Tag: Jon Fitch

UFC 132 Results: Geoges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit?

UFC 132: Faber vs. Cruz this past Saturday night was the culmination of back to back events put on by the UFC or Strikeforce over the last six weeks and what a finale it was to a great series of fights.There wasn’t a boring fight on the main card …

UFC 132: Faber vs. Cruz this past Saturday night was the culmination of back to back events put on by the UFC or Strikeforce over the last six weeks and what a finale it was to a great series of fights.

There wasn’t a boring fight on the main card as every fighter came to put on a show. Three out of the five fights ended in finishes.

Despite Dominick Cruz winning a decision over Urijah Faber in a fight for the bantamweight title, it was a back and forth affair that deservedly earned fight of the night honors.

Out of the three finishes that saw Tito Ortiz fend off retirement with a first round guillotine choke of Ryan Bader, Chris Leben knock Pride legend Wanderlei Silva in to what will probably be retirement, the only finish that launched a fighter into title shot territory was Carlos Condit’s flying knee knockout of previously undefeated welterweight Dong Hyun Kim.

Condit, the former WEC welterweight champion before the division was collapsed into the UFC has been fighting to prove his worth in a division that has some of the best fighters in the world including the current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

Condit’s rise in the UFC welterweight division had a slow start.

At the time of his UFC debut, a split decision loss to Martin Kampmann and split decision victory over Jake Ellenberger was nothing to write home about and certainly not the performances one would expect from a champion.

However, hindsight tells us that Condit’s win over Ellenberger was maybe worth than what people originally thought. Since the loss, Ellenberger has won four straight and finished three fights in decisive fashion, he is regarded as one of the UFC’s rising stars at 170 pounds and this speaks volumes about how good Condit really is.

After the Ellenberger fight, Condit really launched himself forward in the division with three stellar performances.

Against another rising star in Canadian Rory MacDonald, Condit was beaten decisively through out the fight. In the dying seconds of the third round he miraculously stole the fight from MacDonald via technical knock out.

Next up was former number one contender, Dan Hardy. A first round knockout using a left hook, something Hardy is known for, is what Condit served up for the Brit.

Geoges St-Pierre defended his title against Hardy, but took all five rounds and the judges’ decision to do it.

Finally came last night’s fight against Kim. With a mixed martial arts record of 14-0 and one no contest, along with black belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kim was highly regarded as an up and comer until meeting Condit last night.

Kim known for utilizing his superior grappling to grind his opponents out utilized the same game plan from the get go against Condit last night. Unfortunately for Kim, Condit was able to get up from the bottom and for the third time in a row Condit finished an opponent in spectacular fashion, this time with a flying knee that buckled Kim followed up by vicious ground and pound forcing the referee to step in.

Even before last night’s victory Condit was in the title mix, but the spectacular finish over Kim really places Condit in the forefront of the welterweight division.

Condit was vocal in asking for his title shot shortly after his arm was raised.

“How about it Joe, Joe Silva, am I ready for a title shot or what?” Those were the words Condit had for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva during the post fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Obviously Condit looks ready for a title shot, but the question is when and how long will he have to wait?

Nick Diaz relinquished his Strikeforce welterweight belt in order to fight Georges St-Pierre for the UFC title and that will only be happening on Halloween weekend at UFC 137.

This would mean that Condit will most likely have to wait until March 2012 for his chance at the title which is a long wait for any fighter especially for Condit who was already inactive since October of last year due to injury.

Condit is now faced with a decision that two fighters in different deivision had to face recently and that is whether he should wait for his title shot or take another fight in between.

Rashad Evans chose to wait for Mauricio Rua to heal up from knee surgery for his title shot and just weeks before his shot was supposed to come he too suffered a knee injury that forced him out of the fight.

Evans pulling out resulted in his teammate Jon Jones getting the shot and taking the title from Rua. From there bad blood boiled and Evans left his camp to get away from Jones and prepare for a fight with his former teammate.

Jones pulled out of the fight with Evans due to a hand injury and finally Evans had to take a dangerous fight against light heavyweight up and comer Phil Davis.

The funniest thing to come out of this mess was that Evans’ last fight and win which came in May 2010 was over Quinton Jackson who oddly enough is slated to fight for the title against Jones at UFC 135 this September.

On the other hand, former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was slated to face off against the winner between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard to unify the titles. Unfortunately Edgar and Maynard fought to a draw and were scheduled for a rematch until both fighters suffered injuries delaying the rematch.

Pettis chose to fight as oppose to wait and much to his dismay he lost his fight against Clay Guida which was supposed to hold him over until the title shot against Mayanard or Edgar.

As one can see, Condit’s decision is a tough one because both guys who were in a situation similar to his made the opposite choices and both guys were burned by their decisions.

Later on at the post fight press conference Condit spoke a bit to the fact that his shot might not be for a while due to the timing.

“Yeah, that’s you know a bit of a dilemma I do want to fight again in 2011 and I know that the time frame may not work out for me to get the next [title] shot. So I want to fight again before the end of the year, so I don’t know.” Condit told the press.

Condit seems torn between waiting for the title shot and wanting to stay active, but it appears as if he is leaning more towards staying active.

If the welterweight does decide to stay active there is really only one fight that makes sense, Jon Fitch.

The problem with the Fitch fight is that Fitch and BJ Penn are supposed to have a rematch following their majority draw at UFC 127 this past February.

Unfortunately both fighters suffered injuries and were forced to withdraw their rematch which was supposed to happen last night at UFC 132.

Of course both Penn and Fitch still want a rematch in the hopes that it gives them their shot at welterweight gold. However, if the UFC brass is saying Condit is the next guy in line, Fitch might have second thoughts about fighting Penn again if it means that a win over Condit will give him that shot.

Fitch, 13-1-1 in the UFC, with the lone loss being a title fight against St-Pierre, questions and is quite vocal about why he hasn’t received another shot after going 5-0-1 since the loss. The main reason is the fact that he has a grinding style that wears opponents out and wins fights, but never results in a finish.

Fitch has said that he would be ready to fight in San Jose for UFC 138, this would work out perfectly for Condit or Fitch as St-Pierre and Diaz fight just a few weeks before.

Fitch would be the best matchup for Condit in the sense that it would prepare him well for St-Pierre or Diaz. Fitch is a well rounded fighter who has the skill-set to beat the best in the division, something Condit needs to be able to do should he want to topple St-Pierre or Diaz.

Fitch’s style is particularly similar to current champion St-Pierre’s and if Condit can beat Fitch it says a lot about the kind of fight he would be able to bring against St-Pierre should St-Pierre beat Diaz in October.

Condit showed in the Kim fight that despite not being the best wrestler, he is active enough to search for submissions, escapes and reversals while he is on his back and he is skilled enough to get them against experienced grapplers, something that is of utmost importance against guys like St-Pierre or Diaz.

Spectacular knockouts over guys like Dan Hardy, Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald show that he knows what he is doing in the stand up and any fighter that can fight no matter where the fight goes is the kind of fight the welterweight champion needs whether it be St-Pierre or Diaz.

 

 

Leon Horne has been contributing to Bleacher Report for three years now. He focuses mainly on mixed martial arts, but he has also written about tennis, football and hockey. Just send him a message if you want to talk sports or discuss any opportunities. You can follow him on Twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/Leon_Horne

 

 

 

 

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Fireworks and Fighters: A 4th of July Comparison Guide

By Jason Moles

“We the people of CagePotato.com, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Bans, insure comments section Tranquility, provide for the common noob, promote the general Lack of Welfare, and attempt to secure the Blessings of Dana to ourselves and our readers, do ordain and establish this Comparison of fighters and fireworks for the Potato Nation.”

There are plenty of MMA fighters out there who love to bring the pyrotechnics to the cage, lighting up their opponents for the enjoyment of the fans and the pleasure of a paycheck. In honor of Independence Day weekend — and our new friends at Wild Turkey — here’s a list of actual 4th of July fireworks that remind us of some well-known scrappers. Celebrate safely, and please try not to lose any fingers.

Snap-n-Pops (aka bang snaps, snappers, or whip’n pops): Corey Hill, Jason MacDonald, Razak Al-Hassan, Tim Sylvia

Call ’em what you want, these small novelty fireworks are perfect for youngsters. You throw them against a wall, floor, or sleeping grandparent, and they make a satisfying POP! Cool, huh? It’s hard not to think of a ‘Snap-n-Pop’ and not think of these guys, whose limbs unfortunately made the same noises in their past fights.

Roman Candles: Clay Guida

Excitement. Power. Flash. Seemingly unending performance. Fun. Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida is more than your average firework. Hey may not blow up any doors but rest assured he’s always going to be a crowd favorite. No one has ever had a Roman Candle war or watched a Guida fight and not had the time of their life. For every colorful ball that is emitted from the candle, Guida whips his hair back and shoots in for a takedown. Regardless of what happens, they both just keep going until the final bell. When messing around with either, be careful; someone usually ends up a bloody mess.

By Jason Moles

“We the people of CagePotato.com, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Bans, insure comments section Tranquility, provide for the common noob, promote the general Lack of Welfare, and attempt to secure the Blessings of Dana to ourselves and our readers, do ordain and establish this Comparison of fighters and fireworks for the Potato Nation.”

There are plenty of MMA fighters out there who love to bring the pyrotechnics to the cage, lighting up their opponents for the enjoyment of the fans and the pleasure of a paycheck. In honor of Independence Day weekend — and our new friends at Wild Turkey — here’s a list of actual 4th of July fireworks that remind us of some well-known scrappers. Celebrate safely, and please try not to lose any fingers.

Snap-n-Pops (aka bang snaps, snappers, or whip’n pops): Corey Hill, Jason MacDonald, Razak Al-Hassan, Tim Sylvia

Call ‘em what you want, these small novelty fireworks are perfect for youngsters. You throw them against a wall, floor, or sleeping grandparent, and they make a satisfying POP! Cool, huh? It’s hard not to think of a ‘Snap-n-Pop’ and not think of these guys, whose limbs unfortunately made the same noises in their past fights.

Roman Candles: Clay Guida

Excitement. Power. Flash. Seemingly unending performance. Fun. Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida is more than your average firework. Hey may not blow up any doors but rest assured he’s always going to be a crowd favorite. No one has ever had a Roman Candle war or watched a Guida fight and not had the time of their life. For every colorful ball that is emitted from the candle, Guida whips his hair back and shoots in for a takedown. Regardless of what happens, they both just keep going until the final bell. When messing around with either, be careful; someone usually ends up a bloody mess.

Snakes: Jon Fitch

Much like those awful expanding snakes, Jon Fitch‘s fights are predictably dull, and when it’s all over you’re left feeling like you just wasted your money. They stay on the ground and do not emit sparks, flares, any form of projectiles, or any sound, but may induce sleeping. That should sound familiar to anybody who has endured the cruel and unusual punishment of a fifteen-minute, semi-clothed preview of War Machine’s next film, also known as a Jon Fitch decision victory.


Does that say Brown Pride?

Tanks: Cain Velasquez

The UFC Heavyweight champion has much in common with the super elite tank fireworks. For instance, both are short, stocky, and pack a mean punch. Both prefer to end their wars decisively with a brutal finish. Moreover, neither is going to be steamrolled anytime soon. For the fans, there’s just nothing like seeing a complete beast like Brock Lesnar getting manhandled by the sturdy, stoic Velasquez.

Bottle Rockets: Shane Carwin

I’ll spare you from the incredibly lazy innuendo and instead offer up this little nugget; Shane Carwin’s best stuff lasts about as long as it takes for a bottle rocket to scream through the BBQ smoke, reach its apex, explode, and fall to the ground. Carwin always delivers in the first round but don’t expect much beyond that. Although the action is short-lived, the excitement and hype leading up to launch time is furious because we know something potentially incredible is going to happen.

Firecrackers: Jose Aldo

The Brazilian champion has shredded his opponents by going undefeated for nearly six years, leaving most of his opponents second-guessing why they even took the fight in the first place. Weighing only 145 lbs., this tiny explosive does severe damage to his opponents legs with his expertly placed kicks (*BANG BANG BANG*!) and jacks your face up with his crisp striking (*BANG BANG BANG*!). Just like the Black Cats pictured above, don’t let the size fool ya…one mistake can cost you dearly.

Sparklers: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

I believe the phrase is “All Sizzle, No Steak.” Sure, his weigh-ins and entrances are flashy and entertaining, but the overall performances leave a little to be desired — kind of like the gas station sparklers your dad brought home when you were a kid. Still, it’s hard not to feel patriotic when watching them.

Catherine Wheel: Chael Sonnen

Legend has it that the firework got its name from an instrument of torture, the breaking wheel, on which St. Catherine was martyred. I’m not sure who that broad was or what that has to do with Chael Sonnen but I do know this: both are really, really good at going in circles, both literally and figuratively. Mr. Sonnen, as his PO calls him, and Ms. Wheel have that X factor that mesmerizes audiences leaving them wanting more. Despite their obvious limitations and shady past, you’d give your last dollar to see them one last time if the opportunity presented itself.

Smoke Bombs: Ben Askren

Ahh, the smoke bomb. You fail to do any actual harm, instead you’d much rather annoy the hell out of everyone in reach. Such a colorful little brat, full of spunk and enough sulfuric smoke to gag a dolphin. Similarly, Askren’s wrestling prowess envelops his hapless opponents causing them to retort to their high school wrestling knowledge — which by the way is weak sauce. Once you’ve been attacked by one of these bad boys you might as well give up any hope of impressing the ladies. C’mon, I mean look at the army dude above me. He just lost 10 bro points for being in the same picture as a purple haze. (That still beats getting dry humped for fifteen minutes by a white dude with a ‘fro though.)

Fountains: Diego ” The Vision” Sanchez

The Class 1.4G explosive is highly reminiscent of the very first Ultimate Fighter winner. I’m not suggesting that all Diego Sanchez is capable of is shouting as he cartwheels into the distance — that’s just one similarity among others. Of all the pyrotechnics one could legally obtain without being licensed by the ATF, fountains display the most heart. From the initial ear-piercing scream to the crackling sparks to the changing colors and shooting flares, they leave it all out there. Like Sanchez, they do everything they physically can to put on an unforgettable performance and make you get up out of your seat and cheer. Damn, they’d fly if only they had wings. The Vision may be mentioned in the same breath as the firework displays in Montreal, San Jose, or Honolulu but until then, we’ll gladly accept the fountain that is Sanchez and enjoy every breathtaking moment.

UFC on Versus 4 Results: Ranking the Top 10 Welterweights in the UFC

Total Chaos!That is pretty much the best way to sum up the UFC welterweight coming off Charlie Brenneman’s upset victory over Rick Story.Story had a ton of momentum and then cracked the top 10 worldwide rankings a month ago with his victory over Thiago…

Total Chaos!

That is pretty much the best way to sum up the UFC welterweight coming off Charlie Brenneman’s upset victory over Rick Story.

Story had a ton of momentum and then cracked the top 10 worldwide rankings a month ago with his victory over Thiago Alves.

Then, due to some insane matchmaking shuffles, Story ends up taking on Brenneman and getting outpointed by the decorated wrestler.

It was not a tremendous surprise based off of the stylistic match-up- but it sure leaves rankings an absolute mess to figure out.

That is why I will go ahead and do it for you. Do not worry. I am right. You’re welcome.

I present the top 10 welterweights in the UFC…. (and if you are wondering, yes, Nick Diaz counts)

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Former Olympian Daniel Cormier Takes AKA’s Wrestling Program Back to the Basics

Filed under: StrikeforceAsk Daniel Cormier what he changed about the American Kickboxing Academy’s wrestling program and you’ll get a very simple answer: “Everything.”

It wasn’t so much tweaking as it was ripping it all out and starting from scratch. …

Filed under:

Ask Daniel Cormier what he changed about the American Kickboxing Academy’s wrestling program and you’ll get a very simple answer: “Everything.”

It wasn’t so much tweaking as it was ripping it all out and starting from scratch. Which, according to AKA co-founder and trainer Javier Mendez, is exactly what they needed.

“He 100 percent revamped the wrestling program,” Mendez said. “When he came over and I saw his ability with teaching, I told our management, I don’t care if this guy develops as a fighter, because worst-case scenario, we got a great wrestling coach. As it looks, we got both: great fighter and great wrestling coach.”

It wasn’t that the San Jose, Calif.-based gym was lacking in wrestlers before Cormier showed up. Between Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, and Cain Velasquez, the squad had plenty of guys who had done their time in college wrestling rooms.

What they didn’t have, according to Mendez, was somebody willing to take the lead as a teacher and a coach.

“We didn’t have anybody who really loved the teaching. Koscheck didn’t like it. Fitch didn’t like it. They’re more interested in themselves. Daniel actually loves to teach, and that made him better with technique than anyone else. He’s got a passion for teaching and a knack for it like I’ve never seen.”

It wasn’t that Cormier brought in new ideas, necessarily, but rather that he helped his teammates return to the old ones that had helped get them to where they were.

“I went in, and these guys are good wrestlers,” Cormier said. “Really good wrestlers. Fitch, Kos is an NCAA champion, four-time All-American. Cain’s an All-American three or four times. But what we did is we went back to the basics.”

And by basics, Cormier means they started having wrestling practice again, just like some of them had done in college, and others had done, well, never. As the only two-time Olympic wrestling team member in the gym, Cormier made it his mission to strip everything down and start from the beginning in order to focus on technique above all else, he said.

“We all develop bad habits over the course of our careers, in terms of wrestling and everything else. But we went back and went to the basics, started doing basic wrestling practice. We’d get in there two days a week and we’d do wrestling practice as if we were at Oklahoma State or the Olympic Training Center. No punching, just straight wrestling practice. Not many gyms around the country do that. That’s why you see some of the better wrestlers [in MMA], their skill level diminishes as they move forward.”

Cormier was determined not to be one of those guys as his MMA career advanced. He showed up at AKA with a wealth of wrestling experience, but not much else. Strapping on the gloves and getting on the mats made for a humbling experience at first, he admitted. The first time that he got taken down in sparring by a fighter with no formal wrestling training he realized that this was whole new sport, with entirely different demands.

What really drove that lesson home was taking on Velasquez — the current UFC heavyweight champion — in some seriously one-sided sparring sessions.

“Some days I’d only be able to go a half a round with him, half a five-minute round, and I’d roll under the ring I’d be so exhausted. Well, when I was down on myself, [Velasquez] would come over and talk to me. And Koscheck, you know, most people don’t expect it from him…but he did it. He came to me and told me, ‘You’re getting better, just stay the course and learn.’ And Fitch, Fitch is one of the best leaders you can ever find. Those guys lifted me up when I had hard days, and it’s paying off now.”

At the same time, while Cormier gave his AKA teammates the benefit of his wrestling knowledge, they were equipping him with what he needed to become successful mixed martial artist — and they were doing it whether he liked it or not.

“It’s not like I can just take Cain down any time I want, so I have to stand in the pocket with him and fight him,” Cormier said. “I can take him down, but I can’t just go in there and say, I’m going to take Cain down this time. It doesn’t work that way; he’s a world champion. So I have to stand in front of the best heavyweight in the world and bang with him. I do it on a daily basis.”

Cormier’s gains in the striking department were evident in his bout with Jeff Monson on last weekend’s Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum card. For three rounds he battered the MMA veteran on the feet en route to a unanimous decision.

It was almost enough to make you wonder what all that time working on straight wrestling was for, since Cormier never looked to engage Monson on the mat. That’s a lot of hours invested in takedowns for a guy who relied so much on his right hand.

But then, it’s not like Cormier really needed to improve his wrestling game to begin with. The changes he made at AKA, he did for the other people in the gym. And seeing it pay off for them is reward enough, he said.

“We train wrestling hard and we do it two days a week. At first it was physical. It was real physical and hard and it was hard for us to get through the rest of the week… But the guys love it. They enjoy it, and everybody’s getting better. I saw a kid in the room the other day that couldn’t wrestle to save his life. But by just paying attention, wrestling every week hard, he’s getting a ton better. Now, that’s not me — that’s him. He’s paying attention to everything we’re trying to teach him and he’s learning and committing himself to the sport. Now he’s taking down wrestlers.”

And you better believe that nobody gets more excited about that turn of events than Cormier — even if you wouldn’t know it if you watched him forego double-legs in favor of switch kicks and Superman punches.

 

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UFC News: BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch Rematch Possible for UFC 138

ESPN.co.uk reports that UFC welterweights BJ Penn and Jon Fitch are scheduled to meet in the co-main event at UFC 138. While the event has not been officially announced, it is expected for UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez to headline the ca…

ESPN.co.uk reports that UFC welterweights BJ Penn and Jon Fitch are scheduled to meet in the co-main event at UFC 138. 

While the event has not been officially announced, it is expected for UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez to headline the card in a heavyweight title bout against Junior dos Santos. 

The website also reports that Fitch was cleared by his doctors to begin his training camp by September after he underwent shoulder surgery earlier this year that forced him out of action for six months. 

This will be the second encounter between the two competitors, as their first bout was ruled a draw at UFC 127. The decision was met with controversy, and Fitch has demanded a rematch with the Hawaiian ever since. 

UFC 138 is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 19, live from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. 

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Power Ranking Rick Story and the 8 Best Chins in the Welterweight Division

The welterweight division can sometimes be the home of some of the most competitive fights the UFC has to offer.This can be attributed to the deep wrestling base that many of the fighters in the division have, making them some of the toughest fighters …

The welterweight division can sometimes be the home of some of the most competitive fights the UFC has to offer.

This can be attributed to the deep wrestling base that many of the fighters in the division have, making them some of the toughest fighters to finish with the most grueling styles of fighting.

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre has a hard time finishing many of his opponents, and it’s the same for many of the other fighters ranked throughout the division.

This is a list ranking the top eight chins in the welterweight division, some of which could even be top 10 throughout the entire sport.

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