Hatsu Hioki isn’t a name that most casual fans will be familiar with, but hardcore fans will know that he has long been considered one of the best featherweight fighters on the planet.Tonight at UFC 137, Hioki will finally make his UFC debut against to…
Hatsu Hioki isn’t a name that most casual fans will be familiar with, but hardcore fans will know that he has long been considered one of the best featherweight fighters on the planet.
Tonight at UFC 137, Hioki will finally make his UFC debut against tough competitor George Roop.
In the past, we have seen many Japanese fighters crossover from the Japanese to the American circuit and get exposed as overrated and incapable of competing with top competition, so it will be interesting to see how Hioki fairs in his UFC debut.
A win over Roop tonight would mean a couple things for Hioki.
It would confirm that he is deserving of the reputation he’s earned by fighting overseas and that he has what it takes to be a relevant factor in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Furthermore, a decisive victory over Roop would likely put Hioki in line for a shot at the title.
Roop isn’t exactly a top contender at featherweight, but the division is hurting for new title challengers and, given his reputation from fighting in Japan, it’s not unlikely that the UFC would fast-track him to a crack at the belt.
One win will not be enough for a title shot, but it should get Hioki a match with one of the division’s top contenders.
If he disposes of Roop, expect to see Hioki fighting someone like Mark Hominick, Mike Brown or Chang-Sung Jung.
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.
(Hey, it’s that thing from my nightmares! So weird seeing you during the daytime! / Photo via @bjpenndotcom)
It’s been a while since we’ve tried to convince you fine people of something totally ridiculous. But looking through Saturday’s UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz card, I feel like playing devil’s advocate on a few things. So keep an open mind, and read on…
Donald Cerrone has recently claimed that he’d like to face Nam Phan in his next fight, because Phan beat up his best friend Leonard Garcia earlier this month then allegedly said that if Garcia’s coaches were any good they would have taught him how to throw straight punches. Now, the average observer might say, “Look Donald, you’re on a five-fight win streak — shouldn’t you be more concerned about challenging for the belt at lightweight than chasing personal rivalries with unranked dudes at 145?”
But I say screw it, Cowboy, you do you. Not for the revenge aspect, which is completely silly. But because the lightweight division has too many contenders to the throne, and the featherweight division doesn’t have enough.
(Hey, it’s that thing from my nightmares! So weird seeing you during the daytime! / Photo via @bjpenndotcom)
It’s been a while since we’ve tried to convince you fine people of something totally ridiculous. But looking through Saturday’s UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz card, I feel like playing devil’s advocate on a few things. So keep an open mind, and read on…
Donald Cerrone has recently claimed that he’d like to face Nam Phan in his next fight, because Phan beat up his best friend Leonard Garcia earlier this month then allegedly said that if Garcia’s coaches were any good they would have taught him how to throw straight punches. Now, the average observer might say, “Look Donald, you’re on a five-fight win streak — shouldn’t you be more concerned about challenging for the belt at lightweight than chasing personal rivalries with unranked dudes at 145?”
But I say screw it, Cowboy, you do you. Not for the revenge aspect, which is completely silly. But because the lightweight division has too many contenders to the throne, and the featherweight division doesn’t have enough.
Cerrone already seems enormous as a lightweight, but he says he can make 145 by giving up his addiction to Milk-Duds and Hot Tamales, and hiring a nutritionist. If he can pull it off, he’d be an immediate threat in the featherweight division. Already dangerous from all angles, aggressive, and well-rounded, Cerrone would be such a physically imposing presence at featherweight that he could win most fights on reach and power alone. And that’s a good thing, because after Chad Mendes (and maybe the winner of Hominick vs. Zombie), there really isn’t anybody who’s set up to challenge for the featherweight belt.
Plus, if Cerrone loses to Siver on Saturday night, he’s back to square one in a very crowded division. And of course, losing is a very real possibility, despite the fact that Cerrone is already writing the Russian-German striker off as a “one-trick pony.” Such overconfidence could cost him. And if it does, Cowboy’s probably better off starting over in a different division anyway.
Yes, I’m saying that the world’s #31-ranked featherweight is going to upset the guy at #7. Is it because I think Roop’s powerful striking will surprise the Japanese grappling specialist and former TKO/Shooto/Sengoku champ? Not exactly. I’ve just lost all hope that a top-ranked fighter from Japan can come over to the UFC and do well.
If there’s anything we’ve learned from the recent failures of Michihiro Omigawa, Kid Yamamoto, Takanori Gomi, and Jorge Santiago in the UFC, and Shinya Aoki and Maximo Blanco in Strikeforce, it’s that any top ranking earned while fighting in Asia is suspect. I hate to sound like Dana White here, but the results speak for themselves. Time and time again, reputations have been made in Japan, and immediately lost inside the Octagon.
Over the last three years, Hioki’s most notable win was his decision against Marlon Sandro, and Sandro has since been exposed while fighting in Bellator. So this argument isn’t based on the matchup, or George Roop’s momentum coming off his win over Josh Grispi. It’s just based on an undeniable trend. We’ve seen this a dozen times before, and we already know what happens.
Nick Diaz Will Beat BJ Penn, but Never Win Another Fight in the UFC
Here’s how this is going to go down: Diaz is going to slice Penn apart standing and take the fight out of him completely by the third round. Penn will eventually collapse under the onslaught — like so many before him — and Diaz will throw down strikes until the ref stops it. Penn won’t lose consciousness, because Penn doesn’t do that, but it’ll be a convincing, demoralizing stoppage loss, and it’ll signal that Penn can no longer hang with the top welterweights in the division.
Diaz will get a title shot against the winner of St. Pierre vs. Condit, which will be GSP. Now here’s where things get tricky. Before he returned to the UFC, Diaz built up a ten-fight win streak in EliteXC/Dream/Strikeforce, but he did so mostly against other strikers. He’s completely forgotten what it was like to face a tenacious wrestler, and St. Pierre is going to remind him, winning a five-round unanimous decision mostly on the basis of top control.
Diaz will be pissed. He’ll insult GSP afterwards for not coming to fight, and blast the point-fighting strategy that has taken over the sport. He’ll threaten to move to boxing again. But now that he’s served his purpose for the UFC — as another body to throw at St. Pierre — Dana White won’t have to put up with Diaz’s bullshit anymore.
If Diaz insults the UFC in interviews, he’ll be put on ice. If he ditches press conferences, he’ll be taken off cards and not given A-list replacement opponents. And when he does return, he’ll be offered a fight against Jon Fitch, take it or leave it. If he takes it, he’ll be humped to another unanimous decision loss. If he leaves it, well, who knows where the Nick Diaz story goes from there.
Filed under: UFCUFC 137 is one of those events where you really wish oddsmakers would offer some fun prop bets. For example, odds that B.J. Penn will lick someone’s blood off his gloves? (+375). Odds Roy Nelson will smack his somewhat diminished belly …
UFC 137 is one of those events where you really wish oddsmakers would offer some fun prop bets. For example, odds that B.J. Penn will lick someone’s blood off his gloves? (+375). Odds Roy Nelson will smack his somewhat diminished belly on camera? (+125). Odds Nick Diaz will insist on wearing jeans and work boots to the weigh-ins, and make us all wait as he puts them back on before the staredown? (-700).
Alas, we’ll just have to make do with the odds on the fights themselves. Fortunately, there’s plenty of material here to sort through.
It was a borderline brilliant move by Cesar Gracie to try and get this changed to a five-round fight. As we’ve seen in the past, Penn is not always the same person at the end of round three that he is in the beginning of round one, and an extra two frames to take advantage of that would have helped the tireless Diaz immensely. But Penn’s no dummy. He played that attempt off with all the veteran savvy you’d expect, and his chances of winning went up in the process. That is, if the right B.J. Penn shows up, and if Diaz consents to let him have the kind of fight he wants.
Therein lies the problem for both those guys. Penn is inconsistent, while Diaz is almost comically hard-headed. Penn might, at any given point, look up at the clock and sigh like a teenager waiting out the last few minutes of Geometry class. Diaz might be able to take advantage of that if he were Jon Fitch of Georges St-Pierre, but he’s not. He just wants to scrap, and he’ll do so wherever Penn decides to take the fight. If Penn wants to box, they’ll box. If he wants to grapple, that’s fine too. It’s hard to wear a guy out when you let him decide where and how to fight. And if you can’t tire Penn out, you’re giving up the most reliable way of beating him. That could still work…if you’re the better all-around fighter. And if three rounds is enough time for you to prove it. My pick: Diaz. The odds here don’t give us much of a push in either direction. With Penn, you wonder how hard he’s trained and how much he wants it. With Diaz, you never do. In a fight this close, that’s enough for me.
If this were a Rick Rude-style posedown, Mitrione would be in big trouble. Kongo looks the part of a terrifying heavyweight, and if you didn’t know better you might be forgiven for assuming that he was the superior athlete in this match-up. Big mistake. Don’t get me wrong, Kongo can do a few things well. He just can’t do enough things and he can’t do them well enough. Mitrione, on the other hand, is an agile, athletic big man who improves so much between each fight that it’s almost not worth watching film of his last few bouts to prepare for his next one. On paper, this should be Mitrione’s fight all the way. Instead of betting on who will win, a more interesting wager might be how many times Kongo will manage to knee him in the groin. I’ll set the over/under at two, and let you go from there. My pick: Mitrione. At these odds I’ll toss it straight into the parlay bin and leave it there, but at least it’s one I can feel reasonably confident in.
Here’s where, before doing anything, you need to check your emotions at the door. Don’t let sentimentality make you a poor man just because you wanted to believe that Cro Cop had one more headkick KO left in him. Would that be an awesome finish to his UFC career? Sure it would. Is it likely to happen? Nope. Not only can Nelson take it, he can dish it out. There was a time when we could say the same about Cro Cop, but the years and the physical damage have piled up on him now, and he goes down easier and easier. Nelson is a slugger on the feet who could probably also beat Cro Cop on the ground if he wanted to. Cro Cop is still a legend of the sport, but he’s also a shadow of his former self. Don’t let it get you down, but don’t bet on a miraculous resurrection either. Those days are gone, my friend. At least the two of you will always have Tokyo. My pick: Nelson. It’s another one for the parlay, and another meager gain that breaks my heart just a little more than it’s worth.
While Curran is a likable guy and a real student of the game, if we’re being honest we also have to admit that he’s the MMA equivalent of an old car that’s held together by bailing wire and hope. He’s been beat up and broken down over the years, and has hung together reasonably well, all things considered. Still, when you look at his career record you see a man who’s been beaten by nearly every high-level opponent he’s faced. Jorgensen might be inexperienced by comparison, but not so much that he’s likely to get caught in a dumb submission or try to get too far away from his strengths. He’ll show up looking to ground-and-pound Curran into a bloody mess, and he’ll probably succeed. My pick: Jorgensen. The odds are a bit more lopsided than I expected, but they favor the right man.
Regular readers of this column will know that I simply must find at least one crazy underdog on every fight card, and when no obvious choice presents itself I am not above talking myself into one. So here goes: on paper, Hioki is the better fighter with the more established resume. He’s also spent almost his entire career fighting in Japan, and the UFC’s Octagon has not proved to be a very welcoming environment for many of his countrymen. Roop is a bigger fighter who is at home in the cage, and who, here and there, has shown flashes of real ability. He’s not championship material and probably never will be, but does he have what it takes to shock Hioki in his UFC debut in front of the friendly Las Vegas crowd? I think just maybe he does. My pick: Roop. It’s a tasty line that I just can’t resist under these circumstances. Some oddsmakers even have him as high as +325, so look around for a bargain if you feel like taking the leap with me.
Quick picks:
– Dennis Siver (+215) over Donald Cerrone (-275). Cerrone is tough, but Siver is a different class of opponent than what he’s been up against lately. In a pick-em I’d take “Cowboy,” but at these odds Siver is worth a small risk.
– Danny Downes (+155) over Ramsey Nijem (-185). You won’t get rich off it, but Downes is the smart play against a guy who’s probably not quite at this level just yet.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Matt Mitrione + Roy Nelson + Scott Jorgensen + Brandon Vera
Filed under: UFCCan Nick Diaz make a triumphant return to the UFC and beat B.J. Penn? Can Matt Mitrione stay undefeated and beat Cheick Kongo? Will Mirko Cro Cop show he still has something left against Roy Nelson? Is there any reason to buy this pay-p…
Can Nick Diaz make a triumphant return to the UFC and beat B.J. Penn? Can Matt Mitrione stay undefeated and beat Cheick Kongo? Will Mirko Cro Cop show he still has something left against Roy Nelson? Is there any reason to buy this pay-per-view now that Georges St. Pierre is off the card? We’ll answer those questions and more as we predict the winners of Saturday night’s UFC 137.
When: Saturday, the preliminary fights on Facebook begin at 6 PM ET, the Spike fights begin at 8 and the pay-per-view begins at 9.
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz Diaz is on a 10-fight winning streak, but some critics contend that he’s built up his record against weak opponents and wouldn’t be able to handle the best of the best in the UFC. The fight with Penn should tell us a lot about Diaz: Can he use his high-volume but sometimes sloppy punching against a good boxer? Can he get the better of an excellent jiu jitsu player on the ground?
I’ve always enjoyed watching Diaz and was hoping to see him fight St. Pierre for the welterweight title, but my money is on Diaz falling short against Penn. I think Penn can jab Diaz effectively all night if the fight stays standing, and I think Penn is too sophisticated a grappler for Diaz to get him in trouble on the ground. This is not a good stylistic matchup for Diaz, and I see Penn winning by unanimous decision. Pick: Penn
Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione Mitrione was a former NFL defensive lineman who had little MMA experience when he was invited to join the cast of The Ultimate Fighter, but he has developed into a credible heavyweight. Kongo is a great striker and a lot of fun to watch, but he struggles against bigger, stronger opponents who can take him down, and I think that’s exactly what Mitrione is going to do. I like Mitrione to win a decision and improve to 6-0. Pick: Mitrione
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson Both of these guys are on two-fight losing streaks and have looked very unimpressive lately, but the difference is that in Nelson’s two losses he was simply beaten by better opponents. In Cro Cop’s two losses he was not only beaten but looked like he didn’t even particularly want to fight. It’s sad to say but I just don’t think Cro Cop has anything left at all. Look for Nelson to win, and for UFC President Dana White to face questions about whether Cro Cop is done in the UFC. Pick: Nelson
Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran The one good thing you can say about all the injuries that affected UFC 137 is that they created space for Jorgensen vs. Curran on the main card. This fight should be a lot of fun, featuring one of the best bantamweights in the world in Jorgensen, against one of the pioneers of the lower weight classes in Curran. I’d love to see Curran go on a run in the UFC, but he’s 34 years old and has been fighting for 13 years and I think he’s slowed down considerably. I think Jorgensen wins this one handily. Pick: Jorgensen
Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop Hioki has been the best featherweight in Japan the last few years and is an exciting addition to the UFC’s featherweight division. He has great reach and knows how to take advantage of it on his feet, and he’s very aggressive off his back on the ground. And yet … after seeing so many fighters have success in Japan only to struggle when they move to the Octagon, I’m having a hard time seeing Hioki beating a solid UFC veteran like Roop. I think this fight goes the distance and Roop takes the decision. Pick: Roop
UFC 137 is a marquee event for the organization for a lot of reasons.The pay-per-view event will be headlined by a welterweight tilt pitting MMA bad boy Nick Diaz and former two-time world champion BJ Penn.However, one bout in particular will be appeal…
UFC 137 is a marquee event for the organization for a lot of reasons.
The pay-per-view event will be headlined by a welterweight tilt pitting MMA bad boy Nick Diaz and former two-time world champion BJ Penn.
However, one bout in particular will be appealing for the head honchos, as Japanese import Hatsu Hioki makes his organizational debut against The Ultimate Fighter veteran George Roop.
The submission specialist has been a staple in the featherweight division for a long, long time. Hioki holds notable victories over the likes of former Sengoku and Pancrase champion Marlon Sandro as well as former UFC title challenger Mark Hominick, having defeated the Canadian on two separate occasions.
So, will Roop rise to the occasion and best the world-ranked fighter, or will Hioki continue his winning ways en route to an imminent title shot?
George Roop, “The UFC must hate me.” When you look at the list of fighters the UFC has asked George Roop to cage up with over the last two years, it is hard to blame him for joking around about the UFC’s thoughts about him. But in actuality…
When you look at the list of fighters the UFC has asked George Roop to cage up with over the last two years, it is hard to blame him for joking around about the UFC’s thoughts about him. But in actuality, what goes without saying is how highly Roop is revered by Joe Silva and the rest of the UFC brass.
With names littered across his fight record like Eddie Wineland, George Sotiropolous, Leonard Garcia, Chan Sung Jung, Mark Hominick and Josh Grispi, it is clear where the UFC sees Roop in their featherweight pecking order.
Simply put, they see him as one of their top fighters in the division. It is a reputation he has more than earned.
His ability to compete with top fighters in the division has earned him the right to remain in elite company because win, lose or draw, Roop comes to scrap. That is exactly what the UFC is looking for to help sell the lighter weight divisions to the casual fan.
The UFC couldn’t express their confidence in Roop more loudly than they did when his phone rang and he was asked to fight on one of the biggest fight cards of the year, UFC 137. Not only was he asked to compete on such a prestigious event, but he has been asked to welcome into the UFC one of the top featherweights in the world.
Roop embraces the opportunity to be the first in the UFC to face Hatsu Hioki, former Shooto lightweight champion and Sengoku featherweight champion. He took some time out to speak with Todd Jackson of Hurtsbad MMA and discuss what he sees as a tremendous test, but equally motivating opportunity.
Roop gave his thoughts on Hioki in general. “Hioki is a stud. I think he is ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, depending on where you look. The guy is real tough. He holds titles in two promotions, one in Shooto and one in Sengoku.”
Hioki’s wizardry on the mat is something Roop pointed to in particular as a clear threat. “The ground game is off the chain, especially his top position. I’m going to have to fight the best fight I have ever fought for this one, and I will be ready.”
Obviously, with Roop being put against recent No. 1 contenders Hominick and Grispi, the topic came up of a run at the title. Having a strong performance over Grispi was one thing. Another strong showing over the highly ranked Hioki would surely catapult Roop somewhere towards the top five in many people’s perception.
Roop disagrees and has a more humble and realistic outlook on his title run opportunities. “I think every fighter takes it one fight at a time. That’s all you can really focus on. I don’t think a win would put me in any type of title shot contention. Let’s keep it real. I need to get on a good win streak.”
Roop explained his perception. “There’s a lot of good featherweights in the division. Chad Mendes, I think he deserved a title shot before Kenny Florian. But I think Chad Mendes is up there, Erik Koch is just a stud, Tyson Griffin just dropped down to 145. So there are some serial killers in the division.”
Roop does see himself on the path to the top, but he explains it is farther away than one strong performance over one of the best featherweights in the world. After all, he does still have to beat Hioki to even discuss anything beyond that.
“I do feel like I’m coming into my prime as a mixed martial artist. I’m going to be ready for a title shot in the next year to two years.”
The opportunity to fight Hioki is an honor in itself. But this fight poses multiple layers of opportunity. This is an event that features some big names in the business of MMA. B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz are marquee names.
The fight nerds of the world have always had Roop on their radar. They remember his stunning finish over “The Korean Zombie” last year or his war with Leonard Garcia. Some even remember his days in the WEC, or further back, Rage In The Cage.
But the fact of the matter is, many fans will tune into this fight simply to watch the stars. The casual fan will watch UFC 137 having never heard of George Roop or Hatsu Hioki before. Roop sees a chance to snag the unsuspecting casual fan and stamp his name on their MMA psyche so they will never forget it again.
Roop told Hurtsbad MMA, “It’s a very big opportunity for the whole world to see who I am and what kind of fighter I am. I feel like I am an exciting fighter. One of my biggest assets is that I show up to fight. There are some guys who can be world champions inside the gym, but for some reason, they just don’t show up to the fight.”
The UFC featherweight went on to explain, “I feel like I am very good at showing up to the fight. It’s going to be a great fight. I feel that I have matured as a fighter, and I am going to go in there and get the win. That’s all I am concerned about. I’m going to fight my fight and get that win.”
Facing one of the most highly touted featherweights in the world might intimidate some athletes. For Roop, it has not put him in a place where he will look up to Hioki and bow to his greatness. No, Roop is looking to bring his war to Hioki and show that he too is one of the very best in the world.
He explained his intentions for fight night. “I’m going to make it an ugly fight for Hioki. He has never fought anybody as tall as me. He has always been the taller fighter. Once he gets hit with some of my shots, he will be shooting in for the takedown, and he is going to get stuffed. He is going to be out of his element in that cage.”
As confident as can be, but yet equally humble, cool and collected, Roop sounds more than ready to face this challenge at the height of his MMA career. Once again, there will be an entire world of fight fans tuning in Saturday night to watch Penn vs Diaz.
Sunday morning, do not be surprised if what they are talking about is Roop vs Hioki.
Hatsu Hioki isn’t a name that most casual fans will be familiar with, but hardcore fans will know that he has long been considered one of the best featherweight fighters on the planet.
Can