Some men are born to be fighters, and some men are born to be absolute warriors of the most vicious caliber. While the true bad asses of MMA are few and far between, the last (near) 20 years have produced a handful of amazing talents. We’re talki…
Some men are born to be fighters, and some men are born to be absolute warriors of the most vicious caliber. While the true bad asses of MMA are few and far between, the last (near) 20 years have produced a handful of amazing talents.
We’re talking about the one in a million kind of combatants. Those who leave our jaws planted on the floor in awe. Those who refuse to succumb to pressure or extreme challenges… those willing to walk through Hell to ensure a victory.
Many talented fighters have come and gone over the years, but this specific piece is meant to serve as a reminder of who the truly terrifying competitors are. The unbreakable warriors we’ll still be discussing in a few decades…
Before you leap to chastise me for calling any professional mixed martial artist lazy, allow me to have my say. First off, the fact that I feel the gentlemen featured in this list typically lack motivation doesn’t mean I intend to overtly disresp…
Before you leap to chastise me for calling any professional mixed martial artist lazy, allow me to have my say.
First off, the fact that I feel the gentlemen featured in this list typically lack motivation doesn’t mean I intend to overtly disrespect any of them. In fact, of the men featured on this list, only one (you’ll likely guess the entrant the moment you see his name) actually rubs me the wrong way. Most of these guys are pretty gnarly fighters despite their apparent absence of drive.
So, before you start typing some hot air “how dare you” brouhaha, understand that the point of this piece is to have a little fun, keep it lighthearted and get you talking.
Who looks like a lazy clown in competition? Who was the laziest guy you ever witnessed walking into a cage? Could Tank have been a legitimate force had he decided to pry himself from the bar stool long enough to discover what the inner workings of an actual gym looked like?
These are amusing questions, and this is an amusing topic. It’s not meant to be interpreted as a dead-serious debate. If you’re too uppity to appreciate it, you may want to pull the stick from the Mighty Brown Eye…
Georges St-Pierre took a hard-fought decision over Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 154 last night. It wasn’t easy, but GSP managed to overcome serious adversity en route to a lopsided judges’ nod. After more than 18 months away from …
Georges St-Pierre took a hard-fought decision over Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 154 last night. It wasn’t easy, but GSP managed to overcome serious adversity en route to a lopsided judges’ nod.
After more than 18 months away from the cage, GSP tackled one of, if not the most difficult challenge of his 10-year career. Considering the fact that the longtime champion was looking to rebound from a potentially career-ending injury, I’d say he handled himself impressively.
The majority of the bout was spent on the mat, where St-Pierre utilized his profound strength advantage to keep Carlos Condit’s back glued to the canvas. But unlike some of GSP’s previous fights, the champ went all out to finish the fight, dropping a plethora of heavy elbows on the face of Condit, who was busted up early and bled frequently throughout the contest.
While on the feet, GSP remained one step ahead of Condit, peppering the challenger with crisp jabs, and dropping a handful of powerful right hands on the chin of the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product.
St-Pierre looked nearly flawless in the stand-up exchanges, up until the third round arrived.
With plenty of time left on the clock, Condit caught the champion with his hands low. A respectable left high-kick caught the right temple of GSP flush, and down went the Canadian. Condit moved in for the kill, but ultimately failed to finish.
That’s right: GSP proved capable of overcoming adversity, something we simply haven’t seen from the champion.
The last time GSP was rocked significantly, he was put away with strikes. That loss came at the hands of Matt Serra, and while it looked as though Condit may create a contemporary replay for fans, GSP showed he’s got the heart and fight IQ to survive and return to domination.
Just moments after being dropped by the hellacious kick, GSP was back up, shooting a takedown and dragging Condit to the mat. Once he regained control of the bout, GSP never looked back.
The final two frames featured a swollen and bloodied St-Pierre controlling Carlos Condit, who himself sported a crimson mask courtesy of a powerful elbow delivered by the champ in the bout’s earlier goings.
Condit cemented his stance as a dangerous, resilient foe. He refused to allow GSP the openings required to obtain a finish, and fought hard until the final bell sounded. It was, in truth, an insanely gutsy performance from both men.
On Saturday night, GSP let the world know that a torn anterior cruciate ligament would not be the end of his career. He also proved to the lingering naysayers that even when hurt, he is still in the fight. The man showed fans a little bit of everything at UFC 154, and if Carlos Condit was nothing more than a simple test, he passed with flying colors.
Final Grades
Striking: B
Wrestling: A+
Submission Offense/Defense: B (this was obviously a defensive battle for the champion)
Conditioning: A
X-factors: B+ (time away from the cage and adversity stand at the X-factor forefront)
Overall Grade: B+ (for the record, only a finish could have yielded a higher grade)
Saturday’s featured middleweight bout between Tom Lawlor and Francis Carmont was supposed to serve as a thrilling affair that would likely push Carmont into the upper echelon of the promotion’s division. It ended up being a snoozefest that …
Saturday’s featured middleweight bout between Tom Lawlor and Francis Carmont was supposed to serve as a thrilling affair that would likely push Carmont into the upper echelon of the promotion’s division. It ended up being a snoozefest that consisted of a whole lot of wall and stall.
Don’t get me wrong, I was strangely entertained by the fight, and that was probably a result of the intrigue surrounding this specific collision. Could Carmont put away a rugged, dangerous guy like Lawlor? Would Lawlor finally snag a major victory for the promotion?
The answer in both cases was no.
Carmont turned in a somewhat timid performance, and while he was able to exit the cage victorious, the fight probably didn’t do too much to gain him many new fans. Lawlor, meanwhile, came up just short of derailing the highly touted prospect.
Carmont’s takedown defense and reach kept him out of serious danger, and Lawlor’s ability to close the distance without sustaining too much damage kept him alive in the fight.
What ensued was a spicy wrestling match that took place, for the most part, from the upright position.
It wasn’t particularly exciting, and it failed to produce the answers so many sought heading into the fight.
We’re still completely unsure of how Francis will perform against a top-tier middleweight, and we’re still uncertain of just how far Lawlor can go in the division. In the grand scheme of things, one could actually label last night’s meeting as irrelevant.
We learned absolutely nothing from watching these two men fight. Carmont is still unbeaten inside the Octagon, but Lawlor certainly isn’t, and if he wants to remain employed by the largest MMA promotion in the world, he’s going to need to pick up a few big wins.
After watching last night’s title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit twice over, it’s rather difficult to identify precisely what went wrong for Carlos Condit. Of course, we can point to defensive wrestling as the Jackson&rsq…
After watching last night’s title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit twice over, it’s rather difficult to identify precisely what went wrong for Carlos Condit.
Of course, we can point to defensive wrestling as the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative’s ultimate kryptonite, but fans across the globe already knew that if there was any single area of the sport in which Condit was inferior to GSP, it was the wrestling department. It wasn’t a shock.
Sure, we’d collectively hoped that Condit had invested enough time working on his wrestling to thwart some of the champ’s offense, but we most probably understood that you can’t become a top-notch wrestler inside of one training camp. It simply isn’t possible.
Again, there was no mystery to be found in regards to the wrestling showcased last night.
Considering the fact that this fight really came down to who could impose his will on the mat, it’s tough to identify any other specific area in which Condit failed to excel. He fought an offensive-minded fight, sans the first round, and he kept an active enough guard to prevent GSP from uncorking the kind of ground and pound that renders a fighter unconscious.
In fact, if we’re really going to reach beyond the wrestling deficit (which is nearly all there is to discuss, though that wouldn’t make for much of an article), we’re going to really, really reach.
Outside of his failure to stop the takedowns, Condit looked damn impressive last night. After settling in to a comfort zone in the first frame, Condit began hurling combinations at GSP. “The Natural Born Killer” kept an offensive approach that was admirable, and his ability to keep his wits after being tagged by numerous hard shots proved pretty amazing.
Most guys take a mental vacation when GSP starts beating on them. Carlos Conditisn’t most guys.
If I’ve got to eye any specific moment in which Carlos let this fight go, it has to be those first moments that followed the shocking head kick that left GSP laid out on the canvas.
This was Carlos Condit’s one serious shot at taking the title. He had the champion rocked and woozy, and he did leap in and attempt to finish. However, he was a little bit anxious, didn’t pick his shots and stuck himself directly in GSP’s comfort zone, in tightly confined wrestling quarters.
Condit’s chances of closing the show last night could have been greatly improved had he taken a moment to measure the distance and aim. Sometimes those wild flurries work wonders, and sometimes a few too many shots miss their target to produce the desired finished.
Such was the case for Condit last night.
That said, it’s easy to understand the overzealousness Carlos displayed. Not many men manage to actually hurt GSP during a fight. Condit was probably about as stunned by the opening as the fans were.
When you can put the champ on his tail, you’d better play your cards right and make sure every punch counts.
Unfortunately, Carlos Conditwasn’t able to make that happen last night. He tried, and valiantly at that.
If Condit can continue to work on his wrestling, and if he can ensure he maintains complete focus in the future, he’ll be right back in the mix at 170 soon. The truth is, wrestling and anxiousness were are the only things that went wrong for the former interim champ last night.
It’s been a roller coaster of a year. We’ve seen a few thrilling battles take place in 2012, a few letdowns and the outright “Attack of the Injury Bug.” There are a handful of impressive cards lined up to usher 2012 out the door, and with t…
It’s been a roller coaster of a year. We’ve seen a few thrilling battles take place in 2012, a few letdowns and the outright “Attack of the Injury Bug.”
There are a handful of impressive cards lined up to usher 2012 out the door, and with the end of the year comes the hope that 2013 produces fewer injuries and failed drug tests, and far more fireworks inside the cage.
Everyone has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season: these are just a few of the things that leave me tipping my hat in respectful acknowledgment.
Georges St-Pierre took a hard-fought decision over Carlos