Tag: UFC

UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: Ed Herman on Kyle Noke and Career-Threatening Injury

Ed Herman will fight for the second time in as many months, as he is set to fight Kyle Noke this Sunday at UFC on Versus 5. Slightly less than two years ago, Herman wasn’t sure he’d ever fight again after tearing his ACL in a bout with Aaron Simpson.”Y…

Ed Herman will fight for the second time in as many months, as he is set to fight Kyle Noke this Sunday at UFC on Versus 5. Slightly less than two years ago, Herman wasn’t sure he’d ever fight again after tearing his ACL in a bout with Aaron Simpson.

“You question yourself,” Herman told Bleacher Report. “It’s tough being injured like that. You never know how things are going to hold up after surgery. Yeah, those thoughts go through your mind. At the same time, I was trying to stay mentally strong and telling myself I was going to come back a stronger fighter, which I’m hoping to do.”

In June 2011, Herman took his first step in making a strong comeback to fighting. In less than one minute, Herman scored a knockout victory over Tim Credeur to taste victory for the first time since April 2009.

Uninjured and looking to make a quick return to the Octagon, Herman immediately jumped back into training in hopes of being booked for a fight at UFC 135. Instead, Herman was offered the opportunity to take the fight with Noke as a replacement for an injured Tom Lawlor.

“I was hoping to get on that Denver card, but this popped up, so I jumped on it,” Herman said. “I was pretty much right back in the gym. I wasn’t training extremely hard the first couple weeks, but I was back in the gym working on my technique, doing my strength & conditioning, coaching classes and stuff like that.”

 

Since he likely wouldn’t have enough time to prepare for a fight at UFC 135 after his bout with Noke, competing on that card will probably not be an option for Herman anymore. However, Herman would still like to make a third UFC appearance before the end of 2011.

“I would definitely like to fight again before the end of the year, preferably right before Thanksgiving—so I could eat—would be great,” Herman said.

One fight Herman had been interested in was a rematch with Season 3 winner of The Ultimate Fighter Kendall Grove, who “Short Fuse” lost to in the show’s middleweight tournament finals. However, Grove was recently released from the UFC after losing four of his past six fights.

With Grove out of the picture for now, Herman is still interested in attempting to avenge any of his past UFC losses. Beyond that, Herman would like a shot at a Top 10 middleweight fighter in the near future.

“I’d love another shot at [Jason] MacDonald, Demian Maia, [Alan] Belcher, all those guys,” Herman said. “Whoever the UFC wants for me and my career, I just want to fight guys who are a hot ticket right now, guys in the Top 10, so I can go out there an prove I can compete with the Top 10 guys.”

After being out of action for nearly two years, Herman left only one uncertainty on the minds of his doubters after earning a win in his first fight back. Because he was able to end the fight so quickly, some might still wonder about Herman’s conditioning after such a long time away from competition.

Nonetheless, Herman would be perfectly fine with another quick victory at UFC on Versus 5. Although he isn’t hesitant about going into deep waters, Herman doesn’t feel he needs to prove anything about his cardio in this fight.

“I’d be happy to finish the fight in the first minute again,” Herman said. “My conditioning is there and I know it. I’m confident and I’ve been training really hard. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s going to be a three-round battle or I can finish it again in a minute.”

Once he steps into the cage with his well-rounded opponent, Herman believes his intensity and pace will make the difference in determining the outcome of this fight.

“I just think my overall aggression and in-your-face style,” Herman said. “I don’t think he’ll be able to deal with that as well as my wrestling strength in the clinch and on the ground.”

 

Herman would like to thank Dethrone Royalty Clothing, Get Some Fight Gear, Muscle Pharm, ESP-XC and Trials MMA.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle Preview, Top 4 Storylines from Free Card

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular.  As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses afte…

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular.  As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses after already receiving what looks to be his last hall pass, he will take on the […]

UFC Betting

UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle Preview, Top 4 Storylines from Free Card

Regrouped After February Upset Loss, Chris Lytle Not Ruling Out UFC Title Run

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – There are workaholics, and then there is Chris Lytle.

When he’s not training for a UFC fight – and going into his 20th with the promotion, he’s among the all-time leaders – he’s working as an Indianapolis firefighter…

Filed under: ,

MILWAUKEE – There are workaholics, and then there is Chris Lytle.

When he’s not training for a UFC fight – and going into his 20th with the promotion, he’s among the all-time leaders – he’s working as an Indianapolis firefighter. And he recently said when he stops scrapping in the cage, he wouldn’t mind taking a stab at Indiana state politics – he even put an exploratory committee together to see how he’d fare in an election. Then there’s his family, with four kids.

It would occur to most people to wonder, geez – does the guy ever take a break? Maybe not retire just yet, though Lytle will turn 37 next week. But just stop going for a few days?

“After this last fight, I had a lot of injuries and that was one of the things I was contemplating,” Lytle told MMA Fighting on Friday after a short workout in Milwaukee, where he’ll fight Dan Hardy in the main event of UFC on Versus 5 on Sunday. “I don’t want to keep fighting if I can’t perform like I’ve been doing. So I took some time off, hung out with the family a little bit and let my body heal up. I actually got to relax a little bit – it was pretty cool. I had about a month where I didn’t do too much. That’s a rarity.”

(Of course, that month where he “didn’t do too much” still involved working at the firehouse.) And then that switch in his head clicked back over, the one that doesn’t really allow him to take breaks. The one that doesn’t really allow him to relax.

“I don’t like to take much time off – after a couple days, it’s like something’s missing,” Lytle (30-18-5, 9-10 UFC) said. “I start to get in a bad mood, and my wife’s like, ‘You need to go to the gym.’ I love to take breaks, but it just never happens. I feel like I have a lot of responsibilities, a lot of goals – I think I’m just too goal-oriented. Once I get something on my mind, it’s hard for me to get it out.”

Right now, what’s on Lytle’s mind is getting back in the win column. In February, his name was being tossed around as a possible title challenger for Georges St-Pierre‘s welterweight belt. His four-fight winning streak, while not overwhelming, was the kind of run that if it hit five, then six, a title shot would have been realistic.

But then Brian Ebersole came along. He pulled one of the year’s biggest upsets in front of his home Australian crowd, taking the fight on short notice and sending Lytle back into the middle of the pack at 170 pounds. Lytle said everything about that fight at UFC 127 felt wrong.

“That was a lose-lose situation for me,” Lytle said. “I knew I wasn’t physically where I should be, and I knew nobody knew who this guy was. Unless I went out there and knocked him out in 30 seconds, everyone would say, ‘Chris didn’t look good tonight.’ And I knew I wasn’t going to do that – no one’s ever knocked him out, he’s a good wrestler, he hasn’t lost a fight in five years. I knew he was going to be tough, and there was very little to gain. I knew I had a lot working against me.”

Against Hardy (23-9, 1 NC, 4-3 UFC), Lytle is back in the type of fight he loves the most – the potential for a good old fashioned scrap. That’s what Hardy has been practically begging for since he was “punked” by Anthony Johnson in March. Hardy claims Johnson told him personally he wanted to have a knock-down, drag-out slugfest of a fight, then wrestled his way to a decision victory.

But Lytle again on Friday said Hardy has very little to worry about in that department. After all, you don’t win eight UFC fight night bonuses by fighting safe and playing for points with the judges.

“I do take a lot of pride that the UFC has put us in the main event,” Lytle said. “I know they do that for a reason – they want fireworks. They want a fight people want to see. These are the kinds of fights I want. There’s no thought in my head of pulling an Anthony Johnson. I got to get that W, but I’d rather lose the fight than win it like that.”

Though Lytle admits to giving some thought to hanging up the gloves after his loss to Ebersole, he said it will be his body that will dictate how long he stays in the game. And even though he had to go back to Square One in the title picture after the loss, he wouldn’t put a title run down the line beyond the realm of possibility for him.

“I feel that if you go out there and just grind it out to try and get a title, you’re going to have to win eight or nine fights in a row to get a title fight,” Lytle said. “If I go out there and just put on great fights – and I’m trying to win all of them – and win in spectacular fashion, it’s not going to take eight fights. It’s going to take a few. I feel like I’m still on the radar, and if I get a couple wins …”

Lytle has time for very little in his schedule, but he’d make time for one last run at a UFC belt.

Lytle and Hardy fight in the main event of UFC on Versus 5, which airs Sunday at 9 p.m. Easter on the Versus cable channel.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar: ‘WWE Made Me a Household Name’

As Brock Lesnar was breaking onto the MMA scene in 2007, it was no secret that the former “Next Big Thing” was at one point a WWE heavyweight champion.  This did not sit well with a lot of MMA purists, who were willing to completely ov…

As Brock Lesnar was breaking onto the MMA scene in 2007, it was no secret that the former “Next Big Thing” was at one point a WWE heavyweight champion.  This did not sit well with a lot of MMA purists, who were willing to completely overlook the fact that Brock was a former two-time NCAA […]

UFC Betting

Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar: ‘WWE Made Me a Household Name’

UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle Preview, Top 4 Storylines from Free Card

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular. As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses after…

This Sunday, the UFC will hold its fifth card on Versus, of which many of the bouts will have significant ramifications for the lightweight and welterweight divisions in particular. 

As Dan Hardy looks to rebound from three consecutive losses after already receiving what looks to be his last hall pass, he will take on the always entertaining Chris Lytle. 

Meanwhile, in the lightweight division, Jim Miller will look to solidify his bid for No. 1 contender status against former WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. 

Elsewhere, the young up-and-coming Charles Oliveira will take on Donald Cerrone in a bout a little lower down the lightweight ladder as Cerrone will hope to insert himself amongst the divisions elite. For his part, Oliveira will be looking to add the veteran’s name to his list of wins. 

After June’s Versus event, fans may not expect to see quite as much drama, but they can expect some very important results to come from the night’s bouts.

Here are four things to watch for in the UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle card.

Begin Slideshow

Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar: ‘WWE Made Me a Household Name’

As Brock Lesnar was breaking onto the MMA scene in 2007, it was no secret that the former “Next Big Thing” was at one point a WWE heavyweight champion.  This did not sit well with a lot of MMA purists, who were willing to completely ov…

As Brock Lesnar was breaking onto the MMA scene in 2007, it was no secret that the former “Next Big Thing” was at one point a WWE heavyweight champion. 

This did not sit well with a lot of MMA purists, who were willing to completely overlook the fact that Brock was a former two-time NCAA All-American as a collegiate wrestler.

Lesnar, whose complications from diverticulitis have limited him to just seven MMA fights in four years, has become a “love him or hate him” type of fighter with his sometimes over the top personality.

After a recent interview with online pro wrestling magazine The Wrestling Press, it seems unlikely that Lesnar is making any new fans by giving the WWE a ton of credit for his popularity in MMA. 

Bloody Elbow was kind enough to reprint some of the most interesting excerpts:

“I’m not stupid—without the WWE, the WWE made me a household name and increased my value tenfold before I even pursued the UFC. Could I be where I am today without the WWE? Probably not.” 

“Could I be drawing the same numbers that I’m drawing? Probably not.  I brought a lot of fans over, a lot of crossover fans that I brought, just from the general public and WWE fans, I believe.”

While it would be difficult to find a counterargument for what Lesnar had to say, some fight fans simply have a hard time acknowledging that professional wrestling has helped MMA in anyway. 

In Lesnar’s case, it would be ignorant to say that he didn’t instill wrestling fans with some curiosity to check out the UFC and perhaps MMA in general. 

Interestingly, UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle will go head-to-head against WWE SummerSlam this Sunday, marking one of the very few occasions when Dana White and Vince McMahon will compete for ratings.  

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com