Breaking: GSP vs. Diaz set for UFC 137 Posted by Drew Ellis (06/01/2011 @ 6:29 pm) So much for business as usual.
UFC President, Dana White, took to Twitter just moments ago to announce a blockbuster matchup in the welterweight division. @danawhite U wanted it! U GOT IT!!! GSP vs DIAZ Oct 29th UFC 137 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
It appears that Nick Diaz’ complaints were heard and answered as he will now get his crack at St. Pierre in late October. This will be the first time current champions of Strikeforce and the UFC have faced off with one another and also opens the doors for future champion vs. champion bouts. Looks like Strikeforce will be meshing into the UFC sooner rather than later. Jon Fitch wants to fight the best, nothing less Posted by Drew Ellis (06/01/2011 @ 6:22 pm) Jon Fitch is tired of the days of facing lesser opponents.
After Rick Story called out Fitch following his win over Thiago Alves at UFC 130, Fitch has made it clear that he wants just one of two possible fights in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. “I’m at a point in my career where I need to be fighting main events and main event fighters,” Fitch told MMAWeekly.com. “And if you don’t have a belt, currently, or you haven’t owned a belt in the UFC, I’m not really interested.” “I’ve gone out of my way throughout my career to just fight everybody they put in front of me and it’s cost me dearly. When you fight somebody who no one knows and don’t recognize their name, it doesn’t matter how bad you beat them. “I kind of had a talk with Rashad Evans during the expo up in Canada. (It) kind of opened up my eyes to it a little bit. He was telling me I (have to) stop screwing around, I have to think about my career, and I’m a main event fighter. I should only be fighting main event people.” “I want BJ or GSP. Those are the only two guys I care (to fight) or have any interest in right now. If I (have to) sit out a year and wait for them, I’ll do it. That’s what I’m waiting to fight for.”
Fitch is currently out until late 2011 after shoulder surgery, but the 23-3-1 veteran of the UFC has a point. He has faced a number of unknown opponents during his UFC run and went through them all. Fitch is a big enough name that he can demand top fights and not many people are going to argue. Still, the UFC doesn’t seem keen on giving him another bout with St. Pierre after GSP beat him up for five rounds in their first meeting. Can being a big loser make Roy Nelson a big winner? Posted by Drew Ellis (05/31/2011 @ 8:07 pm) If anything was clear from UFC 130 on Saturday night it was that Roy Nelson can’t compete at a high level in his current physical state.
Nelson looked like he might actually pass out after 15 minutes of effortless action against Frank Mir in a decision loss to the former UFC heavyweight champ. UFC President wasn’t too impressed by Nelson’s lack of cardio and may have put “Big Country” in his dog house. Knowing an opportunity might be abound, noted MMA nutritionist, Mike Dolce, told MMAWeekly.com that he would like to help Nelson slim down. “In my honest and humble opinion, I believe I could help Roy Nelson unlock his full potential as an athlete, as a fighter, but also in health potential as a human being. I used to be 280 pounds, so at five-foot-nine I walked around 20 pounds heavier than Roy weighed in at the UFC, and now I’m 188 pounds this morning at six percent body fat,” Dolce told MMAWeekly.com on Sunday. “I can get him down easily if he wants to be a chiseled heavyweight. I can certainly do that. If he wants to be a light heavyweight I can do that. I could probably get him down to middleweight depending on what his goals are. I could do it the most healthy way possible, extend his life, extend his vitality, all of those things. But in the short term take every possible advantage to get the utmost of his ability.”
It is pretty clear that Nelson could lose a good 35-50 pounds, which would allow him to fight at light heavyweight, if he desired. Nelson has great striking and grappling skills, so losing the weight could really turn his career around and allow him to live up to the potential that many see in him. MMA News & Notes for May 31 Posted by Drew Ellis (05/31/2011 @ 10:13 am) Following UFC 130, all seems to be quiet on the MMA front.
However, I was able to find some tidbits that you may be interested in. – It appears that Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson are having another lovers’ quarrel. Like any media hungry respectable couple, the two have taken to their Twitter accounts (Here’s Tito’s and here’s Jenna’s) to hurl insults at one another. Tito accuses Jenna of cheating and Jenna accuses Tito of domestic abuse. Boy, if these two level-headed people can’t make it work out, what couple can? Any chance Ortiz uses this as a reason to pull out of his UFC 132 bout with Ryan Bader in hopes to get a lesser opponent? – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson made us all a little uncomfortable by sexually harassing a female reporter on camera, again. The incident isn’t the first time that Rampage has been sexually aggressive toward a female interviewer. He is just begging to have a major lawsuit handed to him and the UFC. (MMAFighting) – Dream “Fight for Japan” took place on Sunday and top lightweight, Shinya Aoki, added to his impressive record with a submission of former UFC contender, Rich Clementi. Aoki improves to 28-5 in his MMA career and the submission against Clementi came in the second round from a face lock. Aoki has now won his last three fights by submission. (Sherdog) – Thiago Alves thinks he won his UFC 130 bout with Rick Story. Apparently Alves forgot about the first two rounds where he mounted little offense and spent a great deal of time on his back. Alves did have an impressive third round, but he didn’t finish the fight. Last time I checked, winning one round isn’t as good as winning two rounds. (MMAMania) Future Fight Watch: Jones Favored Over Rampage Posted by Drew Ellis (05/30/2011 @ 7:32 pm) If healthy, it is believed that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will face Jon “Bones” Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship later in 2011.
Already, odds have been released for this could-be contest, thanks to BetOnFighting.com. According to the oddsmakers, the champion is favored with a money line of -315 while Jackson, the challenger, comes in with a money line of +255. Jackson vs. Jones would be an interesting matchup as Jones hasn’t faced a fighter with the single-punch power that Jackson has and Rampage has struggled with diverse grapplers like Jones. Jones was able to easily navigate Maurcio “Shogun” Rua, but Jackson is a fighter that will not be as tentative as Shogun was in his battle with Jones. Jackson showed very impressive takedown defense against Matt Hamill at UFC 130 on Saturday, but the takedown attempts that Jones will have will be much more explosive and harder to stop. The big question for this fight is we have yet to see Jones truly take a big punch and really fight through adversity. One would think Rampage could present that moment at some point in the fight. If Jones vs. Rashad Evans can’t happen anytime soon, I think someone like Rampage could be a very interesting test for the young phenom, Jones. |