UFC on Fox 7 will take place this Saturday night, and like most UFC fight cards over the last few years, there will be some fights on the card that were not originally booked and one that has disappeared altogether. Training camp injuries were beh…
UFC on Fox 7 will take place this Saturday night, and like most UFC fight cards over the last few years, there will be some fights on the card that were not originally booked and one that has disappeared altogether.
Training camp injuries were behind the change of opponents for Chad Mendes and Hugo Viana as well as the late cancellation of the Jon Tuck versus Norman Parke bout.
Stranger circumstances were behind the change of opponents for Matt Brown.
Brown will face Jordan Mein on the Fox portion of the card after his original opponent, Dan Hardy, was removed from the card by the UFC.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Hardy’s electrocardiography (EKG) exam revealed that the UFC veteran had markers for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare heart condition that in very rare cases can cause sudden cardiac arrest and sometimes death.
UFC president Dana White spoke to the media on Thursday about Hardy’s status and revealed that Hardy’s future with the promotion remains uncertain. “Lorenzo (Fertitta, UFC CEO) and I called Dan Hardy a couple weeks ago and got him set up with the best cardiologist in the country and he didn’t want to go,” White said. “He’s in serious denial right now or just afraid to hear from somebody that that’s the truth or that’s what’s going on.”
After Hardy turned down the UFC’s offer, White called the fighter, who told him, according to White, “I’m going through a lot of stuff personally right now, I’m getting married. I have a lot of family coming into town and just dealing with this whole thing at the same time is driving me crazy. I just want to put this on the back burner until I get my family stuff taken care of.”
White said this is the first time during his tenure with the UFC that they have ever dealt with the issue that Hardy is facing, adding in closing, “hopefully he’s been misdiagnosed.”
Hardy is 25-10-0-1 in his professional career and was riding a two-fight winning streak before he was removed from the Fox card.
**All quotes obtained firsthand by B/R MMA unless otherwise noted.
Gilbert Melendez had been considered one of the best lightweights competing outside of the Octagon over the past few years. At UFC on Fox 7, the former Strikeforce champion will have a chance to prove that recognition was warranted.In his UFC debut, Me…
Gilbert Melendez had been considered one of the best lightweights competing outside of the Octagon over the past few years. At UFC on Fox 7, the former Strikeforce champion will have a chance to prove that recognition was warranted.
In his UFC debut, Melendez will challenge Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight throne.
With title defenses against Frankie Edgar and Nate Diaz already under his belt, Henderson will be looking to tie the UFC record for consecutive lightweight title defenses with a win over Melendez on Saturday.
The 155-pound championship bout is hardly the only fight of importance on the UFC on Fox 7 fight card, though, and the Bleacher Report MMA staff is here to provide our predictions for the entire main card.
So, let’s get to the picks from Riley Kontek, Scott Harris, James McDonald and Sean Smith.
UFC on Fox 7 looms just days away and today on MMA’s Great Debate Radio, two fighters from the card join the show, as Daniel Cormier and Matt Brown are featured as guests. Following an undefeated run through Strikeforce, including his victory in the he…
UFC on Fox 7 looms just days away and today on MMA’s Great Debate Radio, two fighters from the card join the show, as Daniel Cormier and Matt Brown are featured as guests.
Following an undefeated run through Strikeforce, including his victory in the heavyweight grand prix, Cormier will finally make his UFC debut this weekend.
Challenging Cormier will be former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who looks to reestablish himself in the division following a loss to Junior Dos Santos in his last fight in 2012.
Cormier will address Mir’s recent comments about his finishing ability as well as his continued efforts to help save wrestling in the Olympics.
Also on the show today, UFC welterweight Matt Brown stops by to discuss his upcoming fight against former Strikeforce fighter Jordan Mein.
Brown was originally scheduled to meet Dan Hardy at UFC on Fox 7, but now gets a late replacement instead. He’ll comment on the switch and why he believes Mein is actually a more dangerous opponent.
The debate also takes center stage on today’s show with all new topics surrounding UFC on Fox 7 this weekend.
Who is in the biggest must win situation at UFC on Fox 7?
Fight Pick: Matt Brown vs. Jordan Mein?
Fight Pick: Josh Thomson vs. Nate Diaz?
Should Daniel Cormier remain at heavyweight or attempt the move to light heavyweight after this fight with Frank Mir?
Fight Pick: Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir?
Will not finishing fights bite Benson Henderson in terms of his overall selling value?
Fight Pick: Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez?
This is MMA’s Great Debate for Thursday, April 18, 2013.
(If podcast does not load listen to the show here.You can also subscribe to the show via iTunes or Stitcher Radio)
UFC on Fox 7 headliner Gilbert Melendez never got involved with MMA to become a millionaire or to see his name on billboards. Melendez has only had one goal in his career, and that was to be the No. 1 fighter in the world. He’s come close to acco…
UFC on Fox 7 headliner Gilbert Melendez never got involved with MMA to become a millionaire or to see his name on billboards.
Melendez has only had one goal in his career, and that was to be the No. 1 fighter in the world.He’s come close to accomplishing that feat in the past with victories over champions from several organizations all over the world, but he never had the chance to face the champion from the biggest promotion in the business.
The UFC has always had the one champion Melendez could never get his hands on because he’s been in other promotions or fighting overseas.He thought that all changed in October 2011 when UFC President Dana White announced (via MMAWeekly.com) that Melendez would be moving over to the Octagon from Strikeforce to compete in their lightweight division.
Unfortunately, contracts that were already in place from Strikeforce, with some blow back from Showtime (the broadcast partner of the promotion), kept Melendez from actually moving to the UFC at that time.
The UFC then tried to persuade a top contender from their promotion to move over to Strikeforce to challenge Melendez, but even that effort failed.Melendez points out that having that kind of reward dangled in front of him and then pulled away was a tough pill to swallow.
“You think you’re going to be fighting a UFC guy and you’re not.You think you’re going to be going to the UFC and you’re not.They switch up opponents.You have to face a tough nemesis and you’re not there mentally completely,” Melendez told Bleacher Report.“Then you’re trying to get back on track and you get injured.Since the injury and since the recovery, things have been back on track training wise. It was an odd year, a roller coaster ride, but it’s alright.It comes with the territory.”
Instead of coming to the UFC, Melendez ended up facing Jorge Masvidal and then stared at a third fight with old rival Josh Thomson in a rubber match of their trilogy of showdowns.Melendez won the battles, but seemed to lose the public relations war because as highly touted as he had been, most expected him to steamroll both fighters and make it look easy.A shoulder injury subsided Melendez for the remainder of 2012, and even he admits motivation was tough to come by in those last few months competing for Strikeforce.
“The goal is always to be No. 1 in the world and I hit a brick wall,” Melendez said.“I had to re-evaluate things and focus on my business, and lost a little bit of the fire, lost a little bit of the motivation.Those are all respectable opponents, but I just couldn’t reach my goal fighting them or beating them.It was great challenges, no disrespect to them, but you’re trying to upgrade your stock.They had everything to gain and I had everything to lose.
“It was safe to say maybe my motivation wasn’t there the last year and a half.”
The winds of fortune changed directions when Strikeforce folded earlier this year and Melendez, along with most of the roster, moved over to the UFC.Melendez, however, is the only champion from the former San Jose-based promotion to get a title shot in his first fight with the UFC.It reignited the flame for Melendez that was close to diminished for most of last year.
“It’s excitement, but more it’s a deep breath and you kind of just switch gears.It was refreshing to get that message, that I’m finally going to be fighting in the Octagon.I’m excited to unleash the beast,” Melendez said. “It’s been hard.I feel like I’m ready to send that message. I think that a lot of people think that I am overrated, and I hope they are judging me from my last fights.I hope Benson (Henderson) is as well, but I’m definitely going to be a different man.I’m saying it here but more so I’m excited to show it.”
Melendez doesn’t mind pointing out that for every fight he’s had over the last few years, he’s always had an eye on whoever happened to be the UFC champion.From B.J. Penn to Frankie Edgar and now to Henderson, it’s never been about whom the champion happened to be—only that he wanted to wrestle the gold away from them.
Like all of the Strikeforce fighters coming to the UFC, Melendez knows he has a little something extra to prove against Henderson.There is a perception that exists that if a fighter isn’t winning in the UFC it doesn’t mean as much.
Melendez wants to prove that theory wrong by coming in for his debut fight inside the Octagon and walking out as the best 155-pound fighter on the planet.
“I’ve been envisioning this moment for a long time,” Melendez stated.“I’ve been ready for this moment for a long time.There’s been some hiccups here, there’s been some hurdles, but I’ve been ready for this.The last four years I’ve been waiting to get this opportunity and I’ve tried to stay ready.I’ve lost motivation, I’ve been up and down, but I’ve been ready for the last three or four years solid.I’m ready to show everybody what’s up.
“Nothing really matters until I prove everybody wrong and win.Nothing really matters until April 20. All the talk is going to be finished there.”
Melendez hopes to add the most important title he’s ever sought to his resume when he faces Henderson in the main event at UFC on Fox 7 this Saturday night from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Being the new guy isn’t always the most comfortable situation. You roll into a new job, a new school or maybe even a new bar and all eyes are immediately cast upon you.The folks that have been there for a while size you up. They want to know what…
Being the new guy isn’t always the most comfortable situation. You roll into a new job, a new school or maybe even a new bar and all eyes are immediately cast upon you.
The folks that have been there for a while size you up. They want to know what you’re all about. In some extreme cases, they may even decide to physically test you in some way to see if you truly belong.
That’s the situation Lorenz Larkin finds himself in heading into Saturday night.
Larkin’s been in the fight game since 2009 and has compiled a record of 13-0-0-1. He’ll make his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 7, facing the surging Tristar MMA fighter Francis Carmont.
Larkin’s been on the shelf since his last bout took place in July 2012. Larkin beat the odds in that one, defeating veteran competitor Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision in a three-round battle. Larkin looked very impressive in that bout, forcing Lawler to fight on his terms. The win was supposed to earn Larkin a shot at Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, and it did.
Sort of.
Larkin and Rockhold were scheduled to meet on two separate occasions, but each time Rockhold was forced to withdraw due to injury, a fact that did not sit well with Larkin.
With that debacle behind him, Larkin moves from a title shot on Strikeforce to a preliminary card bout in the UFC. Hear what Larkin has to say as he makes his move to the big stage.
UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson headlines UFC on FOX 7 this weekend against Gilbert Melendez, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped to think about his next opponent yet. In an interview with Fighters Only magazine, Henderson said he’s …
UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson headlines UFC on FOX 7 this weekend against Gilbert Melendez, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped to think about his next opponent yet.
In an interview with Fighters Only magazine, Henderson said he’s keen on a matchup with UFC featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo next.
Jose Aldo is a very tough fighter and he is welcome in this weight category. I had the opportunity to see him fight countless times in WEC. I have no problem regarding a fight. He is a great fighter and deserves this chance, if it happens … I would like to fight for the Brazilian fans. I would like to fight Aldo in Brazil.
Aldo has teased a move to lightweight before, though it seems inevitable now as UFC president Dana White said that with a win over Anthony Pettis, “Scarface” would have the next title shot at 155 pounds (via MMA Junkie).
Aldo and Pettis are set to headline an August 3 pay-per-view with a venue still to be determined.
The feared Muay Thai striker, who also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has won 15 bouts in a row. That includes six successful title defenses between the WEC and UFC.
Coincidentally, Aldo’s only loss came at lightweight under the Brazilian regional promotion Jungle Fight. That was all the way back in November 2005.
After losing the WEC lightweight belt in his final appearance (which was the 2010 Fight of the Year against Pettis), “Bendo” has been on a tear in the UFC, racking up a perfect 6-0 record in the Octagon.
A win over “El Nino,” the final Strikeforce lightweight champ, would mark Henderson’s third successful title defense.
Henderson sounds confident that he and Aldo are on a collision course to face one another.
I hope Aldo beats his next adversary and that I get past Melendez for us to make this dream bout. I want it badly, I would like it to happen in a soccer stadium in Brazil for 100,000 people! It would be wonderful and it would be such a pleasure for me.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
