The UFC will bring two big free events to the masses in 2013, and we will undoubtedly be given more astonishing moments that will stick with us for a long time.January events are stuck between the New Year’s and Super Bowl cards that are so highly tout…
The UFC will bring two big free events to the masses in 2013, and we will undoubtedly be given more astonishing moments that will stick with us for a long time.
January events are stuck between the New Year’s and Super Bowl cards that are so highly touted, but still find a way to deliver big.
UFC 18 was the first ever event to kick off the new year for the UFC. Bas Rutten TKO’d Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Tito Ortiz stopped Jerry Bohlander, Evan Tanner debuted, and Pat Miletich defended his UFC Lightweight Championship.
Since that event in 1999, the UFC has given us many more moments as the calendar turned to a new year.
Twelve months is a very, very long time. Think about how different the world was on December 31, 2011. We had NHL hockey to look forward to. A Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather fight was a distinct possibility. We had no idea what the Colts would do …
Twelve months is a very, very long time. Think about how different the world was on December 31, 2011.
We had NHL hockey to look forward to. A Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather fight was a distinct possibility. We had no idea what the Colts would do with Peyton Manning. On and on.
In the twelve months since UFC 141, headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, the world of MMA has seen plenty of fighters and personalities lose stock and fade off from where they were in 2011. So who are these stars that are finding 2012 to be a year to forget about? What folks who were doing well in 2011 have you just plain forgotten about?
The MMA world was abuzz when the UFC officially announced that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be squaring off against Nick Diaz at UFC 158 on March 16. The event will be taking place at the Bell Centre in St-Pierre’s hometown of …
The MMA world was abuzz when the UFC officially announced that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be squaring off against Nick Diaz at UFC 158 on March 16. The event will be taking place at the Bell Centre in St-Pierre’s hometown of Montreal.
Diaz and the champion were supposed to square at UFC 137 in October 2011, but after Diaz failed to attend two press conferences, the UFC pulled Diaz from the card. St-Pierre was then scheduled to face Carlos Condit, but the welterweight champion suffered a knee injury and unable to fight.
Diaz ended up fighting on the UFC 137 card and defeated BJ Penn in the main event. The California native called St-Pierre out after the fight. The champion then told UFC President Dana White that he wanted that fight, and it was scheduled for UFC 143 in February.
This time it was the champion who couldn’t fight, as he suffered a torn ACL in training camp.
When this fight was announced for 158, people were stunned that Diaz was bypassing fellow welterweight Johny Hendricks for a title. St-Pierre told Dana White he wanted Diaz and the president obliged.
Will Diaz be able to dethrone the reign of terror known as Georges St-Pierre? Here are five reasons why the champion will soundly defeat Diaz in March.
At the turn of the century, the sport of mixed martial arts emerged out of the savagery of no-holds-barred competitions into a pursuit dominated by professional athletes trained in multiple disciplines. With the weight division’s fixed, greats em…
At the turn of the century, the sport of mixed martial arts emerged out of the savagery of no-holds-barred competitions into a pursuit dominated by professional athletes trained in multiple disciplines.
With the weight division’s fixed, greats emerged in every class which defined an era. And among the lower-weight classes, with a size and body shape of the average man, as distinct from the rampantly steroid-abused behemoths, were the lightweights and welterweights. Prime among them was a young Hawaiian mixed martial artist who entered the UFC in 2001 as a 155-pound lightweight set to become one of the biggest draws the promotion has ever known.
Known as The Prodigy, BJ Penn emerged as foremost among professional MMA athletes and set benchmarks in the sport for others to emulate. This is a tribute to him.
So, BJ Penn appears to have the answer to the question that he seems to have been searching for: can he beat a Tristar welterweight? He wanted to go into the belly of the beast to beat Rory MacDonald, and as a result he got thoroughly dominated by…
So, BJ Penn appears to have the answer to the question that he seems to have been searching for: can he beat a Tristar welterweight?
He wanted to go into the belly of the beast to beat Rory MacDonald, and as a result he got thoroughly dominated by a younger fighter who was every bit as passionate as he was, who also possessed a sizable advantage in the reach department, and probably strength as well.
So, how does “The Prodigy” process that information? What does he do with it?
Hopefully, he uses it to realize that unless he is fighting at lightweight, he is simply going to be outgunned, relegated to stepping-stone status by any welterweight of reasonable skill and size who can push his buttons and goad him into a fight by slighting his considerable pride as a fighter and UFC champion.
Because to be honest, at least to this writer, it’s lightweight or no weight for BJ Penn when it comes to fighting at this stage of his career.
I honestly think BJ Penn can still be a force in the sport, but only if he can take the time—and hopefully some brutally honest counsel from those whom he respects and acknowledges as being of sound mind—and commit himself toward the end of fighting as a lightweight.
Penn was at his very best at lightweight, and when you look at him as a welterweight, you can see why. As a lightweight, he was trim and able to fight hard for a full five rounds; as a welterweight, he’s soft, slow, all too hittable and his gas tank is greatly diminished.
The time for hard decision making in his career is now. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he could, with some training changes and a new dedication, become a force in the newly rejuvenated lightweight division, but he has to commit totally to this, not half way.
A change in camps would probably do Penn a world of good; training with individuals who are not subject to pleasing him, but to a higher ideal, like perhaps with Anderson Silva and the fighters at Black House.
But in the end, he has to want to choose such a road, because for some reason he’s seemed dead set on proving to the world that he can conquer the welterweight division, and that has been contrary to our experience as viewers.
I only hope it has been contrary to his experience as well, to a point where he longs for the days when he was at his best.
One of the biggest stories these days is about the tumultuous relationship between Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks. With that comes discussion of the complicated nature of title shots, reflection on the Condit vs. Diaz bout, and study …
One of the biggest stories these days is about the tumultuous relationship between Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks. With that comes discussion of the complicated nature of title shots, reflection on the Condit vs. Diaz bout, and study of what past title contenders did to earn their chance at the belt.
Let’s set aside that discussion for a moment, though.
Back by popular demand (the Lightweight Edition was quite the hit), we’re taking a look at the top 10 Welterweight Title Fights in MMA history. Which bouts rank among the best ever? Who pops up on this super-illustrious list? Is your favorite bout here? What are the defining moments for the men who have lorded it over the other 170-pound fighters?
Find out right here as we look back on some of the best fights in, arguably, the best division in the sport today.
So,