UFC 130 is now in the books an the dust is beginning to settle.Quinton “Rampage” Jackson outclassed Matt “The Hammer” Hamill just like Frank Mir did to Roy “Big Country” Nelson.Stefan Struve and Jorge Santiago were both finished, the former in a specta…
UFC 130 is now in the books an the dust is beginning to settle.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson outclassed Matt “The Hammer” Hamill just like Frank Mir did to Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
Stefan Struve and Jorge Santiago were both finished, the former in a spectacular fashion, by their adversaries Travis Browne and Brian Stann respectively.
On the Spike TV portion of the card, Demetrius Johnson lived up to his “Mighty Mouse” namesake and managed to out-scramble Miguel Torres en route to a unanimous decision and the reinvigorated Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch proved too in terms of strength much for Kendal Grove, the former winning a lopsided decision.
On the Facebook preliminaries, Renan Barão, Michael McDonald, and Gleison Tibau were all victorious.
Despite the event being only mediocre, there are some important lessons to take away from it. What are they? Read and find out!
Perhaps the biggest thing that UFC 130 proved to fans is that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not on the level of current budding champion Jon “Bones” Jones.Credit the chin and will of Matt Hamill to Jackson’s inability to finish the fight against Hamill …
Perhaps the biggest thing that UFC 130 proved to fans is that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not on the level of current budding champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
Credit the chin and will of Matt Hamill to Jackson’s inability to finish the fight against Hamill at UFC 130, but discredit Jackson’s excuse that his hand was fractured coming into the bout with Hamill. It should be an unwritten rule that fighters should not disclose injuries, especially as a possible excuse in a lackluster bout.
Jackson indeed tried his hardest to put away “The Hammer” landing almost double the amount of total strikes in the fight, 61-34. By far though, the most telling fact of the fight was Jackson’s takedown defense, stuffing all 17 attempts by Hamill en route to the decision victory.
With his win over Hamill, if Jackson skips over current No. 1 contender Rashad Evans or light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis, he’ll have his work cutout for him against Jones. If fans will remember correctly, it wasn’t till the third round of his fight with Evans when Jackson appeared to solve Evans, but still came out on the losing side of the decision. He’ll need a much better performance if he’s going to be the first man (aside from Hamill) to beat Jones.
Fighting current champ Jones may well be within that range of time, but Jackson’s no longer at the peak of his career and getting up for a fight of such a magnitude is, well, harder than it was many years ago for the MMA legend.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting caught up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following his UFC 130 win over Matt Hamill. Jackson talked how his injured hand was feeling after the fight, what’s next for him and his takedown defense during the fight. He also took the time to take a few parting shots at yours truly.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting caught up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following his UFC 130 win over Matt Hamill. Jackson talked how his injured hand was feeling after the fight, what’s next for him and his takedown defense during the fight. He also took the time to take a few parting shots at yours truly.
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson holds court at the UFC 130 post-fight press conference. Jackson talked about his entrance song choice and much more. Also, Roy Nelson and Matt Hamill talk about coming out on the losing end of their fights.
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson holds court at the UFC 130 post-fight press conference. Jackson talked about his entrance song choice and much more. Also, Roy Nelson and Matt Hamill talk about coming out on the losing end of their fights.
LAS VEGAS – Matt Hamill said he planned on breaking the will of Rampage Jackson in their main event at UFC 130 on Saturday. But when Hamill took a knee after the final horn, Jackson had turned the table.
Jackson warded off all of Hamill’s takedown attempts – despite coming into the fight with a fractured hand, he revealed at the post-fight press conference – and cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The win is likely to put Jackson in line as the top contender for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title later this fall, provided his hand heals on pace.
But the boo birds were out several times during the night, including most notably the main and co-main events. With just three finishes going into the co-main and main, the fans appeared to want some excitement – and many seemed certain they didn’t get it in the last two bouts.After the fight, Jackson said he was disappointed he wasn’t able to score a knockout, which the fans seemed to want even more than he, but said he wasn’t about to blame it on his hand injury – which he said came from a drunken mishap with a friend in Japan.
“I was OK with my performance, (but) I wanted to do a little more,” Jackson said. “I knew I could stay on my feet. He had a great game plan, and I could tell he was setting me up to take me down. He had some great low leg kicks, and it made me not do what I wanted to do. I’m a little bit disappointed. I wanted a knockout. Matt’s never been knocked out before, and I took it as a personal challenge.”
Jackson said he fractured his hand last December in Japan, “drunken fooling around fighting my friend in the hallway.” And during training, he said he aggravated the injury. But he said even without the fracture, he doesn’t believe he would have been able to knock Hamill out.
“That guy’s got a hard head,” Jackson said. “I think Matt’s got a long future in this sport. I take nothing away from Matt – fractured hand or not, I still wouldn’t have knocked him out tonight. I think I needed a hammer. That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet.”
Hamill, who saw his five-fight winning streak snapped, said he thought he would be able to use his wrestling to take Jackson down. Hamill was a three-time Division III national champion wrestler.
“I was very surprised,” Hamill said. “My takedowns could have been better, but it was a good fight. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow. I wasn’t really happy with my performance. I’ll go back and try to learn from my mistakes. I gave 100 percent, and did all I could. But Rampage is a pretty good fighter.”
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In the co-main, heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson put on an exciting first round before Nelson gassed in the second, with Mir not far behind. Mir dominated his fellow Las Vegas resident en route to a unanimous decision. And though he landed quite a few big shots, including knees to Nelson’s head, the fight often stalled out, eliciting stronger boos from the crowd as it went deeper.
The Jackson-Hamill fight also heard a few boos, especially as Hamill’s takedown attempts appeared to get slower and his striking attempts as he tired late in the fight were light.
But UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference he didn’t have any problems with the card in general – though he maintained he continues to be unhappy with Mir’s performances.
“Was I thrilled with the main event and co-main? No,” White said. “But everything can’t be a knockout or submission. I think considering the time off Rampage has had, he looked good. He dominated, he gassed – but that’s all part of staying active and busy. I think people’s expectations are unreasonable sometimes. Guys will be fighting a great fight and you’ll hear people booing – it’s like they expect guys to get in a football stance and run across at each other. There’s skill, technique, game plans – there’s a lot of things involved.”
If White was disappointed in the two main fights, his spirits were likely lifted by the performance by Brian Stann in the pay-per-view’s opening bout. Stann delivered a TKO against Top 10 middleweight Jorge Santiago, getting the night’s loudest ovation on an emotional Memorial Day weekend for the military hero, a Silver Star winner.
“He’s on his way to becoming a superstar,” White said of Stann. “Chuck (Liddell) said, ‘When (Stann) fought in the WEC, I never thought he’d get to this level.’ But not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of his mouth is a home run. This guy’s going to be a superstar.”
UFC 130 was not without injuries, some of them perhaps significant in the scheme of future matchups – most importantly, Jackson’s fractured hand. Stann was at the post-fight press conference with a broken right thumb. White said Mir went to the hospital with a fractured jaw and rib, though Mir’s wife said on Twitter early Sunday morning Mir’s jaw was not broken but had complained about his bite after the fight. And Stefan Struve, Santiago, Michael McDonald and Rafaello Oliveira hospital all went to the hospital after their fights.
UFC 130 had a reported attendance of 12,816 fans for a $2.57 million gate. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend card, also at the MGM Grand, drew 14,996 fans with a $3.895 million gate and more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. That main event featured a grudge match between Jackson and Rashad Evans. The original main event of UFC 130 was to be a trilogy lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125. But both fighters were injured in training earlier this month and the fight was scratched.
LAS VEGAS – Matt Hamill said he planned on breaking the will of Rampage Jackson in their main event at UFC 130 on Saturday. But when Hamill took a knee after the final horn, Jackson had turned the table.
Jackson warded off all of Hamill’s takedown attempts – despite coming into the fight with a fractured hand, he revealed at the post-fight press conference – and cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The win is likely to put Jackson in line as the top contender for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title later this fall, provided his hand heals on pace.
But the boo birds were out several times during the night, including most notably the main and co-main events. With just three finishes going into the co-main and main, the fans appeared to want some excitement – and many seemed certain they didn’t get it in the last two bouts.After the fight, Jackson said he was disappointed he wasn’t able to score a knockout, which the fans seemed to want even more than he, but said he wasn’t about to blame it on his hand injury – which he said came from a drunken mishap with a friend in Japan.
“I was OK with my performance, (but) I wanted to do a little more,” Jackson said. “I knew I could stay on my feet. He had a great game plan, and I could tell he was setting me up to take me down. He had some great low leg kicks, and it made me not do what I wanted to do. I’m a little bit disappointed. I wanted a knockout. Matt’s never been knocked out before, and I took it as a personal challenge.”
Jackson said he fractured his hand last December in Japan, “drunken fooling around fighting my friend in the hallway.” And during training, he said he aggravated the injury. But he said even without the fracture, he doesn’t believe he would have been able to knock Hamill out.
“That guy’s got a hard head,” Jackson said. “I think Matt’s got a long future in this sport. I take nothing away from Matt – fractured hand or not, I still wouldn’t have knocked him out tonight. I think I needed a hammer. That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet.”
Hamill, who saw his five-fight winning streak snapped, said he thought he would be able to use his wrestling to take Jackson down. Hamill was a three-time Division III national champion wrestler.
“I was very surprised,” Hamill said. “My takedowns could have been better, but it was a good fight. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow. I wasn’t really happy with my performance. I’ll go back and try to learn from my mistakes. I gave 100 percent, and did all I could. But Rampage is a pretty good fighter.”
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In the co-main, heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson put on an exciting first round before Nelson gassed in the second, with Mir not far behind. Mir dominated his fellow Las Vegas resident en route to a unanimous decision. And though he landed quite a few big shots, including knees to Nelson’s head, the fight often stalled out, eliciting stronger boos from the crowd as it went deeper.
The Jackson-Hamill fight also heard a few boos, especially as Hamill’s takedown attempts appeared to get slower and his striking attempts as he tired late in the fight were light.
But UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference he didn’t have any problems with the card in general – though he maintained he continues to be unhappy with Mir’s performances.
“Was I thrilled with the main event and co-main? No,” White said. “But everything can’t be a knockout or submission. I think considering the time off Rampage has had, he looked good. He dominated, he gassed – but that’s all part of staying active and busy. I think people’s expectations are unreasonable sometimes. Guys will be fighting a great fight and you’ll hear people booing – it’s like they expect guys to get in a football stance and run across at each other. There’s skill, technique, game plans – there’s a lot of things involved.”
If White was disappointed in the two main fights, his spirits were likely lifted by the performance by Brian Stann in the pay-per-view’s opening bout. Stann delivered a TKO against Top 10 middleweight Jorge Santiago, getting the night’s loudest ovation on an emotional Memorial Day weekend for the military hero, a Silver Star winner.
“He’s on his way to becoming a superstar,” White said of Stann. “Chuck (Liddell) said, ‘When (Stann) fought in the WEC, I never thought he’d get to this level.’ But not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of his mouth is a home run. This guy’s going to be a superstar.”
UFC 130 was not without injuries, some of them perhaps significant in the scheme of future matchups – most importantly, Jackson’s fractured hand. Stann was at the post-fight press conference with a broken right thumb. White said Mir went to the hospital with a fractured jaw and rib, though Mir’s wife said on Twitter early Sunday morning Mir’s jaw was not broken but had complained about his bite after the fight. And Stefan Struve, Santiago, Michael McDonald and Rafaello Oliveira hospital all went to the hospital after their fights.
UFC 130 had a reported attendance of 12,816 fans for a $2.57 million gate. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend card, also at the MGM Grand, drew 14,996 fans with a $3.895 million gate and more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. That main event featured a grudge match between Jackson and Rashad Evans. The original main event of UFC 130 was to be a trilogy lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125. But both fighters were injured in training earlier this month and the fight was scratched.
If my scoring is correct, this round is for all the marbles as each gladiator has one round.Johnson comes out and gets another takedown, but it’s Torres who is more active once they’re on the ground. Miguel lands a few elbows off his back and totally n…
If my scoring is correct, this round is for all the marbles as each gladiator has one round.
Johnson comes out and gets another takedown, but it’s Torres who is more active once they’re on the ground. Miguel lands a few elbows off his back and totally neutralizes any attempt by Mighty Mouse to improve his position, but he’s still got his back on the canvas and that might be enough for Demetrious in the judges’ eyes (of course, who knows with those jokers).
Torres makes a strong showing off his back and then puts a final flourish on with about 100 seconds remaining, flipping the script such that Mighty Mouse’s back is to canvas. From there, he peppers Demetrious with shots to the body and adds knees to the equation once he moves to half guard.
A few shots to the head force Johnson to take evasive maneuvers and Torres clamps on to his adversary’s neck in the process. Demetrious frees himself and clamors back to his feet before both men finish the final stanza hell bent for leather.
I’d give that last round to Torres (10-9), but it’s gonna be close whoever wins.
Demetrious Johnson defeats Miguel Torres by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
The crowd hates the decision, but it was totally reasonable. I had Torres winning, but it was FAR from decisive.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting caught up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following his 
LAS VEGAS — Watch below as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson holds court at the 
LAS VEGAS –