Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Two men who helped build the UFC into what it is today. Both former light heavyweight champions. Locked in a sure-to-be intense battle that will end with Ortiz walking off into the sunset after an illustrious career. At …
Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Two men who helped build the UFC into what it is today. Both former light heavyweight champions. Locked in a sure-to-be intense battle that will end with Ortiz walking off into the sunset after an illustrious career. At least, that is what the fight is being billed as. As with any high-profile fight, this one has UFC President Dana White “rounding up” when it comes to the actual impact of this bout.
For a variety of reasons, this fight is simply not a big deal. Both Griffin and Ortiz are in a position in their careers where this was not a fight that they should have made, and the inevitable efforts to portray this fight as something other than a gimmick fight should not be taken seriously.
Whether or not the fight proves to be a successful main or co-main event financially (the UFC 148 card is not completely arranged yet), it remains a sideshow.
The Ultimate Show recently sat down to interview with heavyweight fighter Shane del Rosario. Discussing his car accident last April and his comeback to fighting at UFC 146 on May 26. Following a string of victories in Strikeforce, del Rosario was rear-…
The Ultimate Show recently sat down to interview with heavyweight fighter Shane del Rosario. Discussing his car accident last April and his comeback to fighting at UFC 146 on May 26.
Following a string of victories in Strikeforce, del Rosario was rear-ended in an April 2011 car accident. Shane suffered several herniated discs as a result of the accident, which forced him to take nearly a year off from training.
In hindsight, Shane claims that the accident was a good thing. It allowed him to take time off from training, refocus his life and get healthy. He now feels that he is in his best shape ever and will showcase a cleaner and smoother fighter than fans have seen before.
Del Rosario looks forward to spending the next three months training for his return to fighting on the big stage against a big-time opponent in fellow heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga.
Del Rosario plans to make his UFC debut a big splash and come out with a win.
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The idea of witnessing a dream bout between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre has been brought up countless times, and now with both fighters seemingly willing to face each other, UFC President Dana White is eager to promote the matchup.Of course, i…
The idea of witnessing a dream bout between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre has been brought up countless times, and now with both fighters seemingly willing to face each other, UFC President Dana White is eager to promote the matchup.
Of course, it will heavily rely on both Silva and St-Pierre winning their upcoming bouts.
“Obviously it’s a fight that people have been talking about for a long time,” White said during a UFC press conference last week in Calgary. “So like Georges said, first of all, he has to get healthy. Then he’s got to fight (Carlos) Condit. Anderson is fighting Chael (Sonnen), and then we’ll see where we go from there.”
St-Pierre has always been a little hesitant on the idea of facing the Brazilian, as he still sees the 170-pound division as a competitive weight class with many contenders vying for a title opportunity.
Realistically, however, the UFC welterweight champion has essentially cleaned out the division and is left without a legitimate challenger, considering other fighters are either too inexperienced or injured.
But when asked about the possibility of facing Silva, St-Pierre was much more assertive.
“When I get back to my title, depending on what’s going on, I might have to take another fight,” St-Pierre said. “Depending if I’m going to go up or if he’s going to come down, it’s too far away to think about it right now, but it’s something that could happen, of course.”
White has been aggressive in his approach to put on fights that fans want to see and while both champions are currently in their prime, there might not be a better time to set up the fight than right now.
If both parties can come to an agreement, White has hinted at a possible destination for the lucrative super-fight.
“I want to put on fights the fans want to see. I know how big that fight is,” he said. “Imagine if we did Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre anywhere in Canada, how big that fight would be. Believe me, I’d love to do.”
Mike Hodges is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.
Kimbo Slice’s recent boxing match appeared to be a worked affair, but his opponent, Brian Green, is tired of the accusations that he took a dive; he has reached out to the community to say the fight was NOT fixed. “I would NEVER throw a fight, tak…
Kimbo Slice‘s recent boxing match appeared to be a worked affair, but his opponent, Brian Green, is tired of the accusations that he took a dive; he has reached out to the community to say the fight was NOT fixed.
“I would NEVER throw a fight, take a dive, whatever you want to call it,” Green posted on The Underground (also known simply as the UG), a popular Internet forum for MMA fans and fighters alike.
“I have been fighting for 9 years now starting as a punk 17 year old kid, evolved into a professional mixed martial artist,” he said.
Green is indeed a mixed martial artist, with a record of 27-17 and having fought quite a few notable names in his day.
But admittedly, does it not seem a little peculiar that a middleweight MMA fighter with zero professional boxing fights was called in to face a heavyweight with more boxing experience and considerably more earning potential?
Green addressed that in his post on the UG.
I took a huge opportunity (and helped fill in for the promoter) to go make a name for myself by fighting Kimbo Slice. I have sparred with several world class MMA fighters in my day, and I have adapted well through the years to where I can hang with most. Now, I saw an opportunity to fight Kimbo who in my eyes was EXTREMELY over rated. Plus, How many people actually get the opportunity to fight this guy? and in Strictly boxing, where I only have to avoid 2 weapons instead of punches, kicks, knees, elbows, AND takedowns, I figured hey, what the heck, I really think I can last to a decision with this guy.
There was nothing dubious in Green being matched up against Kimbo, unless you count being a motivated athlete as something shady.
But what about the actual knockout itself, suffered by Green in the closing seconds of the fight? Critics say that the punch was a grazing one that was tantamount to the buzzing of flies.
Critics are wrong. Green’s explanation of the knockout is detailed to the point where breaking it up would do it a disservice. Green said:
As far as the actual Knockout…I know you people who sit on your couch and eat doritos know everything there is to know about fighting, BUT Maybe, Just MAYBE you didn’t take into account that the shot that turned out my light switch was actually THREE punches on the button. Not just the uppercut, the first uppercut, then the straight right, and then the final hook/uppercut that finished
I fight at 185lbs people, going to 170, as I’m on a career best win streak, and i would do best at 170 instead of 185 against other monsters in the MW division. (Not that I couldn’t give some of them a tough fight, or beat them, but I would have the most success at WW.
Now put all this into perspective, on top of the fact that I had been eating shots (AND GOT ROCKED PROBABLY SIX TIMES EARLIER IN THE FIGHT) Then, on top of all the wearing down punches, me being tired from throwing on him, and the absorbtion [sic] of all this, Before a 260lb Gorilla who has a ton of muscle in his body hitting me three times in a row RIGHT on the button. I dont care if they were arm punches or he got everything into it, either way, on a tired fighter, those can deliver a Knockout.
Brian Green, a veteran of over 40 MMA fights, did not take a dive against Kimbo Slice. Saying otherwise is pure ignorance or wishful thinking on the part of haters, keyboard warriors and armchair quarterbacks not fit (or brave) enough to put on the gloves and enter the cage for themselves.
Jake Shields will be moving up to Middleweight sometime later in 2012, according to an announcement made on “UFC Tonight” last night (via UFC.com). After having a successful run at 185 in Strikeforce, Shields has since moved to the UFC and into the Wel…
Jake Shields will be moving up to Middleweight sometime later in 2012, according to an announcement made on “UFC Tonight” last night (via UFC.com).
After having a successful run at 185 in Strikeforce, Shields has since moved to the UFC and into the Welterweight division. After his first fight with Martin Kampmann, he won a shot at champion, Georges St. Pierre, but lost after five rounds of fighting.
Shields then took on Jake Ellenberger, but was stopped quickly in the first round. After taking two losses in a row, many were wondering if he were on the chopping block, since three in a row can earn a fighter their pink slip in the UFC. However, his next fight was against Yoshihiro Akiyama in the Asian superstar’s WW debut. Shields managed to win a decision, and get back to his winning ways.
Now, it seems that his career path may switch again. He will be going back up to MW to test his skills against some of the talent there, and add another strong name to the perceivably weak division.
But how will he fare there?
Shields’ biggest criticism is his striking, a facet of his game that he continues to work on as time goes on. With new directions, he is taking his striking game to the next level and feels confident he eventually will be able to strike with some of the best. He will certainly want to make that happen, since he is looking to go into a division ruled over by one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Anderson Silva stands as king of the 185 lbs hill, but theoretically if you were to have the right formula to beat him, you would need a strong wrestler, with great submissions and submission defense. This describes Jake Shields, but assumingly, many people don’t foresee him getting to that point any time soon.
Since he doesn’t have the hype and statistics he had coming over from Strikeforce, he won’t be looking to go right into a title shot or a title eliminator. He will have plenty of great fighters to be matched up with, and many fights that his “American Jiu-Jitsu” will be interesting to see applied in.
Having Shields face someone like Rousimar Palhares would be an interesting style matchup, since both fighters’ level of BJJ is high. Demian Maia, had he not dropped, would have been another good fight. But Shields will have others such as Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Cung Le, Chris Leben, and Chael Sonnen to deal with. Sonnen might be one of the best potential fights for Shields, based on Sonnen’s style and abilities.
Another great fight would be to see Shields face Jason Miller again, but this time in the Octagon. The UFC brass would probably keep Nick Diaz out of the corner though to be on the safe side.
Shields will find himself in a division with a diverse group of fighters probably more tailored to his style. The Welterweight division has many great strikers, which may have been why Shields had some trouble there. Given his losses were against two of the best in the division, his striking should fare better at Middleweight though.
If Shields can improve his striking and stay true to what works for him when it is wise to do so, Shields could find great success at 185 in the UFC.
Prior to finalizing a bout between himself and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, there were rumors regarding a possible matchup between Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum.Since claiming a second victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UF…
Prior to finalizing a bout between himself and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, there were rumors regarding a possible matchup between Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum.
Since claiming a second victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140, Mir was hesitant on facing Werdum in the Brazilian’s homeland, when he hinted at the idea of meeting Mir at UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro.
Mir said he feared for his safety and well-being in Brazil, especially after defeating one of the country’s most respected and beloved fighters in Nogueira.
“I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know if that would be such a great idea, I don’t know if I’m gonna be that well-received there.’ I’d have to go there for a whole week with my family, my wife and my children,” Mir told CraveOnline.com.
“I don’t think I’m in (Chael’s) boat yet, but at the same time if I go to a restaurant and someone is a Nogueira fan, what are they gonna do to my food?,” he added.
Instead, Mir will likely feel more comfortable in his own country, when he slated to meet Velasquez at UFC 146 in Las Vegas on May 26th.
The idea of witnessing a dream bout between