Long gone are the days of Ben Rothwell running over the IFL heavyweight roster. Rothwell’s current career trajectory appears murky; the man has alternated wins and losses in his last seven bouts.Tonight, he came up short against Gabriel Gonzaga, …
Long gone are the days of Ben Rothwell running over the IFL heavyweight roster. Rothwell’s current career trajectory appears murky; the man has alternated wins and losses in his last seven bouts.
Tonight, he came up short against Gabriel Gonzaga, again preventing the rugged veteran from piecing together two consecutive victories.
With a promotional record of 2-3 Rothwell’s future with the UFC is certainly up in the air. If the man hopes to remain employed by the world’s largest MMA promotion, he’s got to prove he can consistently win fights.
It’s time for Rothwell to rediscover his confidence. These are a few men who might aid him in his cause.
Anyone who tells you that refined boxing doesn’t exist in the sport of mixed martial arts missed last night’s thrilling five-round affair between Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran and fearless challenger Patricio Freire. As a whole, Bell…
Anyone who tells you that refined boxing doesn’t exist in the sport of mixed martial arts missed last night’s thrilling five-round affair between Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran and fearless challenger Patricio Freire.
As a whole, Bellator 85 was a successful Spike debut.
The fights were engaging, a few personalities shined, and we were treated to plenty of stoppages. It was an enjoyable event that may prove to be one of Bellator’s most-viewed.
But what stood out the most was the highly polished boxing match between Curran and Freire.
This was a boxing match through and through with very few take-down attempts or kicks thrown, and I’m thrilled the fight unfolded in such fashion.
The fight was fast-paced, technical and thrilling from the jump. The challenger, Freire, arrived to do more than just earn a little television time.
He showed up to take the belt.
Patricio Freire is traditionally referred to as “Pitbull” and with good reason. He combines fast combinations with strong offensive wrestling. Freire, knowing he would find little success in the wrestling department, abandoned his grappling, opting instead for a toe-to-toe exchange of fists.
Curran, a champion who has showcased a penchant for boxing, welcomed the fist fight—although he wasn’t always on the delivering end of the violent exchanges. Freire landed numerous solid shots.
Still, Curran managed to capitalize on his agility, using fantastic footwork, keeping his lead leg outside of Patricio’s and incorporating smooth lateral movement to bypass any potential fight-ending shots.
But that doesn’t mean the champ didn’t feel a few stinging punches throughout the 25-minute collision. On more than one occasion, Pitbull hit the champ and he hit him hard .
But with his composure maintained, Curran never strayed from his game plan.
While Freire leaned on a hook-heavy offensive attack, Curran stuck to his straight shots, often beating his challenger to the punch with head-snapping jabs and crosses.
In addition to the fluidity of Curran’s movement, his improved defense shined last night.
He threw and was prepared to parry, counter and was able to have his hands back up to his cranium in time to avoid any devastating damage. Defensively, he looked better than he’s ever looked. The same can also be said of Freire.
While Freire appeared slightly wilier in the cage, that can be attributed to his punching arsenal. He throws hooks—and although they’re looking tighter with each outing, hooks must cover more distance than straight punches. Down-the-pipe punches would create openings for those hooks to land. It can appear fairly ugly—but in truth, it’s still effective from an offensive standpoint.
Despite the aesthetic differentials between these two, Freire‘s defense looked significantly improved.
This is a guy who often finds himself getting overzealous in his attack, but not last night.
Pat Curran did not afford him such an opportunity. Freire held a tighter defensive posture that likely saved him from eating a devastating shot or two.
Pitbull did eat a big two-punch combo midway through the fight and completely froze. Had he not rediscovered his wits and implemented the proper defensive maneuvering, it could have been lights out for the Brazilian.
In the end, these two would tangle until the final bell.
Freire becoming a seemingly desperate aggressor in the final round, which worked at times, but opened him up for precision counters. Either way, he left everything he had inside the cage last night, and proved that he’s one hell of a boxer.
Curran did just the same, and while Pat retained his title, it would have been difficult to dispute a Freire win.
It was an insanely close fight between two of MMA’s best boxers.
These two may not be prepared to enter the squared circle and challenge the world’s best boxers, but I’d bet both could hold their own against solid competition.
MMA boxing is rapidly evolving, and these two proved it last night.
Michael Bisping may not be the original heel of the UFC, but he’s emerged as a guaranteed smack-talker with some zingers tucked away in wait. Sure Tito Ortiz paved the way, but his days as an elite trash talker are as far distanced as his days as…
Michael Bisping may not be the original heel of the UFC, but he’s emerged as a guaranteed smack-talker with some zingers tucked away in wait. Sure Tito Ortiz paved the way, but his days as an elite trash talker are as far distanced as his days as an elite competitor.
Michael Bisping now holds the crown.
The outspoken Brit has an uncanny knack for getting under the skin of his foes, and it typically works. He called Jorge Rivera “an old man,” and promised the fight was nothing more than a “free payday,” Well, he was kind of right, on both points.
Before battering fellow TUF 14 coach, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Bisping made it known that he found his hair-dyed rival “quite annoying.” He also made multiple promises to brutalize the wild Mayhem while making the promotional rounds. He lived up to his word, pummeling the longtime veteran and former Bully Beatdown host.
The man’s let a ton of quality lines loose, and some have been rather memorable. The reason Bisping ranks amongst the absolute best trash talkers in the UFC is the fact that he works his prodding with startling effectiveness.
This guy really, really gets inside the heads of his opponents. If you can walk the walk after talking that talk, you’re a mobile marketing machine.
While this article could probably stretch vast literary expanses, I’m going to keep things simple and highlight the ugliest, most vicious beatdowns in Bellator’s history that leap directly to my mind. While you won’t see every Hector …
While this article could probably stretch vast literary expanses, I’m going to keep things simple and highlight the ugliest, most vicious beatdowns in Bellator’s history that leap directly to my mind.
While you won’t see every Hector Lombard finish featured, or ever Pat Curran destruction on display, you’ll get the best of both, and much more.
This weekend will mark the UFC’s first event of 2013 as UFC on FX 7 gets underway. Surging middleweights Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping will toe the line in an attempt to take one step closer at a title fight with longtime champion, Anderson S…
This weekend will mark the UFC’s first event of 2013 as UFC on FX 7 gets underway. Surging middleweights VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping will toe the line in an attempt to take one step closer at a title fight with longtime champion, Anderson Silva.
With Chris Weidman, Hector Lombard and YushinOkami all waiting in the wings, an impressive victory is imperative for each man. The winner may very well find himself challenging for divisional gold with a spectacular win on Saturday night.
The question is: who has the goods to make a title shot reality?
I just want to make it known, before I plunge into this specific topic: I don’t consider UFC on FX an overtly horrible card, it just isn’t very good, and a rather weak yearly launch. It’s more a slight fizzle than a bubbly overflowing of gr…
I just want to make it known, before I plunge into this specific topic: I don’t consider UFC on FX an overtly horrible card, it just isn’t very good, and a rather weak yearly launch. It’s more a slight fizzle than a bubbly overflowing of greatness, and I’m not wholly convinced that’s the strongest way to launch 2013.
VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping will fill the main event bracket, and that is one intriguing match to the say the least. We’ve got two extremely fast strikers set to tangle, and each man is well aware of the ramifications of this head-on collision.
A win for Belfort likely places him just once more victory distanced from a second crack at middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva, who left the holy rollin’ Brazilian a battered heap on the canvas back at UFC 126. A victory for Bisping, on the other hand, more than likely earns him a title shot in his next outing.
A Bisping vs. Silva fight should produce weighty intrigue. The outspoken Brit has yet to earn his shot at the champion, and after competing in the Octagon for over six years and amassing a 13-4 record for the promotion, most would agree it couldn’t hurt to give “The Count” a shot at Silva’s title.
Anderson has beaten nearly every relevant contender in the division, save for a few new faces and Bisping. Bisping’s won five of his last six, with his only defeat in that stretch coming at the hands of ChaelSonnen. It was also—I should note—a controversial decision, as many felt The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner deserved the nod from the judges.
The point is this: UFC on FX 7 has a stellar main event. Bisping vs. Belfort is the kind of fight that leaves fans completely ingrained in the evening’s chaos, but what about the remainder of the card?
C.B. Dollaway, proven to be far from a fan favorite will meet TUF: Brazil’s Daniel Sarafian, but there are a few significant issues with this co-headlining bout. First, Dollawayisn’t a man that many clamor over. Second, Sarafian has enjoyed virtually zero television time here, stateside. He may as well be considered a complete neophyte with zero name recognition.
This isn’t the kind of match—on paper—that gets casual fans riled up, although an explosive debut from Sarafian could conjure major cheers from the Brazilian crowd and leave fans pining for more action from the youngster.
I expect the evening’s showcased heavyweight tilt pitting Gabriel Gonzaga against the ever-durable Ben Rothwell to elicit some raucous cheers, while it lasts. Both men typically show up to bang, and while I expect some early fireworks, this is more of a novelty fight than anything else.
The somewhat inconsistent ThiagoTavares will meet unbeaten Russian, KhabibNurmagomedov in a lightweight duel, and while this fight stands as one of the card’s more alluring battles, it’s buried in the card.
Will Nurmagomedov push his record to 19-0? It’s definitely possible, but after beating KamalShalorus and GleisonTibau in his first two Octagon appearances, it isn’t difficult to argue his right to toe the line with someone a bit higher in the lightweight pecking order.
The remainder of the card looks compelling, with a few of the TUF: Brazil alum receiving a shot on the big stage, but truth be told, Godofredo Castro may be the only man with enough star power to draw viewers to the set.
Ronny Markes is a talented guy who should provide quite the show, and it’ll be nice to see Diego Nunes attempt to build on his win over Bart Palaszewski at UFC on FX 5. But the only other major attraction (in the eyes of the casual fan) of the event is the return of EdsonBarboza, who found himself on the wrong end of Jamie Varner’s brutal pugilism at UFC 146.
In my opinion, I think UFC on FX 7 is a fine card. Intriguing fights fill the bill top to bottom, but ultimately, this isn’t a remarkable event by any stretch of the imagination, the marquee power just isn’t there. For the promotion’s first event of 2013, a few more fan-friendly fighters wouldn’t have hurt to usher in a promising new year.
UFC on FX 7 boasts anything but a disappointing lineup. However, it is without a doubt an underwhelming event for the promotion’s leap into 2013.
Anyone who tells you that refined boxing