Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce to you the white Michael Page. His name is Conor McGregor, and on Monday he became the first two-division (featherweight and now lightweight — you hear that, Andy?) champion in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship history by starching Ivan Buchinger in the opening round of their headlining matchup at Cage Warriors 51. Combining some insanely fast hands with a flashy capoeira background, the Irishman has quickly made a name for himself in the European MMA scene, thanks in no small part to the fact that he has collected all of his twelve victories via stoppage (11 KO, 1 sub), including a four second knockout of perhaps the most Irish-named man of them all, Paddy Doherty.
McGregor’s most recent bit of handiwork is above, but join us after the jump to get real familiar with Ireland’s hottest rising prospect.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce to you the white Michael Page. His name is Conor McGregor, and on Monday he became the first two-division (featherweight and now lightweight — you hear that, Andy?) champion in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship history by starching Ivan Buchinger in the opening round of their headlining matchup at Cage Warriors 51. Combining some insanely fast hands with a flashy capoeira background, the Irishman has quickly made a name for himself in the European MMA scene, thanks in no small part to the fact that he has collected all of his twelve victories via stoppage (11 KO, 1 sub), including a four second knockout of perhaps the most Irish-named man of them all, Paddy Doherty.
McGregor’s most recent bit of handiwork is above, but join us after the jump to get real familiar with Ireland’s hottest rising prospect.
McGregor vs. Aron Jahnsen
McGregor vs. Dave Hill
McGregor vs. Artur Sowinksi
The UFC hasn’t held an event in Ireland since UFC 93 way back in 2009, but who wants to bet they sign this kid before making their return?
What a difference two years can make. Back in 2010, Megumi Fujii was basically being labeled as the Fedor Emelianenko (circa 2007) of Women’s MMA — a mysterious, unstoppable killing machine who would easily run through all American opposition whenever she decided to make the move stateside. And indeed, her first three Bellator performances cemented her status as the top dog at 115 pounds, ending in two armbar stoppages and one TKO finish. Scratch that, her first four performances lived up to the hype she had built in Japan, the only difference in her fourth performance at Bellator 34 being that she let the fight go to decision and was therefore screwed out of a title for reasons unknown. Fujii’s opponent in that fight, Zoila Gurgel, would honor this gift decision by never defending said belt again, while Fujii would fight just once more in America, losing a unanimous decision to Jessica Aguilar at Bellator 69 in May of this year.
Shame decision aside, Fujii returned to action on Christmas Eve to square off against Mei Yamaguchi at Vale Tudo Japan 2012 and walked away with a clear cut unanimous decision victory, the video of which is above. Rumors circulated before the event that this would be Fujii’s final WMMA fight, and although she has yet to officially retire, the general consensus seems to be that the rumors are true.
We will hold off on the video tribute until an official announcement is made, but join us after the jump for a wicked highlight of Fujii’s reign of terror.
What a difference two years can make. Back in 2010, Megumi Fujii was basically being labeled as the Fedor Emelianenko (circa 2007) of Women’s MMA — a mysterious, unstoppable killing machine who would easily run through all American opposition whenever she decided to make the move stateside. And indeed, her first three Bellator performances cemented her status as the top dog at 115 pounds, ending in two armbar stoppages and one TKO finish. Scratch that, her first four performances lived up to the hype she had built in Japan, the only difference in her fourth performance at Bellator 34 being that she let the fight go to decision and was therefore screwed out of a title for reasons unknown. Fujii’s opponent in that fight, Zoila Gurgel, would honor this gift decision by never defending said belt again, while Fujii would fight just once more in America, losing a unanimous decision to Jessica Aguilar at Bellator 69 in May of this year.
Shame decision aside, Fujii returned to action on Christmas Eve to square off against Mei Yamaguchi at Vale Tudo Japan 2012 and walked away with a clear cut unanimous decision victory, the video of which is above. Rumors circulated before the event that this would be Fujii’s final WMMA fight, and although she has yet to officially retire, the general consensus seems to be that the rumors are true.
We will hold off on the video tribute until an official announcement is made, but join us after the jump for a wicked highlight of Fujii’s reign of terror.
Fun Fact: In Japanese, Megumi Fujii means “Face of puppy, heart of rabid dog.”
Sure, that’s a lie, but I guarantee you had to look it up first.
(Contrary to what R. Kelly always told him, Voelker was never able to spread his wings and fly away just because he believed he could.)
We swear this will be our last Patrick Cote-related article for at least a few days, you guys. But being that “The Predator” recently announced his drop to the welterweight division following the cancellation of his rematch with Alessio Sakara and declared that he was still hoping to still fight at UFC 158, we figured we would at least write a follow up now that an opponent has in fact been named. Yes, Cote will be fighting on the Montreal card in his welterweight debut against Bobby “Vicious” Voelker, a five-fight Strikeforce Challengers veteran who boasts an impressive 24-8 record to his credit.
Known for his trio of highly entertaining bouts with Roger Bowling under the Strikeforce: Challengers banner, the 33 year-old Kansas City native has developed a reputation as a comeback specialist, so check out some of his handiwork after the jump.
(Contrary to what R. Kelly always told him, Voelker was never able to spread his wings and fly away just because he believed he could.)
We swear this will be our last Patrick Cote-related article for at least a few days, you guys. But being that “The Predator” recently announced his drop to the welterweight division following the cancellation of his rematch with Alessio Sakara and declared that he was still hoping to still fight at UFC 158, we figured we would at least write a follow up now that an opponent has in fact been named. Yes, Cote will be fighting on the Montreal card in his welterweight debut against Bobby “Vicious” Voelker, a five-fight Strikeforce Challengers veteran who boasts an impressive 24-8 record to his credit.
Known for his trio of highly entertaining bouts with Roger Bowling under the Strikeforce: Challengers banner, the 33 year-old Kansas City native has developed a reputation as a comeback specialist, so check out some of his handiwork after the jump.
Voelker vs. Roger Bowling I
From the opening moments in what would become the very first — and presumably last (sad face) — trilogy in Challengers history, Bobby Voelker and Roger Bowling showed up and threw down. Following a successful debut victory over Erik Apple via second round TKO at Challengers 5, Voelker was shut down by the powerful hands and aggressive wrestling output of Bowling, who managed to rock Voelker on multiple occasions and keep him off balance for the majority of their fight at Challengers 8. Unfortunately, the fight would come to an anticlimactic end in the third when, following an accidental poke to the eye by Voelker, Bowling was unable to continue and handed the technical decision victory.
At the very next Challengers event, Voelker and Devela engaged in a grinder of a match that again saw Voelker overwehlmed by his opponent’s grappling in the early going. However, Voelker was able to turn the tide midway through the fight, and with a little help from his superior gas tank, was able to snag a controversial split decision victory when all was said and done.
Voelker vs. Bowling: Part Deux
Voelker was again paired up against Bowling at Challengers 11 — this time in the main event of the evening – and where Bowling’s wrestling and power shots dictated the first fight, it was Voelker’s improved takedown defense and crisp counter-striking that dictated the second. After wading through damn near everything his faster foe had to offer in the first round, Voelker capitalized on a sloppy takedown attempt by Bowling midway through the second and pounded away from the guard until referee Dan Stell called a stop to the fight with just over a minute remaining.
Voelker vs. Bowling III
July 22nd, 2011 would set the stage for the final and most decisive meeting between Voelker and Bowling yet. The event was Challengers 11, with the duo once again finding themselves in the main event slot. The fight started out in relatively the same fashion as the first two, with Bowling utilizing his speed and diverse striking attack to keep Voelker on the defensive.
As noted by lyrical wordsmith Mauro Ranallo, deja vu would rear its ugly head when an errant finger by Voelker would find the very same eye of Bowling that led to the stoppage of the first fight. Thankfully, Bowling was able to continue and even managed to rock Voelker towards the end of the first. But once again, Voelker would come alive midway through the second, delivering a knee to the jaw of Bowling that put him on queer street. The opening would be all that Voelker would need, as he finished off the trilogy with a series of follow up punches shortly thereafter.
So, Potato Nation, now that you’ve seen what Voelker has to offer, do you think Cote’s poor run of luck in the UFC will continue at UFC 158? Or will Cote’s size advantage and high level experience lead him to victory?
Over the past few days, we’ve witnessed a pair of rarely seen finishes in the octagon — a suplex KO and a flying reverse triangle — and after we here at CagePotato collectively picked our jaws up off the floor and found a clean pair of shorts, we got to thinking, what other techniques/finishes do we rarely come across in the MMA stratosphere? And more importantly, which of these techniques/finishes have we not devoted some sort of gif or video tribute to already?
Taking all of those factors into account, we came to the standing TKO, a finish so uncommon in MMA that we could only name a handful of occurrences before having to resort to the Interwebs for assistance. So in honor of the iron-jawed sumbitches who wouldn’t bow to defeat even when it was kneeing/punching/kicking them damn near to death, we’ve placed our favorite examples of this phenomenon below. Check ’em out after the jump and let us know which stoppages you thought were warranted and which ones could have gone on a little longer.
Over the past few days, we’ve witnessed a pair of rarely seen finishes in the octagon — a suplex KO and a flying reverse triangle — and after we here at CagePotato collectively picked our jaws up off the floor and found a clean pair of shorts, we got to thinking, what other techniques/finishes do we rarely come across in the MMA stratosphere? And more importantly, which of these techniques/finishes have we not devoted some sort of gif or video tribute to already?
Taking all of those factors into account, we came to the standing TKO, a finish so uncommon in MMA that we could only name a handful of occurrences before having to resort to the Interwebs for assistance. So in honor of the iron-jawed sumbitches who wouldn’t bow to defeat even when it was kneeing/punching/kicking them damn near to death, we’ve placed our favorite examples of this phenomenon below. Check ‘em out after the jump and let us know which stoppages you thought were warranted and which ones could have gone on a little longer.
On August 16, 2009, Khabilov faced Akin Duran at an M-1 Challenge event in the Netherlands. The fight lasted all of 28 seconds. Watch as Khabilov takes the center of the ring, corrals Duran into a corner, clinches, then drops Duran directly onto his head with a belly-to-belly suplex, knocking him out immediately. Duran never fought again.
On August 16, 2009, Khabilov faced Akin Duran at an M-1 Challenge event in the Netherlands. The fight lasted all of 28 seconds. Watch as Khabilov takes the center of the ring, corrals Duran into a corner, clinches, then drops Duran directly onto his head with a belly-to-belly suplex, knocking him out immediately. Duran never fought again.
The original title of this post was going to be something along the lines of “F’n A, Cotton! Some G Just J’d Into a RT at HFC, SOTY?” However, feeling that it didn’t hold up to the high standard of journalistic integrity you’re used to seeing on CagePotato, I thought I’d go with a more straightforward title. In either case, here’s some Guy named Wolfgang Janssen Jumping into a Reverse Triangle at last weekend’s Havoc Fighting Championship 1 card. He may have used a little help from the fence to do so, but damn, that is a Submission of the Year nominee if I’ve ever seen one. Agree or disagree?
Props to our buddies at MiddleEasy for stumbling upon this beautiful piece of footage.
The original title of this post was going to be something along the lines of “F’n A, Cotton! Some G Just J’d Into a RT at HFC, SOTY?” However, feeling that it didn’t hold up to the high standard of journalistic integrity you’re used to seeing on CagePotato, I thought I’d go with a more straightforward title. In either case, here’s some Guy named Wolfgang Janssen Jumping into a Reverse Triangle at last weekend’s Havoc Fighting Championship 1 card. He may have used a little help from the fence to do so, but damn, that is a Submission of the Year nominee if I’ve ever seen one. Agree or disagree?
Props to our buddies at MiddleEasy for stumbling upon this beautiful piece of footage.
