(One of these days, Josh Barnett is going to choke to death on a peanut in a room full of people, and nobody will realize what’s going on until it’s too late. Everyone will just think, “There’s good ol’ Josh, threatening our lives again.” / Photo via Getty)
Both men are on two-fight win streaks, with Barnett most recently TKO’ing Frank Mir during his UFC homecoming last month at UFC 164, and Browne coming off his first-round knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem. The winner of this fight immediately stakes a claim to UFC heavyweight title contendership, assuming that the promotion won’t just have Velasquez and Dos Santos fight each other over and over and over again, forever.
Even though Barnett is just four years older than Browne, the two heavies represent a generational clash of the sport’s modern eras. Will Barnett big-brother the less-experienced Hapa, or will Browne’s new-school approach win the day?
In other booking news…
Ever since his unsuccessful featherweight title challenge against Jose Aldo in January 2012, Chad Mendes has been on a killing spree, scoring first-round stoppages of Cody McKenzie, Yaotzin Meza, and Darren Elkins, before upping the level of difficulty with a brilliant third-round TKO of Clay Guida last month at UFC 164. One more impressive win could earn the Team Alpha Male product another shot at the 145-pound belt, and he now has an opportunity to do just that.
(One of these days, Josh Barnett is going to choke to death on a peanut in a room full of people, and nobody will realize what’s going on until it’s too late. Everyone will just think, “There’s good ol’ Josh, threatening our lives again.” / Photo via Getty)
Both men are on two-fight win streaks, with Barnett most recently TKO’ing Frank Mir during his UFC homecoming last month at UFC 164, and Browne coming off his first-round knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem. The winner of this fight immediately stakes a claim to UFC heavyweight title contendership, assuming that the promotion won’t just have Velasquez and Dos Santos fight each other over and over and over again, forever.
Even though Barnett is just four years older than Browne, the two heavies represent a generational clash of the sport’s modern eras. Will Barnett big-brother the less-experienced Hapa, or will Browne’s new-school approach win the day?
In other booking news…
Ever since his unsuccessful featherweight title challenge against Jose Aldo in January 2012, Chad Mendes has been on a killing spree, scoring first-round stoppages of Cody McKenzie, Yaotzin Meza, and Darren Elkins, before upping the level of difficulty with a brilliant third-round TKO of Clay Guida last month at UFC 164. One more impressive win could earn the Team Alpha Male product another shot at the 145-pound belt, and he now has an opportunity to do just that.
Lentz has made an impressive career resurgence since dropping down to featherweight last year, earning three straight victories, the last two of which came against Brazilian fighters in Brazil. Prior to that, “The Carny” had compiled an Octagon record of 5-2-1 (w/1 NC) competing at 155 pounds.
As usual, Mendes should be a heavy favorite for this one, although the matchup is far from a squash match. Do you think Money Mendes deserves another title shot with a win here?
(“So then Frodo was all like ‘Give me back the ring!’ and I was all like ‘No way, dude!’ Anyways, long story short, the sumbitch burned me. He burned me bad.” Photo via Getty.)
After unveiling that the next season of The Ultimate Fighter would feature a head-scratching, perhaps even nonsensical coaching matchup, the UFC Tonight gang actually hinted at and/or confirmed a few matchups that fans might actually give two shits about. It’s called progress, you guys. All three of these fights are being pegged for UFC on FOX 9, which goes down in Sacramento, California on December 14th, so let’s start with the only matchup to be confirmed last night.
Currently riding an impressive three-fight win streak, Urijah Faber will be facing an incredibly tough challenge in Michael “Mayday” McDonald at the aforementioned event. Both men are coming off wins over Yuri Alcantara and Brad Pickett, respectively, at Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun. Fun fact: This four fight stretch marks the longest Faber has gone without receiving a title shot of some kind (or defending a title) since his first five fights as a professional. Dude’s like the Mick Jagger of MMA.
In other, more tentative fight booking news…
(“So then Frodo was all like ‘Give me back the ring!’ and I was all like ‘No way, dude!’ Anyways, long story short, the sumbitch burned me. He burned me bad.” Photo via Getty.)
After unveiling that the next season of The Ultimate Fighter would feature a head-scratching, perhaps even nonsensical coaching matchup, the UFC Tonight gang actually hinted at and/or confirmed a few matchups that fans might actually give two shits about. It’s called progress, you guys. All three of these fights are being pegged for UFC on FOX 9, which goes down in Sacramento, California on December 14th, so let’s start with the only matchup to be confirmed last night.
Currently riding an impressive three-fight win streak, Urijah Faber will be facing an incredibly tough challenge in Michael “Mayday” McDonald at the aforementioned event. Both men are coming off wins over Yuri Alcantara and Brad Pickett, respectively, at Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun. Fun fact: This four fight stretch marks the longest Faber has gone without receiving a title shot of some kind (or defending a title) since his first five fights as a professional. Dude’s like the Mick Jagger of MMA.
In other, more tentative fight booking news…
UFC Tonight also hinted that the promotion is currently trying to book the lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and T.J. Grant for UFC on FOX 9 as well. The matchup hinders on whether or not Pettis’ knee will be healed up from the sprain he suffered in his title-winning effort over Ben Henderson at UFC 164 last month. All the signs seem to indicate that Pettis will be ready to go in a matter of weeks, so look forward to seeing this bout top what is already looking like another spectacular UFC on FOX card. The fight will also be Grant’s first since withdrawing from his fight with Bendo due to injury and being replaced by, you guessed it, Anthony Pettis. Let’s hope these two can stay healthy.
Additionally, a bout between Travis Browne and Stipe Miocic is also being put together for the December card. Browne is fresh off a come-from-behind KO victory over Alistair Overeem, also at Fight Night 26, whereas Miocic most recently bounced back from his first career loss with a three round beatdown of Roy Nelson at UFC 161. The only outside factor preventing this fight from being confirmed is that of the indefinite medical suspension Browne received after allegedly cutting his foot on Overeem’s glass chin (allegedly). Browne will need to be cleared for by an orthopedist and opthamologist before he can be given the go-ahead against Miocic.
Who do you like for this trio of sure-to-be-slugfests, Nation?
Ben Rothwell fought a fairly underwhelming fight for the majority of his UFC 164 contest with Brandon Vera. It may have been more a result of Vera’s backpedaling strategy, but Rothwell eventually got the finish.
Speaking with Joe Rogan after the fight,…
Ben Rothwell fought a fairly underwhelming fight for the majority of his UFC 164 contest with Brandon Vera. It may have been more a result of Vera’s backpedaling strategy, but Rothwell eventually got the finish.
Speaking with Joe Rogan after the fight, Rothwell called out Travis Browne. The UFC contender took to Twitter to respond to Rothwell’s callout.
Browne continued, saying Rothwell is out of his league:
Rothwell responded saying his callout wasn’t done maliciously.
Browne replied to the UFC 164 winner by saying he should earn the high-profile fights by his performance in the cage, not with an interview.
Rothwell and Browne were supposed to meet up last year, but an injury forced Rothwell out of action. Browne has subsequently shot up the rankings with wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Alistair Overeem in his recent fights. Rothwell meanwhile has alternated wins and losses since joining the UFC’s ranks.
Rothwell was doing his best to help get a big matchup with the Wisconsin crowd behind him, and you cannot blame him since it seems a lot easier to get high-profile fights through talking rather than actually fighting.
You also cannot blame Browne for not being interested as it’s clear the two men are nowhere near one another in the heavyweight rankings.
This past Saturday, Alistair Overeem suffered his second loss in a row at the feet and hands of Travis Browne on UFC on Fox Sports 1 at TD Garden in Boston.
The fight, which ended at 4:08 of the first frame, and pre-fight were hauntingly similar to his…
This past Saturday, Alistair Overeem suffered his second loss in a row at the feet and hands of Travis Browne on UFC on Fox Sports 1 at TD Garden in Boston.
The fight, which ended at 4:08 of the first frame, and pre-fight were hauntingly similar to his last loss against Antonio “Big Foot” Silva.
Overeem weighed in on Friday not flaunting his once pronounced superhero physique, but hunched by the weight of deflated pectorals, which hung like popped steroid balloons. He walked to the cage, less with the fierceness of an impending fight, but more with the bravado of entering a “Knockout of the Night” award ceremony.
The former K-1 kickboxing champion spent the better part of the fight dominating his opponent with punches, kicks and knees. And just when the audience was confident of the outcome, Overeem took a deep breath, dropped his hands, and got hit with a vicious knockout blow.
The opponent celebrated above him, like a float in a nightmare parade, while Overeem slumped into the canvas like a muscular bean bag chair.
And yet afterwards, little is heard about the opponent, perhaps slight murmurs of their determination and courage.
But their efforts are drowned out by the blitzkrieg of Overeem questions. Are his loses due to low testosterone, endurance or ego? Will or should the UFC cut the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion? What is Overeem’s legacy?
For MMA fans and journalists, Overeem is MMA’s version of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. “The Reem,” a former light heayweight prospect, seemingly overnight transformed into a heayweight, a comic book drawing, a chiseled mass of muscle.
Few speculated about the results, but Overeem promised it was due to a steady diet of weight lifting, protein and horse meat, in a 2010 interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. And shockingly that answer seemed to suffice.
Dream heavyweight champion. K-1 Grand-Prix heavyweight champion. Strikeforce heavyweight champion. The community became so entranced by his accomplishments, so mystified by his wins, that we did not stop to think if we should.
We were far too busy watching his mini-documentaries, creating Overeem highlight reels, watching his countless appearances on foreign television, and proclaiming Overeem as not only one of the greatest heavyweights but fighters of all time.
And then in 2011, UFC signed Overeem.
“The Demolition Man” dismantled former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the first round at UFC 141. And in return, the MMA community predicted the Dutchman would eventually wear UFC gold.
But then, Overeem failed a pre-fight drug test for a potential title bout against now former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. Overeem had a 14-1 testosterone-to-epitestotesrone (T/E), well over the allowed ratio rate of 6-to-1, according to ESPN.com.
Immediately, fans and journalists, ones who only revered the man’s efforts, now stood on internet platforms claiming to have “known all along” about Overeem’s steroid use. The community denounced his efforts, accomplishments and championship belts, saying they were all built on a false foundation.
Overeem served a suspension and arrived back on the scene a physical shell of his former self, a melted mountain of muscle. MMAFighting.com released a report of extreme low levels of testosterone. And after these two knockout losses, that once superhero physique seems more super than hero.
Where he once walked through the community as a feared physical specimen, he now stumbles lonely and confused, searching for a past he may never find.
And if nothing changes, Alistair Overeem will be forever be remembered as a man who was morally and physically slayed by his own baton. Or steroid needle.
Alistair Overeem proved once again at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen that he is one of the most talented choke artists in the world, and I’m not talking about his famous guillotine. More than that, Travis Browne showed the kind of toughness which on…
Alistair Overeem proved once again at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen that he is one of the most talented choke artists in the world, and I’m not talking about his famous guillotine. More than that, Travis Browne showed the kind of toughness which one does not usually see in the heavyweight division.
The heavyweight division, whether it be in boxing or MMA, has always been characterized by the emotionally fragile giants who populate it. Sure you see crazy comebacks, but almost inevitably they are a big punch which lands while flailing wildly and hoping for a way out. Very few men at heavyweight can sit through a pasting and grit their teeth until things get better.
It is often the case that the heavyweight division is dominated by smaller men who have the cardio, the work ethic and the lack of a bully mentality that allows them to come back from the horrible bull rush, which large heavyweights almost invariably attempt in the first minutes of a fight.
The men who can endure — the Muhammad Alis, the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueiras and the Fedor Emelianenko—will always be remembered as the greats, while the Alistair Overeems and Brock Lesnars will always be remembered as terrifying but only so long as they get their way.
That Browne can show such durability as a relatively large heavyweight is a great sign.
From the beginning of the fight, Overeem showed his brilliant aggression with a perfectly varied assault. Body shots, knee strikes to the legs and midsection and flurries of punches upstairs, despite the inevitable joking about “K-1 Level Striking” following his knockout loss, Overeem looked every bit the world class striker in the first moments of the fight.
Overeem showed, once again, the finest knee strikes in MMA. Moving Browne to the fence, Overeem did an excellent job of avoiding being tied up close and smothered. Overeem used his head underneath of Browne’s to keep Browne upright while moving his own hips back enough to create room enough between the two fighters’ torsos to throw knee strikes through.
Overeem was able to drop Browne with a beautiful side knee (criminally underused in MMA) as Browne returned to the feet from defending a guillotine attempt.
Now I can’t break down heart. I can’t tell you how Travis Browne got back up off the mat and ate numerous more knees to the midsection and a couple to the head and went straight back to work. What is important is that he did, and once back on the feet, he got to work with a clear game plan.
Something which fans often lose sight of is that styles make fights, and no amount of “MMath” can accurately predict how a fight will play out. Overeem’s K-1 Grand Prix title is a real achievement, only idiots use Mark Hunt and Overeem’s losses by strikes as evidence that K-1 lacked legitimacy. What Travis Browne did was to exploit something in Overeem’s game which world champion kickboxers missed.
BadrHari famously got revenge on Alistair Overeem for his 2008 loss to the Dutchman by countering with his right straight inside of Overeem’s open left hook. What Browne and his team did was to find a flaw in Overeem’s defense rather than his offence.
From the moment he was back on his feet and free to work, Browne bombarded Overeem with flicking, high roundhouse kicks and front snap kicks to the midsection. This is a technique which I spoke about the other day in reference to ConorMcGregor, and one which is used by far too few fighters. One of the few other major proponents of front snap kicks to the body in MMA is the current light heavyweight king, Jon Jones, unsurprisingly also a student of Browne’s coaches, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson.
To me the real beauty of martial arts is that there are so many places to look for weaknesses or even characteristics, which could be considered strengths but can be turned against a fighter. One basic concept from boxing is that an upright fighter is basically invulnerable to the traditional uppercut.
Archie Moore (whom I examined in a video in the week) was one of the greatest technical boxers ever, and before his match with Rocky Marciano he observed in an interview with Sports Illustrated Marciano’s habit for missing uppercuts so often. Moore insisted that the uppercut is a defensive punch: not to a specific strike from the opponent but a counter to their posture and aggression. If an opponent leans forward, as many more aggressive fighters do without realizing, it is the time to uppercut them and no other time.
We can extend these principles to other strikes from underneath as well, such as the flying knee and the front snap kick. Both of these techniques Browne attempted. As Overeem plodded forward and carried his head well forward of his hips, he was in the perfect position to be struck from below.
Browne completely eschewed punches and threw kicks almost exclusively, switching between roundhouse kicks to the head, and front snap kicks to the body and head. Each time a snap kick hit Overeem’s midsection he looked peeved. Each time a snap kick came up through his guard he looked downright confused.
The technique is not at all common in kickboxing, and I honestly wonder if anyone in Overeem’s camp was ever going to start throwing front snap kicks at his face. Overeem’s stance—crouched with his head forward of his hips—is tailor made for this kick on reflection, and it was a great spot by Browne’s camp.
Overeem’s double forearm defense was stifled by the fact that when he tried to bring his elbows in to block the kicks’ path, Browne immediately clipped him with a roundhouse kick around the side of Overeem’s arms.
With the victory, Travis Browne takes a step forward into serious consideration for a title shot in a division which is sparse on championship prospects. Further to this, Browne is a 6’7″ heavyweight who can head kick, stick to a game plan and survive a horrible pasting to come back strong. He might be rough around the edges, but there is always room for him to grow into a truly elite heavyweight.
With his second loss in a row, Alistair Overeem faces the threat of another streak of losses as famously plagued him before his move to heavyweight, but ultimately up until he was masterfully stopped in his tracks, he was dominating Browne and looked every bit a well rounded force.
Overeem will almost inevitably get another chance to prove himself, and with the lack of fighters using the front snap kick and the inevitable reevaluation which will take place in his camp after this, it is hard to see Overeem dropping below the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Roy Nelson or Frank Mir in the heavyweight ranks.
Pick up Jack’s eBooksAdvanced Striking and Elementary Striking from his blog, Fights Gone By.
Travis Browne kind of shocked the world on Saturday night. Well, at least in the betting sense.
He was very much a live dog going into his bout with Alistair Overeem, and once he overcame some early trouble and started finding his range on a rapidly ga…
Travis Browne kind of shocked the world on Saturday night. Well, at least in the betting sense.
He was very much a live dog going into his bout with Alistair Overeem, and once he overcame some early trouble and started finding his range on a rapidly gassing opponent, it was all over but the crying.
Browne hit a front kick to knock the Dutchman out cold and immediately rocketed himself into title talk thanks to his impressive showing of toughness and technique.
With a heavyweight title fight only a couple of months out, Browne could be no more than another solid win away from getting the winner of Velasquez-Dos Santos III. Some possible opponents to get him that win include:
