(“Now, Demian! Use the muscle-spasm death touch that I taught you!”)
Demian Maia‘s welterweight debut at UFC 148 was over before it really began, thanks to a poorly timed muscle spasm suffered by Dong Hyun Kim. But the former middleweight title contender will be getting another chance to make an impression against Rick Story. Their bout is scheduled to take place at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), a card that is quickly stacking up with top Brazilian talent. Story recently outpointed newcomer Brock Jardine at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida, which snapped a two-fight losing streak against Charlie Brenneman and Martin Kampmann.
Speaking of Brenneman, “The Spaniard” has booked his return fight after being choked out by Erick Silva in June. He’ll be appearing at UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson (September 1st, Las Vegas) against TUF 11 competitor — and former Crocodile Hunter bodyguard — Kyle Noke, who is coming off of two losses at middleweight and will be making his welterweight debut.
In other booking news…
(“Now, Demian! Use the muscle-spasm death touch that I taught you!”)
Speaking of Brenneman, “The Spaniard” has booked his return fight after being choked out by Erick Silva in June. He’ll be appearing at UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson(September 1st, Las Vegas) against TUF 11 competitor — and former Crocodile Hunter bodyguard — Kyle Noke, who is coming off of two losses at middleweight and will be making his welterweight debut.
– The UFC has confirmed more fights for their UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Bigfoot card (October 5th, Minneapolis). Notably, a heavyweight matchup between Matt Mitrione and Rob Broughton — originally scheduled for this weekend’s UFC on FOX 4 card, until Broughton pulled out due to injury — has been re-set for the UFC on FX 5 lineup. Broughton has dropped consecutive decisions to Travis Browne and Phil De Fries, while Mitrione will try to bounce back from his decision loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 137. And on the other end of the fighter-size spectrum, TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson will make his latest flyweight appearance against much-hyped newcomer Jussier da Silva, in a match that could very well produce the #1 contender in the 125-pound division.
Please direct your predictions to the comments section.
Brendan Schaub has a pretty good idea of when he’ll be making a return to the Octagon, and knows who he wants to host his “Welcome Back” party.According to MMAJunkie, Schaub is targeting a return at UFC 154 and thinks Lavar Johnson should be the guy fa…
Brendan Schaub has a pretty good idea of when he’ll be making a return to the Octagon, and knows who he wants to host his “Welcome Back” party.
According to MMAJunkie, Schaub is targeting a return at UFC 154 and thinks Lavar Johnson should be the guy facing him.
“When I talked to Joe Silva [on July 6], they said Nov. 17 is the plan,” Schaub said. “Nov. 17 in Montreal is the plan. And if it was up to me, I’d love to fight Lavar Johnson. That’d be fun, right?”
Schaub was on a four-fight win streak prior to dropping two-straight losses to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell. Schaub was viciously knocked out in both losses.
Johnson made quite an impression in his UFC debut by becoming the first man in the promotion to stop the durable Joey Beltran. The AKA-based fighter followed that impressive showing by dropping the fan-favorite Pat Barry. Both earned the fighter “Knockout of the Night” honors.
All that momentum came to a head when Johnson lost to Stefan Struve via submission in his third Octagon appearance.
Schaub would likely have an advantage on the ground as Johnson hasn’t shown much proficiency in that area. The main cause of concern for Schaub will no doubt be the punching power of Johnson.
The vicious manner in which Johnson was able to take out both Barry and Beltran were downright scary, and Schaub has shown to have a questionable chin. Schaub is the overall better fighter, but Johnson is always one punch away from collecting another fight bonus.
There isn’t a lot of argument that the UFC’s lightweight division is the most stacked and dominant in the company, but it hasn’t always been that way. Division power comes and goes with big names and big fights and as the UFC continues to grow, so…
There isn’t a lot of argument that the UFC’s lightweight division is the most stacked and dominant in the company, but it hasn’t always been that way. Division power comes and goes with big names and big fights and as the UFC continues to grow, so does each division.
The lightweight division has now been viewed as one of the best for a couple of years now thanks largely to the merger of the UFC and the WEC, which has seen the likes of Donald Cerrone, Danny Castillo, Anthony Njokuani, Anthony Pettis and current UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson all come over to the already deep division.
I remember hearing about the UFC’s light heavyweight division being the organization’s most dominant just a few years ago.
It seemed every time we looked, a new, talented challenger emerged and was beginning to look like the “next big thing.” Guys like Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Brandon Vera, Rampage Jackson, Thiago Silva, Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, and the list goes on and on, but my, how the mighty have fallen.
Today, many consider the light heavyweight division to be one of the weakest in the UFC. The main question is: what makes a division the most dominant?
Is it how top heavyweight it is or how deep it is? I would say it takes both and that’s why I believe that by the beginning of 2013, the UFC’s welterweight division will become the UFC’s most dominant.
I’ll start right at the top with reigning champion Georges St-Pierre. He is currently working his way back from a torn ACL, but he is planning on returning this November. GSP recently turned 31, which is in no way young, but, really isn’t that old neither. The way St-Pierre trains and takes very good care of himself outside the cage, he could have anywhere from three to six more years left inside the octagon.
Now, let’s take a look at the next five guys on top of the welterweight division: Carlos Condit, Martin Kampmann, Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz and Jake Ellenberger.
Condit, who is currently the UFC Interim Welterweight Champion, is only 28 years old and is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Nicknamed “The Natural Born Killer,” and for good reason, Condit holds 28 professional MMA wins, 13 by knockout and 13 by submission. He’s coming off arguably the biggest win of his career defeating Nick Diaz to become the UFC Interim Welterweight Champion and he’s scheduled to face St-Pierre for the undisputed Welterweight Championship in November.
Kampmann, 30, is scheduled to face Hendricks, 28, at the same event to name a new UFC welterweight No. 1 contender. Ellenberger, 27, is coming off a KO loss to Hendricks, but was riding a six-fight winning streak before the loss and could get right back into the title mix with another win.
Nick Diaz has fought all across the globe and is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion. While his attitude and actions have many worried about his future, there is no doubt in my mind we’ll see Diaz back in the UFC sometime in 2013. Believe it or not, Diaz is still only 28 years old.
So, the division is without question one of the most top heavy when it comes to the top six guys, but that’s not what separates the welterweight division from the others. No, that’s the talented group of young, scary and talented fighters in the middle.
It starts with Rory MacDonald, who is scheduled to fight former UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn in what will be the biggest test of his young career. MacDonald could very easily be the UFC Interim Champion today if he defeated Condit back in 2010. He was about 10 seconds from doing so, but the fight was stopped after MacDonald was rocked by a flurry from Condit. Since then, MacDonald has defeated Che Mills, Mike Pyle and Nate Diaz. A win over Penn will no doubt propel MacDonald from a young, up-and-comer to title contender overnight.
Other talent in the UFC welterweight division include Siyar Bahadurzada (28), Lance Benoist (23), John Hathaway (24), Erick Silva (27), Rick Story (28), Pascal Krauss (25), T.J. Waldburger (24), Matt Riddle (26) and Simeon Thorsesen (28). All of those guys hold at least one win in the UFC already and knowing Dana White and company, they’ll be looking to get the division more young talent as time goes on.
With all this said, you still can’t forget the so-called “other” guys which include former title contenders Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, B.J. Penn, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy as well as former middleweight title contender Demian Maia. The division also includes highly skilled veterans like Mike Pyle, Brian Ebersole, Mike Pierce, Dong Hyun Kim, Charlie Brenneman and Paulo Thiago.
As you can see, this division is absolutely stacked, which means get ready for some great fights and a lot of movement in the rankings as it appears we are currently moving into the age of the welterweights.
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks has taken the long journey up the rankings toward an eventual shot at the 170-pound championship.At 8-1 in the Octagon, and although Hendricks has beaten some of the very best in the world along the way, the j…
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks has taken the long journey up the rankings toward an eventual shot at the 170-pound championship.
At 8-1 in the Octagon, and although Hendricks has beaten some of the very best in the world along the way, the journey got a bit longer last week when UFC President Dana White announced that Hendricks will still have to win one more fight before getting a title shot.
After defeating Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3 in May, Hendricks was promised an immediate shot at the title. Unfortunately, with champion Georges St-Pierre still on the shelf and interim champion Carlos Condit content with waiting for St-Pierre’s return, the UFC was put in a very tough spot with Hendricks.
Rather than having him wait potentially up to a year for a title fight against the winner of GSP-Condit, the UFC opted to put him in a fight of his own on the same night, at UFC 154, against fellow top contender Martin Kampmann.
“It is what it is,” Hendricks told MMAFighting.com in a recent interview. “I feel like I fought the best guys at 170 in our division and I’ve won, but it looks like I have to get through one more person, and that’s just the way it goes. You can either sit here and complain about it or you can sit there and do your best to win it.”
Since the beginning of 2011, Hendricks has been on an impressive streak, winning each of his four fights, all of which came against very credible opponents. His most recent two victories were the biggest of his career as he defeated perennial top contenders Jon Fitch and Koscheck in back-to-back fights.
While he has no problem getting back in the cage and fighting Kampmann, it’s hard for him not to think about the opportunity that should have been his.
“Of course you’re disappointed. You get promised a title shot and then something happens and it doesn’t happen. But then again, that’s the nature of this business. There’s always good fights going on, you just have to win each one.”
With St-Pierre still out of action due to a torn ACL which has kept him out of action since mid-October 2011, Hendricks is still holding out hope that he might be able to sneak into the title picture sometime before the end of 2012.
“I’m training for a five-round fight because if one of them gets hurt, I got to take my opportunity when I can,” he said.
If Hendricks can defeat Kampmann, it will mark the third straight top five-ranked welterweight who he has defeated to get into the title picture. At that point, there really won’t be anything left for him to do than finish off his journey to the top with a title fight against St-Pierre or Condit.
If you ever wanted to tie things up, Matt Hughes, now is the time.
The UFC’s Welterweight division has been going nowhere fast for quite some time now. In the time since champ Georges St. Pierre was sidelined with an injury and lengthy recovery, we’ve controversially crowned a interim king who’d prefer to sit and wait for the champion to reemerge rather than fight the rest of the weight class’s top contenders, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what an interim champ is supposed to do.
Now, finally, it looks like frustrated fans have some good news: Carlos Condit has a date with “Rush” marked on his calendar. The bad news? It’s written in pencil and we still have to wait five months to see it.
As reported by Sherdog.com, UFC 154, slated to go down on November 17th in Montreal, will feature the ‘unification’ of the two Welterweight straps. St. Pierre last defended his title against Jake Shields at UFC 129 in April of 2011. Assuming that Georges recovers in time for this scrap, will nineteen months of ring rust make for an even more conservative performance from the champ?
After the jump, Hendricks and Kampmann will vie for a title shot on the undercard.
If you ever wanted to tie things up, Matt Hughes, now is the time.
The UFC’s Welterweight division has been going nowhere fast for quite some time now. In the time since champ Georges St. Pierre was sidelined with an injury and lengthy recovery, we’ve controversially crowned a interim king who’d prefer to sit and wait for the champion to reemerge rather than fight the rest of the weight class’s top contenders, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what an interim champ is supposed to do.
Now, finally, it looks like frustrated fans have some good news: Carlos Condit has a date with “Rush” marked on his calendar. The bad news? It’s written in pencil and we still have to wait five months to see it.
As reported by Sherdog.com, UFC 154, slated to go down on November 17th in Montreal, will feature the ‘unification’ of the two Welterweight straps. St. Pierre last defended his title against Jake Shields at UFC 129 in April of 2011. Assuming that Georges recovers in time for this scrap, will nineteen months of ring rust make for an even more conservative performance from the champ?
If things go to hell and GSP isn’t fully recovered in time for the bout, look for “The Hitman” to step up and face Condit for the interim title. “The Natural Born Killer” has previously stated that he’d like a chance to avenge his last loss to Kampmann in the event that GSP’s return is delayed.
The UFC’s welterweight division seems to be in some disarray at the moment.Champion Georges St-Pierre has not fought since defeating Jake Shields in April of 2011, and his expected return to the Octagon is somewhat up in the air. Meanwhile, inter…
The UFC’s welterweight division seems to be in some disarray at the moment.
Champion Georges St-Pierre has not fought since defeating Jake Shields in April of 2011, and his expected return to the Octagon is somewhat up in the air. Meanwhile, interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, if you listen to all the noise coming from around the MMA world, is refusing to fight anyone but St-Pierre. And while this is going on, the queue of top contenders continues to lengthen.
Following UFC on FX 3, some of the waters that the 170-pound division has become mired in became a little clearer.
First, according to the man holding the interim title, he is not sitting idly by and just waiting for St-Pierre to heal up. He’s doing what his UFC bosses have asked of him. Condit spoke on Fuel TV following Friday night’s fights:
I don’t make the matches. If UFC wanted me to fight somebody else, they’re the boss, they can ask me to fight and I would be up for it. They want me to fight Georges St-Pierre, and that’s who I want to fight as well, so that’s what I’m going to go with.
St-Pierre was originally injured while training for UFC 137, forcing him from that card. The welterweight champ was then booked to face Nick Diaz at UFC 143. But while training for that fight, he injured his ACL—an injury that required surgery.
The injury resulted in the UFC offering Condit that February 2012 fight to determine who would claim the interim crown while St-Pierre tended to his post-surgery recovery.
Condit, known for his willingness to exchange, threw Diaz a curve in that bout, refusing to get involved in a stand-up brawl with the former Strikeforce champion. Condit stuck to that game plan, walking out of the Mandalay Bay Events Center with the interim title strapped around his waist.
After Condit took the title, two top contenders emerged. First, Johny Hendricks advanced his record to 13-1 with a split-decision victory over Josh Koscheck in May. Then, Martin Kampmann stopped the surging Jake Ellenberger via second-round TKO in early June. The two victories put those two in the proverbial mix for title shot contention.
On Friday, UFC president Dana White gave some indication as to what exactly the UFC is planning for the top of the welterweight division. After UFC on FX 3, White revealed to MMAJunkie.com that the plan is to have St-Pierre and Condit fight to decide the undisputed welterweight champion on November 17 at the Bell Center in Montreal.
White also revealed that the intent was to have Hendricks and Kampmann meet on that card as well.
While none of this is set in stone, it does at least clue fight fans in on the UFC’s plan. The question it does not answer, though, is the big “what if.” What if St-Pierre is not ready for the UFC 154 fight card? Will Condit sit idle, or will he face Kampmann or Hendricks. If so, which one will he face?
As with most things in life, if you wanted this all tied up in a bow and looking pretty, you’re not going to get it. With that being said, we should all be happy that we at least got something.
