Category: Events (Page 30 of 45)

UFC 131 Preview: Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin

June 6, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The UFC heavyweight division should clear up on Saturday night when two of the top contenders face off in the main event of UFC 131.

Both men are powerful strikers and hard to get to the ground with their strength and size. It is likely this fight ends in the first five minutes with a brutal KO. The question is, which fighter will land the big punch.

Here is a look at both fighters heading into this contest.

Shane Carwin (12-1) – Carwin was a collegiate wrestler and he arguably has the most powerful hands in the division. His four wins in the octagon have all come by first round KO in under four minutes. He had Brock Lesnar reeling before gassing out in the second round in his last UFC fight. Now, coming off of back surgery, it will be interesting to see if Carwin has lost anything in his time off. Can he still supply the same power and will he have the cardio to go more than five minutes in need be? We haven’t seen Carwin tested on the ground, but that is because nobody has been able to get him to the ground.

Junior dos Santos (12-1) – Junior is also 12-1 in his MMA career and he is 6-0 in the UFC with four wins by KO. Dos Santos has big hands and a lot of quickness, and he is supposed to be a very sound jiu-jitsu fighter as well, but he has never had his fights go to the ground due to his dominance in the striking game. Junior has been taken past the first round twice in the UFC and still held up strong. He did start to fatigue against Roy Nelson, but it was more from throwing so many punches rather than being in danger of losing. Junior probably feels he is the better striker in this matchup, but that has yet to be determined.

Who Will Win: I actually like the underdog, Carwin, in this matchup. I think he can match dos Santos in striking and he won’t be taken to the ground where he could be submitted. Junior has yet to face someone with the skill set and size of Carwin, and I think that will be the deciding factor in this fight. Carwin can take a punch, and he can certainly dish them out. One big strike from Carwin will rattle dos Santos and open the door for another first round TKO for Carwin.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Brock Lesnar Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC 131

Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update

June 5, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s another Sunday night, which means we have another MMA on TV update.

This week is pretty thin during the week as The Ultimate Fighter wrapped up its season, but the weekend still features another big UFC PPV, UFC 131.

– On Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, the Countdown to UFC 131 debuts on SpikeTV. The hour-long program will take an inside look at key fighters for this Saturday’s PPV event. The main aspect of the show will focus on the main event between heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin. The show will replay on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET and 2 a.m. ET on Versus as well as midnight on Friday on SpikeTV.

– On Friday at 10 p.m. ET, HDNet will air Maximum Fighting Championship 30: Up Close & Personal live from the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The main event is a lightweight showdown between Drew Fickett and Brian Cobb while Marcus Davis and Pete Spratt meet in a fight between two UFC veterans.

– On Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on PPV, UFC 131 will take place from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. Carwin and dos Santos face off in the main event while Kenny Florian makes his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes. Demian Maia also faces off with Mark Munoz in a middleweight bout while Donald Cerrone takes on Vagner Rocha in a lightweight contest. Some of the prelim bouts will air live on SpikeTV at 8 p.m. ET and other bouts are expected to air live on Facebook.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Brian Cobb Demian Maia Diego Nunes Donald Cerrone Drew Fickett Junior Dos Santos Kenny Florian Marcus Davis Mark Munoz MFC Pete Spratt Shane Carwin UFC 131

UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale Recap: 2011 hates Anthony Pettis

June 5, 2011 / Drew Ellis

If 2010 was the year of Anthony Pettis, 2011 is certainly doing all it can to be the opposite.

It all started with the end of 2010 where Pettis won the WEC lightweight championship over Ben Henderson and was told he would be the No. 1 contender for the UFC belt.

Well, on the very first day of 2011, Pettis watched Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar fight to a draw and his title shot was pushed back.

Then, even though Dana White said Pettis would still be next in line for a title shot after Edgar-Maynard III, both fighters got injured for a planned title fight and Pettis was then told he would have to win twice in the UFC to get the title shot.

Then, Saturday happened.

Pettis made his UFC debut against Clay Guida and Guida was able to use his wrestling to keep Pettis on his back for most of the fight, giving Guida the unanimous decision victory.

Pettis showed some solid strikes and an active guard, but he couldn’t lock in a submission or hit a big strike to end the fight.

The loss certainly set Pettis back and he will now need a strong run to ever earn a title shot. Guida will now move into the top 5 discussion for UFC contenders.

The other featured bout of the night was the championship of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 where Tony Ferguson defeated Ramsey Nijem by knockout in the first round.

Ferguson showed strong wrestling and absorbed a few flurries from Nijem before landing a big left hand that put out the lights of Nijem.

Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Anthony Ferguson Anthony Pettis Clay Guida Ramsey Nijem

UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale Picks & Predictions

June 4, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The 13^th season finale of The Ultimate Fighter takes place tonight and features an impressive card for live television.

Here are my takes on the main card bouts and who I think will come out victorious.

Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Championship – Ramsey Nijem (5-1) vs. Tony Ferguson (11-2) – This should be an explosive fight, but I see Nijem controlling the bout wherever it goes. Eventually I expect a submission finish from Ramsey, but he has to be careful, as Ferguson has one-punch power in his hands. Don’t look for either man to go down lightly.

Lightweight Bout – Clay Guida (28-8) vs. Anthony Pettis (11-1) – This is a bout I am very excited about. It should be fireworks from the opening second. Guida has great wrestling, but Pettis has great ground defense and is one of the best strikers in MMA. I look for Pettis to land some big kicks in the early rounds before catching a dazed Guida in a choke to wrap up the win in the third round.

Middleweight Bout – Ed Herman (17-7) vs. Tim Credeur (13-5) – This should be another solid all-around fight. Both guys are tough and scrappy, but the difference will be Credeur’s grappling. I see him out-classing Herman on the ground and eventually winning in the third round with a rear-naked choke.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Kyle Kingsbury (10-2) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-3) – Maldonado hasn’t lost since 2007 and is coming off an impressive TKO of James McSweeney at UFC 120. Kingsbury is on a three-fight win streak, but his opponents haven’t quite been up to par. Maldonado has more power to work with and will be pressuring Kingsbury often. I look for Maldonado to get a TKO finish late in the first round.

Events, Fighters, Predictions, UFC

Anthony Pettis Clay Cuida Ed Herman Fabio Maldonado Kyle Kingsbury Ramsey Nijem The Ultimate Fighter Tim Credeur Tony Ferguson

Ultimate Fighter Finale Weigh-In Results

June 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Weigh-ins for Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale took place on Friday night and all of Saturday’s competitors hit their marks.

The main event is a lightweight clash between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis. Both contestants weighed in at exactly 155 pounds. This bout will be intense and action packed. Guida will look to control the fight on the ground while Pettis will look to use his tremendous striking to keep the fight standing and earn a KO.

In the Ultimate Fighter Championship, Ramsey Nijem and Tony Ferguson both came in at the 170-pound welterweight limit. Nijem is considered a slight favorite going into this bout, but Ferguson has big punching power and can end the fight in a flash.

Check out the full weigh-in results after the jump.