Swanson vs. Roop provided an early candidate for Side-Punchface of the Year. Props: UFC.com
Remember how last night, you invited your non-MMA fan friends over to introduce them to our sport? You spent the past week talking about how Chael Sonnen is one of the best trash talkers in professional sports, and how technical and talented these fighters were. You figured that after three fights that were guaranteed to be exceptional, your friends would be won over to MMA fandom. Then you’d continue to drink and be merry all night, and we’d all meet up here today for our traditional post-UFC event GIF party where we all high five over how awesome the fights were.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, you found yourself doing damage control as you watched three fights worth of sloppy brawling, wall and stall and Chael Sonnen’s blatant swaggerjacking of homage to “Superstar” Billy Graham. You tried to convince them that the fights are usually nothing like this, and that these guys gassing out and the end of the first round are world class athletes. Eventually, one of your friends said “I bet Pacquiao would destroy ANY of these guys” as the rest of your friends grabbed their coats and said they’d call you next time they wanted to watch the fights.
Okay, so last night sucked. But we’ve been planning this party all week, and we’ll be damned if we cancel it at this point. So grab an alcoholic beverage, put on your gaudiest Affliction shirt and join us for our traditional post-UFC event GIF Party.
Swanson vs. Roop provided an early candidate for Side-Punchface of the Year. Props: UFC.com
Remember how last night, you invited your non-MMA fan friends over to introduce them to our sport? You spent the past week talking about how Chael Sonnen is one of the best trash talkers in professional sports, and how technical and talented these fighters were. You figured that after three fights that were guaranteed to be exceptional, your friends would be won over to MMA fandom. Then you’d continue to drink and be merry all night, and we’d all meet up here today for our traditional post-UFC event GIF party where we all high five over how awesome the fights were.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, you found yourself doing damage control as you watched three fights worth of sloppy brawling, wall and stall and Chael Sonnen’s blatant swaggerjacking of homage to “Superstar” Billy Graham. You tried to convince them that the fights are usually nothing like this, and that these fighters gassing out and the end of the first round are world class athletes. Eventually, one of your friends said “I bet Pacquiao would destroy ANY of these guys” as the rest of your friends grabbed their coats and promised they’d call you next time they wanted to watch the fights.
Okay, so last night sucked. But we’ve been planning this party all week, and we’ll be damned if we cancel it at this point. So grab an alcoholic beverage, put on your gaudiest Affliction shirt and join us for our traditional post-UFC event GIF Party.
Trash talk in MMA is starting to become the norm, but Cub Swanson felt he never had to do it. That all changed in his preparation to face George Roop at UFC on Fox. Looks like it worked, as Swanson got his forst victory inside the octagon (16…
Trash talk in MMA is starting to become the norm, but Cub Swanson felt he never had to do it. That all changed in his preparation to face George Roop at UFC on Fox. Looks like it worked, as Swanson got his forst victory inside the octagon (16-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by defeating Roop via TKO at 2:22 of RD 2.
Swanson talks about his victory George Roop at UFC on Fox 2, whether he was motivated by the trash talk and much more.
Swanson on if the trash talk on Twitter gave him that extra added motivation: “Definitely, I’m not one to get into trash talking battles unless somebody starts it. He definitely got me fired up. I mean last week, when i was supposed to be calming down one day.
“I was like you know what, I’d rather not get injured, I’m a little tired, I’m not gunna spar today. I sat down and I looked at my phone and I got a message from him saying he was gunna smash me. I put on my gear and went right to sparring. It was just like extra motivation.”
The UFC returns to FOX this Saturday with a three-fight main card that could produce the next title contenders in two different divisions. It’s also packed with betting opportunities that will generously reward the risk-takers. And you’re not a chicken, are you? Huh? Bawk bawk bawwwwwk?? Yeah, that’s what we thought. So consider our UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis gambling advice after the jump, and be sure to come back for our liveblog, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. But first, the complete odds lineup, via BestFightOdds.com:
The UFC returns to FOX this Saturday with a three-fight main card that could produce the next title contenders in two different divisions. It’s also packed with betting opportunities that will generously reward the risk-takers. And you’re not a chicken, are you? Huh? Bawk bawk bawwwwwk?? Yeah, that’s what we thought. So consider our UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis gambling advice after the jump, and be sure to come back for our liveblog, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. But first, the complete odds lineup, via BestFightOdds.com:
PRELIMINARY CARD (FACEBOOK.com/UFC)
Chris Camozzi (-170) vs. Dustin Jacoby (+160)
Let’s get started…
The Main Event: This is Rashad’s fight to lose. His striking is better than Davis’s, and he’s not going to allow Mr. Wonderful to outwrestle him for five rounds. I say Evans keeps the fight standing and takes a win on the scorecards. Now, if you consider the intangibles — Rashad’s streak of bad luck, his high emotions coming into this fight, the rocky start of the Blackzilians camp (see: Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard) — then an upset starts to seem possible. But on paper, Suga holds more advantages, and you can bet comfortably on him.
The Good ‘Dogs: For starters, the two other fights on the main card are worth looking at. Chael Sonnen certainly deserves to be the favorite against Michael Bisping, but 4-1 odds is pushing it. (You have to think that Bisping has spent the last week drilling triangle chokes off his back nonstop.) A small wager on Bisping for the upset is smart, simply because the payoff is so inflated. As for Demian Maia, slating him as the underdog is close to insulting. Weidman may be the newest hot-shit wrestler/grappler prospect in the middleweight division, but he’s also coming into the fight on very short notice, against a veteran whose biggest strengths are on the mat. Weidman could be in trouble here. I also like the occasionally-brilliant George Roop at +125 against the generally-inconsistent Cub Swanson.
Prelim Steal: How is Mike Russow, who’s 3-0 in the UFC and hasn’t lost a fight in almost five years, only a -150 favorite against Jon Olav Einemo, who’s 0-1 in the UFC and hasn’t won a fight in over five years? Just because Einemo briefly had Dave Herman on the ropes in his UFC debut, we’re supposed to think that this fight isn’t a squash match? Forget that — this is free money. Bet big on Russow.
Official CagePotato Parlay: Sonnen + Russow + Oliveira + Beltran
Suggested wager for a $50 stake
– $10 on Evans
– $5 on Bisping
– $5 on Maia
– $5 on Roop
– $20 on Russow
– $5 on the parlay
(Roop: seen here enforcing the theory that a straight shot to the head will kill any zombie.)
Looking to rebound from his controversial decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137, featherweight contender and TUF 8 alum George Roop has recently agreed to face Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 2. Prior to the Hikoi loss, Roop scored a brilliant thrid round TKO over Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Swanson, on the other hand, is coming off a less-than-controversial second round submission via arm triangle choke to Ricardo Lamas in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 1. The Team Jackson product has dropped three of his last five and should need a win here if he wants to continue fighting under the Zuffa banner.
Fun fact: Roop hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007 and has gone loss-win in his past 9 bouts (excluding a draw with Leonard Garcia), so pure logic dictates that he will emerge victorious from this one. You can’t argue with that science, Potato Nation.
(Roop: seen here enforcing the theory that a straight shot to the head will kill any zombie.)
Looking to rebound from his controversial decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137, featherweight contender and TUF 8 alum George Roop has recently agreed to face Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 2. Prior to the Hikoi loss, Roop scored a brilliant thrid round TKO over Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Swanson, on the other hand, is coming off a less-than-controversial second round submission via arm triangle choke to Ricardo Lamas in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 1. The Team Jackson product has dropped three of his last five and should need a win here if he wants to continue fighting under the Zuffa banner.
Fun fact: Roop hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007 and has gone loss-win in his past 9 bouts (excluding a draw with Leonard Garcia), so pure logic dictates that he will emerge victorious from this one. You can’t argue with that science, Potato Nation.
In other booking news, Daniel “Ninja” Roberts announced on his Twitter yesterday that he will be facing inaugural Pros vs. Joes winner (whaa?)Charlie Brenneman in a welterweight tilt set for the UFC’s debut on FX, which features a headlining bout between Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller. Roberts has dropped two straight bouts to Claude Patrick and Rich Attonio at UFC 129 and UFC Live 4, respectively; a loss here will surely secure him a spot in the unemployment line alongside his past three UFC victims.
Brenneman recently saw a two-fight win streak, including a decision upset over Rick Story, snapped at the hands (and feet) of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson in October. Unfortunately for Brenneman, his only wins inside the octagon other than Story have similarly come over now released fighters in Jason High and Amilcar Alves, so this match-up could likely be Zuffa’s way of trimming some fat from its welterweight division.
UFC on FOX 2 goes down January 28th from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. UFC on FX transpires just eight days prior at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Michael Bisping tops TUF 14 Finale salaries by A LOT with $425,000 payout. Some mugger tried to rob an MMA fighter and quickly found out that was a bad idea. Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson.
Michael Bisping tops TUF 14 Finale salaries by A LOT with $425,000 payout.
LAS VEGAS — This is the UFC 137 live blog for Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop, a featherweight bout on tonight’s UFC pay-per-view card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Hioki (24-4-2) makes his UFC debut after an impressive career in Japan where he captured the Shooto and Sengoku titles. In his last fight, Roop (12-7-1) stopped Josh Grispi with a punch to the body.
Round 1: Roop lands an early right hand as Hioki pulls back a kick. Hioki looks quite confident in the standup, matching Roop, though he does seem to leave his chin high often. Hioki initiates a clinch with 3:00 left. Hioki is working hard for the takedown but Roop is defending well. They keep exchanging positions against the fence. Hard, grinding work with little payoff. Hioki nearly got his back but Roop shucked him off. Hioki finally got the takedown with a minute left and moved to side control. Roop scrambled to regain guard, then made it back to his feet. Hioki shot in for another takedown but Roop held him off as the horn sounded. A close round goes to Hioki 10-9.
Round 2: Hioki with a right cross, causing Roop to fire back a head kick. Roop with a body punch, mixing up his offense well. Head kick by Roop grazes its target.
LAS VEGAS — This is the UFC 137 live blog for Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop, a featherweight bout on tonight’s UFC pay-per-view card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Hioki (24-4-2) makes his UFC debut after an impressive career in Japan where he captured the Shooto and Sengoku titles. In his last fight, Roop (12-7-1) stopped Josh Grispi with a punch to the body.
Round 1: Roop lands an early right hand as Hioki pulls back a kick. Hioki looks quite confident in the standup, matching Roop, though he does seem to leave his chin high often. Hioki initiates a clinch with 3:00 left. Hioki is working hard for the takedown but Roop is defending well. They keep exchanging positions against the fence. Hard, grinding work with little payoff. Hioki nearly got his back but Roop shucked him off. Hioki finally got the takedown with a minute left and moved to side control. Roop scrambled to regain guard, then made it back to his feet. Hioki shot in for another takedown but Roop held him off as the horn sounded. A close round goes to Hioki 10-9.
Round 2: Hioki with a right cross, causing Roop to fire back a head kick. Roop with a body punch, mixing up his offense well. Head kick by Roop grazes its target.
Trash talk in 
LAS VEGAS — This is the 