Miguel Torres vs Demetrious Johnson will be the “can’t miss” fight from Saturday night .While there will be plenty of eyes glued to the main card of UFC 130, there will be even more eyes watching the preliminary bouts on both Spike TV and Facebook.&nbs…
Miguel Torres vs Demetrious Johnson will be the “can’t miss” fight from Saturday night .
While there will be plenty of eyes glued to the main card of UFC 130, there will be even more eyes watching the preliminary bouts on both Spike TV and Facebook.
While all four of the preliminary bouts that will be aired look like compelling matches on paper, the one that people will be talking about on Monday will be Miguel Torres vs Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Since he suffered his lone career loss to Brad Pickett at WEC 48, Mighty Mouse has reeled off three wins in a row, including a victory in his UFC debut against Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.
His his bout against Yamamoto, Johnson’s striking looked very sharp, and his takedown defense was on point. In other words, it was the best Mighty Mouse we have seen to date.
Torres, the man with the greatest mullet in MMA, has been on a roller coaster lately. Since dropping his WEC bantamweight title to Brian Bowles, Torres has gone 2-1 while trying to climb his way back to the top of the division.
Both fighter’s stock are currently on the rise. Both are hungry to get a shot at the title.
At the end of the day, it will come down to the striking prowess of Torres vs the grappling prowess of Johnson.
If Torres clips your chin, you just may go to sleep.
If Johnson gets you to the mat, good luck getting him off of you.
Regardless of the outcome, everyone knows that the “pocket rockets” come out and fight at 100 mph. Expect to see these two fighters going 145 mph and put on a show sealing performance.
Should Quinton Jackson lose to Matt Hamill, don’t expect to see him back in the Octagon any time soon. Throughout the build up to the event, “Rampage” Jackson has expressed a certain amount of disinterest about his fight against Matt Hamill. He has gon…
Should Quinton Jackson lose to Matt Hamill, don’t expect to see him back in the Octagon any time soon.
Throughout the build up to the event, “Rampage” Jackson has expressed a certain amount of disinterest about his fight against Matt Hamill. He has gone as far to say nothing gets him excited, and that he had other opponents in mind before Hamill.
Rampage has been very public as of late about how he is just hanging around the mixed martial arts scene until Hollywood comes knocking at his front door.
Can you really blame him for that? If you had the choice between getting punched in the face for a lot of money, or acting the fool in front of a camera for a whole lot of money, which one would you choose?
Jackson has been around the game for a long time. His bouts against Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Shogun Rua, Sakuraba, and Ricardo Arona will be forever embedded in the minds of mixed martial arts fans.
After all the wars in the ring and Octagon, one could believe that Rampage may be getting a little “burned out” with the fight game. With the success of the A-Team, it must only be a matter of time before Jackson is offered another movie roll.
Should he leave Las Vegas Saturday night with an additional loss on his record, expect Rampage to wait for that call from Hollywood.
That call may take a little time to come, but Jackson has plenty of money. He can wait.
This Saturday night, UFC 130 will be going down live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in fabulous Las Vegas, NV.While the card has lost a little of its sexiness due to the fact that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will not be fighting for the third time …
This Saturday night, UFC 130 will be going down live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in fabulous Las Vegas, NV.
While the card has lost a little of its sexiness due to the fact that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will not be fighting for the third time due to injuries suffered by each fighter, the card still has much to offer the fans.
Headlining the card, you have the experience of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs the hungriness of Matt Hamill. The co-feature will put two of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the heavyweight division against each other when Frank Mir takes on Roy Nelson.
Also on the pay-per-view portion of the card, up-and-coming Stefan Struve will be facing off against the undefeated Travis Browne in a heavyweight bout, Thiago Alves will be taking on Ricky Story in a welterweight bout, and Brian Stann will be facing the returning Jorge Santiago in a middleweight tilt.
On top of that, there will be four preliminary fights airing on Spike TV and Facebook.
While no titles are going to be on the line Saturday evening, there could be the emergence, or reemergence, of potential contenders moving forward.
Here are the latest predictions, analysis, and other random thoughts.
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is only four days away as it is scheduled to take place on May 28, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday night. With the originally scheduled rubber match between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edg…
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is only four days away as it is scheduled to take place on May 28, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday night.
With the originally scheduled rubber match between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard canceled due to injuries sustained by both fighters during training, the co-main event between Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill has been pushed up to the main event, which still leaves us with a very impressive undercard.
One of the more controversial undercard fights and one of my personal favorite matchups is Brian Stann vs. former UFC fighter, Jorge Santiago.
Stann, the former U.S. Marine Captain whose military actions have been noted by President Bush, is coming off of a huge KO victory over UFC middleweight, Chris Leben.
While many big names were being thrown around as possible next opponents for Stann, one of which was Wanderlei Silva, the UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva and UFC President, Dana White chose an unlikely opponent to face Stann at UFC 130.
Enter former Strikeforce middleweight champ, former Sengoku middleweight champ, Sherdog’s Fight of the Year winner and American Top Team disciple and BJJ black belt, Jorge Santiago.
Some fans and fighters feel that with this being Santiago’s first fight in the UFC, Stann should have been given the opportunity to face a better-known opponent from the UFC’s crème de la crème middleweight fighters.
Tim Kennedy, former U.S. Army Ranger and Special Forces sniper turned MMA fighter, who also fights for Strikeforce, verbally expressed his disdain for the choice of Stann’s UFC 130 opponent to Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview.
“And then we’ll take Brian Stann, a Silver Medal recipient, a war hero, a Marine captain. He’s had like 10 fights under the Zuffa banner between the WEC and the UFC but he’s fighting a newcomer to the promotion in Jorge Santiago. It doesn’t make any sense. Let’s reward the guys who deserve rewarding,” Kennedy said.
“The one’s that fight fair, the one’s that work hard, the one’s that do the right thing and punish the guys that say the wrong things, who do the wrong things, that fight unfairly,” he said.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but perhaps Kennedy’s idea of Stann having an unfair matchup with Santiago because he’s a “newcomer” in the UFC is a bit unfair itself.
In fact, Santiago has fought before in the UFC, three times in 2006, going 1-for-3 in his fights, losing to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher.
Since losing to Belcher, Santiago has not only won, but finished 11 of his 12 fights and avenged his only loss during that time, winning by decision against Mamed Khalidov.
Santiago is also accustomed to fighting in and winning MMA tournaments, where contestants fight multiple opponents in the same day.
I think it’s safe to say that his cardio is up to par and it could play an important role in his fight with Stann.
Boasting a professional record of 23-8 with 31 professional fights, Santiago is by no means a “newcomer,” neither to the UFC or MMA.
However, five of his losses have come by KO or TKO and it’s no secret that Stann has knockout power, seeing as he crippled the “Crippler” at UFC 125: Resolution.
With Santiago, being the more experienced fighter and finishing all but one of his last 12 fights, and Stann, being hungry and coming off of a KO win, this bout has Fight of the Night or Knockout of the Night written all over it; it could even be a potential Submission of the Night candidate.
However you see this matchup, come fight night these two athletes are coming not just to fight, but to win.
The UFC will begin at its new time of 9 P.M. EST/6 P.M. PT.
The new time change began at UFC 129 and will continue indefinitely.
Check back with BleacheRreport.com/MMA for UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill fight card news and updates.
Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceThe five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of…
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.
Given the enormity of that upcoming stretch, it’s bound to produce much speculation, so Mike Chiappetta and I put on our thinking caps and tried to predict the outcome to four of its most pressing questions.
Which fight are you most looking forward to during this stretch?
AH: There’s a ton of good ones to choose from, but I have to go with Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum on June 18. It’s amazing to think that by the time these two heavyweights meet in Dallas, it will be a week short of a year since Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko and 13 months since Overeem dominated Brett Rogers. Since then, we’ve been anxiously waiting for them to return to action, and I think Strikeforce did the right thing by matching them up in the first round of their heavyweight Grand Prix. Of course, Werdum beat Overeem in 2006, but I think it’s safe to say that both fighters have improved greatly (Overeem in particular) since that fight in PRIDE. This will also mark the first time Overeem fights a legit top-five heavyweight in years (perhaps ever?) so a lot of questions will hopefully be answered in a month.
MC: There are lots of great fights coming up during this stretch, including championship fights and others with title implications, but from a sheer entertainment perspective, I’m going with the Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago fight at UFC 130. Both men fight with aggressive styles, look for the finish, and with the added importance of this bout considering their respective places in the middleweight division, you can expect both to be at their best. Stann seems to have made the breakthrough leap into the elite, while Santiago wants to prove to UFC fans with long memories that he’s more what you’ve seen lately than what you saw back in 2006. Throw in a dash of Stann’s one-punch knockout power and a pinch of Santiago’s willingness to war, and you should have an instant classic.
Which fighter has the most to gain and which has the most to lose during this stretch?
AH: Again, there are many suitable answers to this question, but I think Dominick Cruz has the most to gain. Cruz has been fighting in the shadow of the UFC for the last couple of years, while dominating the WEC bantamweight division. He’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and at UFC 132, he’ll be looking to avenge the only loss of his career to his rival Urijah Faber. Not only will this fight mark the first UFC 135-pound title fight, but it will also mark the first time that two bantamweight fighters headline a UFC pay-per-view. A big win for Cruz could go a long towards getting the champion the attention he deserves.
As far as the one who has the most to lose, I’m going to pick Josh Barnett. “The Baby-Faced Assassin” hasn’t fought in the US since he beat Gilbert Yvel at Affliction 2 in January 2009. Since then, a mega-fight against Fedor Emelianenko was scrapped due to a positive steroid test, which forced Barnett to fight overseas. At the time the Emelianenko fight was supposed happen, Barnett was considered by many to be one of the three best heavyweights in the world. Today, many don’t have him in their top-10. So when the 33-year-old Barnett faces Brett Rogers on June 18, he will not just be fighting for the right to advance in Strikeforce heavyweight GP, he might also be fighting to keep his career relevant.
MC: Shane Carwin is the man with the most to gain. Think about how his circumstances have changed in just a couple of weeks. Before Brock Lesnar dropped out of UFC 131, Carwin was a fighter trying to rebound from a loss, and returning from a major injury, against a fighter, Jon Olav Einemo, that few fans were aware of. That’s the proverbial no-win situation. Suddenly, he’s thrust into a situation where he’s facing the heavyweight division’s No. 1 contender, and a win will vault him right into a title match. At 36 years old, a break like that must seem like a gift from the gods for Carwin.
I’ll be a bit more literal with the man who has the most to lose when I tell you it’s Tito Ortiz. Sure, Ortiz is nowhere near title contention, or even the top 10, but at UFC 132, he’s fighting for even bigger stakes: his job. The former UFC champ and promotional mainstay is fresh out of chances. Winless since Oct. 2006, it’s win or go home for the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who still has one of the highest base salaries in the promotion, $250,000 per fight. That’s a lot of scratch, and he’s not likely to find a contract anywhere else in the world that will pay him in that range if he loses to Ryan Bader and is cut.
3) Which fighter is most likely to launch himself into the UFC title picture?
MC: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. We already know that two upcoming fights — TUF 13 Finale’s Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida, and UFC 131’s Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin — will have some sort of title implications, so none of those men eventually fighting for a belt would constitute a surprise. But Jackson is something of a wild card.
When he was standing in the octagon waiting for the judges’ decision against Lyoto Machida last November, he thought he had lost the fight, which would have resulted in a two-fight losing streak. The judges thought otherwise and he was awarded the decision victory. A win over Matt Hamill at UFC 130 would give him two straight, and four of his last five.
You might be asking why that should put him in the title picture. Champion Jon Jones, who is currently out with a hand injury, is expected to be ready to fight in late September or early October. The most likely opposition for him would come from August’s Rashad Evans-Phil Davis winner, but there is very little chance either man could be ready on such short notice. The UFC is not going to keep Jones on the sidelines if he’s ready to go, so who would get the title shot? Rampage, that’s who. He’s still a top five light-heavyweight, and if he beats Matt Hamill, he’ll probably punch his ticket to face Jones.
AH: I could go the easy route and pick the winner of dos Santos vs. Carwin, and Jackson is certainly a good choice too, but I’m going to go with Wanderlei Silva.
Silva is a huge fan favorite, and while injuries have forced him to only fight once in two years, a thrilling win over Chris Leben at UFC 132 would help generate a lot of momentum for him fight the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami. The UFC’s middleweight division could use a contender like Silva, and considering his past issues with “The Spider,” that would be an easy fight to promote. Of course, Silva’s age and injuries might stop him from ever seriously contending for a UFC title, but that’s more reason to give him that title shot sooner rather than later.
4) Is Urijah Faber‘s UFC 132 matchup against bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz his last chance to wear a major belt?
MC: Faber has been a big part of the title picture in the lower-weight divisions for years, but he lost his last two title matches in the featherweight division while in the WEC, and his bout with Cruz marks his third try to win a major belt in the last two years. If he loses again, it will be very difficult for the UFC to put Faber back into a title match anytime soon.
At 32 years old, Faber keeps himself in fantastic shape year-round, so I wouldn’t expect him to fade away in the near future, but it becomes difficult to promote title matches with athletes that keep losing in them. The public continually wants to see fresh challengers who are capable of pushing the champion. While Faber will continue to have a strong fan base, a third straight loss in title matches will cause many to believe he can’t get over the hump any longer. So chances are, this might be his first and last crack at UFC gold.
Faber still has some big-time performances ahead of him, but he’s going to need one of them against Cruz on July 2. If he loses, he will probably need to put together a lengthy winning streak and hope that Cruz holds on to the belt that entire time so the two can have a rubber match. That selling point may help dim any criticism about an 0-3 stretch in title bouts, but as we’ve seen in MMA, those types of parallel runs are quite unusual.
AH: It really all depends on how he looks. If he is dominated the way Jose Aldo dominated him last April, then this could very well be Faber’s last shot at a title. But considering the fact that the 135-pound division isn’t as deep as some of the other UFC divisions, I could conceivably see him going on a run to warrant another title shot even after a loss.
The thing to remember is that Faber is, by far, the biggest star in the lightweight divisions, and that probably includes the 155-pound division too. He’s on commercials with Kenny Powers and, along with a couple others, helped carry WEC for many years. I won’t argue with those who say he earned this title shot (and even the fight against Aldo) rather quickly off loses, but such is the life of a bantamweight or featherweight, but it MMA math aside, it just makes sense having him fight in this historic bout, just like it has always made sense for him to be fighting for the title in the past.
Anderson Silva is without a doubt the king of the UFC’s middleweight division.The owner of the longest title reign in the UFC, “the Spider” has won each of his thirteen bouts inside the Octagon as well as defending his title eight consecutive times&mda…
Anderson Silva is without a doubt the king of the UFC’s middleweight division.
The owner of the longest title reign in the UFC, “the Spider” has won each of his thirteen bouts inside the Octagon as well as defending his title eight consecutive times—both records.
Set to face top contender Yushin Okami at UFC: Rio in August, there remains very few in the division who pose a threat to Silva’s belt.
Most analysts see the pound for pound king facing Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre or moving up to light-heavyweight if he gets past Okami.
But what about Brian Stann?
War hero and former WEC light-heavyweight champion, Stann quietly amassed a respectable 3-2 record in the UFC coming into the biggest fight of his career against the dangerous Chris Leben in January.
Known for his cut physique and world-class athleticism, analysts saw Stann as a strong, athletic guy, but lacking the striking and technical skills possessed by others in the division. Leben was thought to have the better hands—boy were they wrong.
Stann came out swinging hard, knocking down Leben, known for his tough chin, multiple times. Showcasing any array of techniques, Stann landed a myriad of body kicks and punches before ending the fight with a knee to the body against the cage 3:37 into the first round.
The only other fighter to dominate Leben with strikes—Anderson Silva.
Now don’t get me wrong, Silva is by far the better striker in comparison to Stann. With a list of knockouts including Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort, Silva wouldn’t worry about Stann’s striking.
But the former Marine is ever improving his game, with Leben just the latest victim of his newly added skills.
Stann showed off his submission skills last August, catching Mike Massenzio in a triangle in the third round. His debut at middleweight, this bout also earned the “All-American” Fight of the Night honors.
Training under the mastermind that is Greg Jackson, Stann’s raw athletic ability and hard work ethic make him the ideal student for Jackson. Working with his stable of champions in New Mexico, Stann will no doubt come out even better when he faces Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago later this month.
If Stann can put on another dominating performance, this time against a champion caliber fighter in Santiago, look for this American hero to be catapulted into stardom.
Time will only tell if Brian Stann can craft himself into a champion, but if he keeps dominating opponents inside the Octagon, Silva and the rest of the division will definitely have to take notice.
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.