Sometimes, spectacular things happen when there’s a level of desperation involved. Fans can only hope that’s the case this Saturday at UFC 174.The main event will feature a title defense by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson again…
Sometimes, spectacular things happen when there’s a level of desperation involved. Fans can only hope that’s the case this Saturday at UFC 174.
The main event will feature a title defense by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson against Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov. Johnson should use his speed and quickness to overcome the Russian challenger by decision, but as we all know, anything can happen in the Octagon.
Win or lose, both Johnson and Bagautinov still have decent futures ahead of them in the UFC.
The same can’t be said as assuredly for the next three men.
“Supernatural” TaeHyun Bang
Beginning a UFC career 0-2 is the last thing a fighter wants to do. Supernatural would be staring at that unfortunate reality were he to lose to “Ragin” Kajan Johnson during the FX preliminaries on Saturday.
Supernatural came to the UFC having faced a good number of recognizable and respected fighters like Jorge Masvidal and TakanoriGomi while fighting in Sengoku and other promotions. But he wasn’t able to grab the victory in those bouts.
He’s 2-4 in his last six fights and has had layoffs of 32 and 21 months in that span of time.
With that recent track record, a loss on Saturday could leave him dangling on the UFC cut line.
Mike “The Hulk” Easton
At one time, Easton looked like he was destined to rise through the bantamweight ranks and earn a title shot. That hasn’t happened, and heading into his scrap with Yves Jabouin on Saturday, Easton has lost three fights in a row.
In his defense, the losses have come against real studs.
Newly crowned champion TJ Dillashaw won a unanimous decision over The Hulk in January to set up his title shot against RenanBarao.
Easton also lost to Brad “One Punch” Pickett and Raphael Assuncao, who beat Dillashaw and hasn’t lost in over three years.
Still, losing is not good.
Easton needs to handle Jabouin if he wants to have a prayer of re-establishing momentum. He appears to be in good shape, per this tweet prior to weigh-in.
Easton probably isn’t flirting with the cut line, but he could fall so far out of contention that he may as well be.
Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski
As big names go amongst active fighters, there aren’t many who carry the weight that Arlovski does. He has competed against and beaten legends of the sport dating back to the early days of the UFC.
After a six-year hiatus, Arlovski is back with the big promotion with the little name and taking on Brendan “Big Brown” Schaub.
Because of the anticipation created with his return, there’s a lot of pressure on Arlovski to perform well. While he may not be immediately released if he loses, the shine of his return will wear off really quick if Schaub dominates him.
We probably won’t see a new Arlovski on Saturday. He’s likely to be the same impressive boxer with knockout power and good defensive wrestling. Schaub is obviously a tough foe. But no matter what happens in that bout, Arlovski probably has a place in the UFC’s relatively thin heavyweight division. He’s determined to prove that all over again.
That’s probably true, but performing well on Saturday will decide whether or not he’s a joke to fans moving forward.
UFC Fight Night 35 offered up plenty of fun tilts for MMA fans seeking a Wednesday night fix, and the bantamweight bout between Mike Easton and TJ Dillashaw was no different.
Crammed between the Brunson-Romero barnburner and the evening’s co-main event…
UFC Fight Night 35 offered up plenty of fun tilts for MMA fans seeking a Wednesday night fix, and the bantamweight bout between Mike Easton and TJ Dillashaw was no different.
Crammed between the Brunson-Romero barnburner and the evening’s co-main event, it might have been easy to forget about. But fortunately the highly-ranked 135ers had plenty of interest in reminding people, scrapping their way to an enjoyable decision win for Dillashaw.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
That it was the type of fight that you can see in the lighter weight classes when guys are matched up properly. The speed, quickness and technique of Dillashaw against the size and strength of Easton really came together to make an interesting fight.
Even going in, this one probably should have been in the co-main event slot. Neither guy was far from a title shot, and Dillashaw is even closer now.
What We Learned About Mike Easton
That he’ll struggle at times with men who outmatch him in the athleticism department. He’s got guts for days and plenty of talent in his own right, but when you put him in there with an athlete of Dillashaw‘s level it’s going to give him problems.
The loss won’t hurt him greatly, especially in a thin division, but he needs to learn how to handle guys who can fight to his weaknesses or he’ll never get out of the lower half of the top 10.
What We Learned About TJ Dillashaw
That he continues to improve at a frightening pace. Even in his loss to Raphael Assuncao in the fall he looked great, and he looked even better in skinning Easton at UFN 35. His striking is better than ever, his awareness in the cage is approaching veteran levels and his confidence is sky-high.
The Alpha Male product is the first of the next wave of guys coming from the gym to clearly trend upward, and it’s scary to think where he’ll be by this time next year.
What’s Next for Easton
The loss doesn’t really diminish his stock a great deal, as he did all he does well. It just didn’t work out for him tonight, and he actually might score some points for durability. A bout with equally durable, similarly ranked TakeyaMizugaki might be a fun one.
What’s Next for Dillashaw
It’s time for Dillashaw to swim with the sharks. His performances against solid contenders coupled with his obvious rate of improvement indicate he’s ready to get in there with someone near the top of the class and see what happens.
Give him Michael McDonald. He’ll be eager for revenge coming off a loss to Alpha Male kingpin Urijah Faber, and he’ll be a great test for Dillashaw.
Loyalty can be a tricky thing.
Mike Easton has it in abundance. As the UFC’s lone active fighter from Washington, D.C., Easton proudly represents the residents of the nation’s complex and sometimes misunderstood capital. In that case, loyal…
Loyalty can be a tricky thing.
Mike Easton has it in abundance. As the UFC’s lone active fighter from Washington, D.C., Easton proudly represents the residents of the nation’s complex and sometimes misunderstood capital. In that case, loyalty is easy to admire. But in the case of his unflagging affiliation with a controversial training camp in the District’s Maryland suburbs, loyalty may be more likely to raise eyebrows.
But first things first. Because at the moment, Easton has more immediate problems, and they all reside on the ends of the arms and legs of fellow bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw, whom Easton faces Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 35. As a loser of two straight, the high-octane 29-year-old may find himself the next contractual casualty if he can’t find a way past Dillashaw.
“I don’t think about it,” Easton (13-3, 3-2 UFC) said in an exclusive interview. “As long as I fight hard and fight good, I’ll be OK. I’ll be 30 next week. I’m an old man in this sport. Well, maybe not old. But I’m mature. Too mature to feel that pressure.”
Three consecutive defeats frequently equals the proverbial kiss of death in the UFC, but company leaders are known to cut slack to crowd-pleasers. Easton qualifies. In April he dropped a close split decision to England’s Brad Pickett, but the back-and-forth contest landed each man a $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
The bout’s outcome balanced on a knife blade down the stretch, and Easton believes a small mistake in the waning moments swung the contest for Pickett.
“I feel like I outstruck him, and the takedowns were even,” Easton said. “In the last round, I went for a takedown. We went down but he landed on top of me. I didn’t use my guard effectively. I think that’s what sealed the deal for him.”
Dillashaw poses a similarly stiff challenge. The 27-year-old attended Cal State Fullerton on a wrestling scholarship, but also has dangerous power in his hands and feet. Never afraid to slug, Easton, who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, hints that each polished ground game may deter the other. That would mean extended striking exchanges.
“He’s a young fighter and he has a hard straight left that he follows up with kicks,” Easton said. “He hits hard and he can strike with me, but I can use my technical way of fighting against him.”
Easton is not just the sole District native on the UFC roster, but also the only one with ties to Maryland. As such, he’s the face of MMA in the area, a historically boxing- and football-happy region that has been slow to embrace the sport.
Easton’s working to change that, one class, one kid at a time. It’s easy to hear the passion—not to mention the loyalty—in Easton’s voice as he makes his case for the life-altering power he sees in MMA and talks fondly about the classes he teaches out of the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy, located in a nondescript Camp Springs, Md. strip mall.
“My plan is to have the whole D.C. area get into MMA,” Easton said. “It’s rough out there for kids, especially in the African-American community. D.C. is a tough town. The whole town likes to fight. But in MMA, you don’t have to kill nobody. You fight it out like men. Kids today, they just play video games. They don’t always have nothing. They have a lot of anger issues. Maybe they need some discipline. Sometimes, it can be a good thing to go into a class and get your butt whipped.”
But even that classroom is not a perfect haven these days. In fact, the Irvin academy name might be Easton’s scarlet letter—if he wasn’t so proud to wear it.
Irvin, the academy’s founder and head trainer, and some of his charges remain the subject of persistent scrutiny, based largely on previous accusations of sexual misconduct.
In 1990, Irvin was acquitted of charges that he took part in the gang rape of a 17-year-old Hampton University student. In October and November, respectively, Irvin students Matthew Maldonado and Nicholas Schultz were found not guilty on felony charges that they kidnapped and raped a female Irvin academy student, whose name has not been made public, following New Year’s Eve festivities at the end of 2012. Misdemeanor charges remain pending.
Despite the fact that no one associated with the academy has been convicted of wrongdoing, the public scrutiny was accompanied by a mass student exodus and a series of accusations about Irvin and the school, which former students said fostered a culture of psychological coercion and sexual harassment.
Easton is cagey—and unfailingly loyal—when discussing the allegations against the academy, seeming to brush off the controversy while simultaneously acknowledging misdeeds.
“He didn’t do anything,” Easton said. “A lot of people make mistakes. Before people point fingers, they should look at themselves. What have they done? What’s in their past? Everything that was said on the Internet, those people try to judge something that happened years ago…Haters are gonna hate, and congratulators are gonna congratulate.”
At the same time, Easton is effusive in defending Irvin the person, highlighting Irvin’s good deeds and taking critics and ex-students to task for pushing personal agendas and lacking—you guessed it—loyalty.
“I love master Lloyd Irvin,” Easton said. “Master Irvin delivered turkeys on Thanksgiving. If there’s a kid who trains at his gym but can’t come up with the money, he’ll let them train for free. If you met him, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with him. People who leave the team, you see where their heart is.”
In any event, Easton, proud Washington resident and Lloyd Irvin mentee, blocks it all out as he prepares for Wednesday night. After all, he has a job to do. And he wants to keep doing it.
“I go hard in the paint every time,” Easton said. “People think nothing good comes out of D.C. But good things do, and I’m proof.”
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more MMA talk, follow him on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
There are rumors that UFC 172, scheduled for April 12, might go down in Baltimore. The event also is purportedly being headlined by a title fight between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Glover Teixeira.
The champ and Charm City have…
There are rumors that UFC 172, scheduled for April 12, might go down in Baltimore. The event also is purportedly being headlined by a title fight between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Glover Teixeira.
The champ and Charm City have a connection. Though Jones is a native of upstate New York, his older brother Arthur is a starting defensive lineman for the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore is not generally considered an MMA hotbed, although the city’s blue-collar, sports-happy population does have some interest in the sport.
Here are three local fighters who should join Jones and Teixeira on the card.
Mike Easton
As the only active UFC fighter based in Maryland, the high-energy bantamweight grinder faces Team Alpha Male’s T.J. Dillashaw on Jan. 15 at UFC Fight Night 35. If UFC 172 does go down on April 12, that would be a quick turnaround for Easton. But it’s doable. He is closer to D.C. than Baltimore, but he’ll surely get plenty of local love from the crowd. I would personally give him the local guy a chance here, even if he loses to Dillashaw next Wednesday—a loss that would be third straight in the UFC octagon.
Sean Santella
“Shorty Rock” is one of the top flyweight prospects outside the UFC. What better time to snap him up? The New Jersey native is only a short drive down the I-95 to Baltimore, and he would add a big spark to a thin—but expanding—125-pound division. Personally, I’d enjoy watching him tangle Jussier Formiga.
Plenty of Marylanders head to State College for their higher education. So Davis, a Penn State alumnus and wrestling champ, would resonate with the locals. And as it happens, he doesn’t have a fight scheduled at the moment, although he is dancing around Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. That matchup would make UFC 172 a true feast for light heavyweight fans.
Eh, still more exciting than the Rocky musical. Photo courtesy of Josh Hedges/Getty Images.
Let’s start off by stating the obvious: The last-minute main event of yesterday’s UFC on Fuel TV 9 was an anti-climactic ending to an otherwise gratifying afternoon of sanctioned violence. As hard as we tried to convince ourselves that Swedish prospect Ilir Latifi could be an interesting opponent for highly-regarded Strikeforce import Gegard Mousasi, the actual fight was completely unspectacular. This isn’t to say that either fighter deserves criticism for his performance, but rather, that this sort of thing will happen when a guy who earned a UFC contract by virtue of being willing to replace his injured training partner headlines an event on four days’ notice.
Despite walking out to the Rocky theme, it immediately became clear that a Balboa-esque upset – or even a Wepnerian display of resilience – was not in store for Latifi (though the cuts on his face were vintage Chuck Wepner). Latifi was completely incapable of avoiding Mousasi’s jab, which prevented him from getting close enough to The Dreamcatcher to actually put his wrestling prowess to use. As carefree as Mousasi looked – did he even blink during those rare occasions when Latifi landed punches? – he was in complete control throughout the bout, jabbing his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Eh, still more exciting than the Rocky musical. Photo courtesy of Josh Hedges/Getty Images.
Let’s start off by stating the obvious: The last-minute main event of yesterday’s UFC on Fuel TV 9 was an anti-climactic ending to an otherwise gratifying afternoon of sanctioned violence. As hard as we tried to convince ourselves that Swedish prospect Ilir Latifi could be an interesting opponent for highly-regarded Strikeforce import Gegard Mousasi, the actual fight was completely unspectacular. This isn’t to say that either fighter deserves criticism for his performance, but rather, that this sort of thing will happen when a guy who earned a UFC contract by virtue of being willing to replace his injured training partner headlines an event on four days’ notice.
Despite walking out to the Rocky theme, it immediately became clear that a Balboa-esque upset – or even a Wepnerian display of resilience – was not in store for Latifi (though the cuts on his face were vintage Chuck Wepner). Latifi was completely incapable of avoiding Mousasi’s jab, which prevented him from getting close enough to The Dreamcatcher to actually put his wrestling prowess to use. As carefree as Mousasi looked – did he even blink during those rare occasions when Latifi landed punches? – he was in complete control throughout the bout, jabbing his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Mousasi’s “standing lay-and-pray” (his words, not mine) may not have made for the most exciting fight, but his strategy was undeniably effective. A boring fight probably won’t advance Mousasi in the UFC’s official rankings as far as a devastating finish would have, but a loss to an unknown nobody would have certainly done irreparable damage to his credibility. It’s better to take an ugly victory than get reckless looking for a quick finish – especially against a wrestler you’ve only had a few days to prepare for.
One last thing before we move on to the rest of the card. For his performance against Mousasi, Ilir Latifi will be given another shot in the UFC. Considering he saved the main event from cancellation, this comes as a surprise to absolutely no one.
Elsewhere on the card…
– Despite winning the first round by utilizing an effective clinch, Ryan Couture was simply no match for the far more experienced Ross Pearson. Couture was ineffective outside of the clinch, and he was unable to take Pearson down. Once Pearson found his rhythm against the inexperienced Couture, he patiently waited for the right opportunity, and capitalized on it while Ryan Couture was getting back to his feet after a trip. With the victory, Pearson improves to 15-6 in his career. Not bad at all for a guy who fought on a broken foot. [Update: Turns out it wasn’t actually broken, just jacked up…]
The comparisons of Ryan to Randy – especially after what has only been Ryan’s eighth professional bout – aren’t exactly fair, but even Peyton Manning started off as “Archie’s boy.” Besides, when Natural Light (who is not actually called this, fortunately) landed a spot in the co-main event for his UFC debut, it was probably inevitable that fans would attribute this to his last name and his father’s career rather than the strength of his Strikeforce resume. This isn’t to say that Ryan Couture won’t develop into an outstanding fighter, but rather, that he isn’t quite there yet. It’ll be interesting to see how he rebounds from this loss.
– For all intents and purposes, Matt Mitrione vs. Philip De Fries appeared to be a classic loser leaves town match. The fact that it ended in less time than Bucky Boyd vs. The Tree seems to confirm this notion. And regardless of how much job security guys who stand and bang and make less than $50,000 to show typically have, knocking yourself out by running into your opponent’s hipbone just has to earn you a pink slip…right?
Look on the bright side, Philip: There’s a strong possibility that you’ll take home an award during this year’s Potato Awards. Granted, MMA Fail of the Year isn’t our most coveted award, but at least it’s something.
– Fight of the Night honors went to Brad Pickett and Mike Easton, who took part in a highly entertaining three round scrap. Pickett managed to take the fight by being the busier fighter, out-striking Mike Easton throughout the contest. Still, Easton managed to keep things close by taking Pickett down in the second round, and even managed to win the bout on one judge’s scorecard. I don’t see how one judge could give Easton the fight, but in the end, the right call was made.
– Diego Brandao looked more impressive last night than he has at any other point during his UFC career. Granted, that isn’t saying too much, but he looked like he has figured out how to pace himself while choking out Pablo Garza. Also from the main card, Swedish featherweight Akira Corassani kicked things off with a unanimous decision upset over Robbie Peralta.
– Knockout of the Night went to Irish phenom Conor McGregor, who absolutely crushed Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut, demonstrating he’s more than capable of living up to his hype. McGregor has already been given a spot on the UFC’s Fox Sports 1 debut in Boston this August. The bonus money couldn’t have possibly come at a better time for McGregor, who revealed during the post-event press conference that he had been receiving welfare leading up to the fight.
– Submission of the night went to Swedish lightweight Reza Madadi, who finished Michael Johnson via third round d’arce choke. Madadi improves his UFC record to 2-1, and his overall record to 13-3 with the victory.
– All end of the night bonuses were worth $60,000.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Gegard Mousasi def. Ilir Latifi via Unanimous Decision
Ross Pearson def. Ryan Couture via TKO (punches), 3:45 of Round Two
Matt Mitrione def. Phil De Fries via KO (punches), 0:19 of Round One
Brad Pickett def. Mike Easton via Split Decision
Diego Brandao def. Pablo Garza via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke), 3:27 of Round One
Akira Corassani def. Robbie Peralta via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary card:
Reza Madadi def. Michael Johnson via Submission (D’arce Choke), 1:33 of Round Three
Tor Troéng def. Adam Cella via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), 3:11 of Round One
Adlan Amagov def. Chris Spång via Unanimous Decision
Conor McGregor def. Marcus Brimage via TKO (Punches), 1:07 of Round One
Ryan LaFlare def. Ben Alloway via Unanimous Decision
Tom Lawlor def. Michael Kuiper via Submission (Guillotine Choke), 1:05 of Round Two
Papy Abedi def. Besam Yousef via Split Decision
