UFC 162 saw Chris Weidman claim the UFC Middleweight Championship by knocking Anderson Silva out. For the first time in years there is a new leader of the pack.In total, four top-10 fighters were in action on Saturday night.If fans wanted change in the…
UFC 162 saw Chris Weidman claim the UFC Middleweight Championship by knocking Anderson Silva out. For the first time in years there is a new leader of the pack.
In total, four top-10 fighters were in action on Saturday night.
If fans wanted change in the division, they have it now. Weidman will usher in a new era at 185 pounds. New challengers will have to step up, and Weidman will have to begin to carry shows. It’s a new day at middleweight.
Also in action at UFC 162, Tim Kennedy defeated Roger Gracie and Mark Munoz made a triumphant return against Tim Boetsch.
These are the 10 best middleweights in the UFC following UFC 162.
(Remember that moment in the middle of round 3 when Glover and Rampage just started petting each other for like 30 seconds? Man, what a crazy fight. / Photo via Getty)
As first reported on Portal do Vale Tudo and confirmed by MMAJunkie, the UFC’s third “UFC on FOX Sports 1” event will take place on September 4th in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and will feature two of Brazil’s most dangerous contenders.
First up, light-heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader have been re-scheduled to fight at the event, after originally being booked for UFC 160. When Bader withdrew from the fight due to injury, Teixeira faced James Te-Huna instead, and walked away with his fourth straight UFC victory and a Submission of the Night bonus for choking out Te-Huna in the first round. Teixeira currently holds one of the most impressive win streaks in all of MMA, with 19 victories in a row (17 by stoppage), dating back to May 2006.
As for Bader, the former TUF champ hasn’t competed since his quick guillotine-choke win over Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC on FOX 6 back in January. You can expect “Darth” to be a sizable underdog (once again) in this fight. Anybody think he can deflate Glover’s hype?
(Remember that moment in the middle of round 3 when Glover and Rampage just started petting each other for like 30 seconds? Man, what a crazy fight. / Photo via Getty)
As first reported on Portal do Vale Tudo and confirmed by MMAJunkie, the UFC’s third “UFC on FOX Sports 1” event will take place on September 4th in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and will feature two of Brazil’s most dangerous contenders.
First up, light-heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader have been re-scheduled to fight at the event, after originally being booked for UFC 160. When Bader withdrew from the fight due to injury, Teixeira faced James Te-Huna instead, and walked away with his fourth straight UFC victory and a Submission of the Night bonus for choking out Te-Huna in the first round. Teixeira currently holds one of the most impressive win streaks in all of MMA, with 19 victories in a row (17 by stoppage), dating back to May 2006.
As for Bader, the former TUF champ hasn’t competed since his quick guillotine-choke win over Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC on FOX 6 back in January. You can expect “Darth” to be a sizable underdog (once again) in this fight. Anybody think he can deflate Glover’s hype?
Fresh off his own Submission of the Night victory over Chris Camozzi in his Octagon debutat UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold last month, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will head back to Brazil to meet veteran contender Yushin Okami, whose three-fight win streak includes wins over Buddy Roberts, Alan Belcher, and Hector Lombard. Considering how sharp Jacare has looked in his recent fights, Souza vs. Okami could be a “changing of the guard” moment in the middleweight division.
The UFC’s 9/4 card represents the promotion’s first trip to Belo Horizonte since UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II, and it already has a more interesting lineup. Stay tuned for more…
The third UFC on Fox Sports 1 fight card will take place on September 4 and will take place in Brazil. At this time no venue has been selected for the event, but if reports out of Brazil are to be believed, the fight card is beginning to take shape rat…
The third UFC on Fox Sports 1 fight card will take place on September 4 and will take place in Brazil. At this time no venue has been selected for the event, but if reports out of Brazil are to be believed, the fight card is beginning to take shape rather nicely.
Three main-card-worthy fights have reportedly been booked for the upcoming card.
According to Globo.com (h/t to MMAJunkie.com), a bout between top-ranked flyweight Joseph Benavidez and fifth-ranked JussierFormiga has been set for the event.
Benavidez (18-3) has won his last two fights, earning a unanimous decision over Ian McCall and a TKO over Darren Uyenoyama. Prior to those victories, Benavidez dropped a split decision to Demetrious Johnson in a contest that decided that UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion.
Formiga (15-2) is 1-1 in his last two bouts, falling to John Dodson via TKO and rebounding from that defeat with a unanimous-decision victory over Chris Cariaso.
The second bout that has been reported for the card will be a light heavyweight contest between Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader. This bout was first reported by Portal do Vale Tudo (h/t to MMAJunkie.com).
Teixeira (21-2) is currently ranked third in the division and is in the midst of a 19-fight winning streak. Teixeira remains unbeaten in the UFC (4-0) and has three stoppage victories in those fights. Bader (15-3) is ranked 10th in the division and last fought at UFC on Fox 6, where he earned a quick submission win over Vladimir Matyushenko, submitting him in 50 seconds.
Bader and Teixeira had been scheduled to meet at UFC 160, but Bader withdrew from that bout due to injury and was replaced by James Te Huna. Teixeira submitted Te Huna in the first round.
The final bout reported for the card, again via Portal do Vale Tudo (h/t to MMAJunkie.com) is a middleweight contest between JacareSouza and YushinOkami.
Souza (18-3-0-1) is coming off a “Submission of the Night” performance in his UFC debut. Souza used an arm triangle choke to stop Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8, running his winning streak to four straight.
Okami (29-7) is on a three-fight winning streak since dropping fights to Anderson Silva and Tim Boetsch. Okami is the third-ranked fighter in the 185-pound division, while Souza is the fifth-ranked middleweight.
UFC president Dana White said prior to UFC 160 that the organization was eyeing a fight between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yushin Okami later this year.According to MMAFighting.com, Jacare has accepted the challenge.At this time, the bout loo…
According to MMAFighting.com, Jacare has accepted the challenge.
At this time, the bout looks like a forgone conclusion, but ink has not met paper. Okami is currently ranked No. 3 and Jacare No. 5. The fight could potentially determine the next middleweight contender.
Jacare is coming off a successful UFC debut against Chris Camozzi, and is the winner of four in a row. Okami has put together three straight of his own. They are truly two of the elite middleweights in the world today. This fight will help clear some of the air in the division.
Let’s take a peek at a breakdown of the potential bout between the middleweight contenders.
(Ricardo Lamas helps Erik Koch re-enact the fire-extinguisher scene from Irreversible, which I will not be linking to, because it’s way too early in the morning, and it’s freaking horrible. / Photo via Getty Images)
We’d forgive you for getting Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch confused. Both are 24-year-old 5’9″ white guys with shaved heads, interestingtattoos, and nearlyidentical MMA records. Both were considered future title threats in the UFC featherweight division until recent losses set them back. The only real differences between the two men are Poirier’s three-inch reach advantage and Koch’s three-shade tan advantage. And logically, they’ll be meeting each other at UFC 164 (August 31st, Milwaukee) in the greatest “this guy looks like that guy” matchup since Miller vs. Healy.
(Ricardo Lamas helps Erik Koch re-enact the fire-extinguisher scene from Irreversible, which I will not be linking to, because it’s way too early in the morning, and it’s freaking horrible. / Photo via Getty Images)
We’d forgive you for getting Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch confused. Both are 24-year-old 5’9″ white guys with shaved heads, interestingtattoos, and nearlyidentical MMA records. Both were considered future title threats in the UFC featherweight division until recent losses set them back. The only real differences between the two men are Poirier’s three-inch reach advantage and Koch’s three-shade tan advantage. And logically, they’ll be meeting each other at UFC 164 (August 31st, Milwaukee) in the greatest “this guy looks like that guy” matchup since Miller vs. Healy.
It didn’t take long for former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to make his impact felt in the Octagon when he submitted Chris Camozzi in the first round of their bout at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil. Now the Brazilian submission machi…
It didn’t take long for former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to make his impact felt in the Octagon when he submitted Chris Camozzi in the first round of their bout at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil.
Now the Brazilian submission machine will take a sizeable step up in competition when faces perennial UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami later this year.
UFC President Dana White stated on Thursday during the UFC 160 media day that plans are in place for Jacare vs. Okami to take place later this year, although no date or card have been determined for the middleweight showdown.
“That fight will happen,” White said about Okami vs. Jacare.“That’s the fight we’re going to make.”
Following a long and fruitful career fighting in promotions in Japan and then eventually Strikeforce, Jacare finally made his UFC debut less than a week ago and it didn’t take long for the rest of his division to take notice.
Jacare literally put Camozzi to sleep with an arm triangle choke just minutes into their fight, but now he will face one of the middleweight division’s toughest challengers.
Throughout his UFC career, Yushin Okami has been a top contender although he’s only fought for the belt one time in a losing effort to Anderson Silva at UFC 134 in 2011.
A wrestling-first powerhouse, Okami has stifled and suffocated opponents as he’s continued to climb up the middleweight ladder time and time again. Following the loss to Silva, Okami actually dropped his next fight to Tim Boetsch by knockout, but then reeled off three wins in a row.
Among those victories was a dominating performance over Alan Belcher, and a win over former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard.
Okami can potentially add yet another big-name win to his resume if he can get past Jacare later this year.
White did not hint around at a timeline for when they could announce the fight with Okami and Jacare, but the promotion is currently still filling up cards through August.One of those cards happens to be UFC 163, which takes place in Jacare’s home country of Brazil.
It could be the perfect landing spot for the top ten middleweight tilt, but only time will tell what the UFC ultimately decides to do with the newly created fight.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
