(Upkick me once, shame on you. Upkick me twice, shame on me. Upkick me six times…seriously, bro?)
From Nate Diaz‘s hilarious taunts to Lavar Johnson‘s brutalization of Pat Barry, here are the best moments from Saturday night’s UFC card in animated GIF form. Props to IronForgesIron, the UG, and TheBigLead. More good stuff after the jump.
(Pablo Garza vs. Dennis Bermudez: Upkick me once, shame on you. Upkick me twice, shame on me. Upkick me six times…seriously, bro?)
From Nate Diaz‘s hilarious taunts to Lavar Johnson‘s brutalization of Pat Barry, here are the best moments from Saturday night’s UFC card in animated GIF form. Props to IronForgesIron, the UG, and TheBigLead. More good stuff after the jump.
As expected, it was a great idea to pit two heavyweight knock out artists against one another for the Fox audience. Lavar Johnson and Pat Barry swung for the fences and beat the tar out of each other for almost a whole round before Johnson stopped Barry with punches.
Johnson now has two consecutive entertaining UFC wins under his belt, after back to back Strikeforce submission losses. He’ll likely get at least a couple more style-friendly sluggers to duke it out with from the UFC since he’s performed so well against them thus far.
Barry’s situation may be a little more complicated. The former K-1 fighter always brings it in his fights, is fan-friendly and has some big wins on his resume. But he’s also now lost three out of his last four fights and five out of his last eight. One would imagine he’ll get at least some more fights from the UFC given that he won his prior fight and how exciting he was, even in defeat, against Johnson.
As expected, it was a great idea to pit two heavyweight knock out artists against one another for the Fox audience. Lavar Johnson and Pat Barry swung for the fences and beat the tar out of each other for almost a whole round before Johnson stopped Barry with punches.
Johnson now has two consecutive entertaining UFC wins under his belt, after back to back Strikeforce submission losses. He’ll likely get at least a couple more style-friendly sluggers to duke it out with from the UFC since he’s performed so well against them thus far.
Barry’s situation may be a little more complicated. The former K-1 fighter always brings it in his fights, is fan-friendly and has some big wins on his resume. But he’s also now lost three out of his last four fights and five out of his last eight. One would imagine he’ll get at least some more fights from the UFC given that he won his prior fight and how exciting he was, even in defeat, against Johnson.
Alan Belcher may have just capped the stealthiest rise to title contender in the UFC with his first round TKO win over Rousimar Palhares. Belcher defended a flurry of leg-lock attempts from Palhares expertly, allowing his He-Man shaped opponent to gas out, before putting on a ground striking clinic and finishing the fight himself.
Belcher has only lost one time since September of 2008, and that was a controversial decision to Yoshihiro Akiyama. He’s now piled up four consecutive finishes against solid competition and, short of Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz and Hector Lombard, there are not many other names other than Belcher’s to consider as #1 middleweight contender.
We got exactly what we could have expected out of the matchup between former NCAA Division I wrestling national champions Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks – a wild slug fest. Top wrestlers like Koscheck, Hendricks and Dan Henderson often carry with them nasty one-punch natural knockout power, which they typically wield with reckless abandon. After all, they don’t usually have to worry about being taken down no matter how much they over extend themselves on strikes.
That’s what we saw with Hendricks and Koscheck. They each threw nothing but power shots, in spurts, in between mostly failed takedown attempts. Koscheck appeared to hurt Hendricks in the first round, but Hendricks landed nearly twice as many total strikes as Koscheck, including big uppercuts and straight lefts that landed flush, didn’t seem to face Koscheck, but left the right side of his face swollen badly.
In the end, two judges saw it for Hendricks and one for Koscheck. The fight was close but since Koscheck was gifted a decision over Mike Pierce in his last outing, you can’t feel too badly for the recently liberated long time American Kickboxing Academy fighter.
The good news for Koscheck is that he looked like his old self against Hendricks, after seeming flat against Pierce. Also, the dude has a plane, so, you know…it’s all good.
With as crowded and muddled as the talent-heavy lightweight division title picture is these days, some might have wondered if Dana White’s pre-fight statement that Nate Diaz would get a title shot if he beat fellow contender Jim miller was premature or dubious in its logic. But after beating Miller via second round guillotine submission, Diaz has three consecutive wins over former champs or top contenders.
What’s more is that Diaz beat Miller so emphatically and decisively. Miller is not an easy man to stop, in fact, Diaz is the first person to do so.
No one can say that they wouldn’t want to see the volatile and exciting Diaz take his pin-point striking and nasty submissions and challenge Frankie Edgar or Benson Henderson at this point.
Tonight’s UFC on FOX event is looking to be one for the ages, Potato Nation. The alcohol-fueled spirit of Cinco De Mayo has overtaken most, if not all, of the U.S of A by this point, and I’m no exception, so lets skip the fancy introductions and get right to it.
Preliminary results
-Karlos Vemola def. Mike Massenzio by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:07 of round two.
-Roland Delorme def. Nick Denis by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:59 of round one.
-Dennis Bermudez def. Pablo Garzo by UD
-Danny Castillo def. John Cholsih by UD
-Louis Gaudinot def. John Lineker by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:54 of round 2
-John Hathaway def. Paskal Krauss by UD
-John Dodson def. Tim Elliot by UD
-Michael Johnson def. Tony Ferguson by UD
A couple musings from the prelims:
-Apparently some McDonald’s Happy Meals DO come with Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelts. Just ask Mike Massenzio.
-Nick Denis has a ridiculous rat tail, but it can’t match up with Roland Delorme’s iron chin. What an amazing round of action that was.
Tonight’s UFC on FOX event is looking to be one for the ages, Potato Nation. The alcohol-fueled spirit of Cinco De Mayo has overtaken most, if not all, of the U.S of A by this point, and I’m no exception, so lets skip the fancy introductions and get right to it.
Preliminary results
-Karlos Vemola def. Mike Massenzio by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:07 of round two.
-Roland Delorme def. Nick Denis by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:59 of round one.
-Dennis Bermudez def. Pablo Garzo by UD
-Danny Castillo def. John Cholsih by UD
-Louis Gaudinot def. John Lineker by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:54 of round 2
-John Hathaway def. Paskal Krauss by UD
-John Dodson def. Tim Elliot by UD
-Michael Johnson def. Tony Ferguson by UD
A couple musings from the prelims:
-Apparently some McDonald’s Happy Meals DO come with Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelts. Just ask Mike Massenzio.
-Nick Denis has a ridiculous rat tail, but it can’t match up with Roland Delorme’s iron chin. What an amazing round of action that was.
They give a shout-out to Adam Yauch, who unfortunately lost his battle to cancer at just 47. In his honor, I am starting off this liveblog with a Brass Monkey at my side. Cheers.
Lavar Johnson vs. Pat Barry
Bruce Buffer seemed waaay to enthusiastic when announcing Lavar Johnson’s nickname. Just sayin’.
Round 1: Barry opens with a left hook and a nice leg kick. Johnson clinches. Barry hits a head kick off the fence, then an uppercut. Leg kick Barry. Johnson clinches again. A couple knees to the head from Johnson, then a flurry of those patented uppercuts. Barry looks for a takedown, might be in trouble. Barry moves to mount! Then moves to side control…weird. Barry’s going for an Americana… weirder. Rogan comments on his incorrect technique, but Johnson is grimacing like a sumbitch, so maybe its working. “Big” gets free. The mount is wide open for the taking, but Barry opts to stay in side control. Both men back to their feet, and a leg kick by Barry. Big kick by Johnson spins Barry around, and Johnson is just UNLOADING on Barry against the fence. Is Barry playing possum? Nope, Johnson continues to tee off on Barry until he drops and it is all over. Wow.
Man, Barry must have seriously been rocked, because he was a sitting duck for that last exchange. In either case, a great win for Johnson in defeating the more technical striker. Johnson tries to make the case for KOTN, saying, “He just wants that check.”
My God. Paul Harris’ highlight reel looks like a Faces of Deathmovie trailer. Those poor souls.
Rousimar Palhares vs. Alan Belcher
Goldberg tries to introduce Dan Mirogliatta twice and fails miserably.
Round 1: Both men are tentative at the start. Belcher faints a few jabs, and Palhares dives on a leg. Uh-oh. Holy shit, Belcher is looking for a Twister after a hell of a scramble, and now a banana split. I MUST be drunk. Palhares looking for a kneebar. Belcher defending, but its like watching a car accident happen in slo-mo. Palhares now trying for a heel hook of death. Belcher escapes! HE MUST BE GREASING! Nice elbows by Belcher, who is laying down some serious GnP. IT IS OVER!
Alan Belcher def. Rousimar Palhares via TKO, round 1.
What a victory for Belcher. The man put his legs in the grinder and came out unscathed. What the hell is going on with the audio feed? Either Mike Goldberg is having an aneurysm or something is really up, because one-word spurts are repeating on loop. Anyway, Belcher sort of claims that he is the most dangerous 185er on the ground since he defeated Palhares, and I’m inclined to believe him.
Jesus Christ, is Joe Rogan seriously trying to pass off Mir/Dos Santos as a grudge match? Who cares, because they’re playing “Brass Monkey” in the background of his and Dana White’s little chat. DRINK UP!
Once again, I have to hear that Josh Koscheck does in fact own a motherfucking plane. Screw this, I’m turning off the sound on my TV and throwing on some Danzig.
Round 1: Koscheck comes out with a front kick. Then another. Well, its already gone longer than I’d like it to. Koscheck with a nice right hook on the counter. Hendricks may be hurt, as Koscheck just landed a nice combo on him. Now another. Hendricks is in trouble, and tries a takedown that is ridiculously far from landing. Hendricks lands a nice uppercut, then goes for the double leg. They clinch against the fence, and are separated by Kevin Mulhall. Hendricks with a left hand, then tries for another takedown. Koscheck with a nice combo against the fence. Hendricks is looking for a one-punch KO here. Koscheck tries a spinning LOLfist as the round ends, and he likely took it.
Round 2: Hendricks is throwing looping punches trying to close the distance, but Kos ain’t having it. Uppercut Hendricks. Koscheck looks for a guillotine on a Hendricks takedown attempt, then goes for Hendricks’ back. Hendricks goes for a double and gets Kos against the fence. Crowd getting restless, those animals. On the separation, Kos whiffs a big left, and gets countered with an uppercut. They clinch again, and Kos lands a nice elbow before pushing off. Kos tries a head kick that gets blocked. Hendricks swinging away, then lands a leg kick and clinches as the bell sounds. Close round, but I’d give it to Hendricks.
Round 3: Koschecks eye is starting to resemble the GSP fight, and he bull rushes Hendricks into the fence. Mulhall separates, and the two swing away in a nice exchange. Hendricks lands a nice left hook that seems to hurt Kos, but then Kos fires back. Some really nice dirty boxing by Hendricks, ala Randy Couture. I think Koscheck’s eye may be in some trouble here, as Hendricks lands another knee. Takedown Kos, who briefly attempts an arm-triangle. Koscheck on top, working for mount, but Hendricks gets back to half-guard. Koscheck spends the remainder of the round on top and may take it.
Scratch that.
Johny Hendricks def. Josh Koscheck by split decision.
They’re desperately trying to push this season’s The Ultimate Fighter, but nothing, including Ronda Rousey, is going to make people want to stay in on a Friday night. Just ask….that show Fridays.
It’s main event time…
Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller
Brian Stann just reeled off a good four or five sentences when assessing this fight without saying the word “uh” once. Take that, Jon Jones. I forget who, but someone disagreed with my assessment that Diaz’s victory over Cerrone was “dominant” the other day. Joe Rogan just agreed with me, so SUCK IT WHOEVER YOU WERE.
Per usual, Miller comes out to “Bad Moon Rising,” which only reinforces my belief that he is the coolest thing to come out of Jersey in the history of ever.
Round 1: Diaz doesn’t touch gloves, go figure. Nice leg kick by Miller to start. Diaz clinches after a combination misses, but Miller pushes him into the fence. The crowd is already booing, WTF?! Nice knee by Miller, who tries an elbow over the top to follow. Leg kick Miller, then another. Right hook Diaz, then a nice body shot. Inside leg kick Diaz. Miller clinches Diaz against the fence, trying for a single. Diaz turns things around and lands a nice knee. Body kick Miller. Diaz drops Miller with a straight left! Miller dives for a takedown with 30 seconds left. Nice scramble, and Miller gets Diaz to the mat. Nate sweeps Miller as the round ends.
Round 2: Both men start the round with a left hand. Leg kick Miller, who follows it up with a right hand. Diaz pushes Miller into the fence and lands a few shots to the body. Nice elbow on the break by Miller. Diaz clinches again, looking for the trip, but is unsuccessful. Miller with a left over the top. Diaz tries a flying knee, and the taunting begins. They clinch and Diaz lands a nice knee that causes Miller to drop to a hand. Diaz with a nice elbow, and Miller dives for a takedown. Diaz tries a on-armed guillotine, and gets it! DAMN! Diaz becomes the first man to stop Jim Miller! Great finish!
Nate Diaz def. Jim Miller via submission (guillotine), round 2.
Holy shit. On the replay, Joe Rogan informs us that Miller’s mouthpiece fell out in the scramble, and he was nearly biting his own tongue off before he tapped.
Well, that’s all for me tonight. It looks like we have our next two challengers at lightweight and welterweight lined up. Thanks for stopping by, Potato Nation, and I’ll catch you all next week.
(No, Frankie, I will not judge your next title fight, so quit asking.)
After retiring, former UFC fighter Ricardo Almeida announced that he would begin judging MMA events. He’s been doing that for awhile now in his home state of New Jersey, and this Saturday’s UFC on Fox 3 will be the Renzo Gracie black belt’s first time judging fights on the big stage.
Almeida will not be judging fights where he has a conflict of interest (see fighters he coaches or that are affiliated to him or his Renzo Gracie lineage like Jim Miller, for example) but we do already know that he will be one of the judges scoring Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks and several more from the card. Almeida tells ESPN’s Franklin McNeil that he is both nervous and prepared to judge UFC fights.
“Yeah, I’m going to be nervous. It’ll be like I’m walking into a fight myself. But the spotlight only makes me want to be sharper and do a better job,” Almeida tells McNeil.
(No, Frankie, I will not judge your next title fight, so quit asking.)
After retiring, former UFC fighter Ricardo Almeida announced that he would begin judging MMA events. He’s been doing that for awhile now in his home state of New Jersey, and this Saturday’s UFC on Fox 3 will be the Renzo Gracie black belt’s first time judging fights on the big stage.
Almeida will not be judging fights where he has a conflict of interest (see fighters he coaches or that are affiliated to him or his Renzo Gracie lineage like Jim Miller, for example) but we do already know that he will be one of the judges scoring Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks and several more from the card. Almeida tells ESPN’s Franklin McNeil that he is both nervous and prepared to judge UFC fights.
“Yeah, I’m going to be nervous. It’ll be like I’m walking into a fight myself. But the spotlight only makes me want to be sharper and do a better job,” Almeida tells McNeil.
“It will be pretty intense, but I will be on my toes with this UFC event, because I know all eyes are going to be on me.”
There are possible pitfalls to fighters judging fights (what happens if Almeida announces his come-back by awarding himself a decision win in the Koscheck vs. Hendricks bout, for example? We jus’ kidding! Please don’t tweet Almeida about that or sue us.), but the positives of having an informed person who knows the sport first-hand seems like a step in the right direction. Props to New Jersey’s commission head Nick Lembo for asking Almeida to become a judge.
Both Koscheck and Hendricks have expressed their approval of Almeida judging their and other fights. I’m sure that goodwill will last exactly until the point Almeida scores a big fight differently than a fighter says he should.
(Hendricks ain’t scared of no TSA | Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting)
Maybe you thought, dear fight fan, that UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks sports a lumberjack/late 19th century bureaucrat type beard just to get your girlfriend all in a tizzy. Well, you’d be wrong.
Hendricks told reporters this week that the burly-man beard he grows during training camps actually serves a deeper purpose. “It reminds me that I have a goal I’m trying to reach, and that’s a fight,” he said.
“That’s a fight this Saturday [against Josh Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3]. After the fight, win or lose, I do my job and I go home and shave it. The next morning, I’m still in that fight mode, I go to the bathroom and check the mirror and, ‘oh, I’m clean-shaven.’ At that moment, it hits me. Everything goes away.”
The full video interview is after the jump.
(Hendricks ain’t scared of no TSA | Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting)
Maybe you thought, dear fight fan, that UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks sports a lumberjack/late 19th century bureaucrat type beard just to get your girlfriend all in a tizzy. Well, you’d be wrong.
Hendricks told reporters this week that the burly-man beard he grows during training camps actually serves a deeper purpose. “It reminds me that I have a goal I’m trying to reach, and that’s a fight,” he said.
“That’s a fight this Saturday [against Josh Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3]. After the fight, win or lose, I do my job and I go home and shave it. The next morning, I’m still in that fight mode, I go to the bathroom and check the mirror and, ‘oh, I’m clean-shaven.’ At that moment, it hits me. Everything goes away.”
The full video interview is after the jump.
Hendricks said that after he shaves he goes back to being family man and normal human being. In the MMA Fighting video below, he also talks about getting his aggressiveness and confidence back and being honest about wanting the 170 pound belt, so watch it already! And don’t forget to check out our live blog and commentary for UFC on Fox 3 Saturday night. You won’t get that much information and sass in one place, anywhere else.
(If either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama are looking for a new campaign slogan, may we offer the following.)
You know, we may have our fun at Josh Koscheck’s expense more than others here at CP, but it’s only because we know that he can take it as well as he can dish it out. The TUF 1 veteran has made his name off the heel/asshole moniker for a good seven years now, and in fact brought the term to new heights during his gig as coach on the twelfth season of The Ultimate Fighter, incorporating hypothetical ass-play and male nurse jokes into his repertoire of empty threats. He’s been called a dick by everyone from Phil Baroni to Brian Ebersole, and though he won’t admit it, we know Ariel Helwani would probably say the same.
And at the forefront of Koscheck’s embittered rants these days seems to be none other than the esteemed members of the MMA media, who apparently have given Koscheck slim to zero chance against Johny Hendricks in their upcoming clash at UFC on FOX 3 this Saturday. Now, we’re not sure which media outlets are writing Koscheck off, because, even though we dislike the guy, we still think he has a really good chance of pulling out a victory. The current betting odds seem to share this notion, but according to Koscheck, we’ve all claimed that he is simply too old to deal with Hendricks, and is basically a lamb being led to the killing field. When Koscheck spoke with these MMA media “retards” yesterday ahead of his clash with Hendricks, he let his feeling be known. That’s right, feeling:
I have a lot of ulterior motives that motivate me. There are a lot of people like you out here who write all these stories and shit like, ‘Oh, he’s old, he’s this, youth versus age….’ Bullshit. You guys are all fucking retards who think that. Retards. I’ve been hearing a lot of it — a lot of tweets and shit. I laugh at you idiots. Man, you guys are crazy…Who’s that guy, Bernard Hopkins? Didn’t he just kick someone’s ass the other day? And how old is he? Oh…he lost? Well, I mean, he was the champion, right? I mean how old is that guy, 47? C’mon, he’s still fighting. Let’s be real. Look at Randy Couture. Is that a rare case? Dan Henderson. Look at Dan Henderson’s 40, right? Is that a rare case? Chuck Liddell was what, 37-38? Real rare. You guys are retards for writing that shit.
We don’t know how to break this to you, Josh, so we’ll just come right out with it. YES, guys like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson are rare cases. Because for every Randy Couture, there are at least three Ken Shamrocks who are dangerously close to getting beaten to death in the ring. But for Christ’s sake, you’re 34, Josh. Your age should be the least of your, or our, concerns. But maybe we’re just being naive.
Again, we can’t seem to find these supposed articles that have earned the ire of Koscheck, but we’ve come to the realization that “Kos” is likely just making things up at this point to fuel the ever-present hate within him. Then again, if you believe that Twitter is where the real MMA reporting gets done, you are either FrontRowBrian or, well…a retard.
Join us after the jump for the full interview.
(If either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama are looking for a new campaign slogan, may we offer the following.)
You know, we may have our fun at Josh Koscheck’s expense more than others here at CP, but it’s only because we know that he can take it as well as he can dish it out. The TUF 1 veteran has made his name off the heel/asshole moniker for a good seven years now, and in fact brought the term to new heights during his gig as coach on the twelfth season of The Ultimate Fighter, incorporating hypothetical ass-play and male nurse jokes into his repertoire of empty threats. He’s been called a dick by everyone from Phil Baroni to Brian Ebersole, and though he won’t admit it, we know Ariel Helwani would probably say the same.
And at the forefront of Koscheck’s embittered rants these days seems to be none other than the esteemed members of the MMA media, who apparently have given Koscheck slim to zero chance against Johny Hendricks in their upcoming clash at UFC on FOX 3 this Saturday. Now, we’re not sure which media outlets are writing Koscheck off, because, even though we dislike the guy, we still think he has a really good chance of pulling out a victory. The current betting odds seem to share this notion, but according to Koscheck, we’ve all claimed that he is simply too old to deal with Hendricks, and is basically a lamb being led to the killing field. When Koscheck spoke with these MMA media “retards” yesterday ahead of his clash with Hendricks, he let his feeling be known. That’s right, feeling:
I have a lot of ulterior motives that motivate me. There are a lot of people like you out here who write all these stories and shit like, ‘Oh, he’s old, he’s this, youth versus age….’ Bullshit. You guys are all fucking retards who think that. Retards. I’ve been hearing a lot of it — a lot of tweets and shit. I laugh at you idiots. Man, you guys are crazy…Who’s that guy, Bernard Hopkins? Didn’t he just kick someone’s ass the other day? And how old is he? Oh…he lost? Well, I mean, he was the champion, right? I mean how old is that guy, 47? C’mon, he’s still fighting. Let’s be real. Look at Randy Couture. Is that a rare case? Dan Henderson. Look at Dan Henderson‘s 40, right? Is that a rare case? Chuck Liddell was what, 37-38? Real rare. You guys are retards for writing that shit.
We don’t know how to break this to you, Josh, so we’ll just come right out with it. YES, guys like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson are rare cases. Because for every Randy Couture, there are at least three Ken Shamrocks who are dangerously close to getting beaten to death in the ring. But for Christ’s sake, you’re 34, Josh. Your age should be the least of your, or our, concerns. But maybe we’re just being naive.
Again, we can’t seem to find these supposed articles that have earned the ire of Koscheck, but we’ve come to the realization that “Kos” is likely just making things up at this point to fuel the ever-present hate within him. Then again, if you believe that Twitter is where the real MMA reporting gets done, you are either FrontRowBrian or, well…a retard.
Koscheck was relentless in his assessment of the media’s supposed assessment of him, continuing:
You guys are crazy, and I can’t wait to prove all you guys wrong. Every one of you. Keep counting me out. Keep doing it for all the years, because I’ll be fighting for like four or five more years, just keep counting me out. Every time you write a story about me, just say I’m too old, too washed up, too many fights, too many miles. I like that, because I got a lot to prove. I got a lot of people to prove wrong on Saturday night, and I’m looking at every one of you. You guys are probably all writing that shit about me. Keep writing it.
Once again, we’ve gotta call into question where Koscheck is getting his news from. He’s been the favorite going into every fight in recent memory against anyone not named Georges St. Pierre, yet acts like he’s the Rodney Dangerfield of the welterweight division. The guy is listed at a mere +100, but if you were to ask him, you’d think he stood as good a chance against Hendricks as one of Chris Cyborg’s average opponents. But we digress.
So what do you think? Will Koscheck’s new training camp reignite his apparently washed up MMA career? Rest assured, it hasn’t changed his outlook on life.