Are you like me? Like me, in this instance, meaning ignorant of British sports matters? I mean, I’ve been to England. I watched their sports shows. I can groove on some soccer, but after that it’s, like, handball and things. They’re into Olympic sports…
Are you like me? Like me, in this instance, meaning ignorant of British sports matters? I mean, I’ve been to England. I watched their sports shows. I can groove on some soccer, but after that it’s, like, handball and things. They’re into Olympic sports at times other than the Olympics. Whaaa? And they drive on the left side of the road, too. Sounds great, British people. Whatever you want to do. Hey, I’ll be over here in my spaceship. It runs on used peanut oil and room-temperature Boddington’s.
Ah, I kid, I kid. I love Great Britain and British culture. And the beverages really aren’t that warm. They also have a lot of really talented and exciting MMA fighters. But still, being a generally non-UK sporting person, I had to look up the meaning behind the title of the recent UFC reality show, The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, which pits English fighters against Australians. Turns out it’s a clever play on The Ashes, a biennial cricket series between England and Australia. So that’s exciting.
As it happens, The Smashes comes to a head in a few days at UFC on FX 6, which will air in the U.S. on Friday and features the finals of the show and several other tantalizing matchups. To celebrate the occasion, here is a list of the best British fighters working in MMA today.
Another prospect will earn the title of The Ultimate Fighter as the 16th season of the UFC’s reality show/competition comes to a close Saturday.Headlining the card will be a heavyweight slugfest between Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione.The traditional coac…
Another prospect will earn the title of The Ultimate Fighter as the 16th season of the UFC’s reality show/competition comes to a close Saturday.
Headlining the card will be a heavyweight slugfest between Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione.
The traditional coach vs. coach fight had to be scrapped when Nelson’s rival coach from the show, Shane Carwin, was forced to withdraw due to injury. A familiar face to Nelson stepped up to replace Carwin—Mitrione and Nelson were both contestants on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.
In addition to the main event, this card features a good mix of well-known veterans and up-and-coming prospects. Here’s everything you need to know to catch all of Saturday’s UFC action.
Where: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
When: Saturday, December 15, at 9 p.m. ET
Watch: Facebook preliminary fights at 5:35 p.m. ET, FUEL TV preliminary fights at 7 p.m. ET, main card on FX at 9 p.m. ET
Fight Card
Main Card (FX)
Heavyweight Bout: Matt Mitrione vs. Roy Nelson
Welterweight Tournament Final: Mike Ricci vs. Colton Smith
Heavyweight Bout: Pat Barry vs. Shane del Rosario
Lightweight Bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
Featherweight Bout: Jonathan Brookins vs. Dustin Poirier
Preliminary Card (FUEL TV)
Welterweight Bout: James Head vs. Mike Pyle
Bantamweight Bout: Johnny Bedford vs. Marcos Vinicius
Lightweight Bout: VincPichel vs. RustamKhabilov
Welterweight Bout: Nick Catone vs. T.J. Waldburger
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Bantamweight Bout: Reuben Duran vs. Hugo Viana
Lightweight Bout: Mike Rio vs. John Cofer
Flyweight Bout: Tim Elliot vs. Jared Papazian
Mitrione‘s Keys to Victory
Mitrione needs to stay on the outside and pick Nelson apart with his range if he wants to win this one.
His last fight against Cheick Kongo resulted in his first loss because he was unable to put forth an attack that put Kongo in any danger. Nelson has knockout power, sure, but he’s struggled against fighters that are able to effectively use space to keep him at bay.
As the considerably longer fighter, the jab will definitely be Mitrione‘s friend. That’s his greatest advantage in this one.
Nelson’s Keys to Victory
Nelson wants to fight on the inside and get this fight to the ground as much as possible.
Big Country is at his best when he is able to throw bombs in the stand-up and eventually work to get the takedown. Even since slimming down Nelson is great at wearing opponents out by making them carry his weight and that’s something he’ll try to do against Mitrione.
If Nelson can get on the inside and gain top control, he should be able secure a victory.
What They Are Saying
Mitrione and Nelson may not have the dynamic of coaching against each other on The Ultimate Fighter, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some animosity between the two.
In a recent conference call, Nelson said he feels Mitrione has made this fight personal by requesting the fight whenever Shane Carwin was forced to withdraw (h/t MMAWeekly).
For Mitrione‘s part, he told Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com that he threw out his name as a replacement because he feels it’s a winnable fight that will make up for his loss to Kongo.
This is a fight I think is winnable for me and that’s reason why I threw my name in the hat. I think that I belong there. If I don’t, if I go out there and get smoked, OK, if I get another chance, give me Phil DeFries and we’ll see what happens.
Undercard Fight to Watch: Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
Anytime Melvin Guillard is involved, there’s sure to be fireworks.
For better or worse, Guillard‘s fights usually involve an exciting finish. Five of his last six fights have ended in the first round.
Varner is no stranger to quick finishes either—three of his last four fights have been over in the first round.
Both fighters are running out of time if they ever want to be contenders in the lightweight division. With both competitors highly motivated to turn things around coming off losses, this one is sure to be entertaining.
Main Event Prediction
Mitrione and Nelson will both bring it on Saturday night.
Both have shown that they aren’t afraid to stand and exchange in the middle of the Octagon and both are nearly impossible to finish.
There should be some great back-and-forth moments in this one, but Nelson has only lost to top-tier talents like Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum lately. Mitrione isn’t on that level.
The Ultimate Fighter coaches George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson will meet in the main event of UFC on FX 6 as the organization makes its return to Australia.Sotiropoulos and Pearson have been coaching against one another in an international version o…
The Ultimate Fighter coaches George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson will meet in the main event of UFC on FX 6 as the organization makes its return to Australia.
Sotiropoulos and Pearson have been coaching against one another in an international version of the UFC’s traditional reality show/competition and will get the opportunity to earn bragging rights inside the cage. After coaching against one another throughout the show, there’s sure to be some intensity in the bout.
There’s plenty of other action outside of the five-round main event between Sotiropoulos and Pearson. The card also boasts two finals fights from The Ultimate Fighter and an interesting middleweight clash between Hector Lombard and RousimarPalhares.
Where: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland, Australia
When: Friday, December 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Watch: Preliminary fights on Fuel TV at 6 p.m. ET. Main Card fights on FX at 9 p.m. ET
Fight Card
Main Card (FX)
Lightweight Bout: Ross Pearson vs. George Sotiropoulis
Welterweight Tournament Final: Brad Scott vs. Robert Whittaker
Lightweight Tournament Final: Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke
Middleweight Bout: Hector Lombard vs. RousimarPalhares
Preliminary Card (Fuel TV)
Featherweight Bout: Chad Mendes vs. YaotzinMeza
Light Heavyweight Bout: Joey Beltran vs. Igor Pokrajac
Welterweight Bout: Seth Baczynski vs. Mike Pierce
Welterweight Bout: Ben Alloway vs. Manuel Rodriguez
Lightweight Bout: Brendan Loughnane vs. Mike Wilkinson
Light Heavyweight Bout: Cody Donovan vs. Nick Penner
Sotiropoulos‘ Keys to Victory
Sotiropoulos needs to get this fight to the ground as early as possible and ensure that it stays there.
The Australian is an excellent grappler with eight submission victories to his name but has been beaten in his last two bouts because he couldn’t get the fight to the ground. Pearson is a dangerous opponent in the stand-up game and has power to end Sotiropoulos‘ night early with a knockout.
If Sotiropoulos can close distance and score takedowns from the clinch, he’ll need to be aggressive in looking for the submission. Kimuras and armbars have been his bread and butter before; he would be wise to try them again.
The ground game is definitely Sotiropoulos‘ greatest strength. Trading blows with Pearson is not where he wants to be.
Pearson’s Keys to Victory
Pearson must defend takedowns and turn this fight into a kickboxing match.
Sotiropoulos will want to close the distance, so Pearson would be wise to stay on the outside and pick his opponent apart with jabs and leg kicks.
This is a five-round fight, so Pearson doesn’t need to go for the knockout early; he can pick his spots and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. Wild flurries could result in a takedown. While Pearson’s ground game isn’t awful, it’s certainly not on the same level as Sotiropoulos‘.
If Pearson controls the pace and spacing in this fight, he wins.
What They Are Saying
Although this isn’t necessarily a “big name” fight, there’s been plenty of buildup thanks to the nature of The Ultimate Fighter.
After spending weeks together on the show, these two guys don’t really like each other. Ross Pearson recently sat down with The Ultimate Show to talk about his fight with Sotiropoulos and his return to the lightweight division where he promises to rebound from a not-so-successful attempt to fight at 145 pounds.
Undercard Fight to Watch: Hector Lombard vs. RousimarPalhares
Sotiropoulis and Pearson may be the main event, but it’s the middleweight collision between Lombard and Palhares that should have fans buzzing.
Both fighters are stocky, powerful middleweights that love to finish fights. Palhares is one of the most dangerous submission artists in the world, and Lombard has the ability to finish a fight at any moment.
Lombard’s highly anticipated UFC debut was a disappointment as he lost a split decision to Tim Boetsch, but a win over Palhares would help establish him as a contender at 185 pounds. Palhares is coming off of a disappointing loss to Alan Belcher so both of these fighters are desperate for a win.
This has to be the odds-on favorite for the Fight of the Night bonus.
Main Event Prediction
Sotiropoulos is the slight favorite here and should come through with the win.
He’s had well over a year off since his last loss to Rafael dos Anjos, and you have to believe that he spent much of that time working on takedowns and improving his standup.
Pearson is just 2-3 in his last five fights and hasn’t finished anyone since 2009. Sotiropoulos should be able to score enough takedowns to at least win the fight on the cards and should threaten with plenty of submissions.
Now that 2012 is almost gone, we are left with the promise of some big fights for 2013. Of course, we all hope they will live up to the hype that has been afforded them, be it by the press, Dana White, or our own imaginations and preconceived notions. …
Now that 2012 is almost gone, we are left with the promise of some big fights for 2013. Of course, we all hope they will live up to the hype that has been afforded them, be it by the press, Dana White, or our own imaginations and preconceived notions.
We can look forward to Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and scores of other fights, but we continue to wonder about those larger than life superfights becoming reality.
Aldo-Edgar is close to a superfight, as is GSP-Diaz, but they both fall short for a variety of reasons, most due to perception and status in the sport.
That is not to say they can’t be sold as mega-bouts, because they can, but Jose Aldo and GSP will be the men that bring the “super” into the notion of a superfight, and that is where they fall slightly short.
For a real superfight to be, well, super, both men need to carry that load— like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, for instance.
Still, we shouldn’t let mere technicalities hold us back in our wanting and wondering. There are true superfights out there that could redefine the notion, or at least prove that sometimes, it is enough that one man carry the load as long as the other is willing to share it during the bout itself.
A fight is a coauthored affair, after all, and sometimes public perception isn’t as sharp as it should be, especially with the casual fan who depend on the general media to make their predeterminations.
So, here are 10 fights in that vein that we would love to see; some more than others, but all deserving in their own way of some hope of realization.
There have been plenty of great moments in MMA over the past year, but injuries and other mishaps have plagued the UFC in 2012. At this point, it’s safe to say the injuries that have caused havoc on fight cards are a part of the sport and are here…
There have been plenty of great moments in MMA over the past year, but injuries and other mishaps have plagued the UFC in 2012. At this point, it’s safe to say the injuries that have caused havoc on fight cards are a part of the sport and are here to stay.
However, some of the other unfortunate happenings to occur recently will hopefully be minimized in the MMA community in the years to come. Deaths and disasters hit close to home for fighters and MMA pioneers in 2012, leaving the MMA community in a frequent state of sadness.
Here are the lowest moments MMA has seen in 2012. And let us hope there a far fewer to account for 12 months from today.
Two things you hear quite often from MMA fighters are that living in The Ultimate Fighter house is less than enjoyable and the training they receive at Tristar gym in Montreal is some of the best the sport has to offer. Season 16 TUF finalist Mike Ricc…
Two things you hear quite often from MMA fighters are that living in The Ultimate Fighter house is less than enjoyable and the training they receive at Tristar gym in Montreal is some of the best the sport has to offer. Season 16 TUFfinalist Mike Ricci, has experienced both and he would tend to agree with the above, living in the TUFhouse sucks, training at Tristar does not.
Ricci had the following to say about his time in the TUF house, “I have been vocal about not enjoying the situation there and I really didn’t. I stand by that comment, I didn’t enjoy it one bit.”
That’s not to say that it was all bad for the 26-year-old fighter from Montreal, “I learned a lot more from the show than I expected. Coming from the camp that I come from with such high-level coaching and training partners I didn’t think that I would learn as much as I did, but I did learn quite a bit while I was there.”
Ricci will try to take what he learned while fighting for coach Shane Carwin during the filming of the show and add that knowledge to the strong base he’s gained from working with head trainer FirasZihabi at Tristar. He will take that combined learning and to use it to secure a UFC contract by defeating Colton Smith, when the two TUFfinalists meet on Saturday night inside the Octagon.
Filming of TUFmay have wrapped up some time ago, but Ricci has not been idle, keeping himself busy by helping his Tristar teammates Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald prepare for their recent bouts.
“I thought that coming home from The Ultimate Fighter, I’d have a bit if a break,” Ricci said. “But that wasn’t the case with Georges getting ready for (Carlos) Condit and Rory getting ready for (BJ) Penn, the gym was just jam-packed with fighters from all over the world, trainers from all over the world.”
Training with such high-level partners as MacDonald does have its benefits according to Ricci, “It’s great being close with Rory, we’re able to sit back and discuss our opinions on training and what we should be doing and having guys like Georges and Firas to help us, we’re always being put on the right path as far as training goes.”
All that training at such a high level is nice, but when the cage door locks behind him, Ricci knows he will have a difficult battle in front of him when he stares across the Octagon at his opponent, “I don’t think Colton even lost a round; he’s definitely a good fighter, obviously I haven’t taken him lightly. I’ve been able to watch him fight and I know he’s a good fighter.”
Ricci’s fight against Smith will be contested at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds, a weight that Riccidoesn’t normally compete at. “When I left the house it was a decision I had to make, whether I was going to put on weight and gain a solid 15 or 20 pounds and stay in the welterweight division or keep my weight and go back down to 155. I decided I’m going to go back down to lightweight when this is over.”
With those words we learned that Ricci is going to fight at lightweight following his bout against Smith. What we don’t know is if that next fight will be in the UFC and if Ricci will be introduced as “winner of Season 16 of The Ultimate Fighter, Mike Ricci!” We’ll have to wait until Saturday to find out the answer to that question.
Another prospect will earn the title of The Ultimate Fighter as the 16th season of the UFC’s reality show/competition comes to a close Saturday.