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Melvin Guillard Signs With Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Controversial UFC veteran Melvin Guillard is back. According to a report from My MMA News, the longtime UFC lightweight has signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (NKFC). ‘The Young Assassin,’ who isn’t so young anymore, will battle fellow UFC vet Isaac Vallie-Flagg in his BKFC debut. The two will square off at August 10’s BKFC […]

The post Melvin Guillard Signs With Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship appeared first on MMA News.

And Now They’re Fired: Isaac Vallie-Flagg, Guto Inocente, and a Whole Heap of Others

(Photo via Getty.)

2015 is off to a rough start for a handful of UFC fighters, Potato Nation. According to a pair of tweets sent out by @FightersInfo (which have been confirmed by several of the names mentioned), the UFC has released seven more fighters from its roster and lost another to retirement. Fight Night: Dickshooter will surely suffer from this.

Let’s get to the casualties, shall we?

Isaac Vallie-Flagg: After transitioning to the UFC following the Strikeforce merger in 2012, Vallie-Flagg quickly established a reputation as one of the lightweight division’s most consistently entertaining brawlers. Unfortunately, his inconsistent at best 1-3 record inside the octagon just wasn’t doing it. Following his third straight loss to Matt Wiman at Fight Night 57 in November, Flagg announced his release from the UFC via Twitter last week, stating that “sometimes putting on a fun show isn’t enough” before seeing if his old buddy Scott Coker was in need of someone who “comes to scrap.”

Guto Inocente: Another Strikeforce veteran and one who was riding a ton of hype into the UFC until Alistair Overeem’d him in training, Inocente made his long-awaited (and long-delayed) UFC debut at the TUF 19 Finale against Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis. It did not end well. Inocente made the cut to light heavyweight for his next bout and came in as a huge favorite against (my boy) Anthony Perosh at Fight Night 55, but the 42-year-old “Hippo” was simply too grizzled and choked him out inside four minutes.

(Photo via Getty.)

Let’s get to the casualties, shall we?

Fabricio Camoes: Following an 0-1-1 run during his first tour of duty back in 2009-10, Camoes picked up a pair of wins on the local circuit (including a win over TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero) and was brought back to the UFC in January of 2012. A unanimous decision loss to Melvin Guillard at UFC 148 was followed by submission losses to Jim Miller and Tony Martin, which were surprising to say the least for the 3rd degree black belt under Royler Gracie.

Phil Harris: The aforementioned retiree, Harris announced his departure from professional fighter on Twitter last week, stating “So 2014 I’ve decided to retire from MMA but will be staying competitive training out of @Gym01Portsmouth BJJ team roll on 2015.” Harris has not fought since July, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Neil Seery at Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao, and retires with a 1-3 1 NC record in the UFC and a 22-12 record overall.

And now, the guys you probably didn’t know where UFC fighters in the first place…

Chris Heatherly: 0-2, best known as the victim of the first ever Omoplata submission in the UFC (to Ben Saunders at Fight Night 49). Was most recently TKO’d by Augusto Montano in the first round at UFC 180.

Garett Whiteley: 0-3, suffered a TKO loss to Alan Patrick Silva Alves in his 2013 UFC debut before dropping a pair of UD’s to Vinc Pichel and David Michaud this year.

Wagner Silva: 0-2, rear-naked choked twice. On. I am moving.

Ernest Chavez: I’ll be honest, I have no idea if this “Ernest Chavez” even exists. I have no recollection of any of the three fights he’s supposedly had in the UFC (of which he lost two), and his name sounds just fake enough to arouse my suspicions that the UFC created him out of thin air as part of some tax write-off scheme. Regardless, BloodyElbow is reporting that he has “booked for a fight in another organization, outside the UFC and has thus, almost certainly, been released.” Translation: He’s a phantom, an apparition, second cousin to Harvey the Rabbit.

It’s always saddening to see a bunch of fighters get the axe, but look at it this way, at least Charlie Brenneman has found himself a few co-plaintiffs for his upcoming lawsuit against the UFC.

–J. Jones

Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson: Legit Full-Fight Video Highlights

Did you not feel like staying up until 1 a.m. to watch Frankie Edgar fight Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57?

There’s good news for you: There exists legitimate (and, most importantly, LEGAL) footage of the fight’s best parts.

Edgar beat Swanson to the punch throughout their five-round affair last night. He also beat him to the takedown, too, dragging Swanson to the mat and smashing him with ground and pound (as much as a 145-pound man can smash someone, at least). In the fifth round, Edgar managed to submit Swanson via rear naked choke with only four seconds remaining. This was arguably Edgar’s finest performance to date — a fight so one-sided the word “fight” really isn’t appropriate. Use “ass-kicking” or, if you’re a language-sensitive baby, “shellacking” instead.

Get the card’s full results after the jump.

Did you not feel like staying up until 1 a.m. to watch Frankie Edgar fight Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57?

There’s good news for you: There exists legitimate (and, most importantly, LEGAL) footage of the fight’s best parts.

Edgar wants a title shot off the back of such an amazing performance, which is hard to disagree with since he really did look that good. Though, with the way the UFC works, we’re sure Conor McGregor will get one when he finished trouncing Denis Siver at UFC fight Night 59 in January.

There were some other fights last night featuring the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Edson Barboza, Isaac Vallie-Flagg, and Yves Edwards — though our favorite fight was BY FAR Oleksiy Oliynyk vs. Jared Rosholt (Ruslan Magomedov vs. Josh Copeland was pretty good, too). See how they all fared below:

Main Card
Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:56 of R5
Edson Barboza def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brad Pickett def. Chico Camus via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Jared Rosholt via KO (punches) at 3:21 of R1
Joseph Benavidez def. Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matt Wiman def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card
Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar) at 1:52 of R1
Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO (punches) at 2:54 of R3
Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO (punches) at :18 of R1

UFC Fight Night 57: Edgar vs. Swanson — Main Card Results & Commentary

The UFC is live in Austin, Texas, tonight with a lineup of crowd-pleasing fighters and a featherweight main event that could maybe produce the next title challenger, particularly if Conor McGregor isn’t available. On tonight’s menu: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson in the headliner spot, with a side order of Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza, and a light dusting of Joseph Benavidez, Brad Pickett, and Jared Rosholt. Should be pretty okay.

The UFC Fight Night 57 main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and our old friend Matt Kaplan will be stickin’ round-by-round results after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma. Thanks for being here.

UFC Fight Night 57 Preliminary Card Results
– Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
– Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar), 1:52 of round 1
– Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO, 2:54 of round 3
– Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO, 0:18 of round 1

MATT WIMAN VS. ISAAC VALLIE-FLAGG

Rd. 1 – Wiman opens it up with a lead leg kick and an overhand right. Vallie-Flagg counters, and Wiman presses him against the cage. They separate and Vallie-Flagg lands a nice uppercut. Vallie-Flagg applies shoulder pressure to Wiman in a clinch against the cage; Wiman lands a few elbows, but it’s Vallie-Flagg who lands the punch combinations that keep Handsome Matt on the fence. More short elbows from Wiman, and now a knee; Vallie-Flaggfires back, keeping the pressure on Wiman. Wiman lands a knee to the body and another strong elbow to the head. Wiman stuffs a takedown attempt and takes Vallie-Flagg’s back. Transition to an armbar…triangle control…that’s the round. Most of that roound was spent against the cage.

Rd. 2 – Vallie-Flagg strikes first with an uppercut-cross combo to Wiman’s jaw. Big punches in the clinch from Vallie-Flagg follow, and again Vallie-Flagg has Wiman ‘s back against the fence. More of the same, though: Wiman gets off some inside elbows. Ooh, both exchange elbows inside the clinch. Big uppercut from Wiman on the inside. Wiman lands an overhand right in the center of the cage. Vallie-Flagg pushes him back on the fence. Wiman reverses position and again scores with the ‘bows. Big right hand exchange program in the center of the cage. Uppercut from Vallie-Flagg. His takedown attaempt is again thwarted, his back is again taken, and it’s Wiman working for the RNC. Vallie-Flagg escapes and has Wiman on the fence again. Vallie-Flagg punches the body. Wiman elbows the jaw. Vallie-Flagg hits with elbows of his own. Wiman knees the body. The horn sounds as Wiman lands a big overhand right.

Rd. 3 – A lead uppercut from Vallie-Flagg opens the final round. Just seconds into the third, both are again up against the cage, this time with Wiman pressing the action. Yamasaki separates them, and it’s Vallie-Flagg again landing uppercut-friendly punch combos. Vallie-Flagg knees from inside the clinch. Wiman lands a good left hook to end a brief punch exchange. Vallie-Flagg has Wiman on the fence and wants that single leg. Wiman stuffs it and has Vallie-Flagg’s back for a third time, again searching for the RNC. Wiman punches away as he wants to finish the RNC with a minute left. Vallie-Flagg can’t go anywhere with the hooks in and is taking the short punches. Time. And that’s the fight. Ooh, they’re still shit talking one another. That was a close, competitive opening fight.

”Handsome” Matt Wiman wins the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2).

JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. DUSTIN ORTIZ

Rd. 1 –

Friday Links: Rockhold vs. Machida in the Works, TUF: Latin America Episode 1, Funniest ‘Final Destination’ Death-GIFs + More

(WEC NEVA DIE. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Dana White: Luke Rockhold Will Probably Fight Lyoto Machida, Not Michael Bisping (BleacherReport)

TUF Latin America: Episode 1 (MMAShare)

Nevada Attorney General Goes After Wanderlei Silva, Wants NSAC to Deny Brazilian’s Motion for Drug Test Dismissal (MMAMania)

Stunning New Visions from Brit Bliss (Babes of MMA)

Matt Wiman Returns From 22 Month Layoff to Face Isaac Vallie-Flagg @ UFC Fight Night Austin (UFC.com)

“Big” John McCarthy’s Son Will Be a Judge at UFC 177 (Sherdog)

Here’s a GIF of Michael Chandler Dancing Like a Goof and King Mo Shaking His Head at Him (twitter)

Manny Pacquiao Selected 11th Pick in Philippines Basketball Draft (TerezOwens)

Megan Fox’s First Pitch at a Korean Baseball Game Was a Little Low and Inside (DrunkenStepfather)

Is Ultimate Dodgeball on the Verge of Becoming the Next Cool Sport? (AskMen)

Shadow of Mordor Hands-On Preview: Natural Enemies (GameFront)

Madden 15: An Interview With Creative Director Mike Young (MiddleEasy)

17 of the Funniest Deaths From the Final Destination Series (ScreenJunkies)

Playboy Releases “When It’s Okay to Catcall Her” Flowchart (PopHangover)

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The 20 Funniest Moments In Sorority Girl History (WorldWideInterweb)

What I Learned Working on Every Simpsons Ever (MadeMan)

(WEC NEVA DIE. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Dana White: Luke Rockhold Will Probably Fight Lyoto Machida, Not Michael Bisping (BleacherReport)

TUF Latin America: Episode 1 (MMAShare)

Nevada Attorney General Goes After Wanderlei Silva, Wants NSAC to Deny Brazilian’s Motion for Drug Test Dismissal (MMAMania)

Stunning New Visions from Brit Bliss (Babes of MMA)

Matt Wiman Returns From 22 Month Layoff to Face Isaac Vallie-Flagg @ UFC Fight Night Austin (UFC.com)

“Big” John McCarthy’s Son Will Be a Judge at UFC 177 (Sherdog)

Here’s a GIF of Michael Chandler Dancing Like a Goof and King Mo Shaking His Head at Him (twitter)

Manny Pacquiao Selected 11th Pick in Philippines Basketball Draft (TerezOwens)

Megan Fox’s First Pitch at a Korean Baseball Game Was a Little Low and Inside (DrunkenStepfather)

Is Ultimate Dodgeball on the Verge of Becoming the Next Cool Sport? (AskMen)

Shadow of Mordor Hands-On Preview: Natural Enemies (GameFront)

Madden 15: An Interview With Creative Director Mike Young (MiddleEasy)

17 of the Funniest Deaths From the Final Destination Series (ScreenJunkies)

Playboy Releases “When It’s Okay to Catcall Her” Flowchart (PopHangover)

Police Accidentally Kill ‘Cops’ Crewman During Shootout (EveryJoe)

39 Sexy Pics of ‘Glee’ Stunner Dianna Agron (Radass)

Best Cult Classic Ever – From Evil Dead to Rocky Horror (EscapistMagazine)

The 20 Funniest Moments In Sorority Girl History (WorldWideInterweb)

What I Learned Working on Every Simpsons Ever (MadeMan)

CagePotato Presents: The 10 Best UFC Brawls of the Year (So Far)

(This photo and all photos after it via Getty)

By Jared Jones

It’s the halfway-ish point of the year, which means that we are a mere six or so months away from handing out our annual Potato Awards in categories such as “MMA Fail of the Year”, “Media Shill of the Year”, and the always coveted “Krazy Horse Bennett Arrest of the Year.” But because you Taters have been good this year, we’re going to allow you to open one present early: Our definitive ranking of the best UFC brawls of the year, so far.

It’s been a rocky year for the UFC, to say the absolute least. Pay-per-view numbers are tanking, fan interest is waning due to market oversaturation, and even the promotion’s new video game has been plagued by (albeit hilarious) technical issues. But the great thing about the UFC/MMA in general is that all can be forgiven with a few great fights, and these 10 brawls are undoubtedly the kernels of corn hidden amongst the soggy floor-turds that the UFC has been shitting out this year.

To repeat: This list is only dedicated to the best *brawls* of the year, which implies a fight in which both participants take their fare share of licks. TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao was a one-sided beatdown, albeit a brilliant one-sided beatdown, and therefore bears no mention here. Except that I just mentioned it. God damn it.

Let’s just get to the top 10 brawls of the year, nearly all of which contain links to full fight videos for your viewing pleasure…

#10 — Kevin Souza vs Mark Eddiva: TUF Brazil 3 Finale

(Check out Souza vs. Eddiva in its entirety here.)

A classic example of two guys with more heart than brains (or defensive capabilities) leaving it all in the octagon, Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva opened up the FS1 prelims for the TUF Brazil Finale in a huge way.

Watching Souza vs. Eddiva was kind of like watching two women play Tekken for the very first time, in that both fighters only seemed to understand how one button on their controllers worked — for Eddiva it was leg kicks, for Souza it was the overhand right. These two techniques were traded with absolutely zero setup for two highly entertaining rounds, earning both men a $50,000 “Fight of the Night’ bonus in an evening of otherwise unmemorable decisions and memorable-for-all-the-wrong-ways squash matches. It was Souza, however, who walked away from the fight victorious via an always rare standing TKO.

(This photo and all photos after it via Getty)

By Jared Jones

Let’s just get to the top 10 brawls of the year, nearly all of which contain links to full fight videos for your viewing pleasure…

#10 – Kevin Souza vs Mark Eddiva: TUF Brazil 3 Finale

(Check out Souza vs. Eddiva in its entirety here.)

#9 — Yui Chul Nam vs. Kazuki Tokudome: Fight Night 37

The utter ass-whooping that Kazuki Tokudome suffered in the first round of his fight with Yui Chul Nam at Fight Night 37 was comparable only to Maynard-Edgar 1 in terms of its lopsidedness. From the opening bell, Nam blitzkrieged Tokudome with big right hands both in the clinch and on the break, wobbling his Japanese counterpart multiple times in the process. Had Tokudome been that one French guy from TUF 11, he would have surely quit on his stool between rounds.

But as was the case in Maynard-Edgar 1, the second round told a different story entirely. Tokudome scored a huge double leg takedown in the opening stanza, then utilized some heavy top control to peck away at the South Korean with short shots from above. While not able to inflict nearly as much damage on his opponent as he received in the first round, Tokudome arguably earned a 10-8 of his own in the second thanks to his complete positional dominance. “Askrening”, I believe it’s called.

The first half of the third round was much of the same for Tokudome, who despite having both his eyes nearly swollen shut by the strikes of Nam, continued to dominate with top control. But you can never keep a good Nam down, as they say. “The Korean Bulldozer” (awesome nickname, BTW) was eventually able to reverse the position and secure a takedown of his own, which was apparently all he needed to earn a split decision win.