With Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz all set to put on a show in Las Vegas this weekend, the rest of the card seems dull in comparison. Sure, there’s an awesome bantamweight fight between Scott Jorgenson and Renan Barao set on the main card, and Fabr…
With Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz all set to put on a show in Las Vegas this weekend, the rest of the card seems dull in comparison. Sure, there’s an awesome bantamweight fight between Scott Jorgenson and Renan Barao set on the main card, and Fabricio Werdum is returning to the UFC for the first […]
When Nick Ring took to the Octagon against Tim Boetsch at UFC 135 in September, the Canadian middleweight—after three rounds of action—claimed the first loss of his nearly decade-long professional mixed martial arts career. Despite the fact…
When Nick Ring took to the Octagon against Tim Boetsch at UFC 135 in September, the Canadian middleweight—after three rounds of action—claimed the first loss of his nearly decade-long professional mixed martial arts career. Despite the fact that Ring is disappointed that he fell short against Boetsch, who is the proud owner of five victories […]
By now, you’ve probably heard the big news of the day: Anthony “Hey Yo, Is That My Tummy Rumblin’?” Johnson missed weight today in historic fashion, tipping the scales at 197 pounds. According to some research that I absolutely did not just do, twelve pounds is the most that anyone has ever blown weight anywhere ever, and you can feel free to correct me in the comments. Vitor Belfort has agreed to fight a catchweight at 197, but has asked that Johnson weigh-in again tomorrow at no more than 205.
Now, maybe I’m not shocked by this — but damn brotato, how do you miss — how do you go UP a weight class because you have a nightmare cut at 170 and the boss has said you belong at 185, then proceed to bulk up like you got a call from Vince McMahon?
Serious question: is Anthony Johnson dyslexic with numbers or something? Just checking.
By now, you’ve probably heard the big news of the day: Anthony “Hey Yo, Is That My Tummy Rumblin’?” Johnson missed weight today in historic fashion, tipping the scales at 197 pounds. According to some research that I absolutely did not just do, twelve pounds is the most that anyone has ever blown weight anywhere ever, and you can feel free to correct me in the comments. Vitor Belfort has agreed to fight a catchweight at 197, but has asked that Johnson weigh-in again tomorrow at no more than 205.
Now, maybe I’m not exactly shocked by this — but damn brotato, how do you miss … how do you go UP a weight class because you have a nightmare cut at 170 and the boss has said you belong at 185, then proceed to bulk up like you got a call from Vince McMahon?
Serious question: is Anthony Johnson dyslexic with numbers or something? Just checking.
The downsides are all on Rumble’s side. Dana is already going on record calling him “unprofessional”, which may be code for “black”, but in this case is actually code for “I’m going to fuck him worse than he’s ever been fucked before”. Unless Rumble puts in a Fight of the Night-worthy performance, he will almost certainly lose his job and wind up in StrikeForce, except without their awesome salaries.
First off: bungalow fans rejoice, because this just became a slugfest. Johnson has to know that a methodical, grinding win will result in Dana firing him angrily during the press conference (which Johnson would not be invited to). Johnson is going to have to use his reach and size (ha ha, get it?) to win a stand up fight with Belfort.
Belfort himself comes out of this like a champ, because he can not lose in this situation. He’s stepping up to save the fight, which means he’ll have a job with the UFC through the next two years or four losses (whichever comes first). Should he lose, his record will have an asterisk for all eternity that Johnson was a 250 pound roid-monster in the cage, and if he pulls out a win the internet will explode because Vitor Belfort just knocked out a heavyweight holy shit did you see that, bro!? It’s like UFC 13 again, only in Brazil.
Meanwhile Johnson loses pretty much any way you slice it. He’ll be a visibly larger man in the cage to anyone with rods and cones to rub together, and any win he gets will be tainted. No one is going to be particularly impressed with a quick knockout on a smaller Belfort, and if he actually tries to wrestle Belfort for a decision?
Last night was a sad night for fans of “The Dean of Mean.” After making his first cut to 185, Keith Jardine looked like he was doing pretty well. His movement was fast—if a tad sloppy—and he seemed able to connect with quite a f…
Last night was a sad night for fans of “The Dean of Mean.” After making his first cut to 185, Keith Jardine looked like he was doing pretty well. His movement was fast—if a tad sloppy—and he seemed able to connect with quite a few shots that surprised Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. But it […]
After fulfilling his four-fight contract with the organization of Strikeforce, Dan Henderson returned to the UFC in hopes of making one last run towards gold. Henderson proved he’s still a tip-top contender in an historical showdown with Mauricio…
After fulfilling his four-fight contract with the organization of Strikeforce, Dan Henderson returned to the UFC in hopes of making one last run towards gold. Henderson proved he’s still a tip-top contender in an historical showdown with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139. After five grueling and heart-wrenching rounds of war, Henderson and Rua awaited […]
Sure Anderson Silva has a date with Chael Sonnen the winner of Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz this summer, but when you think about it, there really aren’t many fights left for the dominant UFC middleweight champion at 185, so why not have him move up?
Anderson has a plethora of reasons why he likely won’t fight at 205 and most of them concern loyalty to friends like Lil’ Nog and Jon Jones, but from a fan’s perspective, a move up in weight is the only one that makes sense for “The Spider.”
Look at how he toyed with Ryan Bader in the TUF sparring session, basically letting him punch him in the chin as hard as he wanted to. Granted, Bader has improved from his technique of charging forward with arm punches, but I really don’t see a match-up between the two going any differently now. Silva made one former UFC light heavyweight champ look stupid and he would likely do the same to most of the division’s top contenders, so why not have him step up?
We’ll tell you why.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/TUF)
Sure Anderson Silva has a date with Chael Sonnen the winner of Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz this summer, but when you think about it, there really aren’t many fights left for the dominant UFC middleweight champion at 185, so why not have him move up?
Anderson has a plethora of reasons why he likely won’t fight at 205 and most of them concern loyalty to friends like Lil’ Nog and Jon Jones, but from a fan’s perspective, a move up in weight is the only one that makes sense for “The Spider.”
Look at how he toyed with Ryan Bader in the TUF sparring session, basically letting him punch him in the chin as hard as he wanted to. Granted, Bader has improved from his technique of charging forward with arm punches, but I really don’t see a match-up between the two going any differently now. Silva made one former UFC light heavyweight champ look stupid and he would likely do the same to most of the division’s top contenders, so why not have him step up?
The number one reason it won’t happen, is it would delegitimize the middleweight title if Silva vacated it, making it the silver medal for whoever wins it. Say Chael Sonnen beats whoever else the UFC decides should challenge him for the vacant strap, they would essentially be the winner of the losers Silva beat. It would be like winning a Strikeforce title after the *real* champs left for the UFC.
Another reson why it is unlikely we’ll see Anderson put the 205-pound class on notice, if Jon Jones still holds the belt at the time and both are willing to put personal feelings aside and do their jobs, is that it would tarnish one of their legacies. One man has to lose, and although I would put money on Silva’s chin and striking over Jones’ creativity and flashiness, it’s unlikely that the UFC will want to risk an outgoing champ on the cusp of retirement beating an up-and-coming face of the promotion like Jones.
The third reason why Anderson likely won’t transition to 205 is the glut of wrestlers who fight at that weight. Silva’s Achilles Heel is strong wrestling. We all saw what Sonnen did to him for four-and-a-half rounds and Chael isn’t half the wrestler guys like Rashad Evans, Phil Davis and Dan Henderson are. Hendo, who could very well surprise Jones when they fight, was able to take Anderson down at will before giving up his back and being rear-naked-choked. A veteran like Dan doesn’t make the same mistake twice, unless he’s named Chael Sonnen and the mistake is being triangled. Nobody wants to take on big challenging projects in their final years before retirement. We just want to coast and collect a pay check for not fucking up the menial tasks our bosses give us until our last day finally arrives. How many retirees do you know who learned HTML programming the last year before they retired? Exactly, so why would Anderson want to learn how to deal with big strong wrestlers?
Hopefully we won’t have to sit through another challenge by a future UFC castaway like Travis Lutter, Patrick Cote or Thales Leites. Silva needs real competition and we need to see him face it.
