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The Grispi Effect Claimed Anthony Pettis, Is Rashad Evans Next?

While Rashad Evans rolls the dice with his title ambitions at UFC 133, the Grispi Effect lurks in the shadows looking to make him pay. What is the Grispi Effect? The Grispi Effect is a phenomenon based off UFC featherweight Josh Grispi, who lost his ti…

While Rashad Evans rolls the dice with his title ambitions at UFC 133, the Grispi Effect lurks in the shadows looking to make him pay.

What is the Grispi Effect?

The Grispi Effect is a phenomenon based off UFC featherweight Josh Grispi, who lost his title shot on January 1.

Grispi was scheduled to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo on the UFC 125 card, but Aldo had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.

Instead of waiting around for his hard-earned title shot, Grispi decided to still compete on the card against Dustin Poirier. Despite his attempts to keep warm, Grispi’s performance was cold as Poirier picked up the upset in a lopsided decision.

The woes of the 22-year-old Grispi continued at the Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale, where he was stopped in the third round by George Roop.

In a little over five months time, Grispi went from contender to being on the UFC chopping block.

Who else has this affected?

Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis came to the UFC as the top contender for Frankie Edgar’s lightweight title, but the original plans were scrapped when Edgar’s title bout against Gray Maynard ended in a draw at UFC 125.

With no clear timeline for a future title shot, Pettis and the UFC agreed upon a bout against Clay Guida to keep the Taekwondo black belt busy.

UFC President Dana White assured fans that Pettis was the top contender for the UFC title despite a multitude of other candidates. All Pettis had to do was beat Guida at the TUF Season 13 Finale.

It was by no means an easy task, but Guida seemed to always come up short in big moments. Unfortunately for Pettis, that version of Clay Guida is dead and gone. There was nothing flashy about his performance, but Guida was consistent with his takedowns and picked up a workmanlike unanimous decision.

Being slapped with a double dose of reality, Pettis was forced to come to the realization that he needs to work on his takedown defense, and he was no longer the top contender for the lightweight title.

Now, Evans is on deck to face rising star Phil Davis in a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender.

A bout between Evans and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was set for UFC 133, but Jones pulled out of the fight with a hand injury. It was initially thought that Jones would need to undergo surgery to repair the injury, and Evans took a fight with Davis to avoid extending his already long hiatus.

Not long after the Evans and Davis bout was announced, Jones found out that he wouldn’t need surgery to repair his hand, and he would be ready to fight again by October. With Evans already locked into a bout with Davis, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was promoted as the next title contender.

Davis is a really dangerous opponent for Evans. It’s incredibly hard to gage where Davis is at in his young career. He continues to improve with every fight, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decipher his everlasting potential.

After it became known that Jones wouldn’t need surgery, would it have been smarter for the UFC to continue with its original plans of Evans versus Jones and match Davis with Jackson instead?

A bout between Evans and Jones could be deemed a superfight. The amount of drama surrounding this newfound rivalry of former teammates could serve as a perennial slot on daytime television.

Why not strike while the iron is hot? What if Jackson or Davis picks up an upset?

There is never a sure thing in MMA, and if either Jones or Evans incur losses, it would take a lot of steam out of the anticipated grudge match.

For now, fans are forced to wait and see how the altered scenario unfolds.

The Grispi Effect claimed Anthony Pettis. Is Rashad Evans next?

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UFC 131 Fight Card: 4 Reasons You Should Already Know Who Jon Olav Einemo Is

This Saturday, Jon Olav Einemo will meet Dave Herman on the main card of UFC 131, which will be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally expected to fight Shane Carwin, Einemo had a change of opponent when Carwin was move…

Einemo’s fight with Herman will mark his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) after focusing on jiu-jitsu competition for the last four years. Despite his long layoff, there are still plenty of reasons why MMA fans should already be aware of Einemo and his accomplishments.

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UFC 131: Does Kenny Florian Deserve a Title Shot with a Win Against Diego Nunes?

While most of the hype around UFC 131 is centered on the main event between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin, there is another fighter who is likely a win away from a title shot this Sunday. Kenny Florian is making his featherweight debut against Die…

While most of the hype around UFC 131 is centered on the main event between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin, there is another fighter who is likely a win away from a title shot this Sunday.

Kenny Florian is making his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes this weekend, and due to fortunate circumstances and marketability alone, he’ll likely get a title shot with a win.

But does he deserve it?

Florian has already gotten two shots at UFC gold and came up short both times, getting dominated by Sean Sherk and looking sluggish before being submitted by BJ Penn back at UFC 101.

Florian worked his way back into the title picture by August of last year, but was controlled by Gray Maynard at UFC 118, losing a shot at the title in front of his hometown crowd.

After the loss to Maynard, Florian decided to make the cut to 145.

Due to Chad Mendes passing on a title shot with Jose Aldo in favor of staying active and fighting Rani Yahya in August, there is no clear contender for the featherweight belt when Aldo returns, which is likely to happen in the Fall.

With the most recognizable name in the division and the ability to finish a fight both standing and on the feet, Florian is an attractive option for the UFC to throw into the fire against Aldo.

While Mendes is clearly the second-best guy at 145, and Florian will own just one win in the division if he beats Nunes, he still might be the most qualified fighter available to fight Aldo this fall.

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Strikeforce: Does Dan Henderson’s Fight with Fedor Emelianenko Make Any Sense?

Fedor Emelianenko was once considered to be the best fighter to have ever lived. Now, having lost twice in a row, his aura of invincibility has shattered and many are doubting the Russian sambo expert.Fortunately for Emelianenko, he has been given one …

Fortunately for Emelianenko, he has been given one last chance to redeem himself (and perhaps retire with a win) in the form of a fight with current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion—as well as former UFC and Pride champion—Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson on July 30th, 2011.

Had this fight been announced in the heydays of Pride, it would have been a dream match for MMA fans all over the world.

However, both fighters are now past their primes and in the twilight hours of their careers (specifically Emelianenko) and the fight doesn’t represent a “superfight” so much as is represents a “last hurrah” for two legends.

Still, the fight is happening and is being hyped up by many a fan as something that will be epic and memorable—a classic in the making.

But is it really? Does the fight actually make any sense?

The answer is twofold.

It doesn’t make sense when you consider that Dan Henderson is currently coming off of a victory in which he captured the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship from Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

Emelianenko, on the other hand, has lost two straight. Only in Strikeforce does losing two fights in a row earn you a fight with the title holder from another weight class, even under Zuffa ownership!

Despite this obvious flaw in matchmaking, the fight does actually make sense in other ways.

First, it makes financial sense. Zuffa is intending to get every last penny out of Emelianenko that it can. What a better way to do it than put him up against another big name in Dan Henderson?

Second, should Emelianenko lose it will assure Zuffa’s victory over posterity. What this means is that if Emelianenko loses to Henderson (which is very likely; don’t forget that it was predicted on Bleacher Report MMA that Emelianenko would lose to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva), Zuffa and Dana White will undoubtedly boast that Emelianenko couldn’t even beat “UFC reject” Dan Henderson.

When one examines the fight very closely, the pros outweigh the cons, and the fight ultimately does make sense. If Fedor wins, great! Zuffa made money off of him and may be able to put him in another big fight. If Fedor loses, even better! Zuffa made money off of him and can now forever cast Fedor Emelianenko into the annals of MMA history as a false god worshiped only by misguided Pride fans.

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UFC 133 Fight Card: Featherweight Chad Mendes Deserves To Be on the Main Card

UFC 133 is the return of the UFC to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. A card that was suppose to feature Jon Jones and then Jose Aldo, has had to make do with what it has because of injuries.So now Rashad Evans gave up his shot at a title to fa…

UFC 133 is the return of the UFC to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. A card that was suppose to feature Jon Jones and then Jose Aldo, has had to make do with what it has because of injuries.

So now Rashad Evans gave up his shot at a title to face Phil Davis, and featherweight Chad Mendes, instead of waiting, is putting his shot on the line to fight Rani Yahya.

Even though Mendes was originally scheduled to be the main event in Philadelphia, the UFC has put his bout with Yahya on the undercard of UFC 133.

Just to get this straight, Mendes manned up and instead of waiting is fighting and risking his title shot. Now because of the bout not featuring Aldo, Mendes is bumped down to the undercard.

If you don’t remember Mendes’ last bout with Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 126, I challenge you to find a video of it and tell me you’re not impressed with Mendes.

After seeing how Aldo was in the fifth round against Mark Hominick, whose wrestling is not the same as Mendes, Mendes seems like a good bet to give Aldo a run for his money. Mendes has the wrestling and his striking is improving with every fight.

But here’s the thing, Mendes is on the undercard when Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara is on the main card. Sakara vs. Rivera is a bout with both fighters coming off of losses and neither fighter being ranked inside the top 10 of their respective weight division.

Mendes vs. Yahya features two fighters in the top 13 of their division with Mendes being the No. 3 ranked featherweight, and No. 1 contender, and Yahya being a borderline top-13 fighter coming off of a victory over former WEC featherweight champion. Mike Thomas Brown.

The battle between Mendes and Yahya will be a ground battle and a very interesting one at that. Unless Mendes decides to keep it standing and use that ever improving striking game to pick apart Yahya.

The clear thing here is that Mendes should be rewarded with a main card bout for manning up and being a true warrior to fight instead of waiting. Mendes is a great up-and-coming fighter and deserves to be on the main card. Especially when he has a title shot on the line and you’re trying to get these smaller divisions more exposure.

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The Two Sheds Review: Guida & Pettis Deliver at UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Final

So once again, The Ultimate Fighter has reached its conclusion, and once again I didn’t watch any of the reality show stuff beforehand. The UFC presented the 13th Ultimate Fighter finale over the weekend, and it was shown live in the early hours …

The broadcast began with the welterweight division as Chuck O’Neil faced Chris Cope.

The Team Lesnar buddies put in a highly entertaining opener, but from the early moments it was obvious how this was going to turn out.

Cope put on an excellent striking display, getting better as the fight went on. By the time the third round started, he was using O’Neil for target practice.

The judges’ decision came as no surprise, with all three giving everything to Cope.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division, as Kyle Kingsbury faced Fabio Maldonado.

This fight gave us a second example of great striking, but this time it came from both fighters.

Kingsbury began strongly, and his knees from numerous muay thai clinches looked great. But most of the time, Maldonado countered with some hard shots to the body.

Add in some trips to the ground and a couple of guillotine attempts and you’ve got an entertaining three-rounder.

The judges were called into action again, with all three giving the fight to Kingsbury.

After an interview with Shane Carwin it was on to middleweight action, as Ed Herman took on Tim Credeur.

This one lasted less than a minute. Herman had already connected with a couple of good lefts when an uppercut sent Credeur down. Herman joined him on the ground before the referee stepped in to give Herman the TKO win.

Following an interview with Junior Dos Santos it was on to the lightweight encounter between Anthony Pettis and Clay Guida.

Pettis came into this fight with a great deal of fanfare, and most of it was justified.

Whenever the fight went to the ground Pettis always seemed to be looking for ways to attack, and he had some success in that respect, especially when he took Guida’s back towards the end of the third.

The only problem was that Guida was able to impose his will on the fight, turning it into an ugly but effective affair, taking Pettis’ back as the fight came to an end.

Once again the judges were called into action, with all three giving the fight to Guida.

The main event featured welterweight action as Ramsey Nijem faced Tony Ferguson in the final of The Ultimate Fighter.

This one began with Nijem coming forward early with combinations, Ferguson countering with a take down.

From there we saw some nice exchanges with a few brief trips to the ground before Ferguson connected with a left hook that sent Nijem crashing. Ferguson went down to finish the fight, with the referee stepping in to give Ferguson the TKO win and the big money contract.

The show rounded out with filler material, beginning with the bantamweight clash between Scott Jorgensen and Ken Stone.

This featured some nice striking from both men, with Jorgensen getting the upper hand before Stone came back with some good work of his own.

When the fight went to the ground Stone looked for the submission, but a big right from the guard by Jorgensen knocked Stone out, which is something I’ve never seen before. The referee wisely stepped in to confirm Jorgensen’s stunning win.

The final fight saw Josh Grispi taking on George Roop in the featherweight division.

Grispi started the fighting by going for a take down, and it was from there that Roop began his great work, countering Grispi with a series of elbows.

It was from the second round onwards that Roop really upped his game, controlling the fight on the deck with his ground and pound, Grispi offering little in return.

Grispi began the third round well enough on the ground, but it wasn’t long before Roop took control again, and after Grispi complained of a low blow that looked borderline at best Roop took the win with a hard body shot, the referee stopping the action as soon as Grispi went down.

In conclusion, The Ultimate Fighter has again proven my point; you don’t need to watch the show to enjoy the finale.

This was a great night of fight action. There wasn’t a bad fight here, although I can’t decide if I enjoyed the Guida/Pettis or the Roop/Grispi fight the most. So in all The Ultimate Finale 13 gets the thumbs up.

And who knows, now that Michael Bisping has been confirmed as one of the coaches for the next series, I might actually watch it again!

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

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