The most anticipated heavyweight bout in MMA right now – and perhaps ever – is set for January’s UFC 220. News arrived from MMA Junkie and was subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tonight (Dec. 6, 2017) that champion Stipe Miocic will take on surging No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou in a potentially explosive […]
The most anticipated heavyweight bout in MMA right now – and perhaps ever – is set for January’s UFC 220.
News arrived from MMA Junkie and was subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tonight (Dec. 6, 2017) that champion Stipe Miocic will take on surging No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou in a potentially explosive match-up scheduled for the main event of the pay-per-view event from Boston, Massachusetts.
Ngannou (11-1) finalized his shot at the title by knocking out former title contender Alistair Overeem with a vicious first-round knockout at last weekend’s UFC 218 from Detroit. The win gave him an undefeated 6-0 record in the UFC, with all of his victories coming by way of stoppage, including his last four in the first round.
He’ll face by far the biggest test of his MMA career when he meets similarly surging champion Miocic, who was last seen stopping former champion Junior dos Santos at May’s UFC 211 from Dallas, Texas. A contract dispute kept him out of action for the rest of the year.
Miocic (17-2) has been on fire like few UFC heavyweight champions ever have been, winning his last five bouts including two title defenses over Overeem and dos Santos, which put him in a tie for the record for the division’s most consecutive defenses. He’s only lost to dos Santos by split decision and Stefan Struve by TKO in his decorated fight career.
The bout will join the previously scheduled light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and rising contender Volkan Oezdemir, which was put in possible danger when news recently broke that Oezdemir ha been arrested for felony battery in his adopted home of Florida. The bout will go forward as planned; however, it has reportedly been demoted to the co-main event now.
The pay-per-view event will mark only the fourth time in UFC history that the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles will be defended on the same card.
In today’s UFC landscape, it’s become increasingly difficult for fighters to break through as actual stars. In fact, only a select few fighters in recent years have transcended audiences and transformed into legit pay-per-view (PPV) draws, but that shouldn’t necessarily be the case. With Ronda Rousey seemingly retired and Jon Jones dealing with yet another […]
In today’s UFC landscape, it’s become increasingly difficult for fighters to break through as actual stars.
In fact, only a select few fighters in recent years have transcended audiences and transformed into legit pay-per-view (PPV) draws, but that shouldn’t necessarily be the case.
With Ronda Rousey seemingly retired and Jon Jones dealing with yet another drug test failure, it could be argued that Georges St. Pierre and Conor McGregor are the only active fighters who could be labeled as superstars, but both fighters have uncertain futures.
With that being said, the UFC is in need of fresh stars, and in my opinion, featherweight champion Max Holloway could fill that void, but he’s yet to break through, which is a bit odd when one takes into account the Hawaiian’s accomplishments and style.
Let’s take a look at five reasons why Holloway should be a bigger star:
Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Winning Streak
In a sport as dangerous and unpredictable as MMA, it’s difficult for a fighter to continuously put together victories over a long duration of time, but that’s exactly what Holloway has done.
Since a 2013 loss to reigning lightweight champion Conor McGregor, “Blessed” has remained unbeaten, winning 12 straight bouts over top-ranked featherweights including Cub Swanson, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, Anthony Pettis and Jose Aldo. Only four men – Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, and Jon Jones – have put together longer winning streaks throughout UFC history than Holloway’s current run.
Now of course winning streaks doesn’t always translate to star power, which is best seen with Johnson, but it can certainly help in some cases. Fighters like Silva, St. Pierre and Ronda Rousey gained attention due to the fact that it simply seemed as if they were unbeatable. Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather also made a career off of boasting about his perfect record.
Holloway has been nothing short of dominant, and it’s time we start giving him the attention he deserves because of that
Prior to his UFC 218 (Dec. 2, 2017) fight with Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez said that the title for the UFC’s most violent man was on the line in the fight. After landing a vicious knee and scoring a third-round stoppage victory over Gaethje, Alvarez now claims that he is indeed the UFC’s ‘most violent […]
Prior to his UFC 218 (Dec. 2, 2017) fight with Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez said that the title for the UFC’s most violent man was on the line in the fight.
After landing a vicious knee and scoring a third-round stoppage victory over Gaethje, Alvarez now claims that he is indeed the UFC’s ‘most violent man’:
“I’m the most violent man in the UFC,” Alvarez said on Philadelphia’s 93.3 WMMR (transcript via MMAjunkie). “They can take the No. 1, 2 and 3 (ranking). I’ll just take that title, and I’ll keep it. I’ve been crowned.”
“We went in to make a point. My performances in the UFC, I’ve been trying to win. Win, win, win. I’ve been so focused on winning that the performance itself wasn’t showing my true colors. We went in here with just the idea of, ‘Just be as violent as we can.’ The byproduct of that would be a win.”
Now back to his winning ways, Alvarez has put himself back into the thick of things at 155 pounds. With one fight left on his contract, however, the former champion is interested in sitting down with the UFC and discussing what ‘big, mega-fight’ could be in store next:
“I actually have one fight left with the UFC,” Alvarez said. “I’ve finished all my fights, and I have one fight left on my contract. It’s time to sit down with the boss man and talk about long-term, talk about how we’re going to do this thing and what big, mega-fight we can have coming up.”
After a big win, who would you like to see Alvarez take on next?
The title of “Most Violent Man” in the UFC has been settled.
UFC 218 saw to that.
In a memorable lightweight brawl last Saturday, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje did their part to stake claim to the title. After nearly 15 minutes of blood spilled and …
In a memorable lightweight brawl last Saturday, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje did their part to stake claim to the title. After nearly 15 minutes of blood spilled and guts displayed, it was Alvarez who landed a crushing finishing blow.
The Most Violent Man in the UFC, he unofficially was.
What was perhaps less evident in that moment, in the sultry afterglow that only rocket-fuelled violence can often provide, was that Alvarez has just earned another title for himself: the greatest 155-pounder in MMA history.
The one they’ve long called The Underground King was underground no more, on the top of the heap among his contemporaries in MMA’s deepest class.
A 14-year pro career has revealed things about Alvarez that MMA commoners can only dream of. He opened with 10 straight wins across nearly four years, then five more wins in the following year. By 15-1 he was Mixed Fight Championship welterweight champion and had already moved on to Japan to begin conquering the world at lightweight.
After losing to Shinya Aoki back when that was nothing to be ashamed of, Alvarez jumped to Bellator—where he would truly make his name with the North American audience—and went on a seven-fight win streak.
He stopped former UFC stalwarts Josh Neer and Roger Huerta not long after becoming Bellator lightweight champion by winning the promotion’s Season 1 tournament. As one of the most respected athletes not fighting in the UFC, he defended his title against Michael Chandler.
That loss did nothing to diminish that respect, as he wildly slugged it out with Chandler for four rounds before finally succumbing to a rear-naked choke in what many felt was the 2011 Fight of the Year.
His response to the loss?
Avenging the loss to Aoki with a TKO, stopping Patricky Freire with a first-round head kick, then beating Chandler in another sadistic slugfest that many picked as the Fight of the Year in 2013.
After losing his UFC debut to Donald Cerrone at UFC 178, Alvarez proceeded to go on one of the greatest runs in lightweight history. He beat former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, former WEC champion Anthony Pettis and then-UFC champion Rafael Dos Anjos in succession, reaching the apex of his sport and setting himself up for a fight with Conor McGregor.
Though he lost to McGregor, the rub from the Irish star surely helped Alvarez as a sellable face for the UFC. His willingness to talk a little trash and engage in back-and-forth banter with McGregor allowed people to see his personality, and the pay cheque he received as being part of the promotion’s first foray into New York City would be life-changing for anyone.
But Alvarez remained true to what got him there.
Before it was called off due to an illegal knee, his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 in May was shaping up to be the type of pandemonium the sport has come to expect when Alvarez makes the walk.
His win over Gaethje—another success over an unbeaten champion of a rival organization—was all that and more: a blend of the excitement that has made Alvarez an unmissable viewing commitment and the evolution of a fighter who still has some new tricks up his sleeve.
Now the sport sits in an eerie calm after UFC 218, waiting for the next fight or the next fighter to shake it to its core.
So in that calm, consider this: No one has done the things Alvarez has done.
He’s beaten former or current lightweight champions in no fewer than six different organizations and has fought from Jersey to Japan to Cleveland to Canada to Dallas to Detroit. In 35 fights, only five men have beaten him and only six have survived to hear the final bell when he’s won.
At his best, who could honestly claim to be better? Benson Henderson? BJ Penn? Takanori Gomi?
Perhaps. But Alvarez has a resume to match any of them, and has shown time and again that his skill level matches up with anyone in the sport.
He proved it with certainty in his latest performance.
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has broken his silence on his second loss to current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. As seen on Saturday night at UFC 218, which took place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Holloway successfully retained his title over Aldo in a rematch by third-round TKO. This marked […]
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has broken his silence on his second loss to current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.
As seen on Saturday night at UFC 218, which took place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Holloway successfully retained his title over Aldo in a rematch by third-round TKO.
This marked Aldo’s back-to-back defeats for the first time in his 30-fight mixed martial arts career. Now, just three days after the loss, the former champion has released a statement on the fight.
If you recall, it was Aldo who replaced injured Frankie Edgar against “Blessed” at the event. This marked a rematch of their UFC 212 title bout in June which saw Holloway finish him in a similar fashion.
Aldo has lost three of his last four fights inside the Octagon which as a result snapped a perfect 15-0 run under the UFC and WEC banners. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when fight fans may see Aldo compete in the Octagon again.
He wrote the following on his official Instagram account:
“I only have to thank my family that I love for everything, and my team Nova Uniao, the best in the world, for making me great and champion, and [thank] my friends and fans that are always with me. Thank you all! I will be always optimistic because believing is the first step to making it happen.”
Surging freight train Francis Ngannou is the talk of the MMA town – and deservedly so – following his first-round knockout of former title contender Alistair Overeem at last Saturday’s UFC 218 from Detroit. Felling ‘The Demolition Man’ with a thunderous, fright-worthy left hand in just a minute-and-a-half, the Cameroonian knockout artist made such an impression […]
Surging freight train Francis Ngannou is the talk of the MMA town – and deservedly so – following his first-round knockout of former title contender Alistair Overeem at last Saturday’s UFC 218 from Detroit.
Felling ‘The Demolition Man’ with a thunderous, fright-worthy left hand in just a minute-and-a-half, the Cameroonian knockout artist made such an impression that he’s already favored over heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in their rumored match-up in 2018. ‘The Predator’ said he believes he is already the UFC heavyweight champ, but Miocic may not be Ngannou’s top target, surprisingly enough.
Ngannou told the Top Turtle MMA podcast (via MMA Fighting) that his dream match-up would be against former UFC heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar, who is currently suspended for testing positive for clomiphene following his decision win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in July 2016.
Despite Lesnar’s reputation as one of the biggest, strongest fighters ever to step into the Octagon, Ngannou believes he would deal with him easily:
“I’d always like to see the match between me and Brock Lesnar,” Ngannou said. “Two big dudes. I like that matchup. I’m excited for that kind of match as a fan. … I want to see that match. He’s big,” Ngannou said. “Huge, as you say. But he’s not stronger than me. I’m stronger than him. I’m the best striker in the heavyweight division and the more powerful guy. I’m also a talented guy and I will deal with that very easy.”
But with Lesnar on the sidelines and uncertain to return to MMA anytime soon if ever, Ngannou knows that Miocic will be his top potential opponent in the near future. As far as that blockbuster bout is concerned, Ngannou will pick a knockout win in his favor like he always does:
“I always predict KO.
“If he tries to stand up with me, he will not stand up too long,” Ngannou said. “And I think he will probably try something. He’s a good striker, but he doesn’t know how dangerous I am.”
The title of “Most Violent Man” in the UFC