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Not Looking Past UFC 132, Carlos Condit Craves All Welterweight Challenges

Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit aims to hit championship targets no matter what organization they are in. For the 27-year-old, stringing together four consecutive victories means ending Dong Hyun Kim’s five-fight win streak at UFC…

Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit aims to hit championship targets no matter what organization they are in.

For the 27-year-old, stringing together four consecutive victories means ending Dong Hyun Kim’s five-fight win streak at UFC 132 on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adding “Stun Gun” to an Octagon resume boasting wins over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, and Dan Hardy is ideal for the former WEC Welterweight Champion, who intends to entrench himself atop one of the most storied divisions in the UFC.

“It’s a tough match up for me. I definitely think it’s a good test,” Condit told ESPN’s Inside the Cage radio. “Dong Hyun Kim does what a lot of the top welterweights do: his game plan is to use his wrestling and his size and his strength to basically impose top control.”

The Greg Jackson-trained fighter returns to action after withdrawing from a scheduled February slug fest with Chris Lytle at UFC 127. Condit netted an extra $85,000 for a Fight of the Night versus MacDonald at UFC 115, $65,000 for knocking out Dan Hardy at UFC 120, and hopes his bout against Kim at UFC 132 can be his third consecutive incentive bonus. After all, prizefighting is about performance and Condit to make statements with his outings July 2 and beyond.

“I really feel like I’m in my prime. I think these next couple of years are going to help define my career and my legacy,” he said. “I’m looking to make a run and hopefully get that belt around my waist.”

Condit recently called out former two-division champion B.J. Penn, attempting to take on the names that make for action-packed, marquee fights that can build a career and define a legacy. Instead, he meets the Korean judoka, a stern yet unheralded opponent. Still, Kim fits well into Condit’s future plans.

“I was a little bit disappointed I didn’t get to fight B.J. Penn. A lot of the other top welterweights are either booked for fights or aren’t going to be ready in the time frame I’m trying to compete,” he admitted. “I think [Jake] Shields is definitely on the horizon for me. I definitely would like to get in there and try to avenge a loss. If I have a good showing against Kim, I imagine I’d get a title shot.”

A four-fight win streak—and a pre-requisite impressive showing against Kim—would place Condit in a contender spot for the UFC belt or near it, but that doesn’t mean Condit is unwilling to take longer and tougher routes either.

“It’s been my goal since I started fighting,” he said of being the UFC champion, adding, “I think a possible number one contender fight with me and [Strikeforce Welterweight Champion] Nick Diaz is a possibility as well.”

Condit believes he can take on fighters firmly among welterweight’s elite like Dong Hyun Kim, Jake Shields and Nick Diaz because he sees himself mixing it up UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre someday despite the two training under the Greg Jackson banner.

“In fact, we really haven’t trained much together. The possibility of us fighting is very real. For the most part, when he’s in and I’m in at the same time, we just kind of stay on our own sides of the gym,” said Condit. “As far as training, it definitely throws in complicated issues as far as coaching, but I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there.”

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Interview was conducted by Acosta along with Greg DeLong on ESPN’s Inside the Cage 1450a.m. Reno. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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Clay Guida and the 5 Biggest Winners If UFC Institutes 5-Round Non-Title Fights

Brock Lesnar versus Junior dos Santos’ June 11 heavyweight tangle at UFC 131 was meant to be the UFC’s first five-round non-title fight, UFC President Dana White recently revealed in Toronto.That fight fell through, but the UFC’s…

Brock Lesnar versus Junior dos Santos’ June 11 heavyweight tangle at UFC 131 was meant to be the UFC’s first five-round non-title fight, UFC President Dana White recently revealed in Toronto.

That fight fell through, but the UFC’s plans for five-round non-title fights haven’t. There are no shortage of candidates that stand to benefit from such a policy, although a few fighters stand out for their style, stature and substance.

Here are five UFC fighters that would benefit most from five-round non-title fights.

5) Brad Pickett

The British bantamweight’s last three bouts were all-around, back-and-forth 15-minute grueling battles.

He came up victorious versus Demetrious Johnson and Ivan Menjivar and was unanimously defeated by Scott Jorgensen in between.

Anchored at American Top Team, Pickett has developed the cardio to push his grit around the cage more effectively than a straight-banger style.

In a division loaded with incredible pace, Pickett is a contender that can be increasingly dangerous as the clock ticks on.

4) Jim Miller

The most impressive feat Gray Maynard accomplished before beating Frankie Edgar in a potential 10-7 first round of a title fight was dominating Jim Miller.

That’s because Jim Miller is nearly impossible to take out of a fight and he’s proven that by responding to the Maynard loss with a two-year, seven-fight win streak.

The AMA Fight Club representative has a potent blend of ill-intentioned wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, throwing his hands better with each outing.

Well-rounded, all-in fighters like Matt Wiman, Mac Danzig, Mark Bocek, Gleson Tibau and Kamal Shalorus have all fallen to Miller’s ability to seize control fights with bull-headed steamrolling.

He’s proven ready for the upper echelon of the division by performing in 15-minute fights like 25-minute fights would be just another day on the job.

3) Michael Bisping

Michael “The Count” Bisping’s cardio is apparent in his ability to play a strong stick-and-move striking game.

It also shines when the Brit turns it up, sits on his punches and fights to finish. He has been able to stay off his back because he is always fresh enough to pop back up if the fight hits the mat.

Consistent footwork and output have carved The Ultimate Fighter season three winner’s place at 185-pounds as perennial contender.

If there was an ideal striking candidate at middleweight for five-round non-title fights, it’s Michael Bisping.

The skill level in mixed martial arts elevates daily and is represented well in fighters like Bisping, Georges St. Pierre and Frankie Edgar, who are clear-cut winners due to efficiency and strategy while confusing the competition with multiple looks.

2) Jon Fitch

The term “grinder” in mixed martial arts latches on to no one more than Jon Fitch.

American Kickboxing Academy’s welterweight insists if his all fights went into the championship rounds, his last six wins—and his February draw with B.J. Penn—would have been finishes instead of unanimous decisions.

Posting a 10-8 round versus the former two-division champion was no easy feat from inside Penn’s guard—a testament to the suffocating style that has kept Fitch’s record since 2002 spotless outside of dropping a unanimous decision to champion Georges St-Pierre.

Extra time is just extra time to impose his will and few, if any, welterweights can deal with that for 25-minutes.

1) Clay Guida

“The Carpenter” is simply wired differently. Guida runs to the cage on his surplus supply of high-energy and never rests once inside the Octagon.

He’s had championship cardio since 2006 and that was illustrated best as his Octagon career progressed with classic scraps with Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta and Diego Sanchez.

The Chicagoan’s performances never waver in entertainment value, crafting a fan base that matches his energy.

Fighters like Clay Guida beg the question if non-title fights can be five-rounds, is there room for seven-round title fights?

Too much, maybe, but some mixed martial arts still have a no-holds-barred, no-time limit spirit and Guida has the cardio to make it seem practical.

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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TUF Alum Ross Pointon Prepares for Dean Amasinger, UFC Comeback at AKA

Ross Pointon the fighter—not the character—is back. Despite being finished in two separate weight classes on The Ultimate Fighter season three by eventual winners Kendall Grove and Michael Bisping, Pointon’s Stroke-on-Trent, England &…

Ross Pointon the fighter—not the character—is back.

Despite being finished in two separate weight classes on The Ultimate Fighter season three by eventual winners Kendall Grove and Michael Bisping, Pointon’s Stroke-on-Trent, England “anyone, anytime” attitude (in addition to unprofessional antics like eating an entire pizza after weigh-ins) have made him one of the most memorable personalities during the show’s five-year Spike TV run.

Winless in two Octagon appearances following his reality stint and a sub-.500 record (6-10) in his four years as a professional left a lot to be desired though. So after a three-year break from the sport, “The Gladiator” plans to demonstrate that his skills have matched up with his character upon his return. He steps in the cage versus another TUF alumni, Dean Amasinger, for “Ultimate Challenge 21: Stand Your Ground” on June 25 at the Troxy in London.

“My last opponent Mark Brown never turned up, you know what I mean? That was in Ultimate Challenge. I know Amasinger is going to turn up. He’s training hard,” the British San Shou Champion told Bleacher Report. “He’s a good scalp for a first fight back. I’m gonna train hard. What will happen will happen on the night.”

The 31-year-old last competed in the now-defunct Cage Rage promotion in May 2008 when he rebounded from a gruesome cut stoppage to Marius Zaromskis by ending Ross Mason’s night early with a heel hook. The victory was his second by way of tap out in three contests—surprising for a fighter that called submissions “silly” repeatedly on national TV.

He now calls the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. home after joining the renowned gym three months ago to ensure his comeback will feature an ever-evolving Ross Pointon.

“When I got on The Ultimate Fighter, it was the wrong time in my career. I was still learning, whereas a lot of those guys came from good, solid camps. I believe now I’ve done the time,” he said. “Like I said, knowledge is power. It’s experience—everything. I’m still learning. I’ve still got loads to learn. My game is getting stronger all the time being at AKA.”

Pointon puts ego aside training alongside his former opponent, DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis, among other top fighters at AKA. It’s so his career can continue down the winning path he left it at before Cage Rage went under.

Posters were made for a world welterweight title bout in the organization versus champion Che Mills, but the bout never materialized. The resulting barren UK MMA landscape and money were reasons why “The Gladiator” walked away from prizefighting.

“Nothing was really going on. I thought I was worth more money than people were offering me. I chose to make money in other avenues, you know what I mean?” said Pointon, who promotes his eight fight card under his Gladiator Promotions UK banner on June 11—just two weeks before his fight. “But now I’m getting back into the fight game. Now I’m getting back to where I need to be, which is the UFC, do you know what I mean?”

Pointon travels from the home he shares with his girlfriend Christine—whom he credits with his increased maturity and focus—in Monterey an hour each way to be at AKA. He hopes his time at AKA bolsters UK MMA since he’ll be sharpening his techniques to represent England in the UFC as best he can and by taking training tips back to the gym he operates in his hometown in England. As a promoter, he provides a platform for young talent to flourish in their national scene before garnering international attention via the UFC like he once did.

Amidst all the changes, Pointon promises the biggest change is he’s not just a brawler anymore—he’s a full mixed martial artist.

Still, some things never change as illustrated by his parting words to Amasinger: “Good luck on June the 25th. Expect a war because I’m coming for a war.”

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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Pablo Garza, UFC Featherweight, Grateful He Didn’t Hang ‘Em Up

UFC featherweight Pablo Garza’s Octagon career is off to a blazing start—two finishes in two appearances in the last five months earned him $159,000 in bonuses for Knockout and Submission of the Night performances—yet just a year ago,…

His first UFC bout came last December, where a flying knee disposed of Fredson Paixao in the organization’s first ever 145-pound contest to the tune of $30,000.

At UFC 129, in the opening fight of the night, he secured a first-round flying triangle choke to pocket the largest submission bonus in UFC history, pulling in $129,000. Despite all in the initial success, the 27-year-old is still uncomfortable splurging on a $300 Playstation 3.

“The first bonus with training and trying to be a full-time fighter, I basically paid off a lot of bills I had in collections and did all that,” Garza told Bleacher Report. “Just got financially settled. Paid off a bunch of stuff. As for this bonus, I’m going to save it. Invest it or something.”

“The Scarecrow” never dreamed of fighting in the UFC like many of the competitors stepping in the cage today. He didn’t wrestle in high school, and his only competitive background came as a point guard at Jamestown College.

But three years ago, he began boxing with a friend. Then a month later, he followed his friend into mixed martial arts, where within the year, his current gym, Academy of Combat Arts, formed.

“Last year, in January, I told myself I was done—I couldn’t do it anymore. I had too many bills and stuff I had to do,” said the three-year veteran. “Me and my coach and I had a long talk and he convinced me, just give it one more year, and in that year, if nothing comes of it, then you know what? Hang it up if you want.”

Garza stuck with it, and within two weeks of an exhibition bout defeat to Michael Johnson on The Ultimate Fighter season 12 airing, he submitted to Zhang Tie Quan in the WEC for the first loss of his professional career. Still, the reason he was fighting was more or less because people kept saying, “You’re pretty good at it. You might as well keep doing it.”

He listened. Then came his back-to-back victories in the Octagon, which have transformed the kickboxing instructor from the University of North Dakota into a fast-rising UFC prospect.

“I think [featherweights] have [taken notice], but with that being said, there’s so much more that I need to be working on,” he said. “The competition is extremely deep especially now with Kenny Florian going down to ’45 and Tyson Griffin going to ’45. The competition now is going to be really intense.”

Garza discovered the natural scrappiness he brings to the cage years ago when facing bullying due to being one of few Mexican-Americans in North Dakota throughout junior high and high school. Once he found martial arts in his mid-20’s, he taught and trained while doing factory work producing windmill blades and bartending on the side to get by.

His pursuit to hit the big stages of professional prizefighting like the UFC from his small-town life wasn’t easy, but despite the tough competition awaiting him in the Octagon, Garza admits, “It’s a lot easier now for me.”

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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5 Reasons Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson Is Fight of the Year

The Chicagoland area hosts Strikeforce on Showtime July 30 as Fedor Emelianenko attempts to put the first back-to-back losses of his career behind him with a win over Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson in a heavyweight main event attraction. No gold will be up for grabs, but few, if any, mixed martial arts bouts have ever occurred with such legacy on the line. Here are five reasons this summer showdown stands to be fight of the year.

1) All-Time Greats

Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson are Sports Illustrated No. 1 and No. 4 pound-for-pound fighters of the last decade respectively.

Henderson is currently wearing a belt. Emelianenko, who achieved his status in the sport by going virtually undefeated for the decade, has dropped back-to-back fights for the first time in his career. The defeats have diminished the invincible aura surrounding the stoic Russian yet the 34-year-old has room to bounce back—a courtesy typically extended to fighters that Emelianenko hasn’t received because his controversial career reached such mythic proportions running its course entirely outside the Octagon. “The Last Emperor” is still capable of doing what kept him strictly the win column for a decade and Henderson is a perfect opponent to demonstrate that—win or lose.

Only a handful of fighters can rival the names, accolades and abilities possessed by Emelianenko and Henderson. Outside of UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva meeting Emelianenko, this is the greatest pound-for-pound contest available in MMA today.

2) Open-Weight Nostalgia

Fedor Emelianenko reigned over PRIDE as the heavyweight champion until its end, while Dan Henderson held the 183-pound title before closing out his PRIDE career by dethroning 205-pound titleholder Wanderlei Silva in the Japanese organization’s penultimate event. Open-weight grand prix tournaments were a staple of PRIDE, and had the organization continued business as usual, it’s not out of the question the Russian and American champions would have stood across from one another in the ring.

The sport’s changing landscape has placed limitations on the ways to subvert weight classes. A fighter like Henderson though will always find a way to implement his anytime, anywhere mindset. In accepting a bout with the most decorated heavyweight in MMA history, the Team Quest founder can as a natural middleweight, pull off a colossal feat. The fact that “Dangerous” Dan Henderson has been successful at heavyweight before or that his power is enough to stop a massive Rafael Cavalcante cold won’t be considered for Emelianenko if he drops his third consecutive contest.

Open-weight means high stakes.

3) Strikeforce’s Best Fight of All-Time

Strikeforce has featured excellent fights of over the years, but none as significant or compelling as Fedor Emelianenko versus Dan Henderson.

Emelianenko’s defeats to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva were anti-climatic considering the depth of his accomplishments. That was largely due to undersold opponents, something Dan Henderson can never be. Both combatants came to Strikeforce as high-profile free agent signings, only to be met with an immediate issue of worthy competition. Against each other, they have a stern test and a paramount fight in their revered careers.

4) Excellent Style Match Up

Dan Henderson’s Olympic-level wrestling can be stifling, but it’s usually employed to set up the “H-Bomb” right hand. The in-and-out, looping punches of a heavyweight opponent six-years younger may cause trouble for the former Arizona State Sun Devil’s straight-forward, one-punch style, but Henderson’s ring generalship and resilience will push him to be the first man to knock out Emelianenko.

A sambo master, Emelianenko has a strong base that applies his explosive hip movement into all facets of MMA: striking, clinching and grappling. Seeking out stand-up coaching in Holland, he appears refocused on training and winning after back-to-back losses diminished the negotiating powers his team loves to exercise. Being an undersized heavyweight—what plagued his last performance—won’t be an issue as Henderson moves up for the challenge.

5) Free Agency

This is the last fight on Dan Henderson’s current contract. With potential big money fights against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and a rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in the back of his mind, the 40-year-old knows when to step it up (see his knockout of Michael Bisping for his last contract fight). Defeating Emelianenko would raise Henderson’s stock to the heights it reached as a two-division belt holder in 2007 after blasting Wanderlei Silva, if not surpass it.

Emelianenko needs to be impressive and competitive for his longevity, for his negotiating leverage and for his legacy. Like he said after submitting to Werdum, it’s how a champion stands back up after falling. This is his (second) chance.

There are no Strikeforce-like alternative organizations for Henderson or Emelianeko in MMA anymore, so undeniable performances are integral if they want to arrive in the UFC in style and/or ride out of Strikeforce on a high note.

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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Monthly Review: Good, Bad and Ugly for the UFC and MMA in April

The fast-moving mixed martial arts world offers fighters, fans and media no shortage of talking points every month. Like every other major sport, there’s plenty for the optimists and cynics to take away. Here’s a look at the good, the bad a…

The Good

Little Guy Gold

April 30 will be remembered for UFC 129, a landmark UFC from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. The record-breaking attendance (55,724) and live-gate ($12.075 million) coupled with all fights being broadcast for the first time ever is an important milestones considering the sport’s origins as a blacked-out product that was hemorrhaging money.

Setting a precedent for successful stadium shows will surely propel the UFC and MMA forward just like the UFC Primetime hype series quietly finding its way on to ESPN 2. But the real victory of UFC 129 was the inaugural 145-pound title clash between champion Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick.

The first sub-155-pound title bout in UFC history delivered a Fight of the Night performance that outshined the headlining welterweight title tilt between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields. Aldo and Hominick were a difficult act to follow with their highly competitive bout, proving 2011 has seen (and announced) significantly stronger cards thanks to the arrival of featherweight and bantamweight divisions from the UFC’s sister promotion, the WEC.

Twenty-five tireless minutes pushed the champion to the limits as Hominick lived up to “The Machine” moniker, battling through an unsightly hematoma and the judges score cards for a valiant fifth-round comeback that put Aldo in danger.

With the UFC’s first sub-155-pound main event slated for UFC 132 on July 2 between UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, Aldo and Hominick’s co-main event scrap on the biggest UFC card set a high standard for any division. As the Octagon permeates mainstream sporting culture, the full-throttle fighting of lighter weight competitors—and the international markets like Mexico, Japan and China that can bring—will only accelerate the UFC’s upward trajectory.

Cross Promotion Possibilities

On April 9, Strikeforce Lightweight Gilbert Melendez and Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz successfully defended their belts with emphatic first-round finishes. The performances took on a life of their own because talk surrounding Strikeforce-UFC title versus title bouts was at an all-time high since UFC President Dana White was cageside, scouting the new talent available to him through Zuffa’s acquisition of the San Jose-based promotion.

Diaz’s name polluted post-UFC 129 talk as the next opponent for Georges St-Pierre in a champion versus champion welterweight super-fight. Melendez will be compared to the winner of UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard’s third contest as the UFC’s top 155-pounder later this month.

Alistair Overeem versus Cain Velasquez at heavyweight and now, mutual interest expressed in the media between UFC 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones and his Strikeforce counterpart Dan Henderson are dream fights driving the conversation in the MMA world.

The UFC featured champion versus champion bouts when Dan Henderson, a two-division PRIDE titleholder, returned to the UFC in late 2007–early 2008, but PRIDE had two other high-demand champions—Fedor Emelianenko and Takanori Gomi—that never challenged the UFC’s divisional kingpins.

Champion versus champion bouts in MMA have failed to materialize more often than not despite constant clamoring for them over the last decade due to lack of cross promotion. Expect the performances of champions in either promotion to continue drumming up the war cry from fans to seize this rare opportunity as the UFC’s monopolization of the elite talent in MMA phases out the need for such demand.

The Bad

Judging

This category can find its way onto this list every month, but April was a particularly unkind calendar on the scorecards.

Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren’s Greco-Roman takedowns found him reversed before his non-title clash with Andre Galvao hit the mat on April 16. On the ground, Galvao’s jiu-jitsu dragged Warren through disadvantageous positions that were disregarded by judge Chuck Wolf when he gave Warren the round. The intricacies of jiu-jitsu were not the only point missed by Wolf as Galvao damaged Warren with knees in the second frame while thwarting all but one takedown attempt—again, the round went to Warren.

Real judging criteria would account for more than forward motion and takedowns, but unfortunately, fighters and fans are burdened with 30-27 scores that miss more than one point of what criteria should determine the outcome of an MMA fight.

Gegard Mousasi’s undeserved draw with Keith Jardine kept the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion from another win the week prior to Warren’s disputed (albeit not undeserved) decision. Mousasi should have emerged victorious on April 9, yet he walked away wondering, like so many other fighters have, why judges exist if they can’t make sound judgments.

It may be just another fight for judges randomly assigned by state athletic commissions, but it’s more than that to the fighters—it’s their career, and livelihood, and should be treated with that respect by those shaping its decisions.

Full Tilt Poker Shut Down

Bottom line: Anytime a major sponsor is cut out of MMA, fighters lose a much-needed revenue source.

The Ugly

The best way to dismiss concerns related to accepting a short notice bout is to make it short. On 17 days notice, UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger agreed to meet Sean Pierson at UFC 129. A short, thudding left hook-straight right combo left Pierson defeated on the canvas—the only Canadian on the card to be knocked out in front of his home countrymen.

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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