Author: Matthew Roth

Dissecting the Log Jam in the UFC’s Welterweight Division

The UFC has a major problem, folks.After years of criticism for booking redundant matchups and the lack of qualified or legitimate challengers for the welterweight title, the UFC now has a plethora of fighters who have all been told they are next in li…

The UFC has a major problem, folks.

After years of criticism for booking redundant matchups and the lack of qualified or legitimate challengers for the welterweight title, the UFC now has a plethora of fighters who have all been told they are next in line for the title. 

To compound on this, current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is still rehabbing a knee injury. His earliest return is set for November, while UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit sits idly by for his shot at the actual title.

While no official date for their bout has been announced, it is expected that they fight at UFC 154 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. I say “expected” because there is a legitimate possibility that St. Pierre will need additional time rehabbing his knee. His return could instead occur in 2013. 

This alone sounds like a terrible situation for the UFC. The welterweight title is one of the most coveted in the sport, with the UFC’s welterweight division widely considered to have the most depth. Outside of the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, historically the welterweight division has provided the most marquee matchups for Zuffa. 

What makes this even worse is that there isn’t relief in sight.

Carlos Condit has opted to wait for St. Pierre’s return. By keeping the welterweight division on hold, there is a possibility for fighters to either lose momentum or put together such a resume that they have a legitimate claim to a title shot.

That’s the situation the UFC faces presently.

Prior to his bout with Josh Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3, Johny Hendricks was informed by UFC President Dana White that, with a victory, he would receive a shot at the UFC title. At the post-fight press conference, Hendricks didn’t seem to be keen on fighting again lest he lose his shot.

That’s all well and good, except that White has also said the winner of this weekend’s welterweight bout between Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger is also next in line for the welterweight title. It’s what had added intrigue when the bout was first announced. There also hasn’t been any retraction from Zuffa that Ellenberger and Kampmann aren’t fighting for a title shot.

With Hendricks, Kampmann and Ellenberger all promised shots at the title, and Condit waiting for St. Pierre, what is the UFC to do with the welterweight division? First, I’m not sure that one fighter is more deserving of the shot than another.

All have put together impressive performances against top competition. All have also been extremely consistent and provide entertainment for the paying customer. These are qualities that are surely considered by Zuffa brass when discussing matchups. 

There is a way for the UFC to resolve this issue, but it would require stripping St. Pierre of his title and naming Carlos Condit the welterweight champion. 

It will be 18 months in between defenses, should St. Pierre return in November. There is precedent for this decision as the UFC stripped Frank Mir of his heavyweight title. The UFC promoted Andrei Arlovski from interim champion to undisputed champion while Mir was sidelined by injury. 

By naming Condit the undisputed champion, it opens the welterweight title up for a defense and allows qualified contenders to fight for the belt. Should the UFC decide to not do this, they will experience a period where top contenders are willing to sit out for extended time periods to wait for their shots at the title.

That’s just bad business.

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Dana White Says Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Cut After ‘Crazy S— Backstage’

One of the biggest pieces of news coming out of the UFC 146 post-fight press conference is that Jason “Mayhem” Miller has apparently been cut from the company.While the initial assumption was that it was related to his performance against CB Dollaway, …

One of the biggest pieces of news coming out of the UFC 146 post-fight press conference is that Jason “Mayhem” Miller has apparently been cut from the company.

While the initial assumption was that it was related to his performance against CB Dollaway, that is apparently not the case. 

While details have yet to be released, there was apparently some drama that occurred in the dressing rooms following the fight. Dana White was quoted during the post-fight press conference that “some crazy s— happened back stage” and that Miller is done with the UFC. Dana also was outspoken during the fight, tweeting that it “SUCKED!!!!”

Miller had stated in the leadup that if he lost to CB Dollaway that he’d retire from MMA. Apparently, the UFC has made the decision for him, as he’s received his walking papers from the promotion. 

Bleacher Report’s own Jeremy Botter and Rob Tatum are on the ground in Las Vegas and are attempting to suss out the situation as to what caused the UFC President to cut the popular middleweight.

Stay tuned as this story continues to unfold. 

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UFC 146 Results: Grades for All Main Card Fighters

UFC 146 is in the books and the big take away is that the heavyweights delivered. It was the most entertaining MMA card of the month and showcased just how far the UFC’s heavyweight division has come since the days of Arlovski and Sylvia. Junior d…

UFC 146 is in the books and the big take away is that the heavyweights delivered. It was the most entertaining MMA card of the month and showcased just how far the UFC’s heavyweight division has come since the days of Arlovski and Sylvia. 

Junior dos Santos retained his heavyweight title with an absolute mauling of Frank Mir in the main event of the night in Las Vegas, Nev. In the co-main event, Cain Velasquez put a beating on Antonio Silva in the center of the Octagon. Even Roy Nelson impressed with a one-punch knockout win over Dave Herman. 

As we do with every card, let’s grade the performances of all the main card fighters. 

 

A+

Junior dos Santos: Junior dos Santos put on the best performance of his career against a very game opponent in Frank Mir. There was a bit of a scare early in the first when Frank grabbed an ankle and fell to the ground but outside of that one moment, Junior dominated the entire fight. He’s improved with every outing and whoever he meets next will be in for a world of hurt if they can’t get the fight to the ground. With the title defense Junior had the performance of the night.

Cain Velasquez: If Junior dos Santos had the performance of the night, he just barely edged out Cain Velasquez. I don’t believe that Antonio Silva did anything offensively at all besides bleed out a ton of blood. Seriously, it was spraying. Cain definitely sent a message that he wants the next shot at, and a rematch with, Junior dos Santos 

 

A

Roy Nelson: He probably should be an A+ performer as well but you know…super quick knockout. He didn’t show much but he definitely reconfirmed the fact that he has ridiculously heavy hands. This win also means that he’s survived to fight another day. 

 

B+

Stefan Struve: Stefan Struve will always be the fighter I get annoyed at for never fighting tall. He has an 84.5″ reach and refuses to fight on the outside. He was clipped early on by Lavar but once he got the fight to the ground he ended it quickly with an armbar. Solid performance and hopefully we can see Struve continue to improve his fight IQ. 

 

B-

Stipe Miocic: Tonight’s performance was far from perfect. In fact, he was rocked several times in the first round and was likely close to getting finished at some points. He fought his fight in the second round and completely dominated Shane Del Rosario on the ground. Nice win and hopefully this will show him that he can’t abandon his wrestling against strikers. 

 

C

Shane Del Rosario: I’m unsure how much we can truly take away from this fight due to the obvious ring rust. Shane likely needed a tune-up fight before making his UFC pay-per-view debut but that’s the breaks. He looked great in the first round but once he gassed out he was like a turtle on his back. I hope that the next time we see Shane in the UFC, he’s in better shape and walks away with a W. 

 

C-

Frank Mir: Frank Mir avoids getting a D or F because of the little offense that he connected on. He kept his wits about him and stayed competitive up until the finish. He also had that one moment in the first when he had Junior’s ankle locked up but couldn’t complete his control of the leg. This is also likely the last time that we’ll ever see Frank in the title fight. I’m sure wanted to have a better performance. 

 

D+

Lavar Johnson: Lavar escapes getting an F because of the first punch he landed. That’s really it. I know you’ll see a bunch of writers say that he needs to focus on the ground game. I’m not gonna say that. Instead, I’ll say that he should be used against other stand up fighters in entertaining fights to open PPV cards or close out the FX broadcast. 

 

F

Dave Herman: Terrible. Awful. Probably not gonna be in the UFC anymore. Maybe that’s who is sent over to Strikeforce to fight Cormier or Barnett? Or maybe he fights Cole Konrad in Bellator. 

Antonio Silva: The most impressive part of Antonio Silva’s performance was the amount of blood that literally sprayed out of his head. He did absolutely nothing except throw one leg kick and he was mauled immediately afterwards. This is the guy who mangled Fedor? Terrible. 

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Randy Couture Believes Brock Lesnar Should Be in the UFC Hall of Fame

As we prepare ourselves for UFC 146, it’s probably a good idea to discuss one of the biggest heavyweights in UFC history. Brock Lesnar retired from MMA following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, which makes him a viable candidate for the UFC’s Hal…

As we prepare ourselves for UFC 146, it’s probably a good idea to discuss one of the biggest heavyweights in UFC history. Brock Lesnar retired from MMA following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, which makes him a viable candidate for the UFC’s Hall of Fame. 

On UFC tonight, a fan asked the following question of Randy Couture and Kenny Floridan: “Should Brock Lesnar be in the Hall of Fame? Is there enough room for the big man?” (2:05 in the video.)

Couture, a one time opponent of Lesnar and a current UFC Hall of Famer, was quick with his response in support of Lesnar. 

He definitely should be. Anybody who’s gone in there and won the title, whether it’s been four fights, or six fights or whatever. He still made a huge impact in our sport. I think he brought that whole WWE crowd too. We saw that in the pay-per-view numbers that he put up every time he fought. I think it’s justified. I think he should be included in the Hall of Fame.

Couture is the fighter that Lesnar bested to capture the UFC gold. Couture is also one of the most well respected people in the sport and his opinion has always carried weight.

His co-host, Kenny Florian, was equally rapid in his response. He added: “Yeah, definitely. Former champ. Was in the UFC for a short amount of time, but no one probably will ever, ever have that kind of impact in that short amount of time.”

Only time will tell if Lesnar will be inducted in the UFC’s Hall of Fame. To make the discussion a bit easier, here are some Brock facts:

  • 4-3 in the UFC
  • Wins: Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin
  • Loses: Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem
  • Title Defenses: 2
  • One of the biggest Pay Per View draws in combat sports history

Knowing the facts, does Lesnar belong in the UFC Hall of Fame?

(HT: Shaun Al Shatti/MMAFighting)

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UFC 146: Info and Predictions for Every Fight on the Card

UFC 146 ends one of the most fun months in MMA that I can remember. It’s the first time that the UFC has ever put together an all-heavyweight main card culminating with Junior Dos Santos defending his title against Frank Mir. The card has seen a l…

UFC 146 ends one of the most fun months in MMA that I can remember. It’s the first time that the UFC has ever put together an all-heavyweight main card culminating with Junior Dos Santos defending his title against Frank Mir. 

The card has seen a lot of changes, mostly stemming from Overeem’s test for elevated levels of testosterone (14:1 T:E). With so many heavyweight bouts, this card promises to have long-term consequences for the division. There are also some interesting bouts on the undercard which could see some prospects move to the upper tier of their divisions. 

With the matches set and the fighters arriving in Vegas for the event, let’s breakdown every fight on the card. 

Begin Slideshow

NSAC Hearing for Nick Diaz and Chael Sonnen TUE Request Live Blog

Today at 12 p.m. ET, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will meet to discuss two very important matters for the UFC.The first is Chael Sonnen’s TUE request in Nevada. This is obviously important for the main event of UFC 148. The other is just as imp…

Today at 12 p.m. ET, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will meet to discuss two very important matters for the UFC.

The first is Chael Sonnen’s TUE request in Nevada. This is obviously important for the main event of UFC 148. The other is just as important as it could decide the fighting future of Nick Diaz. 

Diaz was suspended following his UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit for having marijuana in his system in his post-fight drug test. According to Nevada law, he was supposed to have a hearing within 45 days of the event, but there were issues from both the Diaz camp and the NSAC. 

The Diaz camp ended up unsuccessfully suing the NSAC for failing to grant him a hearing, but lost their case when they couldn’t provide evidence that Diaz has a medicinal marijuana card. 

Join us today for a live discussion of the NSAC hearing. 

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