This Saturday, two of the best middleweights in the world will step into the cage with former Pride champion Dan Henderson facing off against former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi.
Mousasi has gone just 1-2 in his return to middleweight….
This Saturday, two of the best middleweights in the world will step into the cage with former Pride champion Dan Henderson facing off against former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi.
Mousasi has gone just 1-2 in his return to middleweight. His win over Mark Munoz was sandwiched by a loss to Lyoto Machida and a loss to Ronaldo Souza.
Henderson has been even less fortunate as of late, going just 1-4 in his last five. Henderson has dropped decisions to Machida and Rashad Evans, was knocked out by Vitor Belfort and submitted by Daniel Cormier. His only win in that time was a TKO over Mauricio Rua.
It’s going to be a close fight between these two as they look to get back on the winning track. Let’s see who has the edge in this head-to-toe breakdown.
The MMA world has changed a lot in the last few years.
Anderson Silva is no longer the pound-for-pound kingpin. Georges St-Pierre is retired. The heavyweight champion has fought just twice since 2012, and there are now 10 weight classes in the UFC.
Tho…
The MMA world has changed a lot in the last few years.
Anderson Silva is no longer the pound-for-pound kingpin. Georges St-Pierre is retired. The heavyweight champion has fought just twice since 2012, and there are now 10 weight classes in the UFC.
Those are just a few of the changes that have affected some of the divisions in the UFC. The rest of the divisions have changed greatly too; some have improved, while others have not.
With that in mind, let’s check out a power ranking of all 10 divisions in the UFC based on the talent, achievements and potential of the fighters.
This Saturday, two UFC veterans will face off in the World Series of Fighting, as Jon Fitch squares off against the WSOF welterweight champion, Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares.
Palhares was released from the UFC following his welterweight debut, a 31-seco…
This Saturday, two UFC veterans will face off in the World Series of Fighting, as Jon Fitch squares off against the WSOF welterweight champion, Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares.
Palhares was released from the UFC following his welterweight debut, a 31-second victory over Mike Pierce. Palhares held on to the submission for too long, and as a result, he was cut. He has had just one fight since his release: a victory over Steve Carl to win the WSOF welterweight title.
Fitch has had three fights since his release back in 2013—first, a submission loss to Josh Burkman but then two straight decision victories over Marcelo Alfaya and Dennis Hallman.
These are two high-level grapplers, and it’s sure to be a fun fight come Saturday. Let’s check out who has the edge in this head-to-toe breakdown.
This Saturday, two UFC Hall of Famers will square off at Bellator 131 when former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz faces Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar.
Ortiz last fought in May, submitting the then-Bellator middleweight champi…
This Saturday, two UFC Hall of Famers will square off at Bellator 131 when former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz faces Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar.
Ortiz last fought in May, submitting the then-Bellator middleweight champion, Alexander Shlemenko, in a light heavyweight matchup.
Bonnar is coming out of retirement for this fight, as his last appearance came in October 2012 against the then-UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, in a light heavyweight matchup.
There has been a lot of trash talk between these two leading up to the fight, so let’s see who has the edge in this head-to-toe breakdown.
On Saturday night, Ovince Saint Preux squared off against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 56. In the fastest main event in the UFC since 2005, OSP knocked Shogun out just 34 seconds into the first round.
It was easily the big…
On Saturday night, Ovince Saint Preux squared off against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 56. In the fastest main event in the UFC since 2005, OSP knocked Shogun out just 34 seconds into the first round.
It was easily the biggest win of OSP‘s career, and he responded by calling out two fighters ranked below him in the division, Anthony Perosh and Fabio Maldonado.
Those fights aren’t too likely to happen, so let’s take a look at three solid options for OSP‘s next fight.
This Saturday, the UFC goes to Brazil with UFC Fight Night 56. The headline fight on this card is a light heavyweight matchup between former champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Strikeforce vet Ovince “OSP” Saint Preux.
Rua is ranked No. 9 in the division a…
This Saturday, the UFC goes to Brazil with UFC Fight Night 56. The headline fight on this card is a light heavyweight matchup between former champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Strikeforce vet Ovince “OSP” Saint Preux.
Rua is ranked No. 9 in the division and is hoping to make one more run at a title shot, while Saint Preux is ranked No. 10 and is still working his way up the divisional ladder.
This is a tough fight for both of them, so let’s take a look at the keys to victory for each fighter.
Shogun Rua
Knockout Power
Everybody knows that Shogun tries to win one way these days. Every single win dating back to 2007 has come by way of (T)KO. His last win by decision was in 2006, and only two fights have gone to decision since then.
If Shogun wants to win this fight, he’ll have to be the first person since 2009—and only the second person ever—to knock out Saint Preux.
Cardio
In Shogun’s last fight against Dan Henderson, he looked tired around the midway point of the second round. This fight is five rounds, so Rua will need to be in good shape—or pace himself—if he wants to be able to hang with Saint Preux.
Ovince Saint Preux
Takedowns
OSP‘s best chance of winning is taking this fight to the ground and beating Shogun up. If he can do it early, he can cause Shogun to gas and take away the threat of a knockout.
On the other side, OSP was taken down nine times in his last fight, which came against Ryan Bader. Admittedly, Bader is a better wrestler than Shogun, but he still has to be careful that Shogun doesn’t look for a submission or a ground and pound victory.
Control
OSP needs to be in control in a few different ways. First of all, he needs to dictate the pace of the fight. He can’t let Shogun rush him and throw shots. He can’t let Shogun set the pace on the feet and keep him on his heels. He needs to be in his face right from the first bell.
Second, OSP is taking this fight on short notice—in Brazil. The crowd will be against him, and he can’t pay any attention to that. This is his second headline fight in a row, but this one is easily the biggest of his career.
He has to remain calm and fight his fight. If he gets flustered at all by the Brazilian crowd, it could be a quick night for him.
This Saturday, the UFC goes to Brazil with UFC Fight Night 56. The headline fight on this card is a light heavyweight matchup between former champ Mauricio “Shogun”