Mamma Mia. It isn’t often that one of the UFC’s crowd shots really causes that much of a stir in the MMA world — sure, there is the “Just Bleed” guy, Diego Sanchez’s spiritual life partner, and Mickey Rourke’s frigid girlfriend — but suffice it to say, we may have found the crowd gif to end all crowd gifs in the mysterious “girl in the white dress” that was spotted at UFC on FOX 4. Say what you want about women’s beach volleyball, but this girl packs more power than all of Team Brazil and Team Spain combined.
If you’re reading this, girl in the white dress, please send all of your standard information (name, address, phone number, bra size, turn-ons, list of fears) to [email protected]so we can send you a conveniently altered CagePotato shirt and our congratulations on this historic achievement in UFC fan hotness immediately.
Mamma Mia. It isn’t often that one of the UFC’s crowd shots really causes that much of a stir in the MMA world — sure, there is the “Just Bleed” guy, Diego Sanchez’s spiritual life partner, and Mickey Rourke’s frigid girlfriend — but suffice it to say, we may have found the crowd gif to end all crowd gifs in the mysterious “girl in the white dress” that was spotted at UFC on FOX 4. Say what you want about women’s beach volleyball, but this girl packs more power than all of Team Brazil and Team Spain combined.
If you’re reading this, girl in the white dress, please send all of your standard information (name, address, phone number, bra size, turn-ons, list of fears) to [email protected]so we can send you a conveniently altered CagePotato shirt and our congratulations on this historic achievement in UFC fan hotness immediately.
(“Now, Demian! Use the muscle-spasm death touch that I taught you!”)
Demian Maia‘s welterweight debut at UFC 148 was over before it really began, thanks to a poorly timed muscle spasm suffered by Dong Hyun Kim. But the former middleweight title contender will be getting another chance to make an impression against Rick Story. Their bout is scheduled to take place at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), a card that is quickly stacking up with top Brazilian talent. Story recently outpointed newcomer Brock Jardine at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida, which snapped a two-fight losing streak against Charlie Brenneman and Martin Kampmann.
Speaking of Brenneman, “The Spaniard” has booked his return fight after being choked out by Erick Silva in June. He’ll be appearing at UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson (September 1st, Las Vegas) against TUF 11 competitor — and former Crocodile Hunter bodyguard — Kyle Noke, who is coming off of two losses at middleweight and will be making his welterweight debut.
In other booking news…
(“Now, Demian! Use the muscle-spasm death touch that I taught you!”)
Speaking of Brenneman, “The Spaniard” has booked his return fight after being choked out by Erick Silva in June. He’ll be appearing at UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson(September 1st, Las Vegas) against TUF 11 competitor — and former Crocodile Hunter bodyguard — Kyle Noke, who is coming off of two losses at middleweight and will be making his welterweight debut.
– The UFC has confirmed more fights for their UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Bigfoot card (October 5th, Minneapolis). Notably, a heavyweight matchup between Matt Mitrione and Rob Broughton — originally scheduled for this weekend’s UFC on FOX 4 card, until Broughton pulled out due to injury — has been re-set for the UFC on FX 5 lineup. Broughton has dropped consecutive decisions to Travis Browne and Phil De Fries, while Mitrione will try to bounce back from his decision loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 137. And on the other end of the fighter-size spectrum, TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson will make his latest flyweight appearance against much-hyped newcomer Jussier da Silva, in a match that could very well produce the #1 contender in the 125-pound division.
Please direct your predictions to the comments section.
Although rapidly approaching , UFC on Fuel TV 4 hasn’t gotten much attention from the media due to the highly anticipated UFC 148. However, just four days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen square off.
Although rapidly approaching , UFC on Fuel TV 4 hasn’t gotten much attention from the media due to the highly anticipated UFC 148. However, just four days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen square off for the second time, two other top middleweights will face off in an attempt to continue their run at the middleweight title.
Top contenders, Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman, will be headlining UFC on Fuel TV 4, which will take place July 11th. The betting odds for the main event have come out, and surprisingly, it is Weidman who is the favorite over Munoz. Now while casual MMA fans may not question this, it does raise a few eyebrows from the more enthusiastic fans. Both fighters have demonstrated their skills over talented opponents, which places both fighters among the top of the division, arguably in the top ten. However, nobody can argue with the repertoire of Munoz being more impressive.
Mark Munoz has won seven of his last eight fights, losing only a split decision to Yushin Okami, who at the time, was ranked in the top five. He has since beaten four high-level opponents, with only two of those fights seeing judges score cards. Chris Weidman hasn’t faced the number of high-level opponents that Munoz has. Although Weidman was able to finish UFC veteran, Tom Lawlor, with a guillotine choke in just over two minutes, it was his decision win over jiu-jitsu specialist, Demian Maia, that labeled him as a top middleweight contender. Coincidently, Munoz and Weidman share Demian Maia as a common opponent, and it’s the comparison of their bouts with Maia that reveal just how baffling these betting odds truly are.
Mark Munoz fought a confident, energetic Demian Maia, who came out aggressive, throwing a plethora of solid, accurate strikes. It was the first time Maia demonstrated his newly achieved striking skills and completely caught Munoz off guard with them. However, Munoz was able to come back in the last two rounds, using powerful strikes and elite wrestling to stifle the jiu-jitsu attempts of Maia, and win a unanimous decision. In Chris Weidman’s bout with Maia, eight months later, Maia’s performance was sluggish and mundane. His strikes were hesitant and predictable, while his take down attempts were feeble. Even commentators, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, made the comment that the performance of Maia and Weidman wasn’t installing any fear to the rest of the division, and that they both looked physically exhausted. While this was understandable for Weidman, seeing he agreed to the fight with Maia on only eleven days notice, there was no explanation for Maia’s poor performance. Bottom line, Mark Munoz defeated an elite contender at the top of his game, and Chris Weidman didn’t.
By no means should anyone count Chris Weidman out of this fight. He may very well remain undefeated when it’s all over. However, there is a reason that every MMA website has Munoz ranked above Weidman. When looking at the skills, past performances, and overall resumes that both of these fighters poses, Mark Munoz has simply accomplished more. Clearly somebody was misinformed when making these betting odds, and if not, then favoring Weidman is just plain ignorant and bias.
(Tom Lawlor: The UFC’s undisputed Seven Up champion.)
Maybe it’s just us, but it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to drum up a potential list of future opponents for the winners of a given UFC card these days. Not only are most fighters already booked for the promotion’s ever-increasing amount of cards, but the ones selected for title shots are seemingly being drawn out of a hat. Be that as it may, we are going to try and sift through the wreckage of last night’s UFC on FUEL card and determine who the big winners should face next. Enjoy.
Chan Sung Jung: We’ll be the first to admit that we underestimated “The Korean Zombie” heading into yesterday’s fight. But aside from his excellent transitions on the ground, or that amazing takedown reversal to mount he was able to pull off, the thing that impressed us the most about Jung was his tranquility. While Poirier was throwing his best shots at him, Jung remained calm, and worked his way out of every hairy situation like a true pro. He deserves a title shot, and Dana White claims that he is next in line for one. And The Baldfather would never go back on his word. Just ask Anthony Pettis.
(Tom Lawlor: The UFC’s undisputed Seven Up champion.)
Maybe it’s just us, but it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to drum up a potential list of future opponents for the winners of a given UFC card these days. Not only are most fighters already booked for the promotion’s ever-increasing amount of cards, but the ones selected for title shots are seemingly being drawn out of a hat. Be that as it may, we are going to try and sift through the wreckage of last night’s UFC on FUEL card and determine who the big winners should face next. Enjoy.
Chan Sung Jung: We’ll be the first to admit that we underestimated “The Korean Zombie” heading into yesterday’s fight. But aside from his excellent transitions on the ground, or that amazing takedown reversal to mount he was able to pull off, the thing that impressed us the most about Jung was his tranquility. While Poirier was throwing his best shots at him, Jung remained calm, and worked his way out of every hairy situation like a true pro. He deserves a title shot, and Dana White claims that he is next in line for one. And The Baldfather would never go back on his word. Just ask Anthony Pettis.
Amir Sadollah: Despite the fact that neither Sadollah or Jorge Lopez offered much in terms of offensive output in their co-main event (Author’s note: WHO THE FUCK DECIDED THIS?!) clash, we were a little surprised to see Amir get the nod. But regardless of the outcome, one could see that there are still some noticeable holes in Sadollah’s game. Mainly, aggression and takedown defense. Sadollah needs to fight a guy that will bring out his inner beast, and the winner of the Matt Riddle/Luis Ramos bout would be a perfect test for him.
Donald Cerrone: To say that Cerrone’s performance against Jeremy Stephens was anything short of masterful would be an understatement. When facing “The Cowboy’s” multifaceted, not to mention vicious attack, Stephens could do little else but swing for all he was worth, with all but a few of his punches coming up far short of their target. Now 5-1 in the UFC, Cerrone should only be fighting the division’s brightest. A match against Anthony Pettis would not only be a great test of just how far either man will go at 155, but a potential FOTY candidate to boot. Plus, DW could promise the winner a title shot by the end of 2014 when the lightweight division finally clears up.
Yves Jabouin: After falling prey to one of the greatest submissions of 2011 in his UFC debut, the Tristar Gym standout has reeled off three straight in the octagon. Although he has yet to finish an opponent in convincing fashion in his UFC run, he came as close as humanly possible when he unleashed that spinning back kick in the first round of his bantamweight brawl with Jeff Hougland. Given his propencity to put on technical, yet exciting striking clinics, we’d like to see him square off against Mike Easton, who he was originally scheduled to face at yesterday’s event, once “The Hulk” recovers from his injury. It was a good matchup then, and it makes just as much sense now. The pace this fight would take place at would be enough to send the audience into a mass epileptic seizure, and it could make for a great addition to any lacking card.
Tom Lawlor: Currently 2-2 in his last four, with victories coming over the now released Patrick Cote and the soon to be retired Jason MacDonald, it’s kind of hard to place LOLor anywhere but the middle of the pack at this point. We will forever be indebted to “Filthy” for becoming the first man to choke C.B. Dolloway into Narnia at UFC 100, and the man’s weigh-in fashion sense is nothing short of impeccable, so he deserves a winnable matchup against an entertaining fighter to carry the momentum of his KOTN performance. The winner of the Nick Catone/Chris Camozzi scrap, scheduled for UFC on FX 4, comes to mind.
Cody McKenzie: We don’t care if McKenzie is a one-trick pony, he’s our one trick pony, dammit. Physically, McKenzie looked the best he ever has when stepping into the cage against UFC newcomer and wrestling powerhouse Marcus LeVessuer, but that could’ve simply been the result of trimming the outhouse mop that sat atop his head for so long. Sure, he still looked goofy as hell when throwing some of his kicks, which included the first upkick nutshot we’ve seen in quite some time, but if you so much as sneeze in his general direction, he will snatch that neck up and have you crying uncle before you even have time to wipe your nose. He more than likely saved his Zuffa career yesterday, and isn’t exactly ready for a huge step up in competition. Honestly, I would be satisfied if the UFC continued to serve him McKenzietine fodder for the rest of his career, but a matchup against Reza Madadi, who is coming off an impressive debut submission victory over Yoislandy Izquierdo at UFC on FUEL: Gustafsson vs. Silva would be a good test of just what he can do.
So what do you think, Potato Nation? Who should yesterday’s biggest winners (or losers) face off against in the near future?
With his victory over Dustin Poirier last night at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Chan Sung Jung established himself as an elite fighter in the 135 pound division. He didn’t turn the fight into an.
With his victory over Dustin Poirier last night at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Chan Sung Jung established himself as an elite fighter in the 135 pound division. He didn’t turn the fight into an impossible to score brawl. He didn’t catch Poirier with an early punch. He was clearly the better fighter from the opening bell until the fourth round when he finished with a D’arce choke after dropping Poirier with an uppercut followed by a flying knee. Poirier did well with his jab and may have won the third round with it but Jung was always the more dangerous fighter and never seemed to be in any danger. The only weakness Jung showed was in his stamina as he appeared to tire toward the end of the third round. He mentioned before the fight that he struggled with the weight cut. He and his team will need to figure out a way to improve on that process to allow him to maximize his stamina for five round fights in the future. But aside from that, his performance makes it impossible to consider him as anything other than one of the top featherweights in the world. The win puts him no more than one fight away from a title shot and at the moment, he looks to be one of the few fighters in the division willing to face Jose Aldo. Jung now has consecutive victories over top ten featherweights in Mark Hominick and Poirier and adding that to his entertainment value and marketability makes him the most likely candidate to face Aldo, provided he defeats Eric Koch at UFC 149 in July.
Donald Cerrone didn’t have to prove that he was one of the best in the world in his weight class because we already knew he was. But he did remind us just in case we had forgotten by dominating Jeremy Stephens for fifteen minutes. By the second round, Cerrone seemed to be playing with Stephens and treating the fight more like a sparring match. He used his kicks to maintain his reach advantage and Stephens was never able to close the distance enough to land punches. Cerrone repeatedly battered his opponent with punching combinations punctuated with brutal leg kicks. By the third round, he was even able to land a knockdown with a low kick. Stephens hung in the fight and continued to throw punches, which if they landed, could have done some damage. But he couldn’t get inside Cerrone’s reach and often led himself into counter knees to the body. Cerrone belongs in the title discussion but with Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar scheduled to fight in August and Nate Diaz already next in line, Cerrone is going to have to continue to fight through the absurd gauntlet of the UFC lightweight division if he wants a shot at the belt.
In other action on the card, Amir Sadollah earned a win with a questionable split decision over Jorge Lopez. Neither fighter was overly impressive and both had chances to assert themselves and earn a clear victory. Because they did not, the judges were left with a difficult fight to score and in that scenario, the fighters have only themselves to blame if they lose. Lopez won the first round and Sadollah the second with the third being the round in question. Two of the judges gave it to Sadollah based on his striking in the middle of the round and that was enough to earn him the win. Despite the win, Sadollah will need to bring more to the cage in his next fight if he hopes to fulfill his promise as an Ultimate Fighter winner.
Yves Jabouin dominated Jeff Hougland and did everything except finish the fight. Hougland showed a strong heart and could have allowed the fight to be stopped multiple times but forced to Jabouin to earn the stoppage, which Jabouin was unable to do. Jabouin dropped Hougland in the first round with a spinning back kick to the body but was unable to finish. He repeated the feat in the third round with a left hand to the jaw but once again, Hougland fought through and got back to his feet. Basically, Jabouin did exactly what one would expect from him when facing an overmatched opponent.
In the slugfest of the night, Igor Pokrajac defeated Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision. Pokrajac showed growth building on his knockout of Krzysztof Soszynski. He made the fight competitive on the feet landing knees from the clinch and punches on the outside. When necessary, he mixed in takedowns and controlled Maldonado on the ground. Had he simply taken Maldonado down and kept the fight on the ground, the fight would not have been nearly as close. His willingness to stand with a professional boxer could have cost him the fight but he managed to absorb the punishment and earn the victory.
In the main card opener, Tom Lawlor knocked out Jason MacDonald early in the first round. Both fighters started aggressively with MacDonald shooting for a takedown. Lawlor stuffed it and landed a left hand to the chin, a right to the temple, another right on the ground and the fight was over. The knockout gave Lawlor a much needed win and an opportunity to build some momentum going forward.
Igor Pokrajac (24-8) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-4) This fight forecasts to be a slugfest between two light heavyweights who both have knockout power. Pokrajac showed his power in his last fight with an impressive first.
Igor Pokrajac (24-8) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-4)
This fight forecasts to be a slugfest between two light heavyweights who both have knockout power. Pokrajac showed his power in his last fight with an impressive first round KO win over Krzysztof Soszynski. Soszynski has been a durable fighter throughout his career so finishing him in under a minute showed a lot from Pokrajac. But he will face a different challenge in Maldonado who has just as many fights and a better record in boxing than he does in MMA. Maldonado lost a close fight with Kyle Kingsbury in has last UFC appearance after defeating James McSweeney in his debut. Even in the loss, Maldonado did serious damage to Kingsbury and one wonders how smart it would be for Pokrajac to stand and test his boxing.
Pokrajac would be best served to try to put Maldonado on his back and control him. Maldonado has a decent ground game but Pokrajac is definitely capable of grounding him with his wrestling and outgrappling him from there if he chooses to do so. Based on Pokrajac’s history, it seems likely that he will instead choose to stand and try to outstrike the man with a professional boxing background.
Maldonado is the favorite at -170 with Pokrajac the underdog at +140. The line is set appropriately considering that Pokrajac could win this fight if he employs the correct gameplan. But the bookmakers expect Pokrajac to stand as well and if he does, Maldonado should be able to outbox him to a decision.
Tom Lawlor (7-4) vs. Jason McDonald (25-15)
The headline fight has title implications. The fight between Cerrone and Stephens features two dynamic strikers. Amir Sadollah is an Ultimate Fighter winner looking to stay above water. But this fight has the potential to steal the show. Tom Lawlor and Jason MacDonald both give full effort to finish the fight with every technique.
MacDonald has been fighting professionally since 1999. He has seen the sport grow from a niche sport struggling to survive on PPV to a mainstream juggernaut with featured fights airing in primetime on network television. He can do everything. He isn’t the best in the world at anything but he will compete wherever the fight goes and that’s exactly what he’ll have to do in this fight because his opponent will determine where this fight takes place. Lawlor’s wrestling is the most singularly dominant aspect of either fighter’s game and he will have the choice of whether he wants to stand and strike with MacDonald or take him down and grapple. He will be better served to keep the fight standing as he has a clear advantage on the feet. Lawlor can finish with his hands and he should be able to outbox MacDonald. If he decides to play the ground game, things could get interesting. MacDonald is an explosive grappler who goes for the finish the whole time he’s on the ground. Lawlor’s wrestling is probably superior to MacDonald’s submission game but it would be fun to see them battle for position. If they go to the ground, we could see some fast transitions and entertaining scrambles.
Lawlor is the favorite at -205 with MacDonald the underdog at +165. Lawlor has the better all around game and represents a newer wave of of mixed martial artists who built on the foundation laid by fighters like MacDonald. I expect Lawlor to win by keeping the fight standing and outstriking his veteran opponent but if they decide to entertain us and roll for a while, anything can happen.
