Tag: MMA News

UFC 156 : A Night of Upsets

Even in past fights that had a number of upsets, never before has there been a UFC event in which the best predictions were barley over fifty percent. MMAfix.com recorded forty five total predictions from.

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Even in past fights that had a number of upsets, never before has there been a UFC event in which the best predictions were barley over fifty percent. MMAfix.com recorded forty five total predictions from numerous different MMA websites that gave their picks for all eleven bouts. After a bad night of predictions, I’m too disappointed seeing the most
correctly predicted number of fights was six.

After an impressive debut over Dustin Pague at UFC 150, most people he would only be more comfortable in his second fight and had have an even better performance. After a close two rounds, Camus was arguably ahead on the judges scorecards, but then Kimura took his back and sunk in the choke. After the proficient submission defense Camus showcased in his fight with Dustin Pague, it was surprising to see him succumb to a rear naked choke.

Whether you disagree with the decision or not, Isaac Vallie-Flagg really took the fight to Yves Edwards in the first and third rounds. The MMA veteran of over sixty fights had a dominating second round performance, but the judges saw the other two rounds for Vallie-Flagg in a close split decision. Not too many fans thought the Edwards would fall at the hands of a lesser known opponent, especially after coming off a stellar knockout of Jeremy Stephens.

Jacob Volkmann did exactly as everyone predicted, and smothered Bobby Green with his wrestling… in the first round. In the second, Volkmann seemed to have lost his edge and found himself on his back, which is an unusual spot for him to be in. As the fight progressed, Volkmann’s performance worsened and he just crumbled under the pressure of Green until the he was finished by the rear naked choke.

I don’t want to call this next fight an upset, because Jon Fitch and Demian Maia had equal chance of winning this fight, but the fact is Fitch was a slight favorite and Maia absolutely annihilated him. No one has dominated Fitch in such fashion since Georges St-Pierre at UFC 87.

I’m counting my lucky stars that I went against my better judgment to put some money on Alistair Overeem to win. After securing a two round lead, Overeem got complacent and it cost him. Nearly everyone forgets that Bigfoot is a Karate black belt because of his outstanding Jiu-Jitsu skills, and Overeem learned the hard way that if you don’t respect the striking of Silva, he will knock you out off your feet, literally. So much for the Reem getting a title shot.

Now for the biggest upset of the fight, with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeating former light heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans. At -450 betting odds, Evans was the biggest favorite on the card, but that didn’t stop Little Nog from getting his hand raised. In a fight that wasn’t nearly as exciting as the most of the other bouts, Evans struggled to secure a takedown, and when he did, Nogueira got right back to his feet. All other attempts to take the fight to the ground were stuffed by Nogueria and he landed counter strikes on the exit. Seeing that talented wrestlers such as Ryan Bader and Phil Davis were able to take and hold down Nogueira, it was quite surprising that Evans wasn’t able to do the same. This win for Nogueira has dramatically shifted the rankings in the light heavyweight division.

It was a rough night of predictions for all MMA website, but I’m sure we’ll all shack it off, go back to the drawing board, and prepare for a much more successful night at the next UFC event in two weeks, UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald.

 
– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek

Frankie Edgar Receives Engraved Alienware Laptop On Fight Night

Alienware correspondent, Tracy Lee drops by Frankie Edgar’s suite to give him a few gifts from his new sponsor and chat with him mere minutes before he heads to the arena for UFC 156 tonight. Filmed and edited by TCKPro.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Alienware correspondent, Tracy Lee drops by Frankie Edgar’s suite to give him a few gifts from his new sponsor and chat with him mere minutes before he heads to the arena for UFC 156 tonight. Filmed and edited by TCKPro.com

UFC Veteran Assuerio Silva Shot Five Times, Currently in Serious Condition

Some shocking news out of Brazil today, as it has been reported that UFC veteran Assuerio Silva was shot five times outside of his gym in Curitiba, Parana and is currently in serious condition at a nearby hospital.

According to multiple sources, the incident occurred on January 29th and came following a dispute with Silva’s former training partner, Robson Freitas, who had allegedly been threatening Silva for some time over issues that have yet to be disclosed. Oddly enough, Freitas has not been brought in on any charges as of this write up.

Silva is perhaps best known for his trio of UFC fights against Tim Sylvia, Brandon Vera, and Cheick Kongo between 2006-2007, all of which he suffered defeats in. Holding notable victories over fellow UFC veterans Fabiano Scherner, Alessio Sakara, and Igor Pokrajac, the 38 year-old Silva has not competed professionally since October of 2009, where he suffered a quick TKO defeat at the hands of Geronimo Dos Santos. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Dos Santos would be the one-time UFC hopeful who was forced to pull out of his scheduled UFC 153 match against Gabriel Gonzaga when his pre-fight medical exam revealed that he had Hepatitis B. Silva also competed under the PRIDE and Jungle Fight banners, where he compiled a 6-2 record including a victory over Valentijn Overeem.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Silva and his family in this difficult time.

-J. Jones

Some shocking news out of Brazil today, as it has been reported that UFC veteran Assuerio Silva was shot five times outside of his gym in Curitiba, Parana and is currently in serious condition at a nearby hospital.

According to multiple sources, the incident occurred on January 29th and came following a dispute with Silva’s former training partner, Robson Freitas, who had allegedly been threatening Silva for some time over issues that have yet to be disclosed. Oddly enough, Freitas has not been brought in on any charges as of this write up.

Silva is perhaps best known for his trio of UFC fights against Tim Sylvia, Brandon Vera, and Cheick Kongo between 2006-2007, all of which he suffered defeats in. Holding notable victories over fellow UFC veterans Fabiano Scherner, Alessio Sakara, and Igor Pokrajac, the 38 year-old Silva has not competed professionally since October of 2009, where he suffered a quick TKO defeat at the hands of Geronimo Dos Santos. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Dos Santos would be the one-time UFC hopeful who was forced to pull out of his scheduled UFC 153 match against Gabriel Gonzaga when his pre-fight medical exam revealed that he had Hepatitis B. Silva also competed under the PRIDE and Jungle Fight banners, where he compiled a 6-2 record including a victory over Valentijn Overeem.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Silva and his family in this difficult time.

–J. Jones

Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping

UFC 159 will mark the date when Alan “The Talent” Belcher will get his long time wish and fight Michael “The Count” Bisping. The two fighters have exchanged words, so fans can only assume that.

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UFC 159 will mark the date when Alan “The Talent” Belcher will get his long time wish and fight Michael “The Count” Bisping. The two fighters have exchanged words, so fans can only assume that more trash talk is to come, and few people do that as well as Bisping. Both Belcher and Bisping are both coming off losses, but a win could propel either fighter back into the mix as an elite contender.

Calling it counting your chickens before they hatch, but I like Belchers chances in this fight. He’s an outstanding Muay Thai Striker who also possess a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Bisping has an effective “punches in bunches” style, but if Belcher implements a smart gameplan, Bisping will be fighting outside the boxing range, where Belcher can unload the same heavy kicks that knocked out Jorge Santiago. Bisping is a proficient wrestler and can always look to take the fight to the canvas, but any time Belcher gets a hold his opponents neck, it’s guillotine city.

In his last fight, Belcher faced wrestling expert, Yushin Okami, so he was tentative on throwing kicks for fear of the takedown. Against Bisping, he won’t have to worry as much about being taken down, which will allow him to throw a plethora of kicks, to the legs, to the body, and to the head. Bisping is certainly no push over, as he made it a competitive first round against the Phenom, Vitor Belfort. Bisping isn’t afraid to throw crafty kicks of his own, as he showcased in his fights with Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen.

I’m praying that both fighters have a smooth training camp, because it would be devastating if either one of these fighters have to pull out of this bout due to injury. The winner of this fight could easily set themselves up with a serious contender, such as, Costa Philippou, Cung Le, or Tim Boetsch. Regardless of who is ultimately victorious, this is a fight that diehard MMA fans are craving to see and it most certainly won’t disappoint.

 
– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek

Bellator 87 Weigh-in Results – Woodard And Rickels Set As New Headliner (Updated)

Bellator Fighting Championships held their official weigh-ins for Thursday nights live Bellator 87 event in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The Season Eight event will feature the opening round of the lightweight quarterfinals but has seen one change after a knee injury forced main event when Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire off the card. His opponent Guillaume DeLorenzi (155.2) […]

Bellator Fighting Championships held their official weigh-ins for Thursday nights live Bellator 87 event in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

The Season Eight event will feature the opening round of the lightweight quarterfinals but has seen one change after a knee injury forced main event when Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire off the card. His opponent Guillaume DeLorenzi (155.2) will now meet prelim fighter Saad Awad (156) in the tournament.

The new main event will see returning tournament competitors Lloyd Woodard (154.2) take on David Rickels (155.4). The other tournament pairings include matches between Thiago Michel (154.6) vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy (155.2) and Will Brooks vs. Ricardo Tirloni.

Brooks and Tirloni did not weigh-in during the Wednesday’s live event and will hit the scales later this evening.

The Soaring Eagle Resort & Casino is set to host Bellator 87 which will see the main card air live on Spike TV at 10pm EST (7pm PST). Preliminary matches will stream live on the net at Spike.com beginning at 8pm EST.

Main Card (Spike TV)

Lightweight quarterfinal bout: Lloyd Woodard (154.2) vs. David Rickels (155.4)
Lightweight quarterfinal bout: Will Brooks (156) vs. Ricardo Triloni (155.8) – will weigh-in later tonight
Lightweight quarterfinal bout: Saad Awad (156) vs. Guillaume DeLorenzi (155.2)
Lightweight quarterfinal bout: Thiago Michel (154.6) vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy (155.2)

Preliminary Card (Spike.com/ Bellator.com)

Featherweight bout: Cody Stamann vs. Justin Houghton
Lightweight bout: Jason Fischer (155.8) vs. Sevak Magakian (155.2)
Heavyweight bout: Jason Fish (250.6) vs. Karl Etherington (238.6)
Lightweight bout: J.P. Reese (155.6) vs. David Shepherd (155.6)
Welterweight bout: Sam Quito (169.4) vs. Ben Lagman (170.8)
Catchweight bout: John Schulz (163) vs. Amir Killah (165.4)
Bantamweight bout: Nick Kirk(139.6) vs. Tony Zelinski (135.4)

Rest Easy, Flyweights: The UFC is Currently Scouting 115-Pounders to Take the Brunt of Fan Criticism in the Near Future

(My God, the “TUF 18: Strawweights” team challenges are going to be OFF THE CHAIN.) 

In an interview with MMAJunkie, UFC President Dana White revealed that the promotion had recently traveled to Mexico to scout fighters for a possible 115-pound division in the UFC. Considering the UFC’s hesitance to even use the word “Flyweight” during their promotion of UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson, this news should come as a pretty big surprise to most of us. Then again, The Baldfather previously stated that we would never see women’s MMA in the UFC, and now this is a thing that is happening. And according to White, the trip was a huge success:

It went very well. A lot of guys showed up, it was very successful, and the guys we sent down were very excited with what they saw.

As we know, the UFC’s flyweight division was added all of a year ago, and is currently composed of just 13 fighters. While last weekend’s event should have put all doubt to rest in regards to the legitimacy and marketability of the smaller weight classes, it also highlighted a noticeable problem in the division: matchmaking. Granted, the division is still in the infant stages of development, but if the UFC is looking to continue promoting flyweights in the long run, their focus should be on beefing up that division, not necessarily adding another. Still, this is good news for any disgruntled Ewoks, Oompa Loompas, or members of The Lollipop Guild who find themselves outmatched by the mammoth of a man that is Demetrious Johnson.


(My God, the “TUF 18: Strawweights” team challenges are going to be OFF THE CHAIN.) 

In an interview with MMAJunkie, UFC President Dana White revealed that the promotion had recently traveled to Mexico to scout fighters for a possible 115-pound division in the UFC. Considering the UFC’s hesitance to even use the word “Flyweight” during their promotion of UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson, this news should come as a pretty big surprise to most of us. Then again, The Baldfather previously stated that we would never see women’s MMA in the UFC, and now this is a thing that is happening. And according to White, the trip was a huge success:

It went very well. A lot of guys showed up, it was very successful, and the guys we sent down were very excited with what they saw.

As we know, the UFC’s flyweight division was added all of a year ago, and is currently composed of just 13 fighters. While last weekend’s event should have put all doubt to rest in regards to the legitimacy and marketability of the smaller weight classes, it also highlighted a noticeable problem in the division: matchmaking. Granted, the division is still in the infant stages of development, but if the UFC is looking to continue promoting flyweights in the long run, their focus should be on beefing up that division, not necessarily adding another. Still, this is good news for any disgruntled Ewoks, Oompa Loompas, or members of The Lollipop Guild who find themselves outmatched by the mammoth of a man that is Demetrious Johnson.

White also took some time to address the criticism currently being aimed at flyweights by many of the sport’s casual fans:

I think you had some people talking smack here and there (about the flyweights). But if you’re a real fight fan, how do you not like Ian (McCall)? How do you not like Joe (Benavidez)? How do you not like (Johnson and Dodson) that were here tonight? When people say shit like that to me, it’s hard for me to respond without being a real asshole. It’s really hard for me. 

I hereby nominate “It’s hard for me to respond without being a real asshole” as the title of Dana’s eventual autobiography. Of course, that would open up all kinds of possibilities for the title of June White’s scathing response novel: “My Son, the Asshole,” “Dana White: Self-Admitted Asshole,” or the more classically-titled “Being an Asshole and the Human Response: The Story of Devil Spawn Dana White.” 

–J. Jones