Author: Nedu Obi

UFC on FOX 3: Should the Winner of Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller Get a Title Shot?

At UFC on FOX 3, Nate Diaz and Jim Miller are slated to lock horns for a chance to move further up the lightweight rankings. However, neither fighter deserves a shot at UFC gold, even with this win on his record. That honor should be bestowed upon Anth…

At UFC on FOX 3, Nate Diaz and Jim Miller are slated to lock horns for a chance to move further up the lightweight rankings. However, neither fighter deserves a shot at UFC gold, even with this win on his record. That honor should be bestowed upon Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.

That said, with UFC President Dana White recently suggesting a title tilt is in the offing should Diaz triumph, that just might be the case; however, that’s not so for Miller, as one or two more wins is the requisite number to challenge for the 155-pound crown.

Still, regardless of what the promotion’s supremo has voiced, the Diaz thumbs up is the wrong decision to make.

Miller (21-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for sure shouldn’t even get a sniff at the title right now—he had the opportunity to vie for the belt, but came unstuck against current 155-pound title-holder Benson Henderson, thus scuppering his immediate championship aspirations. And despite defeating Melvin Guillard, succeeding in derailing Diaz, too, still doesn’t justify a title shot.

Conversely, I believe if Diaz (15-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC), who is currently riding a two-fight win streak with victories over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone, defeats Miller, one more win will suffice for the lightweight Holy Grail.

Prior to the aforementioned successes, the Stockton, Calif., native was 0-2, losing to Kim Dong-Hyun and Rory McDonald.

Now, Pettis (15 -2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defeated Henderson to capture the WEC lightweight title, and even though he lost on his UFC debut to Clay Guida, he quickly rectified that with wins against Jeremy Stephens and Joe Lauzon.

If any of the top-10-ranked fighters in that weight class deserve a shot at the winner of Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar, Showtime is the man.

Diaz or Miller for the championship is a non-starter.

 

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Anderson Silva Upset at Las Vegas Venue, but Says He’ll Beat Sonnen Wherever

Undisputed UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) middleweight titlist Anderson Silva, was none too pleased when UFC President Dana White informed him that his highly anticipated rematch with arch-nemesis Chael Sonnen would have to be moved from the orig…

Undisputed UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) middleweight titlist Anderson Silva, was none too pleased when UFC President Dana White informed him that his highly anticipated rematch with arch-nemesis Chael Sonnen would have to be moved from the original location of Rio, Brazil, to the MGM Grand, Las Vegas Nev.

However, he says he’ll beat Sonnen wherever the fight takes place.

For 75 minutes, the Zuffa-based promotions head-honcho White, did his best to persuade “The Spider,” that as Rio de Janeiro was a non-starter due to conflicting interests, Sin City would be the next best place to hold MMA’s (Mixed Martial Arts) ultimate grudge match.

White stated that because of events happening on June 23, the same day as the proposed UFC 147 show, Rio wouldn’t have the basic structures requisite for the event to take place.

Original quotes reported by Fightersonlymag.com: “There wouldn‘t have been enough hotel rooms.”

Initially, Silva was obdurate on his stance that the fight should transpire in Brazil—his reasons—Sonnen had disrespected not only him and his countrymen, but also his family.

“He deserves to taught a lesson here, I owe this to my people”, Silva said.

However, White wasn’t budging either.

“If there is no way how to make the event in a stadium, it has to be in Las Vegas,” White said.

Though once White had sold him the idea of the benefits regarding the fight (UFC 148) taking place in the United States on Independence weekend (July 7), as well as ensuring Silva garnered a respectable percentage of the pay-per-view revenue, it was nearly a done deal.

Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) had one last question to ask the UFC supremo, before the deal was officially sealed.

“Okay, so tell me – what do you want from me?”

“I want you go to Las Vegas and perform well, make it a great fight,” White replied. Silva’s response was:“If it has to be like this, I will beat this guy wherever. He deserves a lesson.”

With an affirmative from the UFC’s most successful combatant, White was ecstatic.

Silva was the “perfect UFC ambassador in Brazil” and “is the best fighter ever made in MMA—today everybody talks about Jon Jones but for me you are the best by far,” White said.

 

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Chael Sonnen Gets Brazilian Treatment: Shock Pen Prank and Aggressive Reporters

Chael Sonnen was the recipient of a shock pen prank whilst being hounded by aggressive reporters on his recent trip to Brazil to promote his upcoming UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 148 title rematch against Anderson “The Spider” Silva…

Chael Sonnen was the recipient of a shock pen prank whilst being hounded by aggressive reporters on his recent trip to Brazil to promote his upcoming UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 148 title rematch against Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

UFC President Dana White, who was also in tow, witnessed firsthand the Sonnen drama unfold, and this is his take on the scenes which could be scripted for a Hollywood movie.

Original quotes reported by MMAMania.com:

We had proper security with us. We had like seven guys with us. These are guys that mapped out the whole route. We literally landed at the airport in Rio, a shuttle took us through customs, jumped on helicopters and the helicopters took us right to the hotel. I came through the front door. We put him (Sonnen) through a side door. We had him in a holding room. We went down to the press conference and he had a scrum. The reporters were getting really aggressive with him at the scrum. Somebody got him with shock pen and all kinds of stuff like that. He went out the side door. I went out the front door. Helicopters took us back. We got on a plane and got him out of there. I wanted to make sure we got in and out and got him safe. I’m still getting texts, ‘Did you and Sonnen get out of Brazil alive last night? I haven’t heard from you. Give me an update.’ I made him (Sonnen) ride in a different car than me.

Prior to and after his first unsuccessful tilt at Silva’s middleweight crown back at UFC 117, Sonnen, the 35-year-old Oregon native has been nothing short of a continuous thorn in the Brazilian’s side—he’s called him out on numerous occasions and questioned his manliness and to boot took a swipe at his family.

Furthermore, the former NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I standout has disrespected the Brazilian denizens as well as some of its most famous MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) exports—The Nogueira brothers—Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogério, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo.

Whether it’s divine intervention that the original event—UFC 147 in Brazil—has been moved to UFC 148 in Las Vegas is anyone’s guess. Still, on July 7 Sonnen (27-11 record in the MMA, 6-4 in the UFC ) will be vying for UFC gold against a man who has the hopes of Brazil resting firmly on his shoulders.

 

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Chuck Liddel Would Consider a Return to the Octagon, But Only to Fight Jon Jones

Retired (Ultimate Fighting Championship) stalwart Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell would consider returning to the Octagon, but only for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight crown currently held by the division’s supreme kingpin, Jon “…

Retired (Ultimate Fighting Championship) stalwart Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell would consider returning to the Octagon, but only for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight crown currently held by the division’s supreme kingpin, Jon “Bones” Jones.

Original quotes reported by MMAMania.com

“The only thing that would even make me think about it is if they gave me a shot at the title. So, we’ll see. For now? Yeah. Jon Jones. I don’t wanna come back as a sideshow. It’s just one of those things. It’s not something I wanna do,” Liddell said.

Save for Tito Ortiz, who has five title defenses, Liddell and Frank Shamrock share the distinction of being the only two fighters in the company’s history to have had the pleasure of successfully defending the 205-pound belt on four separate occasions.

In his heyday, the Californian native was one of the most, if not the most recognizable faces associated with MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the Zuffa-based outfit.

En route to usurping the light heavyweight title from Randy “The Natural” Couture, Liddell had defeated the likes of Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral, Alistair Overeem and Ortiz.

However, in May of 2007 at UFC 71—defending his title for a fifth time against Quinton Jackson—the once-formidable Iceman would encounter the first of four devastating and cataclysmic losses.

A split decision defeat to Keith Jardine followed thereafter, though he did redeem himself of sorts with a win over Wanderlei Silva, the writing was on the wall—three concussive knockouts at the hands of Rashad Evans, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rich Franklin all but sent him into retirement.

Liddell’s inability to take a punch in the final stages of his career (something he readily admits to) and his penchant for standing and banging are a few of the reasons which hastened his demise.

You know, it was a hard decision to make, to retire, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t compete with guys. I can’t quite take a punch like I used to and I didn’t wanna change my style. I could start wrestling and try to control guys, but then I still got the chance of getting hit hard. It just wasn’t the way I wanted to fight. I fought so many years, and I wanted to go out fighting the way I like to fight: exciting and fun.

If the future UFC Hall of Famer is tempted out of retirement for another shot at UFC gold, he’ll have his work cut out, as Jones has destroyed everything in his path—not to mention four former champions in Rua, Jackson, Lyoto Machida and, most recently, “Suga” Rashad at UFC 145.

Whether that fight transpires or not, the 42-year-old Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC) has a lot of respect for the 24-year-old phenom. However, even though Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) has never been legitimately defeated, Liddell believes, tough as it may be, it’s a feat that can be achieved.

I’ll never say never. Not in this sport. Anybody can lose at any time. If he keeps doing what he does, he’s gonna be hard to beat if he keeps doing what he’s doing. He follows his game plan. He trains hard. He keeps learning. He’s young and he’s athletic and a great athlete. He’s a great guy. He’s gonna be hard to beat, but I’m never gonna say no one’s gonna beat him.

 

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Will MMA Ever Eclipse Soccer?

MMA is the fasting growing sport in the world today and is rapidly garnering attention that it rightly deserves, but to mention MMA in the same breath as soccer, and to believe it will ever eclipse one of the oldest and best loved sporting games is a n…

MMA is the fasting growing sport in the world today and is rapidly garnering attention that it rightly deserves, but to mention MMA in the same breath as soccer, and to believe it will ever eclipse one of the oldest and best loved sporting games is a non-starter.

The bottom line is this: MMA will never ever eclipse soccer, not in this lifetime or the next.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship for almost two decades has been near enough the forerunner of professional mixed martial arts—absorbing promotions like PRIDE, Strikeforce and WEC, which has given them a tight rein over the industry.

The Zuffa-based promotion is continuously working tooth and nail to reach their niche audience (18-34 year-olds), and will continue to do so in the future.

Furthermore, the UFC on FOX deal (free television viewing) which also incorporates UFC on Fuel TV and UFC on FX is all part of expanding the UFC brand.

At present, the average attendance figures for UFC events range from 10,000 to 20,000, and to date, UFC 129: St. Pierre vs. Shields has had the highest number of attendees—55,000-plus, however, that event took place in St. Pierre’s native Canada.

That said, the aforementioned numbers pales into significance what football teams like Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United pull in (an average of 70,000 a game) playing 19-to-20 home games a season.

Now consider the fact that the UFC puts on between 20-to-30-plus shows annually, and even if ever other MMA promotion and/or top promotions like Bellator, Dream, Bamma and M-1 were added into the mix, they still couldn’t contend with those footballing figures.

There are over 500 top-flight football clubs in Europe alone, not to mention South America, Asia and Africa. Needless to say, it would be a sporting massacre if the inclusion of the low-to-mid-tier teams were brought into the equation.

Soccer/football is more than global, it’s an institution—it’s eaten, lived and breathed from the earliest of ages, and to assume MMA or any practiced sport on planet earth will or could ever eclipse it, is a no-brainer—it shall never happen.

 

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4 Things Jon Jones Must Do to Become the Greatest of All-Time

Jon “Bones” Jones burst on to the MMA scene in April of 2008, and henceforth has wrecked shop on the light heavyweight division. At 23, he became the youngest ever UFC champion when he destroyed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128,…

Jon “Bones” Jones burst on to the MMA scene in April of 2008, and henceforth has wrecked shop on the light heavyweight division. At 23, he became the youngest ever UFC champion when he destroyed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, and he hasn’t looked back since.

He presently has the prestige of No. 3 ranked fighter in the MMA stratosphere, and is fast closing in on long-time reigning pound-for-pound kings Anderson “The Spider” Silva and welterweight titlist Georges “Rush” St-Pierre.

That said, with age and time (to hone his skill set) on his side, he now has the opportunity to surpass the aforementioned combatants and go down in MMA folklore as the greatest of all-time.

However, there are a number of things he has to accomplish before he can reach that lofty height.

Here’s Jon Jones’ path to greatness.

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