The pressure of performing on the inaugural Fox Sports 1 card will drive each of the 26 competitors on the UFC Fight Night 26 roster Saturday to fight with urgency.
But for a select group, and for reasons that have nothing to do with the card bei…
The pressure of performing on the inaugural Fox Sports 1 card will drive each of the 26 competitors on the UFC Fight Night 26 roster Saturday to fight with urgency.
But for a select group, and for reasons that have nothing to do with the card being Fox Sports 1’s inaugural show, UFC Fight Night 26 signifies either a desperate scenario or a priceless opportunity.
Just as a clan of competitors will put their jobs on the line, another crew of fighters will step into the Octagon with hopes of radically advancing position in their respective divisions.
Here are seven fighters on the hot seat at UFC Fight Night 26.
Six months ago, Conor McGregor was just another prospect working his way toward being noticed enough by UFC matchmakers to get a shot inside the Octagon.
Certainly, he made some waves during his time with the Cage Warriors promotion in his native Irela…
Six months ago, ConorMcGregor was just another prospect working his way toward being noticed enough by UFC matchmakers to get a shot inside the Octagon.
Certainly, he made some waves during his time with the Cage Warriors promotion in his native Ireland—winning two titles in different weight classes in consecutive fights—but no one could have predicted the kind of impact he would make in his first UFC bout.
It wasn’t even so much the 67-second knockout that McGregor pulled off when he debuted in April, or that he beat a top-10 featherweight to make his debut, because he didn’t.
It was McGregor‘s charisma, personality and candidness that immediately landed him on the radar of every major MMA website and reporter who covered the sport.
Beaming from ear to ear after his victory over Marcus Brimage, McGregor explained just how much his Knockout of the Night bonus meant to him. Just weeks prior to making his UFC debut, McGregor was living on welfare unable to afford much of anything outside of the bare essentials to survive.
It might be hard for the average person to comprehend what McGregor was going through prior to his UFC debut, but to put it in context, the 25-year old fighter didn’t even know what it was to have a bank account before that day when Dana White handed him a post-fight bonus check for $60,000.
“To have some money or to have an account. I never had a f—king bank account in my life,” McGregor told MMA’s Great Debate Radio prior to his fight this weekend in Boston. “My money just came in a little docket, you cue up in the post office and collect my money and you’d have it in your pocket and it’d be gone in two days.
“Now I have an account, I have two bank accounts, one at home and one I can use abroad. It’s definitely good. This is what I do this for. I’m motivated to have a better life. Not for a better life because I felt like I already had the best life, but to just keep this life. I like eating out. I like eating at nice places. I like wearing nice clothes and driving nice cars. I want my family to have this. I don’t have any kids, but when I have kids I want them to be secure for the rest of my life. This is what drives me.”
Since that night in Sweden when he debuted, McGregor‘s public life has changed dramatically. He spent a weekend with White in Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday, where he video blogged the entire experience, including his ride around town in his boss’s Ferrari.
McGregor has become an overnight sensation in his home country of Ireland where it seems the entire population is getting behind him in support.
For a fighter with only one fight in the UFC, whose second fight still isn’t on the main card, McGregor even had his own public workout in Boston this week for the media and fans that drew a huge crowd.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that Boston’s population is 20.4 percent Irish, according to a census study released by Sarah Kliff of TheWashington Post earlier this year.
All of this sounds like the kind of distraction that would make most fighters buy into their own hype and maybe miss a step in training or lose focus on the actual task at hand, which is winning a fight on Saturday night.
In this case, however, McGregor isn’t just any fighter.
“I wake up, I go to the gym, I go get some food, I go back to the gym, I go get some food and I go back to the gym, and then I come home. It makes no difference whether I have a few quid (nickname for Irish money) in my pocket, or people stopping me a little bit more, but I’m still in the gym,” McGregor said. “I don’t go nowhere, I don’t do nothing else. I go to the gym, I put in my work, and I stay focused. I stay on the grind. So nothing has changed, I’m still the same guy.
“Honestly, I feel no different. It hasn’t changed all that much. Not in my head it’s not. It was already like this in my head, so now it’s really like this, it hasn’t changed. I’m not the kind of guy to get comfortable with this. I don’t get comfortable ever. Sometimes I’d like to be able to get comfortable more for just like 10 minutes and just chill out, but I don’t get comfortable. I’m always looking for the uncomfortable. That’s the way that we are in my gym. That’s the approach that we look for to be comfortable in the uncomfortable. I’m always looking to test myself, and keep ahead of the game and keep focused and keep outworking everyone.”
McGregor is a different breed than the average competitor who is 1-0 in the UFC. He came in on the first day saying he wanted to fight for the belt, and if the featherweight strap wasn’t available he’d take the lightweight gold instead.
Following his win over Brimage in April, McGregor twice tried to jump in and land fights on short notice when different UFC cards suffered injuries.
McGregor is looking at this as his time to shine, and there’s no reason to waste any opportunity that comes across his plate. Whether it’s Jose Aldo, Benson Henderson or any other fighter standing in his way, McGregor plans on taking every piece of gold he can get his hands on whether it’s title belts or bonus checks handed out after an event.
“I’m in here for it all. I’m not here to take part—I want to dominate. I want all the belts, all the money, all the sponsorships, everything,” McGregor stated. “I want the big shows. I stay in shape, I’m always in shape, and you’ll never catch me out of shape. Come over any day of the week and try to surprise me and catch me out of shape—it’s not going to happen. I stay ready so why not compete? I don’t see it as a risk. I see it as a win. I see it as a chance to learn and grow and compete and make more money and climb that ladder.”
Growing up in Ireland, a country literally born in blood and bullets, McGregor has only known how to fight and claw for everything he’s ever had or will ever get. The island of just under five million residents has gone through famine, war, uprisings and literally seeing the country be torn in two.
Through it all, the Irish people have survived, and McGregor carries that same kind of fighting spirit with him every single time he steps into the cage for a fight.
“The sky’s the limit for our little nation of Ireland. We can do it all, we can compete, we are warriors over this neck of the woods. We are born fighters,” McGregor said. “I’m trying to instill that confidence because we need that. We haven’t been that confident as a nation. There’s a lot of problems going on, but I’m home to lift the spirits of my countrymen. To show them that we can compete with anyone, anywhere and any time.”
When McGregor competes on Saturday night against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 26, he will be in there one-on-one with another fighter, but in his heart and soul, he will be carrying the entire nation of Ireland with him.
“I carry a nation with me in there. I carry a nation of my people into that Octagon with me every time,” McGregor said. “Being the face of Irish MMA is what I always envisioned. It’s why I knew I was here. I knew I could be that guy and to see it all coming true—to see your visions, to see your dreams coming true, it really is hard to put a single word on it say what I’m feeling.
“I’m proud, but that doesn’t cover it. It’s pride times a million—that’s what I’m feeling.”
There’s a popular phrase about the Irish that says “Erin go bragh” which translated means “Ireland forever.” McGregor is even a bit more permanent with his favorite Gaelic saying about his home country—Eirinn go dti an deireadh—which translated means “Ireland until the end.”
When Saturday night is over, McGregor will wrap an Irish flag around his shoulders and once again display the love for his home country—and with the kind of ardor he’s exhibiting thus far, Ireland will have a home in the UFC for many years to come.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
At its core, fighting is a brutal and primal thing.
When two combatants step inside the cage to handle business for the sake of sport, technique, timing and skill all come into play, but perhaps the largest variable that separates them is the will to f…
At its core, fighting is a brutal and primal thing.
When two combatants step inside the cage to handle business for the sake of sport, technique, timing and skill all come into play, but perhaps the largest variable that separates them is the will to fight.
A fighter’s skill set—either shining or fading when the pressure is on—will often dictate the outcome of the battle, but in a sport as rigorous as mixed martial arts has proved to be, the ability to “fight” can also be a valuable commodity.
The scrappy lightweight has carved out his place as one of the gamest fighters on the UFC roster, using his mixture of cerebral savvy, technique and outright willingness to get to business. In his seven years under the UFC banner, the 29-year-old Massachusetts native has experienced his fair share of peaks and valleys, but he has never been a fighter to miss when his name is on the event card.
“J-Lau’s” ability to put on memorable and entertaining tilts has made him a long-standing fixture in the ultra-competitive lightweight fold and has yielded rewards in the form of an impressive run of “fight night” bonuses in the process.
Only pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva can match the Bridgewater-based fighter’s 12 post-fight bonus awards (the most in UFC history). Lauzon will be looking to add another notch in that column when he returns to action against Michael Johnson this weekend at UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen in his backyard of Boston.
Facing the challenges that Johnson presents will be the task at hand on Saturday night, and Lauzon is looking forward to putting on a show for “Beantown’s” fighting faithful.
“It’s awesome to fight in Boston, but it’s also a lot more stressful,” Lauzon told Bleacher Report. “Everyone is trying to get me to do this or that, with all kinds of PR things and local media. I love to do all that stuff but I have to put the fight first. I have to make sure I’m getting to the gym. I have to make sure I’m doing all the things I need to do in order to do my job on the 17th. If I weren’t on the card I would be doing whatever the UFC needed me to do, but I’m a fighter first and I have to tend to business.
“It’s also good to be fighting in Boston because I have a great support system. I have tons of people who come with me for all my fights. Every one of my fights, except maybe Japan, I’ve had anywhere from 50-120 fly out to watch my fight. I have a great support system made up of my coaches, family, friends, training partners who are keeping me sharp and honest in the gym. For me, fighting in Boston is awesome because I get to make it convenient for them. They don’t have to spend money on flights or hotels. It’s basically just an event ticket and they are good to go. That’s probably the coolest part of the whole thing for me.”
When Lauzon steps into the Octagon at TD Garden, he will be facing an opponent who is standing on shaky ground. The Team Blackzilians fighter has experienced a drastic change in momentum over this past year, when a three-fight winning streak turned into a two-fight skid for the 27-year-old Missouri native.
A potential loss to Lauzon would make it three in a row for The Ultimate Fighter alumnus. With that number typically being the catalyst for unemployment in the UFC, Johnson will be fighting for more than just a paycheck in Boston.
Being a veteran in the sport, Lauzon knows what it is like to fight uphill and is prepared for everything Johnson will bring to the fight this Saturday.
“It’s definitely not a comfortable position when you are coming off a couple losses,” Lauzon said. “We are at different points in our careers, but I’ve been the guy who has been fighting up, where people thought I was going to lose, and then I came out and won fights. I try not to sleep on anyone.
“I make sure I get down to the gym, get sharp, and make sure I’m ready to fight. I’m sure he’s doing the same thing. I know he’s training hard and I’m not doubting that at all. At this point, everyone trains hard all the time. I don’t imagine he’s training all that much harder for this fight than he has his past few and he still came up short.
“I think striking and wrestling-wise we are pretty comparable,” Lauzon added in regard to the stylistic matchup. “Jiu-jitsu-wise, I think I have a pretty big advantage, but the fight starts on the feet. He probably knows I have the advantage on the ground and it’s going to be my job to get the fight there. I think he does a great job of moving around and controlling the cage, but if it hits the ground, I think he’s going to be in a world of hurt.”
Lauzon‘s bout with Johnson at UFC Fight Night 26 will mark the submission artist’s 15th appearance inside the Octagon. From his shocking upset debut of former lightweight champion Jens Pulver at UFC 63 back in 2006, to his blood-soaked three-round “Fight of the Year” against Jim Miller at UFC 155, Lauzon has consistently given MMA fans something to talk about in the aftermath of fight night.
The talented grappler has zero issues with mixing it up inside the cage, and where other fighters credit that moxie to heart and an unbreakable spirit, Lauzon believes his style comes from somewhat of a different place.
“Part of it is that I’m impatient,” Lauzon said. “Even going back to before I was getting paid to fight, I was doing NAGA grappling tournaments and things like that. When it was going on, I would be in side control, and feel like I was there forever. It felt like I was in that position for a minute or more and would feel the need to do something because it felt like I was stalling. Then I would go back and watch the tape and see I was only in that position for maybe two or three seconds.
“Everything slows down for me so much in there, and when I train, it’s the same thing. It’s always push, push, push, go, go, go when I’m in the gym. Twelve years of training and fighting like that where you are constantly pushing, trying to improve position, and going for submissions, when I fight it’s extremely difficult to turn that off. It would be so tough for me to take someone down, go slow, and just hold them. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I would have to push the pace. It’s kind of strange, but it has worked out really well for me.”
While Lauzon has been heralded and rewarded for his level of determination when the cage door closes, he also understands the level of danger that is involved with walking through the fire. With MMA drawing close to its 20th year in existence, examples are beginning to arise of the long-term damage that fighters can suffer. Fighters who have made their living going through “wars” and “battles” are staring down a potentially dark future.
“A lot of times when you have guys like that, they are big strikers,” Lauzon said. “They are guys who go out there looking to knock guys out every single fight. They are never going to have a fight where they are not knocking someone down and getting punched in return. I’ve had a lot of fights where I haven’t been hit at all, especially earlier in my career. I would take people down and submit them quickly.
“Even in the UFC I’ve had fights where I didn’t get hit. I think that definitely helps longevity, and it’s better in that sense for grapplers when they can get the fight to the ground. It’s really tough if you are a kickboxer because the only way you are going to win is by punching the other guy in the head or him punching you.”
With Lauzon‘s knack for the squabble, danger of that nature is front and center. If the time comes when it is best for him to walk away from the sport, he is confident the people he trusts will help in that decision-making process.
“I like to think I’m pretty smart about things,” Lauzon said. “I like to think I wouldn’t hang on longer than I should. If it’s time to walk away, I have such a good support system, they will let me know. I’m fully confident my coaches would let me know. Even if I think I’m still good, I’m confident they would address the issue and say maybe we should be calling it a day and moving on to something else.
“I like to think I’m a smart kid. I have a computer science degree. I have a successful gym. I have a lot of other ways to support myself. Obviously fighting is a great way to make money, and really good when I’m successful and winning bonuses. But if I have to do something else, I’ll be fine with that too.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
UFC Fight Night 26 headliner Chael Sonnen has been uncharacteristically quiet leading up to his bout with Mauricio Rua this Saturday, however, that all changed last night.
On this week’s edition of UFC Tonight, “The American Gangster” recite…
UFC Fight Night 26 headliner Chael Sonnen has been uncharacteristically quiet leading up to his bout with Mauricio Rua this Saturday, however, that all changed last night.
On this week’s edition of UFC Tonight, “The American Gangster” recited a poem that made it very clear he wants to settle the score with old rival Wanderlei Silva after he disposes of his “henchman” Rua.
“On August 17, a fight’s going to take place and everyone’s screen saver will be Wanderlei’s face.
Not scowling or pouting or pounding his fist
Or stumbling with English or rolling his wrist
But watching in horror as docs try to wake his little henchman Shogun who made the mistake of cutting in line on my way to his boss
And ended up knocked out and trying to explain the loss
Sitting at the press conference table with Wanderlei outside
Hailing a cab for the panic-filled ride to Logan Airport
Or better still to the docks, to stow away
On a boat to Brazil to get away from this gangster right here
Who will eventually will leave him face down and end his career.”
Shortly after his failed light heavyweight title bid against champion Jon Jones at UFC 159 in April, Sonnen began pushing hard for a fight with “The Axe Murderer,” with the match up appearing to be an obvious choice to headline the UFC’s first card on FOX Sports 1, via MMA Fighting.
Despite a lot of heavy fan interest, the bout never came to fruition.
Instead, Sonnen offered to fill-in on just two weeks notice against “Shogun” at UFC 161 after his original opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, withdrew from the bout, via MMA Junkie.
However, the UFC chose to remove Rua from that card and booked Sonnen vs. Shogun for UFC Fight Night 26.
Both competitors enter the contest coming off losses and coming up short again here would likely eliminate either fighter from the title picture for the foreseeable future.
With that being said, Sonnen recently announced that after this fight, he will drop back down to middleweight afterwards, a stipulation of his new contract.
Will Sonnen’s world class wrestling be too much for Shogun to handle or will the former UFC light heavyweight champ’s vicious striking be the difference maker here?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
Heading into his featherweight bout against Bart Palaszewski last April, Cole Miller had lost two fights in a row for the first time in his ten-year MMA career. He did not want to lose a third.
A third straight loss would likely mean being cut by the UFC, where he’s made his living for the past six years. “Not losing for a third time wasn’t really motivation, it was just a matter of the fact that if I lost, I’d be out,” he tells CagePotato.
“I had to think about things I’d do outside of fighting to make money if I got cut and had to fight on smaller shows again where the pay isn’t as good as the UFC’s. I thought about things I could do and how I could set myself up other than fighting in order to make a living.”
Miller did not lose for a third consecutive time, however, and he has another UFC bout scheduled at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston. It wasn’t long after he stopped Palaszewski with a rear naked choke at the TUF 17 Finale that Cole was looking for another fight.
“[The feeling of winning again] was a relief, mostly,” he remembers. “Bart might be the best guy I’ve ever beaten. I turned my attention to fighting again pretty soon, though. I thought I’d be able to get another fight in before now, maybe as a substitute or something, but I wasn’t able to.”
Heading into his featherweight bout against Bart Palaszewski last April, Cole Miller had lost two fights in a row for the first time in his ten-year MMA career. He did not want to lose a third.
A third straight loss would likely mean being cut by the UFC, where he’s made his living for the past six years. “Not losing for a third time wasn’t really motivation, it was just a matter of the fact that if I lost, I’d be out,” he tells CagePotato.
“I had to think about things I’d do outside of fighting to make money if I got cut and had to fight on smaller shows again where the pay isn’t as good as the UFC’s. I thought about things I could do and how I could set myself up other than fighting in order to make a living.”
Miller did not lose for a third consecutive time, however, and he has another UFC bout scheduled at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston. It wasn’t long after he stopped Palaszewski with a rear naked choke at the TUF 17 Finale that Cole was looking for another fight.
“[The feeling of winning again] was a relief, mostly,” he remembers. “Bart might be the best guy I’ve ever beaten. I turned my attention to fighting again pretty soon, though. I thought I’d be able to get another fight in before now, maybe as a substitute or something, but I wasn’t able to.”
Instead, Miller settles for an incredibly tough fight against fellow TUF 5 season member Manny Gamburyan about four months after his last fight. Miller says he’s worked hard to improve between appearances, but that the Armenian judoka poses unique challenges.
“I would say that yeah, I’ve improved since April,” Cole says. “But Manny is such a specific challenge that it’s really more about preparing for him than anything. His size and his style make for such a unique fight.”
Both fighters, of course, are featherweights but Miller is 6’1″ to Gamburyan’s 5’5″. Cole knows that it won’t be enough to simply have a longer reach than his opponent — not when that opponent has an aggressive style and hits like an anvil.
“He just keeps coming forward, throwing bombs,” Cole says of Manny.
“He has an unorthodox striking style but hits hard and doesn’t stop swinging until he drops his opponents or takes them down. And on the ground he’s good as well, but most of his stuff comes from Judo, Sambo and catch wrestling, so it is different than the looks you get from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts. We respect him but I know that I’ve done the training to be ready for what he’ll bring.”
A lot of words have been used to describe Chael Sonnen.
Wrestler. Criminal. Cheater. Loser.
As the most polarizing man in mixed martial arts, he’s heard it all. But Sonnen’s rise to fame and fortune, from undercard obscurity to his current status as UF…
A lot of words have been used to describe Chael Sonnen.
As the most polarizing man in mixed martial arts, he’s heard it all. But Sonnen’s rise to fame and fortune, from undercard obscurity to his current status as UFC president Dana White‘s heir apparent as the face of the sport, has very little to do with what is said about him.
It’s all about what Sonnen says.
We want success to be founded in action. That’s typically easier in sports than in life. It’s a binary world. A fighter either wins or loses. The action in the cage has a wonderful ability to clear the air of even the most artfully blown smoke.
Not so for Sonnen. In his case, words are much louder than deeds. He’s a self-made man built not on athletic accomplishment but rather on a shaky edifice of his own bravado and patois—an act lifted from professional wrestling and inserted into the comically serious world of MMA.
Sonnen’s greatest hits could double as a Jerky Boys reunion album. Very few of them actually occurred in the cage, where he’s a capable and hardworking grinder but not a source of the kind of highlight-reel moments that usually form the base of MMA stardom.
Instead, his sizzle reel features his intellect and wit.
The carrot. The pygmy. Cook me a steak. The largest arms. All shorthand for moments that have made Sonnen one of the most important figures in the game.
That Sonnen, however, has been absent without leave in the leadup to the UFC’s debut on Fox Sports 1. He has been strangely silent exactly when the UFC needs him to bark the loudest.
Silent, of course, is a funny term for a man who makes regular appearances on UFC Tonight and has dazzled FoxSports.com readers with a daily poem. But compared to the bar he’s set so high, Sonnen has failed to live up to expectations.
His opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, has been mostly spared Sonnen’s venomous humor.
Who has been targeted instead? Rua’s former teammate Wanderlei Silva, likely a future Sonnen opponent. This week on Fuel TV, rather than let loose on Rua, Sonnen turned his attention to Silva instead.
Poetry-slam style, Sonnen said:
On August 17, a fight’s going to take place, and everyone’s screen saver will be Wanderlei’s face. Not scowling or pouting or pounding his fist, or stumbling with English or rolling his wrist, but watching in horror as docs try to wake his little henchman Shogun, who made the mistake of cutting in line on my way to his boss, and ended up knocked out and trying to explain the loss. Sitting at the press conference table with Wanderlei outside, hailing a cab for the panic-filled ride to Logan Airport, or better still to the docks, to stow away, on a boat to Brazil. To get away from this gangster right here, who eventually will leave him face down and end his career.”
That’s all well and good for a future tussle for Silva. But Fox and the UFC need the help now as they launch an ESPN competitor into a world that has largely rejected the idea of an alternative all-sports network.
The energy and excitement—the electricity in the air that makes the hair stand up on your arms—are missing. A Sonnen fight, love him or hate him, usually comes with a cascade of competing emotions. As much as we complain at times about the derivative nature of some of his stunts, they, at the very least, keep things interesting. The build to Boston has been anything but.
Where have you gone, Chael Sonnen? And how can we get you back?
Six months ago, 