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UFC: Is Hector Lombard Looking Past Yushin Okami?

Even though Hector Lombard has been scheduled to fight Yushin Okami—a man no one should underestimate—he can’t seem to stop talking about how badly he wants to fight Michael Bisping.During his time on The MMA Hour, when talking about …

Even though Hector Lombard has been scheduled to fight Yushin Okami—a man no one should underestimate—he can’t seem to stop talking about how badly he wants to fight Michael Bisping.

During his time on The MMA Hour, when talking about Bisping, Lombard said: “I’m really trying to push this fight because I’m not sure it’s going to happen.”

Their dislike for each other began when Lombard was signed and talk began to circulate that should he win his first fight under the Zuffa banner, he would get a title shot.

This, of course, prompted Bisping to take some shots at Lombard, and the back-and-forth between them began.

We’ve seen fighters campaign to make fights in the past and it’s always a good thing if they are willing to drum up some interest; god knows it makes Joe Silva’s job easier if there is already some demand for said fights.

Perhaps it’s the new wave of fight promotion, but I can’t seem to shake the notion that it’s a bad idea to be looking at potential fighters too far ahead of time when your next opponent is working hard in the gym to take your head off.

Stylistically, they both look about even in the grappling department and from there, one could say that Lombard has the heavier hands, so perhaps he expects that his fight with Okami will turn into a brawl and from there his punching power will carry the day.

But nothing is a given in this sport; Lombard was lackluster in his debut and ended up losing to Tim Boetsch in a fight he could have and probably should have won via some kind of finish.

Against Okami, he’ll be facing a tenacious grappler who’s going to be coming into their bout with good conditioning and a grinder’s mentality.

If Lombard doesn’t get the finish by the middle of Round 2, has he focused on his training enough to pick up the pace? Or will he prove that his attention was really on other things and grow tired and slow-footed and allow Okami to outwork him for a decision victory?

Lombard came into the UFC with a great deal of hype and much of that died when Tim Boetsch got his hand raised. Since then, he’s disposed of one opponent (in great fashion) and done a lot of talking.

Getting the public invested in a bad-blood feud has proven to be one way to lead the UFC matchmakers in the direction they want to go, but none of that means anything until you finish the meal that’s in front of you.

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UFC: What Is It Going to Take for Bisping to Earn a Title Shot?

It’s hard to see a good man turned away, but in the world of combative sports, it’s something we just have to accept. After all, MMA is a sport based on men being turned away; one day you’re the hammer, the next day you’re the n…

Before we go any deeper, yes, I think Michael Bisping is a good man. Cocky as hell and one of the louder purveyors of smack-talk, but overall he seems to be a good guy in a tough sport, fighting to get what all fighters want: a title shot.

After another setback last night, at the hands of Vitor Belfort, we are left to wonder just how many angles Bisping can approach this from before he finds the formula that’s going to see him win a crack at the belt.

Thus far he’s developed a style that plays to his strengths, and it’s allowed him to win far more than he loses, but if it can’t push him into title contention, then it’s time to mix things up a bit.

Bisping has got a solid base to rebuild from, but what direction is he going to go?

Here are some ideas…

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UFC on FX 7: Pedro Nobre Shows That He Can’t Handle the Pressure of the UFC

It can’t be easy stepping onto the biggest stage in the sport of MMA, but that is exactly what Pedro Nobre agreed to do in his debut in the UFC in his home country of Brazil. Nobre was facing Yuri Alcantara and things were tense from the start, w…

It can’t be easy stepping onto the biggest stage in the sport of MMA, but that is exactly what Pedro Nobre agreed to do in his debut in the UFC in his home country of Brazil.

Nobre was facing Yuri Alcantara and things were tense from the start, which is to be expected anytime a new face is exposed to the harsh lights of the UFC for the first time. After all, this is the same stage shared by Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva and countless other Brazilian fighters of note—including Vitor Belfort, who squares off against Michael Bisping in the main card headliner bout tonight.

But this isn’t about anyone else except Pedro Nobre, who was and always has been the master of his own destiny.

The long and the short of it was that Nobre seemed to go with the flow of a referee stoppage in the action, after said referee (Dan Miragliotta) felt that a timeout was due, halting the action as Alcantara was reigning down blows upon Nobre from the back-mount position.

As the fight was paused, Nobre was asked if he could continue and he decided he could not, which in itself would not be so bad had the replays not shown that all the blows he was taking looked to be landing on the side of his head.

None of the shots that led to the stoppage looked to be illegal, but Miragliotta left the choice up to Nobre and he indicated that he could not continue. Thus the bout was called and is now in the record books as a no contest.

Upon viewing the replays, most in attendance, including Dana White, felt that Nobre was doing nothing more than acting at the worst possible time: when he was at a disadvantage in the fight and on his way to defeat.

“That was BS!!!” White tweeted. “Pedro is an award winning actor and horrible call by Dan M.”

The fallout is sure to continue. Bleacherreport.com will keep you posted to the events as they unfold.

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UFC on FX 7: Why Belfort Is Going to Blow Bisping out of the Water

If you’re going to be a fighter in any generation, there are certain things you need to have in order to offset any deficiencies you may suffer from, and ideally the ratio is 2-to-1.If you don’t have much of a chin, then you need to have a …

If you’re going to be a fighter in any generation, there are certain things you need to have in order to offset any deficiencies you may suffer from, and ideally the ratio is 2-to-1.

If you don’t have much of a chin, then you need to have a lot of mobility and good defense. Don’t have any real knockout power? Then hopefully you have a damn good chin and the endurance to keep attacking so you can pile up the points.

But usually, you need one of the Holy Trinity: knockout power, a granite chin or blinding speed. If you have one of those three, then you have a foundation upon which to build a respectable fighter, maybe even a champion.

Michael Bisping, sad to say, possesses none of these traits, especially at the level he is at now.

That’s not to say he doesn’t have any shining points, because he does, but to be brutally honest, his success of late has been based upon tenacity, good conditioning and being faithful to the axioms that it’s better to give than receive and that the best defense is a good offense.

None of that is going to matter against Vitor Belfort if he hasn’t let Bisping’s mind games and psychological warfare rattle him.

Belfort is attended by two of the blessed three—blinding speed and KO power—and his chin is sturdy enough to say the third will show up in Brazil against the somewhat “feather-fisted” Michael Bisping.

Of course I don’t think Bisping has light hands at all, but I don’t think he’s going to be knocking Belfort out anytime soon.

Bisping is an accumulation puncher who simply keeps on piling up the points until you wilt, at which point he pours it on for the ref stoppage, and that is a perfectly acceptable way to win a fight.

But against Belfort, he won’t be the fastest man in the ring, nor will he be the strongest, the toughest or the most experienced. If they start trading heavy leather equally, Belfort is going to be the one capable of taking more damage and dishing it out.

This does factor into the whole picture based on one simple fact: Bisping gets rocked on a consistent basis—meaning the other guy manages to stagger or stun Bisping at least once in the fight.

Proof of this can be found in Bisping’s fights against Brian Stann, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Wanderlei Silva, Dennis Kang, Dan Henderson and so on.

How Bisping has managed to overcome this problem in most of his fights is by utilizing excellent timing to snatch up some takedowns and score points. If ever there has been a fighter who has learned how to build a career on points and daring, it’s Michael Bisping.

But it is highly unlikely that Bisping will be getting any takedowns on Belfort, who possesses greater reaction time than anyone else he’s ever faced.

That leaves a battle of punches and kicks, and in that kind of situation, the person swinging the longer, heavier blade usually wins.

And that is bad news for Bisping.

Also, by now, most anyone who has enjoyed watching Bisping fight (as I do) has seen a pattern emerge, and if we can see it, odds are that Belfort and his trainers have seen it as well.

When opponents with power attack Bisping aggressively, keep the pressure on and keep firing, Bisping usually becomes a much more hittable target who is not only quicker to cover up instead of circling out of danger, but who can also slip up into uncharacteristically bad habits, such as circling to the right of a man like Dan Henderson.

When allowed to dictate the pace and distance of the fight, Bisping can ride his bike around an opponent all night long, using an unappreciated jab and short, crisp combinations to rack up the points while keeping himself out of danger.

But when the other guy decides he wants to push Bisping off his bike and really throw heavy leather with bad intentions, Bisping is usually in trouble.

Against Vitor Belfort, Bisping should be hoping all his talk has done most of the hard work for him—inside Belfort’s head—because if not, Belfort has the speed, KO power, footwork and takedown defense needed to cut the cage off, box Bisping in along the cage and then ship him out.

But I am pulling for Bisping and not because I dislike Belfort. I just happen to think the sport would be well served by seeing a Brit like Bisping fighting Anderson Silva for the middleweight title, in England.

Sadly, I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.

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Boxers Need to Stop Calling out MMA Fighters

Perhaps it is the curse of growth, but the rivalry between MMA and professional boxing is not going away. One would have thought that after James Toney was dispatched in short order by Randy Couture that boxers would stop calling out MMA fighters, cont…

Perhaps it is the curse of growth, but the rivalry between MMA and professional boxing is not going away.

One would have thought that after James Toney was dispatched in short order by Randy Couture that boxers would stop calling out MMA fighters, content in the knowing their sports were finally proven—with no shame—to be vastly different.

But if anything, such a “merger” has begun to whet the appetite of certain boxers who want to get more exposure for their name; if they lose they can simply attribute it to being strangers in a strange land, and if they win then suddenly more people than ever know their name and they are welcomed back to the boxing community as conquering heroes.

Case in point: the challenge Cain Velasquez had thrown at his feet by heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, via Twitter, who claimed he would crush Velasquez inside the UFC octagon.

“I challenge u to fight all in in a cage or ring! It could be billed as the man vs midget lets get it on!”

For his part, Velasquez handled the challenge like he should have. He stated that if Fury wants to fight him, he needs to join the UFC and work his way up the ladder like everyone else.

It is unknown if Fury will let the topic die or try to keep on fanning the flames in the hopes of making a fire so big everyone will know his name, but it still speaks to the idea that more pro boxers, tired of being unknown, may use this tactic in order to get their name spoken aloud in front of the cameras that follow and report on both sports.

The question is a tired one, but if professional boxers are going to keep trying to cash this lottery ticket, then it needs to be pressed hard.

The question is: “Are you going to follow through?”

Most know they will not, so pressing the issue in a manner that is unapologetic and uncompromising is perhaps the only way to silence them. I am not saying defeating another boxer in the octagon is the answer, because even then, they lose little to no face.

Unless they lose a lot of face in the actual fight, which is really the only way that the sport of MMA can draw a hard line in the sand.

Dana White and the UFC shouldn’t reward every boxer that decides to run his mouth with the exposure and money that is expected from such a clash in the octagon. He did it once with James Toney, and once was enough.

So it seems like the only things left are in the hands of Dana White, because when men like Fury begin throwing out challenges to fighters, they are really talking to White.

One option he has is to make it quite clear that professional boxers are welcome into the UFC, but they have to fight for the spot, on a season of The Ultimate Fighter. It would give these boxers a great deal of exposure and would also perhaps uncover new talent, as that is what the show is all about.

Hardly any of them would take it, but should White continue to return to that option as their own chance, eventually those boxers will either get on board and take the shot on the show or return their focus to where it belongs: in the boxing ring.

The second option is to simply declare that no pro boxer will ever step foot into the octagon again without becoming an MMA fighter and establishing a record as such, no questions asked.

Of course, there are problems with both of those solutions, but they seem to be the most direct and sensible choices that serve the sport no matter what said boxers chose to do.

The more I think about it, a season of The Ultimate Fighter that had some professional boxers included would probably do fairly well and it would also serve as a tool to teach other boxers just how demanding the sport of MMA really is.

Either way, it would provide an education for men like Fury who are assuming much and knowing little, and education is never a bad thing.

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UFC on FX 7: Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins Head-to-Toe Breakdown

As the UFC heads back to Brazil, two up-and-coming fighters will be squaring off for bragging rights and more in their native country, as Edson Barboza—owner of perhaps one of the greatest head-kick finishes in MMA history—clashes with the …

The headlining bout will feature Brazilian Vitor Belfort slugging it out with season three winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping. With that in mind, UFC on FX 7 has all the potential to surpass expectations.

There may be some people who overlook the bout between Barboza and Martins, but I think that would be a sad mistake.

When watching both men in the cage, at times it may be hard to tell them apart. They not only look alike, but employ a style of fighting that is striking based. These two fighters would rather decide this contest on their feet, both gunning for the KO/TKO.

There is a lot of pressure heading into this bout for both men. Barboza is looking to rebound from a loss and Martins is looking to make a great initial impression as he steps into the Octagon for the very first time.

This fight is going to be decided by who wants it more, and that is one question I cannot wait to see answered.

Until then, here is my head-to-toe breakdown of the bout.

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