It goes without saying that contracts are on the line here. If Danzig loses, he might become the fifth Ultimate Fighter winner to be cut by the UFC, following Travis Lutter, Escudero (the first time), Kendall Grove, and Joe Stevenson. If Efrain Escudero loses, he might become the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be fired twice.
UFC 145 still lacks a main event; for more details on the supporting card, go here.
(“It kind of feels like my nose might be shoved into my brain. Oh God, is that bad? That’s bad, isn’t it.”)
It goes without saying that contracts are on the line here. If Danzig loses, he might become the fifth Ultimate Fighter winner to be cut by the UFC, following Travis Lutter, Escudero (the first time), Kendall Grove, and Joe Stevenson. If Efrain Escudero loses, he might become the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be fired twice.
UFC 145 still lacks a main event; for more details on the supporting card, go here.
In other words, Griggs won’t be developed slowly against hand-picked opponents — it’ll either be sink or swim against one of the most talented heavyweights coming up the ranks. Then again, Griggs made his name in Strikeforce by beating up guys who were supposed to be better than him, so really, who knows. As of now, the only other fight slated for UFC 145 is a welterweight feature between Rory MacDonald and Che Mills.
In other words, Griggs won’t be developed slowly against hand-picked opponents — it’ll either be sink or swim against one of the most talented heavyweights coming up the ranks. Then again, Griggs made his name in Strikeforce by beating up guys who were supposed to be better than him, so really, who knows. As of now, the only other fight slated for UFC 145 is a welterweight feature between Rory MacDonald and Che Mills.
Another pair of interesting matches at 170 lbs. have recently been added to UFC 143’s already welterweight-stacked card. If you are anything like us, then you likely expected Matt Brown would receive his walking papers after dropping his fourth loss via submission (and second via guillotine) in his past five fights to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139. Well, it turns out Brown will be given another shot at UFC glory, and will be fighting for not only his Zuffa contract, but the chance to keep his record above .500 when he takes on TUF 13 cast member Chris Cope.
Cope will be looking to rebound from the devastating 40 second TKO loss he suffered at the hands (and more specifically, knees) of Che Mills in Mills’ UFC debut back at UFC 138.
(Who did this to my brother? I WANT HIS NAME!!)
Another pair of interesting matches at 170 lbs. have recently been added to UFC 143′s already welterweight-stacked card. If you are anything like us, then you likely expected Matt Brown would receive his walking papers after dropping his fourth loss via submission (and second via guillotine) in his past five fights to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139. Well, it turns out Brown will be given another shot at UFC glory, and will be fighting for not only his Zuffa contract, but the chance to keep his record above .500 when he takes on TUF 13 cast member Chris Cope.
Cope will be looking to rebound from the devastating 40 second TKO loss he suffered at the hands (and more specifically, knees) of Che Mills in Mills’ UFC debut back at UFC 138.
Elsewhere on the card, Justin Edwards and Mike Stumpf will both be looking to bounce back from losses in their UFC debuts when they face one another on February 4th. Edwards dropped a tough decision to John Maguire, also at UFC 138, whereas Stumpf found himself on the wrong end of a brilliantly executed T.J. Waldburger triangle at UFN 25.
Both fights are without a doubt a must-win for the fighters involved.
(Chad Griggs: Funkiest white man alive. / Photo by Esther)
Two of Strikeforce’s hardest-hitting heavyweight prospects are getting some good news this Christmas* season. According to new reports, Chad Griggs and Lavar “Big” Johnson have inked contracts with the UFC, meaning that they’ll still have jobs after Strikeforce disbands its big-man division next year.
Though he’s perhaps best known for his incredible muttonchops, Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (11-1) has gone on a three-fight tear under the Strikeforce banner, beating up Bobby Lashley last August at Strikeforce: Houston, then scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages against Gianpiero Villante and Valentijn Overeem in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bouts this year. The Arizona native hasn’t lost a fight since April 2007. The date and opponent for his next fight are still TBA, but Griggs is expected to make his Octagon debut in early 2012.
(Chad Griggs: Funkiest white man alive. / Photo by Esther)
Two of Strikeforce’s hardest-hitting heavyweight prospects are getting some good news this Christmas* season. According to new reports, Chad Griggs and Lavar “Big” Johnson have inked contracts with the UFC, meaning that they’ll still have jobs after Strikeforce disbands its big-man division next year.
Though he’s perhaps best known for his incredible muttonchops, Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (11-1) has gone on a three-fight tear under the Strikeforce banner, beating up Bobby Lashley last August at Strikeforce: Houston, then scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages against Gianpiero Villante and Valentijn Overeem in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bouts this year. The Arizona native hasn’t lost a fight since April 2007. The date and opponent for his next fight are still TBA, but Griggs is expected to make his Octagon debut in early 2012.
It was also revealed that Lavar Johnson will be moving to the UFC, with his first match coming against Joey Beltran on the prelims of UFC on FOX 2 (January 28th, Chicago). Johnson’s UFC signing is somewhat surprising since he’s been submitted in his last two Strikeforce fights against Shane Del Rosario and Shawn Jordan. Nevertheless, Beltran vs. Johnson should be an entertaining slugfest, made more significant by the fact that the loser’s job is almost certainly on the line. Beltran most recently lost a unanimous decision against Stipe Miocic at UFC 136, and has dropped three of his last four outings.
* I can comfortably say ‘Christmas’ here instead of ‘holiday’ because I’m positive these two cats aren’t Jewish. In fact, it’s pretty damn rare to find a member of the tribe in this sport. Side note: I wanted to put together a “Greatest Jewish MMA Fighters” list in honor of Hanukkah, but then I learned that The Fight Nerd already did that last year, and even he had to include three boxers and Moti Horenstein just to make an even eight.
And so, the speculation comes to an end. Following his beatdown of Jason Miller at the TUF 14 Finale, UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping will make a quick seven-week turnaround and fight Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 2 (January 28th, Chicago). The UFC confirmed the pairing early this morning, in advance of a scheduled press conference this afternoon at the United Center officially announcing the fight card.
While Bisping is rolling on a four-fight win streak, Maia just got back to the win column in October with a unanimous decision over Jorge Santiago, which followed a decision loss to Mark Munoz. Maia is 3-1 overall since his disastrous title challenge against Anderson Silva at UFC 112. When he enters the cage next month, it will have been nearly three years since the former grappling phenom scored a submission in the Octagon — a triangle choke against none other than Chael Sonnen at UFC 95.
And so, the speculation comes to an end. Following his beatdown of Jason Miller at the TUF 14 Finale, UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping will make a quick seven-week turnaround and fight Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 2 (January 28th, Chicago). The UFC confirmed the pairing early this morning, in advance of a scheduled press conference this afternoon at the United Center officially announcing the fight card.
While Bisping is rolling on a four-fight win streak, Maia just got back to the win column in October with a unanimous decision over Jorge Santiago, which followed a decision loss to Mark Munoz. Maia is 3-1 overall since his disastrous title challenge against Anderson Silva at UFC 112. When he enters the cage next month, it will have been nearly three years since the former grappling phenom scored a submission in the Octagon — a triangle choke against none other than Chael Sonnen at UFC 95.
UFC on FOX 2 will be headlined by the #1 light-heavyweight contender’s match between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, and co-headlined by the #1 middleweight contender’s match between Sonnen and Mark Munoz. A decisive win over Maia would likely put Bisping next in the pecking order at 185. Due to his current medical suspension, Bisping really isn’t supposed to start training again until Christmas day, but hey, business is business.
Sonnen and Munoz will join UFC on FOX 2 headliners Rashad Evans and Phil Davis in a press conference this Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago to discuss the event. We’ll see if Munoz brings up the fact that Sonnen wrestled him dirty back in college.
