Author: J.Jones

UFC 153 Pay-Per-View Buys Confirm That Squash Matches Are Totally Hot Right Now


(We’re sorry, Stephan, but unless those things are actual guns, you’re getting your ass kicked tonight.) 

In the days leading up to UFC 153, many of you (and by you, we mean the entire MMA Interwebz) had some less than favorable things to say about the pairing of Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva. As if the bookies hadn’t told us all we needed to know, the general consensus among fans seemed to be the evening’s main event was a “travesty, a sham, and a mockery” that “blasphemed the great sport of MMA” and was a “completely meaningless squash match” whose “insulting pairing” would be reflected in “the abysmal pay-per-view numbers it receives.” And those were the favorable comments.

But for every fifteen of you complaining, there were apparently five or more of you who were forced to stifle your true excitement over this matchup like a pedo at a tee-ball game, because if the early numbers are any indication, squash matches featuring unstoppable killing machines are the new superfights. According to several reports, the pay-per-view numbers for UFC 153 are in the range of 340,00 to 410,000 buys. These numbers not only exceeded expectation, but are not that far below September’s squash match of the month featuring Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, which managed to clear over 450,000 buys despite having those little guys that no one cares about fighting in the night’s co-main event.


(We’re sorry, Stephan, but unless those things are actual guns, you’re getting your ass kicked tonight.) 

In the days leading up to UFC 153, many of you (and by you, we mean the entire MMA Interwebz) had some less than favorable things to say about the pairing of Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva. As if the bookies hadn’t told us all we needed to know, the general consensus among fans seemed to be the evening’s main event was a “travesty, a sham, and a mockery” that “blasphemed the great sport of MMA” and was a “completely meaningless squash match” whose “insulting pairing” would be reflected in “the abysmal pay-per-view numbers it receives.” And those were the favorable comments.

But for every fifteen of you complaining, there were apparently five or more of you who were forced to stifle your true excitement over this matchup like a pedo at a tee-ball game, because if the early numbers are any indication, squash matches featuring unstoppable killing machines are the new superfights. According to several reports, the pay-per-view numbers for UFC 153 are in the range of 340,00 to 410,000 buys. These numbers not only exceeded expectation, but are not that far below September’s squash match of the month featuring Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, which managed to clear over 450,000 buys despite having those little guys that no one cares about fighting in the night’s co-main event.

While the numbers for UFC 153 might not be that outstanding at a glance, first consider that aside from Anderson Silva, UFC 153 was essentially deprived of the kind of star power that casual fans are willing to fork over 50 dollars for, thanks in no small part to our friend the injury curse. The co-main event featured Dave freaking Herman for Chrissakes. Jon Fitch was on the main card, you guys. Jon. Fitch. These are not factors that normally add up to UFC gold, yet thanks to the power of one genetically-enhanced cyborg from the future and the pure enthusiasm of Brazilian fans, UFC 153 managed to come out with better numbers than UFC 147 and 150 combined.

So although we may never get the Silva/Jones superfight we’ve always wanted, enough of us will keep tuning in for the mere opportunity to watch either one of them beat the shit out of a hapless opponent. Based on these numbers, we estimate that Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen will do upwards of 24 million buys, receive it’s own television spin-off, and return to theaters in stunning 3D in 2014. And the Ferris wheel keeps on a spinnin’.

No wonder Silva doesn’t want to fight Chris Weidman or Michael Bisping; their chances of not being completely embarrassed out there lie just outside the fan’s interest range. Andy knows that we want to see him keep his hands at his sides, evade then shuffle back to where his opponent just tried to hit him, and deliver one-shot knockouts at the drop of a hat or not see him at all. You know what your audience likes, Joe, now set up the Silva vs Kyle Maynard super-squash-match-extravaganza that we have all been begging for!

–J. Jones

Booking Roundup: Koch vs. Lamas, Pickett vs. Wineland, + More Paired for UFC 155


(A bit of insider info: The tattoo on Koch’s right arm stands for Zeitgeist, while the one on the left stands for Honey Boo Boo child. True story.) 

It may not come as a shock to any of you, but needless to say, UFC 155 a.k.a the UFC’s annual New Year’s Eve card is looking pretty stacked at this point. Sure, we will lose at least half of these fights to injury, but for the time being we are going to revel in these awesome matchups God damn it and there’s nothing you can do to stop us la la la la we can’t hear you!

Just last week, we announced that Phil Davis would be stepping in to replace Chael Sonnen against Forrest Griffin in the night’s co-main event, and today, a whole slew of interesting matchups were announced, starting with Erik Koch vs Ricardo Lamas.

If you recall, Koch has spent roughly ten years on the shelf due to injury, yet despite this, was in line to receive the next shot at Jose Aldo. Then Jose got injured, then the bout was rescheduled, then Koch injured himself again, then Jose got injured again. My God, that was as depressing an assessment of the current UFC landscape as I’ve ever written. In any case, it appears that Koch will finally return to action on New Year’s against fellow top contender Ricardo Lamas, who is fresh off a victory over Hatsu Hioki at UFC on FX 4. Koch and Lamas find themselves in a very similar position coming into this fight — both are relatively unknown by casual fans yet will likely earn the next featherweight title shot with a win — so expect both guys to try and make a statement with this fight, or at the minimum, talk a lot of shit to Jose Aldo afterward.

In other UFC 155 news…


(A bit of insider info: The tattoo on Koch’s right arm stands for Zeitgeist, while the one on the left stands for Honey Boo Boo child. True story.) 

It may not come as a shock to any of you, but needless to say, UFC 155 a.k.a the UFC’s annual New Year’s Eve card is looking pretty stacked at this point. Sure, we will lose at least half of these fights to injury, but for the time being we are going to revel in these awesome matchups God damn it and there’s nothing you can do to stop us la la la la we can’t hear you!

Just last week, we announced that Phil Davis would be stepping in to replace Chael Sonnen against Forrest Griffin in the night’s co-main event, and today, a whole slew of interesting matchups were announced, starting with Erik Koch vs Ricardo Lamas.

If you recall, Koch has spent roughly ten years on the shelf due to injury, yet despite this, was in line to receive the next shot at Jose Aldo. Then Jose got injured, then the bout was rescheduled, then Koch injured himself again, then Jose got injured again. My God, that was as depressing an assessment of the current UFC landscape as I’ve ever written. In any case, it appears that Koch will finally return to action on New Year’s against fellow top contender Ricardo Lamas, who is fresh off a victory over Hatsu Hioki at UFC on FX 4. Koch and Lamas find themselves in a very similar position coming into this fight — both are relatively unknown by casual fans yet will likely earn the next featherweight title shot with a win — so expect both guys to try and make a statement with this fight, or at the minimum, talk a lot of shit to Jose Aldo afterward.

In other UFC 155 news…

Hard-hitting bantamweights Brad Pickett and Eddie Wineland have been booked to throw down at the UFC’s year-end event as well. In his last appearance at UFC on FX 3, Wineland became the first man to ever knock out perennial bantamweight contender Scott Jorgensen, an impressive fact made all the more impressive when you consider that Jorgensen has shared the octagon with such names as current bantamweight interim champ Renan Barao and current actual champ Dominick Cruz among others.

Speaking of Barao, since dropping a first round submission loss to the Nova Uniao product, Pickett has scored two straight victories over Damacio Page via submission (obviously) and Yves Jabouin via uppercut of death. As is the case for Lamas/Koch, either man could find themselves on the short line of contenders with an impressive win. That is, if the respective champions of their division can ever make it to the ring to defend their titles.

And finally, a pair of relatively unknown bantamweights in Byron Bloodworth and Erik Perez are also scheduled to throw down at UFC 155. With a name that sounds like every Scooby-Doo villan ever, Bloodworth has not fought since last October, where he was defeated via late second round TKO at the hands of Mike Easton in his UFC debut. Perez, on the other hand, has been absolutely lights out since entering the UFC back in June. Ironically, Perez actually replaced Bloodworth against John Albert at the TUF 15 Finale, where he scored a first round armbar submission over the tough-nosed castmember. When we last saw him at UFC 150, Perez added to Ken Stone’s brutal lowlight reel by knocking the WEC veteran out cold in only 17 seconds. Fun fact: The knockout currently holds the record for fastest UFC/WEC bantamweight KO of all time.

And here you were all complaining that the little guys couldn’t finish. Shame on you all.

–J. Jones

Throwback Fight of the Day: Georges St. Pierre’s Controversial Pro Debut Against Ivan Menjivar


(Coors Light?! And here we thought Canadians were passionate about the quality of beer they drink.) 

A little over a year ago, Georges St. Pierre was riding high. He had defended his belt for the sixth straight time against Jake Shields at an event that both obliterated North American attendance records and satisfied his home country’s need for bloodshed without having to sacrifice his first born child, as is tradition. Although he was being bashed by some critics for his apparent lack of finishing power, “Rush” would quickly meet a challenger that would bring out the inner killer his fans had been waiting for since UFC 83. Needless to say, things were going well for old GSP.

And then he took an arrow to the knee.

Yes, after blowing out his ACL, the welterweight kingpin was forced out of action for so long that even his stand-in champion went missing in an apparent attempt to find him. In the time since we last saw St. Pierre, his beloved homeland of Canada eeked out a respectable 36th place in the Summer Olympics, celebrated the 60th anniversary of one of their biggest television programs, and even closed the book on one of the most bizarre crimes in the country’s history. So overall, it was a decent year for any Canadian not named Georges St. Pierre.

But come November 17th, all that will change for at least one man, as GSP is set to finally make his triumphant return to the cage at UFC 154. And to celebrate his return, we’ve decided to dig up the fight that started it all. It took place in January of 2002 in Montreal and pitted the future champ against future UFC/WEC bantamweight (sheesh) Ivan Menjivar in his professional debut.

Video after the jump. 


(Coors Light?! And here we thought Canadians were passionate about the quality of beer they drink.) 

A little over a year ago, Georges St. Pierre was riding high. He had defended his belt for the sixth straight time against Jake Shields at an event that both obliterated North American attendance records and satisfied his home country’s need for bloodshed without having to sacrifice his first born child, as is tradition. Although he was being bashed by some critics for his apparent lack of finishing power, “Rush” would quickly meet a challenger that would bring out the inner killer his fans had been waiting for since UFC 83. Needless to say, things were going well for old GSP.

And then he took an arrow to the knee.

Yes, after blowing out his ACL, the welterweight kingpin was forced out of action for so long that even his stand-in champion went missing in an apparent attempt to find him. In the time since we last saw St. Pierre, his beloved homeland of Canada eeked out a respectable 36th place in the Summer Olympics, celebrated the 60th anniversary of one of their biggest television programs, and even closed the book on one of the most bizarre crimes in the country’s history. So overall, it was a decent year for any Canadian not named Georges St. Pierre.

But come November 17th, all that will change for at least one man, as GSP is set to finally make his triumphant return to the cage at UFC 154. And to celebrate his return, we’ve decided to dig up the fight that started it all. It took place in January of 2002 in Montreal and pitted the future champ against future UFC/WEC bantamweight (sheesh) Ivan Menjivar in his professional debut.

As was the case in Jon Jones’ UFC debut against Andre Gusmao, we can see a similar yet less refined fighter in GSP here. Watch in awe as he tests out the superman punch that would eventually find it’s way onto the Sportscenter top 10 when he used it on BJ Penn at UFC 94. Marvel at his superhuman ability to thwart a takedown as he would against Josh Koscheck at UFC 74. But we’ll give Menjivar credit where credit is due; his experience surely helped, but couldn’t possibly make up for his definitive size disadvantage, yet he still managed to take GSP down. Sean Connery approves.

But once St. Pierre is able to capitalize on a Menjivar trip around the 8:40 mark, he unleashes a hailstorm of punches and elbows that, while not enough to put Menjivar out, are apparently enough to get the ref to jump in and call the bout. Definitely an odd ending to an otherwise great bout. St. Pierre would go on to win his next six bouts before being armbarred just before the bell by Matt Hughes at UFC 50 in his first ever welterweight title shot.

St. Pierre would get his revenge not once, but twice on Hughes, and it would be smooth sailing from there on out. Mostly.

–J. Jones

Forrest Griffin vs. Phil Davis Set for UFC 155


(It’s good to see that someone finally gave Starvin Marvin something to eat.) 

According to a tweet sent out by UFC Brazil, light heavyweight grappling whiz Phil Davis will be the man to replace Chael Sonnen against Forrest Griffin at UFC 155. When Sonnen passed over Griffin for a TUF coaching gig and light heavyweight title shot against Jon Jones, everyone from Stephan Bonnar to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira were being rumored as potential opponents for Griffin, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over longtime rival Tito Ortiz in their trilogy match at UFC 148.

After coming up short in a tedious affair against Rashad Evans in the headlining match of UFC on FOX 2, Davis was looking to rebound against Wagner Prado at UFC on FOX 4, but an unfortunate eye poke resulted in an unsatisfying no-contest being declared. Davis and Prado met again at UFC 153, where Davis was able to secure a brilliant second round submission via anaconda choke victory. It was the same submission Davis used to defeat top light heavyweight prospect Alexander Gustafsson back at UFC 112 in April of 2010. If you’re keeping track, the current record for fighters who were the victims of a fight-ending eye poke in immediate rematches is now 1-3 (Scott Smith, Waachiim Spiritwolf, and Prado all came up short, with only Anthony Johnson managing to earn some revenge).


(It’s good to see that someone finally gave Starvin Marvin something to eat.) 

According to a tweet sent out by UFC Brazil, light heavyweight grappling whiz Phil Davis will be the man to replace Chael Sonnen against Forrest Griffin at UFC 155. When Sonnen passed over Griffin for a TUF coaching gig and light heavyweight title shot against Jon Jones, everyone from Stephan Bonnar to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira were being rumored as potential opponents for Griffin, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over longtime rival Tito Ortiz in their trilogy match at UFC 148.

After coming up short in a tedious affair against Rashad Evans in the headlining match of UFC on FOX 2, Davis was looking to rebound against Wagner Prado at UFC on FOX 4, but an unfortunate eye poke resulted in an unsatisfying no-contest being declared. Davis and Prado met again at UFC 153, where Davis was able to secure a brilliant second round submission via anaconda choke victory. It was the same submission Davis used to defeat top light heavyweight prospect Alexander Gustafsson back at UFC 112 in April of 2010. If you’re keeping track, the current record for fighters who were the victims of a fight-ending eye poke in immediate rematches is now 1-3 (Scott Smith, Waachiim Spiritwolf, and Prado all came up short, with only Anthony Johnson managing to earn some revenge).

Griffin has never been submitted in his MMA career, and should enjoy a healthy advantage in the standup against the wrestling-based Davis. That being said, Griffin’s cardio has looked less than stellar lately — mainly his garbage ass third round against Ortiz at UFC 148 — so expect to see Davis drag this fight into the latter rounds and attempt to secure a late ground and pound stoppage or a grappling heavy decision.

Fans and critics alike have been questioning Griffin’s heart for some time now, but a win over a legitimate prospect like Davis would undoubtedly shut up at least a few of his haters should he pull it off. With retirement looming on the horizon for one of the most charismatic (at least at one time) guys in the division, we’d really like to see FoGriff go out on a solid win or two. Above all else, we just hope he doesn’t decide to go for a post-fight jog before the decision is read this time.

Eye of the tiger, Forrest. Eye of the tiger.

Who do you like for this one, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

Get in Here for the Super Fight League 5 Live Stream Starting at 11:30 a.m. EST


(SFL ring girls are the best ring girls.) 

Although it may not feature one of the enticing headliners that you’re used to, Super Fight League has shown in recent events that they can still deliver exciting matches and all the brutal knockouts you could ever ask for. So if you’re bored, playing hooky from work, or simply feel like killing some time at the office, why not check out some free fights? Super Fight League will be streaming their fifth event live from their Youtube channel starting in just a few short minutes, and luckily for you, your favorite MMA website will be doing the same. Featuring a slew of castmembers from SFL’s TUF counterpart — which you may or may not recall was a thing — this seven fight card will at the very minimum pull off something that Strikeforce hasn’t achieved in months: Holding an actual event. So there’s that.

Head after the jump to get in on the action, which goes down at 11:30 a.m. EST from the SFL arena in Mumbai.


(SFL ring girls are the best ring girls.) 

Although it may not feature one of the enticing headliners that you’re used to, Super Fight League has shown in recent events that they can still deliver exciting matches and all the brutal knockouts you could ever ask for. So if you’re bored, playing hooky from work, or simply feel like killing some time at the office, why not check out some free fights? Super Fight League will be streaming their fifth event live from their Youtube channel starting in just a few short minutes, and luckily for you, your favorite MMA website will be doing the same. Featuring a slew of castmembers from SFL’s TUF counterpart – which you may or may not recall was a thing – this seven fight card will at the very minimum pull off something that Strikeforce hasn’t achieved in months: Holding an actual event. So there’s that.

Head after the jump to get in on the action, which goes down at 11:30 a.m. EST from the SFL arena in Mumbai.

–J. Jones

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Will Fight FoGriff in Sonnen’s Absence, If That’s Cool

Believe it or not, Potato Nation, but there was a brief moment in time when Chael Sonnen was supposed to rematch Forrest Griffin in his return to the light heavyweight division at UFC 155. You might not remember it due to the fact that upon announcing his change in weight class, Sonnen almost immediately skipped over Griffin to set his sights on Jon Jones, a decision that proved ultimately fruitful. Surprisingly, FoGriff seemed at least partially relieved not to be fighting that “boring” Sonnen fellow, but when he is made aware that he’s now been called out by Antonio “Lil’ Nog” Nogueira because of it, we imagine he’s going to wish he could still fight the middleweight wrestler with no KO power and poor submission defense who he has already beaten.

One thing you might recall is that Griffin and Nog were set to meet way back at UFC 114 before a shoulder injury forced the TUF 1 winner out of the contest. Griffin was replaced by Jason Brilz, who turned in one of the most respectable losses in UFC, nay, MMA history that night, coming up just short by way of split decision. Since then, Lil’ Nog has gone 1-2, dropping a pair of UD’s to wrestlers Ryan Bader and Phil Davis before beating the poop out of Tito Ortiz at UFC 140. Griffin is also coming off a win over “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” (I refuse to acknowledge this “People’s Champ” nonsense), albeit by another close decision in their trilogy-completing/Ortiz-retiring match at UFC 148.

Believe it or not, Potato Nation, but there was a brief moment in time when Chael Sonnen was supposed to rematch Forrest Griffin in his return to the light heavyweight division at UFC 155. You might not remember it due to the fact that upon announcing his change in weight class, Sonnen almost immediately skipped over Griffin to set his sights on Jon Jones, a decision that proved ultimately fruitful. Surprisingly, FoGriff seemed at least partially relieved not to be fighting that “boring” Sonnen fellow, but when he is made aware that he’s now been called out by Antonio “Lil’ Nog” Nogueira because of it, we imagine he’s going to wish he could still fight the middleweight wrestler with no KO power and poor submission defense who he has already beaten.

One thing you might recall is that Griffin and Nog were set to meet way back at UFC 114 before a shoulder injury forced the TUF 1 winner out of the contest. Griffin was replaced by Jason Brilz, who turned in one of the most respectable losses in UFC, nay, MMA history that night, coming up just short by way of split decision. Since then, Lil’ Nog has gone 1-2, dropping a pair of UD’s to wrestlers Ryan Bader and Phil Davis before beating the poop out of Tito Ortiz at UFC 140. Griffin is also coming off a win over “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” (I refuse to acknowledge this “People’s Champ” nonsense), albeit by another close decision in their trilogy-completing/Ortiz-retiring match at UFC 148.

It has also been rumored that Stephan Bonnar, who is fresh off a first round drubbing at the hands of Anderson Silva, would be stepping in to replace Sonnen, but neither that matchup nor the Lil’ Nog matchup have even come close to being confirmed yet. That being said, you have to imagine the aging Griffin would prefer to square off with an old foe for a final time rather than risk having his head used as a basketball by another Brazilian.

We will have more on this story as soon as we are made aware.

–J. Jones