Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/14/gegard-mousasi-out-until-late-2012-with-torn-acl
Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Gegard Mousasi out until late 2012 with torn ACL
It’s already been six months since widely-respected light heavyweight Gegard Mousasi last took to the cage. Unfortunately it looks like it may be another six, if not more, before he does so again after tearing his ACL in training. Mousasi joins Georges St-Pierre and Dominick Cruz on the sidelines as notable fighters under the [...]
UFC on Fuel 3 Results: Yves Jabouin decimates Jeff Hougland in unanimous decision win
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Yves Jabouin delivered a 15-minute beating to an outmatched Jeff Hougland at UFC on Fuel 3 on Tuesday night, taking a dominant unanimous decision in a fight that should have been stopped on a couple of occasions.
Jabouin's speed and striking advantage were at play throughout the fight, and it was nearly over in the first round when he dropped Hougland with a spinning back kick to the gut. The referee looked about to step in, but backed off at the last second. Jabouin landed some ground and pound but Hougland regained his bearings.
The same thing happened in the third round when Jabouin dropped Hougland again. Hougland ultimately recovered, and survived to the end of the fight, but it was a completely one-sided fight.
The win was Jabouin's third straight since a loss in his UFC debut. For Hougland, this loss snapped a nine-fight winning streak dating back almost nine years.
Yves Jabouin delivered a 15-minute beating to an outmatched Jeff Hougland at UFC on Fuel 3 on Tuesday night, taking a dominant unanimous decision in a fight that should have been stopped on a couple of occasions.
Jabouin's speed and striking advantage were at play throughout the fight, and it was nearly over in the first round when he dropped Hougland with a spinning back kick to the gut. The referee looked about to step in, but backed off at the last second. Jabouin landed some ground and pound but Hougland regained his bearings.
The same thing happened in the third round when Jabouin dropped Hougland again. Hougland ultimately recovered, and survived to the end of the fight, but it was a completely one-sided fight.
The win was Jabouin's third straight since a loss in his UFC debut. For Hougland, this loss snapped a nine-fight winning streak dating back almost nine years.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_13307.shtml
Hockey Fight of the Day: Corey Perry vs. Gilbert Brule
Helmets? We don’t need no stinkin helmets! Well, at least the Phoenix Coyotes’ Gilbert Brule and Anaheim Ducks’ Corey Perry didn’t when it comes to this entertaining clash from earlier in the season. Tweet
Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/14/hockey-fight-of-the-day-corey-perry-vs-gilbert-brule
Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero
UFC on FUEL 3 Post-Fight Interviews: Lawlor, McKenzie, Grant, Cerrone, Zombie
UFC on FUEL 3 post fight interviews with Tom Lawlor, Cody McKenzie, T.J. Grant, Donald Cerrone, and Chan Sung Jung. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/oVLKOdRJfQs/
Ross Pearson pegged as coach for TUF: Australia vs. UK opposite George Sotiropoulos
Over the past few months UFC featherweight Ross Pearson has gotten a glimpse at what it takes to be a coach on the Ultimate Fighter as part of Dominick Cruz’s staff on the current season. He also knows what it’s like to be a contestant on the long-running reality series as a former competitor who [...]
M-1 Challenge 32
Date: May 16, 2012
Venue: Crocus Expo
Location: Moscow, Russia
Fight Card-
Interim HW Championship: Kenny Garner vs. Magomed Malikov
Middleweight...
Venue: Crocus Expo
Location: Moscow, Russia
Fight Card-
Interim HW Championship: Kenny Garner vs. Magomed Malikov
Middleweight...
Source: http://www.mmaforum.com/general-mma-discussion/102012-m-1-challenge-32-a.html
Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane
UFC ON FUEL TV 3 LIVE RESULTS: Hansen's round by round report on "Poirier vs. Korean Zombie" event in Virginia
By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
UFC ON FUEL TV 3: THE KOREAN ZOMBIE VS. POIRIER
MAY 15, 2012
LIVE FROM FAIRFAX, VA.
======FACEBOOK PRELIMINARY CARD QUICK RESULTS======
* Francisco Rivera def. Alex Soto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Johnny Eduardo def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Rafael dos Anjos def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear naked choke) at :40 of the first round
* T.J. Grant def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Cody McKenzie def. Marcus LeVesseur via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:05 of the first round
* Brad Tavares def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
======UFC ON FUEL TV: KOREAN ZOMBIE VS. POIRIER PLAY BY PLAY======
FIGHT ONE: JASON MACDONALD VS. TOM LAWLOR
- MacDonald is seven years older, three inches taller, and has a whopping six inch reach advantage. His sleeves can’t touch Lawlor’s mutton chops, though.
ROUND ONE: Todd McGovern is the referee for this fight. MacDonald shoots a double, but nothing comes of it. After they separate, Lawlor celebrates his 29th birthday with a left to the chin and a right to the ear to get the quick knockout. It was more dramatic than it reads…
WINNER: Tom Lawlor by knockout at 0:50 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) My write up pretty much covered everything. Moving on.
FIGHT TWO: IGOR POKRAJAC VS. FABIO MALDANADO
- Maldanado has an inch of height and reach on Pokrajac, who is a year older than Maldanado.
- Igor vs. Fabio sounds much more bad-ass than Pokrajac vs. Maldanado. Plus, it’s easier to type…
ROUND ONE: Big Dan is the third man in the cage. Maldanado misses a looping left and gets taken down quickly. Pokrajac is in a loose half-guard, looking to get to side control. Pokrajac takes his back during a scramble, which he uses to get mount. Maldanado’s right arm is trapped, but Pokrajac isn’t able to throw a single strike, and Maldanado gets out of the mount to half-guard. Pokrajac has been on top for 2 minutes and not thrown even one strike. OK, there’s a punch, missed. Pokrajac is in half-guard looking for a Salaverry. He eventually gives up that attempt. Maldanado escaped, dumped Pokrajac on his back, and stands over him until Big Dan separates them. Pokrajac stalking Maldanado down, but Maldanado unloads a dozen or so punches that stun Pokrajac. Pokrajac gets a plum clinch, but Maldanado starts working the body while being clinched. Pokrajac lets go of Maldanado’s head briefly, grabs it again, and lands a nice knee. 10-9 Maldanado Interesting round. Fun once Maldanado got back to his feet.
ROUND TWO: Pokrajac working the leg kicks early, mainly checked by Maldanado. Pokrajac’s left hand found a home on Maldanado’s chin. Nice combination, which he follows up with a single leg that presses Maldanado into the fence. Maldanado is landing short strikes while Pokrajac is relentlessly working for the high single leg takedown. Maldanado avoided the takedown, but still has his back against the fence. Both guys are trying to work the body from the clinch position. Pokrajac is going back to the Thai clinch, and just missed a big knee. Maldanado spins off the cage, and is throwing head body combinations to great effect. Pokrajac has controlled position for most of the fight, but Maldanado is landing more, and harder, shots. 90 seconds left. Maldanado has Pokrajac against the fence, and lands a nice three punch combo, body head body. And another similar combo as Pokrajac gets off the fence. Pokrajac grabs a quick Thai clinch and lands a knee. Spinning back fist from Pokrajac. It landed, but wasn’t very hard. Another Thai clinch, and more body shots by Maldanado. The body shots are wearing out Pokrajac here, who gives up an easy takedown to end the round. 10-9 Maldanado, 20-18 Maldanado Pokrajac is dog tired.
ROUND THREE: Maldanado pushes Pokrajac into the cage, gets Thai clinched and kneed, but lands a couple of punches to the body of Pokrajac. Maldanado is landing body shots at will up against the cage. Standing knee by Pokrajac. This is really sloppy, and devolving as both guys suck wind. Pokrajac gets Maldanado against the fence, and lands a strong jumping knee. That drew a small pop from the Virginia fans. 45 seconds later Big Dan separates them. Maldanado comes out aggressive, landing a nice combination. Pokrajac responds by landing a really hard left hook. That staggered Maldanado briefly. 2:30 left, and Pokrajac has Maldanado pressed into the cage. Maldanado lands 4 quick shots to the body. Pokrajac lost his mouthpiece, and Maldanado picked it up as Big Dan briefly stopped the clock. Fight restarted in the middle of the cage with 2:00 left. Leg kick by Pokrajac. Left hook by Maldanado. Maldanado is coming forward more than Pokrajac, but not mush has happened since the restart. Pokrajac just landed a really heavy straight left. Both guys are swinging hard now, and the crowd is cheering the efforts. No more pretense of defense, just swinging for the fences now. The fight ends in a clinch against the cage. 10-9 Pokrajac. 29-28 Maldanado Sloppy fun.
WINNER: Igor Pokraja by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**) Nothing special or memorable, but there are worse ways to kill 20 minutes, ya dig? I don’t see how Pokrajac gets a 30-27. I understand how a bad judge could give him the first round since he was on top (and threw exactly 2 punches in 3 minutes) for half of the first round, and I even gave Pokrajac the third, but that was a crappy decision overall.
FIGHT THREE: YVES JABOUIN VS. JEFF HOUGLAND
- Hougland is a year older, and an inch taller. Both fighters possess a 68” reach. GSP is in the corner of Jabouin.
ROUND ONE: The referee is Todd McGovern. Jabouin lands a leg kick, followed a few seconds later by a nice left hand. Jabouin offering up a lot of feints, which help set up a nice spinning back kick which made Hougland recoi into the cage. Jabouin is dancing laterally, Hougland is straight in and out. 2 minutes in. Body kick by Hougland, to little effect. Lead head kick by Jabouin was blocked, but still made a loud thud. Lots of circling, not much action. Another left high kick by Jabouin, blocked again, more slapping than thudding this time. Thrusting side kick from Jabouin caught Hougland in the gut and made him bounce off of the fence. Another spinning back kick by Jabouin to the liver knocked Hougland down after retreating a solid 15 feet. Jabouin pounces, but is unable to finish. Jabouin backs away and throws kicks to Hougland’s legs. Axe kick to the ribs from Jabouin. Jabouin dives in, gets mount, but can’t do much with it as the horn sounds. 10-9 Jabouin Surprising non-finish there. Hougland’s too slow to stay on the feet with Jabouin.
ROUND TWO: McGovern got in the path of Jabouin after the big kick, and it cost Jabouin a second or two of pouncing time. That may have saved Hougland. Hougland shoots from distance, barely gets Jabouin down, but he pops back up after less than a second. He needs to do whatever he can to get the fight down, but shooting from six feet out is a good way to get unconscious. Spinning back fist from Hougland, but it didn’t land solid. Big body kick by Jabouin. Hougland’s doing a slightly better job of circling, but he’s still flat footed, leaving him vulnerable. Hougland ducks under an overhand right, but fails to get the takedown. Straight left by Jabouin catches Hougland as Hougland was coming in to try something. Jabouin is working the body again, this time with a right kick. Hougland’s movement is improved in this round, but he’s still eating leg and body kicks. 10-9 Jabouin. 20-18 Jabouin Better round for Hougland, but he didn’t win the round. I fully expect Hougland to win a decision.
ROUND THREE: Left hook from Jabouin followed by a straight right knocks Hougland down early. Jabouin pounces and gets warned harshly by the referee to watch the back of the head. After hesitating a few seconds, Jabouin attacks. Jabouin is pounding away, waiting for McGovern to stop the fight. Jabouin has landed a couple dozen strikes on the mat. Jabouin takes his back, but Hougland sweeps and gets on top. What a mistake by Jabouin. Back to standing. Hougland not letting go of Jabouin, pursuing the takedown. He gets it, but lands on his back. Jabouin is in full guard now. Still 3:15 left in the fight. Jabouin gets his right leg out, and now he’s got the mount. Hougland immediately gets back to full guard, well done by Hougland. Jabouin has Hougland’s head pressed against the cage. Hougland looked for an arm, but Jabouin saw it coming and escaped any danger. Side control, with Hougland stacked up against the fence. Hougland is taking a lot of punishment, but is in no danger of the fight being stopped right now. Full guard, Hougland still stacked up. Now to half guard. Gutty performance by Jeff Hougland. McGovern stands them up with 45 seconds left.Jabouin misses a spinning back kick, but as Hougland backs straight away into the fence Jabouin hits him with a jumoping knee which floors Hougland. As Hougland scrambles back to his feet, he eats a head kick that sends him back down. That landed with the foot, or else the fight would be over. Jabouin jumps into guard and lands fierce elbows until the fight ends. 10-8 Jabouin. 30-26 Jabouin That was a slaughter, but credit to Hougland for being tough.
WINNER: Yves Jabouin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**+) One sided ass beatings can be fun when they’re delivered as spectacularly as Jabouin delivers them.
FIGHT FOUR: DONALD CERRONE VS. JEREMY STEPHENS
- Cerrone is three inches taller, with a two inch reach advantage. But he did ome out to Kid Rock. I mean, I get the Cowboy thing, but there are a billion songs about Cowboys, Donald!
ROUND ONE: Mario Yamasaki is the ref, so watch the back of the head, Erick Silva. Several leg kicks from both guys in the first 45 seconds as they feel each other out. This has been an extended feeling out process. Not any combinations of note, lots of circling and missed punches. A lot of one off kicks landing by each fighter. Cerrone with a shot from the outside, to no avail. Cerrone lands a head kick, but didn’t land with any force. Cerrone’s staying on the outside, and is doing a good job of controlling the pace. Still not a lot of note, but Cerrone is starting to throw more often than Stephens now. Stephens caught something to the left eye, and he’s pawing at it a little. Stephens slipped on a head kick, but Cerrone backed away. Stephens is bleeding from the left eye now. Cerrone’s getting comfortable, jogging around and dropping his hands. Charging lef kick by Cerrone. Cerrone has his hands all the way down, and kands a flying knee at the horn. 10-9 Cerrone Cerrone found his range, Stephens didn’t.
ROUND TWO: low push kick by Stephens. Cerrone follows up with three kicks, leg, head, and body. This is Cerrone’s style of fight now. Stephens charges in to brawl, but Cerrone manages to evade and stay outside. Cerrone just threw a duck down back elbow. He’s very comfortable, and Stephens is lost now. Cerrone just hurt Stephens with a three punch combo, finished with an uppercut. Stephens shoots, but Cerrone stuffed it. 2 minutes into the round now. Body punch from the outside by Cerrone lands flush. When Liddell tried that on Rampage, he got KTFO for his efforts. Cerrone stalking Stephens, Landing whatever he wants. He’s being patient and methodical, not looking to finish until the time is right. Cerrone’s openly taunting Stephens now, but Stephens is too slow to do anything about. Leg kick by Cerrone almost dropped Stephens. Another punch-kick combo from Cerrone. Stephens charges in, Cerrone picks him up and lands a double. Full guard in the middle of the cage. Cerrone is stacking him up as the round ends. 10-9 Cerrone. 20-18 Cerrone
ROUND THREE: When Cerrone was on top at the end, Stephens landed an elbow to the top of Cerrone’s head, which opened a couple of small cuts. Stephens’ face is a bloody mess though, so Cerrone will take that deal. Third round starts with a kick to the groin from Cerrone. Stephens is down, and down hard. Stephens stayed down from 2-3 minutes, which is an eternity in tough-guy-time. 4:45 left. Nice punches and kick combo from Cerrone. This is a recording. Stephens is starting to hang his head, and looks to be broken. Nice step-in knee by Cerrone to Stephens’ body. Another charging leg kick by Cerrone drops Stephens. Cerrone backs up and lets Stephens stands. He’s landed a few of those now. Stephens is swinging for the fences, but isn’t landing. Another big leg kick, need I bother to identify who threw it? Everytime Stephens throws, Cerrone is ten feet away before the punch is fully thrown. Two nice body kicks, one from the left and one from the right. Stephens looks as lost and confused as I’ve ever seen a fighter. Another solid inside leg kick by Cowboy.. Stephens won’t be walking comfortably for a week. Stephens tries a flying knee, but Cerrone duckedunder and Stephens almost flew right over Cerrone’s head. 10-9 Cerrone, 30-27 Cerrone This was a thrashing.
WINNER: Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: Cerrone’s never looked better. He may have finished Siver, but Stephens is a much more dangerous lightweight than Siver was back when he was at 155. Cerrone toyed with him almost as badly as Nate Diaz toyed with Cerrone five months ago. This wasn’t as one-sided as that fight was, but they were similar fights.
FIGHT FIVE: AMIR SADOLLAH VS. JORGE LOPEZ
- Sadollah is eight years older than Lopez, and has three inches of reach. I bet you thought Amir was still a ‘prospect’ didn’t you? Nope. He’s a veteran.
ROUND ONE: Keith Peterson is the referee for the co-main event. Hard leg kick by Lopez. Amir has missed on a couple of straight kicks. Double jab by Lopez, body then head. Lopez is working the jab lg-kick combo so far, to good effect. Lopez grabs Amir, pushes him into the cage with double underhooks. Amir is throwing knees to the legs, but Lopez lands a big knee to the body of Amir. Lopez throws Amir off and we’re back to the middle. Nice jab by Lopez, he’s finding a home for that and for his outside leg kicks. And another. Sadollah kicks, but Lopez uses it as a chance to grab a high single and push Amir into the cage. Still working a single. He gets the takedown, and lands in full guard with about 90 seconds left. Amir scoots back to the cage, and Lopez jumps into half guard while Amir scoots back. Lopez trying to get a kimura, but doesn’t have any leverage and Sadollah gets back to standing. Sadollah has Lopez’ back against the cage now. Lopez can’t be happy with that choice. The round ends with Sadollah looking for knees against the fence. 10-9 Lopez
ROUND TWO: Body kick by Lopez, who follows up by grabbing Amir and pressing to the fence. He’s dropping low in effort to get the single leg takedown. Sadollah’s landing a few short strikes. Lopez gives up the single and has over under now. The crowd is starting to boo this one. Sadollah escapes. Nice right hand by Amir. And now a hard body kick by Amir. Lopez ducks under a jab and presses Amir back into the cage. Lopez drops for a single leg, but his neck is vulnerable. Sadollah just read this report and grabbed a guillotine. It’s tight, but Lopez twists out, and has Amir’s back. Amir stands, and Lopez is half on Amir’s back still. Amir spins, and is working for a single leg against the cage. Lopez escapes, but eats a knee to the gut. Back to the middle with 90 seconds left. Amir lands a couple of kicks up the middle. Head kick by Sadollah. Lopez is slowing down. Body shot by Amir. Amir’s pressing forward now. A couple of leg kicks. Amir with another, but gets taken down. That was kind of ugly. Lopez is in guard. Sadollah’s trying to use the cage to get to his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Sadollah. 19-19
ROUND THREE: Lopez working the clinch against the cage. Lopez drops for a single, but Sadollah’s done a good job all night of stuffing the single leg against the cage. He’s going for another standing guillotine, but he gave it up. Sadollah reverses and goes for his own single, but Lopez grabs an arm and uses a kimura sweep to get Amir into the cage. They separate, and back to standing. Oh, and this fight really sucks, but you knew that before the first round started, right? Guess what? Lopez has Sadollah pressed into the cage and stuck his neck out too far. Guillotine attempt, nope. Takedown? Yep. Lopez in guard, eating elbows to the top of the head. Lopez threw a big knee… from guard. Creative? Sure, why not. Lopez did nothing, and Peterson stood them up. Lopez took his sweet time to get up. Lopez stuffing Amir back into the fence again. Working a single again. Crowd booing again. Sadollah almost got his back, but Lopez got back to that same damn position. Fight is over. Mercifully. 10-9 Lopez. 29-28 Lopez
WINNER: Amir Sadollah by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) I hated every last second of this fight. It was so slow moving, that if you watch it in fast forward, you’ll still think they’re moving slowly. Also, sometimes I just don’t understand judges.
FIGHT SIX: CHAN SUNG JUNG VS. DUSTIN POIRIER
- Poirier is two inches taller, and has an inch of reach on Mister Zombie. The referee for this fight is Big Dan. Yay muscles!
ROUND ONE: Nice left right away by Poirier. Zombie catches a body kick and lands on top. Poirier sweeps and works a single against the cage. Zombie with short elbows to Poirier’s cranium. Zombie back to his feet, but Poirier is still working the single. Body shot by Poirier. And another. Big standing elbow by Poirier. Knee to the body from Poirier. Poirier tries to disengage, but Zombie gets a powerful takedown right into side control. Poirier defends well and scrambles into full guard, parallel to the cage now. Nice elbows by Zombie. Postures up, and drops a big elbow. Poirier’s guard is open, but Zombie’s not trying to pass. Zombie stands and eats an upkick. Don’t know if it hurt him or not, but Poirier immediately swept and got on top, and is in full guard. Zombie’s seated against the cage, looking bored. Poirier looking to move to back control, but Zombie defends as the rednecks start a USA chant. Morans (look it up). Zombie’s on his feet, but Poirier has a body lock.Big elbow, punch, and knee by Poirier as they disengagte. Zombie with a wild punch, Poirier ducks under and shoots, but Zombie stuffs it as the horn blows. 10-9 Poirier That was fun.
ROUND TWO: Zombie comes out firing with a leg kick. Poirier throws one of his own, but Zombie catches it and takes him down. Big shots from the top by Zombie. Zombie backs off and dives into guard, narrowly missing a fight ending upkick attempt. Zombie has Poirier stacked up against the cage. Parallel to the fence now. Big Dan telling htem to work. Poirier’s trying to control Zombie’s head. Huge left hook by zombie. That hurt Poirier. Zombie backs off, and Back to standing with 3:15 left in the 2nd. Poirier misses with a left corss. Spinnign back fist by Zombie, missed. This is nuts. Zombie with a flying knee into a muay thai clinch. He’s unloading. Uppercuts. Two knees . Poirier shoots and gets a takedown, but Zombie rolls through and gets full mount. It’s a high mount. This is awesome! Crowd chanting for Zombie now. Poirier has his arms wrapped around Zombie’s body. He won’t escape that way. Zombie’s starting to land a few shots. Zombie gives up mount for and armbar. Poirier gets out, but winds up having to fight off a triangle. This is wicked awesome. Zombie has a triangle and armbar, and elbows to the head. He’s got the arm! Poirier rolls out and gets on top in side control. Unreal action there! Zombie gets Poirier back to full guard with 45 seconds left. That was great stuff. Triangle from Zombie now! It’s tight! And the horn sounds. Poirier was dead in the water there, saved by the bell! WOW!! 10-9 Zombie. 19-19 Best round since Daley Diaz last year.
ROUND THREE: Poirier looked pissed off as he got off the stool. Touch of gloves to start the third round. Of five. Yay five rounders! Straight kick to the face by Zombie. Poirier finds his range, but Zombie is more than willing to brawl with him, so Poirier pulls out. Poirier is pressing forward, but isn’t landing with much accuracy. Nice jab from Poirier. Nice hook as well. Poirier’s getting sloppy, but he’s getting through a little more now. Zombie has done nothing this round. Straight punches from Poirier are getting through now. Poirier comes forward. Body lock by Zombie, takedown, right into side control. Poirier sweeps and gets back up. 2:30 left. These guys are slowing down after that epic 2nd round. Zombie’s hands are dropping. Big knee by Zombie to the body. Follows up by pressing Poirier to the cage and lands a few punches there. Standing elbow from Poirier as they separate. Zombie’s hands are at his waist, and he eats a jab. Poirier has no lateral movement, and Zombie’s gassing. Soopid five rounders! Zombie pressing forward, landing wild hooks and a big knee at the end. Poirier engages with a wild left, and Zombie counters with one of his own. Straight left by Poirier lands flush. Zombie’s left eye is swelling badly. Poirier’s straight punches are landing consistently. The round ends with both guys winging wild hooks. 10-9 Zombie. 29-28 Zombie
ROUND FOUR: Head kick from Zombie to start the round. Straight left to the body by Poirier. He needs to follow up with a right or a kick when that lands. Zombie with a standing knee to the ribs. Right uppercut left hook by Zombie, and Poirier is hurt. Poirier is against the cage reeling, and eats a flying knee from the Zombie. Poirier is down. Poirier is turtled, and Zombie has north south. Transitions to a D’Arce, and POIRIER IS UNCONSCIOUS! FIGHT OF THE YEAR, FOLKS!
WINNER: Chan Sung Jung by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:07 of the fourth round.
STAR RATING: (****+) This fight had everything. It was the best fight I have seen since Shogun-Henderson, and might wind on my short list of best fights of all time. Heat of the moment is strong, so I’ll let that simmer for a few weeks, but son of a bitch that was an awesome fight.
Also, I think Poirier was unconscious, but it was announced as a submission, not a technical submission. I didn’t see no tap.
Follow Rich Hansen on Twitter @MMATorchRich
 |
MAY 15, 2012
LIVE FROM FAIRFAX, VA.
======FACEBOOK PRELIMINARY CARD QUICK RESULTS======
* Francisco Rivera def. Alex Soto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Johnny Eduardo def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Rafael dos Anjos def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear naked choke) at :40 of the first round
* T.J. Grant def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Cody McKenzie def. Marcus LeVesseur via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:05 of the first round
* Brad Tavares def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
======UFC ON FUEL TV: KOREAN ZOMBIE VS. POIRIER PLAY BY PLAY======
FIGHT ONE: JASON MACDONALD VS. TOM LAWLOR
- MacDonald is seven years older, three inches taller, and has a whopping six inch reach advantage. His sleeves can’t touch Lawlor’s mutton chops, though.
ROUND ONE: Todd McGovern is the referee for this fight. MacDonald shoots a double, but nothing comes of it. After they separate, Lawlor celebrates his 29th birthday with a left to the chin and a right to the ear to get the quick knockout. It was more dramatic than it reads…
WINNER: Tom Lawlor by knockout at 0:50 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) My write up pretty much covered everything. Moving on.
FIGHT TWO: IGOR POKRAJAC VS. FABIO MALDANADO
- Maldanado has an inch of height and reach on Pokrajac, who is a year older than Maldanado.
- Igor vs. Fabio sounds much more bad-ass than Pokrajac vs. Maldanado. Plus, it’s easier to type…
ROUND ONE: Big Dan is the third man in the cage. Maldanado misses a looping left and gets taken down quickly. Pokrajac is in a loose half-guard, looking to get to side control. Pokrajac takes his back during a scramble, which he uses to get mount. Maldanado’s right arm is trapped, but Pokrajac isn’t able to throw a single strike, and Maldanado gets out of the mount to half-guard. Pokrajac has been on top for 2 minutes and not thrown even one strike. OK, there’s a punch, missed. Pokrajac is in half-guard looking for a Salaverry. He eventually gives up that attempt. Maldanado escaped, dumped Pokrajac on his back, and stands over him until Big Dan separates them. Pokrajac stalking Maldanado down, but Maldanado unloads a dozen or so punches that stun Pokrajac. Pokrajac gets a plum clinch, but Maldanado starts working the body while being clinched. Pokrajac lets go of Maldanado’s head briefly, grabs it again, and lands a nice knee. 10-9 Maldanado Interesting round. Fun once Maldanado got back to his feet.
ROUND TWO: Pokrajac working the leg kicks early, mainly checked by Maldanado. Pokrajac’s left hand found a home on Maldanado’s chin. Nice combination, which he follows up with a single leg that presses Maldanado into the fence. Maldanado is landing short strikes while Pokrajac is relentlessly working for the high single leg takedown. Maldanado avoided the takedown, but still has his back against the fence. Both guys are trying to work the body from the clinch position. Pokrajac is going back to the Thai clinch, and just missed a big knee. Maldanado spins off the cage, and is throwing head body combinations to great effect. Pokrajac has controlled position for most of the fight, but Maldanado is landing more, and harder, shots. 90 seconds left. Maldanado has Pokrajac against the fence, and lands a nice three punch combo, body head body. And another similar combo as Pokrajac gets off the fence. Pokrajac grabs a quick Thai clinch and lands a knee. Spinning back fist from Pokrajac. It landed, but wasn’t very hard. Another Thai clinch, and more body shots by Maldanado. The body shots are wearing out Pokrajac here, who gives up an easy takedown to end the round. 10-9 Maldanado, 20-18 Maldanado Pokrajac is dog tired.
ROUND THREE: Maldanado pushes Pokrajac into the cage, gets Thai clinched and kneed, but lands a couple of punches to the body of Pokrajac. Maldanado is landing body shots at will up against the cage. Standing knee by Pokrajac. This is really sloppy, and devolving as both guys suck wind. Pokrajac gets Maldanado against the fence, and lands a strong jumping knee. That drew a small pop from the Virginia fans. 45 seconds later Big Dan separates them. Maldanado comes out aggressive, landing a nice combination. Pokrajac responds by landing a really hard left hook. That staggered Maldanado briefly. 2:30 left, and Pokrajac has Maldanado pressed into the cage. Maldanado lands 4 quick shots to the body. Pokrajac lost his mouthpiece, and Maldanado picked it up as Big Dan briefly stopped the clock. Fight restarted in the middle of the cage with 2:00 left. Leg kick by Pokrajac. Left hook by Maldanado. Maldanado is coming forward more than Pokrajac, but not mush has happened since the restart. Pokrajac just landed a really heavy straight left. Both guys are swinging hard now, and the crowd is cheering the efforts. No more pretense of defense, just swinging for the fences now. The fight ends in a clinch against the cage. 10-9 Pokrajac. 29-28 Maldanado Sloppy fun.
WINNER: Igor Pokraja by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**) Nothing special or memorable, but there are worse ways to kill 20 minutes, ya dig? I don’t see how Pokrajac gets a 30-27. I understand how a bad judge could give him the first round since he was on top (and threw exactly 2 punches in 3 minutes) for half of the first round, and I even gave Pokrajac the third, but that was a crappy decision overall.
FIGHT THREE: YVES JABOUIN VS. JEFF HOUGLAND
- Hougland is a year older, and an inch taller. Both fighters possess a 68” reach. GSP is in the corner of Jabouin.
ROUND ONE: The referee is Todd McGovern. Jabouin lands a leg kick, followed a few seconds later by a nice left hand. Jabouin offering up a lot of feints, which help set up a nice spinning back kick which made Hougland recoi into the cage. Jabouin is dancing laterally, Hougland is straight in and out. 2 minutes in. Body kick by Hougland, to little effect. Lead head kick by Jabouin was blocked, but still made a loud thud. Lots of circling, not much action. Another left high kick by Jabouin, blocked again, more slapping than thudding this time. Thrusting side kick from Jabouin caught Hougland in the gut and made him bounce off of the fence. Another spinning back kick by Jabouin to the liver knocked Hougland down after retreating a solid 15 feet. Jabouin pounces, but is unable to finish. Jabouin backs away and throws kicks to Hougland’s legs. Axe kick to the ribs from Jabouin. Jabouin dives in, gets mount, but can’t do much with it as the horn sounds. 10-9 Jabouin Surprising non-finish there. Hougland’s too slow to stay on the feet with Jabouin.
ROUND TWO: McGovern got in the path of Jabouin after the big kick, and it cost Jabouin a second or two of pouncing time. That may have saved Hougland. Hougland shoots from distance, barely gets Jabouin down, but he pops back up after less than a second. He needs to do whatever he can to get the fight down, but shooting from six feet out is a good way to get unconscious. Spinning back fist from Hougland, but it didn’t land solid. Big body kick by Jabouin. Hougland’s doing a slightly better job of circling, but he’s still flat footed, leaving him vulnerable. Hougland ducks under an overhand right, but fails to get the takedown. Straight left by Jabouin catches Hougland as Hougland was coming in to try something. Jabouin is working the body again, this time with a right kick. Hougland’s movement is improved in this round, but he’s still eating leg and body kicks. 10-9 Jabouin. 20-18 Jabouin Better round for Hougland, but he didn’t win the round. I fully expect Hougland to win a decision.
ROUND THREE: Left hook from Jabouin followed by a straight right knocks Hougland down early. Jabouin pounces and gets warned harshly by the referee to watch the back of the head. After hesitating a few seconds, Jabouin attacks. Jabouin is pounding away, waiting for McGovern to stop the fight. Jabouin has landed a couple dozen strikes on the mat. Jabouin takes his back, but Hougland sweeps and gets on top. What a mistake by Jabouin. Back to standing. Hougland not letting go of Jabouin, pursuing the takedown. He gets it, but lands on his back. Jabouin is in full guard now. Still 3:15 left in the fight. Jabouin gets his right leg out, and now he’s got the mount. Hougland immediately gets back to full guard, well done by Hougland. Jabouin has Hougland’s head pressed against the cage. Hougland looked for an arm, but Jabouin saw it coming and escaped any danger. Side control, with Hougland stacked up against the fence. Hougland is taking a lot of punishment, but is in no danger of the fight being stopped right now. Full guard, Hougland still stacked up. Now to half guard. Gutty performance by Jeff Hougland. McGovern stands them up with 45 seconds left.Jabouin misses a spinning back kick, but as Hougland backs straight away into the fence Jabouin hits him with a jumoping knee which floors Hougland. As Hougland scrambles back to his feet, he eats a head kick that sends him back down. That landed with the foot, or else the fight would be over. Jabouin jumps into guard and lands fierce elbows until the fight ends. 10-8 Jabouin. 30-26 Jabouin That was a slaughter, but credit to Hougland for being tough.
WINNER: Yves Jabouin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**+) One sided ass beatings can be fun when they’re delivered as spectacularly as Jabouin delivers them.
FIGHT FOUR: DONALD CERRONE VS. JEREMY STEPHENS
- Cerrone is three inches taller, with a two inch reach advantage. But he did ome out to Kid Rock. I mean, I get the Cowboy thing, but there are a billion songs about Cowboys, Donald!
ROUND ONE: Mario Yamasaki is the ref, so watch the back of the head, Erick Silva. Several leg kicks from both guys in the first 45 seconds as they feel each other out. This has been an extended feeling out process. Not any combinations of note, lots of circling and missed punches. A lot of one off kicks landing by each fighter. Cerrone with a shot from the outside, to no avail. Cerrone lands a head kick, but didn’t land with any force. Cerrone’s staying on the outside, and is doing a good job of controlling the pace. Still not a lot of note, but Cerrone is starting to throw more often than Stephens now. Stephens caught something to the left eye, and he’s pawing at it a little. Stephens slipped on a head kick, but Cerrone backed away. Stephens is bleeding from the left eye now. Cerrone’s getting comfortable, jogging around and dropping his hands. Charging lef kick by Cerrone. Cerrone has his hands all the way down, and kands a flying knee at the horn. 10-9 Cerrone Cerrone found his range, Stephens didn’t.
ROUND TWO: low push kick by Stephens. Cerrone follows up with three kicks, leg, head, and body. This is Cerrone’s style of fight now. Stephens charges in to brawl, but Cerrone manages to evade and stay outside. Cerrone just threw a duck down back elbow. He’s very comfortable, and Stephens is lost now. Cerrone just hurt Stephens with a three punch combo, finished with an uppercut. Stephens shoots, but Cerrone stuffed it. 2 minutes into the round now. Body punch from the outside by Cerrone lands flush. When Liddell tried that on Rampage, he got KTFO for his efforts. Cerrone stalking Stephens, Landing whatever he wants. He’s being patient and methodical, not looking to finish until the time is right. Cerrone’s openly taunting Stephens now, but Stephens is too slow to do anything about. Leg kick by Cerrone almost dropped Stephens. Another punch-kick combo from Cerrone. Stephens charges in, Cerrone picks him up and lands a double. Full guard in the middle of the cage. Cerrone is stacking him up as the round ends. 10-9 Cerrone. 20-18 Cerrone
ROUND THREE: When Cerrone was on top at the end, Stephens landed an elbow to the top of Cerrone’s head, which opened a couple of small cuts. Stephens’ face is a bloody mess though, so Cerrone will take that deal. Third round starts with a kick to the groin from Cerrone. Stephens is down, and down hard. Stephens stayed down from 2-3 minutes, which is an eternity in tough-guy-time. 4:45 left. Nice punches and kick combo from Cerrone. This is a recording. Stephens is starting to hang his head, and looks to be broken. Nice step-in knee by Cerrone to Stephens’ body. Another charging leg kick by Cerrone drops Stephens. Cerrone backs up and lets Stephens stands. He’s landed a few of those now. Stephens is swinging for the fences, but isn’t landing. Another big leg kick, need I bother to identify who threw it? Everytime Stephens throws, Cerrone is ten feet away before the punch is fully thrown. Two nice body kicks, one from the left and one from the right. Stephens looks as lost and confused as I’ve ever seen a fighter. Another solid inside leg kick by Cowboy.. Stephens won’t be walking comfortably for a week. Stephens tries a flying knee, but Cerrone duckedunder and Stephens almost flew right over Cerrone’s head. 10-9 Cerrone, 30-27 Cerrone This was a thrashing.
WINNER: Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: Cerrone’s never looked better. He may have finished Siver, but Stephens is a much more dangerous lightweight than Siver was back when he was at 155. Cerrone toyed with him almost as badly as Nate Diaz toyed with Cerrone five months ago. This wasn’t as one-sided as that fight was, but they were similar fights.
FIGHT FIVE: AMIR SADOLLAH VS. JORGE LOPEZ
- Sadollah is eight years older than Lopez, and has three inches of reach. I bet you thought Amir was still a ‘prospect’ didn’t you? Nope. He’s a veteran.
ROUND ONE: Keith Peterson is the referee for the co-main event. Hard leg kick by Lopez. Amir has missed on a couple of straight kicks. Double jab by Lopez, body then head. Lopez is working the jab lg-kick combo so far, to good effect. Lopez grabs Amir, pushes him into the cage with double underhooks. Amir is throwing knees to the legs, but Lopez lands a big knee to the body of Amir. Lopez throws Amir off and we’re back to the middle. Nice jab by Lopez, he’s finding a home for that and for his outside leg kicks. And another. Sadollah kicks, but Lopez uses it as a chance to grab a high single and push Amir into the cage. Still working a single. He gets the takedown, and lands in full guard with about 90 seconds left. Amir scoots back to the cage, and Lopez jumps into half guard while Amir scoots back. Lopez trying to get a kimura, but doesn’t have any leverage and Sadollah gets back to standing. Sadollah has Lopez’ back against the cage now. Lopez can’t be happy with that choice. The round ends with Sadollah looking for knees against the fence. 10-9 Lopez
ROUND TWO: Body kick by Lopez, who follows up by grabbing Amir and pressing to the fence. He’s dropping low in effort to get the single leg takedown. Sadollah’s landing a few short strikes. Lopez gives up the single and has over under now. The crowd is starting to boo this one. Sadollah escapes. Nice right hand by Amir. And now a hard body kick by Amir. Lopez ducks under a jab and presses Amir back into the cage. Lopez drops for a single leg, but his neck is vulnerable. Sadollah just read this report and grabbed a guillotine. It’s tight, but Lopez twists out, and has Amir’s back. Amir stands, and Lopez is half on Amir’s back still. Amir spins, and is working for a single leg against the cage. Lopez escapes, but eats a knee to the gut. Back to the middle with 90 seconds left. Amir lands a couple of kicks up the middle. Head kick by Sadollah. Lopez is slowing down. Body shot by Amir. Amir’s pressing forward now. A couple of leg kicks. Amir with another, but gets taken down. That was kind of ugly. Lopez is in guard. Sadollah’s trying to use the cage to get to his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Sadollah. 19-19
ROUND THREE: Lopez working the clinch against the cage. Lopez drops for a single, but Sadollah’s done a good job all night of stuffing the single leg against the cage. He’s going for another standing guillotine, but he gave it up. Sadollah reverses and goes for his own single, but Lopez grabs an arm and uses a kimura sweep to get Amir into the cage. They separate, and back to standing. Oh, and this fight really sucks, but you knew that before the first round started, right? Guess what? Lopez has Sadollah pressed into the cage and stuck his neck out too far. Guillotine attempt, nope. Takedown? Yep. Lopez in guard, eating elbows to the top of the head. Lopez threw a big knee… from guard. Creative? Sure, why not. Lopez did nothing, and Peterson stood them up. Lopez took his sweet time to get up. Lopez stuffing Amir back into the fence again. Working a single again. Crowd booing again. Sadollah almost got his back, but Lopez got back to that same damn position. Fight is over. Mercifully. 10-9 Lopez. 29-28 Lopez
WINNER: Amir Sadollah by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) I hated every last second of this fight. It was so slow moving, that if you watch it in fast forward, you’ll still think they’re moving slowly. Also, sometimes I just don’t understand judges.
FIGHT SIX: CHAN SUNG JUNG VS. DUSTIN POIRIER
- Poirier is two inches taller, and has an inch of reach on Mister Zombie. The referee for this fight is Big Dan. Yay muscles!
ROUND ONE: Nice left right away by Poirier. Zombie catches a body kick and lands on top. Poirier sweeps and works a single against the cage. Zombie with short elbows to Poirier’s cranium. Zombie back to his feet, but Poirier is still working the single. Body shot by Poirier. And another. Big standing elbow by Poirier. Knee to the body from Poirier. Poirier tries to disengage, but Zombie gets a powerful takedown right into side control. Poirier defends well and scrambles into full guard, parallel to the cage now. Nice elbows by Zombie. Postures up, and drops a big elbow. Poirier’s guard is open, but Zombie’s not trying to pass. Zombie stands and eats an upkick. Don’t know if it hurt him or not, but Poirier immediately swept and got on top, and is in full guard. Zombie’s seated against the cage, looking bored. Poirier looking to move to back control, but Zombie defends as the rednecks start a USA chant. Morans (look it up). Zombie’s on his feet, but Poirier has a body lock.Big elbow, punch, and knee by Poirier as they disengagte. Zombie with a wild punch, Poirier ducks under and shoots, but Zombie stuffs it as the horn blows. 10-9 Poirier That was fun.
ROUND TWO: Zombie comes out firing with a leg kick. Poirier throws one of his own, but Zombie catches it and takes him down. Big shots from the top by Zombie. Zombie backs off and dives into guard, narrowly missing a fight ending upkick attempt. Zombie has Poirier stacked up against the cage. Parallel to the fence now. Big Dan telling htem to work. Poirier’s trying to control Zombie’s head. Huge left hook by zombie. That hurt Poirier. Zombie backs off, and Back to standing with 3:15 left in the 2nd. Poirier misses with a left corss. Spinnign back fist by Zombie, missed. This is nuts. Zombie with a flying knee into a muay thai clinch. He’s unloading. Uppercuts. Two knees . Poirier shoots and gets a takedown, but Zombie rolls through and gets full mount. It’s a high mount. This is awesome! Crowd chanting for Zombie now. Poirier has his arms wrapped around Zombie’s body. He won’t escape that way. Zombie’s starting to land a few shots. Zombie gives up mount for and armbar. Poirier gets out, but winds up having to fight off a triangle. This is wicked awesome. Zombie has a triangle and armbar, and elbows to the head. He’s got the arm! Poirier rolls out and gets on top in side control. Unreal action there! Zombie gets Poirier back to full guard with 45 seconds left. That was great stuff. Triangle from Zombie now! It’s tight! And the horn sounds. Poirier was dead in the water there, saved by the bell! WOW!! 10-9 Zombie. 19-19 Best round since Daley Diaz last year.
ROUND THREE: Poirier looked pissed off as he got off the stool. Touch of gloves to start the third round. Of five. Yay five rounders! Straight kick to the face by Zombie. Poirier finds his range, but Zombie is more than willing to brawl with him, so Poirier pulls out. Poirier is pressing forward, but isn’t landing with much accuracy. Nice jab from Poirier. Nice hook as well. Poirier’s getting sloppy, but he’s getting through a little more now. Zombie has done nothing this round. Straight punches from Poirier are getting through now. Poirier comes forward. Body lock by Zombie, takedown, right into side control. Poirier sweeps and gets back up. 2:30 left. These guys are slowing down after that epic 2nd round. Zombie’s hands are dropping. Big knee by Zombie to the body. Follows up by pressing Poirier to the cage and lands a few punches there. Standing elbow from Poirier as they separate. Zombie’s hands are at his waist, and he eats a jab. Poirier has no lateral movement, and Zombie’s gassing. Soopid five rounders! Zombie pressing forward, landing wild hooks and a big knee at the end. Poirier engages with a wild left, and Zombie counters with one of his own. Straight left by Poirier lands flush. Zombie’s left eye is swelling badly. Poirier’s straight punches are landing consistently. The round ends with both guys winging wild hooks. 10-9 Zombie. 29-28 Zombie
ROUND FOUR: Head kick from Zombie to start the round. Straight left to the body by Poirier. He needs to follow up with a right or a kick when that lands. Zombie with a standing knee to the ribs. Right uppercut left hook by Zombie, and Poirier is hurt. Poirier is against the cage reeling, and eats a flying knee from the Zombie. Poirier is down. Poirier is turtled, and Zombie has north south. Transitions to a D’Arce, and POIRIER IS UNCONSCIOUS! FIGHT OF THE YEAR, FOLKS!
WINNER: Chan Sung Jung by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:07 of the fourth round.
STAR RATING: (****+) This fight had everything. It was the best fight I have seen since Shogun-Henderson, and might wind on my short list of best fights of all time. Heat of the moment is strong, so I’ll let that simmer for a few weeks, but son of a bitch that was an awesome fight.
Also, I think Poirier was unconscious, but it was announced as a submission, not a technical submission. I didn’t see no tap.
Follow Rich Hansen on Twitter @MMATorchRich
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_PPVs_6/article_13294.shtml
Cesar Gracie gives Nick Diaz’s side of the story after last weekend’s BJJ debacle
UFC welterweight Nick Diaz is not necessarily the most eloquent individual, often cracking under the pressure of media attention similarly to the way he breaks opponents inside the Octagon. However, coach/mentor Cesar Gracie has no such problem penning a thoughtful statement laced with objectivity, not profanity. Gracie did just that last night regarding Diaz’s decision [...]
Dana White unleashes verbal tirade concerning recent UFC on FOX ratings reports
UFC President Dana White has used social media to interact with fans on a level never seen before by someone in his position. At the same time, White also likes to take advantage of those tools to get his personal points across as well. This week, White hammered home just how successful UFC on FOX [...]
UFC 148's Chael Sonnen likely to appear on NSAC's May 21 meeting regarding TUE application for TRT
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Chael Sonnen's participation in the UFC 148 main event may not be as cut and dry a proposition as it appeared at first blush. With his Middleweight Championship rematch with Anderson Silva moving from Brazil to Las Vegas, Sonnen's testosterone use is going to come under further scrutiny.
According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Sonnen has officially applied for a therapeutic use exemption with the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his use of testosterone replacement therapy. With that application, which was submitted two weeks ago, Sonnen may be put on the NSAC's May 21 docket to answer some questions regarding his application.
Sonnen's TRT use came to the forefront in conjunction with a positive test for an elevated T/E ratio out of his first fight with Anderson Silva in 2010. It was at his hearing with the CSAC that he revealed his TRT use, with his family doctor in toe as the one who diagnosed him with hypogonadism.
Now, for the first time, he may actually be put under the lens. He's claimed he needs the testosterone in order to function, and the NSAC's TUE process will now be scrutinized as well in conjunction with this.
Penick's Analysis: If they clear him for TRT, things will move forward as planned for UFC 148, and Sonnen's long saga with this testosterone issue may come to a close. That said, if they do clear him for TRT, depending on how comprehensive they look into it, the NSAC could come under fire as well. This is going to be a very interesting and touchy issue in the next month, and could potentially put the UFC 148 main event in jeopardy yet again.
[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Sonnen has officially applied for a therapeutic use exemption with the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his use of testosterone replacement therapy. With that application, which was submitted two weeks ago, Sonnen may be put on the NSAC's May 21 docket to answer some questions regarding his application.
Sonnen's TRT use came to the forefront in conjunction with a positive test for an elevated T/E ratio out of his first fight with Anderson Silva in 2010. It was at his hearing with the CSAC that he revealed his TRT use, with his family doctor in toe as the one who diagnosed him with hypogonadism.
Now, for the first time, he may actually be put under the lens. He's claimed he needs the testosterone in order to function, and the NSAC's TUE process will now be scrutinized as well in conjunction with this.
Penick's Analysis: If they clear him for TRT, things will move forward as planned for UFC 148, and Sonnen's long saga with this testosterone issue may come to a close. That said, if they do clear him for TRT, depending on how comprehensive they look into it, the NSAC could come under fire as well. This is going to be a very interesting and touchy issue in the next month, and could potentially put the UFC 148 main event in jeopardy yet again.
[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13295.shtml
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UFC on Fuel 3 Results: T.J. Grant shines in decision win over Carlo Prater in Virginia
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
T.J. Grant put on an MMA clinic against Carlo Prater at UFC on Fuel 3 on Tuesday night, controlling every aspect of the fight through 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision.
Grant was comfortable striking with Prater throughout, but he shined against the Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt on the ground, scoring takedowns, passing, and attacking for submissions. He nearly finished the fight at the horn as he snatched a late armbar, but Prater was saved by the end of the fight.
Grant has now won two straight in the lightweight division, and looks very impressive in that weight class. Prater technically is 1-1 now in his UFC run after a DQ win in his debut in January.
T.J. Grant put on an MMA clinic against Carlo Prater at UFC on Fuel 3 on Tuesday night, controlling every aspect of the fight through 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision.
Grant was comfortable striking with Prater throughout, but he shined against the Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt on the ground, scoring takedowns, passing, and attacking for submissions. He nearly finished the fight at the horn as he snatched a late armbar, but Prater was saved by the end of the fight.
Grant has now won two straight in the lightweight division, and looks very impressive in that weight class. Prater technically is 1-1 now in his UFC run after a DQ win in his debut in January.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_13301.shtml
Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan
Food insanity @primetime_ffx courtesy of @microtech
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sweden's Jorgen Kruth reportedly to make UFC debut against Cyrille Diabate on Sept. 29 in England
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC may be returning to the UK in September, as Swedish newspaper Expressen.se reports that Jorgen Kruth has verbally agreed to meet Cyrille Diabate in his UFC debut on September 29 in England.
Kruth was supposed to meet Diabate at UFC on Fuel 2 in Sweden last month, but suffered an injury that took him out of the bout. Diabate instead took on Tom DeBlass, taking a decision on the card.
The 38-year-old is a veteran of over 100 kickboxing bouts, and has won all five of his MMA fights since transitioning to the sport in 2009. Though he made the move to MMA late, he has stopped all five of his fights in the first round.
The UFC hasn't officially announced an event for September 29, but if it sticks for England it will be the first trip to the UK in 2012, and first since last November's UFC 138 card.
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Kruth was supposed to meet Diabate at UFC on Fuel 2 in Sweden last month, but suffered an injury that took him out of the bout. Diabate instead took on Tom DeBlass, taking a decision on the card.
The 38-year-old is a veteran of over 100 kickboxing bouts, and has won all five of his MMA fights since transitioning to the sport in 2009. Though he made the move to MMA late, he has stopped all five of his fights in the first round.
The UFC hasn't officially announced an event for September 29, but if it sticks for England it will be the first trip to the UK in 2012, and first since last November's UFC 138 card.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13277.shtml
Ross Pearson pegged as coach for TUF: Australia vs. UK opposite George Sotiropoulos
Over the past few months UFC featherweight Ross Pearson has gotten a glimpse at what it takes to be a coach on the Ultimate Fighter as part of Dominick Cruz’s staff on the current season. He also knows what it’s like to be a contestant on the long-running reality series as a former competitor who [...]
Dana White Blasts Former Yahoo! Writer Regarding ‘UFC on FOX 3′ Ratings
The television ratings for “UFC on FOX: Diaz vs. Miller” were horrendous – or pretty good, depending upon who you ask. According to UFC president Dana White (Pictured), their May 5th event wasn’t nearly as bad as what former Yahoo! writer Dave Meltzer claimed it to be. Although the Octagon’s third show on FOX dipped [...]
Source: http://www.5thRound.com/115474/dana-white-blasts-former-yahoo-writer-regarding-ufc-on-fox-3-ratings/
ROUNDTABLE: Predictions for UFC on Fuel 3 main event between Dustin Poirier and "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung
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RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I think Poirier is going to win. I think he's going to make it look easy, and I think it's either going to be a choke or a convincing decision that even the Virginia Athletic Commission won't be able to screw up. After this fight, there's no questions that Poirier should be next for Erik Koch (or Aldo, I suppose).
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'd love to go with the man who has one of the coolest nicknames in sports, The Korean Zombie, but I got to favor Poirier slightly in this fight. It should be a very good fight, and I think Poirier pulls off a submission victory. And yes, I would be good with the winner of this fight receiving the next title shot. It makes sense to me.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I really feel like we're going to see Poirier continue his streak and put the Zombie to sleep. Both of these guys are very talented individuals who can finish a fight in the blink of an eye, but in this matchup it's going to be the one who strikes first taking home a win. Jung is dangerous in ways his weight class isn't accustomed to, and Poirier is an absolute mastodon with the momentum he has on his side. I just dont see Jung making it to the final bell one way or the other so I'll say Poirier via TKO sometime after round three.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I think this is a great opportunity for both The Korean Zombie and Poirier. As the main event of any card (even on Fuel where many fans may not have the opportunity to see it) provides the chance to make a big splash in the division. I definitely see the winner getting a title shot after Koch no doubt. I see The Korean Zombie putting a nice striking display and taking out Poirier in the second round. TKO via strikes.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
The Korean Zombie is in my mind one of the toughest fighters in his weight class. His kick boxing and BJJ make him a serious threat at 145. He is coming off wins against Leonard Garcia and Mark Hominick. Dustin Poirier is on a five fight win streak. He has not been against the same level of competition as the Zombie, but five in a row is impressive and four of those wins are in the UFC. Poirier's BJJ is really good, but he is not as strong on the feet as the Zombie. Even if Poirier can get this fight to the ground, the Zombie has a good enough ground game to win. I think the difference in this fight will be the Zombie's advantage with his striking. I believe that the he will win this fight by decision with his ability to keep the fight standing and out-strike Poirier. I think whoever wins this fight should get the next title shot after Erik Koch.
ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Dustin Poirier decisions The Korean Zombie. I'll have several fighters ranked above the winner of this bout who deserve a title shot first. At the top of that heap is Hatsu Hioki (assuming he defeats Ricardo Lamas).
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
With my limited expertise at predicting the outcome of main event fights, I was tempted to send in a response full of questions marks only. This is probably the most difficult fight to predict and my choice keeps changing by the hour. Poirier has improved considerably since he beat the heavily favored Josh Grispi at UFC 125. Although the level of his opponents on this winning streak haven't been truly challenging, he deserves recognition for what he's achieved thus far.
Chan Sung Jung has looked awesome in his last two fights, ending both in spectacular fashion, and he will present a phenomenal challenge for Poirier. Look both can win this fight by any method they want, and I'd be very surprised if it isn't Fight of the Night. My crystal ball says The Korean Zombie will win by TKO later in the fight, however my crystal ball has been wrong pretty much every time i've ever used it so don't put any money on that outcome!
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/roundtables/article_13296.shtml
A trio of bouts added to UFC on FUEL TV 4 in July
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced three more fights for their fourth event to be held on FUEL TV. The bouts will showcase the entertaining bantamweight and flyweight weight classes. Ultimate Fighter 14 finalist TJ Dillashaw will hook’em up with Vaughan Lee in a bantamweight contest. Both fighters are coming off solid wins in their [...]
A trio of bouts added to UFC on FUEL TV 4 in July is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News
Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/a-trio-of-bouts-added-to-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4-in-july-58121/
The Top 3 Pound-for-Pound MMA Mothers
In case you didn’t already know today is Mother’s Day, and let’s face it – you can’t spell MAMA without MMA. In honor of the holiday I’ve decided to show some love to the ladies whose contributions to the sport have helped make it such an incredibly entertaining endeavor. No, not the ring girls, but [...]
Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/05/13/the-top-3-pound-for-pound-mothers-in-mma/
Donald Cerrone says Jeremy Stephens is a “sh*tty” fighter
Over the past few months it appeared as though the upcoming fight between UFC lightweights Jeremy Stephens and Donald Cerrone was all about business. In general, both men are known more for communicating with their fists inside the cage rather than trash-talk outside of it though neither has ever been afraid to speak his mind [...]
MMATorch Interview: UFC 148's Cung Le discusses Rich Franklin, new film "Dragon Eyes", much more
By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist
MMATorch Columnist Brad Walker spoke with UFC middleweight Cung Le via email this week ahead of Le's bout with Rich Franklin at UFC 148. Check out their conversation below:
WALKER: What made you interested in becoming a professional Mixed Martial Artist?
LE: My friend Javier Mendez had been telling me to get into the sport of MMA with my background. I started thinking about it, and when I decided to, he became my coach and helped me get started.
WALKER:You made your debut on the big stage for Strikeforce in 2006, how did it feel to come out to the cage for that first fight?
LE: I was definitely nervous stepping into the cage for a debut, I built my career with Strikeforce on the kickboxing side, and was glad to start my MMA career with them. As an experienced fighter, you're always going to prepare for the toughest fight of your life. I think any MMA fighter will tell you that you definitely get nervous for your first time when you get into the cage, and especially after the door locks behind you.
WALKER: You won that fight with a very decisive knockout – did you know then that you were going to remain in the sport for some time to come?
LE: I am the kind of person who goes all in and will train and perform to the best my abilities in whatever I do. I knew that this wasn't going to be a one fight deal and retire. I did know that I still had a lot to learn and was interested in taking in all of the knowledge of the game that I could to be my best at it.
WALKER: In your 9 career fights the one that sticks out the most is Frank Shamrock – how did it feel to mentally prepare to fight a legend?
LE: A lot of a fighters mental preparation comes from working closely with your coaches and your teammates. Your mentals get stronger based on your preparation and training for the fight. My coach, Javier Mendez, put together a game plan and my fight camp to get me ready, and I was game to do my best and be at my best to fight Frank that night. It was definitely a war, and I pulled through the win in the end.
WALKER: Shortly after defeating Frank, you had to vacate the title due to filming obligations, how hard was that to do?
LE: I think timing means everything. While I carried the Strikeforce title, it was challenging to get an opponent to defend my title due to timing of injuries, etc. Since I didn't have anything locked in and I got a great movie opportunity I couldn't turn down to work with some top producers and start building my acting career, I made the decision to vacate the title. It was hard to do, however, it was also a great opportunity that I let it go for. I knew it wasn't the end of my fight career, but when the right time came around again, I would be back in the cage ready to roll.
WALKER: Your striking is considered some of the most unique and flashy in MMA; do you feel that gives you an edge going into a fight?
LE: I think that my style gives me a slight edge, because there aren't many fighters who can mimic my style to help prepare an opponent to fight me. I think all camps do what they gotta do to prepare their fighter and set the right game plan to win, just the same as my camp needs to plan and execute for me as well.
WALKER: Most recently at UFC 139 you fought the very dangerous Wanderlei Silva, how did you prepare for that fight – and what were your expectations stepping into the cage across from such a dangerous striker?
LE: I trained at one of the top gyms - American Kickboxing Academy, which has some of the top fighters in the world. I felt that I was mentally and physically ready for this fight and had a good team who helped me prepare for Wanderlei. I pushed the pace in the first round and in the start of the second, backing him up, which he normally does not do when he fights. At the end of the day, it was his night, I got caught with a few heavy shots that ended the fight.
WALKER:After that loss, you had stated that the back of your head felt nearly as bad as the front – do you feel the stoppage was unjust or that the referee missed some illegal strikes?
LE: Depending on the angle where the referee is, they may not see every shot. I did get caught with a strike to the nose, it wasn't the first time I broke my nose. So I was game and ready to go another round. I went against the cardinal rule during a fight and blew my nose, that's why it swelled up so much and looked worse than it really was. However, that's how the fight game goes, you take what happend and move on to be a better fighter. It was an honor to fight Wanderlei, as he is definitely one of the best in the game.
WALKER: You have some incredible credits thus far in your film career such as Tekken and Pandorum, how do you balance fighting and acting?
LE: I balance both by committing to one at a time, but even while I'm on set and filming I train. Training is not just a fight priority, its also a personal and an acting priority to stay in shape.
WALKER: Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects on the big screen?
LE: I have my next movie "Dragon Eyes" w/ Jean Claude Van Damme coming out this weekend. This is my first movie where I am casted with the lead role in the film working alongside Van Damme. I have another coming out this year "Man with the Iron Fists", which was directed by RZA and I got a chance to work with Russell Crowe, and Lucy Lu.
WALKER: How do you feel going into your next matchup with former champ Rich Franklin - how do you feel you two match up?
LE: I think my fight with Rich Franklin will be an exciting fight. He is a former UFC Champion, I'm a former Strikeforce Champion, and I think our style match ups will be good with his standup and mine.
WALKER: You got into MMA at the age of 33; do you feel if you had started younger you would have a bigger advantage in the cage right now?
LE: I think that my background as a martial artist since I was young, Sanshou experience and world titles, and wrestling background is a strong advantage in the cage now. I am definitely known for my striking abilities and my style is unique to the game. All of my MMA opponents have had more experience in the cage than myself. I learn more every fight to add to my game and I always train to be better than my last fight and prepare for my opponent.
WALKER: Your extravagant striking has earned you the nickname 'The Human Highlight Reel' how does it feel to get such a distinction?
LE: It is an honor, but it comes with hard work and dedication.
Brad Walker would like to thank Cung Le for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview.
 |
WALKER: What made you interested in becoming a professional Mixed Martial Artist?
LE: My friend Javier Mendez had been telling me to get into the sport of MMA with my background. I started thinking about it, and when I decided to, he became my coach and helped me get started.
WALKER:You made your debut on the big stage for Strikeforce in 2006, how did it feel to come out to the cage for that first fight?
LE: I was definitely nervous stepping into the cage for a debut, I built my career with Strikeforce on the kickboxing side, and was glad to start my MMA career with them. As an experienced fighter, you're always going to prepare for the toughest fight of your life. I think any MMA fighter will tell you that you definitely get nervous for your first time when you get into the cage, and especially after the door locks behind you.
WALKER: You won that fight with a very decisive knockout – did you know then that you were going to remain in the sport for some time to come?
LE: I am the kind of person who goes all in and will train and perform to the best my abilities in whatever I do. I knew that this wasn't going to be a one fight deal and retire. I did know that I still had a lot to learn and was interested in taking in all of the knowledge of the game that I could to be my best at it.
WALKER: In your 9 career fights the one that sticks out the most is Frank Shamrock – how did it feel to mentally prepare to fight a legend?
LE: A lot of a fighters mental preparation comes from working closely with your coaches and your teammates. Your mentals get stronger based on your preparation and training for the fight. My coach, Javier Mendez, put together a game plan and my fight camp to get me ready, and I was game to do my best and be at my best to fight Frank that night. It was definitely a war, and I pulled through the win in the end.
WALKER: Shortly after defeating Frank, you had to vacate the title due to filming obligations, how hard was that to do?
LE: I think timing means everything. While I carried the Strikeforce title, it was challenging to get an opponent to defend my title due to timing of injuries, etc. Since I didn't have anything locked in and I got a great movie opportunity I couldn't turn down to work with some top producers and start building my acting career, I made the decision to vacate the title. It was hard to do, however, it was also a great opportunity that I let it go for. I knew it wasn't the end of my fight career, but when the right time came around again, I would be back in the cage ready to roll.
WALKER: Your striking is considered some of the most unique and flashy in MMA; do you feel that gives you an edge going into a fight?
LE: I think that my style gives me a slight edge, because there aren't many fighters who can mimic my style to help prepare an opponent to fight me. I think all camps do what they gotta do to prepare their fighter and set the right game plan to win, just the same as my camp needs to plan and execute for me as well.
WALKER: Most recently at UFC 139 you fought the very dangerous Wanderlei Silva, how did you prepare for that fight – and what were your expectations stepping into the cage across from such a dangerous striker?
LE: I trained at one of the top gyms - American Kickboxing Academy, which has some of the top fighters in the world. I felt that I was mentally and physically ready for this fight and had a good team who helped me prepare for Wanderlei. I pushed the pace in the first round and in the start of the second, backing him up, which he normally does not do when he fights. At the end of the day, it was his night, I got caught with a few heavy shots that ended the fight.
WALKER:After that loss, you had stated that the back of your head felt nearly as bad as the front – do you feel the stoppage was unjust or that the referee missed some illegal strikes?
LE: Depending on the angle where the referee is, they may not see every shot. I did get caught with a strike to the nose, it wasn't the first time I broke my nose. So I was game and ready to go another round. I went against the cardinal rule during a fight and blew my nose, that's why it swelled up so much and looked worse than it really was. However, that's how the fight game goes, you take what happend and move on to be a better fighter. It was an honor to fight Wanderlei, as he is definitely one of the best in the game.
WALKER: You have some incredible credits thus far in your film career such as Tekken and Pandorum, how do you balance fighting and acting?
LE: I balance both by committing to one at a time, but even while I'm on set and filming I train. Training is not just a fight priority, its also a personal and an acting priority to stay in shape.
WALKER: Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects on the big screen?
LE: I have my next movie "Dragon Eyes" w/ Jean Claude Van Damme coming out this weekend. This is my first movie where I am casted with the lead role in the film working alongside Van Damme. I have another coming out this year "Man with the Iron Fists", which was directed by RZA and I got a chance to work with Russell Crowe, and Lucy Lu.
WALKER: How do you feel going into your next matchup with former champ Rich Franklin - how do you feel you two match up?
LE: I think my fight with Rich Franklin will be an exciting fight. He is a former UFC Champion, I'm a former Strikeforce Champion, and I think our style match ups will be good with his standup and mine.
WALKER: You got into MMA at the age of 33; do you feel if you had started younger you would have a bigger advantage in the cage right now?
LE: I think that my background as a martial artist since I was young, Sanshou experience and world titles, and wrestling background is a strong advantage in the cage now. I am definitely known for my striking abilities and my style is unique to the game. All of my MMA opponents have had more experience in the cage than myself. I learn more every fight to add to my game and I always train to be better than my last fight and prepare for my opponent.
WALKER: Your extravagant striking has earned you the nickname 'The Human Highlight Reel' how does it feel to get such a distinction?
LE: It is an honor, but it comes with hard work and dedication.
Brad Walker would like to thank Cung Le for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Interviews_34/article_13258.shtml
ROUNDTABLE: Who should the UFC book against Anthony Pettis when he returns this fall?
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RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Since they are going through with Henderson vs. Edgar, how about Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez?
Simple attrition rules out a lot of fighters. Pettis isn't getting Henderson, Diaz, or Edgar next. The UFC is highly unlikely to put Gray Maynard in a #1 contender fight if he beats Clay Guida, because the last thing they want is for Maynard to be within 42 miles of being a PPV headliner. If Guida wins, they aren't going to book Pettis vs. Guida again. In both cases, they don't want Pettis vs. a wrestler, because there has to be a fear of Pettis getting off of his back. Jim Miller is coming off of a loss. Donald Cerrone is coming off of a loss. Jacob Volkmann, Mark Bocek, and Gleison Tibau have less name recognition than Jadamba Narantungalag, and less appeal than Brad Walker in a Chippendale's review (Patrick Swayze he aint).
So who's left? Eddie F***ing Alvarez, that's who. Even without making the case FOR Alvarez, he's the best possible option for Pettis. Alvarez is free sometime in September, which means he conceivably could fight in the UFC as soon as October. Sergio Pettis told MMATorch, and by "MMATorch" I mean he told ME (cheap plug, lots of humility) that Anthony was looking at October or November for a return. The last thing anyone should want to see is for Pettis to return to action before he's ready to return. So put him in the cage in November against Eddie Alvarez.
As for the fight itself, if I have to sell the merits of Eddie F***ing Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis, God help us all.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'd have Pettis fight Donald Cerrone if Cerrone beats Jeremy Stephens on May 15 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. An alternative would be to have him fight Gray Maynard if Maynard beats Clay Guida at UFC on FX 4 on June 22.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Pettis needs to step into Strikeforce and fight Gilbert Melendez, if that fight can't happen there are not a whole lot of challenging fights out there for him. Unless he wants to call out B.J. Penn or try to add another loss to Jim Miller's record. The top end of the division is pretty much booked solid, and unless Eddie Alvarez makes his way to the Octagon there are very few fights that make sense for Pettis outside of the top trio of Henderson, Edgar and Diaz.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
With a returning Anthony Pettis, who wouldn't mind seeing a returning BJ Penn to the division? The UFC were trying to convince Penn to possibly fight Gilbert Melendez, but a fight against Pettis would be just as intriguing. It'd be a great test for Pettis and more importantly, a win would solidify a title shot in the lightweight division.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I think the UFC should book Anthony Pettis against the winner of Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard fight. I am convinced Maynard will win big against Guida, so that sets up a great fight. This will tell us if Pettis is ready for his title shot. This is also one of the most exciting fights out there in the lightweight division.
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
I'd love to see him face Edson Barboza, so if the Brazilian beats Jamie Varner later this month, get that fight booked little Joe Silva. The other alternative would be Donald Cerrone if he gets past Jeremy Stephens next week. Again that would be a fun fight with plenty of fireworks, even if Cerrone is coming off a big loss to Nate Diaz. Whatever the UFC decides though, please don't let it be Mark Bocek. That fight would be a little like asking Vincent van Gogh to produce a magical piece of art, with only worn out coloring pens, and the back of a cigarette packet to do it.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Assuming Sean Sherk is still alive (which I don't think any fight fan in the world can confirm at this point) I think he's a big enough name and has the skills set to really legitimize Pettis as a lightweight contender.
If Pettis gets by a wrestler that caliber of Sean Sherk, perhaps that would appease all the whiners who call for everyone to "beat a wrestler" before getting a title shot (even in spite the fact that Pettis has already defeated several).
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/roundtables/article_13278.shtml
Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto
Strikeforce's Gegard Mousasi recovering from ACL surgery, wants future bout with UFC Champ Jon Jones
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi hasn't fought since his December win over Ovince St-Preux, and there are multiple reasons for that. For starters, he was supposed to fight on the March card in Columbus, Ohio, but a fight with Mike Kyle fell through due to injury.
Then, he suffered a massive injury himself. Mousasi tore his ACL in March and had to undergo surgery to repair the injury, and now he's in the midst of rehab to make his return later this year. Why is this news just coming to light now, months later?
"No one asked," he joked in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "But the operation was successful. The recovery is doing very well. I will be back 100 percent again, but it will just take time."
After defeating St-Preux in December, Mousasi was eying a move to the UFC in the near future. However, the decree then came down that Strikeforce's fighters would be staying in the organization, leading Mousasi and many others to resign with the organization.
"I had one fight left (on my Strikeforce contract). Then I was hoping maybe to go to the UFC after that, but then they offered me – they said we're going to give you a new contract. So I signed for another six fights. Now I have a six-, seven-fight deal, I believe, in Strikeforce."
"They said the Strikeforce fighters were going to stay with Strikeforce. And that's the thing that it was, so we signed again."
Mousasi will remain in Strikeforce for the time being, but his ultimate goal is to capture the UFC's Light Heavyweight Title. He's already earned gold in several promotions throughout his career, and would like to prove himself as the best in the world. That may entail a future fight with current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, and that's a matchup that Mousasi would embrace.
"I'm not afraid of fighting anybody because I never got hurt in any fight – kickboxing, boxing, MMA," he said. "I may have lost a fight, but I've never been hurt in a fight. I'm always confident that whatever happens, I got my chance. And I know I have a good punch, so I never doubt myself that I can win a fight or not."
"I'd love to fight him."
Penick's Analysis: A fight between Mousasi and Jones probably won't happen, because by the time Mousasi gets to the UFC and fights his way into contention, Jones is likely going to be a heavyweight. Still, a fight between the two could be very intriguing. Mousasi's weakness has been his wrestling, and that cost him the Strikeforce Title against "King Mo" Lawal, but he'd certainly provide a different style for Jones to face should that fight ever come to fruition. Still, it's highly unlikely that a fight between them ever happens. It's unfortunate that Mousasi got stuck in the grouping of fighters that were almost forced to resign with Strikeforce with no option for the UFC, as he'd have been a good addition to the UFC's roster, and there's not a ton of names for him to fight in Strikeforce right now. Still, with Zuffa re-upping with Showtime at least for this year, it was a necessity to make it happen, and he's in a different spot than a fighter like Gilbert Melendez, who re-signed with Strikeforce of his own volition before Zuffa purchased them last year.
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Then, he suffered a massive injury himself. Mousasi tore his ACL in March and had to undergo surgery to repair the injury, and now he's in the midst of rehab to make his return later this year. Why is this news just coming to light now, months later?
"No one asked," he joked in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "But the operation was successful. The recovery is doing very well. I will be back 100 percent again, but it will just take time."
After defeating St-Preux in December, Mousasi was eying a move to the UFC in the near future. However, the decree then came down that Strikeforce's fighters would be staying in the organization, leading Mousasi and many others to resign with the organization.
"I had one fight left (on my Strikeforce contract). Then I was hoping maybe to go to the UFC after that, but then they offered me – they said we're going to give you a new contract. So I signed for another six fights. Now I have a six-, seven-fight deal, I believe, in Strikeforce."
"They said the Strikeforce fighters were going to stay with Strikeforce. And that's the thing that it was, so we signed again."
Mousasi will remain in Strikeforce for the time being, but his ultimate goal is to capture the UFC's Light Heavyweight Title. He's already earned gold in several promotions throughout his career, and would like to prove himself as the best in the world. That may entail a future fight with current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, and that's a matchup that Mousasi would embrace.
"I'm not afraid of fighting anybody because I never got hurt in any fight – kickboxing, boxing, MMA," he said. "I may have lost a fight, but I've never been hurt in a fight. I'm always confident that whatever happens, I got my chance. And I know I have a good punch, so I never doubt myself that I can win a fight or not."
"I'd love to fight him."
Penick's Analysis: A fight between Mousasi and Jones probably won't happen, because by the time Mousasi gets to the UFC and fights his way into contention, Jones is likely going to be a heavyweight. Still, a fight between the two could be very intriguing. Mousasi's weakness has been his wrestling, and that cost him the Strikeforce Title against "King Mo" Lawal, but he'd certainly provide a different style for Jones to face should that fight ever come to fruition. Still, it's highly unlikely that a fight between them ever happens. It's unfortunate that Mousasi got stuck in the grouping of fighters that were almost forced to resign with Strikeforce with no option for the UFC, as he'd have been a good addition to the UFC's roster, and there's not a ton of names for him to fight in Strikeforce right now. Still, with Zuffa re-upping with Showtime at least for this year, it was a necessity to make it happen, and he's in a different spot than a fighter like Gilbert Melendez, who re-signed with Strikeforce of his own volition before Zuffa purchased them last year.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_13280.shtml
Bellator 67 Results: Michael Chandler cruises to victory with first-round finish of Akihiro Gono
Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler maintained his perfect record last night with a dominating performance against Akihiro Gono in the main event at Bellator 67. The non-title “superfight” lasted less than a minute with the 10-0 Chandler clipping Gono’s chin to drop him, pounding out the TKO victory shortly thereafter. After the event the 37-year [...]
Bellator 68 Results: Daniel Straus comes out with hand raised against Marlon Sandro
Bellator featherweight Marlon Sandro did his best to earn a shot at redemption against current champion Pat Curran but came up short in the effort thanks to talented wrestler Daniel Straus. Though a competitive clash, Straus’ constant pressure and takedowns were the difference in the 145-pound tournament final and earned him the decision win. As [...]
Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko
Robbie Lawler locking horns with Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce show in July
Two of Strikeforce’s most scintillating stand-up artists are set to collide this summer at an event in Portland, Oregon in the form of a bout between middleweights Robbie Lawler (19-8) and Lorenz Larkin (12-0). Of their 31 combined victories 24 of the wins have involved some form of strike-based stoppage. The July 14 match-up was [...]
Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber
Silva vs. Hughes
Well it's what if time. As I was mindlessly surfing Wikipedia today I cam across this little tidbit of info
UFC 36
The card was headlined by two...
UFC 36
The card was headlined by two...
Source: http://www.mmaforum.com/ufc/101998-silva-vs-hughes.html
Monday, May 14, 2012
Renan Barao open to the challenge of facing Urijah Faber at UFC 148
When bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz went down with a serious knee injury the UFC wasted little time addressing the issue, stating an interim belt would be created with Urijah Faber challenging a yet-unveiled opponent at UFC 148 where he was originally scheduled to face Cruz. The first name on Faber’s list of potential candidates, as [...]
TUF 15 Results: Andy Ogle’s win improves Team Faber’s record to 5-3
After a rough start, Urijah Faber’s squad on the current season of TUF notched a 5-3 advantage over Dominick Cruz’s team entering the quarterfinal round thanks to a winning performance on Friday night, thus giving his group a slight advantage in terms of having one of their representatives standing tall at the end. Team Faber’s [...]
Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson Paulo Filho Mirko Cro Cop Filipović
Where can I find a gym around me?
Hi everyone, Ive been lookin for a gym around my area that teaches either MMA, BJJ, or Mauy Thai but so far I have found sqaut.
Does anyone know...
Does anyone know...
Source: http://www.mmaforum.com/other-mma-amateur-mma/101999-where-can-i-find-gym-around-me.html
Dustin Poirier: “We’re going to go in there and rise to the occasion.”
UFC featherweight Dustin Poirier knows exactly what to expect tomorrow night when he locks horns with Chan Sung Jung inside the Octagon at UFC on Fuel 3. No, the 23-year old doesn’t have some sort of magical crystal ball revealing a detailed account of the action to come, but he does understand what he and [...]
Greg Valentine Posts Explanation For No-Showing Event
WWE Hall of Famer Greg “The Hammer” Valentine offered an explanation on his Facebook page for no-showing Great North Wrestling’s Randy Savage tribute show on Sept. 3 in Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada after the organization paid $2,000 for his services.
Here is my Official Statement on my Canada Booking. I hope this clears things up.
I was booked for the Macho Man Memorial Show in Canada. That’s true. I told the promoter I was coming. That’s true. I received my deposit from the promoter. That’s true. Now let me clear some things up…
A ...
Here is my Official Statement on my Canada Booking. I hope this clears things up.
I was booked for the Macho Man Memorial Show in Canada. That’s true. I told the promoter I was coming. That’s true. I received my deposit from the promoter. That’s true. Now let me clear some things up…
A ...
Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/09/greg-valentine-posts-explanation-for-no-showing-event/
Josh Thomson MIGHT be Injured, Not Skipping Title Fight with Gilbert Melendez
On Thursday, FrontRowBrian – who doesn’t work for a mixed martial arts news outlet, but has had a knack for breaking MMA info – reported Josh Thomson (Pictured) tore the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his knee and would likely be forced out of his title scrap against Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez. However, Thomson [...]
Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar confirmed as UFC 150 headliner
The Mile High City will host a match-up with equally tall expectations in August when UFC lightweight title-holder Benson Henderson puts his gold up for grabs against Frankie Edgar in the main event at UFC 150. The two met previously this past February with “Bendo” bringing home the belt by way of a closely-contested decision. [...]
Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/09/benson-henderson-vs-frankie-edgar-confirmed-as-ufc-150-headliner
‘UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch’ OFFICIALLY a Smashing Success
There are still 10 weeks remaining until the curtain is drawn on the Octagon’s debut in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but “UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch” can already go down in the record books as a smashing success. Although the fight card hasn’t been completed, it didn’t stop them Canadians from snagging every available seat inside [...]
Source: http://www.5thRound.com/115282/ufc-149-aldo-vs-koch-officially-a-smashing-success/
MMATorch Interview: UFC 148's Cung Le discusses Rich Franklin, new film "Dragon Eyes", much more
By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist
MMATorch Columnist Brad Walker spoke with UFC middleweight Cung Le via email this week ahead of Le's bout with Rich Franklin at UFC 148. Check out their conversation below:
WALKER: What made you interested in becoming a professional Mixed Martial Artist?
LE: My friend Javier Mendez had been telling me to get into the sport of MMA with my background. I started thinking about it, and when I decided to, he became my coach and helped me get started.
WALKER:You made your debut on the big stage for Strikeforce in 2006, how did it feel to come out to the cage for that first fight?
LE: I was definitely nervous stepping into the cage for a debut, I built my career with Strikeforce on the kickboxing side, and was glad to start my MMA career with them. As an experienced fighter, you're always going to prepare for the toughest fight of your life. I think any MMA fighter will tell you that you definitely get nervous for your first time when you get into the cage, and especially after the door locks behind you.
WALKER: You won that fight with a very decisive knockout – did you know then that you were going to remain in the sport for some time to come?
LE: I am the kind of person who goes all in and will train and perform to the best my abilities in whatever I do. I knew that this wasn't going to be a one fight deal and retire. I did know that I still had a lot to learn and was interested in taking in all of the knowledge of the game that I could to be my best at it.
WALKER: In your 9 career fights the one that sticks out the most is Frank Shamrock – how did it feel to mentally prepare to fight a legend?
LE: A lot of a fighters mental preparation comes from working closely with your coaches and your teammates. Your mentals get stronger based on your preparation and training for the fight. My coach, Javier Mendez, put together a game plan and my fight camp to get me ready, and I was game to do my best and be at my best to fight Frank that night. It was definitely a war, and I pulled through the win in the end.
WALKER: Shortly after defeating Frank, you had to vacate the title due to filming obligations, how hard was that to do?
LE: I think timing means everything. While I carried the Strikeforce title, it was challenging to get an opponent to defend my title due to timing of injuries, etc. Since I didn't have anything locked in and I got a great movie opportunity I couldn't turn down to work with some top producers and start building my acting career, I made the decision to vacate the title. It was hard to do, however, it was also a great opportunity that I let it go for. I knew it wasn't the end of my fight career, but when the right time came around again, I would be back in the cage ready to roll.
WALKER: Your striking is considered some of the most unique and flashy in MMA; do you feel that gives you an edge going into a fight?
LE: I think that my style gives me a slight edge, because there aren't many fighters who can mimic my style to help prepare an opponent to fight me. I think all camps do what they gotta do to prepare their fighter and set the right game plan to win, just the same as my camp needs to plan and execute for me as well.
WALKER: Most recently at UFC 139 you fought the very dangerous Wanderlei Silva, how did you prepare for that fight – and what were your expectations stepping into the cage across from such a dangerous striker?
LE: I trained at one of the top gyms - American Kickboxing Academy, which has some of the top fighters in the world. I felt that I was mentally and physically ready for this fight and had a good team who helped me prepare for Wanderlei. I pushed the pace in the first round and in the start of the second, backing him up, which he normally does not do when he fights. At the end of the day, it was his night, I got caught with a few heavy shots that ended the fight.
WALKER:After that loss, you had stated that the back of your head felt nearly as bad as the front – do you feel the stoppage was unjust or that the referee missed some illegal strikes?
LE: Depending on the angle where the referee is, they may not see every shot. I did get caught with a strike to the nose, it wasn't the first time I broke my nose. So I was game and ready to go another round. I went against the cardinal rule during a fight and blew my nose, that's why it swelled up so much and looked worse than it really was. However, that's how the fight game goes, you take what happend and move on to be a better fighter. It was an honor to fight Wanderlei, as he is definitely one of the best in the game.
WALKER: You have some incredible credits thus far in your film career such as Tekken and Pandorum, how do you balance fighting and acting?
LE: I balance both by committing to one at a time, but even while I'm on set and filming I train. Training is not just a fight priority, its also a personal and an acting priority to stay in shape.
WALKER: Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects on the big screen?
LE: I have my next movie "Dragon Eyes" w/ Jean Claude Van Damme coming out this weekend. This is my first movie where I am casted with the lead role in the film working alongside Van Damme. I have another coming out this year "Man with the Iron Fists", which was directed by RZA and I got a chance to work with Russell Crowe, and Lucy Lu.
WALKER: How do you feel going into your next matchup with former champ Rich Franklin - how do you feel you two match up?
LE: I think my fight with Rich Franklin will be an exciting fight. He is a former UFC Champion, I'm a former Strikeforce Champion, and I think our style match ups will be good with his standup and mine.
WALKER: You got into MMA at the age of 33; do you feel if you had started younger you would have a bigger advantage in the cage right now?
LE: I think that my background as a martial artist since I was young, Sanshou experience and world titles, and wrestling background is a strong advantage in the cage now. I am definitely known for my striking abilities and my style is unique to the game. All of my MMA opponents have had more experience in the cage than myself. I learn more every fight to add to my game and I always train to be better than my last fight and prepare for my opponent.
WALKER: Your extravagant striking has earned you the nickname 'The Human Highlight Reel' how does it feel to get such a distinction?
LE: It is an honor, but it comes with hard work and dedication.
Brad Walker would like to thank Cung Le for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview.
| |
WALKER: What made you interested in becoming a professional Mixed Martial Artist?
LE: My friend Javier Mendez had been telling me to get into the sport of MMA with my background. I started thinking about it, and when I decided to, he became my coach and helped me get started.
WALKER:You made your debut on the big stage for Strikeforce in 2006, how did it feel to come out to the cage for that first fight?
LE: I was definitely nervous stepping into the cage for a debut, I built my career with Strikeforce on the kickboxing side, and was glad to start my MMA career with them. As an experienced fighter, you're always going to prepare for the toughest fight of your life. I think any MMA fighter will tell you that you definitely get nervous for your first time when you get into the cage, and especially after the door locks behind you.
WALKER: You won that fight with a very decisive knockout – did you know then that you were going to remain in the sport for some time to come?
LE: I am the kind of person who goes all in and will train and perform to the best my abilities in whatever I do. I knew that this wasn't going to be a one fight deal and retire. I did know that I still had a lot to learn and was interested in taking in all of the knowledge of the game that I could to be my best at it.
WALKER: In your 9 career fights the one that sticks out the most is Frank Shamrock – how did it feel to mentally prepare to fight a legend?
LE: A lot of a fighters mental preparation comes from working closely with your coaches and your teammates. Your mentals get stronger based on your preparation and training for the fight. My coach, Javier Mendez, put together a game plan and my fight camp to get me ready, and I was game to do my best and be at my best to fight Frank that night. It was definitely a war, and I pulled through the win in the end.
WALKER: Shortly after defeating Frank, you had to vacate the title due to filming obligations, how hard was that to do?
LE: I think timing means everything. While I carried the Strikeforce title, it was challenging to get an opponent to defend my title due to timing of injuries, etc. Since I didn't have anything locked in and I got a great movie opportunity I couldn't turn down to work with some top producers and start building my acting career, I made the decision to vacate the title. It was hard to do, however, it was also a great opportunity that I let it go for. I knew it wasn't the end of my fight career, but when the right time came around again, I would be back in the cage ready to roll.
WALKER: Your striking is considered some of the most unique and flashy in MMA; do you feel that gives you an edge going into a fight?
LE: I think that my style gives me a slight edge, because there aren't many fighters who can mimic my style to help prepare an opponent to fight me. I think all camps do what they gotta do to prepare their fighter and set the right game plan to win, just the same as my camp needs to plan and execute for me as well.
WALKER: Most recently at UFC 139 you fought the very dangerous Wanderlei Silva, how did you prepare for that fight – and what were your expectations stepping into the cage across from such a dangerous striker?
LE: I trained at one of the top gyms - American Kickboxing Academy, which has some of the top fighters in the world. I felt that I was mentally and physically ready for this fight and had a good team who helped me prepare for Wanderlei. I pushed the pace in the first round and in the start of the second, backing him up, which he normally does not do when he fights. At the end of the day, it was his night, I got caught with a few heavy shots that ended the fight.
WALKER:After that loss, you had stated that the back of your head felt nearly as bad as the front – do you feel the stoppage was unjust or that the referee missed some illegal strikes?
LE: Depending on the angle where the referee is, they may not see every shot. I did get caught with a strike to the nose, it wasn't the first time I broke my nose. So I was game and ready to go another round. I went against the cardinal rule during a fight and blew my nose, that's why it swelled up so much and looked worse than it really was. However, that's how the fight game goes, you take what happend and move on to be a better fighter. It was an honor to fight Wanderlei, as he is definitely one of the best in the game.
WALKER: You have some incredible credits thus far in your film career such as Tekken and Pandorum, how do you balance fighting and acting?
LE: I balance both by committing to one at a time, but even while I'm on set and filming I train. Training is not just a fight priority, its also a personal and an acting priority to stay in shape.
WALKER: Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects on the big screen?
LE: I have my next movie "Dragon Eyes" w/ Jean Claude Van Damme coming out this weekend. This is my first movie where I am casted with the lead role in the film working alongside Van Damme. I have another coming out this year "Man with the Iron Fists", which was directed by RZA and I got a chance to work with Russell Crowe, and Lucy Lu.
WALKER: How do you feel going into your next matchup with former champ Rich Franklin - how do you feel you two match up?
LE: I think my fight with Rich Franklin will be an exciting fight. He is a former UFC Champion, I'm a former Strikeforce Champion, and I think our style match ups will be good with his standup and mine.
WALKER: You got into MMA at the age of 33; do you feel if you had started younger you would have a bigger advantage in the cage right now?
LE: I think that my background as a martial artist since I was young, Sanshou experience and world titles, and wrestling background is a strong advantage in the cage now. I am definitely known for my striking abilities and my style is unique to the game. All of my MMA opponents have had more experience in the cage than myself. I learn more every fight to add to my game and I always train to be better than my last fight and prepare for my opponent.
WALKER: Your extravagant striking has earned you the nickname 'The Human Highlight Reel' how does it feel to get such a distinction?
LE: It is an honor, but it comes with hard work and dedication.
Brad Walker would like to thank Cung Le for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Interviews_34/article_13258.shtml
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