Decorated veteran and former two-time UFC champion Frank Mir was knocked out by Mark Hunt in the main event of last night’s (March, 19, 2016) UFC Fight Night 85 from the Brisbane Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia, and the stoppage loss has justifiably called the 36-year-old legend’s UFC career into serious question. Mir has most certainly
Decorated veteran and former two-time UFC champion Frank Mir was knocked out by Mark Hunt in the main event of last night’s (March, 19, 2016) UFC Fight Night 85 from the Brisbane Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia, and the stoppage loss has justifiably called the 36-year-old legend’s UFC career into serious question.
Mir has most certainly been one of the most accomplished heavyweights in UFC history, holding the record for most bouts in the weight class while transcending three UFC eras over an illustrious career that has lasted almost an unprecedented 15 years. But his latest knockout loss to Hunt was Mir’s sixth loss in his last eight bouts, and his eighth overall knockout loss to the best heavyweights in the world.
It’s left the mixed martial arts community discussing whether or not Mir should retire to take a job in the UFC and take his much-deserved spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. The lethal Brazilian jiu-jitsu practicioner simply doesn’t have anything left to prove in MMA, even in a division as shallow as the UFC heavyweight landscape, but obviously the competitive fires are hard to put out for a fighter of Mir’s caliber and resume.
What do you think? Should Mir retire, or should he fight again?
As you may know, MMA fans were ‘treated’ to the sideshow spectacle of Kimbo Slice’s ‘win’ over fellow backyard brawler DADA 5000 in the co-main event of last night’s Bellator 149 from Houston, Texas. It was billed as a faceoff for the ‘street crown,’ but what it turned out to be was just straight-up embarrassing.
As you may know, MMA fans were ‘treated’ to the sideshow spectacle of Kimbo Slice’s ‘win’ over fellow backyard brawler DADA 5000 in the co-main event of last night’s Bellator 149 from Houston, Texas.
It was billed as a faceoff for the ‘street crown,’ but what it turned out to be was just straight-up embarrassing. Obviously predicted to be a brawl featuring little to no technical expertise; it was, in reality, something much worse, perhaps something akin to drunken slugfest featuring two frat boys at the local tavern after both fighters completely gassed long before the first round was over.
Slice may have scored his second straight stoppage win in Bellator when it was all said and done, but it came at the expense of a fight that was undoubtedly one of the worst pro MMA fights to ever take place and a disservice to the spirit of the many martial arts that inspired the spirit of MMA.
In short, it was just plain terrible. It should go down as one of the more glaring examples of laughable MMA bouts of all-time. Do you think it was the worst?
Skyrocketing UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson shocked possibly the UFC’s most talented division when he knocked out former champion Johny Hendricks in the first round of UFC Fight Night 82 last night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Coming into the fight at No. 8, Thompson exhibited world-class striking range that simply had
Skyrocketing UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson shocked possibly the UFC’s most talented division when he knocked out former champion Johny Hendricks in the first round of UFC Fight Night 82 last night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Coming into the fight at No. 8, Thompson exhibited world-class striking range that simply had “Bigg Rigg” neutralized in the Octagon after an early first round takedown attempt. The much shorter Hendricks ever got his once-vaunted power punching going, and instead ate a monstrously precise straight left that opened up the floodgates for one of Thompson’s trademark spinning kicks, after which a flurry of punches caused a surprisingly quick stoppage to the fight.
‘Wonderboy’ called out for a title shot versus Robbie Lawler following his biggest MMA win, and after he handled the former champ with such ease, and it might be tough to deny him at this point. However, there are a slew of top contenders like Rory MacDonald, Tyron Woodley, and Carlos Condit ranked ahead of him, and all of them would certainly make for exciting match-ups that could decide the next title challenger. He could also face the winner of May’s Demian Maia vs. Matt Brown, bout which would be a rematch of his only UFC loss if Brown were to win.
No matter what direction the UFC takes with their flashy star in the making, the future is bright for ‘Wonderboy’ and his next fight will be a pivotal one. Whom do you think he should meet in the Octagon?
Nate Diaz came back with force when he shocked many by soundly defeating top contender Michael Johnson on the main card of December 19’s UFC on FOX 17, and he took the win to the next level by calling out featherweight champion Conor McGregor in his expletive-filled interview directly after the win. While Diaz won’t
Nate Diaz came back with force when he shocked many by soundly defeating top contender Michael Johnson on the main card of December 19’s UFC on FOX 17, and he took the win to the next level by calling out featherweight champion Conor McGregor in his expletive-filled interview directly after the win.
While Diaz won’t get the next bout with ‘Notorious,’ who will face Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight championship at March 5’s UFC 197, it looks like the popular and polarizing Stockton slugger will get a big fight next, and it’s one that has a lengthy backstory to it.
It’s only speculation, but apparently Nate’s brother Nick told MiddleEasy that the younger Diaz is in discussion to fight former champion Anthony Pettis, who lost an uninspired split decision to Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 81. The two top-ranked lightweights have a history with each other, as a back-and-forth trash talk war years ago ultimately failed to come to fruition with a fight.
Regardless, the bout could be perfect for both Pettis and Diaz’ striking-centered styles, as matchups with elite wrestlers have obviously proved to be the kryptonite for each man. A win would vault the No. 4 Pettis and the No. 7 Diaz back into title contention in a division with an uncertain future now that McGregor is involved.
The UFC recently made it clear that Tony Ferguson won’t be in that picture when it scheduled him to face Johnson at UFC 197, and it’s also unknown when touted but oft-injured grappler Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon, so Pettis vs. Diaz does seem like one of the most obvious and best bouts to make at 155 pounds.
It’d be a marketable hit with the fans that could feature fireworks, and the winner could potentially set themselves up to face McGregor next. Who would you pick to win Pettis vs. Diaz if it is indeed booked?
33% of the voters had even less confidence in Penn. What could be worse than getting your ass kicked again, you ask? Not even being able to make 145 pounds in the first place. That’s right. A third of our readership is skeptical about Penn’s commitment to fitness and thinks that Penn at featherweight is a pipe dream.
It also appears that 7% of our readers are delusional (or just decided to be trolls and skew our results by voting for the most insane selection). They believe that Penn will become the UFC featherweight champion by the end of 2014. No joke.
And the ultimate minority, the remaining 5%? They think that Penn will get his revenge on Edgar and then retire afterwards.
Thankfully, it appears that most of our readers have a grip on reality. Penn lost decisively to Edgar two times, largely because he was slower than Edgar and had worse conditioning. These problems will only be exacerbated when Penn, who’s notorious for his poor conditioning and inability to fight to the death, attempts to drop down to featherweight — a weight class Edgar has fought in twice now without any sign that he’s been depleted by the weight cut. Penn, once he realizes that he’s not a young man anymore and that he wasted his prime thinking that he was too good to train hard, will very likely retire again.
(Herb Dean convincing BJ Penn not to drop to featherweight. / Photo via Getty Images)
33% of the voters had even less confidence in Penn. What could be worse than getting your ass kicked again, you ask? Not even being able to make 145 pounds in the first place. That’s right. A third of our readership is skeptical about Penn’s commitment to fitness and thinks that Penn at featherweight is a pipe dream.
It also appears that 7% of our readers are delusional (or just decided to be trolls and skew our results by voting for the most insane selection). They believe that Penn will become the UFC featherweight champion by the end of 2014. No joke.
And the ultimate minority, the remaining 5%? They think that Penn will get his revenge on Edgar and then retire afterwards.
Thankfully, it appears that most of our readers have a grip on reality. Penn lost decisively to Edgar two times, largely because he was slower than Edgar and had worse conditioning. These problems will only be exacerbated when Penn, who’s notorious for his poor conditioning and inability to fight to the death, attempts to drop down to featherweight — a weight class Edgar has fought in twice now without any sign that he’s been depleted by the weight cut. Penn, once he realizes that he’s not a young man anymore and that he wasted his prime thinking that he was too good to train hard, will very likely retire again.
Regarding those who think Penn can’t even make the cut to 145, well, let’s just say that we at CagePotato don’t think that little of Penn. We just think that Edgar is the better fighter. The reasons he beat Penn will still be present (and more apparent) when they face off after their TUF 19 coaching stint.
And Penn winning the title? The 70-odd people who believe that are the last few stragglers that after all this time still believe that the mythical “motivated BJ Penn” is the pound-for-pound GOAT.
Oh, and the 5% of people who think Penn will win and retire? The only part they’re probably right about is the retiring.
Want your voice heard? Be sure to vote in our current sidebar poll “Was Alexander Gustafsson Robbed at UFC 165?” and stay tuned for the next installment of The Potato Nation Speaks!
