MMAFeed

Strange but interesting, Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 130

Mon, Jan 10th 2011, 04:06 GMT

As reported by MMAJunkie, Roy Nelson is slated to face Frank Mir at UFC 130. At first glance, I didn't think it would be all that interesting but upon further review it could be very interesting.

Once upon a time, there was this 8 man wrestling tournament and Roy Nelson was crowned the champion. This might not seem all that relevant until you've seen the competitor list. It includes UFC fighters Brandon Vera, Diego Sanchez, and, you guessed it, Frank Mir. You can read more about the tournament here.

Not that I expect Nelson to win this fight, but at least it should be fun to watch.

UFC 2011 Fighter Cuts

Sun, Jan 9th 2011, 16:59 GMT

OK, this is kind of a boring post but I thought it would be interesting to keep a list of fighters cut by the UFC in 2011. Let's see if I can keep track.

Phil Baroni - January 4th
Brandon Vera - January 6th
Antonio McKee - January 6th
Marcus Davis - January 6th

Gray Maynard got Robbed at UFC 125

Tue, Jan 4th 2011, 04:58 GMT

In what had to be one of the greatest title fights in some time, Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar battled to a draw at UFC 125.

Initially, I had the fight scored for Maynard 48-47 (10-9, 9-10, 10-9, 9-10, 10-9). Before the final decision, I realized that Maynard probably won the first round 10-8 and conceded that he could have lost the last round. Still, even with these changes, Maynard won the decision 47-46.

Others are arguing that the fight should have gone to Edgar while others are convinced the draw was the right outcome. Either way, it looks as these fighters will meet again to determine the lightweight title.

UFC 118 Preview

Fri, Aug 27th 2010, 00:00 GMT

UFC 118 is promising to be one the best MMA cards of the year. I like the card not only because you get a little bit of everything, but the televised card is stacked. Let me explain why this is card is a can't miss.

Main Event: A title fight between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn. This of course is a rematch of a fight where Edgar shocked the MMA world with a decision over Penn. So, we have a title fight that is a rematch of a closely contested fight. We have great fighters and a legend in Penn, what else can you ask for in a main event?

Co-Main Event: The buildup for the fight between James Toney and Randy Couture has been billed as boxing versus MMA. I am not sure I like the spin, but it certainly will prove to most people one of two things. Either that boxers are legitimate fighters that belong in MMA or that boxers do not belong in the MMA ring. I don't think it will prove either, but nonetheless I am interested to see how the fight transpires.

Demian Maia vs mario Miranda: A submission specialist versus a strong grappler. I really enjoy watching Maia when he is on the ground and I assume that is where this fight ends up. On the other hand, the two fighters may choose to stand and trade punches. Either way, Maia is usually very entertaining to watch, especially if you like submissions.

Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard: Not much is being said about this fight, but this will probably be the most exciting fight to watch. It will be fun to see how Maynard's pure strength matches up with Florian's technical accuracies. This fight will most definitely produce the number one contender for the lightweight title.

Nate Diaz vs Marcus Davis: I assume the event will get kick-started with this fight and what a way to start the night. Davis is an explosive fighter looking to gain some more momentum after dropping two of his last three fights. Diaz is a self proclaimed bad boy that always impresses me with his submissions and different ways he wins fights.

UFC 109 Shaping up Nicely

Sat, Jul 17th 2010, 02:27 GMT

After looking at the UFC 109 card again, I believe this will be a quality event. Not only does the card include name brand fighters like Couture, Coleman, Marquardt, Swick, Maia, Serra and Trigg but also some quality match ups. The headline fight features two UFC hall-of-famers. At first, I thought this fight didn't make sense but now it does for two reasons. First, after a little research, this match should have happened years ago when the fighters were both first making a name for themselves. Second, this is a fan-favorite match up that people want to see.

So what else does this card have to offer? I am probably most excited to see how some fighters react to recent losses...

Mike Swicks loss to Dan Hardy
Demian Maia loss to Nate Marquardt
Matt Serra - Matt Hughes
Frank Trigg loss to Josh Koscheck

Only time will tell, but I putting my money on this turning out to be a memorable event.

Fedor Emelianenko Takes On Fabricio Werdum in a Joint Strikeforce/M1 Spectacular

Wed, Jun 23rd 2010, 00:00 GMT

The Strikeforce event on June 26^th is bound to be one for the books as Strikeforce mixed martial arts joins up with M-1 Global to bring some of the toughest fighters in the world together within one caged ring. This is an extra special event because it combines Strikeforce MMA with M-1 Global, which allows it to be a complete world showcase of some of the world's best fighters. This showcase has a huge title card as Fedor Emelianenko (who is actually a co-owner of M-1 Global) takes on Fabricio Werdum in a heavyweight bout that promises to entertain.

Fedor Emelianenko- also known as "The Last Emperor"- holds a record of 31-1. His only recorded loss comes from the fact that his fight with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka was stopped when Emelianenko suffered a gash in the opening seconds of the fight. Even though he has a loss to tarnish his undefeated streak, "The Last Emperor" understands that numbers don't mean anything when you're inside the cage.

"Fedor" has been at the top as the best heavyweight in the world for the better part of the last decade. He has taken down Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Mark Coleman, and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on his way there. On June 26^th, he goes up against Fabricio Werdum (the number 9 heavyweight in the world) for a showdown that's bound to define the two fighters and the event.

Even though Emelianenko is the top heavyweight in the world he will have a lot on his hands going up against the jiu-jitsu technician, Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is known as "Vai Cavalo" or "Leading Horse" which speaks to his wild and free nature in the ring. It looks like it will be Emelianenko's job to tame Werdum if he wants victory.

However, the June 26^th Strikeforce will not just be the main event. In fact, many more people are looking forward to the top woman in the world, Cris "Cyborg" Santos taking on Jan Finney. Most feel that Cyborg will take out Finney pretty easily and glide on to an effortless victory (even more so considering that Finney's nickname is "Cuddles"), but Finney has been known to be scrappy making the fight a good one to watch.

Plus, seeing Cris Cyborg in action is always an event in itself.

With both the male and female champions defending their titles on the same night, the June 26^th Strikeforce event is destined to be an exciting evening for MMA fans.

By Alexia Krause - Alexia is a lifelong fan of sports and fitness. Recently, she's been obsessed with MMA. As a result, she has joined forces with MMA Industries- purveyors of widely popular MMA T-shirts and gear. Alexia has been writing about the latest developments in MMA equipment for the past few years, and continues to bring you the latest news in the mixed martial arts world.

UFC 115 Wrap Up

Sun, Jun 13th 2010, 00:00 GMT

I was able to catch most of UFC 115 and I was pleasantly surprised with the event. Most shocking had to be the Mirko Cro Cop and Pat Barry fight. Not only was I surprised to see Barry knock down Cro Cop continuously, but the fight ended with a submission by Cro Cop. It is nice to see Cro Cop continue to improve his all around MMA skills and perform to his ability in the octagon. I am looking forward to seeing him fight again.

Martin Kampmann was very impressive in what I like to call his "I'm back" fight. The last time I saw him fight, he was destroyed by Paul Daley. Time for another step up in competition.

The main event ended as most expected, in a knockout. My gut feeling going into the fight was that Liddell would catch Franklin with a big shot. I think I was right as Liddell landed a few good shots, but it was Franklin who would deliver the knockout punch. One thing is for sure, Franklin is one tough dude fighting with a broken left hand.

Why move the WEC lightweights the UFC?

Wed, Apr 21st 2010, 00:00 GMT

Today, Dana White confirmed that eventually the WEC lightweight division will merge with the UFC''s lightweight division. You might remember that not too long ago I suggested that it didn't make sense to have both the WEC and the UFC. Well, this is would be one more reason to get rid of the WEC.

I understand that the WEC plans to add one or two lighter weight divisions, but I keep asking myself why add them to the WEC and not to the UFC? If you are going to keep the WEC around, why not have a lightweight division? There are plenty of fighters to fill the roster and it is an exiting division to watch. Someone please explain this to me.

Post Fight Brawl at Strikeforce Nashville Video

Mon, Apr 19th 2010, 00:00 GMT

I didn't catch this live but definitely a black eye for MMA. Most of the blame is falling on Jason Miller at this point for being in the cage and aggressively requesting a rematch with Jake Shields. Of course, somehow the Diaz boys found a way to be in the middle of the action. Probably a lot more to come on this.

Frankie Edgar's friends watch UFC 112 results

Thu, Apr 15th 2010, 00:00 GMT

A friend pointed me to this video today, I think it sums up my thoughts on the judges scorecards. After the first judge scored the fight 50-45, I thought Penn had retained his belt. I still can't figure out how somebody scored all 5 rounds for Edgar. For the record, I thought Penn won 48-47 but one or two of those rounds could have gone either way.

Anderson Silva's Dancing: From Entertaining to Scared

Mon, Apr 12th 2010, 00:00 GMT

Anderson Silva’s performance at UFC 112 is puzzling to say the least. At first, he danced around the ring and delivered blows with surgical precision. As he had done in the past, Silva was able to strike at will and it looked as though the fight would end in the first round.

Then, something strange happened. It almost appeared to me that Silva became frustrated with Demian Maia. He started to wave his arms aggressively calling for Maia to attack him. Silva would also put his hands down and stand still begging for Maia to make his move. It had the appearance of wanting to put on a show, but came off as disrespectful.

To this point, I wouldn’t say Maia was overly aggressive, but he defiantly wasn’t avoiding the fight.

Then, about half way through the third round it happened. Anderson Silva just stopped fighting. Silva continued to dance around the ring, but instead of serving up accurate strikes he just stopped fighting.

In the middle of the fourth round, it was clear that everybody from Dana White to the casual fan was upset at Silva’s antics. To me, the biggest disappointment was that the referee didn’t deduct a point for timidity. The rules clearly state that a foul is committed when one fighter clearly avoids contact with an opponent. The ref did warn Silva late in the fifth round, but by then a warning was nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

My theory on why Silva didn’t engage is that he was scared. I believe Silva is a fighter that does his homework on an opponent and looks for specific openings and reactions to attack his opponent. When Maia became desperate to win the fight, he changed his approach and landed a few big punches. This change in style confused Silva and clearly changed the way he was fighting.

I think Maia did very well in this fight, even though he was defeated. He came out in the fourth round with one eye swollen shut and continued to try and find ways to win the fight. I still haven’t heard the judges’ scores, but I am willing to guess he won the last two rounds.

I don’t want my money back; I just want an explanation from Anderson Silva. Oh, and “I don’t know what got into me” doesn’t cut it.

UFC 112 Invincible: BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar

Sat, Apr 10th 2010, 00:00 GMT

Another title defense for BJ Penn and this time, it's Frankie Edgar that gets a chance to be remembered as the guy that took the title from Penn. Clearly, most people don't think Edgar will be the one. I agree, but Edgar is still a dangerous fighter that Penn shouldn't take lightly.

Edgar has been fairly dominant in the UFC lightweight division having won 6 out of his 7 fights. This includes notable wins over fighters such as Tyson Griffn, Seah Sherk, and Spencer Fisher. His only loss was to Gray Maynard.

Still, Penn is crazy good with his stand up and take down defense. Edgar needs to use his conditioning to get this fight into the later rounds without taking too much damage. He needs to also take chances and be unpredictable. If Penn knows a fighters intentions, the fight is already over.

I like Penn to retain his belt and wins in the second round via choke.

UFC 112 Invincible: Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia

Sat, Apr 10th 2010, 00:00 GMT

UFC 112 will culminate with a fight between Anderson Silva and Demian Maia. This is a fight I thought should have happened back before Maia's loss to Nate Marquardt, but I think it actually makes more sense now.

The lessons Maia learned in the Marquardt fight will clearly help him. According to the UFC countdown show, Maia went from training muay thai one day a week to five days a week. I don't think this means he stands with Anderson Silva, but at least his reactions will be automatic instead of calculated.

Clearly Maia has to get this fight to the ground. The complicated part is that he has to be careful enough not to get knocked out without looking as though he is avoiding contact. We all remember what happened in the Thales Leites fight.

I would love to see this fight reach the ground, but I just can't picture how Maia gets this done. I think Anderson Silva wins this by knockout in the second round.

The Ultimate Fighter 11: Episode 2

Thu, Apr 8th 2010, 00:00 GMT

The second episode of the The Ultimate Fighter has already proved to me that this will be a great season. We have all the right elements in place.

First of all, the show has great coaches. Liddell is the strategist while Ortiz is the draw-you-in likable coach. Also, it doesn't hurt that these guys really hate each other. The strategy of Liddell is called into question early as Dana White tells both coaches he thinks Ortiz picked the better team. Liddell is quick to defend himself saying that he had done his research and you can't always judge a fighter by one fight. Time will tell on this one.

Second, the show has interesting fighters. The most interesting may just be Jamie Yager. To make it into the house, he threw consecutive head kicks and scored a knockout in under 30 seconds of the first round. Once in the house, Yager immediately joins up with the Kris McCray and Brad Tavares and they decide to wake the entire house up using air-horns at 3:00am. I think it is easy to see there is going to be conflict in this season.

Finally, the show has some early story lines to follow. What will happen with the wildcards? Will the other fighters grow tired of Yager's mouth? Does something happen to Ortiz that forces him to leave the show? Who picked the better team? I guess we will have to stay tuned to find out.

OK, onto the fight. Liddell, having the luxury of picking the first fight, selects Kyle Noke from team Liddell to face Clay McKinney from team Ortiz. The choice proves to be a good one as Noke catches McKinney in a triangle forcing him to tap-out.

Team Liddell 1, Team Ortiz 0.

UFC 111 Results and Thoughts

Wed, Apr 7th 2010, 00:00 GMT

OK, better late then never, right? I won't get into a complete breakdown, but there are a few fights I wanted to discuss.

Looking back on my Frank Mir vs Shane Carwin post, I have to say I did pretty well predicting this one. Carwin was able to knock out Mir midway through the first round. This result was great for the UFC for a couple of reasons. First, it really put Carwin's name on the map. Mir is a big name with drawing power, but now Carwin should be able the same. Second, Carwin versus Lesnar actually shapes up to be a better fight. With Carwin's wrestling background, Lesnar won't have the same advantage he did with Mir. The UFC will probably put this fight on in July and I expect an event similar to UFC 100.

The George St-Pierre/Dan Hardy fight went pretty much as most people expected. However, I think everybody was surprised that Hardy didn't tap on at two occasions. So what's next for St-Pierre? I know I want to see St-Pierre step up a weight class and fight Anderson Silva, but don't expect that to happen anytime soon. As for Hardy, I think he will rebound from this loss but getting another title shot will be a long road.

As for the rest of the fights, I thought they were entertaining. To see all the results, visit the UFC 111 results page.

UFC 112 Invincible: Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie

Wed, Apr 7th 2010, 00:00 GMT

UFC 112 will be the first event in Abu Dhabi and be the first event in an open air stadium. I find it interesting that they are holding an even "outdoors," but I don't see it having an effect on the fights.

I believe there are three interesting match ups on the card, with the first being the fight between Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie. To be honest, I don't know much about Renzo Gracie other than what I have read about him. I am a little surprised the UFC signed him to six fight contract, but he does bring the Gracie name back to the UFC.

As for Hughes, I have liked him ever since I started watching the UFC. He is a awesome fighter that dominated the middleweight weight class for almost five years. However, after loses in three of his last five fights, it appears that he is on the downside of his career. I should point out that two of those loses were against George St-Pierre, so one can argue that his best days may not yet be over.

So who wins this fight? At 43, Gracie is the older and slower of the two fighters. Look for Hughes to get a quick take down and use some good old ground and pound to finish this fight late in the first round or early in the second. I like Hughes by TKO.

UFC 111: John Fitch vs Ben Saunders

Fri, Mar 26th 2010, 00:00 GMT

UFC 111 is this weekend, and there are a few fights I wanted to touch on. The first of which is the match up between John Fitch and Ben Saunders.

This fight was originally suppose to feature a rematch between Fitch and Thiago Alves, however Alves had to withdrawn from the fight when he couldn't get medical clearance to fight. Apparently, two MRI's and one cat scan identified an irregularity with his brain.

So with Alves out, Ben Saunders stepped in and suddenly finds himself with an opportunity. Think of it this way, he gets to fight on the best main card of the year, he will fight a top 3 contender in the welterweight division, and with a victory he would propel himself into serious title contention.

Although it sounds good, the down side is that Saunders has to face one tough dude. John Fitch is 11-1 in the UFC, with the lone loss coming against George St-Pierre. Stylistically, Saunders does well against fighters that will stand with him, that is one thing Fitch will not do.

The other factor here is how late Saunders took the fight, which could help or hurt him. I think Fitch wins this fight 90% of the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if Saunders wins the fight.

UFC 111: Frank Mir vs Shane Carwin

Fri, Mar 26th 2010, 00:00 GMT

I am not exactly sure how to best summarize my thoughts on this fight, so let's just jump into it. Since his loss to Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir has been on a mission. He started a weight lifting program and if I remember right he put on about 20-30 pounds of muscle. The new found motivation for training has also prompted him to say stupid things like he wanted Brock Lesnar to die in the Octagon. My point is this, the guy is obviously motivated and that is a dangerous thing.

Speaking of dangerous things, Shane Carwin is an anomaly in the UFC heavyweight division. Let me lay the stats down for you, the guy has a perfect record (11-0) with four of those victories coming in the UFC. OK, that is pretty good but add the fact that no fighter has made it past the first round and you start to understand how good this guy is.

What makes Carwin so dangerous is that he is an elite wrestler with the punching power to put anybody to sleep. Mir has good hands, but Carwin has already shown that he has a good chin. I say advantage Carwin.

The key for Mir will be to extend the length of the fight, the longer it goes the better for Mir. The odds makers have Mir as their favorite, but I like Carwin in this fight. Expect some heavy hands to end this fight early.

UFC Live Vera vs Jones Card and Comments

Tue, Mar 16th 2010, 00:00 GMT

UFC Live Vera vs Jones is this weekend and it is the first ever UFC event on VERSUS. I suspect the event will be similar to Fight Night productions which air 5 or 6 fights. Here is the card:

Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones - All the positive words people used to describe Jones were once uttered about Vera. Truly a turning point for Vera's career, a win puts some much needed oxygen into a dying fire. Jones is a decent favorite in this fight but Vera has only been knocked out once. I expect a good fight, but will go with the hot fighter Jones by knockout.
Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - This is somewhat of a bad fight for Dos Santos as he doesn't have much to gain from it. A win over Gonzaga does little to help his ranking, but a loss puts him several fights away from a title. Dos Santos has looked scary good in all his UFC fights and I expect more of the same in this one. Dos Santos by TKO.
Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello - I expect this to be a decent fight. Buentello needs to be smart and get this fight to the ground, otherwise Kongo will probably knock him out. I was surprised to see Kongo as a favorite in this fight, I am guessing that the experts predict that Buentello will stand and strike. I'll go with the experts, Kongo by TKO.
Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin - I have no idea what to expect with this fight, but it's good to see Irvin back in the cage. His loss to Anderson Silva was an embarrassment to say the least, still the guy can fight. Sakara is still a mystery to me, I always remember him as one of the two guys Houston Alexander destroyed. I like Irvin by Knock Out, as Sakara has only once twice been to a decision in his UFC career.
Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty - Interestingly this doesn't make the main broadcast, I am guessing Guida's two straight losses had an influence on that. Still, the guy is fun to watch and the loses were against serious contenders (Kenny Forian and Diego Sanchez). Gugerty's claim to fame is that all four of his UFC fights have ended in a submission choke. Of course he only won half of those fights, but it makes you think the fight will end in a... knockout? Guiuda is too good to lose the fight, he wins by decision.
Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko - Matyushenko has an incredible record of 23-4, with four of those victories coming in the UFC. Still, I have a feeling that this match up won't go his way. I like Marshall by submission early in the first round.
Duane Ludwig vs. Darren Elkins - I don't think this fight deserves to be on any UFC card, but I am willing to let them prove me wrong. Elkins was pulled straight out of the small time events, but he does boast an 11-1 record with almost all of the fights ending in the first round. Ludwig has at least one quality win, but I am guessing that Elkins was brought to the UFC because he has some talent. I'm going with Elkins by TKO.
John Howard vs. Daniel Roberts - If you can't tell by now, these fights are getting really hard to pick. I like Roberts for no other reason than he is 9-0.
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley - A couple of big dudes both with a single UFC loss on their record. Schaub is a product of the latest Ultimate Fighter where he lost in the finale to Roy Nelson. I will take Schaub against my better judgement based on the fact he has been fully immersed in the UFC via the Ultimate Fighter.
Mike Pierce vs. Julio Paulino - Dam this is a huge card, are we done yet? Pierce has a few legitimate UFC fights while Paulino is new to the UFC, but has compiled a record of 18-2. Time to flip a coin and the winner is Pierce by decision.
Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz - For this fight, we have two submission guys from the Midwest. When two styles match up like this, the result is that the fight is usually decided by their stand up skills. I like Schafer in this fight, he has a couple TKO's and he should have the reach advantage.

So there you have it, eleven fights in all. Be sure to tune in at 8:00 pm on Sunday night. For more information on this card, visit the UFC website.

UFC Live Vera vs Jones Card Results

Tue, Mar 16th 2010, 00:00 GMT

The fist ever UFC even on VERSUS turned out to be an OK event. I thought the card had intriguing matchups, but failed to deliver any great fights. Here is my take on the main card.

Jon Jones defeats Brandon Vera via TKO -Going into this one, I didn't know what to expect from Vera. I am actually puzzled as to why the UFC would feature him in the main event. The only thing I can think of is that the UFC wanted to feature Jones without him facing a top 10 contender. In any case, the fight took place primary on the ground with Jones controlling the action. Then, with one swift strike Jones landed a crushing elbow that sent Vera into a frenzy to protect himself. After a few more quick blows, the ref had stopped the fight declaring Jones the victor. The light heavyweight division should take note, Jones is for real.
Junior Dos Santos defeats Gabriel Gonzaga via KO - About what I expected, Santos landed a huge cross that absolutely floored Gonzaga. This fight definitely boosts Dos Santos into the lime light, I would think he is only one more victory away from a title shot.
Cheick Kongo defeats Paul Buentello via tapout due to strikes- Another fight that almost ended early. Buentello dislocated a pinkie finger early in the fight, but the doctor was able to put it back in place. Kongo dominated this fight taking Buentello down early and often. Buentello had to be surprised at Kongo's takedown game plan, but it worked to perfection. Eventually, Buentello taps due to the relentless strikes from Kongo. Good fight for Kongo, puts him back in good standing with the UFC. Also, the fight shows Kongo has been working at least some on his ground game.
Alessio Sakara defeats James Irvin via TKO - This fight was a real disappointment as it ended early due to a strike to the eye of James Irvin. Sakara's left cross almost looked like a finger poke, but the slow motion replay showed the knuckle of Sakara hitting Irvin's eye. I think a rematch is in order.