(If only our last day at the office could be this satisfying. Also, what’s up with the little bunny on Dan’s shorts? Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
After Dan Hardy tapped to a Chris Lytle guillotine choke last night at UFC on Versus 5 — Hardy’s fourth consecutive loss within the Octagon — many fans assumed that the Outlaw would be released by the UFC to get a couple of tune-up wins somewhere else. But Hardy doesn’t have to start updating his resume just yet. UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed via Twitter that Hardy won’t be cut. His reasoning: “I like guys that WAR!!!”
That’s great news for the former welterweight title contender. The question is, does Hardy even want another chance? Winless since 2009, Hardy appears to be in no rush to get back on the horse. As he told MMA Junkie:
“I think if they are going to give me one more fight, then I really need to take some time and come back reinvented…There are a lot of things I can do. But right now, I need space from competing, and I need space in the gym getting beaten up by much better guys in every area. I’ll either improve or find another way. If I’ve got one more fight, then I’ll take one more fight. But maybe it won’t be for a little while…“
(If only our last day at the office could be this satisfying. Also, what’s up with the little bunny on Dan’s shorts? Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
After Dan Hardy tapped to a Chris Lytle guillotine choke last night at UFC on Versus 5 — Hardy’s fourth consecutive loss within the Octagon — many fans assumed that the Outlaw would be released by the UFC to get a couple of tune-up wins somewhere else. But Hardy doesn’t have to start updating his resume just yet. UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed via Twitter that Hardy won’t be cut. His reasoning: “I like guys that WAR!!!”
That’s great news for the former welterweight title contender. The question is, does Hardy even want another chance? Winless since 2009, Hardy appears to be in no rush to get back on the horse. As he told MMA Junkie:
“I think if they are going to give me one more fight, then I really need to take some time and come back reinvented…There are a lot of things I can do. But right now, I need space from competing, and I need space in the gym getting beaten up by much better guys in every area. I’ll either improve or find another way. If I’ve got one more fight, then I’ll take one more fight. But maybe it won’t be for a little while…”
“I think I had the quickest rise and the quickest fall the UFC’s ever seen – four fights up, four fights down. But there were improvements to make. I know that. I just don’t think between fights I’ve really had the time to invest in working on those particular things. I know I’ve got it in me to learn them…”
“I think my head’s elsewhere to be honest. I’m going to step back a little bit and take some time — just enjoy being in the gym for a little while and see where the future takes me…I’ll see where my life takes me after a couple of days off. I think I just need to really dedicate the time to it and either come back in a blaze of glory and make a run for the belt or do something else. I’m not sure yet.”
Coincidentally, Lytle’s farewell win over Hardy brought both of their UFC records to the .500 mark. Of course, Lytle’s story couldn’t be more different than Hardy’s, as he now leaves the sport with an impressive victory, and joins the very short list of fighters who went out on top. Making the moment even sweeter is the $130,000 in bonus money that Lights Out made for his efforts. $65,000 performance bonuses for UFC on Versus 5 were distributed to the following fighters…
Fight of the Night: Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy for their main event slugfest, which lived up to its billing and then some.
Submission of the Night: Chris Lytle again, beating out Ed Herman, Jimy Hettes, and Cole Miller, who also scored submission victories during the prelims.
Knockout of the Night: Donald Cerrone, for his first-round mollywopping of Charles Oliveira.
Chris Lytle’s two final UFC bonuses once again make him the most bonus-worthy fighter in UFC history, with 10 overall bonuses and a whopping $515,000 in career bonus money. Oh yeah, and he also won a 2012 Harley-Davidson Blackline for defeating Hardy. Beats the hell out of gold watch, doesn’t it?
MILWAUKEE – It all could have been so simple. Then Ben Henderson went and messed everything up.
The former WEC lightweight champ won his second straight in the UFC, dispatching Jim Miller – one of the most vocal critics of the WEC’s lightweights at the time of the merger with the UFC – with relative ease on Sunday night.
But Henderson’s win over Miller in the co-main event of UFC on Versus 5 did more than just make a statement about the quality of the former WEC 155-pounders. (Donald Cerrone shared the victory stage with Henderson after improving to 3-0 in the UFC in 2011.) It eliminated Miller and his seven-fighting winning streak, which would have reached eight had he beaten Henderson, as the easy choice for the next No. 1 contender in the UFC’s lightweight division.
Instead of a clear-cut top pick to face the October winner of the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard rematch, there’s a tight pack at the top – including Henderson and Cerrone. But Henderson, for the most part, said he would leave that top contender decision in the hands of the UFC and let his win over Miller do the talking for him.
“I just want to make sure I get my hand raised and I’ll do my talking inside the cage,” Henderson said. “But what do you guys think? (I beat) the No. 1 contender, and that kind of a performance? You tell me. What does Dana (White) think? What does Joe Silva think? What does Sean Shelby think?”
Henderson told MMA Fighting at the post-fight press conference he believes there are several fighters clamoring to get the shot now that Miller has to go back to Square One, including Cerrone and his teammates at Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, N.M.
“Jackson’s camp has some tough 155-pounders,” Henderson said. “I think the top guys are (Clay) Guida, (Melvin) Guillard, probably myself. But whoever. Whatever.”
Cerrone took a quick shot at Miller’s criticism of the WEC lightweights before saying he believes Henderson should be next in line for his domination over the previous presumed top contender.
“We’re not the little brother, right? I think the little brother just beat up the big brother. It feels good for the WEC boys to be back on Versus making it happen,” Cerrone said. “I think Ben is next – unless he wants to fight me. That would be the only other thing.”
A Cerrone-Henderson matchup next would not be out of the question, though the UFC might not want to pair up two of its newest stars-in-the-making so soon. Henderson and Cerrone have fought twice before, each time with the WEC’s lightweight belt on the line. Cerrone’s last two losses have come at the hands of Henderson – once by decision for the interim title, and once by guillotine in their rematch.
Cerrone saw his winning streak hit five with a quick and dominant TKO against Charles Oliveira, one of the UFC’s most highly touted young talents. His five straight wins now stand right next to Guillard’s five straight, though two of Cerrone’s came to close out his WEC career.
Guida has four straight wins, including an upset of former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in June. Other fighters with four straight in the division include Nik Lentz and Jacob Volkmann, though neither have been as high profile as Guida.
Guillard is scheduled to fight Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston, the same night as the Edgar-Maynard rematch. Guida does not yet have his next fight scheduled.
MILWAUKEE – Jim Miller might be wishing he could take back his initial comments about the WEC’s lightweights coming over to the UFC.
Though Miller softened his stance that the WEC 155-pounders might not be worthy of UFC status during a media call 10 days ago, he may want to wipe the entire thing from his memory.
Sunday, in the co-main event of UFC on Versus 5, former WEC lightweight champ Ben Henderson had little problem with Miller – snapping his seven-fight UFC winning streak and sending him back to the middle of the pack in the division and eliminating him from the near-term title picture.
Henderson, who is now 2-0 in the UFC, said he wasn’t sure who the top contender for the title should be – but wouldn’t argue if it was him.
“I’m not really sure – I just want to make sure I get my hand raised and I’ll do my talking inside the cage,” Henderson said. “But what do you guys think? The No. 1 contender, and that kind of a performance? You tell me. What does Dana (White) think? What does Joe Silva think? What does Sean Shelby think?”
Henderson said the win was the biggest of his career – and that includes winning the WEC lightweight title, as well as retaining it before losing it to Anthony Pettis in December.
“I think (this is the biggest win of my career),” Henderson said. “Every fight, my career has gone along a certain path, steadily going up. I had a minor hiccup (against Pettis) and I got over that. But this is the biggest fight of my career so far, and I think I did a good job and my work inside the cage will speak for itself.
With Miller’s seven-fight streak snapped, there is a new logjam in the lightweight division for next top contender. Frankie Edgar defends his belt in a rematch against Gray Maynard on Oct. 8 in Houston. But who will the winner get? It was presumed to be Miller, had he won.
Now Clay Guida has won four straight and doesn’t yet have his next fight booked following his win over Pettis in June. Melvin Guillard is on a five-fight streak and meets Joe Lauzon in October. Former WEC star Donald Cerrone has won five straight. And then there’s Henderson.
But one thing is for certain – Henderson got the last laugh when it comes to Miller’s assessment of the WEC’s 155 pounders.
“I’ll just say this,” Henderson said, before throwing up a big grin he hoped would do the talking for him.
Filed under: UFCYou can say this for the UFC’s free fight cards: they’re always worth your money, even if you pay for them by sitting through the same few commercials over and over again.
Last night in Milwaukee fight fans got treated to a little piec…
You can say this for the UFC’s free fight cards: they’re always worth your money, even if you pay for them by sitting through the same few commercials over and over again.
Last night in Milwaukee fight fans got treated to a little piece of MMA history, as one of the sport’s great battlers called it quits and went out on a triumphant victory. If you didn’t feel a little choked up watching Chris Lytle hug his kids in the Octagon after a brutal scrap to end a hard-nosed career, better check your battery life, because you may be a robot.
It’s great to see those moments broadcast live to the entire cable TV universe, but it wasn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows at UFC on Versus 5. Now that we’re faced with the sober reality of Monday morning, it’s time to sort through all the winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Chris Lytle
It’s so rare to see pro fighters walk away when it’s time. It’s rare to even see them walk away when it’s a quarter past time. Usually, the appeal of the money and fame combines with the addictive power of adrenaline and the unbreakable spirit that got them here to begin with, and the result is a person who wants to hang on to a fighting career until promoters and fans are stomping on his fingers to get him to let go. Lytle had seen that in action enough to know he didn’t want to find out what it felt like, and so he made the perfect exit at the perfect time. From the opening moments of the bout he fought like a man who was determined to see someone get beat up and he didn’t particularly care who it was. After boxing Hardy up and surviving a few wobbly scares of his own, a submission finish in a fight that he never tried to take to the mat feels like the absolute right ending to Lytle’s great career. Heading out with $130,000 in bonuses probably doesn’t hurt either. So long, Chris. Thanks for the memories.
Biggest Loser: Dan Hardy
He fought exactly the fight that Lytle wanted him to, right down to the ill-advised takedown with his neck wide open in the third. That’s four straight for our mohawked friend, and he should be very grateful that the UFC loves his fighting style and his attitude so much that it doesn’t mind when one or both results in a losing streak that would embarrass the Detroit Lions. But his losses aside, keeping Hardy is the right move here. The UFC has been too quick with the cuts in the past, as if it’s impossible for fighters to go through a lull and come back strong. Hardy fought for the welterweight title a year and a half ago. On Sunday he was one half of the Fight of the Night, so it would be hypocritical to reward his efforts and praise his fighting style while also giving him his walking papers. I know, the UFC has done that very thing in the past, but that doesn’t make it right. Eventually, however, Hardy might have to choose between fighting smart and fighting to the UFC’s liking. Reminder: just because you want to stand and bang, that doesn’t mean you have to stand in only one spot, exactly where your opponent’s left hook knows how to find you.
Most Surprising: Ben Henderson
With a win over Miller, he joined a very small club that includes only the current UFC lightweight champion and the current no. 1 contender. By battering Miller into a bloody mess, Henderson established his own club where he, as the only member, gets to write the bylaws (first rule: haircuts are optional). It’s one thing to survive all Miller’s submissions and eek out a decision. It’s quite another to shrug off those submissions and punish him severely for each attempt. Miller is a very good lightweight, and we’ve never seen anyone take it to him like Henderson did. Put this kid in a fight with Clay Guida and you’ll have your next lightweight challenger by the time the dust clears. Also, getting down on bended knee to plead for the UFC to give your teammates a look? Yeah, that’s a pretty awesome move.
Worst Game Plan: Amir Sadollah
So he came into a fight with one of the most experienced kickboxers in the UFC and decided it would be a good idea to keep it on the feet in the early going, huh? As much as I respect a man who’s always looking to test himself, in retrospect that doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Sadollah needed to get this fight to the mat, and he should have known that. Instead of making that his primary goal, he went toe-to-toe with “Bang” and only tried for takedowns right after getting rocked, when his lunging attempts were more desperation than technique. That’s exactly the kind of thing people are talking about when they talk about the difference that experience makes. Sadollah hung tough and took his beating like a man, so he’ll likely benefit from this painful little lesson. Let’s just hope he only has to learn it once.
Weirdest Post-Fight Request: Duane Ludwig
You’d think a 33-year-old man would have other things to think about after a big win than getting Joe Rogan’s signature on his MMA doll — sorry, action figure. But hey, we all have our quirks, I suppose. The strangest thing is how quickly he had that thing ready. That means he probably asked one of his cornermen to bring it down to the cage with them, at which point I imagine Trevor Wittman looking at him and fighting the urge to say, ‘You’re a grown man, Duane!’ As for Ludwig’s plea to get the UFC to acknowledge his record for the fastest knockout, there he actually has a good point. Maybe Dana White can send an intern down to the copy shop to print up an official-looking certificate to give him. Then Ludwig can put it in his rec room along with all his autographed MMA dolls action figures. At least he’s a savvy enough collector to keep them in their original packaging, which is more than I can say for a certain host of a certain MMA Hour.
Most Brutal: Donald Cerrone
In case you couldn’t tell, “Cowboy” is just straight-up mean. He has very little regard for the feelings of others, and seems to take immense pleasure in their pain. A lot of people think that’s common among pro fighters, but it really isn’t. Most guys just want to win and dominate. They might even feel a little bad about punishing someone more than necessary. Cerrone? Let’s just say that if the UFC ever goes under, he could find work as a freelance debt collector. Since coming over from the WEC, he seems to have only improved his overall game and even learned to come out of the gates a little quicker. I’m not sure if he’s got all the tools necessary to get to the top in this division, but he certainly has the ability to lay down some beatings and instill fear in some hearts along the way. For now, that’s good enough.
Sharpest Decline: Charles Oliveira
Remember when he was the undefeated whiz kid coming straight outta Brazil? Once he got above the level of the Efrain Escuderos, his ascent stalled. Not that he’s gotten an easy road, mind you. He got thrown in against Jim Miller, which is a tough draw for any lightweight. Then he had the unfortunate (very) illegal knee incident against Nik Lentz, which cost him a win. But against Cerrone he quickly looked like a man who didn’t really want to be in there. Calling time for what was far more of a leg kick than a groin shot should have been the first sign. Crumpling up after that pitiless body shot was the last. There’s no question that he’s got skills, and he’s still young enough for these to be valuable learning experiences, but he needs to grow up in a hurry if he’s going to hang at this level for very long. In case the matchmaking hasn’t already tipped him off, perhaps someone should point out that the UFC doesn’t take it easy on anyone.
Most in Need of a New Weight Class: Joseph Benavidez
Give credit to the Joe-Jitsu master, he’s perfected the art of closing the distance against taller opponents, probably because he’s been doing it his whole career. The fact that he’s been this successful against bigger guys at 135 pounds only strengthens my belief that he’s essentially the de facto champ in the 125-pound division, which exists in the UFC only as a promise at this point. Soon, they say. Soon they’ll gather up the little fellas and start this new weight class. That day can’t come soon enough for Benavidez, who seems like he’d be absolutely dominant if he could ever get the chance to pick on someone his own size.
Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – This isn’t exactly the way Dan Hardy figured his career would go when he got a welterweight title shot against Georges St-Pierre last year.
Hardy started his UFC career with four straight wins. But since losing to St…
MILWAUKEE – This isn’t exactly the way Dan Hardy figured his career would go when he got a welterweight title shot against Georges St-Pierre last year.
Hardy started his UFC career with four straight wins. But since losing to St-Pierre at UFC 111, Hardy has lost three more in a row.
And though most fighters in the UFC get a pink slip after three straight losses, let alone four, Hardy will apparently keep his job with the promotion. CEO Lorenzo Fertitta took to Twitter after Hardy’s loss to Chris Lytle at UFC on Versus 5 on Sunday to say the British fighter’s job was safe because he comes to fight.
Hardy (23-10, 1 NC, 4-4 UFC) was submitted by Lytle late in the third round on Sunday. But it was only after 14 minutes of trading leather with his retiring counterpart. The pair won Fight of the Night for their main event; additionally, Lytle won another $65,000 for Submission of the Night.
But despite the assurance from his boss that he still has a job with the company, Hardy said he needs to rethink his career and spend some time figuring things out before taking his next step.
“I think I had the quickest rise and quickest fall the UFC has ever seen – four fights up, four fights down,” Hardy said at the post-fight press conference at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. “There are improvements I need to make – I know that. I just don’t think that between fights, I’ve really had the time to invest learning those things. I know I have it in me to learn them.”
Hardy said he was appreciative the UFC intends to keep him around, but that some time off is in order if he’s to get back in the win column.
“For right now, I need space from competing and need space in the gym, getting beaten up by much better guys in every area,” Hardy said. “I’ll either improve or find another way. If I’ve got one more fight, I’ll take one more fight – but maybe it won’t be for a while.”
Hardy had promised Lytle the two would stand and trade for an exciting fight, and that they did until Hardy shot for a takedown. Hardy said he was hoping to score some late points and “even things out,” but it proved to be his undoing.
“I don’t know what there is to say, to be honest,” Hardy said. “It was a great fight, other than the squeeze on the neck at the end. I did tap, and normally I would never tap. But I’ve got no shame in admitting defeat to Chris. I shot in, I thought I’d score a couple points – I learned that from my last fight. But I went straight into the guillotine, and I knew that was a strong technique of his and he caught me with it.”
While it is Lytle who is retiring for sure, Hardy sounded a bit uncertain of his own future and even said if he can’t come back after these four straight losses and perform at a winning level again, he may have to move on from the sport.
“I think my head’s elsewhere, to be honest,” Hardy said. “I’m going to take some time, enjoy being in the gym for a little bit and see where it takes me. … I just think I need to really dedicate the time to do it and either come back in a blaze of glory and make a run for the belt, or maybe do something else. I’m not sure yet.”
MILWAUKEE – Chris Lytle could not have written a much better storyline to leave the sport of mixed martial arts.
The welterweight, who made a somewhat surprising announcement less than 24 hours from his UFC on Versus 5 main event against Dan Hardy that the fight would be his last, went out with the type of fight he has become known for. And he went out with a victory, to boot.
Lytle submitted Hardy late in the third round Sunday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. And to go along with the win, he won a pair of now-record ninth and 10th fight night bonus checks – as well as a 2012 Harley-Davidson Blackline motorcycle.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better to happen,” Lytle said at the post-fight press conference. “But of course I’m pretty sad. I’ve been doing this since ’98. That’s all I know. It’s tough.”
Lytle’s career never was really a fairy tale story, but it sure seemed to end that way. When Hardy shot for a late takedown in the third round, the perfect ending to a remarkable MMA career started to take form.
Lytle latched on to a guillotine choke, after 14 minutes of standing and trading bombs with Hardy, and forced the former welterweight title challenger to tap with just 46 seconds left in the fight. Already tied for the UFC‘s all-time lead in fight night bonus awards going into the fight, Lytle was given the FIght of the Night award as well as the Submission of the Night award from UFC president Dana White. Each was worth $65,000.
Lytle, who has more than 50 pro fights in his career, as well as more than a dozen professional boxing matches, finished his UFC career at just 10-10. But it was his always-exciting style that made him a hit with fans, as evidenced by the 10 bonus awards – six for Fight of the Night, three for Submission of the Night and one for Knockout of the Night.
Lytle said he was retiring to focus on his family. The Indianapolis firefighter has four children and said it was time for him to make choices in his life that weren’t all about his fighting career. Two of Lytle’s children joined him in the cage immediately after his victory.
Hardy dropped his fourth straight fight after winning the first four fights of his UFC career. His current four-fight skid started with a loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 in a welterweight title fight. He said he will need to go back to the drawing board and figure out where he will take his career.
But UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said via Twitter that Hardy will not be cut despite the four losses, saying they love fighters who go to war.
“A lot of people are three losses and out, and I’m four down now,” Hardy said. “So I appreciate (being able to stay around). If they are going to give me one more fight, I need to take some time and come back reinvented. I tried to do that with a different hair color this time, and maybe that wasn’t enough.”
In the co-main event, Jim Miller saw his lightweight winning streak end at seven with a unanimous decision loss to former WEC champ Ben Henderson. Miller (20-3, 9-2 UFC) was set to be positioned as the likely next lightweight title challenger, to meet the winner of the rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who will meet in the main event of UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston. But Henderson (13-2, 2-0 UFC) threw a major wrench into that plan with a dominating victory, dismantling Miller with relative ease.
Also on the main card, another fighter making some noise in the lightweight division kept on rolling. Donald Cerrone saw his winning streak reach five with a Knockout of the Night win over Charles Oliveira. Cerrone (16-3, 1 NC, 3-0 UFC) came out blazing and stopped Oliveira (14-2, 1 NC, 2-2 UFC, 1 NC) with strikes after a big body shot.
The former WEC star has won all three of his fights in the UFC since the merger with his former home promotion at the start of the year. Oliveira has fallen on rough times his last three fights. After starting his career 14-0 and winning his first two UFC fights in Submission of the Night fashion, Oliveira has two losses and a no contest in his last three fights. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, just 21, has been brought along quickly with five fights in just over one year in the promotion.
MILWAUKEE – It all could have been so simple. Then 
MILWAUKEE – 
You can say this for the UFC’s free fight cards: they’re always worth your money, even if you pay for them by sitting through the same few commercials over and over again.
MILWAUKEE – This isn’t exactly the way 
MILWAUKEE –