UFC 146 was announced as a five-fight, all heavyweight main card and a number of the promotions top heavyweights are set to battle in one night. With 10 heavyweights set to scrap, in combination with the heavyweight division being light in numbers, the…
UFC 146 was announced as a five-fight, all heavyweight main card and a number of the promotions top heavyweights are set to battle in one night. With 10 heavyweights set to scrap, in combination with the heavyweight division being light in numbers, the UFC needs to sign some prospects to invest in the future.
There are a number of heavyweight prospects that have the potential to be UFC mainstays. They come from different countries and different martial arts backgrounds.
Here are five heavyweight prospects that the UFC should sign, so that they can develop and make the division deeper.
NOTE: Bellator and Strikeforce fighters will not be included.
Although the UFC has had a long layoff since UFC on FX 2 in Australia, there has been plenty of good MMA action going down. In the previous couple of weeks, promotions such as Bellator, BAMMA and Tachi Palace Fights have worked hard to suffice the appe…
Although the UFC has had a long layoff since UFC on FX 2 in Australia, there has been plenty of good MMA action going down. In the previous couple of weeks, promotions such as Bellator, BAMMA and Tachi Palace Fights have worked hard to suffice the appetite of hardcore mixed martial arts fans.
This weekend holds a number of cards, with a mixture of promising prospects and big-fight veterans. These fights will be held from Singapore to Brazil, from Connecticut to Texas.
Here is a look ahead at what to watch for this weekend.
Bellator 63
When: Friday (prelims start at 7 p.m. ET, main card starts at 8 p.m. ET)
Where: Uncasville, Connecticut
Where to Watch it: MTV 2, Bellator.com and Spike.com
What to Watch for
Bellator’s sixth season continues this weekend, holding the quarterfinals for its welterweight tournament. The preliminary card also hosts a number of lesser-known fighters looking to make a name for themselves in mixed martial arts.
This season’s welterweight participants include UFC veterans Ben Saunders and Jordan Smith, Bellator tournament veterans Bryan Baker and Chris Lozano and a number of other talented fighters.
Here is the entire card:
Main Card
Karl Amoussou vs. Chris Lozano (welterweight-tourney opening round)
Raul Amaya vs. Ben Saunders (welterweight-tourney opening round)
David Rickels vs. Jordan Smith (welterweight-tourney opening round)
Bryan Baker vs. Carlos Pereira (welterweight-tourney opening round)
Preliminary Card
Marianna Kheyfets vs. Munah Holland
Dan Cramer vs. Jeff Nader
Andrey Koreshkov vs. Taiwan Howard
Saul Almeida vs. Matt Bessette
Parker Porter vs. Randy Smith
Ryan Quinn vs. Marc Stevens
Pete Rogers vs. Brandon Fleming
RFA 2: Alexander vs. Yvel
When: Friday (8 p.m. ET)
Where: Kearney, Nebraska
Where to Watch it: Sherdog.com
What to Watch for
Resurrection Fighting Alliance brings their second show live Friday night on Sherdog.com. The show is headlined by big show veterans Houston “The Assassin” Alexander and Gilbert Yvel.
Alexander is best known for his stint in the UFC, where he was known for his knockout power, while Yvel has fought all over the world, including the UFC.
Also notably on the card are former UFC champion Maurice Smith, women’s MMA veteran Tara LaRosa and highly regarded bantamweight prospect Josh Rave.
Notable Fights from the Card
Houston Alexander vs. Gilbert Yvel
Maurice Smith vs. Kyle Keeney
Tara LaRosa vs. Kelly Warren
Josh Rave vs. Timothy Elliott
Derrick Lewis vs. Justin Frazier
Elaina Maxwell vs. Ashley Sanchez
Aaron Derrow vs. Jordan Johnson
ONE FC: War of the Lions
When: Saturday (8 a.m. ET)
Where: Kallang, Singapore
Where to Watch it: YouTube.com
What to Watch for
ONE Fighting Championship has quickly become the premier fight league in Asia as of recent, and showing its appreciation, they will be airing this event free on YouTube.
Headlining the card is Japanese juggernaut Tatsuya Kawajiri and his opponent Donald Sanchez.
Also on the card will be notables Felipe Enomoto, Eduard Folayang, Yuya Shirai and Melvin Manhoef.
Notable Fights on the Card
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Donald Sanchez
Felipe Enomoto vs. Zorobabel Moreira
Eduard Folayang vs. Ole Larsen
Yuya Shirai vs. Fabricio Monteiro
Melvin Manhoef vs. Yoshiyuki Nakanishi
Masakazu Imanari vs. Kevin Belingon
Richie Whitson vs. Danny van Bergen
Amazon Forest Combat 2
When: Saturday
Where: Manaus, Brazil
Where to Watch it: Unknown
What to Watch for
Amazon Forest Combat comes to you with a stacked card on Saturday, hosting a batch of notable fighters from around the world. Headlining are former champions Murilo Bustamante and Dave Menne, in a rematch from a UFC championship match back in the day, which Bustamante won.
Also on the card are a bevy of UFC veterans, including Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Josh Burkman.
Notable Fights on the Card
Murilo Bustamante vs. Dave Menne
Thales Leites vs. Matt Horwich
Patrick Cote vs. Gustavo Machado
Josh Burkman vs. Daniel Acacio
Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Satoshi Ishii
Ronys Torres vs. Ferrid Kheder
WMMA 1: McCorkle vs. Heden
When: Saturday
Where: El Paso, Texas
Where to Watch it: Unknown
What to Watch for
WMMA comes to you with its inaugural event, which is a benefit for the American military. Headlining the card are heavyweights Brian Heden and Sean McCorkle.
This card also hosts a number of MMA notables, including Karo Parisyan, Paul Buentello and Lyle Beerbohm.
Notable Fights on the Card
Sean McCorkle vs. Brian Heden
Thomas Denny vs. Karo Parisyan
Lyle Beerbohm vs. Derrick Noble
Drew Fickett vs. Kevin Knabjian
Willie Parks vs. Jamaine Facey
Rodney Wallace vs. Derrick Mehmen
Darrill Schoonover vs. Paul Buentello
Frank Gomez vs. Chris Gruetzemaker
So there you have it—a weekend chalked full of fights. With a number of former champions, UFC veterans and well-traveled mixed martial artists fighting for your entertainment, there should be no shortage on the amount of MMA you can consume this weekend.
And don’t forget. The Ultimate Fighter continues this Friday on FX, as Team Cruz’s Myles Jury takes on Team Faber’s top pick, Al Iaquinta.
Also, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil continues its amazing action Sunday night on tuf.tv, as Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort choose their teams and set the first fight.
A rivalry concludes next month, as UFC champion Jon Jones meets ex-training partner Rashad Evans in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the title will be defended, both of these men are also fighting for pride.UFC 145 will solve a long-standing feud between the…
A rivalry concludes next month, as UFC champion Jon Jones meets ex-training partner Rashad Evans in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the title will be defended, both of these men are also fighting for pride.
UFC 145 will solve a long-standing feud between the two former friends. Both men used to train with world renowned trainer Greg Jackson at his gym in New Mexico. That was the case, until Rashad Evans dropped out of a title fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua due to injury, creating an opportunity for Jones.
Jones won the title and the rest is history. Words have been exchanged and both have made their beef known with one another.
It is time to settle this beef at UFC 145. This event will show us who the better man is.
In February of 2011, a very promising heavyweight grand prix kicked off in Strikeforce, hosting eight notable heavyweights. This tournament had so much promise, but was a failure in retrospect.The tournament was announced with eight participants, all n…
In February of 2011, a very promising heavyweight grand prix kicked off in Strikeforce, hosting eight notable heavyweights. This tournament had so much promise, but was a failure in retrospect.
The tournament was announced with eight participants, all notables in their own right. Included in the tournament were Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov. All of these men are legitimate heavyweight threats, so the fans were understandably excited.
The opening of the tournament featured three reserve bouts, which were won by Chad Griggs, Shane del Rosario and Valentijn Overeem. This will be examined later.
The first round came and went. Sergei Kharitonov knocked Andrei Arlovski’s head off, exposing the long-time veteran’s deteriorated chin. The former UFC champion was out. Not a big deal, but it set the pace.
Former consensus No. 1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko fought Antonio Silva in the next bout. Emelianenko was coming off his first loss in over a decade to Fabricio Werdum, but Strikeforce was banking on him to make it out of the first round.
Well, Antonio Silva decided that he was a solid mixed martial artist and beat the legend out of Emelianenko. So, already early in the tournament, a fan and promotional favorite had been ousted in brutal fashion.
Later, Josh Barnett easily defeated an overwhelmed Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem won a snoozer over Fabricio Werdum. At that event, tournament reserves faced off, with Griggs beating Valentijn Overeem and reserve newcomer Daniel Cormier set to face Shane del Rosario, who was hurt and replaced by Jeff Monson. Are you thoroughly confused yet?
After the first round, despite having reserve bouts if anybody was unable to continue, the Strikeforce brass was already discussing Fedor being allowed to reenter the tournament if anybody would have been unable to move on in the tournament.
So what? Those reserve bouts were useless? You are telling me that you had six men vie for a reserve spot, then turn around and attempt to give it to a guy that was brutalized in his first attempt at winning the tournament?
Well time goes on, and because Strikeforce did not hold the tournament bouts on the same card, the tournament was stagnant. Strikeforce’s Emelianenko discussions were scrapped and a new contender was thrown in the mix.
Alistair Overeem was injured and subsequently pulled from the tournament. Yes, the Strikeforce champion pulled out of a tournament, for which his title was not on the line.
Daniel Cormier, a guy who won a single reserve bout against a guy who was not involved in the initial reserve bouts, received the nod and is set to face Antonio Silva.
Some time goes by, and finally the semifinals are held. Reserve Daniel Cormier decided he wanted to win the tournament he was not initially in, knocking Silva’s block off. Meanwhile, Josh Barnett dominated Sergei Kharitonov and punched his ticket to the finals.
Cormier was injured for an extended period of time, but finally the match is set for May of 2012.
Oh, did I mention that the UFC began absorbing Strikeforce’s heavyweight division anyways, making this entire tournament useless? Yeah, in fact, Werdum, Overeem and several others have already fought or are scheduled to fight in the UFC soon.
Anyways, the stage is set for one of the most poorly-run, confusing and waste of a tournament to conclude. Long-time steroid abuser Josh Barnett will take on tournament replacement Daniel Cormier in the championship with absolutely nothing on the line.
I think this is the last we will see of tournaments under the Zuffa banner.
Although the UFC has been on hiatus for a couple weeks now, it returns the 14th of next month with its first show in Sweden. Headlining the card is Swedish superstar Alexander Gustafsson and hard-hitting Brazilian Thiago Silva.Silva was set to fi…
Although the UFC has been on hiatus for a couple weeks now, it returns the 14th of next month with its first show in Sweden. Headlining the card is Swedish superstar Alexander Gustafsson and hard-hitting Brazilian Thiago Silva.
Silva was set to fight later in the year, but agreed to take this fight when Antonio Rogerio Nogueira backed out. Silva has just completed a one-year suspension for a failed drug test and will be chomping at the bit to get back in action.
Let’s look at the head-to-toe breakdown for this great fight.
The UFC has a ton of stars in the organization that get all the media and tons of promotion. Although these men deserve it in most cases, there are other men in the organization who deserve some light shed on them for what they do for the company.There…
The UFC has a ton of stars in the organization that get all the media and tons of promotion. Although these men deserve it in most cases, there are other men in the organization who deserve some light shed on them for what they do for the company.
There are some fighters in the UFC who are straight-up underappreciated for the work they do in the cage. Here are six of them that deserve to be recognized for what they do.
Although the UFC has had a long layoff since UFC on FX 2 in Australia, there has been plenty of good