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UFC 162: How Important Is It to the Featherweight Division?

Four of the UFC’s top 145ers will duke it out Saturday night, as former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar takes on submission whiz Charles Oliveira and red-hot WEC vet Cub Swanson takes on striking specialist Dennis Siver.While this weekend’s fights coul…

While this weekend’s fights could very well determine the next featherweight title challenger down the road, don’t expect any of the victors to get an immediate shot at the belt.

Sure, on paper, these matchups are poised to be exciting scraps and will likely entertain the UFC 162 crowd, but they just don’t make much sense when it comes to the 145-pound title picture.

For instance, Swanson, who’s ranked No. 5 at featherweight, really has nothing to gain from his bout with Siver, who’s listed as No. 6 in the UFC’s rankings.

Swanson, a Greg Jackson product, has amassed an impressive four-fight win streak and deserves a shot at a top-five featherweight, especially when you consider that his only losses since 2009 are to Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas—the top three guys in the division right now.

Should Swanson beat Siver, he’ll pretty much keep his spot in the middle of the pack, while a loss will probably send him straight to the back of the line.

If anything, in the wake of Chan Sung-Jung dropping out of his bout with Lamas to replace Anthony Pettis at UFC 163, Swanson should have been given a chance to avenge his loss against “The Bully.”

Instead, Lamas is off the UFC 162 card and Swanson is stuck facing an opponent who’s lower on the totem pole.

Meanwhile for Edgar, this weekend’s scrap with Oliveira is pretty much a give-me fight for the former champ.

“The Answer” may be itching for a win after coming up short in three straight title fights, but a bout with “Do Bronx” doesn’t get him any closer to another shot at a belt.

Like Swanson, a win for Edgar is pretty much just another notch on his belt. However, in the former champ’s case, a fourth straight loss could be disastrous—although it’s highly unlikely to occur.

If Edgar does somehow fall to the Brazilian, his back will definitely be against a wall as a fifth straight defeat usual results in a pink-slip, regardless of a fighter’s past credentials.

Now, that’s just a doomsday scenario for Edgar, but still, taking on Oliveira doesn’t do much for “The Answer” except add another check to his bank account.

What would have been a smart decision by the UFC’s matchmakers would have been to pit Edgar against Siver and Swanson against Lamas (sorry Oliveira).

The German hasn’t done much to stand out at 145 yet and a battle against a guy like Edgar would have been a great test for Siver. It would have also have been a good bout for the former champ as he would have been taking on a top-10 featherweight instead of someone who’s not even on the UFC’s rankings yet.

Swanson and Lamas would have been a fantastic matchup as well and could have easily been billed as a top contender elimination bout.

Instead, the UFC is stuck with a logjam of contenders—especially if you throw Pettis into the mix—and it will likely stay that way unless one of this weekend’s underdogs pulls out an upset.

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Anderson Silva Responds to Pros Picking Against Him

From former lightweight title holder Frankie Edgar to current welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, everybody in the MMA world seems to be picking Chris Weidman over Anderson Silva to win at this weekend’s UFC 162.While you’d think that might irk …

While you’d think that might irk the reigning middleweight king, he’s actually pretty cool with it.

In fact, judging by his recent appearance on UFC Tonight, The Spider seems to be encouraging the talk.

“This is good because it’s very important that people talk,” Silva told hosts Chael Sonnen and Kenny Florian on Tuesday night. “Weidman has the fans, I have my fans, it’s very important for the sport.”

In typical Anderson Silva fashion, the middleweight champ jokingly deflected questions about specific fighters, such as St-Pierre, who picked Weidman to upset him on Saturday night, while also giving the undefeated challenger some props for his skill set.

“Weidman has good jiu-jitsu, good wrestling, good stand-up, it’s a great fight,” Silva said.

Beyond the usual fight week questions, Sonnen and Florian also asked The Spider about his recent statement regarding his chances in a possible superfight against light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

“I respect Jon Jones, I respect Chris Weidman, but I’m here for working,” Silva said. “I no scared for Jon Jones, for Chris Weidman or whatever. I here for fight, that’s it. Simple.”

Check out the full interview in the video to hear more from The Spider.

One interesting thing to note from the talk is the good-natured ribbing between Silva and former rival Chael Sonnen.

I’m glad to see all of that bad blood and feuding go by the wayside.

Maybe one day they will have that barbecue they spoke of.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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UFC 162 Preview: Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Two of the UFC’s most exciting featherweights will collide this weekend as former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar takes on submission whiz Charles Oliveira at UFC 162.”The Answer” has been on a bit of a skid lately, most recently losing to featherweigh…

Two of the UFC’s most exciting featherweights will collide this weekend as former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar takes on submission whiz Charles Oliveira at UFC 162.

“The Answer” has been on a bit of a skid lately, most recently losing to featherweight king Jose Aldo at UFC 156, and will be looking to get back into the win column against Oliveira. Prior to the loss, Edgar was forced to move down to the 145 lb. division after losing his belt and dropping two straight to current lightweight title holder Benson Henderson.

The 23-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, who is a huge underdog in this fight, is also in desperate need of a win following his recent knockout loss to Cub Swanson at UFC 152.

Hit the jump to see how these two featherweights stack up against each other in this co-main event breakdown.

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Demian Maia Would Put His Money on Anderson Silva over Chris Weidman

While a lot of fighters and MMA personalities are jumping on the Chris Weidman bandwagon leading up to his fight with UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva next weekend, don’t count on Demian Maia to be one of them.The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, who…

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, who’s been lucky enough to face both men inside the Octagon and live to tell the tale, believes that “The Spider” has the edge in next weekend’s UFC 162 headlining title bout.

“He is a great fighter, he is a guy who has no big gaps in his game. But Anderson is Anderson so its tough you know? It’s a tough fight for Chris,” Maia said in a recent interview with Fighters Only magazine.

“If he can take Anderson down I would say he has a chance but still, Anderson has a good guard. So I don’t know. If I had to bet $100? I would bet it on Anderson.”

That’s a pretty bold statement by the grappling standout, considering that he was prompted to move down to the welterweight division following his unanimous decision loss to Weidman at UFC on Fox 2 last year.

But as the only person to have taken on both Silva and Weidman, Maia has a unique insight into each fighter’s style, so he should have a pretty good gauge on how they will match up.

Maia infamously fell short during his sole title challenge at UFC 112 in 2010, dropping a lopsided unanimous decision to the middleweight king. Silva drew a lot of ire from fans and UFC officials for this fight because of his constant mocking and refusal to finish Maia.

However, I doubt we’ll see this type of performance from “The Spider” next weekend.

Do you agree with Maia’s prediction? Let us know in the comments below.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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Ronda Rousey Looking at TUF as a Way to Increase Visibilty for Women’s Division

When the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on Fox Sports 1 this fall, all eyes will be focused on the heated rivalry between UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and nemesis Miesha Tate.The two coaches have both seen a meteoric ris…

When the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on Fox Sports 1 this fall, all eyes will be focused on the heated rivalry between UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and nemesis Miesha Tate.

The two coaches have both seen a meteoric rise in fame since their highly entertaining 2012 Strikeforce title fight. Rousey has been transformed into the face of women’s MMA now that she’s the first female fighter to claim UFC gold.

And while “Rowdy’s” crossover star power coupled with the conflict between her and Tate will likely make for some great and dramatic television, Rousey hopes that the show will also help increase visibility for some of the lesser-known fighters who will be joining the UFC’s budding women’s division.

“I don’t need this show. I already have my options,” Rousey said in a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill. “But I want this division to work and I want it to keep going without me there. I think this show is the best way to increase the depth of the women’s division and get attention to the women’s division and get to know that there are good fighters there, people just don’t know who they are.”

It’s a nice sentiment by the reigning women’s champ, but the drama between her and Tate is already starting to make headlines, so I wouldn’t be surprised if their rivalry overshadows the actual competition.

UFC president Dana White recently told reporters that tension between the two coaches is already starting to boil over.

“It’s going exactly the way you thought it would be going: bad,” White said following a media event for UFC 161 . “Dead serious. Miesha and Ronda hate each other. It’s literally crazy drama every day. It’s irritating.”

The big boss even went so far as to compare the hatred Rousey and Tate have for each other to the TUF season 3 rivalry between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz.

Despite being apart of the ensuing drama, Rousey seems sincere when she says that she wants to help build the UFC’s new women’s division.

“I’m doing this show more in the interest of the division than to really accomplish very much personally,” she said.

I guess we’ll have to wait until Sept. 4 to see if the Rousey-Tate drama will leave the female competitors fighting in the shade.

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

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10 of the Flashiest Fighters in MMA History

One of my favorite parts about MMA is the fact that there’s an almost infinite number of techniques a fighter can use inside the cage.While some are content using safe moves to grind out wins, the warriors that are really starting to push the sport’s t…

One of my favorite parts about MMA is the fact that there’s an almost infinite number of techniques a fighter can use inside the cage.

While some are content using safe moves to grind out wins, the warriors that are really starting to push the sport’s technical boundaries always seem to be a bit flashy as well.

However, as seen by the recent spike in spinning wheel kick knockouts, today’s premier fighters aren’t just getting flashier—they are also getting more dangerous. Just ask Luke Rockhold or Mark Hunt.

In honor of these recent highlight reel finishes, let’s take a look at some of the flashiest fighters in MMA history.

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