(Who wants to learn how to maker Tater Tots the *fun* way?)
There are two schools of thought on how a given fighter should end their career in the UFC. The first, and perhaps most honorable method, involves a fighter going out on their shield, fighting until they can fight no more, so to speak. The second involves a fighter talking a ridiculous amount of trash, losing a fight in embarrassing fashion, and throwing a hissy fit backstage that only enforces their bosses decision to fire them. Thankfully, Mirko Cro Cop chose the former method (though he perhaps stuck around a couple fights too long), and after suffering a trio of (T)KO losses to Frank Mir, Brendan Schuab, and Roy Nelson, was ousted from the UFC.
This is not to say that we got any enjoyment out of witnessing the Croatian’s demise, but more so that we were happy to see Cro Cop come to the realization that his career in mixed martial arts had gone as far as it could go. His career in kickboxing, however, has seemingly yet to come to a crashing halt, as Filipvoic managed to pick up a rather impressive second round knockout victory over Loren Javier Jorge at K-1 Rising earlier today in Madrid, Spain.
Cro Cop looked better than we’ve seen him in quite some time, unleashing a few beautiful, snappy head kicks that were nothing short of nostalgic. But the finishing blows did not come as a result of his well-documented kicks, but rather from a series of uppercuts that dropped Jorge a two occasions, the latter of which he could not recover from. Cro Cop looked quick, efficient, and more than anything else, eager to finish the fight when presented the opportunity. Again, it was a very nostalgic experience for both Cro Cop and those who had the privilege of catching the fight.
Take a trip down memory lane after the jump.
(Who wants to learn how to maker Tater Tots the *fun* way?)
There are two schools of thought on how a given fighter should end their career in the UFC. The first, and perhaps most honorable method, involves a fighter going out on their shield, fighting until they can fight no more, so to speak. The second involves a fighter talking a ridiculous amount of trash, losing a fight in embarrassing fashion, and throwing a hissy fit backstage that only enforces their bosses decision to fire them. Thankfully, Mirko Cro Cop chose the former method (though he perhaps stuck around a couple fights too long), and after suffering a trio of (T)KO losses to Frank Mir, Brendan Schuab, and Roy Nelson, was ousted from the UFC.
This is not to say that we got any enjoyment out of witnessing the Croatian’s demise, but more so that we were happy to see Cro Cop come to the realization that his career in mixed martial arts had gone as far as it could go. His career in kickboxing, however, has seemingly yet to come to a crashing halt, and in fact maybe on the upswing, as Filipvoic managed to pick up a rather impressive second round knockout victory over Loren Javier Jorge at K-1 Rising earlier today in Madrid, Spain.
Cro Cop looked better than we’ve seen him in quite some time, unleashing a few beautiful, snappy head kicks that were nothing short of nostalgic. But the finishing blows did not come as a result of his well-documented kicks, but rather from a series of uppercuts that dropped Jorge a two occasions, the latter of which he could not recover from. Cro Cop looked quick, efficient, and more than anything else, eager to finish the fight when presented the opportunity. Again, it was a very nostalgic experience for both Cro Cop and those who had the privilege of catching the fight.
Though the finish comes toward the end of the video, my personal favorite moment comes around the 6:43 mark, where, after the referee separates the two, Cro Cop pulls off a dead-on Robert Deniro impression without uttering a word. If there was anyone doubting his acting talents after Ultimate Force, they can promptly suck it.
Brock Lesnar is yet to be announced as officially back to fight in the UFC, but Roy Nelson could no longer hide his urge to take on the former heavyweight champion—if he actually returns. Still euphoric after stopping Dave Herman in the main card…
Brock Lesnar is yet to be announced as officially back to fight in the UFC, but Roy Nelson could no longer hide his urge to take on the former heavyweight champion—if he actually returns.
Still euphoric after stopping Dave Herman in the main card of UFC 146 and probably bloated with Carl’s Jr. cheeseburgers by then, Big Country tweeted the following:
Nobody can blame him, coming fresh off a confidence-boosting victory to further prove he still deserves his place in the UFC. In spectacular and convincing fashion, walloping Pee-Wee into semi-consciousness with his famed overhand right.
So excited was the only fighter to give still-champion Junior Dos Santos “a run for his money” that he hurried towards Dana White immediately after the referee stoppage, shouting strong words towards the UFC honcho while still inside the cage.
It can be presumed that the president’s earlier implied threat that “he needs a win,” along with strong suggestions that he cut to 205 pounds, has riled up Big Country big time leading to the fight.
Nelson must have felt vindicated and made it known verbally to White that he could win even with that lifesaver around his waist. (Though, Nelson may have conceded a bit as the tube appeared somewhat deflated last Saturday.)
So Nelson now strings along a respectable record of 2-1 in his last three fights, winning over Mirko Filipović and Herman while losing to Fabricio Werdum in between.
Why should he heed White’s importuning for him to drop down to the light heavyweight class?
When an immediate fight versus a post-diverticulitis Brock Lesnar is always less threatening than the long-term prospect of challenging a wasted Jon Jones—especially when Bones is hell on wheels?
Dana White has believed for a long time that Roy “Big Country” Nelson would be an absolute force if he were able to get his weight down to 205. But at UFC 146, Nelson showed his boss that he doesn’t need to cut weight to win fights.The president of the…
Dana White has believed for a long time that Roy “Big Country” Nelson would be an absolute force if he were able to get his weight down to 205. But at UFC 146, Nelson showed his boss that he doesn’t need to cut weight to win fights.
The president of the UFC voiced his displeasure with Nelson once again when he said this, as per MMAweekly.com:
“I’m cool with him; I like him. Listen, he’s a tough guy with a ton of heart. He goes in there and he gives it his everything. My thing is I’ve always said to him, I’d love to see you take this thing seriously and rip off some weight,” said White.
“When you’ve got a chin like that and a heart like that, you can’t deny the guy’s got a great chin, a ton of heart and he can knock people out. If he really could get to 205, he’d be a force at 205. He’d be a scary dude. He’s got great wrestling, awesome submissions, great chin, a ton of heart and has knockout power.
Nelson must have listened to White’s “I’d love to see you take this thing seriously…” comment and decided he was going to take his frustrations out on his opponent, Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman.
Nelson and Herman both proceeded with caution in the first round, feeling each other out as they looked for a weak point in one another’s defenses. Unfortunately for Herman, “Big Country” found an opening first and laid the smack down on “Pee-Wee” in the form of an overhand right that immediately dropped him to the canvas.
White’s comments must have hit a nerve with Nelson, as he came into this fight looking like he was in great shape. It wasn’t the overly flabby, jiggly Nelson that we’re accustomed to seeing, but rather the semi-tight, relatively skinny Nelson.
I can just imagine the following Dana White quote playing on repeat in Nelson’s headphones as he trained for this fight:
“Who knows what Roy Nelson could really achieve if he applied himself.”
Nelson has came out and put on quality performances in his last three fights. He scored a TKO over Mirko Filipovic, then suffered a unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum (the fight won Fight of the Night), followed by his knockout of Herman, which was awarded Knockout of the Night at UFC 146.
The UFC now has an interesting dilemma on their hands. We might get to see Nelson fight against Stefan Struve, which will surely be a mind-blowing fight. The two fighters weigh about the same, but Struve is nearly a foot taller, which will give Nelson a problem when it comes to landing his knockout punches while the two are on their feet.
Nelson knocked Struve out less than 40 seconds into the first round of their fight in March of 2010, but Struve is a much different fighter now.
White is right to say that Nelson would be a force at 205 pounds, but I don’t believe that it’s fair to say that he doesn’t take what he does seriously.
You don’t win 17 of 24 fights if you think your job is a joke. And you certainly don’t have the power to come out of the gate, throw one punch and knock out your opponent unless you’ve trained enough to do so.
Nelson has had a rough go at it over the course of his last five fights, losing three of them. Don’t forget that he went the distance in all three, though, losing to Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir and Werdum.
Not many fighters can say that they’ve gone the distance with all three of those guys. Nelson may not look to be in top physical shape, but he certainly is conditioned enough to go three rounds with three of the best heavyweight fighters in the world.
Junior dos Santos is a walking, terrifying public relations smashing machine. Not only did he Babe Ruth it and fulfill his prediction of winning by 2nd round stoppage over former two-time champion Frank Mir Saturday night, but he also provided the best feel-good photo op of the year so far.
Junior trains out of Luis Carlos Dorea’s Champion Boxing gym in Brazil which, in addition to being headquarters for world-class fighters, is home to a vibrant youth boxing program. After training one day, the UFC Primetime cameras caught one of the little tikes hanging asking Junior to take him with him to the states for his title fight.
At the time, Junior said, “we’ll see.” But he ended up bringing the 9 year-old kid and his family to Vegas to watch him win. After beating Mir, he lifted the lucky young fighter onto his shoulders and posed for the cameras along with his coaches.
Dos Santos definitely appears to have the Wanderlei Silva nice guy/maniac fighter balance down pat. Try as I might, that image warms my cynical heart, and I don’t give a damn how orchestrated it may or may not have been. Who doesn’t like watching a kid’s dream come true before their eyes?
Junior dos Santos is a walking, terrifying public relations smashing machine. Not only did he Babe Ruth it and fulfill his prediction of winning by 2nd round stoppage over former two-time champion Frank Mir Saturday night, but he also provided the best feel-good photo op of the year so far.
Junior trains out of Luis Carlos Dorea’s Champion Boxing gym in Brazil which, in addition to being headquarters for world-class fighters, is home to a vibrant youth boxing program. After training one day, the UFC Primetime cameras caught one of the little tikes hanging asking Junior to take him with him to the states for his title fight.
At the time, Junior said, “we’ll see.” But he ended up bringing the 9 year-old kid and his family to Vegas to watch him win. After beating Mir, he lifted the lucky young fighter onto his shoulders and posed for the cameras along with his coaches.
Dos Santos definitely appears to have the Wanderlei Silva nice guy/maniac fighter balance down pat. Try as I might, that image warms my cynical heart, and I don’t give a damn how orchestrated it may or may not have been. Who doesn’t like watching a kid’s dream come true before their eyes?
Mir’s dream of becoming the second ever three-time UFC heavyweight champion came crashing down on him, however, when he could not drag dos Santos down to the mat. Mir eat huge hellacious shots to the dome in the latter part of the first and into the second, until the final hammer fist prompted the ref to step in and stop the action.
It has been easy for this writer to continually underestimate dos Santos in some of his biggest bouts on account of his “only” having his hands. What are the chances, I’ve often found myself thinking, that he can go a whole fight without getting put on his back? Well, so far, those chances are much less likely than the chances that his opponents can go an entire fight without being hit by him.
When dos Santos touches an opponent, they drop. That’s the way it goes, we’ve come to learn.
Who’s next for him? How about a rematch with the man he beat to win the title, Cain Velasquez?
Cain got back on the winning track by dominating and brutalizing Antonio Silva, stopping him in the first round with ground strikes. Cain made Silva bleed his own blood, a lot of it, with elbows and punches, and by the end of the brief bout he looked like he was trying out for a horror flick.
He was trying out for a title shot, and I think he earned it. The only guy I’d rather see get it next, his AKA teammate Daniel Cormier, will be out for a long time with a broken hand.
Yeah, Velasquez vs. dos Santos would be a rematch but so what? Elite fighters often hang around the top of divisions together and, if we’re lucky, we get to see the best of the best go at it over and again.
Cain lost quickly to dos Santos last fall, but before that he was unbeaten and devastated the, at the time, invincible-looking champion Brock Lesnar. Modern-day Antonio Silva only loses to the best guys out there, like Fabricio Werdum, Velasquez and Cormier, and recently dominated Fedor Emelianenko. Taking him out so impressively counts for a lot, and with the timing working out, it is time for dos Santos vs. Velasquez II.
Roy Nelson found the mark with his over hand right early and knocked Dave Herman silly. He went in to add to the punishment on the ground but thankfully the ref got in there fast and stopped it. Only way Nelson could have added to the damage would have been to eat Herman, and we all know he’s watching his boyish figure these days.
Dan Hardy showed why he was still employed after four-straight losses in beating solid veteran Duane Ludwig via first round TKO. Hardy always come in shape, always gives an entertaining fight and has only lost to the best in the welterweight division. It has to feel good for the “Outlaw” to finally get back in the win-column. Now he can go get high as a kite. Hardy joined Nelson as a “knockout of the night,” bonus check recipient.
To pull guard in MMA you have to either be suicidal or a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu boss. Paul Sass and Stefan Struve were the latter in securing submission wins off of their back at UFC 146. They shared “submission of the night,” honors. All bonus winners earned extra $70,000 checks. No “fight of the night” bonuses were given.
Jamie Varner showed why he is a former world champion by beating formerly unbeaten wrecking-ball Edson Barboza via TKO after taking the fight on short notice. Way to make a re-entry to the big leagues, Jamie. Perhaps the biggest underdog of the night, scored the huge upset.
Jason “Mayhem” Miller pleaded with the UFC to give him another fight in the organization after losing badly to Michael Bisping and he got one, against C.B. Dollaway. Miller fought well and lost a close decision to Dollaway. But still, looks like, he gone. Reports are that he pulled a stunt backstage after the fight that sealed his fate. Maybe he ran into Team Cesar Gracie.
One final note, Glover Teixeira looked great in his long-awaited UFC debut. He submitted Kyle Kingsbury with an arm-triangle choke in the first round. Is it too soon to want to see Glover against some of the best in the 205lb division?
The all-heavyweight main card of UFC 146 caused some controversy when it was first announced. Some believed that the sometimes laboring pace of the 205+ pounders could get boring. Were those doubters ever wrong. The heavyweights delivered on this ni…
The all-heavyweight main card of UFC 146 caused some controversy when it was first announced. Some believed that the sometimes laboring pace of the 205+ pounders could get boring.
Were those doubters ever wrong.
The heavyweights delivered on this night, delivering five finishes in five main card fights, including four knockouts and a submission. All five fights combined lasted under 23 minutes!
There were quite a few memories made during the main card as well as during the undercard. Let’s take a look back at them. Here are the top 10 most memorable moments of UFC 146.
The only surprise in the main event at UFC 146 was that Frank Mir was able to survive the first round against Junior Dos Santos. Mir attempted to take Dos Santos to the mat almost.
The only surprise in the main event at UFC 146 was that Frank Mir was able to survive the first round against Junior Dos Santos. Mir attempted to take Dos Santos to the mat almost immediately after the fight began but was never close to succeeding. Dos Santos stuffed the attempt easily and from that point, Mir seemed to resign himself to being unable to ground his opponent and spent the next six minutes playing a dangerous game. He stood in front of Dos Santos without utilizing much motion. He managed to land a few low kicks and touched Dos Santos with his jab but the conclusion of the fight seemed inevitable. Dos Santos was obviously not threatened by Mir’s striking and waited patiently for his opportunity to attack. He landed his first big punch at the end of the first round and followed with a flurry that pushed Mir back against the cage. The fight would have ended there if not for the bell signaling the end of the round. One would think that after feeling Dos Santos’ power, Mir would come out in the second round and desperately try to drag the fight to the ground. Instead, Mir employed the same strategy of standing in front of his opponent throwing low kicks. Predictably, the champion eventually landed a counter right hand that sent Mir reeling. Dos Santos landed a few more punches on the ground and Mir seemed to lose his bearings in the cage as he rolled toward nowhere in particular. Dos Santos used the opportunity to land one last hammer fist before Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight. He probably could have let it go on longer but the outcome was inevitable and the stoppage saved Mir from suffering the brutal knockout that was clearly on its way. Mir will continue to be a fixture in the UFC heavyweight division but he doesn’t have the tools to be a champion in this era of MMA. Dos Santos will await the UFC’s decision as to who he will fight next. That fight will likely come against either Alistair Overeem after his nine month suspension or Cain Velasquez after his performance in the fight preceding Dos Santos’.
Cain Velasquez earned a gory victory over Antonio Silva with a first round TKO. Silva started the fight with a kick. Velasquez caught it and put Silva on his back. Silva appeared to be defending well until Velasquez slipped an elbow through his guard and opened a huge gushing cut on the bridge of Silva’s nose. The blood squirted from the cut directly into both of Silva’s eyes and made it impossible for him to defend himself. Velasquez took advantage and eventually was able to land several big punches in a row to earn the first round stoppage. This fight will undoubtedly reopen the debate as to the place of elbows on the ground in the sport but the real story is whether this performance was enough to earn Velasquez an immediate title shot rematch against Dos Santos. Alistair Overeem will return from his suspension in nine months and the UFC seems determined to give him the opportunity to fight for its belt despite the fact that Overeem is widely considered to be one the sport’s most blatant PED users. Many people within the sport speculated that a decisive victory by Velasquez would earn him the next title shot ahead of Overeem. The question coming out of this fight is how much of a statement did he make. The elbow that cut Silva was a glancing blow and had it not opened a freakish cut, who knows how the rest of the fight would have progressed. We may have seen a different outcome if Silva hadn’t been blinded by his own blood. But the elbow did cause the cut and Velasquez did exactly what he was supposed to do by seizing the opportunity to finish the fight. The UFC will have a difficult decision to make as to who deserves the next title shot but the one certainty is that the heavyweight division is deeper than ever before and several different interesting matchups are available.
Roy Nelson is a fan favorite for a reason. Actually, for several reasons. Fans love his belly, his beard and his right hand. Against Dave Herman, we got to see all three of them. But only for a short period of time. Nelson dispatched Herman in less than a minute with an overhand right flash knockout. The fight didn’t leave much room for analysis and because it was so short, we didn’t really learn anything about either fighter. Herman is a good fighter and anyone can get caught with a punch. Based on the short amount of time we got to see him fight, he seemed to have a good gameplan of trying to use his length to keep Nelson on the outside. We also didn’t learn anything new about Nelson. He has always had power in his hands and when he lands on the chin, the body to which that chin is attached usually crumples. Every Nelson victory is a victory for the fans who want him to remain in the UFC as long as possible and a knockout like that is the best way to secure his place on the biggest stage.
Stipe Miocic continued to progress through the UFC’s heavyweight division with a second round TKO victory over Shane Del Rosario. Del Rosario won the first round by repeatedly landing heavy kicks to Miocic’s body and legs. Miocic’s only weapon in that first round was his right hand and he was unable to land it cleanly. At the end of the first round, Miocic realized he could use his wrestling to easily put Del Rosario on his back and from that point on, Miocic completely controlled the fight. He took Del Rosario down again early in the second round and earned the victory by pummeling his opponent with hammer fists and elbows from the half guard. Del Rosario was unable to mount any defense and never really attempted to sweep or even regain full guard. If he hopes to compete in the UFC, he will need to put forth a better effort that he showed in this fight as he seemed to stop fighting once Miocic gained top position. For Miocic, this was an improvement over his last performance and he has showed growth in each of his UFC fights thus far. He is ready for a stiffer test and if he continues to improve, he could develop into an interesting presence in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Going into the main card opener between Lavar Johnson and Stefan Struve, everyone who follows MMA knew that the fight had two possible outcomes. Either Johnson was going to land a punch and knock out Struve or Struve was going to get the fight to the ground and finish with a submission. Johnson did start aggressively and pushed Struve back against the cage with a flurry of punches. He landed one decent right hand but nothing clean enough to drop Struve. Having felt a hint of his opponent’s power, Struve grabbed an overhook and jumped guard. He pulled Johnson to the mat and quickly locked on to an arm bar to win the fight via first round submission. Struve did exactly what he needed to do in this fight and while he didn’t necessarily prove anything or show any growth, he did add a win to his record and earn the right to continue moving forward in the heavyweight division. If Johnson refuses to acknowledge the ground game, he will quickly find his way out of the UFC and back to smaller shows as a part of fights designed to put two big men in a cage and see who falls first. Hopefully, he’ll choose to work on the weak aspects of his game and come back with a skill set that can keep him competing at the highest level.
