After the success of the UFC’s last trip to Brazil, they are returning again to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro January 14 and bringing a stacked card filled with exciting strikers and submission artists. It will be headlined by UFC featherweight…
After the success of the UFC’s last trip to Brazil, they are returning again to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro January 14 and bringing a stacked card filled with exciting strikers and submission artists. It will be headlined by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Aldo will be taking on top contender Chad Mendes, who many consider to be his toughest test to date. In what could be Aldo’s last fight in the 145-pound weight class, he will have to make a statement in his home country and defeat an undefeated fighter in the process.
In the co-main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort will face former welterweight contender Anthony Johnson in a middleweight bout.
Belfort is coming off his first-round knockout victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, while Johnson was last seen defeating Charlie Brenneman, also by first-round knockout.
During the last UFC card in Brazil, 11 of the 12 bouts ended with a Brazilian emerging victorious. The fighters on this card will be looking to make it perfect this time around.
Other main card bouts include Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio, Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater and Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim.
(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)
2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.
In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.
We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.
(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)
2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.
In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.
We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.
And after unleashing a verbal assault on Volkmann the likes of which we had yet to experience, “Mandingo” proceeded to stick his foot so far down his mouth that his leg nearly snapped at the knee. The fight was terrible, with neither fighter even attempting to engage over the course of 15 minutes. In fact, Mckee’s most significant offense was captured in the above photo, in which he decided to use his strongest asset as a fighter to attempt a takedown. Volkmann would walk away the victor via split decision, and Mckee would be served his walking papers, which he would then try and pass off as some old school racism by the UFC. Good riddance, d-bag.
#9: Steve Cantwell vs. Cyrille Diabate – UFC Live 3
Best known for his trilogy of wars with top middleweight contender Brian Stann, Steve “The Robot” Cantwell found himself sidelined and on a two fight losing streak in 2009. His losing efforts to Stann and Luiz Cane had been relatively entertaining, and before that Cantwell had scored a SOTN award by breaking Razak Al-Hassan’s arm at UFC: Fight For the Troops. Cyrille Diabate, on the other hand, had scored a TKO victory over Cane in his debut before being submitted by Alexander Gustafsson. The fight was placed on the Facebook prelims, and promised to be a technical kickboxing clinic. To say it was a letdown would be an understatement.
The match was little more than a light sparring session, at one point drawing that exact comparison from Joe Rogan during the third round when neither fighter remotely attempted to pick up the pace. It would be mark the halfway…uh…mark of Cantwell’s current four-fight losing streak, and would be Diabate’s last win as well; he would go on to drop a second round submission to Anthony Perosh at UFC 138.
Phil Davis had a hell of a year in 2010. Not only did he go 4-0 in the UFC, scoring wins over the likes of Alexander Gustafsson and Brian Stann, but the man even invented a submission, a hammerlock/kimura hybrid dubbed “The Mr. Wonderful.” Not bad for someone who had been training MMA for less than two years at the time. With his aforementioned submission win over Tim Boetsch, Davis was almost immediately pegged as the next Jon Jones by MMA critics and fans alike, despite the fact that Jon Jones had barely begun his own rise to success. When Davis was placed against former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, who had knocked out then undefeated Luiz Cane in under two minutes and scored a razor thin decision over Jason Brilz in his own UFC run, the MMA community was ready a grand display of fireworks, and walked away with sparklers.
After a tense first half that saw little to no significant strikes landed, the first round was mainly comprised of Davis trying unsuccessfully to take Nogueria down. And when he was forced to stand, we saw a different, less wonderful version of Davis, complete with an array of awkward push/teep kicks and one-to-two punch combinations that were all but completely ineffective against Lil Nog. Davis was able to secure his first takedown midway through the second round, and to his credit, was able to control the BJJ black belt down when he did so. “Minotoro” on the other hand, never really looked like he was that concerned about finishing the fight, despite Davis’ increased takedown success over the next round and a half. His punches came slower and slower, and by the end of it many in the silent audience were simply awaiting a decision.
It’s not that there was anything particularly bad in this fight, it’s just that there wasn’t much to write home about, including Phil Davis, who’s momentum train found itself at the bottom of a very large hill afterward. And as it turns out, this would be the first of many lackluster main events to come…
(Within 24 hours of touching that thing at a UFC Expo, Overeem will punch you in the face.)
Typically, UFC champions fight at least two to three times per year. This year, each strap was defended an average of 1.86 times because of a rash of injuries we chalk up to the UFC title curse.
13 title defenses for seven belts is a problem for any organization, especially one as big as the UFC. It’s tough to garner interest for your promotion’s champions when only a few are defending their titles more than once or twice a year.
(Days after Arianny presented Ali with theOctagon Girl Championship belt, she was let go by the UFC. Coincidence?)
The question is, should there be a limit to the amount of time a champion can go without defending his or her leather and gold before an interim champ is declared?
Check out the breakdown of the 2011 UFC champion injury plague in order of lightest to heaviest weight class after the jump and judge for yourself if title fights are less interesting as a result of how infrequently they occur.
(Within 24 hours of touching that thing at a UFC Expo, Overeem will punch you in the face.)
Typically, UFC champions fight at least two to three times per year. This year, each strap was defended an average of 1.86 times because of a rash of injuries we chalk up to the UFC title curse.
13 title defenses for seven belts is a problem for any organization, especially one as big as the UFC. It’s tough to garner interest for your promotion’s champions when only a few are defending their titles more than once or twice a year.
(Days after Arianny presented Ali with theOctagon Girl Championship belt, she was let go by the UFC. Coincidence?)
The question is, should there be a limit to the amount of time a champion can go without defending his or her leather and gold before an interim champ is declared?
Check out the breakdown of the 2011 UFC champion injury plague in order of lightest to heaviest weight class after the jump and judge for yourself if title fights are less interesting as a result of how infrequently they occur.
Jon Jones is shining like Leroy Green from “The Last Dragon.”The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion capped off an already historic year with a submission victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 141.With the win, Jones now finds himself i…
Jon Jones is shining like Leroy Green from “The Last Dragon.”
The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion capped off an already historic year with a submission victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 141.
With the win, Jones now finds himself in the middle of a pound-for-pound debate, which also includes all-time greats Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
In 2011 alone, Jones has defeated three former world champions and MMA legends in Shogun, Machida, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
The light heavyweight division, which was once considered the most stacked weight class in the entire sport, is now running on fumes thanks to Jones’ dominance.
Has the young lion done enough to overtake the pound-for-pound rankings?
Also, the pound-for-pound list will never be the same again as it welcomes its first ever female addition to the rankings.
It looks like Gray Maynard will be eating Brazilian kicks and punches for Christmas in the delicacy’s native land.
The former number one UFC lightweight contender will be in Rio de Janeiro for the next few weeks to help UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo prepare for his January 14 UFC 142 bout with Chad Mendes. Aldo invited “The Bully” to Brazil as his style is very similar to Mendes’. Gray arrived on Wednesday and will stick around until after the event in three weeks.
(Photo courtesy of Combate.TV)
It looks like Gray Maynard will be eating Brazilian kicks and punches for Christmas in the delicacy’s native land.
The former number one UFC lightweight contender will be in Rio de Janeiro for the next few weeks to help UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo prepare for his January 14 UFC 142 bout with Chad Mendes. Aldo invited “The Bully” to Brazil as his style is very similar to Mendes’. Gray arrived on Wednesday and will stick around until after the event in three weeks.
Maynard has become a Ronin of sorts since breaking away from Xtreme Couture following his loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 in October, training at several gyms including American Kickboxing Academy where he is rumored to be settling at full time. Maynard maintains, however that he is still testing the training waters and hasn’t decided where he’ll set up shop for his next camp.
Until then, he’ll have to endure the third world country of Brazil where they have no Internet or buses.
With the gigantic main event between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on the horizon, the UFC’s return to Brazil in the first month of 2012 has been pushed to the back of fight fans minds for the time being. The card lacks the star po…
With the gigantic main event between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on the horizon, the UFC’s return to Brazil in the first month of 2012 has been pushed to the back of fight fans minds for the time being.
The card lacks the star power as the previous trip to Brazil, and the lighter weight classes always seem to have a bit of a problem drawing the attention of the mainstream media, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the main event between Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo is being overlooked.
This is Aldo’s first shot at headlining a PPV event and it could not come against a worse stylistic matchup for him, as Mendes has all the tools to take out one of the top ranked fighters in the world.
Aldo has shown vicious striking throughout his career, and his takedown defense has been surprisingly good throughout his current title reign, but none of that will matter when he is matched up against the best wrestler in the division.
Mendes is relentless when it comes to taking guys to the mat, and he has shown the ability to take a punch or two in order to get it there, something that is vital if he wants to take out Aldo.
Even if Aldo is able to keep the fight upright for a few rounds, it seems as though he has lost his killer instinct as of late and his main asset, (his kicks) will be neutralized by Mendes’ ability to take him down.
Throw in Aldo’s suspect cardio and the longer the fight goes on, the more it favors the Team Alpha Male prospect, as he will be able to take Aldo to the mat and work his suffocating top game.
Unless Aldo is able to get his mojo back and aim to finish the fight early, Mendes has this fight in the bag, starting a new era in the featherweight division and sending the Brazilian crowd home unhappy.
After the success of the UFC’s last trip to Brazil, they are returning again to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro January 14 and bringing a stacked card filled with exciting strikers and submission artists. It will be headlined by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
