Tag: UFC 169

Aldo vs. Lamas: Twitter Reacts to UFC 169 Co-Main Event

At UFC 169, Jose Aldo stepped into the Octagon to defend his UFC featherweight championship for a sixth time. Standing across the cage from the Brazilian was a surging Ricardo Lamas.
With a win over Lamas Saturday night in Newark, N.J., Aldo would tie …

At UFC 169, Jose Aldo stepped into the Octagon to defend his UFC featherweight championship for a sixth time. Standing across the cage from the Brazilian was a surging Ricardo Lamas.

With a win over Lamas Saturday night in Newark, N.J., Aldo would tie 205-pound titleholder Jon Jones for the most consecutive title defenses during a current UFC title reign. In doing so, he would make a strong case for being elevated to the top pound-for-pound fighter in the official UFC rankings.

Undefeated since joining the UFC roster, Lamas waited over 12 months for his shot at Aldo. Many felt he should have been awarded a championship bout previously, but Anthony Pettis was booked to meet Aldo. Then, the UFC opted to replace an injured Pettis with Chan Sung Jung rather than Lamas in August 2013.

Here is the co-main event between Aldo and Lamas through Twitter’s eyes.

 

Introductions

A notably reserved challenger, Lamas did not generate much hype as he worked his way up the 145-pound ladder. It’s a big part of the reason he was passed over in favor of Jung, and it’s a smaller part of the reason this featherweight matchup served as the co-main event under a bantamweight headliner.

 

Round 1

Known for having cardio problems, Aldo paced himself early on. Despite landing only 14 strikes in the first stanza, though, the champion did enough to gain a slight edge over Lamas on the scorecards. 

 

Round 2

After warming up in the opening round, Aldo began to open up the second frame, blasting his challenger with some heavy leg kicks. The titleholder more than doubled his output from the first round, landing 30 strikes to earn a clear advantage over Lamas.

 

Round 3

The third round made it abundantly clear Lamas didn’t have much to offer Aldo in any area. Able to stuff Lamas’ first takedown attempt, Aldo continued to attack the legs of his adversary and forced the challenger into a position where he essentially needed to finish.

 

Round 4

Desperate to make something happen, Lamas made a more spirited effort to take the fight to the ground in the fourth round. Aldo was able to counter, though, and ended up on top. Controlling Lamas for three minutes and threatening with submissions, Aldo extended his lead on the scorecards heading into the final round.

 

Round 5

Lamas finished strong and had a chance to work his ground-and-pound in the final minutes, but he couldn’t stop Aldo. The late rally was enough for Lamas to win the round, but it was not nearly enough for him to surpass the champion on the overall scorecards.

 

Aftermath

With eight straight title defenses dating back to his WEC days, Aldo has established himself as the best featherweight in MMA history. A move to the lightweight division has been contemplated by the Brazilian recently, and the time could be right for him to move up and challenge 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis.

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UFC 169 Results: 10 Burning Questions Heading into UFC Fight Night 36

UFC 169 is in the books. The results are as follows:
UFC 169 Main Card

Renan Barao def. Urijah Faber, TKO (Round 1, 3:42)
Jose Aldo def. Ricardo Lamas, Unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Alistair Overeem def. Frank Mir, Unanimous decision (30-2…

UFC 169 is in the books. The results are as follows:

UFC 169 Main Card

  • Renan Barao def. Urijah Faber, TKO (Round 1, 3:42)
  • Jose Aldo def. Ricardo Lamas, Unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
  • Alistair Overeem def. Frank Mir, Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Ali Bagautinov def. John Lineker, Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Abel Trujillo def. Jamie Varner, Knockout (Round 2, 2:32)

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

  • Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi, Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez, Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Nick Catone def. Tom Watson, Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee, Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-27)

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

  • Clint Hester def. Andy Enz, Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
  • Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin, Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov, Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Next up? UFC Fight Night 36. This card follows the standard formula for modern Brazilian UFC cards of having a moderately interesting main event, a fairly watchable co-main event and little else. 

Still, it’s a card worth talking about. So what questions are worth asking for the next two weeks? Find out right here!

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UFC 169: Post-Fight Stock Report

UFC 169 was not the Super Bowl weekend event everyone was hoping for.
The event posted a new UFC record for decisions on a single card (10), and most of those decisions were not entertaining fights.
The Nova Uniao crew retained its gold in dominating f…

UFC 169 was not the Super Bowl weekend event everyone was hoping for.

The event posted a new UFC record for decisions on a single card (10), and most of those decisions were not entertaining fights.

The Nova Uniao crew retained its gold in dominating fashion. Jose Aldo cruised to a decision over Ricardo Lamas, and Renan Barao got a first-round TKO over Urijah Faber. The team continues to showcase its dominance of the lighter-weight classifications.

This is a look at the post-fight stock report following the UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2014.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 169 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Barao vs. Faber II

Coming into UFC 169, almost every contest positively crackled with potential energy. No one would have guessed beforehand that it would break the UFC record for the most decisions in a single fight card.
But that’s what it did. Last June, UFC 161 set t…

Coming into UFC 169, almost every contest positively crackled with potential energy. No one would have guessed beforehand that it would break the UFC record for the most decisions in a single fight card.

But that’s what it did. Last June, UFC 161 set the mark with nine decisions, and UFC 169, which went down Saturday from Newark, N.J., met it scorecard for scorecard and then some. Twelve fights on the full card. Ten fights went to the judges.

It goes to demonstrate the foolhardiness inherent in predicting anything in MMA. All throughout fight week, insiders and hardcores gushed over the card and its litany of tasty matchups, from Fight Pass to finale. The action didn’t unfold that way.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole thing was a clunker. How did it actually shake out on Super Bowl Eve? Despite the decisions, did the card’s results manage to outstrip its buzz, which never went past a low hum in the larger sporting world?

Would fan-favorite Urijah Faber achieve revenge and the ultimate prize in his rematch with seemingly unbeatable bantamweight champ Renan Barao? Would featherweight champ Jose Aldo destroy another challenger, or did Ricardo Lamas bull his way to a victory? Which man avoided the executioner’s axe in a “loser-leaves-town” heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir?

Sure, you can look up the final stat lines. But those only tell you so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 169.

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Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem: What We Learned from UFC 169 Fight

Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem are two of the most experienced fighters in the heavyweight division, but entering UFC 169, it seemed like their time might be at an end.
Mir entered on an ugly three-fight losing streak, including brutal knockout losses …

Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem are two of the most experienced fighters in the heavyweight division, but entering UFC 169, it seemed like their time might be at an end.

Mir entered on an ugly three-fight losing streak, including brutal knockout losses to Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett. While he had been the division’s top contender not long ago, fans have seen far too many fighters go from beast to burden seemingly overnight and it was hard not to worry he was in the same sort of rut that Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell entered toward the end of their careers.

Overeem, meanwhile, dropped two fights in a row after seemingly having them in the bag. Given his lengthy career in both MMA and kickboxing that is peppered from start to finish with knockout losses, it was easy to suspect that his chin, quite frankly, might just be gone.

When the two faced off, a highly measured Overeem wore down Mir, handily taking a unanimous 30-27 decision. So what did we learn?

 

A Measured Alistair Overeem Is a Good Alistair Overeem

Overeem rocked Mir early but didn’t go wild. He chose his strikes, landed most of them and took a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Was it the most exciting win of his career? No. Did he really need an exciting win? Definitely not.

“The Reem” has his name back in the conversation at the top of the heavyweight division, and that’s all he needed out of this fight. If he can win another, he is once again back in the title picture.

 

Frank Mir Is Still Darn Good

Lots of people were saying stuff like this:

Is it true? Possibly. I disagree, though.

The fact is that Mir did an excellent job of tangling Overeem up. He got busted up for three rounds in a pretty bad way. His face looked like ground beef afterward.

He lost, but not too many could survive even close to that long with Overeem perched atop them.

 

Mir Still Has a Bit of a Chin

I’m not going to say that Mir has as good a chin as ever, but remember when Liddell was knocked out for a few minutes by a glancing left to the forehead by Rich Franklin? We’re not there yet.

Mir ate some hard punches from Overeem, and while he was certainly on some very wobbly legs, he isn’t to the point where he was like the driver of the Pope Mobile in that one episode of Family Guy.

That’s a good sign. Whether or not that translates to him keeping his job with the UFC, though, is anybody’s guess.

 

Overeem Is Smart with His Call-outs

Now, I know that nobody is really clamoring for Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem 2. We saw that fight not all that long ago, and it didn’t go so hot for Lesnar.

But hey, we all know that the biggest possible fight the UFC could make right now would either be Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre or Lesnar vs. somebody. Overeem wants to be that somebody, and that’s a good call.

It probably won’t happen. Once again, we’ve seen Lesnar vs. Overeem already, and other fights are better for the current pro wrestler’s MMA longevity. Still, Lesnar is the biggest fight for Overeem, so good on him for making a play for it.

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Ali Bagautinov vs. John Lineker: What We Learned from UFC 169 Fight

A pair of flyweight contenders met at UFC 169, when Russian Ali Bagautinov took on Brazilian John Lineker. Many thought the winner was the rightful title contender at 125 pounds.
After three grueling rounds of grappling and fighting a chess m…

A pair of flyweight contenders met at UFC 169, when Russian Ali Bagautinov took on Brazilian John Lineker. Many thought the winner was the rightful title contender at 125 pounds.

After three grueling rounds of grappling and fighting a chess match, the Russian came out on top via decision. It is a win that could lead him to an eventual title fight.

Here’s what we learned from this pivotal bout.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight

To be honest, nothing. This fight reversed the great excitement that Abel Trujillo and Jamie Varner brought to the cage.

So I don’t make this headline completely worthless, I’ll say we’ll remember that Lineker did not gas out despite the fact that he missed weight on his first try. One would assume that after having to make weight on a second attempt, his cardio would be hurt.

He didn’t show much Saturday night, but he didn’t gas out either. I guess that’s a tiny win to take out of this fight. 

 

What We Learned About Bagautinov

He is not ready for a title shot. Despite beating Lineker, he was not overly impressive and did not punish him for missing weight.

His wrestling is good, but he out-grappled a striker. If he did that against Demetrious Johnson, he would be outclassed by a better man.

 

What We Learned About Lineker

He needs to learn how to better cut weight. Oh wait, we already knew that? Then, he needs to tighten up his ground game.

He is a great striker, but his takedown defense is decent at best. Unless he is knocking dudes out, he is susceptible to getting exposed on the ground.

 

What’s Next for Bagautinov?

Because of the shallowness of the division, one would assume Johnson is next for Bagautinov. He is 3-0 with the UFC and can make a good claim to the UFC gold.

 

What’s Next for Lineker?

A trip to bantamweight would be ideal. Otherwise, a bout against the loser of Brad Pickett and Ian McCall could make for an interesting fight.

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