Author: Hunter Homistek

UFC 150: Which Fight Will Steal the Show and Win over the Denver Crowd?

UFC 150 is headlined by a lightweight title rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, a bout which has deservedly received much of the media and fan attention leading up to fight night.  I get it—it is a title fight, it is a rematc…

UFC 150 is headlined by a lightweight title rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, a bout which has deservedly received much of the media and fan attention leading up to fight night.  

I get it—it is a title fight, it is a rematch and it features two of the toughest dudes in the world.  

That said, a fight earlier in the night is going to steal the show and win over the crowd in attendance and those watching at home. 

That matchup is the featherweight tilt between Justin “The American Kid” Lawrence and Max “Blessed” Holloway.  

While these names do not jump off the paper (screen), make no mistake: These guys are awesome, and they are two of the best strikers in the featherweight division. 

Whenever you match up two prepared, well-conditioned and hungry striking phenoms, back up, watch out and enjoy.  

This is what we will get in this bout: Holloway showed off a diverse striking attack and some of the best body strikes in recent memory in his win over Pat Schilling at The Ultimate Fighter 15 finale, while Lawrence is riding high after knocking out John Cofer with a devastating head kick at the same event.  

Clearly, the UFC brass liked what they saw from each fighter at that finale, and they decided to see how they would fare against one another.

We are lucky the folks in the fancy offices at the UFC headquarters are so damn smart, because this matchup is just awesome.  

 

Neither guy is phenomenal on the ground (unless they have been working on this area relentlessly), so each will likely look to keep it standing.  

When this happens, we are guaranteed fireworks.

Holloway is a tough dude, Lawrence is a tough dude, and each has the kind of striking that will leave your jaw on the floor and your fist in the air.  

I lean toward Lawrence in this bout thanks to his sheer power, but Holloway’s attack is varied and creative, and that can certainly create problems for “The American Kid.”

Whatever pans out, though, I guarantee you this: It will be fun to watch, and you will immediately be glad you paid for the pay-per-view card.  

If I am wrong, you can berate me on Twitter.

 

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UFC 150 Start Time: When and Where to Watch UFC 150

The lightweight title rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson is upon us.  All the talk, all the predictions and all the smack talk comes to fruition tonight, and you better be there to see it firsthand.  Reading about a fight afte…

The lightweight title rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson is upon us.  All the talk, all the predictions and all the smack talk comes to fruition tonight, and you better be there to see it firsthand.  

Reading about a fight afterwards is not nearly as fun as watching it live, so here is your step-by-step, do-not-miss-a-single-fight guide to UFC 150. 

Enjoy!

 

The Facebook Prelims

The Facebook prelims can be caught on Myspace and Reddit.  

OK, but seriously, you can catch the early preliminary action on the UFC’s Facebook page beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST. 

While Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Nik Lentz is not necessarily the most tantalizing of matchups, this is MMA, after all, and you never know what might happen.  Better tune in to find out.

 

FX Prelims

The FX prelims can be caught on TBS.  OK, that joke wasn’t that funny the first time, so I apologize for going for it again.

The FX Preliminary card starts at 8 p.m. EST with The Ultimate Fighter alum Dennis Bermudez taking on Tommy Hayden and Jared Hamman battling Michael Kuiper.  

In addition, a pair of bantamweight bouts anchor the prelims, with Ken Stone taking on Erik Perez and Dustin Pague vs. Chico Camus.  

 

The Main Card

The UFC 150 main card can be caught live on pay-per-view, with the action kicking off at 10 p.m. EST. 

The lineup is as follows:

Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway

Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts

Ed Herman vs. Jake Shields

Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard

Benson Henderson (c) vs. Frankie Edgar

Not too shabby, eh?  

If you do not want to shell out the dough for the pay-per-view card, I feel you, and here is what I recommend: go to a bar.  

Seeing fights surrounded by similar-minded fans of MMA is pretty damn fun, and restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee’s are in on the action.  

If neither of these establishments is in your vicinity, try calling your local sports bar to see if they are buying the fight.  Expect a $5-$10 cover charge if you choose this route, but that is still a far cry from the $55 cost of buying it yourself.  

Now there is no reason for you to miss any of the UFC 150 action, so if something epic happens and you missed it, I told you so.  

Enjoy the fights responsibly, my friends!

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Anderson Silva: Has the Champion Earned the Right to Choose His Opponents?

Anderson Silva is many things.  He is the undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the past 321 years.He is the most feared striker to ever step foot into the Octagon, and he is also regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time (a sent…

Anderson Silva is many things.  

He is the undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the past 321 years.

He is the most feared striker to ever step foot into the Octagon, and he is also regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time (a sentiment which I personally agree with).  

What “The Spider” is not, however, is a UFC matchmaker, so we need to stop letting him and his camp act like one.  

After destroying Chael Sonnen in the much-anticipated rematch at UFC 148, fans and critics began formulating lists of possible next opponents.  

Who will it be?  

A trilogy with Chael?

Luke Rockhold? 

Hector Lombard?

Chuck Norris?

This was all fine and dandy, because it is just fans and guys who sit on a computer talking about MMA all day having some fun with potential matchups for a fighter who has seemingly nobody left to fight.  

But then came the reports from Jorge Guimaraes, Silva’s manager, that nobody was worthy of fighting Silva.  

Hold on, now.  

Why do you have a say in the matter again?

Silva is a mixed martial artist, and, like all other mixed martial artists, there is a line of fighters waiting to fight him.  These fighters will establish themselves with a couple quality wins and then get a shot at the title; that is just how it works. 

For Guimaraes to discard a guy like Weidman and call him “amateur” is flat-out disrespectful and against the flow of the sport and the middleweight division.  

You do not choose who you fight.  Joe Silva does that, and he does a phenomenal job at it.  

I understand that Anderson Silva has the biggest paycheck in the sport and is a worldwide recognizable face.  Blah blah blah.  He is not the UFC’s matchmaker, and neither is his manager.  

It is OK for them to speculate like the rest of us, but do not think for a second that the UFC does not listen when they speak.  They do.  They care what their biggest superstar wants, and they will keep him happy.  

That is why this is not fair.  In Guimaraes saying that certain fighters should not fight Silva, he is messing with the matchmaking process of Joe Silva and the UFC, and he is disrupting the natural order of the division.  

Do you think Alan Belcher hand-picked Rousimar Palhares in his last bout?  Do you think Brian Stann really wanted to fight Sonnen, a fighter everyone knew would expose his weak wrestling?  

No, I’m sure they did not envy those matchups, but they took them because it is a business, and you do what your boss tells you to do.

Anderson, you are many things, but you are not the boss of the UFC.  You do not select your opponents.  

Leave that to them, and they will leave you to destroying whoever they line up.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC: One Fighter from Each Division Who Has the Tools to Beat the Current Champ

The UFC is studded with dominant champions.  Names like Jose Aldo, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos have ruled their respective divisions for years, and none of them show signs of slowing down.That said, MMA is a…

The UFC is studded with dominant champions.  

Names like Jose Aldo, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos have ruled their respective divisions for years, and none of them show signs of slowing down.

That said, MMA is a sport of matchups. One does not necessarily need to be a better fighter to defeat the champ; he just needs the perfect skill set and mentality to unseat the king.  

Let us take a look at one fighter from each division who has the tools to defeat his division’s current kingpin.  

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Benson Henderson and the 10 Best Fighters with an Undefeated UFC Record

Holding an undefeated record in mixed martial arts is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it proves that you are an elite athlete capable of doing things other men simply cannot.  You fight for a living, and you are an expert in the fie…

Holding an undefeated record in mixed martial arts is both a blessing and a curse. 

On one hand, it proves that you are an elite athlete capable of doing things other men simply cannot.  You fight for a living, and you are an expert in the field of elegant violence.  

On the other hand, you have a target on your back for all to see.  In a field of hungry wolves, you stand as a somehow untouchable sheep.  The wolves lunge, but you always counter brilliantly.

While being undefeated as a mixed martial artist is a feat to be proud of, being undefeated under the UFC banner is especially sweet for fighters.  The UFC is the big league, and only the best of the best show up to fight inside the historic Octagon.

To honor these invincible warriors, I present to you the top 10 fighters with an undefeated UFC record.  

Note: Losses under the WEC banner are not considered in the list, and the list is open only to current fighters.  

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B/R MMA Official Rankings for August: The Top 25 Pound-for Pound Fighters in MMA

“What if” is such a fun game to play.  “What if” Dominick Cruz weighed 205 pounds and could take on Jon Jones?  What if Anderson Silva was a lightweight?  MMA has divisions for a reason, but it is always fun to speculate on how fighters …

“What if” is such a fun game to play.  

“What if” Dominick Cruz weighed 205 pounds and could take on Jon Jones?  

What if Anderson Silva was a lightweight?  

MMA has divisions for a reason, but it is always fun to speculate on how fighters stack up against one another, weight classes be damned.  

For that, take a look at the top 25 pound-for-pound fighters in the world, as ranked by your favorite bloggers here at B/R.  

These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA’s best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the Web.

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