Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a professional MMA fighter capable of competing against the baddest dudes on the planet. CM Punk dropped a bomb on fight fans last December, announcing he had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
He …
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a professional MMA fighter capable of competing against the baddest dudes on the planet. CM Punkdropped a bomb on fight fans last December, announcing he had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
He was expected to make his debut sometime in 2015.
Well, 2015 is here, and we have yet to hear anything about an opponent or fight date for the former professional wrestling star. During an appearance on The Jon Anik and Kenny Florian Podcast show, Punk gave fans an update on his fight progress:
I think a lot of people are antsy. There’s people on Twitter saying, ‘Oh, you’re never gonna fight.’ This was just announced in what, November, December? I’ve been training full time for like six months. As bad as I have the itch to get in there, I want to be as prepared as possible. I wouldn’t be upset if it got pushed to 2016.
Punk continues to make it clear that he isn’t dipping a toe in to test the professional fight waters. He is fully committed to this new career path and the sinking or swimming that comes with it.
Behind the shielding doors of Roufusport, Punk hones his skills full time with head coach Duke Roufus, former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and ONE welterweight champ Ben Askren. He hopes to “maximize” his time training without the pressures of potentially jumping into the cage too soon.
UFC President Dana White, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and matchmaker Joe Silva have all kept their distance, according to Punk, who claims he has had zero talks with anyone in the UFC about a fight date or an opponent.
Perhaps it’s for the best considering Punk has zero fights and no martial arts background whatsoever. The “Best in the World” is another drop in the bucket in MMA. Time would at least give him a fighting chance.
Why should that be denied?
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Yair Rodriguez stepped into the cage on Saturday night with only five professional fights and less than $400 to his name. Standing across from him was Charles Rosa, one of the most intriguing prospects in the featherweight division.
Looking across the …
Yair Rodriguez stepped into the cage on Saturday night with only five professional fights and less than $400 to his name. Standing across from him was Charles Rosa, one of the most intriguing prospects in the featherweight division.
Looking across the open sea of Octagon canvas, Rodriguez saw opportunity where most see fear. He was competing on the main card of UFC 188, a pay-per-view card in Mexico City headlined by Cain Velasquez. With bright lights, cameras and celebrities in his peripheral, Rodriguez stormed forward like a seasoned veteran looking to steal the show.
The MMA world soon learned what all the buzz surrounding The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America winner was about. The rising 22-year-old star looked like he was in The Matrix, wowing fans with jumping switch kicks and an aggressive closed guard.
Rosa appeared to be outmatched technically in all areas of the fight. On his feet, Rodriguez kept Rosa guessing with feints and switch-striking. When the fight hit the ground, Rosa looked like he was tangling with an octopus with all of the guard movement and submission attempts.
This isn’t to say Rosa didn’t have his moments. He hung tough in the stand-up exchanges and even managed to ride out a bit of the clock in control on the ground. It was a close fight that ended up earning Fight of the Night honors. Rosa’s toughness convinced one judge to score the fight in his favor, but the other two judges saw the fight in favor of Rodriguez.
Rodriguez walked away with a $50,000 bonus and a win over a highly respected opponent in his home country. It was not a bad way to end a weekend that began with less than $400 in his pocket, according to a post-fight interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:
I think less [than $400] bro. It means so much for me bro. I’ve been working hard. My last fight was in November. It’s a long time to fight this fight, but I’m so proud that I could be here and that means so much for me. That just Dana White just called me to talk with me and say, “That was a great fight.” And I’m just so happy. I’m going to keep moving forward and keep training hard.
There was a lot to like about Rodriguez’s performance, especially when considering he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his prime skills yet. UFC commentator Joe Rogan even threw out comparisons to Jon Jones and Anthony Pettis.
While it’s a little early to be doling out those kinds of compliments, there is indeed something special about Rodriguez. Perhaps we unknowingly witnessed a preview of the featherweight division’s next breakout star.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Yair Rodriguez stepped into the cage on Saturday night with only five professional fights and less than $400 to his name. Standing across from him was Charles Rosa, one of the most intriguing prospects in the featherweight division.
Looking across the …
Yair Rodriguez stepped into the cage on Saturday night with only five professional fights and less than $400 to his name. Standing across from him was Charles Rosa, one of the most intriguing prospects in the featherweight division.
Looking across the open sea of Octagon canvas, Rodriguez saw opportunity where most see fear. He was competing on the main card of UFC 188, a pay-per-view card in Mexico City headlined by Cain Velasquez. With bright lights, cameras and celebrities in his peripheral, Rodriguez stormed forward like a seasoned veteran looking to steal the show.
The MMA world soon learned what all the buzz surrounding The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America winner was about. The rising 22-year-old star looked like he was in The Matrix, wowing fans with jumping switch kicks and an aggressive closed guard.
Rosa appeared to be outmatched technically in all areas of the fight. On his feet, Rodriguez kept Rosa guessing with feints and switch-striking. When the fight hit the ground, Rosa looked like he was tangling with an octopus with all of the guard movement and submission attempts.
This isn’t to say Rosa didn’t have his moments. He hung tough in the stand-up exchanges and even managed to ride out a bit of the clock in control on the ground. It was a close fight that ended up earning Fight of the Night honors. Rosa’s toughness convinced one judge to score the fight in his favor, but the other two judges saw the fight in favor of Rodriguez.
Rodriguez walked away with a $50,000 bonus and a win over a highly respected opponent in his home country. It was not a bad way to end a weekend that began with less than $400 in his pocket, according to a post-fight interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:
I think less [than $400] bro. It means so much for me bro. I’ve been working hard. My last fight was in November. It’s a long time to fight this fight, but I’m so proud that I could be here and that means so much for me. That just Dana White just called me to talk with me and say, “That was a great fight.” And I’m just so happy. I’m going to keep moving forward and keep training hard.
There was a lot to like about Rodriguez’s performance, especially when considering he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his prime skills yet. UFC commentator Joe Rogan even threw out comparisons to Jon Jones and Anthony Pettis.
While it’s a little early to be doling out those kinds of compliments, there is indeed something special about Rodriguez. Perhaps we unknowingly witnessed a preview of the featherweight division’s next breakout star.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Fabricio Werdum kicked down the king’s door, marched into the king’s castle and took the king’s throne. It was only fitting that Werdum be the man to remind us that no one is unbeatable.
Cain Velasquez, a heavyweight tornado, had effo…
Fabricio Werdum kicked down the king’s door, marched into the king’s castle and took the king’s throne. It was only fitting that Werdum be the man to remind us that no one is unbeatable.
Cain Velasquez, a heavyweight tornado, had effortlessly torn through every opponent in his path. Outside of a lone knockout loss to Junior dos Santos, no real chink in Velasquez’s armor had ever been revealed. He came back and dominated dos Santos in a pair of rematches, firmly establishing himself as the best heavyweight on the planet.
Werdum faced long odds against Velasquez in the UFC 188 main event. Mexico City hosted the UFC championship bout Saturday night, which saw the return of one of the greatest heavyweights in MMA history. With a home crowd behind him, Velasquez set out to unify the heavyweight titles after spending nearly two years on the shelf.
Like MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, Velasquez is a fighter who rarely wears his emotions on his sleeve. But something about fighting in Mexico made this bout different. He threw stoicism to the curb as he walked to the Octagon amid the pouring rain of love and admiration from fans.
As Mexican fans celebrated Velasquez’s arrival, Werdum quietly paced back and forth as calm as ever. This wasn’t the first time he’s played the role of massive underdog. Let’s face it: When it comes to spoiling things, Werdum is MMA’s classier version of Kanye West.
It was just five years ago that Werdum handed Emelianenko his first official MMA loss. Few thought he’d be able to shock the world once more against Velasquez. The idea that no man is unbeatable is a concept we typically kick around after the fact. But in reality, few saw Velasquez running out of gas after one round and getting submitted by a guillotine choke, which is exactly what happened.
Velasquez, one of the most conditioned athletes in combat sports, wasn’t prepared for the high altitude that comes along with fighting in Mexico. When speaking with Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani, Werdum admitted he knew Velasquez would have a tough time acclimating to the conditions.
“I saw when he was very tired because he just come into Mexico two weeks before,” Werdum said. “I listened when he breathed and I saw when he was very tired, and I said, ‘This is my moment.’”
Being the only man to defeat Velasquez and Emelianenko, Werdum was asked if he was now the greatest heavyweight of all time.
“Yes, I have it here. I have two belts. I have one at my home, and I have the other one here,” said Werdum.
After his performance Saturday night, it really does make you wonder.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
The Tortoise and the Hare was always one of my favorite Aesop’s Fables growing up. It was a story ingrained with the moral that speed doesn’t always win the race.
Sometimes slow and steady is the way to go. The same moral can be taken …
The Tortoise and the Hare was always one of my favorite Aesop’s Fables growing up. It was a story ingrained with the moral that speed doesn’t always win the race.
Sometimes slow and steady is the way to go. The same moral can be taken away from the UFC 188 heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez.
Werdum, a heavy underdog coming into the fight, fought at a tortoise’s pace against the hare of the heavyweight division, spoiling one of the biggest homecomings of the year. Mexico’s native son, Velasquez, had looked like Aquaman throughout his career, dragging opponents out to deep waters and leaving them to drown.
But out of the water, 7,382 feet above sea level in this case, Velasquez looked ordinary. He opened up against Werdum in the first round with the same aggressive pace he’s used to wear down countless other heavyweights. But merely after a few minutes of resistance, Velasquez started to slow down.
It was uncanny seeing a man many considered one of the most conditioned combat athletes in the world taking deep breaths after only a round of action. When speaking with Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani after the fight, Werdum claimed he saw the fight drain out of Velasquez:
“I saw when he was very tired because he just came into Mexico two weeks before,” Werdum said. “I listened when he breathed and I saw when he was very tired, and I said, ‘This is my moment.’”
Werdum calmly weaved his way through Velasquez’s wild strikes and began landing significant punches of his own, busting up the heavyweight star in a way none of us had ever seen before. Velasquez was basically a zombie in the cage fighting on autopilot. Huffing, puffing, wheezing, gasping—Velasquez did all he could in an attempt to catch his second wind.
But it never came.
Velasquez immediately reverted back to wrestling in the third round hoping he could get a takedown and ride out some top time, which is typically an effective strategy for world-class wrestlers. Unfortunately for Velasquez, he wasn’t dealing with an average opponent on the ground.
Werdum, a two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion, is one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artists to ever step foot in the Octagon. His closed guard is a labyrinth filled with unexpected traps. Velasquez did his best to avoid the ground altogether against Werdum, but choking on your own lungs makes you do desperate things.
He shot in for a takedown, leaving his neck fully exposed on the outside for Werdum to lock in a guillotine choke submission at 2:13 of the third round.
During the post-fight press conference, Velasquez admitted arriving only two weeks before the bout to train above sea level wasn’t enough time to prepare him for the fight.
“Maybe that wasn’t enough,” he said. “Again, no excuses. Fabricio was the better guy tonight. He fought with great technique. Very relaxed.”
Werdum was indeed the better fighter on Saturday night. We can talk all day about sea level conditions and ring rust, but the results are the results. Werdum didn’t just beat Velasquez.
He finished him in Mexico City, in front of Velasquez’s countrymen. It was a strong performance that quelled any doubts about Werdum’s position in the heavyweight division.
With that said, there is no doubt the high altitude played a major factor in the fight. A fight in the states would have played out much differently. This isn’t to say the outcome would have changed, but Velasquez would have at least been able to contribute more than a one-round effort.
The image of the former UFC heavyweight champion stumbling over his feet exhausted, eating unanswered punch after unanswered punch was unexpected and odd. But it was also temporary. Velasquez will go back to the drawing board, prepare properly and return to form.
How would the hare do in a rematch? Perhaps Velasquez and Werdum will go at it again and pen old Aesop a new fable.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Chuck O’Neil’s hips don’t lie.
The CES welterweight champ is enjoying life as a vastly improved fighter and an overall better version of himself. No, this isn’t the same O’Neil you remember from The Ultimate Fighter 13. Th…
Chuck O’Neil’s hips don’t lie.
The CES welterweight champ is enjoying life as a vastly improved fighter and an overall better version of himself. No, this isn’t the same O’Neil you remember from The Ultimate Fighter 13. That O’Neil admittedly “hit like a b—h.”
With the help of boxing and MMA trainer “Diamond” Dave Keefe, this newer version of O’Neil is turning over his hips and relying on refined technique instead of caveman toughness. Ricardo Funch was the first victim of Keefe’s training, which O’Neil has attributed to much of his recent success.
It was on full display for a second time in O’Neil’s first-ever CES title defense in January against Emmanuel Walo, who was knocked cold in roughly 11 seconds. O’Neil left the cage that night without even breaking a sweat.
“My coach Diamond Dave is always saying, ‘We don’t get paid for that round, let’s go out there and be the boss and takeover,’” O’Neil told Bleacher Report.
“We’re always trying to finish fights between me and my main training partner, Eric Spicely. So that’s both of our thing,” O’Neil explained. “We go out there and try to get the fight done fast and get out of there without any bumps or bruises. So you can’t complain about that.”
One of the most important aspects of being a professional fighter is dieting. You can’t expect to make it to the top drinking beer and eating cheeseburgers. Fighters sacrifice the harmful, yet satisfying luxuries of life to maintain elite-level conditioning.
Once the fight is over, it’s Hulk smash time for most athletes. In another life, you would have thought O’Neil was a Ninja Turtle after all of the post-fight pizza he’s consumed. Bring on TakeruKobayashi, because this man can throw down.
“I ate with my close-knit family and friends in just like this little s—-y bar upstairs from the event,” O’Neil said. “But the next day I had a lot of pizza. The day after that I had a lot of pizza, and the day after that I had a lot of pizza. I’m a pizza fiend so I actually ate three bar-style pizzas, mozzarella sticks and french fries in one sitting. So it was pretty impressive.”
After the glorious dining, O’Neil returned to training with Keefe, a man who isn’t known for beating around the bush. Complete honesty is paramount in any coach and student tandem. True world champions aren’t made by cutting corners.
So when Keefe looked O’Neil straight in the face and told him he “hit like a b—h,” it was out of love from a man strictly upholding his coaching duties.
“I was mostly happy about finally getting a knockout in my career,” said O’Neil. “I’ve never had one, and I’ve been with Diamond Dave since September leading into my Ricardo Funch fight, and when I first started with him, he was like, ‘You hit like a b—h.’ He’s very straightforward, and it’s great to have a coach like that.”
“Over a short period of time, we started turning my hips over, and we started to be able to actually crack so it was awesome to put that into play so fast and come out with the results that we were able to come out with.” O’Neil continued, “I was just stumbling all over myself throwing muscle man punches. It’s good turning the hips over. It feels a lot better.”
Perhaps the biggest lesson O’Neil has taken away as a fighter is that being tough isn’t enough to pay bills. While he is still eager as ever to exchange with opponents, a more mature, technical fighter is beginning to emerge. O’Neil admits toughness got him to the UFC, but it didn’t help him stay.
He’ll be ready when the UFC comes calling again, but for now, he has his hands full with Dominique Steele on Friday night at CES MMA 29. A win would make it five in a row for O’Neil, who has finished three of his last four fights.
There has been a little trash talk leading up to this fight, but O’Neil hasn’t been swayed at all by the pre-fight chatter. He plans on being the same smooth, calculating fighter that won CES gold.
“That’s the biggest thing. You don’t want to go out there and try to force a lot of things to happen,” he said. “You’ve got to take what comes to you, and at the same time, do your game plan. If you stay smart and stay tight, a finish is going to come. That’s what we’re going to do. I’m not just going to come out and just overload on my right hand. We have avenues to win the fight wherever it goes.”
“It’s going to be good when everything comes together in that cage, and I land that first punch, we walk up for the first time and hit the ground for the first time,” O’Neil said. He’s going to realize he was talking s—t about the wrong guy because I ain’t no b—h.”
When asked for a prediction, O’Neil paused for a moment to channel his inner-Nostradamus before giving MMA fans an outcome they could take to the bank.
“Alright so—stoppage,” he said.
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a professional MMA fighter capable of competing against the baddest dudes on the planet. CM Punk dropped a bomb on fight fans last December, announcing he had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.