The hope of a Ronda Rousey vs. Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos superfight in the UFC may have just gone up in smoke, for good this time. According to Cyborg’s manager — a bespectacled fellow by the name of Tito “The Brain” Ortiz — the formerly-feared Brazilian striker has officially refused to drop to 135 pounds to compete in the Octagon, and she’ll now be seeking opportunities elsewhere. Here’s what Ortiz had to say last night on Inside MMA:
Right now, we’re actually waiting for [the] UFC to release [Cyborg]. We asked for them to release her, so Dana White actually talked to me yesterday. They gave an offer, I went to Cyborg and she said she didn’t want to do it—and we just asked for her release.
Since [the UFC] isn’t doing a 145-pound weight class, what else can they do? Now, she’s going to be released. Maybe we’ll go look somewhere else and you can see Cyborg crush another woman’s face in.
As Ortiz tells it, Cyborg was willing to drop to 140 to meet Rousey at a catchweight — though not until her fourth fight in the UFC for some reason — but cutting an additional five pounds would be physically impossible for Cyborg, and the UFC didn’t want to budge on the point. (Women carry less water-weight, and can’t cut as much weight as men, Dr. Ortiz explained.) Now, the only female MMA superfight available isn’t happening, which is also a serious blow for the future of women’s MMA in the UFC. How long will fans care about a division that only features one star?
The hope of a Ronda Rousey vs. Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos superfight in the UFC may have just gone up in smoke, for good this time. According to Cyborg’s manager — a bespectacled fellow by the name of Tito “The Brain“ Ortiz — the formerly-feared Brazilian striker has officially refused to drop to 135 pounds to compete in the Octagon, and she’ll now be seeking opportunities elsewhere. Here’s what Ortiz had to say last night on Inside MMA:
Right now, we’re actually waiting for [the] UFC to release [Cyborg]. We asked for them to release her, so Dana White actually talked to me yesterday. They gave an offer, I went to Cyborg and she said she didn’t want to do it—and we just asked for her release.
Since [the UFC] isn’t doing a 145-pound weight class, what else can they do? Now, she’s going to be released. Maybe we’ll go look somewhere else and you can see Cyborg crush another woman’s face in.
As Ortiz tells it, Cyborg was willing to drop to 140 to meet Rousey at a catchweight — though not until her fourth fight in the UFC for some reason — but cutting an additional five pounds would be physically impossible for Cyborg, and the UFC didn’t want to budge on the point. (Women carry less water-weight, and can’t cut as much weight as men, Dr. Ortiz explained.) Now, the only female MMA superfight available isn’t happening, which is also a serious blow for the future of women’s MMA in the UFC. How long will fans care about a division that only features one star?
Thus far, we’ve generally sided with Rousey in her weight dispute with Cyborg. After all, Cyborg is the one coming back from a drug suspension, and has no authority to make demands on the champion, who happens to be the only reason that the UFC has a female division. But should the UFC have tried harder to make sure this match came together? Sure, 140 pounds is not a real weight class. But Rousey vs. Cyborg is a real fight.
It is now being reported by Long Island Newsday that two of Strikeforce’s best light heavyweights, Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante, will fight each other at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey.
A former college football player for the University of Tennessee, Ovince St. Preux went 4-4 before being signed to fight on the undercard of Strikeforce: Nashville in 2010. St. Preux provided more than just a cheap pop for the organization, as he would defeat Chris Hawk in only forty-seven seconds. OSP would win his next six fights before dropping a unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in December of 2011. St. Preux’s most recent fight was a knockout over TJ Cook at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman in August.
Look, Ovince, all I’m saying is that maybe Lane Kiffin is slightly underrated and doesn’t deserve so much hatred. Props: fightinginsider.com
It is now being reported by Long Island Newsday that two of Strikeforce’s best light heavyweights, Ovince St. Preux and Gian Villante, will fight each other at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey.
A former college football player for the University of Tennessee, Ovince St. Preux went 4-4 before being signed to fight on the undercard of Strikeforce: Nashville in 2010. St. Preux provided more than just a cheap pop for the organization, as he would defeat Chris Hawk in only forty-seven seconds. OSP would win his next six fights before dropping a unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in December of 2011. St. Preux’s most recent fight was a knockout over TJ Cook at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman in August.
Meanwhile, Gian Villante made his Strikeforce debut as part of the promotion’s Heavyweight Grand Prix, losing to Chad Griggs in the first round. Villante then dropped down to light heavyweight, and despite losing a unanimous decision to Lorenz Larkin in his first effort as a Strikeforce light heavyweight, Villante quickly turned things around. He has won three fights in a row since losing to Larkin, but has remained inactive since May due to Strikeforce cancelling events once everyone stopped caring.
With two of Strikeforce’s most promising light heavyweight prospects looking to make a statement in their UFC debuts, this should be an entertaining scrap. Don’t expect this fight to go the distance – both fighters have heavy hands and like to bang, bro.
UFC 159 will take place on April 27 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It will be headlined by the TUF 17 coaches clash between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen. We’ll keep you up to date as this card continues to fill out.
That was the text I received this morning from a friend who is very much a casual MMA fan regarding last night’s UFC 156. Even though I assumed that my friend was talking about the end result of Bigfoot vs. Overeem, that statement could just as easily apply to almost any other fight on the card. We’re all familiar with the cliché that any fighter can beat anyone else on any night at this level, but we rarely see the underdogs win as frequently – and as convincingly – as they did last night. Simply put, it was an awful night for the guys who were supposed to win.
So let’s start off with the fight that went exactly as we all assumed it would: Jose Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar by a close, yet unanimous decision. Naturally, Edgar grew stronger as the fight went on. And naturally, the fight was close enough to justify an immediate rematch if one were to be booked (it probably won’t but who knows), because that’s just how Frankie Edgar fights work.
It’s impossible to be disappointed with Frankie Edgar’s effort in any given fight, and last night was no exception. Edgar provided Aldo with his stiffest challenge to date – after the champion returned from the longest layoff in his career, mind you – but Aldo was simply the better fighter.
Photo via Getty Images
“I don’t think that was supposed to happen.”
That was the text I received this morning from a friend who is very much a casual MMA fan regarding last night’s UFC 156. Even though I assumed that my friend was talking about the end result of Bigfoot vs. Overeem, that statement could just as easily apply to almost any other fight on the card. We’re all familiar with the cliché that any fighter can beat anyone else on any night at this level, but we rarely see the underdogs win as frequently – and as convincingly – as they did last night. Simply put, it was an awful night for the guys who were supposed to win.
So let’s start off with the fight that went exactly as we all assumed it would: Jose Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar by a close, yet unanimous decision. Naturally, Edgar grew stronger as the fight went on. And naturally, the fight was close enough to justify an immediate rematch if one were to be booked (it probably won’t but who knows), because that’s just how Frankie Edgar fights work.
It’s impossible to be disappointed with Frankie Edgar’s effort in any given fight, and last night was no exception. Edgar provided Aldo with his stiffest challenge to date – after the champion returned from the longest layoff in his career, mind you – but Aldo was simply the better fighter.
Aldo used his leg kicks, a stiff jab and great takedown defense to control the bout during the first two rounds. Despite Aldo winning the third round, Edgar began to build momentum that he would have on his side for the rest of the bout. The crowd came alive in the fourth round after a magnificent slam from the challenger, and Edgar took the fifth round with his combinations. In the end, it was too little too late, as the judges all saw the fight in favor of Jose Aldo.
As for what happens next? That’s just about anyone’s guess. Frankie Edgar isn’t sure if he wants to stay at featherweight or move back up to lightweight for his next fight (although his boss has made it pretty clear where he feels Edgar should be). Dana White mentioned in the post-event press conference that Anthony Pettis texted him asking for Jose Aldo, and I don’t think anyone would complain about that fight being booked. Well, anyone except for Ricardo Lamas and Chan Sung-Jung, who would like to remind everyone that they exist and fight at featherweight. We’ll keep you up to date as this sorts itself out.
Elsewhere on the card…
– Lil’ Nog upset Rashad Evans, taking home a unanimous decision victory. Jon Jones may have very well beaten the aggression out of Rashad, as he seemed content with letting Nogueira occasionally jab his way to the victory. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it was certainly enough to squash the ongoing Rashad Evans vs. Anderson Silva discussions for the time being. The less we say about this fight, the better.
– Dead serious question: Are we keeping that awesome Manto t-shirt we were trying to give away, or did one of you degenerate gamblers play the odds and predict that Bigfoot would knock out Overeem in the third round simply because no one else predicted that?
On paper, Antonio Silva defeating Alistair Overeem may very well be the most underrated upset of all time. I write this because the gambling lines had Silva at +315 – which actually made him less of an underdog than Jamie Varner was when he deflated Edson Barboza’s hype – even though I can’t think of a single reason that anyone thought Antonio Silva might win this fight. At least Jamie Varner was fighting a promising, yet unproven prospect. Silva, meanwhile, was taking on a proven destroyer who was going to issue a Cormeir/Velasquez-esque beating on his way to a title shot.
I can’t think of one advantage anyone was giving Silva before the fight, except for the token “Well, he IS pretty big, I guess.” And for the first two rounds, that’s exactly how the fight went down. Overeem didn’t look like he was ever close to finishing Silva, but it was convincing enough to justify the hype he’s been riding. And then round three happened. Holy shit, did round three happen. You’d swear Silva’s plan all along was “Let Overeem think he an defeat you, then humiliate him.” It was equal parts this and this, basically.
So the big question now is, where exactly do we go from here? It sounds like Overeem will be fighting Junior Dos Santos, and Bigfoot Silva will be doing anything but fighting Velasquez for his next fight. I like both of these ideas. Although JDS is a big name in the division, he is also coming off of a rather humbling loss and needs a victory to stay at the top of the division. Expect fireworks from that one. Also, after the beating that Cain Velasquez put on Bigfoot Silva – and even the beating that Overeem put on him during the first two rounds – I’d like to see a little more out of Silva before talking about him as a title contender.
– It’s almost like Demian Maia read all that mean stuff we published about him as a middleweight, because he has been on an absolute tear since dropping to welterweight. Maia took Jon Fitch down at will last night, and had Fitch defending against ground and pound and submission attempts the entire fight. There’s no other way to say it: Maia managed to out-Fitch Jon Fitch and actually be entertaining while doing so. Let that sink in.
– Ian McCall is officially a bust signing. McCall was considered the top flyweight on Earth before the UFC implemented the weight class, and signed to be an immediate contender in the new division. McCall quickly found that it’s a lot easier to be number one when anyone who can beat you is in the UFC fighting at bantamweight, and once he was matched up against stiff competition, he’s proven to be a tough, yet very beatable opponent.
– If you bet $100 on a Bobby Green, Demian Maia, Antonio Silva and Lil’ Nog parlay, you would have been put in a mental institution before the fights last night. You would have been released just in time for the main event, $33,663 richer.
– Fight of the Night went to Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, Knockout of the Night went to Bigfoot Silva and Submission of the Night went to Bobby Green. All bonuses were worth $50k.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Jose Aldo defeats Frankie Edgar via Unanimous Decision
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeats Rashad Evans via Unanimous Decision
Antonio Silva defeats Alistair Overeem via TKO (Strikes), 0:25 Round Three
Demian Maia defeats Jon Fitch via Unanimous Decision
Joseph Benavidez defeats Ian McCall via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary Card:
Evan Dunham defeats Gleison Tibau via Split Decision
Tyron Woodley defeats Jay Hieron via KO (Strikes), 0:36 in Round One
Bobby Green defeats Jacob Volkmann via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), 4:35 Round Three
Isaac Vallie-Flagg defeats Yves Edwards via Split Decision
Dustin Kimura defeats Chico Camus via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), 1:50 Round Three
Francisco Rivera defeats Edwin Figueroa via TKO (Strikes), 4:20 Round Two
Highlights of Jacoby’s run through the tournament via Chris Gregory
To say that UFC veteran Dustin Jacoby was a gigantic underdog heading into last night’s Road for Glory USA tournament overstates the obvious. A victim of the UFC’s “0-2, sucks to be you” policy, Jacoby was stepping in for injured heavyweight boxer Manuel Quezada with less than two days to prepare for what would be his professional kickboxing debut. Combined with the fact that Jacoby’s first matchup was against ISKA Heavyweight Champion Randy “Boom Boom” Blake (who you may remember as the guy who cheap-shotted Cro Cop last October), the expectations for Jacoby were pretty damn low.
For the majority of Jacoby’s fight against Randy Blake, Jacoby performed exactly as expected. Blake outworked him throughout the fight, effectively chopping away at Jacoby with leg kicks. But in the third round, Dustin Jacoby let his hands go, realizing that he needed a knockout to advance in the tournament. After stunning Blake with a left hook, Jacoby tagged him with a right cross that caused the referee to stop the fight.
Highlights of Jacoby’s run through the tournament via Chris Gregory
To say that UFC veteran Dustin Jacoby was a gigantic underdog heading into last night’s Road for Glory USA tournament overstates the obvious. A victim of the UFC’s “0-2, sucks to be you” policy, Jacoby was stepping in for injured heavyweight boxer Manuel Quezada with less than two days to prepare for what would be his professional kickboxing debut. Combined with the fact that Jacoby’s first matchup was against ISKA Heavyweight Champion Randy “Boom Boom” Blake (who you may remember as the guy who cheap-shotted Cro Cop last October), the expectations for Jacoby were pretty damn low.
For the majority of Jacoby’s fight against Randy Blake, Jacoby performed exactly as expected. Blake outworked him throughout the fight, effectively chopping away at Jacoby with leg kicks. But in the third round, Dustin Jacoby let his hands go, realizing that he needed a knockout to advance in the tournament. After stunning Blake with a left hook, Jacoby tagged him with a right cross that caused the referee to stop the fight.
Jacoby’s run wouldn’t end there, though. He also earned knockouts over Bellator veteran Roy Boughton and Brian Collette to win the tournament. For his efforts, Jacoby earned $20,000 and a spot on a future GLORY card.
So after watching the highlights, will Dustin Jacoby be just as forgettable in GLORY as he was in the UFC, or will lightening strike twice?
Roy Boughton def. Daniel Brison via unanimous decision
Dustin Jacoby def. Randy Blake via TKO, Round 3 (1:43)
Kyle Martin def. Myron Dennis via unanimous decision
Brian Collette def. Jeremy Freitag via KO, Round 2 (:14)
Semifinal Round:
Dustin Jacoby def. Roy Boughton via TKO, Round 1 (2:47)
Brian Collette def. Kyle Martin via TKO, Round 1 (1:29)
Grand Final:
Dustin Jacoby def. Brian Collette via KO, Round 1 (3:00)
For those uninitiated, Sobriety Fighter is my own side-project. I’ve dedicated 2013 to being a year-long experiment where I spend one year as a full-time fighter while also attempting to stay clean and sober. I can’t promise that I’ll be the next Elias Cepeda or that I’ll never relapse, but I can promise that I’ll do my absolute best for everyone. Most of the stuff I post isn’t particularly MMA-related, but this is. Enjoy. – [SethFalvo]
“Pride!…Heart!…Poise!…And toughness,” the stereotypically fat high school football coach barks at his disturbingly old squad [Author Note: How is it even possible to coach athletes so dumb that they’re all blatantly in their twenties, yet still in high school?] in one especially cringe-worthy Under Armor commercial. “Are these just words *dramatic pause* or is that who you are?” I had a pretty decent GPA in graduate school, yet I still have no idea what the tap-dancing Christ that’s supposed to mean.
Sports commentary can be such a prepackaged mess of machismo clichés and feel-good stories that it’s easy to become detached from it. It’s bad enough when the rhetoric is generic enough to immediately trigger an eye-roll, and it’s amplified when the tough-talk makes absolutely no sense once you actually examine what’s being said – like in the above Under Armor commercial.
With only two days separating us from Super Bowl XLVII, the media has been using Ray Lewis as a one-stop shop for all of the tough talk and feel-good bullshit you’re completely numb to. Ray Lewis! He has such passion for the game! Ray Lewis! He’s a God-fearing Hall of Fame caliber linebacker! Ray Lewis! He’s in-your-face, never-say-die, gritty, click-clack, shows a lot of heart, gives it his all and literally any other cliché you can cram into this sentence! Ray Lewis! He just loves football so much that when he retires after this game, sons and fathers will stand united while he does so…asa Super Bowl Champion!
For those uninitiated, Sobriety Fighter is my own side-project. I’ve dedicated 2013 to being a year-long experiment where I spend one year as a full-time fighter while also attempting to stay clean and sober. I can’t promise that I’ll be the next Elias Cepeda or that I’ll never relapse, but I can promise that I’ll do my absolute best for everyone. Most of the stuff I post isn’t particularly MMA-related, but this is. Enjoy. – [SethFalvo]
“Pride!…Heart!…Poise!…And toughness,” the stereotypically fat high school football coach barks at his disturbingly old squad [Author Note: How is it even possible to coach athletes so dumb that they’re all blatantly in their twenties, yet still in high school?] in one especially cringe-worthy Under Armor commercial. “Are these just words *dramatic pause* or is that who you are?” I had a pretty decent GPA in graduate school, yet I still have no idea what the tap-dancing Christ that’s supposed to mean.
Sports commentary can be such a prepackaged mess of machismo clichés and feel-good stories that it’s easy to become detached from it. It’s bad enough when the rhetoric is generic enough to immediately trigger an eye-roll, and it’s amplified when the tough-talk makes absolutely no sense once you actually examine what’s being said – like in the above Under Armor commercial.
With only two days separating us from Super Bowl XLVII, the media has been using Ray Lewis as a one-stop shop for all of the tough talk and feel-good bullshit you’re completely numb to. Ray Lewis! He has such passion for the game! Ray Lewis! He’s a God-fearing Hall of Fame caliber linebacker! Ray Lewis! He’s in-your-face, never-say-die, gritty, click-clack, shows a lot of heart, gives it his all and literally any other cliché you can cram into this sentence! Ray Lewis! He just loves football so much that when he retires after this game, sons and fathers will stand united while he does so…asa Super Bowl Champion!
Keep all that in mind while watching “the passion Lewis has for the game of football” escape him in this interview:
Holy shit does this interview have dark undertones. But most of his comments sound tough, yet mindless enough to make for a decent sound bite, so everyone turned their backs on the elephant in the room. As a fight fan, I can’t help but wonder if we’d still turn a blind eye towards Ray Lewis’ past if he didn’t play football, but rather, was an MMA fighter with similar credentials.
Let’s pretend that Ray Lewis turned to MMA back in the mid-nineties. He is now a former heavyweight champion – and sure-fire UFC Hall of Famer – known for exciting fights and brutal finishes, attempting to retire after one last shot at the belt. Basically, he’s Jon Jones in ten years, only infinitely shadier and more charismatic. Would Ray Lewis’ story still be that of the passionate warrior looking to go out on top, or that of a tormented psychopath legally satisfying his bloodlust one final time?
The answer is almost assuredly the latter. While it’s a stretch to compare a murder case surrounding any MMA fighter to the Ray Lewis case – either due to the obvious guilt of the fighter involved, the total lack of name recognition for the fighter, or a combination of the two – our sport’s most mainstream athlete also had a questionable court case in his past. Former UFC champion Brock Lesnar was arrested back in 2001 for allegedly possessing a “large amount of steroids,” and although his lawyer’s claim that Lesnar possessed a “vitamin type of thing” sounds too stupid to be true, lab tests eventually cleared him.
No one is trying to compare buying drugs to killing a guy, but rather, the fact that both men were found innocent of crimes that many people feel they’ve committed. Yet despite the innocent until proven guilty stance that mainstream media outlets have taken in regards to Ray Lewis, Brock Lesnar has not enjoyed the same treatment. When E:60 aired a segment on Brock Lesnar before his fight against Randy Couture, they accused him of juicing with the subtlety of an elephant with a hard on. “You’re just so big, and you come out of the world of pro wrestling…” the interviewer spat out before Lesnar stormed off the set. It’s the classic “I’m not saying I’m just saying” question that passive-aggressive types love to ask. Or who knows, maybe the interviewer wouldn’t have even bothered trying to make that a question.
Meanwhile, an ESPN.com article about the IGF-1 that Ray Lewis has been accused of taking originally said that a league source told them ”Ray has been randomly tested multiple times for that substance,” until it was proven that, hey, that’s not even remotely true.
It’s strange that MMA is mainstream enough for most people to recognize what the sport is and name a few of its athletes, yet still obscure enough for the sport to have to put up with the double-standards that other minority groups put up with. When Ray Lewis gets flagged for roughing the passer, it’s just because he’s “too excited” from all that love of the game in his system. When Anthony Pettis jumps off of the cage, redefining what we felt was possible to pull off in a fight, the PTI guys just can’t understand how anyone would want to watch a guy get kicked in the face.
If I had to make a prediction as to exactly how the media would cover Ray Lewis, MMA champion, I’d say that Bellator’s War Machine promo would be a pretty accurate measuring stick. Tack on a few shots of the murder victim’s crying mother and some empty bottles of deer antler spray dramatically falling to the ground in slow motion, and Ray Lewis, blood-thirsty steroid taking murderer is ready to shock and awe sports fans across the globe with his human cockfighting skills.
After writing this, part of me wishes that Ray Lewis actually did become an MMA fighter. It’s all but impossible that he’d have the same success in MMA as he enjoyed in the NFL, but at least then we wouldn’t be wasting so much time attempting to turn him into a feel-good story about whatever Gatorade commercial cliché you want to spit out today retiring on top. Also, we could hear more about this Colin Kaepernick guy leading up to the Super Bowl. He’s a mobile quarterback in the NFL who is single-handedly changing the way that the game is played? Now there’s a story that doesn’t come along every year.
When the UFC first began its relationship with Fox, the results were mixed. The first show had only a 64 second fight, and the next two shows – while solid – didn’t do so well in the ratings. Even as the cards themselves picked up on UFC on Fox 4 and 5, the production of the show was excessively drawn out and was tedious to watch at times. But UFC on Fox 6 showed just how good these cards can be. Packed with excellent, violent fights, and backed with the full might of the Fox marketing machine, this card was the first that fulfilled the potential of MMA on network television.
But let’s talk fights, shall we? I know the flyweights aren’t nearly as respected as they should be in some parts of the fight community, but if you’re still in those parts after last night’s performance, do us all a favor, stop reading and get the fuck out. Because what you just witnessed was one of the best, if not the best 5-round title fights in the promotion’s history. In an extraordinarily competitive fight, John Dodson took an early lead off the strength of his…well, strength. He landed a number of monster lefts that were able to knock Demetrious Johnson down, and showed how he is arguably the most exciting fighter in the entire division.
But it was for naught, because what Dodson has in excitement, Johnson has in sheer stamina, will and technique. He roared back in the latter rounds, particularly the championship rounds, delivering innumerable knees to the head, body and legs, mixing in takedowns, and consistently pushing forward. Dodson was unable to keep Johnson’s pace, and in the final round, Johnson unleashed vicious flurries as Dodson backed up. Though he never wilted, Dodson was defeated. Demetrious Johnson remained champion, and was able to deliver one of the better post-fight shout outs you’ll hear. While Benson Henderson may believe all things are possible through Christ (excuse me, “through CHRIST!!!”), Johnson appears to have sided with a more contemporary deity – the Xbox 360.
When the UFC first began its relationship with Fox, the results were mixed. The first show had only a 64 second fight, and the next two shows – while solid – didn’t do so well in the ratings. Even as the cards themselves picked up on UFC on Fox 4 and 5, the production of the show was excessively drawn out and was tedious to watch at times. But UFC on Fox 6 showed just how good these cards can be. Packed with excellent, violent fights, and backed with the full might of the Fox marketing machine, this card was the first that fulfilled the potential of MMA on network television.
But let’s talk fights, shall we? I know the flyweights aren’t nearly as respected as they should be in some parts of the fight community, but if you’re still in those parts after last night’s performance, do us all a favor, stop reading and get the fuck out. Because what you just witnessed was one of the best, if not the best 5-round title fights in the promotion’s history.
In an extraordinarily competitive fight, John Dodson took an early lead off the strength of his…well, strength. He landed a number of monster lefts that were able to knock Demetrious Johnson down, and showed how he is arguably the most exciting fighter in the entire division. But it was for naught, because what Dodson has in excitement, Johnson has in sheer stamina, will and technique. He roared back in the latter rounds, particularly the championship rounds, delivering innumerable knees to the head, body and legs, mixing in takedowns, and consistently pushing forward.
Dodson was unable to keep Johnson’s pace, and in the final round, Johnson unleashed vicious flurries as Dodson backed up. Though he never wilted, Dodson was defeated. Demetrious Johnson remained champion, and was able to deliver one of the better post-fight shout outs you’ll hear. While Benson Henderson may believe all things are possible through Christ (excuse me, “through CHRIST!!!”), Johnson appears to have sided with a more contemporary deity – the Xbox 360.
In the co-main event, Glover Teixeira showed why the hype behind him isn’t a joke. “Rampage” Jackson came out motivated, and despite the snark put forth his way of late, he put up a fight. He mixed in hooks, low kicks, jabs, and had excellent head movement and defense throughout. Was he in the best shape of his life, as he claimed? No. But he presented a serious challenge to Teixeira, who throws mostly hooks, which Jackson excels in defending. And through the first few minutes of the first round, you could make the argument Jackson was winning the fight.
Then Glover decided it was time to use some world class grappling. Jackson’s takedown defense isn’t what it was, but then again, the wrestling in MMA isn’t what it was either. Teixeira transitioned beautifully between single legs, double legs and body locks during his takedowns, and that’s how he was able to drag Quentin down. And when he had him down, that’s where “Rampage” was helpless. He was able to return to his feet each time, save the last, but not before suffering ground and pound and fending off submission attempts.
On the feet, the fight remained competitive, though Glover was able to hurt Jackson at least twice. The best moment of the fight came in the second round, where Jackson and Teixeira engaged in a type of call-and-response boxing exchange, each man trading combinations and daring the other to fell him. It was a surreal test of skill and display of braggadocio from both men, and when Teixeira came on top after landing a serious body shot, you knew that the fight was over.
Jackson’s career in the UFC might be done now, but even in defeat he helped build a challenger – who realized he had to develop a jab against a an opponent with excellent boxing defense – in a division that he helped define for the better part of the past decade. Hopefully, he won’t end up as the next Gary Goodridge, but only time will tell.
I have mixed feelings about the bout between Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone. On one hand, I thought this was going to be the most exciting, competitive, back-and-forth fight of the night. (In other words, I thought it was going to be Fight of the Night.) That did not happen. But what did happen… what did happen was Pettis made Cerrone – who possesses arguably the best Muay Thai in the division – look like a nobody. He utterly annihilated him with superior boxing, footwork, a spinning wheel kick (that missed), a knee off the wall and finally a brutal liver kick that probably gave Bas Rutten a spontaneous erection, even if he wasn’t watching the fights. There’s not much to say here – Anthony Pettis deserves, and is getting, the next lightweight title shot after Melendez. He’s also the most exciting striker not named Anderson Silva.
On the first fight of the main card, Ricardo Lamas continued his tear in the featherweight division by brutally dispatching Erik Koch in the second round. After Koch attempted to capitalize on a Lamas slip, only to be taken down, Lamas rained devastation from above, smashing Kock with elbows and punches that opened up a brutal cut, squirting blood of its own accord. Koch, someone who was supposed to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight crown, was left with nothing but shattered dreams and blood. Lots and lots of blood. Lamas, on the other hand, might take his place as the next man in line for a shot.
Two notes from the undercard; one, Clay Guida did not deserve to win that fight. Hatsu Hioki, although he was on the bottom for most of the fight, controlled the entire fight with his guard and through submission attempts. He even did more damage than Guida on the feet. Judges continue to overrate takedowns that accomplish little to nothing for the fighter in top position. If it was Minotauro Nogueira on bottom, he’d have won. Because he’s Asian and relatively unknown, he lost. It’s unacceptable. On the bright side, T.J. Grant brought the pain to Matt Wiman. Grant dominated with brilliant Muay Thai before putting Wiman out of his misery with two beautiful standing elbows. Sadly, he didn’t manage to get KO of the Night because of Pettis’ liver kick, but he should get a fight with Jim Miller to find out who truly has the best ginger beard in the division.
Main Card Results
Demetrious Johnson def. John Dodson via UD (48-47 x2, 49-46)
Glover Teixeira def. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson via UD (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via TKO (2:35, Round 1)
Ricardo Lamas def. Erik Koch via TKO (2:32, Round 2)
Preliminary Card Results
T.J. Grant def. Matt Wiman via KO (4:51, Round 1)
Clay Guida def. Hatsu Hioki via SD (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
Pascal Krauss def. Mike Stumpf via UD (30-27 x3)
Ryan Bader def. Vladimir Matyushenko via SUB (0:50, Round 1)
Shawn Jordan def. Mike Russow via TKO (3:48, Round 2)
Rafael Natal def. Shane Spencer via SUB (2:13, Round 3)
David Mitchell def. Simeon Thoreson via UD (30-27 x3)
