Junior Dos Santos and the heavyweight division

Cain Velasquez captured the UFC heavyweight belt in October of 2010. He was subsequently injured and couldn't defend his title until November of 2011 against Junior Dos Santos (JDS). JDS stuffed takedowns, blocked kicks and landed a bomb that put Cain out in 64 seconds. What was odd was the hype preceding this bout. The UFC sold Cain as a fighter with "zero weaknesses" and as a dominant fighter. It was an odd way to hype the fight as Cain is a great but flawed fighter. This isn't revisionist history either...I picked Cain to beat Brock and I picked JDS to beat Cain before both bouts happened. Cain is a very predictable fighter and has proven to be vulnerable in certain areas. JDS, on the other hand, has not looked vulnerable in any of his UFC bouts to date.

Cain is a great fighter with an unlimited gas tank. He has good power and a great wrestling base. The flaw I noticed immediately is that he has poor striking defense. He gets hit A LOT. In his fight against Cheick Kongo in June of 2009, he was rocked badly three times. His wrestling base helped him survive and outlast Kongo in that bout. Even against Noguiera and Lesnar, both victories for Cain, he got hit often and hard. Against a striker land finisher ike JDS, you can't make mistakes like this. This is why I also think JDS will steamroll Alistair Overeem when they fight in May. Against Werdum in June of 2011, Werdum was consistently able to land a lot on Overeem and lost a close decision. Werdum does not hit anywhere near as hard as JDS does. And all JDS needs is one opening to land a knock out blow.

The winner of Cain and Frank Mir (per Dana White) gets the next title shot against the JDS/Overeem winner. Assuming JDS and Cain win, why would anyone assume a fight between them would go any differently? Cain doesn't have the striking to stay on the feet and JDS proved in the first fight that he could stuff Cain's takedowns. Mir's ground game against JDS would be very interesting but JDS trains under Noguiera so he should be able to hold his own on the ground and stay out of trouble. Mir has never shown a great takedown game so I'm not sure he even could get it to the ground in the first place. If it stays a striking battle, I see JDS finishing Mir as well.

I think JDS will hold the belt for a long time. He's beaten grapplers (Werdum, Struve, Gonzaga), wrestler/striker hybrids (Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin and Cain) and pure strikers (Gilbert Yvel and Mirko Cro Cop). If he takes out Overeem, that would be a win over a recent K-1 champion. With all of the hype surrounding Jose Aldo, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva (rightfully so), JDS should be getting more hype as well. He's on his way to clearing out his division in the most stacked version of the heavyweight division in history. I might be getting too ahead of myself but I see JDS taking out Overeem and then taking out the Mir/Cain winner. Obviously, anything can happen in MMA but JDS has been that dominant and shown such a diverse all around game. I find his style fascinating because it's very predictable but it's so effective. He stuffs takedowns, throws minimal kicks and looks to land bombs with his fists. He's like a Chuck Liddell 2.0. Great athlete, great chin and a finisher.

Best of Pride Fighting Championships, Shogun Rua vs Alistair Overeem 2

This is a new feature that we are going to do just to show respect to the legends and showcase fights that people may or may not have seen before. This fight took place at Pride 33 in 2007 in the city of Las Vegas. To new MMA fans, Shogun may look like he is unbeatable one minute, a mere mortal the next. To clear things up, the guy has had 3 major reconstructive knee surgeries. I'm not laying out any excuses, just stating facts. As you can see from his earlier fights, he was a pent up ball of aggression in the cage. He now fights a lot more measured and intelligently as he doesn't have the explosiveness he had when he was younger.

Before Alistair Overeem became "Ubereem", he was a skinny, Dutch striker that fought at 205 pounds. He had varying success in Pride and this video is actually a rematch from their first meeting, a fight in which Shogun won by TKO.  In Shogun's UFC fights, he is a very good striker and often keeps the fight standing. In his Pride days, Shogun liked to drag guys to the ground and then unleash holy hell on them. He had/has some of the most devastating ground and pound in the sport. A recent example is his second fight with Lyoto Machida. He drops Machida with an overhand right and then he immediately follows Machida to the ground and lands in full mount. These are finishing instincts that are impossible to teach.

Anyways, in the above fight, Shogun and Overeem stand for a bit before going to the ground. Overeem doesn't want any part of Shogun on the ground due to Shogun's grappling advantage. They eventually hit the ground and Shogun immediately goes for kimuras as Overeem looks to sweep and get the fight back to a standing position. Overeem eventually gets the fight back to a standing position but then throws an ill-advised knee. Shogun catches the leg and takes him down with a single. From there, it is Shogun in top position looking to rain down blows. I won't spoil the ending but the bout ends in highlight reel fashion.

In Defense of Carlos Condit

MMA fans are a fickle bunch. I honestly believe (and it's just an opinion, I have zero facts to back this up) that the majority of MMA fans don't follow other sports and they're not used to the ups and downs that come along with following a team or fighter. That's why a fighter can lose and he was "never any good to begin with" or a fighter can win a couple in a row in devastating fashion and "he's never going to lose again." Now, I've been a Raiders fan all of my life...it's been a disaster for the most part but I've stayed loyal and will continue to stay loyal. Just because they have a bad season doesn't mean I can just jump to another team. Sports don't work that way. That being said, the level of hate that Condit has been getting lately is baffling.

Carlos Condit has 28 victories against 5 losses. Of those 28 victories, 26 (!) have been finished by either submission, TKO or KO. That's an insane finishing percentage. The 2 guys he didn't finish are Diaz and Jake Ellenberger. Diaz has been proven impossible to finish lately and Ellenberger is a top 3 welterweight in the world. These guys are not scrubs that he is fighting against. Most of the hate seems to be coming to him for 2 things. First, his fighting strategy against Nick Diaz was, to be honest, a letdown. Secondly, his decision to wait for GSP and not defend his interim title in the meantime has also ruffled some feathers in the MMA community.

Let's tackle the Diaz/Condit matchup first. Full disclosure: I was 100% rooting for Diaz in that fight. That being said, I scored the fight for Diaz 48-47. I scored rounds 1, 2 and 5 for Nick. Condit has been criticized for his strategy of running away from Diaz to then reset in the middle of the Octagon. My question is what else was he supposed to do??? Diaz likes to walk a guy down, trap him against the cage and start throwing bombs. Against BJ Penn, it worked because BJ would not get off the cage and his ego (plus his lack of cardio) wouldn't allow him to fight smart. While I personally didn't like the running Condit did at times, he had a great strategy and it worked. If anything, we should be blaming Diaz for never adjusting or not trying to get the fight to the ground until late in the 5th round. Hell, I enjoyed the fight, I just thought the wrong man won but I can honestly see a decision for either guy because the fight was hard to score. When fighters fight for points (I like ya Condit but you were point fighting against Diaz) it is confusing to score because what scores more? Jabs? Minor leg kicks? Walking a guy down? Takedowns? It's a kink in MMA that needs to be worked out and hasn't been yet. With due respect to Frankie Edgar, many of his recent fights have been almost impossible to score because of this.

Moving on, the second issue Condit is getting flack for is he has repeatedly stated his preference is to wait for GSP to get healthy. This is simple. Condit is a father and a husband who provides for his family. If Condit fights Ellenberger in the meantime, that show will top out around 400,000 ppv buys. If he fights GSP, that fight will approach 1 million guys. While I'm not privy to Condit's pay scale, my guess is that this is AT LEAST a difference of $500,000 of income for Condit. More ppv buys means more sponsorship $$ for Condit, more ppv buys means more $$ for Condit from the UFC and he will most likely get a huge discretionary bonus from the UFC if he pulls out the win. Fighters need to look out for themselves and their careers at the same time they are looking for the best challenges. What is telling about this situation is that Dana and Lorenzo have put zero public pressure on Condit to fight in the meantime. They agree with his decision and any of us would do the same thing if we were in Condit's place.

And just a quick tangent: I wanted to do a quick rundown of Condit's last 5 fights. He fought Ellenberger to a split decision victory in a wild brawl. He then rallied back and stopped Rory MacDonald via TKO, the Canadian's first and only loss in his career to date. He then became the first person to KO Dan Hardy in MMA competition. After that fight, he knocked out Dong Hyun Kim with a flying knee, which (again) is the first and only loss of Kim's career to date. And obviously the Diaz fight in February of 2012. Just something to think about.

(Pride - Total Elimination 2005) Mauricio ''Shogun'' Rua Vs. Quinton ''Rampage'' Jackson

(Fight starts at the 3:05 mark.) 

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson rematch confirmed for summer

A fight that Rampage has been asking for for the past 7 years will finally come to reality. Per mmamania.com and mmajunkie.com, verbal agreements are in for the long awaited rematch. For newcomers to the UFC, Shogun holds a victory over Rampage stemming from their Pride days in 2005. He shot out of his ring corner at the bell, attacked Rampage with knees and kicks and used his devastating Muay Thai plum to defeat Rampage. Shogun won a first round TKO that really announced his arrival to MMA superstardom. Shogun went on to win the Pride Grand Prix (besting Overeem, Noguiera, afore-mentioned Rampage and Arona) before transitioning to the UFC.

For Rampage, it's been a rough 6 months. He lost his title opportunity to Jon Jones in September of 2011, hurt his knee, missed weight by 6 pounds before his next fight and then lost a lackluster decision to Ryan Bader in February of 2012 It was obvious to anyone watching that Rampage was clearly hurt but he accepted the fight so it is what it is. Rampage has spent the last week asking the UFC for a release, stating that they have constantly disrespected him and are now trying to lower his pay. Well, Rampage is 2-3 in his last 5 fights. One of those wins was a close split decision to Lyoto Machida that really could have gone either way so he realistically could be 1-4 in his last 5 fights. To be blunt, his value is not nearly as high as it was a couple of years ago and the UFC is not in the wrong for asking him to take a pay cut. It's strictly a business decision but Rampage is a very sensitive guy so that is why he is so upset. I love the guy for his past performances but his lack of worth ethic in the past seems to be catching up to him.

The rematch will take place sometime in the summer, per Dana White. This is also the last fight on Rampage's contract so Rampage will leave the UFC after the conclusion of this fight. For my analysis of the fight, it's really a toss up. Shogun is my favorite fighter but his performances have been very inconsistent since coming over to the UFC from Pride. His constant knee problems (and surgeries) have really hindered him and he is far from the wrecking machine he was in Pride. Even in his war with Dan Henderson (the best MMA fight I have ever seen), he looked slow and flat-footed. That being said, he is still much quicker than Rampage and should look to attack Rampage's legs with leg kicks. This will pay dividends in the later rounds. Rampage will not check leg kicks (for some reason) and will look to plod forward and land with either a right or left handed bomb. Both are known for their iron chins so it will most likely go to a decision.

MMA is a crazy sport. Rampage beat Chuck Liddell for the title in May of 2007. He was considered unbeatable and would hold the belt for a long time. He held the belt for a little over a year before losing it to Forrest Griffin and really hasn't looked great since then. It'll be an odd feeling to watch Rampage fight for the "last time" in the UFC (I say "last time" because I think he'll patch things up with Dana and fight for the UFC again) but good luck to the former champion. I'll be rooting hardcore for Shogun but it'll be nice to see 2 Pride vets go at it. Let's just hope that it's a great sequel to their first fight and that Shogun comes out on top.

Michael Bisping's fighting options at 185

(Edit as of 3/19/12: Less than 24 hours after announcing the addition of Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le at UFC 148, UFC officials on Monday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Michael Bisping would face Tim Boetsch on the July 7 event in Las Vegas, as well).


The middleweight division is actually building up some depth of contenders right now so I thought it'd be interesting to do a quick rundown on Michael Bisping's options. He looked fantastic in a losing effort to Chael Sonnen in a bout that really could have gone either way. Most people (myself included) thought Sonnen would have his way with him but Bisping looked great and actually elevated his stock in a split decision loss to the longtime #2 middleweight. A lucky break here or there and Bisping could be the guy facing off against Anderson in June.

First things first, let's figure out the major players and top 10 guys of the middleweight division. Anderson Silva (185 champion of the world and #1 p4p in the world) is facing off against Chael Sonnen in June for the middleweight championship. Wanderlei Silva is facing off against Vitor Belfort and this bout is rumored to be the co-headliner for the same card. Yushin Okami just lost via KO to Tim Boetsch in February on the spectacular Japan card so he's not an option that makes sense right now. Brian Stann faces off against Alessio Sakara in March in Sweden. Nate Marquardt has dropped down to welterweight and will face off against Tyron Woodley so he's out. Damian Maia has made mention of dropping to 170 also so he seems to not be an option either.

With all of the names above, it really only leaves a couple of fighters for Bisping. Keep in mind, Joe Silva (UFC match-maker) likes to match up winners with winners and losers with losers. Also, Bisping just fought in January so he's most likely looking for a May/June return date. Bisping is most likely a top 5 guy at middleweight now so he needs to be matched up with a top 10 guy and a fighter that has a well known name. When you look at the above stipulations, Mark Munoz, Chris Weidman and Boetsch are all available, top 10 guys and they should fit into Bisping's timeframe. Let's do a quick breakdown of all three potential matchups.

1). Bisping/Weidman: I like this fight but I think it's too soon for Weidman. He also didn't have a good showing against Maia on the Fox card (he did have short notice so not his fault) so I think he should get another fighter out of the top 10 to advance his progression and to get fans more familiar with his name and fighting style. If he pulled off a win against Bisping, they'd have to give him a title shot and he is not anywhere near ready for a monster like Anderson. He's a great prospect and I think the UFC should bring him along slowly so they make sure they don't rush him. If he develops better striking to go along with his other world grappling skills, he'll be a force in the division for years to come.

2). Bisping/Boetsch: Boetsch (respectfully) called Bisping out after his insane come from behind KO of Okami. I immediately thought no way, way too soon. But if you take a step back and look at Boetsch's recent resume, it actually makes a ton of sense. Boetsch is riding a 3 fight winning streak (decision wins over Kendall Grove, Nick Ring and a KO of top 5 fighter Okami). Bisping is 5-1 in his last 5 fights and Bisping would be a worthy contender to the 185 title by beating Boetsch. The only drawback is that Boetsch (with a win over Bisping) would most likely need another win at 185 after Bisping to ensure a title shot.  This would also eliminate a potential contender in Bisping so this would  put the Sonnen/Anderson winner on the shelf waiting for a worthy contender.

3). Bisping/Munoz: This is the fight that makes the most sense and this is actually what I suspect the UFC is waiting on. Munoz was forced to pull out of his fight with Sonnen in January due to elbow surgery. He is currently riding a 4 fight winning streak. If he can be healthy to fight around May/June, a #1 contender fight with Bisping makes the most sense. Both fighters are worthy contenders and are top 5 guys. This match-up just depends on Munoz's health situation. With a Munoz win, the UFC can sell an exciting wrestler that is on a 5 fight winning streak. With a Bisping win, the UFC can book a guy that is 5-1 in his last 6 fights and with his last loss coming due to a controversial decision to Sonnen. NOt only that but the timing works out perfectly. The Bisping/Munoz winner would be ready to face off against the Sonnen/Anderson winner in November or December. Win-win situation all around and I think a Munoz/Bisping match-up would be fireworks to top it off.

Mark Hunt, the year of 2012 and how did we get here?

As a former Pride Fighting Championships fan (started in 1999, ended in 2007), I became absolutely enthralled with certain fighters. Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, the Noguieras, Rampage Jackson (begrudgingly, long after his feud with Wanderlei was over)  and many, many others. One fighter that was a must see fighter was Mark Hunt. Hunt entered Pride straight off of a K-1 championship and was immediately thrown into the deep end of Pride. He recorded decision victories over Cro Crop and Wanderlei (the win over Wanderlei has always been heavily disputed but a win is a win) before he ran into trouble.

"The Super Samoan" then quickly lost 4 straight fights. This sounds unforgivable until you look at whom he lost to: Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem (pre-Ubereem) and Gegard Mousasi. Pride was then bought by the UFC and Hunt went to K-1 for a match with Melvin Manhoef. Two things of note here: Hunt was known for having an IRON chin in his Pride days. Secondly, Manhoef was/is known for hitting harder than sh**. Well, Manhoef won this round and KO'd Hunt in well under a minute. This would obviously make it 5 losses in a row at this point.

If this was a movie, here's the scene where our conquering hero wanders off into the abyss, searching his soul and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. In September of 2010, the UFC announced that Hunt was set against Sean McCorkle (really, really funny guy outside of the cage). Everyone gave a collective "HUH?" before Dana acknowledged that Hunt's Pride contract was so iron-cladden that he wasn't able to ignore Hunt's contract demands and had to honor the existing contract. The fans shrugged their shoulders and wished for the best. After a McCorkle victory by armbar, the majority of old Pride fans sighed but realized that Hunt was no longer the wrecking machine he had been in Pride. In February of 2011 for UFC 127, again Hunt was announced as a UFC participant (facing Chris Tuchscherer) and (again) Dana said he was obligated to give Hunt fights.

Going into the Tuchscherer fight, most fans were very concerned. Tuchscherer had shown above adequate wrestling ability in the cage and had shown a decent chin. Hunt was coming off of six consecutive defeats. Hunt had never been out-struck (aside from Manhoef) and had lost all other fights via submission to better grapplers and submission artists. Well, Hunt stuffed multiple takedowns, was able to get up after being taken down and gave us the most anti-climactic KO victory in history. He landed a quick uppercut, glanced down briefly at his opponent, saw the damage he had caused, nonchalantly put his hands in the air and walked away. Tuchscherer was clearly out on his feet and the Australian crowd went wild! Hunt had given us one memorable knockout for old time's sake.

Fast forward to September of 2011. Hunt is doing battle against Ben Rothwell on the undercard of Jones/Rampage, a monstrous heavyweight known for his iron chin, good wrestling and size. Hunt and Rothwell both survive the Denver altitude and Hunt wins a unanimous decision. Hunt even got Joe Rogan and the Denver audience to go crazy due to his arm bar attempt in the second round. Crazy stuff. Side note here: absolute respect is a must to Rothwell here. Rothwell survived multiple Hunt BOMBS and was able to go the full three rounds. Warrior. Any other heavyweight with the possible exception of Roy Nelson would have been KO'd in this fight.

Now, here's where things get a little surreal. I knew (absolutely KNEW) that Hunt was going to win against Cheick Kongo. Let me explain why: Hunt was a much better striker, had a better chin and hit harder. Kongo had shown a tendency to wrestle strikers in the past but he secured takedowns mostly from the clinch. Well, Hunt out-weighed Kongo by more than 30 pounds so I felt Hunt would be able to shrug them off. Anyways, I felt so confident on it that I debated all week about placing a $100 bet on Hunt. Hunt closed at +280 odds which means (for people who don't know much about gambling) I would have received my initial $100 back, with an additional $280 in profit with a Hunt win. Being the genius I am, I didn't bet on the fight. Hunt wins via thunderous KO in round 1, I yelled "I knew it!!", silently cursed myself for not betting and a legend is re-born.

To recap: Hunt started off his career 5-0. He then loses 6 in a row. He is only given fights in the UFC because the UFC couldn't pay him off. Rallies back to win 3 fights in a row over an increasingly difficult schedule in the UFC for an overall record as of right now at 8-7. He has momentum in his favor, iron chin, iron fists and what looks to be an ever improving ground game and improving takedown defense skills. He can stand with anyone in the division....this includes Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez. But what if they look for the takedown? Can Hunt get up? Can he avoid submission attempts from guys like Fabricio Werdum, Barnett (if they fight again) and Noguiera? Honestly, I have no idea. It's just been nice to see a guy lose 6 fights in a row, steady the ship and get right back in there and find success. He has re-dedicated himself to MMA and is training his ground game and wrestling religiously with an eye on a UFC title. Rumors are swirling that he'll face off against Stefan Struve next (** edit: this has been confirmed by the UFC for May of 2012). Struve is known for great grappling and a questionable chin. Can Hunt land a bomb before Struve is able to take him down and bring him into the grappling world?

Will Hunt win or even challenge for the UFC heavyweight title? Probably not but we do know that he'll either win or lose by going down swinging and looking to entertain the fans. In this era of point fighting and winning by all means (even if it involves zero risk taking and boring the heck out of the fans), it'd be nice to have a challenger and/or champion like Hunt.

Rematches and the UFC

In April of 2010, BJ Penn was king of the lightweights. There was no end in sight for his reign at 155 pounds. He was coming off two demolitions of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. He faced off against Frankie Edgar in April of 2010 in what was deemed a mere formality. To everyone's shock, it went the distance and Edgar was crowned the new champion. The fallout came quickly. Most fans thought Penn (myself included) won the fight. To make things worse, Douglas Crosby (MMA judge) scored a razor the fight 50-45 in favor of Edgar. Even Edgar admitted he didn't win 5 rounds. To further stake his claim to incompetency, Crosby then went on a drunken trolling tirade (not kidding) on the Underground forums to try and “defend” his scoring. He only succeeded in riling up an already riled up MMA fanbase. Immediate rematch was scheduled four months later and Zombie Penn showed up. Edgar decisively won the fight and the controversy was over and we had a decisive champion. Or so we thought.

In January of 2011, Edgar squared off with Gray Maynard. Maynard was/is a big wrestler and had handled Edgar the first time they fought in April of 2008 to a 3 round decision. Maynard clipped Edgar in round 1 (10-7 round imo) and looked to be on his way towards a KO win. Edgar rallied back and we were treated to a great fight. Maynard, imo, should have won this fight. Surprise, surprise...the fight is ruled a majority draw. Rematch is scheduled for May of 2011. Both guys are injured going into the fight and it is eventually postponed. The fight happens in October of 2011. Again, Maynard hurts him in the first round and Edgar rallies back. Edgar ends up clipping Maynard and records the fourth round TKO victory.

Edgar is then scheduled to face off against Benson Henderson, the former WEC champion at 155 pounds, in February of 2012. Henderson controlled the action, did more damage and Edgar seemed flummoxed for all 5 rounds. Judges score the fight for Henderson. Again, close fight but clear win for Henderson. Unanimously. Most MMA sites score it for Henderson. Edgar disagrees at the post fight conference, noting he gave rematches to Penn and Maynard and that he deserves the same. A couple of days go by and Whites eventually agrees. Immediate rematch is set up between Henderson/Edgar.

Now.........it's hard to argue this rematch due to the fact that there are no other clear challengers. Anthony Pettis has only won 2 fights in a row, Jim Miller was recently manhandled by Henderson and Nate Diaz has said he doesn't want to fight Edgar due to them both training under Renzo Gracie. But why not Diaz/Henderson (if Diaz wins) in late fall? Why not Pettis/Henderson 2 in a rematch of one of 2010's best fights? Is every close fight from here on out going to require an immediate rematch? In the last 2.5 years, there have been 4 men that will have fought for the title at 155 pounds. FOUR. The division has been held up due to injuries and controversial scoring.

The problem is that Edgar lacks the power and size at 155 (per Edgar, he cuts maybe 3 or 4 pounds to fight at 155. Guys like Henderson and Maynard are cutting from the high 170's.) pounds to hurt guys consistently. Once he gets them down, his size prevents him from doing damage and/or holding them there. With these factors against him, he is relegated to point fighting. He will land a quick jab or punch and dance out of the pocket. A quick takedown leads to Edgar standing up and re-engaging in the standup. This is no disrespect to Edgar (he has an incredible chin and heart) but he's fighting out of a weight class. He needs to go down to 145 or even 135 where his punches will cause more damage. A weight class where he can take guys down and hurt them. The wars he has been in will take years off of his career. He's getting punched routinely by much bigger men.

And here's what nobody is talking about: what if Edgar wins a close decision in the summer? Immediate, immediate rematch? Why wouldn't Henderson deserve a rematch? This could/would be a trilogy between 2 men in less than a year. Diaz, Miller, Pettis, Maynard (after a couple of wins), Gilbert Melendez (if he ever gets out of StrikeForce), etc. deserve their shot too.

It's time for Edgar to go down a division (or 2) and chase history. BJ Penn and Randy Couture (Dan Henderson won two titles in Pride) are the only 2 men to hold titles in 2 different weight classes. Edgar should be looking to become the 3^rd man in UFC history to win 2 belts in 2 different weight classes. This is a chance to become a legend that few men will ever have the chance to achieve.

Your Daily Sonnen

Chael Sonnen: "Anderson, I Apologize."

(Wipes a tear)