Author: Riley Kontek

Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader: How Machida Can Defeat Bader

Many people will point to the co-main event of UFC on Fox, Rua vs. Vera, as the most intriguing fight of the night, and I cannot fault those opinions.From a competition standpoint, this fight will probably be a little more competitive than the main eve…

Many people will point to the co-main event of UFC on Fox, Rua vs. Vera, as the most intriguing fight of the night, and I cannot fault those opinions.

From a competition standpoint, this fight will probably be a little more competitive than the main event. Bader is a power wrestler coming off the biggest win of his career against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Machida is a former champion who has only won one of his last four fights.

The game plan for Machida is simple. “The Dragon” must keep the fight standing if he wishes to defeat the former Arizona State wrestler.

Machida‘s karate style has shown him to be elusive in the past. He is extremely accurate and powerful, when he does engage with his opponent.

Machida is going to need to create distance, so that Bader‘s takedowns are hard to come by. When Bader does rush in for a takedown, Machida is going to need to fight them off and leave the contact with strikes. These counter strikes could be what potentially ends the fight, as Bader will look to bring the fight to the mat early and often.

Machida will likely stay away from clinching as well, as it could turn into a takedown for Bader. Machida has solid knees when close, but again distance is going to be key for the karate master.

Of course, Machida‘s bull rushes will be another key in him taking this fight. For the most part, Machida moves around and counterstrike until he sees a great opportunity.

From there, Machida will push forward throwing bevies of strikes. We saw it in the Jon Jones fight and even more successfully in the Rashad Evans fight.

So again, the key here is creating distance, fending off takedowns, counterstriking and mixing in his trademark bull rushes. If he is able to stay off his back and do these things, Machida will win this fight easily.

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Nick Newell: Does He Deserve a Shot in the UFC?

If you don’t know who Nick Newell is, you need to hit up YouTube immediately and watch as much film on him as you can.Newell is an undefeated mixed martial artist who has only one arm. Last night Newell moved his record to 8-0 as a professional, knocki…

If you don’t know who Nick Newell is, you need to hit up YouTube immediately and watch as much film on him as you can.

Newell is an undefeated mixed martial artist who has only one arm. Last night Newell moved his record to 8-0 as a professional, knocking out opponent Adam David Mays with a brutal knee that left the former Marine limp in the cage at XFC 19.

This is just another impressive win by the handicapable MMA fighter in a string of impressive outings. Coming into this fight, Newell was riding the momentum of one knockout win, six submissions and a decision victory.

This raises an interesting question now—does Newell deserve a shot in the UFC to try and make a bigger name for himself?

I, for one, am a supporter of this, as it would do great things for the sport and Newell himself.

Newell is a lightweight. As he is the unique fighter he is, it has been reported that it is tough for him to find fights because of his physical condition. While this is sad, it is unfortunately understandable.

Now that he has shown his devastating arsenal, a call from the UFC would be perfect. There, when Joe Silva calls you with a fight, you take it. This could be extremely helpful to Newell.

Newell is not the first one-armed professional athlete looking to make the big time. If you remember back in the day, one-armed pitcher Jim Abbott was a great Major League Baseball pitcher.

With that, it is not hard to see Newell eventually making the UFC. After his latest knockout win, why not give him a chance? He has skills and great marketability to make it big. 

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Shogun Rua vs. Brandon Vera: How Rua Can Defeat Vera

The main event of tonight’s UFC on Fox card sees a former UFC champion, Mauricio Rua, go to war with the former phenom of the sport, Brandon Vera. It is a main event that promises strong standup action and a knockout finish.For Rua, this is a fight he …

The main event of tonight’s UFC on Fox card sees a former UFC champion, Mauricio Rua, go to war with the former phenom of the sport, Brandon Vera. It is a main event that promises strong standup action and a knockout finish.

For Rua, this is a fight he cannot lose for two reasons. The first is because Vera is much lower in the light heavyweight rankings than Rua and would undoubtedly push him further away from the top than if he took a closer fight.

The second reason is because a title shot is within his grasp. Should Rua win and do it more impressively than the co-main event winner (Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader), the title shot is his.

With that opportunity, Rua can attempt to erase his memory of when Jon Jones took his title in a one-sided beating.

Now, if Rua wishes to defeat Vera, he is going to have to do a couple things.

The first is use his aggressive style to make Vera uncomfortable. Rua‘s striking is extremely aggressive, which will turn Vera into defensive mode. While many people aren’t giving Vera much of a chance, people forget how strong his Muay Thai game is.

Rua is also well-versed in Muay Thai, especially when he uses his aggression to push forward. Remember, his aggression helped win late rounds against Dan Henderson, despite losing the early rounds.

Another thing Rua will need to do is surprise Vera with takedowns and clinches. I expect that Vera is anticipating a striking war with the Pride legend, so if Rua can throw in random takedowns and advantageous clinch work, not only will he win the rounds, but he can finish the fight.

The game plan for Rua is simple, and it is to win anyway possible. While I expect this fight to be a kickboxing match, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rua tries to mix it up if he can’t achieve a first-round knockout.

Many may not be giving Vera a chance, but this is going to be a fight. When your back is against the wall, you have nowhere to go but forward. Vera won’t go down without a fight.

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UFC on FOX 4 Weigh-in Video: Highlights from the Shogun vs. Vera Weigh-in

The weigh-ins for UFC on Fox took place last night without incident, as all of the fighters made their contracted weight. There was no physicality at the scales, despite a couple of intense stare downs.One thing to take away from this weigh-in, which h…

The weigh-ins for UFC on Fox took place last night without incident, as all of the fighters made their contracted weight. There was no physicality at the scales, despite a couple of intense stare downs.

One thing to take away from this weigh-in, which has been something spoken about for a while now, is Lyoto Machida‘s weight. Yesterday, Machida weighed in at 201 pounds—four pounds under the weight limit for light heavyweight.

Undoubtedly, some are going to continue to call for Machida to drop to middleweight, which I doubt will happen. Either way, he looked in shape and ready to do battle against American wrestler Ryan Bader.

The main event’s stare down also went respectfully, as both Vera and Rua did their photo obligations, a quick interview and were on their way. Both men were humble and excited, which may be a preview to a good fight Saturday night.

Above is the weigh-in highlights for every fight on Saturday’s card. Take a look and you will see how healthy and ready every fighter is.

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UFC on FOX 4: Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner Head-to-Toe Breakdown

The main event of UFC on Fox this weekend may be Mauricio Rua against Brandon Vera, but another bout on the main card may steal the show.That is, Jamie Varner vs. Joe LauzonVarner and Lauzon are both long-time veterans of the sport with big fight exper…

The main event of UFC on Fox this weekend may be Mauricio Rua against Brandon Vera, but another bout on the main card may steal the show.

That is, Jamie Varner vs. Joe Lauzon

Varner and Lauzon are both long-time veterans of the sport with big fight experience. Similarly, they are both in the hunt for the lightweight title held by Ben Henderson.

Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of this important lightweight affair.

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The Psychology of Walkout Music in MMA

Music is the expression of emotion or the telling of a story. It is what entertains, pumps up and gets us to focus. Simply, music is an important part of human life. Think about it. How often do you listen to music in a day? If I were to guess, am…

Music is the expression of emotion or the telling of a story. It is what entertains, pumps up and gets us to focus. Simply, music is an important part of human life. 

Think about it. How often do you listen to music in a day? If I were to guess, among the times you listen to music, working out, doing homework and partying are three times of the week you rock out.

Now, if you are like me, music gets you pumped up or in the zone when you are ready to play sports. I myself play hockey, and I have certain bands and songs that I listen to when getting in the zone.

Take that idea and apply it to the world’s most intense, disciplined sport. I, of course, am talking about mixed martial arts. 

If there is one thing for certain, it’s that you can’t enter the cage with your mind in another place. To get to the psyche you need to fight in the cage, certain music must be listened to by a fighter.

Take notice of fighters at the weigh-ins and the walk to the cage. At the weigh-ins, many of the fighters can be seen wearing headphones. While this may be viewed as a way to pass time, I see it as a method of keeping the fighter focused and on track to making weight. 

Then there is the walk to the cage. While some fighters, such as BJ Penn, Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping, listen to the same song every time they walk to the cage, other fighters switch it up to the song that has got their blood moving lately. It could be a hot new release or an old song they have been addicted to lately.

Music brings out all sorts of emotions. If getting into a rhythm or looking to get focused is your goal, a smooth-paced rap or hip hop song is the way to go. Anderson Silva prefers “Ain’t No Sunshine” by DMX, while Jon Jones listens to “God Gave Me Style” by 50 Cent.

If you are like me, you like to get into a hardcore, take no prisoners mood before competition. Clay Guida has a similar mindset as myself, as he comes out to frantic music for every fight. His style compliments his music, as most fighters’ music does.

Music depends on a person’s personality. The psychology of walkout music is simple. However you act or wish to perform is what you will listen to on the way out.

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