The welterweight division is a shark tank in the UFC right now, with a mixture of established veterans, up-and-coming stars and promising prospects all clawing for position in the division.There are a number of intriguing prospects in the welterweight …
The welterweight division is a shark tank in the UFC right now, with a mixture of established veterans, up-and-coming stars and promising prospects all clawing for position in the division.
There are a number of intriguing prospects in the welterweight the division that have the opportunity to be big names with the division, as their skill and work ethic have already carried them to the UFC in a short time. These guy could be future top contenders and mainstays in the UFC.
Some prospects that have already proven to be stars and contenders in the UFC are Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks and Siyar Bahadurzada. These three erased their prospect status with their big wins and have cashed them in for top contender tags.
Here are the seven best prospects the UFC has to offer that could eventually be big names in the division.
UFC on FX 3 promises to provide fireworks, that much is certain. This will make fight night bonuses extremely difficult to pick, as it could be a number of fights and finishes potentially taking home some extra money.Headlined by a rematch between Ian …
UFC on FX 3 promises to provide fireworks, that much is certain. This will make fight night bonuses extremely difficult to pick, as it could be a number of fights and finishes potentially taking home some extra money.
Headlined by a rematch between Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson, Friday looks to be a great night of fights for the UFC. From the top to the bottom, the entire card may not have “star power,” but it definitely provides a number of guys who will bring their “A game” to the Octagon.
Although it’s a tough task, here are my predictions to win the fight night bonuses.
Erick Silva will attempt to get back to winning ways when he throws hands with Charlie Brenneman at UFC on FX 3, and thus continue his ascension up the welterweight ranks.However, any notions of Silva being the next Brazilian to hold a coveted UFC belt…
Erick Silva will attempt to get back to winning ways when he throws hands with Charlie Brenneman at UFC on FX 3, and thus continue his ascension up the welterweight ranks.
However, any notions of Silva being the next Brazilian to hold a coveted UFC belt should be firmly squashed, as that honor belongs solely to his compatriot Renan Barão.
For one, Silva (13-2-1DQ MMA) is coming off a disqualification loss, but a defeat nonetheless. Secondly, he’s 1-1 in the Zuffa-based promotion, but of more importance is the fact “Indio” is nowhere near the top 10-ranked fighters in MMA’s welterweight class, let alone the UFC.
Furthermore, he’s yet to fight an upper-echelon 170-pounder, so his chances of vying for the title anytime soon are between slim and none.
Conversely, Barão is riding an astonishing 28-fight undefeated streak, with the sole defeat (his MMA debut more than seven years ago) on his record coming by way unanimous decision.
The 25-year-old is currently 3-0 in the UFC having dispatched Cole Escovedo, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen.
He’s now slated to lock horns with former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber for the bantamweight interim title, a fight I believe he’ll win.
Once that mission has been accomplished, the next stop will be Dominick Cruz and the original 12 pounds of UFC gold. Again, that’s a fight he will be victorious in, thus making him the next Brazilian UFC titlist.
And as a consequence, Barão will sit alongside other Brazilian UFC champions such as Junior dos Santos (heavyweight), Anderson Silva (middleweight) and Jose Aldo (featherweight).
A triumph over Cruz would also make him only the eighth Brazilian to hold a UFC divisional championship belt (Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira won the interim heavyweight title).
UFC on FX 3 is scheduled for June 8, 2012, at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.
BURBANK, Calif. — UFC bantamweight Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian has always had a chip on his shoulder. His coach, former UFC lightweight Alberto Crane, said one has to have that kind of bravado to compete in the world’s premier mixed martial arts o…
BURBANK, Calif. — UFC bantamweight Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian has always had a chip on his shoulder. His coach, former UFC lightweight Alberto Crane, said one has to have that kind of bravado to compete in the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.
But when Papazian and Crane first met, the young Armenian fighter’s chip was big enough to raise the skyline in neighboring downtown Los Angeles.
The ego needed to be harnessed, and Crane brought calm to the storm.
“When I first met him, I wasn’t that humble,” Papazian said of his early encounters with Crane, who will corner him in his UFC on FX 3 fight against Dustin Pague. “He straightened me out.”
Crane and Papazian met through Darin Harvey, who now manages Papazian’s fight career. Harvey took Papazian under his wing, wanting to ensure the fighter would have more success going forward. This was in large part due to the mismanagement Papazian experienced in the past.
Papazian said his old manager, Dave Kujawski, burned bridges with fight promoters. This negatively affected his career, which saw consecutive losses early on. Bringing Harvey in allowed for the introduction of Crane, and this began the turnaround.
“My ground game was very raw,” Papazian said, adding that he never got a lot of one-on-one time with an MMA coach. “I…locked that in with Alberto.”
So began the sharpening of a skill set that, while backed with a lot of heart, lacked an extra edge. Harvey referred to his client back then as a kid who had a lot of work to do.
“[I] rolled with…and tapped him out a bunch of times,” said Harvey, who currently owns a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “[But] not anymore. Can’t catch him.”
Harvey can no longer catch the 135-pound fighter because of the schooling Crane has provided The Jackhammer since 2009. It was then that the fighter and manager walked into Crane’s San Fernando Valley Gracie Barra school, seeking a coach that would take Papazian to the next level.
But the gym owner was reluctant, worried that some may look to get something for nothing.
“I basically thought he was trying to get Jared some free training,” Crane said of Harvey, laughing about the time he agreed to meet and train with Papazian.
The young fighter earned his training with the jiu-jitsu black belt Crane by agreeing to help out around the gym. Sparring sessions were followed by time with a mop cleaning gym mats.
Years later, Papazian prepares for his second fight in the UFC. It’s a bout that he hopes will be just as exciting as his UFC debut, where he and Mike Easton fought for three rounds, and garnered the attention to be considered what many thought was the “UFC Fight of the Night.” It’s that type of excitement that got him to the big show in the first place.
“I could feel the fire in Jared’s heart,” Crane said of his student. “He’s all…balls and guts. That’s him. That’s [what got] him to the UFC.”
But if you ask Papazian what got him there, it’s the help of his manager—a man he looks at as a father figure—and the intense training with his coach. For the bantamweight, training doesn’t get much better than what he gets from Crane.
“He’s just at another level.”
As for that chip on his shoulder, Crane said it’s still there. But Papazian learned to get a hold of the ego and apply it towards his career in a positive way.
Simply put, there are a lot of fighters on the UFC on FX 3 card who have a lot to lose.Whether they are fighting to move up the contender list or barely hanging onto a roster spot, there is a lot to watch out for on Friday night.The fighter that stands…
Simply put, there are a lot of fighters on the UFC on FX 3 card who have a lot to lose.
Whether they are fighting to move up the contender list or barely hanging onto a roster spot, there is a lot to watch out for on Friday night.
At the moment, there is a bit of a log jam near the top of the bantamweight contender list. Dominick Cruz is the current champion but is unable to defend his belt due to an injury. That led to the UFC setting up an interim title fight between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao.
Should Jorgensen win, it should propel him to be the No. 2 contender behind Michael McDonald. A victory would also give Jorgensen a solid 3-1 start to his UFC career.
A loss, on the other hand, would send Jorgensen spiraling down the bantamweight ladder and put his goal towards a title shot out of the immediate future.
One thing that should be noted is that Jorgensen’s last two losses have come against heavily-touted Renan Barao and current bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Both losses came by decision.
Overall, Jorgensen is 13-5 and has yet to be knocked out.
Jorgensen will take on Eddie Wineland this Friday night as part of the main card of UFC on FX 3.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
UFC on FX 3 will mark the second of three Friday night fight cards for the UFC in the month of June. The card, headlined by a flyweight bout between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall will take place on June 8 from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fl…
UFC on FX 3 will mark the second of three Friday night fight cards for the UFC in the month of June. The card, headlined by a flyweight bout between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall will take place on June 8 from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.
The winner of the Johnson (14-2-1) versus McCall (11-2-1) meeting will move on to face Joseph Benavidez to decide who will be crowned the first flyweight champion in UFC history.
In the evening’s co-main event, Erick Silva (13-2-0-1) will meet Charlie Brenneman (15-3) in a welterweight contest.
Weigh-in Results:
Demetrious Johnson (125) vs. Ian McCall (126)
Charlie Brenneman (171) vs. Erick Silva (169)
Josh Neer (170.5) vs. Mike Pyle (171)
Scott Jorgensen (136) vs. Eddie Wineland (135.5)
Mike Pierce (171) vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha (170.5)
Erick Silva will attempt to get back to winning ways when he throws hands with Charlie Brenneman at UFC on FX 3, and thus continue his ascension up the welterweight ranks.