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UFC 134 Preview: Brendan Schaub: A Legitimate Title Contender or Just Overhyped?

Brendan Schaub came second on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” to Roy Nelson. He was one of my favorite fighters to watch on that series of TUF. Schaub, known for his impressive boxing skills, is 8-1 in MMA and 4-1 in the UFC. Of his ei…

Brendan Schaub came second on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” to Roy Nelson.

He was one of my favorite fighters to watch on that series of TUF.

Schaub, known for his impressive boxing skills, is 8-1 in MMA and 4-1 in the UFC. Of his eight wins, seven have come by knockout, with six of those fights lasting no longer 1:27 of the very first round. Impressive.

Let’s look at Schaub’s last two opponents, “Cro-Cop” and Gonzaga. While a win over either of these fighters would mean a great deal to any fighter, Schaub did not really prove anything by beating them.

Both fighters were well past their prime, especially “Cro-Cop”, who is now approaching the age of 37.

Don’t get me wrong—when it comes to all of sports, “Cro-Cop” is one of my heroes. He is undoubtedly the greatest striker in the heavyweight division of all time.

“Cro-Cop” is a true legend of the sport, but he is not the same “Cro-Cop” that we saw bulldoze through opponents in Pride FC, some years ago.

Does beating an aging legend mean much when it comes to title contention?

Do you really think that Schaub could have beaten the “Cro-Cop” of the Pride era? The same “Cro-Cop” that sent opponent after opponent to the proverbial cemetery?

Beating some of the legends of the sport will look great on his record and does stand for something. However, it would mean a lot more, especially to Schaub’s desire to be a champion, if he had beaten them in their prime and they were also in title contention.

Despite “Cro-Cop’s” age, “Cro-Cop” held Schaub off till the third round and Schaub couldn’t finish Gonzaga.

If Schaub can’t comfortably get past superstars who are well past their prime, how on earth is he going to be able to beat the likes of Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez?

Schaub has a fascination with calling out some of the true legends of the sport. He is respectful about it, and I in turn respect him for that (he is not as vocal as a certain “Uncle Chael”). Also, he seems to be under the impression that by beating fighters who are way past their prime, he will get closer to earning a title shot.

Unfortunately, he is wrong.

Schaub needs to focus on calling out fighters that are currently in the title picture in order to be a part of the title picture himself.

Similarly, calling out other young, up and coming stars would also do more to help his career. Schaub should be calling out fighters like fellow TUF alum, Matt Mitrione, or other young stars such as Travis Browne.

His latest challenge was made to the iconic Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and I hate having to say this, as Nogueira is also one of my heroes and inspirations, but “Minotauro” is also well past his prime.

That being said, “Minotauro” is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, period.

Maybe Schaub will regret calling out Nogueira and this is why.

If there is anybody that is going to bring Schaub back to reality, it is going to be Nogueira—arguably the greatest submission artist in the heavyweight division, ever.

“Minotauro” Nogueira has been training to become an excellent all-rounded fighter. He has looked to improve his boxing by training with the Cuban national team and he trains/coaches talented strikers in Junior Dos Santos and Anderson Silva.

Although Schaub will still hold the advantage over Nogueira in the stand-up game, we all know what will happen if this fight gets taken to the ground and there is a strong likelihood it will.

Furthermore, this fight is going down in Nogueira’s home country and the fans will all be against Schaub. So we will also see how Schaub copes under a copious amount of pressure as he goes toe to toe with a legend with thousands of people booing him and cheering for their idol.

Schaub is 28 years old and has got great talent and even greater potential. So why is he calling out fighters much older than himself and who are not as great as they were a few years ago?

Would he have called them out while they were in their prime?

I think Schaub has the potential to become a title contender, like his fellow TUF alum Roy Nelson. But Schaub needs to do what is ultimately going to bring him closer to the title picture and that is by challenging the young stars.

I like watching him fight because he is entertaining; he has incredible knockout power and you just don’t know when to expect that killer punch.

But for his sake, I hope he will do what is right in order to become a legitimate title contender.

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Keyboard Warriors #3: The Ream

If you missed Keyboard Warriors Monday, hey thanks. Nice to know someone actually appreciates all I do to entertain you jerkfaces. For the rest of you: hey guess what i did?

Yup, prepare yourselves for KBW #3! In the aftermath of the weekend’s Strikeforce action, Dana takes the time to address the heavyweights, evaluate their performances, and fill them in on his short terms plans. And his long term plans. Say what you will, but Big Daddy White dreams big, son.

If you are interested in 100% made up conversations between characters that are mostly fabrications, come on in and enjoy. Feel free to comment your little hands off. If you don’t like comedy … well, i’ve got nothing for you.

Why do you keep coming here again?

[RX]

If you missed Keyboard Warriors Monday, hey thanks. Nice to know someone actually appreciates all I do to entertain you jerkfaces. For the rest of you: hey guess what i did?

Why do you keep coming here again?

As always, thanks to Christopher and those jokers at WithLeather.

[RX]

On This Day in MMA History…June 20

(Time sure does fly…)

WEC 49 went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Josh Grispi earned the next shot at WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo with his win over LC Davis at this show held in Edmonton, Alberta. Because of an injury, Aldo had to pull out of their planned UFC 125 bout. Rather than wait for his shot, Grispi took a fight with Dustin Poirier on the January card and lost via unanimous decision. As a result, another fighter who impressed on the UFC 49 card earned the next shot at Aldo.

Mark Hominick was en route to a unanimous decision loss to fellow Canadian Yves Jabouin in Edmonton, but pulled out one of the most impressive come from behind wins in WEC history.

Stunned and dropped by a stiff right hand, Hominick weathered the ensuing ground and pound onslaught, swept Jabouin and forced a TKO stoppage via punishment from the mount.

A quick first round TKO win over teammate George Roop in his next bout earned him a shot at Aldo at UFC 129 this past April. Although he couldn’t finish the Aldo, Hominick showed the heart of a champion by fighting through a massive, disgusting hematoma to give Aldo the fight of his life and finishing the last round in dominating fashion.

(Time sure does fly…)

WEC 49 went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Mark Hominick was en route to a unanimous decision loss to fellow Canadian Yves Jabouin in Edmonton, but pulled out one of the most impressive come from behind wins in WEC history.

Stunned and dropped by a stiff right hand, Hominick weathered the ensuing ground and pound onslaught, swept Jabouin and forced a TKO stoppage via punishment from the mount.

Banner Promotions: Night of Combat went down 3 years ago.

Why it matters:

Although the show that took place at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, NV wasn’t a particularly good one, besides the main event bout that saw John Alessio beat Pete Spratt by second-round rear naked choke in spite of a broken arm, one bout received much media attention, perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

Kim Couture made her MMA debut on the card against Kim Rose. Like her Xtreme Couture teammate, Alessio, Couture fought through the pain of a grisly broken bone and continued to fight. Unlike Alessio, she came up short, losing to Rose by unanimous decision after sustaining a broken jaw in the first round.

One year later, Kim tapped out on her marriage to Randy Couture, but kept “Captain America’s” last name. She has continued to fight, compiling an un-Couture-like 3-4 record.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was born 33 years ago.

EMBED-Rampage dry humps Cagepotato Reporter – Watch more free videos

Why it matters:

Jackson disproved the conventional theory that to be successful in MMA today, a fighter needs to be well rounded. Rampage’s style is known as sprawl and brawl and predominantly focuses on the Memphis, Tennessee native knocking fool’s brains around in their skulls. Although he has a wrestling pedigree and a trio of submission victories under his belt, Jackson, who has stated on more than one occasion that he hates when a fight turns into a “boring jiu-jitsu” match, prefers to stand and bang, and if he gets the chance he may slam you on your head for good measure.

He held the UFC light heavyweight title for 406 days, which is the fourth longest title run for a holder of the strap.Tito Ortiz (1,260 days), Chuck Liddell (770 days) and Frank Shamrock (703 days) were the only fighters to hold it longer. Only Jackson and Lyoto Machida have successfully defended the title since Jackson won it from Chuck Liddell in 2007. Since then, it has changed hands five times.

With wins over Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante and Matt Lindland, Jackson has been a perennial top ten for several years. Recent wins over Lyoto Machida (split decision) and Matt Hammil (unanimous decision) have somehow allowed him to leapfrog Rashad Evans to a shot at Jon Jones at UFC 135 in September.

Roy “Big Country” Nelson was born 35 years ago.

Why he matters:
In addition to winning The Ultimate Fighter 10, “Big Country” is also the former IFL heavyweight champion. He has beaten prospects Stefan Struve, Brendan Schaub, but is perhaps better known for his highlight-reel loss against Andrei Arlovski and his ballsy decision losses to Ben Rothwell, Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/EpicKiler187)

Although he may never wear UFC gold, Nelson is a good litmus test (read: gatekeeper) for any contender who is being considered a viable contender.

Roy Nelson Says He Had Walking Pneumonia Entering UFC 130 Fight

Filed under: UFCHeavyweight Roy Nelson says he might reconsider his stance on fighting under unfavorable conditions.

Nelson, who has received criticism for his UFC 130 loss to Frank Mir two weeks ago, was aware he was sick going into his May 28 fight…

Filed under: UFC

Heavyweight Roy Nelson says he might reconsider his stance on fighting under unfavorable conditions.

Nelson, who has received criticism for his UFC 130 loss to Frank Mir two weeks ago, was aware he was sick going into his May 28 fight against Mir and was later diagnosed with walking pneumonia after the fight. However, he didn’t want to withdraw from the fight and lose out on a payday as well as having to sit out another few months waiting for another fight.

“I knew i wasn’t 100 percent, but the fight still has to go on,” Nelson said Monday on The MMA Hour. “The show still has to go on cause we are still entertainment.”

Walking pneumonia is a milder form of pneumonia, an infection of the lung, and while it generally does not require hospitalization, some of the symptoms are sore throat, headache and loss of energy.

Nelson said he lost energy within the first minute and compared the way he felt during the Mir fight with how Shane Carwin infamously fell apart in his championship bout against Brock Lesnar in July 2010. Nelson had not been that fatigued in a fight since his first career loss against at a BodogFight event in December 2006 in St. Petersburg, Russia — a fight he also entered with an illness.

Shortly after the fight, UFC president Dana White was critical of Nelson’s performance and met with Nelson to say, “The fat thing was funny for a minute. It’s not funny anymore.”

No stranger to criticism of his physique throughout his career, Nelson told White the same thing he’s been telling everyone else, that he’s fought in this shape his entire career.

When asked about the meeting on The MMA Hour, Nelson danced around the question, joking he and White had a casual get together to discuss movies and what’s good to eat around the UFC offices.

Nutritionist Mike Dolce has also reached out to help Nelson, but Nelson says he will instead consult with partners in his gym, including guidance for bulking up from multiple-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler.

Nelson considers his poor conditioning in the Mir fight an isolated incident and one he hopefully won’t repeat in the future. Nelson points to recent instances where elite athletes in the sport such as Lesnar and Jon Jones who have withdrawn from a fight rather than fight injured or sick.

After all, a loss will stay on his record and hurt his ranking within the organization.

“I need to be more business savvy, as Rashad [Evans]’ would say, ‘I have a brand to worry about,” Nelson said, who fell to 15-6 in his recent loss.

That’s something he’ll likely have to remind himself if he’s ever in a situation again where he won’t be able to perform to the best of his abilities.

Nelson says, “The one thing that always sucks about me is that I’m just a fighter and I just love to fight.”

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UFC News: Dana White on Roy Nelson—"The Fat Thing Was Funny for a Minute"

After conducting a meeting with Roy Nelson, the two sides seem to be a standstill and haven’t come to a decision regarding Nelson’s future within the UFC. FightersOnly.co.uk reports that one of the topics the two sides discussed was Nelson’s weigh…

After conducting a meeting with Roy Nelson, the two sides seem to be a standstill and haven’t come to a decision regarding Nelson’s future within the UFC.

FightersOnly.co.uk reports that one of the topics the two sides discussed was Nelson’s weight issues. Simply put, White insisted Nelson lose his infamous belly. However, the rotund heavyweight thinks otherwise.

“I said, ‘The fat thing was funny for a minute. It’s not funny anymore’,” White said.

Nelson has picked up back-to back losses in his last two of three bouts, losing to Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir. Following his bout with Mir at UFC 130, White wasn’t pleased in either competitor’s performance and he planned on further discussing that matter with Nelson last week.

“It is hard to talk to a guy that has performed at the level he has with that weight. He felt like he had one bad fight and everybody jumped on him,” he said.

It was expected for either Nelson or Mir, that the winner would receive a step up in competition and be close to a title shot. But after his last two performances, it doesn’t look appear that Nelson will be competing for a title shot anytime soon, as the UFC boss is concerned with Nelson’s personal health which could be detrimental to his career.

“When you get into these big fights with guys that mean something and you don’t win, maybe you need to change something up,” he said.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 131 Fight Card: Power Ranking Junior Dos Santos’ UFC Victories

With scary knockout power and incredible speed in his hands, Junior Dos Santos has shown that he is one of the top heavyweights in the world during his time spent inside the UFC. No one in the division has finished as many high-caliber opponents than D…

With scary knockout power and incredible speed in his hands, Junior Dos Santos has shown that he is one of the top heavyweights in the world during his time spent inside the UFC.

No one in the division has finished as many high-caliber opponents than Dos Santos the last few years, as he’s taken out 5 of his 6 UFC opponents, and most of them didn’t even get out of the first round.

After a promised title fight with Cain Velasquez fell through, Dos Santos is in his second straight No. 1 contender’s bout, but now he has some marketability to go with his talent after appearing on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Dos Santos will take on Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 131 this weekend.

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