Doing a bit of promotion for tonight’s premier episode of The Ultimate Fighter, UFC women’s bantamweight Miesha Tate stopped by SI Now to talk title shots, never being armbarred ever again, and, of course, Ronda Rousey.
“I think people are finally seeing her true colors a little bit. This is a six week thing. It’s not like you can really hide who you are over a six week course. The cameras are always there. I think people are finally starting to realize exactly why I haven’t been able to get along with her and what the problem has been. I think it’s hilarious that she’s already making up excuses for how she behaved and saying that I ’emotionally manipulated’ her and all this stuff.”
Of course, Tate also touched on her relationship with boyfriend and fellow UFC bantamweight Bryan Caraway. See the video below for that segment.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
T.J. Grant will get next crack at lightweight title. The superfight with Jose Aldo will have to wait as the lightweight title picture comes together. UFC President Dana White tweeted last night that Anthony Pettis suffered a grade two sprain of his knee during his bout Saturday night, expected to sideline the champion for seven weeks.
Footnotes and milestones. Our own Ariel Helwani digs into the numbers of UFC 164 and Ultimate Fight Night 27 to help shape the bigger picture moving forward. This one is a great resource for you stat junkies.
Bigfoot vs. Hunt. It’s incredible to think Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva would be headlining a five-round main event in 2013 but I certainly don’t hate it. Any chance it goes all five?
Herb Dean recounts Pettis’ armbar. Not that I think Benson Henderson would ever refute the verbal tap, but crazier things have happened. It’s actually pretty beautiful Dean wasn’t involved in the stoppage. “I think people should always wait for me to touch them,” said Dean. “Just to be on the safe side I wouldn’t advise that fighter not to get up unless the referee has touched them.”
GLORY returns. GLORY CEO Andrew Whitaker spoke to MMAmania’s Michael Stets about the kickboxing promotion’s upcoming schedule and moving to Spike TV. Bloody Elbow’s Fraser Coffeen also has a great breakdown of each event. The big takeaway for me is the U.S. debut of world #1 pound-for-pound kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan. If you’re not familiar with ‘The Doctor,’ please see the video below.
MEDIA STEW
Ronda Rousey: Breaking Ground. A great look into Rousey’s upbringing and how she’s gotten to where she is today. It’s incredible how much Ronda looks like her mom from back in the day.
WHOA TV gets us ready for tonight’s Ultimate Fighting Night 28 with a great highlight.
Thrilled to hear Giorgio Petrosyan will be making his U.S. debut at GLORY 12 on Nov. 9 in New York City.
Anderson Silva talks retirement, facing Lyoto Machida at middleweight and not fighting Brazilians.
Oh, Amateur MMA. Never change. There’s just something special about getting knocked out in front of a handful of your closest friends and other guys’ girlfriends.
TWEETS
No ‘blue belt blues’ for Anthony Pettis. Sounds like he’s getting the grape.
Anthony Pettis’ coach just told me he’ll promote the UFC champ to purple belt in jiu-jitsu next week. Yes, a blue belt submitted Henderson.
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) September 3, 2013
Ian McCall apparently doesn’t think much of Louis Gaudinot. Elliot vs. McCall, anyone?
Another entry for #UFC164 in the record books. Tim Elliott officially landed 270 strikes, the 2nd most for a 3 round fight in UFC history.
— UFC (@ufc) September 1, 2013
@TElliott125 thanks for smashing that nerd n showing hes overated I like u but I think me and you should have an old fashion fist fight : )
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) September 3, 2013
KenFlo drops some knowledge on securing the takedown in the Octagon.
Not so long ago, using the fence in the @ufc to get takedowns was an advantage. Now, it’s an advantage for person defending.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) September 3, 2013
There’s a gap between the fence & mat in the octagon where fighters can bury their feet making it almost impossible to move them…cont…
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) September 3, 2013
…fighters need to hit clean takedowns in center of octagon or takedowns need to get more creative up against the cage. #mma #ufc
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) September 3, 2013
Fighters need clean set ups into takedowns. In today’s @ufc, takedowns requires motion which requires space. Importance of entry is vital!
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) September 3, 2013
Happy Birthday, guys!
I wanna thank u all for the birthday wishes! Thank u and It feels good that u guys are thoughtful! Much ?
— TyroneSpong (@Tyrone_spong) September 3, 2013
The aftermath of my birthday piñata. It took one right hook and a front snap kick before it exploded. pic.twitter.com/2Po40iq7wK
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 3, 2013
Not a bad fan to have.
Managed to stay spoiler free, which is hard to do. Glad I did. Very happy for my friends @Showtimepettis and @JoshLBarnett !!!! @ufc
— CM Punk (@CMPunk) September 3, 2013
Bonus: Scott Jorgensen and I battle it out for armrest supremacy.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced Yesterday (Sept. 3 2013)
Wilson Reis replaces ‘Kid’ Yamamoto, faces Ivan Menjivar at UFC 165
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva headlines next UFC event in Australia
Josh Burkman vs. Steve Carl for welterweight title at WSOF 6
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via MMA Fighting member Steve Borchardt.
A Teixeira victory over Bader best outcome for UFC business
If Glover Teixeira can defeat Ryan Bader in the main event of this Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 28 he may just inadvertently be doing the UFC a favor.
Although light heavyweight was once one of the most competitive and stacked divisions in the company, that’s no longer the case here in 2013.
This is due in no small part to champion Jon Jones leaving a path of scorched earth in his wake as he made his comet-like ascent to superstardom. Jones can count many of the divisions biggest names of the past few years among his victims, which is great from an accomplishment perspective but creates problems when it comes to the UFC providing him with fresh match ups. Considering the emphatic nature of Jones’ victories over names like Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida, potential rematches between those men and the champ don’t hold a lot of intrigue at the moment.
However, A quick look over at the UFC’s light heavyweight top ten reveals a surprising statistic: Jones has only defeated 4 of the 10 men on this list (with one of them, Chael Sonnen, being stuck in divisional limbo at the moment). One may think this indicates plenty of potential opponents for Jones waiting in the wings, but a closer look reveals this just isn’t the case.
#8 ranked Gegard Mousasi wants to drop down to middleweight. #7 ranked Dan Henderson is coming off two loses in a row. #6 ranked Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a title fight isn’t exactly the stuff top drawing pay per views are made of. #4 ranked Phil Davis is in the midst of making a case from himself as a worthy contender with three wins in a row, but he’s not there yet.
This leaves just two men at the top of the division who haven’t already lost to the champ: #1 ranked Alexander Gustafsson, who is challenging for Jones’ title later this month at UFC 165, and Glover Teixeira.
Now it’s entirely possible Gustafsson could somehow win the title from Jones, in which case the de rigueur rematch would likely keep the division on hold until the middle of next year. But let’s be real. How many people outside the Sweede’s camp truly see Gustafsson taking the title from the preternaturally gifted Jones? Sure, Gustafsson is a great talent and anything can happen in a fight, but there’s a reason the champ opened as a -800 favorite when the UFC 165 main event was announced.
If things indeed shake out how the odds makers are forecasting when Jones meets Gustafsson in Toronto later this month, then the 4-0 UFC and 19-0 since 2006 Teixeira would likely be the clear choice to get the next crack at the champ.
Of course in order for Teixeira to redeem his golden ticket and capitalize on the biggest opportunity of his career he needs to first get by Bader this Wednesday night. While the Brazilian is favored to win, Bader is no slouch. The former 3 time PAC 10 wrestling champ and 2 time All American could conceivably take Teixeira to the mat and control him for three rounds en route to a decision victory.
A Bader victory would throw the UFC light heavyweight title picture in disarray however. Bader isn’t even ranked in the top ten and he’s 3-3 in his past 6 fights. What’s worse, even if Bader won a few fights in a row after defeating Teixeira, the loss to Tito Ortiz on his record likely works against him politically given the current climate. I’m sure last thing UFC President Dana White wants is to be put in the position to give the recent Bellator-signee Ortiz the opening to say he owns a victory over a man challenging for a UFC title.
However it likely won’t come to that as Teixeira has the right tools to defeat Bader. Standing up he’s far more polished and can change the complexion of a fight in a second thanks to the wrecking balls he calls fists. If Bader does take the fight to the ground Teixeira is also proficient there as well. The Brazilian transplant is a 2nd degree BJJ black belt who won his UFC debut over Kyle Kingsbury by way of first round arm triangle. Taking him down is far from a guaranteed path to victory. Unfortunately for Bader though it just might be his best bet considering the differential between the two fighter’s standup skills.
All things considered, Teixeira should walk out of the Mineirinho Arena with another win on his record. Which is good news for Teixeira as well as for the UFC. Teixeira vs. Jones may not be a huge money matchup, but it’s far better than any of the other alternatives out there.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.