Tag: UFC 132

Countdown to TUF Brazil

This Sunday, here in America, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil will be debuting on Fuel TV; just two weeks shy of when coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to face off. But instead, for.

This Sunday, here in America, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil will be debuting on Fuel TV; just two weeks shy of when coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to face off. But instead, for yet the fourth time out of the past six seasons, that fight’s not going to happen (but that’s another article for another day). Now the UFC 147 main event will be Wanderlei Silva versus Rich Franklin. Two future Hall of Famers going to war in a five round Fight of the Night rematch from three years past, sounds pretty great doesn’t it? Until you look at the facts and how this is just the latest in a long line of disappointments and changes made to the upcoming UFC: Brazil show.

In one corner we have TUF: Brazil coach ‘the Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva. Who following his UFC 99 loss to Rich Franklin, announced he would be out of action for a while to undergo facial surgery. A scar tissue removal surgery which he desperately needed to repair an oft-broken nose and avoid being easily cut open for future fights, which in the end resulted in a 30% increase in his oxygen intake for his February 2010 middleweight debut against Michael Bisping. A matchup Silva was the Vegas favorite in, (despite only winning one of his last six fights). And after three well contested rounds, Silva wound up getting the win by unanimous decision (his first victory in nearly two years). Yet soon after he would be break three ribs training for a fight against Yoshiro Akiyama, follow that with knee surgery, and in the end wouldn’t be seen in the octagon again until UFC 132 against Chris Leben. An embarrassing 27 second TKO loss that would leave Dana White stating in his opinion, Wanderlei should hang it up. Yet just four months later Silva was given another chance to prove himself, with a thrilling second round TKO victory over Cung Le earning him his third Fight of the Night honor.

And in the blue corner, ever the company man, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin has again answered the call and will be returning earlier than expected from shoulder surgery to fill in for yet another injured TUF coach. Ironically Franklin followed his UFC 99 victory with a loss to Vitor Belfort. Before stepping in to coach the last two weeks of The Ultimate Fighter for a released Tito Ortiz and knocking out Chuck Liddell with a broken arm. Before going on to lose by unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin, and being out of action ever since.

All leading Sportsbook to open the odds at
Wanderlei Silva -145
And Rich Franklin + 115

While it is always fun to see two legends slug it out in the octagon, with both fighters past their prime and out of title contention, in the end this bout is pointless.

Which is probably the reason the coaches’ battle was originally scheduled to be the co-main event, underneath the Anderson Silva Middleweight title defense. Call it simple fight hype, or Chael Sonnen’s brilliant marketing, either way his death threats were able to get their fight relocated to Las Vegas at UFC 148. So how do the more than 12 million weekly Brazilians who tuned in to The Ultimate Fighter get rewarded? After that, and moving the show to Belo Horizonte, the UFC further dissed the Brazilian faithful by refusing to bump up Jose Aldo’s title defense two shows, leaving them with only one other top-name fighter Fabricio Werdum to cheer for. Bottom line: no Jose Aldo, no Anderson Silva, no Junior Dos Santos, and neither Nogueira, Brazil deserves better.

By: J A Keenan

Second champion down, second Interim belt on the line (Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber)

As we all know, one of the most exciting aspects in the sport of mma is the bitter feuds between rivals. As an avid mixed martial arts enthusiast, one can only hope that two rivals.

As we all know, one of the most exciting aspects in the sport of mma is the bitter feuds between rivals. As an avid mixed martial arts enthusiast, one can only hope that two rivals may contend toe to toe in the octagon, to try and determine who was all talk, and who packed a punch, literally, behind their words. The most exciting fight though between rivals is that of a rubber match, the third fight to determine who really comes out on top.

This is the case with Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. As reigning UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz has seen only one loss in his career: the likes of Urijah Faber. They first met at WEC 26. Faber won the fight due to guillotine choke, and successfully defended his title. Years later, after the WEC merged with the UFC, Faber fought against Cruz for Cruz’s championship belt in UFC 132. This time, by unanimous decision, Cruz came out on top.

Now, all UFC fans have been anxiously waiting for the rubber match between these two fighters at UFC. The anticipation and thrill of deciding the ultimate victor is almost too much to bear. I personally had already ordered my ‘Team Cruz’ shirt, put aside my money for pay-per-view, and was already clearing my schedule for the fight. Then while watching The Ultimate Fighter Live on FX, it was announced that Dominick Cruz was out on ACL injury. I was utterly mortified.

One of the frustrating aspects of mma is injury. It happens to the best of fighters, and is a condition that even the best of fighters may face. At UFC 148, Faber will now get the chance to fight for the interim belt. But against who? No one quite knows yet. Not only is this a huge upset for fans, but also for Faber and his training team. He now has to re-focus on a new fighter, a new strategy, and someone with different fighting skills. The only problem is he still has no idea what this entails. As a true gentleman of the sport, he has already stated he does not care who is scheduled to fight him, and he shows no favoritism towards any one fighter to go against.

We can only hope that an opponent is chosen soon for the previous WEC champion. My bet is that Michael McDonald will be slated to fight Faber in July. Whoever his opponent is, one can only hope that Faber does win the fight. Any avid fan of the feud between these two bantamweights can hope to finally see who will come out on top. As their running record stands 1-1 in fights between each other, we are forced to wait for Cruz to heal until we will finally get the privilege to see the ultimate champion between these remarkable fighters.

-Elise Kapala

UFC Live 6: 5 Reasons Dominick Cruz Has Cleaned out Bantamweight Division

At UFC Live on Versus 6, Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz showed why he is the bantamweight king.  Normally Cruz uses angles, quickness and superior striking to subdue opponents.  When he saw that using these traits would quickly lead to a loss,…

At UFC Live on Versus 6, Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz showed why he is the bantamweight king.  Normally Cruz uses angles, quickness and superior striking to subdue opponents.  When he saw that using these traits would quickly lead to a loss, he did what all champions must do at some point in a successful reign.

He adjusted.

He came to the realization that his challenger, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, was faster than him, but he also realized that he was stronger than the natural flyweight-sized competitor.  He used his size and strength to literally throw Johnson around the ring en route to a unanimous decision.

This brought up the obvious question.

Has he actually done what Dana White always says Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva need to do?

Did he clean out the division? 

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Barnett Top Money Earner On $942,150 Payroll for Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov Event Saturday Night


(“Cormier has been fighting how long and he made how much?!” -Photo courtesy of Ric Fogel/ESPN.com)

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett’s $150,000 salary accounted for 16 percent of the $942,150 payroll of Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov event in Cincinnati. The man Barnett defeated, Sergei Kharitonov and his fellow HWGP finalist Daniel Cormier both tied for the second best paid fighters of the night with $100,000 a piece for their efforts, followed closely by Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal who received a flat fee of $85,000 for his win over Roger Gracie, who got $80,000.

Newly-crowned Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold netted $50,000 for his win over Ronaldo Souza, who took home $70,000 and no belt.


(“Cormier has been fighting how long and he made how much?!” -Photo courtesy of Ric Fogel/ESPN.com)

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett’s $150,000 salary accounted for 16 percent of the $942,150 payroll of Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov event in Cincinnati. The man Barnett defeated, Sergei Kharitonov and his fellow HWGP finalist Daniel Cormier both tied for the second best paid fighters of the night with $100,000 a piece for their efforts, followed closely by Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal who received a flat fee of $85,000 for his win over Roger Gracie, who got $80,000.

Newly-crowned Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold netted $50,000 for his win over Ronaldo Souza, who took home $70,000 and no belt.

If not for Tito Ortiz’s $450,000 payday for his win over Ryan Bader, this card’s payroll would have eclipsed UFC 132′s, which is the last UFC event with a mandatory disclosed salary ledger.

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
Saturday, September 10, 2011
U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio

Main Card

Josh Barnett: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Sergei Kharitonov: $100,000

Daniel Cormier: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Silva: $100,000

Luke Rockhold: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Ronaldo Souza: $70,000

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal: $85,000 (no win bonus) def. Roger Gracie: $80,000

Pat Healy: $17,500 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Maximo Blanco: $13,000

Preliminary Card

Mike Kyle: $44,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus) def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima: $5,000

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Yoel Romero: $10,000

Jordan Mein: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos: $20,000

Alexis Davis: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Amanda Nunes: $7,500

Dominique Steele: $5,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Chris Mierzwiak: $3,000

Disclosed fighter payroll: $942,150

———-

UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber
Saturday, July 2, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card

Dominick Cruz: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Urijah Faber: $32,000

Chris Leben: $92,000 (includes $46,000 win bonus) def. Wanderlei Silva $200,000 (flat rate)

Dennis Siver: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Matt Wiman: $18,000

Tito Ortiz: $450,000 (flat rate; no win bonus) def. Ryan Bader: $20,000

Carlos Condit: $68,000 (includes $34,000 win bonus) def. Dong Hyun Kim: $41,000

Preliminary Card

Melvin Guillard: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus) def. Shane Roller: $21,000

Rafael dos Anjos: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. George Sotiropoulos: $15,000

Brian Bowles: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Takeya Mizugaki: $12,000

Aaron Simpson: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus) def. Brad Tavares: $10,000

Anthony Njokuani: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Andre Winner: $14,000

Jeff Hougland: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Donny Walker: $6,000

Disclosed fighter payroll: $1,277,000 58,045.45

Who’s That Octagon Girl?

This seems like the only appropriate reaction.

This leggy beauty won the Hooter’s 2011 Swimsuit Pageant (where a young lady named Arianny Celeste was a judge) and went on the be a Guest Octagon Girl at UFC 132.

Can you name her?

This seems like the only appropriate reaction.

This leggy beauty won the Hooter’s 2011 Swimsuit Pageant (where a young lady named Arianny Celeste was a judge) and went on the be a Guest Octagon Girl at UFC 132.

Can you name her?

Shame on you for forgetting…

Lindsey Way.

[RX]

UFC 132 Results: Melvin Guillard and the Most Explosive Fighters in the UFC

Mixed martial arts is the most dynamic sport on the planet. Physical tools necessary to excel as an ultimate fighter include strength, endurance, speed, eye-hand coordination and power.In layman’s terms, power is referred to as explosiveness. Physiolog…

Mixed martial arts is the most dynamic sport on the planet. Physical tools necessary to excel as an ultimate fighter include strength, endurance, speed, eye-hand coordination and power.

In layman’s terms, power is referred to as explosiveness. Physiologically, explosiveness is the ability to deliver force quickly.

In short, possessing explosiveness means that a fighter can transfer his strength and speed through his strikes quicker than his opponent.

With the evolution of athletes in this world, each subsequent generation is becoming faster, stronger, quicker and more explosive.

The UFC has benefited tremendously from this evolutionary tract of Darwinian theory.

The explosive abilities of Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock were a rarity inside the famed Octagon. Nowadays, that explosiveness is the standard of which most mixed martial artists possess.

Even though more fighters possess all the necessary traits needed to be successful inside the cage, a select few practitioners stand above the rest with respect to their explosiveness inside the Octagon.

Just a side note, this slideshow pertains to currently signed UFC competitors who are on the active duty list. Sorry, Brock Lesnar, even though you are an explosive dynamo, I did not add you to this list.

Additionally, “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort possesses the most explosive hands in the UFC, historically. His return to the famed Octagon has been short lived since his recent re-signing.

Therefore, because Belfort does not have a recent body of work illustrating his explosiveness, I have kept him off of this list as well.

Please follow along as I provide the most explosive UFC fighters competing today.

I welcome your comments.

“Like” me on Facebook and/or Follow me on Twitter

Todd Seyler

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