Author: Nathan McCarter

UFC 160: Mark Hunt Rallies for Shot at Junior dos Santos

The rallying can now cease for Mark Hunt, as he will indeed get his shot at Junior dos Santos at UFC 160. Dana White confirmed the fight to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com Saturday morning. The original co-main event for UFC 160 was scheduled to be Al…

The rallying can now cease for Mark Hunt, as he will indeed get his shot at Junior dos Santos at UFC 160.

Dana White confirmed the fight to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com Saturday morning.

The original co-main event for UFC 160 was scheduled to be Alistair Overeem vs. Dos Santos, but Overeem had to drop out of the bout due to injury. Hunt immediately threw his name out there as a potential replacement.

White tweeted to fans who were asking about the possibility of Hunt vs. Dos Santos that it was unlikely. White claimed the company was seeking a summer date for the originally scheduled bout between Overeem and Dos Santos. It seemed like the hope for Hunt’s biggest fight to date was dead.

Then a late-night tweet on Thursday cracked the door open to shine a glimmer of hope back on this exciting fight.

Dos Santos will indeed fight the former K-1 world champion at UFC 160.

Hunt has had a hell of a ride to get this marquee bout.

From 2006 to 2010 Hunt suffered six straight losses. Five of those six losses came by submission. Now, Hunt is riding a four-fight win streak, with three KO/TKO finishes, into the Octagon on May 25 to battle the No. 1-ranked heavyweight in the official UFC rankings.

Hunt’s most recent TKO win (over Stefan Struve) moved him to No. 9 in the rankings.

Dos Santos is coming off his first UFC loss. At UFC 155 he dropped the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Cain Velasquez by unanimous decision.

The winner of Hunt vs. Dos Santos will have the best claim to the next title shot against the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. That UFC Heavyweight Championship tilt is the main event of UFC 160.

Hunt vs. Dos Santos looks like heavyweight fireworks on paper and will serve as the perfect lead-in to the main event of the evening. The top of the card will almost surely give us two exciting contests and determine the next heavyweight title matchup.

UFC 160 takes place on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on pay-per-view.

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Nick Diaz vs. Anderson Silva Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Anderson Silva is the topic of nearly all superfight requests. His name is continually thrown out when naming potential opponents for Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones. However, GSP has not been vocal about wanting that fight.Nick Diaz thinks he should …

Anderson Silva is the topic of nearly all superfight requests. His name is continually thrown out when naming potential opponents for Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones. However, GSP has not been vocal about wanting that fight.

Nick Diaz thinks he should be, and said if he were in his position that is the fight he would go after.

As recently as this past November, Cesar Gracie claimed Silva’s camp was interested in this particular fight. Although, no official word has come from the Silva camp itself.

Diaz vs. Silva would surely get the MMA community interested. Diaz, a former Strikeforce welterweight champion, would not back down or run away from the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the pre-fight antics might be worth the price of admission alone.

The fight currently looks unlikely, but should Diaz get past GSP, it could be on the horizon. If so, this is how the fight breaks down between two of the best in the business today.

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UFC on FX 8 Confirms 14 More Fighters for Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold Card

UFC on FX 8, headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold, got some much needed additions to the fight card. The already announced co-main event of the evening is another important middleweight clash. Strikeforce veteran Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on…

UFC on FX 8, headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold, got some much needed additions to the fight card.

The already announced co-main event of the evening is another important middleweight clash. Strikeforce veteran Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on Costa Philippou in a meeting of Top-10 185-pound fighters.

The UFC recently announced seven additional bouts for the card. Each of the bouts features at least one Brazilian.

“This is the fourth Brazilian state that we have the joy of visiting and another great achievement for the UFC,” said Grace Tourinho, spokesperson for UFC in Brazil. “Brazilian fans still have many good things to expect from us in 2013, including live events, the next season of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil and the opening of a UFC headquarters in the country.”

Three of the seven bouts take place in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham, Francisco Trinaldo vs. Mike Rio and Gleison Tibau vs. John Cholish all look to make moves at 155 pounds.

In Dunham’s most recent outing, he defeated Gleison Tibau by split decision. Now he will look to potentially crack into the Top 10 of the UFC’s official rankings when he meets the eighth-ranked dos Anjos. It is the evening’s most significant lightweight scrap.

Middleweights Cezar Ferreira and CB Dollaway battle inside the Octagon in what will be Dollaway’s second straight bout in Brazil. He defeated The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil standout Daniel Sarafian in January by split decision.

Flyweights get in on the action when John Lineker and Azamat Gashimov exchange leather. Gashimov lost his UFC debut to Ivan Menjivar by tapout, and now he drops to 125 pounds against the heavy-handed Brazilian. Lineker rebounded from his UFC debut loss by defeating Yasuhiro Urushitani last November. An impressive showing by either man would rocket them up the flyweight ladder.

Paulo Thiago returns to the cage for the first time since suffering his second consecutive loss, a decision to Dong Hyun Kim, to take on Lance Benoist. Also, Fabio Maldonado and Roger Hollett meet in a light heavyweight fight.

The additional seven scraps make nine total fights for the card.

UFC on FX 8 comes to you from Santa Catarina, Brazil on May 18, live on FX.

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Rally for Mark Hunt Ends Quickly as Dana Says JDS vs. Overeem Likely for Summer

Alistair Overeem was forced off the UFC 160 co-main event due to an injury, and popular opinion was that Mark Hunt should get the chance to take on Junior dos Santos in his place. Those hopes were dashed in less than 24 hours when UFC President Dana Wh…

Alistair Overeem was forced off the UFC 160 co-main event due to an injury, and popular opinion was that Mark Hunt should get the chance to take on Junior dos Santos in his place.

Those hopes were dashed in less than 24 hours when UFC President Dana White tweeted that the matchup is unlikely, and the organization is looking at a summer date for the originally scheduled bout.

Hunt moved up to No. 9 in the official UFC Rankings after his knockout performance over Stefan Struve. A win over Dos Santos would have given him five straight victories and a compelling argument for a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It would have been a remarkable storyline entering the fight with Dos Santos.

Hunt told MMAFighting.com that he was “down” to fight the powerful striker.

Ana Guedes, Dos Santos’ attorney and representative, told B/R’s Damon Martin that her client’s position is, “I don’t choose my opponents.  So if they choose for me to fight Overeem and I have to wait so be it and if they decide there’s another guy I should fight, then bring it on.”

Social media was alive and well with support for the potential Hunt vs. Dos Santos tilt. The support even came from current UFC fighters. Unfortunately, it looks like that fight is dead.

The good news, however, is that Overeem and Dos Santos will still meet.

Summer will get another prime-time fight now that the highly anticipated heavyweight fight has been pushed back. This has been a fight a long time in the making. The first time it looked to happen, Overeem tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone.

After each man lost their most recent bouts, the stars aligned once again for the two powerful strikers to meet. Then Overeem pulled out due to the aforementioned injury. Instead of finding a replacement for Overeem, the UFC will move the fight back to make sure they capitalize on the opportunity.

It is unfortunate that Hunt will not get the chance to pull off another upset in his remarkable comeback story, but the heavyweight fight fans have been asking for is still on for the summer. A brutal finish is still in the cards when Overeem and Dos Santos exchange leather this summer.

No date for the bout has been set at this time.

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Jose Aldo vs Benson Henderson Head to Toe Breakdown

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will put his title on the line against Anthony Pettis in early August. The winner of the fight will earn themselves a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship.Currently, Benson Henderson stands atop the lightweight …

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will put his title on the line against Anthony Pettis in early August. The winner of the fight will earn themselves a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Currently, Benson Henderson stands atop the lightweight mountain. He defends his title against Gilbert Melendez on April 20 in San Jose.

Both fights are evenly matched bouts that could see the champions lose their title, but let’s project that chalk holds and Aldo and Henderson prevail. Those two would meet in late 2013 in a high-profile fight between two of the pound-for-pound best fighters.

Here is how a lightweight tilt between these two champions breaks down.

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Why Is the UFC OK with Some Superfights, but Not Others?

Benson Henderson, the UFC lightweight champion, wants to fight Georges St. Pierre in the future, but UFC President Dana White is not having it.As 2013 is setting up to be the year of the superfight, it is interesting to know why some fighters are picke…

Benson Henderson, the UFC lightweight champion, wants to fight Georges St. Pierre in the future, but UFC President Dana White is not having it.

As 2013 is setting up to be the year of the superfight, it is interesting to know why some fighters are picked for those bouts, and others are stuck in their own divisions. Henderson is the perfect example of why some fighters are left on the outside.

In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com, Henderson was adamant about being able to call out other top fighters.

“I want to fight in the biggest fights and against the best fighters,” he continued. “Georges St. Pierre is one of the greatest fighters in our sport’s history. Of course I’d love to fight him, and I think the fans would want to see that fight too. It would be an honor to go up against such a great competitor, especially with a title on the line.”

It was on UFC Tonight that White shot the idea of that down:

“That’s not going to happen. He won just that title not too long ago. There are plenty of guys in the 155 division to defend that title against, and a possible fight with Aldo if he moves up to 155.”

Why is Henderson being immediately dismissed in the discussion of superfights? There are two major reasons. Dana White mentioned one, but the other went unsaid.

First, White is correct. Henderson is a new lightweight champion who has a plethora of fighters waiting to challenge him at 155 pounds.

Henderson has only fought Frankie Edgar and Nate Diaz for the title, and next up will be Gilbert Melendez. If he gets past Melendez, the winner of Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis seems to be next after that. Henderson’s got a full schedule ahead of him.

The three fighters always discussed on the topic of superfights are GSP, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. Those three men have practically cleared out their divisions, and have openings to take on the extra marquee bout.

However, the biggest reason Henderson has not been mentioned for possible superfights is left unsaid. He is not a draw.

Henderson is a fantastic and exciting fighter, but he has yet to connect with the fans that purchase pay-per-view telecasts. The UFC has begun trying to help his case by putting him on their largest platform, FOX.

When Henderson met Edgar in their rematch at UFC 150, the buyrate failed to crack 200,000. Numbers that low are not going to enthuse the UFC brass to put Henderson atop more PPV events. Superfights between Anderson Silva and GSP or Jon Jones will be potentially the biggest shows in company history. Henderson cannot come close to that right now.

The combination of the deep lightweight division and Henderson’s inability to excite the fanbase is why he is not in the discussion for big-money fights.

In another year’s time, perhaps he will have defeated the growing list of contenders in his division and fans will want to see him challenge for the welterweight strap in a superfight. He has everything fans should want in a top draw. After his second FOX fight, perhaps things will change for the lightweight champion.

Time will tell, but as of right now, Henderson is not in a position to be in a superfight.

He is not a superstar yet, and drawing power will ultimately determine the fighters who are selected for these huge fights. Fighters that can prove their ability to sell an event will move to the front of the pack for unprecedented paychecks in historic bouts.

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