Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS – The UFC made its coaches for Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” official on Friday. And after UFC 130, it was revealed they’ll fight each other on the reality series’ live finale card and not on a pay-per-view, as has…
LAS VEGAS – The UFC made its coaches for Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” official on Friday. And after UFC 130, it was revealed they’ll fight each other on the reality series’ live finale card and not on a pay-per-view, as has become customary.
UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference that Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller will headline the TUF 14 Finale, which is likely to take place in early December.
“What we’re going to do this season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is, the coaches will fight on the finale,” White said. “It’s what we were planning on doing anyway. We’ve done it before.”
White said the decision was made for just the upcoming season of TUF and wouldn’t necessarily apply to future seasons. For instance, if future coaches were going to fight for a title, it likely would not take place on a TUF Finale show. After Season 4 of the reality series, coaches BJ Penn and Jens Pulver fought on the finale.
White said the process of selecting the next coaches had plenty of bumps in the road, not the least of which was Chael Sonnen’s current suspension by the California State Athletic Commission. Sonnen was rumored to coach against Bisping on the show, which will feature bantamweights and featherweights and will begin taping this summer.
“When we go through the process of making coaches, there are all these different guys we look at,” White said. “People were talking about some of the lighter weight champions (as coaches), but a lot of things play factor in what happens – the Chael Sonnen incident, fights, schedules, injuries.
In the end, he settled on Bisping, who coached on Season 9 against Dan Henderson, and Miller, who signed with the UFC after leaving Strikeforce earlier this spring. Miller, the host of the “Bully Beatdown” program on MTV, is a famous talker – plenty outlandish and brash. But White said it wasn’t just about making good television with wars of words between coaches.
“There’s more that goes into it than just, ‘Are these guys going to act goofy and talk to each other?'” White said. “I’m not really into the coaches acting goofy. It’s going to happen with the (contestants) anyway.”
Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” with coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos, finishes its broadcast run on Wednesday with the semifinals. On Saturday, the live finale takes place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Lesnar and dos Santos were scheduled to headline UFC 131 on June 11, but Lesnar had to pull out with a relapse of diverticulitis. He had surgery to remove a portion of his colon on Friday, though doctors say he may be back fighting by January.
LAS VEGAS – Matt Hamill said he planned on breaking the will of Rampage Jackson in their main event at UFC 130 on Saturday. But when Hamill took a knee after the final horn, Jackson had turned the table.
Jackson warded off all of Hamill’s takedown attempts – despite coming into the fight with a fractured hand, he revealed at the post-fight press conference – and cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The win is likely to put Jackson in line as the top contender for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title later this fall, provided his hand heals on pace.
But the boo birds were out several times during the night, including most notably the main and co-main events. With just three finishes going into the co-main and main, the fans appeared to want some excitement – and many seemed certain they didn’t get it in the last two bouts.After the fight, Jackson said he was disappointed he wasn’t able to score a knockout, which the fans seemed to want even more than he, but said he wasn’t about to blame it on his hand injury – which he said came from a drunken mishap with a friend in Japan.
“I was OK with my performance, (but) I wanted to do a little more,” Jackson said. “I knew I could stay on my feet. He had a great game plan, and I could tell he was setting me up to take me down. He had some great low leg kicks, and it made me not do what I wanted to do. I’m a little bit disappointed. I wanted a knockout. Matt’s never been knocked out before, and I took it as a personal challenge.”
Jackson said he fractured his hand last December in Japan, “drunken fooling around fighting my friend in the hallway.” And during training, he said he aggravated the injury. But he said even without the fracture, he doesn’t believe he would have been able to knock Hamill out.
“That guy’s got a hard head,” Jackson said. “I think Matt’s got a long future in this sport. I take nothing away from Matt – fractured hand or not, I still wouldn’t have knocked him out tonight. I think I needed a hammer. That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet.”
Hamill, who saw his five-fight winning streak snapped, said he thought he would be able to use his wrestling to take Jackson down. Hamill was a three-time Division III national champion wrestler.
“I was very surprised,” Hamill said. “My takedowns could have been better, but it was a good fight. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow. I wasn’t really happy with my performance. I’ll go back and try to learn from my mistakes. I gave 100 percent, and did all I could. But Rampage is a pretty good fighter.”
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-124698%
In the co-main, heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson put on an exciting first round before Nelson gassed in the second, with Mir not far behind. Mir dominated his fellow Las Vegas resident en route to a unanimous decision. And though he landed quite a few big shots, including knees to Nelson’s head, the fight often stalled out, eliciting stronger boos from the crowd as it went deeper.
The Jackson-Hamill fight also heard a few boos, especially as Hamill’s takedown attempts appeared to get slower and his striking attempts as he tired late in the fight were light.
But UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference he didn’t have any problems with the card in general – though he maintained he continues to be unhappy with Mir’s performances.
“Was I thrilled with the main event and co-main? No,” White said. “But everything can’t be a knockout or submission. I think considering the time off Rampage has had, he looked good. He dominated, he gassed – but that’s all part of staying active and busy. I think people’s expectations are unreasonable sometimes. Guys will be fighting a great fight and you’ll hear people booing – it’s like they expect guys to get in a football stance and run across at each other. There’s skill, technique, game plans – there’s a lot of things involved.”
If White was disappointed in the two main fights, his spirits were likely lifted by the performance by Brian Stann in the pay-per-view’s opening bout. Stann delivered a TKO against Top 10 middleweight Jorge Santiago, getting the night’s loudest ovation on an emotional Memorial Day weekend for the military hero, a Silver Star winner.
“He’s on his way to becoming a superstar,” White said of Stann. “Chuck (Liddell) said, ‘When (Stann) fought in the WEC, I never thought he’d get to this level.’ But not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of his mouth is a home run. This guy’s going to be a superstar.”
UFC 130 was not without injuries, some of them perhaps significant in the scheme of future matchups – most importantly, Jackson’s fractured hand. Stann was at the post-fight press conference with a broken right thumb. White said Mir went to the hospital with a fractured jaw and rib, though Mir’s wife said on Twitter early Sunday morning Mir’s jaw was not broken but had complained about his bite after the fight. And Stefan Struve, Santiago, Michael McDonald and Rafaello Oliveira hospital all went to the hospital after their fights.
UFC 130 had a reported attendance of 12,816 fans for a $2.57 million gate. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend card, also at the MGM Grand, drew 14,996 fans with a $3.895 million gate and more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. That main event featured a grudge match between Jackson and Rashad Evans. The original main event of UFC 130 was to be a trilogy lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125. But both fighters were injured in training earlier this month and the fight was scratched.
LAS VEGAS – Matt Hamill said he planned on breaking the will of Rampage Jackson in their main event at UFC 130 on Saturday. But when Hamill took a knee after the final horn, Jackson had turned the table.
Jackson warded off all of Hamill’s takedown attempts – despite coming into the fight with a fractured hand, he revealed at the post-fight press conference – and cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The win is likely to put Jackson in line as the top contender for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title later this fall, provided his hand heals on pace.
But the boo birds were out several times during the night, including most notably the main and co-main events. With just three finishes going into the co-main and main, the fans appeared to want some excitement – and many seemed certain they didn’t get it in the last two bouts.After the fight, Jackson said he was disappointed he wasn’t able to score a knockout, which the fans seemed to want even more than he, but said he wasn’t about to blame it on his hand injury – which he said came from a drunken mishap with a friend in Japan.
“I was OK with my performance, (but) I wanted to do a little more,” Jackson said. “I knew I could stay on my feet. He had a great game plan, and I could tell he was setting me up to take me down. He had some great low leg kicks, and it made me not do what I wanted to do. I’m a little bit disappointed. I wanted a knockout. Matt’s never been knocked out before, and I took it as a personal challenge.”
Jackson said he fractured his hand last December in Japan, “drunken fooling around fighting my friend in the hallway.” And during training, he said he aggravated the injury. But he said even without the fracture, he doesn’t believe he would have been able to knock Hamill out.
“That guy’s got a hard head,” Jackson said. “I think Matt’s got a long future in this sport. I take nothing away from Matt – fractured hand or not, I still wouldn’t have knocked him out tonight. I think I needed a hammer. That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet.”
Hamill, who saw his five-fight winning streak snapped, said he thought he would be able to use his wrestling to take Jackson down. Hamill was a three-time Division III national champion wrestler.
“I was very surprised,” Hamill said. “My takedowns could have been better, but it was a good fight. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow. I wasn’t really happy with my performance. I’ll go back and try to learn from my mistakes. I gave 100 percent, and did all I could. But Rampage is a pretty good fighter.”
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-124698%
In the co-main, heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson put on an exciting first round before Nelson gassed in the second, with Mir not far behind. Mir dominated his fellow Las Vegas resident en route to a unanimous decision. And though he landed quite a few big shots, including knees to Nelson’s head, the fight often stalled out, eliciting stronger boos from the crowd as it went deeper.
The Jackson-Hamill fight also heard a few boos, especially as Hamill’s takedown attempts appeared to get slower and his striking attempts as he tired late in the fight were light.
But UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference he didn’t have any problems with the card in general – though he maintained he continues to be unhappy with Mir’s performances.
“Was I thrilled with the main event and co-main? No,” White said. “But everything can’t be a knockout or submission. I think considering the time off Rampage has had, he looked good. He dominated, he gassed – but that’s all part of staying active and busy. I think people’s expectations are unreasonable sometimes. Guys will be fighting a great fight and you’ll hear people booing – it’s like they expect guys to get in a football stance and run across at each other. There’s skill, technique, game plans – there’s a lot of things involved.”
If White was disappointed in the two main fights, his spirits were likely lifted by the performance by Brian Stann in the pay-per-view’s opening bout. Stann delivered a TKO against Top 10 middleweight Jorge Santiago, getting the night’s loudest ovation on an emotional Memorial Day weekend for the military hero, a Silver Star winner.
“He’s on his way to becoming a superstar,” White said of Stann. “Chuck (Liddell) said, ‘When (Stann) fought in the WEC, I never thought he’d get to this level.’ But not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of his mouth is a home run. This guy’s going to be a superstar.”
UFC 130 was not without injuries, some of them perhaps significant in the scheme of future matchups – most importantly, Jackson’s fractured hand. Stann was at the post-fight press conference with a broken right thumb. White said Mir went to the hospital with a fractured jaw and rib, though Mir’s wife said on Twitter early Sunday morning Mir’s jaw was not broken but had complained about his bite after the fight. And Stefan Struve, Santiago, Michael McDonald and Rafaello Oliveira hospital all went to the hospital after their fights.
UFC 130 had a reported attendance of 12,816 fans for a $2.57 million gate. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend card, also at the MGM Grand, drew 14,996 fans with a $3.895 million gate and more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. That main event featured a grudge match between Jackson and Rashad Evans. The original main event of UFC 130 was to be a trilogy lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125. But both fighters were injured in training earlier this month and the fight was scratched.
Filed under: UFCAfter the action in the Octagon is over, the UFC 130 post-fight press conference will be held at the MGM Grand, and we’ll carry the video live here at MMAFighting.com.
The UFC 130 post-fight press conference is the place where the Figh…
After the action in the Octagon is over, the UFC 130 post-fight press conference will be held at the MGM Grand, and we’ll carry the video live here at MMAFighting.com.
The UFC 130 post-fight press conference is the place where the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night winners are announced, and the first opportunity to get a post-fight assessment from the fighters and from UFC President Dana White.
The post-fight press conference will begin about half an hour after the main event ends, likely a little after midnight Eastern, and the video is below.
LAS VEGAS – Of all the fighters in the UFC’s reasonably stacked light heavyweight division, Matt Hamill is among the hottest.
And despite five straight wins, he doesn’t seem to mind being a little overlooked – for now. Sure, one of those wins was a disqualification victory against Jon Jones, Jones’ only loss, on a technicality in a fight he was dominating. But Hamill has been asking for the kind of fights that will move him from middle-of-the-pack fighter to top contender.
Against Quinton Jackson on Saturday in the main event of UFC 130, a win would quickly elevate him in the division. Jackson is a nearly 3/1 favorite, but that doesn’t bother Hamill (10-2, 9-2 UFC).
“I’ve probably been the underdog for the last five fights,” Hamill said at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference at the MGM Grand. “I love to be the underdog.”
A closer look at Hamill’s history with the oddsmakers reveals that this is only the fourth time he’s been an underdog in the UFC – and the first three were against his Season 3 housemate on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Jon Jones. Along with Jackson, underdog status is understandable for all those fights.
But Hamill’s point is not lost – he’s kicked around in the middle of the division, and he’s ready to make the leap. Count UFC president Dana White as someone who has noticed.
“Obviously Rampage Jackson is one of the best in the world at 205 pounds,” White said. “This is a huge fight for Matt Hamill. He’s had some good wins – he beat (Keith) Jardine, (Mark) Munoz, Tito (Ortiz). A win over Rampage would be huge. This is one of those career-defining moments for Matt Hamill should he be able to pull off the win on Saturday night.”
But Hamill last week alluded to the stair-step mentality he has taken in his career. His dominant unanimous decision win at UFC 121 last fall over Ortiz, his coach on Season 3 of TUF, is what he believes pushed him to the level that has him a shot against Jackson, a former light heavyweight champ, on Saturday.
“It’s going to help me improve my career,” Hamill said through his translator. “Beating Tito definitely put me in line to get some big fights like this, and I knew I was ready for the next level. I’m just really glad I’m here.”
It was a fight that Jackson initially didn’t want much to do with, and Hamill said he understood why and didn’t blame him – that Jackson should be taking on fighters in the Top 5. But when Hamill said his goal was to break Jackson’s will, Jackson emerged from the land of apathy and got into the fight.
“I think Matt made a mistake when he actually said that he’s going to break my will and that I’m going to overlook him,” Jackson said. “It actually lit a fire up under my ass and made me try a little bit harder just so I can break his will – so I can make sure I outclass him. That’s why I worked a lot on my wrestling, a lot extra on my cardio and extra on getting up off my back just in case he does take me down.”
That’s just where Hamill plans on taking the fight, saying he believes Jackson has become too reliant upon his standup game through the years and less focused on his wrestling. “That’s why I want him,” Hamill said.
Six straight wins in the light heavyweight division, a feat matched right now only by Phil Davis thanks to Jones’ DQ loss, would be enough to put the upper echelon of the class on notice. Forget questions about Jackson’s motivation for the fight. Hamill has his own motivation.
“I figured Rampage would be eying Rashad Evans or a rematch with Forrest Griffin or what have you,” Hamill said. “I thought that Rampage would believe that this match is not in his league. But it’s my next chance to prove that I am in his league.”
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is a tribute to Zuffa’s talented marketing team, the result of clever last-minute matchmaking and some inspired promotion.Earlier this year, a potentially intriguing match-up between former light-heavyweight champion Quinton…
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is a tribute to Zuffa’s talented marketing team, the result of clever last-minute matchmaking and some inspired promotion.
Earlier this year, a potentially intriguing match-up between former light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and resurgent contender Thiago Silva was scrubbed.
Silva, back in the title picture after posting an impressive and dominating victory over Brandon “The Truth” Vera, was yanked from the schedule after his UFC 125 pre-fight urinalysis tested positive for banned substances.
If the absence of Jackson vs. Silva slowed down the UFC 130 hype machine, losing the highly-anticipated main event, a rubber match between 155-pound champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and No. 1 contender Gray “Bully” Maynard, threatened to bring it to a grinding halt.
Edgar and Maynard, arguably the two most evenly-matched fighters in the division, were expected to give fans their money’s worth after thrilling fans on New Year’s Day in a five-round slobberknocker that ended in (what else) a majority draw.
Fortunately, the UFC’s roster is deep enough to furnish Saturday night’s main card with plenty of talented fighters. The match-up I find the most compelling is the heavyweight pairing of former champ Frank Mir vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
What We Know
Originally known for his jiu-jitsu skills, Mir has made a name for himself in recent years as one of the UFC’s more well-rounded big men.
He showcased ever-improving stand-up skills against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cheick Kongo, but brutal stoppage losses to Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin put his status as a bona fide contender in question.
Roy Nelson is in many ways the anti-Frank Mir; pudgy, irreverent and seemingly incapable of taking himself seriously.
While Nelson drew criticism on TUF for coasting through preliminary bouts, his stunning knock-out of Brendan Schaub in the season finale showcased the former IFL champion’s skill.
Even as Nelson’s egregious mullet and self-deprecating arena entrance (to the tune of Weird Al Yankovic’s “Fat”) provide comic relief, his stunning knock-outs of Schaub and Stefan Struve serve to remind fans and opponents that Nelson is an accomplished and dangerous veteran.
What Could Happen
There’s little question Frank Mir enters this fight with an advantage in nearly every department…at least on paper.
A cerebral, analytical fighter known for tailoring opponent-specific game plans, Mir expects to capitalize on both a discernible size advantage as well as what he believes is superior stand-up technique.
Where Nelson shines is in the intangibles department. Undersized at heavyweight and sporting a giant pot belly, Nelson uses graceful footwork, poise under pressure and deceptive athleticism to turn the tables on opponents, a quality not unlike Fedor Emelianenko.
Nelson’s most recent fight, a decisive loss to No. 1 contender Junior Dos Santos, was nonetheless a competitive brawl that not only showed Nelson’s skill but also his toughness.
Mir may be bigger and in better shape, and he may even have a sound game plan for Nelson, but unfortunately the element of surprise always seems to favor Mir’s opponents.
That trend doesn’t bode well against an opponent like Nelson, who since entering the UFC has only exceeded expectations.
If recent history is any indication, we shouldn’t be shocked to see Roy Nelson walk away with a “Knockout of the Night” bonus.
UFC president Dana White said there is a possibility that fans could see a rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, according to FightersOnly.com.While the idea is still unlikely at the moment, White said he expects to see both competitors …
UFC president Dana White said there is a possibility that fans could see a rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, according to FightersOnly.com.
While the idea is still unlikely at the moment, White said he expects to see both competitors prepared to fight when the time comes.
“When Frankie and Gray get healthy we will make that fight as soon as possible,” White told FightersOnly.com.
“Hopefully they are both healed in eight weeks and we can do it.”
Both Edgar and Maynard are currently out of action nursing their injuries. Maynard recently had surgery on his knee—which was plaguing him for a couple of months—and is expected to resume training soon.
But Edgar’s injury is more severe and could require more time to recuperate. The UFC lightweight champion is recovering from a nagging back injury. In fact, Edgar hoped to fight through the injury, but he was forced to pull out of his title bout at UFC 130.
Edgar and Maynard have met on two previous occasions. The more recent encounter saw both men fight to a draw and an immediate rematch was tentatively scheduled for UFC 130.
With this announcement from White, anticipation for a third bout between the two lightweights could not be any higher.
LAS VEGAS – The UFC made its coaches for Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” official on Friday. And after UFC 130, it was revealed they’ll fight each other on the reality series’ live finale card and not on a pay-per-view, as has become customary.
LAS VEGAS – 
After the action in the Octagon is over, the 
LAS VEGAS – Of all the fighters in the UFC’s reasonably stacked light heavyweight division, 