We weren’t the only ones left scratching our heads when it was announced that Dan Henderson and Daniel Cormier would meet at UFC 175. It’s not that we felt the fight is a squash match or anything, because Henderson’s victory over Mauricio Rua at Fight Night 38 proved that he is never one to be counted out entirely. It’s just that, well, up until the point that Hendo turned Rua’s nose into a pancake, he looked every bit as stiff and sluggish as one would expect a 43-year-old MMA fighter with nearly as many battles on his resume to look.
Couple Henderson’s recent performance(s) with the fact that Cormier is a much younger (in fight years, at least), stronger, and faster version of Rua, and that the matchup will serve as Henderson’s first sans-TRT, and you might begin to understand our surprise at the booking of this fight…
We weren’t the only ones left scratching our heads when it was announced that Dan Henderson and Daniel Cormier would meet at UFC 175. It’s not that we felt the fight is a squash match or anything, because Henderson’s victory over Mauricio Rua at Fight Night 38 proved that he is never one to be counted out entirely. It’s just that, well, up until the point that Hendo turned Rua’s nose into a pancake, he looked every bit as stiff and sluggish as one would expect a 43-year-old MMA fighter with nearly as many battles on his resume to look.
Couple Henderson’s recent performance(s) with the fact that Cormier is a much younger (in fight years, at least), stronger, and faster version of Rua, and that the matchup will serve as Henderson’s first sans-TRT, and you might begin to understand our surprise at the booking of this fight…
Clearly, it would be hard to argue against giving Cormier the next title shot after Gustafsson should he defeat Henderson — that is the point of this matchup after all, right? To match Cormier up with a credible, if fading name to establish his legitimacy as a title contender? But the idea that Dan Henderson, who just broke a three-fight losing streak via an improbable comeback over a guy he already beat, seems presumptuous to say the least.
Then again, who knows? Maybe this is just one of those Condit vs. Woodley situations, where the UFC has a contender in mind and is simply sweetening the pot by giving the fight #1 contender (or in this case, #2 contender) status. The difference being that Henderson is a much more marketable fighter than Woodley, and therefore deserves a title shot where Woodley wouldn’t.
I’m not saying that it would be the craziest thing in the world to give Henderson a shot at this point in his career, especially if he is able to somehow get past Cormier. The man’s a legend, he’s earned it, yadda yadda yadda, and lord knows people are still bitter about UFC 151. Having Hendo fight Jones (if he’s still the champ after my boy Gus gets through with him*) would at least partially put that debate to rest, but can you imagine how Phil Davis is going to react to this news? Or, you know, Jones himself?
(Playing dead: Works against bears, not against Shogun Rua. Photo via Getty.)
James Te Huna‘s 2013 got off to a rocky start. The hard-hitting slugger was paired against Canadian splitsterRyan Jimmo at UFC on FUEL 7 in February, and was favored as high as 3-to-1 over the former CP guest blogger. Early in the first round, however, Te Huna ate a vicious head kick that would have ended the night of a lesser man. Although the New Zealander would right the course and end up defeating Jimmo via unanimous decision, he would drop his next two contests to current title challenger Glover Teixeira and former champion Mauricio Rua via first round submission and KO, respectively.
While there’s no shame in losing to either of those gentlemen, Te Huna has quickly gone from one of the division’s top fighters to one who could be fighting for his job. The four fight win streak he was able to build in the wake of his UFC 127 loss to Alexander Gustafsson erased, it appears that Te Huna is opting for a favorite change-up amongst struggling MMA fighters: Dropping a weight class to save his career.
Te Huna recently sat down with The MMA Corner to discuss how his decision to drop to 185 for the first time in his career came about. The answer may surprise you (if you were in a coma all of last year):
(Playing dead: Works against bears, not against Shogun Rua. Photo via Getty.)
James Te Huna‘s 2013 got off to a rocky start. The hard-hitting slugger was paired against Canadian splitsterRyan Jimmo at UFC on FUEL 7 in February, and was favored as high as 3-to-1 over the former CP guest blogger. Early in the first round, however, Te Huna ate a vicious head kick that would have ended the night of a lesser man. Although the New Zealander would right the course and end up defeating Jimmo via unanimous decision, he would drop his next two contests to current title challenger Glover Teixeira and former champion Mauricio Rua via first round submission and KO, respectively.
While there’s no shame in losing to either of those gentlemen, Te Huna has quickly gone from one of the division’s top fighters to one who could be fighting for his job. The four fight win streak he was able to build in the wake of his UFC 127 loss to Alexander Gustafsson erased, it appears that Te Huna is opting for a favorite change-up amongst struggling MMA fighters: Dropping a weight class to save his career.
Te Huna recently sat down with The MMA Corner to discuss how his decision to drop to 185 for the first time in his career came about. The answer may surprise you (if you were in a coma all of last year):
It was a pretty embarrassing loss, and last year was a pretty bad year for me. I had a lot of issues going into my fight in London, and we tried to work some things out in my time off between fights. And then there was that embarrassing knockout to finish the year off. This year, I am excited to take on a new challenge and take on a drop to middleweight.
It’s about making a fresh new start and taking on a new challenge, and I know I’ll be able to make Middleweight. Middleweight is probably a bit more of a natural weight for me. Right now, I am always eating so that I can stay up at Light Heavyweight. I’m one of the lightest guys at Light Heavyweight, so I know that if I eat normally I’ll be able to hit Middleweight. I’ve been fighting at Light Heavyweight for my whole career, but I think that this challenge is the right move.
You can read the rest of Te Huna’s interview over at The MMA Corner. Here’s hoping that Te Huna can make the cut to 185 without winding up in the James Irvin “Skeletor Look-alike” Hall of Fame. But should Te Huna successfully (and safely) make weight, who would you like to see him paired up against for his middleweight debut, Nation?
(The often scruffy, always inscrutable Alexander Gustafsson | Photo via MMAnytt.se)
Yesterday we shared a report that quoted UFC light heavyweight champion contender Alexander Gustafsson as saying that he no longer planned to train in San Diego with the Alliance team or Phil Davis before fights. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”
Furthermore, Gustafsson said that he believed that he and Davis would soon fight again so, you know…awkward. “We both belong to the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon…it feels better to not train together right now,” Gus said.
Well, Gustafsson’s head trainer Andreas Michael is now saying that the media took the fighter’s words out of context. In an interview with Kimura.se the coach says that the media interpreted Gustafsson’s statements incorrectly in order to “sell” the news. Kimura.se reports that Michael also said that “the partnership between the Alliance and Alex / Allstar Fitness that it will continue cooperation for a long time to come. Thoughts on finishing the fine relationship that the two clubs have between them does not exist and has never existed.
“Rumors of a bout between Davis and Alex is also not [accurate], it is just something the media created out of thin air.”
(The often scruffy, always inscrutable Alexander Gustafsson | Photo via MMAnytt.se)
Yesterday we shared a report that quoted UFC light heavyweight champion contender Alexander Gustafsson as saying that he no longer planned to train in San Diego with the Alliance team or Phil Davis before fights. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”
Furthermore, Gustafsson said that he believed that he and Davis would soon fight again so, you know…awkward. “We both belong to the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon…it feels better to not train together right now,” Gus said.
Well, Gustafsson’s head trainer Andreas Michael is now saying that the media took the fighter’s words out of context. In an interview with Kimura.se the coach says that the media interpreted Gustafsson’s statements incorrectly in order to “sell” the news. Kimura.se reports that Michael also said that “the partnership between the Alliance and Alex / Allstar Fitness that it will continue cooperation for a long time to come. Thoughts on finishing the fine relationship that the two clubs have between them does not exist and has never existed.
“Rumors of a bout between Davis and Alex is also not [accurate], it is just something the media created out of thin air.”
Well, not so much “thin air” as they were Gustafsson’s own words, but alright. Michael certainly seems upsets by the reports of Gustafsson’s leaving Alliance but doesn’t actually refute any of the important specifics — namely that Alexander will hold his training camps in Sweden instead of San Diego from now on and that the Swedish fighter believes it is inevitable that he and Davis will fight again soon so he prefers not to train with the national champion wrestler right now.
If Gustafsson’s coach won’t refute any of the reported facts, why is he so upset? Who knows?
Perhaps Gustafsson wasn’t supposed to talk publicly about his plans before all the details could be worked out. It isn’t uncommon for teams to enter into business relationships in which fighters sign to train with and pay a percentage of their purses for a set period of time or number fights.
If that is/was the case with Gustafsson and Alliance, he may still need to figure out how to fulfill a contract to them and/or pay them fees even if he wants to train elsewhere. Alliance head coach Eric Del Fierro told MMA Junkie that he didn’t know how Gustafsson camps would proceed because he hadn’t been told, but seemed to express optimism that he and Alliance would still be able to work in consultation with the fighter, remotely, as they did before Alexander trained to fight Gegard Mousasi.
Although Rogan is often known for his hyperbole, he might have been dead-on that night. Was “Bones” vs. “The Mauler” really the greatest 205-pound title fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? To determine the veracity of that statement, I went back and watched the best light heavyweight fights ever held inside the Octagon, and after countless hours of tape study, I feel as though I’ve come up with a very fair list.
Below I’ve listed what in my opinion are the top 10 light heavyweight fights in UFC history based on a mixed criteria of competitiveness, excitement level, hype, how the fight played out in comparison to its expectations, and how it ended. So without any further ado, let’s get started…
Machida had just knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 and, in the fateful words of Joe Rogan, the “Machida Era” had commenced. However, “Shogun” had a thing or two to say about that as the former PRIDE star was coming off of two TKO wins over Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman, and he wanted to prove to everyone it was he, not Machida, who was the best light heavyweight in the world at the time.
For five rounds, Machida and “Shogun” went toe-to-toe in the Octagon and although Machida definitely had his moments in the match, it appeared to most observers that there would be a new light heavyweight champion crowned, as Rua landed a ton of brutal leg kicks to Machida that left the champ’s torso and thighs looking like a bruised peach.
But while “Shogun” arguably won every round of the fight, the judges somehow saw the fight in favor of Machida, with all three scoring the bout 48-47 in favor of “The Dragon” despite the volume of leg kicks thrown by Rua, leading judge Cecil People to idiotically declare that leg kicks don’t finish fights. UFC president Dana White saw things differently, however, and set up an immediate rematch at UFC 113 where Rua KO’d Machida into oblivion — a happy ending to an infamous screwjob.
Although Rogan is often known for his hyperbole, he might have been dead-on that night. Was “Bones” vs. “The Mauler” really the greatest 205-pound title fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? To determine the veracity of that statement, I went back and watched the best light heavyweight fights ever held inside the Octagon, and after countless hours of tape study, I feel as though I’ve come up with a very fair list.
Below I’ve listed what in my opinion are the top 10 light heavyweight fights in UFC history based on a mixed criteria of competitiveness, excitement level, hype, how the fight played out in comparison to its expectations, and how it ended. So without any further ado, let’s get started…
Machida had just knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 and, in the fateful words of Joe Rogan, the “Machida Era” had commenced. However, “Shogun” had a thing or two to say about that as the former PRIDE star was coming off of two TKO wins over Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman, and he wanted to prove to everyone it was he, not Machida, who was the best light heavyweight in the world at the time.
For five rounds, Machida and “Shogun” went toe-to-toe in the Octagon and although Machida definitely had his moments in the match, it appeared to most observers that there would be a new light heavyweight champion crowned, as Rua landed a ton of brutal leg kicks to Machida that left the champ’s torso and thighs looking like a bruised peach.
But while “Shogun” arguably won every round of the fight, the judges somehow saw the fight in favor of Machida, with all three scoring the bout 48-47 in favor of “The Dragon” despite the volume of leg kicks thrown by Rua, leading judge Cecil People to idiotically declare that leg kicks don’t finish fights. UFC president Dana White saw things differently, however, and set up an immediate rematch at UFC 113 where Rua KO’d Machida into oblivion — a happy ending to an infamous screwjob.
The UFC promoted this fight as a title unification bout between Jackson, who had just won the UFC title from Chuck Liddell via first-round TKO at UFC 71, and Henderson, who was a two-division champ coming over from PRIDE. But even though it was a title fight, since it took place in England the UFC decided to put the tape-delayed event on SPIKE TV instead of pay-per-view, which turned out to be a great idea as 4.7 million viewers tuned in to watch what became one of the biggest MMA fights in TV history.
The match delivered as much action as it promised, with Henderson and “Rampage” going back-and-forth for five rounds with both men displaying their excellence in striking and wrestling. After it was all said and done, “Rampage” won a unanimous decision, a victory that gave him the only successful defense of his UFC light heavyweight title. As for Henderson, he finally earned another crack at the UFC light heavyweight title in 2012 — a full five years after the fight with Rampage — but after the fiasco of UFC 151 he never ended up getting his shot at the belt. And at 43 years old now and coming off of two losses, it’s doubtful that he will again.
Rampage’s next outing was his five-round battle at UFC 86 against Forrest Griffin, which followed a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter season seven — the same show that rocketed Griffin to stardom just three years earlier.
Griffin entered the fight as a big underdog, as most fans thought Jackson’s knockout power and wrestling skills would make it an easy second title defense for him. But the fight sure didn’t play out that way, as Griffin used leg kicks and submission attempts to make it competitive throughout and a true coin-flip on the judges’ cards.
At the end of five rounds, Griffin was announced the winner by unanimous decision and in the process became the second TUF winner to win a UFC title (after Matt Serra the previous year). However, the fight was not without controversy as “Rampage” and many media and fans felt he should have won the decision.
But he didn’t, and that night at UFC 86 was the last time Jackson would ever hold a UFC belt. As for Griffin, he fought another TUF winner, Rashad Evans, in his first title defense at UFC 92, and was knocked out. And, like Jackson, he never came close to sniffing the belt ever again.
The seventh fight on this list is one of three bouts to feature current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and it only came together as a result of the debacle that was UFC 151. Jones had been set to face Dan Henderson at UFC 151, but “Hendo” pulled out of the fight just a week earlier and Jones refused to face Chael Sonnen on short notice. After Lyoto Machida refused to fight Jones for a second time on short notice, the UFC then recruited middleweight Vitor Belfort to move back up to 205 and try to win back the UFC light heavyweight championship, a belt he held briefly in 2004 when he “stopped” Randy Couture with a cut at UFC 46.
Belfort wasn’t supposed to stand a chance in the matchup, but in the first round he caught Jones in a tight armbar and nearly shocked the world. However, Jones — even though he damaged his arm in the process — fought through the early adversity and then poured it on a game Belfort until the fourth round, when the champ was able to coax a stoppage with a keylock submission.
Although he did win, the fight wasn’t as one-sided as Jones’s previous conquests and it showed that the champ was vulnerable and not as unstoppable as many had previously thought, a point which was driven home in his most recent fight against Alexander Gustafsson. As for Belfort, he used the loss to Jones as fuel for a run at middleweight and he’s since knocked out Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold in scintillating fashion to emerge as one of the top contenders at 185 pounds.
6. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, UFC 140
(Photo via Tracy Lee/Yahoo!)
2011 saw Jon Jones choke out Ryan Bader, become light heavyweight champion with a TKO of Shogun Rua, and stop Quinton Jackson with a fourth-round rear-naked choke. For an encore performance, he would have his fourth fight of the year against Lyoto Machida. It turned out to be by far his most difficult match to date, as the elusive Machida was able to outstrike Jones in round one and even rock the young champion at one point, something which no one else had ever done to him inside the Octagon.
But Jones battled back hard and in the second round he began taking it to Machida before snatching “The Dragon’s” neck in a standing guillotine choke. As soon as the referee told Jones to break, he let the choke go and Machida dropped to the canvas, unconscious and with his eyes pointing into nowhere. Jones, meanwhile, just walked away.
Jones has since made four more title defenses to break the former record held by Tito Ortiz, proving without a doubt he is the greatest light heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport. As for Machida, he’s since dropped down to 185 pounds as he looks to become the third fighter in UFC history to win belts in two different weight classes after Randy Couture and BJ Penn previously accomplished the feat.
On the next page: A record-breaking rematch, Tito battles the Shamrocks, and the greatest 205-pound title war is revealed…
Bas Rutten poses with a future UFC women’s Gibraltarweight champion. Image via (COVER YOUR EYES!!) Rutten’s Facebook.
It’s a credit to reality television that it has managed to both continuously lower our expectations regarding what is an idea worthy of verbalizing (looking at you, everythingonBravoexcludingTop Chef) while simultaneously redefining what we consider a “season” of television. Whereas in simpler times, a show like Seinfeld would operate at a one season per year pace, reality TV has somehow managed to dilute even the most basic of television truths, cramming upwards of four seasons into the average year. Not to mention all the spin offs. My God, all thespin offs.
The Ultimate Fighter is one of the more notable offenders of this trend, now 18 seasons deep despite being less than 10 years old. Another favorite of mine, Chopped, also requires a mention, now 14 seasons deep in just 4 years (!!). Yes, the cheap production costs and minimal staffing required for the average reality show has seen them churned out at near breakneck speed, which is why it makes sense that in the same week we received our first glimpse of TUF 18, the UFC is already putting out a casting call for TUF 19.
According to release sent out by UFC.com early today, next season’s tryouts will be open to MEN (their emphasis, not ours) competing in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The requirements are as follows:
Bas Rutten poses with a future UFC women’s Gibraltarweight champion. Image via (COVER YOUR EYES!!) Rutten’s Facebook.
It’s a credit to reality television that it has managed to both continuously lower our expectations regarding what is an idea worthy of verbalizing (looking at you, everythingonBravoexcludingTop Chef) while simultaneously redefining what we consider a “season” of television. Whereas in simpler times, a show like Seinfeld would operate at a one season per year pace, reality TV has somehow managed to dilute even the most basic of television truths, cramming upwards of four seasons into the average year. Not to mention all the spin offs. My God, all thespin offs.
The Ultimate Fighter is one of the more notable offenders of this trend, now 18 seasons deep despite being less than 10 years old. Another favorite of mine, Chopped, also requires a mention, now 14 seasons deep in just 4 years (!!). Yes, the cheap production costs and minimal staffing required for the average reality show has seen them churned out at near breakneck speed, which is why it makes sense that in the same week we received our first glimpse of TUF 18, the UFC is already putting out a casting call for TUF 19.
According to release sent out by UFC.com early today, next season’s tryouts will be open to MEN (their emphasis, not ours) competing in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The requirements are as follows:
1. All applicants must between 21 and 34 years of age.
2. All applicants MUST have a WINNING RECORD of at least 3 PROFESSIONAL MMA fights. All records will be verified on sherdog.com and mixedmartialarts.com. If we cannot verify your record on either of these sites you will NOT be considered.
3. All applicants must have the legal ability to live and work in the United States
4. All applicants must complete and sign the application and bring the completed and signed forms to the tryouts. All applicants must attend the tryouts on Tuesday, August 27th 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
If you recall, middleweights were the focus of last year’s season’s TUF 17, with current welterweight Kelvin Gastelum eventually securing that awesome glass plaque. Minus the upcoming season, the total number of middleweight classes to pass through the TUF household is at 7. The total number of middleweight title contenders to emerge from said classes: 2. One was Travis Lutter, who failed to make weight for his title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 67. The other was Patrick Cote, whose knee imploded in the third round of his fight with Silva at UFC 90. That Paul Bradley, though, he could have really made some waves at 185.
With several fights among top contenders in the Light Heavyweight division over the next few events — including Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 this weekend — I’ve shifted focus to the bigger boys of the UFC. As a group, the 205’ers have a lot more power than the lower weight divisions, and they’ve recorded a total of 43 knockdowns between them during Zuffa competition.
A full explanation of the chart and variables is included at the end of this post. For historical perspective, I’ve also kept some familiar names who recently retired. So which fighters get the awards in this group of sluggers?
The Winners
Sniper Award: Another Rangy Southpaw tops the accuracy list for a division. This time it’s Frenchman Cyrille Diabaté, who has landed 57% of his power head strikes. Unfortunately, the “Snake” might be on the shelf a while after tearing a calf muscle against Jimi Manuwa. At 6’ 6” and with a ridiculous 81” reach, Diabaté has wins over Michael Bisping and Rick Roufus from back in his professional kickboxing days. Now competing in the UFC, the 39-year old striker’s days may be numbered, though he’s stated he wants to compete long enough to participate in a UFC event in Paris. Honorable mentions go to Fabio Maldonado, unsurprisingly a formerly undefeated professional boxer, and also new UFC contender Glover Teixeira.
Energizer Bunny Award: Young Swede Alexander Gustafsson has more than doubled the standup striking pace of his opponents, a common characteristic of fighters successful at using their size to control the cage. The 6’5” modern day Viking takes a six-fight win streak into his home turf showdown with top Strikeforce import Gegard Mousasi, in a fight that could have title implications. We’ll see if he can push the pace against an opponent closer to his own age.
(Click chart for full-size version. For previous Databombs, click here.)
With several fights among top contenders in the Light Heavyweight division over the next few events — including Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 this weekend — I’ve shifted focus to the bigger boys of the UFC. As a group, the 205’ers have a lot more power than the lower weight divisions, and they’ve recorded a total of 43 knockdowns between them during Zuffa competition.
A full explanation of the chart and variables is included at the end of this post. For historical perspective, I’ve also kept some familiar names who recently retired. So which fighters get the awards in this group of sluggers?
The Winners
Sniper Award: Another Rangy Southpaw tops the accuracy list for a division. This time it’s Frenchman Cyrille Diabaté, who has landed 57% of his power head strikes. Unfortunately, the “Snake” might be on the shelf a while after tearing a calf muscle against Jimi Manuwa. At 6’ 6” and with a ridiculous 81” reach, Diabaté has wins over Michael Bisping and Rick Roufus from back in his professional kickboxing days. Now competing in the UFC, the 39-year old striker’s days may be numbered, though he’s stated he wants to compete long enough to participate in a UFC event in Paris. Honorable mentions go to Fabio Maldonado, unsurprisingly a formerly undefeated professional boxer, and also new UFC contender Glover Teixeira.
Energizer Bunny Award: Young Swede Alexander Gustafsson has more than doubled the standup striking pace of his opponents, a common characteristic of fighters successful at using their size to control the cage. The 6’5” modern day Viking takes a six-fight win streak into his home turf showdown with top Strikeforce import Gegard Mousasi, in a fight that could have title implications. We’ll see if he can push the pace against an opponent closer to his own age.
Biggest Ball(s) Award: Another Strikeforce import, Ovince St. Preux, has dropped 4 opponents in his Strikeforce run, with each landed power head strike having a 17% chance of causing a knockdown. Honorable mentions for high knockdown rates also go to Brian Stann and Lyoto Machida. Both Stann and Machida face other credible power strikers in their next fights, Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson, respectively. Thank you Joe Silva!
The Losers
Swing and a Miss Award: Vinny Magalhaes holds the dubious honor of the lowest power head striking accuracy in the division, at just 10%. Wisely, he has called out Phil Davis, who has the second lowest accuracy. They’ll face off at UFC 159 in what will either be a high-level grappling chess match, or a really sloppy standup affair.
Smallest Ball(s) Award: Only five of the 35 fighters shown in the chart have failed to score a knockdown in Zuffa competition. But Chael Sonnen has yet to do so despite 169.1 minutes of Octagon time, and 42 landed power head strikes while standing. If only I hadn’t named this award…oh man, you get the idea. Normally competing at 185 lbs, Sonnen’s out of his league at 205 lbs when it comes to knockdown power, and will likely not have a chance to prove otherwise against the rangy Jon Jones in April. A (dis)honorable mention also goes to the aforementioned Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes, who have equally questionable power.
Starnes Award for Inaction: Gian Villante went 3-2 in Strikeforce during 2011 and 2012, including a run of three wins in a row to finish out his career under the promotion. But overall he’s only attempted half as many standing strikes as his opponents. He’ll be facing a heavy handed — and generally much less gun shy — Ovince St. Preux at UFC 159 when each man makes his UFC debut.
Also Noteworthy
Division champion Jon Jones may not be popping up in the upper quadrant of our assessment, but with the longest reach in the UFC, Jones has been intelligently creating distance and controlling the pace of his fights. Overall he’s outpaced his opponents by almost 40% while maintaining benchmark accuracy – and he did all that against some of the best in the business.
Trailing the herd is an impressive group of UFC veterans, reminding us that MMA is more than striking, but also that there’s a new breed of more accurate (and much more active) strikers moving up the ranks. Evans, Couture, Henderson, Hamill, and Ortiz all have/had a solid wrestling base, but struggled to keep up the pace against their late-career opponents. Judges are influenced by pace less so than accuracy, so perhaps it’s time some of these older fighters evolve their game. Furthermore, seeing how favorably Nogueira stacks up with Evans, perhaps we should all admit the recent betting line for them was a little off.
Coming up this weekend, we’ll see division standout Lyoto Machida take on Dan Henderson at UFC 157. Machida’s accurate flurries match favorably with Henderson sub-par striking skills, but no one doubts the power of the H-Bomb. Should be interesting, and there could be fireworks.
The following weekend we’ll see Brian Stann return to 205 lbs to face the Axe-Murderer, Wanderlei Silva in yet another matchup between high powered sluggers. The pace favors Stann, though both can throw bombs.
Only three divisions left to look at, and we’re saving some good ones for last. Coming soon, we’ll see how the two longest-reigning UFC champions stack up in their divisions. And then to wrap it all up, the heavyweights.
How the Analysis Works:
In order to understand standup striking performance, which is more multifaceted in MMA than it is in boxing, I need to boil down a few of the most important variables that determine success as a striker. These are fairly uncomplicated variables in isolation, but together they can summarize a fighter’s overall capabilities. Here, I’ve focused on three fundamental, offensive metrics:
Accuracy: I’ve used power head striking accuracy (as opposed to body or leg strikes, or jabs to the head), where the average for UFC Light Heavyweights is about 25%. Certainly, great strikers can attack the body and legs, but the most likely way to end a fight by strikes is by aiming at the head. And in order to keep this comparison apples-to-apples, we can’t have a guy that throws a lot of high accuracy leg kicks skewing his accuracy stat. The accuracy of the power head strike is a great indicator of a fighter’s striking prowess, and there’s a wide range within a single division as we’ll see. This is the vertical axis, so more accurate fighters are higher in the graph.
Standup Striking Pace: Prior analysis reveals that outpacing your opponent is a key predictor of success, and certainly correlates with winning decisions as it reflects which fighter is dictating the pace of the fight. Here, I’ve used the total number of standup strikes thrown as a ratio to the same output from a fighter’s opponents. All strikes attempted from a standup position are counted, including body shots and leg kicks. This is the horizontal axis in the graph, and the average for the whole division must be 1, so fighters with superior pace appear further to the right.
Knockdown Rate: The objective of every strike thrown is to hurt your opponent, and knockdowns reflect a fighter that has connected with a powerful strike. I’ve used the total number of knockdowns a fighter landed divided by the number of landed power head strikes to see who does the most damage per strike landed. The size of the bubble for a fighter indicates their relative knockdown rate; the bigger the bubble, the higher their knockdown rate. The very small bubbles indicate fighters who have yet to score a knockdown in their Zuffa fights.
The data includes all UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce fights through 2012, including UFC 155. Some of these fighters competed in other weight classes or at catchweight, but for the purposes of this analysis, that data was still included and analyzed. Fighters with only one fight or less than 15 minutes of fight time were not included in the graph.
