Power-Ranking the Bevy of Fights to Be Booked Today, January 15th, With GIFS


(There’ll be plenty more of this after the jump. Trust me.)

It’s February 18th, 2016 (or something like that), which can only mean one thing: There dun been a whole lotta MMA fights booked today! And rather than give you some paint-by-numbers fight booking breakdown (looking at you, Goldsteen), I’ve decided to do pretty much that, but with gifs. So without further askew, let’s get to it!

#6: Matt Hamill vs. TBA — WSOF 4-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament

Oh, hadn’t you heard? Following his retirement from the sport in 2011, unretirement in 2012, firing from the UFC and signing with the WSOF in 2013, and re-retirement before ever fighting for the WSOF in 2014, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill has once again unretired! Fuck yeah, consistency!

Although he won’t be getting that rematch with Rampage Jackson in Bellator he was hoping for, Hamill has in fact signed an exclusive contract with World Series of Fighting, and is expected to make his debut as part of a 4-man tournament for the promotion’s light heavyweight belt. There’s no word on who he’ll be facing yet (our guess is another UFC veteran, which is all this tournament is made up of), but we feel confident not giving two shits about this fight regardless. Ranking:


(There’ll be plenty more of this after the jump. Trust me.)

It’s February 18th, 2016 (or something like that), which can only mean one thing: There dun been a whole lotta MMA fights booked today! And rather than give you some paint-by-numbers fight booking breakdown (looking at you, Goldsteen), I’ve decided to do pretty much that, but with gifs. So without further askew, let’s get to it!

#6: Matt Hamill vs. TBA — WSOF 4-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament

Oh, hadn’t you heard? Following his retirement from the sport in 2011, unretirement in 2012, firing from the UFC and signing with the WSOF in 2013, and re-retirement before ever fighting for the WSOF in 2014, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill has once again unretired! Fuck yeah, consistency!

Although he won’t be getting that rematch with Rampage Jackson in Bellator he was hoping for, Hamill has in fact signed an exclusive contract with World Series of Fighting, and is expected to make his debut as part of a 4-man tournament for the promotion’s light heavyweight belt. There’s no word on who he’ll be facing yet (our guess is another UFC veteran, which is all this tournament is made up of), but we feel confident not giving two shits about this fight regardless. Ranking:

 

#5: Thiago Silva vs. Ronny Markes — WSOF 4-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament

Remember that time I mentioned how the WSOF light heavyweight tournament is entirely made up of former UFC fighters? Well, enter Thiago Silva, who was just signed by the WSOF to a multi-fight contract despite being a reprehensible piece of human garbage.

A brief refresher on Silva’s recent past. First, he was slapped with a “lifetime ban” by the UFC following his arrest for the aggravated assault of his ex-wife and an armed standoff with police. Once his wife fled the country out of fear for her safety, Silva was then welcomed back into the organization with open arms after, and this is what Dana White actually said, “coming out of the legal process untainted.” Of course, Silva was then re-fired less than a month later after his ex-wife released some disturbing videos of him threatening her with a gun, because the UFC literally learned nothing from the Ray Rice scandal.

(*exhale*) In any case, Silva has been booked in the WSOF’s 4-man lightweight tourney opposite former UFC middleweight Ronny Markes in the semifinal round.

You see what’s happening here, right? WSOF is unabashedly setting up Thiago fucking Silva to be the face of their light heavyweight division. My reaction to this can only be summed up in the immortal words of David Caruso. Ranking:

 

#4: Rampage Jackson vs. TBA (Possibly Fabio Maldonado) — UFC 186

‘Page is back, baby! Lovers of MMA circa 2005, rejoice!!

I kid (sort of), but according to MMAFighting, Jackson’s return to the Octagon is being eyed for UFC 186 in April, with his opponent potentially being Fabio Maldonado. The Brazilian former pro boxer is fresh off a second round TKO of Hans Stringer at UFC 179, and has won 4 of his last 5 overall. Say what you want about Rampage (or Maldonado) being past his prime…

I suppose I should have finished that thought with a counterpoint, but what I’m getting at is Rampage vs. Maldonado has slugfest written all over it. In blood. Ranking: 

 

#3: Jim Miller vs. Paul Felder — UFC on FOX 15

Jim Miller is a gamer through and through, and Paul Felder kicked off 2015 with a KO of the Year-worthy spinning backfist over Danny Castillo at UFC 182. This fight will win all of the performance bonuses. Ranking: 

 

#2: Paige VanZant vs. Felice Herrig — UFC on FOX 15

Paige VanZant vs. Felice HerrigPaige VanZant. Versus Felice Herrig

 

#1: Renan Barao vs. TJ Dillashaw II — UFC 186

Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, UFC Tonight is reporting that the UFC is looking to book Dillashaw vs. Barao II for the April 25th card in Montreal now that Dominick Cruz has once again gone down with an ACL injury.

This rematch makes a hell of a lot more sense now than it did when Barao and Dillashaw were originally scheduled to lock horns again at UFC 177, which as we all know, ended with Barao withdrawing from the fight on 24 hours notice following a botched weight cut. While Dillashaw went on to starch Joe Soto that night, Barao would bounce back with a third round submission win over top contender Mitch Gagnon at Fight Night 58. The scales are finally starting to even in the battle of Team Alpha Male vs. All of Brazil, so we’ll go ahead and slap this one with a Ranking of:

J. Jones

Watch Carla Esparza Choke Out Rose Namajunas (Legit, Legal Video)

The UFC crowned its first women’s strawweight champion last night. Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas tore through the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 and met one another in the finals.

Namajunas had a great showing in the first round, but in the second and third, Esparza’s wrestling and power became too much for Namajunas to handle. She took Namajunas down at will and controlled her easily, eventually taking her back in the third round and securing a rear naked choke.

Get the fight card’s complete results — including KJ Noons vs. Daron Cruickshank and Charles Oliveira vs. Jeremy Stephens — after the jump.

The UFC crowned its first women’s strawweight champion last night. Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas tore through the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 and met one another in the finals.

Namajunas had a great showing in the first round, but in the second and third, Esparza’s wrestling and power became too much for Namajunas to handle. She took Namajunas down at will and controlled her easily, eventually taking her back in the third round and securing a rear naked choke.

The card’s co-main event featured Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira. The contest was one-sided, with Oliveira taking Stephens down repeatedly and nearly locking in arm-bar after arm-bar. To Stephens’ credit, he managed to escape every one — even the harrowing arm-bar attempts where his arm was completely extended. However, he barely landed any significant offense throughout the fight. Oliveira just smothered him too much with constant pressure in the wrestling department as well as unending submission attempts. The judges awarded Oliveira with a unanimous decision win.

Here are the complete results from the TUF 20 Finale:

Main Card

Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via submission (rear naked choke) 1:26 of round 3
Charles Oliveira def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
KJ Noons and Darron Cruickshank ends in a no contest via accidental eye poke, 0:25 of round 2.
Yancy Medeiros def. Joe Proctor via submission (guillotine), 4:37 of round 1.
Jessica Penne def. Randa Markos via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

Felice Herrig def. Lisa Ellis via submission (arm-bar), 1:53 of round 2.
Heather Jo Clark def. Bec Rawlings via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Joanne Calderwood def. Seo Hee Ham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
Tecia Torres def. Angela Magana via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Aisling Daly def. Alex Chambers via submission (arm bar), 4:53 of round 1.
Angela Hill def. Emily Kagan via unanimous decisio (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)

TUF 20 Video Highlights: Felice Herrig vs. Randa Markos Ends in First-Round Submission

(Video via TheUltimateFighterFX)

TUF 20 got its first semi-finalist on last night’s episode, when #14-ranked Randa Markos tapped out #6 seed Felice Herrig in the first round with a brilliant modified armbar. Now carrying wins over Herrig and Tecia Torres, Markos has become the season’s Cinderella story — but keep in mind that her next fight will be a true buzzsaw against the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Joanne Calderwood.

Also on the episode, Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez squared off in the Coaches’ Challenge, which was a non-physical competition for the first time ever, on account of Pettis’s gimpy knee. So if you feel like watching a semi-awkward UFC trivia competition hosted by Bruce Buffer, that’s after the jump.


(Video via TheUltimateFighterFX)

TUF 20 got its first semi-finalist on last night’s episode, when #14-ranked Randa Markos tapped out #6 seed Felice Herrig in the first round with a brilliant modified armbar. Now carrying wins over Herrig and Tecia Torres, Markos has become the season’s Cinderella story — but keep in mind that her next fight will be a true buzzsaw against the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Joanne Calderwood.

Also on the episode, Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez squared off in the Coaches’ Challenge, which was a non-physical competition for the first time ever, on account of Pettis’s gimpy knee. So if you feel like watching a semi-awkward UFC trivia competition hosted by Bruce Buffer, that’s after the jump.

Full Fight Video: Felice Herrig Out Points Heather Clark (Again) on TUF 20


(Props: TheUltimateFighter on YouTube)

After a 2-week hiatus, TUF 20 returned last night with a much anticipated grudge rematch between #6 seed Felice Herrig and #11 Heather Clark. As luck would have it, the fight went down in very similar fashion to their first encounter, with Felice using her Muay Thai background to set up her consistently improving takedowns and generally outwork Clark all around. The UFC has made the full fight available via its Ultimate Fighter Youtube channel, so check it out above.

Also on last night’s episode, it was revealed that #9 seed Justine Kish had torn her ACL and would therefore be removed from the tournament. In her place, #3 Tecia Torres — who was upset by #14 Randa Markos back in episode 1 — was reinstated to face #8 Bec Rawlings in a later episode. The twist: Torres will now fight for Team Pettis, who are currently up five to nil over Team Melendez.

After the jump: Clark and Herrig continue their war of words on TUF Talk, which is apparently a thing that exists now.


(Props: TheUltimateFighter on YouTube)

After a 2-week hiatus, TUF 20 returned last night with a much anticipated grudge rematch between #6 seed Felice Herrig and #11 Heather Clark. As luck would have it, the fight went down in very similar fashion to their first encounter, with Felice using her Muay Thai background to set up her consistently improving takedowns and generally outwork Clark all around. The UFC has made the full fight available via its Ultimate Fighter Youtube channel, so check it out above.

Also on last night’s episode, it was revealed that #9 seed Justine Kish had torn her ACL and would therefore be removed from the tournament. In her place, #3 Tecia Torres — who was upset by #14 Randa Markos back in episode 1 — was reinstated to face #8 Bec Rawlings in a later episode. The twist: Torres will now fight for Team Pettis, who are currently up five to nil over Team Melendez.

After the jump: Clark and Herrig continue their war of words on TUF Talk, which is apparently a thing that exists now.

Next week: Team Pettis’ #5 ranked Aisling Daly takes on #12 Angela Magana.

J. Jones

TUF 20 Episode 2 Video Highlights: Calderwood vs. Kagan, Felice Herrig’s Blurred-Out Crotch + More

I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.

Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.

The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ’em.

I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.

Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.

The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ‘em.

TUF 20 Episode 2 Video Highlights: Calderwood vs. Kagan, Felice Herrig’s Blurred-Out Crotch + More

I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.

Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.

The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ’em.

I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.

Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.

The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ‘em.