Tag: Caged In

Frank Mir Believes He Poses a Big Threat to Junior Dos Santos

Frank Mir has been with the UFC for over 10 years. That’s an amazing statistic, especially when you consider that Mir is a heavyweight. As a general rule, heavyweights don’t really have that kind of staying power.Very few heavyweights have put together…

Frank Mir has been with the UFC for over 10 years. That’s an amazing statistic, especially when you consider that Mir is a heavyweight. As a general rule, heavyweights don’t really have that kind of staying power.

Very few heavyweights have put together the kind of career Mir has over the past decade. He’s a multiple-time champion. He’s the only man to submit and knock out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. And despite those dark times when it seemed like Mir was nearing irrelevancy, he once again finds himself in the title picture as he replaces Alistair Overeem against Junior dos Santos next month at UFC 146.

Mir was the only logical choice to replace Overeem. Sources close to the UFC told me two weeks ago that should Overeem be pulled from his title fight, Mir would be the guy to replace him. Cain Velasquez couldn’t be put back in a title fight due to the way he lost his last bout to Dos Santos. Antonio Silva lost his last bout to Daniel Cormier. Fabricio Werdum couldn’t be ready in time, and he’s needed for the UFC’s Brazil card in June. And, despite a fan campaign that was borderline ludicrous, Mark Hunt was never an option.

Mir appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani today, where he said he assumed that he would be the guy to replace Overeem:

“I just kind of did the math in my own mind,” Mir explained on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “My team around me, we all pretty much felt that if dos Santos were to stay on the card, and Overeem was not able to challenge for the title, then I was the most logical person to step in. So as we were still training for Cain (Velasquez), there was that at the back of my mind, okay, be prepared for this to happen also.”

As a replacement opponent, Mir makes sense. He has the biggest name out of the potential replacements, and he’s riding a three-fight winning streak. There’s also the storyline of dos Santos going for revenge against the guy who twice beat his mentor in Nogueira.

Mir understands fan disappointment in not being able to see Overeem gunning for the title, but he believes he still makes for a compelling opponent for the heavyweight champion:

“I still pose a very large threat to dos Santos,” Mir vowed. “I still think it’ll be an interesting cat-and-mouse game between me and Junior, because what I want to be able to impose on him, he’s going to try to avoid, and vice versa.”

Mir has a better chance of winning the heavyweight title than most people are giving him. He obviously has the kind of submission game that makes him a threat on the ground, and Dos Santos will want to avoid the takedown at all costs. If the fight stays standing, Dos Santos should have a boxing advantage, but we have seen Mir drastically improve his kickboxing game over the past two years. 

Yeah, we all wanted to see Overeem. But this was the right choice when you consider the controversy surrounding Overeem at the moment.  

Dos Santos vs. Mir will still be a compelling fight.

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UFC 145 Report Card: Grades for Jones, Evans, McDonald and More

It’s time to take our usual look at Saturday’s completed fight card and assign grades to each of the fighters involved in the big Atlanta card. How did Jon Jones, Michael McDonald, Rashad Evans and the rest of the stars of the event fare?Read below to …

It’s time to take our usual look at Saturday’s completed fight card and assign grades to each of the fighters involved in the big Atlanta card. How did Jon Jones, Michael McDonald, Rashad Evans and the rest of the stars of the event fare?

Read below to find out.

A+

Jon Jones: Jones said after the fight that this wasn’t the best performance of his career, and perhaps it wasn’t. But Jones still completely dominated yet another top light heavyweight, and that equals high marks in my book.

Jones has a wrestling background, but looking at his striking against Evans, you’d think he’d been a high-level kickboxer before making the transition to MMA. It’s simply stunning that Jones has only really been training his striking game for a little over four years. He used creative strikes, effective angles and his huge reach advantage to batter Evans from pillar to post for much of the fight.

Sure, he didn’t finish the fight, but that doesn’t matter one bit. He still made a great former light heavyweight champion look like he didn’t belong in the same cage. There’s something to be said for that, and it can be summed up in one word: greatness.

A

Michael McDonald: His fight against Miguel Torres was designed to, at least theoretically, turn McDonald into a bantamweight star and contender. He delivered on that in spades with his violent first-round knockout.

Travis Browne: This guy is 6’7″, 250 pounds, and he’s still able to execute moves like the spectacular double flying knee he used on Chad Griggs? That’s a dangerous combination. Browne is a potential heavyweight star in the making.

Brian Stann: Stann didn’t fight on the card, but he did participate in the Fuel TV coverage of the event. And once again, “The All American” proved that he’s a smooth, polished television presence with the ability to break down the important parts of upcoming fights and describe them in a way that is easily digested by the average fan. He’s a true asset for the UFC in every way.

B+

Rory MacDonald: MacDonald dominated Che Mills on the ground, but he had some difficulty in the striking game. That’s the only thing preventing him from earning an A for his performance as he’s still the best welterweight prospect in the UFC.

Ben Rothwell: Rothwell’s newly-slimmed figure proved that he’s been working hard to get in fighting shape, and his knockout of Brendan Schaub showed that he’s got the power to finish people in the heavyweight division. And his post-fight interview was one of the more memorable moments of the entire evening.

C

Rashad Evans: Evans was clearly outmatched by Jones, but he still landed a few power punches here and there. I wish he’d used more of his wrestling game, but he gave that up pretty quickly after realizing he was going to have a difficult time getting Jones to the ground. Evans should still be proud of his performance against the guy many now consider to be the best fighter in the world.

Mark Bocek: It wasn’t pretty, but his wrestling-match win over John Alessio did the job. Unfortunately it was one of the more boring fights of the entire card and it didn’t win him many new fans.

Eddie Yagin: Yagin was an unheralded fighter who was expected to lose to Mark Hominick. Instead, he outstruck the struggling former title contender for two rounds and scored the upset decision win. It wasn’t pretty, but it was exciting enough to earn Yagin a hefty Fight of the Night bonus.

Matt Brown: Brown’s win over Stephan Thompson was ugly, but it was effective. Brown endured nearly being knocked out twice in the first two rounds and earned a hard-fought decision win. We already knew Brown was tough, though, so we didn’t learn much about his game.

D

John Alessio: You have to feel for Alessio. The former title contender worked so hard to get back into the UFC, and then got stuck in a wrestling match against a better grappler. He outstruck Bocek on the feet but couldn’t do anything on the ground. I don’t expect Alessio to get his walking papers just yet, though, especially after taking this fight on such short notice. The UFC tends to reward fighters who help them out.

Stephan Thompson: “Wonderboy” had a ton of hype going into his fight with Matt Brown. He looked good when the fight stayed on the feet, but had extreme difficulty in blocking takedowns and the ground game in general. He’s still an incredible striker, but he needs to work the other aspects of his game if he wants to last very long in the UFC.

F

Chad Griggs: Griggs is a tough dude, but he had very little answer for Travis Browne on the ground. “Gravedigger” is planning a move to light heavyweight, which is a good move since he’s drastically undersized against other UFC heavyweights. I’m not sure how much success he’ll have against the light heavies unless he works on his ground game.

Che Mills: Joe Rogan hyped Mills as a fantastic striker, and he is. But he had nothing to offer once Rory MacDonald put him on his back. He’ll struggle with that issue against any wrestler he faces at welterweight, which limits his potential and how far he might be able to go.

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UFC 145: 5 Fights to Make After Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans

UFC 145, and the biggest grudge match in recent Ultimate Fighting Championship memory, is finally in the books. It’s time to take a look forward at what should be next in store for some of the biggest winners (and losers) from another excellent UFC eve…

UFC 145, and the biggest grudge match in recent Ultimate Fighting Championship memory, is finally in the books. It’s time to take a look forward at what should be next in store for some of the biggest winners (and losers) from another excellent UFC event.

Let’s start at the top:

 

Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson

This isn’t much of a stretch, because we already know it’s happening. We just don’t know when. Henderson is the rightful contender and has been waiting for his shot since beating Shogun Rua in one of the best fights in UFC history in December.

Unfortunately for Henderson, he doesn’t have much of a chance against the reigning champion.

Jones’ otherworldly reach will present even more problems for Henderson than it did for Evans, and Henderson will have to rely on landing that big right hand of his.

There’s a chance that could happen, of course. All of Henderson’s opponents know that he wants to land the “H-Bomb,” and he’s usually able to do it anyway.

Jones is a different kind of fighter, though. He’s brilliant in the cage, and I don’t see Henderson getting close enough to land that one shot. Jones should walk through him with relative ease.

 

Rashad Evans vs. Mark Munoz

This fight would need one thing, of course: Evans would need to drop down to middleweight. I believe that’s the best course for him at this point in his career.

He faces a long road if he wants to get back to another shot at Jones, and by the time it happens, he’ll be even older and Jones will be a better fighter. Suga’s prospects for another light heavyweight title reign are bleak.

He’s always been undersized at light heavyweight, though, and a move to middleweight would put him on equal footing with the guys in that division.

A bout with Munoz, another highly-decorated wrestler, would be intriguing on many levels, and a win for Evans over a guy like Munoz would cement him as a title challenger for Anderson Silva or Chael Sonnen. The same goes for Munoz; a win over Evans would give him real momentum heading into a title fight.

It’s time for Evans to make the move down a weight class, and this is the perfect introductory fight for him in the division.

 

Rory MacDonald vs. Josh Koscheck/Johny Hendricks

MacDonald is certainly one of the best prospects in the welterweight division. The UFC is positioning him as a future star, but he’ll need to beat a real star in order to cement himself near the top of the division.

A bout against the winner of the Koscheck/Hendricks fight that takes place in two weeks at UFC on FOX 3 would give MacDonald that credibility, especially if it comes over Koscheck. It would also give MacDonald a clear shot at the interim welterweight title and afford him a chance to garner revenge over Carlos Condit, the one guy who has handed MacDonald a loss during his young career.

 

Ben Rothwell vs. Roy Nelson

Rothwell’s stunning knockout over Brendan Schaub kick-started his career in many ways. He was on the verge of retiring from the sport with another loss, but gained new life and tons of new fans with his emotional performance.

With Antonio Silva moving up to face Cain Velasquez at UFC 146, Roy Nelson needs a new opponent for the card.

Why not Rothwell?

He’s uninjured after the Schaub fight, and he already owns a win over Nelson from back in their IFL days. He’s the perfect replacement opponent for Nelson in just about every way, shape and form.

 

Michael McDonald vs. Brian Bowles

McDonald’s knockout win over Miguel Torres firmly established him as not just one of the hottest bantamweight prospects in the world, but as a real top-five fighter in the division.

I suspect Renan Barao will get a title shot against the winner of Urijah Faber/Dominick Cruz, provided Barao can beat Jeff Houghland, which leaves McDonald needing one more fight before securing a championship bout of his own.

Bowles is coming off a loss to Faber last November, but he’s still one of the top fighters in the division. He represents a step up in the division for McDonald, which seems like a natural career progression for the youngster.

And a win over Bowles would turn McDonald from a hot prospect into the real deal and a championship contender. 

Plus, the fight would probably be awesome. Both guys are outstanding strikers, and the odds are high this one would have a violent ending.

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Greg Jackson Details the Game Plan Jon Jones Used to Batter Rashad Evans

Greg Jackson is one of the smartest coaches in mixed martial arts.He’s a voracious reader of anything historical, and studies the intricacies of mixed martial arts like a general studies the arts and ways of war. His busy schedule means that the days o…

Greg Jackson is one of the smartest coaches in mixed martial arts.

He’s a voracious reader of anything historical, and studies the intricacies of mixed martial arts like a general studies the arts and ways of war. His busy schedule means that the days of Jackson spending each and every day coaching his guys in his New Mexico gym are probably long gone, but make no mistake about it: Jackson is still the brains, the guy who comes up with the game plans and he’s the one in their corner come fight night to ensure that they execute it properly.

Jon Jones used another one of Jackson’s brilliant game plans on Saturday night. It wasn’t perfect execution by Jones; the light heavyweight champ respected Evans as a fighter, and that made him a little shaky throughout all five rounds. But Jones still did his job, and did so effectively.

After the conclusion of the fight, FuelTV’s Karyn Bryant talked to Jackson about the game plan he designed for Jones.

“It was a pretty intricate game plan because Rashad brings a lot of stuff. But underpinning it was constant forward pressure,” Jackson told Bryant. “Not letting him get a chance to establish his rhythm was a very, very important component.”

There’s almost always a moment during a Jones fight where we sit back and go, “well, I don’t know what the heck he just did there, but it was pretty awesome.” There were two such moments during Saturday’s fight: the standing elbow strikes Jones used to rock Evans and the shoulder punches he used to keep Evans from changing levels during a takedown attempt. 

Jackson said that’s par for the course when dealing with Jones.

“The thing about Jon is that you don’t want to get too hyper-specific about what you exactly want him to do. He likes that, but it’s better to let him flow and be creative,” Jackson said. “We worked a lot of stuff similar to that, but you never know when he’s going to do it, and neither does his opponent.”

It’s clear as it ever was that we’re dealing with a special talent. It’s an honor to watch Jones do what he does in the cage, and that’s not hyperbole. We could very well be seeing the rapid ascension of the greatest fighter in the history of the sport.  

Kudos to Jackson for having the mental clarity to seemingly know the correct thing to do with Jones each and every time out of the gate.

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UFC 145 Results: Jon Jones Invents New Ways to Clobber Rashad Evans

If there was any question about who the best fighter in the world is, Jon Jones answered it definitively at UFC 145. Against his former teammate Rashad Evans, Jones looked out of this world. After a close first round, Jones faked a punch and landed a s…

If there was any question about who the best fighter in the world is, Jon Jones answered it definitively at UFC 145. Against his former teammate Rashad Evans, Jones looked out of this world. After a close first round, Jones faked a punch and landed a sneaky elbow behind it in Round 2, and Evans was never the same.

Jon Jones is Mike Tyson. Not Mike Tyson the boxer—Mike Tyson the final boss in Nintendo’s Punch-Out!!. He’s Bowser, Doctor Wily and Akuma rolled into one, only the game is set on expert and there is no hope of success.

Jon Jones can be compared to a video-game character or a comic book villain because he does things that are so ridiculous they seem fictional. Muay Thai is the art of eight limbs. But for Jones, the knees, elbows, feet and hands weren’t enough. To satiate his desire to do bodily harm to opponents, Jones invented a lunging shoulder strike from close quarters.

Every fight sees something similar happen. Jones is without peer when it comes to conceiving new ways to straight up merck someone. Spinning elbows, Superman elbows, and the shoulder shrug are now part of the MMA lexicon. In this fight, he even tried to lift the Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson headkick.

Worse still for anyone stepping across the cage from him? He’s mean. Snake mean. Jones continued to throw kicks to the kneecap, even innovating a jumping kick right to the knee. It’s all fair game, but he makes no bones about his intentions—and they are bad.

It’s hard to imagine someone challenging him at this point. Evans is a great fighter and Jones overwhelmed him, looking like a hungry pterodactyl swooping in to do dirt.

Anderson Silva? As amazing as he is, Jones would toss him to the mat and Hammill his head off. Dan Henderson? If Evans couldn’t overcome Jones’ reach with his quickness and jab, what hope does Hendo have of finding the champion’s jaw with his powerful right hand?

I think it’s time to settle in for the ride. This is Jon Jones’ world. We need to attach ourselves to his skyrocketing hype train and ride it as far as he can take us. To the mainstream and beyond!

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UFC 145 Jon Jones Versus Rashad Evans: High Stakes Tonight in Atlanta

For weeks, months, what’s felt like decades, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones have gone back and forth. The former training partners have battled in the press, through proxies, even face to face at Las Vegas nightclub. Tonight, the time for talk is over.When…

For weeks, months, what’s felt like decades, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones have gone back and forth. The former training partners have battled in the press, through proxies, even face to face at Las Vegas nightclub. Tonight, the time for talk is over.

When you strip away the glitz, glamour, and endless trash talk, mixed martial arts is the most intimate of sports. Two fighters enter a steel cage, wearing just some athletic shorts and a bad expression and try to break another man’s will. It’s the most primal of all competition—and tonight at UFC 145 we will see two of the very best who have ever strapped on gloves and attempted to render an opponent unconscious.

Jon Jones is the wunderkind. Sources close to the fighter tell Bleacher Report he’s never been more motivated. He has stayed away from the nightlife and party scene for 12 long weeks to prepare for Evans. When he enters the cage, he will be the best he’s ever been. People can’t stop raving about his potential.

Potential!

Seems like a strange word for someone arguably already the best fighter in the sport. He’s already the champion of the world, how much better can he possibly get? The answer you get from UFC insiders? Big enough to transcend this sport. To take his place at a higher level of cultural consciousness. To stand side-by-side with Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Floyd Mayweather and actually belong in that august company.

Before he can do that though, there’s the little matter of Rashad Evans. Evans is the underdog for a reason. He stands a smidgen below six feet tall. He’s so small for his weight class that he can dine at Chipotle while everyone else of the card is furiously cutting weight. Against Jones he will likely give up close to 20 pounds in weight and a whopping ten inches in reach.

And yet, it’s hard to count Evans out. He’s been counted out his whole career and has managed to triumph again and again. Evans has been in the cage against the best and survived. It’s that veteran presence, combined with strong takedowns, and a fast, powerful right hand that makes him a viable threat to Jones.

Forget about personal animus—when it comes right down to it, we’ll see two savvy professionals exchanging techniques at the highest level, not two drunks in a furious bar brawl. It’s a nice reminder that beneath all the artifice and the noise, mixed martial arts is a sport. And sporting events don’t get much better than UFC 145.

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