UFC 144 Pre-Fight Breakdown: Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader

 Posted by at 2:37 PM  MMA News, UFC  No Responses »
Feb 242012
 

Fighting once again in Japan and in what could be the closing moments of his career, Quinton Jackson (left) finds himself superior in nearly all aspects when pitted against Ryan Bader. Jackson has chosen to slug his fights out but being in Japan could drive him to bring all facets of his game to light. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

It’s been some time but the UFC will make its long awaited return to Japan this Saturday with UFC 144. Lightweights are charged with kicking off the main card when “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (21-6) encounters “Showtime” Anthony Pettis (14-2). Japanese sensation Hatsu Hioki (23-4-2) will meet “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski (35-13) and “Thunder” Yushin Okami (26-6) takes on “The Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (14-4). Jake Shields (26-6-1) and “Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-5) engage in a promising welterweight showdown. Cheick Kongo (17-6-2) could be in for a kickboxing clinic when he battles K-1 veteran “Super Samoan” Mark Hunt (7-7). Before “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (14-1-1) defends his lightweight title against “Smooth” Ben Henderson (14-2) in the main event, a co-main event of epic proportions has been set as “Darth” Ryan Bader (13-2) flies to foreign territory to take on “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (31-9). Jackson, an accomplished veteran, and Bader, a promising star, are at pivotal points in their careers and a victory at UFC 144 can be the very defining moment on which to perch their futures.

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Spilled Bag of Fights: Don’t Cry!

 Posted by at 3:56 PM  Spilled Bag of Fights  2 Responses »
Sep 272011
 

Some people watch The Ultimate Fighter purely for the fights and don’t like the reality TV element. These people tend to be party-pooping wet blankets who think that they’re too good for a little mindless voyeuristic entertainment. Either way, the stuffy “purists” were treated to almost two hours of nothing but fights on the Season 14 premiere of TUF on Wednesday.  The fights were pretty solid – as to be expected from bantamweight and featherweight fighters. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Salutes A Living Legend: Mirko “Cro Cop”

 Posted by at 7:47 PM  Features, MMA News, UFC  No Responses »
Mar 232011
 

Mirko "Cro Cop", though on a visible skid lately - most prominently marked by being cut from the UFC this weekend - is still widely considered one of the best MMA fighters of all time. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Herbertson and Sherdog)

Mirko “Cro Cop”: PRIDE legend. UFC veteran. Famed knockout artist. Dangerous striker. Revered K-1 kickboxer. Feared opponent.

Mirko Filipovic (27-9-2) invokes a plethora of different thoughts and emotions – the less pleasant of which likely belong to those who had the misfortune of facing him in a kickboxing match or MMA fight. Weaved through his roots with K-1 stemming back to 1998 to his mixed martial arts career that spans nearly a decade has always been one constant factor: Mirko is one of the most respected fighters in the world. Continue reading »

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Looking for the Underdog: Vitor Belfort

 Posted by at 7:34 AM  Features, MMA News, UFC  1 Response »
Feb 052011
 

"The Phenom" Vitor Belfort will face his toughest opponent to date in UFC Middleweight Champion "The Spider" Anderson Silva tonight at UFC 126. (Photo courtesy of Terry Goodland and Sherdog)

As a prelude to Super Bowl XLV, tonight’s stacked UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort card promises an exhilarating night of fights for both the casual and avid fans. The bout that many fans are looking forward to in particular is the main event’s 185lbs. clash between longtime UFC Middleweight Champion and top rated pound-for-pound fighter in the world “The Spider” Anderson Silva (27-4) and PRIDE veteran “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (19-8). After seeing Silva dominated for nearly all 25 minutes of his bout against the previous title challenger Chael Sonnen (24-11-1) at UFC 117 in August, the aura of invincibility that once shrouded Silva has been nearly destroyed, leaving many fans to believe that Vitor Belfort will be the man to expose Silva’s human vulnerabilities once and for all and dethrone the champion. At the very least, the vast majority of the MMA community agree that Belfort’s combination of hand speed and power will be enough to force Silva into fighting seriously and showing vestiges of the vintage Anderson Silva that finished his first five UFC opponents in a combined time just under 22 minutes. For his part, Belfort has looked amazing since 2006, the year when both he and Silva last lost. However, many pundits will point out that Vitor has faced less than UFC caliber competition since his last defeat, leaving naysayers to question whether “The Phenom” truly has the tools to push Anderson Silva or if he was simply made to look good by sub-par opponents. This fight will further reveal the mystique of the champion in one way or another, but more than that it will tell fans about the true abilities of Vitor Belfort.

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Spilled Bag of Fights: Don’t Take That Bullsh*t!

 Posted by at 10:03 PM  MMA News, Spilled Bag of Fights  4 Responses »
Jan 032011
 

Happy New Year, kids. And here we are with the very first column of the new year. The pressure, man… the goddamn pressure! So, back last year we had the DREAM: Dynamite!! 2010 card that had about thirty-eight fights. Holy shit, just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap. Granted, most things make me want to take a nap and it may also be the fact that the card started at like 1am and was almost three days long. Luckily, the place I was staying in Vegas had Direct TV and HDNet so, I didn’t have to watch it hunched over a laptop for three days. I didn’t make it through the whole card in one sitting but I did make it to daybreak and I didn’t have to kill anything for food or drink my own urine but it did test my dedication to MMA. Continue reading »

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DREAM: Dynamite!! 2010 Results

 Posted by at 10:03 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 312010
 

(Photo courtesy of DREAM)

—DREAM openweight bout—

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Hiroshi Izumi: Izumi via TKO (Punches), Round 3, 2:50

—DREAM featherweight bout—

Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Caol Uno: Miyata via Unanimous Decision

—DREAM featherweight bout—

Hideo Tokoro vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe: Tokoro via Submission (Armbar), Round 3, 2:02

—DREAM Featherweight Championship Bout—

Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya: Takaya via Unanimous Decision*

—DREAM lightweight bout—

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Josh Thomson: Kawajiri via Unanimous Decision

—DREAM welterweight bout—

Andy Ologun vs. Katsuaki Furuki: Ologun via Unanimous Decision

—DREAM welterweight bout—

Hayato Sakurai vs. Jason High: High via Split Decision

—DREAM Welterweight Championship bout—

Marius Žaromskis vs. Kazushi Sakuraba: Zaromskis via TKO (Doctor Stoppage), Round 1, 2:16**

—DREAM heavyweight bout—

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Tatsuya Mizuno: Kharitonov via KO (Knee), Round 1, 1:25

—DREAM heavyweight bout—

Jérôme Le Banner vs. Satoshi Ishii: Ishii via Unanimous Decision

—DREAM Interim Heavyweight Championship bout—

Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee: Overeem via KO (Knee and Punches), Round 1, 0:19***

—K-1 bout—

Gegard Mousasi vs. Kyotaro Fujimoto: Mousasi via Unanimous Decision

—K-1 MAX bout—

Akiyo Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamato: N/A, Majority Draw (30-30, 30-30, 29-30)

—DREAM/K-1 special rules bout—

Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashima: Nagashima via KO (Flying Knee and Punches), Round 2, 0:04

*Hiroyuki Takaya becomes the new DREAM Featherweight Champion.

**Marius Zaromskis retains his title as DREAM Welterweight Champion.

***Alistair Overeem earns the DREAM Interim Heavyweight Championship title.

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MMA Gospel Exclusive: “Mayhem” Miller Dishes on His Career, Nick Diaz, and Reveals Breaking News About “Bully Beatdown”

 Posted by at 8:22 PM  MMA Gospel Exclusives, MMA News  23 Responses »
Nov 022010
 

Strikeforce middleweight "Mayhem" Jason Miller stars in MTV's hit reality series "Bully Beatdown". Miller revealed exclusively to MMA Gospel the surprise in store for fans in the premiere episode of the show's third season, airing Thursday at 11pm ET. (Photo courtesy of MTV)

“Mayhem” Jason Miller (23-6) has become arguably one of the most recognizable faces in modern-day mixed martial arts. Despite having an accomplished MMA career with stints in the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, and DREAM, Miller is perhaps even more well-known for his world class smack-talk and antics outside the cage.  The middleweight madman was a key player in one of the most unsavory moments in recent MMA history – the Strikeforce: Nashville post-fight brawl in April. [The newly-crowned Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (26-4-1) was being interviewed in the cage following his defeat over UFC and PRIDE veteran “Hendo” Dan Henderson (25-8) when Miller approached and asked Shields for a rematch from their November 2009 bout, which Shields won via unanimous decision. Shields’ teammates Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz (22-8) and “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez (18-2) as well as others then entered the cage, dropped “Mayhem” with a punch and kicked him repeatedly while he was on the ground. The cameras were rolling and the entire scene was aired live on CBS.]  The incident threw napalm on an already heated rivalry between Miller and  Diaz.  In the six months since, Miller resumed his role as the star of the MTV hit reality series “Bully Beatdown” for the third consecutive season, challenged Diaz to a Strikeforce rematch (taking a page out of the champ’s book and telling him “Don’t be scared, homie!”), and defeated his childhood idol “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (24-13-1) at DREAM 16 last month. Not too shabby.

MMA Gospel caught up with Miller earlier today to get his thoughts on his fighting career, Nick Diaz, and the inevitably best season yet of Bully Beatdown, including breaking news about the show’s premiere episode, as revealed to MMA Gospel by Miller himself. Continue reading »

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Counting Out Ken: Why “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” is Far From Done

 Posted by at 10:10 PM  MMA News  11 Responses »
Oct 042010
 

Ken Shamrock damages Don Frye's ACL with a heel hook in what was an outstanding performance despite the loss. (file photo)

It’s been a long hard road for “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (27-14-2).  From his first appearance against Masakatsu Funaki (39-12-1) at Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 in September of 1993 to his recent dismantlement by “The Rock” Pedro Rizzo (18-9) at Impact FC 2: The Uprising in July of this year, Ken Shamrock has faced 31 separate opponents ranging from the legendary Royce Gracie (14-3-3) and “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1) to modern era superstars “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) and ”Ace” Rich Franklin (27-5).  He has recently fallen on hard times, however, dropping five of his last six outings and posting a meager 3-8 record since the turn of the century.  This has led many fans and journalists to implore the UFC hall-of-famer to hang up his four-ounce gloves for good.  Shamrock sees it differently. In fact he believes the exact opposite.  He doesn’t believe that he should stop fighting, he told Sherdog.com that he should fight more…and I, for one, believe him. Continue reading »

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