(I mean, I *guess* pulling this off could be considered an advantage. I guess.)
This might not come as all that big a shock to you, but there’s been a slight shift in the UFC 163 UFC 164 odds as of late. Mainly, that of the main event featherweight lightweight title bout between Jose AldoBen Henderson and T.J. GrantAnthony Pettis. Despite opening as a slight favorite over the last man to defeat him when the replacement matchup was first announced, Henderson’s line has seen a significant dip over the past couple of weeks. According to BestFightOdds, Pettis is listed as high as -125 over Henderson, who is listed between -105 and -115 on various gambling sites.
So yeah, it’s not exactly breaking news. But honestly, we really wanted to use the Henderson/Pettis update as an opportunity to inform you of this weekend’s Cage Warriors 57 event, which if the odds are any indication, should feature at least *two* in-ring decapitations. In the evening’s main event, UFC/Bellator veteran Paul Daleyis listed as a -1700 favorite over opponent Jimmy Pocket, a six year-old child with rickets and a pegleg who…I’m sorry, Daley will actually be fighting Lukasz Chlewicki, a 10-2 Polish fighter who we should also assume is receiving this fight as part of his final, dying wish. Because otherwise, what the fuck?
Also set to “compete” on the Cage Warriors card are Aldric Cassata and Jose Luis Zapater, currently listed as +600 underdogs to -1200 favorites Danny Roberts and Ronnie Mann, respectively. May the ghost of Keith Hackney protect those poor gentlemen. He’s dead, right?
(I mean, I *guess* pulling this off could be considered an advantage. I guess.)
This might not come as all that big a shock to you, but there’s been a slight shift in the UFC 163 UFC 164 odds as of late. Mainly, that of the main event featherweight lightweight title bout between Jose AldoBen Henderson and T.J. GrantAnthony Pettis. Despite opening as a slight favorite over the last man to defeat him when the replacement matchup was first announced, Henderson’s line has seen a significant dip over the past couple of weeks. According to BestFightOdds, Pettis is listed as high as -125 over Henderson, who is listed between -105 and -115 on various gambling sites.
So yeah, it’s not exactly breaking news. But honestly, we really wanted to use the Henderson/Pettis update as an opportunity to inform you of this weekend’s Cage Warriors 57 event, which if the odds are any indication, should feature at least *two* in-ring decapitations. In the evening’s main event, UFC/Bellator veteran Paul Daleyis listed as a -1700 favorite over opponent Jimmy Pocket, a six year-old child with rickets and a pegleg who…I’m sorry, Daley will actually be fighting Lukasz Chlewicki, a 10-2 Polish fighter who we should also assume is receiving this fight as part of his final, dying wish. Because otherwise, what the fuck?
Also set to “compete” on the Cage Warriors card are Aldric Cassata and Jose Luis Zapater, currently listed as +600 underdogs to -1200 favorites Danny Roberts and Ronnie Mann, respectively. May the ghost of Keith Hackney protect those poor gentlemen. He’s dead, right?
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has stepped in to replace Quinn Mulhern after he suffered a sports injury in the run up to his fight against Ryan Couture at UFC 164.
The event is due to take place on August 31 in Milwaukee, and it will be the first time Ia…
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has stepped in to replace Quinn Mulhern after he suffered a sports injury in the run up to his fight against Ryan Couture at UFC 164.
The event is due to take place on August 31 in Milwaukee, and it will be the first time Iaquinta has stepped inside the cage since losing to Michael Chiesa at The Ultimate Fighter 15 finale.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Iaquinta stepped up four hours after Mulhern posted a picture of his fractured hand on Tuesday.
Both he and Couture have an opportunity to bounce back in the division after suffering losses in their previous outings. Couture was knocked out by Ross Pearson in April, and fighting on the same card as the mouthwatering lightweight championship bout between Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis is the perfect opportunity for him to get noticed.
This will be only his second fight in the UFC after he joined the promotion from Strikeforce.
It is not clear whether the two will face off on the main card or the preliminaries, but UFC 164 is shaping up as follows:
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has stepped in to replace Quinn Mulhern after he suffered a sports injury in the run up to his fight against Ryan Couture at UFC 164.
The event is due to take place on August 31 in Milwaukee, and it will be the first time Ia…
UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has stepped in to replace Quinn Mulhern after he suffered a sports injury in the run up to his fight against Ryan Couture at UFC 164.
The event is due to take place on August 31 in Milwaukee, and it will be the first time Iaquinta has stepped inside the cage since losing to Michael Chiesa at The Ultimate Fighter 15 finale.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Iaquinta stepped up four hours after Mulhern posted a picture of his fractured hand on Tuesday.
Both he and Couture have an opportunity to bounce back in the division after suffering losses in their previous outings. Couture was knocked out by Ross Pearson in April, and fighting on the same card as the mouthwatering lightweight championship bout between Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis is the perfect opportunity for him to get noticed.
This will be only his second fight in the UFC after he joined the promotion from Strikeforce.
It is not clear whether the two will face off on the main card or the preliminaries, but UFC 164 is shaping up as follows:
Dustin Poirier is on a mission to get to the top of the featherweight division, and he’s certainly not taking any short cuts to reach that goal.
The 24-year-old American Top Team fighter has established himself as one of the most talented young prospec…
Dustin Poirier is on a mission to get to the top of the featherweight division, and he’s certainly not taking any short cuts to reach that goal.
The 24-year-old American Top Team fighter has established himself as one of the most talented young prospects in a division which has become increasingly more competitive over the past year, and while his journey has come with setbacks in recent outings, the potential Poirier possesses has continued to shine through.
Nevertheless, if the “Diamond” hopes to keep stride with his peers at 145-pounds, he is going to have to right the ship—and do so in quick fashion.
After a pair of high profile losses to current No. 1 contender Chan Sung Jung and resurgent wrecking machine Cub Swanson, the Louisiana native is sliding dangerously close to being reshuffled into the stacked deck in the featherweight division. But where adversity of this sort is enough to force other fighters to rethink their level of competition and lag back for favorable matchups to pad their record, Poirier has chosen to stay the course and has his sights locked on redemption.
He will have the perfect opportunity to reestablish his footing in the weight class when he squares-off with fellow young talent Erik Koch at UFC 164 in Milwaukee. It wasn’t long ago when Koch was considered “the next big thing” at 145-pounds, and with both men gunning for the same spot in the fray, their dust up is guaranteed to be a “can’t miss” affair.
“I’m excited about it,” Poirier told Bleacher Report. “It’s a great matchup for me and it’s going to be exciting for the fans. It’s going to be a big win for me and it will put me right back at the top of the division. I need a ‘W’ and I’m ready to get it.
“[Koch] is a young, flashy fighter and in the same weight class as I am so we’ve been on each other’s radar for some time. We both came over from the WEC so we’ve always been staring at each other through the cage. We were originally supposed to fight at the Mandalay Bay for UFC 143 and now our paths are finally going to cross.
“I’m going to be in the best shape of my life,” Poirier added. “I’m going to be ready to fight and coming off the best camp I’ve ever had. I’m going to be the most focused and mentally prepared I’ve ever been. I’m going to be a more mature fighter. This will be my eighth fight in the UFC and tenth with Zuffa overall. I feel like I’m coming into my own now.”
While the bout with Koch carries heavy implications on his status as a top featherweight, Poirier is taking the pressure in stride. Where those circumstances have caused him to become excitable and make hasty decisions in the past, the current version of Poirier is working on showing a measured maturity.
To this he gives credit to his decision to uproot from Louisiana and move his training to the American Top Team facility in Coconut Creek, Fla.
“I moved everything to Florida,” Poirier said. “My wife is there, has started school there and that is where we are at now. I’m working on my tan everyday after the gym and I’m enjoying it. I feel there is a great group of guys there and they are taking me to the next level.”
While he has admittedly made hasty decisions in the past which have ultimately cost him ground in his quest to become a title contender, Poirier is confident his new home at ATT will provide the proper atmosphere for growth—both physical and mental—to continue.
“[Swanson] was on a three or four fight win streak and was finishing everybody,” Poirier recalled about his decision to face Swanson on short notice. “He was knocking everyone out and getting ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonuses in pretty much every fight leading up to ours. I went 15 minutes with him and wasn’t in the best shape. I had to cut a lot of weight, travel overseas, and had a lot of stuff stacked against me. Yet, I feel I fought a pretty good fight and feel I could have won if I had an eight week camp or longer to prepare.
“It showed I belong with the best guys in the world but maybe I need to make better decisions for my career. I can’t just jump into fights because they are exciting to me. I have to be ready to go in there and not looking to fight for the sake of fighting, but fighting to win. I have to look at things differently. It may be a fun fight to be involved in but I have to ask myself if it is the best thing for my career.
“But hindsight is 20-20,” he added. “Saying that now would be different had I gone in there and knocked Cub out in the first round. I might be fighting for the belt right now. Everything has to balance out and there is good and bad with everything.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
It wasn’t supposed to happen.
Anthony Pettis was at home in Milwaukee just a few days removed from getting back in the gym after suffering a knee injury that kept him from taking a fight at UFC 163 against Jose Aldo.
Then, the call came in from the UFC…
It wasn’t supposed to happen.
Anthony Pettis was at home in Milwaukee just a few days removed from getting back in the gym after suffering a knee injury that kept him from taking a fight at UFC 163 against Jose Aldo.
Then, the call came in from the UFC—”TJ Grant is injured, would you like to step in and face Benson Henderson at UFC 164 on August 31?”
There was no hesitation from Pettis when he replied.
“Words can’t describe it,” Pettis told Bleacher Report on Saturday after accepting the fight with Henderson. “You couldn’t write a better story.”
To backtrack a few weeks, Pettis hurt his knee in training that forced him out of his fight against Aldo, and immediately, his attention turned to the lightweight title fight taking place in his hometown of Milwaukee a few weeks later.
The only problem was Henderson was already matched up with Grant, and Pettis wasn’t sure his knee would be ready in time. Those doubts faded pretty quickly when he actually got the call from the UFC offering him the fight.
“It wasn’t like nothing happened. I tore my LCL, it’s still a serious injury, but it isn’t as bad as an ACL or meniscus tear. Minimum is supposed to be six weeks out, but I’ve got a good therapist here, and I feel confident enough that I can take this fight,” Pettis stated. “You can’t say no when the UFC calls, especially for a title shot.”
“I actually went back (to training) last week which is the crazy thing. I went back, sparred for the first time, felt good and I was thinking October for Josh Thomson. That’s what I was getting ready for, trying to get back in the gym. The UFC called with the best news of my life.”
As soon as the announcement was made that Pettis would be stepping in to fight Henderson, the cries of conspiracy rang throughout the MMA world. It’s no secret that Pettis is the last fighter to beat Henderson when the two of them fought on the last ever WEC card in 2010.
It’s no secret that in that fight, Pettis unleashed one of the most talked about moves in MMA history, when he flattened Henderson with a move he dubbed “The Showtime kick,” which involved him literally running up off the cage and jumping for a kick that connected flush with Henderson’s face.
It’s also no secret that Pettis had been lobbying for a title shot for the better part of two years, and the improbable way that this all came together felt like guessing the correct numbers to win the lottery.
Even Pettis had his doubts when the call came in.
“I’m even thinking like ‘damn, could TJ Grant be really hurt?’, is this part of some bigger plan? It’s just crazy. The way it happened and the way it’s playing out. It’s one of those storybook fairytales,” Pettis said. “It wasn’t supposed to happen, but it worked out perfectly.”
“I was thinking the same thing, like TJ Grant can’t get hurt, this isn’t true. Two guys can’t get hurt in two divisions in back-to-back title fights. I don’t know, it just turned out in my favor. I don’t want to think about it more. This is the biggest fight of my life in my hometown. I just want that contract to come so I can sign it and it can be 100 percent.”
Now that the fight is happening, Pettis will quickly turn his attention to Benson Henderson and his preparation for the fight.
The moment that Henderson won the belt from former champion Frankie Edgar, he was bombarded with questions about Pettis given the nature of how their first fight went down. Pettis is sure that Henderson will be excited to get a second shot at him—either that, or he’s going to be worried it will happen all over again, the same way as last time.
“He’s the champion, he better be (excited). He’s the guy that everybody wants, he’s the No. 1 guy in the lightweight division. I don’t see him being too worried about it. I’m sure he’s confident, he’s on a winning streak, but I know that has to be in his head,” Pettis stated. “This is the last guy that beat him in my hometown. He’s either seeking revenge, or he’s worried; I don’t know which one it is.”
Despite the fact that Pettis wasn’t matched up with Henderson until Friday doesn’t mean he hasn’t been watching his former foe with quite a bit of interest given their standing in the lightweight division.
Pettis has been sitting and watching Henderson win the belt and defend it in his last few fights, quietly breaking down the good and the bad while anticipating his own shot against the champion.
“All of his last fights, for sure the (Frankie) Edgar fight, I was there sitting and watching these fights front row, could have went either way, the (Gilbert) Melendez fight could have gone either way. So, there’s an argument he may not be the top 155’er, but he has the belt, that’s all there is to it,” Pettis said. “He has the belt. Whether he’s winning by decision or he’s blowing guys out, he has the belt, and that’s what I want. I’ve been waiting for this for two years, and it’s finally here. It doesn’t feel real.”
Now, as he heads back into training camp for the next month to get ready for Henderson, there will undoubtedly be one question that gets asked over and over again—what do you remember about landing the famous Showtime kick?
“I’ve been answering millions of questions about the Showtime kick, even before this fight popped up, so I can’t even imagine,” Pettis joked. “It’s the perfect selling point, the commercials can be the Showtime kick. For a minute, I was sick of it cause people were talking like ‘oh, he can’t beat Ben Henderson for real, that kick was lucky, that’s why he won the fight.’ I look at it like that’s going to be part of UFC history forever. That was one of the best kicks ever in mixed martial arts history.”
Pettis truly believes that landing this fight the way he did with a chance to win the UFC lightweight title in his hometown of Milwaukee was an act of destiny and fate.
Now that destiny and fate got him the chance, Pettis knows he has to work hard to make sure that shot isn’t squandered.
“To win it, I’ve got to put in the work. I can’t just sit back and write off the win like I did it before,” Pettis said. “He’s going to bring it, I’m the last guy to beat him, everybody doesn’t consider him the real champ until he beats me, so he’s going to bring it. I feel like I’ve got the tools to beat this guy.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
UFC lightweight contender T.J. Grant is a man with a broken heart right now because his title shot at UFC 164 went up in smoke on Friday when he was pulled from his upcoming bout against Benson Henderson due to injury.
While the UFC moved quick to repl…
UFC lightweight contender T.J. Grant is a man with a broken heart right now because his title shot at UFC 164 went up in smoke on Friday when he was pulled from his upcoming bout against Benson Henderson due to injury.
While the UFC moved quick to replace Grant with former WEC champion Anthony Pettis, it didn’t cushion the blow at all for the Canadian fighter who had won five fights in a row to earn the title shot in August.
Grant updated his condition via Facebook and Twitter on late Friday night, revealing that he suffered a concussion in training while doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“I suffered a concussion in training and it’s taking a little longer than I expected to heal,” Grant stated on his Facebook page. “I am making improvements everyday and should be back to training soon I hope. Thanks everyone for your concern, I’ll be back 100% and will be looking to get my hands on whoever has the gold.”
He updated further when speaking to fans on Twitter.
Grant also shot down the conspiracy theories that were floating around that the UFC somehow paid him to step aside to allow Pettis to fight Henderson in a rematch of their epic fight back in 2010.
The unfortunate side of all this is Grant now has to sit by the wayside while Pettis faces Henderson in the new main event of UFC 164.
Grant earned the shot at the belt when he viciously knocked out former title contender Gray Maynard at UFC 160 back in May.
Grant’s concussion must be fairly severe given the timeline for his fight that was scheduled on August 31 against Henderson. With the fight still six weeks away, Grant’s diagnosis will obviously force him out of training for quite some time.
NHL All-Star Sidney Crosby played only eight games in a span of 14 months after receiving a serious concussion during a game in 2011, however, concussion based injuries and the symptoms that go along with them are different with every athlete.
Based on his messages on the two social networks, Grant is hopeful to still get a title shot upon his return. If he can get healthy in quick enough time, he could still be in line to get the winner of the upcoming fight.
Of course that’s also assuming the winner of the title fight at UFC 164 comes out unscathed and can return in quick enough time to face Grant either later this year or early in 2014.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report
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