Consensus top-two welterweight Jon Fitch has been taking some heat from fans recently with his public refusal to fight up-and-coming contender Rick Story.The ducking by Fitch was surprising because he is generally considered a fighter who is willing to…
Consensus top-two welterweight Jon Fitch has been taking some heat from fans recently with his public refusal to fight up-and-coming contender Rick Story.
The ducking by Fitch was surprising because he is generally considered a fighter who is willing to fight just about anyone at any time. When the news came out, it just didn’t seem like it was coming from Fitch himself—and as it turns out, it wasn’t.
“I kind of had a talk with Rashad Evans during the expo up in Canada. It kind of opened up my eyes to it a little bit. He was telling me I [have to] stop screwing around, I have to think about my career, and I’m a main event fighter. I should only be fighting main event people,” Fitch told MMA Weekly.
“I’m at a point in my career where I need to be fighting main events and main event fighters. And if you don’t have a belt, currently, or you haven’t owned a belt in the UFC, I’m not really interested,” he added. “I’ve gone out of my way throughout my career to just fight everybody they put in front of me and it’s cost me dearly. When you fight somebody who no one knows and don’t recognize their name, it doesn’t matter how bad you beat them.”
Story called out Fitch following his victory over Thiago Alves at UFC 130 last weekend, but has now been set to fight Nate Marquardt, who will be making his welterweight debut, in the main event at UFC on Versus 4 on June 26.
Fitch was scheduled to fight later this summer in a rematch with BJ Penn, whom he fought to a draw against in the main event at UFC 127. Unfortunately, injuries knocked both fighters off the card and the bout was scrapped.
Still, Fitch insists that there are only two fighters on his radar.
“I want BJ or GSP [Georges St-Pierre]. Those are the only two guys I care or have any interest in right now. If I [have to] sit out a year and wait for them, I’ll do it. That’s what I’m waiting to fight for.”
The UFC on Versus 4 fight card in Pittsburgh has been rearranged as a training injury has forced Martin Kampmann out of his bout with John Howard. Taking his place in the televised fight will be Matt Brown.This unfortunate injury to Kampmann is the mos…
The UFC on Versus 4 fight card in Pittsburgh has been rearranged as a training injury has forced Martin Kampmann out of his bout with John Howard. Taking his place in the televised fight will be Matt Brown.
This unfortunate injury to Kampmann is the most recent in a string of bad luck incidents that have occurred to him over the past few months. After fighting to a controversial split-decision loss to Jake Shields back in October, Kampmann was robbed again in many fans’ eyes in another split-decision loss to Diego Sanchez in March.
Had those two fights gone the other way, we may actually be talking about Kampmann as the top contender for Georges St-Pierre’s UFC welterweight title. Kampmann’s frustrations have to be building with the two fight results and now this injury.
But as usually happens in MMA, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. In this case, Matt Brown was scheduled to fight Rich Attonito on UFC on Versus 4, but fighting on the main card should be a great opportunity for his career.
Daniel “Ninja” Roberts will step in for Brown to fight Rich Attonito that same night.
After falling to three-fight losing streak, Brown will likely need a win in this fight to guarantee himself another fight in the UFC.
This surprisingly stacked card has seen quite a few changes, the biggest being the original main event between Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson. But a shoulder injury caused Johnson out of the event, leaving the opportunity for the recently victorious Rick Story to step in and face Marquardt in his welterweight debut.
Watch these fights and others on Sunday, June 26 live from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
UFC 131 is just around the corner, and the fight card is shaping up into an exciting one.The main event featuring Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, as well as the featherweight debut of Kenny Florian facing Diego Nunes, will headline the pay-per-view…
UFC 131 is just around the corner, and the fight card is shaping up into an exciting one.
The main event featuring Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, as well as the featherweight debut of Kenny Florian facing Diego Nunes, will headline the pay-per-view, but there are other great fights on the card as well.
With under a week remaining before the fights take place, let’s take a look at each bout in this full breakdown of the UFC 131 fight card.
When the news came out earlier this week that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre would be fighting Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137, discussions immediately began about whether Nick Diaz is the man who can dethrone GSP.Wi…
When the news came out earlier this week that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre would be fighting Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137, discussions immediately began about whether Nick Diaz is the man who can dethrone GSP.
With Diaz’s unique set of skills, many believe that St-Pierre is in for a rude awakening. But I’m here to say the exact opposite.
Georges St-Pierre is Nick Diaz’s worst nightmare.
Sure, Nick Diaz is different than any other opponent that St-Pierre has ever fought. He brings tremendous cardio along with unbelievable toughness; and that’s not even bringing up his actual fighting skills.
But St-Pierre is essentially a better version of the style that has stifled Diaz throughout his entire career. It has been such a problem for him, in fact, that Diaz has even publicly complained about the way that fighting inside a cage has negatively impacted the sport by giving an advantage to wrestlers.
Though he doesn’t have a college background in it, few would debate the point that Georges St-Pierre may actually be the best wrestler in mixed martial arts. It was years ago, but if Sean Sherk, Joe Riggs and Diego Sanchez could handle Diaz, just imagine what the top welterweight in the world can do.
It has been long perceived that Diaz’s biggest weakness is stopping wrestlers, so he will certainly be working on that as he prepares for the fight. But like many of St-Pierre’s opponents in the past, expect there to come a point in the fight, particularly in the fourth or fifth rounds if it comes to that, where GSP makes use of his 77-percent takedown offense and brings the fight to the canvas.
From there, we’ll have a chance to see just how good Diaz’s jiu-jitsu really is. No one doubts Diaz’s skills on the ground, but the biggest question may be if he will be able to find any openings to throw on a submission against perhaps the “safest” fighter in the sport today.
GSP uses an unbelievably controlling style to keep his opponents on the ground without ever really being in any trouble of being submitted from the bottom. In fact, one could make the case that the last time he was even in any trouble whatsoever if being submitted was all the way back in March of 2006 in his first encounter with BJ Penn. Penn was seemingly attempting a gogoplata, but St-Pierre broke free and landed a flurry of punches before winning the judges’ decision.
But it’s not just Diaz’s wrestling that could be a mismatch in this fight. While many fans and experts believe that he will be at a disadvantage in the standup game, Georges St-Pierre may just surprise us all again by taking it to his opponent on the feet.
Almost everyone expected his most recent fight against Josh Koscheck to be another St-Pierre wrestling clinic to avoid his opponent’s ever-improving standup game. But much to the contrary, GSP actually seemed very comfortable picking apart Kos on the feet. In fact, early in the fight, a broken orbital bone showed that St-Pierre may have more power in his hands than we give him credit for.
Then again, Diaz does have some of the best punching skills in the business as he showed against Paul Daley. While Daley’s powerful hands clobbered Diaz more than once, the kid from Stockton kept his composure and was able to unleash a series of body and head shots that eventually ended the fight in the first round.
But as was shown in the fight with Daley, Nick Diaz’s confidence can sometimes be his downfall. While he was unquestionably the better fighter on the ground, he insisted on standing with the Brit and exchanging blows. GSP doesn’t have the same kind of power that Daley does, but his quickness and technique are probably even better. If Diaz leaves his hands down again, he’s going to get absolutely picked apart.
The bottom line is that Georges St-Pierre is practically custom-built to beat a guy like Nick Diaz. All of Diaz’s usual advantages in jiu-jitsu, standup technique and cardio will be nullified in this fight due to St-Pierre’s efficient and smooth game-planning.
If he can avoid getting into a firefight, this is definitely GSP’s fight to lose. Don’t be surprised if it goes to another five round decision as Diaz has only been finished twice in his career, but look for another thorough, one-sided win from the world’s top 170-pound fighter.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 comes to a conclusion tonight with the welterweight finals featuring Ramsey Nijem vs. Tony Ferguson. Ferguson represents Team Lesnar as their third pick while Nijem will represent Team dos Santos as their fourth pick. Bot…
The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 comes to a conclusion tonight with the welterweight finals featuring Ramsey Nijem vs. Tony Ferguson. Ferguson represents Team Lesnar as their third pick while Nijem will represent Team dos Santos as their fourth pick.
Both men were dominant on the show and are worthy competitors fighting to become Season 13’s welterweight winner.
Round 1
Nijem starts off strong on the feet, but gets taken down by Ferguson. Ferguson works from Ramsey’s half-guard. Nijem trying to get to his feet, but eats some punches. He gets up. Ferguson winning the standup game as well.
Nijem lands a flurry up punches, though, before being taken down by Ferguson again. Ramsey is repeatedly landing his jab and keeping Ferguson at bay. Just as I say that, though, Ferguson lands a HUGE left hook that clocks Nijem and sends him to the canvas where he finishes the fight with another big right hand.
Winner by way of knockout at 3:54 in the first round, Tony Ferguson!
Congratulations to Tony Ferguson, Season 13 winner of The Ultimate Fighter!
As the name implies, mixed martial arts has always been a sport in which fighters of various backgrounds come together to settle the debate of who truly is the best. While no specific style can be guaranteed as a guaranteed winner, we have seen aspects…
As the name implies, mixed martial arts has always been a sport in which fighters of various backgrounds come together to settle the debate of who truly is the best. While no specific style can be guaranteed as a guaranteed winner, we have seen aspects of numerous fighting styles dictate where fights happen and how they finish.
In this countdown, we will be taking a closer look at who the best of the best are in various skills used in mixed martial arts. If we were building the perfect super-fighter, these would be many of the attributes that he would possess.
So without further ado, it’s time to unveil the 15 members of my 2011 MMA All-Star team!
Consensus top-two welterweight Jon Fitch has been taking some heat from fans recently with his public refusal to fight up-and-coming contender Rick Story.