After 10 months of answering questions about Leonard Garcia, at least Nam Phan finally can change his response.
Phan first fought Garcia last December at the TUF 12 Finale in Las Vegas, a Fight of the Night-winning slugfest that saw him come out on the short end of a split decision. Though Phan outstruck Garcia in every round, according to Fight Metric, two judges gave Garcia two rounds. The third agreed with most of the fans, as well as the vast majority of MMA media – and gave all three rounds to Phan.
After UFC 136 a week ago in Houston, though, Phan finally got a little closure – and his first UFC victory – with a unanimous decision in another slugfest with Garcia in the rematch. He hopes it’s the one people will ask him about now.
“(The first loss) stung pretty bad,” Phan told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour.” “People were telling me, ‘You got robbed!’ over and over again, reminding me. I tried not to dwell on it, but it took awhile.”
In the rematch, Phan (17-9, 1-2 UFC) was mostly dominant – leaving little doubt in the first two rounds. Though Garcia seemed to hurt him in the third and had him backing up several times, Phan still set a UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a fight, according to FightMetric’s tabulations.
Nam’s 174 significant strikes landed in the 29-28 unanimous decision win passed Chris Lytle in his win over Matt Serra at UFC 119. Phan credited his boxing background, including four professional fights, for his success in the standup game.
“It isn’t always about the power – it’s about the high punch count,” Phan said. “My coach said ‘You have to compete in boxing to get good at striking.’ I started training with him in 2003, and started competing in amateur boxing, Golden Gloves, and then I went to compete in professional boxing. I don’t have a passion for boxing. I don’t love it like I love mixed martial arts. I only did boxing to improve my mixed martial arts skills.”
After 23 pro MMA fights, including a loss in the WEC and a pair of losses in Strikeforce, Phan got a shot at the UFC on “The Ultimate Fighter.” And though he didn’t make the finals, he still got a crack at the promotion. And now he has a win after starting with a pair of losses.
Though the first loss to Garcia had the MMA world screaming robbery, including UFC president Dana White, Phan still knew a third straight loss could be problematic going into the Garcia rematch. But he said he tried to put that out of his mind.
“I wasn’t even thinking about a two-fight losing streak or that I might get cut,” Phan said. “I was going in there to have fun and to make this my best performance ever. This could be my last pitch, and if I strike out I’m going home. So I’ve gotta hit this ball out of the ballpark, man. I can’t take the UFC for granted and (I have to) realize I could get cut. I’ve got to know I’m expendable.”
Now that Phan can breathe a small sigh of relief that he will be sticking around in the UFC for a while, he can start thinking about what might be next for him.
After two Fight of the Night wins in his first three fights, he knows the kind of opponent he’s looking for next.
“Whoever it is, I want that person to put (on) a good fight with me.”
After 10 months of answering questions about Leonard Garcia, at least Nam Phan finally can change his response.
Phan first fought Garcia last December at the TUF 12 Finale in Las Vegas, a Fight of the Night-winning slugfest that saw him come out on the short end of a split decision. Though Phan outstruck Garcia in every round, according to Fight Metric, two judges gave Garcia two rounds. The third agreed with most of the fans, as well as the vast majority of MMA media – and gave all three rounds to Phan.
After UFC 136 a week ago in Houston, though, Phan finally got a little closure – and his first UFC victory – with a unanimous decision in another slugfest with Garcia in the rematch. He hopes it’s the one people will ask him about now.
“(The first loss) stung pretty bad,” Phan told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour.” “People were telling me, ‘You got robbed!’ over and over again, reminding me. I tried not to dwell on it, but it took awhile.”
In the rematch, Phan (17-9, 1-2 UFC) was mostly dominant – leaving little doubt in the first two rounds. Though Garcia seemed to hurt him in the third and had him backing up several times, Phan still set a UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a fight, according to FightMetric’s tabulations.
Nam’s 174 significant strikes landed in the 29-28 unanimous decision win passed Chris Lytle in his win over Matt Serra at UFC 119. Phan credited his boxing background, including four professional fights, for his success in the standup game.
“It isn’t always about the power – it’s about the high punch count,” Phan said. “My coach said ‘You have to compete in boxing to get good at striking.’ I started training with him in 2003, and started competing in amateur boxing, Golden Gloves, and then I went to compete in professional boxing. I don’t have a passion for boxing. I don’t love it like I love mixed martial arts. I only did boxing to improve my mixed martial arts skills.”
After 23 pro MMA fights, including a loss in the WEC and a pair of losses in Strikeforce, Phan got a shot at the UFC on “The Ultimate Fighter.” And though he didn’t make the finals, he still got a crack at the promotion. And now he has a win after starting with a pair of losses.
Though the first loss to Garcia had the MMA world screaming robbery, including UFC president Dana White, Phan still knew a third straight loss could be problematic going into the Garcia rematch. But he said he tried to put that out of his mind.
“I wasn’t even thinking about a two-fight losing streak or that I might get cut,” Phan said. “I was going in there to have fun and to make this my best performance ever. This could be my last pitch, and if I strike out I’m going home. So I’ve gotta hit this ball out of the ballpark, man. I can’t take the UFC for granted and (I have to) realize I could get cut. I’ve got to know I’m expendable.”
Now that Phan can breathe a small sigh of relief that he will be sticking around in the UFC for a while, he can start thinking about what might be next for him.
After two Fight of the Night wins in his first three fights, he knows the kind of opponent he’s looking for next.
“Whoever it is, I want that person to put (on) a good fight with me.”
* Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky will stop by the studio to talk about his Bellator 54 non-title fight against Ryan Roberts. He’ll also do a couple of T-shirt giveaways from his sponsor, Yoked Up apparel.
* And MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiapetta will look at all the storylines coming out of UFC 136.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.
*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the replay below. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
* Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky will stop by the studio to talk about his Bellator 54 non-title fight against Ryan Roberts. He’ll also do a couple of T-shirt giveaways from his sponsor, Yoked Up apparel.
* And MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiapetta will look at all the storylines coming out of UFC 136.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.
*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the replay below. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Nam Phan after his unanimous decision win over Leonard Garcia at UFC 136. Phan talks about how confident he was before hearing the judges’ scorecards, his strategy and if he wants to face him a third time.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Nam Phan after his unanimous decision win over Leonard Garcia at UFC 136. Phan talks about how confident he was before hearing the judges’ scorecards, his strategy and if he wants to face him a third time.
Frankie Edgar survived another first-round onslaught from Gray Maynard on Saturday.
But this time, rather than going the distance for a draw like the two did in January, Edgar got out of the first, controlled the pace of the fight in the second and third, and in the fourth he dropped Maynard with a right and finished him on the ground. One of the best rivalries of the year finally had a finish – with an exclamation point – at UFC 136 in Houston.
Edgar’s fourth-round TKO in the lightweight championship main event earned him $75,000 for Knockout of the Night – the night’s only KO stoppage. Joining him with $75,000 bonuses were Joe Lauzon for Submission of the Night and Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia for Fight of the Night.
It was like deja vu for Edgar and Maynard in the first round. Just like their second fight at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, Maynard dominated the first, dropping Edgar with big shots on the feet. In January, it was a decisive 10-8 round for Maynard that Edgar had to come back from. On Saturday, just one just, Doug Crosby, gave a 10-8 to Maynard, while the other two scored it a standard 10-9.
Still, Edgar had to go into rally mode with his face bloodied to start the second round. Maynard was decidedly more cautious in the second and third rounds, both of which saw Edgar controlling the tempo and landing decent shots on the feet. But deep in the fourth round, Edgar landed a right uppercut that stunned Maynard, followed it with several more rights on the feet that put Maynard on the canvas, and then finished with several big shots on the ground.
The end came at 3:54 of the fourth, and Edgar retained his lightweight title. It also gave him a win over Maynard in his third try. In the pair’s first fight, in April 2008, Maynard won a unanimous decision. After Edgar won the lightweight title from BJ Penn and defended it in their rematch, he defended it against Maynard at UFC 125 – and the two fought to a rare title match draw. Finally with some closure, Edgar’s next opponent will be just his third in more than two years after a steady diet of Penn and Maynard the last four fights.
Lauzon’s Submission of the Night was also the card’s biggest upset. It came just 47 seconds into the first round against Melvin Guillard, who was riding a five-fight winning streak and came into the fight a more than 5-to-1 favorite. Guillard came out bouncing around and looking to land big shots, but a left from Lauzon stunned Guillard, and Lauzon pounced, quickly took Guillard’s back and sank in a fight-ending rear naked choke.
Amazingly, Lauzon now has won six straight fight night bonus awards and seven in his last eight fights. He has four submission bonuses and three Fight of the Night awards in that stretch. He also won Submission of the Night in June, a first-round kimura against Curt Warburton.
Lauzon’s only competition for the Submission of the Night award came from Chael Sonnen, whose second-round arm triangle choke of Brian Stann probably earned him another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen called Silva out after the fight and said that he wants to up the stakes. Sonnen proposed that if he wins and takes the middleweight title, which he nearly did in August 2010, Silva should have to leave the 185-pound division. And if Sonnen loses, he said he will leave the UFC forever.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said it was tough to choose between Lauzon and Sonnen for Submission of the Night, but he ultimately gave it to Lauzon because Lauzon was such a heavy underdog and he rocked the favorite so quickly in the first round.
The Fight of the Night may had checks written for it the day it was announced. Phan and Garcia fought to a controversial split decision win for Garcia at the TUF 12 Finale in December. A rematch was booked for March, but Phan was injured. And when Phan’s original UFC 136 opponent, Matt Grice (who replaced Josh Grispi) was forced out, Garcia stepped in.
In what amounted to a continuation of their first fight, Phan and Garcia again had moments of a backyard brawl. But Phan was more accurate and controlled the pace in the first two rounds, landing more consistently. Garcia may have been on his way to a possible 10-8 third round, but Phan did enough to stay in the round and won a 29-28 unanimous decision.
Both Phan-Garcia fights have been Fight of the Night winners, and while Phan said after the fight he doesn’t want to do No. 3, Garcia said if the fight could be in Houston, in his native Texas, he’d gladly do a trilogy fight.
Filed under: UFCLast time on Fighter vs. Writer, Michael Bisping picked with his heart rather than his head at UFC 135, and it cost him the victory against yours truly.
With UFC 136 nearly upon us, I challenged former Strikeforce light heavyweight cha…
With UFC 136 nearly upon us, I challenged former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and noted agent provocateur of Twitter, “King” Mo Lawal. There are few fighters more knowledgeable about the fight game (or more confident in their own knowledge of the fight game) than Lawal, so I have my work cut out for me.
As usual, we’ll start at the top of the card and work our way down. Mr. Lawal, you have the honors…
Lawal: Maynard via decision. “I love both fighters. Frankie’s a soldier, and so is Gray. Gray’s Team Thirsty. But I think Gray can pull off the decision, get a few takedowns early on and then coast. But if Frankie starts fast, he could be in trouble.” Fowlkes: Edgar via decision. He surprised me last time with how well he dealt with Maynard’s wrestling skills, and that was after getting dropped and nearly finished. I think he sticks and moves his way to a win, and we can all finally move on our lives.
Lawal: Florian via decision. “This whole card is fighters I like, but man, I think Kenny’s going to pull it off. The southpaw stance, the elusiveness, inside leg kicks, and takedowns. I think he pull it off that way.” Fowlkes: Aldo via decision. I just don’t see Florian being able to wrestle his way to a win before Aldo tenderizes his thighs with those kicks. The champ is too fast and has too many weapons at his disposal. Another weight class where Florian is better than everybody but the very best.
Lawal: Sonnen via decision. “I like Brian Stann, but I got to go with the wrestler on this one. Chael’s my boy. …His double-leg is tricky. No one’s figured out how to stop it. They all try and guillotine him and it never works. They get taken down. I don’t know how Brian Stann’s going to be able to stop that.” Fowlkes: Stann via decision. I agree that the takedown will be hard to stop, but if Stann can manage it I think this becomes his fight to lose. Sonnen’s been off for over a year, and Stann’s had a lot of time to hang out in the gym and plan on how to shut down the double-leg.
Lawal: Nobody. “I think this fight’s going to be a disappointment. Not a disappointment, but there’s going to be more game-planing, and it’ll be more technical than people think. It’s a toss-up. It’s going to come down to who made the adjustments.” Even when pressed, Lawal refused to make a pick. You know what that means. Now he can only get the win on this one if it ends in a draw or, as has actually happened before, doesn’t take place at all. Fowlkes: Phan via decision. I expect Garcia to show up telling himself he’s not just going to brawl, but then I expect him to get hit once and forget all about that. If Phan can avoid getting sucked into a street fight, like I think he can, he outpoints Garcia clearly enough this time that even the worst judges can’t miss it.
Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon
Lawal: Guillard via TKO. “Stoppage. First round. I think he’s much better, much more dynamic, and he’s more mature now. He’s a different fighter.” Fowlkes: Guillard via TKO. I don’t know if it’ll come in the first round, but it will come. I don’t see Lauzon being able to get him on the mat, at least not for very long, and Guillard is too fast and too powerful on the feet.
Mo Lawal picks: Maynard, Florian, Sonnen, Nobody, Guillard Ben Fowlkes picks: Edgar, Aldo, Stann, Phan, Guillard
Filed under: UFCWith UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a litt…
With UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a little special help on the parlay from one of my MMA Fighting colleagues.
At last, a title defense where Edgar is the favorite, however slight. The last time these two met, the champ was a +115 dog. I know, because I went back and looked at my own betting odds picks for UFC 125, which means I am now sufficiently humbled. Let’s just say I didn’t exactly knock that one out of the park, though I did pick Edgar when many thought he’d simply get held down for five rounds. Now that he’s proven not only his mutant healing abilities between rounds, but also his wrestling prowess, I’m not surprised that oddsmakers are giving him the slight edge.
Still, the line is so close that you aren’t going to profit all that much from taking the underdog flyer on Maynard. For those of you struggling to understand what +110 means, imagine yourself putting down $100 on Maynard and then making $110 if he wins. Also imagine yourself being very, very sad if he doesn’t. Then at least you’ll understand what you’re letting yourself in for if he can’t shove Edgar around for five rounds to become the new champ. My pick: Edgar. He’s proven he can stay off his back against Maynard. If he can only stay out of the way of those power punches, he’ll be in business.
Florian is the kind of guy you want to root for, and by ‘you’ I mean me. He’s a diligent worker, a borderline obsessive student of the game, and a real thinking man’s fighter. One thing he’s not, at least so far, is championship material. Oddsmakers don’t seem to think that will change against Aldo, and I have to admit that I agree. Florian isn’t going to stand there and out-strike Aldo. Not without getting his legs turned to hamburger. He’ll have to put him down, but can he reliably do that, especially in the early rounds? I’m not so sure, at least not unless Aldo suffers through another brutal weight cut like the one he had before the Hominick fight. Florian’s best chance might come in the later rounds, but only if he can make it that long. Even then, he’ll probably be so behind on the scorecards that he’ll absolutely need to start finishing fights at 145 pounds. Easier said than done against the champ. My pick: Aldo. Honestly, it’s not even worth a parlay pick at these odds, but neither is Florian worth the underdog risk.
If you know me, you know I have to have at least one big/somewhat reckless underdog pick per event. If I don’t, I go crazy and try to bait strangers at the gas station into giving me 3-1 odds on whether I can jump over a moving car (turns out I can’t; lesson learned). This time around, I had to take a hard look at Stann, who needs only to keep from getting out-wrestled in order to have a very good chance in this one. Normally, I wouldn’t like his chances to do even that, but Sonnen has been off for a very, very long time. Much of that time was spent trying to convince the California State Athletic Commission that he doesn’t mean what he says, except for when he does, and distractions like that are rarely helpful. Cage rust affects different fighters in different ways, but if I had to bet (and it’s kind of the purpose of this whole feature) I’d wager that Sonnen will be not quite as sharp as usual, and it’ll cost him. My pick: Stann. I wouldn’t bet the house, or even the condo, but I will throw some small action on the real American hero this time around.
Back when he was an immature, though talented fighter who would beat himself more often than not when given a chance, Guillard was still a scary opponent. Now that he’s got his act together, dude is positively terrifying. Lauzon’s best chance is to get it to the mat and submit him, but the last time Guillard tapped out was in 2009, when he was foolish enough to shoot a takedown on Nate Diaz and get himself guillotined in the process. He’s a much smarter fighter than that now, so Lauzon better have a plan B. Matter of fact, he better have plans C-N, too, because I don’t see him shooting a double-leg and putting/keeping Guillard down long enough to submit him. My pick: Guillard. Again, it’s not even juicy as a parlay addition, but what are you going to do?
Quick question: do we have different judges for the rematch? If so, then you have to give Phan the edge. If it’s the same people who think haymakers, whether they connect or not, are enough to win a fight, then take your chances with Garcia. Garcia’s problem isn’t just that he likes to brawl — it’s that he doesn’t like to do anything else, such as defend his face. He’s a great guy — one of the nicest and most down-to-earth in this business, really — and when he finds a willing dance partner, his style is fun to watch. It’s also predictable, and when opponents can keep from getting sucked into it he runs into problems. My pick: Phan. This one might be more suitable as parlay material, but then you never know what those wacky judges will do.
Quick picks:
– Mike Massenzio (+125) over Steve Cantwell (-145). Massenzio will try to out-wrestle Cantwell, and Cantwell is susceptible to that. With these odds, Massenzio’s worth a small risk.
– Anthony Pettis (-285) over Jeremy Stephens (+225). You won’t get rich off of it, but this one is money in the bank.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Just because he’s a wild riverboat gambler with dollar signs in his eyes, and because I respect that sort of self-destructive impulse, I’ll let my colleague Matt Erickson call it this time. Take it away, Matt.
“A 4-leg parlay of ‘dogs on Saturday that pays $473 on a $10 bet:
Maynard +125
Stann +200
Santiago +225
Elkins +120
I’ve already spent my winnings. That’s how sure of that mofo I am.”
You heard the man. And if it doesn’t work out, you can let him know about it on Twitter: @MattErickson23
After 10 months of answering questions about Leonard Garcia, at least Nam Phan finally can change his response. 
Frankie Edgar survived another first-round onslaught from 
Last time on Fighter vs. Writer, 
With