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Bold Statement of the Day: Pablo Garza Is 10 Pounds Away From Being the Jon Jones of Bantamweight

(Sure, dude. Just trim off some of that disgusting excess fat, and you’ll hit 135 no problem. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Standing 6’1″ and carrying a 73-inch reach, Pablo Garza is already a freakish physical anomaly in the UFC featherweight division. His Mr. Fantastic-esque body-type has been a key element to his UFC victories, from his flying knee KO of Fredson Paixao during his Octagon debut at the TUF 12 Finale to his manhandling of Mark Hominick at UFC 154 on Saturday.

Garza’s latest win wasn’t just the greatest moment of his MMA career — it also saved him from a possible dismissal from the promotion, as he was coming into the match on a two-fight losing streak. So what’s next for the Scarecrow? Well, he’s going to try to shed 10 pounds of bone and gristle off his already-meager frame, because he’s sure he can be champion at 135. As he told MMA Weekly:

(Sure, dude. Just trim off some of that disgusting excess fat, and you’ll hit 135 no problem. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

“I actually am thinking about dropping to 135. Yeah, and winning the title at 135. If I make 135, I know I’ll win the title. I think I’ll be like the Jon Jones of 135…it’s probably gonna be a couple trial runs at first, you know, see how I feel, working with a diet, getting a good dietician and stuff like that. And if I can make ’35 and dominate, I’m gonna do it.”

I feel the same way about this as I did about Jeff Curran’s possible drop to 125 — dang, this is gonna look gross. Pablo Garza would be seven inches taller than UFC bantamweight regulars like Ivan Menjivar and Brad Pickett, and five inches taller than current champion Dominick Cruz. But will the height advantage really be worth the toll it would take on Garza’s health? And let’s not forget, being tall is only useful if you know how to exploit your range and the the angles of your attacks. Otherwise, you’re just a bigger target for body shots.

Bonus gif: Garza throws some spinnin’ shit at Mark Hominick. File under “oh man, if that landed…”

Rashad Evans Hopes to Avenge Loss to Lyoto Machida Before He Retires

Rashad Evans’ first career loss to Lyoto Machida continues to haunt the former UFC light heavyweight champion to this day.Evans and Machida, both of whom were undefeated at the time, met at UFC 98 for the UFC light heavyweight championship. The outcome…

Rashad Evans‘ first career loss to Lyoto Machida continues to haunt the former UFC light heavyweight champion to this day.

Evans and Machida, both of whom were undefeated at the time, met at UFC 98 for the UFC light heavyweight championship. The outcome of the bout resulted in one of the most brutal knockouts in UFC history.

Now, after coming off only his second loss in three years to Jon Jones at UFC 145, “Suga” intends on returning with a vengeance and hopes to get back into the 205-pound title picture very soon.

And he wants to start with the Brazilian that beat him.

“I would like to avenge my loss to Jones one day, but also to Machida,” Evans told Miami radio station, 790AM The Ticket. “Last time he got me pretty good, and all those Internet pictures of me getting knocked out all over the Internet.”

Evans isn’t going to forget the thought lying on the canvas anytime soon; neither are the fans. Earlier this year, one fan ridiculed Evans over the loss at a UFC Expo by trying to have the fighter sign a picture of the knockout, but he refused. Evans was visibly upset and crumpled the picture before throwing it on the ground.

However, Evans embraces his role as the villain with fans, and he isn’t bothered by the negative reaction sent his way. The former 205-pound champion said the fans only see one side of him.

“They just know a character of who they think I might be based on, what they have seen on TV or anything else like that. But, that’s not me as a person,” he said. “So when they say things to, you know, insulting things or they boo me, I don’t get upset about it because they don’t know who I am as a person.”

A second encounter with “The Dragon” might not happen in the near future, as Machida is slated to face Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4 in August. It is still a possibility, however, and it could generate a respectable number of viewers as both men are much more established than last time.

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UFC News: Wikipedia Continues Its Absurd War on the UFC

Wikipedia has continued its onslaught against the UFC. The online encyclopedia now threatens to delete many more UFC event pages, starting from UFC 2 onward. The whole issue started with the Wikipedia pages for the UFC on FUEL events. Wikipedia ed…

Wikipedia has continued its onslaught against the UFC. The online encyclopedia now threatens to delete many more UFC event pages, starting from UFC 2 onward.

The whole issue started with the Wikipedia pages for the UFC on FUEL events. Wikipedia editors deemed the events unworthy of having their own pages, seeing as they were insufficiently notable and tantamount to routine sports coverage—something that Wikipedia guidelines forbid.

The Wikipedia editors didn’t stop there. Now, dozens more wiki pages for UFC events are under siege. UFC 2 through UFC 41 are marked for deletion, the main reason being that the events don’t have the lasting significance that most Wikipedia entries about such things are required to have.

What are Wikipedia’s editors thinking? They’re just going by the guidelines (although it’s possible some have an axe to grind), which basically dictate the following:

Every routine baseball or football game doesn’t have its own wiki page, so why should each routine UFC event? Wikipedia is not a newspaper, so it shouldn’t have run-of-the-mill sports coverage you can see on regular sports websites. Furthermore, the events didn’t have any particularly impressive impact on the whole of society and aren’t exceptionally notable for anything (an example of a routine sports game that’s notable would be the Heidi Bowl) so they shouldn’t be occupying Wikipedia’s bandwidth; they are unworthy.

You can go to the deletion discussion pages for UFC 2 through UFC 41 and see the battle for the UFC’s place on Wikipedia being fought first-hand. For example, here are the ones for UFC 2 and UFC 30.

Furthermore, some of the more recent events, such as UFC 145, have been marked for deletion as of late. Fortunately, it was ultimately decided that the pages be kept.

Hopefully the events currently on the chopping block will be blessed with the same fate.

Follow @MattSaccaro

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Jon Jones’ Coach Mike Winkeljohn: Rashad Evans Could Have Knocked out Jones

I recently sat down with coach Mike Winkeljohn in his office in Albuquerque, N.M. “Wink” gave his impressions on Travis Browne’s and Jon Jones’ performances at UFC 145, and looked ahead to Diego Brandao’s fight against Dar…

On Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs

When I was holding for him getting ready for this fight, he hit me with a knee one time through the pads that cracked my face and split my lip open. So I was excited to see him do that to someone else, cause I was calling him a jerk when he did that to me.

On Jon Jones getting caught by Rashad’s overhand right

Jon stood to still too much and got hit by it. Close to finishing the fight. It could have been, within inches, a little more snap of the hips to snap the chin down and cause that much more pain that would have put Jon out. So we got away with that one. And same thing with the head kick. The Sean Salmon head kick that I worked with Rashad on so much. Jon got right in that space, leaned in and Rashad kicked him in the head. Other than those two moments Jon pretty much owned the fight, and so I was really happy with that.

On John Dodson

Little John, he’s the real deal. He’s got a title in his future at 125, and maybe going up to 135. The most athletic guy I’ve ever taught. It’s like playing a video game. Working with him I can just call things out and he just does whatever.

On Dodson’s footwork

He’s able to move so quick that people can’t hit him. And they’re not sure where when he’s coming or where he’s attacking from. He’s starting to understand how to get his feet underneath him, so he has the power. So he’s getting the knockout power. We’ve seen that on the Ultimate Fighter. He’s starting to put people out. At 125, that doesn’t happen very often.

On Diego Brandao learning how to hunt people

He’s throwing, and then he steps off to the side and kind of hides in the bushes, and waits for his prey to turn a certain way, and then he’s able to attack again.

So in my mind, I’m always thinking light wildlife. Just waiting for the right opportunity. Instead of just jumping into a scramble and not sure what’s going to happen. It’s kind of waiting. Just waiting for the right time to pounce on your prey. Diego’s getting smart at that. He’s getting better and better at small angles.

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UFC 145 Results: Is Che Mills Really a Can After Loss to Rory MacDonald?

Che Mills (14-5 and 1 no contest) may have bled and lost via TKO to hot welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald (13-1), but he is definitely not on a losing skid. That fifth career loss was only the first after an impressive streak of five consecutive win…

Che Mills (14-5 and 1 no contest) may have bled and lost via TKO to hot welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald (13-1), but he is definitely not on a losing skid.

That fifth career loss was only the first after an impressive streak of five consecutive wins. And the last win recorded just a few months ago was an impressive devastation of Chris Cope, winning him the Knockout of the Night award.

Mills, it should be noted, is a former Cage Rage British welterweight champ and has finished twice, via strikes, DREAM Welterweight Champion and Strikeforce veteran Marius Zaromskis. Not many fighters can boast of having the same finishing rate, with 11 (7 by KO, 4 by submission) of his 14 victories via the short route.

It should also be noted that Mills has only been in his second UFC fight, and now sports a still respectable 1-1 record fighting inside The Octagon. Win some, lose some; win one, lose one.

As far as winning percentage is concerned, he is 50-50 in the UFC and around 73-27 in total MMA career record. Not bad, really.

He is still better off than some other active fighters in the UFC stable.

The Muay Thai specialist and former British MMA titlist is in a far better position than his compatriot Dan Hardy. The Outlaw seems to be overstaying with a glaring losing slide, with four straight defeats running. (Well, personality goes a long way in ensuring staying power…)

Likewise, Mills is also in a much safer position than Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama. Sexyama’s sex appeal has eroded a “bit” with his own string of four consecutive losses.

Mills can learn from his other countryman, Michael Bisping, and improve his wrestling. Bisping gave a very commendable performance, albeit resulting to a decision loss, against Chael Sonnen.

Those who thought that The Count would be tossed around like a ragdoll by The Mouth were gravely mistaken. Sure, he got taken down by the elite wrestler, but he gave his opponent a much harder time than was generally expected.

In fact, the Brit even took down Sonnen in the remaining seconds of the third and final round!

The question is, just when will Mills show a significant improvement in the wrestling department?

How close will he ever get to the Chuck Liddell mode of fighting: Keeping oneself standing with great wrestling defense in order to inflict more lethal strikes on the feet?

At only 29 years of age and still relatively a newbie in the UFC, Mills undoubtedly has more time than other fighters in improving any area of his game.

MacDonald could win the welterweight title some day? Who says that Mills can’t do the same?

Now going back to our original question: Is the fighter, who shares the same first name with the iconic Argentinian revolutionary and martyr, a can?

The answer is a resounding “No!”

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Chuck Liddell: Jon Jones Has the Potential to Become the Greatest of All Time

After reigning the UFC light heavyweight division for nearly two years, UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell says he envisions a similar path for current 205-pound champion Jon Jones.Jones has already defended the l…

Jones has already defended the light heavyweight title on three occasions, including his recent victory over Rashad Evans last weekend at UFC 145. The champion cruised through a five-round bout, outclassing his opponent en route to earning a unanimous decision.

To consider how much the New York native has accomplished in such a short time is unprecedented, and at only 24 years old, Liddell feels like Jones still has a lot of time to progress but carries the right attitude that can elevate him to new heights in the sport.

“Jon has the right attitude, he can get there [to be the best],” Liddell told ESPN.co.uk. “He keeps working at everything, he is hungry and motivated and he has the potential [to be the best].”

What was once widely renowned as the deepest division in the UFC, has suddenly become rather shallow since Jones captured the light heavyweight strap over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua nearly a year ago.

“Bones” would follow up with two consecutive title defenses over former champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida later that year, capping off arguably the greatest individual year in mixed martial arts history.

Having already defeated another former champion in Evans, and slated to meet Dan Henderson later this year, Jones could essentially clean out the division before the age of 25.

And should that be the case, Jones has been linked with the possibility of competing at heavyweight, a move which Liddell says he wouldn’t be shocked to see happen.

“Jon’s got the frame for heavyweight, if he works his way up, he could definitely move up,” he said.

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