Page 48 of 65

Hector Lombard: A top 10 Middleweight?

May 15, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The highlight of Bellator 44 on Saturday night was a knockout win for middleweight champion, Hector Lombard.

The 33-year-old member of American Top Team knocked out Falaniko Vitale in the third round of their contest, giving Lombard 16 wins by knockout in his career and pushing his record to 29-2-1 overall.

Like Bellator Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, the question has to be asked; where does Lombard stack up against the best of the middleweights in all of MMA?

Lombard is a big, burly 185-pounder that has also fought at 190 pounds and at light heavyweight (205 pounds) in his career, finding success in each weight class.

Currently, Lombard is riding an 18-fight win streak and his last loss came in 2006 to Strikeforce light heavyweight, Gegard Mousasi.

Lombard holds wins over former UFC contenders Joe Doerksen, Kalib Starnes, and Vitale. Four of his last six bouts have ended with a first round knockout, with two taking place in less than 40 seconds. Lombard has even forced a few opponents to tap to his strikes.

Lombard has had success overseas and in the states for Bellator and other organizations, but he has yet to fight under the Zuffa umbrella.

Certainly the numbers support Lombard being considered a top 10 middleweight in MMA, but until he gets a chance to really prove himself in the UFC or Strikeforce, it is going to be tough to just know what kind of potential this guy has. Certainly, he has to be one of the best fighters in the world that is now employed by Zuffa.

Bellator, Fighters, UFC

Bellator Falaniko Vitale Gegard Mousasi Hector Lombard Joe Doerksen Kalib Starnes Middleweight Division

So Jon Jones doesn’t need surgery after all

May 14, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Remember when Jon Jones and Rashad Evans were set to fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight title this fall only to have the bout called off so Jones could get surgery on his bad thumb?

Well, I guess that surgery doesn’t need to happen now. From MMAMania.com, here is what Jones’ manager had to say on Twitter:

“I guess its time to put out the truth. @Jonnybones suffered a tear in his thumb in 2 different spots… Every dr he saw said to have surgery … We went to meet with the surgeon on wed and after he looked at @Jonnybones he thought that surgery was a bit invasive and bones didn’t have … to have if he didn’t want to. @Jonnybones decided against surgery and we immediately met with dana and lorenzo the next day to get his next fight scheduled … For the record, every doctor @Jonnybones saw was a @UFC referred doctor. The very last one on the day before surgery thought against it … No @Jonnybones is not fighting rashad. Rashad is fighting phil davis. I’ll let you know who or when jon will fight real soon … (he’ll fight again) by the end of the year. … And just so we’re clear, @Jonnybones is not medically cleared to fight until June 11, But hey, I guess that’s all a lie, huh?”

Well, as you can imagine, that didn’t sit well with Evans, who posted the following on his twitter:

“Question: if u r or were so confident then y fake a thumb injury? Cuz just between me & y’all he don’t need surgery! … but I ain’t one 2 gossip so u didnt hear it from me! (ala Living Color) 4 u young folk! Lol … If I’m lying, I’m dying! Ask @jonnybones when is his surgery & who was his dr! He so fake he fake surgeries!! Now that’s fake!”

It appears that Evans will stick with fighting Phil Davis at UFC 133, while a new opponent for Jones will be sought out. Could it be “Rampage” Jackson if he wins and stays healthy at UFC 130?

Either way, this looks a bit shady from Jones, who did most of the talking to ignite this new rivalry.

Fighters, News, UFC

Jon Jones Phil Davis Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Rashad Evans

Carwin excited for opportunity to face dos Santos

May 13, 2011 / Drew Ellis

When word came that Brock Lesnar was unable to fight at UFC 131 against Junior dos Santos in June, it seemed like a no-brainer to throw Shane Carwin into the main event.

The burly heavyweight was excited at the chance to step in for Lesnar and didn’t want to let an opportunity pass him by, as he said in his blog.

I was training and my phone was blowing up so I looked over and saw some missed calls from Dana and Joe Silva. I reached out to my manager to see what was going on and he informed me that we are taking Lesnar’s spot for 131.
Junior is a serious fight and not the type of fight that you would normally take on a 30 day notice but I have a dream to chase and I do not have a lot of time to chase it. This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title. I know my Coaches will have me ready so I have everything to gain.
My manager said “This is where you belong” and I am going to make sure I do everything I can to prove him right.
Please help make UFC 131 one of the biggest cards in the year.
I hope Brock is able to recover. I look forward to facing him again one day.

Carwin has been out of action since July 3 of last year when he lost by submission to Lesnar in the second round. Since that time, Carwin underwent back surgery.

For dos Santos, this fight is a big change in styles, as he will now face a striker that is able to match his power and ability. Carwin can wrestle too, but he looks more for the quick knockout than the takedown.

It should be an explosive fight that I can’t see getting past the first round.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Brock Lesnar Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC 131

Lesnar pulls out of UFC 131 due to diverticulitis

May 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s been a bad week for the UFC.

After already having its UFC 130 main event cancelled, the company announced today that Brock Lesnar is pulling out of his UFC 131 main event fight with Junior dos Santos due to a second bout of diverticulitis, the same illness that shelved the former champion a few years ago.

MMAFighting.com’s Michael David Smith had all the info.

In a blockbuster announcement Thursday afternoon, UFC President Dana White revealed that Brock Lesnar is once again suffering from diverticulitis and will not be able to fight at UFC 131. Instead, the main event on that fight card will be Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin.
“I want to thank the UFC, I want to thank Mr. White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and Spike TV,” Lesnar said. “This is an unfortunate situation for me. I dodged a bullet about two years ago with diverticulitis, at that time not knowing what the problem was. … Diverticulitis is something that never goes away. It’s something I’ve dealt with since the first occurrence and I’ve been battling it.”
Lesnar said that he has been feeling sick for three months and has been on antibiotics, and that “It didn’t allow me to train to my full capabilities. I was forced to make a decision to go back to the doctor this week.” Lesnar said he spent 14 hours talking to doctors at the Mayo Clinic this week, and although he insisted that the illness won’t end his career and that he won’t retire from MMA, he said there’s simply no way he can fight as scheduled in June.

The loss of Lesnar will really hurt the PPV draw of UFC 131, as Lesnar’s last two fights brought in over 1 million buys for the company.

While the fight between dos Santos and Carwin is very intriguing, Lesnar is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. More importantly, it appears that this diverticulitis could be a problem all of Lesnar’s life and jeopardize his MMA career.

Well, these types of things like to happen in three’s, so if UFC 132 main eventers Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz are smart, they will start wrapping themselves in bubble wrap now.

Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Brock Lesnar Dana White Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC UFC 131

Ortiz and Mitrione get into verbal exchange at UFC Summit

May 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Something interesting happened at the UFC Summit this weekend, and it wasn’t Dana White explaining to fighters how to do their taxes.

None other than “Big Country” Roy Nelson caught this little verbal exchange between Matt Mitrione and Tito Ortiz.

Now, the background behind this encounter is that Mitrione had some unflattering remarks that he made about Ortiz’ wife, Jenna Jameson.

Mitrione was joking that Ortiz would pull out of his upcoming UFC 132 fight with Ryan Bader and let Jameson take the fight instead, claiming she is good off her back and has amazing top control.

Now, granted, I wouldn’t want someone talking about my wife like that and would be pretty upset if they did. However, if I married the world’s most famous porn star, I would probably expect that to happen.

Instead of going after a younger and stronger fighter in Matt Mitrione, Ortiz should just remain focused on Bader and ending a four year winless streak.

Then again, Ortiz is probably just trying to set up another fight for himself after he loses to Bader.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC, Videos

Matt Mitrione Roy Nelson Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132