Liz Carmouche and her fanbase known as the “Lizbos” will descend upon the Honda Center in Anaheim this Saturday night for the UFC 157 main event between Carmouche and Ronda Rousey.If I have any pulse on the MMA fans, especially here at Bleacher Report,…
Liz Carmouche and her fanbase known as the “Lizbos” will descend upon the Honda Center in Anaheim this Saturday night for the UFC 157 main event between Carmouche and Ronda Rousey.
If I have any pulse on the MMA fans, especially here at Bleacher Report, it’s a general consensus that they are tired of reading article after article about Rousey and her armbar. Many will tune in Saturday night with the hope of seeing Carmouche make a case for early upset of the year.
I’m not anti-Rousey by any means. This can be seen in pieces I’ve wrote over the last year or so. What she has done for the progress of women in MMA is greater than anybody before her. Yes, even Gina Carano.
I’m not going to say who I want to win this fight, but I will give you three reasons you should side with Carmouche.
Court McGee steps into the Octagon on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif., as part of the UFC 157 main card against Josh Neer.While the stat that jumps out at you the most is the fact that Neer has had 46 professional fights compared to McGee’s 16, this …
Court McGee steps into the Octagon on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif., as part of the UFC 157 main card against Josh Neer.
While the stat that jumps out at you the most is the fact that Neer has had 46 professional fights compared to McGee’s 16, this is truly a fight of stylistic differences which could be a dark horse for one of the most competitive fights of the night.
There are a few rules when it comes to being a writer for a particular sport. One of those rules is you’re not really supposed to cheer for a fighter. Of course, every now and then, we falter and our true colors shine through.
Here are three reasons why you should pull for Court McGee this Saturday night.
Jamie Lowe makes her professional MMA debut on Saturday, February 2 in Atlantic City, N.J. as part of CFFC 19.Lowe was able to take a few minutes away from practicing her knees and elbows to shed some insight into her leap toward the professi…
Jamie Lowe makes her professional MMA debut on Saturday, February 2 in Atlantic City, N.J. as part of CFFC 19.
Lowe was able to take a few minutes away from practicing her knees and elbows to shed some insight into her leap toward the professional ranks.
Joe Chacon: Many consider Muay Thai to be the most exciting discipline of fighting because of the array of strikes that are available for somebody trained in it. What drew you to train in Muay Thai and what is your favorite aspect of it?
Jamie Lowe:Muay Thai was my first discipline, so it will always be my first love. I basically joined a gym because my friend was an instructor there, and not once did it cross my mind that I wanted to compete or even do it as exercise, it was just something that someone talked me into doing. After my first class I was in love—completely hooked.
As I started to grow into the sport and learned what Muay Thai was, and not as a sport, but as something that starts from within. My coach at the time, Maurice Travis used to tell me, “It’s in your blood.” My whole life I have been a ” fighter,” but Muay Thai brought out a true passion that I never knew existed. My favorite aspect of Muay Thai is the repetitiveness and putting combos together in your own unique way. It’s truly an art form.
JC: Do you remember the moment you decided to pursue a professional MMA career? How did that conversation go with the people who are close to you?
JL: Once I began to compete in Muay Thai and boxing my friends and siblings thought it was awesome, but mom wasn’t thrilled. After I transitioned to MMA she watched my first fight and she began to understand a little bit more, however she still was not thrilled. Haha. And mainly she didn’t understand or see it as a sport, and most people that have that perspective associate it with brutality and violence.
Now, as a professional, she sees all of the hard work that I put in and sees that fighters are some of the most healthy people, and rarely get injured. All in all she is happy and mainly because she knows that it’s my passion and I am pursuing something that I love and pretty good at as well.
JC: Many fighters I’ve talked to have described their feelings leading up to a fight as a nervous excitement. How would you describe your emotions as February 2 gets closer?
JL: I would say I am more excited and happy than anything else. This fight for me is long overdue. It’s my first fight in 3 years, so I feel very prepared and focused. And also, chasing after a 2 year old all day sort of takes the edge off, so I don’t really get a lot of time to sit and think about it too much. It’s finally happening and I couldn’t be happier.
JC: What do you think has been the biggest reason for the surge in Women’s MMA popularity and how far would you like to take your professional career?
JL: I really think it’s all about timing. We have a lot of amazing women in this sport that put themselves out there against all odds, and that’s what it takes. I could name a lot of fighters that I think have “paved the way,” so to speak, but considering how small the women’s division is, it takes all of us to get put there and make it known that we can make it in this sport—and we will.
As far as my career is concerned, I want to fight as long as God will allow me to. The way I look at it is that if I am going to do this, I’m going to really do it. I want to be the best at anything that I pursue in life.
JC: You are fighting SumieSaka as part of CFFC 19. What do you know about her fighting style and how has your training camp gone in preparation for your debut?
JL: I know that Sumie is very good on the ground. I haven’t seen her fight, but I’m not putting anything past her. We have covered all areas in this camp so that I am comfortable in any situation.
Jamie Lowe would like to thank her sponsors: EnergyNow, Delights By Dinah and Brocatos Italian Market.
Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
By all accounts Saturday night will mark the last UFC fight for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.Jackson (32-10) will stand toe-to-toe tonight with Glover Teixeira (19-2) as the co-main event of UFC on Fox 6: Johnson vs. Dodson.Over the last few years it seem…
By all accounts Saturday night will mark the last UFC fight for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Jackson (32-10) will stand toe-to-toe tonight with Glover Teixeira (19-2) as the co-main event of UFC on Fox 6: Johnson vs. Dodson.
Over the last few years it seems we’ve asked the same questions leading up to Jackson’s entrance into the Octagon. This year there appears to be a wild card: his last UFC fight.
Knowing this is his last dance with the UFC, how will Jackson approach the fight?
There were few fans not excited about Jackson coming to the UFC back in 2007. Since then, however, he has appeared to lose more fans than he has gained.
Poor performances and strange behavior have not reflected positively upon the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
It’s my hope that after plenty of false promises about seeing the “Old Rampage” in previous fights, we finally get to see him healthy and hungry. After all, he’s going to have to use this as a springboard in whatever promotion he fights in next.
Here are the three biggest questions we have about Rampage Jackson.
On Saturday, January 26, the UFC heads to Chicago for a highly anticipated Fox card headlined by the Flyweight Championship bout between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson. In the co-main event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will look to exit t…
On Saturday, January 26, the UFC heads to Chicago for a highly anticipated Fox card headlined by the Flyweight Championship bout between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson.
In the co-main event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will look to exit the UFC on a high note against the surging Glover Teixeira.
Many fans are looking forward to an explosive contest between Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone, which is also on this Fox card.
Bleacher Report strives to be your hub of all things MMA, and that includes helping you organize your fight night plans. Here is when and where to watch each of the fights on the card.
Facebook Prelim:
The UFC appears to have started to phase out their Facebook prelims with only one fight being streamed on the social media site for recent cards. This card is no different as only the fight streamed will be between Simeon Thoresen and David Mitchell.
To see this fight, head over to the official UFC Facebook page at 4:35 p.m. EST.
FX Prelims:
At 5 p.m. EST, tune in to FX for a stacked preliminary card which includes Clay Guida’s debut at Featherweight (listed in expected order of appearance):
Rafael Natal vs. Sean Spencer
Mike Russow vs. Shawn Jordan
Ryan Bader vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Mike Strumpf vs. Pascal Krauss
Clay Guida vs. HatsuHioki
TJ Grant vs. Matt Wiman
Fox Main Card:
Once the fights on FX are complete, head over to Fox at 8 p.m. EST for the main card (listed in expected order of appearance):
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all things UFC on Fox 6: Johnson vs. Dodson, including live results and post-fight analysis that you won’t find anywhere else.
Seven years ago Anderson Silva lost a fight to Yushin Okami due to a disqualification for an illegal up-kick. Since then “The Spider” has rattled off 17 consecutive wins (14 in the UFC). In every sport, we have the new crop of athletes compared to…
Seven years ago Anderson Silva lost a fight to YushinOkami due to a disqualification for an illegal up-kick. Since then “The Spider” has rattled off 17 consecutive wins (14 in the UFC).
In every sport, we have the new crop of athletes compared to the greatest of all time. Although it’s fair to debate it, I would believe the majority of fans consider Silva the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
How many fighters in the sport have dominated in the way Silva has?
The 37-year-old has defended his UFC middleweight title a record 10 times. Over half (18) of Silva’s 33 career wins have come within the very first round. Over the last few years, Silva has been so confident that he has looked bored at times. In his most recent fight, he actually stood against the cage and let Stephan Bonnar hit him a few times—in the head.
If Anderson Silva hasn’t earned the reputation as the greatest of all time, then I’m not sure who else you could give that title to as it stands today.
There’s no question that the UFC’s Jon Jones is somebody who continues to draw comparisons to Silva. Some think he could surpass Silva’s title defense record and have a more impressive career when it’s all said and done.
Jones is currently 25 years old and already has a professional MMA record of 17-1. Jones’ last loss was similar to Silva’s last defeat in the sense that it was due to disqualification when he nailed Matt Hamill with “12-6” elbows. Jones looked like he was well on his way to winning that fight without the elbows.
When Silva was 25, he had only three professional fights (2-1) and was still four years away from earning a belt within any promotion.
These type of comparisons are going to flank Jones for as long as he is successful. It is very reminiscent of how NBA fans remember Michael Jordan.
Jordan last played in 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards. Toward the end of his career, fans would refer to any matchup he had with Kobe Bryant as a “passing of the torch.” Here we are, a decade later, and I still believe most NBA fans and media believe Jordan is still the greatest of all time.
As soon as Bryant and his ‘fro finished going up against Michael Jordan in the 1998 All-Star Game, he couldn’t escape the conversation as to whether or not he was going to be the “next Jordan.”
As Bryant’s career has continued through the years, the comparisons to Jordan have never stopped. In the early stages of Bryant’s career, people said he wasn’t clutch, then they said he couldn’t win without Shaquille O’Neal and now those same people proclaim Jordan is better because Kobe hasn’t won that sixth ring (Jordan won six NBA championships).
The only other player in the NBA to face the same scrutiny in comparisons to Jordan is LeBron James. This all started when James had one of his high school basketball games televised on ESPN. From that point forward, people were saying he was going to be the next Jordan.
The James/Jordan talk had been relegated to a whisper prior to the 2011-12 season. Up until that point, James had failed to win a championship. As the championshipless years continued for James, so did the buzz surrounding his “Jordan-esque” career.
That’s what it comes down to with MMA as well—winning. Silva is the Michael Jordan of MMA because he wins. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you rack up a great record and spectacular stats but fail to come through when it matters the most, you can never be considered the greatest of all time.
I’m certain we have yet to see the greatest fighter the sport will ever see. I do know, however, that Anderson Silva is the greatest of all time as I write this. Jon Jones and other elite fighters will have no choice but to hear their name compared to Silva for as long as they remain successful.
We don’t know for sure how long Silva will continue to fight. I still believe he’ll give us between 3-5 more bouts and call it a career at the age of 40. As great as he is today, one would think he would have to start slowing at some point.
After all, Michael Jordan did.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Jamie Lowe makes her professional