When many people think of boxing, they think of the golden era of the welterweight division, and four names are quickly and fondly recalled: Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.In the 80’s it was a great…
When many people think of boxing, they think of the golden era of the welterweight division, and four names are quickly and fondly recalled: Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.
In the 80’s it was a great time to be a boxing fan because huge fights were always lurking around the corner, and when they came to pass, they lived up to the hype.
The same can be said for the lightweight division in the UFC.
Thus far, we have enjoyed some incredible fights to cap off this “new” era, ushered in when Frankie Edgar dethroned the great BJ Penn.
Frankie Edgar had two fantastic wars with Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz had damn good scrap with Donald Cerrone, Edgar lost his title in another great fight against Benson Henderson—and that’s really just the beginning.
Consider the names in the division; all men who could fight for the title and take the belt: Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis, Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone and current champion Benson Henderson.
Then, further imagine how the division would be impacted if Penn returned, which is, in all honestly, the division that suits him best. And of course, it might just be a matter of time before Gilbert Melendez is in the UFC, fighting to prove his claim at being the best lightweight in the world.
Thinking about all the possible matchups—each one with clear divisional ramifications—makes the mouth water.
We have the rematch between Edgar and Henderson for the title, and then we have Diaz waiting in line for the winner.
After, we have Pettis as a clear threat and probably next in rotation for title contention. If Henderson still holds the belt, we will get to see a rematch of these two men. Who can forget their last fight that saw Pettis land perhaps the greatest head kick in MMA history?
And all of these men have the skills and the styles to defeat almost anyone else on any given night.
Unlike other divisions where the top of the class is so far over the top of the rest of the division that there is only three or four names of note, the lightweight division is brimming with true contenders.
When looking at the top ten at lightweight, speculating as to who’s the best is many times like splitting hairs.
And the bigger the sport grows, the more new talent emerges.
The lighter weight classes have always been exciting, but now almost anyone in the top ten can take the title.
By the end of 2013, we may see many champions crowned and dethroned, but for sure, the best interests of the title will be served.
One of the UFC’s busiest seasons yet is getting ready to kick off and if you’re like me, you can’t wait. Seven fights in the next three months and four of them on free TV. Injuries have attempted to ruin this huge summer of UFC events, but it has been …
One of the UFC’s busiest seasons yet is getting ready to kick off and if you’re like me, you can’t wait. Seven fights in the next three months and four of them on free TV. Injuries have attempted to ruin this huge summer of UFC events, but it has been unsuccessful as many of the most anticipated matchups in UFC history still remain.
Coming off the heels of a very explosive UFC 146 card featuring a main card of all heavyweights, The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale that saw Martin Kampmann upset Jake Ellenberger and one of the greatest Ultimate Fighter stories in history come full circle as Mike Chiesa won the Ultimate Fighter, it’s now time to start looking forward to the next seven UFC cards.
I’ll even rank them for you so you know which fights you want to see and which fights you absolutely can’t miss.
The UFC’s incredibly annoying run of injuries has held strong over the last few days, and one of the latest fights to get scrapped was the one-time UFC on FOX 4 main event between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard. Stann was forced from the bout wit…
The UFC’s incredibly annoying run of injuries has held strong over the last few days, and one of the latest fights to get scrapped was the one-time UFC on FOX 4 main event between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard.
Stann was forced from the bout with a shoulder injury and Lombard has since been moved to the UFC 149 card in order to replace Michael Bisping against Tim Boetsch.
But in the spot that Lombard and Stann once occupied, the UFC has added a light heavyweight battle that may not make the most sense as far as rankings are concerned, but it is guaranteed to be exciting.
Shogun Rua is currently trying to get back on track after suffering a decision loss to Dan Henderson in one of the greatest fights in MMA history back at UFC 139, and his new opponent Brandon Vera, who was cut from the UFC as recently as last spring, is now being thrust back into the main-event picture.
The fight is one of the most unexpected bouts the UFC has announced for some time, but due to the insane amount of injuries and fights being cancelled, fans seem to be giving UFC matchmaker Joe Silva the benefit of the doubt with this matchup.
After becoming the first man to stop Jim Miller at UFC on FOX Nate Diaz earned himself a title shot against the winner of this summer’s rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson.The submission of Miller extended his current win streak to three…
After becoming the first man to stop Jim Miller at UFC on FOX Nate Diaz earned himself a title shot against the winner of this summer’s rematch between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson.
The submission of Miller extended his current win streak to three fights and placed him atop the other contenders in the UFC’s lightweight division. Diaz is undefeated since returning to the lightweight division after a 2-2 stint at welterweight.
The current champion, Benson Henderson, is riding a four-fight win streak that was capped off in Japan by winning the championship via a close decision against Frankie Edgar. The contentious decision victory set-up an instant rematch against Edgar, leaving the remainder of the division in flux once again as contenders such as Diaz sit on the shelf and wait.
All four of Henderson’s UFC victories have come by way of decision, including one against Jim Miller. Diaz, on the other hand, has finished his opponents in over half of his 11 UFC victories.
The rematch between Henderson and Edgar is slated for August 11th in Denver. While Diaz will be waiting for some time for that title shot it is never too early to take a look at the potential fight with the current UFC Lightweight Champion. We take a look at potentially the most exciting fight of the year.
You don’t always get what you want. If you’re UFC welterweight Mike Pierce, you almost never get what you want. Pierce, who’s coming off three consecutive split decision bouts, has seen his hand raised just one lonely time to Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX…
You don’t always get what you want.
If you’re UFC welterweight Mike Pierce, you almost never get what you want.
Pierce, who’s coming off three consecutive split decision bouts, has seen his hand raised just one lonely time to Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX 1. In the others, Pierce fell short to rising star Johny Hendricks and UFC veteran Josh Koscheck.
But, the tides are turning. Pierce will now get what he wants as he’ll meet Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX on June 8th in a welterweight showdown.
Pierce recently sat down with Bleacher Report to discuss his recent calling out of Rocha and a variety of other topics.
Garrett Derr: Mike, I’m sure you’ve heard it a 1,000 times, but you’re coming off an extremely tough loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 143. As you awaited the judge’s scorecards, were you pretty confident that you won the fight?
Mike Pierce: Oh yeah. I was ready to get my hand raised and go crazy. If you take a look at the fight and watch it over again, look at Josh Koscheck’s demeanor. He didn’t look happy and he didn’t look like he won the fight.
He didn’t have the facial expressions like he usually does when he wins a fight. He didn’t look like any of his past fights where he won. He wasn’t expecting to get his hand raised and he was really surprised when he won.
GD: I had you winning that fight, Dana White had you winning that fight, so what can the UFC or the commission do to improve the quality of judging? Or, do you feel human error is a part of the sport?
MP: I’m not sure what the UFC can do since they are really just the promoters, you know. The local commission needs to do something about the judging, though. I think they need to sit down and set some things straight or place some type of standards.
I think they [judges] might need to be educated, so these guys know what counts for what. I’m not sure what needs to be done, but something needs to happen.
GD: Split decisions seem to be right up your alley. Your last three bouts have resulted in a split decision. What goes through a fighter’s mind as they wait to hear that decision over and over again?
MP: Split decisions are never fun. But for this fight, I really thought I won. I was like cool, and then they called his name. I said great, this is going to be a split decision. I went into the decision thinking that I at least won 29-28, and that it was going to be unanimous.
For it to be split, it was kind of shocking. I didn’t get to talk to Dana after the fight, but I did catch his interview with Ariel Helwani where he said he had me winning the fight. They thought that I won the fight, but missing out on the win bonuses and that stuff, when you really won, really sucks.
GD: You’ll meet Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX 3. Were you disappointed at all with your matchup considering he hasn’t even fought in a year?
MP: No, I don’t think so. I sent out on Twitter that I wanted an easy fight, so I called out all the Brazilians in the 170-pound division. Carlos answered, so I got the fight that I wanted.
GD: What weak points do you see in his game that you’ll be able to exploit come fight night?
MP: I think everything. I’ll be able to exploit everything. I think the only tool that he has that is any good, is his ground game. He’s pretty good at these weird scrambles and being on the ground. Other than that, I think that he’s a fish out of water.
I want to finish him early. I think he’s going to have a tough time figuring things out. He’s going to get beat up on his feet, and for the short time we end up on the ground, he’ll get beat up there too. He’s not going to want to fight me after the first round, if it happens to make it past the first. I want to put this guy to sleep.
GD: Taking a look at your career, you’ve fought some of the toughest fighters in the UFC. Koscheck, Hendricks, Fitch, and even Munoz. So, who do you believe has been your toughest matchup up until this point in your career?
MP: It probably doesn’t make any sense, but I beat him in a split decision, Paul Bradley. He was one of the guys that was so much like me in my fighting style and strength. He was a really tough dude who had a tough loss at 185, and then moved down to welterweight.
I think if he would have started at 170, the guy would probably still be in the UFC. He’s a guy I fought twice and he got a lot better. Fitch was obviously a tough fight. I think I beat Koscheck, but I don’t think that he was any tougher than Bradley.
GD: So, you’re an Oregon boy. And, of course, so is Chael P. Sonnen. Who wins the showdown between him and Silva this time around?
MP: Chael, of course, without a question. I think Chael is going to go in there and do what he did the first time around. He’s going to go in there and do what he did the first time around and not get caught in a submission this time.
You rarely make the same mistake twice. I’m hoping he goes in there and beats the guy for five straight rounds. There’s a chance he finishes him, but I’m not sure what is more gratifying, having him finish him or beat his a– for 25 minutes. I think that would be more gratifying.
Garrett Derr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.
For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.
A gatekeeper is not a negative or derogatory term. Some may even find the term endearing. For example, if defeating a gatekeeper catapults you into title contention, then the gatekeeper in question is clearly a worthy and legitimate foe. Another import…
A gatekeeper is not a negative or derogatory term. Some may even find the term endearing. For example, if defeating a gatekeeper catapults you into title contention, then the gatekeeper in question is clearly a worthy and legitimate foe.
Another important point that you must understand is that some gatekeepers have earned their title by consistently coming up short in big fights, while others have recently fallen into the role based on recent performances.
The false impression that many fans have about the term gatekeeper has been the cause of many intense debates.
This is a look at the different types of gatekeepers, and the 25 fighters who best fit the description.
When many people think of boxing, they think of the golden era of the welterweight division, and four names are quickly and fondly recalled: Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.