Tag: UFC on Fox 5

UFC on FOX 5: B.J. Penn on Upcoming Bout Against Rory MacDonald

Former UFC champion and pound-for-pound contender B.J. Penn will return to the Octagon this December 8, where he will take on rising welterweight star Rory MacDonald at the UFC’s fifth installment of its FOX series. The bout signifies Penn’s first…

Former UFC champion and pound-for-pound contender B.J. Penn will return to the Octagon this December 8, where he will take on rising welterweight star Rory MacDonald at the UFC’s fifth installment of its FOX series. 

The bout signifies Penn’s first action since October 29, 2011—the date he entered into a short-lived retirement. 

“The Prodigy” recently spoke with BJPenn.com about his impending match with MacDonald, catching everyone up on his training process and speaking about his developing motivation.

Training is coming along, I couldn’t be happier with how everything is going. I’m in the gym trying to put in my time and I’ve used the last few months to get into shape. I think it was a blessing that the fight got pushed back [from UFC 152]. I’ve had more time to train and I’ve been able to work out more. We’re giving it an honest effort and we’ll see how everything works out.

Training has always been something of an issue for Penn, who has long been chastised by fans and media alike over coasting into bouts. The Hawaiian has put together an impressive career, but most believe his peak would have been higher had he adhered to a stricter regimen and built his fighting endurance more intensely.

Because he is coming off such an extensive layoff, Penn’s cardio will likely (once again) be a hot topic heading into UFC on FOX 5.

During the interview, Penn also noted his zealousness to take on a member of Montreal’s fabled Tri-Star gym.

I wanted to have another match against Tri-Star and head coach Firas Zahabi, and it’s not being done because of any bad blood. I feel like I have more to show them and without a doubt Rory has a lot of hype surrounding him.

Penn went on to talk about MacDonald, lauding his skills and supporting the burgeoning theory that the youngster has a bright future ahead of him. 

He’s in great condition, he can kick, punch, he can wrestle and he knows how to fight on the ground. Everyone is saying he’s going to be one of the top guys and those are the guys I like to fight. It works out two ways for me; I get to face a really good opponent and I get to compete against Firas again.

MacDonald will enter the contest riding a three-fight win streak, while Penn has grasped victory just one time over his past five bouts. 

UFC on FOX 5 will go from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FOX 5: Early Odds and Predictions

With UFC 154 in the books, the next major event on the MMA horizon is UFC on FOX 5, which comes to us on Saturday, December 8. When ratings for previous FOX showings didn’t quite live up to the hopeful expectations of the Zuffa brass, they decided…

With UFC 154 in the books, the next major event on the MMA horizon is UFC on FOX 5, which comes to us on Saturday, December 8. 

When ratings for previous FOX showings didn’t quite live up to the hopeful expectations of the Zuffa brass, they decided that the best course of action would be to slam the next event full of big names and exciting fights.

The card for the network television broadcast includes four fights:

  • UFC Lightweight Championship: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz
  • Shogun Rua vs. Alexander Gustasson
  • BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald
  • Mike Swick vs. Matt Brown

With a world title fight and two former champions on the card, it’s clear that the UFC is pulling out all of the stops to ensure that ratings for this event are above their predecessors. 

Looking ahead two weeks, let’s take a look at the early betting odds and predictions for each contest.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 154 Rory Mac: "BJ Can Say Whatever He Wants, I’m Still Gonna Beat His Ass"

The UFC held a Fight Club Q & A session with Rory MacDonald today ahead of the 154 weigh-in where he answered questions on various topics in his life to a jam packed house inside the New City Gas Nightclub.MacDonald is…

The UFC held a Fight Club Q & A session with Rory MacDonald today ahead of the 154 weigh-in where he answered questions on various topics in his life to a jam packed house inside the New City Gas Nightclub.

MacDonald is set to take on Hawaiian legend BJ Penn on Dec. 8 on UFC on Fox 5 in a fight that was supposed to take place in September at UFC 152 in Toronto.

The story of who called whom out and how the fight was made is well known and MacDonald confirmed today that he first heard that Penn wanted to fight him, so he seized the opportunity and went public with his interest in that fight on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

“I’m a better fighter than him. I’m not really scared anywhere the fight goes. I’m a better striker, I’m a better wrestler and I’m better on the ground as far as of MMA jiu jitsu. Probably not straight jiu jitsu, we all know what he has done there so.

When it was mentioned how Penn has accused MacDonald and the Tristar gym of being pumped up on steroids and banned substances, MacDonald was blunt in his response.

“He’s got a lot of excuses that guy, he likes to stir up a lot of shit. He likes to get people excited. At the end of the day, he can say whatever he wants to get people excited, I’m still gonna beat his ass.”

Director of UFC Community Relations and host of the session Reed Harris mentioned on a couple of occasions that he has seen Penn recently and that he believes that Penn is in phenomenal shape and Rory will see the best Penn that he will ever see.

It was obvious the second time he mentioned it, that MacDonald had heard enough. 

“To be honest with you I don’t really care,” he said glaring at Harris.

“It doesn’t matter what shape he is in. I guess it’s better for the fans if he’s in shape because it will be a better fight.” 

MacDonald is extremely confidant that he is going to put a whooping on the former lightweight champion and future Hall of Famer.

I can’t wait to find out on December 8.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Featherweight Eddie Yagin Hospitalized With Swelling Around Brain; Fight With Dennis Siver Scrapped


(Photo via UFC.com)

Two scary injuries in one day? It looks like The Curse That Shall Not Be Named has awoken from its brief slumber.

The UFC’s latest injury victim is featherweight Eddie Yagin, who was hospitalized on Sunday for swelling around his brain, and will be unable to fight Dennis Siver at UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs Diaz (December 8th, Seattle). MMAWeekly has the details:

The problem started on Saturday after a usual day of training, Yagin’s manager, Jason House, told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.

“He came home after practice, had a headache, started to vomit whatever liquids he drank and then decided to go to the ER the next day,” said House, adding that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred in training. Yagin hadn’t been knocked out or suffered from any particularly hard blows or anything of the sort.


(Photo via UFC.com)

Two scary injuries in one day? It looks like The Curse That Shall Not Be Named has awoken from its brief slumber.

The UFC’s latest injury victim is featherweight Eddie Yagin, who was hospitalized on Sunday for swelling around his brain, and will be unable to fight Dennis Siver at UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs Diaz (December 8th, Seattle). MMAWeekly has the details:

The problem started on Saturday after a usual day of training, Yagin’s manager, Jason House, told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.

“He came home after practice, had a headache, started to vomit whatever liquids he drank and then decided to go to the ER the next day,” said House, adding that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred in training. Yagin hadn’t been knocked out or suffered from any particularly hard blows or anything of the sort.

Yagin’s family told House that there is blood around his brain that is causing swelling, thus, putting pressure on his brain, but they were told by his doctor that he believes surgery won’t be necessary, that the swelling should go down on its own in the coming days.

House stressed that he has yet to converse with Yagin’s doctors himself, but expects that Yagin will be in the hospital for at least the next few days to monitor his condition.

Yagin last competed at UFC 145 in April, where he won a split-decision over Mark Hominick in a Fight of the Night performance. He was originally slated to return against Siver at UFC 151 on September 1st, but that event was canceled, and the bout was bumped to December. So let’s all hope that 1) Yagin makes a full, swift recovery, and 2) that Siver gets a replacement opponent, because the dude is getting seriously jerked around lately.

UFC: Early Odds and Predictions for December’s Biggest Fights

In 2012, the UFC planned to host 32 events that spanned five continents and broke into new markets all over the globe. It’s no wonder why we, as fight fans, are always looking ahead to the next card.Dana White’s mission statement includes an infinite d…

In 2012, the UFC planned to host 32 events that spanned five continents and broke into new markets all over the globe. It’s no wonder why we, as fight fans, are always looking ahead to the next card.

Dana White‘s mission statement includes an infinite desire to expand. In fact, the 2013 calendar has six events booked between January 19 and March 3.

Next month will be one of the most active that the sport has seen, as the UFC will be hosting four events, including two within a 24 hour period. The schedule is as follows:

December 8: UFC on FOX 5
December 14: UFC on FX 6
December 15: Ultimate Fighter Finale
December 29: UFC 155

This is a look at the biggest fights from those events, including early betting odds and predictions for each.

Begin Slideshow

Benson Henderson: "Chael Sonnen Is an Average White Guy Who Holds Guys Down"

It’s safe to say Benson Henderson isn’t a fan of Chael Sonnen.The reigning UFC lightweight champ, who is coming off back-to-back wins over former champ Frankie Edgar, hasn’t found much success in winning over the media and fans.Sonnen, on the other han…

It’s safe to say Benson Henderson isn’t a fan of Chael Sonnen.

The reigning UFC lightweight champ, who is coming off back-to-back wins over former champ Frankie Edgar, hasn’t found much success in winning over the media and fans.

Sonnen, on the other hand, is one of the biggest names in the sport, despite never holding a significant MMA title. He is a PR genius and one of the most talked about fighters in recent memory.

Still, Henderson would rather be true to himself than take a page out of Sonnen‘s book.

In an interview with MMAJunkie, Henderson talked about Sonnen and how self-promotion helped him achieve superstardom.

“He knows it’s a promotional game. He is of average speed, average athletic-wise, white guy, average-looking, and he wrestles guys. He holds guys down – that’s his game. Who wants to see that? That’s not a super-marketable [style]. But as soon as he starts talking, he’s very marketable. And he knows that.”

Henderson comes off as a likeable a guy, who is also a great role model for young fans. He wears his Christianity on his sleeve, which has driven him to give back to his community and use his platform to help influence the younger generation.

Unfortunately, casual MMA fans aren’t following Henderson’s projects outside the cage.

The last couple of UFC events he’s headlined didn’t produce great pay-per-view numbers. He hopes to change that on December 8, when he defends his title against Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 5.

“You have to be entertaining and have a few tricks up your sleeves, [to where people say], ‘Oh wow, what was that? A few entertaining tricks, and hopefully you pull them off.”

Both of Henderson’s bouts against Edgar were incredibly close and entertaining. The bout against Diaz shouldn’t be too far behind.

Even so, it’ll take more than a “few tricks” to pull off Sonnen numbers.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com