Author: Kyle Symes

TUF 14 Finale: Where Does John Dodson Rank in the Bantamweight Division?

John “The Magician” Dodson won The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 bantamweight crown after removing T.J. Dillashaw from his senses. Dodson showed what many fans believed were his strengths which was his stand up and speed. He used both to end any hopes of …

John “The Magician” Dodson won The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 bantamweight crown after removing T.J. Dillashaw from his senses.

Dodson showed what many fans believed were his strengths which was his stand up and speed. He used both to end any hopes of Dillashaw grinding out a win on the mat.

For the first minute of the frame, Dodson seemed content to dance around the Octagon, waiting for Dillashaw to attack.

When Dillashaw finally pressed forward, Dodson countered him with some hard punches and pounced on the woozy fighter in quick fashion to win the bantamweight crown.

Besides the KO in the finale, Dodson also won by TKO to get into the house and finished teammate, Johnny Bedford to reach the finals.

After  winning TUF, it’s clear that Dodson is going to have a speed and punching power advantage over just about anyone he’s likely to face next.

Of course what’s not clear is what’s next for Dodson and how does he fit into the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Although Dodson has shown some potential, the UFC should bring him along slowly just as they would with any other prospect.

If the UFC stuck with their theme of matching winners with winners, a match up against Darren Uyenoyama would provide an interesting bout given Uyenoyama’s grappling skills.

It would represent the kind of fight Tony Ferguson, another TUF winner, just had against an experienced veteran in Yves Edwards.

Another possibility is Alex Soto. He may be coming off a loss but he has a military background that the UFC would like to build on (ala Brian Stann) and defeating a TUF winner would help his cause.

As far as rankings go, Dodson is either going to be very lucky or very unfortunate.

He’ll be lucky because the bantamweight division is relatively new to the UFC and there aren’t a lot of credible title challengers at the moment.

Or he will be very unfortunate because for that exact reason, he will be pushed to the top when he isn’t ready.

Dodson is in control of his own destiny after winning TUF. He has the skills and the personality to be a star, but can he survive against top-level competition?

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TUF Finale: Michael Bisping Forgets Playground Rule No. 1

Michael Bisping experienced a little bit of karma in his bout with Jason “Mayhem” Miller.Bisping, in his last bout, kneed Jorge Rivera in the head while Rivera was clearly down and showed no remorse for his actions afterward. It was clear that Bis…

Michael Bisping experienced a little bit of karma in his bout with Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

Bisping, in his last bout, kneed Jorge Rivera in the head while Rivera was clearly down and showed no remorse for his actions afterward. It was clear that Bisping did it intentionally as he took the time to wind up and pick his shot.

Against Miller, Bisping received an incidental headbutt along with an accidental eye poke as well.

After the two fouls occurred, Bisping made a clear indication to the referee as to what had happened. His yell about the headbutt was loud enough to be heard on a regular audio feed from one of the cageside cameras.

Maybe Bisping didn’t learn the same set of rules from the playground “across the pond,” but maybe someone should educate him.

For anyone who’s ever played basketball at your local YMCA or neighborhood courts, everyone knows just because you can call your own fouls, doesn’t mean you do.

Bisping seemed to even forget the rules himself as “Mayhem” jokingly asked for Bisping to attempt to knee him in the head while on the ground and Bisping took a head kick at the downed opponent instead.

If Bisping is going to clearly ignore the rules, then don’t be the loudest person in a fight to complain about something that is completely accidental.

He doesn’t have that many fans to begin with and his current attitude of only acknowledging the rules when it benefits him are likely to keep fans from backing him.

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Women’s MMA: Is an "Ultimate Fighter" Show the Answer?

It’s no secret that Dana White and Zuffa aren’t too keen on the idea of women and MMA. If a woman wants to make it big, the highest they can go is Strikeforce and Bellator.But what if White and the UFC changed their minds and accepted women’s MMA into …

It’s no secret that Dana White and Zuffa aren’t too keen on the idea of women and MMA. If a woman wants to make it big, the highest they can go is Strikeforce and Bellator.

But what if White and the UFC changed their minds and accepted women’s MMA into the mainstream fold?

In an interview with FightingFamous TV, Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion discussed a number of topics, including her life and the state of women’s MMA.

Interestingly, she said the idea of getting the girls on a reality TV show in order to get more exposure should be looked at closely.

Now, of course, White has been heavily against women and MMA for awhile. He isn’t likely to budge, given he seems to want to play it conservatively with the UFC on Fox deal. But what if they made a season of The Ultimate Fighter for women?

We’ve seen how the show can replenish the ranks of weight classes and even reenergize some stale divisions.

Season 5 saw the return of the lightweight division and has produced some quality fighters. The most recent season saw the introduction of the bantamweight and featherweight classes to casual fans.

For anyone who’s been watching TUF, it’s clear the show is running out of ideas. Their attempts at an international version of the show likely wouldn’t do as well in America, either.

If there was a women’s MMA Ultimate Fighter, the thin divisions in Strikeforce could see an explosion of contenders for the different weight classes.

It would also give the chance to prove everyone wrong who doesn’t believe women belong in MMA.

White likely wouldn’t do it with the UFC brand. Using Strikeforce would give him an outlet to take a gamble. If it pays off, he can take all the credit for the idea. If it fails, he can say, “Hey, it wasn’t the UFC.”

It’s a win-win for both sides. Women’s MMA finally gets the air time it desperately needs and the ladies can finally have the chance to show off all their talents.

For the UFC and Zuffa, it allows them to experiment with a relatively untapped area of MMA that has enormous potential for growth with very little risk.

And with all the back and forth between Ronda Rousey, Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate, who doesn’t think they could pull ratings?

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Miesha Tate Believes She’s Not Just Another Face in MMA

Strikeforce’s 135-pound women’s champion, Miesha Tate, believes she’s more than just another (pretty) face in MMA.In a recent video with FightingFamous TV, Tate shares her feelings on a number of issues such as how her life has changed since winning th…

Strikeforce’s 135-pound women’s champion, Miesha Tate, believes she’s more than just another (pretty) face in MMA.

In a recent video with FightingFamous TV, Tate shares her feelings on a number of issues such as how her life has changed since winning the title and her place among the top women fighters in the division.

Given Tate’s amateur wrestling background and her record, it’s hard to argue that she’s just another “flash in the pan” as she says.

Tate’s defeated all of her opponents but two, one being her second professional bout that occurred in the same night following a three-round decision and the other being a tough decision loss to Sarah Kaufman.

Since the Kaufman loss, Tate has notable wins over top opponents such as Zoila Gurgel and former 135-pound champion, Marloes Coenen.

Coenen has since come out and joined the anti-Tate parade along with Ronda Rousey in a debate that centers on looks and how it factors into rankings and title pictures.

Among the random tidbits in the video is also a little bit about her and fellow MMA fighter Bryan Caraway moving back home to save some money.

If Tate wants to prepare herself the best she can before Strikeforce sets her up with a line of challengers, getting back to SoCal and Alpha Male has to be a top priority.

With all the Tate news going around about who looks better and who’s too nice, it’s good to see a video that examines not only Tate’s career, but the future of women’s MMA as well.

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TUF 14 Finale: Jason "Mayhem" Miller Enters Bout as Clear Fan Favorite

Jason “Mayhem” Miller will be making his UFC return on Sat. December 3rd against the much despised, Michael Bisping.Bisping is the betting favorite and is considered the higher ranked fighter given his body of work.He’s coming off three-straight wins w…

Jason “Mayhem” Miller will be making his UFC return on Sat. December 3rd against the much despised, Michael Bisping.

Bisping is the betting favorite and is considered the higher ranked fighter given his body of work.

He’s coming off three-straight wins with his last loss coming by way of decision in which fans could make a case that it should’ve gone to the Brit’s way.

“Mayhem,” meanwhile, has won two in a row, but his wins were against some questionable competition and occurred over a year ago.

The last time we saw Miller against an elite-level fighter was his bout against Jake Shields and although he lost the decision, he won over a lot of fans with his toughness and even managed to nearly submit Shields.

Although Bisping should be and is the odds-makers favorite, he certainly isn’t the fan favorite.

In this weigh-in video provided by MMAfighting.com, Bisping expresses his content for the fans by simply saying he “doesn’t give a **** about getting love.”

As loud as the boos for Bisping were, the cheers may have been even louder for “Mayhem” when he made his way out.

“Mayhem” has always been in the MMA spotlight even though he hasn’t always been a top-level fighter. He has a very outgoing personality and is always willing to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

Regardless if he has any fan backing, Bisping is still as confident as ever for his bout and about the final outcome, predicting he will “put Mayhem in a hospital.”

Given Bisping’s little “pitter-pat” punching style, I really don’t believe “Mayhem” will be needing to check out of a hospital after their bout for anything other than the routine checkup.

“Mayhem” has always had fans behind him and more so in this fight given his opponent. Now is the time to not only ascend to the top of the 185-pound division, but squash everyone’s hated villain.

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Takedown Glory: Why Wrestling Is the Best Base for MMA

If you’ve watched any number of UFC broadcasts, you’ve undoubtedly heard Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg both agree that wrestling is the best base discipline to have in MMA.Given the way bouts are scored under the unified rules, it’s hard to argue with th…

If you’ve watched any number of UFC broadcasts, you’ve undoubtedly heard Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg both agree that wrestling is the best base discipline to have in MMA.

Given the way bouts are scored under the unified rules, it’s hard to argue with them

Using the 10-point must system, the winning fighter of the round is awarded 10 points and his opponent receives nine or less.

As we’ve seen through some questionable decisions, judges look at takedowns as the grappling equivalent to a knockdown.

If a fighter is taken down during a round, it’s widely considered that he/she lost that round. Even if a fighter springs to their feet immediately, the judges still tend to count the takedown more than a submission attempt from the bottom or a fighter working their way back up to their feet.

Other than the way judges score fights, the main advantage to having a wrestling base occurs before the fighter ever steps foot inside a cage.

Wrestlers are notorious for their hard work ethic. Go to any local high school wrestling practice and you will likely be tired just from watching them.

Also, the majority of wrestling rooms are heated like a sauna to prevent muscles from getting cold which makes the fighter used to fighting in uncomfortable environments that he/she may come across.

The hard work ethic that gets drilled into a fighter’s head from wrestling practice transfers over almost as well as their skill set. A wrestler is a coach’s dream as the fighter will likely be at every practice possible and give 110 percent.

A final advantage that benefits the wrestler once the cage door closes, is the ability to decide where the fight takes place.

Most wrestlers are inclined to take their opponent down because that’s what they’re used to and often times they are matched up against a fighter who’s weakness is wrestling.

But if a wrestler wants the fight standing, they’re in control of where the bout takes place.

Should the wrestler want to take his opponent down, odds are they’re going to do it. If they want to stand up and find success trading shots, they are inclined to do so as well as many wrestlers have better takedown offense than defense.

If you haven’t had the displeasure of attempting to take a wrestler down, try to imagine swinging a hammer at a nail, only to see the nail not move at all.

It’s not only frustrating, it’s very tiresome as well. 

That is perhaps the best feature for fighters who have wrestling as their base. They are often times in great physical condition and their grinding style can demoralize their enemy just as well as a good punch combination.

The wrestler doesn’t get tired, instead they wear down their opponent and use superior grappling techniques, vicious ground and pound or grind out a decision.

Until the scoring method is changed to reward more for fighters who do stuff off their back, wrestlers will continue to dominate the landscape at the top of the rankings. Even if a wrestler fights “safe” they are still the fighter most likely to escape with a victory.

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