One of the most well-traveled journeymen in mixed martial arts will fight for the first time in 2014 at UFC 178. The promotion announced on Sunday via its official website that a welterweight fight between Brian Ebersole and John “Doomsday”…
One of the most well-traveled journeymen in mixed martial arts will fight for the first time in 2014 at UFC 178. The promotion announced on Sunday via its official website that a welterweight fight between Brian Ebersole and John “Doomsday” Howard has been added to the stacked September 27th event in Las Vegas.
Ebersole, who trains out of Tiger Muay Thai, made his UFC debut in 2011 after 62 professional fights and won his first four bouts before suffering back-to-back decision losses to James Head and Rick Story.
Doomsday made his return to the UFC a successful one last August when he won a unanimous decision bout over Uriah Hall in his hometown of Boston. That middleweight fight was less than spectacular, and Howard made the drop back down to welterweight for his next outing.
The Wai Kru product followed that up with another decision victory over Siyar Bahadurzada but came up short against Ryan LaFlare in Abu Dhabi this past April. Howard was competitive in the fight until an accidental low blow visibly affected his performance. He was campaigning for a rematch with LaFlare, but the promotion decided against that, in favor of Howard facing off with Ebersole instead.
The welterweight fight is the latest addition to the robust UFC 178 card, which is headlined by the light heavyweight title fight rematch between champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. The event also features the long-awaited returns of top bantamweight contenders Dominick Cruz and Cat Zingano.
If Brian Ebersole has taught us anything, it’s that a successfully executed mid-fight cartwheel (and some finely-sculpted body hair) can lead to instant notoriety in the world of combat sports. Clearly a follower of Ebersole’s career, Josh Llopez of the Maryland Renegades understood the near 100% cartwheel-to-Internet-glory turnover ratio, and used an off-season wrestling match to cement his name in the annals of college wrestling history with this absolutely insane cartwheel to double leg takedown.
Truthfully, we lack the necessary wrestling know-how to determine whether Llopez’s move was merely a brilliant act of trolling/showboating or a “legitimate” move used to set up his takedown. In either case, it worked, and it was easily the smoothest thing we’ve seen on the wrestling mat since Rasul Chunayev Azerbaijani’s dance celebration.
Just sayin’, if Ben Askren started doing sh*t like this, he’d be signed by the UFC yesterday.
If Brian Ebersole has taught us anything, it’s that a successfully executed mid-fight cartwheel (and some finely-sculpted body hair) can lead to instant notoriety in the world of combat sports. Clearly a follower of Ebersole’s career, Josh Llopez of the Maryland Renegades understood the near 100% cartwheel-to-Internet-glory turnover ratio, and used an off-season wrestling match to cement his name in the annals of college wrestling history with this absolutely insane cartwheel to double leg takedown.
Truthfully, we lack the necessary wrestling know-how to determine whether Llopez’s move was merely a brilliant act of trolling/showboating or a “legitimate” move used to set up his takedown. In either case, it worked, and it was easily the smoothest thing we’ve seen on the wrestling mat since Rasul Chunayev Azerbaijani’s dance celebration.
Just sayin’, if Ben Askren started doing sh*t like this, he’d be signed by the UFC yesterday.
Welterweight Championship Fight Predictions Georges St-Pierre (c) vs Johny Hendricks I saw the weigh ins and Georges is very pumped up for this fight. It will be interesting to see if Hendricks can connect with GSP’s chin since its been clocked before and the switch has been flipped by Serra and Condit before. Hendricks is [&hellip
Welterweight Championship Fight Predictions
Georges St-Pierre (c) vs Johny Hendricks
I saw the weigh ins and Georges is very pumped up for this fight. It will be interesting to see if Hendricks can connect with GSP’s chin since its been clocked before and the switch has been flipped by Serra and Condit before. Hendricks is more powerful than both of those guys (based on in the cage performace).
Pick: GSP has shown an ability to endure, I want to think that GSP will do enough NOT to get knocked out and win a decision in the end as well.
Rashad Evans vs. Chael Sonnen
I just bumped into Evans at WSOF 6 last month and he was in good spirits and looked ready to go. Evans should be too fast for Sonnen and will land more overall strikes. I don’t think Sonnen will be able to keep Evans down long enough to win rounds vs Evans ability to do the same plus better striking.
Pick: Evans.
Rory MacDonald vs. Robbie Lawler
MacDonald is the Wizard. He looks stoic and ready to fight efficiently every time. Lawler looks nasty at this weight now and his added size from fighting at middleweight might be a problem for Rory. We will see.
Cetainly the conditioning edge will go to MacDonald.
Pick: With Rory a huge favorite here, I think there is value in picking Lawler.
Josh Koscheck vs. Tyron Woodley
Woodley really hasn’t faced that many great guys, but he is great himself. He has steamrolled many fighters and is ability to not get taken down is one of the best.
Pick: Odds are about even here. Koscheck’s jaw has been clicked before and Woodley looks like he is getting stronger every fight. I’m torn here, but I will give edge to Koscheck with the experience.
Tim Elliott vs. Ali Bagautinov
Pass
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Donald Cerrone vs. Evan Dunham
Such a good fight. I can see Dunham winning by submission, but this fight is probably best bet via going the distance.
Pick: Dunham
Ed Herman vs. Thales Leites
Pick: I like Leites here with his return to the UFC. He is a little bigger and I don’t think Herman brings anything that Leites isn’t capable of handling except conditioning, but I think Leites will be prepared since he’s been out of the UFC and will want the taste of the spotlight again. Remember he contended for the title against Silva?
Pick: Leites
Brian Ebersole vs. Rick Story
Also an amazing fight. If this goes the distance Story is the busier fighter. However, I always ride with Ebersole. His experience and ability to fight smart is uncanny.
Pick: Ebersole
Erik Perez vs. Edwin Figueroa
Pass
Preliminary card (Facebook/YouTube)
Jason High vs. Anthony Lapsley
Will Campuzano vs. Sergio Pettis
The odds are way too high here to take Pettis. With Campuzano fighting on short notice I understand why against the undefeated Pettis.
When he learned he’d be fighting Rick Story at UFC 167, one of Brian Ebersole’s first thoughts wasn’t so much Story himself as it was one of Story’s prior victims. The old opponent drew Ebersole’s attention because he was, like …
When he learned he’d be fighting Rick Story at UFC 167, one of Brian Ebersole’s first thoughts wasn’t so much Story himself as it was one of Story’s prior victims. The old opponent drew Ebersole’s attention because he was, like Ebersole, left-handed and came from a wrestling background. The opponent’s name was Johny Hendricks.
“For him to have beaten another southpaw wrestler, it made me want to study his film,” Ebersole said of Story, who he’ll face this Saturday at UFC 167.
That’s Brian Ebersole for you: The guy likes to be one step ahead. And when the people’s journeyman welterweight returns to action this weekend after more than a year out of the limelight, he’ll do it with his bag of tricks—and some pretty interesting ideas—at the ready.
But first things first: getting back in the eight-sided cage, where we last saw Ebersole in July 2012. As such, it’s definitely OK to call it a comeback. Ebersole chalks up the absence to an injury he declines to identify (he has previously suffered serious knee injuries, but says that wasn’t the culprit this time). Adding extra intrigue to the mix is the fact that the departure came on the heels of his first defeat in the UFC, a split-decision loss to James Head at UFC 149. The setback put him at 4-1 in the UFC.
However, that tenure, if you didn’t know, only accounts for 13 percent of his career. Ebersole is a pretty well-traveled guy; the Illinois boy is 50-15-1-1 as a pro and splits his time among Australia, Thailand and the United States, among other places.
So it all kind of begs the question: Where you been, man?
“It’s been a working year,” Ebserole said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I did a lot more yoga and pilates than I ever had before. I’ve really been resting my body. But I coached at Tiger Muay Thai [a renowned Phuket, Thailand gym]. I saw my family a little, which was nice.”
The 32-year-old Ebersole now seems ready to, as he put it, “reboot” his career. And in the case of Brian Ebersole, that means a reinvention as much as it does a resetting, and it means outside the cage as much as inside. One case in point is Fund a Fighter, an online service with which Ebersole is involved. Fund a Fighter allows fans to donate money directly to fighters for training camps, medical procedures and other things. In return, fighters can send back notes, memorabilia and other items as a token of gratitude. Think Kickstarter for MMA fighters.
“This is about connecting directly with the fan,” Ebersole said of Fund a Fighter. “It’s not a dealer putting a signed glove in a frame. It helps a fighter use their likeness, and you get a little bit of profit from it.”
The UFC, as you may know, is rather, eh, mindful of the various manners in which fighters use their likenesses. You might even say that language to that effect is hardwired into the standard fighter contract (it is).
Has Ebersole, by any chance, heard anything from the UFC on this?
“The UFC hasn’t reacted yet, and I’m waiting with baited breath,” Ebersole said. “We’ll see.”
On top of the likeness thing, there’s also the question of revenue, long a sticky wicket for the UFC, its fighters and just about anyone who closely follows the sport. Was Ebersole’s motivation to engage with Fund a Fighter related to a desire to find a new revenue stream? Though Ebersole was quick to point out that “the UFC has been very good to me,” he pointed out almost as quickly that extra money is a good thing.
“It’s a need,” Ebersole said. “I’ve spent $23,000 on this camp. I’ve been here in Vegas for a month, and I’m spending $100 on each private lesson because my network isn’t here. It’s been a costly camp.”
Ebersole is clearly enthusiastic about the Fund a Fighter concept. As he waits for the other shoe to drop on that, he still has Rick Story to worry about. Apparently, that tape he’s been watching—motivated in part by Story’s 2010 unanimous decision win over Hendricks, who challenges welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167—paid some dividends.
“I think I have a handle on the beast that is Rick Story,” Ebersole said. “There are a few things he does over and over. I will have to dictate my own fight, which is tough because he pushes forward so much. It will be a grind, especially since we’re both pretty decent at wrestling.”
The grind may be especially challenging given that Ebersole is not the largest of welterweights. Before his layoff, Ebersole spoke openly of a desire to move down to lightweight. As he returns, that idea is still very much on the table.
“I would still like to move down to lightweight,” Ebersole said. “During my year off, I was up to 210 [pounds] at one point, so I felt a need to solidify the fact that I’m healthy and that I’m still at the top of my game before adding anything extra. I didn’t want to do any big diets on top of everything else.”
But the biggest idea Ebersole will bring with him Saturday? Well, that goes without saying. Ebersole and what one can only assume is a small army of stylists work with Ebersole’s body fuzz the way Picasso worked in oils, or some such. His signature manscape is the Hairrow, which, if you aren’t aware, is, well, exactly what you think it is.
Never a dull moment is probably a fair way to characterize this. And will the Hairrow return? Inquiring minds need to know.
“The Hairrow is the default, but sometimes inspiration strikes,” Ebersole said. “We’ll see what happens.”
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
(Renan Barao: Started from the bottom, now he here. / Photo via Getty)
At the UFC 165 post-fight presser last month, UFC president Dana White showered praise upon UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao, calling him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and remarking that the media hadn’t given enough credit to his eight-year, 32-fight undefeated streak, which has remained pristine since May 2005.
Barao has only tasted defeat once, and it was in the first fight of his career. The fact that he’s rebounded with the longest current undefeated streak in mixed martial arts — despite the fact that his first loss could have ruined his confidence forever — is absolutely amazing to me, as many young would-be prospects have crashed and burned in their debuts, never to be heard of again.
It got me thinking: What other mixed martial artists lost their first fight but then went on to have great success? I expected to bang out a list of ten fighters, but once I started doing the research, it blew my mind that some of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport, and a number of currently top 10-ranked fighters, actually lost their very first fight.
And so, I compiled a list of the top 24 MMA fighters of all time who lost their first fight. The list is based on accomplishments in the sport, overall skill level, and potential. Enjoy, and if I somehow missed somebody notable, please leave a comment below and explain why he or she should be included.
On July 26, 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Travis Fulton fought Dave Strasser in his MMA debut at Gladiators 1 in Davenport, Iowa, losing the fight via first-round submission. He then went on to win 249 fights, the most wins in mixed martial arts history. Fulton also holds the record for most fights (309) and most knockout wins (91) in MMA history.
Mind = blown.
Was Fulton a can crusher? Yes, yes he was. Or, should I say, yes he is, as he beat some nobody in his native Iowa just this past March. But you don’t win 249 MMA fights by accident, and Fulton deserves a place on this list based on volume alone.
Akihiro Gono was just 19 when the Japanese icon made his MMA debut in his home country against Yasunori Okuda in the first round of the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J’ 94, way back in April 1994. Like many of the fighters of the time, Gono wasn’t ready to defend submissions, and he tapped out to a first-round toe hold.
Gono may have lost the fight, but he would go on to have a very solid career that saw him compete in the UFC, PRIDE, Shooto, Pancrase, Sengoku, and finally Bellator, which would be his final stop.
In May 2012, after a solid 18-year run as a fan favorite, Gono fought for the last time against current Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator 67, losing the fight via first-round KO.
Some will laugh that Minowaman is on this list, but he deserves to be after amassing a respectable 55-35-8 record during his cult-legendary career as a journeyman, where — like the great Fedor Emelianenko — he was notorious for fighting and beating larger opponents in the UFC, PRIDE, Dream and Pancrase, amongst other promotions.
However, he was also notorious for losing to some of them.
The first of his 35 losses came to Yuzo Tateishi via decision on March 30, 1996, at the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J ‘96 in Japan. It was the first of many career losses for Minowa, who started off his career 2-9-2 in his first 13 fights. To his credit though, he rebounded to eventually leave the sport with a winning record, and became a big star in PRIDE because he always put on exciting fights and feared no man.
The name “Minowaman” is always one that makes the hardcores’ hearts beat whenever anyone brings it up. Not bad for a guy who at first glance looked like he would contribute nothing in the sport.
(NOTE: The graphic in the video say his record was 3-1 but that tally likely referred to his amateur fights.)
Back on February 15, 1997 in – surprise, surprise – Iowa, a 24-year-old Shonie Carter got into his first professional MMA fight, the first of many for him.
It didn’t last long, however, as he was KO’ed by future five-time UFC vet Laverne Clark at Monte Cox’s Extreme Challenge 3, just nine seconds into the first round in what was the MMA debut of both men.
It became a classic KO in regional circuit MMA history.
Despite that early career loss, Carter then went on to have an unexpectedly awesome career where he attained 50 wins, including 26 by stoppage. He even made it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and, in total, he fought six times in the UFC — one more than Clark, who knocked him out in that first battle.
One of those 26 aforementioned stoppage wins I mentioned — and one of the best KOs in UFC history — was his spinning back fist knockout of Matt Serra at UFC 31. Serra, who at the time was considered to be below Carter in the ranks, later defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 to win the UFC welterweight title. Carter, on the other hand, never quite made it to the top of the sport, to say the least, but at least he built a memorable persona as a stone-cold pimp.
Brian Ebersole’s first MMA bout took place on February 24, 2000 against Chris Albandia at TCC – Total Combat Challenge in Chicago. He lost the fight via decision.
He was just 18 years old.
However, despite the loss, Ebersole has gone on to have an awesome journeyman career that has seen him compile an excellent record of 50-15-1, 1 NC.
Ebersole finally made it to the UFC in 2012, upsetting Chris Lytle at UFC 127 and then winning three more in a row before a split decision loss to James Head at UFC 149 ended his win streak. He has sat out the past year with injuries.
But things are looking up for Ebersole, as he will finally make his return to the cage at UFC 167 against Rick Story. It’s a difficult matchup on paper, but it’s winnable. And even if he loses, the fans get to see the Hairrow — well hopefully, anyways — or at least one of those fancy cartwheel kicks. Make it happen, Brian.
On April 7, 2007, at UCW 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, two unknown Canadian women fought each other. One was Sarah Kaufman, who would later go on to win the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion and who will be making her UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 166, and the other was a 21-year-old Alexis Davis, who would eventually make it into the UFC as well.
On that night, Kaufman was the better woman, as she finished Davis via strikes in the third round. And Kaufman would demonstrate her superiority once again, defeating Davis via majority decision in March 2012 at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
However, Davis looks to be on the rise, and she certainly showed her potential in defeating Rosi Sexton in her Octagon debut at UFC 161. If her and Kaufman ever meet for a trilogy match, it’s possible Davis might finally get a win over her rival.
(Word has it that Dana White responded to Diaz by telling him to “quit being such a fag and fight already.” Photo via Diaz’s twitter.)
Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Ben Henderson and Josh “Bitch Ass Lady Sounds” Thomson — the latter of which was the first TKO loss in his MMA career — you wouldn’t think that Nate Diaz would be in the position to start picking and choosing who he fights next. That is, after all, a right reserved exclusively for self-matchmaker extraordinaire Chael P. Sonnen. That Diaz was also recently fined and “suspended” for making offensive statements on Twitter* would further the belief that he should perhaps keep his nose to the grindstone for the time being, but a Diaz wants what a Diaz wants and that is usually weed or a fight they don’t deserve.
As such, when Nate found out he was once again being paired against Gray Maynard, he posted the above to his Twitter account. While it’s not that shocking that he would call out Pettis, it is shocking that a Diaz would seemingly turn down a fight against a guy who narrowly defeated him in their last contest. Or anyone, for that matter.
But as of this write up, Maynard and Diaz are still set to do battle at the TUF 18 Finale on November 30th. The fight will serve as a rubber match of sorts between the two, as Maynard was submitted by Diaz in an exhibition bout during the TUF 5 semifinals but went on to score a lackluster split decision over Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 in 2010. So…advantage Diaz, we guess?
(Word has it that Dana White responded to Diaz by telling him to “quit being such a fag and fight already.” Photo via Diaz’s twitter.)
Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Ben Henderson and Josh “Bitch Ass Lady Sounds” Thomson — the latter of which was the first TKO loss in his MMA career — you wouldn’t think that Nate Diaz would be in the position to start picking and choosing who he fights next. That is, after all, a right reserved exclusively for self-matchmaker extraordinaire Chael P. Sonnen. That Diaz was also recently fined and “suspended” for making offensive statements on Twitter* would further the belief that he should perhaps keep his nose to the grindstone for the time being, but as the saying goes, “A Diaz wants what a Diaz wants and that is usually weed or a fight they don’t deserve.”
As such, when Nate found out he was once again being paired against Gray Maynard, he posted the above to his Twitter account. While it’s not that shocking that he would call out Pettis, it is shocking that a Diaz would seemingly turn down a fight against a guy who narrowly defeated him in their last contest. Or anyone, for that matter.
But as of this write up, Maynard and Diaz are still set to do battle at the TUF 18 Finale on November 30th. The fight will serve as a rubber match of sorts between the two, as Maynard was submitted by Diaz in an exhibition bout during the TUF 5 semifinals but went on to score a lackluster split decision over Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 in 2010. So…advantage Diaz, we guess?
Similar to his TUF 5 counterpart, Maynard is also coming off a tough TKO loss — to T.J. Grant at UFC 160. The first round finish was impressive enough to earn Grant a shot at Ben Henderson and now Anthony Pettis, so expect Maynard to come out with something to prove against Diaz this time around.
In other booking news, the struggling Donald Cerrone (I really don’t like how that sounds) has already set a date for his next comeback fight. Despite suffering a rather lopsided beatdown at the hands of Rafael Dos Anjos less than two weeks ago at Fight Night 27, Cerrone was not medically suspended by the Indiana Gaming Commission and has been given the go-ahead to face Evan Dunham at UFC 167 in November. Dunham is also 1-2 in his past 3, having sandwiched a split decision win over Gleison Tibau between decision losses to T.J. Grant and Rafael Dos Anjos. Getting awfully narrow, this lightweight division is.
And finally, Brian Ebersole — he of the hairrow and the cartwheel kick – has been booked against Rick Story, also at UFC 167. We haven’t heard a peep from Ebersole ever since he dropped a short-notice fight to James Head at UFC 149, snapping an 11 fight win streak in the process. The Indiana native has been battling injuries for over a year and will be given no easy return test in Story, who is also coming off a decision loss — this one to Mike Pyle at UFC 160.
One of the most well-traveled journeymen in mixed martial arts will fight for the first time in 2014 at UFC 178. The promotion announced on Sunday via its official website that a welterweight fight between Brian Ebersole and John “Doomsday” Howard has been added to the stacked September 27th event in Las Vegas.
