It’s as simple as this — Saturday’s UFC on Fox 7: Henderson vs. Melendez card features top-ranked fighters and heavy stakes. As such, we love getting a lil’ something extra in anticipation of it. This UFC on Fox 7: Road to the Octagon documentary gives us just that, including behind-the-scenes footage with Benson Henderson (competing at a Jiu Jitsu tournament with his mom, working out with the NFL’s Larry Fitzgerald), Gilbert Melendez (at home and at work with his ex-fighter fiance and business partner, chilling with his tight-knit ‘Skrap Pack’), Frank Mir (crying, and on a flight to New Mexico to conduct the first training camp of his career away from his wife and twenty kids) and more pre-fight action from Josh Thomson, Nate Diaz, and Daniel Cormier.
It’s a good way to waste your lunch hour today — better, at least, than talking to that weird guy at the office who always just eats a can of soup for lunch, like, every day. (Seriously? Get some protein in there, you’re a grown ass man.) Anyway, watch it and tune in Saturday. It’s free, so you’ve got no excuse not to, fight fans.
It’s as simple as this — Saturday’s UFC on Fox 7: Henderson vs. Melendez card features top-ranked fighters and heavy stakes. As such, we love getting a lil’ something extra in anticipation of it. This UFC on Fox 7: Road to the Octagon documentary gives us just that, including behind-the-scenes footage with Benson Henderson (competing at a Jiu Jitsu tournament with his mom, working out with the NFL’s Larry Fitzgerald), Gilbert Melendez (at home and at work with his ex-fighter fiance and business partner, chilling with his tight-knit ‘Skrap Pack’), Frank Mir (crying, and on a flight to New Mexico to conduct the first training camp of his career away from his wife and twenty kids) and more pre-fight action from Josh Thomson, Nate Diaz, and Daniel Cormier.
It’s a good way to waste your lunch hour today — better, at least, than talking to that weird guy at the office who always just eats a can of soup for lunch, like, every day. (Seriously? Get some protein in there, you’re a grown ass man.) Anyway, watch it and tune in Saturday. It’s free, so you’ve got no excuse not to, fight fans.
It is a scientific fact that UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has one of the most supportive/adorable MMA moms in the bidness. According to Bendo’s Wikipedia page, his Korean-born mother, Song, was not only responsible for introducing Benson to martial arts through Tae Kwon Do, but is apparently so supportive of her son’s career that she has begun to take some martial arts classes (specifically, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) of her own despite being 50+ years of age.
And if the above picture is any indication, it appears that Song was born to be a fighter as well. Henderson tweeted the above photo this morning with the following words of wisdom:
My mama’s 1st ever #BJJ (any kind of) competition, from this past weekend…this 4’9″, 50+ year old Korean lady inspires the crap outta me everyday…earned herself a standing ovation and bronze medal too…she was nervous as crap but pulled thru like a #Champ
It is a scientific fact that UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has one of the most supportive/adorable MMA moms in the bidness. According to Bendo’s Wikipedia page, his Korean-born mother, Song, was not only responsible for introducing Benson to martial arts through Tae Kwon Do, but is apparently so supportive of her son’s career that she has begun to take some martial arts classes (specifically, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) of her own despite being 50+ years of age.
And if the above picture is any indication, it appears that Song was born to be a fighter as well. Henderson tweeted the above photo this morning with the following words of wisdom:
My mama’s 1st ever #BJJ (any kind of) competition, from this past weekend…this 4’9″, 50+ year old Korean lady inspires the crap outta me everyday…earned herself a standing ovation and bronze medal too…she was nervous as crap but pulled thru like a #Champ
After Bendo originally captured the UFC’s lightweight crown, he and Song took a celebratory trip to South Korea where they received a hero’s welcome. It’s good to know that their ability to inspire knows no cultural bounds. One thing’s for sure, this is one senior citizen you sure as hell don’t want to get into a tussle over some marble rye with.
So, Potato Nation, who’s interested in seeing Bendo’s mom take on Keith Jardine’s for the right to be called the baddest MMA mom on the planet?
Speaking of Bendo, check out a video of the lightweight champ picking up a win over Arizona local Christian Broadnax in the 8th Arizona Open Jiu-Jitsu International last weekend below. Like mother, like son.
According to a new report from MMAFighting that cites “sources with knowledge of the situation,” reigning UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will attempt to make his third title-defense against longtime Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7, which is slated to go down April 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Henderson is coming off arguably the most impressive win of his career, dominating Gilbert’s homeyNate Diaz for five rounds in their meeting last month at UFC on FOX 5. It was the sixth-consecutive win for “Smooth” since he migrated to the UFC from the WEC, though Henderson has yet to score a stoppage victory in the Octagon. That’s not likely to change against Melendez, who has never been knocked out or submitted in 23 professional fights.
Melendez picked up his seventh-straight win in May 2012, winning a split-decision in a rubber match against Josh Thompson. Since then, the Cesar Gracie product has been sidelined by injury after injury. And though we were skeptical of Melendez’s latest withdrawal — the Cesar Gracie fighter had much more to lose from a fight against Pat Healy at Strikeforce’s final event than he stood to gain, and may have acted accordingly — it’s clear that his devious plan worked.
But before you go booking your travel plans, MMAFighting adds this caveat:
According to a new report from MMAFighting that cites “sources with knowledge of the situation,” reigning UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will attempt to make his third title-defense against longtime Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7, which is slated to go down April 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Henderson is coming off arguably the most impressive win of his career, dominating Gilbert’s homeyNate Diaz for five rounds in their meeting last month at UFC on FOX 5. It was the sixth-consecutive win for “Smooth” since he migrated to the UFC from the WEC, though Henderson has yet to score a stoppage victory in the Octagon. That’s not likely to change against Melendez, who has never been knocked out or submitted in 23 professional fights.
Melendez picked up his seventh-straight win in May 2012, winning a split-decision in a rubber match against Josh Thompson. Since then, the Cesar Gracie product has been sidelined by injury after injury. And though we were skeptical of Melendez’s latest withdrawal — the Cesar Gracie fighter had much more to lose from a fight against Pat Healy at Strikeforce’s final event than he stood to gain, and may have acted accordingly — it’s clear that his devious plan worked.
But before you go booking your travel plans, MMAFighting adds this caveat:
According to sources, there are still potential roadblocks to the Henderson vs. Melendez that could force the organization to take a different path, but that matchup is the organization’s intended direction.
If the fight goes through, it will be Melendez’s ninth appearance at the HP Pavilion, where he often competed for Strikeforce events. So, is Melendez really an elite-level lightweight, capable of becoming the UFC lightweight champion, or did it he just seem elite-level when he was tearing through the best opponents that Strikeforce could dig up for him? In other words, Bendo vs. Niño: Who ya got?
If any of you were questioning Gilbert Melendez’s decision to remain off Strikeforce’s final card in January, maybe now you can see his motivation. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Dana White revealed that “El Nino” would “probably” receive an immediate title shot when he makes the trip over to the UFC, a statement that will more than likely be responsible for hundreds of conspiracy theories regarding the legitimacy of Melendez’s recent injuries. Of course, this came just before The Baldfather lamented about how bad Strikeforce fighters have had it since the UFC absorbed the promotion (presumably while mimicking Shooter McGavin), so perhaps we should take his statement with a grain of salt:
(Melendez will) probably come right in and get a title shot. Again, we’ll see.
What has happened to the fighters in Strikeforce is horrible. The way this thing went down is horrible, and they’ve been very patient. What’s happened over there has been completely s—ty.
Right, and we’re sure Hitler felt awfully bad about the living conditions at Auschwitz as well. “No veigh? Zey don’t even get a nice cot to szleep on? Zose bastards!” We’re not comparing Dana White to Hitler, we’re just saying.
If any of you were questioning Gilbert Melendez’s decision to remain off Strikeforce’s final card in January, maybe now you can see his motivation. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Dana White revealed that “El Nino” would “probably” receive an immediate title shot when he makes the trip over to the UFC, a statement that will more than likely be responsible for hundreds of conspiracy theories regarding the legitimacy of Melendez’s recent injuries. Of course, this came just before The Baldfather lamented about how bad Strikeforce fighters have had it since the UFC absorbed the promotion (presumably while mimicking Shooter McGavin), so perhaps we should take his statement with a grain of salt:
(Melendez will) probably come right in and get a title shot. Again, we’ll see.
What has happened to the fighters in Strikeforce is horrible. The way this thing went down is horrible, and they’ve been very patient. What’s happened over there has been completely s—ty.
Right, and we’re sure Hitler felt awfully bad about the living conditions at Auschwitz as well. “No veigh? Zey don’t even get a nice cot to szleep on? Zose bastards!” We’re not comparing Dana White to Hitler, we’re just saying.
On a serious note, this statement is interesting for a multitude of reasons, the first of which being how unknown a guy like Melendez is to casual fans, who are the only people the UFC seems interested in promoting fights for nowadays. As Melendez has stated in the past, the “Champion vs. Champion” angle is one that the UFC could easily market, but I mean, Melendez isn’t even coming off a loss for Christ’s sake, and now you’re gonna say he’s title shot worthy? Bitch please; I think we all know that Tiequan Zhang is the next rightful challenger to the lightweight throne.
Are you Taters excited at the idea of Henderson/Melendez, or do you think he should be given a tune up fight first?
“I think a champion versus champion fight makes absolute sense right now. I think we already know how things are going to work out between Benson Henderson and a lot of other lightweight fighters in the UFC, but I’m that mystery fighter. No one really knows how I’m going to matchup with anyone. I have been around for a long time and have been the top lightweight in the world before Benson or any of these other guys.
I think I have a lot of answers for his style. Sometimes he fights a wrestler like Guida who doesn’t have great hands, and sometimes he fights strikers who can’t really wrestle. Look at his fights against “Cowboy” Cerrone back in the day, or even Pettis. I have that wrestling pedigree where he ain’t taking me down, and I’ll be stuffing some shots. I’m not backing away, and I’ll be dropping some bombs. I’m not an easy guy to stand with. I have a lot of power, and I’m not running away from kicks. I don’t run away from anything. I hold my ground. I’ll be coming for him, and anything he dishes out I’ll be answering back twice as hard.”
Later in the interview, Melendez discussed how the reports of Strikeforce’s impending demise — and the coronation of Ronda Rousey as the UFC’s first women’s champion — actually got him excited about the future again, since Melendez could finally get the opportunity to fight some of the best lightweights in the world:
(Melendez slugs Shinya Aoki in the head, back when slugging Shinya Aoki in the head actually meant something. / Photo via Esther Lin)
“I think a champion versus champion fight makes absolute sense right now. I think we already know how things are going to work out between Benson Henderson and a lot of other lightweight fighters in the UFC, but I’m that mystery fighter. No one really knows how I’m going to matchup with anyone. I have been around for a long time and have been the top lightweight in the world before Benson or any of these other guys.
I think I have a lot of answers for his style. Sometimes he fights a wrestler like Guida who doesn’t have great hands, and sometimes he fights strikers who can’t really wrestle. Look at his fights against “Cowboy” Cerrone back in the day, or even Pettis. I have that wrestling pedigree where he ain’t taking me down, and I’ll be stuffing some shots. I’m not backing away, and I’ll be dropping some bombs. I’m not an easy guy to stand with. I have a lot of power, and I’m not running away from kicks. I don’t run away from anything. I hold my ground. I’ll be coming for him, and anything he dishes out I’ll be answering back twice as hard.”
Later in the interview, Melendez discussed how the reports of Strikeforce’s impending demise — and the coronation of Ronda Rousey as the UFC’s first women’s champion — actually got him excited about the future again, since Melendez could finally get the opportunity to fight some of the best lightweights in the world:
“The fire has been lit, and it was lit a few weeks back. When you start feeling the vibes and hearing the word get out about the things happening with Ronda Rousey, you start getting excited. I’m not saying anything is done in that regard, but it doesn’t stop me from getting fired up about the possibility. You get excited you are going to face big names and the possibility of big matchups. It will give me the chance to really prove something to people in this sport. That fire has definitely been lit, and it would be a real bummer if things didn’t work out like I hope they do.
These things play a lot on your motivation, and if everything works out, then it will be great…I’m seeing the difference in everything I do. I’m running harder because I know it’s there. It’s true I wasn’t super motivated for my past few fights, and it showed out there in the cage. I wasn’t happy with my performance, but I was happy I got the ‘W.’ When things are handled a certain way, you get a certain performance. When the opportunity is right—you’ll get the best I have to give…
I should be medically cleared in the middle of next week. After I see the doctor, that should give me that five- to six-week marker. I have been doing a lot of drilling, technique and running. You can’t help but get out there and do things. I’ve been staying busy, working on a lot of my strategy and tactics. I’ll pick it up a lot more once I get cleared. But you could definitely say I’m prepped.
The timing is right for this fight. I’ll be healthy by the time he would be ready to go, and it just makes sense. That is the fight I want. I really want to test myself, and I really want to find out if I’m the best. If Henderson really wants to find out, this is the fight for him to really prove he is the No. 1 lightweight fighter in the world. I say let’s do it.”
Well, are you convinced? It seems likely that Anthony Pettis — who previously humiliated Henderson in December 2010 — would be the front-runner for Bendo’s next challenger if Pettis can defeat Donald Cerrone in January. But a UFC vs. Strikeforce unification bout could be just as interesting. Should Melendez get an immediate title shot in the UFC, or should he have to prove himself first by beating another contender?
(I had to downgrade from my platinum toothpick for this shit?!)
The UFC recently released the figures for UFC on FOX 5, and suffice it to say, it pays much better to be a fading legend than it does a rising star, or a lightweight champion for that matter (Author’s note: I guess Bisping was right after all *dials revolver*). Check out the full list of figures below, then get our thoughts on the matter after the jump.
Scott Jorgensen: $41,000 (includes $20,500 win bonus)
def. John Albert: $10,000
Thoughts…
(I had to downgrade from my platinum toothpick for this shit?!)
The UFC recently released the figures for UFC on FOX 5, and suffice it to say, it pays much better to be a fading legend than it does a rising star, or a lightweight champion for that matter (Author’s note: I guess Bisping was right after all *dials revolver*). Check out the full list of figures below, then get our thoughts on the matter after the jump.
Scott Jorgensen: $41,000 (includes $20,500 win bonus)
def. John Albert: $10,000
Thoughts…
Overpaid: Is Nate Diaz really so hot of a commodity that he deserves a higher show rate than the champion of the division? Methinks not, homie. We’re also kind of shocked that Mike Swick, who has fought just twice in the past ever, is still making damn near 50k to show. And that takes us to our next item on the agenda…
Underpaid: Look, we know these figures are void of any locker room bonuses, end of the night bonuses and yada yada, and we know that Ben Henderson doesn’t exactly deserve the kind of money a legend like Shogun makes per fight, but come on. Forty thousand to show for a champion is absolute rubbish. Nick Diaz throws more dough at freakishly deformed homeless people on his way to the airport for fuck’s sake. But like we said, we’re pretty sure Bendo got a stack of undisclosed cash so high that not even Rain Man could count all the toothpicks he plans on purchasing.
