It goes without saying that Dan Henderson has had one of the most storied careers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. He added yet another chapter to his astonishing track record with a stunning knockout of Hector Lombard 10 days ago (June 4, 2016) at UFC 199. In his post-fight interview, “Hendo” mentioned that he may
It goes without saying that Dan Henderson has had one of the most storied careers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
He added yet another chapter to his astonishing track record with a stunning knockout of Hector Lombard 10 days ago (June 4, 2016) at UFC 199. In his post-fight interview, “Hendo” mentioned that he may have just been in his last battle.
If we have indeed seen the last of Henderson, he will leave behind an unassailable legacy. Over the course of a career that began back in 1997, he fought probably the most difficult slate of opponents in the history of the sport. Across three weight classes, from middleweight to heavyweight, Henderson consistently fought the best of the best. He squared off with the likes of both Nogueiras, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko, Daniel Cormier, Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio Rua.
This list will look back at the accomplishments of a true all-time great and consensus first ballot hall of famer.
Nobiyuki Sakakibara is a pioneer in the Japanese MMA promotion, and knows a thing or two about who would succeed in the overseas market. The former Pride FC founder and current Rizin FC owner recently mentioned current MMA mega-stars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, as competitors who would flourish in today’s Japanese MMA scene. “He
Nobiyuki Sakakibara is a pioneer in the Japanese MMA promotion, and knows a thing or two about who would succeed in the overseas market.
The former Pride FC founder and current Rizin FC owner recently mentioned current MMA mega-stars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, as competitors who would flourish in today’s Japanese MMA scene.
“He would do fantastic,” Sakakibara said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “The fans would go crazy over him.”
“Their style, Conor and Ronda, given the weight class and divisions of who they are, being able to make such a huge success financially, that has changed history within the fight game,” he said.
Since the legendary Pride days the Japanese MMA market has been in a bit of a funk, however, Sakakibara is looking to change that with the launching of his new Rizin FC promotion.
Rizin just finished up it’s first event this past April in Nagoya, and also held a two-day event prior to that towards the end of last December that featured fighters such as ‘King Mo’, Wanderlei Silva, and the return of Fedor Emelianenko.
While Rizin’s next event has yet to be announced, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is currently awaiting the announcement of his next bout, which is expected to be a rematch against Nate Diaz.
No news of the return of Ronda Rousey, on the other hand, has been made after the former women’s bantamweight queen had her hopes of an undefeated career head kicked away by Holly Holm back at UFC 193 in Melbourne.
So how would the two stars fair in the Japanese market, and do you agree with Sakakibara’s comments?
It’s a sad day for the mixed martial arts (MMA) community to say the least, as reports have surfaced indicating that former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman has passed away at the age of 44. Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter confirmed the unfortunate news on his twitter account, claiming that Randleman was transported to the hospital
It’s a sad day for the mixed martial arts (MMA) community to say the least, as reports have surfaced indicating that former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman has passed away at the age of 44.
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter confirmed the unfortunate news on his twitter account, claiming that Randleman was transported to the hospital with a case of pneumonia, but ended up suffering heart failure.
Known as “The Monster”, Randleman was just that, possessing an NCAA division I wrestling background that he often used to simply rag doll his opponents, treating fans to some of the best slams in sport history.
Although his record stands at 17-16, “The Monster” is without question a pioneer, and an impactful figure on the sport of mixed martial arts.
He took on the best of his generation including the likes of Bas Rutten, Randy “The Natural” Couture, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Mirko Filipovic, whom he knocked out in 2004, Fedor Emelianenko, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
His heavyweight championship victory came over Pete Williams at UFC 23 in November 1999, and he would go on to defend the strap one time against Pedro Rizzo at UFC 26 in June 2000.
Losing nine of his last 11 bouts forced “The Monster” to finally hang up his gloves in 2011, but his physical prowess inside of the cage and his long lasting legacy will truly be remembered forever.
What is your favorite moment from Randleman’s influential and illustrious career?
Not everyone has what it takes to be a mixed martial arts fighter, and very few possess the physical tools, talent, technique and mental toughness required to compete in the sport’s leading promotions. With that in mind it’s a particularly impressive accomplishment when not one, but two, members of the same family defy the odds
Not everyone has what it takes to be a mixed martial arts fighter, and very few possess the physical tools, talent, technique and mental toughness required to compete in the sport’s leading promotions.
With that in mind it’s a particularly impressive accomplishment when not one, but two, members of the same family defy the odds and manage to make it to the big leagues.
In this article we’ll seek to highlight the ten best brothers to have made their mark in the sport since its inception.
Last week at UFC on FOX 15, we watched in awe/horror as Chris Camozzi was mercilessly sacrificed the Brazilian alligator god they call Jacare in the name of “our entertainment.” The fight was like watching a car wreck play out in slow motion — if one of the vehicles involved was a Smart Fortwo and the other a Caterpillar 79 — but hey, Some Fight is Better Than No Fight, Amiright? (copyright UFC 2016)
But Camozzi was not the first man to ever be brought into a no-win situation for one reason or another. Throughout MMA History, there have been fighters who served little other purpose than to make their opponents look all the more impressive. They’re called sacrificial lambs, and with an ever-expanding schedule constantly being undermined by ever-increasing injuries, even the UFC has been forced to call on them from time to time. So with all that in mind, let’s take a look back at some of the more notable fall men in MMA history.
Last week at UFC on FOX 15, we watched in awe/horror as Chris Camozzi was mercilessly sacrificed to the Brazilian alligator god they call Jacare, all in the name of “our entertainment.” The fight was like watching a car wreck play out in slow motion — if one of the vehicles involved was a Smart Fortwo and the other a Caterpillar 79 – but hey, Some Fight is Better Than No Fight, Amiright? (copyright UFC 2016)
But Camozzi was not the first man to ever be brought into a no-win situation for one reason or another. Throughout MMA History, there have been fighters who served little other purpose than to make their opponents look all the more impressive. They’re called sacrificial lambs, and with an ever-expanding schedule constantly being undermined by ever-increasing injuries, even the UFC has been forced to call on them from time to time. So with all that in mind, let’s take a look back at some of the more notable fall men in MMA history.
Jake O’Brien occupies a unique space in the world of sacrificial lambs, in that he was obliterated by a former heavyweight champion, a future heavyweight champion, *and* a future light heavyweight champion (Arlovski, Velasquez, Jones) in the span of just over a year. So perhaps “unique” isn’t the most accurate way of describing it. Brutal, perhaps. Soul-crushingly depressing, even. But it wasn’t just the UFC that used O’Brien as cannon fodder, no. Two years after his departure from the promotion, O’Brien was similarly sacrificed to Gegard Mousasi in his DREAM debut, lasting just 31 seconds before being choked damn near to death.
“The King of Rock and Rumble” fought an astounding 7 times in the UFC, with his only victory in that time coming via the aforementioned sub of Jeremy Horn in his promotional debut at UFC 30. Sinosic’s upset victory that night was impressive enough to earn him a completely undeserved title shot against Tito Ortiz next, and if you’re wondering how that fight ended, just utter the phrase “Elvis Sinosic vs. Tito Ortiz” and choose the first image that pops in your head. That image is correct.
The loss to Ortiz marked the last time that Sinosic could claim to be a .500 fighter, yet he kept getting asked back to the UFC, for some reason. His successive UFC bouts would see him trounced by Evan Tanner, battered by Babalu Sobral, and trampled by a pair of TUF winners in Forrest Griffin and Michael Bisping. Yet he kept being asked back. In 2010, Sinosic was expected to rematch Chris Haseman (aka the dude who chinned him in the eye) at UFC 110 until he was forced out of the bout due to a last-minute shoulder injury. We fully expect to see his name pop up on the UFC’s next Australia card.
You see that absolute nonsense up there? That’s what happens when a 30-fight veteran realizes that he is so outclassed by his opponent that begging for mercy is his best route to victory. Takenori Sato, apparently under the impression that he had entered a bull-riding contest mid-fight at Fight Night 36, grabbed onto Erick Silva’s leg for dear life and waited for the 8-second bell to sound. Even as Silva began raining down punches on his skull — as if to say, “Hey man, you know we’re fighting right now, right?” — Sato refused to abandon his patented Thigh Choke of Ultimate Victory until he was separated from consciousness some 15 seconds later.
Likely because he had single-handedly cheapened the UFC brand with his performance that night, Sato was fed to an even more dangerous opponent in Korean badass Hyun Gyu Lim next. His strategy for that fight? THE EXACT SAME THING.
#5:TIE: Josh Hendricks, Dan Evenson, Sean Salmon, etc. Fed to:Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, and Rashad Evans, among others Resulted in: Lots of lost memories
The term “can-crusher” is an oft-used one in the MMA, but how often do we focus on the cans in that scenario, and not the men/women doing the crushing?
I’m talking about guys like “Heavy” Hendricks, Dan Evenson, Sean Salmon, Mustapha Al Turk, and so on — guys who share a common trait in that they were all locally-sourced unknowns who were brought into the UFC with the obvious endgame of being beaten by one of the promotion’s go-tos. If any of these guys got a good shot in or two, good for them. Hell, they might even be invited back for a second beating. But none of them were called up to the big leagues because they were believed to be the next Jon Jones or even a potential journeyman. They were called up to forever be immortalized in the highlight reel of their opponents, and on this day, we give thanks.
On the “next page”: A one-gloved boxer, a stonery TUF alum, and the entire nation of Japan…
(The Grand Prix alternate bout, which sees Wanderlei Silva defeat Bob Schrijber via…SUBMISSION?!!!)
By CP Reader Bryan S. Adelman
January 30th marked the 15-year anniversary of a seminal event in Mixed-Martial Arts history, an occasion largely unnoticed due to the hype surrounding a certain middleweight fight the following night.
The event? None other than the opening round to the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix, of course.
(The Grand Prix alternate bout, which sees Wanderlei Silva defeat Bob Schrijber via…SUBMISSION?!!!)
By CP Reader Bryan S. Adelman
January 30th marked the 15-year anniversary of a seminal event in Mixed-Martial Arts history, an occasion largely unnoticed due to the hype surrounding a certain middleweight fight the following night.
The event? None other than the opening round to the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix, of course.
The culmination of the Japanese promotion’s two-year campaign of violence, the first half of the two-part tournament sported a number of notable fighters of the time, including Kazushi Sakuraba, Guy Mezger, Mark Kerr, Gary Goodridge, Royce Gracie, and the eventual Grand Prix winner, Mark Coleman.
The actual fights themselves were nothing to write home about. In typical Pride fashion, they were simply squash matches; the most notable offender being the tilt between a prime (and, ahem, enhanced – see above) Coleman and the debuting Masaaki Satake, a K-1 veteran that finished his MMA career with a record of 1-8-1. And before you ask, no, it didn’t end well for Satake.
Even the main event between the returning Royce Gracie and the ever shady Nobuhiko Takada was hardly competitive, with Gracie taking the dull decision. Takada, content to simply do nothing, remained in Gracie’s guard for the majority of the 15 minute fight.
The night’s lone high-point was undoubtedly the Guy Mezger vs. Kazushi Sakuraba fight, ending in a controversial victory for the now-mythical Sakuraba. Below you will find the fight’s highlights set to “Paradise City” by Guns n’ Roses, because Murica.
After a fun, albeit restrained, kickboxing match (“In some ways, this is coming off more as a sparring match,” Commentator Stephen Quadros pointed out), PRIDE judges declared the fight a draw and ordering an extra overtime round, much to the fury of Mezger’s cornerman, Ken Shamrock. Instead of fighting, Shamrock (being Shamrock) stubbornly ordered Mezger back to the locker room, resulting in Sakuraba gaining the TKO victory.
Hindsight has a way of disregarding the non-essential details.
In hindsight, the decision was undoubtedly unfair to Mezger, yet without the fight’s questionable judging — and without Takada taking a dive against Gracie — we would’ve never had the epic, 90-minute showdown between Sakuraba and Gracie just a little over three months later at the Grand Prix Finals. Sooo…all’s well that ends well, I guess?
In hindsight, it’s easy to see that, had it not been for the squash matches, we would’ve never witnessed Mark Coleman’s rebirth as the sport’s bona fide alpha male.
In hindsight, it’s better to view the opening round, as painful as it was, as merely a starting point; a Batman Begins to the finals’ Dark Knight.
