Author: Midhun Nair

UFC 134 Preview: Brendan Schaub: A Legitimate Title Contender or Just Overhyped?

Brendan Schaub came second on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” to Roy Nelson. He was one of my favorite fighters to watch on that series of TUF. Schaub, known for his impressive boxing skills, is 8-1 in MMA and 4-1 in the UFC. Of his ei…

Brendan Schaub came second on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” to Roy Nelson.

He was one of my favorite fighters to watch on that series of TUF.

Schaub, known for his impressive boxing skills, is 8-1 in MMA and 4-1 in the UFC. Of his eight wins, seven have come by knockout, with six of those fights lasting no longer 1:27 of the very first round. Impressive.

Let’s look at Schaub’s last two opponents, “Cro-Cop” and Gonzaga. While a win over either of these fighters would mean a great deal to any fighter, Schaub did not really prove anything by beating them.

Both fighters were well past their prime, especially “Cro-Cop”, who is now approaching the age of 37.

Don’t get me wrong—when it comes to all of sports, “Cro-Cop” is one of my heroes. He is undoubtedly the greatest striker in the heavyweight division of all time.

“Cro-Cop” is a true legend of the sport, but he is not the same “Cro-Cop” that we saw bulldoze through opponents in Pride FC, some years ago.

Does beating an aging legend mean much when it comes to title contention?

Do you really think that Schaub could have beaten the “Cro-Cop” of the Pride era? The same “Cro-Cop” that sent opponent after opponent to the proverbial cemetery?

Beating some of the legends of the sport will look great on his record and does stand for something. However, it would mean a lot more, especially to Schaub’s desire to be a champion, if he had beaten them in their prime and they were also in title contention.

Despite “Cro-Cop’s” age, “Cro-Cop” held Schaub off till the third round and Schaub couldn’t finish Gonzaga.

If Schaub can’t comfortably get past superstars who are well past their prime, how on earth is he going to be able to beat the likes of Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez?

Schaub has a fascination with calling out some of the true legends of the sport. He is respectful about it, and I in turn respect him for that (he is not as vocal as a certain “Uncle Chael”). Also, he seems to be under the impression that by beating fighters who are way past their prime, he will get closer to earning a title shot.

Unfortunately, he is wrong.

Schaub needs to focus on calling out fighters that are currently in the title picture in order to be a part of the title picture himself.

Similarly, calling out other young, up and coming stars would also do more to help his career. Schaub should be calling out fighters like fellow TUF alum, Matt Mitrione, or other young stars such as Travis Browne.

His latest challenge was made to the iconic Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and I hate having to say this, as Nogueira is also one of my heroes and inspirations, but “Minotauro” is also well past his prime.

That being said, “Minotauro” is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, period.

Maybe Schaub will regret calling out Nogueira and this is why.

If there is anybody that is going to bring Schaub back to reality, it is going to be Nogueira—arguably the greatest submission artist in the heavyweight division, ever.

“Minotauro” Nogueira has been training to become an excellent all-rounded fighter. He has looked to improve his boxing by training with the Cuban national team and he trains/coaches talented strikers in Junior Dos Santos and Anderson Silva.

Although Schaub will still hold the advantage over Nogueira in the stand-up game, we all know what will happen if this fight gets taken to the ground and there is a strong likelihood it will.

Furthermore, this fight is going down in Nogueira’s home country and the fans will all be against Schaub. So we will also see how Schaub copes under a copious amount of pressure as he goes toe to toe with a legend with thousands of people booing him and cheering for their idol.

Schaub is 28 years old and has got great talent and even greater potential. So why is he calling out fighters much older than himself and who are not as great as they were a few years ago?

Would he have called them out while they were in their prime?

I think Schaub has the potential to become a title contender, like his fellow TUF alum Roy Nelson. But Schaub needs to do what is ultimately going to bring him closer to the title picture and that is by challenging the young stars.

I like watching him fight because he is entertaining; he has incredible knockout power and you just don’t know when to expect that killer punch.

But for his sake, I hope he will do what is right in order to become a legitimate title contender.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Strikeforce Results: Alistair Overeem: A Great Fighter or Just Overrated?

Alistair Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and the DREAM Interim Heavyweight Champion and is the only fighter to hold a championship in Strikeforce and K-1 at the same time. Impressive. He has a …

Alistair Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and the DREAM Interim Heavyweight Champion and is the only fighter to hold a championship in Strikeforce and K-1 at the same time. Impressive.

He has a storied career and he has fought some of the true legends of the sport such as Chuck Liddell, and he is seen by many as one of the best Heavyweights in the world at the moment.

Overeem is currently undefeated in his last 12 bouts. However, during this impressive streak, he has not faced anyone that has really tested his skills as a fighter or posed a serious threat to him, with the exception of Mirko Cro-Cop and Fabricio Werdum.

The fight with Cro-Cop ended in a no contest and Overeem scraped a win against Werdum.

With the exception of these fights, how do we know that none of the opponents that he has faced over this 12 fight streak posed a significant threat to Overeem?

Because he has managed to end all the fights in the first round via knockout and submission with 10 of these 12 fights not lasting longer than 3:42 of the first round. Again, impressive.

Does this show that Overeem is good? Of course it does. But then you look at the quality of the opponents that he faced.

Some of the opponents that he has fought during this streak include James Thompson, Gary Goodridge and Lee Tae-hyun. Two of these fighters have losing records and one has the same number of losses as wins.

In contrast, Overeem has faced Brett Rogers who is a very tough opponent, but Overeem managed to beat him convincingly.

His most recent fight was against Fabricio Werdum, which Overeem won by unanimous decision. While a win over Werdum is a great deal for any fighter, the way in which Overeem won was not impressive.

In fact, Overeem’s performance was so unconvincing, that many, including the commentators, thought that Werdum had won and FightMetric scored the fight 29-28 in favour of Werdum.

Despite Overeem’s kickboxing credentials, it was Werdum that landed more strikes throughout the fight and Werdum was also the better grappler in the fight.

Furthermore, Werdum was completely exhausted come the second round and Overeem could not act on the promise that he made before the bout and finish his opponent.

Somehow, it was Overeem that walked away with the win.

Neither fighter looked good in this fight, but this fight may have been an indication of how Overeem fares against tougher opponents.

If you look at Overeem’s record, you will see a plethora of “big names” such as Chuck Liddell, Minotauro Nogueira, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Sergei Kharitonov and Ricardo Arona. He has been finished via knockout and submission by all of these opponents.

So far, the statistics are pointing to the fact that Overeem might not be as good a fighter as everyone is making him out to be.

Don’t get me wrong, Overeem has got great potential and is a great fighter, but he is not performing at his best in fights that count which are against the some of the biggest names in this industry.

So, to answer the question of the article. Is Overeem that good or is he just overrated?

I think he is that good. I think he has got great potential. But, I also think that Overeem needs to step his game up against tougher opponents to show that he can be the best heavyweight in the world. 

He definitely has the skill and the talent to be the best in the world. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be a champion in three different promotions. He certainly is an entertaining fighter to watch, as well as it is very rare that his fights end in decisions.

With the acquisition of Strikeforce, the pool of talent under the Zuffa banner has increased substantially, and hopefully this means that fighters will constantly be tested to show that they are legitimate contenders and similarly, champions.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Rampage Jackson and the 15 Funniest Stars in MMA History (with Video)

MMA is a serious sport. It requires more discipline and respect than any other sport. Some have reached the pinnacle of the sport while others have perished on the undercards. OK, too much drama. MMA is a fairly young sport. Around 20 ye…

MMA is a serious sport. It requires more discipline and respect than any other sport. Some have reached the pinnacle of the sport while others have perished on the undercards. 

OK, too much drama. 

MMA is a fairly young sport. Around 20 years ago, several promotions formed—most notably Pancrase, Pride and of course the UFC. In these promotions, stars were produced who have gone on to become legends and idols to legions of adoring fans.

However, only a few fighters possessed the ability of being exceptional showmen and entertainers. Stars like Rampage Jackson possessed the ability to make people laugh, and in a sport that is as serious as MMA, that is an important quality to have.

So sit back and take a look at the lighter side of MMA as I present to you the funniest stars in the MMA world.

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Rampage Jackson and the 15 Funniest Stars in MMA History (with Video)

MMA is a serious sport. It requires more discipline and respect than any other sport. Some have reached the pinnacle of the sport while others have perished on the undercards. OK, too much drama. MMA is a fairly young sport. Around 20 ye…

MMA is a serious sport. It requires more discipline and respect than any other sport. Some have reached the pinnacle of the sport while others have perished on the undercards. 

OK, too much drama. 

MMA is a fairly young sport. Around 20 years ago, several promotions formed—most notably Pancrase, Pride and of course the UFC. In these promotions, stars were produced who have gone on to become legends and idols to legions of adoring fans.

However, only a few fighters possessed the ability of being exceptional showmen and entertainers. Stars like Rampage Jackson possessed the ability to make people laugh, and in a sport that is as serious as MMA, that is an important quality to have.

So sit back and take a look at the lighter side of MMA as I present to you the funniest stars in the MMA world.

Begin Slideshow

Is Judging Ruining MMA? 3 Ways to Improve the Quality of Judging in MMA

MMA is not a sport for the faint-hearted. It requires an immense level of skill, discipline, respect and years of hard work and training. MMA has its origins in Ancient Greece and since then, it has evolved into a very popular sport with a strong …

MMA is not a sport for the faint-hearted. It requires an immense level of skill, discipline, respect and years of hard work and training. 

MMA has its origins in Ancient Greece and since then, it has evolved into a very popular sport with a strong following and the sport continues to evolve. For example, it has only been eighteen years since UFC 1, when dirty tactics were allowed (with the exception of biting, eye gouging and small joint manipulation). Since then, the UFC has evolved significantly to ensure the protection of fighters and to make the sport a more enjoyable spectacle to watch.

As the sport has evolved, we have seen legends produced in numerous promotions. For example, Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture and Mirko Cro Cop are three of the biggest names in the world of MMA.

Sold out arenas, beautiful ringside girls and a legion of loyal fans and many more are all associated with this sport.

However, there is one aspect of this great sport that has the potential to ruin careers and affect how much we fans enjoy this sport. Judging.

I have one word for the state of judging in MMA. Abysmal. Many talented fighters are having their records and reputations destroyed at the hands of judges. The judging in UFC 131 was a prime example of absolutely terrible judging. Michihiro Omigawa lost a decision that many, including the president of the UFC, believed Omigawa to have won. In fact, the judging in that fight was so bad that Dana White actually awarded Omigawa a win bonus.

As a fan, I think that the sport of MMA is being tarnished by judges who don’t know the sport and I know I speak for all of us when I say that we want to see a change. Here are three ways that the judging of this great sport can be improved.

Also, this is my first article, so any feedback is welcome.

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