Author: Riley Kontek

Weekend MMA Rundown: UFC Veterans Aplenty Grace Several Cards

The UFC was off this weekend, but that did not stop the rest of the MMA world from turning. From Bellator to Titan Fighting Championship to Shooto Brazil, it seemed many of the mid-tier promotions were putting on exciting cards. Even more than tha…

The UFC was off this weekend, but that did not stop the rest of the MMA world from turning. 

From Bellator to Titan Fighting Championship to Shooto Brazil, it seemed many of the mid-tier promotions were putting on exciting cards. Even more than that, many UFC veterans found themselves working.

In an important bantamweight main event, Score Fighting Series 5 saw fellow Canadians fight for the No.1 ranking at 135 in the country. Josh Hill was able to earn the judges’ nod by unanimous decision to beat John Fraser.

With that win, one has to think that the UFC will be giving Hill a look for a future card in Canada.

Moving on to Showdown Fights, several UFC veterans fought to make a pretty solid card. In the main event, Josh Burkman used his superior grappling to earn a rear-naked choke win over Jamie Yager.

Also, Team Alpha Male representative Justin Buchholz beat Clay Collard with the trademark guillotine choke to get into the win column. The former UFC fighter showed improved submission offense that will couple well with his dynamite striking.

In shocking news, Bellator champion Eduardo Dantas took a fight in the Shooto Brazil promotion and was promptly knocked out cold by Tyson Nam. The Team Quest member won in just over a minute, leaving Bellator with a defeated champion.

Also on that card, UFC vet Ronys Torres won a unanimous decision over Alejandro Solano Rodriguez. His win streak has now hit 11, which may prompt a return to the UFC given his level of competition.

Lastly on the Shooto card was a big win for bantamweight standout Rodolfo Marques, who beat a very game Pedro Nobre by majority decision. With the building of the UFC bantamweight division, Marques would be a great addition at 135.

At Cage Fury Fighting Championships 16, UFC veteran Dustin Jacoby earned his second victory since his release from the promotion. Jacoby beat Tim Williams by doctor stoppage in the first round.

Also on that card, flyweight stud Sean Santella won a close split decision against Evan Velez. Santella is a very talented fighter and would be a welcome addition to the small flyweight division.

Titan Fighting Championship played host to a main event featuring frequent overweight fighter Anthony Johnson. Johnson made his light heavyweight debut with a win over Esteves Jones. It looks like Johnson finally found a weight class he can make.

Also notably on that card, grappling ace Braulio Estima made a successful MMA debut with an arm-triangle choke victory over Chris Holland. Estima is notable of late, as he was supposed to have a grappling match with Nick Diaz before Diaz no-showed the event.

Lastly, on the Bellator card, two tournament champions were crowned on the main card. In the bantamweight division, Marcos Galvao battered Luis Nogueira with elbows to win by knockout and become the top contender to teammate Eduardo Dantas’ title.

In the light heavyweight final, Attila Vegh made quick work of Travis Wiuff when he knocked him out cold with a vicious combination. With the win, Vegh earned a title shot against Christian M’Pumbu.

Also in action was UFC veteran Mike Wessel, who earned a split-decision win over Ryan Martinez in a heavyweight affair. Wessel is best remembered for his one fight in the UFC and his time on The Ultimate Fighter.

Here are the quick results from above.

Josh Hill def. John Fraser via unanimous decision

Josh Burkman def. Jamie Yager via submission (rear-naked choke)

Justin Buchholz def. Clay Collard via submission (guillotine choke)

Tyson Nam def. Eduardo Dantas via KO (punch)

Ronys Torres def. Alejandro Solano Rodriguez via unanimous decision

Rodolfo Marques def. Pedro Nobre via majority decision

Dustin Jacoby def. Tim Williams via TKO (doctor stoppage)

Sean Santella def. Evan Velez via split decision

Anthony Johnson def. Esteves Jones via TKO (punches)

Braulio Estima def. Chris Holland via submission (arm-triangle choke)

Marcos Galvao def. Luis Nogueira via TKO (elbows)

Attila Vegh def. Travis Wiuff via KO (punches)

Mike Wessel def. Ryan Martinez via split decision

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 151 Fallout: Catching Up on Where the Fights Will Now Take Place

In the fallout that was UFC 151’s cancellation, fights have been frantically rescheduled to take place on upcoming cards. Everything from the main event to the Facebook prelims have been looking for new homes since Dana White called off the card.So far…

In the fallout that was UFC 151’s cancellation, fights have been frantically rescheduled to take place on upcoming cards. Everything from the main event to the Facebook prelims have been looking for new homes since Dana White called off the card.

So far, eight of the 11 fights that were at UFC 151 have found another home. For the other three fights, the UFC continues to work to get those men in the Octagon sooner than later.

Here is a quick recap of where the fights will now take place.

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Tim Sylvia: Daniel Cormier Would Lose to Me

Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Sylvia is at it again. The former heavyweight champion continues to make outrageous claims in an attempt to get signed by the UFC, asserting that he would beat Daniel Cormier.In fact, he says that is the reason the UFC inserte…

Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Sylvia is at it again. The former heavyweight champion continues to make outrageous claims in an attempt to get signed by the UFC, asserting that he would beat Daniel Cormier.

In fact, he says that is the reason the UFC inserted Frank Mir in the Cormier fight instead of himself. The fact that a guy who was defeated in an MMA match against Ray Mercer, a boxer with very little MMA experience, is making this claims is almost comedic.

At one point, it was rumored that Sylvia was going to square off with Cormier in his last Strikeforce fight. Not long later, that report was toppled by the report of Mir taking the fight against the former Olympic wrestler.

Here is just a snippet of what Sylvia said on the latest MMA Hour podcast (h/t mmamania.com):

“I don’t know. I think the UFC might have got ahead of themselves and they really couldn’t find anybody to fight Cormier, so, they had asked us and we agreed to it and I think after we agreed to it, they were able to talk Frank into doing it and they probably thought Frank was a better fit for it than myself. I think they’d like to see Daniel win and I think he beats Frank, but he would lose to me. I don’t know that he (Frank) is an easier fight than (me) but, he is still in the limelight, he is still in the UFC . Frank is definitely better on the ground than I am, but I think my takedown defense and my striking ability would make a tougher fight for DC definitely. But, he is definitely a rising star right now and he would be difficult for anybody really.”

Does anybody actually think he believes the stuff he is saying, or is his desperate attempt to get a spot on the roster getting to his head?

As of right now, Sylvia is scheduled to have his fourth career fight with Andrei Arlovski later this month at One FC 5. In all honesty, if he beats Arlovski, I would give him another shot in the UFC. 

He has the name to draw some coin and his size alone makes him an attraction.

I mean, the man was a UFC champion, so doesn’t he deserve that much? That remains to be seen. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153: 5 Fights for Alan Belcher to Take Now That Vitor Belfort Is out

In the fallout of the Jon Jones debacle, Alan Belcher has been stripped of a chance to fight his previously scheduled opponent, Vitor Belfort, at UFC 153. With the whole ordeal that was UFC 151 causing much fallout, Belcher should still get a shot…

In the fallout of the Jon Jones debacle, Alan Belcher has been stripped of a chance to fight his previously scheduled opponent, Vitor Belfort, at UFC 153. 

With the whole ordeal that was UFC 151 causing much fallout, Belcher should still get a shot to fight on the UFC 153 card. His presence on the main card was important to the card, and now it looks as if he may miss out on his chance to fight.

Here are five possible opponents for Belcher to fight in Brazil.

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UFC 151: An Event of What-Ifs and Why Nots

UFC 151 is no more, as Dana White canceled the event due to the lack of a main event. Originally headlined by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson, Henderson backed out due to a knee injury. With Henderson’s departure from the main event, Jones was offered…

UFC 151 is no more, as Dana White canceled the event due to the lack of a main event. Originally headlined by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson, Henderson backed out due to a knee injury. 

With Henderson’s departure from the main event, Jones was offered a number of fights which he turned down. From Chael Sonnen to Chris Weidman, it seemed like everybody and their brother wanted to take the short-notice fight.

UFC 151 now becomes an event of what-ifs and why nots.

On paper, UFC 151 was not the most star-studded card, but the fights on the card were sure to be crowd pleasing. Sure, Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann and Kyle Noke vs. Charlie Brenneman didn’t turn any heads, but they were relegated to Facebook.

While several fights have been moved to other cards, some have died altogether. Fights with much intrigue, such as Eddie Yagin vs. Dennis Siver and John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani, are scrapped at the moment.

What if Jon Jones simply accepted a fight with Chael Sonnen? Forrest Griffin, one man, would have lost a fighting opportunity. But again, he is one man.

Instead, over a dozen men go without a payday opportunity.

And it doesn’t just affect the fighters on the UFC 151 card. Alan Belcher, who was supposed to fight Vitor Belfort at UFC 153, now finds himself without an opponent.

Two men who were supposed to headline UFC 152, Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson, are now relegated to the co-main event. An event that was supposed to put the spotlight on the flyweights now puts the attention on Jon Jones.

UFC 151 could have seen Jake Ellenberger avenge one of his few losses against Jay Hieron. It could have provided guys like Abel Trujillo, Tim Means and Daron Cruickshank an opportunity to show improvement since their last fight.

Instead, Jon Jones selfishly denied a short-notice replacement. Yes, the champion turned down a fight with a man who usually fights a weight class down, has not trained for the fight and lost to a guy similar to Jones.

I have always found myself defending Jones when other fans randomly attacked him for his personality and for other reasons. But after this latest incident, I can no longer do that.

I am madder about Jones turning down a fight with Sonnen than when he got a DUI. Yes folks, I am madder about a man folding a mixed martial arts event than him breaking a law that has hurt so many in the past.

I guess I am just crazy like that.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Featherweight Division: Tracking Former Lightweights’ Success at 145

It was recently announced that Frankie Edgar has decided to finally drop to featherweight following a failure to recapture his lightweight title in an immediate rematch. With his departure to 145 pounds, Edgar joins a number of former UFC lightwei…

It was recently announced that Frankie Edgar has decided to finally drop to featherweight following a failure to recapture his lightweight title in an immediate rematch. 

With his departure to 145 pounds, Edgar joins a number of former UFC lightweights in his quest in the featherweight division. Most have seen success, but how much?

Here is a look at the former UFC lightweights who have dropped to the featherweight division.

Note: Only fighters who have dropped since the WEC merger were considered (i.e. Leonard Garcia will not be included)

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