(Dos Anjos pulls off a picture perfect lawn chair KO on George Sotiropoulos at UFC 132.)
Kamal Shalorus has had a difficult time making the leap from the WEC to the UFC. After putting together a 3-0-1 record in the now deceased promotion, “The Prince of Persia” has dropped two straight — a first round TKO to top contender Jim Miller at UFC 128 and a third round submission at the hands of newcomer Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. In what his final shot under the Zuffa banner, Shalorus will not be given an easy victory, as he has been booked to take on Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FUEL 3, which goes down on May 15 from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
Dos Anjos, on the other hand, sandwiched the above KO over G-Sots between a pair of losses to Clay Guida (via submission due to jaw injury) and the Anthony Johnson of the lightweight division, Gleison Tibau (by SD).
Kamal Shalorus has had a difficult time making the leap from the WEC to the UFC. After putting together a 3-0-1 record in the now deceased promotion, “The Prince of Persia” has dropped two straight — a first round TKO to top contender Jim Miller at UFC 128 and a third round submission at the hands of newcomer Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. In what his final shot under the Zuffa banner, Shalorus will not be given an easy victory, as he has been booked to take on Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FUEL 3, which goes down on May 15 from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
Dos Anjos, on the other hand, sandwiched the above KO over G-Sots between a pair of losses to Clay Guida (via submission due to jaw injury) and the Anthony Johnson of the lightweight division, Gleison Tibau (by SD).
Also booked for Fairfax…
Following a seven year absence from the octagon that saw him go 19-6, Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran returned to the UFC last October at UFC 137. It was less than successful, as he dropped a unanimous decision to Scott Jorgensen in a match that was forgotten about before it was even over. For his next fight, Curran will be taking a significant step down in competition when he faces Johnny Eduardo in a bantamweight contest. Eduardo, a 25-9 product out of Nova Uniao, came up short in his UFC debut in August, where he was out grappled by Raphael Assuncao en route to a unanimous decision loss.
Finally, lightweights T.J Grant and Carlo Prater are set to throw down on the UFC on FUEL 3 undercard as well. You remember Carlo Prater, don’t you? He was the guy who took the road less traveled to victory at UFC 142, upsetting Erick Silva by way of superior positioning to allow illegal punches to the back of his head. It’s called strategery, Potato Nation.
Anyway, check out the full lineup for UFC on FUEL 3 below. I DEFY YOU to name the website I copy/pasted it from.
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung
Light Heavyweight bout: Thiago Silva vs. Igor Pokrajac
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens
Lightweight bout: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kamal Shalorus
Filed under: UFCUFC 137 is one of those events where you really wish oddsmakers would offer some fun prop bets. For example, odds that B.J. Penn will lick someone’s blood off his gloves? (+375). Odds Roy Nelson will smack his somewhat diminished belly …
UFC 137 is one of those events where you really wish oddsmakers would offer some fun prop bets. For example, odds that B.J. Penn will lick someone’s blood off his gloves? (+375). Odds Roy Nelson will smack his somewhat diminished belly on camera? (+125). Odds Nick Diaz will insist on wearing jeans and work boots to the weigh-ins, and make us all wait as he puts them back on before the staredown? (-700).
Alas, we’ll just have to make do with the odds on the fights themselves. Fortunately, there’s plenty of material here to sort through.
It was a borderline brilliant move by Cesar Gracie to try and get this changed to a five-round fight. As we’ve seen in the past, Penn is not always the same person at the end of round three that he is in the beginning of round one, and an extra two frames to take advantage of that would have helped the tireless Diaz immensely. But Penn’s no dummy. He played that attempt off with all the veteran savvy you’d expect, and his chances of winning went up in the process. That is, if the right B.J. Penn shows up, and if Diaz consents to let him have the kind of fight he wants.
Therein lies the problem for both those guys. Penn is inconsistent, while Diaz is almost comically hard-headed. Penn might, at any given point, look up at the clock and sigh like a teenager waiting out the last few minutes of Geometry class. Diaz might be able to take advantage of that if he were Jon Fitch of Georges St-Pierre, but he’s not. He just wants to scrap, and he’ll do so wherever Penn decides to take the fight. If Penn wants to box, they’ll box. If he wants to grapple, that’s fine too. It’s hard to wear a guy out when you let him decide where and how to fight. And if you can’t tire Penn out, you’re giving up the most reliable way of beating him. That could still work…if you’re the better all-around fighter. And if three rounds is enough time for you to prove it. My pick: Diaz. The odds here don’t give us much of a push in either direction. With Penn, you wonder how hard he’s trained and how much he wants it. With Diaz, you never do. In a fight this close, that’s enough for me.
If this were a Rick Rude-style posedown, Mitrione would be in big trouble. Kongo looks the part of a terrifying heavyweight, and if you didn’t know better you might be forgiven for assuming that he was the superior athlete in this match-up. Big mistake. Don’t get me wrong, Kongo can do a few things well. He just can’t do enough things and he can’t do them well enough. Mitrione, on the other hand, is an agile, athletic big man who improves so much between each fight that it’s almost not worth watching film of his last few bouts to prepare for his next one. On paper, this should be Mitrione’s fight all the way. Instead of betting on who will win, a more interesting wager might be how many times Kongo will manage to knee him in the groin. I’ll set the over/under at two, and let you go from there. My pick: Mitrione. At these odds I’ll toss it straight into the parlay bin and leave it there, but at least it’s one I can feel reasonably confident in.
Here’s where, before doing anything, you need to check your emotions at the door. Don’t let sentimentality make you a poor man just because you wanted to believe that Cro Cop had one more headkick KO left in him. Would that be an awesome finish to his UFC career? Sure it would. Is it likely to happen? Nope. Not only can Nelson take it, he can dish it out. There was a time when we could say the same about Cro Cop, but the years and the physical damage have piled up on him now, and he goes down easier and easier. Nelson is a slugger on the feet who could probably also beat Cro Cop on the ground if he wanted to. Cro Cop is still a legend of the sport, but he’s also a shadow of his former self. Don’t let it get you down, but don’t bet on a miraculous resurrection either. Those days are gone, my friend. At least the two of you will always have Tokyo. My pick: Nelson. It’s another one for the parlay, and another meager gain that breaks my heart just a little more than it’s worth.
While Curran is a likable guy and a real student of the game, if we’re being honest we also have to admit that he’s the MMA equivalent of an old car that’s held together by bailing wire and hope. He’s been beat up and broken down over the years, and has hung together reasonably well, all things considered. Still, when you look at his career record you see a man who’s been beaten by nearly every high-level opponent he’s faced. Jorgensen might be inexperienced by comparison, but not so much that he’s likely to get caught in a dumb submission or try to get too far away from his strengths. He’ll show up looking to ground-and-pound Curran into a bloody mess, and he’ll probably succeed. My pick: Jorgensen. The odds are a bit more lopsided than I expected, but they favor the right man.
Regular readers of this column will know that I simply must find at least one crazy underdog on every fight card, and when no obvious choice presents itself I am not above talking myself into one. So here goes: on paper, Hioki is the better fighter with the more established resume. He’s also spent almost his entire career fighting in Japan, and the UFC’s Octagon has not proved to be a very welcoming environment for many of his countrymen. Roop is a bigger fighter who is at home in the cage, and who, here and there, has shown flashes of real ability. He’s not championship material and probably never will be, but does he have what it takes to shock Hioki in his UFC debut in front of the friendly Las Vegas crowd? I think just maybe he does. My pick: Roop. It’s a tasty line that I just can’t resist under these circumstances. Some oddsmakers even have him as high as +325, so look around for a bargain if you feel like taking the leap with me.
Quick picks:
– Dennis Siver (+215) over Donald Cerrone (-275). Cerrone is tough, but Siver is a different class of opponent than what he’s been up against lately. In a pick-em I’d take “Cowboy,” but at these odds Siver is worth a small risk.
– Danny Downes (+155) over Ramsey Nijem (-185). You won’t get rich off it, but Downes is the smart play against a guy who’s probably not quite at this level just yet.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Matt Mitrione + Roy Nelson + Scott Jorgensen + Brandon Vera
Filed under: UFCCan Nick Diaz make a triumphant return to the UFC and beat B.J. Penn? Can Matt Mitrione stay undefeated and beat Cheick Kongo? Will Mirko Cro Cop show he still has something left against Roy Nelson? Is there any reason to buy this pay-p…
Can Nick Diaz make a triumphant return to the UFC and beat B.J. Penn? Can Matt Mitrione stay undefeated and beat Cheick Kongo? Will Mirko Cro Cop show he still has something left against Roy Nelson? Is there any reason to buy this pay-per-view now that Georges St. Pierre is off the card? We’ll answer those questions and more as we predict the winners of Saturday night’s UFC 137.
When: Saturday, the preliminary fights on Facebook begin at 6 PM ET, the Spike fights begin at 8 and the pay-per-view begins at 9.
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz Diaz is on a 10-fight winning streak, but some critics contend that he’s built up his record against weak opponents and wouldn’t be able to handle the best of the best in the UFC. The fight with Penn should tell us a lot about Diaz: Can he use his high-volume but sometimes sloppy punching against a good boxer? Can he get the better of an excellent jiu jitsu player on the ground?
I’ve always enjoyed watching Diaz and was hoping to see him fight St. Pierre for the welterweight title, but my money is on Diaz falling short against Penn. I think Penn can jab Diaz effectively all night if the fight stays standing, and I think Penn is too sophisticated a grappler for Diaz to get him in trouble on the ground. This is not a good stylistic matchup for Diaz, and I see Penn winning by unanimous decision. Pick: Penn
Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione Mitrione was a former NFL defensive lineman who had little MMA experience when he was invited to join the cast of The Ultimate Fighter, but he has developed into a credible heavyweight. Kongo is a great striker and a lot of fun to watch, but he struggles against bigger, stronger opponents who can take him down, and I think that’s exactly what Mitrione is going to do. I like Mitrione to win a decision and improve to 6-0. Pick: Mitrione
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson Both of these guys are on two-fight losing streaks and have looked very unimpressive lately, but the difference is that in Nelson’s two losses he was simply beaten by better opponents. In Cro Cop’s two losses he was not only beaten but looked like he didn’t even particularly want to fight. It’s sad to say but I just don’t think Cro Cop has anything left at all. Look for Nelson to win, and for UFC President Dana White to face questions about whether Cro Cop is done in the UFC. Pick: Nelson
Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran The one good thing you can say about all the injuries that affected UFC 137 is that they created space for Jorgensen vs. Curran on the main card. This fight should be a lot of fun, featuring one of the best bantamweights in the world in Jorgensen, against one of the pioneers of the lower weight classes in Curran. I’d love to see Curran go on a run in the UFC, but he’s 34 years old and has been fighting for 13 years and I think he’s slowed down considerably. I think Jorgensen wins this one handily. Pick: Jorgensen
Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop Hioki has been the best featherweight in Japan the last few years and is an exciting addition to the UFC’s featherweight division. He has great reach and knows how to take advantage of it on his feet, and he’s very aggressive off his back on the ground. And yet … after seeing so many fighters have success in Japan only to struggle when they move to the Octagon, I’m having a hard time seeing Hioki beating a solid UFC veteran like Roop. I think this fight goes the distance and Roop takes the decision. Pick: Roop
Since the entrance of the bantamweight division under the Zuffa fold, the UFC has since cashed in on the obvious talent of the weight class.Champion Dominick Cruz has since set a bench mark of achievement in the division, making two successful title de…
Since the entrance of the bantamweight division under the Zuffa fold, the UFC has since cashed in on the obvious talent of the weight class.
Champion Dominick Cruz has since set a bench mark of achievement in the division, making two successful title defenses against the likes of former titleholder Urijah Faber and spitfire Demetrious Johnson—both bouts were exciting throughout, with the Faber bout garnering high praise and “Fight of the Night” honors for their efforts.
Bonus checks for the 135-pounders have been in abundance as of late, and the impending bout between Scott Jorgensen and Jeff Curran should be no exception to a potential boost in pay.
The two men meet at this weekend’s UFC 137 pay-per-view event, rounding on the main card.
So, how will the fight pitting the two battle-tested men shake out?
It’s been an interesting road, but after nearly eight years, Jeff Curran is back in the UFC.
Curran will return to the promotion at UFC 137 next week against former bantamweight title challenger Scott Jorgensen in Las Vegas in a bout that was moved to the main pay-per-view card on Friday. It’s another shot with Zuffa and the UFC that Curran said he begged for, and a fight against a top contender that he jumped at the chance to get.
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” Curran told host Ariel Helwani that he’s always been physically ready – but now he believes he’s more mentally ready than he ever was before and it’s time to “put up or shut up.”
“Everything’s going great,” Curran said. “It’s kind of like I knew where I need to be to be able to focus on my fighting, and (the past personal problems) seem like such a long way away sometimes. Everything is revamped and going smoothly in my personal life, everything’s going smoothly in my gym, and I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”
Curran (33-13-1) took a short-notice fight against future UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra at UFC 46 in January 2004. He lost a unanimous decision, but went on to a nine-fight winning streak outside the promotion. After a loss in his lone fight for Pride, the Illinois-based fighter went on another winning streak, one that got him a shot at the WEC not long after it had been purchased by Zuffa.
After a win in his first fight for the promotion since WEC 4, Curran got a shot at featherweight champion Urijah Faber and was submitted in the second round. He said that loss started a domino effect for him, mentally, and after four straight losses – all to WEC champions or title challengers – he was cut by the WEC in August 2009.
“Physically, I was prepared as ever for all my fights in the WEC,” Curran said. “For Urijah, I just got caught. After that, it was a spiral in my mental focus. I don’t know what made them turn the table and give me (another) opportunity. But at this point, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve got to get out there and prove myself.”
Curran has won four of five fights since his last loss in the WEC, a split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki. His one loss in that stretch came in a Bellator event in Chicago, not far from the gym he runs in the city’s northern suburbs that is the training home to the likes of former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver and UFC featherweight Bart Palaszewski, who also will fight at UFC 137.
But Curran said even at the Bellator fight, in April 2010, he wasn’t where he needed to be mentally for Bryan Goldsby, who beat him in a unanimous decision. He said there had been a temptation to sit back and wait for the WEC to call (before it merged with the UFC), since matchmaker Sean Shelby had said they might have a fight for Curran later in the year.
WIth his cousin Pat making his Bellator debut on the same show – the start of what would be his improbable run through the lightweight tournament to a $100,000 pay day and an eventual shot at Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez – Curran said he felt pressure to take the fight, even though he wanted to pull out.
“We decided I needed to make some money – I was having some financial problems,” Curran said. “And part of getting Pat into the lightweight tournament was having both cousins on the same show in Chicago. I kinda stepped in and took one for the team, even though I tried to pull out of the fight. I just didn’t want to make up a lie. I was asking to be released and they wouldn’t’ do it because I was the main event in Chicago. I was going to pull an injury card, but I didn’t. So I just went forward with it. That’s one fight I regret taking – not that Goldsby didn’t earn the win.”
Even two wins in his own XFO promotion after the loss to Goldsby had him unsure what his next step might be. He beat Billy Vaughan in May, but said that a loss to him likely would have meant his retirement from the sport.
“I was training hard, I was in great shape,” Curran said. “I thought if I can’t beat these guys, nothing against them, I don’t deserve to be in the UFC. I thought I needed to finish Billy Vaughan to get back in the UFC, but I think that was enough for them to say, ‘Jeff looked good, he was back meaning business.'”
And now that he’s back, fighting at bantamweight where he believes he has his best shot instead of featherweight or lightweight, Curran said he has to take advantage of what might be his last opportunity in the world’s biggest promotion.
“I think about it every second of the day,” Curran said. “I was just at a Keith Urban concert and there were 20,000 people there, and I just sat there with chills and thought, ‘The pressure.’ I’m not intimidated by it. I’ve been in all the big shows. But what it all encompasses is that I finally fought my way back, and it’s either put up or shut up – embarrass myself or get out there and do my thing.”
It’s been an interesting road, but after nearly eight years, Jeff Curran is back in the UFC.
Curran will return to the promotion at UFC 137 next week against former bantamweight title challenger Scott Jorgensen in Las Vegas in a bout that was moved to the main pay-per-view card on Friday. It’s another shot with Zuffa and the UFC that Curran said he begged for, and a fight against a top contender that he jumped at the chance to get.
On Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” Curran told host Ariel Helwani that he’s always been physically ready – but now he believes he’s more mentally ready than he ever was before and it’s time to “put up or shut up.”
“Everything’s going great,” Curran said. “It’s kind of like I knew where I need to be to be able to focus on my fighting, and (the past personal problems) seem like such a long way away sometimes. Everything is revamped and going smoothly in my personal life, everything’s going smoothly in my gym, and I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”
Curran (33-13-1) took a short-notice fight against future UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra at UFC 46 in January 2004. He lost a unanimous decision, but went on to a nine-fight winning streak outside the promotion. After a loss in his lone fight for Pride, the Illinois-based fighter went on another winning streak, one that got him a shot at the WEC not long after it had been purchased by Zuffa.
After a win in his first fight for the promotion since WEC 4, Curran got a shot at featherweight champion Urijah Faber and was submitted in the second round. He said that loss started a domino effect for him, mentally, and after four straight losses – all to WEC champions or title challengers – he was cut by the WEC in August 2009.
“Physically, I was prepared as ever for all my fights in the WEC,” Curran said. “For Urijah, I just got caught. After that, it was a spiral in my mental focus. I don’t know what made them turn the table and give me (another) opportunity. But at this point, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve got to get out there and prove myself.”
Curran has won four of five fights since his last loss in the WEC, a split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki. His one loss in that stretch came in a Bellator event in Chicago, not far from the gym he runs in the city’s northern suburbs that is the training home to the likes of former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver and UFC featherweight Bart Palaszewski, who also will fight at UFC 137.
But Curran said even at the Bellator fight, in April 2010, he wasn’t where he needed to be mentally for Bryan Goldsby, who beat him in a unanimous decision. He said there had been a temptation to sit back and wait for the WEC to call (before it merged with the UFC), since matchmaker Sean Shelby had said they might have a fight for Curran later in the year.
WIth his cousin Pat making his Bellator debut on the same show – the start of what would be his improbable run through the lightweight tournament to a $100,000 pay day and an eventual shot at Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez – Curran said he felt pressure to take the fight, even though he wanted to pull out.
“We decided I needed to make some money – I was having some financial problems,” Curran said. “And part of getting Pat into the lightweight tournament was having both cousins on the same show in Chicago. I kinda stepped in and took one for the team, even though I tried to pull out of the fight. I just didn’t want to make up a lie. I was asking to be released and they wouldn’t’ do it because I was the main event in Chicago. I was going to pull an injury card, but I didn’t. So I just went forward with it. That’s one fight I regret taking – not that Goldsby didn’t earn the win.”
Even two wins in his own XFO promotion after the loss to Goldsby had him unsure what his next step might be. He beat Billy Vaughan in May, but said that a loss to him likely would have meant his retirement from the sport.
“I was training hard, I was in great shape,” Curran said. “I thought if I can’t beat these guys, nothing against them, I don’t deserve to be in the UFC. I thought I needed to finish Billy Vaughan to get back in the UFC, but I think that was enough for them to say, ‘Jeff looked good, he was back meaning business.'”
And now that he’s back, fighting at bantamweight where he believes he has his best shot instead of featherweight or lightweight, Curran said he has to take advantage of what might be his last opportunity in the world’s biggest promotion.
“I think about it every second of the day,” Curran said. “I was just at a Keith Urban concert and there were 20,000 people there, and I just sat there with chills and thought, ‘The pressure.’ I’m not intimidated by it. I’ve been in all the big shows. But what it all encompasses is that I finally fought my way back, and it’s either put up or shut up – embarrass myself or get out there and do my thing.”
Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, VideosThe MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday at 1 p.m. ET for our 104th show. Here’s a list of who will be stopping by:
* Former middleweight turned light heavyweight Rich Franklin will talk about his rec…
The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday at 1 p.m. ET for our 104th show. Here’s a list of who will be stopping by:
* Former middleweight turned light heavyweight Rich Franklin will talk about his recent shoulder surgery and what’s next for him.
* UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera will discuss his UFC 137 fight against Eliot Marshall.
* Heavyweight Matt Mitrione will return for another installment of “The Mitrione Minute.”
* Bantamweight Jeff Curran will talk about returning to the UFC to fight Scott Jorgensen at UFC 137.
* MMA agent turned entrepreneur Ken Pavia will talk about selling his MMA agency and teaming up with Takedown Fight Media.
* And MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes will dissect the news making headlines around the MMA world.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.
*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the replay below. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
(Editor’s note: The MMA Hour is now over and the video will be available Tuesday or Wednesday.)
Dustin Poirier vs. 
Dustin Poirier vs. 
Chan Sung Jung
Thiago Silva vs. 
Igor Pokrajac
Kamal Shalorus
TJ Grant vs. 
Yves Jabouin vs. 
Alex Soto vs. 
Azamat Gashimov
Can 
It’s been an interesting road, but after nearly eight years, 