It’s funny how life works out sometimes. You accept a fight against “the Russian,” thinking you’ve been offered a match against the UFC’s undefeated Dagestani phenom, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, you find out you’ll actually be facing Rustam Khabilov, a still-dangerous but slightly-less-established Russian. Disappointment washes over you. But then, Khabilov suffers an undisclosed injury and you get to fight the Russian you thought you were going to fight in he first place. Hollywood couldn’t write it any better.
It’s funny how life works out sometimes. You accept a fight against “the Russian,” thinking you’ve been offered a match against the UFC’s undefeated Dagestani phenom, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Instead, you find out you’ll actually be facing Rustam Khabilov, a still-dangerous but slightly-less-established Russian. Disappointment washes over you. But then, Khabilov suffers an undisclosed injury and you get to fight the Russian you thought you were going to fight in he first place. Hollywood couldn’t write it any better.
Known for his savage kicks — of both the leg and wheel varieties — Barboza went on a 3-0 run in 2013, culminating with a comeback decision win against Danny Castillo at UFC on FOX 9, which won him Fight of the Night honors. Cerrone and Barboza are unquestionably two of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division, but aren’t currently “in the mix” when it comes to title shot consideration. An impressive win for either fighter could change that. Your predictions, please.
Known for his savage kicks — of both the leg and wheel varieties — Barboza went on a 3-0 run in 2013, culminating with a comeback decision win against Danny Castillo at UFC on FOX 9, which won him Fight of the Night honors. Cerrone and Barboza are unquestionably two of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division, but aren’t currently “in the mix” when it comes to title shot consideration. An impressive win for either fighter could change that. Your predictions, please.
(Ugh. It’s like the UFC poster-designers don’t even *care* anymore. / Actual props: MMAHeat)
UFC president Dana White confirmed today that the heavyweight title eliminator between Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne will serve as the main event for UFC on FOX 11 (April 19th, Orlando). Reportedly, the UFC was trying to find an even bigger fight to headline the card, but they couldn’t make it happen, so Vai Cavalho vs. Hapa will have to do. For a free show, we ain’t complaining.
Werdum has gone 3-0 since returning to the UFC in 2012, racking up wins over Roy Nelson, Mike Russow, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Browne has his own three-fight win streak going, with consecutive knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett, all in the first round. The winner will face reigning heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at the end of this year, assuming his shoulder heals according to schedule.
In semi-related news, beloved middleweight heel Michael Bisping has finally been cleared to compete again, after spending some time being jerked around by eye-doctors. Due to complications from a detachedretina, Bisping has been inactive since his gouge-powered TKO win against Alan Belcher in April. Now, the Count will finally get to face off against his American nemesis Tim Kennedy at the Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia live finale, April 16th at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City.
(Question for all my fellow Patrick Cote superfans in the house: How crazy was the last episode of TUF Nations? I mean, when the one guy and the other guy started shoving each other, and the first guy was like “I came here to win bro,” and the other guy just started screaming in French and threw a chair through a glass door? And later, when those other two guys fought and the Australian almost hit that flying armbar, then…you know what, I’ll stop. I don’t want to spoil it for the rest of you. You’ve been DVR’ing the show, right?)
(Ugh. It’s like the UFC poster-designers don’t even *care* anymore. / Actual props: MMAHeat)
UFC president Dana White confirmed today that the heavyweight title eliminator between Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne will serve as the main event for UFC on FOX 11 (April 19th, Orlando). Reportedly, the UFC was trying to find an even bigger fight to headline the card, but they couldn’t make it happen, so Vai Cavalho vs. Hapa will have to do. For a free show, we ain’t complaining.
Werdum has gone 3-0 since returning to the UFC in 2012, racking up wins over Roy Nelson, Mike Russow, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Browne has his own three-fight win streak going, with consecutive knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett, all in the first round. The winner will face reigning heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at the end of this year, assuming his shoulder heals according to schedule.
In semi-related news, beloved middleweight heel Michael Bisping has finally been cleared to compete again, after spending some time being jerked around by eye-doctors. Due to complications from a detachedretina, Bisping has been inactive since his gouge-powered TKO win against Alan Belcher in April. Now, the Count will finally get to face off against his American nemesis Tim Kennedy at the Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia live finale, April 16th at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City.
(Question for all my fellow Patrick Cote superfans in the house: How crazy was the last episode of TUF Nations? I mean, when the one guy and the other guy started shoving each other, and the first guy was like “I came here to win bro,” and the other guy just started screaming in French and threw a chair through a glass door? And later, when those other two guys fought and the Australian almost hit that flying armbar, then…you know what, I’ll stop. I don’t want to spoil it for the rest of you. You’ve been DVR’ing the show, right?)
