UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com |
- UFC 118 results, updates and live play-by-play TONIGHT (Aug. 28) for 'Edgar vs Penn 2'
- UFC 118 post-fight press conference video airs LIVE on MMAmania.com following 'Edgar vs Penn 2'
- UFC 118 weigh in photos gallery for 'Edgar vs Penn 2 '
- Homecoming King: MMAmania.com UFC 118 interview exclusive with Kenny Florian
- UFC 118 predictions, preview and analysis
- Who punches harder, James Toney or Randy Couture?
- BJ Penn: 'I'm pretty damn motivated right now'
- MMA Quick Quote: Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva blasts Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko
- ESPN's MMA Live previews UFC 118 (Video)
- UFC Quick Quote: Ben Henderson has BJ Penn 'by homicide'
- James Toney in no mood for questions after UFC 118 pre-fight press conference (Video)
| UFC 118 results, updates and live play-by-play TONIGHT (Aug. 28) for 'Edgar vs Penn 2' Posted: 28 Aug 2010 03:00 AM PDT
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2." If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFC 118 results post and not this one. Comments in this thread are turned off. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| UFC 118 post-fight press conference video airs LIVE on MMAmania.com following 'Edgar vs Penn 2' Posted: 28 Aug 2010 02:45 AM PDT
UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2" from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass., is set to go off tonight (Sat., Aug. 28) live on pay-per-view (PPV) beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Immediately following the event, promotion president Dana White and a handful of participating fighters will be on hand for the UFC 118 post-fight press conference, which is now embedded below (after the jump) for an approximate 1:30 a.m. ET start time. A replay will also be available below for those who turn in early or miss the live broadcast altogether. Be sure to tune in for post-fight reactions from all the major players as well as up-to-the-minute results of all the post-fight bonuses including "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night." Check it out below. Live stream and replay courtesy of UFC.com For UFC 118 live results and play-by-play click here. |
| UFC 118 weigh in photos gallery for 'Edgar vs Penn 2 ' Posted: 27 Aug 2010 07:28 PM PDT |
| Homecoming King: MMAmania.com UFC 118 interview exclusive with Kenny Florian Posted: 27 Aug 2010 12:18 PM PDT
Home field advantage doesn't quite yield the same benefits in mixed martial arts as it does in say, football. But it certainly doesn't hurt. When perennial top UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian graces the Octagon on Saturday night in front of his hometown fans, a distinct feeling of comfort and confidence will come over him. Will pressure come with it? Maybe. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. With another shot at 155-pound gold on the line at UFC 118 against Gray Maynard, Florian is well aware that he can't take receiving title shots for granted. Should he win, Kenny will most likely fight for the UFC lightweight championship for a third time. He can't let this opportunity pass him by. And he doesn't plan to. MMAmania.com talked to Kenny a couple months ago where we discussed his fight with Gray Maynard and UFC 118 as a whole more in-depth. You can read that interview here. This time, KenFlo talked to MMAmania.com about the benefits of fighting in his hometown, what it's like working with Firas Zahabi and Georges St. Pierre, the evolution of MMA training and more. Have a read: James Kimball (MMAmania.com): When we talked a couple months ago you said you thought the fact that you are fighting in your hometown of Boston would be a benefit. Is that still the case with just a week before the fight? How are the ticket requests coming? Kenny Florian: It's really not that bad, you know. Thankfully with each fight I get more experience and dealing with everything outside of the actual fight becomes more and more easier. It's great too because I'll be near home where I can eat what I'm used to, I'm comfortable with all my surroundings and I get to stay at my own home. It's a lot better than being cooped-up in some hotel room. For the purpose of cutting weight and things like that, it's certainly a benefit. And obviously I'm very comfortable with this city. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): UFC UK boss Marshall Zelaznik recently told ESPN that if BJ wins decisively against Frankie and you beat Gray, he thinks BJ would probably move up to welterweight because of how your first fight went. Does that comment bother you at all? Kenny Florian: I don't know if that's true or not. I'm not sure how close Marshall is to BJ and how privy he is to his career decisions. It's irrelevant to me though. I'm here to fight the best. If BJ is around, than that's great. But a lot of things need to happen for that scenario to even play out. He needs to beat Frankie Edgar, I need to beat Gray Maynard. I don't really like talking about hypotheticals. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Were you surprised by the Takanori Gomi vs. Tyson Griffin fight and how it played out? Do you think Gomi was better than when he fought you or is your stand up just that much better than Griffin's? Kenny Florian: I don't think I'm that much better than Griffin or Gomi. I just think style wise Griffin didn't match up with Gomi that well. Griffin is a guy who likes to get in your face and be toe-to-toe and he's doesn't use as much movement. Both guys like to stand in front of each other. Against Gomi, I had the advantage of being the bigger guy with a longer reach. I was able to establish my jab and Gomi just couldn't get a rhythm, he had to be very careful with the takedowns too. I was able to thwart his offensive game as well. I think that was the difference. Styles make fights and it just happened to be my night. Griffin just picked the wrong type of approach against a guy like Gomi. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): I want to ask you again about training with Firas Zahabi and the Tri-Star team with Georges St. Pierre. Training with that camp I would think has improved your wrestling tremendously. Is that the one thing you would say that has evolved in your game the most since the switch? Kenny Florian: I would actually say more than anything else Firas really changed my whole striking style. He was very much in accordance with Peter Welch in the fact hat I needed to be doing more boxing. He broke me down physically to what I need to do to not beat most of the guys, but all of the guys in the lightweight division. We spoke about it after the BJ fight. This guy is just on a completely different level than anyone I've ever worked with when it comes to striking. That's why I made the decision to work with him. But my wrestling has improved 100% too because of the wrestling partners I have. Obviously training with Georges St. Pierre and having access to the Montreal Wrestling Club with the world-class guys they have there is huge. Just being able to drill with them has completely overhauled my wrestling game. The move has really changed my game, there's no doubt about it. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): In a recent issue of Fight Magazine you talked about how MMA is a century behind boxing in terms of training. Elaborate on that for me if you would. Do you think guys like Firas Zahabi are the future? Kenny Florian: Yeah, I definitely think so. There are some things that boxers do really well. My comment on that really had to do more with the technical aspect of boxing. It's very standardized. The technique has been refined and streamlined. A lot of people in mixed martial arts have different approaches, which is good. But I'd say 80% of them are wrong. I think that's where we are still new compared to boxing. But when it comes to training, I think boxing is very old school. They do a lot of silly things like running and rope work. Those are things that have been done for years and have been done by all the champions before today's current crop. There are very few guys who do high-level training. Many Pacqiuao I would say is one of them. Doing real functional conditioning, you know? Stuff that will actually help them in a fight. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Does watching what happened at UFC 117 between a striker like Anderson Silva and a wrestler like Chael Sonnen, though they are extremes in their skill set, affect your approach to fighting a dominant wrestler like Gray Maynard? Kenny Florian: Yeah, for sure. Chael is a phenomenal wrestler, as is Gray. Anderson certainly doesn't have the experience in wrestling like Chael, as I don't compared with Gray. But I think I have a lot of rest training partners that have helped me improve in that. I've been working on my wrestling and drilling very hard now for a couple years. I know I have the best sparring partner in the world to prepare for Gray, Georges St. Pierre. There's no way Gray is gong to be stronger than GSP. There's no way he's gonna be a better wrestler than Georges. He's not gonna be faster. He's not gonna be bigger. Those are all things I know I'm prepared for. Training with Georges has given me a lot of confidence going into this fight. Hopefully I can show my wrestling has improved tremendously. I'm honestly going out there with the expectation to out-wrestle Gray. I don't know if that's gonna happen, but my goal is to out-wrestle him. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Talk about training with GSP a bit. What's it like working with someone who just seems to be in a different stratosphere when it comes to preparing for a fight. How far along in his career do you think he is? Still room for improvement? Kenny Florian: There's definitely still room for improvement with Georges. He's still getting better. As good as his wrestling is now, it's getting better. His jiu-jitsu is getting better. His striking is getting better. He's always working on developing new things. They work on new things for ach fight. He definitely hasn't reached his peak yet, which is scary. The kid works so hard. He's one of the hardest working fighters in the game, if not the hardest working. Training with Georges is inspiring. It brings out the best in me. Even if I'm not going with him but I know he's on the mat, I feel like I have to step it up. It's a weird energy when he's in there. We push each other a lot. He's helped me tremendously. Both physically and mentally. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Alright, with out giving too much away, how do you see the fight playing out? Do you think he'll stand and trade with you or shoot for the takedown the first time he has a chance? How does this one end? Kenny Florian: I'm not sure really. It depends on what he wants to do. I think Gray knows this is a huge fight for him. The title shot is maybe closer to him than me. That's probably what he's feeling. I think he'll do whatever he can to get the win. He'll try to stand with me in the beginning, keep it close on the feet, and make sure its not a bow out, then look for takedown late in the round to steal the round. I think that's the approach he'll take. Gray's not he most exciting fighter, that's not a knock on him. He's undefeated. But I think we'll see a boring game plan from him. That's what he needs to do if he wants to get the win. Be boring and play his typical game that's made him successful. James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Thanks again for your time Kenny. Any sponsors or websites you'd like to plug? Kenny Florian: Thanks man. I want to thank TapouT. Check out kennyflorian.com. Fans can check me out on Twitter @Kenny_Florian. And of course thanks to Florian Martial Arts Center, Firas Zahabi, Peter Welch, Jonathan Chaimberg and the Montreal Wrestling Club. |
| UFC 118 predictions, preview and analysis Posted: 27 Aug 2010 10:08 AM PDT
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first ever event in the state of Massachusetts is set for this Saturday night (August 28) at the TD Garden in Boston. UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2" will air live on pay-per-view beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Newly crowned 155-pound champion Frankie Edgar will defend his title for the first time in the featured fight of the night against BJ Penn, the man he claimed the belt from less than five months ago at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Heavyweight boxing champion James "Lights Out" Toney will make his mixed martial arts debut in the co-headliner opposite UFC Hall of Famer Randy "The Natural" Couture. Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard will also battle it out in a lightweight number one contender eliminator bout. To help get you better prepared for the festivities I've provided some analysis and predictions for the main card below. Check it out: Frankie "The Answer" Edgar vs. BJ "The Prodigy" Penn Despite the loss at UFC 112, I still believe BJ Penn is the top 155-pound mixed martial artist in the world, and when he's motivated and focused, he's very close to unbeatable. I didn't see that from him in Abu Dhabi. I didn't see a motivated and hungry champion. I believe he overlooked Frankie, and it cost him a close decision. With his motivation and focus back, I think Edgar is in trouble. BJ's attitude coming into this fight reminds me of when he fought Jens Pulver the second time. The title, redemption, his legacy: none of those things seem to matter all that much to him right now. He seems focused on one thing, Frankie Edgar. BJ has to find an answer for Frankie's stick and move routine. He's going to have to find ways to cut the cage off. He's going to have to be much more crisp with his counter striking, and he's going to have to counter with some two and three punch combos instead of just trying to land one big punch at the end of an exchange. Edgar's speed, footwork and boxing skills make those things very difficult to accomplish, but BJ definitely has the tools and the talent to win this fight in a stand up battle. However, if he's having similar troubles getting off with his punches in this fight like he did at UFC 112, then he's going to have to humble up and find ways to involve his jiu-jitsu. The good news for him is, if he can get the fight to the ground, he is far and away the better fighter in that area. Edgar has solid wrestling, but on the mat BJ doesn't have many equals in the 155-pound division. His flexibility and grappling skills make him one of the top ground technicians in the sport. I think that's where BJ separates himself in this match up, and I think that's where he has the best chance to win this fight. However, I still think he's absolutely capable of winning a stand and trade battle with Edgar, and if he's having success in the exchanges, he might not have a reason to take the fight to the ground. The important thing for BJ is to recognize that he has the skills and the size to dictate where this fight goes. He can't just stand back and allow Frankie to do whatever he wants like he did at UFC 112. BJ has to push the pace more, get up in Frankie's face and bully him a little bit like Gray Maynard did. He's capable of taking away Frankie's speed with that type of attack. If he has to use a lot of clinching and grappling, then that's what he should do. The point is, BJ has the tools to win this fight in any area. I see no reason to believe that a hungry and motivated BJ Penn won't leave that Octagon with the belt back around his waist on Saturday night. Final prediction: BJ Penn via decision Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. James "Lights Out" Toney This fight doesn't need much analysis. Most MMA fans are confident that we have the right guy representing our sport in the first big time clash of MMA vs. boxing, and the outcome seems like a foregone conclusion. Couture is going to represent the sport the same way he always has, like a respected champion. The main theme here is going to be: Can Toney stay on his feet long enough to score a knockout? And my answer to that question is an easy one. No. Randy Couture is a hall of fame mixed martial artist who has made a living out of out-wrestling fellow world class mixed martial artists. He's been training wrestling and MMA at a world class level for most of his life. He could come into this fight drunk, blind and injured and he'd still be able to take Toney down. It's second nature to him. James Toney is going to get taken off his feet, and then he's going to get submitted. The end. Final prediction: Randy Couture via submission Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard Kenny Florian is going to surprise Gray Maynard with his ability to defend his takedowns and deal with his strength. Training with GSP on a regular basis will certainly help you improve in those areas, and it's going to show in this fight. I don't think you can completely eliminate takedowns from the equation with Gray Maynard, but Florian specializes in taking away his opponents biggest strength. He'll be well prepared to keep Gray at a distance in this fight. Take those two things away from him and Maynard is forced to trade strikes with Florian. While Gray's hand speed and boxing have become very dangerous weapons for him, I don't like his chances at all in a kickboxing match with Kenny. I don't know how aggressive Kenny will be with his kicks, but he's going to have to use them at some point if he's going to win the striking battle. The key will be to stick and move when he uses his kicks so Maynard can't catch one and use it against him. I see this fight going the entire fifteen minutes, and I think Florian's takedown defense and striking from the outside will be enough to claim the decision and another shot at BJ Penn. Final prediction: Kenny Florian via decision Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda Maia made his name in the UFC by submitting his first five opponents, including top contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 95. But in three starts since then, albeit to some stiff competition, he hasn't been anywhere near as successful finishing fights with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu attack. However, this is going to be the fight where he gets back to doing what he does best. Miranda has shown that he has the talent to belong in the UFC. He has good length and excellent athleticism. His striking is solid and he's a Brazilian, so jiu-jitsu is in his blood. He's a well rounded, dangerous fighter. But he's out-classed on the ground in this fight. Maia has improved his striking since joining the UFC, but he's not going to trade blows with Miranda. This is a fight that he's going to want to get in and get out. He wants to work his way back up the ladder, and finishing fights quickly is the best way to do that. Plus, he's just giving up too much length and speed to his fellow countryman on the feet. Look for Maia to get this fight the ground A.S.A.P. and work for submissions from there. Final prediction: Demian Maia via submission Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis Marcus Davis says he has better boxing than Nate Diaz, and I believe him. But, I can't help but think back to the way Mike Swick was able to use his reach advantage to out-strike and out-grapple him back at UFC 85, not to mention the Ben Saunders beatdown at UFC 106. And I can't help but think that Diaz can potentially have similar success on his feet and on the ground in this fight. Diaz's boxing has steadily improved since graduating from TUF, and like his brother, he uses his length well. Against a shorter guy like Davis, that is a big weapon to have in your arsenal. Diaz should use more kicks in this fight as well to keep Davis at a strikeable distance. I can definitely see Davis having some trouble getting inside on him without getting beat to the punch or tied up. When they do get tied up in clinch situations, Davis' strength should provide him an advantage, and he should be able to take Nate down from there if he wants to. But it's not like he has the ability to take him down and grind out a decision. If Davis does get Diaz to his back he's liable to get submitted if he stays there for too long. However, I think he's over confident in his strength advantage with Diaz coming up from 155, and I think he may have a false sense of security on the ground because of that, especially from the top position. If Diaz starts bothering him on his feet with his reach and Davis elects to go for takedowns, I think it's a definite possibility that Diaz pulls off some type of submission. If not, I like Diaz by decision. Length has always been a problem for Davis. Final prediction: Nate Diaz via decision That's a wrap. Sound off with your predictions in the comments section below. |
| Who punches harder, James Toney or Randy Couture? Posted: 27 Aug 2010 08:52 AM PDT ESPN's Sports Science breaks it down:
|
| BJ Penn: 'I'm pretty damn motivated right now' Posted: 27 Aug 2010 08:16 AM PDT
Props: Heavy.com Quoteworthy:
Heading into UFC 118 one of the big questions, as with any other BJ Penn fight, is how motivated will BJ Penn be? There was talk after the first Edgar fight of just how little respect BJ gave his opponent and how he may have taken Frankie Edgar too lightly. Penn talked not about how hard he trained, but instead how hard he rested. Is BJ Penn really taking this fight as seriously as he should be, or will the joke be on BJ on Saturday night? |
| MMA Quick Quote: Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva blasts Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko Posted: 27 Aug 2010 07:45 AM PDT
Yikes. I guess Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko can't have all the fun. While "The Reem" and "The Last Emperor" share their back-and-forth on when, or if, they will ever fight, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva is making sure they're not forgetting about him. In a statement released through MMA Profit Advisor, Silva's financial advising group, the Brazilian heavyweight put the big boys on blast. Does Antonio have a point here? Is he unjustly being left behind when it comes to Strikeforce's heavyweight matchmaking? Or, should "Bigfoot" step aside and let Overeem and Fedor take center stage? What do you make of this not-so-subtle assertion? |
| ESPN's MMA Live previews UFC 118 (Video) Posted: 27 Aug 2010 07:42 AM PDT
|
| UFC Quick Quote: Ben Henderson has BJ Penn 'by homicide' Posted: 27 Aug 2010 07:18 AM PDT
WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has a professional interest in tomorrow night's fight between UFC champion Frankie Edgar and his legendary challenger BJ Penn. Henderson has crept into the lightweight top 10 in the WEC and is clearly itching to move on to the major league of MMA. Henderson told the Bleacher Report's Josh Nason he doesn't just want to be the best in the WEC. He wants to be the best-period. Henderson's not the only one picking Penn. Oddsmakers peg the Hawaiian as the clear favorite. Who do you have in this title fight? |
| James Toney in no mood for questions after UFC 118 pre-fight press conference (Video) Posted: 27 Aug 2010 06:12 AM PDT
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from MMA Mania To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment