(Our minds haven’t fully processed this yet. / Photo via Getty)
Coming off a their title fight rematch at UFC 181 — which was nearly as exciting and definitely more controversial than the first — new UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and ex-champ Johny Hendricks will fight for the belt a third time, at an event to be named later.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking-in-progress yesterday. “We just feel like the trilogy makes sense,” White said. “Do the third fight between these two.”
Hendricks and Lawler have already battled through ten closely-pitched rounds, with Hendricks winning their first meeting (and the vacant UFC welterweight title) at UFC 171 by unanimous decision. Hendricks then took some time off to rehab a torn bicep, while Lawler stayed busy by TKO’ing Jake Ellenberger in May and out-pointing Matt Brown in July. When Hendricks and Lawler met again last month, Lawler convinced two of the judges to let him hold the belt for a while.
For the sake of closure (we hope?), Lawler vs. Hendricks III is the right move — somebody’s gotta get knocked out eventually, right? — and Rory MacDonald will have to wait a little longer for his shot. We’ll let you know when this fight gets tied to a specific event.
(Our minds haven’t fully processed this yet. / Photo via Getty)
Coming off a their title fight rematch at UFC 181 — which was nearly as exciting and definitely more controversial than the first — new UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and ex-champ Johny Hendricks will fight for the belt a third time, at an event to be named later.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking-in-progress yesterday. “We just feel like the trilogy makes sense,” White said. “Do the third fight between these two.”
Hendricks and Lawler have already battled through ten closely-pitched rounds, with Hendricks winning their first meeting (and the vacant UFC welterweight title) at UFC 171 by unanimous decision. Hendricks then took some time off to rehab a torn bicep, while Lawler stayed busy by TKO’ing Jake Ellenberger in May and out-pointing Matt Brown in July. When Hendricks and Lawler met again last month, Lawler convinced two of the judges to let him hold the belt for a while.
For the sake of closure, Lawler vs. Hendricks III is the right move — somebody’s gotta get knocked out eventually, right? — and Rory MacDonald will have to wait a little longer for his shot. We’ll let you know when this fight gets tied to a specific event.
“We weren’t able to do the first one on pay-per-view, and I definitely want to headline a pay-per-view card, and we get an opportunity to do that. What better way to do that than to have one of the best trilogies in MMA history? Why not fight the guy three times, four times, five times? Who cares? It’s a hell of a fight every time.”
“We weren’t able to do the first one on pay-per-view, and I definitely want to headline a pay-per-view card, and we get an opportunity to do that. What better way to do that than to have one of the best trilogies in MMA history? Why not fight the guy three times, four times, five times? Who cares? It’s a hell of a fight every time.”
I’m halfway-convinced that this was Bellator’s plan all along. (They couldn’t have possibly expected Ortiz and Rampage to stay healthy, right?) At any rate, it all worked out for the best. Alvarez won a narrow split-decision after five rounds, avenging his previous submission loss against Chandler, and over a million viewers tuned in to see it.
We already know that MMA fans will show up to watch Alvarez and Chandler beat the crap out of each other when it’s aired on cable. The question is, are you willing to pay $34.95 for a fight that was already given away twice for free?
It may have lost some steam along the way, but the Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce’s little engine that could, is pulling into the station this evening. Tournament finalists Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will slug it out to decide who rules the now-defunct Strikeforce Heavyweight division and get their face plastered on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. Cormier, the two-time Olympian, tipped the scales at 238lbs; his opponent, Josh Barnett, will enjoy a 10lb advantage when they climb into the cage. Those of you ballsy enough to bet “other” as the tournament winner way back in January ’11 are on the verge of a mega-payout this evening.
Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will defend his title in a rubbermatch against Josh Thompson. Rumors swirled online that a serious knee injury would sideline “The Punk” from tonight’s bout, but he was able-bodied enough to step up on the scale. Both men tallied a weight of 153lbs and will look to settle the score in San Jose.
We’re liveblogging the crap out of this thing tonight, so join us back here for the festivities.
It may have lost some steam along the way, but the Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce’s little engine that could, is pulling into the station this evening. Tournament finalists Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will slug it out to decide who rules the now-defunct Strikeforce Heavyweight division and get their face plastered on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. Cormier, the two-time Olympian, tipped the scales at 238lbs; his opponent, Josh Barnett, will enjoy a 10lb advantage when they climb into the cage. Those of you ballsy enough to bet “other” as the tournament winner way back in January ’11 are on the verge of a mega-payout this evening.
Strikeforce Lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will defend his title in a rubbermatch against Josh Thompson. Rumors swirled online that a serious knee injury would sideline “The Punk” from tonight’s bout, but he was able-bodied enough to step up on the scale. Both men tallied a weight of 153lbs and will look to settle the score in San Jose.
We’re liveblogging the crap out of this thing tonight, so join us back here for the festivities.
Main Card Bouts: Mike Kyle (203) vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (206)
Nah-shon Burrell (170) vs. Chris Spang (169)
Preliminary Card Bouts:
JZ Cavalcante (156) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156)
Virgil Zwicker (204) vs. Carlos Inocente (205)
Gian Villante (205) vs. Derek Mehmen (205)
Quinn Mulhern (170) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)
James Terry (156.25) vs. Bobby Green (155)
‘Secure a win, and ask for a title shot.’ It’s something we see from top contenders–and even not-quite top contenders–every event. But last night Urijah Faber seemed intent on finishing his opponent and letting his performance demand the title bout for him. He did. It did.
Faber came out aggressively, throwing powerful combinations that kept Brian Bowles moving backwards. He also found a home for a score of uppercuts, one of which would spell the beginning of the end for the former WEC Bantamweight champion. With a second round ‘submission of the night’ victory, Faber emphatically punched his ticket to a rubbermatch with UFC Bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz.
‘Secure a win, and ask for a title shot.’ It’s something we see from top contenders–and even not-quite top contenders–every event. But last night Urijah Faber seemed intent on finishing his opponent and letting his performance demand the title bout for him. He did. It did.
Faber came out aggressively, throwing powerful combinations that kept Brian Bowles moving backwards. He also found a home for a score of uppercuts, one of which would spell the beginning of the end for the former WEC Bantamweight champion. With a second round ‘submission of the night’ victory, Faber emphatically punched his ticket to a rubbermatch with UFC Bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz.
Though not officially signed, the hype for the trilogy started in the Octagon last night with Faber’s post fight interview:
“Dominick, you can run but you can’t hide, homeboy. Throw some gel in that widow’s peak. Let’s do some work. Let’s do battle.”
Awww, dayum! Calling the champ out is one thing, Urijah, but calling him out on his hair is a serious faux pas.
A chance to relive their show stopping performance at UFC 132 is just too good for Zuffa to pass up, and it may prove too good to contain in a simple pay-per-view. Though White wouldn’t commit, his quiet grin conveyed that he’s giving serious thought to the pair serving as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. White remarked that the two could hypothetically start filming their season in March for the live revisioning of the reality television franchise.
(I guess you had to be there. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)
Originally slated to go down this month, the long-awaited (at least by us) rubber match between middleweights Jason Miller and Tim Kennedy is now expected for Strikeforce: Columbus, wh…
(I guess you had to be there. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)
Speaking of Jason Miller, did you know that he once fought a 360-pound man at an Icon Sport event, and held onto a choke for so long that even Babalu Sobral would be disgusted? I just learned that over the weekend, and I’m still confused. Video proof after the jump…
