On last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, #13-ranked Team Melendez strawweight Lisa Ellis had the chance to avenge her Invicta FC 1 TKO loss to #4-ranked Team Pettis fighter Jessica Penne. It didn’t go so well. This time, Penne only needed a single round to lock in a rear-naked choke and secure the tap from Ellis. Video of the full fight is above.
The episode begins on a somber note. Dana White comes into the locker room looking for Bec Rawlings. He takes her into a side room and gives the bad news. After a long bout with Parkinson’s disease, her stepfather passed away. Bec knew that there was a chance of this happening when she left Australia, but the news still hits her hard. Her stepfather was a big fan of her career and she laments that, “I was hoping he could hold on a little longer so he could see my UFC debut.”
On last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, #13-ranked Team Melendez strawweight Lisa Ellis had the chance to avenge her Invicta FC 1 TKO loss to #4-ranked Team Pettis fighter Jessica Penne. It didn’t go so well. This time, Penne only needed a single round to lock in a rear-naked choke and secure the tap from Ellis. Video of the full fight is above.
The episode begins on a somber note. Dana White comes into the locker room looking for Bec Rawlings. He takes her into a side room and gives the bad news. After a long bout with Parkinson’s disease, her stepfather passed away. Bec knew that there was a chance of this happening when she left Australia, but the news still hits her hard. Her stepfather was a big fan of her career and she laments that, “I was hoping he could hold on a little longer so he could see my UFC debut.”
(“Damn it, Chad. I told you the dress code was business casual.” / Photo via Getty)
Nearly three years after their first meeting, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top contender Chad Mendes will get another chance to settle the age-old debate: “Who’s the real pussy?” UFC president Dana White confirmed Saturday night that their “postponed” featherweight title fight has been re-scheduled to headline UFC 179, October 25th in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
If you’ll recall, Aldo and Mendes were set for a rematch at UFC 176 in Los Angeles this coming weekend, but Aldo suffered a cervical spine injury in training, which led to the euthanization of that event. Now, Mendes has to face Aldo in Rio again — the same town where Aldo KO’d him in front of a very supportive crowd at UFC 142 back in January 2012. Kind of a bummer for Mendes.
No other fights for UFC 179 have been confirmed yet. The pay-per-view event will be held at the 12,000+ capacity Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, not the larger HSBC Arena, where the UFC’s four previous Rio PPVs were held. It’s unclear whether the Kings of Leon had anything to do with the venue change, although it should be mentioned that Aldo vs. Mendes 1 reportedly had the smallest paid attendance for an HSBC show (10,605).
We’ll keep you posted as the card fills up.
(“Damn it, Chad. I told you the dress code was business casual.” / Photo via Getty)
Nearly three years after their first meeting, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top contender Chad Mendes will get another chance to settle the age-old debate: “Who’s the real pussy?” UFC president Dana White confirmed Saturday night that their “postponed” featherweight title fight has been re-scheduled to headline UFC 179, October 25th in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
If you’ll recall, Aldo and Mendes were set for a rematch at UFC 176 in Los Angeles this coming weekend, but Aldo suffered a cervical spine injury in training, which led to the euthanization of that event. Now, Mendes has to face Aldo in Rio again — the same town where Aldo KO’d him in front of a very supportive crowd at UFC 142 back in January 2012. Kind of a bummer for Mendes.
No other fights for UFC 179 have been confirmed yet. The pay-per-view event will be held at the 12,000+ capacity Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, not the larger HSBC Arena, where the UFC’s four previous Rio PPVs were held. It’s unclear whether the Kings of Leon had anything to do with the venue change, although it should be mentioned that Aldo vs. Mendes 1 reportedly had the smallest paid attendance for an HSBC show (10,605).
Jon Jones will attempt to make his eighth light-heavyweight title defense at UFC 178 (September 27th; Air Canada Centre, Toronto), in a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. UFC officials confirmed the booking last night. Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 will take place almost exactly a year after their first meeting at UFC 165*, which Jones won in a thrilling but somewhat controversial decision. Since then, Jones defeated Glover Teixeira in an utterly dominant five-round assault at UFC 172, and Gustafsson TKO’d Jimi Manuwa, handing the Nigerian-English slugger his first loss.
Jon Jones will attempt to make his eighth light-heavyweight title defense at UFC 178 (September 27th; Air Canada Centre, Toronto), in a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. UFC officials confirmed the booking last night. Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 will take place almost exactly a year after their first meeting at UFC 165*, which Jones won in a thrilling but somewhat controversial decision. Since then, Jones defeated Glover Teixeira in an utterly dominant five-round assault at UFC 172, and Gustafsson TKO’d Jimi Manuwa, handing the Nigerian-English slugger his first loss.
“There was never an issue with a contract. I was traveling and finally got to Vegas and got to talk with Dana and Lorezno. We talked and September 27th, I’ll be fighting Gustafsson. I think Cormier is the tougher fighter, but the fans want to see me fight Gustafsson. There was never an issue with taking the Gustafsson fight. The issue was that my brother is getting married in July and I would have preferred a later date. I didn’t want to go this early and I would have preferred to go later in October or November. It is what it is. We have a date now, Sept 27th. This was a personal decision for me. I will be at my brother’s wedding and have a proper training camp.”
So will the rematch turn out any different from their first fight, or will we see Bones edge out the Mauler in another close war? Your predictions, please.
* Jones vs. Gustafsson 1 was also held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto — as were Jones’s previous title defenses against Vitor Belfort (in September 2012) and Lyoto Machida (in December 2011). Maybe the UFC has buyrate analytics showing that Jones is more popular in Canada than he is in the U.S. or something. Still, it strikes me as odd that Jones has never headlined a UFC pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
(Update: UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 will take place at the Nelio Dias Gymnasium in Natal, and will be aired live on FOX Sports 1. By the way, March 23rd is a Sunday. The event isn’t happening on Saturday because FS1 is airing a motocross event that day. Seriously.)
Rua has gone 2-2 since that night, including savage knockouts of Brandon Vera and James Te-Huna (“The Old Shogun is back! PRIDE neva die!”) and losses to Alexander Gustafsson and Chael Sonnen (“Shogun is finished! PRIDE die, maybe!”). Meanwhile, Henderson has only tasted defeat over the past two years, eating three straight losses against Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort. Hendo’s losing streak led the UFC to make him a borderline-insulting lowball offer during his recent contract negotiations, but apparently the two sides have come to terms.
So are you psyched to see these two living legends do battle once again? Or did you satisfy your PRIDE fanboy fix the first time?
(2011′s Slobberknocker of the Year is getting a sequel. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
(Update: UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 will take place at the Nelio Dias Gymnasium in Natal, and will be aired live on FOX Sports 1. By the way, March 23rd is a Sunday. The event isn’t happening on Saturday because FS1 is airing a motocross event that day. Seriously.)
Rua has gone 2-2 since that night, including savage knockouts of Brandon Vera and James Te-Huna (“The Old Shogun is back! PRIDE neva die!”) and losses to Alexander Gustafsson and Chael Sonnen (“Shogun is finished! PRIDE die, maybe!”). Meanwhile, Henderson has only tasted defeat over the past two years, eating three straight losses against Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort. Hendo’s losing streak led the UFC to make him a borderline-insulting lowball offer during his recent contract negotiations, but apparently the two sides have come to terms.
So are you psyched to see these two living legends do battle once again? Or did you satisfy your PRIDE fanboy fix the first time?
After taking the fight on less than a month’s notice, Urijah Faber will step into the main event of UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) against Renan Barao, who took a definitive and dominant five-round decision over the former WEC stalwart at UFC 149, for what was then supposed to be an interim title in the bantamweight division. With Dominick Cruz vacating his title due to yet another injury, Faber will have his third opportunity to win UFC gold. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to prepare for Barao, who’s become one of the toughest outs in all of MMA.
Faber’s year-round commitment to being in near peak condition — a Team Alpha Male requirement, it seems — affords him this luxury of taking a fight on short notice. Over 18 months have passed since the California Kid walked out of the cage against Barao on the losing side, and what could have been Faber’s last UFC title fight has turned into something else entirely. With four wins (and three submission finishes) over highly ranked opponents marking a stellar 2013 campaign, Faber willed himself into title contention one more time by running roughshod over the UFC’s 135-pound division.
With the rematch set, and Faber looking ahead to what could (once again) be his last shot at a UFC belt, one imagines that the Duane “Bang” Ludwig-led Team Alpha Male squad has a much different game plan in mind for Faber against the Brazilian champion. Ludwig, who has spoke of his fondness for watching fight video in preparation, should have five UFC title rematches on his mind while preparing his fighter for next month’s bout. Each of these fights contain profound lessons that could help Faber become the first Team Alpha Male member to hold a UFC championship belt. Let’s begin…
After taking the fight on less than a month’s notice, Urijah Faber will step into the main event of UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) against Renan Barao, who took a definitive and dominant five-round decision over the former WEC stalwart at UFC 149, for what was then supposed to be an interim title in the bantamweight division. With Dominick Cruz vacating his title due to yet another injury, Faber will have his third opportunity to win UFC gold. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to prepare for Barao, who’s become one of the toughest outs in all of MMA.
Faber’s year-round commitment to being in near peak condition — a Team Alpha Male requirement, it seems — affords him this luxury of taking a fight on short notice. Over 18 months have passed since the California Kid walked out of the cage against Barao on the losing side, and what could have been Faber’s last UFC title fight has turned into something else entirely. With four wins (and three submission finishes) over highly ranked opponents marking a stellar 2013 campaign, Faber willed himself into title contention one more time by running roughshod over the UFC’s 135-pound division.
With the rematch set, and Faber looking ahead to what could (once again) be his last shot at a UFC belt, one imagines that the Duane “Bang” Ludwig-led Team Alpha Male squad has a much different game plan in mind for Faber against the Brazilian champion. Ludwig, who has spoke of his fondness for watching fight video in preparation, should have five UFC title rematches on his mind while preparing his fighter for next month’s bout. Each of these fights contain profound lessons that could help Faber become the first Team Alpha Male member to hold a UFC championship belt. Let’s begin…
Considering he probably shouldn’t have been fighting anyway, it wasn’t all that much of a surprise that Cain Velasquez would come out wanting to exchange with Junior Dos Santos during their first meeting at UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011. JDS made him pay for it, giving the champion his first loss and taking his title.
In their rematch a year later, Velasquez came out and pushed a hard pace on Dos Santos from the first minute on. He never let Dos Santos get his footing square or push forward with his boxing-focused game. He kept the champion on his toes and then brutalized him for 25 minutes, imposing his will on the Brazilian and not giving him an inch.
How Faber can apply this: Barao thrives in space and the one thing Faber has to do is cut off the cage, make it close and make it ugly. He has to add a little bit of a grind to this fight, at a minimum, and refuse to give Barao space to utilize his leg kicking game. Faber is excellent in scrambles and grappling exchanges; this is where he’ll win the fight. His strength is on the mat and he needs to make Barao fight here, not on his feet where Barao’s striking ability will trump Faber’s. Faber suffered a broken rib from Barao the first time they fought and Faber is well aware of how hard he throws.
The one marked difference between the first Hughes/Penn fight at UFC 46 and their second fight is that Hughes came out significantly less tentative the second time around. Hughes was noticeably cautious in their first meeting because of Penn’s explosiveness and Penn was able to dictate the fight early. Hughes was on his heels, moving backward, and Penn exploited that into one of the biggest upsets in UFC history to that point. The 2006 rematch was marked by Hughes and his top-position mauling of Penn, which ended in a third-round TKO. Hughes was far more aggressive the second time around, and didn’t let BJ dictate the terms.
How Faber can apply this: Don’t let Barao dictate the striking exchanges. Faber was tentative in their first fight, as Barao pushed the pace and established the tenor of the fight. Faber needs to let his hands go and impose his will, not letting Barao set up his striking game. It’s why Faber lost; he couldn’t get off first and took a ton of damage in the process. He has to tighten up space and impose his skillset, making Barao counter and use movement. Faber’s at his best when he’s able to control where the fight goes, and that’ll be a factor in a Faber victory.
Lyoto Machida was a riddle no one had been able to solve until Shogun Rua. Their first fight at UFC 104, insanely controversial, necessitated an immediate rematch and Rua went from being one round away from a title win to an emphatic KO at UFC 113 because of the 25 minutes they spent together the first time.
Machida’s style is such that it’s nearly impossible to duplicate in training unless you have Machida himself to train with. Rua got the best possible primer for a fight with Machida the first time, having to figure out his movement and timing on the fly. When they fought for the second time, Rua knew how Machida moved and was able to adjust from the first minute on. He wasn’t going to be baffled or confused by Machida’s ability to counter.
Look at the way Rua’s movement changed from the middle of the first fight to the first round of the second. This is someone who has figured out the mystery and knows how to counter it. Rua knew he couldn’t rush in blind and over commit; he needed to cut the cage off and make Machida fight in a smaller area. It’s what led to the KO in the second fight as well.
Rua knew what to expect. The Dragon was no mystery the second time around.
How Faber can apply this: Barao doesn’t fight anything like Machida, but Faber spent 25 minutes with him. He knows how hard the Brazilian phenom punches, kicks, his instinctual movements when defending takedowns, the type of sprawl Barao used on him, etc., in a way that you can only learn from fighting another human being.
There won’t be anything Barao does that will be new to Faber. Faber and Barao know each other fairly well at this point, as 25 minutes locked inside a cage with another person gives you a familiarity with one another that most training experiences can’t provide. It may have been 18 months ago but we’re looking at improved versions of both fighters, not completely new versions of the same fighters. If Faber has an edge coming in it is that Barao has spent a training camp preparing for Dominick Cruz and has to change course with less than a month out.
You can change course this close to a fight and not miss a beat, but a completely different fighter will mean a different game plan, which will be tough to install this close to a fight. Barao may have fought Faber before but he’s spent a camp preparing to take on Cruz. That could mean something. Faber gets to come in and face someone who he’s prepared for once already. He has to cram his planning into a short window but it’s a familiar one.
On the next page: The Spider returns to devastating form, and Frankie Edgar proves it wasn’t a fluke.
Last night, Bjorn Rebney announced that Bellator 112 will feature the opening rounds of the welterweight tournament and be headlined by a trilogy-completing featherweight title fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran. If this fight booking comes as a surprise to you, well, it should. But allow Bjorn to clear up the confusion:
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran are two of the best featherweights on the planet and deserve every ounce and praise and recognition they receive.
Hard to argue with that. Now if we can just wrap things up without saying something ridiculous…
Our featherweight division continues to be the deepest and strongest featherweight division in MMA, and I’m very excited to have this title fight headline a huge night of fights on March 14 from The Horseshoe Hammond.
Well, at least he tried.
Let me see if I can follow Bjorn’s line of logic here: Straus just defeated Curran by clear-cut unanimous decision last November. Meanwhile, there are two, count ’em, TWO, featherweight tournament winners waiting in the wings for a shot at Straus. One is Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who has been unable to secure a fight license in America since winning the season 8 tournament (which, let’s be honest, Bellator probably has a hand in). The other is Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who just won his second featherweight tournament at Bellator 108 and is the only man to defeat Straus under the Bellator banner.
Yet despite all this, Bellator is granting Curran an immediate rematch against a guy who dominated him just two months ago. And that somehow validates the depth of the Bellator featherweight roster? You gotta hand it to Bjorn, he is second to none in the fight game in his ability to keep a straight face while making immediately contradictory and insanely unaware statements.
Last night, Bjorn Rebney announced that Bellator 112 will feature the opening rounds of the welterweight tournament and be headlined by a trilogy-completing featherweight title fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran. If this fight booking comes as a surprise to you, well, it should. But allow Bjorn to clear up the confusion:
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran are two of the best featherweights on the planet and deserve every ounce and praise and recognition they receive.
Hard to argue with that. Now if we can just wrap things up without saying something ridiculous…
Our featherweight division continues to be the deepest and strongest featherweight division in MMA, and I’m very excited to have this title fight headline a huge night of fights on March 14 from The Horseshoe Hammond.
Well, at least he tried.
Let me see if I can follow Bjorn’s line of logic here: Straus just defeated Curran by clear-cut unanimous decision last November. Meanwhile, there are two, count ‘em, TWO, featherweight tournament winners waiting in the wings for a shot at Straus. One is Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who has been unable to secure a fight license in America since winning the season 8 tournament (which, let’s be honest, Bellator probably has a hand in). The other is Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who just won his second featherweight tournament at Bellator 108 and is the only man to defeat Straus under the Bellator banner.
Yet despite all this, Bellator is granting Curran an immediate rematch against a guy who dominated him just two months ago. And that somehow validates the depth of the Bellator featherweight roster? You gotta hand it to Bjorn, he is second to none in the fight game in his ability to keep a straight face while making immediately contradictory and insanely unaware statements.
Look, it’s not that we’re upset by the idea of Straus/Curran III, it’s just that we’re disappointed by it. Bellator is essentially creating a logjam at 145 lbs to what, cash in on a rematch that fans aren’t really asking for?
Not every trilogy can be Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler, and this fight isn’t even in the same ballpark as that one from an entertainment (or logical) standpoint. Alvarez vs. Chandler II was a FOTY contender that ended in a controversial decision (and THAT fight was only booked to settle Alvarez’s lawsuit with Bellator, BTW). Straus vs. Curran II was a largely forgettable fight in which the champion was dominated by a contender who hadn’t fought in over a year. If they are truly destined to fight a third time, why not let Curran work his way up like everyone else?
Booking another immediate rematch not only betrays the basic principles of Bellator’s tournament structure, but effectively kills the momentum of the previous tournament winners and ices the fight that fans should be seeing. By the time “Frodo” or “Pitbull” get their shots, most fans will be too caught up in the season 10 tournament to remember that either of them won their respective seasons in the first place. Imagine if Frank Dux, fresh off impressive wins over guy #1 and guy#2, was forced to ride the pine for a year until Chong Li and Ray Jackson could finally settle things. Tension gone. Movie over. Boner killed.
While rematching “Pitbull” and Straus wouldn’t exactly promote the idea that Bellator’s featherweight division is “the deepest in MMA,” it would at least clear up some space before another featherweight tournament winner is crowned. Seems simple enough, right? Well not in Bellator, where title shots are earned, not given (unless you’re a familiar face, in which case we will give you whatever you want).
