Tag: Ken Stone

Booking (Rumor) Roundup: UFC on FX Edition


(NOW we get why Kyle’s friends often refer to him as “The Poke” Noke.) 

After collecting three straight stoppage victories in as many UFC contests, EliteXC and TUF 11 veteran Kyle Noke was quickly building up a reputation as one of the top up-and-comers in the middleweight division. Being one of the few successful Australian fighters to grace the UFC (sorry, Elvis), Noke carried a bit more pressure on his shoulders than the average TUF alum, especially when heading into his UFC Live 5 match against resurgent TUF 3 veteran Ed Herman. Unfortunately Noke (and therefore the Australian MMA community), would fall to a first round heel hook in that fight, placing all Aussie UFC hopes in the hands of a man nicknamed after an animal relative to Africa.

But fret not, ye Fosters enthusiasts, for Noke’s path to redemption will begin in the land from which he was birthed. Yes, “KO” recently announced that he will be taking on Jared Hamman at UFC on FX 2, which goes down at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. Hamman, whom we will forever be in debt to for knocking CB Dolloway out of the UFC, will also be looking to build up a win streak; he was most recently flattened in the first round by Constantinos Philippou at UFC 140. This match has yet to be confirmed by the UFC.

Join us after the jump for some juicy featherweight and bantamweight gossip…


(NOW we get why Kyle’s friends often refer to him as “The Poke” Noke.) 

After collecting three straight stoppage victories in as many UFC contests, EliteXC and TUF 11 veteran Kyle Noke was quickly building up a reputation as one of the top up-and-comers in the middleweight division. Being one of the few successful Australian fighters to grace the UFC (sorry, Elvis), Noke carried a bit more pressure on his shoulders than the average TUF alum, especially when heading into his UFC Live 5 match against resurgent TUF 3 veteran Ed Herman. Unfortunately Noke (and therefore the Australian MMA community), would fall to a first round heel hook in that fight, placing all Aussie UFC hopes in the hands of a man nicknamed after an animal relative to Africa.

But fret not, ye Fosters enthusiasts, for Noke’s path to redemption will begin in the land from which he was birthed. Yes, “KO” recently announced that he will be taking on Jared Hamman at UFC on FX 2, which goes down at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. Hamman, whom we will forever be in debt to for knocking CB Dolloway out of the UFC, will also be looking to build up a win streak; he was most recently flattened in the first round by Constantinos Philippou at UFC 140. This match has yet to be confirmed by the UFC.

Also rumored for the UFC’s return to Australia will be TUF 5 alum Cole Miller’s featherweight debut, which will pair him against seasoned TUF 14 vet Steve Siler. Fresh off a second round submission of T.J. O’Brien, the 6’1”, Miller was already lanky for a lightweight, but will now be entering Corey Hill territory at 145 pounds. Stay away from the leg kicks is all were saying, Cole. After getting eliminated via a Diego Brandao steamrolling in his run on The Ultimate Fighter 14, Siler rebounded at the TUF 14 Finale with a decision win over Josh Clopton.

And in UFC on FX 1 news, bantamweight prospect Mike Easton will be looking to improve upon his second round TKO over Byron Bloodworth when he takes on WEC vet Ken Stone. Stone, who suffered brutal back-to-back knockouts at the hands of Eddie Wineland (via slam) and Scott Jorgensen (via punches), finally learned what it was like to be the one standing over an unconscious body when he choked out Donny Walker back at UFN 25.

UFC on FX is set to go down on January 20th from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Yours truly will be handling the liveblog duties, so make sure to stop by and inform me of how poor a job I am doing.

-Danga 

UFC Fight Night 25 Undercard Live Blog: McKenzie-Rocha, Dunham-Bailey, More

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NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC fights from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The prelims, which will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook page, include a pair of lightweight bouts between TUF 12 competitor Cody McKenzie and Vagner Rocha and TUF 12 fighter Shamar Bailey and Evan Dunham.

The live blog is below.

Justin Edwards vs. Jorge Lopez

Round 1: Wanderlei Silva protege Lopez is making his UFC debut and is a pretty sizable favorite in this one. He’s got “The Axe Murderer” in his corner, naturally. Bruce Buffer runs the intros, and we’re ready to roll with Kevin Mulhall the third man in the Octagon. They trade in tight early, and Edwards looks for a throw, but settles for a clinch against the cage. But Lopez lifts him for a nice slam – right into a guillotine. Edwards cranks on it, but Lopez rolls out and eventually pops back to his feet. He throws a nice right kick that Edwards counters with some more clinch work. In tight, Edwards lands a couple nice hooks, then a soft slam. But again Lopez pops up. And again Edwards softly takes him down. He looks for a guillotine again, but settles for keeping position on the mat, trying to work ground and pound. The fight moves back to the feet halfway through the round. Jabs are traded, with each fighter landing a nice one in close. A nice knee from Lopez briefly has Edwards on the canvas with Lopez looking for some quick short strikes. But back on the feet, Edwards ties things up again with his back on the fence. Another nice knee from Lopez lands, but Edwards chases him down with a flurry and they trade position along the fence. Lopez landed some decent shots in the round, but MMA Fighting will score the round 10-9 for Edwards.

Round 2: Edwards opens with a left jab, then eats a high right kick. But he comes back with a spinning back kick right to Lopez’s gut. Back along the fence, Edwards again lands a little takedown and has good position in side control. He works to sink in a guillotine and gets it. It looks tight, but Lopez barely pops out and briefly has top position until they go back to their feet. After several Edwards near-chokes so far, Lopez might believe he needs to keep this standing. Edwards again works for a little takedown and works to take Lopez’s back. Lopez looks absolutely exhausted as Edwards starts laying on the ground and pound. It’s getting close as Mulhall looks in, but Lopez gives one burst of energy and reverses to pop out. After a short stall in the clinch, Mulhall splits them up with 30 seconds left in the round. Edwards lands a couple nice kicks as we get to the end. We’ll give another 10-9 round to Edwards heading to the last.

Round 3: They touch gloves for the last. Lopez has probably been told he’ll need to finish, and he lands a nice right hand early. Lopez ties Edwards up, and Edwards throws knees. Then Lopez lifts him for a nice slam. Edwards is looking for an armbar from his side. But Lopez finally gets out of it, gets mount, then takes Edwards’ back and starts looking for ground and pound. Edwards is squirming to try and get out, and Lopez gives up the back. He keeps dominant position on the ground, moving from side control to north-south briefly, then back to side control. He lands some short right elbows as Edwards looks for a way out. And finally, Edwards gets back to his feet. With 1:20 left, Lopez again gets a short takedown, but Edwards falls into guard. Edwards gets an armbar with 20 seconds left, but he can’t hold it. We’ll give the third to Lopez, 10-9, but the fight should go to Edwards 29-28 in a fairly major upset.

Result: Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mike Lullo vs. Robert Peralta

Round 1: High kick from Lullo to open. Then he eats one to the outside. They trade a few kicks, then Peralta ties up and lands some knees. He uses them to get a soft taekdown before letting Lullo back up. They trade jabs. Then several kicks each. After his UFC debut loss against Edson Barboza last November, you’d think Lullo would be pretty fed up with eating kicks by now. But he’s throwing plenty himself. Peralta checks a kick, then comes with a nice combo. Then again. Lullo’s left thigh is blistering red from kicks already. Nice right hand from Peralta lands, and he comes back with two more huge kicks to Lullo’s lead leg. Peralta then again lands some big kicks that take Lullo off his feet – it’s literally like watching a replay of the Lullo-Barboza fight. It’s a 10-9 round for Peralta.

Round 2: More kicks from Peralta. And Lullo has a large hematoma on the left side of his head. Peralta goes right after it. More kicks from Peralta force Lullo to shoot, and he ties things up along the fence. Things stall out for a minute as Lullo keeps Peralta tied up – at least he’s not eating kicks. They break at 1:30 and trade leg kicks. Again Lullo shoots, but it’s not there. A nice kick from Lullo closes the round. It’s definitely a closer round, but we’re going to give it to Peralta again, 10-9.

Round 3:

Mike Stumpf vs. T.J. Waldburger

Round 1:

Seth Baczynski vs. Clay Harvison

Round 1:

Ken Stone vs. Donny Walker

Round 1:

Lance Benoist vs. Matt Riddle

Round 1:

Shamar Bailey vs. Evan Dunham

Round 1:

Cody McKenzie vs. Vagner Rocha

Round 1:

 

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NEW ORLEANS – This is the UFC Fight Night 25 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC fights from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The prelims, which will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook page, include a pair of lightweight bouts between TUF 12 competitor Cody McKenzie and Vagner Rocha and TUF 12 fighter Shamar Bailey and Evan Dunham.

The live blog is below.

Justin Edwards vs. Jorge Lopez

Round 1: Wanderlei Silva protege Lopez is making his UFC debut and is a pretty sizable favorite in this one. He’s got “The Axe Murderer” in his corner, naturally. Bruce Buffer runs the intros, and we’re ready to roll with Kevin Mulhall the third man in the Octagon. They trade in tight early, and Edwards looks for a throw, but settles for a clinch against the cage. But Lopez lifts him for a nice slam – right into a guillotine. Edwards cranks on it, but Lopez rolls out and eventually pops back to his feet. He throws a nice right kick that Edwards counters with some more clinch work. In tight, Edwards lands a couple nice hooks, then a soft slam. But again Lopez pops up. And again Edwards softly takes him down. He looks for a guillotine again, but settles for keeping position on the mat, trying to work ground and pound. The fight moves back to the feet halfway through the round. Jabs are traded, with each fighter landing a nice one in close. A nice knee from Lopez briefly has Edwards on the canvas with Lopez looking for some quick short strikes. But back on the feet, Edwards ties things up again with his back on the fence. Another nice knee from Lopez lands, but Edwards chases him down with a flurry and they trade position along the fence. Lopez landed some decent shots in the round, but MMA Fighting will score the round 10-9 for Edwards.

Round 2: Edwards opens with a left jab, then eats a high right kick. But he comes back with a spinning back kick right to Lopez’s gut. Back along the fence, Edwards again lands a little takedown and has good position in side control. He works to sink in a guillotine and gets it. It looks tight, but Lopez barely pops out and briefly has top position until they go back to their feet. After several Edwards near-chokes so far, Lopez might believe he needs to keep this standing. Edwards again works for a little takedown and works to take Lopez’s back. Lopez looks absolutely exhausted as Edwards starts laying on the ground and pound. It’s getting close as Mulhall looks in, but Lopez gives one burst of energy and reverses to pop out. After a short stall in the clinch, Mulhall splits them up with 30 seconds left in the round. Edwards lands a couple nice kicks as we get to the end. We’ll give another 10-9 round to Edwards heading to the last.

Round 3: They touch gloves for the last. Lopez has probably been told he’ll need to finish, and he lands a nice right hand early. Lopez ties Edwards up, and Edwards throws knees. Then Lopez lifts him for a nice slam. Edwards is looking for an armbar from his side. But Lopez finally gets out of it, gets mount, then takes Edwards’ back and starts looking for ground and pound. Edwards is squirming to try and get out, and Lopez gives up the back. He keeps dominant position on the ground, moving from side control to north-south briefly, then back to side control. He lands some short right elbows as Edwards looks for a way out. And finally, Edwards gets back to his feet. With 1:20 left, Lopez again gets a short takedown, but Edwards falls into guard. Edwards gets an armbar with 20 seconds left, but he can’t hold it. We’ll give the third to Lopez, 10-9, but the fight should go to Edwards 29-28 in a fairly major upset.

Result: Justin Edwards def. Jorge Lopez, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mike Lullo vs. Robert Peralta

Round 1: High kick from Lullo to open. Then he eats one to the outside. They trade a few kicks, then Peralta ties up and lands some knees. He uses them to get a soft taekdown before letting Lullo back up. They trade jabs. Then several kicks each. After his UFC debut loss against Edson Barboza last November, you’d think Lullo would be pretty fed up with eating kicks by now. But he’s throwing plenty himself. Peralta checks a kick, then comes with a nice combo. Then again. Lullo’s left thigh is blistering red from kicks already. Nice right hand from Peralta lands, and he comes back with two more huge kicks to Lullo’s lead leg. Peralta then again lands some big kicks that take Lullo off his feet – it’s literally like watching a replay of the Lullo-Barboza fight. It’s a 10-9 round for Peralta.

Round 2: More kicks from Peralta. And Lullo has a large hematoma on the left side of his head. Peralta goes right after it. More kicks from Peralta force Lullo to shoot, and he ties things up along the fence. Things stall out for a minute as Lullo keeps Peralta tied up – at least he’s not eating kicks. They break at 1:30 and trade leg kicks. Again Lullo shoots, but it’s not there. A nice kick from Lullo closes the round. It’s definitely a closer round, but we’re going to give it to Peralta again, 10-9.

Round 3:

Mike Stumpf vs. T.J. Waldburger

Round 1:

Seth Baczynski vs. Clay Harvison

Round 1:

Ken Stone vs. Donny Walker

Round 1:

Lance Benoist vs. Matt Riddle

Round 1:

Shamar Bailey vs. Evan Dunham

Round 1:

Cody McKenzie vs. Vagner Rocha

Round 1:

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of TUF 13 Finale

Filed under: UFCI’ve always wondered what Ultimate Fighter winners do with their cut-glass trophies. It looks like something you might get for being the most improved player on a high school water polo team, so I’d be surprised if too many recipients h…

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I’ve always wondered what Ultimate Fighter winners do with their cut-glass trophies. It looks like something you might get for being the most improved player on a high school water polo team, so I’d be surprised if too many recipients have it displayed prominently in their homes.

I keep expecting to see one show up on Ebay, but then who would buy it? I have no idea, but maybe Tony Ferguson will get a chance to find out. He’s our latest reality show winner, joining a diverse group that has had wildly varied post-grad results.

So what does Ferguson’s win mean, and how far has Anthony Pettis fallen after putting his title shot on the line against Clay Guida? The answers to those questions and more await you, as we sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the TUF 13 Finale.

Biggest Winner: Clay Guida
Any lightweight who has ever considered a strategy that involves tiring Guida out only needs to look at him bouncing around in the post-fight interview after three hard rounds to know what a bad idea that is. Against Pettis, Guida showed that a non-stop motor and a wealth of quality experience to draw upon is sometimes all you need to get your hand raised. The decision victory was Guida’s 29th win and his 40th pro fight overall. Even Guida would probably agree that Jim Miller deserves to be ahead of him in line for a crack at the belt, but “The Carpenter” is definitely in the conversation now. What he lacks in sheer talent, he makes up for with work ethic and a willingness to get right in your face and stay there all night. How can you not root for a guy like that?

Biggest Loser: Anthony Pettis
Pettis gets this distinction less for his performance than for what it cost him. He didn’t fight poorly, but all it took was fifteen minutes on a Saturday night for him to go from number one contender to the middle of a crowded pack. Not that it needs to be anything more than a minor setback in the long run. He’s young and has a lot of potential, but Guida showed us all that there are some holes in his game. Some of that is just inexperience. He caught a big break in the third round, yet couldn’t capitalize on it. It’s also possible that he’s trying to force those crowd-pleasing kicks a little too much, which resulted in more interesting misses than useful hits against Guida. He lost his title shot with the defeat, but it’s not the end of the world. If he uses it as a learning experience, this will be nothing more than a speed bump in a promising career.

Best Prospect: Tony Ferguson
He can wrestle and he can swat – a combination that makes him a man to be taken seriously. If we’ve learned anything from 13 seasons of TUF, however, it’s that winning the show is not quite the career-crowning achievement it’s made out to be. What it is, is a nice start for Ferguson and a chance to develop in the UFC with a little more slack than most new hires get. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend calling out guys like Amir Sadollah. While there are benefits to being proactive about matchmaking, the TUF winner usually gets to ease into the big time a little more gently. I don’t want to say he should expect an easy fight in his first post-TUF appearance. There aren’t many of those to be found in the UFC. But there are easier fights out there, and with them, a chance to get comfortable in the Octagon. Just because you’re a reality TV hero, it doesn’t mean the roads are all paved with gold now. Just ask Efrain Escudero.

Least Certain Future: Ramsey Nijem
He looked great on TUF, but all it took was one lunging left hook from Ferguson to stiffen him up like stale toast. He’s obviously got talent, but he also seems like he might not be quite ready for the UFC just yet. He’s now 4-2 in his career, and his most high profile wins were reality show exhibition bouts. He might still turn into a legitimate UFC fighter, but he’d better do it soon. It doesn’t take much to go from TUF finalist to TUF footnote. Just ask Kris McCray. And Vinny Magalhaes. And Luke Cummo. And…you know what? I think you get it.

Biggest Win Under Dire Circumstances: Ed Herman
After losing three of his last four and sitting out with a recurring knee injury for nearly two years, Herman was desperate for a big victory. Knocking out a tough opponent like Tim Credeur in less than a minute is a good way to get back on the map. Herman should consider it a temporary stay, and one possibly aided by the fact that Credeur had been out of action nearly as long as he had. Now Herman has to hope that he’s more successful in his comeback than he was before his initial injury.

Most Disturbing Trend: Ken Stone‘s recent KO’s
He was on the business end of a brutal slam knockout back in December, then got pounded out by Scott Jorgensen in the first round on Saturday night. Two scary knockouts in a row – all in a six-month span – is never good for your career prospects, but it’s even worse for your brain. While we still don’t know a ton about knockouts and long-term brain health, we do know that it’s a bad sign when a fighter keeps ending bouts asleep on the mat, especially when the knockouts start to come easier and easier. Maybe Stone could take some time off and reevaluate. Even if he doesn’t want to, it’s quite possible that the Zuffa contract axe will do it for him.

Most in Need of a Step Up in Competition: Kyle Kingsbury
The decision over Maldonado was his fourth straight victory in the UFC. Now that his skills have caught up to his size and natural athleticism, he seems like a guy who might actually go places in the light heavyweight division. It’s hard to know for sure though, since the UFC keeps giving him opponents who are all at roughly the same level. Jared Hamman, Ricardo Romero, Fabio Maldonado – all are tough guys, but it’s not exactly a steady climb in quality of competition. Now’s the time to throw Kingsbury into the deep water and find out if he can swim.

Least Convincing Effort: Josh Grispi
It’s strange to think that not so long ago, this guy was considered a credible challenger for Jose Aldo’s title. The fighter who showed up to face George Roop on Saturday looked like a man who would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. It’s never a good sign when your cornermen are all but begging you not to quit between rounds. He made it into the third, but just barely, and he didn’t need much encouragement to crumble up and collapse after Roop hammered him with a body shot. Any fighter is going to have his good nights and bad nights, but Grispi has fallen off hard lately. Might be time to sit down with his coaches and talk about what he’s really trying to accomplish here.

 

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TUF 13 Finale Undercard Live Blog: Stephens vs. Downes, Jorgensen vs. Stone, More

Filed under: UFCThis is the TUF 13 Finale undercard live blog for all the preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s Spike TV card from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

There are six bouts on tonight’s prelims: Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera, J…

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Jeremy Stephens faces Danny Downes at TUF 13 Finale.This is the TUF 13 Finale undercard live blog for all the preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s Spike TV card from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

There are six bouts on tonight’s prelims: Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera, Josh Grispi vs. George Roop, Jeremy Stephens vs. Danny Downes, Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone, Justin Edwards vs. Clay Harvison and Shamar Bailey vs. Ryan McGillivray. All six undercard fights will air on Facebook at 6:30 p.m. ET.

The live blog is below.

More Coverage: TUF 13 Finale Results


Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera

Round 1: We start with a couple of bantamweight bouts. We dance for the first , 30 seconds, then a shoot from Duran. But Rivera locks in a guillotine, and it looks close. But Duran finally slips out of it, leaving Duran on top looking to posture up in Rivera’s guard. They work their way to their feet, and Rivera again works for a guillotine as Duran throws body shots to get his head out. Duran finally bullies Rivera to the cage and the two trade body shots in the clinch, then some good clubs to each other’s heads. Then traded high elbows, then knees. Duran throws an uppercut in tight, but Rivera answers. They stay clinched against the fence, but both are working as Herb Dean looks in. Rivera again sinks in a guillotine, but Duran slams out of it and gets to half guard, looking to pass to side control. It’s not there, and Duran locks in a guillotine of his own as Rivera tries to get to his feet. Rivera gets out, though, and with 30 seconds he begins workin gsome good ground-and-pound from on top. It’s a really fun back-and-forth first round, but MMA Fighting will score it narrowly for Rivera, 10-9.

Round 2: Early kick from Duran, then a couple nice jabs and a roundhouse right that is blocked. The two fire off a couple bombs, and Rivera tags Duran and stumbles him. After a few traded jabs and uppercuts, Duran catches Rivera with an accidental low blow and Rivera takes a breather. Duran comes in with a big shot, but Rivera once again sinks in the guillotine in defense. After 20 seconds of squirming, Duran gets out and is on top. After some ground scrambles, Duran works his way to a late rear naked choke attempt, but Rivera survives the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Duran.

Round 3:


Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone

Round 1:


Justin Edwards vs. Clay Harvison

Round 1:

Shamar Bailey vs. Ryan McGillivray

Round 1:


Josh Grispi vs. George Roop

Round 1:

Jeremy Stephens vs. Danny Downes

Round 1:

 

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Hey, This TUF 13 Finale Looks Pretty Good

Dammit, who are all you guys again?

Say what you will about The Ultimate Fighter (not like you need an invitation), but the finale shows tend to be pretty damn fun. This season, we actually have two fairly solid finalists, a dynamite co-main in Pettis-Guida, plus a handful of other matchups calibrated for striking showdowns and crowd amazement.

Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of the fights scheduled for this weekend, with a few of those fancy moving pictures that you like so much. Who ya got?

Ramsey Nijem

VS

Tony Ferguson

Well, either this fight is the one you’ve been waiting for, or you’re just wondering what these two nobodies are doing on your UFC card. Tune in to find out which guy gets a contract with the UFC. (Spoiler Alert: It’ll be both of them.)

Dammit, who are all you guys again?

Say what you will about The Ultimate Fighter (not like you need an invitation), but the finale shows tend to be pretty damn fun.  This season, we actually have two fairly solid finalists, a dynamite co-main in Pettis-Guida, plus a handful of other matchups calibrated for striking showdowns and crowd amazement.

Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of the fights scheduled for this weekend, with a few of those fancy moving pictures that you like so much.  Who ya got?

Ramsey Nijem

VS

Tony Ferguson

Well, either this fight is the one you’ve been waiting for, or you’re just wondering what these two nobodies are doing on your UFC card.  Tune in to find out which guy gets a contract with the UFC.  (Spoiler Alert:  It’ll be both of them.)

Anthony Pettis

VS

Clay Guida

If you aren’t looking forward to this fight, you just go ahead and get the hell out of our website.  Neither dude is capable of being in a boring fight.  Guida is confident that he’ll handle Pettis; meanwhile we’ve gotten reports that Showtime is practicing something called a “Shaolin-McTwist bicycle kick.”  Now, maybe we made that up, but maybe not.

Fabio Maldonado


VS

Kyle Kingsbury



Maldonado (18-3) made his UFC debut in October last year, when the Brazilian boxer TKO’d James McSweeney in his hometown.  Maldonado has hands of stone and a chin to match – he’ll want to sleepify Kingsbury standing.  Kingsbury (10-2) has been tearing up the undercard scene ever since he lost to Tom Lawlor in the TUF 8 finals, plus he’s been getting some high-tech training.  This one has flown under the radar, but it should be a good scrap.  We got Kingsbu.

Ed Herman

vs

Tim Credeur


It’s been almost two years (and two surgeries) since Ed Herman’s injury TKO loss to Aaron Simpson. Of course, Short Fuse (19-7) is coming back better than ever — they all say that. His opponent will be Tim Credeur (12-3), who is taking a step up in competition after nearly two years away from the cage himself. We’re leaning toward Herman here, but after that long away from the cage, it comes down to who knocks off the ring rust better.

Chris Cope

VS

Chuck O’Neil

The two guys who lost in the semis will mix it up for third place, presumably for a smaller etched-glass thingie and a nice TapouT watch.

Danny Downes (8-1) v Jeremy Stephens (19-6)

Danny Boy Downes steps in on short notice to replace Jonathan Brookins for his UFC debut after going 2-1 in the WEC. He’ll look to match firepower with Jeremy Stephens in a knockout race, which we are totally fine with. Why yes, we would like some popcorn. Thank you.

George Roop (11-7) vs Josh Grispi (14-2)

George Roop has lost to the cream of the crop at 145 and 155, including Eddie Wineland, George Sotiropoulos, and Mark Hominick, so try not to focus on the numbers too much. On the other hand, his opponent is 22 year old Josh Grispi, who was in line for a shot at Jose Aldo before losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 125.  Expect Grispi to return to form Saturday night and finish the fight in the first round.

Scott Jorgensen (11-4) v Ken Stone (9-2)

Damn, Ken Stone gets Slampaged at the last-ever WEC show, and his return fight is Scott Jorgensen? That just doesn’t seem right. Jorgensen is going to make an impression in his UFC debut, especially after that frustrating loss to Dominick Cruz. We’re looking for Jorgensen to score a submission win over Keith Stone’s little bro.

Clay Harvison (6-1) vs Justin Edwards (6-0)

Justin Edwards didn’t last long in TUF, suffering a KO loss to Tony Ferguson in the first round of fights.  That’s the risk you run when you’re an offense-first kind of guy.  Edwards has never been to a decision, and a fight with Clay Harvison is likely to be the first.  Expect a brawl … and a knockout.  We’re thinking Harvison, if only because he seems to have a better chin.

Shamar Bailey (13-6) vs Ryan McGillivray (11-4)

McGillivray is the guy that Mike Russel referred to as “the Canadian guy”, while Shamar Bailey has a vanity website.  The Canadian guy lost to finalist Tony Ferguson in the quarterfinal round, while Sham-Wow got sniped off by Chris Cope.  If one of them pulls of a spectacular finish, you can expect to see him around.  Otherwise, expect them to pick up some wins in the minors before getting an invite back.

Francisco Rivera (5-1) v Reuben Duran (7-3-1)

Both coming off losses in their debut fights under the Zuffa banner, Rivera and Duran both need to impress some people if they want to stay on at the big show.

[RX]

GIF of the Day: Eddie Wineland’s Slam-Knockout of Ken Stone @ WEC 53

(Props: MMAConvert)
The full video of Eddie Wineland’s WEC 53 preliminary card fight against Ken Stone is still nowhere to be found — and yet, we now have a gif of Wineland’s Knockout of the Night-winning slam, which means that someone must hav…

Eddie Wineland Ken Stone WEC 53 MMA gifs gif slam knockout KO
(Props: MMAConvert)

The full video of Eddie Wineland‘s WEC 53 preliminary card fight against Ken Stone is still nowhere to be found — and yet, we now have a gif of Wineland’s Knockout of the Night-winning slam, which means that someone must have seen the fight at some point. Stone had to leave the cage on a stretcher, but was reportedly moving around under his own power later that night. I know, the gif ain’t much. Which is why we’ve included another slam-knockout after the jump — this one of the belly-to-belly suplex variety, from an M-1 Challenge event in August 2009. (Thanks to MiddleEasy for the tip.) 

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