File this one under “least surprising info of the day.” Following back-to-back losses to Brian Stann and Demian Maia at UFC 130 and 136, repectively, word has it that Jorge Santiago has been released by the UFC for the second time. The American Top Team standout’s original run took place back in 2006, where he scored a quick knockout over the now deceased Justin Levens before ending up on the highlight reels of Chris Leben and Alan Belcher for all eternity.
File this one under “least surprising info of the day.” Following back-to-back losses to Brian Stann and Demian Maia at UFC 130 and 136, repectively, word has it that Jorge Santiago has been released by the UFC for the second time. The American Top Team standout’s original run took place back in 2006, where he scored a quick knockout over the now deceased Justin Levens before ending up on the highlight reels of Chris Leben and Alan Belcher for all eternity.
“The Sandman” was given another shot at the big time at UFC 130, where he was put to bed by Brian Stann in a Fight of the Night effort. At UFC 136 Santiago found himself grounded en route to a unanimous decision loss to Demian Maia and subsequently given the boot, which we warned him would happen. Santiago will likely be headed back to Japan, where he should consider changing his nickname to “Godzilla” because the man is scary as hell, until he comes to America.
Following a successful title defense against Kenny Florian at UFC 136, Jose Aldo looks forward to his next challenge. While the UFC featherweight division does lack in competition for the 25-year-old Brazilian, he said he is the champion and expec…
Following a successful title defense against Kenny Florian at UFC 136, Jose Aldo looks forward to his next challenge.
While the UFC featherweight division does lack in competition for the 25-year-old Brazilian, he said he is the champion and expects to face any opponent that is put in front of him.
“I’m the champion, so I’m a target. Everybody watches you, studies you,” Aldo told TATAME.com.
His recent victory over Florian proved why Aldo is regarded as one of the most promising fighters in mixed martial arts and top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. There has been a lot of talk surrounding a potential super-fight between Aldo and UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, who also retained his title at UFC 136.
Aldo said he is open to the idea of meeting Edgar at a future event, however the Brazilian had one stipulation should the potential bout ever come to fruition.
“Frankie (Edgar) is the lightweight champion, so, if he moves down, no problem,” he said. “Just like Kenny did and others are doing… To me it’s OK. I’ll always fight the guys they point out for me to fight.”
Aldo’s difficulty to cut weight was well-documented prior to his title at UFC 129 against Mark Hominick. It was learned that Aldo had suffered an injury during a training session prior to facing Hominick, which forced him to take antibiotics. As a result, Aldo was visibly much more fatigued than usual.
However, Aldo showed no signs of fatigue against Florian and looks more determined to reign atop the division for years to come. It is expected that Chad Mendes will challenge for the featherweight title but no date has been confirmed yet. In regarding his next title defense, Aldo is willing to face the next challenger however he isn’t too worried or focused on his next bout until he discusses plans with his camp.
“Now I’m just taking some vacancies, so I’m not worried about that,” he said. “I’ll return to the trainings and, in the future, I’ll think about it, but I haven’t thought it through.”
(We will be perfect in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. Perfection. Let’s go to work.)
With his come from behind performance against Gray Maynard at UFC 136, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has quickly become one of the more inspirational figures in the sport, so much so that last night, he was called upon by the always inconsistent New York Jets to provide some much needed inspiration heading in to their Monday night match against their long time rival, the Miami Dolphins. Despite making it to the AFC championship game the past two years in a row, the Jets have started the year with a less than stellar 2-3 record, and are in desperate need of a win against the 0-4 Dolphins, who have won their last 3 road games against the Jets.
(We will be perfect in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. Perfection. Let’s go to work.)
With his come from behind performance against Gray Maynard at UFC 136, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has quickly become one of the more inspirational figures in the sport, so much so that last night, he was called upon by the always inconsistent New York Jets to provide some much needed inspiration heading in to their Monday night match against their long time rival, the Miami Dolphins. Despite making it to the AFC championship game the past two years in a row, the Jets have started the year with a less than stellar 2-3 record, and are in desperate need of a win against the 0-4 Dolphins, who have won their last 3 road games against the Jets.
If this scenario sounds familiar, it may be because last November, Edgar was asked to light a similar fire underneath the Jets before their week 11 game with the Houston Texans. The Jets were able to walk away with a unanimous 30-27 nod across the board thanks to Edgar’s efforts…and a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez stated that the champ provided some much needed words of wisdom leading into their victory:
The guy is barely taller than this podium, and this guy, he beats BJ Penn in a UFC Championship bout.Everybody counted him out. They wanted a rematch, and then he went back and beat him even worse. Talk about a guy who’s mentally tough, physically tough. He came in and spoke to the team last night. Perfect timing. Just talking about never giving up, being counted out, playing until the end, fighting and believing in yourself, believing in your team and the people around you. Those were the only people telling him he could win the fight. Everybody else counted him out.
There is no word yet on whether or not Edgar laid out a specific game plan for the Jets, but my guess is it would be something like this:
1. Let the Jets score 4 or 5 touchdowns in the first quarter. Seriously, just let them beat the ever loving shit out of you.
2. ???????
3. Profit
Then again, Edgar could just be teaching Jet’s coach Rex Ryan, an avid MMA fan, some moves for the post game handshake in case Tony Sparano tries anything funny. As a Dolphins fan I can only hope that Edgar’s power remains inside the ring this time around.
After 10 months of answering questions about Leonard Garcia, at least Nam Phan finally can change his response.
Phan first fought Garcia last December at the TUF 12 Finale in Las Vegas, a Fight of the Night-winning slugfest that saw him come out on the short end of a split decision. Though Phan outstruck Garcia in every round, according to Fight Metric, two judges gave Garcia two rounds. The third agreed with most of the fans, as well as the vast majority of MMA media – and gave all three rounds to Phan.
After UFC 136 a week ago in Houston, though, Phan finally got a little closure – and his first UFC victory – with a unanimous decision in another slugfest with Garcia in the rematch. He hopes it’s the one people will ask him about now.
“(The first loss) stung pretty bad,” Phan told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour.” “People were telling me, ‘You got robbed!’ over and over again, reminding me. I tried not to dwell on it, but it took awhile.”
In the rematch, Phan (17-9, 1-2 UFC) was mostly dominant – leaving little doubt in the first two rounds. Though Garcia seemed to hurt him in the third and had him backing up several times, Phan still set a UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a fight, according to FightMetric’s tabulations.
Nam’s 174 significant strikes landed in the 29-28 unanimous decision win passed Chris Lytle in his win over Matt Serra at UFC 119. Phan credited his boxing background, including four professional fights, for his success in the standup game.
“It isn’t always about the power – it’s about the high punch count,” Phan said. “My coach said ‘You have to compete in boxing to get good at striking.’ I started training with him in 2003, and started competing in amateur boxing, Golden Gloves, and then I went to compete in professional boxing. I don’t have a passion for boxing. I don’t love it like I love mixed martial arts. I only did boxing to improve my mixed martial arts skills.”
After 23 pro MMA fights, including a loss in the WEC and a pair of losses in Strikeforce, Phan got a shot at the UFC on “The Ultimate Fighter.” And though he didn’t make the finals, he still got a crack at the promotion. And now he has a win after starting with a pair of losses.
Though the first loss to Garcia had the MMA world screaming robbery, including UFC president Dana White, Phan still knew a third straight loss could be problematic going into the Garcia rematch. But he said he tried to put that out of his mind.
“I wasn’t even thinking about a two-fight losing streak or that I might get cut,” Phan said. “I was going in there to have fun and to make this my best performance ever. This could be my last pitch, and if I strike out I’m going home. So I’ve gotta hit this ball out of the ballpark, man. I can’t take the UFC for granted and (I have to) realize I could get cut. I’ve got to know I’m expendable.”
Now that Phan can breathe a small sigh of relief that he will be sticking around in the UFC for a while, he can start thinking about what might be next for him.
After two Fight of the Night wins in his first three fights, he knows the kind of opponent he’s looking for next.
“Whoever it is, I want that person to put (on) a good fight with me.”
After 10 months of answering questions about Leonard Garcia, at least Nam Phan finally can change his response.
Phan first fought Garcia last December at the TUF 12 Finale in Las Vegas, a Fight of the Night-winning slugfest that saw him come out on the short end of a split decision. Though Phan outstruck Garcia in every round, according to Fight Metric, two judges gave Garcia two rounds. The third agreed with most of the fans, as well as the vast majority of MMA media – and gave all three rounds to Phan.
After UFC 136 a week ago in Houston, though, Phan finally got a little closure – and his first UFC victory – with a unanimous decision in another slugfest with Garcia in the rematch. He hopes it’s the one people will ask him about now.
“(The first loss) stung pretty bad,” Phan told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour.” “People were telling me, ‘You got robbed!’ over and over again, reminding me. I tried not to dwell on it, but it took awhile.”
In the rematch, Phan (17-9, 1-2 UFC) was mostly dominant – leaving little doubt in the first two rounds. Though Garcia seemed to hurt him in the third and had him backing up several times, Phan still set a UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a fight, according to FightMetric’s tabulations.
Nam’s 174 significant strikes landed in the 29-28 unanimous decision win passed Chris Lytle in his win over Matt Serra at UFC 119. Phan credited his boxing background, including four professional fights, for his success in the standup game.
“It isn’t always about the power – it’s about the high punch count,” Phan said. “My coach said ‘You have to compete in boxing to get good at striking.’ I started training with him in 2003, and started competing in amateur boxing, Golden Gloves, and then I went to compete in professional boxing. I don’t have a passion for boxing. I don’t love it like I love mixed martial arts. I only did boxing to improve my mixed martial arts skills.”
After 23 pro MMA fights, including a loss in the WEC and a pair of losses in Strikeforce, Phan got a shot at the UFC on “The Ultimate Fighter.” And though he didn’t make the finals, he still got a crack at the promotion. And now he has a win after starting with a pair of losses.
Though the first loss to Garcia had the MMA world screaming robbery, including UFC president Dana White, Phan still knew a third straight loss could be problematic going into the Garcia rematch. But he said he tried to put that out of his mind.
“I wasn’t even thinking about a two-fight losing streak or that I might get cut,” Phan said. “I was going in there to have fun and to make this my best performance ever. This could be my last pitch, and if I strike out I’m going home. So I’ve gotta hit this ball out of the ballpark, man. I can’t take the UFC for granted and (I have to) realize I could get cut. I’ve got to know I’m expendable.”
Now that Phan can breathe a small sigh of relief that he will be sticking around in the UFC for a while, he can start thinking about what might be next for him.
After two Fight of the Night wins in his first three fights, he knows the kind of opponent he’s looking for next.
“Whoever it is, I want that person to put (on) a good fight with me.”
At the UFC 136 post-fight press conference, Dana White boldly proclaimed that lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was definitively the second best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He declared that the only reason that he wouldn’t place him fi…
At the UFC 136 post-fight press conference, Dana White boldly proclaimed that lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was definitively the second best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He declared that the only reason that he wouldn’t place him first was the fact that Anderson Silva has been undefeated in his entire UFC tenure.
White challenged anyone to try and tell him differently, and his reasoning for placing him second was because of the warrior spirit and heart that Edgar showed by taking a beating and coming back to knock out Gray Maynard in the fourth round of their UFC 136 main event.
White does make an interesting point about the heart of Edgar being on full display, but White is a promoter who needs to sell events.
Is Edgar really deserving of that claim?
As Ariel Helwani tried to point out at the press conference, placing Edgar second raises some interesting points as to where someone like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones should be ranked in the pound-for-pound lists.
While Edgar has certainly shown great heart and comeback ability, men such as Jones and GSP have rarely been tested in their fights and have looked much more dominant than Edgar has.
Say what you will about his style, but GSP won 30-odd rounds while rarely being tested, and Jon Jones has made everyone he faced look like an amateur.
On the other hand, Edgar won the belt from B.J. Penn in a close fight in Abu Dhabi, clearly won the rematch and was then taken to the limit twice by Gray Maynard.
While GSP has one more loss that Edgar has, he has won the belt twice and has had six consecutive title defenses. As we have seen, there is certainly some debate about where Jones should appear in the rankings since he has only one title defense. The truth is that both have looked much more dominant in their time in the UFC than Edgar has.
While there is much to be said about heart, grit and determination, does Frankie Edgar, with two title defenses, one of which was a draw, really deserve to be ranked ahead of Georges St-Pierre? I respectfully have to disagree with Dana White, as does Yahoo! Sports, whose October rankings have him ranked fourth behind Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.
While pound-for-pound lists are always based on speculation, it’s clear that Edgar has a way to go before he can be compared to someone like GSP.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryron and Rener Gracie break down the action from a UFC card, so we decided to give you guys a double dose of knowledge to kick-start your weekend. Above, we have their take on Chael Sonnen’s ever improving Jiu-Jitsu game, which capped off with a second round arm triangle submission of Brian Stann at UFC 136.
Now, moving past how “gentle” Chael was in his victory, the Gracie’s demonstrate and analyze the transitions, guard passes, and remount techniques Sonnen used to defeat Stann with their usual competency, breaking down both the first and second rounds of their middleweight fight. Being a guy trained primarily in the ground game, I can’t say enough how valuable these break downs are.
Check out the Gracie’s breakdown of Jon Jones’ 4th round rear-naked choke over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 after the jump.
-Danga
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryron and Rener Gracie break down the action from a UFC card, so we decided to give you guys a double dose of knowledge to kick-start your weekend. Above, we have their take on Chael Sonnen’s ever improving Jiu-Jitsu game, which capped off with a second round arm triangle submission of Brian Stann at UFC 136.
Now, moving past how “gentle” Chael was in his victory, the Gracie’s demonstrate and analyze the transitions, guard passes, and remount techniques Sonnen used to defeat Stann with their usual competency, breaking down both the first and second rounds of their middleweight fight. Being a guy trained primarily in the ground game, I can’t say enough how valuable these break downs are.
Following a successful title defense against Kenny Florian at 
After 10 months of answering questions about