Tag: MMA

UFC Fight Night 48 and 49: Who’s on the Hot Seat?

With two events coming up this weekend, competitors at all levels will be stepping into the Octagon.
Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos are among the elite fighters doing battle this weekend, as the lightweight contenders will meet in the UFC Fight …

With two events coming up this weekend, competitors at all levels will be stepping into the Octagon.

Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos are among the elite fighters doing battle this weekend, as the lightweight contenders will meet in the UFC Fight Night 49 main event. Meanwhile, UFC Fight Night 48 will be headlined by middleweights Michael Bisping and Cung Le.

None of the four featured fighters on Saturday are likely to be in danger of losing their spots on the UFC roster. However, multiple combatants could be struggling to keep their UFC careers going this weekend.

Here are the UFC Fight Night 48 and UFC Fight Night 49 competitors sitting on hot seats right now. 

 

Francis Carmont

It’s beginning to look like UFC matchmakers are making an example out of Francis Carmont by continuously pairing him with wrestlers.

The Frechman won his first six UFC bouts to become a contender in the 185-pound division. However, he was starting to fight very conservatively on the ground against fighters like Costas Philippou and Lorenz Larkin.

As a result, Carmont was tested by world-class grappler Ronaldo Souza and failed. Then, CB Dollaway gave Carmont a taste of his own medicine on the ground. Now, Thales Leites could very well be the third straight fighter to best Limitless on the canvas.

While it would be very rough to be cut following losses to three top-15 middleweights, better fighters have been released for less. Carmont needs to win on Saturday to remove any doubt.

 

Chas Skelly

In his UFC debut in April, Chas Skelly was beaten by Mirsad Bektic on the scorecards.

Despite his wrestling background, Skelly surrendered two takedowns in his first trip to the Octagon. Against Tom Niinimaki, who does his best work on the ground, Skelly will need to show improved defensive wrestling in order to avoid another loss.

With multiple wins over UFC veteran Daniel Pineda, Skelly does have the potential to compete at the highest level. However, should he fall to 0-2 inside the Octagon on Saturday, Skelly is probably going to have to return to smaller promotions.

 

Tony Martin

At 24 years old, Tony Martin could have a long UFC future ahead of him. That could depend on his performance this Saturday, though.

In February, Martin was defeated by Rashid Magomedov in his first Octagon showing. Although Martin threatened his opponent with an armbar in the first round of that matchup, he wasn’t able to finish and faded in the later rounds.

With a win over Charlie Brenneman already, Beneil Dariush will be a tough second matchup for Martin. However, it’s a bout Martin may still need to win in order to keep his UFC career going. 

 

Aaron Phillips and Matt Hobar

Both fighters made their UFC debuts in May. Now, Aaron Phillips and Matt Hobar will meet to determine which man will ensure he continues fighting with the world’s top MMA promotion.

At UFC 173, Phillips was defeated by Sam Sicilia in a lopsided decision. Hobar, meanwhile, was stopped by Pedro Munoz in his opponent’s home country, Brazil.

Respectively 25 and 27 years old, Phillips and Hobar both still have their best fighting years ahead of them. However, there’s a good chance only one of them will be able to enter their prime while on the UFC bantamweight roster.

 

Wang Sai and Danny Mitchell

Like Phillips and Hobar, Wang Sai and Danny Mitchell both enter the weekend with 0-1 UFC records.

Sai was notably beaten by Zhang Lipeng via controversial decision in The Ultimate Fighter: China finals. Mitchell, meanwhile, was also defeated on the scorecards in his first trip to the Octagon against Igor Araujo.

Both 28 years old, Sai and Mitchell will both still be decent prospects regardless of what happens on Saturday. However, the loser will likely have to earn his way back onto the UFC roster while the winner develops on the biggest stage in MMA.

 

Roland Delorme

At one point, Roland Delorme owned a 3-0 UFC record. He’s quickly fallen to 3-2, though.

It’s a loss that doesn’t look so bad now, but Roland Delorme’s first official loss inside the Octagon came against Alex Caceres 11 months ago. Then, in June, Delorme suffered a disappointing loss to Michinori Tanaka. Now, Delorme will welcome a different Japanese bantamweight, Yuta Sasaki, to the big show.

The TUF 14 veteran has had a pleasantly surprising UFC run, but his time with the organization could come to an end should he fail to get his hand raised on Saturday.

 

Elizabeth Phillips

While Elizabeth Phillips took her first UFC opponent, Valerie Letourneau, to a split decision, she’s still in a bad position heading into her second UFC outing.

The women’s bantamweight division is becoming established enough that the UFC can release the prospects in that class like it does the prospects in other divisions. That means regularly cutting newcomers when they begin their UFC careers with two straight losses.

Phillips would find herself in that position should she lose to Milana Dudieva on Saturday. Winning Fight of the Night as a preliminary card fighter is unlikely, so Phillips probably has to win this weekend to remain on the UFC roster.

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With UFC Contract Official, Eddie Alvarez Meets Donald Cerrone at UFC 178

The UFC is widely regarded as the elite level of mixed martial arts and a place where the best fighters in the world square off to determine supremacy.
It’s the top organization in the sport and the place Eddie Alvarez has been aiming to land for more …

The UFC is widely regarded as the elite level of mixed martial arts and a place where the best fighters in the world square off to determine supremacy.

It’s the top organization in the sport and the place Eddie Alvarez has been aiming to land for more than a year. That said, a sticky contract situation with his previous employer served to drown those hopes for the foreseeable future. At least it appeared that way, until a wild swing of events on Tuesday landed the Philadelphia native exactly where he wanted to be as the newest edition to the UFC lightweight division. 

Where the previous regime at Bellator fought tooth and nail to keep Alvarez in the fold, the new order headed by former Strikeforce owner Scott Coker saw it best to part ways with the two-time Bellator lightweight champion. In addition to his release, Coker also decided to waive any matching period that may have existed in Alvarez’s contract, and he was free to test the waters of the open market.

It didn’t take long before Alvarez inked both his official contract with the UFC and his first bout agreement as the Team Blackzilians fighter will mix it up with hard-charging lightweight Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 on Sept. 27.

The pairing between Cerrone and Alvarez has been hovering in rumor mills for weeks and had fans clamoring for it to become a reality, but those fires began to cool when the organization announced “Cowboy” would be facing surging upstart Bobby Green on the Las Vegas card in September.

Yet, MMA is an unpredictable game by its very nature, and in a whirlwind deal Alvarez officially signed on with the UFC and replaced Green in the slot opposite of Cerrone. Now, one of the most anticipated bouts of the year is official and Alvarez’s long awaited promotional debut has a date set on the calendar.

“Everything with the UFC happens real fast and I couldn’t be more excited,” Alvarez told Bleacher Report. “I’m talking 0 to 100. This is exactly what I wanted. I don’t think things could have been done any better to be honest with you. I think this is a fight for the fans and that’s what matters the most in this whole game. When they leave with smiles the fighters get treated well.

“This is a fan-friendly fight with two guys who have two of the highest finishing ratios in the sport. Neither of us ever want to go to a decision. These are the guys I want to be fighting. I want to be in there with guys who are looking to hit home runs not looking to eek out a decision.”

Alvarez has been eager to jump into UFC waters, and he’s certainly coming in at the deep end of the pool with Cerrone. The Albuquerque representative has won his past four outings, with each of those victories coming by way of highlight-reel—and sometimes brutal—finishes.

The 31-year-old Jackson’s/Winkeljohn-trained fighter has been storming his way up the 155-pound ladder en route to a potential title opportunity, and those are precisely the circumstances Alvarez wants on the line for his Octagon debut.

“I love this matchup,” Alvarez said. “I think Donald is all offensive. He’s a well of offense and he fights at a slower pace than most guys. He’s methodical and uses his set ups, but I think I will do very well. I see some things I can use to my advantage and I see a lot of holes defensively that I can expose. And I’m going to do just that. I’m going to get in there and get after him.

“I would like to say it’s going to be the same me, but I don’t think it is. I always rise to the occasion when the weight is on my shoulders. When the guy in front of me is nice and dangerous and people think the world of him; I always do well in those situations. I always do better than what people expect from me. That’s what I’m looking to do. I’m expecting my nerves will lead me and will push me to become something greater than what I normally am.”

While a high profile tilt against a divisional staple like Cerrone is a great place to start, Alvarez isn’t coming to the UFC just to be another contender in a competitive division. The 30-year-old Pennsylvania native has competed in multiple promotions throughout his career and obtained championship gold on nearly every stage he’s competed on. Alvarez sees the UFC lightweight strap as the most prominent prize in the sport and he’s gunning to add another championship to his resume. 

“I’ve been champion in nearly every promotion I’ve ever fought for,” Alvarez said. “And I didn’t waste my time doing it. As a lightweight, I’ve beaten every lightweight I’ve fought. I’ve lost to two guys, but then turned around and avenged those losses. I think I’m No. 1 in the world and I think the world of myself. I want the guy in front of me to prove me wrong. Until someone does then I’m going to continue to feel the same way I do right now.”

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier Should Ramp Up, Not Pause, Their Verbal Exchanges

On Aug. 12, Jon Jones poured a huge bucket of ice water on the MMA community when he pulled out of his UFC 178 grudge match with Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, no associated charity dollars appear to be forthcoming. Only sadness.
This was supposed to b…

On Aug. 12, Jon Jones poured a huge bucket of ice water on the MMA community when he pulled out of his UFC 178 grudge match with Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, no associated charity dollars appear to be forthcoming. Only sadness.

This was supposed to be the biggest fight of 2014. Easy. The best fighter in the world in Jones against arguably one of the top light heavyweights on earth with the bona fides to beat him. Also, they really, really don’t like each other, as evidenced by the constant trash talk, both in public and semiprivate, and the scrum that tore down a backdrop at UFC 178 media day.

So yes, there’s plenty of subtext and vitriol fueling this matchup. It’s a caustic and exciting thing. And fans will still get it, even if they’ll now have to wait until Jan. 3.

But since Jones announced his ankle sprain and torn meniscus, things have grown markedly calmer. Cormier‘s reaction was magnanimous, almost genteel. 

Boooooo!

It shouldn’t be this way. In the real world, it’s the right thing to do. MMA is a lot of things, but the real world it is not, for about eleventeen hundred different reasons.

Everyone understands that injuries are beyond anyone’s control and never something an athlete wants. But does an injury mean that the hype train should be braked in its tracks? No, it does not. Especially in this case, when a cage fight was proving magnetic enough to attract the first iron filings of mainstream attention.

If anything, the parties involved should use this time to further escalate the tensions. Don’t just let it all boil away like it was never substantive in the first place, then conveniently pick it up when the fight date gets closer again and both sides have consented to restarting verbal volleys. No one enjoys that, and it makes the dislike (real or not) less credible, too. So instead, it should be full steam ahead.

Now, should they insert themselves into every news cycle? No. But you can still keep the grudge in front of people. Just drop some hate into every interview. To wit (quotes entirely made up):

Interviewer: “Hey, Jon Jones, how’s your injury rehab coming?”

Jones: “Great. Oh, and here’s something interesting, I’m going to smash Daniel Cormier. He sullied my good name! He’s a pretender to the throne! I apologize to all the fans out there for this delay because of my injury, but most of all, I apologize to DC for prolonging his inevitable destruction.”

See? Not hard.

Both guys could get teammates to carry the water for them as well. Imagine Donald Cerrone or Carlos Condit casually mentioning the matchup on behalf of their training teammate Jones.

Or better yet, imagine Cain Velasquez, the UFC heavyweight champion and one of Cormier‘s best friends, weighing in on the situation. Interviewing Velasquez is like interviewing an ill-strung tennis racket. So what if Velasquez actually, you know, said something?

“Fabricio Werdum is just another opponent. I have a job to do, and he’s the next person in my way. It’s completely unlike Daniel Cormier with Jon Jones. Man, DC hates that guy” (quote entirely made up).

Remember when Muhammad Ali challenged Joe Frazier to an impromptu fight at the Philadelphia Police Athletic League gym? Frazier no-showed, and Ali had a field day. What if Cormier dropped in on Albuquerque and pulled something like that?

“JON JONES DOESN’T WANT TO SEE DANIEL CORMIER! I AM THE MUHAMMAD ALI OF THIS SPORT! NOT JON JONES! JON JONES’ KNEE IS JUST FINE! HE’S SCARED, EVERYBODY! HE’S A STICK IN THE MUD AND A MICROPHONE DUD! HE DOESN’T WANT DANIEL CORMIER“ (quote entirely made up).

OK, that’s not very good smack, but you get the idea. And with all the kids crowding around him and stuff—wouldn’t this be great?

That’s the way you really build this up. Don’t view Jones’ injury as the wind coming out of the sails. View it as a bigger sail. Capitalize on this opportunity. Get the wind blowing again.

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Eddie Alvarez Signs with UFC, Meets Donald Cerrone at UFC 178

It didn’t take long for released Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to sign with the UFC. In fact, it was mere hours before the man signed on the dotted line.

After Bellator boss Scott Coker granted his release Tuesday morning, per Brett Okam…

It didn’t take long for released Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to sign with the UFC. In fact, it was mere hours before the man signed on the dotted line.

After Bellator boss Scott Coker granted his release Tuesday morning, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, Dana White and Co. signed the top-10 lightweight and immediately put him on the UFC 178 card. His opponent, Donald Cerrone, is a man charging toward the title picture in a fight that will likely draw great interest.

Cerrone, a WEC and UFC workhorse, was set to face Bobby Green at this event, but Green was shifted to a later date with an opponent that has yet to be named, as noted by Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com.

Cerrone has been on a tear lately, rediscovering the fire that made him a fan favorite. He is riding a four-fight surge, which has seen finishes over Evan Dunham, Adriano Martins, Edson Barboza and Jim Miller.

Alvarez has not been nearly as active, as he went through a public legal dispute with Bellator and former boss Bjorn Rebney. However, in his most recent outing, he won the Bellator lightweight championship in a rematch with Michael Chandler.

The matchup itself is fantastic. Cerrone is a kickboxer with excellent submission grappling, while Alvarez is a boxer with good wrestling ability. It should make for a fan-pleasing affair.

Not only is the matchup great, but it boosts a main card that lost great interest in the aftermath of the Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier postponement. Fans have been waiting for Alvarez to come to the UFC, and Cerrone is a draw in his own right.

Stay tuned with Bleacher Report for more information as it becomes available.

 

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UFC Fight Night 49’s Benson Henderson: Far Beyond Driven

Benson Henderson is as goal-oriented as you’ll find in the fight business.
The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion is a man fueled by possibility and the potential to test his physical and mental talents against the most elite level of competition …

Benson Henderson is as goal-oriented as you’ll find in the fight business.

The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion is a man fueled by possibility and the potential to test his physical and mental talents against the most elite level of competition in the world. Those motivations matched with a seemingly unbreakable spirit and unique skill set have taken the MMA Lab leader to great heights in the realm of mixed martial arts, and his quest—in some senses—is far from over. 

In Henderson’s mind there are still many battles to be fought, wills to be broken and victories to be had inside the Octagon. He’s a fighter marching to the beat of his own drum, and in the current era where circumstance and injuries put title pictures on hold at lengthy clips, Henderson slows down for no one. While his eyes have been set on regaining the title he lost last August, he can’t control the decisions made by others, and he’s not keen on sitting around on the sidelines waiting for things to play out.

Henderson operates in the present tense and believes the here and now belongs to him. The lightweight strap has been out of play ever since it left his possession last August in Milwaukee, and he’s proceeded with his business as if it was the very next step around the corner as the 30-year-old Arizona transplant has picked up two crucial victories in the interim.

“Smooth” edged out Josh Thomson via split decision when the two squared off at UFC on Fox 10 back in January, then ran roughshod over highly touted Dagestan-born fighter Rustam Khabilov in Albuquerque, New Mexico, five months later. As Henderson pointed out in his post-fight interviews, he’s put the lightweight division “on his back,” and he has no intention of taking his foot off the proverbial gas pedal anytime soon.

“I’m doing my best to carry this division,” Henderson told Bleacher Report. “The belt is on a temporary hiatus—it is what it is—and I’m doing my best to keep the division moving forward and to keep people talking about it. I’m doing the best I can.”

In regard to those efforts, Henderson has kept remarkably active in comparison to the rest of his peers on the lightweight roster. With the exception of fellow WEC alum Donald Cerrone, the Colorado native’s activity has been unmatched as he’s competed 10 times in the three years he’s been under the UFC banner, with his 11th showing on deck for this weekend at Fight Night 49. These numbers are impressive, and even more so when the current rate of fighter injury is taken into account.

Furthermore, Henderson is notorious for his work ethic and dedication to being in the gym working with his teammates at the MMA Lab, which means either the perennial contender is doing something special or other fighters across the fighting landscape are taking the wrong approach to their preparation.

“I think a big part of it comes down to your coaches and training partners and making sure you have guys you can trust with you in the gym,” Henderson said. “You don’t want a case where some guy is having a bad day at home with his wife and comes into the gym where you are drilling arm locks and he snaps your arm because he’s had a bad day or something like that.

“It’s really important to have a great coaches and a great training staff who know when to push you and know when to ease off. It’s important to have coaches who can recognize when you need to pull back, regroup and come back tomorrow ready to get after it. 

“Another big part of it is knowing yourself and knowing when to calm down,” he added. “I work hard now, but earlier in my career I was in the gym all the time and training all the time. Back then my coaches had to hold me back, but I had to learn how to hold myself back as well. But those are things you learn over time.”

With the lightweight title tied up until Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez handle their business on Dec. 6, Henderson will continue to scrap his way toward another championship opportunity. Following his dominant performance against Khabilov back in June, he could have taken to the sidelines to allow things to play out, but that simply isn’t the way he goes about his business.

Instead, he opened the door for another challenge to materialize, and he will face Rafael dos Anjos at Fight Night 49 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Much like Henderson, “RDA” has been on a hot streak of his own, and the Glendale, Arizona, representative is looking forward to mixing it up with the savvy Brazilian this Saturday night. 

“It’s a great fight from a stylistic standpoint,” Henderson said. “We are both southpaws and we both push the pace. He likes to push the pace and come forward and does a really good job at it. I’m trying to do the same thing. I’m always looking to push the pace and use my cardio to my advantage. I want to test my opponent’s cardio and push their muscular endurance to a place they’ve never been before. He likes to do the same thing, and it’s going to be nice to get in there with someone who wants to throw down as much as I want to throw down.”

While a victory over Dos Anjos would bring him one step closer to achieving his goal of regaining the lightweight strap, Henderson is also conscious of the time line he’s operating on. The former champion has been outspoken in the past that he’s not going to be a fighter who allows the sport to leave him in shambles, and he has set a hard line that he will retire by the age of 34. 

With Henderson having officially crossed over into his 30s last November, that leaves the hard-charging lightweight cardio machine just three years to accomplish every goal he’s set out to achieve in mixed martial arts. Even in a rapidly moving sport like MMA, three years isn’t a big window by any standard, and a highly motivated Henderson on a race against time could very well spell bad news for the rest of the 155-pound fighters on the UFC roster.

“I’m not going to be fighting that much longer—that’s for sure,” Henderson said. “I’m all about setting goals and doing the best I can to go out there and go get them. I give myself a certain time limit to get those goals done. I will retire when I’m 33 and before I turn 34. This is a tough sport and we see a lot of athletes retire somewhat early in their careers nowadays. Whether you are a mixed martial artist or a football player, your body gets beat up. You get mentally ran down and cutting weight sucks. There are just a lot of things that play into it and they all take a toll. I won’t be around forever so enjoy it while you can. 

“That’s why I’m trying to go as hard as I can. I’m trying to get as much as I can because I know I’m not going to be here for too much longer. I’m trying to hurry up and get everything I can in.”

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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Randy Couture ‘Not Opposed’ to Grappling Match with Fedor at Metamoris

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has no intention to put the gloves back on at 51 years old, but high-profile grappling matches are still a legitimate possibility.
Speaking on Sunday’s edition of Submission Radio, “The Natural” said he’d be interested i…

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has no intention to put the gloves back on at 51 years old, but high-profile grappling matches are still a legitimate possibility.

Speaking on Sunday’s edition of Submission Radio, “The Natural” said he’d be interested in competing on a Metamoris card against none other than former Pride FC star Fedor Emelianenko. 

That would be interesting, and certainly given the time to prepare and get back up into good, solid grappling and wrestling shape, that would be a lot of fun I think, you know. I’m not sure how active Fedor is at this stage, you know him being retired as well, but I’m certainly not opposed to an idea like that. 

Couture retired from mixed martial arts after suffering a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in April 2011, his first defeat in his previous four fights. 

The Team Quest co-founder was one of just two UFC fighters (the other being B.J. Penn) to win titles in two separate weight classes: light heavyweight and heavyweight. 

Generally regarded as one of the pioneers of MMA, “Captain America” Couture left the UFC in late 2007, eight months removed from his UFC heavyweight title win over Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March 2007. 

One reason he cited for leaving the company was the inability to bring Fedor Emelianenko, one of Pride’s most recognized faces, for a potential superfight, per Sherdog. 

Emelianenko retired from the cage after scoring a quick first-round knockout over former UFC heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo at an M-1 Global show in June 2012.

Couture was tabbed a late replacement for Chael Sonnen at Metamoris 4 on August 9 but declined the offer due to media obligations tied to the release of The Expendables 3.

Given the latest turn of events, should Metamoris promoter Ralek Gracie reach out to Couture and Emelianenko in hopes of them headlining a grappling card before the end of the year?

 

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

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