Michael Bisping has just come out victorious in one of the most anticipated fights of the year, defeating Jason Miller via third-round TKO.The two men coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 14 and built up a lot of bad blood over the cours…
Michael Bisping has just come out victorious in one of the most anticipated fights of the year, defeating Jason Miller via third-round TKO.
The two men coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 14 and built up a lot of bad blood over the course of the season.
Tonight, Bisping and Miller squashed their rivalry, while putting on a great show for the fans.
Miller came out too aggressive in the early goings of the fight and gassed himself, which Bisping was able to capitalize on, pounding out an exhausted Miller in the third.
After the fight, both competitors were highly complimentary of each other’s performances.
What we’ll remember about this fight
Miller mocking Bisping by taking a knee.
In Bisping’s last fight, he won a highly controversial TKO victory after hitting his opponent, Jorge Rivera, with an illegal knee.
During this evening’s fight, Miller found himself on his knees and practically begged Bisping to throw another ilegal knee at him—likely an attempt to get in Bisping’s head.
It was an entertaining moment and Bisping—shockingly— indulged Miller’s taunts by throwing a high kick at the downed opponent.
The kick missed, but had it landed, it would have been an illegal blow and Bisping could have been disqualified.
What we learned about Jason Miller
He could be successful in the UFC’s middleweight division, but he needs to work on his cardio—big time.
Whether or not Miller gassed tonight because of nerves or overexerting himself cannot be known for sure, but either way, he was gassed by the second round, which is not a good sign.
If Miller could have kept the pace he set in Round 1, he likely would have won this fight.
What we learned about Michael Bisping
When he wants to be, Bisping is a classy guy.
As a fighter, we didn’t see anything from Bisping tonight that we hadn’t seen before, but after the fight, he was unusually complimentary of his opponent.
Bisping gets a bad rap from most fans—not for no reason—but tonight, he was a gentleman after the fight was over, and that was nice to see.
What’s next for Jason Miller
I expect the UFC will keep Miller around because of his enormous popularity with the fans.
Look for the UFC to set Miller up with a mid-level fighter with some name recognition next.
Dan Miller, Cung Le or Tim Boetsch are all possibilities.
What’s next for Michael Bisping
Many suspected that Bisping would face Chael Sonnen next with a win tonight, but it was recently announced that Sonnen would face Mark Munoz instead.
The winner of Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson would make sense for Bisping’s next fight.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AndrewBarr8.
After an Ultimate Fighter season full of words and hatred, Michael Bisping finally got his revenge on Jason “Mayhem” Miller, moving him closer to a much desired middleweight title fight.When action began at the TUF finale Saturday night, it was Miller …
After an Ultimate Fighter season full of words and hatred, Michael Bisping finally got his revenge on Jason “Mayhem” Miller, moving him closer to a much desired middleweight title fight.
When action began at the TUF finale Saturday night, it was Miller who controlled the pace.
Those in attendance were surprised to see Miller exchange strikes with Bisping, as he was the clear underdog heading into the main event of the evening.
After a combination of right hooks, Miller capitalized on a takedown and had his opponent up against the cage before Bisping returned to his feet.
Round 1 came to an end as Miller had the clear edge. But, the tides turned in the second round as Bisping began to unload on his opponent.
Miller, however, displayed the heart of a warrior and refused to go down in defeat.
“Mayhem” escaped the second round but things only got worse from there as the Brit once again controlled the stand-up, landing vicious strikes to nearly every part of Miller’s body.
Miller would eventually find himself on his back as Bisping began to impose his will via body strikes and knees.
It was clear Bisping was the better conditioned fighter as Miller was gassed after his dominant first round.
Then at 3:34 of the third round, the fight was stopped by referee Steve Mazzagatti, declaring Bisping the technical knockout victory.
It was Bisping‘s fourth consecutive win and now awaits a potential title fight with current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
MMA was alive and well in Minneapolis, Minn. this past Saturday night when local prospect Brandon Girtz fought Strikeforce veteran Eric Wisely in the main event of the Sterling Entertainment Group’s Downtown Showdown. The 150-pound catchweight …
MMA was alive and well in Minneapolis, Minn. this past Saturday night when local prospect Brandon Girtz fought Strikeforce veteran Eric Wisely in the main event of the Sterling Entertainment Group’s Downtown Showdown.
The 150-pound catchweight bout bookended an excellent fight card, but the fight did not go the way that Girtz had hoped for or expected.
After controlling the contest for much of the first two rounds, Girtz’s luck took an unforeseen turn for the worst when he blocked a head kick thrown from Wisely. Although textbook in defense, the thunderous kick from the Strikeforce vet broke Girtz’s forearm upon impact.
“I felt it right away. I wasn’t positive that I had broken it. I knew it was jacked up, but I kind of wanted to keep going and see what I could actually do,” Girtz told Bleacher Report MMA after the event. “But when it was flopping around, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hit him like that, so I knew the fight needed to be stopped before I messed it up more.”
After attempting to fight through the pain for about a minute, Girtz eventually called a stop to the fight. The frustration was evident on his face as he headed to his corner while Wisely celebrated in the cage.
“I feel like it was going my way. I don’t feel like I was doing as well as I would’ve hoped to do, but I definitely felt like it was going my way,” he continued. “He got me with that spinning back-kick in the beginning that kind of caught me off-guard. That pretty much did most of his damage other than the kick that broke my arm.”
Though he feels like he was winning the fight, Girtz made sure to give plenty of credit to his opponent for his unique fighting style as well as the power he put behind the kick that ended the fight.
“He got a good win. He got a kick that broke an arm, I mean, that’s pretty crazy to me!” he said. “Hats off to him, that’s pretty nuts.”
Surgery was required to repair the broken arm, which will now be placed in a cast. The estimated time that he will be able to return to training is four to six weeks.
There’s never a good time to break a bone, but for Girtz, the timing could not have been more unfortunate. The lightweight prospect was set to travel to Las Vegas the following weekend try out for season 15 of the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
“I was really looking forward to the tryouts this Monday,” he said. “That was the plan. I was going to fly out there with another teammate and try out for this one. But it’s a little tough now that I have a broken arm [laughing]. We’re still going to try to see when the actual air is and try to see if I can send in a tape and at least try, but this arm put a little damper on all of that.”
A broken arm may prevent his immediate ascent into the top MMA promotion in the world, but this young fighter is not letting his unfortunate situation get him down. He’s also not looking to pad his record against easy opponents when he does make his return.
“I want another tough fight,” he said. “I’m trying to prove myself.”
Perhaps a rematch with Wisely would make sense given the somewhat fluky circumstance of the ending of their fight. Though Girtz admits that the rematch intrigues him, he also understands that the fight may not benefit Wisely much at this time.
“I don’t know what’s in it for him right now,” he said with a laugh. “But if he wanted a rematch, definitely. It was a good fight, but I definitely feel like I would’ve had the advantage if it would’ve kept going. I can’t say I would’ve beat him in a decision. Do I think I would have? Absolutely. I might’ve finished it if [the broken arm] wouldn’t have happened.”
Time will tell when and whom he will step in the cage with, but with an attitude like his, the will to win that he possesses and the top-level team he works with at coach Greg Nelson’s gym “The Academy,” the sky is the limit for Brandon Girtz.
After enduring one of the most memorable bouts in mixed martial arts history, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua came up short to Dan Henderson in a tight decision at UFC 139. Both competitors went back and forth throughout the bout, both gaining their fair sh…
After enduring one of the most memorable bouts in mixed martial arts history, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua came up short to Dan Henderson in a tight decision at UFC 139.
Both competitors went back and forth throughout the bout, both gaining their fair share of momentum, but ultimately Henderson was awarded the victory.
Rua’s performance was nothing short of inspiring, and although he still showed that he remains a competitive force in the light heavyweight division, his consistency is still questionable.
Perhaps it would not be a bad idea for the Brazilian to move down to the middleweight division, where he can immediately emerge as a contender.
It’s evident that Rua is undersized for a light heavyweight, and he has had a history of poor cardio, partially due to the recurring knee injuries.
Should he consider a potential move down to 185 pounds, Rua would have less of an issue suffering with his cardio and would be able to compete on a more consistent basis.
Nothing against his performance at UFC 139, while he survived a five-round bout with no visible signs of gassing, but his days as a title contender at 205 pounds may be over, considering other options might serve more importance at this point in his career.
It isn’t unlikely he remains competing as a light heavyweight in the near future, but if “Shogun” is still realistic about reclaiming a UFC championship, he should contemplate on making a transition to the middleweight division.
This past Saturday night was perhaps the biggest night for combat sports all year. If you consider yourself any kind of fight fan, chances are you were in front of a TV that night.So of course, I missed all of it. Live, anyways.See, I was covering Bell…
This past Saturday night was perhaps the biggest night for combat sports all year. If you consider yourself any kind of fight fan, chances are you were in front of a TV that night.
So of course, I missed all of it. Live, anyways.
See, I was covering Bellator 57 at Casino Rama, so the only screen I was in front of was my laptop screen, doing live play by play. That’s why I missed the big game. On the other hand, I was there to see some drunk heckler cost Ben Saunders the welterweight tournament final. (I don’t care what the official line is. I was there damn it!)
I watched both shows later on that night, staying up ’till the wee hours of the morning to get my full fix of fightin’. And as I finished, in my 3 a.m. haze, coming down from a four-beer buzz, a singular thought occurred to me.
Both shows—the UFC on FOX, and Pacquiao vs. Marquez III—were PERFECT analogies for their respective sports.
Let’s get something out of the way before we go any further: when I heard the “Monday Night Football” theme during a UFC broadcast, I just about sh*t my pants. MMA had arrived, baby! And no matter how much ink is being spilled (and will be spilled) about this event, I think it was a tremendous success overall, even with the shock (or is that disappointment?) of the main event.
I think it was a fitting “first taste” of what MMA really is, warts and all. We get tons of hype, tons of build, the crowd is amped, the cameras are rolling, the infinitely vast television audience of network TV is watching…and the much ballyhooed heavyweight title fight is over in the time it takes you to read this paragraph.
That’s why MMA is “As Real As It Gets.” Two gigantic, well-rounded athletes meet in a contest where any martial arts style is allowed, and a minute later one errant blow to the temple has decided the world’s heavyweight championship. Fairly, sportingly and without controversy. That’s MMA for you folks. I hope you didn’t blink.
It even ended with—as every UFC night at the bar ends—the obligatory angry bald guy, who feels they could have come up with a better game plan than the two guys competing for the heavyweight title with one combined loss between them going into the fight.
Now over to boxing, where Pac-man and Marquez picked up right where they left off on Saturday and tore the MGM Grand to the ground. Over the course of 12 very exciting, closely contested rounds, we got a fitting “third installment” to the trilogy—like Return of the Jedi would have been without the bear things.
When it was over, the vast majority of those watching felt that Marquez had edged Pacquiao on the judges cards by a comfortable margin.
So of course, the decision comes back for Manny! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!
And it’s not like I don’t get their point, particularly after the judges scorecards were released. The one judge who returned a 116-112 verdict for Pacquiao is particularly troubling. And by “troubling,” I mean “insane.”
As for me, even as a big Manny Pacquiao mark, I had Marquez ahead by a round when the final bell sounded. In all honesty, I was expecting another draw. (I love draws, for some strange reason, but that’s just me.)
On the other hand, I tend to roll my eyes whenever the word “robbery” is thrown around in a combat sports context. Meaning these days, I tend to roll my eyes about at least a week—if I’m lucky.
A close fight is not a “robbery.” It’s a close fight! Like picking between Rocky Road or Chunky Monkey ice cream, everyone’s got their own opinion and no one is more valid than another. We should try to reserve the word “robbery” for actual robbery, not any fight that’s close (and for the record, Peanut Butter Chocolate > all other flavors of ice cream).
So again, we’re left with a perfect analogy for boxing: an exciting, tactical 12-round war that ends with the loser getting their hand raised, everyone crying foul and promoters shrewdly counting their money while they plan for the inevitable rematch. Of the rematch. Of the rematch.
You couldn’t ask for two better “case studies” for their respective sports than what we got Saturday.
We have MMA, still working out the wrinkles of being a “big-time” sport (Brock Lesnar as on-air analyst? Really?) and delivering a main event that, while far too short, you really can’t complain about at the end of the day (unless you’re stupid). It was the sort of “anything can happen, don’t blink, one punch can change the fight” stuff Goldy and Rogan are always going on about. It was Serra vs. GSP 1, for the 265 set. It was perfect.
And in boxing, we got a polished, by-the-numbers broadcast; analysts as old as boxing itself (sorry Larry) and a tremendous back-and-forth main event. Said main event ended in yet another head-slapping, “what has this sport come to” kind of decision. After controversial decisions had defined the first two fights. Of course it ended in a “screw job.” Of course it did.
In MMA, you get sudden finishes, split-second results and disappointingly quick fights. You get absolute revolving doors at the top of divisions. You get shocking upsets on a fairly constant basis (Brenneman/Story, anyone?). You get boring fights that should have been barnburners and barnburners in sure-to-be boring fights. And you never, ever know anything for sure until the cage door closes.
In boxing, you get technical polish and proficiency second to none. The sport has been around at the professional level for over a century; the kind of boxing we see today has been distilled and distilled again into its purest form. What made Pac/Marquez exciting was that it was technical proficiency having sex with an all-out war and producing one sexy offspring.
But with boxing, you also get a sense of constancy. Marquez is ALWAYS going to get shafted against Pac. Pac is always ABOUT to face Floyd Mayweather again—soon, real soon, promise. The real “deciding fight,” the one that will clear up all this pound-for-pound fog once and for all, is ALWAYS right around the corner.
Boxing is frozen in amber, while MMA is moving at light speed. So take your pick, folks. Or better yet, don’t. If nothing else, this past Saturday proved MMA and boxing can co-exist, no problem.
For my part, I’m looking forward to 2012: more of Pac and May talking about fighting each other while doing other things, as I watch some guy I’ve probably never even heard of capture the UFC heavyweight title on FOX!
The following is a first-person account of the sights, sounds, and other observations from the UFC’s first event on Fox, which took place on Nov. 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. As I approached the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the …
The following is a first-person account of the sights, sounds, and other observations from the UFC’s first event on Fox, which took place on Nov. 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
As I approached the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the UFC on Fox weigh-ins, I stopped to catch up with a few acquaintances that were also in town for the event. Shortly thereafter, I decided to walk to the nearby convenience store, and the magnitude of the event was quickly put into perspective for me.
The line to enter the venue, which had consisted of only a few people when I arrived, had lengthened to the point that it wrapped around the entire outside of the venue. Furthermore, the stranglehold that champion Cain Velasquez has over the Southern California fight fans was more than obvious, as Dethrone shirts and Mexican flags were adorned by nearly every fan in line.
With the potential for inclement weather, the venue may not have had the same luster as the famed Santa Monica pier, but the packed house did not seem to mind the switch. Although the venue was set up for a standing audience, the crowd filled in the lower bowl and the theater style seating at the back of the auditorium.
Prior to the fighters hitting the scales, the UFC 141 press conference added to the excitement in the building. Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem (who will battle Dec. 30 to determine the next heavyweight title challenger) thrilled the crowd with their predictions of Velasquez retaining his title over Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.
A chorus of boos greeted Dos Santos as he stepped onto the stage for weigh-ins. The always-smiling slugger took it in stride and took his place on the side of the stage, awaiting the staredown. As the champion was introduced, the crowd erupted, an early preview of the electricity the actual fight would generate. The traditional face-to-face confrontation was tame, but Dos Santos made his mark by telling the crowd to “be ready for war tomorrow.”
Having traveled far and wide covering this sport, I have witnessed my fair share of venues, crowds and circumstances surrounding events. The promotion’s network debut was certainly a different situation. In order to accommodate the various time zones and to avoid interfering with a star-studded boxing pay-per-view, the event was tabbed with a 1:45 PM local start time (even earlier than a typical event on the West Coast).
Unfortunately, the selected venue was less than accommodating for the crowd that had arrived early to catch the undercard. Lengthy security lines prevented a large number of fans from finding their seats before the first fight was over. As such, the venue had a similar feel of a Las Vegas event for the first few bouts.
“Tito! Tito! Tito!” echoed through the mostly empty arena during the night’s second fight. The former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and his famous spouse, Jenna Jameson, had arrived before the fights began and had taken their front row seat. This marked the crowd’s first, but certainly not last, instance of paying more attention to who was in the crowd rather than the action inside the cage.
As the action continued, a stretch of decisions, coupled with a head butt and what some may have felt was a phantom tap, seemed to put the crowd into a bit of a dull haze. But when the former heavyweight champ Lesnar made his way to his seat, deafening boos rained down from the crowd of Velasquez supporters.
And when the ever-controversial middleweight Michael Bisping attempted to find his seat during the Dustin Poirier-Pablo Garza bout, you would have never known there was a fight happening. The British fighter acknowledged their reaction by giving them the universal sign for “number one.” Sadly, I think a large portion of the crowd missed the slick submission Poirier applied as a result.
By the time the final streamed fight (between Clay Guida and Benson Henderson) was set to begin, the Honda Center was completely full. Numerous celebrities and fighters littered the crowd on all sides of the Octagon. The anticipation for the main event was building before the two lightweights stepped into the cage for war. Finally, the Southern California crowd remembered that it had paid to attend a mixed martial arts event, not just a celebrity extravaganza.
The war between Guida and Henderson took the night’s action to another level. Chants of “Guida! Guida!” bellowed throughout the bout, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Chicago-based fighter to victory. Everyone in the crowd expressed their appreciation for the hard-fought battle. Despite a lengthy interval between the Guida-Henderson fight and the main event, the eager crowd worked itself into a frenzy before the walkouts of the two heavyweight combatants.
When the lights dropped and the entrance music of Junior Dos Santos began, a thundering roar was released by the crowd. And as champion Cain Velasquez made his way to the Octagon, the atmosphere was something that I have only witnessed a handful of times while covering this sport. The previous instances involved fights ending, so I was full of anticipation to see the reaction when this fight ended.
Bruce Buffer’s trademarked introductions set the stage for the biggest fight in UFC history (thus far) and the fervor inside the Honda Center is an experience that I will never forget. In just 64 seconds, the Brazilian Dos Santos stunned the packed house by finishing off the champion and claiming the belt.
Unlike when Velasquez won the belt in the same venue at UFC 121, the life was nearly gone from the crowd, sans the minority of Brazilian fans in attendance. As the new champion openly wept in joy inside the cage, the crowd made their way toward the exits. While most of those in attendance were shocked that their favorite fighter had been dethroned, they can take solace in the fact that they had witnessed a major milestone in the history of the UFC.
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.
Michael Bisping has just come out victorious in one of the most anticipated fights of the year, defeating Jason Miller via third-round TKO.