Author: McKinley Noble

UFC on Fox 7: Why Dana White Should Book Ben Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez

Now that UFC on Fox 7 has been confirmed for April 20 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, it’s blatantly obvious what the main event should be—Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez for the UFC Lightweight Championship.Yes, that Gilbert Melendez….

Now that UFC on Fox 7 has been confirmed for April 20 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, it’s blatantly obvious what the main event should be—Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez for the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Yes, that Gilbert Melendez.

Look, I know what I said about “El Nino” before.

Previously, I (correctly) pointed out that Melendez doesn’t really deserve a superfight in his first UFC match due to his lackluster competition.

Moreover, he’s historically been one of the worst draws in Strikeforce, holding a company record for third-lowest gate at the HP Pavilion out of 15 events.

And make no mistake—in any other situation, he still wouldn’t be the most attractive challenger.

But UFC on Fox 7 is the best time and place for a Henderson vs. Melendez bout.

Strikeforce has been dying a slow, annoying death for years now, so much so that even a superstar like Ronda Rousey could barely draw an audience during her only California event as a headliner.

In Melendez’s case, he was constantly overshadowed by dynamic and interesting fighters, a problem made worse when Strikeforce regularly kept its lightweight champion out of the main event.

But with the combined marketing muscle of Zuffa and Fox, a UFC lightweight title fight in San Jose could be just the thing to boost his career for the better.

Granted, Melendez still has to turn in a much better performance than his near-loss against Josh Thompson, but fortunately for him, “Bendo” is the type of person who always seems to pull “Fight of the Night”-caliber performances out of his opponents.

Melendez might not be the most deserving challenger in the lightweight division right now, but the setup here is just too good to sign any other fight.

Plus, with a shot at Henderson’s title, Melendez will finally have the incentive and drive to put up or shut up against the best lightweight MMA fighter in the world.

Additionally, it’ll even benefit the UFC lightweight division in the long run.

Gray Maynard still needs time to recover from knee surgery, while the winner of Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis likely won’t escape the UFC on Fox 6 fight with a clean bill of health. Eddie Alvarez might also be off the table, especially since it looks like Bellator is throwing up contractual roadblocks.

In a strange way, Melendez is the best option for the card despite a total lack of star power.

Simply put, it’s the right fight in the right place at the right time.

Both Henderson and Melendez aren’t valuable enough that the UFC can’t afford to put them on free television. But with a strong undercard and the right marketing, this “champion vs. champion” matchup could be good for San Jose’s action-starved MMA community and UFC on Fox’s ratings woes.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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UFC on Fox 7 Heading to HP Pavilion in San Jose on April 20

Although the fight card hasn’t been fleshed out just yet, UFC on Fox 7 officially has a date and venue.MMA Junkie reports that the event will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, making it the second one to head to California this year….

Although the fight card hasn’t been fleshed out just yet, UFC on Fox 7 officially has a date and venue.

MMA Junkie reports that the event will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, making it the second one to head to California this year.

San Jose’s HP Pavilion has played host to two UFC events so far, with the most high-profile one being UFC 139, headlined by a title eliminator main event match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua.

That fight drew nearly 14,000 fans to the arena, a healthy draw also helped with the presence of local favorite Cung Le vs. Wanderlei Silva as the co-main event.

(San Jose is most commonly known as the hometown of Strikeforce, which is owned by UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC.)

UFC 139 proved to be a rare night of highlights for the promotion, as both Henderson vs. Rua and Le vs. Silva earned “Fight of the Night” awards in a pair of fierce matches.

Most recently, the HP Pavilion at San Jose also hosted UFC on Fuel TV 4, headlined by middleweight competitors Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. Attendance for that card was much lower, with little more than 4000 fans in attendance at the 18,000-seat arena.

Lately, the UFC seems to be set on showcasing lighter-weight title fights as the main events for fight cards broadcast on Fox. Currently, the only champion below welterweight not currently booked for a fight is lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

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UFC on FX 7 Preview: Can Khabib Nurmagomedov Back Up His Shady 18-0 Record?

Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov is an oddity in the MMA world for many reasons.One of those is his name, a tongue-twisting trap of conflicting consonants that’s nearly impossible to spell or pronounce without some outside help.But Nurmagomedov…

Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov is an oddity in the MMA world for many reasons.

One of those is his name, a tongue-twisting trap of conflicting consonants that’s nearly impossible to spell or pronounce without some outside help.

But Nurmagomedov‘s other distinguishing feature is his 18-0 undefeated professional fight record.

That’s 18 fights over four years without a single huccup—no draws and not a single “no contest” marring that flawless record.

According to Fight Matrix‘s exhaustive database, not one single active MMA fighter in the world holds an undefeated streak like that—and at a glance, it’s even more impressive when you consider that “The Eagle” is just 24 years old.

But ultimately, that 18-0 record has a few major asterisks attached.

It’s only when looking a bit closer at his career that Nurmagomedov suddenly doesn’t appear to be as good as the raw numbers suggest. In fact, it’s fair to say that the international Sambo champion has done a lot of work padding his record against overmatched journeymen.

Prior to joining the UFC, Nurmagomedov fought 16 men exclusively in Russia and Ukraine, stomping out opponents in promotions such as M-1 Global and Pro FC.

But put together, all 16 of those opponents currently add up to a combined 96 wins and 88 losses—not a stellar mark by any means, especially since only eight of them have a winning record.

Most damning of all are Nurmagomedov‘s past bouts against the likes of Ashot Shahinyan (0-4) and Vadim Sandulitsky (2-2).

By the time “The Eagle” faced them in combat, he was already a dominant prospect with double-digits in the win column—not exactly an even playing field.

But even with clear can-crushing padding his record, Nurmagomedov has nonetheless defeated far more talented men like current Bellator fighter Shahbulat Shamhalaev (11-1), former UFC competitor Kamal Shalorus and six-year UFC veteran Gleison Tibau.

That’s why heading into UFC on FX 7, Nurmagomedov‘s main card fight with Thiago Tavares will be a more interesting opener than fans might think.

After all, staying undefeated in 18 fights is only impressive as long the fighter in question continues to win. Now that “The Eagle” is settling himself into the talent-stacked lightweight division, he may as well be a 2-0 prospect rather than a seasoned pro with 18 career wins.

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Rousey vs. Cyborg: Dana White Says Dolce Diet Can Get Cyborg to 135

Famed MMA nutritionist Mike Dolce might be just the man that UFC president Dana White needs in order to seal the deal on a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane Justino.Right now, the only thing preventing a match between the two former Strikef…

Famed MMA nutritionist Mike Dolce might be just the man that UFC president Dana White needs in order to seal the deal on a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane Justino.

Right now, the only thing preventing a match between the two former Strikeforce women’s champions is a difference in weight.

But while Cris “Cyborg” insists that there’s no way that she can cut 10 pounds to challenge for Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight title belt, White tells TATAME that Dolce’s patented system can get the featherweight bruiser to safely and efficiently cut down to 135 pounds (translation via Google):

“She can get to this weight, we have an expert who can help you lose weight in a healthy way, [he] does so with all our athletes. We have Mike Dolce, who has the system to [get] wrestlers [to] lose weight and still feel good, and it’s all about your diet. He is 100% ready to work with her and [it] will not cost anything to Cris,” said Dana, who has even [compared] the Cyborg x Ronda [rivalry to] boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

Bloody Elbow followed up with Dolce himself, who stated that not only would the weight cut be possible, but that he could also get Cyborg down to 135 pounds with very little difficulty:

It is absolutely possible for her to make 135. I believe 135 will be her best weight class. I think she’s a legitimate 135 pounder. I think as good as she was at 145, she’ll be even more dynamic at 135. I believe it wouldn’t be that difficult at all.

Dolce also told Bloody Elbow that Cyborg would actually be better suited fighting at the bantamweight limit and would be an “amazing” competitor at that weight. Even while competing at 145 pounds, Cyborg racked up an impressive 11-fight winning streak.

However, Justino’s career was put on hold due to a one-year suspension after testing positive for anabolic steroids in January 2012. Regardless of Cyborg’s schedule, Rousey will still make her first UFC title defense against top-ranked challenger Liz Carmouche at UFC 157.

If Rousey walks out of her first UFC main event as the champion, it’s highly possible that Cyborg will be next in line to fight for the women’s bantamweight title at a future UFC pay-per-view.

Both women have spent over a year trading heated words, with Rousey famously telling TSN Radio’s The MMA Report with John Pollock that she didn’t care if Cyborg was injecting “horse semen” into her eyes, but her foe simply needed to “stop doping” in order to successfully cut to 135 pounds.

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UFC on Fuel TV Video: Anderson Silva Leads Top 10 Moments of 2012

Although Jon Jones may have been responsible for some of the year’s biggest MMA headlines, it seems that the past year firmly belongs to Anderson Silva.Closing out their 2012 countdown, Fuel TV ran down the UFC’s top moments of the past year, with the …

Although Jon Jones may have been responsible for some of the year’s biggest MMA headlines, it seems that the past year firmly belongs to Anderson Silva.

Closing out their 2012 countdown, Fuel TV ran down the UFC’s top moments of the past year, with the promotion’s middleweight champion topping the list due to his extremely dominant performance over high-profile trash-talking Chael Sonnen.

Edson Barboza proved to be a surprise at the second-place spot, thanks to the strength of his amazing wheel-kick knockout win at UFC 142.

Here’s the full list, which includes five championship bouts, five highlight reel knockouts, two five-round championship bout brawls and just one single submission win with a rare d’arce choke:

1. Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen (UFC 148)
2. Edson Barboza def. Terry Etim (UFC 142)
3. Georges St-Pierre def. Carlos Condit (UFC 154)
4. Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes (UFC 142)
5. Cung Le def. Rich Franklin (UFC on Fuel TV 6)
6. Jon Jones def. Vitor Belfort (UFC 152)
7. Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann (UFC 154)
8. Anthony Pettis def. Joe Lauzon (UFC 144)
9. Chan-Sung Jung def. Dustin Porier (UFC on Fuel TV 3)
10. Jon Jones def. Rashad Evans (UFC 145)

Not only did Silva’s rematch with Sonnen provide a definitive end to one of the biggest rivalries in the business, but it was also extremely high profile for both Las Vegas and the UFC.

According to MMA Fighting, Silva vs. Sonnen hit an estimated 925,000 PPV buys, which was far and away the most popular event of the year. Coupled with Silva’s 410,000 buyrates for UFC 153, that’s roughly 1.34 million buys for the middleweight champion in just two main events.

UFC champion Georges St-Pierre also drew a respectable number for his return at UFC 154, drawing 700,000 for his title unification bout with Carlos Condit.

Jon Jones was no slouch either, pulling in 1.15 million PPV buys with two 2012 main events. His UFC 145 grudge match with Rashad Evans was one of the year’s most anticipated fights, especially given the intense personal animosity between the former friends and teammates.

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UFC 155 ‘Backstage Pass’ Video: Velasquez Thanks Fans, Says JDS Exhausted Him

Another segment in the UFC’s continuing “Backstage Pass” video series showed a glimpse at how two heavyweights prepare backstage for a title fight.Rolling on floor mats, hitting the mitts and going through a traditional ritual with Jacob “Stitch” Duran…

Another segment in the UFC’s continuing “Backstage Pass” video series showed a glimpse at how two heavyweights prepare backstage for a title fight.

Rolling on floor mats, hitting the mitts and going through a traditional ritual with Jacob “Stitch” Duran were all segments highlighted in the behind-the-scenes footage, going through the UFC 155 main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.

Despite the high-paced five-round battle, Velasquez notably had to endure several interviews immediately after the match, talking to outlets like ESPN and Fuel TV despite the fact that he was still bleeding from fresh cuts and wounds.

Velasquez even gave the UFC’s camera crew a short quip, saying that he did indeed exhaust himself against JDS, although he also stated that he purposely slowed down when he realized that he was in danger of punching himself out:

I was fit to be back here. It was a tough pace to keep. I was tired, man, and [Junior] dos Santos kept it.

This time, I was like, “I’m taking the fight to him. I’m throwing punches, I’m making him feel them and then I’m gonna look for that takedown.”

Often praised for his deep cardio—a bit of a rarity in the heavyweight division—Velasquez won every single round of the title fight, earning some extremely one-sided scorecards from the judges. It was also the first time a UFC heavyweight title fight had gone to a decision since UFC 68.

Velasquez reminded the crew that because his first knockout loss against JDS at the first UFC on Fox event was so quick, no one could really know anything about the rematch and sticking to his wrestling tactics changed everything.

Closing out the segment, a still-bloody Velasquez seemed to cry a tear as he thanked his Twitter followers and fans for their support and inspirational messages.

Velasquez will now have a bit of time to recover from his injuries, as the UFC 155 medical suspensions list will sideline the champion for a maximum of 45 days with 30 days of no-contact. His next challenger is expected to be former Strikeforce champion and current-top contender Alistair Overeem, provided that “The Demolition Man” defeats Antonio Silva at UFC 156 this February.

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