Gil Martinez appeared on Mauro Ranallo’s “The MMA Show“ radio program today and the head boxing trainer and coach at Xtreme Couture dropped a bombshell about one of his highest profile students.
According to Martinez, he’s pretty sure that former number one UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard has decided to cut ties with the Vegas gym and is planning a move to the San Francisco Bay area where he will train American Kickboxing Academy moving forward. There, Maynard will join a top-tier team that includes notables like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
(Plan “B”: Boy band — PicProps: MMATKO)
Gil Martinez appeared on Mauro Ranallo’s “The MMA Show“ radio program today and the head boxing trainer and coach at Xtreme Couture dropped a bombshell about one of his highest profile students.
According to Martinez, he’s pretty sure that former number one UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard has decided to cut ties with the Vegas gym and is planning a move to the San Francisco Bay area where he will train American Kickboxing Academy moving forward. There, Maynard will join a top-tier team that includes notables like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
Martinez told Ranallo that he was hurt and disappointed that Gray decided to move without discussing it with his Xtreme Couture stablemates and coaches, but wishes him the best at his new gym.
Besides his recent knockout loss to Frankie Edgar, part of the reason for Maynard’s departure could be comments Martinez made about his camp for the bout. He revealed in his Fighters.com blog after the bout that he wasn’t involved as much in Maynard’s camp as he has been for previous bouts.
“In the corner I was just playing it by ear and looking for certain things since I wasn’t exactly sure of everything he had been doing since I wasn’t completely involved with his camp this time around, though I wish I had been,” he explained
Martinez also mentioned in the weeks after the fight that he didn’t agree with Gray’s decision to not train every day at Xtreme Couture for the camp. Instead, “The Bully” decided it would be best if he he rented out a gym closer to home and bring in training partners to train with so he didn’t have to travel to XC every day for the eight weeks before the bout.
Although he says that no official decision has been made by Gray, from what he is hearing, it’s all but a done deal.
Attempts to reach Maynard for comment have been unsuccessful. We’ll have more updates as we receive them.
*UPDATED at 7:30 pm ET on Monday, November 21, 2011:
Gray texted us the following statement regarding his supposed switch in camps:
“Nothing for sure yet. Just training, getting new looks. I love [Xtreme Couture], but there’s a lot to learn out there.”
So it seems that he is strongly considering a change of scenery, however he’s taking his time and putting a lot of consideration into where he’ll eventually land.
A convincing argument could be made for JDS boasting the single most remarkable contender streak in UFC history. If you’ve failed to be impressed by Junior’s seven consecutive triumphs since entering the UFC back in October 2008 — and the level of competition they came against — then you’re evidently not a very excitable person. In fact, it’s likely that you possess the same stoicism characterised by “Cigano’s” adversary this weekend, Señor Velasquez.
You see, unbeaten runs aren’t common in the UFC. This isn’t the world of boxing, where fighters are fed 20 journeymen before they get thrown to the lions. And that’s precisely why the MMA community purrs over such immaculate resumes. So which UFC fighters built up the most impressive win streaks en route to their first title shot? These five come to mind…
A convincing argument could be made for JDS boasting the single most remarkable contender streak in UFC history. If you’ve failed to be impressed by Junior’s seven consecutive triumphs since entering the UFC back in October 2008 — and the level of competition they came against — then you’re evidently not a very excitable person. In fact, it’s likely that you possess the same stoicism characterised by “Cigano’s” adversary this weekend, Señor Velasquez.
You see, unbeaten runs aren’t common in the UFC. This isn’t the world of boxing, where fighters are fed 20 journeymen before they get thrown to the lions. And that’s precisely why the MMA community purrs over such immaculate resumes. So which UFC fighters built up the most impressive win streaks en route to their first title shot? These five come to mind…
1. Junior Dos Santos
Since he burst onto the global MMA scene with an emphatic knockout of Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90 in October 2008, Junior “Two Saints” has blitzed his way through the heavyweight division with consummate ease. Four of his seven UFC scraps have concluded via first-round T/KO, with Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga feeling the full force of Cigano’s fury.
He also made Mirko Cro Cop cry uncle, and most recently dominated Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, who both withstood an inhumane amount of punishment in their one-sided decision losses. Lesser men (i.e. you or I) would have succumbed to Junior’s pre-fight gaze, never mind his onslaught of significant strikes. What renders Dos Santos’s UFC tenure so incredible is the fact that he seemingly hasn’t been troubled in the slightest. He has dominated a “who’s who” catalogue of the division’s most dangerous challengers and decorated veterans without losing a single round.
2. Cain Velasquez
Cain’s contender run leading up to his UFC 121 title match against Brock Lesnar last year was also extraordinary, perhaps only marginally less so than Junior’s, owing to the calibre of victims on his professional MMA resume. Six straight victories in the UFC is no joke, even if you’re defeating fighters that are languishing in the lower echelons of the division. Velasquez clinched his title shot with a first-round steamrolling of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. Before that, he scored notable wins over Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. But unlike Junior, Cain has at least been hurt momentarily in the UFC, getting dropped twice by Kongo at UFC 99, the sole evening on which Velasquez has been made to compete for three full rounds.
Jon Fitch is simultaneously the most overrated and underrated fighter in the UFC. While that’s clearly an oxymoron, you understand my sentiment. He employs a “style” of fighting that gets fans cheering — for referee standups.
But whether you love the Vegan mean-mugger or not, the one thing you absolutely cannot refute is his unerring capacity to grind out results, as attested to by his phenomenal Octagon record both before and after his UFC 87 title shot against Georges St. Pierre in August 2008. Quite simply put, unless your initials are GSP, you ain’t emerging from the Octagon victorious against Monsieur Fitch.
After joining the UFC in late 2005, Fitch amassed a staggering eight-straight wins (including the scalps of Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez) within a two-and-a-half year period, earning a shot at GSP’s coveted title, but as anticipated, Fitch suffered a humbling one-sided loss to “Rush.” Had Fitch prevailed, he would have surpassed Royce Gracie’s streak of eight straight wins (a record that has since been broken by Anderson Silva, currently on fourteen as of November 2011).
But a true champion is one who can rebound from a defeat. And rebound is exactly what Fitch has done, subsequently embarking on a six-fight unbeaten streak which has captured the attention (if not the imagination) of most except the most important man in the business, Uncle Dana. The problem with Fitch 2.0 is that he appears even fonder of the decision victory. Prior to the GSP affair, he actually finished 50% of his fights. Following the GSP loss, this percentage has plummeted to 0%.
On the next page: Our picks in the lightweight and light-heavyweight divisions…
For the UFC, 2011 has seen some of the biggest moments in the history of the octagon: the addition of two exciting weight classes, some of the craziest knockouts and submissions ever, the retirement of a Hall of Famer and new champions. That’s just to …
For the UFC, 2011 has seen some of the biggest moments in the history of the octagon: the addition of two exciting weight classes, some of the craziest knockouts and submissions ever, the retirement of a Hall of Famer and new champions. That’s just to name just a few.
This list will go back through every fight card so far and take a look at the most memorable moment from each.
The reason the UFC decided to reverse course and book Diaz vs. GSP is that it has all the makings of a pay-per-view blockbuster. But it was also the right decision from a competitive standpoint: After Diaz’s UFC 137 victory over B.J. Penn, he’s demonstrated that he deserves to be considered the No. 2 fighter in mixed martial arts at 170 pounds.
So as we rank the Top 10 welterweights in MMA, GSP stays on top with Diaz on his heels. Find out how we rate the rest of the division below.
1. Georges St. Pierre (1): St. Pierre has really never been threatened since losing to Matt Serra in April of 2007; his current nine-fight winning streak consists of six unanimous decisions, two TKOs and one submission win without ever being in any trouble. I don’t think St. Pierre is going to lose to Diaz, but I do think Diaz has the right style, both with his high-volume punching and his ability to submit people off his back, to challenge St. Pierre in a way he hasn’t been challenged before.
2. Nick Diaz (4): As Diaz won 10 fights in a row over the last three years, a lot of skeptics raised questions about whether the guys he was beating were really all that good. No one can ask that about his 11th straight win: Penn is universally regarded as a Top 10 welterweight, and Diaz gave him a thorough pounding. Jon Fitch, who’s No. 2 in most welterweight rankings, wasn’t as successful against Penn as Diaz was. Diaz can compete with the elite, and he’s earned his opportunity to fight the best of the best in St. Pierre.
3. Jon Fitch (2): After 11 months off following his draw with Penn, Fitch is slated to return against Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 on December 30. That’s a fight that won’t do much for Fitch in the welterweight division, but it should be a good opportunity for him to grab another unanimous decision victory.
4. Josh Koscheck (5): Koscheck looked great in his first-round knockout of Matt Hughes in September. Koscheck isn’t ever going to beat St. Pierre, but it was good to see that Koscheck has recovered and is ready to resume his role as one of the welterweight division’s elite fighters.
5. Carlos Condit (7): Condit has looked great on his current four-fight winning streak, but I see no reason he’s more deserving of a title shot than Diaz. I’d like to see Condit win another fight against another Top 10 opponent before he becomes the top welterweight contender.
6. Jake Ellenberger (NR): Ellenberger enters the Top 10 on the strength of his 53-second knockout of Jake Shields. I’d love to see him rematch Condit, whom he lost to by split decision in 2009.
7. Rory MacDonald (9): The 22-year-old MacDonald is 12-1, with the only loss coming to Condit. There’s little doubt that he’ll be fighting for the UFC welterweight title some day, although he’s in no rush to do that. He gets Brian Ebersole next at UFC 140.
8. B.J. Penn (6): Penn is 1-3-1 in his last five fights, but there’s no shame in losing to Frankie Edgar and Nick Diaz, or drawing with Jon Fitch. No matter how discouraged he was after losing to Diaz, Penn shouldn’t retire. He has a lot of big fights ahead of him.
9. Jake Shields (3): Shields is now on a two-fight losing streak after being decisioned by GSP and knocked out by Ellenberger. But look for him to bounce back in 2012. He has too much talent not to.
10. John Hathaway (10): A tough decision at No. 10, but I’ll stick with Hathaway for now. An injury forced Hathaway to drop out of UFC 138, but he’s a very promising 24-year-old with a 15-1 record.
The sport of mixed martial arts has come to be the world’s fastest growing sport for several different reasons over the past few years.One obvious reason is the fighters themselves, who dedicate their lives to the sport they deeply love.But it’s the fi…
The sport of mixed martial arts has come to be the world’s fastest growing sport for several different reasons over the past few years.
One obvious reason is the fighters themselves, who dedicate their lives to the sport they deeply love.
But it’s the fighters’ personalities that bring a whole new excitement to MMA.
Every sport has its comedians, those who don’t say a word, and of course, the cry babies.
MMA is no different, as it is home to some of the world’s biggest whiners.
When something doesn’t go their way, these fighters either whine, throw a fit or cry their eyes out.
The following slides display the 10 biggest cry babies in MMA today.
If UFC 137 proved anything, it’s that Nick Diaz is a significantly better fighter was when we last saw him in the UFC. Critics have pointed out that the former Strikeforce champion has never really defeated a top-10 welterweight. That came to a c…
If UFC 137 proved anything, it’s that Nick Diaz is a significantly better fighter was when we last saw him in the UFC. Critics have pointed out that the former Strikeforce champion has never really defeated a top-10 welterweight. That came to a crushing halt at UFC 137.
Diaz was an absolute monster last night as he completely destroyed former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion BJ Penn, exploiting what was considered to be the strongest aspect of Penn’s game—his boxing. Never before has Penn been dominated like that in a fight and the performance earned Diaz a title fight against Georges St-Pierre on Super Bowl weekend in 2012.
The hype surrounding Diaz right now is astonishing. Some are even saying that he should be the favorite in his fight against St-Pierre. But the reality is that while Diaz looked amazing on Saturday night, we still haven’t seen him tested in what has unquestionably been his worst area—his wrestling.
The welterweight division may be the most stacked division in the league when it comes to wrestling and there are a handful of fighters who could definitely still take advantage of the weak point in Diaz’s game.
It is my opinion that not only do these six UFC welterweight wrestlers have a chance against Diaz—I believe they’d all walk out as winners against Mr. Diaz.