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| UFC 97: Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell vs Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua Posted: 18 Jan 2009 04:24 AM CST
Fresh off his less-than-thrilling victory over Mark “The Hammer” Coleman at UFC 93: ‘Franklin vs. Henderson,’ Mauricio Rua was rewarded (or punished, depending on how you look at it) by Dana White with a fight against former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montreal, Canada. Shogun — the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix winner — was at one point considered among the top 205-pound fighters in the world. In fact, prior to his upset loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76: "Knockout" in September 2007, Rua had defeated a "Who's-Who" of some of the best names in the sport such as Rampage Jackson, Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and others. Hopefully the former ChuteBoxe prodigy will be out for redemption for his disappointing performance against Coleman, as well as for his stinker against Griffin. For a man with his talent, Shogun’s time in the UFC thus far has been quite underwhelming, and left a lot of Rua fans scratching their heads. Liddell defeated Wanderlei Silva in a thrilling three-round war back at UFC 79: "Nemesis" in December 2007. However, he could not capitalize on the momentum and was most recently on the wrong end of a vicious knockout at UFC 88: "Breakthrough" courtesy of Rashad Evans. At this point, every fight for Liddell could be a dangerous one for his career — the “Iceman” has lost three of his last four fights and he's no longer the same fighter who dominated the division for two years up until 2007. Nonetheless, he still possesses the ability to win fights with just one punch, and from what we’ve seen of the post-PRIDE Rua, that could be all it takes. Liddell is still a huge draw and a very popular fighter who is very capable of putting on a great show. It has the potential to be a big money match for both fighters, assuming they both stay healthy until April. Time will tell. For more on UFC 97 and potential fights planned for the card click here. |
| Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson get rematch in UFC ‘Undisputed 2009′ on May 24 (video) Posted: 18 Jan 2009 04:19 AM CST Catch part two of the preview of Franklin vs. Henderson for UFC ‘Undisputed 2009′ after the jump.
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| The gassed and the furious: A closer look at the role of conditioning in combat sports Posted: 18 Jan 2009 04:18 AM CST
UFC 93: ‘Franklin vs. Henderson’ from the 02 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, has officially wrapped, meaning we can now set our sights on the upcoming superfight between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn at UFC 94: ‘St. Pierre vs. Penn 2′ on January 31. In a way, I think the UFC is fortunate to have such a massive pay-per-view (PPV) looming on the horizon, because it takes some of the spotlight off an event that as a whole, was a little underwhelming. One of my biggest gripes coming out of UFC 93 is (once again) the complete and utter lack of physical preparation that some fighters were exhibiting come showtime. And inexplicably, it seems to be getting worse, not better. Simply put, a lack of conditioning is a lack of professionalism. Today’s mixed martial artist, especially in the UFC, has an uphill battle when it comes to fighter compensation. With Zuffa pretty much ruling the roost, finding ample employment outside of Dana’s umbrella can be a daunting and often fruitless task. To that end, the responsibility to further a fighter’s career from a monetary standpoint rests solely on the shoulders of the fighter himself. With great fights, come great opportunities. Sponsorships are becoming more and more lucrative as the sport of MMA gains wider mainstream appeal. Nutritional supplement companies like BSN are throwing money at fighters because they know a big name competitor can influence the product’s key demographic. But is it realistic to think a fighter who cannot make it out of the first round without gassing will lock up an endorsement deal for a sports nutrition company? Now it’s important to differentiate between a legitimate lack of professionalism and the inability to win big fights or keep the crowd entertained. Not every fight is going to be Griffin-Bonnar 1. Furthermore, I’ve never once criticized a fighter who came to the cage, gave it his best shot, and got turned inside out. What I have criticized, and will continue to criticize, is the contempt some fighters seem to have for the fans and the UFC management. I’m sorry, but I just don’t know what else to call it. By the end of the summer, we should be at or near UFC 100. That’s 99 events since Royce Gracie toyed with some human yarn in a showcase of submission fighting. By now, I would expect fighters so desperate to be considered ‘professional athletes’ to start acting like them. A fighter not being able to compete for three rounds without gassing out is forgivable on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), not the main card during a PPV. Are there any fighters currently on the UFC roster who don’t know what to expect coming into a fight? Phil Baroni stood up at the post-fight press conference for EliteXC: ‘Primetime’ and talked down to the media in attendance (present company included), philosophizing about the true meaning of mixed martial arts and how nobody can ever say anything bad about a fighter because they aren’t the ones in the cage or ring laying it all on the line. Bologna. I paid for my right to be heard. The second I plunk down fifty bucks for a PPV, I expect to get my money’s worth. If I go to Steakhouse and drop fifty bucks on a filet - only to have it taste like it was seasoned in the chef’s ass, you’d better believe it’s going right back to the kitchen with a complaint in tow. Today’s fighters don’t compete for charity. They compete because they get paid to do so. The money they get paid comes from us, the fans, when we shell out for a PPV, or buy the products our heroes shill for on a monthly basis. I just want to make sure I get what I paid for. Certain fighters have their bread and butter, and that’s ok. For example, I don’t expect Chuck Liddell to come out and dazzle me with his ground game, nor do I expect Demian Maia to knock somebody out with a head kick. What I do expect however, is for Chuck to go in there and strike for fifteen minutes and for Maia to manipulate more joints than Joe Rogan. It’s unrealistic to expect them to win every fight, but not unrealistic to expect them to show up for every fight. Not having the conditioning to fight competitively for three rounds is inexcusable and it cheats the fans and the sport. Nothing is uglier than watching two guys who can barely stand try and fight. They may have the mixed and they may have the martial, but they certainly don’t have the arts. Not only is it void of anything remotely technical, it gives ammo to the many detractors who just love to air highlights while pointing and laughing. I won’t say I’m the world’s biggest GSP fan, but goddamn that guy gets it right every time. He’s the prototype for what every aspiring fighter should strive to become. And it wouldn’t hurt a couple of veterans to follow his lead either. There are plenty of fighters who have excellent cardio and genuinely try to make their fights entertaining. They aren’t born with it, they work for it. I remember Quinton Jackson telling me that he hates training cardio more than anything in the world, but that he did it anyway because he was a fighter and that was part of his job. He knows, just as every fighter knows, conditioning is just as important as striking, jiu-jitsu or wrestling. What good are your boxing skills if you’re too tired to use them? And because every fighter knows this, it’s completely inexcusable when it happens, especially considering how the future of the sport hangs in the balance. Well, that’s my rant. Where do fan expectations end and fighter responsibilities begin? Should combatants be held accountable for sloppy performances? Or should whiners like me just stick there head in the sand? What say you? |
| British Fighting Championships consolidates smaller MMA promotions into one larger entity Posted: 18 Jan 2009 04:00 AM CST
After getting together and commencing several discussions, an assembly of British mixed martial arts (MMA) organizations have agreed to unite under British Fighting Championships (BFC) in order to help the sport of MMA grow and to develop the talent pool in their homeland. Cage Warriors, FX3, Ultimate Force, Ultimate Warrior Challenge and AMMA all got on board with the idea and other promotions are likely to join in on the action according to a BFC press release. Their ambitious plans for 2009 are to hold 12 big events, the last of which will be disputed for the newly created titles the BFC looks to establish by having the top contenders within the organization duke it out. Though no specific divisions have been set, there will be 7 male and also 2 female weight classes. In addition to the 12 major shows, the BFC also plans to hold a handful of smaller events to build its roster with new and emerging talent. The group has already managed to cement television programming which will be available to view for free and broadcasted to UK citizens via Sky & Digital. All television content will be made available on the BFC website, also free to view. More information and dates for the events are set to be released sometime in February. No doubt this is great news for British mixed martial arts fans and should help boost the sport even more into the public eye and possibly help it to become an established cornerstone in the British Isles, within time. Hopefully it can be turned to into a success, however the BFC does have some very lofty goals. Let's hope their not above their station. We've seen countless promotions take on too much, too fast, only to crash and burn ala EliteXC. Hopefully this one is a different story and I'm sure if the BFC starts slow and keeps within their means it will come to be. |
| UFC 93 bonuses and awards for ‘Franklin vs Henderson’ PPV fights Posted: 17 Jan 2009 07:50 PM CST
UFC 93: "Franklin vs. Henderson" from the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, has come to a close. Welterweights Chris “Lights Out” Lytle and Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis promised to put on a “Fight of the Night” type performance and they came through with the goods. After the event, the UFC also came through with the goods by officially awarding the razor close, split decision slugfest, “Fight of the Night” honors. Lytle and Davis each pocketed an extra $40,000 worth or dough for for their respective performances. A second “Fight of the Night” was also awarded to the co-main event, which was a 205-pound match up between Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy standout Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman. Their fight went back and forth nearly the entire three rounds before Shogun scored a late technical knockout. They’ll each take home the $40,000 in bonus money. In a match that did not make the PPV broadcast, Dennis Siver stopped Nate Mohr in the third round after landing a David Loiseau-esque spinning back kick to the liver, which he followed up with some fight ending strikes. The sensational finish won “Knockout of the Night” for the German. And finally, by process of elimination, Alan Belcher scored the bonus money for “Submission of the Night” after catching UFC newcomer Denis Kang in a fight ending guillotine with seconds remaining in round two. It was the only submission finish on the card. Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 93:
Each fighter received $40,000 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which is $20,000 less than the $60,000 awards issued three weeks ago at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″. For complete UFC 93 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here. |
| UFC 93 unofficial winners and loser Posted: 17 Jan 2009 07:21 PM CST Dublin, Ireland, today popped its Ultimate Fighting Championship cherry with “Franklin vs. Henderson” from The O2 (formerly “The Point,” which really sounds like “Pint” from a local … fitting). Anyway, just want to touch on a few intangibles that will more than likely get lost in the shuffle to give our readers a taste of what the atmosphere was like inside the building. Here are a few winners and losers this evening from outside the Octagon. Winners: Michael Bisping: The mixed martial arts equivalent of a 1990s Michael Jordan abroad. Enough said. Alistair Overeem and Semmy Schilt: The Dutch duo had VIP treatment to the hilt, sitting ringside all night and making the best of it. “Demolition Man” — who promised he would be in attendance — was even seen cozying up with company president Dana White from time to time. The pair played to the crowd for six hours and signed an unruly amount of autographs and posed for a ridiculous number of pictures between and during fights. Two biggest fight stars in the crowd behind Michael Bisping. Seriously. Alistair Overeem (again): Total pimp … he seemingly had the only hot chicks in Ireland swooning all over him. The tandem was very, very hot. Possible imports. Had to be. Dana White: He did more than he had to for fans in the arena. Pictures, autographs, fan chats … you name it and White turned no one down who approached him. No one. Fans: Perhaps this is what happens when security is lax — cameras, camcorders, and unlimited ringside access (you can essentially walk directly down to the floor from the highest seat in the venue) between fights to the stars. It makes attending an event in the United States seem like a 10-year bit at Leavenworth — full cavity search included. Freedom! Losers: “The O2″ — Only one loser this evening, really, but it’s a biggy. The venue is located in a barren commercial zone near nothing. One way in, one way out. One two-lane road around the whole thing. If you thought the Meadowlands sucked, think again. Bathrooms were no different. And, if you were a guy, you had to squeeze between two wasted “lads” just to piss in an open trough. Giants Stadium isn’t even that bad … Paterson for that matter. All in all it was a fantastic show from the stands as a fan … couldn’t ask for much more. And the Irish deserved it — they were great hosts all weekend … when we understood them. Thanks to MMAmania.com hometown hero Wayne for all his help. |
| UFC 93 recap and final thoughts Posted: 17 Jan 2009 06:43 PM CST
UFC 93: "Franklin vs. Henderson" took place earlier today live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the 02 Arena in Dublin, Ireland. (Be sure to check out the replay tonight starting at 10pm ET on PPV if you didn’t have a chance to catch this afternoon’s live action.) For years people wanted to see middleweights Rich “Ace” Franklin and Dan “Hollywood” Henderson face off against each other to see who the better man was at 185 pounds. Today the two finally squared off in the Octagon in the main event of UFC 93 … as light heavyweights. As many expected him to do, Henderson used a strong wrestling attack to score a lot of takedowns to control most of the first two rounds. His ground and pound was on point and he did a lot of damage to the former UFC 185-pound champion with elbows and ground strikes. Franklin stayed competitive throughout the fight and showed a lot of heart by winning the third round. He put a nice all around striking game on display, complete with punches, kicks and knees in this fight. “Ace” was certainly prepared and had a solid gameplan, but it’s more than likely difficult to fully prepare for what it actually feels like once Dan Henderson grabs you. Both fighters had their moments, but in the end Dan Henderson’s strong start by stealing the first two rounds is what won him the fight. With the win he now becomes the coach of the U.S. side in the new season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which features a “U.S. vs. England” theme. His opposing coach will be England’s own Michael “The Count” Bisping - who will, of course, coach the British team. The two coaches will face each other at the end of the season with the winner more than likely earning a shot at division kingpin Anderson Silva shortly thereafter.
The co-main event today was a rematch from a fight in Japan a few years back between Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman in which Rua sustained a injury early on which caused a premature stop. Both fighters came out blazing looking to impose their will and respective gameplans. In the process, however, they basically both ran out of gas. The second and third rounds were filled with lazy takedown attempts and wild punches hay-makers. It resembled more of a fight you’d see in prison than one between a Hall of Famer and a man who was once considered the best fighter in perhaps the deepest division in the sport. Coleman fought valiantly and was winning the third round before Rua finally connected on a devastating fight-stopping combination late in the third round. Shogun was probably on his way to a decision win, but came through with the late stoppage. Regardless, there was nothing impressive about this fight for the Chute Boxe product. This makes back to back fights for him in the Octagon where he gassed out and looked less than impressive. Maybe this will be a wake up call for him and he’ll bounce back and return to the Shogun of old. One can only hope. Denis Kang’s UFC debut was soured by a second round submission loss to Muay Thai specialist Alan Belcher. Kang looked to be in control most of the fight, winning the first round by with his crisp stand up and takedowns. The second round was more of the same, but Belcher started gaining confidence on his feet. Kang attempted one last takedown attempt with less than a minute remaining in the round and fell right into a deep guillotine choke from Belcher. Plain and simple … he got caught. After the fight, Belcher referred to himself as the top dog in the UFC and started talking about title shots and stuff. Maybe Kang hit him a little too hard once or twice, but he might want to bite his tongue next time those thoughts pop up in his head … especially if there’s a microphone around. Tough Brazilian Rousimar Palhares needed the full three rounds to grind out a unanimous decision against MMA journeyman Jeremy Horn. After the fight he revealed that he suffered a broken hand in the first round and that’s why he had to resort to plan B, which was take Horn down and look for submissions and ground strikes. That being the case, this fight speaks volumes on just how talented Palhares is. To break his hand in the first round against a seasoned veteran like Jeremy Horn and still come away with the unanimous decision is very impressive to say the least. Finally, in the fight that was perhaps the most anticipated on the card all together because of all the back and forth pre-fight talk between both sides, welterweights Chris “Lights Out” Lytle and Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenades” Davis fought to a split decision. The two fighters agreed to stand and trade with each other weeks before the actual event in hopes of putting on a great fight for the Irish fans. And when the opening bell rang, it was clear they were going to do just that. Lytle’s strategy was to stay aggressive and swing for the fences. Davis, on the other hand, played a more defensive role and used a lot of technical boxing to counter Lytle’s aggression. It was a solid back and forth war, but technique won out over heart and aggression in the end. Davis won a razor close split decision much to the delight of the Irish crowd. Things won’t get any easier for him with the win though. He has some tough fights ahead of him in the talented UFC 170-pound division. All in all, UFC 93 was an decent event. Both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson put on main event worthy performances and there were a couple of very close fights. It just felt like it lacked anything spectacular, or should I say, anything that was $49.95-worthy. But, there is always BJ Penn vs. GSP II coming up next, which is only two weeks away. It can’t come soon enough. For the complete UFC 93 coverage and blow-by-blow main card commentary click here. |
| UFC 96: Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Keith Jardine tapped as main event Posted: 17 Jan 2009 05:46 PM CST Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will headline UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7, but it won’t be against Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight crown as previously passed along right here at MMAmania.com. Instead, the charismatic former 205-pound kingpin will challenge the very tough Keith Jardine, who himself was expected to face Luis Cane at UFC 97 in Montreal. It’s believed that Jackson earned a title shot against Rashad Evans after his big knockout win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″ just last month; however, a deal could not be struck between both parties for the big money match. The fight between Jackson and Jardine would seemingly set up a number one contender match. But there is one massive problem: Evans and Jardine train together at Team Jackson and are great friends, indicating in the past that they would never again fight one another (the pair battled on The Ultimate Fighter way back when). UFC will more than likely address that problem if it arises with a Jardine win. In the meantime, the "Dean of Mean" has done his share to be atop the 205-pound ladder, putting together a solid record of (6-3) during his time in the Octagon. His resume is highlighted with wins over some of the top names in the sport such as Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera and others. In fact, it seemed likely that a rematch with he "Iceman" was on the near horizon with the way Liddell was recently calling out Jardine. Apparently company president Dana White had different plans for Chuck, as well as Rampage and Jardine. Perhaps it’s just a case of real bad timing. Regardless, sounds messy no matter how you shake it. For the latest UFC 96 fight card and rumors click here. |
| UFC 93 videos blog with Dana White (Episode six) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 05:21 PM CST |
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