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3 Questions: Johny Hendricks, Alan Belcher and UFC on FOX 3

The UFC returns to national television on Saturday night with “UFC on FOX 3: Miller vs Diaz.” With many apologies to Super Fight League and their Sunday event headlined by Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson, the FOX event is the biggest thing going this week. The main event features a fight with implications on the lightweight division; even if the winner doesn’t receive a title shot, they’ll certainly be placed high “in the mix,” as Dana White is so very fond of saying.

With that in mind, this week’s edition of 3 Questions is focused squarely on UFC on FOX. Let’s dive in.

Will UFC on FOX 3 Deliver Exciting Fights?

The first two installments of UFC on FOX were long on star power. The first edition featured the heavyweight title fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, and the second featured Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping.

Yeah, there were plenty of stars. But the fights didn’t deliver in terms of excitement, leaving fans with an underwhelming feeling once the shows ended.

The UFC is taking a different approach with the third network television event. Instead of using stars to drive interest in the show, the matchmaking here seems to be geared more towards creating exciting fights. Jim Miller and Nate Diaz aren’t the biggest names in the company, but they should combine for an awesome fight. The same goes for Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson and Rousimar Palhares vs. Alan Belcher.

It’s an interesting deal. The lack of star power may hurt the show, but the sacrifice in ratings for this show would be worth it if the fights deliver great action. It’ll create more interest for future shows.

I think it’s a great idea on paper, but it will be interesting to see how the new direction plays out on television.

Will Lack of Activity Hurt Alan Belcher?

Alan Belcher has only fought twice since January 2010. He made his return to the cage last September after suffering an eye injury that nearly ended his career. He returned in fine form, beating Jason MacDonald into submission.

But now Belcher is taking a significant step up in competition—at least from MacDonald—when he faces Rousimar Palhares, master of leg locks. Palhares is one of the meanest fighters in the sport; he’s not above twisting your foot off your leg if need be. Belcher will need to be wary of Palhares and his takedown attempts, because the ground is the one place you don’t want to be with the Brazilian.

Belcher has always been a talented fighter. He has many advantages over Palhares. But he’s spent so little time in the cage over the past two years, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s going to hurt him against better competition.

Is Johny Hendricks the Real Deal?

Outside of a loss to Rick Story at the tail end of 2010, Johny Hendricks has been perfect in his MMA career. A two-time NCAA champion, Hendricks has one of the best wrestling pedigrees in the sport. He’s combined that with a deadly boxing game; all you need to do is watch Hendricks and his knockout of Jon Fitch to understand just how much power Hendricks has in his hands.

“Big Rig” is one of the best prospects in the welterweight division—and let’s be honest, that’s one of the best nicknames in mixed martial arts—but he’s facing an opponent with the kind of game to nullify any advantages Hendricks may have in the cage. Koscheck is a phenomenal wrestler, having notched four All-American awards during his time at Edinboro University. In many ways, both fighters are mirror images of each other. They’re fantastic wrestlers, but both guys prefer to stand and trade power punches whenever possible.

A win over Koscheck would be a big deal for Hendricks’ fighting career. It would also legitimize him, taking him from prospect to contender. There’s a lot riding on this fight, and a potential title shot could be waiting for the winner.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones Likely Won’t Return to Fight Dan Henderson Until August or September

Jon Jones has been one of the busiest fighters in the UFC over the past 14 months or so. He’s easily the most active champion, having made three title defenses since the last time Anderson Silva defended his belt.Jones said after UFC 145 that he wanted…

Jones said after UFC 145 that he wanted to fight three times in 2012. He has one of those fights out of the way, and his next bout will come against Dan Henderson. But according to Jones’ manager Malki Kawa, the Light Heavyweight Champion wants to take a little time off before returning to the cage. Jones was rumored to fight on the UFC 149 card in Calgary, but Kawa says it’s too soon for Jones to return to the cage:

“He will not be fighting in July,” Kawa said. “It’s just probably a little too soon. There’s been no timetable yet but July probably isn’t going to happen.”

September looks like a more likely date for Jones vs. Henderson. UFC 150, which takes place on August 11, would have been a good date for the fight, but that show will likely be headlined by the rematch between lightweight champion Benson Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar.

Two title fights are a possibility for that show. It is UFC 150, after all, a landmark event in the UFC’s history. But the UFC tries to avoid booking two title fights on the same card whenever possible, and they’re already doing two championship fights on one card at UFC 148.

The UFC will return to Toronto on September 22. As of right now, that show will be UFC 151—a good fit for Jones vs. Henderson. Jones defeated Lyoto Machida in Toronto in December, and the UFC likes to headline Toronto cards with title fights.

If Jones fights in September, he will need to execute another quick turnaround and fight in December in order to meet his goal of three fights in 2012. But that should be easy for Jones, as he’s used to being an active fighter.

If Jones gets by Henderson, who should be the opponent for his final fight of 2012? Alexander Gustafsson is the only opponent who really makes sense, at least right now.

Could we finally witness a move to heavyweight at the end of the year?

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UFC on FOX 3: Josh Koscheck and the Biggest Heels in MMA History

They’re the fighters we love to hate.They’re the ones who don’t give a crap about the fans or what the fans think.They are, to borrow a term from professional wrestling, the heels of mixed martial arts. And more often than not, they’re much bigger supe…

They’re the fighters we love to hate.

They’re the ones who don’t give a crap about the fans or what the fans think.

They are, to borrow a term from professional wrestling, the heels of mixed martial arts. And more often than not, they’re much bigger superstars than the guys who bow respectfully to their opponents and never speak out of turn.

Some of them, like Brock Lesnar, embrace the role. They play it to the hilt in an effort to gain more exposure, because more exposure means more money. Some, like Rashad Evans, don’t really want to be disliked, but the fans choose to boo them anyway.

Josh Koscheck, who faces Johny Hendricks on Saturday night at UFC on FOX in New Jersey, is one of the fighters who have embraced the role, and it’s turned him into one of the biggest and most enduring superstars in the UFC. And while Koscheck is, in fact, a great MMA heel, there are plenty of others.

Let’s take a look at the biggest heels in MMA history.

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Dana White Says He’s Going to Change ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ in Future Seasons

It’s no secret that the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter Live has experienced some growing pains. It may look and feel a whole lot like previous seasons, but in reality it’s an entirely new concept with plenty of difficulties involved on the p…

It’s no secret that the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter Live has experienced some growing pains. It may look and feel a whole lot like previous seasons, but in reality it’s an entirely new concept with plenty of difficulties involved on the production end.

The biggest problem presented for the production team comes in how they develop and tell stories that are interesting to the audience over the course of a full season.

With previous seasons, the producers knew the results before the product ever aired on television. They were able to build interesting storylines that led to the fights, all while knowing what the outcome of the actual fight would be. That’s an invaluable thing when dealing with television.

For the most part, the live nature takes that ability away. The production staff can try to build stories on a weekly basis, but it’s tough to do that without knowing how the fight is going to turn out. They’re still doing an admirable job with that they’re given, but it doesn’t have the same kind of suspense and drama that previous seasons did.

Dana White recognizes that there are issues with the show. It’s been the lowest-rated season in history, and White is cognizant of that fact. He says to stick with him, because there will be changes to the show in the future, which could include a move to a different day:

“This is a team effort. We’re doing what we’re doing this season, and then we’re going to switch some things up. We’re going to make this thing work and make it great—if it’s Friday night or it’s whatever. Believe me.”

Fridays are a difficult time to capture audiences, even for live sporting events. Fans don’t want to stay home and watch TV. They want to go out with their friends, and they’ll DVR the show and then watch it later in the weekend. Moving the show to Wednesday or Thursday nights would go a long way toward drawing in more viewers.

What other changes can they make to the show to make things more compelling? The live format is interesting from a fight perspective, but right now it ultimately feels like a one-hour UFC countdown show for a fight between two guys you’ve probably never heard of.

What changes would you make to make the show more interesting and fresh? Sound off in the comments.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Power Ranking the Top Brothers in Mixed Martial Arts

What makes a fighter? Is it nature? Nurture? Or a combination of both? No one knows for sure, and sibling fighters only confuse the issue further. In MMA’s 19-year history, there have been 20 sets of siblings that have competed at the highest levels&md…

What makes a fighter? Is it nature? Nurture? Or a combination of both? No one knows for sure, and sibling fighters only confuse the issue further.

In MMA‘s 19-year history, there have been 20 sets of siblings that have competed at the highest levels—in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce or all three.

Sometimes both brothers have had significant success. Sometimes, one has stood out, and the other comes along for the ride.

Some familiar names grace this list. From the Hughes to the Gracies, from the Nogueiras to the Serras, MMA’s most famous families are all included.

Which brothers stand out from all the others as the top family affair in MMA?

Read on to find out.

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Top 25 Pound-for-Pound Fighters in MMA

After what felt like forever, the UFC is back and running shows on a weekly basis. With April over and one of the most anticipated title fights in the promotion’s history now in the books, it’s time to take a look at the top 25 pound for pound fighters…

Some names may surprise you while others will be viewed as the obvious choices. What I can tell you is that the pound for pound rankings remain as one of the most volatile and ever changing aspects of MMA and one that will constantly cause debate amongst fans.

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the top 25 pound for pound fighters in MMA…

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