Author: Jordy McElroy

B.J. Penn Wants to Prove Loss to GSP Was a ‘Fluke’

Georges St-Pierre and Tristar Gym may have won the battle, but if B.J. Penn has things his way, they won’t win the war.The former two-division champion is set to come out of retirement at UFC 152 to take on rising welterweight star and Tristar standout…

Georges St-Pierre and Tristar Gym may have won the battle, but if B.J. Penn has things his way, they won’t win the war.

The former two-division champion is set to come out of retirement at UFC 152 to take on rising welterweight star and Tristar standout Rory MacDonald.

There is plenty of history between Penn and MacDonald’s mentor, St-Pierre. The two first met in a closely contested No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 58, where St-Pierre walked away with a split decision and a trip to the hospital.

The stakes were higher the second time the two legends crossed paths.

At UFC 94, it was a champion vs. champion matchup as St-Pierre defended his welterweight title against Penn, who was the reigning lightweight champ at the time.

St-Pierre stomped out past cries of controversy in a lopsided beating that ended with Penn’s corner throwing in the towel before the fifth round.

In an interview earlier this year with Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, Penn credited the loss to St-Pierre as one of two bouts that have haunted him over the course of his career.

“I’m trying to find myself a little bit––not as a fighter trying to come back to the sport, but just as a person. I just honestly sit back and reflect and look at how it went. I really do feel I could have done a lot better in a lot of different situations. I’m heartbroken with the way some of the fights went. The way my UFC 94 fight [against Georges St-Pierre] and my fights with Frankie Edgar went. I’m heartbroken about those fights.”

Penn now sees a small opportunity for payback against MacDonald. Sure, this isn’t a world title bout against St-Pierre, but a win over a budding contender like MacDonald would be huge for Penn at this point of his career.

Is this all about vengeance? If not, what is “The Prodigy” really looking to prove against a young lion in MacDonald?

In an interview with Abel Pulver of “Just Scrap Radio,” Penn talked about his desire to show the world he’s a much better fighter than the guy who was dominated by St-Pierre.

“The past is the past. There’s nothing for me to talk about on that end. That is definitely left in the past.

It would be nice to let them know [the loss to GSP] was a fluke. The fight is not going to go down the same way. Rory is not going to just walk in there and take me out and beat me up for four rounds straight and end up putting me away. I really believe that the fight is going to go different, and they are going to realize that when we start fighting. This isn’t the same guy they fought that night, and this is going to be a whole different thing.”

Despite continued attempts by fans and media to paint Penn and St-Pierre as adversaries, “The Prodigy” says he doesn’t have any personal issues with St-Pierre or Tristar Gym.

His bout against MacDonald is just business.

“There is no bad blood. I see Firas [Zahabi] all the time. I see Georges. Everything is in the past. I’d like to get out there and show Tristar Gym and their fans – I’m a worthy opponent. I’m not just a guy that’s going to walk in the ring and somebody’s just gonna walk across the other side and walk across and crush me. That’s not gonna be the story.”

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Is the Flyweight Division the Most Exciting Weight Class in MMA?

Lights, Camera, Action!With Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson gearing up for their UFC title bout later this year, the spotlight is now on the flyweight division.Is it the most exciting weight class in MMA?The old adage puts the heavyweights at t…

Lights, Camera, Action!

With Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson gearing up for their UFC title bout later this year, the spotlight is now on the flyweight division.

Is it the most exciting weight class in MMA?

The old adage puts the heavyweights at the forefront of combat sports. People are generally more intrigued by bigger, stronger athletes.

The flyweight division flips the former notion on its head. At 125-pounds, fans aren’t witnessing gargantuan athletes boasting thunderous knockout power.

They are opening themselves up to a whole other world where speed, technique and agility takes precedence over size and power.

Sure, the amount of highlight reel knockouts drastically lowers in weight, but dramatic finishes are made up for with sustained action and a frantic pace. Another notch for the flyweight division is that smaller athletes are typically in much better shape.

Regardless of whether they get a finish, fans will generally get more bang for their buck when the flyweights step into the cage and start throwing leather.

With that said, no weight class should be considered superior to any other. If you are a fan of knockouts, the heavier fighters will be more aesthetically pleasing, but if you’re a fan of fighting, the sport should provide quality entertainment regardless of weight class.

Some of the previous conceptions can easily be debunked by particular individuals in each weight class.

Flyweights are often criticized for always going the distance. Meanwhile, Benavidez is coming off a knockout of the night performance over top flyweight contender Yasuhiro Urushitani. In 16 professional wins, “Joe B-Wan Kenobi” has netted 12 finishes.

Heavyweights are often ridiculed for sluggish offense and lackluster cardio. Cain Velasquez is arguably the most conditioned athlete in all of MMA, and there certainly isn’t anything sluggish about Junior Dos Santos’ offense.

At the end of the day, a fight is a fight.

More attention should be paid towards the fighters instead of the weight classes.

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Dana White: Shogun Would Rather Be Cut Than Have to Fight Glover Teixeira

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua could be playing a little “Duck, Duck, Goose” with UFC newcomer Glover Teixeira.The former UFC light heavyweight champion was initially scheduled to face Thiago Silva in the UFC on FOX 3 main event slated for August 4, but an inju…

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua could be playing a little “Duck, Duck, Goose” with UFC newcomer Glover Teixeira.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion was initially scheduled to face Thiago Silva in the UFC on FOX 3 main event slated for August 4, but an injury sustained during training forced Silva off the card.

With the main event in shambles, the UFC scrambled to find a suitable replacement to headline the always-important FOX card.

The UFC and Shogun eventually settled on Brandon Vera as a replacement opponent, but according to UFC President Dana White, Vera wasn’t the first name the promotion had in mind.

In a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani at UFC on FX 3, White spilled the beans on Shogun’s camp turning down a proposed bout with Teixeira.

“[Shogun] said he’d actually rather be cut than have to fight [Teixeira]. Dude, nobody wants to fight this guy. Nobody wants to fight this guy. We’re trying to match this guy up with somebody, but he didn’t mind fighting Brandon Vera, so, he’s fighting Brandon Vera.”

White’s statements are a stark contrast to remarks made by Shogun’s manager, Julio Heller, who guaranteed to Tatame.com about a week ago that Shogun never turned down a fight with Teixeira.

“I just sent a message to the UFC,” said Heller. “I’m waiting on their call. It’s not true at all.”

It’s very true to White, who was admittedly surprised at Rua for turning down a fight. After all of Rua’s accomplishments, it’s shocking to see a fighter of his caliber pass on a bout against a possible future contender in the light heavyweight division.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m disrespecting Shogun because I’m not. I’m just telling the truth. It’s verbatim what his people said when we talked to him, and you know me, I tell it like it is. If you don’t want that out in public, then don’t say it to me, then don’t say it on the phone because I’m going to say what was said.

But Shogun’s a warrior. The guy has fought everybody from Pride to the UFC. His last fight with Dan Henderson was awesome, and yeah, it is what it is. I don’t think we’re rewarding him. It’s just one of those weird situations I’ve never seen a guy at the level that Shogun is at not want to fight a guy so bad.”

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Mike Pierce: "I Wanted an Easy Fight, so I Called out All Brazilians"

Team Quest vs. Brazil?It’s certainly beginning to look that way.In an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report’s Garrett Derr, UFC welterweight Mike Pierce sat down to discuss his upcoming bout with Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX 3.”I sent out on Tw…

Team Quest vs. Brazil?

It’s certainly beginning to look that way.

In an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report’s Garrett Derr, UFC welterweight Mike Pierce sat down to discuss his upcoming bout with Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX 3.

“I sent out on Twitter that I wanted an easy fight, so I called out all Brazilians in the 170-pound division. Carlos answered, so I got the fight that I wanted…I’ll be able to exploit everything. I think the only tool that he has that is any good, is his ground game. He’s pretty good at these weird scrambles and being on the ground. Other than that, I think that he’s a fish out of water.”

It shouldn’t surprise people that Pierce is taking an aggressive stance towards Brazilian fighters. His teammate and top middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen, has made a name off various feuds with South American fighters, including UFC champ Anderson Silva.

The more interesting question is whether or not Pierce is using social media to follow in Sonnen’s footsteps.

The Portland, Oregon native has been in the UFC for nearly three years, but he has yet to break from the shadows. Even after a controversial split decision loss to Josh Koscheck, Pierce remains relatively unknown to casual MMA fans.

For his teammate Sonnen, however, business is booming. His world class fighting abilities combined with an entertaining public persona has seemingly turned him into a superstar overnight.

At UFC 148, Sonnen will have an opportunity to take his stardom to new heights when he meets Silva in a rematch for the UFC middleweight title.

Pierce weighs in on the highly anticipated bout:

“I think Chael is going to go in there and do what he did the first time around. He’s going to go in there and do what he did the first time around and not get caught in a submission this time. You rarely make the same mistake twice. I’m hoping he goes in there and beats the guy for five straight rounds. There’s a chance he finishes him, but I’m not sure what is more gratifying, having him finish him or beat his ass for 25 minutes. I think that would be more gratifying.”

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Scott Coker on Ronda Rousey vs. Cyborg: ‘Cyborg Is a Whole Other Level’

Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos are on a collision course.The top two female stars have exchanged jabs on Twitter and in interviews. Will the social media trash talk eventually lead to a showdown between champions?In an interview with Ariel …

Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos are on a collision course.

The top two female stars have exchanged jabs on Twitter and in interviews. Will the social media trash talk eventually lead to a showdown between champions?

In an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker weighed in on quite possibly the “biggest Strikeforce bout of the year.”

I think [a bout between Ronda and Cyborg] is gonna be inevitable. I think that fight will happen at some point. We’re just waiting for Cyborg to get off her suspension, but that conversation will happen once she’s back and ready to fight because her and Ronda at 135, I mean, that might be the highest rated show on Showtime for the year or for the past fights we’ve done.

Cyborg was suspended and stripped of her Strikeforce women’s featherweight title in January after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.

With Cyborg out of the picture, Rousey ascended the female ranks to not only capture the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title, but she has also become the new face of women’s MMA.

She has been a perfect 5-0 in her professional career, and all of her fights have ended in the first round by armbar.

With that said, Rousey has never faced anyone like Cyborg, who is known for tossing grown men around in training camp.

During the live broadcast in December for Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal, Strikeforce commentator and MMA legend Pat Miletich put it best: “You don’t know how hard a woman can hit, until you’ve been hit by Cyborg.”

Coker seems to lean along the same lines. While he’s been impressed with Rousey’s handiwork up to this point, it’s tough to bet against the nightmare that is Cyborg.

Ronda has always delivered. That armbar is unbelievable, and she proved with Miesha [Tate], she’s proven with the other girls that she can fight a kickboxer, she can fight a wrestler. Fighting Cyborg? That’s a whole other level.

Before she meets Cyborg, Rousey first has other work to attend to.

She is expected to defend her title for the first time against former champion Sarah Kaufman later this summer.

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JDS: Overeem Does Not Deserve Title Shot, Velasquez Is No. 2 HW in the World

Junior Dos Santos does not make the decisions in the UFC, but if he did, Alistair Overeem’s name would be crossed out on the list of potential contenders.Following his knockout victory over Frank Mir at UFC 146, the UFC heavyweight champion was a guest…

Junior Dos Santos does not make the decisions in the UFC, but if he did, Alistair Overeem’s name would be crossed out on the list of potential contenders.

Following his knockout victory over Frank Mir at UFC 146, the UFC heavyweight champion was a guest on Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored,” where he talked about Overeem, Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier.

“I don’t care about who’s gonna be my opponent. I never choose my opponents, and it depends on just the UFC. But I don’t think Overeem deserves to be fighting for the title at this point because he got the drug test fail, so I think Cain Velasquez deserves his rematch against me, I think better than Overeem.”

While UFC President Dana White hinted at a rematch between Dos Santos and Velasquez at the post-fight press conference for UFC 146, he still thinks Overeem deserves an opportunity to come back and pick up where he left off.

“He went before the athletic commission, and he got his punishment, and he’s gonna serve his sentence now. When he comes back, he has to apply for a license again, and then we’ll go from there,” said White. “Yeah, I mean I think he should [regain his standing], yeah.”

With Overeem sidelined until December 2012 or early 2013, Velasquez could be the clear cut option as the next contender for Dos Santos’ title.

His curb-stomping of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 146 certainly turned a lot of heads, including former adversary Dos Santos.

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is another name that crept into the UFC title picture.

The former Olympian stepped out from teammate Velasquez’s shadow in May, when he defeated Josh Barnett to win the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Which heavyweight out of American Kickboxing Academy is more dangerous? Dos Santos weighs in:

“I don’t know Cormier very much. I think Cain Velasquez is better than him. Cormier for sure is good. He’s the Strikeforce champion now, but I think Cain Velasquez is more dangerous. In this division, I think Cain Velasquez is the No. 2 because I am the No. 1.”

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