This weekend, the UFC returns to Japan with a lightweight title fight, the homecoming of a gaijin PRIDE legend, and a whole lot of local talent. In the main event, Frankie Edgar follows up his astounding comeback win over Gray Maynard at UFC 136 with his latest title defense against former WEC champ Benson Henderson, whose rebirth in the UFC has included decision wins over top-ranked lightweights Jim Miller and Clay Guida.
Plus, Rampage Jackson looks to put on another great show for his Japanese fans against Ryan Bader, despite the fact that the Japanese used to poison his food. Meanwhile, a loss to Rampage would put Bader in a position where “his entire mixed martial arts career is in jeopardy,” according to Joe Rogan, who might be exaggerating a little bit.
UFC 144 will feature seven fights on the main pay-per-view card, following a four-fight prelims broadcast on FX. The full lineup is after the jump in case you need it; be sure to come back to CagePotato.com on Saturday evening for our play-by-play coverage of the whole shebang.
This weekend, the UFC returns to Japan with a lightweight title fight, the homecoming of a gaijin PRIDE legend, and a whole lot of local talent. In the main event, Frankie Edgar follows up his astounding comeback win over Gray Maynard at UFC 136 with his latest title defense against former WEC champ Ben Henderson, whose rebirth in the UFC has included decision wins over top-ranked lightweights Jim Miller and Clay Guida.
Plus, Rampage Jackson looks to put on another great show for his Japanese fans against Ryan Bader, despite the fact that the Japanese used to poison his food. Meanwhile, a loss to Rampage would put Bader in a position where “his entire mixed martial arts career is in jeopardy,” according to Joe Rogan, who might be exaggerating a little bit.
UFC 144 will feature seven fights on the main pay-per-view card, following a four-fight prelims broadcast on FX. The full lineup is after the jump in case you need it; be sure to come back to CagePotato.com on Saturday evening for our play-by-play coverage of the whole shebang.
PPV Main Card
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson [for UFC lightweight championship]
Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader [LHW]
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo [HW]
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields [WW]
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch [MW]
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski [FW]
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon [LW]
FX Preliminary Card
Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka [LW]
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee [BW]
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell [MW]
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso [BW]
Facebook Prelim
Zhang Tiequan vs. Issei Tamura [FW]
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently sat down with Gary Alexander of Fighter’s Only Magazine for an exclusive interview, and per usual, provided several insights into the enigma wrapped mystery that is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s mind. On the heels of an unsuccessful title bid against Jon Jones, Jackson has opted for a training camp that won’t cost him six figures for his upcoming UFC 144 bout against Ryan Bader. According to Jackson, he had originally planned on returning to MusclePharm for the bout with Bader, but upon coming to the realization that it would in fact be cold in that part of the country, decided to stay at his own newly formed gym in Southern California.
For the most part, the interview was standard Rampage fare, chocked full of paranoid delusions, incoherent rambling, and a complete disregard for the interviewer beside him. You know, the stuff we love about ‘Page. But things took an interesting turn when Jackson was asked how he saw the Bader fight going down in a perfect world:
In a perfect world, I step in the cage, and I yawn just like just I did on you and he fuckin’ faints. And then I get my check and walk out there like, ‘Thanks!’ and I don’t even gotta do the interview with Joe Rogan’s fake ass…after you fight, if you win, you gotta go and Joe Rogan’s gotta do an interview with you and most likely he’s been talking crap about you the whole time.
Join us after the jump for more from this interview, as well as an interesting tidbit compliments of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently sat down with Gary Alexander of Fighter’s Only Magazine for an exclusive interview, and per usual, provided several insights into the enigma wrapped mystery that is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s mind. On the heels of an unsuccessful title bid against Jon Jones, Jackson has opted for a training camp that won’t cost him six figures for his upcoming UFC 144 bout against Ryan Bader. According to Jackson, he had originally planned on returning to MusclePharm for the bout with Bader, but upon coming to the realization that it would in fact be cold in that part of the country, decided to stay at his own newly formed gym in Southern California.
For the most part, the interview was standard Rampage fare, chocked full of paranoid delusions, incoherent rambling, and a complete disregard for the interviewer beside him. You know, the stuff we love about ‘Page. But things took an interesting turn when Jackson was asked how he saw the Bader fight going down in a perfect world:
In a perfect world, I step in the cage, and I yawn just like just I did on you and he fuckin’ faints. And then I get my check and walk out there like, ‘Thanks!’ and I don’t even gotta do the interview with Joe Rogan’s fake ass…after you fight, if you win, you gotta go and Joe Rogan’s gotta do an interview with you and most likely he’s been talking crap about you the whole time.
Damn, it seems that Rampage has joined Mario Yamasaki, Carlos Mencia (or whatever his real name is), and hecklers worldwide in the list of people who do not enjoy all that is The Joe Rogan Experience. Apparently Jackson’s dislike of Rogan comes from Joe’s somewhat biased perspective when commentating, especially when it comes to the Jiu-Jitsu game:
You know he’s got good jiu-jitsu because he’s so biased against jiu-jitsu guys. You can hear it in his voice. Whenever a guy is a jiu-jitsu fighter he’s playing rusty trombone. I don’t think you should talk down, you should be neutral. When I used to fight in PRIDE, watch Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros on commentary. Those guys were my good friends and you couldn’t even tell when they were doing commentary. We hung out outside of work sometimes, we were good friends but when I fought they weren’t biased towards me. They did their job. They weren’t biased towards skills or anything like that. That’s the way it should be. Sometimes you can hear him because Joe Rogan has one of those girly high-ass voices. I just wanna tell him to shut the fuck up sometimes.
Although Rogan is far and away the most informative and well versed commentator out there, it is hard to deny the man’s bias when it comes to certain techniques and/or fights — Machida/Shogun 1 comes to mind. But Rogan’s commentary is merely a reflection of who he is as a human being; he pulls no punches and shoots from the hip. As a color commentator, it’s what he’s paid to do and is why most of us tend to enjoy his unique take on the sport. That said, does anyone agree with Rampage here?
A fight is a fight and anything can happen. They’re two very strong fighters, they’re at the top of their division but I don’t see how Overeem can beat Junior dos Santos. Overeem is (beating a lot of people), he’s a lion, but when (he gets hit) he becomes a kitty. When Junior first connects, Overeem’s spirit of a fighter will go to the dress room. I think it will be Junior with another knockout in his career.
Well, if Ubereem is a kitty, than that must mean Bigfoot is a narcoleptic goat.
UFC 144 marks the first event in the Zuffa era to take place live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and comes to the world live this Saturday night on PPV with prelims on FX and a Facebook-only bout between “The Mongolian Wolf” Tiequan Zh…
UFC 144 marks the first event in the Zuffa era to take place live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and comes to the world live this Saturday night on PPV with prelims on FX and a Facebook-only bout between “The Mongolian Wolf” Tiequan Zhang and Issei Tamura.
The card features Japanese talent such as Yoshihiro Akiyama, Yushin Okami, Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto, and Hatsu Hioki, among others, and also features a headliner of Benson Henderson vs. UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar with a co-headliner of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Ryan Bader.
As we begin the most anticipated fight week of 2012 so far, there are a few things you need to know about the card…
(All predictions are final except wherever otherwise noted)
After beginning his career 12-0, Ryan Bader looked poised for a title shot. He stepped into the ring at UFC 126 riding high and looking to stay unbeaten against now-champion Jon Jones. However, Jones caught Bader in a Guillotine choke less than a…
After beginning his career 12-0, Ryan Bader looked poised for a title shot. He stepped into the ring at UFC 126 riding high and looking to stay unbeaten against now-champion Jon Jones. However, Jones caught Bader in a Guillotine choke less than a minute into the second round and Bader submitted.
Bader’s struggles continued at UFC 132 when he looked to get back on track against the future Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. Ortiz, who is in the twilight of his storied career, salvaged what little he had left when he caught Bader in a Guillotine choke at 1:56 of the first round.
“Darth” Bader was now sitting at 12-2, coming off of his second straight loss by submission and he was quickly moving down the ranks as fast as he moved up them. He was slated to fight Jason Brilz at UFC 139, a fight he needed to win to avoid a total collapse that some fighters struggle to ever escape.
Ryan Bader had to have known this because he came in and dominated Brilz, finishing him in the first round. He was able to get back on track and scored a fight with punishing striker Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 144.
Heading into this fight, Bader will look to keep his fortunes going against a former champion who is looking to get back to the top as well. Jackson doesn’t have too many years left so he’ll have to make the most of this opportunity against Bader.
For Ryan, he’ll have to try to take Rampage down and work him on the ground because standing up and getting into a slugfest with Jackson is not in his best interest. The former All-American wrestler at Arizona State will have to do what he does best and get the striker on the ground.
Jackson doesn’t have a true ground game, at least not like Ryan’s, and will be in trouble if Bader can score a few takedowns. Ryan Bader is one of the best in his class at taking his opponents down and controlling the fight on his terms. Rampage is a tough one to bring down though, as he’s currently avoiding takedowns at an impressive 82 percent. He’ll be hungrier than ever coming into this showdown in Tokyo.
Rampage lacks a ground game, which is something Bader undoubtedly look to exploit from the opening bell. Bader can strike, but not like Rampage can so he’ll have to take advantage of the wrestling mismatch. Bader’s submission skills are vastly underrated and as long as he can avoid getting into a striking contest with the slugger, he may have the edge in this fight.
The longer the fight lasts, the better Bader should fare. Ryan has better endurance and the deeper it goes, the less likely it is that Rampage will be able to knock him out. Bader will look to wear him down and play to his own skills while avoiding Rampage’s devastating blows. Jackson is hard to submit, he’s only been submitted once in the UFC, so Bader will have a challenge on his hands.
This fight has all the sounds of a Ryan Bader win. Bader is the far better wrestler of the two and has the skills that Rampage has trouble with. The fight with Jason Brilz clearly helped Bader’s confidence at a time when he surely was lacking some. He came out fierce and pummeled his opponent, which is the same way Bader will need to come out against one of the most dangerous strikers in UFC history.
Ryan Bader knows how important this fight is to his career and he will be ready. He was on the cusp of a title shot before his two losses and he won’t let that opportunity get away from him again. Bader looks like he’s back, and if that really is the case, Rampage will be in for a tough fight.
This is the fight where the light heavyweight division will be shaken up as one of the toughest fighters in the class will get back on his game. Look for Bader to win this one in a unanimous decision since Rampage is very hard to submit. Bader won’t get caught with a heavy blow and he’s surely been training for this type of fighter.
Rampage holds a certain reputation amongst UFC fans and is one of the biggest stars in the business. Given Bader’s struggles and Rampage’s name, Bader will probably be the underdog in this one, but he won’t come out one.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is the first obstacle in the way of Ryan Bader’s return to glory. A win over Jackson will catapult Bader near the top of the rankings and could possibly put him one fight away from a rematch with Jon Jones, this time for the belt.
If you weren’t excited about the next major Zuffa show on February 25 before, this 10-minute extended preview should get you pumped for the first UFC show in Japan in more than 10 years.
You know the card for UFC 144 is good when Yushin Okami, “Kid” Yamamoto and Hatsu Hioki are on the prelims. The card is stacked. Edgar versus Bendo will be a fast-paced chess match, Rampage versus Bader should be a slugfest, Hunt versus Kongo will be a K-1 bout in a cage and Pettis versus Lauzon is an interesting clash of styles. What’s not to like about this event?
(Video courtesy of Sapo/IronForgesIron)
If you weren’t excited about the next major Zuffa show on February 25 before, this 10-minute extended preview should get you pumped for the first UFC show in Japan.
You know the card for UFC 144 is good when Yushin Okami, “Kid” Yamamoto and Hatsu Hioki are on the prelims. The card is stacked. Edgar versus Bendo will be a fast-paced chess match, Rampage versus Bader should be a slugfest, Hunt versus Kongo will be a K-1 bout in a cage and Pettis versus Lauzon is an interesting clash of styles. What’s not to like about this event?
Considering that there will only be one event between this event and the one in Sweden on April 14, it’s a good thing the card isn’t a dud, otherwise we might have all said, “I’m not going to accept this as a card. I think I’m done with this MMA stuff; I don’t think they can pay me enough to do this again.”
If only they would bring in the ramp and have crazy PRIDE lady make a guest spot, JMMA fans’ wet dream would be complete.
UFC 144
February 25, 2012
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan
Main Card (PPV)
Lightweight Championship Bout
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Preliminary Card (FX)
Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
What pairings are you most looking forward to, Potato Nation?
After beginning his career 12-0,