Tag: Opinion

MMA Video: Urijah Faber and Jon Jones Working Together on Their Dance Moves?

With one thinking how important foot-work is when is comes to professional fighting, it is always good to see two of the best fighters on the planet working together to perfect it.Some fighters just do not have the timing and some do not have the rhyth…

With one thinking how important foot-work is when is comes to professional fighting, it is always good to see two of the best fighters on the planet working together to perfect it.

Some fighters just do not have the timing and some do not have the rhythm. Fighters work diligently on foot-work, focusing on their striking and all-around movement.

Sounds great in theory, but when Urijah Faber and Jon Jones got together, they decided to work on a different kind of foot-work and focused on either helping each other with their dance moves, or trying to one-up each other.

Anyways, it’s good to see some people having fun while having no shame in how they look to the majority of people that view this.

In one corner you have “The California Kid” Urijah Faber, who is probably the best Featherweight in mixed martial arts history.

In the other corner you have Jon “Bones” Jones, the up-and-comer who climbed quickly through the ranks of the Light Heavyweight division to capture the championship and is being compared to the best the sport has ever seen.

So forget pound for pound rankings and debating who is the best ever. The dream match is here and now. Two of the best in the UFC and maybe of all-time.

So here is your chance to be the judge. Who wins in this duel between UFC greats?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNnY5guCZhU&feature=player_embedded#at=39

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UFC 132 Fight Card: Why Is Dennis Siver Fighting Matt Wiman?

It’s a question people have been asking since the fight was booked, but before we get into the answer, let’s first look at why people are asking.Dennis Siver has been with the UFC for four years and has compiled a respectable record of 8-4 in the organ…

It’s a question people have been asking since the fight was booked, but before we get into the answer, let’s first look at why people are asking.

Dennis Siver has been with the UFC for four years and has compiled a respectable record of 8-4 in the organization. The UFC’s most prominent German fighter flew under the radar of most fans, until he squared off against the UFC’s most prominent Australian fighter, George Sotiropoulos, at UFC 127.

Ironically enough, going into his fight with George most fans were asking, “Why is George Sotiropoulos fighting Dennis Siver?” Sotiropoulos was 7-0 in the UFC at the time and many wanted to see him fighting a top five opponent instead of Siver.

Dennis, not to be counted out, managed to upset George using his takedown defense and superior striking.

With that win, Siver basically usurped Sotiropoulos’ position in the lightweight division. Fans took notice of him and many were calling for him to face off against a top contender. Instead, he is facing off against Matt Wiman. Matt is a respectable fighter but not one of the division’s elite.

So, we are arrive back at our initial question: Why is Dennis Siver fighting Matt Wiman?

It’s certainly not because the fans were calling for it. As I already mentioned, fans wanted to see Siver fight one of the higher ups in the division. As for Wiman, he hasn’t really been drawing enough attention to himself to have fans trying to call his next fight.

The answer to this conundrum is relatively simple folks.

The UFC’s lightweight division is the busiest division in the company right now, so they need to keep Siver on the slow track for a bit because they can’t afford to have another top contender on their hands.

Before the merger with the WEC, the line for a title shot at lightweight was already long. Now that the WEC has been merged, the line is ridiculous.

Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar are both injured and still have to rematch, as their last fight went to a draw.

Then you have Clay Guida, who just defeated former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis. Guida is now on a four-fight win streak.

Speaking of four-fight win streaks, Melvin Guillard is on one of those too. His most recent win coming over rising contender Evan Dunham.

If we’re talking about top lightweight contenders, Jim Miller has to be mentioned. He is 9-1 in the UFC and is riding a seven-fight win streak.

Miller’s next fight is going to be against Ben Henderson. If Henderson beats Miller, then he will also be in talks for a title shot.

Is your head ready to explode yet? Perhaps not, but if you were matchmaker Joe Silva, it would be.

Siver is, unfortunately, a victim of circumstance. He made some big waves by defeating George Sotiropoulos, but those waves don’t mean as much in the tsunami that is the UFC’s lightweight division.

Dennis just needs to keep his cool and keep winning fights. If he does that, his time will come.

In the meantime, Matt Wiman has a chance to do what Dennis Siver did to Sotiropoulos: pull off the upset and take Siver’s place as a rising contender in the division.

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Strikeforce GP: Going into Overeem Fight, What Is Fabricio Werdum?

With the opening round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix concluding Saturday night in Dallas, most people who don’t know headliner Fabricio Werdum from his swift throttling of Fedor Emelianenko know him as a faceless brutal knockout on UF…

With the opening round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix concluding Saturday night in Dallas, most people who don’t know headliner Fabricio Werdum from his swift throttling of Fedor Emelianenko know him as a faceless brutal knockout on UFC star Junior dos Santos’ highlight reel.

As he stands only hours away from another big challenge in Strikeforce heavyweight champion Allistair Overeem, so is the paradox of his career:

What is Fabricio Werdum?

Is he a top-flight heavyweight, a man who has deservedly sat as high as third on the heavyweight rankings of credible MMA websites, ahead of names such as dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, and the very champion he’ll meet Saturday?

Is he a grappler-turned-mixed martial artist who has benefited from generally favorable matchups that allowed him to display his considerable skills?

Is he somewhere in the middle—not quite what the Emelianenko win had people thinking but not what the dos Santos KO suggested either?

It’s almost impossible to set on an answer.

Werdum is as skilled a jiu-jitsu player as there is at heavyweight in MMA. He’s crafty, but not wildly flashy and has one of the slicker bottom games out there for a big man. Most heavies don’t get used to being on their back and if they do, they still don’t like it. Werdum excels there and it makes him a unique commodity.

He’s also durable, in spite of what the aforementioned dos Santos highlight might betray. Ducking into an uppercut from the best pure heavyweight boxer in the MMA world will knock most guys senseless and, aside from that, he’s survived and even beaten guys who’ve left many unconscious opponents in their wake.

Saturday night will see him in the cage once again with such a threat. In Overeem, Werdum will see an absolute monster of a human being who has a K-1 title sitting on his mantle at the moment and an ever-evolving grappling game that probably deserves more credit than it gets. You’d take Werdum in Abu Dhabi at the Combat Club—in a cage in Texas it’s not a foregone conclusion.

The result? He’s an insurmountable underdog at most online betting parlors, the type that you could place five dollars on and buy a house on Monday with your winnings if he pulls it off.

I’m of the mind that the truth on Werdum is somewhere in the middle. He’s not a top-three heavyweight in the world, but he’s got the tools to beat a lot of big names on any given day. He’s no outlier, not a guy that’s suddenly going to become the best in the world at 34-years-old, but he’s not the guy you see falling like a house of cards every time Junior dos Santos is starring on pay-per-view for the UFC.

And so we’ll all sit and watch this Saturday as he attempts to once again scale the unscale-able mountain that Allistair Overeem has become. Given his recent success, Werdum deserves more respect than he’s gotten, but I don’t need a house bad enough to put that five dollars down on him.

Regardless of the outcome though, we’ll be one step closer to finding out what he actually is on the heavyweight landscape.

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"Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, Will Winner Eventually Rule UFC HW Division"

Now that the cream of the UFC heavyweight division has risen to the top, MMA fans can turn their attention to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament quarterfinal fights this Saturday.The long-awaited Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum fight car…

Now that the cream of the UFC heavyweight division has risen to the top, MMA fans can turn their attention to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament quarterfinal fights this Saturday.

The long-awaited Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum fight card should answer a lot of questions for many fans who are wondering if the eventual winner of the Grand Prix could go on to dominate the top UFC heavyweights once Zuffa begins to incorporate the Strikeforce heavyweight talent under the UFC brand.

Fabricio Werdum is the one fighter in the tournament who is capable of showing us how the Strikeforce talent compares to the big men in the UFC.

Werdum has recently been in against the best fighters in both promotions, and how he fairs against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem should not only set the tone for how the rest of the Grand Prix will likely play out, but it should also offer MMA fans an idea of how the eventual tournament winner might stack up against either Cain Velasquez or Junior dos Santos.

If Werdum can survive the initial barrage that Overeem will be bringing on June 18, and go on to beat the Strikeforce heavyweight champ, it will tell us that Overeem’s recent dominance is due to a lack of top-tier competition.

If the -315 favorite Overeem walks right through Werdum, as I fully expect he will do, then the champ will prove that he can indeed dominate top names in the division.

The same should apply for the other quarterfinal tournament fight on the card.

Josh Barnett is a heavy -300 favorite against the hard-hitting Brett Rogers, and if the former UFC heavyweight champ Barnett falls short in any way against his one-dimensional opponent, the chances of a 33-year-old Barnett winning the Grand Prix will be a long shot; let alone the notion of him going on to dominate in the UFC again.

Realistically, the only heavyweight fighter in the Strikeforce promotion that has a chance to come into the UFC and make a big impact is Alistair Overeem. If he wins the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in convincing fashion you can bet that Zuffa is going to cash in on bringing him over, and we could potentially see him in the Octagon shortly after the Grand Prix wraps up, whenever that might be.

So how will Overeem stack up against the UFC elite?

His best chance at success would most likely be against Junior dos Santos. Overeem’s kickboxing skills could negate Dos Santos’ stand-up game, especially if Overeem can utilize his reach advantage and leg kicks to their potential.

Against Velasquez I give Overeem less of a chance. The counter-punching technique and wrestling skills of the UFC champ Velasquez should prove to be too much for an Alistair Overeem that has been capable of wilting when the pressure is turned up high and he is forced deep into fights.

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TUF 3 Winner Kendall Grove and Runner-Up Ed Herman Have Unfinished Business

It has been five years since Kendall Grove (12-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) defeated Ed Herman (22-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC) to capture the Season 3 crown of The Ultimate Fighter.Throughout the season, Herman widely proclaimed that he would be victorious. But what he didn’t …

It has been five years since Kendall Grove (12-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) defeated Ed Herman (22-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC) to capture the Season 3 crown of The Ultimate Fighter.

Throughout the season, Herman widely proclaimed that he would be victorious. But what he didn’t expect was for the 6’6″ Grove to stop him in his tracks at the show’s finale and claim the six-figure contract.

Since their time on TUF, each man has taken a different path, but they could now be primed to settle their unfinished business.

Herman has suffered back-to-back losses twice in his UFC career and most recently defeated Tim Credeur at the TUF 13 finale to avoid making it six losses in the organization.

“Short Fuse” returned from a 22-month layoff when he faced Credeur and was impressive in doing so as he claimed a first-round knockout.

Prior to that, Herman defeated David Loiseau (UFC 97) and suffered a loss to Aaron Simpson at UFC 102.

Herman currently owns a gym with teammate Ryan Schultz in Colorado and a rematch against a fighter who has owns a victory over him would surely interest him.

After defeating Herman, Grove went on to claim submission victories over Chris Price (UFC: The Final Chapter) and Alan Belcher (UFC 69).

Like Herman, Grove suffered back-to-back losses but rebounded with victories over Jason Day and Evan Tanner.

The Hawaiian is set to refocus his career under the tutelage of coach Justin McCully and while he once defeated Herman, a rematch against him would surely get Grove to happily return to Octagon in the near future.

While Herman and Grove have seen their share of ups and downs, the first fight was an underrated classic and they’d certainly entertain fans for a second time.

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MMA: Frank Mir Discusses Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos

Frank Mir sat down with for a radio interview with Josh Gross from ESPN this week and discussed some different topics currently taking place in the MMA world. Mir discussed many topics, including how he would like the opportunity to fight Fedor and&nbs…

Frank Mir sat down with for a radio interview with Josh Gross from ESPN this week and discussed some different topics currently taking place in the MMA world.

Mir discussed many topics, including how he would like the opportunity to fight Fedor and that he has always wanted to do so. He also stated that he would like to fight Alistair Overeem and praised him for his K-1 wins.

Mir talked about the size differences in the UFC heavyweight division and how it shouldn’t be about just being a giant, being light, or whatever is trending. He just said that you should fight at the best weight that suits your style and made a few comparisons about what works for people.

Getting into the actual questions and quotes that I found interesting were as follows.

Mir was asked about how his win over Roy Nelson affects him and he replied,

“I think it keeps me right there in the talk about moving up. Strategically, though, I’m still one fight away if I want to be in a title fight. Obviously, dos Santos is fighting next for the title versus Velasquez and so, you know, hopefully I’ll be looking for one more fight before that. Maybe right now would be a good idea to try to fight (Shane) Carwin, you know, I’m coming off two wins in a row and he’s coming off two losses, I guess there’s a good argument for having a rematch where even though he won the first bout I’m the way up and he’s having a bit of a speed bump.”

He followed that up with saying how he has improved since his last fight with Carwin and wanting to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible. He said,

“Taking a off of couple weeks and get right back into training. Any time, you know, September would be a great time to get back in there. Really, honestly, if I could fight three times a year I think that would be best as far as staying active and not pushing yourself too much to where you’re not able to recover from injuries or any kind of training between fights”

Mir also discussed Brock Lesnar and what Lesnar is going through.

“Oh, I definitely do (feel sympathy for Brock). I mean, right now, what he’s going through is not having to do with us as competitors competing in the Octagon, you know, he’s a father, a husband, and he’s having health issues. I don’t wish that on anybody. I hope that he’s able to recover and provide a lifestyle for his family that they’re used to. That’s something that, you know, I have complete empathy for. I can’t imagine being in the same situation right now as far as, you know, being a father.”

 Mir’s final comments were on the Junior Dos Santos/Cain Velasquez fight.

“I’m still not completely sold on dos Santos. (He hasn’t seen the UFC 131 fight between JDS/Carwin). I don’t know how well-rounded he is. Velasquez right now, though, I think is a hard match-up for everybody. I think he posses the one tool that is every heavyweight’s Achilles heel and that’s his cardio. It’s amazing that he has cardio on the same level as most Welterweights that are at the top of their cardio game. He’s shown to be extremely well-rounded as far as hands, take-downs. He threw Brock Lesnar around like a rag doll, I couldn’t believe it, I mean he out-struck him obviously but he picked him up and threw him down and I was blown away by that. Also, Brock with all that size and power couldn’t even hold him down once he had taken him down. So, right now, I’m pretty much if you tell me Cain Velasquez and anybody to name on the other end of that roster, I would bet on Cain Velasquez.”

To listen to the entire interview go to http://espn.go.com/espnradio/feeds/rss/podcast.xml?id=6220514 which also includes a discussion with Mark Munoz and a look at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.  

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