Confirmation comes at the 12:35 mark of the press conference highlights. Props to MMAFighting.com for the video.
Leading up to last night’s historic UFC on Fox broadcast, there were rumors that the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida would be fighting Frankie Edgar in Japan for the UFC lightweight title. As you know, Ben Henderson went on to defeat Clay Guida by unanimous decision in a Fight of the Night winning performance. Now, it has been confirmed that Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar will be the main event of the UFC’s return to Japan.
Since losing to Anthony Pettis back at WEC 53, Ben Henderson has gone 3-0 in the UFC. Even though all three victories have come by unanimous decision, Henderson has proven that he is incapable of being involved in a boring fight. Likewise, Frankie Edgar is coming off of a come from behind fourth round TKO over Gray Maynard at UFC 136 in October.
Confirmation comes at the 12:35 mark of the press conference highlights. Props to MMAFighting.com for the video.
Leading up to last night’s historic UFC on Fox broadcast, there were rumors that the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida would be fighting Frankie Edgar in Japan for the UFC lightweight title. As you know, Ben Henderson went on to defeat Clay Guida by unanimous decision in a Fight of the Night winning performance. Now, it has been confirmed that Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar will be the main event of the UFC’s return to Japan.
Since losing to Anthony Pettis back at WEC 53, Ben Henderson has gone 3-0 in the UFC. Even though all three victories have come by unanimous decision, Henderson has proven that he is incapable of being involved in a boring fight. Likewise, Frankie Edgar is coming off of a come from behind fourth round TKO over Gray Maynard at UFC 136 in October.
UFC Japan is set to take place on February 26, 2012. In order to accommodate the fact that no one in North America wants to wake up at 9 AM for a PPV card, the show is set to start at 10 AM in Japan. Waking up before noon on a weekend? That’s a level of dedication that our Gaijin asses just can’t understand.
We’ll keep you posted as more fights get confirmed for this card.
Tomasz Narkun and Saparbek Safarov getting into it at the weigh-ins. GIFS from Emelianenko vs. Malikov after the jump. Props: IronForgesIron.com
As we anxiously await the UFC’s debut on Fox, let’s take the time to celebrate an event that did not go nearly as smoothly as we hope UFC on Fox 1 goes: M-1 Challenge 28. The event was initially set to be headlined by a welterweight championship bout between Shamil Zavurov and Rashid Magomedov, but Shamil was forced off of the card with a last minute injury. In place of the championship bout, M-1 quickly booked Aleksander Emelianenko to fight 3-1 prospect Magomed Malikov. Okay, lackluster main event with a guy we at least know of. It could get worse, right? Don’t worry, it did.
Add on the above tussle from the event’s weigh-ins, and things were spiraling out of control pretty quickly. At least we can still count on Aleksander Emelianenko to crush a hapless can, right? Right?
Tomasz Narkun and Saparbek Safarov getting into it at the weigh-ins. GIFS from Emelianenko vs. Malikov after the jump. Props: IronForgesIron.com
As we anxiously await the UFC’s debut on Fox, let’s take the time to celebrate an event that did not go nearly as smoothly as we hope UFC on Fox 1 goes: M-1 Challenge 28. The event was initially set to be headlined by a welterweight championship bout between Shamil Zavurov and Rashid Magomedov, but Shamil was forced off of the card with a last minute injury. In place of the championship bout, M-1 quickly booked Aleksander Emelianenko to fight 3-1 prospect Magomed Malikov. Okay, lackluster main event with a guy we at least know of. It could get worse, right? Don’t worry, it did.
Add on the above tussle from the event’s weigh-ins, and things were spiraling out of control pretty quickly. At least we can still count on Aleksander Emelianenko to crush a hapless can, right? Right?
Another Saturday afternoon is upon us, which means it’s time for another edition of Ask the Potato. After last week graced us with the presence of a few minor celebrities, we knew what we had to do now that minor celebrities care about what we write. But until Coolio stops ducking us, we’ll just stick to answering your questions. So let’s get started, shall we?
intercept440 Says: what is the best remedy for lower back pain? So far the only thing that seems to work is copious amounts of booze. Come on potato, surely with your vast amounts of knowledge you can help a nation member out.
Another Saturday afternoon is upon us, which means it’s time for another edition of Ask the Potato. After last week graced us with the presence of a few minor celebrities, we knew what we had to do now that minor celebrities care about what we write. But until Coolio stops ducking us, we’ll just stick to answering your questions. So let’s get started, shall we?
intercept440 Says: what is the best remedy for lower back pain? So far the only thing that seems to work is copious amounts of booze. Come on potato, surely with your vast amounts of knowledge you can help a nation member out.
You’ve been good to us over the years, intercept440, so we’re going to do you a solid. Email us your address and we’ll send the Cage Potato office chiropractor right over. Trust us when we tell you that he’s the best in the business. In fact, Leonard Garcia swears by him.
Liverpunch Says: 1- What do you think is a probable timetable for the demise of women’s MMA. I like the fights, but I just don’t see them gaining any traction with the public. 2- Where do you see MMA a year from now? Is CP still around in this hellish futurescape?
1) We don’t think women’s MMA is going anywhere, Liverpunch. By that we mean it won’t die out, but we also sadly mean that it’s not going anywhere. Once Strikeforce folds, another organization will become the home of WMMA. Bellator has stated that they’d proudly carry the torch, while smaller promotions like Black Eye have already started scooping up talent. Unfortunately, the UFC is where the fame and money’s at, and without those lures it will be difficult to convince more women to train full time and invest themselves in the sport.
2) As long as things continue to go smoothly tonight, we think the sport’s only going to improve. But if some unforeseen disaster strikes and the sport spirals out of control into some post-apocalyptic hellhole, we’ll be right there playing the role of “Mr. Dealgood”.
XENOPHON Says: At that time I will ask, “How does one get an invite to tour the Cage Potato offices in mid-Wilshire?”
KarmaAteMyCat Says: What is the difference between quitting and not being able to continue an intelligent fight whilst defending one’s self specifically when commentators admit the fight should be stopped?
Normally, we’d tell you to ask the doctors who sit at cage side and the referees overlooking the fight to help you. After all, they are there because they have the training and competence to be able to tell the difference between a fighter who is simply disinterested in fighting and a fighter who is physically unable to continue. But if UFC 138 was any indication, sometimes their judgment isn’t much better than ours.
We know UFC 138 wasn’t the first time a fighter who should not have been allowed to continue to fight was asked by officials if he wanted to continue, said yes and then was allowed to continue. But it still confuses us every time we see it happen. If you’re going to pause the fight because you believe that it is dangerous for a person to continue taking damage, perhaps you should do more than just ask if the professional fighter whose job depends on his or her ability to keep fighting wants to keep fighting.
1Jackal Says: Since Cain Velasquez is the UFC champ and is making a bunch of money then why is his father still doing physical labor by working in the fields? Please explain.
Back up, 1Jackal. Champions making a bunch of money? We don’t know what crazy, ass-backwards universe you live in, but since Nick Diaz doesn’t live there, we don’t ever want to visit it.
Who has two thumbs and can’t wait for our liveblog? This guy! Props: MMAJunkie.com
It’s time for UFC 138 on Spike TV, and we’re here because we’re here. Get it, that works because…you know what, just Google it if you don’t get it. We can’t give you all of the answers, after all. Weekend editor Seth Falvo is handling tonight’s liveblog duties, so let’s just get it started. Hit “refresh” early and often.
Who has two thumbs and can’t wait for our liveblog? This guy! Props: MMAJunkie.com
It’s time for UFC 138 on Spike TV, and we’re here because we’re here. Get it, that works because…you know what, just Google it if you don’t get it. We can’t give you all of the answers, after all. Weekend editor Seth Falvo is handling tonight’s liveblog duties, so let’s just get it started. Hit “refresh” early and often.
Tonight marks the UFC’s first time experimenting with five round non-title main event fights. Joe Rogan doesn’t appear to think that tonight’s main event, Leben vs. Munoz, will go the full five rounds. Do you think he’s right about that? Resist the urge to Google the results before answering that.
Terry Etim vs. Edward Faaloloto
Round One: They touch gloves, and begin swinging. Terry throws a spinning back kick, and Edward Faaloloto shoots for a takedown. Etim catches Edward in a tight guillotine, and gets the tap. Wow. Terry Etim def. Edward Faaloloto via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:17
Ask the Potato is back and as credible as ever- which is almost an accomplishment worth bragging about. This week, while coming up with the smartass quips that you’ve come to expect from us, we noticed that even some minor celebrities have taken notice of this feature and submitted their own questions. Naturally, we’re handling this development the way you would expect us to. We’re placing their questions before your (somewhat) serious questions in order to address people with more clout than you. Just remember, guys: We didn’t sell out: We bought in.
So let’s get to it, shall we?
This week’s Ask The Potato is too hot to handle.
Ask the Potato is back and as credible as ever- which is almost an accomplishment worth bragging about. This week, while coming up with the smartass quips that you’ve come to expect from us, we noticed that even some minor celebrities have taken notice of this feature and submitted their own questions. Naturally, we’re handling this development the way you would expect us to. We’re placing their questions before your (somewhat) serious questions in order to address people with more clout than you. Just remember, guys: We didn’t sell out: We bought in.
So let’s get to it, shall we?
@JerryMillenasks: @cagepotatomma how do u guys make money? Seriously u have 0 journalists! Must be a bunch oh HS kids. Need to fact check ur stories
Like any respectful entrepreneur, when that doesn’t cover the bills we travel across the continental US interviewing the loved ones of our more-successful enemies then post video footage of the character assassination on the internet.
@JuneWhiteMMA asks: @cagepotatomma U know absolutely nothing about me why would u make personal comments like that about me?
It’s interesting that you equate knowing someone well with trashing them publicly, June.
Actually, we owe you an apology. It was improper of us to sneak into your home and eavesdrop on what was obviously a private, personal conversation between two concerned friends. Oh, wait, that’s not what happened at all. You got together with your son’s worst enemy—MMA’s version of a snake oil salesman—to launch a smear campaign against your own flesh and blood. Now you’re mad because we were supposed to write terrible things about him, not you, right?
To be fair, we write awful things about your son all the time and we don’t know him either. Sure, we spoke on the phone once, but largely we judge him by what he says and how he comes across in interviews. That’s what we did with you, which is why we find you to be deplorable.
RwilsonR asks: If BJ had any work ethic at all to train his cardio, would he have beaten Nick Diaz?
Chri534 asks : Over/under $500k: What do you think Nick deserves as a ‘locker room bonus’ for that post-fight press conference appearance?
You do realize that you’re asking this question to a group of guys who actually expect to be paid for this column, right? Perhaps we have skewed expectations of how much compensation (if any) one should receive for doing a basic part of his or her job, but we feel that if Nick Diaz wasn’t paid at least twenty million dollars for showing up to the press conference, it’s a downright shame.
We’ll keep it short and sweet this week, everyone. Tune in next week as we answer even more of your (hopefully at least kind of) MMA related questions. You know the drill: You can send us questions through our Facebook page. You can tweet them to our Twitter account. You can register for our forums and post your questions there. Or you can just post them in the comments section of this article. Not to mention any names, but you have no idea how disappointed we are that some of you have been ignoring this feature. We’re at “Spending Friday nights crying into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and wondering why he’s ignoring us” levels of disappointment. How about changing that, okay?
Askren vs. Hieron, part one. All videos in this post via IronForgesIron.com
Bellator returned to action last night in Kansas City with action from the heavyweight tournament and a welterweight title fight between current champion Ben Askren and Season Four tournament winner Jay Hieron. Earlier this week, Ben Askren promised to “maul Jay Hieron”, as our more astute readers may remember. Well, that didn’t exactly happen. We’ll discuss that more in a minute.
The night kicked off with heavyweight tournament semifinals action. To say these fights delivered quick, exciting finishes puts it mildly- It’ll take some of you longer to read this sentence than it’ll take you to actually watch the fights. In the first matchup, Eric Prindle countered a leg kick from Ron Sparks with a brutal straight right forty seconds into their fight. Not to be outdone, Thiago Santos quickly dropped Bellator Season Three heavyweight tournament finalist Neil Grove and sunk in a rear naked choke. The total amount of time it took Santos to do this? Thirty eight seconds. Don’t blink when Eric Prindle meets Thiago Santos at Bellator 59.
Askren vs. Hieron, part one. All videos in this post via IronForgesIron.com
Bellator returned to action last night in Kansas City with action from the heavyweight tournament and a welterweight title fight between current champion Ben Askren and Season Four tournament winner Jay Hieron. Earlier this week, Ben Askren promised to “maul Jay Hieron”, as our more astute readers may remember. Well, that didn’t exactly happen. We’ll discuss that more in a minute.
The night kicked off with heavyweight tournament semifinals action. To say these fights delivered quick, exciting finishes puts it mildly- It’ll take some of you longer to read this sentence than it’ll take you to actually watch the fights. In the first matchup, Eric Prindle countered a leg kick from Ron Sparks with a brutal straight right forty seconds into their fight. Not to be outdone, Thiago Santos quickly dropped Bellator Season Three heavyweight tournament finalist Neil Grove and sunk in a rear naked choke. The total amount of time it took Santos to do this? Thirty eight seconds. Don’t blink when Eric Prindle meets Thiago Santos at Bellator 59.
Now, on to Askren vs. Hieron. The first round saw Jay Hieron stuff all of Ben Askren’s takedown attempts, but Askren managed to secure a takedown in the second round, keeping the challenger on his back for nearly the entire round. After the second round, takedowns for the champion were far more infrequent. By the fifth round, Hieron appeared confident that he would be crowned the new champion, as Askren was completely ineffective against him. However, the judges did not see it this way, as Ben Askren defeated Jay Hieron by split decision.
Askren vs. Hieron, part two.
So what do you guys think? Did Jay Hieron get robbed, or did Ben Askren do enough to win rounds one, two and four? Does this support the need for a new scoring system in MMA? Have at it in the comments section.
MAIN CARD (MTV2)
Ben Askren def. Jay Hieron via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
Thiago Santos def. Neil Grove via submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (0:38)
Jeremy Spoon def. Adam Schindler via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Eric Prindle def. Ron Sparks via knockout (punch) Rd 1 (0:40)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)
Marcio Navarro def. Rudy Bears via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Kelvin Tiller def. Dan Spohn via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Emanuel Brooks def. Willian de Souza via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Jacob Aiken def. Jeimeson Saudino via submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (3:26)
Aaron Ely def. Owen Evinger via submission (rear naked choke) Rd 1 (3:45)
