Tag: Jose Aldo

MMA: ESPN Releases Latest Power-Ranking List, Who Made the Cut?

ESPN.com has released their latest top 10 pound-for-pound list for MMA.  Six members of the ESPN staff weighed in on the issue, including MMA Live host Jon Anik.
UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva was the unanimous pick for the top spot on t…

ESPN.com has released their latest top 10 pound-for-pound list for MMA.  Six members of the ESPN staff weighed in on the issue, including MMA Live host Jon Anik.

UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva was the unanimous pick for the top spot on the list, while welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was able to lock down the second spot.

St-Pierre’s stock undoubtedly took a hit after winning a snoozefest against Jake Shields at UFC 129, with not one voter picking GSP over Silva this time.

Anik actually felt that St-Pierre’s performance was so underwhelming, that he personally felt that light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was more deserving of the second spot than GSP was.

Jones ended up ranked No. 3 on the list, surprisingly passing up UFC featherweight title holder Jose Aldo.   

This change is probably the most controversial one on the list, as Aldo has not lost since 2005; his sole career loss, and has won 12 fights in a row since then.

Regardless where fans feel Jones belongs on this list, it is impossible to ignore that this superstar is taking the MMA world by storm.

Incredible takedowns and striking, both on his feet and on the ground, have led Jones to a 13-1 professional record.  He has also earned his place in the record books, as “Bones” is the UFC’s youngest champion ever at 23 years old. 

Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar rounded out the top five, while UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz claimed the sixth spot on the list. 

Despite a 17-1 career record and a UFC title around his waist, Cruz is still not a household name for most MMA fans.

Cruz has a great opportunity to open some eyes at UFC 132, when he has a chance to avenge his only career loss against Urijah Faber in the main event. 

Cain Velasquez was the lone heavyweight to crack the top 10, with the staff praising his abilities as a boxer, wrestler and jiu-jitsu practitioner. 

Gilbert Melendez was the only Strikeforce selection in ESPN’s power ranking list, as the lightweight champion is coming off a dominant TKO victory over Tatsuya Kawajiri and is currently riding a five-fight win streak.

ESPN’s selection at No. 9 is described by the staff as “MMA’s Sisyphus,” none other than welterweight grinder Jon Fitch.

Fitch is 21-1-2 since 2002, with his sole loss coming against welterweight king Georges St-Pierre. 

Gray Maynard rounds out the list at No. 10, owning quality wins over the likes of Jim Miller, Kenny Florian, and is currently still the only man who has defeated UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

“The Bully” has a chance to prove his relevance in the UFC lightweight division when he meets Edgar for a third time at UFC 130. 

Maynard hopes finally to get his first taste of gold in the UFC, and definitively prove once and for all that he is a better fighter than Edgar. 

Regardless who wins the main event at UFC 130, a superfight between Gilbert Melendez and either Edgar or Maynard remains very intriguing for deciding who is the best 155-pounder in MMA.

So to recap, ESPN’s latest top 10 pound-four-pound list reads as follows: 1. Anderson Silva, 2. Georges St-Pierre, 3. Jon Jones, 4. Jose Aldo, 5. Frankie Edgar, 6. Dominick Cruz, 7. Cain Velasquez, 8. Gilbert Melendez, 9. Jon Fitch, and 10. Gray Maynard.

Also receiving votes are Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans, and welterweight contender BJ Penn.  

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MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Aldo on Top, Mendes No. 2

Filed under: UFC, Bellator, Rankings, FeatherweightsJose Aldo has now made his UFC debut and won the UFC’s first featherweight title fight, an entertaining if not terribly competitive unanimous decision over Mark Hominick at UFC 129. So what does the U…

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Jose Aldo has now made his UFC debut and won the UFC’s first featherweight title fight, an entertaining if not terribly competitive unanimous decision over Mark Hominick at UFC 129. So what does the UFC do with Aldo from here?

The fight I think the UFC really wants to make for Aldo is against Kenny Florian, who has more name recognition than anyone else on the UFC’s featherweight roster. If Florian wins his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes at UFC 131, he’ll instantly step into title contention — and into the featherweight Top 10.

But for now, the No. 1 featherweight appears headed toward an August showdown with the undefeated Chad Mendes — and on my featherweight rankings, that’s the right call.

UFC 132: Urijah Faber Thinks Dominick Cruz Is "Immature"

The recent bad blood between rivals Urijah Faber and UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz has certainly been well-documented.Both competitors will headline UFC 132, when they meet in a rematch from WEC 26, to determine the newly crowned bantamweigh…

The recent bad blood between rivals Urijah Faber and UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz has certainly been well-documented.

Both competitors will headline UFC 132, when they meet in a rematch from WEC 26, to determine the newly crowned bantamweight champion. 

While appearing as a guest on MMA Fight Corner Radio, Faber did not hold anything back when discussing his opponent. In fact, the former WEC featherweight champion used as little dialogue as possible

“Immature,” Faber said when asked on describing his opponent. 

The last time both men competed, Faber picked up the victory, submitting Cruz via guillotine choke.

Since failing to recapture his featherweight title against Mike Thomas Brown and current title holder Jose Aldo, Faber recently moved down to bantamweight and made his debut at UFC 128.

Faber defeated Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision and following the bout he proceeded to call out his rival, Cruz.

The win ultimately earned Faber a title shot against Cruz, scheduled for this summer. 

Faber continued to speak of his disdain for Cruz, and while he isn’t one to trash-talk or belittle his opponents, “The California Kid” said he respects the bantamweight champion, but he wouldn’t consider him a friend.

“I was forced to spend some time with him this last week with the Marines in Camp Pendleton in San Diego and it was fun,” Faber said.

“He can actually take a joke, and we were at each other’s throat a little bit at the beginning there. He’s a decent guy, but he has a lot of growing up to do, and me beating him up is going to be part of that process.”

UFC 132 is scheduled for July 2nd, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

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State of WEC, PRIDE Titles Following Zuffa Acquisitions

Filed under: UFC, NewsLineal champions have always interested me for one reason or another, and with talk intensifying of Strikeforce champions facing UFC champions in the near future, I thought it would be interesting to see where the WEC and PRIDE ti…

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Lineal champions have always interested me for one reason or another, and with talk intensifying of Strikeforce champions facing UFC champions in the near future, I thought it would be interesting to see where the WEC and PRIDE titles have ended up, considering those are the two biggest organizations Zuffa purchased over the years. No disrespect to the EliteXC or the IFLs of the world, but that would just get too confusing.

So check out the state of the WEC and PRIDE titles below. Dare I say more titles than you think have been unified.

UFC News: Jose Aldo Needed Antibiotics, Says Head Trainer

During his featherweight title defense at UFC 129, Jose Aldo did not appear to be himself against his opponent, Mark Hominick. While he did successfully defend his title, there was something slightly off about the champion on this night, as he looked r…

During his featherweight title defense at UFC 129, Jose Aldo did not appear to be himself against his opponent, Mark Hominick. While he did successfully defend his title, there was something slightly off about the champion on this night, as he looked relatively fatigued during the final round of the bout. 

His head trainer at Nova Uniao, Andre Pederneiras, told Sherdog.com that the Brazilian was on antibiotics for an infection he received just days prior to the event.

“He suffered a cut on his toe [on April 23] and it got infected with bacteria,” Pederneiras said. 

“He went through heavy medical treatment with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pills from Sunday to Tuesday. He took the heavy dosage so that he wouldn’t have to take more drugs closer to the fight.” 

The rumors surrounding his suspected illness only grew following his fight with Hominick, when his cornerman Marion Sandro was seen criticizing Aldo after he complained about wanting to take more antibiotics.

“Antibiotics wouldn’t have helped at all,” Sandro told Aldo. “You’re the champion, kid. F–k the antibiotics. Everything is OK. You fought well, smooth and composed.” 

Aldo is likely to fight much sooner following his fourth title defense, as it is expected he will square off against unbeaten featherweight Chad Mendes at UFC 133. Although another challenger could emerge at UFC 131 when Kenny Florian will make his featherweight debut against Aldo’s teammate Diego Nunes. 

Pederneiras said he is aware of the possibility that both Aldo and Nunes might have to fight each other, but the Nova Uniao trainer said their potential bout is not any of his concern.

“I think it will be against Chad Mendes,” Pederneiras says of Aldo’s future opponent.

“But Diego and everyone from Nova União knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will. I just don’t know how we would manage it, but they know they’re fighters and it’s their job. If the boss orders it, we’ll work on that situation. They’ll fight against whoever they’re matched with.”

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Monthly Review: Good, Bad and Ugly for the UFC and MMA in April

The fast-moving mixed martial arts world offers fighters, fans and media no shortage of talking points every month. Like every other major sport, there’s plenty for the optimists and cynics to take away. Here’s a look at the good, the bad a…

The fast-moving mixed martial arts world offers fighters, fans and media no shortage of talking points every month. Like every other major sport, there’s plenty for the optimists and cynics to take away. Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly for April 2011.  

 

The Good

Little Guy Gold

April 30 will be remembered for UFC 129, a landmark UFC from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. The record-breaking attendance (55,724) and live-gate ($12.075 million) coupled with all fights being broadcast for the first time ever is an important milestones considering the sport’s origins as a blacked-out product that was hemorrhaging money.

Setting a precedent for successful stadium shows will surely propel the UFC and MMA forward just like the UFC Primetime hype series quietly finding its way on to ESPN 2. But the real victory of UFC 129 was the inaugural 145-pound title clash between champion Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick. 

The first sub-155-pound title bout in UFC history delivered a Fight of the Night performance that outshined the headlining welterweight title tilt between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields. Aldo and Hominick were a difficult act to follow with their highly competitive bout, proving 2011 has seen (and announced) significantly stronger cards thanks to the arrival of featherweight and bantamweight divisions from the UFC’s sister promotion, the WEC.

Twenty-five tireless minutes pushed the champion to the limits as Hominick lived up to “The Machine” moniker, battling through an unsightly hematoma and the judges score cards for a valiant fifth-round comeback that put Aldo in danger. 

With the UFC’s first sub-155-pound main event slated for UFC 132 on July 2 between UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, Aldo and Hominick’s co-main event scrap on the biggest UFC card set a high standard for any division. As the Octagon permeates mainstream sporting culture, the full-throttle fighting of lighter weight competitors—and the international markets like Mexico, Japan and China that can bring—will only accelerate the UFC’s upward trajectory.

Cross Promotion Possibilities

On April 9, Strikeforce Lightweight Gilbert Melendez and Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz successfully defended their belts with emphatic first-round finishes. The performances took on a life of their own because talk surrounding Strikeforce-UFC title versus title bouts was at an all-time high since UFC President Dana White was cageside, scouting the new talent available to him through Zuffa’s acquisition of the San Jose-based promotion. 

Diaz’s name polluted post-UFC 129 talk as the next opponent for Georges St-Pierre in a champion versus champion welterweight super-fight. Melendez will be compared to the winner of UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard’s third contest as the UFC’s top 155-pounder later this month.

Alistair Overeem versus Cain Velasquez at heavyweight and now, mutual interest expressed in the media between UFC 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones and his Strikeforce counterpart Dan Henderson are dream fights driving the conversation in the MMA world. 

The UFC featured champion versus champion bouts when Dan Henderson, a two-division PRIDE titleholder, returned to the UFC in late 2007–early 2008, but PRIDE had two other high-demand champions—Fedor Emelianenko and Takanori Gomi—that never challenged the UFC’s divisional kingpins.

Champion versus champion bouts in MMA have failed to materialize more often than not despite constant clamoring for them over the last decade due to lack of cross promotion. Expect the performances of champions in either promotion to continue drumming up the war cry from fans to seize this rare opportunity as the UFC’s monopolization of the elite talent in MMA phases out the need for such demand. 

 

The Bad

Judging

This category can find its way onto this list every month, but April was a particularly unkind calendar on the scorecards. 

Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren’s Greco-Roman takedowns found him reversed before his non-title clash with Andre Galvao hit the mat on April 16. On the ground, Galvao’s jiu-jitsu dragged Warren through disadvantageous positions that were disregarded by judge Chuck Wolf when he gave Warren the round. The intricacies of jiu-jitsu were not the only point missed by Wolf as Galvao damaged Warren with knees in the second frame while thwarting all but one takedown attempt—again, the round went to Warren. 

Real judging criteria would account for more than forward motion and takedowns, but unfortunately, fighters and fans are burdened with 30-27 scores that miss more than one point of what criteria should determine the outcome of an MMA fight.  

Gegard Mousasi’s undeserved draw with Keith Jardine kept the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion from another win the week prior to Warren’s disputed (albeit not undeserved) decision. Mousasi should have emerged victorious on April 9, yet he walked away wondering, like so many other fighters have, why judges exist if they can’t make sound judgments.

It may be just another fight for judges randomly assigned by state athletic commissions, but it’s more than that to the fighters—it’s their career, and livelihood, and should be treated with that respect by those shaping its decisions. 

Full Tilt Poker Shut Down

Bottom line: Anytime a major sponsor is cut out of MMA, fighters lose a much-needed revenue source.  

 

The Ugly

The best way to dismiss concerns related to accepting a short notice bout is to make it short. On 17 days notice, UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger agreed to meet Sean Pierson at UFC 129. A short, thudding left hook-straight right combo left Pierson defeated on the canvas—the only Canadian on the card to be knocked out in front of his home countrymen. 

Danny Acosta is the lead writer at FIGHT! Magazine. Follow him on twitter.com/acostaislegend

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