If UFC on FOX 3 showed us anything, it’s that the newly-created flyweight division might be the home of the most entertaining fighters in the sport today. After Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker got things warmed up early with a back-and-fort…
If UFC on FOX 3 showed us anything, it’s that the newly-created flyweight division might be the home of the most entertaining fighters in the sport today. After Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker got things warmed up early with a back-and-forth slug-fest, John Dodson and Tim Elliott took to the cage and blew the roof […]
It was time to step into the Octagon once again as Dana White’s crew travelled to the land down under for their latest offering, Alves vs. Kampmann, shown in the early hours of this past Saturday morning on ESPN here in Britain. The broadcast beg…
It was time to step into the Octagon once again as Dana White’s crew travelled to the land down under for their latest offering, Alves vs. Kampmann, shown in the early hours of this past Saturday morning on ESPN here in Britain. The broadcast began in the middleweight division as Court McGee went up against […]
“I don’t know if anybody has said anything about it, and this is the first time I’m mentioning it, is that we (Ian McCall and himself) had to sign for a ‘sudden death’ bout. If it goes to three rounds, and the judges can’t decide who the winner is, then we’ll do a fourth round…I can’t say if it’s going to be for Joseph (Benavides) and Yasuhiro (Urushitani), because I’m not gonna say that the UFC made those guys sign, too. I’m telling you, specifically, that I signed a contract for an extra round on the bout agreement. I’m not gonna say that they did. [But] I’m assuming, in my unprofessional opinion, that they did as well.”
(Get ready for 20 minutes of fun-sized beast-mode.)
“I don’t know if anybody has said anything about it, and this is the first time I’m mentioning it, is that we (Ian McCall and himself) had to sign for a ‘sudden death’ bout. If it goes to three rounds, and the judges can’t decide who the winner is, then we’ll do a fourth round…I can’t say if it’s going to be for Joseph (Benavides) and Yasuhiro (Urushitani), because I’m not gonna say that the UFC made those guys sign, too. I’m telling you, specifically, that I signed a contract for an extra round on the bout agreement. I’m not gonna say that they did. [But] I’m assuming, in my unprofessional opinion, that they did as well.”
To this point, the “sudden victory round” concept has only been used for the two-round fights in the early stages of competition on The Ultimate Fighter, and has never been used for official sanctioned competition in the UFC. But if there’s any group of fighters that has the gas to do another five minutes if necessary, it’s the flyweights. Demetrious Johnson will be facing Uncle Creepy at the UFC on FX 2 show, while Joseph Benavidez will meet reigning 123-pound Shooto champ Yasuhiro Urushitani.
So what do you think? Should sudden victory rounds be used in other important fights in the UFC, or would they only create awkward delays? The full lineup of UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann is below…
MAIN CARD
Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann
Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani [flyweight tournament semi-final]
Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall [flyweight tournament semi-final]
Court McGee vs. Constantinos Philippou
PRELIMINARY CARD
James Te Huna vs. Aaron Rosa
Anthony Perosh vs. Nick Penner
Cole Miller vs. Steven Siler
Kyle Noke vs. Andrew Craig
TJ Waldburger vs. Jake Hecht
Oli Thompson vs. Shawn Jordan
Mackens Semerzier vs. Daniel Pineda
Gaudinot vs. Lineker should provide a clear contender for the coveted ‘Worst Hair in Professional Sports’ title.
Presumably after enduring three rounds of fatigued middleweights Chris Weidman and Demian Maia leading off UFC on FOX 2, the UFC brass figured it would be a good idea to show off its smaller fighters to the casual fans. For the organization’s third effort on FOX, the UFC will showcase two of its smallest fighters on the roster. Yesterday, the UFC announced a matchup between flyweights Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker has been booked for UFC on FOX 3.
As a bantamweight cast member of TUF 14, Louis Gaudinot lost to Dustin Pague in the fan voted “Fight of the Season” before losing his UFC debut to the much larger Johnny Bedford. As expected, Gaudinot is returning to flyweight, where he went 5-1 before his UFC career.
Gaudinot vs. Lineker should provide a clear contender for the coveted ‘Worst Hair in Professional Sports’ title.
Presumably after enduring three rounds of fatigued middleweights Chris Weidman and Demian Maia leading off UFC on FOX 2, the UFC brass figured it would be a good idea to show off its smaller fighters to the casual fans. For the organization’s third effort on FOX, the UFC will showcase two of its smallest fighters on the roster. Yesterday, the UFC announced a matchup between flyweights Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker has been booked for UFC on FOX 3.
As a bantamweight cast member of TUF 14, Louis Gaudinot lost to Dustin Pague in the fan voted “Fight of the Season” before losing his UFC debut to the much larger Johnny Bedford. As expected, Gaudinot is returning to flyweight, where he went 5-1 before his UFC career.
Meanwhile, Brazilian native John Lineker will be making his UFC debut at UFC on FOX 3. Lineker is 19-5 in his MMA career, and is currently riding a thirteen fight winning streak into the Octagon. His most recent fight saw him earn a split decision over Iliarde Sabino Belo dos Santos at Jungle Fight 32 on September 10 of last year.
UFC on FOX 3 is set to go down at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 5, 2012.
Filed under: UFC, FlyweightsWhen we assemble a list of the Top 10 flyweights in MMA, there’s a lot of guesswork involved, because the flyweight class really hasn’t been established in MMA.
That’s about to change, however, thanks to the UFC’s announcem…
When we assemble a list of the Top 10 flyweights in MMA, there’s a lot of guesswork involved, because the flyweight class really hasn’t been established in MMA.
That’s about to change, however, thanks to the UFC‘s announcement this month that it will launch the flyweight division in March. Previously, there just weren’t any high-paying fights for 125-pounders, which meant that the best natural flyweights in the world were fighting bigger opponents at bantamweight.
So as I rank the Top 10 flyweights in MMA below, I’m not only ranking the Top 10 guys who have already fought at flyweight. I’m also including former bantamweights who I expect to see at flyweight in 2012. That includes the two UFC fighters who I expect to see win their flyweight debuts in March and fight for the first UFC flyweight belt in the summer.
Top 10 Flyweights in MMA
1. Joseph Benavidez: I’ve been saying for years that Benavidez would be the best flyweight in the world just as soon as he had a flyweight class to fight in. In 2012, we’ll see if I was right.
2. Demetrious Johnson: “Mighty Mouse” has incredible speed and good wrestling and has been quite successful at bantamweight. He lost his last fight to the champion, Dominick Cruz, but now that he’s a flyweight he won’t have to face the huge reach disadvantage that he had in the Cruz fight.
3. Ian McCall: The reigning Tachi Palace flyweight champion, McCall will get a chance to prove that he’s the best flyweight in the world now that he’s with the UFC. He debuts against Johnson in March.
4. Jussier da Silva: da Silva was widely regarded as the best flyweight in the world before he lost the Tachi Palace championship to McCall. Since that loss he’s gone right back to his winning ways with three straight victories, most recently with a first-round submission win over Rodrigo Santos in Brazil. He’d be a great addition to the UFC’s flyweight class.
5. Yasuhiro Urushitani: The reigning Shooto 123-pound champion is coming off a great head-kick victory and now gets ready to face Benavidez in what should be a sensational fight.
6. John Lineker: The reigning bantamweight champion of Brazil’s Jungle Fight promotion, Lineker is expected to start fighting at flyweight in the UFC in 2012. I’m eager to see what he can do: In Brazil, he’s been incredibly active (13-0 in the last two years) and incredibly exciting, with a wild striking style that has opponents not knowing what to do. The 20-year-old Lineker still has room to improve, especially in his ground game, but that improvement is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think he’s a future flyweight champion.
7. Darrell Montague: Montague lost to McCall in his most recent fight, but his only loss other than that was to the much bigger Robert Peralta. It should be just a matter of time before he’s a UFC flyweight.
8. Shinichi “B.J.” Kojima: Kojima was once recognized as the best flyweight in the world, but after losing to da Silva in 2009 he took more than two years off. Now he’s finally back and on a two-fight winning streak, and I expect to see him in the UFC — he told me in 2009 that he wants to fight for Zuffa.
9. John Dodson: The Ultimate Fighter’s bantamweight winner will be a natural fit for the flyweight class. He’s really too small to fight at 135 pounds, and it’s impressive that he managed to win The Ultimate Fighter despite being at a size disadvantage. Dodson had a lot of success at flyweight before his Ultimate Fighter stint, and he should have more success at flyweight in the UFC. Dodson lost to Urushitani in 2004, but that fight at the beginning of his career doesn’t tell us much about how the two would match up if they ever rematched.
When you’re always fighting against guys who are bigger than you, you have to wonder what it would be like to fight in your natural weight class. Demetrious Johnson has always fought professionally at 135 lbs due to the fact a lot of promotions d…
When you’re always fighting against guys who are bigger than you, you have to wonder what it would be like to fight in your natural weight class. Demetrious Johnson has always fought professionally at 135 lbs due to the fact a lot of promotions don’t have a 125 lbs division. He was always smaller than everybody […]
When we assemble a list of the Top 10 flyweights in