Tag: John Lineker

Ben vs. Seth: UFC 169 Edition


(…and if you turn the poster over, you’ll see Ben and Seth, butt to butt.)

UFC 169 is poppin’ off this Saturday in Newark, featuring two title fights, a must-win battle between a pair of fading heavyweight legends, and a bunch of other crap that you may or may not care about. Join us as CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and editor emeritus Seth Falvo debate the major storylines surrounding the event, from Urijah Faber‘s resurrected title hopes to our always iron-clad gambling advice (LOL), and much more. Enjoy…

True or false: Even though Urijah Faber has already been beaten once by Renan Barao, he still has a better chance of becoming champion this weekend than Ricardo Lamas does.

BG: True. Barao has proven that he’s a better fighter than Faber, but the Cali Kid is so talented and dangerous that nobody really outclasses him at 135. If Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night, it’s within the realm of possibility that Faber could find a way to choke him out; their skills aren’t that far apart. And maybe there isn’t a talent-gap whatsoever. The fact that Faber’s five WEC/UFC losses have all come in title fights — and the fact that he’s still undefeated in non-title fights, after a full decade of competition — suggests that perhaps there’s some kind of psychological block that’s preventing the California Kid from firing on all cylinders when a belt’s on the line. (Then again, that’s probably the best reason to pick against him on Saturday.) But in this chaotic sport, anything can happen. No absurd win streak lasts forever, and sometimes the sun shines on an old veteran’s ass, so to speak.

SF: False, and not just because this column would be really boring if we both agreed with each other. No one is denying that Urijah Faber is an outstanding talent, but you pretty much made my point for me when you wrote “if Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night” in regards to his chances of becoming the bamtamweight champion. Lamas, on the other hand…okay fine, his odds aren’t looking any better. Both men have the same slim chances of walking out of The Prudential Center with their respective division’s title, making “Faber has a better chance” technically wrong, and me technically correct. And everyone knows that technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Let’s say Barao defeats Faber on Saturday. Let’s say that he also never fights Dominick Cruz. Does that make Barao’s title run any less legitimate?


(…and if you turn the poster over, you’ll see Ben and Seth, butt to butt.)

UFC 169 is poppin’ off this Saturday in Newark, featuring two title fights, a must-win battle between a pair of fading heavyweight legends, and a bunch of other crap that you may or may not care about. Join us as CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and editor emeritus Seth Falvo debate the major storylines surrounding the event, from Urijah Faber‘s resurrected title hopes to our always iron-clad gambling advice (LOL). Enjoy…

True or false: Even though Urijah Faber has already been beaten once by Renan Barao, he still has a better chance of becoming champion this weekend than Ricardo Lamas does.

BG: True. Barao has proven that he’s a better fighter than Faber, but the Cali Kid is so talented and dangerous that nobody really outclasses him at 135. If Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night, it’s within the realm of possibility that Faber could find a way to choke him out; their skills aren’t that far apart. And maybe there isn’t a talent-gap whatsoever. The fact that Faber’s five WEC/UFC losses have all come in title fights — and the fact that he’s still undefeated in non-title fights, after a full decade of competition — suggests that perhaps there’s some kind of psychological block that’s preventing the California Kid from firing on all cylinders when a belt’s on the line. (Then again, that’s probably the best reason to pick against him on Saturday.) But in this chaotic sport, anything can happen. No absurd win streak lasts forever, and sometimes the sun shines on an old veteran’s ass, so to speak.

SF: False, and not just because this column would be really boring if we both agreed with each other. No one is denying that Urijah Faber is an outstanding talent, but you pretty much made my point for me when you wrote “if Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night” in regards to his chances of becoming the bamtamweight champion. Lamas, on the other hand…okay fine, his odds aren’t looking any better. Both men have the same slim chances of walking out of The Prudential Center with their respective division’s title, making “Faber has a better chance” technically wrong, and me technically correct. And everyone knows that technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Let’s say Barao defeats Faber on Saturday. Let’s say that he also never fights Dominick Cruz. Does that make Barao’s title run any less legitimate?

SF: Not at all — or at least it really shouldn’t. It would really bum me out if the two guys who seem like the only legitimate competition for each other at bantamweight never fight, but creating a chicken/egg situation out of the mess won’t exactly solve anything. If you’re going to wonder whether Renan Barao is less of a champion for never having beat Dominick Cruz in this situation, you may as well also ponder how much Dominick Cruz benefits from never having to fight Renan Barao, the one man who could have actually beaten him. Maybe you should also think about whether Kimbo Slice would have been a UFC champion if he only learned the ground game, while you’re at it. Let it go, nerds. Trust me, it’ll be just as fun to watch Barao punch other people’s faces in.

BG: No argument there. The champion is the guy who beats the top competition available to him at any given moment in time. We don’t say that Anthony Pettis is any less legitimate because he never beat prime BJ Penn, or that Cain Velasquez is any less legitimate because he never beat the hypothetical BJJ black-belt version of Kimbo Slice, who sounds like an absolute monster, by the way. “Prime Dominick Cruz” was a person who existed in 2010-2011, then essentially disappeared due to repeated injuries. He has almost no relevance to Renan Barao, who has spent the last two years beating incredibly talented opponents like Faber, Michael McDonald, and Eddie Wineland. Barao is the best bantamweight around, period. We should give him his props accordingly.

What’s the smartest single wager you can make on UFC 169, with these odds?

SF: I’d continue to recycle that joke about how neither of us makes smart wagers, but my parlay actually returned a profit last time we did this, so let me tell you how to spend your money, dumbass.

I can’t decide if a straight bet on John Makdessi (first legitimate test for Alan Patrick), Chris Cariaso (facing a TUF washout making his UFC debut on short notice), or Renan Barao (#LOLFaberInTitleFights) is the best way to spend my money, so I’ll just recommend dropping twenty bucks on a parlay featuring all three of those guys. If it pays off, BetUS will be sending you $50.46 for your efforts. And if it doesn’t pay off, well, you only need one kidney to function, you pansy.

BG: I’ll also suggest a three-fight parlay, but mine is safer, more profitable, and actually grounded in the scientific method. Twenty bones on Ali Bagautinov, Rashid Magomedov, and Gasan Umalatov would return $62.29 in profit — and that bet is basically a lock, because they’re all Russian. From Khabib Nurmagomedov to Rustam Khabilov, Russian fighters whose names end in “v” have been unstoppable in the UFC lately. I know next to nothing about Magomedov and Umalatov, but they’re both odds-on favorites in their fights, and are you really going to bet against the Puncher King? Do the right thing, people.

John Lineker has missed weight for three of his five UFC appearances. If he misses weight again on Friday, what would be an appropriate punishment?

BG: I’m kind of surprised that the UFC hasn’t already forced Lineker up to bantamweight against his will; it just goes to show you how desperate the UFC is for flyweight contenders who can consistently finish fights. But enough’s enough. If Lineker misses weight again on Friday, the UFC should take a serious chunk out of his paycheck — say 40% — suspend him for six months, and then force him up to bantamweight. And if it happens again after that, they should fire Lineker the spot, right there at the weigh-ins. Seriously, Burt Watson should just hand him an empty banker’s box and tell him to clear his desk out, but leave the goddamned radio because we paid for that. And as security escorts Lineker out of the building, the cameras will catch Mike Dolce next to the stage, weeping into his hands. “Nutella and bananas,” he’ll say to nobody in particular, “and all this could have been avoided.”

SF: Weight cutting isn’t exactly good for your body in the first place, making it all the more disturbing to watch a talented, promising fighter like John Lineker continue to put himself through hell for a size advantage he arguably doesn’t need in the first place. As badly as the UFC wants flyweights that the casual fans actually care about, the last thing that the promotion needs is a fighter dying due to a far-too-stressful weight cut; just imagine the chaos that would cause. I’m with you on the fine and pushing him up to bantamweight, but a suspension? That’ll only give Lineker time to pack on mass so he can continue to sabotage his health with vicious weight cuts when he begins fighting at bantamweight, pretty much making him the Anthony Johnson Lite. If Lineker misses weight for his bantamweight debut, I really hope that the audience sings “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” I’ve always wanted to hear the crowd at an MMA show do that.

The winner of Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem saves his job from sure elimination. What do you see happening to the loser?

SF: If Mir loses this fight — and for what it’s worth, the oddsmakers sure seem to think he will — expect him to retire and accept a comfortable desk job with the UFC. With the company pushing so hard for “World Fucking Domination,” it needs as many brand ambassadors (read: people to tweet selfies of themselves at historical foreign monuments and high-five the locals) and competent commentators for these international Fight Pass cards as it can get, and Frank Mir is the perfect candidate for either position. Especially the latter, given how he excelled during his WEC commentary stint.

If Overeem loses this fight, here’s how I see things playing out: A pink slip from the UFC, a four month retirement, a return to kickboxing, a departure from drug testing, the return of his once-Herculean physique, an occasional MMA fight in Europe and/or Asia, the opening of his own gym, his appearances in the indies becoming increasingly tragic, the closure of his gym, him calling out whoever the UFC Heavyweight Champion is at the time, and then five months later he’s found dead. The official cause of death will be heart failure due to a fatal combination of painkillers and muscle relaxers he took for his lingering injuries.

Okay, at some point during that I got bored and began typing the life story of Every Professional Wrestler Ever, but you get the idea.

BG: Man, I wasn’t prepared for how depressing this column was going to get. I mean, Frank Mir being forced into a desk job? Total nightmare. For the purposes of this answer, I’ll make a concrete prediction and say that Mir will lose by TKO in round 2, and Overeem will save his job. Mir will be cut and immediately snapped up by World Series of Fighting, where he’ll beat Mike Kyle (obviously) to set up a heavyweight headliner at WSOF 13 against Anthony Johnson. Johnson will knock Mir out in under a minute, making Rumble the first UFC welterweight washout to somehow hold victories over two former UFC heavyweight champions. Mir will retire from MMA and transition into strip-club management in his hometown of Las Vegas. After his divorce, Mir will move into an apartment with Pete Rose, who will constantly refer to Mir as “kid.”

GIF-Ranking the Avalanche of UFC Fights That Were Booked Today, December 18th, By Interest Level


(“You know what, Steve, I’m not really feeling this fight. Think I’ll just sit out a few plays.” Photo via Getty.)

Fight-booking articles are a dime a dozen. Throw a couple statistics here, a fighter breakdown there, and top it all off with some information about the event and you’ve got yourself a perfectly normal, haiku-length article that you could almost pass off as journalism. And then its back to huffing duster in your grandmother’s basement, desperately and fruitlessly attempting to blind yourself from the hellscape that has become your reality. But at least you don’t have to wear a tie to work! (*laughs, cries into whiskey*)

The point is, there are some matchups you can’t help but elaborate on as a fan of the sport — Woodley vs. Condit, for instance. But there are only so many ways to inform you readers that several lower-level fights have recently been booked on (under)cards you probably won’t even watch, so when all else fails, we resort to the GIF. Let’s get to the fight bookings!

 

#6 – Brad Scott vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva – Fight Night 37 (March 8, London)

I have no idea who these people are. Ranking: 


(“You know what, Steve, I’m not really feeling this fight. Think I’ll just sit out a few plays.” Photo via Getty.)

Fight-booking articles are a dime a dozen. Throw a couple statistics here, a fighter breakdown there, and top it all off with some information about the event and you’ve got yourself a perfectly normal, haiku-length article that you could almost pass off as journalism. And then its back to huffing duster in your grandmother’s basement, desperately and fruitlessly attempting to blind yourself from the hellscape that has become your reality. But at least you don’t have to wear a tie to work! (*laughs, cries into whiskey*)

The point is, there are some matchups you can’t help but elaborate on as a fan of the sport – Woodley vs. Condit, for instance. But there are only so many ways to inform you readers that several lower-level fights have recently been booked on (under)cards you probably won’t even watch, so when all else fails, we resort to the GIF. Let’s get to the fight bookings!

 

#6 – Brad Scott vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva – Fight Night 37 (March 8, London)

I have no idea who these people are. Ranking: 

 

#5 – Tony Martin vs. Rashid Magomedov – UFC 169 (Feb. 1, NJ)

I have no idea who either of these people are either, but as Chairman of the Russian-U.S.A. Coalition for a Better, More Tolerant Tomorrow (RUSAECBMTT, for short), I am semi-obligated to hype the 15-1 Magomedov. He’s on an eight fight tear and is a solid grappler if the Interwebz are to be believed, but he also hasn’t fought in over a year, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares against the 8-0 ground wizard Tim Martin, who will also be making his UFC debut. Ranking:

 

#4 – Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov – UFC 169 

It’s do-or-die time for TUF 16‘s Neil Magny, who will enter the cage on February 1st having dropped his last two fights to Sergio Moraes and Seth Baczynski at UFC 163 and Fight for the Troops 3, respectively. Unfortunately for Magny, he’s been matched against another Russian with a solid record and a surname ending in “tov.” Luckily for Magny, “tov” ranks behind “dov,” “bov” and even “nov” in terms of the P4P most devastating last syllable of a surname (LSoS, for short) that can possessed by a Russian…

…what was I talking about again? Boobs? Boobs. Ranking:

 

#3 – Luke Barnatt vs. Mats Nilsson – Fight Night 37

Luke Barnatt may be on the heels of his biggest career win (a second round submission over Andrew Craig in Fight Night 30′s “Fight of the Night”), but I think the most important thing here is his nickname, “Bigslow.” Does it just mean that Barnatt is both big AND slow, and if so, why did he combine two normal words into one terrible word? Or is his nickname, as I believe, his way of informing the public that he is the bastard son of Kim Winslow and Bigfoot? Think about it, they’re both lanky, white as whipped cream, and “do” MMA. What other evidence do you need?

Anyways, Bigslow is going to savage UFC newcomer Mats Nilsson like the dude stole his Jack Links beef jerky. Ranking:

 

#2 – Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker – UFC 170 (Feb. 22, Vegas)

Whether it’s been in victory or defeat, there’s no denying that TUF Smashes winner Robert Whittaker has been entertaining as hell to watch in the octagon. On the heels of a hard fought decision loss to Court McGee at Fight Night 27, Whittaker will be given no easy rebound fight in “Wonderboy” Thomson, who improved to 3-1 in the UFC with a 2nd round TKO of Chris Clements at UFC 165.

A fierce and technical striker with an impeccable kickboxing record, Thompson’s sole loss in the UFC has come at the hands of the resurgent Matt Brown in April of last year. His style is pretty much the antithesis of Whittaker, a brawler who usually looks for the one-punch KO, so Thompson will either continue to do what he do and make short work of the Aussie or wind up on the wrong side of an upset KO. In either case, this is definitely a fight worth watching. Ranking:

 

#1 – John Lineker vs. Ali Bagautinov – UFC 169 

Score another one for the Armchair Matchmaker, which rightfully called for and in turn received a matchup between top flyweight contenders John Lineker and Ali BagautiNOV (told ya). We all know the story with Lineker: 4-1 in the UFC, hits like a truck full of bricks, weighs-in like a truck full of ham, yadda yadda. If he can actually make 125 lbs for once and put away a rising star like Bagautinov, who improved his UFC record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over the highly-touted Tim Elliot at UFC 167, we could be looking at our next title challenger. In which case, slugfest much?

Speaking of nicknames, “Puncher King” might be the most Russian nickname ever. Ranking:

How would you rank these fights of varying importance? Let us know in the comments section. 

–J. Jones

UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz — Live Results & Commentary


(An elusive striker who throws punches like they cost him money vs. a former All-American wrestler. Yeah, baby. This is the matchup the Brits have been *begging* for. / Photo via Getty)

Today’s UFC Fight Night 30 card in Manchester is clearly one of those European events that we Americans aren’t really supposed to care about. But we’re here, and if you’re reading this, you’re here too. So let’s make the most of it.

In the main event, the impressively-shredded Lyoto Machida makes his 185-pound debut against Mark Munoz, while Ross Pearson will do his best not to win Fight of the Night in his meeting with Melvin Guillard. Plus: Undefeated Nigerian destroyer Jimi Manuwa slugs it out with Ryan Jimmo, and TUF Smashes winner Norman Parke will look for his third UFC win in a row against Jon Tuck.

Handling the play-by-play for us today will be George Shunick, who will be stacking results from the FOX Sports 2 main card broadcast after the jump beginning at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and fire off your own observational witticisms in the comments section.


(An elusive striker who throws punches like they cost him money vs. a former All-American wrestler. Yeah, baby. This is the matchup the Brits have been *begging* for. / Photo via Getty)

Today’s UFC Fight Night 30 card in Manchester is clearly one of those European events that we Americans aren’t really supposed to care about. But we’re here, and if you’re reading this, you’re here too. So let’s make the most of it.

In the main event, the impressively-shredded Lyoto Machida makes his 185-pound debut against Mark Munoz, while Ross Pearson will do his best not to win Fight of the Night in his meeting with Melvin Guillard. Plus: Undefeated Nigerian destroyer Jimi Manuwa slugs it out with Ryan Jimmo, and TUF Smashes winner Norman Parke will look for his third UFC win in a row against Jon Tuck.

Handling the play-by-play for us today will be George Shunick, who will be stacking results from the FOX Sports 2 main card broadcast after the jump beginning at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and fire off your own observational witticisms in the comments section.

Preliminary Card Results
– Al Iaquinta def. Piotr Hallmann via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Luke Barnatt def. Andrew Craig via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:12 of round 2
– Jessica Andrade def. Rosi Sexton via unanimous decision (30-26 x 2, 30-27)
– Cole Miller def. Andy Ogle via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Jimy Hettes def. Robert Whiteford via technical submission (triangle choke), 2:17 of round 2
– Brad Scott def. Michael Kuiper via submission (front choke), 4:17 of round 1

Welcome Potato Nation, to this Saturday presentation of the prestigious UFC liveblog. I know plenty of you are probably surfing between watching the fights and college football – not that any of you went to college, you degenerates – so this should keep you up-to-date on today’s happenings while you attempt to filter the sheer amount of sanctioned violence you will bear witness to. The main event today will be Lyoto Machida making his debut in the middleweight division against wrestler and power striker Mark Muñoz. I’m taking Machida, but don’t discount Muñoz’ knockout power or the judges’ ability to utterly fail to understand the most basic precepts of MMA. With that said, on to the fights!

Phil Harris vs. John Lineker

Like Lineker here; dude packs serious power and manages to be an exceptionally exciting fighter in an exciting division to begin with. Harris will be a test, but one he should pass.

Round 1

Harris misses an overhand. Lineker lands a low kick that spins Harris around. Overhand from Harris grazes Lineker. Low kick from Lineker spins Harris around again. Another lands. Harris’ leg is already reddened. Harris lands a 1-2 combo. Another right from Harris. Linker drops him with a right, but it’s as much a slip as the power. Body shot from Lineker. Left hook rocks Harris! He’s wobbly but fires back. Right hand drops Harris. Harris stands but he’s wobbly and eating shots. Body shots followed by a left hook to the head. Harris is in big trouble. Left hook the liver drops Harris, Lineker swarms and it’s all over. Beautiful liver shot from Lineker ends the fight. John Lineker def. Phil Harris via TKO, 2:51 of round 1.

Replay shows the punch landed on Harris’ solar plexus. As Rogan notes, Lineker didn’t make weight for the fight; still, it’s an impressive win. Lineker is still relatively raw and isn’t remotely ready to hang with John Dodson or Demetrious Johnson, but it will be interesting to see him develop over the next year or two.

Alessio Sakara vs. Nicholas Musoke

Musoke is from Sweden. Sakara is from Italy. Ummmm… that’s the extent of my analysis here.

Round 1

Musoke moving forward, but Sakara hurts him and tosses him to the ground. Sakara lands a left inside Musoke’s guard. Sakara gets caught! Musoke lands knees from the clinch! Both men are swinging in the middle of the octagon now! Musoke clinches against the fence and takes Sakara down. Sakara went for a triangle, but Musoke uses this to pass to half-guard. Now side control. Knee to the body from Musoke. Sakara regains half-guard. Sakara explodes from the bottom and starts throwing bombs from the top! Now in Musoke’s guard. WHOA! Musoke with an armbar out of nowhere wins it for the Swede! Nicholas Musoke def. Alessio Sakara via verbal submission (armbar), 3:07 of round 1.

If you blinked, you missed that armbar. Damn. Excellent debut for Musoke. Gustafsson, in the crowd, applauds his countryman’s accomplishments. In the polite, reserved Swedish manner, of course.

Norman Parke vs. Jon Tuck

Norman Parke is a TUF Smashes winner. Jon Tuck is a former competitor on TUF Live. In other words, none of you know who either fighter is.

Round 1

Jon Tuck’s nickname is “The Super Saiyan.” Well I know who I’m rooting for. Tuck opens with a headkick. He lands a low kick. Body kick from Tuck. Parke answers with one of his own. Right lands from Tuck. Parke lands a low kick. High kick from Tuck blocked. Nice left hand from Parke. Tuck unloads with three straight rights. They exchange crosses. Parke wiffs on a 1-2. Parke says he got poked but Tuck goes after him anyway; the ref doesn’t intervene. Rogan claims there was no eye poke according to replays. Both exchange crosses again; Tuck’s right against Parke’s left. Teep from Tuck. Low kick Tuck. Tuck barely misses a high kick. Parke lands a nice counter left. Right to the body from Tuck. Parke goes for a takedown at the end of the round and gets it just as time expires. Close round. 10-10.

Round 2

Left to the body from Parke, who’s gaining the momentum. Now he works the jab.Tuck is slowing down but lands a nice body kick. Parke lands a counter left, the a shot to the body. Nice right from Tuck. Uppercut from Parke. Right hook, left cross from Parke. Parke is putting the pressure on now. He’s beginning to land more and more. Left to the body followed by a kick from Parke. Uppercut Parke. Three punch combo for Parke. Nice body shot from Tuck, but immediately countered with a cross. Another cross lands for Parke. Parke isn’t letting Tuck breathe. He’s continuing to land combinations at will. Tuck is tired, and it’s really showing right now. He tries for a flying knee, but it’s blocked. Uppercut-cross combo from Parke. Tuck misses a superman punch off the cage. Parke lands another left. Round ends, 10-9 Parke.

Round 3

jab lands from Parke. Parke misses a capoeira kick. Body shot from Parke. Tuck needs to get the fight to the ground, but he’s not making any effort to do so. They exchange in the center of the ring, smiling at each other. Tuck’s mouthpiece is knocked out, and he’s hit with a barrage as he picks it up and pops it back in his mouth. now he’s getting tagged repeatedly by Parke. Tuck is simply exhausted. Tuck lands a body shot and a knee from the clinch. Parke with a big combo, though. Uppercut from Parke. Then an overhand. Park with a body kick. Tuck is on fumes as the last minute approaches. Left over the top from Parke. 3 punch combo lands from Parke. Two big overhands from Park. They’re exchanging until the end of the round, with Parke almost landing that capoeira kick. He should win this fight handily though.

Norman Parke def. Jon Tuck via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27). Tuck should’ve eaten a senzu bean between rounds. That’s just poor planning on his part.

Jimi Manuwa vs. Ryan Jimmo

On one hand, Jimi Manuwa is a terrifying striker. On the other, he’s got a terrible ground game. He last beat Cyrille Diabate when the latter injured his calf. In other words, I’m not sold on the hype. Jimmo by submission or decision.

Round 1

Jimmo comes forward. Manuwa lands a left. Jimmo with a low kick. He reutns with a kick that Manuwa catches. Jimmo uses this to initiate a clinch and bring the fight to the fence. Manuwa lands a knee. Jimmo focusing on positioning. The ref separates them, and Manuwa lands two knees and pushes Jimmo into the fence. Jimmo lands a knee to the face, but it lacks the impact of Manuwa’s. Manuwa landing knees to the thighs of Jimmo. Jimmo winces and turns them around against the cage. Manuwa switches now, but the ref separates them. Jimmo’s in obvious pain, and Manuwa accentuates his point with a low kick. Body kick from Jimmo. Low kick from Manuwa. Hook kick almost lands from Manuwa. Jimmo answers a low kick with a body kick. Manuwa seems like he’s beginning to slow.Jimmo has more energy, but he’s currently refusing to engage. Manuwa tries to chase him down. Jimmo lands a counter right on a hard kick from Manuwa. 10-9 Manuwa.

Round 2

Manuwa rushes in and lands a right, only to get turned around and put against the cage. Jimmo can’t land anything from this position, though. Nice knee to the face, though. The ref breaks them. BIG body kick from Manuwa. Jimmo lands a low kick. High kicked from Manuwa blocked, but vicious low kick lands. Another lands. Manuwa rushes Jimmo into the fence, and begins to land short knees until he’s quickly reversed. Still, Jimmo can’t manage to do much with this position. Jimmo is hit with a low blow, and the fight is briefly stopped. Low kick from Manuwa. Jimmo almost lands a takedown, but they’re back against the fence, neither man doing anything. They’re separated again. Manuwa pushes Jimmo into the fence. They separate and Manuwa lands a big knee! Suddenly Jimmo goes down; it doesn’t appear to have been caused by the knee. The fight is over. The Curse of Manuwa strikes again. Jimi Manuwa def. Ryan Jimmo via TKO (injury), 4:41 of round 2.

Rogan asks Manuwa what sorcerer he trained with prior to this fight. Or he would if he was a responsible broadcaster! Alas, we will never know what dark magics played a role in his triumph. In the meantime, we get a shot of Michael Bisping firing up the crowd with something other than vitriol. Only in Britain.

Ross Pearson vs. Melvin Guillard

This fight isn’t as one-sided as some of you might think. Yes, Guillard has the speed and power, but on the other hand… he’s Melvin Guillard. He can be dominating the fight, but the instant something goes wrong he loses. His misfortunes metastasize as a single slipping rock may set off an avalanche. Should he win? Yes. Will he? I’m not so sure.

Round 1

They touch gloves. Guillard moving on the outside. Pearson with an inside leg kick. Guillard lands a left. Kick checked by Pearson. Inside kick from Pearson. Guillard misses an uppercut. Guillard lands a right to Pearson’s temple. And another. Guillard is loose now. Pearson still pushing forward. Knee from the clinch by Guillard. Flying knee from Pearson, who lands on the canvas! As he tries to return to his feet, Guillard knees him in the temple. The fight is stopped; the first knee is barely legal. However, the second knee is technically illegal — Pearson’s hand was on the ground. All in all, an unsatisfying conclusion to this business.

The fight is declared a no-contest due to an accidental illegal knee (1:57 of round 1). The audio keeps cutting out, presumably due to audience profanity, as Rogan tries to interview Pearson. Pearson has a nasty cut on his forehead; even if the fight wasn’t stopped for an illegal blow, it wouldn’t have lasted much longer. That cut would’ve been a fight-ender.

Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Muñoz

Machida’s movement, striking and takedown defense should prove too much here. Most people forget that Muñoz’ takedowns aren’t that exceptional; he was an accomplished collegiate wrestler largely on the strength of his scrambling and positional abilities. However, should Muñoz succeed in taking Machida down, he’s more than capable of finishing him. His ground and pound is extraordinarily powerful, and possesses more power from the guard than anyone since Fedor. But I suspect it won’t factor into this fight. Machida via decision.

Round 1

They touch gloves. Lots of distance between the two fighters so far. Machida looking for oblique kicks. Machida showing some weird movement right now. Over a minute in, no strikes landed. Muñoz misses a kick. Then he misses a takedown. Body kick from Machida lands! That’s our first strike, two minutes in. Hard body kick from Machida. Low kick Machida. HEAD KICK KNOCKOUT FOR MACHIDA! WOW! Fight’s over, ladies and gentlemen. Lyoto Machida def. Mark Munoz via KO, 3:10 of round 1.

So, Machida just won KO of the Night with that. He leaped on Muñoz when he fell, but restrained himself from following through, seeing Muñoz was out. Then they embraced when Muñoz came to. Lyoto Machida is that dude who will take you out and give you a hug after. Like a hyper-violent teddy bear. Nothing special in the post-fight interview. That’s all for today, heathens!

Four Hidden Storylines For ‘UFC Fight Night 30: Machida vs. Munoz’

By Adam Martin

UFC Fight Night 30: Machida vs. Munoz is really flying under the radar as an overall card (thanks in no small part to the truly epic evening that was UFC 166), but if you take a closer look at it, there are actually quite a few intriguing matchups with important questions to answer.

I’ve combed the card up and down and I’ve come up with four hidden storylines that viewers should be aware of going into UFC Fight Night 30. Let me know what you think in the comments section, and be sure to come back to CagePotato on Saturday for our liveblog of the broadcast.

1) Can Lyoto Machida Make a Run at the Middleweight Title?

The most important question that UFC Fight Night 30 will answer, in my opinion, is whether or not Lyoto Machida is going to make a run for the UFC middleweight title. The former light heavyweight champion dropped down to 185 pounds after a controversial decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163 and now faces Mark Munoz in Saturday’s main event.

With a win over Munoz, one of the top 10 fighters in the division, Machida will instantly prove that he has what it takes to make a run for the belt at 185 pounds and become just the third fighter in UFC history to win titles in two separate weight classes (the other two fighters who have accomplished this feat being Randy Couture and BJ Penn).

By Adam Martin

UFC Fight Night 30: Machida vs. Munoz is really flying under the radar as an overall card (thanks in no small part to the truly epic evening that was UFC 166), but if you take a closer look at it, there are actually quite a few intriguing matchups with important questions to answer.

I’ve combed the card up and down and I’ve come up with four hidden storylines that viewers should be aware of going into UFC Fight Night 30. Let me know what you think in the comments section, and be sure to come back to CagePotato on Saturday for our liveblog of the broadcast.

1) Can Lyoto Machida Make a Run at the Middleweight Title?

The most important question that UFC Fight Night 30 will answer, in my opinion, is whether or not Lyoto Machida is going to make a run for the UFC middleweight title. The former light heavyweight champion dropped down to 185 pounds after a controversial decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163 and now faces Mark Munoz in Saturday’s main event.

With a win over Munoz, one of the top 10 fighters in the division, Machida will instantly prove that he has what it takes to make a run for the belt at 185 pounds and become just the third fighter in UFC history to win titles in two separate weight classes (the other two fighters who have accomplished this feat being Randy Couture and BJ Penn).

Simply put, Munoz is an incredibly talented mixed martial artist who looked amazing against Tim Boetsch in his last fight, but he’s shown that he can be KO’d and if there’s anything Machida has it’s power. Power and accuracy. Power and accuracy and halitosis. Aside from having all that, Machida also uses his wrestling in reverse better than almost anyone on the planet. He was able to consistently stuff the takedowns of Rashad Evans and Phil Davis at 205 pounds, which leads me to believe that he should have no trouble stuffing Munoz’s, as well. Add in the fact that the fight is five rounds and its makes me lean towards a Machida finish even more, especially considering the result of his last fight.

This weekend, look for Machida to knock Munoz out and emerge as a legit threat to the middleweight championship. And if Chris Weidman beats Anderson Silva in their rematch at UFC 168, you better believe that Machida will be the next guy in line against “The All American” in a fight that could end up being one of the most anticipated of 2014.

2) Will Jimi Manuwa emerge as a dark horse contender at 205 pounds?

There aren’t many undefeated fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division, but one of them is Britain’s Jimi Manuwa, who puts his 13-0 record on the line against Canadian Ryan Jimmo in a main-card matchup at UFC Fight Night 30.

After emerging as a knockout artist on the British regional circuit, Manuwa has come into the UFC and absolutely brutalized Kyle Kingsbury and Cyrille Diabate to the point where both men could no longer fight in his first two fights. In fact, Manuwa iss the only fighter in UFC history to have two fights stopped in between rounds, which shows you just how much power this man is packing in his limbs.

Still, while Manuwa has owned everyone in his path so far, Jimmo does represent a significant step up in competition. It’ll be Manuwa’s toughest test to date, in my opinion, if only because of Jimmo’s ability to get fights to the ground and grind them out. And if Kingsbury was able to get Manuwa down, I think Jimmo can as well, although I’m sure Manuwa’s wrestling has improved a lot in the last year.

At the same time, if Manuwa can stop the takedowns and keep this fight on the feet and land shots on Jimmo, then he should be able to score his 14th career stoppage in his 14th career fight. If he can knock Jimmo out cold, I fully expect the UFC to start pushing him into top 10 territory — his fighting style is too marketable not to.

I believe that Manuwa will beat Jimmo this weekend and emerge as a dark horse contender at 205 pounds. I just wish he wasn’t 33 years old, but hey, this is MMA: Fighters in their 30′s can be called prospects. It happens all the time.

3) Alessio Sakara‘s Last Stand

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but middleweight Alessio Sakara is still on the UFC roster, and this Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 30 the Italian striker returns to the cage to face off against Sweden’s Nicholas Musoke in a main card bout that absolutely no one is talking about.

And it’s for good reason that no one is talking about it, as Sakara has lost his last three fights in the UFC and looks to be on the final legs of his career, while Musoke is a total unknown who took this fight on short notice. Yet for some reason the UFC put it on the main card while a good matchup like Andrew Craig vs. Luke Barnatt gets relegated to the prelims. (Who puts together these bout orders, anyways? I just don’t understand it.)

Sakara has been employed by the UFC since 2005, but he’s put up a mediocre 6-7, 1 NC record during that time and only one of those victories is over a current UFC fighter. That would be Thales Leites, who Sakara beat due to a bad judges’ decision at UFC 101. We just passed UFC 166. You get the point.

I think the only reason that Sakara is still in the UFC is because he has cool-looking tattoos and because he is the only Italian fighter on the entire roster. Because if you look at his last batch of fights, he just isn’t UFC caliber, and when the promotion goes and fires a guy like Yushin Okami and keeps Sakara on the roster, it really makes me scratch my head.

To be fair to Sakara, he is generally involved in exciting fights, but at some point winning has to become the priority, and if Sakara loses his fourth straight against Musoke this weekend, the UFC is going to hard a very hard time justifying his roster spot. And that’s why I believe it’s Sakara’s last stand at UFC Fight Night 30.

 4) Why Did Jimy Hettes Fall so Far? 

UFC 141 was nearly two years ago, but I still remember the night very clearly.

That was the Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem card, and while that match and the Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone fight overshadowed almost everything else on that card, one other fight remains very vivid in my mind to this very day.

That was the performance of Jimy Hettes, who schooled Nam Phan on the ground for 15 minutes in the opening PPV fight of the night. It was the first time I had seen Hettes fight, and I remember being absolutely blown away by the performance of “The Kid” that night, as he displayed an absolutely brilliant BJJ game that left UFC commentator Joe Rogan at a loss for words.

After that incredible performance on one of the biggest cards of 2011, I was really excited for Hettes’ return to the Octagon, and at UFC 152 he came back to take on Marcus Brimage in an undercard fight that everyone expected him to dominate. Unfortunately for Hettes, he couldn’t take Brimage down and got exposed on the feet en route to a unanimous decision loss – the first defeat of his career.

It’s over a year later now, and Hettes finally returns to the cage and this weekend he takes on UFC newcomer Robert Whiteford on the Facebook prelims of UFC Fight Night 30, a huge fall from being in the opening fight of a Brock Lesnar card. It makes one wonder: Why did “The Kid” fall so far? It’s a fair question, but in my opinion, I think it was a combination of injuries, the short-term memory of MMA fans, and just how disappointed everyone was in his performance against Brimage.

This weekend, however, Hettes has a chance to bounce back and prove to everyone that he’s still a capable featherweight. If he can take out Whiteford in impressive fashion like I think he can, I expect a lot of people to get back aboard the Hettes bandwagon.

UFC Booking Update: Lineker vs. Harris, Manuwa vs. Jimmo Added to Fight Night 30 in Manchester


(Clearly, Kingsbu zigged when he should have zagged. / Image via Getty)

The UFC’s return to Manchester on October 26th (aka UFC Fight Night 30) is continuing its “UK vs. the World” theme with two more interesting matchups. In addition to the Bisping vs. Munoz headliner and Guillard vs. Pearson co-main, UFC officials have confirmed that Brazilian flyweight contender John Lineker will compete on the card against England’s own Phil Harris.

Lineker and Harris were originally supposed to meet at UFC 163 last weekend, but Harris had to withdraw due to a training injury, and was replaced by Jose Maria. Lineker beat Maria by second-round TKO, bumping his UFC record to 3-0. Now, the Lineker/Harris matchup has been rescheduled on the Brit’s home turf. Assuming he actually makes weight this time, an impressive win for Lineker here could clinch him a flyweight title shot.

Also on the UFC Fight Night 30 card, a light-heavyweight matchup between undefeated Nigerian-English juggernaut Jimi Manuwa and breakdancing-Canadian Ryan Jimmo is also being targeted for the event. In 13 professional fights, Manuawa has never let an opponent see the third round; his two UFC appearances resulted in a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage against Kyle Kingsbury and a TKO win due to injury against Cyrille Diabaté.

Jimmo recently bounced back to the win column with a decision win against Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He’ll surely be the underdog in this fight, but he might be able to slow Manauwa’s pace with his wrestling long enough to land one big shot. If you’ve got predictions, let ’em rip…


(Clearly, Kingsbu zigged when he should have zagged. / Image via Getty)

The UFC’s return to Manchester on October 26th (aka UFC Fight Night 30) is continuing its “UK vs. the World” theme with two more interesting matchups. In addition to the Bisping vs. Munoz headliner and Guillard vs. Pearson co-main, UFC officials have confirmed that Brazilian flyweight contender John Lineker will compete on the card against England’s own Phil Harris.

Lineker and Harris were originally supposed to meet at UFC 163 last weekend, but Harris had to withdraw due to a training injury, and was replaced by Jose Maria. Lineker beat Maria by second-round TKO, bumping his UFC record to 3-0. Now, the Lineker/Harris matchup has been rescheduled on the Brit’s home turf. Assuming he actually makes weight this time, an impressive win for Lineker here could clinch him a flyweight title shot.

Also on the UFC Fight Night 30 card, a light-heavyweight matchup between undefeated Nigerian-English juggernaut Jimi Manuwa and breakdancing-Canadian Ryan Jimmo is also being targeted for the event. In 13 professional fights, Manuawa has never let an opponent see the third round; his two UFC appearances resulted in a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage against Kyle Kingsbury and a TKO win due to injury against Cyrille Diabaté.

Jimmo recently bounced back to the win column with a decision win against Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He’ll surely be the underdog in this fight, but he might be able to slow Manauwa’s pace with his wrestling long enough to land one big shot. If you’ve got predictions, let ‘em rip…

‘UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie’ Aftermath: The Wrong Hands


(Photo courtesy of Josh Hedges/Getty Images.)

By George Shunick

If you dropped upwards of $50 on UFC 163 last night, you’re probably pretty frustrated right about now. This isn’t to say that UFC 163 was the worst pay-per-view in recent memory – although it certainly wasn’t the best – but that it failed to meet expectations across the board. The main event saw a fairly solid fight end early after the challenger, Chang Sung Jung, dislocated his shoulder and the champion, Jose Aldo, took advantage of that fact in brutal fashion. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Lyoto Machida somehow managed to lose to Phil Davis despite landing harder, cleaner strikes, more strikes overall, dictating the exchanges, taking virtually no damage, stuffing 80% of Davis’ takedowns, and being better by virtually any acceptable metric. And while there were some bright spots from the other fights, it just wasn’t enough to overshadow that feeling that what should have been simply wasn’t in the fights we really cared about.

The main event itself, in a way, was hampered from the get-go. In the first round the Korean Zombie checked an Aldo leg kick, possibly breaking Aldo’s right foot. As a result, the champion was forced to call upon his other weapons. In particular, he favored the jab he developed prior to his last fight against Frankie Edgar. Because he’s an exceptional fighter, Aldo was able to still take the fight to Jung without his primary weapon, but began to slow in the third. Whether that’s because Aldo is getting too large for the division and was fatigued from cutting weight or because fighting on a broken foot kind of sucks, I don’t know. But Jung began to gain some momentum heading into the fourth round. There, as he threw a right cross, Aldo countered with a left hook over Jung’s outstretched arm. As Jung’s arm was exposed to the awkward momentum generated from colliding with Aldo’s hook, his shoulder dislocated. The Korean Zombie gritted his teeth and tried to pop the arm back in, but Aldo smelled blood, took him down, and unloaded with ground and pound. While it may not have been enough to stop a fight against a healthy Jung, Herb Dean noticed Jung was unable to defend himself and stopped it.


(Photo courtesy of Josh Hedges/Getty Images.)

By George Shunick

If you dropped upwards of $50 on UFC 163 last night, you’re probably pretty frustrated right about now. This isn’t to say that UFC 163 was the worst pay-per-view in recent memory – although it certainly wasn’t the best – but that it failed to meet expectations across the board. The main event saw a fairly solid fight end early after the challenger, Chang Sung Jung, dislocated his shoulder and the champion, Jose Aldo, took advantage of that fact in brutal fashion. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Lyoto Machida somehow managed to lose to Phil Davis despite landing harder, cleaner strikes, more strikes overall, dictating the exchanges, taking virtually no damage, stuffing 80% of Davis’ takedowns, and being better by virtually any acceptable metric. And while there were some bright spots from the other fights, it just wasn’t enough to overshadow that feeling that what should have been simply wasn’t in the fights we really cared about.

The main event itself, in a way, was hampered from the get-go. In the first round the Korean Zombie checked an Aldo leg kick, possibly breaking Aldo’s right foot. As a result, the champion was forced to call upon his other weapons. In particular, he favored the jab he developed prior to his last fight against Frankie Edgar. Because he’s an exceptional fighter, Aldo was able to still take the fight to Jung without his primary weapon, but began to slow in the third. Whether that’s because Aldo is getting too large for the division and was fatigued from cutting weight or because fighting on a broken foot kind of sucks, I don’t know. But Jung began to gain some momentum heading into the fourth round. There, as he threw a right cross, Aldo countered with a left hook over Jung’s outstretched arm. As Jung’s arm was exposed to the awkward momentum generated from colliding with Aldo’s hook, his shoulder dislocated. The Korean Zombie gritted his teeth and tried to pop the arm back in, but Aldo smelled blood, took him down, and unloaded with ground and pound. While it may not have been enough to stop a fight against a healthy Jung, Herb Dean noticed Jung was unable to defend himself and stopped it.

Messy as it was, at least the main event had a definitive finish. I’m not sure what more can be said about Phil Davis’ “win” over Lyoto Machida that hasn’t already be said. Virtually every media observer scored the fight 30-27 for Machida. Some will argue that Machida “didn’t do enough,” which is ridiculous. By any standard – if you argue Davis landed more takedowns, it could be argued stuffing eight as opposed to allowing two inconsequential ones is more significant – he did more than Phil Davis. There really isn’t any room for debate here. People will toss around the phrase “don’t leave it up to the judges,” or some variation thereof, which is an exceptionally stupid reaction to have. Fights go to the judges. When they do, the judges ought to be able to score them competently. If they can’t, they shouldn’t judge fights. Simple as that. Machida isn’t under obligation to change his style; whether or not it requires patience to appreciate, it’s undeniably effective. Unfortunately, in MMA, effectiveness doesn’t always beat incompetence.

With all that said, there were some legitimate bright spots on the rest of the card. Anthony Perosh had a stunning 14-second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes. I’m not really sure if this is a bright spot considering Magalhaes is a much more interesting fighter than the 40 year-old Perosh, and he’ll probably end up cut because of this, but it was a shocking, exciting finish nonetheless. Ian McCall got back on the winning track with a Fight of The Night performance against Iliarde Santos. And John Lineker made a big entrance into the UFC flyweight division (OK, catchweight division) with a vicious TKO of Jose Maria Tome. Don’t be surprised to see Lineker get fast tracked to a title shot against Mighty Mouse with another win or two, assuming he can make the weight; the man has legitimately earned his nickname “Hands of Stone.” (Sorry Sam Stout. “Hands of Polyester” is still available, though!)

Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for what could have – or what should have – been. Aldo will hopefully move up in weight after this and, as much as I feel bad for poor T.J. Grant, get an immediate title shot. Hopefully against Anthony Pettis. For Jung, he’ll have to work his way back into contention. Assuming he recovers well, that shouldn’t be too hard, although I can’t say I’d favor him against Frankie Edgar. As for Phil Davis, I doubt this performance will land him a title shot, especially as Daniel Cormier looks to drop down to 205 after his fight with Roy Nelson. Machida deserves a rematch, but he won’t get one. Regardless of how effective, intelligent and even artful his style is, most fans just don’t have the patience for it. And unfortunately, it appears some judges don’t as well.

Full Results:

Main Card
Jose Aldo def. Chan Sung Jung via TKO (punches), 2:00 of Round Four
Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida via Unanimous Decision
Cezar Ferreira def. Thiago Santos via Submission (guillotine choke), 0:47 of Round One
Thales Leites def. Tom Watson Unanimous Decision
John Lineker def. José Maria via TKO (punches), 1:03 of Round Two

Preliminary Card
Anthony Perosh def. Vinny Magalhães via KO (punches), 0:14 of Round One
Amanda Nunes def. Sheila Gaff via TKO (elbows), 2:08 of Round One
Sergio Moraes def. Neil Magny via Submission (triangle choke), 3:13 of Round One
Ian McCall def. Iliarde Santos via Unanimous Decision
Rani Yahya def. Josh Clopton via Unanimous Decision
Francimar Barroso def. Ednaldo Oliveira Unanimous Decision
Viscardi Andrade def. Bristol Marunde via TKO (punches), 1:36 of Round One