UFC 99: Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring fight official for Germany on June 13
March 31, 2009 by admin
Some fans had their doubts, but it is indeed on!
Despite rumors and speculation that the match up between undefeated heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (5-0) and mixed martial arts veteran Heath Herring (28-14) was scratched from UFC 99 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, on June 13, the promotion today made the bout official.
And the clash — the stiffest test to date in the bright young career of Velesquez — has also received second billing just below the 195-pound main event between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. The UFC 99 fight card now appears complete, which we will get to shortly.
In the meantime let’s once again talk about a great heavyweight showdown.
Velasquez most recently mugged Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 for a round and a half en route to a second round technical knockout victory. It marked just the first time that a Velasquez opponent has made it out of the opening frame.
The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) revealed after the fight that he was disappointed with the dominating performance and vowed to come back better than an ever in his next appearance. He’ll need to do just that to have success against a crafty vet such as Herring.
Velasquez now holds wins inside the Octagon against Stojnic, Jake O’Brien and Brad Morris.
“The Texas Crazy Horse” has not seen action since a unanimous decision loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” back in August 2008. He sustained a serious eye injury during the fight, which required him to remain on the sidelines for the remainder of the 2009 fight season.
Lesnar, on the other hand, went on to defeat Randy Couture via technical knockout nearly three months later to capture the division crown.
Herring has had mixed results since joining the promotion in early 2007, losing three fights and winning two. He has gone the distance in all five of those fights. Drawing a fighter with a strong wrestling background who keeps the pedal to the metal throughout the fight such as Velasquez is going to be difficult to handle.
However, Herring has been in against the best in the business and is very capable wherever the fight ends up.
For the latest on UFC 99, including rumored match ups, check out our event archive right here.
The 10 Worst Commentary Moments in MMA History
March 31, 2009 by admin
#10: Frank Trigg’s stunned disbelief
Affliction: Banned, 7/19/08
It’s not that Trigg’s reaction when Fedor started landing bombs on Tim was inappropriate; in fact, this was pretty much how we reacted during the fight. But when you’re being paid actual money to give insightful commentary about a sporting event, the viewers at home deserve a little better than "OH! OH-HO! OH-HO! OH-HO-NO-HO! OH!" Especially when you consider that this is a recurring trend with Trigg — when crazy shit goes down, the eloquence-train flies off the tracks, so to speak.
#9: Mike Goldberg tells us how precise Anderson Silva’s precision is
The answer: Really. It’s really precise. Man, sometimes Mike is better off keeping his mouth shut until it’s time to ask Joe Rogan whether or not a fighter’s arm is in trouble. By the way, if you can watch that video for all ten minutes, we’ll send you a t-shirt.
#8: Kimbo Slice fails third-grade geography
K-1’s World Grand Prix 2008 Final, 12/6/08
(Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a working video of this moment. Hopefully this Esther Lin/Lolcats mashup will be sufficient.)
Okay, give Kimbo a break. The man was extremely jet-lagged, and he clearly meant "the prefecture of Japan known as Kanagawa, which has Yokohama as its capital, where we are right now." It’s not like he asked co-commentator Michael Schiavello what the fuck up with all the Chinese people in the building. That would have been embarrassing. And speaking of which…
Miller interview: Browning is the worst fighter I’ve faced
March 31, 2009 by admin
Cole Miller is probably the fifth or sixth best fighter from the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. That’s not an insult when you see that Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard, Manny Gamburyan and Nate Diaz were on the show. Miller feels that his next opponent Junie Browning would’ve been blown out of that season in the early going:
"I don’t think he’s technical at all. He’s good on the ground compared to what," asked Miller when told that Browning said he’s known as a ground fighter. "Compared to what? Who has he ever tapped out who was any good? If you want to talk about jiu-jitsu, he’s never beaten anybody with any sort of credentials."
Miller says Browning is unimpressive standing as well:
"On the feet, I’m sure he hits hard and he can swing wildly. People talk about he’s a brawler, well, who’s he knocked out?"
Watch Cage Writer with Miller, who has zero respect for Browning’s game (6:07 mark):
Browning has made the effort to add to his game by moving to Las Vegas and is working out of Xtreme Couture but Miller says it’s too soon for him to have advanced very much:
"I don’t think it’s going to do him any good in the few months he’s been training there. I thought it was a great fight to comeback from a knee surgery. I think (Browning) is a step down from Jorge Gurgel. That is a quality opponent!"
Miller says next to Allan Berube, Browning is the worst guy he’s faced in the UFC. He said Browning’s only win (David Kaplan) meant little because he thought Kaplan was horrible.
Miller is trying to build strength and sharpen his submission game with a move to South Florida to train at American Top Team. He is working with the likes of Marcus Aurelio, Yves Edwards, WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown and JZ Calvancante.
He’d like get to another bonus on fight night but doesn’t want it to be a "Fight of the Night" bonus. He wants to quickly submit Browning.
Diego Sancez vs Clay Guida at TUF 9 Finale
March 31, 2009 by admin
With the start of season nine of The Ultimate Fighter just around the corner, the UFC officially announced the main event matchup for the TUF 9 finale on June 20.
Original TUF winner Diego Sanchez will make his second appearance at lightweight and take on Clay Guida in the nights headliner event.
“Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida has the potential to be one of the most action packed fights of the year,” UFC President Dana White said. “Both men have won multiple ‘Fight of the Night’ awards and are two of the most aggressive grapplers in the division. Guida is coming off a big win over The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner Nate Diaz and Sanchez just defeated The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner Joe Stevenson. The winner of this fight will move into the upper portion of the lightweight rankings and get that much closer to a title shot.”
The matchup should be excellent to watch as both fighters compete at a furious pace for the full three rounds.
Junie Browning on Cole Miller UFC Fight Night 18 bout (Video)
March 31, 2009 by admin
No respect: Michael Bisping leads the British Bulldogs sacrifice on TUF 9
March 31, 2009 by admin
Props: DailyStar.co.uk
Quoteworthy:
” … these guys gave it 110 per cent. They turned up in shape, they trained their asses off and they fought like British bulldogs. I can say Team UK does Great Britain proud. A lot of Americans, be they fighters, fans or even the media, don’t respect British MMA — but Team UK represented British MMA very well, despite being so far from home…. They really went into this looking at it like the chance of a lifetime. Winning TUF 3 back in 2006 completely changed my life and the lives of my fiance and two kids. It was a huge turning point. I tried to impress upon Team UK what a huge opportunity they had…. They were training three times a day, but to get into the UFC you have to make sacrifices. I’m proud to say Team UK made those sacrifices.”
– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 light heavyweight winner and coach on the upcoming ninth installment of the mixed martial arts reality series, Michael Bisping, is proud of his motley crew for their dedication and hard work as participants on the show. “The Count” will lead a 16-man team from the United Kingdom against Dan Henderson’s American crew, beginning tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 1) on Spike TV at 10 pm ET. Bisping has indicated in interviews leading up to the debut that he will not tolerate the in-house shenanigans in seasons past, which have included everything up to and including all sorts of bodily fluids, as coach. It seems as though he may have gotten through to them … we’ll see for certain soon enough. God willing. Check out a refresher on the names of the UK participants after the jump.
Lightweights: James Bryan, Dan James, Gary Kelly, Jeff Lawson, Ross Pearson, Martin Stapleton, AJ Wenn, Andre Winner.
Welterweights: Dean Amarasinghe, James Bateman, David Faulkner, Tommy Maguire, Che Mills, Nicholas Osipczak, Alex Reid, James Wilks
Sengoku featherweight grand prix quarterfinal match ups announced
March 31, 2009 by admin
World Victory Road held a recent press conference to announce the pairings for its featherweight grand prix quarterfinals, which will take place at “Sengoku 8″ on May 2 at the National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
Tournament favorite and promotion poster boy, Hatsu Hioki, has been put to the task of facing the very formidable Ronnie Mann in what could promise to be a riveting ground war.
The often overlooked Michihiro Omigawa — who earned his spot in the quarterfinals by dominating and garnering a hard fought decision victory over L.C Davis (13-2) — will have another tough test when he faces the always dangerous Nam Phan.
Masanori Kanehara will collide with the explosive Jung Chan Sung. Kanehara would do best in trying to avoid getting in a slugfest with the Korean brawler if possible.
Featherweight King of Pancrase Marlon Sandro will do battle with heavy-handed Nick Denis, which should present an interesting styles clash when both fighters but their perfect records on the line come fight time.
In non-tournament action will be Japanese Olympic judo gold medalist Makoto Takimoto in a welterweight clash against Brazilian Michael Costa. And Kazunori Yokota will meet Leonardo Santos in what is being regarded as a title eliminator bout, with the winner likely facing Satoru Kitaoka for the Sengoku Lightweight Championship sometime this summer.
Also set to be competing will be jiu-jitsu phenom Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro who will take on veteran of the sport Keiichiro Yamamiya in a Light Heavyweight bout.
Here is the current line-up for “Sengoku 8:”
Featherweight GP Quarterfinals:
Hatsu Hioki (18-3-2) vs. Ronnie Mann (17-1-1)
Michihiro Omigawa (5-7-1) vs. Nam Phan (15-5)
Masanori Kanehara (12-5-5) vs. Jung Chan Sung (3-0)
Marlon Sandro (13-0) vs. Nick Denis (7-0)
Non-tournament bouts:
Alexandre Ribeiro (1-0) vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya (34-23-9)
Michael Costa (9-4) vs. Makoto Takimoto (4-5)
Kazunori Yokota (8-2-3) vs. Leonardo Santos (6-2)
Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale set for The Pearl in Las Vegas on June 20
March 31, 2009 by admin
With The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 series debut on Spike TV set for tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 1) at 10 p.m. ET, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today made it plans official to hold the Finale from “The Pearl” at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 20.
TUF 9: “U.S. vs. U.K.” will feature a mix of lightweight and welterweight hopefuls from opposite sides of the pond, vying for “six-figure” UFC contracts and the prestige that comes along with being crowned champion. Former Pride FC dual champion Dan Henderson will lead the American team opposite his British counterpart, Michael Bisping.
The finalists from those divisions will also be featured on the televised Spike TV main card on June 20. Henderson and Bisping, meanwhile, are slated to duke it out less than one month later at UFC 100 for the right to challenge the 185-pound division champion down the road.
Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida will collide during a battle for lightweight supremacy and the opportunity to take one step closer to a possible title shot later this year in TUF 9 Finale main event. Former TUF winners Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz are also expected to mix it up in another sensational 155-pound tilt slated for the Spike TV special.
UFC Fight Night 18: “Condit vs. Kampmann” will serve as the lead-in to TUF 9 tomorrow evening. It’s going to be a busy night and an even busier next few months for mixed martial arts fans. Time to wake up!
For more on TUF 9 Finale click here. We’ll pass along TUF 9 ticket information shortly.
The 10 Fastest & Most Furious Knockouts of All Time: Villasenor vs. Weiss
March 31, 2009 by admin
#3: Joey Villasenor vs. Hank Weiss @ King of the Cage: New Mexico (8/28/04), 5 seconds
We don’t know if Joey Villasenor had been studying tape on Hank Weiss, but Good Lord did Smokin’ Joe have his number. As soon as Weiss makes the grave mistake of dropping his hands while setting up his first attack, Villasenor is right there with the left hook (perfectly directed at Weiss’s knockout button) and the follow-up right straight (which missed, likely saving his life). And just like that, another beautiful one-punch KO was bestowed on the world. Weiss has lost 10 of his last 12 fights, but only one of those losses has been by knockout, so maybe he’s learned his lesson about keeping the mitts up and the chin down.
MMA HQ Fight Camp Reminder
March 31, 2009 by admin
Just a reminder that UFC Fight Night 18 is tomorrow night.
This will be the sixth of ten events for Season 5 of the MMA HQ fight camp at MMAPlayground.com, so don’t forget to get your picks and wagers in for the event.
If you want to join the fight camp and haven’t yet, just let me know.
Recent Comments