Ever been hit with a pool stick? It’s a terrible, terrible thing for three reasons. First, it’s not entirely likely to knock you unconscious, second it hurts like you wouldn’t believe and third, it splits the scalp wider than a condom…
Ever been hit with a pool stick? It’s a terrible, terrible thing for three reasons. First, it’s not entirely likely to knock you unconscious, second it hurts like you wouldn’t believe and third, it splits the scalp wider than a condom-packed piñata at a frat party. It truly is a nasty experience, and one that’s more likely to occur inside a bar than anywhere else.
Barroom brawls aren’t cool, they’re not what I’d call fun, and if you don’t get your rear end moving fast enough once the dust has settled, they can carry a costly legal toll. In short, they’re not worth taking part in.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone test their physical fortitude in the cramped confines of a packed pub, but from time to time, it just happens. Sometimes it’s tough to avoid the testosterone-driven booze-hound who’s itching for a fight.
I don’t condone illegal fights, and I’m certain none of the men on this list do, either, but it sure would be entertaining to see any one of these 11 fighters tee off on a group of intolerable alcoholics. Feast on this list, just try to argue!
You don’t have to be a 250-pound freak of nature to put on a stellar showing inside the cage. Eddie Wineland and Brad Pickett proved that in their FX preliminary card capper on Saturday night. These two bantamweights reminded MMA followers that e…
You don’t have to be a 250-pound freak of nature to put on a stellar showing inside the cage. Eddie Wineland and Brad Pickett proved that in their FX preliminary card capper on Saturday night. These two bantamweights reminded MMA followers that elite striking prowess isn’t nonexistent in the sport of mixed martial arts, despite what elitists may have you believe.
Pickett, though not as technically refined as Wineland, is a very, very capable striker who strings together powerful punches and has a penchant for throwing heavy hooks when his foes opt to disengage. In contrast, Wineland is a precision striker through and through with some of the finest lateral movement you’ll spot in the sport, regardless of weight class.
For three rounds, these men engaged in a kickboxing match of thrilling magnitude. Grappling played virtually zero factor in the fight, as both Wineland and Pickett looked pleased to exchange punches for 15 minutes. The crowd reciprocated that pleasure with raucous cheers.
Ultimately it was Wineland who took home the W. He landed heavy in the first frame of this contest, wobbling his English opponent, and upheld an active offense for the remaining two rounds. Pickett came on strong in the fight’s final five minutes, and while he managed to tag Eddie with a few hard hooks, it was a bit too little, too late.
Wineland has now pieced together two consecutive victories under the Zuffa-owned UFC banner, and his next out will likely come against a top-ranked contender. Being the first man to knock Scott Jorgensen into unconsciousness was impressive; following that performance up with a masterful three-round decision win over Pickett makes for quite a statement. I can’t imagine that these performances have fallen on blind eyes.
It’s time for Eddie to reclaim a seat in the division’s Top Five.
Thus far Wineland’s only kryptonite looks to be superb wrestlers. Wineland and Urijah Faber tangled at UFC 128, with Faber escaping the bout with a unanimous decision nod. With longtime champ Dominick Cruz sidelined indefinitely, and interim champion Renan Pegado scheduled to fight the division’s brightest prospect—Michael McDonald—at UFC on FUEL TV 7, it might be best for Wineland to wait out the upcoming meeting between Faber and Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157.
If Faber emerges victorious—as many predict he will—a rematch would suit Eddie well, and provide a better barometer of exactly where his wrestling stands today. The first fight was a spirited affair, with Wineland hanging tough and shining on more than one occasion. Since that fight, Faber hasn’t looked profoundly improved, while Wineland looks like he may be hitting his prime a bit late. There’s no reason for these two not to meet once more inside the Octagon.
Should Faber fall to Menjivar, there’s no reason to avoid pairing Ivan and Eddie together. Menjivar’s a seasoned veteran with some great wins under his belt and some solid momentum in his favor. Outside of a decision loss to Mike Easton, he’s looked stellar in his last half-dozen fights, and like Eddie, he seems to have gotten a career second-wind.
I’d prefer to see Wineland tussle with Faber once more, but I’d be nearly as excited to see how Eddie fares against a guy as diverse as Ivan Menjivar.
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Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon lived up to their reputations as aggressive finishers at UFC 155. While this co-main event bout would (surprisingly) last its allotted 15 minutes, leaving judges to determine the winner, both men fought to finish from the outs…
Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon lived up to their reputations as aggressive finishers at UFC 155. While this co-main event bout would (surprisingly) last its allotted 15 minutes, leaving judges to determine the winner, both men fought to finish from the outset of the fight.
Joe Lauzon was forced to battle through extreme diversity early, as Miller unleashed a hellacious attack, brutalizing “J-Lau” early with powerful punches and savage elbows. Lauzon, who himself is recognized as a remarkably fast starter was forced to lean on his defensive abilities in order to survive what appeared to be imminent first round defeat.
But Joe did survive.
Bloodied, and bruised, Lauzon answered the bell for the second round determined to return the favor. While he failed to inflict the measure of damage that Miller succeeded in, he landed some nice punches, worked well in the scrambles and had a few moments once the fight hit the mat.
He also maintained a high output offense throughout the course of the fight, which is something we don’t consistently see from Lauzon. If there’s been any major knock on the Massachusetts native, it’s been centered on his cardiovascular conditioning. Joe’s been known to be a berserker who fades outside of the seven- or eight-minute mark.
Not last night.
Miller kept himself one step ahead of Lauzon for the vast majority of the fight. His movement looked amazing, his pace was relentless and his will to win never wavered. But Joe attempted, valiantly, to match Jim’s attack. While he was incapable of delivering the same measure of offense, Joe never faded, he never wilted and he never once succumbed to the idea of defeat.
It was a gutsy performance from the known finisher. Unfortunately for Joe, he ran into a wrecking ball in Miller.
Jim turned in what may be the most impressive fight of his career last night. His striking, which has been one of the most aesthetically pleasing tools in his belt for years, looked sharper than ever before. He looked powerful, determined and intelligent, careful to avoid the heavy counters of his opponent, happy to counter those counters with quick combinations.
Miller held a clear wrestling advantage in this bout, but unlike a few of the…less than stimulating fights on the undercard (cough, cough, Okami vs. Belcher, Brunson vs. Leben), there was no thought of stalemates on the canvas. Miller kept busy with plenty of strikes, as he turned a half-inch cut over Lauzon’s right eye into a two-inch cut, and Lauzon consistently fished for potential submissions.
These two men brought their hearts into the octagon and left them there, along with every ounce of energy in their bodies, and, for Joe, damn near every ounce of blood. If that wasn’t a copious pouring of plasma, I just don’t know what is.
The two picked up an additional $65,000 and “Fight of the Night” honors, and they most certainly deserved such recognition. This was an action-packed bloody fight that unraveled at a frantic pace and completely stole the show. It may have been the big boys on center stage, but it was the lightweights who truly brought the crowd to life.
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Junior dos Santos will be forced to battle back from the most damaging fight of his professional career. The beating that Cain Velasquez applied the former champion last night is the kind of beating that can leave a fighter impaired, potentially long t…
Junior dos Santos will be forced to battle back from the most damaging fight of his professional career. The beating that Cain Velasquez applied the former champion last night is the kind of beating that can leave a fighter impaired, potentially long term.
That said I don’t expect to see too many lingering affects the next time dos Santos enters the cage. He’s still a young man with sharp tools, and prior to UFC 155, he’d never actually taken much abuse as a professional. I think a gun shy, or “broken” version of JDS is a number of years and many, many battles distanced.
The man will be just fine. He may not feel terrific about his performance, and he may have taken a bludgeoning last night, but I’ve got a feeling his pride is aching far more than any part of his body today.
It’s profoundly important that JDS take no “warm up” fights. He made his UFC debut tussling with elite talent in Fabricio Werdum, and he’s done nothing but continue that trend having beaten Mirko Filipovic, Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir (to name a few) since. There’s no need to treat this man as a shattered commodity. He’s got to leap right back into the deep end of the pool, and start chewing through more sharks if he hopes to reach the mountain’s summit again in the next few years.
Now, knowing that I’m all for seeing JDS competing with extremely dangerous opposition immediately, it’s also important to keep him away from emerging number one contenders. If JDS returns, and eliminates the current number one in line, we’re left in a precarious situation, one which places JDS in line for a rematch with Velasquez that he’s likely not quite prepared for.
We’ve seen enough rapid-fire rematches as of late.
The UFC needs to enable Junior to regain full confidence, and they need to allow the former champion the opportunity to beat good opposition, not great. If he dives right back in and takes out the greats of the division, we’ll be staring at a rubber match with Cain far sooner than most would prefer.
Junior dos Santos will, more than likely earn the chance to meet Cain in the cage for a third time, but that doesn’t need to happen anytime soon. Let’s get the man back to his winning ways, beating the lower-tier of the top 10 rankings before fans find all legitimate challenges for Cain eliminated by his professional nemesis.
The loser of the upcoming UFC 156 heavyweight showcase that will see Alistair Overeem battle Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva sounds ideal to me. If Silva comes up short, JDS eyes a man he hasn’t beaten at this point, who’s fairly well-rounded with loads of experience. If Overeem happens to fall on February 2nd, we’ll see a grudge match of epic proportions, and one that will force JDS to compete at peak level.
A rematch with Fabricio Werdum is always an option down the line. But at this point, the best possible matchup for dos Santos is the loser of UFC 156’s featured heavyweight tilt. That fight keeps him in talks for top contention, but also leaves him resting on the outskirts of a title fight, with, hopefully, enough time to squeeze in the few more fights needed to regain his footing in the division.
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Constantinos Philippou stepped into the cage at UFC 155 an underdog. He exited triumphantly, having disposed of top 10-ranked Tim Boetsch. The former boxer let his hands do the talking, as he forced intervention from the referee after hurling a load of…
Constantinos Philippou stepped into the cage at UFC 155 an underdog. He exited triumphantly, having disposed of top 10-ranked Tim Boetsch. The former boxer let his hands do the talking, as he forced intervention from the referee after hurling a load of bombs at a downed, bloodied and broken Boetsch in the final frame of their 15-minute affair.
For Costa, it was a career defining moment, and one that now puts him in the top-10 mix at middleweight.
Philippou now rides a five-fight streak inside the Octagon. His defensive grappling has looked quite impressive, his hands are heavy, quick and accurate and he’s quite durable. “The Barbarian” showed up last night looking to derail the surging Serra-Longo Fight Team rep, and he showed it in the first round as he applied solid pressure and had Philippou a bit uncertain of himself.
However, after injuring his hand in the opening frame and subsequently suffering a nasty cut on the forehead that came after an incidental collision of melons, Boetsch’s confidence wavered. Costa pounced, and his aggressive shift led to a brutal beat-down.
So where does Costa now stand? Who should this newly minted contender tangle with next? Is there any hope of Philippou fighting his way into a top contender slot?
I’ll tell you, Costa is sitting pretty right now. He just disposed of a top-five (arguably) contender, and a very relevant middleweight bout fast approaches. Vitor Belfort will meet Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7, and Costa might very well find himself battling the loser, or victor, of that fight. Chris Weidman, who’s been battling injuries as of late, also has no current opponent or return date solidified.
Smart money says no more fringe top-10 battles for Constantinos.
A meeting with Chris Weidman, should Chris not be offered a title fight with Anderson Silva next, feels all but predestined. However, if Weidman finds himself toeing the line with another contender, expect Philippou to wage war with the winner of the Belfort/Bisping bout.
The only other option that sounds remotely near as intriguing, and would help to move the division forward, is a meeting with Hector Lombard. The mad minds at the UFC may have designs on a fast-tracked title shot for Lombard, and if they feel he’s got the goods to take Philippou out, we might see this proposition become reality.
In truth, that might just be the best bet for each man. A win over Lombard would ingrain Costa’s stance as a top dog, elite competitor. A win over Costa for Lombard would prove he’s capable of disposing of a powerful, hungry boxer who’s not only ranked, but dangerous at all times.
There are only so many options for this developing stud, and every single one of those options looks thoroughly appealing. Costa’s future is bright, and we’re about to see how he’ll fare when it comes time to challenge the absolute best of the 185-pound division.
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For Junior dos Santos, it was a chance to prove his 64-second knockout win over Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1 was no fluke. For Cain, it was a shot at redemption and physical reiteration: I am the best heavyweight on the planet. Former champion Junior…
For Junior dos Santos, it was a chance to prove his 64-second knockout win over Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1 was no fluke. For Cain, it was a shot at redemption and physical reiteration: I am the best heavyweight on the planet.
Former champion Junior dos Santos entered the Octagon last night in the main event of UFC 155 eager to put his respectful rivalry with Cain Velasquez to bed once and for all. But the former champion, and now two-time heavyweight champ, had a completely different design laid out. The Team AKA representative entered the cage and put the pressure on the champion from the opening bell. It was, as Joe Rogan declared, the Cain Velasquez most had expected to see when the two first met 13 months ago.
Cain completely shut down the offense of “Cigano,” as he refused to give the Brazilian time to sit on his punches. Velasquez bull-rushed early and often, shooting takedowns behind powerful shots. The takedowns didn’t prove to be the true deciding factor in this fight, however; the beginning of a prolonged end came as Cain landed a huge straight right on the chin of dos Santos in the first round. The punch put the champion down and immediately defined the trajectory of the match. Junior never fully recovered from that bomb, which would have likely rendered nine of 10 heavyweights unconscious, might I add.
Had this collision been closely contested, I might be able to conceive of an immediate rubber match. But this one wasn’t close. It wasn’t remotely near competitive, for any moment of the fight. Junior was out-gunned and out-hustled for 25 minutes. The loss puts the now twice-beaten pugilist in a position he hasn’t seen since joining the ranks of the UFC: he’s dropped significantly in the rankings, and he’ll be forced to climb the ladder once more if he hopes to earn another shot at divisional supremacy.
Cain, on the other hand, has a few options staring him in the face, but with those options come specific requirements.
Cain will more than likely battle Alistair Overeem in his first defense of the title. But in order for that pairing to come to fruition, Overeem will have to overcome the oft-underrated Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156. Most pundits favor Overeem heavily, but it’s tough to count Silva out of the match before it happens. Remember that nearly two years ago, fans were all but certain Antonio would throttle Overeem in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, given what “Bigfoot” managed to do to former heavyweight ace Fedor Emelianenko.
The only other option for Cain at this point would be a meeting with Fabricio Werdum. Werdum has put together two consecutive victories for the promotion, having humiliated Roy Nelson at UFC 143 before outclassing Mike Russow at UFC 147. However, if Werdum is the next to tangle with Velasquez, he’ll need to secure a major win over living legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira when they meet at a still-unannounced event on June 8th.
June is quite the wait and would leave Cain out of action for well over half a year, so I’m not banking on that match being made.
Logic says Overeem defeats Silva at UFC 156, which will in turn align a title fight for the massive Dutchman. If this is indeed the future title fight most anticipate, it means another massive marquee draw for the heavyweights and a chance to knock another extremely dangerous and recognizable name from contention.
As it is, the Californian has already put away some noteworthy opposition. Victories over Junior dos Santos, Antonio Silva and Brock Lesnar are nothing to dismiss. The man appears to possess all the tools, striking included, to hold that belt for a long, long time. With only six years and 12 fights banked as a professional fighter, Velasquez has already reached the top of the mountain. Maintaining that position won’t come without challenge, but it looks wholly possible.
Cain Velasquez might very well be the best heavyweight we’ve seen since a prime Fedor Emelianenko thrashed his way through the heavyweight ranks of Pride more than a half decade ago. Whether you love him, loathe him or stand completely indifferent, it’s hard to argue that point.
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You don’t have to be a 250-pound freak of nature to put on a stellar showing inside the cage. Eddie Wineland and Brad Pickett proved that in their FX preliminary card capper on Saturday night. These two bantamweights reminded