While pro wrestling’s legendary voice Jim Ross cemented the clever phrase as a commentating colloquialism to describe famed kickers from “Sweet” Stan Lane to the 1-2-3 Kid, it’s found no better living example than UFC 144 Knockout of the Night winner Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
The former and final WEC lightweight champion spent his lifetime learning the complete curriculum of combative kicks. Pettis received his undergrad in taekwondo as a third degree black belt. Born and bred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he received his Master’s from mentor, head coach, friend, former K-1 kickboxer, and multiple Muay Thai world champion Jeff “Duke” Roufus. Nowadays, he is writing his doctoral thesis in fight finishing with his 13-2 record including 10 stoppages. But, Pettis’ flashy, unpredictable, and often devastating kicks do not always originate from traditional martial arts because he began his formal education in something a bit more “extreme”.
“My style, my kicks, is all from what I used to do as a kid: XMA, Xtreme Martial Arts,” explains Pettis. “It’s a mix of acrobatics and martial arts. As a kid, I did that growing up and I was really into it. Even before XMA was even called XMA. I did a lot of kicks and flips, a lot of crazy stuff. My style when I used to do point sparring in taekwondo was to land something that no one had ever done before. Now that my overall MMA game is better, I’m not afraid to take chances and I feel comfortable taking risks. My style is coming from my background. And, I’m still learning. I come up with new stuff almost daily. It’s a lot of stuff that I get to play with.”
At UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan, the 25-year-old gave the UFC’s lightweight division a taste of what’s in his catalog of concussive kicks with a Cro Cop-like, lightning quick, left high kick. It only took 81 seconds for Pettis to dispatch of Fight Night bonus king Joe Lauzon and remind everyone of why he was at the top of the WEC’s 155-pound mountain when it was absorbed into the UFC at the end of 2010. Now 2-1 inside the Octagon, Pettis admits the previous two appearances were atypical, but fight fans should be fully expecting to see a better “Showtime” than they remember. Possibly, an ambidextrous one.
“My plan was to switch him up by coming out southpaw and let my kicks go,” affirms Pettis. “I had been working my southpaw a lot, it’s another set of angles. My right side is very dangerous already, so I’m going to be even more dangerous if I can switch back and forth. That’s why I felt really confident in switching up. I was baiting him with my hands and getting him to fight my hands. I saw him bite on my hands and it left him a little open for the kick and I was able to capitalize. I was coming off a loss from the Clay Guida fight and I went into the fight with Jeremy Stephens and my confidence wasn’t 100%, so I fought the Stephens fight and just wanted to get the W on that. I think the Lauzon fight was my first time actually showing Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis in the UFC.”
Following the bonus-winning performance, he went back in the gym to help out the multitude of pro MMA teammates he has when Pettis discovered a nagging injury was much more serious than previously thought. “I got the MRI done and they came back saying that I had two tears in my labrum,” reveals Pettis, who decided to get the surgery to fix it and take the proper time off. While sitting on the sidelines for 11 months wasn’t ideal, it was necessary and it afforded him tons of me time to really work on his skills without worrying about an opponent. All healed up and itching for a fight, Pettis is excited to make 2013 a memorable one inside the Octagon.
“Even with the rest of last year off, I feel like I gained so much skill and so much knowledge,” says Pettis. “When you are getting ready for a fight, you can’t really get better technically. But with a year off, I really focused on my technique. I think I’m comfortable on both sides and I’m even more dangerous now. I’m always evolving. I feel like my southpaw is as good as my right stance, so I’m getting better everywhere. I feel like I’m building off of that win and picking up right where I left off. The year off is not going to be a factor. I’m feeling great. I’ve been training. I only took that time to heal my body. I know I’m going to have a long career in this and I didn’t want to rush back not healthy. I know that I want this to last. I don’t want anything to decide my fights besides my skills, so I took the year off. I feel excellent. I’m ready to continue right where I left off in Japan.”
The highlight reel kicks like the one on Lauzon, and, the most famous of them all, the “Showtime Kick” that caught current UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, will live on in top 10 lists forever and ever, but fans and opponents alike should not forget the rest of Pettis’ MMA game. The techniques and skills that Pettis has been able to focus on in his time off were the only ones to defeat Henderson in 12 fights under the Zuffa banner. It wasn’t just jumping off the cage and landing a kick; Pettis won the rounds rumbling with “Bendo” for 25 minutes in the standup game, on the ground, and in the clinch. Don’t mistake it, “Showtime” has flash and substance.
“They don’t have the tools that I have,” declares Pettis. “He (Henderson) is very dynamic and he’s only getting better all the time. He’s a good striker, he wrestles really well, he’s very hard to submit, and very hard to finish. You take the top guys at the division and they all have holes in their game. I’m not saying I’m perfect; there are holes in my game. But you can watch the video of my fight with him and see how to beat this guy – he’s not untouchable. Hopefully, no one does that before I get there. I’m not thinking ahead or past ‘Cowboy’, but that’s one of the fights that I want to get.”
Before the seemingly inevitable “Bendo” rematch, Pettis must tangle with a different WEC warrior in Fight of the Night fixture Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. This Saturday on FOX, these scary strikers will blow the roof off of the United Center in Chi-town, Illinois. At 29 years old with an overall record of 19-4, 1NC, Cerrone has reeled off six impressive wins in seven fights inside the Octagon, and the Jackson-Winkeljohn product will just mark his two year anniversary in the UFC after this scrap. While his kickboxing was highly regarded before, Cerrone’s striking has become downright lethal with two Knockout of the Night bonuses, and, lest we forget, the Submission of the Night over Dennis Siver all started with a head kick landing flush and crumpling the German.
“He’s a very dangerous guy,” admits Pettis. “Really good, really tough. He’s one of those guys who really doesn’t have any holes in his game. He’s very active, he always comes to fight, and he’s always ready to fight. He’s not going to come out of shape and not come ready to fight. He’s going to come to fight. He’s going to be a tough fight for me and I’m preparing for him to be one of the toughest fights of my career. But they all are. At this level, every fight is tough.”
While this card is stacked with fireworks-friendly fights, without a doubt just the mere thought of “Showtime” vs. “Cowboy” should give every Octagon enthusiast chills. On paper, 25 of their 39 fights have ended via scintillating stoppage, which is why these young lightweights have been beloved by fans in the WEC and the UFC. Besides the always lingering title implications, Cerrone has a knack of making each and every one of his bouts appear personal, whether they are or not. Those established pre-fight antics may be simply to hype the bout, be a strategic mind game against his opponent, and/or to get himself riled up, but it won’t affect Pettis’ gameplan of letting his fists and feet talk for him in the cage.
“I’m not going to let that change the way I’m going to fight him,” states Pettis. “I’m not that guy who needs to hate my opponent or has to picture beating them all the time. I’ve been competing my whole life, I’ve been fighting different guys my whole life, I’ve been training my whole life – I don’t need that extra motivation. Just because he’s talking crap and I don’t like the guy, I don’t need that to fuel my fire in training. I’m motivating myself. I don’t need that motivation to fight someone. When you sign your name on that contract, that’s all the motivation I need. You accepted to fight me and that’s the worst decision of your life.”
As always, Pettis can be found fine-tuning his bevy of gravity defying kicks in his hometown at Roufusport, where he is a part owner. Obviously, he is getting the necessary quality striking sparring at a Roufus run gym with its plethora of kickboxers, plus teammates like UFC featherweight Erik Koch, UFC welterweight Pascal Krauss, and Pettis’ undefeated bantamweight younger brother, Sergio. On the ground, Pettis routinely rolls with the former two-time NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler, 2008 US Olympic team freestyle wrestler, brown belt in BJJ, and undefeated in MMA welterweight Ben Askren. With all that’s said of his striking, Pettis has just as many submission wins as knockouts, and it’s that security in his abilities on the ground that allows for him to really open up while standing.
“I think I have a whole arsenal of weapons that would work that I haven’t thrown, but I just haven’t had the opportunity,” says Pettis. “You only have 15 minutes out there and it’s hard to show everything you have. It’s hard for any guy to prepare to fight me because there are not guys that strike like me. It’s easy to find a kickboxer, a boxer, a boxer/wrestler, but it’s hard to find someone who strikes like me. You don’t know where the kicks are coming from, what pace they’re coming at, and they’re not basic combos. They’re more advanced and they work for me. I definitely have a whole lot of strikes that people haven’t seen. I’m excited because I’m working on my wrestling, I’m working on my jiu-jitsu, and I’m constantly getting better everywhere, so I can do whatever I want to do in the cage. If you’re fearless in there then big things happen. If you’re afraid to take chances then you’ll never know what you could have done.”
This Saturday in “The Madhouse on Madison” in Chicago, two of the lightweight division’s fastest rising stars will collide for guaranteed fireworks. “You put a guy like ‘Cowboy’ and guy like myself, ‘Showtime’, into the cage and fans know what to expect,” asserts Pettis, who knows the match is lit, it’s been burning hot for a while, and the powder keg will be ready and waiting inside the Octagon come fight night. “He’s a very talented dude, and I’m a very talented guy. No one is expecting anything less than a hell of a fight.”
And if ol’ J.R. was calling UFC on FOX, he undoubtedly would dub Pettis/Cerrone a “slobberknocker”.
“Educated feet”
While pro wrestling’s legendary voice Jim Ross cemented the clever phrase as a commentating colloquialism to describe famed kickers from “Sweet” Stan Lane to the 1-2-3 Kid, it’s found no better living example than UFC 144 Knockout of the Night winner Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
The former and final WEC lightweight champion spent his lifetime learning the complete curriculum of combative kicks. Pettis received his undergrad in taekwondo as a third degree black belt. Born and bred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he received his Master’s from mentor, head coach, friend, former K-1 kickboxer, and multiple Muay Thai world champion Jeff “Duke” Roufus. Nowadays, he is writing his doctoral thesis in fight finishing with his 13-2 record including 10 stoppages. But, Pettis’ flashy, unpredictable, and often devastating kicks do not always originate from traditional martial arts because he began his formal education in something a bit more “extreme”.
“My style, my kicks, is all from what I used to do as a kid: XMA, Xtreme Martial Arts,” explains Pettis. “It’s a mix of acrobatics and martial arts. As a kid, I did that growing up and I was really into it. Even before XMA was even called XMA. I did a lot of kicks and flips, a lot of crazy stuff. My style when I used to do point sparring in taekwondo was to land something that no one had ever done before. Now that my overall MMA game is better, I’m not afraid to take chances and I feel comfortable taking risks. My style is coming from my background. And, I’m still learning. I come up with new stuff almost daily. It’s a lot of stuff that I get to play with.”
At UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan, the 25-year-old gave the UFC’s lightweight division a taste of what’s in his catalog of concussive kicks with a Cro Cop-like, lightning quick, left high kick. It only took 81 seconds for Pettis to dispatch of Fight Night bonus king Joe Lauzon and remind everyone of why he was at the top of the WEC’s 155-pound mountain when it was absorbed into the UFC at the end of 2010. Now 2-1 inside the Octagon, Pettis admits the previous two appearances were atypical, but fight fans should be fully expecting to see a better “Showtime” than they remember. Possibly, an ambidextrous one.
“My plan was to switch him up by coming out southpaw and let my kicks go,” affirms Pettis. “I had been working my southpaw a lot, it’s another set of angles. My right side is very dangerous already, so I’m going to be even more dangerous if I can switch back and forth. That’s why I felt really confident in switching up. I was baiting him with my hands and getting him to fight my hands. I saw him bite on my hands and it left him a little open for the kick and I was able to capitalize. I was coming off a loss from the Clay Guida fight and I went into the fight with Jeremy Stephens and my confidence wasn’t 100%, so I fought the Stephens fight and just wanted to get the W on that. I think the Lauzon fight was my first time actually showing Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis in the UFC.”
Following the bonus-winning performance, he went back in the gym to help out the multitude of pro MMA teammates he has when Pettis discovered a nagging injury was much more serious than previously thought. “I got the MRI done and they came back saying that I had two tears in my labrum,” reveals Pettis, who decided to get the surgery to fix it and take the proper time off. While sitting on the sidelines for 11 months wasn’t ideal, it was necessary and it afforded him tons of me time to really work on his skills without worrying about an opponent. All healed up and itching for a fight, Pettis is excited to make 2013 a memorable one inside the Octagon.
“Even with the rest of last year off, I feel like I gained so much skill and so much knowledge,” says Pettis. “When you are getting ready for a fight, you can’t really get better technically. But with a year off, I really focused on my technique. I think I’m comfortable on both sides and I’m even more dangerous now. I’m always evolving. I feel like my southpaw is as good as my right stance, so I’m getting better everywhere. I feel like I’m building off of that win and picking up right where I left off. The year off is not going to be a factor. I’m feeling great. I’ve been training. I only took that time to heal my body. I know I’m going to have a long career in this and I didn’t want to rush back not healthy. I know that I want this to last. I don’t want anything to decide my fights besides my skills, so I took the year off. I feel excellent. I’m ready to continue right where I left off in Japan.”
The highlight reel kicks like the one on Lauzon, and, the most famous of them all, the “Showtime Kick” that caught current UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, will live on in top 10 lists forever and ever, but fans and opponents alike should not forget the rest of Pettis’ MMA game. The techniques and skills that Pettis has been able to focus on in his time off were the only ones to defeat Henderson in 12 fights under the Zuffa banner. It wasn’t just jumping off the cage and landing a kick; Pettis won the rounds rumbling with “Bendo” for 25 minutes in the standup game, on the ground, and in the clinch. Don’t mistake it, “Showtime” has flash and substance.
“They don’t have the tools that I have,” declares Pettis. “He (Henderson) is very dynamic and he’s only getting better all the time. He’s a good striker, he wrestles really well, he’s very hard to submit, and very hard to finish. You take the top guys at the division and they all have holes in their game. I’m not saying I’m perfect; there are holes in my game. But you can watch the video of my fight with him and see how to beat this guy – he’s not untouchable. Hopefully, no one does that before I get there. I’m not thinking ahead or past ‘Cowboy’, but that’s one of the fights that I want to get.”
Before the seemingly inevitable “Bendo” rematch, Pettis must tangle with a different WEC warrior in Fight of the Night fixture Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. This Saturday on FOX, these scary strikers will blow the roof off of the United Center in Chi-town, Illinois. At 29 years old with an overall record of 19-4, 1NC, Cerrone has reeled off six impressive wins in seven fights inside the Octagon, and the Jackson-Winkeljohn product will just mark his two year anniversary in the UFC after this scrap. While his kickboxing was highly regarded before, Cerrone’s striking has become downright lethal with two Knockout of the Night bonuses, and, lest we forget, the Submission of the Night over Dennis Siver all started with a head kick landing flush and crumpling the German.
“He’s a very dangerous guy,” admits Pettis. “Really good, really tough. He’s one of those guys who really doesn’t have any holes in his game. He’s very active, he always comes to fight, and he’s always ready to fight. He’s not going to come out of shape and not come ready to fight. He’s going to come to fight. He’s going to be a tough fight for me and I’m preparing for him to be one of the toughest fights of my career. But they all are. At this level, every fight is tough.”
While this card is stacked with fireworks-friendly fights, without a doubt just the mere thought of “Showtime” vs. “Cowboy” should give every Octagon enthusiast chills. On paper, 25 of their 39 fights have ended via scintillating stoppage, which is why these young lightweights have been beloved by fans in the WEC and the UFC. Besides the always lingering title implications, Cerrone has a knack of making each and every one of his bouts appear personal, whether they are or not. Those established pre-fight antics may be simply to hype the bout, be a strategic mind game against his opponent, and/or to get himself riled up, but it won’t affect Pettis’ gameplan of letting his fists and feet talk for him in the cage.
“I’m not going to let that change the way I’m going to fight him,” states Pettis. “I’m not that guy who needs to hate my opponent or has to picture beating them all the time. I’ve been competing my whole life, I’ve been fighting different guys my whole life, I’ve been training my whole life – I don’t need that extra motivation. Just because he’s talking crap and I don’t like the guy, I don’t need that to fuel my fire in training. I’m motivating myself. I don’t need that motivation to fight someone. When you sign your name on that contract, that’s all the motivation I need. You accepted to fight me and that’s the worst decision of your life.”
As always, Pettis can be found fine-tuning his bevy of gravity defying kicks in his hometown at Roufusport, where he is a part owner. Obviously, he is getting the necessary quality striking sparring at a Roufus run gym with its plethora of kickboxers, plus teammates like UFC featherweight Erik Koch, UFC welterweight Pascal Krauss, and Pettis’ undefeated bantamweight younger brother, Sergio. On the ground, Pettis routinely rolls with the former two-time NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler, 2008 US Olympic team freestyle wrestler, brown belt in BJJ, and undefeated in MMA welterweight Ben Askren. With all that’s said of his striking, Pettis has just as many submission wins as knockouts, and it’s that security in his abilities on the ground that allows for him to really open up while standing.
“I think I have a whole arsenal of weapons that would work that I haven’t thrown, but I just haven’t had the opportunity,” says Pettis. “You only have 15 minutes out there and it’s hard to show everything you have. It’s hard for any guy to prepare to fight me because there are not guys that strike like me. It’s easy to find a kickboxer, a boxer, a boxer/wrestler, but it’s hard to find someone who strikes like me. You don’t know where the kicks are coming from, what pace they’re coming at, and they’re not basic combos. They’re more advanced and they work for me. I definitely have a whole lot of strikes that people haven’t seen. I’m excited because I’m working on my wrestling, I’m working on my jiu-jitsu, and I’m constantly getting better everywhere, so I can do whatever I want to do in the cage. If you’re fearless in there then big things happen. If you’re afraid to take chances then you’ll never know what you could have done.”
This Saturday in “The Madhouse on Madison” in Chicago, two of the lightweight division’s fastest rising stars will collide for guaranteed fireworks. “You put a guy like ‘Cowboy’ and guy like myself, ‘Showtime’, into the cage and fans know what to expect,” asserts Pettis, who knows the match is lit, it’s been burning hot for a while, and the powder keg will be ready and waiting inside the Octagon come fight night. “He’s a very talented dude, and I’m a very talented guy. No one is expecting anything less than a hell of a fight.”
And if ol’ J.R. was calling UFC on FOX, he undoubtedly would dub Pettis/Cerrone a “slobberknocker”.
Competing on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts comes with a certain amount of pressure. When you attach the expectations which come with being a highly touted prospect, the experience of fighting in the UFC can be somewhat overwhelming. German-born Pascal Krauss came into the Octagon as one of Europe’s highest regarded young fighters, but after suffering a setback in his second outing against John Hathaway at UFC on FOX 3, the buzz surrounding the 25-year-old cooled off for the time being.
The loss proved to be motivational on several levels. Not only did the defeat serve to alleviate the mounting pressure to continue his undefeated streak, but it gave Krauss the feeling that it is now on him to capture the acclaim and attention of the UFC fan base. He has every intention of jump starting that process when he squares off with Mike Stumpf at UFC on FOX 6 in Chicago this weekend.
“There is definitely added motivation to get back into the win column,” Krauss said. “The last fight didn’t go my way. I came off a long layoff and I was definitely rusty in the ring. It felt weird being in the Octagon. [Hathaway] is a good guy and he was the better man that night. It pissed me off pretty bad. After the fight, I came back to the gym and trained even harder. I am going to show what I’m able to do this time.
“There was a lot of pressure. But now, getting rid of the undefeated thing takes some of that pressure off. I think I’m flying a little under the radar right now. A lot of people were talking if I beat John Hathaway I was going to be on the big show pretty soon. But since I lost, I’m flying a little under the radar and I’m not feeling that much pressure right now. I kind of like it. I can come back with a big win and people will recognize again that I’m a force to reckon with.”
The process of preparing for a bout puts a fighter’s body on a full-time grind. Training camps are a grueling part of the sport, but a necessary aspect to ensure every competitor shows up at his best. For Krauss, training with the team at Duke Roufus’s gym in Milwaukee has been a crucial part of his personal development as a mixed martial artist.
This camp in particular has presented a unique environment as several of Krauss’s teammates are also preparing for high profile matchups of their own. Alongside former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and UFC featherweight contender Erik Koch, Krauss is looking forward to doing his part and making sure the Roufussport Team has a great showing on January 26th at the United Center in Chicago.
“Everything is going really good,” Krauss said. “We had a great training camp out here. There are a few other guys in our gym who have fights coming up. Anthony, Erik, and Ben Askren all have fights they are training for as well. Then we had a bunch of other guys who are all training for smaller shows and there has been good spirit at the gym. Everybody is showing up, pushing the pace, and motivated. That is what you need to compete at the highest level and we have that here in our gym.”
The bout with Stumpf will mark the third appearance for Krauss inside the Octagon and only his 12th fight overall. In the four years he has been competing as a professional mixed martial artist, many things have been learned on the fly.
That being said, fighting in the UFC is a platform like no other in the sport, and the environment took some getting used to. Now that he feels acclimated, Krauss is looking to make good on what many figured to be a promising career in the UFC.
“In the beginning everything is new and so exciting,” Krauss said. “It is good and excitement is good, but on the other hand, it can be a little bit overwhelming too. Now I’m getting used to it and I’m not that nervous anymore. You get to a point where you’ve done it all before. You know how to cut weight. You know how it is to be back in the locker room for the UFC fights. You know how to handle walking out and the fans are screaming. You definitely get comfortable once you have done it a couple of times. It is still pretty exciting though.
“[Stumpf] has been off for a while as well. He looks like a pretty physical and strong guy. He’s a hometown hero and I might have the crowd against me. I’m going to show who is the better man that night and I’m pretty sure it is going to be me.
“It should always be exciting to see me fight because I come in there to finish,” Krauss added. “I like every part of the game. If it is standing up, wrestling, or the ground; I’m prepared to do whatever I have to in order to get the finish. It is going to be a good fight. Don’t blink.”
Competing on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts comes with a certain amount of pressure. When you attach the expectations which come with being a highly touted prospect, the experience of fighting in the UFC can be somewhat overwhelming. German-born Pascal Krauss came into the Octagon as one of Europe’s highest regarded young fighters, but after suffering a setback in his second outing against John Hathaway at UFC on FOX 3, the buzz surrounding the 25-year-old cooled off for the time being.
The loss proved to be motivational on several levels. Not only did the defeat serve to alleviate the mounting pressure to continue his undefeated streak, but it gave Krauss the feeling that it is now on him to capture the acclaim and attention of the UFC fan base. He has every intention of jump starting that process when he squares off with Mike Stumpf at UFC on FOX 6 in Chicago this weekend.
“There is definitely added motivation to get back into the win column,” Krauss said. “The last fight didn’t go my way. I came off a long layoff and I was definitely rusty in the ring. It felt weird being in the Octagon. [Hathaway] is a good guy and he was the better man that night. It pissed me off pretty bad. After the fight, I came back to the gym and trained even harder. I am going to show what I’m able to do this time.
“There was a lot of pressure. But now, getting rid of the undefeated thing takes some of that pressure off. I think I’m flying a little under the radar right now. A lot of people were talking if I beat John Hathaway I was going to be on the big show pretty soon. But since I lost, I’m flying a little under the radar and I’m not feeling that much pressure right now. I kind of like it. I can come back with a big win and people will recognize again that I’m a force to reckon with.”
The process of preparing for a bout puts a fighter’s body on a full-time grind. Training camps are a grueling part of the sport, but a necessary aspect to ensure every competitor shows up at his best. For Krauss, training with the team at Duke Roufus’s gym in Milwaukee has been a crucial part of his personal development as a mixed martial artist.
This camp in particular has presented a unique environment as several of Krauss’s teammates are also preparing for high profile matchups of their own. Alongside former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and UFC featherweight contender Erik Koch, Krauss is looking forward to doing his part and making sure the Roufussport Team has a great showing on January 26th at the United Center in Chicago.
“Everything is going really good,” Krauss said. “We had a great training camp out here. There are a few other guys in our gym who have fights coming up. Anthony, Erik, and Ben Askren all have fights they are training for as well. Then we had a bunch of other guys who are all training for smaller shows and there has been good spirit at the gym. Everybody is showing up, pushing the pace, and motivated. That is what you need to compete at the highest level and we have that here in our gym.”
The bout with Stumpf will mark the third appearance for Krauss inside the Octagon and only his 12th fight overall. In the four years he has been competing as a professional mixed martial artist, many things have been learned on the fly.
That being said, fighting in the UFC is a platform like no other in the sport, and the environment took some getting used to. Now that he feels acclimated, Krauss is looking to make good on what many figured to be a promising career in the UFC.
“In the beginning everything is new and so exciting,” Krauss said. “It is good and excitement is good, but on the other hand, it can be a little bit overwhelming too. Now I’m getting used to it and I’m not that nervous anymore. You get to a point where you’ve done it all before. You know how to cut weight. You know how it is to be back in the locker room for the UFC fights. You know how to handle walking out and the fans are screaming. You definitely get comfortable once you have done it a couple of times. It is still pretty exciting though.
“[Stumpf] has been off for a while as well. He looks like a pretty physical and strong guy. He’s a hometown hero and I might have the crowd against me. I’m going to show who is the better man that night and I’m pretty sure it is going to be me.
“It should always be exciting to see me fight because I come in there to finish,” Krauss added. “I like every part of the game. If it is standing up, wrestling, or the ground; I’m prepared to do whatever I have to in order to get the finish. It is going to be a good fight. Don’t blink.”
An injury has forced welterweight Justin Edwards off the UFC London fight card; stepping in to face Icelandic rising star Gunnar Nelson is returning UFC vet Jorge Santiago. Siver Out, Poirier In at UFC Londonupdated January 17A Russian-born German is o…
An injury has forced welterweight Justin Edwards off the UFC London fight card; stepping in to face Icelandic rising star Gunnar Nelson is returning UFC vet Jorge Santiago.
Siver Out, Poirier In at UFC London
updated January 17 A Russian-born German is out and an American with a French name is in for the UK’s upcoming show.
Dennis Siver has suffered an injury and been forced out of the co-main event against Cub Swanson. But fans of exciting featherweight bouts will not be left hanging, as the dynamic and dangerous Dustin Poirier has verbally agreed to step in to fight Swanson.
Watson vs. Nedkov Official for UK Event
updated December 19 Middleweight Stanislav Nedkov will put his unbeaten record on the line in February when he faces Southampton’s Tom “Kong” Watson at UFC London. Both men have verbally agreed to the bout.
London Card Lands Thrilling Co-Main Event
updated December 12 The UFC announced today that knockout artist Cub Swanson and German bulldozer Dennis Siver will meet in the co-main event of February’s event in London. Both men are riding impressive victory streaks and a win inside Wembley Arena could well make a title case for either featherweight.
Also on that card, 6′ 6″ French light heavyweight Cyrille Diabate will face England’s own Jimi “The Poster Boy” Manuwa, who’s coming off a dominant TKO of Kyle Kingsbury in September.
update: At welterweight, Iceland’s undefeated Gunnar Nelson will look for his eleventh straight stoppage win against TUF 13’s Justin Edwards. Plus, power-punching light heavyweights Ryan Jimmo and James Te Huna will clash in a battle of Canada vs. New Zealand.
Super Seven Announced for UFC London
updated December 6 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to London, England on Saturday, February 16, and the organization announced seven bouts for this stacked card on Thursday, including the interim bantamweight championship fight between titleholder Renan Barao and challenger Michael McDonald.
I had just polished off the day’s last snifter of Glover Teixeira Kool-Aid. I had donned my Glover Teixeira pajamas and was all set to clap off my Glover Teixeira floor lamp when I got to thinking: What if Glover Teixeira doesn’t beat Quinton “Rampage”…
I had just polished off the day’s last snifter of Glover Teixeira Kool-Aid. I had donned my Glover Teixeira pajamas and was all set to clap off my Glover Teixeira floor lamp when I got to thinking: What if Glover Teixeira doesn’t beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson this Saturday at UFC on Fox 6?
That’s when I knew the demons of doubt had invaded my brain. Luckily, I know just how to drive them out. While I’m waiting for Ronda Rousey to DM me back with instructions for making an effective tin foil helmet, I’m going to list the keys to Glover Teixeira’s victory Saturday.
Did I mention that I think Glover Teixeira’s going to win? Because I do think that.
Through 14 fights, UFC president Dana White, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen watched, as 28 men competed for a spot on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, and there were plenty of highlights along the way (read the full play-by-play right over here).After th…
Through 14 fights, UFC president Dana White, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen watched, as 28 men competed for a spot on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, and there were plenty of highlights along the way (read the full play-by-play right over here).
After the dust cleared, both coaches made their picks, listed here:
Team Jones:
1. Clint Hester (7-3) 2. Josh Samman (9-2) 3. Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6) 4. Gilbert Smith Jr. (5-1) 5. Collin Hart (4-1-1) 6. Adam Cella (4-0) 7. Dylan Andrews (16-4-1)
Team Sonnen:
1. Luke Barnatt (5-0) 2. Uriah Hall (7-2) 3. Zak Cummings (15-3) 4. Tor Troeng (15-4-1) 5. Jimmy Quinlan (3-0) 6. Kevin Casey (5-2) 7. Kelvin Gastelum (5-0)
Once the lines were drawn and the teams were formed, Jones decided to take a gamble by trying to eliminate Sonnen’s No. 1 team pick, undefeated English fighter Luke Barnatt.
Based on what the episode showed (several fights were heavily edited), the most impressive competitor of the night was, arguably, Uriah Hall, who battered his opponent en route to a decision win that had White, Jones and Sonnen screaming in amazement.
Another standout was Clint Hester, the first-round pick for Team Jones, who notched an extremely violent, one-sided decision win. Tor Troeng was also dominant in victory, although Sonnen noted that the fight wasn’t too exciting.
Notably, not one fighter in the episode was filmed going to the hospital, which still leaves the identity of Dana White’s mystery fighter up in the air.
UFC 158 will be coming to you live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The UFC has made this coming card incredibly stacked, and as a result, it has set a blueprint for future cards to follow. UFC 158 will feature some exciting names on t…
UFC 158 will be coming to you live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The UFC has made this coming card incredibly stacked, and as a result, it has set a blueprint for future cards to follow.
UFC 158 will feature some exciting names on the undercard, including Antonio Carvalho, Darren Elkins, Sean Pierson and Rick Story.
These fighters should put on a good show and get the fans pumped up for the rest of the coming card. Other announced fights include Yves Jabouin against Johnny Eduardo, and Dan Miller will welcome Jordan Mein to the UFC.
UFC 158 aims to keep the high intensity and energy going by matching up two lightweight strikers. Daron Cruickshank, who is coming off of a highlight-reel, head-kick knockout of Henry Martinez, will fight “The Bull” John Makdessi.
Next up, former The Ultimate Fighter competitors Chris Camozzi and Nick Ring will duke it out. Both men are coming off of wins and will be looking to keep up that trend.
Moving into the main card, Patrick Cote will drop to welterweight to fight Strikeforce import Bobby Voelker. Both of these men have vicious power and should put forth a solid effort.
This is where the card gets really awesome. The next fight will be between Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger. Hendricks has devastated past opponents with his massive left hand while Ellenberger has been just as dangerous throughout his UFC career.
In the co-main event of the night, Carlos Condit, who is coming off of a loss to Georges St-Pierre, will fight St-Pierre’s teammate, Rory MacDonald. It will be a rematch between the two, as Condit defeated MacDonald in the final seconds of their three-round fight.
The main event will feature massive draw and fan favourite Georges St-Pierre against the Stockton bad boy, Nick Diaz. Both men have some unfinished business, and this is a fight that the fans wanted to see happen.
UFC 158 is the blueprint that all other UFC events should follow. It features a championship fight, two important and relevant top contender fights and a mix of hot prospects and exciting veterans. Hopefully, the UFC will keep up this trend when creating future cards.
“Educated feet”
Through 14 fights, UFC president