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Jason 'Mayhem' Miller's Zuffa release ends brief reunion with UFC

2012-05-28T03:00:11Z

Mixed martial arts (MMA) has its share of memorable characters, but few can approach the quotability and sheer awesomeness of Jason Miller, who years into his career remained one of the best interviews in the sport.

But after a two-fight losing streak that followed his stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14, it was announced that "Mayhem" was released by the organization, perhaps in no small part thanks to what Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White referred to as a backstage "incident" following his decision loss to C.B. Dollaway at UFC 146 last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It's not the first dust-up Miller has been a part of. After butting in on Jake Shields' post-fight interview after Shields decisioned Dan Henderson in their 2010 Strikeforce fight, Miller was part of the epic scuffle that involved the Diaz brothers in an embarrassing scene, on a nationally televised program, to boot.

It's too bad, too, because Miller is a charismatic figure and a fun guy to watch.

He came up horribly flat in his stoppage loss to Michael Bisping back on Dec. 3, 2011, and showed some improvement in spots against Dollaway, but at the end of the day, Miller's limited stand-up and wrestling ability were two chinks in his armor that worked readily against him.

You get the feeling that in this match-up, the powers that be engineered the precise conditions to cut their losses, as there was no way Dollaway wouldn't be denied takedowns, allowing him to essentially stifle Miller en route to a one-sided decision win. That being said, whatever the incident was that White referred to didn't help matters.

Jason Probst can be reached at jasonprobst@gmail.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.

History in the Making: Jake Ellenberger earns his first Octagon win over veteran Mike Pyle at UFC 108

2012-05-28T02:00:09Z

Jake Ellenberger had been fighting for nearly five years when he finally got the call from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It's the moment every single person who straps on four ounce gloves hopes to one day see.

However, it wasn't under the most ideal of circumstances. The fight promotion was in a pinch and needed the Omaha native to replace Chris Lytle who was set to take on Carlos Condit but bowed out due to injury. "The Juggernaut" had only a little over a month to prepare for the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Welterweight Champion.

Regardless, when opportunity came knocking on Ellenberger's door, he wasn't going to let the chance to fight for the UFC pass him.

"The Juggernaut" fell short against the now-interim welterweight champ but fought well enough to earn one of the judge's decisions. Beyond that, Ellenberger impressed countless fans who had never even heard of him before that night in Oklahoma City.

But kudos don't pay the bills. A victory inside the Octagon is something else altogether and necessary for any fighter not looking to find a place in an unemployment line.

Ellenberger finally got that win a few months later when he took on veteran Mike Pyle during a preliminary bout at UFC 108. He steps inside the Octagon this Friday (June 1) in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale and he'll be facing off against fellow 170-pound title contender Martin Kampmann.

Before he does, we'll take a look at his bout against Pyle, an impressive victory for "The Juggernaut."

Let's go.

The Omaha native begins the fight by immediately pressuring Pyle in the stand up exchanges. Not content to throw single punches, Ellenberger strings together combinations which eventually lead to a takedown. Now on top of his opponent, "The Juggernaut" goes to work.

Using his stifling wrestling acumen, Ellenberger is able to keep Pyle on his back but the decade-plus veteran keeps his opponent from landing any kind of significant offense. In addition to keeping Ellenberger on his heels through excellent defensive grappling, "Quicksand" also manages to sneak in a couple of loose submission attempts. None stick or really threaten but Ellenberger must be careful to avoid getting choked out by the wily veteran.

With 90 seconds remaining in the opening round, Pyle is able to kick his opponent off who rises back to his feet. The referee affords "Quicksand" the chance to get back up and both fighters are once again vertical.

The change in position doesn't last long as Ellenberger barrels through with a textbook takedown. But once again, Pyle immediately begins working towards a submission, locking his opponent's arm in a kimura. Attempting to crank Ellenberger's arm back, Pyle threatens to end the fight in the first round but "The Juggernaut" defends perfectly and ends up in half-guard.

As the seconds tick down to zero, Ellenberger unloads an explosion of ground and pound. Like a wrecking ball attached to the end of his arm, his fist crashes against Pyle's head and body, forcing the Xtreme Couture fighter to spend a few moments on the canvas following the end of the round.

Perhaps he wasn't fully recovered from the barrage as he exited his corner a minute later to begin the second stanza. It's possible as it only took Ellenberger another 22 seconds to end the fight.

A low kick from Pyle earns him a counter left straight and an ensuing takedown attempt is stuffed easily by Ellenberger. As they're clinched up, "The Juggernaut" nails his opponent with a knee to the body and when Pyle raises his head, he eats a beautiful 1-2 combination. The first doesn't connect flush but the second drops "Quicksand" like a ton of bricks.

From there, "The Juggernaut" lives up to his moniker as he unloads an absolute blitzkrieg of ground and pound. The scent of blood was there inside the Octagon and Ellenberger seemed more great white shark than man. The referee allowed Pyle a few seconds to recover but when someone with the power the Omaha native has is raining down punches on you, recovery isn't likely and probably downright impossible.

Ellenberger hopes to have Kampmann in a similar position this weekend and earn himself a title shot and rematch against Condit. He hasn't lost since his bout against "The Natural Born Killer" and is riding a six-fight win streak, including victories over Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez, two fighters who came out on top when facing "The Hitman."

Will we see another "Juggernaut" knockout?

UFC 146 results: Junior dos Santos vs Frank Mir event photos gallery from Las Vegas

2012-05-28T01:00:03Z

UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" took place last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring Junior dos Santos successfully defending his heavyweight championship with a second-round knockout victory over Frank Mir.

Just like he predicted.

Former division titleholder Cain Velasquez earned another crack at the crown by bludgeoning Antonio Silva in the co-main event of the evening. Had this fight not occurred inside the Octagon, Velasquez may well have been wanted for attempted murder today, it was so bad.

Other action on the card saw Roy Nelson send Dave Herman off to La La Land, Stipe Miocic stop Shane del Rosario to remain undefeated, and Stefan Struve submit Lavar Johnson after barely breaking a sweat.

A photo gallery (via US Presswire) is available for your viewing pleasure after the jump. For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here and here.

Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman

Stipe Miocic vs. Shane Del Rosario

Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins

Jamie Varner vs. Edson Barboza

Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway

Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig

Jacob Volkmann vs. Paul Sass

Glover Teixeira vs. Kyle Kingsbury

Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda

Select photos (Nelson-Herman, Miocic-Del Rosario, Struve-Johnson, Brown-Pineda) by Eshter Lin via MMAFighting.com. All other photos via US Presswire.

Video: Mirko Cro Cop knocks out Loren Javier Jorge at K-1 Rising 2012 in Spain

2012-05-28T00:30:08Z

Mirko Filipovic finished up his mixed martial arts (MMA) career on a low note by getting knocked out in three consecutive fights, the last of which came at the hands of Roy Nelson at UFC 137 on Oct. 29, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

But instead of calling it quits for good on combat sports, the former PRIDE king returned to his kickboxing roots and in March of this year, defeating Ray Sefo via unanimous decision in his first kickboxing match since 2003. He looked rusty, though, plodding around the ring with so little urgency it seemed the fire had finally burned out on a once great career.

Key word being "seemed."

That's because "Cro Cop" made his return at K-1 Rising 2012 earlier today (Sun., May 27, 2012) in Madrid, Spain, in a heavyweight superfight showcase against Loren Javier Jorge. And this time, the Croatian legend showcased many of the old traits that made him such a star.

Filipovic fired off kicks with power and precision, unloaded punches with uncanny accuracy, and stalked his prey like it was 2006 all over again. The result was a second round knockout victory after he trapped Jorge in the corner and put him down with a hard left uppercut.

At 37-years-old, no one is holding any illusions at a return to greatness for the veteran butt kicker but fans of nostalgia should enjoy this one. After all, you never know how many we have left.

For complete results from K-1 Rising 2012 click here.

Mania Matchmaker: Possible next fights for UFC 146: 'Dos Santos vs Mir' winners

2012-05-28T00:00:21Z

UFC 146 delivered a gigantic fight card full of Heavyweight bouts that will surely have an impact on the mixed martial arts (MMA) world for months to come. In particular, the headline bout between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, should cause some ripples for the rest of the 265-pounders, worldwide.

The main and co-main event, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., May 26, 2012, looked to have shored up one future match, with near certainty. "JDS'" win over Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez's victory opposite Antonio Silva would appear to signal a rematch for the two in the near future.

But those weren't the only two big winners from the weekend who will need dance partners for an upcoming appearance in the Octagon.

Namely, Roy Nelson, Stipe Miocic and Stefan Struve will all need suitable opponents, moving forward. Ultimately, those decisions will be up to Joe Silva and the bigwigs at Zuffa. With that said, it doesn't hurt to speculate.

After the jump, we'll take a look at the matches to made for the winners from the main card of UFC 146.

Roy Nelson is a labyrinth. He's almost impossible to understand sometimes. One night, he acts as punching bag and looks like something out of a horror movie by the time its all said and done.

Then you have nights like the one he experienced at UFC 146, where he was able to plant a huge haymaker of an overhand right on the temple of Dave Herman and plant him on his butt for a quick finish.

No one is doubting he has the skill set, but his conditioning and inconsistency have always been big question marks.

For me, I think his next opponent is a bit of a no-brainer. He was supposed to fight Gabriel Gonzaga, before "Napão" was forced off the card with an injury. It was a fight that made sense before. It's a fight that still makes sense.

Hook it up.

Stipe Miocic is still somewhat of an unknown commodity. Even though he's 9-0 as a professional mixed martial artist, only three of those wins were in the UFC against top competition.

It's still unclear where his ceiling is. Some fans are going to be in a hurry to throw him in the cage with top tier opponents, but it's probably too soon.

Earlier in the month, Shane Carwin announced that he is confident he'll be able to return to the cage, likely by the end of the year.

If we'd had this conversation a year or two ago, introducing Carwin's name here would be a step too bold. However, with all of Carwin's injury problems and time spent out of the cage, he's going to have to work his way back to the top.

Miocic seems like a logical opponent. They both need a test and could provide that for the other. Get it done.

Lastly, there's Stefan Struve. I hate to be lazy, but just like Roy Nelson, Struve had a very suitable opponent, heading into UFC 146, before injury caused a bit of a shake-up.

Mark Hunt made sense before, he makes sense now. After his destruction of Lavar Johnson, Struve showed that he has what it takes to overcome a superior striker. So why not have him step his game up and face an even better striker in the "Super Samoan?"

Hopefully, Hunt will be able to make a speedy recover and will be able to get back to action soon enough to take on Struve, like he was supposed to in the first place.

That's all I got. Think you can do better? Hit us with your best suggestions in the comment section below!

UFC 146 results: Roy Nelson back on winning track with impressive knockout of Dave Herman

2012-05-27T23:00:13Z

He is an enigmatic performer, with considerable talent vexed by inconsistent performances. But if there are a few constants with Roy Nelson, they are: he can take a hell of a punch and he hits hard.

Very hard.

His overhand right is one of the most dangerous weapons in the game, as he delivers it like a major league closer hurling a fastball.

Nelson's been up and down since steamrolling the competition to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10. In his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) loss, a bruising decision beating at the hands of Junior dos Santos, he showed his cast-iron chin in taking a frightful pounding while never giving up. That was absolutely excusable.

What wasn't was his flat showings against Frank Mir, where the two conditioning-challenged heavies lumbered around, at times resembling battling elephant seals, and his listless showing when Fabricio Werdum gave a kickboxing clinic as Nelson stood around and got picked apart (yes, that Fabricio Werdum).

But at UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nelson took out Dave Herman in a mere 51 seconds with the kind of one-shot destructive power that elicited identical results against Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve.

A relatively svelte 254-pounds, Nelson is one of the rare fighters in the game who actively cultivates a blue-collar persona and backs it up, replete with an epic mullet, lumberjack's beard and a body that could be described as anything but beautiful. Yet he is extremely athletic -- he once told me he could dunk a basketball -- and with his resilience and excellent grappling (both wrestling and jiu-jitsu, the latter of which is rare for big men) he seems like he could be a legit heavyweight contender if he could put it all together.

I'll never forget the quintessential Nelson performance, which was marred by referee Jorge Ortiz' ineptitude, against Andrei Arlovski. In that October 2008 EliteXC bout, Nelson was masterful at getting Arlovski to the ground, perfectly positioned to do damage from side control, only to be completely screwed by a ref standup. It was like taking a football team's offense in the red zone, calling a nonsensical double-penalty, and putting them back at midfield.

Arlovski, renewed from the break, proceeded to hit Nelson with a zillion shots to get one of the more brutal knockouts you'll see. Nelson was close to breaking through to the big time that night, and the jobbing he absorbed is one of the many bad breaks a fighter will receive.

It's part of the game.

Nelson has some interesting terrain ahead of him. There are plenty of heavyweights he'd match up well against, and some big names, too. Personally, I'd like to see him take on the winner of the Ben Rothwell vs. Travis Browne bout taking place at UFC on Fox 4 on Aug. 4 in Los Angeles. If Nelson is in shape and has the gas to throw his big shots for three rounds, he's a handful for anyone.

Jason Probst can be reached at jasonprobst@gmail.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.

K-1 Rising 2012 results: Mirko Cro Cop wins by knock out, Badr Hari victorious

2012-05-27T22:55:15Z

Reports of K-1's demise were greatly exaggerated, indeed.

The world renowned kickboxing promotion held its latest event, K-1 Rising 2012, earlier today (May 27) in Madrid, Spain. The event featured the opening round of the 2012 K-1 World MAX Grand Prix, not to mention the return of Mirko Filipovic and Badr Hari.

Speaking of "Cro Cop," mixed marital arts (MMA) fans may be pleased to know (or not) that he emerged victorious in his heavyweight showcase against Loren Javier Jorge. The Croatian looked as good as he has in years, stalking Loren around the ring before finishing him off with a few deadly left hands in the second round.

It wasn't the left high kick he's so famous for but he looked impressive nonetheless.

The same can't be said for Badr Hari, who was fighting the bulge just as much as he was his opponent on the evening, Anderson "Braddock" Silva. Some are calling Silva's performance the best of his career, while Hari didn't look anything like the killer he has in times past.

Pity.

That's not all, though. After the jump, get complete results from K-1 Rising 2012.

World Max 2012 Final 16 Fights:

Mike Zambidis defeated Chahid Oulad El Hadj by knockout in Round 3
Andy Souwer defeated Abraham Roqueni by unanimous decision
Artur Kyshenko defeated Su Hwan Lee by knockout in Round 2
Yasuhiro Kido defeated Xu Yan by knockout in Round 3
Andy Ristie defeated Gago Drago by unanimous decision
Reece McAllister defeated Yuji Nashiro by unanimous decision
Murthel Groenhart defeated Harut Grigorian by knockout in round 3
Chris Ngimbi defeated Chain Superpro Samui by unanimous decision

Heavyweight Superfights:

Badr Hari defeated Anderson "Braddock" Silva by decision
Mirko Cro Cop defeated Loren Javier Jorge by knockout in Round 2
Daniel Ghita defeated Wendell Roche by technical knockout in Round 2
Sergei Lascenko defeated Rico Verhoeven by split decision

UFC 146 results: Junior dos Santos may hasten Daniel Cormier's Strikeforce exit

2012-05-27T22:00:08Z

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos showed why he's the world's eminent big man at UFC 146 last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a laser-sharp performance. Dispatching Frank Mir in two rounds, dos Santos' accuracy and timing, along with an unerring ability to control range on the feet, are a vexing package for future heavyweight challengers.

With Alistair Overeem out of the picture for the rest of the year (he may reapply for a license in Nevada in December), dos Santos faces the curious proposition of one marketable challenger at the moment, Cain Velasquez, who he has already starched in 64 seconds. The rematch will almost certainly be more competitive, but if Velasquez can't get the fight to the mat, it may not be that way for long.

That's because dos Santos has jarring power on every shot, along with deceptive speed. It's reminiscent of a prime Fedor Emelianenko, who was outstanding at whipping together vicious combinations that hit with equal effect. Mir's one attempt at a takedown in the opening moments of the bout was a kind of preview for how the rest of the fight would go -- he wasn't particularly close to getting it, and dos Santos simply hopped out, then slipped away as Mir transitioned into a leg lock attempt.

Outside of Velasquez, dos Santos' pool of potential challengers for the rest of 2012 will require some adept matchmaking by the UFC, because theirs isn't a lot to draw from, at least in terms of getting anyone to go off as less than a 4-1 underdog at the betting window.

He's already beaten five of the UFC's best heavyweights in Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Fabricio Werdum, Mir and Roy Nelson. Until Overeem returns in for a mega-heavyweight showdown, it may well expedite Daniel Cormier's move to the UFC.

Cormier looked fantastic in dominating Josh Barnett, with a broken hand, no less, in last weekend's five-round clinic. Cormier's outstanding wrestling might be the level required to really force dos Santos to be more reserved with his hands.

Cormier's quick striking also make him potentially viable on the feet, as well, though that may be a bit of a stretch at this point.

The UFC is already facing perceived "dominant champ" issues with Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva (Chael Sonnen notwithstanding) and Jon Jones is right behind them. It's important that competitive matchups and viable challengers be created to sell fights, lest title defenses devolve into the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao model, where fans have few illusions about a competitive match, and instead fork over cash for the right to see a dominant champ perform a kind of recital, reminding us how much better he is than those who would challenge him with their primitive skills.

Cormier isn't long for Strikeforce, especially if dos Santos wins in another one-sided match against Velasquez.

Jason Probst can be reached at jasonprobst@gmail.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.