UFC 133 Will Show Fans How Advanced Phil Davis Really Is
Some fans think that the UFC has rushed Phil Davis to the top. He has is 9-0 in his MMA career and is 5-0 in the UFC.His resume doesn’t stop there. While wrestling at Penn State, Davis compiled&n…
UFC 133 Will Show Fans How Advanced Phil Davis Really Is
Some fans think that the UFC has rushed Phil Davis to the top. He has is 9-0 in his MMA career and is 5-0 in the UFC.His resume doesn’t stop there. While wrestling at Penn State, Davis compiled a 116-17 record with being named an All-American four times and winning one national title. Obviously, he is one of the most decorated prospects to enter the UFC. So why do some feel he is rushed?
I love to watch Phil Davis fight. He is a top three wrestler in the light heavyweight division. While he has his strengths, Davis is not without weaknesses. His striking game is average at best and he becomes overly aggressive with his takedowns. When Davis has problems and his takedowns are being stuffed, he can become flustered. Fans saw this in his fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
He now faces Rashad Evans and the winner will face Jon “Bones” Jones, or Rampage Jackson, for the title. Evans will be Davis’ toughest test to date. It is a serious jump up in the division for Davis. Rashad’s talents cannot be ignored. His striking has come a long way and his ground game is one of elite proportions.
Personally, I think that Davis should have been given two more fights before jumping into the top five. I am rooting for Phil Davis when he steps into the octagon during UFC 133. Rashad will stuff Davis’ takedowns and force him to stand up and go toe-to-toe. If Davis hasn’t improved his striking, Evans will make it seem like clockwork. I think that Evans will win this fight and it won’t make it into the third round.
Whether or not Davis wins, he still has a very bright future in the UFC.
Allistair Overeem’s Recent Win Over Fabricio Werdum Could Mean A Lot More
Before you tell me that Overeem is part of Strikeforce and that I do not know what I am talking about, hear me out. Allistair has an amazing style that makes his fights enjoyabl…
Allistair Overeem’s Recent Win Over Fabricio Werdum Could Mean A Lot More
Before you tell me that Overeem is part of Strikeforce and that I do not know what I am talking about, hear me out. Allistair has an amazing style that makes his fights enjoyable to watch. His kickboxing skills are the best in Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. While he does have his weaknesses and critics, let me point out a few key points.
Overeem has now advanced the the semi-finals of the Grand Prix. Josh Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov, and Antonio Silva make up the rest of the field. Silva is the next man on Overeems list and will be the toughest opponent he has faced to date. Getting past Silva will be a tough test, but if Allistair can slug it out and manage to beat him he would move on to the finals. Silva will not lay down like Werdum did. He will stand toe-to-toe with Overeem in an attempt to knock him out.
I look for Josh Barnett to be in the finals against Overeem. The winner of that fight gets the belt and then it gets interesting.
Cain Velasquez fights Junior Dos Santos in November. I think that Velasquez is a dominant force and will dispose of Junior as early as the second round. Who would Cain fight next? I have the answer.
When the Strikeforce Grand Prix is over, Zuffa should try to unify the heavyweight title. Let’s have the winner of the Grand Prix fight Cain Velasquez (or Junior Dos Santos, if a miracle happens). This would be an awesome, must see, main-event! If you do not like my idea that is OK. In a recent interview, Allistair Overeem suggested the same thing.
I do not think that Overeem would be a challenge for Velasquez, but it still needs to happen.
The first round of Strikeforce’s Grand Prix concluded Saturday night with an anticlimactic main event featuring Alistair Overeem defeating Fabricio Werdum by a unanimous decision. Werdum constantly tried to pull guard throughout the fight, and Ov…
The first round of Strikeforce’s Grand Prix concluded Saturday night with an anticlimactic main event featuring Alistair Overeem defeating Fabricio Werdum by a unanimous decision.
Werdum constantly tried to pull guard throughout the fight, and Overeem stuffed takedown after takedown in an attempt to keep the fight on the feet. I had flashbacks of the infamous Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites main event at UFC 97, and that’s never good.
Most of the fight, Overeem didn’t even have time to put combinations together, as Werdum would pull guard and drop to the canvas after one shot from Overeem.
It was an interesting chess match at first, and I enjoyed how they tried to bait each other to fight their style of fight by using showmanship. But after a while, it got old.
I understand Werdum not wanting to strike with the guy that just won the K-1 Grand Prix and him wanting to make it a Jiu-Jitsu match with the guy he tapped out in 2006. But sooner or later, you have to adjust the game plan.
Hopefully Overeem and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will put on a much better show in the semifinals.
The event wasn’t all gloom and doom, however, because Josh Barnett, Jorge Masvidal, Daniel Cormier and Chad Griggs all put in brilliant performances.
Sanctions aside, Barnett is great for the sport. The guy is always entertaining and his love and passion for the sport is infectious. He puts on entertaining fights and always delivers with his promos that he made famous in Pride.
Perhaps the man I was most impressed with Saturday night was Masvidal. He out-struck K.J. Noons in what I thought was the fight of the night. He got the decision victory and certainly made a strong case for the coveted title shot against Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez.
As for Cormier and Griggs, I thought they both did what they needed to do. They not only get the victories, but they sent statements to fans.
Everyone knows Cormier can wrestle, and he didn’t attempt a single takedown against Jeff Monson. He showed much-improved striking skills. My only complaint in his decision victory was that I thought he should have followed up with a few more strikes after hurting Monson. But, all in all, it was a great performance.
Griggs proved once again he is no stepping stone, and he continues to win at all costs in Strikeforce. With his first round stoppage over Valentijn Overeem, he made a statement that he deserves the respect of every opponent he will face.
Last night, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem collided in a rematch of their PRIDE Shockwave 2006 bout, and to say the least, the main event came in with explosive potential but left many fans unsatisfied.Truthfully, those who have heard that Wer…
Last night, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem collided in a rematch of their PRIDE Shockwave 2006 bout, and to say the least, the main event came in with explosive potential but left many fans unsatisfied.
Truthfully, those who have heard that Werdum actually outstruck Overeem but did not believe it. You guys heard right, Werdum did land more punches on Overeem than what the crowd saw.
Overeem landed the shots that mattered, and that’s what the two judges saw—him landing the important shots that hurt Werdum, as well as the takedowns and him neutralizing the Jiu-Jitsu of Werdum. And yet, some were quick to wonder if Werdum got the raw end of the unanimous decision.
If someone’s translation of “getting the raw end of the decision” means “Overeem lost the fight,” then I’ll have some of whatever they’ve got loaded into their pipe.
Was Fabricio Werdum robbed?
Absolutely.
Was Fabricio Werdum robbed of a fight that he should have won?
Absolutely not. And when you analyze the atrocity that was his performance fully, you should land on why the judges should not have been so kind to Werdum, as nice as he is as a man.
He may have outstruck Overeem by one margin or the next, but other than at the midway point of round two when Werdum looked to actually hurt Overeem—which fans of PRIDE know is not that surprising—how willing was Werdum to stand with Overeem?
If my memory serves me right for once, Werdum shot for takedowns. Overeem stuffed all of them—which, in today’s MMA circles, is heart-attack-shocking when talking about a guy that’s taken K-1 fights—and Werdum tried to pull guard every time.
By no means did the plan to take Overeem down qualify as unintelligent, and I actually did think he needed to in order to beat him, but Werdum should have gotten the message after the second attempt failed.
If Overeem sprawls to stuff a takedown, and he’s fighting a good Jiu-Jitsoka like Werdum while connecting with said sprawl, that’s Werdum’s cue to let his hands go.
And the most disappointing thing about all this?
Werdum’s performance is not a reflection of his actual ability by any means; the fight was a stylistic disaster for fans of fun fights from the get-go but was heavily hyped because Overeem had a loss to Werdum that he needed to avenge.
Plus, Werdum had beaten Fedor Emelianenko almost a year earlier, and no fight against “The Reem” is a fight that his challengers these days are supposed to win outside of a terrible decision, unless they’re UFC Heavyweights or they have a first name of Fedor.
However, Werdum did beat Fedor, who went on to lose to Antonio Silva in the second quarterfinal of this Grand Prix, and Werdum was argued as the best heavyweight in the world besides Cain “The Terminator” Velasquez. Overeem, however, wasn’t even a consensus top-5 pick, so of course there was excitement coming into this fight, and none of us should regret getting excited about it.
Fabricio Werdum is a great Jiu-Jitsoka, and he may go down as perhaps one of the best to ever grapple in MMA when he reaches the tail-end of his career, and he was ranked as the consensus second-to-third best heavyweight in the world before this fight.
Unfortunately, Alistair Overeem, despite an apparently low gas tank that I still find to be a myth and an excuse used by detractors to discredit this obvious heavyweight force, came to fight last night.
Fabricio Werdum did not, or at least his performance made him look as though he did not.
The winner of the Strikeforce Grand Prix, whether it’s Overeem or not, will arguably be considered one of the two best, if not the best heavyweight in Mixed Martial Arts when all is “Good Night, Irene!”, to quote the great Michael Schiavello.
Some think Overeem can do it. Others now say Silva can do it. While even others are sold on Josh Barnett or Sergei Kharitonov being the man that could take it all. But one unfortunate definite still exists:
With Werdum’s effort last night, I’m not so sure if we can keep “Vai Cavalo” in that debate any longer.
As far as last night alone goes, he got robbed, but if you watch the fight again, the only thing he got robbed of was a score that was a true reflection of his performance.
Generally, if Werdum loses a decision, he should lose it by either of the two scores the judges gave out last night.
From the eyes of many in the MMA world, the scores he got were too generous.
Now something along the lines of 30-26 or even 30-24, with Overeem winning at least one round 10-8 due to Werdum stalling the fight and not showing willingness to engage?
That sounds like a more honest and accurate score to me.
The UFC Holds Onto its Ultimate Fighter Winners Until the Last Possible Minute
The winners of the ultimate fighter have gone on to do some impressive things. Several have fought for titles and three (Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, and Rashad Evans) have …
The UFC Holds Onto its Ultimate Fighter Winners Until the Last Possible Minute
The winners of the ultimate fighter have gone on to do some impressive things. Several have fought for titles and three (Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, and Rashad Evans) have gone on to win titles. It is not often that the UFC drop TUF champions.
Kendall Grove was let go recently by President Dana White. Grove had no ill will toward the UFC and even tweeted “Thank u UFC for a lot of Good memories. Respect to all the staff at zuffa for always treating me like family.” This was a classy move from Grove.
Grove joins Travis Lutter and Efrain Escudero as the only champions to be let go by the UFC.
It was time that Grove be let go. He has lost four of his last six fights. Boring fighting can often be Grove’s weakness. His last two fights against Demian Maia and Tim Boetsch were both fights that drew many yawns from the crowd. If Grove wants to get back in the UFC, he needs to step up the pace in his strategy.
Zuffa is moving forward with exciting fighters, more weight classes, and bigger crowds. These fans don’t pay hard earned money to watch fighters like Grove. However, there is still hope for him. Grove should go on to fight in a few minor league fights. With a few wins he may get signed back onto the UFC roster. When he gets back, I hope that his eyes find this article. Stop being boring and start pushing the fight pace.
Nate Marquardt Makes His Debut In The Welterweight Division Next Week During UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story
The UFC welterweight division has been ruled by one man since 2008. George St. Pierre hasn’t lost since UFC 74 and regained his title during UFC …
Nate Marquardt Makes His Debut In The Welterweight Division Next Week During UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story
The UFC welterweight division has been ruled by one man since 2008. George St. Pierre hasn’t lost since UFC 74 and regained his title during UFC 83. It appears that the class is set and no one will beat George St. Pierre. But, is that really true? GSP might be the bets pound-for-pound fighter in the land, but the event on Sunday might raise a few eyebrows, including St. Pierre’s.
Rick Story has stepped up, in place of Anthony Johnson, and will face Nate Marquardt. Story lost his UFC debut in UFC 99 against John Hathaway. Since that fight he has won six straight fights over some great fighters such as: Dustin Hazelett, Johny Hendrix, and Thiago Alves. Story has been a nightmare to face, which is fitting because his nickname is “The Horror”. Get it? Story isn’t far from the division’s top five.
The card really gets interesting because Nate Marquardt will have his first fight weighing in at 171 lbs. or less. If his body can handle the weight cut, and he fights at full capacity, he will be a terror in the division. He would be an unbelievably strong welterweight. I personally think that if he beats Story, he is one fight away from GSP. St. Pierre is amazing, but even he may have problems with Marquardt.
Marquardt has a high quality stand up game and GSP wouldn’t dominate him on the feet like he did Josh Koscheck. While St. Pierre has beaten bigger opponents, like Thiago Alves, all those fighters had major weaknesses. Marquardt’s weakness is facing a very good wrestler. Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen have proven that. Wrestling is one of St. Pierre’s many strengths. But, would the size advantage for marquardt help him against GSP?
I will not be the one to say GSP will lose to Marquardt, I am just pointing out the dynamics that make it a fantastic title fight for both individuals.
However, Marquardt needs to keep his eyes on the task at hand. Rick Story is not going to make it easy for him. Story is looking to write a tale of his own, and if Nate The Great isn’t careful, he will find himself in a scary situation.
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