(#TheTimeIsNow…to throw this poster in the damn garbage pile.)
While we at CagePotato decided to take the day off yesterday to spend time with our children, the UFC injury plague was hard at work on January 1st, steady knockin’ fighters off of main cards. Here’s the latest casualty list…
– UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 60 main event against Matt Brown on February 14th due to a groin injury. The UFC will have to hustle to find a decent replacement opponent for Brown, because no other fight on the lineup screams “headliner.” We’re not trying to be a dick or anything, but when your event is so weak that a Tarec Saffiedine injury destroys it, maybe you deserve whatever happens to you?
(#TheTimeIsNow…to throw this poster in the damn garbage pile.)
While we at CagePotato decided to take the day off yesterday to spend time with our children, the UFC injury plague was hard at work on January 1st, steady knockin’ fighters off of main cards. Here’s the latest casualty list…
– UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 60 main event against Matt Brown on February 14th due to a groin injury. The UFC will have to hustle to find a decent replacement opponent for Brown, because no other fight on the lineup screams “headliner.” We’re not trying to be a dick or anything, but when your event is so weak that a Tarec Saffiedine injury destroys it, maybe you deserve whatever happens to you?
Henderson and Alvarez will both be looking to bounce back from recent defeats. Henderson is coming off his first-round knockout loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 49 in August, while Alvarez was out-pointed by Donald Cerrone in his Octagon debut at UFC 178.
The Herald is also reporting two more interesting bookings for the 1/18 card…
(Eddie Alvarez briefly turns Donald Cerrone into Karl Childers during their three-round war last month. / Photo via Getty)
Henderson and Alvarez will both be looking to bounce back from recent defeats. Henderson is coming off his first-round knockout loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 49 in August, while Alvarez was out-pointed by Donald Cerrone in his Octagon debut at UFC 178.
The Herald is also reporting two more interesting bookings for the 1/18 card…
– Jorge Masvidal vs. Norman Parke. Masvidal has won three straight in the lightweight division, most recently taking a decision over James Krause at UFC 178. Parke — the TUF Smashes winner who’s still undefeated in the UFC — was supposed to face Diego Sanchez next month at UFC 180 but had to withdraw due to a knee injury.
– Uriah Hall vs. Costas Philippou. This is actually a rematch for the two middleweights, who previously met at Ring of Combat 34 back in February 2011, with Philippou earning a majority decision. Hall has won back to back fights against Chris Leben and Thiago Santos, while Philippou is coming off a knockout win against Lorenz Larkin.
In case you missed the incredible (and somewhat unsettling) three-round smash-up between Matt Brown and Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40 on Saturday night, watch this quick recap of the action. Two quick takeaways: 1) Brown might be the toughest sumbitch in UFC history. 2) At the 0:47 mark, you will see the closest that MMA has ever come to a double-KO via body shots. I’m glad the fight turned out with a triumphant victory for the very deserving Immortal, but damn, that would have been awesome.
After the jump: Matt Brown’s post-fight interview, and highlights from Costa Philippou and Lorenz Larkin’s one-round slugfest.
In case you missed the incredible (and somewhat unsettling) three-round smash-up between Matt Brown and Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40 on Saturday night, watch this quick recap of the action. Two quick takeaways: 1) Brown might be the toughest sumbitch in UFC history. 2) At the 0:47 mark, you will see the closest that MMA has ever come to a double-KO via body shots. I’m glad the fight turned out with a triumphant victory for the very deserving Immortal, but damn, that would have been awesome.
After the jump: Matt Brown’s post-fight interview, and highlights from Costa Philippou and Lorenz Larkin’s one-round slugfest.
(Now that Cole is financially better off, maybe he can afford to stop stealing his fight trunks from Cody McKenzie’s dresser. Photo via Getty.)
About midway through the Fight Night 35 main card, I headed to a local bar with some friends for trivia night, my intention being to halfheartedly watch the card to completion whilst shoveling down pull pork nachos and trying to figure out who the 14th President of the United States was without using the smartphone I don’t even have.
Amidst a crowd of heavily inebriated Bostonians, I attempted to get the bartender to change one of the 15 plasma screen televisions surrounding me to FOX Sports 1. She changed it to FOX, at the exact moment American Idol was starting, which drew some strange reactions from the bar patrons that in turn forced me to hang my head in shame until she made it back around. When she finally did, and after a brief back and forth about what FS1 exactly was, she informed me that “we don’t play fights here” before switching to CNN.
This intolerance left me cold inside, colder than any amount of nachos could ever hope to warm. But I tried, dammit. I really tried…
What does any of this have to do with the Fight Night 35 salaries? Nothing, I guess. I just thought it would interest you to know that MMA bias is still alive and rampant, even in some of the sport’s most gung-ho cities. Join us after the jump to see the saddening result of this intolerance.
(Now that Cole is financially better off, maybe he can afford to stop stealing his fight trunks from Cody McKenzie’s dresser. Photo via Getty.)
About midway through the Fight Night 35 main card, I headed to a local bar with some friends for trivia night, my intention being to halfheartedly watch the card to completion whilst shoveling down pull pork nachos and trying to figure out who the 14th President of the United States was without using the smartphone I don’t even have.
Amidst a crowd of heavily inebriated Bostonians, I attempted to get the bartender to change one of the 15 plasma screen televisions surrounding me to FOX Sports 1. She changed it to FOX, at the exact moment American Idol was starting, which drew some strange reactions from the bar patrons that in turn forced me to hang my head in shame until she made it back around. When she finally did, and after a brief back and forth about what FS1 exactly was, she informed me that “we don’t play fights here” before switching to CNN.
This intolerance left me cold inside, colder than any amount of nachos could ever hope to warm. But I tried, dammit. I really tried…
What does any of this have to do with the Fight Night 35 salaries? Nothing, I guess. I just thought it would interest you to know that MMA bias is still alive and rampant, even in some of the sport’s most gung-ho cities. Join us after the jump to see the saddening result of this intolerance.
Nothing too surprising here, although given their respective octagon records, it shocks me to learn that Costa Philippou makes less to show than Cole Miller. He may have lost his last two fights, but for a guy who was in talks of title convention prior to his recent skid, he sure ain’t making that much to show for it. Same goes for the Derek Brunson/John Moraga discrepancy. Guess it pays to eat your Wheaties, kids.
But seriously, the bartender might as well have told me that MMA fans are a bunch of psychopathic miscreants who hold no place in decent, basketball-watching, beer-chugging society. She said it with her eyes, anyways.
Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut,Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:
“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”
In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.
Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut,Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:
“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”
In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.
In injury news, Derek Brunson was taken to a hospital after the event to reportedly have surgery on a fractured jaw. (I’m surprised he didn’t have a bunch of broken ribs as well, thanks to all those elbows that Romero dropped on him in the finish. By the way, was that a late stoppage or what? Referee Blake Grice should have to chip in for Brunson’s medical bills.) Also, Cole Miller broke his hand and will find out today if he needs surgery.
“First of all, I don’t know if anybody remembers this but Georges St. Pierre is the one who said that he wanted to do the extra drug testing because he wanted to prove that he wasn’t on drugs. It wasn’t that he thought that Johny Hendricks was on steroids or performance enhancing drugs of any kind; he wanted to do this…[Y]ou see it in boxing all the time. One guy comes out and says ‘I want to do extra drug testing because I’m worried about this guy and I want to see what’s going on.’ They never come to an agreement. This guy says ‘I want to use this one’, this guy says ‘I want to use that one’; the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to test them, okay?
“Now, a lot of things… I’ve talked about the Nevada State Athletic Commission as far as the refs and the judges; they drug test. Not only did they drug test Josh Barnett for his last fight because Josh Barnett has been busted for performance enhancing drugs before, they also made Travis Browne do it at the same time and the UFC paid for that. We paid for that drug testing. Also, for him to say we’re very lenient on drug testing, when we go out of the country and we regulate ourselves we test everybody on the card, not just the main event, not just the co-main event. You want to talk about being lenient? The fight that I was screaming about, yelling about that it was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen, Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva, we tested the guys for that fight, we caught Bigfoot Silva, and he got destroyed. Literally, got destroyed for going over the limit.
“He didn’t test positive, what he did was: Vitor Belfort, Bigfoot Silva, any of these other guys that are on TRT we test them throughout their whole camp. He did his last test the week of the fight and his numbers were fine. He took a shot after he got tested. So we tested him again after and his levels were through the roof and he got destroyed. Lost the win money that we gave him, lost the bonus money that we gave him, and obviously he’s not getting an extra bonus. The guy got smashed, and he’s suspended for a year. So if that’s lenient on drugs I guess we’re lenient then. I mean, I don’t even know what to say to it…
“What I heard is Georges St. Pierre is upset about some of the things I said at the press conference and he’s upset that I said that he didn’t win the fight, that I thought Johny Hendricks won the fight. But if that’s the case, call me man-to-man. Let’s talk on the phone, let’s sit down face-to-face. I talked to him after the fight face-to-face (and) he didn’t say any of that to me. So the whole thing is a little weird…
“And then as far as the other thing he said that we’re a monopoly? Viacom is our competitor. They have a $40 billion market cap. $40 billion. I’m never going to see $40 billion for as long as I live. Neither will the UFC, so we’re not a monopoly either.
“So, everything Georges St. Pierre says is a little kooky. That’s the other thing too: I’m here, I’ve been in Atlanta, I’ve been on planes, and doing all this stuff. Lorenzo reached out to him and Lorenzo still hasn’t heard from him yet. If Georges St. Pierre wants to talk like a man he can pick up the phone and call us or come see us face-to-face, but everything that he said is ridiculous.”
Full results from UFC Fight Night 35 are below; click the links for video highlights from each fight.
(Luke and Costa face off in front of the wax replica of Dana White that the UFC has been sending to non-essential events. No offense, guys. At least you’re not on Fight Pass. / Photo via Getty)
Look, what can we tell you about UFC Fight Night 35 that we haven’t already expressed via dog GIFs? Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou are a pair of highly-regarded middleweights who are trying to avoid a two-fight losing streak. Supporting their main event is a worthwhile list of TUF vets (Brad Tavares, TJ Dillashaw, Cole Miller, Sam Sicilia), a former flyweight title challenger (John Moraga), and a fast-rising knockout artist named Yoel Romero. It’s on cable TV, and early enough to watch while you’re eating your salisbury steak. Take it or leave it.
Handling our liveblog of the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” FOX Sports 1 main card is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, join the conversation in the comments section.
(Luke and Costa face off in front of the wax replica of Dana White that the UFC has been sending to non-essential events. No offense, guys. At least you’re not on Fight Pass. / Photo via Getty)
Look, what can we tell you about UFC Fight Night 35 that we haven’t already expressed via dog GIFs? Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou are a pair of highly-regarded middleweights who are trying to avoid a two-fight losing streak. Supporting their main event is a worthwhile list of TUF vets (Brad Tavares, TJ Dillashaw, Cole Miller, Sam Sicilia), a former flyweight title challenger (John Moraga), and a fast-rising knockout artist named Yoel Romero. It’s on cable TV, and early enough to watch while you’re eating your salisbury steak. Take it or leave it.
Handling our liveblog of the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” FOX Sports 1 main card is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, join the conversation in the comments section.
Preliminary card results:
– Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)*
– Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkilic via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Vinc Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Beneil Dariush def. Charlie Brenneman via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:45 of round 1
* Silverio had a point deducted for an illegal knee.
Just a few minutes of intro stuff we already know, and here comes the first bout of the noche. Fight Night 35 is shaping up to be a Tic Tac-and-a-rubber type of gal: nothing fancy, just right to bidness.
Cole Miller vs. Sam Sicilia
Rd. 1 – Sicilia takes the center of the cage and puts his jab to work a little. The much taller Miller is getting it going after a slow opening minute, but neither man is getting too nasty with it just yet. Sicilia wades in, looking for a hook, but Miller is patient and sidesteps the inside hooks. Miller is testing out the head kick, it seems. Sicilia nails Miller with a tough right hand to the mid-section. Again Miller brings the kick upstairs. Sicilia is throwing his hooks hard now, but Miller is still patient and fighting behind his jab. He’s committed to that head kick, but isn’t throwing it too hard, and Sicilia keeps coming in with wide, hard shots. Decent opening round.
Rd. 2 – Miller opens with a high kick, and Sicilia answers with hooks. Miller employs the front kick. A left hook-right cross combo seems to hurt Sicilia, and you can see the damage under his left eye. Nice body shot from Sicilia. BIG right staggers and drops Sicilia. Miller pounces and slaps on a guillotine from half guard. Oh boy. Now he’s got his back…Sicilia is flattened out on his stomach…rear naked…tappy tap.
Cole Miller wins via Rd. 2 rear naked choke (and then calls out Cowboy Cerrone).
John Moraga vs. Dustin Ortiz
Rd. 1 – Big overhand right from the very energetic Ortiz just 20 seconds in, but Moraga takes it. He shoots on Ortiz…nah. Ortiz shoots now, scrambles behind Moraga, and presses him against the cage. Moraga is throwing short punches and knees from off the fence as Ortiz presses and works for position. Knees from Ortiz now, and there’s the takedown. Ortiz is in Moraga’s guard and dropping punches. Moraga can’t get up, it seems. Moraga is against the cage with Ortiz all over him. Ortiz is in half guard now and stays active from top position. MOraga going for the triangle? Looks like it. Yup. Ortiz is really throwing hard now. Bye bye, triangle attempt. Dominant round for Ortiz.
Rd. 2 – Moraga is kicking early as Ortiz bounces around the center of the cage. Nice leg kick from Moraga. Good short right hand from Moraga. Big ol’ left hook from Moraga staggers Ortiz. That was some power right there. Ortiz recovers, but Moraga has him against the cage now. They’re off the fence. Ortiz slips as Moraga feints, and Moraga is all over him. Ortiz has a hold of his leg, but he’s throwing some hard elbows. Moraga takes Ortiz’s back now. Here we go. Uh-oh, Ortiz escapes and is in side control. They scramble and are back on the feet. A hard right-left combo from Moraga connects. Ortiz shoots and has Moraga’s back with seconds left. Much better round for Moraga.
Rd. 3 – Moraga misses a big overhand right that could have been all she wrote. Moraga stuffs an Ortiz shoot and is the much more poised stand-up fighter so far. Nice right from Ortiz over the top, right on cue. Both men are throwing combos with limited success, and there’s a takedown from Ortiz. Ortiz is moving into half guard and dropping forearms. Moraga wants the kimura but can’t get it. Moraga pops up, tries for Ortiz’s back, but Ortiz reverses and has Moraga on the fence. Knees from Ortiz. Ortiz nails one last takedown. Moraga wants the guillotine, as Ortiz pounds the body. Close fight.
John Moraga wins via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Hey, there’s Ric Flair cageside, looking like death warmed over. Whooo!
Yoel Romero vs. Derek Brunson
Rd. 1- Big early left hand from Brunson. Bigger left and flying knee from Romero. Brunson gets a takedown, but Romero is back up like it aint no thang. Brunson fires a 1-2. Nice left hand to the body from Romero, but GOD DAMN did Brunson just land a monster kick to the ear of the burly Cuban gent. Wow. I’d be dead. Brunson stuffs a takedown and kicks at the lead leg. The head kick misses for Brunson. Romero with the trip takedown, but Brunson gets up and slams down Romero after a busy scramble. The round ends with both guys locked up in the center of the cage.
Rd. 2 – Brunson misses the 1-2, but hits with the right hook. Romero punches the body, but the shot is deflected to the nether regions of Brunson. Time out briefly, and we’re back. Romero is loading up for a big uppercut or hook, but Brunson lands a hard elbow in the meantime. Romero misses with wide, wild shots. Romero connects with the lead left and the right to the body. Brunson nails the takedown and is in half guard with 2 min. left. And now Brunson has the mount. Romero isn’t doing much from the botton but is avoiding any real punishment. Brunson is back in half guard, and they’re up. Romero is throwing for the KO uppercut but misses the mark. Romero misses a few takedowns, and that’s the bell.
Rd. 3 – Brunson circles away as Romero wades in for the close-quarters assault. Brunson’s half-assed takedown is stuffed with one hand. The pace has slowed markedly. Each man flicks a kick at the opponent’s lead leg. Big right from Romero drops Brunson to a knee, but he’s back up. Knee from Brunson now. Romero is loading up that uppercut. Big left from Romero. And another…Brunson is down! Romero is on him. Brunson is down and bloodied, and Romero is elbowing the shit out of his right ribs. That’s it.
Yoel Romero wins via Rd. 3 TKO (elbows).
TJ Dillashaw vs. Mike Easton
Rd. 1 – Easton fires a side kick immediately. Both men are throwing hard and moving forward early on. Dillashaw slips and lands a right. Dillashaw kicks the body. Easton returns the favor and drops Dillashaw for a second. Dillashaw grabs Easton’s knees and had his down against the cage. Easton has Dillashaw in his guard, pushes Dillashaw away with his legs, and is back up to his feet. Dillashaw clinches and takes some knees from Easton. They separate. Dillashaw lands some good short fists as he comes forward. Left uppercut-right cross combo hits for Dillashaw. Nice one. Dillashaw switches to south[paw and lands a knee to the chin. Dillashaw nails Easton with two big rights, and Easton circles away from the power. Good action.
Rd. 2 – Dillashaw is definitely landing the harder, more crisp punches, but Easton isn’t going anywhere. Easton misses the takedown, Dillashaw takes his back, and Easton finds himself fighting off a very aggressive Dillashaw from half guard. Easton’s left eye is cut. Dillashaw pounds away with the left hand. Easton is up, but takes a knee from Dillashaw. Oooh. Easton misses two spinning kicks and is again smothered by Dillashaw. Easton is down on a knee with his back to the fence and with Dillashaw in his half guard once again. Easton is up, but Dillashaw is on his back, looking to get both hooks in. Dillashaw knees Easton’s legs. Easton can’t shake Dillashaw off his back. More knees from Dillashaw. Easton wants the straight elbow, but Dillashaw slips away.
Rd. 3 – Dillashaw connects with a short uppercut in the center of the cage. Easton looks frustrated offensively and eats a right hook from Dillashaw. Big left kick to the body from Dillashaw, who seems to be in complete control of the striking exchanges. Dillashaw connects with a front kick that keeps Easton back. Easton is coming in, looking for something, but Dillashaw lands shots before Easton can make up his mind. Dillashaw is pulling away, it seems. Easton wants to clinch; Dillashaw punches his face, so no more clinch. Dillashaw is landing his combination punches seemingly at will. Easton is throwing punches in isolation, and Dillashaw is kneeing and punching as the bell sounds. Easton was dominated.
TJ Dillashaw wins via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).
Brad Tavares vs. Lorenz Larkin
Rd. 1 – Tavares opens with an inside leg kick. Tavares connects with a left hook. Larkin ust misses with the Super Man punch, and Tavares counters with the left-right combo. Larkin’s uppercut is just off the mark. Larkin brings a hard kick upstairs that Tavares blocks. Tavares throws a high klick of his own now. Tavares again kicks at the lead leg. Larkin reciprocates with the same kick. Larkin lands a punch combo from close range. Larkin kicks the lead leg, but Tavares counters with a straight punch. Larkin misses a wild kick and Tavares takes his back. Tavares drags him to a knee and has his back. Horn.
Rd. 2 – Again Tavares targets the lead leg with kicks, and he follows up with a left-right. Larkin just misses with the uppercut – looked good, but nothing. Tavares keeps kicking and follows with two punches to the facial. Tavares is keeping it simple and is winning this fight, kids. Larkin misses another uppercut and eats a counter right from Tavares. Tavares works the body, and both men are kicking one another’s lead thighs. Tavares goes for a single, gets the takedown, and has Larkin’s back. Both hooks are in and he wants the RNC. Tavares with the hammer heels to Larkin’s right leg. Larkin escapes and is in Tavares’s guard for the final seconds of the frame.
Rd. 3 – Tavares comes out hot: punching, kicking, charging forward. The Larkin offense has been confined to missed uppercuts and some successful kicks to Tavares’s left thigh, but nothing so far from the right hand. Larkin just landed a pretty good elbow, but Tavares answers with the right hand. Larkin kicks to the body, but Tavares catches the kick and goes for the takedown. Larkin grabs the head for a guillotine, but Tavares sprawls out. Tavares lands a cracking right hand, shoots in on Larkin, and presses him against the fence. Larkin lands some vicious elbows to the ear. Those look horrible. Tavares snatches a single, but Larkin stays up and lands a good uppercut, finally. Tavares again wants the single, but Larkin avoids it. Horn.
Brad Tavares wins via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3).
Costas Philippou vs Luke Rockhold
Rd. 1 – Philippou opens things up with a shot to the body. Rockhold answers with a body kick. Philippou is circling and Rockhold connects with a right hook that drops the Long Islander. Philippou is right up and lands a big right of his own. Rockhold lands a hard kick to the head. Philippou is bleeding but still connects with another right. WHOA! Rockhold threw a left kick to the body, punched upstairs, and then kicked the body again and dropped Philippou. Herb Dean rushed in and waved it off.
