A deceptively busy weekend of mixed martial arts action is on tap. Friday’s UFC on FX 5 marks week three in a four-work stretch of UFC events. Bellator’s Friday night card features quarterfinal action in the company’s latest heavyweight tournament.
Saturday, both Invicta and OneFC will crown their first champions, with Jessica Penne meeting Naho Sugiyama for the Invicta atomweight belt in Kansas City and debut lightweight and bantamweight champs being crowned at OneFC 6 in Malaysia.
So without further ado, on to another edition of Fightweets, where we talk a whole lot of Daniel Cormier, Forrest Griffin, rankings, and more.
If you’d like to have a question included in a future edition of Fightweets, hit up my twitter page, @davedoylemma.
Travis Browne next for Daniel Cormier?
@BenWirtz: Could Travis Browne fight Cormier if he wins and isn’t hurt at all? Win/Win for Showtime and Browne.
@JKary90: If Browne finishes Bigfoot quick and comes out unscathed this Friday, could he be the guy to take on Cormier?
Man, you guys sure are eager to see Browne vs. DC. That is one tall, tall order for Browne. The only way I could see this happening would be if Browne went out and smoked “Bigfoot” with a flash knockout. But even if he did so, you’re still asking Browne to go from a full training camp where he prepared for a monster who outweighed him by 20 pounds and then turn around and prepare for a guy with a completely different skill set. Not to mention one who just manhandled Josh Barnett like Barnett’s never been treated before.
Stranger things have happened, but based on who’s already booked in fights, who’s injured, and who might be available, my guess is that a Pat Barry/Cheick Kongo-level guy steps up to the plate.
How about Cormier vs. Jones?
@iAMiBreakStuff: I think @DC_MMA’s first fight in UFC should be versus @JonnyBones… Agree?
Somewhere down the road, I’d love to see a Cormier vs. Jon Jones fight. But now, or soon, is just not the time for it. Jones isn’t done with the light heavyweight division just yet. It might seems like “Bones” is stuck in the middle of his “Patrick Cote/Thales Leites” stretch of his title reign, but he’s still got unfinished business to take care of in the winner of Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida.
And who knows? Maybe in the next year or so, either Alexander Gustafsson or Glover Teixeira emerges as a legit threat, the same way Chris Weidman seems to be about a year away from the top at middleweight. Cormier’s expressed a willingness to try to get down to 205, but it’s been years since he’s tried to make 211, his wrestling weight. And even if hypothetically, Jones moved up to heavyweight, the UFC’s more likely to give him a lower-tier name in his first bout, similar to Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin.
Cormier and Jones seem destined to clash eventually, and if both continue to progress as they have, the fight would likely be huge. But it’s more likely to be a 2015 mega-fight than something we’ll see in the near future.
Where to rank Gilbert Melendez?
@MMarshallA: How on earth can Gilbert never fought a top 5 fighter Melendez be on your pound for pound list?!? And above Mighty Mouse?!
@sevenwithcheese In reality, Melendez would lose to even mid-range UFC lightweights
Ahh, the Gilbert Melendez conundrum. Strikeforce’s situation has given his detractors plenty of ammo if you want to make the claim Melendez shouldn’t be ranked among the pound-for-pound best. His supporters ask whether it’s fair to hold his contractual bind against him. The most recent MMAFighting rankings have him at number eight. So does the most recent Yahoo! Sports poll, which features, on any given month, about 25 reporters from a cross-section of major media outlets. Sherdog.com ranks him No. 9.
So those who follow MMA for a living consistently rate the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion in the lower end of the top 10. I have no doubt some of you guys think every last one of us are wrong, but until Melendez proves in the cage that he doesn’t belong among the elite, it looks like he’s going to get the benefit of the doubt.
Mighty Mouse and The Answer?
@SeanPeconi While Mighty Mouse is a good fighter he is nowhere near your Edgar comparison for P4P. Curious as to how you evaluated that?
Edgar is an undersized fighter who uses speed and footwork to slowly wear down and frustrate his opponents, usually winning via decision. “Mighty Mouse” is an undersized fighter who uses speed and footwork to slowly wear down and frustrate his opponents, usually winning via decision. What’s unclear?
@Sean Peconi: And what does public thoughts have to do with moving someone up? Is this a p4p list or a popularity contest for you?
Yeah, it’s a total popularity contest. That’s why I have the fighter who had more hate sent in his direction than possibly any fighter in MMA history over the past couple months ranked No. 2 in the world.
@ELcujorino: gotta ask who you think should welcome Guida to Feather? I’m hoping someone like Diego Brandao or maybe Mark Hominick!
First things first: God, I hope the Clay Guida of old returns. I’m a little fearful he might not, given his recent comments to MMAFighting’s own Ariel Helwani. But, assuming the Guida we’ve all known and loved returns, and that the Guida from the Gray Maynard fight is buried somewhere out in the New Mexico desert, I think you need to aim a little higher and put him right in with a top-tier guy. Jose Aldo and Edgar are on ice until Aldo can return and they can engage in their highly anticipated title bout. But Guida against Chan Sung Jung or Chad Mendes is a sellable co-main event when paired a strong headliner. There’s no need to baby “The Carpenter” along at this point in his career with lower-ranked opposition.
Overeem vs. Werdum?
@Orderx7: You think Werdum and Reem may fight again considering the fight in Strikeforce?
I most want to see Werdum take on Stefan Struve next. I think it makes sense for Struve: He needs to keep stepping up in competition, but he’s not ready for the Junior dos Santos/Cain Velasquez level of fighter. Someone like Werdum, with his improved striking complementing a world-class ground game would make for an interesting challenge.
That said, does the fight makes as much sense for Werdum? Alistair Overeem vs. Werdum, with the winner to get the next title shot after the Dos Santos-Velasquez fight, also seems to make sense. Given the UFC isn’t going to book Overeem until after he’s re-licensed by the Nevada Athletic Commission after his suspension ends in late December, this speculation could go on for awhile.
Why UFC on FX 5?
@JUSTOSLICE: What is the point of UFC on FX 5? Only fight with any value is Dodson/Formiga to a division where any win streak = title shot
I don’t mean to pick on you here, because you’ve been a consistently good tweeter, but I’ve never understood when people rip on cable TV cards. True, it’s not like you’re getting title fights or bouts with earth-shattering implications, but all the fights are solid on paper. Browne vs. Silva is a good test for both and has an impact on the heavyweight top 10. Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron features Ellenberger looking to rebound from a loss against an underrated fighter who wants to prove the UFC is where he belongs. Dodson-da Silva is you note, is meaningful. And … well, OK, I’ll grant you Justin Edwards vs. Josh Neer doesn’t exactly scream “must-see TV.”
Still, though, it’s a night of decent fights on paper and it’s not like you’re being asked to shell out PPV money to watch it, so what’s the harm?
@RuckerYeah: What’s the deal with Forrest? Is he bringing up that Xanax thing because of Silva-Bonnar? Doesn’t want to look bad?
I got the entire range of responses on Forrest Griffin after he admitted to taking Xanax to get to sleep the night before his quite memorable bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 101. Some admired his honesty. Some think he’s making up a story. Some think it’s a gigantic scandal that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission never reported Griffin’s three-month suspension. Some think it’s silly Pennsylvania have the drug on the banned list to begin with.Pretty much everyone agrees no matter what Griffin did or didn’t take, Silva probably would have made him look Silva anyway.
Griffin has made it clear over the years he doesn’t enjoy talking to the media, and it’s a barely disguised secret that much of the media considers the feeling mutual. But that’s also the great thing about Forrest Griffin. He pretty much rattles off whatever’s on the top of his head. He calls it like he sees it. If he likes you, he’ll say it. If he doesn’t, he’ll say it.
Sometimes it seems like half the fighters out there are “I’ll fight whoever the UFC wants me to fight,” automatons. Griffin’s candor, on the whole, is a good thing. Maybe he’s a little nuts and maybe he comes across wrong sometimes. But he’s both a little nuts and one of the most authentic people in the game.
That, and the fact the Forrest’s bouts are always newsworthy — whether that’s good or bad for him — means the former UFC light heavyweight champion is still relevant. So let’s hope he doesn’t heed Dana White’s call for his retirement any time soon.