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Michael Bisping Is a Gatekeeper — And There’s Nothing Wrong With That

(I have no idea what this is, but it was too awesome not to share. Props: @bisping)

It has taken several weeks of back and forth, a wedding, and a lot of twitter trash talking directed at unrelated targets, but now it’s official: Michael Bisping will face Cung Le at UFC Fight Night Macau on August 23rd.

This will be a milestone in Bisping career. One way or the other.

On April 16th, at the TUF Nations Finale, Bisping made his long-delayed return to the Octagon against top middleweight prospect Tim Kennedy. The confrontation between the two men had been a long time in the making, with Kennedy making a proper pest of himself leading up to the fight, constantly goading his British counterpart.

The implications of this fight for the middleweight division were huge. “The Count,” while traditionally one of the UFC’s top middleweights, has never fought for the UFC middleweight title. He has reached title eliminator fights twice, losing both times: once to Dan Henderson, who left him as stiff as the proverbial British upper lip, and once to Chael Sonnen who earned a unanimous decision victory. Still, the list of Bisping’s victims is impressive. He has wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Brian Stann, and Matt Hamill, and has proven himself to be the derail-er of many a title run.

(I have no idea what this is, but it was too awesome not to share. Props: @bisping)

By Bear Siragusa

This will be a milestone in Bisping career. One way or the other.

Despite being a good-to-great fighter, Michael Bisping has never defeated any of the truly elite middleweights in the UFC. He blamed his most recent losses to Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen on a detached retina in his right eye, claiming that the damaged eye kept him from defending his right side effectively. After surgically repairing his eye, he said he was confident that he would be better than ever and make a immediate run for the title.

Tim Kennedy, on the other hand, has been touted as one of the top middleweight prospects in the UFC and top imports from Strikeforce. He cruised through his first two UFC fights against Roger Gracie and Rafael Natal, and on April 16thhe lived up to his hype and trash-talk be defeating Michael Bisping in a five-round unanimous decision.

The loss marked the first time Bisping has been defeated by an opponent who was ranked lower than he was. While Kennedy took one step forward in the rankings, Bisping took a step backwards. This shakes up the entire division. With Belfort’s return date still uncertain while he kicks TRT, Anderson Silva suddenly an unquantifiable entity, and Chris Weidman‘s staying power as champion somewhat untested, the middleweight division is in a state of upheaval.

Sure, it’s possible that we we’re seeing Tim Kennedy march toward becoming the greatest 185′er in the sport. More likely, Michael Bisping has declined from consistent title contender to permanent gatekeeper of the middleweight division. Every division needs a gatekeeper. The heavyweights have Roy Nelson, welterweight has Demian Maia and Jake Ellenberger, lightweight has Diego Sanchez — it’s an important position to occupy within a division.

Bisping has reached that crossroads in his career. Something which doesn’t seem to sit that well with “The Count.”

Immediately after his loss to Tim Kennedy at the TUF Nations Finale, Bisping took to twitter to find himself another opponent and a measure of redemption. The target of his twitter attack? Luke Rockhold, the man who Bisping had been tied with as the UFC’s #6 ranked middleweight (Bisping is now #8 and Rockhold is now #5) and former Strikeforce middleweight champion.

However, after his dominant victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 172 via arm lock/kimura/pretzel/jaws of life, Rockhold called out Vitor Belfort (the last man to beat him) instead. He seemed uninterested in a potential bout with Bisping. So, now Bisping will face Cung Le, who has been inactive for so long that he is no longer even ranked in the division.

This could be an interesting fight, as both men have sustained long layoffs recently. Prior to his loss to Kennedy, Bisping was out for a year due to his eye injury, and Cung Le — who (oddly) was never among Bisping’s twitter antagonists — has been inactive since 2012 apart from his stint as couch for TUF China. A win over Bisping would prove the unranked Le’s relevance in a division that has changed dramatically since he last fought. (Anderson Silva was still untouchable in 2012, don’t forget.)

It’s a logical fight for Bisping, as he could knock off another well-known name and confirm his relevance in the division — not as a title contender at the moment, but as the invaluable gatekeeper of the middleweight division. For Bisping, who has lost three of his last four fights, ensuring his job security in a deep division is the best outcome he can hope for at this point.

But this match-up is a good one for Le as well. His last fight in Macau in 2012 was a win over former champ Rich Franklin. The two year break has killed his momentum as a fighter. A win over Bisping could get Le’s train rolling again. (Although at 42 years old, Le’s competitive future is limited.)

This fight is make or break for Bisping’s career. A loss will see him spiraling to the periphery of a very tough division. A win will perhaps make Michael “The Count” Bisping capitalize on his great worth as a gatekeeper of the middleweights. Who better than the “The Count” to stand in the Octagon and say, “You shall not pass”?

UFC Booking Alert: Michael Bisping to Face Cung Le in August, Hector Lombard vs. Dong Hyun Kim Booked as Well

(We don’t regret choosing this image. / Photo via Getty)

Michael Bisping has been booked to fight Cung Le on August 23rd, in the main event of a Fight Night card that takes place at the Cotai Arena in Macau. This booking was announced at the UFC 173 post-fight presser.

Le won his last match with a sudden, dramatic KO victory over Rich Franklin. Despite such a win, the 42-year-old isn’t exactly a threat to Bisping, who’s coming off a disappointing decision loss to Tim Kennedy. Looks like the UFC wants its British meal ticket back in the win column as soon as possible.

Get the details on the co-main event, and where the fight card will air after the jump.

(We don’t regret choosing this image. / Photo via Getty)

The co-main event of this Fight Night card will feature a bout between Dong Hyun Kim and Hector Lombard. Kim is on a four-fight winning streak. Most recently, he knocked out John Hathaway with a gorgeous spinning back elbow. Lombard is only on a two-fight win streak but has looked equally if not more impressive. Since dropping to welterweight, he’s smashed Nate Marquardt and sent Jake Shields out of the UFC.

It’s a shame these matches will only air on Fight Pass.

Hector Lombard vs. Dong Hyun Kim Booked for UFC Macau Show on August 23rd

(We’d like to formally retract that “Caribbean Jerk” comment. / Photo via @hectorlombard)

As reported on yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, a high-profile welterweight bout between Hector Lombard and Dong Hyun Kim is expected for an August 23rd UFC Fight Night show at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China.

Lombard is coming off a dominant decision win against Jake Shields at UFC 171 in March, which followed his first-round knockout of Nate Marquardt last October. Kim is riding a four-fight win streak, and most recently knocked out John Hathaway with a spinning back elbow at the TUF China Finale, which also took place at Macau’s Cotai Arena.

Though Lombard had been trying to build heat for a fight against Matt Brown, it seems that the UFC has other plans for “The Immortal” right now. What those plans are remain to be seen, although UFC president Dana White stated last night that he’d happily set up Brown vs. Nick Diaz if Diaz wanted it.

The 8/23 Fight Night show in Macau will likely be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass, and will take place the same day as a FOX Sports 1 card in Tulsa, Oklahoma, God help us.

(We’d like to formally retract that “Caribbean Jerk” comment. / Photo via @hectorlombard)

The 8/23 Fight Night show in Macau will likely be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass, and will take place the same day as a FOX Sports 1 card in Tulsa, Oklahoma, God help us.

‘UFC on FUEL 6: Franklin vs. Le’ Aftermath — Worth Waking up For

Props: Nixson Sysanga via mmafanmade.tumblr.com

If I were to have told you before this event that a FUEL TV caliber card will have seven out of nine fights go the distance, it is doubtful that many of you would have watched UFC on FUEL 6. If I were to have reminded you that because the fights were live from Macau, China, you’d have to wake up at 9 a.m. ET to watch said card, I’m willing to bet we would have had a pretty vacant liveblog this morning. It isn’t often that a card with so many decisions is worth waking up early for, but UFC on FUEL 6 proved to be an exception.

Expectations weren’t exactly high for the evening’s main event, a middleweight contest between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. With neither fighter in the title picture – or even near it – and forty year old Cung Le bloodletting his foot just one week before the fight, this fight had a very high bust-potential. Most of us assumed that Ace would exit the cage with his first victory at middleweight since 2008, and that we wouldn’t be missing much if we started our afternoon nap a little early.

Instead, Cung Le gave us a Knockout of the Year candidate, countering a leg kick with a devastating right hand that secured the victory just 2:17 into the fight. Being the only knockout on the card, Le took home the $40k Knockout of the Night award, but even if every other fight ended in a knockout it’d be hard not to award such a brutal finish the honor. If you happened to miss it, here it is in all of its animated GIF glory:

Props: Nixson Sysanga via mmafanmade.tumblr.com

Dick. Nailed. Props: @JasonAmadi

As for what this fight means for the UFC middleweight division, I’m still tempted to say ”not too much.” Franklin was certainly a good middleweight champion and a great company man for the UFC, but he hasn’t been a serious title contender in years. As great of a victory as it was for Le, I’d say he’s at least two more victories away from being “in the mix” for a title shot (whatever that even means these days). May I be so bold as to suggest a fight against Brian Stann?

As for Rich Franklin, retirement seems like the most logical option. I know it’s easy to be pessimistic about a fighter’s career after watching him lose – especially the way he lost – but we’re looking at a thirty-eight year old former-champion who hasn’t won back-to-back fights in four years. There’s nothing left for Ace to do except ride his company man status into a vaguely-defined post-retirement corporate career with the UFC.

The co-main event produced a very surprising finish, as Blackzilian Thiago Silva handed Stanislav Nedkov his first career loss with a third round arm-triangle choke. Silva not only picked up his first victory in three years (drug test pending), but also his first submission victory (not counting his submission via punches over Antonio Mendes at UFC 84) since heel-hooking Dave Dalgliesh back in 2006. Being the only submission on the card, the win earned Silva the Submission of the Night bonus.

Although Silva was ahead 20-18 on all three scorecards heading into the third round, Nedkov arguably took the first round and nearly finished the Brazilian late in the second round. Despite barely making it to the third round, Thiago Silva overwhelmed Nedkov with an aggressive striking display before earning the takedown. From there, the BJJ blackbelt wasted little time locking in the fight ending choke.

Silva has never been a pushover, but he’s also never been a serious contender for the light-heavyweight championship, either. At twenty-nine years old, he still has a chance at putting together a run for the title. But if he’s going to make the most of this opportunity, he needs to get back to consistently stringing together victories, and start earning them over the deep end of the UFC’s roster.

Elsewhere on the card:

– Takanori Gomi’s split-decision over Mac Danzig took home Fight of the Night honors. Little surprise here, as this fight was a back-and-forth affair that saw both men come close to earning the stoppage. The PRIDE legend improves to 34-8 (1 NC) overall, and 3-3 in the UFC. Meanwhile, Mac Danzig drops to 21-10-1 – including a not-quite-worthy 5-6 in the UFC – but earns his fourth End of the Night bonus from the promotion.

– Dong Hyun Kim took home a unanimous decision victory over Paulo Thiago in a fight that was never exactly close. After the fight, Kim asked for a rematch against Demian Maia. Considering the fluke nature of their first meeting, I’m not surprised that he wants this fight but I doubt he gets it. Also, Thiago is now 1-4 in his last five fights and 4-5 in the UFC, so expect a Paulo Thiago-themed “And Now he’s Fired” soon.

– Speaking of “1-4 in his last five and probably about to be fired,” Tiequan Zhang actually lost to TUF alumnus Jon Tuck. Yes, the only Chinese fighter on the entire card actually lost to the softball opponent he was matched up against. And not by an indefensibly terrible decision, either: Tuck was controlling the entire fight until the third round, when he made the foolish decision to stand with the guy who desperately needed a knockout. Not to throw salt in the wound here, but Zhang’s lone victory in his last five fights came over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127. Ouch.

– Takeya Mizugaki wasn’t exactly given a world-beater in Jeff Hougland, but he still managed to look pretty impressive while taking home a unanimous decision victory. Mizugaki ground Hougland’s face into a pulp over the course of three rounds, taking all three rounds on all three scorecards. That being said…30-25?! YOU CANNOT BE FOR SERIOUSLY, BRO!

– Attendance was 8,415, who paid $1.3 million USD. This makes UFC on FUEL 6 the second highest FUEL livegate (Only UFC on FUEL 2 was higher).

@SethFalvo

[VIDEOS] Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans, and Arianny Celeste Relentlessly Torture One Young Man to Promote UFC: Macao Awareness

(Welcome to Hell, “UFC Fan.”)

The UFC has finally done it, Potato Nation. They’ve finally crossed the line in the fucking sand.

Over the past year, the petty larcenists and newly-reformed-but-not-really-reformed gang members that constitute the UFC’s marketing department have been facing increasing pressure from their shiny-headed overlord to try and convince us that the UFC’s injury plagued, garbage ass pay-per-views were worth our money. And because a group of ragtag, delinquent video editors can only do so much, they were forced to scramble: recycling decade-old highlights to try and sell us on one fight and using outright tomfoolery to sell us on another. Hell, they even got so desperate that they took the honest approach to advertising.

But their best efforts could not prepare them for the UFC’s first trip to China. “A card so early,” they cried, “No one will want to watch that! Why, boss? WHY?!” They were desperate, knowing they had to go big with this advertising campaign or they would surely lose their jobs and be cast back into the cesspool they once called an existence. So, drawing inspiration from the recently popularity of such “torture porn” movies as Saw, Hostel, and Breakin 2: Electric Bugaloo, they put together an ad campaign that no one could dare look away from: a prolonged public execution, as carried out by the UFC’s brightest stars.

Three experts were brought in: The Muscle (Rashad Evans), the Loon (Chael Sonnen), and the Brains (Arianny Celeste), and over the course of three weeks, the subject dubbed “UFC fan” in the header photo (out of respect for his family) was hazed to death.

Sessions 1 through 3 are after the jump. Caution: These videos contain graphic material.

(Welcome to Hell, “UFC Fan.”)

The UFC has finally done it, Potato Nation. They’ve finally crossed the line in the fucking sand.

Yes, in an effort to boost ratings for the 9 am-scheduled UFC Macao, one young fan was deprived of sleep for nearly 504 hours, all the while being relentlessly mocked, ridiculed, bamboozled, and intimidated by the very people he once hung posters of on his wall (and hid beneath his mattress). According to police reports, Sonnen, Evans, and Celeste took shifts to ensure that “UFC fan” never rested for longer than 30 seconds at a time. They would blast music over a speaker system, use megaphones, and even resorted to beating the victim with pillow cases stuffed with feathers and bars of soap (see :08 of Session 2) in order to keep the poor kid awake.

After burning the victim with a blowtorch and removing all of his fingers and toes via hacksaw off camera, the victim finally ceased to live at 5:35 a.m., November the 7th. The first police to arrive on scene determined he had passed from a combination of extreme insomnia related trauma and the most horrifying case of blue balls they had ever seen. Oddly enough, the hacksaw and blowtorch business was left completely off the death report.

Although Sonnen, Evans, and Celeste have since fled the country, we here at CagePotato were able to come across the hidden diary of “UFC fan” through a series of mishaps (Danga happened to be on the scene and lifted it from a cop. Don’t ask.) and have presented several segments along with the video selections that we could legally show you below.

Session 1 – Sonnen

– Day 1: I awoke here some hours ago, bound, gagged and bleeding from the forehead. The last thing I recall was receiving a Tweet hinting at the location of front row tickets to UFC 154, as sent out by *name blocked for legal purposes* himself. However, when I arrived at the location, I was told by a gray-bearded man with massive biceps [Photo of suspect here] that I should hop into his stretch Hummer for “The Ultimate Fan Experience.” That was the last thing I recall before being woken up by Chael Sonnen roughly three hours ago.

I was disoriented to say the least; most of my clothes had been removed, my hair disheveled, and I appeared to be in a sound stage dressed up to look like my room. How did they know what my room looked like? I had not time to think of such trivial manners, as Mr. Sonnen proceeded to engage me in a parade of increasingly annoying acts involving musical instruments, screaming something about being “The Undisputed King of Zelfor” all the while. I am confused, scared, and hungry, but mostly I’d just like my trousers back.

Session 2 – Evans

– Day 2: It has quickly become apparent that whoever is behind my capture will not allow me to leave this room on my own accord. I have yet to see a light other than the faux sun they have shined through my window since I arrived here. I don’t know what they want with me. It’s like every day is the same. I try to fall asleep, but just as I do, one of these three demons appears — as if out of thin air — to wake me. Some hours ago, Rashad Evans woke me up by throwing me out of bed. I broke my wrist trying to sustain myself, but despite my pleas, Mr. Evans proceeded to beat me with a sock full of nickels.

After he had finished, he told me to “Clean myself up, because I looked like a whore,” before exiting the room. I obliged, and cleaned both myself and my room to the thoroughest of my abilities. Physically and mentally drained, I attempted to catch some sleep, ANY sleep, but was immediately awoken again by Evans, WHO MESSED UP MY ROOM AGAIN. Why?! Why would he have me clean it if he was just going to mess it up again? I hear one of them coming. I must be silent for now.

Session 3 – Celeste

– Day 3: I was visited by an angel last night, or whatever I shall call the fleeting moments of I receive in between beatings. She told me that everything was going to fine, that I would be released from this prison before I could count to three. Or five. She insisted that I know how to count to both three and five, for it would be all I needed to not only break free, but become famous and loved once I was free.

-Day 4: It appears that my fantasy was just that. I awoke this time to find the beautiful and incomparable Arianny Celeste standing before me. Surely, I thought, she was the angel I had dreamed of, the one that had come to carry me away from this Hell. Alas, it was but a ploy. She proceeded to chase me around the room with a megaphone for no less than an hour, insulting my ability to provide for my loved ones the entire time. When she ceased her attack, she grabbed my crotch and declared that she was “through with me” before exiting the room. But more than sex with a “celebrity,” more even than those UFC 154 tickets, I just want to sleep. I just want to…

It was at this point that the videos became far too graphic for us to show you.

-Day 8: It has been over a week. It must be. I am beginning to hallucinate from sleep deprivation. I can’t take it anymore. If one of them isn’t talking about Jon Jones, the other is sexually molesting me. And here Arianny goes again with the Jon Jones stuff. WE GET IT, HE’S A GOOD FIGHTER. A few hours ago, two of my teeth fell out. But even worse are the spiders I can’t seem to get out of my skin.

-Day 12: It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped Evans or Sonnen from my UFC fantasy league, because it seems so absurd and impossible to believe that they would ever attain gold again. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that UFC fighters are really good at heart.

-Day 15: I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Day 19: All work and no sleep makes me a dull boy. Allwork and no sleap m8kes me dull boy.Work and nosleepmakes me dull. All work and no sleep…

So there you have it; corruption, torture, and murder, all carried out by the UFC to ensure that you watch UFC Macao, which we will be liveblogging starting tomorrow at 9 a.m. For UFC Fan’s sake, I hope to see you there.

–J. Jones

Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le: Head-to-Head

This weekend, the UFC will be making its first ever trip to China, which totally explains why they decided to stack a garbage ass card with Japanese fighters and put a Vietnamese guy in the main event, because close enough, right kids?

All kidding and racially misguided motivations aside, we will be in for a hell of a fight when Rich Franklin and Cung Le throw down this Saturday. Both men are known for turning in crowd-pleasing performances each and every time they step into the octagon — thanks in part to Rich’s fearless demeanor and Cung’s Cirque du Soleil-esque kicking ability — and both have gone win-loss in their last four fights. It’s not exactly a must win for either of these company men, but with Franklin currently standing at around a -300 favorite heading into fight night, we figured we would take a look at just how well these two match up, Head to Head style. Enjoy.

AGE
Franklin: 38
Le: 40
Advantage: Franklin

SIZE
Franklin: 6’1″, 76 inch reach, walks around at roughly 220 lbs.
Le: 5’10″, 69 inch reach, walks around at roughly…you know what, it doesn’t matter.
Advantage: Clearly Franklin

LAST TWO FIGHTS RESULTED IN
Franklin: UD loss to Forrest Griffin at LHW (UFC 126), UD win over Wanderlei Silva at Franklinweight (UFC 147)
Le: TKO loss to Wanderlei Silva (UFC 139), UD win over Patrick Cote (UFC 148)
Advantage: Franklin

FINISHING RATIO
Franklin: 86.2 % (25 finishes in 29 victories)
Le: 89 % (8 finishes in 9 victories)
Advantage: Le by a Scott Smith

IMDB ACTOR PROFILE
Le: Small roles in Pandorum, The Man With the Iron Fists, Tekken, Fighting, and The Grandmasters (currently in post production)
Franklin: Leading role in Cyborg Soldier, 3 film roles that begin with the title “Coach,” and a resume that reads: “Was Knocked-out by Lyoto Machida at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye Festival on December 31st 2003.” OH COME ON, FILM NERDS!
Advantage: Le

BETTER BROKEN NOSE
Franklin: Compliments of Anderson Silva
Le: Compliments of Scott Smith & Wanderlei Silva
Advantage: Dead even. While Le’s broken noses were undoubtedly more brutal in appearance, Franklin was also given a permanent black eye to compliment his busted schnoz. A black eye that, each and every time he looks in the mirror, serves as a constant reminder that he will never again be a champion. OK, maybe Rich takes this one due to emotional trauma.

SALARIES
Franklin: 75k/75k to show/win
Le: 150k to show, no win
Advantage: Le

TOUGHNESS
Franklin: Knocked out/retired Chuck Liddell with a broken arm at UFC 115.
Le: Only uses turn of the century medicine to heal his ailments. Has the nastiest hammertoe you will ever see.
Advantage: Franklin

GREATEST KNOCKOUT
Franklin: One-punched Nate Quarry into a two-year absence from the sport.
Le: Single handidly destroyed Scott Smith’s ability to score heroic comebacks forevermore with a spinning back kick to the turd factory.
Advantage: Le

Conclusion: According to the CagePotato fight scientists, this one is pretty much even, with both fighters coming away victorious in 4 categories and tying in what would be the deciding one. But based on his massive size advantage, we’ll have to take Franklin by a close but decisive unanimous decision.

Agree or disagree here for a chance to win a Bruce Lee/Movember shirt from Lancaster LTD!

–J. Jones