Every time American Ninja Warrior comes onto the only television with cable in my apartment (relax, it’s a big screen. A projection big screen.), my roommate scoffs at it and launches into a rant about how superior the original, Japanese version is. The same goes for Wipeout/MXC/Takeshi’s Castle and of course, Iron Chef. And while he’s undoubtedly correct in his assertion that the American versions of these shows are “padded down, pussified desecrations of a once noble culture,” I still give my respect to the contestants brave (or simply patient) enough to secure a spot on any of them. Except Wipeout. I’m convinced that morbidly obese troglodytes with tourrettes are the only people allowed to compete on that show.
In any case, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson recently made an appearance on the Americanized Ninja Warrior, and it’s a testament to how difficult the show is that he wasn’t able to make it past the first stage. This is one of the quickest fighters in the UFC — a 125-pound ball of energy with “ninja, Matrix moves” who regularly competes in such events as Tough Mudder — and yet even he was humbled by the imaginatively-titled “Grip Hang.”
Like his previous battle with Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX 6, “The Magician” put in a strong effort on Ninja Warrior but ultimately came up…short (*shimmies, shimmies*). My God, I have never felt so great about being 5’9″. SUCK IT, NERDS.
Every time American Ninja Warrior comes onto the only television with cable in my apartment (relax, it’s a big screen. A projection big screen.), my roommate scoffs at it and launches into a rant about how superior the original, Japanese version is. The same goes for Wipeout/MXC/Takeshi’s Castle and of course, Iron Chef. And while he’s undoubtedly correct in his assertion that the American versions of these shows are “padded down, pussified desecrations of a once noble culture,” I still give my respect to the contestants brave (or simply patient) enough to secure a spot on any of them. Except Wipeout. I’m convinced that morbidly obese troglodytes with tourrettes are the only people allowed to compete on that show.
In any case, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson recently made an appearance on the Americanized Ninja Warrior, and it’s a testament to how difficult the show is that he wasn’t able to make it past the first stage. This is one of the quickest fighters in the UFC — a 125-pound ball of energy with “ninja, Matrix moves” who regularly competes in such events as Tough Mudder – and yet even he was humbled by the imaginatively-titled “Grip Hang.”
Like his previous battle with Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX 6, “The Magician” put in a strong effort on Ninja Warrior but ultimately came up…short (*shimmies, shimmies*). My God, I have never felt so great about being 5’9″. SUCK IT, NERDS.
The month of July is winding down, and a pair of UFC events—UFC 162 and UFC on Fox 8—have come and gone. And we have the key statistics from this month right here.
The first event featured a good deal of stoppages, including an improbable u…
The month of July is winding down, and a pair of UFC events—UFC 162 and UFC on Fox 8—have come and gone. And we have the key statistics from this month right here.
The first event featured a good deal of stoppages, including an improbable upset in the main event that saw Anderson Silva’s title reign come to an abrupt halt.
The second event, meanwhile, was live and free on Fox, featuring a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and John Moraga. Johnson took home a slick fifth-round submission win in that main event.
But the major upset from UFC 162 and Johnson’s exciting stoppage win were just two outcomes in the month of July, and there were many more interesting takeaways from this month.
Check out where July stands in comparison to the first five of 2013 in the UFC in our list of key stats from the past 30 days.
Striking and Takedown statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com
UFC on FOX 8 not only provided a number of awesome moments from some unexpected heroes, but it also saw a few fighters who were expected to do big things disappoint in a big way. In the first of a new post-event column only on CagePotato.com, here are three fighters who surprised us at UFC on FOX 8 and three fighters who let us down.
Surprises
Demetrious Johnson: Many expected UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to successfully defend his title against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8, but I don’t think anyone predicted him to win the fight via armbar with just one minute and 17 seconds left in the fight.
But that’s exactly what Johnson did as he earned his first stoppage victory in eight UFC fights, en route to shutting up the critics who called him boring and said he didn’t have what it takes to finish a tough guy like Moraga.
Johnson had all four rounds in his pocket and was ahead in the fifth, but instead of coasting to a win he tried desperately to get the finish and put an exclamation point on his performance, and that’s exactly what he did with his first submission win in the Octagon, a victory that earned him the $50,000 “Submission of the Night” award.
“Mighty Mouse” is always going to have his detractors because of his wrestling-heavy style, and I think his finish of Moraga is a bit of an anomaly, but on Saturday night he deserved all the praise in the world for a brilliant performance, one that has truly earned him his spot amongst the pound-for-pound best fighters in MMA. And hopefully, it’s just a sign of things to come.
Melvin Guillard: It had been over two years since Melvin Guillard last stopped an opponent inside the Octagon, but with his brutal second-round KO of Mac Danzig on the UFC on FOX 8 preliminary card, it’s safe to say that “The Young Assassin” is back.
(A triumphant loss for Trevor Smith, and an awe-inspiring punch-face for Ed Herman. / Photo via Getty. Click to enlarge.)
UFC on FOX 8 not only provided a number of awesome moments from some unexpected heroes, but it also saw a few fighters who were expected to do big things disappoint in a big way. In the first of a new post-event column only on CagePotato.com, here are three fighters who surprised us at UFC on FOX 8 and three fighters who let us down.
Surprises
Demetrious Johnson: Many expected UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to successfully defend his title against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on FOX 8, but I don’t think anyone predicted him to win the fight via armbar with just one minute and 17 seconds left in the fight.
But that’s exactly what Johnson did as he earned his first stoppage victory in eight UFC fights, en route to shutting up the critics who called him boring and said he didn’t have what it takes to finish a tough guy like Moraga.
Johnson had all four rounds in his pocket and was ahead in the fifth, but instead of coasting to a win he tried desperately to get the finish and put an exclamation point on his performance, and that’s exactly what he did with his first submission win in the Octagon, a victory that earned him the $50,000 “Submission of the Night” award.
“Mighty Mouse” is always going to have his detractors because of his wrestling-heavy style, and I think his finish of Moraga is a bit of an anomaly, but on Saturday night he deserved all the praise in the world for a brilliant performance, one that has truly earned him his spot amongst the pound-for-pound best fighters in MMA. And hopefully, it’s just a sign of things to come.
Melvin Guillard: It had been over two years since Melvin Guillard last stopped an opponent inside the Octagon, but with his brutal second-round KO of Mac Danzig on the UFC on FOX 8 preliminary card, it’s safe to say that “The Young Assassin” is back.
Training with boxing coach Trevor Wittman at Grudge in preparation for Danzig, Guillard really got back to what made him such a successful lightweight in the first place, and that’s his hands, which are some of the heaviest in the UFC’s entire 155-pound division.
Danzig found out that out the hard way on Saturday night after Guillard knocked him down with a punch and then followed it up with some exceptionally brutal hammerfists, blows that were so deadly that poor Danzig could be seen weeping once he awoke from his nightmare. (GIF here, explanation here.)
Guillard is a bit of a headcase but there’s no denying the talent is there, and after getting a big win over Danzig that snapped his two-fight losing streak and earned him some bonus money for “Knockout of the Night,” look for Guillard to be more confident in his next fight. Who knows, maybe we’ll finally see him unlock the potential that we all know he has.
Trevor Smith: Perhaps the biggest throwaway fight on the entire card heading into UFC on FOX 8 was the middleweight matchup between Ed Herman and Strikeforce vet Trevor Smith, a fight that no one was talking about heading into the weekend’s event.
But that’s why you should never judge a fight on paper before it’s been fought because, man, Herman vs. Smith is my early frontrunner for “Fight of the Year” in 2013 and that’s not hyperbole.
This was such an awesome fight that any words I use to describe it won’t do it justice, as anyone who saw it will agree with — just go and watch it if you haven’t yet, it really was amazing — and it was the surprisingly good performance by Smith which was made it so memorable.
I knew Smith had good grappling, but he hit Herman with some massive punches and he also showed that he has a solid chin as he ate a number of bombs from “Short Fuse” but never went out. For three rounds he fought valiantly and, even though he ended up losing a split decision, Smith put on a memorable performance and definitely earned himself another fight inside the Octagon.
Sometimes a fighter can lose and still emerge with their stock going up and Smith’s performance at UFC on FOX 8 is the best example of this that I can think of in recent memory. Smith is well deserving of his “Fight of the Night” award, as well as all of the new fans he made on Saturday night.
Disappointments
Jake Ellenberger: The most disappointing performance by any fighter on the entire UFC on FOX 8 card came courtesy of Jake Ellenberger, who laid an egg in his co-main event bout against fellow welterweight contender Rory MacDonald.
Ellenberger literally did nothing for three rounds outside of one takedown on MacDonald in the third round, and both fighters were booed by the crowd and then chewed out by UFC president Dana White on both Twitter and at the post-fight presser for their bad fight.
But while some are blaming MacDonald’s low-risk, jab-centric strategy for the fight being boring, I believe it had a lot more to do with Ellenberger freezing in the biggest moment of his career, a fight that would have likely garnered him a title shot had he emerged victorious.
Instead, Ellenberger’s stock dropped dramatically because the fight didn’t live up to expectations at all, and much of that can be blamed on the hesitation of “The Juggernaut,” who was uncharacteristically cautious throughout the bout.
I like Ellenberger and believe he can still beat a lot of welterweights in the UFC, but the fight with MacDonald proved once again he’s essentially a 170-pound version of Michael Bisping, a fighter that can get to that title eliminator position but not win the big fight to put themselves over the hump.
But unlike Bisping, don’t expect Ellenberger to get any more title eliminator fights anytime soon. At least Bisping tried to fight Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson. Ellenberger, though? I wouldn’t call what he was doing with MacDonald “fighting,” and I bet UFC matchmaker Joe Silva feels similarly.
Michael Chiesa: One of the most disappointing performances by a fighter on the undercard took place during the FX prelims, where Michael Chiesa suffered the first-ever loss of his career after tapping out to a Jorge Masvidal D’arce choke with just one second left in the second round.
Chiesa fought very well in the first round and even hurt Masvidal with his underrated striking, but after failing on a power guillotine attempt and letting Masvidal recover from being rocked, Chiesa’s performance went downhill from there as Masvidal thoroughly dominated the second round until he managed to sink the choke, drawing a tap from “Maverick” literally right before the bell sounded to end round two.
I’m surprised that Chiesa, who is known for his heart and will, wasn’t able to hang on just a half second longer and take the fight to the third round, where he might have had the edge over Masvidal because of his superior cardio. Instead, he tapped out and lost for the first time in his career and, to make matters even worse, he ran out of the cage a la Forrest Griffin, which was hugely disrespectful to his opponent.
I’ve been a Chiesa supporter ever since he won TUF Live despite the death of his father, but this loss is a setback for him and I really hope it’s not a defeat that will ruin his career. Chiesa is only 25 years old and this wouldn’t be the first time an undefeated MMA prospect suffered a loss that made them fall off the rails.
John Albert: One last disappointment that has to be mentioned is John Albert, who was submitted by Yaotzin Meza in round two of the first Facebook fight of the night. It’s Albert’s fourth loss in a row in the UFC — all by submission — and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be getting a pink slip from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby sometime this week.
Albert is such a talented fighter but his lack of cardio has always been his problem and yet he didn’t bother fixing it for this fight with Meza, a guy who trains with UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, the fighter with arguably the best cardio in the UFC. After Albert gassed following an armbar attempt, Meza took advantage and won the fight with a rear-naked choke, an embarrassing result for Albert considering he was winning the fight until his poor conditioning cost him the fight — and likely his job, too.
I knew it was a bad omen when Albert walked into the cage with Dennis Hallman by his side. Hallman, after all, was always known for his bad cardio and even though he always had a slick submission game – just like his pupil Albert — if his opponent was able to survive it he usually lost. Sadly, Albert never learned anything from watching his mentor fight, as he’s basically a 135-pound version of Hallman, and no, that’s not a compliment.
The UFC on Fox hosted a headliner on Saturday between flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Moraga. When it was all said and done, the champion retained his title with a fifth-round submission.
When you break down the numbers via Fi…
The UFC on Fox hosted a headliner on Saturday between flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Moraga. When it was all said and done, the champion retained his title with a fifth-round submission.
When you break down the numbers via FightMetric, you will see exactly how dominant Johnson was in keeping his 125-pound title. In watching the bout, you know Johnson dominated the fight, but the numbers make things even more impressive.
To start with, Johnson outstruckMoraga 67-32. Sure, most of it was on the ground, but that is a telling tale in itself. Johnson had double the strikes of his challenger and did more damage via ground-and-pound. Mighty Mouse may not have the most impressive power, but 67 strikes landed is going to add up eventually.
The biggest tale you are going to see is the ground game in general. Johnson thoroughly dominated the fight using his strength, quickness and wrestling.
While Moraga did land one takedown (which obviously didn’t do much for him), Johnson destroyed him in the wrestling department, landing 12 takedowns of his own. Having gone almost the full five rounds, that would mean that Johnson earned almost two-and-a-half takedowns per round. So, even if Moraga was getting back to his feet, Johnson was there to plant him on his back again.
Furthermore, Johnson did not just sit in Moraga‘s guard and play it safe. While on the ground, Johnson had 13 passes, showing his commitment to improve position and look for the finish. Of course that’s what happened, securing a fight-ending armbar.
Finally, in looking at the aforementioned submission numbers, Johnson attempted three holds, with his final attempt being what ultimately had finished the fight. The armbar he used on Moraga was beautiful and showed the UFC fans that he could finish fights as opposed to always going to the judges.
The numbers don’t lie; Johnson was absolutely in charge of this entire fight.
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson delivered another exciting, winning performance last night in the main event of UFC on Fox 8. The champ defended his title successfully with a fifth round arm bar submission win over challenger John Moraga.
Long before the submission, however, it looked like Johnson was going to walk away with a clear-cut victory. The Washington resident used his footwork, take downs, ground striking and submission attempts to put on a show for his home town crowd in Seattle Saturday night. Johnson took the two-time All-American wrestler Moraga down at will and worked him over with choke and arm bar attempts before finally securing the fight-ending hold in the last round.
For his part, Moraga never appeared to break or give in. He simply was no match for the champion.
Post fight, Johnson said that, while he is satisfied to continue to defend his 125 pound belt, he is open to doing “super fights” with champions of heavier divisions. “[A superfight] is just something to throw out there,” Johnson said at the post-event press conference. “I’m still focused on my weight division. I know there’s up-and-coming fighters who are trying to come up and take what’s mine, and I’ll be there to defend it for the fans.”
“I think everybody is focused on Anderson Silva, ‘GSP’ and all those guys,” Johnson continued. “But I think we can make some fun super fights down in a lighter-weight division with the flyweights fighting the bantamweights. I know the bantamweights have some things to work out, and then we’ll see what happens. I’m just here to fight and have a good time and put on a good performance for the UFC and the fans.”
Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger’s war of tweets came to a relatively muted climax in the co-main event. MacDonald used masterful foot work, angles and a stiff, precise jab to out-point Ellenberger and win a decision. Scores were 30-27 (twice) and 29-28 for MacDonald.
MacDonald managed to stay elusive while stalking Ellenberger for much of the fight. Ellenberger swang hard in spurts with his hooks behind a peek-a-boo posture, but mostly whiffed. Late in the third round, Ellenberger was finally able to catch Rory with a big shot and take down but the young Canadian immediately switched to offense from his back, threatening to get up with butterfly guards and with triangle choke and oma-plata shoulder lock attempts, before taking his opponent’s back at the final horn.
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson delivered another exciting, winning performance last night in the main event of UFC on Fox 8. The champ defended his title successfully with a fifth round arm bar submission win over challenger John Moraga.
Long before the submission, however, it looked like Johnson was going to walk away with a clear-cut victory. The Washington resident used his footwork, take downs, ground striking and submission attempts to put on a show for his home town crowd in Seattle Saturday night. Johnson took the two-time All-American wrestler Moraga down at will and worked him over with choke and arm bar attempts before finally securing the fight-ending hold in the last round.
For his part, Moraga never appeared to break or give in. He simply was no match for the champion.
Post fight, Johnson said that, while he is satisfied to continue to defend his 125 pound belt, he is open to doing “super fights” with champions of heavier divisions. “[A superfight] is just something to throw out there,” Johnson said at the post-event press conference. “I’m still focused on my weight division. I know there’s up-and-coming fighters who are trying to come up and take what’s mine, and I’ll be there to defend it for the fans.”
“I think everybody is focused on Anderson Silva, ‘GSP’ and all those guys,” Johnson continued. “But I think we can make some fun super fights down in a lighter-weight division with the flyweights fighting the bantamweights. I know the bantamweights have some things to work out, and then we’ll see what happens. I’m just here to fight and have a good time and put on a good performance for the UFC and the fans.”
Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger’s war of tweets came to a relatively muted climax in the co-main event. MacDonald used masterful foot work, angles and a stiff, precise jab to out-point Ellenberger and win a decision. Scores were 30-27 (twice) and 29-28 for MacDonald.
MacDonald managed to stay elusive while stalking Ellenberger for much of the fight. Ellenberger swang hard in spurts with his hooks behind a peek-a-boo posture, but mostly whiffed. Late in the third round, Ellenberger was finally able to catch Rory with a big shot and take down but the young Canadian immediately switched to offense from his back, threatening to get up with butterfly guards and with triangle choke and oma-plata shoulder lock attempts, before taking his opponent’s back at the final horn.
MacDonald continued to move forward in the UFC welterweight rankings behind champion and teammate Georges St. Pierre. However, the twenty three year-old reiterated on the Fuel TV post event show that, while he wants to be champion by the age of twenty five, he will never fight St. Pierre.
Robbie Lawler took out his late-notice opponent, Strikeforce veteran Bobby Voelker with head kick and strikes on the ground early on in the second round of their welterweight fight. The KO win is Lawler’s second consecutive knock out since returning to the organization.
Liz Carmouche notched her first UFC win with a second round TKO over Jessica Andrade. Carmouche used repeated take downs to ground her opponent and survived an early guillotine choke before finishing with strikes from the mount.
Fight of the Night $50,000 honors and bonuses went to Trevor Smith and Ed Herman for their undercard war. Demetrious Johnson earned Submission of the Night recognition and the $50k prize that went with it. Melvin Guillard took home the same amount in bonus money for his Knockout of the Night win over Mac Danzig.
After locking up an armbar on John Moraga only seconds before the final minute of the fifth round in the main event of UFC on FOX 8 on Saturday night, Demetrius Johnson earned the latest stoppage victory in UFC history.
“Mighty Mouse&rdquo…
After locking up an armbar on John Moraga only seconds before the final minute of the fifth round in the main event of UFC on FOX 8 on Saturday night, Demetrius Johnson earned the latest stoppage victory in UFC history.
“Mighty Mouse” had been hunting a kimura—which he had done several times prior to his fifth-round attempt—before brilliantly transitioning to the armbar.
Both of Moraga’s hands were trapped, so Herb Dean called a halt to the action at the 3:43 mark of the final round, before any severe damage could be caused to the challenger’s arm.
The flyweight champion set up his submission attempts with his takedowns, going a staggering 10-for-10 on takedown attempts during the fight. He searched for arm attacks throughout the fight and also nearly locked up a guillotine choke at the end of the opening round.
By setting the record for latest stoppage in UFC history, Johnson joins the ranks of the Anderson Silva submission victory at UFC 117 (3:10), the Ricco Rodriguez submission victory at UFC 39 (3:04) and the BJ Penn TKO victory at UFC 107 (2:37). These are the only four fighters to earn a stoppage victory in the fifth round.
“Mighty Mouse” went to the judges in his last seven fights before submitting Moraga last night at Key Arena in Seattle. His last submission victory happened almost three years ago in November 2010 at WEC 52.
So, in orchestrating perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, Johnson impressed the bosses and pocketed an extra $50,000 dollars for “Submission of the Night” honors.
The win over Moraga marks Johnson’s second successful flyweight-title defense. In 11 fights in the UFC and WEC combined, he has only two stoppage victories.
Despite the lack of finishes, the flyweight champion can hang a feather in his cap for being the first fighter to ever finish or submit Moraga.
Michael Stets is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
