UFC 136 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 136 Fight Card: What a Win Over Jeremy Stephens Would Mean for Anthony Pettis

Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis comes off his lackluster defeat to Clay Guida, and it came after he was offered to sit out and wait for the winner of Edgar vs. Maynard, something he had no intentions of doing after his impressive WEC win…

If not for that loss and the rescheduling of Edgar vs. Maynard , Pettis could be in the main event tonight fighting one of them.

Instead, he finds himself on the Spike TV undercard of tonight’s event, and it comes against “Lil Heathen” Jeremy Stephens, one of the UFC’s most exciting and durable lightweights.

Stephens comes off his two victories versus Marcus Davis and Danny Downes. His knockout over Davis is one of the leading candidates for 2011’s knockout of the year.

In a fight that could set back Pettis even more if he comes up short, look for him to fight a safe fight and one that he can guarantee himself a victory without taking many risks. That’s something any of Stephens’ opponents would choose not to do, and it will be what wins or loses Pettis this fight.

A victory over Stephens puts Pettis back into the title picture, but it won’t guarantee him a title shot in the stacked lightweight division. It will be one of the more important fights of his career in getting him ready for that potential shot in 2012.

UFC 136 will also host two title fights. The main event will feature UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar going up against Gray Maynard for the third time.

The co-main event will be a featherweight title fight between UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender Kenny Florian. Aldo comes into the bout off his victory over Mark Hominick while Florian was last seen defeating Diego Nunes in his 145 pound debut.

Other main card bouts include Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard, Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann and Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia.

The event will kick off its preliminary card on Facebook at 6 p.m. ET and will feature four bouts, including Mike Massenzio vs. Steve Cantwell.

The Spike TV portion of UFC 136 will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET. It will feature two bouts, including Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago and Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens.

Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for all things UFC 136. B/R is your home for MMA, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage , live results and post-fight analysis…which you can check out on our UFC 136 event hub.

UFC 136 Live Blog: Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago Updates

Filed under: UFC

HOUSTON — This is the UFC 136 live blog for Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago, a middleweight bout on tonight’s UFC 136 on Spike TV preliminary card from the Toyota Center.

Maia (14-3) is coming off a close unanimous decision loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 131 in June. Former Sengoku champion Santiago (23-9) lost his UFC debut in May to Brian Stann via knockout.

The live blog is below.

More Coverage: UFC 136 Results | Latest UFC 136 News

Round 1: The two dance around the cage exchanging punches. Maia flurries, then drives low and takes Santiago down. As Maia tries to pass to a better position, Santiago gets to his feet. We’re almost midway through. Santiago throws a head kick. Maia sidesteps him and lands a hook. During an exchange, Maia takes Santiago down again. Santiago is doing a good job keeping his guard closed against Maia’s dangerous submissions, but Maia lands a few strikes, and rides out the round on top. It’s 10-9 Maia.

Round 2: Santiago takes the middle as Maia wades around the outside. Santiago just misses with a head kick. Santiago has done well in the exchanges but just as he finds his rhythm, Maia takes him down again. Santiago defending well from guard. Maia gives up on trying to pass to a better position and instead looks for strikes. It’s sort of a stalemate, and the crowd boos them for the last 10 seconds. It’s Maia again, 10-9.

Round 3: Maia tries for a single leg takedown, this time Santiago defends. Maia keeps driving for it, and Santiago spins away. He’s got to let his hands go. Maia won’t let him. He clinches again. He has Santiago’s back but can’t drag him down. The pace is a grind. Finally, Maia takes him to the ground with 2:30 left. Maia scores with an elbow. Santiago is so intent on closing his guard that he hasn’t thought of trying to get up. Maia passes to side control but does nothing with it. This crowd is now officially restless. Luckily, time is nearly out. Maia lands a series of elbows in the final seconds, and it’s his again, 10-9.

Winner: Demian Maia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136100%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: UFC

HOUSTON — This is the UFC 136 live blog for Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago, a middleweight bout on tonight’s UFC 136 on Spike TV preliminary card from the Toyota Center.

Maia (14-3) is coming off a close unanimous decision loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 131 in June. Former Sengoku champion Santiago (23-9) lost his UFC debut in May to Brian Stann via knockout.

The live blog is below.

More Coverage: UFC 136 Results | Latest UFC 136 News

Winner: Demian Maia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136100%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

UFC 136 Fight Card: Final Predictions on the Night’s Results for Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens

Jeremy Stephens vs. Anthony Pettis is one of the most interesting forth-coming matchups in the UFC’s lightweight division and it has the potential to be one of the most exciting fights of 2011.Pettis is a relatively new addition to the UFC roster, but …

Jeremy Stephens vs. Anthony Pettis is one of the most interesting forth-coming matchups in the UFC’s lightweight division and it has the potential to be one of the most exciting fights of 2011.

Pettis is a relatively new addition to the UFC roster, but is known well throughout the world for being last WEC lightweight champion and—of course—for his famed Showtime Kick.

Despite all the momentum he had going when he entered the UFC, Pettis had an unsuccessful debut, losing a unanimous decision to Clay Guida.

Pettis now looks to bounce back and once again establish himself as a title contender.

The man standing in his way is Jeremy Stephens, who has been with the UFC for four years now, but never managed to establish himself as anything more than a gatekeeper.

This fight is essentially a matchup between a technical striker in Pettis and a brawler in Stephens.

Stephens has never had particularly technical or proficient striking, but he makes up for it with his vicious power.

Pettis has a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo and is technical on his feet, but also unpredictable.

In the past, we have seen Stephens struggle against technical strikers like Spencer Fisher, Melvin Guillard and Marcus Davis—Stephens beat Davis, but was losing the fight decisively before getting the KO in the third round.

Ultimately, I believe that speed and technique will triumph over brute force in this one.

Pettis will be able to use his footwork and superior stand up to keep Stephens off balance and uncomfortable.

Stephens has hung in there with some heavy handed guys before, so I don`t see Pettis finishing it, but he`ll do enough to snag the decision.

If he lands one clean power shot, Stephens can win this fight, but I don`t think he`ll pull it off.

Anthony Pettis wins this fight via unanimous decision

Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr

UFC 136 Results: Edgar vs. Maynard 3

Filed under: UFC, Results

MMA Fighting has UFC 136 results for all of the Oct. 8 UFC 136 fights, plus live coverage from Houston, live blogs of all the fights and live UFC 136 twitter updates.

In the main event, Frankie Edgar defends his lightweight title against Gray Maynard. Also on the card, featherweight champion Jose Aldo faces Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen returns to Octagon to battle Brian Stann.

Check out the full results below.

Main Card
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (live blog)
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian (live blog)
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann (live blog)
Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia (live blog)
Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard (live blog)

Undercard
Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago (live blog)
Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens (live blog)
Joey Beltran vs. Stipe Miocic (live blog)
Darren Elkins def. Tiequan Zhang via unanimous decision (live blog)
Aaron Simpson def. Eric Schafer via unanimous decision (live blog)
Mike Massenzio def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (live blog)

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136080%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: UFC, Results

MMA Fighting has UFC 136 results for all of the Oct. 8 UFC 136 fights, plus live coverage from Houston, live blogs of all the fights and live UFC 136 twitter updates.

Check out the full results below.

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136080%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

UFC 136 Fight Card: What a Win Would Mean for Jose Aldo

Before UFC 129 the fighting world had nothing but positive things to say about Jose Aldo. He was, after all, the reigning WEC champion and had beaten everyone he faced in spectacular fashion. He even dismantled the face of the WEC, “The Cal…

At UFC 129 Mark Hominick showed the world that Jose Aldo was not invincible. Even with a grapefruit sized hematoma on his head, Hominick showed the world that the champion could be out-worked if you can survive the first couple of rounds. In fact, had the fight gone another round, Aldo may have ended up with a loss. He was visibly gassed and looked to minimize damage and hang on until the final bell. Luckily for him, what he did in the early rounds gave him the decision victory.

At UFC 136, Aldo faces a wiley veteran in Ultimate Fighter alum and ESPN Analyst Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian. Florian is a student of the game and he undoubtedly watched the Hominick fight to study what made Hominick successful. Florian will attempt to capitalize on counter opportunities left after aggressive strikes from Aldo.

Aldo should stay aggressively cautious. Florian has finished nine opponents via submission, so Aldo doesn’t want to put himself in a bad position with a reckless strike attempt. If he manages his striking and uses good takedown defense, he should win this fight.

A win in glorious fashion wouldn’t put to bed the demons of the Hominick fight; they would only create a public outcry for a rematch between the two provided that Hominick gets past Chan Sung Jung at UFC 140.

A loss would only solidify the fact that Jose was a one trick pony. It would show that he’s only a knockout artist that can’t make it through the latter stages of a championship fight. This may not be true, but it’s up to Jose Aldo to prove that.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 136 Fight Card: Kenny Florian "Doesn’t Care" for Jose Aldo’s Status

Kenny Florian is an accomplished UFC veteran who’s skills are often overlooked at times, due to his inconsistency to perform at a high-level against some of the sport’s best fighters. So when there is more focus on his opponent Jose Aldo, and his …

Kenny Florian is an accomplished UFC veteran who’s skills are often overlooked at times, due to his inconsistency to perform at a high-level against some of the sport’s best fighters.

So when there is more focus on his opponent Jose Aldo, and his reputation as a pound-for pound fighter, Florian doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

“They say Jose Aldo is one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but, with days to go until we touch gloves and fight, I’m not listening to anything the so-called experts are saying,” Florian wrote in his blog on ESPN.com.

“Nobody will remember any of that talk when the bell sounds and we step toward each other.”

Florian will challenge Aldo for the lightweight title this weekend at UFC 136. This will be only his second-time competing at 145 pounds, as he previously fought Diego Nunes at UFC 130 where he comfortably walked away with the victory.

While it was a tune-up fight, however, Florian is aware of the Brazilian’s skills and he understands why Aldo is the champion for a reason.

This will be Florian’s fourth weight class he will be competing at in his UFC career, although Aldo might serve as the toughest challenge more than any other opponent that Florian has faced before. And while the odds might be stacked against him, Florian expects to win at UFC 136.

“From first round to last round, I can only see this fight being a grueling scrap and one that takes in all areas of the Octagon. There won’t be a space on that Octagon floor that we won’t both tread at some stage,” he wrote.

“I expect to be bruised and bloodied up at the end of it all, but I also expect my hand to be raised.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com