UFC 130 is just around the corner and is set to take place without a big-name battle.But even without the added hype of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard for the lightweight title, UFC 130 still has some battles left to be seen.Quinton “Rampage” Jackson i…
UFC 130 is just around the corner and is set to take place without a big-name battle.
But even without the added hype of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard for the lightweight title, UFC 130 still has some battles left to be seen.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is getting close to having a shot at the light heavyweight title and could be set back with a loss to underdog, Matt Hamill.
Also, a battle between Frank Mir and Roy Nelson is set to take place that could help catapult either fighter further into the world heavyweight rankings.
UFC 130 also features top 10 middleweight, Jorge Santiago, who will be making his second stint in the UFC. Rick Story will be facing one of the top ranked welterweights in the world, Thiago Alves.
With only a few days left before his main event bout with Matt Hamill at UFC 130, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson spent some time to shed some light on his opponent.Jackson appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” last night…
With only a few days left before his main event bout with Matt Hamill at UFC 130, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson spent some time to shed some light on his opponent.
Jackson appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” last night to promote the event and he said he is focused and motivated to compete this weekend.
When asked on a prediction for the bout, Jackson said he would prefer to end it quickly as possible.
“I’m not sure, actually I’m hoping to end it fast,” Jackson told Ferguson.
Jackson joked that after a long and grueling training camp, he hopes to go to his after-party to drink and celebrate his victory.
While he is known for his humorous and colorful personality, Jackson is a motivated and serious competitor inside the Octagon. Since his debut, Jackson is 9-2 in the UFC and is one of the few successful fighters to cross over from Pride FC. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jackson has picked up victories over such fighters as: Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva.
And although he appeared to poke fun at his opponent, Hamill has built a respectable resume to his name, earning victories over Keith Jardine and Tito Ortiz, and is one of the most competitive fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division.
UFC 130 takes place this Saturday night, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It really doesn’t seem like we have a UFC pay-per-view coming up in less than a week. The lack of a true main event has taken a lot of fans’ interest away from this card. No disrespect to Rampage Jackson, but anyone would have a difficult time trying t…
It really doesn’t seem like we have a UFC pay-per-view coming up in less than a week. The lack of a true main event has taken a lot of fans’ interest away from this card.
No disrespect to Rampage Jackson, but anyone would have a difficult time trying to sell a main event when their opponent is Matt Hamill. The injuries suffered by UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and his opponent Gray Maynard really sucked the life out of this event.
Frank Mir and to some extent Roy Nelson are two fighters that can help draw interest, but because they are fighting one another and there is nothing but mutual respect between the two men, the UFC doesn’t have too much to hype this fight with.
So now that we have established the fact this card will sell very few pay-per-views, we can go over what fighters could possibly lose their job with a loss this Saturday night.
UFC 130 is set to take place on Saturday, May 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event on the card will feature a light heavyweight battle between former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill. The c…
UFC 130 is set to take place on Saturday, May 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event on the card will feature a light heavyweight battle between former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill. The co-main event will be a heavyweight showdown between two highly ranked fighters, former UFC champion Frank Mir and Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
Fighting on the undercard of UFC 130 will be Cole Escovedo (17-6) and Renan “Barao” Pegado (25-1 with one no contest).
Escovedo will make his return to the Zuffa fold after being away since falling to Antonio Banuelos by unanimous decision at WEC 23 back in August of 2006.
Escovedo was the first WEC featherweight champion, capturing that crown back in 2002. He held that title until 2006, losing to Urijah Faber. Following his 2006 loss to Banuelos, Escovedo was forced out of competition for over two years when complications from a staph infection left him temporarily paralyzed. Since coming back to competition, Escovedo has put together a record of 6-2.
Escovedo’s opponent, “Barao,” is just 24 years old, but already has 27 professional fights under his belt. His lone loss came in his first bout, dropping a split decision to Joao Paulo in April 2005. The only other blemish on his record is a no contest due to an illegal soccer kick in his bout with Claudemir Souza in 2007.
Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza described “Barao” as the “most lethal and most promising bantamweight you’ve never heard of,” when putting together the highlights of his career.
The Escovedo versus “Barao” fight will be available live via streaming video on the UFC’s facebook page.
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is only four days away as it is scheduled to take place on May 28, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday night. With the originally scheduled rubber match between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edg…
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill is only four days away as it is scheduled to take place on May 28, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday night.
With the originally scheduled rubber match between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard canceled due to injuries sustained by both fighters during training, the co-main event between Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill has been pushed up to the main event, which still leaves us with a very impressive undercard.
One of the more controversial undercard fights and one of my personal favorite matchups is Brian Stann vs. former UFC fighter, Jorge Santiago.
Stann, the former U.S. Marine Captain whose military actions have been noted by President Bush, is coming off of a huge KO victory over UFC middleweight, Chris Leben.
While many big names were being thrown around as possible next opponents for Stann, one of which was Wanderlei Silva, the UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva and UFC President, Dana White chose an unlikely opponent to face Stann at UFC 130.
Enter former Strikeforce middleweight champ, former Sengoku middleweight champ, Sherdog’s Fight of the Year winner and American Top Team disciple and BJJ black belt, Jorge Santiago.
Some fans and fighters feel that with this being Santiago’s first fight in the UFC, Stann should have been given the opportunity to face a better-known opponent from the UFC’s crème de la crème middleweight fighters.
Tim Kennedy, former U.S. Army Ranger and Special Forces sniper turned MMA fighter, who also fights for Strikeforce, verbally expressed his disdain for the choice of Stann’s UFC 130 opponent to Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview.
“And then we’ll take Brian Stann, a Silver Medal recipient, a war hero, a Marine captain. He’s had like 10 fights under the Zuffa banner between the WEC and the UFC but he’s fighting a newcomer to the promotion in Jorge Santiago. It doesn’t make any sense. Let’s reward the guys who deserve rewarding,” Kennedy said.
“The one’s that fight fair, the one’s that work hard, the one’s that do the right thing and punish the guys that say the wrong things, who do the wrong things, that fight unfairly,” he said.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but perhaps Kennedy’s idea of Stann having an unfair matchup with Santiago because he’s a “newcomer” in the UFC is a bit unfair itself.
In fact, Santiago has fought before in the UFC, three times in 2006, going 1-for-3 in his fights, losing to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher.
Since losing to Belcher, Santiago has not only won, but finished 11 of his 12 fights and avenged his only loss during that time, winning by decision against Mamed Khalidov.
Santiago is also accustomed to fighting in and winning MMA tournaments, where contestants fight multiple opponents in the same day.
I think it’s safe to say that his cardio is up to par and it could play an important role in his fight with Stann.
Boasting a professional record of 23-8 with 31 professional fights, Santiago is by no means a “newcomer,” neither to the UFC or MMA.
However, five of his losses have come by KO or TKO and it’s no secret that Stann has knockout power, seeing as he crippled the “Crippler” at UFC 125: Resolution.
With Santiago, being the more experienced fighter and finishing all but one of his last 12 fights, and Stann, being hungry and coming off of a KO win, this bout has Fight of the Night or Knockout of the Night written all over it; it could even be a potential Submission of the Night candidate.
However you see this matchup, come fight night these two athletes are coming not just to fight, but to win.
The UFC will begin at its new time of 9 P.M. EST/6 P.M. PT.
The new time change began at UFC 129 and will continue indefinitely.
Check back with BleacheRreport.com/MMA for UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill fight card news and updates.
Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a UFC 130 clash with Matt Hamill this Saturday, May 30, 2011 in Las Vegas. As he nears the bout, he has included some brief glimpses into his life via some videos.Rampage is o…
Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a UFC 130 clash with Matt Hamill this Saturday, May 30, 2011 in Las Vegas. As he nears the bout, he has included some brief glimpses into his life via some videos.
Rampage is often funny, cordial and fun-loving and is rarely serious unless he is competing in the UFC. He has voiced recently that he plans to only compete in mixed martial arts for a few more years and then he will step away from the fight game.
Jackson had a change of opponents in the months leading up the fight, and now he will square off against Matt “Hammer” Hamill on Saturday.
Jackson seemed to be less than excited when he has spoken about the bout. In the past, he has been known for gaining large amounts of weight in between fights.
Will he be in great shape for UFC 130? The world will know on fight night.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a