At UFC 130 Frank Mir came out and out-struck Roy Nelson and did a nice job of beating the man who is ranked just above him on many MMA heavyweight rankings.Mir was able to land 63 of a total 82 strikes (77 percent accuracy) on Nelson, and on top of out…
At UFC 130 Frank Mir came out and out-struck Roy Nelson and did a nice job of beating the man who is ranked just above him on many MMA heavyweight rankings.
Mir was able to land 63 of a total 82 strikes (77 percent accuracy) on Nelson, and on top of out-striking him, was able to take him down six of eight times.
So does this win catapult Mir to fight the upper echelon of the UFC’s heavyweight division?
With this win the next fight for Mir should be the loser of the Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos fight at UFC 131, whomever that may be. That fight could help catapult Mir even further and earn himself a nice mention in the UFC heavyweight title picture.
Having Brock Lesnar out certainly helps Mir, and now Mir has become the fourth best heavyweight in the UFC with Lesnar out.
The fight makes sense, the loser of dos Santos vs. Carwin could use Mir as a bounce back fight and earn themselves a win over big name in the heavyweight division. It wouldn’t be an easy victory for either fighter too with Mir’s ability in the ground game.
Mir vs. Carwin II could be a great reason to have this. Carwin won by KO in round one the last time around. Now with Mir coming off of two straight wins over Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop, things could be different with a more confident Mir.
Mir’s striking also looked very good tonight, even if it was against a Roy Nelson who looked slower then usual. Mir landed some shots, and unfortunately, Nelson has a good chin that has withstood a lot in his last two fights.
So with UFC 131 in the near future, this win over Nelson could help Mir earn a fight with either Carwin or dos Santos and it is very logical.
Hey who knows, maybe it could be the co-main event of one of the cards in the fall.
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem has dealt with a lot within the last year, accomplishing almost everything in mixed martial arts. However, “The Demolition Man” has yet to compete in Strikeforce, or defend his title since defeati…
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem has dealt with a lot within the last year, accomplishing almost everything in mixed martial arts.
However, “The Demolition Man” has yet to compete in Strikeforce, or defend his title since defeating challenger, Brett Rogers last year. Overeem will step back into the Strikeforce cage when he faces Fabricio Werdum in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix next month.
Despite the extended layoff, Overeem said his body is rested.
“After my fight against Todd Duffee I could go on a holiday and enjoy life, instead of being in the gym all the time. So it gave my body a good rest and that was needed,” Overeem said in an exclusive interview with LowKick.com.
While it is often debated on where Overeem fits within the rankings of the heavyweight division, the Dutch kickboxer said there will no longer be a debate on his placement following a victory over his opponent. Werdum already holds a win over Overeem dating back to Pride FC, where he lost via submission.
If he is victorious over Werdum, it would be Overeem’s 10th win in his last twelve fights, and it would surely put him into discussion among the top heavyweights in MMA. One particular bout that fans have been asking for is Overeem to square off against current UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. The recent acquisition of Strikeforce could make this anticipated dream fight a reality at some point, but for now, Overeem said his intention is to win the Strikeforce tournament.
“My main focus is on winning the Strikeforce tournament, so UFC is not on my mind right now. I’ve always stated that the Heavyweight division in Strikeforce has the best fighters and I still think so,” he said.
“The guys you named are all very dangerous fighters that can finish fights. Carwin has great knockout power, Brock is a great wrestler and athlete, Frank Mir improved his standup and has a good ground game and the champion Cain Velasquez is very durable and has great wrestling. So those fighters are world-class for sure.”
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place on June 18, live from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
Lowkick.com’s Anton Gurevich recently had the privilege to interview Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. Overeem is gearing up for a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal fight with Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist Fabricio…
Overeem is gearing up for a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal fight with Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum.
This rematch takes between the two heavyweight takes place in Dallas, Texas on June 18; Werdum submitted Overeem with a kimura in their May 2006 meeting under the Pride banner.
Overeem is regarded as the eighth best heavyweight in the world by Sherdog, while Werdum is currently ranked the No. 3 heavyweight by the same highly regarded mixed martial arts website.
Despite this fact, there are a number of fans and critics alike who do not believe that “The Demolition Man” is worthy of top-10 status due to facing lackluster competition in recent years.
“The Reem” feels that a win over Werdum is not grounds to be ranked ahead of Fedor Emelianenko, however, he believes “that a win over Werdum will close the debate if I’m a top-10 fighter or not.”
Gurevich was curious if Werdum’s win over Emelianenko would make him overconfident, to which Overeem responded, “Werdum is a professional fighter and he will be confident but not overconfident.”
The Strikeforce title holder was also asked about Fabricio Werdum’s recent comments that “Alistair Overeem is my son.”
Overeem seemed more puzzled than offended by his next opponent’s statement.
“I heard him saying that I’m his son, but I don’t understand what he really means. I think he means that he’s superior than me, because he beat me a couple of years ago. I think it’s a lost in translation thing.”
Also the current K-1 World Grand Prix champion, Overeem said that he still has no plans of embarking on a boxing career.
“My goal is to become the best MMA fighter and that’s what my focus is. Boxing is a whole different sport and you shouldn’t take it lightly. If there are no challenges left in my career, then I can consider something like that.”
Overeem was quick to clarify “But for now, there are plenty challenges.”
Gurevich then asked Overeem how interested he was in fighting current UFC contenders Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and Frank Mir; as well as reigning UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.
“My main focus is on winning the Strikeforce tournament, so UFC is not on my mind right now,” Overeem said.
The Demolition Man continued, “I’ve always stated that the heavyweight division in Strikeforce has the best fighters and I still think so. But still, it would be foolish to say that the UFC heavyweight fighters are not good.”
Overeem described the aforementioned UFC heavyweight household names as “very dangerous fighters that can finish fights” and also stated that “those fighters are world class for sure.”
The Reem even offered a brief analysis of each fighter, all of whom he could encounter in the Octagon somewhere down the line:
“Carwin has great knockout power, Brock is a great wrestler and athlete, Frank Mir improved his standup and has a good ground game and the champion Cain Velasquez is very durable and has great wrestling.”
Finally, when asked for his prediction of knockout or submission in the fight against Werdum, Overeem simply responded “KO.”
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Toughest Role? Convincing Us He Still Wants to Fight (MMA Fighting)
– Five Fights You Shouldn’t Miss at UFC 130 (LowKick)
– MTV Is Planning a New MMA Reality Show in the Vein of a ‘Redneck Jersey Shore’ (MiddleEasy)
– Eddie Wineland vs. Joseph Benavidez Booked for ‘UFC Live 5’ in August (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Antonio McKee Thinks He May Have Been Cut by UFC Because He ‘Rubbed Joe Silva the Wrong Way’ (MMA Mania)
– UFC 129 ‘St. Pierre vs. Shields’ Did Really Big Business (MMA Convert)
– Zoila & Jorge Gurgel talk MMA & Marriage (TheFightNerd)
– ‘Strikeforce Challengers’ Headed to Las Vegas (NBC Sports MMA)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s Toughest Role? Convincing Us He Still Wants to Fight (MMA Fighting)
– Five Fights You Shouldn’t Miss at UFC 130 (LowKick)
– MTV Is Planning a New MMA Reality Show in the Vein of a ‘Redneck Jersey Shore’ (MiddleEasy)
– Eddie Wineland vs. Joseph Benavidez Booked for ‘UFC Live 5′ in August (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Antonio McKee Thinks He May Have Been Cut by UFC Because He ‘Rubbed Joe Silva the Wrong Way’ (MMA Mania)
– UFC 129 ‘St. Pierre vs. Shields’ Did Really Big Business (MMA Convert)
– Zoila & Jorge Gurgel talk MMA & Marriage (TheFightNerd)
– ‘Strikeforce Challengers’ Headed to Las Vegas (NBC Sports MMA)
Get a behind the scenes look at Shane Carwin training for UFC 131 in the 1st episode of “Here We Go: Camp Carwin” posted on YOU TUBE by officialbudlight. In the video, Shane introduces his camp team and is shown training hard in prepara…
Get a behind the scenes look at Shane Carwin training for UFC 131 in the 1st episode of “Here We Go: Camp Carwin” posted on YOU TUBEby officialbudlight. In the video, Shane introduces his camp team and is shown training hard in preparation for his June 11th fight in Vancouver against Junior Dos Santos.
In “Here We Go”, the “silverback gorilla” as his camp likes to call him, gives the fan an insiders view of his training camp, as well as some insight into how he trains in the many aspects of mixed martial arts.
“I have great trainers and great partners, and you know just an all out great team I’m working with. They are helping me get better every day.” Carwin told officialbudlight.
“I try to find the best guys I can at their game, and I try to compete with them at that so when I go out there and fight, you know that the fight is actually the easier part of the whole game.”
Carwin has been forced, much to his delight, to alter and intensify his training now that he has replaced injured Brock Lesnar in the main event vs. Cigano at UFC 131.
Camp Carwin is overseen and run by Denver Grudge trainer Trevor Whitman, and he is the undisputed leader of Carwin’s preparation.
Of interesting note in Carwin’s training camp is that aside from his different skill coaches, like wrestling coach Leister Bowling, and Brazilian jiu jitsu coach Amal Easton, he has nutritionist Josh Ford in his camp whose meticulous meals have stripped thirty pounds off of Carwin’s body
That shift in diet and replacing fat weight with lean muscle will go a long way in improving his overall conditioning, and will reduce the chance of Shane gassing out like he did in his loss to Lesnar.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Correspondent for Bleacher Report. (Also a Correspondent for MMACanada.net.)
Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceThe five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of…
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.
Given the enormity of that upcoming stretch, it’s bound to produce much speculation, so Mike Chiappetta and I put on our thinking caps and tried to predict the outcome to four of its most pressing questions.
Which fight are you most looking forward to during this stretch?
AH: There’s a ton of good ones to choose from, but I have to go with Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum on June 18. It’s amazing to think that by the time these two heavyweights meet in Dallas, it will be a week short of a year since Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko and 13 months since Overeem dominated Brett Rogers. Since then, we’ve been anxiously waiting for them to return to action, and I think Strikeforce did the right thing by matching them up in the first round of their heavyweight Grand Prix. Of course, Werdum beat Overeem in 2006, but I think it’s safe to say that both fighters have improved greatly (Overeem in particular) since that fight in PRIDE. This will also mark the first time Overeem fights a legit top-five heavyweight in years (perhaps ever?) so a lot of questions will hopefully be answered in a month.
MC: There are lots of great fights coming up during this stretch, including championship fights and others with title implications, but from a sheer entertainment perspective, I’m going with the Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago fight at UFC 130. Both men fight with aggressive styles, look for the finish, and with the added importance of this bout considering their respective places in the middleweight division, you can expect both to be at their best. Stann seems to have made the breakthrough leap into the elite, while Santiago wants to prove to UFC fans with long memories that he’s more what you’ve seen lately than what you saw back in 2006. Throw in a dash of Stann’s one-punch knockout power and a pinch of Santiago’s willingness to war, and you should have an instant classic.
Which fighter has the most to gain and which has the most to lose during this stretch?
AH: Again, there are many suitable answers to this question, but I think Dominick Cruz has the most to gain. Cruz has been fighting in the shadow of the UFC for the last couple of years, while dominating the WEC bantamweight division. He’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and at UFC 132, he’ll be looking to avenge the only loss of his career to his rival Urijah Faber. Not only will this fight mark the first UFC 135-pound title fight, but it will also mark the first time that two bantamweight fighters headline a UFC pay-per-view. A big win for Cruz could go a long towards getting the champion the attention he deserves.
As far as the one who has the most to lose, I’m going to pick Josh Barnett. “The Baby-Faced Assassin” hasn’t fought in the US since he beat Gilbert Yvel at Affliction 2 in January 2009. Since then, a mega-fight against Fedor Emelianenko was scrapped due to a positive steroid test, which forced Barnett to fight overseas. At the time the Emelianenko fight was supposed happen, Barnett was considered by many to be one of the three best heavyweights in the world. Today, many don’t have him in their top-10. So when the 33-year-old Barnett faces Brett Rogers on June 18, he will not just be fighting for the right to advance in Strikeforce heavyweight GP, he might also be fighting to keep his career relevant.
MC: Shane Carwin is the man with the most to gain. Think about how his circumstances have changed in just a couple of weeks. Before Brock Lesnar dropped out of UFC 131, Carwin was a fighter trying to rebound from a loss, and returning from a major injury, against a fighter, Jon Olav Einemo, that few fans were aware of. That’s the proverbial no-win situation. Suddenly, he’s thrust into a situation where he’s facing the heavyweight division’s No. 1 contender, and a win will vault him right into a title match. At 36 years old, a break like that must seem like a gift from the gods for Carwin.
I’ll be a bit more literal with the man who has the most to lose when I tell you it’s Tito Ortiz. Sure, Ortiz is nowhere near title contention, or even the top 10, but at UFC 132, he’s fighting for even bigger stakes: his job. The former UFC champ and promotional mainstay is fresh out of chances. Winless since Oct. 2006, it’s win or go home for the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who still has one of the highest base salaries in the promotion, $250,000 per fight. That’s a lot of scratch, and he’s not likely to find a contract anywhere else in the world that will pay him in that range if he loses to Ryan Bader and is cut.
3) Which fighter is most likely to launch himself into the UFC title picture?
MC: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. We already know that two upcoming fights — TUF 13 Finale’s Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida, and UFC 131’s Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin — will have some sort of title implications, so none of those men eventually fighting for a belt would constitute a surprise. But Jackson is something of a wild card.
When he was standing in the octagon waiting for the judges’ decision against Lyoto Machida last November, he thought he had lost the fight, which would have resulted in a two-fight losing streak. The judges thought otherwise and he was awarded the decision victory. A win over Matt Hamill at UFC 130 would give him two straight, and four of his last five.
You might be asking why that should put him in the title picture. Champion Jon Jones, who is currently out with a hand injury, is expected to be ready to fight in late September or early October. The most likely opposition for him would come from August’s Rashad Evans-Phil Davis winner, but there is very little chance either man could be ready on such short notice. The UFC is not going to keep Jones on the sidelines if he’s ready to go, so who would get the title shot? Rampage, that’s who. He’s still a top five light-heavyweight, and if he beats Matt Hamill, he’ll probably punch his ticket to face Jones.
AH: I could go the easy route and pick the winner of dos Santos vs. Carwin, and Jackson is certainly a good choice too, but I’m going to go with Wanderlei Silva.
Silva is a huge fan favorite, and while injuries have forced him to only fight once in two years, a thrilling win over Chris Leben at UFC 132 would help generate a lot of momentum for him fight the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami. The UFC’s middleweight division could use a contender like Silva, and considering his past issues with “The Spider,” that would be an easy fight to promote. Of course, Silva’s age and injuries might stop him from ever seriously contending for a UFC title, but that’s more reason to give him that title shot sooner rather than later.
4) Is Urijah Faber‘s UFC 132 matchup against bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz his last chance to wear a major belt?
MC: Faber has been a big part of the title picture in the lower-weight divisions for years, but he lost his last two title matches in the featherweight division while in the WEC, and his bout with Cruz marks his third try to win a major belt in the last two years. If he loses again, it will be very difficult for the UFC to put Faber back into a title match anytime soon.
At 32 years old, Faber keeps himself in fantastic shape year-round, so I wouldn’t expect him to fade away in the near future, but it becomes difficult to promote title matches with athletes that keep losing in them. The public continually wants to see fresh challengers who are capable of pushing the champion. While Faber will continue to have a strong fan base, a third straight loss in title matches will cause many to believe he can’t get over the hump any longer. So chances are, this might be his first and last crack at UFC gold.
Faber still has some big-time performances ahead of him, but he’s going to need one of them against Cruz on July 2. If he loses, he will probably need to put together a lengthy winning streak and hope that Cruz holds on to the belt that entire time so the two can have a rubber match. That selling point may help dim any criticism about an 0-3 stretch in title bouts, but as we’ve seen in MMA, those types of parallel runs are quite unusual.
AH: It really all depends on how he looks. If he is dominated the way Jose Aldo dominated him last April, then this could very well be Faber’s last shot at a title. But considering the fact that the 135-pound division isn’t as deep as some of the other UFC divisions, I could conceivably see him going on a run to warrant another title shot even after a loss.
The thing to remember is that Faber is, by far, the biggest star in the lightweight divisions, and that probably includes the 155-pound division too. He’s on commercials with Kenny Powers and, along with a couple others, helped carry WEC for many years. I won’t argue with those who say he earned this title shot (and even the fight against Aldo) rather quickly off loses, but such is the life of a bantamweight or featherweight, but it MMA math aside, it just makes sense having him fight in this historic bout, just like it has always made sense for him to be fighting for the title in the past.
At UFC 130 Frank Mir came out and out-struck Roy Nelson and did a nice job of beating the man who is ranked just above him on many MMA heavyweight rankings.
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.