Tag: UFC 146

UFC 146 Fight Card: Which Fight Will Steal the Show?

After losing a major headliner as well as shuffling other fighters around due to injuries, this weekend’s all heavyweight main card seems to finally be in place—hopefully.UFC 146 will feature an unprecedented amount of top heavyweight t…

After losing a major headliner as well as shuffling other fighters around due to injuries, this weekend’s all heavyweight main card seems to finally be in place—hopefully.

UFC 146 will feature an unprecedented amount of top heavyweight talent, despite the loss of some major MMA stars from the event. While all eyes will still be on the title battle between champion Junior dos Santos and challenger Frank Mir, there’s another match-up that catches my eye.

Taking the fight on 12 days notice, veteran knockout artist Lavar Johnson will be stepping in for fan favorite Mark Hunt against the towering Stefan Struve. In a battle between a heavy-handed striker and a slick submission artist, this bout has all the makings of a classic—and will definitely not be going the distance.

Johnson has a penchant for the dramatics, emphatically staking his claim in the UFC’s heavyweight division with back-to-back Knockout of the Night performances in his first two fights with the promotion. Owning wins over veteran strikers such as Pat Barry and Joey Beltran, Johnson is a serious threat on his feet and will test Struve’s chin.

While not taking a lot of damage in his utter dismantling of Barry, a great battle that could have taken Fight of the Night if it went out of the first round, it will be interesting to see if he can get his game plan together in such a short amount of time.  

As a fearsome young heavyweight with amazing physical and technical gifts, Struve is no slouch and can exploit Johnson’s weaknesses if he gets sloppy.

With all three of his UFC losses coming by way of KO, Struve will be weary of Johnson’s hands and will likely look to get the fight to the mats. Interestingly, this is Johnson’s weak point, as the heavy-handed veteran has tasted defeat four times in his career via submission.

Since both men are great at each other’s weaknesses, this fight will be a test of wills. The victor will have to impose his style and pressure his opponent, or else suffer another embarrassing finish in defeat.

Johnson will have to sprawl heavy and look to beat Struve on the inside, avoiding the Dutch heavyweight’s reach so he can blast him with a power shot from up close.

Struve’s plan should be the exact opposite as the towering UFC vet will try to keep the fight on the outside before looking to take Johnson down.

What makes this bout so exciting is that both Johnson and Struve know how to execute exciting finishes. With five fight night bonuses between them, regardless of who comes out on top, expect them to add a Fight of the Night award to their collections before Saturday night is over. 

 

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Wednesday Ends with a Whimper, but Fight Week Goes into High Gear Tomorrow

The first full day of fight week is exhausting. I say this mostly because I woke up a little before 5am to catch my flight here this morning, and yet here I sit at 8:00 p.m. with the day not being close to over yet.Open workouts were interesting. I’ve …

The first full day of fight week is exhausting. I say this mostly because I woke up a little before 5am to catch my flight here this morning, and yet here I sit at 8:00 p.m. with the day not being close to over yet.

Open workouts were interesting. I’ve already filled you in on Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos, the headliners for Saturday’s big event. I had a lengthy chat with Frank shortly after I posted that update this afternoon; We talked about a ton of subjects, and I’ll have some notes from that for you later in the week.

Tomorrow is the press conference, right in the lobby of the MGM Grand. It’s open to fans, so if you’re in Las Vegas, you should make a point to stop by. UFC officials told me today that all ten heavyweights on the main card will be involved in the press conference. That doesn’t happen very often, and it should be an interesting one. You can watch the entire thing right here at Bleacher Report if you’re not here in Nevada, or if you have zero desire to brave the heat and the Strip to see it in person.

We’re doing a number of interesting things over the next 48 hours. You’ll be able to catch most of them on upcoming editions of The Ultimate Show with Kenda Perez. But please, by all means continue to stay tuned here. I’ll keep updating this fight week diary with what I hope are interesting news and anecdotes from what is sure to be an exhausting and awesome week in the Las Vegas sun.

UFC 146 Fight Card: A Frank Mir Victory Cements His Place as a UFC Hall-of-Famer

Heavyweight Frank Mir may already be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame when he hangs up his gloves, but at Saturday’s UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Mir has the chance to erase any doubt of whether he deserves such an accolade. Mir’s heavyweight record…

Heavyweight Frank Mir may already be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame when he hangs up his gloves, but at Saturday’s UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Mir has the chance to erase any doubt of whether he deserves such an accolade.

Mir’s heavyweight record 14 wins inside the Octagon and devastating submission game are more than enough for consideration into the exclusive club.

Yet, Mir’s inability to remain at the top of the division hurts the case for his inclusion. After all, every other member dominated their weight class for an extensive period of time.

When the cage door shuts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26, Mir will look to recapture the UFC belt that he has already held twice in the past.

However, he’ll be facing the type of fighter that has been his kryptonite in the past: vicious knockout artist—and current champion—Junior dos Santos.

Although Mir has numerous, memorable submissions on his lengthy record—such as breaking the arms of both Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—you’ll find a number of equally embarrassing defeats, all by KO or TKO.

He was demolished by heavy-hitters Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, but he has been able to work his way back into title contention—with a little bit of luck.

Had it not been for Alistair Overeem’s failed pre-fight drug test, who knows if Mir would’ve ever been granted another shot at UFC gold. Yet, here he is, in the position to become champion once again.

Certainly there are other factors in Mir’s candidacy, beyond this current fight. The fact that he overcame a serious motorcycle accident following his first title run to capture the interim belt in 2008 has to be taken into consideration.

Again, being that he was forced to vacate the belt due to injury and failed to unify the interim belt are significant arguments against his place in the elite group.

Mir is in the driver’s seat if he wants to prove he belongs. If he can finally figure out how to solve the puzzle that has derailed his past runs, and defeat dos Santos, it would be very hard to deny his place in UFC history.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, follow him on Twitter.

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UFC 146 Fight Card: A Frank Mir Victory Cements His Place as a UFC Hall-of-Famer

Heavyweight Frank Mir may already be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame when he hangs up his gloves, but at Saturday’s UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Mir has the chance to erase any doubt of whether he deserves such an accolade. Mir’s heavyweight record…

Heavyweight Frank Mir may already be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame when he hangs up his gloves, but at Saturday’s UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Mir has the chance to erase any doubt of whether he deserves such an accolade.

Mir’s heavyweight record 14 wins inside the Octagon and devastating submission game are more than enough for consideration into the exclusive club.

Yet, Mir’s inability to remain at the top of the division hurts the case for his inclusion. After all, every other member dominated their weight class for an extensive period of time.

When the cage door shuts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26, Mir will look to recapture the UFC belt that he has already held twice in the past.

However, he’ll be facing the type of fighter that has been his kryptonite in the past: vicious knockout artist—and current champion—Junior dos Santos.

Although Mir has numerous, memorable submissions on his lengthy record—such as breaking the arms of both Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—you’ll find a number of equally embarrassing defeats, all by KO or TKO.

He was demolished by heavy-hitters Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, but he has been able to work his way back into title contention—with a little bit of luck.

Had it not been for Alistair Overeem’s failed pre-fight drug test, who knows if Mir would’ve ever been granted another shot at UFC gold. Yet, here he is, in the position to become champion once again.

Certainly there are other factors in Mir’s candidacy, beyond this current fight. The fact that he overcame a serious motorcycle accident following his first title run to capture the interim belt in 2008 has to be taken into consideration.

Again, being that he was forced to vacate the belt due to injury and failed to unify the interim belt are significant arguments against his place in the elite group.

Mir is in the driver’s seat if he wants to prove he belongs. If he can finally figure out how to solve the puzzle that has derailed his past runs, and defeat dos Santos, it would be very hard to deny his place in UFC history.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, follow him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir Live Streaming Pre-Fight Press Conference

Coming off of his historic fight against Cain Velasquez, in which he scored a knockout to become the UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos will defend his title for the first time at Saturday’s UFC 146. Although he was originally expected to comp…

Coming off of his historic fight against Cain Velasquez, in which he scored a knockout to become the UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos will defend his title for the first time at Saturday’s UFC 146.

Although he was originally expected to compete against former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem, dos Santos will now meet a former UFC champion in Frank Mir, who was called in as a replacement after Overeem was suspended for having elevated T/E levels.

To add to the excitement for this fight card, the entire main card will be comprised of heavyweight bouts. Velasquez will welcome Antonio Silva to the UFC and attempt to take a big step toward reclaiming his belt. After losing three of his last four fights, Roy Nelson will attempt to get back on track against Dave Herman. Rising heavyweights Stipe Miocic, Shane del Rosario, Stefan Struve and Lavar Johnson will also appear on the pay-per-view-portion of the event.

To promote UFC 146, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a pre-fight press conference will be held on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.

Event headliners dos Santos, Mir, Velasquez and Silva will join UFC president Dana White for the presser.

Video of the press conference will be streamed live on the below video player. After the presser, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all the latest on UFC on Fox and the rest of your MMA needs.

 

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

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UFC 146: Things You Need to Know About the Dos Santos vs Frank Mir Fight Card

The UFC 146 fight card has gone through its fair share of changes since it was first announced, but two things have remained constant, every fight on the main card will be contested at the heavyweight limit and Junior dos Santos will defend his UFC hea…

The UFC 146 fight card has gone through its fair share of changes since it was first announced, but two things have remained constant, every fight on the main card will be contested at the heavyweight limit and Junior dos Santos will defend his UFC heavyweight crown in the main event.

Barring some last-minute change (not something I am wishing on anyone), we know what the matchups will be on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In an effort to give you some more information on  a select number of those fights, what follows are a few things you should know as fight night approaches.

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