Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, NewsAs Zuffa moves forward on its plans to fold Strikeforce’s heavyweight division into the UFC, the company announced Tuesday that Lavar Johnson will be the next Strikeforce heavyweight to set foot in the Octagon.
As Zuffa moves forward on its plans to fold Strikeforce‘s heavyweight division into the UFC, the company announced Tuesday that Lavar Johnson will be the next Strikeforce heavyweight to set foot in the Octagon.
Johnson will fight Joey Beltran at UFC on Fox 2 on January 28 in Chicago.
The hard-punching Johnson won three straight fights on Strikeforce Challengers cards in 2009 and 2010, but this year he lost to Shane Del Rosario in an alternate bout in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, then bounced back down to Challengers and lost to Shawn Jordan. He’s in a must-win situation at UFC on Fox 2, and so is Beltran, who has lost three of his last four.
The UFC also made a few other fight announcements on Tuesday afternoon:
— Featherweight Erik Koch has suffered an injury and is out of his planned UFC 143 fight against Dustin Poirier. Koch and Poirier are two of the best young featherweights in the sport, and that fight should have been a big one. The UFC will seek a replacement to fight Poirier.
— The 5-0 Brazilian prospect Caio Magalhaes has been signed and will make his Octagon debut in his home country against Fabio Maldonado at UFC 142. Maldonado had previously been scheduled to face Stansislav Nedkov, but he was forced to withdraw from the fight.
— John Albert, a bantamweight who competed on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter and beat Dustin Pague in the Finale, will return and take a step up in quality of competition when he takes on Ivan Menjivar at the February 15 UFC on Fuel TV card in Omaha.
Filed under: UFC, Rankings, FeatherweightsKenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?
If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the la…
Kenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?
If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the ladder and become the No. 2 fighter in your weight class, then the answer is no. Florian has fought just once at 145 pounds — his unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 — and that’s not enough to get him in the No. 2 spot ahead of Chad Mendes, who’s been fighting at featherweight his entire career and built up a 10-0 record.
But the real way a fighter earns a title shot is to become the guy the fans want to see fighting for a title: The UFC is in the business of selling pay-per-views, and Florian vs. Aldo would sell far more pay-per-views than Mendes vs. Aldo. Mendes has fought in the Octagon once and isn’t all that well known, while Florian has fought in Octagon 16 times and is a fan favorite. That’s why he’ll get the next crack at Aldo.
However, that’s not to say Florian isn’t also among the elite featherweights in MMA. Find out where I have him ranked below.
(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)
1. Jose Aldo (1): So far, in the UFC and WEC there hasn’t been a featherweight who has what it takes to challenge Aldo: He’s 9-0 fighting under the Zuffa banner and hasn’t been in any real trouble. We’ll see if Florian can be the man to test Aldo, but I have my doubts.
2. Chad Mendes (2): Mendes thought he had earned the next shot at Aldo, but instead he’ll take on Rani Yahya in August, and hope that a good showing there earns him a title fight after that. Mendes is only 10 fights into his MMA career and still a little green, so having to wait a little longer may be good for him.
3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Here’s hoping Hioki is able to sign with the UFC soon. The best featherweights in the world are waiting for Hioki, who has been great in Japan and whose long limbs and well-rounded striking and grappling style could make him a threat to most of the top competition in the UFC.
4. Kenny Florian (NR): Is one win at 145 pounds enough to make Florian worthy of a Top 5 ranking? I think it is, considering that the one win was a very impressive one against a good opponent, and considering that Florian was generally recognized as a Top 5 fighter in a more talented weight class when he was fighting at 155.
5. Manny Gamburyan (4): Gamburyan is trying to bounce back from his loss to Aldo in September, and he’s got a very interesting fight coming up against Tyson Griffin, who like Gamburyan and Florian is a former lightweight hoping for more success in the shallower waters of the featherweight division.
6. Marlon Sandro (6): Bellator’s featherweight division has picked up some top-notch talent, and in my opinion the best of the bunch is Sandro, who will take on fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva in the first round of Bellator’s summer featherweight tournament.
7. Mark Hominick (7): His gutsy performance in defeat against Jose Aldo endeared Hominick to MMA fans. There’s talk that Hominick could face Chan Sung Jung next, in a fight that couldn’t possibly be anything less than thrilling.
8. Erik Koch (8): Koch is 12-1 in his career, with the only loss coming against Mendes. He’s been matched up with Season 12 Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins in September.
9. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier has looked like a much better fighter since moving down to featherweight, dominating both Josh Grispi and Jason Young at 145 pounds. Poirier is only 22 years old and is a likely future title contender.
10. Diego Nunes (9): Although he came up short against Florian, Nunes is only 28 years old and not done improving. He has a lot of big featherweight fights ahead of him.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.
The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.
Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.
Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.
Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.
Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.
The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.
Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.
Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.
Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.
Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Filed under: UFC, NewsA featherweight fight between former top contender Josh Grispi and George Roop has been slotted for The UFC’s Season 13 finale of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sources close to the bout confirmed the booking with MMA Fighting on Monda…
A featherweight fight between former top contender Josh Grispi and George Roop has been slotted for The UFC’s Season 13 finale of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sources close to the bout confirmed the booking with MMA Fighting on Monday. MMA Mania first reported the matchup on Sunday.
Grispi (14-2, 0-1 UFC) had been in line for a featherweight title shot against champion Jose Aldo at UFC 125 last month. But when Aldo had to pull out with an injury, Grispi instead took a fight with Dustin Poirier to stay busy.
Filed under: WECLAS VEGAS – MMA Fighting is at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for WEC 52, one of just two cards left in the promotion’s history before merging into the UFC in 2011.
The main card, headlined by the bantamweight debut…
LAS VEGAS – MMA Fighting is at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for WEC 52, one of just two cards left in the promotion’s history before merging into the UFC in 2011.
The main card, headlined by the bantamweight debut of former featherweight champion Urijah Faber against Takeya Mizugaki, airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The preliminary bouts not scheduled for broadcast feature L.C. Davis vs. Raphael Assuncao, Edward Faaloloto vs. Anthony Njokuani, Dustin Poirier vs. Zach Micklewright, Michael McDonald vs. Clint Godfrey, Mackens Semerzier vs. Cub Swanson and Brandon Visher vs. Yves Jabouin.
MMA Fighting has round-by-round updates of the six preliminary card bouts below.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the 
has been slotted for The UFC’s Season 13 finale of “The Ultimate Fighter.” 
LAS VEGAS – MMA Fighting is at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for