While Duane “Bang” Ludwig experienced something of a career revival during his stint as Team Alpha Male’s striking coach, he is a name that never really left the tongues of MMA fans with a true appreciation for the striking elements of the sport. Consistently and rightfully praised by Joe Rogan as being one of the most elite strikers to ever enter the UFC, Ludwig holds both the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history and the honor of being the only K-1 World MAX champion to compete under the Zuffa banner.
Although Ludwig has since departed from Alpha Male to start his own gym in Colorado, his impact could be seen in not only TJ Dillashaw‘s improbable and plain brilliant upset of Renan Barao at UFC 173, but in Chad Mendes‘ gritty performance against Jose Aldo last weekend. Ludwig is a tactician, a Bas Rutten disciple, and an absolute dynamo when it comes to the art of exploiting an opponent’s weaknesses — look no further than his wins over Jens Pulver, Genki Sudo, and more recently, Amir Sadollah for proof of how incredible Ludwig could look when he was in the zone.
So to honor Ludwig’s illustrious career (and because there’s not much else going on out there today), I present you with this stupid awesome Duane “Bang” Ludwig highlight reel, which I randomly stumbled upon last night. It’s cool, you can thank me later.
While Duane “Bang” Ludwig experienced something of a career revival during his stint as Team Alpha Male’s striking coach, he is a name that never really left the tongues of MMA fans with a true appreciation for the striking elements of the sport. Consistently and rightfully praised by Joe Rogan as being one of the most elite strikers to ever enter the UFC, Ludwig holds both the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history and the honor of being the only K-1 World MAX champion to compete under the Zuffa banner.
Although Ludwig has since departed from Alpha Male to start his own gym in Colorado, his impact could be seen in not only TJ Dillashaw‘s improbable and plain brilliant upset of Renan Barao at UFC 173, but in Chad Mendes‘ gritty performance against Jose Aldo last weekend. Ludwig is a tactician, a Bas Rutten disciple, and an absolute dynamo when it comes to the art of exploiting an opponent’s weaknesses — look no further than his wins over Jens Pulver, Genki Sudo, and more recently, Amir Sadollah for proof of how incredible Ludwig could look when he was in the zone.
So to honor Ludwig’s illustrious career (and because there’s not much else going on out there today), I present you with this stupid awesome Duane “Bang” Ludwig highlight reel, which I randomly stumbled upon last night. It’s cool, you can thank me later.
(Props: Mmm MMA)
Yes, we are throwing spinning shit now. Here are the all-time greatest spinning backfist and spinning kick knockouts in MMA history. There is so much gold here; take a look before the UFC pulls it for multiple copyright infringements.
Yes, we are throwing spinning shit now. Here are the all-time greatest spinning backfist and spinning kick knockouts in MMA history. There is so much gold here; take a look before the UFC pulls it for multiple copyright infringements.
In June 2004, a young cat named Rashad Evans (just 2-0 at the time) entered an eight-man Gladiator Challenge light-heavyweight tournament, held over two nights in Colusa, California. Though the above highlight reel presents his three fights in slightly different order — the third match against Bryan Pardoe actually took place first, during the quarterfinals — it does an admirable job of showing how Evans used to utterly clown the regional competition in his early career.
Check out how he puts his hands behind his back against the hapless Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez, or the classic Sugar-shake he does at 0:48 against Jaime Jara. Of course, Evans backed up the showboating by tagging his opponents at will and tossing them around like children. Evans was picked up for the second season of The Ultimate Fighter directly after this tournament performance, where he won the heavyweight bracket, doin’ his thang the whole time.
And FYI, the song in the highlight reel is “Sugar” by Betty Everett. Great choice, video highlight-maker.
In June 2004, a young cat named Rashad Evans (just 2-0 at the time) entered an eight-man Gladiator Challenge light-heavyweight tournament, held over two nights in Colusa, California. Though the above highlight reel presents his three fights in slightly different order — the third match against Bryan Pardoe actually took place first, during the quarterfinals — it does an admirable job of showing how Evans used to utterly clown the regional competition in his early career.
Check out how he puts his hands behind his back against the hapless Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez, or the classic Sugar-shake he does at 0:48 against Jaime Jara. Of course, Evans backed up the showboating by tagging his opponents at will and tossing them around like children. Evans was picked up for the second season of The Ultimate Fighter directly after this tournament performance, where he won the heavyweight bracket, doin’ his thang the whole time.
And FYI, the song in the highlight reel is “Sugar” by Betty Everett. Great choice, video highlight-maker.
As Reddit/MMA reminds us, today is the seventh anniversary of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic‘s meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, an instant classic that still ranks among the greatest heavyweight fights in MMA history. Emelianenko had already held the PRIDE heavyweight title for two-and-a-half years by the time he made his belt defense against Cro Cop, and entered the match with a PRIDE record of 10-0 with one no-contest. Meanwhile, Cro Cop had earned his shot at Fedor on the strength of a seven-fight PRIDE win streak that included victories over Alexander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman.
Though both fighters would later complain that they came into the fight less than 100% healthy, Emelianenko and Filipovic put on a thrilling war for the entirety of the three-round, 20-minute fight. Cro Cop started strong, breaking Fedor’s nose with punches and punishing him with kicks to the body, but Fedor regained momentum as Cro Cop’s cardio began to fade, slugging his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was Emelianenko’s toughest fight to that point, and arguably his most entertaining. As for Filipovic, he may have fallen short of the PRIDE heavyweight title that night, but his greatest career triumph was just around the corner.
After the jump: If you have the time to spare, the complete fight is below…
As Reddit/MMA reminds us, today is the seventh anniversary of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic‘s meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, an instant classic that still ranks among the greatest heavyweight fights in MMA history. Emelianenko had already held the PRIDE heavyweight title for two-and-a-half years by the time he made his belt defense against Cro Cop, and entered the match with a PRIDE record of 10-0 with one no-contest. Meanwhile, Cro Cop had earned his shot at Fedor on the strength of a seven-fight PRIDE win streak that included victories over Alexander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman.
Though both fighters would later complain that they came into the fight less than 100% healthy, Emelianenko and Filipovic put on a thrilling war for the entirety of the three-round, 20-minute fight. Cro Cop started strong, breaking Fedor’s nose with punches and punishing him with kicks to the body, but Fedor regained momentum as Cro Cop’s cardio began to fade, slugging his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was Emelianenko’s toughest fight to that point, and arguably his most entertaining. As for Filipovic, he may have fallen short of the PRIDE heavyweight title that night, but his greatest career triumph was just around the corner.
After the jump: If you have the time to spare, the complete fight is below…
CagePotato reader Andrew K. sent this to us with the brief message “The newbs deserve to know.” And indeed, they do. Above is part one of a new highlight series featuring the best moments of PRIDE’s early days, mostly soundtracked by obscure video-game music. (It’s amazing how well that works together.) Give it a look and you will witness…
– Gary Goodridge, back when he was still one of the scariest men to ever enter a cage or ring.
– Rickson Gracie armbarring Nobuhiko Takada on two separate occasions.
– Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton, aka The Greatest Grappling Exhibition in MMA History.
CagePotato reader Andrew K. sent this to us with the brief message “The newbs deserve to know.” And indeed, they do. Above is part one of a new highlight series featuring the best moments of PRIDE’s early days, mostly soundtracked by obscure video-game music. (It’s amazing how well that works together.) Give it a look and you will witness…
– Gary Goodridge, back when he was still one of the scariest men to ever enter a cage or ring.
– Rickson Gracie armbarring Nobuhiko Takada on two separate occasions.
– Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton, aka The Greatest Grappling Exhibition in MMA History.
Reminder —Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal goes down tomorrow night in San Diego, and we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Strikeforce recently released this promo video focusing exclusively on the lightweight title competitors and Cris Cyborg; Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux are nowhere to be seen, and the only glimpses we get of KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista are brief clips of them getting beat up by Jorge Masvidal. Still, this could be a surprisingly entertaining card for those who actually care enough to watch it. Either way, that clip of El Nino ruining Kawajiri’s life with elbows never gets old.
After the jump: Jorge Masvidal gets interviewed by three hot Spanish chicks, nearly slaps the crap out of one.
Reminder —Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal goes down tomorrow night in San Diego, and we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Strikeforce recently released this promo video focusing exclusively on the lightweight title competitors and Cris Cyborg; Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux are nowhere to be seen, and the only glimpses we get of KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista are brief clips of them getting beat up by Jorge Masvidal. Still, this could be a surprisingly entertaining card for those who actually care enough to watch it. Either way, that clip of El Nino ruining Kawajiri’s life with elbows never gets old.
After the jump: Jorge Masvidal gets interviewed by three hot Spanish chicks, nearly slaps the crap out of one.
Props: Republica Deportiva via MiddleEasy. The weird slapping demonstration starts at the 5:20 mark. No, I don’t know what they’re saying either, but they’re called “Las Senadoras,” and you should probably watch this video too.
