This weekend will host UFC 136, one of the most anticipated cards of the year headlined by a third bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and No. 1 contender Gray Maynard.They last fought to draw at UFC 125, where Edgar looked to be all bu…
This weekend will host UFC 136, one of the most anticipated cards of the year headlined by a third bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and No. 1 contender Gray Maynard.
They last fought to draw at UFC 125, where Edgar looked to be all but out in the first round after a barrage of punches from the challenger.
Edgar survived, getting dropped three times to fight back and earn a draw while retaining his title.
Edgar is 0-1-1 against the challenger, and they will fight for the third time this Saturday.
It has been a while since the UFC has featured a third bout between two fighters. Some of the more famous trilogy fights the Octagon has hosted include Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture and the third bout between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva.
These are four trilogies we would like to see in the near future.
Filed under: UFCWith UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a litt…
With UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a little special help on the parlay from one of my MMA Fighting colleagues.
At last, a title defense where Edgar is the favorite, however slight. The last time these two met, the champ was a +115 dog. I know, because I went back and looked at my own betting odds picks for UFC 125, which means I am now sufficiently humbled. Let’s just say I didn’t exactly knock that one out of the park, though I did pick Edgar when many thought he’d simply get held down for five rounds. Now that he’s proven not only his mutant healing abilities between rounds, but also his wrestling prowess, I’m not surprised that oddsmakers are giving him the slight edge.
Still, the line is so close that you aren’t going to profit all that much from taking the underdog flyer on Maynard. For those of you struggling to understand what +110 means, imagine yourself putting down $100 on Maynard and then making $110 if he wins. Also imagine yourself being very, very sad if he doesn’t. Then at least you’ll understand what you’re letting yourself in for if he can’t shove Edgar around for five rounds to become the new champ. My pick: Edgar. He’s proven he can stay off his back against Maynard. If he can only stay out of the way of those power punches, he’ll be in business.
Florian is the kind of guy you want to root for, and by ‘you’ I mean me. He’s a diligent worker, a borderline obsessive student of the game, and a real thinking man’s fighter. One thing he’s not, at least so far, is championship material. Oddsmakers don’t seem to think that will change against Aldo, and I have to admit that I agree. Florian isn’t going to stand there and out-strike Aldo. Not without getting his legs turned to hamburger. He’ll have to put him down, but can he reliably do that, especially in the early rounds? I’m not so sure, at least not unless Aldo suffers through another brutal weight cut like the one he had before the Hominick fight. Florian’s best chance might come in the later rounds, but only if he can make it that long. Even then, he’ll probably be so behind on the scorecards that he’ll absolutely need to start finishing fights at 145 pounds. Easier said than done against the champ. My pick: Aldo. Honestly, it’s not even worth a parlay pick at these odds, but neither is Florian worth the underdog risk.
If you know me, you know I have to have at least one big/somewhat reckless underdog pick per event. If I don’t, I go crazy and try to bait strangers at the gas station into giving me 3-1 odds on whether I can jump over a moving car (turns out I can’t; lesson learned). This time around, I had to take a hard look at Stann, who needs only to keep from getting out-wrestled in order to have a very good chance in this one. Normally, I wouldn’t like his chances to do even that, but Sonnen has been off for a very, very long time. Much of that time was spent trying to convince the California State Athletic Commission that he doesn’t mean what he says, except for when he does, and distractions like that are rarely helpful. Cage rust affects different fighters in different ways, but if I had to bet (and it’s kind of the purpose of this whole feature) I’d wager that Sonnen will be not quite as sharp as usual, and it’ll cost him. My pick: Stann. I wouldn’t bet the house, or even the condo, but I will throw some small action on the real American hero this time around.
Back when he was an immature, though talented fighter who would beat himself more often than not when given a chance, Guillard was still a scary opponent. Now that he’s got his act together, dude is positively terrifying. Lauzon’s best chance is to get it to the mat and submit him, but the last time Guillard tapped out was in 2009, when he was foolish enough to shoot a takedown on Nate Diaz and get himself guillotined in the process. He’s a much smarter fighter than that now, so Lauzon better have a plan B. Matter of fact, he better have plans C-N, too, because I don’t see him shooting a double-leg and putting/keeping Guillard down long enough to submit him. My pick: Guillard. Again, it’s not even juicy as a parlay addition, but what are you going to do?
Quick question: do we have different judges for the rematch? If so, then you have to give Phan the edge. If it’s the same people who think haymakers, whether they connect or not, are enough to win a fight, then take your chances with Garcia. Garcia’s problem isn’t just that he likes to brawl — it’s that he doesn’t like to do anything else, such as defend his face. He’s a great guy — one of the nicest and most down-to-earth in this business, really — and when he finds a willing dance partner, his style is fun to watch. It’s also predictable, and when opponents can keep from getting sucked into it he runs into problems. My pick: Phan. This one might be more suitable as parlay material, but then you never know what those wacky judges will do.
Quick picks:
– Mike Massenzio (+125) over Steve Cantwell (-145). Massenzio will try to out-wrestle Cantwell, and Cantwell is susceptible to that. With these odds, Massenzio’s worth a small risk.
– Anthony Pettis (-285) over Jeremy Stephens (+225). You won’t get rich off of it, but this one is money in the bank.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Just because he’s a wild riverboat gambler with dollar signs in his eyes, and because I respect that sort of self-destructive impulse, I’ll let my colleague Matt Erickson call it this time. Take it away, Matt.
“A 4-leg parlay of ‘dogs on Saturday that pays $473 on a $10 bet:
Maynard +125
Stann +200
Santiago +225
Elkins +120
I’ve already spent my winnings. That’s how sure of that mofo I am.”
You heard the man. And if it doesn’t work out, you can let him know about it on Twitter: @MattErickson23
Filed under: UFCHOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightw…
HOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightweight champion has had just about enough.
“I’m sick of talking about how sick I am of talking about him,” Edgar said on Thursday, a wry smile on his face.
After Saturday, win or lose, he finally gets to move on.
But the fact is, a win over Maynard is important for Edgar’s growing legacy. It was a surprise when he won the championship over BJ Penn in April 2010, but whatever doubters remained were silenced when he romped past Penn in a rematch a few months later.
But Maynard (10-0-1) has been the one thorn in his side, a powerful puncher with a wrestling pedigree and a willingness to grind out opponents. The pair have fought twice before, with Maynard winning a decision in April 2008, and the duo scrapping to a thrilling draw on January 1.
Maynard’s success in the respective fights came via different means. In the first bout, Edgar (13-1-1) out-landed him on the feet barely, but Maynard controlled the fight with his wrestling, scoring on eight of 10 takedown tries, according to Compustrike.
In the second fight though, Maynard’s best moments came standing, rocking Edgar in the first round and nearly finishing. But his success ended there. Edgar effectively shut down his wrestling. After the 10-8 first round, Maynard managed only 1 of 11 takedown tries.
Here’s what we know about Edgar: he can fight forever. He’s shown it over and over. In the last fight with Maynard, for instance, he threw and landed more strikes in round five than any other round of the fight. Because of that endless stamina, he’s usually going to throw greater volume than his opponent.
In Edgar-Maynard II, he threw 53 more strikes than Maynard despite spotting him a 41-strike advantage in round one.
In close rounds with little discernible damage differential, volume wins rounds. Compounding Maynard’s problem, Edgar is historically more accurate than him, 42 percent to 34 percent, according to FightMetric research. If Edgar throws more volume and lands more, this fight will end up looking like Edgar-Penn II.
Maynard’s best way to slow Edgar down is to take him down. When he’s fresh, he seems to transition better into his takedowns. As he fatigues though, he loses effectiveness. So pacing will be important to Maynard here. If he takes Edgar down, it would be advantageous for him keep Edgar there for a while. Grind him out. Fighting Edgar in open space will always be difficult due to his speed and footwork.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Maynard win the first round or two this time around, but I expect Edgar to stay away from Maynard’s heavy artillery. As the fight goes on, Edgar’s quickness, movement and accuracy will begin to take over. It will be another close one, but this time, Edgar takes the decision, and the trilogy concludes with both men 1-1-1 against each other.
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian
The last time we saw Jose Aldo fight, he looked vulnerable for the first time in a long time, flat on his back for most of round five against Mark Hominick, relying on his early lead and holding on until the final bell for a decision win.
Aldo (19-1) says now that his weight cut went awry due to added muscle, and he was also impacted by a fight-week infection that was not divulged prior to the fight. During fight week in Toronto back then, he looked gaunt and depleted. Seeing him around this week, he looks healthy and energetic.
His offensive gifts are well known to most fans. He has a brilliant game which mixes power and speed. He flicks out chopping kicks with ease. He has black belt jiu-jitsu and wrestles like he’s been doing it his entire life.
If there are holes in his game, they aren’t very obvious.
That’s the puzzle Kenny Florian (15-5) is trying to solve.
Florian might not be as naturally physically gifted as Aldo (their power, for one, is not comparable), but he’s willed himself into a complete fighter. But here’s the real problem for Florian: nearly all the things at which he’s good, Aldo is better. That’s clear from a look at the stats.
Aldo lands more strikes per minute than Florian, is more accurate overall, has better striking defense and has landed takedowns at a higher percentage. And when it comes to takedown defense, statistically at least, Aldo has no peer among active UFC fighters. He’s stuffed 93 percent of attempts against him, a number that would rank him No. 1 if he had the required five UFC fights to qualify for the leaderboard (eight of his nine fights under the Zuffa banner were in the WEC).
I think Florian is smart enough to know he can’t fight Aldo in space for five rounds. He will try to either take Aldo down or grind him against the cage to take away some of his explosiveness. But in a 25-minute fight, that’s going to be a difficult proposition.
I don’t think Florian will get blown out by any means; he’s too solid a fighter to leave massive openings. But I do think Aldo’s attack will find its mark over time. Aldo at his best is a matchup nightmare for any featherweight, and judging from the smile he’s been carting around Houston, he’s brought his A-game.
Filed under: UFCHOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightw…
HOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightweight champion has had just about enough.
“I’m sick of talking about how sick I am of talking about him,” Edgar said on Thursday, a wry smile on his face.
After Saturday, win or lose, he finally gets to move on.
But the fact is, a win over Maynard is important for Edgar’s growing legacy. It was a surprise when he won the championship over BJ Penn in April 2010, but whatever doubters remained were silenced when he romped past Penn in a rematch a few months later.
But Maynard (10-0-1) has been the one thorn in his side, a powerful puncher with a wrestling pedigree and a willingness to grind out opponents. The pair have fought twice before, with Maynard winning a decision in April 2008, and the duo scrapping to a thrilling draw on January 1.
Maynard’s success in the respective fights came via different means. In the first bout, Edgar (13-1-1) out-landed him on the feet barely, but Maynard controlled the fight with his wrestling, scoring on eight of 10 takedown tries, according to Compustrike.
In the second fight though, Maynard’s best moments came standing, rocking Edgar in the first round and nearly finishing. But his success ended there. Edgar effectively shut down his wrestling. After the 10-8 first round, Maynard managed only 1 of 11 takedown tries.
Here’s what we know about Edgar: he can fight forever. He’s shown it over and over. In the last fight with Maynard, for instance, he threw and landed more strikes in round five than any other round of the fight. Because of that endless stamina, he’s usually going to throw greater volume than his opponent.
In Edgar-Maynard II, he threw 53 more strikes than Maynard despite spotting him a 41-strike advantage in round one.
In close rounds with little discernible damage differential, volume wins rounds. Compounding Maynard’s problem, Edgar is historically more accurate than him, 42 percent to 34 percent, according to FightMetric research. If Edgar throws more volume and lands more, this fight will end up looking like Edgar-Penn II.
Maynard’s best way to slow Edgar down is to take him down. When he’s fresh, he seems to transition better into his takedowns. As he fatigues though, he loses effectiveness. So pacing will be important to Maynard here. If he takes Edgar down, it would be advantageous for him keep Edgar there for a while. Grind him out. Fighting Edgar in open space will always be difficult due to his speed and footwork.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Maynard win the first round or two this time around, but I expect Edgar to stay away from Maynard’s heavy artillery. As the fight goes on, Edgar’s quickness, movement and accuracy will begin to take over. It will be another close one, but this time, Edgar takes the decision, and the trilogy concludes with both men 1-1-1 against each other.
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian
The last time we saw Jose Aldo fight, he looked vulnerable for the first time in a long time, flat on his back for most of round five against Mark Hominick, relying on his early lead and holding on until the final bell for a decision win.
Aldo (19-1) says now that his weight cut went awry due to added muscle, and he was also impacted by a fight-week infection that was not divulged prior to the fight. During fight week in Toronto back then, he looked gaunt and depleted. Seeing him around this week, he looks healthy and energetic.
His offensive gifts are well known to most fans. He has a brilliant game which mixes power and speed. He flicks out chopping kicks with ease. He has black belt jiu-jitsu and wrestles like he’s been doing it his entire life.
If there are holes in his game, they aren’t very obvious.
That’s the puzzle Kenny Florian (15-5) is trying to solve.
Florian might not be as naturally physically gifted as Aldo (their power, for one, is not comparable), but he’s willed himself into a complete fighter. But here’s the real problem for Florian: nearly all the things at which he’s good, Aldo is better. That’s clear from a look at the stats.
Aldo lands more strikes per minute than Florian, is more accurate overall, has better striking defense and has landed takedowns at a higher percentage. And when it comes to takedown defense, statistically at least, Aldo has no peer among active UFC fighters. He’s stuffed 93 percent of attempts against him, a number that would rank him No. 1 if he had the required five UFC fights to qualify for the leaderboard (eight of his nine fights under the Zuffa banner were in the WEC).
I think Florian is smart enough to know he can’t fight Aldo in space for five rounds. He will try to either take Aldo down or grind him against the cage to take away some of his explosiveness. But in a 25-minute fight, that’s going to be a difficult proposition.
I don’t think Florian will get blown out by any means; he’s too solid a fighter to leave massive openings. But I do think Aldo’s attack will find its mark over time. Aldo at his best is a matchup nightmare for any featherweight, and judging from the smile he’s been carting around Houston, he’s brought his A-game.
If coaching one of the most talented and accomplished stables of MMA fighters ever gets old, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson have a decent shot, if they should choose, at being the MMA equivalent of Click and Clack, aka the Tappet Brothers, hosts of t…
If coaching one of the most talented and accomplished stables of MMA fighters ever gets old, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson have a decent shot, if they should choose, at being the MMA equivalent of Click and Clack, aka the Tappet Brothers, hosts of the radio show Car Talk. They could call themselves the Tapout Brothers.
I learned this about them the hard way, when I showed up at their Albuquerque gym to chat about fighters and fights. I wanted to talk about Jon Jones’ kicks to Quinton Jackson’s knees, and how Brian Stann is going to stop Chael Sonnen’s double-leg, and Leonard Garcia’s first injury-free fight in as long as anyone can remember. And we did. We also talked about a whole bunch of things I wasn’t expecting, like aliens, spies and the place of stripper poles at Team Jackson Winkeljohn.
As with the Tappet Brothers, when you ask the two legendary coaches a serious question, they proceed to clown you, laugh until they’re out of breath, and provide spot-on insight into your question—all at the same time.
Did I endure humiliation, confusion and ridicule in order to get you answers to some of MMA’s most burning questions? Yes, I did. But hey, at least this time Winkeljohn was kind enough to put his pants on, unlike the last time I spoke with the Tapout Brothers after UFC 128.
Those who want to see the Tapout Brothers’ unique charms, feel free to click on the two embedded videos. For those of you who don’t have time for the comedy act and just want your sound bites, here you go.
On Jon Jones’ hurt foot during his title defense against Quinton Jackson at UFC 135
Winkeljohn: Rampage checked one of the kicks that caught him on top of his foot. It happens to everybody that throws a lot of kicks. Fighters just deal with it.
Jackson: I think it was aliens shooting laser beams at his feet.
Winkeljohn: I thought the aliens told us not to tell anyone.
On Jones starting out that fight by walking from his corner on all fours
Winkeljohn: I thought that was your idea.
Jackson: For the first 30 seconds I turned to my big brother and said something to the effect of “what is he doing?”
Winkeljohn: I was just hoping he wasn’t picking up that hand and getting kicked in the face.
Jackson: But you know I love that stuff. Anything artistic and creative that puts your opponent a little off like “uh what’s gonna happen,” I like that.
On Jones’ multiple kicks to “Rampage’s” knee
Winkeljohn: People keep thinking that stuff’s illegal. You know what, you’re allowed to give someone brain damage but you can’t hurt their knee? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I knew we had the fight when [Jackson] was looking at the referee like, “um, um, he’s hurting my knee.” That was…
Jackson: …definitely a tell.
Winkeljohn: That was a great moment.
Jackson: Cross kicks to the knee are legal. And we’ll do whatever’s legal. If you make the technique illegal we’ll no longer use it.
On Steven Seagal’s attempt to visit Jones’ dressing room before the fight
Winkeljohn I don’t understand the reason for wanting to come last minute. If you want to help Jon out, you know, two months before the fight come talk to him if you have something important. IF. But right before the fight, that doesn’t make sense to me at all.
On Leonard Garcia vs Nam Phan at UFC 136
Jackson: This is the first fight in like six fights Leonard hasn’t had some severe injury. It will be fun to see what he can do.
Winkeljohn: Leonard is in his best shape ever.
Jackson: Nam Phan is super tricky and super crafty, and hopefully we can get around it.
(Jackson also acknowledged the judges got it wrong in the first fight, but has been on the other end of a bad decision enough times to not feel the least bit bad about it.)
On how Brian Stann will stop Chael Sonnen’s takedowns
Jackson: Groin strikes
Winkeljohn: I told him to turn and run. Get Chael tired
(more absurdity)
Winkeljohn: Stopping Chael’s takedown, that’s tough. That’s the crux. That’s huge. There’s no doubt about it. But we plan on putting some pain on him on the way.
Jackson: The other thing about Chael is that he’s got really good kickboxing. If you notice when he fought Okami, he didn’t really ground and pound Okami. Okami was able to get up every time. But [Sonnen] out-did him on his feet. So he’s a dangerous guy all the way around. And hopefully big bro and I have done our job enough where we’ll be able to shut that down.
(Translation: Okami provided the blueprint for standing up when Chael took him down. Brian can follow this blueprint to keep the fight standing.)
On Melvin Guillard spending a week at Imperial Athletics in Florida.
Jackson: It’s odd to me that everyone’s like “oh my god.” A lot of our guys go other places and train.
Winkeljohn: I told Melvin if he learns something cool come back and show me, and he did.
We ended with a round of picks for upcoming fights:
Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard III
Jackson: I’m think a 155 pounder will win.
Winkeljohn: Flip a coin.
Jose Aldo vs Kenny Florian
Winkeljohn: From day one I’ve always thought Aldo was fantastic, but I think he’s been a little exposed a bit as of late. And Florian is definitely a smart guy. So if anybody can take advantage of looking at tape that would be Kenny.
Anthony Pettis vs Jeremy Stephens
Jackson: That’s two very talented guys. Stephens hits hard, and Pettis is slick. And Duke Rufus is a great trainer.
Winkeljohn: I’m a go with Pettis to out-point Stephens in that one. I think Pettis can move around and avoid the power.
Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem
Jackson: That’s the classic striker vs grappler. If Lesnar can get him down, might be Lesnar. If Overeem can either get up or hit him…
Winkeljohn: I think if Overeem can stuff a couple takedowns or avoid a couple first takedowns…
Junior dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez
Jackson: Dos Santos has that jab. It’s a beautiful thing. Cain’s got great combos. As usual I have know idea. I don’t even watch fighting.
Winkeljohn: It depends on how tight Cain can stay, and get in there. I’m leaning towards Junior on that one. Ever so slightly.
The UFC arrives in Houston, TX with UFC 136 this Saturday, October 8th, at 9PM ET, live on Pay-Per-View.This is a stacked fight card, headlined by two title fights, as well as potentially two title contention eliminator fights. UFC 136 features five ma…
The UFC arrives in Houston, TX with UFC 136 this Saturday, October 8th, at 9PM ET, live on Pay-Per-View.
This is a stacked fight card, headlined by two title fights, as well as potentially two title contention eliminator fights. UFC 136 features five main card fights, and six preliminary card fights.
If you’re a fight fan, you’ll want to be in front of a TV for this one:
Preliminary Card
Steve “Robot” Cantwell vs. Mike “The Master of Disaster” Massenzio
Aaron “A-Train” Simpson vs. Eric “Red” Schaefer
Tiequan “The Wolf” Zhang vs. Darren “The Damage” Elkins
Stipe Miocic vs. Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis vs. Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens
Demian Maia vs. Jorge “The Sandman” Santiago
Main Card
Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard vs. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon
Nam Phan vs. Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian “All American” Stann
Jose “Junior” Aldo vs. Kenny “Kenflo” Florian
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs. Gray “The Bully” Maynard
Stay with me as I make my main card predictions and gambling suggestions. Without further ado, let’s get on to the fights…
All gambling lines are provided courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.
With 
HOUSTON — 
If coaching one of the most talented and accomplished stables of MMA fighters ever gets old, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson have a decent shot, if they should choose, at being the MMA equivalent of Click and Clack, aka the Tappet Brothers, hosts of the radio show Car Talk. They could call themselves the Tapout Brothers.