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Gray Maynard Picks Frankie Edgar over Ben Henderson at UFC 144

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will defend his title at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan early next year, and his previous opponent, Gray Maynard, is hoping Ben Henderson doesn’t make it past the man who he is 1-1-1 against.“Hopefully he …

“Hopefully he holds on to the belt, because there’s got to be a part four, I think, to make it a true trilogy,” Maynard told TATAME. “Now he has one and I do too, so that’s a draw. So, we gotta do it again. Hopefully, he holds on the belt and I can work back up there.”

Maynard and Edgar fought to a hard-fought draw in January, and a third bout between the two took place at UFC 136, where Edgar won by a fourth-round knockout. After another first round that saw Maynard punishing his opponent with power shots, Edgar survived to come back and finish off his undefeated opponent in one of the year’s best fights.

“Obviously it was not the outcome that I was hoping for,” Maynard continued. “It happened, I had to deal. I gotta improve on some things and gotta be prepared for the next opponent.”

No future opponents have been announced for Maynard’s next bout, but he hopes it’s against a top contender that can get him back into title contention.

Henderson will enter the bout with Edgar as the former WEC lightweight champion. He is riding a three-fight win streak with wins over Clay Guida, Jim Miller and Mark Bocek.

“Well, that’s a lot of stuff up in the air,” Maynard said. “I know (Melvin) Guillard got up against Jim Miller. I know (Donald) Cerrone is going to go up against Nate Diaz, so there’s a lot of interesting stuff that you kinda have to wait to see what happens. I gotta have a place to train, I gotta be prepared.”

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UFC News: Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller Headlines UFC on FX 1

The main event on UFC on FX 1 will be a clash between two top 10 lightweights: Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard. MMAJunkie is reporting that UFC officials announced the headlining fight of the UFC on FX debut on Thursday, 11/17. Many regarded…

The main event on UFC on FX 1 will be a clash between two top 10 lightweights: Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard.

MMAJunkie is reporting that UFC officials announced the headlining fight of the UFC on FX debut on Thursday, 11/17.

Many regarded Miller as the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds heading into the UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle event, winning seven fights in a row in convincing fashion.

However, Ben “Smooth” Henderson simply dominated the AMA Fight Club product for three rounds on that card, so few are surprised to so Henderson being the next man to challenge Frankie Edgar for the gold at UFC 144.

Meanwhile, Melvin Guillard looked as solid as any other lightweight division riding a five-fight win streak heading into his UFC 136 bout with Joe Lauzon.

“The Young Assassin,” who many felt would secure a title bout with a victory, clearly took his jiu-jitsu savvy foe lightly.

Guillard tried to be a little too flashy on his feet, allowing Lauzon to tag him with a counter left and slap on a rear naked choke.

The winner of this fight will probably be only two to three wins away from a title shot, while the loser will be on thin ice in the UFC after two consecutive losses.

FX is owned by FOX and will be replacing the UFC’s free cards on SpikeTV. The live-version of the reality series “The Ultimate Fighter” will also air on FX in 2012.

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Cung Le and the 8 Best Pure Martial Artists in MMA

Cung Le is widely recognized as a pure martial artist that has transitioned his game to MMA. He’s a blue belt in jiu-jistu and a black belt in Taekwondo. Cung Le has competed in quite a few different martial arts competitions to hone his skills. H…

Cung Le is widely recognized as a pure martial artist that has transitioned his game to MMA. He’s a blue belt in jiu-jistu and a black belt in Taekwondo.

Cung Le has competed in quite a few different martial arts competitions to hone his skills. He competed in kickboxing tournaments, as well as karate and wushu competitions.

His taekwondo striking base have given us highlight reel knockouts and the idea that he is a pure martial artist.

Obviously, the idea of a pure martial artist is based on opinion, so feel free to offer yours. Let’s take a look at few that come to mind…

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Ben Henderson Excited for Title Bout With Frankie Edgar

Following his impressive victory over Clay Guida, Benson Henderson has now positioned himself into a title bout with current champion Frankie Edgar. It was confirmed that Henderson and Edgar would meet in the main event at UFC 144 in February 2012…

Following his impressive victory over Clay Guida, Benson Henderson has now positioned himself into a title bout with current champion Frankie Edgar.

It was confirmed that Henderson and Edgar would meet in the main event at UFC 144 in February 2012, when the UFC returns to Japan. When asked about the potential matchup, Henderson said he is excited to face the champion and he is confident in his abilities to walk away with the victory, and the UFC lightweight title.

“I think it’s a great matchup,” Henderson told reporters during the post-fight press conference. “With Frankie, I think I match up very well, I just have to stick to the gameplan, do a little bit better job of that. But, I’m very excited for that, Frankie and I are going to put on a great show.”

Henderson’s bout with Guida turned out to be a fast-paced, competitive bout that has earned “Fight of the Year” honours. The victory over Guida has given Henderson his third consecutive win and he remains undefeated inside the Octagon.

Henderson will challenge Edgar at UFC 144, which will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

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Two Sheds Review: Velasquez & Dos Santos Go Crazy Like a Fox for the UFC

It was an historic night for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as they presented their first ever show on the Fox network in the States as Junior Dos Santos challenged Cain Velasquez for the Heavyweight title, a fight that was shown live in the early …

The broadcast began with lightweight action as Clay Guida faced Benson Henderson.

This proved to be a great way to start the show, a tremendous back-and-forth encounter fought at a frantic place for the entire 15 minutes.

Henderson had some success early when he rocked Guida, but a takedown attempt gave Guida time to recover.

From there, the fight seemed to go into overdrive, with both fighters going for submissions and Henderson putting in a great performance, especially with his takedown defence.

Towards the end of the fight, Guida took Henderson down and immediately went for a guillotine. Once again Henderson put on some great defensive work, eventually escaping and delivering a few shots as the fight came to an end.

Then it was down to the judges to decide, and the unanimous decision went in favour of Henderson, who surely secured a title shot against Frankie Edgar with this performance.

The main event saw Junior Dos Santos challenging Cain Velasquez for the Heavyweight title.

Both men began by testing the waters with kicks and strikes, but as the fight neared the one minute mark Dos Santos connected with a big overhand right.

Velasquez went down like the proverbial sack of spuds, with JDS following him down for some ground and pound. Seconds later it was all over, with the referee stepping in to give Dos Santos the TKO win, crowning a new champion.

The show rounded out with welterweight action as Damarques Johnson took on Clay Harvison.

Another brief encounter saw more testing of the waters, with a Harvison kick straying into unwanted territory.

As both men looked to gain the upper hand, Johnson connected with a big left that sent Harvison crashing. He then celebrated his punch before delivering some ground and pound, the referee stepping in to give Johnson the TKO win.

In conclusion, I think you can say that the UFC’s debut on American network television was a success.

It needed a great fight to begin the show, to draw in those who had either never seen or had only a passing interest in MMA. Guida and Henderson certainly gave us that, while the Dos Santos and Johnson TKO wins were also great examples of an MMA fighter’s punching power.

But I find myself asking the following question: Why were they only given an hour? Hopefully next time Fox will give the UFC a little more time to show what they can do.

Apart from that somewhat minor gripe, this show gets the big thumbs up, as does Premier Sports for once again stepping in to give British fans their slice of regular UFC action when ESPN are reluctant to do so.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com, as well as my Facebook group at www.facebook.com/twoshedsreview.

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3 UFC Titles That Will Change Hands in 2012

The UFC Heavyweight Championship once again changed hands as the world watched Junior dos Santos need only slightly over a minute to dethrone former champion Cain Velasquez with one of his patented thunderous right hands. While there are still plenty of great fights to be seen in 2011, the UFC’s seven different championships appear to be at rest for the duration of the year.

Junior dos Santos became the fourth man to claim a UFC belt in the year of 2011 along with Jon Jones and the champions of the UFC’s two newest divisions, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz. With the nature of MMA scheduling, when a belt changes hands it is big deal.

With many title pictures looking clear and some very deserving challengers lined up for the current champions, there is sure to be some change among the sport’s elite. 2012 could very well see many title changes, but three divisions stand out as ones that will see a shakeup at the top.

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