Tag: UFC 126

UFC 126 Fight Breakdown: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveLAS VEGAS — The careers of two distinguished fighters intersect at the perfect time at UFC 126. Both Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin are returning after injury layoffs. Both are former champions, both are 3-2 in t…

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LAS VEGAS — The careers of two distinguished fighters intersect at the perfect time at UFC 126. Both Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin are returning after injury layoffs. Both are former champions, both are 3-2 in their last five fights, both are crowd favorites, and the list goes on.

Due to its physical nature, mixed martial arts is a sport with a short prime, and Franklin and Griffin are both intent on proving they have some “prime” left to their respective careers, even if it comes at the expense of the other. Which one has more left in the tank?

For all we know, Franklin might still be reigning over the middleweight division if Anderson Silva had never come to town. But after two losses to Silva, Franklin has been in a veritable no man’s land, taking fights in the light-heavyweight division as well as catch weight fights. With championship thoughts still dancing in his head, Franklin can certainly make a strong statement regarding his place in the 205-pound weight class by beating the division’s former champ.

UFC 126 Cram Session: ESPN Entertains McNeil’s Hearsay; Jones Says It’s ‘Silly’ to Think Bader Will Take Him Down

(VidProps: ESPN)
If you’re not already pumped for UFC 126, there isn’t much we (or modern medicine) can do for you at this point. The card is stacked, the matchups are stellar and the UFC middleweight champion showed up at the weigh-in looki…

(VidProps: ESPN)

If you’re not already pumped for UFC 126, there isn’t much we (or modern medicine) can do for you at this point. The card is stacked, the matchups are stellar and the UFC middleweight champion showed up at the weigh-in looking like he just stepped out of the orgy scene in “Eyes Wide Shut” and damn near started a brawl. What more do you want? Fine, we’ve got a couple more tidbits for you, but after this we’re done until tonight’s live blog and tomorrow’s aftermath retrospectives.

First, some interesting stuff came out of ESPN’s MMA Live weigh-in special (video at top) on Friday. Most notably, Franklin McNeil makes the wild, barely attributable claim that estranged trainer Shawn Tompkins has been leaking secrets to Anderson Silva’s camp since splitting with Vitor Belfort a couple weeks ago. Basically McNeil quotes “several” anonymous sources telling him hazy things about Tompkins “being in contact with Team Silva” and he “assumes” that it means Tompkins is stabbing Vitor in the back. Dude, and people call us rumor mongers? He also refers to Shawn Tompkins as “Thompson” at least once here, but that’s really beside the point.

Also, we’ve got quotes from Jon Jones that make him sound either totally prepared for Ryan Bader, or not prepared at all. It’s all after the jump …

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Fighter vs. Writer: UFC 126 Picks

Filed under: UFCLast time on Fighter vs. Writer, Sean McCorkle suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in the history of the series. It was brutal, it was ugly, and — I have to be honest — it was not anywhere near as satisfying as I thought it woul…

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Last time on Fighter vs. Writer, Sean McCorkle suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in the history of the series. It was brutal, it was ugly, and — I have to be honest — it was not anywhere near as satisfying as I thought it would be.

So for UFC 126 I decided to challenge myself. I decided to go after bigger (although technically physically smaller) game. I decided to take on someone who would make picks on the basis of something other than his hatred for Clay Guida’s brother.

Enter Kenny Florian. As an ‘MMA Live’ analyst and occasional color man on the UFC broadcasts, he’s serious competition. But is he good enough? Find out below, as we go head to head with our UFC 126 picks.

UFC 126: By the Odds

Filed under: UFCSuper Bowl weekend must be a difficult time for habitual gamblers. When the big game rolls around, you can bet on everything from the opening coin toss to the final score to whether Christina Aguilera will wear a cowboy hat while singin…

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Super Bowl weekend must be a difficult time for habitual gamblers. When the big game rolls around, you can bet on everything from the opening coin toss to the final score to whether Christina Aguilera will wear a cowboy hat while singing the national anthem.

Of course, if you’re actually considering betting on a pop star’s accessories you should immediately check yourself into a treatment facility, but that’s not the point. The point is, when you hear stuff like that it makes those of us who love to roll the dice on things we can actually evaluate with semi-intelligent analysis (two grown men fighting each other, for instance) seem pretty darn reasonable by comparison.

There’s plenty to evaluate on Saturday night’s fight card in Las Vegas, so how do the online oddsmakers see UFC 126 going down? Follow me below for a look at the latest betting lines.

UFC 126 Weigh-In Video

Filed under: UFCAll 22 fighters at UFC 126 will step on the scale at the UFC 126 weigh-ins Friday evening, and we’ll carry the video live, right here at MMAFighting.com.

In the main event, middleweight champion Anderson Silva and No. 1 contender Vitor…

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Forrest Griffin will participate in the UFC 126 weigh-ins on Friday afternoon.All 22 fighters at UFC 126 will step on the scale at the UFC 126 weigh-ins Friday evening, and we’ll carry the video live, right here at MMAFighting.com.

In the main event, middleweight champion Anderson Silva and No. 1 contender Vitor Belfort will both have to make the 185-pound limit. Silva is big for the middleweight class, but he never seems to have much trouble making weight. Belfort, however, could make things interesting: The last time he fought it was at a 195-pound catchweight, and he actually came in over at first and had to step on the scale a second time before making it.

The UFC 126 weigh-in takes place Friday at 7 PM ET, but the Q&A session won’t be streamed live before it.

UFC 126 Preview Video

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta and I look at all the intriguing storylines heading into Saturday night’s much anticipated UFC 126 pay-per-view event in our UFC 126 preview video.

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta and I look at all the intriguing storylines heading into Saturday night’s much anticipated UFC 126 pay-per-view event in our UFC 126 preview video.