Roy Nelson’s been toying with us all about his new, streamlined look, and last night he dangled that carrot in front of us just a bit longer. “Big Country” stepped onto the stage concealing his new figure like the boys at Mercedes test driving a prototype in public. Even with the excess padding (and to be fair, we are just assuming that wasn’t his real physique), Nelson weighed only 252 lbs.
Roy Nelson’s been toying with us all about his new, streamlined look, and last night he dangled that carrot in front of us just a bit longer. “Big Country” stepped onto the stage concealing his new figure like the boys at Mercedes test driving a prototype in public. Even with the excess padding (and to be fair, we are just assuming that wasn’t his real physique), Nelson weighed only 252 lbs.
Despite dispensing nutritional advice earlier in the week, Tyson Griffin showed up three pounds over the allowance yesterday afternoon. Unable to cut the extra weight, he’ll forfeit 25% of his purse and his bout with Bart Palaszewski will go down at a catch weight of 148 lbs. Check out Rogan’s reaction when he’s on the scale, and we’ll let the looks of disappointment and anger from everyone else tell the rest of the tale.
Nick Diaz has spoken at length about BJ Penn being a friend, going so far as to say that tonight’s bout isn’t “a normal fight for me, it’s more of a sporting competition this time around. I hope nobody’s too disappointed if it doesn’t go the same as it always does.” Well, you can take the fighter out of Stockton (barely), but you can’t take the Stockton out of the fighter. As soon as the two main-eventers came head to head, this fight became as personal as any for the former Strikeforce champion. Hold up– is that Diaz taking a swing at Penn as the two are separated?!? Sometimes these things happen at weigh-ins.
Filed under: UFCThe main event for UFC 137 may have seen its share of tweaking, but it’s not the only fight on this card with high stakes. Several fighters on Saturday night’s lineup could be just one loss away from unemployment, and one or two could e…
The main event for UFC 137 may have seen its share of tweaking, but it’s not the only fight on this card with high stakes. Several fighters on Saturday night’s lineup could be just one loss away from unemployment, and one or two could even be facing retirement if they can’t pull out a win.
Who are they, and what are their chances for crafting a brighter future for themselves in Las Vegas this weekend? For answers, we turn to the Cut List.
Roy Nelson (15-6, 2-2 UFC) Who he’s facing:Mirko Filipovic Why he’s in danger: “Big Country” has lost two straight, and while he might have a very valid reason for looking like a man about to die from exhaustion in his last fight, it still didn’t make a great impression on his employers. You factor in his occasionally obstinate independent streak, not to mention a physique that, rightly or wrongly, the UFC would probably rather not try to present to the world as that of a world-class MMA fighter, and you might be looking at a man that the organization wouldn’t mind doing without. In the plus category, Nelson has a solid fan following, in part because of the very same idiosyncrasies that might make him unappealing at times to the UFC. He’s also a name-brand heavyweight, and the UFC needs all of those that it can get. The infusion of the Strikeforce big men will certainly help bolster the division, but the UFC might still be reluctant to cast off too many heavies while there’s still value left in them. Chances of getting cut: Unlikely. The best thing Nelson has going for him here is the likelihood that he’ll win this fight. Oddsmakers have him as a nearly 3-1 favorite. As long as he’s healthy and focused, he should beat Cro Cop and solidify his employment situation.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-9-2 [1 NC], 4-5 UFC) Who he’s facing: Roy Nelson Why he’s in danger: Like Nelson, Cro Cop has lost two in a row. He’s also at the end of his current UFC contract, and Dana White has implied that he’s only giving Filipovic this fight because he owes it to him. Even if he gets the upset victory, it’s far from guaranteed that the UFC would see enough of a future in the 37-year-old Croat to sign him to a new contract. If he loses, well, he’s already said that he’ll not only leave the UFC, but also apologize to its fans and its front office for failing to “justify the treatment” he’s received. It’s enough to make you wonder, under what circumstances would this not be Filipovic’s final fight in the UFC? Even if he kicks Nelson’s head into the third row, the best possible outcome might be Cro Cop calling it quits anyway and going out on a high note. Then again, rarely does one come across an aging MMA legend who doesn’t interpret a victory as a sure sign that he should keep fighting indefinitely. Chances of getting cut: Very good. But don’t think of it as a cut. Think of it as the natural (even necessary) end of something that we all knew couldn’t last forever. His stay in the UFC has been unspectacular, and his status as a legend is already established. No need to prolong this any further.
Tyson Griffin (15-5, 8-5 UFC) Who he’s facing:Bart Palaszewski Why he’s in danger: Griffin hit the dreaded three-fight skid recently, but managed to save himself by dropping down to featherweight and notching a decision win over Manny Gamburyan back in June. It was enough to grant him a temporary stay, but just barely. Now, facing another WEC transplant, he needs to show he can do more than just get by. The UFC might need featherweights to bolster the relatively thin (ha!) division, but it doesn’t need 145-pounders who can wrestle just well enough to win close, forgettable decisions. Griffin hasn’t had an impressive performance since he knocked out Hermes Franca over two years ago. If he wants a future in the UFC, he needs to show that he can not only get his hand raised, but entertain a few people along the way. Chances of getting cut: Decent. If he loses this fight (oddsmakers doubt he will), he’s almost certainly gone. Fortunately, Palaszewski is weak in all the places where Griffin is strong. If he gets this one to the mat and keeps it there, Griffin will probably stick around for at least a little while longer.
Eliot Marshall (10-3, 3-2 UFC) Who he’s facing: Brandon Vera Why he’s in danger: It’s no secret that UFC officials aren’t big fans of Marshall’s fighting style. If they were, they probably wouldn’t have cut him after a 3-1 stint the first time around. He got back in the fold mostly by volunteering for a short-notice fight against Luiz Cane, which he lost swiftly and thoroughly, but which still earned him the chance to show the UFC what he could do with proper notice and time to prepare. If Marshall loses here, it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll get dropped again. If that happens, he says, he’ll hang up the gloves and call if a career. If that doesn’t give him the necessary sense of desperation to go out and lay it all on the line here, nothing will. Of course, Vera’s looking at a similar situation, yet is a 5-1 favorite to knock Marshall right into retirement. Chances of getting cut: Very good. It’s hard to see how Marshall beats Vera. Perhaps a compelling fight would be enough to keep him around even in defeat, but don’t bet on it.
Brandon Vera (11-5 [1 NC], 7-5 [1 NC] UFC) Who he’s facing: Eliot Marshall Why he’s in danger: Vera also knows what it’s like to feel the sting of the UFC axe. If not for Thiago Silva’s non-human urine sample, he’d still be out of a job. But fair is fair, and the UFC rightly realized it couldn’t send a guy packing for losing to a juiced-up opponent, so “The Truth” gets one more chance to get it right. Both Vera and trainer Lloyd Irvin say he’s a different man in the gym now that he’s rediscovered his passion and motivation, but we’ve heard that before. The real test is whether he can perform in the cage under such tremendous pressure. The good news for Vera is that Marshall is a very, very beatable opponent. He probably doesn’t have the power or the wrestling chops to make it a ground fight for very long, and on the feet he’s in serious trouble. Or at least, he will be if Vera decides to use all his tools consistently and aggressively. We haven’t seen that in some time, but he has to know it’s now or never. Chances of getting cut: Unlikely. This is Vera’s fight to lose, and I doubt he will. Even if he performs at a fraction of his abilities, it’s probably enough to beat Marshall. It just won’t be enough to stick around for very long after that.
By his own admission, Bart Palaszewski took the road less traveled to the UFC.
When the WEC merged into its big Zuffa brother last fall, most of its mainstays ported over to work for the new boss, same as the old boss – but with a lot more notoriety. And Palaszewski was no exception.
The fact it has taken him nearly a year for his long-awaited first fight in the promotion makes him stand out, though. Along the way, he lost 10 pounds and a big chunk of his hearing, but he promises he’ll be wearing a big grin Saturday.
“I’m just going to put a big smile on my face,” Palaszewski told host Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” on Monday. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I took the road less traveled – 50 fights to get to the UFC ” but I wouldn’t change anything. I want to put on a helluva show and prove to (UFC president) Dana (White) and everyone in the UFC that I’m worthy.”
Palaszewski (34-14, 4-3 WEC) was scheduled to meet Cody McKenzie at UFC 130 in May. But an injury chased McKenzie from the fight, and soon after Palaszewski also had to pull out of the fight. That was to be his first fight in six months, after a tough split decision loss to Kamal Shalorus at the WEC’s final event in December.
The Poland-born Palaszewski, who trains at Jeff Curran‘s gym north of Chicago and was a mainstay on the Midwest fight circuit before becoming a star in the IFL, self-diagnosed himself with a concussion. But that wasn’t the case.
“I thought I had a concussion, so we pulled out (of UFC 130) with a concussion,” Palaszewski said. “But I had MRIs done and CT scans and they couldn’t find anything. So they sent me to an ear, nose and throat specialist, and I had a bad inner ear infection that attacked the nerve that controls your balance.”
Turns out it was the mother of all ear infections, and after the virus went to work on the nerve in Palaszewski’s left ear he was left with 30 percent hearing loss – for the rest of his life. Though Palaszewski joked that means he doesn’t hear as much of his wife’s complaining, he acknowledged “it wasn’t too fun the first few weeks.”
But there was an upside to pulling out of his May fight, and that was a chance to heal up and make the decision to drop from lightweight to featherweight, the division he’ll make his UFC debut in at UFC 137 on Saturday in Las Vegas against Tyson Griffin.
Rather than having to make a tough cut to 145, Palaszewski said he was able to make a smart cut and scale back his training and fighting schedule for the first time in, well, ever.
“Sometimes you sit down and think ‘ring rust, ring rust.,'” Palaszewski said. “But at the upper echelon, you can’t be fighting every three months. That’s insane. So this was the beginning of me slowing down a little bit. Between IFL and WEC, we kept a pretty busy schedule. I was fighting almost every month, so I never could make the (145) cut (before now).”
Palaszewski doesn’t get a walk-through for his first UFC fight, but Griffin (15-5, 8-5 UFC) is the kind of win that could put him on the map with a larger audience. The former lightweight stalwart, had just two losses – to former and current UFC champs Sean Sherk and Frankie Edgar – before a recent three-fight slump. He broke out of that skid in June with a majority decision win over Manny Gamburyan in his UFC featherweight debut.
Palaszewski said he believes Griffin’s drop to featherweight has made him more dangerous, and he knows Griffin’s wrestling base is something he’ll have to watch for. But he seems up for the challenge.
“There’s a couple things we’ve changed and added to my game that are going to give him a hard time and go from there,” Palaszewski said. “Since I fought Kamal, I’ve been working on wrestling. He took me down a couple times, but I stuffed him a couple times and I was super happy with that. All through this year, up until the McKenzie fight, I was working my wrestling a lot.”
But takedown defense, ring rust, weight cuts and even how much less of his wife he can hear now will go out the window, he hopes, for a few seconds when Bruce Buffer announces his name.
“I’m stoked. I should be probably be nervous, because it’s big time,” Palaszewski said. “I’m one of the lucky four fighters on Spike that night, and it should be more pressure on me because of that. But I’m just turning it into positive energy. I just want to get on the scale, make weight, get some good food in me and put on a good show the following night.”
Palaszewski and Griffin fight on the Spike TV-broadcast preliminary card of UFC 137 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The UFC 137 main card features a main event welterweight contenders bout between former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn and former Strikeforce 170-pound champ Nick Diaz.
By his own admission, Bart Palaszewski took the road less traveled to the UFC.
When the WEC merged into its big Zuffa brother last fall, most of its mainstays ported over to work for the new boss, same as the old boss – but with a lot more notoriety. And Palaszewski was no exception.
The fact it has taken him nearly a year for his long-awaited first fight in the promotion makes him stand out, though. Along the way, he lost 10 pounds and a big chunk of his hearing, but he promises he’ll be wearing a big grin Saturday.
“I’m just going to put a big smile on my face,” Palaszewski told host Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” on Monday. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I took the road less traveled – 50 fights to get to the UFC ” but I wouldn’t change anything. I want to put on a helluva show and prove to (UFC president) Dana (White) and everyone in the UFC that I’m worthy.”
Palaszewski (34-14, 4-3 WEC) was scheduled to meet Cody McKenzie at UFC 130 in May. But an injury chased McKenzie from the fight, and soon after Palaszewski also had to pull out of the fight. That was to be his first fight in six months, after a tough split decision loss to Kamal Shalorus at the WEC’s final event in December.
The Poland-born Palaszewski, who trains at Jeff Curran‘s gym north of Chicago and was a mainstay on the Midwest fight circuit before becoming a star in the IFL, self-diagnosed himself with a concussion. But that wasn’t the case.
“I thought I had a concussion, so we pulled out (of UFC 130) with a concussion,” Palaszewski said. “But I had MRIs done and CT scans and they couldn’t find anything. So they sent me to an ear, nose and throat specialist, and I had a bad inner ear infection that attacked the nerve that controls your balance.”
Turns out it was the mother of all ear infections, and after the virus went to work on the nerve in Palaszewski’s left ear he was left with 30 percent hearing loss – for the rest of his life. Though Palaszewski joked that means he doesn’t hear as much of his wife’s complaining, he acknowledged “it wasn’t too fun the first few weeks.”
But there was an upside to pulling out of his May fight, and that was a chance to heal up and make the decision to drop from lightweight to featherweight, the division he’ll make his UFC debut in at UFC 137 on Saturday in Las Vegas against Tyson Griffin.
Rather than having to make a tough cut to 145, Palaszewski said he was able to make a smart cut and scale back his training and fighting schedule for the first time in, well, ever.
“Sometimes you sit down and think ‘ring rust, ring rust.,'” Palaszewski said. “But at the upper echelon, you can’t be fighting every three months. That’s insane. So this was the beginning of me slowing down a little bit. Between IFL and WEC, we kept a pretty busy schedule. I was fighting almost every month, so I never could make the (145) cut (before now).”
Palaszewski doesn’t get a walk-through for his first UFC fight, but Griffin (15-5, 8-5 UFC) is the kind of win that could put him on the map with a larger audience. The former lightweight stalwart, had just two losses – to former and current UFC champs Sean Sherk and Frankie Edgar – before a recent three-fight slump. He broke out of that skid in June with a majority decision win over Manny Gamburyan in his UFC featherweight debut.
Palaszewski said he believes Griffin’s drop to featherweight has made him more dangerous, and he knows Griffin’s wrestling base is something he’ll have to watch for. But he seems up for the challenge.
“There’s a couple things we’ve changed and added to my game that are going to give him a hard time and go from there,” Palaszewski said. “Since I fought Kamal, I’ve been working on wrestling. He took me down a couple times, but I stuffed him a couple times and I was super happy with that. All through this year, up until the McKenzie fight, I was working my wrestling a lot.”
But takedown defense, ring rust, weight cuts and even how much less of his wife he can hear now will go out the window, he hopes, for a few seconds when Bruce Buffer announces his name.
“I’m stoked. I should be probably be nervous, because it’s big time,” Palaszewski said. “I’m one of the lucky four fighters on Spike that night, and it should be more pressure on me because of that. But I’m just turning it into positive energy. I just want to get on the scale, make weight, get some good food in me and put on a good show the following night.”
Palaszewski and Griffin fight on the Spike TV-broadcast preliminary card of UFC 137 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The UFC 137 main card features a main event welterweight contenders bout between former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn and former Strikeforce 170-pound champ Nick Diaz.
UFC 137 is just a week away, featuring what some believe to be a welterweight number one contender match between B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz. If you weren’t convinced by our betting advice for the main event, then perhaps the words of Stephan Bonnar, Manny Gamburyan, Tyson Griffin, and Phil Baroni will do your thinking for you. And from the looks of it, you’re thinking B.J. Penn is going to come out on top, because that’s what the consensus seems to be for these pros.
UFC 137 is just a week away, featuring what some believe to be a welterweight number one contender match between B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz. If you weren’t convinced by our betting advice for the main event, then perhaps the words of Stephan Bonnar, Manny Gamburyan, Tyson Griffin, and Phil Baroni will do your thinking for you. And from the looks of it, you’re thinking B.J. Penn is going to come out on top, because that’s what the consensus seems to be for these pros.
The question on everyone’s mind is of course, which B.J. Penn will show up to this fight; will it be the killer that put Matt Hughes away in less time than it takes to peel an anti-theft sticker off a DVD, or the somewhat lackadaisical Penn that was picked apart by Frankie Edgar and George St. Pierre? Well, according to our inside sources, Penn is indeed training his ass off for this one, but Nick Diaz has never been one to go away quietly, unless it’s at a press conference or any sort of interview type scenario. The other outside factor that’s been overlooked in this match-up is that of Diaz’s reach, which could pose heaps of problems for Penn as it did in his second fight with GSP.
So, what say you, Potato Nation? Who takes this one?
UFC 137 Main card Welterweight Championship: Georges St.Pierre vs Carlos Condit Condit is without a doubt the most dangerous opponent St. Pierre has fought yet, but I think GSP is going to win this fight easier than most people think. Condit is a guy who has fantastic armbars and devastating standup. What is probably going
UFC 137 Main card
Welterweight Championship: Georges St.Pierre vs Carlos Condit
Condit is without a doubt the most dangerous opponent St. Pierre has fought yet, but I think GSP is going to win this fight easier than most people think. Condit is a guy who has fantastic armbars and devastating standup. What is probably going to happen though is that GSP is going to confuse Condit with takedown fakeouts and overwhelm with a number of strikes. Then do late round takedowns and avoid the submission to secure the round. Condit wins if he gets lucky and catches GSP with punches. I don’t see a submission happening. GSP and his team are smart enough to never stay in the guard of Condit. If GSP controls from the half guard, Carlos is likely not going to get up the entire round.
GSP.
Welterweight bout: BJ Penn vs Nick Diaz
Nick Diaz. Did you think I wouldn’t pick him coming back to the UFC? Not like this fight is easy.
Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs Matt Mitrione
Mitrione is on a hot streak for sure, but I think Kongo is the more talented overall fighter. Unless it goes to the ground. Mitrione has better top control. Matt could GnP this one, while Kongo likes to win on the feet. I’m feeling Kongo here.
Heavyweight bout: Mirko Filipovi? vs Roy Nelson
I gotta go with Roy. He can take a tremendous amount of damage and put it on the other guy himself. Plus if it goes to the ground, his belly is a huge advantage.
Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs George Roop
Everytime I don’t pick this guy, he crushes his opponent. Roop.
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Lightweight bout: Dennis Siver vs Donald Cerrone
Featherweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs Bart Palaszewski
Griffin. He will stay close to Bart all night and that is where Bart’s weaknesses are inside the grappling range. If Griffin stays on the inside he should win this one.
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Middleweight bout: Brad Tavares vs Dustin Jacoby
No pick, but Tavares has some power.
Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen vs Jeff Curran
Glad to see Curran back in the UFC after a long stint outside. Jorgensen is that Guidaesque grinding wrestler and Curran has no problem fighting off his back. I can see Jorgensen taking a decision win here, but would be cool to see Curran pull off the sub.
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs Eliot Marshall
Vera easy.
Lightweight bout: Ramsey Nijem vs Danny Downes
Nijem
Middleweight bout: Chris Camozzi vs Francis Carmont
Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Bellator, Rankings, FeatherweightsJose Aldo is continuing to run roughshod over the rest of the featherweight division, improving his professional MMA record to 20-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Kenny Florian at UFC 1…
Jose Aldo is continuing to run roughshod over the rest of the featherweight division, improving his professional MMA record to 20-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Kenny Florian at UFC 136. So does anyone at 145 have a chance against Aldo?
So far it hasn’t looked like it. It’s not just that Aldo has won every single one of his fights since coming to North America at WEC 34 in 2008. It’s that none of his fights have been close. He’s shifted from being a knockout artist to usually winning one-sided decisions, but he really hasn’t been tested by anyone.
Is Chad Mendes the man to change that? He’s certainly the most worthy challenger to Aldo’s title. We’ll run down the top of the featherweight division below.
Top 10 featherweights in MMA (Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)
1. Jose Aldo (1): After struggling to cut down to 145 pounds, Aldo has talked about moving up to lightweight, but I think that would be a mistake. I don’t think he has the frame for 155, and I think he’d really struggle against big lightweight wrestlers. In fact, I think he might struggle against a good featherweight wrestler like …
2. Chad Mendes (2): The undefeated Mendes was a good college wrestler and may be the opponent to put Aldo on his back and keep him there. If there’s anyone in the featherweight division who represents a threat to Aldo, it’s Mendes.
3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Hioki is the big question mark in the UFC‘s featherweight division. He’s about to make his UFC debut after going on a great run in Japan, and if he can make the adjustment to the cage and the North American unified rules, he could be a title contender: Hioki’s reach, high-volume striking and active guard make him a tough puzzle to solve. Unfortunately, the recent track record of Japanese fighters coming to the U.S. has not been good. Hioki makes his debut against George Roop at UFC 137.
4. Pat Curran (NR): Curran has looked sensational since dropping from lightweight to featherweight, and after seeing him knock out Marlon Sandro, I think he’s the best featherweight outside the UFC. Bellator has a strong featherweight division, and fights with Joe Warren or Patricio “Pitbull” Freire would be great matchups for Curran.
5. Erik Koch (8): Koch looked good in his September victory over Jonathan Brookins, which improved his record to 13-1, with the only loss coming against Mendes. At age 23, Koch has a very bright future ahead of him.
6. Mark Hominick (7): After taking several months off following his loss to Aldo, Hominick will return at UFC 140 against Chan Sung Jung in what should be an outstanding battle.
7. Kenny Florian (4): It’s tough to see where Florian goes from here. He’s good enough that he’s earned three title shots in his career, but not good enough to win any of them, or even be competitive in any of them. And at age 35, with 20 pro fights under his belt, it’s not like he’s suddenly going to get a lot better. Still, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Florian. He can have a gatekeeper role at either featherweight or lightweight, even if he’s done fighting for belts.
8. Tyson Griffin (NR): Featherweight — not lightweight — has always been the right weight class for Griffin. It was the right weight class for him when he beat Urijah Faber in 2005, and it’s the right weight class for him now, after he’s moved back down from lightweight and beaten Manny Gamburyan. Up next for Griffin is a featherweight fight with another former lightweight, Bart Palaszewski, at UFC 137.
9. Tatsuya Kawajiri (NR): Another former lightweight dropping down, Kawajiri put on a good show in submitting Joachim Hansen at Dream.17. I’d like to see the UFC add Kawajiri to its featherweight roster.
10. Dustin Poirier (9): The 22-year-old Poirier is a rising star at featherweight. He gets Pablo Garza on the undercard of the November 12 UFC on Fox event.
The main event for 
By his own admission, 
Jose Aldo
