Tag: Ryan Bader

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson Live Results and Analysis

UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (14-1-1) is, with little debate, the No. 1 lightweight in all of MMA right now, and if you don’t buy that, check out his track record:With his UFC 136 win over Gray Maynard (10-1-1, 1 NC), Edgar earne…

UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (14-1-1) is, with little debate, the No. 1 lightweight in all of MMA right now, and if you don’t buy that, check out his track record:

With his UFC 136 win over Gray Maynard (10-1-1, 1 NC), Edgar earned the distinction of snapping a total of five unbeaten streaks in his career, having beaten Jim Miller (5-1 after Edgar loss), Matt Veach (shockingly, 11-1 after Edgar loss), Tyson Griffin (8-1 after Edgar loss), and Mark Bocek (4-1 after Edgar loss) previously.

Add that in with his reputation of being the only lightweight to have beaten BJ Penn twice at 155 pounds, and he serves as a game task for former WEC Lightweight Champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson (12-2), but the aggressive style of Henderson—coupled in with his iron neck—could make for yet another candidate for the Fight of The Year, as if both men didn’t do that enough in 2011.

On top of the potential “card of the year,” featuring Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader, Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo, Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon, and some of Japan’s finest vs. the best of the world, Bleacher Report MMA presents its live blog coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 144: Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Main Card Fighter

UFC 144 will hit Saitama Super Arena in Japan tomorrow night with a vicious slate of action, topped with a talent-laden seven-fight main card.
In the main event, ligthweight champion Frankie Edgar looks to defend his title for a third time against…

UFC 144 will hit Saitama Super Arena in Japan tomorrow night with a vicious slate of action, topped with a talent-laden seven-fight main card.

In the main event, ligthweight champion Frankie Edgar looks to defend his title for a third time against the surging Benson Henderson, while a light heavyweight collision between heavy hitters Quinton Jackson and Ryan Bader takes the co-main event slot.

A batch of other fights grace the main card. Many of the fighters wield opposing styles that will make for interesting fights. Here’s a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses. 

 

Quinton Jackson/ Scott Petersen for MMAWeekly.com

Begin Slideshow

UFC 144 Fight Card: Questions People Have About Ryan Bader

On Saturday night in Saitama, Japan, Ryan Bader will continue his efforts to jump from prospect to contender when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the co-main event of UFC 144. However, even with some solid wins on his resume, people have quest…

On Saturday night in Saitama, Japan, Ryan Bader will continue his efforts to jump from prospect to contender when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the co-main event of UFC 144.

However, even with some solid wins on his resume, people have questions about the former Sun Devil, not the least of which include:

Begin Slideshow

UFC 144 Bleacher Report MMA Full Main Card Predictions

The UFC returns to “The Land of the Rising Sun” for the first time in over 12 years on Saturday and fans will likely see an early “Fight of the Year” candidate on UFC 144’s main event. UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar defends hi…

The UFC returns to “The Land of the Rising Sun” for the first time in over 12 years on Saturday and fans will likely see an early “Fight of the Year” candidate on UFC 144‘s main event. 

UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar defends his title against Ben “Smooth” Henderson in a bout that promises to deliver fireworks. 

The co-main event features former PRIDE star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson taking on former Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader in a bout that will have major implications in future light heavyweight rankings. 

Fans will also see Cheick Kongo take on Mark Hunt in a heavyweight clash, while home crowd favorite Yoshihiro Akiyama makes his welterweight debut against former 170-pound title contender Jake Shields.

Coming off a disappointing loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Yushin “Thunder” Okami looks to get back to his winning ways against Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch. 

In a featherweight bout with serious title implications, former Shooto and Sengoku star Hatsu Hioki will take on Bart Palaszewski. 

A bout that is shockingly just the first one on the main card, the last ever WEC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis takes on submission specialist Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon. 

Getting on board with the prediction team this week are Bleacher Report MMA Featured Columnists Dwight Wakabayashi, Dale De Souza, Jeffrey McKinney and myself, John Heinis. 

Take a look inside to see who will be getting their hand raised on this rarely seen four-hour, seven-fight card. 

Begin Slideshow

Rampage Jackson Says He’s "Kinda Tired" of MMA, Focused on a Boxing Career

When the UFC was seeking an opponent for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to face at UFC 144, it was unlikely that Ryan Bader was high on his list.The former PRIDE star will be just one of the many fighters to be featured on the highly-anticipated card in Jap…

When the UFC was seeking an opponent for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to face at UFC 144, it was unlikely that Ryan Bader was high on his list.

The former PRIDE star will be just one of the many fighters to be featured on the highly-anticipated card in Japan this weekend. Jackson, who is recently coming off a loss to Jon Jones, looks to reaffirm his stance in the light heavyweight division when he meets up-and-coming prospect Ryan Bader.

While Bader might not be the most appealing name to attract Jackson, he told MMAWeekly.com that he is content on competing against Bader, for the purpose of putting on an entertaining bout for the Japanese fans. 

“Sometimes it is hard to get motivated (for a fight),” Jackson said. “When I fought Matt Hamill, I really wasn’t motivated for that fight, but at the end of the day, it’s my job to fight.”

Originally, “Rampage” had intended on facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The Brazilian was the last fighter to defeat him in Japan, and Jackson was hoping to face someone who had instant recognition and could help make their fight more marketable. 

Jackson has not picked up a knockout victory since 2008, and his past performances against Matt Hamill, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans have left fans a little unsatisfied, and Jackson possibly considering a career change.

Honestly, I am kinda tired of fighting a bunch of wrestlers who want to take me down, I would like to face more striker-based fighters, he said. That’s why I said I’m going to go into boxing and try it out because actually I’m getting kinda bored fighting with guys who just want to take me down all the time. 

It is almost certain Jackson will hope to make the best of his situation on Saturday night, win or lose.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 144 Fight Card: Rampage Jackson Will Finish Ryan Bader ‘as Fast as Possible’

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and the UFC make their return to Japan this weekend at UFC 144 (check out the Japanese Promo Video here).
Jackson will face Ryan Bader with an opportunity to get back in the win column following his submission loss to UFC Ligh…

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and the UFC make their return to Japan this weekend at UFC 144 (check out the Japanese Promo Video here).

Jackson will face Ryan Bader with an opportunity to get back in the win column following his submission loss to UFC Light Heavyweight Champ, Jon Jones, at UFC 135.

Bader, who was also submitted by Jon Jones (that guy’s pretty good), is coming off a knock out victory of Jason Brilz at UFC 139. Jackson talked about the matchup and his return to Japan on 95.7 the Game.

Jackson made his name in MMA when he fought in the Japanese MMA organization, Pride, and is very excited to fight in Japan again:

I’m really close to the Japanese fans. They’re very respectful and it’s just hard not to like those guys because of the way they treat fighters and stuff. It’s just easy to fall in love with them.

Most people will tell you Rampage was a different fighter when he fought in Japan. People that say that have this power bomb finish in mind. Rampage, what about that power bomb?

That was the coolest thing that I have done in a long time. It was pretty crazy that the power bomb was so powerful. I had no idea that it was going to be so powerful. Just something I always wanted to do because I was such a fan of pro wrestling.

On to Ryan Bader. What can fans expect from this fight?

You can expect for me to be as outgoing as possible. I’m going to try to end the fight as fast as possible and put on one of the most exciting shows I’ve ever done. I have trained really hard so I can go hard the whole fight and that’s what I plan to do.

Jackson was asked what he has learned from watching film on Bader.

I don’t watch film of my opponents. I never really did. Yeah I like surprises so I don’t really watch. I know he’s a great wrestler and a big puncher. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Whatever it is I’m looking forward to it.

Film? Rampage don’t need to watch no film!

While I don’t see Rampage slamming Bader in this fight, I do see him finishing it violently.

 

This article is from The Hair of the Dog Sports Blog.

Follow me on Twitter @coldy4goldy.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com