Tag: Floyd Mayweather

UFC on Fox 6: Why the UFC Needs to Fully Stock the Flyweight Division

Although the UFC’s flyweight division hasn’t been alive for too long, it is already being thrust front and center, as was the case this weekend when Demetrious Johnson defended his title for the first time against The Ultimate Fighter …

Although the UFC’s flyweight division hasn’t been alive for too long, it is already being thrust front and center, as was the case this weekend when Demetrious Johnson defended his title for the first time against The Ultimate Fighter 13 winner, John Dodson at UFC on Fox 6 in Chicago, Illinois.

While it was a good fight, it also shined a light on how thin the division currently is.

Dodson is probably second only to Nate Quarry in being a fighter from The Ultimate Fighter reality show who was thrust too quickly into a title fight, and while Dodson did much better than Quarry, truth be told he wasn’t ready for such a fight.

But things are always rocking at the beginning, and now that it is clear that the UFC plans on making sure the spotlight shines on all divisions, it is time to begin stocking up on fighters who can make the 125-pound limit.

There are many reasons why, but the most obvious of them all is simply that the deeper a division is, the more compelling it is, because the fans have more choices as to who they identify with and root for.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, speaks to the heart of growth for the UFC in ways we cannot quantify as of yet, because if you look at the history of combative sport, numerous smaller fighters—many coming from countries outside the United States—have managed to captivate the fans.

And when you consider that countries such as Mexico, Japan, Italy and others have seen some of their “smaller” sons turn into giants upon the world stage of boxing, it becomes clear that a diversified and stacked flyweight division could help kick open the doors to those countries and many others.

When you think about some of the bigger names in boxing over the past 50 years, it is surprising to some to learn just how many of them fought and achieved fame in the featherweight division, which is boxing’s equivalent to the flyweight class.

Men such as Juan Manuel Marquez, “Prince” Naseem Hamed, Alexis Arguello, Marco Antonio Barrera, Manny Pacquiao and countless others fought at the 126-pound limit and put on some incredible fights while becoming large stars in the process.

Add a few more pounds and you can find names like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez, Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Oscar de la Hoya and others.

There is an untold number of MMA fighters from other countries who are waiting to be discovered and one of them could be the next Manny Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez in the UFC.

But they need to know there is a place for them and the only way that will happen is if the flyweight division becomes known as a division where great fights are made by great fighters. In order for that to come to pass, the UFC is going to need to start investing heavily down south.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Friday Link Dump: UFC 152 Staredown Videos, Pacquiao’s Latest Offer to Mayweather + More

(The Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort staredown from today’s UFC 152 weigh-ins, via YouTube.com/UFC. The Benavidez/Johnson and Bisping/Stann staredowns are after the jump.)

– Manny Pacquiao Will Take A 45-55 Split, So It’s Time For Floyd Mayweather To Stop Being A Baby And Fight Him Already (Deadspin)

– Vitor Belfort Talk Blackzillians, Representing The Old School (HeavyMMA)

– Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski Open To Facing Daniel Cormier (MMAConvert)

– Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith Added To November Strikeforce Card (Fightline)

– Chris Weidman ‘A Little Shocked, Confused, Disappointed’ Over UFC 153’s Silva-Bonnar Booking (MMAJunkie)

– TUF 16 Looks to Bounce Back After Lowest-Rated Opener (MMAFighting)

– Is Facebook Making You Fat? (MensFitness)

– The 50 Most Infamous Criminals in Sports History (Complex)

– The Ultimate Pole Dancing Fails Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

– 5 Things You Remember If You’re a 90’s Kid (DoubleViking)

– The Best Aged Whiskeys And Why They’re Better…And So Expensive (MadeMan)

– 25 Awesomely Hilarious Children’s Homework Answers (EgoTV)


(The Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort staredown from today’s UFC 152 weigh-ins, via YouTube.com/UFC. The Benavidez/Johnson and Bisping/Stann staredowns are after the jump.)

– Manny Pacquiao Will Take A 45-55 Split, So It’s Time For Floyd Mayweather To Stop Being A Baby And Fight Him Already (Deadspin)

– Vitor Belfort Talk Blackzillians, Representing The Old School (HeavyMMA)

– Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski Open To Facing Daniel Cormier (MMAConvert)

– Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith Added To November Strikeforce Card (Fightline)

– Chris Weidman ‘A Little Shocked, Confused, Disappointed’ Over UFC 153′s Silva-Bonnar Booking (MMAJunkie)

– TUF 16 Looks to Bounce Back After Lowest-Rated Opener (MMAFighting)

– Is Facebook Making You Fat? (MensFitness)

– The 50 Most Infamous Criminals in Sports History (Complex)

– The Ultimate Pole Dancing Fails Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

– 5 Things You Remember If You’re a 90′s Kid (DoubleViking)

– The Best Aged Whiskeys And Why They’re Better…And So Expensive (MadeMan)

– 25 Awesomely Hilarious Children’s Homework Answers (EgoTV)

Manny Pacquiao’s Next Fight Set to C#%k Block UFC on Fox 5

Pound for pound boxing champ Manny Pacquiao‘s next fight has been scheduled for December 8th, the same night as the UFC’s next Fox network show. In the recent past when the UFC has had big shows scheduled the same night as major boxing events they’ve has hoped that earlier telecasts on would catch many viewers who were planning on watching boxing later in the evening.

Things may not have worked out that way for the UFC and this development of Pacquiao fighting on a date that the UFC had already set as a Fox event might end up taking away viewers from the MMA programming. Last May, the UFC on Fox 3 featured an exciting card headlined by a spectacular title contender’s fight between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. The free to watch event was also followed, on pay per view, by Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting Miguel Cotto.

The UFC’s numbers ended up going down from their prior two Fox shows, while Mayweather’s win had an excellent buy-rate on pay per view. The UFC’s “come pre-game with us before boxing,” strategy might be more successful this time around if Fox promotes the heck out of the event during football telecasts as it did last year for the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos heavyweight title telecast.

Otherwise, the UFC had better hope that Fox is taking a qualitative and long-view of things because dropping ratings on network television are never good.

Pound for pound boxing champ Manny Pacquiao‘s next fight has been scheduled for December 8th, the same night as the UFC’s next Fox network show. In the recent past when the UFC has had big shows scheduled the same night as major boxing events they’ve has hoped that earlier telecasts on would catch many viewers who were planning on watching boxing later in the evening.

Things may not have worked out that way for the UFC and this development of Pacquiao fighting on a date that the UFC had already set as a Fox event might end up taking away viewers from the MMA programming. Last May, the UFC on Fox 3 featured an exciting card headlined by a spectacular title contender’s fight between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. The free to watch event was also followed, on pay per view, by Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting Miguel Cotto.

The UFC’s numbers ended up going down from their prior two Fox shows, while Mayweather’s win had an excellent buy-rate on pay per view. The UFC’s “come pre-game with us before boxing,” strategy might be more successful this time around if Fox promotes the heck out of the event during football telecasts as it did last year for the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos heavyweight title telecast.

Otherwise, the UFC had better hope that Fox is taking a qualitative and long-view of things because dropping ratings on network television are never good. The UFC on Fox events have been going up against some stiff competition, however.

This next one will go against Manny Pacquiao, the third went against Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, and their last one, the superb fourth edition, went up against the highest rated summer Olympic games in history.

Either Fox is grateful to have original programming that draws away some of those blockbusters’ audiences, or they are impatient instant gratification types. Time will tell.

The UFC on Fox 5 will feature a lightweight title fight between champion Benson Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz. Pacqiuao will likely fight either Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time or Timothy Bradley for a second.

Marquez is a Mexican star who has fought Pac-Man more closely and competitively than anyone in the last eight years and is also perennially among the top 3-5 pound for pound boxers in the world. Bradley is a champion and warrior who went up in weight to fight Pacquiao and got thoroughly out-classed and beaten before getting a controversial gift decision from the judges.

One of these fights would be infinitely more compelling to watch than the other. Which one do you think the UFC would rather go up against, nation?

– Elias Cepeda

5 Things Boxing Must Learn from UFC on FOX 4

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the UFC on FOX 4 fight card at Staples Center in Los Angeles.As a big fight fan, and a person who has trained in both the sport of boxing and in MMA, I am one of those rare, all around fight fans, that has…

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the UFC on FOX 4 fight card at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

As a big fight fan, and a person who has trained in both the sport of boxing and in MMA, I am one of those rare, all around fight fans, that has love for both the sport of boxing and MMA, in a world where it seems you have to only love one or the other.

The main reason why I had an interest in attending the UFC on FOX 4 fight card was because I was a big fan of both the main event and co-main event fighters, Shogun and Machida.

From the pre-fight promotions, to the actual fight atmosphere, and post fight activities, I took notice to the reasons why the UFC is so successful and growing stronger to the mainstream as opposed to my personal favorite sport, boxing.

For those of you who have never been to a UFC fight, it is a bit of everything from a fight, to a rock concert, to even a DJ club party.

There is constant entertainment from the laser light shows, to the DJ constantly spinning good mash ups of rock and rap songs together between fights and down time, the UFC understands that they must keep the audience entertained at all times.

Many boxing fans may be also haters of the UFC, but there are definitely many things that boxing can and should learn from the UFC in order to win over new fans to their sport.

Here is a list of five things that boxing must learn from UFC on FOX 4.

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Thank Allah: Floyd Mayweather Denied Early Release From Prison


(He doesn’t even get a Rita Hayworth poster?! This is inhumane!) 

Saying that the justice system of America is broken is like saying that a train with square wheels does not make for a great Christmas toy. If you need a few examples of how corrupted it has become, look no further than Hollywood. Robert Blake was able to get away with murdering his wife using the old “I was going to kill her, but someone did it first!” defense. Matthew Broderick killed two people in a car accident and was forced to fork over less money than most of us spend on gasoline in a month in return. And don’t even get us started on how Lindsey Lohan is still allowed to remain a part of normal, civilized society with the rest of us.

So when it was reported that Floyd Mayweather was already trying to weasel his way out of prison after less than a fortnight, we were already chalking up another victory for celebrities over justice like Frank Trigg commentating on a PRIDE-era Fedor fight. And for once, we’re glad to admit that we perhaps rushed to judgement on the state of America’s legal system, as Mayweather was not only denied the right to serve the remainder of his three month sentence under house arrest, but was basically told to quit being such a little bitch by the presiding judge.


(He doesn’t even get a Rita Hayworth poster?! This is inhumane!) 

Saying that the justice system of America is broken is like saying that a train with square wheels does not make for a great Christmas toy. If you need a few examples of how corrupted it has become, look no further than Hollywood. Robert Blake was able to get away with murdering his wife using the old “I was going to kill her, but someone did it first!” defense. Matthew Broderick killed two people in a car accident and was forced to fork over less money than most of us spend on gasoline in a month in return. And don’t even get us started on how Lindsey Lohan is still allowed to remain a part of normal, civilized society with the rest of us.

So when it was reported that Floyd Mayweather was already trying to weasel his way out of prison after less than a fortnight, we were already chalking up another victory for celebrities over justice like Frank Trigg commentating on a PRIDE-era Fedor fight. And for once, we’re glad to admit that we perhaps rushed to judgement on the state of America’s legal system, as Mayweather was not only denied the right to serve the remainder of his three month sentence under house arrest, but was basically told to quit being such a little bitch by the presiding judge.

Here’s what TMZ reported moments after the hearing took place:

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the judge called B.S. on Mayweather’s claim that he’s dehydrated behind bars — saying the boxer’s condition is “self-induced as water is made available to [Floyd] twenty-four hours a day.”

As for Floyd’s gripe that he’s only consuming a fraction of the calories he needs — the judge says it’s because “[Floyd] chooses not to eat the food provided.”

The judge also balked at Floyd’s complaint that he can’t train at a world class level while serving his time — saying, “While the training areas and times provided to Floyd may not be consistent with his prior regimen, he is indeed provided sufficient space and time for physical activity if he so chooses.”

Though later stricken from the record, we’ve heard that the judge concluded with some harsh words for Mayweather, stating:

You will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I’ll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the Sodomites. You’ll think you’ve been fucked by a train! And the training facility? Gone… sealed off, brick-by-brick. We’ll have us a little heavy bag barbecue in the yard. They’ll see the flames for miles. We’ll dance around it like wild Injuns! You understand me? Catching my drift?… Or am I being obtuse?

Although we’d ask the judge to refrain from referring to Native Americans as “wild Injuns” if he wants to be taken seriously (besides the fact that it is sooooo 1948), we applaud his tenacity when dealing with these pampered celebs who think they are above the law. Especially when the celebrity is a professional boxer who beat a woman in front of his own children. Considering his long list of priors, Mayweather should be thanking his lucky stars (and his legal team) that he isn’t behind bars for longer than the three month cake walk he received, but far be it from us to tell a racist wife beater how to live his life. Clearly it’s working out pretty well for him.

Now, let’s get to speculating: How long will it be before Floyd and War Machine inevitably become prison pen pals?

–J. Jones

MMA: Will the Sport Ever Have a Fighter Like Floyd Mayweather?

With all the comparisons between boxing and MMA throughout the years, one thing remains clear; boxing still has the star power. MMA may be the more popular sport amongst younger individuals and one of the fastest growing sports, but the stars of boxing…

With all the comparisons between boxing and MMA throughout the years, one thing remains clear; boxing still has the star power.

MMA may be the more popular sport amongst younger individuals and one of the fastest growing sports, but the stars of boxing still clearly outshine those of its combat sport counterpart.

One of these stars, Floyd Mayweather Jr., recently added another victory and belt to his impressive fighting resume. Mayweather faced off against the highly touted Miguel Cotto and won via unanimous decision.

Mayweather displayed his normal defensive skills that have made him one of boxing’s best but also displayed the ability to change his strategies while going on the offensive at times; something boxing fans have complained Mayweather hasn’t done enough of in his career.

As one of the top money makers in boxing, Mayweather, who has an impressive 43-0 professional record, is essentially the world’s best boxer not named Manny Pacquiao.

Like the common comparisons between sports, one could make a comparison between the athletes that compete in them. One question that has popped up in the boxing vs. MMA debate is whether or not MMA will ever have a star prize-fighter like Mayweather.

The answer can be deconstructed into a number of areas. We’ll start with Mayweather the fighter.

As a fighter, Mayweather has been near untouchable throughout his career. His ability to avoid wild exchanges while being precise have made Mayweather one of the toughest boxers to hit.

The closest fighter to emulate this defensive-based style is Anderson Silva. The Brazilian is a master at avoiding the strikes of his opponent and using his opponent’s mistakes to seize the opening, just as Mayweather does.

However, the middleweight kingpin has been related more to Roy Jones’ evasive style, as both use their physical gifts such as reflexes to evade strikes.

Jon Jones has also shown a knack for avoiding his opponent’s offensive moves, but that’s due primarily to his insane reach advantage over opponents.

Another area the question could be answered is Mayweather as a pay-per-view draw. Mayweather earned a record amount for his purse against Cotto and has been a part of some of the biggest PPVs in boxing history.

His super-fight with Cotto earned 1.5 million PPV buys with 94 million dollars being earned in PPV revenue. The Cotto bout was the second highest grossing PPV for a non-heavyweight fight behind Mayweather’s match with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

The only two men who’ve come even close to reaching those numbers are Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre. Lesnar has since retired and moved back into the WWE, while GSP has been rehabbing an ACL tear.

Jon Jones is being groomed as the next megastar and has shown to be a PPV draw, but even he cannot hold a candle to Mayweather’s numbers. Jones’ biggest battle to date, a fight against former teammate Rashad Evans, managed to garner 700,000 PPV buys with just over $2 million in PPV revenue.

Both of those are respectable numbers for MMA, especially given the event was promoted around the main event only, but they still pale in comparison to boxing.

Ultimately, the answer to all facets of this question come down to one of the things that makes MMA great—unpredictability.

With such small gloves and so many variables like wrestling and jiu-jitsu, any fighter can beat another on any given night. Mayweather only has to worry about his opponent’s fists flying into his face, whereas MMA fighters must worry about fists, legs, knees and elbows.

And that’s only the stand-up aspect of MMA.

Once you add the ground game into the equation, a fighter has so many ways to lose. This is the No. 1 reason as to why I believe we won’t see a dominant figure like Mayweather emerge in MMA.

Fedor Emelianenko came close with his unbeaten streak, but he has since tarnished his legacy to MMA fans with his performances inside the Strikeforce cage. Even Silva, who has seemed unbeatable in the UFC, has tasted defeat in his career.

We will see fighters dominate the competition like Jones and others have done, but ultimately, everyone loses in MMA and must work their way back up the rankings ladder, which is something Mayweather has yet to endure.

Just like comparing boxing to MMA is an apples-to-oranges kind of game—so too is comparing Mayweather with any of the top MMA stars of today.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com