In what’s becoming increasingly familiar for fight fans on any given weekend, the UFC is right back in our grills with a phenomenal event in San Jose this Saturday night on pay-per-view. In fact, this card is packing solid fights from start to fi…
In what’s becoming increasingly familiar for fight fans on any given weekend, the UFC is right back in our grills with a phenomenal event in San Jose this Saturday night on pay-per-view. In fact, this card is packing solid fights from start to finish, making it a possible top contender for best show of the year. Admittedly, I might be overstretching it a bit, considering that statement is before the fact, but it is certainly a strong way to close out the tail end of the year.
When combining the star power from the main event and co-main event, you’ve got four fighters—two of which are legends and one well on his way—who at one point in their careers have been title holders.
Furthermore, the rest of the card boasts two more ex-champions squaring off for a chance at bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz and another fight between two starving welterweights vying for the opportunity to become the division’s No. 1 contender in the near future.
Let’s not forget the prelims during this orgasmo rundown of UFC 139. To keep the trend alive, there is one more guy, Miguel Torres, who used to wear gold and flirted with many pundits’ pound-for-pound lists back in the height of his career in the WEC.
On the featured Spike portion of the prelims, a former contender—who was on the verge of a championship run with current light heavyweight champ Jon Jones—is on deck to return to the upper echelons of the 205-lb stable. The list goes on; this is not an event to miss.
Beware: There is a lot of bling on this card
Now that we have established how intriguing UFC 139 is as a whole event, let’s take it a step further and briefly exam three bouts guaranteed to shake things up in and out of the Octagon. Obviously the top billings create all the bells and whistles, but the heart and engine of the event can easily be overlooked due to card placement. Be sure not to miss these top three fights before the co and main event.
This Saturday night marks a pivotal achievement in the UFC’s continued conquest for mainstream acceptance. For the first time in the promotion’s history, the UFC will begin its primetime television deal with Fox by showing a marquee matchup…
This Saturday night marks a pivotal achievement in the UFC’s continued conquest for mainstream acceptance. For the first time in the promotion’s history, the UFC will begin its primetime television deal with Fox by showing a marquee matchup between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Junior Dos Santos for the wonderful price of free.
Dana White is living his boyhood dream, bringing a heavyweight championship bout to free TV, reminiscent of the earlier golden years of boxing.
Nostalgia aside, this fight is arguably the UFC’s most intriguing, evenly matched title fight available in any division—a contest that has been in the making for the last couple of years. Now that this historic fight is finally coming to fruition, how does it really boil down, and what is the key factor in this closely contested pick ‘em fight?
The real UFC on Fox headliner is Velasquez’ chin versus Dos Santos’ takedown defense. It’s always been about these two disputed areas of their respective games; even back when these two should have went to war for No.1 contender status, when Brock Lesnar held the belt.
In reality, against any other opponent, either one of these guys matches up advantageously with a near perfect skill set—which makes it so difficult to pick a victor as they come close to scheduled blows at UFC on FOX.
Both possess high caliber striking—Dos Santos nurtured in the art of boxing and Velasquez in Muay Thai—capable of cutting the power off in any foes’ lighthouse. Also, unlike a good portion of heavyweights, these two competitors have displayed impressive cardio for guys their size.
Both are younger men, with tenacious will and unwavering determination, who are simultaneously peaking at the same time as the legitimate best in their division.
Furthermore, neither man has tasted defeat in their UFC careers, nor have they truly experienced troubling opposition—like they will when they face each other.
So, what separates them in the octagon?
What makes the outcome of this fight a little more than a shot in the dark is the champ’s chin and the challenger’s wrestling defense. Each of these problem areas will more than likely determine who holds heavyweight gold when Joe Rogan starts his post-fight interview, depending on who can exploit the other’s weakness and impose his own strengths.
There’s no doubt that the window of opportunity is small for each fighter, but their respective camps will have revolved their strategies around these two points of contention. It shouldn’t be too surprising either, considering both Velasquez and Dos Santos’ previous performances in the UFC.
At UFC 131 this past June, the Brazilian’s takedown defense exceeded expectation against one of the division’s premiere wrestlers in Shane Carwin. After successfully sprawling against Carwin’s takedown attempts, Dos Santos was able to utilize his devastating boxing for five rounds, battering his opponent’s face into a bloody mess for a unanimous decision victory.
Needless to say, this performance silenced critics and proved to the world that Dos Santos has answers when paired up with an elite wrestler (admittedly, there’s not enough empirical evidence to prove he has answers from his back once a wrestler succeeds and uploads vicious ground and pound).
On the other hand, Velasquez stood with Kongo—the last dangerous striker on his record— long enough at UFC 99 to get wobbled and rocked by two hard shots. To the champ’s credit, his recovery was impeccable, allowing him the opportunity to immediately resort to his takedowns.
When comparing these two battle-tested warriors, Dos Santos clearly emerges the better man. Granted, this observational critique of Velasquez is based on an older version of what he has become after dominating his following opponents: Ben Rothwell, Antonio Nogueira and Brock Lesnar. But, until the fight happens, the proof is still in the pudding.
As a consequence to how evenly matched these guys will be on fight night, this is by far the most exciting fight the UFC could have orchestrated for such an important event.
Luckily for everybody involved—fighters, fans and promoters— this fight has no real losers, especially the fight fans.
From a fan’s perspective, watching two guys in their prime fighting on the grandest stage for the greatest prize, reaches the pinnacle of all expectation, sealing the strong bond between spectator and sport.
Assuming the night will be injury free and full of level-headed refereeing, there is no bad outcome to this main event.
Come one, come all: Mixed martial arts is being taken to the next level.
“Tonight was the highest-grossing event, ever, in LG Arena’s history with a $1.5 million gate and 10,823 in attendance.” In the last couple of years, these post-fight stats have become commonplace for the UFC as MMA continues its rapi…
“Tonight was the highest-grossing event, ever, in LG Arena’s history with a $1.5 million gate and 10,823 in attendance.”
In the last couple of years, these post-fight stats have become commonplace for the UFC as MMA continues its rapid ascent onto the global stage with Zuffa at the reins.
UFC president Dana White continued his familiar moderator role last night at the UFC 138 post-fight press conference, vehemently defeating the organization’s decision to bring the event’s main card to the English shores, amongst other things. This was obviously aimed at those who were quick to criticize the lineup prematurely before a single strike was thrown.
The UFC has no better front man—the sport has no better facilitator—than White when it comes to extending the reach of mixed martial arts around the world, and he was in vintage form at the presser.
When asked about pre-fight “grumblings” from the blogging world, White had this to say:
The fights were awesome tonight. It always drives me nuts when people talk about a card that hasn’t happened yet, that it sucks. None of these fighters up here suck. Joe Silva is the best matchmaker in the business and these guys came out and performed like they always do. As promoters, what we do in the UFC, we put on all the bells and whistles and these guys deliver. Oh boy, they delivered tonight and they will be getting paid.
Consequently, another contentious point involving fighters’ compensation was brought to White’s attention when a pundit referred to No. 1 welterweight contender Nick Diaz’s personal grumblings about getting paid from the last event’s post-fight presser.
Believe me, guys make money in this sport. The stuff Nick Diaz said is crazy; he also said he didn’t go to school to buy houses. Nick Diaz has made a lot of money this year; he can go buy whatever house he wants. Nobody wants to be paying these guys boxing money more than me.
Furthermore, DW explained how the road to where the company and sport is today hasn’t been paved with gold.
“We came from very humble beginnings when we started this thing.”
From 2001 to 2005, the UFC started off $50 million in the hole, not making any profit until 2006. That’s a far cry from being seen in half a billion homes worldwide today and producing 40-some-odd millionaires within a five-year window.
“We’ve grown this thing to where is today in such a short period of time and it’s only growing more. Boxing has been around for a 100 years, the NFL something like 40 years and we’ve done all this in a fraction of the time.”
These are the passionately defensive musings people have grown accustomed to when dealing with the president—it’s also what intrigues people. White is a gateway persona to the sport as a whole for casual fans.
In addition to his fighters and staff, fans can also have a say through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, where White has personally responded numerous times. No question or topic is off limits.
In fact, White’s interactive relationship with fans has spilled over into selfless acts of charity. In 2010, he donated $50,000 to a popular Muay Thai trainer so his seven-month-old daughter could have a lifesaving surgery and around $8,000 to a British family to help pay for their two-year-old’s brain tumor treatment.
Throughout his popular video blog series, there have been numerous occasions when White would personally cater to fans in distress over things like lost event tickets, speeding offences caused by a prize giveaway and general grievances about production value at an event.
Due to technological advantages, innovative lines of communication have been created to help MMA fighters—including White—become the most accessible athletes in mainstream sports.
It’s no surprise then that fans and pundits alike clamor for the opportunity to pick DW’s brain when it comes to all things pertaining to the sport, because not only is he the authoritative voice of the biggest MMA organization on the planet, he’s also a genuine fight fan with a rich history in boxing and fighter management.
His own opinions and corporate actions coincide with the preservation of MMA’s integrity more often than any other modern-day combat sports promoter. What makes White special is how he’s able to allow his affinity for the sport to be the driving force behind important changes within his company and into arenas around the world.
White has also had an influential hand in important broader changes to how the sport is regulated and improved for fighters’ safety by pushing for unified rules, timed round limits, refined weight classes, added weight classes, higher salaries—hell, even making gloves mandatory.
All of DW’s professional accolades and personal fanfare haven’t been achieved without the predictable bumps in the road.
When you go down the list of MMA’s most notoriously polarizing figures, who jumps out at you?
Surely some would point their fingers at bad boys known for their attitudes and soundbites like Tito Ortiz and Nick Diaz and other naysayers who have dismissed the fighting creditability of characters like Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice. But if spectators dig a little further, the sport’s most prolific promoter has been at the center of many heated debates due to his brutally honest tone and his unforgiving confidence in the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts.
Here comes the most cliché part of the article: love Dana White or hate him, you have to respect him. What he’s been able to accomplish for his company, while catapulting the reputation of an ignored sport to great heights, has been unforeseen in any sport for many years.
We’ve come a long way from the Don King’s and the Gary Shaw’s. Dana White is not immune to scrutiny for some of the things he has said and done; he’s not perfect and nor should he be seen as such, but at the end of the day, the sport of mixed martial arts wouldn’t be what it is and where it is today without Dana White’s inner fan complimenting his executive status.
As we approach UFC 138 in Birmingham, England this Saturday, I can’t help but wonder if the UFC is purposely hosing the UK fans or if it’s a dying market lacking enough marketable names to play host to the UFC’s more important, mainst…
As we approach UFC 138 in Birmingham, England this Saturday, I can’t help but wonder if the UFC is purposely hosing the UK fans or if it’s a dying market lacking enough marketable names to play host to the UFC’s more important, mainstream cards.
I’m a firm believer in the sentiment that all cards shouldn’t be judge by their covers. Time and time again, fans have been pleasantly surprised with the outcomes of events that had trouble selling their intrigue to the masses. UFC 138 has the quality fights to continue that trend.
Former welterweight title contender Thiago Alves—a household Brazilian name—may seem mismatched with a downgraded 33-year-old opponent on paper, but Papy Abedi is undefeated with seven finishes and one decision victory. This is the type of fight that will save a former success story from irrelevancy or propel a new threat in the 170-pound division.
England’s own bantamweight Brad Pickett has proven his potential in the WEC by defeating Kyle Dietz, with a Peruvian necktie submission of the night, former No. 1 contender Demetrious Johnson and, most recently, Ivan Menjivar. Pickett is up against a young, nasty Brazilian who holds one of the longest win streaks in MMA—having seen the win column for 26 consecutive times—and who also kicks around with current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the gym.
Obviously, anytime Chris Leben enters the cage, fans know they will more than likely see a gnarly knockout or a tough SOB binging on punches like a superhero—Leben’s gift and curse.
Here’s the problem: comparatively speaking, the British fans are just as passionate about the sport as Canadians or Australians or Brazilians. They’re just as worthy as the others to receive a huge card every once in a while—and it’s been awhile.
Without tapping into the magical powers of Google or Wikipedia, does anybody remember the headliners from UFC 38 (that’s a cheap shot), UFC 70, UFC 80, UFC 85, UFC 89, UFC 95, UFC 105 or UFC 120? I left one rather exciting event off the list, but you’re looking at all the UK cards…ever.
There is an unfortunate trend rearing its ugly head as you get past the part of the list where the UFC finished its blitzkrieg new market strategy in Britain. To put it frankly, the ol’ girl got dried up once the sport had been half-way established.
With the exception of UFC 75 (Rampage vs. Henderson), many of these cards on paper were second rate to what other international markets were getting—most notably Canada, and now Brazil.
The counter argument reminds us that while many of these events looked dismal on paper, they typically produced solid fights through and through. That’s great news for the small minority of fans, the hardcore diehards out there who tend to defend this point to their graves without considering their counterparts.
What about the big portion of casual fans, who are normally targeted by effective market strategies in hopes of building a long-term stronghold to help the organization become an international player? They seem to be getting ignored in the British Isles.
Realistically, the UK is the UFC’s European headquarters. So, we can’t expect all the British fans to share the same super-fan enthusiasm for a card like UFC 138. Like any market, they have their share of weekend fight fans.
The last time the octagon blessed British soil was back in October 2010 with UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama. They followed up that event with Leben vs. Munoz this Saturday, an intriguing co-main event on any other card, over a year later.
Meanwhile, in the same time period, Canada enjoyed two Georges St-Pierre main events and Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos, the Aussies had Penn vs. Fitch and Brazil hosted Silva vs. Okami, which was a stacked card.
Maybe the well has dried up or maybe due to the UFC’s breakneck expansion and lack of marketable fighters beyond Michael Bisping, the company is simply making a business decision.
Are the Brits getting the shaft here? Is this Boston born Dana White’s extended Tea Party retribution?
Whatever the reason, if the UFC doesn’t reinvest in their British brand, the company’s largest European market will continue to dwindle and local talent will continue to be shackled out of the spotlight. At some point, especially with Dan Hardy on the brink of extinction, those Doc Marten’s will need replacing with younger, hungrier talent to carry the British MMA flag.
Cheers, British fans…I live in Chicago and we haven’t seen a UFC event since 2008.
Former WEC and Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz has a better chance at defeating his division’s infallible, devastating Dalai Lama-esque kingpin, Georges St-Pierre, than what most people are giving him. Come Super Bowl weekend, fans will fin…
Former WEC and Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz has a better chance at defeating his division’s infallible, devastating Dalai Lama-esque kingpin, Georges St-Pierre, than what most people are giving him. Come Super Bowl weekend, fans will finally get to St-Pierre fight his toughest match to date.
Wipe that look off your face, I know what you’re thinking: Another champion-hatin’ troll piece from some disgruntled blogger who wants to see GSP get beat. Before you start the witch hunt, remember that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’m a longstanding St-Pierre loyal from back in his Mayhem bashing days. I love me some GSP. Years back, my Ipod was home to the viral YouTube remix of “I’m not impressed by your performance” for far too long and I’m currently wheezing over my keyboard in my Under Armour man tights after two and a half brutal rounds of Rush Fit.
Now that I’ve sacrificed my credibility for comedic relief, let’s quickly go over why we should finally believe GSP when he says, “this opponent will be my hardest challenge yet.”
The same wouldn’t have rung true against Carlos Condit, GSP’s replacement opponent before the champ himself had to pull out due to a leg injury. In fact, getting put back on the welterweight shelf was a fortunate outcome for Condit, whether he stepped aside quietly or not.
As a result, Condit is avoiding a premature shot at the title while remaining right in the mix. Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz was originally slated as the main event for UFC 137 this past weekend until the Stockton “Bad Boy” decided to take a “nap” instead of attending a press conference in Toronto weeks leading up the actual event.
Luckily for Diaz, everything has come full-circle, the stars have aligned and now viewers will be treated to an entertaining, yet perplexing Countdown–wait sorry, it’s GSP, so it’ll be his like eighth Primetime showing—to a contest that will force the current champion to fight, not just outclass and perform.
Unlike GSP’s previous opponents, who all clearly excelled at one aspect of the sport, Diaz has more tools to win, making it more difficult to prepare a game plan to go against him. Also where the Fitchs, Alves and Hardys failed, Diaz will be the first challenger to truly bring the fight to GSP offensively.
There is no one area, with the exception of wrestling, that GSP has a clear advantage over Diaz either.
Even once the Canadian superstar resorts to his takedowns—presumably after trying to escape the Stockton slap, pitter-patter onslaught—Diaz possesses great defense and formidable offense off his back. Of course, from that position Diaz will also have to concern himself with GSP’s only way of finishing the fight: Ground and pound.
Furthermore, Diaz’ claim to fame is his mesmerizing concoction of effective striking, aggression, cardio and indirect mental warfare that tends to flank fans and fighters alike.
If there is any welterweight on the UFC roster who has the ability to get under St-Pierre’s skin, it’s Diaz. We saw how the champ reacted after being called out: He immediately told Dana White how he felt and how bad he wants the fight.
Are we all confident in how an emotional GSP will perform when the stakes are this high?
In addition, GSP lacks knockout power (possible killer instinct too, depending on who you ask) in opposition to Diaz’ ridiculous chin.
As it stands right now on paper, GSP doesn’t match up as well with Diaz like he has with other opponents in the past.
Regardless of what side of the fence you find yourself on in this Shakespearean like conflict between good and evil, this epic matchup already has everybody forgetting about that superfight including Anderson Silva.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: “I want my belt back!” And I want to be able to grow a Don Frye moustache and do more than six pull-ups in the company of a lady friend, but we don’t always get what we want. Despite the fact, ou…
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: “I want my belt back!”
And I want to be able to grow a Don Frye moustache and do more than six pull-ups in the company of a lady friend, but we don’t always get what we want.
Despite the fact, our blessed souls will keep swinging for the fences in hopes of achieving the impossible.
As a champion or contender, Rampage is and has been far too one-dimensional throughout his career to defeat somebody as multi-dimensional as current UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
In the world of video games, Rampage’s skill set would be the equivalent of Atari, a solid blast from the past still pushing Pong, while Jones would be Playstation 4, Sony’s yet-to-be-seen 3D gaming system. To quell my fellow gaming nerds, I realize PS4 has only been rumored—virally on YouTube—to possess some next level 3D-game playing, but it’s as good an analogy as you need to get the point.
This Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., Jones and Rampage will finally get the opportunity to back up their verbal barrages and do the man-dance for the light-heavyweight championship at UFC 135.
Unfortunately for the former champ, the cards and odds are stacked against Rampage, and for good reason. While this fight signifies Jones’ first title defense—the 24-year-old completely tooled then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua back in the spring of this year after being in the UFC for only three years—his senior opponent last held gold back in July 2008.
During the span of eight UFC fights, Jones has consistently proven his mental dexterity as one of the youngest and most successful Octagon competitors the company has ever produced. It doesn’t seem to matter who is standing on the other side of the cage; Jones performs nothing short of spectacular.
Whether he is fighting a seasoned veteran in Vladimir Matyushenko, Muay Thai specialists like Brandon Vera and Shogun Rua or a formidable wrestler like Matt Hamill, the Jackson Camp protégé has not cracked under the pressure. I’ll be the first to admit: Rampage’s resume is far more impressive, almost by default.
But within that list of opponents lays his weakness as a one-dimensional boxer.
Every fight, whether against Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin or Rashad Evans, Rampage has resorted to his boxing, his comfort zone. If he doesn’t cut the distance early to land those devastating hooks, the fight is all but destined for the mat, where opponents have been very successful in keeping the howlin’ street warrior down.
This will be a tremendous disadvantage against a storied state champion wrestler like Jones. Both Matyushenko and Hamill are far more versed in wrestling than Rampage—even statistically to Jones—and they got handled, tossed to the ground with ease, by the youngster.
Needless to say, if Jones decides to risk coming in on Rampage, he’ll have his choice between takedowns and judo throws, against little resistance, thanks to his superior grappling and wrestling.
That dire scenario is the only one that offers Rampage the slightest chance for victory because it involves Jones getting in close enough range en route to the clinch, where he will be more susceptible to Rampage’s punching power.
Keep in mind, Jones would only take that risk to overwhelm Rampage in the clinch; the payoff would be dominating top control on a traditionally weak ground fighter. Otherwise, the champ will most likely keep it standing—from a distance.
Jones’ abnormally long limbs provide an 84.5” reach advantage over everybody on the roster, including heavyweight man mountain Brock Lesnar, who sports an 81” reach. For Jones, his Go-Go Gadget arms allow him to thrive at creating the right amount of distance to be creatively accurate and damaging.
If Jones isn’t floating around like a back-spinning butterfly or throwing a rainbow of strikes from geometrically frustrating angles, he will be punishing Rampage’s lead leg, circa Forrest Griffin. Everybody knows Rampage is infamous for not checking leg kicks.
After a round or two of Louisville sluggers to the legs, Rampage’s mobility will suffer and his power will diminish, making him much easier to freely hit or take down. Ironically, one of Jones’ fiercest weapons in this fight has inspired Rampage’s newest nickname for the champ: “Bambi Legs.”
To sum up the analysis, Jones has too many tools at his disposal, while his opponent only uses one. The only thing predictable about the champ’s game is how efficiently destructive he is in every fight. Unless Jones finds a way to beat himself, he has a good chance of being a long-reigning, undisputed, 205-pound title holder in a division with a high champion turnover rate.
Rampage better have Ridley Scott on speed dial because come Sunday morning, he’ll be begging for a sequel.
I hate to do it to you Rampage, but…I pity the fool!
This Saturday night marks a pivotal achievement in the UFC’s continued conquest for mainstream acceptance. For the first time in the promotion’s history, the UFC will begin its primetime television deal with Fox by showing a marquee matchup between heavyweight champion