Tag: UFC 170

UFC 170: Why Sara McMann Is Ronda Rousey’s Worst Nightmare Come True

Love her or hate her, Ronda Rousey is the biggest star in mixed martial arts today. Period. Point blank.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion stormed into the Octagon last Saturday night—with a mean mug that would make even the largest gr…

Love her or hate her, Ronda Rousey is the biggest star in mixed martial arts today. Period. Point blank.

The UFC women’s bantamweight champion stormed into the Octagon last Saturday night—with a mean mug that would make even the largest grizzly bear soil itself, determined to destroy Miesha Tate. She did just that.

Tate put up a valiant effort, pushing Rousey past the opening round for the first time in her career and refusing to surrender until the third round. The former Strikeforce champion threw everything but the kitchen sink at her blond nemesis.

But as good as Tate is, Rousey is simply better. No matter how hard Tate trains and how much she evolves as a fighter, Rousey will always be superior. That’s just the harsh reality.

After witnessing Rousey finish yet another opponent with an armbar, I started to question whether anyone in the women’s bantamweight division can step up to this seemingly indestructible juggernaut.

Surely, if Cris “Cyborg” Justino were in the UFC, she’d mop the floor with Rousey, but we all know that fight isn’t happening anytime soon—if ever, for that matter, so there’s no point in harping on it.

Contenders like Cat Zingano and Alexis Davis certainly pose threats, but in all likelihood, Rousey will hang their arms up on her mantle as well.

That’s just the nature of the beast. Perhaps, there is nobody on the UFC’s roster right now who can hold a candle to the Olympian.

Wait a minute. Wait… a minute. Aren’t we forgetting somebody?

Rousey isn’t the only Olympic-level athlete in the division. There is another, and, unfortunately for the defending champion, that certain somebody is coming to take her belt at UFC 170.

Her name is Sara McMann, and she’s Rousey’s worst nightmare.

I realize that’s a bold statement, and I will probably come under heavy fire for saying it, but hear me out for a second.

As great as Rousey looked in her last bout, Tate still made it a fight. Wrestling with Rousey probably wasn’t the most intelligent game plan on Tate’s part, but she may have exposed a very tiny chink in Rousey’s armor with her efforts—a chink only a world-class wrestler such as McMann can capitalize on.

A silver medalist in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, McMann’s wrestling is eons ahead of her competition. In all of her MMA fights, she had the luxury of knowing she could take her opponents anywhere she wanted.

If she wanted to take it to the ground, she did it in a heartbeat. If she wanted to completely negate her enemy’s ground game altogether, she did that as well. Case in point: her Invicta FC bout with Shayna Baszler. The ball has always been in McMann’s court, and it should be no different against Rousey.

I’m not saying it will be impossible for Rousey to bring McMann to the floor. Everybody knows how strong Rousey is. I mean, she could probably toss an elephant to the ground if she wanted to.

I’m not trying to discredit the effectiveness of her judo throws at all. I’m just saying it’s going to be a lot harder to pull them off against McMann.

So, let’s just say this fight ends up being a standup battle. Rousey’s boxing has improved leaps and bounds. We saw glimpses of it in her bout with Tate, so there’s a good chance she could hurt McMann on the feet, but there is an even greater chance just the opposite will happen.

McMann might not be the most technical striker, but she packs a wallop in her punches. Now, I’m not going to sit here and try to oversell her power, because that would be silly. McMann has never knocked out anyone on her feet, but she has shown signs of hidden knockout power in previous bouts.

In a standup war with Rousey, she might get hit a lot, but she should be able to land the more significant strikes and, potentially, put her to sleep.

But there’s also the chance that McMann doesn’t want to stand with her. She might actually want to put Rousey on her back, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, that’s usually where Rousey wants to be, but not against someone with such an overwhelming top game.

If this is McMann’s strategy, I expect her to be patient on top and control Rousey’s hips. She won’t throw any reckless ground-and-pound, because that will create openings for Rousey to apply the armbar.

McMann doesn’t have the world’s best submission defense, but her control on the ground is in a league of its own, and that will be the key to beating Rousey.

I realize this is all wishful thinking, but in this battle of Olympians, I have to favor the wrestler. Stylistically speaking, McMann is the worst possible matchup for Rousey besides the aforementioned “Cyborg.” You can throw anyone else in front of Rousey and she will win, but she won’t prevail this time. Not now.

With Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre both out of the picture in 2014, all signs point to Rousey as being the new PPV queen for the UFC. But her time is running out. In seven weeks, a new champion will be crowned, and there will be a new face of women’s MMA.

Sara McMann might not be the champion that you want, but she’s the one you need.

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Here Are Some Awesome Fight Bookings for UFC 170 to Take Your Mind Off Silva’s Leg


(Photo via Getty)

Even though the dust and scattered bone chips have settled, we can’t help but think about Silva departing the cage on a stretcher and screaming.

If you’re anything like us, you want something to distract you from this horrible visual. Fortunately, Joe Silva provided the MMA world with some new food for thought in the form of two excellent bookings for UFC 170, taking place in Las Vegas on February 22nd.

First, Ronda Rousey will defend her women’s bantamweight title against fellow Olympian Sara McMann. This bout will main-event the PPV. Look for the UFC to work the Olympian vs. Olympian angle here, especially since the 2014 Winter Olympics coincide with UFC 170.

Rousey just dominated Miesha Tate at UFC 168 and refused to shake her hand after armbarring her a second time, cementing her role as a heel. She’s now 8-0.

McMann hasn’t fought since an easy TKO victory over Sheila Gaff back in April. Her record stands at 7-0.

Second, 21-0 Dagestani warrior Khabib Nurmagomedov will face his greatest test at UFC 170: Former Strikeforce


(Photo via Getty)

Even though the dust and scattered bone chips have settled, we can’t help but think about Silva departing the cage on a stretcher and screaming.

If you’re anything like us, you want something to distract you from this horrible visual. Fortunately, Joe Silva provided the MMA world with some new food for thought in the form of two excellent bookings for UFC 170, taking place in Las Vegas on February 22nd.

First, Ronda Rousey will defend her women’s bantamweight title against fellow Olympian Sara McMann. This bout will main-event the PPV. Look for the UFC to work the Olympian vs. Olympian angle here, especially since the 2014 Winter Olympics coincide with UFC 170.

Rousey just dominated Miesha Tate at UFC 168 and refused to shake her hand after armbarring her a second time, cementing her role as a heel. She’s now 8-0.

McMann hasn’t fought since an easy TKO victory over Sheila Gaff back in April. Her record stands at 7-0.

Second, 21-0 Dagestani warrior Khabib Nurmagomedov will face his greatest test at UFC 170: Former Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez. Recently, Nurmagomedov bested Pat Healy in a one-sided decision at UFC 165. Meanwhile, Melendez earned a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez at UFC 166 in an electrifying bout.

Imagining how these two fights will play out is a great distraction for any post-Silva leg break blues. Stay tuned for any more booking news!

GIF-Ranking the Avalanche of UFC Fights That Were Booked Today, December 18th, By Interest Level


(“You know what, Steve, I’m not really feeling this fight. Think I’ll just sit out a few plays.” Photo via Getty.)

Fight-booking articles are a dime a dozen. Throw a couple statistics here, a fighter breakdown there, and top it all off with some information about the event and you’ve got yourself a perfectly normal, haiku-length article that you could almost pass off as journalism. And then its back to huffing duster in your grandmother’s basement, desperately and fruitlessly attempting to blind yourself from the hellscape that has become your reality. But at least you don’t have to wear a tie to work! (*laughs, cries into whiskey*)

The point is, there are some matchups you can’t help but elaborate on as a fan of the sport — Woodley vs. Condit, for instance. But there are only so many ways to inform you readers that several lower-level fights have recently been booked on (under)cards you probably won’t even watch, so when all else fails, we resort to the GIF. Let’s get to the fight bookings!

 

#6 – Brad Scott vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva – Fight Night 37 (March 8, London)

I have no idea who these people are. Ranking: 


(“You know what, Steve, I’m not really feeling this fight. Think I’ll just sit out a few plays.” Photo via Getty.)

Fight-booking articles are a dime a dozen. Throw a couple statistics here, a fighter breakdown there, and top it all off with some information about the event and you’ve got yourself a perfectly normal, haiku-length article that you could almost pass off as journalism. And then its back to huffing duster in your grandmother’s basement, desperately and fruitlessly attempting to blind yourself from the hellscape that has become your reality. But at least you don’t have to wear a tie to work! (*laughs, cries into whiskey*)

The point is, there are some matchups you can’t help but elaborate on as a fan of the sport – Woodley vs. Condit, for instance. But there are only so many ways to inform you readers that several lower-level fights have recently been booked on (under)cards you probably won’t even watch, so when all else fails, we resort to the GIF. Let’s get to the fight bookings!

 

#6 – Brad Scott vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva – Fight Night 37 (March 8, London)

I have no idea who these people are. Ranking: 

 

#5 – Tony Martin vs. Rashid Magomedov – UFC 169 (Feb. 1, NJ)

I have no idea who either of these people are either, but as Chairman of the Russian-U.S.A. Coalition for a Better, More Tolerant Tomorrow (RUSAECBMTT, for short), I am semi-obligated to hype the 15-1 Magomedov. He’s on an eight fight tear and is a solid grappler if the Interwebz are to be believed, but he also hasn’t fought in over a year, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares against the 8-0 ground wizard Tim Martin, who will also be making his UFC debut. Ranking:

 

#4 – Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov – UFC 169 

It’s do-or-die time for TUF 16‘s Neil Magny, who will enter the cage on February 1st having dropped his last two fights to Sergio Moraes and Seth Baczynski at UFC 163 and Fight for the Troops 3, respectively. Unfortunately for Magny, he’s been matched against another Russian with a solid record and a surname ending in “tov.” Luckily for Magny, “tov” ranks behind “dov,” “bov” and even “nov” in terms of the P4P most devastating last syllable of a surname (LSoS, for short) that can possessed by a Russian…

…what was I talking about again? Boobs? Boobs. Ranking:

 

#3 – Luke Barnatt vs. Mats Nilsson – Fight Night 37

Luke Barnatt may be on the heels of his biggest career win (a second round submission over Andrew Craig in Fight Night 30′s “Fight of the Night”), but I think the most important thing here is his nickname, “Bigslow.” Does it just mean that Barnatt is both big AND slow, and if so, why did he combine two normal words into one terrible word? Or is his nickname, as I believe, his way of informing the public that he is the bastard son of Kim Winslow and Bigfoot? Think about it, they’re both lanky, white as whipped cream, and “do” MMA. What other evidence do you need?

Anyways, Bigslow is going to savage UFC newcomer Mats Nilsson like the dude stole his Jack Links beef jerky. Ranking:

 

#2 – Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker – UFC 170 (Feb. 22, Vegas)

Whether it’s been in victory or defeat, there’s no denying that TUF Smashes winner Robert Whittaker has been entertaining as hell to watch in the octagon. On the heels of a hard fought decision loss to Court McGee at Fight Night 27, Whittaker will be given no easy rebound fight in “Wonderboy” Thomson, who improved to 3-1 in the UFC with a 2nd round TKO of Chris Clements at UFC 165.

A fierce and technical striker with an impeccable kickboxing record, Thompson’s sole loss in the UFC has come at the hands of the resurgent Matt Brown in April of last year. His style is pretty much the antithesis of Whittaker, a brawler who usually looks for the one-punch KO, so Thompson will either continue to do what he do and make short work of the Aussie or wind up on the wrong side of an upset KO. In either case, this is definitely a fight worth watching. Ranking:

 

#1 – John Lineker vs. Ali Bagautinov – UFC 169 

Score another one for the Armchair Matchmaker, which rightfully called for and in turn received a matchup between top flyweight contenders John Lineker and Ali BagautiNOV (told ya). We all know the story with Lineker: 4-1 in the UFC, hits like a truck full of bricks, weighs-in like a truck full of ham, yadda yadda. If he can actually make 125 lbs for once and put away a rising star like Bagautinov, who improved his UFC record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over the highly-touted Tim Elliot at UFC 167, we could be looking at our next title challenger. In which case, slugfest much?

Speaking of nicknames, “Puncher King” might be the most Russian nickname ever. Ranking:

How would you rank these fights of varying importance? Let us know in the comments section. 

–J. Jones

Daniel Cormier vs. Rashad Evans: Early Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Daniel Cormier will make his light heavyweight debut at UFC 170 when he meets former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in the main event.
The five-round bout is booked for UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.
Alexander Gustafsson leads the field …

Daniel Cormier will make his light heavyweight debut at UFC 170 when he meets former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in the main event.

The five-round bout is booked for UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.

Alexander Gustafsson leads the field for who gets the next title shot at 205 pounds, but he will have to beat Jimi Manuwa to earn that distinction. Cormier and Evans are right behind him in the pecking order, and a big win at UFC 170 could put either of their names opposite the champion’s in 2014.

There is a lot on the line for the two Fox Sports analysts, and it will be one of the most intriguing matchups in all of 2014.

Here s an early preview of the important tilt which could have title implications.

Begin Slideshow

UFC Booking Alert: Rory MacDonald to Face Demian Maia at UFC 170


(If MacDonald’s fighting career doesn’t pan out, he can always get a job as a male model. / Photo via Getty.)

The UFC announced that welterweights Rory MacDonald and Demian Maia would face off at UFC 170 this February. They made the announcement when the MMA world was abuzz with talk about the stellar fight card taking place. You know, the one that hosted one of the most exciting main events ever? So the news didn’t really stick.

Maia is coming off a disappointing loss to Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night 29 back in October. He looked his age, 36, during the fight.

MacDonald recently had his hype train derailed by a resurgent Robbie Lawler at UFC 167, snapping a five-fight winning streak and presumably a fight with Georges St.Pierre.

MacDonald-Maia is good booking. The well-rounded MacDonald is an atrocious match-up for Maia—who has average striking and deficient takedowns. It’s clear that the UFC wants to get their 24-year-old, Canadian prospect back in “the mix” as soon as possible, and the best way to do that is give him a name opponent that he has a high chance of beating. They want to make him their next GSP sooner rather than later.


(If MacDonald’s fighting career doesn’t pan out, he can always get a job as a male model. / Photo via Getty.)

The UFC announced that welterweights Rory MacDonald and Demian Maia would face off at UFC 170 this February. They made the announcement when the MMA world was abuzz with talk about the stellar fight card taking place. You know, the one that hosted one of the most exciting main events ever? So the news didn’t really stick.

Maia is coming off a disappointing loss to Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night 29 back in October. He looked his age, 36, during the fight.

MacDonald recently had his hype train derailed by a resurgent Robbie Lawler at UFC 167, snapping a five-fight winning streak and presumably costing him a fight with Georges St.Pierre.

MacDonald-Maia is good booking, at least from a business perspective.  The well-rounded MacDonald is an atrocious match-up for Maia—who has average striking and deficient takedowns. It’s clear that the UFC wants to get their 24-year-old, Canadian prospect back in “the mix” as soon as possible. The best way to do that is give him a name opponent that he has a high chance of beating. They want to make him their next GSP sooner rather than later.

Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia Set for UFC 170

Talk of a fight between Demian Maia and Rory MacDonald has been swirling for some time, but on Friday night, it became official.
The matchup between two of the UFC’s top welterweights will go down at UFC 170, which will take place on Feb. 22 at The Man…

Talk of a fight between Demian Maia and Rory MacDonald has been swirling for some time, but on Friday night, it became official.

The matchup between two of the UFC’s top welterweights will go down at UFC 170, which will take place on Feb. 22 at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nev. The bout was announced on the promotion’s Canadian social media outlet on Friday, and it finally made the highly anticipated and speculated bout a reality.

The 24-year-old Canadian is coming off his first loss since 2010 when he was edged out by Robbie Lawler via split decision last month at UFC 167. The loss stunted what was a rapid rise to the divisional upper tier at 170 pounds for MacDonald and broke up a five-fight winning streak.

Immediately following the bout, he went public with his eagerness to get back into the cage and said he “needed the loss” to rediscover his motivation during an appearance on The MMA Hour.

In order for MacDonald to get back into the mix of the highly competitive welterweight title hunt, he needed to face a top-ranked opponent in his next bout, and that is exactly what Maia represents.

The former middleweight title challenger is in a similar position, as he also suffered a setback in his most recent outing. After picking up three consecutive victories in the welterweight ranks, the Brazilian submission ace was defeated by fellow grappling guru Jake Shields via split decision in their bout at UFC Fight Night 29 in October.

The loss broke up a solid surge of momentum that Maia was building toward a title shot, and much like his counterpart, the 36-year-old expressed an urgency to get back to action quickly.

Last month, Maia’s management told UFC Tonight he would like to face MacDonald, and it now appears he will get his wish. While the only other bout to be announced at UFC 170 is the main event between Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier, it seems likely the welterweight tilt will receive a high billing on the fight card.

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.

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