Tag: Holly Holm

Fight Night 71 Highlights/Results: Mir Sleeps Duffee, El Cucuy Carves Up Thomson, Holm Underwhelms Again + More


(“BY GAWD, HE KILLED HIM!”)

While Fight Night 71 may have been a bit of a comedown from the high that last weekend’s cards provided, with 9 of the 12 scheduled fights going the distance, it managed to deliver yet another “Knockout of the Year”-worthy finish in it’s main event, which was probably the craziest sub-one and a half minute fight since Cerrone vs. Guillard.

Both Frank Mir and Todd Duffee came out throwin’ them bungalows early, but it was evident from the start that Mir was enjoying a significant speed advantage over his much younger opponent. Duffee was quite literally lunging into his punches, leaving himself exposed for big counters, and found one just over a minute into the fight in the form of a VICIOUS left hand. Though Mir would declare that “his emotions got the best of him” in his post-fight interview, there’s no arguing with the results.

Mir is now 2-0 since dropping 4 straight between 2012 and 2014. Andrei Arlovski has won three straight in the UFC. Cro Cop just beat the sh*t out of Gabe Gonzaga. Fedor is returning, and oh yeah, Fabricio Werdum is the champ. I think it’s safe to declare 2015 as the year of, as one redditor put it, “The Old School Heavyweight.”

The post Fight Night 71 Highlights/Results: Mir Sleeps Duffee, El Cucuy Carves Up Thomson, Holm Underwhelms Again + More appeared first on Cagepotato.


(“BY GAWD, HE KILLED HIM!”)

While Fight Night 71 may have been a bit of a comedown from the high that last weekend’s cards provided, with 9 of the 12 scheduled fights going the distance, it managed to deliver yet another “Knockout of the Year”-worthy finish in it’s main event, which was probably the craziest sub-one and a half minute fight since Cerrone vs. Guillard.

Both Frank Mir and Todd Duffee came out throwin’ them bungalows early, but it was evident from the start that Mir was enjoying a significant speed advantage over his much younger opponent. Duffee was quite literally lunging into his punches, leaving himself exposed for big counters, and found one just over a minute into the fight in the form of a VICIOUS left hand. Though Mir would declare that “his emotions got the best of him” in his post-fight interview, there’s no arguing with the results.

Mir is now 2-0 since dropping 4 straight between 2012 and 2014. Andrei Arlovski has won three straight in the UFC. Cro Cop just beat the sh*t out of Gabe Gonzaga. Fedor is returning, and oh yeah, Fabricio Werdum is the champ. We think it’s safe to declare 2015 as the year of, as one redditor put it, “The Old School Heavyweight.”

In the co-main event of the evening, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson did work on Josh Thom-son, son. The TUF 13 winner, who has now won six straight fights with 4 finishes, sliced and diced Thomson with elbows throughout the three round affair and nearly finished the former Strikeforce champ with a couple different submissions to boot. It’s a testament to Thomson’s grittiness that he was able to make it the distance, but this might have been the fight that signals his descent from the top of the pack.

Tough luck, Josh. At least there’s always that pizza place in Indiana to fall back on.

Holly Holm is not ready for Ronda Rousey, Nation, and I say that with all due respect. Matched up against Marion Reneau in her sophomore outing, Holm turned in yet another underwhelming performance, chock full of funky kicks that found mostly air and a lot of yelling. Holm is truly the Maria Sharapova of kicking and punching, but against an opponent who offered literally no offense outside of a couple guard pulls, she still couldn’t pull the trigger. I know the UFC wants to push this Holm vs. Rousey narrative like it’s the next big thing in WMMA, but the winner of Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate is a much more interesting matchup, which is saying something, because one of those people has already been beaten by Rousey twice.

The full list of Fight Night 71 results are below.

Main Card
-Frank Mir def. Todd Duffee via first-round KO (1:13)
-Tony Ferguson  def. Josh Thomson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
-Holly Holm def. Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
-Manny Gamburyan def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Kevin Lee def. James Moontasri via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 2:56)
-Alan Jouban def. Matt Dwyer via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Preliminary Card
-Sam Sicilia def. Yaotzin Meza via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
-Jessica Andrade (#13) def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Rani Yahya def. Masanori Kanehara via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Sean Strickland def. Igor Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
-Kevin Casey def. Ildemar Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Lyman Good def. Andrew Craig via second-round TKO (3:37)

The post Fight Night 71 Highlights/Results: Mir Sleeps Duffee, El Cucuy Carves Up Thomson, Holm Underwhelms Again + More appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC 184 Highlights/Results: Ronda Rousey’s Lightning Quick Armbar, Josh Koscheck’s Face of Death + More

(via UFC on FOX)

As Michael Bisping might say, Cat Zingano didn’t last as long as a virgin on prom night in her long-awaited title bid against Ronda Rousey last weekend, succumbing to an armbar in just 14 seconds of their UFC 184 main event tilt. “Alpha” let her emotions get the best of her, both in the fight itself and in her post-fight interview, and it cost her big time. My heart breaks for the poor woman.

Aside from it’s lightning-quick main event, UFC 184 also saw Josh Koscheck and Mark Munoz get choked within an inch of their lives, Holly Holm pick apart Raquel Pennington (sort of), and Alan Jouban announce his arrival to the welterweight division with a vicious standing hellbow. Join us after the jump for all the highlights from UFC 184, most of which totally aren’t in the form of illegal gifs. (*removes sunglasses*) (*winks*)


(via UFC on FOX)

As Michael Bisping might say, Cat Zingano didn’t last as long as a virgin on prom night in her long-awaited title bid against Ronda Rousey last weekend, succumbing to an armbar in just 14 seconds of their UFC 184 main event tilt. “Alpha” let her emotions get the best of her, both in the fight itself and in her post-fight interview, and it cost her big time. My heart breaks for the poor woman.

Aside from it’s lightning-quick main event, UFC 184 also saw Josh Koscheck and Mark Munoz get choked within an inch of their lives, Holly Holm pick apart Raquel Pennington (sort of), and Alan Jouban announce his arrival to the welterweight division with a vicious standing hellbow. Join us after the jump for all the highlights from UFC 184, most of which totally aren’t in the form of illegal gifs. (*removes sunglasses*) (*winks*)


(Here’s a full video of Rousey vs. Zingano that definitely won’t be taken down within the hour.)

There’s not much to take away from Rousey’s win, really, other than that she might actually be the most dangerous unarmed person on the planet. In less octagon time than Georges St. Pierre normally spends per fight, Rousey has managed to secure 11 professional wins and two promotional titles, with her past three title fights lasting a combined minute and thirty six seconds. My God. While Jessica Eye and Bethe Correia are chomping at the bit for their shot against Rousey, it’s become more obvious than ever that Cris Cyborg is the only woman left for the champ, and even the 175-pound Brazilian might be in over her head at this point (not that we’ll ever find out, because 175 pounds).

Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington

While not being nearly as dominant a victory as the hype she was riding would have predicted, Holly Holm no less managed to stay busy and outwork Raquel Pennington for the first two rounds of the co-main event, only getting briefly dropped in the third. This could only mean, of course, that one of the judges would inexplicably score the fight for Pennington. Honestly, we’re becoming convinced that MMA judges are under the impression that the losing fighter winning one round always equals a split decision.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Josh Koscheck

In what was arguably a loser-leaves-town match for the struggling veterans, Jake Ellenberger pulled a rabbit out of his hat and scored the first submission win of his career over Josh Koscheck via a modified bulldog/north-south choke that literally left Kos foaming at the mouth. The slo-mo replay of Koscheck’s “Help Me God” face will almost certainly give you nightmares. Speaking of which…

Roan Carneiro vs. Mark Munoz

It was not a great night at the office for referee Jerin Valel, who not only allowed Derrick Lewis to continue beating on Ruan Potts for approximately 90 seconds after he had given up, but who watched on in silent awe as Roan Carneiro choked the soul out of Mark Munoz. How the fans in attendance, Kenny Florian in the booth, and everyone watching at home was able to see that Munoz was out before Valel did was truly the most mind-boggling takeaway from the night, and one that he will definitely not be held accountable for in this joke of a sport.

Meanwhile, Mark Munoz has been finished in three straight fights without landing a single significant strike. That is an actual statistic.

Alan Jouban vs. Richard Walsh

One referee who actually appeared to know what he was doing over the weekend was Herb Dean, who gracefully called an end to Alan Jouban’s standing elbow massacre of Richard Walsh before the latter took too much unnecessary damage. Walsh was clearly out on his feet at the time of the stoppage, which is why fans were of course complaining that the fight was called too early. Referees, man. They can’t win.

You won’t see the actual finish from the fight here, because the folks at UFC on FOX apparently believe that you will buy the UFC 184 pay-per-view after the fact to check out a sweet finish from the bottom half of the main card, but you can probably find a gif of it somewhere out there.

UFC 184 Results

Main card
Ronda Rousey def. Cat Zingano via submission (straight armlock)
Holly Holm def. Raquel Pennington via split decision
Jake Ellenberger def. Josh Koscheck via submission (north-south choke)
Alan Jouban def. Richard Walsh via first-round KO
Tony Ferguson def. Gleison Tibau via submission (rear-naked choke)

Undercard
Roan Carneiro def. Mark Munoz via submission (rear-naked choke)
Roman Salazar vs. Norifumi Yamamoto declared no-contest (doctor’s advice)
Tim Means def. Dhiego Lima via first-round TKO
Derrick Lewis def. Ruan Potts via second-round TKO
Valmir Lazaro def. James Krause via split decision
Masio Fullen def. Alexander Torres via split decision

Gambling Addiction Enabler: ‘UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano’ Edition


(Easy there, Dave. One second it’s doing your job, the next it’s a lawsuit. via Getty)

By Sam Stilson

Well if we learned anything from UFC Fight Night 61, it’s that MMA is perhaps the most unpredictable sport in the world. That, and Bigfoot Silva is slowing shrinking and will soon be nothing but an Easter Island statue made of glass.

The fact that 10 of 11 underdogs won last week has surely given some hope to the massive long shots featured in both the main and co-main events of this weekend’s UFC 184 card. But confidence is hardly enough when facing the best of the best in the women’s division (though this guy might disagree).

Let’s take a look at who the money-makers are for UFC 184.


(Easy there, Dave. One second it’s doing your job, the next it’s a lawsuit. via Getty)

By Sam Stilson

Well if we learned anything from UFC Fight Night 61, it’s that MMA is perhaps the most unpredictable sport in the world. That, and Bigfoot Silva is slowing shrinking and will soon be nothing but an Easter Island statue made of glass.

The fact that 10 of 11 underdogs won last week has surely given some hope to the massive long shots featured in both the main and co-main events of this weekend’s UFC 184 card. But confidence is hardly enough when facing the best of the best in the women’s division (though this guy might disagree).

Let’s take a look at who the money-makers are for UFC 184.

The Sure Bets

Jake Ellenberger over Josh Koscheck at -210

Both men have not looked particularly dangerous as of late and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the loser get cut. That being said, this fight can be summed up like so: Koscheck no longer has a chin + Ellenberger hits really hard = Easy money.

James Krause over Valmir Lazaro at -185

Krause is a tall, long fighter with decent kickboxing who has only really lost to top-shelf competition (lately anyway). Lazaro hits hard and certainly isn’t an easy opponent, but he just lost a fight to James Vick,  who is cut from the same cloth as Krause. This bout will likely go down the same way.

The Live Dogs

Gleison Tibau over Tony Ferguson at +170

Don’t get me wrong, “El Cucuy” has looked awesome lately; his striking is getting really crisp and he’s continuing to develop his natural power. But Tibau as an underdog is hard to turn down. Gleison only loses to top 10 fighters, so this bout will say a lot about Ferguson’s potential. A slow grinding win for Gleison is enough of a possibility to lay some coin down on this one.

Roman Salazar over Norifumi Yamamoto at +250

Salazar is probably going to take this one. Not because he’s some blue-chip prospect, but because Kid Yamamoto is a shot fighter. He’s 37, he hasn’t looked good in six years and is coming off a three-year layoff plus a slew of injuries. The guy lost to Vaughan Lee, so a Salazar upset isn’t just a good bet. At this point it’s expected.

The Toss-Up

Dhiego Lima (EVEN) vs. Tim Means (-130)

This should be a barnburner, and with the odds this close a bet on either man is a good idea. Means is the more ruthless aggressive fighter whereas Lima takes a bit more of a calculated approach. Both have impressive Muay Thai games, but with Lima getting bombed out early by Eddie Gordon, the odds leaning in Means favour is accurate.

All odds provided by Bodog.

Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington Re-Booked for UFC 184


(Photo via WomensMMA)

Undefeated bantamweight contender Holly Holm was supposed to make her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington earlier this month at UFC 181, but a neck injury knocked her out of the fight. Now it appears that Holm vs. Pennington has been rescheduled for UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort (February 28th, Los Angeles), according to an MMAJunkie report.

The delay turned out to be the best thing for this matchup. Originally, Holm vs. Pennington seemed like a cruel mismatch — and then Pennington damn near murdered Ashlee Evans-Smith, her replacement opponent at UFC 181. Pennington will still be a steep underdog here, but she proved that she’s not to be taken lightly. Also, Holm vs. Pennington will now take place on the same card as the bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano, which will make any post-fight callouts a little more interesting.

UFC 184 is shaping up to be the best card of the UFC’s loaded January/February schedule. The current lineup is…


(Photo via WomensMMA)

Undefeated bantamweight contender Holly Holm was supposed to make her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington earlier this month at UFC 181, but a neck injury knocked her out of the fight. Now it appears that Holm vs. Pennington has been rescheduled for UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort (February 28th, Los Angeles), according to an MMAJunkie report.

The delay turned out to be the best thing for this matchup. Originally, Holm vs. Pennington seemed like a cruel mismatch — and then Pennington damn near murdered Ashlee Evans-Smith, her replacement opponent at UFC 181. Pennington will still be a steep underdog here, but she proved that she’s not to be taken lightly. Also, Holm vs. Pennington will now take place on the same card as the bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano, which will make any post-fight callouts a little more interesting.

UFC 184 is shaping up to be the best card of the UFC’s loaded January/February schedule. The current lineup is…

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort
Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Yoel Romero
Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington
Roan Carneiro vs. Mark Munoz
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Roman Salazar
Jake Ellenberger vs. Josh Koscheck
Alan Jouban vs. Richard Walsh
Derrick Lewis vs. Ruan Potts

Ashlee Evans-Smith Replaces Holly Holm at UFC 181 Against Raquel Pennington


(Photo via Danny Morales / DTM News Journal)

With bantamweight rising star Holly Holm out of her UFC debut next month due to a neck injury, the UFC has signed Ashlee Evans-Smith to fill in for Holm at UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II (December 6th, Las Vegas) against Raquel Pennington. UFC officials announced the news yesterday.

If Evans-Smith’s name sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason for that. Carrying a 3-0 professional record, Evans-Smith is best known as the woman responsible for giving transgendered fighter Fallon Fox her only loss, via third-round TKO last October. Evans-Smith also got destroyed by Veronica Rothenhausler in five seconds during an amateur bout in July 2012.

From a competitive standpoint, Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Raquel Pennington is actually a more compelling fight than Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington, which seemed like an obvious mismatch designed to put Holm over. I don’t know…I’m just trying to find a silver lining here. UFC.com currently lists Evans-Smith vs. Pennington as a part of the UFC 181 prelims broadcast on FOX Sports 1. A heavyweight bout between Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton has been moved up to the main card in the wake of Holly Holm’s withdrawal.


(Photo via Danny Morales / DTM News Journal)

With bantamweight rising star Holly Holm out of her UFC debut next month due to a neck injury, the UFC has signed Ashlee Evans-Smith to fill in for Holm at UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II (December 6th, Las Vegas) against Raquel Pennington. UFC officials announced the news yesterday.

If Evans-Smith’s name sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason for that. Carrying a 3-0 professional record, Evans-Smith is best known as the woman responsible for giving transgendered fighter Fallon Fox her only loss, via third-round TKO last October. Evans-Smith also got destroyed by Veronica Rothenhausler in five seconds during an amateur bout in July 2012.

From a competitive standpoint, Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Raquel Pennington is actually a more compelling fight than Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington, which seemed like an obvious mismatch designed to put Holm over. I don’t know…I’m just trying to find a silver lining here. UFC.com currently lists Evans-Smith vs. Pennington as a part of the UFC 181 prelims broadcast on FOX Sports 1. A heavyweight bout between Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton has been moved up to the main card in the wake of Holly Holm’s withdrawal.

Holly Holm Withdraws From UFC 181 Due to Undisclosed Injury


(Photo via HollyHolm.com)

Holly Holm‘s highly anticipated UFC debut will have to wait a little longer, as the undefeated bantamweight has withdrawn from her UFC 181 bout against 4-4 journeywoman Raquel Pennington, due to an undisclosed injury. MMAbyneko.com.br (?) was the first to report the news, which has been confirmed by MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani.

Holm’s injury is a setback for the UFC bantamweight division, as she was being groomed as a potential threat to untouchable champion Ronda Rousey. There is no current timetable for Holm’s return. The former boxing champion has been inactive from MMA competition since April, due to a broken arm suffered in her last fight.

In retrospect, it’s kind of a crazy that Holm was booked to fight Pennington in the first place. Anyway, UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2 goes down December 6th in Las Vegas, and still features a bunch of good fights. For now, at least…


(Photo via HollyHolm.com)

Holly Holm‘s highly anticipated UFC debut will have to wait a little longer, as the undefeated bantamweight has withdrawn from her UFC 181 bout against 4-4 journeywoman Raquel Pennington, due to an undisclosed injury. MMAbyneko.com.br (?) was the first to report the news, which has been confirmed by MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani.

Holm’s injury is a setback for the UFC bantamweight division, as she was being groomed as a potential threat to untouchable champion Ronda Rousey. There is no current timetable for Holm’s return. The former boxing champion has been inactive from MMA competition since April, due to a broken arm suffered in her last fight.

In retrospect, it’s kind of a crazy that Holm was booked to fight Pennington in the first place. Anyway, UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2 goes down December 6th in Las Vegas, and still features a bunch of good fights. For now, at least…