When the UFC signed Dave “Pee Wee” Herman to face John-Olav Einemo at UFC 131, he had a 20-2 professional MMA record and was considered the “next great thing” in the heavyweight division.After easily dispatching of Einemo in that matchup, the hype grew…
When the UFC signed Dave “Pee Wee” Herman to face John-Olav Einemo at UFC 131, he had a 20-2 professional MMA record and was considered the “next great thing” in the heavyweight division.
After easily dispatching of Einemo in that matchup, the hype grew even more during the lead-up to his sophomore performance against Stefan Struve.
In this fight, it all came crashing down…literally.
Struve picked apart Herman and eventually caught him with a hard shot that sent him to the canvas, ending his spotless UFC record and nearly silencing the praise surrounding him.
Given another chance at UFC 146 against the hard-hitting Roy Nelson, Herman was again beaten out of consciousness and given his second loss inside the Octagon.
Now at a crossroads in his career, Herman needs a quality win to regain some of the allure he possessed upon coming to the UFC.
Here are five winnable fights for Herman to consider for his next trip inside the cage:
UFC 146 delivered a myriad of explosive finishes and surprises, but in this writer’s eyes, the most stunning fight on the card was the lightweight matchup between Edson Barboza and Jamie Varner. Many analysts, myself included, counted Varner out o…
UFC 146 delivered a myriad of explosive finishes and surprises, but in this writer’s eyes, the most stunning fight on the card was the lightweight matchup between Edson Barboza and Jamie Varner.
Many analysts, myself included, counted Varner out of this matchup and assumed the ex-WEC star was nothing more than a stepping stone for the seemingly invincible Brazilian.
With some crushing boxing that dropped Barboza and follow up hammerfists, Varner ended Barboza’s night early and stopped the prospect’s hype train in its tracks.
So where does Barboza stand in the division after this loss?
Here are five questions we still need answered about Barboza before we start considering him the future of the division as we did before this devastating first round loss.
Let me say something that may catch you off guard: Junior dos Santos is good.He’s better than good, actually; he will become the greatest heavyweight in the history of the UFC. I can hear you complaining and diving for the comment bar now, s…
Let me say something that may catch you off guard:
Junior dos Santos is good.
He’s better than good, actually; he will become the greatest heavyweight in the history of the UFC.
I can hear you complaining and diving for the comment bar now, so let me explain before you voice your displeasure.
Think with me for a second.
Who does he have to compete with? Who is the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time right now, today?
To steal a phrase from Mr. Chad Ochocinco, CHILD PLEASE!
Junior dos Santos is to the UFC’s heavyweight division what Jon Jones has been to the light heavyweight division in recent years—a new breed of fighter who is disciplined in all areas and has no glaring weaknesses.
His hands are phenomenal and widely considered the best in the division.
His cardio is fantastic for a heavyweight; after beating Shane Carwin to a bloody pulp for three rounds and wailing on Roy Nelson for an encore, dos Santos showed no glaring signs of fatigue (I’m looking at you Nelson, Mir, Hunt and Rothwell).
His takedown defense has allowed him to dictate each fight he’s had in the UFC, and his ground game is polished under the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
To top this off, he has shown an impressive chin in his fights, and he has never been in any kind of danger despite facing deadly opponents like Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson.
All of these fighters are finishers, but they could do absolutely nothing to “Cigano.”
I’m not going to say that dos Santos has the best ground game, the best takedown defense and the best striking of any UFC heavyweight ever; that would be silly.
What I am going to say, however, is that if you take each of these components and add them together, he is the most complete heavyweight to ever set foot in the Octagon and has the finishing power to make him a threat to anyone at any time.
“Cigano” is an absolute monster, and we really haven’t seen a heavyweight with his boxing proficiency in the UFC since the company’s inception (no, I didn’t forget about James Toney, but I’d like to).
Adding to this, he has incredible takedown defense, a solid ground game, great cardio and a rock-solid chin.
What more could you ask for, really?
So let’s go back to our initial list:
Randy Couture: dos Santos would earn a knockout victory within the first round. He’s bigger, faster, stronger and he hits harder than Randy could ever dream. Randy, I love ya sir, but this is a fight I never want to see for your own safety.
Tim Sylvia: dos Santos can do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it against the “Maineiac.” Sure, Sylvia hits hard, but he is as slow as molasses in the wintertime, and dos Santos would have no problems turning out his lights early in the first round.
Frank Mir: Well, would you look at that? Here’s a matchup we have the pleasure of seeing this Saturday at UFC 146, live on pay-per-view. This one, like the previous two matchups, is no problem for dos Santos. I’ll admit I am a huge Mir fan, and I know that his jiu-jitsu is probably the best in the division, but he is not a challenge for dos Santos.
Don’t buy into the hype folks; “Cigano” is on another level. One of two things will happen in this fight: dos Santos will either catch Mir early and knock him out, or he will pick him apart for the fight’s duration, tire him out and then pounce when the opportunity is right to earn a TKO victory.
All of this said, yes, I do think Junior dos Santos will become the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. He is currently the most spectacular heavyweight that has ever graced the Octagon, and he is still in his prime.
“Cigano” will go down as the best big boy in UFC history, and I won’t be surprised if he rattles off a Siva/GSP-like title defense streak in doing so.
Bob Sapp is one scary, scary looking dude (and his laugh is even scarier). All the intimidation in the world, though, can’t save him from being an “F-list” fighter at this stage in his career, and for that, I would like to propose a slideshow.&nb…
Bob Sapp is one scary, scary looking dude (and his laugh is even scarier).
All the intimidation in the world, though, can’t save him from being an “F-list” fighter at this stage in his career, and for that, I would like to propose a slideshow.
Look, I’m not a fighter.
I’m 6’3″, 215 lbs. of pure college student, keyboard warrior goodness.
Even though I lack any sort of formal training, after seeing Sapp’s last 156 fights, I’m pretty sure I could rush him, punch him once and make him tap.
These recent performances of Sapp’s got me thinking: What other fighters would I actually stand a chance against?
Here is my compilation of the top 10 fighters who I would actually consider standing across from in the UFC Octagon.
Note: For the sake of relevancy, I’m keeping the list to UFC/ex-UFC fighters (except for Sapp, of course).
Just a few moments ago, Josh Koscheck tweeted some news that is sure to get fight fans fired up. From @JoshKoscheck, around 12:52 p.m. EST:#UFC just offered me to fight BJ Penn…I said YES!!!!! Just waiting on him!!!!!! Let’s scrap bra?If B…
Just a few moments ago, Josh Koscheck tweeted some news that is sure to get fight fans fired up.
#UFC just offered me to fight BJ Penn…I said YES!!!!! Just waiting on him!!!!!! Let’s scrap bra?
If BJ accepts this fight, we’re in for one hell of a welterweight scrap. Even though no immediate title implications are on the line, this is something to get excited about.
Donald Cerrone is good. He’s really good, in fact.An excellent kickboxer with deceiving strength and wrestling to go along with a polished ground game, Cerrone is one of the more well-rounded fighters one will find in the Octagon.That said, he’ll …
Donald Cerrone is good.
He’s really good, in fact.
An excellent kickboxer with deceiving strength and wrestling to go along with a polished ground game, Cerrone is one of the more well-rounded fighters one will find in the Octagon.
That said, he’ll never win the UFC lightweight belt. The gold just isn’t meant for “The Cowboy,” I’m afraid.
In his recent win over perennial tough guy Jeremy Stephens at UFC on Fuel 3, Cerrone showcased a brilliant variety of strikes en route to his unanimous decision victory. He was utterly dominant, but let’s be real here: It was Jeremy Stephens. While I’ll never knock Stephens as a game fighter, he isn’t exactly the greatest measuring stick to declare somebody the best in the division (or anywhere close for that matter).
Cerrone simply did what he was supposed to do, and he did it impressively. That’s good, but he’s still not a lightweight title contender.
It takes only a glimpse to Cerrone’s not-so-distant past to see why. In a December 2011 matchup against Nathan Diaz, Cerrone suffered a defeat that snapped a four-fight win streak and brought his title aspirations to a screeching halt.
The fact that he got beat isn’t all that’s important, though. He got dismantled.
Obliterated.
Embarrassed.
Use whatever descriptor you’d like, Cerrone was outclassed in his fight against Diaz, and it proved he is still missing some vital components before he can be a legitimate contender.
At 29 years of age and a world of experience under his belt, it’s a little bit late for Cerrone to reinvent himself and make the kind of changes he would need to see his title dreams become a reality.
Honestly, what he did to Stephens was great, but we’ve seen him do that to fighters of Stephens’ caliber in the past. If he could have finished Stephens in dramatic fashion or taken him down and submitted him with ease, I may have a different opinion on the matter.
As it is, though, Cerrone didn’t really show me anything I didn’t know he could already do, and until he does, I have to say he will never contend for the UFC lightweight gold.
All is not lost, though; they probably make replicas of the strap that he can buy as a ridiculously large belt buckle to add to his cowboy garb.
That is, unfortunately, as close as he’s going to get to the real thing.
