(*Hello darkness, my old friend*…just to be clear, we’re referring to the darkness that accompanies being choked unconscious, not Jay Silva.)
To say that Kendall Grove has seen some ups and downs in his MMA career since winning the third season of The Ultimate Fighter would be an understatement. After defeating Ed Herman by ultra close unanimous decision to earn the coveted glass plaque, Grove would tack up two more submission wins over Chris Price and Alan Belcher. It seemed as if the lanky middleweight had the world in the palm of his hand, destined to follow Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans as the new breed of MMA stars to make their name off the show.
And then it all fell apart.
Grove would drop his next two via form of KO to Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera, and though he would follow up the pair of losses with victories over Evan Tanner (R.I.P.) and Jason Day, we would never see Grove rise above the rank of gatekeeper in his UFC run. He would go 2-4 in his next six, and would be ousted from the UFC after dropping a UD to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130 in Boetsch’s middleweight debut.
After scoring a quick submission win and evening the score with Joe Riggs, Grove out grappled Japanese sensation Ikuhisa Minowa at a Pro Elite event last month that we here at CP gave an official score of “meh.” Would last night’s SCC 4 card house “Da Spyda’s” first three fight win streak since 2007?
(*Hello darkness, my old friend*…just to be clear, we’re referring to the darkness that accompanies being choked unconscious, not Jay Silva.)
To say that Kendall Grove has seen some ups and downs in his MMA career since winning the third season of The Ultimate Fighter would be an understatement. After defeating Ed Herman by ultra close unanimous decision to earn the coveted glass plaque, Grove would tack up two more submission wins over Chris Price and Alan Belcher. It seemed as if the lanky middleweight had the world in the palm of his hand, destined to follow Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans as the new breed of MMA stars to make their name off the show.
And then it all fell apart.
Grove would drop his next two via form of KO to Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera, and though he would follow up the pair of losses with victories over Evan Tanner (R.I.P.) and Jason Day, we would never see Grove rise above the rank of gatekeeper in his UFC run. He would go 2-4 in his next six, and would be ousted from the UFC after dropping a UD to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130 in Boetsch’s middleweight debut.
After scoring a quick submission win and evening the score with Joe Riggs, Grove out grappled Japanese sensation Ikuhisa Minowa at a Pro Elite event last month that we here at CP gave an official score of “meh.” Would last night’s SCC 4 card house “Da Spyda’s” first three fight win streak since 2007?
Nope. Unfortunately, Grove would suffer the SECOND technical submission loss of his career when he was choked out by fellow UFC veteran Jay Silva via second round arm-triangle. Yeah, that Jay Silva. Grove has faced Ricardo Almeida and Demian Maia and managed to make it out alive, so props are due to Jay. With the win, Silva improves to 8-5, and Grove falls to 14-10.
In the night’s co-main event, other fellow UFC veterans John Gunderson and Justin Buchholz engaged in a back and forth affair that saw Gunderson lock up a kimura in the third round to claim the promotion’s inaugural lightweight title. TUF 11 veteran Jamie Yager was also in action, and improved to 6-2 with a unanimous decision victory over Danny Davis Jr.
Full results from SCC 4 are below.
-Jay Silva def. Kendall Grove via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:52 of Round 2.
-John Gunderson def. Justin Buchholz via submission (Kimura)at 2:34 of Round 3.
-Jamie Yager def. Danny Davis Jr. via unanimous decision.
-Paulo Goncalves Silva def. Dominique Robinson via unanimous decision.
-Brandon Bender def. Marlin Weikel via submission (Triangle Choke) at 2:30 of Round 3.
-Walter Harris def. Anthony Hamilton via KO at 1:15 of Round 1.
-Jimmy Jones def. Joao Victor via submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:49 of Round 3.
We’re not exactly sure where the correlation between mixed martial arts fighters and police dog demonstrations started, but man if it isn’t glorious every time. Released by the Network of Champions, this video is the first in a series that features current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones going through the Birmingham Sheriff Department’s training routine. Jones was also allowed to partake in some EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Control) training, some simulated gun play, and even got to hip toss a fool who decided to get fresh with him. Don’t worry officer, it could have been worse.
As you may or may not know, Jones received a degree in criminal justice from Iowa Central Community College back in 2005, so perhaps he was a little more prepared to take a mauling than the average UFC fighter. Bones attests that the dog was racist, and history tells us that he was probably right.
Join us after the jump for a behind the scenes look at the awesome Rousey/Tate promo Strikeforce managed to muster up and more.
We’re not exactly sure where the correlation between mixed martial arts fighters and police dog demonstrations started, but man if it isn’t glorious every time. Released by the Network of Champions, this video is the first in a series that features current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones going through the Birmingham Sheriff Department’s training routine. Jones was also allowed to partake in some EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Control) training, some simulated gun play, and even got to hip toss a fool who decided to get fresh with him. Don’t worry officer, it could have been worse.
As you may or may not know, Jones received a degree in criminal justice from Iowa Central Community College back in 2005, so perhaps he was a little more prepared to take a mauling than the average UFC fighter. Bones attests that the dog was racist, and history tells us that he was probably right.
Behind the Scenes with Meisha Tate and Ronda Rousey
Showtime Sports recently released a behind the scenes look at that, let’s call it “intriguing” promo they managed to put together for the upcoming women’s Bantamweight title fight between challenger Ronda Rousey and champion Meisha Tate. In it, both women talk about their affection for getting “all girly,” a sentiment that Rousey can’t even say without coming across like a foul, yet beautiful mouthed trucker. God, the sexual tension between these two is killing me.
Pat Barry Gets Blazered
Video number seven in UFC Heavyweight Pat Barry‘s “I Hate” series takes us to the dreaded eye doctor, where he appears to be getting a retinal scan of some sort. As a guy with roughly 20/60 vision, I have received these kinds of “exams” before, and let me tell you, the pain in Barry’s face doesn’t even BEGIN to describe how mind-numbingly awful this experience is. More often than not, your eyes are actually dilated before they shine the light of the Covenant into them. I’m pretty sure a tattoo on your cornea would hurt less.
And finally, check out this look back at “Judo” Gene Lebell’s 1963 match against Milo Savage, which was widely considered to be the first mixed rules combat match ever held, compliments of TheFightNerd.com.
Well ho-lee shit. It seems that if you do enough digging on any given ring girl, you will find out that she has done porn at one point in her life. According to a few unconfirmed sources from around the MMA blogosphere, it appears that Chandella Powell will be joining the ranks of Logan Stanton, Natasha Wicks, and Edith Labelle as a former UFC ring girl due to…get this…failing to disclose that she once appeared in a couple softcore porn photo shoots and videos under the name “Mariah Ashton.” What was originally passed off as a common bestiality flick was recently discovered to contain none other than the first ever African American UFC ring girl going “toe-to-toe” with another young starlet. How could you keep this from us, Carmen?
As we all know, Chandella was absent from the UFC’s FUEL TV debut last night, and hasn’t said a word on her Twitter account since Saturday. And since we also know that it is physically impossible for any woman, let alone a public figure, to ignore their Twitter for more than an hour or so, this can only mean that these rumors are unquestionably true. We are not going to provide links to any of the evidence against Ms. Powell, because if you haven’t searched the internet and found them yourself by this point I would be sorely disappointed, Potato Nation.
To give you some perspective on how to deal with this, join us after the jump to see how a few members of the CP staff coped with the heartbreaking news, via a string of emails.
(Chandella as her alter ego Mariah Ashton.)
Well ho-lee shit. It seems that if you do enough digging on any given ring girl, you will find out that she has done porn at one point in her life. According to a few unconfirmed sources from around the MMA blogosphere, it appears that Chandella Powell will be joining the ranks of Logan Stanton, Natasha Wicks, and Edith Labelle as a former UFC ring girl due to…get this…failing to disclose that she once appeared in a couple softcore porn photo shoots and videos under the name “Mariah Ashton.” What was originally passed off as a common bestiality flick was recently discovered to contain none other than the first ever African American UFC ring girl going “toe-to-toe” with another young starlet. How could you keep this from us, Carmen?
As we all know, Chandella was absent from the UFC’s FUEL TV debut last night, and hasn’t said a word on her Twitter account since Saturday. And since we also know that it is physically impossible for any woman, let alone a public figure, to ignore their Twitter for more than an hour or so, this can only mean that these rumors are unquestionably true. We are not going to provide links to any of the evidence against Ms. Powell, because if you haven’t searched the internet and found them yourself by this point I would be sorely disappointed, Potato Nation.
To give you some perspective on how to deal with this, check out how a few members of the CP staff coped with the heartbreaking news, via a string of emails.
JJ: Does anyone know if there’s any truth to this? Apparently Chandella was fired for her secretive past life as a softcore pornstar.
BG: I was going to ask if you guys saw those photos of Chandella munching that chick’s box. (What defines “softcore”? Because there’s no dick in it?)
MR: Anyone check her Twitter? No pun intended… *shudder*
RX: Her Twitter has been silent since the 11th, I believe. And softcore = “simulated,” no penetration sex. I’d have thought a Penthouse guy would know that, BG. #BOOMHEADSHOT
RX: One more thing, her profile is still up at UFC.com, and she’s still 2 years old.
MR: They started posting their ages in horse years back when Edith was with the company.
BG: Absolutely nothing since last Saturday. That pretty much proves it. Farewell Chandella, and good luck on your journey to that Great Art School in the Sky.
CC: So she’s being punished for sowing her wild oats? (<—-see what I did there?)
RX: Careful, fellas. If this gets any funnier, it could wind up on CP as a “round table discussion.”
JJ: I imagine she’ll be off to greener pastures. She was getting too old for this shit anyway.
CC: She shouldn’t have looked her gifted contract in the mouth.
RX: Just somebody tell me Brittney’s nom de poon.
Please.
I’ll pay you.
–FIN–
If this is truly the case, we would like to wish Chandella the best of luck in her future, which will likely consist of a semester at art school before launching into the hardcore industry like an adult. Remember Chandella, nudity is only cool with the UFC if Hugh Hefner is involved.
Although Stipe Miocic‘s quick knockout of previously undefeated heavyweight Philip De Fries may have netted him the $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, our pick for sweetest KO went to Jonathan Brookins, who proved that not every Brazilian has the femur mangling leglock ability of Rousimar Palhares when he ground-and-pounded Vagner Rocha into oblivion inside the first two minutes of their preliminary card match-up. Not many of us knew what to make of Brookins after he dropped a UD to Eric Koch back in September of 2011. The fight proved that Brookins’ wrestling could in fact be thwarted, and that his striking had not made the leaps and bounds it needed to in order to balance things out. Last night’s fight was made to be a test of both.
Well, if anyone is still doubting the power in Brookins’ hands, they should probably shut right the hell up. Brookins did what Donald Cerrone, or any of Rocha’s previous opponents for that matter, couldn’t, and shut off his light switch with a series of increasingly punishing strikes before the ref managed to step in. To be honest, it was kind of scary to see that someone as docile and plain daffy as Brookins had the capacity for such brutality. And just as Brookins resembles the missing evolutionary link between man and ape, he was able to evolve in his own right, to connect one of the missing links in his game, and should be applauded for it. Not only did his knockout save a Facebook card that was luke warm at best to begin with, it made up for the fact that the Loeffler/Roberts match was cancelled after Loeffler rolled his ankle in the pre-fight warm up. Talk about shit luck.
Although Stipe Miocic‘s quick knockout of previously undefeated heavyweight Philip De Fries may have netted him the $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, our pick for sweetest KO went to Jonathan Brookins, who proved that not every Brazilian has the femur mangling leglock ability of Rousimar Palhares when he ground-and-pounded Vagner Rocha into oblivion inside the first two minutes of their preliminary card match-up. Not many of us knew what to make of Brookins after he dropped a UD to Eric Koch back in September of 2011. The fight proved that Brookins’ wrestling could in fact be thwarted, and that his striking had not made the leaps and bounds it needed to in order to balance things out. Last night’s fight was made to be a test of both.
Well, if anyone is still doubting the power in Brookins’ hands, they should probably shut right the hell up. Brookins did what Donald Cerrone, or any of Rocha’s previous opponents for that matter, couldn’t, and shut off his light switch with a series of increasingly punishing strikes before the ref managed to step in. To be honest, it was kind of scary to see that someone as docile and plain daffy as Brookins had the capacity for such brutality. And just as Brookins resembles the missing evolutionary link between man and ape, he was able to evolve in his own right, to connect one of the missing links in his game, and should be applauded for it. Not only did his knockout save a Facebook card that was luke warm at best to begin with, it made up for the fact that the Loeffler/Roberts match was cancelled after Loeffler rolled his ankle in the pre-fight warm up. Talk about shit luck.
Ivan Menjivar and TUF 14′sJohn Albert kicked off the main card by engaging in one of the wildest back and forth rounds that you will see this year, trading punches, kicks, knees, and submissions at an astonishing rate. A tip of the hat is also due to Albert for having the gusto to attack Menjivar in the fashion he did, going for omaplatas, heel hooks, and triangle/armbar variations on the more experienced grappler at every opportunity. That said, it appears his submission defense is not quite up to par with that of his offense. Albert had Menjivar on the defensive following a left hook/head kick combo, and looked like he would finish “The Pride of El Salvador” with a barrage of knees, one of which was blatantly illegal. But he made a huge mistake when he went for that guillotine, which gave Menjivar all the space he needed to flip the script and put Albert on his back, a shift in momentum that would lead to the the fight ending rear-naked choke, and a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus for Menjivar. We would call it a rookie mistake by Albert, but even the most seasoned of veterans have made it.
I see I forgot to mention in the first aftermath piece that Sanchez/Ellenberger took FOTN. Fifty large could buy Diego that Coronado’s cross he’s always wanted, if only it didn’t BELONG IN A MUSEUM!!
Following the Menjivar/Albert match, TUF 14 bantamweight runner-up T.J. Dillashaw used his superior grappling prowess to grind out a unanimous decision over the lengthy Walel Watson. From the opening bell, it was pretty evident that Dillashaw wanted nothing to do with Watson’s striking game, and considering the manner in which he lost to John Dodson, this seemed understandable. Threatening with a rear-naked choke on several occasions throughout the first round, Dillashaw continued to take Watson down at will over the next two, utterly dominating him and walking away with a 30-25, 30-25, 30-26 unanimous decision.
Speaking of numbers, one thing we would like to compliment the UFC on was their usage of the strike counting graphic that would pop out of the clock every so often. It gives you something to consider when personally judging each fight, and in our opinion, will help casual fans gain an appreciation for one aspect of the ground game. So touche, UFC. Touche.
Oh yeah, and Ronny Markes had a successful middleweight debut, managing to overcome being nearly finished in the first round to out grapple Aaron Simpson and snag a split decision victory. With the win, Markes improves to 2-0 in the octagon and is now the biggest middleweight since Anthony Johnson.
(The power of YES!! compels you! Check out some of the meme-worthy photoshops over at The UG.)
Over the past week or so, the sports world has come down with a serious case of LINsanity, a now airborne disease that mimics the effects of Yellow Fever and is brought about by way of bereavement. Though it was the general consensus that this mind altering sickness originated with the uncanny rise of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, last night’s inaugural UFC on FUEL event opened our collective eyes to the virus’ true host: Diego fucking Sanchez.
Yes, it seems that ever since Diego suffered his first professional losses, which came in back-to-back fashion at the hands of Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch at UFC 69 and 76, the man has become consumed by a mixture of evangelical optimism and bipolar rage to the point of parody. As he made his way to the octagon for his main event clash with top contender Jake Ellenberger last night, it quickly became apparent that it was Sanchez who was in need of an exorcism, which made the Gregorian monk feel of his entrance appear all the more ironic.
(The power of YES!! compels you! Check out some of the meme-worthy photoshops over at The UG.)
Over the past week or so, the sports world has come down with a serious case of LINsanity, a now airborne disease that mimics the effects of Yellow Fever and is brought about by way of bereavement. Though it was the general consensus that this mind altering sickness originated with the uncanny rise of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, last night’s inaugural UFC on FUEL event opened our collective eyes to the virus’ true host: Diego fucking Sanchez.
Yes, it seems that ever since Diego suffered his first professional losses, which came in back-to-back fashion at the hands of Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch at UFC 69 and 76, the man has become consumed by a mixture of evangelical optimism and bipolar rage to the point of parody. As he made his way to the octagon for his main event clash with top contender Jake Ellenberger last night, it quickly became apparent that it was Sanchez who was in need of an exorcism, which made the Gregorian monk feel of his entrance appear all the more ironic.
And for the first two and a half rounds, it looked like Sanchez’s mental state was really starting to have an adverse effect on his physical abilities. As in his fights with Martin Kampmann, B.J. Penn, and John Hathaway, Sanchez seemed content to charge head first into the quicker, more accurate punches of “Ingleburger,” getting rocked on more than one occasion as a result. Perhaps that is how sociopaths set up their takedowns, or perhaps he simply didn’t give a shit, because despite getting significantly outgunned on both the feet and the ground, Sanchez all but refused to alter his gameplan in the slightest. Due to the fact that Sanchez’s striking has not evolved to the level of his counterparts, we can expect to see a lot more of this in his future. No one will ever doubt “The Dream’s” chin, because that is the only thing about Sanchez that seems stable at this point in his career. However, when Sanchez managed to get Ellenberger’s back late in the third, we were treated to some vintage “Nightmare” ground-and-pound. This is, and has always been where the former lightweight title challenger thrives, and when he gets ANYONE on their back, they best prepare for a hellstorm of punches that can only be described as suffocating. If only he would do it more often.
The one thing I came away with from the Sanchez/Ellenberger scrap is that the UFC needs to decide on whether main event fights will be scheduled for three or five rounds, rather than catering this criteria to each event. If there had been two more rounds last night, Sanchez’s cardio could have very easily changed the outcome of the fight, as it was evident that Ellenberger was beginning to fade. It’s time to make the five round main event a standard, Dana, because if Munoz/Leben warranted it, how in the hell didn’t this fight?
As for Ellenberger, it seems that he is destined for either a rematch with Carlos Condit, depending on how long GSP will be out, or a possible match with the Koscheck/Hendricks winner to determine the true number one contender of the welterweight division. Our vote is for the former. His loss to Condit was both hotly contested and his only UFC loss to date, and after taking down two former title challengers in a row (granted, in different weight classes) he has clearly set himself apart from the rest of the pack, and deserves another crack at “The Natural Born Killer.”
In the night’s co-main event, Stefan Struve managed to utilize his superior ground game to finish off Dave Herman with strikes from the mount after dropping him in the second round. While undoubtedly a big win for Struve, the fight showed that his striking game, like Sanchez’s, is still a work in progress. The man stands at 6’11”, and despite this, has shown time and time again that he cannot keep his shorter opponents at bay. If GSP can use a jab to pick apart whoever he damn well pleases, then no one should be able to get within swinging distance of a “Skyscraper” like Struve, yet men as short as Roy Nelson have managed to find his off button as a result of his inability to maintain distance. If he ever wants to fight top of the division guys, he better learn to stick that jab, or suffer the consequences. Herman, on the other hand, might want to start buying into this whole “Jiu-Jitsu” thing, because his mount defense, which could only be described as “unorthodox” by announcer Kenny Florian, appeared to have been taught to him by Art Jimmerson.
Join us for part two this afternoon, in which we break down the rest of UFC on FUEL’s main card and a couple fights from the undercard as well.
