UFC 130 is in the books and while many were disappointed in the performances in the two headlining bouts, the preliminary card fights allowed some of the lesser known UFC talent to steal the spotlight from the big names.Rick Story showed that his ca…
UFC 130 is in the books and while many were disappointed in the performances in the two headlining bouts, the preliminary card fights allowed some of the lesser known UFC talent to steal the spotlight from the big names.
Rick Story showed that his calling out Thiago Alves was far from a mistake as he took a unanimous decsion victory from the highly ranked welterweight, setting himself up to make a charge up that division’s rankings.
Travis Browne remained unbeaten, advancing his record to 11-0-1, with a highlight reel Superman punch to the chin of Stefan Struve, dropping the ‘Skyscraper’ to the mat in the first round.
Brian Stann scored his second inpressive TKO victory in as many fights, overpowering the former Sengoku champion, Jorge Santiago.
Tim Boetsch looked impressive in his first bout since dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight, using his wrestling skills to neutralize Kendall Grove.
Miguel Torres and Demetrious Johnson delivered in their bantamweight battle, with Johnson getting the nod over Torres in a fight that could have very easily been scored the other way.
The UFC’s next numbered event will be UFC 131, which will take place from Vancouver, British Columbia’s, Rogers Arena on June 11.
What follows are 10 burning questions heading into UFC 131, which will be headlined by a main event bout between Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin.
Frank Mir may not have finished Roy Nelson in their hometown bout at UFC 130; however, he did give one of his most well rounded and more dominant performances since his lackluster knockout finish of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 119.Mir’s grapp…
Frank Mir may not have finished Roy Nelson in their hometown bout at UFC 130; however, he did give one of his most well rounded and more dominant performances since his lackluster knockout finish of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 119.
Mir’s grappling and wrestling were too much for “Big Country,” whose steel jaw didn’t serve him as much good as a couple pounds off that belly of his would have. As for Mir, he’s beaten a heavyweight who is probably on the cusp of Top 10 status and is still a viable threat in the division.
Here are five reasons why he’s still a serious contender.
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)
