Tag: UFC 123

UFC 123 Undercard Live Blog: Parisyan vs. Hallman, Griffin vs. Lentz, More

Filed under: UFCAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — This is the UFC 123 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s card at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The four unaired bouts are Dennis Hallman vs. Karo Parisyan, Edson Barboza vs. Mike Lullo, Paul Kelly v…

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — This is the UFC 123 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s card at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The four unaired bouts are Dennis Hallman vs. Karo Parisyan, Edson Barboza vs. Mike Lullo, Paul Kelly vs. T.J. O’Brien
and Nik Lentz vs. Tyson Griffin.

The live blog is below.

Fighter vs. Writer: UFC 123 Picks With ‘Mr. International’

Filed under: UFCWhen last we left the Fighter vs. Writer series, Gerald Harris came out looking like an absolute genius when he refused to pick a winner in the Jorge Rivera-Alessio Sakara fight. At the time it seemed like a tactical error, but then the…

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When last we left the Fighter vs. Writer series, Gerald Harris came out looking like an absolute genius when he refused to pick a winner in the Jorge Rivera-Alessio Sakara fight. At the time it seemed like a tactical error, but then the fight was called off, Harris got the point and the victory, and I became very sad.

This week I match wits with Shonie Carter, a longtime MMA veteran who recently announced he was hanging up the gloves (more on that soon). “Mr. International” has forgotten more about the fight game than most people will ever know, but can he predict the future?

Find out below, as Shonie and I go head-to-head with our UFC 123 picks.

UFC 123 Co-Main Event Breakdown: Hughes vs. Penn III

Filed under: UFCAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — In an attempt to predict the winner of the BJ Penn-Matt Hughes trilogy finale, there’s two ways to look at history. You could either examine their previous fights against each other, and how that could affect a th…

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — In an attempt to predict the winner of the BJ Penn–Matt Hughes trilogy finale, there’s two ways to look at history. You could either examine their previous fights against each other, and how that could affect a third bout since the two are such familiar foes, or you could choose to examine their most recent bouts against their latest opponents. Whichever you felt was more valuable would help you decide which man was more likely to win.

Of course, neither outlook is likely to give you a crystal clear picture of how the fight will actually go. If you went on previous history before their first encounter, Hughes’ 13-match win streak made him a significant favorite over a fighter who was moving up to welterweight for the first time. Of course, he lost. If you went on previous history before their second bout, surely it would stand to reason that since Penn beat him once, he would beat him again. Of course, he lost.

Star Watch Officially Begins for Phil Davis at UFC 123

Filed under: UFCAUBURN HILLS, Mich. — It doesn’t take much more than a cursory look at Phil Davis to realize he’s a physical specimen. He has thick, powerful legs, broad shoulders and barely an ounce of fat on his 6-foot-2 frame.

The deeper you look,…

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — It doesn’t take much more than a cursory look at Phil Davis to realize he’s a physical specimen. He has thick, powerful legs, broad shoulders and barely an ounce of fat on his 6-foot-2 frame.

The deeper you look, you realize the gifts are more than simply what’s at surface level. He is bright, well-spoken, and a realist. He seeks out the best training in all the various parts of MMA, is willing to work his way up from the bottom and puts in his time at the gym. The former NCAA wrestling champion has long been on the radar of MMA insiders, but three fights into his UFC career, fans have been slow to warm to Davis, likely because none of his previous fights has been on a main card.

That changes at UFC 123, when Davis makes his main card debut in a bout with Tim Boetsch. With a win, the Phil Davis hype train may well begin to fuel up and fill up.

BJ Penn Surrounds Himself With New Faces Heading Into UFC 123

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DETROIT — MMA Fighting spoke to BJ Penn on Thursday about his UFC 123 fight against Matt Hughes, why he surrounded himself with different coaches for this fight and whether his days of fighting at 155 are over.

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DETROIT — MMA Fighting spoke to BJ Penn on Thursday about his UFC 123 fight against Matt Hughes, why he surrounded himself with different coaches for this fight and whether his days of fighting at 155 are over.

Trainer Lance Gibson Discusses Re-Tooling Rampage Jackson’s Game

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsDETROIT — Lance Gibson has officially been with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as a striking coach through two training camps, but he’s known the former UFC light-heavyweight champion much longer. The two first met…

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DETROIT — Lance Gibson has officially been with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as a striking coach through two training camps, but he’s known the former UFC light-heavyweight champion much longer. The two first met almost a decade ago, at a Big Bear camp for Tito Ortiz.

At the time, Jackson was in his early PRIDE days, while Gibson was preparing for a Shooto fight in Japan. The two reconnected to help Jackson prepare for his recent grudge match with Rashad Evans, and Gibson has played an even bigger role in preparing Jackson for his fight with Lyoto Machida at UFC 123. He feels the second time around will bear fruit in the octagon.

“The difference between last camp and this one is apples and oranges,” Gibson told MMA Fighting. “His mentality, everything is superb. He’s having more fun, you notice he’s smiling more. He’s enjoying himself. He trained really hard for this fight and he’s excited to show it.”