The Fighter Warehouse Black Friday Weekend Sale has a deal in which you can Buy any two or more on gear or apparel items and get 25% off your entire order! Plus you also get FREE Shipping!
Coupon Code: BFS2425 click here
Official Site: FightersWarehouse Site
Last night (September 17, 2011) was not the night for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins. After a tough string of injuries that cancelled two fights, he finally made his post-TUF debut against Erik Koch on the UFC Fight Night 25 main card.
Brookins had decided to drop down to his more competitive weight of 145 pounds and the UFC wasn’t doing him any favors. His opponent, Erik Koch, was one of the fastest rising prospects in the featherweight division.
The TUF season 12 winner brought a solid gameplan to the fight but it simply wasn’t enough to compensate for the dramatic skill difference in striking as Koch would come away with a unanimous decision victory.
So how did Koch pull it off and what does the UFC do with both men now?
From the early onset of the fight, it was obvious that Brookins did not want to stand with Koch for extended periods of time. He’d improved his striking defense slightly, but he was still nowhere near Koch’s level in terms of technical ability or power. If he wanted to win, he’d have to make this fight ugly, and that’s exactly what he tried to do.
Whenever he’d stood with Koch for a bit too long, Brookins would charge in, wrapping the Duke Roufus-trained featherweight up and pressing him against the fence. The long haired blonde repeatedly worked for takedowns but Koch showcased a strong base and was very difficult to put down.
Whenever Koch got some separation, he would land some nice combinations but he could never hit that big power shot that really hurt Brookins.
Koch’s biggest mistake was his inability to get off the fence while Brookins was spending a considerable amount of time pinning him there and working for takedowns.
Regardless, the rules of scoring a fight favor grappling and striking and while Brooking was controlling much of the Octagon, he wasn’t hurting Koch and the Rufousport fighter’s strikes more than made up for it. In the end, Koch was awarded a unanimous decision victory in a ho-hum fight.
For Jonathan Brookins, he has nothing to be ashamed of. He fought the smartest fight he could to even the odds and make up for the dramatic skill difference. While he showcased some improvements, he still needs to put in some time working on his striking defense and head movement so he’s more difficult to hit. Another weapon he should consider adding to his arsenal is working in more attacks with strikes from the clinch. Brookins may not have the most power, but an opponent pinned against the cage is a sitting duck for dirty boxing, knees and short elbows.
Brookins will likely face a mid to low level featherweight in his next bout. He’s a bit of a quandary though so the UFC may throw him against anyone from Rani Yahya or perhaps a healed up Josh Grispi or Matt Grice.
For Koch, his performance was solid, but not as dominating as expected. He has some serious problems getting off the fence while Brookins was digging for takedowns and that could be an issue against the very best wrestlers at the top of the division. Koch will likely face a top 15 featherweight coming off a win like Javier Vazquez, Mike Brown or perhaps the winner of the upcoming fight between Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza.
So what did you think Maniacs?
Were you on the side of the crowd that didn’t appreciate Brookins’ gameplan? Did Koch show you anything in this fight that makes you believe he can be a contender?
Sound off!
All gifs by Zombie Prophet via IronForgesIron.com
View full post on MMAmania.com
Contrary to popular belief — and 14 Octagon appearances worth of visual evidence — UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is not bulletproof.
His opponents may not be able to come close to hurting him but he’s suffered his fair share of injuries, almost all of them during training. This past camp was no different, as “The Spider” injured his shoulder while preparing for his bout against Yushin Okami at UFC 134 on Aug. 27 in Brazil.
It didn’t stop him from utterly dominating “Thunder,” knocking him out in the second round. What’s new, right?
It will, however, sideline him for the remainder of the year, as he’s likely to ride the pine until early 2012 while he rehabilitates. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he won’t require surgery, as initially feared.
MMAFighting.com gets the word from Silva’s manager, Ed Soares.
Anderson Silva’s injured shoulder will most likely keep him out until early 2012, Silva’s manager Ed Soares informed MMA Fighting on Saturday night.
Silva injured his shoulder in training for his UFC 134 fight against Yushin Okami last month, which he won via second-round TKO. There was some fear within his camp that he would have to undergo surgery, but Soares said Silva will simply need rehab to heal it.
It’s unfortunate for UFC that its middleweight king is on the shelf for the remainder of the calendar year, especially when considering how distraught its fanbase is at the main events of a few upcoming fight cards.
UFC 139 (headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Cung Le) and UFC 140 (headlined by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir part deux) are two shows that don’t exactly have fans racing to their remotes to order the pay-per-views.
The glass might be half full, though, when one stops to think about it. Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann will have their number one contender bout on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas. The winner will have plenty of time to hype his ensuing title shot.
Especially if it’s Sonnen.
Plus, Silva is 36-years-old and rapidly leaving his athletic prime. No need to rush back. The greatest fighter on Earth deserves a bit of a break, no?
View full post on MMAmania.com
Fans looking forward to the scheduled co-main event fight at UFC 135 on Sept. 24 in Denver were dealt a big blow when Diego Sanchez broke his hand and was forced to pull out with just over two weeks away from showtime, leaving Matt Hughes in the lurch.
They may not be disappointed for long, though.
That’s because UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has a direct line to a certain fighter in the welterweight division who has been champing at the bit to not only climb back inside the cage but has been calling out Hughes for years.
“Kos” is healthy and finally ready to return to the Octagon for the first time since getting his face broken by Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre back in Dec. 2010. And there’s no man he would rather do it against than Hughes, even if it means taking the fight on less than three week’s notice.
But will Hughes accept the bout? If he’s “man enough,” he will. That’s what Koscheck told USA Today just last night:
“He wants big-name fighters. He’s getting near the end of his career. I think he’ll take the fight because it’s good for the sport and good for the UFC. I’m a big-name fighter, so he can take that and run with it. I put it out there. I told UFC I’d do it, and if Matt Hughes is man enough, he’ll step up and do it. I think he’ll do it. I think he’ll take the fight.”
If you think this is Koscheck simply trying to get his turn at the bone before it disappears for good, you would be wrong. He’s been calling out the former welterweight champion for a long time.
In fact, the first time he did so publicly was back in 2009 after he knocked out Frank Trigg and Hughes had re-signed with the UFC. He claimed at that time that he had been wanting the fight for years. His requests were denied and eventually swept under the table.
Until now.
The UFC has turned to Koscheck to help get them out of a pinch and he’s more than willing to step up to the plate. But will Hughes play ball? He didn’t want the fight back in 2009, why would he want it a full two years later?
Stay tuned, Maniacs.
View full post on MMAmania.com
It’s official. B.J. Penn signs on the dotted line to face Carlos Condit in a welterweight fight at UFC 137, which will likely receive second billing under the championship clash between Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz. UFC 137: “St. Pierre vs. Diaz” is scheduled to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Oct. 29, 2011. To check out the latest UFC 137 fight card rumors click here.
View full post on MMAmania.com
Two heavyweights going in different directions will collide this Saturday night (August 27, 2011) on the main card of UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as the fast-rising prospect Brendan Schaub takes on one of the all-time greats in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Brendan Schaub is currently riding a huge wave of momentum after four straight victories in the heavyweight division. He’s caught some flack for calling out aging legends, but it’s helped him rise to the top of the division. He’s hoping to potentially earn a title shot with a victory over “Big Nog.”
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a former UFC and Pride heavyweight champion who’s looking to bounce back after a tough run. He’s gone 1-2 in his last three UFC fights and recently took 18 months off to rehabilitate several nagging injuries. He’s hoping to halt Schaub’s momentum in front of his hometown fans and become a player in the division again.
Will the upstart Schaub add another fading legend to his career resume? More importantly, does “Big Nog” have anything left in the tank? Which heavyweight will jump into the title picture with a huge victory on Saturday night?
Brendan Schaub
Record: 8-1 overall, 4-1 in the UFC
Key Wins: Mirko Filipovic (UFC 128), Gabriel Gonzaga (UFC 121), Chris Tuchscherer (UFC 116)
Key Losses: Roy Nelson (The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale)
How he got here: After playing football at Colorado, Brendan Schaub had a brief stint in the professional leagues, playing some arena football as well as spending time on the Buffalo Bills practice squad. When it became apparent he wasn’t going to make it in football, “The Hybrid” turned to fighting.
After developing his skills in Colorado at the Grudge Training Center and winning his first four professional fights in less than four minutes combined, Schaub made his big debut on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Schaub impressively blasted his way to the finals, defeating eventual UFC competitors Marcus Jones and Jon Madsen via knockout in the process.
In the finals, his lack of experience would come into play as Roy Nelson made him crash and burn with a huge right hand that sent him to the canvas for his first career loss.
Schaub has since rebounded nicely, scoring easy first round knockouts against Chase Gormley and Chris Tuchscherer before being thrown to the big dogs. He handled former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga over the course of three rounds and followed it up with a devastating third round knockout of fading legend Mirco “Cro Cop” Filipovic in what had been a hotly contested bout.
Schaub called out former Pride and UFC heavyweight champion Nogueira afterwards and had his wish granted on the UFC 134 main card.
How he gets it done: As much as he’s said that he’s not afraid of going to the ground against Nogueira, that would be a really, really bad idea. “Minotauro” still has what is most likely the best submission game in the heavyweight division, at least in the UFC.
What Schaub really needs to do is try to strike with the Brazilian and land his huge right hand. “The Hybrid” has some massive power in his right hand that helped him earn three knockouts in his four UFC victories and he was incredibly close to knocking out Gonzaga in the first round of their fight as well.
The wisest plan of action would be to keep his distance from Nogueira, avoid the clinch or takedown attempts and wait for an opening to connect, similar to what Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez did in the past. “Big Nog’s” chin isn’t what it once was and Schaub is powerful enough to crack him.
If for some reason the fight goes to the ground, Schaub has two options: stay on top and look to land punishing ground and pound or immediately scramble back to his feet. Scrambling would be the safest plan of action as Schaub will the the more explosive fighter and will hopefully be able to get back to standing where he’s got the biggest advantage.
Expect to see Schaub headhunting for a knockout from start to finish.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Record: 32-6-1 (1 No Contest) overall, 3-2 in the UFC
Key Wins: Randy Couture (UFC 102), Tim Sylvia (UFC 81), Fabricio Werdum (Pride Critical Countdown)
Key Losses: Cain Velasquez (UFC 110), Frank Mir (UFC 92), Fedor Emelianenko 2x (Pride Shockwave 2004, Pride 25)
How he got here: Boy, where do we start? Despite being one of the greatest Brazilian fighters of all time and having competed in 40 bouts throughout his illustrious career, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has never fought in Brazil.
He first made an impact in the Japanese promotion “Rings,” losing the promotions 16 man “King of Kings” tournament in the semifinals to Dan Henderson in a controversial split decision. He would get his revenge a year later, winning the tournament before making the jump to Pride Fighting Championships.
“Minotauro” began a dominant seven fight run in Pride, winning the promotion’s heavyweight title and avenging his earlier loss to Dan Henderson. He would lose his title to Fedor Emelianenko in a thrilling three round affair in which “The Last Emperor” stunned onlookers by showing no fear of Nogueira’s deadly guard.
After five straight victories over top heavyweights like Mirko Filipovic, Ricco Rodriguez and Sergei Kharitonov, he would be granted a rematch against Emelianenko. The much-hyped fight would be cut short from an accidental headbutt resulting in a “No Contest”, but Emelianenko would again defeat Nogueira the third time around, this time primarily keeping the fight standing.
After going 5-1 to close out his Pride career, Nogueira made his UFC debut, defeating Heath Herring for the third time in classic fashion, surviving a huge shot and coming back to win a decision. He would be granted an interim title shot with the victory against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and would again get rocked early but came back to score a submission victory and be crowned the UFC heavyweight champion.
Since then, Nogueira has had many issues, he’s only fought three times in the last three and a half years, losing his title via technical knockout to Frank Mir, defeating Randy Couture in a thrilling battle and then getting destroyed via first round knockout by Cain Velasquez.
The king of the half guard has been on the shelf for the last 18 months recovering from a massive amount of surgeries to his knees and hips which he hopes will revitalize his career. His trek back to the top begins with Brendan Schaub.
How he gets it done: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be slower, less powerful and less agile than his opponent in this upcoming fight and it would be wise if he took a page from Randy Couture’s playbook. He’ll need to cut off Schaub’s escape routes in the Octagon and try to pin him along the fence to either work his clinch game or take the fight to the ground.
“Minotauro” is not a terrific wrestler, but he does have a black belt in judo so he just needs to find some leverage to take this fight to the ground. By getting in close, he also will be neutralizing Schaub’s immense power and potentially providing openings to land short elbow strikes like the one Filipovic landed that busted “The Hybrid’s” nose up pretty badly in his last fight.
Another strategy would be to use Schaub’s confidence against him. It may just be pre-fight bluster, but the Grudge-trained fighter has stated that he’s not afraid to go to the ground against Nogueira, so why not invite him? Don’t be surprised to see “Big Nog” pull guard and challenge Schaub to come to the ground against him. If he chooses to do so, expect to see some crazy half guard sweep attempts and submissions to be flying from all over the place.
Inviting Schaub to the ground may be the best strategy of all because unlike Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, “The Hybrid” may not be able to resist.
Fight “X-Factor:” There are two key “X-Factors” for this fight. The first is Nogueira’s chin. ”Big Nog” was known for his legendary ability to take a beating and keep on coming, but the accumulation of damage he’s absorbed throughout his career has taken a tremendous toll on him and he’s been knocked out in two of his last three fights. Brendan Schaub hits just as hard as Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, so it will be vital for Nogueira to have improved his striking defense so as to not get tagged with a power strike.
The other factor is the surgeries Nogueira has had. He had knee surgery as well as two hip surgeries and he says that after over three years, he’s finally fighting at 100%. Were all the injuries a major factor in his recent losses? Will Nogueira have an extra bounce in his step after allowing his body to finally rest and recover? That’s something we’ll have to wait and see come fight night.
Bottom Line: This bout is oozing with potential. If it stays standing, it’ll be exciting. If it goes to the clinch, expect a huge tug of war there and if it goes to the ground, anything could happen. The easy pick would be to choose Branden Schaub via knockout, but Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has only ever been defeated by some of the best fighters either in MMA history or the current best of the modern age. There’s no telling how much of a factor the huge Brazilian crowd or the pressure could play into this fight. Expect anything and everything.
Who will come out on top at UFC 134? Tell us your prediction in the comments below!
View full post on MMAmania.com
“The Cursed City of Hurt” has claimed another victim.
According to a report from Guilherme Cruz of Tatame.com, and since confirmed by Dana White himself, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has suffered an injury and been forced to pull out of his scheduled co-main event fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.
This continues the trend of injuries suffered by major players on upcoming fight cards that recently claimed Phil Davis and knocked him out of the main event of the evening against Rashad Evans.
The UFC managed to find a replacement that actually provides a better match-up, at least in the eyes of most fans, when Tito Ortiz agreed to step in. Can they do the same for the co-headliner? Maybe Lyoto Machida would like to redeem himself for the bad press he was receiving thanks to his “Anderson Silva money” request earlier this week?
White did mention that UFC is working on a new fight and with all the recent bout announcements, it’s difficult to think of any number of willing and able names to participate.
Feel free to speculate in the comments section and stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
View full post on MMAmania.com
Justice may not be lost after all.
AX Combat 1, an event held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 8, featured a co-main event of Kim Couture vs. Sheila Bird, a fight won by the latter with a scissors choke in the first round.
The referee in the bout has since come under fire for his decision making process while Bird had the choke locked in. The short version of the story (read the long version with a detailed breakdown here) is that the ref in question failed to stop the fight for a full 10 seconds while Couture was completely unconscious.
Thankfully, fight fans aren’t the only ones with a problem with this. According to MMAWeekly.com, the Calgary Commission is launching an investigation into the matter:
“This matter is under review by the Calgary Combative Sports Commission and until a thorough investigation has been conducted there will be no further comment.”
Comments were also made in the full report by Couture herself, who is in decidedly better spirits than she probably should be. The high road can be difficult to travel but that’s exactly what she’s done.
Here’s what she had to say about the fight:
“I’m fine. I woke up and I thought the fight was still going on. Once I realized what was happening, I stood up and waved to the crowd, but I’m fine.”
The air on the high road is clean, indeed.
It’s certainly well-received news after most reports stated that after the ref finally broke up the choke, Couture was out on the mat, prone and convulsing for an entire minute.
Oh how long 60 seconds can be.
All’s well that ends well, at least on “Suger Free’s” end, but the referee may not, and in my opinion, should not, be so lucky.
Thoughts on what actions will or should be taken in this matter?
View full post on MMAmania.com
Must say, Maniacs, it’s hard not to get up for this one.
Two well-rounded champions, one a wrestler with serviceable striking, the other a boxer with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Respectful martial artist vs. in your face bravado, ain’t afraid to tell it how it is 2-0-9, kid.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz at UFC 137 on Oct. 29, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s still early, but what the hell — who ya got?
View full post on MMAmania.com
Why was Nate Marquardt hastily released from the UFC after failing his pre-fight medical exam on the eve of UFC on Versus 4 last weekend in Pittsburgh?
And why was promotion president Dana White “disgusted” by what transpired?
Those questions are expected to be answered later today (June 28) at 1 p.m. ET when the former middleweight number one contender breaks his silence over his messy break-up with the UFC.
Marquardt was reportedly made aware of the fact there was an issue with his medicals about six weeks before his scheduled fight against Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4 on June 26.
He was given that time to clear up whatever issue it is that he’s having so he could compete on the “Steel City” fight card. When he failed to meet those requirements, whatever they may be, he was suspended indefinitely by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission.
24 hours before a live broadcast, the UFC had to find a new main event.
An agitated White wasted little time releasing a video stating Marquardt is no longer welcome in the UFC before telling him to “man up” and let the world know exactly what’s going on, something he’s scheduled to do this afternoon on The MMA Hour.
Live updates of “Nate Gate” after the jump.
Be sure to check back with us at 1 p.m. ET for live updates.
View full post on MMAmania.com
