Minotauro Nogueira is, without question, one of the most beloved and decorated heavyweights in the history of combat sports. He’s gone through countless wars in both PRIDE and the UFC, and has repeatedly proven to be among the few men in mixed ma…
Minotauro Nogueira is, without question, one of the most beloved and decorated heavyweights in the history of combat sports.
He’s gone through countless wars in both PRIDE and the UFC, and has repeatedly proven to be among the few men in mixed martial arts who can lay claim to being a true legend.
However, going into his fight with Dave Herman at UFC 153—his second UFC fight on Brazilian soil—there are questions swirling regarding the former champion of the two biggest promotions in MMA history.
When Frank Mir went down with an injury and had to pull out of a scheduled tilt with Daniel Cormier at the Nov. 3 Strikeforce event, officials began the hunt for a replacement. Those options largely appeared to be UFC crossover guys, much like Mir. Exc…
When Frank Mir went down with an injury and had to pull out of a scheduled tilt with Daniel Cormier at the Nov. 3 Strikeforce event, officials began the hunt for a replacement.
Those options largely appeared to be UFC crossover guys, much like Mir.
Except not that many people want to fight Daniel Cormier, on account of his being a remarkable athlete with Olympic-level wrestling and striking that does serious damage.
And so it is that Dana White, living in a weird purgatory running the UFC and having to be worried about Strikeforce from time to time as well, has to consider all his options.
If guys on his roster aren’t willing to slug it out with Cormier before he makes the jump to the UFC and immediately becomes an impact player, perhaps it’s time to look elsewhere.
That elsewhere? That might just come in the form of former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
Sylvia, the often out-of-shape, Mohawk-clad, uncool-sideburns-owning big man from Maine, has been begging for a crack at making his way back to the world’s top promotion. It could be that circumstances are conspiring in his favour for just that.
Initially, there were reports that Sylvia was the one to fight Cormier. Those were quickly and aggressively refuted by White, who went on to announce that it was actually Mir who’d leave the UFC temporarily to mix it up with the former Olympian.
Now, with Mir out and no one else stepping up to take a fight that’s only a month away, he may have to go back and reconsider his options.
And Sylvia, he may just have to get to work on getting down towards 265 pounds if he hasn’t already.
The fact is that Sylvia has a bit of a name, and no matter how bad the division was when he was king, he’ll always be able to claim “former UFC heavyweight champion” as an accomplishment. If he comes in and fights Cormier as that former champion, it’s a win for everyone involved.
He gets his moment back in the sun, likely to be repaid with a UFC fight as a thank-you for helping out the promotion.
If he wins, he’s a feel-good story and he derails one of the more hyped guys to come along at heavyweight in a while.
If Cormier wins, he beats a former UFC champion, and that former champion loses no credibility because he fought on short notice and no one thought he’d win anyway.
Regardless of the winner, the UFC has something to talk about: the next big thing, Daniel Cormier, battering a former champion, or a former champion lost on the regional circuit for years making an against-all-odds thrust back into the biggest show in the game.
Realistically, the UFC could do a lot worse than Sylvia at this stage in the game. Every day that they don’t have someone is a day closer to not finding someone, because people are just plain not lining up to fight Cormier.
Sylvia’s got nothing to lose and the good sense to know as much. If he can make the weight and Dana White can put his own thoughts and opinions on the back burner long enough to get a deal done, Sylvia-Cormier is not a bad way to patchwork a main event for a promotion that’s dying anyway.
The UFC’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom was met with mixed reactions leading up to the event. British fans feel that the UFC stays away for far too long, while the UFC brass points out that it is trying to cultivate new markets and it canno…
The UFC’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom was met with mixed reactions leading up to the event. British fans feel that the UFC stays away for far too long, while the UFC brass points out that it is trying to cultivate new markets and it cannot be everywhere at once.
However, after the event was over, I think that the fans were pleased with the action on Saturday night. Dan Hardy won his bout to great approval and there were slugfests, submission wins and three great knockouts on the card. So, even though Paul Sass suffered a loss by submission and John Hathaway was ho-hum in his performance, the event was still a roaring success if you ask me.
I understand that the English fans might feel a bit left out after the UFC invested a lot of time and effort there from 2007-2009 to strengthen that market and now they have to begin to watch the UFC visit less and less as it continues its global expansion.
Either way, Britain still seems to get a UFC event year after year which is much more than I can say for my home state of Illinois (It is also important to note that my state is in the country of the UFC’s origin and is still largely ignored). The UFC is “going everywhere” as Dana White likes to say and they cannot be everywhere simultaneously so I think we all need to simmer down and relax a bit. Patience is part of game folks. In the current context of what Zuffa is trying to do with the UFC, this is likely to happen to a lot of markets so they are not being singled out in any way.
The biggest winner from UFC on Fuel 5, both literally and symbolically, had to be Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve. Stefan has looked increasingly good in wins over Pat Barry, Dave Herman and Lavar Johnson. All of these wins came via stoppage.
Struve looked sharp on Saturday, landing good strikes at range and finally seeming to utilize his 84.5″ reach to his advantage on his way to notching his fourth straight win in the UFC. StipeMiocic was a game opponent and gave Stefan a good run for his money in the first round with solid standup and clinch skills, however Struve used a popping jab and some crushing uppercuts to set up a second-round TKO in Nottingham.
With this win in hand who should Stefan Struve face next? He certainly had an interesting idea when, after the fight, Struve called out Brazilian heavyweight and top contender Fabricio Werdum.
I’m not so sure I like that matchup for him right now, instead I have three other options that I think make a lot more sense for his progression while not pushing him too fast, which could be the case with booking the Werdum fight right now.
Option No. 1
Struve could face the winner of the Travis Browne-Antonio Silva bout that takes place this coming Friday in Minnesota at UFC on FX 5. This fight is appealing for three reasons.
The first is that the timing is ideal. Both fighters, if healthy, would be able to get back into the cage soon, which is usually appealing to up-and-comers.
Secondly, I think this would be a step up but not too far. Browne is undefeated but for whatever reason he doesn’t have a lot of hype behind him and neither does Silva, however, they both are solid top-10 guys like Struve.
Lastly, if Browne wins in particular a rematch of a previous fight with Struve could be an easy sell and no doubt would provide some great pre-fight trash talk.
Option No. 2
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would be another great choice for Struve at this point in his career ascension. Big Nog is not only a legend, but he is fighting Dave Herman, whom Struve beat not that long ago to get to where he is.
When we combine this with the fact that Nogueira is a name opponent and a known commodity, this fight just makes sense. If Rodrigo emerges unscathed from his UFC 153 bout, this is a viable option for Skyscraper.
Option No. 3
Why not Cheick Kongo? Many newer fans may not think this man is a top heavyweight but he is a top-10 UFC heavyweight.
Since 2010 Kongo is 4-1-1, with the loss coming to Mark Hunt and the draw was against Travis Browne, another top heavyweight fighter. In fact, Cheick is a combined 11-5-1 in the UFC, which is much better than a lot of naysayers would think.
It is true that he has lost five times, but the only decisive losses were against Mark Hunt, Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez who are all top tier heavyweights.
Kongo could be a perfect fit for Struve because he is a top-10 heavyweight, a veteran and not too much of a step up at this point. But Kongo will test Struve‘s skills and his Octagon moxy, which Stefan needs to beat the top UFC heavyweights. In my opinion this is actually the best option right now because it moves him forward but he won’t be reaching too far and end up getting Superman punched out of the top ten again. Ouch! That one had to hurt.
(If James Irvin was a super-hero, his arch-nemesis would be Dr. Fitchtopus. / Photo courtesy of fcfighter.com)
Last week, we described Stefan Struve as “one of the least decision-prone fighters on the UFC roster,” and after he ended yet another fight this weekend before the final bell, we started to wonder — how accurate was that statement, anyway? And who else ranks near the Dutch heavyweight in terms of low decision ratio within the Octagon? So, we assembled a list of the UFC fighters (past and present) who have been least likely to meet the judges; for the purposes of this list, we only considered fighters who have made at least eight UFC appearances.
[Update: After having some knowledge dropped on us by @MMADecisions, we’ve expanded this list beyond a top-ten.]
As it turns out, Struve comes in at #5 among active UFC fighters, and shares the same decision ratio (8.33%) as Royce Gracie. But there are 11 fighters in front of him on the all-time list, led by welterweight crowd-pleaser DaMarques Johnson, cursed sluggerJames Irvin, and UFC pioneer Don Frye, who all managed to make it through 10 UFC appearances without ever going to decision. And now, the leaderboard…
DaMarques Johnson:10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
James Irvin: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Don Frye: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Drew McFedries: 9 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Charles Oliveira:8 UFC fights*, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Ryan Jensen: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Jason Lambert: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Gary Goodridge: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Jason MacDonald: 14 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.14% decision ratio
(If James Irvin was a super-hero, his arch-nemesis would be Dr. Fitchtopus. / Photo courtesy of fcfighter.com)
Last week, we described Stefan Struve as “one of the least decision-prone fighters on the UFC roster,” and after he ended yet another fight this weekend before the final bell, we started to wonder — how accurate was that statement, anyway? And who else ranks near the Dutch heavyweight in terms of low decision ratio within the Octagon? So, we assembled a list of the UFC fighters (past and present) who have been least likely to meet the judges; for the purposes of this list, we only considered fighters who have made at least eight UFC appearances.
[Update: After having some knowledge dropped on us by @MMADecisions, we’ve expanded this list beyond a top-ten.]
As it turns out, Struve comes in at #5 among active UFC fighters, and shares the same decision ratio (8.33%) as Royce Gracie. But there are 11 fighters in front of him on the all-time list, led by welterweight crowd-pleaser DaMarques Johnson, cursed sluggerJames Irvin, and UFC pioneer Don Frye, who all managed to make it through 10 UFC appearances without ever going to decision. And now, the leaderboard…
DaMarques Johnson:10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
James Irvin: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Don Frye: 10 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Drew McFedries: 9 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Charles Oliveira:8 UFC fights*, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio
Ryan Jensen: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Jason Lambert: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Gary Goodridge: 8 UFC fights, 0 decisions, 0% decision ratio Jason MacDonald: 14 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.14% decision ratio Joe Lauzon: 13 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.69% decision ratio Gabriel Gonzaga: 13 UFC fights, 1 decision, 7.69% decision ratio Stefan Struve: 12 UFC fights, 1 decision, 8.33% decision ratio Royce Gracie: 12 UFC fights**, 1 decision***, 8.33% decision ratio Frank Mir: 20 UFC fights, 2 decisions, 10% decision ratio Cain Velasquez: 9 UFC fights, 1 decision, 11.11% decision ratio Pat Barry: 9 UFC fights, 1 decision, 11.11% decision ratio Vitor Belfort: 16 UFC fights, 2 decisions, 12.5% decision ratio
* Including his no-contest against Nik Lentz at UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry.
** Not including his forfeit against Harold Haward at UFC 3.
*** Refers to his default “draw” against Ken Shamrock at UFC 5 that resulted from time running out; judges weren’t used in the UFC until December 1995.
Honorable mention:Frank Trigg never went the distance in seven UFC appearances, but since we’re only including fighters with eight or more fights in the promotion, he falls just short of qualifying.
Keep in mind that this list was thrown together on the fly after about an hour spent on Wikipedia, so if we’re leaving anybody out who should have made the top ten, please correct us in the comments section.
When Frank Mir got injured and had to pull out of his scheduled fight with Strikeforce champion Daniel Cormier for their scheduled November 3rd fight Dana White asked UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione to fill in for Mir. On Saturday White told reporters that Mitrione had turned down the fight and that he was not happy about it.
“It fucking makes me sick,” White said, according MMA Junkie. “Listen, you don’t want big opportunities, I hear you. I get it, then. All I can say is, I guess he doesn’t want big opportunities. I get it. Duly noted.”
White went on to say that Mitrione’s decision to just continue to train for his already scheduled December 29th against Phil De Fries was “fucking insane.”
“It makes no sense to me, and it’s insane. I’m a little bummed out by it. We’ll figure it out. Yeah, [Mitrione has already got a fight booked]. He said, ‘I’ll just take that one.'”
When Frank Mir got injured and had to pull out of his scheduled fight with Strikeforce champion Daniel Cormier for their scheduled November 3rd fight Dana White asked UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione to fill in for Mir. On Saturday White told reporters that Mitrione had turned down the fight and that he was not happy about it.
“It fucking makes me sick,” White said, according MMA Junkie. “Listen, you don’t want big opportunities, I hear you. I get it, then. All I can say is, I guess he doesn’t want big opportunities. I get it. Duly noted.”
White went on to say that Mitrione’s decision to just continue to train for his already scheduled December 29th against Phil De Fries was “fucking insane.”
“It makes no sense to me, and it’s insane. I’m a little bummed out by it. We’ll figure it out. Yeah, [Mitrione has already got a fight booked]. He said, ‘I’ll just take that one.’”
There’s no reason to be surprised that White took a few moments after an unrelated event to call Mitrione insane and imply that he is a coward, since throwing his fighters under the bus when they make a decision that doesn’t immediately make his own life easier is the norm for White. But choosing Matt Mitrione as a scapegoat is particularly strange in this instance.
If White offered Mitrione a substantial raise, in effect, to fight Cormier and save that November Strikeforce event, he didn’t say so. Absent that, it is hard to understand what White meant when he said this was a “big opportunity,” for Mitrione.
Matt Mitrione is a UFC fighter with, perhaps, more name recognition than Cormier. Mitrione would be giving up a spot on the UFC’s New Year’s Eve card to fight in what will more than likely be a half-full stadium in the UFC’s minor league.
More importantly, Mitrione has no business being in the cage with Cormier at this point. Cormier is smaller than Mitrione but is better at just about everything than the former NFL player.
Sure, Mitrione would stand a chance at landing a big shot on Cormier and winning if they fought, but who could begrudge him for wanting to simply work for an honest pay check instead of trying to win the lottery?
Finding replacement fighters and match ups for cards after injuries has to be one of the most challenging parts of Dana White’s job. But guess what, Prez? It isn’t exactly easy for fighters to cut short training camps or do abbreviated ones in order to fight on short notice, either.
And, by the way, they are the ones in there getting hit. They are also the ones that can get cut by the UFC after a single loss. Mitrione hasn’t fought since 2011 and is coming off a loss to Cheick Kongo.
Against Kongo, Mitrione was game but clearly over matched. How would stepping up against an even better, more dynamic and well-rounded fighter after a long lay-off, and on short notice, be a smart move for Mitrione?
Heck, this or any fight in Strikeforce barely makes any sense for Cormier himself. He won the heavyweight grand prix and is supposedly headed for the UFC on the strength of that performance.
Only thing is, he’s still bound to his Strikeforce contract and owes Showtime a fight. No one even wants to see Cormier fight in Strikeforce anymore, why should Mitrione involve himself in that low-profile, high risk, lame-duck situation of Cormier’s?
What do you think, Nation? Do you see where Mitrione is coming from or do you agree with White that he’s a lily-livered, no-good and insane sport killer?
I’m sure there are more important things to talk about just days away from Jones-HendersonJones-SonnenJones-MachidaJones-Belfort than another gimmicky post attempting to be relevant, but it’s been a while since we gave away CagePotato T-Shirts and we love you guys so much that we’ve decided to do it again. Here’s how it’s going to go down. Below is a list of 25 fighters and a brave attempt to describe them in three words. Not two, not four, just three simple words. Pretty easy, right? Read through them, then tweet us @CagePotatoMMA with your own three-word MMA fighter descriptions, including the hashtag #MMAFighterIn3Words. The three best submissions by tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET will win a shirt. (We’ll update this post with the winners after we select them.) Now let’s begin, shall we?
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: Exit stage left.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson: Seeking next level.
I’m sure there are more important things to talk about just days away from Jones-HendersonJones-SonnenJones-MachidaJones-Belfort than another gimmicky post attempting to be relevant, but it’s been a while since we gave away CagePotato T-Shirts and we love you guys so much that we’ve decided to do it again. Here’s how it’s going to go down. Below is a list of 25 fighters and a brave attempt to describe them in three words. Not two, not four, just three simple words. Pretty easy, right? Read through them, then tweet us @CagePotatoMMA with your own three-word MMA fighter descriptions, including the hashtag #MMAFighterIn3Words. The three best submissions by tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET will win a shirt. (We’ll update this post with the winners after we select them.) Now let’s begin, shall we?
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: Exit stage left.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson: Seeking next level.
When 
