SAN JOSE, Calif. — Thursday, lightweight contender Nate Diaz indicated he’s considering a move up to welterweight.
While that remains his decision, his boss doesn’t think it would be the smartest career move.
“I think going to 170 is…
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Thursday, lightweight contender Nate Diaz indicated he’s considering a move up to welterweight.
While that remains his decision, his boss doesn’t think it would be the smartest career move.
“I think going to 170 is a big mistake,” UFC president Dana White told reporters Saturday night. “Big, strong guys at 170.”
White’s comments came on the heels of Diaz’s crushing KO loss to Josh Thomson at the HP Pavilion, in which he ate a brutal head kick and a furious finishing flurry on the ground. If Diaz is having trouble against guys his own size, how would going up in weight help?
“He can make 155,” White said. “Look what happened tonight at 155.”
Although the Team Cesar Gracie fighter from Stockton, Calif., has spent most of his career at lightweight, he had a previous stint at 170. Diaz went 2-2 at welterweight in 2010-11, finishing Rory Markham and Marcus Davis and then losing decisions to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory McDonald. He then dropped back to lightweight and won three in a row to earn a shot at Ben Henderson’s title. Diaz lost that fight before losing to Thomson on Saturday.
UFC on Fox 7 proved to be one of the best cards in recent memory with action from top to bottom.Benson Henderson retained his UFC Lightweight Championship in another tightly contested battle. The champion outpointed Gilbert Melendez over the course of …
UFC on Fox 7 proved to be one of the best cards in recent memory with action from top to bottom.
Benson Henderson retained his UFC Lightweight Championship in another tightly contested battle. The champion outpointed Gilbert Melendez over the course of 25 minutes. Henderson has yet to stop anyone in his UFC career.
With eight knockout finishes, the event tied UFC 92 for most on a single card. There were no submission finishes as the other four bouts all went to the scorecards.
UFC on Fox 7 delivered in a big way.
Here is your post-fight stock report after the UFC’s latest trip to the Bay Area.
The top-to-bottom stacked UFC on Fox 7 event is officially over. A number of top-ranked fighters competed in the event, including folks like Nate Diaz, Daniel Cormier, Chad Mendes, Joseph Benavidez and, of course, the two men with belts, Benson He…
The top-to-bottom stacked UFC on Fox 7 event is officially over. A number of top-ranked fighters competed in the event, including folks like Nate Diaz, Daniel Cormier, Chad Mendes, Joseph Benavidez and, of course, the two men with belts, Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez.
It was a downright excellent card that delivered on any of the hype you could have heard coming in.
So with the dust settled, what are the rankings looking like? Who moved up? Who moved down?
The main event at UFC on Fox 7 was a very good, tactical battle. Officially, Benson Henderson won a split decision, but to say it was close is an understatement.I had Henderson winning three rounds to two, but if Gilbert Melendez had gotten the decisio…
The main event at UFC on Fox 7 was a very good, tactical battle. Officially, Benson Henderson won a split decision, but to say it was close is an understatement.
I had Henderson winning three rounds to two, but if Gilbert Melendez had gotten the decision, I wouldn’t have complained.
Many of the rounds were too close to call. To me, that adds up to a no-brainer rematch. We’ll see how quickly we can see the two best lightweights in the world clash again.
Sometimes, it is good to have two great fighters take on different opponents after such a spirited fight, but not this time.
These two need to get back at it immediately. There is no point in putting Melendez in the Octagon with another lightweight that is clearly beneath him.
Henderson didn’t defeat Melendez handily, so as a champion attempting to move up the pound-for-pound list, he should want to score a definitive victory.
There is tons of risk here, but Henderson doesn’t strike me as a fighter that will ultimately be satisfied with this win.
Melendez had the edge in boxing, but you can’t ignore the leg strikes that twice swept Melendez off his feet. The fact that there were no takedowns only served to further muddle the picture of the fight.
As a hardcore MMA fan, I enjoyed the artistry both men displayed. The boos that come from MMA crowds sometimes are puzzling.
But no matter what the crowd at the HP Pavilion thought, this was a great fight.
UFC fans saw what the hype was all about with Melendez and Henderson proved his mettle as champion. But I don’t think either man can walk away from this epic clash and feel like the superior fighter.
Henderson got the decision and he’s still champion, but there is a doubt in his mind. You could tell he was relieved when he wiped the proverbial sweat from his brow as Bruce Buffer read the judges’ cards.
The champion needs to remove that doubt in a rematch, and soon.
Follow me, because Royce Gracie started me on this MMA path, and now I’m out of control.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Americans from coast to coast expressed their concern over Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon and its chaotic aftermath. But UFC president Dana White felt heartache over the incident in a way that only someone…
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Americans from coast to coast expressed their concern over Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon and its chaotic aftermath. But UFC president Dana White felt heartache over the incident in a way that only someone who once lived in the city and is now away from the area can fully comprehend.
“The Boston thing affected me pretty strongly because I lived there,” White said at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 7 post-fight news conference. “I know people there. The story that really gets me is the mother that was crossing the finish line and the son, the eight-year old that was killed and the girl that lost her legs because of a couple of f— cowards. “
White, however, plans to do his part to pitch in as the city puts the pieces back together. White said that after next Saturday’s UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey, he’ll ship up to Boston to help out however he can.
“I’m going to Boston on Saturday, after New Jersey,” White said. “I’m jumping on a plane and going to Boston and I’m actually going to go visit some people who were affected by this whole thing.
The UFC head honcho doesn’t yet have a specific plan once he gets there.
“[I’ll help] the people that were affected,” White said. “I’m going to go to Boston and write some checks.”
The ordeal stretched through the week, as one suspect, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with law enforcement agents, and came to a conclusion on Friday, when the other suspect, Dzokhar Tsarnaev, was apprehended after a city-wide lockdown.
Saturday, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz addressed the crowd assembled at Fenway Park for Saturday’s game with the Kansas City Royal by saying “This is our f— city.” White concurred with the popular star’s sentiments.
“I liked ‘Big Papi’s’ speech he gave to Boston today at the Red Sox game,” White said. “That was pretty cool. “This is our f— city” on live TV. … It was awesome, I loved it.”
When watching a UFC fight card, we often get caught up in the moment and it’s easy to sometimes make grand proclamations that do not stand the test of time. With that being said, you’d be hard-pressed to find many that would disagree if you said that UFC on Fox 7 was the best […]
When watching a UFC fight card, we often get caught up in the moment and it’s easy to sometimes make grand proclamations that do not stand the test of time. With that being said, you’d be hard-pressed to find many that would disagree if you said that UFC on Fox 7 was the best […]
The main event at 