Tag: Aftermath

UFC 199 Aftermath: And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth…


(“Ehh budday, do you like apples?” (*holds tongue*) “Well go f*ck yourself, apple.” via Getty.)

“If…you believe the son of God came down to earth 2,000 years ago, and he killed himself for our sins, and he can walk on water…if you can believe that, then you can believe that I can knock the f–k out of Luke Rockhold two weeks from Saturday.”

When Michael Bisping first uttered these words to Luke Thomas after being called up on two weeks notice to face rival Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, they actually made a lot of sense. Surely, we were just as likely to see a man walk on water as we were to see Michael Bisping defeat a man who had absolutely obliterated him less than two years ago in their first meeting. And until very recently, I’d sooner commit the ultimate sin than see Bisping, a man whose assholery we have mocked for years, claim the middleweight title from anyone.

And yet, he did, and we’re honestly kind of stoked for him right now.

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(“Ehh budday, do you like apples?” (*holds tongue*) “Well go f*ck yourself, apple.” via Getty.)

“If…you believe the son of God came down to earth 2,000 years ago, and he killed himself for our sins, and he can walk on water…if you can believe that, then you can believe that I can knock the f–k out of Luke Rockhold two weeks from Saturday.”

When Michael Bisping first uttered these words to Luke Thomas after being called up on two weeks notice to face rival Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, they actually made a lot of sense. Surely, we were just as likely to see a man walk on water as we were to see Michael Bisping defeat a man who had absolutely obliterated him less than two years ago in their first meeting. And until very recently, I’d sooner commit the ultimate sin than see Bisping, a man whose assholery we have mocked for years, claim the middleweight title from anyone.

The thing is, Bisping kind of won us over with in those two weeks leading up to last weekend’s event, as we’re sure he did many of you. His penchant for pre-pubescent insults accompanied by and/or preceding finger pointing worked in his favor against an arrogant dullard like Rockhold and, dare we say it, helped paint him as a cheeky and borderline likable underdog headed into the biggest fight of his storied career (and then reminded us of why we disliked him in the first place immediately thereafter).

But credit where credit is due, Bisping might actually have learned something from theass-whipping he suffered at the hands of Rockhold. Something beyond “immediately apologize after yelling faggot at a press conference,” we mean. He went on a three fight win streak after it, the longest of his career since 2011, and somehow managed to legitimately defeat Anderson Silva despite being knocked out by Anderson Silva. And at UFC 199, he not only turned the tables on Rockhold, but put a worse beating on him than Vitor Belfort on TRT did en route to becoming the first Brit to ever hold UFC gold.

Michael Bisping.

Is the middleweight champion.

I swear, that doesn’t look right no matter how many times I carve it into my leg.

Think Michael Bisping winning a title was the craziest thing that happened at UFC 199? THINK AGAIN, because in addition to a pair of insane fights being announced at the event, Dan Henderson done killed Hector Lombard with the most insane finish of his career: a head kick, followed by what can only be described as a “mosh pit elbow.” Just check out the violence in those fight-ending shots. I know I should probably be admonishing Hendo for being so willing to inflict heinous damage on a clearly unconscious opponent, but damn no those elbows were just bleed tap or snap FACE THE PAIN NO ESCAPE CANYOUSTEPTOTHIS awesome.

If Henderson’s post-fight press conference appearance is to be believed, it looks like we may very well have seen the last of the 45-year old that killed Fedor. I’d prefer to see him KO Bisping for the title and then retire, but so be it. At least he’ll be going out in the most Dan Henderson fashion possible (which is getting your ass kicked, then kicking the other guy’s ass worse BTW).

What else? Oh right, Dominick Cruz defeated Urijah Faber by unanimous decision, thanks in part to his superior movement and unpunchability. The two continued to do verbal at the post-fight press conference. Water wet.

Speaking of things that we take for granted, Max Holloway won another fight. His ninth in a row, actually, over quite possibly his toughest test yet in former title challenger Ricardo Lamas. The final exchange of the fight was some of the most badass, baller sh*t we have seen ssince Lawler vs. MacDonald. Give this man a shot once your featherweight champion is done running the show.

The full results for UFC 199 are below.

Main card
Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold via first-round KO (3:36)
Dominick Cruz def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision
Max Holloway def. Ricardo Lamas via unanimous decision
Dan Henderson def. Hector Lombard via second-round KO (1:27)
Dustin Poirier vs. Bobby Green via first-round KO (2:53)

Undercard
Brian Ortega def. Clay Guida via third-round KO (4:40)
Beneil Dariush def. James Vick via first-round KO (4:16)
Jessica Andrade def. Jessica Penne via second-round TKO (2:56)
Alex Caceres def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision
Sean Strickland def. Tom Breese via split decision
Luiz Henrique da Silva def. Jonathan Wilson via second-round TKO (4:11)
Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic declared a split draw
Polo Reyes def. Dong Hyun Kim via third-round KO (1:52)

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UFC 189 Aftermath: For Slavery Fled, O Glorious Dead, When You Fell in the Foggy Dew

Us MMA fans are a diverse and passionate bunch, which is why it’s truly a rare occurrence to see us unite in agreement over a given topic no matter how trivial. Whether it’s a simple fight pick or our reactions to something bigger — the Reebok deal, for instance — you will always find a broad range of reactions, from positive to incredibly negative (also, hurtful, misogynistic, and erroneously punctuated), strewn across every forum and comments section on the web. But not with UFC 189.

In my 5 years of covering the sport, I don’t know if I’ve *ever* witnessed an event quite like UFC 189. Over the course of the night, our reactions unanimously shifted from excited, to shocked, to overwhelmed, to an emotion that is not yet defined but can best be described as “HWAHHHNNNGGG!!!!” We were *all* the Just Bleed guy by the end of Saturday night, and two days later, I’m still not ready to wash the paint off my chest. It just feels right, you know?

UFC 189 was the kind of event that made us remember why we’ve stuck by this sport as it’s biggest promotion has made one disastrous decision after another. It was the kind of event that almost transcended combat sports in its ability to entertain and captivate. It was the kind of event that Matt Saccaro couldn’t find any holes in, you guys.

The post UFC 189 Aftermath: For Slavery Fled, O Glorious Dead, When You Fell in the Foggy Dew appeared first on Cagepotato.

Us MMA fans are a diverse and passionate bunch, which is why it’s truly a rare occurrence to see us unite in agreement over a given topic no matter how trivial. Whether it’s a simple fight pick or our reactions to something bigger — the Reebok deal, for instance — you will always find a broad range of reactions, from positive to incredibly negative (also, hurtful, misogynistic, and erroneously punctuated), strewn across every forum and comments section on the web. But not with UFC 189.

In my 5 years of covering the sport, I don’t know if I’ve *ever* witnessed an event quite like UFC 189. Over the course of the night, our reactions unanimously shifted from excited, to shocked, to overwhelmed, to an emotion that is not yet defined but can best be described as “HWAHHHNNNGGG!!!!” We were *all* the Just Bleed guy by the end of Saturday night, and two days later, I’m still not ready to wash the paint off my chest. It just feels right, you know?

UFC 189 was the kind of event that made us remember why we’ve stuck by this sport as it’s biggest promotion has made one disastrous decision after another. It was the kind of event that almost transcended combat sports in its ability to entertain and captivate. It was the kind of event that Matt Saccaro couldn’t find any holes in, you guys.

I guess we should talk about Conor McGregor now, eh? At just 26 years old (and in less than two years), McGregor has accomplished more in the UFC than arguably any athlete before him — and before you freak out, understand that I’m talking about his accomplishments from a marketing perspective. The interim belt aside, McGregor has shattered damn near every attendance record the UFC has ever had — from weigh-ins to press conferences to Saturday’s sold out, 7.2 million dollar gate – and he did it against a replacement opponent. He’s united an entire nation of perhaps the most passionate fight fans of all, made believers out of (most of his) his doubters, brought megastar musicians to the octagon, and capped it all off with a simply remarkable performance against Chad Mendes on Saturday night.

Of course, McGregor’s rise to fame did not come without its costs. In a sobering moment following his win over Mendes, McGregor finally allowed his warrior facade (a poor choice of words, perhaps, but you get what I’m saying) to fade away, breaking down in tears as the interim strap was placed around his belt. In the evening’s post-fight press conference, McGregor was even more upfront, revealing that he had only spent 19 days home in the past year while breaking his back to promote a fight that has yet to come to fruition. He battled through injuries of his own and sacrificed more than most of us could ever imagine to compete last weekend, and my God did it pay off.

It’s so easy to forget (and MMA fans often do) that, behind the perpetual hype and trash talk, guys like McGregor are human beings trying to earn their way like the rest of us. And again, at just 26 years old, McGregor seems wise to this beyond his years. If the Irishman’s humble, inspiring words about there being “no such thing as a self-made man” in Saturday’s press conference didn’t make a fan out of you, nothing that McGregor will do probably ever will.

But of course, every great decision the UFC makes must inevitably be followed by an equally terrible one, and placing McGregor opposite Urijah Faber on the next season of TUF is about as boneheaded an idea as the UFC could have come up with. Putting your hottest prospect on the shelf for 6 months to film the umpteenth incarnation of a forgotten reality show…against a guy he won’t even fight in the end? STOP TRYING TO MAKE TUF A THING, UFC. IT’S OVER. That goddamn show is becoming like a zombie horde in its ability to continue ruining lives long after it has died.

But that’s about as far as I’m willing to dip into the negative. Instead, I suppose I should talk about the inevitable “Fight of the Year”-earning welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, but instead, I’ll just shares this moment that perfectly encapsulates my feelings about the fight:

Robbie. F*cking. Lawler.

What else did we learn on Saturday? Jeremy Stephens still hits like a truck, Gunnar Nelson hits a lot harder than Brandon Thatch probably gave him credit for, and Thomas Almeida fought through adversity and proved why everyone is so high on him right now. What a goddamn night for this brilliant, disheartening, uplifting, brutally frustrating, awesome sport.

Main card
Conor McGregor def. Chad Mendes via second-round TKO
Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via fifth-round TKO
Jeremy Stephens def. Dennis Bermudez via third-round TKO
Gunnar Nelson def. Brandon Thatch via submission (rear-naked choke)
Thomas Almeida def. Brad Pickett via second-round KO

Undercard
Matt Brown def. Tim Means via submission (guillotine)
Alex Garcia def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision
John Howard def. Cathal Pendred via split decision
Cody Garbrandt def. Henry Briones via unanimous decision
Louis Smolka def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision
Cody Pfister def. Yosdenis Cedeno via unanimous decision

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UFC 188 Aftermath: Another G.O.A.T Bites the Dust…


(via Getty.)

Time and time again, we like to convince ourselves that a champion is unbeatable. Anthony Pettis was unbeatable, except for when he was defeated by Clay Guida in his first UFC appearance, then again by Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185. Renan Barao was a pound-for-pound king, until he got torched by a massive underdog fighting on short notice. Cain Velasquez was unbeatable and the supposed greatest heavyweight of all time, except for when he was KO’d by Junior Dos Santos in just over a minute a handful of fights ago. For how often we like to claim that so and so is the best his division has ever seen, or better yet, the GOAT, we rarely seem to actually pause and look at the evidence to support such an audacious claim.

Heading into last weekend’s UFC 188, Cain Velasquez had not competed in 2 years, and held just 14 professional contests to his name, yet he was pushed with the same “greatest of all time” narrative that we’ve heard a dozen times over. And once again, we were only setting ourselves up for disappointment.

The post UFC 188 Aftermath: Another G.O.A.T Bites the Dust… appeared first on Cagepotato.


(via Getty.)

Time and time again, we like to convince ourselves that a champion is unbeatable. Anthony Pettis was unbeatable, except for when he was defeated by Clay Guida in his first UFC appearance, then again by Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185. Renan Barao was a pound-for-pound king, until he got torched by a massive underdog fighting on short notice. Cain Velasquez was unbeatable and the supposed greatest heavyweight of all time, except for when he was KO’d by Junior Dos Santos in just over a minute a handful of fights ago. For how often we like to claim that so and so is the best his division has ever seen, or better yet, the GOAT, we rarely seem to actually pause and look at the evidence to support such an audacious claim.

Heading into last weekend’s UFC 188, Cain Velasquez had not competed in 2 years, and held just 14 professional contests to his name, yet he was pushed with the same “greatest of all time” narrative that we’ve heard a dozen times over. And once again, we were only setting ourselves up for disappointment.

This is not to say that Velasquez’s shocking defeat at the hands of Fabricio Werdum was entirely his fault, or a result of the altitude, or whatever excuse you may have. “Cardio Cain” was simply outworked by a much more prepared fighter, which, after 2 years on the shelf, isn’t all that hard to understand. Werdum’s brilliant gameplan was evident from the very opening of the fight: minimize movement, pick his shots, and slowly wear down a man that few (if any) have ever worn down before. Werdum’s fight-ending guillotine on his exhausted opponent was as academic as it was bewildering. The GOAT, losing via guillotine?

Fabricio Werdum killed the king, as Jack Slack would say, though I suppose he was more of an absentee king than anything else. But now I ask: How long is it before we start labeling him as the greatest heavyweight of all time? Two title defenses? Three? It doesn’t matter, because anyone who knows anything about the sport knows who that title actually belongs to. In the meantime, we’ll just keeping slapping that label on who we deem necessary, as another G.O.A.T bites the dust.

As for the rest of UFC 188? Well, it kinda sucked. Chalk it up to the altitude or whatever you want, but there was a distinct lack of energy throughout the night. The only highlight-worthy moment from the co-main event match between Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez came in between rounds, when Alvarez attempted to clear his nose in the most amateurish of ways and only succeeded in sealing his eye shut. Kelvin Gastelum put a beating on a clearly dunzo Nate Marquardt, doing little to convince Dana White 9f giving him another shot at 170 pounds in the process. Cejudo and Torres underwhelmed, Yair Rodriguez surprised, and Cathal Pendred cashed in on all that unnecessary hate he had been receiving with one of the worst performances of the year. Freaking Cathal Pendred.

The full list of UFC 188 results is below.

Main card
Fabricio Werdum def. Cain Velasquez via submission (guillotine)
Eddie Alvarez def. Gilbert Melendez via split decision
Kelvin Gastelum def. Nate Marquardt via second-round TKO
Yair Rodriguez def. Charles Rosa via split decision
Tecia Torres def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision

Undercard
Henry Cejudo def. Chico Camus via unanimous decision
Efrain Escudero def. Drew Dober via submission (guillotine)
Patrick Williams def. Alejandro Perez via submission (guillotine)
Johnny Case def. Francisco Trevino via unanimous decision
Cathal Pendred def. Augusto Montano via unanimous decision
Gabriel Benitez def. Clay Collard via unanimous decision

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UFC 187 Aftermath: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same


(Jeez, Cormier can barely hold his belt before every dude-bro in the club tries to get a piece of him. Photo via Getty.)

It’s damn near impossible to look back at the flat-out fantastic card that was UFC 187 without first examining the bizarre series of events that shaped it. A seemingly invincible champion inside the cage was undone by his own actions outside of it. A seemingly broken former title challenger was suddenly thrust back into the title picture. An injury-plagued champion shrouded in doubt was finally set to face a morally (and chemically) dubious challenger in a fight some two years in the making. UFC 187 was a card surrounded by so many questions and disappointments (NURMY!!!) going in that its results could have easily left fans as unsatisfied as they would have been had the it been cancelled outright.

Thankfully, UFC 187 quickly and distinctly answered all our questions in a night of brilliant violence.

The post UFC 187 Aftermath: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same appeared first on Cagepotato.


(Jeez, Cormier can barely hold his belt before every dude-bro in the club tries to get a piece of him. Photo via Getty.)

It’s damn near impossible to look back at the flat-out fantastic card that was UFC 187 without first examining the bizarre series of events that shaped it. A seemingly invincible champion inside the cage was undone by his own actions outside of it. A seemingly broken former title challenger was suddenly thrust back into the title picture. An injury-plagued champion shrouded in doubt was finally set to face a morally (and chemically) dubious challenger in a fight some two years in the making. UFC 187 was a card surrounded by so many questions and disappointments (NURMY!!!) going in that its results could have easily left fans as unsatisfied as they would have been had the it been cancelled outright.

Thankfully, UFC 187 quickly and distinctly answered all our questions in a night of brilliant violence.

“Get your shit together, I’m waiting for you.”

It wasn’t easy to see why Daniel Cormier was being considered such a huge favorite over Anthony Johnson until the cage doors closed. Johnson was the bigger man (an insane fact considering the weight classes both men previously fought in), the more powerful puncher, and had shown a ridiculously improved grappling game in his recent wins over Phil Davis and Alexander Gustafsson. After he sent Cormier halfway across the canvas with a right hand early on, it appeared as if we were in store for another classic “Rumble” destruction, and a bad night at the office for the bookies.

But even more surprising than punch Johnson landed early was how Cormier recovered from it — instantly and no worse for the wear. From that point on, the fight was what many of us predicted from the Olympian: a grinding, relentless, wrestling-based attack that had broken many an opponent in the past. Like Vitor Belfort had managed on Johnson in his first UFC run, Cormier smothered “Rumble”, bounced his head off the canvas a few times, and finished him when he had all but given up.

While questions regarding Cormier’s “legitimacy” as champion will always remain in Jon Jones‘ absence, DC’s message to the former king was succinct and necessary as it could’ve been: We will fight again, just as soon as the courts allow.

In the meantime, it appears the newly-crowned champion will be content to put beating on Ryan Bader, who did all he needed to do to set up their grudge match during the evening’s post-fight presser. Cormier’s reaction to being called out by Bader, however, wasn’t exactly reflective of the “champion’s attitude” he had been preaching in the weeks leading up to UFC 187. How one of FOX’s go-to analysts can come across so polished inside the studio yet so unhinged outside of it seems to suggest that, like Jones, there may be more to Daniel Cormier than we thought there was.

“Hey, hey. Stop doubting me. It’s enough. Stop doubting me. You better join the team now. This is my last invitation. Join the team. I love you.”

At this point, I don’t even know what to say to the inexplicably-vehement, likely Brazilian h8rs of Chris Weidman. If his hilariously self-deprecating stories, his day-to-day heroism, or his recent interview with Ariel Helwani hasn’t already endeared you to the guy, then nothing will (also, you’re probably a dick). Chris Weidman is the honest, down-to-earth, anti-steroid-crusading champion that this sport needs right now, and better yet, he’s incredibly skilled to boot.

Matched up against a significantly less bulky but still scary Vitor Belfort, Weidman once again walked the walk in a savage one round thrashing of the legend and former light heavyweight champion. As most of us expected, Belfort came out like a man on fire early, unleashing a vicious barrage on Weidman against the cage that opened him up above his left eye. When the champ emerged from the blitzkrieg without even the slightest look of concern on his face, however, you could practically see the life drain from Vitor’s eyes. The fight was already over. Weidman secured a beautifully-timed takedown, quickly passed to mount, and unleashed the finishing shots from above that seemed to say “F*ck your 1200 ng/dL, I run this town.”

Weidman’s mental resolve is truly a thing to behold, and will hopefully see him to many a title defense down the line. If he can stay healthy, that is.

“Don’t ever f*cking say you’re sorry. You better go get that [belt] now. It’s your job.”

Those were the congratulatory words that Travis Browne offered Andrei Arlovski, his longtime friend, after being TKO’d by the Belarusian in what should easily be considered the frontrunner for “Fight of the Year” so far. In a fight that saw both men nearly finished, Arlovski continued his improbable run toward the heavyweight title with a brilliant upset of the #3 ranked heavyweight. I really have no words to describe how awesome this fight was, so let’s all just watch it a half dozen times in a row instead.

As is the case with Chris Weidman, I think it’s time we all stop doubting Arlovski and join the team.

So what are we left with now? Well for starters, an era in which names like Arlovski, Cerrone, and Bader (not to mention, Edgar and Lawler) have become part of their respective title pictures. Despite our apparent need for the UFC to create new stars, it seems we are equally content to rally around the ones who’ve been apart of the game for as long as many of us have been fans. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The full results for UFC 187 are below.

Main Card (on Pay-Per-View)
Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:39, R3
Chris Weidman def. Vitor Belfort via TKO (strikes) at 2:53, R1
Donald Cerrone def. John Makdessi via TKO (head kick) at 4:44, R2
Andrei Arlovski def. Travis Browne via TKO (strikes) at 4:41, R1
Joseph Benavidez def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3

Preliminary Card (on FOX Sports 1)
John Dodson def. Zack Makovsky via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), R3
Dong Hyun Kim def. Josh Burkman via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:13, R3
Rafael Natal def. Uriah Hall via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28), R3
Rose Namajunas (2-2) vs. Nina Ansaroff (6-4) — CANCELLED
Colby Covington def. Mike Pyle by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27), R3

Preliminary Card (on UFC Fight Pass)
Islam Makhachev def. Leo Kuntz via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:38, R2
Justin Scoggins def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3

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Fight Night Krakow Aftermath: The One In Poland…


(And in that moment, a million “Because PRIDE!!” chants were heard. Via Getty)

By Cody Severtson

UFC Fight Night: Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga II. — one look at the headliner of last Saturday’s mid-afternoon card could only think of one thing…or maybe one other thing. It was an event that featured many debuts, a few upsets, a tonne of terribly boring decisions, a completely uninterested crowd, and surprisingly, a pretty sweet finale. So let’s break it down, shall we?

“It wasn’t a COMPLETELY terrible card” is probably the highest praise you could give Fight Night 64. There were some spots of brilliance; Cro Cop’s vengeance, Maryna Moroz’s massive upset, and Aleksandra Albu successfully debuting, which will give CagePotato at least 6 more Hot Potato articles to “write” in the next year. There was, however, a good hour and a half stretch in the middle of the main card (and pretty much the entirety of the undercard) where absolutely nothing worthwhile happened. Fight Night 64 was a card that had us asking ourselves a question that we’ve been asking more and more these days:

Is this really what qualifies as the highest level of MMA?

The post Fight Night Krakow Aftermath: The One In Poland… appeared first on Cagepotato.


(And in that moment, a million “Because PRIDE!!” chants were heard. Via Getty)

By Cody Severtson

UFC Fight Night: Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga II. — one look at the headliner of last Saturday’s mid-afternoon card could only think of one thing…or maybe one other thing. It was an event that featured many debuts, a few upsets, a tonne of terribly boring decisions, a completely uninterested crowd, and surprisingly, a pretty sweet finale. So let’s break it down, shall we?

“It wasn’t a COMPLETELY terrible card” is probably the highest praise you could give Fight Night 64. There were some spots of brilliance; Cro Cop’s vengeance, Maryna Moroz’s massive upset, and Aleksandra Albu successfully debuting, which will give CagePotato at least 6 more Hot Potato articles to “write” in the next year. There was, however, a good hour and a half stretch in the middle of the main card (and pretty much the entirety of the undercard) where absolutely nothing worthwhile happened. Fight Night 64 was a card that had us asking ourselves a question that we’ve been asking more and more these days:

Is this really what qualifies as the highest level of MMA?

Constantly, we’ve been told that “THE UFC IS NOT WATERED DOWN!”, but can anyone from Zuffa honestly look me dead in the eye after this event and say the card that Fight Night 64 was reflective of the highest level of MMA in the world? Can the UFC really survive off cards where there are, at most, 3 ranked fighters? Or only two fights with relevance to their division? Or where 50% of competitors are making their debut? Or where the other 50% are on losing streaks?

Just look at some of the stats about the fighters featured on this card and tell me that we’re wrong.

-Tonight featured 10 fighters making their debut, 4 of whom surprisingly went 2-2 against UFC “vets.”

-Of the 14 UFC “vets” on the card (no other way to describe them), only 3 were on win streaks! That’s 11 fighters total on losing streaks of 1 loss or more, with the main eventers combined for a UFC streak of 5 losses.

-Of those win streaks, Sergio Moraes‘ stood tallest at 2 wins in a row. You read that right…THE BEST ACTIVE STREAK AT THIS EVENT WAS 2 WINS.

-The remaining 11 UFC “vets” were ALL on losing streaks.

-Despite being a card in Poland, Polish fighters went 2-7 on the night, with wins coming from Bartosz Fabinski and the guy who gave Peter Sobotta his first win in the UFC after 4 tries.

-Of the 24 fighters on the card, only 2 fighters were ranked in the top 10: Jimi Manuwa, who was somehow still ranked #7 despite a year of inactivity (smh), and Joanne Calderwood, ranked #6 in a division of 26 people.

-Speaking of layoffs, 5 fighters who competed last weekend had not seen cage time in a year or more.

-Aleksandra Albu had the longest gap between fights at 615 days (and don’t tell me she hasn’t had 4 other fights in that time not otherwise listed)

-Damian Stasiak should have some leniency when the brass is evaluating pink slips, as he had the quickest turnaround of any fighter on the card, fighting only 14 days ago..

-Fight Night 64 was the first event since Ben Henderson vs. Brandon Thatch to award a “Fight of the Night” bonus

On top of these stats, we were treated with the announcement of Jacare Souza’s new opponent; stepping up on 6 days’ notice is none other than…Chris Camozzi. This is obviously great news for Chris, who once again finds himself back in the UFC after a pretty horrible losing streak in his last run.

Chris Camozzi vs. Ronaldo Souza 2 is the co-main event for UFC on Fox. This is the state of the UFC in 2015. Clearly, you should be thrilled for this barnburner to come, as many of us were.

“At least the found someone…”

“Acceptable on short notice…”

No. Not “at least.” Not “acceptable.” If you are a fan who spent $1500 on floor tickets or $250 for the nosebleeds, you are not thinking, “Oh cool, the event I spent my hard earned money on to go see is falling to pieces. I guess that’s acceptable, at least they found someone!

Granted, I don’t think anyone in Newark, New Jersey is buying tickets to go see Jacare Souza fight. but it’s the principle. You have a top 10 opponent whose opponent was injured at the last-minute — nothing you can do about that. But since the best you can apparently do on 6 days notice is get a guy with an abysmal record in his last 5 fights, you just roll with it because of the “Any Given Sunday” mentality or whatever. This is the UFC absolutely 100% skirting around the issue that they are seriously lacking contenders, quality opponents, and/or the desire to pay these higher-ranked athletes what they deserve to accept a fight on such short notice.

And then this is how you defend it.

As a fan base, should we really just take whatever we can get? Should we be expected to applaud the fact that at the very least “somebody stepped up?” Did anyone ask “Hey, if nobody relevant to the division steps up than maybe… nobody will mind if we just delay this fight?” I mean it’s not like Chris Weidman’s rocking 3 fights a year at his pace!

From a numbers perspective, why did anyone think that a rematch between these two was really the solution? Chris Camozzi left the UFC after going 4 losses straight against decreasing quality of competitors. Jacare Souza (who I guess I should mention, absolutely smoked Camozzi LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO) has knocked Okami out of the UFC, beat Francis Carmont AND finished Gegard Mousasi (something Lyoto fucking Machida could not do). But because Camozzi begged to take the fight well I guess then it makes sense and we should all shut up and accept it because we’re dummies and we’re not true fight fans and this card is stacked and he’s a beast and it’s a great rematch and such and such, well ok that’s the end of that discussion I guess…

Look, the MMA community is a tough group to please; it’s never going to happen where collectively everyone says “you know what, we all like this!” However, THINGS LIKE THIS are not going to change the MMA collective’s opinion on the declining quality of cards in the UFC! And no amount of dummy-calling is going to convince me otherwise!

But hey, not everything sucked about Fight Night 64. We got to watch a 40-year old Mirko Cro Cop — whose last two victories in MMA came over the same guy — score redemption by hammering out a rival who happened to be on a two-fight losing streak. And it was glorious. And that’s where the glory ends.

Excuse me while I see myself out.

The post Fight Night Krakow Aftermath: The One In Poland… appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC 185 Aftermath/Results: The King is Dead, Long Live the King


(Photo via Getty)

It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.

That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”

To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.


(Photo via Getty)

It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.

That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”

To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.

Again, this is not a dig, but rather an observation. I sure as hell didn’t give Dos Anjos much of a chance despite his insanely impressive credentials in recent years, and was already salivating at the idea of watching Pettis face his first true test as champion in Khabib Nurmagomedov, once the latter beat Donald Cerrone (which now that I think about it, likely just condemned Nurmy to a loss).

The point is, us MMA fans — from the most casual observers right up to the credentialed media members — like to get a few steps ahead of ourselves when it comes to the cream of the crop. We see a couple flashy finishes over legitimate competition and we suddenly start hyping up “superfights” and dream/freak show matches that are light years away from materializing, then devoting countless articles to them as if they’ve been already booked. Do you guys realize that “we’ve” spent the past two weeks talking about the prospect of Ronda Rousey vs. a man and/or Laila Al? (*shudders*)

And the MMA Gods, well, they find our hubris disconcerting. Disturbing even. Which is why every now and again, they throw a Dos Anjos into the gears. “This is what you get,” they bellow from on high, “This is what you get for trying to book Pettis vs. Aldo.”

And that’s exactly what happened last weekend. For five unbelievable, grueling rounds, the guy best known for being on the wrong end of a Jeremy Stephens uppercut in his UFC debut handed a dynamic, unstoppable champion the ass-whooping of a lifetime. To call it shocking would be a woeful undersell. Rafael Dos Anjos torched Anthony Pettis. We were ready to believe that the guy who got wrestlefucked by Clay Guida in 2011 had developed +1000 takedown defense mana in the years since, and oh how we were wrong. Even more bewildering than Dos Anjos’ complete domination in the grappling department was his dismantling of Pettis, a taekwondo master with the dexterity of a Cirque Du Soleil performer, in the striking department, which saw the then-champion’s eye swollen shut by the start of the championship rounds.

Pettis fought his heart out on Saturday, but he still came up short against a guy who started off his UFC career two in the hole. And with his loss, we are once again reminded that no one in the UFC is unbeatable (except for Jon Jones) (and Ronda Rousey). The king is dead, long live the king.

Speaking of unbeatable, time will only tell how long it takes for us to bestow that status on Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who came out like a woman possessed against Carla Esparza. Anyone who had seen the Embedded series knew that the Polish muay-Thai champion had managed to get inside her cookie-loving opponent’s head, but the extent to which she had wasn’t made obvious until Esparza entered the arena. Despite having Metallica’s “Harvester of Sorrow” blaring in the background, Esparza looked like anything but a woman ready for a fight. She looked extremely nervous. Checked out. Dare I say it, scared.

Her nervousness was apparent in every second she was in the fight. Esparza’s “underrated” striking — as it was being billed — was non-existent. Overwhelmed from the get-go by Jedrzejczyk’s prowess on the feet, the TUF 20 winner repeatedly dove in on sloppy and telegraphed single leg attempts with zero setup whatsoever. She was a sitting duck, and Jedrzejczyk wasted no time taking advantage of it. The second round TKO win for Jedrzejczyk capped off a flawless performance, and a credit is also due to referee Don Turnage for the most merciful title fight stoppage since Silva vs. Franklin.

What else did we learn at UFC 185? Well, that Johny Hendricks sure can wrassle, which was already a bit of a given. Struggling to deal with the constant forward attack of Matt Brown early, Hendricks slowed things down with his repeated takedowns and G-n-P, then busted up a tiring Brown on the feet in the latter rounds for good measure. It wasn’t the most exciting performance (and one that Hendricks was highly critical of himself), but the former champ looked well on his way to a trilogy fight with Robbie Lawler.

What else, what else? Oh, Alistair Overeem loves flying knees, and Roy Nelson likes eating flying knees just as much. That Nelson was able to withstand such an onslaught from the K1 champion and keep ticking really tells you something about the power Mark Hunt packs in his hands. With the win, it seems we might just finally get to see Overeem vs. Dos Santos transpire in the near future. Here’s hoping.

And finally, I’d like to pour one out for poor, poor Chris Cariaso. The guy is about as forgettable as they come in terms of both personality and skillset, and has absolutely been mauled in his past two fights. No wonder he was hoping Henry Cejudo missed weight.

Full results for UFC 185 are below.

Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza by TKO, round 2
Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown by unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision

Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout by KO, round 2
Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez by TKO, round 2
Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank by submission, round 2
Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland by TKO, round 3
Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis by TKO, round 2
Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey by TKO, round 1
Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco by TKO, round 2