Tag: Tito Ortiz

UFC 132 Fight Card Preview: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber Fight Prediction

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan R.R. Clarke:Round OneBoth men are capable strikers, but I think Urijah and Dominick will take their time in the opening minutes of the fight, feeling each other out and getting familiar with their opponent.I think we will …

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan R.R. Clarke:

Round One

Both men are capable strikers, but I think Urijah and Dominick will take their time in the opening minutes of the fight, feeling each other out and getting familiar with their opponent.

I think we will see a few flurries of Dominick’s trademark combinations coming forward, but nothing too committed or too reckless. Faber will be looking for the takedown early in the fight, as he is the far more accomplished submission artist—holding 13 submission victories to his name, compared to Cruz’s single win via tap-out.

Faber attempts takedowns in round 1, but Cruz does well to snuff them.

The Story of The Round: Cruz utilizes fast combinations whilst Faber looks for the takedown—an expected start to the fight.

Round Two

By now, both fighters are comfortable with each other’s style and approach to start to loosen up a bit. Dominick’s stand-up game starts to improve as he lands some good shots on Faber. Cruz has to be careful when moving forward, as Faber is always on the lookout for a takedown. And there it is!

Faber gets a single leg takedown and Cruz is now in dangerous territory.

He is on his back and Faber is no slouch from inside the guard. If Cruz can somehow get himself into top position his ground and pound would be a welcome asset to his arsenal. As it is though, the round grinds down to a close as both fighters finish on the mat—Faber unable to slap on any significant submission attempts and Cruz is happy to see the second round come to an end.

The Story of The Round: Faber takes Cruz down and scores big. Cruz is fairly defensive for the best part of the five minutes.

Round Three

Dominick is a lot more wary of the takedown now and doesn’t leave any legs trailing. He looks a lot more alert on his feet—as a few swift jabs followed by a head kick just scuff Faber’s defending arm.

The two fighters exchange punches—which leads to an entangled clinch upon the cage wall. Cruz utilizes the support of the caging in order to prevent a takedown. In trying too hard for the slam to the mat, Faber has found himself locked into a guillotine.

The fighters fall to the ground, but as they do, Cruz’s guillotine is broken and he finds himself on his back. This time Faber is able to reach side control. Cruz does a good job of preventing the mount, as Faber is unable to do much damage from the advantageous position he finds himself in. The horn rings and that’s the end of round 3.

The Story of The Round: Both fighters displayed some effective stand-up, Cruz scoring slightly better. Faber once again showed his strengths when the fight went to the mat.

Round Four

The championship rounds. The last two rounds when good fighters are separated from great fighters.

Straight away, Faber looks desperate for that early takedown—shooting in but not getting close. He thinks an early takedown in the round would spell great danger for Cruz and I have no reason to think any different. However, Dominick isn’t the Champion for nothing, and he quickly tries to neutralize this by using his strong stand-up game.

Mid-way through the round Faber is able to get the take down, but it doesn’t turn out quite how he would have liked!

Cruz finds himself in top position thanks to a sleek sweep, and now proceeds to rain down a barrage of devastating elbows and punches. The referee is close by and Faber looks in trouble. The referee takes a closer look and IT’S ALL OVER!

Dominick Cruz defeats Urijah Faber through a devastating ground and pound!

Cruz is jubilant as he circles the ring in celebration, whilst Faber is conscious but hurting from the defeat.

UFC 132 Fight Card: Carlos Condit’s Most Impressive Wins

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Mahlmann:UFC 120 vs Dan HardyDan Hardy entered the UFC with a 20-6(1) record and rattled off four straight victories before getting thoroughly dominated by Georges “Rush” St-Pierre when the welterweight title was on the l…

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Mahlmann:

UFC 120 vs Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy entered the UFC with a 20-6(1) record and rattled off four straight victories before getting thoroughly dominated by Georges “Rush” St-Pierre when the welterweight title was on the line.

Hardy looked to bounce back by knocking out another fighter who loved to stand and bang: none other than Carlos Condit.

However, Condit proved he was the superior fighter, knocking out “The Outlaw” late in the first round of their 2010 encounter. 

Condit is the only fighter who has defeated Hardy via knockout, showing how impressive his chin and punching power truly are.

Rumble on the Rock vs Frank Trigg

Condit was a big underdog to Frank Trigg heading into the semifinals of the 2006 Rumble on the Rock welterweight tournament.

The Natural Born Killer was only 21 years old at the time, so questions regarding his abilities were fairly expected. 

Their fight began as most anticipated, with Trigg getting a takedown almost immediately. 

However, Trigg’s jiu-jitsu game was very raw back then, as he was primarily a big, strong wrestler. 

Therefore, he had little respect for Condit’s submission game off his back, and ended up walking right into a triangle armbar.

Trigg’s held on as long as he could, but eventually decided to tap before Condit could dislocate his elbow.

This is when people truly began to realize that Condit was a real threat at 170 pounds.

WEC 35 vs Hiromitsu Miura

This was Condit’s third and final defense of his WEC welterweight title. Miura, another highly respected striker, was expected to give Condit all he could handle in this one.

That’s exactly what happened, as the fans seated in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino enjoyed an all out war as the main event.

The fight was not without controversy, though, as the fighter were stood up on two occasions when Miura was on top of Condit.

Many felt that while Miura was not all that active on top, the stand-ups were premature.

While some even questioned the fourth-round TKO stoppage, Condit visibly hurt Miura very badly, as the challenger on the ground several minutes after the fight ended.

This bout showed that Condit could not only dish out punishment but he could take it as well, in this Fight of the Night effort.

UFC Fight Night 19 vs Jake Ellenberger

Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger, a fighter with a high wrestling pedigree, showed off his powerful punches in the first round of his meeting with Condit.

Ellenberger visibly rocked Condit with big punches in the first round and neutralized The Natural Born Killer’s jiu-jitsu with his excellent top control.

However, Condit refused to be rattled or stray from his game plan, and ended up winning a very close split decision with quality jiu-jitsu transitions and effective strikes from top. 

Ellenberger is unarguably another tough contender at 170 pounds, so a second encounter between these two could prove to be quite interesting in the future.

UFC 115 vs Rory McDonald

Rory MacDonald is the definition of an MMA prodigy, making his professional debut at 15 years of age!

MacDonald took on Condit in June of last year, in a fight to see which young fighter was ready to take their game to the next level.

Condit was getting beat definitively for the first time in years and had no answers for MacDonald’s takedowns, top control and innovate striking through the first two rounds.

Just as it looked like MacDonald was going to cruise to an impressive unanimous decision victory, Condit came out swinging for the fences in the third and final round.

Condit finally managed to get the better of MacDonald with striking exchanges on the feet, and completely dominated the Canadian prospect with punches and elbows once he got on top of him with about a minute remaining.

A bloody and beaten MacDonald saw the fight get stopped with a mere seven seconds remaining, giving Condit the TKO victory.

It was later revealed that MacDonald would have won the split decision if the fight had gone the distance. 

While it is rare to see a fight stopped with such little time left, it was hard to argue given how vicious Condit’s relentless ground-and-pound was.    

This was Condit’s second Fight of the Night honor and is his biggest win to date, since it truly showcased how much grit, determination and talent The Natural Born Killer truly possesses. 

Jason Parillo on Training UFC 132’s Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, and Career in MMA

LAS VEGAS – Jason Parillo has spent the majority of his life competing, studying, and coaching world champions in boxing. Parillo’s tremendous work ethic and love for “the sweet science” makes him one of the preeminent coaches in the …

LAS VEGAS – Jason Parillo has spent the majority of his life competing, studying, and coaching world champions in boxing.

Parillo’s tremendous work ethic and love for “the sweet science” makes him one of the preeminent coaches in the sport.

Nearly 20-years ago, Parillo gradually started making the transition over from boxing and a group of lifelong friends helped along the way.

“Back in 92’, I helped open L.A. Boxing which is like a franchise now,” Parillo recently told Bleacher Report. “I helped open it up when it was just a little boxing gym, but we taught a lot of personal classes and at that time I was an amateur boxer, I was trying to see if I could be an Olympian or something. Justin and Sean McCully, those guys were all into no holds barred back in the day, it wasn’t even MMA yet.

“I was friends with a lot of guys that came down there; I knew Rob McCullough, Tiki (Ghosn) when they were kids, and Tito (Ortiz) when he was younger. I used to work and spar with a lot of those guys just for the boxing, but over the course of time I worked with Muay-Thai guys, boxers, and MMA guys, because I’ve studied martial arts, I’ve been around a lot of different things and I’ve always had a good understanding of the distance of the fight.”

While two severe injuries derailed Parillo’s dreams of competing in the Olympics, the California based coach has used his vast knowledge to assist former two division UFC champion BJ Penn.

“I got out of boxing because I severed the ulnar nerve in my elbow and I had a detached retna,” Parillo who was 8-0 with 6 knockouts as a professional boxer said. “I got laser surgery on it, but I still have double vision on that from the detachment of my retina. I became a full-time coach and Pat (Tenore) the owner of RVCA said ‘I know you help all the guys with their boxing, why don’t you go help BJ (Penn)?’ This was before the Jens Pulver II fight and when I first started training BJ, I was training him with one-hand because I didn’t have my other arm, my ulnar nerve was still severed and only half of my hand has full use of it. I went out there, trained BJ and connected with him right away. He realized that I had something to offer him and I spent a good four-and-a-half years out there (Hawaii).

“BJ became my main guy all together, I was barely working with anybody else because he was so active and I was spending so much time in Hawaii and living there. Just from BJ, I branched out I started training different guys and it exposed to me different guys that knew I had something to offer them in the MMA game. I was just open minded enough to cross over into the MMA game and respect it.”

Respect is exactly what Parillo has given to the sport and he continues to evolve as the sport grows.

Striking in boxing and mixed martial arts is much different from the other. Parillo understands that and his fighters are reaping the benefits of his knowledge.

 “The distance in an MMA fight is completely different,” Parillo said. “In boxing you’re up in the pocket full-time, because you’re not worried about the takedowns, getting kneed, kicked, you step up in the pocket and that’s where you spend the majority of your fight. As where in MMA the distance is different, a fighter is going to be a little more squared off and boxers are more worried about their angles and their positioning. But a lot of those traditional boxing positions are putting you in vulnerable spots to where you can get taken down or where you can get kicked.

“In fairness, I like to think of myself as an old school boxing guy even though I’m only 37 years old. BJ pretty much glued me into the MMA game, I always tip-toed around it and always helped guys from way back into the day. I used to think that I was going to be a world champion boxer myself, so I wasn’t really focused on being full-time as a coach, but through the injuries and BJ bringing me to Hawaii it rooted me into the MMA game. It gave me a foundation to grow along with the sport and try to help improve these guys the best I can.”

While Penn awaits word on his next opponent, Parillo, who coaches at RVCA Sport Center in Orange County, Calif., has been working with former UFC light-heavweight champion, Tito Ortiz who fights Ryan Bader at UFC 132 in Las Vegas.

Ortiz has fallen short in recent times, but with Parillo on his side a revitalized “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” could very well return on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

 “I have Tito fighting and that’s my main focus,” Parillo said. “I’ve been training with him every day. I’ll be working his corner for the fight and this is a fun situation for me, Tito’s an underdog and everybody in the room thinks Tito’s going to get his ass kicked and I like to believe that this guy’s got a good fight in him. He’s got more than what he’s been giving in his last few fights. He’s been going in there against really good competition too and it’s not like he’s been in there against slouches. Conditioning could play a factor in any fight, but Tito trains so hard he’ll be conditioned for this fight, he’s coming in with a better mindset.

“We’re going in to fight, to win and there’s a lot of different angles in this MMA game. I’ve never worked with Tito this close to a fight, I’ve never been in camp through the fight and went out and worked his corner. I’ve known him for years, but never really coached him and I think Tito has the ability to win this fight. We’re going in there to try and win.”

For additional information follow Joshua Carey on   Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 132: Arianny Celeste in Bud Light Commercial for UFC 132

Earlier this year, the UFC announced that they had renewed their sponsorship deal with Bud Light. The promotion revealed that Bud Light would increase their pay-per-view sponsorships from two events per year to four. Bud Light also agreed to back on…

Earlier this year, the UFC announced that they had renewed their sponsorship deal with Bud Light. The promotion revealed that Bud Light would increase their pay-per-view sponsorships from two events per year to four. Bud Light also agreed to back one special promotion event per year.

It appears that the next event that Bud Light will sponsor will be UFC 132. They have recently released a commercial for the event featuring UFC octagon girl Arianny Celeste.

UFC 132 will take place on July 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The main event on the card will feature the UFC’s first bantamweight title fight as champion Dominick Cruz defends his title against the only man to defeat him, Urijah Faber.

Also appearing on the UFC 132 fight card will be Wanderlei Silva who will make his long-awaited return to the cage. His opponent will be Chris Leben. 

Tito Ortiz will fight for his UFC career on the UFC 132 fight card, as Dana White has said that this is Ortiz’s last chance with the promotion. Ortiz has not won a fight since 2006 and will be the underdog on July 2 when he faces Ryan Bader.

UFC 132: Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber Talk First UFC Bantamweight Title Fight

Bleacher Report’s Danny Acosta:After 17 years, the UFC is ready to deliver the first sub-155-pound main event in Octagon history. The headlining honors belong to 135-pounders Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber as the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, …

Bleacher Report’s Danny Acosta:

After 17 years, the UFC is ready to deliver the first sub-155-pound main event in Octagon history.

The headlining honors belong to 135-pounders Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber as the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. hosts UFC 132 this Saturday night.

Their last meeting in Sin City occurred in March 2007 when Faber, then the WEC featherweight champion, retained his belt versus Cruz via first-round guillotine choke. Four years later, Cruz has the opportunity to defend his 135-pound crown for the third time in his UFC debut while avenging the lone loss of his 18-fight career (17-1) against “The California Kid” (25-4).

“That’s exactly what I feel I’m doing: I’m staking my claim and showing what I can do and that I deserve to be the king of this weight class,” the UFC bantamweight champion told Bleacher Report.

UFC parent company Zuffa experimented with the marketability of the lower weight classes by showcasing them in the WEC for the last three years. It was successful largely because of Faber, the face of the organization, who headlined the WEC’s lone pay-per-view offering opposite Jose Aldo.

Participating in another landmark bout for the sub-155-pound divisions is the latest in a long line of Faber’s headlining duties that date back to his third ever contest.   

“I feel lucky to have been in this position but it’s also come on the back of a lot of hard work. There hasn’t been all highs in my career,” Faber said to Bleacher Report, “and to stay on course and not get deserted and create opportunities for yourself—that’s what this is about. This is me creating opportunities by winning by staying persistent and consistent and going after what I want.”

The UFC’s inaugural bantamweight title tilt suggests the lower the weight, the higher the stakes. The chemistry for this bout fuels the rematch with heavyweight hype.

Click here to read the entire article

The Cut List: Who’s in Desperate Need of a Win at UFC 132?

Filed under:

Tito OrtizIt’s no big secret: no one needs win at UFC 132 worse than Tito Ortiz. Then again, we said the same thing at UFC 121. He lost a decision there and managed to hold on to his job by the follicles of his bleached blonde hair, so we already know that the normal rules don’t quite apply to him.

But this time, Dana White swears, this time he’s really on the chopping block. Do we believe him? Well, after the tired look on his face when discussing his most recent Tito headache with Ariel Helwani yesterday, it’s kind of hard not to.

Ortiz isn’t the only one who can’t afford to post another L on his record this Saturday night, however. For a look at the fighters who really need to win to stay employed, follow me below.

Tito Ortiz (15-8-1, 14-8-1 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Ryan Bader
Why he’s in danger: Come on, you know why. As Dana White pointed out on Thursday, Ortiz doesn’t have a win since 2006. As White put it: “Dude, it’s 2011. He’s got to win.” Really, the fact that he has made it this long is a miracle, or at least a testament to the power of charisma and name recognition. Ortiz is 0-4-1 in his last five fights. The last man he beat? Ken freaking Shamrock. If Ortiz were anybody else, he’d be long gone from the UFC by now. The irony is that, while it’s his Tito-ness that’s helped him stick around, it’s also his Tito-ness that has made him White’s least favorite employee. They could find a way to work together when Ortiz was still a money-maker, but the more he loses, the less people want to see him. Now he finds himself in a must-win against Bader, who is, honestly, a pretty tough style match-up for him at this point. It’s almost as if the UFC is trying to hasten his exit — and maybe it’s finally time for him to go.
Odds of getting cut: even. Let’s face it, Ortiz is probably going to lose this fight. And if he does, he’s certainly getting fired, or so says White. Do the math yourself. Remember to show your work.

Aaron Simpson (8-2, 4-2 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Brad Tavares
Why he’s in danger: For Simpson, the problem is not so much a parade of losses as it is a couple defeats matched with a few less than inspiring wins. He has a couple of exciting fights on his record — a split decision win over Tom Lawlor, a TKO loss to Chris Leben — but when he has it his way, he typically prefers to put his wrestling skills to work and grind one out. We all know how the UFC feels about that approach, so the question is, if he loses to the undefeated Tavares, will that be reason enough to send him on his merry way?
Odds of getting cut: 4-1. Don’t get me wrong, Simpson needs this win. Another loss and he’ll drop to 1-3 in his last four. But unless he looks absolutely awful, he should be able to pull the old ‘Please baby, give me one more chance’ and keep his job.

Andre Winner (11-5-1, 2-3 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Anthony Njokuani
Why he’s in danger: One more loss and Winner will have the dreaded three-fight losing streak on his hands. I know, the last one was in a bizarre way kind of, sort of not his fault in many people’s eyes, since he got trapped against the fence by Nik Lentz for three boring rounds. Still, if you can stop a guy from doing that to you, how much of a future do you really have in the UFC? It’s sad, too, because Winner once had so much promise. He was a real blue-chipper on TUF, then lost the finale and has been up and down ever since. If he’s going to make his case as a legitimate UFC lightweight, he’s got to do it now. The question is, can he?
Odds of getting cut: 2-1. This is a winnable fight, but by no means an easy one. At least Winner knows Njokuani won’t try to stall him in a clinch, which is a start.

Anthony Njokuani (13-5-1, 0-1 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Andre Winner
Why he’s in danger: Njokuani ended his WEC run with a 1-2 stint, then rolled right into the UFC with a decision loss. Fortunately for him, that loss came in a thrilling effort that earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. If you have to lose in the UFC, that’s definitely the way you want to do it. Then again, a loss is still a loss, and you don’t want to make a habit out of it. Njokuani has earned himself some leeway because of his exciting fighting style, but he’s still after that elusive first UFC win. Even if he doesn’t get it against Winner, he’ll probably get one more chance to shine. Still, with a loss here the situation goes from troubling to desperate.
Odds of getting cut: 5-1. His fight with Barboza earned him some goodwill with the UFC brass, so chances are he’s not going anywhere, win or lose. Probably still a good idea to win, though. Just saying.

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Filed under:

Tito OrtizIt’s no big secret: no one needs win at UFC 132 worse than Tito Ortiz. Then again, we said the same thing at UFC 121. He lost a decision there and managed to hold on to his job by the follicles of his bleached blonde hair, so we already know that the normal rules don’t quite apply to him.

But this time, Dana White swears, this time he’s really on the chopping block. Do we believe him? Well, after the tired look on his face when discussing his most recent Tito headache with Ariel Helwani yesterday, it’s kind of hard not to.

Ortiz isn’t the only one who can’t afford to post another L on his record this Saturday night, however. For a look at the fighters who really need to win to stay employed, follow me below.

Tito Ortiz (15-8-1, 14-8-1 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Ryan Bader
Why he’s in danger: Come on, you know why. As Dana White pointed out on Thursday, Ortiz doesn’t have a win since 2006. As White put it: “Dude, it’s 2011. He’s got to win.” Really, the fact that he has made it this long is a miracle, or at least a testament to the power of charisma and name recognition. Ortiz is 0-4-1 in his last five fights. The last man he beat? Ken freaking Shamrock. If Ortiz were anybody else, he’d be long gone from the UFC by now. The irony is that, while it’s his Tito-ness that’s helped him stick around, it’s also his Tito-ness that has made him White’s least favorite employee. They could find a way to work together when Ortiz was still a money-maker, but the more he loses, the less people want to see him. Now he finds himself in a must-win against Bader, who is, honestly, a pretty tough style match-up for him at this point. It’s almost as if the UFC is trying to hasten his exit — and maybe it’s finally time for him to go.
Odds of getting cut: even. Let’s face it, Ortiz is probably going to lose this fight. And if he does, he’s certainly getting fired, or so says White. Do the math yourself. Remember to show your work.

Aaron Simpson (8-2, 4-2 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Brad Tavares
Why he’s in danger: For Simpson, the problem is not so much a parade of losses as it is a couple defeats matched with a few less than inspiring wins. He has a couple of exciting fights on his record — a split decision win over Tom Lawlor, a TKO loss to Chris Leben — but when he has it his way, he typically prefers to put his wrestling skills to work and grind one out. We all know how the UFC feels about that approach, so the question is, if he loses to the undefeated Tavares, will that be reason enough to send him on his merry way?
Odds of getting cut: 4-1. Don’t get me wrong, Simpson needs this win. Another loss and he’ll drop to 1-3 in his last four. But unless he looks absolutely awful, he should be able to pull the old ‘Please baby, give me one more chance’ and keep his job.

Andre Winner (11-5-1, 2-3 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Anthony Njokuani
Why he’s in danger: One more loss and Winner will have the dreaded three-fight losing streak on his hands. I know, the last one was in a bizarre way kind of, sort of not his fault in many people’s eyes, since he got trapped against the fence by Nik Lentz for three boring rounds. Still, if you can stop a guy from doing that to you, how much of a future do you really have in the UFC? It’s sad, too, because Winner once had so much promise. He was a real blue-chipper on TUF, then lost the finale and has been up and down ever since. If he’s going to make his case as a legitimate UFC lightweight, he’s got to do it now. The question is, can he?
Odds of getting cut: 2-1. This is a winnable fight, but by no means an easy one. At least Winner knows Njokuani won’t try to stall him in a clinch, which is a start.

Anthony Njokuani (13-5-1, 0-1 UFC)
Who he’s fighting: Andre Winner
Why he’s in danger: Njokuani ended his WEC run with a 1-2 stint, then rolled right into the UFC with a decision loss. Fortunately for him, that loss came in a thrilling effort that earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. If you have to lose in the UFC, that’s definitely the way you want to do it. Then again, a loss is still a loss, and you don’t want to make a habit out of it. Njokuani has earned himself some leeway because of his exciting fighting style, but he’s still after that elusive first UFC win. Even if he doesn’t get it against Winner, he’ll probably get one more chance to shine. Still, with a loss here the situation goes from troubling to desperate.
Odds of getting cut: 5-1. His fight with Barboza earned him some goodwill with the UFC brass, so chances are he’s not going anywhere, win or lose. Probably still a good idea to win, though. Just saying.

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