Tag: UFC 155

UFC 155 Results: Fighters React to Dos Santos vs. Velasquez Fight Card

The UFC heavyweight title is back in the hands of the baddest man on the planet, Cain Velasquez, after his dominant victory over Junior dos Santos at UFC 155. The former champion earned even more respect than he had before from his fans and experts, bu…

The UFC heavyweight title is back in the hands of the baddest man on the planet, Cain Velasquez, after his dominant victory over Junior dos Santos at UFC 155. The former champion earned even more respect than he had before from his fans and experts, but it’s the approval from his fellow fighters that likely means the most to him.

Twitter has become the place that the world goes to discuss fights live and UFC 155 was no exception. The Twittersphere was on fire on Saturday night, particularly with fighters who all seemed to be tuning into perhaps the biggest fight of the year.

The following Tweets came from fighters (and prominent UFC personalities) during the main card for the UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez fight card.

Derek Brunson vs. Chris Leben

We got started with Derek Brunson vs. Chris Leben in what turned out to be a lackluster bout. Twitter was fairly quiet during this one, at least from fighters who generally don’t like to bash one another for having “boring” fights.

Brunson showed his happiness in the cage immediately after the fight when he screamed out in happiness. He later got on his phone to let everyone know who he thanks for the victory.

UFC President Dana White was not quite as happy, however.

Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami

Up next was Alan Belcher, who had been on a four-fight winning streak as he battled perennial top UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami.

Belcher put up a valiant effort, even dropping Okami numerous times. But in the end, it was Okami’s frustratingly strong grappling that was able to contain Belcher and earn him the win.

UFC announcer and former multi-divisional contender Kenny Florian was impressed with both fighters.

The legendary Bas Rutten agreed, noting that it was the Japanese star’s ever-improving wrestling that secured the win.

Costa Philippou vs. Tim Boetsch

The third fight on the card was one that featured one of the fastest-growing fighters in terms of popularity, Tim Boetsch, as he looked to increase his undefeated streak at middleweight to five wins against Costa Philippou.

Former UFC middleweight Jorge Rivera gave a quick breakdown on the bout before it started, explaining what Costa would need to win.

Boetsch appeared to break his hand early in the fight, which cost him dearly as Philippou systematically broke him apart throughout the contest.

Top Strikeforce and Invicta FC female contender Sarah Kaufmann believed the fight was close going into the third round, but didn’t think one of the fighters was ready to continue.

Philippou eventually earned a TKO victory.

Jorge Rivera’s former rival and current top UFC contender Michael Bisping apparently made a bet with a fan in attendance who was confident that Boetsch would win. The fan put his money where his mouth is but ended up handing over a $20 bill to the Brit.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller

The co-main event included two of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights as Jim Miller battled Joe Lauzon in a bout that could vault the winner very close to a title fight in 2013.

English fighter John Maguire echoed the thoughts of many fans who were excited for this one.

Mike Swick concurred.

Jim Miller started the fight out with a ferocious pace, attacking Lauzon with a barrage of strikes, including a short elbow against the cage that opened up Lauzon’s forehead.

As blood poured down Lauzon’s face, he began to look less like a UFC fighter and more like a Halloween mask. The hard-hitting Bart Palaszewski was even shocked at the amount of blood Lauzon was losing.

UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste looked away in horror.

Top UFC flyweight contender John Dodson even joked about the amount of blood that had made its way onto the top of Lauzon’s head, turning his hair a bright shade of red.

Lauzon battled back, however, and gave the fans the type of performance that only he can give in the cage. Wearing a crimson mask for about 13 minutes of the 15-minute bout, Lauzon made it close enough on the scorecards that Jon Fitch couldn’t call a winner.

The exciting bout was universally loved on Twitter, with most agreeing that even with the main event remaining, the “Fight of the Night” bonus should be awarded to Miller and Lauzon.

Brad Tavares and others were right as the fight was later officially given the reward and accompanying bonuses. This fight night bonus now gives Joe Lauzon the UFC record for most fight night bonuses achieved by a fighter in the history of the company as he surpassed Anderson Silva.

Velasquez vs. dos Santos

The main event had finally arrived and Twitter was buzzing from the amazing co-main event as we prepared to head into the UFC heavyweight title fight. Predictions flooded in at this moment, and there were a few notable prognostications including former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.

Velasquez’s teammate Ryan Bader showed his support from afar.

The fight began and the chess game that was the standup battle between these two got underway. That didn’t last long, though, as Velasquez shot in, obviously wary of dos Santos’ power after being knocked out the last time he fought the champ.

As Velasquez began to pull away with his wrestling and surprising dominance in the striking game, Twitter began to turn from the expectation that this would be a close fight to the sudden realization that we were looking at a new champion.

Pat Barry, who is known for having some of the most epic slugfests in UFC history, has been talking about how great Velasquez is for some time, but he knows better than anyone that fights can change in the blink of an eye.

With only moments left in the bout, dos Santos’ face looked like it had been stung by hundreds of bees at once. Former Strikeforce champion and current UFC top contender Alistair Overeem took to Twitter to talk a little smack about the fighter who had been placed above him on the MMA rankings for the past few months.

Overeem will fight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156. If he is able to win that bout, Overeem is expected to get his chance against Cain Velasquez, who on Saturday night became the new UFC heavyweight champion.

Although Velasquez won the fight with a combination of his skills, it was really his advantage in one area that stood out the most. Two of the best MMA fighters in that area were quick to give props to their fellow fighter.

 

 

— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) December 30, 2012

With that, a fun night of fights had come to a climactic end. A new champion has been crowned and we move onward and upward to 2013! 

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UFC 155 Results: What Is the Next Step for Michael Johnson?

At UFC 155 Saturday night in Las Vegas, lightweight Myles Jury scored a substantial upset when he defeated Michael Johnson in a unanimous decision.Johnson (12-7, 4-3 UFC) appeared to tire as Jury continuously took him to the mat and pounded him. Throug…

At UFC 155 Saturday night in Las Vegas, lightweight Myles Jury scored a substantial upset when he defeated Michael Johnson in a unanimous decision.

Johnson (12-7, 4-3 UFC) appeared to tire as Jury continuously took him to the mat and pounded him. Throughout all three rounds, he displayed little in the way of takedown defense or grappling prowess. It was a grueling end to a grueling year for “The Menace,” who fought four times in 2012, amassing a 3-1 record during that time.

The loss to Jury (and the fact that Johnson seemed to not only tire, but lose the will to compete) was a frustrating punctuation mark on the year for Johnson, who still remains a viable commodity in the UFC.

So what should the next step be for the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up? First, Johnson should work on his takedown defense. Then, he should fight Melvin Guillard.

Like Johnson, Guillard isn’t the world’s slickest grappler (the two have 14 submission losses between them). Like Johnson, Guillard prefers to knock people out. And like Johnson, Guillard lost his fight at UFC 155.

An exciting and popular veteran of the sport, Guillard is currently embroiled in the worst stretch of his fighting career, having lost four of his last five. He’ll be hungry in his next one. After Saturday night, so will Johnson.

It’s entirely understandable that the loser between them should question his future in the UFC (or have it questioned for him). The winner would cement his viability in the deep lightweight division—without having to waste time thinking about any of that pesky ground stuff. 

Either way, fans would come out on top. There’s no way a fight between those two would be dull.

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UFC 155 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

UFC 155 is over. Cain Velasquez battered Junior Dos Santos and Jim Miller defeated Joe Lauzon in one of the best fights of the year. Fighters like Constantinos Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and Yushin Okami also brought their abilities to t…

UFC 155 is over. Cain Velasquez battered Junior Dos Santos and Jim Miller defeated Joe Lauzon in one of the best fights of the year. 

Fighters like Constantinos Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and Yushin Okami also brought their abilities to the Octagon at UFC 155.

Their fights, as well as the others throughout the particularly stacked fight card, taught the MMA world important lessons and answered lingering questions that fans and pundits had. 

What were these questions answered and lessons learned? 

Read and find out!

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UFC 155 Fight Card: Power Ranking the PPV Card Fights

UFC 155 is the reason why you don’t evaluate a book until you’ve actually finished reading it.Three fights in, and the Twitterverse was lighting up about this being one of the more boring pay-per-views in recent memory. Those assessments came, of …

UFC 155 is the reason why you don’t evaluate a book until you’ve actually finished reading it.

Three fights in, and the Twitterverse was lighting up about this being one of the more boring pay-per-views in recent memory. 

Those assessments came, of course, well before Joe Lauzon donated about a quart of his own blood to the cause of entertainment, and before Cain Velasquez dominated the previously indomitable Junior Dos Santos to recapture the UFC heavyweight belt.

Here’s a recap and a ranking of all five pay-per-view contests.

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UFC 155: What We Learned from Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou

In a night that featured a trio of main-card fights in the middleweight division, fans witnessed a clash between two surging powerhouses when Tim Boetsch met Constantinos Philippou at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was a late change…

In a night that featured a trio of main-card fights in the middleweight division, fans witnessed a clash between two surging powerhouses when Tim Boetsch met Constantinos Philippou at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was a late change, as Philippou stepped in for injured Serra/Longo teammate Chris Weidman on short notice.

Boetsch has found much success since dropping down from the light heavyweight division and has picked up 2012 wins against world-ranked Yushin Okami and Hector Lombard. The victories moved his record to 4-0 in his new weight class,

Philippou is also 4-0 as a UFC middleweight, and his victories have also come against very game competition. In 2012, the Greek Cypriot won hard-fought decisions against Ultimate Fighter winner Court McGee and former DEEP middleweight champion Riki Fukuda.

In the third round, Boetsch was clearly incapable of continuing. We aren’t sure why, but Philippou had no problem taking advantage of the situation and won by TKO via ground-and-pound.

 

What We’ll Remember about This Fight

That something was wrong with Tim Boetsch. Nothing about his fighting style suggests that pulling guard is a tactic of choice. Between rounds, we heard his corner talking to Tim about an undefined injury that he was battling.

 

What We Learned about Tim Boetsch

That his chin is fantastic. Philippou scored an enormous uppercut in the first round. Shortly after, a flurry saw Boetsch eat three straight punches that would have left most middleweights in a temporary coma, yet “The Barbarian” stayed upright.

I don’t want to judge much else about Boetsch‘s performance, as something was clearly wrong after the first round.

 

What We Learned about Costa Philippou

That his takedown defense is very solid. Boetsch began looking for takedowns early and often in the first round but was unable to secure them. Boetsch did secure a double leg, but it was a well-timed counter while Costa was committed to a big punch.

 

What’s Next for Tim Boetsch

This was the second consecutive fight for Boetsch where he looked absolutely terrible. I’ll reserve judgement until after we find out what injury was plaguing him mid-fight, but it’s hard to forgive that type of performance from a man ranked within a division’s top five.

Boetsch should drop his level of competition tremendously. Give him a fight with someone along the lines of Rousimar Palhares or Tom Lawlor.

 

What’s Next for Costa Philippou

Costa Philippou has stepped in for a fight on short notice once again, and this time, he improved his UFC middleweight record to 5-0. Beating a top-five middleweight is a major step toward a title shot, but he shouldn’t be pushed too fast.

Another top-10 opponent is in order. Perhaps Hector Lombard or a debuting Luke Rockhold would make for a good matchup. I think the most likely opponent is Yushin Okami, who was also successful Saturday night.

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UFC 155 Fight Card: Loss to Derek Brunson Should Be Chris Leben’s Last in UFC

It’s time that Chris Leben’s time in UFC drew to a close.Upon his return to the Octagon, Leben lost a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson at UFC 155. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Brunson.It was Brunson’s first fight in UFC an…

It’s time that Chris Leben‘s time in UFC drew to a close.

Upon his return to the Octagon, Leben lost a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson at UFC 155. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Brunson.

It was Brunson‘s first fight in UFC and Leben‘s first in over a year after his drug suspension.

He might have not had the advantage of being able to plan much for Brunson, considering he was a last-minute replacement, but Brunson wasn’t the most intimidating of opposition. He had lost his last two fights before debuting in UFC.

Leben was outwrestled by Brunson in what will have to be remembered as one of the most disappointing fights on the card. He has dazzled crowds in the Octagon for years. In his prime, Leben was one of the most exciting fighters in UFC. His fights were guaranteed to be remembered by fans.

Leben has been around UFC for quite a while now. His first fight with the company was back in 2005 at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter. When you throw in his previous experience, he’s been in MMA for a decade.

Ten years might not be much for some competitors, but for Leben it probably feels like twice that amount.

However, during his time in UFC and MMA in general, he’s managed to put a ton of mileage on his body. Then you have to throw in the damage that drugs and alcohol have done to his body.

When you add it all up, you have to wonder what the future holds for him.

Leben has now lost his last two fights and three of his last four. Despite his long layoff, Leben was almost the consensus favorite to defeat Brunson.

He looked very poor at times during the fight. The action between the two was so bad at times that the crowed resorted to booing the competitors.

Ring rust might be used to defend the loss for Leben. To an extent, it makes quite a bit of sense. It would be hard for any fighter to go a year without a fight to then come back and do well.

But you also have to look at Brunson‘s record and the nerves he was carrying into his UFC debut.

The tank might not be completely empty for Leben, but there’s no sense in continuing what looks to be a downward slide.

He may not have been the biggest name in the company, but he’s likely made enough money to live pretty well. Leben could also likely have a nice career outside the Octagon.

Leben has made a career out of taking a ton of punishment. That’s not the kind of strategy that lends itself to a long career. The longer he fights continuing this way, it’s only going to get worse.

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