If you happened to miss the most significant women’s MMA fight since 2009, here are Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate fight highlights, via Showtime Sports.
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey took place March 3, 2012 at the Nationwide Are…
If you happened to miss the most significant women’s MMA fight since 2009, here are Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate fight highlights, via Showtime Sports.
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey took place March 3, 2012 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. Upstart challenger and former Olympian Ronda Rousey (5-0) took on reigning Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (12-3) in an electrifying title fight. Check out the video highlights below.
For more on Rousey’s spectacular victory, check out the play-by-play from MMA Fighting’s own Luke Thomas.
Round 1: Tate swinging and lands a few strikes, but Rousey tosses her to the mat and moves to side control. Rousey steps out and moves to opposite side and attempts an armbar. It’s close, but Tate survives and now has Rousey’s back. Rousey removes the hook and stands but in a slam Tate still gets Rousey’s back. In a scramble Rousey gets out the back door and is standing over a prostrate Tate. Tate stands and they clinch. Rousey takes a shot to the face, but hip tosses Tate to the mat with ease. Now in mount. Rousey goes to the Russian arm bar and then back down. Tate fights valiantly, but her arm appears to be badly dislocated. Tate taps. That’s it. Ronda Rousey is your new women’s bantamweight champion.
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey results: Ronda Rousey defeats Miesha Tate at 4:27 of round 1.
Relive UFC on FX 2’s dramatic main event with Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann fight highlights, courtesy of Fox Sports.
UFC on FX 2 took place March 3, 2012 at the Allphones Arena Arena in Sydney, Australia. Both Thiago Alves …
UFC on FX 2 took place March 3, 2012 at the Allphones Arena Arena in Sydney, Australia. Both Thiago Alves (19-9) and Martin Kampmann (19-5) entered the night looking to cement their first win streak in over a year. Video of their headlining welterweight brawl can be seen below.
For more on Kampmann’s stunning comeback, follow the play-by-play from MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti.
Round 1: Herb Dean oversees tonight’s main event. Alves stalks forward and just misses a straight right. Kampmann shoots for a single but Alves fights it off and recovers back to the feet. Kampmann rockets a massive front kick that wobbles Alves. Kampmann rushes in to follow but he doesn’t seem to know how hurt his opponent is. Kampmann drags the fight to the mat but by now Alves has regained his wits and stands. This time it’s “Pitbull” that gets the takedown. Alves is staying busy, working his way from half guard to side control and eventually mount. Not a good spot for Kampmann. Alves is smothering, landing short shots from close range. Alves finally postures up but Kampmann bucks and gets to his feet. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Alves.
Round 2: Both men are staying patient. Kampmann rushes in but Alves circles and escapes. A high knee grazes for Kampmann but nothing to follow up. Alves slips a jab and finds his mark with a perfect counter left hook. Another exchange and Alves gets the better of it. Kampmann shoots for a double but he can’t get it. Alves is walking forward and pressing the action. A big straight right crunches Kampmann’s jaw, opening a cut on his face. Blood is dripping down Kampmann but Alves is showing patience. Kampmann pushes Alves against the fence as the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Alves.
Round 3: The crowd applauds both men for the final frame. Alves stalks forward early, planting Kampmann against the cage. Kampmann reverses and releases. Nothing significant has landed. Kampmann tosses Alves to the fence and unloads a knee right on his chin. Alves eats a counter right after missing with a flurry. Neither fighter is displaying any sort of urgency. Alves lands a hard shot and storms inside, muscling Kampmann to the mat. Kampmann somehow reverses and lands into mount! He has a guillotine and it’s deep! Alves taps, it’s over. What a comeback!
UFC on FX 2 results: Martin Kampmann def. Thiago Alves via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:12 of round 3.
This is the UFC on FX 2 live blog for Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall, a flyweight bout on tonight’s UFC event from the Allphones Arena in Sydney Australia.
Johnson (14-2) is coming off a loss in a UFC bantamweight title figh…
Johnson (14-2) is coming off a loss in a UFC bantamweight title fight to Dominick Cruz at last October’s UFC on Versus. McCall (11-2) makes his UFC debut after capturing the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight belt against Darrell Montague at TPF 10 last August.
Round 1: Leon Roberts officiates the UFC’s inaugural flyweight match-up. McCall opens with a leg kick and Johnson answers right back with a flurry. Johnson works his way in but McCall changes levels and takes it to the mat. Johnson defends and reverses his way to the top. The fight stands back up and Johnson charges forward. Johnson is finding a home for his right hand at will. McCall shoots in and get Johnson down, but only briefly. Johnson tosses out a spinning back-kick and grabs a single leg. A huge right hand lands and McCall stumbles back. Johnson rushes in but “Uncle Creepy” recovers quickly and fights it off. McCall slips a jab and wings a right hand that misses. Another exchange ends the round, but nothing lands clean. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for McCall.
Round 2: The pace is furious to open the second round. Johnson changes levels and lands a flurry but McCall eats it and circles out. Johnson chops with lead leg kick and fights off another flurry. McCall charges forward and launches a kick directly into Johnson’s groin. Wow, that one looked bad. Johnson takes some time and shakes it off. The action kicks back up and Johnson is the aggressor. Johnson is getting two or three shots into every exchange. Midway through the round and the pace isn’t showing any signs of slowing. McCall eats a shot but grins. Johnson pushes forward and delivers a few sharp knees from the clinch. The crowd voices their approval as the action takes the center of the cage. McCall lurches forward and wrestles Johnson to the ground, but he pops right back up again. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Johnson.
To rematch or not rematch? When it comes to the UFC’s convoluted title triangle of Frankie Edgar, Ben Henderson, and UFC President Dana White, that certainly appears to be the question.
Days after UFC 144’s controversial lightw…
To rematch or not rematch? When it comes to the UFC’s convoluted title triangle of Frankie Edgar, Ben Henderson, and UFC President Dana White, that certainly appears to be the question.
Days after UFC 144’s controversial lightweight championship, proverbial lines in the sand have begun to be drawn. For his part, Edgar made his opinion clear when he atypically demanded a rematch on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour.
White, however, isn’t as convinced. Having just resolved a two-year traffic jam in the 155-pound division, he would prefer Edgar to drop down to his natural weight class of 145 pounds, and he’s willing to sweeten the pot to get him there.
“Absolutely, (Edgar) walks straight into a title shot,” White declared during Wednesday’s UFC on FX 2 press conference.
“If I’m going to deny him the rematch for the 155-pound title, and I’m going to make him move to 145 and say, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna have to fight a couple fights first to get the title.’ Does that sound right? No.”
Of course, White’s protests are nothing new. The UFC President has long desired Edgar at featherweight, but after a slew of championship performances, he ran short of visual evidence that lent credence to his claims.
Even in the immediate aftermath of Saturday night, it appeared Edgar had again proven himself correct. Both White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said they scored the fight in favor of the former champion, though apparently that sentiment has now changed.
“Sitting there that night, I thought Frankie Edgar won the fight. And then Lorenzo (Fertitta) flew back to Las Vegas. He texted me yesterday, said ‘I re-watched the fight,'” White revealed.
“Ben won.”
Obviously Edgar vehemently disagrees, and he has steadfastly remained opposed to a fight against 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo. So with the lightweight division seemingly at an impasse, even White is unsure where to go from here.
“That weight division is so stacked, and there’s so many guys in line.” he hesitantly explained. “I have a lot of different feelings about the rematch. First and foremost, I feel like Frankie Edgar absolutely deserves one, seeing as how every fight this guy’s fought, he’s given everybody else a rematch.
“Yet, I don’t want him to fight at 155-pounds. I want him to go to 145 and fight for that title. Plus if we do give him a rematch, it clogs up (the division). There’s other guys that are in line waiting. It’s a big mess.”
For now, White’s unwillingness to put the division on hold appears to be most telling.
Although there may also be a surprising ulterior motive at play. One that lies not in Edgar’s fighting ability, but with his long-term health and longevity.
“This guy’s fighting with 155-pounders, guys that are cutting from 170-plus, and they’re always so much bigger than him. The guy has absolute wars and pulls out decisions that are so controversial every time,” White concluded.
“Take the whole fighting thing out of it, this guy belongs at 145-pounds. When you’re a professional fighter, you have a small window of opportunity as it is to compete and be a professional athlete. There’s only so many wars you have in you. You can’t have this long amazing career fighting wars all the time, so I don’t know. This whole thing is a nightmare and we’ll see what happens.”
Kimbo Slice achieved web stardom in 2003. He made his MMA debut with a win over Ray Mercer in 2007. He parlayed that into the CBS spotlight, shattering ratings records with the first MMA event ever aired on American network pri…
Kimbo Slice achieved web stardom in 2003. He made his MMA debut with a win over Ray Mercer in 2007. He parlayed that into the CBS spotlight, shattering ratings records with the first MMA event ever aired on American network primetime in 2008.
Somehow he wound up in the UFC, cast on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, again shattering rating records in 2009. Finally, he earned his Zuffa pink slip after losing to Matt Mitrione and subsequently retired from MMA in 2010.
Between those last four years, one question was asked ad nauseum by incredulous fight fans — why? What was the appeal, and more prominently, why was it so ridiculously successful? How did someone with no working knowledge of MMA become the posterboy for MMA in the eyes of non-MMA fans?
Even now, two years later, he somehow remains relevant, like a lingering storm cloud that refuses to pass. Just look to Ariel Helwani’s recent quest to discover ‘How Mainstream is MMA?’ as proof.
So of course Spike TV tapped his services in their ratings crusade against Fox. And you know what else? It’ll probably work. Check out all the details of the new deal, and catch up with all of yesterday’s big news with the Morning Report.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Spike uses Kimbo Slice to counter-program The Ultimate Fighter on FX. Spike TV tapped the services of the network’s biggest-ever TV star in the war against Fox.
UFC on FX 2 predictions. Michael David Smith predicts the winners and losers of Friday’s inaugural flyweight tournament.
UFC on FX 2: Fuel TV preliminary card dissection (part one). Dallas Winston returns with a quartet of his comprehensive visual breakdowns for UFC on FX 2’s undercard, highlighting Kyle Noke vs. Andrew Craig, Mackens Semerzier vs. Daniel Pineda, Shawn Jordan vs. Oli Thompson, and Nick Penner vs. Anthony Perosh.
Dakota Cochrane discusses controversial past. The 25-year-old TUF hopeful addressed his pornographic past as he prepares to chase his UFC dream.
UFC 144 ‘Prelims’ ratings. Saturday night’s ‘UFC Prelims’ special on FX averaged 1.5 million viewers over the course of its two-hour broadcast.
MEDIA STEW
Sixteen months ago Ronda Rousey was just a 1-0 amateur fighter preparing to face Autumn Richardson in the Tuff-N-Uff quarterfinals. Crazy.
CNN recently profiled Mike Haskamp, the Legend FC co-founder who, in the midst of a recession, made the bold jump from U.S. investment banker to manager of his own Asian MMA promotion. (HT: Bloody Elbow)
Take a peek at slick counter-striker Yasuhiro Urushitani, who many consider to dark horse of the UFC flyweight tournament.
Looks like somebody was trying to pick up a few pointers on WWE’s Monday Night Raw. (via @ACBattersby)
Sick of the criticism, Rampage finally shot back at Hendo.
Because UFC 144 was a strange card – and not only because it was in Japan, land of Godzilla, holographic pop stars, and soiled panty vending machines. There are some strange factoids about this UFC that, were I to go back in time and tell you just a few years ago, would have you calling BS. Who travels time to brag about weird MMA facts, anyways?
So without further ado, here are 5 fun, surprising, and downright bizarre facts from (and about) UFC 144. Bust one of these gems out next time you’re at a party and want to impress all the fine lookin’ ladies with your knowledge of MMA trivia…yeah…that’s how that works.
Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just send it to @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.
Ever since it’s inception in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has proven to be the UFC’s cornerstone for farming young talent, providing an ample slew of champions and contenders over the show’s fourteen seasons. So with every releas…
Ever since it’s inception in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has proven to be the UFC’s cornerstone for farming young talent, providing an ample slew of champions and contenders over the show’s fourteen seasons. So with every release of a new season’s cast, like we saw yesterday, there exists the faintest glimmer that we may be witnessing the rise of the next great champion. It’s what draws us back year after year.
But you already know all that. And plus, the show is still as hit-or-miss as they come. Since 2009, just 21 of the 75 contestants presently hold a UFC contract, good for a lowly 28-percent success rate (not counting TUF 14).
So you’re telling me, in a season that produced just three of those 21 names, former WEC champ and new UFC lightweight champ Ben Henderson couldn’t make the cut? That seems baffling.
But what do I know. You be the judge. Check out Bendo’s rejected TUF 9 audition tape, and catch up with all of yesterday’s big news with the Morning Report.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Carlos Condit willing to wait for ‘Michael Jordan of MMA.’ In speaking with our own Ariel Helwani,Condit revealed why he would be ready to wait for Georges St. Pierre if need be.
Ultimate Fighter cast announced. The UFC and FX revealed the 32-fighter cast that will participate in the The Ultimate Fighter 15.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Donald Cerrone booked for May 15. With an injury to Yves Edwards, Cerrone received a new opponent for his UFC on FUEL 3 lightweight duel.
Bellator’s Blagoi Ivanov reportedly stabbed in heart. The undefeated Bulgarian heavyweight is clinging to life after a Sunday morning barroom brawl, according to reports.
Bas Rutten talks PRIDE, UFC 144, and K-1. Matt Roth caught up with El Guapo at Legacy Fighting Championship 10 as he prepared to celebrate his 47th birthday over the weekend.
MEDIA STEW
It’s pretty ridiculous that just three years ago Ben Henderson was getting rejected by The Ultimate Fighter 9, and now he’s the No. 1 lightweight in the world.
Fedor indulged himself in a little sambo while he waits on the shelf. (HT: Middle Easy)
This right here might be the greatest hype video we’ve seen all year. (HT: Bloody Elbow)
Wanderlei Silva walks the streets of Brazil and gets his motivational speaking on as he prepares for The Ultimate Fighter Brasil.
Remember that time when Frank Mir absolutely shattered Big Nog’s arm? You know, there was that grizzly x-ray of the damage. Wait, that was just a few months ago? Well call him Wolverine, because apparently he’s back in the gym already. (HT: MMA Mania)
I’m not really sure what this is about, but I’m sure it has something to do with Anderson Silva.
I will be sending you a knife, fork, dinner-plate, and napkin.Please eat those words, and let me know how they taste, Stupid.
I never fail to marvel at the odd, utterly unpredictable process by which MMA fans choose what “controversial” decisions to care about.
Nick Diaz doesn’t get the nod over Carlos Condit? Robbery, I say! Mike Bisping squeaks past Matt Hamill? Home cooking at it’s worst! BJ Penn doesn’t get the decision over GSP? I hate wrestling! GSP’s a cheater! RAHHHHHH!
And yet other times, the chorus of fans is remarkably silent. Ellenberger vs. Sanchez was a razor close decision featuring a possible 10-8 round – yet not a peep was made about that decision. Anthony Pettis, he of showtime kick legend, had an extremely close fight with Jeremy Stephens that no one got too worked up about. I recall lots of talk about “everybody being a winner” when the ref’s raised Dan Henderson’s hand instead of “Shogun” Rua’s – but switch Dan’s hand for Lyoto Machida’s that gets raised instead of Rua’s, it was an affront to the fight gods.
It’s fascinating stuff. You could write a master’s thesis on the psyche of the MMA fan when it comes to close decisions. Case in point: last weekend’s Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson title fight.
Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just send it to @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.
