Tag: seattle

UFC on Fox 8: Jessica Andrade Replaces Miesha Tate, Will Debut vs. Liz Carmouche

Fortunately for Liz Carmouche, it looks like a sudden switch-up in the women’s bantamweight division won’t cancel her next UFC appearance.Now that Miesha Tate has been called up to the title picture, “Girl-Rilla” will instead greet a newcomer in Brazil…

Fortunately for Liz Carmouche, it looks like a sudden switch-up in the women’s bantamweight division won’t cancel her next UFC appearance.

Now that Miesha Tate has been called up to the title picture, “Girl-Rilla” will instead greet a newcomer in Brazilian prospect Jessica Andrade at UFC on Fox 8 on July 27.

According to MMA Fighting, this will also be the first-ever UFC women’s fight shown on Fox.

Carmouche will look to get back on the winning track after losing a competitive main event title fight against champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 157, which ended in a first-round submission defeat for the challenger by armbar.

Although Carmouche was a significant underdog, the former Marine Corps technician nearly toppled “Rowdy” with a standing face crank and rear-naked choke attempt, faltering a mere 11 seconds before the end of the round.

Still, she’s only lost to elite competition so far, with her two other losses coming at the hands of former Strikeforce champions Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen.

Jessica Andrade, on the other hand, is a more unknown quantity.

Hailing from Brazil with an 11-fight record (9-2), the 21-year-old has fought in regional promotions such as ProFC, Heavy Fighting Championship and Ring of Fire.

Until her last bout in Russia, Andrade had also never fought outside of Brazil.

UFC on Fox 8 is currently scheduled to feature a main event bout for the world flyweight championship, with Demetrious Johnson defending his title against John Moraga.

Interestingly, the event features another women’s bantamweight bout between Julie Kedzie and Germaine de Randamie, making this the first UFC card to include two women’s bouts on the same night.

To boot, the card will also feature a pair of high-profile matches with Rory MacDonald vs. Jake Ellenberger and Robbie Lawler vs. Tarec Saffiedine. According to the official UFC rankings, all four men are currently listed in the Top 10 of the welterweight division.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fox 5 Results: 10 Memorable Moments from Saturday’s Card

Now that’s more like it.If the UFC can produce more high-caliber events for free television like UFC on Fox 5, this whole thing with the Fox Network just might work out after all.From the first fight to long after the end of the card, there were many u…

Now that’s more like it.

If the UFC can produce more high-caliber events for free television like UFC on Fox 5, this whole thing with the Fox Network just might work out after all.

From the first fight to long after the end of the card, there were many unique spots of the night that MMA fans will remember for good or ill.

At the end of the day, that’s what makes the sport worth watching.

Well, enough mushy stuff.

Without further ado, here are the 10 most memorable moments of UFC on Fox 5.

Begin Slideshow

UFC on Fox 5: Bold Predictions for Penn vs. MacDonald

Somehow, B.J. Penn’s fateful showdown with surging Canadian star Rory MacDonald has turned into the most personal fight on Saturday’s card.At UFC on Fox 5, Penn is putting his reputation on the line in a last-ditch effort to salvage what remains of his…

Somehow, B.J. Penn’s fateful showdown with surging Canadian star Rory MacDonald has turned into the most personal fight on Saturday’s card.

At UFC on Fox 5, Penn is putting his reputation on the line in a last-ditch effort to salvage what remains of his legacy. His return to welterweight has been fraught with setbacks, but “The Prodigy” is determined to maintain his elite status.

MacDonald is having none of it, insisting through various interviews and press conferences that he’ll hurt Penn worse than anyone else has yet.

But with such widely different fighting styles, how will the fight go down? Here’s a few bold predictions of how the bout will unfold in Seattle’s KeyArena, round by round.

Begin Slideshow

Does the UFC Need to Put Title Fights on Fox to Be Successful?

Let’s cut to the chase here: the UFC benefits from signing more title fights to headline FOX cards.Some may ask why, citing the over-saturation of UFC fights and the lack of truly “stacked” cards. However, an open set of eyes and a clear, open mind wil…

Let’s cut to the chase here: the UFC benefits from signing more title fights to headline FOX cards.

Some may ask why, citing the over-saturation of UFC fights and the lack of truly “stacked” cards. However, an open set of eyes and a clear, open mind will help fans understand just how beneficial the champions will prove to the success of the UFC’s success on “Big Fox”, especially considering how the past three Fox cards played out without the presence of a reigning champion on the card.

First off, consider the benefits of a title fight on free TV from the get-go.

Normally, fans must shell out $50 or $60 to see a champion compete, because the champion historically provides the fight that (most) fans would pay to watch. Also, remember how fans went nuts when the UFC announced that they aimed to give the crowd Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos last November? Of course, heavyweights always attract heads anyway, but rarely do fans and pundits hear of them bringing title fights to a stacked “free TV” card.

Secondly, consider the favors done by all involved. Fox gives the UFC its national exposure, the UFC gives their fans a reason to want to buy a ticket to the show, the champions and challengers get a much larger stage than that which some still think pay-per-view provides, and with fans at home getting access to an event without having to pay for it, a win-win situation emerges.

Now, why should anyone drag pay-per-view into this discussion? Reasons vary, but we must do so because for a myriad of reasons, fans find themselves less motivated to actually pay their cable providers for UFC events that went from awesome to atrocious. Meanwhile the free cards continue to provide more of the fights that their following would willingly pay for.

To put it in some perspective, look at the nominees for the 2012 Fight of The Year. Unsurprisingly, two of 2011’s best fights finally get their nods, but of the UFC’s contributions to that category, three nominees came from cards that fans either saw on free TV or watched online. Only Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua happened on pay-per-view.

When free fights deliver “Fight of The Year” performances and force Fighters Only to fill out their “Fight of The Year” category for 2012 with two of 2011’s best fights, that speaks volumes about what can and likely will come about if the UFC trusts their champions to take center stage for their Fox showcases. We know they do because Benson Henderson gets to lay his UFC lightweight strap on the line against Nate Diaz on Dec. 8 in Seattle for UFC on Fox 5.

All benefits and potential pluses considered, perhaps more cards like UFC on Fox 5 should happen in the future,especially if the promotion aims to feature their champions on a national level. After all, it seems clear that it will aid in the company’s growth financially in the long run, but as much as the truth hurts, the truth is that pay-per-view will no longer be enough if the UFC wishes to hit that mainstream status it keeps talking about.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA: Brother of Strikeforce Fighter Gets Arrested for Being a Superhero

Ben Fodor, brother of Strikeforce fighter Caros Fodor, has been arrested for masquerading around the streets of Seattle as a superhero known as “Phoenix Jones,” according to BJPenn.com.The vigilante attempted to break up a street brawl (although the al…

Ben Fodor, brother of Strikeforce fighter Caros Fodor, has been arrested for masquerading around the streets of Seattle as a superhero known as “Phoenix Jones,” according to BJPenn.com.

The vigilante attempted to break up a street brawl (although the alleged perpetrators claim they were just dancing) in order to bring peace and justice to the streets of Gotham—err, Seattle.

Not only does Fodor dress up in a mask and black muscle body suit with yellow stripes, he also carries around mace to supplement his mixed martial arts abilities; simple fighting techniques alone won’t be able to subdue all criminals, after all.

Does it get any stranger?

Yes. It does. Phoenix Jones apparently has another superhero ally—a “sidekick,” if you will (and no that’s not an attempt at a horrible MMA-related pun)—known only as “Ghost” who accompanied the hero on his quest to root out violence.

The trend of MMA fighters acting heroic is nothing new. After all, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones apprehended a robber the same day he won his title and UFC heavyweight veteran Antoni Hardonk foiled an armed robbery in Los Angeles. Also, the topic of UFC fighters becoming modern day superheroes in more ways than one has been discussed before.

So does the trend have a future? Can we expect a Kick Ass-esque uprising of ad hoc MMA fighting superheroes?

No, Phoenix Jones was promptly reprimanded for his behavior. The last thing the world needs is MMA fighters with messianic convictions that they’re here to save us.

However, maybe that’s just a cynical outlook. Maybe Phoenix Jones is the hero that Seattle deserves…just not the one they need right now.

Either way, it’s certainly fun to watch him mace people.

 

Follow <spandata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 24 Live Chat

Filed under: UFCTalk all things UFC Fight Night 24 with Matt Erickson and other members of the MMA Fighting team as you watch the Spike TV broadcast live at 10 p.m. ET.

The four fights we’ll be discussing are Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, …

Filed under:

Talk all things UFC Fight Night 24 with Matt Erickson and other members of the MMA Fighting team as you watch the Spike TV broadcast live at 10 p.m. ET.

The four fights we’ll be discussing are Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson, Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson and Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung.

And we’ll weigh in on the five preliminary card bouts from the UFC’s Facebook stream, as well, including the heavyweight tilts between Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow and Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft.

The live chat is below.