Author: Tim McTiernan

UFC on Versus 6: Will Anthony Johnson Ever Become a Contender?

When October 1st rolls around, we will all find out where Anthony “Rumble” Johnson stands in the UFC welterweight division when he takes on Charlie Brenneman.Johnson has a 9-3 pro record, and in the UFC he is 6-3.He has not been in action much as of la…

When October 1st rolls around, we will all find out where Anthony “Rumble” Johnson stands in the UFC welterweight division when he takes on Charlie Brenneman.

Johnson has a 9-3 pro record, and in the UFC he is 6-3.

He has not been in action much as of late, as he was dealing with several injuries, keeping him out of competition from November 2009 to March 2011.

His first fight back from injury was against Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy and he used his wrestling to take down and control Hardy en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Many were not pleased with Johnson’s victory, as he claimed it would be a standup war, but it clearly wasn’t and Hardy said he felt as though he felt “punked.”

Johnson will get the chance to showcase his standup when he takes on Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6.

Brenneman is 14-2 in his career with five TKOs—but none since joining the UFC. It would be pretty safe to assume that Johnson would feel confident in his standup against Brenneman.

Does a win over Brenneman make Johnson a contender? No. But it may put him back in the picture; he previously held a three-fight win streak before getting matched up with Josh Koscheck.

Koscheck went on to submit Johnson in the second round, and the two won “fight of the night” honors for their efforts.

After that Koscheck fought for, and won, a fight for the No. 1 contender spot in the welterweight division.

Johnson was a contender before the loss to Koscheck, but can he work his way back up there?

With the talent and depth in the welterweight division, I wouldn’t see it happening anytime soon.As far as I can see, unless Johnson can evolve his game, he will be a gatekeeper and never able to get that big win to push him up to contender status.

Johnson has good wrestling, but it’s not enough to hang with the Josh Koschecks and Jon Fitchs of the world; Johnson has good striking, but it’s not enough to hang with the Thiago Alves and the Carlos Condits.

Simply put, there is just no room for Johnson at the top of the division.

For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393. It’s more tubular than Kenny Powers.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 135 Fight Card: Early Betting Odds and Predictions

When UFC 135 rolls into Denver, it will be the first time they held an event there in nearly 16 years!Dana White said that they always wanted to go back to Denver but they wanted to do it the right way.  So what better way to do it than with the y…

When UFC 135 rolls into Denver, it will be the first time they held an event there in nearly 16 years!

Dana White said that they always wanted to go back to Denver but they wanted to do it the right way.  So what better way to do it than with the youngest champion in promotional history?

Jones is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, and Rampage is one of the most intimidating fighters out there.

Then before that, you have former welterweight champion, Matt Hughes, facing off against one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, Diego Sanchez.

There are still a few fights left to be announced for this card, and not all of them have odds yet, but all the ones I found I put in here.

Here are early predictions and lines for UFC 135.

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UFC on Versus 6: 6 Questions That Will Be Answered

On Oct. 1, the UFC makes its way to our nation’s capital for the first time in the promotion’s history!In addition to being in DC for the first time, it will be the first title fight on free TV since UFC 75 more than four years ago.The main event featu…

On Oct. 1, the UFC makes its way to our nation’s capital for the first time in the promotion’s history!

In addition to being in DC for the first time, it will be the first title fight on free TV since UFC 75 more than four years ago.

The main event features Dominick Cruz (18-1) defending his bantamweight title against Demetrious Johnson (10-1).

The co-main event will have the tallest heavyweight, 6’11” Stefan Struve, taking on 5’11” Pat Barry, in a matchup of great kickboxers.

Rounding out the main card is Anthony Johnson taking on Charlie Brenneman, and Mac Danzig facing off against Matt Wiman, in a rematch of their UFC 115 bout.

Read on to see six questions that will be answered come fight night.

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UFC on Fox Breaking News: First Fight for the November 12 Card Announced

The first fight has been announced for the UFC’s debut on Fox.According to mmaweekly.com, the first fight will feature a featherweight bout with Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (10-1) taking on Pablo Garza (11-1).Poirier comes into this fight comes into t…

The first fight has been announced for the UFC’s debut on Fox.

According to mmaweekly.com, the first fight will feature a featherweight bout with Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (10-1) taking on Pablo Garza (11-1).

Poirier comes into this fight comes into this fight on a three fight winning streak, including both of his fights in the UFC, and the featherweight division.

Many will remember Poirier for upsetting Josh Grispi at UFC 125, when Grispi was originally going to fight Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title.

Pablo Garza comes in with a 2-0 record in the UFC, and is quickly becoming one of the most exciting featherweights in the sport.

In his UFC debut, he knocked out Fredson Paixão at the TUF 13 Finale, and in his follow up fight at UFC 129, he scored a flying triangle submission.

For his efforts, he received a knockout and submission of the night.

Look for more fight announcements to come in the next few days, and stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all your UFC needs.

For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393. It’s more boss than Dana White.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

7 Fighters Who Are Ready to Dethrone Brock Lesnar as the UFC’s Biggest Draw

Brock Lesnar has had six fights in the UFC. Five of those fights have been in the top 20 UFC PPV’s of all time.Four of those fights have been in the top six, and he also has the top two all time.Brock Lesnar is the undisputed, P4P King of PPV’s. Nobody…

Brock Lesnar has had six fights in the UFC. Five of those fights have been in the top 20 UFC PPV’s of all time.

Four of those fights have been in the top six, and he also has the top two all time.

Brock Lesnar is the undisputed, P4P King of PPV’s. Nobody can deny that.

Unfortunately for Dana White and Co., Brock has been out since last October dealing with the loss of his heavyweight title, and a recurrence of diverticulitis.

Lesnar was set to headline UFC 131 opposite Junior dos Santos, but the diverticulitis forced him to pull out.

UFC 131 ended up pulling in about 300,000 buys, but had Lesnar been headlining against dos Santos instead of Shane Carwin, it is almost guaranteed that it would have been another 1 million-plus PPV for Brock.

Unfortunately, Lesnar won’t be around forever, so lets take a look at seven fighters who could overtake Brock Lesnar as the UFC’s biggest draw.

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UFC on Versus 5 Results: 4 Fights Jim Miller Must Take to Get Back on Track

Well, the way I look at Sunday night, the Jim Miller hype train was robbed by Ben “Smooth” Henderson.Miller came into this fight looking for a victory, and with it, a title shot against the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard.Unfortunately, he was pre…

Well, the way I look at Sunday night, the Jim Miller hype train was robbed by Ben “Smooth” Henderson.

Miller came into this fight looking for a victory, and with it, a title shot against the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard.

Unfortunately, he was pretty effectively mauled by Benderson.

Miller has now only lost three times in his career—to Henderson, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

If Miller wants to get back in contention, he is going to have to take a fight to get back on track. Here are a few opponents he could face.

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