Youth combined with unparalleled athleticism is starting to become a trend in the UFC.Because MMA is such a young sport, new waves of talent develop quicker and burst onto the national scene in a big way.These young fighters are well-versed in every ar…
Youth combined with unparalleled athleticism is starting to become a trend in the UFC.
Because MMA is such a young sport, new waves of talent develop quicker and burst onto the national scene in a big way.
These young fighters are well-versed in every area of the game and look like future Hall of Famers in their very first fight in the biggest company in MMA. Sooner than later, conversations start to emerge about a fighter becoming the greatest of all time at the age of 25. Oh Jon Jones, you are a special breed indeed.
Pound-for-pound greatest conversations aside, these are the top fighters under the age of 27 in the UFC.
Talk is cheap.On second thought, maybe not. Maybe that’s the furthest from the truth. Well, at least when it comes to pay-per-view buys. Though UFC 148 failed to become the biggest buy-rate in UFC history, Chael Sonnen set the new standard for hyping f…
Talk is cheap.
On second thought, maybe not. Maybe that’s the furthest from the truth. Well, at least when it comes to pay-per-view buys. Though UFC 148 failed to become the biggest buy-rate in UFC history, Chael Sonnen set the new standard for hyping fights.
And though Jon Jones is one of the UFC’s brightest stars, there’s no way his fight with Dan Henderson tops Sonnen’s fight with Anderson Silva in terms of buys. In fact, UFC 151 would have to score over a million buys to top UFC 148, and if the past is any indication of the future, a million PPV buys are hard to come by.
Including UFC 148, a total of nine UFC PPVs have succeeded over a million buys, so obviously reaching that destination is much easier said than done.
But why can’t the UFC’s biggest superstar do as well as Silva and Sonnen? Well, it’s all about the drama, baby. Five out of those nine PPVs had heated rivals pitted against one another in the main event.
Rivalries always sell to the casual fans, and with Jones and Henderson being respectful and relatively quiet heading into their bout, that’s going to hurt buys.
But then again, this should be a better fight than Sonnen and Silva II, or at least on paper. Sure, Sonnen brought it to the champion in their first bout, but if Sonnen was going to win the rematch, he was going to win it by smothering Silva on the ground, and that’s not exactly the most exciting form of fighting.
At least with Jones and Henderson, you know someone’s most likely getting knocked out or submitted.
But then another question arises—is one fight worth paying $55 for? If you look at the rest of the card, there are very few fights for the casual audience to get excited about.
Sonnen and Silva were backed by Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz III and Cung Le vs. Rich Franklin, while Jones and Henderson are supported by Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron and Dennis Siver vs. Eddie Yagin. Not exactly household name material.
But, hey, Jones’ PPV numbers are ever-growing. His last fight with Rashad Evans averaged around 700,000 buys, while his fight with Lyoto Machida fell just below the 500,000 mark.
But will fans be willing to pony up the dough after Jones has pretty much dominated every fight he’s been in with the exception of Machida and Evans?
It remains to be seen, but there’s no chance this fight surpasses UFC 148 in terms of buys, especially with football season getting underway with Alabama taking on Michigan that same night.
Actually, a Jason “Mayhem” Miller return to the Octagon would be more likely.
The light heavyweight division became the UFC’s most shallow division overnight.As fast as Jon Jones rose to the top, the 205-pound division has disintegrated before our very eyes. You can label that the Jon Jones effect.Should Jones get past Dan Hende…
The light heavyweight division became the UFC’s most shallow division overnight.
As fast as Jon Jones rose to the top, the 205-pound division has disintegrated before our very eyes. You can label that the Jon Jones effect.
Should Jones get past Dan Henderson without any problems, he will face either Lyoto Machida, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, or Brandon Vera in a rematch for his light heavyweight championship.
Because Jones has already destroyed Vera and Rua with elbows and submitted/choked out Bader and Machida, much talk has been made about a potential move to heavyweight for the champion.
But here’s a better idea. What about a potential bout between Jones and Daniel Cormier? ESPN‘s Franklin McNeil reported a few weeks back that Cormier would entertain the notion of moving down to light heavyweight if Cain Velasquez regained his heavyweight championship.
“As I’ve said time and time again, if Cain is champion, in my heart of hearts, I know I don’t want to fight that guy,” Cormier said. “Then I will go fight Jon Jones. I will fight Jon Jones if I have to.”
Cormier doesn’t want to fight Velasquez because he took Cormier under his wing early in his MMA career, and they’ve trained together ever since. That’s understandable. And before Cormier even faces this dilemma, Velasquez has to beat Junior dos Santos first. Something he’s already failed to do.
But let’s just say Velasquez does beat JDS and Cormier does move down to the light heavyweight division. All of a sudden, Jones has a real threat to his title. A man that possesses better wrestling skills, for if there was ever a man to put Jones on his back, it would be Cormier.
Rather than beating up previous opponents, and trying to sell a rematch between Jones and a man he’s already demolished, the UFC could sell a real challenge for Jones. The man’s nickname is the “Black Fedor” for goodness sake.
Judging off of Jones previous championship performances, challenges for this guy are hard to find. Hardly any man has been able to put a chink in Jones’ armor, and Cormier could certainly do more than that.
Just thinking about the matchup sends chills down my spine. Jones would still hold a commanding advantage in the reach department, but Cormier is athletic and quick enough to get inside on him and inflict damage. Something that Henderson might not have at UFC 151. And once Cormier grabs a hold of Jones, he should be able to control the fight.
And while Jones has the experience edge over Cormier, Cormier’s participation in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix should help him tremendously. After all, he knocked out Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and manhandled a highly-respected Josh Barnett.
If these two met, it could be the same as every other Jones fight–complete domination by the champion. But for once going into a Jones fight, fans could actually believe the challenger has a chance. That definitely wouldn’t be the case with any rematch the UFC offers.
For the sake of Jones getting tested, the UFC needs to make Jones vs. Cormier a reality. At this point, anything otherwise seems like an eventual patented Jones’ beatdown.
While the UFC’s FOX cards have been riddled with disappointing fights, there have still been great moments to remember.The UFC didn’t get off to a great start with a one minute, four second championship fight in its debut, and the second main card on F…
While the UFC’s FOX cards have been riddled with disappointing fights, there have still been great moments to remember.
The UFC didn’t get off to a great start with a one minute, four second championship fight in its debut, and the second main card on FOX gave little to cheer for.
But after sitting back and taking a look at every fight on all three cards, the UFC on FOX has provided memorable fights and stimulating surprises.
These are the top moments from those three fight cards.
Underdogs are easy to root for in any sport.So when it comes to fighting, fans sometimes gravitate toward an unexpected challenger for the title, otherwise known as a dark horse.For instance, Frankie Edgar is the perfect definition of a dark horse, or …
Underdogs are easy to root for in any sport.
So when it comes to fighting, fans sometimes gravitate toward an unexpected challenger for the title, otherwise known as a dark horse.
For instance, Frankie Edgar is the perfect definition of a dark horse, or at least he used to be. His popularity skyrocketed when he upset BJ Penn twice and rallied twice against Gray Maynard.
Edgar was a 5-to-1 underdog against Penn and became the champion. So who will be the UFC’s next dark horse? These are the best candidates in each weight class.
Mixed martial arts is a beautiful sport because of the diversity displayed through its art.Some fighters manipulate that art into a spectacular fighting style that truly defines them, and it’s truly a mesmerizing sight. Perhaps the best part however is…
Mixed martial arts is a beautiful sport because of the diversity displayed through its art.
Some fighters manipulate that art into a spectacular fighting style that truly defines them, and it’s truly a mesmerizing sight. Perhaps the best part however is watching fighters use their style to become a world champion.
Developing these awkward styles and using it to create an unorthodox fighting style is beautiful to watch.
With that in mind, these are the fighters that have mastered their craft to a tee, and they’re borderline impossible to prepare for.
Talk is cheap.