Author: Matthew Hemphill

UFC on FUEL 1 Results: What We Learned from T.J. Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson

Fans learned that they should watch T.J. Dillashaw in the future, and they learned that Walel Watson can take punishment like few in the sport can.There was precious little else learned about Watson tonight.He was drilled, stretched, slammed and beaten…

Fans learned that they should watch T.J. Dillashaw in the future, and they learned that Walel Watson can take punishment like few in the sport can.

There was precious little else learned about Watson tonight.

He was drilled, stretched, slammed and beaten for three rounds. The fact that he saw the verdict was impressive enough. The fact that he went for submissions like an armbar or leg lock in the final round is also impressive.

Dillashaw needed the win too. He was already 0-1 in the promotions and was facing Watson who was 1-1 in the promotion and had lost his last fight. Whenever a fight like this is made, there is only one reason…

To make room in the roster for a new acquisition.

Both men seemed to sense it during the fight, but it was Dillashaw who was more urgent in his desire to not be released.

Dillashaw beat Watson badly and gave every impression of a man trying to make sure that the decision didn’t reach the judges. He wanted to make sure he won. Now with a victory, he can breath a little easier, though a loss would make him 1-2 with the promotion and easily mean a pink slip.

Watson should expect one of them at the end of the night or in the next coming days. He has lost his last two fights for the UFC with the only reason against it being that he lost a split decision to Yves Jabouin.

That may be enough to save his job but don’t be surprised if the UFC hands Watson his walking papers thanks to the beatdown Dillashaw gave him.

Dillashaw should expect a jump up in class now that he has proven he can not only hang but handle the lowest level of competition in the UFC.

Hopefully, he is prepared for it.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.


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UFC on FUEL 1 Results: What We Learned from Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes

Aaron Simpson lost his fight against Ronny Markes, but he still has a chance at being a serious contender. He just isn’t ever going to be a champion.Simpson lost a close fight with decent striking and slow grappling which some could argue that he won. …

Aaron Simpson lost his fight against Ronny Markes, but he still has a chance at being a serious contender. He just isn’t ever going to be a champion.

Simpson lost a close fight with decent striking and slow grappling which some could argue that he won. While he will have to bounce back, having lost to the unknown Brazilian, it could have been worse.

He could have lost a clear-cut decision or have been submitted or knocked out.

Simpson was able to start strong, but the fight got tougher as it went on, and he started making mistakes. Simpson might have allowed the pace to slow, or at 37, it might have been what he was capable of doing.

Letting his opponent have some breathing room was a terrible choice, and it gave Markes the chance he needed to convince the judges that he won.

Simpson just isn’t going to ever be a champion. He may one day be a contender, but with struggles, he showed against a relatively young fighter like Markes it’s clear that he just doesn’t have the time to learn what he needs to.

Not so late in the game.

It isn’t fair, but looking at Simpson’s record, he started fighting in 2000. He then took a seven-year sabbatical. He had his chance to attain MMA greatness, and he passed it up. It may be rude to say it, though that doesn’t make it untrue.

Simpson can recover from the setback of the Markes loss. He can work his way onto the main card and into the middleweight division’s top bracket.

But time isn’t on his side, and tonight, neither were the judges.

When the first runs out, he’ll find that MMA is a young man’s game.

And he just didn’t have enough.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.


Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FUEL 1 Results: What We Learned from Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger

Jake Ellenberger is a top welterweight and the next opponent for the eventual winner of Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre.He proved tonight that he is just too talented to be anything else than a No. 1 contender, and that he should be mentioned with …

Jake Ellenberger is a top welterweight and the next opponent for the eventual winner of Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre.

He proved tonight that he is just too talented to be anything else than a No. 1 contender, and that he should be mentioned with the rest of the sport’s elite.

While the fight stayed on its feet most of the time, even when it went to the floor, Ellenberger was in charge. From raining blows down on Sanchez’s head to staying on top and winning ground control, he excelled.

The only scare was in the third round when Sanchez had him on the ground and was pummeling him with punches. Ellenberger showed the one thing that fans look for in a contender.

He showed determination.

He didn’t finish the round while in a negative situation and just let the clock run out. He pushed hard to regain his control and finish strong.

Making a mistake may cost him against fighters like Condit, who Ellenberger already has a split decision loss from, or Georges St-Pierre. The ability to come back from those mistakes and stay calm is what makes him a worthy challenger and a good matchup.

Ellenberger didn’t just prove himself to be a great mixed martial artist.

He proved that he is on the top of the division and punched his card to the main events and top billings that have eluded him thus far.

He did it by putting on an exciting fight and showing that every aspect of his game is honed and ready. While it will need some sharpening to stay ready for the unified welterweight champion, whoever that might be, he has sent a message to fans and future opponents.

Don’t overlook him or you’ll regret it.

Message received.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.


Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel: Which Fighter Has the Most to Lose?

There are fighters who are in danger of getting cut on the UFC on Fuel card, but few have built up the momentum that Aaron Simpson has, and none are in as precarious a situation.Simpson has won three fights in a row and is moving ever closer to title c…

There are fighters who are in danger of getting cut on the UFC on Fuel card, but few have built up the momentum that Aaron Simpson has, and none are in as precarious a situation.

Simpson has won three fights in a row and is moving ever closer to title contention as long as he wins his next few fights. There should be no problems with this except his age.

Simpson is 37. Unless he can find the fountain of youth or whatever magical trick Randy Courture was able to use to stay dominant in MMA he is quickly becoming long in the tooth. He may not have had a storied stint in MMA with only an 11-2 career, but most of it has been against decent opposition.

His best opponents, Chris Leben and Mark Munoz, both beat him in back-to-back losses, and it took three victories before he made it back to the main card.

Aside from one fight in 2000, Simpson’s career started in 2007 while he was in his early 30s.

Simpson is facing a relatively new face in Ronny Markes, but if he looses it will take at least a year for him to build back up to TV card status.

He doesn’t have that time. By the time he turns 40 he will need something akin to a Cinderella story to get past the ever evolving young guns being brought into the UFC. If he wants to win a title he will need a miracle.

Simpson needs to not only win, but look impressive at the same time. If he can win a bonus it will only help him.

If he loses to the unknown Markes it will be devastating.

The UFC is based on pay-per-view, and many of the buys they get are based on the best fighting the best, though perception plays a part as well. When a fighter loses to a top name fans are more willing to brush it under the rug then when a no name beats them.

Simpson would be in less danger if he was facing another Munoz or Leben. He isn’t.

Facing a fighter like Markes has no real upside for Simpson. If he runs through him, he was supposed to. If he doesn’t then he wasn’t that great a fighter.

That isn’t true, but again, perception is part of the whole when it comes to the UFC brand.

So Simpson needs to look amazing and get his fourth win in a row. If he does he will move on to greater things and have a shot of fighting for the title before he is 39.

If not, he may want to reassess his job options.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel: Which Fight Will Steal the Show?

There is little chance that the main event on tonight’s UFC card on Fuel loses Fight of the Night to another bout on the card.It is all because Diego Sanchez is half of the marquee matchup. While Jake Ellenberger is a fun fighter to watch, he hasn’t be…

There is little chance that the main event on tonight’s UFC card on Fuel loses Fight of the Night to another bout on the card.

It is all because Diego Sanchez is half of the marquee matchup. While Jake Ellenberger is a fun fighter to watch, he hasn’t been involved in the same kind of brawls that seem to checker Sanchez’s career.

If Ellenberger was fighting another welterweight, the spotlight might end up getting stolen by the co-main event which features Stefan Struve and Dave Herman. If nothing else, that fight is intriguing because of Struve’s hot and cold performances in the Octagon.

Sometimes he comes in and raises the bar while at other times he is easily beaten. That uncertainty always makes for entertaining fights.

The only thing that trumps that is the certainty that comes with being an exciting fighter and that is exactly what Sanchez is. The only problem that Sanchez had in his last fight with Martin Kampmann was winning a controversial decision that some fans felt he didn’t deserve.

Sanchez has won Fight of the Night four times in his UFC career and has had plenty more that were exciting even if they didn’t win a bonus.

Sanchez is a decent wrestler, but his striking is impressive and it is his fearlessness to get hit that makes both parts of his game so dangerous. Most fighters move back after taking a certain amount of punishment, but Sanchez just shrugs it off.

And while Ellenberger isn’t as exciting as Sanchez, he is the better wrestler. He has also shown in four of his last five fights that he can either knock his opponent out or beat them into submission. He isn’t a kickboxer by an means, but he is a capable mixed martial artist.

 

Ellenberger’s only loss in the UFC has been to now-interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit and that was by split decision. While Ellenberger also has a split decision win against Carlos Eduardo Rocha, he has destroyed most of his competition.

This match is a case of two unstoppable forces that love to go on the attack and end up in close affairs with their opponents.

The fight probably won’t go to the ground, mostly because it has two wrestlers who have elected to strike even when they faced formidable strikers. It may not be the smartest game plan, but it makes for a great night of fights.

And tomorrow on Fuel, fans will get to see more of that.

While the card will be fun, the main event will steal the show.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.


Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans: 5 Reasons ‘Suga’ Can Upset ‘Bones’ in UFC Title Bout

Rashad Evans may be the underdog when he steps up to face Jon Jones at UFC 145, but he is by no means a lock to lose.While I personally think Jones will win (see UFC 145: 7 Reasons Jon Jones Will Crush Rashad Evans), Evans still has a chance. After all…

Rashad Evans may be the underdog when he steps up to face Jon Jones at UFC 145, but he is by no means a lock to lose.

While I personally think Jones will win (see UFC 145: 7 Reasons Jon Jones Will Crush Rashad Evans), Evans still has a chance. After all, if fans were sure of the outcome,  they wouldn’t even buy the pay-per-view.

It is easy to dismiss him, though. Jones has looked so dominant in every fight he has had up until now that it is hard to imagine him losing. Jones looks like a superhero in the ring, but every man looks invincible until he is beaten.

Rashad Evans could have Jones’ number and there are a few good reasons fans could see him walk out of the cage in Atlanta with the title slung over his shoulder and a grin on his face.

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