Every MMA fan loves a good knockout, and in this fight I would not recommend taking a break from the action. This one may not last long. Both of these men possess the striking skills and precision to put any man in their weight class to sleep. Vit…
Every MMA fan loves a good knockout, and in this fight I would not recommend taking a break from the action. This one may not last long. Both of these men possess the striking skills and precision to put any man in their weight class to sleep. Vitor Belfort has been knocking people out in the UFC since 1997. Anthony Johnson is part of the new breed of MMA strikers who is taking a foothold in the UFC and beyond.
Each of these men is dangerous and different in their approach to their combat. Below I will discuss each man’s strengths and weaknesses and then I will break down the fight.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson
Anthony Johnson is a debuting middleweight who often had extreme difficulty making the welterweight limit. He often drained much of his stamina and strength due to the fact that he had to lose so many pounds. Johnson himself now admits to the weight loss bothering and hindering him. What is scary about that is Johnson was already a top fighter at welterweight. Now that he is not forced to make that huge weight cut he will retain his power far better.
Johnson could end the fight with strikes, but it is also interesting to note that he has been effective with his wrestling when he needed it. He used it to easily dominate Dan Hardy in a fight where, although it lacked the frenzied attack of a normal “Rumble” Johnson fight, his wrestling helped him control his opponent. This could be a significant factor in the latter part of the fight if Anthony thinks he is behind on the cards.
Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort
Vitor Belfort has had a rollercoaster ride in the UFC middleweight division. He easily dispatched Rich Franklin and then was forced to sit on the sidelines due to injury. Then for some reason unknown to me Belfort was still given a shot at Anderson Silva and his UFC middleweight title after only one win in the UFC (which was at a catchweight of 195).
The Spider then frontkicked Vitor back down the ladder. However, soon after Vitor dispatched Yoshihiro Akiyama in less than a round, which sets up this UFC 142 showdown with Anthony Johnson. If Vitor wins in Rio it will be his first winning streak in almost three years. He seems to still have the fire of a warrior burning in him, enough to attempt to win a championship.
Vitor will need to finish this fight early in my eyes. He tends to fade in the later rounds and so does his punching power. Vitor has never scored a knockout after the second round. Can he still be effective in the later rounds when Johnson will still be strong?
The Breakdown
Both of these guys are going to be looking for the knockout. If Vitor can connect early he is a phenomenal finisher. When the “Phenom” smells blood in the water he moves in for the finish better than anyone in the business. The only problem is that Anthony Johnson is an even better fighter at middleweight than he was at 170 pounds. Johnson will survive the early onslaught.
I envision Johnson being able to survive the early flurries of Vitor and looking for counter opportunities early even a takedown if he gets clipped. If the fight goes into the second or third round Johnson will still have the advantage due to his pace. He will stay steady attacking throughout and Belfort will fade as he has historically done in the past. Anthony Johnson wins this fight and moves into the top 10 at middleweight in style. This fight will be a slugfest with fight of the night written all over it. Who’s ready for a rumble in the jungle?
Friday, December 30, will mark the first Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view that does not take place on a Saturday. The fight will air on a special night. With all of the pre-fight hoopla and attention that will be paid to the main event&mdash…
Friday, December 30, will mark the first Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view that does not take place on a Saturday. The fight will air on a special night. With all of the pre-fight hoopla and attention that will be paid to the main event—Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar—the new night feels appropriate.
The fight was moved due to New Years Eve festivities in Las Vegas. But the drawing power of such a monumental heavyweight matchup cannot be ignored. The UFC brass does not want to lose out of those sweet pay-per-view dollars, and that’s the reason we are treated to a Friday night fight.
In what seems to be par for the course this year, the main event of UFC 141 has had its share of scares and storylines.
Alistair Overeem has had issues obtaining a fight license in Nevada due to differences in drug testing policies between the United States and Holland. Because of this, Overeem also had to deal with the nuisance of repeated holiday travel. When you couple that with the recent news that his mother’s illness may be returning, the Dutchman has had a lot on his plate.
The one thing he has left to do before 2012 is to fight and defeat former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. No big deal, right?
Lesnar has been dealing with a host of issues leading to the December 30 clash. The former UFC champion’s problems have been far more internal, with illness keeping him on the sidelines for 14 months.
After a October 2010 loss to Cain Velasquez—in which he ceded his championship—Lesnar faced a second bout of the intestinal disease diverticulitis. The disease resurfaced with a vengeance and the former World Wrestling Entertainment star was forced to undergo a major surgery to attempt to fix the problem.
According to his trainer, Brock Lesnar is now 100 percent and will be the best he has ever been. Will he regain the aura he once had?
The Breakdown
Alistair Overeem has faced many more distractions in the weeks leading up to the December fight. He has had to deal with the possible resurfacing of his mother’s cancer, numerous drug tests and flights and the switch to a new training camp.
These are all major distractions that can cause some fighters to lose mental focus. However, I just don’t see it having an effect on ‘Reem.
Overeem has been a professional fighter for over a decade. So, even though this is the biggest fight of his life, he will be able to put the other things in his life aside to focus on both Lesnar and getting a crack at the UFC heavyweight championship.
Anyone who saw Brock’s fights with Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez knows that he has not learned to take a punch the way that a lot of fighters have. This is mostly due to the fact that he didn’t get hit very often previously.
A modern UFC heavyweight must be able to take a shot to the head in order to survive. Current big men are simply too powerful and accurate inside the cage. Lesnar will get hit by Alistair Overeem in this fight and he will get hit hard. Can he take the heat? That is the real question.
The Prediction
Brock Lesnar is a wrestler above all else. He is smart enough to know that he can’t stand in front of Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem for any length of time and expect to survive. Lesnar must work into close range and do some dirty boxing and clinch work or take the fight to the mat.
The problem is that Overeem is just as powerful as Brock and possesses a much more diverse skill set. Overeem has K-1 kickboxing-level striking that is arguably the best in the UFC. Alistair can also submit opponents on the ground. When you add this to the fact that he has a very strong Thai clinch and good takedown defense, the result is not hard to predict.
Eventually Lesnar will leave himself open and that is all it will take. Overeem will win this fight by knockout—and it will happen by the end of round two.
Alistair Overeem may be the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion and the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, but he has still not proven himself to be a top heavyweight.On June 18, in his opening -round match of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Pri…
Alistair Overeem may be the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion and the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, but he has still not proven himself to be a top heavyweight.
On June 18, in his opening -round match of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Overeem avenged a 2006 Pride loss by defeating Fabricio Werdum by decision.
Things got weird after that though. Overeem was supposed to continue on in the tournament by taking on Antonio Silva in the semi-finals. But apparently Overeem couldn’t fight because of an injured toe and the next think you know Strikeforce stripped him of his belt, released him from Strikeforce and threw his entire future up in the air.
Overeem just came off the biggest win of his career and now is without an organization to fight for. It has been rumored that he could be fighting in Russia at a United Glory event in October of this year but nothing has been confirmed at this point. After having the biggest year of his career in 2010, the multi-sport champion now sits in limbo.
Will Alistair Overeem ever fight in the UFC?
If it is up to Overeem he will do just that. He echoed this sentiment on this past Friday’s Inside MMA, saying that he believes himself to be the No. 3 fighter in the world behind UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and top contender Junior dos Santos.
I tend to agree with him on this issue. He not only is a good fighter, but he looks like a monster and that Brock Lesnar-type of body and his knockout ability will make a very marketable fighter in the UFC heavyweight division. Can you imagine if Lesnar returned in the spring of 2012 and faced Alistair Overeem in the latter’s UFC debut? Now that would sell.
Unfortunately, his spot in the UFC depends much more on his management and the UFC brass not being able to negotiate on terms of payment. This seems so simple yet is complicated and tricky to fix. The fans of MMA can only sit back and hope that Alistair Overeem is fighting on the UFC New Year’s card instead of lesser competition in Japan.
Anderson is the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world today in my opinion. In fact, I agree with the assessment of UFC President Dana White. I also think he is the best ever in the short history of this sport.These kinds of comparisons …
Anderson is the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world today in my opinion. In fact, I agree with the assessment of UFC President Dana White. I also think he is the best ever in the short history of this sport.
These kinds of comparisons are much harder to make in boxing which has a much longer history of great fighters. MMA is still very new and greatness stands out in stark contrast to its surrounding parts.
The one glaring sour spot in Anderson Silva‘s UFC tenure is his three bouts where he seemed to decide to joke and showboat instead of engaging or damaging his opponent.
In 2008, I met my cousin in Chicago for UFC 90. It was the first (and only) time the UFC has ever been to Illinois. I basically drove all that way to see Anderson Silva. It is not often that one can witness such brilliance in the fight game and I wasn’t going to miss it.
What I ended up getting was a great UFC debut from Junior dos Santos and a very uninspired performance from Silva in his bout. Silva showboated and mocked Cote for two rounds and then Cote suffered a knee injury ending the bout. Needless to say I was not very happy considering the $100 spent for a nosebleed seat.
The second Anderson Silva bout where he exhibited this strange behavior was against Thales Leites at UFC 97. In this bout Leites refused to engage for the most part and Silva finally got to the point where he just decided to mostly dance around and retain his belt and move on. Luckily, he rebounded with an amazing jab knockout of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.
The third bout took place at the first ever UFC event in Abu Dhabi. In this match Silva hurt Demian Maia in both of the first two rounds but never moved in to finish. He spent the last three rounds being very arrogant and attempting to make the challenger look like a fool. Silva infuriated many of his fans and the UFC brass. It also marked the first time that I literally walked out of a restaurant before the end of a UFC fight.
So, will this main event be a repeat of the middleweight champion’s previous strange outings? I think there is very little chance of it being a bad fight. In the three bouts I mentioned above Silva seemed to have little respect for the men he was facing and it showed in the way that he acted like a modern day Muhammad Ali, dancing and belittling his opponents.
Not only do I think Silva knows that Yushin has earned his shot at the title and will take him seriously, but the fact that he was disqualified in their first bout five years ago will give him the motivation he needs to want to finish. Not only do I think he will finish this fight, I see him doing so in brutal fashion. His only worry is the wrestling of Okami which is quite good. However, Anderson showed against Chael Sonnen that he can finish off of his back even when he is in trouble.
So, will this main event be a good fight? I think it will be. It really is up to Anderson Silva to determine the outcome. Its his fight to win or lose.
When I entered the American Airlines Center on Saturday I proceeded through the entrance beaming with excitement and anticipation. After being up for 40 straight hours on Thursday and Friday, working and driving I had missed the weigh-in due to complet…
When I entered the American Airlines Center on Saturday I proceeded through the entrance beaming with excitement and anticipation. After being up for 40 straight hours on Thursday and Friday, working and driving I had missed the weigh-in due to complete exhaustion. Saturday I emerged from my slumber revitalized and ready for some action.
It was a steamy evening in the Lone Star state. After a high of 104 the temperature dropped to just below 80 degrees but inside the air was cool and electric with eager fight fans flooding in from every entrance. After three different people bailed on me I decided to do what any single man would do. I took a woman with me. Turns out she is a huge fight fan and yelled louder and more often than I did. After I had a cocktail, nachos and a pretzel I settled in for an evening of mixed martial arts.
As I watched the action unfold I learned a few things that I took with me. As I made the 700 mile trek back to central Tennessee I was alone and had a lot of time to think. I emerged from my journey thinking about three of the bouts from Saturday. After I took two weeks off from writing and another due to a glitch that literally would not allow me to publish for some reason I have returned to my world of mixed martial arts, my laptop and my thoughts.
1. Is Chad Griggs the real deal?
The first thing that I could not get out of my head was the Valentijn Overeem and Chad Griggs matchup. After being tossed to the canvas, Overeem seemed to completely wilt under the punches of “The Gravedigger.”
I am not certain if Griggs will climb far up the ladder in the heavyweight division. He has strung together three straight wins, but like Alistair Overeem, people question the quality of his opponents. Griggs has put together three wins in a row in the Strikeforce cage but they were over a overly hyped Bobby Lashley, a relative unknown in Gian Villante and an inconsistent Valentijn Overeem.
As soon as Griggs started to ground-and-pound Overeem the Dutch fighter seemed to just quit. Griggs seems to be the genuine article but we will have to see him compete against better opponents before we declare him to be the real deal.
2. Brett Rogers needs time to develop
Brett Rogers has dropped three in a row after being dominated once again by a much more experienced veteran. Yes it is true that he has lost three straight bouts, but those losses were to Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.
I really don’t think we can sit here and say that Rogers is spent, a bad fighter or has a terrible ground game. The fact of the matter is the man beat a spent Andrei Arlovski and has since been thrown to the wolves. He simply needs time to develop and I think that he needs to return to his roots.
He can always get another Strikeforce, Bellator or UFC contract. But, for now the man needs to strengthen his body, mind and fighting spirit. He should do something similar to what Rocky Balboa did in the third Rocky film. Rogers needs to disappear from the spotlight for 12-18 months. He needs to train his wrestling, add some submission defense and offense and develop as a martial artist.
At this point he is just a heavy handed fighter who needs to improve. Josh Barnett easily took him down and submitted him with very little effort. Brett should train hard on the holes in his game and fight in regional shows. In my opinion he should take a year or so fighting in regional shows and when the time is right he can step back into the spotlight.
I think he should fight as often as possible. He can rack up some victories and work on his game and then after he has improved he can come back, but if he stays in the big shows and does not improve he will end up getting frustrated and may even quit. He is fighting guys who have three times as much experience as him. I personally would like to see him fight maybe 10 times in small MMA shows and get that experience he lacks.
If he does those things and returns he will be a much better martial artist. At this point he is not a complete fighter and that will keep him from the top unless he grows from a striker to a true MMA fighter.
3. Alistair Overeem is better than we thought despite a lackluster bout.
The main event ended up being quite disappointing. I have been saying for over a year that Fabricio Werdum is overrated despite his huge wins over Antonio Silva and Fedor. Some sites even had him ranked above Junior dos Santos even though three years ago dos Santos knocked out Fabricio in less than 90 seconds. My argument has always been that Fedor made a horrible mistake in his fight with Werdum and got trapped in a submission.
Anyone who has followed MMA closely over the last few years knows that Alistair Overeem is a very different fighter than he was when he lost to Fabricio in Pride. Alistair has improved his speed and strength, added “40 pounds of whoop a–” to his frame and won the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix. Werdum has improved his standup quite a bit but to me is still very much the same fighter he was in 2006. Those improvements on the part of the Strikeforce heavyweight champion made all the difference.
The entire fight Alistair tried to move forward and make it exciting. Werdum repeatedly refused to do anything but flop on his back. The odd part was that Werdum seemed to be landing good combinations on the feet but his only gameplan seemed to be pulling Alistair into his guard. When that would happen Overeem would promptly stand back up. Werdum seemed to think he was in a jiu jitsu match and not a mixed martial arts bout.
Any time that Overeem would land a good punch Werdum would just drop to the ground. There was an article that I read today where someone tried to argue that Werdum won the fight due to landing more punches. That is absurd. I was there and I saw Werdum land but never hurt Overeem and then lay on the mat. Werdum was winded by the end of round one and he never hurt the champion.
He never hurt him in the fight and he was rocked at least three times that I saw. Fights need to be won on damage not silly statistics. Alistair landed less punches but they were hard power shots that caused Werdum to back up and then fall to the ground to avoid further damage. There is no way that anyone could score that fight in the favor of Fabricio Werdum.
MMAfighting.com had Overeem ranked as the No. 3 heavyweight after the win. So, clearly the win still skyrocketed his stock even though it was a lackluster affair. The fact of the matter is that Overeem tried to make it a fight and Werdum repeatedly refused. At one point Werdum was laying on his back begging Alistair to come into his guard.
If he wanted him in his damn guard he should have taken him down. No one is going to just jump into the ground game with a former grappling world champion. Werdum looked awful in this fight.
In the end the “Demolition Man” proved that he was the better man and that he is in the top five in the world. Alistair Overeem is an elite heavyweight mixed martial artist. Many of us knew it already but now he will less detractors. Yes, the fight was pretty awful but Overeem was the only one who showed up to fight.
Either way he won and now he will face Antonio Silva later this year. That fight will be much better because Silva won’t be flopping on his ass every five seconds. Silva will be there to fight. I lost some respect for Werdum on Saturday and I only hope he returns is impressive fashion.
Frank Mir has been in the UFC for nearly ten years now and is the longest contracted heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today.Mir has became a mainstay in both the UFC and the top ten heavyweight world rankings over the last decade. He h…
Frank Mir has been in the UFC for nearly ten years now and is the longest contracted heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today.
Mir has became a mainstay in both the UFC and the top ten heavyweight world rankings over the last decade. He has had his ups and downs but when the smoke has cleared Frank has always been there.
Saturday night, May 28, 2011, Mir defeated fellow Las Vegas native Roy “Big Country” Nelson by unanimous decision for his second straight win inside the Octagon. The win moved Frank back up the ladder and it is now assured that his next opponent will be a very tough challenger indeed.
This slideshow will highlight the five biggest career moments in the UFC for former two time heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Every MMA fan loves a good knockout, and in this fight I would not recommend taking a break from the action. This one may not last long. Both of these men possess the striking skills and precision to put any man in their weight class to sleep. Vitor Belfort has been knocking people out in the UFC since 1997. Anthony Johnson is part of the new breed of MMA strikers who is taking a foothold in the UFC and beyond.