Although Dana White recently stated Rashad Evans would get a title shot with a win over Phil Davis, one man who is not far behind is Dan Henderson. Henderson has won his last four fights, which includes victories over Fedor Emeliane…
Although Dana White recently stated Rashad Evans would get a title shot with a win over Phil Davis, one man who is not far behind is Dan Henderson.
Henderson has won his last four fights, which includes victories over Fedor Emelianenko and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Henderson is one of the most accomplished fighters in MMA history winning titles in Pride and Strikeforce.
Although he has a UFC Tournament victory to his credit, Henderson is 0-2 in UFC title matches.
Henderson is currently without an opponent, but is looking to remain in title contention.
Here is a list of fights he could take to do just that.
(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)
2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.
In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.
We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.
(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)
2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.
In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.
We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.
And after unleashing a verbal assault on Volkmann the likes of which we had yet to experience, “Mandingo” proceeded to stick his foot so far down his mouth that his leg nearly snapped at the knee. The fight was terrible, with neither fighter even attempting to engage over the course of 15 minutes. In fact, Mckee’s most significant offense was captured in the above photo, in which he decided to use his strongest asset as a fighter to attempt a takedown. Volkmann would walk away the victor via split decision, and Mckee would be served his walking papers, which he would then try and pass off as some old school racism by the UFC. Good riddance, d-bag.
#9: Steve Cantwell vs. Cyrille Diabate – UFC Live 3
Best known for his trilogy of wars with top middleweight contender Brian Stann, Steve “The Robot” Cantwell found himself sidelined and on a two fight losing streak in 2009. His losing efforts to Stann and Luiz Cane had been relatively entertaining, and before that Cantwell had scored a SOTN award by breaking Razak Al-Hassan’s arm at UFC: Fight For the Troops. Cyrille Diabate, on the other hand, had scored a TKO victory over Cane in his debut before being submitted by Alexander Gustafsson. The fight was placed on the Facebook prelims, and promised to be a technical kickboxing clinic. To say it was a letdown would be an understatement.
The match was little more than a light sparring session, at one point drawing that exact comparison from Joe Rogan during the third round when neither fighter remotely attempted to pick up the pace. It would be mark the halfway…uh…mark of Cantwell’s current four-fight losing streak, and would be Diabate’s last win as well; he would go on to drop a second round submission to Anthony Perosh at UFC 138.
Phil Davis had a hell of a year in 2010. Not only did he go 4-0 in the UFC, scoring wins over the likes of Alexander Gustafsson and Brian Stann, but the man even invented a submission, a hammerlock/kimura hybrid dubbed “The Mr. Wonderful.” Not bad for someone who had been training MMA for less than two years at the time. With his aforementioned submission win over Tim Boetsch, Davis was almost immediately pegged as the next Jon Jones by MMA critics and fans alike, despite the fact that Jon Jones had barely begun his own rise to success. When Davis was placed against former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, who had knocked out then undefeated Luiz Cane in under two minutes and scored a razor thin decision over Jason Brilz in his own UFC run, the MMA community was ready a grand display of fireworks, and walked away with sparklers.
After a tense first half that saw little to no significant strikes landed, the first round was mainly comprised of Davis trying unsuccessfully to take Nogueria down. And when he was forced to stand, we saw a different, less wonderful version of Davis, complete with an array of awkward push/teep kicks and one-to-two punch combinations that were all but completely ineffective against Lil Nog. Davis was able to secure his first takedown midway through the second round, and to his credit, was able to control the BJJ black belt down when he did so. “Minotoro” on the other hand, never really looked like he was that concerned about finishing the fight, despite Davis’ increased takedown success over the next round and a half. His punches came slower and slower, and by the end of it many in the silent audience were simply awaiting a decision.
It’s not that there was anything particularly bad in this fight, it’s just that there wasn’t much to write home about, including Phil Davis, who’s momentum train found itself at the bottom of a very large hill afterward. And as it turns out, this would be the first of many lackluster main events to come…
Doing some last minute Christmas shopping? How about the new “Punch Buddies,” UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar’s t-shirt line, Chael Sonnen tee? The shirt reads “I want YOU Anderson Silva” and features Sonnen in full Uncle Sam attire, of cours…
Doing some last minute Christmas shopping? How about the new “Punch Buddies,” UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar’s t-shirt line, Chael Sonnen tee?
The shirt reads “I want YOU Anderson Silva” and features Sonnen in full Uncle Sam attire, of course referencing the old United States army recruitment poster.
Given that no one has come close to trash talking the reigning UFC middleweight champion the way Sonnen has, the shirt seems quite appropriate.
The shirt runs for $29.98 and can be purchased here.
Sonnen vs. Silva II should finally become a reality if Sonnen can defeat fellow middleweight contender Mark Munoz at UFC on FOX 2.
Sonnen and Bonnar recently appeared alongside each other in a skit from the World MMA Awards, which Sonnen hosted.
Uncle Chael played the psychologist of the former “Ultimate Fighter” finalist, helping him find his inner “American Psycho.”
For anyone who missed it, or for those who would just like to see it again, that video can be seen here.
“Punch Buddies” is Bonnar’s second attempt at a clothing line, the first being the “Trash Talkin’ Kids.”
The Brazilian-Jiu Jitsu black belt ran into problems with the “Trash Talkin’ Kids” shirts when UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck sued him for using his likeness without giving him permission.
Koscheck also wanted royalties from the t-shirt sales, given that his likeness was being used.
After a long war of words between the two, Bonnar acknowledged that Koscheck was right in the situation following his most recent victory over Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139.
Back in 2005, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on one of the greatest shows in UFC history, going to war for 15 minutes at The Ultimate Fighter finale, drawing thousands of new fans to the sport of MMA. The fight has been called the most importan…
Back in 2005, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on one of the greatest shows in UFC history, going to war for 15 minutes at The Ultimate Fighter finale, drawing thousands of new fans to the sport of MMA.
The fight has been called the most important in UFC history by many in the MMA industry over the years, and it might be the sole reason the UFC was given so much exposure from Spike TV during its tenure with the television station.
With the UFC looking to break into the mainstream after signing it’s huge deal with FOX earlier this year, the time has come for the organization to give the two a chance to recreate that magic and hope for lightning to strike twice.
Both Griffin and Bonnar currently reside in a similar place inside the light heavyweight division, sitting just outside of contention, and the matchup makes sense both from a matchmaking and promotional standpoint.
While the second fight between the two was a bit disappointing, as Griffin showed that he had improved far more than his TUF counterpart, Bonnar has looked better than he has in his entire career over the last couple of years. Griffin has fallen into a dangerous rut of inconsistency, going 5-4 since beating Bonnar for the second time.
With three big fights that have huge title implications already on the FOX card, the UFC needs to fill out the card with a high-profile fight between two guys who are stuck in the middle of the pack, and a third bout between Griffin and Bonnar seems to fit that role perfectly.
If the two are able to go out and put on a show that resembles their first fight, the effects will be realized immediately, as friends will call friends, ratings will climb and Dana White will once again be giving credit to two of his golden boys, as the UFC will be even closer to becoming the mainstream sport that he dreams about.
This video was featured as a promotion for the 2011 World MMA Awards and further showed just how good Chael Sonnen is in front of a camera.In the video, he plays a therapist for UFC light-heavyweight fighter Stephan Bonnar, who is having issues trying …
This video was featured as a promotion for the 2011 World MMA Awards and further showed just how good Chael Sonnen is in front of a camera.
In the video, he plays a therapist for UFC light-heavyweight fighter Stephan Bonnar, who is having issues trying to channel the “American Psycho” within. Obviously a ploy on Bonnar’s nickname but he has been good as of late.
A three fight winning streak, including a “Fight of the Night” performance with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 showed that the former T.U.F. finalist isn’t ready to hang up the gloves.
What happened next was pure comedy as Sonnen turned on his motivational tactics to send Bonnar on his way, to be the “psycho” he wants to be.
In the video, Sonnen also delivered a couple of punch lines that make me laugh every time I watch.
Sonnen asked Bonnar who the light-heavyweight champion is. Bonnar said Jon Jones. The sequence that followed allowed Sonnen to take another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
At the end, he called in welterweight contender Jon Fitch (who wasn’t featured in the video).
Overall, this was classic Sonnen. Although he will never admit to being in the business of selling fights, there is no denying that his honesty and vocabulary are what made him so popular to begin with.
His fighting skill isn’t bad either as he is ranked No. 2 in the world, although he would disagree with that rank.
Again, the video just shows that Sonnen’s honesty and his quick wit allows him to be an entertaining fighter in and out of the cage. Hey, maybe this video was a starting point for Bonnar to make a run at Jon Jones, avenge a loss and win the UFC light-heavyweight title.
Phil Davis is the perfect example of an up and coming fighter and future super star. He is a decorated collegiate wrestler with an undefeated professional MMA record, and at 27 years old, he is in the prime of his life.”Mr. Wonderful” has defeated all …
Phil Davis is the perfect example of an up and coming fighter and future super star. He is a decorated collegiate wrestler with an undefeated professional MMA record, and at 27 years old, he is in the prime of his life.
“Mr. Wonderful” has defeated all five of his opponents the UFC has thrown at him to include fan favorite Brian Stann, Pride legend Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and even fellow up and comer and possible future title contender Alexander Gustafsson.
With all that said, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is deserving of a shot at Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28, 2012, especially since in many ways his path to the tile is not so different than the one Evans originally took.
Rewind to Sep. 6th, 2008 to UFC 88 and you will see a 28 year old undefeated Rashad Evans taking on a former light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in a title-eliminator bout.
Like Davis, Rashad had faced off against a legend in the form of Tito Ortiz, a fellow up and comer in Michael Bisping and a fan favorite named Stephan Bonnar.
Unlike Davis however, Rashad’s path took more fights, as his fight with Ortiz was ruled a draw. Also unlike Davis, Rashad was headlining PPV fights even before his bout with Liddell, but as the winner of Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, this was expected.
The question should not be if Phil Davis is ready for the big leagues, because anyone would be hard pressed to find an up and coming fighter more ready than him.
The real question is if his path to the title will become even more like Rashad’s, in that he will walk away with a KO victory and go on to claim the title in similar fashion.
For Rashad’s sake, let’s hope not. But if your name is Phil Davis, then Rashad is the perfect opponent to defeat and prove to the world why you belong in the big leagues.
Doing some last minute Christmas shopping? How about the new “Punch Buddies,” UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar’s t-shirt line,