UFC 143 is almost here and the fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit will be a great one, albeit a fight casual fans might not know much about.Both men are great, but there is a whole undercard of talented fighters that will be on before them. Betw…
UFC 143 is almost here and the fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit will be a great one, albeit a fight casual fans might not know much about.
Both men are great, but there is a whole undercard of talented fighters that will be on before them. Between strikers, submission artists and wrestlers, this fight card has a little bit of everything for the hardcore fight fan.
Normally, there would be a bit of a cool-down period between the fights on FOX and the next pay-per-view card, but it seems the UFC is jumping in quickly after their last card.
So without further delay, here are the predictions for each fight on the card.
UFC’s second batch of fights on FOX may not have delivered on the level that fans wanted, but the promotion has barely any off time, with UFC 143 set for Feb. 4,.This time, the main event is fan-friendly, with Nick Diaz taking on Carlos Condit. Both ma…
UFC’s second batch of fights on FOX may not have delivered on the level that fans wanted, but the promotion has barely any off time, with UFC 143 set for Feb. 4,.
This time, the main event is fan-friendly, with Nick Diaz taking on Carlos Condit. Both many are superior strikers, with each man being known for either submitting their opponents or knocking them out.
Neither man is known for going the distance or making boring fights, with Diaz winning Fight of the Night in his promotional debut, and his only fight so far with the company, and Condit winning Knockout of the Night twice and Fight of the Night once.
Both men are savants when it comes to fighting with Condit, having been given the nickname “Natural-Born Killer” for his talents at dispatching opponents at a young age.
Diaz is almost facing a mirror image of himself in many ways, albeit one that is a bit more polite.
Nick Diaz is just as talented, having fought in Pride and the original WEC before it was purchased by the UFC, but having just turned 28. Until recently, he was the Strikeforce welterweight champion and tried calling out UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
It didn’t seem like the bout was going to happen, but then, the UFC bought out its competitor and put the fight together. The only problem is that Diaz no-showed for the press conferences, and a match was made between St-Pierre and Condit.
Then, both St-Pierre and Condit got injured, and BJ Penn and Diaz were forced to headline the card. Diaz still wanted a shot at the champion. Unfortunately, St-Pierre is going to be out for most of 2012, so Diaz will have to take the fight with Condit for the interim title and win it if he still wants the match.
And the biggest threat for Diaz in this match is letting himself take risks he can’t afford. For as talented as BJ Penn is, he has never been the greatest striker, but he chose to stand with Diaz anyway. Diaz obliged him and won.
But Diaz has been willing to stand and trade with fighters who excel at striking as well. In Strikeforce, he faced Paul “Semtex” Daley, a fighter known for his power punches, and almost got taken out because of it. He may have won in the end, but it was a gamble that he didn’t have to take.
Daley is weak against grappling and wrestling, and Diaz could have won if he had just put the fight on the ground, but that confidence in his abilities is what makes Diaz so great.
And against Condit, it will be his biggest weakness. Condit has more precise stand up than many of the other fighters Diaz has faced off with and could find a way to get through the former champion’s rangey boxing.
If Condit does find an opening, he might end the fight, as he has shown in both the Dan Hardy and Rory McDonald fights that he can make opponents pay for giving him openings and turn around any fight for a win.
And if Diaz gives him the chance, he may just do that at UFC 143.
Then, Diaz will have to wait even longer for a shot at the championship and the big-money fight that comes with it. Then, he might be too late.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com, which focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
Nice guys finish last.That is a line everyone has heard before and some take to heart. The second UFC on FOX card took that sentence to a new level.Every single “nice guy” on the card was defeated.Demian Maia, who is seen as a gentleman for the sport, …
Nice guys finish last.
That is a line everyone has heard before and some take to heart. The second UFC on FOX card took that sentence to a new level.
Every single “nice guy” on the card was defeated.
Demian Maia, who is seen as a gentleman for the sport, was beaten, and Phil Davis, who is a charismatic young man, was taken out.
In a battle that didn’t really have any “nice guys” in it, Chael Sonnen was able to beat Michael Bisping. It is a matter of preference on who fans might find as the more palatable of the two fighters, but it seems Sonnen has the market cornered on being a “jerk.”
That doesn’t mean that Chris Weidman, who beat Maia, is a bad guy and it doesn’t mean that Chael Sonnen is among the most beloved men in MMA, but both men are not viewed as positively as their opponents are.
So why do many of the “nice guys” in MMA finish last?
Because, simply put, they do what decent people do. They accept the blame for their losses or shortcomings.
On the surface, Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans and Chris Weidman look like they have nothing in common. Weidman is a no-name and is undefeated while Sonnen and Evans have losses on their records but talk like they don’t.
And that is where things start to align.
Weidman has the confidence of a man who has never lost while Sonnen and Evans have the confidence of men who have found ways to attribute their losses to something other then themselves.
Sonnen doesn’t focus on his loss to Anderson Silva. He focuses on the four-and-a-half rounds he beat on him. Had he been a more humble fighter, he would have acknowledged the loss and that might have been the last we saw of Sonnen as a dominant fighter.
Instead, he continued to talk, and the second he got in the cage he showed off how impressive he could be. He proved that the fight against Silva wasn’t a fluke.
He needed to believe that he was the better fighter and he just got caught. A “nice guy” would have admitted he just couldn’t beat Silva, but Sonnen isn’t that kind of competitor.
Maia, who has also faced Silva, has lost a lot of his edge in the cage. He now swaps wins and losses and has gone the distance in each outing. He is a polite martial artist and seems to be the type who would be willing to look himself in the eye and admit that he failed.
But that is death to a fighter. They have to wake up everyday with the thought that they are king of the mountain and that they just had an off night. To admit that they could be less than that would be folly.
A fighter doesn’t even need to have faced defeat for that weakness to anchor itself in him.
Evans has never felt that way and has wanted to fight for the belt for years now. He has held on to his No. 1 contender spot because he believes he can be the champion.
He disrespected Davis, acting like he wasn’t on the same tier as the young wrestling phenom, and proved it on Saturday. Some of it had to do with skill and experience.
More than a bit might have had to do with confidence. Davis is willing to heap blame on himself while Evans is willing to shrug it off.
So is Chael Sonnen.
And so is Chris Weidman, though that may have more to do with his record then anything else.
These men won’t come off as the classiest individuals in interviews, and they won’t seem “nice” in press conferences. They will come off as pompous and arrogant.
But that attitude is what helps the fighters get through the rough spots in training camps, shrug off injuries and win fights—the belief that they are the best and that it is their circumstances that stop them getting there.
It may not be a selfless way of thinking, but it is effective.
And in MMA, that is what counts in the end.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.comwhich focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
Charles Oliveira won submission of the night in his debut as a featherweight on the UFC on FOX undercard. His opponent was less experienced than those he had faced in the Octagon in his last three fights.Oliveira is only 22 years old and wasn’t ready f…
Charles Oliveira won submission of the night in his debut as a featherweight on the UFC on FOX undercard. His opponent was less experienced than those he had faced in the Octagon in his last three fights.
Oliveira is only 22 years old and wasn’t ready for opponents such as Jim Miller, Nik Lentz and Donald Cerrone and it shows in his record. He went 0-2 with one no-contest thanks to an illegal knee he delivered to Lentz, and he showed none of the spark he had when he had submitted his first two victims in the UFC.
Once his level of opposition was taken down from elite veterans to a newcomer like Eric Wisely, he reverted back to getting bonuses for his grappling skills and pulling off a moves like the calf slicer.
The UFC has a tendency to rush prospects that show promise and Oliveira was put in the same position. Just like many of the other fighters, he also failed to match the level he was placed at.
It isn’t anything against Oliveira that he didn’t succeed. He is only 22 and was facing veterans who had spent years getting better in the Octagon. Some had been competing in the UFC as Oliveira’s MMA career was beginning.
Now in his debut as a featherweight, the UFC has decided to allow him to grow at a natural pace, facing fighters who are growing just as he is. It gives him, if the pun can be forgiven, a fighting chance to learn his craft and continue to get better.
Even fighters like Jon Jones had to start slow fighting people like Stephan Bonner, Andre Gusmao and Brandon Vera before fighting top-fight competition.
Oliveira is no different and its great to see him finally getting a real run in the company instead of being rushed into fights he isn’t ready for.
Patience is a virtue, and the UFC brass may be starting to learn that pushing young fighters will only lead to them being broken down and being cut from the promotion.
Oliviera has talent. He showed that when he first came to the company and started making waves.
Unfortunately, he did too much too fast and was given an opportunity that he hadn’t warranted and wasn’t ready for.
It wasn’t Oliviera’s place as a fighter to say no. He has to believe he is the best and as a mixed martial artist should take every chance he gets.
But UFC matchmaker Joe Silva should have known better, and it is surprising that he didn’t.
Still, the UFC seems to be slowing down Oliveira’s progress and letting him earn his way to the top.
It is the best thing for the sport, and in the long run, it is the best thing for Oliveira.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.comwhich focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
Junior Dos Santos is the top heavyweight in the UFC and what seems like an unstoppable force.In his next fight, he will face Alistair Overeem, who will give him his biggest test when it comes to striking, as the Dutch kickboxer tries to stop the champi…
Junior Dos Santos is the top heavyweight in the UFC and what seems like an unstoppable force.
In his next fight, he will face Alistair Overeem, who will give him his biggest test when it comes to striking, as the Dutch kickboxer tries to stop the champion’s boxing.
In many ways, he can remind MMA fans of a dominant Wladimir Klitschko. But when he faces Overeem, it might be one of the two that boxing fans have seen through the years.
I believe that Overeem’s striking is more complete then Dos Santos’ boxing, but that is just a personal opinion.
It very well could end with Dos Santos knocking out the challenger or proving that he has a better ground game than fans expected.
There is also a chance that he will not be able to handle the kicks of Overeem and get beaten that way.
Either way represents a part of Wladimir Klitschko’s career. One part of Klitschko’s career is one of dominance, but the part before that is one filled with devastating losses that taught him how to be a better fighter.
Now Klitschko is a current champion, but he faced defeat as a title holder to two people: Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster.
In the Sanders fight Klitschko just got caught by a powerful puncher.
In the fight with Brewster he spent too much energy too quickly and got beaten. Dos Santos has to be wary that he doesn’t make the same mistake.
Junior Dos Santos was exhausted after battering Roy Nelson for three rounds. When he wasn’t able to knock out his opponent, he was unable to conserve his energy.
The same thing happened to Klitschko when he fought Brewster, but after the fight he learned how to pace himself in fights and not looking for the knockout. The only problem is that it made his fights boring and predictable.
This is the one place where Junior Dos Santos is different. The young heavyweight will continue to be dynamic in the cage, lose or win. He will just learn to implement more skills as he fights instead of sticking to his boxing.
It all comes down to the Overeem fight. That match will tell fans exactly where Dos Santos is in terms of growth.
He is either shaping up to be a world champion fighter who has a lesson to learn and mature from or he is going to show fans that he is better then they realized.
And if he does win or learns from the mistake he may become like Klitschko in another sense. A champion who the fans see as having no challenges and who face little struggle in their fights.
Hopefully, that is never the case.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.comwhich focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
Jon Jones is one of the greatest light heavyweights out there today. He has earned his right to be champion and has very few fighters left whom he hasn’t already beaten at that weight.The fact is that he is only 24 and sooner or later he will need to m…
Jon Jones is one of the greatest light heavyweights out there today. He has earned his right to be champion and has very few fighters left whom he hasn’t already beaten at that weight.
The fact is that he is only 24 and sooner or later he will need to make the move to heavyweight either to find new challenges or because as he grows older he will gain weight and be unable to make the light heavyweight limit.
However, he is already a danger to those fighting at heavyweight.
Here are the 10 things that anyone fighting in the UFC’s top weight class need to look out for.
UFC’s second batch of fights on FOX may not have delivered on the level that fans wanted, but the promotion has barely any off time, with