Tag: DAn Henderson

Just As Pompous As Ever, Bisping Doesn’t Consider Mayhem a Worthy Opponent, But Sees the ‘Business Perspective’ of Having Him on TUF

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ncaasteve)

Steve Cofield caught up to TUF 14 coach Michael Bisping recently during a break from taping the SPIKE TV reality series, and the cocky Brit expressed his dissentient opinion that his opposing coach on the show, Jason “Mayhem” Miller is not a worthy opponent.

“I can fully understand it. The guy’s obviously….he does Bully Beatdown. He does a TV show, so he’s got a bit of got a bit of a crossover appeal, if you will, but I wasn’t overly excited that he’s going to be my next fight. I wanted somebody like Chael Sonnen or possibly the winner of [Yushin] Okami and Anderson [Silva] — you know, somebody of that stature in the middleweight division,” Bisping explained matter-of-factly. “But I can understand from a business perspective the UFC’s decision to do…you know, to give Mayhem the shot. It’s a double-edged sword. It will be good for the show, but it wasn’t the opponent I wanted though.”


(Video courtesy of YouTube/ncaasteve)

Steve Cofield caught up to TUF 14 coach Michael Bisping recently during a break from taping the SPIKE TV reality series, and the cocky Brit expressed his dissentient opinion that his opposing coach on the show, Jason “Mayhem” Miller is not a worthy opponent.

“I can fully understand it. The guy’s obviously….he does Bully Beatdown. He does a TV show, so he’s got a bit of got a bit of a crossover appeal, if you will, but I wasn’t overly excited that he’s going to be my next fight. I wanted somebody like Chael Sonnen or possibly the winner of [Yushin] Okami and Anderson [Silva] — you know, somebody of that stature in the middleweight division,” Bisping explained matter-of-factly. “But I can understand from a business perspective the UFC’s decision to do…you know, to give Mayhem the shot. It’s a double-edged sword. It will be good for the show, but it wasn’t the opponent I wanted though.”

Bisping may have caught a break when Sonnen was barred from being on the show due to his ongoing licensing issues with the California State Athletic Commission as the durable Team Quest product would drink his milkshake seven different ways.

What’s somewhat of a head-scratcher is how Bisping thinks he should be considered a superior fighter to Miller.

Let’s compare their last ten fights:

Bisping’s current three-fight streak includes wins over 39-year-old Jorge Rivera and 35-year-old Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama’s biggest win of the past three years was a very debatable split-decision over Alan Belcher. Rivera’s biggest win over the same period was against Kendall Grove.

Three of his other wins in that 10-fight span were over Jason Day, Charles McCarthy and Denis Kang — all of whom have since been dropped by the UFC.

Looking at his losses, Bisping was knocked out by Dan Henderson and dropped decisions to Rashad Evans, (which prompted him to drop to middleweight) and to aging veteran Wanderlei Silva, whose UFC success could be described as lacklustre, in spite of his go-for-broke fan-friendly style.

If we go back further and find the biggest win of Bisping’s career, it would have to be the one he stole from Matt Hamill, which most would argue was a gift decision awarded to him by hometown judges in England. Because the fight took place at light heavyweight, it doesn’t improve his spot in the rankings.

Now let’s take a look at Miller’s past ten fights.

His win over Sakuraba pretty much cancels out Bisping’s win over Rivera and you could argue that his win over Tim Kennedy is worth more than any of Bisping’s, considering he is consistently ranked higher than any of the fighters “The Count” has fought at 185.

One point that’s worth noting is that Bisping has only fought one top 5 ranked middlewight fighter — Dan Henderson — and he was knocked out in devastating fashion in that fight. Miller has faced two: Chael Sonnen and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and although he lost to both of them, he did so by decision, which in itself is a feat considering the caliber of both fighters.

He also survived three rounds with one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Maybe we’re missing something, but how exactly is Bisping on another echelon than Miller?

He later backtracks slightly in the interview from all but calling Miller a can to simply stating he’s a decent fighter looking to propel himself into the limelight by beating a fighter of his, er..stature.

“Listen…Miller’s tough. There’s no question, he’s super tough. He’s got great cardio. He’s tough as hell. If you look at his fight with Georges St-Pierre, he was getting the shit kicked out of him and he was just laughing the whole time. So he’s hard to finish, do you know what I mean? He’s tough. He’s got awesome jiu-jitsu. He’s got underrated stand-up and good wrestling. So don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating him. I’m not thinking he’s a lesser fighter than me,” Bisping explained with a straight face after stating minutes before that he was a superior fighter to Miller. “That’s not what I’m saying. But in terms of world rankings and getting a title shot, I don’t think he’s going to progress me in my career. In some ways I think he’s a bad match-up because the pressure’s going to be on me because I’m expected to beat him. And he’s obviously looking to make a name on my back.”

So a win over Mayhem wouldn’t do anything for his career, but his past three wins over Akiyama, Miller and Rivera did?

Fight Matrix’s middleweight rankings disagree:

 

 

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson: An Early Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC 131 is water under the bridge. But that doesn’t mean the MMA summer is over. Far from it.At the Strikeforce event on July 30, Fedor Emelianenko will try to find that misplaced cloak of invincibility he dropped somewhere along the way several months…

UFC 131 is water under the bridge. But that doesn’t mean the MMA summer is over. Far from it.

At the Strikeforce event on July 30, Fedor Emelianenko will try to find that misplaced cloak of invincibility he dropped somewhere along the way several months back. His opponent, Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, is looking to reaffirm his importance in the face of Father Time and a changing sport.

Though there’s nothing on the line in this heavyweight matchup, and a win may not vault either man into any new title conversations, it is still a hotly anticipated clash between two old lions of the sport, each looking to prove he can still hunt with the alpha males.

Here’s a head-to-toe breakdown of this red-letter date on the MMA calendar.

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Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Fight Card

Filed under: StrikeforceThe Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson fight card features a Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko main event on July 30 and emanates from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman States, Ill.

The superfight between former PRIDE champions…

Filed under:

Fedor vs. Henderson fight card.The Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson fight card features a Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko main event on July 30 and emanates from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman States, Ill.

The superfight between former PRIDE champions will be at a catchweight of 220 pounds. Fedor finds himself on a two-fight losing streak after getting bounced from the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP by Antonio Silva. Meanwhile, Henderson is moving up in weight after capturing the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt over Rafael Cavalcante in March.

The fight card is below.

Showtime Bouts
Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate
Paul Daley vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos
Roger Gracie vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal


Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET.

 

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The Top Five Biggest Moments in UFC History — According to Google

By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles

During the illustrious eighteen-year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, we’ve witnessed countless brutal beatings, killer knockouts, and spectacular submissions. Simply put, we’ve witnessed a ton of holy $&*% moments!

I’m sure you have your favorites that you’ll share with your grandkids when you’re sitting in the old man’s chair. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself which moments in the past two decades were the biggest on a large scale? Well I did and I went to the largest scale imaginable: the almighty Google and here’s what I found. Remember, Google doesn’t have emotional or monetary interest at stake here. These moments are the ones that have generated the most web traffic via searches, not which ones impacted the sport the most.

5.) St. Pierre Beats Shields at UFC 129 – 04/30/2011

Why it’s ranked: Jake Shields left Strikeforce as champion so essentially casual fans and mainstream media alike viewed this as the first major inter-promotional, champion vs. champion fight. Georges St. Pierre, reigning UFC Welterweight champion and winner of nine straight came out on top of Shields who was riding a fifteen-fight win streak over the past five years.

The UFC went all in on this one hyping this event with the normal Countdown shows in addition to a pretty sweet commercial, the Primetime series, and a flyer in my mailbox reminding me to order the PPV. It was a huge moment in both men’s career primarily because it was the first tough competition either had faced in quite some time up to that point.  The underlying reason this mattered so much is that we all wanted to see the GSP vs. Silva super fight.

By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles

During the illustrious eighteen-year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, we’ve witnessed countless brutal beatings, killer knockouts, and spectacular submissions. Simply put, we’ve witnessed a ton of holy $&*% moments!

I’m sure you have your favorites that you’ll share with your grandkids when you’re sitting in the old man’s chair. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself which moments in the past two decades were the biggest on a large scale? Well I did and I went to the largest scale imaginable: the almighty Google and here’s what I found. Remember, Google doesn’t have emotional or monetary interest at stake here. These moments are the ones that have generated the most web traffic via searches, not which ones impacted the sport the most.

5.) St. Pierre Beats Shields at UFC 129 – 04/30/2011

Why it’s ranked: Jake Shields left Strikeforce as champion so essentially casual fans and mainstream media alike viewed this as the first major inter-promotional, champion vs. champion fight. Georges St. Pierre, reigning UFC Welterweight champion and winner of nine straight came out on top of Shields who was riding a fifteen-fight win streak over the past five years.

The UFC went all in on this one hyping this event with the normal Countdown shows in addition to a pretty sweet commercial, the Primetime series, and a flyer in my mailbox reminding me to order the PPV. It was a huge moment in both men’s career primarily because it was the first tough competition either had faced in quite some time up to that point.  The underlying reason this mattered so much is that we all wanted to see the GSP vs. Silva super fight.

4.) Lesnar Submits Carwin at UFC 116 – 07-03-10

Why it’s ranked: This was Brock Lesnar‘s first fight since giving Diverticulitis the F5. (Too bad it was only a two count.) No one knew what to expect. How much cage corrosion would Lesnar have? What about his cardio? Would Shane Carwin win another fight in the first round? That was all answered in the first five minutes as ‘The Engineer’ laid out the blue print for not only how to beat the UFC heavyweight champion, but also what a 10-8 round looks like.

Looking back, it was such a noteworthy night because it capped off, or so we thought, the trials and tribulations of the biggest draw in MMA and left us all with a warm fuzzy feeling. Not Shane, though, he was still sucking wind worse that Roy Nelson a few weeks ago. Regardless, the first round and the shocking result raised a lot of eyebrows, hence it’s spot on the list.

3.) UFC – WEC Merger Announced – 10/28/10

Why it’s ranked: Finally! Something that actually deserves to be on this list, right? I know, I know, settle down scooter.  Remember, Google analyzes what EVERYONE is searching for, not just the hardcore fans that spend their free time commenting on a niche website trying to provoke a flame war. Now where was I? Oh yeah, this is the first moment that actually has long-term significance to most of us.

The WEC was home to some of the best fighters in the game today and sadly, they were gobbled up by the UFC like the last piece of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Usually when one promotion is consumed by another, much larger and well known promotion, heads turn and people seek out any little nuggets of truth they can. It marked the beginning of a new chapter for the mma world as a whole. Little did we know at the time that the WEC was just the appetizer.

2.) Anderson Silva Stops Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 – 02/05/11

Why it’s ranked: Honestly, I think it’s high on the list merely because some crackpot former pseudo badass named Steven Seagal claimed to have taught UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva the single most lethal front kick in all of combat sports. Seriously, WTH? It was a joke. No, no it wasn’t. It was just a media stunt to get more attention. For real now, I most definitely taught him that kick and to prove it I trained my dragon to do the same thing.

This is a classic example of what a holy $&*% moment is because when you first see it your instinct is to yell out “Holy $&*%!!!” and then look at the guy next to you and repeat. Unforgettable moment + delusional B-list Hollywood celeb = mass hysteria.

The single biggest moment in UFC history according to Google is (drum roll please)…………..

1.) UFC 100 – 07-11-09

Why it’s ranked: UFC 100 was the biggest, baddest, most heavily promoted fight card up to that point and it smashed records left and right including gross revenue, tickets sold, and PPV buys. Two title fights including transcendent fighters Brock Lesnar and GSP plus the culmination of Michael Bisping writing a check his chin couldn’t cash after an entire season of trash talking Dan Henderson on The Ultimate Fighter. Everyone and their mother heard something about the epic event thanks to ESPN and others mentioning it leading up to fight night. Oh yeah, there was that little incident after the main event that got a little attention too.

It seemed like the mma community was stricken with an ailment that prevented the poor soul from acknowledging anything outside of UFC 100 the week of and after the event. We just couldn’t help ourselves. It was our Super Bowl, granted it didn’t kick0ff an annual pop-cultural mega event, but it was significantly larger than anything else we had seen. There’s just something magical about the number 100. We did it, err, they did it. They fought the politicians, PPV blackouts, and the economy while nearly going bankrupt in the process. MMA soared out of the shadows and boldly announced its presence that night putting everyone on notice; in case you weren’t aware, MMA is here to stay.

I know. You know. I know you know. I know you know I know. Don’t get all pissy at me, I didn’t make the list.  All I did was try to make sense of what the data said and make you laugh in the process. Double fail, right? But go ahead; tell me what should have been on this list in the comments. Do you want a follow up with what CagePotato thinks are the biggest moments in UFC history? How about the biggest moments in PRIDE FC’s history? Strikeforce? Ah, who am I kidding? You stopped reading after you saw Steven Segal mentioned.

Strikeforce: Does Dan Henderson’s Fight with Fedor Emelianenko Make Any Sense?

Fedor Emelianenko was once considered to be the best fighter to have ever lived. Now, having lost twice in a row, his aura of invincibility has shattered and many are doubting the Russian sambo expert.Fortunately for Emelianenko, he has been given one …

Fedor Emelianenko was once considered to be the best fighter to have ever lived. Now, having lost twice in a row, his aura of invincibility has shattered and many are doubting the Russian sambo expert.

Fortunately for Emelianenko, he has been given one last chance to redeem himself (and perhaps retire with a win) in the form of a fight with current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion—as well as former UFC and Pride champion—Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson on July 30th, 2011.

Had this fight been announced in the heydays of Pride, it would have been a dream match for MMA fans all over the world.

However, both fighters are now past their primes and in the twilight hours of their careers (specifically Emelianenko) and the fight doesn’t represent a “superfight” so much as is represents a “last hurrah” for two legends.

Still, the fight is happening and is being hyped up by many a fan as something that will be epic and memorable—a classic in the making.

But is it really? Does the fight actually make any sense?

The answer is twofold.

It doesn’t make sense when you consider that Dan Henderson is currently coming off of a victory in which he captured the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship from Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

Emelianenko, on the other hand, has lost two straight. Only in Strikeforce does losing two fights in a row earn you a fight with the title holder from another weight class, even under Zuffa ownership!

Despite this obvious flaw in matchmaking, the fight does actually make sense in other ways.

First, it makes financial sense. Zuffa is intending to get every last penny out of Emelianenko that it can. What a better way to do it than put him up against another big name in Dan Henderson?

Second, should Emelianenko lose it will assure Zuffa’s victory over posterity. What this means is that if Emelianenko loses to Henderson (which is very likely; don’t forget that it was predicted on Bleacher Report MMA that Emelianenko would lose to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva), Zuffa and Dana White will undoubtedly boast that Emelianenko couldn’t even beat “UFC reject” Dan Henderson.

When one examines the fight very closely, the pros outweigh the cons, and the fight ultimately does make sense. If Fedor wins, great! Zuffa made money off of him and may be able to put him in another big fight. If Fedor loses, even better! Zuffa made money off of him and can now forever cast Fedor Emelianenko into the annals of MMA history as a false god worshiped only by misguided Pride fans.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 13 Finale Results: Jeremy Stephens and the 7 Hardest Hitters in MMA

You can train your boxing, you can work on your wrestling, you can become a wizard at hitting submissions off your back, but the one thing that you can’t learn is the ability to land an explosive right hand and stop any fighter in the world in th…

You can train your boxing, you can work on your wrestling, you can become a wizard at hitting submissions off your back, but the one thing that you can’t learn is the ability to land an explosive right hand and stop any fighter in the world in their tracks.

There are ways to improve power, but the guys who can put anyone out by throwing one solid shot to the chin are a different breed of being. The raw power that these seven fighters have is something they’re just born with, and no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to replicate. 

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