Author: SethF

UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson Aftermath: Meh…


You know, I won’t bother asking here. Props: Cagewall.com

You probably noticed this, but we usually lead off weekend coverage with event aftermath articles – especially the day after a UFC event. Today, not only did we lead off with a story about Cro Cop playing basketball, but honestly, we considered not writing an aftermath at all for this card. With nothing significant on the line, a total lack of Bruce Buffer and no especially memorable finishes, it’s hard to really say too much about last night’s UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.

In the main event, Ross Pearson looked good in his return to lightweight. His boxing proved to be too much for Sotiropoulos throughout the fight, as Pearson eventually scored the TKO in round three. Not a bad fight by any means, but not especially memorable, either. Sotiropoulos has now lost three straight, with his last victory being a submission over Joe Lauzon back in 2010. And Pearson? Well, he won. I was going to write that he reestablished his place in the lightweight division, but he was never more than a mid-tier fighter in arguably the UFC’s deepest talent pool in the first place.

This concern over the lack of significance in the division leads directly into the TUF Smashes finals. I’m not saying that the Smashes winners Norman Parke and Robert Whittaker looked bad last night, as they didn’t. Nor will I say that their fights were boring to sit through – I actually think Whittaker vs. Scott deserved Fight of the Night honors. Rather, I simply don’t see either fighter having any sort of relevant future in the UFC.


You know, I won’t bother asking here. Props: Cagewall.com

You probably noticed this, but we usually lead off weekend coverage with event aftermath articles – especially the day after a UFC event. Today, not only did we lead off with a story about Cro Cop playing basketball, but honestly, we considered not writing an aftermath at all for this card. With nothing significant on the line, a total lack of Bruce Buffer and no especially memorable finishes, it’s hard to really say too much about last night’s UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.

In the main event, Ross Pearson looked good in his return to lightweight. His boxing proved to be too much for Sotiropoulos throughout the fight, as Pearson eventually scored the TKO in round three. Not a bad fight by any means, but not especially memorable, either. Sotiropoulos has now lost three straight, with his last victory being a submission over Joe Lauzon back in 2010. And Pearson? Well, he won. I was going to write that he reestablished his place in the lightweight division, but he was never more than a mid-tier fighter in arguably the UFC’s deepest talent pool in the first place. 

This concern over the lack of significance in the division leads directly into the TUF Smashes finals. I’m not saying that the Smashes winners Norman Parke and Robert Whittaker looked bad last night, as they didn’t. Nor will I say that their fights were boring to sit through – I actually think Whittaker vs. Scott deserved Fight of the Night honors. Rather, I simply don’t see either fighter having any sort of relevant future in the UFC.

As mentioned earlier, the lightweight division is simply too deep for Norman Parke to make any sort of meaningful impact at this stage in his career. He’ll enjoy the mandatory post-TUF tomato can, but with the division being so competitive, the honeymoon phase won’t last. While Colin Fletcher may have been too busy looking for some new, terrifying shades of clown make-up to learn how to sprawl, the rest of the lightweight division won’t be taken down as easily. Likewise, the welterweight division may not be as stacked, but it’s certainly top-heavy enough to prevent Robert Whittaker from gaining immediate relevance.

In other words, don’t let the ”UFC on FX” label fool you. Last night’s card was very much a TUF Finale, and produced exactly what you would expect a TUF Finale to produce: Not much.

Perhaps the most relevant fight of the night kicked off the show, as Hector Lombard made a quick, brutal example out of Rousimar Palhares. The fight was everything we expected out of Lombard when he signed with the UFC – he was aggressive, he landed hard punches seemingly at will and was never in any real danger of losing this fight (or his ACL). The victory doesn’t entirely make up for his abysmal UFC debut, but it prevents him from being a total bust signing. He called out Bisping in the post-fight interview, but we’ll have to wait and see how Bisping fairs against Vitor Belfort before attempting to set that one up.

As for Paul Harris, I hate to say it, but the loss makes the Brazilian the scariest looking jobber on the UFC roster. His “heel hook anything standing in front of me” strategy may work against the lower end of the midleweight division, but against the more diverse, more talented middleweights, he’s clearly out of his league. I don’t see Palhares getting cut, but perennial undercard fighter isn’t too much better of a position to be in.

Fight of the Night went to Nick Penner vs. Cody Donovan, while Knockout of the Night went to Ben Alloway for his first round knockout over Manuel Rodriguez.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Ross Pearson def. George Sotiropoulos via TKO, 0:41 of Round Three
Robert Whittaker def. Brad Scott via unanimous decision
Norman Parke def. Colin Fletcher via unanimous decision
Hector Lombard def. Rousimar Palhares via KO, 3:38 of Round One

Preliminary Card:

Chad Mendes def. Yaotzen Meza via TKO, 1:55 of Round One
Joey Beltran def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision
Mike Pierce def. Seth Baczynski via unanimous decision
Ben Alloway def. Manuel Rodriguez via KO, 4:57 of Round One
Mike Wilkinson def. Brendan Loughnane via unanimous decision
Cody Donovan def. Nick Penner via TKO, 4:35 of Round One

@SethFalvo

[VIDEO] UFC Veteran Tony DeSouza Comes Out of Retirement on Short Notice, Submits Youngster


The Peruvian Savage last fought at UFC 79 in 2007. Props to MMA-Latino for the image.

While there’s a chance that some of you reading this may not know who Tony DeSouza is, it’s hard not to respect him for what he has done for our sport. The thirty-eight year old Cholitzu practitioner (that’s Cholo Jiu-Jitsu, n00b) complied a 3-3 record in the UFC and a 10-4 record overall until his retirement in 2007. He was the wrestling coach of Team Penn throughout The Ultimate Fighter 5, and the inventor of the Peruvian Necktie.

Oh, and he also stepped up on short notice Thursday night to fill in for one of his injured students, and despite not fighting in five years, submitted Bolivian Luis Fernando in the first round.

As MMA-Latino explained to us in an email, Tony’s student was originally set to fight Luis Fernando on Thursday night. However, a freak accident at their hotel room saw the window fall out and cut his student’s hand and arm, forcing his student to withdraw from the fight [Author Note: “Freak accident” is really putting it mildly here, I imagine]. DeSouza stepped up to take the fight, and despite a respectable effort from Fernando, “The Peruvian Savage” secured a fight-ending choke in just over one minute. Video awaits after the jump.


The Peruvian Savage last fought at UFC 79 in 2007. Props to MMA-Latino for the image.

While there’s a chance that some of you reading this may not know who Tony DeSouza is, it’s hard not to respect him for what he has done for our sport. The thirty-eight year old Cholitzu practitioner (that’s Cholo Jiu-Jitsu, n00b) complied a 3-3 record in the UFC and a 10-4 record overall until his retirement in 2007. He was the wrestling coach of Team Penn throughout The Ultimate Fighter 5, and the inventor of the Peruvian Necktie.

Oh, and he also stepped up on short notice Thursday night to fill in for one of his injured students, and despite not fighting in five years, submitted Bolivian Luis Fernando in the first round.

As MMA-Latino explained to us in an email, Tony’s student was originally set to fight Luis Fernando on Thursday night. However, a freak accident at their hotel room saw the window fall out and cut his student’s hand and arm, forcing his student to withdraw from the fight [Author Note: “Freak accident” is really putting it mildly here, I imagine]. DeSouza stepped up to take the fight, and despite a respectable effort from Fernando, “The Peruvian Savage” secured a fight-ending choke in just over one minute. Video awaits after the jump. 

 

It wasn’t exactly a display of world-class striking, but it’s great to see that DeSouza still training regularly and keeping himself in fighting shape. Likewise, both men deserve props for being game enough to accept the fight on short notice.

Bellator 84 Recap: Volkov Is New Heavyweight Champion, Lightweight Tournament Postponed

This season, Bellator’s heavyweight tournament ended in the same place where it began – The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana – but with far less fireworks than anticipated.

With Bellator fixture Richard Hale facing off against Alexander Volkov, a twenty-four year old Russian prospect who used to train with Fedor Emelianenko, fans anticipated a wild brawl would ensue for the heavyweight championship Cole Konrad vacated through his retirement. Hale would bring the fight to Volkov early, dropping the Russian with a right hook in the first round. However, that hook would end up being the only significant strike that Hale would land for the rest of the fight.

For the rest of the bout, the 6’7” Volkov was content to jab his way to a unanimous decision victory. It certainly wasn’t pretty, as the boos from those in attendance demonstrated, but it was enough for Volkov to take home $100,000 and the promotion’s heavyweight championship.

This season, Bellator’s heavyweight tournament ended in the same place where it began – The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana – but with far less fireworks than anticipated.

With Bellator fixture Richard Hale facing off against Alexander Volkov, a twenty-four year old Russian prospect who used to train with Fedor Emelianenko, fans anticipated a wild brawl would ensue for the heavyweight championship Cole Konrad vacated through his retirement. Hale would bring the fight to Volkov early, dropping the Russian with a right hook in the first round. However, that hook would end up being the only significant strike that Hale would land for the rest of the fight.

For the rest of the bout, the 6’7” Volkov was content to jab his way to a unanimous decision victory. It certainly wasn’t pretty, as the boos from those in attendance demonstrated, but it was enough for Volkov to take home $100,000 and the promotion’s heavyweight championship.

Elsewhere on the card:

– We already explained why that the Season 7 featherweight tournament final between Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev will happen sometime in Season 8, but now the lightweight tournament final will also happen next season. The tournament final was supposed to feature twenty year old Marcin Held battling against Dave Jansen. However, in Indiana an athlete has to be at least twenty-one years old to fight in a casino, so the fight was scrapped at the last minute. I hate to be Captain Hindsight here, but shouldn’t the local commission have noticed Held was only twenty before allowing him to weigh in on Thursday? And shouldn’t Bellator have noticed this law a long time ago?

– Middleweight protege of Joaquin Hansen Daniel Vizcaya wrestled his way to a split-decision over Norwegian Jack Hermansson. Hermansson completely took over the fight in the third round, but it was too little too late, as he was unable to put away Vizcaya.

– Felice Herrig wanted to put on a good show for Bellator, and delivered with a unanimous decision over late replacement Patricia Vidonic. Herrig was in complete control over Vidonic, demonstrating that she’s ready for the poster-girl position Bellator seemingly wants her to fill. It’ll be interesting to see who Bellator finds for her to fight next.

– Remember Joe Vedepo? The party animal who has the distinction (I guess?) of being the only 0-2 fighter in UFC history to lose both of his fights within the first two minutes? Yeah, he followed up a win at Bellator 80 by getting knocked out by Louis Taylor in the first round of last night’s fight. But he lasted 4:12, so there’s always that.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Alexander Volkov def. Richard Hale by Unanimous Decision
Daniel Vizcaya def. Jack Hermansson by Split Decision
Felice Herrig def. Patricia Vidonic by Unanimous Decision
Louis Taylor def. Joe Vedepo by KO (Punch), 4:12, Round One

Preliminary Card:

Christian Uflacker def. Cliff Wright by Technical Decision, 2:26, Round Three
Jerald Williams def. Joey Diehl by Unanimous Decision
Anthony Gomez def. Anton Talamantes by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), 3:30, Round One
Robert White def. Kenny Booker by Unanimous Decision

[VIDEO] Juan Manuel Marquez Knocks Out Manny Pacquiao in Dramatic Fashion

While most of you reading this were busy watching the UFC last night, boxing fans throughout the country tuned in to watch Pacquiao/Marquez IV. It’s still too early to tell which sport came out on top in terms of the ratings, but regardless, boxing fans were treated to a dramatic sixth round knockout from one of its greatest active fighters. And no, Pacquiao wasn’t the fighter dishing it out.

Juan Manuel Marquez arguably defeated Manny Pacquiao during their third meeting, but came up short on the scorecards, losing a majority decision. This time around, Marquez took no chances, knocking out Pacquiao with an overhand right with only one second left in round six. Pacquiao, who has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career (although the Bradley decision was pretty absurd), has no plans to retire, although we’ll have to wait and see what this loss does to his marketability.

Video awaits after the jump.

While most of you reading this were busy watching the UFC last night, boxing fans throughout the country tuned in to watch Pacquiao/Marquez IV. It’s still too early to tell which sport came out on top in terms of the ratings, but regardless, boxing fans were treated to a dramatic sixth round knockout from one of its greatest active fighters. And no, Pacquiao wasn’t the fighter dishing it out.

Juan Manuel Marquez arguably defeated Manny Pacquiao during their third meeting, but came up short on the scorecards, losing a majority decision. This time around, Marquez took no chances, knocking out Pacquiao with an overhand right with only one second left in round six. Pacquiao, who has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career (although the Bradley decision was pretty absurd), has no plans to retire, although we’ll have to wait and see what this loss does to his marketability.

Video awaits after the jump.

So where does Pacquiao go from here? And were you more entertained by Pacquiao/Marquez IV or UFC on Fox 5? Let us know which sport you think came out on top last night.

In Case You Missed It: Homeless Bum Dana White Helps Rob Riggle Make Week 13 NFL Picks

Skip to the 1:45 mark for Dana’s appearance. Props to reader Alan K for the video.

While the rest of you were watching football today (the American version, aka the one worth watching *chugs beer, initiates U-S-A! chant*), you may have noticed a familiar face in this week’s edition of Riggle’s Picks. No, it wasn’t one of us. It was UFC President Dana White, satirizing “Exclusive Access” sports websites alongside Rob Riggle.

Riggle hits all the standard punchlines about these types: Improbable rumors, Rex Ryan is a fat mess, that these sites are only in it for the money, Richard Simmons, the webmasters live with their mothers, Jewish guilt- you know the drill by now. But Dana White steals the show with his masterful performance as a homeless drunk, who serves as an incarnation of “Guy who can’t possibly have inside information spreading outlandish rumors that only internet trolls are dumb enough to believe.”


Skip to the 1:45 mark for Dana’s appearance. Props to reader Alan K for the video.

While the rest of you were watching football today (the American version, aka the one worth watching *chugs beer, initiates U-S-A! chant*), you may have noticed a familiar face in this week’s edition of Riggle’s Picks. No, it wasn’t one of us. It was UFC President Dana White, satirizing “Exclusive Access” sports websites alongside Rob Riggle.

Riggle hits all the standard punchlines about these types: Improbable rumors, Rex Ryan is a fat mess, that these sites are only in it for the money, Richard Simmons, the webmasters live with their mothers, Jewish guilt- you know the drill by now. But Dana White steals the show with his masterful performance as a homeless drunk, who serves as an incarnation of “Guy who can’t possibly have inside information spreading outlandish rumors that only internet trolls are dumb enough to believe.”

Dana White is perfect for this role, and not just because it helps promote the upcoming UFC on Fox card. The Baldfather has certainly made his frustrations known about the way that many media outlets cover his sport, so one has to imagine he really enjoyed the opportunity to portray them as money-hungry attention whores who listen to homeless drunks for advice.

And the best part? There is absolutely no way that this can possibly be directed at us. So suck on that, world, and enjoy the video.

@SethFalvo

Is Georges St-Pierre Demanding Anderson Silva Money for Anderson Silva Fight?


When the UFC makes budget cuts to put a fight together, the marketing department is the first place to feel the impact. Props: jinxonhog.

According to the welterweight champion, the answer is “no.” Or rather, not nearly as much as has been rumored.

On yesterday’s edition of The MMA Beat, Mike Straka of Fight Now TV reported that a source close to the welterweight champion told him that GSP was asking the UFC for $50 million to fight Anderson Silva.

Despite the fact that St-Pierre is currently on vacation in France, he dismissed the rumor during a recent conversation with 985Sports.ca. In his own words:


When the UFC makes budget cuts to put a fight together, the marketing department is the first place to feel the impact. Props: jinxonhog.

According to the welterweight champion, the answer is “no.” Or rather, not nearly as much as has been rumored.

On yesterday’s edition of The MMA Beat, Mike Straka of Fight Now TV reported that a source close to the welterweight champion told him that GSP was asking the UFC for $50 million to fight Anderson Silva.

Despite the fact that St-Pierre is currently on vacation in France, he dismissed the rumor during a recent conversation with 985Sports.ca. In his own words:

“I have not been informed of this, it is not true. Nobody told me about it and I am in France now. I have not seen the article and I will not comment.”

While $50 million is downright astronomical, I have to imagine that both fighters are going to ask for a small fortune (even compared to what they’ve been making per appearance) if this fight ever comes to fruition. St-Pierre seems reluctant to accept the fight, neither fighter can agree on what weight class the fight would be held at, and by the way, this fight is going to make a ton of money for the UFC. If it’s going to happen, it’s not going to be cheap.

Eh, who am I kidding? We’ve been talking about this fight since the rumored Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout wasn’t just a punchline. I can’t be the only person feeling this way, right guys?