Author: Nedu Obi

UFC 146: If Cain Velasquez Defeats Frank Mir, Does He Deserve a Title Shot?

Former UFC heavyweight titlist Cain Velasquez is slated to face off against another former champ in the guise of Frank Mir at UFC 146. However, if Velasquez defeats the latter come fight night, then he does deserve to be next in line for a title shot. …

Former UFC heavyweight titlist Cain Velasquez is slated to face off against another former champ in the guise of Frank Mir at UFC 146. However, if Velasquez defeats the latter come fight night, then he does deserve to be next in line for a title shot.

In October of 2010, Velasquez brutally wrestled the heavyweight championship belt from Brock Lesnar’s grasp—nevertheless, a torn rotator cuff sustained in the bout prevented him from immediately defending the belt and thus kept him on the sidelines for almost a year.

By the time he was ready to come back to the fold, Velasquez had to contend not only with an injury that could reoccur at any time, but also with cage rust, the latter of which I believe was a catalyst in Junior dos Santos decimating him in the opening stanza of their UFC on FOX 1 main-event clash.

Velasquez is currently ranked No. 3 in the MMA heavyweight class, while Mir is No. 4. If Mir is victorious, it should warrant his installment as the No. 1 contender to the UFC heavyweight crown.

Furthermore, with the status quo of the division, there isn’t any one heavyweight who is deserved of a tilt at the title right now.

No. 5-ranked Shane Carwin, whose last two defeats came at the hands of Lesnar and Santos, is out of action until mid-2012.

Former Strikeforce resident Fabricio Werdum, who recently defeated Roy Nelson in his second stint for the Zuffa-based organization, would make a great candidate. However, he hasn’t done enough yet to merit a shot at UFC gold—two more victories and then he’s back in the mix.

The likes of Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira and Antonio “Big Foot” Silva don’t even justify a mention.

At present, Velasquez (9-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is the only fighter on the UFC roster who deserves a title shot if he upends Mir on May 26 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nev.

 

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Fedor Emelianenko: 10 UFC Fights for ‘The Last Emperor’

If recent reports that have surfaced are true, erstwhile PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko might be making his way to the gates of the UFC in the not-too-distant future. The once “Baddest Man on the Plane…

If recent reports that have surfaced are true, erstwhile PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko might be making his way to the gates of the UFC in the not-too-distant future.

The once “Baddest Man on the Planet” is currently riding a redemptive two-fight win streak against the likes of mid-tier fighters Jeff Monson and Satoshi Ishii.

Prior to those victories, Fedor had encountered something that was more or less alien to him for nigh on a decade—defeat.

In his last trio of outings for San Jose-based organization Strikeforce, the Russian mixed martial artist was to lose all three—one more devastating than the other—a submission loss to Fabricio Werdum and a TKO defeat to Antonio Silva.

However, for the coup de grâce, Fedor was knocked out by Dan Henderson—the first time he’d ever been actually stopped in his storied career (the loss to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka was by of doctor stoppage).

With that said, if Fedor does make it to the UFC, what fights await him?

Let’s take a look.

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Wanderlei Silva: ‘I’m from the Streets and Vitor Belfort Lives in Disneyland’

According to Fightersonlymag.com, Wanderlei Silva says he’s from the streets and fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort lives in Disneyland.
“Each has his own opinion, each can express his own point of view. But I think he lives in his own world. …

According to Fightersonlymag.com, Wanderlei Silva says he’s from the streets and fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort lives in Disneyland.

“Each has his own opinion, each can express his own point of view. But I think he lives in his own world. In his own mind he is right, but for me he lives in Disneyland. But I was born in the real world, I’m from the streets,” he said.

“The guy is a lion when he is doing the hitting – but when he is hit, he shows the fear on his face. I will beat him and I will do it with heart.”

That last time these two met was back in 1998 at UFC Brazil—Belfort was 21 at the time and Silva was 22. Also, both combatants were each 5-1 (all 10 victories coming via stoppage) in their budding mixed martial arts careers.

The fight itself lasted all but 44 seconds of the opening stanza, as the “Phenom” Belfort decimated “The Axe Murderer” in brutal fashion.

Fast forward 14 years, and the pair are set to do it all again, but first they have to complete their stint as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil reality television series.

However, Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has already stoked the flames by taking a swipe at Silva’s supposed fragile chin and his fighting style, which he believes has failed to evolve.

“If he does that (trade with me) I’ll break him again. He no longer has the chin to trade with me. Tell him to change strategies or it’s going to be another knockout,” Belfort said.

The rematch is scheduled to take place at UFC 147 at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in front an expected 80,000 strong crowd.

While Silva (34-11-1-1NC, MMA, 4-6 UFC) is from the town Curitiba, Belfort hails from Rio, and as a result is expected to garner most of crowd’s support, however, Silva believes he’ll have the backing of the Rio contingent as well.

“The cariocas (Rio people) love me. The crowd will all root for me. I am a beloved athlete all over the world. People want to see the show, a good fight and this is what we will do. I am very happy to fight in Rio and I will dedicate the victory to all the people from Rio,” Silva said.

 

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Sound Off on Legalizing MMA in New York

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones and former divisional champ Rashad Evans have joined the calls for MMA (mixed martial arts) to be legalized in the state of New York. Jones and Rashad, who are both natives of New…

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones and former divisional champ Rashad Evans have joined the calls for MMA (mixed martial arts) to be legalized in the state of New York.

Jones and Rashad, who are both natives of New York, are slated to lock horns at UFC 145 in a championship contest that looks to bear all the hallmarks of a grudge match for the ages.

The archrivals are more than content with settling their differences in the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga. However, truth be told, if push came to shove, both combatants would rather have NYC as the backdrop to their main event clash.

That said, “Suga” and “Bones” believe that their matchup will be one of the world’s biggest-ever sporting events—on par with Ali vs. Frazier and any Yankees, Jets or Giants game.

Original quotes reported by the Democrat and Chronicle.

 

Evans

“This fight that we have coming up is going to be equivalent to Ali and Frazier, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in Madison Square Garden,” Evans, a Niagara Falls native, said in a phone interview Thursday. “New York should be getting the money that Atlanta is going to receive.”

 

Jones

“This fight is just as big as any Yankees game, any Jets game, any Giants game,” said Jones, who was born in Rochester, attended high school near Binghamton and now lives in Ithaca. “I’m just wondering when New York is going to open their eyes and realize what we’re missing out on.”

Jones also shared his thoughts on what it would mean to his family and friends if he ever got the opportunity to fight in New York:

It would just mean a lot to say thank you to them for being such strong supporters of UFC and such strong supporters of me personally. To let them see me fight in person I think could be a memorable experience for people.

The biggest stumbling block to the legalization of MMA in New York has come from certain sections of the Culinary Union, who deem the sport barbaric and homophobic. As a result, they have done their damnedest to ensure professional mixed martial arts never sees the light of day in NYC.

However, things have mellowed down a bit, and MMA could be a legalized entity in the not-too-distant future of the Big Apple. That being said, that will probably not be the case in 2012 (continued political wranglings have been hampering the progress), as UFC president Dana White had hoped and guaranteed would happen.

 

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones: 5 MMA Fighters Who Have the Potential to Be the Next Floyd Mayweather

The world of MMA is fast becoming the equivalent of what boxing used to be and to some degree still is—one of the meccas of sporting entertainment. In the pantheon of the sweet science, there are stars, and then there are superstars, and the same…

The world of MMA is fast becoming the equivalent of what boxing used to be and to some degree still is—one of the meccas of sporting entertainment.

In the pantheon of the sweet science, there are stars, and then there are superstars, and the same now applies to professional mixed martial arts.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones’ rise to superstar status has been nothing short of meteoric, and as things stand, he has the potential to mirror some of the achievements of boxing’s own pound-for-pound great Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

Mayweather has several attributes that sets him apart from his peers—skill set, championship pedigree and promotional savvy. That and the fact he’s undefeated in 42 outings in a career spanning almost 16 years.

Apropos MMA, fighters are lucky if they can acquire just two of the aforementioned qualities.

NB Mayweather’s PPV pulling power not included.

With that said, here’s a look at some fighters with the potential to be the next Money May.

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Chael Sonnen: Power Ranking 30 of His Funniest Tweets

In the realm of MMA trash talking, Chael. P Sonnen reigns supreme—from the microphone check one-two diatribes to the ever-growing social media of Twitter. His gift of the gab and penchant for the vocally outrageous has seen him rise from the dept…

In the realm of MMA trash talking, Chael. P Sonnen reigns supreme—from the microphone check one-two diatribes to the ever-growing social media of Twitter.

His gift of the gab and penchant for the vocally outrageous has seen him rise from the depths of MMA obscurity to a fighter come entertainer who is both celebrated and scorned in equal measure.

What Sonnen lacks in his mixed martial arts skill set, he more than makes up for it with his oral eloquence and consummate rhetoric.

An unashamed self-promoter, the Oregon native is the closest and maybe only thing MMA has to professional wrestling dramatics, and he’s milking it for all it’s worth.

Power ranking some of his funniest tweets and a little added humor, I give you “The American Gangster.”

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