Tag: UFC 149

UFC 149 Results: What Will Be Urijah Faber’s Legacy?

Saturday’s UFC 149 marked an end of an era in mixed martial arts.In the main event interim bantamweight title fight, Urijah Faber, the longtime face of MMA’s lighter weight classes, was dominated by Renan Barao.  “The California Kid” was unable t…

Saturday’s UFC 149 marked an end of an era in mixed martial arts.

In the main event interim bantamweight title fight, Urijah Faber, the longtime face of MMA‘s lighter weight classes, was dominated by Renan Barao.  “The California Kid” was unable to contest with the Brazilian standing up and found himself on the wrong side of the unanimous decision.

The loss, which was Faber’s fifth straight in a championship bout, was likely his last shot at capturing a piece of UFC gold and unfortunately spells the end of his reign as the face of the lighter divisions. 

But while his time as a highly touted former champion may be over, Faber remains a legend and a pioneer of the sport.

Rewind the clock less than five years ago, and the landscape of MMA was drastically different than it is today.

Back then, only the heavier weight classes featured in the UFC garnered the majority of the attention from mainstream fans.  Fighters competing in the featherweight division and lower were relegated to the regional circuit and a little known promotion known as the WEC.

Back when only champs such as Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre were making headlines, Faber was scraping his way into the spotlight as the WEC featherweight king, creating a buzz for the smaller guys.

The jacked kid from the west coast had all the makings of a star and did not waste the opportunity to take the lighter weight classes into the spotlight with him.

In MMA’s earlier days, Faber was the name dominating the featherweight division.  At one point reigning as the simultaneous WEC and King of the Cage 145-pound champ, “the California Kid” rolled over both veterans such as Jeff Curran and Jens Pulver as well as future stars like Dominick Cruz and Bibiano Fernandes.

Faber’s powerful wrestling combined with his heavy strikes made him a force to be reckoned with, while his impressive physique and charming personality made him the face of the eventually Zuffa-owned WEC.

Even after losing to and failing to regain his title from Mike Brown in 2008 and 2009, Faber was still one of the top three guys in the world at 145, as he continued to defeat highly ranked featherweights.

Faber’s named remained in the lights and helped make his WEC 48 title fight against the then-newly crowned champ Jose Aldo worthy of a pay-per-view status.

However, it was this loss that started the decline of the “Kid.”

Aldo’s dominating performance showcased the next evolution of the sport for the lighter guys.

No longer could a muscular fighter like Faber overpower his opponents, using his strength to dominate the smaller guys.  Aldo showed that the new breed had better footwork and more pinpoint-accurate techniques than those that pioneered the lighter weight classes.

To his credit, Faber also evolved after this bout.

Dropping down to bantamweight, the “Kid” found a resurgence.  Faber looked not only faster at his new home, but his technique looked crisper, making him an instant contender at 135.

However, his nemesis Dominick Cruz had an even bigger career turnaround at bantamweight.

Earning his shot at the champ after back-to-back wins over highly touted 135ers Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland, Faber was unable to defeat Cruz at UFC 132.  Cruz showed that he had evolved into a much more elusive and faster fighter than Faber and out-pointed the former champ.

His fourth straight title fight defeat, this loss was a close decision but once again showed Faber’s inability to cope with faster, more technical fighters.

His follow-up win over former champ Brian Bowles was an impressive Submission of the Night performance, but it was just a win over another face of the WEC’s old guard.  But that’s the type of fighters he should be facing now.

Faber is still a top-tier guy with a lot of fights left in him, but pitting him against up-and-coming contenders like Barao just aren’t good matchups for the “Kid.”  Faber’s not past his prime, but his style of fighting just won’t match the ever-evolving new breed of the lighter weight classes.

The Baraos, the Cruzs or the Michael McDonalds of the lighter divisions are just operating on a different level than the old champs and contenders of the WEC.

The 33-year-old Faber is no longer the face of the smaller guys, but is now the face of the old guard.  Unless he has a late career resurgence, Faber should only be taking on guys like Miguel Torres.

When Faber does decide to call it quits, these past few years as a contender who just fell short of a belt shouldn’t mar his legacy as a pioneer of the featherweight classes and below.  Despite the five straight title-fight losses, these defeats showed that “the California Kid” never quit even in the face of an ever-evolving new breed.

Years from now, Faber will be regarded as the face that helped to pioneer a small promotion like the WEC filled with talented smaller fighters into the spotlight.

Faber’s legacy will go down as one of the most important fighters in MMA history to never wear UFC gold.

 

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UFC News: Hector Lombard Has No Plans to Drop Down to Welterweight

Despite his new boss recommending that he drop from middleweight to welterweight, Bellator’s former 185-pound champion, Hector Lombard, said he has no plans to fight at a new weight class. Lombard tweeted this morning:
I feel strong at 185 just be…

Despite his new boss recommending that he drop from middleweight to welterweight, Bellator’s former 185-pound champion, Hector Lombard, said he has no plans to fight at a new weight class. 

Lombard tweeted this morning:

After coming into the UFC on the strength of a 25-fight unbeaten streak, “Lightning” lost a split decision to Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch at UFC 149 in a lackluster affair that saw Lombard’s trademark aggression completely absent. 

UFC president Dana White suggested Lombard test the waters at welterweight at the UFC 149 post-fight conference, since “he made 85 easy.” 

The loss Saturday night was just the third of the former Olympic judoka’s professional MMA career, which includes 36 fights. 

Boetsch has now won eight of his past nine bouts, including a 4-0 run at middleweight and back-to-back wins over former UFC title challenger Yushin Okami and Lombard.

However, given that Boetsch likely broke his foot during the course of the bout, his hopes of an eventual showdown with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva have likely taken a back seat. 

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UFC Injuries: Would It Ever Be the Right Call to Postpone a Card?

UFC 149 was unquestionably the worst overall UFC pay-per-view viewer experience since UFC 33.And that’s saying something, because UFC 33 set a new low that I figured would never be equaled. If you remember, that was the card that went black nationwide …

UFC 149 was unquestionably the worst overall UFC pay-per-view viewer experience since UFC 33.

And that’s saying something, because UFC 33 set a new low that I figured would never be equaled. If you remember, that was the card that went black nationwide after the UFC used up its allotment of pay-per-view airtime, forcing cable stations to pull the plug before the main event between Tito Ortiz and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Of course, some of you veteran fans who were actually watching on pay-per-view when the broadcast was yanked were probably thankful, because the developing Ortiz/Matyushenko bout wasn’t exactly full of thrills and chills. Three championship bouts—all of which were boring—went to full 25-minute decisions.

For Dana White to compare UFC 149 to UFC 33—which he did during the post-fight press conference—well, you know you’re dealing with an all-time terrible card.

What’s to blame? Injuries, of course.

This wasn’t the card the UFC wanted to bring to Calgary. It was the card it gamely put together after being dealt injury blows to nearly all of the stars who were booked for the event.

In the lead-up to the fight, there were many stories written about the horrific state of the card, how it was uninteresting and clearly a show that fans could avoid. Most of these stories neglected to mention that, at one point or another, Jose Aldo, Michael Bisping, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Shogun Rua, Thiago Silva and Thiago Alves were all booked for the event. 

There’s an easy fix for the injury issue: stop running so many events.

With a packed schedule, you’re constantly ripping stars from one event to feed another and the result is cards like the one you saw on Saturday night. But the UFC is adamant that it’s not overexposing the product, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

So why can’t the UFC cancel events, especially when it’s obvious that it’s not going to be able to fill out the event with the desired level of superstar fights? This seems like the most logical solution, right? Walk away with your head held high and promise to return in the future with an action-packed card.

The answer isn’t all that easy. For starters, what’s the guarantee that, when it finally does return to that market in the future, the card it schedules won’t be riddled with injuries? Unless the UFC decides to start running fewer events per month, it is still going to run into injury replacement issues.

There’s also the matter of committed pay-per-view dates. A source in the cable industry told me that once a date has been finalized with cable providers, it’s incredibly difficult and very costly to cancel.

But are the costs of canceling those injury-plagued events higher than the damage done by subpar events? I’m not sure they are. The UFC rarely has nights like the one it did on Saturday, but a continual string of poor events would create a lack of interest in the fans who typically buy pay-per-view events.

The good news coming out of Saturday night—and there isn’t all that much in the way of good news—is that UFC 149 was an aberration. Bad televised cards are very rare, at least in the way that UFC 149 was almost universally bad.

It’ll likely rebound with a string of great shows, from the fourth FOX broadcast in two weeks all the way through the Toronto show in September headlined by Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson.

But there are lessons to be learned from UFC 149, and they are important lessons indeed. 

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[VIDEO] Matt Riddle Calls Out “Butter-Toothed Brit” Dan Hardy at the UFC 149 Post-Fight Press Conference


(Matt Riddle: So cool that he can make fun of British people while paying tribute to them at the same time.) 

To put it as politely as possible, UFC 149 was a pessimist’s utopia (not to mention an ad-libbers). Cheick Kongo brought the same lackluster gameplan into his fight with Shawn Jordan as he did against guys like Paul Buentello, Matt Mitrione, and Travis Browne, more or less proving that Frank Mir made good on his promise to “change Kongo as a fighter” back at UFC 107. Personally, I was not around to catch the abortion of a “fight” that was Lombard/Boetsch live, but my heart goes out to those of you who were. Lombard’s performance was so outright bizarre that if he were to come out with a Rampage Jackson-esque conspiracy theory about Canadians poisoning his food in the next couple of days, I would be inclined to believe him.

But amidst all of the despair, the dreck, and the gloom, there was one man who simply refused to be held down: Matt f*cking Riddle. Perhaps no one defies the pessimistic nature of many, if not most, MMA fans in the online community more than Riddle, who has shown a willingness to throw a winning gameplan aside for the sake of the fans entertainment on several occasions. Wide-eyed and perpetually grinning throughout nearly all of his fights, Riddle most closely resembles this generation’s Chris Lytle, and his balls to the wall performance against Chris Clements undoubtedly proved that, win or lose, he is main card material.

But greater than his sunny disposition, greater even than the split second securing of that arm-triangle choke in the third round, was the hilarious rant he delivered at the UFC 149 post-fight press conference. When asked why he wanted a piece of Dan Hardy by a reporter, Dana White made a halfhearted joke about the fact that Riddle hated British people, totally unaware of the Spicolian jeremiad that was about to follow.

A video of Riddle’s call out, along with Hardy’s response, awaits you after the jump. 


(Matt Riddle: So cool that he can make fun of British people while paying tribute to them at the same time.) 

To put it as politely as possible, UFC 149 was a pessimist’s utopia (not to mention an ad-libbers). Cheick Kongo brought the same lackluster gameplan into his fight with Shawn Jordan as he did against guys like Paul Buentello, Matt Mitrione, and Travis Browne, more or less proving that Frank Mir made good on his promise to “change Kongo as a fighter” back at UFC 107. Personally, I was not around to catch the abortion of a “fight” that was Lombard/Boetsch live, but my heart goes out to those of you who were. Lombard’s performance was so outright bizarre that if he were to come out with a Rampage Jackson-esque conspiracy theory about Canadians poisoning his food in the next couple of days, I would be inclined to believe him.

But amidst all of the despair, the dreck, and the gloom, there was one man who simply refused to be held down: Matt f*cking Riddle. Perhaps no one defies the pessimistic nature of many, if not most, MMA fans in the online community more than Riddle, who has shown a willingness to throw a winning gameplan aside for the sake of the fans entertainment on several occasions. Wide-eyed and perpetually grinning throughout nearly all of his fights, Riddle most closely resembles this generation’s Chris Lytle, and his balls to the wall performance against Chris Clements undoubtedly proved that, win or lose, he is main card material.

But greater than his sunny disposition, greater even than the split second securing of that arm-triangle choke in the third round, was the hilarious rant he delivered at the UFC 149 post-fight press conference. When asked why he wanted a piece of Dan Hardy by a reporter, Dana White made a halfhearted joke about the fact that Riddle hated British people, totally unaware of the Spicolian jeremiad that was about to follow.

After Riddle asserts that he only wants to fight Hardy for his name value, DW makes the aforementioned joke, to which Riddle responds:

I will be completely honest, When I fought in Manchester, England, they were very cruel to me. One fan actually spit directly in my face, and he was lucky enough where it hit my mouth. To be completely honest, I don’t have anything against English people, but I’ll go over to London, and I’ll put ‘em down.

It was my first international fight, and it was one I’ll never forget. It was my first loss in the UFC, and ever since I’ve had that loss, I’ve never let anything like that happen to me again. All my other losses are usually ‘Fight of the Night’ or a decision loss, and that was the only time I’ve ever been finished in my career.

…to be disrespected like that was the part that really upset me.

“I’m like his therapist,” White joked. On a side note, if we were to picture The Baldfather’s bedside manner, it would probably resemble something like this.

It was at this point that Riddle landed perhaps the single greatest blow of UFC 149 outside of Ryan Jimmo’s record-tying destruction of Anthony Perosh:

Everybody up here on this table is a world class athlete, and we should be treated like world class athletes. And for some butter-toothed Brit to spit in my mouth, that was some bull, and honestly it’s never been the same. 

“Wow,” White exclaimed, echoing the thoughts of every single person who happened to be witnessing this glorious moment in post-fight press conference history. Jimmo looked as if he were ready to piss himself, whereas Renan Barao could only stare at Riddle and wonder what the hell he said that was so damn funny.

Unfortunately for Riddle, it looks like he will have to wait a while to get a shot at Hardy, who responded to the call out via his Twitter:

Why the hell would I fight Riddle? There is no value in it for me and I’d be forced to look at him more than I have to now. (Riddle is) another Justin Bieber looking idiot that clearly knows nothing about the sport.

To a certain extent, Hardy is right, although the need to bring up Justin Bieber seemed a little harsh. A win over Riddle wouldn’t do much for his career, and would completely derail it if he were to lose. On the other hand, Hardy is currently set to face Amir Sodallah, whose stock may very well be lower than that of Riddle’s at the moment, so it’s hard to see what Hardy’s getting at there. Considering that he just scored his first win in two years over an aging veteran in Duane Ludwig, perhaps Hardy shouldn’t be acting like other fighters are below him on the totem pole while simultaneously fighting other guys at the same level. There is also the fact that Hardy has stated on various occasions that he only wants to fight guys who are willing to stand and bang with him. You know, like Matt Hughes. If you haven’t picked up what I’m getting at yet, it’s that Hardy sure likes to call out fighters he thinks he can beat, but doesn’t appreciate it when someone else does the same.

Like we said, Hardy’s still got Sodallah to get through, but after that, we’d like to see this matchup come to fruition. How about you, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

UFC 149: Renan Barao and Fighters Who Added Excitement to Lackluster Event

Renan Barao brought some rare excitement to a lackluster UFC 149 on Saturday night in Calgary. Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Urijah Faber provided fans with a first look at a legitimate bantamweight contender, and what he is capable of d…

Renan Barao brought some rare excitement to a lackluster UFC 149 on Saturday night in Calgary. 

Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Urijah Faber provided fans with a first look at a legitimate bantamweight contender, and what he is capable of doing against the best in mixed martial arts.

In an event that was less than anticipated, a handful of fighters rose up to the challenge of adding some excitement to UFC 149.

Let’s take a look.

 

Matt Riddle

American welterweight Matt Riddle ran his record to 7-3 on Saturday night, taking out Chris Clements via submission with a third round arm triangle. The 26-year-old has an entertaining fighting style with plenty of potential, and fans who tuned in on Saturday witnessed it.

Riddle looks to become more of a serious threat to the division in the future, and there’s no reason why he can’t. Wins against tough competition at big events like UFC 149 can do wonders for a fighter’s confidence. Riddle’s exciting result over Clements certainly stood out at an underwhelming event.

 

Renan Barao

The 25-year-old Brazilian overcame one of the world’s best bantamweight brawlers, Urijah Faber on Saturday night, outlasting The California Kid through five rounds to take a decision. Barao has now won his last 29 fights, and is next in line to claim the true division championship.  

Although Barao could have provided some buzz for UFC 149 with a knockout of Faber, his opponent was having nothing of the sort. Faber fought a solid fight and Barao went for it all despite it being just his first title fight. Barao deserves a great deal of respect for the courage he demonstrated and the entertainment he provided fans this past weekend. 

 

Ryan Jimmo

Canadian fighter Ryan Jimmo ignited the prelims with a knockout of Anthony Perosh that came just seven seconds into the fight. Although knockouts happen all the time in mixed martial arts, whenever they happen this early fans are shocked. If this had been a title fight then we would be mightily disappointed, but it was a build-up bout, and it provided the perfect warm up to the main event which was lacking in shock factor.

Jimmo’s nickname is “Big Deal,” and after Saturday night’s first round fireworks it’s not hard to see why. If the 30-year-old can continue to annihilate the competition in less than 10 seconds then he will be headed to the main card in no time. 

 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

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UFC 149 Results: Renan Barao and Biggest Winners from Marquee Event

Dana White has always been brutally honest, and it’s one of the main reasons UFC has been able to make an impact on the sports landscape. After Saturday night’s performances at UFC 149, he wasn’t afraid to say he was embarrassed by the card. While ther…

Dana White has always been brutally honest, and it’s one of the main reasons UFC has been able to make an impact on the sports landscape. After Saturday night’s performances at UFC 149, he wasn’t afraid to say he was embarrassed by the card.

While there were several bouts that left fans disappointed, there were still a couple fighters who picked up key wins during the event.

Let’s take a look at three of the big winners from UFC 149 and analyze what it will mean for them moving forward.

 

Cheick Kongo

It was a big night for Kongo. He was coming off a loss to Mark Hunt and facing a fighter 10 years younger than him, making a victory essential to keeping his career on track. It wasn’t pretty, but he found a way to defeat Shawn Jordan.

Kongo used his veteran experience to neutralize Jordan’s power, which allowed him to gain control of the fight early, and he cruised to a unanimous decision victory. Even though it wasn’t the most exciting bout of his career, he did exactly what he needed to do to win.

It should allow Kongo to earn another main-card appearance the next time out as he attempts to continue his resurgence. The Frenchman proved he’s not ready to get counted out quite yet.

 

Renan Barao

Barao kept his extended winning streak alive by beating Urijah Faber to become the interim UFC Bantamweight Champion. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2005 and has quickly moved up the ladder since joining the promotion last year.

There were a lot of questions heading into the bout about Barao’s ability to elevate his game against an elite fighter like Faber, but he answered them all. He took the lead early and never gave his opponent a chance to mount a comeback.

He will eventually face current title holder Dominick Cruz in a unification bout, but it’s unclear when Cruz expects to return from an ACL injury. One that’s decided, a next step can be taken by one of the UFC’s newest stars.

 

Ryan Jimmo

Every athlete wants to make a major impact when making a move, but few can match what Jimmo pulled off in his first UFC fight. Not only did he win, he knocked out Anthony Perosh in seven seconds, tying the company’s record.

Like Barao, the rising Canadian star has been on quite a roll. Jimmo lost his first career bout to Adam Braidwood more than five years ago and has proceeded to rattle off 17 straight victories. That type of streak is tough to ignore.

The victory immediately makes him a name to watch in the light heavyweight division. He should quickly move up the card, and it won’t be long before he enters the championship picture.

 

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