Author: Matt Saccaro

UFC in 2012: Which UFC Fighter Will Be the Next Jon Jones?

There will be the rise of a new “Jon Jones”—a nigh invincible superhero—in 2012, and his name is Chris Weidman.Just as the current UFC light heavyweight champion ran through the ranks of his division and captured the title, middleweight Wei…

There will be the rise of a new “Jon Jones“—a nigh invincible superhero—in 2012, and his name is Chris Weidman.

Just as the current UFC light heavyweight champion ran through the ranks of his division and captured the title, middleweight Weidman is beginning to rack up impressive victories. In 2012, Weidman will finally earn the recognition among MMA fans and pundits that he deserves; he will become the “Jon Jones” of the middleweight division.

How will this come to pass?

Weidman dominated veteran Alessio Sakara in his UFC debut—and the Long Islander didn’t even have a full camp for that fight!

In his next two fights, he effortlessly choked out Canadian Jesse Bongfeldt and wild-man Tom Lawlor.

The cynic would now ask, “What does beating up journeymen really show us?”

It shows us Weidman’s potential.

The man is an NCAA Division-I All-American wrestler and made it to the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission grappling tournament after only one year of proper Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training.

This phenomenal wrestling base plus world-class submissions give Weidman an edge over practically every other fighter in the division. Weidman can take down and submit strikers like Chris Leben and Brian Stann, he can stop submission specialists like Demian Maia and Rousimar Palhares from bringing the fight to the ground.

Weidman will also be at an advantage when fighting fellow middleweight wrestlers like Mark Munoz and Chael Sonnen because he trains under famed striking coach Ray Longo, who will take Weidman’s striking to the next level.

Like the meteoric rise of Jon Jones, the rise of Chris Weidman will be the talk of MMA fans and websites throughout 2012. Because of his youth, skill set and training camp, he will dominate the middleweight division and become the 185-pound Jon Jones.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC in 2012: Which UFC Fighter Will Be the Next Jon Jones?

There will be the rise of a new “Jon Jones”—a nigh invincible superhero—in 2012, and his name is Chris Weidman.Just as the current UFC light heavyweight champion ran through the ranks of his division and captured the title, middleweight Wei…

There will be the rise of a new “Jon Jones“—a nigh invincible superhero—in 2012, and his name is Chris Weidman.

Just as the current UFC light heavyweight champion ran through the ranks of his division and captured the title, middleweight Weidman is beginning to rack up impressive victories. In 2012, Weidman will finally earn the recognition among MMA fans and pundits that he deserves; he will become the “Jon Jones” of the middleweight division.

How will this come to pass?

Weidman dominated veteran Alessio Sakara in his UFC debut—and the Long Islander didn’t even have a full camp for that fight!

In his next two fights, he effortlessly choked out Canadian Jesse Bongfeldt and wild-man Tom Lawlor.

The cynic would now ask, “What does beating up journeymen really show us?”

It shows us Weidman’s potential.

The man is an NCAA Division-I All-American wrestler and made it to the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission grappling tournament after only one year of proper Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training.

This phenomenal wrestling base plus world-class submissions give Weidman an edge over practically every other fighter in the division. Weidman can take down and submit strikers like Chris Leben and Brian Stann, he can stop submission specialists like Demian Maia and Rousimar Palhares from bringing the fight to the ground.

Weidman will also be at an advantage when fighting fellow middleweight wrestlers like Mark Munoz and Chael Sonnen because he trains under famed striking coach Ray Longo, who will take Weidman’s striking to the next level.

Like the meteoric rise of Jon Jones, the rise of Chris Weidman will be the talk of MMA fans and websites throughout 2012. Because of his youth, skill set and training camp, he will dominate the middleweight division and become the 185-pound Jon Jones.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 142: Are Cards Like UFC 142 the Reason UFC’s PPV Numbers Are in Decline?

UFC 142 will be a bloodbath in the pay-per-view market, and not just because of “Tebowmania” and the NFL playoffs.UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has historically failed to be a draw as have fighters from the lighter weight classes in general (per…

UFC 142 will be a bloodbath in the pay-per-view market, and not just because of “Tebowmania” and the NFL playoffs.

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has historically failed to be a draw as have fighters from the lighter weight classes in general (perhaps casual fans are less inclined to pay to watch fighters that they can supposedly bench press).

And it’s not like the co-main event—Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson—is a fight that will produce the stuff of legends.

The card just doesn’t have the power to wow the casual fans.

But is this lack of “wow factor” just coincidental or part of a larger, worrying trend?

The year 2011 wasn’t the best for the UFC in terms of PPV buys and the organization is set to have even more events in 2012.

The UFC only has a finite amount of star power to spread out over the calendar year. Their marquee stars such as UFC welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones won’t be able to headline each card.

That will mean that many cards will be headlined by fighters who just don’t have the ability to draw a large amount of buys.

The UFC’s PPV numbers will continue to underperform while they will still oversaturate the market in defiance.

Why should fans have to shell out so much money for pay-per-views that just aren’t worth the price tag?

They shouldn’t and fans are starting to realize this; the UFC brand name doesn’t warrant the steep and numerous price tags anymore.

Fans will watch UFC programming when it’s on for free on FOX (or Fuel or FX) and will only break into their precious (and ever-shrinking) pile of disposable income when they feel it’s warranted.

There have simply been too many PPV’s of a quality that don’t warrant the steep price. The fans voted with their wallets in 2011; they will no longer be bled dry. 

 

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Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine: Does Strikeforce Have a Point?

Luke Rockhold defends his Strikeforce middleweight title against journeyman extraordinaire Keith Jardine tonight, but does this really matter in the grand scheme of MMA?Is it important at all? Many were expecting the dissolution of MMA’s perennial…

Luke Rockhold defends his Strikeforce middleweight title against journeyman extraordinaire Keith Jardine tonight, but does this really matter in the grand scheme of MMA?

Is it important at all? 

Many were expecting the dissolution of MMA’s perennial “B-league” when Zuffa purchased the organization in March 2011.

The notion that the plug was being pulled on the San Jose-based promotion was only furthered when prominent fighters like Nick Diaz, Cung Le, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem were moved from Strikeforce into the UFC.

Somehow, Strikeforce persisted and eventually a new deal was signed between Zuffa and Showtime (the network that airs Strikeforce) that not only kept them on the air throughout 2012, but also made plans to rob Strikeforce of its heavyweight division in the near future.

Now that Zuffa is officially backing the Strikeforce brand and product, it will undergo a new renaissance, right?

Wrong.

First, Strikeforce will always face an identity crisis. As the second largest promotion in the United States, they will enjoy more name recognition than King of the Cage and Shark Fights. However, the flip-side of that statement is that Strikeforce is the UFC’s eternal understudy—the Luigi to the UFC’s Mario.

Furthermore, recent developments regarding Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos failing her post-fight drug test have also hurt the organization.

Strikeforce was the de facto home of women’s MMA. With Santos suspended, the fate of the female 145-pound division is in question. 

While the women’s bantamweight division is growing in popularity thanks to the feud between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey, one lone division cannot represent women’s MMA and grow it to new heights.

Thus, is there a point to Strikeforce now that it will always be known as the UFC’s minor league and that women’s MMA has hit a devastating roadblock?

There is no point other than to entertain and help give lower-level fighters more name recognition (and perhaps give MMA writers an excuse to avoid a family function on some weekends).

Strikeforce won’t help grow the sport the same way other smaller organizations in other countries like BAMMA or Superior Challenge might. It’ll only help the MMA world by giving up its good fighters to the whims of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

But it doesn’t need to do anymore than that, truthfully. If you watch tonight and smile and walk away remembering one of the fighters, then Strikeforce lived up to what limited purpose it has and justified its own place in MMA.

Strikeforce will simply coast along for the duration of its existence, but it’ll excite fans and build fighters in the process.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 142: Anthony Johnson "More Explosive, More Athletic" at Middleweight

Anthony Johnson has gone up a weight class (so now he’s just a large middleweight instead of a titanic welterweight) but to him, that only makes life easier. “This is easy,” Johnson said at the UFC 142 media conference call at which Bleacher Repor…

Anthony Johnson has gone up a weight class (so now he’s just a large middleweight instead of a titanic welterweight) but to him, that only makes life easier. 

“This is easy,” Johnson said at the UFC 142 media conference call at which Bleacher Report was present. 

“I weigh 215 right now and I still feel great. The weight is gonna come off no problem. So that’s why I feel so good, because I don’t have to cut the weight that I used to cut.”

“I’m more explosive, more athletic, everything has just come to where it needs to be. I’m peaking at the right time. Right now, middleweight is where I am, and that’s all I’m thinking about,” said Johnson.

Johnson formerly fought in the welterweight division (170 pounds for you novices) and his gargantuan size enabled him to dominate opponents. 

But the man who will be welcoming him to the 185-pound weight class—Brazilian striking phenom Vitor Belfort—isn’t a man who is easy to dominate.

However, such a test doesn’t daunt Johnson. 

“It’s not intimidating at all,” he said. “It’s actually motivating for me. It makes me even more hungry because it shows me that the UFC believes in me by giving me this opportunity.”

Johnson isn’t scared of the man and he’s not scared of the venue either—the HSBC arena in Rio de Janeiro—in which will be 15,000 Brazilian fans wanting to see Belfort leave him broken and unconscious in the Octagon. 

He is more flattered than anything.

“Going into Rio is an honor. This is where pretty much it all begin, in Rio, in Brazil.”

And about the hostile crowd, what does he care?

“I don’t mind coming into anybody’s backyard and putting on a good show and fighting to the best of my ability, because that’s what I’m gonna do January 14th no matter what,” said Johnson.

Johnson will have his hands full with Belfort, who is the toughest opponent he’s faced to date. 

The two will square off in the co-main event of UFC 142 on January 14th.

With a victory over Belfort, who knows what challenge UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will give Johnson next. 

Regardless, all Johnson cares about is longevity. 

“I want to fight as long as possible. If I could be fighting at the age Randy [Couture] was fighting at, that would be a blessing an honor.”

Win or lose on the 14th, middleweight is a more dangerous place with Anthony Johnson in it. The MMA world will see many more intriguing fights now that he’s a part of that weight class. 

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

10 Biggest Influences on Modern MMA

There’s more to modern MMA than Zuffa and the UFC. The current incarnation of the sport has been influenced by many figures and happenings in the past that have been forgotten or were never known well in the first place. However, this doesn’t…

There’s more to modern MMA than Zuffa and the UFC. 

The current incarnation of the sport has been influenced by many figures and happenings in the past that have been forgotten or were never known well in the first place. 

However, this doesn’t mean that more recent developments don’t impact modern MMA—they do.

But, were some of these modern events as important as the older ones? Which developments in MMA history are most responsible for bringing us the product we have now? Read and find out but keep in mind one can’t quantify “influence,” so the slides aren’t ranked in any way.

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