Author: Travis Fleming

Charlie Brenneman: Was He Overrated Following His Win Against Rick Story?

After Charlie Brenneman’s impressive win over rising star Rick Story, the former NCAA wrestler was vaulted into the top 10 in virtually every expert’s welterweight rankings.Brenneman is a fairly one-dimensional wrestler who used those skills to stifle …

After Charlie Brenneman’s impressive win over rising star Rick Story, the former NCAA wrestler was vaulted into the top 10 in virtually every expert’s welterweight rankings.

Brenneman is a fairly one-dimensional wrestler who used those skills to stifle Story throughout the fight to earn a one-sided decision victory, but was Brenneman really that good, or did he just expose a fundamental weakness in Story’s game?

Last night’s fight with Johnson may have proven the latter. Johnson, a decorated wrestler himself, stuffed Brenneman’s takedown attempts with ease and forced “The Spaniard” to stand and trade strikes. It was here that fans saw just how rudimentary Brenneman’s striking is as he was unable to mount any sort of offence against Johnson and was eventually knocked out.

This thrashing at the hands of Johnson may cause analysts to reconsider how they rank fighters. Sure, Brenneman beat Story, a top-10-ranked fighter, but styles make fights and perhaps Brenneman simply had the right style to beat Story. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a top-10 fighter himself.

Given their skill sets and experience, one would think that Story would have a better chance against the majority of the welterweight division than Brenneman would. Yet, Brenneman beat Story, so should he be ranked higher than him?

This is where things get tricky, and it raises the debate over a whether or not a win over a fighter proves the winner is better.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson beat Chuck Liddell twice, but most would agree that throughout their careers, Liddell was the better fighter. So should we be using that kind of logic when creating our current rankings?

The truth is that rankings are completely subjective, and there’s no way to get them “right,”  but perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty to give a largely unknown fighter a huge boost in the rankings after just one notable victory.

Only time will tell, but it’s likely Charlie Brenneman was somewhat overrated going into this bout, and his win against Rick Story may just be the highlight of his career.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin and the UFC’s Biggest Weight Cutters

Today’s MMA fighters are better than they’ve ever been, which means competitors are continually looking to gain an edge over their opponents. For many, that edge is gained during the weight cut.The idea behind cutting weight is simple: A fighter loses …

Today’s MMA fighters are better than they’ve ever been, which means competitors are continually looking to gain an edge over their opponents. For many, that edge is gained during the weight cut.

The idea behind cutting weight is simple: A fighter loses anywhere from five to 30 pounds (mostly water weight) leading up to a fight in order to compete in a lower weight class. Once the fighter weighs-in for an event, he re-hydrates and gains back most, if not all, of the weight he has lost, thus gaining a size advantage during the fight.

As you would suspect, there are risks to this practice. Besides taking an incredible toll on an one’s body, studies have shown that weight cuts can effect a fighter’s mental state as well. 

In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, it was found that athletes who lost more than four percent of their body mass before a match showed “significantly higher levels of confusion on the day of the competition.”

There’s also the risk of “gassing” during the fight after a significantly tough weight cut. How many times have we seen a fighter enter the cage with a huge size advantage, only to be noticeably fatigued by the third round?

Still, despite these risks, some fighters continue to take on enormous weight cuts in order to gain a slight edge in their fights.

Here are six of the UFC’s biggest weight cutters.

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Can Nate Diaz Be a Contender in the Lightweight Division?

After losing his last two fights at welterweight, Nate Diaz returned to the lightweight division at UFC 135 and put on what is arguably the best performance of his career. Facing Takanori Gomi, a former Pride champion and MMA legend, Diaz peppered his …

After losing his last two fights at welterweight, Nate Diaz returned to the lightweight division at UFC 135 and put on what is arguably the best performance of his career.

Facing Takanori Gomi, a former Pride champion and MMA legend, Diaz peppered his opponent with straight lefts and rights for the first half of the fight. Noticeably flustered, Gomi shot in for a takedown, only to find himself in Diaz’s dangerous guard. The Caesar Gracie-trained fighter quickly locked in a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar, and ultimately forced Gomi to tap.

It was just one fight, his first at 155 lbs since January 2010, but the impressive display begs the question: Can Diaz be a contender in the lightweight division?

His record over the last two years would suggest otherwise, as he’s only won two of his last five fights at lightweight, but Diaz is still young and growing as a fighter. If he can fix a few key holes in his game, there’s evidence to believe he could be force in the division.

Diaz is a big lightweight fighter. Standing 6’0″ tall, he has a reach advantage over virtually anyone in the division. Combine that with his crisp boxing and excellent jab, and he can give most fighters fits on the feet.

Perhaps the best jiu-jitsu fighter not to hold a blackbelt, Diaz’s grappling is also world class. As he exhibited Saturday night, no one is safe while inside his guard, and with 10 submission victories to his name, the Stockton native is one of the most dangerous fighters on the ground.

 

 

Besides his skill set and potential, Diaz has also proven he can hang with the best in the division. He holds wins over top contenders Gray Maynard (during The Ultimate Fighter Season 5) and Melvin Guillard, and had an extremely close fight with Clay Guida, as well as Gray Maynard in their second fight.

Finally, there’s still lots of time for Diaz to make his mark.

Guida and Guillard are proof that all it takes is a good winning streak to rise from gatekeeper to contender status. At the end of 2009, both fighters held middling UFC records and didn’t appear to be going anywhere inside the division, but since then both have put together impressive winning streaks and find themselves a win away from possibly fighting for the title.

However, if Diaz is going to go on a similar run he needs to shore up one key hole in his game: takedown defence. The new breed of MMA fighter is well versed in submission defence and it’s becoming increasingly harder to finish fights from the bottom.

This isn’t to say it can’t be done, Diaz certainly proved in his victory over Gomi that it’s still possible. The problem is that in the judges’ eyes whoever is on the bottom is losing the fight, so grapplers either have to find a submission quickly or risk getting docked points on the scorecards.

Some people say Diaz never really loses a fight, he just runs out of time. That may be true, but unfortunately “running out of time” equates to a loss on his record, and it’s something he needs to be aware of moving forward.

So what’s next for Nate Diaz?

The UFC will likely give him another tough opponent to see where he’s at (Anthony Pettis might be a good fit if he defeats Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136). If Diaz keeps improving, and keeps putting on fights like the one against Gomi, he may have a chance to move up the lightweight ranks.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA’s 7 Best Up-and-Coming Fighters

As the sport of MMA grows, so too does its talent pool. Every year, it seems more and more quality fighters enter the cage, looking to dethrone MMA’s current stars and pave the way for the next generation.Never has there ever b…

As the sport of MMA grows, so too does its talent pool. Every year, it seems more and more quality fighters enter the cage, looking to dethrone MMA’s current stars and pave the way for the next generation.

Never has there ever been this many fighters with so much potential, and that can only be a good thing for the fans.

It seems like just yesterday that fighters such as Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar were fighting their way up the ranks of their respective divisions, and yet before we knew it they had reached the top and had become the new faces of MMA.

Things can change unbelievably fast, and just when you think the current crop of champions and top contenders are unbeatable, a new wave of fighters comes along and unseats them.

So, which of today’s current fighters make up the next wave?

Here are seven fighters (one from each division) who have a chance to replace MMA’s current stars and take up the mantle as the best in the sport.

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