Color me puzzled. In case you have not heard, the perpetually whiny Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua due to knee troubles. He is being replaced by, you guessed it, Thia…
Color me puzzled.
In case you have not heard, the perpetually whiny Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua due to knee troubles. He is being replaced by, you guessed it, Thiago Silva.
Fresh off a suspension for trying to cover up steroid use and a highly publicized loss, Silva will be fighting a top-five fighter in the division. This ends up being a huge break for Silva, who still has serious knockout power but has not won a fight since 2009, when he beat Keith Jardine at UFC 102.
Since what turned out to be a top contender fight with Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 all the way back in January 2009, Silva is 1-3 (1). That said, a victory over Rua would rocket him into the top 10 of the division and could very well put him in the title picture.
Even though his new opponent remains one of the most technically skilled fighters in the division, Thiago Silva still has more than a puncher’s chance of winning.
While Silva has to be excited about this, this must be a huge letdown for Rua, who is coming off a knockout victory over Forrest Griffin and the 2011 fight of the year that he shared with Dan Henderson. Rua has remained near the top of the division since beating Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 and has been a top ten light heavyweight for years now.
The oft-injured light heavyweight bested Lyoto Machida (twice, many would argue) to become the champion. Unfortunately, another tweak had him sidelined for nearly a year before he returned to a lopsided beat down from Jon Jones.
Despite that, Rua was actually possibly looking at a title rematch with Jones (assuming he beats the aforementioned Dan Henderson) later this year. Jones, meanwhile, has spent his time since UFC 129 defeating almost literally every light heavyweight of note since Chuck Liddell was champion.
While finishing Quinton Jackson (and the lack of another opponent) would have made a title shot for Rua almost a certainty, beating Silva does not help him towards this goal nearly as much.
Why Rua accepted this fight with so much risk attached remains a mystery. As does why the UFC would avoid replacing Quinton Jackson with a prospect like Phil Davis or Alexander Gustaffson (who beat Silva just a few weeks ago), a name-brand veteran like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira or even a Strikeforce import like Rafael Cavalcante or Gegard Mousasi
UFC 149 is not entirely fleshed out yet, so what spot this fight will take on the card is still up in the air. Regardless, look for this fight in July. At the very least, it will probably end in a knockout.
The UFC has a serious problem on its hands. This is bigger than the usual problems like free agent fighters and repairing injury-riddled cards. The UFC is at a serious crossroads when it comes to PED use, and it is not coming down on a side that the pu…
The UFC has a serious problem on its hands. This is bigger than the usual problems like free agent fighters and repairing injury-riddled cards. The UFC is at a serious crossroads when it comes to PED use, and it is not coming down on a side that the public should be happy with.
The talk, obviously, has been almost entirely focused on Alistair Overeem failing a pre-fight urine test just weeks before he was to fight Junior Dos Santos, nice guy extraordinaire, for the heavyweight title. The bout has been canceled (JDS will now face Frank Mir), which is both a huge disappointment for fans and likely a hit to the UFC’s wallet.
Make no mistake about where the UFC’s priorities lie, however. The promotion was at the helm of Overeem’s protest to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, a move that shows a blatant lack of integrity and demonstrates how much it cares about the sport itself.
No matter which way the UFC will try to spin it, there is only one message to be taken from its handling of Overeem: the UFC brass does not care about fighters’ steroid use unless they are caught, and organizers will do as little as possible when it comes to maintaining a safe, fair competition. This is not a message that should be sent, but it just keeps getting repeated.
There are several cases that demonstrate this unscrupulous policy. Though Dana White talks a big game about the UFC’s supposed cleanliness, the way he has handled several fighters tell a very different story.
Royce Gracie is undeniably one of the most accomplished fighters in MMA history. His heroics in the UFC’s infancy did a lot for the sport, but they also propelled his fighting style, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, into a position where it was almost synonymous w…
Royce Gracie is undeniably one of the most accomplished fighters in MMA history. His heroics in the UFC’s infancy did a lot for the sport, but they also propelled his fighting style, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, into a position where it was almost synonymous with MMA as a whole.
For a long while, in large part thanks to Gracie’s dominance in the UFC’s golden age, MMA was a grappling-focused sport. There was still striking, sure, but the tiny Royce Gracie (he ended up fighting at welterweight after the sport became fully regulated) slapping leg triangles around people with a huge size advantage gave everyone pause.
This caused prospective fighters to flock to learn from the Gracie family. From there, dozens of submission-focused fighters entered MMA in both the United States and abroad. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was the go-to discipline for a huge number of fighters.
Gracie himself ended up winning three of the first four UFC tournaments while various family members like Renzo, Royler and Rickson all entered the fray to mixed success. At the turn of the millennium, submission artists who were black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu were popping up everywhere in some of the world’s most-watched events and were winning a lot more than they were losing.
This was the peak for the Gracie family and the martial art they made famous.
Following that, everyone scared of being submitted joined Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools to learn how to defend themselves from the at-the-time-unorthodox submissions. As Chuck Liddell became a serviceable wrestler specifically to defend himself from takedowns, many fighters were effectively neutralizing their opponents’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with their own Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
This was a successful strategy. Still, there were plenty of black belts in the style rising to prominence, but fewer and fewer were what one would call “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters.” Guys like Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz, all masters of the style who were still more comfortable standing than on the ground, became the second wave of fighters to represent the art. All had black belts in the style, but they were quite content in keeping the fight standing.
More time passed. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists were becoming fewer in number and were having less and less success. Fighters like Demian Maia, Gabriel Gonzaga and Thales Leites surged against lesser opponents, but they wilted against real competition. It became perfectly clear that this was simply not enough to reach the top anymore.
More and more, all the way into the present, the importance of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been dwindling. This is not necessarily because of anything wrong with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Simply put, this is mixed martial arts. A fighter needs to be able to both strike and grapple and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, perhaps more than any other fighting style that has come through the Octagon, has fighters that refuse to evolve past one martial art.
Even worse for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the Gracie’s legacy, a large portion of MMA’s fanbase still ends up disappointed whenever a fight goes to the ground, regardless of if it is by wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo. Small-minded fans aside, knockout power from a fighter like Brian Stann will always be a bigger selling point for a card than strong grappling from a fighter like Jake Shields.
Regardless, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been fading while wrestling has surged in popularity on the coattails of top fighters like Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans. Even among prominent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, submissions have been becoming less and less common; the aforementioned Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz have a combined three submissions since 2010, dwarfed by five electrifying knockouts.
Adding to this, there is a distinct lack of influence from the Gracie camp in recent years. There are no members of the Gracie family actively fighting right now of note. Meanwhile, the Nogueira brothers have branded themselves as the foremost instructors in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, leaving the family with no clear place in the sport today.
Worst of all is the undeniably bleak future for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in MMA. Much is made of the “new breed of fighters” like Rory MacDonald, but they truly end up being the harbingers of the end of individual martial arts. Young fighters currently rising through smaller promotions who will eventually join the UFC go to gyms specifically to learn the entire sport, rather than jumping into MMA after finding success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions.
These fighters have no real connection to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but learn off the bat how to attack with or defend against the style’s techniques. This, truly, spells doom for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in MMA and while it is still a sport unto itself, it is still approaching the proverbial exit when it comes to the public eye.
While Royce Gracie and his ancestors have a spot in history, their direct influence in MMA is rapidly approaching rock bottom. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not as feared as it was and this trend is incredibly unlikely to reverse course.
This, though, is the nature of sports. The game is evolving and, at this point, the Gracie family’s contributions have been absorbed into the sport as a whole. While their influence can still be found in the sport’s history, the name does not hold the weight it once did.
This just in from Dana White via Twitter:”May 26th is now Mir vs. JDS for the Title.”For those that have been under a rock for the past two weeks, what was originally slated as a bout between current UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and forme…
For those that have been under a rock for the past two weeks, what was originally slated as a bout between current UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem ended up hitting a sandbar when the latter tested positive for a skewed testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio.
While Dana White initially stated he was going to let the diplomatic process work itself out with an appeal set to take place next week, he apparently opted to put his foot on the gas pedal and change the main event before a ruling was made.
Mir is coming off a three-fight win streak and was widely regarded as the next best contender outside Overeem. This comes as a disappointment to the thousands of fans that made a Twitter push to have former Pride kickboxer Mark Hunt get a chance for the belt, but to no avail.
When the UFC 146 card was first completely fleshed out, there was a lot of discussion about the fact that, for the first time ever, there is an all-heavyweight main card.Granted, a lot of that has been drowned out with talk of Alistair Overeem’s failed…
When the UFC 146 card was first completely fleshed out, there was a lot of discussion about the fact that, for the first time ever, there is an all-heavyweight main card.
Granted, a lot of that has been drowned out with talk of Alistair Overeem’s failed drug test, but it is worth bringing back up.
Many feel like the UFC is taking a big gamble by putting together a card made up entirely of heavyweights. This is due to the fact that heavyweight fights are always the most appealing for casual fans, even though the lightweight division, for example, offers more top pound-for-pound fighters. Therefore, putting all their biggest eggs into one basket seems risky at face value.
“Seems” being the operative word there.
The thing is, though, that UFC 146’s setup is not really that big a departure from the ordinary. At its core, UFC 146 should just be looked at as a stacked card. The fact that there is over 2000 pounds of meat to watch on the PPV broadcast is just a bonus.
There are two general formats the UFC uses when it comes to building a PPV card.
Generally, they will look at the main event and, if it is strong enough, they will flesh out the card with bouts between less-popular fighters. UFC 145 is a great example of this. Jon Jones is one of the biggest draws in MMA right now and, obviously, the world is abuzz over him finally fighting Rashad Evans.
Past that, they filled the card with younger prospects (Rory MacDonald, Che Mills) and proven, but not especially popular, fighters (Mark Hominick, Miguel Torres). They do this because they know the main event sells itself, and they can afford to put generally unknown fighters behind it without having their bottom line altered in any big way.
The other kind is usually a solid main event, followed by a title eliminator and rounded out with some aging superstars and good fighters looking to rebound. UFC 140 and UFC 139 being the best examples of this.
The UFC 146 card basically falls into the latter. Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem is (or would have been) a pretty great headline that could, hypothetically, be a great money-grabber simply based on the fact that it is a heavyweight championship bout.
Beyond that, the individual bouts fit into the standard bills for a UFC card. Velasquez vs. Mir, obviously, is the title eliminator and Nelson vs. “Bigfoot” Silva is an interesting matchup between two fighters looking to get back on the winning track after ugly losses.
Following that are bouts with young prospects (Shane Del Rosario, Stefan Struve) facing wily veterans (Gabriel Gonzaga and Mark Hunt, respectively).
While UFC 146 is generating a lot of hype for its plethora of big men, this was simply a move to generate an extra bit of hype and it really has paid off. The UFC did not really sacrifice anything by putting together this many heavyweights, and the payoff is evidenced by the simple presence of this article.
UFC 146 is on May 26. Make sure to keep checking back for more news as the card approaches!
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is generating a good bit of buzz at this time in both Brazil and the United States.I recently talked about the importance this season of TUF holds for the coaches on FX’s The Ultimate Fighter: Live and what it could do for …
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is generating a good bit of buzz at this time in both Brazil and the United States.
I recently talked about the importance this season of TUF holds for the coaches on FX’s The Ultimate Fighter: Live and what it could do for them in terms of making them top UFC stars.
The coaches of TUF Brazil, though, are a very different story.
While TUF Live is building up into a title fight featuring a top-ten (possibly top-five) pound-for-pound fighter in Dominick Cruz and a mainstream sensation in Urijah Faber, TUF Brazil is working its way to a showdown between aging middleweights.
While my article on Cruz vs. Faber talked about how much these two young, powerful fighters have to gain from their time on the reality show, TUF Brazil is the exact opposite—with a coaches fight that highlights how much either has to lose.
These coaches are Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Both of them are Pride alumni.
Both of them have many vicious knockouts to their name.
Most importantly, both of them are still reeling after brutal losses in 2011.
Wanderlei Silva was among the best fighters in Pride (only Fedor Emelianenko edges him out).
After leaving the UFC in 2000 after a loss to Tito Ortiz, Silva went on one of the greatest streaks in MMA history, going 16-0-1, 1 NC and getting wins over all-time greats like Dan Henderson (once), Quinton Jackson (twice) and Kazushi Sakuraba (three times).
His final fights in Pride were back-to-back losses to Dan Henderson and Mirko Cro Cop, and after Pride was folded into the UFC, he continued this trend with a loss to Chuck Liddell.
Since then, he has been back and forth, beating Keith Jardine and winning his middleweight debut against Michael Bisping. Shuffled between those though, are losses to Quinton Jackson and Rich Franklin.
More recently, however, Silva suffered a bad knockout loss at the hands of Chris Leben. Dana White began making less-than-subtle nudges in the direction of retirement, as seen with Cro Cop and Liddell.
This has not worked…yet.
While he followed this loss by beating former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le, the possibility of a forced ending to his career still hangs over his head.
He remains one loss away from retirement and he undoubtedly knows that as he is facing knockout artist Vitor Belfort.
While Belfort is widely regarded as a top-five middleweight, that is not what people know him for.
The only highlight that the average fan remembers from Belfort’s current UFC stint is the clean knockout that came from Anderson Silva.
While he has two wins (a KO and submission) separating him from this, the kick knocked him as far away from a title shot as it did from his senses.
While Belfort’s career is not in jeopardy in this fight, this remains an absolute must-win for him.
Even though Belfort is possibly the most deserving next opponent for Anderson Silva (assuming he beats Chael Sonnen), he is very unlikely to get it.
If he loses though, Belfort will be separated from a title shot for years, regardless of who happens to be the champion at that time.
Both of these fighters need this win in order to hold their ground; Silva to keep his job and Belfort to keep his spot near the top of the division.
They fought once before—all the way back in 1998 at UFC Brazil—with Belfort winning with his signature run-forward-and-throw-punches technique.
Unfortunately for Silva, there is little reason to believe that this fight will be any different.
Silva’s chin is not especially strong at this point by any means and Belfort, as stated, is a knockout artist.
One of the best knockout artists in the UFC in fact and, as such, it is tough to see Belfort losing.
Silva is slower than he was and though he still has veteran savvy and is no stranger to knockouts himself, it would be somewhat surprising if this lasted more than one round until Belfort lands a hand and capitalizes.
Color me puzzled.