Tag: Diego Sanchez

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 121 Edition

(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121’s…

Jake Shields Martin Kampmann UFC 121
(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121‘s other winners and losers are yet to be determined. As usual, we have some brilliant suggestions…

Brock Lesnar: Assuming that nobody really wants to see a Lesnar vs. Mir rubber match, there are a surprising lack of options for the new ex-champ. If Roy Nelson beats Shane Carwin at UFC 125, Lesnar vs. Big Country would make perfect sense. (Lesnar vs. Carwin II is also an option for down the road, considering Carwin never felt like Brock beat him fair and square.) But at the moment, the best available opponent for Lesnar is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who’s coming off his own nasty loss to Velasquez. The fading Big Nog would likely take a beating, but the UFC needs to re-build their most bankable star against a credible name, and letting Lesnar whale on a legend is an effective way to do it.

Martin Kampmann: The first name that comes to mind is Dan Hardy, though the UFC probably wants to avoid the possibility of one of their British stars dropping three straight. So how ’bout this: Nate Diaz. The TUF 5 winner and moneyweight contender is facing Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125. If Diaz wins, Diaz vs. Kampmann is a great matchup between two guys who are on the same upper-middle region of the welterweight ladder. If Diaz gets outgrappled by DHK, then Kampmann gets a rebound against an "easier" opponent. Either way, it’s a scrap.

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Velasquez Downs Lesnar for Heavyweight Title; Shields Earns Title Shot at UFC 121

Filed under: UFCANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fan…

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ANAHEIM – Cain Velasquez came into his heavyweight title fight at UFC 121 hoping for a five-round battle. He ended up needing just over four minutes to stop Brock Lesnar via TKO and claim the UFC heavyweight title in front of 14,856 fans at the Honda Center on Saturday night.

It may have been a relatively brief affair, but what it lacked in length it more than made up for in intensity.

Lesnar set the pace right away. As soon as the bout began, the champion took one step directly to the side and then charged across the cage at Velasquez, bringing all of his 264 pounds crashing directly into the challenger.

UFC 121 Aftermath, Part Two: A Few Things That Seem Far Less Important By Comparison

(Your Brazilian SWAT training is no match for the power of positive thinking, Paulo. PicProps: UFC.com)
Mostly by virtue of the hype surrounding the main event, UFC 121 succeeded in preserving the aura of a big time fight show despite the fact that ma…


(Your Brazilian SWAT training is no match for the power of positive thinking, Paulo. PicProps: UFC.com)

Mostly by virtue of the hype surrounding the main event, UFC 121 succeeded in preserving the aura of a big time fight show despite the fact that many of the bouts were … what’s the nice way to say this … terribly boring. Even still, a bunch of stuff happened that we need to mention: Jake Shields pretty much proved that it’s physically fucking impossible for top fighters from other organizations to look good in their UFC debuts.  Diego Sanchez defeated Paulo Thiago using the sheer supremacy of his personality. Gabriel Gonzaga showed that he’d be better off climbing to the top of a half-finished construction site and tossing barrels down at his opponents than try to strike with them. Tito Ortiz looked done like dinner, thus taking the next ironic step in his journey toward becoming – as we suggested on last week’s Bum Rush – the new Ken Shamrock.

Was it thrilling? Nah, but the ultimate crumbling of Casa de Lesnar made up for all of it. Shoot, it even reduced Dave Camarillo to tears. What more do you want?

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Cain Velasquez Wins Knockout of Night

Filed under: UFC, NewsBesides a shiny new belt, Cain Velasquez collected an extra $70,000 for winning the Knockout of the Night award Saturday at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif.

Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago and Daniel Roberts were also $70,000 bonus winners…

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Besides a shiny new belt, Cain Velasquez collected an extra $70,000 for winning the Knockout of the Night award Saturday at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif.

Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago and Daniel Roberts were also $70,000 bonus winners. Sanchez and Thiago took part in the Fight of the Night, while Roberts received the nod for Submission of the Night.

UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez — Live Results and Commentary and Beards

(Above: "Look, everybody in Minnesota grows a beard in the winter, and most of us use deer urine to keep it soft and shiny. I’m sorry if the smell is unfamiliar to you." Below: It’s nice to see that someone else appreciates the long and …

Brock Lesnar Cain Velasquez UFC 121 photos
(Above: "Look, everybody in Minnesota grows a beard in the winter, and most of us use deer urine to keep it soft and shiny. I’m sorry if the smell is unfamiliar to you." Below: It’s nice to see that someone else appreciates the long and brave career of Dana Delany. / Photos courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)
Tito Ortiz Dana Is My Hero t-shirt UFC 121

With Brock Lesnar gunning for a historic third-consecutive heavyweight title defense against Mexican-American upstart Cain Velasquez, belt-collector Jake Shields making his first appearance in the Octagon, and Tito Ortiz possibly making his last appearance in the Octagon, there’s a lot on the line tonight in Anaheim. Round-by-round results from UFC 121 can be found after the jump, starting with the Spike prelims at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all latest, and please let your voice be heard in the comments section.

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Fighter vs. Writer: UFC 121 Picks With ‘Mayhem’ Miller

Filed under: UFCJason “Mayhem” Miller appeared only briefly at Tuesday’s EA Sports MMA demo at Universal City Walk. He beat “King” Mo Lawal via first-round TKO in the game, talked a little smack, then suddenly disappeared.

When I tracked him down aft…

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Jason “Mayhem” Miller appeared only briefly at Tuesday’s EA Sports MMA demo at Universal City Walk. He beat “King” Mo Lawal via first-round TKO in the game, talked a little smack, then suddenly disappeared.

When I tracked him down after the event had wrapped up, he and his friends were just finishing up in a nearby skydiving simulator, during which one of his friends lost a tooth that had been superglued into his mouth after being knocked out. This was treated as a hilarious misadventure that everyone, including the loser of the tooth, seemed to enjoy.

Just another day in Mayhemland.

After he’d calmed down enough to form sentences, Miller agreed to go head-to-head with me in a prediction contest for UFC 121. Talk about an adrenaline rush.