Champion MMA’s Raul Amaya has found his way back into the Bellator Season 8 Welterweight tournament. The former Art of Fighting Welterweight champion owns an impressive 10-1 record with all ten of his wins being.
Champion MMA’s Raul Amaya has found his way back into the Bellator Season 8 Welterweight tournament. The former Art of Fighting Welterweight champion owns an impressive 10-1 record with all ten of his wins being a finish. His one loss coming by the hands of Bellator Welterweight standout Ben Saunders, who by chance has been placed on the same side of the bracket as Raul.
Though revenge must be on the mind of Amaya, he has a large task at hand in the form of long time veteran Jose Gomes. Look for Raul to come out aggressive like he did in his last fight and use his heavy hands to dictate the stand up, and his phenomenal wrestling to control the ground game. Though many may see Amaya as an underdog, he definitely has what it takes to take this tournament and challenge Ben Askren.
Look to see Raul, and the other Bellator Welterweights live January, 24 live on Spike TV.
Who’s next in line for a shot at Benson Henderson? That’s the million dollar question. There were strong title implications when the match up between Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis was announced, but then news.
Who’s next in line for a shot at Benson Henderson? That’s the million dollar question. There were strong title implications when the match up between Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis was announced, but then news about Gilbert Melendez receiving an immediate title shot in his UFC debut was a roar. As if the situation wasn’t confusing enough, yet again, more breaking news is unleashed upon the MMA world with the possible addition of Eddie Alvarez in the UFC, who is also a top choice for an immediate title shot. Every MMA fan knows how easily a booked fight can fall apart, so looks like the next title fight is still up for grabs.
As of this moment, it’s most likely that Alvarez will most likely get the first crack at the UFC champ in March. The former Bellator lightweight champion is coming off two first round knockouts over two elite fighters, Shinya Aoki and Patricky Freire. I’m sure Alvarez would like to rematch the man who took his title, Michael Chandler, but a UFC contract is enough to temp any fighter. Alvarez is looking at an immediate title shot and a giant pay day if he finalizes a deal with the UFC.
Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis will face each other on January 26th, which will line up perfect for the winner to receive a title shot in a timely fashion, assuming Benson Henderson defends his title against either Eddie Alvarez or Gilbert Melendez in early 2013. Thanks to the UFC 125 title fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard ending in a draw, a rematch was in order and Pettis missed out on a title unification bout. Instead of waiting for the next shot at the title, Pettis faced Clay Guida and lost a unanimous decision. Since then, he has been eager to get back into title contention. Cerrone was knocking on the door for a title shot, but his title run was interrupted by Nate Diaz who ended up getting the title fight, but losing a decision. Both fighters are coming off of stellar knockouts, and whoever emerges victorious will absolutely deserve a title shot.
Before Alvarez came into the title picture, it was Gilbert Melendez who was apparently slated for an early 2013 title shot, but if Alvarez doesn’t come through, Melendez could easily step in as a replacement. Besides unifying the titles, Melendez has other reasons for wanting to fight Benson Henderson, specifically to avenge the loss of his training partner, Nate Diaz. Melendez has even stated that Benson Henderson can’t consider himself the number one lightweight until Henderson can defeat him. There could even be a chance that the UFC squares off Melendez and Alvarez to determine a number one contender. Both fighters have the credentials and accomplishments to deserve a title fight, but there shouldn’t be any complaints from the fans regardless of who is ultimately chosen.
Five months and two cancelled events later, Strikeforce is back with a stacked fight card. There’s plenty of big names, and even bigger opportunities for lesser known fighters, and if they can muster up a.
Five months and two cancelled events later, Strikeforce is back with a stacked fight card. There’s plenty of big names, and even bigger opportunities for lesser known fighters, and if they can muster up a win, it’ll drastically change the MMA rankings. Every attempt is being made to compensate for the cancellation of the past to Strikeforce events, as it features two titles fights, and the return of former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Gegard Mousasi.
Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedin
Rumors of a Strikeforce/ UFC welterweight title unification have been in mix, and Marquardt may have the best chance of beating the dominate GSP. Whether he does or doesn‘t, Marquardt is still a top ten welterweight and Saffiedine isn’t in the same talent pool. Marquardt is one of the most well rounded fighters in the game, and utilizes every tool in his striking; throwing punches, kicks, knees and elbows. He’s a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with good takedowns, and can win no matter where the fight goes. It doesn’t take a expert analyst to understand why Marquardt has a clear advantage in this fight. It doesn’t get any simpler than the fact that Saffiedine was handled by Tyrone Woodley, and Marquardt knocked Woodley out.
Pick : Nate Marquardt
Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
Saying that Staring is deserving of this title opportunity is questionable. More than half of his opponents have been relatively unknown and he isn’t coming off of any wins over elite fighters. Why Strikeforce chose Staring to face Cormier is puzzling, but it doesn’t mean that Cormier can slack off and look past this fight. Staring has won a number of his fights by submission, but it doesn’t seem likely that Cormier will fall victim to Staring’s Jiu-Jitsu seeing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Josh Barnett, was unsuccessful. Staring trains with Alistair Overeem, but again, I don’t see him getting the best of Cormier on the feet. Cormier’s striking overcame Karate black belt, Antonio Silva, and he possess the power to finish this fight with just one punch; just ask Silva.
Pick : Daniel Cormier
Josh Barnett vs. Nandor Guelmino
There’s no secret to wait Barnett will look to do, get his opponent on the ground and submit him as soon as possible. Most of Guelmino’s wins have been by submission, but I don’t see him winning a grappling match against Barnett. Unfortunately for Guelmino, nearly every advantage goes to Barnett in this fight; striking, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu and experience. Guelmino being the harder puncher may be a valid statement, but Barnett has enough weapons in his arsenal to swing the fight in his favor. Even though Guelmino has multiple submission wins, he also has multiple submission losses, so this fight will most likely be identical to his last two of Barnett’s wins, a quick submission.
Pick : Josh Barnett
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Pyle
The power of Pyle always posses a problem, but the superior technical skills lie with Mousasi, both striking and grappling. Mousasi stays relatively relaxed in his fights and pick his shots, while Kyle comes out like a mad man and tries to take off his opponents head. Kyle’s knockout wins come relatively quick, so the longer this fight goes, the less chance Kyle will finding his opponents chin. Mousasi has also finished a number of his fights early by both knockout and submission, this gives him more ways to win the fight and an advantage in the technical skill set. Whether it’s by decision, submission, or knockout, Mousasi will be getting his hand raised.
Pick : Gegard Mousasi
Ed Herman vs. Ronaldo Souza
This fight is déjà vu from Herman’s fight with Jake Shields at UFC 150. Herman is primarily a grappler, and again will be facing a superior grappler. He arguably has the better striking, but Souza’s striking is improving and he clearly possess a great deal of power in his punches, his knockout of Derek Brunson is proof of that. However, even if Herman has the edge in the stand up, Souza’s Jiu-Jitsu will be Herman’s demise. Jake Shields has been criticized for having feeble wrestling, and Herman had his work cut out for him trying to avoiding Shields’ takedowns. One way or another, Souza will get the fight to the ground, and when he does, the inevitable submission will come.
Pick : Ronaldo Souza
Quick Picks
Pat Healy vs. Kurt Holobaugh – Pat Healy
Roger Gracie vs. Anthony Smith – Roger Gracie
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith – Tim Kennedy
Ryan Couture vs. K.J. Noons – Ryan Couture
Jorge Gurgel vs. Adriano Martins – Adriano Martins
The UFC is heading back to the Saitama Super Arena with a stacked card for free on Fuel TV. This card has so many intriguing matchups it’s hard to comprehend, but my personal favorite is.
The UFC is heading back to the Saitama Super Arena with a stacked card for free on Fuel TV. This card has so many intriguing matchups it’s hard to comprehend, but my personal favorite is Hunt vs Struve. This matchup has some title implications in a stacked Heavyweight division. Both men are coming in with winning streaks. Struve is on a four fight win streak coming off a TKO of Stipe Miocic, whereas Hunt is on a three fight win streak coming off a KO of Cheick Kongo. So an impressive win here will move either fighter one step closer to a title shot, as both of these men are top ten fighters in my opinion. As I said in the UFC 155 podcast, I believe Mark Hunt will take this win, as four out of five of Struve’s losses are by KO. Though this can also be used to make a case for Struve winning, as six out of seven of Hunt’s losses were by submission. Regardless of the outcome, this should be a great fight and I would predict a finish out of this one.
Nobody should miss this year’s World MMA Award show, so mark January 11th on the calendar. Any event hosted by Chael Sonnen is bound to entertaining and this event will be no exception. The.
Nobody should miss this year’s World MMA Award show, so mark January 11th on the calendar. Any event hosted by Chael Sonnen is bound to entertaining and this event will be no exception. The nominees have been announced and fortunately, they all seem worthy of being on the list. Now while I usually make predictions for the winner, I’ll be selecting the nominee that I feel is the most deserving of the award. Let’s face it, voters don’t always get it right.
Comeback of the Year
– Alan Belcher (career)
– Mike Swick (career)
– Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140)
– Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami (UFC 144)
– J.P. Joubert vs. Norman Wessels (EFC Africa 15)
All the nominees have such a strong argument as to why they should win. For me it’s a toss up between Tim Boetsch and his comeback win over Yushin Okami, or J.P. Joubert and his comeback over Norman Wessels. It all comes down to who was being dominated more until they ultimately turned the fight in their favor. Although I doubt it will get the necessary votes in order to win, it should go to J.P. Joubert, who was outclassed by Norman Wessels for ninety five percent of the fight. Although there were parts of the fight that weren’t necessarily exciting, Joubert was being outclassed just the same. Eventually he was able to land a combination that hurt Wessels, which gave him the adrenalin boost needed to unleash a relentless combination of punches until Wessels dropped to the canvas. One could make the argument that Tim Boetsch was in the same scenario, but unlike Joubert, Boetsch controlled the third round from the very beginning and continued to do so until he found the knockout. In other words, Yushin Okami wasn’t as dominate over Boetsch as Norman Wessels was over Joubert before the comeback.
Pick : J.P. Joubert vs. Norman Wessels (EFC Africa 15)
Submission of the Year
– Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140)
– Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely (UFC on FOX 2)
– Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio (UFC 142)
– Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey)
– Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC on FUEL TV 3)
I have to dismiss three nominees for several reasons. Chan Sung Jung’s submission over Dustin Poirier was impressive, but it was a fight he was clearly in control of. It was almost as if the crowd was just waiting for the submission to come, or for Poirier to have a tremendous comeback. Charles Oliveira’s submission over Eric Wisely was the same scenario. He was clearly controlling the fight and submitted Wisely with a calve slicer while taking his back. Rousimar Palhares had yet another fast leg lock submission, like he always does, one reason I doubt he’ll get the votes to win. For me, it’s between Ronda Rousey’s armbar win over Miesha Tate and Frank Mir’s Kimura win over Antonio Nogueira; two astounding submissions that literally broke bones. I won’t complain if either of the two win, but in my eyes, Frank Mir is more deserving. Not only is Mir’s win nominee for comeback of the year, which always makes his submission win that much more impressive, but he submitted one of the most decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in MMA. It’s the only time Nogueria has ever been submitted, and that alone is more than enough reason for Mir to be the most deserving of submission of the year.
Pick : Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140)
Knockout of the Year
– Adam Khaliev vs. Alexei Belyaev (League S-70)
– Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim (UFC 142)
– Stephen Thompson vs. Dan Stittgen (UFC 143)
– Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon (UFC 144)
– Brian Rogers vs. Vitor Vianna (Bellator 61)
I had originally thought that Edson Barboza’s insane wheel kick knockout was not only the greatest UFC knockout, but also the most impressive knockout in MMA. While I still think Barboza’s aspiring kick is the most impressive UFC knockout to date, Adam Khaliev’s Tornado kick knockout was equally as stellar, and even more flashy. I give my pick to the slightly more flashy kick from Khaliev. One thing for sure, these two nominees are the only obvious options. If any other nominee wins the award, it will be the perfect example of biased opinion and favoritism.
Pick : Adam Khaliev vs. Alexei Belyaev (League S-70)
Fight of the Year
– Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (UFC 139)
– Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez (Bellator 58)
– Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC on FUEL TV 1)
– Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung (UFC on FUEL TV 3)
– Jamie Varner vs. Joe Lauzon (UFC on FOX 4)
Easiest category to pick a winner, in fact, everyone called this award winner the moment the fight was over. All are worthy nominees, but the UFC 139 main event produced one of the greatest and most memorable fights in UFC history. Dan Henderson vs. Shogun wasn’t just an epic fight, it’s one of those fights that can be watched over and over again. I will be absolutely shocked if this fight doesn’t end up winning fight of the year.
Pick : Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (UFC 139)
International fighter of the Year
– Michael Bisping
– Alexander Gustafsson
– Chan Sung Jung
– Martin Kampmann
– Stefan Struve
Bisping has a win, loss, win going for him, so the lack of consecutive wins prevents him from getting my vote. Kampmann had wins over elite fighters Thiago Alves, and Jake Ellenberger, but most fans consider those wins, nothing more than lucky combacks. On top of that, his fight with Ellenberger was extremely controversial due to multiple claims of an early stoppage. Had Kampmann won his most recent fight against Johnny Hendricks, I would’ve picked him to win the award hands down, but that’s not the case. Gustafsson’s win over Shogun is argument enough for him win. As if the win over Shogun wasn‘t impressive enough, his prior fight was a dominating victory over former elite light heavyweight, Thiago Silva. Chan Sung Jung was my first initial pick, his last two wins were over Mark Hominick, who was just coming off a title fight, and Dustin Poirier, who was possibly one win away from a title fight. The Korean Zombie finished both fights, and received a bonus award for each one. Stefan Struve has more wins in the contest timeline than all the other nominee, three of his four win were fight that I incorrectly predicted that he would lose. He has been the most well rounded in his fights, winning by knockout, and two different submissions . His last two fights were against two heavy handed up and comers, which Struve was able to derail their ride to the title. After winning and finishing more fights than the other nominees, and doing so in multiple ways, I consider Struve the most deserving of the title International fighter of the year.
Pick : Stefan Struve
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
– Renan Barao
– Michael Chandler
– Luke Rockhold
– Ronda Rousey
– Chris Weidman
This award will be closely contested, because all five nominee has three wins during the contest timeline, and four of the nominees won the title during this time. Had Weidman not beaten Mark Munoz, he wouldn’t be on the list, and I don’t consider Munoz as highly ranked as others did during the time of their fight. For Chandler and Rockhold, they took the belt from fighters, who at the time, were ranked in the top ten of their weight classes. However, their first title defenses were against fighters who were nowhere near deserving of a title fight. Rousey had three first round armbar wins, very impressive, but most people were picking her to armbar Miesha Tate to win the belt. No other female fighter, has been seen as truly dominate. Barao faced Brad Pickett in his UFC debut, talk about a tough first fight, but he won in the first round via submission. He picked apart Scott Jorgensen and did the same to Urijah Faber. Barao has faced and beaten three elite fighters, beating Faber has given him an achievement that makes him my choice for breakthrough fighter of the year.
Pick : Renan Barao
Female Fighter of the Year
– Jessica Aguilar
– Sarah Kaufman
– Sara McMann
– Ronda Rousey
– Miesha Tate
Ronda Rousey has beaten two of the nominees, both by first round armbar. She is a nominee for breakthrough fighter of the year and fighter of the year, there’s no reason for Rousey not to win female fighter of the year. The only other fighter that I can see even remotely deserving the award is Jessica Aguilar for her victory over Megumi Fujii, but still, not as impressive as Rousey.
Pick : Ronda Rousey
Fighter of the Year
– Daniel Cormier
– Benson Henderson
– Nate Diaz
– Jon Jones
– Ronda Rousey
After he refused to fight Chael Sonnen and had similar feelings for a rematch with Lyoto Machida, I’d rather not see Jon Jones win fighter of the year. However, as much as I hate to say it, I have to admit that he is the most deserving of the award. In four consecutive fights, Jones defeated four former champions, submitting three of them. None of the other nominees had faced the quality of opponents that Jones did. I’d like to see Cormier win, only because I don’t believe that Henderson deserves the award due to his two controversial fights with Frankie Edgar, two fights that I scored for Edgar. Henderson destroyed Diaz, so obviously, I won’t vote for Diaz. Bottom line, I have to be unbiased, and Jon Jones deserves the award based on his superior accomplishments in the octagon.
The title says it all fight fans. Dana White made an announcement that Gilbert Melendez will most likely get an automatic title shot in his UFC debut. Though many thought that the winner of Pettis.
The title says it all fight fans. Dana White made an announcement that Gilbert Melendez will most likely get an automatic title shot in his UFC debut. Though many thought that the winner of Pettis vs Cerrone would get the shot, Melendez proves an interesting matchup for Benson Henderson. The Champ just won a unanimous decision victory against Melendez’ team mate Nate Diaz in what was the most dominant performance he has had as of late.
Some say that Melendez doesn’t deserve the shot seeing as he hasn’t fought many big names in Strikeforce, but yet he has remained among the top 10 Lightweights in the world. I am all for this fight, mostly because it will show us whether Gilbert Melendez is all hype, or a top 10 fighter. Personally I see Henderson using his size to control the fight and take a unanimous decision, but this has the makings to be a great fight.
Let me know what you think in the comment section fight fans.
