Tag: UFC debut

Pros react to Raul Rosas Jr’s dominant victory in debut at UFC 282

raul rosas jrRaul Rosas Jr made history last night at UFC 282, where he became the youngest fighter to ever step foot inside a UFC cage, and he also became the youngest talent to ever win a fight in the promotion, having just turned 18 years old in October. Rosas defeated 29 year old talent Jay Perrin […]

raul rosas jr

Raul Rosas Jr made history last night at UFC 282, where he became the youngest fighter to ever step foot inside a UFC cage, and he also became the youngest talent to ever win a fight in the promotion, having just turned 18 years old in October.

Rosas defeated 29 year old talent Jay Perrin in the preliminary main event of the evening, and needed less than three minutes to do so.

Rosas came into the bout with a perfect record of 6-0, Perrin coming in with a record of 10-6. Perrin had gone 0-2 in the UFC up until last night, but it was a fitting match up for the young gun. Though he lost his only two UFC appearances prior, those two fights could make all the difference when it comes to timing and nerves.

Not to mention, Perrin had 10 more fights than Rosas going in.

That didn’t matter though, as Rosas absolutely mauled Perrin en route to a submission (rear naked choke) victory at 2:44 of round one, improving his record to 7-0 with six finishes in the process.

Some fellow UFC talents chimed in on Raul Rosas Jr’s stellar performance last night:

Raul Rosas Jr became a massive star last night, and he already had a pretty sizeable following after his Contender Series win in September where he defeated a 7-1, 25 year old opponent handily, accumulating 12 minutes of control time in the only decision victory of his career. Oh, yeah, he did that at just 17 years of age.

Who would you like to see Raul Rosas Jr face next?

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Kevin Croom Recaps UFC Debut Win Over Roosevelt Roberts

UFC debutante Kevin Croom just picked up the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 10, as he defeated the ultra talented Roosevelt Roberts. Not only did he defeat Roberts, but he caught him with a vicious left hook and jumped right on the guillotine choke to get […]

UFC debutante Kevin Croom just picked up the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 10, as he defeated the ultra talented Roosevelt Roberts.

Not only did he defeat Roberts, but he caught him with a vicious left hook and jumped right on the guillotine choke to get the finish at just 31 seconds of round one. Roberts isn’t the most established fighter out there, but he’s a prodigy, and this 33-year-old ran right through him.

Croom was interviewed by Jordan Ellis of LowKickMMA, and had the following to say about his victory:

“I mean, like, it’s still barely even real. You know what I mean? Like, I don’t know man, I could’ve never dreamed it. Obviously this is something I’ve been dreaming about forever and I could’ve never dreamed it (to) be that good. You know what I mean? It was just amazing man. Yeah, like I mean I’m completely ecstatic.”

Croom stated he’s been at it for 13 years, and he was asked how much better it is after working toward this for that long:

“It’s the best story, you know what I mean? Like it’s the best story, which is fun, like, I try to live my life for the better story, so I guess I did. Like, man like it’s a great story, yeah it makes all the work, all the wondering if I was gonna make it (made it perfect).”

Croom was then told his performance was the fastest finish in lightweight history from a debuting fighter, and was asked to express how he felt about that:

“Yeah man that’s amazing, especially ’cause I don’t fight (at) lightweight, you know? I mean, I plan on eventually going down to (1)35 (lbs) so, I plan on having wins in three weight classes, easily.”

He was the asked if he thought the situation of fighting Roberts on incredibly short notice was not ideal for him:

“No man I mean I never even thought that it was not ideal at all. I give no fucks. I didn’t even find out who I was fighting until I got to the airport, like, you know what I mean?

“I found out, A I gotta do all this stuff, do medicals, I had five minutes to pack a bag, grab my mouthpiece, run to the airport, (I) barely made it. I got to the airport like 30 minutes before I had to leave. So like, (I) finally got there, found my coach, sat down, just like, ‘who am I fighting?’

“You know, he started cracking up. And I mean when I heard, ‘yeah I’ve seen him fight’, I gave no fucks man, like whatever. I’ve been waiting for this shit, I’ve been ready. I’ve been ready. I’ve been waiting to dance, I was just waiting for them to play the music.”

Croom came into this fight with an extensive, successful amateur career, and a 21-12 professional record, as he improved it to 22-12 this weekend. He’s a finisher too, as he showed us all on Saturday, with eleven of his wins coming via submission and six coming via knockout.

He was the biggest underdog on the entire card, Roberts was a -440 favorite, and Croom passed with flying colors. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here.

His life was changed win his win, as he was awarded the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. He only had $64 in his bank account prior to this fight. That’s truly a beautiful thing.

Assuming his next fight takes place at 145 lbs, who would you like to see Kevin Croom face next?

Top 10 Most Dramatic Debuts In UFC History

Perhaps the most important fight in an MMA fighter’s career, the UFC debut can leave many fraught with nerves. While many fighters take a few fights to get their groove, some burst on to the scene and immediately cause the fans to take notice. We’ve compiled the 10 best and most dramatic UFC debuts in the […]

The post Top 10 Most Dramatic Debuts In UFC History appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Perhaps the most important fight in an MMA fighter’s career, the UFC debut can leave many fraught with nerves.

While many fighters take a few fights to get their groove, some burst on to the scene and immediately cause the fans to take notice.

We’ve compiled the 10 best and most dramatic UFC debuts in the history of the promotion. Check them out here:

10. Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine

After Keith Jardine sparked Forrest Griffin, not a lot of fighters were willing to take on “The Dean of Mean” on short notice. Then came Houston Alexander.

The year was 2007, and then-champion Chuck Liddell was set to defend his light heavyweight belt in a rematch against “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 71. On the main card, Jardine was in need of an opponent, and the UFC was having difficulty putting a fight together.

Enter little-known Houston Alexander, a ripped but otherwise unassuming 6-1 fighter. While Jardine did drop “The Assassin” seconds into the first round, Alexander fired back with brutal intensity.

Uppercuts, knees, clubbing overhand rights. Everything Alexander through seemed to connect. The fight was more of a mugging or an assault than a mixed martial arts bout.

The fight was mercilessly stopped just 47 seconds into round one. While entering the fight a sizable underdog, “The Assassin’s” UFC debut was without a doubt a memorable one.

Although his career didn’t exactly live up to the expectations based off of his explosive debut, Houston Alexander took a short-notice fight against a top 10 fighter and shocked the world with a huge victory.

The post Top 10 Most Dramatic Debuts In UFC History appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Paulo Thiago and Five Other Fighters Who Never Lived Up to Their UFC Debuts


(“Quick Paulo, more spinach!!!” Photo via Getty)

I think it was midway through the second round of Paulo Thiago‘s bout with Gasan Umalatov on the TUF Brazil 3 Finale undercard that I began to feel a heavy, sinking feeling in my stomach. I thought it was just fight fatigue at first, my body’s way of telling me to step away from the television and do something, anything to negate the effects caused by a (by that point) six hour binge of manure ads, Linkin Park-dubbed promos, and the occasional MMA fight.

It wasn’t until the Thiago-Umalatov decision was handed down, however, that I was able to identify the cause of my discomfort. Paulo Thiago, real-life superhero and a fighter I have unapologetically rooted for since watching him knock out Josh Koscheck in his promotional debut at UFC 95, is likely on his way out of the UFC.Old Dad best summed up my feelings about Thiago, tweeting after the decision “Is it time for me to admit that Paulo Thiago is probably never going to be as awesome as I want him to be? Maybe, yeah.”

The fact is, Thiago has consistently underwhelmed since scoring violent finishes over Koscheck and Mike Swick early in his UFC career, dropping six of his past eight fights and only scoring decision wins over IDon’t and GiveaFuck. While I won’t go as far as to call his upset wins “flukes,” it’s safe to say that Thiago has unfortunately fallen into the category of UFC fighters who were never able to exceed the hype generated by their UFC debuts. Fighters like…

Houston Alexander 

MMA fans knew knew less than nothing about Houston Alexander before he was matched up with Keith Jardine at UFC 71. Sure, he looked like something out of a Scared Straight program, but at just 7-1 as a pro, he seemed well out of his league against “The Dean of Mean.” Even Jardine, fresh off the biggest win of his career over Forrest Griffin, was baffled by the matchmaking, all but dismissing Alexander in some uncharacteristic pre-fight trash-talk.

But as Raymond Atkins once wrote, “Hubris is when God screws you over for being a smartass.” And screw over Jardine he did. In less than a minute’s time, the TUF alum found himself lying face down on the canvas thanks to a barrage of uppercuts so vicious that even his mouthguard was forced to flee for its life.


(“Quick Paulo, more spinach!!!” Photo via Getty)

I think it was midway through the second round of Paulo Thiago‘s bout with Gasan Umalatov on the TUF Brazil 3 Finale undercard that I began to feel a heavy, sinking feeling in my stomach. I thought it was just fight fatigue at first, my body’s way of telling me to step away from the television and do something, anything to negate the effects caused by a (by that point) six hour binge of manure ads, Linkin Park-dubbed promos, and the occasional MMA fight.

It wasn’t until the Thiago-Umalatov decision was handed down, however, that I was able to identify the cause of my discomfort. Paulo Thiago, real-life superhero and a fighter I have unapologetically rooted for since watching him knock out Josh Koscheck in his promotional debut at UFC 95, is likely on his way out of the UFC.Old Dad best summed up my feelings about Thiago, tweeting after the decision “Is it time for me to admit that Paulo Thiago is probably never going to be as awesome as I want him to be? Maybe, yeah.”

The fact is, Thiago has consistently underwhelmed since scoring violent finishes over Koscheck and Mike Swick early in his UFC career, dropping six of his past eight fights and only scoring decision wins over IDon’t and GiveaFuck. While I won’t go as far as to call his upset wins “flukes,” it’s safe to say that Thiago has unfortunately fallen into the category of UFC fighters who were never able to exceed the hype generated by their UFC debuts. Fighters like…

Houston Alexander 

MMA fans knew knew less than nothing about Houston Alexander before he was matched up with Keith Jardine at UFC 71. Sure, he looked like something out of a Scared Straight program, but at just 7-1 as a pro, he seemed well out of his league against “The Dean of Mean.” Even Jardine, fresh off the biggest win of his career over Forrest Griffin, was baffled by the matchmaking, all but dismissing Alexander in some uncharacteristic pre-fight trash-talk.

But as Raymond Atkins once wrote, “Hubris is when God screws you over for being a smartass.” And screw over Jardine he did. In less than a minute’s time, the TUF alum found himself lying face down on the canvas thanks to a barrage of uppercuts so vicious that even his mouthguard was forced to flee for its life.

The huge upset promptly earned Alexander a front row seat on Joe Rogan’s dick (or maybe it’s the other way around, ask King Mo), as did his subsequent destruction of Alessio Sakara at UFC 75. Unfortunately for Houston, there’s this thing in MMA called a “ground game” that he never bothered to learn while flipping truck tires up hills, and his lack of grappling know-how was soundly exposed in his quick TKO loss to all around good guy Thiago Silva at UFC 78.

Losses to James Irvin, Eric Schafer, and Kimbo Slice would follow before Alexander was let go for good from the UFC in 2010. The mythos surrounding him debunked, Alexander has gone 7-5 1 NC since, picking up wins over Thierry Sokoudjou and his dirty-talking son (unsanctioned) while eating tough KO losses to Steve Bosse and Gilbert Yvel. After signing with Bellator last year, Alexander was immediately bested by Vladimir Matyushenko in a snoozer before picking up a doctor stoppage TKO over some guy named Matt Uhde. Yay for happy endings!

On the next page, a high-flying WEC vet and an all but forgotten Croatian…

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza Draws Costa Philippou for UFC Debut at UFC on FX 8 in May


(“OH GOD, OH GOD. I CAN’T FIND A PULSE, YOSEMITE!”) 

Considering Anderson Silva has all but left the middleweight division for the more lucrative worlds of light-heavyweight squash matches and straight-to-DVD cop films, we think it’s going to be pretty difficult for the UFC to put their patented “winner gets a title shot” rub on the upcoming UFC on FX 8 card scheduled for May 18th. Sure, the event features both a headlining fight between top contenders Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold and now a middleweight clash between Ronaldo Souza and Costa Philippou, but when your division’s champion has been turning down the matchups that have been offered to him for months now, to what extent can you start promoting number one contenders?

Be that as it may, UFC on FX 8 will now feature a pair of middleweight showdowns that should have title implications written all over them, as the pairing of Souza and Philippou was just made official a few hours ago. Since losing his Strikeforce middleweight title to Rockhold in September of 2011, “Jacare” has collected three straight stoppage victories, including a first round kimura submission of Ed Herman at Strikeforce’s final event last month.


(“OH GOD, OH GOD. I CAN’T FIND A PULSE, YOSEMITE!”) 

Considering Anderson Silva has all but left the middleweight division for the more lucrative worlds of light-heavyweight squash matches and straight-to-DVD cop films, we think it’s going to be pretty difficult for the UFC to put their patented “winner gets a title shot” rub on the upcoming UFC on FX 8 card scheduled for May 18th. Sure, the event features both a headlining fight between top contenders Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold and now a middleweight clash between Ronaldo Souza and Costa Philippou, but when your division’s champion has been turning down the matchups that have been offered to him for months now, to what extent can you start promoting number one contenders?

Be that as it may, UFC on FX 8 will now feature a pair of middleweight showdowns that should have title implications written all over them, as the pairing of Souza and Philippou was just made official a few hours ago. Since losing his Strikeforce middleweight title to Rockhold in September of 2011, “Jacare” has collected three straight stoppage victories, including a first round kimura submission of Ed Herman at Strikeforce’s final event last month.

Philippou, on the other hand, has been quietly stringing together increasingly impressive wins since entering the UFC’s middleweight division back in March of 2011. After compiling a 4-1 record in the promotion, Philippou stepped in on short notice for injured teammate Chris Weidman against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 and battered the top contender (and eye-poked him, and headbutted him) en route to a third round TKO victory.

So while a win for any of these four could mean a potential title shot (at least by today’s definition of “top contender”), we already know who Andy will be rooting for, and that’s pretty much all that matters.

Who do you like for this fight, Potato Nation, and more importantly, should we even fool ourselves into thinking the winner will pop up on Silva’s radar?

–J. Jones

Unluckiest SOB Ever Draws Edson Barboza for UFC Debut at ‘UFC on FX 7?


(Sad. He was so young.) 

Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about six of the worst possible opponents debuting UFC fighters have drawn in the past. As I predicted, it was almost universally panned by you Taters, but if I could update the article today, a feller by the name of Lucas “Mineiro” — which I can only assume means “Marked for Death” in Portuguese — Martins would be included somewhere on that list. Because now that Justin Salas has withdrawn from his UFC on FX 7 fight with Edson Barboza, the UFC’s matchmaking department has thrown the poor bastard pictured above into the octagon on short notice in Salas’ place (for his UFC debut, no less), presumably with a steak tied around his neck and a guaranteed bed at the nearest hospital.

Martins record may currently stand at a perfect 10-0, but the combined record of his opponents is just 27-24. Adding to that is the fact that he’ll be taking on an Edson Barboza that is on the heels of his first professional loss and will likely be looking to reestablish himself as one of the top lightweights via Martins’ untimely destruction. So yeah, expect this one to go down in roughly the same fashion as the Anglo-Zanzibar War or Michael Bisping on his prom night, which is to say, quickly.


(Sad. He was so young.) 

Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about six of the worst possible opponents debuting UFC fighters have drawn in the past. As I predicted, it was almost universally panned by you Taters, but if I could update the article today, a feller by the name of Lucas “Mineiro” — which I can only assume means “Marked for Death” in Portuguese – Martins would be included somewhere on that list. Because now that Justin Salas has withdrawn from his UFC on FX 7 fight with Edson Barboza, the UFC’s matchmaking department has thrown the poor bastard pictured above into the octagon on short notice in Salas’ place (for his UFC debut, no less), presumably with a steak tied around his neck and a guaranteed bed at the nearest hospital.

Martins record may currently stand at a perfect 10-0, but the combined record of his opponents is just 27-24. Adding to that is the fact that he’ll be taking on an Edson Barboza that is on the heels of his first professional loss and will likely be looking to reestablish himself as a top lightweight via Martins’ untimely destruction. So yeah, expect this one to go down in roughly the same fashion as the Anglo-Zanzibar War or Michael Bisping on his prom night, which is to say, quickly. I just pray the EMT’s have a fisherman’s net handy to catch Martins’ head when it is inevitably removed from his shoulders via Barboza’s robot thunderlegs. Because casual MMA fans are judgmental and easily impressionable to boot, and we wouldn’t want them to witness how backwards and barbaric the sport we love truly is while discussing the fiscal cliff over black garlic-rubbed salmon croquettes and strawberry-infused champagne, the yuppie bastards.

Sorry, I’ve been watching a shitload of Iron Chef lately. But if you think I’m just being presumptive here, feel free to correct me in the comments section. Go ahead. Do it.

UFC on FX 7 goes down on January 19th in Rio and features a headlining middleweight matchup between Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort.

Related: Vitor Belfort seduces your mom in the new UFC on FX 7 trailer.

–J. Jones