UFC Betting Sites – The Best MMA Online Bookies
UFC best betting sites and the best MMA odds and gambling news
This just in: The headliner at UFC 248 was a drag. Not only was the middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero far less interesting than what was promised beforehand, …
This just in: The headliner at UFC 248 was a drag. Not only was the middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero far less interesting than what was promised beforehand, …
Even though Nick Diaz lost the match that would ultimately determine the No. 1 contender for the welterweight title, he will still be awarded a title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158 in Montreal. GSP has cited “unfinished business” …
Even though Nick Diaz lost the match that would ultimately determine the No. 1 contender for the welterweight title, he will still be awarded a title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158 in Montreal. GSP has cited “unfinished business” as the primary reason he is giving Diaz a shot at his belt. While there are obviously a number of other factors that contribute to Georges’ decision to fight Nick (namely that Georges knows he can beat him), there is one person who should possibly be given a lot of the credit for Nick being given his coveted fight with St. Pierre: Carlos Condit.
When Carlos Condit fought Nick Diaz at UFC 143, the contest resulted in a very controversial unanimous decision win for Condit. Carlos clearly landed enough strikes to impress the judges and earn the decision, but way too many people still thought this match was razor thin in terms of who did the best job controlling the pace of the fight and imposing his will on his opponent.
A large amount of fans would argue that Diaz won the whole thing altogether. No matter how many leg kicks or straight punches Condit hit him with, Diaz still pushed forward in such a threatening fashion, that it always seemed that he was just one flurry away from ending the fight. The decision was unanimous, but anyone who watched the fight will recall Diaz connecting with a decent amount of punches and coming dangerously close to securing a rear naked choke in the fifth round.
It looks like Carlos didn’t win in a very definitive manner. It’s unquestionable that he had more successful punches, kicks and knees than Nick Diaz, but the fact is, he won because he out-pointed his opponent. Diaz wasn’t out-classed, overwhelmed or proven to be not worthy of top contender status in the welterweight division.
Basically, it can be said that Nick Diaz didn’t really lose that fight.
Therefore, his spot as a No. 1 contender wasn’t exactly taken from him. It’s almost like the fight never even happened.
This brings up the question of whether or not Nick Diaz would still have gotten his title shot if Carlos Condit had won their fight in a much more definitive manner.
What if Condit had knocked Diaz out, or at least come close to making the referee stop the fight due to strikes on one or more occasions? What if he drew a significant amount of blood from Diaz, or just attempted to overwhelm him with a series of vicious Muay Thai-influenced attacks?
The point is, if Carlos Condit really put a beating on Nick Diaz and showed the world that he wasn’t ready for a title shot, there is a chance that Georges St. Pierre wouldn’t view Diaz as a threat to his superiority and would no longer feel the desire to fight him.
This is why Carlos Condit’s failure to gain a definitive victory over Nick Diaz may be a big part of the reason Georges St. Pierre still considers Diaz a competitor he must defeat if he wants to say he has beaten the very best in the welterweight division.
As entertaining as Condit’s fight with Diaz was, the result did not give GSP the direct impression that the loser did not deserve a title shot sometime in the near future. Diaz showed the world that he could hang with one of the most dangerous strikers to ever grace the division and that was enough to inspire GSP to crave a one-sided victory over Diaz that Condit just could not achieve.
The job of the champion is to make anyone who crosses him feel defeat like they never have before. It’s what Benson Henderson did to Nate Diaz, and what Jon Jones did to just about everyone who has tried to take his title.
Thanks to the way Diaz vs Condit transpired, GSP believes only he has the power to truly dominate Diaz and leave no room for questioning as to who is the better man in the end.
So, when we see Nick Diaz stand across from Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158, it won’t just entirely be because of trash talk or a long-time feud. It will also be because Carlos Condit did not do all he could to make sure he didn’t leave it in the hands of the judges at UFC 143.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
(As you can clearly see, there’s no way I could have smoked any weed before UFC 143 because I had not picked even a single nugget yet. I rest my case.)
Since he tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit and was suspended for a year and fined nearly $80,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), Nick Diaz has fought the punishment in just about every place he could, and continued Wednesday by filing a Memorandum of Points and Authorities to support his petition for judicial review. So far, Diaz and his high-profile legal defense team have struck out in appealing to the Nevada State Attorney General and the NSAC itself in a hearing.
The NSAC has thirty days to respond and after that a judge will hear Diaz’ petition. Luke Thomas and MMA Fighting spoke with a member of Diaz’ legal team:
The Commission needs to understand that it cannot act with impunity in the exercise of its authority…In Diaz’s opinion, while fighters must respect the lawful authority of state athletic commissions, they should not accept unjust and unlawful disciplinary action. Further, Diaz finds it bizarre that the Commission is vigorously policing legal marijuana use outside competition while at the same time endorsing and sanctioning the use of steroids and testosterone — which has a direct effect on fighters and their opponents in competition. The Commission needs to refocus itself on protecting fighters and the fairness of the combat sports they regulate. Diaz believes this legal proceeding may provide the Commission a helpful push in the right direction, for the benefit of all fighters and the reputation of the sport itself.
Diaz’s petition has some interesting and seemingly compelling parts to it, including his lawyers’ contention that marijuana metabolites are not, in fact, banned substances. But they also continue to stretch out some arguments.
(As you can clearly see, there’s no way I could have smoked any weed before UFC 143 because I had not picked even a single nugget yet. I rest my case.)
Since he tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit and was suspended for a year and fined nearly $80,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), Nick Diaz has fought the punishment in just about every place he could, and continued Wednesday by filing a Memorandum of Points and Authorities to support his petition for judicial review. So far, Diaz and his high-profile legal defense team have struck out in appealing to the Nevada State Attorney General and the NSAC itself in a hearing.
The NSAC has thirty days to respond and after that a judge will hear Diaz’ petition. Luke Thomas and MMA Fighting spoke with a member of Diaz’ legal team:
The Commission needs to understand that it cannot act with impunity in the exercise of its authority…In Diaz’s opinion, while fighters must respect the lawful authority of state athletic commissions, they should not accept unjust and unlawful disciplinary action. Further, Diaz finds it bizarre that the Commission is vigorously policing legal marijuana use outside competition while at the same time endorsing and sanctioning the use of steroids and testosterone — which has a direct effect on fighters and their opponents in competition. The Commission needs to refocus itself on protecting fighters and the fairness of the combat sports they regulate. Diaz believes this legal proceeding may provide the Commission a helpful push in the right direction, for the benefit of all fighters and the reputation of the sport itself.
Diaz’s petition has some interesting and seemingly compelling parts to it, including his lawyers’ contention that marijuana metabolites are not, in fact, banned substances. But they also continue to stretch out some arguments.
In what way does the NSAC “endorse and sanction,” the use of steroids? It is true that the commission has recently begun to issue therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy to every single some fighters who have applied for them. They could theoretically issue some for marijuana use to those, like Diaz, who are legally allowed to use it in their home state of California to help with various ailments.
The thing is, NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer has said that Diaz has never applied for a TUE for Marijuana. If part of Diaz’s argument is that he has a legal right to use marijuana out of competition and that he should have the same right to use as those who have been granted TUE’s, he probably should have applied for one at some point. Then again, we are talking about a man who once stated that he couldn’t move out of his shitty neighborhood because he didn’t major in buying a house during his time at Stockton U, which I can only imagine is run like Harvard post Method Man and Redman’s arrival.
Not that Diaz would have a clear path if he actually did apply. There’s no reason to believe that the NSAC would grant him their first exemption ever for marijuana, and there are not really guidelines for permissible amounts of THC or metabolites the way there are for testosterone.
In any case, at least Diaz is clearly not retired and obviously wants to get back to fighting as soon as possible (Ed note: Yeah, until he loses again). We’ll keep you posted on developments with this story as they are made available. To check out Diaz’ full petition to the court, click here.
Last weekend, the UFC completed another first for its promotion: hosting two events on consecutive days. UFC on FX 4 was held on Friday, June 22, while UFC 147 was held the following day, June.
Last weekend, the UFC completed another first for its promotion: hosting two events on consecutive days. UFC on FX 4 was held on Friday, June 22, while UFC 147 was held the following day, June 23. UFC 147 was combined with the first ever TUF Brazil finale as well. This made for one busy and historical weekend for the UFC.
As with all sporting events, controversy is bound to ensue. The main bout at UFC on FX 4 between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard was expected to be explosive, dynamic, and quite frankly, an all out war. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite the opposite. The bout primarily consisted of an unusual game plan by Clay Guida, in which he practically ran away from Gray Maynard. UFC referee Dan Miragliotta even gave him a warning in the fifth round of the fight for running away and not engaging in the bout. During the fight, chants ringing out “GUIDA, GUIDA” progressively changed to “MAYNARD, MAYNARD” with the end of the fight leading to Clay Guida getting booed out of the octagon. Dana White even stated that the fight sucked, and he was booing Guida’s ridiculous game plan as well.
The first thing that came to mind after watching the fight was that someone obviously had to suggest this game plan to Guida. And shortly after, I realized someone did. I don’t know why no one has stated the connection, but the fact that Greg Jackson is Clay Guida’s coach is the only thing I could think about. Going back to another unsatisfied main event at UFC 143, a controversial win was handed to Carlos Condit after implementing a very similar game plan as Clay Guida. While Condit did a much better job of combining offense with his game plan of seemingly running away, the concept is the same. And Condit’s head coach is none other than Grag Jackson. After Condit’s win, he stated that the game plan was put together by his coaching staff and that he felt he had implemented and stuck to it throughout the fight. That he did, leading to many angry fans. Which leads to my burning question, does Greg Jackson tell his fighters to implement this type of a game plan when matched up with a notorious striker? I never thought I’d be comparing Gray Maynard to Nick Diaz, but beside the similar situation they found themselves in with their opponent, Maynard displayed some Diaz rage in the octagon during his frustration in the fight.
While the UFC has been reforming and improving the sport to become main stream, fights like these push new fan prospects away from the sport. New fans expect to see the all out brawls that MMA fans talk about when they watch the sport, and while lack luster performances like this do happen, it isn’t convincing to new viewers. Even avid MMA fans get disgusted with performances like this one.
Clay Guida’s performance also created a rather boring win for Gray Maynard, who simply won by chasing his opponent. Some fans argue, however, that while Guida had an extremely lackluster performance, that he deserved to walk out with the ‘W’ because Gray Maynard failed to do significant damage as well. Dissatisfaction aside, a fighter doesn’t necessarily deserve a win simply because his opponent isn’t fighting. However, I do feel that Maynard did deserve the decision in this case. While his frustration was quite obvious throughout the fight, he eventually found his range and began to decipher the puzzle of Clay Guida. In comparison, while I was upset by the way Condit fought at UFC 143, I felt he had complete octagon control by dodging in and out and landing strikes in the process. While I feel like a fighter shouldn’t perform as stated in a fight, his performance at least deserved a win. Clay Guida’s performance, on the other hand, in my opinion, had no element of getting the decision victory. He had no control of the octagon, displayed little aggressiveness, and failed to implement any significant damage. Whether you agree or disagree with the judge’s decision to crown Maynard the winner, you can’t argue that this fight was disappointing, and failed to live up to its hype. We can only hope that both fighters come back stronger, and Guida hopefully comes back with a better game plan.
By: Emily Kapala
Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin have combined for 39 knockouts in 82 total fights, but their power isn’t going to determine the winner of UFC 147’s headline bout.These violent stand-up fighters must use their technical wrestling and takedown skills t…
Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin have combined for 39 knockouts in 82 total fights, but their power isn’t going to determine the winner of UFC 147’s headline bout.
These violent stand-up fighters must use their technical wrestling and takedown skills to win this contest.
Franklin has 10 victories by way of submission in his career. Silva only has three, while wrestling has never been his strongest suit.
We know each fighter has one-shot knockout power—they’re both elite, albeit different, striking players.
That leaves the ground game as this fight’s determining factor.
Let’s take a look at each fighter’s wrestling abilities and how they’ll shape this battle.
Wanderlei Silva
Silva is a brawler. He relies on his kickboxing skills and Muay Thai talents to devastate opponents on their feet.
However, his game changes when you get him onto his back.
His takedown defense is flawed because he lacks defensive instincts. He’s usually so focused on his own knockout that he forgets to cover himself up.
This could be exploited by Franklin on Saturday night. He will look to shoot Silva’s legs and neutralize the Brazilian’s heavy fists and lethal kicks.
If the majority of this fight is fought standing up, I have to give the edge to Silva. He’s had some of the most brutal knockouts that mixed martial arts has ever seen.
His chances of winning this rematch come down to wrestling. If he can fight well, out of his element, he will emerge with a victory.
Rich Franklin
Franklin is technically savvy in all areas of fighting. He’d prefer to stay on his feet, but he is no slouch on the ground.
His submission tactics have been highlighted throughout his 20-plus year mixed martial arts career. He has 10 career victories by submission.
I have to give him a big advantage in this department. In the first fight, both fighters struggled to strike with any real consistency. Expect them to compensate for that with a heavier reliance on their grappling skills.
If the match comes down to that, Franklin’s quickness and agility will pay off. He will pick his spots. Yes, he must be mindful of Silva’s one-punch capabilities, but Franklin has a vast understanding of how to fight.
The ability to adapt and fight multiple styles will help Franklin at UFC 147. Neither of these fighters are in their prime, and this fight isn’t for a championship belt, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t must-see TV.
Watching their styles push and pull against the other will be interesting.
In the end, I think Franklin’s understanding of his limitations, and his willingness to fight against his preferred style, will earn him the victory.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
(So I sez to da brod, “Chael sent me,” and she just hands the needles right ova!!)
To say that it has been a disturbing week in the world almost does too much justice for the term “disturbing.” It has been an abhorring week. There have been two cases of zombie-like acts of cannibalism reported in the past few days alone. Two. If you can stomach it, see for yourself what the human race is still capable of. Being a bit of a paranoid, Burt Gummer-esque survivalist at heart, upon hearing this news, I immediately took to the stocked gun cabinet that rests in the dining room of my countryside abode, stepped outside, and began target practicing on squirrels, chipmunks, and whatever else happened to cross my path. Because this is how it begins, people. You know, the stuff those guys in face paint and textiles told us would happen so many years ago. And I hate to be a dick, but I warned you fuckers. Many, many times. And you just didn’t want to listen.
Self whoring aside, I’d like to think that when the news in the real world gets me down, I can always turn to the world of MMA/combat sports for a little bit of solace, be it in the form of a fantastic knockout, a discussion with friends, or a news story that makes me smile from ear to ear. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came across yet another story of a mixed martial artist, this time Frank Mir, hopping on the TRT bandwagon.
I’ll admit, I found it a little odd when Frank told Ariel Helwani that he didn’t want to discuss the matter in the interviews leading up to his UFC 146 clash with Junior Dos Santos, because let’s be honest, when is there ever something that Frank Mir doesn’t want to talk about? BloodyElbow’s Brent Brookhouse seems to agree with this sentiment, and Mir’s avoidance of the issue makes so much more sense in retrospect.
(So I sez to da brod, “Chael sent me,” and she just hands the needles right ova!!)
To say that it has been a disturbing week in the world almost does too much justice for the term “disturbing.” It has been an abhorring week. There have been two cases of zombie-like acts of cannibalism reported in the past few days alone. Two. If you can stomach it, see for yourself what the human race is still capable of. Being a bit of a paranoid, Burt Gummer-esque survivalist at heart, upon hearing this news, I immediately took to the stocked gun cabinet that rests in the dining room of my countryside abode, stepped outside, and began target practicing on squirrels, chipmunks, and whatever else happened to cross my path. Because this is how it begins, people. You know, the stuff those guys in face paint and textiles told us would happen so many years ago. And I hate to be a dick, but I warned you fuckers. Many, many times. And you just didn’t want to listen.
Self whoring aside, I’d like to think that when the news in the real world gets me down, I can always turn to the world of MMA/combat sports for a little bit of solace, be it in the form of a fantastic knockout, a discussion with friends, or a news story that makes me smile from ear to ear. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came across yet another story of a mixed martial artist, this time Frank Mir, hopping on the TRT bandwagon.
I’ll admit, I found it a little odd when Frank told Ariel Helwani that he didn’t want to discuss the matter in the interviews leading up to his UFC 146 clash with Junior Dos Santos, because let’s be honest, when is there ever something that Frank Mir doesn’t want to talk about? BloodyElbow’s Brent Brookhouse seems to agree with this sentiment, and Mir’s avoidance of the issue makes so much more sense in retrospect.
Here’s a video of the interview for those of you too lazy to click a link. The topic in question comes up around the 1:12 mark.
And like Brookehouse also stated, I’m not going to rant about this revelation. I will say, however, that I’m not buying it. I was always weary in regards to which fighters, if any, truly needed testosterone replacement therapy to compete in the first place, and now that these exemptions are seemingly being handed out as easily as medicinal marijuana cards in California, I’m officially calling bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the use/legalization/mass distribution of the sticky-icky, but trying to convince me that professional fighters (especially massive heavyweights like Mir) are somehow lacking testosterone simply ain’t gonna happen. Does that make me a hypocrite? Probably. Ignorant? Sure, but that’s just my view. I’m not saying it’s the correct one, but I am saying that Keith Kizer already predicted that more and more fighters would be applying for these “exemptions” once they became available.
Don’t think I fail to see the irony in following up a statement about how I won’t rant…with a rant.
But as it is, creator and host of Pro MMA Radio, Larry Pepe, was the first to break the news, when he tweeted the following:
NSAC’s Keith Kizer confirmed to me that Frank Mir met all requirements for & received TUE for TRT for UFC 146 fight against JDS.
Again, I’d like to ask what exactly these requirements are, but if it takes half as long to explain as it does to hand out a year suspension for marijuana metabolites, which is a long God damn time, then I’ll pass.
And speaking of our favorite ADHD patient, today’s second sickening revelation comes during the fallout of Nick Diaz’s aforementioned suspension.
