Mar 182012
Mar 162012
(Photo courtesy of Bellator)
—MAIN CARD (on MTV2)—
Middleweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Maiquel Falcao vs. Norman Paraisy: Falcao via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), Round 3, 5:00
Middleweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Vitor Vianna vs. Brian Rogers: Rogers via KO (Flying Knee), Round 1, 4:14
Middleweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Vyacheslav Vasilevsky vs. Victor O’Donnell: Vasilevsky via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00
Middleweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Giva Santana vs. Bruno Santos: Santos via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00 Continue reading »
Mar 162012
On the heels of over a week-long hiatus, MMAGospel.com is back and ready to roll. The evening of Wednesday, March 7 marked the beginning of a domain transfer that turned into a process much more lengthy than anticipated due to several technical errors that occurred during said transfer, hence why the website sporadically was unavailable during that time. We still are working out a few kinks, however MMAGospel.com will resume full MMA coverage immediately. Hang in there with us, and please pardon our progress – it will be well worth the wait. Thanks to all for the continued support.
Mar 072012
(Video courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
Mar 062012
UFC welterweight Thiago Alves, though always one to bring the fight, has won just two of his last five bouts and now may be forced to make a shift in his career to again attain title contention. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)
“Pitbull” Thiago Alves (19-9) has had mixed success inside the Octagon over the past two years, going 2-2 in his last four bouts. His March 2 pairing at UFC on FX 2 in Sydney, Australia against “The Hitman” Martin Kampmann (19-5) went from being a certain victory to an embarrassing failure with one poor decision. With only 48 seconds left in the third round of a bout Alves was dominating, Kampmann took advantage of a takedown and locked on a Guillotine Choke just moments after being rocked on the feet. Now Alves has only two wins in his past five fights, though in those losses he remained aggressive and competitive. The questions surrounding the former title challenger to the welterweight title do not involve his fire to compete or his personal life. They focus on his abilities to control his impulses and the decisions he must now make in his career. The answers to those questions may be hard pills to swallow. Continue reading »
Mar 062012
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Mar 052012
It was an amazing weekend for MMA. The UFC kicked off its flyweight division with an entertaining, non-stop, action-packed scrap between Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall and Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson on Friday night. And Saturday night saw women’s MMA reinvigorated by two great fights between Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis and the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Title bout between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey. However, it wasn’t all good…
Here on MMA Gospel, we do a column after fights called “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and I’m going to use that format with my own spin: The Epic and the WTF?! It was originally going to be “The Epic, the Shitty and the WTF?” but I found it hard to separate the shitty from the WTF. Continue reading »
Mar 042012
Ronda Rousey (top) earned the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Title along with her fifth straight first-round win via Armbar when she dislocated Miesha Tate's (bottom) elbow. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
Strikeforce comes back in a big way for its second offering of 2012 as the ladies took center stage for only the second time in promotional history. Just like the first time when “Cyborg” Cristiane Santos (10-1) took the women’s 145lbs. title from “Conviction” Gina Carano (7-1), the headlining bout was an ultra-hyped, fast paced affair in which the challenger dominated completely. “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (5-0) took just over four minutes to severely damage “Takedown” Miesha Tate’s (12-3) arm en route to a championship victory. Lightweight title contenders met as KJ Noons (11-5) dropped a lackluster decision to “The Punk” Josh Thomson (19-4). British bomber “Semtex” Paul Daley (29-12) continued his downward slide as “Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (25-11) took control of their fight. Journeyman Lumumba Sayers (6-2) made certain that “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (17-10) had a very disappointing welcome back to the middleweight division and former champ “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (15-3) returned to his winning ways against Strikeforce newcomer Bristol Marunde (12-7). The main event delivered on its hype and the card was solid, but not everyone can be a winner. To assess the damage, MMA Gospel has “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”.
Mar 042012
Constantinos Philippou (blue gloves) took control of his fight with Court McGee (red gloves) once he began to find a home for his powerful uppercuts and hooks. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
Friday night the UFC kicked off a weekend of high caliber MMA action with yet another top flight free card on FX. UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann was the whole of MMA in a nutshell, with which a first-timer could get a little taste of everything that prevails in the sport from that one card. Constantinos Philippou (10-2) opened the card with a brief introduction to the concept of the sport as he displayed the gamut of skill sets in his decision win over “The Crusher” Court McGee (12-2). From there the newcomer would be exposed to the fans’ ability to cry foul at the slightest provocation from the judges as well as the general ineptitude of the athletic commissions when “Mighty Mouse” Demetrious Johnson (12-2-1 ) and “Uncle Creepy” Ian McCall (10-2-1) fought to a Majority Draw that was originally reported incorrectly as a Majority Decision for Johnson. Joseph Benavidez (13-2) showed how things can end violently and unexpectedly when he blasted Yasuhiro Urushitani (16-5-5) into unconsciousness just 11 seconds into round two after a competitive first period. Finally, main event “The Hitman” Martin Kampmann (19-5) showed the MMA virgin how, as Yogi Berra said, it ain’t over till it’s over with his stunning come-from-behind Guillotine Choke victory over “The Pitbull” Thiago Alves (18-9) late in the third. Continue reading »
Mar 032012
(Photo courtesy of Showtime and Zuffa, LLC.)
—MAIN CARD (on Showtime)—
Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey: Rousey via Submission (Armbar), Round 1, 4:27
Josh Thomson vs. KJ Noons: Thomson via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00
Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki: Misaki via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29), Round 3, 5:00
Scott Smith vs. Lumumba Sayers: Smith via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 1, 1:34
Ronaldo Souza vs. Brisol Marunde: Souza via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke), Round 3, 2:43 Continue reading »
Mar 022012
Jake Nauracy built an impressive 10-0 amateur record that made other major Chicagoland MMA camps wary of putting their fighters in the cage with him. (Photo courtesy of Cut Throat MMA)
The search for aspiring young professional fighters with the skill and grit to be the next big thing continues as MMA Gospel scours the country in search of the next MMA Gospel Young Gun. The “Young Gun” is a fighter yet unnoticed by the MMA world at large who has the training, skill, and athleticism to be the next big name in the sport. This time, MMA Gospel’s search led to a young amateur fighter in northern Indiana. Torres Martial Arts fighter Jake Nauracy (0-0) has yet to make his jump into the professional ranks, but he has already made a splash on the Chicago MMA scene. The Cut Throat MMA Bantamweight Champion is 10-0 as an amateur and has submitted all but one of his opponents, defeating nine within the first three minutes of the very first round. That lone foe who escaped submission, he knocked out in just 11 seconds. Nauracy’s reputation and skill caught the eyes of the crew over at Bellator Fighting Championships, allowing Jake to skip the little leagues and make his debut as a pro with one of the three major players in North American MMA. MMA Gospel CEO and staff writer Dan Griffin caught up with Jake on Tuesday and here is what the tough young submission artist had to say.
Mar 022012
(Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
—MAIN CARD (on FX)—
Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann: Kampmann via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 3, 4:12
Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani: Benavidez via TKO (Punch), Round 2, 0:11
Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall: Bout ruled a Majority Draw (29-28, 29-29, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00
Court McGee vs. Constantinos Philippou: Philippou via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00 Continue reading »
Mar 022012
Form sponsored Urijah Faber, Jon Jones, and many other WEC and UFC champions.
Mar 012012
"Hands of Steel" Scott Smith (right) likely will once again find himself playing the underdog role in his Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey match-up, however it is a role he has come to thrive in. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
The second installment of Strikeforce action in 2012 takes place this Saturday in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (17-9) returns from a timely lay-off to take on one of the middleweight division’s rising new stars, Lumumba Sayers (5-2). “The Punk” Josh Thomson (18-4) is back from injury and will be greeted by KJ Noons (11-4) in his return. Midway through the main card, two dynamos of the sport meet as knockout artist “Semtex” Paul Daley (29-11-2) battles a fellow veteran in “Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (24-11-2). Bristol Marunde (12-6) makes his Strikeforce debut in the co-main event but has a steep mountain to climb in the form of submission ace, “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (14-3). The main event has been turning heads for some time and now it finally comes to fruition when “Takedown” Miesha Tate (12-2) puts her women’s welterweight title on the line against “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (4-0). With all the action already placed on the main card, here’s a glance of what to look out for when the combatants take to the cage. Continue reading »