Archive for the ‘UFC’ Category

UFC: Dennis Bermudez Beats Pablo Garza

Dennis Bermudez picked up a unanimous decision victory in the first televised preliminary fight at UFC on Fox 3. He used his excellent wrestling to completely control Pablo Garza for 15 minutes at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. He picked up his first win in the UFC and ended a three-fight-losing streak will do that to a 25-year-old featherweight.

Bermudez, a Saugerties, N.Y., native who now lives in Massapequa and trains at Long Island MMA said that when he started fighting he said that he was going to be in the UFC one day and now win this win, he said he would not just be in the UFC rather he will be there to make his name known.

Garza (12-3, 2-2 UFC) will certainly remember that name. Garza found himself in the air on at least four occasions. His 145-pound body wrapped up in the arms of Bermudez and at a fast and thunderous pace, he was thrusted to the canvas. Bermudez needed to get inside to be effective. Bermudez faced a seven-inch height disadvantage against the 6-1 Garza, besides his wrestling skills. On eight of nine takedown attempts against Garza, Bermudez was successful, at least half of which ended with body slams.

MMA fans already know that a slam may let the current opponent know Bermudez is here to fight. On Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he was a finalist. He lost by submission to Diego Brandao in December. UFC president Dana White said that Bermudez was a tough kid and looked good. He added that the people that are coming off ‘TUF’ are going to learn and start working their way up for bigger and bigger fights.

Diaz earns title shot. With superior boxing skills that led to a submission victory in the second, lightweight Nate Diaz picked apart Jim Miller in Miller’s home state. Diaz said that he just went out there, fought hard and got started and he happened to get the win.

Diaz (16-7) had a one-arm guillotine chokehold on Miller, late in the second round. Diaz sat back on the canvas, rolled Miller (21-4) end over end and locked in the guillotine, after his body to keep Miller in the chokehold and in front of him. It was the first time Miller was finished in a fight.

White said Diaz will await the Ben Henderson-Frankie Edgar winner later this year and Diaz is next in line for a title shot.

UFC: Brock Lesnar Back in Action

In the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC Hall of Fame recognizes the most important figures, beginning in 2003 there have only been eight men awarded the ten-pound piece of glass validating their life’s work.

The Minnesota native, Brock Lesnar is a once-in-a-generation style athlete and he had a certain level of magnetism that drew eyeballs years before he graced a professional wresting ring. Lesnar was a national champion racking up a collegiate record of 106-5 and a four-time All-American collegiate wrestler.

He was recruited into the scripted soap opera world of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he would become one of their biggest stars, despite being a prime candidate to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States at the 2000 games in Sydney.

It was all over for Brock Lesnar, after the most difficult two-and-a half minutes of his professional MMA career. Not just the savage abuse he was taking from Strikeforce/K-1 champion Alistair Overeem, but his time in MMA altogether. Lesnar said during his post-fight retirement speech at UFC 141 that he had difficult couple of years with his disease.

One did not hear much from the former UFC heavyweight champion for the majority of 2012’s first quarter. The moment he walked past the curtains, it was as if he had fallen off the face of the Earth. He walked toward the ring on WWE Raw last Monday. UFC president Dana White gave his blessing and Lesnar stepped inside the squared circle to a hero’s welcome. He tricked John Cena with a handshake, and applied his F-5 finishing move. As per the $5 million deal he reportedly struck with Vince McMahon, it was the first of a rumored 30-35 appearances over the next twelve months that Brock will be required to make.

Lesnar is on it to make a return to the WWE as he has inked a one-year deal with a lot of zero’s and at 34-years-of-age it’s all but set in stone that Lesnar will never step foot in a real fighting circle again. He has done enough to join the elite-class in the UFC hall of fame. You cannot deny the impact that he had on this industry, although the big knock against him joining the class is that despite his impressive resume he fought less than ten times with a less-than-flattering 5-3 record.

The star-power of Lesnar pushed it over the top although the Ultimate Fighter and he will always be credited for turning the corner for the organization and rightfully so. The MMA community is plagued with pro wrestling fans and his name value put on a pay-per-view poster sold, whether hardcore fanatics like to admit it or not, in fact he cracked the one-million buys ceiling on three separate occasions, a feat that nobody has even come close.

Is UFC’s Georges St. Pierre Unbeatable?

Georges St. Pierre has been at the top of the UFC for years now and although he bobbled for a minute with a few of his opponents, he has never been in jeopardy of giving up his belt.

St. Pierre has two losses on his resume and he avenged them both with little effort. UFC President, Dana White is having difficulty finding anyone willing to step into the Octagon with St. Pierre. For updates on any up coming fights for Mr. St. Pierre check back here or go to jimfeist.tv.

Jake Shields and Josh Koscheck both struggled in their chances to take on the Welterweight UFC Champ. St. Pierre’s toughest matchup in recent history was B.J. Penn but St. Pierre prevailed in predictably boring wrestling matches in both fights.

St. Pierre is huge in his native Canada and when the UFC stages events north of the border, St Pierre is front and center whether he is on the fight card or not. St. Pierre has become the most popular athlete in Canada and it has made him a hated champion by hard-core UFC fans, who feel St. Pierre uses the system and is not a pure MMA fighter.

Who is next in line for St. Pierre? Please no more rematches for St. Pierre. Carlos Condit was next in line for St. Pierre before he fell out and Nick Diaz is another possible opponent if he can keep his nose clean, literally and figuratively.

What the UFC needs to do with St. Pierre is to create a six-man tournament with St. Pierre fighting the No. 6 seed first and then taking a bye on the next fight before he fights the fighter who worked their way to him for the final. This would give a little suspense and create some buzz for St. Pierre’s talent.

UFC – Sanchez Locks Horns Against Kampmann

Sanchez will lock horns against Kampmann, which is scheduled for March 3, 2011 in third UFC event fight card. The bout will be broadcasted on Versus. Co-main event in the evenings will see middleweights Mark Munoz vs. CB Dollaway. In the world famous Octagon, a total of 11 fights will take place, two of them being streamed live on Facebook and four on Versus.

Sanchez last appeared at UFC 121 in October. He is a one-time lightweight title contender. At UFC 121, he posted a unanimous decision against Paulo Thiago and snapped a two-fight losing streak at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The 29-year-old Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative owns a stellar 11-4 mark inside the Octagon and he has delivered 15 of his 22 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Sanchez holds notable wins over one-time Strikeforce lightweight boss Clay Guida, reigning Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, former Sengoku Raiden Championship middleweight kingpin Jorge Santiago and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner Joe Stevenson. In 26 professional appearances, he has been finished only once, against B.J. Penn on a fifth-round cut.

This past October at UFC 121, Kampmann suffered a split-decision loss to Jake Shields n a fight billed as a No. 1 contender’s fight for the former Strikeforce champion. The stakes were not in favor of Kampmann. Jiu-jitsu black belt Shields out grappled Kampmann, in a back-and-forth battle. Kampmann’s striking skills seemed to be on hiatus that night.

Kampmann said that his training for the fight was good and to get people down, he knew his game and depended on it. He was fully prepared but he made some bad decisions in the fight. He added that it was the heat of the moment that made him commit mistakes. In the standup, he was little bit tentative and he was worried too much about the takedown. He was trying too hard to submit Shield, when he was himself on top on the ground, thereby gave away up top position.

At UFC 129, Shields now is slated to take on welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Kampmann could have been there. He no more wants to give away any more fights and this will only be possible if during Thursday’s fight, he remains calm and make no mistakes.

Kampmann has stumbled in high-profile bouts, after dominating his early competition against Nate Marquardt, Paul Daley and Shields. He racked up critical wins over, Carlos Condit, Paulo Thiago and Thales Leites.

According to various UFC betting odds, the best odds for Diego Sanchez is +130 and for Martin Kampmann it is -175.

UFC 123: Maiquel Falco versus Gerard Harris

UFC 123 will take place this Saturday at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Michigan.

The headline fight will be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson versus Lyoto Machida in a light heavyweight battle of titans. The fans will definitely be filling up the house for such a huge light heavyweight match up. “Rampage” has been a fan favorite for many years, and Lyoto Machida is widely considered to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in mixed martial arts today.

There are an abundance of quality matchups on the card for the night, but one that seems overlooked that is sure to be a great match up of talent is between Maiquel Falco versus Gerard Harris. These are two middleweight stars that will butt heads in Michigan.

Falco, boasting a 25-3 record, is fighting in his UFC debut. He is fighting out of the Chute Box Vale Tudo gym, renowned in the mixed martial arts world for putting out world class strikers. He has actually finished 21 of his fights by knockout, and surely will be hoping to continue his streak of knocking opponents out when he faces Harris. He hasn’t had a fight make it to the judge’s decision since 2004, and he will look to make the same impression in his debut.

Harris is a three fight veteran in the UFC, while also boasting his own 17-2 cumulative MMA career. He is a product of “The Ultimate Fighter” season seven, and has succeeded early in his UFC career, with a 3-0 record. He is going into this battle on a 10 fight win streak, and although he seems formidable, this is his fourth fight in a row where he is fighting another fighter debuting in the UFC lines.

Both fighters have a lot to gain in this UFC battle, and both are powerful strikers who most certainly can end a fight quickly. It is safe to say whoever comes out victorious will soon have their eyes set on climbing further to the top of the already crowded UFC middleweight division.

UFC 122: Lightweight Bout – Dennis Siver vs Andre Winner

Dennis Siver and Andre Winner will square off in the upcoming UFC 122 event. This event will be particularly exciting as it is scheduled to take place in Germany. Germany has not held a UFC event for one and a half years. The fight between these two men is set as a lightweight bout.

Siver will definitely have the advantage of experience between these two fighters. He has fought 23 career fights to his point. This includes the 9 fights that he has taken part in since joining the UFC. His overall record is at 16-7. This will be his 10th fight in the UFC. His record in the UFC to this point is only at 5-4. This reflects the high level of competition present in the UFC.

While Siver does not have the most impressive UFC record, he does have many awards for his fighting in the UFC. He has won an award for 3 of his last 5 fights. He won the “knockout of the night” honors twice. He also won a “Fight of the Night.” The latter of the awards was against Ross Pearson, a man with whom Winner has some history.

While Siver has fought more than 20 fights and will be going on his 10th UFC fight, Winner is still relatively new to the scene. He has won 11 of his 16 career fights. This will be his 5th career fight in the UFC. To this point he has managed to split his 4 fights with a 2-2 record.

Winner has a reputation of having potential after taking part in “The Ultimate Fighter.” He managed to go all the way to the finals, but he was dealt a loss by Pearson.

UFC 121 Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Brock Lesnar versus Cain Velasquez may be the most anticipated heavyweight bout of UFC 121, but it isn’t the only one. Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga and The Ultimate Fighter 10 blogger Brendan Schaub will meet in the main card in what is expected to be a great fight.

Gonzaga has appeared in 11 UFC fights and holds a 7-4 record in those bouts. For his career, he is 11-5. Recently, though, he has lost two out of his last three fights. Both losses came against top competition, with one coming against top prospect Junior dos Santos and the other coming against recent title challenger Shane Carwin.

Gonzaga is a threat because of his submission game and he is a great striker. He fought for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in August of 2007 against Randy Couture, but lost by TKO in the third round. He put up a solid enough fight for the bout to earn Fight of the Night.

This will be the third fight of 2010 for Schaub. He is hoping for a perfect 3-0 record for the year, after beating Chase Gormley in March and Chris Tuchscherer in July. Both wins came by way of TKO with punches in the first round.

Fights that end in the first round are the norm for Schaub. He has never fought beyond the first round in any of his seven career MMA fights. He is 6-1 in those fights and 2-1 in his UFC career.

Gonzaga is listed as the favorite. Currently, he is listed at about -215 while Schaub is listed at +175 at the sports betting sites..

UFC 119 Lightweight bout Preview: Guillard vs. Stephens

The upcoming UFC 119 event will feature a match between lightweights Melvin Guillard and Jeremy Stephens. These two fighters have each had significant fighting experience in and out of the UFC. Each fighter is still trying to make their move up the charts and prove that they are as good as any fighter out there.

Guillard has had a bit more success over the course of his career and seems to be getting better with time. He started out as a fighter that knew how to strike and overpower his opponents with his fists. He has since turned his game up a notch by becoming a better all around fighter. This sort of improvement could be huge in his quest to the top.

Stephens has won 17 of his 22 professional fights. Four of his 5 losses have come since joining the UFC. This shows that he is solid and belongs there, but he has not shown that he is one of the top fighters in the world. A win against would be a huge benchmark towards making his way up the charts.

Stephens has been hot as of late and many people have been watching him after a “Knockout of the Night” award 2 fights ago. If he can fight the way that he has over the last two fights he has a good chance of taking home this one.

This fight is up in the air as each fighter seems to be at the top of their game and you can make an online bet on either one at your favorite sportsbook.

UFC 118: Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz Bout Preview

At the UFC 118 event, Andre Winner will take on Nik Lentz, scheduled to take place in Boston, MA. On the preliminary card, these two fighters will take on each other.

Andre, because of some of his recent appearance in “The Ultimate Fighter 9”, he is a fan favorite. In that program, he was a finalist but he hopes to move up in the world. To this point in his career, he has fought 14 fights and he has lost just three of them. In the UFC, he has spent 3 of those fights. He has had a fair amount of success in those fights, to this point. He lost one in his time in the UFC and he has won 2 fights.

To this point, Nik Lentz has had a fantastic career. Lentz has been tough to beat over the course of his career and he is known for his Midwest heritage. He has only lost three times in his 23 career fights. In his MMA career, he has compiled a record of 18-3-2. to this point, he has yet to lose a fight in the UFC.

He has managed two victories and another tie, out of his three career matches. In order to push his career towards main card portion of these UFC events, he would love to have a big victory here. In a non-televised portion of the UFC Fight Night 21 event was his last victory. Over Rob Emerson, he had an impressive decision victory.

At UFC 118, these two fighters will certainly try to prove their worth.

Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis UFC 118 Bout Preview

Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis will square off in a MMA bout at UFC 118. These two fighters will take on each other in a welterweight bout. This bout is highly anticipated and is scheduled to take place on the main card of the event. The event will take place in Boston, Massachusetts.

Diaz was recently on a poor streak and couldn’t seem to snap out of his slump. He was the former winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 5” and had a lot of support and fanfare as he came along. Unfortunately amid the fan fare he went on a streak where he dropped 3 out of 4 fights. He recently decided to make a change and to move up to a new weight class. In his new 170 lb weight class he made a splash.

In his first fight in the 170 lb weight class he managed to get a first round TKO against Rory Markham. This will be his first fight since that victory and many people will be hoping to see him bring his game back up to the level that it was once at.

Marcus Davis had a similarly poor streak recently. He had lost back to back fights and it appeared that he was on his way down. Davis managed to turn away the doubt. In his last match he managed to get a 2nd round TKO over Jonathan Goulet. This victory snapped his streak and put him onto the right path heading into UFC 118.

Tune in as these fighters square off and try to keep along the right path and don’t forget to check out the latest UFC 118 odds.

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