Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
Round 1: Faaloloto and Johnson touch gloves and we’re underway. After an exchange, the two clinch against the cage. Johnson digs low and puts Faaloloto on his back. Faaloloto back to his feet quickly. Johnson with a nice kick to the body. Faaloloto is working on Johnson’s legs with hard kicks. Both kick at the same time, and off-balance, they both fall down. Faaloloto closes the distance but Johnson takes him down with 1:30 left. Johnson works him over with punches from the top, but Faaloloto creates space and gets back up. Johnson bulls Faaloloto in a clinch and lands knees to the body, then elbows. Faaloloto falls to the ground, Johnson follows up with ground and pound for the finish with time running low.
Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
Round 1: Faaloloto and Johnson touch gloves and we’re underway. After an exchange, the two clinch against the cage. Johnson digs low and puts Faaloloto on his back. Faaloloto back to his feet quickly. Johnson with a nice kick to the body. Faaloloto is working on Johnson’s legs with hard kicks. Both kick at the same time, and off-balance, they both fall down. Faaloloto closes the distance but Johnson takes him down with 1:30 left. Johnson works him over with punches from the top, but Faaloloto creates space and gets back up. Johnson bulls Faaloloto in a clinch and lands knees to the body, then elbows. Faaloloto falls to the ground, Johnson follows up with ground and pound for the finish with time running low.
Following the news that Nate Marquardt has been removed from his main event fight at UFC on Versus 4 against Rick Story and subsequently released from his UFC contract, this fight card may not have the star power that it once had.Still, even without Ma…
Following the news that Nate Marquardt has been removed from his main event fight at UFC on Versus 4 against Rick Story and subsequently released from his UFC contract, this fight card may not have the star power that it once had.
Still, even without Marquardt, for a free event on Versus, the UFC is giving us some surprisingly good fights with fairly high-ranked fighters.
It’s always fun to look at the pound-for-pound rankings lists in MMA, but rarely do we go deep enough to include guys who will be competing on the undercard.
In this article, however, we’ll count down all 22 fighters who remain on this fight card which will now be headlined by the heavyweight contest between Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry.
There’s no question that when Nate “The Great” Marquardt is at the top of his game; not even the most promising of fighters at 185 pounds can shut him down.Nate “The Great” has made a case for himself as being one of the toughest finishers in the sport…
There’s no question that when Nate “The Great” Marquardt is at the top of his game; not even the most promising of fighters at 185 pounds can shut him down.
Nate “The Great” has made a case for himself as being one of the toughest finishers in the sport, as has been evident by his track record in the middleweight division.
However, the question for this weekend is not whether Marquardt is a tough finisher in MMA.
The question is, will he be able to make the drop to welterweight and remain the same tough finisher at 170 lbs. that he was at 185 lbs.?
If fast-rising welterweight Rick “The Horror” Story has anything to say or do about it, the fight will end before Marquardt is able to get the chance to answer the question of whether he can be as competitive at 170 as he was at 185.
Additionally, Pat Barry has found success in his UFC career, save for bouts against Tim Hague and Mirko Filipovic, but on his way up the UFC ladder, he faces the inevitable encounter with an exciting yet controversial kickboxer who is one of the more exciting gatekeepers in the UFC heavyweight division in Cheick Kongo.
Though Kongo’s likely to be the favorite due to his wrestling and ground game being more clear than Barry’s ground game, “Mr. Hype or Die” cannot be prematurely perceived as an underdog, especially since the Roufusport wrecking machine has found some strong company within Brock Lesnar‘s Deathclutch camp, and that strong company could be one to point fingers at if we should see any takedown defense from this comical yet passionate young prospect.
All this and more can be seen this Sunday at UFC Live on Versus 4: Marquardt vs. Story, but who will walk out with the big bucks when all is said and done?
Filed under: UFCIt’s been six months since the UFC began experimenting with preliminary card fights on Facebook, and on Sunday it will set a new high-water mark.
The promotion on Monday announced that all eight undercard fights for the upcoming UFC o…
It’s been six months since the UFC began experimenting with preliminary card fights on Facebook, and on Sunday it will set a new high-water mark.
The promotion on Monday announced that all eight undercard fights for the upcoming UFC on Versus 4 show will stream live on the social networking site. Just last week, with UFC 131, the promotion set a new best with six prelims streaming on Facebook.
This will mark the 11th consecutive fight card that the UFC has streamed fights for free at Facebook, and it will be the fifth consecutive show the promotion has provided a way for fans to see each fight on the card live.
UFC on Versus 4 will feature a four-fight main card that airs live on the Versus cable channel, the second of the UFC’s four-fight 2011 deal with the channel. The Facebook live stream is scheduled to begin at 4:55 p.m. Eastern. The main card starts at 9 p.m. Eastern on Versus. Versus will also again produce a live pre-fight preview show and post-fight analysis show before and after the main card featuring Todd Harris, UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar and MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
To gain access to the fights, viewers must “like” the UFC on Facebook. As of Monday evening, the UFC has more than 5.7 million fans at the site.
The “main” and “co-main” events of the Facebook prelims are featherweight bouts featuring a pair of former lightweights dropping down – both looking to snap out of disastrous three-fight losing skids.
Tyson Griffin (14-5, 7-5 UFC) returns to featherweight for the first time since the early part of his career to face Manny Gamburyan (11-5, 2-3 UFC), who fights for the first time since a knockout loss to featherweight champion Jose Aldo last November in a WEC title fight. Griffin has split decision losses to Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz in the last year, plus a quick first-round knockout loss to Takanori Gomi last August on Versus. Gamburyan fights in the UFC for the first time in two years after dropping to featherweight and sliding over to the WEC, where he went 3-0 before his loss to Aldo.
And Joe Stevenson (31-13, 8-7 UFC), the Season 2 welterweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter,” goes for his first win since October 2009 when he takes on Javier Vazquez (15-5), who makes his UFC debut after going 2-3 in the WEC. Stevenson has dropped decisions to George Sotiropoulos and Danny Castillo, and was knocked out by Mac Danzig in December. Stevenson is 3-6 since challenging BJ Penn for the lightweight title at UFC 80 three and a half years ago, including the loss to Penn. Monday, on “The MMA Hour,” Stevenson talked about his dislike of Vazquez and why he dropped to featherweight.
The Facebook prelims stream opens with a lightweight bout between TUF 12 runner-up Michael Johnson, fighting for the first time since losing to Jonathan Brookins in December on the show’s finale, against Edward Faaloto, who makes his UFC debut after a loss in his WEC debut last November.
Nik Lentz (21-3-2, 5-0-1 UFC) tries to remain unbeaten in the UFC against submission specialist Charles Oliveira in a lightweight bout.
Rich Attonito drops from middleweight after a loss to Dave Branch in December to make his welterweight debut against Daniel Roberts, who lost to Claude Patrick at UFC 129 in April. Attonito was original scheduled to face Matt Brown, but an injury to Martin Kampmann forced him out of a fight with John Howard, and Brown moved up the card for that fight. Roberts stepped in to face Attonito.
Other bouts include a featherweight contest between Ricardo Lamas and Matt Grice, a welterweight bout between Charlie Brenneman and TJ Grant, and Joe Lauzon returns for the first time since a UFC 123 loss in November to Sotiropoulos to face England’s Curt Warburton.
The UFC began streaming preliminary fights in January with its Fight for the Troops 2 show at Fort Hood, Texas. Since then, the promotion has included free Facebook fights for each event, regardless of the main card’s platform – be it on pay-per-view, Spike or Versus.
UFC on Versus 4 takes place Sunday at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, and will be the promotion’s first event in the Pennsylvania city. The card features a main event between Nate Marquardt and Rick Story – with Marquardt making his welterweight debut and Story fighting on short notice after a win just a month prior against Thiago Alves at UFC 130. Marquardt was scheduled to face Anthony Johnson, but an injury forced Johnson off the card.
And in a pair of heavyweight bouts, kickboxing specialists Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo clash, and Matt Mitrione looks to stay unbeaten against Christian Morecraft, whose last win sent Mitrione friend and training partner Sean McCorkle packing from the UFC.
Filed under: UFC, Rankings, FeatherweightsKenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?
If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the la…
Kenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?
If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the ladder and become the No. 2 fighter in your weight class, then the answer is no. Florian has fought just once at 145 pounds — his unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 — and that’s not enough to get him in the No. 2 spot ahead of Chad Mendes, who’s been fighting at featherweight his entire career and built up a 10-0 record.
But the real way a fighter earns a title shot is to become the guy the fans want to see fighting for a title: The UFC is in the business of selling pay-per-views, and Florian vs. Aldo would sell far more pay-per-views than Mendes vs. Aldo. Mendes has fought in the Octagon once and isn’t all that well known, while Florian has fought in Octagon 16 times and is a fan favorite. That’s why he’ll get the next crack at Aldo.
However, that’s not to say Florian isn’t also among the elite featherweights in MMA. Find out where I have him ranked below.
(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)
1. Jose Aldo (1): So far, in the UFC and WEC there hasn’t been a featherweight who has what it takes to challenge Aldo: He’s 9-0 fighting under the Zuffa banner and hasn’t been in any real trouble. We’ll see if Florian can be the man to test Aldo, but I have my doubts.
2. Chad Mendes (2): Mendes thought he had earned the next shot at Aldo, but instead he’ll take on Rani Yahya in August, and hope that a good showing there earns him a title fight after that. Mendes is only 10 fights into his MMA career and still a little green, so having to wait a little longer may be good for him.
3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Here’s hoping Hioki is able to sign with the UFC soon. The best featherweights in the world are waiting for Hioki, who has been great in Japan and whose long limbs and well-rounded striking and grappling style could make him a threat to most of the top competition in the UFC.
4. Kenny Florian (NR): Is one win at 145 pounds enough to make Florian worthy of a Top 5 ranking? I think it is, considering that the one win was a very impressive one against a good opponent, and considering that Florian was generally recognized as a Top 5 fighter in a more talented weight class when he was fighting at 155.
5. Manny Gamburyan (4): Gamburyan is trying to bounce back from his loss to Aldo in September, and he’s got a very interesting fight coming up against Tyson Griffin, who like Gamburyan and Florian is a former lightweight hoping for more success in the shallower waters of the featherweight division.
6. Marlon Sandro (6): Bellator’s featherweight division has picked up some top-notch talent, and in my opinion the best of the bunch is Sandro, who will take on fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva in the first round of Bellator’s summer featherweight tournament.
7. Mark Hominick (7): His gutsy performance in defeat against Jose Aldo endeared Hominick to MMA fans. There’s talk that Hominick could face Chan Sung Jung next, in a fight that couldn’t possibly be anything less than thrilling.
8. Erik Koch (8): Koch is 12-1 in his career, with the only loss coming against Mendes. He’s been matched up with Season 12 Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins in September.
9. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier has looked like a much better fighter since moving down to featherweight, dominating both Josh Grispi and Jason Young at 145 pounds. Poirier is only 22 years old and is a likely future title contender.
10. Diego Nunes (9): Although he came up short against Florian, Nunes is only 28 years old and not done improving. He has a lot of big featherweight fights ahead of him.
As a mixed martial artist, Manny Gamburyan has one simple—albeit ambitious—goal; before he calls it a career, the man they call “The Anvil” dreams of owning a championship belt in the UFC’s featherweight division. Coming off a loss at…
As a mixed martial artist, Manny Gamburyan has one simple—albeit ambitious—goal; before he calls it a career, the man they call “The Anvil” dreams of owning a championship belt in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Coming off a loss at the hands of Jose Aldo at WEC 51 in September of last year—Gamburyan’s first title-shot as a professional mixed martial artist—“The Anvil” is now looking to work his way to the top of the UFC’s featherweight division.
In a little more than six weeks, in what will mark the end of near nine month lay-off from professional competition, Gamburyan will face Tyson Griffin at UFC LIVE: Marquardt vs. Johnson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Manny Gamburyan about his goal in the sport, his upcoming bout with Griffin, and the prospect of taking a run at the UFC’s featherweight championship.
What were your goals when you started in this sport?
To be a champ.
Any other goals?
Nope; to be a champ.
Why is that?
Growing up and being in the sport for many years, I realize that if you’re a true fighter, your only goal should be to be the champ.
Was there ever a time when that wavered in your mind?
Nope.
You always believed in your goal?
I was believed in my goal and I still believe in my goal.
How do you feel about what you were able to accomplish in the WEC?
I feel really good. I feel really good dropping from 155 to 145. It was a good trade, but now it’s even better; we’re back in the UFC and we have our own division at 145.
How does it feel to be back in the UFC at a division that better suits you?
It feels better. I should be more focused now, I should be more prepared, and I’m ready to make it to the top again and fight for the belt, again.
How did you find out that the WEC had been absorbed by the UFC?
I thought that it would happen—sooner or later—but I didn’t think it was going to be this early and it is what it is. For me, it doesn’t matter where I fight—the WEC or the UFC—but now that I’m back in the UFC, it’s even better.
How did you react to the news?
Normal, you know? I got really happy and I called my manager and asked him if it was true or if it was a rumour and he said it was true.
Do you feel like you’re coming home to the UFC?
Most definitely. I fought with the UFC, went to the WEC, and now I’m back home.
How confident are you this time around?
Very confident—I’m very confident. I train very hard—I put hours into it every day to prepare myself for upcoming challenges.
How are you feeling going into your upcoming challenge in six weeks?
I’m feeling very great; I’m feeling very confident. I believe that he is a gamer; he has what it takes, and he’s coming out of a good camp, so I’m getting ready for that fight, trying to get a ‘W’, and move on.
What problems do you feel Tyson poses to you?
To be honest with you, he’s not going to do anything that I haven’t seen before. I’ve rolled with him—not as my training partner—but I’ve trained with him a couple times. He’s durable; he’s got good stand-up, he’s got good wrestling—but so do I. We’re going to go out there and bang.
Do you feel training with Tyson gives you any type of advantage going into your match?
Not really, because training doesn’t mean anything, you know? Somebody can get dominated during training, but this is fighting—this is real. I’m looking forward to this fight. I’m very excited for this fight.
What do you think Tyson’s game-plan will be going into this fight?
I don’t know. Whatever his game-plan is, I don’t think he’s going to stick with it—I’m sharp everywhere. That’s my game, man; if I have to stand with him and box in the Octagon then I’m down with throwing them. He’s got a good camp, so I know he’s going to be ready. I expect—100 per cent—to see the best Tyson Griffin … He’s a very good fighter. He has a lot of good fights in the UFC, but now he’s been having some problems; he’s been losing lately and he decided that 145 is his weight-class. It’s not an easy cut, though; it’s not even an easy cut for me, either—I’m going to be pretty heavy for him, so let’s see how he’s going to respond. I’m going to go out there and put on a clinic.
Do you have a prediction for how it’s going to end?
I’m really bad with predictions, but at the end of the day, my hand is going to be raised and I’m going to have a ‘W’, I’m going to come back home and have a rest and start looking forward to the next one.
What would a win over Tyson in June mean to you?
It’s not like I’m fighting for the belt or anything; it’s just another fighter—and that’s how I look at it. He’s got a big-name, he’s got some good fights, and he’s a good fighter, he can impose his will, he’s got power, but we’ll see how he responds to me. I’m a different type of fighter than I was one year ago or two years ago—I’ve improved a lot and I’m trying to improve more and more.
How much better do you feel you are now than when we last saw you in the Octagon?
I’m a lot better, you know? I understand the stand-up game better now, I know how to control myself, my wrestling is getting way better, and my take-down defence and my submissions have improved dramatically.
Assuming you win, where do you see yourself in the UFC’s featherweight division?
There are a lot of good guys out there, like I said. There are a lot of top-guys, and nobody knows who the next contender is. Right now it’s Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, but there are a lot of good guys out there; Erik Koch, Kenny Florian, and there are a lot of up-and-coming fighters—you can name them all day. The division is pretty stacked and I’m not looking past anyone; my next opponent is Tyson Griffin and I’m going to start from there and move on.
What do you feel you can accomplish in the UFC?
Like I said, my goal is to fight all of the best fighters and take on tough-fights—I never look for an easy-fight or anything like that—and I think I can be a champ in 2012. I want to improve myself, get that belt, and feel like a king for a while.
I guess it might be hard to put a number on it, but how close to you think you are to getting another shot at Jose’s featherweight championship?
It all depends on Dana White and Joe Silva and the UFC organization. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting to get the title-shot in the WEC; Josh Grispi was next in line, but I got the call for the title-fight, so I don’t know. One or two fights, maybe? We’ll see. Maybe one more fight and then I’ll get another title-shot again.
What would that featherweight championship belt mean to you at this point in your career?
It would be the best thing in the world; it’s like winning the gold medal in the Olympics [laughs]—there’s no other way that I could explain it to you. That’s my dream; to have that belt around my waist and feel like a king inside the Octagon and be happy.
Have you thought about how much longer you’d like to compete?
Well, I don’t know. I just turned 30, so I’m not saying that I’ve got another 10 years to go—I don’t know. Hopefully I have another four or five good years to go. As long as I’m healthy and training the way that I want to train, I can go. I’m not going to say that I want to be the next Randy Couture—because you know what? That’s a given. If I’m feeling it and feeling that I’m improving, I feel that I’m still capable of fighting—I’ll fight. Because of that, I can’t give you a prediction about how much longer I’d like to fight.
Have you thought about what you might like to do when you’re done fighting?
I don’t know, man. I’ll probably open up my own school and give my talent and knowledge to other kids to help them improve. I’m not the best teacher or anything like that, but I’ve got years and years of experience, so I could probably be a pretty good teacher and help other people be good fighters also.
What do you feel the future holds for you?
I don’t know—fighting, still. I can’t tell my future from a year or two from now, so we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes.
Is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans while you have this opportunity?
I, first of all, want to thank all of my training partners, my coaches, my family, and my fans out there. Watch me fight on June 26—it’s going to be on Versus and hopefully I’ll be on the televised card. It’s going to be a great fight; expect fireworks. I’m going to go out there and do my thing.
This is the UFC on Versus 4 live blog for the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC Live event at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
It’s been six months since the UFC began experimenting with preliminary card fights on 
