Tag: Jim Miller

Should the UFC Hold a Lightweight Grand Prix to Decide the Next Title Contender?

The UFC lightweight division is at a standstill. With champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard sidelined with injuries, there is no clear direction for some of the division’s brightest stars. Most would agree that Jim Miller is currently a…

The UFC lightweight division is at a standstill.

With champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard sidelined with injuries, there is no clear direction for some of the division’s brightest stars.

Most would agree that Jim Miller is currently ahead of the herd. He is set to face former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson on August 14 in a possible title eliminator bout.

With no timeline set for Edgar or Maynard’s return, the future remains uncertain. Even if Miller defeated Henderson, he would likely be forced to choose between taking a fight or going on an extended hiatus and waiting for a title shot.

What can the UFC do to sort out the excessively stacked and talented 155-pound division? UFC lightweight contender Melvin Guillard has an idea.

“Edgar and Maynard still haven’t fought again, so right now, everybody’s at a standstill,” Guillard told ESPN.com. “The only solution I see is them doing a 155-pound grand prix tournament, and putting everybody in brackets and weeding the losers to giving a true No. 1 contender a fight here in the next year or so.”

With the success of the ongoing Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, UFC President Dana White could entertain the idea. The lightweight division is arguably the most stacked in the entire sport. With Strikeforce onboard and their partnership with Dream, fans can also hope for cross-promotional entries of upper-echelon talent like Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki.

What about a B.J. Penn return?

A lightweight tourney would probably peak the Hawaiian’s interest. Former two-time title contender Kenny Florian would be another name to consider, but he is apparently next in line to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.

“I honestly felt after the [Evan] Dunham fight that it was going to move me a lot higher,” Guillard said. “But they’re still ranking guys like Dennis Siver ahead of me, and I knocked this chump out in less than two minutes. He even called me out again, trying to fight me again.”

Siver entered the title mix after securing major victories over George Sotiropoulos and Spencer Fisher. Guillard doesn’t mind fighting guys like Siver and his upcoming opponent Shane Roller, but he is looking for fights that will further his position in the lightweight division.

“Honestly, you guys and all the fans are going to be like, ‘well, we kind of knew that was going to happen…why was Shane Roller even in the cage with Melvin?’ So, it’s just one of those fights where, for me, it doesn’t make sense…but it always makes sense when you’re in there to make a paycheck,” said Guillard.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s all it’s going to do for me is bless me with another paycheck. But as far as moving me up the rankings and making me more elite? I don’t think that’s going to do anything.”

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Should the UFC Hold a Lightweight Grand Prix to Decide the Next Title Contender?

The UFC lightweight division is at a standstill. With champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard sidelined with injuries, there is no clear direction for some of the division’s brightest stars. Most would agree that Jim Miller is currently a…

The UFC lightweight division is at a standstill.

With champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard sidelined with injuries, there is no clear direction for some of the division’s brightest stars.

Most would agree that Jim Miller is currently ahead of the herd. He is set to face former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson on August 14 in a possible title eliminator bout.

With no timeline set for Edgar or Maynard’s return, the future remains uncertain. Even if Miller defeated Henderson, he would likely be forced to choose between taking a fight or going on an extended hiatus and waiting for a title shot.

What can the UFC do to sort out the excessively stacked and talented 155-pound division? UFC lightweight contender Melvin Guillard has an idea.

“Edgar and Maynard still haven’t fought again, so right now, everybody’s at a standstill,” Guillard told ESPN.com. “The only solution I see is them doing a 155-pound grand prix tournament, and putting everybody in brackets and weeding the losers to giving a true No. 1 contender a fight here in the next year or so.”

With the success of the ongoing Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, UFC President Dana White could entertain the idea. The lightweight division is arguably the most stacked in the entire sport. With Strikeforce onboard and their partnership with Dream, fans can also hope for cross-promotional entries of upper-echelon talent like Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki.

What about a B.J. Penn return?

A lightweight tourney would probably peak the Hawaiian’s interest. Former two-time title contender Kenny Florian would be another name to consider, but he is apparently next in line to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.

“I honestly felt after the [Evan] Dunham fight that it was going to move me a lot higher,” Guillard said. “But they’re still ranking guys like Dennis Siver ahead of me, and I knocked this chump out in less than two minutes. He even called me out again, trying to fight me again.”

Siver entered the title mix after securing major victories over George Sotiropoulos and Spencer Fisher. Guillard doesn’t mind fighting guys like Siver and his upcoming opponent Shane Roller, but he is looking for fights that will further his position in the lightweight division.

“Honestly, you guys and all the fans are going to be like, ‘well, we kind of knew that was going to happen…why was Shane Roller even in the cage with Melvin?’ So, it’s just one of those fights where, for me, it doesn’t make sense…but it always makes sense when you’re in there to make a paycheck,” said Guillard.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s all it’s going to do for me is bless me with another paycheck. But as far as moving me up the rankings and making me more elite? I don’t think that’s going to do anything.”

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The Chaos Continues: What the #@%! Is Going On At 155?

Don’t drink and: drive, dial, text, facebook, or photoshop. -Anonymous

Let’s face it, Nation. The lightweight field in the UFC is a hopeless clusterfoxtrot. Half of the names in the top ten last summer are either not at 155 anymore, or suddenly non-factors. Six months ago, the WEC-UFC roster merger was supposed to clear up, once and for all, who the best fighters were.

Well….

The UFC title fight between Gray Maynard and champ Frankie Edgar was supposed to coincide nicely with the WEC’s own lightweight title fight at the December 16th event, the last by the promotion. Anthony “Showtime Kick” Pettis defeated champion Ben Henderson by a close (but stupifyingly impressive) decision, something you would assume gives Henderson some legitimate claim to a title shot, or at least a number to get in line.

Two weeks later, Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar go have themselves a fun little match in which they both manage to kick the other’s ass, but nobody wins. Seriously, it’s a draw.

Don’t drink and:  drive, dial, text, facebook, or photoshop. -Anonymous

Let’s face it, Nation.  The lightweight field in the UFC  is a hopeless clusterfoxtrot.  Half of the names in the top ten last summer are either not at 155 anymore, or suddenly non-factors.  Six months ago, the WEC-UFC roster merger was supposed to clear up, once and for all, who the best fighters were.

Well….

The UFC title fight between Gray Maynard and champ Frankie Edgar was supposed to coincide nicely with the WEC’s own lightweight title fight at the December 16th event, the last by the promotion.  Anthony “Showtime Kick” Pettis defeated champion Ben Henderson by a close (but stupifyingly impressive) decision, something you would assume gives Henderson some legitimate claim to a title shot, or at least a number to get in line.

Two weeks later, Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar go have themselves a fun little match in which they both manage to kick the other’s ass, but nobody wins.  Seriously, it’s a draw.

So now Showtime is bumped back.  And so is Bendo.  Kenny Florian, the fighter’s union VP in charge of Runner-Upism and Bridesmaidery, is a smart guy, so he announces he’s going to featherweight.  (That’s forty pounds lighter than he was when he was second place to Diego Sanchez on the first season of TUF, for those who lost track at home.)

Sean Sherk has been out rehabbing injuries so long that we’ll just pretend he’s walking the earth, being a hero and solving crimes.  And BJ Penn has long since announced his intention to carefully diet his way to welterweight, so he can enjoy his adult years without working so hard, brah.

Maynard and Edgar need to beat each other up again, except they can’t because they both have broken or torn something, and while no, it’s totally not serious, they both need to rehab.  (And hey, good for them.  Come in healthy and fight like that again, fellas.  Just — one of you please win next time?)

So WEC-champ-but-not-really Pettis takes a fight with Clay Guida, and Ben Henderson draws a tough matchup with Jim Miller.   Pettis feels like if he can’t beat Guida, he doesn’t deserve the shot, and everyone nods and goes along.  Guida doesn’t like the presumption, so The Carpenter Dude goes out there and grinds out a win and spoils everything.

So…Guida is the new WEC lightweight champ, right?  Which is cool and all, except it’s pretty fresh in everyone’s mind how Guida got handled by Kenny Florian, the guy that just up and bounced from the division altogether.

On top of that, Dana White is saying that Jim Miller is next in line for a shot at the UFC 155 strap, and not the sorta-WEC-champion.  Of course, that shot is itself contingent on Miller winning over Ben Henderson, a guy that has to be in the top 10 fighters that WILL!  NOT!  TAP! (Note to self: not a bad idea…)  So that couldn’t possibly go wrong.

So Miller and Henderson will play Combat Twister at UFC Live: Lytle vs Hardy on August 14, which will hopefully get us a contender.  That’s not even taking into account who Guida will defend his WEC not-there belt against.  Melvin Guillard could make a case for himself on July 2nd … or perhaps Jeremy Stephens will get a shot.  Or Evan Dunham.  Hell, Sherk could show back up.

Who knows?  This division is nuts.

Fingers crossed, we’ll get a UFC championship fight sometime in September or October.  After that, we’ll start sorting this mess out.  We’re way past the point of suggesting that they have a battle royale.  Give us six more months, and we’ll be ready to endorse steroids and one-night tournaments.

Not that we’re complaining, you understand.  Just keep them fights coming, fellas.

[RX]

TUF 13 Finale Results: Clay Guida and the Top 5 UFC Lightweight Wrestlers

Clay Guida defeated Anthony Pettis with a dominant wrestling game.There are plenty of other talented wrestlers in the UFC lightweight division, so how does Guida stack up?As he continues his push towards the top of the division and a potential future t…

Clay Guida defeated Anthony Pettis with a dominant wrestling game.

There are plenty of other talented wrestlers in the UFC lightweight division, so how does Guida stack up?

As he continues his push towards the top of the division and a potential future title shot, Guida is going to have to face fighters with his level of wrestling or even greater.

The top guys are all so talented that advantages are determined by a matter of milliseconds and centimeters. These are the top five wrestlers in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Begin Slideshow

In UFC Lightweight Division, Many Contenders but No Clear Next After Maynard

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceClay Guida beat Anthony Pettis on Saturday night. Of course he did. When it comes to MMA, Guida is an unrelenting energy field that shakes up everything in his path, and while he took a big step forward in his own career, h…

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Clay Guida beat Anthony Pettis on Saturday night. Of course he did. When it comes to MMA, Guida is an unrelenting energy field that shakes up everything in his path, and while he took a big step forward in his own career, he only served to further muck up the waters of the UFC lightweight division. As you probably know, before Saturday, Pettis was the No. 1 contender in waiting, and just needed to get past Guida at the TUF 13 Finale to keep his place in line. As often seems to be the case when fighters risk their shot at gold, he fell short, and now must rebuild his resume while his name falls out of the contenders’ conversation.

In a sport that is constantly looking forward, we always want to know who is next, and right now, that is a question with no answer. The only thing we know is that Gray Maynard is supposed to get the next title opportunity against Frankie Edgar, probably in the late summer or early fall.

But beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.

Much will depend on what happens between now and Edgar-Maynard III, whenever that might be. For example, Jim Miller is supposed to face Ben Henderson at the UFC on Versus show scheduled for August 14. Miller has won seven straight fights, including two finishes in a row. A win over Henderson would make it difficult to discount his chances, and even harder to say he doesn’t have the current best resume out of all the hopefuls.

Amazingly, the only two career losses of Miller (20-2) came against Edgar and Maynard, respectively, giving the UFC an easy storyline to push regardless of which man wins. But all that, of course, is dependent on Miller himself winning first. Given Henderson’s wrestling prowess and ability to stay out of submissions, that’s no sure thing.

Guida, of course, has his own case to make. He’s now won four in a row with his win over Pettis. While he received some criticism for his somewhat conservative performance in the win, to be fair we must note that Guida had finished three opponents in a row before that.

Now here’s the problem. Even if you say one of those guys is definitively above the other, either of them could lose before a date with the Edgar-Maynard winner ever gets made. As we noted, Miller’s already got an upcoming bout set up, and Guida might also take another fight while he’s waiting for the champ and No. 1 contender to finish off their trilogy. The UFC has cards to fill, and Guida isn’t exactly known for saying no to fights.

We don’t have a specific date for Edgar-Maynard because the champ is still recovering from a back injury, and so we can’t yet assume he’ll be ready to go, even by the fall. No one except Maynard is likely to sit around and wait for him, and even he only for so long. Until then, we’ll be forced to play the speculation game.

Aside from Miller and Guida, things get really interesting. Who else is in the running? Among UFC fighters, you’d have to say that Melvin Guillard — winner of four straight, and six of his last seven — is probably the next closest, while Dennis Siver — 6-1 in his last seven — also has an argument.

Other possibilities? How about Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez? With its recently announced Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre, champion vs. champion fight, the UFC opened a Pandora’s box, giving us free reign to speculate about these types of possibilities. If it is the best fight, or the fight people most want to see, the UFC will have no choice but to consider it. Given the depth of the division, it seems less likely than pulling Diaz into the octagon, but it’s not an impossibility.

So, to recap, as it stands in early June, Miller, Guida, Guillard, Siver and Melendez are the five likeliest challengers. But there are far too many variables involved in any decision about who’s next, making any guesswork premature. Instead, we’ll be forced to wait and see how things play out. The opportunity is there for the taking, and Guida just fired the latest shot, so it’s up to the rest of the hopefuls to respond or be left behind. Until then, we get to sit around, debate, and play amateur matchmaker. But that’s half the fun of our sport anyway. The lightweight division is suddenly the wild, wild west, a land of opportunity and possibility. Hitch a ride on your respective war wagon, but come armed with patience. It’s going to be a long and bumpy ride on the way to the gold rush.

 

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TUF 13 Finale Results: Jim Miller Still Ahead of Guida

Despite beating former No. 1 contender Anthony Pettis, Clay Guida will still have to wait in line for a lightweight title shot. UFC President Dana White told MMAfighting that Jim Miller (20-2) is ahead of Guida in the divisional rankings despite his wi…

Despite beating former No. 1 contender Anthony Pettis, Clay Guida will still have to wait in line for a lightweight title shot.

UFC President Dana White told MMAfighting that Jim Miller (20-2) is ahead of Guida in the divisional rankings despite his win over Pettis.

Miller is currently riding a seven-fight win streak. The only two loses in his career have come to current lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and Grey Maynard.

For months now Miller has been trying to plead his case for a title shot. Maybe he’ll get his wish sooner than later.

Many may feel Guida deserves the title shot since he beat the No. 1 contender. On the other hand despite being taken down over and over, Pettis was able to fight off of his back, nearly putting Guida in submission holds multiple times.

Miller can make his case even stronger if he is able to get past former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC Live Lytle vs. Hardy in August.

Because it is unknown when exactly the championship bout between Edgar and Maynard will take place, a possible bout between Guida and the winner of Miller vs. Henderson could determine who the No. 1 contender really is. 

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