After “The Answer” lost his title to “Smooth” at UFC 144 via unanimous decision, many assumed that Henderson was destined for a rematch of a different nature, specifically, that of his WEC 53 clash with Anthony Pettis, who not only defeated Benson to claim the WEC’s final lightweight title, but whom also scored a big win over Joe Lauzon via first round head kick at UFC 144. Considering Dana White repeatedly stated that he would prefer to see Edgar drop to 145 and face champion Jose Aldo, it seemed we were destined for another round of cage leaping madness. Aside from that possible matchup, the MMA blogosphere also rallied behind the idea of the winner of the upcoming Nate Diaz/Jim Miller match getting the next shot, a sentiment that to a certain degree was echoed by White himself just hours ago at the UFC on Fox press conference.
But alas, it seems our cries fell on deaf ears, as we are destined for yet another rematch for the lightweight title. It’s not that we’re pissed for another Edgar/Henderson go-around, because the first fight was more than entertaining, but we’re starting to get the impression that if a fight goes the distance at 155, it must mean that it was hotly contested. Perhaps the UFC should adopt a “finish or GTFO” type policy for the lightweight division, because all these rematches are starting to get ridiculous, exciting as they are.
To be fair, Edgar has accepted a rematch with everyone that the UFC has asked him to, so DW probably owed him this. In either case, there’s no point in bitching about it now, so who y’all got for this one?
(Dos Anjos pulls off a picture perfect lawn chair KO on George Sotiropoulos at UFC 132.)
Kamal Shalorus has had a difficult time making the leap from the WEC to the UFC. After putting together a 3-0-1 record in the now deceased promotion, “The Prince of Persia” has dropped two straight — a first round TKO to top contender Jim Miller at UFC 128 and a third round submission at the hands of newcomer Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. In what his final shot under the Zuffa banner, Shalorus will not be given an easy victory, as he has been booked to take on Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FUEL 3, which goes down on May 15 from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
Dos Anjos, on the other hand, sandwiched the above KO over G-Sots between a pair of losses to Clay Guida (via submission due to jaw injury) and the Anthony Johnson of the lightweight division, Gleison Tibau (by SD).
Kamal Shalorus has had a difficult time making the leap from the WEC to the UFC. After putting together a 3-0-1 record in the now deceased promotion, “The Prince of Persia” has dropped two straight — a first round TKO to top contender Jim Miller at UFC 128 and a third round submission at the hands of newcomer Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. In what his final shot under the Zuffa banner, Shalorus will not be given an easy victory, as he has been booked to take on Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FUEL 3, which goes down on May 15 from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
Dos Anjos, on the other hand, sandwiched the above KO over G-Sots between a pair of losses to Clay Guida (via submission due to jaw injury) and the Anthony Johnson of the lightweight division, Gleison Tibau (by SD).
Also booked for Fairfax…
Following a seven year absence from the octagon that saw him go 19-6, Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran returned to the UFC last October at UFC 137. It was less than successful, as he dropped a unanimous decision to Scott Jorgensen in a match that was forgotten about before it was even over. For his next fight, Curran will be taking a significant step down in competition when he faces Johnny Eduardo in a bantamweight contest. Eduardo, a 25-9 product out of Nova Uniao, came up short in his UFC debut in August, where he was out grappled by Raphael Assuncao en route to a unanimous decision loss.
Finally, lightweights T.J Grant and Carlo Prater are set to throw down on the UFC on FUEL 3 undercard as well. You remember Carlo Prater, don’t you? He was the guy who took the road less traveled to victory at UFC 142, upsetting Erick Silva by way of superior positioning to allow illegal punches to the back of his head. It’s called strategery, Potato Nation.
Anyway, check out the full lineup for UFC on FUEL 3 below. I DEFY YOU to name the website I copy/pasted it from.
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung
Light Heavyweight bout: Thiago Silva vs. Igor Pokrajac
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens
Lightweight bout: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kamal Shalorus
Thompson looks to stay undefeated against Matt Brown at UFC 145
We’re barely one week removed from UFC 143, yet two welterweights who were victorious on the card have been signed to fight at UFC 145. The UFC has announced that TUF 7 veteran Matt Brown has agreed to a bout with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Matt Brown managed to buy himself more time in the UFC with a second round TKO over Chris Cope at UFC 143, improving the UFC record of “The Immortal” to 6-5. On the other end of the spectrum, Stephen Thompson made an impressive first impression on viewers with his first round head kick knockout over Dan Stittgen. The victory improved his record to 6-0, and also earned him Knockout of the Night honors.
Thompson looks to stay undefeated against Matt Brown at UFC 145
We’re barely one week removed from UFC 143, yet two welterweights who were victorious on the card have been signed to fight at UFC 145. The UFC has announced that TUF 7 veteran Matt Brown has agreed to a bout with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Matt Brown managed to buy himself more time in the UFC with a second round TKO over Chris Cope at UFC 143, improving the UFC record of ”The Immortal” to 6-5. On the other end of the spectrum, Stephen Thompson made an impressive first impression on viewers with his first round head kick knockout over Dan Stittgen. The victory improved his record to 6-0, and also earned him Knockout of the Night honors.
Normally, I’d comment on how the short layover between fights may save the loser from the chopping block. But in this case, it seems redundant. “Wonderboy” is an exciting fighter facing his first step up in competition, while “The Immortal” has certainly lived up to his nickname in terms of not being cut from the UFC. Unless the loser misses weight, fails a drug test or runs away for three rounds, expect both fighters to stick around.
UFC 145 will go down on April 21, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia, featuring a light-heavyweight championship bout between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
(Hey Tito, do you mind taking a look at this fungus I’ve got growing on my foot? I figured if anyone could spot a bizarre infection, it would be you.)
It’s looking like Tito Ortiz will be getting his wish to go out on a hotly contested decision like he’s always wanted. Though the event or location has yet to be determined, Lorenzo Fertitta announced to the Twittersphere last night that the rubber match between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will in fact be happening, and, just like Ortiz requested, could transpire on Fourth of July weekend.
After saving his Zuffa career by submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz has dropped two straight to Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, both coming by way of TKO. Griffin is also coming off a first round TKO loss, which he suffered in his rematch with fellow former Light Heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua at UFC 134.
Ortiz and Griffin first met way back at UFC 59 in the spring of 2006. At the time, Griffin was on a four fight win streak including his TUF 1 Finale victory over Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz had scored two straight after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 47, and would follow his split decision victory over Griffin by beating the piss out of poor Ken Shamrock twice in a row. Their second meeting, which went down at UFC 106, saw Griffin emerge victorious by an equally controversial split decision.
Speaking of trilogies…
(Hey Tito, do you mind taking a look at this fungus I’ve got growing on my foot? I figured if anyone could spot a bizarre infection, it would be you.)
It’s looking like Tito Ortiz will be getting his wish to go out on a hotly contested decision like he’s always wanted. Though the event or location has yet to be determined, Lorenzo Fertitta announced to the Twittersphere last night that the rubber match between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will in fact be happening, and, just like Ortiz requested, could transpire on Fourth of July weekend.
After saving his Zuffa career by submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz has dropped two straight to Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, both coming by way of TKO. Griffin is also coming off a first round TKO loss, which he suffered in his rematch with fellow former Light Heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua at UFC 134.
Ortiz and Griffin first met way back at UFC 59 in the spring of 2006. At the time, Griffin was on a four fight win streak including his TUF 1 Finale victory over Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz had scored two straight after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 47, and would follow his split decision victory over Griffin by beating the piss out of poor Ken Shamrock twice in a row. Their second meeting, which went down at UFC 106, saw Griffin emerge victorious by an equally controversial split decision.
Speaking of trilogies…
It looks like Urijah Faber and Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz will be locking horns for a third time this summer, though a date and location is still pending. Faber, who is currently 0-3 in title matches after losing his WEC Featherweight crown to Mike Brown at WEC 36, will be looking to erase the memory of a close but unanimous decision he dropped to Cruz in the pair’s first rematch at UFC 132. A fight apparently so close, that it warranted an immediate rematch. These things happen in MMA. As we know, the two are set to coach opposite one another on the next season of TUF, which will surely have its fair share of stank bref jokes, pranks and blah blah blah cut, print, glass plaque. Moving on.
(MMA Rule #334: Black may not crack, but brown sure as shit does.)
Coming off a brilliant technical submission victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria at UFC 140, a statement that I still have trouble comprehending, it looks like Frank Mir will square off against Cain Velasquez in a battle of former champions, also tentatively scheduled for this summer. Velasquez has been out of action since falling to a first round KO at the hands of Junior Dos Santos, losing his Heavyweight title in the process. Again, no date or venue has been announced. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out; you have to imagine Velasquez will be a little gun shy on the feet, as many fighters are after a KO loss. And despite the fact that he’s never been submitted before, it’s still hard to imagine Velasquez will want to tangle with the likes of Mir on the ground. Then again, Mir has shown a tendency to be overwhelmed by powerful strikers in the past.
Lorenzo Fertitta tweeted last night that the highly anticipated heavyweight clash between newly crowned UFC Heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and former Strikeforce and DREAM Heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem is in the works for UFC 146, which is scheduled to go down on May 26th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Overeem, on the other hand, is coming off a first round TKO via Uberkick of Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. We’ve added a gif of the liver kick from hell below. Why, you ask? BECAUSE WE CAN.
Fun Fact: Both men have not lost a fight since 2007. Dos Santos has scored nine straight with six coming by way of TKO, and Overeem has notched eleven in a row, with only one of those making it out of the first round.
What do you think Potato Nation, will JDS be able to fend off the overwhelming machismo of Alistair, or will the heavyweight title change hands yet again? Also, Rhode Island, neither a road nor an island. DISCUSS.
Lorenzo Fertitta tweeted last night that the highly anticipated heavyweight clash between newly crowned UFC Heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and former Strikeforce and DREAM Heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem is in the works for UFC 146, which is scheduled to go down on May 26th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Overeem, on the other hand, is coming off a first round TKO via Uberkick of Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. We’ve added a gif of the liver kick from hell below. Why, you ask? BECAUSE WE CAN.
Fun Fact: Both men have not lost a fight since 2007. Dos Santos has scored nine straight, with six coming by way of TKO, and Overeem has notched eleven in a row, with only one of those making it out of the first round.
What do you think Potato Nation, will JDS be able to fend off the overwhelming machismo of Alistair, or will the heavyweight title change hands yet again? Also, Rhode Island, neither a road nor an island. DISCUSS.
Gaudinot vs. Lineker should provide a clear contender for the coveted ‘Worst Hair in Professional Sports’ title.
Presumably after enduring three rounds of fatigued middleweights Chris Weidman and Demian Maia leading off UFC on FOX 2, the UFC brass figured it would be a good idea to show off its smaller fighters to the casual fans. For the organization’s third effort on FOX, the UFC will showcase two of its smallest fighters on the roster. Yesterday, the UFC announced a matchup between flyweights Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker has been booked for UFC on FOX 3.
As a bantamweight cast member of TUF 14, Louis Gaudinot lost to Dustin Pague in the fan voted “Fight of the Season” before losing his UFC debut to the much larger Johnny Bedford. As expected, Gaudinot is returning to flyweight, where he went 5-1 before his UFC career.
Gaudinot vs. Lineker should provide a clear contender for the coveted ‘Worst Hair in Professional Sports’ title.
Presumably after enduring three rounds of fatigued middleweights Chris Weidman and Demian Maia leading off UFC on FOX 2, the UFC brass figured it would be a good idea to show off its smaller fighters to the casual fans. For the organization’s third effort on FOX, the UFC will showcase two of its smallest fighters on the roster. Yesterday, the UFC announced a matchup between flyweights Louis Gaudinot and John Lineker has been booked for UFC on FOX 3.
As a bantamweight cast member of TUF 14, Louis Gaudinot lost to Dustin Pague in the fan voted “Fight of the Season” before losing his UFC debut to the much larger Johnny Bedford. As expected, Gaudinot is returning to flyweight, where he went 5-1 before his UFC career.
Meanwhile, Brazilian native John Lineker will be making his UFC debut at UFC on FOX 3. Lineker is 19-5 in his MMA career, and is currently riding a thirteen fight winning streak into the Octagon. His most recent fight saw him earn a split decision over Iliarde Sabino Belo dos Santos at Jungle Fight 32 on September 10 of last year.
UFC on FOX 3 is set to go down at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 5, 2012.
Dustin Poirier vs. 
Chan Sung Jung
Thiago Silva vs. 
Igor Pokrajac
Kamal Shalorus
TJ Grant vs. 
Yves Jabouin vs. 
Alex Soto vs. 
Azamat Gashimov
