According to Fightersonlymag, undisputed UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos intends to KO Alistair Overeem when the pair lock horns at UFC 146.
“The preparation has already begun. I have been training har…
“The preparation has already begun. I have been training hard for the fight and feeling very well. Now it is the moment to become strong to stand the heavy workout and get 100 per cent ready to the fight,” he said.
“I think is the biggest test for my striking. It was not by chance that he [Overeem] was the champion in K-1, that is the greatest striking event in the world. He is a very strong guy but I rely on myself and I look for the knockout in all the fights; I come in to perform. Regardless of if he is good on the feet or not, I will go to knock him out.
“Jiu-jitsu is Plan B. I am a mixed martial artist, I train everything and I am well prepared to fight standing or on the ground. If I think it is necessary to take the bout to the mat, this is going to happen.”
“Cigano” Dos Santos (14-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) won the heavyweight crown in November of 2011 by dispatching Cain Velasquez in the opening stanza of their main event clash at the inaugural UFC on FOX show.
However, Cigano also sustained a knee injury during that fight.
Following successful surgery, it looks like the heavy-hitting Brazilian native Brazil is nearly back to his fighting best.
Meanwhile, Overeem (36-11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a former Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight champion and fellow behemoth, rose to the rank of No. 1 contender after brutally dismantling former MMA fighter Brock Lesnar in a title elimination bout at UFC 141—a contest which was also his debut for the Zuffa-based promotional outfit.
When these two giants of mixed martial arts collide at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas on May 26, Dos Santos will attempt to make a first successful defense of his title, while Overeem will be looking to capture UFC gold in only his second outing for the company.
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UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones is upping the ante in his quest to defend the honor of Greg Jackson’s gym, by beating Rashad Evans in their main event clash at UFC 145. Original quotes reported by MMAmania…
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) light heavyweight titlist Jon Jones is upping the ante in his quest to defend the honor of Greg Jackson’s gym, by beating Rashad Evans in their main event clash at UFC 145.
“One part that is kind of there, I kind of feel like I’m defending kind of like the honor of this team. Rashad’s been badmouthing this team and really calling our team cliché and commercial and just really badmouthing Greg and our program’s loyalty and everything like that. I think he kind of has it all twisted in his own head, feeling as if people betrayed him. And, really, this is a family here and it’s the same program that it’s always been. Yeah, he’s been here longer than me but he doesn’t realize how much a family this team still is. There’s more people on this team than just the UFC fighters. We start from kids, to kids with no money, to kids who can’t speak English, there’s a whole family here. I’m here to defend this family and to defend everything he’s kind of said about us. I feel like me beating him solidifies that this is a program that’s going to live without him.”
The war of words between “Bones” Jones and “Suga” Rashad has slowly been gathering pace in the lead up to their eagerly anticipated and highly-acrimonious showdown, and as things stand neither side is willing to budge an inch.
In a recent interview with UFC.com, the 24-year-old phenom suggested that the former 205-pound champion chagrin towards him was as a result of envy, with regards to his meteoric rise in the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) ranks.
Bones also made it clear that come UFC 145, he intends to put the indigenous New Yorker out of his misery, and in the process earn his respect.
Meanwhile, Evans told UFC.com he believes he has the requisite skill set to unseat the young champion. And to add a little spice to their ongoing hostilities, he tweeted a photo of someone resembling Jones (a Chris Brown fan), only that someone was dolled up all lady-like.
Following his victory against Ryan Bader and as a result of an injury sustained to Evans, Jones (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was installed as the No. 1 contender to then-champion Mauricio Rua, which at the time Evans had no problem with.
Ever since, Evans (17-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) has born a grudge against Jones, so much so that he upped sticks from the aforementioned outfit to train at Imperial Athletics, that and the fact he believed Jackson was favoring Jones over him.
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Chael Sonnen has called Quinton “Rampage” Jackson a crybaby for whimpering about the supposed arduous fights the UFC has been assigning him, according to ESPN.
“I like him, but look, he’s a crybaby,” Sonnen told MMA Uncensored….
Chael Sonnen has called Quinton “Rampage” Jackson a crybaby for whimpering about the supposed arduous fights the UFC has been assigning him, according to ESPN.
“I like him, but look, he’s a crybaby,” Sonnen told MMA Uncensored. “I find it entertaining. I like it when he goes on his campaigns about entitlement and how he should be given easy fights.
“I don’t agree with any of it, but, you’ve got to understand, everybody’s going to stumble, at times.
“But to miss weight at a fight poorly, when you’re paid what he’s paid – he’s the second highest paid fighter in the industry now that Brock Lesnar is retired – it kind of puts him in a different ballpark.
“A lot of things are expected of him and he’s not quite delivering. But as far as retirement talk, the guy ought to be able to have a bad performance here and there. Randy Couture, the greatest of all time, had bad performances, but he always came back.”
Following his unanimous decision loss to Ryan Bader at UFC 144, the former light heavyweight titlist has gone on a rampage (no pun intended), criticising the Zuffa-based hierarchy for his recent spate of defeats and everything else in between.
First, Rampage (32-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) tweeted he was discontented with the status quo of the company and thus would be leaving the firm after his next fight.
He then upped the ante by tweeting he could compete in better fights elsewhere, and as a result, requested that the firm release him from his existing contract. In addition, Rampage took a swipe at Joe Silva, saying the matchmaker should be “shot in the face.”
That said, the former PRIDE combatant is set to honor the aforesaid contract (one last fight) and is scheduled to take a bow when he faces off against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
However, before that fight can materialize, Rampage will have to undergo minor surgery on both of his knees, which suggests his next and final outing for the UFC could transpire sometime later this year.
Though Uncle Chael thinks the 33-year-old Memphis native comes across as a whiner, he was quick to point out that he doesn’t believe Rampage is a cheater, apropos his use of TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy), which Rampage admitted using prior to his bout with Bader.
There’s two things there. If you’re going to associate the guy with TRT, make sure you also associate the fact that it’s legal and it’s not banned.
Second thing with TRT is people are really getting confused. They look at TRT and they’re missing the stuff that really is good. TRT is eight, nine or ten on the list of things they could take to help their careers.
Secondly, any time a person says ‘performance enhancer,’ stop talking to them, because they don’t have the intellect to debate with you.
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The newly crowned women’s Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is fast becoming the female version of Chael. P Sonnen, with regards to intriguing soundbites, overt vocalism and outrageous quotes. Akin to the Oregon n…
The newly crowned women’s Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is fast becoming the female version of Chael. P Sonnen, with regards to intriguing soundbites, overt vocalism and outrageous quotes.
Akin to the Oregon native, Rowdy is a shameless self-promoter with the added ingredient of WWE-style entertainment.
If anything, the 25-year-old’s orotundity was the catalyst in securing a title bout with Meisha Tate after only four professional outings.
Rousey’s emergence on the MMA circuit, and her penchant for shooting from the hip has done women’s MMA the world of good, and to boot, has furthered her celebrity.
That said, here’s a look at the magniloquent Rousey’s best quotes.
Most MMA fans, save for the hardcore contingent, had never heard the name “Brandon Saling” before. However, that all changed when he was featured on the Showtime Extreme undercard of the Strikeforce main event featuring Meisha Tate and Ronda Rousey. On…
Most MMA fans, save for the hardcore contingent, had never heard the name “Brandon Saling” before. However, that all changed when he was featured on the Showtime Extreme undercard of the Strikeforce main event featuring Meisha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
Once word hit the streets that Saling had been charged and convicted for not only domestic violence, but had been pulled up on a more heinous crime of pedophilia, the MMA world was up in arms, and demanded answers as to why he was even considered for a spot in the event, given his past history.
With that in mind, Saling’s transgression put him in the category of worst human beings in MMA.
Needless to say, he isn’t alone in warranting the aforesaid tag, as professional mixed martial arts has had its fair share of despicable characters.
Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva should be more than just locks for induction into the UFC Hall of Fame—they should’ve acquired that prestigious status of resident Hall of Famers sometime ago—like now! At present, there are six e…
Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva should be more than just locks for induction into the UFC Hall of Fame—they should’ve acquired that prestigious status of resident Hall of Famers sometime ago—like now!
At present, there are six ex and/or retired fighters as well as one currently active fighter (Matt Hughes) that have been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame—the others being Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell.
The aforementioned Magnificent Seven have paid their dues to both the UFC and MMA, and have been fittingly bestowed with the honor of Hall of Famer for their accomplishments over the years.
However, “Rush” St. Pierre and “The Spider” Silva are on an equal par with that seven, apropos achievements and everything else that is synonymous with living legends of mixed martial arts.
And as a consequence, have more than earned the right to sit alongside that group in the pantheon of MMA eminence—the UFC Hall of Fame.
Case for immediate induction:
Anderson Silva
On June 26, 2006, the phenom from Brazil set foot into the Octagon for his debut matchup with Chris “The Crippler” Leben, and lo and behold, proceedings were brought to cataclysmic end in 49 seconds of the opening stanza.
That night a star was born—the MMA world stood up and took note.
That was just a taste of what the matrix-esque Spider had brought to the UFC, because less than four months later, he would surpass all expectations and supplant Rich Franklin in brutal fashion, to become middleweight champion of that assemblage.
Era’s are bandied about like confetti these days (think Lyoto Machida era), but in Silva’s case, it was truly the beginning of something exquisitely unique.
At present, no combatant has been able to escape the spinning web of the Spider—Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Franklin (for a second time) and three-division titlist and former NCAA Division-l standout Dan “H-Bomb” Henderson all failed in their quest to oust him.
In his two stints at light heavyweight, Silva thoroughly decimated James Irvin and Forrest Griffin in the opening stanzas.
Chael P. Sonnen thought he had the making of Silva—like countless others, he was wrong—he fell as did Vitor Belfort when he succumbed to an insane front kick and so did Yushin Okami when the Brazilian righted a wrong and sent the Japanese fighter packing.
And even when he wasn’t performing at his mercurial best (Thales Leites and Demian Maia), he still managed to come away triumphant.
His striking is par excellence and his ground game is underrated.
That said, for almost six years, Silva has held sway over the UFC’s 185-pound division, and during all that time, the manner in which he has dispatched and continues to rout his foes, is a melting pot of effortless ease, deadly accuracy and mind-boggling precision.
The 36-year-old’s tenure in the Zuffa-based promotion has seen Silva (31-4 MMA) register nine stoppages, three submissions and two decisions.
A record nine consecutive and successful defenses of middleweight title.
A record 14 consecutive victories.
Longest reigning champion in the history of the UFC.
Unified the UFC middleweight and Pride welterweight titles.
Georges St. Pierre
The Canadian native is widely regarded as the most consummate all-around athlete in the MMA stratosphere and a near enough prototype for next generation of combatants, and for good reason.
St. Pierre possesses the sort of core strength that most fighters in any division cannot even fathom to attain. In addition, he has the ability to change up styles to realize his goals—winning.
And finally, he’s highly adept in a myriad of disciplines—boxing and wrestling, as well as BJJ and kyokushin karate.
The 30-year-old St. Pierre has been a UFC resident since January of 2004. Albeit he was successful in his first two outings, he eventually came unstuck when he contested the welterweight title against Huges in the same year.
However, he would go undefeated for almost two years, defeating the likes of Jason Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, two-division champion B.J.Penn and for the coup de grâce, St. Pierre deposed Hughes as the division’s 170-pound king.
In his first defense of the title he was shockingly dethroned by Matt Serra—still, just under a year he captured not only the interim (Hughes), but also recaptured the title by ruthlessly stopping the man who had initially unseated him from power—Serra.
From that point onwards, St. Pierre (22-2 MMA, 16-2 UFC) has been unstoppable—racking up nine wins in succession.
That list included some of the best that the division had and still has to offer—Josh Koscheck (twice), Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and Jake Shields. He also trounced Hughes, Serra and Penn for a second time.
A record six consecutive and successful welterweight title defenses.
Has 16 wins, the second most in the history of the UFC.
For Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, the missing puzzle to their continuing storied careers is a seat in the UFC Hall of Fame, and that has to happen now!
For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.
According to Fightersonlymag, undisputed UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos intends to KO Alistair Overeem when the pair lock horns at UFC 146.