In the world of mixed martial arts, the hype machine can be an extremely frustrating thing to a fighter.Some fighters are hyped up too quickly for their game to keep up and that can lead to undeserved fights, endorsements, and all around fan popularity…
In the world of mixed martial arts, the hype machine can be an extremely frustrating thing to a fighter.
Some fighters are hyped up too quickly for their game to keep up and that can lead to undeserved fights, endorsements, and all around fan popularity.
On the other side of the hype coin there are many fighters in this business who’s discipline, blood, sweat and tears seems to go unnoticed no matter what they have done or continue to do when the cage door closes.
It is sometimes a tough pill for a professional fighter to swallow, when they get bypassed and overlooked by the powers that be, for the up and coming, fresh, largely unproven newcomer.
As a shout-out to all those fighters who have sat in the emergency room for hours getting stitched up, while the others jet to the nearest post-fight party, here are the eight most underappreciated fighters of all time.
Who is the best UFC fighter of all time? The lists are endless, the debates are maddening, and you never get through any argument without the words “pound for pound” being thrown around. That’s why when I look at the best of the best of all time, I alw…
Who is the best UFC fighter of all time? The lists are endless, the debates are maddening, and you never get through any argument without the words “pound for pound” being thrown around.
That’s why when I look at the best of the best of all time, I always have to settle on two or three and they are always at different weight classes. So, to be fair and spread the love around, here is my list of the best fighter of all time in each weight class of the UFC.
Competition is steep at the highest levels of the mixed martial arts game. In the UFC, it is just downright wrong how competitive it is. Job security can come and go as fast as a Machida crane kick to the jaw, no matter who taught it to him. There…
Competition is steep at the highest levels of the mixed martial arts game. In the UFC, it is just downright wrong how competitive it is. Job security can come and go as fast as a Machida crane kick to the jaw, no matter who taught it to him.
There are fighters in every division and on every card this summer who are in danger of being released by the UFC if they lose, bore or stink the joint out, in their respective matches. Here is a look at the top 10.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner Jonathon Brookins has been forced to withdraw from his lightweight bout with Jeremy Stephens at The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale. This is being reported today by Sherdog.com. Stepping in for Brookins wil…
The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner Jonathon Brookins has been forced to withdraw from his lightweight bout with Jeremy Stephens at The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale. This is being reported today by Sherdog.com.
Stepping in for Brookins will be former WEC talent Daniel Downes who has been beaten only once as a professional. Fighting out of the Wisconsin’s Roufusport camp, Downes lost in his WEC debut last June to Chris Horodecki. But “Danny Boy” rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Tiequan Zhang at WEC 53 in December.
The details and the extent of the Brookins’ injury were not disclosed. His last fight was in December of last year where he won a decision over Michael Johnson to claim the TUF 12 title.
Known for his punching power and his “dead ahead” approach, Jeremy Stephens has won three of his last four contests inside the Octagon. The 24-year-old “Lil Heathen” has faced some tough fighters in his young career. In May of 2010, he edged out fellow striker Sam Stout in a hard-fought tilt. Then, in September, he followed it up by putting on a great performance in a close-decision loss to top contender Melvin Guillard.
Stephens has had one fight this year, knocking out veteran Marcus Davis on New Years Day.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale will take place on June 4th at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It will headline a pivotal fight with major lightweight implications when contender Clay “The Carpenter” Guida takes on former WEC champion Anthony Pettis.
Next to UFC 129 in Toronto, the largest MMA event in Ontario is coming up on Thursday May 19th. Jones Entertainment Group is proud to present MMA Live 1: London, which will headline mixed martial arts veteran and colourful Karo “The Heat” Parisyan vs. …
Next to UFC 129 in Toronto, the largest MMA event in Ontario is coming up on Thursday May 19th.
Jones Entertainment Group is proud to present MMA Live 1: London, which will headline mixed martial arts veteran and colourful Karo “The Heat” Parisyan vs. one of Canada’s top welterweight fighters, Edmonton native Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford.
The event will take place at the 9,000-people capacity John Labatt Centre (JLC) in London, Ontario and will have a traveling MMA Expo featuring an appearance by Jon “Bones” Jones during the day of the fights.
Here are the top 10 reasons to get to London to check it out.
It has been a long time coming for heavyweight contender Shane Carwin’s return to the octagon. I’m sure the massive, burly contender has some pent up frustration in those frozen ham mitts of his. His return will happen on June 11th at UFC 131…
It has been a long time coming for heavyweight contender Shane Carwin’s return to the octagon. I’m sure the massive, burly contender has some pent up frustration in those frozen ham mitts of his. His return will happen on June 11th at UFC 131 Lesnar vs. Dos Santos in Vancouver, against 2003 ADCC champion Jon Olav Einemo. After a near twelve month layoff due to injury and rehab the question is, will his back surgery play a role in his return?
The Engineer is no spring chicken and at 36 years old, any major surgery is going to effect how you perform in different ways going forward. Carwin will surely have to monitor fatigue and test run certain twists and movements in his training, but come fight night I believe the injury will play little to no role in his return.
For one, I think he has had enough time off since his surgery to really test and work those things out in his training. We all know training cannot mirror all the intensity of a real fight but in many ways for a back that is recovering from surgery training can be worse. Carwin recently provided MMAJunkie with some insight into his recovery,
He has stated before that the surgery was needed to clean up injuries that he has had since joining the UFC, and that he was in the practice of getting pain relief injections to be able to train and fight. Any solution away from that practice must be a great lift not only physically, but also mentally.
The other main reason why I don’t feel that the surgery will be a factor in his return is his opponent Jon Olav Einemo. The Norwegian is no slouch as he is best known for his defeat of Roger Gracie to win the 2003 ADCC. I come from the “what have you done for me lately” school of thought, and Einemo’s last fight was a submission win over James Thompson in late 2006.
Carwin had this to say about his opponent, “It’s an exciting fight. He’s very dangerous. He was picked as the man to beat Fedor back in the day.”
An interesting comment considering the fact that in early 2006, Einemo lost a unanimous decision to the man who ended up beating Fedor, Fabricio Verdum.
Make no mistake, this is a tough style match-up for Carwin. Being submitted by Brock Lesnar showed weaknesses in his conditioning and his ground skills. Einemo has been hand picked to exploit those weaknesses and see if Shane has evolved his game. His repaired back will be most vulnerable as he tries to defend the take downs that Jon will be shooting for all night and if the fight goes to the ground, it could be a major problem for Carwin. He has to keep this one standing.
The Engineer has had ample time to recover from his surgery. No doubt he has been testing it from every angle defending take downs and submissions in his preparation for what Einemo will bring at UFC 131. There is a real, legit chance Carwin may lose via submission on June 11th in Vancouver, but the back surgery will play little to no role in that happening.
