Tag: Aaron Simpson

UFC on Fuel: Which Fighter Has the Most to Lose?

There are fighters who are in danger of getting cut on the UFC on Fuel card, but few have built up the momentum that Aaron Simpson has, and none are in as precarious a situation.Simpson has won three fights in a row and is moving ever closer to title c…

There are fighters who are in danger of getting cut on the UFC on Fuel card, but few have built up the momentum that Aaron Simpson has, and none are in as precarious a situation.

Simpson has won three fights in a row and is moving ever closer to title contention as long as he wins his next few fights. There should be no problems with this except his age.

Simpson is 37. Unless he can find the fountain of youth or whatever magical trick Randy Courture was able to use to stay dominant in MMA he is quickly becoming long in the tooth. He may not have had a storied stint in MMA with only an 11-2 career, but most of it has been against decent opposition.

His best opponents, Chris Leben and Mark Munoz, both beat him in back-to-back losses, and it took three victories before he made it back to the main card.

Aside from one fight in 2000, Simpson’s career started in 2007 while he was in his early 30s.

Simpson is facing a relatively new face in Ronny Markes, but if he looses it will take at least a year for him to build back up to TV card status.

He doesn’t have that time. By the time he turns 40 he will need something akin to a Cinderella story to get past the ever evolving young guns being brought into the UFC. If he wants to win a title he will need a miracle.

Simpson needs to not only win, but look impressive at the same time. If he can win a bonus it will only help him.

If he loses to the unknown Markes it will be devastating.

The UFC is based on pay-per-view, and many of the buys they get are based on the best fighting the best, though perception plays a part as well. When a fighter loses to a top name fans are more willing to brush it under the rug then when a no name beats them.

Simpson would be in less danger if he was facing another Munoz or Leben. He isn’t.

Facing a fighter like Markes has no real upside for Simpson. If he runs through him, he was supposed to. If he doesn’t then he wasn’t that great a fighter.

That isn’t true, but again, perception is part of the whole when it comes to the UFC brand.

So Simpson needs to look amazing and get his fourth win in a row. If he does he will move on to greater things and have a shot of fighting for the title before he is 39.

If not, he may want to reassess his job options.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel 1: Live Results and Analysis of the UFC’s First Main Card on Fuel TV

Diego Sanchez may have finished 2011 with a controversial win over Martin Kampmann, but at UFC on Fuel 1, he gets a chance to silence the critics and prove he can win one on his own instead of just “gutting one out” inside the Octagon.In order to do it…

Diego Sanchez may have finished 2011 with a controversial win over Martin Kampmann, but at UFC on Fuel 1, he gets a chance to silence the critics and prove he can win one on his own instead of just “gutting one out” inside the Octagon.

In order to do it, however, he must step into enemy territory and not only defeat Omaha, Nebraska’s own Jake Ellenberger, but do so in such a way as to leave no doubt that he beat Ellenberger as badly as the judges claim that he beat Kampmann.

Underneath this headliner is a heavyweight clash of titans, as Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve faces off against multi-promotional veteran and consummate finisher Dave “Pee Wee” Herman.

Also, Ronny Markes drops down to middleweight to face Aaron “A-Train” Simpson, undefeated heavyweights do battle when Croatian-blooded Ohioan prospect Stipe Miocic faces British submission wizard Philip De Fries, and finally, TUF 14 bantamweight finalist T.J. “The Viper” Dillashaw looks to fully halt Walel “The Gazelle” Watson’s momentum.

So, you wanted it all right here at Bleacher Report MMA for this, the best UFC on Fuel: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger live (blog) coverage found anywhere in the world?

Well, MMA world, you wanted it…so you got it!

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Booking Roundup: Brookins vs. Yahya, Simpson vs. Markes at UFC on FUEL

(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?)  Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, […]


(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?) 

Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, the first of which being a featherweight match-up between grappling wizards Jonathan Brookins and Rani Yahya. After lateral dropping his way through season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, Brookins recently saw a four fight win streak snapped at the hands of featherweight contender Eric Koch in a three rounder reminiscent of Couture vs. Vera that saw Brookins unable to get Koch to the mat.

Yahya, on the other hand, is likely fighting for his future in the UFC. Just 1-3 in his past four, with the lone win coming against a struggling (and last minute replacement) Mike Brown, we last saw Yahya on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo‘s next challenger, Chad Mendes. Prior to the Brown win, Yahya was outclassed by Takeya Mizugaki in another decision at WEC 48 and TKO’ed by future flyweight champ Joseph Benavidez at WEC 45.

Elsewhere on the card, Aaron Simpson will be looking to improve on the three fight win streak he has quietly built up over the year when he faces Ronny Markes in the Brazilian’s sophomore octagon bout. “A Train” rebounded from the only losing streak of his career (a two-fighter to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz) with three straight unanimous decisions over Mario Miranda, Brad Tavares, and Eric Schafer at UFN 24, UFC 132, and UFC 136, respectively.

Fresh off his own unanimous decision victory over Karlos Vemola in his UFC debut at UFC Live 5, Markes will be looking to derail *snicker* the veteran Simpson, which would be no new task for Markes. In his last fight before being signed by the UFC, Markes outpointed former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho at an IFC event in April. A win over Filho may not be what it used to, but work with me on this one.

Headlined by a welterweight bout between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez, UFC on Fuel TV is set for February 15th from the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

You know the deal, who takes these, and how?

-Danga 

Simpson vs. Markes, Brookins vs. Yahya Added to UFC on FUEL Event

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.

Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces…

Filed under: ,

The inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.

Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces Brazilian Ronny Markes in a 185-pound fight, while Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins will face submission wizard Rani Yahya.

Simpson (11-2) has tried to work his way into middleweight contention with consecutive victories over Eric Schafer, Mario Miranda and Brad Tavares, wins that came on the heels of a two-fight losing streak.

To continue that run, he’ll have to beat Markes, who made his octagon debut on short notice and out-worked Karlos Vemola to a decision win in an August event. That match was contested at light-heavyweight, and in this one, Markes (12-1) will attempt to stake out some ground in the UFC‘s 185-pound division.

The featherweight bout between Brookins and Yahya features a pair of fighters who prefer to look for victory on the ground. Brookins (12-4) has eight of his wins by tapout, while Yahya (16-7) has 14 submission wins. Both men are coming off losses.

UFC on FUEL 1 will take place on February 15, 2012, and though the venue isn’t official, it is likely to emanate from CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. It features a main event of Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger.

 

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Simpson vs. Markes, Brookins vs. Yahya Added to UFC on FUEL Event

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.

Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces…

Filed under: ,

The inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.

Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces Brazilian Ronny Markes in a 185-pound fight, while Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins will face submission wizard Rani Yahya.

Simpson (11-2) has tried to work his way into middleweight contention with consecutive victories over Eric Schafer, Mario Miranda and Brad Tavares, wins that came on the heels of a two-fight losing streak.

To continue that run, he’ll have to beat Markes, who made his octagon debut on short notice and out-worked Karlos Vemola to a decision win in an August event. That match was contested at light-heavyweight, and in this one, Markes (12-1) will attempt to stake out some ground in the UFC‘s 185-pound division.

The featherweight bout between Brookins and Yahya features a pair of fighters who prefer to look for victory on the ground. Brookins (12-4) has eight of his wins by tapout, while Yahya (16-7) has 14 submission wins. Both men are coming off losses.

UFC on FUEL 1 will take place on February 15, 2012, and though the venue isn’t official, it is likely to emanate from CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. It features a main event of Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger.

 

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UFC 136 Picks

Main card Lightweight Championship bout Frankie Edgar (c) vs Gray Maynard I always would pick Frank Edgar over opponents, but against Gray Maynard I think the last fight Gray just gassed himself out. I don’t expect that again. I’ve got Gray in this one. Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo (c) vs Kenny Florian I want

Main card

Lightweight Championship bout Frankie Edgar (c) vs Gray Maynard

I always would pick Frank Edgar over opponents, but against Gray Maynard I think the last fight Gray just gassed himself out. I don’t expect that again. I’ve got Gray in this one.

Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo (c) vs Kenny Florian

I want to pick Kenny Florian, but I can’t. Aldo faster, more technique, more dangerous.

Middleweight bout Chael Sonnen vs Brian Stann

Chael Sonnen. Expect takedown and grind down.

Lightweight bout Joe Lauzon vs Melvin Guillard

In the past Lauzon would be an easy pick here. However, Melvin Guillard has improved so much in the submission and submission defense. I think Guillard is going to be too much for Lauzon.

Featherweight bout Leonard Garcia vs Nam Phan

Nam Phan. A little more technique here might be the key to victory.

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs Jorge Santiago

I like the improvements Demian Maia has made to his standup game and the agressive stance he has taken. If it goes to the ground Maia is better there, but Santiago is no slouch. Standup probably goes to Santiago, but hes definitely more wild.

Lightweight bout Anthony Pettis vs Jeremy Stephens

Such a good fight. Both have great striking with Stephens being the bigger power puncher of the two. However, Jeremy is more wild. If it goes to the ground, Pettis, has a good advantage. On the feet I think its even, slight edge to Pettis, due to reach.

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Heavyweight bout Joey Beltran vs Stipe Miocic

I can take the Mexicutioner in the dark here.

Featherweight bout: Zhang Tie Quan vs Darren Elkins

Pass

Middleweight bout Aaron Simpson vs Eric Schafer

Interesting match. Two zombies that don’t stop coming forward despite taking damage. Schafer is not as good as doing damage as Simpson is. If it stays up I say Simpson.

Middleweight bout Steve Cantwell vs Mike Massenzio

Steve Cantwell. I don’t know what skills Massenzio has to beat Cantwell.