As if the day in sports wasn’t busy enough on Saturday, UFC on Fox 3 has a strong card featuring several top fighters hoping to pick up big wins. Anytime there are so many evenly matched fights, the card usually lives up to the hype. Let’s take a look …
As if the day in sports wasn’t busy enough on Saturday, UFC on Fox 3 has a strong card featuring several top fighters hoping to pick up big wins. Anytime there are so many evenly matched fights, the card usually lives up to the hype.
Let’s take a look at three stars who will fall short, knocking them down the ladder at least a rung or two. With the competitiveness of UFC on the rise in recent years, every loss is key because there’s always somebody looking to take the spot.
Inconsistency has started to plague Diaz over the past couple years. Any time it seems like he’s starting to build up some momentum, he quickly loses it all. That’s why his two-fight winning streak really doesn’t mean anything as he prepares to face Jim Miller.
Miller doesn’t get the recognition he deserves for being one of the sport’s rising stars. The submission specialist has won eight of his last nine fights, including a quick victory over Melvin Guillard his last time out in January.
When Diaz does struggle, it’s usually against opponents like Miller that have shown the ability to play strong defense. Look for Miller to let Diaz wear himself out before earning the victory.
Josh Koscheck
Koscheck is difficult to figure out. When he faces lower-level opponents, he usually controls the entire fight. But whenever he tries to step it up to battle an elite fighter, he doesn’t showcase the same versatility and falls short.
That’s a worrisome trend as he gets ready to take on Johny Hendricks. The southpaw has won 12 of his 13 career fights in MMA, including a 7-1 mark since joining UFC. He’s a powerful striker that will cause plenty of problems for Koscheck.
This will be a huge chance for Hendricks to prove his record isn’t a fluke against a big name. I expect him to respond to that challenge with a strong showing to knockout Koscheck.
Lavar Johnson
Johnson was able to end his losing streak by defeating Joey Beltran back in January, but he’ll face a much tougher test from Pat Barry on Saturday. It has the potential to be the most entertaining fight on the card because both guys love to strike.
The problem of Johnson is Barry’s defense. Barry has only been knocked out once in his career while 14 of Johnson’s 16 wins have come via KO. So something has to give and you have to give the advantage to Barry, at least by a small margin.
Johnson will come out with his usual level of aggressiveness. Barry will wait for an opening and will earn the biggest win of his career so far, opening up bigger chances moving forward.
Alan Belcher has an underrated ground game. Yeah, I said it. It’s not like Joe Rogan has a patent on saying fighters have underrated grappling skills.But here’s the scoop: Belcher is a good grappler; Rousimar Palhares is an amazingly super-terrific gra…
Alan Belcher has an underrated ground game. Yeah, I said it. It’s not like Joe Rogan has a patent on saying fighters have underrated grappling skills.
But here’s the scoop: Belcher is a good grappler; Rousimar Palhares is an amazingly super-terrific grappler.
Now, you’re probably wondering how many degrees of separation fill the void between good and amazingly super-terrific. While this is a bit of a gray area that even Plato and Socrates struggled with thousands of years ago, I’ll do my best to give a very brief rundown.
A good grappler can handle his opponents on the ground. He is able to fend off submission attempts, get back to his feet when the opportunity to do so is there and can even score a stoppage of his own on the ground.
An amazingly super-terrific grappler is an absolute horror when the fight hits the mat. Whether on the bottom or top, any time this species of grappler tussles with an opponent, he seamlessly turns his foe from enemy to prey in a heartbeat. This is even the case when the opponent is a good grappler.
Belcher is no dummy—he knows how to win this fight. While “Paul Harris'” striking has improved drastically over the past couple years, it is not even in the same universe as Belcher’s.
To win this fight, Belcher knows he will have to keep it standing.
On the other hand, Palhares knows that dragging Belcher to the mat will be his key to victory Saturday night.
The question then becomes: Can Palhares take Belcher down?
While it is not inconceivable that Belcher does a Dan Henderson impression and scores points while backpedaling his way to a decision win, Palhares has become much more savvy at dragging his opponents to the ground since his loss to Hendo.
It is one thing for a guy to stuff his opponent’s takedowns, but quite another to prevent him from pulling guard for a full 15 minutes. That’s not to mention that the guy is only a second or two away from submitting you as soon as he lays a finger on your leg.
Throw in that Palhares happens to be built like (and named after) a tree stump, and it’s going to be quite a chore for Belcher to avoid the ground Saturday night.
Sooner or later, this fight will make its way to the mat. From there, it’s academic.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that Ronda Rousey has been making the rounds for Zuffa in the media. During the lead up to UFC on Fox 3 she along with Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar opened the NASDAQ on Tuesday morning. She…
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that Ronda Rousey has been making the rounds for Zuffa in the media. During the lead up to UFC on Fox 3 she along with Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar opened the NASDAQ on Tuesday morning. She’s also been utilized on Zuffa’s behalf against the California Bill that would force a fighter’s union.
Yesterday, following the UFC on Fox pre-fight press conference, Dana White was asked for his thoughts on Rousey as a fighter and as a person. His response was incredibly in-depth and candid.
She’s a rock star man. She’s been fantastic. She’s been killing it for us. I just hope that we can some really good fights for her. I love Ronda Rousey man. I do.
Our people decide when and where she fights but it’s about finding an opponent. We have to get her an opponent. You guys know I’m not doing anything with Strikeforce anymore. You guys know more than I know.
I think when you have two really good female athletes that are at the same level, yeah absolutely. Would you disagree that Miesha Tate’s probably the best girl in that division that’s out there that she’s fought? She went in there and arm barred her twice in the first two minutes of the fight. I mean, unfortunately, she’s gonna be the Lucia Rijker of MMA. And for those of you that don’t know who Lucia Rijker was, she was the female boxer who was really the best in the world. You’ve heard of Kristi Martin and Layla Ali and all these other people, they wouldn’t fight her. Nobody wanted to fight Lucia Rijker. She was sparring with guys. She was probably the best female boxer ever and nobody knows who the hell she is…nobody knows her name.
Dana is definitely correct in his assessment of Ronda Rousey. She is a rarity in this sport as she has both the pedigree and oratory abilities to garner respect outside of the MMA media. Zuffa recognizes this and has been using Ronda as a spokesperson not just in interviews but also in opportunities that utilize her Olympic background.
It is a shame that she is so ahead of her time as far as competition in the bantamweight division; a fighter like her is a unique talent. If Zuffa does opt to fold Strikeforce once the Showtime deal runs out, I would expect them to continue to showcase Rousey on fight cards in the future. She’s too much of an asset to cut loose.
Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks have been given the opportunity of a lifetime. They are fighting in the top two matches on a UFC on FOX show and Dana White has said that if they win their respective fights against Jim Miller and Josh Koscheck that title …
Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks have been given the opportunity of a lifetime. They are fighting in the top two matches on a UFC on FOX show and Dana White has said that if they win their respective fights against Jim Miller and Josh Koscheck that title shots await.
With all the pressure on their shoulders for this big primetime event, Diaz and Hendricks will fail in their quests for gold. It is through no fault of their own, they are just locked in bad matchups that don’t play well to their styles.
Miller was on his way to earning a shot at the lightweight championship last year. He was 20-2 with seven straight victories. His momentum got cut off last August against Benson Henderson, who went on to win the title from Frankie Edgar in February.
Diaz’s title shot is interesting, just because he is 5-4 in his last nine fights. He does have two straight wins to his credit—a submission win over Takanori Gomi and a unanimous decision win over Donald Cerrone that was one of the most exciting fights of the year—but he hasn’t beaten a lot of top guys.
The only reason Miller isn’t getting into title contention right now is because he isn’t a flashy, exciting fighter. He shows up, does his job and does it well, then goes home. But he is a better all-around fighter than Diaz and will prove that this Saturday.
As for Hendricks, he has more of a claim to a title shot at welterweight than Diaz does at lightweight. He has three straight wins on his resume, including a 12-second knockout of perennial contender Jon Fitch last December.
Koscheck’s stock might be down just a bit because his victory over Mike Pierce in February looked sloppy, but he is a better wrestler and striker than Hendricks. As long as he doesn’t let his surgically repaired eye get the best of him, which is what happened in the fight against Pierce, he is going to win this fight.
Hendricks does fight a similar style to Koscheck; both are former world class wrestlers who have turned into strong stand-up fighters.
Still, at this stage of the game, Koscheck is a better fighter and tough stylistic matchup for Hendricks.
With two title shots on the line Saturday night, neither one of the fighters vying for the opportunity are going to find the brass ring at the top of the mountain.
Canadian bantamweight Nick Denis makes his return to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 3: Diaz vs. Miller this Saturday. In his last appearance he won the Knockout of the Night award with his impressive win over Joseph Sandoval. Denis hasn’t fought to a d…
Canadian bantamweight Nick Denis makes his return to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 3: Diaz vs. Miller this Saturday. In his last appearance he won the Knockout of the Night award with his impressive win over Joseph Sandoval.
Denis hasn’t fought to a decision once yet in his 11-2-0 (1-0-0, UFC) career and he is looking to improve as a mixed martial artist every time he sets foot in the cage.
“Just keep improving all-around everywhere and hopefully just keep posting wins,” Denis told Bleacher Report in reference to what he wants next. “In general just improving my wrestling and specific things for each fight and opponent.”
Johnny Bedford, Denis’ original opponent for Saturday night’s fight, had to pull out and was replaced by fellow Canadian and Ultimate Fighter alum Roland Delorme. Late opponent changes are never a welcome thing, but for Denis, he doesn’t see the switch from Bedford to Delorme as being too much of a game changer.
“I don’t have to adjust it [camp] much, you know, basically neither guy is for the striking. Bedford likes to strike more, Delorme doesn’t really have too many striking battles, he’s a Judo black belt, they’re both brown belts in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu),” Denis said. “They obviously would both be looking to take the fight to the ground, so it’s not so much of a different style of opponent; they are both similar.”
Denis is preparing for Delorme at Tristar gym in Montreal and this is his second stint in the city known for its “joie de vie” and quite different in a sense from his hometown of Ottawa.
“I’m much more well adjusted this time around. Things are a lot better here training and outside of the gym, but yeah, I am really enjoying it here in Montreal now,” Denis said.
One thing he’s missing is a little something called Ottawa Shawarma. You can get the full scoop on that in Denis’ blog over at Top MMA News. Basically, Shawarma is like fast food, Middle East style, and in Ottawa you see more Shawarma places than McDonald’s or Burger King. Montreal has great cusine, but they just don’t compete in terms of Shawarma.
“I’ve had Amir’s a couple of times and it doesn’t even compare, it’s not even close to Ottawa Shawarma so sadly, I have to live without it,” he said.
Denis didn’t go to Montreal to eat Shawarma though, he went to train with the best in the business. Tristar gym is known for Georges St-Pierre, but it’s a camp that acts as a training ground for rising stars and champions alike.
Denis worked with fellow bantamweight Miguel Torres prior to his showdown against Michael McDonald at UFC 145. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for Torres, but that seems to be the case for most of McDonald’s opponents. Denis gave his overall opinion on the young fighter who might also be a possible opponent down the road.
“Obviously, he’s pretty good; he has good knockout power,” Denis said. “He’s got good finishing instincts, he goes after it and he’s pretty impressive.”
In addition to Torres, another Tristar member, Rory MacDonald continued his assault on the UFC welterweight division with a second-round TKO of Che Mills at UFC 145.
“He was great,” Denis said. “I was super happy for him, definitely a good performance.”
Denis wants to pick up right where MacDonald left off for UFC on Fox 3: Diaz vs. Miller this Saturday night.
Despite fighting on the undercard for a Fox event, Denis doesn’t really feel different about it. There is more hype and media surrounding the event, but Denis doesn’t care too much.
“My friends and family seem to get more excited,” Denis said. “It doesn’t really matter, I mean I guess I’m not watching myself, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just like another fight, like any other event, I don’t get too excited about it.”
“For my first UFC fight, I was excited obviously for my first fight. I really noticed when I was there, specifically in the fight, in the cage and all the events leading up to it and after, it really just felt like any other fight. When you are in there, you don’t notice any of the lights or cameras.”
The fights feel the same, which is good considering things have worked out for Denis so far, but he is already starting to feel the media pressures and added hype that comes with being in the UFC despite only being one fight in.
“I get a lot of interviews, podcasts and all these other strange requests, so I mean there’s that,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t have to say yes to any of them, but it’s good for me and good for them and it only takes up a little bit of my time.
“It definitely has increased [..] there are some days where I’ll get a text asking if I’m ready for the interview and I’m really not in the mood for it, but that’s just part of it, it’s not the worst thing in the world so far.”
Talking with the media involves talking about fighting for Denis, but for him that’s not all he’s about. For example, he posts on Top MMA News as noted earlier and will blog about things like Shawarma, not necessarily the last UFC event.
“I pretty much don’t plan on ever writing much about fighting and if I do it will be a different spin,” he said. “To be honest, my day is filled with training, thinking about training, thinking about this and that and technique and whatever. When I’m not training, I don’t want to talk about my fights or UFC, I just like being a regular person. Anyone else I don’t think likes to talk about their jobs when they get home, you know.”
I think Denis was OK talking to me about his fight and the UFC though, but I think everyone can relate to the idea of preferring to leave work at work.
“I’m a human being first and a fighter second, if I get cut from the UFC, if tomorrow I tripped and broke an arm, it couldn’t be replaced and I could never fight again I wouldn’t be heartbroken. There’s more to life than fighting, I appreciate and I enjoy what I am doing right now, but it doesn’t define me, so it’s another little h.”
At the end of that quote you maybe wondering what the heck a little h is. It’s actually a part of Denis’ philosophy on life and one of his blog topics if you care to read up more on this simple yet satisfying way to live life.
Getting back to fighting for now, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber are coaching The Ultimate Fighter this season and these are two guys at the top of Denis’ division, guys he could very well face at some point in his career. Cruz and Faber are slated to face off against one another for the third time in a rubber match and Denis gives his thoughts on the fight.
“I think Faber is going to have come up with a different game plan,” Denis said. “Cruz is like a magician, he’s disappearing and reappearing all over the place, he’s constantly moving around so Faber is going to have to come up with something else. I don’t know how it’s going to go this time, I mean I really don’t know, I wouldn’t bet on either person.”
In terms of getting an eventual title shot and maybe matching up against Cruz or Faber down the road, Denis doesn’t know how far off that is and he isn’t one to get too caught up thinking about it, either.
“I really don’t know, I really have no idea. I mean it’s really hard to say,” Denis said. “I think the important thing especially for the UFC is you’ve got to keep winning and you’ve got to be impressive. The more momentum you build, the more attention you get and the easier it is for the UFC to sell the fight.
“What they want to do is they want to sell the best fight possible. They don’t want to have someone who ekes out boring decisions and who has a seven-fight win streak in the UFC, they might give him a shot at the title, but they won’t do it happily.”
I’m sure fans can appreciate Denis’ philosophy on moving up the ladder, anybody who wants to and does put on exciting shows earns a lot of credibility with the UFC and their fans.
He got a great start with the Knockout of the Night over Sandoval a short time ago and it will be interesting to see if Denis can follow it up with another great performance this Saturday night against Delorme.
You can follow Denis’ Twitter @theninjaoflove, I think you’ll find it interesting, especially if you’re in to the world of science and technology.
Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the B/R MMA interview team,Follow @Leon_Horne
Although UFC on FOX 3 will be headlined by a dynamite lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller, there are plenty of other fights on the card to get excited about as well. There may not be a ton of star power to behold, but if you’re looking fo…
Although UFC on FOX 3 will be headlined by a dynamite lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller, there are plenty of other fights on the card to get excited about as well. There may not be a ton of star power to behold, but if you’re looking for closely contested fights with quality combatants, this card should appeal to you.
Most probably believe the winner of Diaz vs. Miller will own the night, but the rest of the main card on FOX will feature plenty of exciting competitors as well. As is often the case with UFC and boxing events, most fans will tune in for the main event, but it will be somebody else who ultimately catches their eye and grabs the spotlight.
Here are three fighters who are sure to steal the show on Saturday night.
Perhaps Josh Koscheck isn’t the greatest fighter in UFC, but when it comes to talking trash and making himself visible, there are few better than him. Koscheck will have a tough test on Saturday against Johny Hendricks in a welterweight bout, but he has scored some big wins over the course of his career and will be out to prove himself yet again and to earn another title shot down the line.
Koscheck matches rarely end quietly as he is equally adept at knocking out or submitting his opponent, so Hendricks will have to be quite wary. Whether Koscheck wins or loses, though, you never know what type of theatrics he might come up with. UFC is always looking for guys with personality and character, and there is no doubt that Koscheck fits the bill.
Lavar Johnson
In 21 career professional fights, 34-year-old Lavar Johnson has never once gone the distance, so if you’re looking for fireworks, you’ll want to watch his heavyweight bout with Pat Barry. Fourteen of Johnson’s 16 wins have come by way of knockout and he’ll likely be looking to do the same against Barry. At 6’4″ and 252 lbs., Johnson isn’t built for distance, but he can pack a serious punch over the short term.
Barry has only gone all three rounds once in his own right, so I wouldn’t anticipate this one lasting too long after the initial bell rings. Not every UFC fan enjoys a short slugfest, but there will be plenty of technical endeavors in other matches throughout the night. Johnson is either going to win or lose in a blaze of glory, and that makes him exciting to watch.
Rousimar Palhares
As one of the preeminent submission specialists in UFC today, you never know what Rousimar Palhares has under his sleeve. He has won 14 fights as a professional and 10 of them have come via submission, so his opponents always have to be wary of what he might do during mat-based grapples. His patented heel hook has left many capable fighters in his wake, and he will likely try to utilize it against Alan Belcher on Saturday night.
Belcher is a talented fighter in his own right and he has only been submitted once in his career, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this test of wills. Palhares is as ruthless and dominant as they come on the mat, so I have to believe that there is a good chance he will have Belcher in a precarious position at some point.
As if the day in sports wasn’t busy enough on Saturday, UFC on Fox 3 has a strong card featuring several top fighters hoping to pick up big wins. Anytime there are so many evenly matched fights, the card usually lives up to the hype.