Every UFC fighter has a lot to gain and lose every time they step into the Octagon.That’s no different for the 20 men fighting in the promotion’s first China event, but the circumstances aren’t so dire for everyone on the card.Out of those fighters, on…
Every UFC fighter has a lot to gain and lose every time they step into the Octagon.
That’s no different for the 20 men fighting in the promotion’s first China event, but the circumstances aren’t so dire for everyone on the card.
Out of those fighters, one core group in particular has more at stake than everyone else due to the paths their respective MMA careers have taken.
Some are fighting for relevance. Some are teetering on the cut list, fighting for their jobs. Others are fighting to gain momentum in stacked divisions. Only two are riding undefeated streaks, and one of them just might be a future title contender further down the road.
But who’s got the biggest prize dangling in front of them this Saturday?
Fortunately, that part’s easy to answer—here’s a look at eight fighters with the most to gain at UFC: Macau, and what they’ll each achieve with a victory.
CNN has made the call. Barack Obama is projected to defeat Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States Presidential Election, much to the equal delight and disdain of many Americans.Along with the rest of the nation, many fighters in the UFC have b…
CNN has made the call. Barack Obama is projected to defeat Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States Presidential Election, much to the equal delight and disdain of many Americans.
Along with the rest of the nation, many fighters in the UFC have been following tonight’s polls, with several of them voicing their opinions about the resulting fallout. Fighters like Chris Leben, John Dodson and Phil Davis were happy about the results, as they noted on their respective Twitter feeds:
And outside the Democrat vs. Republican debate, fighters like Erik Koch and Brian Stann lamented the entire event, positing that there’s no reason to celebrate America’s two-party election system:
Both are corrupt. Our country needs a bigger change not picking between democrat and republican. Nothing is changing. — Erik Jon Koch (@NEWBREED04) November 7, 2012
regardless of who is President our polarized society is a serious issue & worries me most of (cont) tl.gd/jtrorq
Currently, there’s been no word on the elections from UFC title contender Chael Sonnen, one of the company’s most visible faces. Sonnen is a noted Republican who ran as a candidate for the 37th district of the Oregon House of Representatives in 2010, prior to being charged for money laundering and mortgage fraud.
Unsurprisingly, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think that Anderson Silva is going to get 50 percent of the company just to face Jon Jones.Anderson Silva created quite a bit of media buzz from a recent interview with TATAME, when he claimed this rewar…
Unsurprisingly, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think that Anderson Silva is going to get 50 percent of the company just to face Jon Jones.
Anderson Silva created quite a bit of media buzz from a recent interview with TATAME, when he claimed this reward for committing to a superfight with Jones.
For comparison’s sake, White currently owns a nine percent stake in the Zuffa empire that controls both the UFC and Strikeforce, while brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta own 40.5 percent each. Sheik Tahnoon of Abu Dhabi (Flash Entertainment) owns the remaining 10 percent.
White recently gave his thoughts on Silva’s asking price, summing up his reaction for a fan on Twitter:
@danawhite so Anderson wants 50% of the UFC, doesn’t that seem too far fetched, unrealistic?
White has guaranteed that a superfight between his middleweight and light heavyweight champions “will absolutely happen” before Silva retires, but both men have been reluctant to give any sort of concrete verbal agreement.
A match between Silva and Jones would be a rare event in the MMA world, as both athletes are widely considered the pound-for-pound top two fighters in the world.
Silva currently has nothing scheduled on his calendar after defeating Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro. Bonnar later tested positive for anabolic steroids, which led to a one-year suspension from the promotion, despite statements from White that Bonnar is effectively retired.
Jones is currently busy filming The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) as a competing coach against Chael Sonnen, who will challenge Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title on April 27 in New Jersey. Season 17 of TUF will air this coming January on FX.
If you think that Forrest Griffin really beat Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, you might be a racist.At least, that’s what “Rampage” says, claiming real mixed martial arts fans know that he won his UFC 86 title fight against …
If you think that Forrest Griffin really beat Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, you might be a racist.
At least, that’s what “Rampage” says, claiming real mixed martial arts fans know that he won his UFC 86 title fight against the original Ultimate Fighter winner.
During an interview with MiddleEasy, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and PRIDE middleweight champion didn’t mince words about his feelings on the Griffin fight. As Jackson puts it, anyone who thinks he lost the bout is a “bigot” at heart:
I got hurt. I couldn’t fight Glover. I didn’t want to wait that long. Forrest’s opponent [ChaelSonnen] pulled out. Why not just go fight Forrest? I don’t care. I’ll fight Forrest and I’ll still fight Glover later. Everyone knows I’ve been gunning for Forrest, because anyone who knows MMA—anyone who’s got a true heart, a real heart, and [is] not a bigot—they know I won that fight. That’s real talk.
Jackson’s statement was in response to his current situation with the UFC, as he’s currently campaigning for “exciting fighters” while he’s still under contract. That list doesn’t include wrestlers like Phil Davis, Ryan Bader or ChaelSonnen, who Jackson derided as “boring” options.
Rampage also stated that leaving the UFC was the only thing that would really make him happy, although he still claimed that world’s largest MMA promotion was ultimately a good force in the combat sports world at the end of the day:
I’m not upset with them. The UFC is a great organization. They’ve done a lot of good, positive things for the sport. It’s mainstream now. I can’t walk anywhere without people wanting a picture or attention or talking. That’s good, that’s what people like.
Honestly, I wish I could’ve been compensated a little more for the privacy that I gave up. People don’t understand that. I traded my privacy and my kids’ privacy and everything for the living I’m making now, which is—I could say I’m probably as popular as football players or basketball players these days. [And they’re] making millions.
At 34 years old, Jackson is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in 13 years and 42 fights. He dropped a decision to Bader at UFC 144 in Japan (later claiming an injury), preceded by a hard-fought submission loss to current champion Jon Jones at UFC 135.
Jon Jones is setting his sights on Anderson Silva, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and even lightweight contender, Joe Lauzon.Not for future fights, of course—Jones just wants to beat all of their UFC records.In an interview with USA Today…
Jon Jones is setting his sights on Anderson Silva, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and even lightweight contender, Joe Lauzon.
Not for future fights, of course—Jones just wants to beat all of their UFC records.
In an interview with USA Today, “Bones” talked about his current rise in the MMA world, and how he eventually wants to leave his mark. Apparently, the young champion isn’t content with just beating opponents in his own weight class.
In addition to rewriting the UFC history books, Jones also wants to eventually take away Junior dos Santos’ UFC heavyweight belt:
“Because things have been going so well, right now it’s about not putting limits on anything and realizing the sky is the limit.” Jones told USA TODAY Sports in an exclusive interview. “Really, I want everything, and I’ve said that since day one. I want to be the best. I want to be a record-holder in everything. I want to be a heavyweight champion and a light-heavyweight champion. I want it all.”
Jones has already broken one record in the UFC despite his relatively short career—he’s currently the youngest champion in UFC history, having defeated Mauricio Rua for the 205-pound title in March 2011. At the time, Jones was 23 years old.
For Jones to beat every UFC record in the books, he’ll have to eventually top three of Anderson Silva’s still-growing UFC records: most consecutive title defenses (10), most wins in title fights (11) and his total winning streak in the UFC (16 victories). Silva also shares the constantly-increasing record for “most UFC post-fight bonuses” with Joe Lauzon at 11 awards apiece.
Additionally, Tito Ortiz holds two records for most consecutive defenses of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (five) and most career UFC bouts (27). Matt Hughes still holds a record 18 total wins in the UFC, while Randy Couture has a unique mark for most appearances in title fights (15).
On a personal note, few things this year have been more interesting than the career of UFC bantamweight Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres.Some way or another, it seems like The Ultimate Fighter alumni is always on the verge of getting cut from Zuffa’s ro…
On a personal note, few things this year have been more interesting than the career of UFC bantamweight Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres.
Some way or another, it seems like The Ultimate Fighter alumni is always on the verge of getting cut from Zuffa’s roster.
And yet, Caceres keeps finding his way onto UFC events, this time even taking a main-card spot on the promotion’s first China event.
In fact, it’s probably fair to say that if Dana White hadn’t picked him out as a personal favorite during TUF, the gimmicky 24-year-old would be trying to scrape together a winning streak in Tachi Palace Fights, Titan Fighting Championship or (should he be so lucky) World Series of Fighting.
But is Caceres facing a pink slip if he loses this weekend at UFC on Fuel TV 6?
That’s tough to answer.
True, Caceres’ mediocre 7-5 record doesn’t look good on paper, but when you analyze further, it’s clear that he’s drowning in the deep end of the pool when he can barely dog paddle. To put it simply, the young lightweight-turned-bantamweight has had trouble adjusting to UFC-level competition.
In most cases, that’s a problem fixed by patient matchmaking, but Caceres is in a division where there just aren’t that many easy fights.
Even if you rationalize that Caceres should’ve won his February bout against Edwin Figueroa, the fact remains that he was just unable to finish the fight. Moreover, when you only have a dozen fights on your professional MMA record, 7-5 looks a lot worse than 8-4 (which would’ve carried a three-fight winning streak for Caceres).
Besides, Caceres’ last fight was a pretty blatant case of gift matchmaking from UFC fight card coordinator Joe Silva. “Bruce Leroy” desperately needed a win after losing to Figueroa on points, and Damacio Page was the perfect fall guy.
Prior to fighting on the UFC on Fuel TV 4 undercard, Page had seven career losses with six of them by submission—Caceres’ main specialty.
There wasn’t a more perfect opponent for the UFC to feed to Caceres, and he still had to fish for an extremely telegraphed triangle choke for two grueling rounds. If he fares that badly in a hand-fed matchup, what’s in store for Caceres when he faces Japanese journeyman Motonobu Tezuka—a last-minute replacement with over 27 fights’ worth of experience?
Caceres has had luck on his side until now. Dana White seems to see something in him, and the bantamweight division isn’t so crowded that the UFC president will cut one of his favorite young prospects if he doesn’t have to do so.
But eventually, “Bruce Leroy” needs to start living up to his adopted ring name and master his inner “Glow.” If he can’t manage that much against Tezuka—who comes into this fight on a week’s notice—there’s really no reason that Caceres should be fighting in the UFC anymore.
[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.]
CNN has made the call. Barack Obama is projected to defeat Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States Presidential Election, much to the equal delight and disdain of many Americans.