Category: Fighters (Page 57 of 58)

      Sonnen a TUF 14 coach & other ideas to help the series

      April 4, 2011 /

      nullThe debut of The Ultimate Fighter 13 wasn’t quite the ratings boom that the UFC or MMA fans in general were expecting.

      The debut of the new season pulled between 1.4 and 1.5 million viewers, which isn’t bad, but it still wasn’t what was expected given Brock Lesnar’s drawing ability.

      And, there is already talk of who is going to coach the next season. ESPN is reporting that the UFC is targeting middleweights Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen.

      While Sonnen is an interesting character who will be fun to watch, I don’t know that his trash talk will draw in anyone outside of the hardcore UFC fans. Bisping has already done the show and is somewhat of a villain in the UFC, but again, he isn’t much of a draw.

      My guess is that the UFC is looking for controversy to increase ratings—Bisping and Sonnen will most likely do just that. But, if Brock Lesnar can’t bring fans into the series, maybe nobody can. On a side note, how many fans will begin to lose interest in the reality show before the next season even airs?

      It isn’t surprising that a show may be running its course through 13 seasons, but I still think there are some options the UFC could explore to help the series and its longevity.

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      Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

      Bellator 39 recap: Alvarez dominates Curran

      April 3, 2011 /

      nullBellator 39 took place Saturday night from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. and the main event saw lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez improve his MMA record to 22-2 with a unanimous decision win over contender Pat Curran.

      Despite going the full five rounds, it was pretty clear early on that Alvarez was the better fighter.

      The champion peppered Curran (13-4) with punches to the head and body for 25 minutes but Curran was able to take the punishment. Alvarez also mixed in takedowns and shot attempts, which Curran defended well, but the challenger never seemed to poise a real threat.

      Curran fought most of the bout reacting to what Alvarez was doing and that allowed the champion to dictate the style and pace of the fight.

      In one of the featured bouts, Rick Hawn (11-0) picked up a split decision win over former Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good (13-2) to advance to the finals of the promotion’s welterweight tournament.

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      Bellator, Events, Fighters

      Jones vs. Evans set for fall 2011

      April 2, 2011 /

      nullThe drama between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans will come to a head this fall.

      According to Fighters Only, UFC President Dana White posted on an online forum that the two will square off for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in “September or October.”

      This fight was quickly put together following Jones’ UFC 128 win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. After the victory, the bad blood that had been brewing between Jones and Evans quickly spilled on the octagon floor and it is only likely to get worse in the months leading up to the fight.

      Aside from the hype that will surround this bout, the fight itself should be pretty interesting.

      While Jones seems unbeatable right now, Evans has trained with him enough to have picked up some weaknesses in his game. The challenge facing Evans will be getting inside the reach of Jones and handling his slightly larger frame.

      Jones will have to contend with Evans’ quickness and explosiveness. Evans is arguably the best athlete Jones will have faced in his MMA career. Staying out of Evans’ punching range and off his back will be a must for Jones.

      My personal prediction for this bout (which is still five to six months away mind you) is Jones to beat Evans like he has everyone else. I don’t think Evans will succeed at getting Jones to the ground and I feel that Jones is the better overall striker.

      But, only time will tell.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      Bellator fighters still competing for national respect

      April 2, 2011 /

      nullWith all the media buzz over Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce last month, many media pundits were left to wonder what competition was left for the premiere company in MMA—the UFC.

      Cleary Zuffa owns the two most notable promotions, but there are still plenty of other organizations that are trying to establish MMA stars.

      One of those promotions is Bellator, which will be hosting another card tonight featuring a lightweight championship bout with Eddie Alvarez defending his title against Pat Curran. The show will air live on MTV2 at 9 p.m.

      Alvarez is 21-2 in his MMA career with 19 stoppage wins. Some feel he is earning his spot in the top 10 of the lightweight rankings, but as Alvarez told Sherdog.com’s Mike Whitman, rankings are “nonsense”

      “I understand that in order to get in the rankings, you have to first gain popularity. And I’ve been saying this over and over. There are going to be guys in the next couple of years from Bellator who are going to be ranked in the top-10, and that’s not necessarily because they are better than the UFC guys,” said Alvarez during Wednesday’s media conference call.

      “[The rankings] are very subjective and very political. I think it’s more of a popularity contest than a talent contest. Rankings, to me, are just a way to negotiate my money with a promotion. Other than that, they hold no bearing. It’s all nonsense. A No. 1 guy can lose to a No. 10 guy any day of the week.”

      Looking at his career, Alvarez does hold recent wins over former UFC contenders Roger Huerta and Josh Neer, but he also has suffered losses to Shinya Aoki and Nick Thompson.

      A lot of times we like to look at a guy’s record and deem him a certain caliber, but that won’t satisfy my eye test.

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      Bellator, Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      White open to overtime for UFC bouts

      April 1, 2011 /

      nullDraws are hard to come by in a MMA fight—especially bouts in the UFC.

      Judging is gauged on a 10-point must system over an odd number of rounds, so in most cases there should be a winner when the bout goes to a decision.

      However, recently there has been a pair of main events in the UFC to land a draw. Most notably was the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard lightweight title fight at UFC 125.

      A draw leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, including Dana White’s.

      MMAMania.com recently made note that the UFC President made the following statement during the UFC’s web series “The Aftermath”, a show that airs after each episode of The Ultimate Fighter.

      “I hate draws. I think it’s such a waste of everybody’s time and energy. (An overtime round is) something that I would definitely explore.”

      The draw at UFC 125 was a problem for a couple reasons. For one, there was no winner. Secondly, Anthony Pettis was scheduled to face the winner in a unification bout.

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      Fighters, News, UFC

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