Tag: UFC 166

UFC 166: John Dodson Should Get Title Shot vs. Johnson-Benavidez Winner

It took just one stiff left hand from John Dodson for the Jackson’s MMA stalwart to significantly up his stock in the UFC’s blossoming 125-pound division at UFC 166 on Saturday.
Dodson, whose lone setback in the UFC came against flyweight linchpin Deme…

It took just one stiff left hand from John Dodson for the Jackson’s MMA stalwart to significantly up his stock in the UFC’s blossoming 125-pound division at UFC 166 on Saturday.

Dodson, whose lone setback in the UFC came against flyweight linchpin Demetrious Johnson, scored an impressive first-round KO over highly touted newcomer Darrell Montague. Dodson pocketed a $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for his efforts. 

In a post-fight interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Dodson admitted that he felt pressure to not only win, but to deliver a highlight-reel finish.

I had to do something spectacular. If I wanted to get back on another card and fight soon, I’ve got to end this one [and] win it the way that I just did, and show Dana White and all of the UFC that I’m a badass [and] throw me in another fight. I don’t care if it’s going to be two weeks [or] three weeks, I’m going to be ready to go.

By doing so, the second-ranked Dodson has effectively positioned himself for another shot at the belt, and unless he accepts a fight in the meantime, The Magician should get the winner of the Johnson/Joseph Benavidez bout at the TUF 18 finale on Nov. 30.

Aside from a bout with the winner of the Johnson/Benavidez title tilt, only a few other sensible matchups exist for Dodson.

The Magician could take on the winner of the Ian McCall/Scott Jorgensen scrap in December, or he could call out the surging John Lineker (No. 5), assuming Lineker gets past Phil Harris at UFC Fight Night 30 on Saturday.

Dodson, who TKO’d the UFC’s eighth-ranked bantamweight, T.J. Dillashaw, to win season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, has already notched wins over three of the top 10 fighters in the flyweight division.

Prior to his time on The Ultimate Fighter, Dodson first earned a unanimous decision over John Moraga [No. 4]. The speedy southpaw then scored a unanimous decision over Timothy Elliott (No. 7) before TKO’ing Jussier Formiga (No. 6). 

Although it seems he has the leverage to demand a high-profile fight with either the winner of the Johnson/Benavidez fight or the winner of the McCall/Jorgensen scrap, Dodson told Helwani he just wants to get back in the Octagon.

“(I’ll take) anybody that they want to give me,” Dodson said. “Please don’t put me on the bench. Don’t put me on the bench for another six months. I want to go within two or one … one day. I don’t care. Just give me somebody. I want to fight.”

Regardless of who he gets pitted with in his next outing, Dodson has established himself as a force to take seriously and as the most explosive finisher in the flyweight division.

It’s a fine feather in Dodson’s cap, especially considering Benavidez, Johnson and McCall each call 125 home. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 166: Is Daniel Cormier a Legitimate Threat to Jon Jones?

It seems like only last week we were lamenting the chronic lack of depth in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
Once the promotion’s marquee weight class, Jon Jones’ recent dominance over his light heavyweight peers had seemingly re…

It seems like only last week we were lamenting the chronic lack of depth in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Once the promotion’s marquee weight class, Jon Jones’ recent dominance over his light heavyweight peers had seemingly rendered the division void of any intrigue.

But over the past few weeks, Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier have apparently emerged as legitimate threats to Jon Jones’ crown.

Granted, the emergence of two contenders to the 205-pound throne hardly warrants breaking out the party hats, but the division has been so starved of a compelling supporting cast that I’ll take what little I can get.

The threat posed by Alexander Gustafsson is self-evident at this point. In a star-making performance, the Swede took the champion to the brink at UFC 165.

But what about Daniel Cormier, whose next bout seems destined to be at 205 pounds?

We know what the former Olympian is capable of, but should we reserve judgement until we see how he deals with such a significant weight cut?

Cormier’s struggles with the scale at the 2008 Beijing Olympics have been well-documented, so it’s not unreasonable to question whether the drop to 205 pounds will have a deleterious effect on his performance inside the cage.

The suggested headline for this piece included an amusing typo:

“Is Daniel Cormier a Legitimate Treat to Jon Jones?”

I looked at this Freudian slip of a headline and questioned whether my long-suffering editor’s typo is a more suitable headline than my own.

OK, so I’m stretching the truth a little. The inclusion of the erroneous headline was a post-hoc decision, since I felt I could get a little mileage out of the amusing slip.

My point stands, though.

Many fans think Cormier possesses the requisite tools to unseat Jones, but very few column inches have been dedicated to how the pair match up physically.

With the former Strikeforce Grand Prix champion coming down from heavyweight, the assumption seems to be that size and weight won’t be a major factor in the outcome of any eventual fight.

In reality, Cormier fights at heavyweight because he carries around a significant amount of extra body fat. His frame is more naturally suited to the light heavyweight division.

Additionally, the discrepancy in both size and reach appears almost insurmountable on paper, with Jones enjoying a five-inch height advantage and an astonishing reach advantage of almost a foot.

While Cormier coped masterfully with a somewhat similar handicap when he faced Josh Barnett, the 34-year-old has never dealt with anyone who excels at capitalising on his physical advantages in the quite the same way as Jones.

Of course, height and reach would be less of an issue if Cormier employed a similar style to his friend and AKA teammate Cain Velasquez, who is near-peerless at closing the distance and wearing down opponents against the cage.

The former Olympian is instead more content to remain primarily on the outside, popping in and out of range to deliver his surprisingly versatile attacks—his level changes have also turned into a thing of beauty.

Though capable of grinding opponents up against the cage, it’s hard to imagine Cormier being able to consistently close the distance and control the much-larger Jones.

Based on amateur credentials alone, Cormier would appear to hold the wrestling advantage. But as I am often at pains to point out, amateur wrestling credentials don’t necessarily guarantee success inside the cage.

That being said, if there is one particular area of intrigue in this fight, it will be whether the former Oklahoma state standout can bring his amateur wrestling experience to bear and take Jones to the mat.

Strain as I might, I can’t imagine this scenario actually playing out, nor any scenario that ends with Cormier’s hand being raised.

However, I’ve been wrong many times before. For the sake of the light heavyweight division’s health, this is one of those rare occasions when I would gleefully eat my own words.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez Needs to Headline an Event at Some Point

Sometimes, three rounds and 15 minutes just cannot suffice.
In specific instances of fierce competition, the ebbs and the flows of three-round fights are pronounced. But in these 15-minute wars, business oftentimes gets left unfinished.
MMA fans and pu…

Sometimes, three rounds and 15 minutes just cannot suffice.

In specific instances of fierce competition, the ebbs and the flows of three-round fights are pronounced. But in these 15-minute wars, business oftentimes gets left unfinished.

MMA fans and pundits everywhere could concur with these sentiments following the epic clash that ensued between former lightweight title challengers Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez at UFC 166.

While Melendez and Sanchez undoubtedly captivated the masses and more than earned their “Fight of the Night” bonus checks, their show-stopping performance left fans yearning for two more rounds.

Nearly every fan at Houston’s Toyota Center stood and watched anxiously from the moment Sanchez dropped Melendez until the end of the bout.

Afterward, with his face severely swollen, an optimistic Sanchez opened the door for a rematch, saying the following about the bout at the UFC 166 post-fight press conference:

I dropped him and I felt it was close to being a draw. I got some good takedowns [and] the fight was close. They gave him the unanimous decision, but I thought it was closer. I thought it could have been a draw and that’s one of those fights where you need five rounds for true warriors to really dig deep and go to the finish.

The second-ranked Melendez obviously didn’t agree with Sanchez’s comments regarding the judges’ decision. However, UFC president Dana White all but disagreed with the judges’ scoring, saying at the press conference that he thought The Dream definitely took the third round.

In any case, Melendez, who easily squirmed free from a first-round, rear-naked choke attempt, more than doubled Sanchez in strikes landed in each of the first two rounds (30-13 in the first round and 27-8 in the second).

Melendez also stuffed five of six takedown attempts from Sanchez and denied each of the New Mexico native’s two submission attempts.

Remarkably, 56 of El Nino‘s first 57 strikes were of the significant variety, and in the third round, when Sanchez appeared the strongest, Melendez outstruck The Dream 41-21, including 40-21 in the significant strikes category. 

In a nutshell, Melendez played Sanchez’s game in the third round and engaged in a slugfest with the notoriously durable Jackson’s MMA brawler.

Although at times it appeared that Sanchez was turning the tide—especially when he dropped Melendez with an uppercut with 1:50 to go—El Nino maintained his composure and kept a torrid pace to win the majority of the standup exchanges.

The numbers never lie, and in Sanchez’s case, a thrilling and gutsy performance only paid off in the form of a $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus check.

With Melendez winning for the eighth time in his last nine outings, and Sanchez falling for the fourth time in his last seven fights, the two warriors appear to be heading in different directions.

However, because the fight satisfied the company’s brass, men like White, co-founder Lorenzo Fertitta and longtime color commentator Joe Rogan, the UFC could easily sell a five-round rematch between El Nino and The Dream in the near future.

Truth be told, fans would have eagerly paid an extra pay-per-view fee just to watch Melendez and Sanchez throw down for two more rounds Saturday night. Imagine how enthusiastic fans will get at the though of a rematch.

 

All stats gathered via Fightmetric.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Cain Velasquez’s Greatest Threats to UFC Champion’s Heavyweight Title

Cain Velasquez awaits any threat to his title not named Junior dos Santos.
Dos Santos is the only UFC fighter who has taken Velasquez more than one round since 2010, but he lost by TKO to the heavyweight champion on Saturday night in UFC 166. 
Vel…

Cain Velasquez awaits any threat to his title not named Junior dos Santos.

Dos Santos is the only UFC fighter who has taken Velasquez more than one round since 2010, but he lost by TKO to the heavyweight champion on Saturday night in UFC 166. 

Velasquez has now defeated the UFC No. 1 heavyweight contender two out of three times, including in back-to-back fights. He’s beaten the No. 4 contender Antonio Silva twice. Knowing that, here are the top three threats to Velasquez’s throne.

 

3. Travis Browne

Browne has plenty of momentum after earning Knockout of the Night honors in his last two fights, defeating Alistair Overeem and Gabriel Gonzalez in the first round. However, in his previous bout, he fell to Silva in Round 1—the same Silva who couldn’t survive Round 1 against Velasquez. A victory over the champ would be shocking for the No. 5 UFC heavyweight contender.

 

2. Fabrício Werdum

Werdum, the No. 3 UFC heavyweight contender, has won three straight fights, including bouts over the talented Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Roy Nelson. It’s nearly been five years since suffering a first-round knockout to Dos Santos, so he’s deserving of a shot at the title. But five career losses show he’s extremely beatable and anything other him notching a sixth loss would be a surprise against Velasquez.

 

1. Daniel Cormier

Cormier should be Velasquez’s next opponent.

He remains undefeated after 13 professional fights that include wins over UFC heavyweight contenders Silva, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Josh Barnett. Cormier was the No. 2 UFC heavyweight contender only behind dos Santos before the No. 1 fell to the champ on Saturday night.

Whether or not Cormier is actually talented enough to defeat—or even compete against—Velasquez, he still has the cleanest resume and is most deserving of being the next challenger to Velasquez’s supremacy.

 

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Cain Velasquez and Fedor Emelianenko: Examining the GOAT Question

In light of the promotion for UFC 166’s main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, it is perhaps unsurprising that the most prominent talking point to emerge from last night’s chaos concerns the UFC heavyweight champion’…

In light of the promotion for UFC 166’s main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, it is perhaps unsurprising that the most prominent talking point to emerge from last night’s chaos concerns the UFC heavyweight champion’s place in history.

From the moment Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan hailed Velasquez as the greatest heavyweight to ever strap on a pair of 4 oz gloves, you could almost hear the army of Fedor Emelianenko devotees furiously typing out their strongly-worded rebuttals.

While I’m sympathetic to their perspective, I also appreciate the reasoning behind the claim of the UFC’s commentary duo.

As the dust settled and we began to dissect what we had just witnessed, I engaged in a lengthy Twitter exchange with MMA Sentinel’s Iain Kidd and B/R MMA’s own Hunter Homistek, in which we debated the merits of the competing perspectives.

Whether you’re discussing tennis, boxing, MMA, soccer or any other sport you’d care to mention, the sticking point is almost invariably the question of how to compare eras—or indeed whether it’s fair to even make the comparison.

In Hunter’s own excellent piece on the subject, he makes the following point about the ubiquitous G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) debate:

“You cannot fault the man [Emelianenko] for competing in an era of mixed martial arts that was not as deep or as competitive as it is today.”

He’s not wrong, either. We can no more blame Fedor for his level of competition than we can credit Cain for his.

However, there are a number of ways to approach such discussions, each of which seems to be increasingly subjective.

As a fan of the hard sciences, I appreciate the desire to take a quantitative approach and make it purely a numbers game.

But as a social scientist by trade, I can’t help but also view the discussion from a qualitative perspective.

If we simply do the G.O.A.T math, Velasquez’s record doesn’t hold a candle to Fedor’s lengthy period of dominance throughout the noughties.

“The Last Emperor” ran through the best the heavyweight division had to offer, going undefeated for almost 10 years.

In contrast, Velasquez has two consecutive title defences under his belt and a career record of 13-1.

Case closed, it would seem.

Do the numbers tell the whole story, though?

Granted, comparing the respective abilities of Cain and Fedor adds a layer of subjectivity to the discussion that complicates the issue, but G.O.A.T debates are by nature an intellectual exercise in futility.

Should I call Fedor the greatest heavyweight of all time even if I believe that, assuming they were matched up in their primes, Velasquez would have his way with the Russian?

Like my B/R MMA colleague, I think the issue has to be examined from more than one perspective.

We cannot just look at a fighter’s record in isolation from its surrounding context, nor can we match up fighters from different eras in the imagination and simply declare a winner.

Where Hunter and I seem to part ways is in how we weigh the significance of each perspective.

While my colleague gives greater weight to the record and longevity of Fedor, I tend to emphasise the improved level of competition with which Cain is faced as a result of the sport’s evolution.

In the end, it boils down to our own personal biases. There is no right or wrong answer here—unless you’re the mercilessly inflexible type who refuses to consider competing views.

All the same, you folks can add your voice to the debate by voting in the poll and offering your own take in the comments section.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 166: What’s Next for Main Card Winners

The buzz surrounding UFC 166 manifested itself in the form of one of the most memorable and entertaining cards in the company’s history Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez won his rubber match with Junior do…

The buzz surrounding UFC 166 manifested itself in the form of one of the most memorable and entertaining cards in the company’s history Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez won his rubber match with Junior dos Santos, crushing the Brazilian in similar fashion to his unanimous-decision win at UFC 155, except this time the champ scored a TKO in the fifth round.

The night’s co-main event, a unanimous-decision win for surging heavyweight Daniel Cormier over Roy Nelson, was overshadowed by an epic lightweight clash between Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez.

Melendez and Sanchez slugged it out and put on a particularly captivating third round. But when the dust settled, the second-ranked Melendez had scored a unanimous decision and Sanchez had squandered a priceless opportunity.

Along with Velasquez, Cormier and Melendez, Gabriel Gonzaga and John Dodson each notched impressive knockouts. 

Here’s a glimpse at what’s next for the UFC 166 main card winners.

 

 

Begin Slideshow