The Forward Roll: UFC 135 Edition

Filed under: UFCWhat lessons can we take away from UFC 135? First, Jon Jones is beginning to run away with the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson admitted several times before and after the fight that he had worked himself into…

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Josh KoscheckWhat lessons can we take away from UFC 135? First, Jon Jones is beginning to run away with the UFC‘s light-heavyweight division. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson admitted several times before and after the fight that he had worked himself into his best shape in years. The man is a former undisputed world champion, and he could barely lay a finger on Jones.

As Jones continues to progress, he learns how to better utilize his numerous gifts and establish his built-in advantages. Jackson loves to throw his hands, so Jones never let him, lengthening his already ridiculous reach with a steady diet of kicks. How do you punch someone you can’t reach? Answer: you can’t.

MMA math is an inexact science, but you can project how Jones will perform against Rashad Evans. While Evans has a more varied game than Jackson and boasts more speed, he’ll have to navigate the same problem with distance (Evans’ reach is 75 inches, just two inches more than Jackson’s).

At least Evans has had plenty of time to prepare. He’s known he was facing the possibility of fighting Jones since August, and he probably thought about the fight long before that. He also has some feeling for things that make Jones uncomfortable, stemming from their brief history of training together.

Still, it’s hard to shake the image of Jones completely outworking two all-time legends back to back. MMA analysis website FightMetric.com independently scores fights based on offensive striking and grappling. Against Rua, Jones won with an effectiveness score of 345-57. Against Jackson, it was 244-28. Even if you don’t know exactly know what those numbers represent, the scores make it clear he’s routing world-class fighters. Can Evans do any better? Well, we’ve never seen Jones fight a real grudge match, and that element can change a fight dynamic for better or worse. Whatever the answer, it’s going to be fun to find out.

Jon Jones
The best kind of fight booking is when one fight leads seamlessly into the next. That’s what we have here. We know Jones will next face Evans, we simply don’t know when. He’ll probably take a least a month or two off, and then the UFC can begin selling one of MMA’s most genuine rivalries.
Prediction: Jones faces Evans in February.

Quinton Jackson
Regardless of the outcome, it was nice to see Jackson enter a fight in great shape and give himself the best chance of winning possible. Hopefully the trend continues. There are still several interesting matchups for him, but Jackson has his eye on one or two fights in particular.
Prediction: Jackson faces Forrest Griffin in the UFC’s Japan event, expected for February 2012.

Matt Hughes
The two-time welterweight champion turns 38 years old in just a few weeks, and coming off two straight knockout losses, his time is running short. Hughes said he would ask the UFC to put him “on the shelf” while he considers his future, but we already know that his wife doesn’t want him to fight any longer, and Saturday night’s result will only reinforce her opinion. As anyone who’s married knows, you might able to put your wife off for a while, but only for so long. This is probably the end for Mr. Hughes. Happy trails to the legend.
Prediction: Hughes calls it quits and stays involved with the UFC in an ambassador type role.

Josh Koscheck
It was a fantastic night for Koscheck after taking the fight on short notice. Now, he faces a bit of an issue. He’s already faced division champion Georges St-Pierre twice, so as long as GSP holds the belt, Koscheck has no chance to get another title match. So his options are either to stay at 170 and continue winning while hoping that someone upsets St-Pierre, or moving up to 185, where he’ll be at a serious size disadvantage.
Prediction: Koscheck loves making money, and the bigger, better matchups for him are still at 170. If Diego Sanchez heals in a timely fashion, he’s the pick for a rematch, but if not, how about we send him to the UK to fight Dan Hardy? That sounds fun.

Mark Hunt
With all the hoopla following the Jones-Rampage-Rashad triangle and Matt Hughes’ possible retirement, Mark Hunt’s story got sort of lost. But once upon a time, the UFC tried to pay Hunt to stay home and cut ties. It would have been the easiest payday of his career, but he chose to make his money the old fashioned way. Now a surprising 2-1 in the UFC after beating heavily favored Ben Rothwell, Hunt adds future paydays, all well earned.
Prediction: In a battle of kickboxing specialists, Hunt faces Pat Barry in January.

Ben Rothwell
After more than a year on the sidelines, Rothwell has to be terribly disappointed at losing his return bout, but at least he fought through incredible exhaustion and refused to be finished. He’ll certainly get another crack in the octagon, but he needs to make this one count.
Prediction: He faces the loser of next month’s Joey Beltran-Stipe Miocic fight early next year.

Travis Browne
Browne didn’t put on the showcase some expected against the durable Brit Rob Broughton, but in the fight game, you have to shrug off an ugly win every now and again. It should still be onward and upward for Browne, who has yet to face defeat in the cage. This time, let’s forget booking the heavyweights in elevation and put him on flat land.
Prediction: Browne faces Brendan Schaub.

Nate Diaz
Diaz looks alternately spectacular (striking and jiu-jitsu) and ordinary (wrestling) depending on the opponent in front of him. Until he proves he can stop a takedown though, it’s going to be difficult to project how far he can go. The talent is there, but that one hole needs to be shut, and in the lightweight division, wrestlers are around every corner.
Prediction: Diaz faces Jim Miller, a fight that would be off the charts on the intensity scale.

Takanori Gomi
Since coming over to the UFC, Gomi’s had only one flash of his old brilliance when he knocked out Tyson Griffin in April 2010. After losing three of four, the UFC has to be wondering what exactly they have on their hands. Gomi may be a historical great, but right now he’s not bringing the goods. I still think he’ll get one more chance at a winnable fight when the UFC brings the show to Japan.
Prediction: Gomi faces Thiago Tavares.

Tim Boetsch
In his second fight since moving down to middleweight, The “Barbarian” again looked strong, giving Nick Ring his first loss. The middleweight division is among the weakest in the UFC, so Boetsch has a chance to make himself a player in short order. Next up should be another fighter riding a win streak.
Prediction: Boetsch faces Rousimar Palhares.

 

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Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Booked for UFC 135

Filed under: UFC, NewsFour years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.

The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding …

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Four years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.

The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding what should be a very entertaining lightweight fight to the September 24 card in Denver.

Gomi’s fight with Nick Diaz was a classic. Gomi, the Pride lightweight champion, entered as the favorite, but Diaz wore him out with his wild striking and his activity off his back, eventually submitting Gomi with a gogoplata in the second round. The bout was later changed to a no contest because Diaz tested positive for marijuana, but fans still remember it as a great fight, and as the performance that put Diaz on the map.

UFC President Dana White made a point of commenting on the previous Gomi-Diaz fight in announcing the next Gomi-Diaz fight, and you can bet highlights from that 2007 Pride bout will be shown regularly in the run-up to UFC 135. We can only hope Nate Diaz, who’s moving back down to lightweight after looking sluggish at welterweight, can look half as good against Gomi as his brother did.

Here’s how the UFC 135 fight card looks right now:
Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson
Matt Hughes vs Diego Sanchez
Kid Yamamoto vs Damacio Page
Ben Rothwell vs Mark Hunt
Travis Browne vs Rob Broughton
Takanori Gomi vs Nate Diaz

 

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Twins David and Damion Douglas Take Different Paths, Approaches

Filed under: StrikeforceDavid and Damion Douglas will join some fairly elite company at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers show in Stockton, Calif., about a 40-mile drive from their Antioch stomping grounds.

The fraternal twin brothers will fight on th…

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Damion DouglasDavid and Damion Douglas will join some fairly elite company at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers show in Stockton, Calif., about a 40-mile drive from their Antioch stomping grounds.

The fraternal twin brothers will fight on the same card, joining the likes of Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pride Critical Countdown Absolute, July 1, 2006) and Matt and Mark Hughes (Extreme Challenge 32, May 21, 2000) as twins who have accomplished the rare feat.

The Cesar Gracie-trained Douglas brothers, who fought together on an EliteXC show in September 2008, will do it this time on a televised card on Showtime, putting their entry on a future MMA trivia question a little more in the spotlight than their predecessors.

But if you’re imagining David and Damion as the kind of twins who do everything together, like in a cheesy ’80s Doublemint gum commercial, think again.

Dream a Little Dream of Strikeforce vs. UFC

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceSaturday’s announcement that Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, had bought top rival Strikeforce took the MMA world by surprise.

It also gave UFC president Dana White a new No. 1 catch phrase when “business as usual,” spok…

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Anthony Pettis ninja kicks Ben Henderson.Saturday’s announcement that Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, had bought top rival Strikeforce took the MMA world by surprise.

It also gave UFC president Dana White a new No. 1 catch phrase when “business as usual,” spoken dozens of times during his interview with MMA Fighting and on Monday’s media call, replaced “he’s in the mix,” his previous favorite go-to response.

But even though, as White says, the UFC and Strikeforce will continue, for now, to operate the same way as they did last week, last month and last year – “business as usual” as separate promotional entities – it hasn’t stopped MMA fans from early salivation over some potential fights that used to be just pipe dreams.

And even though “business as usual” might prove to be legit and they may never happen, having the UFC and Strikeforce under the same banner at least can make us feel a little bit like Lloyd Christmas in “Dumb and Dumber”: “So you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance …”

Let’s take a look at a pair of dream superfights in each crossover weight class (lightweight to heavyweight) between current UFC fighters and current Strikeforce fighters. And hey, if any of them ever get booked, you can always say you read it here first.