Tag: MMA

Gus Johnson: Any MMA Fighter Would Kill Manny Pacquiao in the Cage

Gus Johnson is the Showtime correspondent who has commentated for Strikeforce events, as well Manny Pacquiao’s recent fight with Shane Mosley. Johnson is not confident in any boxer being able to make the transition to MMA, not even pound-for-poun…

Gus Johnson is the Showtime correspondent who has commentated for Strikeforce events, as well Manny Pacquiao’s recent fight with Shane Mosley.

Johnson is not confident in any boxer being able to make the transition to MMA, not even pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

MMAFighting.com reports that in a radio interview with Dan Patrick, Johnson expressed no faith in “The Punching Pride of the Philippines” being able to hang with any professional MMA fighter in the cage.

“He’d get killed,” Johnson said. “No question. Tapped out, easily. In a minute.” 

James Toney soundly getting defeated by Randy Couture in a fight under UFC rules last year may have had something to do with Johnson’s line of thinking.

In more recent news, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz has come under fire for accepting a boxing match with Jeff Lacy for this fall.  

Could a skilled MMA striker make the necessary adjustments to be effective in the ring?  Many critics do not seem to think so.  

Additionally, Johnson also clarified that he is still set to call Strikeforce events in the future, so fight fans might as well get used to his personally now, if they haven’t already. 

While it is highly unlikely to ever happen, could “The Pacman” be a real force in the Octagon if he seriously trained some jiu jitsu and Muay Thai to go with his elite boxing skills?

Despite the argument being more hypothetical than anything else, it certainly does open the door for a number of pretty interesting discussions. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 130 Main Card: Roy Nelson Expects a Title Shot After UFC 130

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:Roy Nelson always strives to stay relevant and compete against some of the top fighters.It just so happens, he’ll face off against Frank Mir at UFC 130. Mir is considered by many to be one the best heavyweights in mixed …

Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:

Roy Nelson always strives to stay relevant and compete against some of the top fighters.

It just so happens, he’ll face off against Frank Mir at UFC 130. Mir is considered by many to be one the best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, holding victories over former champions Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar. 

Nelson told MMAJunkie.com he is content to square off against Mir, but he expects a title shot in return.

“I’ll fight anybody, and I want to fight everybody, but whatever is going to get me to the top fastest,” Nelson said. 

Nelson has made an impact since arriving in the UFC three years ago, completing a sweep of The Ultimate Fighter en route to eventually winning a UFC contract. He has picked up victories over heavyweight prospects Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve.

Nelson also shares some history with the former UFC heavyweight champion, as both competitors competed in a grappling match that saw Nelson earn the victory in 2003.

Click here to read the entire article.

UFC 130 Fight Card: 10 Must-See Highlights of UFC Bantamweight Renan Barão

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision win…

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:

He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.

His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision wins and six wins by form of knockout against the split decision loss in his first career fight.

Breaking down the record even further, he has unanimously won by decision six times, with one split decision victory, as well as five wins by rear-naked choke, one win by kneebar, two wins by armbar, two wins by triangle choke, one win by Kimura and one win by Ankle Lock.

Mix all that together with three TKO wins by punches, one TKO win due to an arm injury suffered by his opponent in the first 58 seconds of the third round of their fight and two wins by way of KO (one of which was due to a knee), and what you have is the man who will stand across the cage from former WEC Featherweight Champion Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Renan Barão of the Nova Uniao Jiu-Jitsu Academy—famous for such stars as former DREAM Featherweight Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, former Sengoku Featherweight Champion and current Bellator Featherweight “The Monster of Rio” Marlon Sandro, and current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo.

Barão is 25-0 with that no-contest ever since his first pro fight, which he lost, and he will look to extend his streak to 26-0 at Escovedo’s expense.

First, however, we must take a trip through the career of “The Baron” to understand what Escovedo has his hands full with come May 28th.

Click here to read the entire article.

UFC 130 Fight Card: 10 Must-See Highlights of UFC Bantamweight Renan Barão

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision win…

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:

He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.

His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision wins and six wins by form of knockout against the split decision loss in his first career fight.

Breaking down the record even further, he has unanimously won by decision six times, with one split decision victory, as well as five wins by rear-naked choke, one win by kneebar, two wins by armbar, two wins by triangle choke, one win by Kimura and one win by Ankle Lock.

Mix all that together with three TKO wins by punches, one TKO win due to an arm injury suffered by his opponent in the first 58 seconds of the third round of their fight and two wins by way of KO (one of which was due to a knee), and what you have is the man who will stand across the cage from former WEC Featherweight Champion Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Renan Barão of the Nova Uniao Jiu-Jitsu Academy—famous for such stars as former DREAM Featherweight Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, former Sengoku Featherweight Champion and current Bellator Featherweight “The Monster of Rio” Marlon Sandro, and current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo.

Barão is 25-0 with that no-contest ever since his first pro fight, which he lost, and he will look to extend his streak to 26-0 at Escovedo’s expense.

First, however, we must take a trip through the career of “The Baron” to understand what Escovedo has his hands full with come May 28th.

Click here to read the entire article.

UFC 130 Fight Card: 10 Must-See Highlights of UFC Bantamweight Renan Barão

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision win…

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:

He may be the most lethal and most promising Bantamweight that you’ve never heard of.

His official record is 25-1 with 1 no-contest due to an illegally utilized soccer kick, with 12 submission wins, seven decision wins and six wins by form of knockout against the split decision loss in his first career fight.

Breaking down the record even further, he has unanimously won by decision six times, with one split decision victory, as well as five wins by rear-naked choke, one win by kneebar, two wins by armbar, two wins by triangle choke, one win by Kimura and one win by Ankle Lock.

Mix all that together with three TKO wins by punches, one TKO win due to an arm injury suffered by his opponent in the first 58 seconds of the third round of their fight and two wins by way of KO (one of which was due to a knee), and what you have is the man who will stand across the cage from former WEC Featherweight Champion Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Renan Barão of the Nova Uniao Jiu-Jitsu Academy—famous for such stars as former DREAM Featherweight Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, former Sengoku Featherweight Champion and current Bellator Featherweight “The Monster of Rio” Marlon Sandro, and current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo.

Barão is 25-0 with that no-contest ever since his first pro fight, which he lost, and he will look to extend his streak to 26-0 at Escovedo’s expense.

First, however, we must take a trip through the career of “The Baron” to understand what Escovedo has his hands full with come May 28th.

Click here to read the entire article.

UFC 130: 5 Reasons Frank Mir Will Defeat Roy Nelson

Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:Frank Mir and Roy Nelson enter the Octagon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on much different career paths.  Mir has had his ups and downs in his career and now looks to get back into title contention with a win o…

Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:

Frank Mir and Roy Nelson enter the Octagon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on much different career paths.  Mir has had his ups and downs in his career and now looks to get back into title contention with a win over the Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner.  Nelson is on his way up and looks to rebound from his loss to Junior Dos Santos—his first loss in the UFC. 

Mir wants to reclaim the heavyweight title very badly and Nelson is hungry for a win after coming off a loss.  At the present, each man is completing their final weeks of training before they clash at UFC 130 on May 28, 2011.  I will present five reasons that Mir will emerge victorious.

Click here to read the entire article.