Although the flyweight division takes center stage on Saturday’s UFC on Fox 6 event, it is the heavyweights who will collide on the preliminary card when Mike Russow and Shawn Jordan go toe-to-toe.Russow had won 11 consecutive fights, including four in…
Although the flyweight division takes center stage on Saturday’s UFC on Fox 6 event, it is the heavyweights who will collide on the preliminary card when Mike Russow and Shawn Jordan go toe-to-toe.
Russow had won 11 consecutive fights, including four inside the Octagon, when he was stopped by Fabricio Werdum last June. He looks to rebound against Jordan, who also suffered his first UFC loss over the summer.
Jordan came up short against Cheick Kongo at UFC 149 in a bout that he took on short notice. The performance was critically panned due to the clinch-heavy strategy utilized by “The Savage,” and some called for his UFC release after the loss.
Both men are in need of a win on Saturday night, but unfortunately, only one man can have his arm raised.
Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of Mike Russow vs. Shawn Jordan.
UFC Flyweight John Dodson took some time out to chat with UFC Tonight analyst Ariel Helwani about his headlining title fight against Demetrious Johnson. Dodson faces a stiff challenge in Johnson, but is confident he will KO the reigning Flyweight Champion.
UFC Flyweight John Dodson took some time out to chat with UFC Tonight analyst Ariel Helwani about his headlining title fight against Demetrious Johnson. Dodson faces a stiff challenge in Johnson, but is confident he will KO the reigning Flyweight Champion.
A win over Jake Ellenberger won’t guarantee Johny Hendricks a UFC title shot, according to Dana White.At the UFC 158 press conference, the UFC President revealed a tournament-like plan for the upcoming event in Montreal on March 16:Basically, this is a…
A win over Jake Ellenberger won’t guarantee Johny Hendricks a UFC title shot, according to Dana White.
At the UFC 158press conference, the UFC President revealed a tournament-like plan for the upcoming event in Montreal on March 16:
Basically, this is a welterweight tournament. We’ve got six of the top-10 welterweights fighting on this card. Obviously, the main event is Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre for the title. We got [Carlos] Condit vs. [Rory] MacDonald and Ellenberger vs. Hendricks.
Instead of guaranteeing title shots, White plans on stepping back and assessing individual performances before deciding the next No. 1 contender.
Hendricks is still the frontrunner for a shot, but White couldn’t rule out the possibility of MacDonald or Condit leapfrogging him in the title picture, stating “If Hendricks looks good and wins his fight, [he’ll probably get the shot], but who knows? We’ll see what happens on that night.”
Hendricks has been on a tear in the UFC the last two years.
He is currently riding a five-fight win streak, with his last three wins coming over Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann.
Most thought his devastating knockout against Kampmann was more than enough to sway the UFC into giving him a title shot, but the bout was given to Diaz, who is coming off a decision loss to Condit.
Hendricks is certainly the more deserving contender, but the UFC has always been about giving the fans the fights they want to see. If Condit or MacDonald wins impressively, it is safe to say they would both have a great shot at surpassing Hendricks.
Condit was one of the few fighters to ever have St-Pierre in danger when he dropped him with a head kick at UFC 154. If he defeats MacDonald, it would be tough to deny him a rematch.
As for MacDonald, he is a rapidly rising star in the welterweight division. He is coming off a dominant performance against MMA legend BJ Penn. For months, he has denied any interest in challenging St-Pierre, who is his close friend and teammate at Tristar Gym.
A MacDonald vs. St-Pierre matchup would certainly make for an interesting storyline, and it could do big pay-per-view numbers if played right in the media.
Unfortunately, Hendricks finds himself in a similar situation to Fitch, who had to win eight straight fights before finally getting a title shot in 2008.
(Yep, that guy in the middle is going to be the referee. And that’s not even the scariest part.)
It is a pretty well known fact that Frankie Edgar has been at the center of some controversial decisions during his run as the UFC lightweight champion (and before it, and after it…). It is also a pretty well known fact that Steve Mazzagatti has been responsible for more botched calls in his refereeing career then Carly Rae Jepsen was in 2012. It is also also a well known fact that many of the current judges in MMA couldn’t tell a leg kick from a kneebar if their lives depended on it.
So with all that in mind, you’d think the Nevada State Athletic Commission would try their hardest (or try at all, really) to ensure that the upcoming featherweight title fight between Edgar and Jose Aldo at UFC 156 would be held under the supervision of the sport’s finest referees and judges, as to avoid any controversy that could possibly come as a result of their own incompetence. You would be wrong. As MMAJunkie reports:
During a meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission tapped veteran referee Steve Mazzagatti to officiate UFC 156’s main event.
Additionally, the commission named Adelaide Byrd, Jeff Collins and Junichiro Kamijo to judge the featherweight title fight, which pits champ Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) against ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC).
My God, that was like reading over the list of dinner specials at a Tallahassee Denny’s establishment. At 4 a.m. Sure, the food looks decent enough when doctored up on the glossy menu, and besides, you’re already half in the bag. But then you happen to take a glance at the nutritional facts…and your heart suddenly sinks with the realization that there is no way your night doesn’t end with anything but rhythmic bouts of explosive diarrhea and shame.
(Yep, that guy in the middle is going to be the referee. And that’s not even the scariest part.)
It is a pretty well known fact that Frankie Edgar has been at the center of some controversial decisions during his run as the UFC lightweight champion (and before it, and after it…). It is also a pretty well known fact that Steve Mazzagatti has been responsible for more botched calls in his refereeing career then Carly Rae Jepsen was in 2012. It is also also a well known fact that many of the current judges in MMA couldn’t tell a leg kick from a kneebar if their lives depended on it.
So with all that in mind, you’d think the Nevada State Athletic Commission would try their hardest (or try at all, really) to ensure that the upcoming featherweight title fight between Edgar and Jose Aldo at UFC 156 would be held under the supervision of the sport’s finest referees and judges, as to avoid any controversy that could possibly come as a result of their own incompetence. You would be wrong. As MMAJunkie reports:
During a meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission tapped veteran referee Steve Mazzagatti to officiate UFC 156′s main event.
Additionally, the commission named Adelaide Byrd, Jeff Collins and Junichiro Kamijo to judge the featherweight title fight, which pits champ Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) against ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC).
My God, that was like reading over the list of dinner specials at a Tallahassee Denny’s establishment. At 4 a.m. Sure, the food looks decent enough when doctored up on the glossy menu, and besides, you’re already half in the bag. But then you happen to take a glance at the nutritional facts…and your heart suddenly sinks with the realization that there is no way your night doesn’t end with anything but rhythmic bouts of explosive diarrhea and shame.
Although we should breath a sigh of relief that Cecil Peoples’ name is nowhere to be found on the list of judges, it might interest you to know that Adelaide Byrd was the judge that recently scored all three rounds for Melvin Guillard in his one-sided loss to Jamie Varner at UFC 155. We’ll say that again, Adelaide Byrd scored all three rounds for Melvin Guillard at UFC 155. For those of you who didn’t catch that fight, we implore you to seek it out using whatever means possible, then ask yourself how someone who is paid to determine the winner of an MMA fight reached that conclusion. Oh yeah, and Byrd also scored the UFC 126 bout between Jake Ellenberger and Carlos Eduardo Rocha 30-27 for Rocha. So there’s that.
As for Collins and Kamijo? Well, you can take a look at their history of decisions here and here and draw your own conclusions. In our opinion, they should be able to balance out the inevitable suckitude that Byrd will bring to the table, although Collins’ 30-27 scoring of the Gleison Tibau/Khabib Nurmagomedov fight for Nurmagomedov should definitely raise some eyebrows.
On second thought, we should all just start preparing ourselves for Edgar vs. Aldo II. If Mazzagatti doesn’t misread a submission or rule an eye poke a TKO, the judges will surely score the fight a split decision for the wrong guy, or a draw. Maybe the rematch can be broadcast on the new Fox Sports 2channel – preferably as their second UFC event — so we can all look forward to discussing UFC on Fox Sports 2 II: Edgar vs. Aldo II. Should be fun.
Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz hit the microphones Wednesday to discuss their upcoming fight for St-Pierre’s UFC welterweight title, scheduled for March 16 at UFC 158.As you might expect, with Diaz, GSP and UFC president Dana White together at th…
Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz hit the microphones Wednesday to discuss their upcoming fight for St-Pierre’s UFC welterweight title, scheduled for March 16 at UFC 158.
As you might expect, with Diaz, GSP and UFC president Dana White together at the podium, there were some interesting insights and plenty of juicy takeaways. Here are my top five.
Enough talk about Chael Sonnen and how he’s “cutting the line” for this title opportunity. Regardless of anyone’s personal feeling about the match up, it’s going to take place and now all focus should be.
Enough talk about Chael Sonnen and how he’s “cutting the line” for this title opportunity. Regardless of anyone’s personal feeling about the match up, it’s going to take place and now all focus should be moved to deciphering the next number one contender. There’s a strong argument for several elite fighters to get the next crack at the light heavyweight belt, but with the recent announced match ups, only three possible options truly stand out.
Winner of Lyoto Machida / Dan Henderson
After his win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Dan Henderson was slated to face Jon Jones at UFC 151, but a knee injury prevented him from fighting. Henderson hasn’t fought since his injury, but a win over the dragon is enough to put any fighter on the top of the division, especially if he can do it with his famous H-bomb. Machida was set to fight Jon Jones after Henderson got his shot, but when Henderson pulled out of the fight, Machida declined to replace him, stating that he didn’t have enough preparation time. Machida had an impressive knockout over Ryan Bader, but what’s equally as impressive, is that he’s the only fighter to steal a round from Jon Jones in his last ten fights. A win over the former number one contender, and Strikeforce light heavyweight champion would be a huge reason as to why Machida deserves his rematch with the current champ. Before either one of them get a crack at the title holder, they must first face each other, but the winner may be granted what they’re looking for, a chance to fight for the title.
Winner of Alexander Gustafsson / Gegard Mousasi
Gustafsson has been a top ten light heavyweight for awhile now, but his win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua really put him on the board for a possible title fight. His last win puts him on a six fight win streak, more than other top ten light heavyweight. Gegard Mousasi may be making his UFC debut, but the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has more than twice as experienced as Gustafsson, with wins over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Renato Sobral, and Mark Hunt. Regardless of who is victorious, it wouldn’t be surprising if the UFC made them the official number one contender.
Glover Teixeira
After his first fight in the UFC, it was fans speculated that Teixeira would be a prospect in the light heavyweight division. His annihilation of Fabio Maldonado was nothing more than clarification that the hype behind him was absolutely legit, and that he needed a high level opponent. The UFC did just that and match him up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Teixeira is an extremely well rounded fighter who can submit his opponent just as easily as he can knock them out, and if he can muster up an impressive win over a big name like Rampage, I can see the UFC giving him the title opportunity.
Whoever the UFC ultimately forwards the title opportunity will be acceptable, as long as one of these fighters are selected.
A win over Jake 
