These “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight and end with this writer’s prediction. Now that the UFC is don…
These “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight and end with this writer’s prediction.
Now that the UFC is done with its latest Fuel installment, the promotion will now turn to FOX’s other branch and put on its fifth event on FX.
Headlining this card is a heavyweight showdown that will hopefully put one of these fighters back into the top mix of contenders.
In the blue corner you have Antonio Silva. “Bigfoot” has made a name for himself in Strikeforce defeating the likes of Andrei Arlovski and FedorEmelianenko, but he has come up short recently. His is currently 16-4 and on a two-fight losing streak, the last of which he took a bloody beating at the hands Cain Velasquez. It was a harsh welcome into the UFC and puts him in a dire position with the company.
In the red corner you have Travis Browne. Browne may not be taking out big names like Fedor, but he is undefeated and on a 13-fight winning streak, if you don’t count his draw with Cheick Kongo. Regardless, he still is on at least a three-fight win streak anyway you look at it. He is not as marketed as other heavyweights, but a win over Silva would do wonders for his career and his time in the limelight.
The standup will be the deciding factor, even though both men are versed on the ground. Both men tend to rely on their hands to win their fights, and both are heavy hitters. This is a fight that many MMA fans like to see: two big guys with power in their hands providing a fight where the potential for a KO or a beating is high.
If Browne can use his stature to avoid the ground, he has the advantage on the feet. Silva may have a reach advantage on him, but his weight, cardio and chin will be tested by Browne. Based on the skills of each fighter, Silva does have a much better chance on the ground, but every fight starts standing. Browne may very well hand Silva his third loss in a row, and a possible pink slip from the UFC brass.
Prediction: Travis Browne wins via TKO/KO in the first round.
These “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight, and end with this writer’s prediction. Through the fire and f…
These “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight, and end with this writer’s prediction.
Through the fire and flames has finally emerged the next challenger for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, as Jon Jones takes on VitorBelfort at UFC 152. A fight that was meant to showcase Jones taking on top contender Dan Henderson at UFC 151 has been the controversy of 2012, and has left in its wake a vilified champion, a cancelled event and a scramble to replace fights.
Now, Jones will put his belt on the line again, but against an opponent many don’t deem worthy.
In the blue corner you have VitorBelfort. “The Phenom” is a huge underdog going into this fight, but Belfort is no stranger to the pressure. He was a young champion, like Jones, and now hopes to test the old against the new. His hand speed and power are always dangerous and pose a unique challenge for Jones—a fighter we haven’t seen under a fast attack or much pressure.
In the red corner you have the champion, Jon Jones. “Bones” had been preparing for a wrestler with a big right hand, but Belfort is a different striker than Hendo. As always, Jones will have a reach advantage and will use his striking to keep distance. While Jones’ striking isn’t the most technical or precise, it is dangerous and unorthodox. His wrestling and jiu-jitsu will help him on the ground, but he will want to stay on his feet initially.
Jones will want to use that reach, especially his kicks, to stop Belfort’s efforts. It wouldn’t be surprising if Jones even tried to throw some hard front kicks a la Anderson Silva.
The question is will Belfort charge him with the ferocity that he has shown in other fights. This opens him up to some deadly counters and elbows from close range, but Jones has shown he sometimes will fall back when being attacked.
If Belfort can throw fast combos and push the pace and pressure, Jones could be swarmed if he doesn’t intelligently defend himself. Jones has shown his resilience though, and will want to prove to the fans that his actions and skills in the cage are what truly matter.
Prediction: Jon Jones wins via TKO or submission within two rounds.
After all the injuries and alternating, UFC 153 seems to be back on track and avoiding the termination that UFC 151 faced. Stepping up to help save the card is none other than UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Upon the turmoil of UFC 151 and th…
After all the injuries and alternating, UFC 153 seems to be back on track and avoiding the termination that UFC 151 faced. Stepping up to help save the card is none other than UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Upon the turmoil of UFC 151 and the card slipping into nothing, Silva had offered to fight on little over a week’s notice to help keep the card afloat. His offer was to fight some undetermined Light Heavyweight as the main event, but an opponent for him was unclear. Now that Jose Aldo has succumbed to another injury, another card was in jeopardy.
Silva has risen to the occasion again, and will face TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar. This is matchmaking that has the MMA world buzzing, and leaving many bewildered that a 14-7 LHW fighter is now facing the 32-4, undefeated in the UFC, 15-fight winning streak, best P4P fighter in the world.
So the question that lingers is just how will the UFC market this fight?
They certainly have more time than if this had occurred at UFC 151, but what are the selling points of this fight?
Of course, you have Silva, who sells cards by himself. His name and fame already sells him, but facing a guy like Bonnar, who many feel is extremely outmatched, is a different task.
The card takes place in Brazil, insuring that no seat will be left empty and PPVs will be high. This is “The American Psycho” going into Silva’s back yard. Silva has gotten to a point, like Mike Tyson, where people buy a card with him as a main event, still “knowing” that they will see Tyson win quickly.
Sometimes, it’s moreso buying a card for the chance that Silva might lose. Regardless of how “silly” this matchup is, people will still buy the card, or at least will watch it at some other point.
This only is possible because Silva has a track record for putting on amazing performances. While some might argue that this is a fight not worth watching, it still is a chance for MMA fans to witness something spectacular. While the odds are minimal for Bonnar on paper, it still means we could see an incredible finish.
So what can the UFC do to try to sell it though?
Well, you have the greatest fighter in the world and he’s taking on a man who put on the greatest fight. A weak selling point, but still worthy to note their influences. Also, Silva’s last venture up to 205 resulted in a disgraced and embarrassed Forrest Griffin, who was the man that put on the TUF finale epic battle with Bonnar. If Bonnar would agree, they could spin this in a revenge-esque manner for his fallen comrade inside the Octagon.
A worthy aspect to take into account for UFC marketing, is that Stephan Bonnar has never been KO’d or submitted. He now will be facing a man who is known for spectacular finishes, with 25 of his 32 victories not going to a decision. Bonnar was able to survive Jon Jones to a decision; maybe he could do that and more with Silva.
For a fight that will inevitably have oddsmakers making a statistical gap the size of the Grand Canyon, the UFC will need to find those backstories to help sell this fight. You can promote Bonnar for being on a three-fight win streak, but he also fought almost a year ago as well and doesn’t have the 18-fight win streak that Silva is on (if you don’t include the OkamiDQ).
Statistics won’t sell this fight, unless you consider the statistical chances that we will see Silva have an amazing performance and go three for three at LHW with first-round KO’s.
However, the UFC would never sell a fight leaning toward the presumed outcome of a fight. They must find a way to paint the picture that Bonnar has better chances than people think, or that this fight has great significance. The UFC has done great work with this in the past, but this one is going to be a challenge.
In light of yet another injury announcement that has taken Rampage Jackson out of his UFC 153 bout, fans still get to have a little fun today. Brittney Palmer will be taking to the social media juggernaut Twitter to answer questions from fans. She…
In light of yet another injury announcement that has taken Rampage Jackson out of his UFC 153 bout, fans still get to have a little fun today. Brittney Palmer will be taking to the social media juggernaut Twitter to answer questions from fans. She will taking questions starting at 4:00 p.m. ET today, Tuesday the 11th!
Be sure to include the hashtag #Ultimateanswers and follow Brittney on Twitter!
Official Fuel TV Twitter post:
Join a LIVE Twitter Chat 4 #UltimateAnswers w/ @BrittneyPalmer this Tues at 4p ET. Ask her anything and don’t miss the premiere @ 9:30p ET!
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is starting to become more mainstream as the years pass, and the fanbase is growing exponentially. Fans are learning about fighters, and are becoming emotionally attached to them and their actions.Fans are becoming more …
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is starting to become more mainstream as the years pass, and the fanbase is growing exponentially. Fans are learning about fighters, and are becoming emotionally attached to them and their actions.
Fans are becoming more knowledgeable about the technicality behind some of the styles, and are starting to build a certain depth of history and tradition. But with this growth has come changes and decisions of direction.
The UFC is the juggernaut pioneering the sport and is the most prominent and dominant among all other promotions that exist or have existed. To the world, the UFC is the biggest stage and hosts some, if not all, of the greatest talent. But the UFC holds a format for their fighters that isn’t shared by others.
In the commonly used format of competition in other sports, most teams/athletes have seasons, leading up to tournament-style playoffs that result in eliminations until one remains. The last one standing is the champion/champions. With MMA, the sport is constant and has no seasons. There are championship titles, but they can all be challenged an unpredictable amount of times in a given year.
The UFC currently has eight different weight classes, meaning eight champions (seven now until a Flyweight champ is crowned later this month) that stand on top of the division to take on challengers. But the UFC has the tendency to issue title shots that leave fans scratching their heads.
Sometimes the challenger racks up enough number of wins to get a shot, but sometimes it is a matter of quality of opponent. Sometimes it seemingly is given to who is actually available/ready to fight for a specific date under certain circumstances.
Some decisions are no-brainers, and some suggest more of an intelligent business move. Also, some are what the fans ask for, which is a sentiment held by the UFC and President Dana White. White and the UFC brass care about what the fans want to see, and take those opinions and responses into account.
But at the end of the day, the consistency of title shots and what it takes to earn them is skewed in the UFC. The criterion is ambiguous, and seems to be sometimes determined based on the smallest amount of justification that can be conceived.
But that is just the UFC’s way of conducting their promotion, and it has built them an empire out of a once-failing brand.
On the other hand, you have arguably the No. 2-ranked promotion in the MMA world, Bellator Fighting Championships.
Bellator takes the approach the UFC used to do back in its infantile stages. The UFC had the tournament style up until about the end of 1998, at UFC Ultimate Brazil, but then switched to making main cards of different matchups.
Bellator, since it’s inauguration event in 2009, has consisted of tournament-based competition. Bellator even dons the slogan, “Where title shots are earned, not given.”
Bellator also conducts these tournaments by “seasons,” which last about three months and consist of eight fighters in each weight class. This setup is vastly different than the UFC, but adds an alternative career path for fighters and a new marketing strategy for fans.
With the tournament setting, fans and fighters of Bellator are given the foundational knowledge that title shots are based solely on the performances of each individual fighter. Only the tournament winner earns the right to challenge the champion.
While some fans enjoy getting to see fights they want, the UFC has left some wanting a little more structure and consistency, which Bellator can offer.
But is one better than the other?
As with ANY debate in MMA among fans, it is subjective and there are always those for, and against. “Better” may or may not be the correct term in the sense of fan opinion, but if one were to take that thought further, is one better for the sport and overall growth of MMA?
Possibly the aggravation of inconsistency of title shots will discredit the UFC and make way for a new direction of MMA. Maybe the tournament style sets itself up for failure if the tournament fighters, tournament winner, or champion gets injured.
Maybe the format of the UFC pushes fighters to tournament-based promotions where they have better chances of becoming a world champion. Maybe Bellator’s downtime between title fights and lack of big events will become too stale or disinteresting.
Bellator is still extremely young in this sport, as is the UFC. Both are taking MMA in a different path, but they both seem to be moving it forward and adding dynamic to it. It is hard to tell if one is better than the other from a growth perspective, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the fans.
As fans and participants of competition, we are fortunate to have choices and alternatives. We all get to have our cake, and eat it too.
Once again another injury has plagued a main-event fight and taken Erik Koch out of his title fight with Jose Aldo for the Featherweight championship. Stepping in to take his place is none other than former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. Edga…
Once again another injury has plagued a main-event fight and taken Erik Koch out of his title fight with Jose Aldo for the Featherweight championship. Stepping in to take his place is none other than former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar.
Edgar and title fights have been hand in hand these past years, involving the New Jersey native in the past six title fights in the Lightweight division. Between a draw and rematches, Edgar has decided to move down to 145 in hopes of finding new success. It is a weight class many feel that is more fit for the size of Edgar, but because of his success at Lightweight, not much evidence was being shown that a move down was necessary.
After losing his past two fights to now current Lightweight Champion, Benson Henderson, he will venture down to possibly attain a second UFC title in his career. Edgar was not originally slated to get an immediate title shot, but due to Koch’s injury, an opportunity has presented itself.
The question is, was taking the immediate title shot the best decision?
Edgar lost his last fight with Bendo mid-August and will now be fighting mid-October. Roughly two months gives him a decent amount of time, but he has had quite a bit more time for camp for all but one of each of his fights in his career.
The last time he had this short of turnaround was after his first pro fight. Now taking on one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in a new weight class on a “short” notice, it leaves to question if it will be adequate time to prepare for such a dangerous opponent.
Jose Aldo has been winning dominantly in his weight class, and has shown a ferocity that is something to admire. Edgar has shown heart and speed in his underdog story of a career, and managed to come out on top most of the time. But Edgar’s speed was one advantage he had in the lightweight division; his ability to get in and get out and foot movement helped him deal with bigger and stronger opponents.
Now he faces a man who possesses the same advantage, speed and movement. Styles make fights, and for Edgar, he may be walking into a fight where his advantages are met, or even surpassed.
On the other hand, Edgar dropping in weight could also produce an even quicker fighter, who then may be able to avoid Aldo and his deadly leg kicks and other Muay Thai strikes. On top of that, Aldo is coming off an injury, which could work in favor of Edgar’s chances.
Edgar has shown that even after taking a beating, he can push himself through it and fight to the end, and that may be what wins him this fight. Aldo has had some issues with weight cutting, and Edgar will dictate this fight if Aldo’s tank doesn’t stand up to his. Edgar has the ability to move and strike at the same pace from the first round to the fifth, and if he can survive the onslaught of Aldo, he has a good chance of winning.
The opportunity to challenge oneself and get a crack at a new title is a great thing, and Edgar has the chance to put himself back into the top tier of the pound-for-pound greats. If he can win this fight, he becomes known as one of the best P4P fighters, and people will excuse any losses at Lightweight using the logic of Edgar now being at the weight class he was meant to be fighting at. He then has the opportunity to take on other big-name fighters that will help boost his stats if he can manage to stay on top.
However, the danger of taking this fight is the other side of the coin. If Edgar loses his fight with Aldo, it could do a lot of harm to his career. He is not in any danger of being cut, but regardless if you think he won his fights with Bendo or not, he still will be on a three-fight losing streak. After that, he will need to fight a few more people in hopes of getting back to a title shot.
If he loses along that path, it may be a while, if ever, we see him back in a title shot. Edgar is open to big fights at either Featherweight or Lightweight, which will help counter any losses he takes, but he will only be given big-fights if he can keep winning.
Losing to Aldo doesn’t ruin his career, but it certainly is a big setback. Yes, he would have lost to one of the P4P best in his home country, but if he gets finished by Aldo, who knows that the UFC will want to do as far as getting Edgar back into a shot in a timely manner?
While his confidence is high, and he possesses the ability to win this fight; taking on a fighter like Jose Aldo in less than two months of training could put a mark on your record that could take some work to erase.
Time will tell if taking the fight was a big mistake, or the greatest decision Frankie Edgar ever made. Aldo will present a big problem for him, but then again, Edgar is “The Answer” after all.
These “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight and end with this writer’s prediction.