After earning a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, Alexander Gustafsson said Saturday night that he won’t wait around for the winner of champion Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen to fight again. Jones and Sonnen are currently slated to face one another for Jones’ belt after the season of The Ultimate Fighter that they are currently coaching on finishes.
The Swedish contender put himself in line for a shot with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at Saturday’s UFC on Fox card but at the post event press conference said that he would be happy to risk his title shot by fighting again in the interim. “I want to fight for the belt, and if they give me one before that, it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight whoever the UFC gives me,” he said.
“I want to stay active, and I want to fight.” The young kickboxer has no interest in waiting another half year or more to fight.
“I’ll fight whenever. I was away for a long time. The last time I fought was in April, and that was too long. To wait till summer again, that would be too long.”
UFC President Dana White seems to be in accordance with that thought. “If I was [Gustafsson], I’d want to get another fight in before taking on Jon Jones,” he said.
“He could fight again. I’m hearing Dan Henderson’s knee isn’t better, so maybe Gustafsson should fight Machida next,” White continued.
Henderson’s poor health status is evidentally news to the fighter himself. The former Pride champion was scheduled to fight Jon Jones earlier this year but pulled out after he injured his knee in training camp. He is now scheduled to take on former UFC champion Lyoto Machida in February at UFC 157: These Chicks Can Fight.
On his twitter account, Dan reacted incredulously to White’s supposed inside information on his knee. “Not sure where @danawhite thinks he’s hearing that my knee isn’t doing ok. It’s doing great. Slowly picking training up just like I do for every training camp,” he tweeted.
(Look Dana, if his knee was really still injured, would he be playing in a professional baseball winter league?)
After earning a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, Alexander Gustafsson said Saturday night that he won’t wait around for the winner of champion Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen to fight again. Jones and Sonnen are currently slated to face one another for Jones’ belt after the season of The Ultimate Fighter that they are currently coaching on finishes.
The Swedish contender put himself in line for a shot with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at Saturday’s UFC on Fox card but at the post event press conference said that he would be happy to risk his title shot by fighting again in the interim. “I want to fight for the belt, and if they give me one before that, it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight whoever the UFC gives me,” he said.
“I want to stay active, and I want to fight.” The young kickboxer has no interest in waiting another half year or more to fight.
“I’ll fight whenever. I was away for a long time. The last time I fought was in April, and that was too long. To wait till summer again, that would be too long.”
UFC President Dana White seems to be in accordance with that thought. “If I was [Gustafsson], I’d want to get another fight in before taking on Jon Jones,” he said.
“He could fight again. I’m hearing Dan Henderson’s knee isn’t better, so maybe Gustafsson should fight Machida next,” White continued.
Henderson’s poor health status is evidentally news to the fighter himself. The former Pride champion was scheduled to fight Jon Jones earlier this year but pulled out after he injured his knee in training camp. He is now scheduled to take on former UFC champion Lyoto Machida in February at UFC 157: These Chicks Can Fight.
On his twitter account, Dan reacted incredulously to White’s supposed inside information on his knee. “Not sure where @danawhite thinks he’s hearing that my knee isn’t doing ok. It’s doing great. Slowly picking training up just like I do for every training camp,” he tweeted.
This latest disagreement on facts between fighter and promoter certainly won’t help Henderson’s paranoia and sense of entitlement when it comes to the light heavyweight title. He was given a shot at Jon Jones after a razor-thin, controversial decision win over Rua in 2011 that saw Hendo mounted and beaten on for the better part of the fight’s second half.
Then, he decided to pull out of the title fight after keeping his injury secret for just long enough to make it tough for the UFC to secure a viable, credible and deserving substitution. After Jones agreed to fight Henderson’s friend and long time training partner, Chael Sonnen, this coming spring, “Hollywood Dan” publicly said that Sonnen’s title shot was cheapening the sport while suggesting that somehow he should still be the next person in line to fight Jones.
Of course, Henderson would be justified in his frustration over White either making up “information” about his knee or sharing actual info about it that Henderson himself has not announced or made official. As it stands, the boss and fighter seem to be telling entirely different stories about whether or not Henderson will, in fact, be fighting in February.
Eesh. Another fight, another wheezy, pudgy, disappointing fight from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The former light heavyweight champion has looked just awful in 2012, and at this point there are serious questions about his future in MMA. In his t…
Eesh.
Another fight, another wheezy, pudgy, disappointing fight from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
The former light heavyweight champion has looked just awful in 2012, and at this point there are serious questions about his future in MMA. In his two most recent fights, he has shown none of the cardio that used to be one of his greatest strengths, and the technically masterful striking he used to knock out LyotoMachida has just seemed to evaporate.
So what can Shogun do to get back to his winning ways? And who can he fight?
During one of the outright best main cards put together in the UFC’s short history on Fox, we witnessed a true changing of the guard.In the co-main event of the night, B.J. Penn was horribly outclassed by the young Rory MacDonald, visibly wilting in th…
During one of the outright best main cards put together in the UFC’s short history on Fox, we witnessed a true changing of the guard.
In the co-main event of the night, B.J. Penn was horribly outclassed by the young Rory MacDonald, visibly wilting in the second round of their fight as the massive Canadian landed knees, kicks, hooks and jabs seemingly at will.
Several Penn fans could only look on in horror as the UFC legend was beaten and bullied, at one point almost forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight standing.
In three rounds of dominant aggression and showboating, MacDonald made it clear that he’s a top welterweight, simultaneously edging Penn closer to irrelevance.
Although the former light heavyweight champion put in an incredibly gutsy effort against Alexander Gustafsson, “Shogun” simply didn’t have enough power or speed to beat the Swede.
Still, Gustafsson didn’t outclass Rua as badly as MacDonald did to Penn (and this author certainly doesn’t think “The Mauler” has much for Jon Jones), but it was an impressive feat nonetheless.
Seattle’s KeyArena hosted one of the best fight cards this year at UFC on Fox 5, and when we look back at this night, we’ll remember it as two things: the night that Penn’s legacy died, and the night that Shogun Rua’s legend started to fade away.
Both men have given the best of themselves to MMA fans over the years, so neither one has anything to be ashamed about.
Penn fought outside of his natural weight class against an opponent who dramatically outclassed him in guts, size and strength.
Rua’s battle-worn body and crippled knees held up through three rounds of punishment against a man who Forrest Griffin famously declared no one wanted to fight.
Hopefully, Penn lives out a peaceful life of waning fame during his retirement years.
And when Shogun Rua hangs up his gloves for good, he should be remembered as one of the greatest light heavyweights in the sport’s history, if not one of the all-time greats.
Sure, there’s still plenty of old-timers sticking around like Anderson Silva, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva. But Saturday night—and the future—belongs to the young guns of the sport.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.
(Sometimes I look at Nate Diaz and think, “y’know, there’s a guy who probably hasn’t heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)
Old legends and young lions. Guys with angel wings on their backs and guys with middle fingers in your face. Hot-headed blood lickers, and reasonable folks who understand the health risks of such behavior. It’s UFC on FOX 5 — a card so good that you don’t even need lazy storylines to sell it.
Running our “Henderson vs. Diaz” liveblog is New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame inducteeJim Genia(congrats Jim!), who will be throwin’ down live results from the FOX main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and toss your own thoughts and observations in the comments section.
(Sometimes I look at Nate Diaz and think, “y’know, there’s a guy who probably hasn’t heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)
Old legends and young lions. Guys with angel wings on their backs and guys with middle fingers in your face. Hot-headed blood lickers, and reasonable folks who understand the health risks of such behavior. It’s UFC on FOX 5 — a card so good that you don’t even need lazy storylines to sell it.
Running our “Henderson vs. Diaz” liveblog is New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame inducteeJim Genia(congrats Jim!), who will be throwin’ down live results from the FOX main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and toss your own thoughts and observations in the comments section.
What up, spuds. ‘Tis I, Jim Genia. Here are the results from the undercard:
-Yves Edwards def. Jeremy Stephens via KO (Punches) at 1:55, Round 1
-Raphael Assuncao def. Mike Easton via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-Ramsey Nijem def. Joe Proctor via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Daron Cruickshank def. Henry Martinez via KO (Kick) at 2:57, Round 2
-Abel Trujillo def. Marcus LeVesseur via TKO (Knees) at 3:56, Round 2
-Dennis Siver def. Nam Phan via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-24)
-Scott Jorgensen def. John Albert via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:59, Round 1
And now, the main card, which is probably the best selection of fights Zuffa has ever given to FOX for airing for free.
First up, Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick:
You know and love Swick from his time on the seminal TUF season and the years of beatings both given and received in the Octagon. You know Brown for pretty much the same thing, although his coming out party was at TUF 7. We’ve seen them bang in impressive fashion, but Father Time has got to be taking his toll these grizzled dudes, so the question is: who’s still got enough grit left to pull out the win?
Round 1: After about 30 seconds of feeling each other out, Swick and Brown begin taking turns lunging in and winging punches. Neither really connects though, so Brown grabs one of his opponent’s legs and dumps him on the canvas, and works into side-control. From there Brown slips on a tight-as-hell D’Arce choke. Swick is stuck defending the technique while in Brown’s guard. He guts his way out of it, but not long after Brown has him in an even tighter triangle choke. Somehow, some way, Swick survives, and with 3o seconds left they get back to their feet and pepper each other with short punches and knees from the clinch. Ding, end of round.
Round 2: Brown comes out and starts Muay Thai-ing the crap out of Swick, which is weird because doesn’t Swick live in Thailand or something? Anyway, what can Brown do for you? I dunno, but for Swick it’s elbows and knees and some smothering clinch-work. Swick seems to fade fast, and while he’s walking backwards, Brown tags him with a left hook on the chin and a right hand in the grill, and Swick is out and probably dreaming of a better Pad Thai than you and I will ever know.
Matt Brown def. Mike Swick via KO (Punches) at 2:31, Round 2
Next, BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald:
What more can I say about Penn that hasn’t been said? The man’s a legend, he’s accomplished more in the sport than most can ever dream of, and when he bleeds, he bleeds grape-flavored Hawaiian Punch. MacDonald is supposedly one of the next big things, but screw that. BJ, dispatch this clown.
Round 1: Penn comes straight across the cage and goes for a takedown. MacDonald shrugs it off, and from his upper-body control, it becomes apparent that his size and height advantage is going to make it hard for Penn to move him around. They two create some space, and for the next two minutes MacDonald uses his reach to land some low kicks, a high-kick to the head that the former lightweight- and welterweight champ shrugs off, some jabs and elbows. Penn gets some good licks in, but it’s almost all MacDonald, and the young upstart wobbles the Hawaiian with an elbow with about 45 seconds left in the round. They make it to the bell, but yeesh, Penn is getting hurt.
Round 2: MacDonald stalks Penn into the cage, and with jabs and kicks, begins to have his way with him. Penn doesn’t circle, doesn’t really move his head, and aside from a right hand here and there, he’s a sitting duck. MacDonald cracks him to the body with a kick at the midway mark of the round, and Penn nearly crumbles, staying upright only to eat more painful body blows. With 38 seconds in the frame MacDonald grabs Penn and dumps him onto the canvas, and he feeds him short punches until the bell.
Round 3: Penn comes close with a single-leg takedown right out of the gate, but MacDonald gets out of it and tries to hug him to death against the cage. Referee Herb Dean seperates them, and MacDonald resumes hurting Penn with strikes from the outside. With all the confidence in the world, MacDonald shuffles his feet and throws question-mark kicks, Superman punches and just about anything else he wants, and all Penn can do is walk around and take it. And then the bell sounds and it’s all over, and I go to my room and cry.
Rory MacDonald def. BJ Penn via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Next, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson:
Shogun was, at one time, one of the best in the world. Now he’s a walking pile of barely connected bones, ligaments and aged muscles. Will the big Swede striker be the one to finally make the Brazilian collapse into a heaps of twisted flesh in the cage?
Round 1: Apparently Shogun watched Penn’s fight on the monitor backstage and said “I ain’t going out like that.” Within the first 30 seconds of the bout Gustafsson sends him to the canvas on his butt, but Shogun swivels into a heelhook attempt that the Swede has to seriously work to get out of – and when he does, the former PRIDE and UFC champ almost takes his back and manages to land a sweet knee to the chops when they’re against the fence. They make some space and throw strikes, with Shogun opting to cover up, eat whatever his opponent throws so he can wade in and land something himself. It’s a dangerous ploy, and he winds up bleeding from his nose – but still very much in the game – by the time the round ends.
Round 2: Winging overhand rights and lefts, Shogun re-establishes himself as a threat to the taller fighter. Gustafsson almost hip tosses him two minutes in, but a flubbed takedown attempt soon after has Shogun on his back regardless. They work back to their feet and Gustafsson nails two takedowns and bangs his foe up with some ground and pound, and when Shogun stands the taller fighter just blasts him, wobbling him with knees and punches. The bell sounds with Shogun that much worse for wear.
Round 3: Gustafsson resumes dinging Shogun up, and when Shogun fights back with more overhand rights, the Swede takes him down and tries to work him over there. They get back to their feet and the dance continues, with Shogun trying to land that big money shot and Gustafsson alternating between strikes from outside and successful takedowns. About midway through the round Gustafsson lands a shot to Shogun’s liver, which turns the Brazilian into the Walking Dead while Gustafsson lands whatever he wants. A front kick to the face, jabs, and takedowns – Gustafsson does it all, and time expires with Shogun on the bottom and fighting like maybe he should have retired a year and a half ago.
Alexander Gustafsson def. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Next, Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz:
Henderson won the UFC lightweight title by narrowly defeating Frankie Edgar, and reiterated his claim to the belt by defeating Edgar in another close fight and razor-thin decision. Diaz ain’t about that life, though. Diaz will beat you up in the parking lot, kiss your girl and smoke your pot, and there’s nothing you can do about it so you might as well start packing your bong now, son. Ahem.
Round 1: Henderson wastes no time throwing kicks to Diaz’s legs, and Diaz wastes no time taunting him and tying him up against the cage. They trade knees while jockeying for advantage, and this goes on for about two minutes. Diaz makes some distance and lands an elbow, and Henderson manages two takedowns and some hard ground and pound. The fine upstanding citizen from Stockton gets back to his feet, but he remains open to leg-kicks, and Bendo drops him with one. Diaz is up again, and the round expires with the two pressed up against the cage.
Round 2: The champ muscles the challenger to the mat about 30 seconds into the round, and when Diaz rises, he throws a kick to the head that Diaz barely blocks. They wrestle a bit on the feet, and when they seperate the two trade some strikes and it almost seems like the TUF winner is starting to find his boxing groove. But no, Henderson resumes kicking the crap out of his leg, than drops him with a knuckle sandwich and pounds on him. Diaz survives, gets vertical and scores with a sweet judo throw, but Henderson scrambles back up and continues his dominance.
Round 3: Henderson opens up with another leg-kick, Diaz answers back with some of his bread and butter punches, and at a minute in the champ hits a takedown and drops bombs. Back on their feet and then another takedown, and it’s clear Diaz’s guard is ill-equipped to deal with the heat Henderson brings from above. Diaz rolls and works into a leglock attempt that morphs into a toehold. Henderson expertly escapes, fends off another heelhook attempt, and when they stand once more Bendo drops Diaz with a right hand. With time running out, Henderson lands an axe-kick to Diaz’s body, and then the bell sounds.
Round 4: Henderson gets a takedown against the fence about 35 seconds into the round, batters Diaz whenever Diaz turtles, and repeats the whole process when they get back up. The Cesar Gracie black belt has maybe one half-ass kimura attempt and heelhook attempt, but that’s it, and you have to wonder if Diaz should maybe consider moving down to 145 pounds.
Round 5: They’re up against the cage early, and with 3:30 left on the clock Henderson hoists Diaz up and slams him like a pimp shaking down one of his hookers. Diaz scores with one hip throw, but the champ scrambles to safety, and other than that one brief moment of brilliance, the challenger is nothing more than a grappling dummy that curses a lot. And then time runs out and it’s all over.
Benson Henderson def. Nick Diaz via Unanimous Decision (50-43, 50-45, 50-45)
In what is being regarded as the latest example of “Olde School” vs. “New Skool,” we have two hotly anticipated bouts on UFC on Fox 5 on Saturday night between former champions who have fallen on hard times and top prospects in their divisions. BJ Pen…
In what is being regarded as the latest example of “Olde School” vs. “New Skool,” we have two hotly anticipated bouts on UFC on Fox 5 on Saturday night between former champions who have fallen on hard times and top prospects in their divisions. BJ Penn faces Rory MacDonald, followed by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua squaring off against Alexander Gustafsson.
The thing is, the old favorites are huge underdogs for very little reason and are in perfect position to remind folks why they are the ones who have touched UFC gold.
Their opponents are still just kids.
The biggest reason for their underdog status, let’s be honest, are the questions about cardio. Penn has a very, very long history of fizzling while fighting at 170 pounds. At lightweight, he is a monster with no equal. At welterweight, though, essentially all of his fights boil down to strong starts that limp to a decision. This, after all, is precisely what happened when he fought both Nick Diaz and Jon Fitch.
Shogun’s struggles are far more recent. In his latest fight, a headline affair with Brandon Vera, Shogun gassed and struggled against his supposed-to-be-entirely-undeserving opponent. He would score a fourth-round knockout against Vera, but this was clearly not the Shogun of old.
And Brandon Vera is clearly no Alexander Gustafsson.
Obviously, saying it is entirely about the cardio of the older fighters is a disservice to Rory MacDonald and Alexander Gustafsson. Both fighters have been as good as can be reasonably expected, with MacDonald sitting on a 4-1 UFC record and Gustafsson sitting at 6-1. They both have big wins over serious competition, and their lone losses have been to top 10 fighters (Carlos Condit and Phil Davis, respectively).
That said, there is no getting around the fact that the younger fighters have terrible matchups against these older guys. Rory MacDonald has gotten by to this point by outmuscling and grounding-and-pounding opponents. Penn’s speed, unquestionably superior striking and legendary takedown defense are likely insurmountable for MacDonald.
Meanwhile, there is not a fan who has seen Shogun fight who does not know how amazing his striking is. He knocked out LyotoMachida, one of the best pure strikers in MMA today, and has other knockouts over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Alistair Overeem and Cyrille Diabate.
Gustafsson has strong stand-up but is simply not in Rua‘s league. He has been working on his wrestling for this fight, but as we saw in Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo, it takes far longer than six months to develop wrestling skills to overcome veteran mixed martial artists.
While the questions about cardio are undeniably there, both Penn and Rua have been actively showing off how in-shape they are for Saturday’s event. Just looking at their musculature in comparison to their recent fights, you can see abs and traps you haven’t seen in a long while.
At the very least, it shows that they are completely in-shape for these fights, which we have not seen from either of these fighters in a long while.
To top it all off, something that fans often need to be reminded of is that even though Rua and Penn have been around the sport for a long time, they are not really that old. BJ Penn is 33 years old, while Shogun is just 31. They are much younger than fighters like Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Dan Henderson.
Mixed martial arts is still a sport where anything can happen, but as we have seen time and time again, experience is a major factor in the cage.
It isn’t everything, but we know how great Penn and Rua are capable of being. When it comes to betting, in this case, I’m putting my money down on what we know over what we expect.
When a fighter loses his title, the hardest thing for the fighter is to regain the title. Saturday night at UFC on Fox 5, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces off with Alexander Gustafsson in the co-main event. UFC pre…
When a fighter loses his title, the hardest thing for the fighter is to regain the title. Saturday night at UFC on Fox 5, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces off with Alexander Gustafsson in the co-main event.
UFC president Dana White said at the UFC on Fox press conference that the winner of this fight will get the next shot at the light heavyweight title currently held by Jon Jones (h/t mmafighting.com). Rua lost his title to Jones in March of 2011 and has won two of his last three fights heading into Saturday night.
What other former champions could earn another crack at getting a title shot? Let’s take a look
During one of the outright best main cards put together in the UFC’s short history on Fox, we witnessed a true changing of the guard.
