Author: Riley Kontek

UFC 168: Preliminary Card Predictions

The UFC plans to close 2013 with a bang, as UFC 168 comes to you live on pay-per-view. Headlined by two title fights, the card is deep from the very bottom all the way to the top.
Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman are the stars, vying for the UFC M…

The UFC plans to close 2013 with a bang, as UFC 168 comes to you live on pay-per-view. Headlined by two title fights, the card is deep from the very bottom all the way to the top.

Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman are the stars, vying for the UFC Middleweight Championship, which the American took after knocking out Silva at UFC 162. Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate co-headline, battling for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship, which “Rowdy” earned after finishing as the Strikeforce champion.

Before those great fights and several other PPV bouts, we start with the Facebook and Fox Sports 1 portions of the card. Here are the predictions for those fights.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 168: 5 Reasons to Watch

The UFC plans on closing 2013 with a boom. That is evident with how stacked UFC 168 is from top to bottom.
The card is headlined by a pair of title fights that are rematches. Chris Weidman looks to defend his title against all-time great Anderson Silva…

The UFC plans on closing 2013 with a boom. That is evident with how stacked UFC 168 is from top to bottom.

The card is headlined by a pair of title fights that are rematches. Chris Weidman looks to defend his title against all-time great Anderson Silva after scoring one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, while Ronda Rousey looks to defend her UFC title against rival Miesha Tate.

If you need a reason to watch UFC 168 (which I doubt you do), I’ll do you even better; I’ll give you five of them.

Despite the fact that the UFC raised the pay-per-view price by five dollars for this event, UFC 168 is worth watching on Saturday, and here are five reasons why.

Begin Slideshow

New Details Emerge on the Digital UFC Network

For those who were wondering and anticipating the details of the new digital UFC network, some of those questions have been answered.
As of now, UFC Fight Pass will cost $9.99 per month, which for a full year’s service, will run you about $120.
The fir…

For those who were wondering and anticipating the details of the new digital UFC network, some of those questions have been answered.

As of now, UFC Fight Pass will cost $9.99 per month, which for a full year’s service, will run you about $120.

The first three fight cards to be shown in real time are UFC in Singapore, UFC Fight Night in Macau and UFC Fight Night in London, the latter of which is headlined by Alexander Gustafsson and Jimi Manuwa.

For those across the world hoping to see these fight cards on television, they will need to check with their local cable provider. In North America, fans who do not wish to purchase the digital network, and are willing to wait for the televised tape delay, should be in luck.

Clarified in a report from mmajunkie.com.

Events will continue to air on pay-per-view, FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 in 2014, of course, but some of the UFC’s international events are geared toward region-specific audiences.

Other features that will be on UFC Fight Pass are the preliminary fights that usually air on Facebook, event replays, fight libraries (UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Pride), UFC television programming and some original content.

In looking at this, there is definitely bound to be mixed reaction to the digital network the UFC plans to launch here.

On one hand, you have an entire library of content that could have you busy on a rainy day for hours. You could relive the Pride days, catch a card you may have missed in the past or watch some in-depth interviews with top UFC athletes.

On the other hand, if you’re like me, this is $120 bucks to watch a small Fight Night card per month and preliminary card fights that I used to be able to watch on Facebook for free. 

The idea of the digital network is great, but expecting fans to not only pay for pricey pay-per-views every once a month or so ($45-55 per show) plus dropping $10 a month for a digital network may be too much.

We will see how this experiment goes, but it’s obviously going to be met with mixed reactions. That’s most of what is known for now, but stay tuned in case more details emerge from UFC Fight Pass.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 20 Could Have Female Coaches, but Doesn’t Need Them

The upcoming 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter is historic because it will not only be the first all-female cast in the show’s history, but it will also crown the first ever women’s strawweight champion. As of right now, the show has 11 ladies w…

The upcoming 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter is historic because it will not only be the first all-female cast in the show’s history, but it will also crown the first ever women’s strawweight champion. As of right now, the show has 11 ladies whose contracts were purchased from Invicta to compete on the show (the other five contestants will be chosen from a tryout).

So far, the cast includes Invicta champ Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Joanna Calderwood, Tecia Torres, Felice Herrig, Bec Hyatt, Rose Namajunas, Emily Kagan, Paige VanZant, Alex Chambers and Juliana Lima.

One of the questions that has been posed since the announcement of this cast is who the coaches would be. Would it be two female fighters or would they use male fighters?

Despite everything, it would be best for the UFC to incorporate male coaches for this season, especially a pair of coaches that have a background or rivalry.

Sure, TUF 20 could employ female coaches, but the options aren’t really aplenty.

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate both coached season 18 and are still set to have their coaches battle at the end of this month at UFC 168. That, of course, was an obvious choice for coaching the first-ever season that included women, but they will not likely coach again.

That leaves the UFC with the rest of the bantamweight division as choices to coach.

Cat Zingano was supposed to coach and then fight Rousey, but a knee injury bumped her from that spot and gave Tate the opportunity. She is likely to get her earned title shot after the Tate-Rousey fight goes down, so throwing her on the show as a coach wouldn’t make sense because she already has a title ticket punched.

That leaves the rest of the division, which includes Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Jessica Eye and Amanda Nunes, to name a few.

First off, I think we have to remove anybody from the running that doesn’t speak English, as that is a requirement for performing on the show. Nunes isn’t exactly fluent, nor is Jessica Andrade or Bethe Correia.

When you go further than that, none of the women in the division who could be potential opponents have an intriguing storyline with another woman. Plus, you have to find somebody who is marketable to warrant views.

Liz Carmouche has pushed hard on Twitter to get that coaching spot, but with all due respect, her record in the UFC doesn’t suggest she should land the spot. Sure she had a title shot, but she is 1-2 with the company and coming off a one-sided loss to Alexis Davis.

Davis could be a viable contender to coach, as she could be right behind Zingano in the line for a title shot. However, finding her a dance partner to coach against would be tough, especially because the most interesting coaching seasons come between rivals that dislike each other.

Sara McMann could be a decent coach, but we haven’t heard from her since she pulled out of her fight back in the summer against Sarah Kaufman.

What it comes down to is that the UFC needs these strawweights to get the best attention possible, so they can develop into marketable, seasoned fighters that make the division more legit than it is now. It worked with Rousey and Tate, but outside that, it may be tough.

That’s why the UFC may have to go with male coaches for this season.

There are well over 200 male fighters on the roster, many of whom have an opponent who could not only create a great rivalry, but could make for a close, interesting fight when it’s all said and done.

What about Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson coaching a season that ends in a title rematch between the two? That would be a great competitive rivalry.

Then there’s the idea of having Rich Franklin coach opposite another top fighter, which could be the ultimate sendoff for the legend who will probably retire next year. Franklin has a lot to offer having coached the show before.

Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy would be great to have, as their rivalry continues to heat up through the media. It would be a tense season that resulted in an important middleweight bout.

The possibilities are endless. Basically, even though it’s an all-women’s season doesn’t mean the coaches need to be female fighters.

Whatever happens, I’m sure the season will be filled with high drama and great action. That’s why there is such a buzz about the keynote 20th season.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Holly Holm and 5 Women’s Fighters Who Could Be the Next Big Thing

The face of women’s MMA right now is Ronda Rousey—the brash, armbarring Olympic-level judoka who is the undefeated UFC champion. She is 7-0 with all of her wins coming by way of first-round armbar.
At some point or another, there will be a changi…

The face of women’s MMA right now is Ronda Rousey—the brash, armbarring Olympic-level judoka who is the undefeated UFC champion. She is 7-0 with all of her wins coming by way of first-round armbar.

At some point or another, there will be a changing of the guard in terms of the face of WMMA. Rousey took the torch from Gina Carano, the original attraction in WMMA.

We have our current stars, but there are a bevy of up-and-comers who could become the next big thing in WMMA. Here are some women who could be that next big thing.

Begin Slideshow

10 WSOF Fighters Worth Getting to Know

Although World Series of Fighting has gotten off to a slow start in terms of viewership, the company undoubtedly is expanding rapidly, acquiring a number of talented fighters that will boost interest in the company.
Just seven shows into the promotion’…

Although World Series of Fighting has gotten off to a slow start in terms of viewership, the company undoubtedly is expanding rapidly, acquiring a number of talented fighters that will boost interest in the company.

Just seven shows into the promotion’s history, WSOF has put on some great fights that have only been seen by a few because of the lack of advertising that NBC and NBC Sports are giving to the company. It’s kind of a shame, as the WSOF has good production quality to compliment the immense talent it actually does have.

So, for all you people who haven’t been paying attention, here are 10 fighters worth getting to know going forward. It may be beneficial to you, as these are top prospects that are currently banging for this Las Vegas-based company.

Begin Slideshow