Ever since losing his WEC Featherweight Championship, Urijah Faber has come up short in bids to regain a big golden belt against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. After losing his fifth title fight in as many chances, the …
Ever since losing his WEC Featherweight Championship, Urijah Faber has come up short in bids to regain a big golden belt against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. After losing his fifth title fight in as many chances, the California Kid needs to take a big step back and assess his situation.
Going 0-5 in title fights but remaining “in the mix” is absolutely unheard of, and the Alpha Male fighter knows it. At this point in his career, Faber simply needs to stay active and keep his mind on winning fights, not titles.
An ultra-popular fighter with well-rounded skills who used to be on top, but can’t seem to beat the champion, Faber looks to have become the Rich Franklin of the lighter weight classes.
Like Franklin, Faber should embrace the role of elite gatekeeper and sign up for big-name fights in whichever division has the most exciting opportunity available that month. And first on his agenda should be none other than former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.
Torres is another fighter who has not had the most luck since losing his championship. Going 3-3 since a KO to Brian Bowles cost him his championship, Torres is a fantastic fighter who has only failed when facing the best fighters in the world.
Angel’s losses include Joseph Benavidez, Michael McDonald and a controversial decision to Demetrious Johnson. In that time, the former champion has stayed in the public eye after a Twitter joke about the content of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia was deemed too controversial by Dana White and cost Torres his roster spot.
Now back in the UFC, Torres remains one of a few former champions still on the roster who has yet to face Faber. With a seven-inch reach advantage and a grappling game that could give anyone fits, this fight represents a champion vs. champion superfight from 2008, when each men ruled their division with an iron fist.
Are there other interesting fights for Faber out there? Sure. But just like Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell, Faber vs. Torres is a fight between the two fighters who were considered the best of their respective divisions only a few years ago.
Faber and Torres are still relevant fighters with something left to give to this sport. Let them duke it out and see who the better man is.
(Above: Rashad Evans licks his hand and wipes his butt… Below: …and pays dearly for it. / Props: )
We bid a final farewell to Saturday’s UFC event with a roundup of the 11 best GIFs from UFC 145, courtesy of The UG and IronForgesIron. Enjoy, and click here for previous MMA GIF coverage.
(Above: Rashad Evans licks his hand and wipes his butt… Below: …and pays dearly for it. / Props: )
We bid a final farewell to Saturday’s UFC event with a roundup of the 11 best GIFs from UFC 145, courtesy of The UG and IronForgesIron. Enjoy, and click here for previous MMA GIF coverage.
(Was this photo taken with a fish eye lens? Get it?! A FISH EYE LENS!! *crickets*)
Yowza. As if we needed further proof, Rashad Evans sent out this tweet earlier today, confirming once and for all that Jon Jones does is fact have the nastiest elbows in the game. At least he took it in stride, stating the following:
I went 2 UFC 145 in Atlanta and I had the best seat in the house & all I came back with was this fat eye! Wth! I hope those of u that went came back with better souvenirs than I did! =)
Though Evans only received a week suspension, he might want to consider sitting out a little longer while he waits for that baby to deflate. ‘Shad was one of fourteen fighters from Saturday’s card to earn just a seven day suspension for cautionary reasons. Brendan Schaub and Che Mills received 45 day suspensions for their (T)KO losses, where Miguel Torres earned a 60 day suspension for his knockout loss to Michael McDonald. Torres must also undergo a CT scan before he is cleared to return to action.
But worse than Schaub, worse even than Torres, was the indefinite suspension Mac Danzig received for the gnarly ankle injury he suffered in his unanimous decision victory over Efrain Escudero as a result of a first round heel hook. Word has it that while this was occurring, Rousimar Palhares went on a bloodthirsty rampage through Brazil that resulted in the deaths of no less than 400 people.
Check out the photo of the damage, compliments of Danzig’s twitter, along with the full medical suspensions, after the jump.
(Was this photo taken with a fish eye lens? Get it?! A FISH EYE LENS!! *crickets*)
Yowza. As if we needed further proof, Rashad Evans sent out this tweet earlier today, confirming once and for all that Jon Jones does is fact have the nastiest elbows in the game. At least he took it in stride, stating the following:
I went 2 UFC 145 in Atlanta and I had the best seat in the house & all I came back with was this fat eye! Wth! I hope those of u that went came back with better souvenirs than I did! =)
Though Evans only received a week suspension, he might want to consider sitting out a little longer while he waits for that baby to deflate. ‘Shad was one of fourteen fighters from Saturday’s card to earn just a seven day suspension for cautionary reasons. Brendan Schaub and Che Mills received 45 day suspensions for their (T)KO losses, where Miguel Torres earned a 60 day suspension for his knockout loss to Michael McDonald. Torres must also undergo a CT scan before he is cleared to return to action.
But worse than Schaub, worse even than Torres, was the indefinite suspension Mac Danzig received for the gnarly ankle injury he suffered in his unanimous decision victory over Efrain Escudero as a result of a first round heel hook. Word has it that while this was occurring, Rousimar Palhares went on a bloodthirsty rampage through Brazil that resulted in the deaths of no less than 400 people.
Check out the photo of the damage, compliments of Danzig’s twitter, along with the full medical suspensions, below.
(Where does the calf fat end and the ankle fat begin?)
UFC 145 Medical Suspensions Mac Danzig: Suspended indefinitely pending results of right-ankle X-ray Miguel Torres: Suspended 60 days; needs CT scan Che Mills: Suspended 45 days for precautionary reasons Brendan Schaub: Suspended 45 days for precautionary reasons Eddie Yagin: Suspended 30 days, including 21 days with no contact Mark Hominick: Suspended 30 days, including 21 days with no contact Chad Griggs: Suspended 30 days, including 21 days with no contact Matt Brown: Suspended 14 days for precautionary reasons Stephen Thompson: Suspended 14 days for precautionary reasons Keith Wisniewski: Suspended 14 days for precautionary reasons Jon Jones: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Rashad Evans: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Rory MacDonald: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Ben Rothwell: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Michael McDonald: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Mark Bocek: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons John Alessio: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Travis Browne: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Anthony Njokuani: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons John Makdessi: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Efrain Escudero: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Chris Clements: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Marcus Brimage: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons Maximo Blanco: Suspended seven days for precautionary reasons
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans hoped to reclaim the title he had lost almost three years ago when he faced reigning champion and former teammate Jon “Bones” Jones in the main event at UFC 145. After five rounds, Evans was declared t…
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans hoped to reclaim the title he had lost almost three years ago when he faced reigning champion and former teammate Jon “Bones” Jones in the main event at UFC 145.
After five rounds, Evans was declared the loser by unanimous decision, but he had done better than Jones’ previous opponents and even stole a round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
In the co-main event, Che Mills was against all odds when he took on one of the best rising welterweights in Rory MacDonald. He wasn’t able to overcome them, losing by TKO in the second round.
Other fighters who fell short of victory include Brendan Schaub, John Alessio, Miguel Torres and Mark Hominick. This is what’s next for the losers.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans hoped to reclaim the title he had lost almost three years ago when he faced reigning champion and former teammate Jon “Bones” Jones in the main event at UFC 145. After five rounds, Evans was declared t…
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans hoped to reclaim the title he had lost almost three years ago when he faced reigning champion and former teammate Jon “Bones” Jones in the main event at UFC 145.
After five rounds, Evans was declared the loser by unanimous decision, but he had done better than Jones’ previous opponents and even stole a round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
In the co-main event, Che Mills was against all odds when he took on one of the best rising welterweights in Rory MacDonald. He wasn’t able to overcome them, losing by TKO in the second round.
Other fighters who fell short of victory include Brendan Schaub, John Alessio, Miguel Torres and Mark Hominick. This is what’s next for the losers.
By Elias Cepeda (UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre [right] and fan contest winner future champion Rory MacDonald)
Ok, let’s get right to the cheddar – the UFC 145 fight bonuses, which UFC President Dana White announced during the post-event presser (video of entire press conference below). It always warms the heart when the fighters who get the big bonus checks are not the big stars, and that’s what happened at UFC 145.
Ben Rothwell, Travis Browne, Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin all earned an extra $65,000 for their efforts Saturday night in Atlanta, GA. Rothwell got the KO of the night for his come-from-behind stoppage of Brendan Schaub. Browne got the night’s only submission but it was still a good one – forcing Chad Griggs to tap out to an arm triangle choke.
Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick both took home fight of the night honors for their back and forth war. Yagin also took home the win bonus for earning the split-decision win over the former featherweight #1 contender.
The Immortal beats The Karate Kid and GSP-lite continues to impress
Matt Brown took a little steam out of the home town Karate Kid Stephen Thompson with a unanimous decision win. Thompson burst onto the UFC scene with a nifty lead leg KO at UFC 143. Brown has a toughness that his win to loss ratio doesn’t necessarily reveal, and a win over a top prospect like Thompson helps “The Immortal” get back on the slow climb up in the welterweight division.
Staying in the welterweight division for a moment, Rory MacDonald continued to prove that he is the division’s brightest young star
By Elias Cepeda (UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre [right] and fan contest winner future champion Rory MacDonald)
Ok, let’s get right to the cheddar – the UFC 145 fight bonuses, which UFC President Dana White announced during the post-event presser (video of entire press conference below). It always warms the heart when the fighters who get the big bonus checks are not the big stars, and that’s what happened at UFC 145.
Ben Rothwell, Travis Browne, Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin all earned an extra $65,000 for their efforts Saturday night in Atlanta, GA. Rothwell got the KO of the night for his come-from-behind stoppage of Brendan Schaub. Browne got the night’s only submission but it was still a good one – forcing Chad Griggs to tap out to an arm triangle choke.
Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick both took home fight of the night honors for their back and forth war. Yagin also took home the win bonus for earning the split-decision win over the former featherweight #1 contender.
The Immortal beats The Karate Kid and GSP-lite continues to impress
Matt Brown took a little steam out of the home town Karate Kid Stephen Thompson with a unanimous decision win. Thompson burst onto the UFC scene with a nifty lead leg KO at UFC 143. Brown has a toughness that his win to loss ratio doesn’t necessarily reveal, and a win over a top prospect like Thompson helps “The Immortal” get back on the slow climb up in the welterweight division.
Staying in the welterweight division for a moment, Rory MacDonald continued to prove that he is the division’s brightest young star. MacDonald took on the underrated Che Mills and, after getting tagged a little too much by Mills’ sharp striking, took him down at will and dominated on the ground.
MacDonald exhibited smooth striking-to-takedown transitions, excellent ground control and vicious, well-balanced ground striking en route to a second round TKO win over Mills. The twenty two year-old has only lost to current interim champion Carlos Condit, and that was after a fight that MacDonald was arguably winning at points.
I’m sure they are friends and respect each other. But at least a small part of GSP not wanting to fight MacDonald is because it can’t be that much fun to do so.
Miguel Torres’ future
Miguel Torres’ year didn’t get any better with a knockout loss to top bantamweight prospect Michael McDonald. McDonald threw fast and hard punch combinations at Torres during their brief fight, with a number of uppercuts landing.
The last uppercut landed cleanly and knocked the former champion Torres out on contact. Torres has now lost two out of his last three, though this was the first decisive loss for the charismatic fighter since 2010.
More importantly, however, is how well Torres will be able to recover from such a bad knockout. He is a young man by society’s standards at just 31 years of age. But, considering his weight class, where speed and reaction time is so crucial, Torres is beyond a veteran.
There is no telling how much damage Torres’ mind and body have sustained, either. His official record stands at something around 40-5, and goes back twelve years.
(Miguel Torres could find himself in the broadcaster’s booth whenever he ends his long and illustrious career)
That’s an eternity and a huge amount of fights by MMA standards. But Torres likely has dozens more fights that will never appear on any official record. When he was still in high school he’d regularly fight multiple grown men in a single night at unsanctioned events.
Also, anyone who has seen Torres in training knows that he goes harder in practice sparring than many fighters go in competition. And we’ve all seen his warring style in the ring.
Torres has kept up the arrebentacao style and legacy of his mentor, the late, great Carlson Gracie Sr. , and he’s earned world titles, pound for pound rankings and legions of fans because of it. But at some point, his accomplished career will have to come to an end.
Only he knows if Saturday night’s knockout loss brings him closer to that moment or not. Its part of the cruelty of fight sports that careers can be considered full and long, but still leave their owners young, with fire in their heart and their families’ plates needing to be filled.
There is no pension for MMA fighters, no union that will ensure they get at least a living wage in retirement for the blood they’ve spilled and millions they’ve made for their employers. Thankfully, Torres will have a better shot than most fighters at maintaining success once he retires from fighting, whenever that is.
He is college-educated, has been a successful gym business owner for years, and has the kind of reputation – built on accessibility and genuine seeming overall friendliness and community involvement – that could keep him in demand as a trainer and television commentator for years after he hangs up his gloves. At the moment, the bantamweight division moves on with prospects like McDonald and champion Dominick Cruz, but without Torres.
Ever since losing his WEC Featherweight Championship, Urijah Faber has come up short in bids to regain a big golden belt against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. After losing his fifth title fight in as many chances, the California Kid needs to take a big step back and assess his situation. 
