Gegard Mousasi wins in a no-win situation
Posted by Drew Ellis (04/06/2013 @ 8:57 pm)
Gegard Mousasi faced the most dangerous situation he has faced in his MMA career on Saturday afternoon.
He faced an unknown opponent if his UFC debut and was expected to run right through him.
After preparing for months to face top UFC light heavyweight contender, Alexander Gustafsson, Mousasi would instead be forced to face Ilir Latifi after Gustafsson wasn’t cleared to fight after suffering a cut earlier in the week.
Latifi, a native of Sweden, where the fight was taking place, was making his UFC debut and trains with Gustafsson. So, Latifi had some insight on what to expect of his opponent, while Mousasi knew nothing of the man he was to face.
I give credit to Mousasi for taking the fight on such short notice, because he really had nothing to gain. Everyone expected him to win. A loss would have set his career back a great deal, especially in a crowded light heavyweight division.
Mousasi didn’t look overly impressive in a decision win over Latifi, which was to be expected, but he did escape a dangerous situation with a victory.
The win doesn’t propel the former Strikeforce champion into title contention in the UFC, but it at least gives him some experience and he can now focus on bigger things, perhaps a fight with Gustafsson.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, Results, Strikeforce, UFC
Tags: Alexander Gustafsson, Ericsson Globe Arena, Gegard Mousasi, Ilir Latifi, MMA, Mousasi vs. Gustafsson, Mousasi vs. Latifi, Stockholm, Strikeforce, Sweden, UFC, UFC card, ufc light heavyweights, UFC On Fuel TV 9
UFC cancels UFC 151, conveniently puts all blame on Jon Jones
Posted by Staff (08/23/2012 @ 8:02 pm)
In case you have been under a rock today, UFC 151 has been cancelled.
The short story is Dan Henderson injured his knee and couldn’t fight next Saturday, prompting the UFC to offer Jon Jones a replacement opponent of Chael Sonnen. Jones, after speaking with his team, declined to take the fight on such short notice.
So, the UFC, instead of finding a new main event, or just running with the card they setup sans the main event, decided to just axe the event altogether.
In the process, they completely threw the light heavyweight champion under the bus.
Normally, I am on Dana White’s side of things. He is a hot head, no doubt, but he usually tells it like it is.
However, blaming Jones for the canceling of an event is simply a convenient way to take the blame off of himself and the UFC.
First off, canceling an entire UFC event is a big deal. It impacts the fighters, the venue, the host city and those that would be working the event.
Many fighters rely on a small paycheck from fighting on the under card simply to make ends meet. Due to the UFC’s venom spewed at Jones, many of those fighters are now taking their anger and frustration out on the champion as well.
But, let’s all take a deep breath and take into consideration two things:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, UFC
Tags: Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Dana White, Jon Jones, Jones vs. Henderson, mma events, mma light heavyweights, UFC 151, UFC events, ufc light heavyweight championship, ufc light heavyweights
Henderson vs. Shogun planned for UFC 139
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/19/2011 @ 10:52 pm)
Dan Henderson disposed of one former PRIDE legend, can he do it again in his return to the octagon.
MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion has agreed to return to the UFC to take on former PRIDE champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have verbally agreed to face off at UFC 139 on Nov. 19, MMAWeekly.com has learned.
Independent sources confirmed the fight, which will stand as Henderson’s return to the organization after defeating Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce.
The bout will likely be the new main event for the card that saw its prior main event between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and no. 1 contender Junior dos Santos get moved to the main event of the Nov. 12 UFC on Fox fight card.
This is an exciting addition to UFC 139 and likely could be a No. 1 contender’s match in the division after Rashad Evans takes on the winner of Jon Jones vs. “Rampage” Jackson.
It’s surprising that these two never met in PRIDE, as both were legends and champions in the organization.
Both men have one-punch KO power and formidable skills on the ground, with Henderson being a wrestling specialist, and Rua being a submission specialist.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC
Tags: Dan Henderson, fight announcements, Henderson vs. Shogun, Jon Jones, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, mma fights, mma light heavyweights, mma matchups, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad Evans, Strikeforce, UFC 139, ufc fights, ufc light heavyweights, ufc matchups
UFC Matchmaking update – UFC 140 gets main event
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/12/2011 @ 6:24 pm)
Lost in a weekend that saw the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals take place were some big fight announcements from the UFC.
Here is a look at three different UFC events that have added to their cards.
- UFC 140 in Toronto go its main event as heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will have their rematch. The two met back at UFC 92 with Mir handing Nogueira his first stoppage loss. Mir KO’d Big Nog in the second round. Nogueira claimed a staph infection hindered his abilities and has been seeking a rematch since. Mir has won his last two fights and looking to get back into the title hunt with a win while Nogueira is coming off his KO win over Brendan Schaub at UFC Rio. UFC 140 also added Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Ebersole vs. Rory MacDonald to the lineup.
- UFC 139 picked up a big fight as middleweight Vitor Belfort will return to action when he takes on former Strikeforce champion, Cung Le. This will be a battle of perhaps the two fastest strikers in all of MMA. Le hasn’t fought since June of 2010, when he KO’d Scott Smith to avenge his only loss. Belfort is coming off a KO win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133. This fight should come down to which fighter strikes first.
- Jon Fitch will make his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 141 when he faces off with Johny Hendricks. Fitch hasn’t competed since February when he had a draw against B.J. Penn. Fitch had shoulder surgery that put him on the shelf for a while. Fitch hasn’t lost since his 2008 title fight with Georges St. Pierre. Hendricks has one loss in his career, to Rick Story back in December of 2010. He has won his last two fights, but is facing the toughest opponent of his career when he squares off with Fitch.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC
Tags: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Belfort vs. le, Brian Ebersole, cung le, ebersole vs. macdonald, fitch vs. Hendricks, Frank Mir, johny Hendricks, Jon Fitch, Mir vs. Nogueira, MMA heavyweights, mma light heavyweights, mma matchups, mma middleweights, mma welterweights, Ortiz vs. Nogueira, Rory MacDonald, Tito Ortiz, top 10 rankings, UFC 139, UFC 140, UFC 141, UFC heavyweights, ufc light heavyweights, UFC main event, ufc matchups, ufc middleweights, UFC welterweights, Vitor Belfort
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