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UFC 149 Results: Where Hector Lombard Goes Next Following Disappointing Showing

Remember when you were growing up and your parents could say everything to you and nothing would get through.But then, suddenly, one word or one line just crushes your heart: “We are really disappointed with you.”For the first time, just like that, it …

Remember when you were growing up and your parents could say everything to you and nothing would get through.

But then, suddenly, one word or one line just crushes your heart: “We are really disappointed with you.”

For the first time, just like that, it hurts.

Hector Lombard’s UFC debut against Tim Boetsch was of that mold. Lombard’s debut was unbelievably disappointing from an average fan’s perspective, considering the hype that surrounded him prior to the fight.

Where does he go now?

Regroup

Lombard must now regroup, wait for another opportunity and then deliver on that opportunity to rectify his loss on Saturday night.

I’m sure everyone has gone into something overconfident, whether that be a sporting event, a test in school or a relationship. Losing or failing like this happens to everyone, and it only challenges the character and drive of the individual.

Lombard’s character is being tested right now. It’s time for him to regroup his thoughts and look forward to the next fight.

Refocus

Focus. One of the most used terms in sports, but one of the terms athletes fail to grasp at certain moments in their life.

Lombard went into his fight and he wasn’t as focused as he needed to be. Maybe he even fell in love with the hype rather than focusing on the task at hand.

Now it’s time to refocus.

Build off positives

Lombard was dreadful in the early goings of the fight. There aren’t too many people who would argue that he wasn’t.

However, as the fight moved to the later rounds, Lombard started to show some of his ability. He began to land cleaner shots, look more confident and look settled.

Lombard is going to receive another opportunity in the UFC given his overall ability. He must do these three things to get that elusive first victory in his next fight.

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UFC 148 Results: 5 Things We Learned from Saturday’s Fights

UFC 148 delivered fantastic moments, a sad retirement and memorable finishes. But what did we learn?Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s epic fights. Melvin Guillard gave himself a lifelineMelvin Guillard’s back was against …

UFC 148 delivered fantastic moments, a sad retirement and memorable finishes. But what did we learn?

Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s epic fights.

Melvin Guillard gave himself a lifeline

Melvin Guillard’s back was against the wall going into his fight Saturday night. That wall was the door to the exit from the UFC.

After coming close to a title fight about a year ago, Guillard has failed to deliver inside of the Octagon. He fell all the way to the preliminary’s.

But, with his back to the wall, he defeated Fabricio Camoes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Lifeline given.

Anderson Silva proves his worth

A late submission saved Anderson Silva the first time he locked horns with Chael Sonnen, but this fight was more certain.

After Sonnen found some success early, Silva took over the fight in the second round. He landed some heavy strikes, and Sonnen found himself on the wrong side of a TKO.

No more theories, no more Sonnen can compete with Anderson. He lost not once, but twice. The door has shut.

Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz looked old

Forrest Griffin defeated Tito Ortiz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Both fighters looked old, out of gas and run down.

Griffin came out with the slight decision, and his shelf life in the UFC does appear to have some time left, but both looked old.

Tito Ortiz’s retirement was perfect timing

The “I’m retiring” right after you lose is something I can’t stand. It generally takes a lot of the publicity from the winning fighter.

But in this case, with an aging Ortiz, it was the right time. Hopefully this is it for Ortiz. He doesn’t have much more in the tank at age 37, and his skid of 1-7-1 to conclude his career proves it.

However, he did go down fighting until the bitter end, which is classic Ortiz. It’s sad to see a legend retire, but the time was right.

Chad Mendes’ body blow got the show started

Which one would you take—shot to the face or blow to the body?

Chad Mendes countered a Cody McKenzie kick with a powerful body shot, ending it in only 31 seconds.

I don’t like when fights last under a minute, but this was perfect for UFC 148. We saw six fights that went the distance prior, and then Mendes landed a blow that opened up the rest of the show.

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UFC 147 Results: Where Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin Go Following Fight

Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin stole the show at UFC 147 Saturday night. It was Franklin who defeated Silva, but it was a great battle to watch.Now that both aging stars put on a quality performance, where do they go from here?I’ll tell you. Wa…

Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin stole the show at UFC 147 Saturday night. It was Franklin who defeated Silva, but it was a great battle to watch.

Now that both aging stars put on a quality performance, where do they go from here?

I’ll tell you.

Wanderlei Silva

Silva looked better than he has in years when he fought Franklin at UFC 147. He had vicious power and intensity, and he took a few more shots that didn’t seem to bother him as much as we have seen in the past.

It now leaves the door open for his immediate future.

Where He Goes Next

It depends on where he chooses to go next with his career. He could have one more fight, a couple more fights or just retire altogether.

I’m more in the line of though that he will participate in a couple more fights, however.

The UFC hasn’t been great to Silva in terms of success. He has endured his share of struggles in the company, so I can see him wanting to grab another victory to tuck in his belt before heading into retirement.

At 35, Silva still has some years left in him if he decides to go that route. It may not be several fights per year, but maybe two would be an ideal number.

You will see Silva in the Octagon at least one more time in his career.

Rich Franklin

Franklin’s value as a fighter in the UFC never has been lower than it was before UFC 147. However, with a victory that made him look younger, more agile, quicker and improved cardiovascularly, he has a few more quality fights left in the tank.

After falling off the map for a little while in the UFC, Franklin now has a little momentum heading into potential future fights in the company.

They are fights that I think he will take on.

Where He Goes Next

Franklin will look to fight in the relative future. Who, where and when will all be decided sometime, but he’s not done quite yet.

It’s like that older athlete who has a great performance in one game or a solid year and believes he could follow it up. At age 37, Franklin just had that solid performance, and he too believes he can follow it up with another one.

Why not? He looked pretty good Saturday night.

He could do it at least one more time.

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UFC 146 Results: Cain Velasquez’s Performance Will Carry over into Future Fights

Somebody made the biggest statement at UFC 146 and it wasn’t Junior dos Santos. It was former champion, the guy Dos Santos defeated for the title, Cain Velasquez.Velasquez looked like an absolute monster on Saturday night. He took Antonio Silva to the …

Somebody made the biggest statement at UFC 146 and it wasn’t Junior dos Santos. It was former champion, the guy Dos Santos defeated for the title, Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez looked like an absolute monster on Saturday night. He took Antonio Silva to the ground early and went to work.

I mean, really, he worked Silva over by pummeling him until Silva couldn’t take any more. Blood was gushing everywhere.

This victory will go a long way in returning Velasquez to the top of the mountain.

It was exactly what Velasquez needed to do in order to get a possible title shot against Dos Santos within the year.

According to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, UFC president Dana White mentioned how the two will fight by the end of the year.

“The significance can’t be lost on White, who confirmed there would be a rematch between dos Santos and Velasquez for the belt later this year. Given the beating dos Santos put on Mir and the bloody mess that Velasquez made of Silva, that fight should be a massive seller.”

If the two did step inside the Octagon again, things will be different. If Velasquez can get Dos Santos on the ground, it will be a long night for the champion.

Velasquez’s victory Saturday night was a reminder of just how great this guy can be inside the cage. It was a demolishing victory from the very beginning. Silva knew what was coming, but still couldn’t stop it.

We are watching a man on a mission to regain his title. Whenever these two superstars lock heads again, don’t be surprised if you see a different outcome.

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UFC 145 Fight Card: Jon Jones Will Destory Rashad Evans to Retain Title

Jon Jones is one of the most freakishly gifted athletes in sports. His overall skill set, combined with his size and length, makes him nearly unstoppable.Jones is the best fighter in the world.Rashad Evans may have been his training buddy, but he’s not…

Jon Jones is one of the most freakishly gifted athletes in sports. His overall skill set, combined with his size and length, makes him nearly unstoppable.

Jones is the best fighter in the world.

Rashad Evans may have been his training buddy, but he’s not ready for the onslaught that Jones will give him Saturday night at UFC 145.

Jones is a freak of nature, and I mean that in the most sincere way possible. His reach is 84.5 inches, which results into a strike percentage rate of 52 percent. More than half of his strikes or blows are landed. Pretty incredible.

It’s not that Evans is a bad fighter, because obviously he’s not. But this has everything to do with Jones being that much better.

Evans’ one-strike ability and his overall boxing ability should worry Jones, because that’s where Evans has the edge, but I don’t see it being enough to upset Jones.

Jon “Bones” Jones will get to his game to control the pace. Once he gets the fight in the correct flow, expect Jones to ride the wave to an easy victory.

Many believe that Evans may have the recipe to upset Jones. While many people realistically give most opponents no chance against Jones, there are some that say Evans may get it done.

Jones hears everything people and “experts” are saying; he will use it as motivation to not only defeat Evans but destroy him. He will come more prepared than any other time in his life.

Prediction

Until Jones is defeated, picking against the best fighter in the world would be senseless. He will get to his game by controlling the pace and flow early.

Jones wins by a unanimous decision.

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UFC 143 Results: Josh Koscheck Will Dominate Mike Pierce in Convincing Fashion

Josh Koscheck (16-5) has always been a confident fighter who is willing to take on anybody in his path. Mike Pierce (13-4) will bring an interesting challenge to UFC 143, but Koscheck’s wrestling ability will prove to be the biggest difference ma…

Koscheck’s takedown ability is one of the best in the UFC. He does possess the ability to stand and deliver dominating right hands, but I believe that his best bet for victory would be to get Pierce on the ground early and often.

Putting Pierce down early in the bout will force Pierce to use more energy than he wanted, which will cause Koscheck to have the advantage if the fight goes deep.

The biggest question in this fight is: Will Pierce be able to perform well enough with his footwork, athleticism and takedown defense to stifle Koscheck’s game plan?

I don’t see him being able to handle the takedowns.

Georges St-Pierre is the best welterweight fighter in the world, and Koscheck stayed competitive through five rounds. He didn’t come out on top, but he at least threatened St-Pierre.

That tells you just how high of a ceiling Koscheck possesses. He isn’t the best fighter in the world, but he’s a notch below.

We’ll see that ceiling on-hand Saturday night against Pierce. He’ll use the clinch to set up his takedowns, wear out Pierce and finish him later in the rounds.

Pierce will see the fifth loss of his UFC career after being outworked by Koscheck.

Prediction: Koscheck wins by TKO in the second round.

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