Tag: UFC on Fox 4

B/R Official Rankings for September: The Top 10 Lightweights in MMA

The month of August was an important period of time for the lightweight division in mixed martial arts. Benson Henderson successfully defended the UFC lightweight championship in a rematch with former top dog Frankie Edgar. However, that was hardly the…

The month of August was an important period of time for the lightweight division in mixed martial arts. Benson Henderson successfully defended the UFC lightweight championship in a rematch with former top dog Frankie Edgar. However, that was hardly the only activity that occurred in the division.

In a pair of outstanding bouts, Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone each picked up exciting victories against Jamie Varner and Melvin Guillard, respectively. 

Big-named fighters moved in and out of the division in August as well. Welterweight star Diego Sanchez officially announced a return to lightweight, while Frankie Edgar is the newest member of the UFC featherweight roster.

As if that’s not enough, the next challenger for Henderson and his UFC championship were announced in the form of Nate Diaz. 

This is the official Bleacher Report MMA rankings of MMA’s lightweight division for the month of September 2012.

Begin Slideshow

Jamie Varner: I Could Have Won a Boring Fight Against Joe Lauzon at UFC on Fox 4

Recent UFC Fight of the Night bonus winner Jamie Varner fell short in his bout against Joe Lauzon at UFC on Fox 4, but his wallet is now $50,000 thicker following the highly entertaining contest. Varner, who had only recently made his return to the U…

Recent UFC Fight of the Night bonus winner Jamie Varner fell short in his bout against Joe Lauzon at UFC on Fox 4, but his wallet is now $50,000 thicker following the highly entertaining contest.

Varner, who had only recently made his return to the UFC after nearly five years out of the promotion, has seemingly resurrected his dwindling career, which included losses in three of his final four fights with the WEC.

Dominant victories since that point earned Varner another shot in the Octagon, which he took advantage of in May when he knocked out Edson Barboza at UFC 146.

Varner’s style has always made him highly entertaining, and a matchup with Joe Lauzon proved that he still has it. However, Varner believes that he likely could have won the fight at UFC on Fox 4 if it wasn’t for his all-or-nothing fighting style.

“I fight with reckless abandon, and I think that’s what got me fight of night,” Varner told Bas Rutten. “Because I fight so hard and I scramble, I put myself in bad positions, and I do get caught, and it sucks.”

The loss is obviously an unfortunate outcome for Varner, but he’s not losing much sleep over it. He believes that he’s making the right decision as a fighter by going for broke.

“I’d rather fight hard and have people enjoy watching me fight than just always go out there and fight not to lose,” he said. “I could have beat Joe Lauzon with the jab. I could have ran, thrown jabs, thrown kicks, kept him away and won a boring decision. But no, I wanted to put pressure on him. I wanted to be exciting; I wanted to go for the finish.”

We haven’t seen the last of Jamie Varner in the UFC, and despite the loss, which—at least partially,—was due to his style, he doesn’t seem to be planning on fighting more conservatively in the future.

If, in the future, we see the same Jamie Varner that we saw against Joe Lauzon, he could be raking in quite a few more Fight of the Night bonuses before his career is over.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FOX 4 Fighter Salaries: Shogun Rua and Lyoto Machida Lead the Way

The marquee fights on the recent UFC on FOX 4 fight card featured two former UFC light heavyweight champions. In the main event, fans saw Mauricio “Shogun” Rua dispatch Brandon Vera via fourth-round TKO, while in the evening’s co-main…

The marquee fights on the recent UFC on FOX 4 fight card featured two former UFC light heavyweight champions. In the main event, fans saw Mauricio “Shogun” Rua dispatch Brandon Vera via fourth-round TKO, while in the evening’s co-main event, Lyoto Machida knocked out Ryan Bader in the second round. Not surprisingly, for their efforts, Rua and Machida took home the bulk of the pay from the August 4 fight card.

Another fighter that didn’t do too badly for himself was Mike Swick. Swick, fighting for the first time since February 2010, shook off any cobwebs he may have had and knocked out DeMarques Johnson at the 1:20 mark of the second round, adding $50,000 for “Knockout of the Night” honors to his $86,000 fight pay.

Full fighter payouts for UFC on FOX 4 were provided to BR MMA by the California State Athletic Commission. (Numbers do not include locker room or “Fight Night” bonuses.)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua $240,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus) defeats Brandon Vera $70,000. 

Lyoto Machida $200,000 defeats Ryan Bader $47,000.

Joe Lauzon $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) defeats Jamie Varner $12,000.

Mike Swick $86,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus) defeats DaMarques Johnson $18,000.

Nam Phan $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) defeats Cole Miller $21,000.

Phil Davis $30,000 versus Wagner Prado $16,000.

Rani Yahya $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) defeats Josh Grispi $15,000.

Phil De Fries $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) defeats Oli Thompson $11,000.

Manny Gamburyan $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) defeats Michihiro Omigawa $11,000.

John Moraga $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) defeats Ulysses Gomez $8,000.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

[VIDEO] If UFC Fighters Were in The Olympics, They Would Compete In…

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

UFC 150 Videos: The UFC 150 Danavlog & Countdown to UFC 150

Regardless of whether or not you feel Frankie Edgar truly deserved an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson after their epic clash at UFC 144, this rematch is going to happen this weekend, barring any last minute injuries, so you’ll just have to deal with it.

In all honesty, Edgar/Bendo II is perhaps the perfect main event to follow up UFC on FOX 4, as it will surely continue to deliver on the action-packed slugfests that its preceding event provided. And while we’re on the subject of UFC on FOX 4, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the event provided by the almighty Danavlog. It’s got everything: Damarques Johnson asking “What the hell happened?”, Ryan Bader asking “What the hell happened?”, and even Brandon Vera asking “What the hell happened?” Valentine McKee would’ve been proud.

So give that a gander if you would be so kind, and if you’re looking to get properly amped for this weekend’s events, down your first 5-hour energy of the day and check out the full Countdown to UFC 150 videos detailing the Bendo/Edgar, Cerrone/Guillard, and Ed Herman/Jake Shields fights after the jump.

Regardless of whether or not you feel Frankie Edgar truly deserved an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson after their epic clash at UFC 144, this rematch is going to happen this weekend, barring any last minute injuries, so you’ll just have to deal with it.

In all honesty, Edgar/Bendo II is perhaps the perfect main event to follow up UFC on FOX 4, as it will surely continue to deliver on the action-packed slugfests that its preceding event provided. And while we’re on the subject of UFC on FOX 4, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the event provided by the almighty Danavlog. It’s got everything: Damarques Johnson asking “What the hell happened?”, Ryan Bader asking “What the hell happened?”, and even Brandon Vera asking “What the hell happened?” Valentine McKee would’ve been proud.

So give that a gander if you would be so kind, and if you’re looking to get properly amped for this weekend’s events, down your first 5-hour energy of the day and check out the full Countdown to UFC 150 videos detailing the Bendo/Edgar, Cerrone/Guillard, and Ed Herman/Jake Shields fights below.

Edgar/Henderson

The story of Benson’s mother, Song, is Oscar Pistorius-level heartwarming, and the same goes for Benson. Everything about the guy is captivating; from his humble beginnings to the heroes welcome he received upon returning home to South Korea with the lightweight strap, Henderson has been a motivated, hard working, class act through and through. That must be why you don’t see a lot of BEN HENDO IS OVERRATED TRASH ASSHOLE GARBAGE RAWWRR!! forums on the UG these days. “Why change because you’ve got the belt?” he asks, “I wanna stay the same fighter that I was before.” We’re sure he means with the exception of one small moment.

And then there’s Frankie Edgar, a.k.a The Little Engine That Could Except No One Wanted It To Because It Was Coming From New Jersey. Undefeated in the rematch scenario, Edgar promises that “Henderson will not defend the belt, because I’m taking it home with me.” Why, Frankie, so you can shower it in AXE body spray and hair gel?!! I think not, Mr. Edgar. I think not.

Cerrone/Guillard

Only twenty three seconds into this video, we are treated to perhaps the most brutal knockout of Melvin Guillard’s career, against Rick Davis at 60. The closest thing I could compare it to would be the beating the Shawshank guards put on Boggs, and like Boggs, Davis never walked fought again.

Guillard describes his old training partner as “The craziest white boy I’ve ever met.” That’s a compliment, right? Fun fact: Cerrone’s and Guillard’s birthdays are only one day apart, which in Guillard’s mind is as close to destiny as he can imagine.

And Cerrone promises fireworks, like we’d expect anything less.

Shields/Herman

Jake Shields has apparently been training everywhere from San Diego (alongside Phil Davis and Brandon Vera) to Abu Dhabi (where he apparently got to fly a jetpack) for his return to the middleweight division. Did I mention he got to fly a jetpack?! For some reason, I suddenly want to be a f*cking fighter.

On an unrelated not, if Shields somehow manages to knock Herman out on Saturday, we’re all gonna get laid. You heard it here first.

–J. Jones

Dana White Video Blog: Behind the Scenes of UFC on Fox 4

Fight week, blog week.Dana White released the first blog for the UFC 150 fight week, as he takes us behind the scenes of one of the best cards in recent memory, UFC on Fox 4.The vlog starts off showing us Cole Miller and Nam Phan, with Phan singing the…

Fight week, blog week.

Dana White released the first blog for the UFC 150 fight week, as he takes us behind the scenes of one of the best cards in recent memory, UFC on Fox 4.

The vlog starts off showing us Cole Miller and Nam Phan, with Phan singing the praises of Miller, calling him a “tough guy.”

Then we see DaMarques Johnson after his knockout loss to Mike Swick, asking whether or not it was a good fight, and yes DaMarques, it was.

Also, we see Jamie Varner talking about his broken hand suffered in a loss to Joe Lauzon, Ryan Bader trying to figure out what happened in his knockout loss to Lyoto Machida, Brandon Vera and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua backstage after their fight and much more.

UFC 150 goes down this Saturday from Denver, Colorado. The main event features a lightweight title fight between Benson “Smooth” Henderson and Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. The co-main event has Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone facing off against his former teammate, Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard.

Don’t miss it.

 

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com