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Ronda Rousey: Headlining UFC 157 Is Huge Development for Female MMA Fighters

UFC 157 will mark a huge occasion for women’s MMA and female sports in general, as the fight between superstar Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche will not only be the first fight between women on a UFC pay-per-view, but the first to headline one as we…

Even Dana White recognizes that making Rousey and Carmouche is a risk, but apparently sees enough potential in Rousey‘s star power to take a chance.

From Steven Marrocco of MMAJunkie.com (via Cincinnati.com):

“I don’t know how the whole women’s thing is going to go, how it’s going to go over, or what it’s going to do,” UFC President Dana White told USA TODAY Sports. “She’s the only title fight on that card, but that card is going to be stacked.”

For my money, it’s a risk worth taking.

Rousey is the perfect star to usher in a new age of female MMA. She’s attractive, talented, has a signature move (a devastating armbar) and an unfiltered, no-holds bar personality that is at once intense and refreshing.

But this is a big deal for women’s sports in general. Too often, female competitions are given second fiddle. The WNBA is regularly the butt of jokes. Despite having the top team in the world, the United States doesn’t have a sustainable women’s soccer league.

Now, the UFC is fostering a legitimate star and allowing her to headline a major event. Yes, the card is stacked—White is a savvy businessman, and he knows how to cover his bases in the event Rousey isn’t enough to draw major numbers—but the ladies have a chance to prove on the big stage they belong.

And that puts a lot of pressure on Rousey. She’s not just fighting Carmouche, she’s fighting for the right to establish herself as an ambassador for female fighting in general. Yes, if she loses the UFC will simply market Carmouche as “the next big thing.”

But Rousey is tailor-made to be a star with crossover appeal. She’s also chock full of classic sound bites. Put her in that Octagon and there are few people alive, man or woman, who are as bad as Rousey. I have nightmares about that armbar.

And a big win will likely set up another headlining fight that everyone wants to see—Rousey versus Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, the woman who essentially ended Gina Carano’s stint in MMA.

Oh, and Rousey has already blasted Santos for her steroid use, which will surely only stoke the fire between the two. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t be excited for that fight. I sure as hell would.

Women’s MMA is getting a huge boost by the UFC and Rousey, and the superstar has to hold up her end of the bargain and win. I’m not betting against her.

She hasn’t met a woman she couldn’t defeat yet. I’m guessing the heavy weight of expectations won’t be able to hold her down, either.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are terrified of Rousey‘s armbar. TERRIFIED.

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UFC on Fox 5 Results: Rory MacDonald Beats BJ Penn

B.J. Penn came back from retirement to face Rory MacDonald, widely considered a future champion in MMA circles. That may not have been the best decision, as it was MacDonald who continued his meteoric rise after defeating Penn at UFC on Fox 5.Penn…

Penn retired 13 months ago, and had been pretty lax in his training regiment for the fight, initially scheduled for UFC 152. But MacDonald had to pull out of that event, and while in training for the new December date, he sent out the following tweet that really added some fuel to this fight’s fire:

200lbs and @bjpenndotcom thinks i care if hes in shape for the fight or not #newgenerationmindset instagr.am/p/QQfHNPw0ko/

— Rory MacDonald (@rory_macdonald) October 1, 2012

That spanwed a back and forth on Twitter which included MacDonald taking shots at Penn’s weight, Penn rededicated himself to his training, folks got even more pumped up for the fight and Penn came out lean and mean. Isn’t fighting fun?

Unfortunately for Penn, motivation alone wasn’t enough to defeat MacDonald.

A win for Penn may have restored some luster to his once-promising career. Penn was once considered one of the finest fighters in the world, but he’s now won just once in his past six fights, with five losses.

Penn may not be a pushover, but he’s no longer an elite fighter. At the age of 33 (and a few days away from turning 34), he can be forgiven for that fact.

Meanwhile, MacDonald proved he can go toe to toe with any opponent, even an old star. In a way, this fight was a handing over of the torch—one of MMA’s declining stars making way for one of the sport’s brightest young talents.

MacDonald now improves to 14-1, with a 2010 TKO at the hands (and elbows) of Carlos Condit remaining the only blemish on his record. Penn drops to 16-9-2 for his career.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets fear no men. Except MMA fighters. And boxers. And lots of other tough folks. Okay, okay, my tweets fear quite a few men. Whatever.

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UFC on Fox 5 Start Time: Complete Coverage Guide to Henderson vs. Diaz

As fights go, few appear to be more evenly matched or intriguing than Saturday night’s main event on UFC on FOX 5, the battle for the UFC Lightweight Championship between belt-holder Benson Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz.Henderson is fresh off of t…

Henderson is fresh off of two incredibly tight victories over Frankie Edgar, the first earning him the belt, and the second seeing him (barely) defend his title. Diaz presents a major challenge for Henderson, and is coming off three straight victories over Takanori Gomi, Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller.

Diaz probably holds a slight advantage if this fight stays upright, though Henderson is no slouch on his feet. Still, Henderson will look to score points with his wrestling and ground-and-pound.

Normally, that would be a risky proposition against Diaz‘s excellent jiu-jitsu and submissions, but Henderson is difficult to submit.

Expect this one to go the distance. Both of these fighters are tough as nails, incredibly difficult to submit, able to go the distance and unlikely to show any mental weakness whatsoever.

Let’s break down this fantastic matchup with a full coverage guide, tale of the tape and prediction below.

When: Saturday, December 8 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Key Arena, Seattle, WA

Watch: The main event is on FOX, while preliminary fights can be viewed on FOX Deportes, FX and streamed online on Facebook by “liking” the UFC Facebook page.

Benson Henderson Tale of the Tape

Nickname: Smooth

Age: 29

Record: 16-2-0

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 155

UFC.com Quickie Scouting Report: “Wrestling, good submissions and ground and pound.”

Nate Diaz Tale of the Tape

Nickname: n/a

Age: 27

Record: 16-7-0

Height: 6’0″

Weight: 155

UFC.com Quickie Scouting Report: “Boxing, Jiu Jitsu and heart.”

Prediction

I think Henderson is going to win this bout by continually taking Diaz to the ground and earning points with his ground-and-pound.

I don’t imagine either fighter taking big risks in going for a knockout blow or compromising good positioning to try and submit the other, so this will come down to the ability of each to earn points with their strengths.

Diaz has to clearly be the superior fighter when this fight remains upright, and one would imagine he’s focused on his wrestling defense to keep Henderson from taking him down at will. But I think Henderson’s ground game will be too tough, and he’ll win this sixth consecutive decision.

But will I be shocked if Diaz comes out the winner? No way—this bout could go either way.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets have a mean arm bar. (That’s a lie.)

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Stephan Bonnar: Light Heavyweight Doesn’t Stand a Chance vs. Anderson Silva

Do I understand why Anderson Silva agreed to move up a weight class to fight Stephan Bonnar with no belt on the line for UFC 153?Nope, not really.Do I still think he’ll demolish Bonnar in the Octagon?Absolutely.With UFC 153 falling apart this week, aft…

Do I understand why Anderson Silva agreed to move up a weight class to fight Stephan Bonnar with no belt on the line for UFC 153?

Nope, not really.

Do I still think he’ll demolish Bonnar in the Octagon?

Absolutely.

With UFC 153 falling apart this week, after both Jose Aldo and Quinton Jackson pulled out of their fights, Silva basically saved the event by agreeing to fight Bonnar. Props go to him for putting on the “Company Man” t-shirt and bailing Dana White out of a disaster, even if the three-round fight offers all risk and no reward for Silva.

Well, risk if he loses, that is. And that seems pretty darn unlikely.

Bonnar is 14-7 in his career and has won his last three bouts, though, his last two have come as decisions. While he was a fun brawler to watch in his prime, he’s not in his prime any longer, and if he tries to simply mash away at the Spider, he’ll find himself in a precarious situation rather quickly.

Think of Bonnar as a 16-seed in the NCAA tournament and Silva is a one-seed. Oh, and this is a scrimmage with nothing technically on the line. Well, except for Silva’s undefeated UFC record and reputation as arguably the greatest UFC fighter ever, that is.

There is always the possibility that Bonnar will catch Silva and pull off a crazy upset. In the Octagon, anything can happen. But that’s the only way he can beat Silva.

Does he have an advantage standing up?

No.

Does he have an advantage on the mat?

No.

Is he the more technically savvy fighter?

Not even close.

Is Silva capable of still winning the fight even if it devolves into a straight brawl?

Yes, but it won’t.

I understand the pickle the UFC was in and why they scheduled this fight. I praise Silva for being game, even if I think he’s pretty crazy to risk so much with absolutely nothing to gain except a paycheck and some kind words from White.

But I don’t think this will be a very good fight. I think Silva will win this one fairly easily. He should, at least—in the UFC, you never know.

But if you ever wanted a safe bet, well, put the mortgage on Silva over Bonnar.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets always have a backup long snapper.

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Rousey vs. Kaufman: Rousey Proves She Is One of MMA’s Most Dominant Fighters

Forget about being one of the biggest female stars in MMA. With her armbar submission of Sarah Kaufman on Saturday night after just 54 seconds, Ronda Rousey proved that she is one of the biggest stars in MMA.She’s now won all six of her profession…

Forget about being one of the biggest female stars in MMA. With her armbar submission of Sarah Kaufman on Saturday night after just 54 seconds, Ronda Rousey proved that she is one of the biggest stars in MMA.

She’s now won all six of her professional fights via her trademark armbar. Only one—the title fight against Miesha Tate—has lasted for more than a minute, though that was over before the first round concluded. For good measure, she also won all three of her amateur fights via the armbar.

She’s already collecting the praises from a slew of MMA writers.

Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole has compared her and her meteoric rise in the sport to a young Mike Tyson dominating boxing early in his career.

Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Wagenheim has called her the most dominating fighter in the sport, more so than Anderson Silva, Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre.

It isn’t premature to compare Rousey to fighters with much longer resumes, not with how convincingly she has dominated her opponents. No, she can’t yet top Silva’s 16 consecutive wins, nor can she brag about dismantling the level of opponents that Jones or St-Pierre have.

But she has thoroughly destroyed whomever has lined up opposite of her.

Stardom isn’t just about what you do in the Octagon. Rousey is also the consummate promoter, calling out Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos immediately after dispatching of Kaufman.

I particularly enjoyed her calling Santos “Miss Cy-Roid” and adding “People want to see you have the first fair fight of your life.”

Rousey also seems to understand that she can be an ambassador for women’s MMA. She appeared in ESPN the Magazine‘s Body Issue. She publicly blasted Kim Kardashian as a terrible role model for young girls and noted she’d like to beat her up.

She’s promoted herself intelligently and made herself a household name. She has a trademark move that she can market. She’s been absolutely dominant and doesn’t look like she’ll slow down anytime soon. And she happens to be gorgeous, which always helps.

Before you tell me I’m missing the point, ask yourself how many women would give a crap who Tom Brady was if he wasn’t attractive. Like it or not, from a marketing standpoint, looks matter.

And the biggest stars are always marketable.

Rousey is a superstar. She’s as big a star as MMA has today, and I dare any man or woman to say otherwise.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are cracking like a Ronda Rousey armbar.

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UFC 149 Fight Card: Predicting Outcome in Exciting Faber vs. Barao Bout

While UFC 149 has been somewhat marred by high-profile fighters dropping out of the event (Jose Aldo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Michael Bisping, to name a few), the main event between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao should be a thrilling encounter.Fabe…

Faber is the big name of the two, but Barao boasts a 30-1 record (with 18 wins in a row) and is deadly on his feet. As the popular saying goes, “Styles make fights,” and this one is certainly a compelling clash of styles between the two fighters.

So how will this one play out?

Faber will want to take the fight to the mat as quickly and often as possible, while Barao will look to keep him at bay with his solid kicking.

That will be easier said than done. Faber is experienced, lightning-quick and creative in his approach to securing a takedown, and he’s adept enough standing up that he need not sloppily rush into his attempts. No, he can’t hang with Barao if the majority of the fight stays off the mat, but he can certainly hang on his feet during flurries of action.

If the fight does go to the mat, Faber’s ground-and-pound and submission game will be too much for Barao to consistently overcome.

But let us not underestimate Barao either. He is very good at staying on his feet, has excellent speed himself and has finished off his fair share of opponents either by knockout or submission.

And it’s not as though he’s some sitting duck if Faber manages to take him down. He’s fully capable of working out of a takedown or turning the tables on Faber once on the mat.

Whichever fighter gains the early advantage should win the fight late. If Faber continues to take Barao down, he’ll wear him out and either out-point him or finish him via submission. But if Barao stays on his feet, he’ll frustrate Faber and should win an exciting decision.

In the end, Faber’s big-fight experience, versatility and speed will win the decision in a very close fight. The card for UFC 149 might leave a bit to be desired, but the main event should be a doozy.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are money like the transfer window.

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