The matchup seems tailor-made to give “Rumble” another high-profile win before he’s launched into title contention. Or, to put it another way: This looks like a damn squash match. Sure, anything can happen in an MMA fight, but when you put one of the UFC’s most powerful 205-pound contenders up against a guy whose body has been steadily disintegrating before our eyes, it’s pretty obvious what the promotion would like to see happen here.
No other fights have been booked for UFC on FOX 12, which will take place at San Jose’s SAP Center.
The matchup seems tailor-made to give “Rumble” another high-profile win before he’s launched into title contention. Or, to put it another way: This looks like a damn squash match. Sure, anything can happen in an MMA fight, but when you put one of the UFC’s most powerful 205-pound contenders up against a guy whose body has been steadily disintegrating before our eyes, it’s pretty obvious what the promotion would like to see happen here.
No other fights have been booked for UFC on FOX 12, which will take place at San Jose’s SAP Center.
(Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…Durkin? What does that even mean? / Photo via MMAJunkie)
When Rashad Evanspulled out of his scheduled UFC 170 match against Daniel Cormier, Cormier was devastated. “I don’t want this work to be for nothing,” he told Ariel Helwani. “I’ve killed myself in this gym. I’ve spent ten weeks away from my family…I’d fight Chael in a heartbeat. I’d fight Anthony Johnson in a heartbeat. I’d fight any of those guys. There’s somebody out there who wants to fight. Line ’em up…I just want to fight now.”
And so, in an apparent move to keep him happy, the UFC has allowed Cormier to remain on the February 22nd “Rousey vs. McMann” lineup. No, he won’t be fighting Chael Sonnen, or Rumble Johnson, or anybody else you’ve heard of. Instead, Cormier will fight 4-0 light-heavyweight prospect Patrick Cummins, who will be making his Octagon debut.
A former two-time All American wrestler for Penn State, Cummins trains out of Mark Munoz’s Reign MMA gym in Orange County, and he’s finished all four of his pro fights in the first round. Cormier, of course, is one of the greatest MMA fighters in the world. Be sure to tune in, folks, because you might not see a bigger squash match all year. Seriously, how in the hell did the Nevada State Athletic Commission approve this friggin’ thing? KEITH, GET BACK HERE!
Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Not that Cormier vs. Cummins is going to jack up the buyrate for this zombie card, but at least the entire show won’t rest on Ronda Rousey‘s shoulders now. Your thoughts?
(Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…Durkin? What does that even mean? / Photo via MMAJunkie)
When Rashad Evanspulled out of his scheduled UFC 170 match against Daniel Cormier, Cormier was devastated. “I don’t want this work to be for nothing,” he told Ariel Helwani. “I’ve killed myself in this gym. I’ve spent ten weeks away from my family…I’d fight Chael in a heartbeat. I’d fight Anthony Johnson in a heartbeat. I’d fight any of those guys. There’s somebody out there who wants to fight. Line ‘em up…I just want to fight now.”
And so, in an apparent move to keep him happy, the UFC has allowed Cormier to remain on the February 22nd “Rousey vs. McMann” lineup. No, he won’t be fighting Chael Sonnen, or Rumble Johnson, or anybody else you’ve heard of. Instead, Cormier will fight 4-0 light-heavyweight prospect Patrick Cummins, who will be making his Octagon debut.
A former two-time All American wrestler for Penn State, Cummins trains out of Mark Munoz’s Reign MMA gym in Orange County, and he’s finished all four of his pro fights in the first round. Cormier, of course, is one of the greatest MMA fighters in the world. Be sure to tune in, folks, because you might not see a bigger squash match all year. Seriously, how in the hell did the Nevada State Athletic Commission approve this friggin’ thing? KEITH, GET BACK HERE!
Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Not that Cormier vs. Cummins is going to jack up the buyrate for this zombie card, but at least the entire show won’t rest on Ronda Rousey‘s shoulders now. Your thoughts?
The betting line for Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber has been released, with Barao nearly a 3-1 favorite to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 169 next month. That’s unsurprising, considering that Faber is coming into the fight on less than a month’s notice and already has a loss to Barao on his record. What’s interesting is that every other title fight that the UFC currently has scheduled in 2014 is an even bigger mismatch, in terms of gambling odds. Take a look at the numbers below, via BestFightOdds…
UFC 169, February 1st
Renan Barao (-280) vs. Urijah Faber (+220)
Jose Aldo (-624) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+501)
UFC 170, February 22nd
Ronda Rousey (-400) vs. Sara McMann (+318)
UFC 171, March 15th
Johny Hendricks (-387) vs. Robbie Lawler (+323)
UFC 172, April 12th
Jon Jones (-600) vs. Glover Teixeira (+495)
In fact, the only UFC title fight with a slightly closer better line than Barao vs. Faber is Chris Weidman (-255) vs. Vitor Belfort (+195), which hasn’t been tied to a specific event yet. So, which longshot is worth sticking money on? Considering that Lawler and Belfort have the power to change a fight with a single punch/kick, I could think of stupider ways to blow my money than putting small action on those dudes. Your thoughts?
Fun fact: A $2 parlay bet on all six underdogs listed above would net you a hypothetical profit of $11,935.41. Just sayin’.
(Photo via Getty)
The betting line for Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber has been released, with Barao nearly a 3-1 favorite to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 169 next month. That’s unsurprising, considering that Faber is coming into the fight on less than a month’s notice and already has a loss to Barao on his record. What’s interesting is that every other title fight that the UFC currently has scheduled in 2014 is an even bigger mismatch, in terms of gambling odds. Take a look at the numbers below, via BestFightOdds…
UFC 169, February 1st
Renan Barao (-280) vs. Urijah Faber (+220)
Jose Aldo (-624) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+501)
UFC 170, February 22nd
Ronda Rousey (-400) vs. Sara McMann (+318)
UFC 171, March 15th
Johny Hendricks (-387) vs. Robbie Lawler (+323)
UFC 172, April 12th
Jon Jones (-600) vs. Glover Teixeira (+495)
In fact, the only UFC title fight with a slightly closer better line than Barao vs. Faber is Chris Weidman (-255) vs. Vitor Belfort (+195), which hasn’t been tied to a specific event yet. So, which longshot is worth sticking money on? Considering that Lawler and Belfort have the power to change a fight with a single punch/kick, I could think of stupider ways to blow my money than putting small action on those dudes. Your thoughts?
Fun fact: A $2 parlay bet on all six underdogs listed above would net you a hypothetical profit of $11,935.41. Just sayin’.
(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)
Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.
Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.
“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.
(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)
Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.
Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.
“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.
(“Based on the odor, I would say this man’s been dead for three days.” / Photo via MMAFighting)
Our old bro Ben Fowlkes has written an in-depth double-interview feature-thingy on the UFC’s dynamic matchmaking duo of Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. If you want to learn more about how these guys operate, where they came from, and what they consider to be worst part of their job, give it a read. Personally, our favorite part is this bit in which Sean Shelby reveals the truth behind a baffling UFC mystery — how the hell was the epic UFC 148 squash-match between Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie booked in the first place? Dig it:
[W]hen McKenzie wanted to come down [to featherweight], initially Shelby wasn’t sure he could use him. Then Bart Palaszewski pulled out of a fight with Mendes, and suddenly the situation changed.
“What people don’t understand is, it’s not like I could just remove Chad from the card and say, ‘Sorry, I can get you a fight four months from now,'” Shelby said. “We understand. You spent money on a camp. You’ve got bills to pay. We will do our best to find you a fight. I bend over backward to keep guys in fights, to keep the machine moving. You have to.”
That’s another part of the process that outsiders don’t always get, Silva and Shelby said. Fighters are promised a certain number of fights within a certain number of months. Keep them on the sidelines too long, and the UFC could be in breach of contract. Beyond that, they’d also risk turning the UFC into the kind of promotion they hate.
(“Based on the odor, I would say this man’s been dead for three days.” / Photo via MMAFighting)
Our old bro Ben Fowlkes has written an in-depth double-interview feature-thingy on the UFC’s dynamic matchmaking duo of Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. If you want to learn more about how these guys operate, where they came from, and what they consider to be worst part of their job, give it a read. Personally, our favorite part is this bit in which Sean Shelby reveals the truth behind a baffling UFC mystery — how the hell was the epic UFC 148 squash-match between Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie booked in the first place? Dig it:
[W]hen McKenzie wanted to come down [to featherweight], initially Shelby wasn’t sure he could use him. Then Bart Palaszewski pulled out of a fight with Mendes, and suddenly the situation changed.
“What people don’t understand is, it’s not like I could just remove Chad from the card and say, ‘Sorry, I can get you a fight four months from now,’” Shelby said. “We understand. You spent money on a camp. You’ve got bills to pay. We will do our best to find you a fight. I bend over backward to keep guys in fights, to keep the machine moving. You have to.”
That’s another part of the process that outsiders don’t always get, Silva and Shelby said. Fighters are promised a certain number of fights within a certain number of months. Keep them on the sidelines too long, and the UFC could be in breach of contract. Beyond that, they’d also risk turning the UFC into the kind of promotion they hate.
“You hear fighters [in other organizations] complain, ‘I haven’t fought in eight months, and they won’t return my calls,’” Silva said. “We don’t want to be like that, but to do that we have to keep a tight rein on how many people you have under contract.”
Ideally, the UFC would like to have most fighters stepping in the cage once every four months or so, for an average of three fights a year. Injuries only complicate the picture, especially when you’re trying to find a replacement to face one of the division’s top fighters, which was exactly the situation Shelby faced with Mendes.
“I can’t pull people out of other matches to fix this one,” Shelby said. “Then you’re just kicking the can down the road. But imagine trying to get someone to fight Chad Mendes on two weeks’ or even a month’s notice.”
Then Shelby’s phone rang. It was McKenzie.
“He called me, and I remember this very well, and he said, ‘I want to commit to 145 (pounds),’” Shelby recalled. “I told him I didn’t have any room, but I do have this one opening. I told him, ‘I don’t think you should take this fight, but…’”
You can imagine where it went from there. McKenzie’s a fighter, after all. He jumped on the opening, all but pleading with Shelby to give him the fight. Shelby was reluctant at first, he said, but, “I had nobody.”
“I mean, nobody,” he said. “It’s not like I can sign some random guy. I’ve already got all the top 10 in the world [at 145 pounds]. I had no other choices.”
And so the fight got made, McKenzie got dropped with a body shot, and Shelby got the blame. That’s how it goes when you’re a matchmaker. With the benefit of hindsight, everyone’s an expert. They’ll all say they knew exactly how it was going to go down and you’d have to be an idiot to make that fight in the first place.
We’d imagine that Mendes’s follow-up booking against Yaotzin Meza must have resulted from a similarly desperate situation, but that, friends, is a story for another day.
But if Jorge Gurgel’s assertion that the fighters who lose on Saturday will not be headed to the UFC is in fact true, one thing we will surely not witness this weekend is caution. So with that in mind, we threw together a little poll: Which (massive) underdog could most likely score an upset at ‘Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine?’ All the usual suspects are included in the survey that awaits you after the jump, so join us in a little harmless speculation, won’t you?
(What makes Nandor so angry, you ask? Dirt. He *hates* dirt.)
But if Jorge Gurgel’s assertion that the fighters who lose on Saturday will not be headed to the UFC is in fact true, one thing we will surely not witness this weekend is caution. So with that in mind, we threw together a little poll: Which (massive) underdog could most likely score an upset at ‘Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine?’ All the usual suspects are included in the survey that awaits you after the jump, so join us in a little harmless speculation, won’t you?
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