Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene. He was the most feared man in the UFC, he was the future of pay-per-view and everyone in the world was waiting to see what would happen next. Then, he lost, got injured and faded away.There comes a time every year whe…
Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene. He was the most feared man in the UFC, he was the future of pay-per-view and everyone in the world was waiting to see what would happen next. Then, he lost, got injured and faded away.
There comes a time every year where we find ourselves wondering, “What the heck happened to so-and-so?”
Were they outmatched in their fights? Did they get banged up? Or like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, was it just their time to go?
It seems like all fighters fall victim to at least one of three things at the end of their career: time, injuries or a string of bad luck. Regardless of which one of the three it is, it’s inevitable that every year we unofficially have to say goodbye to fighters who run the risk of no longer being relevant in a division. Sure, we’ll catch them on an undercard again and maybe even the first fight of a UFC PPV, but their days of headlining are over.
Here are the top seven fighters that could fade away in 2013.
Throw the name Alistair Overeem out there, and you’ll receive quite an array of differing opinions regarding the former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 Grand Prix champion. Overeem may have only one fight in the UFC—a first-round TKO win over fo…
Throw the name Alistair Overeem out there, and you’ll receive quite an array of differing opinions regarding the former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 Grand Prix champion.
Overeem may have only one fight in the UFC—a first-round TKO win over former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar—but he has quickly turned into one of the most talked-about and divisive figures in the UFC. He’s also quickly turned into a fighter that is on the verge of receiving a heavyweight title bout against current UFC champion Cain Velasquez. That is, if he can get past the man he will face at UFC 156, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Overeem recently served out a nine-month suspension after a random drug test revealed a testosterone to epitestosterone level of 14-to-1, well above the acceptable level of 6-to-1.
The eyes of the mixed martial arts world will be on him to see how he performs after a long layoff, not to mention what results will come back following his post-fight drug screen. But to hear Overeem tell it, he enjoys the focus that is on him: “There’s always pressure, there’s always tension. I like that, that is my fuel, but every fight is the same, you just need to get the job done. Winning the next fight is the most important thing.”
When talking about that next fight, his first since sending Lesnar into retirement, Overeem seemed unconcerned, plainly stating, “There’s one more mountain to climb and that’s ‘Bigfoot,’ but to be honest I do not see any problem. It’s going to be an exciting day, 12 nights from now.”
If Overeem does climb that mountain and earns the victory over Silva—and if his post-fight test comes back clean—he will most likely be booked to face Velasquez.
Clean drug test or not, Overeem is now a man who will always be under suspicion due to his past drug test failure. When he stood before the Nevada Athletic Commission to be licensed for UFC 156, it was revealed that he had undergone random testing from the commission and also submitted five voluntary tests of his own. The fact that he passed all the tests does help his cause and will remove some suspicion, but not all.
When asked if he were going to undergo more voluntary testing in the future, Overeem said, “I did the drug testing, which was negotiated with my management. If it’s necessary for me to do more testing I’ll do that, if not I probably won’t. It’s something I’ll have to take up with my management.”
Hopefully the UFC and Overeem’s management will strongly suggest Overeem continue those voluntary tests, as it will go a long way to help fans’ perceptions, and that will be especially important if he goes on to become the UFC heavyweight champion sometime in the future.
It’s time to step into the Octagon for the first time this year as we take a look at the UFC’s latest show on FX, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain. The broadcast began in the lightweight divi…
It’s time to step into the Octagon for the first time this year as we take a look at the UFC’s latest show on FX, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.
The broadcast began in the lightweight division as ThiagoTavares faced KhabibNurmagomedov.
This one began without any exchanges as Tavares sought to cut off the cage and back his man towards the fence. When they did finally connect, it was Nurmagomedov who scored first.
It then looked like we were going to get a lengthy, feeling out period until the Russian connected with a left uppercut that sent Tavares crashing.
Nurmagomedov followed his man down for a series of elbows before the referee stepped in to stop the action, giving Nurmagomedov the knockout win.
Heavyweight action followed as former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga took on Ben Rothwell.
The first round saw Gonzaga attempting to take the fight to the ground a number of times. He succeeded more often than not, only for Rothwell to get back to his feet. Gonzaga did, however, have more success in the striking department, rocking his man with a big right.
He had even more success with his right hand in the second, and it wasn’t long before he locked in a standing guillotine. He then pulled guard and took the fight to the ground as Rothwell tapped out just 61 seconds into the round to give Gonzaga the submission win.
The next two fights featured middleweight action, beginning with Daniel Sarafian and C.B. Dollaway.
The only fight of the broadcast to go the distance proved to be a very interesting affair. Sarafian put on a great, early striking display, which gave Dollaway no end of trouble. It wasn’t all one way traffic, though, as Dollaway got in his fair share of decent blows as well.
Sarafian’s striking continued into the second round, but just when it looked like the Brazilian’s dominance was going to continue into the third, Dollaway scored with a takedown. Sarafian looked almost defenceless as Dollaway went to work, but as the old saying goes, he was saved by the bell.
With both fighters looking fatigued, round three saw them moving away from the striking as both men put on a good display of ground fighting. Dollaway was the first to have some success there, but it wasn’t long before Sarafian took control as he took Dollaway’s back and looked for a rear naked choke. Dollaway survived this scare, though, and soon reversed the positions.
But with neither man able to get the finish, the judges were called into action for the only time as Dollaway took the split decision.
The second middleweight fight came in the main event as VitorBelfort faced Michael Bisping.
We had a lengthy feeling out period at the beginning of this one, as both fighters tested the waters, but as the round went on, Bisping seemed to grow in confidence as he began to work behind his jab.
But a high leg kick from Belfort troubled the count, and the Brit would probably have been in even more trouble had the round not ended.
By the time the second round started, Bisping took control again. That control didn’t last too long, though, when Belfort connected with another kick that sent Bisping crashing to the ground. Belfort followed him down for a spot of ground and pound before the referee stopped the action to give Belfort the TKO win.
The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the lightweight encounter between EdsonBarboza and Lucas Martins.
To say that Barboza was quick would be something of an understatement. He began his shift with a series of quick kicks, one of which inadvertently found a target south of the equator.
After a brief rest period Barboza went straight back to work, and his speed frustrated Martins so much that he tried to trade with his man.
This left him wide open for a Barboza left that sent him down. Barboza quickly followed, and his onslaught was such that Martins soon tapped out to give Barboza the deserved win.
In conclusion—while the UFC’s first show of 2013 may not go down as one of the most spectacular shows of the year, it certainly had it’s fair share of highlight moments.
The striking displays from the likes of Nurmagomedov and Belfort delivered big time, while the three round affair between Dollaway and Sarafian looked like the decision could go either way, and one couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Brazilian.
So while it was a bit of a mixed night for the home country fighters, I think it’s safe to say that this show ticked almost all of the boxes as far as entertainment value is concerned.
As for my fight of the night, this time the no-prize goes to VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping, even though my fellow Brit didn’t get the job done. Oh well, there’s always next time.
So with all of that out of the way it’s time to wrap this thing up by giving the UFC’s latest offering the thumbs up.
Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com. It’s been online in one form or another for nearly 13 years now!
As soon as Vitor Belfort had his hand raised in victory on Saturday night, crushing the middleweight title hopes of Michael Bisping, speculation began as to who would be the next opponent for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. One name that…
As soon as VitorBelfort had his hand raised in victory on Saturday night, crushing the middleweight title hopes of Michael Bisping, speculation began as to who would be the next opponent for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
One name that seemed to pop up quite often was that of former UFC light heavyweight kingpin, Rashad Evans.
There’s only one problem with that theory: Evans is currently booked to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on February 2 in the co-main event of UFC 156 and that fight will be contested at the light heavyweight limit of 205 pounds—a far cry from the 185 that Evans would need to make to compete against Silva.
Evans made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t looking beyond the fight with Nogueira, saying, “First things first and the only thing on my mind is getting past Nogueira. He’s a tough competitor and that’s been taking my focus more than anything.”
Depending on the outcome of the February 2 bout, Evans may entertain the drop to 185.
If he wins, he may find himself on the short list for another shot at the 205-pound crown. If he loses, he could think about dropping to 185 due to the fact that his standing at light heavyweight would fall in defeat.
The fact that he is already a top contender at 205 is one of the reasons he decided against a drop to 185 in the past. “One reason I decided not to drop to 185 was because why would I fight at 185 just to be in the same spot I’m in at 205? It didn’t make any sense to me,” he said.
“If it was for a title shot or against a top contender or against someone that people would really want to see, then it would be something I would think about, but then again at the same time, I’m already at the top of the division.”
If the stars do align, Evans does drop to 185 and is booked for a fight against Silva, he would consider it an honor. “It would be a tremendous honor to hold the belt in two different divisions, but also a chance to compete against Anderson Silva. He’s one of my favorite fighters to watch. I get excited every time I get a chance to watch him fight.”
Honor or not, Evans feels he would walk away as only the third UFC fighter to hold a title in two different weight divisions, joining Randy Couture and B.J. Penn.
“When my career’s all said and done, I want to be able to go back and say that I competed against some of the best guys in history,” he said. “For me to get a chance to compete against Anderson Silva, it would be an amazing experience and something I could take with me forever and to be able to say I went against the best guy and beat the best guy.
“I believe I could beat Anderson Silva. I believe that the skills I have are something he would have a hard team dealing with, but to compete against him would be an honor in itself.”
Evans spent a good amount of time talking about a potential drop to 185 during Monday’s UFC 156 media call and he can surely expect more questions to come—win or lose—following his bout on February 2 against Nogueira.
In the world of mixed martial arts, the action in the cage can occasionally be bland when compared to the copious amount of trash talk that precedes it. When talking about UFC 156’s co-main event between Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, that …
In the world of mixed martial arts, the action in the cage can occasionally be bland when compared to the copious amount of trash talk that precedes it. When talking about UFC 156‘s co-main event between Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, that certainly will not be the case.
Nogueira is a proud Brazilian who became a world-ranked fighter with wins over the likes of Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem and Tito Ortiz. Not only is he beloved by fans, but he’s respected by his peers.
After the announcement that he would meet Nogueira, Evans was quick to praise his opponent. In an interview with MMACanadaTV (via SB Nation), Evans offered commendation:
He has good stand up. His boxing is pretty good, one of the best in the weight class. Also his ground, he has a really good ground game so I gotta be aware of the ground.
During Monday’s media call to promote UFC 156, Nogueira was thrilled to hear about the surprising praise coming from the usually sharp-tongued Evans. Through translator Ed Soares, Nogueira expressed his joy.
“It makes [me] very happy to hear Rashad say those things.” said Nogueira. “He is a former champion and [I have] a lot of respect for him too.”
Although Nogueira hit a two-fight skid, he rebounded in his most recent fight with a first-round TKO over Tito Ortiz. If he can continue that momentum by upsetting another former champion like Evans, the former Pride star will prove that he still has what it takes to compete with the best in the world.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for previews, live coverage and post-fight analysis for the event.
Have you ever wondered how fighters in the cage are able to make those cool jiu-jitsu moves at a split second and make it seem so seamless? Well, Amir Sadollah is here to show you in another installment of Move of the Week. This week, Amir is here to b…
Have you ever wondered how fighters in the cage are able to make those cool jiu-jitsu moves at a split second and make it seem so seamless? Well, AmirSadollah is here to show you in another installment of Move of the Week. This week, Amir is here to break down how he likes to make his transition to an arm bar from a triangle.
We are less than two weeks from what may well be one of the biggest UFC cards of the new year, as Frankie Edgar will make his featherweight debut against the explosive Jose Aldo. On the undercard, Jon Fitch will face off against the always dangerous Demian Maia. The Ultimate Show sat down with Fitch just to get his thoughts on his next opponent and what he plans on doing come this February 2nd in Las Vegas.
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter also stops by to give us his reasons for why everyone needs to tune in to UFC on Fox this Saturday. And Big Nasty wraps things up with our favorite UFC tweets of the Week.
Be sure to sound off and let us know what you think in the comments below. If you like what you see, click here for more from Bleacher Report Productions.
Throw the name Alistair Overeem out there, and you’ll receive quite an array of differing opinions regarding the former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 Grand