Junior Dos Santos by Justin McAllister
Today’s edition of MMARecap’s Morning commute deals with injuries for UFC on FX and UFC on Fox cards in December, Alistair Overeem will be fighting in February, JDS gets a new sponsorship and Cris Cyborg’s doctors warn her against cutting down to 135lbs. All of that plus this day’s history lesson. Listen to the podcast below or download it for later listening.
Jon Fitch – via UFC.com
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This week’s Ask MMARecap question is one that has been asked time and time again from fan to fan. And it has to do with how stacked one could make a card. The question is asked by Matt Hughes (no not the fighter) and he asks, “What type of lineup would you set up to try and make one of the most stacked fight cards in UFC history?”
So let’s start with the following assumptions for this ideal card. The card would take place at Cowboys Stadium in Texas as it seats over 100,000 fans. Let’s also assume that all fighters mentioned would be perfectly healthy and able to fight at the same time and that no one would be injured. Finally, let’s just deal with the main card of a pay-per-view and as such we can have a max of six fights on the card.
With that out of the way let’s start to figure out what we want to do. In an ideal situation you have a finish in the first fight. Preferably a knockout, but a gnarly submission is welcomed or an amazing back and forth fight. What we don’t want is a three round snooze fest. So to open the card I would put Dan Henderson versus Shogun Rua. The two had an epic battle already, and while their gas tanks dwindled by the end of the fifteen minutes, it was awesome. Only this time, I don’t see it ending by a decision and one of them getting the finish on the other.
Next up I would put a number one contender flyweight fight on the card. Why? Because these dudes can bring it. Ian McCall versus John Dodson. Hell yeah. That’s going to be fifteen minutes that looks like it is on fast forward the entire time. Sure we might not get a finish, but it will be exciting none-the-less.
The third fight I would want on this card is one that will likely have a lot of blood in it. Nothing screams fight of the night like a blood bath. So let’s put two guys in who like to throw and can also bleed a lot. Evan Dunham and Diego Sanchez come to mind here at lightweight. Just imagine what kind of carnage these two will bring inside the cage with 100,000+ fans cheering for them.
After that kind of blood bath, I want a solid striking fight but with fighters who aren’t afraid to go to the ground and with a potential title shot implication. In this scenario, I see Michael Bisping fighting Alan Belcher. Both fighters have amazing skills and the trash talk for this is likely to be amazing.
The co-main event would be a main event any other time, but due to the fact that heavyweights get top billing this fight is in the co-main slot. Anderson Silva versus Georges St-Pierre in a five-round-non-title catchweight of 178lb fight. There’s a lot to this fight and one that many have been wanting to see for a long time. Now I think is the time for this fight, and once you take out the title and make it a catchweight fight, it makes a lot of sense.
Finally in the main event we have Junior Dos Santos versus Alistair Overeem. By the time this fight happens, the build up will be intense. The two are no doubt going to slug it out and will cap off a night of action with a finish. This fight would also solidify Dos Santos as one of the best heavyweights of all time with multiple title defenses.
Another edition of the Independent MMA Link Club and this week we have stories on Rousey’s mom and her armbar, unofficial fight night awards, a way to make AXS TV’s Friday night’s better and more.
Ronda Rousey’s Mom, Dr. Ann Maria DeMars, on her daughter’s quick work of Sarah Kaufman [Pro MMA Now]
Ronda Rousey successfully defends title against Kaufman with trademark armbar [The MMA Review]
Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman Un-Official Fight Night Awards [MMA Valor]
AXS TV: A Way to Make the Network’s Friday Fight Lineup Better [The MMA Corner]
Sneek Peek UFC Fighter Daron Cruickshanks web series Fight Nerd Exclusive [The Fight Nerd]
Watch Buakaw Return and Kick Abduol Toure into Oblivion at Thai Fight Extreme [The Fight Nation]
Cain Velasquez talks Alistair Overeem [Fight Hub TV]
UFC President Dana White has just announced that Junior dos Santos will now be fighting Frank Mir at UFC 146 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dos Santos was originally set to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC 146, but at the pre-fight press conference the Nevada State Athletic Commission surprised 6 of the main card fighters with a drug screen. All of them passed with the exception of Overeem who was flagged for having an extremely high Testosterone to Epitosterone (T:E) ratio. Overeem’s ratio was 14:1, and the limit he had to come under was 6:1.
The athletic commission announced a hearing for April 24, but the UFC isn’t going to wait around for the results. Rumors ran rapid that Overeem would try to get a therapeutic use exemption at the hearing, and he still might, but it will now be about clearing his name and not about getting a license for the heavyweight bout. Overeem earned the title shot by beating Brock Lesnar for the number one contender spot at UFC 140 on the annual New Years card.
Frank Mir was scheduled to face former UFC champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 146, but as of publication an opponent for Velasquez has yet to be announced. There are plenty of heavyweights on the card to shuffle around so you can expect that he will still get a fight against someone.
On March 6, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the fifth fight that would be scheduled to air during the Pay-Per-View broadcast of UFC 146. That bout was another heavyweight bout between Stefen Struve and Mark Hunt. This will mark the first time in the company’s history that all fights on the main card will be competed in the heavyweight division. I believe that this card started out as an accident for having mostly heavyweights, but grew into a forced live experiment by the UFC brass.
The good: This is a great strategy that may play out well for the UFC three to four months afterwards. By having the champ defend his title against the latest challenger, a number one contender fight and three other bouts battling for position within the division will answer many questions in the one night. Dana White, the president of the UFC, is asked ‘all the time’ at post fight press conferences about whom the winners and losers will fight next. His response is always a truthful one in “I don’t know. We’ll have to see.” At the UFC 146 post fight presser; he will have a much clearer picture of whom each fighter should or could fight next.
Bellator Fighting Championship has been using this similar format to run their tournaments for years now, and it seems to be working for them and their audience. With all of these fighters fighting on the same night, injuries and typical medical suspensions almost become irrelevant because they will be on the same time table. This will level the playing field for the next fight, if the fighters from this card are matched up with an opponent from the same UFC 146 card for their next fight. Which again, Bellator has set the example for them to follow.
Summary: This makes future match making simpler and faster.
The bad: One of the best aspects of the largest MMA promotion in the world is their talent roster of over 300 active fighters. The heavyweight division is rapidly grown and is the deepest it has ever been. This division has almost been around since the beginning. Its long history dates back to UFC 12 in 1997 when the first heavyweight champ was crowned. However, the heavyweight division is still one of the shallowest divisions when compared to the other divisions (light heavyweight down to lightweight; featherweight through flyweight are new and still in development).
From UFC.com: Number of Fighters per Division
Heavyweight 33; Light Heavies 35; Middleweight 48; Welterweight 64; Lightweight 57
The UFC is not using all of their resources to entertain the fans. With mixing the division on the cards, the fans get to see the sport they love used in different ways. One difference from the heavies from everyone else is the space in the cage. The heavies are at a disadvantage because they have slightly less space on the canvas to paint their art on. But the best example is the faster pace lighter fighters can work in compared to the heavies. Explained more below. Another worry is that these fights will end in the first three minutes. Heavies have a great reputation of ending each other early more than any other divisions. We will be tuning in to see hours of live MMA action as we are now accustom to, but only a combined 30 minutes of the main card.
Summary: No diversity for the audience and a quick night.
The grueling: When was the last time you saw a high paced heavyweight fight for more than one round? Heavyweights are huge men and their bodies need more oxygen to fuel those heavy muscles than the average lung can take in during each breath. Of course these men are professional athletes and will come into the fight in shape and under the 265-pound limit. What I am worried about is all or most of the ten fighters will start to gas out after the first few minutes of the fight. Do you remember season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show? I’m not talking about Rampage and Rashad’s epic confrontations. I’m talking about the slow, non-technical, heavy breathing action in the cage each week. Again, I’m not comparing that crop of new talent to all of the fighters on the 146 card.
My point is that the heavier a fighter is, the sooner they slow down in the cage. By the time the main event, or even co-main, rolls around we may already be bored to tears after three fights of huge men throwing looping punches, half hearted kicks, leaning on each other against the cage, checking the clock and gasping for air. This is not entertaining for most MMA fans. A part of that may be due to the fact that we are now accustom to the fighters in the lighter divisions fighting at a very high pace. These lighter fights are very entertaining, because they can do more moves, technics and combos with in the same window of opportunity as the heavies. We now expect to see that from every fight, including the big boys.
Summary: Great fear of slow moving action for three plus hours.
The card:
Heavyweight Championship: Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem
Heavyweight: Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir
Heavyweight: Antonio Silva vs. Roy Nelson
Heavyweight: Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve
Heavyweight: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane del Rosario
Tune in on May 26 to see how this historic event unfolds.
Photo from MMAFighting.com by Esther Lin
Former UFC heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and striking phenom Alistair Overeem both promised that their headlining fight at UFC 141 was bound to end early. Even referee Mario Yamasaki, the overseer of the contest, predicted that this one would be over in the first round. It took Overeem two minutes and 28 seconds to prove everyone right.
“Watch for Brock to come out like a freight train,” said commentator Mike Goldberg seconds before the fight began. Instead, we saw Lesnar hopping around the outside, throwing leg kicks and swatting tennative punches at a stalking Overeem. The Reem was in a low, deep stance, waiting for Lesnar to attack. The first take-down attempt was a snatch of a single-leg, but Lesnar quickly threw it away. Overeem soon blasted Lesnar with a knee to the body, and it was all down hill for the wrestler from there.
A few seconds later, Overeem unleashed another knee to the stomach, followed with a crippling body kick that sent Lesnar down. We had seen him hurt and down early like this against Carwin, where he amazingly survived and won. Overeem pounced with punches to write a different story, and Brock simply turtled up and waited for Yamasaki to step in and stop the fight.
Many questions arise from Lesnar’s lackluster performance. What was his gameplan? Overeem relies heavily on throwing kicks to the legs and body, why didn’t Brock try and turn these opportunities into take-downs? Even Fabricio Werdum was able to catch one of Overeems kicks and take him down. What about initiating a clinch and applying a Couture-style greco-grind against the fence, damaging the striker and setting up a take-down. It seemed that the Brock Lesnar who fought Heath Herring in 2008 would have given himself a better chance to win.
All of the questions seemed destined to be asked, but that was before Lesnar got on the mic. The former heavyweight champion announced his retirement, and gave a calm and honest farewell to the UFC.
“I’ve had a really difficult couple years with my disease,” said Lesnar. “And I’m officially going to say this is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon.”
Just like that, the career of a former champion ended. Lesnar has concluded his short but nominal five-year career at 5-3. His UFC victories have come over big names in Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Shane Carwin. These four victories skyrocketed the WWE superstar into one of the UFC’s largest all-time draws.
As Overeem said at the post-fight press conference, “Love him or hate him, it’s always something when Brock is fighting.” From the UFC and the fans, Lesnar is sure to be missed.
Photo from MMAFighting.com by Esther Lin
What a year it has been for the Ultimate Fighting Championship; the premier promotion in MMA. We were all witnesses to the Edgar-Maynard saga, the purchase of StrikeForce, filling a baseball stadium with over 55,000 fight fans, the rise of Jon Jones, the Twister, UFC on FOX, Nick Diaz’s actions and non-actions, Henderson-Shogun, the announcement of the Flyweights and countless fight moments along the way. However, the UFC has saved its biggest hook for the end of the year card, literally.
On Friday, December 30 in Las Vegas, the six-foot three, 265 pounds, former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and former UFC Heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (5-2-0 MMA; 4-2 UFC) will try and ruin the UFC debut of the six-foot five, 256 pounds, former StrikeForce and former K-1 Heavyweight Grand Prix champion, Alistair Overeem (35-11-1 MMA; 0-0 UFC). This is the quintessential “striker vs. grappler” match-up. Period. End of story. Thanks for playing.
This is one of those match-ups that fight fans have been arguing over and dreaming of ever since Lesnar made his MMA debut in 2007. We finally get to see the best fight the best. Since the purchase of StrikeForce by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, everyone has been wondering when cross-promotional fights were going to happen. For months after the purchase Dana White, president of the UFC, stated at every turn “it’s business as usual.” In a way, this is business as usual for the UFC. Giving fans fights that they want to see. We all wanted this fight to take place, so here we are. Consider this a late holiday gift from the magical wonder that is Zuffa.
Lesnar will have a huge advantage if he can get this fight to the ground, and frankly, the sooner the better for him. He will have an advantage in size, weight and position control experience if he can gain side control or even half guard. Lesnar has always been credited by peers for being able to move like a lightweight. You can clearly see why during his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 81. When Lesnar had top position over Mir and spun his hips over Mir’s head to his back so fast that he looked like a large tattooed blur. Lesnar’s half guard game was on full display at UFC 100, again, against Frank Mir. During the first round of action, Lesnar was in Mir’s half guard and was able to wrap on arm around the back of Mir’s neck. Some people referred to this as the “Brock Lock.” Mir was in a bad spot and could not use any of his BJJ black belt experience to get out of it and took serious damage.
However, the fight will start on the feet, as they all do. This will be an advantage for Overeem as this is the area for him to have the most success. He will undoubtedly be looking for the Knockout of the Night bonus, but he has to be smart about it. He cannot afford to put all of his energy behind every punch or strike like Lenard Garcia does. If he does, he will leave himself exposed to Lesnar’s explosive takedowns. Instead, look for “The Reem” to use footwork and angles to slip jabs, crosses and low-level leg kicks from the outside. Then he will create distance to reengage. The clinch is another avenue that Overeem may find success in. His knee strikes and trips are as powerful as they are accurate. If you recall the beginning of the end of his fight versus Brett Rogers in StrikeForce; it was a leg trip from the clinch that put Rogers on the mat. Soon after, Overeem finished him off with unanswered strikes against the cage. Overeem has also shown in the past that his guillotine submission is a force to be reckoned with. It must be all of that horsemeat he eats.
The bright lights and the big stage of the UFC should not be a factor for Overeem. This will be his 48th professional bout. His career has taken him all over the world, including two of his last three here in the United States. Lesnar is coming off of surgery and a long layover. “Octagon Rust,” if it exist, maybe a factor for Lesnar. He may also be overzealous to prove that he’s back and it’s ‘his’ octagon to the new comer. This may lead to him burning large amounts of energy quickly or losing composure in a semi-dangerous spot. I think Overeem will come out with a steady pace that keeps Lesnar on his heels and guessing.
Quick Breakdown…
Experience: Overeem
Striking: Overeem
Wrestling: Lesnar
Submissions: Overeem
Speed: Draw
Power: Draw
Official Prediction…
Overeem chops Lesnar down with leg kicks, punches and avoids the takedowns. Thus keeping the fight standing for most of the rounds. Overeem will TKO Lesnar in the second round.
K-1 Tournament Table
K-1 World Grand Prix took place in Seoul, Korea live September 26th on HDNet. Those of us who were up late watching on HDNet witnessed a stacked Grand Prix tournament featuring the likes of Semmy Schilt, Badr Hari, Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts, Jerome Le Banner, Melvin Manhoef, and Remy Bonjasky.
In the opening bout of the Grand Prix tournament Remy Bonjasky won a controversial decision over Melvin Manhoef. Manhoef showed us that he could mimic Bonjasky’s style and took it to the reigning three time K-1 World Grand Prix champion in round one, and round two was razor thin. Bonjasky opened up in round three and let his kicks go which easily won him the round. Most observers agree the bout should have gone an extension round.
Jerome Le Banner returned to his winning ways in easily the most exciting fight of the night defeating Musashi. Le Banner against Musashi was a back and forth battle letting their kicks and punches go. Mushashi showed up as the Musashi, but it wasn’t enough as he came up short after being dropped late in the third round which cost him the decision.
Alistair Overeem came in a much more technical fighter against his elder opponent Peter Aerts. Unlike his previous bout in K-1, Overeem’s conditioning was superb. Overeem’s defense was air tight as he managed to tire out Aerts later in the bout, winning him a convincing unanimous decision.
In the main event we witnessed Badr Hari completely destroy Zabit Samedov in a one-sided affair. From the opening bell Samedov couldn’t get anything going and Hari unleashed devastating combinations. To the credit of Samedov he was still in the fight until Hari landed a brutal shot to the body that sent him to the canvas at 2:35 into round one.
Results:
Badr Hari defeats Zabit Samedov via knock out (Right body punch) at 2:35 in round 1
Alistair Overeem defeats Peter Aerts via unanimous decision
Jerome Le Banner defeats Musashi via unanimous decision
Semmy Schilt defeats Daniel Ghita via unanimous decision
Ewerton Texeira defeats Singh Jaideep via unanimous decision (after 2 extension rounds)
Ruslan Karaev defeats Kyotaro via unanimous decision
Errol Zimmerman defeats Glaube Feitosa via majority decision
Remy Bonjasky defeats Melvin Manhoef via unanimous decision