(“We may even have Justin Bieber at the show as a special guest.”)
Just a friendly reminder that the UFC is holding an impromptu press conference today in Calgary, Alberta to announce its next Canadian show and that we’ll have the live stream starting at 2:00 p.m. ET. On hand for the open event will be UFC president Dana White, director of Canadian operations Tom Wright and Alberta-based fighters Mitch Clarke, Jason MacDonald and Nick Ring.
It’s expected that the main event for the July 21 show, which will be announced as UFC 149, will be a featherweight championship bout between 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo (21-1) and former TKO, Shooto and Sengoku champ Hatsu Hioki (26-4-2), however an announcement will likely not happen at today’s presser.
In related news, a Canadian senator introduced a bill into Parliament yesterday that would see MMA legalized nationwide. Section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code as it currently stands deems prizefighting illegal, which is why some provinces and territories have been reluctant to allow events in their jurisdiction in spite of the fact that others have amended the rules due to different interpretations of the archaic law.
Check out the UFC web player after the jump.
(“We may even have Justin Bieber at the show as a special guest.”)
Just a friendly reminder that the UFC is holding an impromptu press conference today in Calgary, Alberta to announce its next Canadian show and that we’ll have the live stream starting at 2:00 p.m. ET. On hand for the open event will be UFC president Dana White, director of Canadian operations Tom Wright and Alberta-based fighters Mitch Clarke, Jason MacDonald and Nick Ring.
It’s expected that the main event for the July 21 show, which will be announced as UFC 149, will be a featherweight championship bout between 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo (21-1) and former TKO, Shooto and Sengoku champ Hatsu Hioki (26-4-2), however an announcement will likely not happen at today’s presser.
In related news, a Canadian senator introduced a bill into Parliament yesterday that would see MMA legalized nationwide. Section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code as it currently stands deems prizefighting illegal, which is why some provinces and territories have been reluctant to allow events in their jurisdiction in spite of the fact that others have amended the rules due to different interpretations of the archaic law.
(“Like Miesha, Poirier will get to have his cake and eat it too.”)
It looks like the best way to get the UFC’s attention these days is to call out an opponent on Twitter.
Dustin Poirier mentioned via Twitter two days ago that he would like a fight with “The Korean Zombie.” Today UFC officials announced that the pair will square off in the main event of UFC on Fuel 3 May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
(“Like Miesha, Poirier will get to have his cake and eat it too.”)
It looks like the best way to get the UFC’s attention these days is to call out an opponent on Twitter.
Dustin Poirier mentioned via Twitter two days ago that he would like a fight with “The Korean Zombie.” Today UFC officials announced that the pair will square off in the main event of UFC on Fuel 3 May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
2-0 in his past two outings, Jung jumped to the front of the featherweight contenders line-up with his dazzling seven-second KO of Mark Hominick at UFC 140 in December. In his other fight last year, he pulled off the ever-elusive Twister submission in March at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis, earning him “Submission of the Night” and “Submission of the Year” nods from the UFC.
Poirier is no slouch himself.
Since upsetting former 145-pound contender Josh Grispi in his UFC Octagon and featherweight debut at UFC 125, “Diamond” has rattled off four straight victories, including an impressive d’arce choke and mounted triangle armbar in his last two outings against Pablo Garza at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos and Max Holloway last weekend at UFC 143. He earned Submission of the Night honors for his most recent win.
The card will also feature the retrun of light heavyweight Thiago Silva, who recently finished serving a one-year suspension for submitting artificial urine for his post-UFC 125 win over Brandon Vera in January 2011. Vera was originally slated to rematch the Brazilian, but was forced to pull out of bout due to injury. Igor Pokrajac has since stepped in to replace “The Truth.’
The only other announce bout thus far is a middleweight scrap between Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
UFC on Fuel 3
May 15, 2012
Patriot Center
Fairfax, Virginia
Lavar Johnson scored the Knockout of the Night during last weekend’s UFC on FOX 2 card, by smashing Joey Beltran in the first round of their preliminary card meeting. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak that Johnson had carried over from his stint in Strikeforce. His upcoming scrap with Barry seems like a way for the UFC to guarantee some much-needed excitement for their next FOX broadcast. As for Barry, it’s an opportunity to bump his UFC record over .500 and secure back-to-back victories for the first time in his UFC career.
In other May booking news…
(Dude. Don’t even get me started about mustard water. / Props: hypeordie)
Lavar Johnson scored the Knockout of the Night during last weekend’s UFC on FOX 2 card, by smashing Joey Beltran in the first round of their preliminary card meeting. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak that Johnson had carried over from his stint in Strikeforce. His upcoming scrap with Barry seems like a way for the UFC to guarantee some much-needed excitement for their next FOX broadcast. As for Barry, it’s an opportunity to bump his UFC record over .500 and secure back-to-back victories for the first time in his UFC career.
In other May booking news…
The UFC has confirmed that their third FX card will take place May 15th in Fairfax, Virginia, and will feature a light-heavyweight rematch between Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva. Their first meeting in January 2011 was originally a unanimous decision win for Silva, until he popped positive for a urine adulterant and the fight was changed to a no-contest; Silva later admitted to using prohibited “injections” to treat a back injury he had suffered before the fight. This will be Silva’s first match since coming back from a one-year suspension, while Vera scored a follow-up decision win over Eliot Marshall in October.
Filed under: UFCThe lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried UFC Fight Night 25 in the headlines, but there were no shortage of ups and downs in New Orleans on Saturday night.
The lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried UFC Fight Night 25 in the headlines, but there were no shortage of ups and downs in New Orleans on Saturday night.
It’s time again to look at the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the UFC’s most recent offering.
Biggest Winner: Jake Ellenberger
A 53-second TKO win over a guy who hasn’t been finished in over a decade? Yeah, that’s pretty huge, especially since that guy went five rounds with the champ in a losing effort just five months ago. But now what do you do with Ellenberger? He’s won five straight in the UFC, with only one of those fights going the distance, and yet he’s had trouble gaining traction in the contender conversation at welterweight. This win should change that, but how much? The only people who were surprised to see Ellenberger win this fight were those who hadn’t followed his career before now. He’s a superb athlete, a well-rounded fighter with no glaring weakness, and — maybe soon — a top contender.
Biggest Loser: Jason MacDonald
With the loss to Belcher, “The Athlete” fell to 1-2 in his latest UFC run. Even worse is that he did not look good doing it. MacDonald’s plan seemed to be to get Belcher to the mat however possible, even if he had to pull him straight into his guard. But as soon as Belcher stung him with a couple elbows from the top, MacDonald looked like he might be considering other ways to spend a Saturday night. There’s no shame in losing to a quality middleweight like Belcher, but when you don’t put up much of a fight it makes people wonder: does MacDonald still really want to be doing this for a living, or is it just the best idea he can think of at the moment? If you’re not all the way in this sport, there are plenty of guys who can help you all the way out — but they aren’t going to be nice about it.
Most Sympathetic: Jake Shields
We could argue over whether his loss had anything to do with him fighting just a few weeks after the death of his father (who was also his manager), but it doesn’t matter. The mere fact that he didn’t drop out of this fight, that he kept going to the gym and walked in that cage when his name was called tells you a lot about his character and his determination. I don’t know how he did it, nor do I know if, in the end, it was such a good idea. I just hope the UFC appreciates the kind of person and fighter they have here. A lot of the guys on the roster wouldn’t have done what he did, and nobody could have blamed them. Shields stepped up and got beat, but no one can question his mental toughness. At least now he’ll get some time to go home and grieve.
Best Prospect: Erik Koch
He’s now won four straight dating back to his WEC days, and two in a row in the UFC. The solid takedown defense he showed against Brookins compliments his stand-up game well, even if you’d still like to see him get a little more aggressive with his striking when he’s finding his target as easily as he did on Saturday night. Still, he’s got a ton of potential and he’s not yet 23 years old. I don’t know where Duke Roufus finds these lumps of clay to mold to his liking, but he has something worth developing with Koch.
Not Quite Ready for Primetime: Jonathan Brookins
It’s fine to go into a fight planning on taking it to the ground. But when you can’t get it, you eventually have to change strategies. Brookins didn’t, and after getting out-struck when the fight stayed at a distance, he had to know he wasn’t going to win that decision. On one hand, maybe it’s encouraging that he can stick to a game plan so well. On the other, when you can’t get past step one of that game plan, it’s time to look for a different path. Takedowns and top control might have been good enough to win TUF, but he’s got to find something else to threaten people with if he’s going to find success at the next level.
Least Affected by a Layoff: Alan Belcher
I admit, I was a little worried about how Belcher would look after being gone from the cage for the last 14 months. That’s a tough chunk of time for a 27-year-old fighter to lose, and some need to ease back into action more than others. But as he was putting a serious hurt on MacDonald in the first round, Belcher looked as though he’d never left. We didn’t get to see much of his timing on the feet, but his aggression and finishing instincts are still clearly intact. That’s reassuring, because Belcher seemed like he was just finding his groove when those sudden eye issues halted his progress. Now that he’s back, look out.
Stealthiest Ascent: Court McGee
It’s got to be hard to know what to do with McGee, who is quietly stacking up wins. Nearly a year went by between his first post-TUF UFC bout and this decision win, and that time is critical when you’re riding that fickle reality TV show fame. In his fight against Yang, as in his previous fight against Ryan Jensen, he started a little slow but showed impressive resiliency down the stretch. It’s almost as if he needs to get nailed with a good shot before he steps his game up and gets serious about his offense. He’s now 2-0 in the UFC since winning the reality show, but those two wins were stretched out over eleven months, so it’s not as if there’s a real groundswell of fan energy behind him. Maybe the best thing is for the UFC to keep gradually increasing the level of competition, hoping that he can stay healthy enough to stay in the picture. At least that beard makes him difficult to forget.
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night 25, Jake Shields was in a lose-lose situation. He was presented with an opponent, Jake Ellenberger, who was facing his first real step up in competition. A victory over him wouldn’t necessarily propel Shields back to the top of the welterweight division. If Jake Shields lost, well, Jake Shields isn’t going to lose this one so let’s not worry about it. Last night was going to be Jake Shield’s first step towards living up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the UFC and getting back in the mix for a shot at the welterweight title. There was only one problem: That didn’t happen. In just under one minute, Jake Ellenberger practically ended the Jake Shields era.
This isn’t to say that it’s over for Jake Shields, or that he still can’t work his way back to relevance in the welterweight division. But it’s certainly over for the myth that Jake Shields is still one of the top fighters out there. Last night, Jake Shields couldn’t implement his game plan because Jake Ellenberger was able to stuff his takedown attempts. It wasn’t “What did Shields do wrong”; it was what Ellenberger did right. He was the better fighter, plain and simple. And let’s not entertain the thought of “early stoppage” any more than we had to after hearing Jake Shields imply it last night. When you take a knee directly to the chin, immediately turtle up, and then try to grapple with the referee who pulls your opponent off of you, you have no business saying that the fight was stopped early. If you didn’t think Shields was out when you first watched that fight, watch it again while you still can.
I’m really not sure what to call Court McGee’s performance last night. But I will say that the TUF 11 winner handled his eleven months away from the sport as well as possible. He stuck to his game plan against a game Dongi Yang, and managed to grind out a decision victory. McGee may not be ready for the deep end of the middleweight division yet, but he’s certainly appearing promising so far. Ed Herman is being suggested as a future opponent, and I can’t say I disagree with that. As for the other TUF winner on the card, Jonathan Brookins didn’t win, but he managed to not get knocked out against Erik Koch. Admit it: that was far more than you were expecting from him. Brookins did what he had to do to remain conscious against Koch by implementing a wall-and-stall “offense”, and secured a few takedowns in the process. An ugly way to lose, but when you’re a TUF winner, you can get away with it. Likewise, the ugly victory more than likely stalls Koch for the time being, despite the improved wrestling that he displayed by managing to avoid most of Brookins’ takedowns.
One final thing to take away from last night was Alan Belcher’s effortless return to action. Despite a sixteen month layoff that nearly ended his career, Belcher made quick work of Jason MacDonald, punching him out in the first round. Given the almost embarrassing lack of depth in the middleweight division, Belcher may find himself back in the mix with that victory. Not bad for a guy who was considering retirement before last night’s fight. As for Jason MacDonald, well, there’s always Strikeforce (for the next few months, at least).
Jake Ellenberger def. Jake Shields via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:53
Court McGee def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-28)
Erik Koch def. Jonathan Brookins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Alan Belcher def. Jason MacDonald via verbal submission (punches) – Round 1, 3:48
PRELIMINARY CARD
Vagner Rocha def. Cody McKenzie via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49
Evan Dunham def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lance Benoist def. Matt Riddle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ken Stone def. Donny Walker via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:40
Seth Baczynski def. Clay Harvison via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:12
T.J. Waldburger def. Mike Stumpf via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
Robert Peralta def. Mike Lullo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
NEW ORLEANS – If Alan Belcher‘s mind wasn’t made up before Saturday, it sounds like it is now.
Belcher returned to work for the first time in 16 months, following a pair of successful eye surgeries for a detached retina, and made quick work of Jason MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, winning by first-round TKO.
But after the fight, Belcher said he needed the win over MacDonald to be sure he was making the right decision to continue fighting rather than considering retirement.
“Even up until tonight, I was kind of uncertain of what I wanted to do,” Belcher said at the post-fight press conference after his win. “I gave my all in this training camp and everything, but I was nervous as hell going into this fight, coming back.”
But Belcher’s nerves apparently dissipated quickly. The win for Belcher (17-6, 8-4 UFC) was his third straight and fifth in six fights – the only blemish in that stretch being a controversial split decision against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 100. And going into the fight with MacDonald, Belcher had four straight post-fight bonus wins, as well.
And now that things went perhaps even better than he could have expected? Well, Belcher doesn’t see any reason he can’t be right back in the hunt for the middleweight title, the way he was before he was on the shelf for more than a year.
“I missed the feeling, and I feel like I can definitely continue down the path I was on – trying to go for a title shot,” Belcher said. “I think that’s what I’m going to do now.”
Belcher had plenty of support from the crowd at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. His home is in Biloxi, Miss., also on the Gulf Coast and a little over an hour away.
But despite that boost from the fans, and despite the adrenaline coming immediately after the fight, Belcher said he won’t start thinking about a future title shot, necessarily – even though he predicts one will come if he keeps on track.
“I still want to take it one fight at a time,” Belcher said. “Before I had the injury, I was in such a hurry to try and get a bunch of wins and get to the top and everything. Through this whole experience, it just taught me to be a lot more patient. I’ve got a feeling that the title shot is going to come faster than I want it to now, so I’m not really worried about it now.”
The lack of any bizarre finishes or fighter-interviewer confrontations may have buried 
NEW ORLEANS – If