Author: Dwight Wakabayashi

Jason "Mayhem" Miller Has the Tools to Shut Michael Bisping Up

The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale will play out on December 3rd from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The coaches for the season, Michael “The Count” Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, have built up a solid conflict—mostly caused by the motor m…

The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale will play out on December 3rd from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The coaches for the season, Michael “The Count” Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, have built up a solid conflict—mostly caused by the motor mouth that is “The Count”—and will headline the card.

Miller makes his return to the UFC after his one and only fight in the cage, a loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 52 in 2005. Miller has been competing outside of the UFC for many years now, and has not fought yet in 2011. He is coming off a victory over past-his-prime Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba.

Bisping is a significant step up for Miller.

Bisping is one of the best at annoying his opponent; a season of taping a show with him would be sure to challenge any fighter’s patience and sanity. Before Miller, Dan Henderson demonstrated that it could be done, making the Brit eat the many words he spewed out in very embarrassing fashion.

Does “Mayhem” have the tools to make Bisping eat his words? I think he does, though in a very different way then Henderson.

The tools that Miller must bring with him to work that night are his strength, conditioning and his grappling expertise. Fourteen of Miller’s 24 wins have come via submission; he is going to have to tap or choke Bisping out to beat him.

To do this, Mayhem must have a strength and conditioning advantage because his striking is too technically loose to be able to hurt Bisping and set up a submission. Miller can strike adequately enough to not get knocked out, but if this thing stays on the feet for long periods, Bisping will pick him apart on points.

Miller must use his takedowns to get the fight to the ground, where his tools will be to his full advantage. Miller has faced some very good wrestlers in his career and hung with them all.

He has the ground tools to make Bisping tap or go to sleep.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 140: The 20 Greatest Canadian Mixed Martial Artists of All Time

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make its eighth appearance north of the border on December 10th with UFC 140: Jones vs Machida taking place from the Air Canada Center in Toronto.It will mark the third time this year that the UFC has c…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make its eighth appearance north of the border on December 10th with UFC 140: Jones vs Machida taking place from the Air Canada Center in Toronto.

It will mark the third time this year that the UFC has come to Canada and the fight card is once again packed with many of Canada’s best mixed martial artists.

Canadian fighters are as prominent as ever in the organization with the best talent in the world and are also in high spots in the many world rankings floating around in the universe.

I love keeping track of the top fighters in the world right now, but this stacked card has prompted me to look back and take a crack at my list for Top 20 Greatest Canadian MMA Fighters of All Time.

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UFC 142 : Sam Stout to Face Thiago Tavares in Brazil

The UFC has announced via Twitter this morning that a lightweight battle between Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Thiago Tavares has been added to the card for UFC 142 in Brazil. The announcement has also been confirmed by MMAweekly.com. The ev…

The UFC has announced via Twitter this morning that a lightweight battle between Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Thiago Tavares has been added to the card for UFC 142 in Brazil. The announcement has also been confirmed by MMAweekly.com.

The event is set to take place on January 14th and will mark the second time the UFC has held an event in Brazil in less than a year.  A featherweight title match between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes will headline the event.

Tavares will be fighting for the second consecutive time in his home country after beating Spencer Fisher via TKO at UFC 134. Stout will be making his return to the octagon after knocking out Yves Edwards in June at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

Stout was originally scheduled to face Denis Siver at UFC 137 in Las Vegas on October 29th but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to the sudden death of his coach Shawn Tompkins in August.

Stout is 17-6-1 in his career and 4-1 in his last five fights in the UFC. He has been inching his way towards the lightweight top ten and his no-holds-barred striking style and granite chin has made him a fan favorite and fight bonus magnet.

Tavares is 16-4 and 3-1-1 in his last five fights and he will be looking to keep pace with Stout and others rising in the ranks of the lightweight division.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FOX: 5 Fighters Who Could Join Jon Anik in the Broadcast Booth

The UFC announced last week that long-time host of ESPN’s MMA Live show, Jon Anik will be the new commentator for a second team to cover the hectic schedule of UFC events in the future. With the UFC event schedule being more hectic as it has ever …

The UFC announced last week that long-time host of ESPN’s MMA Live show, Jon Anik will be the new commentator for a second team to cover the hectic schedule of UFC events in the future. With the UFC event schedule being more hectic as it has ever been, the new team will complement the current team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan.

Anik will need a partner in crime and speculation is rampant over who that person will be. Anik did say that UFC officials have told him that his partner will be a past or present fighter.

Here are five fighters, current or former, that could join Anik in the booth.

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MMA: 3 Reasons Why Carlos Condit Would Smash Josh Koscheck

The feud is building between welterweight contenders Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit and Josh Koscheck. The two got intertwined in the circumstances leading up to UFC 137. Koscheck offered to be a late replacement again, but Condit tu…

The feud is building between welterweight contenders Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit and Josh Koscheck. The two got intertwined in the circumstances leading up to UFC 137. Koscheck offered to be a late replacement again, but Condit turned the fight down.

Condit’s decision to not accept the fight has spawned Koscheck calling him out via Twitter. With “KOS” looking to stay relevant in the welterweight division, and Condit was the man next in line for the title, it is natural for Koscheck to call out The Killer.

My message to Koscheck is be careful what you wish for.

Here are three reasons why Carlos Condit would smash Josh Koscheck.

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UFC 2011: Couture, Cro Cop, Penn, Hughes and the Changing of the Guard

One of the scariest and saddest things for a sports fan to go through is the process of the changing of the guard. The time when many of your favorite stars are aging, declining and getting beaten like you have never seen them beaten before. The UFC is…

One of the scariest and saddest things for a sports fan to go through is the process of the changing of the guard. The time when many of your favorite stars are aging, declining and getting beaten like you have never seen them beaten before.

The UFC is experiencing a large changing of the guard in 2011 with legend retirements and losses mounting as the holiday season approaches. This year has seen the retirement of such notables as Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell (officially Dec 29th, 2010), Chris Lytle and most recently Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic.

Along with the retirement of those fan favorites, Matt Hughes, Wanderlei Silva, Kenny Florian and BJ Penn have all pondered or are pondering calling an end to their respective careers. It is a tough jab to slip for an older fan who has fallen in love with the UFC on the visions and backs of these men. It makes you reflect and wonder if your passion to tune in and follow will remain as strong once the last of your favorites rides off into the sunset.

But wait, experience as a broad sports fan has told me that all is not doom and gloom when a changing of the guard takes place. I am an NHL fan almost as passionately as I am a fan of MMA and the UFC and I survived a very similar shift on the NHL a few years ago.

Gone were my favorites Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman and Dougie Gilmour and I was left depressed, feeling my passion to watch was in jeopardy for the first time in my life. Well, tuning in to a couple of games or highlight reels featuring Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Shea Weber and Jonathon Toews cured me of the malaise and my NHL passion is very much alive and well.

The show will go on, it will just feature different stars and the same can be said with the shifting of the UFC.

 

Carrying on is the heart and drive of a Frankie Edgar, the integrity and class of a Cain Velasquez and the incredible new skill of a Jon Jones.

I’ll admit, it has been a tough year for this old school man seeing Wanderlei Silva, BJ Penn and Matt Hughes get beaten down by the younger and up and coming fighter. Following all sports as long as I have teaches you that new and exciting athletes are always in the pipeline and a changing of the guard is not even close to the end of the world.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com