(Quinton Jackson warily high-fives Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at the 1st Annual Pornstar Ball in Las Vegas, back in 2009. Seriously.)
The UFC announced yesterday that light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have agreed to square off at UFC 135, September 24th at the Pepsi Center in Denver. It will be Jones’s first title defense, after winning the belt from Mauricio Rua in March. Meanwhile, Jackson is riding back-to-back decision wins over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill. It may not pack the kind of grudge-match heat that Jones vs. Rashad would have had, but at least Jones and Jackson disagree on the motorboating issue. So, anybody think Rampage actually has a chance against the young phenom?
A pair of heavyweight scraps have also been reportedly added to the event…
(Quinton Jackson warily high-fives Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at the 1st Annual Pornstar Ball in Las Vegas, back in 2009. Seriously.)
The UFC announced yesterday that light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have agreed to square off at UFC 135, September 24th at the Pepsi Center in Denver. It will be Jones’s first title defense, after winning the belt from Mauricio Rua in March. Meanwhile, Jackson is riding back-to-back decision wins over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill. It may not pack the kind of grudge-match heat that Jones vs. Rashad would have had, but at least Jones and Jackson disagree on the motorboating issue. So, anybody think Rampage actually has a chance against the young phenom?
A pair of heavyweight scraps have also been reportedly added to the event…
– Travis Browne vs. Rob Broughton. Not exactly a step up for Browne, who’s coming off his dramatic knockout of Stefan Struve at UFC 130. Still, Broughton is on a five-fight win streak and won his UFC debut last October by choking out Vinicius Queiroz at UFC 120.
– Mark Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell. Hunt snapped a six-fight losing streak when he knocked out Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 in February. Rothwell is coming off a decision win over Gilbert Yvel last June, but hasn’t been active since then due to knee surgery.
Filed under: UFC, NewsHeavyweight knockout artist Travis Browne has an opponent and date for his next fight, two weeks after his KO of the Night-winning performance at UFC 130. Browne has agreed to face former British Cage Rage champion Robert Broughto…
Heavyweight knockout artist Travis Browne has an opponent and date for his next fight, two weeks after his KO of the Night-winning performance at UFC 130. Browne has agreed to face former British Cage Rage champion Robert Broughton at UFC 135, according to UFC president Dana White on UFC.com.
Browne-Broughton joins another recently confirmed heavyweight matchup on the card, Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt.
At UFC 130, Browne (11-0-1) immediately gained relevance in the UFC heavyweight division with a Superman Punch finish against Stefan Struve. Entering the fight off a draw against Cheick Kongo, Browne with the win over Struve moved his record in the UFC to 2-0-1.. Broughton (15-5-1) won his UFC debut last October and hasn’t competed since.
Rothwell (31-7) fought only once last year, defeating Gilbert Yvel via unanimous decision at UFC 115. After the fight, Rothwell underwent knee surgery and has been sidelined without a fight until recently. Hunt (6-7) fought earlier in February, scoring a KO of the Night at UFC 127 over Chris Tuchscherer. The win ended Hunt’s six-fight losing streak that spanned nearly five years.
(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.
Quinton Jackson:Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.
Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.
(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.
Quinton Jackson:Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.
Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.
Frank Mir: Unfortunately, back-to-back wins over Mirko Cro Cop and Roy Nelson have done nothing to raise this guy’s stock. I think a fight against Brendan Schaub still makes sense, as long as Schaub finds a way to get past Big Nog in August and Mir is willing to sit out for a while. At that point, fighting the TUF 10 finalist might be considered a step up for Mir.
Roy Nelson: Throw him up against Cro Cop on the Spike Prelims portion of a pay-per-view event. The loser leaves the Octagon forever. And for Christ’s sake, Roy, talk to Mike Dolce.
Travis Browne: After a 2-0-1 UFC stint against solid competition, I’d like to see Browne get a modest step up against another dangerous bastard — namely Mike Russow, who is also undefeated in three Octagon appearances. Russow is coming off a doctor’s stoppage TKO of Jon Madsen, which followed his legendary comeback knockout of Todd Duffee. It’s a matchup that would produce a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division.
Rick Story: With six wins in a row, he’s now qualified to call out any 170-pounder in the UFC outside of Georges St. Pierre — and for some reason, he’s chosen Jon Fitch. Dude, what? Nobody looks good fighting Jon Fitch, except GSP himself. Instead, Story should be calling out Josh Koscheck, who’s just as highly-regarded as Fitch, but more likely to produce a memorable fight. In a way, Story is like the second-coming of Koscheck — a seasoned wrestler with power in his hands — so a meeting between the two makes a lot of sense.
Brian Stann: The UFC’s 185-pound division is heavy at the middle right now, so one more impressive win could break Stann out of the logjam and set him on a title track. But all the other contenders in the middleweight division seem to be booked right now. The best option? Have the All-American fight the winner of Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz, who meet at UFC 131 on June 11th.
Demetrious Johnson: If you’ve compiled a four-fight win streak with your last two victories coming against Miguel Torres and Kid Yamamoto, then yes, you are one of the top dogs in the bantamweight division. But I’d like to see how well Mighty Mouse does against a fighter who can stop his takedowns — and there are a number of 135-ers in the UFC who fit that description. July’s UFC 132 event holds two possibilities: Urijah Faber if he loses to Dominick Cruz in the main event, or former champ Brian Bowles if defeats Takeya Mizugaki. Either opponent would be a trial-by-fire for Johnson, but he’s earned it.
(BG)
Got any other suggestions for UFC 130′s fighters? Let us know in the comments section…
The MMA Hour will be off on Monday due to Memorial Day, but the show returns on Tuesday at its usual 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT start time with another loaded lineup. Here’s who you will hear from:
* Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren will be in studio to talk about his upcoming title defense against Jay Hieron.
* Clay Guida will discuss Saturday night’s lightweight battle against Anthony Pettis.
* Mike Swick will talk about his long road back to the Octagon and his upcoming fight at UFC 134.
* Chad Mendes will explain why he chose to fight at UFC 133 instead of wait for Jose Aldo to get healthy.
* Kyle Kingsbury will discuss his TUF Finale fight on Saturday night against Fabio Maldonado.
* Heavyweight Travis Browne will discuss his first round knockout win against Stefan Struve at UFC 130.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.
*** You can now stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
Editor’s Note: Today’s show is over and a replay will be available by Wednesday.
The MMA Hour will be off on Monday due to Memorial Day, but the show returns on Tuesday at its usual 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT start time with another loaded lineup. Here’s who you will hear from:
* Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren will be in studio to talk about his upcoming title defense against Jay Hieron.
* Clay Guida will discuss Saturday night’s lightweight battle against Anthony Pettis.
* Mike Swick will talk about his long road back to the Octagon and his upcoming fight at UFC 134.
* Chad Mendes will explain why he chose to fight at UFC 133 instead of wait for Jose Aldo to get healthy.
* Kyle Kingsbury will discuss his TUF Finale fight on Saturday night against Fabio Maldonado.
* Heavyweight Travis Browne will discuss his first round knockout win against Stefan Struve at UFC 130.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.
*** You can now stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
Editor’s Note: Today’s show is over and a replay will be available by Wednesday.
UFC 130 delivered a few special moments, including a tremendous knock out (Superman Punch) of Stefan Struve by Travis Browne and a great Memorial Day Weekend Win for Brian Stann who KO’d Jorge Santiago in.
UFC 130 delivered a few special moments, including a tremendous knock out (Superman Punch) of Stefan Struve by Travis Browne and a great Memorial Day Weekend Win for Brian Stann who KO’d Jorge Santiago in the 2nd round. The fights also offered some interesting news bits… like that we should all take better notice of Rick Story as he earned a 6th win to his fight streak in the Welterweight division. And even though Frank Mir clearly dominated Roy Nelson in their 3 rounds, it was still Mir who suffered a broken jaw and was off to the hospital while Nelson joyfully blamed Dan Hardy for his poor “british wrestling” that may have lost him the fight. Lastly, we heard pending the outcome of his hand injury that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will receive the title-shot against Jon Jones.
And with the fight card’s culmination we also see that despite any injuries and losses suffered, all the fighters still managed to get out to their after parties and have a good time.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(“Hold up…you mean ya’ll were watching that shit???”)
Coming off of a semi-contested and equally boring win over Lyoto Machida, Rampage’s performance last night was meant to be more than a notch in the win column. If all went according to plan, it would have provided the UFC with the type of highlight-reel footage Jackson hasn’t produced since his knock out victory over Wanderlei Silva in 2008 and had fans clamoring for a fight against Jon “Bones” Jones. But last night’s fight yielded few fireworks if any. Hamill’s mantra in the lead-up to the bout was that he would break Jackson’s will, but only a few minutes into the bout it was “The Hammer” who looked like he’d rather be anywhere than in that cage. Going 0-17 in his plodding, telegraphed takedown attempts, Hamill was unable to get the fight to the ground and understandably reluctant to stand and trade with Rampage. As for Jackson, he did deviate slightly from his hands-heavy style–incorporating knees, elbows, and even a few token kicks into his attack–but he didn’t initiate or go in for the kill against a clearly gun-shy Hamill. After the fight, Jackson put some of the blame on a fractured hand he injured back in December of last year. [Note to Quinton: we believe you and all, but you’re not supposed to talk about that kind of stuff, bruh.] . Despite the lackluster performance, Dana White has stated that pending the positive outcome of tests on Rampage’s hand, he will likely be the first challenger to Jones’s belt.
If there were any questions about Frank Mir’s place in the heavyweight division following his first-round loss to Shane Carwin and coma-inducing win over faded star Mirko Cro Cop, they remain completely unanswered. His one-sided victory over the obese Roy Nelson says less about his dedication to training than it does “Big Country’s” lack of it. The time has come to call the “Big Country” experiment a flop. The myth of his terrific cardio has been dispelled in consecutive losses to Dos Santos and Mir, where he served as a very exhausted, very durable durable punching bag for the full three rounds. The dude has a terrific chin—did he even blink when he ate those crushing elbows late in round three?–but the notion that he can walk into the Octagon with Cheeto fingers and compete with the top of the division is absurd. Fatigue reduced his vaunted ground game to rolling to his ample belly and working his way to his feet; it’s an impressive trick even without Frank Mir on top of him, but it’s not enough to compete at this level. Mir looked good taking Nelson down at will and landing some heavy shots, but it’s fair to say that “Big Country” was looking for the path of least resistance throughout the fight, even if it meant getting smashed in the face or tossed to the mat. Despite his lethargic performance, Nelson does possess power in his hands- Mir left the Octagon with a broken jaw and rib to accompany his win bonus.
As for the rest of the card, they did their part to entertain and it’s a shame that their work was soured by the last thirty minutes of cage-time. Brian Stann opened the night with big knockout over the returning Jorge Santiago in the “Fight of the Night”. UFC heavyweightTravis Browne secured his spot on a future ‘Ultimate Knockouts’ dvd by felling mighty oak Stefan Struve in spectacular fashion. Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a tough-to-call decision over Miguel Torres in a hyper-active fight contested largely on the ground. Top Welterweight Thiago Alves was given no room to work against Rick Story. Story kept constant pressure on Thiago, pressing him to the cage and working for takedowns. His decision victory marks his sixth straight win in the UFC. Tim Boetsch looked dominant in his first fight at Middleweight, rag-dolling Kendall Grove in a one-sided decision. This was Da Spyder’s second consecutive loss and his third in four outings. Late replacement Rafaello Oliveira was overpowered by Lightweight juggernaut Gleison Tibau. Tibau’s second round ground and pound forced Oliveira to surrender his back and tap out to a rear naked choke in the evening’s only submission.
Heavyweight knockout artist 
