The UFC put a stacked offer on the table, but Brock Lesnar decided to stay put in the WWE.
While rumors of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s return to the Octagon circulated for months on sites like MMAWeekly.com, the speculation ended Tu…
The UFC put a stacked offer on the table, but Brock Lesnar decided to stay put in the WWE.
While rumors of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s return to the Octagon circulated for months on sites like MMAWeekly.com, the speculation ended Tuesday as Lesnar announced he had re-signed with the WWE and officially retired from MMA during an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter. The news undoubtedly came as a letdown to the UFC, as The Beast Incarnate had been the promotion’s biggest star and had raised the organization to new levels of visibility during his three years under the Zuffa banner.
Yet, despite missing out on wrangling the heavyweight juggernaut for one more run on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts, UFC President Dana White had nothing but well wishes for his former champion. White spoke to TMZ Sports on Thursday and shared his belief that Lesnar ultimately made the correct move.
“I think it’s the right decision. I’m happy for him,” White said. “I think Vince gave him a deal he couldn’t refuse at the right time in his life.”
The UFC’s heavyweight division has experienced several surges of talent over the past decade, but there is no denying the exposure had peaked when Lesnar roamed the divisional ranks. The 37-year-old Minnesota native was a guaranteed draw in the pay-per-view realm as he bridged the gap between MMA and legions of professional wrestling fans.
While other heavyweights such as champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos have filled the physical void Lesnar left behind, no fighter on the promotional roster since his departure has matched the amount of attention he brought to a card. Nevertheless, White holds no hard feelings for how the situation played out.
“I’m happy for Vince. I’m happy for Brock and I’m happy for his family. It’s a great deal for everybody.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
“Raging” has never been a more appropriate nickname for Al Iaquinta than it is right now.
The Long Island-based powerhouse is currently in the midst of an impressive run up the stacked ranks of the UFC’s lightweight fold and has made a larger statement…
“Raging” has never been a more appropriate nickname for Al Iaquinta than it is right now.
The Long Island-based powerhouse is currently in the midst of an impressive run up the stacked ranks of the UFC’s lightweight fold and has made a larger statement with each and every step.
And as progress goes, so does the 27-year-old New Yorker’s intensity and hunger for bigger things. His desire for personal progress continues to grow as the Serra-Longo product draws closer to the deepest waters of a talent-stacked division.
Iaquinta possesses a take-no-prisoners mentality and is intent on turning that tenacity on anyone who will step into the Octagon with him.
Each of his three most recent bouts came against progressively higher competition, and Iaquinta settled them all respectively. His latest foe was Joe Lauzon at UFC 183, and The Ultimate FighterSeason 5 alum was drubbed and battered until the referee stepped in to stop the mauling in the second round.
The end result was another dominant performance and notable name added to Iaquinta‘s resume.
“I loved that fight,” Iaquinta told Bleacher Report. “It went pretty much exactly as how Ray [Longo], Matt [Serra] and I had drawn it up. I knew he was going to be tough and Ray told me throughout the entire training camp I was going to have to be content to beat on him for 15 minutes. He started to slow down and I caught him with a shot. He hung tough—about as long as anyone probably could have—then the referee eventually stepped in and stopped it. I was in shape and ready to do that for the full 15 minutes if I had to.”
While Iaquinta was ultimately able to push through once he had Lauzon on the ropes, the Massachusetts native has made a career out of battling it out until the bitter end.
That determination has allowed him to pull off some impressive finishes in the past, but Iaquinta‘s pressure ensured that wasn’t to be the case at UFC 183.
“I knew he was not all there because he didn’t have his equilibrium,” Iaquinta recalled. “I saw that and just stayed in his face hitting him with shots. I wasn’t going to let him get his consciousness back and wanted to keep him on weak legs. And that’s exactly what happened. I was going to keep peppering him and hitting him with shots.
“Sometimes I get too wild. In every fight I’ve been in, I’ve had my opponent hurt, but I’m getting really good at judging distance and keeping them hurt now. I’m not getting too close where they can clinch up or staying too far out where they can get their faculties back. I’m keeping them just at the distance they need to be for me to keep them hurt.”
Following his lopsided victory over Lauzon in Las Vegas, Iaquinta immediately sought out his next challenge.
After seeing that former lightweight champion Benson Henderson had vacated his scheduled bout against Jorge Masvidal on April 4 at Fight Night 63 to become a late-notice replacement against Brandon Thatch at Fight Night 60 on Feb. 14, the surging 155-pounder offered up his services to face “Gamebred.”
Several phone calls later, the bout was a done deal, and the card in Fairfax, Virginia now had a new co-main event.
While Masvidal has publicly stated his frustration with the matchup and believes Iaquinta has no business fighting him, The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 alum is confident his opponent has no idea what is heading his way.
Iaquinta has every intention of bringing the fight directly to Masvidal and proving he’s ready for the best the division has to offer in the process.
“I’ve seen a few things on Twitter, but I haven’t heard anything in interviews, but everyone I talk to is telling me [Masvidal] doesn’t sound too intelligent,” Iaquinta said. “I’m not really taking anything he says too seriously.
“I think [Ross] Pearson and Lauzon are definitely bigger names. I don’t know why that is. I don’t know what it is about him, whether it’s his fighting style or his lack of social media or what not, but he’s really not out there. The diehard fans of the sport know who he is, but the common folk really don’t know much about him.”
Regardless of what pleasantries are exchanged between the two fighters in the lead-up to Fight Night 63, when the cage door closes, there is going to be violence.
Both Iaquinta and Masvidal work behind high-output offenses, and each man possesses the power to end the fight in one clean shot. With that said, Iaquinta is confident he’s hitting his stride, and once the best of what he has to offer is put on display, it will send a resounding message to the rest of the lightweight division.
“I told them back in Australia I’m here to make the lightweight division humble and that’s what I’m gonna do,” Iaquinta said. “Time and time again, I’m proving it.
“This is it, man,” he added. “It’s the same feeling I had when I fought Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon. It’s the same feeling all over again. You work hard, put on impressive performances and get victories over tough opponents and move up the rankings. That’s what I’m going to keep doing and moving my way up.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Time is a concept of both simplicity and complexity.
While the basic structure is of a concrete nature and its passage is measured without flexibility, singular experiences or moments seem to operate free of confinement. Linear time lines can be traced…
Time is a concept of both simplicity and complexity.
While the basic structure is of a concrete nature and its passage is measured without flexibility, singular experiences or moments seem to operate free of confinement. Linear time lines can be traced, tracked, projected and examined, but things which occur in the spaces between can elevate and stretch on for infinity.
In addition to many passionate accomplishments and fascinating details, Howard Davis Jr.’s story is one about time. His tale is a prime example of enduring, persevering and excelling in the long-range layout, and absolutely making the most of the biggest moments when they materialize.
Nearly 30 years have passed since a gold medal at the Summer Olympics of 1976 solidified him as the best 132-pound boxer in the world—a dream he’d envisioned for longer than he could remember. And while winning Olympic gold is a lofty accomplishment pursued by many and obtained by few, the Val Barker Trophy awarded to the most outstanding boxer at the Olympic games in Montreal put an extra stamp of emphasis on that notion.
Had he not been anchored by his golden achievements, Davis Jr. may have floated right off of the podium in Montreal, but an emotional weight kept him grounded. And once again, time and its many numbers played a factor in things being so.
1976—a year of transition in the United States, as the war in Vietnam had ended one year prior and the nation celebrated its 200th birthday with the Bicentennial Celebration.
59—the average price in cents for one gallon of gasoline.
28—the amount in dollars it cost to purchase a brand new Polaroid camera.
“It was such a different time back then,” Davis Jr. told Bleacher Report. “The country was going through a lot of changes and things felt like they were loosening up in a lot of ways. There was a feeling of freedom in the air and people really started to embrace that mindset in 1976. You could feel something in the air that was magical. America was going through a big transition and anybody who lived through that time will tell you the 70’s were amazing.”
Still, while the cultural evolution of the United States was in constant flux around him, there were other numbers and elements of time that had a far more pressing impact.
7—the number of medalists (five gold, one silver, one bronze) the U.S. Boxing Team won in Montreal, Quebec as they stepped into history as one of the greatest—if not the greatest—Olympic squads of all time.
5—the number of bouts Davis Jr. won to claim gold in the 132-pound division.
3—the number of days out from the start of the tournament when Davis Jr. was informed his mother had passed away.
While that last number is the smallest of the group, it certainly carried the biggest impact. Upon hearing the news of his mother’s death, the Earth below Davis Jr.’s feet stopped spinning for what felt like an eternity, and the razor-sharp focus he’d had locked on the ultimate dream of becoming an Olympic champion faded out like tuning static on a radio between stations.
There is no grand secret regarding the passion and near-obsessive drive athletes pursing Olympic greatness possess, but in those moments, the slick-moving prospect was no longer the boxing pride of Glen Cove, New York, but a grieving son who had just lost his mother.
Nevertheless, rising up to a challenge to achieve greatness is impossible without facing adversity, and that’s precisely what Davis Jr. did in Montreal. He won two of his first four bouts via knockout, then defeated Romanian SimionCutov to earn the gold medal. In doing so, he joined teammates “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Leo Randolph and brothers Michael and Leon Spinks as the best in the world in their respective weight classes.
While the dates of those fights and achievements will forever be notched in record books and Olympic history, the elation and recognition of the task completed still burns brightly in the fans who watched them and the fighters who lived it 29 years later.
“My mother had passed away three days before my first fight and that was traumatic,” Davis Jr. said. “I won my gold medal for her and I dedicated it to my mother. That was tough to get through…but overall it was a magical time. If you go back and look at the stories from that time and not just the Olympics you will get a sense of what was going on. It was America’s birthday. There were parties and parades everywhere you went. It was a celebration of the American spirit and a truly wonderful time.
“Myself, ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard and Michael and Leon Spinks—two brothers who both won gold—we made history in ’76. At the time there was no headgear like there is today. You don’t have judges hitting a button like you do today. A lot has changed since then, and from what I hear they are going back to the old system. There are a lot of things wrong with the button system. The old way of scoring is the best way because it’s subjective.”
36—the number of fights Davis Jr. won as a professional
14—the number of bouts he won by knockout.
3—the number of times he competed for a world title.
0—the number of regrets he carried when he retired from the sport in 1996.
In the aftermath of the glory found in Montreal, time would carry on, and Davis Jr. would continue to do what he did best inside the boxing ring as he built a solid career in the professional ranks. The New York native would come close to becoming a champion on several occasions, but he would never be able to clear the final hurdle standing between him and a world title.
Throughout his time in the sweet science, Davis Jr. had always relied on his cerebral fortitude and fight I.Q. to push him toward success, and those talents were also crucial elements when he decided to hang up the gloves once and for all in 1996—20 years after winning his Olympic gold medal.
“I hate losing. I hate losing at anything to be honest with you,” Davis Jr. said. “The competitive spirit is what pushes you to rise up and excel. It’s all relative really. If I had put the same energy into becoming a lawyer I would have been a good lawyer, but my life ended up being in sports and boxing. My I.Q. went to that.
“Just like anything else, once you choose the life and if you like what you’re doing then you are going to be good at it. When you are in something and like it sometimes and don’t like it others; that’s when mistakes happen. That’s what happened to me and why I had to retire from boxing. I started making mistakes and I noticed the reason why I was making them. I really didn’t have the passion for it anymore.
“When you lack the passion you make mistakes and that’s when bad things can happen,” he added. “I was smart enough to retire and leave the sport unscathed and unhurt. I’ve seen so many of my contemporaries leave the sport in bad shape. I wasn’t going to linger on or go way past my prime and end up getting hurt.”
Over the next decade, Davis Jr. would stay connected with the sport he loved and lived as he trained a collection of fighters looking to bring championship goals of their own to reality. It was during this stretch when another corner of the combat sports world began to garner attention, and it wasn’t long before mixed martial arts started to gain a bit of traction in the fight world.
Where other athletes and personalities from the world of boxing were quick to scoff at this emerging form of hand-to-hand combat, Davis Jr. was quick to appreciate the complexity of the competition at hand. He knew what he was watching was still in its infancy, but the additional elements of danger in an MMA fight were certainly intriguing to him from a fighter and training perspective.
“I get asked what about the difference between the two all of the time and it really is like comparing apples to oranges,” Davis Jr. said. “Can a boxer throw their opponent to the ground? No. Can a boxer kick their opponent? No. Can a boxer throw a chokehold on a fighter? No. Can they use armbars, leglocks, or wrestle someone to the ground? The answer to all of those questions are no. The one similarity is that each fighter in the bout can punch and that’s the only place similarities exist. That’s it.
“The majority of MMA fights take place on the ground. Eighty-five percent is on the ground while 15 percent of the fight is standing up. Of course each bout begins with the two combatants standing up and they are going to circle one another and throw jabs, but that is mainly done to expose openings for other things. If a fighter’s strong skill is wrestling, they may box a little bit, but their main objective is to get their opponent to the ground. The differences between the two sports truly are vast.
“There’s really no comparison. You hear fighters and in both sports pontificate about it, but there is really no reason to compare the two.”
Before long, Davis Jr. took the wealth of knowledge he possessed to mixed martial arts and began working with a collection of fighters to improve their striking games. With the amount of experience and information he’d obtained over three decades worth of boxing, Davis Jr. knew he could have a major impact on the former wrestlers, Muay Thai fighters and kickboxers who sought out his teaching.
“When I first was introduced to MMA, oh man I couldn’t wait for them to get up off the ground so they could start striking, but the striking at that particular time was horrible,” Davis Jr. said. “As you see now the striking is getting better and better. The fighter’s I.Q. for the sport continues to get better. Once you start doing something for a long time, and pay attention to the other fighters that are developing faster, a good fighter will adapt and start taking those things and adding their own little pieces to it.
“Everything about the sport is getting better. The training, coaches, management—every aspect of the sport is improving because once you get experience and knowledge of something; you will improve on it. That’s an aspect of life.”
The next step for Davis Jr. came when he accepted the role of Boxing Director for American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. With ATT being hot spot for both seasoned and emerging talent, there was plenty of work to be done. He worked in the trenches with veterans like Jeff Monson and Din Thomas, whom Davis Jr. calls “The Ghost” for his hard-to-hit maneuverability, just the same as he helped shape surging fighters like future WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown and eventual UFC welterweight title challenger ThiagoAlves.
And while his training at ATT was rolling on, his efforts elevated when the former Olympian was tapped to assist former light heavyweight champion and future Hall of Fame fighter Chuck Liddell during his coaching stint on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. Following his time as a trainer on the reality-based fighting program, Davis Jr. would also go on to assist Liddell for what would become the final two fights of “The Iceman’s” career.
While Davis Jr. would eventually vacate his role at ATT in 2011, the South Florida transplant wasn’t willing to trade in his year-round sunshine for the beastly winters of the Northeast. During his time in the “Sunshine State,” he had fallen in love, married and settled in with his family, and he could find no reason to uproot and return to Long Island.
And as it would turn out, thanks to his wife, Karla, Davis Jr. would soon be starting an entirely new chapter in his life in combat sports. It was by chance they decided to attend a local MMA show together, but it would change their immediate trajectory in both life and business as Karla became inspired by what she saw taking place all around her.
From the action going down inside the cage to the scores of hungry fighters striving to make a name for themselves on that particular night, Karla took in her surroundings and knew this was what they needed to be doing. And while Davis. Jr. wasn’t quite sure what that meant, he could sense the passion and energy that was consuming her and jumped in headfirst. It wasn’t long after the initial moment of inspiration that Fight Time Promotions was born, although there was a whirlwind on life’s roller coaster in between.
“Believe it or not it was my wife,” Davis Jr. said with a laugh. “It’s kind of a funny story. We were dating at the time, we’re married now, and I had a fighter fighting in Orlando. I was cornering Rich Attonito, and after he fought I went to sit down next to my wife and watch the rest of the show. Then she just blurted it out, ‘We can do this.’ She screamed it out and I didn’t know what she was talking about. She said, ‘This,’ and I was still trying to figure out what ‘This’ is.
“She had the idea we could promote shows. I didn’t know what she meant and really didn’t take it seriously at the time, then a couple of months later I had to train Chuck Liddell, so I flew out to California and stayed there for almost three months. I trained him for his fight, then after the fight I flew home and my wife had all the paperwork done. She had the name of the company and I was very impressed how well she had put everything together. She was serious and motivated about this.
“We had to wait because other things were happening. We got married, had a baby, and an hour after I helped bring the baby in, I was on a plane to go train Chuck again for another fight. When I came back that’s when we started the company. It was important for me to go out and get a sponsor, so I went out and got a sponsor, then six weeks later we have our first show.”
In August of 2010, Fight Time Promotions hit the ground running in South Florida, and over the past five years, it has become the most proficient organization in a region that has become a hot spot for developing MMA talent. The family-owned operation has constantly pushed to further the quality of their product, and things took a step to the next level of visibility when they signed a distribution deal with CBS Sports Network earlier this year.
Having a major network deal is a savvy step for a promotion that has continued to take a maverick approach to the way it handles business. The televised product is an example of how they see presentation, as Fight Time Promotions uses a post-production model in their deal with CBS. This allows Fight Time to make sure the best of what they have to offer is put together in one slick package and guarantees they will deliver quality entertainment to CBS.
The promotion launched its first effort in early March and will put forth its next event with seasoned MMA veteran Jeff Monson anchoring the card for MMA Kings on April 3.
“I’m very proud to be working again under the CBS Sports banner,” Davis Jr. said. “I worked with them in 1977 when I signed a 12-fight deal with CBS Sports. They were a great network then as they are now. I’m so happy to be working with them again. Fight Time does things a little bit different than most promoters. Our show is mainly done in post-production. That enables us to showcase the best fights, lock everything in and really put a good show on. We had our first show air a few weeks ago and it was amazing.
“Sometimes when you watch a live event you get stuck waiting for the best fights because you may watch a few fights that really aren’t that good. By going this route, we have the luxury of putting the best fights from the night on television. I was amazed by the final product of our first show on CBS Sports. We have a great editor who put it all together and told a good story. We showed some behind the scenes footage that was different and quite unique.
“I’m looking forward to doing it again and we have a great card coming up at Fight Time 24: MMA Kings. We have Jeff Monson defending his title, Deuce Garner, and a couple of other fighters who are making their television debuts. We have some great local fighters and we are very proud to be doing this for the last five years. I’m very excited about what we are doing.
2010—the year Fight Time Promotions was founded.
2015—the year the promotion became broadcast partners with CBS Sports.
28—the years that have passed since Davis Jr. last worked with CBS Sports.
4—the number of decades Davis Jr. has been involved in combat sports with no end in sight.
At 59 years old, Davis Jr. has spent the majority of his life in and around combat sports. He fell in love with boxing as the eldest of the 10 children in his household growing up in Long Island, New York, and he was trained by his father for many years throughout his time competing inside the ring. This set an affinity within the Olympic medalist that runs deep and effortlessly, and will remain with him for the rest of his days.
That said, Davis Jr. is a man who doesn’t move without passion in his stride, and his new focus falls on a sport that is still very much in its early stages of growth. Where boxing has had time to ingrain itself in popular culture and develop a vast history filled with unique and interesting storylines, MMA is still a bit off from establishing the type of aura that only time and success can provide. Still, Davis Jr. knows a thing or two about longevity, and he fully believes the best days for MMA are yet to come.
“Boxing has been around for hundreds of years—longer depending on which versions you look at—and it’s had time to really develop a rich history,” Davis Jr. said. “Martial arts have been around for thousands of years, but this sport of MMA is still a relatively new thing. Now there are rules and sanctioning bodies, and over time—and we have to give it time—but I think it will be just like boxing in that sense. Of course there will need to be experience and a learning curve to accomplish longevity, but if those things happen then you’re going to have something good in the future.”
Time in itself is both elusive and guaranteed. Dates and moments will arrive, but it’s the fashion in which the latter is captured that determines whether prosperity is achieved. Davis Jr. and many other athletes have and are chipping away and molding themselves to obtain greatness when the opportunity arrives so that they can capitalize on that one perfect moment where they rose above all things.
But the biggest question becomes: What comes next? And therein lies the push.
Where some take that one great thing and hold on to it for the rest of their lives, and others attempt to parlay it into other opportunities…very few athletes who achieve greatness can carry it long after their days of competition are over. Memories and glory fade and give way to what comes next, as the shining moment of something amazing dims as time carries on.
Nearly 30 years have come and gone since Davis Jr. had the gold medal draped around his neck and dedicated it to his beloved mother, but the same sparkle in his eye of a job well done—one no other 132-pound boxer in the world but him accomplished in 1976—still exists today. And it’s obvious that will remain with every step he takes onward.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Every fighter has a tough night now and then, but March 14 is a date Anthony and Sergio Pettis won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The Pettis brothers both competed at UFC 185 that night in Dallas, and both suffered painful losses at the hands of their r…
Every fighter has a tough night now and then, but March 14 is a date Anthony and Sergio Pettis won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The Pettis brothers both competed at UFC 185 that night in Dallas, and both suffered painful losses at the hands of their respective opponents. For the younger Pettis, it was a drastic turn of fortune, as the up-and-coming prospect watched a dominant first round fade to dust after Ryan Benoit caught him with a powerful left hand in his flyweight debut. Benoit’s punch crumpled Pettis to the canvas, and the Texas native finished the bout moments later with a flurry of shots.
While a fighter getting caught in an exchange is certainly nothing new in mixed martial arts, being a big brother and seeing that happen to your sibling is a different ballgame. The older of the Pettis brothers watched the action from his locker room and, once his younger sibling was felled, was forced to regather and regroup to prepare for his upcoming title defense against Rafael dos Anjos later that night.
Then, as the story goes, the Duke Roufus protege found himself at the end of an extended beating at the hands of “RDA.” In what currently stands as the most lackluster showing of his career—and one that cost him the lightweight title—Pettis‘ normally dynamic offense was shut down from the opening bell to the last. The Kings MMA representative was able to neutralize his stand-up attack then dominate Pettis once the action hit the mat.
The former lightweight champion was a guest on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, where he spoke to Ariel Helwani about his recent performance. While Pettis admits he isn’t quite sure what happened to him physically in Dallas, he was positive he doesn’t want to deal with the emotional roller coaster of competing on the same card as his younger brother going forward.
The biggest thing I think I’m gonna change is me and my little bro fighting on the same card. The first time it went amazing, the second time not so well. He got knocked out, I had to watch that and get up mentally for my fight. Not making excuses or nothing, but them little things could have triggered my performance.
He gets knocked out and then you gotta reset the battery, reset everything and try to get back up for the next fight. I think it was just a little bit too much for everybody emotionally to go through. Next time if I’m fighting in a big fight like that, it has to be all about me.
With suffering the loss to dos Anjos at UFC 185, Pettis will now have to bounce back from the first defeat he’s suffered since his UFC debut in 2011 against Clay Guida. In his fight with “The Carpenter,” the Milwaukee native was essentially outwrestled and pinned down for the majority of the 15-minute affair. While dos Anjos certainly did his fair share of work with the fight on the canvas, the Brazilian veteran was able to do substantial damage while the fight was on the feet as well.
In fact, it was a powerful left hand he landed in the early stages of the bout that really set the tone for things to come. Pettis was dazed upon impact—it was later revealed he suffered a cracked orbital bone in the exchange—and was forced to go on the defensive for the remained of the fight. And even though his blurred vision certainly played a factor in his performance, Pettis is still not sure what went wrong in the main event at UFC 185.
That said, he’s adamant about getting his weaknesses shored up and returning to “Showtime” form in his next bout.
Yeah, I’m definitely upset with myself. I’m definitely down about losing my belt, but that wasn’t the best Anthony Pettis. He didn’t go out there and demolish my best performance. Then [I’d be] like yeah I need to figure out why I suck at what I do. I just didn’t put it together. It just wasn’t my night.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
The UFC’s welterweight division has long been one of the deepest collectives under the promotion’s banner, and the spotlight shone on the 170-pound fold at UFC Fight Night 62. A main event tilt between Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare headlined the UF…
The UFC’s welterweight division has long been one of the deepest collectives under the promotion’s banner, and the spotlight shone on the 170-pound fold at UFC Fight Night 62. A main event tilt between Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare headlined the UFC’s return to Rio de Janeiro Saturday night. The bout featured two fighters at crucial junctures of their careers.
Despite the 37-year-old former middleweight title challenger getting off to a hot start when he initially dropped down to the welterweight division, things have been a bit rocky for Maia as of late. The Brazilian grappling ace has found success in only one of his past three showings, and that issue was compounded when he was sidelined for a lengthy stint due to a staph infection in his collarbone.
Nevertheless, Maia received a clean bill of health at the start of 2015, and he came into Fight Night 62 looking to resume his run toward a shot at the 170-pound title.
While he has yet to become an official contender in the welterweight fold, LaFlare has been making steady progress in that direction over the past two years. The Team Blackzilians fighter had kept his perfect record intact with four victories in the UFC and 11 total going into Saturday. And where the 31-year-old New York native has garnered attention for his solid striking and poise thus far inside the Octagon, he would need to defeat an established threat from the higher ranks of the division before he could jump to the next tier.
The stakes were high for both competitors in the main event at Fight Night 62, and it was the Brazilian who showed up and handled business. In a true return to form, Maia used his superior grappling skills to neutralize LaFlare in the early rounds and then wear him down as the fight went on. The end result was a unanimous decision in favor of Maia, who made a triumphant return on his native soil.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 62.
The Good
On Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Maia officially marked his return to the welterweight division.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard survived a dangerous staph infection that had spread into his shoulder and battled back to once again compete inside the Octagon. Prior to his forced layoff, the 37-year-old Sao Paulo native was just coming out of one of the roughest stretches of his career, as he’d won only one of his three most recent bouts, which was a stark contrast to the hot streak he went on after dropping down from the middleweight ranks.
Nevertheless, he was determined to reignite his run toward the 170-pound title at Fight Night 62, and the first obstacle in his path was LaFlare. The Team Blackzilians fighter came into the tilt highly touted and undefeated, but that status would change in the aftermath of the 25-minute tilt.
Maia was able to put the 31-year-old New York native on the canvas with consistency throughout the fight, as LaFlare battled to defend himself from Maia’s submissions from his back. And while LaFlare survived to the bell, those efforts couldn’t stop him from being dominated by the savvy veteran.
When the final bell sounded, Maia walked away with a lopsided unanimous-decision victory, reclaiming his footing in the talented ranks of the welterweight fold.
*** Despite all the talent he possesses, putting together wins has been a difficult task for Erick Silva to accomplish inside the Octagon. The 30-year-old Brazilian wields a dynamic striking attack and dangerous submission skills, yet he has struggled where consistency is concerned.
The aggressive welterweight may have finally gotten over that particular hump when he submitted veteran Josh Koscheck in the opening round to pick up his second consecutive victory. True to form, Silva came out throwing big shots and then caught an opening created by a Koscheck mistake to force the former title challenger to tap out to the choke.
*** The team at Nova Uniao is regarded as one of the best camps in MMA, and it has another rising talent in Leonardo Santos. The lightweight grappling ace once again put his talents on display as he locked on a rear-naked choke on Tony Martin to secure the second-round finish at Fight Night 62.
The rangy Brazilian spent the first round feeling out his opposition and then wasted no time putting Martin on the canvas, where he locked in the choke shortly into the second frame. Santos’ victory in Rio brings his current streak to nine consecutive outings without a loss.
*** Following a loss to Cat Zingano in her last fight, Amanda Nunes came into her bout with Shayna Baszler determined to turn things around and get back on track. The Lioness promised aggression from the opening bell, and she certainly delivered in that regard, as she folded up “The Queen of Spades” in quick fashion.
Nunes dropped kicks on the savvy veteran early and often as she pounded out the first-round finish. It was an impressive showing for the 26-year-old Brazilian, and the win over Baszler makes her successful in three of her past four showings inside the Octagon.
*** There is a lot of expectation surrounding Gilbert Burns’ emergence in the lightweight division. The multi-time jiu-jitsu world champion-turned-undefeated mixed martial artist had been lights out inside the Octagon coming into Fight Night 62, and there was plenty of pressure on him to keep things rolling on Saturday night.
This rings especially true since his original opponent Josh Thomson pulled out with injury, and Burns went from facing a Top 10 opponent to one who is relatively unknown in Alex Oliveira. While his performance wasn’t necessarily aces, Durinho came alive in the final round and forced Oliveira to tap from an armbar late in the third frame.
Although defeating Oliveira won’t catapult Burns up the divisional rankings, the win keeps his momentum intact. It will also position him to get a higher-profile opponent in his next outing.
*** When a fighter begins to pick up momentum, it’s a special thing to watch, and Godofredo Pepey is coming into his own inside the Octagon. The 27-year-old Brazilian had earned back-to-back performance bonuses coming into his tilt with Andre Fili at Fight Night 62, and he put in a strong bid for a third straight with his triangle submission victory over the Team Alpha Male representative.
Pepey surprised Fili when he jumped up to lock in the triangle when his back was against the fence, and he showed tremendous patience as he held onto the choke despite Fili’s best efforts to escape. The Sacramento-based fighter would eventually tap and give Pepey his third consecutive victory under the UFC banner.
*** Brazilian featherweight Kevin Souza kept his winning streak alive at Fight Night 62 as he defeated Katsunori Kikuno with an impressive first-round knockout. The 30-year-old striker circled the Japanese veteran until he found the opportunity he was looking for, unleashing a straight right hand that put Kikuno on the deck.
With the victory, Souza has now won 10 consecutive bouts—three of which have come under the UFC banner. While he’s still a ways out from the upper level of the featherweight ranks, Souza continues to make solid progress every time he steps into the cage, and it will be interesting to see who matchmaker Sean Shelby pairs him up with next.
*** After his stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, Fredy Serrano came into Fight Night 62 looking to make his first official showing under the UFC banner a successful one. The former Olympic wrestler squared off with Bentley Syler to kick off the card in Rio de Janeiro and did an impressive job of igniting the Brazilian crowd. The Colombian flyweight clearly won the first two rounds and then put a thunderous stamp on his debut by blistering his opponent with a brutal uppercut that put Syler out before he hit the canvas.
The Bad
The end of the UFC road has finally arrived for Koscheck.
While he’s one of the few fighters remaining from the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, there is a high probability Kos made his final walk to the Octagon on Saturday night, as he suffered his fifth consecutive loss at the hands of Erick Silva. After being defeated by Jake Ellenberger three weeks back at UFC 184 in Los Angeles, it was likely the Pennsylvania native would take a bit of time off to recoup and recover. Yet, when Ben Saunders had to bow out of his tilt with the Brazilian striker due to injury, an opportunity materialized for Koscheck to seek quick redemption.
Nevertheless, it would ultimately be an ill-fated decision, as Koscheck tapped to a Silva choke late in the opening frame. Where most fighters who step up on short notice are considered safe from losing their roster spots even with a loss, it would be difficult to imagine Koscheck holding onto his spot after dropping five bouts in a row. And even though the Fresno-based fighter has been a perennial contender in the welterweight ranks for a large part of the past decade, the 37-year-old former NCAA D-I national champion wrestler just hasn’t been the same fighter over the past few years.
Should his release come to pass in the weeks following Fight Night 62, Koscheck’s legacy as a scrappy, anytime, anyplace fighter will always endure. Following his stint on TUF, the brash blond quickly established himself as one of the best villains in mixed martial arts. He was the fighter that fans loved to hate, but he always put on a show.
Now that it’s all but guaranteed that show—at least the UFC portion—will be coming to an end in the near future, Koscheck can be proud of what he accomplished inside the Octagon.
*** Shayna Baszler is widely considered to be one of the original pioneers of women’s MMA. And while she’s earned her stripes and logged many battles inside the cage, there probably aren’t too many more fights inside of the Octagon left for The Queen of Spades. The 34-year-old South Dakota native found herself on the business end of a beating handed out by Amanda Nunes at Fight Night 62, succumbing to strikes early in the opening round.
Her loss on Saturday night makes Baszler unsuccessful in both of her outings under the UFC banner and extends her rough skid to three consecutive setbacks.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that Baszler has been finished in each of those three fights and has only found victory in one of her past five bouts. While a losing streak is never a good look, Baszler’s performances in those fights are a far cry from the game scrapper she used to be.
The biggest saving grace where the veteran bantamweight is concerned is her association with women’s 135-pound champion Ronda Rousey as a member of the Four Horsewomen. Being connected to the Rowdy one may buy her another fight or two, but even that won’t matter if Baszler can’t find her footing inside the cage.
The Strange
Where most of the chaos that transpires inside the cage is typically generated by the fighters, referees have been known to add their own personal flavor from time to time.
Last month at UFC 184 in Los Angeles, Jerin Valel put on few dubious performances in the bouts he officiated and drew the ire of fight fans as his slow responses endangered a couple of fighters. Granted, calling the action inside the cage is a hectic affair, but Valel was slow to stop fights where one competitor had already choked the living daylights out of the other.
Fortunately for Valel, his missteps will now take a backseat to Eduardo Herdy, as the referee calling the bout between Christos Giagos and Jorge de Oliveira pulled one of the worst stoppages in recent memory. The Team Oyama fighter capitalized on the absence of his opponent’s ground game as he quickly mounted De Oliveira and began to pound away. The Brazilian lightweight quickly gave up his back, and Giagos took advantage of the opening and locked in a rear-naked choke.
Several seconds later, De Oliveira began to tap, which normally would have brought an end to the fight, but Herdy let the choke continue despite being in the proper position. He continued to tap several more times as he looked up at the official with floating eyes until the referee finally stepped in and stopped the fight.
And while his sluggish reaction caused a stir on social media, the recent trend of referees blanking out in critical moments needs to come to an end. Their No. 1 priority inside the cage is to keep the fighters safe, and letting chokes go on for an extended amount of time is dangerous. With that in mind, hopefully the commissions will take a hard look at the officials they are currently using and make some changes when referees fail to make the grade.
That said, Herdy wasn’t done screwing things up in Rio on Saturday night, as he plummeted even further down the credibility list in his next showing. Where he let De Oliveira get choked far too long, he jumped the gun far too early when Leandro Silva worked for a guillotine against Drew Dober. The Brazilian was working for the submission off his back, and while the Nebraska native did not appear to be in real danger, Herdy stepped in and grabbed Dober’s arm, which brought an end to the fight.
Or it did, then didn’t and did again as Herdy couldn’t seem to make his mind up as to what his call would be. After a few curious looks, Herdy finally waved off the bout and awarded the victory to Silva for a choke that wasn’t locked in.
Dober looked confused. Fight fans ignited into an uproar on Twitter, and even the commentary team of Jon Anik and Kenny Florian could not believe what had just happened inside the Octagon.
While such a strange stoppage is unfortunate for all parties involved, it’s especially so for Dober as the Omaha-based fighter has now lost three of his four showings inside the Octagon. On Saturday night, his loss didn’t come against Silva; it came courtesy of Herdy, who seems to have no clue what he’s doing inside the cage.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Demian Maia is ready to start the next chapter of his career on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.
For the better part of the past decade the 37-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has been honing his craft under the UFC banner, and in the process has beco…
Demian Maia is ready to start the next chapter of his career on Saturday night in Rio deJaneiro.
For the better part of the past decade the 37-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has been honing his craft under the UFC banner, and in the process has become a multi-divisional threat inside the Octagon. Where he was a former contender and title challenger in the ranks of the middleweight division, Maia has since dropped down a weight class and become a major player in the welterweight fold.
The highly touted submissions artist got off to a great start as welterweight as he established himself as a surging contender by winning his first three showings at 170 pounds. Yet, a rough patch would follow as Maia found victory only once in his three most recent outings. Those issues compounded when a staph infection spread into his collarbone and force him onto the sidelines for the majority of his 2014 campaign.
With years of competition and a surplus of fights under his belt, it was uncertain whether Maia’s mixed martial arts would continue. Nevertheless, Maia has forged his success on the sport’s biggest stage by his ability to adapt and endure, and he will make his official return to action to face welterweight upstart Ryan LaFlare this Saturday at Fight Night 62 in his home country of Brazil.
Simply returning to compete inside the Octagon is an accomplishment Maia takes great pride in, but competing in front of his countrymen on Saturday night will set the perfect stage for him to make the ideal return to what is arguably the most talented division under the UFC banner.
“To come back after this layoff and fight in Rio—especially the main event—it’s a great feeling and opportunity for me,” Maia told Bleacher Report. “I think as an athlete who is competing in the UFC for almost eight years you learn how to keep your mind focused. It makes you very mentally tough. That made me able to hold this equation. I knew I was going to come back and it was very important to keep focused and keep training.
“I love to be here and UFC is the biggest event in the world. It’s the place every fighter wants to be. This will be my 20th fight for them and that’s a dream for me. Other than that, my goal is to fight for the title and win it. I’m going to do my best to make that happen.”
Before Maia’s comeback can be stamped as triumphant, he will have to derail one of the hottest up-and-coming talents in the welterweight ranks. The 31-year-old New York native is undefeated in 11 bouts, with four of those victories coming under the UFC banner. Many consider his bout with Maia to be the biggest test of his career and will ultimately decide whether he’s ready to handle what the elite level of the division has to offer.
Maia understands the circumstances surrounding the bout and believes it will be his experience under the bright lights that ultimately makes the difference when things go live.
“LaFlare is up and coming and he’s very hungry,” Maia said. “ He’s never lost in his career, but I have a lot more experience inside the Octagon. I’m sure that is going to be very helpful for me. I haven’t seen him make too many mistakes in his past fights, but if he makes a mistake on Saturday I’m going to do my best to capitalize on that and end the fight with a submission.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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