Author: Nathan McCarter

UFC Fight Night 77 Results: Real Winners and Losers at Belfort vs. Henderson 3

UFC traveled back to Brazil for its 77th Fight Night event, and the Sao Paulo crowd was treated to a night full of action.
In the main event, Vitor Belfort knocked Dan Henderson out for a second time.
Belfort connected with a head kick that hurt Hender…

UFC traveled back to Brazil for its 77th Fight Night event, and the Sao Paulo crowd was treated to a night full of action.

In the main event, Vitor Belfort knocked Dan Henderson out for a second time.

Belfort connected with a head kick that hurt Henderson, and in classic Belfort fashion he swarmed with phenomenal killer instinct. Henderson’s arms went stiff, and referee Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the bout. It was a big win for Belfort, who hopes to move back into title contention.

That wasn’t all.

Glover Teixeira got a second straight victory when he got the TKO stoppage over Patrick Cummins in the second round. The former light heavyweight contender ends his 2015 campaign by putting his name back in the mix at 205 pounds.

Hot prospect Thomas Almeida continued his ascent up the ranks with a knockout of Anthony Birchak in the first round. The highlight-reel KO only makes Almeida all the more palatable to fans as he inches closer to title contention at 135 pounds.

There were plenty of finishes to enjoy, and a few back-and-forth scraps entertained for 15 minutes. But who walked out of Sao Paulo as the real winners and losers? That’s what I am here to break down for you. 

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Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson 3: A Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Two rivals square off in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night 77 on Saturday when old lions Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson clash.
No. 4-ranked middleweight Belfort returned from a long layoff earlier this year when he met Chris Weidman at UF…

Two rivals square off in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night 77 on Saturday when old lions Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson clash.

No. 4-ranked middleweight Belfort returned from a long layoff earlier this year when he met Chris Weidman at UFC 187, but his bid for the title ended in less than three minutes. No. 12-ranked Henderson is just 2-5 in his last seven bouts. Yet this fight remains meaningful.

The third fight in this series will keep the winner in the mix at 185 pounds and likely signal the end of the road for the loser. High stakes, indeed.

The two former champions first met in 2006 at Pride 32, where Henderson won a decision victory. They collided again seven years later at UFC Fight Night 32, where Belfort knocked out Hendo.

How will the third fight go?

This is your head-to-toe breakdown for the Belfort-Henderson trilogy that comes to a close this weekend in Brazil.

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Glover Teixeira vs. Patrick Cummins: A Head-to-Toe Breakdown

The UFC returns to your television screens this weekend, and all eyes are on the third matchup between Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson. Going a bit unnoticed, however, is a top-10 light heavyweight tilt.
The co-main event between No. 4-ranked Glover Te…

The UFC returns to your television screens this weekend, and all eyes are on the third matchup between Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson. Going a bit unnoticed, however, is a top-10 light heavyweight tilt.

The co-main event between No. 4-ranked Glover Teixeira and No. 9-ranked Patrick Cummins is arguably the most significant and meaningful bout on the card.

After dropping back-to-back fights against Jon Jones and Phil Davis, Teixeira bounced back in August with a submission win over Ovince Saint Preux in Nashville, Tennessee. The Brazilian gets to defend his home turf this weekend against his American opponent.

Cummins returned to action in August and upended Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante by third-round TKO. This will be his second consecutive trip to Brazil, so the hostile territory should not come into play.

How do these two size up against one another, and who will come out on top? Let’s take a look at the head-to-toe breakdown for Saturday’s co-main event. 

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Forced off TUF 22 Finale vs. Tony Ferguson with Injured Rib

The Ultimate Fighter 22 finale took a bit of a ding early Friday morning when MMAFighting.com reported that Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0) was forced out of his bout against Tony Ferguson (19-3).
The lightweight fight had major title implications. Nurmagom…

The Ultimate Fighter 22 finale took a bit of a ding early Friday morning when MMAFighting.com reported that Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0) was forced out of his bout against Tony Ferguson (19-3).

The lightweight fight had major title implications. Nurmagomedov is ranked as the No. 3 contender, and Ferguson comes in at No. 8. Nurmagomedov was knocking on the door to a title shot following a dominant performance over now-UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos in 2014, but injuries have plagued his attempt to capture gold.

An injured rib will sideline Nurmagomedov from a possible title eliminator.

There is no word on how long the injury will keep him on the outside looking in, but after a couple knee surgeries and more than a year away from active competition, this is another crushing blow to the stellar lightweight.

If you are searching for a silver lining, the report claims sources are saying the UFC are tabbing No. 6-ranked contender Edson Barboza (16-3) as Nurmagomedov’s replacement for the event. That potential fight would also have major title implications at 155 pounds.

Barboza is 3-1 in his last four bouts, with the loss coming to Michael Johnson in February. Ferguson, on the other hand, is riding a six-fight win streak into the event.

Champion Rafael dos Anjos defends the title on December 19 in Orlando against No. 2-ranked contender Donald Cerrone. The timing would put the winner of Barboza vs. Ferguson in prime position to announce himself as the next rightful challenger.

The Ultimate Fighter 22 finale will take place on December 11 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Headlining the event is the featherweight title eliminator between Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes.

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Calderwood Out, Namajunas in vs. Paige VanZant at UFC Fight Night 80

There is a new opponent for No. 6-ranked contender Paige VanZant (6-1) on December 10, and it is No. 3-ranked Rose Namajunas (3-2).

No. 8-ranked Joanne Calderwood was originally slated for the main event position, but Fox Sports reports that an injury…

There is a new opponent for No. 6-ranked contender Paige VanZant (6-1) on December 10, and it is No. 3-ranked Rose Namajunas (3-2).

No. 8-ranked Joanne Calderwood was originally slated for the main event position, but Fox Sports reports that an injury suffered in training camp forced her off the card. Credit goes to the UFC for not only finding a suitable replacement but arguably giving fans a more exciting matchup.

Namajunas started her career 2-0 in Invicta FC before losing her final bout in the organization to Tecia Torres. She was signed as part of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 that would crown the first-ever strawweight champion for the company. She flourished by beating Alex Chambers, Joanne Calderwood and Randa Markos all via submission. She would lose her title match to Carla Esparza.

That was the season where Paige VanZant was not allowed to join the cast due to age restrictions, but she made an impact of her own when she debuted against Kailin Curran. VanZant quickly gained a lot of fan support to become one of the most talked about prospects. VanZant picked up two more wins in the Octagon to move to 3-0 under the UFC’s banner.

The new main event will test both prospects and propel the victor into title contention no matter how ready they are for it.

There will be a lot at stake in this contest, and we will learn a lot more about their progression as fighters. It is an intriguing stylistic clash between two of the brightest youngsters in the UFC.

The bout will be the first non-title strawweight main event in UFC history.

The December 10 main event takes place at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan on UFC Fight Pass. Bleacher Report will have complete coverage of the proceedings as the UFC stages three cards on consecutive days ending with UFC 194.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor and Cody Garbrandt Nearly Come to Blows on ‘TUF’

Did you miss The Ultimate Fighter this past week? If so, you missed an interesting altercation between Conor McGregor and Team Alpha Male’s Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt.
McGregor was doing what he does best: talk. He was yapping to Faber about T.J. …

Did you miss The Ultimate Fighter this past week? If so, you missed an interesting altercation between Conor McGregor and Team Alpha Male’s Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt.

McGregor was doing what he does best: talk. He was yapping to Faber about T.J. Dillashaw. The trash talk that was being spewed seems a lot more interesting after Dillashaw‘s exit from the gym. McGregor called Dillashaw a “snake in the grass” and claimed that he took Faber’s title and coach (Duane Ludwig).

The words got more heated when the Team Alpha Male fighters questioned why McGregor wasn’t saying this to Dillashaw‘s face as he was in the building. That wouldn’t stop the Irish star from continuing and asking where he was so that he could say it to his face.

The featherweight champion was egging on the Team Alpha Male crew with his barbs, and eventually Garbrandt had heard enough. Garbrandt, an undefeated bantamweight prospect, responded to McGregor‘s call of if he was going to do something about the talk, and he shoved McGregor. As expected, the altercation was swiftly broken up by the fighters surrounding the two.

There does not appear to be any lasting ill-will from Garbrandt. He said on the TUF Talk podcast (h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports): “To be honest, I can’t say at the end of the experience of TUF that I hated the guy. I don’t hate the guy at all. Some of the s–t he was saying was funny.”

Ultimately, McGregor is in a higher weight classification than Faber, Garbrandt, and Dillashaw. It’s not likely we see him take on any of his TUF counterparts in the near future if at all, but at least they provided the show with some quality entertainment.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com