Author: Matthew Hemphill

Strikeforce: Why Paul Daley-Nate Marquardt Needs to Happen

Regardless of whether Paul Daley wins or loses tonight, he should face Nate Marquardt in a future Strikeforce event.Even if he gets beaten by his opponent, Kazuo Misaki, tonight, it is still the best fight that Strikeforce can make. That is because it …

Regardless of whether Paul Daley wins or loses tonight, he should face Nate Marquardt in a future Strikeforce event.

Even if he gets beaten by his opponent, Kazuo Misaki, tonight, it is still the best fight that Strikeforce can make. That is because it is the most marketable.

Both Marquardt and Daley are famous for two reasons. One is for the time they spent in the UFC as top contenders.

The other is the fact that they are both exiled from the company via banishment by Dana White.

For Daley, it was after he punched Josh Koscheck after their match at UFC 113.

Marquardt was cut for testing positive for banned substances before a fight on Versus.

Both men have had controversy in the world of MMA and have been blackballed because of it.

A high-profile fight outside the company, a win over a top contender, could sway White’s decision about their status. Both of them are about as well-known as any fighter outside of the UFC fold can be.

There isn’t another fight in the division, let alone the company, that would produce as much attention as theirs. 

It would help if they win their fights. Daley competes tonight against Misaki on the undercard. A knockout win would help raise his stature.

Marquardt is headed for a title fight with Tyron Woodley, as mentioned in an article by MMAJunkie.com

If both men were to fight for the title, it would improve their chances of getting back into the UFC and once again competing with some of the best fighters in the world.

All they need to do is fight. It’s what they do best, even when they can’t compete with the best.

That may change by the end of the year if they can square off with each other. Both men have survived getting fired by the UFC, but if they want to fight at the top level in MMA, they’ll need something more then a good match or a win streak.

They’ll need each other.

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Strikeforce: Why Paul Daley Will Knockout Kazou Misaki

Tonight, Paul Daley will land one of his trademark knockout punches on Kazuo Misaki, giving him an early victory.Daley isn’t the most technical fighter, so there isn’t much of a chance that his game plan will be anything different than what it has been…

Tonight, Paul Daley will land one of his trademark knockout punches on Kazuo Misaki, giving him an early victory.

Daley isn’t the most technical fighter, so there isn’t much of a chance that his game plan will be anything different than what it has been in the past: swing for the fences and try to take his opponent out.

It almost worked against Nick Diaz and, if Daley had landed a harder punch, he might have won. Daley was also facing a fighter who was willing to stand and trade with him as well.

That may not be the case tonight with Misaki.

Misaki is the better fighter and, if the fight was happening back in 2006, there is a good chance that Misaki would win.

But Misaki is fighting the opponent of old age as well, having turned 35 last year and approaching his next birthday quickly. He isn’t the fighter he once was and it is affecting him as it does all professional fighters. He has started losing more matches.

Back in 2006, Misaki was a force to be reckoned with in Pride, getting wins over Dan Henderson and Denis Kang. It wasn’t until 2009 that the losses started piling on.

He made a great showing against Jorge Santiago in 2010, having one of the best fights of the year, but time plays a factor once again. It has been two years since that fight and, since then, Misaki has only beaten two opponents—both who have less then stellar records.

Misaki is still a dangerous veteran in his own right. He has only been knocked unconcious once as two of the three KOs on his record come from getting a broken arm in one fight and a corner stoppage in the other.

The catch is that two of the knockouts just happened recently. Misaki may want to continue competing, but if he keeps getting knocked out, it will shorten his fighting career.

Daley is only 29 and has seen less wars than Misaki. Along with his power, he should swarm Misaki and take him out, netting himself an impressive, highlight-reel KO in the process.

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Strikeforce: Which Fighter Has the Most to Lose This Weekend?

Scott Smith is dangerously close to slipping off the radar of high-level MMA and dissolving into obscurity. That means less opportunities at getting back to the top, and less paydays.He is facing three losses in a row and is facing an unknown opponent …

Scott Smith is dangerously close to slipping off the radar of high-level MMA and dissolving into obscurity. That means less opportunities at getting back to the top, and less paydays.

He is facing three losses in a row and is facing an unknown opponent in Lumumba Sayers, whose record is 5-2, and is getting the fight because of a win over Antwain Britt. He isn’t well known in the company and the only reason that this bout is making it to the main card is because of Smith’s notoriety.

While Smith should win because of his experience and knowledge, that comes from the prior level of opposition he has faced, and could lead to a loss.

If he does, he may just have to say goodbye to his time as a top MMA fighter.

Smith is 32 years old, and if he loses to Sayers it will be his second loss to a prospect in his last two fights. He will have gone from former contender to measuring stick, and while Strikeforce’s roster might be lacking, it will be hard to make the case that he should be a part of it.

Some fighters like Keith Jardine have made it onto Strikeforce with four losses, but he had won two fights since that time. The UFC had also put a lot of marketing into Jardine as he had beaten Chuck Liddell at one point.

Smith’s greatest claims to fame are being on The Ultimate Fighter, fighting Robbie Lawler for the EliteXC title and a penchant for making fights exciting. It is the last reason that has kept him with the company and on the main card.

As the losses rack up, the memories of what he was disappear along with the perceived notion of what he brought to the company. The fourth loss might make officials of the company forget them entirely.

If he loses to Sayers, Strikeforce may just have to let him go and this late in the game, there is very little that Smith could do to come back.

So Smith better walk into the cage not just to fight, but to do everything he can to win as well.

Because a fourth strike and he is out. 

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Quinton Jackson: 5 Things We Learned About Rampage After UFC 144

Quinton Jackson’s career is steeped in Japan to the point where it could be argued that his UFC career is an afterthought. In the lead-up to UFC 144 and the events that followed, fans saw a different side of “Rampage” Jackson.It was a side that was sof…

Quinton Jackson‘s career is steeped in Japan to the point where it could be argued that his UFC career is an afterthought. In the lead-up to UFC 144 and the events that followed, fans saw a different side of “Rampage” Jackson.

It was a side that was softer and seemed to enjoy more of what he was doing and where he was.

The fight spoke volumes of where Jackson is mentally as a fighter, but the interviews and interactions he had with fans and media in the days surrounding it made more of an impact.

He resonated on a level that hadn’t been seen by many fans.

Here are some of those moments.

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UFC on FX 2: Thiago Alves, Martin Kampmann and the Best Welterweights in the UFC

With UFC 144 now a fond memory the focus must now be turned to UFC’s second FX card which will hit this Friday.The main event is a bout between Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann, which is almost guaranteed to turn into a striking war and give the fans f…

With UFC 144 now a fond memory the focus must now be turned to UFC’s second FX card which will hit this Friday.

The main event is a bout between Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann, which is almost guaranteed to turn into a striking war and give the fans fireworks. The winner isn’t in line for a title shot and that proves how stacked the division is.

There is so much talent crammed into the division that it might be a while before the winner even sees title contention. It would be ludicrous to try to rank most of the fighters who are in the division, but there is a certain pool of talent that keeps coming up.

Other than the two men who will face off against each other this Friday, here is the top talent at 170 pounds.

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UFC 144 Results: Frankie Edgar Deserves To Decide What Weight He Wants to Fight

Frankie Edgar lost a close decision to Ben Henderson on Saturday, and while there are ways to talk about how the loss was devastating, a picture is more convincing than mere words.As Henderson’s arm was being lifted, the photographer captured Edgar as …

Frankie Edgar lost a close decision to Ben Henderson on Saturday, and while there are ways to talk about how the loss was devastating, a picture is more convincing than mere words.

As Henderson’s arm was being lifted, the photographer captured Edgar as he slumped his shoulders and his head hung low. Edgar had nothing to be ashamed of, but it was obvious that the undersized former champion wanted to continue to prove people wrong.

He didn’t do it.

Fans and Dana White have both vocalized for some time that they would like to see Edgar fight at the featherweight limit of 145 pounds, and it is easy to see why. Standing at only 5′ 6″ and doesn’t struggle to make weight.

It wouldn’t be inconceivable for him to drop another 10 pounds and fight at a smaller weight.

At one time, the notion would have been better to understand because of the UFC only having weight classes that reached the lightweight limit, but since the beginning of 2011, both the featherweight and the bantamweight classes have been brought in to the organization.

He could still fight in the UFC at a lower weight, but in the end, the choice should still be his.

This isn’t someone who got lucky and caught a champion off guard to win the title. It isn’t someone who found himself in a weak division and was able to make the most of it.

Edgar has beaten BJ Penn twice by decision, come back from being almost knocked out by Gray Maynard twice to come back and get a draw and then a knockout victory in that order.

He has proven that he can do what he needs to be done and won fights at the top level in the lightweight division for some time now. This is only the second loss in his career with him having avenged the first one against Maynard.

Even this fight was close and in a rematch it isn’t impossible that he gets the win. The only problem is that White has tentatively thrown out the possibility of Henderson having a rematch with Anthony Pettis first, though nothing is set in stone.

It may not matter, as Edgar has been contemplating the move anyway as mentioned on an article at MMAFighting.com.

Some of it is because his emotions are running high after a loss. Another part may come from the fact that he has taken some serious beatings in his last few fights. He has been facing larger men, and with that, he has been handicapping himself.

Edgar has earned the right to choose which way he wants his career to go without the interference of others. He has been too successful not to.

No matter what decision he does make, fans will cheer for him the next time he steps into the cage because he proves himself every time.

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