Anthony Pettis has the worst luck. After beating Benson Henderson to capture the lightweight title in the final WEC event, Pettis was promised a title shot against the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard bout that was scheduled for UFC 125. Pe…
Anthony Pettis has the worst luck. After beating Benson Henderson to capture the lightweight title in the final WEC event, Pettis was promised a title shot against the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard bout that was scheduled for UFC 125. Pettis had all the momentum in the world, stemming from a highlight-reel […]
(To be fair, DW also thought the Conan remake was going to TOTALLY RULE.)
In what might become known as the most difficult rebound match in the history of combat sports, UFC President Dana White has suggested that former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar drop down to 145 lbs, whereupon he would be given an immediate title shot against Jose Aldo. When questioned on the possibility of Edgar receiving a rematch against Ben Henderson following his…close, I guess, decision loss at UFC 144, White didn’t come right out and say yes or no, but rather suggested an alternate route for Edgar:
I think everybody is pretty clear on what I’d like to see him do, I’d like to see him go down to his natural weight of 145 pounds. There’s no doubt, again, when you talk about respecting a guy, I have so much respect for Frankie Edgar and what he’s been able to do at 155 pounds – because he had to, because there wasn’t a 145 pound division…
…if I’m gonna deny him the rematch for the 155 pound title, I’m gonna make him move to 145 and say, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna have to fight a couple fights first to get the title.’ Does that sound right? No.
When asked for comment, Urijah Faber exclaimed, “That makes perfect sense to me. Absolutely perfect sense.” OK, we made that last part up.
(To be fair, DW also thought the Conan remake was going to TOTALLY RULE.)
In what might become known as the most difficult rebound match in the history of combat sports, UFC President Dana White has suggested that former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar drop down to 145 lbs, whereupon he would be given an immediate title shot against Jose Aldo. When questioned on the possibility of Edgar receiving a rematch against Ben Henderson following his…close, I guess, decision loss at UFC 144, White didn’t come right out and say yes or no, but rather suggested an alternate route for Edgar:
I think everybody is pretty clear on what I’d like to see him do, I’d like to see him go down to his natural weight of 145 pounds. There’s no doubt, again, when you talk about respecting a guy, I have so much respect for Frankie Edgar and what he’s been able to do at 155 pounds – because he had to, because there wasn’t a 145 pound division…
…if I’m gonna deny him the rematch for the 155 pound title, I’m gonna make him move to 145 and say, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna have to fight a couple fights first to get the title.’ Does that sound right? No.
When asked for comment, Urijah Faber exclaimed, “That makes perfect sense to me. Absolutely perfect sense.” OK, we made that last part up.
Although it is a well known fact that Edgar fights at his natural weight, a rarity which for reasons I do not understand is frowned upon in MMA, Edgar has stated before that he isn’t exactly interested in dropping to 145 lbs. And considering DW apparently scored Edgar’s title losing effort in the New Jersian’s favor, why would moving down to featherweight be Frankie’s best move? According to White, it’s out of respect for the former champ, and a desire for his career to last as long as it possibly can, which isn’t that long to begin with:
I really like and respect Frankie Edgar as a human being — take the whole fighting thing out of it. This guy belongs at 145 pounds. When you are a professional fighter, you have a small window of opportunity to compete and be a professional athlete. There are only so many wars you have in you. You can’t have this long, amazing career fighting wars all the time.
Personally, I felt the Edgar/Henderson decision was pretty clear cut, and was surprised to say the least when I heard that White had scored it in favor of Edgar. But the man makes a good point in that, despite Edgar’s incredible heart, chin, and work ethic, he will never size up to the Ben Henderson’s of the world. The fact that a man who fights at his natural weight shouldn’t be competing at said weight says more about the mentality of the sport than it does about Edgar himself. However, that’s simply the way the game is played nowadays, so you might as well get in line.
But then you come to the issue of an immediate title shot at 145 lbs. Does Edgar deserve it? Let’s say he does, but taking on an arguably, no, assuredly more dangerous opponent than the one he just lost to seems like kind of a suicide mission. It would be like if we decided to go from Vietnam up into China back in 1975. And invaded Japan on the side. Jose Aldo is that dangerous. And being that Frankie has never had to cut weight before, you would imagine he’d maybe want a tune up fight ala Kenny Florian to get used to the weight. I could be wrong here, so what do you guys think, rematch or possible deathmatch?
(After making his UFC featherweight debut Friday, Miller will finally be able to put his embarrassing past fighting as a morbidly obese fat man [above] behind him.)
Cole Miller is in Sydney, Australia cutting weight for the first time in years. The young UFC fighter has competed at lightweight (155 pounds) since he entered the organization in 2007, but before that time he often fought at 145 pounds.
The UFC didn’t used to have a 145-pound division and even after it purchased the WEC – which did feature lighter weight classes – Miller says he was intent on staying in the promotion in order to take advantage of its larger fight bonuses (which, incidentally, he’s won several of), so he stayed at lightweight.
But now the promotion has lighter weight divisions and this Friday Miller will once again return to fighting where he says he belongs: at featherweight.
(After making his UFC featherweight debut Friday, Miller will finally be able to put his embarrassing past fighting as a morbidly obese fat man [above] behind him.)
Cole Miller is in Sydney, Australia cutting weight for the first time in years. The young UFC fighter has competed at lightweight (155 pounds) since he entered the organization in 2007, but before that time he often fought at 145 pounds.
The UFC didn’t used to have a 145-pound division and even after it purchased the WEC – which did feature lighter weight classes – Miller says he was intent on staying in the promotion in order to take advantage of its larger fight bonuses (which, incidentally, he’s won several of), so he stayed at lightweight.
But now the promotion has lighter weight divisions and this Friday Miller will once again return to fighting where he says he belongs: at featherweight.
He arrived in Sydney on his own dime earlier than the UFC flew out the other fighters on the card to acclimate to the time zone change and resulting jet lag. “You spend almost an entire day in the air, not eating the food you should, getting dehydrated. And then you land and it takes another day to get used to the time change,” Miller says.
Still, the 6-foot-1 fighter doesn’t seem worried about making the 145 featherweight limit Thursday. “This will be the first time in a long time that I’m cutting weight but I’m not concerned about it,” Miller tells CagePotato. “[Does it] suck? Sure. It’s shitty because weight cutting is shitty. But it’s not an extreme weight cut. There’s no sauna. It’s a smart weight cut. I’ve been doing things the right way, with proper weight training and proper nutrition.”
Entering fight week at 10 pounds over his required weight, Miller (18-5) didn’t fret about having to cut the amount needed to make the featherweight limit . While losing ten pounds in a week may seem like a lot to us civilians, it is pretty much the bare minimum amount of weight that can be classified as a “cut” for professional fighters. But as a UFC lightweight, Miller says he was not cutting any weight at all, and therefore fought guys who, despite officially being in his weight class, could be as much as twenty pounds heavier come fight night after rehydrating from the prior day’s weigh-in.
Miller has total confidence in his skill set, but says that fighting fighters so much bigger and stronger than him got old.
“Yeah, the biggest thing was the strength,” Miller points out. “You don’t notice it solely in the fights. I notice it in training as well. You’re sparring with guys that weigh over 180lbs and here I am walking around at 164lbs with minimal dieting…My technique was the one thing keeping me competitive [at lightweight].”
“Magrinho” certainly didn’t decide to move down a class because he figured he would have an easier road to a title (“I feel that, skill wise, 145 and 155 are equal. If anything, usually the lower the weight the greater the technical ability of the guys there,” he says) and he also didn’t do it at the prodding of his coaches at the famously expert weight-cutting American Top Team.
“No, it’s something I always wanted to do. After the Matt Wiman loss I said, ‘Forget this, I’m going to featherweight,’ but it was my coaches that said not to be rash,” Miller explains. “I’m just fighting at 145 now because that’s my weight. I have the potential to do better there and climb the ladder better, simply because that’s actually my weight.”
Insisting that he won’t be fighting his own body after a tough weight cut, Miller will be primed to take on a tough young adversary in the form of Steven Siler (19-9) Friday night. Siler owns a UFC debut win and a submission on The Ultimate Fighter over Cole’s younger brother, Micah. Between his opponent’s impressive record and his “W” over his sibling, there’s little chance the elder Miller is overlooking his opponent.
“Obviously [Siler] is tough. He’s got a lot of wins. He’s got a decent amount of losses as well but that tells me that after each loss he comes back,” Miller credits Siler. “I know he’s got to respect my skill set. I’m training hard. I’m not underestimating him at all. If anything, I feel like I’m 0-0 in the UFC now. This is a new slate for me. Anything I’ve done in the past doesn’t even matter anymore. I need to go out here and make a statement.”
In a night already riddled with emerging contenders, there was perhaps no one who stole the focus more than Jimy Hettes. Hettes faced the toughest test of his career on Dec. 30 in the form of Nam Phan. He passed that test with flying colors. From start…
In a night already riddled with emerging contenders, there was perhaps no one who stole the focus more than Jimy Hettes. Hettes faced the toughest test of his career on Dec. 30 in the form of Nam Phan. He passed that test with flying colors. From start to finish, he imposed his will, repeatedly dragging […]
Nam Phan burst onto the UFC scene in the fall of 2010 as a member of Josh Koscheck’s team on the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” during which time he became the first person to ever beat the master of the “McKenzietine,&#…
Nam Phan burst onto the UFC scene in the fall of 2010 as a member of Josh Koscheck’s team on the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” during which time he became the first person to ever beat the master of the “McKenzietine,” Cody McKenzie, and almost knocked off Georges St-Pierre’s top pick Michael Johnson […]
In a little over one week, on December 17th, Cris “Cyborg” Santos will finally make her long-awaited return to the Strikeforce cage when she battles Hiroko Yamanaka for the women’s featherweight title. Yamanaka could be Sa…
In a little over one week, on December 17th, Cris “Cyborg” Santos will finally make her long-awaited return to the Strikeforce cage when she battles Hiroko Yamanaka for the women’s featherweight title. Yamanaka could be Santos’ toughest opponent to date as she is the No. 2 fighter, according to the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts […]
