Author: Steven Cook

Luke Rockhold’s Most Likely Opponents Following Brutal UFC on FX 8 Knockout Loss

A Round 1 knockout via a spinning kick from Vitor Belfort wasn’t quite what Luke Rockhold had hoped for heading into UFC on FX 8 on Saturday night, but he’ll be able to bounce back with a respectable next fight, so long as he wins.Losing to Belfort was…

A Round 1 knockout via a spinning kick from Vitor Belfort wasn’t quite what Luke Rockhold had hoped for heading into UFC on FX 8 on Saturday night, but he’ll be able to bounce back with a respectable next fight, so long as he wins.

Losing to Belfort was a huge blow to Rockhold‘s legacy, as he would’ve made a strong case to face Anderson Silva or his challenger, Chris Weidman, for the middleweight title. A chance to even have at Silva is the only proof you need to show you’re in elite company in UFC, even if you lose to The Spider.

Although Rockhold should’ve been ready for Belfort‘s kick, it’s unknown what would have happened if that kick hadn’t landed. Rockhold may have been able to regain momentum, and things could have been very different. 

Now, Rockhold will have to explore some other options to get some quality wins under his belt. While he won’t draw the attention of a Silva or Jon Jones, he’ll be able to pick up a great fight against a contender who has faced the likes of those fighters before. 

Let’s take a look at some possible opponents for the Strikeforce star to get back in the win column against. 

 

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

I see a rematch with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza as the most likely fight for Rockhold as he looks to face a familiar foe.

The two faced off in an epic Strikeforce bout back in 2011, a fight that went all five rounds but ended in a unanimous decision for Rockhold. That loss snapped a four-match win streak for the Brazilian and he’s won the same amount in a row since then.

The latest win from Souza actually came Saturday on the same fight card as Rockhold, as he submitted Chris Camozzi in the first round with an arm triangle choke. 

Jacare boasts a 18-3-1 record throughout his career, and the 33-year-old seems to be quality competition despite Rockhold‘s previous victory. 

While defeating Souza for the second time wouldn’t be the biggest statement, it would allow Rockhold to get back on his feet and land the quick win he’s looking for . 

 

Chris Weidman 

This American has a much different fighting background than Rockhold, coming up strictly in UFC with a 9-0 record compared to Rockhold, who has primarily fought in Strikeforce.

However, this would be a big matchup for Rockhold to land and would be a huge statement win.

Assuming Weidman loses to Silva—which isn’t exactly an off prediction, given Silva’s nature—he’ll be looking to claim a quality victory on his way back up. With just one loss at that time, he’ll likely be willing to go at Rockhold. 

If Rockhold is up for the challenge against the American, this could be an exciting fight that goes the distance and serves as a huge stepping stone for whoever prevails.

 

Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping has produced elite results in his career and has fought hard and well against both Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen in defeats. Jones and Sonnen are two of the best in middleweight, mind you.

Bisping is also coming off an April 27 victory over Alan Belcher, where he finished his opponent off in Round 3. He’s constantly been heralded as one of the best fighters just outside the top tier.

This is the type of matchup that would bode well for Rockhold, who has had experience fighting against great fighters and needs to prove he can beat the guys who lose to Silva and Jones before he’s worthy of facing them.

At this point, Rockhold should only be focused on getting the best fight possible and not wasting his time pursuing fights he can’t get. Fortunately for him, this is a great fight and he’s worthy of it. 

 

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UFC 159: Jon Jones’ Title Defense Won’t Be Deterred by Chael Sonnen

Reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been on a tear through the UFC recently, and that won’t change despite entering the ring against a very talented and pesky Chael Sonnen at UFC 159.Jones and Sonnen were cast against each other as c…

Reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been on a tear through the UFC recently, and that won’t change despite entering the ring against a very talented and pesky Chael Sonnen at UFC 159.

Jones and Sonnen were cast against each other as coaches on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter on FX, where they likely shared more reserved competition than what we’ll see on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. 

It’s only fitting that they’d face off in an epic matchup that could go down in UFC lore after the finale, right?

Great programming, Dana White. 

Jones’ reign over the UFC hasn’t been forgotten in Las Vegas, as Sonnen comes in as a 17-to-1 underdog (via Yahoo! Sports), which makes this one of the biggest title bout mismatches in UFC history.

A huge reason for that is size, which always plays such a vital role in any fighting matchup. Jones has the upper edge there, with advantages of three inches in height and a whopping 10 inches of reach on Sonnen.

Sonnen has succeeded in ultimate fighting by out-hustling his opponents and wearing them down. However, he hasn’t proven able to fight off his back thus far in his career, and that’s where he’ll end up plenty of times due to Jones’ striking abilities.

We haven’t seen anything from Sonnen that indicates he’s done making crucial mental errors in bouts. In two appearances against the great Anderson Silva, Sonnen actually led The Spider before committing crucial decision-making lapses, leading to defeat.

Jones has all of Sonnen‘s best strengths, but excels at them even better, whether it’s striking or forcing submissions. That’s what will decide this matchup more than anything. 

One strength Jones will exploit more than anything should be elbows. His ability to hammer opponents on the ground with those massive blows should bloody Sonnen up quite a bit early.

If Sonnen has any dreams of winning this fight, he has to make the right decisions and not attack so relentlessly that he puts himself in defenseless positions.

It’s hard to argue betting against Jones, no matter who he’s fighting. Sonnen is still one of the best fighters in the world, and certainly deserving of a championship belt, but Jones just doesn’t lose.

“The Gangster from West Lynn” will be hunting for the belt at UFC 159, but “Bones” will show why he’s one of UFC’s best ever fighters in another thrilling victory.

 

– What are your thoughts on the upcoming UFC 159 card? Hit me up on Twitter.

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Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar: Brazilian Shows Weaknesses Despite Victory

Although he came out victorious, Jose Aldo has shown he’s very beatable after facing Frankie Edgar in UFC 156 Saturday. Heading into Saturday night’s featherweight title showdown, Aldo was expected to retain his title and stave off the pesky Edgar…

Although he came out victorious, Jose Aldo has shown he’s very beatable after facing Frankie Edgar in UFC 156 Saturday. 

Heading into Saturday night’s featherweight title showdown, Aldo was expected to retain his title and stave off the pesky Edgar. He did, but it wasn’t in the manner that was expected.

The champion dominated in the first two rounds, I’ll give him that. Early on, it looked like this one would be over before it truly got going, and he undoubtedly scored better on those two rounds in a handy fashion.

But when Round 3 came along, Aldo disappeared and looked to be too tired to hang with the electric Edgar. 

Down the stretch, you’d be surprised to know that Aldo is in fact 26 years old and five years younger than the 31-year-old Edgar. 

Although Aldo notched many more strikes in Rounds 1 and 2 than Edgar, the final three rounds were heavily in favor of the loser. Edgar struck Aldo 51 times in Rounds 3, 4 and 5 to Aldo’s 36. 

In the future, Aldo will have a huge target on his back as his future competition will have the perfect blueprint on how to take him down. 

If his future competitors can figure out how to make it through the first couple of rounds and save their best for last, knocking Aldo out in Round 4 or Round 5 would be much more possible.

The future certainly is bright for Aldo, but he cannot afford to continue earning the reputation of having bad stamina and an inability to fight well in late rounds.

You have to credit Edgar, who seems to always be in bouts with close calls that go down to the wire. But a champion should be able to rise above that sort of hype and make it his own fight.

Aldo didn’t do that, and he comes out of this bout a weaker fighter despite the victory.

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UFC 150 Results: Frankie Edgar Won’t Be Kept Down for Long After Loss

Frankie Edgar’s unfortunate loss in UFC 150 on Saturday night won’t keep the lightweight fighter down for long. He’ll make yet another comeback to jumpstart his career.A fight that was widely expected to go down to the wire did Saturday, as Edgar battl…

Frankie Edgar‘s unfortunate loss in UFC 150 on Saturday night won’t keep the lightweight fighter down for long. He’ll make yet another comeback to jumpstart his career.

A fight that was widely expected to go down to the wire did Saturday, as Edgar battled Benson Henderson. The two previously fought just five months prior at UFC 144, where Henderson was given a unanimous victory despite many arguing that Edgar won the fight. 

Saturday’s fight promised more of the same, and it delivered. Both fighters bruised each other up in the Octagon for five full rounds and neither looked close to giving up or tapping out.

Edgar once again was spurned by the judges, but this time it was as a split-decision. He looked much more in control of his game in last night’s main card and showed a lot of strength.

“The Answer” will undoubtedly be a handful for whoever decides to fight him next, and he looks to be a major contender to win a title in his next bout. 

Both fighters made it very hard on the judges in the fifth round, as a round that would likely decide the winner went both ways and never featured a true victor. 

The judges’ scorecard is another indication that a promising future is ahead for Edgar. One judge had Edgar winning 46-49, while the other two noted 48-47 scores. 

It’s hard to imagine the fighter who notched the only real takedown of the fight not actually winning, but that’s what happened in this one. Edgar punished Henderson in the second round with an overhand right hook, but it wasn’t enough to convince the judges throughout.

Edgar could’ve very well been the winner of this fight had one or two punches gone his way in the third and fourth rounds. It’s thought of that Henderson won both rounds as Edgar seemed to have been much stronger in the second and fifth rounds, and those telling rounds (three and four) were very tight.

When it comes down to it, Edgar proved to all of us that he’s still capable of fighting at an elite level and that he deserves a chance to contend for any title that he weighs in for. 

It won’t be long until we have an answer on “The Answer” and who he’ll face next after this loss that may have done more good to his career than bad. 

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UFC 150 Prelims: Facebook Stream Is Great Promotion for Big Edgar-Henderson Bout

For a big fight like the sequel to Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar on UFC 150 Saturday night, a great deal of promotion is necessary to ensure a huge success.The UFC’s Facebook stream of the night’s preliminary bouts do just that.As with any growing…

For a big fight like the sequel to Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar on UFC 150 Saturday night, a great deal of promotion is necessary to ensure a huge success.

The UFC’s Facebook stream of the night’s preliminary bouts do just that.

As with any growing product, massive exposure is the biggest key to ensuring constant success for Dana White‘s brand. The UFC is still trying to get out of the shadows of professional wrestling and boxing in order to establish itself as a premier sport, and these are the types of moves that White needs to continue making.

Social media has quickly shifted from being a trendy fad to a near necessity in order to be a relevant member of society, and no company has had a bigger impact on that transition than Facebook.

One of the biggest and best websites in the world is a heck of a place to promote your brand. Putting UFC on Facebook is masterful promotion for the brand.

The free events that the UFC has offered don’t cost the league any money, as it still has the regular fight card. The events help to set the stage for the fights that follow.

That’s exactly what the Facebook stream has done for this Edgar-Henderson card. The fight needed a great deal of promotion, as their first fight during UFC 144 was one of the more memorable in the sport’s history.

Part II is shaping up to be a stellar bout.

This isn’t the first time that Edgar has been in a big rematch. In fact, it’s getting quite normal. All the more reason to put his name and face out there on the Facebook stream—it could greatly help pay-per-view numbers for UFC 150.

Edgar and Henderson embarked in a high-flying, violent fight the first time they faced off, and those are the kinds of storylines that appeal most to the novice UFC watcher. The ability to relate to their favorite sport is a main gateway to getting interested in another sport, and the overplayed “redemption” storyline beat to death by major American sports media applies heavily to this main event. 

Giving every person who has a Facebook profile a free stream of the preliminaries for an exciting fight card exposes hundreds of millions of people to the UFC brand and its world-class broadcast, which is well worth the subscription. 

 

Steven Cook is a TNT breaking news writer and Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for unabashed analysis and coverage of all things sports. 

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Silva vs. Sonnen 2: UFC Must Turn Intense Rivalry into a Trilogy

After yet another insane showdown that excited the world of mixed martial arts and captivated the sports world, the UFC must find a way to make a third match happen between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.Even though Silva won the first fight between t…

After yet another insane showdown that excited the world of mixed martial arts and captivated the sports world, the UFC must find a way to make a third match happen between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

Even though Silva won the first fight between the two top middleweight fighters in the world, he was battered and bruised often in the 2010 bout. He was hit just 208 times in his first 11 UFC fights, but Sonnen landed a stunning 289 blows to the Brazilian in their first match.

Sonnen actually won the first four rounds unanimously by judges’ decision in that bout. But Silva came out of nowhere to submit Sonnen in Round 5.

Sonnen may have crossed the line with some of his comments in the meantime, but he deserved to gloat a bit after the beating he put on the sport’s greatest force.

Saturday’s sequel started just like the first began. Sonnen came out like a man possessed and brought Silva to the ground less than 10 seconds into the fight. He had Silva on his back for the entirety of the first round. 

Although, in usual Silva fashion, he took advantage of a slip-and-fall by Sonnen on a spinning blow that missed. He used the rare window of opportunity to pounce on the American to ensue blows that Sonnen wouldn’t recover from and would prompt referee Yves Lavigne to break up the fight with a TKO.

No one is arguing that Sonnen was the superior fighter in the octagon Saturday night or that he deserved the win like he suggested after their opening bout. In fact, Sonnen applauded Silva for accepting the rematch and for showcasing yet another impressive performance.

But the unfolding of events between the fighters Saturday night didn’t do much to prove that Sonnen is not capable of beating Silva.

With the way that the middleweight division currently looks, Sonnen undoubtedly poses the biggest threat to Silva’s championship belt. If “The Spider” ever loses in the octagon, it will most likely be to Sonnen. 

That’s not to say that Silva will accept a rematch. He looked stronger, more able and more comfortable than in the 2010 bout while answering questions of the rib injury’s impact on the first fight with his bitter rival. He proved he’s the best and shouldn’t have to rest his case on a third match.

But then again, why does a third match have to be the telling one? If Sonnen wins, isn’t Silva still 2-of-3? Does Sonnen have the respect for Silva and the sport to agree that a third fight wouldn’t decide the ultimate legacy between the two?

Besides, Silva is 37 and Sonnen is 35. We’d have to assume that a third fight wouldn’t be for at least one or two more years, when both mixed martial artists could be too far past their prime to even play. 

Even if they aren’t the dominating, young forces that they used to be, a fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen would boom UFC’s numbers and would be a breathe of fresh air economically for the sport.

Since the sport lives and dies on pay-per-view numbers, chasing the most sexy matchup is a must for Dana White. And with some of his best men on the edge of their careers, he’ll have to do everything he can to ensure that they get back in the ring one last time.

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