Tag: Gray Maynard

Edgar vs. Maynard Title Fight Reported for UFC 125 on New Year’s Day

(Man, that is some crazy, high-level, top-of-the-food-chain…uh, what exactly am I looking at here? Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)
As first reported by MMAFighting, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will attempt to make his second belt defense a…

Gray Maynard Frankie Edgar UFC Fight Night
(Man, that is some crazy, high-level, top-of-the-food-chain…uh, what exactly am I looking at here? Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

As first reported by MMAFighting, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will attempt to make his second belt defense against Gray Maynard at UFC 125, which is slated to go down New Year’s Day 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Both fighters are coming off big decision wins at UFC 118, with Edgar shutting down BJ Penn in a rematch of their first title bout, and Maynard outpointing Kenny Florian. Edgar and Maynard previously met at UFC Fight Night 13 in April 2008, with Maynard scoring a unanimous decision victory and handing Edgar his only career loss to date. Both fighters are tied on the UFC decision-fight leaderboard.

As Chael Sonnen so eloquently put it, "From a business standpoint, acting as though Maynard versus Edgar is going to sell out an arena is about as optimistic as holding onto Jim Morrison’s mail." Which is why the potential loss of Silva vs. Belfort on the card is such a bummer. Plus, Chris Leben is penciled in to fight Brian Stann at the event, not Wanderlei Silva, as we (and Silva himself) had hoped. UFC 125 could really use a solid co-headliner, especially considering it’s a New Year’s card. Any bright ideas?

Frankie Edgar to Defend Title Against Gray Maynard at UFC 125

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsGray Maynard clinched his shot at the UFC lightweight title with a win over Kenny Florian in August. On the same night, Frankie Edgar defended his division championship by defeating BJ Penn. Now the two will sh…

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Gray Maynard clinched his shot at the UFC lightweight title with a win over Kenny Florian in August. On the same night, Frankie Edgar defended his division championship by defeating BJ Penn. Now the two will share another date, this time with gold on the line.

The UFC lightweight stars will square off for the 155-pound championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas during the New Year’s Day UFC 125 event, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting.

Aoki Also Having Trouble Understanding the ‘Mixed’ Part of Mixed Martial Arts

(Here’s a quarter pal, call Michael Schiavello. PicProps: All Elbows)
MMA’s pathetic collective bitch session about the current trend of wrestlers kicking everybody’s asses reached its shrill and whiny fever pitch this week. With the UFC co…


(Here’s a quarter pal, call Michael Schiavello. PicProps: All Elbows)

MMA’s pathetic collective bitch session about the current trend of wrestlers kicking everybody’s asses reached its shrill and whiny fever pitch this week. With the UFC considering pulling Jon Fitch’s title shot off the table, Dan Hardy’s hilariously bad anti-wrestling column appearing in the Nottingham World Observer (or whatever it’s called) and people publicly worrying themselves sick about the marketability of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, the wrestling store must be all sold out of Haterade.

Add to the list of the aggrieved the already insufferable Shinya Aoki, who tells MMA Fighting.com that – in the wake of his own soul-crushing defeat by Gilbert Melendez and idol BJ Penn’s second straight loss to Edgar – he’s not too down with all this wrestling stuff.

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Kenny Florian Opts to Improve, While Dan Hardy Would Rather Complain

Filed under: UFCJust because two men are looking at the same problem, it doesn’t mean they’re going to come up with the same answer. It’s an obvious lesson, but one we learned again this week thanks to Dan Hardy and Kenny Florian.

The (perceived) pro…

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Just because two men are looking at the same problem, it doesn’t mean they’re going to come up with the same answer. It’s an obvious lesson, but one we learned again this week thanks to Dan Hardy and Kenny Florian.

The (perceived) problem? All these knuckleheaded wrestlers are coming into MMA, taking people down, and then just holding them there until time runs out and the judges declare them the winner.

The solution? According to Hardy we need to make some rule changes, maybe give the referees more authority to put a stop to these grapple-happy shenanigans. But according to Florian, who this week told Sherdog.com that he’s hired Boston University assistant wrestling coach Sean Gray to help him in training, the answer is to add more arrows to your own quiver rather than trying to take them out of someone else’s.

I think we already know which strategy will prove more successful.

After Takedown Clinic Against Maynard, Florian Hires Wrestling Coach

(Who’s the tough guy? PicProps: Fight! Magazine)
File this under Least Surprising News of the Week: In the wake of getting thoroughly outwrestled by Gray Maynard at UFC 118 last month, Kenny Florian is vowing to make some wholesale changes in his train…


(Who’s the tough guy? PicProps: Fight! Magazine)

File this under Least Surprising News of the Week: In the wake of getting thoroughly outwrestled by Gray Maynard at UFC 118 last month, Kenny Florian is vowing to make some wholesale changes in his training. Florian says he’s hired a wrestling coach from Boston University to help him with his grappling, so that he won’t get held down en route to a unanimous decision loss again anytime soon.

And frankly, this is a good example of yet another reason why KenFlo is one of the more likable fighters in all of MMA. Rather than taking the Dan Hardy approach — where you respond to your team’s multiple wrestling-based losses by publishing a screed in the local newspaper where you insist that (and, yes, this is an exact quote): “The problem is there’s beginning to be too much wrestling in the UFC Octagon, not too little of it in the (Team Roughouse) gym,” – Florian is opting to actually do something about it, trying to get better and keeping his dream of one day holding a UFC title alive.

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Sonnen Confirms Rematch With Silva is Tentatively set for New Year’s Day UFC 125 Card

(Video courtesy MMALive)
Chael Sonnen replaced Franklin McNeil as John Anik’s other wingman alongside Kenny Florian on the latest episode of MMA Live and the trio proved itself a major improvement over the traditional line-up. Not only did h…

(Video courtesy MMALive)

Chael Sonnen replaced Franklin McNeil as John Anik’s other wingman alongside Kenny Florian on the latest episode of MMA Live and the trio proved itself a major improvement over the traditional line-up. Not only did he come off as a seasoned vet on camera, Chael also added to his vast depth of knowledge with a plethora of Sonnenisms like the one he used when describing the pending  match-up between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

"Well, listen, the fight has to happen. It’s already happened once and Maynard got the edge on him. I think Frankie’s better now. I like it from a competitive standpoint. It needs to take place," Sonnen said. "It’s the right fight. From a business standpoint, acting as though Maynard versus Edgar is going to sell out an arena is about as optimistic as holding onto Jim Morrison’s mail."

During the segment, which originally aired on Thursday, the durable UFC middleweight confirmed that if Anderson Silva’s injured ribs heal in time, they will square off at UFC 125 which is being planned for Saturday, January 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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