UFC 132 is going to be one of the best cards in recent memory. For the most part, all of these fights are in the lighter weight classes, and we’ve all seen the pace they can keep.There are only three announced fights (as of now) that will take pla…
UFC 132 is going to be one of the best cards in recent memory.
For the most part, all of these fights are in the lighter weight classes, and we’ve all seen the pace they can keep.
There are only three announced fights (as of now) that will take place above welterweight.
Each one of these fights is going to be outstanding, fast paced and fun to watch.
Mayhem Miller makes his return to the UFC, six current or former champions are fighting on the card and the future of the lightweight division will get a little clearer.
So read on to find out 14 reasons why this is going to be a must-watch event.
In its more than 12 seasons of existence, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has produced multiple champions and even more top contenders. On the other hand, we have also seen a number of former winners being released after not being able to live up to their p…
In its more than 12 seasons of existence, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has produced multiple champions and even more top contenders. On the other hand, we have also seen a number of former winners being released after not being able to live up to their potential.
Still, The Ultimate Fighter has become an excellent source of new talent for the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). However, even with all the former TUF talent that exists within the organization today, only series winners have been able to capture a UFC title.
From worst to best, here are the power rankings of the 18 former TUF winners.
Today the realization that UFC 130 has lost its extremely exciting and much anticipated main event has probably began to sunk in. No one would have thought that a third fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC No. 1 Lightweight Cont…
Today the realization that UFC 130 has lost its extremely exciting and much anticipated main event has probably began to sunk in. No one would have thought that a third fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC No. 1 Lightweight Contender Gray Maynard would spark so much interest.
Yet that is exactly what happened in the early hours of January 2, not too long after Edgar and Maynard put on a thrilling back and forth affair that encompassed the entire 25 minutes allotted to them for their main event matchup. Once the judges’ scorecards were read and a draw was determined, UFC President Dana White made the decision within an hour or two to have Maynard and Edgar square off one more time.
With Edgar-Maynard leading the way, the main card was shaping up pretty nicely. Rampage Jackson was set to face Thiago Silva, but Silva was suspended and Matt Hamill stepped up to face the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Two heavyweights with backgrounds in both Las Vegas and grappling will meet up as Roy Nelson fights former UFC heavyweight Champion Frank Mir.
And so on and so forth, the wheels keep spinning. With just under three weeks and having both Maynard & Edgar injured, the UFC was forced to scrap the fight altogether and bump the Hamill-Rampage fight to the main-event slot.
So that leaves me with the task of trying to drum up some serious interest in the remaining bouts on the main pay-per-view portion of the card. Let’s take a look at some highlight videos and try and get the blood flowing in anticipation of these fights.
Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron:The UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter show has struggled since Season 10: The Heavyweights, which featured Kimbo Slice. But in Season 13, UFC President Dana White and Co. turned to the promotion’s biggest star to help revitali…
Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron:
The UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter show has struggled since Season 10: The Heavyweights, which featured Kimbo Slice. But in Season 13, UFC President Dana White and Co. turned to the promotion’s biggest star to help revitalize the program. Unfortunately, through the first three weeks of the show, it has not worked out so well.
With the surprisingly lackluster ratings that TUF 13 has pulled so far, there has been discussion among MMA circles that perhaps Brock Lesnar isn’t the draw that we once believed him to be.
But I’m here to tell you that not only is he still a big draw—he’s still the biggest draw in the entire sport.
After Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was knocked out by Brendan Schaub at UFC 128, UFC president Dana White stated, “I have all respect for Mirko ‘Cro Cop,’ but yeah, I’d have to say tonight is probably the last time we’ll see &lsqu…
After Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was knocked out by Brendan Schaub at UFC 128, UFC president Dana White stated, “I have all respect for Mirko ‘Cro Cop,’ but yeah, I’d have to say tonight is probably the last time we’ll see ‘Cro Cop’ fight again.”
Cro Cop has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and despite White’s talk following UFC 128, Cro Cop has neither announced his retirement or been released by the UFC.
The very popular former PRIDE Grand Prix champion recently heard his name invoked by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s boxing coach Luis Dorea, who told Tatame.com:
“I would like so much to see a bout between Nogueira and ‘Cro Cop.’ If it is not in August, it could be in September, October…They’re two legends, two names. It really would be very interesting for the MMA world.”
Cro Cop was subsequently contacted by Fighters Only, who asked the Croatian fighter his opinion of the suggested bout: “I saw the comments made by Nogueira’s boxing coach and I agree,” Crop Cop revealed via text message.
“I am ready to fight Nogueira any time, even in Brazil in August.”
Cro Cop has lost his last two fights via knockout; Nogueira’s last fight was also a knockout loss, as he fell in the first round to Cain Velasquez in February 2010.
UFC 134 will take place on August 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The fight fight card will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between the champion Anderson Silva and the last man that secured a victory over him, Yushin Okami.
May 2, 2011 is a significant date to a lot of Americans, as this is the day Osama Bin Laden was killed. Though there has been extensive debate on the moral victory of his assassination, according to MMAWeekly’s Damon Martin, MMA fighters Br…
May 2, 2011 is a significant date to a lot of Americans, as this is the day Osama Bin Laden was killed. Though there has been extensive debate on the moral victory of his assassination, according to MMAWeekly’s Damon Martin, MMA fighters Brian Stann and Tim Kennedy reflect and share insight on the current events.
Tim Kennedy, a Strikeforce middleweight, joined the military forces when he saw the September 11th events unfold. He eventually worked his way into the Army Special Forces and was directly involved in searching for Bin Laden.
Upon hearing the news of Osama’s death, Kennedy felt sincere, unexpected emotions:
“It was a lot of really weird emotions. One of course a feeling of finality, of closure, for something that has been going on for such a long time. By no means is the war over, but in the sense of I’ve been in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iraq, and some of those trips were specifically looking for that guy. The book has not been written, but it’s a chapter that’s seemingly been closed.”
Always a fighter, whether in the ring or representing his beloved country, Kennedy explains that he’s always ready for battle:
“It makes me want to, like right now, I just want to get on a plane and go back over there. I know that the spring forward Taliban movement and Al-Qaeda is happening, so every time it starts getting warm all the foreign fighters start coming back into Afghanistan and get really excited about fighting for their cause, and now they have even more fuel to their flame is that their leader has just been killed.”
Brian Stann, a teammate and close friend of Tim Kennedy, is a UFC 185-pounder, who was a decorated Marine Captain who fought in Iraq, and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.
As many Americans feel the Al-Qaeda leader’s death is a moral victory, Stann doesn’t want people to lose sight of the continuing mission for freedom in the Middle East, as he explains on MMAWeekly Radio:
“It takes a lot to get me excited. It’s not like the death of Osama Bin Laden can bring any of my Marines back, or any of my friends or any of those family members from New York City that day or the Pentagon, but it’s definitely a positive thing for us.”
“There’s still troops that are deployed overseas, there’s still a battle to be won, and we still need to remain vigilant against terrorists in this country. It’s not like we can let our guard down just because Osama Bin Laden’s dead.”
“We have to remember and it’s very unfortunate, but there are people out there that their main goal is to kill Americans. It’s just a fact. They’ve just been brainwashed that it’s the right thing, and they have no problems whatsoever killing innocent people. They have no problem killing children. I’ve seen it first hand, and it’s very unfortunate.”
Though Stann feels Osama’s death is a moral victory for America, it’s also quite integral in destroying global terrorism:
“The enemy does a very good job of publicizing any little success, even if they twist the facts like they normally do, but they publicize the heck out of it via Al-Jazeera and their networks and really ignite the morale of their people and really make it look like they’re winning the war on terror. So something like this is a major blow to their information operation. This is their hero of everything.”
“Something like this can definitely boost your morale for the coming weeks and really move you forward, and keep your spirits high, while you’re really in a very demanding time of your life. I definitely see this as a morale boost. I see it as a morale boost for America and I think it’s great for us in an area that has been weak in comparison to our enemy, which is information operations.”
The American citizens have great reason to be grateful, to be represented by heroes such as Brian Stann and Tim Kennedy, as well as every single person in their military.
It’s an honor to have Stann and Kennedy fight for America, and it will truly be an honor to see them in the Octagon.
-ROLAND RISO MMAIDIOT.COM
Roland Riso is a contributing writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained from MMAWeekly.com and MMAWeekly Radio.
