UFC 139 storms into the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California this Saturday, November 19.Headlining the action-packed card will be a light heavyweight matchup of epic proportions between newly-signed MMA veteran and recent Fedor Emelianenko destroyer Dan…
UFC 139 storms into the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California this Saturday, November 19.
Headlining the action-packed card will be a light heavyweight matchup of epic proportions between newly-signed MMA veteran and recent Fedor Emelianenko destroyer Dan Henderson against former UFC and Pride champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Main card action also includes a tremendous middleweight duel between the hard-hitting, aggressive Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and the lethal Cung Le.
Bantamweight action continues with a bout between “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles.
Returning to the Octagon after suffering an upset defeat at the hands of Charlie Brenneman, Rick Story will look to re-establish himself in the welterweight division as he challenges the crafty veteran Martin Kampmann.
Rounding out the main card action will be a light heavyweight bout between Stephan Bonnar and Kyle Kingsbury.
Please follow along as I dissect and predict the winners for the main card fights at UFC 139.
You can follow Todd Seyler at www.napalmfitness.com
UFC 137 comes to you live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday, October 29.With the main event seemingly changing with the tides, Georges St. Pierre recently pulled himself off the card citing a knee injury.Moving into…
UFC 137 comes to you live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday, October 29.
With the main event seemingly changing with the tides, Georges St. Pierre recently pulled himself off the card citing a knee injury.
Moving into the main event will be a welterweight matchup between disgruntled Nick Diaz and UFC veteran, BJ Penn.
Matt Mitrione squares off in his toughest challenge to date as he enters the Octagon against the hard-hitting and skilled kickboxing veteran Cheick Kongo.
Mirko Cro Cop will attempt to provide the thick-skulled Roy Nelson with his first knockout defeat as the two heavyweights square off inside the cage.
In featherweight action, Hatsu Hioki will battle George Roop. Rounding off the main card will be a very exciting lightweight bout between stand-up specialists Dennis Siver and Donald Cerrone.
Please follow along as I provide analysis, insights and predictions for all the fights on the card at UFC 137.
You can join Todd Seyler’s circle on Google+, follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook.
UFC 136 comes to you live from the Toyota Center in Houston on October 8. It should be an action-packed card, a dual main event features two championship title matches.Current UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar looks to retain his belt in the trilo…
UFC 136 comes to you live from the Toyota Center in Houston on October 8. It should be an action-packed card, a dual main event features two championship title matches.
Current UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar looks to retain his belt in the trilogy matchup with Gray Maynard. Additionally, Jose Aldo will defend his UFC featherweight title against No. 1 contender, Kenny Florian.
Main card action also includes a middleweight bout between the always talkative and demonstrative Chael Sonnen and the hard-hitting former Marine, Brian Stann. An exciting featherweight matchup features Leonard Garcia against Nam Phan, and rounding off the main card will be a lightweight bout between Melvin Guillard and Joe Lauzon.
Please follow along as I provide analysis and predictions for the entire UFC 136 card.
Enjoy the fights.
I welcome your comments.
You can join Todd Seyler’s circle on Google+, like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter
Mixed martial arts has exploded into mainstream America over the past decade. This intricate evolution of the sport has been elevated to monumental peaks by the influence and workings of a few pivotal pieces. Showcasing a variety of combat sport d…
Mixed martial arts has exploded into mainstream America over the past decade. This intricate evolution of the sport has been elevated to monumental peaks by the influence and workings of a few pivotal pieces.
Showcasing a variety of combat sport disciplines, including boxing, kickboxing, judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the sport’s largest promotion and is now synonymous with the term MMA.
Available to millions of fight fans worldwide, the UFC hosts spectacular fight venues in a multitude of countries including England, Germany, Japan, Australia, Dubai, Canada and the United States, just to name a few.
The growth of the sport has equated to a syndicated reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter, video games for Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo, fighters gracing the front covers of global magazines, including Sports Illustrated and Men’s Health, as well as multi-million-dollar agreements with network television including Versus, and most recently Fox.
This foundation for growth and subsequent explosion has been the result of the hard work, dedication, devotion, and commitment to the sport by many people.
Those who have sacrificed and given their all to the UFC can be proud of their efforts. These dedicated individuals have aided in the sport’s global presence.
Of these diligent individuals, five key people have served as the most influential figures in the UFC today.
Thank you to these five, as well as the thousands who have provided us fans with the endless hours of enjoyment and awe-striking moments.
As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to explode worldwide, UFC president Dana White spoke about the next evolution of the UFC and what fight fans can expect in 2012.Speaking to a multitude of reporters, White stated that the recent agreement wi…
As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to explode worldwide, UFC president Dana White spoke about the next evolution of the UFC and what fight fans can expect in 2012.
Speaking to a multitude of reporters, White stated that the recent agreement with Fox has provided the UFC with a mega platform to reach millions of fans across the globe.
“We’re going to put some serious programming on Fuel,” White stated.
Fuel TV is owned by Fox Cable Networks and currently features extreme sports including BMX, snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing, just to name a few.
This happy marriage with Fuel TV provides the UFC with the opportunity to continue to air live fights, as the UFC does currently on Versus.
Ecstatic about 2012, White was giddy when asked about the future of the UFC.
“It’s amazing what we’re going to do next year,” White stated. Divulging a dual-continent fight card, White explained that a back-to-back fight venue will take place in February of 2012
“A fight from Japan will go on live TV and then a pay-per-view live from the United States will air immediately afterwards. Both cards will be stacked,” White said.
The fight card in Japan will take place at the Saitama Super Arena and will be the first UFC venue in Japan since 2000.
Always listening to the fans and providing excellent matchups on free TV, White stated “the thing that we don’t do, and what boxing did a long time ago, is when the pay model started they started putting [expletive] fights on free TV and nobody ever wanted to watch it anymore. We don’t ever put [expletive] fights on free TV.”
Confident in the future growth of the UFC, dual-continent back-to-back fight venues occurring in the same evening will be a historic first for the sport’s biggest promotion.
This type of progressive thinking and out-of-the box delivery for the fans continues to drive the explosion of popularity for the UFC worldwide.
As a fight fan, I am elated to hear the future plans of the UFC in 2012. If you would like to listen to Dana White speaking about the future of the UFC and its explosion worldwide, please click here.
Pat “HD” Barry engaged in a tremendous kickboxing matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center this past Saturday evening.Unfortunately for Barry, this bout took place in an Octagon and was a mixed martial arts cont…
Pat “HD” Barry engaged in a tremendous kickboxing matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center this past Saturday evening.
Unfortunately for Barry, this bout took place in an Octagon and was a mixed martial arts contest in which “HD” suffered his second consecutive defeat when the “Skyscraper” locked up a triangle choke forcing a tap-out at the 3:22 mark of Round 2, once again exposing Barry’s missing puzzle piece to his overall skill set.
Taking advantage of Barry’s weakness in the jiu-jitsu game, Struve maximized his strengths as he secured a tight triangle choke, endured a savage power bomb from “HD” and still maintained control for the submission victory.
Now 6-4 in his professional MMA career, outside of the knockout loss by Cheick Kongo in June, Barry’s remaining three defeats were by submission.
Succumbing to a guillotine choke at UFC 98, Barry suffered his first defeat inside the Octagon at the hands of Tim Hague.
Additionally, picking apart his icon Mirko Cro Cop with a flurry of punches and kicks at UFC 115 in June of 2010, Barry controlled the stand-up exchanges with his excellent striking skills, yet was ultimately defeated by a rear-naked choke from the Croatian at the 4:30 mark of Round 3.
Cro Cop’s submission defeat of Barry was only the second tap-out victory for Filipovic in 39 professional mixed martial arts contests, proving that Cro Cop is not a wizard on the ground.
The blueprint of an MMA superstar includes excellent stand-up skills, the heart of a champion, a tremendous cardiovascular conditioning tank and being well-versed in both grappling and jiu-jitsu.
Barry possesses the majority of this blueprint. A tremendous striker, Barry’s background in kickboxing makes him a lethal threat on his feet.
Delivering brutal leg kicks with a myriad of punches and high kicks, “HD’s” pedigree as a kickboxer is world-class.
Training in the Netherlands with kickboxing legend Ernesto Hoost for more than two years and now honing his skills with another kickboxing legend, Dick Roufus, Barry is one of the sport’s premiere stand-up striking specialists.
At 5’11”, 240-plus pounds, Barry is typically out-sized in his competitions inside the Octagon. Placing any fear aside, this explosive, compact striker will stand toe-to-toe with any fighter of any size, proving that he has the heart and determination of a champion.
Many heavyweights are criticized for their lack of cardiovascular conditioning. And many more have suffered defeats when their aerobic capacity fails them inside the Octagon. To date, “HD” is not one of those fighters.
Granted, competing in only seven bouts under the UFC banner, of which only his matchup with Joey Beltran went the distance, it is hard to gauge just how in shape Barry truly is. However, Barry has shown to be properly conditioned for each one of his bouts.
The remaining facet of an MMA superstar is two-fold. First, mixed martial artists need to be able to defend the take-down and deliver a take-down when necessary.
Surprisingly, Barry possesses a staggering 92 percent defense take-down rate. Not surprisingly, however, Barry has attempted only one take-down inside the Octagon. He was not successful.
Secondly, mixed martial artists need to, at the very least, be able to defend the basic submission attempts, including arm-bars, triangle chokes, guillotine chokes, kimuras and omoplatas. Combining the ability to defend against these common holds in addition to learning a few sweeps from the guard and half-guard is invaluable for a practitioner inside the Octagon.
Joe Rogan used to comically state that excellent stand-up strikers need to just train jiu-jitsu. And I could not agree more.
A glaring weakness of a fighter is easily exposed inside the cage. Struve took full advantage of Barry’s liability on the ground by securing the triangle choke and forcing a tap-out.
If Barry would only enhance his weaknesses and maximize his strengths by evolving his jiu-jitsu game while continuing to train his kickboxing, he would be an overall threat inside the Octagon.
“HD” would possess all the facets for the blueprint of MMA stardom.
This evolution of “HD’s” skill set would catapult the world-class striker into heavyweight contention talk. There is not a heavyweight within the UFC with whom Barry cannot stand and trade inside the Octagon.
Until he enhances his ground game, however, Barry will remain on the outside of the top five ranked heavyweights within the UFC looking in.
Pat “HD” Barry engaged in a tremendous kickboxing matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center this past Saturday evening.