Tag: Ryan Bader

[Video] UFC 144 Weigh-In Results: Rampage’s Hands Prove Too Heavy For Japan

“Where I come from, fighters who question my motivation get smacked.” (Video: YouTube/FuelTV)

The good news is that all of tonight’s fighters will throw down as expected, but that doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing for everyone stepping on the scales last night.

Under the guise of laughter, Rampage had refused to disclose his weight in Dana’s second video blog, but as we’ve learned time and time again it’s all fun and games until someone misses weight. Jackson tipped the scales at 211lbs, missing the Light Heavyweight cap by five pounds. In a post-weigh-in interview with Ariel Helwani, Rampage cited an unspecified injury in training camp as the reason he failed to make weight. Despite a doctor’s recommendation to withdraw from the bout, he pushed through camp and managed to cut 21-pounds but was unable to shed the last five.

Though he had no harsh words for his opponent, Ryan Bader, Rampage did take the time to lash out at Rich Franklin. The former Middleweight Champ commentated the proceedings for Fuel TV and questioned Jackson’s professionalism as well as whether or not he’d taken his training camp seriously. Understandably, Rampage, who has proven increasingly impatient with his critics, took umbrage to those assertions. In addition to losing the esteem of some of his colleagues, Jackson will forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent.

After the jump, Bader’s reaction to Rampage’s weigh-in snafu, up-close videos of the Rampage-Bader and Edgar-Henderson face-offs, and full results from the scales.

“Where I come from, fighters who question my motivation get smacked.” (Video: YouTube/FuelTV)

The good news is that all of tonight’s fighters will throw down as expected, but that doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing for everyone stepping on the scales last night.

Under the guise of laughter, Rampage had refused to disclose his weight in Dana’s second video blog, but as we’ve learned time and time again it’s all fun and games until someone misses weight. Jackson tipped the scales at 211lbs, missing the Light Heavyweight cap by five pounds. In a post-weigh-in interview with Ariel Helwani, Rampage cited an unspecified injury in training camp as the reason he failed to make weight. Despite a doctor’s recommendation to withdraw from the bout, he pushed through camp and managed to cut 21-pounds but was unable to shed the last five.

Though he had no harsh words for his opponent, Ryan Bader, Rampage did take the time to lash out at Rich Franklin. The former Middleweight Champ commentated the proceedings for Fuel TV and questioned Jackson’s professionalism as well as whether or not he’d taken his training camp seriously. Understandably, Rampage, who has proven increasingly impatient with his critics, took umbrage to those assertions. In addition to losing the esteem of some of his colleagues, Jackson will forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent.

 

Bader talks to Ariel.  (Video: YouTube/FuelTV)

 

Rampage’s apology to Bader (via YouTube/UFC)

Edgar-Henderson face-off (via YouTube/UFC)

 

Full Weigh-In Results:  (via MMAJunkie.com)

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

  • Champ Frankie Edgar (154) vs. Ben Henderson (154)
  • Ryan Bader (205) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (211)*
  • Cheick Kongo (229) vs. Mark Hunt (264)
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama (169) vs. Jake Shields (170)
  • Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Yushin Okami (185)
  • Hatsu Hioki (145) and Bart Palaszewski (146)
  • Joe Lauzon (156) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

  • Takanori Gomi (155) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (154)
  • Vaughan Lee (135) vs. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (136)
  • Steve Cantwell (185) vs. Riki Fukuda (185)
  • Chris Cariaso (136) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

  • Issei Tamura (145) vs. Tiequan Zhang (146)

 

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!

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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

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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:

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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. 

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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.

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