Author: Kyle Symes

UFC Fight Night 47: Ryan Bader at Pivotal Moment in Career vs Ovince Saint Preux

Ryan Bader finds himself in a very familiar position against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night 47. He’s been here before, but hasn’t been able to get past the realm of the gatekeeper.
The former Division I All-American wrestler has another chance t…

Ryan Bader finds himself in a very familiar position against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night 47. He’s been here before, but hasn’t been able to get past the realm of the gatekeeper.

The former Division I All-American wrestler has another chance to stake a claim as a legit title challenger, something Bader has had the chance to do earlier in his career on three occasions.

Following his thunderous KO win over Vinny Magalhaes to win The Ultimate Fighter, Bader went on a nice streak where he won four straight inside the Octagon.  

Included in those wins was a highlight-reel KO of Keith Jardine and a win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119. Following the win over Nogueira, Bader was slotted in a fight with another contender, Jon “Bones” Jones.

Both men had become surging contenders and in a rare move by the UFC, the promotion matched up the pair of prospects. Bader had gained notoriety from his time on TUF and had become a staple of the upper half of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Jones meanwhile came into the UFC with little fanfare until he completely wrecked Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94. The future UFC light heavyweight champ would follow that up by leaving a path of destruction that featured highlight-reel finishes in each of his wins.

Even in his loss to Matt Hamill, Jones looked like he was on another level.

Up to this point in his career, Bader was the typical wrestler who had knockout power in his hands that we’ve seen so many times before in MMA. But despite having heavy hands, Bader hadn’t developed the technical skills to apply the KO power.

Unable to secure a takedown or land the one-punch knockout, Bader was simply outclassed against Jones.

It wouldn’t get any better for Bader in his next fight as he was blown away by Tito Ortiz at UFC 132. Perhaps this is where Bader hit his lowest point during his UFC career because since the loss to Ortiz, Bader has looked like a much better fighter.

He rebounded with a KO victory over Jason Brilz and added a strong showing against former Pride and UFC champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Once again, Bader found himself on the cusp of a title shot.

All he had to do was the seemingly impossible, solve the “Machida Puzzle.” Facing off against former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida, Bader had another opportunity to stamp his ticket to a title shot.

Instead, Bader once again found himself failing to achieve the golden ticket. This time Bader was knocked out in the second round by the Brazilian. 

After defeating Vladimir Matyushenko in his next contest, Bader found himself in another chance to rise to title contender. He enjoyed some initial success, rocking Glover Teixeira but was eventually knocked out after coming in too aggressive.

Now, Bader once again has another chance to prove he’s not in Michael Bisping territory. Bader has shown the ability to take out the mid-tier fighters in the division, but hasn’t been able to defeat that top level of opponent.

OSP certainly isn’t a top contender at the moment but he has won five straight in the Octagon and much like Bader‘s clash with Jones, UFC Fight Night 47 features a clash of rising contenders. Bader has looked extremely impressive in his recent wins, especially the fight with Anthony Perosh.

But it will all be for not if Bader cannot capitalize on the opportunity presented to him.

He’ll have a national-television audience to view and with no other card scheduled around the same time frame, all eyes of the UFC brass will be focused on UFC Fight Night 47.

Teetering on the edge of his athletic prime, it could be Bader‘s last opportunity to become a top contender. Losing to guys like Jones, Machida and Teixeira is one thing. He cannot afford to lose in another high profile fight if the former Ultimate Fighter winner wants to add UFC champion to his legacy. 

 

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Metamoris 4 Results and Recap: Chael Sonnen Taps, Josh Barnett Secures a Title

Surging grappling promotion Metamoris held its fourth event this past weekend, and it was a star-studded affair that featured some notable names from the MMA world.
The evening’s festivities kicked off with a dominant showing from Garry Tonon against o…

Surging grappling promotion Metamoris held its fourth event this past weekend, and it was a star-studded affair that featured some notable names from the MMA world.

The evening’s festivities kicked off with a dominant showing from Garry Tonon against one of Australia’s top grapplers, Kit Dale. Tonon secured a nice guillotine choke in the midst of a scramble that secured the tapout in a matter of minutes.

Saulo Ribeiro and Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros put on an entertaining showcase of gi grappling as two legends of BJJ faced one another. The two spent much of their match attempting to gain top control over one another.

Both men would fall to guard on a couple of occasions and looked to threaten with submissions when applicable. Ribeiro was even able to secure mount on Comprido at one point but was unable to get a finish.

The two men fought to an entertaining draw.

Also competing to a draw that featured excitement were Keenan Cornelius and former UFC fighter Vinny Magalhaes.

Cornelius showed incredible flexibility in his attacks on Magalhaes. The Brazilian displayed his usual charisma at moments during the bout, smiling to the announcing crew while Cornelius looked for a toe hold and shaking his finger at Cornelius as the American looked for a triangle-armbar combination from mount.

Magalhaes may have played a bit too much defense for some people’s liking, but he was able to fend off Cornelius until time expired.

In the Metamoris 4 secret match, Baret Yoshida and Jeff Glover displayed a grappling exhibition on the weird but fun.

Yoshida and Glover ended up in a number of positions that only the most serious of BJJ players would be able to fully describe. Leg attacks were heavily featured in their contest, but in the end, neither man could secure a tapout.

The Metamoris 4 co-main event featured former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett taking on one of the pioneers in MMA grappling, Dean Lister. Despite Lister having the more accomplished grappling background, it would be Barnett who controlled the match.

Barnett used his size to keep top control for virtually the entire match. He utilized side control and north-south positions to wear Lister down. In a moment that shocked grappling fans across the world, Barnett was able to get Lister to tap out using a headlock from scarf position in the final seconds.

The Metamoris crew announced it was the first time Lister had tapped in 16 years.

The main event of Metamoris 4 featured what was likely the most discussed grappling match before the two competitors stepped on the mat. According to C.J. Tuttle of Sherdog, Chael Sonnen reportedly reached out to UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture to take his spot with threats of a fine from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Then, Sonnen’s coach let it be known that his fighter was coming to grapple despite the threat of a fine, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.

Props should go to Sonnen for competing in a grappling contest against one of the best BJJ grapplers in today’s world. Andre Galvao may not have had an extensive MMA career, but the man is one of the world’s best when it comes to BJJ.

Sonnen was valiant in his effort, securing takedowns and working from guard. Sonnen didn’t attempt anything drastic while in Galvao’s guard, but he was able to stifle Galvao’s offense.

The end came in the second half of the match as Galvao quickly moved to secure Sonnen’s back in transition. The Brazilian locked in a body triangle and worked for the rear-naked choke, eventually getting the submission finish.

Overall, the event surely provided fans with enough entertainment. There was plenty of action throughout the contest, and given the name value of the MMA competitors on the card, I’m sure Metamoris gained some new fans from those who tuned in out of curiosity.

Metamoris has quickly become one of the more popular grappling competitions due to their ability to secure big-name grapplers. If they can continue to blend high-level BJJ players with MMA names, one would assume the promotion could explode in popularity among combat sports fans.

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Dan Hardy Wants to Send Diego Sanchez into Retirement for His Comeback Fight

Dan Hardy has a nice, comfy job of calling fights for the UFC. Most fans would love to be in his position, but Hardy has a plan to step back into the Octagon once more.
Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio (transcribed by MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco), Hardy s…

Dan Hardy has a nice, comfy job of calling fights for the UFC. Most fans would love to be in his position, but Hardy has a plan to step back into the Octagon once more.

Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio (transcribed by MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco), Hardy shared that he received encouraging news in regard to his Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and has an idea of whom he would want to fight if he’s cleared for action once again.

“Diego Sanchez, because after Ross Pearson got robbed, that was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Ross Pearson and Diego Sanchez fought at UFC Fight Night 42, a bout that saw Sanchez pick up a split-decision victory. The scoring was so bad that one of the judges managed to give Sanchez a round in which he was knocked down by Pearson.

UFC president Dana White would subsequently call the result “insanity,” via ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, and would move on as if Pearson had won the fight. However, based on his post-fight press conference, Sanchez is still certain he won the fight.

Hardy would go on to further explain why he’d like to fight Sanchez, giving the Jackson’s MMA fighter a sort of backhanded compliment.

I’m a huge Diego fan, but for me, he is what’s wrong with mixed martial arts right now. He is the 20th century bullheaded martial artist that walks forward and fights with their face. … I think Diego represents the old school, where you just walk forward in a boxing stance and see who falls over first.

Sanchez’s style has certainly made him must-see TV during his UFC tenure because his game plan rarely involves moving backward. His wars with Gilbert Melendez and Martin Kampmann provided MMA fans with plenty of excitement.

Of course, that method of fighting comes with a heavy price, and it’s clear that Sanchez has begun to feel the effects of it. Listening to Sanchez speak following his battle with Melendez, you can hear the slurred speech that’s become all too common with legends of boxing’s past.

Hardy has a few obstacles to overcome before going up against competition, and with him doing so well as a commentator, the UFC isn’t in any rush to get him back into the cage. The recent Stefan Struve mishap at UFC 175 also has to weigh heavily on the company’s decision to put Hardy back in action.

Prior to trading in his gloves for a suit, Hardy had become one of the main players in the UFC’s overseas expansion plans. The UFC heavily pushed and hyped Hardy for his fight against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111, but Hardy would fall like so many before him to the relentless assault from GSP.

A string of defeats left many wondering why Hardy was still employed with the UFC. But eventually, Hardy figured things out and strung together back-to-back wins in 2012.

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Rashad Evans Won’t Make the Same Mistake Again, Won’t Fight Anthony Johnson

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans isn’t going to let there be a second time.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Evans talked about his timetable for a return (February …

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans isn’t going to let there be a second time.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Evans talked about his timetable for a return (February 2015) and also discussed having another rising contender in the light heavyweight division in the same gym as him once again:

We fight every day, we are each other’s No. 1 training partners. Would I fight him professionally? No, I wouldn’t fight him. … I believe with the relationship Anthony and I have, that bridge is a bridge that, if it ever needs crossing, we will find a different way to handle it, than it did the first time (with Jon Jones).

Evans was referring to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, his teammate at the Jaco Hybrid Training Center (affectionately called the “Blackzilians“). Since returning to the UFC, Johnson has run through the competition, easily defeating Phil Davis at UFC 172 and wrecking Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on Fox 12.

If you’ll recall, Evans was involved in the highly publicized split with his longtime coach Greg Jackson and Jones. Evans and Jones had one of the more intense, personal rivalries in recent memories.

The two would eventually meet at UFC 145 with Jones emerging victorious. Since then, it appears as though the two have reconciled and put the past behind them.

We’ve heard this story before, and the chance at a UFC title shot (along with Dana White providing a gentle nudge) has a way of changing things. Luckily for Evans, this situation isn’t anywhere close to the one he experienced with Jones.

For one, Evans isn’t in the title picture so long as Jones remains champ. Even then, it would take a few impressive wins for fans to consider Evans a viable contender. Let’s not forget he hasn’t exactly been a world-beater in his past few outings (the Chael Sonnen massacre aside).

Johnson, meanwhile, is on the cusp of getting a title fight and will likely be paired up with Alexander Gustafsson (depending on his rehab from injury) or possibly Glover Teixeira. If Johnson does end up getting a title shot or becoming champion (as some predict), we could see Evans reconsider the idea of dropping to middleweight.

Or he could go the route that Urijah Faber is going now, taking fights to simply stay active and collect a paycheck.

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Report: Colton Smith, Pat Healy Among Recent UFC Roster Cuts

It looks like the UFC is trimming the fat on its bulky roster.
At least that’s according to a report from Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander about some fighters being removed from the UFC’s roster page. Fans should note the disclaimer that BE shared befor…

It looks like the UFC is trimming the fat on its bulky roster.

At least that’s according to a report from Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander about some fighters being removed from the UFC’s roster page. Fans should note the disclaimer that BE shared before considering this as a fact, but there are some notable names on the list of recent cuts.

Chief among them has to be former The Ultimate Fighter winner Colton Smith. He defeated Mike Ricci in the finals to claim the TUF crown but will likely go down as the worst TUF winner. Smith has posted a 0-3 record in the UFC since defeating Ricci, with all three losses coming before the final bell.

A hardcore fan favorite, Pat Healy is another notable name that’s missing from the UFC’s ranks. Healy rose to the ranks of contender during his time with the Strikeforce promotion, ending his run there with a six-fight winning streak.

Healy entered the UFC by taking on Jim Miller, and the two men put on an entertaining affair. After wearing Miller down, he capped off the performance with a submission victory.

The happiness would be short-lived, however. Healy would test positive for marijuana, and his win was subsequently overturned to a no-contest. He also lost out on a few Fight Night bonus paychecks.

Since the Miller fight, Healy has dropped four straight inside the Octagon. He doesn’t feature the most fan-friendly (to newer fans at least) style and is on a four-fight losing streak, so it’s easy to see this coming.

The other members of the cut list have yet to pick up a win in the UFC, going a combined 0-6 in the promotion.

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UFC on Fox 12 Results: 3 Fights for Bobby Green to Take Next

Bobby Green had a lot on his mind heading into UFC on Fox 12 but didn’t let that deter him from picking up the biggest win of his career over Josh Thomson.
Green, still mourning his brother’s passing, put on the performance of a lifetime against a legi…

Bobby Green had a lot on his mind heading into UFC on Fox 12 but didn’t let that deter him from picking up the biggest win of his career over Josh Thomson.

Green, still mourning his brother’s passing, put on the performance of a lifetime against a legit top-five lightweight contender. Green stepped in on late notice for an injured Michael Johnson to face Thomson and despite the winning streak Green was on, most fans pegged Thomson down for a win.

The fight ended up going to a split decision, but it’s still a huge win for Green. Stepping in on late notice is tough for anyone, much less going up against one of the best lightweights in the UFC. With the huge victory, Green will likely see himself shoot up the lightweight rankings and into another high-profile bout.

That fight is likely to be against any of the men on this list.

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