Author: Riley Kontek

TUF China Finale: Predicting the Fight Night Bonus Winners

The Ultimate Fighter: China makes a race to the finish this weekend, as the finale takes place from Macau. Though the finale has lost one of the tournament finals bouts in the featherweight division between Jianpiang Yang and Guangyou Ning, it still ha…

The Ultimate Fighter: China makes a race to the finish this weekend, as the finale takes place from Macau. Though the finale has lost one of the tournament finals bouts in the featherweight division between Jianpiang Yang and Guangyou Ning, it still has the main event and the welterweight final.

The event is headlined by the Korean judoka Dong Hyun Kim and British grinder John Hathaway. Both are dark horses of the division who could really elevate their stock with a win in this fight.

There are three bonuses up for grabs as usual. Let’s predict who will win each, with the two “Performance of the Night” bonuses likely going to the best knockout and submission.

 

Performance of the Night No. 1: Wang Sai

For the first performance of the night, we look at who has the potential for the best knockout of the night. In looking at the matchups, one has to think that welterweight finalist Wang Sai could be the one to fit that bill.

Sai, a heavy favorite from the onset of TUF: China, has a bevy of experience compared to most fighters from the show and should still be considered a favorite over Lipeng Zhang. He has worked with AKA Thailand for this training camp, so his muay thai should be tightened up.

Sai is known to earn some stoppages via knockout. He could earn one against Zhang and end up with an extra bonus check in his bank account.

Also in the running: Tuerxun Jumabieke, Matt Mitrione-Shawn Jordan winner

 

Performance of the Night No. 2: Hatsu Hioki

For the other performance bonus of the night, we look at who has the potential for the best submission. Given the circumstances that he won’t be taking a long flight to the United States and he is a nifty grappler, Hatsu Hioki could take this bonus.

Hioki is a wizard on the ground but has struggled against dominant wrestlers who hold him down. He will not be facing that in Ivan Menjivar, so he should be able to get some good looks at submission attempts.

If he grabs a neck, arm or leg, it could spell trouble for Menjivar. Hioki is tough to shake on the ground, which could pay handsomely if he secures the submission.

Also in the running: Yui Chul Nam, Dong Hyun Kim

 

Fight of the Night: Matt Mitrione vs. Shawn Jordan

Two hard-hitting former football players who are extremely athletic and are large heavyweights? That sounds like a recipe for Fight of the Night.

Matt Mitrione and Shawn Jordan are both desperate for wins here, and sometimes desperation can turn regular fights into dog fights. Given both men’s styles, which is brawling with a heavy dose of power punches, this fight has the recipe for a good time in the fans’ eyes.

Assuming this isn’t a sub-minute finish, which is possible, this could turn into a fun little heavyweight scrap. For their efforts, “Meathead” and “The Savage” should be able to earn one of the coveted bonuses.

Also in the running: Nam Phan-Vaughan Lee, John Hathaway-Dong Hyun Kim

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF Nations: Luke Harris Fighter Blog, Episode 7

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
 
The episode started with Brendan O’Reilly and Vik Grujic confronting Kajan Johnson ab…

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.

 

The episode started with Brendan O’Reilly and Vik Grujic confronting Kajan Johnson about saying, “He’s done” after Dan Kelly’s fight and injury. Team Canada was definitely excited with the win and cheered, but I think the “He’s done” comment was largely taken out of context. Emotions run high after a fight. Glad to hear that nothing was torn and Dan can resume training and teaching at home. He has so many great things in his life that this experience is really just that, an experience.

Jake Matthews is looking awesome in practice. I expect great things out of this kid in this sport. It’s almost like he’s meeting his nemesis in this competition.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier is very skilled as well, and I see him as the future of the sport. Like myself, he has a background in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He’s a great grappler. Anyone on the ground with this kid will have trouble.

Olivier left the sport of judo to pursue MMA, with his main influence being GSP. He’s had him as a mentor from the start. Oli is also the only one on our team who is a parent. He has a young daughter at home and had to miss her third birthday while on the show. There are lots of sacrifices as a fighter.

It made me laugh when I read the caption under his name reading “Book lover.” Oli is a quiet guy but one of my favorite people in the house for sure. He’s really a good person and very funny, sometimes unintentionally.

Testing out the Xbox One was a great escape from the competition. Chris Indich won and got to go for a ride in the Ferrari, driven by producer Danny McNair, who is a great guy. Jake would have probably won but succumbed to our trash talk. Oli and Dan Kelly were simply horrible at the game. Come on guys, you have kids, get practicing!

I helped Oli cut weight, and he made it easily. Oli is a natural 155er. Jake made weight as well.

Fight time, Oli transformed from his usual jovial self to a serial killer-like state. It dubbed him the nickname Dexter. He didn’t want us to clap or cheer as he walked in. He said he wanted the atmosphere to feel like a funeral for Jake. I’m telling you, this guy is hilarious.

The fight started with Jake slightly getting the better of Oli on the feet. Oli has never truly been tested in his MMA career, and he really said that he wanted to “feel the punches.” This strategy concerned me, but he did it before the fight ended up on the ground.

Once it hit there, the fight was one-sided. Oli dominated. His top control is incredible, and he has a great way of using the body triangle, switching it from one side to the other. It’s a testament to Jake’s ground ability for not getting submitted. Oli is just a beast on the ground, eventually winning via unanimous decision.

I truly believe that both guys are the future of the sport.

After the fight, Oli wasn’t that happy with his performance, but a win is a win. He can look to improve on it in the semis. He was more happy about winning in Xbox One than winning the fight!

Next, it’s finally my turn to fight against Vik. I’m definitely confident that this is my fight, although I have lots of respect for Vik. Let’s see what happens!

 

**Tune in next week to hear Luke’s thoughts on the continued tension between teams, more in-depth stories from the house, and his thoughts on the fight between Jake Matthews and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Follow Luke on Twitter@HayabusaHarris and follow his gym @Hayabusa_TC.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Cast Announced with 185ers, 205ers

The upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 has received a great amount of attention because of the coaches involved. Those men are bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.
Now, we know who the men are who will be serving as the protege…

The upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 has received a great amount of attention because of the coaches involved. Those men are bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.

Now, we know who the men are who will be serving as the proteges under these established mixed martial arts stars.

In an article released by Globo, the 32 participants of this upcoming season were revealed. The men will participate in the middleweight and heavyweight tournaments that were created by the UFC.

In looking at the roster of names, there are a lot of little-known men looking to strike big here. When you look at most of their records, a lot of these guys have less than five fights and are early in their MMA careers.

Some of the middleweight participants that strike the eye immediately are Ismael de Jesus of Nova Uniao, top prospect Ricardo Abreu, future star Warlley Alves and established vet Wendell Oliveira Marques. Marques is the most experienced of the young bunch, holding a record of 23-7.

There are even a couple lightweights and welterweights who will be moving up to compete in the middleweight tournament. As seen in past seasons, this is common, as this show is the best attempt at gaining a foothold in the UFC, and it’s worth the risk to fight up weight classes.

As for the heavyweights, there are more experienced guys in that tournament. However, most of the competitors are listed as normal light heavyweights, meaning you will see a lot of these guys not cutting weight, which will save them energy.

The top names to look at here are former TUF cast member Richardson Moreira, middleweight prospect Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Bellator tournament veteran Thiago “Big Monster” Santos.

There is even a fighter from Portugal by the name of Goncalo Salgado, who has fought at super heavyweight in the past and has weighed up to 300-plus pounds.

It’s also worth noting that Team Nogueira is heavily represented on this season with seven men on the cast.

The show will air on UFC Fight Pass and feature one of the most heated coaching rivalries ever.

Here is the full cast.

 

Middleweight

  1. Cristiano Ferrugem (4-1, X-Gym)
  2. Douglas Moura (4-1, Team Nogueira)
  3. Giuliano Alemao (5-1, Octagon Fight)
  4. Guilherme Vasconcelos (3-1, Titi Jiu-Jitsu)
  5. Ismael de Jesus (9-4, Nova Uniao)
  6. Joilton Santos (9-2, Benkei MMA Systems)
  7. Jose Roberto (5-0, Montanha Team)
  8. Marcio Alexandre (12-0, Team Tavares)
  9. Markus Echeimberg (3-0, Gracie Fusion)
  10. Paulo Henrique Costa (3-0, Rubens Dorea Team)
  11. Pedro Paulino (3-0, Pantanal Fight Team)
  12. Ricardo Abreu (4-0, Wand Fight Team)
  13. Wagner Silva Gomes (3-0, Tata Fight Team)
  14. Warlley Alves (6-0, X-Gym)
  15. Wendell Oliveira Marques (23-7, Crazy Fight Team)
  16. Willian Steindorf (3-0, Neo Dojo)

 

Heavyweight

  1. Alexandre Machado (6-1, Machado Team)
  2. Antonio Carlos Jr. (3-0, Chamption Team)
  3. Antonio Paulo Branjao (3-0, Team Nogueira)
  4. Bruno Silva (9-4, Nocaute Fight)
  5. Edgard Castaldelli (12-4, Team Nogueira)
  6. Everton Rocha (3-1, Team Nogueira)
  7. Felipe Diego Dantas (6-0, Kioto)
  8. Fernando Camoles (4-1, Brazilian Top Team)
  9. Goncalo Salgado (7-2, Portugal)
  10. Guilherme Viana (4-1, Ruas Vale Tudo)
  11. Job Kleber Melo (3-1, Beto Padilha Team)
  12. Jollyson Sosatleta (2-0, Nova Uniao Pernambuco)
  13. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (11-2, 011 MMA Team)
  14. Richardson Moreira (7-1, Team Nogueira)
  15. Thiago Santos (11-3, Team Nogueira)
  16. Vitor Miranda (9-3, Team Nogueira)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Cast Announced with 185ers, 205ers

The upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 has received a great amount of attention because of the coaches involved. Those men are bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.
Now, we know who the men are who will be serving as the protege…

The upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 has received a great amount of attention because of the coaches involved. Those men are bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.

Now, we know who the men are who will be serving as the proteges under these established mixed martial arts stars.

In an article released by Globo, the 32 participants of this upcoming season were revealed. The men will participate in the middleweight and heavyweight tournaments that were created by the UFC.

In looking at the roster of names, there are a lot of little-known men looking to strike big here. When you look at most of their records, a lot of these guys have less than five fights and are early in their MMA careers.

Some of the middleweight participants that strike the eye immediately are Ismael de Jesus of Nova Uniao, top prospect Ricardo Abreu, future star Warlley Alves and established vet Wendell Oliveira Marques. Marques is the most experienced of the young bunch, holding a record of 23-7.

There are even a couple lightweights and welterweights who will be moving up to compete in the middleweight tournament. As seen in past seasons, this is common, as this show is the best attempt at gaining a foothold in the UFC, and it’s worth the risk to fight up weight classes.

As for the heavyweights, there are more experienced guys in that tournament. However, most of the competitors are listed as normal light heavyweights, meaning you will see a lot of these guys not cutting weight, which will save them energy.

The top names to look at here are former TUF cast member Richardson Moreira, middleweight prospect Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Bellator tournament veteran Thiago “Big Monster” Santos.

There is even a fighter from Portugal by the name of Goncalo Salgado, who has fought at super heavyweight in the past and has weighed up to 300-plus pounds.

It’s also worth noting that Team Nogueira is heavily represented on this season with seven men on the cast.

The show will air on UFC Fight Pass and feature one of the most heated coaching rivalries ever.

Here is the full cast.

 

Middleweight

  1. Cristiano Ferrugem (4-1, X-Gym)
  2. Douglas Moura (4-1, Team Nogueira)
  3. Giuliano Alemao (5-1, Octagon Fight)
  4. Guilherme Vasconcelos (3-1, Tit Jiu-Jitsu)
  5. Ismael de Jesus (9-4, Nova Uniao)
  6. Joilton Santos (9-2, Benkei MMA Systems)
  7. Jose Roberto (5-0, Montanha Team)
  8. Marcio Alexandre (12-0, Team Tavares)
  9. Markus Echeimberg (3-0, Gracie Fusion)
  10. Paulo Henrique Costa (3-0, Rubens Dorea Team)
  11. Pedro Paulino (3-0, Pantanal Fight Team)
  12. Ricardo Abreu (4-0, Wand Fight Team)
  13. Wagner Silva Gomes (3-0, Tata Fight Team)
  14. Warlley Alves (6-0, X-Gym)
  15. Wendell Oliveira Marques (23-7, Crazy Fight Team)
  16. Willian Steindorf (3-0, Neo Dojo)

 

Heavyweight

  1. Alexandre Machado (6-1, Machado Team)
  2. Antonio Carlos Jr. (3-0, Chamption Team)
  3. Antonio Paulo Branjao (3-0, Team Nogueira)
  4. Bruno Silva (9-4, Nocaute Fight)
  5. Edgard Castaldelli (12-4, Team Nogueira)
  6. Everton Rocha (3-1, Team Nogueira)
  7. Felipe Diego Dantas (6-0, Kioto)
  8. Fernando Camoles (4-1, Brazilian Top Team)
  9. Goncalo Salgado (7-2, Portugal)
  10. Guilherme Viana (4-1, Ruas Vale Tudo)
  11. Job Kleber Melo (3-1, Beto Padilha Team)
  12. Jollyson Sosatleta (2-0, Nova Uniao Pernambuco)
  13. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (11-2, 011 MMA Team)
  14. Richardson Moreira (7-1, Team Nogueira)
  15. Thiago Santos (11-3, Team Nogueira)
  16. Vitor Miranda (9-3, Team Nogueira)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF China Finale: 5 Reasons to Watch

Honestly, there really isn’t a whole lot of excitement coming into The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale this weekend live in the early hours of Saturday.
However, if you are a mixed martial arts (MMA) junkie like myself and can’t get enough, you’ll be up…

Honestly, there really isn’t a whole lot of excitement coming into The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale this weekend live in the early hours of Saturday.

However, if you are a mixed martial arts (MMA) junkie like myself and can’t get enough, you’ll be up with a caffeinated beverage on your nightstand, a box of doughnuts on hand and your computer streaming this event live. Ah, the life of an obsessed MMA fan. The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale is being held March 1 at the CotaiArena in Cotai, Macau, China, and is televised as the international edition of the long-running reality TV series.

I know, there aren’t a whole lot of good things going for this weekend’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event. However, here are five reasons you should tune into watch.

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Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva and the 5 Best TUF Coaches’ Rivalries

The Ultimate Fighter has a long history of featuring up-and-coming prospects in a competitive tournament format. It also has a history of utilizing coaches who are feuding with each other with the intent of creating good television.
Over the years, we …

The Ultimate Fighter has a long history of featuring up-and-coming prospects in a competitive tournament format. It also has a history of utilizing coaches who are feuding with each other with the intent of creating good television.

Over the years, we have seen some great coaching rivalries and some duds. For every awesome coaching rivalry, we have had Brock Lesnar-Junior dos Santos or Shane Carwin-Roy Nelson.

So, what are the best five coaching rivalries in the show’s history? Let’s take a look.

Begin Slideshow