Tag: UFC 161

UFC 161 Results: Where Saturday’s Biggest Losers Go Moving Forward

After a less-than-stellar UFC 161 pay-per-view that was full of predictable results and boring mismatches, there were several marquee names that came out the losers on Saturday night.All of the following fighters came out on the short end of stick, and…

After a less-than-stellar UFC 161 pay-per-view that was full of predictable results and boring mismatches, there were several marquee names that came out the losers on Saturday night.

All of the following fighters came out on the short end of stick, and the results indicate things must change for each man going forward if they want to have another chance to shine in the UFC.

 

Roy Nelson

While Roy Nelson may still be one of the biggest fan favorites in the UFC, his one-sided loss to Stipe Miocic proves that he is not ready to be a viable heavyweight championship contender.

Nelson has no more fights remaining on his UFC contract, and the talk that he could jump to Bellator MMA  has continued to boil to the surface. With a tough loss to stop any momentum he was building, where Nelson heads from here is as uncertain as ever.

The heavyweight is still one of the toughest fighters in the division and has an iron chin, but that’s not enough to reach the pinnacle of the company. Unless he drastically improves his cardio, there is a great chance he will leave the UFC for greener pastures elsewhere.

As long as that greener pasture doesn’t have a treadmill.

 

Dan Henderson

While a decision loss for Dan Henderson is devastating to the 42-year-old’s career in MMA, the fact that he fought the younger Rashad Evans and could have won the decision should signal that his time in the UFC isn’t over yet.

Henderson is still one of the best fighters in the light heavyweight division, but with two straight losses, the MMA legend will have to prove his worth by taking on any big fight officials will line up for his next bout.

No matter whom Dana White and UFC matchmakers puts in front of Henderson next—likely a younger fighter looking to make the jump into title contention—the former champion will have to find his rhythm once again and prove to the doubters that he isn’t through.

 

Tyron Woodley and Jake Shield 

In the worst fight of the night, Tyron Woodley and Jake Shield squared off in the main event of the FX preliminaries and disappointed everyone in attendance, including the president of the company, Dana White:

While the hope is that the last fight on the free televised pre-show will get fans to order the PPV, this bout did nothing to convince the fans that this show was something they should invest money.

If White has his way, these fighters won’t be in any more marquee fights anytime soon.

 

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UFC 161: Where Does the Card Rank Among 2013’s Pay Per View Cards?

UFC 161 is in the books and for the majority of MMA fans, that’s a good thing.The card had been maligned with injuries and looked more like a network TV kind of card rather than something fans should’ve shelled out $60 for.Not that anyone should’ve dis…

UFC 161 is in the books and for the majority of MMA fans, that’s a good thing.

The card had been maligned with injuries and looked more like a network TV kind of card rather than something fans should’ve shelled out $60 for.

Not that anyone should’ve dished out that kind of money for a main event consisting of two guys coming off a loss (one of them coming off consecutive losses at that) but I’m sure there were a few poor souls who made that mistake.

Or perhaps they have so much money they love spending it on worthless products, like oceanfront property in Iowa.

In short, UFC 161 was a disaster.

The original card had some promise with an interim bantamweight title shot between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland as the main event. UFC fans haven’t fully bought in to the little guys but at the very least a title fight would’ve been headlining the card.

A rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira also looked good on paper. The bout had Pride FC fans reminiscing about their first matchup which has become one of the all time great fights in MMA history.

Alas, both of those bouts fell through as injuries forced fighters to back out. That left us with Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson as a main event. This fight would’ve been a main event a few years ago, but with both fighters clearly heading into the end of their careers, it shouldn’t have been anywhere near the headlining bout.

However, there was still hope for UFC 161. In the past, cards that have been deemed unbearable to watch on paper have actually turned out to be pretty decent cards. Maybe it’s the lowered expectations or fighters realizing they need to put on a show, but whatever the reason, some lackluster cards on paper worked out pretty well.

None of that mattered on Saturday, as UFC 161 was terrible to watch from start to finish. The prelims were filled with questionable judging and the “main event” of the prelims, Jake Shields vs. Tyrone Woodley, was pretty hard to watch.

It would prove to be a sign of things to come as the main card for UFC 161 seemed to drag on like a bad family reunion.

Pat Barry and Shawn Jordan did their best to put on a show and the fight provided an explosive finish (not to mention a sweet backflip from a really big dude). It would be the last time fans had anything to cheer about during UFC 161.

Alexis Davis was supposed to look amazing against Rosi Sexton, but she struggled to put away the scrappy veteran.

Ryan Jimmo was supposed to take a step forward and regain some of the aura he obtained after a seven-second KO in his UFC debut. And Roy Nelson was supposed to drop Stipe Miocic on the canvas to begin his contract negotiations.

None of that happened.

The main event did little to salvage the event as Evans and Henderson failed to put any form of offense together. Hendo was able to wobble Evans with a jab and Evans was able to drop Hendo in the final round, but neither man could’ve convincingly been called a victor.

The card wasn’t filled with as many quirks as UFC 159 and didn’t feature as many one-sided beatdowns as other cards this year but UFC 161 has to be bringing up the rear when discussing the top pay-per-view cards of 2013.

I heard the card was so lacking in excitement even Yushin Okami fell asleep at one point.

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UFC 161: Where Does the Card Rank Among 2013’s Pay Per View Cards?

UFC 161 is in the books and for the majority of MMA fans, that’s a good thing.The card had been maligned with injuries and looked more like a network TV kind of card rather than something fans should’ve shelled out $60 for.Not that anyone should’ve dis…

UFC 161 is in the books and for the majority of MMA fans, that’s a good thing.

The card had been maligned with injuries and looked more like a network TV kind of card rather than something fans should’ve shelled out $60 for.

Not that anyone should’ve dished out that kind of money for a main event consisting of two guys coming off a loss (one of them coming off consecutive losses at that) but I’m sure there were a few poor souls who made that mistake.

Or perhaps they have so much money they love spending it on worthless products, like oceanfront property in Iowa.

In short, UFC 161 was a disaster.

The original card had some promise with an interim bantamweight title shot between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland as the main event. UFC fans haven’t fully bought in to the little guys but at the very least a title fight would’ve been headlining the card.

A rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira also looked good on paper. The bout had Pride FC fans reminiscing about their first matchup which has become one of the all time great fights in MMA history.

Alas, both of those bouts fell through as injuries forced fighters to back out. That left us with Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson as a main event. This fight would’ve been a main event a few years ago, but with both fighters clearly heading into the end of their careers, it shouldn’t have been anywhere near the headlining bout.

However, there was still hope for UFC 161. In the past, cards that have been deemed unbearable to watch on paper have actually turned out to be pretty decent cards. Maybe it’s the lowered expectations or fighters realizing they need to put on a show, but whatever the reason, some lackluster cards on paper worked out pretty well.

None of that mattered on Saturday, as UFC 161 was terrible to watch from start to finish. The prelims were filled with questionable judging and the “main event” of the prelims, Jake Shields vs. Tyrone Woodley, was pretty hard to watch.

It would prove to be a sign of things to come as the main card for UFC 161 seemed to drag on like a bad family reunion.

Pat Barry and Shawn Jordan did their best to put on a show and the fight provided an explosive finish (not to mention a sweet backflip from a really big dude). It would be the last time fans had anything to cheer about during UFC 161.

Alexis Davis was supposed to look amazing against Rosi Sexton, but she struggled to put away the scrappy veteran.

Ryan Jimmo was supposed to take a step forward and regain some of the aura he obtained after a seven-second KO in his UFC debut. And Roy Nelson was supposed to drop Stipe Miocic on the canvas to begin his contract negotiations.

None of that happened.

The main event did little to salvage the event as Evans and Henderson failed to put any form of offense together. Hendo was able to wobble Evans with a jab and Evans was able to drop Hendo in the final round, but neither man could’ve convincingly been called a victor.

The card wasn’t filled with as many quirks as UFC 159 and didn’t feature as many one-sided beatdowns as other cards this year but UFC 161 has to be bringing up the rear when discussing the top pay-per-view cards of 2013.

I heard the card was so lacking in excitement even Yushin Okami fell asleep at one point.

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UFC 161 Results: Most Impressive Performances from Winnipeg

UFC 161 was destined to be a dud once the interim bantamweight title bout between current champ Renan Barao and top contender Eddie Wineland fell apart. To make things even worse, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had to pull out of his fight with Mau…

UFC 161 was destined to be a dud once the interim bantamweight title bout between current champ Renan Barao and top contender Eddie Wineland fell apart. 

To make things even worse, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had to pull out of his fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua due to a nagging back injury. Chael Sonnen stepped up to replace Nogueira, but visa issues nixed that possibility. Now Sonnen will face “Shogun” in the main event of the inaugural UFC on Fox Sports 1 card.

There were a number of other fighter changes, leaving UFC 161 as little more than a shell of its former self. The card was further plagued with questionable decisions, several lackluster bouts and only two finishes. 

However, there were a few bright spots—even on a card as dreadful as UFC 161. These are the fighters who had the most impressive performances in Winnipeg. 

All statistics were obtained via FightMetric.

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Evans vs. Henderson: Key Takeaways from UFC 161’s Main Event

Cage fighters tend to experience a bell curve of progression as they work their way through a fighting career—skills are learned in the early years, then utilized in the quest for a title and gradually honed as they peak and move down the other s…

Cage fighters tend to experience a bell curve of progression as they work their way through a fighting career—skills are learned in the early years, then utilized in the quest for a title and gradually honed as they peak and move down the other side of the curve.

Sometimes the process is subtle; other times the slope is slippery and chaotic. 

At UFC 161, savvy veterans Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson stepped into the Octagon and ended up demonstrating that they’re neither crashing into retirement nor surging into a second awakening of their respective careers. 

When announced, the bout was considered to be evenly matched. After 15 minutes of combat, Evans’ quick-twitch reflexes narrowly awarded him a split-decision victory. 

It wasn’t particularly pretty.

It wasn’t even the resounding return-to-form that “Suga” had hoped for. But it got the job done, and after a pair of consecutive losses, that’s what counts most. 

After the event came to a close, vital takeaways were revealed—lessons that might resonate outside of the fight itself. 

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Twitter Reacts to Evans vs. Henderson Fight Card

UFC 161: Henderson vs. Evans could have easily been labeled UFC 161: Lackluster. The event, which took place Saturday night, was largely panned by fans due to the dull fights, lack of finishes and overall lack of engagement by most fighters.Not only we…

UFC 161: Henderson vs. Evans could have easily been labeled UFC 161: Lackluster. The event, which took place Saturday night, was largely panned by fans due to the dull fights, lack of finishes and overall lack of engagement by most fighters.

Not only were fans and sports writers critical of the bout, but some fighters were not afraid to express their displeasure with the card, including Strikeforce import and UFC 162 main-card fighter Tim Kennedy.

The main event between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans was close. In fact, the split decision had people on different sides of the fence as to whether Henderson or Evans would come home with the win.

UFC women’s bantamweight Sarah Kaufman scored it in favor of the former two-division Pride champion.

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson saw things a tad differently than Kaufman in scoring the fight.

 

In possibly the best performance of the night, Stipe Miocic upset Roy Nelson in amazing fashion. Using speed and technical ability, Miocic picked apart Nelson on the feet. Who congratulated Miocic for his performance? None other than WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Lisa Ellis added a little bit of humor to the obviously winded Roy Nelson.

In describing Ryan Jimmo and Igor Pokrajac’s fight, as well as Tyron Woodley and Jake Shields’s fight, Dana White was not one to fumble over words.

Shawn Jordan’s knockout of Pat Barry was one of two finishes on the entire night. In celebration, he did an impressive backflip for being a 250-pound man.

UFC Lightweight champ Benson Henderson was quick to congratulate undercard fighter Mitch Clarke, who took a decision win over the favored John Maguire on the undercard. Clarke trained with Henderson’s team at the MMA Lab in preparation for the fight, and the win likely saved Clarke’s UFC employment.

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