A lot of people think Chris Weidman is the #1 contender right now. If Rashad made a move from 205 down to 185, it’d be safe to say he’s now #1. If Rashad won on Saturday night and wanted to go to 185, we would consider that.
As much as I’d like to use this opportunity to get on my soapbox about the UFC’s recent insistence on matching up their champions with challengers from entirely different weight classes based solely on name value, I’d rather like to applaud Dana for actually considering Evans here. For starters, he would at least be theoretically coming off a win in this scenario, and that in and of itself is more than the UFC has been capable of delivering in recent times.
On the other hand, can you imagine how humiliating this must be to the fighters of the middleweight division? These poor bastards just don’t seem to have it in them to string together enough wins/talk enough trash to get their own champion on board for a title fight, to the point that the president of the promotion has been forced to find guys who would damn near kill themselves making weight just to fill in the void.
(Dear God, can you imagine how funny this is going to look when Silva puts his creative spin on it?)
A lot of people think Chris Weidman is the #1 contender right now. If Rashad made a move from 205 down to 185, it’d be safe to say he’s now #1. If Rashad won on Saturday night and wanted to go to 185, we would consider that.
As much as I’d like to use this opportunity to get on my soapbox about the UFC’s recent insistence on matching up their champions with challengers from entirely different weight classes based solely on name value, I’d rather like to applaud Dana for actually considering Evans here. For starters, he would at least be theoretically coming off a win in this scenario, and that in and of itself is more than the UFC has been capable of delivering in recent times.
On the other hand, can you imagine how humiliating this must be to the fighters of the middleweight division? These poor bastards just don’t seem to have it in them to string together enough wins/talk enough trash to get their own champion on board for a title fight, to the point that the president of the promotion has been forced to find guys who would damn near kill themselves making weight just to fill in the void.
And if you don’t find this whole situation hilarious enough as it is, just wait until you hear what Rashad Evans has to say about all this (via MMAJunkie, emphasis mine):
I’m not a good matchup for him. I’m sure he’s not chomping at the bit to fight me. He doesn’t really have anything to gain from fighting me, so I don’t know if he would even want to fight me. I don’t know why he would go out of his way to fight somebody like me.
Besides that, I love Anderson. He’s a great guy outside of the cage, and he’s one of my favorite fighters to watch inside the cage. To me, to fight him would be a little bittersweet because I know I would beat him. I know I would beat him.
You just have to appreciate that kind of confidence when it’s delivered by a guy who did little more than serve as a punching bag to Jon Jones in his last title fight.
Of course, Evans’ performance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria will say more about the direction in which he’s headed than anything else. And based on the current betting lines, we’re going to guess that he’ll come out of that one just fine. While there’s no doubt that he could pose some problems for Anderson — he’s basically a more experienced Chris Weidman with better hands — are any of you Taters enticed by this potential matchup?
The first pay-per-view event of 2013 is set to kick off this weekend from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and with it comes a lot of questions about the fighters involved. Can Frankie Edgar show Rashad Evans that dropping down a weight class to fight for a title is a wise decision? Will Alistair Overeem manage to stake his claim for #1 contendership without screwing everything up again? Will Dana White finally get the revenge he’s always wanted by strangling Steve Mazzagatti to death after he blows a call during the main event?
All these questions and more will be answered in just two short days, so follow us after the jump as we highlight one bout from the undercard and all the main card bouts in order to ensure that you start off the new year with a little extra cash in your pocket. All betting lines come courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Volkmann is about as predictable as fighters come: a wrestler with limited striking who has no qualms about grinding out a 3 round decision. At 155lbs, all of Volkmann’s fights have ended up on the ground, so this may boil down to whether or not Green will be able to submit Volkmann off his back like Paul Sass was able to do at UFC 146. At -380, I am willing to bet that Volkmann is able to avoid getting caught by Green’s submissions and score a decision win.
A Team Alpha Male fighter in a non title fight is generally a safe bet, but Benavidez sitting at -250 is a little too rich for my tastes, however. Ian McCall is as durable as they come and even though he has had a rough go in life (especially of late), he has the speed and craftiness to give Joseph all he can handle. The prop bet that this fight goes the distance is the safest bet here.
By Dan “Get Off Me” George
The first pay-per-view event of 2013 is set to kick off this weekend from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and with it comes a lot of questions about the fighters involved. Can Frankie Edgar show Rashad Evans that dropping down a weight class to fight for a title is a wise decision? Will Alistair Overeem manage to stake his claim for #1 contendership without screwing everything up again? Will Dana White finally get the revenge he’s always wanted by strangling Steve Mazzagatti to death after he blows a call during the main event?
All these questions and more will be answered in just two short days, so follow us after the jump as we highlight one bout from the undercard and all the main card bouts in order to ensure that you start off the new year with a little extra cash in your pocket. All betting lines come courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Volkmann is about as predictable as fighters come: a wrestler with limited striking who has no qualms about grinding out a 3 round decision. At 155lbs, all of Volkmann’s fights have ended up on the ground, so this may boil down to whether or not Green will be able to submit Volkmann off his back like Paul Sass was able to do at UFC 146. At -380, I am willing to bet that Volkmann is able to avoid getting caught by Green’s submissions and score a decision win.
A Team Alpha Male fighter in a non title fight is generally a safe bet, but Benavidez sitting at -250 is a little too rich for my tastes, however. Ian McCall is as durable as they come and even though he has had a rough go in life (especially of late), he has the speed and craftiness to give Joseph all he can handle. The prop bet that this fight goes the distance is the safest bet here.
Jon Fitch showcased both his entertaining side andhis excellent submissions defense against Erick Silva in his last outing at UFC 153. Demian Maia is a submission specialist –perhaps the best submission fighter Fitch has ever faced — and the very fact that Jon has managed to stay away from being submitted in his UFC career may be his undoing here. Fitch’s baiting style may catch up to him here, as I believe Maia will be both technically sound and strong enough to submit Fitch if the opportunity presents itself. Demian Maia for the submission victory upset at +150 is the most appealing underdog bet on the main card due to the high likelihood that this fight will end up on the mat.
The -400 line suggests Alistair will be able to find Silva’s chin (which, come on) before this fight finds the ground. Antonio Silva was not afraid to trade with Browne in his KO victory at UFC on FX 5, which could be problematic should he entertain that same notion with perhaps the most elite striker in the heavyweight division. I’m going to take the obvious bet here and say that Alistair stuffs the takedown attempts and uses his superior striking to become the no.1 contender to Junior’s Cain’s heavyweight title.
As much as it would be nice to think Lil’ Nog will catch Rashad in this fight, the steep price of -500 for Evans basically crushes those dreams. Not sure how this fight was thought up by the match makers, but if Lil’Nog’s track record against wrestlers in the UFC is any indication, Rashad would not be an ideal opponent for competitive purposes. Evans will crawl out at the opening bell, use his speed to exploit the openings created by Lil’ Nog’s boxing heavy offense, and take this fight to the mat, where he might even finish the Brazilian legend.
Aldo is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, a consensus top five pound-for-pound fighter who has rarely shown vulnerability inside the Octagon. Edgar will be going into his 7th straight title fight at a weight class that many feel he should have been fighting at all along. There are several variables in this fight, but the most glaring one is whether or not Edgar’s lead leg will be able to withstand Aldo’s onslaught of kicks long enough to use his excellent conditioning as a determining factor. This will undoubtedly be Aldo’s toughest fight to date, as many believe he is fighting the true lightweight champion here and a guy who will dictate a pace that Aldo will not be able to match. Honestly, it might just be best to sit back and enjoy this superfight, because the lines just aren’t wide enough to warrant a big bet.
– How likely is it that Edgar will become the third UFC fighter in history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to become a UFC champion in a second weight division?
– Is anybody buying the idea that Bigfoot’s size and power will be a challenge for Overeem?
– What would Rashad Evans need to do, hypothetically, to convince you that he deserves another crack at Jon Jones?
– The UFC injury curse has been eerily quiet lately, with very few withdrawals of marquee fighters over the past two months. So, were Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta justified in throwing those virgins into the volcano?
And now that we have your attention, you might as well watch this stuff too…
– How likely is it that Edgar will become the third UFC fighter in history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to become a UFC champion in a second weight division?
– Is anybody buying the idea that Bigfoot’s size and power will be a challenge for Overeem?
– What would Rashad Evans need to do, hypothetically, to convince you that he deserves another crack at Jon Jones?
– The UFC injury curse has been eerily quiet lately, with very few withdrawals of marquee fighters over the past two months. So, were Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta justified in throwing those virgins into the volcano?
And now that we have your attention, you might as well watch this stuff too…
Here’s the trailer for Bobby Razak‘s upcoming documentary on MMA fighter Amanda Lucas, including some choice quotes from her father, Star Wars creator George Lucas.
And finally: The Diaz brothers get pulled over by officer Steven Seagal, and Ariel Helwani teleports into Johny Hendricks‘s living room. Thanks, prebek.
(Cormier, seen here after placing his life savings on Staring while wearing his lucky spandex.)
Well, it’s official, Strikeforce is planning to go out with a bang, and by “a bang” we mean “a public execution.” From the very first moment they announced that newly appointed heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would be facing complete unknown Dion Staring in a non-title affair, we knew that the odds would be astronomically in Cormier’s favor, but -2000?!! MMAFighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti first broke the news via his Twitter:
Wow. Daniel Cormier opens as a -2000, I repeat, -2000 favorite over Dion Staring. Not quite the same as Frank Mir, is it?
This begs one to ask: Is Staring coming into this fight following a recent amputation? He’s a no-namer, sure, but the man also sports a 28-7 record compared to Cormier’s 10-0. Sure, Cormier’s fought a far higher level of opponents in those 10 fights, but at these odds, Staring has a better chance of knocking himself unconscious in the sauna than he does of beating Cormier. Hell, I have a better chance of knocking out Cormier in the sauna then this poor bastard does.
For a little perspective, consider this: Anderson Silva — that would be ten time defending UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva — was favored at around -1350 over Stephan Bonnar. The highest discrepancy in Strikeforce history came when Cris Cyborg fought Jan Finney at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, which also topped out around -2000. The highest discrepancy in MMA history (to my knowledge) came when Antonio Rogerio Nogueria fought Sokoudjou at Pride 33 (-2500) — a fight the former ended up losing, by the way.
(Cormier, seen here after placing his life savings on Staring while wearing his lucky spandex.)
Well, it’s official, Strikeforce is planning to go out with a bang, and by “a bang” we mean “a public execution.” From the very first moment they announced that newly appointed heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would be facing complete unknown Dion Staring in a non-title affair, we knew that the odds would be astronomically in Cormier’s favor, but -2000?!! MMAFighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti first broke the news via his Twitter:
Wow. Daniel Cormier opens as a -2000, I repeat, -2000 favorite over Dion Staring. Not quite the same as Frank Mir, is it?
This begs one to ask: Is Staring coming into this fight following a recent amputation? He’s a no-namer, sure, but the man also sports a 28-7 record compared to Cormier’s 10-0. Sure, Cormier’s fought a far higher level of opponents in those 10 fights, but at these odds, Staring has a better chance of knocking himself unconscious in the sauna than he does of beating Cormier. Hell, I have a better chance of knocking out Cormier in the sauna then this poor bastard does.
For a little perspective, consider this: Anderson Silva — that would be ten time defending UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva – was favored at around -1350 over Stephan Bonnar. The highest discrepancy in Strikeforce history came when Cris Cyborg fought Jan Finney at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, which also topped out around -2000. The highest discrepancy in MMA history (to my knowledge) came when Antonio Rogerio Nogueria fought Sokoudjou at Pride 33 (-2500) — a fight the former ended up losing, by the way.
But seriously, don’t use that last bit of information to justify placing a bet on Staring. Just don’t. It would be like eating that last wilted 7-11 hot dog at 3 a.m. because you were that drunk. Sure, it will satisfy you carnal needs for the time being, but as soon as your body digests the decision you’ve made, you’ll be feeling much, much worse for doing so.
(It isn’t often that you can document the exact moment someone’s UFC career went to shit, yet here we are…)
If you were to ask any knowledgeable fan of the sport circa 2008 what they thought of Luiz Cane, they would likely tell you that he was “one of the most underrated LHW’s in the division.” Following an unsuccessful UFC debut — which was halted when Cane accidentally struck James “Curse Watch” Irvin with an illegal knee — “Banha” absolutely blistered Jason Lambert and Rameau Sokoudjou in back-to-back contests, then scored a solid UD victory over Steve Cantwell to solidify his place as a rising contender. No, not the five fight losing streak Steve Cantwell, we’re talking about the Brian Stann TKOing, Al-Hassan arm-breaking Steve Cantwell. Cane’s chin appeared to be made of iron, platinum, unobtanium, or whatever element you’d prefer to compare it to, and combined with his solid takedown defense and devastating hands, looked to be on the fast track to a title shot.
But then, things fell apart (as they oft do in MMA) and Cane would quickly find himself fighting not just for a win, but to remain employed under the promotion in which he had once thrived.
(It isn’t often that you can document the exact moment someone’s UFC career went to shit, yet here we are…)
If you were to ask any knowledgeable fan of the sport circa 2008 what they thought of Luiz Cane, they would likely tell you that he was “one of the most underrated LHW’s in the division.” Following an unsuccessful UFC debut — which was halted when Cane accidentally struck James “Curse Watch” Irvin with an illegal knee — “Banha” absolutely blistered Jason Lambert and Rameau Sokoudjou in back-to-back contests, then scored a solid UD victory over Steve Cantwell to solidify his place as a rising contender. No, not the five fight losing streak Steve Cantwell, we’re talking about the Brian Stann TKOing, Al-Hassan arm-breaking Steve Cantwell. Cane’s chin appeared to be made of iron, platinum, unobtanium, or whatever element you’d prefer to compare it to, and combined with his solid takedown defense and devastating hands, looked to be on the fast track to a title shot.
But then, things fell apart (as they oft do in MMA) and Cane would quickly find himself fighting not just for a win, but to remain employed under the promotion in which he had once thrived.
It all started when Cane squared off against PRIDE veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 106. You see, word had it that this “Minotoro” guy — who was making his UFC debut at the time — packed some power of his own. Word also had it that he had a brother who had been around the block a time or two. Despite this, many members of the MMA media were pegging Cane as the favorite, being that Rogerio and Cane had shared a similar opponent in Sokoudjou and one of them was KTFO by him. In either case, it took roughly two minutes for Lil’ Nog to throw enough left hooks to ensure that Cane would not only fall over, but would never truly pick himself back up. This kind of fighter-changing moment would be mirrored at the very next UFC pay-per-view event when Frank Mir would take a moderately entertaining kickboxer in Cheick Kongo and turn him into a lethargic, hesitant grappler for the rest of his career*.
For his next outing, Cane would be paired against another hard-hitting PRIDE veteran making his UFC debut in Cyrille Diabate. Although he managed to rock Diabate on at least one occasion this time out, just 17 seconds would be the only thing separating his second TKO loss from his first by the time this one was over.
After managing to end up on the right side of a first round TKO in his next outing against Elliot Marshall, Cane was given a golden opportunity to impress in front of his home country at UFC 134, where he would take on fellow slugger Stanislov Nedkov. It would not go well. Despite battering and bloodying his foe up early in the fight, you could almost see the hesitance in Cane’s eyes. “Bahna” would go down in the first (again) and Brazil would suffer its only loss to foreign competition that night. It was at this point that we placed Cane on our list of fighters we wished were better than they actually were, hoping it would provide the spark of motivation that he seemed to be missing.
For his final shot at redemption, Cane faced TUF 11 alum Chris Camozzi at UFC 153. It was a match that he was favored to win, due in part to the fact that Camozzi lacked the kind of KO power that had given Cane trouble in the past. Yet in the end, Cane would find himself swinging at air for the majority of the three round affair and eating a hellstorm of leg kicks and crisp combos to boot. According to Cane’s manager, the Brazilian’s sluggishness could be attributed to the pair of surgeries he was forced to undergo and the fact that he took the fight against doctor’s orders:
[Cain] comes from two knee surgeries. At first, the doctor made a mistake and he had to have another. To compete at that level, with a lot of athletes, it’s hard. He made a great fight.
He’ll keep fighting, and hope to be back soon to the UFC. People have to understand that being cut from the UFC is not a disaster. Once you’ve got a name in the UFC, things get easier for a comeback. Every athlete is likely to have that phase. Soon he wins and returns to the Ultimate.
*Kongo’s Hail Mary KO of Pat Barry, while remarkable, does not change this fact. One fluke KO does not compensate for his abysmal performances against Travis Browne, Paul Buentello, Matt Mitrione, and Shawn Jordan.
(We’ll give you an A for effort, Rashad, but we don’t think you have the..ahem… skin tone to pull off Sloth from The Goonies this Halloween.)
For those of you who were hoping to see Rashad Evans test the waters at middleweight, it looks like you’ll have to keep waiting, because it has been reported by the Brazilian outlet SporTV that Evans will be facing off against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at a TBD event planned for Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas.
Prior to his failed light heavyweight title bid at UFC 145, the TUF 2 winner scored big victories over Phil Davis — who trounced Nogueira back at Ultimate Fight Night 24 — and Tito Ortiz — who was defeated by Lil’ Nog in December of last year. Following hsi win over Ortiz, Nogueira recently called out Forrest Griffin — who lost his title to Evans at UFC 92 and defeated Ortiz in his last appearance — but was beat out for the spot by the last man to defeat him: Phil Davis. So according to MMA math…I’m illiterate.
(We’ll give you an A for effort, Rashad, but we don’t think you have the..ahem… skin tone to pull off Sloth from The Goonies this Halloween.)
For those of you who were hoping to see Rashad Evans test the waters at middleweight, it looks like you’ll have to keep waiting, because it has been reported by the Brazilian outlet SporTV that Evans will be facing off against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at a TBD event planned for Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas.
Prior to his failed light heavyweight title bid at UFC 145, the TUF 2 winner scored big victories over Phil Davis — who trounced Nogueira back at Ultimate Fight Night 24 — and Tito Ortiz — who was defeated by Lil’ Nog in December of last year. Following hsi win over Ortiz, Nogueira recently called out Forrest Griffin — who lost his title to Evans at UFC 92 and defeated Ortiz in his last appearance — but was beat out for the spot by the last man to defeat him: Phil Davis. So according to MMA math…I’m illiterate.
In all honesty, this is not a good matchup for Nogueira, who struggled against the grappling prowess of guys like Jason Brilz, Ryan Bader (who defeated Brilz but lost to OrtiSTOP DOING THIS!), and Davis, who himself was out-grappled by Evans…you know what, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions for this one. Needless to say, Nogueira is likely going to try and keep this thing standing, which Evans shouldn’t have all that much trouble with if Chuck Liddell has anything to say about it.
The matchup has not been officially confirmed by the UFC as of this write up, but according to MMAFighting, a source close to one of the fighters has all but confirmed this. So unless Evans suddenly gains the gusto to call out Anderson Silva, we will more than likely be seeing these two square off in early February.
