The flyweight problem in the UFC
Posted by Drew Ellis (07/25/2013 @ 10:29 am)
The UFC on FOX 8 takes place this Saturday and the buzz isn’t quite there for this card like it has been for previous UFC on FOX cards.
That’s not to say there aren’t great fights – there are.
But, the UFC seems to have an issue in drawing interest in one of their most exciting divisions.
For the second time on FOX, the card will be headline by the flyweight division (125 pounds).
If you simply watch the UFC for fights, then this is no issue for you. The flyweight division provides plenty of excitement, and while the fights usually go the distance, but push a fast pace the entire time.
But, if you are FOX, or even if you are UFC brass concerned about ratings, the flyweights probably aren’t the ideal.
It would be easier for the UFC to market this card on the co-main event of Rory MacDonald vs. Jake Ellenberger than it is to market it on Johnson for John Moraga. I am going to guess many casual UFC fans don’t even know who Moraga is.
There is a reason that the flyweights have yet to main event a UFC PPV card. It is because the UFC can’t sell tickets on a flyweight bout. It’s not even very often that a flyweight bout has been part of a UFC PPV main card at all.
What the UFC really needs is one of two things. They need a legendary fight to come from Johnson vs. Moraga or they need an amazing highlight-reel finish.
If Johnson and Moraga put on a legendary fight, something along the lines of Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, it allows the UFC to market the two in a similar way and create some buzz for the division. People will want to see both men fight again, either against each other or against new opponents.
If that can’t happen, the UFC needs someone to emerge as the clear start of the division. To do that, the organization needs an incredible knockout or submission finish in the fight.
The reason Anderson Silva and Jon Jones draw like they do is because they can do some amazing things in the cage and people want to see that. If a flyweight can establish himself as a star, it will give the UFC the ability to market them as a PPV main event.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, UFC
Tags: Demetrious Johnson, Flyweight Division, Jake Ellenberger, John Moraga, Johnson vs. Moraga, macdonald vs. Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, UFC, UFC Flyweight Championship, UFC on FOX, UFC welterweights
UFC pound-for-pound rankings
Posted by Drew Ellis (05/10/2013 @ 11:09 am)
It has been a while since a pound-for-pound rankings has been done on this site, but there is no time like the present. Here we go:
1. Anderson Silva (33-4) – Silva is still the pound-for-pound king due to his dominance in the middleweight division and his ability to finish his opponents.
2. Jon Jones (18-1) – I put Jones ahead of GSP because Jones really hasn’t lost yet. His one loss was a DQ where he essentially finished his opponent. Jones has shown well-rounded skills, winning with strikers, submissions and wrestling. He has truly dominated a division that was stacked a few years ago, the 205-pound division.
3. Georges St. Pierre (24-2) – St. Pierre has been on top of the 170-pound division for five years now, but his inability to finish opponents has gotten tiresome. St. Pierre has great wrestling and striking, but he doesn’t have the finishing ability of the top two on this list.
4. Jose Aldo (22-1) – Aldo can start making an argument to move up this list if he beats Anthony Pettis later this year. A win there may earn him a lightweight title fight. Aldo has tremendous striking, but he has shown the ability to fatigue over 25 minutes. That could be a problem as he starts fighting elite-level fighters.
5. Cain Velasquez (11-1) – The heavyweight champion is very light on his feet and he pushes a pace that can’t be matched in the division. He may not be the top striker, but that didn’t matter against Junior Dos Santos, as he constantly forced JDS to use energy. Velasquez never tired, but JDS did quickly.
6. Benson Henderson (19-2) – Henderson has some great skills, but he also isn’t overwhelmingly winning his recent fights. He isn’t losing them either, but his razor-thin decisions hurt his ranking on this list.
7. Renan Barao (30-1) – Barao doesn’t get a lot of credit for being as impressive as he has been. He is arguably the bantamweight champion, since Dominick Cruz has been out for so long. Sure the 135-pound division isn’t filled with a lot of big-name talent, but Barao has dominated all of the would-be contenders, including Urijah Faber. Barao hasn’t lost since 2005 and has 20 finishes since that time.
8. Demetrious Johnson (17-2-1) – Johnson is the fastest fighter in the UFC and he has great wrestling and conditioning. The 125-pound division doesn’t have a lot of superstars yet, but Johnson is the king of that hill and has looked impressive on top.
9. Gilbert Melendez (21-3) – Melendez gave a good accounting for himself in his UFC debut, nearly beating Henderson for the lightweight title. After a lengthy run as champion in Strikeforce’s lightweight division, Melendez looks to be a real force in the UFC’s 155-pound division.
10. Johny Hendricks (15-1) – Hendricks doesn’t have the look of a dominant MMA star, but he keeps beating the big names that get thrown before him. A great wrestler already, Hendricks has developed the most powerful hands in the welterweight division and he has now cleared out the division, leaving himself and St. Pierre on top. The two will meet later this year and that should be an epic fight.
Posted in: Fighters, News, Rankings, Strikeforce, UFC
Tags: Anderson Silva, Benson Henderson, Cain Velasquez, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St. Pierre, Gilbert Melendez, johny Hendricks, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, MMA, pound-for-pound rankings, pound-for-pound top 10, rankings, Renan Barao, UFC
UFC 152 Results & Recap – Jones subs Belfort
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/23/2012 @ 12:58 am)
Jon Jones maintained his hold on the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on Saturday with a fourth-round submission win over Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 152.
Jones came into the fight as the heavy favorite and he dominated most of the fight. Jones did nearly get caught in an armbar in the early going, but escaped and controlled the fight from there. Jones used his grappling and elbows to bloody up Belfort, and in the fourth round, caught the challenger in an Americana for the victory.
Belfort deserves credit for his effort and taking the fight on short notice in a bigger weight class, but Jones is just the better man.
With Dan Henderson dealing with his injury, there is no clear contender for Jones in the 205-pound division. That champion is becoming as dominant in his class as Anderson Silva is at 185 pounds.
In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson won the first ever UFC Flyweight Championship with a decision victory over Joseph Benavidez.
The fight had a fast pace and was very competitive, as expected. The difference in the bout was the array of leg kicks that Johnson landed on Benavidez. The kicks slowly wore down Benavidez and allowed Johnson to control the pace. Benavidez still did enough to earn the victory on one of the scorecards, but Johnson was the victor on the other two cards, and in the eyes of most of the fans.
Johnson now is the first 125-pound champion in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how this division grows in the near future with a thin roster of talent in the weight class.
In another big bout, middleweight Michael Bisping defeated Brian Stann by decision to improve his ranking in the 185-pound class.
Bisping was able to out-point Stann with his technical striking and wrestling ability. Bisping actually utilized some nice takedowns in the latter stages of the fight to neutralize Stann.
Looking at Bisping, his resume is pretty strong and it appears he deserves a title shot. He has never been given a crack at the gold but has steadily been near the top of the division for years.
Check out the full results after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Events, Fighters, Results, UFC
Tags: Benavidez vs. Johnson, Bisping vs. Stann, Brian Stann, Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Jones vs. Belfort, Joseph Benavidez, Michael Bisping, MMA results, UFC 152, UFC 152 results, UFC Flyweight Championship, ufc light heavyweight championship, ufc results, Vitor Belfort
UFC on Versus 6 Preview: Johnson vs. Cruz
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/27/2011 @ 3:53 pm)
The main event of UFC on Versus 6 is for the UFC Bantamweight Championship with Dominick Cruz defending his UFC title for the second time against Demetrious Johnson.
The fight is a rare championship bout on free television, as the card airs on Versus this Saturday at 9PM ET.
Here is a look at both fighters heading into this title bout.
Dominick Cruz (18-1): The bantamweight champion is coming off his toughest fight to date, a unanimous decision win over Urijah Faber at UFC 132 back in July. The fight was exciting and very competitive, but allowed the champ to avenge his lone loss in his career. Cruz’ style is very difficult to prepare for as he uses very elusive footwork to work in a combination of punches and kicks and then get out of danger. He also has a very explosive wrestling background, which he tends to use late in rounds to secure 10 points with the judges. Cruz has shown the ability to take a punch when hit, and stuff opponents takedowns with great ease.
Demetrious Johnson (9-1) – Johnson has quickly surged up the bantamweight rankings, winning his last four fights in the Zuffa Organization since losing his debut with the brand to Brad Pickett back in April of 2010. His win streak has included the likes of Damacio Page, Kid Yamamoto, and Miguel Torres. Johnson has a strong wrestling base that has worked to his advantage, as he has been able to keep opponents on their back. While he has some good striking, he has a very short reach and probably will struggle to land clean strikes on the mobile champion. Johnson’s best bet to win will be to get Cruz against the cage and use his strength to force him to the ground. The more this fight is fought with distance, the worse his chances are.
Who will win? – I think Johnson has some promise, but this is not a good matchup for him and I am not quite sure he is ready for a title shot. He has not beaten any of the top four bantamweights in Cruz, Faber, Joseph Benavidez, or Brian Bowles. This is a big step up in competition and the fight is on a big stage. I see Cruz controlling the fight with his style and winning by decision once again.
Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, UFC
Tags: bantamweight division, cruz vs. Johnson, Demetrious Johnson, Dominick Cruz, mma matchups, mma picks, mma predictions, mma preview, UFC Bantamweight Championship, ufc matchups, UFC on Versus 6, ufc picks, ufc predictions, Urijah Faber
Cruz vs. Johnson title fight to headline UFC on Versus 6
Posted by Drew Ellis (07/21/2011 @ 10:32 pm)
The UFC will air its first live title fight in the history of the organization.
According to NBCSports.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC will have Dominick Cruz defending his UFC bantamweight championship against Demetrious Johnson at UFC Live on Versus 6, which will take place from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on Oct. 1.
There was much speculation about who would be next up for Cruz following his hard-fought decision win over Urijah Faber at UFC 132. Many felt Brian Bowles was in line to get a rematch, but it appears the UFC felt otherwise.
Johnson (9-1) has won four straight, including a decision win over Miguel Torres at UFC 130. His short size and speed could pose a problem for Cruz, who relies on his movement to win fights.
The UFC once aired a light heavyweight title fight between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson on free television, but that was on tape delay. This will be the first live on TV title fight in UFC history.
With this fight announced, the UFC will be putting on four title fights in the month of October with Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard and Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian taking place on Oct. 8 and Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz taking place on Oct. 29. It should be quite a month of fights.
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