Cruickshank bumps his official UFC record to 2-0 as a lightweight, including his previous decision win over Chris Tickle. Any ideas on who he should fight next?
(Props: RASTANITRO. Skip to 3:12 for the money shot.)
Cruickshank bumps his official UFC record to 2-0 as a lightweight, including his previous decision win over Chris Tickle. Any ideas on who he should fight next?
The future has arrived, and his name is Rory MacDonald.At UFC on FOX 5, MacDonald dominated the legendary BJ Penn in an incredibly lopsided unanimous decision.It was a bout that really showcased MacDonald’s maturity and growth as a fighter.Penn is a mu…
The future has arrived, and his name is Rory MacDonald.
At UFC on FOX 5, MacDonald dominated the legendary BJ Penn in an incredibly lopsided unanimous decision.
It was a bout that really showcased MacDonald’s maturity and growth as a fighter.
Penn is a much better boxer than MacDonald on paper, but his style plays out like a broken record. He rarely utilizes any kicks with his offense, which limits his striking and makes him more predictable.
MacDonald threw everything but the kitchen sink at Penn. He used punches, kicks, elbows and takedowns. While MacDonald wasn’t the better technical striker, his diverse attack kept Penn guessing.
As fighters gain experience, they learn the importance of being patient and methodical.
MacDonald paid the price for being overzealous against Carlos Condit at UFC 115. His desperation to finish the fight cost him in the third round, as he tired and Condit rallied for a comeback TKO stoppage.
Against Penn, MacDonald had a few opportunities to look for a finish, but he didn’t rush anything. He carefully picked his shots.
Perhaps the scariest part about MacDonald’s performance was his granite chin absorbing punches from a world class striker like Penn.
There were some fans turned off by the shuffling and showboating from MacDonald, but at the post-fight press conference, he claimed he utilized those tactics to bait Penn into opening up on the feet.
He’ll have to be careful in the future with leaving his hands down against opponents with one-punch knockout power.
For years, fans have compared MacDonald to his teammate and mentor Georges St-Pierre, but after Saturday night, the comparisons are no longer relevant.
At only 23 years of age, Rory MacDonald is his own fighter and one of the top welterweights in the world.
UFC on Fox 5 showed what could be a changing of the guard in the welterweight division. Rory MacDonald, all of the age of 23, defeated former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn by unanimous decision. It was MacDonald’s most dominant perfo…
UFC on Fox 5 showed what could be a changing of the guard in the welterweight division. Rory MacDonald, all of the age of 23, defeated former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn by unanimous decision. It was MacDonald’s most dominant performance inside the octagon. What’s next for MacDonald? He called out former interim champion Carlos Condit, so time should tell if that rematch from UFC 115 takes place.
Who are the top 10 welterweights right now in the UFC? Maybe MacDonald and Condit are in there. Let’s take a look and see.
Now that’s more like it.If the UFC can produce more high-caliber events for free television like UFC on Fox 5, this whole thing with the Fox Network just might work out after all.From the first fight to long after the end of the card, there were many u…
Now that’s more like it.
If the UFC can produce more high-caliber events for free television like UFC on Fox 5, this whole thing with the Fox Network just might work out after all.
From the first fight to long after the end of the card, there were many unique spots of the night that MMA fans will remember for good or ill.
At the end of the day, that’s what makes the sport worth watching.
Well, enough mushy stuff.
Without further ado, here are the 10 most memorable moments of UFC on Fox 5.
UFC on Fox 5 resulted in Benson Henderson exercising three freedoms to the fullest.One was the freedom to inflict pain on his opponent, Nate Diaz. The second was his freedom of speech, and with it, he exercised his freedom of religion. Henderson is a C…
One was the freedom to inflict pain on his opponent, Nate Diaz. The second was his freedom of speech, and with it, he exercised his freedom of religion.
Henderson is a Christian.
In a nation that was founded on don’t-tell-me-who-to-worship principles, that isn’t a problem with most. The thing is, though, Henderson is a Christian who’s extremely passionate about his beliefs. And as the sports world has witnessed during the Tim Tebow era, if an athlete’s passion is perceived as too in-your-face, then haters begin to hate.
Smooth entered the octagon on Saturday night to a genre, Christian hip-hop, that’s a stranger to UFC walkout music. And after it began to play, Henderson’s go-to pump-up song began to trend on Twitter.
Reid Forgrave of Fox Sports reacted to and identified the track.
Respect to a fighter who walks out to meaningful song. That’s Benson Henderson, walking out to gospel…R. Swift, “Awesome God.”
It doesn’t get much more in your face than blasting “Awesome God” through the KeyArena speakers. But for crying out loud, it’s a remake of a children’s song. Even the most anti-religious can’t scour at that—and the vast majority of reactions to Henderson’s walkout music couldn’t have been more positive.
After he defeated Diaz by unanimous decision, though, Henderson wasn’t finished exercising of his freedom.
Forgrave reported that the fighter’s victory cry proclaimed, “Seattle! Key Arena! I can do all things through Christ!”
In the post-fight press conference, he addressed his faith and said (via Fox Sports): “For me it’s more a daily walk. It’s what I do every day, not putting on a show. It’s more about your daily walk with the Lord. I’m not afraid to wear it on my sleeve.”
And when athletes aren’t afraid to wear their faith on their sleeve, critics pour in like Niagara Falls.
Even Kurt Warner, a self-professing Christian, advised Tebow to tone down his I love Jesus declarations. Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic reported that Warner said:
There’s almost a faith cliche, where (athletes) come out and say, “I want to thank my Lord and savior.” As soon as you say that, the guard goes up, the walls go up, and I came to realize you have to be more strategic.
That was pretty much a response to Jake Plummer’s comments on Tebow earlier that week who, according to Nate Davis of the USA Today, said:
I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I’ll like him even better. I don’t hate him because of that. I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.
Henderson is loved now. But in today’s easily-offended society, will his non-Christian audience eventually become turned off by his faith like Tebow’s? It all depends how often and to what extent he wears it on his sleeve.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
Alexander Gustafsson’s dominant win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua puts him on a collision course with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.At UFC on FOX 5, Gustafsson was brilliant in picking apart Jones’ predecessor en route to a lopsided unanimous d…
Alexander Gustafsson’s dominant win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua puts him on a collision course with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
At UFC on FOX 5, Gustafsson was brilliant in picking apart Jones’ predecessor en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.
The MMA world has talked about a potential showdown between Gustafsson and Jones for over a year. Both of the light heavyweight stars are considered babes of the UFC. Fans have watched them grow from potential prospects to MMA superstars.
Jones, in particular, has surpassed all expectations.
He has only been champion for a little over a year, and fans are already mentioning his name alongside Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
A plethora of legends have already fallen at the hands of Jones in dominant fashion. Regardless of who he faces, Jones seems to reside on a wavelength of physical and mental superiority that his opponents have yet to comprehend.
Unlike previous opponents, Gustafsson has the physical tools to overcome some of the problems Jones presents in a fight, but would that be enough?
If Jones gets past Chael Sonnen in April, the stars could align for a title fight against Gustafsson.
