Author: J.Jones

Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 150 Edition


(What part of Arizona are you from, Ben? Right near the beach…BOI!)

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

Fresh off a stellar UFC on FOX last week, the UFC will be looking to build on some much needed momentum heading into this weekend’s UFC 150 card, where Ben Henderson will look to defend his lightweight strap against the man he took it from, Frankie Edgar. Will Colorado’s ridiculously high altitude continue to plague fighter’s cardio as it did at UFC 135 and Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon? Possibly, but it’s going to take more than a shortness of breath to stop the Gambling Enabler from paying out, as we’ve landed in the money on our past two events. So join us for a fight-by-fight dissection of UFC 150 and an inside look at how to come away with a significantly fatter wallet. All odds, per usual, are courtesy of BestFightOdds.

Ken Stone (+100) vs Eric Perez (-120)

Perez is a submissions specialist as is 1-0 in the UFC with a submission via armbar. Ken “Keith” Stone has more UFC experience and has lost two tough bouts to Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen but has since won two straight fights. He has yet to be submitted in his MMA career, so I believe Stone will have enough to fend off Perez’s submissions game and win this fight on the cards.


(What part of Arizona are you from, Ben? Right near the beach…BOI!)

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

Fresh off a stellar UFC on FOX last week, the UFC will be looking to build on some much needed momentum heading into this weekend’s UFC 150 card, where Ben Henderson will look to defend his lightweight strap against the man he took it from, Frankie Edgar. Will Colorado’s ridiculously high altitude continue to plague fighter’s cardio as it did at UFC 135 and Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon? Possibly, but it’s going to take more than a shortness of breath to stop the Gambling Enabler from paying out, as we’ve landed in the money on our past two events. So join us for a fight-by-fight dissection of UFC 150 and an inside look at how to come away with a significantly fatter wallet. All odds, per usual, are courtesy of BestFightOdds.

Ken Stone (+100) vs Eric Perez (-120)

Perez is a submissions specialist as is 1-0 in the UFC with a submission via armbar. Ken “Keith” Stone has more UFC experience and has lost two tough bouts to Eddie Wineland and Scott Jorgensen but has since won two straight fights. He has yet to be submitted in his MMA career, so I believe Stone will have enough to fend off Perez’s submissions game and win this fight on the cards.

Chico Camus (+160) vs. Dustin Pague (-185)

Chico is making his Octagon debut here and has the ability to grind out Pague in this fight. On the other hand, Pague is the type of fighter to fight his opponent’s fight, which this leads me to believe he may be upset by Camus. Pague is hovering around -200 favorite and I would not be willing to lay that price. I will look for the prop that this fight goes the distance.

Jared Hamman (-105) vs. Michael Kuiper (-115)

Michael Kuiper will be looking for his first win in his second attempt inside the octagon, but he may come out on the short end if Hamman is able to use his size advantage to control this fight. Hovering around pick’em odds, I would place my money on Hamman here. Hamman is only 30 and is a tested veteran in the UFC, I would go again with the prop this fight goes the distance as Kuiper will surely not give away another loss easily.

Eiji Mitsuoka (+320) vs. Nik Lentz (-390)

Nik Lentz NCAA div 1 wrestling should get the job done here. The prop that this fight goes the distance should also be explored. “The Carny “is coming off back to back losing efforts, but actually managed to put in a thrilling effort in his most recent FOTN-earning loss against Evan Dunham at UFC on FOX 2. That said, I believe Mitsuoka will not have an answer for Nik’s ground game and will be frustrated up until the end of this fight with Lentz’s wet blanket routine. Not a great value at 30 cents on the dollar, but Lentz will make it into my parlay.

Dennis Bermudez (-290)  vs. Tommy Hayden (+245)

Tommy Hayden had a tough go in his UFC debut and I think history will repeat itself again as Bermudez has simply fought on another level of competition than that of Hayden. Bermudez will most likely be looking to finish this fight and the line is under -300 which makes parlaying Dennis rather alluring. I do not see this fight going to the cards; a prop the fight does not go the distance may also be a profitable option.

Buddy Roberts (+480) vs. Yushin Okami (-570)

Last time Okami was a -600 favorite, things did not go so well for him. Granted, this time will surely be different, with Okami simply out powering the late replacement Roberts and coming out as the winner, but do you want to lay -600 on Okami? I don’t, because there’s nothing worse than having a parlay crushed by a -600 fighter losing (see Jay Glazer’s reaction to Tito Ortiz beating Ryan Bader from the dana vlogs).

Max Holloway (-110)vs. Justin Lawrence (+100)

Both fighter’s are coming off very impressive winning performances at the TUF 15 Finale; Holloway thoroughly dominated Pat Schilling and Lawrence broke out the highlight reel head kick KO on John Cofer for good measure. Pick’em odds on this fight are for good reason and I think this fight will be settled inside the distance. Holloway’s stand up is something special, even in a losing effort against Poirier he forced Dustin to take the fight to the ground because “The Diamond” did not like what he was seeing from Max on his feet. I think that the longer this fight goes, the better the chances are that Holloway will win. Not a parlay must, but good value on Holloway here.

Donald Cerrone (-295) vs Melvin Guillard (+265)

I like Guillard as the underdog in this fight. Having trained at Jackson’s with Cerrone leads me to believe that Melvin has the upper hand going into this fight, considering he knows what Cerrone has been up to while training with a camp that Cerrone know’s very little about in the meantime. Now 1-0 with the Blackzilian’s, Guillard showed us that he has finally learned some submission defense in his UFC 148 win over Fabricio Camoes. The question is: What else has Melvin learned that may surprise Cerrone in this fight? I am not counting Cerrone out completely, as this could easily look like Cerrone vs. Stephens with the longer fighter simply getting off first and winning the fight on the outside, but the plus money on Guillard is tempting and I will save some space for a long shot parlay with “The Young Assassin.” This fight may go the distance as well, not so much the high altitude effecting the fighters (as they are both used to training at high altitude), but simply the fact that they are so familiar with each other’s style that we may see a 15 minute chess match.

Jake Shields (-190) vs. Ed Herman (+175)

I want to say Shields and move on here, but Herman simply seems to be the perfect type of fighter to give Jake a ton of problems. Herman is a strong grappler and Jake is returning to MW for the first time here, so couple that with the fact that Herman may be able to deliver his own Hendo like right hand in this fight and we have all the makings for an upset. If Shields is able to get this fight to the ground, will he be able to keep Herman on his back or submit him? It all depends on how strong Jake is now and this is where I am unsure and unwilling to lay -200 on Jake. The fight should go the distance and this is where I will place my money, picking Shields these days is too risky.

Ben Henderson (-190) vs. Frankie Edgar (+175)

I like the bigger, stronger Bendo in this fight. Frankie may use all the footwork he wants and may stick Henderson with the jad for five rounds, but at the end of the day, Ben is simply going to remind us all why Edgar needs to drop down to 145 and start fighting guys his own size. I take nothing away from Frankie and I think he will be a top lightweight if he stays at 155, but Benson is the perfect mix between size and speed for Frankie, where prior opponents like Maynard had the power but lacked the speed to catch Frankie. As this fight goes into the later rounds, Benson should take control and get the win.

Parlay  1
Lentz-Bermudez-Henderson

Parlay 2
Lentz-Hamman-Stone-Henderson

*Parlay 3 (the degen special)
Holloway-Guillard-Henderson-Hamman-Bermudez

Props
-Lentz/Mitsuoka goes the distance
-Herman/Shields goes the distance
-Henderson/Edgar goes the distance
-Bermudez/Hayden does not go the distance

Bet what you feel comfortable with, higher on the parlays and lower on the props.

As an example, if you place $20 on parlay 1 and 2, with $5 on each prop you should be safe, as this was profitable on the past two GAE’s which is where you want to be.

Again, feel free to share hostility when/if these picks fall apart.

May the winners be yours!

UFC 150: Edgar vs. Henderson – Main Event Breakdown and Prediction

By George Shunick

When predicting a rematch in MMA – or, frankly, any sport – it’s only logical to look at the previous encounter and attempt to discern what advantages a certain participant had, whether their opponent is capable of adjusting and overcoming them, and whether the rematch will follow the overall narrative of the previous encounter. Our knowledge, or anticipated knowledge, of these factors determines how much we anticipate a rematch. For instance, no one really cared about the third fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock – we all knew how lopsided that fight would be. Conversely, Frankie Edgar’s third match against Gray Maynard was appealing because there was a strong narrative coming out of their second fight, a sense of uncertainty as to which fighter would make the necessary adjustments to overcome the other.

The rematch between Edgar and Ben Henderson falls into the latter category because it possesses that same degree of uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen in this fight, other than it promises to be one of the best fights of the year. It’s a rematch between the two best fighters in the strongest division in MMA, after a fight that each fighter thought he won. Both will be at the top of their game, attempting to ensure that this match will leave no doubt who is the better man.

By George Shunick

When predicting a rematch in MMA – or, frankly, any sport – it’s only logical to look at the previous encounter and attempt to discern what advantages a certain participant had, whether their opponent is capable of adjusting and overcoming them, and whether the rematch will follow the overall narrative of the previous encounter. Our knowledge, or anticipated knowledge, of these factors determines how much we anticipate a rematch. For instance, no one really cared about the third fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock – we all knew how lopsided that fight would be. Conversely, Frankie Edgar’s third match against Gray Maynard was appealing because there was a strong narrative coming out of their second fight, a sense of uncertainty as to which fighter would make the necessary adjustments to overcome the other.

The rematch between Edgar and Ben Henderson falls into the latter category because it possesses that same degree of uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen in this fight, other than it promises to be one of the best fights of the year. It’s a rematch between the two best fighters in the strongest division in MMA, after a fight that each fighter thought he won. Both will be at the top of their game, attempting to ensure that this match will leave no doubt who is the better man.

Of course, what makes this interesting is that it’s hard to say who that man will be. Both fighters found success in the first bout, which was full of momentum swings. Perhaps the biggest came at the end of the second round; after a fairly even round, Edgar had managed to take Henderson down and was working some ground and pound when Henderson connected with a vicious upkick that dropped Edgar. The rest of the fight remained competitive, but this was one of the few definitive moments in that fight and significantly contributed to Henderson eventually prevailing. But upkicks rarely play such a large role in fights – in all likelihood, this isn’t going to be a factor in the rematch.

Edgar’s advantage in this fight comes down to his speed and boxing technique. Henderson is undoubtedly stronger, but his punches are not as fast and he doesn’t have Edgar’s footwork. What he does have, though, are his kicks. In their first match, Henderson used kicks to tag Edgar’s legs when Edgar circled around him. Edgar’s movement and speed generally allow him to dictate the distance the fight is fought at, to his advantage. But by maximizing his range of attack through his kicks, Henderson is able to mitigate that advantage.

Edgar caught a number of Henderson’s kicks, but was unable to generate anything from this. That has to change if Edgar wants to secure a victory in this fight. If he checks the kicks, he stops his movement. He has to make Henderson pay when he catches them. Henderson is extraordinarily difficult to take – and more importantly, keep – down, but Edgar is going to have to do just that if he wants a chance at winning. He needs to maintain the threat of a takedown to give Henderson pause when he thinks about throwing a kick. If Henderson can kick at will, Frankie will no longer be able to dart in and out as effectively as he wishes and lose a valuable part of his offensive arsenal.

If the fight hits the mat, it’s hard to say who has an advantage. Both men are notoriously hard to keep down, so a takedown followed by sustained positional dominance would be huge for either fighter. Henderson is stronger, but Frankie is probably the better wrestler. Prior to the upkick, he was able to land some solid ground and pound, and was able to keep Henderson down long enough to generate offense. However, Henderson is capable of threatening from the guard. His guillotine – which he is more than willing to attempt while standing – is perhaps his most dangerous weapon. However, he was not able to submit Edgar with it, despite a very tight attempt in the fourth round. A submission for either one is highly unlikely.

In fact, finishing either fighter appears somewhat impossible. (Unless you happen to be a random jiu-jitsu brown belt.) Both possess seemingly supernatural powers – Edgar channels the spirit of fictional underdogs like Rocky and Rudy, while Henderson is capable of all things through Christ. It’s a bit of a wash on that front. But despite his underdog grit and speed, Ben Henderson might be too much of an obstacle for Frankie Edgar to overcome. He has size, strength, power and technical ability in virtually every facet of MMA, and unlike Gray Maynard, Bendo won’t slow down.

Like I said before, what makes this fight so intriguing is the element of uncertainty it possesses. With both fighters as talented and well-rounded as these two are, it’s almost impossible to say for sure who will win and how they will do so. That said, while Edgar is an amazing fighter and more than capable of winning this fight, Henderson is virtually as skilled, much bigger and is more likely to land a devastating blow than Edgar is. Look for Henderson to wear down Edgar with kicks in the first few rounds and use clinch work and his size to grind out a decision win, cementing his dominance over the lightweight division and setting up a superfight between Edgar and Jose Aldo.

Agree or disagree?

[VIDEO] Ronda Rousey ‘All Access’ on Showtime – Episode One

(No, this is not the ‘All Access’ video, but rather a behind-the-scenes video of her ESPN ‘The Body’ shoot. Go ahead and complain. I DARE YOU.)

“Everything you need in a fighter, she has, yet she’s a woman and she’s beautiful. The Ronda Rousey package is different than any other package we’ve ever seen.”

So says UFC President Dana White as he leads us into Showtime’s “All Access” look at the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion, Olympic Judo bronze medalist, and occasional TMZ host Ronda Rousey, who in just over two years has managed to almost effortlessly ascend to the sport’s highest level. And it’s hard to deny that “Rowdy” is an athlete unlike many, if not all of her counterparts — a hot female Jon Jones if you will — whose “kill or be killed” outlook on life (and aforementioned looks) has led her to achieve massive success in easily the most overlooked facet of MMA. We’re talking of course, about the ladies.

Detailing everything from Rousey’s heated title-earning feud with Meisha Tate (Spoiler: It ended like all of Rousey’s fights do) to her (gulp) nude shoot for ESPN’s The Body issue to her preparation for her upcoming title defense against Sarah Kaufman, “All Access” truly lives up to it’s name. Showtime takes us inside the champion’s house, which looks like an average episode of Hoarders, and snags interviews with everyone from Gina Carano, who Ronda admits convinced her to drop trau for ESPN in the first place (as if we needed to thank Gina for anything else) to former HooknShoot Grand Prix winner Julie Kedzie.

So check out the full video after the jump, and let us know what you think.


(No, this is not the ‘All Access’ video, but rather a behind-the-scenes video of her ESPN ‘The Body’ shoot. Go ahead and complain. I DARE YOU.)

“Everything you need in a fighter, she has, yet she’s a woman and she’s beautiful. The Ronda Rousey package is different than any other package we’ve ever seen.”

So says UFC President Dana White as he leads us into Showtime’s “All Access” look at the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion, Olympic Judo bronze medalist, and occasional TMZ host Ronda Rousey, who in just over two years has managed to almost effortlessly ascend to the sport’s highest level. And it’s hard to deny that “Rowdy” is an athlete unlike many, if not all of her counterparts — a hot female Jon Jones if you will — whose “kill or be killed” outlook on life (and aforementioned looks) has led her to achieve massive success in easily the most overlooked facet of MMA. We’re talking of course, about the ladies.

Detailing everything from Rousey’s heated title-earning feud with Meisha Tate (Spoiler: It ended like all of Rousey’s fights do) to her (gulp) nude shoot for ESPN’s The Body issue to her preparation for her upcoming title defense against Sarah Kaufman, “All Access” truly lives up to it’s name. Showtime takes us inside the champion’s house, which looks like an average episode of Hoarders, and snags interviews with everyone from Gina Carano, who Ronda admits convinced her to drop trau for ESPN in the first place (as if we needed to thank Gina for anything else) to former HooknShoot Grand Prix winner Julie Kedzie.

Check out the full video below, and let us know what you think.

–J. Jones

Unforgettable: Matt Lindland Discusses His Greatest Opponents

Matt Lindland Strikeforce Robbie Lawler knockout MMA photos

By Matt Kaplan

Matt “The Law” Lindland has been clinching, smothering, and dirty boxing his way through the MMA world since the days of wrestling shoes in the Octagon. He’s fought alongside and against some of the very best in the world and was a fixture in the top-ten middleweight rankings for years.

A 2000 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling silver medalist and Team Quest charter member, Lindland went 9-3 during his UFC middleweight tenure and earned a 2002 title shot against champion Murilo Bustamante. After leaving the UFC (Google his UFC 54 t-shirt controversy), he moved up in weight classes to fight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko (in Russia), he won his two IFL Super Fights as the coach of the Portland Wolfpack/Team Quest, and he was the hardcore fan’s dream opponent for Anderson Silva.

Although Lindland has been inactive for nearly a year-and-a-half, he has yet to hang up his fingerless gloves. “I’ve never won a world title, so it’s kind of hard to retire,” explained the 42-year-old Lindland, whose focus today is on leading wrestling and MMA seminars, overseeing his SportFight promotion, and coaching his Team Quest MMA fighters.

Inspired by Ring Magazine’s “The Best I’ve Faced” series, here’s the legendary Matt “The Law” Lindland looking back on a long, hard-fought career and remembering those opponents who stand out across the following categories:

Best boxing: Vitor Belfort. With boxing it all starts with your footwork, your movement, and he has explosive hands and hips. And not just the night I fought him. He’s got consistently good boxing.

Matt Lindland Strikeforce Robbie Lawler knockout MMA photos

By Matt Kaplan

Matt “The Law” Lindland has been clinching, smothering, and dirty boxing his way through the MMA world since the days of wrestling shoes in the Octagon. He’s fought alongside and against some of the very best in the world and was a fixture in the top-ten middleweight rankings for years.

A 2000 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling silver medalist and Team Quest charter member, Lindland went 9-3 during his UFC middleweight tenure and earned a 2002 title shot against champion Murilo Bustamante. After leaving the UFC (Google his UFC 54 t-shirt controversy), he moved up in weight classes to fight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko (in Russia), he won his two IFL Super Fights as the coach of the Portland Wolfpack/Team Quest, and he was the hardcore fan’s dream opponent for Anderson Silva.

Although Lindland has been inactive for nearly a year-and-a-half, he has yet to hang up his fingerless gloves. “I’ve never won a world title, so it’s kind of hard to retire,” explained the 42-year-old Lindland, whose focus today is on leading wrestling and MMA seminars, overseeing his SportFight promotion, and coaching his Team Quest MMA fighters.

Inspired by Ring Magazine’s “The Best I’ve Faced” series, here’s the legendary Matt “The Law” Lindland looking back on a long, hard-fought career and remembering those opponents who stand out across the following categories:

Best boxing: Vitor Belfort. With boxing it all starts with your footwork, your movement, and he has explosive hands and hips. And not just the night I fought him. He’s got consistently good boxing.

Heaviest hands: Robbie Lawler. (laughing) I don’t really remember too much of that fight, but, yeah, he hits very hard, and he’s knocked out lots of really good fighters.

Toughest chin: Tony Fryklund. I hit that guy with some bombs, but he just wouldn’t stop. He was real tough.

Best wrestler: Mike Van Arsdale.  Mike was a great wrestler, and I watched him wrestle for a long time. Remember, when he and Randy Couture fought, it was scramble after scramble; that was a great fight.

Most intelligent: In terms of ring strategy, I’m going to go with David Terrell, another southpaw, for the way he came out and approached that match-up. It was a quick fight; he knocked me out early. He came out with a good strategy.

Most powerful: Phil Baroni, for sure…for sure! Now, I did fight Fedor, but that was two weight classes above me, so if we’re talking middleweights, I’d exclude Fedor and say Phil Baroni. Quinton Jackson was also a pretty explosive athlete. I’ve fought some pretty strong guys. I’m more of a leverage fighter: I use my length and my leverage to my advantage, rather than go strength against strength.

Most punishing kicks or knees: I don’t know. The only guy who really kicked me and that I really felt it afterward was Ricardo Almeida, but every time he kicked me, he’d eat a left hand. It wasn’t a really good exchange for him. I had a few bruises on my leg, and he ate a bunch of left hands.

Most dangerous ground game: Jeremy Horn, for sure. He’s tapped out so many dudes. Jeremy Horn was one of the best guys. He’s fought for world titles and was an incredible ground fighter. Very dangerous.

Most surprising: Travis Lutter. When he swept me from the ground, I was completely shocked. I took him down, thought I was going to completely dominate the top position, and he swept me and got on top to a mount position. He definitely surprised me with that.

Most underrated: Joe Doerksen. He’s so tough. He was game and tough. He was trying to submit me and almost caught me in some stuff. I was thinking I’m going to choke him out or knock him out, but he was still there. Joe Doerksen is a really tough dude. Very underrated.

Most complete fighter: I fought a lot of really good fighters and most of them had strengths in more than one area. It would have to be Pat Miletich or Jeremy Horn. They’re good on their feet, good on the ground. It’s a toss-up between them. And they’re both on the same team.

Best overall fighter: Fedor. He was a legend. He was the best heavyweight, pound for pound, for a while, but we saw him age as well. I think Russians get old faster.

Sweetest victory: Probably my win against Pat Miletich. He was a world champion, someone who’d done it all in this sport, and I had an opportunity to fight him in one of my earlier fights. I was very excited about that. I went out there and finished him in the first round.

Most bitter defeat: They’re all bitter, man. They all suck. It’s hard to get old in this sport, and you can’t do it forever. I guess my most bitter defeat would be the split decision loss to Rampage Jackson. I guarantee you the fix was in on that fight. I whooped his ass. I clearly won two rounds…When you compete against world-class athletes, someone’s going to win, someone’s going to lose. I understand. That’s what the sport is, but when the judges just completely rob you in a show that only promotes one athlete, like the way the WFA was only promoting Rampage Jackson, it was very clear that I won that fight and that they robbed me of that fight. I’m not bitter against Rampage; he went out there and fought the best he could. But I still whooped his ass. Do I sound bitter? I’m not really a bitter guy.

[VIDEO] If UFC Fighters Were in The Olympics, They Would Compete In…

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

BREAKING: Jay Hieron Returns to the UFC to Face Jake Ellenberger at UFC 151


(That’s an understatement.)

Talk about the opportunity of a lifetime.

After a seven year absence from Zuffa’s graces that saw him go 16-3 in various promotions including Bellator, Strikeforce, and most recently Legacy Fighting Championships, highly-ranked welterweight Jay Hieron will finally be returning to the UFC to take on Jake Ellenberger in Josh Koscheck’s absence in the co-main event of UFC 151.

Awwwwww yeah!! 


(That’s an understatement.)

Talk about the opportunity of a lifetime.

After a seven year absence from Zuffa’s graces that saw him go 16-3 in various promotions including Bellator, Strikeforce, and most recently Legacy Fighting Championships, highly-ranked welterweight Jay Hieron will finally be returning to the UFC to take on Jake Ellenberger in Josh Koscheck’s absence in the co-main event of UFC 151.

Awwwwww yeah!! 

As you may recall, after losing a title bid to Ben Askren in a highly controversial (re: bullshit) split decision at Bellator 56, Hieron became locked in a bitter contract dispute with Bellator that ended with him returning his signing bonus in order to be relieved of his contract. When breaking the news of his free agent status via his twitter account, Hieron tweeted that it was “time for me to work my way back up to the top.” One can not think of a faster way of doing so than by knocking off a top contender in Ellenberger on less than a month’s notice.

Hieron has not competed in the UFC since October of 2005, where he suffered a third round TKO via cut loss to the now-retired Jonathan Goulet in one of the bloodiest MMA fights you will ever see. Now 11-1 in his past twelve, Hieron’s lone defeat in the past five years was the aforementioned loss to Askren in their welterweight title bout.

Ellenberger, on the other hand, is coming off a tough TKO loss of his own at the hands and knees of comeback all-star Martin Kampmann at the TUF 15 Finale. The loss was the first in his 33-fight career to come by way of (T)KO, and snapped an impressive six-fight win streak that included wins over Diego Sanchez, Jake Shields, and Mike Pyle among others.

One has to imagine that bailing the UFC out on short notice will at least buy Hieron a couple more fights even if he is unsuccessful against Ellenbgerger, but what do you think, Potato Nation? Will Hieron’s glorious return end in triumph or defeat?

–J. Jones