Filed under: UFCIf your interest in Saturday night’s UFC 117 doesn’t go past the middleweight title matchup between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, I suggest you either stop right here, because that’s the last mention of them in this story, or invest …
If your interest in Saturday night’s UFC 117 doesn’t go past the middleweight title matchup between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, I suggest you either stop right here, because that’s the last mention of them in this story, or invest yourself further into the card by taking a look at other interesting possibilities.
We present a look at the top six sub-plots of UFC 117, from the forgotten to the ignored to the storylines that might emerge by the time the night wraps up. And what does Jake Shields have to do with any of this anyway?
Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch have each had one crack at UFC gold, and the winner of their Saturday rematch will get one more try.
That’s the word from UFC President Dana White, who confirmed that the victor of the Alves-Fitch co-main event at UFC 117 will receive another welterweight title fight opportunity.
That man, however, would be second in line behind current No. 1 contender Josh Koscheck, who will eventually meet current champion Georges St. Pierre after the conclusion of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter. That bout will likely take place in December, meaning the Fitch-Alves winner could have an 8-9 month wait before fighting for the belt.
(Either of of these guys could potentially win the opportunity Saturday night to have GSP rearrange their faces again in the New Year.)
Apparently Dana White Sides with me on my opinion that Jake Shields should have to win at least two fights in the UF…
(Either of of these guys could potentially win the opportunity Saturday night to have GSP rearrange their faces again in the New Year.)
The UFC president announced today during the pre-fight press conference for UFC 117 that the winner of Saturday night’s welterweight showdown between Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves will garner a title shot early next year.
Nicknames are like tattoos — badass when you first pick them out, generally embarrassing ten years later. And yet for some reason, they’re often the only things that MMA fighters keep forever, even as they change camps, change fighting styles, an…
Nicknames are like tattoos — badass when you first pick them out, generally embarrassing ten years later. And yet for some reason, they’re often the only things that MMA fighters keep forever, even as they change camps, change fighting styles, and change their hair. And while every fighter sends a message with their choice of nickname, it may not always be the message that they’re trying to send. For example, let’s say your nickname is…
A RHYME Notable examples:Mike "Quick" Swick, "Bad" Brad Blackburn, Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch, Marvin "Beastman" Eastman What you think it says: You’re straightforward and to-the-point. You want your nickname to stick in people’s heads. What it really says: You spent no more than five seconds coming up with that weak bullshit.
A REFERENCE TO YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Notable examples:Kamal "Prince of Persia" Shalorus, Efrain "Hecho en Mexico" Escudero, Sako "The Armenian Psycho" Chivitchian, "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung What you think it says: You’re proud of your heritage and want to represent the fighting spirit of your people. What it really says: You will be met with boos and "U.S.A.!" chants every time you fight, even though you’ve lived in Glendale your entire life.
A REFERENCE TO YOUR CITY OF ORIGIN, INCORPORATING THE WORD "BAD" Notable examples:Phil "The New York Bad Ass" Baroni, Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz What you think it says: You came up the hard way. You were the toughest dude in your neighborhood, and now you’re the toughest dude in any neighborhood. What it really says: There’s a good chance you’re a complete asshole.
We feel just awful that we don’t do this every week, but you guys deserve some CagePotato t-shirts for all the hard work you’ve been putting in lately. The first honoree is Brooklyn-based artist Patrick Francisco, who e-mailed us some MMA-the…
We feel just awful that we don’t do this every week, but you guys deserve some CagePotato t-shirts for all the hard work you’ve been putting in lately. The first honoree is Brooklyn-based artist Patrick Francisco, who e-mailed us some MMA-themed highlights from his body of work, including the above interpretation of Chuck Liddell painted onto a vinyl toy. We thought it was worth sharing, so thanks Patrick.
As for the rest of the winners, we’ll just pick a few of the recent comments about how boring Jake Shields is. (Ed. Note: CagePotato.com doesn’t necessarily agree that Jake Shields is a boring fighter, but we can appreciate a good one-liner.) Here we go…
It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about […]
It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about his upcoming Octagon debut. Of course, Shields has long been a highly regarded fighter in the eyes of MMA nerds and pundits, but there’s a ton of people who’ve never seem the grappling master cruise through an opponent like Dan Henderson (save the first round beat down of course).
As far as the aforementioned hardcore fans, as always, we continue to discuss and debate every last detail of the Shields signing (you could do a lot worse). What, if any, will be the impact on Strikeforce? How will Shields fair in the UFC? And who and why was it determined that Shields should return to the welterweight division? (You may recall that Dana Whitestated he believed Shields was better suited to compete at 170)
Well, speaking on MMA Weekly Radio recently, Shields had this to say about making his UFC debut as a welterweight.
“They called and asked if I wanted (Martin Kampmann) at 70 and I said sure. They didn’t give me any pressure; they gave me the option. Some people were saying I was forced to go down, which certainly wasn’t the case. They said I could fight at either weight, but they offered me a fight at 70, and I was like I might as well jump and take it.”
If your interest in Saturday night’s UFC 117 doesn’t go past the middleweight title matchup between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, I suggest you either stop right here, because that’s the last mention of them in this story, or invest yourself further into the card by taking a look at other interesting possibilities.
