(So tell us more about this “pulled groin,” Lavar… / Photo via Maxim)
Just nine days out from UFC on FOX 5, the UFC confirmed last night that heavyweight slugger Lavar Johnson has withdrawn from his prelim meeting with Brendan Schaub due to a pulled groin. As a result, Schaub has also been removed from the card, and will not face a replacement opponent. “Frustrated would be an understatement..back to the gym,” Schaub tweeted after the news broke. The TUF 10 finalist has been inactive since April, and has lost his last two fights by knockout.
(So tell us more about this “pulled groin,” Lavar… / Photo via Maxim)
Just nine days out from UFC on FOX 5, the UFC confirmed last night that heavyweight slugger Lavar Johnson has withdrawn from his prelim meeting with Brendan Schaub due to a pulled groin. As a result, Schaub has also been removed from the card, and will not face a replacement opponent. “Frustrated would be an understatement..back to the gym,” Schaub tweeted after the news broke. The TUF 10 finalist has been inactive since April, and has lost his last two fights by knockout.
When the Lavar Johnson versus Brendan Schaub match became official, MMA fans immediately were ready to predict an explosive knockout as the ending. Johnson is known for his knockout power while Schaub has had displayed a questionable chin but has KO po…
When the Lavar Johnson versus Brendan Schaub match became official, MMA fans immediately were ready to predict an explosive knockout as the ending. Johnson is known for his knockout power while Schaub has had displayed a questionable chin but has KO power of his own.
Alas this exciting stand-up battle will not come to fruition as UFC President Dana White announced that Johnson has pulled out of the bout due to injury.
“Lavar Johnson is out of the FOX prelims with a pulled groin. He was fighting Brendan Schaub,” White said on Twitter.
Immediately, questions arose about Schaub and his place on the card. Reports later surfaced indicating that Schaub would also be removed from the card due to the injury to Johnson. Lex McMahon spoke with MMAFighting.com about what the future holds for Schaub.
“Brendan is very disappointed,” McMahon said, “but he is very dedicated and will be back to training. We will see how long Lavar is out and will assess Brendan’s options. I’m confident the UFC will get Brendan back in the Octagon soon.”
Johnson had built some momentum since crossing over from Strikeforce after two brutal knockouts of Joey Beltran and Pat Barry. However, the AKA product suffered a loss in his last outing to Stefan Struve back at UFC 146.
Schaub built his own momentum following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter where he was the runner-up to Roy Nelson. After the loss to Nelson, Schaub strung together four straight victories, including wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
All momentum was lost, however, after Schaub was knocked out in last two fights against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell, respectively.
There’s a running joke among members of the MMA media that pokes some gentle fun at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The champ may be arguably the greatest fighter of all time, but he’s not the most creative interview. And that’s being char…
There’s a running joke among members of the MMA media that pokes some gentle fun at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The champ may be arguably the greatest fighter of all time, but he’s not the most creative interview. And that’s being charitable.
Without fail, rain or shine, in the midst of nuclear Armageddon, St-Pierre has the same exact soundbites before every bout.
“(Fill in opponent’s name) is my most dangerous opponent yet. I am in the best shape of my life. I will have to be the best Georges St-Pierre I can possibly be to win.”
A similar conversation happens every time the legendary BJ Penn fights as well. With Penn, a gifted fighter with an incredible skill set and warrior’s heart, it always seems to come down to effort and interest. The challenge never seems to be external. It’s the internal battle, the struggle with himself, his weight, his desire, that decides the outcome of most every Penn fight.
Does the opponent interest him?
Can his team keep him away from food?
Will he be willing to train hard for eight weeks?
If the answer to each is an affirmative, it’s going to be a very long night for his opponent. And, from what I can tell, it may be a very long night indeed for UFC on Fox 5 opponent Rory MacDonald, a man who has no one to blame but himself for his motivated opponent.
According to Penn, it was MacDona’d’s jabs at his weight that led the former champion into the gym each and every day, training with a hand-picked selection of all-stars like Bellator star Ben Askren and Strikeforce fighters TyronWoodley and Pat Healy. His body fat has dropped down to under 10 percent, all in an effort to better punch MacDonald in the face.
“Fighting is still not a sport for me,” Penn said on a media conference call. “..Fighting is still a fight for me. It always has been. I’m not a great athlete that can play any sport. But one thing I could always do is fight back.
“This is a fight. This isn’t putting a ball in a hole. This has always been a fight for me, and I just love it when it’s that way. I love it when my opponent says ‘He’s fat.’ ‘I’ll end up killing him.’ ‘He’s nothing.’ This and that. It’s all wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
For the 33-year-old Penn, an 11-year pro, the clock is ticking on his time as an upper echelon fighter. He’s won just one of his last five fights and realizes that he won’t be able to compete with young guns like MacDonald forever. That’s why he wanted this fight so badly—not just to silence a disrespectful foe, but to reestablish his place in the pecking order.
“I texted Dana a couple months ago saying I watch all these interviews and no one says my name when they are talking about the greatest fighters anymore and I really don’t like that,” Penn said. “It really bothers me. I know it’s my fault and I’m the reason why people talk about me when they talk about GSP or Anderson Silva. My name was always in the mix. It’s never in the mix any more.
“Everything is current…I don’t want to be known as ‘he was good back in the day.’ I want to be known as one of the best…I still think I have some left to accomplish.”
Penn and MacDonald is one of several top-tier fights free on Fox at 8 P.M. ET on Dec. 8, broadcast live from the Key Arena in Seattle.
If Nate Diaz doesn’t finish Benson Henderson, he probably won’t win the lightweight title.The top UFC lightweight contender is confident in his chances in the UFC on Fox 5 headliner, but he is also a realist. He doesn’t believe MMA judges are very fond…
If Nate Diaz doesn’t finish Benson Henderson, he probably won’t win the lightweight title.
The top UFC lightweight contender is confident in his chances in the UFC on Fox 5 headliner, but he is also a realist. He doesn’t believe MMA judges are very fond of him or his brother Nick.
In an episode of Inside MMA, the younger Diaz broke down his upcoming bout with Henderson:
“I don’t think I got a chance of winning any type of decision. I got to go out there and do what I can do and try to finish my opponent, try to be the better fighter and win the fight. Either way, if it goes to a decision, I’m going to try to be the one outscoring and outpointing.”
Nate’s lack of faith in MMA judging stems from his brother Nick’s interim title bout against Carlos Condit in February.
Despite being the aggressor in every round, Nick still came out with the short end of the stick against Condit, who backpedaled and picked his shots throughout the fight.
Some felt Condit simply implemented a flawless game plan that helped him earn the upset. Others saw it as one of the most controversial decisions in recent memory.
Cesar Gracie, who serves as the head coach of the Diaz brothers, believes MMA judging is skewed. For whatever reason, he doesn’t think it is possible for Nick or Nate to get a fair shake from the judges in bouts that go the distance.
“In Nick’s case, it’s almost like he’s fighting his opponents, and he’s fighting the judges,” Gracie said on Inside MMA.
“He’s got to finish people. These guys fight like that anyway, and they’re going to fight their hearts out for the team, for themselves and for the fans…So yeah, unfortunately, we’ve got to get those finishes, or maybe win something so lopsided that we get a decision.”
Henderson is already coming off back-to-back close decision wins over former champ Frankie Edgar.
Perhaps the Diaz camp is worried that Nate could fall victim to Henderson’s strong top control and ground-and-pound. Like Nate, Henderson is also an incredibly gifted grappler and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
If the past is any indication, the odds of winning a decision aren’t in Nate’s favor. A submission or a knockout could be his only legitimate shot at winning a UFC title, according to Gracie.
“I have never really seen a close decision, where the nod was given to the Diaz’s. I always see them, if it’s close, they’re going to lose, and I don’t know why. I think maybe the judges really don’t care for them that much. They’re brash, and I really don’t know. At the end of the day, the fans know who win fights, and the fans are the ones that love to see these guys fight,” said Gracie.
When Benson Henderson steps into the Octagon to face Nathan Diaz on December 8, he will do so as the defending UFC lightweight champion. Despite the fact that Henderson will clearly be in possession of UFC gold when he walks to the cage, there will und…
When Benson Henderson steps into the Octagon to face Nathan Diaz on December 8, he will do so as the defending UFC lightweight champion. Despite the fact that Henderson will clearly be in possession of UFC gold when he walks to the cage, there will undoubtedly be rumblings that he’s not really the champion. His detractors claim that he was gifted the win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 144, which gave him the title, as well as the victory over Edgar in their rematch at UFC 150.
One would think that a fighter coming off two close decision victories would be spending the time leading up to his next fight talking up how he is going to go in and make a statement in his next fight.
Not Henderson, that’s not his style. In fact, the champion seems to find that type of talk distasteful:
“It would be kind of offensive if I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to go in there and knock out Nate Diaz, no problem.’ No, I’m not going to say that, Nate Diaz is tough, he’s darn tough and I’m going to go out there and get my hand raised in any way possible.”
Henderson will have his hands full with Diaz, a fighter that enters their title fight on a three-fight winning streak, a streak that coincides with his return to the lightweight division after losing two straight bouts at welterweight. Diaz also has the distinction of claiming “Fight Night” bonuses in each of those three wins, picking up two “Submission of the Night” checks and one “Fight of the Night” award.
When it comes to getting the victory over Diaz, Henderson said he’ll take it any way that he can, even if it is comes with the assist of some fruit:
I’m trying to get my hand raised however I can get it. If he trips over a banana peel, I’ll take it. If it’s a decisive victory, I’ll take it. If it’s a razor thin decision, even closer than the second Frankie fight, I’ll take that too. Getting the W is not easy to come by in the UFC, against literally the best guys on the planet. I’ll take it any way I can get it.
Don’t let Henderson’s words come across as a lack of confidence, for him it’s more about examining the reality of the situation. He’s at the pinnacle of his sport; right now, the belt he carries with him defines him as the number one lightweight in the UFC, as such he knows there are no easy opponents or victories.
“Sometimes when you’re fighting the best guys on the planet, you just can’t make it as easy as that, you can’t make it super decisive.”
Henderson still has his doubters, and barring an incredibly one-sided victory over Diaz on the December 8 card, he will most likely still have doubters even if he retains his belt. However, Henderson feels that through time and effort he will gain his fair share of supporters:
It’s just a matter of staying on that grind, keep doing what I’m doing, and eventually, if I keep winning and putting the work in everything else will fall into place. It’s not something I don’t try and be too worried about and think about too much.
I got big shoes to fill if I want to be one of the greatest lightweights of all time; I’ve got huge shoes to fill, and I’m excited to get that chance.
The next step toward filling those shoes will be broadcast live on Fox from Seattle’s Key Arena on December 8.
The next big thing is a tag that many mixed martial artists have been saddled with early in their careers. Some have lived up to the billing, while some have crumbled under the pressure that comes with that label.When it comes to 23-year-old UFC welter…
The next big thing is a tag that many mixed martial artists have been saddled with early in their careers. Some have lived up to the billing, while some have crumbled under the pressure that comes with that label.
When it comes to 23-year-old UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald, fans and pundits have kicked things up a notch, labeling the 13-1 fighter the next Georges St-Pierre. You know, just in case the pressure of being the next big thing wasn’t enough.
MacDonald will look to take the next step up the welterweight ladder when he faces former UFC champion BJ Penn on December 8, in a fight that was interesting enough to bring Penn out of retirement.
Expectations are high for MacDonald, a fighter whose only loss came at the hands of Carlos Condit in a “Fight of the Night” performance back in June 2010. Since then MacDonald has gone 3-0.
As for the fight against Penn, UFC president Dana White sees this matchup as the toughest test of MacDonald’s career. “There’s a lot of hype behind him (MacDonald), a lot of people that I respect in the business say good things about him,” White said. “I think this is a big fight for Rory. I think BJ is going to be a big test for him.”
If MacDonald is worried about the coming test, those concerns have not been evident in the days leading up to the fight. In fact, if he wanted some help with the test, he could have asked training partner Georges St-Pierre, a man who fought and defeated Penn twice in the past, but MacDonald said he hasn’t broached the subject with the welterweight champion:
I didn’t really ask him anything. I watched it (St-Pierre vs. Penn). I’m not the kind of guy that wants to know everything about somebody, I really don’t care. For all I know BJ could have completely changed his training and maybe he’s a Muay Thai fighter now, who knows. I don’t really care. I just get better as a fighter, as a martial artist; I really don’t care about the past.
The fact that MacDonald does not care about the past indicates that he’s always looking forward, always looking to move on to the next set of challenges. One of the things MacDonald is focusing on is setting himself up to be more active come 2013.
The last time MacDonald fought more than twice in a calendar year was 2006, when he racked up four fights between February and November. If he has his way, he’ll be back on that grind following his bout with Penn:
After this fight with BJ, I’m pretty much ready to fight March 8. As long as I keep my weight in check, it won’t be a problem for me to make 170 on short notice. I’m pretty much ready to go all the time now. How I’ve kind of changed things up as far as my training, I think it’s going to work well with me fighting a lot more.
When asked about the types of changes he has made in his training, MacDonald indicated that it was mostly staying healthy and being smarter about the way he prepares on a day-to-day basis:
Before I never took days off, even if I was hurt. When I feel like I’m breaking down a little bit, like my body’s breaking down, I just take a day off or I just adjust it. If I’m sparring and I mess up, I’ll go swim or something, I’ll just adjust in that kind of fashion. It’s been keeping me healthy and for me, health is most important. I know how to fight; all I really need is my health. If I’m healthy I can fight on a minutes notice.
MacDonald has had far more than a minute’s notice to prepare for Penn. In fact, he was originally set to face Penn on September 22, but MacDonald sustained a nasty cut during training, which forced the fight to be rescheduled to December 8—the day we will find out if he is able to pass the test Penn will have for him.
When the