The main event of UFC on Fox 26 featured two former champions. And these weren’t one-off title holders, either.
Robbie Lawler is one of the fiercest and most fearsome competitors in the history of the welterweight division. The knockout artist pounded …
The main event of UFC on Fox 26 featured two former champions. And these weren’t one-off title holders, either.
Robbie Lawler is one of the fiercest and most fearsome competitors in the history of the welterweight division. The knockout artist pounded his way to the belt in 2014 and held it for 19 months before losing it last year.
Rafael dos Anjos is a relentless pressure righter with a well-rounded skill set. He made his bones at lightweight, where he won and defended the title in 2015. In June, he debuted at 170 pounds and has looked dominant on two occasions since.
Both of these veterans are talented, aggressive, gritty and accomplished. The winner has a nickel-plated case to be the next title contender.
The rest of the card was not quite as glitzy as its main event, but there are fireworks and intrigue in every event. As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from frosty Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Enough with the Men at Work lyrics. Time to get down to business in the land down under, where women— STOP, I SAID.
UFC Fight Night 121, which, in case you’re not a fan of fine music, happened Saturday in Sydney, Australia, received an extra…
Enough with the Men at Work lyrics. Time to get down to business in the land down under, where women— STOP, I SAID.
UFC Fight Night 121, which, in case you’re not a fan of fine music, happened Saturday in Sydney, Australia, received an extra helping of pain at the hands of the brutal injury fairy. Several fights became less appealing because an original competitor was forced to pull out. And if that wasn’t enough, no fewer than four fighters missed weight for the event, thus further dampening enthusiasm.
So, you know, on paper this was not a good card. Still, in the main event we had heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum taking on Pole Marcin Tybura just six weeks after a first-round dismantling of last-second fill-in Walt Harris. As you might imagine, Werdum was a heavy favorite.
Let’s see what happened on the 13-fight slate. Just because it looked bad on paper doesn’t mean the sparks didn’t fly. As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC Sydney.
UFC 217 was supposed to see Joanna Jedrzejczyk crowned as the greatest female fighter in UFC history. But, as often happens, a wrench was thrown into those carefully laid plans.
The wrench in this case was a shocking upset victory by Rose Namajunas.&nb…
UFC 217 was supposed to see Joanna Jedrzejczyk crowned as the greatest female fighter in UFC history. But, as often happens, a wrench was thrown into those carefully laid plans.
The wrench in this case was a shocking upset victory by Rose Namajunas.
For a brief time, the bout was shaping up to be a standard Jedrzejczyk fight. Namajunas waded forward, overextending on punches while Jedrzejczyk backpedaled and countered repeatedly. At the midpoint of the round, a stiff right hand rocked Jedrzejczyk and put her on the canvas. While she quickly worked her way back up, the shot left her visibly dazed.
Namajunas knew this, too, and walked her down before landing a big left hook. Jedrzejczyk was down again, but while she was able to slip away during a scramble the first time, Namajunas poured on punches from back control. With no referee to be seen, Jedrzejczyk tapped to strikes, giving Namajunas the stoppage victory at 3:03 of Round 1.
It’s one of the most absurd upsets in recent UFC history.
Few gave Namajunas much of a shot against Jedrzejczyk. The longtime champion had made handy work of nearly every contender, including women who previously defeated Namajunas, such as Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Carla Esparza. The only avenue to victory for Namajunas seemed to be a Hail Mary submission attempt, but instead, Namajunas stunned Jedrzejczyk, and essentially the entire MMA universe, by besting her standing.
While this upset theoretically opens up the stagnant UFC strawweight division, any discussion about fresh matchups should be paused. Odds are Jedrzejczyk will receive an immediate rematch, and while Namajunas pulled off the upset here, it’s hard to feel like lightning will strike the same place twice.
That said, Namajunas has long been regarded as one of the best pure talents in the sport. Coming onto the scene at 21 years old with a flying armbar submission of Kathina Lowe, she demonstrated amazing growth up to (and through) her stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season 20. While she fell short of winning the title against Esparza in the finale, it was easy to buy into her as a future elite.
So has Namajunas realized her pound-for-pound potential? Or was this just her capitalizing on a bad day for Joanna Champion? Expect to find out in early 2018.
The exit of the dragon?
After two years of inaction, karate poster boy and UFC ex-champ Lyoto Machida stepped into the Octagon again Saturday at UFC Fight Night 119. It feels like decades ago that the Dragon failed that drug test, the same one that lan…
The exit of the dragon?
After two years of inaction, karate poster boy and UFC ex-champ Lyoto Machida stepped into the Octagon again Saturday at UFC Fight Night 119. It feels like decades ago that the Dragon failed that drug test, the same one that landed him in the soup and interrupted his disruptive innovation.
Do you remember when The Dragon Machida was going to rule the world with his weird karate stance and unbeatable counter-punching, while we all sang “You’re the Best Around” and marveled at his demographic-less good looks? I sure as heck do.
But that was then, and this is now. Saturday, he had Derek Brunson the wrestle-striker in front of him.
Before the event, Brunson hadn’t beaten a true contender in the middleweight division. He had won six of eight but lost two of his past three. Brunson has all the talent, but his ability to leverage it against an elite opponent is, charitably, uncertain.
Machida, at age 39 and two years out of the sport, was officially an unknown quantity.
Something had to give, then. Either Machida still has it or Brunson is a contender.
The card may not have brought any higher stakes than the main event, but there was one contest that was louder, if you will. That’s the co-main event.
Demian Maia and his amazing-if-boring jiu-jitsu faced Colby Covington. The latter took a page from the Chael Sonnen Book of Trash Talk in the run-up to this. He talked some garbage. Did anyone care? Sure. It’s good copy. At some point, though, cliched behavior has to answer to itself. If Covington wants legitimacy, he’ll need to earn it.
Finally, this event took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There were many Brazilian fighters on this card. Every Brazilian fighter deserves respect in this MMA game. How did they all do on Saturday?
As always, the stat lines don’t reveal everything. These are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 119.
For the literal-minded among us, full results appear at the end.
Demetrious Johnson did it. He broke the UFC’s long-held record for consecutive title defenses and did so in impressive fashion at UFC 216 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Facing an overmatched Ray Borg, Mighty Mouse posted arguably the most dominant perfo…
Demetrious Johnson did it. He broke the UFC’s long-held record for consecutive title defenses and did so in impressive fashion at UFC 216 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Facing an overmatched Ray Borg, Mighty Mouse posted arguably the most dominant performance of his career before capping the fight with one of the most amazing finishes in MMA history, submitting Borg at 3:15 of Round 5.
Things started off fairly well for the challenger. Borg looked to control the pace in the early goings of the first frame, pressing forward and chasing Johnson. While he flashed his explosiveness and powerful punches, Johnson neutralized his offense with superior footwork and takedown defense, then took the round with his ground work and lightning-quick scrambles.
The challenger adjusted to this in the second, exploding forward and forcing the action to the cage. He had his moments, taking Johnson down and actually getting back control at one point. Still, the champ showed calm under pressure, defended and likely stole the round with a late takedown.
That, however, was the end of the competitive portion of the fight.
Johnson utterly dominated the third round, taking Borg down and experiencing no difficulty maintaining dominant positions. Borg found an early takedown in the fourth but wasn’t even able to settle into guard, as Johnson slipped away, got back to his feet and proceeded to out-strike and out-grapple his opponent at every turn.
By the fifth, Borg had no answer to anything that Mighty Mouse was doing. He was playing chess to Borg’s checkers and eventually decided to post one of the greatest submissions in UFC history, throwing Borg backward, catching his wrist midair and grabbing hold of an armbar to end the fight.
It’s a phenomenal highlight and another chapter in his storied reign. The submission over Borg is Johnson’s 11th title defense, breaking the record set by Anderson Silva in 2012.
This victory, naturally, restarts the discussion about where Johnson ranks among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and gives him an on-paper edge over other greats like Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
Naturally, no reign can last forever, and Johnson has a slew of fearsome challengers coming down the pipeline in old rivals Henry Cejudo and Joseph Benavidez, as well as new faces like Sergio Pettis and Jussier da Silva. Make no mistake, though. This was a special performance by a special fighter, and it’s one that will go down in the record books.
Anytime Benson Henderson enters the cage, you never quite know what to expect. But his Saturday night main event at Bellator 183 in San Jose, California, against Patricky Freire ended with the same result as his last fight.
A loss.
Saturday’s main eve…
Anytime Benson Henderson enters the cage, you never quite know what to expect. But his Saturday night main event at Bellator 183 in San Jose, California, against Patricky Freire ended with the same result as his last fight.
A loss.
Saturday’s main event was a back-and-forth war between two great fighters, but Henderson just didn’t do enough to warrant the win. While it can be argued Henderson was the more active fighter through three rounds, he wasn’t as effective with his strikes as Freire was.
A split-decision win for Freire (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) was well-earned.
With the loss, Henderson falls to 1-3 inside the Bellator cage, with the only win coming against Freire in their previous bout when Henderson won via TKO due to Freire’s freak leg injury.
But this time around, Freire came out with something to prove. In the first, both fighters had their moments as they felt each other out, each anxiously moving forward without too much volume, wary of each other’s ability to counterstrike.
The second round showed Henderson try to take the fight to Freire, shooting for a couple of takedowns, albeit unsuccessfully. The crowd grew frustrated with the fight since it wasn’t a slugfest like the other fights on this main card. Instead, it was a very technical bout Freire won primarily because of his performance in the third round, where he was able to connect with a couple of nice shots to Henderson’s body, including a shoulder that hit Henderson hard enough to make him stumble just a little bit.
At the end of the day, a split-decision victory is a hard way to lose a fight. And for Henderson, the clock is ticking on his career after yet another loss.
Here’s the full results from Bellator 183:
Main card
Goiti Yamauchi def. Adam Piccolotti via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:19 of R1
Aaron Pico def. Justin Linn via KO (punch) at 3:45 of R1
Paul Daley def. Lorenz Larkin via KO (punches) at 2:40 of R2
Roy Nelson def. Javy Ayala via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
Corina Herrera vs. Jaymee Nievara via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
Fernando Gonzalez def. Alex Lopez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ricardo Vasquez def. Justin Tenedora via submission at (2:39, Round 1)
J.J. Okanovich def. Luis Jauregui via submission (:42, Round 1)
Daniel Gonzalez def. Anthony Castrejon via KO (4:03, Round 1)
Yamauchi taps out Piccolotti
Putting his undefeated 9-0 record on the line, Adam Piccolotti came into Saturday night’s fight with a lot of confidence against Goiti Yamauchi, a veteran with a 21-3 record.
It didn’t take long for Yamauchi to look to assert his dominance on the ground by pulling guard fairly early in the first round as he attempted a guillotine, but he wasn’t able to sink his arm in deep enough to complete the choke.
However, Yamauchi was able to make Piccolotti work to get back up to his feet, eventually sinking a hook in to gain control of his back. His relentless pressure was becoming too much for Piccolotti, and he was able to sink his forearm underneath Piccolotti’s chin for a rear-naked choke, leading to a tap.
It was a short, yet impressive, performance for Yamauchi, who should surely get some more face time on main event cards in the foreseeable future.
Pico shuts the lights out for Linn
For Aaron Pico, Saturday’s fight was a career-defining bout, even though it was only his second-ever professional fight. But with so much hype surrounding him, he had to show up after a disappointing debut.
And, boy oh boy, did Pico deliver.
His debut loss will be long forgotten after his vicious knockout on Linn, who went crashing to the canvas. Not only was Pico’s finish the Knockout of the Night, it should also be in consideration for Knockout of the Year. Pico’s left hook won’t be soon forgotten, nor should it.
Even UFC Fighter Al Iaquinta chimed in, claiming Linn was, literally, lifeless on the canvas.
Here’s to many more highlight finishes for Pico, who came back in the best way possible from a loss.
Big Country puts on a show
It’s a bit surprising to see Big Country go the distance in a fight that had some serious strikes by both opponents, but his Bellator debut against Ayala was a very competitive, hard-fought three-round fight.
Ayala landed several good rights in the opening exchange, but Nelson was able to eat up the punches on his iron chin and continue to march forward. Ayala and Nelson found themselves in the clinch, where both looked to drop elbows on each other. Nelson found himself in full mount on Ayala near the end of the round, but couldn’t keep Ayala down long. A knee to the face courtesy of Ayala was a nice way to end the round, but Nelson won the first on my scorecard.
After a competitive first, Nelson took over.
Nelson clipped Ayala with a vintage right hand that we’ve all grown to love over the years during his UFC days, but Ayala stayed upright and continued to exchange. With two minutes left in the second round, Nelson was able to get Ayala in an uncomfortable position on the canvas, using his underrated grappling skills to sink two hooks in. Ayala got back up, but Nelson was able to secure another takedown shortly after taking a kick to the chin, dropping elbows on Ayala until the end of the round.
The third round was more of the same, with both fighters clearly feeling the effects of a back-and-forth fight.
Both fighters had their moments in the third, but Nelson was able to show his true grit, unleashing all the energy he had left in the final seconds of the round to win over the fans—and the judges.
A solid debut for Nelson, it’s good to see him back in the cage, doing what he does best.
Daley beats down Larkin
Who would’ve thought Lorenz Larkin would be 0-2 after his first two fights in Bellator?
After losing in his debut a few months back, Larkin was looking to make a statement against Paul Daley Saturday night. And after a strong showing in the first round, showcasing his beautiful striking and technique, it was safe to assume he would get back on track.
But Daley had other plans.
At the 2:40 mark in the second round, Daley landed a left hook that shook Larkin, sending him to the canvas for the knockout victory. The punch didn’t necessarily come out of left field, as Daley did look quite sharp in exchanges, but seeing Larkin go down the way he did was alarming.
Larkin was expected to beat Daley, so this puts him in a bizarre position in the welterweight division. It looks like he’ll have to move down in competition to gain some wins, while Daley climbs the rankings looking for a big fight. In fact, he had one in mind post-fight.
