MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC card.
UFC on Versus 5 is the promotion’s debut in Wisconsin and takes place at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
The preliminary card features eight fights, including a middleweight bout between C.B. Dollaway and Jared Hamman and a bantamweight contest between former WEC champion Eddie Wineland and former title challenger Joseph Benavidez.
No glove touch, but we start anyway. Figueroa takes the center and Reinhardt circles to the right on the outside, then back left. Reinhardt is on his horse, not engaging, and grinning at Figueroa, now talking to him and clapping at him. The crowd is booing wildly. Figueroa finally catches him to throw a partially blocked kick. This has Kalib Starnes written all over it. Figueroa lands a right and drops Reinhardt, then locks in a standing guillotine. Reinhardt is trying to power out of it, and he eventually gets a little slam out of it and winds up on top. He transitions to Figueroa’s back and starts to work for a rear naked choke with a body triangle locked on. Figueroa gets out, though, and lands a shot from up top. They stand up, and when Figueroa engages, Reinhardt immediately drops to his back. They stand up again, and Reinhardt lands a decent right of his own. Back on the feet, Figueroa again lands a couple good shots and gets Reinhardt back on the ground, where he proceeds to land some pretty stiff shots from standing. Reinhardt does a somersault and rolls over. He has basically given up and is just laying there as the ref looks at him when the horn sounds. It’s a 10-8 round for Figueroa on our card thanks to Reinhardt’s running.
Round 2: We’re going to do a second round of this thing, and this time they touch gloves. Reinhardt again is on his horse, then shoots when Figueroa engages. There’s a scramble, and Figueroa ends up on top in full mount. Reinhardt rolls over and covers up and he’s not long for this fight. Pretty quickly, the ref steps in and it’s done. So, too, likely, is Reinhardt’s UFC career after the running in the first round.
Round 1: The legendary Mario Yamasaki gets things going. No glove touch. Volkmann shoots in early and they have a scramble in the clinch, but not much comes from it. They break apart and dance. Decent body kick from Castillo, who shortly thereafter misses a nice high kick. Then he lands an outside leg kick, followed by one on the inside. Volkmann shoots again and gets a soft takedown and looks to pass from half guard. He ties up Castillo’s right arm, then works for a side choke. But trying to hold on to that position costs him, as Castillo works his way out and gets top position. Volkmann settles back into guard, then nicely wall walks back to his feet as they clinch up. They separate around 1:50 and move back to the middle. After trading rights, Castillo lands one of the loudest body kicks in recorded history (we think) to Volkmann’s left ribcage. But Volkmann survives it and the two wind up in a scramble on the ground. It’s a tough first round to score, with each guy looking pretty effective. But MMA Fighting will give it, highly unofficially, to Castillo 10-9.
Round 2: After a few seconds of dancing, we clinch up along the fence. A few traded shots lead to Volkmann on his butt looking for a choke, and Castillo trying to work ground and pound. Yamasaki warns Castillo for holding Volkmann’s shorts and says he’ll take a point if he does it again. Volkmann wall walks back up, and then Castillo is warned for grabbing the fence, though it looked mild. A weird scramble leads to Volkmann on his back briefly, then on his knees, and he wrestles Castillo to his back and is in half guard. Then work for position, and Volkmann briefly has a choke that he can’t lock up as Castillo tries to reverse position. He works for it again, and it’s an arm-in modified guillotine. But Castillo will survive the round. Round 2 goes to Volkmann on our card, 10-9.
Round 3: Castillo lands a nice right hand 10 seconds in. Forty seconds later, the next action is a nice inside leg kick from him. They hit the ground briefly, but Volkmann has the edge there before Castillo scrambles quickly out and back to his feet. The crowd cheers the cat-and-mouse game. A short exchange in the middle leads to Volkmann again taking top position on the ground, controlling Castillo’s head and neck from half guard. He looks for some short elbows, but mainly this is a control game with Castillo’s right arm locked up. Volkmann isn’t doing much with the position, and it doesn’t look like it’s a choke he can lock down from where he’s at. Castillo wiggles out, but Volkmann gets to side control and looks for more elbows and again traps an arm and controls Castillo’s head. Castillo throws right knees from the ground, but that’s all he can do. The crowd is booing what it deems a stalling game by Volkmann. Castillo rolls over, and Volkmann works for his back. But nothing will happen. It’s a 10-9 third for Volkmann, and MMA Fighting scores the fight for him 29-28. No doubt some judges will have it 30-27 for him.
Result: Jacob Volkmann def. Danny Castillo, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Round 1: They touch gloves, surprising given yesterday’s heated moment at the weigh-ins. These guys are both tall. Not Stefan Struve tall, but tall. We dance for 30 seconds, looking for position. Both throw a few kicks and rights that miss. Miller blocks a high kick and pushes forward, but O’Brien just misses a big uppercut right that has the crowd making one giant “Ooooooh!” sound. O’Brien lands a nice body shot that has Miller thinking that wasn’t very nice. And O’Brien then comes forward with a nice combination. He blocks some of Miller’s combos a short time later, then checks an outside leg kick. With 90 seconds left, Miller lands a big right, then just misses another but follows it with an outside leg kick. He lands a pair of stiff left jabs, then a third. O’Brien blocks a high Miller kick, then comes forward with a body shot. It’s a pretty close first round, but we’ll go 10-9 Miller – though it could go either way.
Round 2: We trade leg kicks and look for openings to start the first minute of Round 2. Miller then backpedals to re-set. O’Brien comes forward and has Miller backing up just for a second, but Miller drops him with a left and starts to work kicks from up top while O’Brien lays on his back. But a really nice scramble by O’Brien has him to his feet – but just for a second. Miller dives back in and cranks on a guillotine, and he’s got it good. Though O’Brien is trying to get out, he can’t and he has to tap.
Result: Cole Miller def. T.J. O’Brien, submission (guillotine), 2:38 Round 2
MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC card.
UFC on Versus 5 is the promotion’s debut in Wisconsin and takes place at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
The preliminary card features eight fights, including a middleweight bout between C.B. Dollaway and Jared Hamman and a bantamweight contest between former WEC champion Eddie Wineland and former title challenger Joseph Benavidez.
No glove touch, but we start anyway. Figueroa takes the center and Reinhardt circles to the right on the outside, then back left. Reinhardt is on his horse, not engaging, and grinning at Figueroa, now talking to him and clapping at him. The crowd is booing wildly. Figueroa finally catches him to throw a partially blocked kick. This has Kalib Starnes written all over it. Figueroa lands a right and drops Reinhardt, then locks in a standing guillotine. Reinhardt is trying to power out of it, and he eventually gets a little slam out of it and winds up on top. He transitions to Figueroa’s back and starts to work for a rear naked choke with a body triangle locked on. Figueroa gets out, though, and lands a shot from up top. They stand up, and when Figueroa engages, Reinhardt immediately drops to his back. They stand up again, and Reinhardt lands a decent right of his own. Back on the feet, Figueroa again lands a couple good shots and gets Reinhardt back on the ground, where he proceeds to land some pretty stiff shots from standing. Reinhardt does a somersault and rolls over. He has basically given up and is just laying there as the ref looks at him when the horn sounds. It’s a 10-8 round for Figueroa on our card thanks to Reinhardt’s running.
Round 2: We’re going to do a second round of this thing, and this time they touch gloves. Reinhardt again is on his horse, then shoots when Figueroa engages. There’s a scramble, and Figueroa ends up on top in full mount. Reinhardt rolls over and covers up and he’s not long for this fight. Pretty quickly, the ref steps in and it’s done. So, too, likely, is Reinhardt’s UFC career after the running in the first round.
Round 1: The legendary Mario Yamasaki gets things going. No glove touch. Volkmann shoots in early and they have a scramble in the clinch, but not much comes from it. They break apart and dance. Decent body kick from Castillo, who shortly thereafter misses a nice high kick. Then he lands an outside leg kick, followed by one on the inside. Volkmann shoots again and gets a soft takedown and looks to pass from half guard. He ties up Castillo’s right arm, then works for a side choke. But trying to hold on to that position costs him, as Castillo works his way out and gets top position. Volkmann settles back into guard, then nicely wall walks back to his feet as they clinch up. They separate around 1:50 and move back to the middle. After trading rights, Castillo lands one of the loudest body kicks in recorded history (we think) to Volkmann’s left ribcage. But Volkmann survives it and the two wind up in a scramble on the ground. It’s a tough first round to score, with each guy looking pretty effective. But MMA Fighting will give it, highly unofficially, to Castillo 10-9.
Round 2: After a few seconds of dancing, we clinch up along the fence. A few traded shots lead to Volkmann on his butt looking for a choke, and Castillo trying to work ground and pound. Yamasaki warns Castillo for holding Volkmann’s shorts and says he’ll take a point if he does it again. Volkmann wall walks back up, and then Castillo is warned for grabbing the fence, though it looked mild. A weird scramble leads to Volkmann on his back briefly, then on his knees, and he wrestles Castillo to his back and is in half guard. Then work for position, and Volkmann briefly has a choke that he can’t lock up as Castillo tries to reverse position. He works for it again, and it’s an arm-in modified guillotine. But Castillo will survive the round. Round 2 goes to Volkmann on our card, 10-9.
Round 3: Castillo lands a nice right hand 10 seconds in. Forty seconds later, the next action is a nice inside leg kick from him. They hit the ground briefly, but Volkmann has the edge there before Castillo scrambles quickly out and back to his feet. The crowd cheers the cat-and-mouse game. A short exchange in the middle leads to Volkmann again taking top position on the ground, controlling Castillo’s head and neck from half guard. He looks for some short elbows, but mainly this is a control game with Castillo’s right arm locked up. Volkmann isn’t doing much with the position, and it doesn’t look like it’s a choke he can lock down from where he’s at. Castillo wiggles out, but Volkmann gets to side control and looks for more elbows and again traps an arm and controls Castillo’s head. Castillo throws right knees from the ground, but that’s all he can do. The crowd is booing what it deems a stalling game by Volkmann. Castillo rolls over, and Volkmann works for his back. But nothing will happen. It’s a 10-9 third for Volkmann, and MMA Fighting scores the fight for him 29-28. No doubt some judges will have it 30-27 for him.
Result: Jacob Volkmann def. Danny Castillo, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Round 1: They touch gloves, surprising given yesterday’s heated moment at the weigh-ins. These guys are both tall. Not Stefan Struve tall, but tall. We dance for 30 seconds, looking for position. Both throw a few kicks and rights that miss. Miller blocks a high kick and pushes forward, but O’Brien just misses a big uppercut right that has the crowd making one giant “Ooooooh!” sound. O’Brien lands a nice body shot that has Miller thinking that wasn’t very nice. And O’Brien then comes forward with a nice combination. He blocks some of Miller’s combos a short time later, then checks an outside leg kick. With 90 seconds left, Miller lands a big right, then just misses another but follows it with an outside leg kick. He lands a pair of stiff left jabs, then a third. O’Brien blocks a high Miller kick, then comes forward with a body shot. It’s a pretty close first round, but we’ll go 10-9 Miller – though it could go either way.
Round 2: We trade leg kicks and look for openings to start the first minute of Round 2. Miller then backpedals to re-set. O’Brien comes forward and has Miller backing up just for a second, but Miller drops him with a left and starts to work kicks from up top while O’Brien lays on his back. But a really nice scramble by O’Brien has him to his feet – but just for a second. Miller dives back in and cranks on a guillotine, and he’s got it good. Though O’Brien is trying to get out, he can’t and he has to tap.
Result: Cole Miller def. T.J. O’Brien, submission (guillotine), 2:38 Round 2
After Eddie Wineland had his four-fight winning streak snapped against Urijah Faber in March, he took an interesting next step.
Rather than taking the positives from a fight he kept much closer than most people predicted, regrouping and taking on someone down the bantamweight ladder to start a new streak, Wineland asked for an opponent maybe tougher than his last – Joseph Benavidez.
Before thinking Wineland might not have his head on straight – after all, he asked for the teammate and primary training partner of his last opponent, ensuring Benavidez would have plenty of knowledge about him built up from Faber’s training camp – one must listen to his logic. Having once held the bantamweight belt for the WEC, now the UFC strap, getting it back is the one thing he wants most.
“I could have easily fought one of the top five, six, seven guys, and that would’ve got me back on track,” Wineland said. “But a win over Joseph, I think, puts me right back into title contention. It’s a gamble, but I don’t need to be fighting guys who are up and coming and looking to get their names out there.”
Wineland (18-7-1, 0-1 UFC) had back-to-back Knockout of the Night bonuses to close out his WEC career before getting his matchup with Faber. And though he won the first round on the judges’ scorecards at UFC 128 – stopping multiple Faber takedown attempts and landing a slam of his own to the surprise of nearly everyone but Wineland – he couldn’t keep Faber at bay long enough in the second and third. Faber went on to get a title shot – a shot that UFC president Dana White said afterward he’d have to have given to Wineland had he won.
With Dominick Cruz locked down on the No. 1 spot in the bantamweight class, Wineland sees plenty of lists with Benavidez (14-2, 1-0 UFC) as the No. 2 guy. Benavidez’s only two career losses? To Cruz, of course. But Wineland wants to dispel the myth that asking for Benavidez was a call-out of any kind. He wanted another major test, more than anything.
“I always said that Benavidez poses a lot of problems for me since he’s a good wrestler and he’s really fast, very scrambly,” Wineland said. “He’s ranked top two or three in most all the rankings. In the beginning, he felt like I called him out – when it’s not coming from the horse’s mouth he’s going to hear something different. Not that I called him out, but I asked for the fight because that’s my fastest path back to the belt.”
Wineland was a heavy underdog against Faber, and he’ll enter the fight with Benavidez at UFC on Versus 5 on Sunday in Milwaukee, just a couple hours’ drive from his home in Northwest Indiana, as a 2-to-1 ‘dog.
Wineland will have a reach and height advantage of several inches against Benavidez, but he remembers how his opponent caught the bigger Miguel Torres not long back – the same Torres that Wineland once trained with. Wineland said he looked at Benavidez’s losses to Cruz more than anything else, and he wonders if he might have some of the same Benavidez Kryptonite that Cruz seems to possess. If he does, he believes an upset is in the offing on Sunday.
“I think Dominick and I have similar movements in the sense we move side to side and not forward and backward,” Wineland said. “I think ultimately, my natural movement is what’s going to give me the win. I think they think they’re going to come in and fight the same Eddie Wineland that Urijah fought, and that’s not going to happen. Every fight, I change. I get stronger. I get faster.”
And that size difference of 5-foot-7 vs. 5-4? If it gives Wineland that little extra mental boost for himself, he’ll take it.
“When we’re in the gym and I’m sparring with shorter guys, my confidence seems to grow,” Wineland said. “Not so much the fact that I’m looking down on them … but I am looking down on them. I think it gives me that confidence factor and helps me to push forward and realize that, hey, this guy’s a kid – he looks like a kid. So I can’t let this kid come in here and beat me. I just have to think child abuse, I guess.”
But that’s not a call out.
Wineland and Benavidez fight as part of the preliminary card of UFC on Versus 5 on Sunday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Their fight will air as part of a live stream on the UFC’s Facebook page, with the first fight starting at 5:45 p.m. Eastern. The main card, featuring a welterweight bout between Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle, airs live on Versus starting at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Filed under: UFC, Rankings, BantamweightsDemetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the next big thing in the bantamweight division in mixed martial arts. Or maybe the next little thing.
Johnson is small even by bantamweight standards (if the UFC ever adds …
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the next big thing in the bantamweight division in mixed martial arts. Or maybe the next little thing.
Johnson is small even by bantamweight standards (if the UFC ever adds a 125-pound flyweight class, he’ll probably join it), but he showed once again in his UFC 130 victory over Miguel Torres that he has strong enough wrestling that he can take down bigger opponents, keep them down, and grind out decisions. And Johnson is so quick moving in and out that he has managed to avoid the “boring” label that’s too often fastened to fighters who rely on their wrestling like that.
There’s no telling how far the 24-year-old Johnson can go, but he’s already come a long way: See just how high he is on the bantamweight board below.
(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s rank in the last bantamweight list.)
1. Dominick Cruz (1): The champion is now less than a month away from his long-awaited rematch with Urijah Faber at UFC 132. In that fight, Faber retained the WEC featherweight title and handed Cruz the only loss of his career. This time Cruz is the champion, and the favorite.
2. Urijah Faber (2): Faber beat Cruz handily last time, but the big question is whether he’s as good a fighter now as he was then. The 32-year-old Faber has looked like he’s slowing down in the last couple of years, while the 25-year-old Cruz is still improving. It’s a tough fight to call.
3. Joseph Benavidez (3): His fight with Eddie Wineland in August in Milwaukee will be a good challenge for Benavidez, who is 14-2 in his MMA career, with both losses coming by decision against Cruz.
4. Brian Bowles (4): The Cruz-Faber main event isn’t the only big bantamweight fight at UFC 132: Bowles fights Takeya Mizugaki on the undercard. A Bowles win could set him up for the next shot at the Cruz-Faber winner.
5. Demetrious Johnson (NR): The UFC really ought to give Johnson a pay raise. Earning $6,000 to show and a $6,000 bonus for winning just isn’t enough for a fighter who’s in the Top 5 of his weight class. Johnson isn’t a big draw now, but he looks like a future title contender, and a long-term contract extension would seem to make sense for both the UFC and Johnson.
6. Scott Jorgensen (6): Jorgensen showed off some very impressive ground and pound against Ken Stone at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, with a brutal right hand to Stone’s chin from inside Stone’s guard, knocking him cold. Jorgensen was outclassed by Cruz when they fought for the bantamweight title in December, and I wouldn’t give him much of a chance in a rematch, but he’s a threat to anyone else in the division.
7. Miguel Torres (5): It’s tough to see the way Torres has fallen: He’s lost three of his last five after starting his career 37-1. Torres still has plenty of good fights left in him, but it’s probably not realistic to think he’ll ever get the bantamweight title back.
8. Brad Pickett (NR): Pickett was supposed to fight Torres at UFC 130, but an injury forced him out of the fight and Johnson took his spot. Pickett beat Johnson in April of 2010, and you could make an argument that he deserves to be ranked higher than Johnson because of that, but I have Johnson ahead of Pickett based on how much Johnson looks like he’s improved in the last 14 months.
9. Eddie Wineland (8): Wineland lost to Faber in March but gave him a much tougher fight than most people expected, and now he’s got a big fight with Benavidez in August. Wineland has been around a long time (he was the first WEC featherweight champion), and sometimes that makes people forget that he’s only 26 years old and is still getting better.
10. Renan Barão (9): Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130 runs his incredible streak to 26 straight wins (with one no contest mixed in). It’s time to see how Barao does against Top 10 competition.
Chad Mendes not waiting for title shot against Jose Aldo. Will face Rani Yahya at UFC 134. Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland set for UFC on Versus 5. Dana White says neither Jon Jones vs..
Chad Mendes not waiting for title shot against Jose Aldo. Will face Rani Yahya at UFC 134.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland set for UFC on Versus 5.
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Toughest Role? Convincing Us He Still Wants to Fight (MMA Fighting)
– Five Fights You Shouldn’t Miss at UFC 130 (LowKick)
– MTV Is Planning a New MMA Reality Show in the Vein of a ‘Redneck Jersey Shore’ (MiddleEasy)
– Eddie Wineland vs. Joseph Benavidez Booked for ‘UFC Live 5’ in August (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Antonio McKee Thinks He May Have Been Cut by UFC Because He ‘Rubbed Joe Silva the Wrong Way’ (MMA Mania)
– UFC 129 ‘St. Pierre vs. Shields’ Did Really Big Business (MMA Convert)
– Zoila & Jorge Gurgel talk MMA & Marriage (TheFightNerd)
– ‘Strikeforce Challengers’ Headed to Las Vegas (NBC Sports MMA)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Toughest Role? Convincing Us He Still Wants to Fight (MMA Fighting)
– Five Fights You Shouldn’t Miss at UFC 130 (LowKick)
– MTV Is Planning a New MMA Reality Show in the Vein of a ‘Redneck Jersey Shore’ (MiddleEasy)
– Eddie Wineland vs. Joseph Benavidez Booked for ‘UFC Live 5′ in August (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Antonio McKee Thinks He May Have Been Cut by UFC Because He ‘Rubbed Joe Silva the Wrong Way’ (MMA Mania)
– UFC 129 ‘St. Pierre vs. Shields’ Did Really Big Business (MMA Convert)
– Zoila & Jorge Gurgel talk MMA & Marriage (TheFightNerd)
– ‘Strikeforce Challengers’ Headed to Las Vegas (NBC Sports MMA)
Filed under: UFC, NewsEddie Wineland will take one more crack at Team Alpha Male when he faces Joseph Benavidez at the UFC’s show in Milwaukee, UFC on Versus 5, in August.
Wineland, the first bantamweight champion in WEC history, is coming off his fi…
Wineland, the first bantamweight champion in WEC history, is coming off his first loss in nearly two years, a unanimous decision setback against Alpha Male kingpin Urijah Faber at UFC 128 in March. Now he’ll take on Faber’s training partner. The UFC announced the verbal agreement at its website late Tuesday night.
Benavidez (14-2, 1-0 UFC) has won two straight since a split decision loss to bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz at WEC 50 last August. He submitted Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 52 in November, and in March, also at UFC 128, he beat Ian Loveland by unanimous decision on the preliminary card.
Wineland’s loss to Faber, in the co-main event at UFC 128, snapped a four-bout winning streak for the Northwest Indiana-based 135-pounder, who is also a full-time firefighter. Wineland (18-7-1, 0-1 UFC) had put together back-to-back Knockout of the Night bonuses in his last two WEC bouts before fighting Faber in their UFC debuts.
With the win over Wineland, Faber earned a shot at Cruz’s title at UFC 132 in July. After the fight, UFC president Dana White told MMA Fighting that had Wineland upset Faber, he likely would have been given a shot at Cruz, the only fighter in the division with a longer streak than Wineland going into the Faber fight.
While Wineland will be looking for some payback for the Faber loss, Benavidez, with a win, could find himself in an interesting situation. A victory over Wineland would be three straight for Benavidez, putting him right back into title contention. If Faber, who dropped from featherweight to bantamweight last fall, beats Cruz to win the title, talk would soon begin on whether the two close friends and teammates would fight each other.
The UFC late Tuesday also announced featherweights Leonard Garcia and Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, from Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” will meet on the Milwaukee card. And Jared Hamman will move up from welterweight to fight CB Dolloway at middleweight, the UFC said earlier this week.
UFC on Versus 5 will take place Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee. The card has filled up quickly, including a welterweight potential slugfest between Chris Lytle and former title challenger Dan Hardy; a lightweight bout between former WEC champ Ben Henderson and Jim Miller; and Stephan Bonnar, who spent time training in Milwaukee under Duke Roufus several years ago, against Karlos Vemola.
MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC card.
After 
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the next big thing in the bantamweight division in mixed martial arts. Or maybe the next little thing.
Eddie Wineland