The UFC’s four fight cards in April are littered with potentially exciting and memorable fights. The big headliner is Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira at UFC 172.
UFC is coming off a month that had plenty of big fights. Johny Hendricks’ took a decis…
The UFC’s four fight cards in April are littered with potentially exciting and memorable fights. The big headliner is Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira at UFC 172.
UFC is coming off a month that had plenty of big fights. Johny Hendricks’ took a decision win over Robbie Lawler in a close, action-packed brawl, and Dan Henderson knocked out Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a back-and-forth scrap. The UFC hopes to continue that success in April.
The UFC is promoting four fight cards in April:
UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on April 11
The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Finale on April 16
Fox UFC Saturday on April 19
UFC 172 on April 26
Each card has a couple of enticing matchups that have the potential to be great fights.
The criteria used for this ranking were the potential for each fight to be exciting, how competitive the fight appears to be and how important the fight is in the division rankings.
The UFC made the controversial decision to release No. 11 ranked welterweight Jake Shields on Monday. Shields had just lost a decision to Hector Lombard, but had beaten UFC contenders Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley in his two previous fights.&…
The UFC made the controversial decision to release No. 11 ranked welterweight Jake Shields on Monday. Shields had just lost a decision to Hector Lombard, but had beaten UFC contenders Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley in his two previous fights.
According to Trent Reinsmith of Bloody Elbow, Shields’ manager Lex McMahon commented on the cut by saying, “To lose one fight and then all of a sudden be out of a job was something that I believe was surprising and not contemplated.”
While Shields has had a long and successful career up to this point, he has been much maligned for his “boring” style of fighting—which features a lot of position control, particularly when he is on top of his opponent.
The UFC Won’t Put Up with Boring Fighters
The UFC showed once again that they want exciting fights, first and foremost. There is no rational argument that could say that Shields does not deserve to be in the UFC based on his resume. Shields’ recent wins over Maia and Woodley prove that.
However, Shields was never an exciting fighter. He was not the type of fighter that you would buy a pay-per-view for. Shields had that suffocating top control and persistent wrestling that made him very successful, but—quite frankly—pretty boring.
Shields’ style was a type that only a few hardcore grappling fans could appreciate. It takes a high level of knowledge to appreciate the way that Shields holds down and positionally dominates professional mixed martial artists. This type of style is fine for a fighter, but they have to look to finish. Too often, Shields was in dominate positions in fights and failed to capitalize. Shields used beautiful grappling to get take downs and pass the guard, but that’s where it ended.
Once Shields started to show that he was not a top-five fighter anymore, it was easy for the UFC to decide that the he was not worth the trouble.
The UFC showed that it doesn’t tolerate boring fighters—no matter how talented—by releasing other so-called boring fighters like Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami. Shields was just another name to add to this list.
Shields Can Still Be Involved in Important Fights
Just because Shields is not under the UFC banner anymore doesn’t mean he wont be able to put on meaningful fights. Shields still can fight a myriad of talented and up-and-coming fighters.
A fight between Shields and Askren would definitely be an enticing matchup, especially in the grappling aspects.
Or maybe Shields can go to WSOF and test his skills against another UFC cast-off in Jon Fitch or the leg lock assassin Rousimar Palhares. While the fight with Fitch may seem to be a boring match of two subpar strikers with above average wrestling skills, the Palhares fight would be a fascinating matchup. It would be Shields and his position dominating grappling versus the ultra-aggressive, submission-centric grappling of Palhares.
The Palhares fight would be one of the biggest fights any promotion outside of the UFC could make. Palhares has the style of grappling that could lead to a very crowd-pleasing fight for Shields. The only question is whether WSOF could sign Shields and make the fight happen.
No matter which way Shields decides to go, he will have the opportunity to compete in meaningful fights.
Shields Has Almost No Shot to Get back into the UFC
Shields is a 35-year-old fighter with a style that often bores the audience. That is not a good recipe for a fighter to get back in the UFC. Shields is on the downside of his career, and it is very unlikely that he could reinvent himself into an aggressive fighter.
Shields has been in MMA since 1999 and still has a very average striking game, so it doesn’t seem like he could become an effective striker any time soon.
Shields’ only hope to become a more entertaining fighter is to take more risks while on top. He needs to attack for submissions more, which might leave himself a little more vulnerable than in the past.
However, that is very unlikely. Therefore, because of his age and skill set, it is unlikely we will see Shields fighting in the octagon ever again.
At UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, Roy “Big Country” Nelson looks to feast on Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira. On April 11, the UFC finally returns to Abu Dhabi after the Anderson Silva and Demian Maia debacle of April 2010.
The card is void of big names af…
At UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, Roy “Big Country” Nelson looks to feast on Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira. On April 11, the UFC finally returns to Abu Dhabi after the Anderson Silva and Demian Maia debacle of April 2010.
The card is void of big names after the main event but features many young up-and-comers. Fighters like Beneil Dariush, Jared Rosholt and Jim Alers look to cement their status in the UFC and start the climb up the rankings.
In the co-main event, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida takes on Tatsuya Kawajiri in what should be a fast-paced and action-packed fight. Both fighters are known for their grappling (from top position) and high-action scraps. Guida’s pace and awkward fighting style give him a slight edge over the dangerous Kawajiri.
Another intriguing bout pits Dariush against Ramsey Nijem in a battle between two fighters who are trying to ascend the UFC lightweight ladder. Dariush is coming off a very impressive victory over Pros vs. Joes star Charlie Brenneman.
Dariush seems to have the necessary skills to develop into a title contender in the future. He has elite-level grappling and displayed good power in his one-round destruction of Brenneman. Dariush’s grappling gives him a clear edge over Nijem and should lead him to victory.
The main event between Nelson and Nogueira is an interesting bout. While Nogueira is known for his Brazilian jiu-jitsu prowess, Nelson is no slouch and has a black belt in the gentle art as well.
Even though both fighters have many grappling accolades, look for this fight to take place mostly on the feet. Nelson has the power edge with his dangerous overhand right, but Nogueira has the more refined boxing technique. This fight will hinge on whether Nogueira can avoid Nelson’s big overhand right so that he can work his technical boxing long enough to secure a decision win.
While this card doesn’t seem like enough to make up for the UFC 112 stinker in terms of name value, it should have more high-octane fights than the UFC’s last visit to Abu Dhabi.
At UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, Roy “Big Country” Nelson looks to feast on Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira. On April 11, the UFC finally returns to Abu Dhabi after the Anderson Silva and Demian Maia debacle of April 2010.
The card is void of big names af…
At UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, Roy “Big Country” Nelson looks to feast on Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira. On April 11, the UFC finally returns to Abu Dhabi after the Anderson Silva and Demian Maia debacle of April 2010.
The card is void of big names after the main event but features many young up-and-comers. Fighters like Beneil Dariush, Jared Rosholt and Jim Alers look to cement their status in the UFC and start the climb up the rankings.
In the co-main event, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida takes on Tatsuya Kawajiri in what should be a fast-paced and action-packed fight. Both fighters are known for their grappling (from top position) and high-action scraps. Guida’s pace and awkward fighting style give him a slight edge over the dangerous Kawajiri.
Another intriguing bout pits Dariush against Ramsey Nijem in a battle between two fighters who are trying to ascend the UFC lightweight ladder. Dariush is coming off a very impressive victory over Pros vs. Joes star Charlie Brenneman.
Dariush seems to have the necessary skills to develop into a title contender in the future. He has elite-level grappling and displayed good power in his one-round destruction of Brenneman. Dariush’s grappling gives him a clear edge over Nijem and should lead him to victory.
The main event between Nelson and Nogueira is an interesting bout. While Nogueira is known for his Brazilian jiu-jitsu prowess, Nelson is no slouch and has a black belt in the gentle art as well.
Even though both fighters have many grappling accolades, look for this fight to take place mostly on the feet. Nelson has the power edge with his dangerous overhand right, but Nogueira has the more refined boxing technique. This fight will hinge on whether Nogueira can avoid Nelson’s big overhand right so that he can work his technical boxing long enough to secure a decision win.
While this card doesn’t seem like enough to make up for the UFC 112 stinker in terms of name value, it should have more high-octane fights than the UFC’s last visit to Abu Dhabi.
The UFC made the controversial decision to