Five fights, five first round armbar submissions. In her longest fight to date, Ronda Rousey put Miesha Tate into two armbars, the second of which had her arm bending in a way that arms were never meant to bend. In the process, she has become the new S…
Five fights, five first round armbar submissions. In her longest fight to date, Ronda Rousey put Miesha Tate into two armbars, the second of which had her arm bending in a way that arms were never meant to bend.
In the process, she has become the new Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion, dominating a fight that many people said should have went to Sarah Kaufman. With Kaufman’s win, however, she’ll likely be the next in line to fear for her limbs.
Rousey has shown herself to be the female version of Rousimar Palhares—a fighter who will dive on submissions and constantly be looking to finish the fight. Her judo background allows her to constantly be looking for trips and throws whenever she clinches, while her great Brazilian jiu-jitsu game is shown off as she works for position as soon as she hits the ground. Rousey had Tate mounted within seconds of hitting the ground. This was particularly notable because it followed a bout in which Josh Thompson was content to cruise to a safe decision win over KJ Noons.
Sarah Kaufman’s slugfest with Alexis Davis and Ronda Rousey’s excellent back and forth grappling match with Miesha Tate were probably the two most entertaining bouts of the night—except for maybe watching Lumumba Sayers slam and choke Scott Smith into obscurity.
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey was probably the strongest argument to date that women belong in mixed martial arts. It also showed that Ronda Rousey is an animal and all other female fighters should fear her.
As Jon Jones released an unconscious Lyoto Machida from a guillotine choke and walked away at UFC 140, it was clear that fans had just witnessed one of the most dominant years in the history of the sport. In 2011, Jon “Bones” Jones went from highly tou…
As Jon Jones released an unconscious Lyoto Machida from a guillotine choke and walked away at UFC 140, it was clear that fans had just witnessed one of the most dominant years in the history of the sport. In 2011, Jon “Bones” Jones went from highly touted prospect to champion, defeating Ryan Bader, “Shogun” Rua, “Rampage” Jackson, and Lyoto Machida.
We are pretty clearly in the Jon Jones era right now and the scariest part is that he is just 24 years old. No man, not even Anderson Silva, has ever accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Jones had his first professional fight on April 12, 2008 and less than three years later, held the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Jones is already being talked about along the lines of being an Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre, and with good reason—it’s difficult to imagine him losing at this point. It’s unfortunate that Jones has the one disqualification loss on his record, making him 15-1 when it’s obvious that no fighter has ever come close to defeating him.
Lyoto Machida did his part last night, coming in with a good game plan that allowed him to win the first round. He was elusive and quick, moving in and out and landing several good shots. It gave Jones the opportunity to answer the last question many of his critics had—can he take a punch?
Jones weathered a somewhat shaky first round and a half before landing a huge takedown that was the turning point of the fight. The champion opened up a cut on the forehead of Machida and after getting back to the feet, dropped him with a left hand. As Machida attempted to get back up, Jones sunk in the choke, pinned him up against the cage, and put him to sleep.
While there are still some interesting title challengers for Jones such as Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, none are as well-rounded as the champion. Evans, for example, has never attempted a submission in the UFC. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone to see Jones retain his title for years to come.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
While no man can seem to hold on to the UFC Heavyweight Championship for very long, Junior dos Santos is the newest title holder in the division that has had more of them than any other.Excluding the interim title holders—Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira…
While no man can seem to hold on to the UFC Heavyweight Championship for very long, Junior dos Santos is the newest title holder in the division that has had more of them than any other.
Excluding the interim title holders—Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin—the last five UFC Heavyweight Champions have been Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Let’s take a look at who will be remembered as the greatest heavyweight champion of the modern UFC era.
The historic UFC on FOX event has come to a close, and if you blinked, you may have missed the 64 seconds that actually mattered. In that time, Junior dos Santos went from No. 1 contender to UFC Heavyweight Champion, handing Cain Velasquez his first ca…
The historic UFC on FOX event has come to a close, and if you blinked, you may have missed the 64 seconds that actually mattered. In that time, Junior dos Santos went from No. 1 contender to UFC Heavyweight Champion, handing Cain Velasquez his first career loss.
Dos Santos won by knockout in the first round—something mixed martial arts fans have seen quite a few times before. He’s done the same to Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga in his UFC career.
In his two fights before the title, dos Santos won by decision. It was the only two times in his career that a fight went to the judges, but they were nevertheless completely dominant performances.
Over the course of his eight UFC bouts, “Cigano” went from unknown prospect to heavyweight champion. In the process, he has never lost a round, nor has he ever been in danger of having that happen. Dos Santos is on one of those incredible runs MMA fans rarely witness: completely dominant performances against the best fighters in the world.
What may be the most frightening thing for the heavyweight division is the fact that the current champion is just 27 years old and has only been fighting since 2006. The man will only continue to improve. In addition, he trains with with the likes of Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, so it’s very unlikely he’ll ever get complacent in the gym.
While dos Santos has been devastating up until this point, the fact that he’s never faced any adversity in the cage leaves a few unanswered questions. Is he capable of fighting five rounds? Can he fight off of his back?
Dos Santos is certainly a boxing focused fighter, but he does possess a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under the Nogueira brothers. His one career loss has been by submission, but that was in just his sixth professional bout against Joaquim Ferreira—a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt himself.
Dos Santos may not be submitting opponents off of his back, but he seems very aware what his strength is. As a result, he will keep the fight where he has the best chance of winning: on the feet. Instead of trying his hand at grappling, he’ll work to get right back up. Cain Velasquez, for example, seemed to ignore his clear grappling advantage and was handed his first loss as a result.
Although it’s possible that dos Santos may struggle with a competent wrestler like Brock Lesnar, he has fared well against quality wrestlers such as Velasquez and Shane Carwin. He has also distinguished himself as the best striker in the heavyweight division, and because the fight starts standing, every opponent he faces will have to deal with his hands.
The UFC heavyweight championship hasn’t stayed in one man’s hands for very long, but “Cigano” certainly has the tools to hold onto it for a while.
Mixed martial arts fans have been waiting for an event like the first UFC on FOX broadcast for a long time. We’ve all been hoping for this sport to gain main-stream appeal and for the fan base to grow. But while the UFC on FOX event was historic, it wa…
Mixed martial arts fans have been waiting for an event like the first UFC on FOX broadcast for a long time. We’ve all been hoping for this sport to gain main-stream appeal and for the fan base to grow. But while the UFC on FOX event was historic, it was rather disappointing.
Ultimately, there were only 64 seconds of fighting in an hour-long broadcast. Fans were treated to an excellent main event, but the ratio of fights to filler was simply unreasonable.
Parts of it were understandable, however. The UFC wanted to give a history of the sport to welcome and educate new fans. In addition, the broadcast included an introduction to and background on both fighters to make it seem less like two blood-thirsty savages battling and more like two athletes competing.
Even though the commercials were excessive, it’s a free fight, so that’s to be expected. What didn’t make sense was the excessive analysis. Brock Lesnar, Dana White, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan all essentially said the same thing over and over—Cain Velasquez is well-rounded, and Junior dos Santos has amazing hands.
Both the UFC and FOX squandered an amazing opportunity to gain new fans by not airing the Clay Guida and Benson Henderson bout. Everyone who knew anything about MMA was aware it was going to be an amazing fight. After all, both of them have earned Fight of the Year awards before.
And what a fight it was. The back-and-forth war would have pleased any individual with the slightest interest in combat sports.
What the UFC and FOX care about, though, is that, according to USA Today, the “one-hour broadcast averaged 5.7 million viewers, 16% higher than the 4.9 million average for CBS’ live airing of EliteXC in May 2008, which culminated with a fight between Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson and James Thompson.” This is a record average for a mixed martial arts event in the United States.
So while the UFC on FOX event may have been a success in terms of viewership, it was clearly a failure in terms of content. The fact that a lightweight title eliminator featuring Clay Guida and Benson Henderson—the potential Fight of the Year—was only available online is maddening.
After a year-long layoff coming into the UFC’s debut on FOX, Cain Velasquez suffered the first loss of his career. Velasquez was 9-0 and defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship for the first time, but the hands of Junior dos Santos put an end to his…
After a year-long layoff coming into the UFC’s debut on FOX, Cain Velasquez suffered the first loss of his career. Velasquez was 9-0 and defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship for the first time, but the hands of Junior dos Santos put an end to his title reign in just 64 seconds.
An emotional dos Santos revealed that he was scared and injured coming into the bout with Velasquez, but proved to be the better man that night. Still, one fight doesn’t prove that Velasquez is the lesser fighter, nor does it prove that he will not be champion again.
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos is on one of the most impressive runs UFC fans have ever been exposed to. His debut was a huge upset, knocking out Fabricio Werdum in just 81 seconds—a kind of result viewers would get used to, as he finished his next four opponents, before dominating Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin and knocking out Cain Velasquez to win the title.
Despite the incredible streak, Velasquez was the favorite entering the bout, the general sentiment being that he was the more complete fighter. If Velasquez could just drag this fight into the later rounds or to the ground, he would hold a significant advantage and that still holds true. Velasquez has better stamina and a superior grappling ability, but he did the one thing no fighter should ever do—stand and trade with “Cigano.”
Velasquez had finished his last three opponents before his first title defense, scoring knockout victories over Ben Rothwell, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar. However, none of these fighters are known for their striking ability. The last and perhaps only man that Velasquez ever faced with quality striking is Cheick Kongo, whom he did struggle with.
The now former champion seemed too comfortable striking, likely because he was facing men who didn’t really have the ability to knock him out. Dos Santos is a completely different animal that warranted an entirely new game plan. If Velasquez was adamant about getting the fight to the ground, it’s very possible that would have happened.
Ultimately, Velasquez is an incredibly dangerous opponent for anyone in the heavyweight division. A poor decision to stand and trade with an incredible striker doesn’t change that. Even though he was just handed his first career loss, Velasquez was confident in his ability to return, stating after the fight, “I will get that belt back.”
A different night could hold a different result. It seems very likely that Velasquez will be challenging for the title again soon and perhaps this time, he’ll remember that it was his wrestling ability that got him there.
Five fights, five first round armbar submissions. In her longest fight to date, Ronda Rousey put Miesha Tate into two armbars, the second of which had her arm bending in a way that arms were never meant to bend.