Tag: UFC on Fox 7

UFC on Fox 7 Medical Suspensions: Cormier, Mendes, Mein out Up to 6 Months

The fallout from one of the most exciting UFC cards in recent history continues. On Saturday, UFC on Fox 7 delivered an action-packed card that was headlined by Benson Henderson defending his UFC lightweight title against Strikeforce lightweight champi…

The fallout from one of the most exciting UFC cards in recent history continues. On Saturday, UFC on Fox 7 delivered an action-packed card that was headlined by Benson Henderson defending his UFC lightweight title against Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. 

The California State Athletic Commission has handed down the list of medical suspensions for the event, and it is lengthy—an understandable fact after eight of the fights on the card ended by knockout or TKO.

 

UFC on Fox 7 Full Medical Suspensions

Benson Henderson: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Gilbert Melendez: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Daniel Cormier: Suspended 180 days with 180 days no contact or until cleared by physician for swollen right middle finger.

Frank Mir: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Josh Thomson: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Nate Diaz: Suspended 60 days with 60 days no contact or until cleared by physician for facial lacerations to nose and cheek. Also suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Matt Brown: Suspended 60 days with 60 days no contact or until cleared by physician for laceration to right eyebrow.

Jordan Mein: Suspended for 180 days with 180 days no contact for possible fractured jaw and possible right orbital fracture. Suspended for 60 days with 60 days no contact for laceration to nose.  Also suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Chad Mendes: Suspended 180 days with 180 days no contact or until cleared by physician for possible right index finger fracture.

Darren Elkins: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Francis Carmont: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Lorenz Larkin: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Myles Jury: Suspended 60 days with 60 days no contact or until cleared by physician for laceration to right eyebrow.

Ramsey Nijem: Suspended 180 days with 180 days no contact or until cleared by physician. Sent to hospital for head trauma. Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Joseph Benavidez: Suspended 60 days with 60 days no contact for broken tooth and laceration to right eyebrow or until cleared by physician.

Darren Uyenoyama: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Jorge Masvidal: Suspended 180 days with 180 days no contact or until cleared by physician for right thumb fracture. Also suspended 60 days no contact or until cleared by physician for scalp lacerations.

Tim Means: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

T.J. Dillashaw: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Hugo Viana: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

Anthony Njokuani: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Roger Bowling: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact and must have neurological check.

Yoel Romero: Mandatory minimum seven-day suspension.

Clifford Starks: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.

 

*Suspensions provided to Bleacher Report via email from CSAC.

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UFC on FOX 7 Results: Nate Diaz Wants the UFC to Add 3 More Weight Classes

Following a brutal technical knockout at the hands of Josh Thomson at UFC on FOX 7 on Saturday, Nate Diaz is calling upon the UFC brass to add three more weight classes to the company. Monday afternoon, Diaz tweeted that his plans of returnin…

Following a brutal technical knockout at the hands of Josh Thomson at UFC on FOX 7 on Saturday, Nate Diaz is calling upon the UFC brass to add three more weight classes to the company. 

Monday afternoon, Diaz tweeted that his plans of returning to welterweight (via MMA Fighting) would change if the UFC added a weight class in between lightweight (155 pounds) and 170 pounds. 

The proposed 178-pound weight class would be in the middle of welterweight and middleweight (185 pounds), while a 193-pound division would be closer to middleweight than light heavyweight (205 pounds). 

After an impressive 3-0 run at lightweight between September 2011 and and May 2012, the Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt got a title shot against 155-pound champ Benson Henderson in December.

Diaz was thoroughly dominated by “Bendo,” suffering an even more definitive loss to Thomson in his next bout this past Saturday. 

The former The Ultimate Fighter winner currently has an 11-7 record under the UFC banner, including a 2-2 run at welterweight between March 2010 and April 2011. 

Diaz earned stoppage wins over Rory Markham and Marcus Davis, but he was overpowered and out-grappled by Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald during that four-fight span at a higher weight class.

UFC president Dana White, nor anyone else affiliated with the UFC, has responded to the tweet as of Monday evening. 

At the UFC on FOX 7 post-fight press conference, White stated that Diaz is much better suited to be fighting at 155 pounds than at 170 pounds (via MMA Junkie). 

Would adding three new weight classes to the UFC make the promotion that much more exciting, or is this just another whacky soundbite from the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp?

 

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.

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Armchair Matchmaker: ‘UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez’ Edition


(“Well, Joe, I’d just like to thank God for giving me the strength to-OH SHIT HERE COMES THE REST OF ‘EM.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

Let us begin this week’s edition of the Armchair Matchmaker with a few fun facts about last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 7 event: 

-With eight (T)KO’s, UFC on FOX 7 tied UFC 92 for the most (T)KO finishes in a single UFC event in the promotion’s history.

-In defeating Jordan Mein via second round TKO, the resurgent Matt Brown now holds the third longest win streak (5) amongst active UFC welterweights, as well as the record for (T)KO finishes in the welterweight division. Yet incredibly, the FOTN check Brown received was the first end of the night bonus he has earned in some 15 UFC fights.

-Frank Mir, like, really dropped the ball against Daniel Cormier.

Now, using those absolute truths and a little speculation, let’s decide who the biggest winners and losers from UFC on FOX 7 should face next, shall we?

The Winners

Ben Henderson: Well, we already know who he’ll be facing next, so that one is pretty easy. The question now becomes: How do you see Bendo taking it? Split decision, unanimous decision, or the always rare majority decision?


(“Well, Joe, I’d just like to thank God for giving me the strength to-OH SHIT HERE COMES THE REST OF ‘EM.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

Let us begin this week’s edition of the Armchair Matchmaker with a few fun facts about last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 7 event: 

-With eight (T)KO’s, UFC on FOX 7 tied UFC 92 for the most (T)KO finishes in a single UFC event in the promotion’s history.

-In defeating Jordan Mein via second round TKO, the resurgent Matt Brown now holds the third longest win streak (5) amongst active UFC welterweights, as well as the record for (T)KO finishes in the welterweight division. Yet incredibly, the FOTN check Brown received was the first end of the night bonus he has earned in some 15 UFC fights.

-Frank Mir, like, really dropped the ball against Daniel Cormier.

Now, using those absolute truths and a little speculation, let’s decide who the biggest winners and losers from UFC on FOX 7 should face next, shall we?

The Winners

Ben Henderson: Well, we already know who he’ll be facing next, so that one is pretty easy. The question now becomes: How do you see Bendo taking it? Split decision, unanimous decision, or the always rare majority decision?

Daniel Cormier: Now this one is tricky. On one hand, Cormier has been hinting at a drop to light heavyweight for what feels like years now. On the other, his victory over Mir, as well as his wins over Josh Barnett and Antonio Silva have proved that Cormier can pretty much overpower whoever he wants. If he plans on staying at heavyweight, it’s hard to argue that Cormier isn’t a win or two away from a title shot, regardless of how he looked against Mir.

The main problem is that the future of the heavyweight division is pretty much in a state of limbo until UFC 160 goes down next month. With the Cain Velasquez vs. Bigfoot Silva rematch determining the heavyweight champion and Junior Dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt presumably determining the next #1 contender, the only matchup that really makes sense for Cormier would be against the winner of the Fabricio Werdum/Big Nog fight at UFC on FUEL 10 in May, which will cap off their gigs as coaches on the second season of TUF: Brazil. Unless you think Todd Duffee has earned a big step up in competition of course.

Josh Thomson: Despite being a former Strikeforce champ and longtime veteran of the game, Josh Thomson might be the most underrated fighter in the lightweight division. That was of course, until he finished the previously unfinishable (and former title challenger) Nate Diaz last weekend. Granted, it appeared as if Diaz was headed to fatter pastures regardless of his performance, but that takes nothing away from Thomson’s incredible accomplishment.

Again, Thomson finds himself in a unique situation, as the UFC’s lightweight division does not currently offer a lot of sensible fights for “The Punk” to take. Anthony Pettis is headed South, Bendo already has his next fight lined up, and Jose Aldo will get the title shot after that if he is able to best Pettis. And as entertaining as their first three fights were, there is no way in Hell we are going to suggest Thomson vs. Melendez IV. So…Donald Cerrone (If/After he beats K.J. Noons at UFC 160) maybe?

Matt Brown: Demian Maia. There’s only one way to see just how far Brown can go in his current career comeback, and as much as we’d love to match “The Immortal” up against another fellow banger — like say, the Lawler/Saffiedine winner – we should first see if Brown’s submission defense is still as mortal as it used to be before we allow this pipe dream to continue any longer.

The Losers 

Gilbert Melendez: The loser of the Grant/Maynard #1 contender fight. Simple.

Frank Mir: Heading into last weekend’s fight with Cormier, Mir stated that he was guilty of “not showing up” for certain fights throughout his career. But now that he was training away from his family for the first time, Mir promised us that he would make a statement against “DC.” While I personally think that Mir has earned his current pay rate in the UFC through concussions alone, it would be almost impossible to claim that he “showed up” on Saturday. Mir looked sluggish and uninspired for the majority of his co-main event scrap and now finds himself in the first two-fight skid of his career.

Being that he’s fought the who’s who of his division and the fact that everyone else of note is tied up at the moment, we’d say give Mir a break for the time being and have him fight Matt Mitrione whenever he returns from his current suspension. Both guys are known for making controversial statements and will likely needle the shit out of each other in the weeks leading up to the fight, and isn’t that the best scenario we could ask for given both guys current career trajectories? I know, I’ll see myself out.

Nate Diaz: Hey, we already laid out the terms of Diaz’s future at 170 lbs. when he first announced that he would be headed back to the welterweight division. Prepare yourself, Papy Abedi, for a storm of Stockton Heybuddies and fisticuffs is headed your way.

Jordan Mein: He may be coming off a loss, but does anyone else think the prospect of seeing Mein square off with fellow Canadian slugger and newly-minted welterweight Patrick Cote is too perfect to pass up? *cue the overwhelming disapproval of this notion* Cote looked outstanding in (the first two rounds of) his victory over Bobby Voelker at UFC 158 and a fight with Mein would be a perfect litmus test for either fighter. DO IT OR WE’LL PICK UP JOE SILVA AGAIN.

Give us your general thoughts on UFC on FOX 7, along with who you think the winners and losers should face next, in the comments section. 

–J. Jones

UFC Rankings for Each Weight Division Following UFC on Fox 7

Benson Henderson picked up another controversial win at UFC on Fox 7, defending his lightweight championship with a split decision against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.The closely contested bout saw Melendez validate his standing among …

Benson Henderson picked up another controversial win at UFC on Fox 7, defending his lightweight championship with a split decision against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

The closely contested bout saw Melendez validate his standing among the best 155-pound fighters in MMA. Though he came up short on the scorecards, Melendez should only be one big win away from getting a second shot at UFC gold.

UFC on Fox 7 also saw Strikeforce veterans Daniel Cormier and Josh Thomson pick up important wins in their UFC debuts. With respective victories over Frank Mir and Nate Diaz, Cormier and Thomson put themselves within striking distance of title shots.

With UFC on Fox 7 in the rear-view mirror and UFC 159 approaching, let’s take a look at the latest official UFC rankings. 

Begin Slideshow

UFC on Fox 7 Salaries: Frank Mir and Benson Henderson Lead the Way

UFC on Fox 7 took place April 20 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson successfully defended his title, earning a split decision over top-ranked Gilbert Melendez.The co-main event featured…

UFC on Fox 7 took place April 20 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson successfully defended his title, earning a split decision over top-ranked Gilbert Melendez.

The co-main event featured the much anticipated UFC debut of Daniel Cormier. Cormier, an Olympic wrestler, used his strength advantage to earn a unanimous decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.

The card was full of knockouts, eight to be exact, tying the UFC record  for most KOs on a single fight card.

If you’re interested in what the fighters put in their pocket after the event, we have you covered.

The California State Athletic Commission provided Bleacher Report with the fighter salaries for the event.

 

UFC on Fox 7 Fighter Salaries (Note: The second number listed after winners is their win bonus, and is included in the total figure listed right before)

Benson Henderson ($200,000—$100,000) defeated Gilbert Melendez ($175,000).

Daniel Cormier ($126,000—$63,000) defeated Frank Mir ($200,000).

Josh Thomson ($95,000—$10,000) defeated Nate Diaz ($15,000).

Matt Brown ($60,000—$30,000) defeated Jordan Mein ($16,000).

Chad Mendes ($56,000—$28,000) defeated Darren Elkins ($24,000).

Francis Carmont ($38,000—$19,000) defeated Lorenz Larkin ($23,000).

Myles Jury ($16,000—$8,000) defeated Ramsey Nijem ($14,000).

Joseph Benavidez ($66,000—$33,000) defeated Darren Uyenoyama ($12,000).

T.J. Dillashaw ($28,000—$14,000) defeated Hugo Viana ($8,000).

Jorge Masvidal ($60,000—$30,000) defeated Tim Means ($10,000).

Anthony Njokuani ($36,000—$18,000) defeated Roger Bowling ($12,000).

Yoel Romero ($20,000—$10,000) defeated Clifford Starks ($8,000).

**Amounts do not reflect any discretionary bonuses paid by the UFC.

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Following Henderson vs. Melendez, Pettis Says He’s Still the Best at 155

Upcoming UFC featherweight title challenger Anthony Pettis apparently wasn’t all that impressed with lightweight champ Benson Henderson’s split decision win over Gilbert Melendez on Saturday. Minutes after the high-paced affair ended, “Showtime” t…

Upcoming UFC featherweight title challenger Anthony Pettis apparently wasn’t all that impressed with lightweight champ Benson Henderson’s split decision win over Gilbert Melendez on Saturday. 

Minutes after the high-paced affair ended, “Showtime” tweeted he still believes he’s a cut above the rest at lightweight. 

Despite having his UFC debut spoiled by Clay Guida in June 2011, Pettis has rattled off three consecutive wins over Jeremy Stephens and perennial contenders Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. 

The innovative striker is also the last fighter to defeat Henderson, becoming the last WEC lightweight title holder at WEC 53 in December 2010. 

After getting tired of waiting for the logjam in the UFC’s 155-pound division to clear up, Pettis decided to drop down to featherweight to challenge divisional champion Jose Aldo in August (via USA Today). 

Even though it was his second close split-decision win in three title fights, the victory over Melendez leaves Henderson tied with BJ Penn for the UFC record for consecutive lightweight title defenses. 

Since the loss to Pettis, “Bendo” has compiled a perfect 7-0 record inside the Octagon, though he has yet to finish a fight in that span. 

For Melendez, a two-time Strikeforce champ at 155 pounds, the loss to Henderson snaps a seven-fight win streak over names such as Josh Thomson and Shinya Aoki.

However, due to the competitive nature of the bout, he will remain near the top of just about any upcoming lightweight rankings at least until his next fight.

Will the fans ever be treated to a long-awaited rematch between Pettis and Henderson, or is Henderson vs. Melendez II, or even Henderson vs. Aldo, far more likely at this point? 

 

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.

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