Tag: UFC on Fox 3

UFC on FOX 3 Reality Check: Nate Diaz Is Good, but He’s Not Beating Jim Miller

Mixed martial arts will take center stage in the sports universe once again on Saturday night for UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs. Miller. There are quite a few interesting bouts on this free fight card, but perhaps none has been more debated than the main …

Mixed martial arts will take center stage in the sports universe once again on Saturday night for UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs. Miller. 

There are quite a few interesting bouts on this free fight card, but perhaps none has been more debated than the main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. For one reason or another, the MMA community seems to be split on who is going to come out on top in this one.

While MMA is a sport where anything can happen, I think it’s time for a little reality check going into this fight.

Nate Diaz is a very, very good fighter. He has come a long way since his days on The Ultimate Fighter. He has wins over high-level opponents and is a definite top-10 lightweight…but to honestly believe that he should be the favorite in this fight against Jim Miller is absurd.

Just because he has the last name “Diaz” does not mean that Nate is as good as Nick. And quite frankly, Jim Miller is a fighter who is practically tailor-made to beat him in a five-round fight.

Miller is the owner of a ridiculous 21-3 professional mixed martial arts record with 10 of the wins coming in the UFC. He has beaten some very notable opponents, with his only losses coming against the very best that UFC has to offer—Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar and current 155-pound champion Benson Henderson.

What’s even crazier? Despite being the best in the world, neither Maynard nor Edgar nor Henderson could finish Jim Miller.

So where does that put Nate Diaz?

Well, let’s just say his chances aren’t very good.

Don’t get me wrong—Diaz is a beast. He has victories over Melvin Guillard and even outclassed Donald Cerrone in his most recent fight…but the skeptic in me also points to the fact that he has lost to the likes of Joe Stevenson and Dong Hyun Kim.

Sure, the loss to Kim took place in the 170-pound division which he has since moved down from, but the point remains—Nate Diaz struggles with fighters who can take him down. This was also proven in the one-sided beatdown he took from Rory MacDonald.

Jim Miller can and by all accounts should be able to take Nate Diaz down numerous times throughout this bout. Not only that, but his striking is good enough that he won’t get completely embarrassed on the feet should he struggle to get the fight to the ground.

Many will point to Diaz’s jiu-jitsu skills as a rebuttal for my argument that he will get controlled by Miller on the ground; however the the reality is that, barring some cataclysmic mistake from Miller on the ground, there is no way that Nate Diaz is submitting him from the bottom. It hasn’t happened to Miller in 24 pro fights. It’s not going to happen on Saturday night either.

Though I’m not expecting a repeat of the one-sided ass-whooping that Michael Chandler put on Akihiro Gono on Bellator on Friday night, I do see Jim Miller winning this fight fairly decisively, very likely by a judges’ decision. 

I’m sure that I’m going to get backlash on this article for telling it like it is and I’m OK with that. Sometimes these things need to be said.

Don’t call me a “hater” because I do believe that Nate Diaz is a good fighter…he’s just not on Jim Miller’s level.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Yeah, Makes Sense – Rousimar Palhares Seeing Sports Psychologist

UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares is finally getting help, people. Palhares recently told MMA Fighting‘s new star Dave Doyle that he’s been seeing a sports psychologist, and that he expects it to help him Saturday night against Alan Belcher on the UFC on Fox 3 card. “‘Yeah he’s helped me,’ Palhares said through interpreter and manager Alex David. ‘He’s helped so that when I get into a fight, I get focused on the fight and I don’t get distracted by anything else,'” Doyle reports.

Palhares has provided some of the most scarily entertaining moments in MMA in recent years. Most of those moments were nasty submissions, but a good amount have also just come from his bizarre behavior in the ring.

UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares is finally getting help, people. Palhares recently told MMA Fighting‘s new star Dave Doyle that he’s been seeing a sports psychologist, and that he expects it to help him Saturday night against Alan Belcher on the UFC on Fox 3 card. ”‘Yeah he’s helped me,’ Palhares said through interpreter and manager Alex David. ‘He’s helped so that when I get into a fight, I get focused on the fight and I don’t get distracted by anything else,’” Doyle reports.

Palhares has provided some of the most scarily entertaining moments in MMA in recent years. Most of those moments were nasty submissions, but a good amount have also just come from his bizarre behavior in the ring.

Let’s leave aside his cranking submissions after referees have stepped in to stop the action, as he is wont to do, and look only at his 2010 fight against Nate Marquardt and his 2011 bout against Dan Miller. Against Marquardt, Palhares stopped fighting to complain to the referee about something and was promptly TKO’d by Nate.

In the fight with Miller, Palhares dropped the Jersey fighter with a kick, followed up with some strikes on the ground and walked off in celebration, arms in the air. The only problem? The referee never stopped the fight.

Referee Herb Dean prodding Palhares to get off the top of the Octagon cage, where he was celebrating, and continue to fight Miller was one of the goofiest  most awesome things we’d seen in awhile. In fact, it was so great that we won’t even link up to it, we’ll paste it right here for you, smack dab in the middle of this post:


(Amazing, isn’t it? Props: IronForgesIron via MMAMania)

Palhares is a great fighter and is fast-rising in the 185 pound division, but dude seems a bit off. That’s a big part of why we love him.

He tells Doyle that he began working with the sports psychologist after the Miller incident and that it has helped him focus on the matter at hand while competing, instead of getting distracted. In all seriousness, good for him.

There’s no stigma attached to athletes who get psychological help anymore. Palhares is also in good company, even within the UFC – both Rashad Evans and Georges St. Pierre have spoken at length about their seeing sports psychologists.

So, if the head docs out there are going to help out our beloved “Paul Harris” focus on maiming people inside the ring, that’s fine with us. But if we stop getting crazy “hulk-up” celebrations and “what did I do?” confused looks of innocence after holding on to submissions for 36 minutes after his opponents tap-out, from Palhares, so help us, mental health community, we will never forgive you.

– Elias Cepeda

[VIDEO] UFC on Fox 3 Fighters Weigh In


(Nate Diaz will face Jim Miller in the main event of tomorrow’s big Fox card)

Almost all the fighters made weight this afternoon in New Jersey for the UFC on Fox 3 card taking place Saturday night. Check out the weigh-in results and full video of the proceedings below. Also, don’t forget to follow the action, play-by-play, tomorrow night here at CagePotato.

Main Card:

Nate Diaz 156 vs. Jim Miller 156
Johny Hendricks 170.5 vs. Josh Koscheck 170.5
Alan Belcher 186 vs. Rousimar Palhares 186
Pat Barry 244 vs. Lavar Johnson 253

Prelims:

Tony Ferguson 154.5 vs. Michael Johnson 156
John Dodson 126 vs. Tim Elliott 125
John Hathaway 169 vs. Pascal Krauss 169
Louis Gaudinot 126 vs. John Lineker 127 (Fined $1,200 for missing weight by a pound)
Danny Castillo 155 vs. John Cholish 155.5
Dennis Bermudez 145.5 vs. Pablo Garza 145
Roland Delorme 135 vs. Nick Denis 135
Mike Massenzio 184 vs. Karlos Vemola 185

Full Weigh-Ins Video After the Jump:


(Nate Diaz will face Jim Miller in the main event of tomorrow’s big Fox card)

Almost all the fighters made weight this afternoon in New Jersey for the UFC on Fox 3 card taking place Saturday night. Check out the weigh-in results and full video of the proceedings below. Also, don’t forget to follow the action, play-by-play, tomorrow night here at CagePotato.

Main Card:

Nate Diaz 156 vs. Jim Miller 156
Johny Hendricks 170.5 vs. Josh Koscheck 170.5
Alan Belcher 186 vs. Rousimar Palhares 186
Pat Barry 244 vs. Lavar Johnson 253

Prelims:

Tony Ferguson 154.5 vs. Michael Johnson 156
John Dodson 126 vs. Tim Elliott 125
John Hathaway 169 vs. Pascal Krauss 169
Louis Gaudinot 126 vs. John Lineker 127 (Fined $1,200 for missing weight by a pound)
Danny Castillo 155 vs. John Cholish 155.5
Dennis Bermudez 145.5 vs. Pablo Garza 145
Roland Delorme 135 vs. Nick Denis 135
Mike Massenzio 184 vs. Karlos Vemola 185

Full Weigh-Ins Video After the Jump:

– Elias Cepeda

UFC on Fox 3: Why the UFC Needs Pat Barry Now More Than Ever

For certain fighters, a majority of their popularity comes from something I like to call the “How Can You Not” argument. As in: How can you not like them?The primary example of this type of fighter is Wanderlei Silva, but heading into UFC o…

For certain fighters, a majority of their popularity comes from something I like to call the “How Can You Not” argument. As in: How can you not like them?

The primary example of this type of fighter is Wanderlei Silva, but heading into UFC on FOX 3, I think this argument defines Pat Barry, as well. And with the recent and varied shakeups of the heavyweight division, I think the UFC needs him now more than ever.

But before we go into the specifics, I’d like to point out that the UFC needs someone like Barry even if their heavyweight division wasn’t in a state of general upheaval. Outside of the ring, Barry has shown himself to be a very sincere, very honest, very appreciative MMA fighter. He’s often pretty hilarious as well.

And unlike some fighters that have to be humbled by a knockout, Barry was always a humble fighter. And in this modern era of “super-athletes with super-egos,” that’s very rare to see.

In general, he’s a very entertaining fighter. But the UFC needs Barry in particular right now due to several interesting developments in recent months.

The obvious example is the nine-month suspension of Alistair Overeem, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’d honestly say that most of the UFC’s top heavyweights are currently in a state of flux.

Junior dos Santos, the current heavyweight champion, has to prove that he has the ability to transform his incredible run to get to the top into an incredible run to stay at the top.

Overeem, as previously mentioned, stormed into the UFC and became the No. 2 guy overnight, and just as quickly he’s on the sideline for nine months.

Former champion Cain Velasquez now has to rebuild his image almost from the ground-up after getting knocked out in just over a minute.

Former champion Frank Mir’s position in the division always seems to be in flux no matter what the situation is, and that’s definitely true right now as Mir is set to challenge for a championship despite the fact that the last time he faced a striker the caliber of Dos Santos (Shane Carwin) he was knocked out in under four minutes.

Mark Hunt certainly benefited from the “Rally for Mark Hunt” movement, and as a big Hunt fan myself I’m very excited to see where he goes from here. But he’s still living under the shadow of his epic losing streak—and now that he’s back to just being another contender—he’s probably at least two, maybe even three fights away from everyone willing to accept him as a championship challenger.

Roy Nelson always seems to bounce between a big win and a humbling loss. Fabricio Werdum is knocking on the door, but a lot of people still remember his bizarre performance against Overeem. Antonio Silva is coming into the UFC and maybe he’ll be a contender too.

And in Strikeforce, the winner of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix will almost certainly be going to the UFC and entering as an instant contender. Even the loser of the Grand Prix will more than likely enter the Octagon, and with the skills Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett have shown in Strikeforce, both of them could be title contenders in only one or two fights!

I could go on, but my point is this: Throughout this sea of competitors that all seem to fluctuate in the rankings, you’ve got a fighter that comes to either get the knockout or get knocked out.

If Barry loses at UFC on Fox 3, he’ll have won only one out of his last four fights. With most UFC fighters, that’s usually a good sign that they’ll soon be out of the promotion. But in cases like Yoshihiro Akiyama and Dan Hardy, the UFC seems unable to let go of either fighter no matter how many they lose.

I think the same exemption should be made for Barry.

Not only that—I think it will be made for Barry. The UFC, as a promotion, has never had a problem seeing what’s directly in front of its face. Barry is a charismatic striker that can, will and has given UFC fans amazing moments that have us talking for weeks.

This is an “ends justify the means” situation. Until he goes on a losing streak that lasts for more than two fights (Akiyama and Hardy are both currently on four-fight losing streaks and still employed by the UFC) and/or until he starts being a boring fighter, Barry deserves to remain in the Octagon no matter who he’s fighting or where he ranks in the division.

When it comes to Barry, I don’t think his place in the division is as important as his role. He’s the guy that will make you feel like you got more than your money’s worth. So long as that doesn’t change, the UFC needs Barry now more than ever.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FOX 3 Fight Card: Who Has the Most to Lose?

Tomorrow night, the UFC on Fox 3 brings us some big matchups. There are two title-shots on the line as well as intriguing battles in the middleweight and heavyweight divisions. Let’s take a look at the fighters who can’t afford to lose.Alan Belcher is …

Tomorrow night, the UFC on Fox 3 brings us some big matchups. There are two title-shots on the line as well as intriguing battles in the middleweight and heavyweight divisions. Let’s take a look at the fighters who can’t afford to lose.

Alan Belcher is a battle-tested middleweight who should currently be riding a six fight winning streak, were it not for an incorrect decision against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 100. Belcher has an inspiring tale of courage, as a detached retina nearly cost him his vision and his career back in August 2010. His bout with Rousimar Palhares is his second Octagon trip since returning from the injury. A loss will blow him off of the comeback trail. 

Belcher may lose more than the fight if his opponent secures one of his signature leg locks. Palhares has failed to release a submission in the past, and if he repeats the offense tomorrow night, Belcher could lose the use of his leg.

And how about former title contender Josh Koscheck? Kos was thoroughly dominated by champion Georges St. Pierre in such a way, that he likely won’t get another shot at the title without an incredible string of wins. At 34 years old, a loss for Koscheck will send him plummeting out of the rankings and cause him to start from scratch. If winning a championship is his career goal, failure tomorrow could signify the end of his chase.

Another fighter who has a lot to lose is Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz. After last year’s back-to-back wins over legendary Takanori Gomi and the white-hot Donald Cerrone, tomorrow night’s contest against Jim Miller is an important test against a dangerous submission specialist. 

Dana White stated that a win for Diaz will secure him a shot at the UFC lightweight championship. When you consider that Jim Miller and George Sotiropoulos secured seven consecutive wins without getting their shot at gold, the fact that Diaz can earn a “cut the line” pass with only three consecutive wins is an amazing opportunity. If he comes up short tomorrow night, his last two impressive performances will have been for naught. 

The fighter with the most to lose, though, has got to be Johny Hendricks. Coming off of a 12 second KO win over perennial contender Jon Fitch, Hendricks is fighting for two things tomorrow night: a title shot, and to prove that he is not a fluke.

A loss tomorrow to former title-contender Josh Koscheck will send Hendricks out of contention, and likely convince fans of revisionist history that he was never a threat in the first place. With tremendous wrestling credentials and one-punch KO power, that certainly isn’t the case, but it’s not a mentality that he can afford for fight fans to adopt.

All of these fighters are featured on the main card of UFC on FOX 3, which airs tomorrow night at 8pm.

Don’t forget to check out this story’s companion article:

UFC on FOX 3: Who has the Most to Gain?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fox 3: Jim Miller and Nate Diaz Weigh-In Video

The UFC returns to Fox this Saturday with a stacked four-fight main card featuring some of the sport’s most exciting and best fighters. In the main event, lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will fight for a chance to get a shot at the title. Miller …

The UFC returns to Fox this Saturday with a stacked four-fight main card featuring some of the sport’s most exciting and best fighters.

In the main event, lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will fight for a chance to get a shot at the title. Miller was last seen submitting Melvin Guillard while Diaz defeated Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone to put him in the No. 1 contender’s bout.

Many expect it to be closely contested throughout the scheduled five rounds. Being a fight between two of the division’s toughest fighters, fans should expect nothing but a memorable fight for however long it lasts.

In the co-main event, Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks will fight in a matchup of two of the best wrestlers in the welterweight division. Hendricks knocked out the former No. 2 welterweight Jon Fitch at UFC 141 to get the biggest win of his career. A win in this fight could launch him into a title fight.

Koscheck defeated Mike Pierce in a closely contested bout from UFC 143. He’s also coming off of a victory over Matt Hughes.

Also on the main card, submission ace Rousimar Palhares returns to take on Alan Belcher. Palhares is coming off a heel hook victory over Mike Massenzio while Belcher is on a three-fight winning streak—the longest of his UFC career.

Heavyweights Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson will open the main card, which airs at 8 p.m. ET.

Other bouts on Fuel TV include Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson, John Dodson vs. Tim Elliot and John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com