Out of 27 career victories, 27-year-old Carlos Condit has finished 26 of them. Only one of his 27 victories did he go to a decision.I do not think there is anyone out there with that kind aggression and killer instinct to show for on their record.For m…
Out of 27 career victories, 27-year-old Carlos Condit has finished 26 of them. Only one of his 27 victories did he go to a decision.
I do not think there is anyone out there with that kind aggression and killer instinct to show for on their record.
For my money, Carlos Condit is the most dangerous fighter in the welterweight division.
That finishing ability was on full display as Condit knocked out the previously undefeated Dong Hyun Kim in the first round at UFC 132.
That marks two first-round knockouts in a row for Condit, where he is the only man to have ever KO’d his opponent.
Then, stop to consider that he has just as many wins by submission as he does by knockout.
Since joining the UFC and dropping a controversial split-decision to standout Martin Kampmann, Condit appears to just be getting better and better with each outing.
It is at the point now where it is more difficult making an argument as to why he shouldn’t be getting a title shot.
Yet despite his refinement and caliber, Condit proved against Dong Hyun Kim that he is very much still “The Natural Born Killer.”
If Kim and Hardy cannot last a round in the cage with Condit, then who is going to get in his way?
The only fighters left for Condit to fight are the durable and elite welterweight stalwarts that are notoriously hard to finish, and I bet Condit is just chomping at the bit.
We waited for what seemed like a lifetime to finally see Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz square off at UFC 132 for the bantamweight title. The bantamweight division is arguably the most entertaining division in all of MMA. Guys with great cardio, …
We waited for what seemed like a lifetime to finally see Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz square off at UFC 132 for the bantamweight title.
The bantamweight division is arguably the most entertaining division in all of MMA. Guys with great cardio, fast hands and crazy skills dominate this division, and you can always expect a good five rounds of action.
Both Faber and Cruz have become the face of this division, and with a couple more wins by Faber, they could be the trilogy the bantamweight division needs to become huge.
Faber and Cruz put on a great show as the first 135-pound main event in UFC and the first 135-pound title fight in UFC history. I thought the fight could have gone either way (I gave Faber a 48-47), and of course, one judge had to score it 50-45 to mess it up.
Cruz is now definitely the dominant force in the bantamweight division. Cruz has avenged his only loss and has won his last four title bouts. Those four wins come over Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez, Scott Jorgensen and now Faber.
That isn’t padding your resume, that is about as great of a last four fights as you can get.
Faber use to be the posterboy of the lighter weight classes in the WEC and still is to an extent in the UFC. You have a guy whose personality outside the cage is chill, and inside the cage, he can beat you anyway he wants it seems like.
Faber is the former WEC featherweight champion for good reason and has made himself into a household name synonymous with the lighter division.
A trilogy between these two would be epic. It’s not like Cruz completely dominated Faber (I don’t find takedowns that last a nanosecond as dominant), and their second bout was great.
Faber pulls in a lot of sponsorship money from Form Athletics and Amp Energy Drink, now Cruz will be getting more shots at it.
With Faber slowly going past his prime, he’s the veteran no one can hate. Cruz is just entering the prime of his career, which is a scary thought considering his style of fighting and how amazing it is.
After last night Faber and Cruz proved one thing, having a bantamweight fight as the main event can be super entertaining. In the first bantamweight main event in UFC history, both fighters have stepped up and become the big name fighters the division needs to thrive.
At least one career was salvaged at UFC 132, while another may have come to an end. Both contributed greatly to a memorable night in Las Vegas, where two little guys showed just how badly they wanted to go home with a hunk of leather and metal.
Now that it’s all over and we’ve got the obligatory 4th of July hot dogs sizzling on the grill, let’s take a minute to sort through this weekend’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Tito Ortiz
If you’d asked me on Friday, I would have told you the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” would be retired by now. No matter what he says, you know he must have considered that possibility as well in some of his darker moments. But not only did he come out on top in his must-win fight, he looked dominant in his submission win over Ryan Bader. The last person Ortiz submitted was Yuki Kondo. He did it back in 2000 and he did it with a neck crank, both of which tell you a little something about how long Ortiz has been in the game. Thanks to the win, Ortiz gets to stick around a little while longer. Whether it’s the beginning of a genuine comeback or just a temporary stay of execution, only time will tell.
Biggest Loser: Wanderlei Silva
Another attempt to brawl results in another frightening knockout. Silva has taken too many of these sorts of beatings lately, and each one is harder to watch than the last. Some people will point to last year’s win over Michael Bisping as proof that he doesn’t need to retire, and sure, it does seem unfair to point to one knockout loss to Leben as proof that the man is done. At the same time, Silva’s losses aren’t like Ortiz’s string of fairly close decisions. He’s getting knocked all the way out, and his fighting style isn’t evolving to protect his increasingly suspect chin. After 15 years in the sport, Silva can walk away with his head up whenever he feels like it. Let’s just hope he feels like before something happens to him that can’t be undone.
Best Removal of a Monkey from One’s Own Back: Dominick Cruz
He said he was ready for questions about his submission loss to Faber to stop for good, and with this win he’ll finally get his wish. You can argue the scoring, but I don’t think you can argue the outcome. Cruz simply did more than Faber, even if he did get dropped a time or two. His speed and his well-rounded attack is going to be a problem for anybody in the division, and now that he’s vanquished Faber he can move on to other challenges. At least until Faber wins a couple and starts asking for a rubber match. Then we can do this all over again.
Most Vicious: (tie) Carlos Condit and Melvin Guillard
Remember back when the one thing we all knew about Greg Jackson’s fighters was that they played it too safe and never finished fights? No, not ringing any bells? Maybe it’s because that bit of conventional wisdom just got kneed in its face until it was utterly unrecognizable. These two Jackson camp fighters dispatched their respective opponents with terrifying ferocity and efficiency on Saturday night. I’m not sure what you do with either right now, since both are probably worthy of title shots, and yet neither is next in line in his division at the moment. Neither Condit or Guillard seem like the type to wait around until things sort themselves out, which is bad news for every other contender. Chances are, the path to a title shot at both lightweight and welterweight will run through these two.
Most Impressive in Defeat: Urijah Faber
Personally, I scored it for Cruz (though I didn’t give him every round, as one judge did), but Faber made it damn close. He came up with a better answer to Cruz’s difficult style than anyone else the UFC bantamweight champ has ever fought, and even if he came up short in the end he still put on a fantastic show. It’s the fourth consecutive title fight that Faber has lost, which puts him in a tough spot. As we saw on Saturday, he’s still one of the best fighters in the world at 135 pounds, but what can you do with him at this point? The UFC can’t just keep booking Cruz-Faber over and over, and yet Faber is still far above gatekeeper level. That’s going to be a tough one for matchmaker Joe Silva to figure out, but you know he’ll come up with something. He always does.
Least Impressive in Victory: Aaron Simpson
He spent fifteen minutes trying to force Brad Tavares to mate with a section of chain-link fencing, and while he got his hand raised at the end, he didn’t make many new fans. If there’s anything the UFC likes less than lay-and-pray, it’s wall-and-stall. At least get the guy to the mat before you suffocate any hope for action out of the fight. Simpson didn’t even do that. He clung to Tavares as if he knew that victory would be his as long as he could make sure nothing actually happened between the bells. The real bummer is, he was right.
Best Display of Angry, Shirtless Speed-Walking: Matt Wiman
I get it, he was upset. He thought he deserved the decision win over Dennis Siver, and when he didn’t get it his disappointment/rage got the better of him. Maybe it was best for him to go find a quiet place to be alone with his anger right then. But at the same time, it’s not like he was robbed by the judges. It was an incredibly close fight and it could have easily gone either way. When you’re standing there waiting for the scores to be announced after a fight like that, you have to know there’s at least a chance that you’re not going to like what you hear. Not that I necessarily blame him for taking off like a man who just remembered that he left the stove on at home. Everyone hates losing. And wearing shirts.
Most Likely to Win More Bar Fights Than Championships: Chris Leben
He’s never been the most technical of strikers, but more often than not he gets the job done. Against Silva he proved that his left hand is still as dangerous as ever, though that’s true of most fighters when their opponents zombie-walk right into it. At this point in his career, Leben’s appeal is pretty well solidified. He won’t win ’em all, but he will do his best to make sure that somebody loses consciousness by the end of the night. There’s definitely a place for that on UFC cards, even if that place is probably not in the main event most of the time. You’re not going to become a UFC champion throwing haymakers and eschewing defense the way Leben does, but you can collect enough paychecks to keep you in gummi bears for years to come. And really, what else do you need in life?
The referee checks on Wanderlei Silva after his knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132 on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
UFC 132 Photos
Urijah Faber knees Dominick Cruz in their UFC bantamweight championship bout at UFC 132 on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
At least one career was salvaged at UFC 132, while another may have come to an end. Both contributed greatly to a memorable night in Las Vegas, where two little guys showed just how badly they wanted to go home with a hunk of leather and metal.
Now that it’s all over and we’ve got the obligatory 4th of July hot dogs sizzling on the grill, let’s take a minute to sort through this weekend’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Tito Ortiz
If you’d asked me on Friday, I would have told you the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” would be retired by now. No matter what he says, you know he must have considered that possibility as well in some of his darker moments. But not only did he come out on top in his must-win fight, he looked dominant in his submission win over Ryan Bader. The last person Ortiz submitted was Yuki Kondo. He did it back in 2000 and he did it with a neck crank, both of which tell you a little something about how long Ortiz has been in the game. Thanks to the win, Ortiz gets to stick around a little while longer. Whether it’s the beginning of a genuine comeback or just a temporary stay of execution, only time will tell.
Biggest Loser: Wanderlei Silva
Another attempt to brawl results in another frightening knockout. Silva has taken too many of these sorts of beatings lately, and each one is harder to watch than the last. Some people will point to last year’s win over Michael Bisping as proof that he doesn’t need to retire, and sure, it does seem unfair to point to one knockout loss to Leben as proof that the man is done. At the same time, Silva’s losses aren’t like Ortiz’s string of fairly close decisions. He’s getting knocked all the way out, and his fighting style isn’t evolving to protect his increasingly suspect chin. After 15 years in the sport, Silva can walk away with his head up whenever he feels like it. Let’s just hope he feels like before something happens to him that can’t be undone.
Best Removal of a Monkey from One’s Own Back: Dominick Cruz
He said he was ready for questions about his submission loss to Faber to stop for good, and with this win he’ll finally get his wish. You can argue the scoring, but I don’t think you can argue the outcome. Cruz simply did more than Faber, even if he did get dropped a time or two. His speed and his well-rounded attack is going to be a problem for anybody in the division, and now that he’s vanquished Faber he can move on to other challenges. At least until Faber wins a couple and starts asking for a rubber match. Then we can do this all over again.
Most Vicious: (tie) Carlos Condit and Melvin Guillard
Remember back when the one thing we all knew about Greg Jackson’s fighters was that they played it too safe and never finished fights? No, not ringing any bells? Maybe it’s because that bit of conventional wisdom just got kneed in its face until it was utterly unrecognizable. These two Jackson camp fighters dispatched their respective opponents with terrifying ferocity and efficiency on Saturday night. I’m not sure what you do with either right now, since both are probably worthy of title shots, and yet neither is next in line in his division at the moment. Neither Condit or Guillard seem like the type to wait around until things sort themselves out, which is bad news for every other contender. Chances are, the path to a title shot at both lightweight and welterweight will run through these two.
Most Impressive in Defeat: Urijah Faber
Personally, I scored it for Cruz (though I didn’t give him every round, as one judge did), but Faber made it damn close. He came up with a better answer to Cruz’s difficult style than anyone else the UFC bantamweight champ has ever fought, and even if he came up short in the end he still put on a fantastic show. It’s the fourth consecutive title fight that Faber has lost, which puts him in a tough spot. As we saw on Saturday, he’s still one of the best fighters in the world at 135 pounds, but what can you do with him at this point? The UFC can’t just keep booking Cruz-Faber over and over, and yet Faber is still far above gatekeeper level. That’s going to be a tough one for matchmaker Joe Silva to figure out, but you know he’ll come up with something. He always does.
Least Impressive in Victory: Aaron Simpson
He spent fifteen minutes trying to force Brad Tavares to mate with a section of chain-link fencing, and while he got his hand raised at the end, he didn’t make many new fans. If there’s anything the UFC likes less than lay-and-pray, it’s wall-and-stall. At least get the guy to the mat before you suffocate any hope for action out of the fight. Simpson didn’t even do that. He clung to Tavares as if he knew that victory would be his as long as he could make sure nothing actually happened between the bells. The real bummer is, he was right.
Best Display of Angry, Shirtless Speed-Walking: Matt Wiman
I get it, he was upset. He thought he deserved the decision win over Dennis Siver, and when he didn’t get it his disappointment/rage got the better of him. Maybe it was best for him to go find a quiet place to be alone with his anger right then. But at the same time, it’s not like he was robbed by the judges. It was an incredibly close fight and it could have easily gone either way. When you’re standing there waiting for the scores to be announced after a fight like that, you have to know there’s at least a chance that you’re not going to like what you hear. Not that I necessarily blame him for taking off like a man who just remembered that he left the stove on at home. Everyone hates losing. And wearing shirts.
Most Likely to Win More Bar Fights Than Championships: Chris Leben
He’s never been the most technical of strikers, but more often than not he gets the job done. Against Silva he proved that his left hand is still as dangerous as ever, though that’s true of most fighters when their opponents zombie-walk right into it. At this point in his career, Leben’s appeal is pretty well solidified. He won’t win ’em all, but he will do his best to make sure that somebody loses consciousness by the end of the night. There’s definitely a place for that on UFC cards, even if that place is probably not in the main event most of the time. You’re not going to become a UFC champion throwing haymakers and eschewing defense the way Leben does, but you can collect enough paychecks to keep you in gummi bears for years to come. And really, what else do you need in life?
The referee checks on Wanderlei Silva after his knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132 on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
UFC 132 Photos
Urijah Faber knees Dominick Cruz in their UFC bantamweight championship bout at UFC 132 on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Jason Parillo was in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. for UFC 121 last October when Tito Ortiz dropped to 0-4-1 in his last five contests in front of a hometown audience, remaining winless since 2006. “He wanted to be there, but he didn’t want to wi…
Jason Parillo was in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. for UFC 121 last October when Tito Ortiz dropped to 0-4-1 in his last five contests in front of a hometown audience, remaining winless since 2006.
“He wanted to be there, but he didn’t want to win a fight. I texted him as I was watching him leave the Octagon, I said, ‘I got your next fight. I’ll take care of you.’ He took me up on it,” the boxing trainer told Bleacher Report after Ortiz knocked down Ryan Bader and submitted him via first-round guillotine choke at UFC 132 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Of the right hand that sent “Darth” to the mat, the man who honed former two-division UFC champion B.J. Penn’s hands commented, “We were able to put confidence into stepping in that pocket and let it go a bit better than [Ortiz] has in the past.”
Parillo and Ortiz discussed linking up before the Hamill fight, but it never came to fruition. When Ortiz called to invite him to run the six-week UFC 132 camp, Parillo knew “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” would be well-conditioned, but needed to cultivate a strong mental game to handle the pressure of what UFC president Dana White categorized as a pink-slip fight.
He said to the longest reigning 205-pound champion in UFC history, “The most important thing to me is you stick your head in that fine line is you get knocked the f— out or you knock this guy out—one or the other. I want you to go out this guy and kill or be killed.”
Parillo describes a mutual belief in the gym for unearthing the finisher in Ortiz, who hadn’t stopped anybody not named Ken Shamrock since 2001 despite having only went to decision once in a five-defense title reign.
A former boxer, Parillo had the task of getting a fighter considered past his prime to his peak in time to defeat a once-defeated 5:1 favorite eight years younger than the 36-year-old former UFC light heavyweight champion.
“I watched him look at me in the eyes and internalize everything and believe what I’m telling him because he knew it to be true. There were fundamentals that we polished up and he just started clicking,” said the 37-year-old, noting they spent one-on-one time in the gym for a solid portion of the camp.
“His head hasn’t been in the right place in a long time. He was in a position where he didn’t have a choice but to listen to somebody and he chose to listen to me.”
Parillo became confident in Ortiz leading up to the bout when sparring partners—and there weren’t many—that got the best of the Punishment Athletics founder in the past and saw the tides turn against them. The injuries and personal issues Ortiz has publicly endured throughout his four-year losing streak were put aside with mitt work.
Parillo even credits a message from B.J. Penn to Tito Ortiz to believe in the training and everything else would take care of itself as it did for the career-revitalizing performance.
Where Ortiz goes from here is up to him affirms Parillo.
“A hungry fighter that has much talent as Tito does and as much experience as Tito does, they’re dangerous. He can do what he wants to do if he really wants to do it, and if that’s win a world title, he’ll win a world title,” concluded the Orange County RVCA Sports Center coach.
“If he wants to treat this fight like it was his world title, the future may not be that great. But I have a good feeling Tito’s hungry.”
Follow Danny Acosta on twitter.com/acostaislegend.
A huge knockout victory over Shane Roller tonight at UFC 132 capped off what is now a five-fight winning streak in the UFC for Melvin Guillard. A former Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant, Guillard has now pushed his way up into serious title contention i…
A huge knockout victory over Shane Roller tonight at UFC 132 capped off what is now a five-fight winning streak in the UFC for Melvin Guillard. A former Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant, Guillard has now pushed his way up into serious title contention in one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC.
An excited Guillard talked to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani after the fight.
“I come to knock guys out, man. I’m a finisher. I’m the No. 1 fighter in the UFC at lightweight, that’s a finisher,” he exclaimed. “All the other guys are not really finishing fights.
“Most guys are inconsistent finishers, I go in for the kill.”
After a rough patch that saw him lose two fights in a row in 2007, Guillard has since bounced back by winning eight of his past nine fights. His game plan has been a big reason for that streak as he has become more experienced.
“I’m just mentally patient and physically fierce,” he shrugged. “When the opening is there, I capitalize.”
Now riding the biggest hot streak of his UFC career, Guillard’s confidence is at an all-time high. He appears ready to fight anyone in the division.
“I’ll knock anybody out in this weight class,” he declared.
But he doesn’t want to be given a title shot immediately.
“I want to earn it, man. I don’t want anybody giving me anything. Nobody has ever given me anything in my life,” he explained. “Right now, I really want to fight Jim Miller. He’s my ticket to a title.”
“If I fight anybody else, I won’t feel like it’s right. I feel like Jim Miller’s my No. 1 contender fight.”
Of course, Miller is currently scheduled to fight former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson in August, in what many believe is a No. 1 contenders fight for the 20-2 lightweight. As such, Guillard will have to wait his turn and understands that a loss for Miller could mean a less valuable victory for Guillard himself, if the two eventually do fight.
“If Ben beats Jim, then that kind of ruins it [for me] because if I fight anybody else, I might not get that call… If I beat a guy like Jim Miller and knock him out, I’ll definitely get a call [to fight for the title].”
Guillard and Ben Henderson are good friends, but business is business.
“I’m not saying I want to see Ben Henderson lose, but from a business aspect, I might need him to take that ‘L’ so I can get the ‘W’.”
Bleacher Report’s Mark Pare:UFC 132 was a stacked card from top to bottom, with the main card littered with former champions, Ultimate Fighter winners and was capped off with a UFC first.The UFC Bamtamweight title was defended for the first time eve…
Bleacher Report’s Mark Pare:
UFC 132 was a stacked card from top to bottom, with the main card littered with former champions, Ultimate Fighter winners and was capped off with a UFC first.
The UFC Bamtamweight title was defended for the first time ever and champion Dominick Cruz successfully defended his belt against Urijah Faber.
This is the second time these competitors faced against each other. In the first bout, Faber choked out Cruz at WEC 26 in March 2007. That bout lasted 1:38. This time, they went the distance and what a fight it was.
The first round proved to be a close one, however, Cruz showed his unorthodox style, leaving Faber to question his movements throughout the first five minutes. Faber attempted a few take downs but Cruz got out of each of them. Cruz landed a few solid shots and controlled the pace for the most part. Faber claims he expected Cruz to be unpredictable coming in.
“I knew he was going to come in awkward like that,” Faber said to Joe Rogan following his unanimous decision loss. “I decided to come straight forward. I didn’t feel like I was in danger at any point, but it is what it is.”
The second round saw Faber come back strong, landing a few strikes. Cruz looked exhausted by the middle of the round, noticeably looking at the clock and taking a deep breath on a couple of occasions. “The Dominator” did get a take down to slow the momentum of the “California Kid” but Faber got out soon after and finished the round strong.
Round 3 started and Faber continued a relentless pace with Cruz trying to come back with counters. At the mid point, Cruz landed a great combination and a head kick. With about two minutes left in the round, there was a wild scramble by both fighters. Faber scored a take down ad then Cruz countered into side control.. Faber rolled out again and got to his feet.
Counters were the story of this fight, one that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Entering the championship rounds, Faber landed a devastating punch and slowed the champion down. The rest of the round displayed more of the quick pace that these fighters in the Bantamweight division are known for.
In the final round, both fighters were looking for the finish. Knees, guillotines, and a pace that showed what level of skill is required to be a UFC champion.
A tough one for the judges to score, but when the verdict came in, Cruz retained the title with a 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47 unanimous decision win and avenged his only MMA loss.
At least one career was salvaged at 
Jason Parillo was in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. for UFC 121 last October when Tito Ortiz dropped to 0-4-1 in his last five contests in front of a hometown audience, remaining winless since 2006.
