ATTENTION, YOU GUYS: Our CagePotato Debate Zone is still hungry for submissions, so click that orange “Start a Squabble” button in the upper-right corner of the widget and give us your 15-second argument for who will win the UFC 156 featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
So far, I’m really digging this front-page matchup between Kris L. (aka “Coked-Up Unabomber”) and Samuel P. (aka “Adorably Swinging His Feet Behind Him on the Bed Like One of the Chicks on Madonna’s Car in the ‘True Blue’ Video“). Think you can top them? Then cowboy the hell up and get squabblin’! Best entry by Saturday night gets a CagePotato t-shirt…
ATTENTION, YOU GUYS: Our CagePotato Debate Zone is still hungry for submissions, so click that orange “Start a Squabble” button in the upper-right corner of the widget and give us your 15-second argument for who will win the UFC 156 featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
So far, I’m really digging this front-page matchup between Kris L. (aka “Coked-Up Unabomber”) and Samuel P. (aka “Adorably Swinging His Feet Behind Him on the Bed Like One of the Chicks on Madonna’s Car in the ‘True Blue’ Video“). Think you can top them? Then cowboy the hell up and get squabblin’! Best entry by Saturday night gets a CagePotato t-shirt…
You never know how one person truly feels about another until they have left you. With Dana White, we now know he feels about Randy Couture. According to MMA reporter Brett Okamoto, White had this to say about UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture’s s…
You never know how one person truly feels about another until they have left you. With Dana White, we now know he feels about Randy Couture.
According to MMA reporter Brett Okamoto, White had this to say about UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture’s signing a contract with Spike TV and being a coach on the upcoming Bellator reality show:
Couture, who retired from the sport after his loss to LyotoMachida at UFC 129 in April of 2011, had only been making UFC appearances doing analyst work on the UFC on Fox shows.
“The Natural” is one of two fighters to hold titles in different weight classes, when he won the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles. Couture, though, hasn’t always had the greatest relationship with the UFC.
After retaining his heavyweight title over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 in 2007, Couture quit the promotion after not getting a fight in the UFC with FedorEmelianenko. Couture ended up returning one year later, losing the title to Brock Lesnar.
The UFC has hired some fighters from the early era of Zuffa, as they hired Chuck Liddell and last week hired Matt Hughes to executive positions within the company.
Couture didn’t do analyst work at the UFC on Fox 6 show last Saturday and was replaced in the booth by light heavyweight fighter ChaelSonnen. At least now we know why Couture wasn’t in the booth.
Although UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva isn’t getting his hands on Georges St-Pierre or Jon Jones anytime soon, Rashad Evans might fit the bill.During a UFC 156 pre-fight media scrum, Dana White confirmed that Evans may find himself in a match…
Although UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva isn’t getting his hands on Georges St-Pierre or Jon Jones anytime soon, Rashad Evans might fit the bill.
During a UFC 156 pre-fight media scrum, Dana White confirmed that Evans may find himself in a match with “The Spider” if he wins against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Saturday’s co-main event. But according to MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, that still doesn’t rule out another potential challenger:
Dana: if Rashad wins on Saturday and wants to go to 185, I would consider him vs Anderson. It’s down to him and Weidman. — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 31, 2013
Despite the fact that he’s been on the shelf since a July 2012 victory over Mark Munoz, Weidman has been campaigning hard for a title shot upon his return.
Silva’s management isn’t so keen on the idea, though, telling Portuguese site UOL Esporte that Silva would only fight Weidman if the card took place in Brazil, due to Weidman’s perceived lack of pay-per-view drawing power.
Weidman is currently undefeated in the UFC, posting a perfect 9-0 professional MMA record with his last five wins taking place in the Octagon.
However, his only main event presence in an event has been his last fight with Munoz, which pulled a “solid” 211,000 viewers on Fuel TV (via MMA Weekly) while yielding a poor box office tally.
But if the fight took place in Brazil, where Silva is most famous, the UFC could pull off a huge live gate and reasonable PPV numbers.
By contrast, Rashad Evans has proven to be one of the UFC’s biggest draws over the years, headlining 11 events in his 15-fight UFC career.
So far, Evans’ biggest successes have been a title fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 (1 million buys), along with his grudge matches against Quinton Jackson at UFC 144 (1.05 million buys) and former training partner Jones at UFC 145 (700,000 buys).
Hence, Evans would be the vastly more attractive prospect for Silva, who is said to be one of the highest-paid athletes in the UFC. Rather than Silva making his occasional trip up to the 205-pound division, this matchup will likely only happen if Evans decides to drop to middleweight.
The first pay-per-view event of 2013 is set to kick off this weekend from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and with it comes a lot of questions about the fighters involved. Can Frankie Edgar show Rashad Evans that dropping down a weight class to fight for a title is a wise decision? Will Alistair Overeem manage to stake his claim for #1 contendership without screwing everything up again? Will Dana White finally get the revenge he’s always wanted by strangling Steve Mazzagatti to death after he blows a call during the main event?
All these questions and more will be answered in just two short days, so follow us after the jump as we highlight one bout from the undercard and all the main card bouts in order to ensure that you start off the new year with a little extra cash in your pocket. All betting lines come courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Volkmann is about as predictable as fighters come: a wrestler with limited striking who has no qualms about grinding out a 3 round decision. At 155lbs, all of Volkmann’s fights have ended up on the ground, so this may boil down to whether or not Green will be able to submit Volkmann off his back like Paul Sass was able to do at UFC 146. At -380, I am willing to bet that Volkmann is able to avoid getting caught by Green’s submissions and score a decision win.
A Team Alpha Male fighter in a non title fight is generally a safe bet, but Benavidez sitting at -250 is a little too rich for my tastes, however. Ian McCall is as durable as they come and even though he has had a rough go in life (especially of late), he has the speed and craftiness to give Joseph all he can handle. The prop bet that this fight goes the distance is the safest bet here.
By Dan “Get Off Me” George
The first pay-per-view event of 2013 is set to kick off this weekend from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and with it comes a lot of questions about the fighters involved. Can Frankie Edgar show Rashad Evans that dropping down a weight class to fight for a title is a wise decision? Will Alistair Overeem manage to stake his claim for #1 contendership without screwing everything up again? Will Dana White finally get the revenge he’s always wanted by strangling Steve Mazzagatti to death after he blows a call during the main event?
All these questions and more will be answered in just two short days, so follow us after the jump as we highlight one bout from the undercard and all the main card bouts in order to ensure that you start off the new year with a little extra cash in your pocket. All betting lines come courtesy of BestFightOdds.
Volkmann is about as predictable as fighters come: a wrestler with limited striking who has no qualms about grinding out a 3 round decision. At 155lbs, all of Volkmann’s fights have ended up on the ground, so this may boil down to whether or not Green will be able to submit Volkmann off his back like Paul Sass was able to do at UFC 146. At -380, I am willing to bet that Volkmann is able to avoid getting caught by Green’s submissions and score a decision win.
A Team Alpha Male fighter in a non title fight is generally a safe bet, but Benavidez sitting at -250 is a little too rich for my tastes, however. Ian McCall is as durable as they come and even though he has had a rough go in life (especially of late), he has the speed and craftiness to give Joseph all he can handle. The prop bet that this fight goes the distance is the safest bet here.
Jon Fitch showcased both his entertaining side andhis excellent submissions defense against Erick Silva in his last outing at UFC 153. Demian Maia is a submission specialist –perhaps the best submission fighter Fitch has ever faced — and the very fact that Jon has managed to stay away from being submitted in his UFC career may be his undoing here. Fitch’s baiting style may catch up to him here, as I believe Maia will be both technically sound and strong enough to submit Fitch if the opportunity presents itself. Demian Maia for the submission victory upset at +150 is the most appealing underdog bet on the main card due to the high likelihood that this fight will end up on the mat.
The -400 line suggests Alistair will be able to find Silva’s chin (which, come on) before this fight finds the ground. Antonio Silva was not afraid to trade with Browne in his KO victory at UFC on FX 5, which could be problematic should he entertain that same notion with perhaps the most elite striker in the heavyweight division. I’m going to take the obvious bet here and say that Alistair stuffs the takedown attempts and uses his superior striking to become the no.1 contender to Junior’s Cain’s heavyweight title.
As much as it would be nice to think Lil’ Nog will catch Rashad in this fight, the steep price of -500 for Evans basically crushes those dreams. Not sure how this fight was thought up by the match makers, but if Lil’Nog’s track record against wrestlers in the UFC is any indication, Rashad would not be an ideal opponent for competitive purposes. Evans will crawl out at the opening bell, use his speed to exploit the openings created by Lil’ Nog’s boxing heavy offense, and take this fight to the mat, where he might even finish the Brazilian legend.
Aldo is one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, a consensus top five pound-for-pound fighter who has rarely shown vulnerability inside the Octagon. Edgar will be going into his 7th straight title fight at a weight class that many feel he should have been fighting at all along. There are several variables in this fight, but the most glaring one is whether or not Edgar’s lead leg will be able to withstand Aldo’s onslaught of kicks long enough to use his excellent conditioning as a determining factor. This will undoubtedly be Aldo’s toughest fight to date, as many believe he is fighting the true lightweight champion here and a guy who will dictate a pace that Aldo will not be able to match. Honestly, it might just be best to sit back and enjoy this superfight, because the lines just aren’t wide enough to warrant a big bet.
In honor of this must-see matchup, MANTO USA has given us a pair of their charming “Freak Fight of the Night” t-shirts, which we’re going to award to the two CagePotato readers who can most closely predict the result of Overeem vs. Silva. Please toss your guesses into the comments section of this post, in the following format…
In honor of this must-see matchup, MANTO USA has given us a pair of their charming “Freak Fight of the Night” t-shirts, which we’re going to award to the two CagePotato readers who can most closely predict the result of Overeem vs. Silva. Please toss your guesses into the comments section of this post, in the following format…
– Overeem def. Silva via TKO, 3:59 of round 1 or, perhaps
– Silva def. Overeem via submission (chin-in-eye), 2:32 of round 2
Please include the judges’ scores if you think the fight will end in a decision, in case we need them for a tie-breaker. Entries must be in by Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, and we’ll announce the winner on Monday. One entry per person, please. Any other questions, let us know. Good luck!
(“We’re here to pick up your daughter. Yes, both of us. Don’t mind my friend with the gigantism, he doesn’t talk much.”)
Main cards in the UFC don’t get much stronger than the one UFC 156 will deliver on Saturday from Las Vegas.The night of fights is highlighted by the amazing featherweight title match between champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight king Frankie Edgar….
Main cards in the UFC don’t get much stronger than the one UFC 156 will deliver on Saturday from Las Vegas.
The night of fights is highlighted by the amazing featherweight title match between champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight king Frankie Edgar.
Rarely do you find a main event that requires no pardon of recent fall-off for either combatant. Aldo is 21-1 and hasn’t lost a fight in more than seven years. Edgar is 14-3-1, and although he did drop his rematch with Benson Henderson, many believe he deserved to win the decision.
TV:FX for prelims and several PPV options detailed here
Full Card
Facebook Preliminary
Edwin Figueroa vs. Francisco Rivera, Bantamweights
Chico Camus vs. Dustin Kimura, Bantamweights
FX TV Preliminaries
Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg, Lightweights
Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green, Lightweights
TyronWoodley vs. Jay Hieron, Welterweights
GleisonTibau vs. Evan Dunham, Lightweights
Predictions for the Main Card
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall, Flyweights
Benavidez is beginning his trek back up the flyweight mountain after losing to Demetrious Johnson in the inaugural Flyweight championship bout at UFC 152.
He is incredibly skilled, but he lacks the speed to knock off Johnson. McCall has also come up short against the featherweight champion. He lost a unanimous decision to him at UFC on FX 3, and he drew with him at UFC on FX 2.
It’s easy to imagine the winner of this fight getting another shot at Johnson in the near future.
I’m taking Benavidez in this one. I’ve always been impressed with the way he improves from fight to fight, and I see him winning a close decision over McCall.
Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia, Welterweights
Fitch has always been a bit overrated. He has a sparkling 24-4 record, but he has routinely come up short against the top fighters.
Most recently, Johny Hendricks knocked him out at UFC 141. Fortunately for him, Maia isn’t a major striker. He is, however, one of the premier submission artists in the sport.
Fitch will want to keep this fight standing, but he’ll be unsuccessful. Maia will get him on the mat and tap him out.
Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva
This is where the card gets really good. Silva is a massive man with a great chin, but Overeem is one of the most devastating strikers in MMA.
Silva has to get Overeem on the ground to have a shot, but he doesn’t have the quickness to slip and shoot the Reem’s legs.
Perhaps Silva’s best trait is his chin. That will probably protect him from the huge one-punch KO, but he’ll be punished and pounded out via ground and pound.
Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Noguiera
Nogueira is incredibly experienced and a legendary grappler, but let’s not forget how talented Evans is. Jon Jones dismantled him, and LyotoMachida knocked him senseless, but both possess the elite striking ability that Nogueira doesn’t.
Look for Evans speed to be the difference in this one. He’ll win by unanimous decision.
(c) Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
Scarface is perhaps the most complete fighter in the world. He’s quick and dynamic as a striker. He’s more than proficient in grappling and submissions. By most accounts, he doesn’t really have a weakness.
Most believe featherweight is the best weight class for Edgar, but he’ll still need to be at his best to handle Aldo.
Both of these men can handle themselves on the ground, but I expect this to be a stand-up battle. In that world, very few can keep pace with Aldo.
He’ll out-strike Edgar and stop him late in a great fight.
Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games.
You never know how one person truly feels about another until they have left you. With 
Although UFC middleweight kingpin 
