The UFC is in Seattle this week for UFC on Fox 8.
A bout between flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and fourth-ranked contender John Moraga will headline the July 27 fight card. The evening’s co-main event will feature a welterweight contest b…
A bout between flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and fourth-ranked contender John Moraga will headline the July 27 fight card. The evening’s co-main event will feature a welterweight contest between top-five contenders Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. In all, 12 fights will take place on Saturday’s card from the Key Arena.
On Friday, the UFC will visit the arena for the weigh-ins. However, before the fighters take to the scales, the doors will open for UFC Fight Club members to take part in a question and answer session with the No. 1 flyweight in the UFC, Joseph Benavidez.
Benavidez (18-3) is currently booked to face JussierFormiga at UFC on Fox Sports 1: Teixeira vs. Bader, which will take place at Mineirinho Arena in BeloHorizonte, Brazil on September 4.
He will field questions about that upcoming fight, but he should also have plenty to say about Saturday’s main event. After all, the last man to beat him was Johnson. Benavidez entered that September 2012 fight as a minus-280 favorite over the plus-210 Johnson. After five fast paced rounds, Johnson walked away with the split-decision victory (48-47, 47-48, 49-46), and with the UFC flyweight title.
Benavidez will hit the Key Arena stage at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT to answer questions. Bleacher Report will stream Benavidez’s question and answer session live right here as it takes place.
The UFC is back in Seattle this weekend for UFC on Fox 8. Like the last time the promotion visited Seattle, in December of last year, a title fight will anchor the fight card. On Saturday, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will put his title on…
The UFC is back in Seattle this weekend for UFC on Fox 8. Like the last time the promotion visited Seattle, in December of last year, a title fight will anchor the fight card. On Saturday, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will put his title on the line against fourth-ranked contender John Moraga.
UFC on Fox 8 Full Weigh-In Results:
Demetrious Johnson (124.5) vs. John Moraga (124.5)
Jake Ellenberger (171) vs. Rory MacDonald (170.5)
Robbie Lawler (170.5) vs. Bobby Voelker (170)
Jessica Andrade (134) vs. Liz Carmouche (136)
Michael Chiesa (155.5) vs. Jorge Masvidal (157.5)*
Danny Castillo (155) vs. Tim Means (160)*
Mac Danzig (155) vs. Melvin Guillard (155)
Daron Cruickshank (156) vs. Yves Edwards (155)
Ed Herman (186) vs. Trevor Smith (185)
Germaine de Randamie (135) vs. Julie Kedzie (135.5)
UFC on Fox 8 will take place on Saturday from Seattle’s Key Arena. Here is a guide to get you prepared for the fight card, which will be headlined by a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Moraga.
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UFC on Fox 8 will take place on Saturday from Seattle’s Key Arena. Here is a guide to get you prepared for the fight card, which will be headlined by a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Moraga.
UFC on Fox 8 Full Fight Card Odds
Demetrious Johnson, favorite (-500) over John Moraga (+350)
Rory MacDonald, favorite (-240) over Jake Ellenberger (+190)
Robbie Lawler, favorite (-300) over Bobby Voelker (+230)
Liz Carmouche, favorite (-600) over Jessica Andrade (+400)
Jorge Masvidal, favorite (-300) over Michael Chiesa (+230)
Danny Castillo, favorite (-225) over Tim Means (+175)
Melvin Guillard, favorite (-125) over Mac Danzig (-105)
Daron Cruickshank, favorite (-140) over Yves Edwards (+110)
Ed Herman, favorite (-240) over Trevor Smith (+190)
Germaine deRandamie, favorite (-120) over Julie Kedzie (-110)
Justin Salas, favorite (-240) over Aaron Riley (+190)
John Albert, favorite (-250) over YaotzinMeza (+195)
Demetrious Johnson has never been finished in 20 professional MMA fights (17-2-1). His two defeats were by unanimous decision.
John Moraga only has two UFC flyweight division bouts under his belt, but his finishes in both of those fights tie him with Joseph Benavidez for most finishes in the division’s brief UFC history.
Rory MacDonald has the fourth best striking accuracy percentage (53.5 percent) in UFC welterweight history. Meanwhile, Jake Ellenberger has the third highest significant striking defense (68.4 percent) in UFC welterweight history.
Robbie Lawler’s finishing rate in his wins is 90 percent. He has 20 career victories; of that number, 17 have come by way of knockout. Twelve of those knockouts have come in the first round.
Liz Carmouche (8-3) has finished seven of her opponents. Five of her finishes have come via knockout.
The UFC returns to free television this Saturday with UFC on Fox 8, and we are taking a look at the odds heading into the final card of July.
The event features a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Moraga, …
The UFC returns to free television this Saturday with UFC on Fox 8, and we are taking a look at the odds heading into the final card of July.
The event features a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Moraga, while the co-main event is a welterweight contest between contenders Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald.
For those looking to get a bit more involved in the action, the betting lines for the main card fights are in, and we’ve got all the odds right here.
Find out where the value lies for this card as we handicap all four main card fights.
There’s a UFC event this weekend, live on free TV. I’ll forgive you if this is the first you’ve heard of it.
The media push for this one has been nonexistent, lost in the wake of the Anderson Silva fight fix controversy, an impending media tour fo…
There’s a UFC event this weekend, live on free TV. I’ll forgive you if this is the first you’ve heard of it.
The media push for this one has been nonexistent, lost in the wake of the Anderson Silva fight fix controversy, an impending media tour for other, more important shows and the general malaise that comes with the near weekly presence of mixed martial arts on television.
The show will be headlined by Demetrious Johnson and John Moraga. I’ll forgive you if you aren’t familiar with them either.
Though Johnson was in the main event of the UFC’s sixth show on Fox, he’s spent most of his career buried on the undercard or headlining less prestigious events on FX or Versus. Moraga, I kid you not, was in the opening bout in each of his two UFC appearances.
A blockbuster, this surely is not.
Combined, the two men weigh the same as an average-sized heavyweight. Johnson stands just 5’3″ tall. Moraga, by contrast, is a relative giant at a whopping 5’6″.
Do MMA fans care to watch wee men attempting to do opponents harm with their miniature arms and legs? Sure, they are just like us—only tiny versions of us, dwarfed by the referee, the time keeper and possibly even the UFC’s lilliputian matchmaker, Joe Silva.
Do not adjust your television when they come on—they really are that small. You can’t watch them on your 60-inch flat screen. A flyweight is best viewed on a 19-inch Sony from 1974.
I kid. Maybe.
But, for Johnson and everyone else in the brand new flyweight class, size most definitely matters. While it might not stop a boxer from making big money and headlining huge events, for UFC fans, it’s clearly a deal killer.
Fans have, today and historically, rejected fighters below the welterweight limit of 170 pounds. The data on this is clear. The reasons less so. I took a shot at pinpointing them last year:
In boxing, fans identify with artistry. When you order a big boxing show, you expect to settle in for a night of action. The story inside the ring builds as the night goes on, with commentators like HBO’s Jim Lampley doing their best to make even the most boring fight seem like a Homerian epic.
In mixed martial arts, fans have been trained to expect the opposite. The violence is quick, arriving like a bolt of lightning and evaporating just as quickly. As a kid, I remember how furious my dad’s friends were when Mike Tyson’s fight with Michael Spinks ended so quickly. They wanted more than a brutal knockout. In MMA, the quick KO will suffice for most fans, thank you very much.
Johnson and Moraga aren’t likely to change that track record this weekend.
As Dave Meltzer of MMAFighting.com pointed out in April, the UFC’s success on Fox has been tied to professional football. When the NFL is there to market the shows, they succeed. When it’s not? Viewers drop off by the millions.
Last year’s spring special, headlined by Diaz vs. Jim Miller, which did a 1.5 rating and 2.42 million viewers. The summer numbers, for a show headlined by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson, did similar numbers, although it was hurt badly by going head-to-head against the Olympics.
This seemed to, more than anything, show that having the UFC promoted during NFL broadcasts makes a significant difference when it comes to FOX network ratings. By all rights, Henderson should have come out of the Diaz fight as a bigger star, given his impressive victory. Melendez hadn’t had the level of UFC exposure as Diaz, given it was his debut with the organization. But he was the Strikeforce champion for most of the past seven years.
All these factors make it pretty clear this is a show destined for ratings doom. So far, from a box office perspective, the creation of the bantamweight and flyweight classes has been a complete bust.
Their only purpose seems to be creating the illusion of importance for UFC television cards lacking oomph.
Is the UFC missing the boat on these talented fighters? What can be done to better promote the smaller guys? Or is it possible fans simply aren’t interested in watching grown men the size of the average woman in America slug it out?
MMA’s Great Debate Radio returns from hiatus with a stacked show, featuring some of the top fighters from the upcoming UFC on Fox 8 card, including flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and co-main event fighters Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger.
Fo…
MMA’s Great Debate Radio returns from hiatus with a stacked show, featuring some of the top fighters from the upcoming UFC on Fox 8 card, including flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and co-main event fighters Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger.
Following shoulder surgery that kept him out of a fight in April, Johnson stops by to talk about his recovery, facing a relative unknown fighter in John Moraga and what it will take for the flyweights to finally reach star potential in the UFC.
Canadian MacDonald will answer the charge of his upcoming opponent Ellenberger and his reaction to the slew of Twitter messages he received leading to their fight.
Ellenberger also stops by to say why he went after MacDonald on Twitter and if he believes this fight will earn him a long-awaited title shot.
Finally, the debate today swirls around the events of UFC on Fox 8.
Today’s topics include:
—Rate your level of excitement in UFC on Fox 8 on a scale of 1-10
—Can the flyweight division ever draw the same kinds of crowds as the bigger weight classes?
—Fight Pick: Liz Carmouche vs. Jessica Andrade
—Fight Pick: Robbie Lawler vs. Bobby Voelker
—Should the winner of Ellenberger vs. MacDonald get the next title shot?
—Fight Pick: Ellenberger vs. MacDonald
—Fight Pick: Johnson vs. Moraga
This is MMA’s Great Debate Radio for Thursday, July 25, 2013
