Erik Perez, a veteran of the UFC, calls action for Combate Americas. Now, he is a fighter for the promotion. Combate Americas announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to terms with Perez on a multi-fight, exclusive contract. The 27-year-old is a na…
Erik Perez, a veteran of the UFC, calls action for Combate Americas. Now, he is a fighter for the promotion. Combate Americas announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to terms with Perez on a multi-fight, exclusive contract. The 27-year-old is a native of Monterrey, Mexico and is scheduled to make his in-cage debut in […]
The three-week drought finally comes to an end, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns for ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3’ Finale (also called UFC Fight Night 98) at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. The headliner is one that could have been for a belt a few short months ago. Former
The three-week drought finally comes to an end, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns for ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3’ Finale (also called UFC Fight Night 98) at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico.
The headliner is one that could have been for a belt a few short months ago. Former champion Rafael dos Anjos makes his first appearance since suffering a surprise first-round knockout at the hands of Eddie Alvarez. Since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov nearly two-and-a-half years ago, dos Anjos had rattled off wins over Jason High, Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, and Donald Cerrone.
The last two marked his title-clinching performance and only defense. In a stacked division with no shortage of worthy contenders, RDA does not get the immediate rematch treatment. Some guy named Conor Mc-Something inserted himself into the title picture, and everyone else is left waiting to see how that fight unfolds.
The Brazilian faces Tony Ferguson, a guy with a legitimate claim to number-one contendership status. An eight-fight winning streak in MMA’s most cutthroat weight class will do that. The 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu representative has taken out the likes of Danny Castillo, Abel Trujillo, Gleison Tibau, Josh Thomson, and Edson Barboza during his recent tear. He is coming off a hard-fought second-round submission victory over short-notice replacement Lando Vannata at UFC Fight Night 91 in July. Ferguson was supposed to square off with Nurmagomedov for the next title shot, but the Dagestani fighter pulled out with yet another injury.
The rest of the main card features ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3’ lightweight final, a lightweight tilt between UFC OG Diego Sanchez and Bellator import Marcin Held, a featherweight scrap between Ricardo Lamas and Charles Oliveira, a lightweight battle pitting Beneil Dariush against Rashid Magomedov, and a strawweight clash between Invicta FC veteran Alexa Grasso and Heather Jo Clark.
Read on for a full main card fight analysis.
Lightweight – Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tony Ferguson:
Dos Anjos came into the UFC with great athleticism and top-notch BJJ credentials, but he has morphed into an all-around dynamo. His Muay Thai has become truly vicious under the tutelage of Kings MMA patriarch Rafael Cordeiro, and his wrestling has also become a major asset to his game. The Brazilian’s conditioning and the aggression Cordeiro has drilled into him make dos Anjos a scary man with whom to share a cage.
The Brazilian has turned into a pressure fighter, never giving opponents space or room to breathe, the threat of a big shot always there. From his southpaw stance, RDA’s left hand and left kick can put a serious hurting on an adversary. The Brazilian’s leg kicks cut down Diaz, his body kick gutted Cerrone, and his straight left smashed Pettis’s face in. His hand speed is excellent, making it so that he still can connect when he winds up on an overhand. He will rip to the body with equal prejudice, and his clinch knees and elbows are truly something to be feared. But dos Anjos’s lack of head movement cost him in his fight with Alvarez. He relies on covering up for defense and his own aggression to keep his man on the back foot.
As already mentioned, the Brazilian’s ground game is likely his best facet, and he now has the wrestling to actually employ it. He has good timing on reactive shots, hides his entries behind punches well, and finishes his double leg with authority. Once on top, dos Anjos is utterly stifling. His opponent never has the space to attempt a sweep or submission, and all the while the Kings MMA rep is bashing away with hard ground and pound.
In Ferguson, dos Anjos will find a dance partner whose best assets are his length, power, awkward style, toughness, and volume. And the Michigan native relies heavily on all of them. Ferguson throws hard straight punches, for the most part, mixed in with a heavy dose of leg and body kicks. The 10th Planet rep is not an out-fighter, but his long limbs allow him to hit foes with hard shots when either man tries to close the distance or his opponent is retreating. He works behind a penetrating jab, followed with a nasty cross. Defense is mostly an afterthought for the hard-nosed brawler. He has shown that he can slip and roll in the past, but for the most part, Ferguson is content to throw down. He relies on his chin and his power to carry him through tough spots.
Ferguson has collegiate wrestling credentials, but he uses them mostly for defense, which is solid if not impenetrable. He is most dangerous by far from the front headlock, where he has finished three UFC opponents with brabo chokes. Ferguson will snatch the neck any chance he gets, and he will also happily look to lock it up while standing and fall to his back to finish. On top, his ground and pound is punishing, and his scrambling ability is solid. One issue is that he is too willing to give up position fishing for low-percentage submissions. And if his opponent wants to consolidate top position rather than scramble, Ferguson will resort to striking from the bottom rather than looking for quick get-ups.
The Pick: Ferguson is offensively potent and tough as nails, so he will be dangerous throughout. But the smart money is on dos Anjos. Ferguson is too hittable and too prone to fighting off his back. The fact that he got rocked badly twice by featherweight Lando Vannata in his last fight doesn’t bode well for him either. Ferguson has been in plenty of wars, and that inevitably takes a toll. He also likes to initiate unconventional scrambles by rolling for leg locks, and a jiu-jitsu savant like RDA isn’t going to fall into a trap like that. Unless his chin has abandoned him – and I find that unlikely given that he never went down under the thunderous barrage from Alvarez – dos Anjos should beat up Ferguson on the feet and on the mat on his way to a third-round TKO.
Two bantamweights did battle inside the Octagon for the second bout on the main card of UFC 201. Alliance MMA member Erik Perez (16-6) fought Francisco Rivera (11-7, 1 NC). “El Goyito” looked to build off his decision win over Taylor Lapilus back in Nov. 2015. “Cisco” hoped to avoid the fifth loss in his […]
Two bantamweights did battle inside the Octagon for the second bout on the main card of UFC 201. Alliance MMA member Erik Perez (16-6) fought Francisco Rivera (11-7, 1 NC). “El Goyito” looked to build off his decision win over Taylor Lapilus back in Nov. 2015. “Cisco” hoped to avoid the fifth loss in his last six bouts and a potential pink slip.
“El Goyito” earned his second straight win.
Rivera drew first with two left hooks. Perez had his uppercut and high kick blocked. A right hand found the jaw for Rivera. “El Goyito” caught a kick and landed some punches. Perez scored a takedown briefly and held “Cisco” against the fence. He landed a knee on the break. An inside leg kick found the mark for Perez. The story of round one was Rivera’s patience wearing off once Perez found success on the outside.
An inside leg kick sent Rivera off balance and to the mat. Perez landed some punches as “Cisco” returned to his feet. “El Goyito” went for a spinning back elbow, grazing his opponent. Perez built off his late success in the first round and blood trickled on the right side of Rivera’s head. Perez landed a leg kick that caused Rivera to wince. He capitalized with a takedown and remained in control until the end of the round.
The two fighters came out guns blazing in the final stanza. Rivera landed some punches, but swung so hard he fell over and appeared to punch himself out. Perez scored a takedown and blood dripped from the head of “Cisco.” Perez landed body punches to keep the fight from being stood back up. Rivera returned to his feet, but “El Goyito” kept the clinch until 15 seconds was left. The final horn sounded with Rivera missing a high kick.
All three judges saw the fight for Perez and he was awarded the win.
Final Result: Erik Perez def. Francisco Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
An intriguing bantamweight bout has been added to UFC 201, according to new reports that surfaced on the web on Tuesday.
Indiscutido initially reported, and MMAFighting.com later confirmed a 135-pound bout between Erik Perez (15-6) and Francisco Riv…
An intriguing bantamweight bout has been added to UFC 201, according to new reports that surfaced on the web on Tuesday.
Indiscutido initially reported, and MMAFighting.com later confirmed a 135-pound bout between Erik Perez (15-6) and Francisco Rivera (11-6-1 NC) for the July pay-per-view event.
Headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 201 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 3, 2016 from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
For a highly anticipated fight card marred by injuries to its premiere fighters and an ongoing crisis in Mexico, UFC 180: “Werdum vs. Hunt” turned out to be quite the showcase.
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who had a card built entirely around him for the promotion’s first trip to the country with support from Diego Sanchez and Erik Perez, had to bow out of a title fight against Fabricio Werdum a few weeks removed from the championship encounter. This was after both Perez and Sanchez were already out with of their respective scraps with wounds.
When it comes to the champion, there’s always a lingering concern about his injuries. Multiple setbacks which required surgery (including his latest) has seen Velasquez fight six times in four years, against three different opponents.
But the show must go on, which means the attention turned to Werdum and a combat sports legend serving as an unexpected title challenger in an interim heavyweight championship bout.
For a highly anticipated fight card marred by injuries to its premiere fighters and an ongoing crisis in Mexico, UFC 180: “Werdum vs. Hunt” turned out to be quite the showcase.
When it comes to the champion, there’s always a lingering concern about his injuries. Multiple setbacks which required surgery (including his latest) has seen Velasquez fight six times in four years, against three different opponents.
But the show had to go on, which means the attention turned to Werdum and a combat sports legend serving as an unexpected title challenger in an interim heavyweight championship bout.
Mark Hunt, the main event replacement fighter who lost his UFC debut to Sean McCorkle and presumably left Zuffa brass doing the triple facepalm after agreeing to serve him his owed fights, had the possibility of sending every UG alumnus into an ejaculation frenzy by winning a UFC belt in 2014.
Werdum, on the other hand, would solidify his status as a well-deserved second best heavyweight in the world by winning, really flourishing in his second UFC stint.
Right off the bat, the battle was on. Hunt dropped Werdum, and consistently blasted “Vai Cavalo” every time the latter would try to close the distance. It was looking like the former Pride and K-1 slugger was going to achieve the impossible.
Then, he died by the gun.
Werdum clocked Hunt with a flying knee, following up with punches and left Herb Dean no choice but to call it a night for the “Super Samoan.” It was the perfect conclusion to a surprisingly great night of fights. The result was a disappointing one for Hunt, however, at least he got his chance. It’s nice to see a veteran like him acquire a shot at glory when opportunities like that are so limited in today’s MMA game. It’s not like he’s one to talk his way into things.
Now, Werdum’s chin isn’t great, but he could take a bomb of a shot. This also solidifies Werdum as something pretty significant in terms of the greatest heavyweights of all-time in MMA, but it’s hard to say what. He’s not Muhammed Ali by any stretch of the imagination, yet in the world of MMA, you’ve got to give this guy a boatload of praise. He’s a decorated, multi-time world jiu-jitsu champion, he more or less sent Fedor Emelianenko into a downward spiral back in 2010 by doing something unheard of at the time, and since losing a lackluster bout in Strikeforce to Alistair Overeem in 2011, he’s on an impressive five-fight winning streak in the UFC, with finishes over Hunt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and lopsided decision wins against Travis Browne and Roy Nelson. Obviously, we have to wait for Velasquez to come back in order to see where the Brazilian fits in the grand scheme of things. Truthfully, he’s best active heavyweight in MMA right now, after a lengthy career competing for the top organizations in the world.
Gastelum finished off Jake Ellenberger by rear naked choke in the co-main event, sending the latter into a downward spiral of his own. The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner is looking like one of the better prospects to emerge from the exhaustive and overdone reality show in recent memory, and it’s time for the old “step up in competition” treatment, which means a top five foe. As for the “Juggernaut,” he’s still good enough to beat anyone you could think of that lives on a Fight Pass prelim, but he’s in some hot water, suffering his third consecutive defeat. Then again, you try beating Rory MacDonald, Robbie Lawler, and a 23-year-old stud.
It’s nice to see the UFC mention Conor McGregor every time there’s a featherweight contest, and last night was no different. Before Ricardo Lamas and Dennis Bermudez engaged in warfare, the broadcast team talked about how these two heavy-hitters had to talk trash to generate interest, since the savior of Ireland does that. It certainly can’t be because they choose to fight for a living and maybe a psychological edge would be to get inside each other’s heads?
In the end, Lamas prevailed, choking out Bermudez with a guillotine, and proved he’s still a force in the 145-pound division — even if the champion Jose Aldo outclassed him at the beginning of the year at UFC 169.
With four first-round finishes and an exciting main event rounding up the main card, you could make the complaint that UFC 180 wasn’t worth the price tag after so many injuries. However, it really served its purpose. With the risk of lot of eyeballs being drawn to that free Spike TV broadcast, it was the best case scenario for the Las Vegas-based organization we have grown to love and (sometimes) hate.
Even those fights that opened up the card, featuring four fighters the average fan is probably unfamiliar with, were both over in the first round and proved to be appropriate fights setting the pace for the night’s flow. The live crowd should be acknowledged, too, as they soaked up every moment, and gave the impression that they were unaware of any sort of unfortunate occurrences, whether it be dealing with UFC 180 or otherwise.
Also, maybe competition helps in the long run, since everyone is talking about the ironically placed counter-promoted shows all at once. Bellator offered the fans a season 11 finale full of violence, nurses as valets to the fighters, and a freaking WCW circa 1992 ramp, while WSOF had an appealing yet darkened fight card, that saw an exiled UFC “gatekeeper” stopped in the main event at WSOF 15. But like you’d expect, UFC was the big winner last night, and they didn’t even win by default; its fighters deserve the praise for salvaging what looked like another average PPV offering. Hell, even the prelims were great. Quick and slick finishes, two TUF: Latin America finale bouts you probably overlooked, an ear explosion complete with a burst of bloodshed, and someone shitting his pants. Come on…we can’t possibly complain here.
And in retrospect, it was hard not to feel bad for Zuffa with the UFC 180 setbacks, even though it’s been more of a benefit of the doubt relationship at this point. But certain events went down the way they did, proving it was the best-case scenario for the brass. The UFC was dealt an ace with this one.
As if we needed any more reasons to dislike Bryan Caraway, the UFC bantamweight contender was spotted fish-hooking opponent Erik Perez last night at UFC Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov. Caraway went on to win by rear-naked choke submission in the second round. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying, I guess.
Fish-hooking — the act of sticking your fingers in a dude’s mouth and yanking — is one of the fouls listed in the Unified Rules of MMA. Unfortunately, the ref didn’t see it, which was just one of many officiating screw-ups that plagued last night’s card, from questionable stoppages to premature stand-ups to indefensible hometown decisions.
Check out a close-up screen-cap of the fish hook incident after the jump, and let us know what you think.
As if we needed any more reasons to dislike Bryan Caraway, the UFC bantamweight contender was spotted fish-hooking opponent Erik Perez last night at UFC Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov. Caraway went on to win by rear-naked choke submission in the second round. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying, I guess.
Fish-hooking — the act of sticking your fingers in a dude’s mouth and yanking — is one of the fouls listed in the Unified Rules of MMA. Unfortunately, the ref didn’t see it, which was just one of many officiating screw-ups that plagued last night’s card, from questionable stoppages to premature stand-ups to indefensible hometown decisions.
Check out a close-up screen-cap of the fish hook incident after the jump, and let us know what you think.
