and maybe another, higher tier fighter), then we have the makings of one hell of a title fight.

4. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann

The main event of the third UFC on Versus, this fight changed the perspective on how much punishment someone could absorb while still walking away the victor. For three rounds, Kampmann brutalized “~~The Nightmare~~” “The Dream’s” face with sharp punches, but Sanchez waded through nearly all of them, landing a few nice combinations of his own and scoring a takedown in the third round. “The Hitman” quickly found himself on the losing side of another razor-thin decision, and protested it with the infamous “Look at that dude’s fucking face!” defense, to no avail. Add to that their heated Twitter feud and we’ve got ourselves a full blown grudge match, and we all know how much the UFC loves those. Both guys are facing tough tests in their next fights, Kampmann takes on Rick Story at UFC 139 and Sanchez takes on Jake Ellenberger at UFC 141. When the smoke clears from all that, who honestly wouldn’t want to see these guys go to war again?

3. Forrest Griffin v. Quinton Jackson

Their title fight back at UFC 86 marked the first time a TUF winner would ever don UFC gold, discounting our boy Matt Serra of course, who the world was aware of before his time on The Ultimate Fighter. The decision was controversial, its aftermath even more so. But with 520,000 pay-per-view buy’s the first time around, this rematch could easily boost up a card’s interest level, though maybe as a co-main event this time.

Though “Rampage” seems destined for other venues, there’s no doubt that this is one loss that he would like to erase before his contract expires…in fact, he has been repeatedly begging for it. Griffin, on the other hand, finds himself in an unusual place amongst the UFC’s light heavyweight division. On the heels of knockout loss to Maricio Rua at UFC 134, a win over Jackson would not only validate his original victory, but propel him back up the light heavyweight ranks. If anything, it will be interesting just to see if DW can get Forrest to leave Vegas again.

2. Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson

The first fight, which just recently transpired at UFC 134, was the very definition of a battle between a brawler and a technical striker. Pearson looked about as good as he could in the loss, repeatedly tagging Barboza despite the Brazilian’s reach advantage. Barboza however, was able to land more consistently and with more pizzazz, walking away with the split decision victory in his second consecutive Fight of the Night winning performance.

Though a win in the rematch wouldn’t do much for either fighter in terms of stock value, this is just one of those fights that we simply want to watch again as fans of the sport, regardless of rankings. Some of us weren’t exactly convinced that Barboza deserved the nod, stating Pearson’s constant pressure as a determining factor. And since neither fighter has anything booked at the moment, why not give it another go?

1. Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki

Ah, the good old days of the WEC. Back in 2009, Miguel Torres was about as close as you could get to an unbeatable fighter. Takeya Mizugaki was an unknown Shooto vet with a penchant for brawling, and my God what a brawl this turned into. In a fight that was nominated across the forum world for fight of the year, Torres and Mizugaki stood toe-to-toe for 25 minutes and threw down, with each fighter not letting a strike go unanswered.

Coming off a second round TKO of Cole Escovedo at UFC 135, Mizugaki arguably has the momentum in his favor this time around, as Torres will be trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Demetrious Johnson against Nick Pace at UFC 139. If he can best Pace, then this rematch would make all the more sense in terms of the bantamweight picture. If not, then this fight would still be a nice addition to any card in need of fireworks.

-Danga

What say you, Potato Nation? Are there any other rematches that you are currently blowing up DW’s Twitter with requests for? Let us know in the comments section.