Mitch Gagnon gets the Canadians off to a good start at UFC 152 in Toronto!UFC commentator Joe Rogan was talking early about how Gagnon needed to get on the inside if he wanted to land on the taller, longer Walel Watson, and Gagnon did just that it. Les…
Mitch Gagnon gets the Canadians off to a good start at UFC 152 in Toronto!
UFC commentator Joe Rogan was talking early about how Gagnon needed to get on the inside if he wanted to land on the taller, longer Walel Watson, and Gagnon did just that it. Less than a minute into the fight Gagnon landed a big left hand, countering a superman punch from Watson, that dropped his opponent.
From there, Gagnon was able to capitalize on Watson being separated from his senses, taking his back and sinking in the rear-naked choke.
Quick fight and a big in for Gagnon.
What we’ll remember about the fight
The punch and the finish.
It wasn’t a long fight (1:09), so there isn’t really much that you can forget. Good, short fight and a definite crowd-pleaser.
What we learned about Mitch Gagnon
He has good power and solid composure.
Not only did Gagnon land a big punch that dropped his opponent, but he also remained calm afterwards, capitalizing on his advantage quickly, but without making mistakes.
What we learned about Walel Watson
His chin is susceptible to being really hard?
Unfortunately Watson didn’t get to show us much in this fight. Coming off three UFC losses in a row, there’s a good chance he’ll be released from the promotion.
What’s next for Mitch Gagnon
Johnny Eduardo is also 1-1 at bantamweight. Hook ’em up.
What’s next for Walel Watson
Cut ’em!
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a stand-up comedian. Check him out on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.
Before Jon Jones defends his light heavyweight title against Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 152, there are a number of great fights to keep fans excited.People that do not want to spend money on the pay-per-view will be more than satisfied with…
Before Jon Jones defends his light heavyweight title against VitorBelfort in the main event of UFC 152, there are a number of great fights to keep fans excited.
People that do not want to spend money on the pay-per-view will be more than satisfied with the preliminary card on FX. There are four bouts across four weight classes that have competitors looking for their big break.
While there are no titles on the line in these matches, the fighters will work hard to add a win to their records.
Igor Pokrajac vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Each of these fighters could be contenders in the light heavyweight division. They have both shown that they can stay with top talent, and with the right game plan, they can come out victorious.
Magalhaes has especially been on a hot streak lately, winning his last five bouts. He is a submission specialist, with seven of his nine victories coming by tap out. Pokrajac has had impressive wins over Fabio Maldonado and KrzysztofSoszynski over the past year, but it will be difficult to defend his opponent’s tough holds.
Prediction: Magalhaes wins by submission
T.J. Grant vs. Evan Dunham
Grant has only recently started competing in the lightweight division has fared well with a 2-0 record. He has shown he has the endurance to go the distance if necessary, but his inability to finish off opponents could hurt in this competitive bout.
Dunham is a Jiu-Jitsu specialist who is solid both on his feet and on the mat. He has been more consistent in his career and should be able to use his experience to come out victorious.
Prediction: Dunham wins by decision
Sean Pierson vs. Lance Benoist
This is a classic matchup between youth and experience. Pierson has been competing in the sport since 1999 and has had various success. Conversely, Benoist has only competed in six MMA events, only two of which were in the UFC.
Still, the youngster has shown plenty of potential in his young career. He is coming off his first career loss against Seth Baczynski, but it was a close bout that ended in a split decision.
If he learns from his mistakes, Benoist could be one of the better competitors throughout UFC.
Prediction: Benoist wins by decision
JimyHettes vs. Marcus Brimage
Hettes is new to UFC, but he is on the path towards being a contender in the featherweight division. He is undefeated in his 10-bout career and won his first nine by submission.
His only weakness is his inexperience, but Brimage does not have enough to counter. Hettes should be able to continue his domination of the sport as he uses this match as a stepping-stone to greater things.
Jon Jones has been vilified by MMA fans and media across all parts of the world over the last month for the fallout over UFC 151. I supported Jones shortly after the event was canceled, and made a few points in the process.My article questioned whether…
My article questioned whether Jones actually knew that if he turned down the Sonnen fight that the whole event would be scrapped. One single fighter is never supposed to make or break an event and is never bigger and better than the organization as a whole. I’m sure Jones felt the same way when making his own selfish decision to turn down the fight.
I was hit with criticism from readers and people saying that Dana White said that Jones knew and so the credibility of my article is out the window. I had heard Dana say this, yes, but does one man’s take always speak the truth?
I’m not calling anyone a liar in this situation, but there are always two sides to every story, and at the time, I had yet to hear any explanation, reason or comment from Jones. I like to hear it directly from the mouth of the participants, and Thursday was a chance to do that with both men in town.
Who do you believe in this debacle of sport megastar vs. league commissioner and president? My take is that it probably is somewhere right in the middle, in that White probably said off the cuff to Jones that he was costing them the whole show, and Jones took it to mean the fall of the numbers at the gate and PPV. I am absolutely speculating off the cuff, but we can never know how it went down inside that UFC 151 war room.
All I know is that no fighter has ever had that type of pressure heaped onto his shoulders before, not Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar or Dan Henderson. A UFC event has never been canceled before because one fight fell through, so why should Jones believe it would now?
He also stated in the conference that if he were another fighter on that card, he would be more insulted and angry at the UFC for not thinking they could pull it off, and I agree with Jones. I would have been like, “Screw him if he doesn’t want to fight, move me up on the card and let’s roll!”
Not every card will be a gold standard or a total bust, but you can never tell which fights or cards are going to shine from the way they look on paper.
The truth of the matter is that fights and fighters should never be picked based on the quality or quantity of one’s mouth; there has always been title climb integrity in the UFC. Jones is as qualified and as entitled as anyone to make the decision as to who he fights, whether Dana or any of us agree, it’s his life and limb on the line. Surely, Sonnen is much more than just a mouth, but I agree with Jones that at this time, he should not get a shot at the light heavyweight belt.
Jones will beat VitorBelfort tonight in Toronto, and it is one of the brighter things to result from the UFC 151 fallout. Toronto got a second Jon Jones fight in less than a year against one of the greatest fighters of all time, and surefire HOF’er, VitorBelfort.
There have been mild-to-medium boos for Jones all week here at UFC 152 events, but let’s move on and have some perspective on a 25-year-old young man finding his way.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.
The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is on the line tonight, as kingpin Jon Jones takes on the legendary Vitor Belfort.Thrown together at the last minute, this fight does have intriguing qualities. Belfort has some of the fastest hands in the game, a…
The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is on the line tonight, as kingpin Jon Jones takes on the legendary VitorBelfort.
Thrown together at the last minute, this fight does have intriguing qualities. Belfort has some of the fastest hands in the game, and is extremely well-rounded.
Jones, though, has looked immaculate in his time as a mixed martial artist. All of his title fights have looked as if a man was playing with boys.
Jones is looking to dispatch his fifth former world champion when he meets Belfort. Previous to this fight, he has beaten former champs Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, LyotoMachida and Rashad Evans.
In looking at this fight, I expect Jones to fight as he usually does. He will create distance with his reach, and will keep Belfort out of range.
Once Jones finds a range, he will use flashy strikes to open up his wrestling. When Jones gets Belfort down, the party will begin for the champion.
Jones will use brutal ground and pound to soften up Belfort. Belfort is educated on the ground, but Jones is a whole different animal.
Eventually the ground and pound will open up an opportunity for Jones. He will look to sink in a choke as Belfort struggles to get out.
If this fight makes it past the second round, I will be surprised. Either way, a stoppage victory is to be expected, and the championship belt will not change hands.
The UFC’s unofficial support for Testosterone Replacement Therapy may just have become more or less official. Because the Ontario Athletic Commission doesn’t engage in the pesky business of drug testing, responsibility falls to the UFC to do so. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and certainly the UFC’s own policies have caught fighters doping. But things are a little different now – fighters have a legal means of obtaining synthetic testosterone, the primary component of many anabolic steroids. The flipside of this is that they need to acquire a therapeutic use exemption in order to use TRT, which at least illuminates who is using the stuff to enhance their performance.
The UFC’s unofficial support for Testosterone Replacement Therapy may just have become more or less official. Because the Ontario Athletic Commission doesn’t engage in the pesky business of drug testing, responsibility falls to the UFC to do so. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and certainly the UFC’s own policies have caught fighters doping. But things are a little different now – fighters have a legal means of obtaining synthetic testosterone, the primary component of many anabolic steroids. The flipside of this is that they need to acquire a therapeutic use exemption in order to use TRT, which at least illuminates who is using the stuff to enhance their performance.
Of course, this is bullshit. The UFC is completely capable of disclosing that information. The UFC simply willnot disclose if a fighter requests a TUE. Which is strange, given that Dana White seems to be such a fan of the practice. If TRT is “great,” “absolutely fair,” and “legal,” why bother with the secrecy? It appears to be a tacit admission that the process is, at best, ethically dubious. Which it is – it allows a select group of fighters who possess naturally lower levels of testosterone, possibly resulting from prior steroid use, to use synthetic testosterone during their training camps and daily lives so long as they bring their testosterone levels within normal limits by the time of their fights. Functionally, it’s the same thing as a steroid cycle.
The only positive about TRT is that it’s public. But for UFC 152, thanks to the incompetency of the Ontario Athletic Commission and the UFC’s suspect disclosure policies, it won’t be. You would think that if you had an aging fighter who has bulked up almost twenty pounds from his previous bout – while training with, among others, Alistair Overeem – and is fighting in the main event, you’d want to alleviate any suspicions among observers. But this is the UFC we’re talking about. They don’t handle suspicion; they dismiss it and anyone who bothers to express it.
Everyone can talk about Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann, but the real can’t-miss fight from the UFC 152 pay-per-view is the featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson and Charles O…
Everyone can talk about Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones vs. VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann, but the real can’t-miss fight from the UFC 152pay-per-view is the featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira.
Both of these fighters are threats to finish the fight anywhere. Both are black belts in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and both have very solid striking.
Swanson’s last two fights have both been won by TKO, and both have been impressive victories over good competition. He beat George Roop with a huge punch that knocked out Roop‘s mouthpiece, and he followed that up with a TKO of former lightweight contender Ross Pearson.
Meanwhile, Oliveira‘s last two wins have been submissions, one of which was a rarely seen calf-slicer, which he scored against Eric Wisely. The other was an anaconda choke against Jonathan Brookins.
These two are going to have an absolute war with Swanson likely looking to knock out Oliveira, and Oliveira likely looking to submit Swanson.
Both have shown vulnerability to submission and TKO losses, so either of these two could win the fight anywhere it may go.
As featherweights, you know there will be non-stop action, and cardio will not be an issue.
Look for this fight to be a contender for “Fight of the Night,” and if the rest of the card weren’t so stacked, this probably would be the front-runner as the best fight of the night.
Tim McTiernan is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter.
Mitch Gagnon gets the Canadians off to a good start at UFC 152 in Toronto!