On July 6 at UFC 162, we will see Chris Weidman try to take Anderson Silva’s middleweight title. It will be almost a year to the date since “The All-American” called out the champ after a thorough domination of Mark Munoz&m…
On July 6 at UFC 162, we will see Chris Weidman try to take Anderson Silva’s middleweight title. It will be almost a year to the date since “The All-American” called out the champ after a thorough domination of Mark Munoz—who was his toughest opponent to date.
As much as Weidman wanted that shot, Silva and his camp were reluctant to agree to the fight. Silva in one interview told Karyn Bryant, “It’s good for him, not for me.”
Silva crushed Stephan Bonnar at UFC 152 in a non-title fight at 205 pounds, while Weidman was set to face Tim Boetsch at UFC 155. That would change as Weidman suffered a shoulder injury and was forced out of action. He had to watch the middleweight division change shape around him without his impact.
Sometimes things happen for a reason, and to that end this matchup seems to be the case. The other top contenders lost. Michael Bisping lost to Vitor Belfort, Hector Lombard lost to Yushin Okami and Tim Boetsch lost to Constantinos Philippou.
After that shuffle of the deck and with no superfight between Silva and Georges St-Pierre on the horizon, Weidman was the only logical choice for both matchup reasons and selling pay-per-view buys.
Now let’s talk about the matchup. As I mentioned earlier, Weidman will “try” to take Silva’s middleweight strap. Many in the past have just shown up for a fight with the “The Spider” and didn’t exactly display due diligence inside the Octagon.
I will tell you why Weidman will get after it. He will not only give forth a great effort but will succeed in doing so and become the next UFC middleweight champion.
Here are three reasons to believe Chris Weidman will have Anderson Silva’s number.
Reaching the top of the mountain is extremely difficult in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Many fighters get close to hitting their peak, but fail. Some never get there at all. Certain ones fool us into thinking they are destined for…
Reaching the top of the mountain is extremely difficult in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Many fighters get close to hitting their peak, but fail. Some never get there at all. Certain ones fool us into thinking they are destined for greatness, only to lose to an aging veteran they are supposed to beat. Several shine when we least expect it, reminding us of the excitement and beauty of the sport.
There are of course many variables that come into play on a fighter’s path to glory. Skill, luck, work ethic, opportunity, valor and courage are on the immediate list that comes to mind. There are fighters that are just naturally gifted, compared to others that have to work harder to make up for a lack in talent.
This sport is comparable to Darwinism. Only the strong survive, for all cannot and do not reach the pinnacle of it. Even winning a belt doesn’t necessarily signify greatness, unless you can defend it and continue to do so.
Here are 10 fighters who have yet to reach their peak.
Waiting almost a year between fights is not usually the norm in MMA. Neither is having a job in sales for six months, while also training. That is what Jessica Aguilar did to get by before preparing to face Patricia Vidonic at Bellator 94 i…
Waiting almost a year between fights is not usually the norm in MMA. Neither is having a job in sales for six months, while also training. That is what Jessica Aguilar did to get by before preparing to face Patricia Vidonic at Bellator 94 in the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.
“I recently left that to again pursue what is my career,” Aguilar explained yesterday as a guest on Darce Side Radio. “It wasn’t me, you have to do what you have to do to pay the bills, and I tried. You try to think about your future and what you are going to do afterwards. I don’t see myself being a salesperson in 10 or 15 years. It wasn’t for me.”
“It’s been challenging. It’s been frustrating,” Aguilar explained. “I am grateful for another opportunity here in Bellator. It seems like they are doing great things. I’d love to be a part of the promotion in the future.
When Aguilar steps into the Bellator cage tonight, it will be her first action since defeating Megumi Fuji in May of last year. Many fighters would probably not be too happy with having almost a year between fights, Aguilar admits to the draw backs, but seems to have focused more on the positive side, and puts it all into perspective.
“It’s hard when an athlete doesn’t have anything to focus towards, or is not doing what they’re passionate about, it’s pretty hard,” Aguilar confessed. “It’s just challenging you know…Adversity, and this is part of being an athlete, or being successful in anything you do. There is going to be ups and downs. There’s going to be setbacks and things like that, but you have to keep pushing.
“That’s what I’m doing right now is pushing forward. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Bellator 94 against Patricia, and it’s going to be exciting guys! I’m excited to give you guys another fight!”
Aguilar—who is now 14-4—has faced Vidonic before. She defeated her via unanimous decision last February at Fight Time Promotions 8. Vidonic is 7-4 in her professional career, and has never been finished in a fight. Aguilar sees that changing when they square off for the second time.
“I’m excited to face her again,” Aguilar said. “She’s fought a few more times last year, so she’s getting more comfortable. I’m excited for the challenge, and she’s going to get finished for the first time tomorrow.”
Aguilar has a year left on her Bellator contract. With an upstart promotion like Invicta showcasing the top female talent in WMMA, and Aguilar having once defeated the current Invictastraweight champion Carla Esparza; that would seem like a likely destination. Aguilar explained she will think about the possibilities when her contract is up.
“I’m taking it day by day, enjoying my journey here with Bellator, when that time comes, we will figure it out. We will cross that bridge.”
As far as future matchups are concerned—an obvious one being with fellow strawweight, Felice Herrig—Aguilar, again said her focus remains on her current matchup with Patricia Vidonic.
“I’m focused on tomorrow first, and then will talk about whoever or what’s in the future, Aguilar said. “I love, and I welcome opportunity. After this fight I’m willing to fight at 115 in my weight class anytime, anywhere. Just give me a date and I’m there, but right now I’m focused on tomorrow.”
Aguilar has done a lot on her journey to becoming one of the best female fighters on the planet. She has worked in a blood lab for the Red Cross, been a corrections officer in Oregon, and even acted as an extra, playing a forensic, in the Showtime series Dexter. She explained due to her heritage it wasn’t easy telling her mom of wanting to go out on her own.
“I’m Mexican so the culture is really old fashioned, really strict,” Aguilar explained. “The girl doesn’t leave home until they get married, things like that, very old fashioned.”
Aguilar is very appreciative of what she has accomplished in MMA, and experienced in life and travel.
“It’s just been an amazing journey. I moved from home, wanting to see the world, and wanting to follow my dreams, and just be young, you only live once,” Aguilar said. “I know that my parents didn’t have that opportunity so I wanted a little life change. I wanted to do something different.
“Now I’ve traveled everywhere with MMA. I’ve gone to Japan, Canada, Russia, it’s been an amazing journey, and here I am today ranked No. 1 in my weight class, and happy to be here.”
“Teardrop on the fire of a confession, fearless on my breath.”─Massive Attack, Teardrop While watching last week’s episode of UFC Primetime: Rousey vs. Carmouche, I recognized a familiar song. It was a cover version o…
“Teardrop on the fire of a confession, fearless on my breath.”
─Massive Attack, Teardrop
While watching last week’s episode of UFC Primetime: Rousey vs. Carmouche, I recognized a familiar song. It was a cover version of “Teardrop,” written by the UK trip-hop group Massive Attack. This stripped down, and haunting acoustic version by Swedish singer-songwriter José González, was quite apropos; as it played after one of the most gripping and visceral scenes of the episode.
Viewers saw a different side of Rousey this time. Instead of more B-roll footage of her pulling arms across her waist for her patented submission, we saw tears falling down her face as she submitted to her own overwhelming emotion.
She was telling the story of the death of her father, who committed suicide when she was very young after complications due to a severely broken back suffered from a sledding accident.
He deteriorated very fast and was told he would become a paraplegic, then quadriplegic, and had two years left to live.
“My dad decided that he didn’t want the girl’s last memories of him to be in a bed with tubes running in and out of him,” said Rousey with tears in her eyes, explaining her dad’s reasoning to end his own life.
Rousey confessed she hated talking about it, and accused herself of prostituting the memory of her father for personal gain. I disagree with her. Seeing this side of a polarizing athlete and star is one of the greatest qualities of sports.
She has answered questions about this very topic since her days of competing in judo. If anything, I thought it was courageous to bare her soul to television cameras the way she did.
The human element is compelling. Fans want to be able to relate to their sports heroes. They are moved by knowing that a superstar like Rousey, who is a fierce competitor in the cage, can break down and cry just like they can.
They are amazed that the first ever women’s UFC bantamweight champion, who every time she has a fight─it’s now compared to the aura of the Mike Tyson era in the 80’s, couldn’t talk until after she was three years old because she was born with her mom’s umbilical cord around her throat.
Fans want to know that stars like Rousey have faced hardships like the death of a loved one in their lives, just as they have in their own.
What really struck a nerve with me while watching this episode of UFC Primetime, was hearing this familiar quote.
“I never saw my mother cry before, ever,” Rousey said. “She looked at me and Jennifer (Rousey’s sister) and sat us down and said your dad went to heaven.”
I heard this quote when I was 11 years old. Only it was my father talking about my mother. And I, like Rousey with her mother, never saw my father cry, ever. After I digested that scene, I thought of all the other viewers who watched along with me and how it must’ve touched them the same way it touched me.
As Rousey was crying and talking about losing her father, I got the impression she would give back her UFC bantamweight title and Olympic judo medal tomorrow, to have him back in her life. That, to me, was the other fascinating part about this episode, how the events in someone’s life change their course and affect its outcome.
Maybe if Rousey’s father didn’t die, she wouldn’t have come this far as an athlete. Maybe that drive, ambition, and fierce competitiveness that she has displayed her entire athletic career would cease to exist.
Maybe she wouldn’t have become an Olympic medalist or the women’s UFC bantamweight champion. There is no way to know that, but we know from watching UFC Primetime that his death is a huge part of her journey. She revealed that she thinks about him all the time, and she wonders what he might think of her now.
“That’s why I always say I hope he would be proud of me, because I don’t know,” Rousey said before taking a long pause. “I don’t know, but I hope.”
Many of us would like to borrow Clarence Odbody from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, to show us how our life would be without someone in it, like he showed George Bailey how his would be if he were never born, but it just isn’t possible.
We all deal with the hand we’ve been dealt, whether we are a star athlete, or an average Joe. What happens to us, and how we handle it, ultimately makes us who we are.
Ronda Rousey drew her fans in by winning her first six pro fights in less than 10 minutes. It’s that human element that Rousey displayed during a half-hour television show that will connect her with that fanbase, and keep them there.
Usually when you ask a mixed martial artist competing on The Ultimate Fighter about the origins of their training, they will tell you about their first fight in school or their first lesson in karate. Or they speak of being influenced by having w…
Usually when you ask a mixed martial artist competing on The Ultimate Fighter about the origins of their training, they will tell you about their first fight in school or their first lesson in karate. Or they speak of being influenced by having watched some of the early UFC cards.
In Uriah Hall’s case, he cites the Tekken video game character JinKazama and Jean Claude Van Damme as his main influences. He spoke about them recently as a guest on Darce Side Radio.
“I would train myself, I would watch the movies, I would rewind it, and I would practice it,” Hall said. “I would do it over and over until I slowly picked up on it. I just remember the first time going to class. I would kick and they were like ‘holy crap where did you learn to do that.’ I said I never trained before. I felt so embarrassed to say I studied video games and I watch movies and do kicks.”
His highlight reel spinning wheel kick on this weeks episode of TUF was certainly comparable to Tekken, rendering his opponent Adam Cena unconscious for several minutes. Hall is clearly a favorite to make it to the final of this season of TUF. His athletic skill and physical attributes stand above many of the contestants. But he said it was his mental side that needed the most, and although originally wanting to be picked for Team Jones, being on Team Sonnen helped him more.
“Everything happens for a reason. Being on the opposite team I think that what Chael taught me is something that Jones could not have taught me,” Hall admitted. “Jones could teach me something physical, but Chael got into my head and that was something I definitely needed.”
Hall spoke about Chael helping with his belief in his wrestling ability.
“I felt a lot more confident to go in there, to just wrestle, and not be afraid to go wrestle because that was pretty much a big part of my fear as a striker, to be taken down,” admitted Hall. “Again the confidence level that I’ve gone to just working with Chael—I just feel pretty comfortable going with any wrestler and going in the ring and not being afraid of getting taken down.”
Hall is 7-2 as a professional and has fought the majority of his fights in the Ring of Combat regional promotion in Atlantic City, NJ. Ring of Combat has been around for ten years and has spawned a high number of talent now currently fighting on the UFC and Bellator rosters—including Eddie Alvarez, Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller, Kurt Pellegrino, Costa Philippou and Chris Weidman. The latter two current UFC middleweights are responsible for Hall’s two losses. With so many fighters coming from that promotion, Hall could’ve stuck it out, but he chose TUF on a whim, after receiving message about the tryouts.
“At one point I had my shot and at that time maybe I was a stepping stone for those two guys, Chris Weidman and Costa Phillipou,” Hall explained. “I know myself as a fighter. And I just know that—that was myself—at that point. I’m sure somewhere down the line in the future, I will compete against those guys again. It’s been a journey, and the funny thing about it is, it’s just beginning.”
It seems Hall’s confidence and physical talent are starting to reach equal levels. Even a KO better than the one over Cellman is possible. One from Hall’s favorite Van Damme movie, Kickboxer.
“That freaking jump split kick. I’m almost right on the button with that,” Hall exclaimed in belief he could pull it off. “I just have to work on it a little more. I’m still learning how to do that kick.”
Usually when you ask a mixed martial artist competing on The Ultimate Fighter about the origins of their training, they will tell you about their first fight in school or their first lesson in karate. Or they speak of being influenced by having w…
Usually when you ask a mixed martial artist competing on The Ultimate Fighter about the origins of their training, they will tell you about their first fight in school or their first lesson in karate. Or they speak of being influenced by having watched some of the early UFC cards.
In Uriah Hall’s case, he cites the Tekken video game character Jin Kazama and Jean Claude Van Damme as his main influences. He spoke about them recently as a guest on Darce Side Radio.
“I would train myself, I would watch the movies, I would rewind it, and I would practice it,” Hall said. “I would do it over and over until I slowly picked up on it. I just remember the first time going to class. I would kick and they were like ‘holy crap where did you learn to do that.’ I said I never trained before. I felt so embarrassed to say I studied video games and I watch movies and do kicks.”
His highlight-reel spinning wheel kick on this week’s episode of TUF was certainly comparable to Tekken, rendering his opponent Adam Cella unconscious for several minutes. Hall is clearly a favorite to make it to the final of this season of TUF. His athletic skill and physical attributes stand above many of the contestants. But he said it was his mental side that needed the most help, and although he originally wanted to be picked for Team Jones, being on Team Sonnen helped him more.
“Everything happens for a reason. Being on the opposite team I think that what Chael taught me is something that Jones could not have taught me,” Hall admitted. “Jones could teach me something physical, but Chael got into my head and that was something I definitely needed.”
Hall spoke about Chael helping with his belief in his wrestling ability.
“I felt a lot more confident to go in there, to just wrestle, and not be afraid to go wrestle because that was pretty much a big part of my fear as a striker, to be taken down,” admitted Hall. “Again the confidence level that I’ve gone to just working with Chael—I just feel pretty comfortable going with any wrestler and going in the ring and not being afraid of getting taken down.”
Hall is 7-2 as a professional and has fought the majority of his fights in the Ring of Combat regional promotion in Atlantic City, NJ. Ring of Combat has been around for 10 years and has spawned a high number of talent now currently fighting on the UFC and Bellator rosters—including Eddie Alvarez, Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller, Kurt Pellegrino, Costa Philippou and Chris Weidman. The latter two current UFC middleweights are responsible for Hall’s two losses. With so many fighters coming from that promotion, Hall could’ve stuck it out, but he chose TUF on a whim after receiving message about the tryouts.
“At one point I had my shot and at that time maybe I was a stepping stone for those two guys, Chris Weidman and Costa Phillipou,” Hall explained. “I know myself as a fighter. And I just know that—that was myself—at that point. I’m sure somewhere down the line in the future, I will compete against those guys again. It’s been a journey, and the funny thing about it is, it’s just beginning.”
It seems Hall’s confidence and physical talent are starting to reach equal levels. Even a KO better than the one over Cella is possible. One from Hall’s favorite Van Damme movie, Kickboxer.
“That freaking jump split kick. I’m almost right on the button with that,” Hall exclaimed in belief he could pull it off. “I just have to work on it a little more. I’m still learning how to do that kick.”
Waiting almost a year between fights is not usually the norm in 