Tag: Yushin Okami

UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II — Live Results & Commentary

The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.

Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.

“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.

The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.

Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.

“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.

Let’s get this started, shall we?

Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway

Round 1: Holloway’s crotch says, “BUY MY SHORTS.” Don’t ask me why that’s the first thing I noticed about him. Feeling out process ended with a few kicks from Lawrence. Nice high kick from Holloway. Both trade a few nice punches.  Lawrence seems to be landing more strikes. %$#&!!! Holloway just drilled “The All American Kid” All- American nuts! Okay, just walk it off. Lawrence pushing forward and gets the takedown. Right back up. Lawrence is bleeding. Holloway lands a knee to the chin. Swing and a miss by Holloway. 13-12 Significant strikes favoring Lawrence. Holloway drills him in the balls again as the end of round horn sounds.


Round 2: Stick and move by Holloway. The men both trade snapping kicks. Lawrence with a lot of front kicks, sidekicks. Crowd starting to boo but it dies down. Holloway lands a clean right hand. Holloway demonstrating very nice counter punching — stuffs a takedown as well. Lawrence landing 47% of his strikes. Stick and move by both men. Holloway stuffs a takedown my grandmother could have seen, and she’s got cataracts. Now he tags Lawrence which leads to an opening for a deep knee to the gut. Left hook to the liver and “It’s all over!!!”

Winner Max Holloway Rd. 2 TKO

Up Next – Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts

Buddy Roberts walking out to ‘Bleed It Out’ by Linkin Park. Yushin on the other hand… Holy $%&@! Is that Tank Abbott??? Nope, he’s sober.

Round 1: Roberts comes out swinging. Looking for a head kick. Okami lands a nice left. Buddy keeps connecting with the jab. Okami just got clipped. Roberts landing knees from the clinch. Okami tries and fails twice to get the takedown from the clinch against the cage. Okami finally drags him down,. takes his back, transitions to his guard. Okami in half guard, not much action. Crowd boos on cue. Yushin in side mount with arm control and lands a few shots. Okami in full mount, takes the back, lands a few shots to the back of the head but Herb doesn’t seem to mind. A bunch more punches and the horn sounds.


Round 2: Buddy goes forward and slips on the mat. Lands a shot once he recovers. Okami with a straight left. Clinches and tries to drag him down. Success. Buddy transitions into a guillotine. Back on their feet. Okami nails a double leg. Moves into half guard. Looking to utilize elbows, looks some more… Full mount by “Thunder” and Buddy rolls over on his belly. Okami just keeps punching him in the skull. Herb calls it.

Winner: Yushin Okami  – Rd. 2 – TKO

Better grab a Mt. Dew and a handful of Yellow Jackets before Jake Shields middleweight debut against Ed Herman.

Herman walking out wearing a Dethrone hoodie. His music sucks, but his bobcat shirt makes up for it. Man, I almost forgot how pale redheads are. Shields walks out to what sounds like The Glitch Mob dubstep remix of Seven Nation Army. My wife says his nipples are really “pokie” – like they’ve been stretched. Wow – Rashad really wasn’t joking around when he said you’d notice a difference.

Round 1: Shields immediately throws a kick. Both men attacking. Herman goes for takedown, Shields hip tosses him. Back on the feet. Clinched and they both trade blows. Herman lands a knee. Shields gets the trip takedown. Ground and pound from Jake. Both men back up, dirty boxing along the fence. These guys have separation issues. Jake has a sponsor sticker for a radiator company. Nice elbow by Herman. Jake looking for the guillotine. *yawn* Thank God the fans can boo for me. Finally some action – that guys claps the 2×4′s together to signal 10 seconds left.

Round 2: Looks, I can text the UFC who I want to win. Nice. More kicks by Shields. Herman initiates the clinch again. Take down – Shields on top in half guard, now side control. Working for a kimura.

Sorry guys, @#&^$@*$^#*(# internet! Sorry.

 

Round 3 almost over – Shields has been dominating Herman on the ground for most of it. Shields in full mount. Herman trying to score pints off his back, but he’s no Miguel Torres. Shields lands more and more punches as the crowd boos louder. Both men swinging but it’s all over. The judges will decide who moves forward…. but the fans are not impressed with their performance.

Winner: Jake Shields by Unanimous decision.

Coming up next: Former teamates and BFF’s, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Melvin “I don’t care if I’m indoors, I’m wearing my damn sunglasses anyway!” Guillard.

Denver crowd tried to snatch the infamous sunglasses of Guillard. #fail – Apparently being a Blackzillian automatically gets you a Pretorian sponsorship. *Cue Kid Rock music* Here comes Cowboy, baby. The TapouT cowboy hat looked much better than this Muscle Pharm stuff. Cerrone looks happier than a pig in, well, you get the point.

Round 1: “Taller is Cerrone”, says Mike Goldberg. Guillard gets booed heavily as Buffer introduces him. Remember, it’s not because Denver is racist, it’s because they love them some homegrown talent – and Cerrone is home. Cowboy quick on the offensive with a head kick. Guillard is beating the living daylights outta Cerrone!!!!! Punches in bunches AND a knee to the midsection. Dang! Okay, he looks shocked but he;s good now. Damn! Now Cowboy lands a head kick followed up by a hard right hand and Guillard is asleep!!! When will he ever learn that sunglasses are unnecessary indoors?

Winner: Donald Cerrone – Rd. 1 KO

Craziest fight of the year? Yeah, I think so. They both hug it out, now that “The Young Assassin” has come to. I would pay to be at their after party.

Main Event Time: Benson “Smooth” Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar

Frankie runs to the Octagon, gets greased up -legally, not the Anderson Silva way. Like a leprechaun who’s been had, he wants his gold back. Ben is strutting his way to the prep point. The champ’s calm and focused. It’s Time!

Round 1: Edgar in the black/red trunks littered with sponsors. Henderson must have sponsored himself because his upper body is plastered on his poster… oh yeah, tighties for the champ. Empty jabs by Henderson. Egdar landing a few shots, most noticeably a left hand. Leg kick by Smooth. Edgar  nearly looses his balance after Henderson kicks his leg again. Another one and he’s down. Scrambled to the feet.  Edgar returns the favor and throws a leg kick. Frankie’s left calf is swollen and red. Both men throwing combos, landing shots here and there. Frankie lands a leg kick. Edgar catches the leg kick this time, takedown but the champ locks in a guillotine. Remember how many times Frankie caught kicks last time? Round over.

Nate Diaz in attendance.

Round 2: 12-8 Sig strikes in favor of the champ for round 1. Another leg kick by Smooth and Edgar drops to a knee but recovers. Frankie feints a takedown. Lands a punch. Leg kick and a hook for Edgar. Both guys switching stance. Leg kick by the champ. Edgar drops Henderson with a wicked uppercut. Looking to sink in the choke. Smooth works up to his feet. but Frankie still has a hold of him. Henderson keeping a hand on the ground to avoid knees. Edgar is bleeding. Separation! Henderson misses a big axe kick. Then shoots but is stuffed by Frankie. Big body kick by the champ the the horn.

Round 3: Half landed/half blocked head kick by Benson. Lots of jabs by him as well, most hit air. Frankie lands a leg kick. Ben returns the favor and charges. very nice jab by Benson. Both men exchange blows. Champ telegraphs a head kick. Edgar ducks. Same for his right hard. More of the same – I hit you, you hit me. Repeat. Still no mention of altitude – my drinking game sucks – I can still see the keys clearly. The champ tries to Sweet Chin Music the former champ – misses. 20-16 sig strikes so far in favor of Smooth.  Champ charges and Frankie Edgar tries to hit HBK’s finisher as the horn sounds.

Championship rounds, deep water, point of no return, etc….

Round 4: Guys are just banging. Leg kicks, straight punches, more leg kicks – it’s all here. Neither man looks to have a significant advantage, both are active. Edgar gets a takedown. Big kick from the ground and Ben is back up. Until he Frankie locks in the choke. Leaning on the champ is Edgar. Applying pressure on the choke. Now they stand. Crowd’s chant is inaudible. Henderson lands a jab that knocks Edgar’s mouthpiece out. TIME OUT! Okay, back to work. Leg kick by Frankie is beautiful. My face hurts from watching all of these punches. Edgar catches ANOTHER kick. and Keeps it standing. Horn.

Round 5: Edgar’s corner tells him to punch him against the cage. Edgar’s footwork prevents being kicked in the lead leg again. Nice shots by the NJ native. Champ is fighting like he’s already won… Edgar is hungry. Crowd chants, “Frankie!” Caught another kick did Frankie. Puts a right hand on his face. Keeps attacking with combos. Now the champ looks to score points with a few jabs. Edgar’s counter striking is impressive. Frankie hits a nice leg kick. One minute left!!! Nice body shot by Edgar. Champ comes forward, lands s shot. Both are going at it now. End of fight.. Judges will now calculate the scores, correctly, we hope.

And the winner is…..

Ben Henderson Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision split decision!

The crowd is NOT happy. “I fight for you guys! I try to finish fights!”  -Henderson.

Edgar says he’s not sure if he’ll go back and watch this fight again. Dude looks heartbroken. Fans love him though.

Why isn’t Nate Diaz stepping the Octagon?

That’s it, I’m outta here. *Sigh of relief* Hope you all enjoyed. Next week: Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman

 

– Jason

Yushin Okami: Can He Work His Way Back to a Title Shot?

No. That’s it. No. Yushin Okami is almost certainly not going to find himself in a title bout in the UFC ever again. I am not going to sugarcoat that answer. The only possible way Okami ends up in another title fight would be a combination of injuries,…

No.

That’s it.

No.

Yushin Okami is almost certainly not going to find himself in a title bout in the UFC ever again. I am not going to sugarcoat that answer. The only possible way Okami ends up in another title fight would be a combination of injuries, losses by other contenders and if he puts together a bunch of wins, almost immediately.

Otherwise, Okami will remain where he has been for almost his entire UFC career—a stepping stone used specifically to determine if a young fighter can overcome grappling.

This is not to criticize Yushin Okami by any means. Okami is a strong fighter who is one of the pound-for-pound most powerful wrestlers in MMA, and he has had a very long, very strong UFC career.

That said, at no point has he ever been on top of Dana White‘s list of people he wants to have as a champion. Worse yet, at no point has he been a fighter anyone has been especially excited to see fight.

A large part of this is, simply, the disdain many fans have for “grappling specialists” who they claim fight safely, in an effort to edge-out opponents with judges. While this is completely off-base (after all, how many complain that knockout artists are scaredy cats because they will not wrestle?) it has nonetheless proven to be a large enough group that they can influence matchmaking.

Jon Fitch felt that sting when he won five fights in a row and was on many pound-for-pound top-ten lists, but was essentially never in the title picture from 2009-2011. Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields have also been criticized for this.

Being a grappling specialist is going to put any given fighter at a disadvantage out-of-hand, but the factors working against Okami do not end there.

The UFC’s middleweight division is absolutely stacked right now. It is far, far more stacked than it was just a year ago when Okami fought for the belt, given the addition of Hector Lombard, the rises of Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman, and the return of Alan Belcher

On top of that, the UFC’s middleweight field is actually getting bigger. There is much talk about Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida dropping down, and either of them would be very close to getting a title shot if they do drop (though Machida has always been vocal about not fighting Anderson Silva).

It keeps getting worse, as one must also consider Strikeforce. The UFC’s sister promotion is only secure through 2012. After that, it is entirely possible that their middleweight division’s top fighters could be brought into the UFC. That would then add Ronaldo Souza, Roger Gracie, Tim Kennedy and Luke Rockhold onto the pile.

Okami would probably have to win five or six fights in a row, and have a boatload of strategically-placed losses amongst other contenders, in order to climb to the top of that pile. Even then, there is no guarantee he would fight for the belt.

Again, Yushin Okami is a very good fighter. Unfortunately, he is a very good fighter that is well outside the title picture in a stacked division who, over the years, has been forced to fight on preliminary cards because fans are so thoroughly disinterested in him.

So ultimately, no. Yushin Okami will never see a shot at the title again.

At UFC 150, Okami will be facing Buddy Roberts. With that in mind, it is very difficult to imagine him stepping into the cage against Anderson Silva again.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMAFix Staff Picks: UFC 150

Benson Henderson (-210) vs. Frankie Edgar (+175) Emily Kapala: The Henderson Vs. Edgar fight is going to worth every PPV penny. While Henderson did take the belt from Edgar at their last meeting in the.

Benson Henderson (-210) vs. Frankie Edgar (+175)

Emily Kapala: The Henderson Vs. Edgar fight is going to worth every PPV penny. While Henderson did take the belt from Edgar at their last meeting in the octagon, I think the oddsmakers have it wrong by choosing Henderson as the favorite. While Henderson may have been the better fighter at the bout in Japan, Edgar is a better all around fighter. Not only will he win the fight, but he is the highest value bet. Frankie Edgar will be the regain his title as the lightweight champion of the world on Saturday night. Winner: Frankie Edgar

Alan Wells: I expect this fight to play out similarly to the first one. It will be close and Edgar will have his moments but Henderson is just a little better overall. Either way, this one is going five rounds and will be contested at a high level. And the odds are bettable either way. What more can you ask for? Winner: Ben Henderson

Elise Kapala: The main event is clearly a must see for MMA fans. Because Edgar lost the belt to Henderson, I believe he has the driving edge mentally, as well as physically, to get back his belt and regain the title of champion. I think Edgar will come out on top in this rematch. Winner: Frankie Edgar

Ryan Poli: I picked Henderson to win the first time, and even though I think Edgar should have won the fight, I’m picking Henderson again due to his skill in every aspect of the fight game. Henderson by decision. Winner: Ben Henderson

MMAFix PicK: Push (2-2)

Donald Cerrone (-350) vs. Melvin Guillard (+290)

Emily Kapala: With 7 fight of the night performances throughout his mixed martial arts career, you know a good brawl is going to happen when Cerrone is on the card. While Guillard has shown excellent skill thoughout his career, I see Cerrone winning with his Muay Thai kickboxing. With a win, he is on his way to be in the lightweight champion contendership once again. Winner: Donald Cerrone

Alan Wells: I expect this fight to be a replay of Cerrone’s previous fight against Jeremy Stephens. He’ll keep Guillard on the outside and pick him apart with combinations. The punches will land clean and set up huge leg kicks to finish. Cerrone will take this one convincingly but the odds make it not worth a bet. Winner: Donald Cerrone

Elise Kapala: The fight between Guillard and Cerrone is an interesting fight. They both have incredible knockout ability, so it should be very interesting. Although I think it will be a very close fight, I think that Cerrone will take the victory over Guillard. Winner: Donald Cerrone

Ryan Poli: Guillard has the power to end the fight at any time, but Cerrone has the technical advantage in the striking and a huge advantage in the ground game. Cerrone by Submission. Winner: Donald Cerrone

MMAFix Pick: Donald Cerrone (4-0)

UFC 150 Pre-Fight Analysis

Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar Because of Frankie Edgar’s willingness to give immediate rematches to B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard, he gets one against Ben Henderson despite the long list of potential opponents waiting for.

Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar

Because of Frankie Edgar’s willingness to give immediate rematches to B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard, he gets one against Ben Henderson despite the long list of potential opponents waiting for a title shot. But the first fight was entertaining enough that most fans are willing to tolerate the rest of the division being held hostage so that Edgar can get a second chance at Henderson.

We know who both of these fighters are at this point in their careers and the outcome of this fight will be determined solely on gameplan and execution. Neither fighter is significantly better than the other in any area and the key in fights like this is finding a way to create openings to score. This fight represents the future of MMA as two fighters who have high level skill sets in all areas fight for slight advantages through five close rounds. The only significant advantage gained by either fighter in the first fight was when Henderson landed an upkick at the end of the third round, which seems unlikely to be repeated. Both fighters have excellent striking with Edgar probably having a slight advantage in the boxing but Henderson having a slight advantage in the kicking game. Henderson also has the reach advantage but keeping Edgar on the outside has proved nearly impossible. Both are excellent wrestlers and frequently change levels to keep their opponents off balance. Once on the mat, both are capable of doing damage with ground and pound. But both are also excellent at getting back to their feet and neither fighter was able to maintain any significant ground control in the first fight.

This fight will likely play out similarly to the first fight with both fighters happy to engage on the feet but looking to mix in takedowns when the opportunity presents itself. Henderson proved to have a slight advantage in most positions in the first fight and one would expect that pattern to continue in this fight. Because of that, he comes in as a solid favorite at -210 with Edgar at +175. However, Henderson in no way dominated the first fight so a win for Edgar would not be a surprise. The first fight was won because Henderson took advantage of of a few small openings to outscore Edgar. If Edgar can tighten up those minor mistakes and instead create a few small openings of his own in this fight, he could easily reverse the outcome and regain his title. Whatever the outcome, this fight will be back and forth. Both fighters will win rounds and both will be successful at different points in the fight. The key will be whose execution is tighter and who was able to learn the most from the first fight. Henderson deserves to be the favorite but Edgar could easily walk away the champion. And if he does, the lightweight division will be even more convoluted than it already is.

Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard

If you’re an MMA fan, you’re excited about this fight. Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard are two of the most exciting fighters in the sport and only a glitch in the fabric of the universe could extinguish the fireworks these two are almost certain to light from the moment this fight begins.

Cerrone’s only loss since coming to the UFC was against Nate Diaz who is currently awaiting the winner of the headlining lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson. He followed that loss with a dominant decision victory over Jeremy Stephens. Cerrone was never challenged in that fight and appeared to be sparring with Stephens by the third round. He destroyed Stephens leg with kicks and seemed to finish every combination with a baseball bat to Stephens’ thigh. He’ll be able to use the same strategy against Guillard who will be at a similar reach disadvantage and is also not a threat to take Cerrone to the mat. Cerrone has a clear grappling advantage in this fight and Greg Jackson will certainly be imploring his fighter to put Guillard on his back and work for a submission. Whether or not Cerrone listens will likely depend on whether or not he feels threatened by Guillard’s power.

Guillard was on the brink of a title shot before losing back to back fights via first round submission to Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller. And his performance last month against Fabricio Camoes was not impressive. He earned a bizarre unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the fight 30-27 despite the fact that Camoes clearly won the second round and the third round was incredibly close. Regardless, he will look to build on whatever momentum he gained from that fight in this fight against Cerrone. Guillard’s game is largely based on the power in his hands. If he finds his opponent’s chin, he usually wins but if he doesn’t, he struggles. He will be at a significant reach disadvantage in this fight and will need to use speed and movement to find his way inside and land combinations. He is capable of doing it but it will require a level of execution he hasn’t shown since leaving Jackson MMA for the Blackzillions.

Cerrone comes in as a significant favorite at -350 with Guillard getting +290. This fight will likely play out similarly to Cerrone’s previous fight against Jeremy Stephens. He will use his reach to keep Guillard at distance and pick him apart with combinations that end with destructive leg kicks. If Guillard has success closing the distance, look for Cerrone to take him down and work his submission game. And if Cerrone is only interested in winning, that is the more intelligent strategy. But he’s never been interested in simply winning the fight so look for him to make it a kickboxing match unless he feels threatened. But either way, this is likely to be a great lead in for the main event.

UFC 150: Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC 150 may be an event that you are excited to see, but if you said Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts is a fight you want to see, I would probably call nonsense (censored).The fact that Okami vs. Roberts has not received much media attention is not surpr…

UFC 150 may be an event that you are excited to see, but if you said Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts is a fight you want to see, I would probably call nonsense (censored).

The fact that Okami vs. Roberts has not received much media attention is not surprising, but for a hardcore fan like me, it’s almost an insult. Watching Buddy Roberts progress through the minor leagues has been exciting for me, yet he gets no love.

Here is the breakdown of the Okami vs. Roberts fight, which may be closer than most think.

Begin Slideshow

Ironic Injury of the Day: Rousimar Palhares Out of UFC 150 With a Possibly Torn Knee Ligament


(I suppose I could write something funny here, but I’d rather ask you to look at the honest to God fear present in Kevin Mulhall’s face as he essentially sticks his hands in a bear trap. Truly chilling stuff.) 

Here are a few news items that you’ll probably find even less surprising than the fact that the Summer 2012 injury curse has claimed yet another victim:

1. Another Floridian came down with a bad case of bath salt-related cannibalism.

2. A Greek triple-jumper was expelled from the Olympics for saying something racist over Twitter. (You may, however, be surprised to learn that it was a pretty hot woman who said it.) 

3. Rotten Tomatoes recently had to shut down its comments section because a couple critics who gave The Dark Knight Rises a bad review were receiving so many death threats that it nearly crashed the server. Yes, death threats.

4. A Georgia man recently set his head on fire as part of a bet he made while hammered at a bar and was hospitalized shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, he survived his injuries.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s something you might find a little more surprising: The latest victim of the injury curse is none other than Rousimar Palhares, who threatened to rip a hole in between earthly dimensions by injuring his own knee during training, subsequently forcing himself to bow out from his scheduled fight with Yushin Okami at UFC 150. You might recall that Palhares was only facing Okami in the first place because Luis Cane injured himself in training as well, but trying to remember who is filling in for who due to injury these days is as impossible as reciting Pi in its entirety. In short, everyone whose name doesn’t rhyme with Schrim Goatsch or Schmanderson Schilva is clearly ducking Yushin Okami.

Join us after the jump to find out which poor bastard will be stepping in to get slaughtered. 


(I suppose I could write something funny here, but I’d rather ask you to look at the honest to God fear present in Kevin Mulhall’s face as he essentially sticks his hands in a bear trap. Truly chilling stuff.) 

Here are a few news items that you’ll probably find even less surprising than the fact that the Summer 2012 injury curse has claimed yet another victim:

1. Another Floridian came down with a bad case of bath salt-related cannibalism.

2. A Greek triple-jumper was expelled from the Olympics for saying something racist over Twitter. (You may, however, be surprised to learn that it was a pretty hot woman who said it.) 

3. Rotten Tomatoes recently had to shut down its comments section because a couple critics who gave The Dark Knight Rises a bad review were receiving so many death threats that it nearly crashed the server. Yes, death threats.

4. A Georgia man recently set his head on fire as part of a bet he made while hammered at a bar and was hospitalized shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, he survived his injuries.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s something you might find a little more surprising: The latest victim of the injury curse is none other than Rousimar Palhares, who threatened to rip a hole in between earthly dimensions by injuring his own knee during training, subsequently forcing himself to bow out from his scheduled fight with Yushin Okami at UFC 150. You might recall that Palhares was only facing Okami in the first place because Luis Cane injured himself in training as well, but trying to remember who is filling in for who due to injury these days is as impossible as reciting Pi in its entirety. In short, everyone whose name doesn’t rhyme with Schrim Goatsch or Schmanderson Schilva is clearly ducking Yushin Okami.

Shortly after receiving the injury, which is likely a torn ligament that may require surgery, Palhares was quoted as saying, “Ow! That hurts! My God, is that what I’ve been doing to people?!” before savagely devouring the nurse that was attempting to help him to his feet. Palhares’ coach, Murilo Bustamante, told FightersOnly that “He is out of action for while. After next two weeks we will know for sure if he’ll need a surgery.” Bustamante also attributed the injury to “bad luck,” but we feel that “karma” is a more appropriate analysis. In all seriousness, we would never wish an injury upon any fighter and hope Palhares has a smooth recovery.

Stepping in for Palhares on just a couple of weeks notice will be Buddy Roberts, a 12-2 Jackson’s MMA product who scored a plodding unanimous decision victory over Caio Magalhaes in his UFC debut at UFC on FX 3. We understand that Okami is on the heels of a loss that was described by an incredibly coked amped up Joe Rogan as “The greatest comeback in UFC History”, but he should have no problem getting by Roberts here. Although this squash match will come at the cost of what was an incredibly interesting matchup at 185 lbs., it will be nice to see Okami at least have the chance to add an impressive finish to his highlight reel, something he has not done since starching the late Evan Tanner at UFC 82.

We’ve taken the liberty to add a couple videos of Buddy Roberts handiwork below, not because we think they will change your minds in regards to how this fight will end, but simply because we can. Enjoy.

–J. Jones