Every now and then MMA presents fans with bouts that cause an immediate face-palm reaction. Whether they are rematches, trilogies or “circus” bouts, there are just some fights that should never happen. Mariusz Pudzianowski versus former UFC heavyweight…
Every now and then MMA presents fans with bouts that cause an immediate face-palm reaction.
Whether they are rematches, trilogies or “circus” bouts, there are just some fights that should never happen.
Mariusz Pudzianowski versus former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia is a fine example of a circus bout.
After about 30 seconds of offensive effort, Pudzianowski, a winner of five World’s Strongest Man titles, suffered a cardio meltdown that allowed Sylvia to get the upper hand and pound the Polish phenom into submission.
Who could ever forget about the Jose Canseco and Hong Man Choi bout?
The controversial Major League Baseball superstar made it 1:17 into the bout before balling up into the fetal position to avoid any damage.
“Blockbuster” rematches can also make little to no sense.
Former champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz were scheduled to duke it out after finishing their coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11.
While both legends have tremendous pay-per-view draws, Liddell had already defeated Ortiz soundly on a couple of occasions. Regardless of how strong the rivalry is, sometimes you just have to let go and move on.
These were just a few examples, but the best are soon to follow.
Despite numerous reports and speculation, Dan Hardy’s job in the UFC appears to be safe after coming up short for a fourth consecutive time in the main event of UFC on Versus 5 against Chris Lytle. “Will not cut Dan Hardy. I like guys that war!” …
Despite numerous reports and speculation, Dan Hardy’s job in the UFC appears to be safe after coming up short for a fourth consecutive time in the main event of UFC on Versus 5 against Chris Lytle.
Hardy and Lytle put on a tremendous showing at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a predominantly stand-up bout that garnered Fight of the Night honors.
After getting the worst of the exchanges, Hardy shot in for a takedown late in the third round to try and nab some extra points from the judges. Lytle, an underrated submission artist, countered the takedown with a deep guillotine choke that forced the Brit to tap at 4:16.
The slippery slope began for Hardy after his lopsided unanimous-decision loss to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111. Since that fight, he has incurred consecutive losses to Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and Lytle.
The mantra in the UFC is usually three strikes and you’re out, but Hardy appears to be bucking the mold. If fighters are entertaining and put on good fights, there is always a chance the UFC keeps them around. While this sounds great from a fan’s perspective, it may not go over so well with other fighters.
The UFC can‘t sign every fighter in the world, and every dismissal usually opens the door for another guy. What about all of the other talent working hard to finally get a chance to breakthrough, but their entry is being blocked by Hardy?
As the UFC continues to grow and increase shows, this will become less of a problem.
The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.
The main event features a surefire scrap…
The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.
The main event features a surefire scrap between exciting welterweight sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle. It’s do-or-die for Hardy, who has lost his last three fights. Lytle hopes to rebound from his upset loss at UFC 127 to Brian Ebersole.
The co-main event holds more weight than the headliner. Top lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Ben Henderson will battle it out to possibly decide the next No. 1 contender for the UFC title.
As is custom, all of the preliminary bouts will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook page at 5:45 p.m. EST before the main card goes live on Versus at 9 p.m. EST.
What determines an all-time great?
Is it merely status and name recognition, or do we actually consider success against quality opposition? Throughout the short history of MMA, fans have been blessed with a multitude of talent that fit the all-time bil…
What determines an all-time great?
Is it merely status and name recognition, or do we actually consider success against quality opposition? Throughout the short history of MMA, fans have been blessed with a multitude of talent that fit the all-time bill.
These fighters put in years of dedication and hard work to attain a legendary status that will leave their names forever etched in MMA history.
As with all rankings, it’s impossible to include every great fighter on the list. This doesn’t mean that their contributions to the sport are any less appreciated. Regardless of whether it’s in a ring or cage, any fighter that steps up in a combative situation to put it all on the line and shed blood deserves the respect of every spectator.
Seeing as this listing only includes the sanctioned era of the sport, legendary pioneers like Royce Gracie don’t make the cut for these particular rankings.
You’ll notice that some UFC Hall of Famers are also absent. The formula for these rankings combine a minimal of performance, name recognition and wins over quality opposition.
The time has come to pay homage to the fighters that helped shape the history of the sport.
Including men and women, here are the MMA all-time rankings.
Despite a falling out with Zuffa, Golden Glory and Alistair Overeem are reportedly interested in signing an exclusive deal to fight in the UFC. The news comes nearly a week after Overeem and a multitude of other Golden Glory fighters were released from…
Despite a falling out with Zuffa, Golden Glory and Alistair Overeem are reportedly interested in signing an exclusive deal to fight in the UFC.
The news comes nearly a week after Overeem and a multitude of other Golden Glory fighters were released from their Strikeforce contracts.
“We just want to be able to produce great fighters and create great fights for the fans,” Golden Glory co-owner Bas Boon said in a released statement on Thursday. “We have no intention for co-promotion deals and are even willing to make an exclusive deal for Alistair Overeem to fight in the UFC, if the terms are right.”
UFC president Dana White has stated that the release of Overeem, his brother Valentijn, former women’s champion Marloes Coenen and Jon Olav Einemo were strictly business decisions. According to White, Golden Glory doesn’t typically allow their fighters to be paid directly.
Promotions usually pay the gym, and the fighters are cut checks afterwards.
Immediately following her release, Coenen challenged White’s statements with a picture on Twitter of a check paid directly to her from Zuffa.
Regardless of the situation, Boon acknowledges that Golden Glory has no qualms about paying its fighters directly.
“The payment was done how the UFC wanted,” Boon continued in the statement. “I do not understand why Dana claims we did not agree. We did not have a choice and never said we would not fight in the future or that we would refuse to work like this in the future.”
“[We worked out that problem with the Zuffa lawyer in Vancouver and even agreed with their new sponsor policies]. Maybe there is a miscommunication and Dana was not well informed that the direct payment issue was solved and no longer an issue.”
According to Boon, there were already deals in place that had been discussed with Strikeforce lead man Scott Coker before Zuffa purchased the promotion, which has led to a plethora of headaches for all parties involved.
“I introduced Scott through a partner of mine in L.A. to some powerful people in the U.S. [Scott was very surprised after this meeting and excited and mailed me after his meeting with these people how impressed he was],” stated Boon.
“I never could’ve guessed that at the same moment I was talking to Scott to make a massive move for becoming a real competitor to the UFC, Scott was already talking to the same UFC for selling Strikeforce. I trusted Scott with some business plans. The problems with Strikeforce was that we made some agreements with Scott which were creating headaches now that Zuffa took over.”
Can an agreement be made that would bring one of the top heavyweights in the world to the bright lights of the UFC?
White has stated that there were no hard feelings in the decision to release Overeem. He was even open to the possibility of doing business with Golden Glory if they agreed to change some of their business practices.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more on this story as it unfolds.
Chael Sonnen may have lost to Anderson Silva on paper, but the self-proclaimed “People’s Champ” truly believes he walked away from the bout a winner. The brash Oregon native was recently a guest on Bruce Buffer’s It’s Time show on the Sherdog Radi…
Chael Sonnen may have lost to Anderson Silva on paper, but the self-proclaimed “People’s Champ” truly believes he walked away from the bout a winner.
The brash Oregon native was recently a guest on Bruce Buffer’s It’s Time show on the Sherdog Radio Network, where he had strong words regarding his UFC 117 loss to Silva and the MMA scoring system.
“In what parallel scoring system do you punch a man 300 times, he hits you 11 times, wraps his leg around your head for eight seconds and they declare him the winner?” Sonnen asked during the show.
“That doesn’t make you a winner. In no form of society, from the jungle to the streets, does that make you a winner. I’m the people’s champion. I’m the linear champion.
“I’m the best middleweight there’s ever been, and I am the UFC’s true champion.”
The Silva and Sonnen feud has gone on for over a year. It came to a climax when Silva submitted Sonnen in the fifth round of their August 2010 bout after getting dominated for 23 minutes.
The late fight heroics have led to continued verbal exchanges between the two that seem to capture headlines on a weekly basis. Sonnen said on the Sherdog show that he outright doesn’t like Silva or anyone from his Black House gym.
When it comes to Chael Sonnen, what you see is what you get. There isn’t a facade or cheap hope for fight promotion. Sonnen truly believes in what he says. If not, he simply wouldn’t say it. As Sonnen said on the program, he doesn’t “manufacture conflict.”
Sonnen goes on to point out welterweight contender Josh Koscheck, who went out of his to get under Georges St-Pierre’s skin before their title bout in December 2010.
After months of talk, Koscheck retracted his comments after losing a lopsided unanimous decision to St-Pierre. In his post-fight interview, Koscheck admitted that all of the trash talk was only meant to hype the fight.
Despite being a long-time friend of Koscheck’s, Sonnen said he sees something incredibly wrong with this picture:
I’ve known Josh Koscheck for 13 years. He’s got my full support. He’s a friend of mine. If I had the ability, I would have fired him after the St-Pierre fight.
Not because of the beyond atrocious performance he put on, but [for] the fact that he built the fight up––he hyped it, and he grabbed the microphone and tells everybody, ‘Hey, I didn’t mean that.’ Somewhere in fighting that’s OK? That is a fraudulent criminal act in my opinion.
Sonnen calls fighters out when he truly has a problem with them, but “The All-American” Brian Stann doesn’t seem to be one of those guys. Both middleweights are scheduled to meet on Oct. 8 at UFC 136 in a bout that could determine a new No. 1 contender for the UFC title.
“I’m not going to manufacture a conflict against Brian Stann. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a great guy. He’s a world champion,” Sonnen said.
“He and I need to compete with each other. I’m the middleweight champion of the world, and Dana White and I together have deemed him the No. 1 contender for my championship. I will give him his opportunity on Oct. 8. That’s it. Win or lose, we will shake hands, and we will carry on life as men and as friends.”
Despite numerous reports and speculation, 
The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.