Author: Matt Juul

WSOF Goes Tournament Route to Crown Middlweight Champion

If everything goes to plan, the World Series of Fighting will crown its first champion before the end of 2013.MMAFighting.com reported on Tuesday that the budding MMA promotion will be holding a four-man tournament beginning later this summer for the i…

If everything goes to plan, the World Series of Fighting will crown its first champion before the end of 2013.

MMAFighting.com reported on Tuesday that the budding MMA promotion will be holding a four-man tournament beginning later this summer for the inaugural middleweight belt.

Participating in the tourney will be former The Ultimate Fighter veteran Jesse Taylor, UFC veterans Dave Branch and Danilo Villefort, and Elvis Mutapcic, who recently vacated his Maximum Fighting Championship 185-pound title to sign with WSOF.

The first semi-final matchup is set for WSOF 4 on August 10 at a yet to be finalized venue in California. The second semi-final bout will take place in September at WSOF 5, although the exact date and location have not yet been confirmed.

The winners, barring any unforeseen injuries or other issues, will square off sometime in December for the promotion’s first ever championship belt.

Taylor has been on a tear as of late and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, which includes a February victory over fellow TUF alum Kendall Grove. “JT Money” most recently defeated John Phillips to defend his Cage Warriors Fighting Championship middleweight crown.

Mutapcic is also on a bit of a hot streak, winning 10 out of his last 11 bouts. “The King” most recently took a unanimous decision over Sam Alvey to defend his MFC title this past February.

Both Branch and Villefort are coming off of decision wins at WSOF 2, which took place in Atlantic City this past March.

NBC Sports Network will once again broadcast these future WSOF cards and is set to air the entire tournament.

 

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UFC Middleweight Rousimar Palhares Wants to Drop to Welterweight Division

UFC middleweight and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whiz Rousimar Palhares appears to be contemplating a move down to the welterweight division.According to a recent report by GracieMag.com, the leg-lock specialist started looking into a possible cut in weig…

UFC middleweight and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whiz Rousimar Palhares appears to be contemplating a move down to the welterweight division.

According to a recent report by GracieMag.com, the leg-lock specialist started looking into a possible cut in weight after joining Team Nogueira, helmed by brothers and MMA legends Rodrigo and Rogério Nogueira.

“My desire to get down to the welterweight division is great, but I don’t want to make a hasty decision,” said Palhares in a press release to the website. “I will only really do it if my body’s response is positive. I’m doing a fully integrated work of nutrition, fitness, supplementation and orthomolecular medicine. I’m with a very good team taking care of me.”

Palhares‘ decision to drop down to another division comes right off the heels of back-to-back, first-round losses, both of which ended via knock out.

“Toquinho” was most recently defeated this past December when former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard made quick work of the Brazilian, finishing him with strikes less than four minutes into the opening frame. Interestingly, Lombard, who sports a similarly stocky frame, is also considering a move down to 170 as well.

Prior to the recent defeat, the leg-lock master was unable to finish Alan Belcher with his signature submission at UFC on Fox 3, resulting in a brutal, first-round TKO loss.

Fans will have to wait a few months before they can see a slimmer Palhares grace the UFC’s Octagon as the grappling ace is currently serving a nine month suspension after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone following his bout with Lombard.

Standing at just 5’8″ tall, I think that this move would be great for Palhares, who’s been overpowered in the past by some of the bigger fighters in the promotion’s middleweight division.

The Brazilian must be sure that this weight cut will help him in his next fight, though, because a third straight loss could cost “Toquinho” his spot on the roster.

 

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

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Jones vs. Sonnen Fight Card: What the Casual Fan Learned

Saturday’s UFC 159 turned out to be a peculiar night of fights for the world’s largest MMA promotion. Between a plethora of questionable calls due to accidental eye pokes and the gruesome injury to light heavyweight champ Jon Jones’ big toe, the event …

Saturday’s UFC 159 turned out to be a peculiar night of fights for the world’s largest MMA promotion. Between a plethora of questionable calls due to accidental eye pokes and the gruesome injury to light heavyweight champ Jon Jones’ big toe, the event had its fair share of issues. Unfortunately, that meant the UFC’s casual fans got a wide glimpse into the not-so-glamorous side of the fight game.

Like any sport, injuries are going to happen in MMA. That’s life. However, unlike football, baseball or any other team sport, there’s no one sitting on the bench waiting to fill in. 

While that’s normally a non-issue, at Saturday night’s event, the combination of fights stopped due to injuries and the number of “legitimate” finishes made the card go quickly—a major problem for the preliminary card broadcast. The fights went so fast on FX that the Sara McMann vs. Sheila Gaff bout was aired twice!

What’s worse for the UFC was the injury sustained to Jones’ toe.

The promotion pretty much put this bout together to market it toward casual fans and bring in some eyeballs with The Ultimate Fighter coaching jobs and Sonnen‘s penchant for trash talking.

Short-term, even I was on board with this fight because I don’t mind seeing fun fights—and neither do casual fans. However, looking back on it, the fact that Jones will now be out for some time due to an injury sustained in a fight we all knew he would win, it now seems sort of silly that this fight happened at all.

Sonnen was clearly not the No. 1 contender, as he was moving up a full weight class. And now the champ will be forced to wait on the sidelines because of a freak accident that occurred in a fight he never wanted in the first place.

The UFC might even be losing Sonnen completely (as a fighter, that is) if he chooses the broadcast booth over the Octagon.

What the UFC and fight fans can take away from this is that, sometimes, it’s not worth having a champ take on a challenger just because the fight looks fun.

 

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

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UFC 159: 5 Fights for Alan Belcher to Take Next

While the end of the bout came sooner than expected, it was clear that UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was getting the better of Alan Belcher before an accidental eye poke caused the referee to call the fight.Ending up on the wrong side of a technical…

While the end of the bout came sooner than expected, it was clear that UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was getting the better of Alan Belcher before an accidental eye poke caused the referee to call the fight.

Ending up on the wrong side of a technical decision, that makes two losses in a row for “The Talent,” who will now need a win if he wants to guarantee his job with the world’s largest MMA promotion.

With a third straight loss usually resulting in a pink slip from the UFC, let’s take a look at some potential future fights to get Belcher back on track.

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UFC 159: 5 Fights for Pat Healy to Take Next

UFC lightweight Pat Healy made a triumphant return to the Octagon at Saturday night’s UFC 159 with his impressive submission win over grappling ace Jim Miller.The Strikeforce veteran became the latest import to finish a Top-10 UFC lightweight by outgri…

UFC lightweight Pat Healy made a triumphant return to the Octagon at Saturday night’s UFC 159 with his impressive submission win over grappling ace Jim Miller.

The Strikeforce veteran became the latest import to finish a Top-10 UFC lightweight by outgrinding his opponent before briefly choking Miller unconscious for the third-round stoppage.

This big win for Healy is proof that he can hang with the big boys in MMA‘s most talented weight class, making it inevitable that his next opponent inside the Octagon will be as tough as Miller.

Here are five fights that I think that “Bam Bam” Healy should take next.

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Jones vs. Sonnen Results: Is Jon Jones the Most Dominant UFC Champion?

UFC champ Jon Jones once again proved why he’s the king of the light heavyweight division with his utter domination of Chael Sonnen at Saturday night’s UFC 159.Despite suffering a broken toe in the first round, Jones was able to repeatedly take down So…

UFC champ Jon Jones once again proved why he’s the king of the light heavyweight division with his utter domination of Chael Sonnen at Saturday night’s UFC 159.

Despite suffering a broken toe in the first round, Jones was able to repeatedly take down Sonnen—a feat few, if any, fighters in MMA can boast—before finishing the “Gangster from West Lynn” with strikes for the technical knockout victory. 

While the win was certainly impressive for the UFC’s youngest title holder, Jones still has some work to do before he can be crowned the promotion’s most dominant champion. However, that list of steps is dwindling quickly.

Comparing the light heavyweight king with the UFC’s other reigning champs, the two legacies Jones would have to surpass in order to become the top name in the sport are obviously middleweight champ Anderson Silva and welterweight title holder Georges St-Pierre.

Silva and St-Pierre have dominated their respective divisions for years, taking out every big name and challenger to face them. While Jones is on a similar trajectory, he hasn’t held on to the belt for as long as the other two.

Where Jones’ title run stacks up with MMA’s pound-for-pound leaders is his performance over his division’s biggest names.

In less than two years, “Bones” was able to mow down the best 205ers in the world, including five former light heavyweight champs. He also out-wrestled a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler in Chael Sonnen.

All of these wins, except for the decision victory over Rashad Evans, came via impressive finishes.

Another mark of a dominant champion is the way he or she is able to deal with adversity. Jones has exemplified that trait in his last two outings, refusing to tap out to Vitor Belfort’s armbar attempt and finishing Sonnen Saturday night despite his broken toe.

Silva has gone through some trouble during his reign, most notably in his UFC 117 battle with Sonnen, when he just barely won via triangle-armbar.

St-Pierre, who’s been on a tear since coming back from his injury, has also faced trouble, highlighted by his shocking losses to Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. However, the Canadian was able to rectify both defeats.

At such a high level, it’s so difficult to decide who is the best of the best considering nearly every champ’s skill set and current winning streak. But if Jones can keep taking out these big names with big finishes, it won’t be long until Bones takes the title as the greatest of all time.


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