Tag: MMA

Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim: What We Learned from Welterweight Tilt

UFC Macao’s main card was dragging until the co-main event came along. That fight saw welterweight contenders Tyron Woodley and Dong Hyun Kim square off in a high-profile affair. 

In what was a short outing, Woodley redeemed himself from a poor s…

UFC Macao’s main card was dragging until the co-main event came along. That fight saw welterweight contenders Tyron Woodley and Dong Hyun Kim square off in a high-profile affair. 

In what was a short outing, Woodley redeemed himself from a poor showing against Rory MacDonald by brutally putting down Kim with a gnarly TKO. It brings him back to the spotlight and allows him to stay relevant in a division full of sharks.

What did we learn from the co-main event? Let’s take a look.

 

What We’ll Remember from This Fight

The class act that Woodley is. When a fighter wins a fight, especially in the awesome fashion that he did, he is entitled to the spotlight. 

While Woodley did get interviewed and told us all it was his wedding anniversary, he let Kim address the crowd. This was very selfless, as Woodley knew a lot of fans came and possibly traveled to see Kim perform.

It’s moments like this that make MMA such a great and respectful sport.

 

What We Learned About Woodley

If you make one mistake, Woodley is going to capitalize.

We knew Woodley had one-punch finishing capability. However, we now see that he has the eye to catch the smallest crack in an opponent’s technique and can turn it into something big for himself.

In this case, it was an errant spinning attack by Kim that turned into a brilliant counter by the Missouri native. It’s a scary intangible for a guy like him to have moving forward.

 

What We Learned About Kim

He needs to revert to his former fighting style and stay away from the flash.

Yes, his finish of John Hathaway was awesome. It could be a top contender for Knockout of the Year.

However, Kim has a track record of being most successful with his grinding, relentless style where he breaks guys down. He needs to revert back to that and pick his spots on the crazy strikes if he ever plans on contending for a UFC championship.

 

What’s Next for Woodley?

Woodley has some options now that he has reopened the eyes of fans and the UFC brass.

The first option would be original Kim opponent Hector Lombard. Both men are big punchers with great athleticism and physical strength.

Another opponent could be Matt Brown, who is coming off a top contender’s bout loss to Robbie Lawler. He has the striking and grit that would really test the character of Woodley.

 

What’s Next for Kim?

Kim is really in limbo. He’s always the bridesmaid and never the bride in the UFC title picture.

An option could be the loser of Saturday night’s Jordan Mein-Mike Pyle fight in Tulsa. Both men are around the same spot in the division, and it could be a great rebound fight.

The other option could be against Jake Ellenberger. Both men have had consistency problems and would benefit taking on someone in a similar position.

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UFC Fight Night 49 Live Results, Play by Play and Main Card Highlights

The UFC is omnipresent. After hosting a show in China that will air live at 6:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 23, the promotion will turn around and present UFC Fight Night 49 on Sunday, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.
UFC Fight Night 49 is headlined by a…

The UFC is omnipresent. After hosting a show in China that will air live at 6:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 23, the promotion will turn around and present UFC Fight Night 49 on Sunday, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.

UFC Fight Night 49 is headlined by a clash between lightweight contenders Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos. Henderson enters having won back-to-back contests since losing his title, while dos Anjos rebounded nicely against Jason High after losing for the first time in six fights to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The co-main event of the evening features a new-versus-old dichotomy, with journeyman Mike Pyle taking on up-and-comer Jordan Mein. Mein has gone 2-1 since joining the UFC roster, while Pyle has reeled off five wins over his last six bouts.

The full card for UFC Fight Night 49 shapes up as follows:

 

Main Card on Fox Sports 1

  • Benson Henderson vs. Rafael dos Anjos
  • Mike Pyle vs. Jordan Mein
  • Francis Carmont vs. Thales Leites
  • Max Holloway vs. Clay Collard
  • James Vick vs. Walmir Lazaro
  • Chas Skelly vs. Tom Niinimaki

 

Fox Sports 2 Prelims

  • Neil Magny vs. Alex Garcia
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Martin
  • Aaron Phillips vs. Matt Hobar
  • Ben Saunders vs. Chris Heatherly

 

Fight Pass Prelim

  • Wilson Reis vs. Joby Sanchez

Join us here when the action gets underway (7:30 p.m. ET) for Bleacher Report’s live play-by-play coverage of each and every matchup.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Does ‘Jacare’ Souza Leapfrog Luke Rockhold with a Win over Gegard Mousasi?

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has quietly placed himself into the upper echelon of the UFC’s middleweight division. However, he still isn’t the clear-cut favorite to be the next in line for a shot at the strap that is currently held by…

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has quietly placed himself into the upper echelon of the UFC’s middleweight division. However, he still isn’t the clear-cut favorite to be the next in line for a shot at the strap that is currently held by Chris Weidman. As he prepares to face Gegard Mousasi on September 5 the question has come up as to whether or not he should leap frog Luke Rockhold if he gets his hand raised at the end of the night. When comparing the two contenders and their potential impact in the spotlight, the answer to this question is a flat out “no” but the reasoning behind the decision is different than expected.

“Jacare” Souza and Luke Rockhold have two careers that are closely linked to one another. Back in 2011 Rockhold defeated Souza to capture the Strikeforce middleweight title that he would hold until being brought over into the UFC. This would be the last fight that “Jacare” would lose and has put together six straight wins since that fateful night.

Now, both competitors are in the UFC’s 185-pound group and working hard to obtain a shot at the belt. The UFC rankings has Souza listed at No. 4 and Rockhold at No. 5. Souza is set for a rematch against former Dream champion Mousasi in a few weeks while Rockhold does not have a bout scheduled at this moment. “Jacare” is undefeated in three appearances in the Octagon while Luke has gone 2-1. These baseline facts would seem like “Jacare” is the clear cut favorite between the two, but diving deeper into the business of the situation would present a different answer.  

Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort are set to face off at UFC 181 in Las Vegas. The winner of that contest should be charged to face Luke Rockhold next. That doesn’t mean that “Jacare” is any less deserving, however this should be a business decision that the UFC makes to present the most interesting fight to the mixed martial arts community. While the UFC is the largest promotion in the MMA business, the importance of entertainment value does play a part in the fights that are made. This is the main reason why Rockhold should be considered the next in line, whether or not “Jacare” gets a win over the “Dreamcatcher” at UFC Fight Night.

Both Ronaldo and Luke have the in-cage abilities to put on exciting fights. Since coming to the UFC they have both stopped two of their three opponents in highlight-reel fashion. The decision as to who should get the next shot at the belt would be tough to make if basing it only upon how well they compete in the cage. Today’s sports-entertainment world places prominence on an individual’s ability to draw attention to their contests and that is where Rockhold stands out in front of Souza.

Rockhold has become one of the more outspoken competitors in the division. He’s been locked in verbal battle with individuals such as Michael Bisping and Belfort for the past few months. Recently, he went on record to question the validity of Belfort receiving another shot at the middleweight title.

“He got caught early for steroids in Nevada, got popped after this whole stint in Brazil. I owned up, I took my loss, no excuses,” Rockhold said as reported by Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie. “But then he comes back, and the one time he tries to fight in the States, he fails the test. That right there, I’ve got no respect from him.”

That doesn’t mean that “Jacare” doesn’t know how to create a key sound bite when needed. His discussion about Gegard Mousasi with Combate.com (via Youtube) brought out the interesting quote that he was going to “annihilate” Mousasi and then challenge for the title. Fernando Arbex of Bloody Elbow translated the original conversation, which was in Portuguese, where Souza made a very interesting comment:

“Fighting him again it’s like just another fight. I’m ready to annihilate my opponent and have another victory in the UFC. I’m going to stop Mousasi. I’ve come to be undefeated in the UFC to loose for nobody,” Arbex reported via Bloody Elbow. “People have to keep believing in me because I’m going to be the champion of this division. But first I have to beat Mousasi to ask for something and after this fight I’ll ask for a title shot.”

While this is a great quote from the former Strikeforce champion, it would have had much more strength if delivered in English during a press event with the UFC.

Luke’s ability to grab the attention of North American fans at this time plays into his advantage of being the top contender once UFC 181 passes. If “Jacare” gets another win on September 5 he may be a step closer to getting a shot at the UFC’s middleweight belt. Yet, he should still be listed behind Luke due to the entertainment factor that the California native will bring into the Octagon.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

GSP: No UFC Return Without Independent Drug Testing

Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says fight fans shouldn’t expect him to strap on the gloves again unless the world’s premiere mixed martial arts organization institutes independent drug testing. 
Rush vacated UFC gold, …

Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says fight fans shouldn’t expect him to strap on the gloves again unless the world’s premiere mixed martial arts organization institutes independent drug testing. 

Rush vacated UFC gold, which he won back in April 2008, last December. He was only a few weeks removed from a razor-thin split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November. 

Now, in an e-mail interview with Bloody Elbow, the French-Canadian superstar has revealed that he won’t be returning to the Octagon unless the UFC steps up its drug testing policies.

“I will never fight again in MMA without my opponent and myself being thoroughly tested for the most advanced PEDs by a credible independent anti-doping organization like VADA or USADA under the strictest standards of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) Code,” GSP told Brent Brookhouse. 

Hendricks and St-Pierre both called for stricter drug testing prior to their November 16 encounter, but the idea never came to fruition since the parties could not agree on which outside agency to use, per MMA Fighting. 

For the record, St-Pierre has never failed a drug test in 27 professional mixed martial arts contests, nor have any of his opponents. 

The Tristar Gym standout was riding an impressive 12-fight win streak when he vacated his title and announced his hiatus from the sport. 

In his absence, Hendricks captured the vacant welterweight championship against Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in in March. 

After bicep surgery, Bigg Rigg will return to the cage to square off with Lawler sometime in early 2015. 

Will his hardened stance on eliminating performance-enhancing drugs from MMA completely mean we’ve seen the last of St-Pierre as a UFC fighter?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ken Shamrock: ‘War Machine Took My Daughter to Mexico and Left Her over There’

If War Machine, born Jon Koppenhaver, thought Duane “Dog” Chapman was bad, try having The World’s Most Dangerous Man on your tail.
War Machine was finally apprehended a week ago by U.S. Marshals following a week-long manhunt for the suspect invol…

If War Machine, born Jon Koppenhaver, thought Duane “Dog” Chapman was bad, try having The World’s Most Dangerous Man on your tail.

War Machine was finally apprehended a week ago by U.S. Marshals following a week-long manhunt for the suspect involved in the alleged assault of adult film actress Christy Mack.  

Along with posting several graphic photographs, Mack recounted a horrific story on Twitter (Note: link contains images NSFW) implicating War Machine, her ex-boyfriend, in a domestic incident that led to her hospitalization with serious injuries. The alleged assault left Mack with 18 broken bones around her eyes, a ruptured liver, missing teeth, a broken nose and a fractured rib.

According to Mack, she was also threatened with a dull knife.

When speaking with MMACanada.net, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock admitted that he was the one who broke War Machine into MMA many years ago. The pair had a falling out after an incident involving War Machine and Shamrock’s 17-year-old daughter:

The thing that’s sad about this is that I started Jon. When he first came into MMA, I’m the one that broke him in in San Diego. I had issues with him. My 17-year-old daughter and Jon was like 20-something years old, he took her to Mexico and left her over there. He then ended up disappearing, and I haven’t seen him since. He’s always been hiding from me because he knows if I see him I’ll break his neck.

He’s always had an issue with this and the guy needs help. He doesn’t need to be doing it on his own. He needs to be [appointed] by the court. They need to put him into some sort of rehab where he starts understanding. Because it doesn’t have anything to do with him naturally, it has to do with him out partying and doing things he shouldn’t be doing. He needs help, they need to get him off the street because if it wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t have access to another knife, who knows if this girl [Mack] would be alive right now.

War Machine has maintained his innocence in the situation, citing that his only intent for showing up at Mack’s residence that fateful night was simply to surprise her with an engagement ring.

He claims that he was the one who ended up fighting for his life when he found his “girlfriend” in the company of another man.  

 

According to Sherdog.com, the Las Vegas Police Department issued seven arrest warrants for War Machine, including several counts of battery, assault with a deadly weapon, open and gross lewdness and threats by force.

The other man present that night was reportedly Mack’s new beau, Corey Thomas, who was also allegedly assaulted that night.

Tap Nap Snap recently released a four-page police report of the incident. In the report, Mack claimed that Thomas was bleeding profusely after War Machine repeatedly punched him in the face and choked him.

War Machine has waived extradition in the Ventura County Superior Court, per The Associated Press (via the Boston Herald). He will soon be extradited back to Nevada to stand trial for the alleged beatings of both Mack and Thomas.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Nights 48 and 49: Main Card Staff Predictions

Here’s hoping fight fans eat their Wheaties Saturday morning. With an average of 1.3 UFC fights per hour happening throughout the waking hours, it’s going to be quite the marathon for anyone hoping to take in the action.
UFC Fight Night 48 kicks it off…

Here’s hoping fight fans eat their Wheaties Saturday morning. With an average of 1.3 UFC fights per hour happening throughout the waking hours, it’s going to be quite the marathon for anyone hoping to take in the action.

UFC Fight Night 48 kicks it off around 9 a.m. ET from Macau, China. After a largely anonymous card, the event culminates with a novelty fight between Michael “The Count” Bisping and Cung “It’s Just the Lighting” Le.

That evening, the promotion is in the American Heartland—Tulsa, Oklahoma. That card, known as UFC Fight Night 49, will be headlined by Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos in a lightweight bout with important implications for the divisions. Plus, did you know Henderson has never had a sip of alcohol? Simply amazing.

Between the two main cards, there are 10 bouts happening on Saturday. Who can keep track of such things?

We can, that is who. Riley “Kobra” Kontek. Craig “Live Blog” Amos. James “The Athlete” MacDonald. Sean “Salmon” Smith. And me, Scott Harris. We’re here to give you predictions for each main card bout and some knowledge as well. Let’s get it on.

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