Tag: UFC 155

Cain Velasquez Tore His ACL Before Junior Dos Santos Fight at UFC on FOX

During the main event of the first UFC on FOX fight card, hours of pre-fight buildup ended in anticlimatic fashion when Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez early.It appeared that Velasquez had gotten “caught” on the feet, but a recent video sh…

During the main event of the first UFC on FOX fight card, hours of pre-fight buildup ended in anticlimatic fashion when Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez early.

It appeared that Velasquez had gotten “caught” on the feet, but a recent video shows that the former heavyweight champion came into the bout injured.

MiddleEasy shares a video of Velasquez tearing his ACL just days before the fight, captured on film by videographer Bobby Razak:

Just fourteen days before his UFC on FOX showdown against Junior dos Santos on November 12, 2011, Bobby Razak set up his cameras in order to prepare for a Dethrone commercial and managed to capture Cain Velasquez tearing his ACL on the training mat.

Razak didn’t release the video for the obvious reasons, but now over a year later the MMA world is on the verge of another Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez showdown and we thought this video would be highly appropriate leading up to UFC 155.

As shown in the footage, the injury to Velasquez’s knee occurred in a freak accident, with the American Kickboxing Academy member visibly in pain after the ACL tear.

ACL injuries have plagued several UFC fighters in the last couple of years, with the most high profile injury sidelining welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre for several months of an 18 month layoff.

Even lightweight contender Gray Maynard has gone down to a knee injury (citing a persisting three-year affliction), pulling himself out of a UFC 155 bout with Joe Lauzon.

Additionally, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz looks to potentially miss all of 2013 due to surgical complications stemming from an ACL tear suffered during filming of The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Unlike most fighters, though, Velasquez concealed his injury (or at the very least, may have suffered through it at the UFC’s request) throughout the aftermath. It’s possible that it may have affected his footwork, as JDS was able to hit him standing with a long overhand right behind the ear.

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Melvin Guillard: Jamie Varner Got Sick Because He Was Scared

Jamie Varner really was sick Saturday night, but he may have been sick with fear. So opines opponent Melvin Guillard, who was supposed to fight Varner in a lightweight battle at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 16 until Varner fell ill.Speaking to th…

Jamie Varner really was sick Saturday night, but he may have been sick with fear. So opines opponent Melvin Guillard, who was supposed to fight Varner in a lightweight battle at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 16 until Varner fell ill.

Speaking to the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” program, Guillard recalled the moment he learned of the fights’ cancellation, and offered his own theory behind the last-second withdraw.

I think it was a little bit of fear, a little bit of nerves and it got the best of him…I get undressed out of my suit and I put on my fight gear and I’m warming up now…and not even 15, 20 minutes later, the commissioner walks in and says, ‘Melvin, I think your fight might get scratched.’

According to reports, Varner (20-7-1) began vomiting hours before the fight. Doctors called off the fight and informed Guillard (30-11-2).

In another interesting twist, Guillard revealed to Sherdog that he previously heard indications that Varner and his camp were concerned about Guillard possibly greasing before the fight. In 2005, a Guillard win over Roger Huerta become a No Contest ruling after Huerta’s accusations of greasing. 

I’m in the locker room getting my rules meeting from the ref, and the end of that rules meeting was a little disturbing because the referee was like, ‘His corner wanted me to let you know that they are a little concerned about you greasing.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I’ve done nothing but respect this guy and his camp. I’ve said nothing bad about him or his camp, and [they’re] going to sit there and try to falsely accuse me of possibly greasing? 

Varner and Guillard will have a chance to air their mutual grievances Dec. 29 at UFC 155, when their rescheduled matchup is now set to take place. Both men are considered exciting fighters who look for knockouts. Guillard has lost three of his last four and is in serious need of a win.

Varner recently re-entered the UFC after an extended absence, scoring a major upset knockout victory over highly regarded young lightweight Edson Barboza. However, Varner followed the feel-good upset with a submission loss to Joe Lauzon in his next bout. A win in his next engagement would go a long way toward proving that Varner is truly worthy of a UFC roster spot.

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[VIDEO] Full Preview of UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II

Although it has suffered its fair share of injuries, the UFC’s year-end event is still stacked enough to ensure that the sport’s highest promotion goes out with a bang rather than a whimper (*cough* Strikeforce *cough*). Featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller in a FOTN front-runner, a rematch of top middleweights in Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami, and the return of The Duffman, UFC 155 will hopefully continue with the trend established by last weekend’s TUF 16 Finale, which is to say “Vicious knockout, vicious knockout, suplex knockout, knockout, rinse, repeat.”

And no matchup on the card has a higher likelihood of ending with a fantastic finish than the main event rematch between former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and the man that took his belt away, current heavyweight kingpin Junior dos Santos. There were a lot of extraneous factors leading into their original clash at UFC on FOX 1 — Velasquez had come off back-to-back surgeries and dos Santos went into the bout with a torn meniscus. However, Velasquez looked like a man possessed in his first round destruction of Antonio Silva at UFC 146 and promises to bring the same one sided ass-kicking to dos Santos in the above preview, so check it out and give us your predictions for the fight in the comments section.

After the jump: A video claiming to have captured Velasquez tearing his ACL just two weeks before his loss to dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1. If that’s truly the case, Velasquez deserves major bro hugs for even making into the ring, because damn.

Although it has suffered its fair share of injuries, the UFC’s year-end event is still stacked enough to ensure that the sport’s highest promotion goes out with a bang rather than a whimper (*cough* Strikeforce *cough*). Featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller in a FOTN front-runner, a rematch of top middleweights in Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami, and the return of The Duffman, UFC 155 will hopefully continue with the trend established by last weekend’s TUF 16 Finale, which is to say “Vicious knockout, vicious knockout, suplex knockout, knockout, rinse, repeat.”

And no matchup on the card has a higher likelihood of ending with a fantastic finish than the main event rematch between former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and the man that took his belt away, current heavyweight kingpin Junior dos Santos. There were a lot of extraneous factors leading into their original clash at UFC on FOX 1 — Velasquez had come off back-to-back surgeries and dos Santos went into the bout with a torn meniscus. However, Velasquez looked like a man possessed in his first round destruction of Antonio Silva at UFC 146 and promises to bring the same one sided ass-kicking to dos Santos in the above preview, so check it out and give us your predictions for the fight in the comments section.

After the jump: A video claiming to have captured Velasquez tearing his ACL just two weeks before his loss to dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1. If that’s truly the case, Velasquez deserves major bro hugs for even making into the ring, because damn.

–J. Jones

Dos Santos Says He Is Just as Dangerous on the Ground as He Is on His Feet

UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has one warning for his upcoming opponent Cain Velaquez: take me down and you’ll get submitted. The Brazilian, who is considered among the best boxers in MMA, was speaking to MMA Junkie when he spoke of …

UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has one warning for his upcoming opponent Cain Velaquez: take me down and you’ll get submitted.

The Brazilian, who is considered among the best boxers in MMA, was speaking to MMA Junkie when he spoke of his underrated ground game.

“I train a lot of jiu-jitsu, too, and I can tell you I’m ready to submit someone,” he said. “If the fight goes to the ground and I can’t come back to my feet, I’m going to be looking to submit him.”

Dos Santos is set to defend his belt for the second time against the man he defeated to become champion on December 29 at UFC 155.

Velasquez is an exceptionally gifted wrestler, an NCAA Division I All-American coached by Olympian Daniel Cormier, who possesses some of the most brutal ground-and-pound in the whole of MMA.

We last saw him in action against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in May, when he mauled his opponent for almost the entire first round—holding the 6’4”, 265 pound giant helplessly down on the canvas while raining down vicious elbows.

Dos Santos says he’s ready if Velasquez tries the same with him.

“Cain is a really good wrestler, and he’s got a good chance to take me down. If he takes me down and holds me there, then you guys will see my jiu-jitsu.”

Curiously, despite his solid wrestling base, Velasquez never attempted a takedown against Dos Santos in their short-lived first encounter. Deciding to “stand-and-bang” with the knockout specialist, it took his opponent less than a minute to strike him down to his knees where he was quickly finished off.

You’d hope for his sake that Velasquez will have learned something from that match and won’t stand in front of the Brazilian this time, instead taking the fight to the ground where Dos Santos promises to be more ready than ever.

UFC 155 takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

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UFC on FX 6 Results: Questions Heading into UFC 155 Dos Santos vs. Velasquez

UFC on FX 6 is in the books and the Hector Lombard everyone expected in his first UFC fight showed up in Australia. Two new TUF winners were crowned in Norman Parke and Robert Whitaker.Yes, there is a fight card coming on Saturday, but we’ve already pr…

UFC on FX 6 is in the books and the Hector Lombard everyone expected in his first UFC fight showed up in Australia. Two new TUF winners were crowned in Norman Parke and Robert Whitaker.

Yes, there is a fight card coming on Saturday, but we’ve already previewed that one here, if you care to take a look. So, instead of rehashing that, we’ll look toward UFC 155, which will take place on December 29 and features a heavyweight title bout as the main event.

Before we get into the questions heading into the final UFC event of they year, here are the full results from UFC on FX 6:

Ross Pearson defeats George Sotiropoulos via TKO (strikes) at 0:41 of Round 3.

Robert Whittaker defeats Brad Scott via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

Norman Parke defeats Colin Fletcher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Hector Lombard defeats Rousimar Palhares via TKO (strikes) at 3:38 of Round 1.

Chad Mendes defeats Yaotzin Meza via knockout (strikes) at 1:55 of Round 1.

 Joey Beltran defeats Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).

 Mike Pierce defeats Seth Baczynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

 Ben Alloway defeats Manuel Rodriguez via knockout (front kick) at 4:57 of Round 1.

 Mike Wilkinson defeats Brendan Loughnane via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

 Cody Donovan defeats Nick Penner via TKO (strikes) at 4:35 of Round 1.

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UFC 155 Final Card Is Set: Leben vs Vemola Now on the Main Card

The UFC has confirmed the final card for the UFC 155 pay-per-view event going down on December 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Three middleweight bouts and one lightweight will now join the headline heavyweight championship contest betwe…

The UFC has confirmed the final card for the UFC 155 pay-per-view event going down on December 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Three middleweight bouts and one lightweight will now join the headline heavyweight championship contest between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

These are (H/T MMA Junkie):

Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller (155 lbs)

Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou (185 lbs)

Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami (185 lbs)

Chris Leben vs. Karlos Vemola (185 lbs)

Leben’s match against Vemola is a late replacement after Forrest Griffin’s injury forced him out of his fight against Phil Davis.

UFC 155 will be Leben’s return to the Octagon after serving a suspension for failing a drug test following his November 2011 loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138.

The preliminary card, broadcast on FX and Facebook, will also see the return of heavyweight Todd Duffee, after his loss to Mike Russow in May 2010 cut him from the promotion.

He’s taking on English heavyweight Phil De Fries, who is coming off a lackluster submission win over Oli Thompson in August.

Another Englishman Brad Pickett is also on the undercard. He’s had some compelling performances–finishing Damacio Page and Yves Jabouin–in his last two outings. He’ll take on bantamweight Eddie Wineland at the event.

However, all eyes will be on the main event: a rematch between Dos Santos and Velasquez.

The Brazilian snatched heavyweight gold from Velasquez around this time last year via a first round knockout on the first UFC event broadcast on Fox. He’ll be looking to do something similar on the 29th, with one eye on Dutch heavyweight Alistair Overeem, who likely awaits the winner.

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