Author: Donald Wood

Uriah Hall’s Loss in TUF 17 Finale Will Not Deter Bright Future

Despite taking a split-decision loss to underdog Kelvin Gastelum in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 17 Saturday night, Uriah Hall’s career outlook is still as bright as ever.If anything, the heartbreaking loss and the lessons learned from it c…

Despite taking a split-decision loss to underdog Kelvin Gastelum in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 17 Saturday night, Uriah Hall’s career outlook is still as bright as ever.

If anything, the heartbreaking loss and the lessons learned from it could be the much-needed reality check for the trash-talking Hall.

As talented as Hall proved he was during this season of TUF—he had the most vicious knockouts and looked to be an unstoppable force—the fighter brought confidence and swagger to the Octagon, which rubbed people the wrong way.

While Hall was dropping his hands and looking as if he were playing games with his opponent Saturday, Gastelum wasn’t having it and brought the fight right to the heavy favorite.

After failing to end in the allotted time, the judges ruled it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in favor of Gastelum, and he was awarded the contract that so many MMA fans thought was a lock for Hall.

While many wanted to claim that Hall had been too cocky in the Octagon and that’s what cost him the win, UFC president Dana White (via ESPN) talked about what he thinks happened to the favorite to win it all:

I didn‘t think he showboated. I think he mentally broke. I think you saw what he had this season, but when you find out what a guy really has is when he’s under pressure. When you’re under pressure, you find out who the Anderson Silvas and the Georges St-Pierres are, those type of guys.

White is notorious for telling it exactly how it is, and he told the truth once again.

Hall fights a certain style that encompasses some arrogant moves—like middleweight champion Anderson Silva—but the purpose of the technique is to get an opponent off-balance and fearful of what is coming next.

Hall’s problem was that he didn’t follow it up with the devastating attacks that earned him three straight KO victories leading into this finale. He told media after his fight (via ESPN) about what was going through his mind and why he wasn’t focused in the biggest fight of his career:

A big part of it is, it’s kind of hard because I trained with the guy and I like him. It was kind of like that emotional side I was trying to get rid of. So it was kind of weird, just going into the ring I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t. Here we go again. That side kind of got the best of me, but there’s no excuse. Kelvin’s a great guy. He’s a tough kid. I think he’s going to go really far in this sport and I’m happy for him.

The key here is that Hall learns from the loss and uses the lessons he learns to build his career moving forward.

Hall still has all the same talent and raw skill in the Octagon that he had before this loss, but now he must become smarter for the next time the situation arises. As we saw from his performance this season, Hall has the ability to dominate in the UFC, but he has to catch up with his knowledge of adversity and how to overcome it.

Adversity is something the best champions in MMA have to face sooner rather than later in the Octagon, but the hope is that Hall will use these lessons to ensure that he never has to face this same trouble again.

The future is still very bright for Hall, and it will only get brighter if he learns from the loss.

 

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Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano: Dominant Win Proves Zingano Ready for Ronda Rousey

When Cat Zingano beat Miesha Tate via TKO (2:55 of the third round) in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Saturday night in Las Vegas, Zingano earned the chance to fight UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for the title.Not only did Zingano …

When Cat Zingano beat Miesha Tate via TKO (2:55 of the third round) in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Saturday night in Las Vegas, Zingano earned the chance to fight UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for the title.

Not only did Zingano beat Tate, but the 30-year-old women’s MMA star also proved that she will be one of the toughest fights Rousey has ever faced.

Many in the MMA world had Tate as the favorite in this bout because of her expertise in submissions—with most admittedly looking past this bout to a possible matchup with Rousey and her armbars—but Zingano proved to be too tough to tap.

After Tate failed to force Zingano to give up after putting her opponent in both a kneebar and an armbar, Zingano‘s skill and awareness helped her outsmart Tate and stay one step ahead of the skilled fighter.

The ability to know when a submission attempt is coming and avoid it will be what Zingano must depend on most against the ultimate armbar queen, Rousey.

Zingano does not want to be added to Rousey’s already extensive list of victims.

While Zingano proved that she can wiggle out of even the best submission attempts, it was her ability to strike with both her arms and her legs that was the difference. Once back to their feet, Tate didn’t have a chance to stop the offensive onslaught of her challenger.

It was Zingano’s knees to Tate’s face that ultimately brought an end to the fight, and that is something that Rousey has yet to truly face. Zingano realizes that she must attack with her striking as hard as she can out of the gate to keep the champion at a distance and avoid her judo-throw skills.

As seen by the way Zingano handled Tate, Rousey is in for a rough night if she underestimates the talent of the TUF winner.

Now that Zingano won the finale, she will be the Ultimate Fighter coach against Rousey on the next season of the show. That close interaction should help build this main event for the UFC title as the biggest women’s MMA fight in history.

With so much on the line Saturday night, Zingano proved she is going to give Rousey the fight of her life.

 

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UFC 158 Results: Georges St-Pierre Defeats Nick Diaz

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defeated No. 1 contender Nick Diaz by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 158 Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.St-Pierre had the home-field advantage in Canada, but the defending …

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defeated No. 1 contender Nick Diaz by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 158 Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

St-Pierre had the home-field advantage in Canada, but the defending champion deserves all the credit for this hard-fought victory over a worthy opponent in Diaz.

Despite getting a rare reaction from St-Pierre during the conference calls leading into this fight (h/t Sherdog), Diaz understood that he was the underdog in this fight and was trying to gain any mental advantage he could.

While Diaz’s effort was valiant Saturday, it wasn’t enough to stop the title reign of St-Pierre.

The loss marks Diaz’s second straight in the UFC after winning his previous 11 MMA fights before dropping a decision to Carlos Condit in February of 2012.

There is no question that Diaz is still one of the toughest fighters in the world, but the depth and skill of the welterweight division either means the veteran has to make a change in his weight class or how he approaches fights in the Octagon.

This victory marks St-Pierre’s 11th in a row and the champion’s eighth successful title defense, launching him into the conversation as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in MMA history.

The UFC must find him another viable opponent to continue building on the momentum the welterweight champion has created during his reign.

That’s where Johny Hendricks comes into play again.

Hendricks defeated Condit earlier in the evening, and now he should be given the honor of taking on St-Pierre for the welterweight title.

If St-Pierre were to beat Hendricks, there would be no question that he would be the greatest welterweight fighter in MMA history.

 

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UFC on Fuel TV 8: Breaking Down Saturday’s Silva vs. Stann Main Event

While Saturday’s main event of UFC on Fuel TV 8 between Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann is not the most exciting matchup on paper, don’t underestimate the ability these two men have to make this one of the most memorable shows of the year.E…

While Saturday’s main event of UFC on Fuel TV 8 between Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann is not the most exciting matchup on paper, don’t underestimate the ability these two men have to make this one of the most memorable shows of the year.

Each fighter has knockout power, and with both former champions coming off tough losses, there is no doubt that this bout will end early.

Silva is over the hill (lost four of his last six fights) and Stann has never materialized into the star that MMA fans saw in WEC, but those factors don’t mean Saturday night’s show won’t be amazing.

This main event will end with a referee stoppage, with one of these fighters out cold and the other celebrating a victory.

 

Where: Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan

When: Saturday, March 2 at 10 p.m. ET

Watch: Fuel TV

 

Wanderlei Silva’s Key to Victory: Keep The Fight Close

MMA is what Wanderlei Silva does, and despite a rough end to his career, the once-vaunted former champion still has enough in the tank to keep Saturday’s fight against the less-experienced Stann close.

When it’s said Silva must stay close to his opponent, it means Silva needs to be right in Stann’s face, not allowing the former solider to extend his arms fully and land his devastating strikes.

While Stann has a respectable 17 fights over his career, Silva has done battle in every major federation for the better part of almost 20 years. With 48 career fights, The Axe Murderer knows that Stann’s talent comes from his striking, and he must do whatever he can to stay close and avoid getting hit.

Look for Silva to utilize the takedown at times—something he doesn’t do often—but a technique that could throw Stann’s gameplan off early.

 

Brian Stann’s Key to Victory: Put Silva on His Heels

Brian Stann doesn’t have the experience Wanderlei Silva has in MMA, but the former Marine and WEC light heavyweight champion knows that his strength lies in his striking and will look to utilize that against the slowing Silva.

The Brazilian’s reaction time isn’t what it once was during his time fighting in Japan with Pride, and if Stann can land a few stiff shots in a row, Silva will begin to backtrack to avoid more contact.

It’s when Silva is on his heels and moving away from his opponent that Stann must attack and use his reach advantage to land open shots.

Stann must be cautious of Silva’s counterpunch ability that can come from any position, but as long as the former Marine pushes the tempo of Saturday’s fight, he will land the cleaner shots over the course of the fight and eventually TKO Silva in the latter stages of Round 2.

 

Prediction: Brian Stann via second-round TKO

 

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Ronda Rousey: Power Ranking Likely Opponents for UFC Champion

When Ronda Rousey successfully defended her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157 on Saturday night, the female star made history and broke barriers in the sport.Now that Rousey is just another c…

When Ronda Rousey successfully defended her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157 on Saturday night, the female star made history and broke barriers in the sport.

Now that Rousey is just another champion, it’s time to figure out which contender is next to challenge for her title.

All of the following fighters have earned the chance to be considered for a title shot, and these are the top names that UFC president Dana White and company will to choose from when picking the new No. 1 contender.

 

No. 3: Liz Carmouche

While many fans would hate the idea of an immediate rematch in any combat sport, the thought of Rousey taking on Carmouche one more time after their epic UFC 157 battle is intriguing.

Carmouche may have lost the fight, but a dangerous choke that almost defeated Rousey and a valiant effort proves the 29-year-old fighter is in the upper echelon of the division.

MMA fans want fights full of action, and as proved on Saturday night, Carmouche will help put on a great fight no matter what the outcome will be.

The company just hired a whole new crop of female fighters (h/t Ariel Helwani), so Carmouche likely won’t get the rematch she deserves immediately. But as long as she keeps fighting the way she did at UFC 157, she’ll be back for another shot at the title soon enough.

 

No. 2: Sarah Kaufman

Rousey is looking to move forward after her win over Liz Carmouche at UFC 157, but to defend her UFC crown, the talented star may have to go against another old foe and the newly hired Sarah Kaufman.

The last Strikeforce women’s title match was Rousey defending her championship against Kaufman in the main event of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman, which Rousey won in the first round via armbar.

Surprised, right?

Despite already losing to Rousey within the last calendar year, this was a fight not many fans got a chance to witness and would fit well on a UFC card. With a 15-2 career record, there are few fighters in the sport that have the credentials to warrant a title shot like Kaufman.

 

No. 1: Alexis Davis

The key for the UFC will be feeding Rousey challengers that will not only put on an exciting fight, but continue to bring more credibility to the champion’s reign.

That’s exactly what a longtime veteran like Alexis Davis offers the promotion.

The 28-year-old has fought professionally since 2007, amassing a career 13-5 record and a reputation as one of the toughest women in the world.

Rousey needs to prove her worth against the best, and Davis is the perfect test for the bantamweight champion.

With a black belt in both Japanese Jujutsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a long history in the sport and the desire to be the best, Davis should be the next challenger to Rousey’s title.

 

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Barao vs. McDonald: Renan Barao’s Win Sets Up Battle with Dominick Cruz

When Renan Barao defended his interim bantamweight title Saturday night at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in London’s Wembley Arena against up-and-coming star Michael McDonald, the Brazilian brawler proved he was one of the sport’s pound-for-pound toughe…

When Renan Barao defended his interim bantamweight title Saturday night at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in London’s Wembley Arena against up-and-coming star Michael McDonald, the Brazilian brawler proved he was one of the sport’s pound-for-pound toughest fighters.

Barao also proved he is ready to take the next step toward the upper echelon of MMA fighters by letting current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz know that he was ready for a fight whenever he gets back.

Via a translator, Barao spoke to A.J Perez of FOXSports, “Dominick Cruz, I’m waiting for you. Please come (back) quick.”

This is clearly the interim champion calling out Cruz—the reigning champ has missed over a year of action with two separate knee surgeries to replace a torn ACL (h/t MMAJunkie)—and this is a major step for Barao.

There’s no coming back from calling out a star like Cruz.

There is no doubt that the duo will face off when Cruz is healthy enough to unify the titles, but the reigning champion had some words of his own for the interim title holder on the Fuel post-fight show (h/t FOXSports).

Enjoy the back-to-back titles. The truth is that I’m the champ and I can’t wait to get in and fight the guy. I’m excited, man. He’s so good. He brings so many different tools. It’s a different challenge than I’ve ever faced. I’m coming back from these injuries and it makes it an even tougher task.

Cruz is a humble fighter who has never shied away from giving credit to his opponents, but Barao should not take these most recent comments as any sort of fear.

The defending bantamweight champion is one of the most dangerous men in the UFC, and as long as he is at 100 percent in the Octagon, he will be hard to beat.

If there is a shred of weakness in Cruz’s knee when he fights next, though, Barao is the kind of fighter that will make him pay by attacking the limb relentlessly.

The MMA world can’t wait to see Cruz square off against Barao.

 

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