We can debate until the cows come home about the hottest current ring card girl in the UFC. Most of you will probably say Arianny Celeste is the current queen of the ring, and you’d have a valid point. Some of you, perhaps a minority, will agree with m…
We can debate until the cows come home about the hottest current ring card girl in the UFC. Most of you will probably say Arianny Celeste is the current queen of the ring, and you’d have a valid point. Some of you, perhaps a minority, will agree with me when I say that Brittney Palmer is the hands-down winner of the current crop of card girls.
But there’s no debating one thing: of all the girls the UFC has employed to visually let you know what round you’re about to watch, Natasha Wicks is the best. She’s just the absolute best, and I won’t listen to you even if you try to argue with me.
Wicks was released from the UFC long before she was ready to go. She actually served less than a year in her official capacity, but she’ll never be gone from the one place it truly matters: our hearts.
You might be saying to yourself that this sounds like an awesome idea. You would be right. Former Strikeforce champion MarloesCoenen is on the event, and you’ll also recognize names like Liz Carmouche. The promoter behind the event, Shannon Knapp, has pulled together quite the list of talented female fighters.
For the first time ever the UFC has filled an entire main card with heavyweights. It might help with pay-per-view sales, but perhaps one issue Dana and Co. haven’t considered is that heavyweight fights are not always entertaining.The flyweights fought …
For the first time ever the UFC has filled an entire main card with heavyweights. It might help with pay-per-view sales, but perhaps one issue Dana and Co. haven’t considered is that heavyweight fights are not always entertaining.
The flyweights fought at a fantastic pace in Sydney recently and really showed why the introduction of a 125 lbs division was long overdue. Fighters that weigh in excess of 250 lbs aren’t capable of keeping up anything like that sort of a strike rate.
When heavyweight fights finish fast they are fun, which has been the case with almost all of the big fights the UFC has put on recently. When they get into the third round the action often slows to a virtual standstill as 10 minutes-plus of carrying around their 260 lbs frames starts to take a toll on the fighters.
I can’t see Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem making it out of the first round somehow. Dos Santos will back himself in the boxing exchanges but Overeem has those deadly knees and kicks. Both bring so much power that sooner or later (most likely sooner) one of them will finish the fight.
Dos Santos has a superior ground game to Overeem, but there is nowhere near as much of a difference between their skill sets as there is between those of Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, who are fighting in the co-main event.
Mir’s stand-up is getting better all the time but he is still best known for breaking the occasional bone with a submission. Velasquez is well known for his stand-up fighting ability but he is also an All-American wrestler who will need to have good takedown defense if he doesn’t want to end up on his back.
The last two fights of the night are outstanding and I have no complaints with them, but the other three on the main card concern me. I could see Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva ending up exhausted and unable to muster up a decent strike between them if this one drags on too long.
Either man could get the first-round knockout but if they don’t, I fear the frequency of boos will increase for as long as the fight drags on. It could be a fun fight but it could also be a very bad one and the UFC are taking a risk with it.
It’s difficult to imagine Stefan Struve vs. Mark Hunt lasting for too long because Struve simply doesn’t do decisions and Hunt is what Joe Rogan will probably be describing as a K-1 level striker, if he hasn’t already.
The first round should be entertaining but after that it will be downhill all the way. The same could apply to Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Del Rosario—although who doesn’t want to see a Muay Thai world champion with an 11-0 MMA record in the UFC?
The UFC are running a real risk by filling the main card with heavyweights. If it pays off then it could pave the way for some superb future fights, but if the fireworks don’t materialize it could be one of the dullest cards ever.
The UFC welterweight division is paralyzed. The only solution is to create an interim interim welterweight championship. Is this for real?No, but it’s actually not a bad idea considering the state of the 170-pound weight class in the light of inte…
The UFC welterweight division is paralyzed. The only solution is to create an interim interim welterweight championship.
Is this for real?
No, but it’s actually not a bad idea considering the state of the 170-pound weight class in the light of interim champion Carlos Condit’s proclamation that he’d wait the entire year without fighting just to get a shot at the true welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre.
The whole point of an interim title is to enable the division to continue while the champion is hurt or otherwise incapacitated/unable to perform his duties as champion. But since Condit is refusing to defend his interim title, it’s worthless and pointless; it belongs in a trash can.
Thus, partially as a joke and partially as a legitimately good idea, an interim interim title should be created while St-Pierre is injured and Condit is waiting for the Canadian to return.
There is a logjam of contenders at welterweight and Condit sitting on the sidelines is perpetuating it.
There’s the dominant Jake Ellenberger (who is the most deserving contender and I’ve made my thoughts known as to why) who is deserving of a shot at Condit—or at the hypothetical, facetious interim interim belt.
Then there is Martin Kampmann, who is coming off a thrilling win over Thiago Alves. There is also the winner of Johny Hendricks vs. Josh Koscheck, who will deserve something more than a waiting game.
Condit’s decision to wait is a great business decision as it means he’ll be guaranteed a higher-profile fight, but that decision is causing long-term harm to the welterweight division.
An interim interim belt is obviously a little ridiculous and will never happen, but it’s really not that bad compared to seeing the interim belt collect dust on Condit’s shelf, only to be thrown out by the winner of Condit vs. St-Pierre.
Jay Glazer co-founder of MMATHLETICS & NFL Insider has begun providing MMA style training for NFL athletes. He currently trains about 50 players including stars like Clay Mathews and Jared Allen. The program utilizes MMA style training and principl…
Jay Glazer co-founder of MMATHLETICS & NFL Insider has begun providing MMA style training for NFL athletes. He currently trains about 50 players including stars like Clay Mathews and Jared Allen. The program utilizes MMA style training and principles and applies them to football. Glazer feels that the training helps out in several ways. First hip strength and movement are increased through training, second by teaching athletes to think like a fighter learning to shake of blows and hit them back even harder.
So far Glazer has managed to get MMA style training equipment into the Saint Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons indoor training facilities. Although Glazer admires the hard work and toughness required to make it into the NFL he holds the opinion that not a single player in the league could make it in UFC. Stating that asides from Jared Allen every player expressed a desire not to be hit during training.
Earlier today, Demian Maia tweeted the following:Guys, now I ll moving down to 170 pounds. Next fight I ll be a welterw[ei]ght @ufcMaia has struggled recently, posting a 4-4 record over his last eight middleweight contests. The drop to welterweigh…
Guys, now I ll moving down to 170 pounds. Next fight I ll be a welterw[ei]ght @ufc
Maia has struggled recently, posting a 4-4 record over his last eight middleweight contests. The drop to welterweight should mitigate the size disadvantage he has faced against some larger opponents in the past, such as Anderson Silva and Mark Munoz.
Demian Maia’s drop to welterweight creates a handful of intriguing matchup possibilities for the Brazilian native. The following are five of the most intriguing.
Ian McCall (aka “Uncle Creepy”) recently dished out his opinion on his recent bout with fellow flyweight Demetrius Johnson that resulted in a draw.Following the match, UFC president Dana White came out and said the match was not scored properly, result…
Ian McCall (aka “Uncle Creepy”) recently dished out his opinion on his recent bout with fellow flyweight Demetrius Johnson that resulted in a draw.
Following the match, UFC president Dana White came out and said the match was not scored properly, resulting in a draw. McCall felt confident after the third round that he had won the match, saying it wasn’t until the judges lined them up that he felt that he had not won the match.
Uncle Creepy says there will be no messing around in the rematch, which he is hoping will happen in April so that he can win the belt he deserves.
Top Bleacher Report contributors debate who will have the upper hand in the Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall rematch. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
We can debate until the cows come home about the hottest current ring card girl in the UFC. Most of you will probably say Arianny Celeste is the current queen of the ring, and you’d have a valid point. Some of you, perhaps a minority, will agree with me when I say that Brittney Palmer is the hands-down winner of the current crop of card girls.