Like it or not, Griffin and Bonnar belong in UFC Hall of Fame Posted by Drew Ellis (05/29/2013 @ 1:10 pm) Lost in the madness of another UFC PPV weekend was Forrest Griffin announcing his retirement from MMA.
Griffin hadn’t fought in over 10 months and was battling injuries. Given that he wasn’t much of a contender in the light heavyweight division, he decided to call it a career. What was even more lost in all the news was Dana White telling the media after UF 160 that the UFC will be inducting Griffin and Stephan Bonnar into the UFC Hall of Fame together, later this year. To me, this is a no-brainer. To others, they think either Bonnar, or both, don’t deserve the honor. Griffin has a strong case in his own right. He was the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter reality series and went on to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. His record, 19-7, isn’t awful and he had a number of memorable fights. Bonnar is another story. His record was just 15-8 and he lacked a victory against an elite-level opponent during his career. Essentially if you are going to put Bonnar in based on his win-loss record, you would also have to include fighters like Shane Carwin, Frank Trigg and Joe Stevenson. But, this induction isn’t about overall bodies of work. This induction is about one thing and one thing only, their war in the initial Ultimate Fighter Finale. That bout was the first time the UFC aired live fighting on Spike TV and its importance cannot be understated. It wasn’t a technical masterpiece, but it was two men fighting with every ounce of energy they had for 15 minutes. It was everything Dana White and the UFC management wanted to showcase about its sport. That three-round war, that classic did more for the UFC than any other fight in its history. That fight, along with the enormous audience it drew as it played out, set the stage for the UFC to branch out nationally and has been the foundation for The Ultimate Fighter to continue its operation to this day. The UFC Hall of Fame wouldn’t be relevant if it weren’t for that fight. Sometimes a singular moment transcends a sport and those involved are elevated forever in the eyes of the fans and management. This fight is representative of that and Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar should be in the Hall of Fame for this season. You can’t talk about the greatness of the UFC without bringing up that fight. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Tags: Dana White, Forrest Griffin, Griffin vs. Bonnar, light heavyweight division, Stephan Bonnar, UFC, UFC Hall of Fame, ufc light heavyweights, Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fighter Finale
Women’s MMA is stealing the show in the UFC Posted by Drew Ellis (04/13/2013 @ 10:54 pm) Dana White once stated that he’d never have a women’s bout in the octagon that is the UFC.
White didn’t feel there was a market there. Not only is there a market in women’s MMA, but the market is rising at a very fast pace. Ronda Rousey put the women on the map in the UFC with her win over Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157 in February. Though the fight went just one round, it was exciting from start to finish and featured great grappling and striking. On Saturday, in the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 17, the UFC held its second women’s bout, with Miesha Tate taking on Cat Zingano. These two bantamweights put on an even better show than Rousey and Carmouche did, going nearly 15 minutes before Zingano finished Tate with an impressive flurry of knees and elbows. The crowd was electric for the fight, knowing the winner would face Rousey next and get a spot coaching against Rousey in The Ultimate Fighter Season 18. The two battled it out on the feet and on the ground for the entire duration of the fight. Each showed tremendous skills and a determination to win. When the fight ended, it felt like the fans and viewers had just witnessed the main event. It is clear that the fans appreciate a good fight, and the women have been giving the fans great fights. White isn’t stupid either. He is trying to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the women’s bantamweight division by having Rousey and Zingano coach TUF next season. With Rousey already pulling in over 400,000 pay-per-view buys, and Zingano stealing the show Saturday night, there is a lot of evidence that the UFC should look to expand its women’s crop to more divisions. The women have showed an aggression that has been lacking in some of the marquee men’s fights as of late. The fans always want to see two fighters leave it all in the cage, and the women are doing exactly that. I personally am excited to see upcoming women’s bouts because the bar has been set very high by Rousey and Zingano. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Results, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Tags: Cat Zingano, Dana White, Liz Carmouche, Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Rousey vs. Carmouche, Rousey vs. Zingano, Tate vs. Zingano, UFC, UFC 157, Ultimate Fighter, women’s MMA, Women’s UFC
5 June bouts to mark down on your calendar Posted by Drew Ellis (05/30/2011 @ 11:44 am) The month of June is stacked for MMA fans.
Over the next month, three UFC shows will take place, including one PPV. The second half of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will be held as well, and Bellator will kick off its next season. With that in mind, here are the top five bouts I am most looking forward to in June. 1. June 4 – Ultimate Fighter Finale – Anthony Pettis (13-1) vs. Clay Guida (28-11) – The main event of this Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale is the fight I’m most looking forward to. Anthony Pettis is set to make his UFC debut after ending the WEC as its lightweight champion with his “Showtime Pettis Kick” against Ben Henderson. His first challenge is a big one, as he takes on perennial UFC lightweight contender, Clay Guida. Both men possess great problems for the other as Pettis has the size and striking edge while Guida has the grappling edge. Both fighters will also leave everything in the cage, which should make for an exciting 15 minutes of action, if the fight goes that long. 2. June 18 – Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix – Alistair Overeem (34-11) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) – Something has to give between the top two heavyweights in Strikeforce. It was odds to see them placed against one another in the first round of this Grand Prix, but as a fight fan, I won’t complain. Both men have been hyped up as top-of-the-line heavyweights in any organization, but someone has to live up to that hype, and someone’s hype will come crashing down. Overeem has been a bully in the cage as of late, just over-powering opponents with his striking while Werdum was the man to end Fedor’s long reign as king of MMA. Whose style will play out and allow them to advance in the grand prix? Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Events, Fighters, Strikeforce, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Tags: Alistair Overeem, Anthony Johnson, Anthony Pettis, Clay Guida, Fabricio Werdum, Junior Dos Santos, Manny Gamburyan, Nate Marquardt, Shane Carwin, Strikeforce, Tyson Griffin, UFC, Ultimate Fighter
Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update Posted by Drew Ellis (05/22/2011 @ 8:31 pm) Another Sunday night means another MMA on TV update for the week.
Here is a look at all the MMA events you can see on tv or the internet this week. – On Wednesday, the ninth episode of The Ultimate Fighter will air on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. ET. The quarterfinals continue as both teams picked up a win in the opening two quarterfinal bouts. – Also on Wednesday, following The Ultimate Fighter, UFC In The Moment: Rampage Jackson debuts at 10 p.m. ET on SpikeTV and then Countdown to UFC 130 follows at 10:30 p.m. – On Friday, Titan Fighting 18 takes place in Kansas City. The card features former UFC stars Jens Pulver, Drew McFedries, and Rory Markham, among others. The card will air on HDNet Fights starting at 7 p.m. ET. – On Saturday, UFC 130 takes place from Las Vegas. The main event is a light heavyweight contest between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill. The co-main event is a heavyweight clash between Roy Nelson and Frank Mir. The main card will air on PPV at 9 p.m. ET while two prelims will air on SpikeTV at 8 p.m. ET. – Sunday has Dream 17 taking place in Saitama, Japan. The Bantamweight Grand Prix quarterfinals will be taking place at the event and also Shinya Aoki will face off with Rich Clementi. Caol Uno and Joachim Hansen will also be in action. Check listings for TV availability. Posted in: Dream, Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Tags: Brock Lesnar, Dream, Frank Mir, Junior Dos Santos, Matt Hamill, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Roy Nelson, Shinya Aoki, UFC, UFC 130, Ultimate Fighter
Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update Posted by Drew Ellis (05/01/2011 @ 8:04 pm) It is Sunday night, so that means it is time for your weekly MMA on TV update.
Here is a look at the MMA content that will be airing this week: – On Wednesday, the sixth episode of The Ultimate Fighter will air on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. ET. Team Lesnar got back on track with a win last week and now the final two prelim fights will take place and then Dana White will announce the wild card entrants. Also, Team dos Santos continues to have dissention between the coaches. – On Friday, Tachi Palace Fights 9 will stream live on Sherdog.com at 8:30 p.m. ET. The show will take place from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. The event will be headlined by a flyweight contest between Ian McCall (9-2) and Dustin Ortiz (7-0). Other competitors on the card include former UFC fighters Efrain Escudero (15-2) and Gerald Harris (17-4). – On Saturday, Bellator 43 takes place from the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma. The card is still being pieced together, but the main event is the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Final between Jay Hieron (21-4) and Rick Hawn (11-0). The event airs on MTV2 at 9 p.m. ET. Posted in: Bellator, Events, Fighters, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Tags: Bellator, Brock Lesnar, Jay Hieron, Junior Dos Santos, Rick Hawn, Tachi Palace Fights, UFC, Ultimate Fighter
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