UFC 155 is already shaping up to be one of the best cards of the year; and it’s still four months away!Already featuring the Heavyweight Championship rematch between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez and the anticipated clash of Chael Sonnen and For…
UFC 155 is already shaping up to be one of the best cards of the year; and it’s still four months away!
Already featuring the Heavyweight Championship rematch between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez and the anticipated clash of Chael Sonnen and Forrest Griffin, now the UFC has added some top lightweights to the mix.
Maynard, who is best known for his rivalry with former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar, is coming off a win against Clay Guida at UFC on FX back in June. The bout was noted for being very lackluster due to Guida seemingly running away from Maynard throughout the contest.
In the end, Maynard picked up a much needed decision victory as he was coming off a knockout loss to the then-champion Edgar.
Lauzon is coming off on what many considered to be the best fight of the year so far with his big submission win against Jamie Varner at UFC on Fox just two weeks ago.
Lauzon is a top med-tier fighter in the lightweight division, so a fight with former title contender Maynard is a nice step-up for “J-Lau” and a win would likely be the biggest of his career.
The bout is likely to serve on the main card at UFC 155 which is expected to take place on December 29th in Las Vegas.
After losing a controversial split decision to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at UFC 150 on Saturday, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar is finally seriously considering a move to 145 pounds. “I don’t think making the weight would be too …
After losing a controversial split decision to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at UFC 150 on Saturday, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar is finally seriously considering a move to 145 pounds.
“I don’t think making the weight would be too much of a problem,” Edgar said on Sherdog Radio Network’s It’s Timeshow with Bruce Buffer.
“I don’t think I’d have to tweak much,” he said. “I probably would clean my diet maybe some. I like to eat fairly clean and I’m not a huge eater, so I wouldn’t have to change too, too much, but I’ll be honest: I think a lot of 145-pounders are probably bigger than me down at that weight class anyway.”
After consecutive losses to “Smooth,” fans and analysts are begging louder than ever for the New Jersey native to try out a lighter weight class better suited for his frame.
Edgar, who has fought all 18 of his professional fights at lightweight, is considering the move but is far from making a concrete decision on the matter just yet.
“Forty-five is a possibility. Fifty-five, I’ve been so successful and I would love to get a shot at the 155-pound belt again. Who knows? The 145-pound belt is definitely a prestigious belt to go after, especially with Jose Aldo at the helm of it all, but I’ve just got to really sit down and just discuss it with my team and my family and just make the right decision for myself.”
The former Clarion University wrestler shocked the MMA world by defeating BJ Penn in his prime at UFC 112 to capture the UFC lightweight belt.
Despite the controversy, Edgar silenced his critics by beating “The Prodigy” much more convincingly at UFC 118.
However, Edgar has gone just 1-2-1 since then, with both the win and draw coming against Gray Maynard. Edgar definitively ended their trilogy by knocking out “The Bully” at UFC 136.
Is The Answer destined to dethrone featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo or does Edgar still have his best fights ahead of him at 155 pounds?
(Frankie Edgar vs. Dominick Cruz for the UFC bantamweight title, with special guest referee Michael Vick. Dare we dream? | Photo via the best communications director in MMA)
For years, everyone from UFC President Dana White to fans of former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar have called for “The Answer” to drop down to a more natural competition weight of 145 pounds because he’s so much smaller than just about everyone he’s faced in the Octagon. To this point, Edgar has only seemed to be annoyed at the suggestion — after all, he clearly has no problem competing with the relative behemoths at lightweight — but now even his team seems to be saying he should drop down…to bantamweight.
You read that correctly (or maybe you didn’t, we really can’t vouch for either your vision or literacy, so get off our back, ok?): Edgar’s boxing coach and The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry says that he’d like to see Edgar, who he says walks around at just 157-159 pounds, instead campaign at 135 pounds:
“Me personally, I’d like to see Frankie for like a year to take a rest on his back and his body to fight people at 135 to do what everybody in the whole MMA community is [doing] and suck him down to nothing, looking like their death the day of the weigh-in and fight people that weigh as much as him,” Henry said while a guest on the SiriusXM Fight Club radio show Monday.
(Frankie Edgar vs. Dominick Cruz for the UFC bantamweight title, with special guest referee Michael Vick. Dare we dream? | Photo via the best communications director in MMA)
For years, everyone from UFC President Dana White to fans of former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar have called for “The Answer” to drop down to a more natural competition weight of 145 pounds because he’s so much smaller than just about everyone he’s faced in the Octagon. To this point, Edgar has only seemed to be annoyed at the suggestion — after all, he clearly has no problem competing with the relative behemoths at lightweight — but now even his team seems to be saying he should drop down…to bantamweight.
You read that correctly (or maybe you didn’t, we really can’t vouch for either your vision or literacy, so get off our back, ok?): Edgar’s boxing coach and The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry says that he’d like to see Edgar, who he says walks around at just 157-159 pounds, instead campaign at 135 pounds:
“Me personally, I’d like to see Frankie for like a year to take a rest on his back and his body to fight people at 135 to do what everybody in the whole MMA community is [doing] and suck him down to nothing, looking like their death the day of the weigh-in and fight people that weigh as much as him,” Henry said while a guest on the SiriusXM Fight Club radio show Monday.
“What he’s doing now I don’t think he gets enough credit for,” Henry continued. “You’re talking about guys that weigh 155-160 — what he walks around at — even when he isn’t training. Who’s doing that? That would be like Ben [Henderson] fighting Anderson Silva. He walks around and he’s 157. He comes back from Disneyland after his last fight or two fights ago and he’s 157, 158 or 159. I don’t think Frankie gets enough credit for what he’s accomplishing and doing in MMA.”
If Edgar truly walks around that light, that must be why he looks like he looked liked he was fighting his uncle in his matches with Gray Maynard and Benson Henderson. What do you say, Nation? Now that he’s lost two fights in row to Henderson, should Edgar do what most other fighters do and diet and cut down from about twenty pounds above their contracted weights for fights? Or would Frankie be better off keeping his speed and energy advantage at lightweight?
When predicting a rematch in MMA – or, frankly, any sport – it’s only logical to look at the previous encounter and attempt to discern what advantages a certain participant had, whether their opponent is capable of adjusting and overcoming them, and whether the rematch will follow the overall narrative of the previous encounter. Our knowledge, or anticipated knowledge, of these factors determines how much we anticipate a rematch. For instance, no one really cared about the third fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock – we all knew how lopsided that fight would be. Conversely, Frankie Edgar’s third match against Gray Maynard was appealing because there was a strong narrative coming out of their second fight, a sense of uncertainty as to which fighter would make the necessary adjustments to overcome the other.
The rematch between Edgar and Ben Henderson falls into the latter category because it possesses that same degree of uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen in this fight, other than it promises to be one of the best fights of the year. It’s a rematch between the two best fighters in the strongest division in MMA, after a fight that each fighter thought he won. Both will be at the top of their game, attempting to ensure that this match will leave no doubt who is the better man.
By George Shunick
When predicting a rematch in MMA – or, frankly, any sport – it’s only logical to look at the previous encounter and attempt to discern what advantages a certain participant had, whether their opponent is capable of adjusting and overcoming them, and whether the rematch will follow the overall narrative of the previous encounter. Our knowledge, or anticipated knowledge, of these factors determines how much we anticipate a rematch. For instance, no one really cared about the third fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock – we all knew how lopsided that fight would be. Conversely, Frankie Edgar’s third match against Gray Maynard was appealing because there was a strong narrative coming out of their second fight, a sense of uncertainty as to which fighter would make the necessary adjustments to overcome the other.
The rematch between Edgar and Ben Henderson falls into the latter category because it possesses that same degree of uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen in this fight, other than it promises to be one of the best fights of the year. It’s a rematch between the two best fighters in the strongest division in MMA, after a fight that each fighter thought he won. Both will be at the top of their game, attempting to ensure that this match will leave no doubt who is the better man.
Of course, what makes this interesting is that it’s hard to say who that man will be. Both fighters found success in the first bout, which was full of momentum swings. Perhaps the biggest came at the end of the second round; after a fairly even round, Edgar had managed to take Henderson down and was working some ground and pound when Henderson connected with a vicious upkick that dropped Edgar. The rest of the fight remained competitive, but this was one of the few definitive moments in that fight and significantly contributed to Henderson eventually prevailing. But upkicks rarely play such a large role in fights – in all likelihood, this isn’t going to be a factor in the rematch.
Edgar’s advantage in this fight comes down to his speed and boxing technique. Henderson is undoubtedly stronger, but his punches are not as fast and he doesn’t have Edgar’s footwork. What he does have, though, are his kicks. In their first match, Henderson used kicks to tag Edgar’s legs when Edgar circled around him. Edgar’s movement and speed generally allow him to dictate the distance the fight is fought at, to his advantage. But by maximizing his range of attack through his kicks, Henderson is able to mitigate that advantage.
Edgar caught a number of Henderson’s kicks, but was unable to generate anything from this. That has to change if Edgar wants to secure a victory in this fight. If he checks the kicks, he stops his movement. He has to make Henderson pay when he catches them. Henderson is extraordinarily difficult to take – and more importantly, keep – down, but Edgar is going to have to do just that if he wants a chance at winning. He needs to maintain the threat of a takedown to give Henderson pause when he thinks about throwing a kick. If Henderson can kick at will, Frankie will no longer be able to dart in and out as effectively as he wishes and lose a valuable part of his offensive arsenal.
If the fight hits the mat, it’s hard to say who has an advantage. Both men are notoriously hard to keep down, so a takedown followed by sustained positional dominance would be huge for either fighter. Henderson is stronger, but Frankie is probably the better wrestler. Prior to the upkick, he was able to land some solid ground and pound, and was able to keep Henderson down long enough to generate offense. However, Henderson is capable of threatening from the guard. His guillotine – which he is more than willing to attempt while standing – is perhaps his most dangerous weapon. However, he was not able to submit Edgar with it, despite a very tight attempt in the fourth round. A submission for either one is highly unlikely.
In fact, finishing either fighter appears somewhat impossible. (Unless you happen to be a random jiu-jitsu brown belt.) Both possess seemingly supernatural powers – Edgar channels the spirit of fictional underdogs like Rocky and Rudy, while Henderson is capable of all things through Christ. It’s a bit of a wash on that front. But despite his underdog grit and speed, Ben Henderson might be too much of an obstacle for Frankie Edgar to overcome. He has size, strength, power and technical ability in virtually every facet of MMA, and unlike Gray Maynard, Bendo won’t slow down.
Like I said before, what makes this fight so intriguing is the element of uncertainty it possesses. With both fighters as talented and well-rounded as these two are, it’s almost impossible to say for sure who will win and how they will do so. That said, while Edgar is an amazing fighter and more than capable of winning this fight, Henderson is virtually as skilled, much bigger and is more likely to land a devastating blow than Edgar is. Look for Henderson to wear down Edgar with kicks in the first few rounds and use clinch work and his size to grind out a decision win, cementing his dominance over the lightweight division and setting up a superfight between Edgar and Jose Aldo.
Greg Jackson is killing MMA, don’t you know? He constructs game plans for his fighters and, you know, other similarly nefarious deeds. That is the sort of charge I so often hear being levelled at Jackson’s MMA, albeit a slightly caricatured…
Greg Jackson is killing MMA, don’t you know? He constructs game plans for his fighters and, you know, other similarly nefarious deeds.
That is the sort of charge I so often hear being levelled at Jackson’s MMA, albeit a slightly caricatured version of it.
It happened after Condit vs. Diaz, Guida vs. Maynard, and in the aftermath of pretty much every GSP fight.
It shouldn’t take much to debunk this especially virulent myth, yet it persists in spite of the evidence.
While watching Spencer Lazara’s recent interview with Ronda Rousey, the Olympic bronze medalist made the following remarks regarding her upcoming bout with Sarah Kaufman:
You know, if she wants to jump on the bicycle and pull a Condit on me, I’m prepared for that too. I don’t have plans. I am the anti-Greg Jackson.
This all seems innocent enough. She’s just talking about her aversion to game plans, after all.
Well, it’s not quite that clear cut. The remarks come across much differently once you view the interview. They are delivered disdainfully, as though any association with Greg Jackson is enough to undermine a fighter’s credibility.
And just as a little side note, who does Ronda think she’s kidding? I daresay she has the most transparent game plan in all of MMA: secure top position and look for an armbar. But I digress.
A large outcry followed Clay Guida’s performance against Gray Maynard, and I was amongst their number. But unlike most, I settled for criticising the man most responsible for that farcical display, reminiscent of a Benny Hill sketch: Clay Guida.
Naturally, other people offered a different perspective. High profile fighters like Daniel Cormier and Dan Hardy were quick to point the finger at Jackson, along with a whole host of fans on Twitter.
Exactly the same reaction followed Condit vs. Diaz—a far less egregious demonstration of distance running.
MMA luminaries such as Duke Roufus, Pat Miletich, Ronda Rousey and, ahem, Cody McKenzie were all fiercely critical of the fact that Greg Jackson did not order Condit to fight flat-footed, as though he was under some obligation to tailor his game plan to suit Diaz’s style.
How did we acquire such selective memories? We seem to suffer from an extreme case of confirmation bias, acknowledging only that which supports our already-established views.
Need proof? Consider for a moment who else Greg Jackson trains: Donald Cerrone, Jon Jones, Melvin Guillard, Leonard Garcia, Brian Stann, Diego Sanchez and many more.
Each of the above are amongst the most exciting fighters one could ever hope to see. Rarely are they in a dull fight, gobbling up post-fight bonuses like Roy Nelson at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
It goes without saying that Jackson’s MMA gets precisely zero credit for how utterly watchable those fighters are. Indeed, Greg Jackson only ever seems to receive recognition for the worst of his camp.
When was the last time someone praised the Albuquerque-based gym for one of Jones’ or Cerrone’s compelling displays inside the cage? My memory likely doesn’t stretch back that far.
It is a curious fact about our psychology, that we so often ignore that which runs contrary to our beliefs. For whatever reason, Greg Jackson has been a victim of this particular phenomenon.
It is perhaps time that we learn to appreciate what Jackson’s MMA has brought to the sport, rather than tearing them down whenever one of their fighters fail to meet our expectations.
Then again, we seem to view success with suspicion and envy. That fact will doubtless continue to supersede our need for fair-mindedness.
(No, really Clay. Make yourself comfortable. Props: @JoeLauzon)
The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.
Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8 a.m. Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery below. Enjoy.
The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.
Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8am Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery above. Enjoy.
UFC 155 is already shaping up to be one of the best cards of the year; and it’s still four months away!
