UFC on Fuel TV: Le vs. Franklin will be the first ever UFC event in China.The landmark event will emanate from Cotai Arena in Macau, China on November 10, and air live in the United States on Fuel TV.The main event of the evening features two craf…
UFC on Fuel TV: Le vs. Franklin will be the first ever UFC event in China.
The landmark event will emanate from Cotai Arena in Macau, China on November 10, and air live in the United States on Fuel TV.
The main event of the evening features two crafty veterans coming off big victories.
UFC 147 saw Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva square off for the second time in their illustrious careers. Once again, the judges saw it for Franklin. Each judge handed in a 49-46 scorecard for “Ace”.
Cung Le defeated Patrick Cote at UFC 148. It was one of the featured bouts on the star-studded card, and Le took home a unanimous 30-27 win for his first ever UFC victory.
Now they meet in China in Franklin’s return to the middleweight division. Let’s break the fight down to see who holds the edge in this intriguing matchup.
When challenger Dan Henderson was forced out of his title contest at UFC 151, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones shocked the world when he denied Dana White’s request to battle late-replacement Chael Sonnen in the main event.The UFC-sponsored fig…
When challenger Dan Henderson was forced out of his title contest at UFC 151, UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones shocked the world when he denied Dana White‘s request to battle late-replacement Chael Sonnen in the main event.
The UFC-sponsored fighter upset the MMA world as a whole with his selfish decision, which ultimately culminated in the first event cancellation in UFC history.
In light of Jones’ refusal to fight Sonnen at UFC 151, I’d like to take a look back on some previous fights where a fill-in opponent arrived and scored a big win.
Here is a peek at eight fighters who took fights on short notice and won.
Tim Boetsch made his UFC debut in early 2008 as a member of the light-heavyweight roster. After an unimpressive 2-2 run, The Barbarian was released from his contract and sent back to the independent leagues.In the summer of 2010, Boetsch received an in…
Tim Boetsch made his UFC debut in early 2008 as a member of the light-heavyweight roster. After an unimpressive 2-2 run, The Barbarian was released from his contract and sent back to the independent leagues.
In the summer of 2010, Boetsch received an invitation to rejoin the company. Not faring much better the second time around, the NCAA wrestler won his return contest, but was shut down by Phil Davis in his sophomore effort.
In six UFC contests, he was unable to put together a pair of consecutive wins and prove that his contract was deserved. Where could Boetsch go from here?
After consulting with his coaches, Boetsch decided that a run at middleweight could be in his best interests, and boy, was he right.
Compiling a flawless 4-0 record since making the move, Boetsch has bested Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove, previously undefeated Nick Ring and world-ranked competitors Yushin Okami and Hector Lombard. These days, the Barbarian is the No. 6 ranked middleweight in the world.
Likewise, Brian Stann is another fighter who had a less-than-stellar run in the UFC light-heavyweight division, but has breathed new life into his career by cutting weight. Other fighters who have dropped in weight in hopes of getting a fresh start include Urijah Faber, Martin Kampmann, Mike Swick and Demian Maia.
The wrestling mentality is that a fighter should be competing at the lowest weight that his body will allow him to compete. With incredible advances in the science of weight cutting, fighters are able to compete in divisions as much as 50 pounds lower than their walking weight.
However, just because you can get yourself to a particular weight does not mean that it’s the best place for you to compete. Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian and James Irvin have all worked their way down to a division in which their bodies were drained.
Were they competing against smaller competitors? Absolutely. But were they doing their best? Not a chance.
Irvin came into his middleweight debut badly dehydrated and resembled Skellator. Clearly, the former light-heavyweight did not have the energy to compete and he was quickly stopped in the first round by gatekeeper Alessio Sakara.
“Weight cutting has been harshly regulated in wrestling, but it hasn’t been in the UFC. There are some very serious health concerns with weight cutting. The one everyone thinks about is kidney damage or kidney failure. Some people think it’s not a big deal, but go to a dialysis centre and spend an hour there and watch people get every drop of blood taken out of their bodies and ask them how it is to do that three times a week just to live. The other thing people don’t think about is your brain is at risk because water makes up 97 percent of the cerebral spinal fluid, the fluid around the brain that cushions it from blows. So anytime you lose mass amounts of water, you lose cushioning around the brain, and now you ask Vitor Belfort to punch you in the face—it’s a bad combination. “
Conversely, fighters like Rich Franklin, Jake Shields and Randy Couture have packed on additional pounds in hopes of improving their roster spot after failed attempts to capture (or recapture) a championship in their natural weight class.
Chael Sonnen is considering a move to light-heavyweight after a pair of failed bids to capture the middleweight championship from Anderson Silva. Former champion Rich Franklin made the same move nearly four years ago.
Randy Couture jumped up to heavyweight in 2007 when he recognized that the division was weak enough for a smaller-statured athlete like himself to utilize superior technique in order to negate a size disadvantage. That being said, each division has a collection of legitimate contenders, and a move of this magnitude is unlikely in the competitive climate of today’s MMA.
In terms of packing on weight, sometimes it is necessary. As his body continues to grow, Jon Jones will be unable to make the 205 pound limit. The same story goes with champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz and their respective divisions.
What does all of this weight switching mean? Is a different division the way to go for someone who is struggling to make a name for themselves? Or is this simply the MMA version of “the grass is always greener?”
As fighters look for a competitive advantage inside the Octagon, you can expect fighters to continue changing divisions. Is it the best solution for a struggling fighter? There is no cut and dry answer. However, so long as fighters like Tim Boetsch and Martin Kampmann continue to find success in lighter divisions, you had better believe that others are going to follow suit.
Randy Couture will be starring in the upcoming film The Expendables 2 but there is nothing expendable about the man in the MMA world. Couture and a few other MMA fighters possess a rare blend of talents both inside and outside the Octagon. Not only can…
Randy Couture will be starring in the upcoming film The Expendables 2 but there is nothing expendable about the man in the MMA world.
Couture and a few other MMA fighters possess a rare blend of talents both inside and outside the Octagon. Not only can they wow us each time they compete but also can make us hang on every word once a microphone is placed in front of them.
It’s not easy being a top-level fighter and having the communications skills necessary to talk fluently in front of a camera. Even the fighters on this list that haven’t achieved the highest honor of being called “UFC Champion” are still invaluable to the company for their articulate speaking abilities.
Whether they made their mark in MMA history with their fists or words, all of these men are going to be tough to replace once they step away from the game.
The Vietnamese-born Le came out of his last victory with a “pretty banged up [knee],” which is keeping him out of the gym for four-to-six weeks, but he’s expected to be ready by the November date. No word yet on if the fight would take place at middleweight or at a catchweight; Franklin hasn’t competed at 185 since April 2008.
The Vietnamese-born Le came out of his last victory with a “pretty banged up [knee],” which is keeping him out of the gym for four-to-six weeks, but he’s expected to be ready by the November date. No word yet on if the fight would take place at middleweight or at a catchweight; Franklin hasn’t competed at 185 since April 2008.
With the recent announcement that Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin have been named as the coaches for the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter series, the MMA universe immediately launched into a full-blow orgasmic ticker-tape parade complete with tons of flying confetti and a marching band belting out death metal tunes. Once I heard the news, it was as if my life instantaneously turned into a beer commercial and the entire Potato Nation was invited. There was a rad pool-party, barbeque, a plethora of hotties, endless alcohol, and an overall quest for fun.
Well . . . . . actually, none of that happened. In fact, when word spread that Nelson and Carwin would helm the next season of TUF, it was officially filed under “WTF?” Judging from the comment section, most of the CP brethren didn’t care for the choices either. TUF is coming off a season that saw the ratings dip lower than they ever had, which could partially be blamed on the move to FX and the dreaded Friday night time slot. Regardless of the variables for the ratings drop, something drastic needs to be done, but is anybody really convinced that Carwin and Nelson are the answer to TUF’s slow and painful demise? Let’s start from the beginning and take a look back to see if this runaway train can be coaxed back onto the main rail.
The Season That Started it All
The inaugural season of TUF featured future Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as the competing coaches who would go mano y mano at the PPV after the season finale. For fans of the UFC, that was good enough for most to initially tune in for the Fertitta-funded experiment. It still remains the best crop of young talent and personalities to ever grace the show; future stars like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick, Kenny Florian, and Nate Quarry were all complete unknowns vying for stardom in a fledgling sport. You mix in the whole “fatherless bastard” angle and the show was off and running even before the awe-inspiring climax between (pre TRT) FoGrif and The American Psycho. Even before that, we were treated to the greatest speech of all time that has since been condensed into a few words. “Do you wanna be a fighter?” Though there were other memorable moments from the seasons that followed, Zuffa should have quit while they were ahead because it would never be this good again. The unrefined personification of immature talent, undeniable aspirations and gonzo-sized balls oozed from the boob tube during every episode.
With the recent announcement that Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin have been named as the coaches for the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter series, the MMA universe immediately launched into a full-blow orgasmic ticker-tape parade complete with tons of flying confetti and a marching band belting out death metal tunes. Once I heard the news, it was as if my life instantaneously turned into a beer commercial and the entire Potato Nation was invited. There was a rad pool-party, barbeque, a plethora of hotties, endless alcohol, and an overall quest for fun.
Well . . . . . actually, none of that happened. In fact, when word spread that Nelson and Carwin would helm the next season of TUF, it was officially filed under “WTF?” Judging from the comment section, most of the CP brethren didn’t care for the choices either. TUF is coming off a season that saw the ratings dip lower than they ever had, which could partially be blamed on the move to FX and the dreaded Friday night time slot. Regardless of the variables for the ratings drop, something drastic needs to be done, but is anybody really convinced that Carwin and Nelson are the answer to TUF’s slow and painful demise? Let’s start from the beginning and take a look back to see if this runaway train can be coaxed back onto the main rail.
The Season That Started it All
The inaugural season of TUF featured future Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as the competing coaches who would go mano y mano at the PPV after the season finale. For fans of the UFC, that was good enough for most to initially tune in for the Fertitta-funded experiment. It still remains the best crop of young talent and personalities to ever grace the show; future stars like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick, Kenny Florian, and Nate Quarry were all complete unknowns vying for stardom in a fledgling sport. You mix in the whole “fatherless bastard” angle and the show was off and running even before the awe-inspiring climax between (pre TRT) FoGrif and The American Psycho. Even before that, we were treated to the greatest speech of all time that has since been condensed into a few words. “Do you wanna be a fighter?” Though there were other memorable moments from the seasons that followed, Zuffa should have quit while they were ahead because it would never be this good again. The unrefined personification of immature talent, undeniable aspirations and gonzo-sized balls oozed from the boob tube during every episode.
Season 2
Season 2 saw Rich Franklin coach opposite Matt Hughes, and since both men competed at different weight classes, they were obviously not going to fight at the conclusion of the season. This was a prime example of the UFC throwing shit against the wall to see if it would stick by parading two somewhat charismatic champions in front of the camera with hopes of gathering ratings/fans for the upcoming UFC 56 PPV. Although it was undoubtedly a less thrilling season than that of its predecessor, it did introduce to another future light heavyweight champion in Rashad Evans, who won the contract competing as a heavyweight, as well as such names as Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard, and future pound-for-pound punching bag GOAT Keith Jardine. And if not for Jardine, the worldmay have never learned that “The Dean of Mean” would make no sense if his last name was Johnson, a valuable take home indeed.
Season 3
Season 3 is one of my personal favorites because of the preconceived notions about coaches: Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. Tito was working the crap out of “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” gimmick and wore the black hat pretty damn well even though he desperately wanted to be accepted by everyone. On the other hand, Shamrock was the MMA legend who competed in the very first UFC tournament and was the founder of his own training facility – The Lion’s Den. Shamrock was supposed to be the more seasoned coach, but chose to bring in weight lifting specialists and opted to rewatch videos of his UFC fights instead of training during an infamous episode, among other baffling decisions. Tito, conversely, came across as a guy that was genuinely committed to making his team better fighters through technique (believe it or not) and some crazy conditioning drills involving piggyback rides and vacant floors of Las Vegas hotels. In the end, Tito TKO’d Ken in just over a minute and Michael Bisping began his quest to piss off everybody around the world en route to winning the LHW contract.
Season 4 – The Comeback
Season 4 came upon us with the familiar sound of a giant turd smacking against a cinder block divider. Luckily for the UFC, a Ram-Manesque New Yorker with a perfectly timed overhand right came along and the dookie kind of stuck. I am not exactly sure who came up with the idea of bringing back washed up fighters mixed with a few coulda-shoulda guys coupled with a blend of has-beens and never-weres, but I am certain it must have sounded phenomenal during the pitch meeting. This was the only other season that featured an abundance of talent (albeit fleeting talent) like the first season. Shonie Carter, Patrick Côté, Matt Serra, Travis Lutter, Jorge Rivera, Pete Sell, *cough convicted rapist *cough* Jeremy Jackson, Scott Smith, Din Thomas, Mikey Burnett, and (everybody’s favorite) Chris Lytle. All of these guys were waaaaaay professional for any of the usual drama to become too much of an issue, aside from Shonie’s batshit craziness, that is. There were no head coaches but instead guest coaches, and all the fighters shared instructors Mark DellaGrotte as their striking guru and Marc Laimon as the perceived submission specialist. Season highlights include a goggled Burnett self-concussing himself while running through some sheet rock (forgetting that code requires studs every 16 inches), Serra calling Laimon a pussy for never stepping into the real world of fighting and of course . . . . . this. After the season there would be a fundamental plummet to mediocrity.
Season 5, or, the Aforementioned Plummet to Mediocrity
Season 5 was back to a basic grudge match between BJ Penn and Jens Pulver. The session would have been pretty tense if Pulver actually won his “welcome back to the UFC” fight months prior. Instead, Jens got KTFO by a wild-eyed nobody (at the time) named Joe Lauzon. How do you remedy this issue? Make Lauzon a participant during the season and have BJ make the guys raise their hands if they did NOT want to be on Pulver’s team. We were also introduced to the unrefined, yet potent, skills of Nate Diaz (along with his brotherly inspired “Fuck You” demeanor towards Karo Parisyan) and some Ping-Pong skills that would make Forrest Gump puke. So, basically the entire thing resembled a trash can fire without the Doo Wop.
On the next page: Disgusting pranks, trans-Atlantic rivalry, and a pugilist named Slice.
Tim Boetsch made his UFC debut in early 2008 as a member of the light-heavyweight roster. After an unimpressive 2-2 run, The Barbarian was released from his contract and sent back to the independent leagues.
