Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS – Seven fighters from Saturday’s UFC 130 card were given medical suspensions following their fights. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the list of suspensions to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
LAS VEGAS – Seven fighters from Saturday’s UFC 130 card were given medical suspensions following their fights. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the list of suspensions to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
The lengthiest potential suspensions went to main event and co-main event winners Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Frank Mir. Each could be out for six months unless given early clearance by doctors.
Jackson will need an x-ray on his left hand, which he said following the fight was fractured going into his bout with Matt Hamill. Failing that clearance, Jackson could be out until the end of November. Mir is in the same situation after his unanimous decision win over Roy Nelson. He’ll need a doctor to sign off on his left ribs in order for him to return, or he’ll be out until Nov. 25, as well.
Also getting potential six month suspensions were Fight of the Night winners Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago, plus Michael McDonald. Stann has a broken right thumb after his win over Santiago, who has a fractured left orbital.
The full list of medical suspensions is below.
Quinton Jackson: Suspended until June 28 with no contact until June 19. Needs x-ray on left hand. If positive, must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor, or no contest until Nov. 25.
Frank Mir: Suspended until June 28 with no contact until June 19. Must have left ribs cleared by a doctor, or no contest until Nov. 25.
Stefan Struve: Suspended until July 28 with no contact until July 13.
Brian Stann: Suspended until June 28 with no contact until June 19. Must have right thumb x-rayed. If positive, must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor, or no contest until Nov. 25.
Jorge Santiago: Must have left orbital fracture cleared by an ENT or ophthalmologist, or no contest until Nov. 25.
Rafaello Oliveira: Suspended until July 28 with no contact until July 13.
Michael McDonald: Suspended until July 28 with no contact until July 13. Must have left shoulder cleared by orthopedic doctor, or no contest until Nov. 25.
(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.
Quinton Jackson:Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.
Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.
(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.
Quinton Jackson:Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.
Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.
Frank Mir: Unfortunately, back-to-back wins over Mirko Cro Cop and Roy Nelson have done nothing to raise this guy’s stock. I think a fight against Brendan Schaub still makes sense, as long as Schaub finds a way to get past Big Nog in August and Mir is willing to sit out for a while. At that point, fighting the TUF 10 finalist might be considered a step up for Mir.
Roy Nelson: Throw him up against Cro Cop on the Spike Prelims portion of a pay-per-view event. The loser leaves the Octagon forever. And for Christ’s sake, Roy, talk to Mike Dolce.
Travis Browne: After a 2-0-1 UFC stint against solid competition, I’d like to see Browne get a modest step up against another dangerous bastard — namely Mike Russow, who is also undefeated in three Octagon appearances. Russow is coming off a doctor’s stoppage TKO of Jon Madsen, which followed his legendary comeback knockout of Todd Duffee. It’s a matchup that would produce a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division.
Rick Story: With six wins in a row, he’s now qualified to call out any 170-pounder in the UFC outside of Georges St. Pierre — and for some reason, he’s chosen Jon Fitch. Dude, what? Nobody looks good fighting Jon Fitch, except GSP himself. Instead, Story should be calling out Josh Koscheck, who’s just as highly-regarded as Fitch, but more likely to produce a memorable fight. In a way, Story is like the second-coming of Koscheck — a seasoned wrestler with power in his hands — so a meeting between the two makes a lot of sense.
Brian Stann: The UFC’s 185-pound division is heavy at the middle right now, so one more impressive win could break Stann out of the logjam and set him on a title track. But all the other contenders in the middleweight division seem to be booked right now. The best option? Have the All-American fight the winner of Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz, who meet at UFC 131 on June 11th.
Demetrious Johnson: If you’ve compiled a four-fight win streak with your last two victories coming against Miguel Torres and Kid Yamamoto, then yes, you are one of the top dogs in the bantamweight division. But I’d like to see how well Mighty Mouse does against a fighter who can stop his takedowns — and there are a number of 135-ers in the UFC who fit that description. July’s UFC 132 event holds two possibilities: Urijah Faber if he loses to Dominick Cruz in the main event, or former champ Brian Bowles if defeats Takeya Mizugaki. Either opponent would be a trial-by-fire for Johnson, but he’s earned it.
(BG)
Got any other suggestions for UFC 130′s fighters? Let us know in the comments section…
It was a show of main-event changes as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in the main event of UFC 130, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.No review of the pre…
It was a show of main-event changes as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in the main event of UFC 130, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.
No review of the preliminaries this month as ESPN had technical problems (again), so it’s on to the main show, beginning with middleweight action as Brian Stann faced Jorge Santiago.
The All-American is really starting to come into his own. After a somewhat cagey start from both men, Stann connected with a left that sent Santiago down. Stann followed him down for the ground and pound but couldn’t quite get the job done.
Stann continued his great work in the second, and a big right to the temple sent Santiago down again. A brief period of ground and pound followed before the referee stepped in to give Stann the impressive TKO win.
It was down to welterweight for the next fight as Thiago Alves faced Rick Story.
This was a very good encounter. Story put on a great display of grappling for the first two rounds, neutralizing Alves’ superior striking ability. Alves got in some good strikes, but Story was able to respond in kind.
We saw more striking from Alves in the third, as well as some exciting exchanges, with Alves rocking his man a number of times, the fight ending with both men swinging for the fences.
So with the fight going the distance it went down to the judges, with Story getting the unanimous decision.
The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Stefan Struve faced Travis Browne.
This battle of the big men began with both fighters connecting with a series of kicks. A clinch against the cage was followed by a brief foray to the ground before they returned to the striking game.
Seconds later and it was all over. Browne connected with a Superman punch that sent Struve crashing, the referee quickly stepping in to give Browne the great knockout win.
The heavyweight action continued as Frank Mir went up against Roy Nelson.
This battle of hometown boys proved to be a highly entertaining affair. We also got a lesson about conditioning.
Mir dominated the majority of the fight, putting on a performance that was far superior than his effort against Mirko Cro Cop.
Big Country had his moments, but as time went on Nelson’s lack of physical conditioning showed, and as he sat on his stool between the second and third rounds he had the look of a beaten and exhausted man, with Mir once again dominating with his grappling and his ground and pound.
No surprise with the judges’ decision as all three gave the fight to Mir. A great performance from the former champion, and an example of how Nelson really needs to go back to the drawing board.
The main event saw Quinton Jackson taking on Matt Hamill in the light heavyweight division.
Rampage seemed to have Hamill worked out from the start. Whenever Hamill went for a takedown Jackson was able to defend easily. It was the same whenever Hamill went for a clinch.
As for the striking, Rampage had that department covered as well, out-striking his opponent and connecting with some hard knees and shots to the body.
So with another fight going the distance it went to the judges again, with all three giving the fight to Rampage. It may not have been pretty but it was effective.
The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the lightweight encounter between Gleison Tibau and Rafaello Oliveira.
This all Brazilian affair was a nice way to end the show. Things looked pretty even in the first as both men got off some crisp strikes and showed some good work during the brief trip to the ground.
It was pretty much the same in the second until Tibau connected with a big left that sent Oliveira down. Moments later Tibau took his man’s back and clinched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
In conclusion—they’ve done it again.
Even though this was devoid of a title fight after both Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar pulled out injured, it was still a very good show, and although a couple of the performances were a little disappointing, that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment.
So all-in-all, UFC 130 gets the thumbs up from me.
Let’s hope ESPN doesn’t screw up any more shows though!
Following his uninspiring performance against Frank Mir at UFC 130, Roy Nelson is expected to meet with UFC president Dana White later this week to discuss his future in the UFC. The one-sided loss to Mir has now put Nelson at 2-2 inside the Octag…
Following his uninspiring performance against Frank Mir at UFC 130, Roy Nelson is expected to meet with UFC president Dana White later this week to discuss his future in the UFC.
The one-sided loss to Mir has now put Nelson at 2-2 inside the Octagon, but it had not stopped “Big Country” from being any less cheerful than he was prior to his defeat, keeping the reporters who were present at the post-fight press conference entertained.
However, his boss seems to think otherwise about the mullet-wearing, rotund heavyweight.
“I thought it was terrible. I thought it was embarrassing.”
The former IFL heavyweight champion seemed to be on a roll upon his entrance into the UFC after earning a victory over Brendan Schaub to become The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner. He followed that up with another knockout win, this time over heavyweight prospect Stefan Struve.
But his recent string of losses has some critics questioning his credibility in the heavyweight division. And now, after showing obvious signs of fatigue in his bout with Mir, the idea of shedding some weight has now become an issue as well.
But Nelson doesn’t see his unorthodox size as an issue.
“I’ve just got to get bigger, stronger, faster—I think that’s really the only thing,” Nelson said.
“I just got outwrestled because my mindset was a little bit different. Mine was just ‘hit Frank in his face more than he hit me.’ I just got outwrestled.”
While some fans have requested for Nelson to possibly drop down to 205 lbs, White suggested he would rather see Nelson remain at heavyweight but weigh in much smaller than 260 lbs.
However, Nelson’s performance has resulted in a meeting with White, and whatever is decided for Nelson and his future in the UFC will likely not come without some criticism from the boss himself.
“I’m not happy about the performance from either [Nelson or Mir],” White said.
“When you’re the co-main or the main event, you’ve got to go out there and perform and look good. When you don’t, you’re going to hear my opinion about it—and the fans and the media, I’m sure.”
When a much-anticipated main event like Edgar vs. Maynard 3 falls by the wayside, it’s tough for an event to ever really live up to the expectations.Still, UFC 130 featured big knockouts, rising contenders, and generally some very interesting perform…
When a much-anticipated main event like Edgar vs. Maynard 3 falls by the wayside, it’s tough for an event to ever really live up to the expectations.
Still, UFC 130 featured big knockouts, rising contenders, and generally some very interesting performances.
Quinton Jackon didn’t exactly set the cage on fire, but making up for his efforts were Brian Stann, Travis Browne, Gleison Tibau and others.
Aside from the performances themselves, UFC 130 will also provide a fairly large shakeup in the divisional rankings with top 10 ranked fighters like Jorge Santiago, Miguel Torres, and Thiago Alves all coming up short.
Here are the top thoughts and repercussions following UFC 130.
Despite his previous loss to Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson showed a lot of heart and a good chin. For those reasons, Nelson looked as if he could still compete will a true heavyweight contender.However, Nelson’s performance at UFC 130 suggested otherwi…
Despite his previous loss to Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson showed a lot of heart and a good chin. For those reasons, Nelson looked as if he could still compete will a true heavyweight contender.
However, Nelson’s performance at UFC 130 suggested otherwise as he provided little answer to the attacks of Frank Mir in a decision loss.
Nelson will most likely be considered a gatekeeper for the foreseeable future unless he can prove his worth in his next fight. Here a five opponents Nelson could meet next.
LAS VEGAS – Seven fighters from Saturday’s UFC 130 card were given medical suspensions following their fights. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the list of suspensions to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
