Tag: MMA

UFC 169 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Barao vs. Faber II

Coming into UFC 169, almost every contest positively crackled with potential energy. No one would have guessed beforehand that it would break the UFC record for the most decisions in a single fight card.
But that’s what it did. Last June, UFC 161 set t…

Coming into UFC 169, almost every contest positively crackled with potential energy. No one would have guessed beforehand that it would break the UFC record for the most decisions in a single fight card.

But that’s what it did. Last June, UFC 161 set the mark with nine decisions, and UFC 169, which went down Saturday from Newark, N.J., met it scorecard for scorecard and then some. Twelve fights on the full card. Ten fights went to the judges.

It goes to demonstrate the foolhardiness inherent in predicting anything in MMA. All throughout fight week, insiders and hardcores gushed over the card and its litany of tasty matchups, from Fight Pass to finale. The action didn’t unfold that way.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole thing was a clunker. How did it actually shake out on Super Bowl Eve? Despite the decisions, did the card’s results manage to outstrip its buzz, which never went past a low hum in the larger sporting world?

Would fan-favorite Urijah Faber achieve revenge and the ultimate prize in his rematch with seemingly unbeatable bantamweight champ Renan Barao? Would featherweight champ Jose Aldo destroy another challenger, or did Ricardo Lamas bull his way to a victory? Which man avoided the executioner’s axe in a “loser-leaves-town” heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir?

Sure, you can look up the final stat lines. But those only tell you so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 169.

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Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem: What We Learned from UFC 169 Fight

Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem are two of the most experienced fighters in the heavyweight division, but entering UFC 169, it seemed like their time might be at an end.
Mir entered on an ugly three-fight losing streak, including brutal knockout losses …

Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem are two of the most experienced fighters in the heavyweight division, but entering UFC 169, it seemed like their time might be at an end.

Mir entered on an ugly three-fight losing streak, including brutal knockout losses to Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett. While he had been the division’s top contender not long ago, fans have seen far too many fighters go from beast to burden seemingly overnight and it was hard not to worry he was in the same sort of rut that Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell entered toward the end of their careers.

Overeem, meanwhile, dropped two fights in a row after seemingly having them in the bag. Given his lengthy career in both MMA and kickboxing that is peppered from start to finish with knockout losses, it was easy to suspect that his chin, quite frankly, might just be gone.

When the two faced off, a highly measured Overeem wore down Mir, handily taking a unanimous 30-27 decision. So what did we learn?

 

A Measured Alistair Overeem Is a Good Alistair Overeem

Overeem rocked Mir early but didn’t go wild. He chose his strikes, landed most of them and took a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Was it the most exciting win of his career? No. Did he really need an exciting win? Definitely not.

“The Reem” has his name back in the conversation at the top of the heavyweight division, and that’s all he needed out of this fight. If he can win another, he is once again back in the title picture.

 

Frank Mir Is Still Darn Good

Lots of people were saying stuff like this:

Is it true? Possibly. I disagree, though.

The fact is that Mir did an excellent job of tangling Overeem up. He got busted up for three rounds in a pretty bad way. His face looked like ground beef afterward.

He lost, but not too many could survive even close to that long with Overeem perched atop them.

 

Mir Still Has a Bit of a Chin

I’m not going to say that Mir has as good a chin as ever, but remember when Liddell was knocked out for a few minutes by a glancing left to the forehead by Rich Franklin? We’re not there yet.

Mir ate some hard punches from Overeem, and while he was certainly on some very wobbly legs, he isn’t to the point where he was like the driver of the Pope Mobile in that one episode of Family Guy.

That’s a good sign. Whether or not that translates to him keeping his job with the UFC, though, is anybody’s guess.

 

Overeem Is Smart with His Call-outs

Now, I know that nobody is really clamoring for Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem 2. We saw that fight not all that long ago, and it didn’t go so hot for Lesnar.

But hey, we all know that the biggest possible fight the UFC could make right now would either be Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre or Lesnar vs. somebody. Overeem wants to be that somebody, and that’s a good call.

It probably won’t happen. Once again, we’ve seen Lesnar vs. Overeem already, and other fights are better for the current pro wrestler’s MMA longevity. Still, Lesnar is the biggest fight for Overeem, so good on him for making a play for it.

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Ali Bagautinov vs. John Lineker: What We Learned from UFC 169 Fight

A pair of flyweight contenders met at UFC 169, when Russian Ali Bagautinov took on Brazilian John Lineker. Many thought the winner was the rightful title contender at 125 pounds.
After three grueling rounds of grappling and fighting a chess m…

A pair of flyweight contenders met at UFC 169, when Russian Ali Bagautinov took on Brazilian John Lineker. Many thought the winner was the rightful title contender at 125 pounds.

After three grueling rounds of grappling and fighting a chess match, the Russian came out on top via decision. It is a win that could lead him to an eventual title fight.

Here’s what we learned from this pivotal bout.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight

To be honest, nothing. This fight reversed the great excitement that Abel Trujillo and Jamie Varner brought to the cage.

So I don’t make this headline completely worthless, I’ll say we’ll remember that Lineker did not gas out despite the fact that he missed weight on his first try. One would assume that after having to make weight on a second attempt, his cardio would be hurt.

He didn’t show much Saturday night, but he didn’t gas out either. I guess that’s a tiny win to take out of this fight. 

 

What We Learned About Bagautinov

He is not ready for a title shot. Despite beating Lineker, he was not overly impressive and did not punish him for missing weight.

His wrestling is good, but he out-grappled a striker. If he did that against Demetrious Johnson, he would be outclassed by a better man.

 

What We Learned About Lineker

He needs to learn how to better cut weight. Oh wait, we already knew that? Then, he needs to tighten up his ground game.

He is a great striker, but his takedown defense is decent at best. Unless he is knocking dudes out, he is susceptible to getting exposed on the ground.

 

What’s Next for Bagautinov?

Because of the shallowness of the division, one would assume Johnson is next for Bagautinov. He is 3-0 with the UFC and can make a good claim to the UFC gold.

 

What’s Next for Lineker?

A trip to bantamweight would be ideal. Otherwise, a bout against the loser of Brad Pickett and Ian McCall could make for an interesting fight.

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Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort Official for May 24 in Las Vegas

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort has been in the pipeline for months now, but the fight finally has a date. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto announced that the fight is officially slated for May 24 and will go down in Las Vegas:

BREAKING: Chris Weidman will defend…

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort has been in the pipeline for months now, but the fight finally has a date. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto announced that the fight is officially slated for May 24 and will go down in Las Vegas:

UFC president Dana White stated last week the promotion was looking to put the fight together on either Memorial Day weekend or July 4th weekend. This also confirms that the fight will go down on American shores.

Weidman, for his part, remains an undefeated beast of a middleweight. Following his scary win over Anderson Silva at UFC 168, which ended with Silva snapping his leg over Weidman’s knee, he looks to get his first no-question win as middleweight champion.

Meanwhile, Belfort has been on a tear since losing a random light heavyweight title fight to Jon Jones at UFC 152, racking up back-to-back-to-back head-kick knockouts over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson. He has been campaigning for a title fight for the better part of a year and now finally gets his wish.

His run back to top-contender status is not without controversy, however, given the hot-button topic of his TRT use. Questions that the UFC was shielding him from American athletic commissions have flown freely, but the UFC is apparently willing to finally let him plead his case to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The buildup to his meeting with the commission will almost certainly be one of the biggest stories in MMA this spring. Whether or not his plea is successful has serious ramifications for TRT’s future in the sport.

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UFC 169: Win or Lose, Jose Aldo Must Make a Move to Lightweight

Unquestionably, UFC featherweight champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo stands in a class by himself as far as current UFC champions go. Unbeaten since 2005, he has laid a path of destruction with emphatic wins over Mark Hominick, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan, …

Unquestionably, UFC featherweight champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo stands in a class by himself as far as current UFC champions go. Unbeaten since 2005, he has laid a path of destruction with emphatic wins over Mark Hominick, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan, Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar and Chan Sung Jung.

When the Nova Uniao camp unleashes him into hostile territory, Aldo takes his game to a different level against the men in his division.

UFC 169 will either mark the sixth successful defense of his crown against “The Bully” Ricardo Lamas, or it will ignite the flame that brings a brand-new heat to the 145-lb division in what some might immediately coin the Lamas era.

Incidentally enough, despite a time in the sport when the downfall of MMA legends and all-time greats still get classified as upsets, some could actually foresee the changing of the featherweight guard on Saturday night.

While Lamas’ aggressive style, punishing ground-and-pound attack and determination to win will factor into a potential victory, we must point out Aldo’s weight cut as a factor as well.

While he has made weight for every fight in the UFC and has looked good in a majority of his performances, the weight cut took its toll on him, causing him to look sluggish against Edgar and Florian. As a result, he was more careful in his approach and won decisions in both fights rather than finishing them definitively.

No MMA rule forbids a fighter to go to a decision, and when the UFC absorbed the WEC, fans knew that Aldo’s streak of KOs and TKOs would not continue forever. However, when weight cutting starts to take its toll and fans recall those cuts more than injuries suffered during the bout or after it, maybe going up a weight class would benefit the fighter more than people think.

When people hear about a fight with Anthony Pettis, who originally planned to fight Aldo for his featherweight belt at UFC 163 before injuries shelved the lightweight champ, they think that the prospect of Scarface moving up in weight indicates that the 145-lb division is devoid of challengers. The idea also seems like a cheap excuse to see two reigning champs pull off this superfight thing that the UFC has pushed for years.

Still, at what point do we wake up and observe that Aldo, only 27 years old, has slowed down noticeably in fights, even more so than the usual pacing that most fighters do to conserve energy? Sooner or later, the toll of trying to make the 145-lb limit will tax him far worse than any damage he physically absorbs inside the cage, and then what?

Do we all pretend to be surprised if the stress of weight cutting forces him into an early retirement?

The prospect of having a long MMA career should make Aldo at least reconsider his decision to finish his career at 145, even if he does not wish to fight at 155 full time without getting Pettis right off the bat. And that’s regardless of whether or not he leaves Newark, N.J. with his title on Saturday.

If he decides to go up to 155 permanently and work his way toward Pettis, even with the lack of real contenders for the lightweight belt, fans will get to enjoy Aldo for a considerably longer period of time. If he doesn’t move up in weight, the time may come when he’ll have to end his career earlier than anticipated.

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UFC 169: Predictions for Every Fight on the Card

UFC 169 should be an outstanding event from Newark, N.J., on Saturday night. The evening is headlined by two title fights as Jose Aldo defends his featherweight title against Ricardo Lamas, while Renan Barao defends his bantamweight title against “The …

UFC 169 should be an outstanding event from Newark, N.J., on Saturday night. The evening is headlined by two title fights as Jose Aldo defends his featherweight title against Ricardo Lamas, while Renan Barao defends his bantamweight title against “The California Kid” Urijah Faber.

This card is stacked full of great matchups, and here is a quick look at every fight you will see on Saturday night.

 

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

Neil Magny vs Gasan Umalatov

The first fight features Neil Magny vs UFC newcomer Gasan Umalatov. Umalatov brings a 14-2-1 record into the UFC and has shown an ability to win fights by submission. Magny is looking to shake off back-to-back losses that he suffered at UFC 163 and UFC Fight for the Troops 3.

Unfortunately, for Magny, his slide will continue tonight though. Umalatov may be a UFC newcomer, but he has proven himself in the past.

Umalatov, Submission, Round 2

 

Tony Martin vs Rashid Magomedov

Tony Martin and Rashid Magomedov each make their UFC debuts in the second fight of the night. Martin is 7-0 in his MMA career and is a fighter who wants to get you on the ground for a submission. Rashid Magomedov brings a 15-1 record into the fight and has won 47 percent of his fights by KO/TKO—a very different style to Martin.

Magomedov should get his UFC career off to the right start tonight.

Magomedov, TKO, Round 1

 

Clint Hester vs Andy Enz

Clint Hester has been on a roll of late. He has five straight victories and has won his last four fights by KO/TKO. On the other side, Andy Enz makes his UFC debut after starting his MMA career out 7-0 in the AFC. Enz has won five of his fights by submission, but he is an underdog tonight against Hester.

The roll Hester has been on will continue tonight.

Hester, TKO, Round 2

 

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

Al Iaquinta vs Kevin Lee

After coming off The Ultimate Fighter 15, Al Iaquinta has won his last two fights in the UFC by decision and hopes to turn in a little more dominating performance tonight against UFC newcomer Kevin Lee. 

Lee has won his last four fights by submission, but this is certainly his toughest test to date as he begins his UFC career.

Iaquinta, Unanimous Decision

 

Nick Catone vs Tom Watson

Nick Catone and Tom Watson both have no problem standing up to one another and trying to knock the other one out. Do not expect to see a lot of grappling and submission attempts in this fight. Both fighters feature a lot of power, but Watson is the better fighter in this matchup.

Watson, TKO, Round 2

 

Chris Cariaso vs Danny Martinez

Chris Cariaso has worked his way into the top 10 flyweight contenders in the UFC and he is looking to justify his ranking with a victory over Danny Martinez. Martinez makes his UFC debut tonight and has a very tough test against a veteran UFC fighter.

The test will be too tough tonight for Martinez.

Cariaso, Submission, Round 2

 

John Makdessi vs Alan Patrick

John Makdessi is a veteran in the Octagon, while Patrick will be in his second UFC fight. Makdessi has been fighting well since picking up his second career loss in April of 2012. This is almost a pick ’em fight, so it’s hard to not pick the veteran in the Octagon—even though Patrick has an undefeated MMA record.

Makdessi, Unanimous Decision

 

Main Card

Jamie Varner vs Abel Trujillo

This is an outstanding fight to get a great main card underway. Both of these fighters are very evenly matched and it will be exciting and interesting to watch the striking power of Trujillo against the defense of Varner (who has never been knocked out).

There’s a first for everything, though, and I like the power from Abel Trujillo.

Trujillo, TKO, Round 2

 

John Lineker vs Ali Bagautinov

A typical battle between two fighters with very different styles. John Lineker will be looking to use his striking ability tonight, while Ali Bagautinov will be looking to take the fight to the ground and use his submission skills.

Lineker has not faced many solid wrestlers yet, so this will be a tough test for him tonight.

Bagautinov, Submission, Round 2

 

Frank Mir vs Alistair Overeem

I love watching Overeem fight and I love his stand up and striking ability much more than that of Frank Mir. Mir is going to have to take this fight to the ground if he wants to survive for more than a round against Overeem.

It looks like Mir does not really have much of a chance in this fight.

Overeem, TKO, Round 1

 

Jose Aldo vs Ricardo Lamas

Ricardo Lamas is a very good fighter, but he needs to be beyond very good and enter the realm of greatness if he wants to beat Jose Aldo. Aldo is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC today and has the power, speed, and striking ability to knock out Lamas at any moment in the fight.

Lamas will put together a good fight tonight, but too much Jose Aldo will be his demise and Aldo will retain his title.

Aldo, TKO, Round 3

 

Renan Barao vs Urijah Faber

I watched this fight again last night just to jog my memory of how outstanding it is to watch these two fighters go at it. Barao won the first fight because of how well he was able to defend himself from the striking of Faber.

Faber attempted a couple of takedowns in their first fight, but they were quickly stopped by Barao. Faber is certainly much better now in his career than he was when these two fighters first met, but Barao certainly is better as well.

I think Faber may have improved more over this time than Barao has though.

Has he improved enough to reach the level of Barao?

We will find out tonight, I guess, but that is what I am banking on for this matchup.

Faber, Unanimous Decision

 

 

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