Author: Nedu Obi

UFC 136: Can Brian Stann Shut Up Motor Mouth Chael Sonnen?

Brian Stann is slated to throw down with Chael Sonnen at UFC 136, and in spite of Sonnen’s wrestling pedigree, I’m picking Stann to come out on top. Stann (11-3), a former Marine, can continue his ascent in the middleweight division if he c…

Brian Stann is slated to throw down with Chael Sonnen at UFC 136, and in spite of Sonnen’s wrestling pedigree, I’m picking Stann to come out on top.

Stann (11-3), a former Marine, can continue his ascent in the middleweight division if he can take care of business in several days time.

His reward if he were to defeat Sonnen (25-11-1) would either be a title eliminator bout with Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort or the even bigger reward, would be to challenge Anderson “The Spider” Silva for his middleweight title.

Much has been made of Sonnen’s wrestling skill set, and those plaudits are rightly justified—he’s an accomplished NCAA Division I grappler.

No one can forget the championship matchup Sonnen had with Silva—for four and a half rounds, Sonnen gave Silva all he could handle and then some.

However, as is the case with Sonnen, his submission defense is more or less non-existent—he was minutes away from championship glory when Silva locked in a triangle choke, and he was forced to tap out.  

The primary reason why Sonnen had the advantage over Silva was due to his wrestling ability and not a lot else.

Sonnen, I presume, will attempt to employ the same strategy against Stann when they meet.

It’s Stann’s job to avoid Sonnen’s take down attempts and keep the fight standing. If Stann can do that,  then he has every chance of winning the fight.

Of Stann’s 11 victories, eight have come by way of KO/TKO, three by decision and one via submission.

The last person to feel the steel of Stann’s fists was none other than the once thought of iron-chinned Chris “The Crippler” Leben. Stann put an end to that, finishing off Leben via TKO.

If there were any doubts about Stann’s punching prowess, those questions were answered emphatically at UFC 125.

The next opponent to fall at the hands of Stann was Jorge Santiago—TKO punches.

Now if the inevitable were to happen and Stann found himself on the canvas, the fight wouldn’t be dead and buried, not in a long shot.

Stann, a pupil at Greg Jackson’s gym, isn’t oblivious to submission fighting—this was evident when he submitted Mike Massenzio on his middleweight debut at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko via triangle choke.

In actuality, Stann has a reasonable arsenal to bring to the Octagon this weekend.

Against the seasoned grappler Sonnen, I take Stann to win via KO/TKO.

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Georges St-Pierre: Is He the Most Idolized Fighter in MMA?

For some reason, Georges St-Pierre is that rare breed of fighter who is held in high esteem by the fans despite his failings and successes. There is no one thing that is specific to pin-point that drives his fans into an animated state of protective fr…

For some reason, Georges St-Pierre is that rare breed of fighter who is held in high esteem by the fans despite his failings and successes.

There is no one thing that is specific to pin-point that drives his fans into an animated state of protective frenzy whenever St-Pierre’s name is supposedly sullied—rightly or wrongly.

The likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Filipovic, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture have all been hero-worshipped, but the adulation bestowed upon St-Pierre by his fervent supporters even surpasses that.

In every sport you have the good guy and the bad guy—St-Pierre seems to be the former.

His naysayers would argue differently—their most vocal ire is that St-Pierre fails to finish fights.

They are right—St-Pierre has won his last four bouts via unanimous decision. The emphasis here should be placed on won, as winning is really all that counts. However, some would disagree whilst others would fight tooth and nail to prove otherwise.

I can only surmise that the St-Pierre adoration is due to several factors:

 

St-Pierre’s Background

I would say that some of St-Pierre’s fans see a little of themselves in him. That fact that St-Pierre’s parents weren’t affluent and yet he was still able to achieve all that he has to date, must’ve been something some of his fans could identify with.

There’s also the story of how St-Pierre took up karate to combat the bullies at his school who picked on him and stole his clothes. That kind of anecdote would most certainly have left an indelible mark on his many fans—some whom might’ve been in a similar situation but were too afraid to fight back.

 

St-Pierre’s Character

St-Pierre has the accolade of being one of the nicest guys in MMA, if the not the nicest. He conducts himself in a respectful manner and this demeanour crosses over to his opponents as well.

I would think that most people having grown up in a tough neighbourhood and been subjected to the abuse that St-Pierre had experienced would’ve turned out differently in comparison to St-Pierre.

 

St-Pierre’s Achievements

St-Pierre’s accomplishments inside the Octagon—coming from nothing to being one of the most dominant fighters and champions in the history of MMA must’ve endeared him to those fans.

Also, the way in which St-Pierre was able comeback from his shocking defeat to Matt Serra and regain the UFC welterweight championship, I’m sure played its part too.

There must be other factors at play here, but whatever they maybe, it seems that St-Pierre stands alone as being the most idolized fighter in MMA.

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Jon Jones: 3 Reasons Why He Will Beat Rashad Evans

Ever since Jon Jones violated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua en-route to relieving him of the UFC light heavyweight title, one name in particular seems to always crops up—Rashad Evans. “Bones” Jones most recent conquest was Quinton…

Ever since Jon Jones violated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua en-route to relieving him of the UFC light heavyweight title, one name in particular seems to always crops up—Rashad Evans.

“Bones” Jones most recent conquest was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135. Jones dominated every aspect of the game, and in the process handed Jackson only his second career submission loss via rear naked choke.

The only other fighter credited with that achievement is Kazuchi Sakuraba.

After Jones sent Rampage packing, none other than Evans turned up in the ring for a hyped up stare-down to promote their eagerly awaited clash, supposedly scheduled for early 2012.

Much has been made about the fact that both Jones and Evans were former training partners at Greg Jackson’s gym—they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses—one or the other had the upper hand in training and so on and so forth.

However, sparring and the actual fight itself is a different ball game altogether.

I believe that when these two combatants eventually throw down, Jones will be victorious.

Here are the reasons why…

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MMA: 5 Reasons Why Brock Lesnar Will Never Be Champion Again

Brock Lesnar is the most successful PPV magnate acquisition in the history of MMA, but his second quest for UFC glory will never be achieved again. When Brock Lesnar burst on to the MMA scene in 2007 he not only brought with him the pomp and pageantry …

Brock Lesnar is the most successful PPV magnate acquisition in the history of MMA, but his second quest for UFC glory will never be achieved again.

When Brock Lesnar burst on to the MMA scene in 2007 he not only brought with him the pomp and pageantry synonymous with the WWE but also the fans in their thousands.

Initially the transition from WWE to MMA was going according to the script:

He submitted Min-Soo Kim via punches. The Lesnar express train was derailed momentarily when he came up against Frank Mir, losing via kneebar submission.

After that minor hiccup the Lesnar express was back on track, he won a unanimous decision against Heath Herring and in only his fourth fight as an MMA pro and in only his third fight for the UFC he defeated Randy Couture via TKO to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

The Lesnar express made a brief stop at UFC 100 where he would avenge his only loss thus far. In the rematch, Lesnar annihilated Mir winning via TKO. At that point it seemed to the MMA world that the Lesnar express was unstoppable—they were wrong.

After a brief illness with mononucleosis and diverticulitis Lesnar went head to head with Shane Carwin in his first defense of the title. It wasn’t all plain sailing and the Lesnar express almost got derailed for a second time, but he weathered Carwin’s early storm winning via arm triangle choke.

The Lesnar express was gradually gathering speed—next stop would be at UFC 121 where he would throw down with Cain Velasquez and ultimately lose his UFC belt. The smaller Velasquez violated Lesnar in a way he’d never experienced before—it was sheer brutality. The Lesnar express was now on standby.

His proposed fight with Junior Dos Santo was called off, as he again succumbed to another bout of diverticulitis. The Lesnar express is now slated for the tracks at UFC 141 where he’ll meet ex Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

What Lesnar has achieved to date in MMA most fighters wouldn’t achieve in a lifetime. But I believe the Lesnar express has come to a permanent halt in regards to the UFC heavyweight championship.

And these are the reasons why:

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Georges St-Pierre: 3 Fighters Who Should’ve Avoided the Champ

For four years Georges St-Pierre has been the supreme talent of the welterweight division.
St-Pierre has ruled it accordingly, but there are three combatants who have been mentally victimized by the champ.
The three major victims I’ll get to late…

For four years Georges St-Pierre has been the supreme talent of the welterweight division.

St-Pierre has ruled it accordingly, but there are three combatants who have been mentally victimized by the champ.

The three major victims I’ll get to later.

St-Pierre to date has had 22 career fights—he’s only come up short twice, to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Those loses he would avenge in typical “Rush-esque” fashion.

St-Pierre is a world class MMA-ist in every sense of the word—Jiu-jitsu black belt, Gaidojutsu black belt, Kyokushin 3rd black belt, accomplished wrestler and he’s also well versed in Muay-Thai and boxing, not to mention his core strength.

One phrase comes to mind—all rounder.

Of late St-Pierre seems to have failed to finish four of his last opponents—all ending in unanimous decision wins, but somehow, St-Pierre has been able to wreak both mental and physical havoc on said fighters psyche.

Josh Koscheck is not on the list but it’s left to be seen whether he will suffer the same fate as the other three. He is set to throw down with Matt Hughes at UFC 135, that fight will give an indication on whether he too has succumbed to what I’d like to call “The GSP Fatigue”.

Let’s take a look at three casualties of “The GSP Fatigue:”

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Georges St-Pierre: Is He Afraid of Fighting Anderson Silva?

I have finally come to the conclusion that Georges St-Pierre is daunted by the prospect of throwing down with Anderson Silva. St-Pierre recently spoke about his willingness to throw leather with Silva in the not-too-distant future, on one condition; th…

I have finally come to the conclusion that Georges St-Pierre is daunted by the prospect of throwing down with Anderson Silva.

St-Pierre recently spoke about his willingness to throw leather with Silva in the not-too-distant future, on one condition; that Silva be interdicted from participating in any fight until GSP gains the necessary weight that is required for their proposed fight.

I’m not privy to any fighter, mixed martial artist or otherwise, who has sat at home and counted sheep whilst his opponent cuts or adds weight so as to make an intended fight fair and square.

It doesn’t happen and it won’t happen in this case either, unless the UFC are willing to pay Silva a lot more than “Anderson Silva-type money” whilst being furloughed.

The mere suggestion that Silva should stay idle whilst St-Pierre juggles his weight is insulting to say the least and it reeks of fear on the part of St-Pierre.

Why else would St-Pierre make stipulations as such regarding the fight? He more than likely knows the UFC would never sanction something like that (unless as I stated above).

St-Pierre shouldn’t bow to media or fan pressure in making this fight happen if he knows he’s not up to the task.

What he should do is admit that Silva is the better man, and that a proposed fight would be ludicrous, instead of coming up with some half-baked desideratum for the fight to materialize.

There’s no shame in being afraid, it happens to the best of us. But making outrageous demands like that, will more than likely fall on deaf ears.

The best thing for St-Pierre is to stay in his weight class and continue his legacy; mind you, that legacy will take a bit of a bashing when he locks horns with Carlos Condit at UFC 137.

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