Tag: UFC 156

UFC 156 Injury: Tyron Woodley Replaces Erick Silva

The UFC’s first pay-per-view of the new year got bit by the injury bug today as it was announced Erick Silva was forced off the UFC 156 card.Stepping up with a month’s notice will be the former Strikeforce veteran, Tyron Woodley.Woodley compiled an 8-1…

The UFC’s first pay-per-view of the new year got bit by the injury bug today as it was announced Erick Silva was forced off the UFC 156 card.

Stepping up with a month’s notice will be the former Strikeforce veteran, Tyron Woodley.

Woodley compiled an 8-1 record inside the Strikeforce cage with his only loss coming against the talented Nate Marquardt on July 14 of last year.

The news was released today by the UFC with the following tweet, which also mentioned another injury hitting the UFC on FX 7 card:

Woodley isn’t known as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, but he does rank high in consistency. Fans know they are going to see a guy go in there and try to wrestle his opponent to the ground to grind out a victory.

With the fight being taken on short notice, the chances of Woodley trying to utilize that game plan are even greater.

The initial buzz from around the MMA community is that of disappointment for the Silva injury as many were looking forward to seeing how he would bounce back from his recent loss to Jon Fitch.

Woodley’s opponent at UFC 156 will be Jay Hieron. Hieron is coming off a loss of his own to Jake Ellenberger in what was a hard-fought unanimous decision defeat this past October.

At 36 years of age with a 0-3 UFC record, Hieron needs a win against Woodley in the worst way.

Woodley vs. Hieron is part of a stacked PPV card that also features Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia, Alistair Overeem taking on Antonio Silva, Rashad Evans battling Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and headlined by Jose Algo against Frankie Edgar.

UFC 156 takes place February 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

 

Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.

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UFC 156 Fight Card: Alistair Overeem to Appear Before NSAC on January 8

UFC 156 fighter Alistair Overeem will appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission in regards to his fighter’s license on Jan. 8, according to MMAJunkie.com.The former K-1 champion applied for the license today, seeing as he’s scheduled to f…

UFC 156 fighter Alistair Overeem will appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission in regards to his fighter’s license on Jan. 8, according to MMAJunkie.com.

The former K-1 champion applied for the license today, seeing as he’s scheduled to fight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156 in Las Vegas a month from now. 

However, according to NSAC Director Keith Kizer, there’s still some red tape to cut through (via the MMA Junkie report):

[Overeem] will be required per his previous denial to appear before the full commission at the next scheduled meeting, which is Jan. 8. It will be his burden to prove to the commissioners that he should be granted a license to compete in Nevada. After hearing all relevant evidence, the commission will have the option to deny the license, grant the license unconditionally or grant the license with conditions.

It’s this last option—a conditional license—that caused Overeem trouble in after his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 141.

Overeem’s conditional license for that match specified that he was to undergo four drug tests. When he was tested about a month before his UFC 146 title shot, he failed; Overeem had elevated testosterone levels.

The failed test did nothing to help the Dutchman’s image. Overeem has been made the subject of various jokes and fighter rants since dramatically upping his muscle mass. 

Allegations of steroids from fans and fighters alike are now commonplace.

Perhaps if the NSAC orders more tests and Overeem pasts them, the talk of Overeem being a chemically enhanced cheat will finally be put to rest. 

Either way, we’ll know more on Jan. 8.

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Alistair Overeem vs. Bob Sapp Arm Wrestling Results

In case you guys missed seeing “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem in action, the popular Dutchman went to Japan for an arm wrestling tournament last weekend.In the finals, he ran into another mixed martial artist who is undeniably popular in Japan&m…

In case you guys missed seeing “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem in action, the popular Dutchman went to Japan for an arm wrestling tournament last weekend.

In the finals, he ran into another mixed martial artist who is undeniably popular in Japan—Bob Sapp.

This might just be the first physical activity in years where Sapp actually tries to have his arm raised. It has been somewhat of a running joke for years that “The Beast” throws all of his fights in order to collect an easy paycheck.

It is a horrible accusation to make against any fighter, but when you consider that he used to be a successful boxer and mixed martial artist, it seems fishy that Sapp has faced regional talent yet somehow has lost 11 of his last 12 kickboxing bouts and 13 of his last 14 MMA fights. 

Sapp defeated Overeem in the tournament final, and it earned him a crack at the Japanese world champion, where “The Beast” didn’t fare so well.

In less than one tick of the clock, the world champion showed why he is the best in the world. Sapp legitimately looked as if he couldn’t believe how easily he was out-muscled by the smaller man.

Overeem returns to action for the first time in 13 months on February 2 at UFC 156, where he will meet Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in a hotly anticipated fight. If he is successful, it is likely that he will meet Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship later this year.

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Jose Aldo’s Coach Says ‘1 More Year’ Before Move to UFC Lightweight Division

Sooner or later, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is moving up to the lightweight division, says Nova Uniao head trainer and one-time UFC veteran Andre Pederneiras.Aldo’s weight cut is notable for being especially torturous on the young f…

Sooner or later, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is moving up to the lightweight division, says Nova Uniao head trainer and one-time UFC veteran Andre Pederneiras.

Aldo’s weight cut is notable for being especially torturous on the young fighter, whom Pederneiras claims is still growing, even at 26 years old.

But for Aldo, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t so far away. During an interview with MMA Junkie Radio (via MMA Junkie), Pederneiras acknowledged that it’ll soon be time to allow Aldo the extra 10 pounds, outlining the current career plan for his prized champion:

Every fight, he wants to fight at 155 pounds. “I don’t want to cut any more weight.” Every day I listen to him about that.

I think for him it’s better to wait a little bit because he’s putting on mass every year. He doesn’t need to put so much mass that he can’t move the same. He’s gaining weight because he’s so young. I don’t want to put pressure on him to gain weight. I prefer to wait maybe one more year.

As MMA Junkie points out, Aldo wouldn’t be a very tall lightweight at 5’7″, but that didn’t stop the even-shorter former UFC champion Frankie Edgar (5’6″) from crawling his way to the top of the 155-pound division over much larger fighters.

Speaking of which, Aldo’s last fight at featherweight could possibly be against Edgar himself, as the two men are slated to face each other at UFC 156 on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center for Aldo’s featherweight title.

Provided both fighters remain un-injured, it’ll be Aldo’s sixth consecutive title defense (counting his WEC career) and Edgar’s seventh consecutive title fight.

Regardless of the outcome, Edgar expects to remain at featherweight to use his size advantage against the rest of the division.

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Frankie Edgar Could Become First 3 Division Champ Says Trainer

Frankie Edgar’s head trainer Mark Henry believes his boy, who is due to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 156 early next year, could become the first three-division champion in the promotion’s history. The former lightweight…

Frankie Edgar’s head trainer Mark Henry believes his boy, who is due to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 156 early next year, could become the first three-division champion in the promotion’s history.

The former lightweight champ lost his 155-pound belt in a close contest to Ben Henderson earlier this year and has since been parachuted into a title fight against reigning 145-pound champ Jose Aldo.

However, Henry told MMA Weekly Radio (H/T MMA Mania), that his ambitions won’t stop there.

“He is one of the best true pound-for-pound fighters that isn‘t afraid to go up in weight classes. He’ll fight anybody anytime,” said Henry. “Two weight classes up, one weight class up.”

“For me, I’d love for him to take a shot, I mean, we definitely have to worry about Jose now, it’s the only thing, that’s our thing right now. But, I think he can be the first guy with three belts you know? I think if it’s for history, I think if Frankie beats Jose, I think it’s hard to deny that he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world if he won three.”

Edgar’s been an undersized lightweight throughout his entire career, fighting in the days when there was no 145-pound division. That didn’t stop Edgar, though. He became the 155-pound champion in 2010 after defeating the legend BJ Penn.

But at 5’6″ he’s even smaller than Aldo who fights at a whole division below him, so the possibility of him dropping down even further to fight at 135-pounds isn’t that outlandish.

There’s been two two-division title holders in the UFC’s history—Randy Couture held the heavyweight and light heavyweight title while Penn was a former lightweight and welterweight champion.

However, a three-division champion has been unheard of, and if he does manage to hold both the featherweight and bantamweight titles at the same time, it’d be hard to argue against him as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

“Frankie’s fought guys that are way heavier than him. If Frankie was to go for two belts, three belts, I don’t know how you can deny him,” added Henry. “It’s something special. You don’t see something like that, I mean, nobody’s ever done it and weight wise it could be done. So, of course, it’s going to be in the conversation, something to throw around and talk about.”

UFC 156 takes place on Feb. 2, 2013 in Las Vegas.

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UFC 156: Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Two of the UFC’s top flyweights will be looking to get back into title contention early next year as Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall are set to face off at UFC 156 in February.Both men are coming into this bout following recent losses to champ Demetrio…

Two of the UFC’s top flyweights will be looking to get back into title contention early next year as Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall are set to face off at UFC 156 in February.

Both men are coming into this bout following recent losses to champ Demetrious Johnson who won the inaugural 125 lb crown during the exciting four-man flyweight tournament earlier this year.  A win for either fighter may earn them another crack at “Mighty Mouse,” provided he defends his belt against John Dodson in January.

I am very interested in this fight as Benavidez and McCall have widely been regarded as top-three 125ers over the past few years and should provide an amazing show at UFC 156.

Let’s take a look at the head-to-toe breakdown of this exciting flyweight matchup.

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