Author: Steven Rondina

UFC on Fuel 7: Watch James Te Huna’s Men in Black-Inspired Walk-out

Dana White isn’t always big on flashy walk-outs, but the fans still love ’em. Whether it’s Jason “Mayhem” Miller or Tom Lawlor, it’s hard not to get a bit more excited by a big entrance.James Te Huna scored himself more than a few new fans by entering …

Dana White isn’t always big on flashy walk-outs, but the fans still love ’em. Whether it’s Jason “Mayhem” Miller or Tom Lawlor, it’s hard not to get a bit more excited by a big entrance.

James Te Huna scored himself more than a few new fans by entering the Octagon with a well-rehearsed, well-scripted dance inspired by the Men in Black movie series.

Te Huna fought against Canadian Ryan Jimmo. Jimmo used his effective, distance-focused skillset to take the MFC belt, but used his heavy hands to earn one of the fastest UFC knockouts ever last year, beating Anthony Perosh in just seven seconds.

Jimmo rocked Te Huna early with a big head kick, but punched himself out. Te Huna would take advantage, and outworked Jimmo en route to a unanimous decision victory. 

While the fight itself was solid, it was Te Huna‘s entrance that people will remember the most. Twitter erupted over the reveal, and the UFC actually took the rare step to post Te Huna‘s entrance for all to see (which, obviously, you can see above).

The UFC on Fuel TV 7 card is still on-going, so make sure to check out the main event, an interim bantamweight title fight between Renan Barao and Michael McDonald. Also, make sure to stick with Bleacher Report for all the breaking news on the UFC.

Last but not least, make sure to read my “What We Learned” article on the fight itself here.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel 7 Results: What We Learned from James Te Huna vs Ryan Jimmo

This bout may have slipped under many radars. The importance, though, cannot be overstated. In the crazy shuffle surrounding the departure of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the rise of Glover Teixeira, the arrival of Gegard Mousasi and the thre…

This bout may have slipped under many radars. The importance, though, cannot be overstated.

In the crazy shuffle surrounding the departure of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the rise of Glover Teixeira, the arrival of Gegard Mousasi and the three-man race for a title shot, many fans neglected to notice that Ryan Jimmo and James Te Huna squared off in a fight to determine the next addition to the Top 10 Light Heavyweight.

Both of them are on impressive winning streaks, and both are hungry.

When they met in the cage after some sweet entrances, Jimmo came very close to ending the fight, but Te Huna took control from there. In the end, the judges ended up giving Te Huna the nod.

After this back and forth battle, what did we learn about these two light heavyweights?

Te Huna Has a Big Heart

It takes a lot of guts to eat a huge headkick and get repeatedly punched in the face but not roll into a fetal position and concede.

Te Huna gutted out a first round that he very easily could have quit, and ended up getting the win. Granted, it was a close win (many scored the fight a 28-28 draw), but we already knew he had the hands and the grappling, and now we know he has the heart to go with it.

While this might not have been his best fight, it’s still a great demonstration of who Te Huna is as a fighter.

Jimmo Can Punch Himself Out

Jimmo rose to prominence as the top light heavyweight of the MFC promotion. During that run, he was widely regarded as a grinding, distance-focused grappler.

He is no stranger to fighting for three full rounds (and he had two five-round decision victories before joining the UFC), but after five minutes of non-stop face-punching, Jimmo was tired.

He slowed down badly after the first round, and couldn’t muster up the energy to really threaten Te Huna standing, or on the ground.

This is by no means a harsh loss for Jimmo (again, many scored it a draw), and he should still be regarded as one of the better light heavyweights.

Te Huna is a Legitimate Top Ten Light Heavyweight

I might catch some flack for this, but I think Te Huna ranks among the Top 10 Light Heavyweights in the UFC. There are very few fighters who I don’t think he could beat.

Part of this is just because of the ugly performances from former champions Forrest Griffin, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans. That said, a strong case can be made for Te Huna to be slotted around the No. 8 or No. 9 spot in the division.

He’s one more convincing win away from entering the title picture, but is still moving in the right direction. The fact that his lone UFC loss came against Alexander Gustafsson doesn’t help his case, but if he fits another win or two in this year, we could see him lined up for a title fight in early 2014.

Jimmo Isn’t Far Behind

Now that I’m done gushing over Te Huna…did I mention that many scored this fight a draw? Jimmo could have finished the fight very easily, and if he didn’t finish it, if he dialed back just a little bit, he could have taken one of the other rounds.

This wasn’t the best showing by Jimmo, but he showed that if he was pitted against guys like Ryan Bader or Phil Davis, he’d be more than competitive. Even though he technically lost this fight, his ascent up the division’s rankings should not be halted.

Watch for him to bounce back to great effect.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The 10 Most Impressive Current Streaks in MMA

Who doesn’t love a good pattern? Whether it’s win-win-win or loss-loss-loss, seeing things happen again and again is always fun. When there are as many things to check out as there are in MMA, there is a lot of room to see interesting streaks. Looking …

Who doesn’t love a good pattern? Whether it’s win-win-win or loss-loss-loss, seeing things happen again and again is always fun.

When there are as many things to check out as there are in MMA, there is a lot of room to see interesting streaks. Looking only at winning streaks over and over…where’s the fun in that?

So, instead, how about we take a peak at some of the wildest things in MMA today? Who has used skill to find success again and again? Who just keeps on losing? What crazy coincidences have just slipped under your radar?

Find out right here!

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Russian Olympic Wrestling Coach Goes on Homophobic Rant, Hurts His Own Cause

The likely demise of wrestling from the Olympic Games has resulted in a huge outcry from both the sport’s alumnus and the MMA world. In the scramble for more information, many have criticized wrestling’s governing body, FILA. Some have taken issue with…

The likely demise of wrestling from the Olympic Games has resulted in a huge outcry from both the sport’s alumnus and the MMA world. In the scramble for more information, many have criticized wrestling’s governing body, FILA. Some have taken issue with the possible conflict of interest among some IOC members who have maintained connections to other sports that were on the chopping block.

Russian Olympic wrestling coach Vladimir Uruimagov, though, is going in another direction, blaming an alleged gay conspiracy against “manly” sports like wrestling (en.rsport.ru. h/t SBNation)

“If they expel wrestling now, that means that gays will soon run the whole world…It turns out this committee is headed by a [gay]. It is necessary for millions around the world who understand that this is a man’s sport and who understand the need to continue the human race to go out and explain their position to the Olympic Committee. We should prove and explain that in any other case there is no future.”

Obviously, his claim is utterly ridiculous, plain-and-simple offensive and a product of a less-than-tolerant environment in Russia (detailed here, via Huffington Post). At its roots, though, it is not a notion exclusive to this one kook.

The claim that society is becoming “wimpier” has come up in everything from Time Magazine’s 2006 Person of the Year (being the amorphous label of “you”) to Mattel allowing proper nouns in Scrabble. Wild criticisms of other “wimpy” sports like synchronized swimming, table tennis and trampolining have also been numerous.

Still, a legitimately homophobic rant does nothing but hurt wrestling’s chances at returning to the Games after 2016. Attacking an IOC member’s sexuality is just profoundly unwise when he holds the fate of your sport in his hand.

While Uruimagov is claiming this conspiracy, the Games have long hosted countries with strong anti-gay policies including Iran (a powerhouse in wrestling in recent years), Jamaica (home to Olympic sweetheart Usain Bolt) and Kenya (a consistent presence on the podiums in track events).

Coincidentally, the UFC will be putting its first openly gay fighter front and center in a week. UFC 157 is headlined by women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and former military lesbian, Liz Carmouche.

Keep an eye out on Bleacher/Report for more developments on wrestling’s fate, and all the MMA news you could want.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC in New York: Zuffa Gets Big Break, Could See Ban Lifted Soon

The story of MMA in the 1990s, UFC 12 and the barring of an entire sport in one of the largest states in the union is one that has been told many times. Our own Jon Snowden recently wrote a fairly comprehensive guide that you can read here. As detailed…

The story of MMA in the 1990s, UFC 12 and the barring of an entire sport in one of the largest states in the union is one that has been told many times. Our own Jon Snowden recently wrote a fairly comprehensive guide that you can read here.

As detailed, the UFC has been pushing for MMA to be legalized in New York for a long while and, while the goal seemed insurmountable at times, it seems as though the UFC may finally be able to stage an event in the Big Apple. Zuffa‘s attorneys and representation from the state of New York met in court today. MMA Journalist Jim Genia reported from ground zero earlier today (via fightline.com).

“In what was supposed to be a day of oral arguments pertaining to the State Attorney General’s most recent motion to dismiss, attorney John M. Schwartz – representing the Attorney General’s office – acknowledged unequivocally that the law prohibiting pro MMA did not apply to amateur versions of the sport, and that as per the statute, a pre-approved third-party sanctioning body could oversee MMA events in the state. The admission of the latter prompted the counsel representing Zuffa‘s interests to say that if that were truly the case, then there’d be no further need to pursue the lawsuit – which in turn prompted the presiding Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S District Court of the Southern District of New York to push both sides to immediately settle…

…Notwithstanding whether a settlement is reached, the door is now open for Zuffa – or any other MMA promotion – to circumvent the ban by utilizing one of the pre-approved sanctioning bodies enumerated in the statute. Those sanctioning bodies include the World Karate Association (since renamed the World Kickboxing Association, a.k.a. the “WKA”), the Professional Karate Association and the U.S. Judo Association, among others.”

While this doesn’t mean that the doors have been thrown wide open for mixed martial arts in New York, it is a huge breakthrough for the UFC.

Dana White has long discussed the difficulties Zuffa has faced in getting the sport sanctioned in New York, primarily blaming the Culinary Workers Union of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Fertitta brothers, who own the parent company of the UFC, also own a series of union-free casinos. The Culinary Workers Union has used its political leverage in New York to hold the state hostage in an attempt to force the Fertittas to allow their workers to join the union.

Still, this is a major announcement, and will allow the UFC to make good on the Dana White’s wishes for a 20th anniversary event in Madison Square Garden. In previous attempts to get the sport legalized in the state, White has tried to leverage local heroes and champions such as Frankie Edgar to raise his chances.

While an official settlement has not been reached, watch for it to happen soon. Stick with Bleacher/Report for more developments as they happen.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Definitive Guide to Bellator MMA

Since January, Bellator MMA has been putting on some good shows on Spike TV, the former home of the UFC. With a good number of elite fighters on their roster, Bellator is a promotion worth keeping an eye on. Many fans of the sport, however, remain unsu…

Since January, Bellator MMA has been putting on some good shows on Spike TV, the former home of the UFC.

With a good number of elite fighters on their roster, Bellator is a promotion worth keeping an eye on. Many fans of the sport, however, remain unsure about what is now one of the largest promotions in the world.

Well, for all the folks out there who are curious about the promotion, or those just looking to learn names to drop around the water cooler each Friday morning, this is the guide for you. Welcome to The Definitive Guide to Bellator MMA!

Prepare to learn who the top dogs of the promotion are, and get ready to know who to root for, and what to watch.

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