Author: McKinley Noble

Stefan Struve: Will His Youth Come Back to Haunt Him in the UFC?

Stefan Struve is one of the most physically gifted heavyweight fighters in the UFC, but will his young age wind up hurting him in the long run?When you break it down, it’s really a question of how quickly and efficiently Struve can develop his sta…

Stefan Struve is one of the most physically gifted heavyweight fighters in the UFC, but will his young age wind up hurting him in the long run?

When you break it down, it’s really a question of how quickly and efficiently Struve can develop his stand-up game. He might have a good chin, but right now, there’s no telling whether it’ll get more or less resilient to the shots he’s been taking in his fights.

Unlike most skills in mixed martial arts, a strong chin isn’t something you can develop or train—you either have it or you don’t.

That’s been a consistent factor with many MMA fighters who either suffer lots of knockout loses or rarely go down to strikes.

But one thing that can happen to a strong chin is deterioration.

Like a stone getting shaved down by the elements over time, a fighter who continually takes shots to the head can end up having a chin that goes from granite to cookie dough. Just look at Andrei Arlovski, Keith Jardine or Chuck Liddell.

For Struve, the problem is that he started MMA at such a young age in the biggest division possible.

Considering his athletic history, the issue becomes even more pronounced.

Struve played football in his early childhood and made his amateur MMA debut at 16 years old. From his early string of submission wins over the years (most of them ending in the first round), it seems that Struve smartly used his massive size to snare and finish opponents quickly.

But ever since entering the UFC, Struve has suffered three brutal knockout losses, with many of his other fights turning into flinch-worthy wars of attrition.

Granted, Struve survives these wars more often than not.

But there’s still an overhanging truth in all of this—Struve is still incredibly young to be taking such punishment in his fighting career, and he shouldn’t have to do so.

If Jon Jones can keep opponents from getting to him at 6’4″ with 84.5 inches of reach, most heavyweights shouldn’t be able to get inside on the “The Skyscraper”—a monstrous 7’0” giant carrying the same wingspan—with such consistency.

Unless Stefan Struve learns how to better protect his chin, there’s a legitimate risk that he’ll start getting put to sleep in situations where he merely gets stunned. Hopefully, someone teaches him how—before it’s too late.

[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 Fuel TV 5 Results: New, Boring Dan Hardy May Be Better Than Old Dan Hardy

How much can we congratulate Dan Hardy for beating Amir Sadollah?No offense to Sadollah, but he should have no illusions about the matchmaking for this fight. It was a gift to Hardy to get a big win for the hometown hero against a strong but very …

How much can we congratulate Dan Hardy for beating Amir Sadollah?

No offense to Sadollah, but he should have no illusions about the matchmaking for this fight. It was a gift to Hardy to get a big win for the hometown hero against a strong but very beatable opponent.

That’s not to say that Dan Hardy isn’t improving, though.

While he could’ve tried to grit it out on the feet and slug his way to another win, the British star made a practical decision and showcased some decent wrestling against the skilled Sambo practitioner.

That’s commendable, but it also wasn’t as exciting as his last five fights.

If Dan Hardy had been fighting anywhere outside England, you wouldn’t have heard such a huge crowd reaction. All the cheers from Hardy’s fellow countrymen made the co-main event feel a lot bigger than it really was, especially in the later rounds.

Then again, Hardy was 1-5 in his last five fights before tonight, so this new balanced combat style might be best for him in the long run.

In fact, Dan Hardy’s seven takedown attempts in this fight were more than he’s done in his five previous fights combined. He also kept pressing them when he really didn’t have to after finding his comfort zone and getting the better of Sadollah in exchanges on the feet.

That’s an especially good thing to see given Hardy’s past attitude toward the ground game. 

Hopefully, “The Outlaw” will continue to improve his wrestling and takedowns, because against an NCAA-level grappler or a true submission expert, he’ll get eaten alive.

Seeing Dan Hardy round out his MMA game should be comforting to his fans. He’ll save his chin a few more bashings down the road, especially against fighters with bigger, sharper punches.

(As good as Hardy can be, there’s little chance he’ll win a shootout with the likes of Martin Kampmann, Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, Jake Ellenberger or even Josh Koscheck.) 

Moreover, Amir Sadollah is the kind of fighter who usually manages to drag everyone he faces into tepid battles of attrition, so maybe I’m wrong about this whole thing. But either way, Dan Hardy may be well served to continue becoming less of a “stand and bang” fighter and more technical further on into the remainder of his career.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5: Is Dan Hardy’s Job Safe If He Loses to Amir Sadollah?

Out of 20 fighters competing this Saturday in the UFC on Fuel TV card, Dan Hardy has the worst record in his last five fights.Although he won his most recent brawl against fellow slugger Duane Ludwig, it wasn’t a fight made to advance Hardy up the rank…

Out of 20 fighters competing this Saturday in the UFC on Fuel TV card, Dan Hardy has the worst record in his last five fights.

Although he won his most recent brawl against fellow slugger Duane Ludwig, it wasn’t a fight made to advance Hardy up the rankings or get him back into the title hunt.

Essentially, all it did was give Hardy’s win-loss ratio a small bit of breathing room.

Single-win streak aside, that still doesn’t change some particularly damning facts:

  • In the last three years, Hardy has posted a 1-4 record in the UFC
  • Out of all George St. Pierre’s former title challengers, Hardy is currently the lowest-ranked (active) welterweight
  • Hardy was almost the second fighter in UFC history to lose five straight fights

Although ‘The Outlaw’ had the good fortune of losing an exciting “Fight of the Night” battle with Chris Lytle, that hasn’t stopped some fans and critics for noting the supposed unfairness of Hardy’s extensive lifeline with the UFC brass.

But even though the British standout remains a company favorite, can he afford to lose to Amir Sadollah—especially in his hometown of Nottingham, England?

Of course, no UFC fighter can really afford to lose a fight. But most main event players like Dan Hardy get extra leeway that other fighters, like “one-and-done” preliminary talent and mid-tier journeymen, simply don’t have.

Question is, how bad will it look if Hardy loses to the comparatively under-experienced Sadollah?

Considering that Sadollah, the heavily-promoted Ultimate Fighter wunderkind, is little more than the UFC’s welterweight gatekeeper, it would look awful if Hardy found himself losing a tepid split or unanimous decision, trapped on the wrong side of volume leg kicks and superior grappling.

Where Hardy at least had the option of suffering an exciting loss if he came up short against Ludwig, the strong-but-middling Sadollah represents no such upside. If Dan Hardy loses on Saturday, he’ll run the risk of looking terrible in the process.

Make no mistake, the UFC would love it if Hardy came blitzing out of the gate, belting Sadollah with hard shots, and fighting him off in the clinch. Nothing would get the Nottingham crowd more riled up, and it would generate more cheers than the main event.

Moreover, Sadollah is just flawed enough that Hardy could dominate him. But if he loses, don’t expect Dana White to entertain the thought of cutting one of their most popular international faces.

Make no mistake, Dan Hardy should be able to beat Amir Sadollah. After all, he hasn’t legitimately lost to a welterweight outside the division’s “top 25” since 2006. At the very worst, it would most likely take another four-loss streak before the UFC brass ever considered dropping him.

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

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Georges St. Pierre Claims Carlos Condit as the "Real" Champion, and He’s Right

Although Georges St. Pierre will still be wearing the lineal UFC welterweight title strap when he returns to the Octagon, he won’t be doing it as the champion.According to the Canadian superstar, he’s simply getting a title shot, just like any other ch…

Although Georges St. Pierre will still be wearing the lineal UFC welterweight title strap when he returns to the Octagon, he won’t be doing it as the champion.

According to the Canadian superstar, he’s simply getting a title shot, just like any other challenger—as far as he’s concerned, interim belt-holder Carlos Condit is the true UFC welterweight champion.

That was St. Pierre’s official statement during the UFC 154 press conference today, where he admitted that roughly a year-and-a-half of inactivity meant he wasn’t really the champion anymore:

“In my contract, I was supposed to defend my title every year and I didn’t do it. For me, I see Carlos Condit as the champion and I’m getting a title shot.”

Although some people might pass it off as GSP being his usual humble self, the reality is that he couldn’t be more correct in saying that Condit is the world’s top welterweight fighter.

Back when St. Pierre had effectively cleaned out the welterweight division in early 2011 with a difficult win over Jake Shields and his eye-poking tactics, people were already trying to come up with names of young guns who could at least threaten the pound-for-pound king.

That list included the likes of Nick Diaz, Jake Ellenberger, and fellow Canadian Rory MacDonald, all of whom had been thrashing their opponents that same year.

However, ever since GSP came up lame with his ACL injury last December, both Diaz and Ellenberger have suffered hard losses, and even MacDonald struggled a bit with Che Mills before wisely taking the fight to the ground and beating him up.

Although several MMA fans may not like the fact that Condit has sat on the interim title ever since edging out Diaz on the judges’ scorecards last February, that practical decision has proven to be the best one that the Greg Jackson fighter could have made.

As it stands, Condit’s already beaten all the challengers everyone else said could possibly compete with GSP in the future. His sniper-like striking skills and strong ground game will likely be just as much of a threat to St. Pierre as whatever Nick Diaz’s relentless offense would’ve brought to the table.

Like it or not, Carlos Condit is still the best welterweight fighter in the world. Until Georges St. Pierre steps into the Octagon and beats him, there’s really no point in pretending otherwise.

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

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UFC 153 Trailer Thankfully Admits the Truth About Silva vs. Bonnar

During the promotion for UFC 152, nothing was more infuriating than seeing Vitor Belfort falsely billed as the former heavyweight champion.Sadly, that’s the kind of advertising the UFC clearly felt they had to resort to in order to drum up interest for…

During the promotion for UFC 152, nothing was more infuriating than seeing Vitor Belfort falsely billed as the former heavyweight champion.

Sadly, that’s the kind of advertising the UFC clearly felt they had to resort to in order to drum up interest for the fight—a light heavyweight title bout where betting odds universally favored Jon Jones against an overmatched middleweight contender.

Suggesting that Belfort had been a two-division champion was an ugly move, and even worse, the UFC barely acknowledged the fact that he was a massive underdog.

Thankfully, the marketing department isn’t repeating that dishonesty with Stephan Bonnar.

In the first official trailer for UFC 153, Bonnar’s underdog status is a prominent bullet point, with the video teasing that he could pull a “historic upset” against Anderson Silva.

It’s unexpected, but at least the UFC is playing this one straight. 

For this match, the story behind the main event should be wrapped around the ridiculously long odds against Silva losing to Bonnar. It’s a modern day Rocky story that’s been gift-wrapped for the promotion, and they would be foolish if they didn’t run with it all the way to fight night.

Sure, most MMA fans know that this is a bout Bonnar likely won’t come close to winning. It’s nothing more than an obvious Hail Mary match made to pander to the 14,000 Brazilians who will pack the HSBC Arena to see the world’s greatest fighter at work.

If the UFC wants to continuing selling this correctly, they won’t shy away from acknowledging that Bonnar is a lunatic for taking the fight.

But at the same time, they need to remind people that in MMA, anything can happen.

Even the biggest underdogs get lucky. Matt Serra made Georges St. Pierre quit. Frankie Edgar out-hustled B.J. Penn. Fabricio Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko in one round. Just this past weekend, Vitor Belfort came within a few inches of destroying Jon Jones’ arm.

Whether by cut, doctor’s stoppage, a controversial referee decision, divine intervention or a flying scissors heel hook, it’s possible that “The Spider” can lose.

Dana White and the UFC don’t have to pretend that Bonnar is some elite striker or grappler who can easily expose one of Silva’s minor weaknesses, but they can still promote the fight on one of the oldest adages in the sport.

“Everyone gets caught.” Everyone. At UFC 153, it might happen to Anderson Silva.

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

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Jon Jones Has No Honor and It Doesn’t Matter One Bit

At a certain point, complaints about Jon Jones can veer into ridiculous territory.Despite being so young and relatively new to the game, the pound-for-pound prodigy remains an incredibly hated figure in the world of mixed martial arts—especially …

At a certain point, complaints about Jon Jones can veer into ridiculous territory.

Despite being so young and relatively new to the game, the pound-for-pound prodigy remains an incredibly hated figure in the world of mixed martial arts—especially to beaten opponents who have previously admitted his greatness.

Even Quinton Jackson, despite having already run a short feud with Jones, couldn’t help dragging the champion’s image through the dirt with a puzzling quip during the MMA Hour:

“Vitor took the fight on short notice, and this is how you respect him, by kicking his knee backwards and stuff like that? He’s supposed to be a man of God. You can injure somebody, you can sever their career. You can mess people up for life kicking their knee back like that and he does it repeatedly, over and over. To me that has no honor. I take a lot of honor in fighting. He has no honor. He’s fake. I don’t agree with his fighting style. I think I can beat Jon Jones. I know I can beat him. Jon Jones is the type of guy you have to fight twice.”

Of all the things that other fighters can say about Jon Jones, this is probably one that rings the most false, and at worst, sounds like sour grapes.

Although it’s true that Jones’ cringe-worthy tactic—sharp push kicks to the knees and lower thighs—is incredibly difficult to watch, it’s far from dishonorable.

As Chael P. Sonnen would say, when two men enter the Octagon, they’re in a fight. No matter how many rules an MMA promotion can enforce and how much you want to dress it up, it’s disingenuous and hypocritical to pretend otherwise.

Besides, if it’s not against the rules and it gives him an edge, why should Jones be concerned about snapping someone’s knee?

Call it a shot in the dark, but what really seems to be the problem is that no light heavyweight has figured out a way to counter Jones’ kicking arsenal. After all, these things only seem cheap to other fighters if they don’t have an answer to it.

Hell, that’s the same reason many “stand and bang” guys hate getting matched up against wrestlers. To them, takedowns and smothering ground control are cheap and cowardly.

From his signature kicks to his sharp elbows, Jon Jones is being pragmatic about the way he fights and using his natural gifts in the most advantageous way possible.

If you think it’s dangerous and should be a foul-worthy offense, that’s one thing. But in a sport where men and women can break limbs and outright cripple each other, no MMA athlete should even try to pretend that Jones needs “honor” in the way he fights.

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

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