One FC Set to Rock Manila with Biggest MMA Show the Philippines Has Ever Seen

The Philippines is home to more MMA fans than any other country in Asia, apart from Japan, and why the UFC decided to go to Macau first is a mystery. Fortunately for the Filipino MMA fans, ONE FC has stepped in to fill the breach with the biggest and b…

The Philippines is home to more MMA fans than any other country in Asia, apart from Japan, and why the UFC decided to go to Macau first is a mystery. Fortunately for the Filipino MMA fans, ONE FC has stepped in to fill the breach with the biggest and best show the country has ever hosted.

ONE FC “Destiny of Warriors” is going down on August 31st and anyone who is suffering from UFC overload after the crazy recent schedule of mediocre cards should check it out because it has got some of the top fighters from Asia, Australia and South America.

Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki, who has been the top pound-for-pound fighter in Asia for as long as I can remember, is still waiting for an opponent, as is former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC veteran Renato Sobral.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski knows who he will be fighting, top Australian heavyweight Soa Palelei who has won his last seven fights. Arlovski has won his last two fights but Palelei is a top quality fighter and this will not be an easy fight for ‘The Pitbull’.

Dream bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes has also been handed a very difficult ONE FC debut against CFC bantamweight champion Gustavo Falciroli. The Brazilian born fighter was selected to appear on TUF: ‘The Smashes’ as a lightweight but didn’t get his Australian citizenship through in time and is much bigger than Fernandes, who was last seen winning the Dream bantamweight grand prix on new year’s eve.

The fourth Australian (if you count Falciroli) on the card is 16-1 heavyweight Tony Bonello who is taking on Rolles Gracie. There are three Gracies on the card which must be some sort of record, and none of them have been given easy fights.

Gregor Gracie goes up against Nicholas Mann, an Australian who lives in the Philippines and has a 4-1 record while Igor Gracie has been matched with 8-6 Korean Jung Hwan Cha. Mann is the URCC light heavyweight champion and his fight with Gracie fight is taking place at a catchweight of 80 kgs.

ONE FC “Destiny of Warriors” will have three Filipino fighters but only one of them has an opponent and that is Eric Kelly who will be going up against former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. Kelly is 7-0 and is URCC featherweight champion and Pulver has been doing better lately after some bad results.

There will be two more URCC champions on the card and both are still waiting for opponents. URCC flyweight champion Kevin Belingon suffered the first loss of his career against Masakazu Imanari but is still 9-1 and Eduard Folayang is the most famous MMA fighter in the Philippines but is also coming off a loss to Ole Laursen which saw his record slip to 11-2

Phil Baroni might be in his twilight years but he still knows how to sell a fight and will be desperate for a win when he takes on BJJ black belt Rodrigo Ribeiro. These two trained together at Evolve MMA in Singapore apparently and this promises to be a straightforward striker vs grappler match.

With Babalu, Aoki, Arlovski, Fernandes and three Gracies this could be the best non UFC card ever to take place outside of Japan. It’s taking place at the same arena as the Thriller in Manila and ONE FC confidently predict a 16,500 sell out, MMA in the US might be starting to get stale due to saturation but in Asia, fans still can’t get enough.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

CagePotato Roundtable #15: What’s Your Favorite MMA Photograph of All Time?


(Photographer unknown. Level of badassery incalculable.)

For this installment of the CagePotato Roundtable, we invited a few of our photographer buddies over to discuss our all-time favorite MMA photos. Judging by our selections, shots of agony and defeat have a special attraction to them. I think it’s because they allow us to get close to an incredibly intense, transcendent moment, without having to experience the pain of it. And isn’t that why we love MMA in the first place? Our special guests for today are…

Lee Whitehead, author of Blunt Force Trauma & The Mammoth Book of Mixed Martial Arts. You can see more of his work at www.leewhitehead.com, on Instagram, and on Twitter @leewhiteheadmma.

– Jon Sluder, who shot Bellator 34 for us back in October 2010. Check out his recent highlights at Sluder.net.

Jason Wright, who shot UFC 119 for us back in September 2010; if you follow us on Facebook, you recently saw one of his highlights from that night. You can see more of J-Dog’s work at jasonwrightphotography.com.

Disclaimer: There’s a short list of MMA photographers who have asked us to stop posting their work on this site due to copyright issues, and a couple of contributors to this week’s column happened to select photos taken by those photographers. We’ve used stand-ins in those cases, with links to the actual photos. Also, we don’t know why BJ Penn is so heavily represented in this column. The guy always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

Lee Whitehead

(Click image for larger version.)

I have many favorite photos from all the years shooting MMA but this one has to rank amongst the very top purely because of all the flack and accusations of photoshop manipulation with the blood spurt; professionals can spot a ringer, and this ain’t one. The disappointing thing is that all negative comments detract from our main strength as MMA photographers — to understand the sport, spot smaller nuances, read the timing, and capture a key defining moment in a fight. To me, this brief slice of time from UFC 80 serves as the perfect reminder of how dominant BJ Penn was in his prime.


(Photographer unknown. Level of badassery incalculable.)

For this installment of the CagePotato Roundtable, we invited a few of our photographer buddies over to discuss our all-time favorite MMA photos. Judging by our selections, shots of agony and defeat have a special attraction to them. I think it’s because they allow us to get close to an incredibly intense, transcendent moment, without having to experience the pain of it. And isn’t that why we love MMA in the first place? Our special guests for today are…

Lee Whitehead, author of Blunt Force Trauma & The Mammoth Book of Mixed Martial Arts. You can see more of his work at www.leewhitehead.com, on Instagram, and on Twitter @leewhiteheadmma.

– Jon Sluder, who shot Bellator 34 for us back in October 2010. Check out his recent highlights at Sluder.net.

Jason Wright, who shot UFC 119 for us back in September 2010; if you follow us on Facebook, you recently saw one of his highlights from that night. You can see more of J-Dog’s work at jasonwrightphotography.com.

Disclaimer: There’s a short list of MMA photographers who have asked us to stop posting their work on this site due to copyright issues, and a couple of contributors to this week’s column happened to select photos taken by those photographers. We’ve used stand-ins in those cases, with links to the actual photos. Also, we don’t know why BJ Penn is so heavily represented in this column. The guy always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

Lee Whitehead

(Click image for larger version.)

I have many favorite photos from all the years shooting MMA but this one has to rank amongst the very top purely because of all the flack and accusations of photoshop manipulation with the blood spurt; professionals can spot a ringer, and this ain’t one. The disappointing thing is that all negative comments detract from our main strength as MMA photographers — to understand the sport, spot smaller nuances, read the timing, and capture a key defining moment in a fight. To me, this brief slice of time from UFC 80 serves as the perfect reminder of how dominant BJ Penn was in his prime.

John Sluder

Megumi Fujii entered her Bellator 34 fight against Zoila Gurgel with an undefeated record of 22 consecutive wins. This bout was a war; both fighter threw bombs at each other all night. In the end, Gurgel had her hand raised in a very controversial victory. I was lucky to have a position next to the gate, and After Fujii exited the cage, I was able to get this shot. It was one of the few shots I question myself about taking. Was I being voyeuristic in a moment of deep despair? Should I have allowed this person a private moment to feel their pain? I was very empathic to her feelings. By my account she had won that fight.

Jared Jones

Although I wouldn’t really dub this my “favorite” MMA photo of all time, being that Chuck Liddell was and always will be one of the guys I would willingly storm the gates of Hell with, it’s easily the most iconic, and the first that came to my mind when this Roundtable topic was dropped in my lap. Let’s face it, before some guy called Anderson Silva arrived and decimated every UFC record known to man, Chuck Liddell was the scariest dude on the planet — the Governor to our Woodbury, if you will. Not only was “The Iceman” a champion, he abided by the Kenny Florian maxim of fight-finishing while Ken-Flo was still popping zits on his face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalog.

The point is, Liddell was untouchable. And when the only man to actually defeat him (a fact that most fans weren’t even aware of at the time) without receiving a proper revenge beatdown in return (*cough* Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn *cough*) entered the UFC and managed to do so a second time at UFC 71, it was like watching a public execution of a beloved children’s cartoon. The Iceman era was over, never to return, and this photo captured that sickening realization all too well. As Big John huddles over a semi-conscious Liddell, it almost appears as if the fallen champ is still trying to grasp at, or is perhaps reflecting on, the fleeting remnants of his empire as they disintegrate around him. It’s a heartbreaking, yet beautifully composed and symmetrical shot, and portrays the conflicting mix of emotions present when the metaphorical torch is passed better than any other MMA photo I’ve ever come across.

*pours out a drink for the Iceman and cries into Kimiko-tan

Jason Moles

(See the actual photo on POYI.org)

For years, we’ve watched what many consider modern-day Gladiators battle it out for honor, glory, and cold hard cash. And in the countless fights we’ve been witness to, only a select few, by comparison, have been etched in our minds and the history books forevermore. From the joy of winning to the agony of defeat. From snapped limbs and KO faces to fighters nearly falling out of the ring. At the end of the night when the blood has dried and the swelling has subsided, these warriors remain mortal men like the rest of us, men with families whom they love and cherish. No more emotionally charged (and controversial) photo in the MMA community exists than the one of Mark Coleman with his young daughters after losing to Fedor Emelianenko at Pride 32.

The above photo is my favorite in MMA because of what I remember when I look upon it. First you have Mark Coleman, a dad, enjoying his most precious “prize” — his daughters. Despite him losing and his deformed face at the time, Coleman got on the mic, called out for his daughters, and got down on their level to explain that he was okay. To hear “The Hammer” tell it, as soon as he saw his daughters he immediately had to turn into a father. Then you have his girls, whose love and concern for their father is far greater than any world championship or over-sized check. The father-daughter relationship is more important than trophies or medals, and he knew it. Knowing his kids just watched him get beat up, he made a bold (and great) decision to make sure he could console them as soon as he could. Good job, dad. How can you not be moved when looking at this picture? Sure, he collected a paycheck for the brutality he suffered in the ring, but he did it for us.

Ben Goldstein

(See the actual photo at LasVegasSun.com)

You sign a contract to fight a certain opponent on a certain night. Either you think you’re better than the other guy, or you think you can figure out a way to win. You train as hard as you can. You craft a game-plan. When the time comes, you do your absolute best. And in an instant, you realize that it wasn’t enough. Your confidence was a lie. None of it mattered.

Anybody can get caught with a punch they didn’t see coming, or snatched up in a submission hold because they left their arm out for a split-second too long. You can excuse those losses in your mind. “He was the better man that night,” etc. But to be dominated from bell to bell for 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, or 25 minutes — that’s tough. At a certain point you realize that the miraculous comeback isn’t going to happen. Plan A didn’t work, and Plan B didn’t work, and you never really came up with a Plan C. Your opponent is hurting you in ways that you simply don’t know how to defend, and he’s getting stronger as you get weaker. You’re losing. You’ve lost.

They say the eyes are the windows the the soul, right? I look at Sam Morris’s photo of BJ Penn being dominated by Georges St. Pierre, and I can’t find it. The spirit has left the body, and the body is just waiting for it to be over. Penn is one of those fighters — like Tito Ortiz, like Quinton Jackson — who used to be the best in the world, and has managed to convince himself that on some level, he’ll always be the best in the world, or at least capable of greatness on any given night. And I wonder what Penn was telling himself the moment this photo was taken at UFC 94, when reality was smashing him in the face.

Jason Wright

One of the most memorable MMA photos for me is this photo of Rashad Evans after he was KO’ed by Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 (I can’t find a version with the proper photo credits). There’s so much to like here. The swollen, bloody lips, the unevenly rolled down eyes — you can tell that no one is home. He looks more alien than human. Let’s face it, unless your name is Rashad Evans, your first reaction to the photo is probably one of laughter. And if you are not a fan of Evans, you may keep on laughing for a few. I still grin every time I look at his photo, and for me that is a key factor to a great photograph — it stirs emotion.

George Shunick

Fedor Emelianenko might have the best photo resume of any MMA fighter to date. The ice cream cones. The Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory. Wearing a wig with Wanderlei. The iconic photos from any of his matches. But that said, there is one image that stands above all the rest, not just because it encapsulates the aura and the ability Fedor possessed in his prime, but because it does so to a degree that is virtually unrivaled in MMA photojournalism. It’s the one of Fedor walking away from the corporeal vessel that previously housed Andrei Arlovski’s soul, after it was exorcised through a combination of flawless technique and very, very flawed technique.

It’s a glimpse at what was once the inexorable consequence of attempting to dethrone the MMA world’s unstoppable force — Arlovksi’s chin was clearly not the immovable object. The Pitbull lies prone, eyes open but unseeing, not so much a vanquished victim as an obstacle that happened to be in the way of something that refused to divert course. Fedor casually walks away, seemingly indifferent to the fact that he has just knocked out yet another challenger and retained his place among the sport’s elite in front of a sold-out arena of screaming fans.

Along with his almost decade-long reign atop the heavyweight division, the perception of Fedor as a cool, emotionless enigma, contributed to his mythic status among MMA fans. he was the MMA equivalent of Anton Chigurh. Until, of course, he wasn’t anymore. This Sherdog photograph manages to capture not only that sense of invincibility and mystique Fedor possessed, but the inevitable outcome that accompanied his fights at the time. It didn’t merely capture the qualities of the fighter himself but also an era of the heavyweight division — and MMA in general — which that fighter managed to define.

Aaron Mandel

Francis Specker‘s photo of the H-Bomb being deployed on Michael Bisping is my favorite MMA photograph of all time. This bout went down at UFC 100 — arguably the biggest card in terms of hype and talent the promotion had ever put on — and it was the culmination of the “Ultimate Fighter: US vs. UK” season where Bisping came across to most viewers as a complete and total douchebag. When Hendo knocked him out standing up and then lined up the totally unnecessary, yet somehow totally awesome follow up shot that this photo captures, many fans went wild.

This photo also marks the moment when Dan Henderson, who has a title shot coming up next month, got his mojo back. When Henderson came over from Pride in 2007 and lost two title shots at both middleweight and light-heavyweight, his career momentum was seriously derailed. His next two fights were rather unexciting decision wins, and going into the Bisping fight, people were losing interest in this seemingly aging veteran. With his destruction of Bisping, Henderson put himself back on the map, and while he left the UFC over a contract dispute then lost a disappointing fight to Jake Shields, Henderson’s next three fights were violent finishes and his return to the UFC was one of the greatest wars ever seen.

If you have a topic idea for a future Roundtable column, please send it to
[email protected].

Shinya Aoki and Andrei Arlovski Grace ONE Fighting Championship Manila Presser

ONE Fighting Championship held a press conference yesterday at the Discovery Hotel in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines for its ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, presenting internationally renowned fighters Shinya Aoki, Andrei Arlovski, Bibiano Fernandes,…

ONE Fighting Championship held a press conference yesterday at the Discovery Hotel in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines for its ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, presenting internationally renowned fighters Shinya Aoki, Andrei Arlovski, Bibiano Fernandes, Gustavo Falciroli, Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang and Eric “The Natural” Kelly.

ONE FC CEO and owner Victor Cui—who shared to the media that his parents are Filipinos from the Southern province of Cebu—proclaimed that for the Singapore-based MMA company’s Philippine debut,

We have put together the greatest card in ONE FC history for our Manila event. When you put Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes  on the same card, one can expect nothing less than an epic night of world-class MMA action like Manila has never seen before…We are beyond excited to hold this incredible card in such a passionate and pride driven city.

For the Filipino fight fans, the main event of “Asia’s largest MMA organization” pits DREAM Bantamweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes against CFC Australia Champion Gustavo Falciroli, with the venue being the historic SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. (The Araneta Coliseum also hosted the legendary boxing event “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975, among other important sporting and non-sporting events in the nation’s history.)

In the other matches, former UFC heavyweight champion Arlovski will face Soa Palelei of Australia. Another past UFC champion, Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver, will face undefeated Filipino fighter Eric Kelly.

Aoki and popular hometown fighter Folayang so far have unnamed opponents, which Cui said will be announced soon.

Clearly still the most world-famous fighters in the card, Aoki, Pulver and Arlovski aim to impress the Filipino fans with emphatic wins in their debut in Manny Pacquiao’s home country.

DREAM Lightweight Champion Aoki looks to rebound from his TKO loss in his last fight, against Eddie Alvarez in Bellator 66 last April. (Negotiations are still ongoing for a possible fight between Aoki and Kazushi Sakuraba, according to the Tobikan Judan’s interpreter.)

Little Evil Pulver wants to make it a two-fight winning streak, after winning his last match, at flyweight, last April.

Arlovski is currently running high on two consecutive knockout wins versus Ray Lopez and Travis Fulton, respectively, both in ProElite fights.

The Pit Bull commits not to repeat his folly versus legend Fedor Emelianenko, who knocked him out three years ago during their Affliction main event after he attempted an ill-timed flying knee. He vows,

I’m not going to jump again like I did to Fedor. I lost a lot of money. I learned from those fights.

 

Note: The ONE FC organizers advise MMA fans who plan to watch One FC: Pride of a Nation live to purchase tickets at TicketNet Philippines as early as possible to avoid the precedent in Indonesia, when there were fans who were not able to get inside the jam-packed fight venue of its Battle of Heroes event, after the tickets were sold out.

This upcoming event will be shown via live stream at www.onefc.com, at delayed telecast on ESPN Star Sports and local Philippine TV’s Channel 13 AKTV, which will run a series of build-up episodes beginning August 19.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Shinya Aoki and Andrei Arlovski Grace ONE Fighting Championship Manila Presser

ONE Fighting Championship held a press conference yesterday at the Discovery Hotel in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines for its ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, presenting internationally renowned fighters Shinya Aoki, Andrei Arlovski, Bibiano Fernandes,…

ONE Fighting Championship held a press conference yesterday at the Discovery Hotel in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines for its ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, presenting internationally renowned fighters Shinya Aoki, Andrei Arlovski, Bibiano Fernandes, Gustavo Falciroli, Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang and Eric “The Natural” Kelly.

ONE FC CEO and owner Victor Cui—who shared to the media that his parents are Filipinos from the Southern province of Cebu—proclaimed that for the Singapore-based MMA company’s Philippine debut,

We have put together the greatest card in ONE FC history for our Manila event. When you put Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes  on the same card, one can expect nothing less than an epic night of world-class MMA action like Manila has never seen before…We are beyond excited to hold this incredible card in such a passionate and pride driven city.

For the Filipino fight fans, the main event of “Asia’s largest MMA organization” pits DREAM Bantamweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes against CFC Australia Champion Gustavo Falciroli, with the venue being the historic SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. (The Araneta Coliseum also hosted the legendary boxing event “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975, among other important sporting and non-sporting events in the nation’s history.)

In the other matches, former UFC heavyweight champion Arlovski will face rising star Soa Palelei of Australia. Another past UFC champion, Jens Pulver, will face undefeated Filipino fighter Eric Kelly.

Aoki and popular hometown fighter Folayang so far have unnamed opponents, which Cui said will be announced soon.

 

Clearly still the most world-famous fighters in the card, Aoki, Pulver and Arlovski aim to impress the Filipino fans with emphatic wins in their debut in Manny Pacquiao’s home country.

DREAM Lightweight Champion Aoki looks to rebound from his TKO loss in his last fight, against Eddie Alvarez in Bellator 66 last April. (Negotiations are still ongoing for a possible fight between Aoki and Kazushi Sakuraba, according to the Tobikan Judan’s interpreter.)

Little Evil Pulver wants to make it a two-fight winning streak, after winning his last match, at flyweight, last April.

Arlovski is currently running high on two consecutive knockout wins versus Ray Lopez and Travis Fulton, respectively, both in ProElite fights.

The Pit Bull commits not to repeat his folly versus legend Fedor Emelianenko, who knocked him out three years ago during their Affliction main event after he attempted an ill-timed flying knee. He vows,

I’m not going to jump again like I did to Fedor. I lost a lot of money. I learned from those fights.

The former UFC heavyweight titlist was the wackiest in the press conference, even imitating Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas character in the action movie “300” (when told by a reporter that they look alike) by extending his arms laterally and shouting, “This is Sparta!

And this is ONE FC.

 

Note: The ONE FC organizers advise MMA fans who plan to watch One FC: Pride of a Nation live to purchase tickets at TicketNet Philippines as early as possible to avoid the precedent in Indonesia, when there were fans who were not able to get inside the jam-packed fight venue of its Battle of Heroes event, after the tickets were sold out.

This upcoming event will be shown via live stream at www.onefc.com, at delayed telecast on ESPN Star Sports and local Philippine TV’s Channel 13 AKTV, which will run a series of build-up episodes beginning August 19.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver Both Book Matches They Will Probably Lose at OneFC: ‘Pride of a Nation’

Andrei Arlovski knocked out MMA photos gallery Fedor Emelianenko Affliction
(You mean to tell me that the guy lying face down in a pool of his own blood WAS ALIVE THE ENTIRE TIME?! No. F’ing. Way.) 

Not too long ago, it was announced that former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver had signed with Singapore-based upstart promotion OneFC, and were scheduled to compete on the August 31st scheduled ‘Pride of a Nation’ card against opponents that had yet to be named. Given the pair’s name power, not to mention their hard runs of luck as of late, it was assumed by most that they would likely be featured in a pair of squash matches to help build up their name (also, confidence) within the promotion. It now appears that we have severely underestimated the fellas at OneFC. Or overestimated, we’re not sure.

In either case, Arlovski has been booked to take on fellow UFC castaway and dangerous striker Soa Palelei, who is coming off a 12 second…we guess you’d call it beating, of Bob “Bitch Tits” Sapp at CFC 21 in May. And although just a few years ago, a guy like Palelei would never even be mentioned in the same breath as “The Pit Bull”, we may very likely see him listed as the favorite heading into this matchup as it stands today. Palelei packs a wallop of a punch and Arlvoski’s off switch is easier to find than a dwarf among midgets, so expect “The Hulk” to let his fists go early and often in this one and Arlovski to crumble violently to the mat shortly thereafter. Let’s just hope that Arlovski has finally undergone that Tango and Cash jaw replacement surgery he always wanted, or he is going to get royally FUBAR’d in this one.

Andrei Arlovski knocked out MMA photos gallery Fedor Emelianenko Affliction
(You mean to tell me that the guy lying face down in a pool of his own blood WAS ALIVE THE ENTIRE TIME?! No. F’ing. Way.) 

Not too long ago, it was announced that former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver had signed with Singapore-based upstart promotion OneFC, and were scheduled to compete on the August 31st scheduled ‘Pride of a Nation’ card against opponents that had yet to be named. Given the pair’s name power, not to mention their hard runs of luck as of late, it was assumed by most that they would likely be featured in a pair of squash matches to help build up their name (also, confidence) within the promotion. It now appears that we have severely underestimated the fellas at OneFC. Or overestimated, we’re not sure.

In either case, Arlovski has been booked to take on fellow UFC castaway and dangerous striker Soa Palelei, who is coming off a 12 second…we guess you’d call it beating, of Bob “Bitch Tits” Sapp at CFC 21 in May. And although just a few years ago, a guy like Palelei would never even be mentioned in the same breath as “The Pit Bull”, we may very likely see him listed as the favorite heading into this matchup as it stands today. Palelei packs a wallop of a punch and Arlvoski’s off switch is easier to find than a dwarf among midgets, so expect “The Hulk” to let his fists go early and often in this one and Arlovski to crumble violently to the mat shortly thereafter. Let’s just hope that Arlovski has finally undergone that Tango and Cash jaw replacement surgery he always wanted, or else he is going to get royally FUBAR’d in this one.

Since dropping three straight in Strikeforce (two by way of KO), Arlovski has actually put together a two-fight win streak over 7-3 journeyman Ray Lopez and most recently 247-49 (!!!!) journeyman Travis Fulton, whom Arlovski scored a vicious head kick finish over in the very last second of their otherwise snoozer of a scrap at the abysmal ProElite 2: Big Guns event last year. Palelei has not lost since succumbing to a first round submission via strikes at the hands Daniel Cormier at an XMMA event back in 2010. Though we can’t confirm this, we imagine Cormier likely broke at least one of his hands during that performance as well. Seriously, it’s like those things are comprised of equal parts boron and tinsel.

Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver appears to have booked himself into the exact opposite conundrum, as he is scheduled to square off with undefeated submission specialist Eric Kelly at the same event. Pulver has been able to slightly turn things around as of late, collecting five wins in his past seven contests, but prior to that, he suffered five straight losses, including three straight by way of submission, to round out his WEC career. Pulver most recently picked up a win over 3-4 Jesse Thorton in a flyweight contest in April.

Pulver’s submission game (or lack thereof) will truly be put to the test against a guy like Kelly, who has scored all but one of his professional wins by way of submission. Kelly is 2-0 under the OneFC banner, and last scored a UD win over Bae Young Kwon at OneFC 4: Destiny of Warriors last month. If you recall, this was the same event that saw Roger Huerta nearly decapitated by a soccer kick that instantaneously gave thousands of PRIDE fanboys a full on nerdgasm upon witnessing. For those of you who fell into this demographic (raises hand), don’t worry: It’s not gay if someone almost dies.

Pulver has been flirting with retirement for what feels like ages, but do you think he can pull off what will easily be his biggest win in years come August 18th?

J. Jones

The 5 Worst Chins in MMA History

In the world of heavy leather and slick submissions, not everyone can have the best of it all. For every strength a fighter has, in most cases, he has a weakness to counter. One may have great submission skills but lack standup, while another might be …

In the world of heavy leather and slick submissions, not everyone can have the best of it all.

For every strength a fighter has, in most cases, he has a weakness to counter. One may have great submission skills but lack standup, while another might be a great striker but lack KO power.

But one attribute almost all fighters fear lacking is a solid chin.

In MMA, odds are that if you fight long enough, you’re going to have your chin checked. And a prosperous career can get derailed if a solid chin is lacking.

Here is a list of five fighters who have found themselves getting dropped frequently or knocked out cold because they had a weak chin.

Begin Slideshow