UFC Champion and Underdog

Benson Henderson (19-2), is the UFC's current and defending Champion this evening in his title fight with Anthony Pettis this evening.

Benson Henderson has been fighting under the Zuffa Brand since his WEC debut against Anthony Njokuani, in January 2009 in which he won by guillotine in the second round. Since then he has racked up a total of 12 combined victories in the UFC and WEC. He has defeated the likes of Jamie Varner, Donald Cerrone (twice), Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Frankie Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. Ben Henderson's only loss since his WEC debut was in his final WEC bout with Anthony Pettis. It was a closely contested battle in which Anthony Pettis pulled his now famous Showtime Kick out of his bag of tricks to steal the fifth round and entire fight to become the WEC Lightweight Champion back in December 2010.

Anthony Pettis made his debut in the WEC in June 2009 against Mike Campbell in which he secured his victory with a triangle choke in the first round. Pettis has 8 victories under his belt under the Zuffa label. He has defeated current Champion Benson Henderson, Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon, and most recently Donald Cerrone. He has acquired only two losses in the UFC/WEC to Bart Palaszewski and Clay Guida.

Since the both men have joined the UFC, Benson Henderson has not lost a single fight and has managed to capture the UFC's Lightweight title and defend it successfully three times. Even though Henderson has the better recordnand less blemishes under Zuffa, many sources are giving the edge to Pettis. Both men have grown since their last rendezvous in the WEC and Henderaon has continued to prove to the judges that he can control and win a fight. Pettis has still continued to grow in his creativity in strikes as well as his finishing ability.

I think that Pettis will be flahier this time around,  but I dont think that flashy approach guarentees success.  I think it will be another close fight in which I still see Benson Henderson coming out on top this time as he has against all of his UFC opponents since his arrival.

Cheick Kongo Flollows Rampage to Bellator

After taking a break from MMA afyer his last defeat at the hands of "Big Country" Roy Nelson, former UFC Heavyweight standout and MMA vet Cheick Kongo has followed longtime friend and Wolf's Lair training partner Quinton "Rampage"  Jackson to Bellator and is expected to compete in their Fall Heavyweight tournament.

UFC Fight Night 27 Delivers

Last night's Fox Sports 1 event was a successful event that included lots of entertaining fights.  There was knockouts, submissions and close decisions all packed into one amazing event.  Carlos Condit was able to rise up last night and put on an amazing performance that earned he and Kampmann Fight of the Night honors.  Carlos Condit proved that his climb to the top was no fluke.  Condit was coming off of a two fight losing streak against top competition including a fight with the UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre and St. Pierre's UFC 167 opponent, Johnny Hendricks.  I think that Condit is now 1 or 2 wins away from a title shot.  Condit survived the early takedowns of Kampmann in the first round to go on and win rounds 2 and 3 and finish Kampmann in the fourth by TKO due to strikes.

Rafael Dos Anjos also made a statement in his fight with Donald Cerrone.  Dos Anjos was able to keep the pressure on Cerrone in their bout in which he earned a decision victory and moves up the ranks in the UFC Lightweight Division.  Cerrone had no answer for the striking attack that dos Anjos used to keep Cerrone from getting comfortable.  Cerrone wasn't able to find his rhythm until the third round in which he was finally able to open up with an effective strike game which featured his devastating leg kicks that made dos Anjos lose his footing early in the round.  Though Cerrone was able to put off a great third round, it just proved to be too late in the fight to pull off a win.  Dos Anjos made a real name for himself in the Lightweight division with his win over Donald Cerrone.  This was dos Anjos fifth straight victory in the UFC.

Recent Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum came into last night's event with a win over hyped up opponent Uriah Hall into his welterweight debut over Brian Melancon.  Gastelum came into the fight looking to be in amazing shape and looked calm and confident as he was going into an important fight in his post-TUF UFC career.  Gastelum was able to out-strike the powerful striker Melancon.  Melancon was rocked and dropped by a series of punches thrown by Gastelum.  Instead of continuing with strikes on the ground, Gastelum quickly took Melancon's back and secured a rear naked choke to earn the submission victory in the first round, winning his welterweight debut.

Another Ultimate Fighter winner was able to pull off a victory in their fight last night and that man was the talented Court McGee.  Court McGee was able to outstrike and overpressure Brian Whittaker last night handing Whittaker his first loss in the UFC.  The win came via split decision in which the judges scored the bout 30-27,27-30, 29-28 for Court McGee.

Takeya Mizugaki also put on a show for the fans with Erik Perez as the put on a complete mixed-martial-arts fight that had a perfect balance of striking and grappling that was delightful to watch and possibly my favorite fight from last night.  The fight was decided via split decision but I felt it was clear enough that Mizugaki had earned a unanimous decision but the judges thought otherwise.  This was Takeya's third straight victory in the UFC.

I would rate this event 8/10 as it was an amazing event that completely delivered while other UFC events have disappointed.

UFC Fight Night 27 Results

Main card
Carlos Condit def. Martin Kampmann via fourth-round TKO
Rafael dos Anjos def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision
Kevin Gastelum def. Brian Melancon via submission (rear-naked choke)
Court McGee def. Robert Whittaker via split decision
Takeya Mizugaki def. Erik Perez via split decision
Brad Tavares def. Bubba McDaniel via unanimous decision

UFC Fight Night 27 Weigh In Results

MAIN CARD

Carlos Condit (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170)
Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155.5)
Kelvin Gastelum (170) vs. Brian Melancon (170)
Court McGee (170) vs. Robert Whittaker (170.5)
Takeya Mizugaki (135.5) vs. Erik Perez (135.5)
Brad Tavares (186) vs. Bubba McDaniel (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Dylan Andrews (185) vs. Papy Abedi (184.5)
Justin Edwards (170) vs. Brandon Thatch (170)
Darren Elkins (145) vs. Hatsu Hioki (146)
James Head (170.5) vs. Jason High (171)
Zak Cummings (170.5) vs. Ben Alloway (170)
Roger Bowling (155.5) vs. Abel Trujillo (155)

Ladies and Gentlemen, we will witness an amazing card tomorrow evening.

Chael and Kenny's UFN 27 Predictions

Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen weigh in on the coming UFC Event this Wednesday.

UFC Fight Night 27 Predictions

My predictions:

UFC Fight Night 27 Fight Card

UFC Fight Night 27 is set to be an exciting night filled with great fights.  The event will be headlined with a rematch between former WEC Welterweight Champion and UFC Interim Welterweight Champion, Carlos Condit and Danish welterweight stand out Martin Kampmann.  In their first bout Kampmann came out the victor by split decision after going three exciting, back-and-forth rounds of action.  Both men are in need of a victory after coming off of losses in recent bouts.  Both men have a common loss to Johnny Hendricks in the last year.  This match promises to be an exciting match between exciting fighters who left it all in the cage in their last match.

UFC Fight Night 27 also features the UFC debut of Kelvin Gastelum after his successful win over heavy fan favorite Uriah Hall to be come TUF Season 17 winner. Donald Cerrone also looks to regain his position as a top contender in the UFC's Lightweight Division and Rafael dos Anjos looks to make his way up the ladder in their fight that will be the co-main event of the card.

Main Card (FOX Sports 1 8PM ET)

Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
Donald Cerrone vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Brian Melancon
Court McGee vs. Robert Whittaker
Robert McDaniel vs. Brad Tavares
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Erik Perez

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2 6PM ET)

Papy Abedi vs. Dylan Andrews
Justin Edwards vs. Brandon Thatch
Darren Elkins vs. Hatsu Hioki
James Head vs. Jason High

Preliminary Card (Facebook 5PM ET)

Ben Alloway vs. Zak Cummings
Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo

Jessica Eye's UFC Debut

Newly signed UFC Bantamweight, Jessica Eye, will be making her UFC debut at UFC 166 to face Bantamweight top contender, Sarah Kaufman in October. They will both be making their UFC debuts in this event headlined by the third meeting of UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and challenger and former champion Junior Dos Santos.

Koscheck/Woodley at UFC 167

The UFC has been very busy with putting together exciting fights. The most recent fight to join the cast of 2013 closeout fights is Josh Koscheck vs Tyrone Woodley. Both fighters are exciting fighters who put on exciting fights. Koscheck is coming off of a tko loss to Robbie Lawler and Woodley is coming off of a decision loss to Jake Shields. They will be fighting at the 20th anniversary show UFC 167 which is headlined by Georges St. Pierre vs. Johnny Hendricks for the UFC Welterweight Championship,

Lyoto Machida and Tim Kennedy Scheduled to Fight

After a decision to drop to the 185 pound weight class, Lyoto Machida finally has an opponent.  Tim Kennedy has stepped up to the challenge of facing former Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto Machida on November 6th at the UFC Fight for the Troops 3.

Vitor Belfort Set to face Dan Henderson at 205

It has been announced by the UFC that Vitor Belfort will be facing Dan Henderson in the Light Heavyweight Division on November 9th.  This is coming after Vitor has stated that he would not fight Tim Kennedy or any other Middleweight in the UFC unless if it was for the UFC Middleweight Championship.  The two fighters originally fought in PRIDE in 2006 with Henderson scoring a unanimous decision.  It was rumored that he might be facing off with Lyoto Machida, who will be facing Tim Kennedy soon as the main event of UFC Fight for the Troops 3.

Dan Henderson is coming off of consecutive decision losses to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.  This is a must-win fight for Dan Henderson.  I think Henderson has the ability to win this fight as long as he goes in with a a tactical approach to the fight.  Vitor Belfort who is coming off of two consecutive knockout wins over Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. He will finally get the opportunity to face someone in the UFC who possess as much one-punch knockout power as he has.  I think the UFC is putting together yet another crowd pleasing fight for the fans.  I don't agree with the fact that the UFC is letting Vitor Belfort play the diva in the middleweight division and letting him choose who he will and won't fight.  Belfort must remember that he is an employee and not the employer.

Rory Meets Lawler at UFC 167

UFC President Dana White, hinted at a possible matchup between Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler in an interview with Ariel Helwani earlier this month. It has now been made official for UFC 167. This fight will join the fight between GSP and Johnny Hendricks in November.

UFC Signs Jessica Eye

Recently Bellator announced that they were getting out of Women's Mixed Martial Arts. In the style of Bellator, the UFC had decided to pick up one of Bellator's castoffs. The UFC had signed former Bellator Flyweight competitor, Jessica Eye. Eye, who is coming off a recent victory in a catchweight fight with Carina Damm, is rumored to be the UFC's possible opponent for Sarah Kaufman. It has been rumored that this potential match could occur at UFC 166, but nothing is official yet.

Lyoto Opens Up About Fights He Wants

After a cocontroversial loss to Phil Davis, Lyoto Machida has decided upon fights that he wanted to take. It had been earlier reported that UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva, had wanted to put on a fight between Lyoto Machida and Nick Diaz. After this Saturday's Fox Sports 1 event, Dana White killed the noise on that one stating that that fight will not be happening.  Machida has come out stating that he would like fights with Chael Sonnen as well as Vitor Belfort.

Though I find that both of these fights would be amazing for fight fans I am most interested in seeing Lyoto facing the newly reinvigorated Chael Sonnen.

I think that Chael Sonnen prevents a high pressure fight game that proved to be deadly to most of his opponents including Machida's teammate and former UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, in their first fight.  I think that Chael will not give Machida the opportunity to do his ususal dancing around the cage. I see a potential Machida/Sonnen fight would look much like Silva/Sonnen I with the exception of Machida not having an injury going into his fight so it will be more competitive. Dont get me wrong I still think that Machida could win this fight if he can pressure Sonnen before Sonnen can pressure him (see UFC 159 Jones vs. Sonnen.) The only thing that could prevent this , atch from happening would be Sonnen's desire to square off with Wanderlei Silva.

In the case of Belfort vs. Machida I think that it would be a fight that Machida could win a little easier than fighting Sonnen. It would be a great fight to promote in Brazil. Belfort is on a tear in the Middleweight division and feels that he is entitled to a title fight and is turning down all non title dights at middleweight. Perhaps the UFC can put together a catchweight fight at 195 so then it could happen without Belfort being worried about his stature in the 185 lb category.

Sarah Kaufman Dropped From UFN Aug. 28

After reporting earlier this month that Sara Mcmann would no longer be competing August 28th at UFC Fight Night, we have learned that the UFC hasnt been able to find a new opponent for Sarah Kaufman.  With no opponent for Kaufman, they have decided to completely scrap Kaufman from the event. There is no word on whether or not the UFC will be rescheduling Mcmann vs. Kaufman.

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A Chael Sonnen Interview is Never Dull

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs68YQN9hq0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Is Matt Brown Ready for GSP?

After a stellar knockout performance over Mike Pyle at UFC Fight Night 26, Matt Brown (20-11) called out UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre.  Matt Brown feels that he is ready for a title shot but it raises the question, is he truly ready for a title shot?

Matt Brown is an Ultimate Fighter Season 7 alumni who has been competing in the UFC since 2008.  His current win streak which sits at 6 straight Octogon victories.  Usually any top contender with that kind of win streak could easily argue a title shot.  5 of 6 of his victories have come by way of K.O./T.K.O. in his last 6 bouts.  His fights are always exciting and 4 straight knockout victories is impressive to have on your resume, but we must remember his competition.

Though I personally see Matt Brown as a top contender in the UFC Welterweight Division it could be argued that he hasn't faced other top contenders.  I think that a fight between Brown and St. Pierre would be an exciting fight if he were facing  St. Pierre pre-Serra fights.  We have to keep in mind that St. Pierre will do what he's been doing for the last half-decade; take em down, keep him in place without doing damage and become another boring title fight.  A fight with the St. Pierre who used to entertain the fans by showing a complete MMA game instead of just lying in the guard would be a win for the fans.

I think a victory over a Top 10 competitor would get him into the top ten rankings and put him in the mix for a title shot.  If I had to pick a next fight for Brown it would be a match up with Strikeforce import Robbie Lawlor if the matchup with Rory McDonald doesn't fall into place.  I think that would be another crowd-pleasing contest.

Browne vs. Overeem Highlight

Below is a link to the highlights of the Browne K.O. To Overeem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G0HYU8VksI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

My Fight Predictions

Got the main event right but that was about it.  I didn't get to see the event but,  I knew Mauricio Rua was not going to pull it off tonight.

UFC Fight Night 26 Weigh-in Results

UFC Weigh-in Results

Main Card:
Chael Sonnen (205) vs. Shogun Rua (205)
Travis Browne (236) vs. Alistair Overeem (255.5)
Iuri Alcantara (136) vs. Urijah Faber (135.5)
Mike Pyle (170) vs. Matt Brown (171)
John Howard (185) vs. Uriah Hall (184)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Joe Lauzon (155)

Preliminary Card:
Michael McDonald (135.5) vs. Brad Pickett (135.5)
Max Holloway (145) vs. Conor McGregor (146)
Steven Siler (145.5) vs. Mike Brown (145.5)
Daniel Pineda (144.5) vs. Diego Brandao (146)
Cole Miller (146) vs. Manny Gamburyan (145.5)
Cody Donovan (204) vs. Ovince St. Preux (205.5)
Ramsey Nijem (155) vs. James Vick (155)

"King Mo" Looks To Avenge His Loss to Newton

Bellator looks to strengthen their Nov. 6 Pay-Per-View card by adding the rematch between "King Mo" Lowal and Emanual Newton.  After suffering a knockout loss from Newton by way of spinning backfist, King Mo gets to face Newton, whom he asked for after his Victory over Noe. This fight is the third fight added to the card so far.

I think that this is a smart play for Bellator to add a fight that lets one of their highest profile fighters, also a fan favorite, an opportunity to avenge his devestating loss. I think that if they add a few more good fights, more of their occasional fans will start paying attention.

This fight joins the Jackson/Ortiz fight and Chandler/Alvarez fight.

Jackson Reveals His Original Plan

Rampage recently revealed that the rumors that were spread this summer of a possible match with Roy Hones Jr. were somewhat right. Jackson stated that he was prepared to not only face Jones Jr. in a bosing match but also face him in the cage in an MMA bout.  I feel that the boxing match would be more interesting than the MMA fight, unless if I was the only one who saw the Couture/Toney fight. Though I feel Jones Jr. would fair better in an MMA bout, I think that boxing would he more competitive with Jones Jr. getting the victory. If it comes together it comes together fine, but if not I won't beg for it. All these plans  were foiled when Tito came into the Bellator picture. I personally think that Jackson/Jones Jr. is more entertaining than anything involving a man named Tito Ortiz.

October 9th is the Date

As we posted earlier, Jake Shields and Demain Maia are set to fight later on this year and now we have more details. The date is October 9th. They will be headlining UFN 29.

Maia vs. Shields in the Near Future

There has not been a set date,  nor is there a signed contract for the fight but welterweight contenders Demian Maia and Jake Sheilds have verbally agreed to fight in the future.  I think that this will be an important fight for Maia.  I think that a won over Shields could help Maia get a potential title shot with the champ.  This will be an interesting fight between two grappling wizards. As a fan of the ground game I look forward to the two of them clashing.

Alvarez Finally Getting Back in the Cage

After a long legal circus with Bellator and Viacom,  Eddie Alvarez has finally come to an 8-fight agreement that will get him fighting again very soon. His first fight will pit him in a rematch with current Bellator Lightweight Champion, Mike Chandler on Bellator's  PPV debut on November 2nd. This fight will be joined by a clash of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions, Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Alodo's Controversial Words about Couture

http://tpt.to/a3Lv8Lv

Rousey Lands Fast & Furious 7 Role

WWE Champion and actor, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson confirmed via Twitter that Rousey was officially joining the cast as he posted a picture of her wearing his WWE Championship.

WSOF Results

Last night's fight card was a decent card filled with stars that the casual MMA fan may not be familiar with, but overall a good card.

The fist fight on the televised main card featured former UFC Lightweight and Featherweight fighter Tyson Griffin making his debut in the WSOF. It was a match in which I didn't have him winning a single minute. It appeared that Griffin was not fully prepared for his debut. His physique looked a little out of shape. He was eventually stopped in the third round after getting his back taken by Calavante and ground-and-pounded. Tyson immediately challenged the stoppage but the truth is Griffin was not going to be able to improve his postion and defeat was inevitible.

The next match was between WSOF President, Ray Sefo and Dave Huckaba.  This fight was quite entertaining. Sefobused his elite standup game to pick upaet Huckaba. Huckaba and Sefo both had great moments in the fight. I wpuld say that the first round was dominated by Sefo. In the second round, Huckaba got more comfortable which led to great exchanges in the second round.  I still felt that Sefo took the second round despite Huckaba stepping up in performance.  In the third round, Sefo continued to rain on the punches and crazy leg kicks that were winning the fight for him.  During the third round about half way through, Sefo attempted a spinning back fist that missed and Huckaba capitalized on that mistake by opening up with the hands and eventually getting Sefo pressed againtst the cage and causing a TKO victory on Sefo.

Nick Newell then faced off with Keon Caldwell. It was a great fight that displayed the mix of Newell's wrestling and jiu jitsu skills that lead to a quick choke victory over Caldwell in the first round. 

The next fight was a fight in the Bantamweight division between Marlon Moraes and Brandon Hempleman. It was fight that consisted of Moraes using leg kick after leg kick after leg kick that led to Hempleman limping and falling over and over again. He did this for two rounds until the third round he decided to start throwing punches. Even while he was limping and falling, Hempleman continued to press on and attempt to attack with kicks and punches. Moraes won an easy decision victory over Hempleman.

Maine event of the card was between Tyrone Spong and Angel DeAnda. It was very competitive but not entertaining. Spong went on to win a unanimous decision victory. Overall I would give the event a 6 out of 10.

MAIN CARD

Tyrone Spong def. Angel DeAnda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Marlon Moraes def. Brandon Hempleman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nick Newell def. Keon Caldwell via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:07
Dave Huckaba def. Ray Sefo via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 4:32
Gesias Cavalcante def. Tyson Griffin via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 1:37
PRELIMINARY CARD
Gerald Harris def. Jorge Santiago via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Lewis Gonzales def. Antonio McKee via unanimous technical decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jared Papazian def. John Robles via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Victor Valenzuela def. Isaac Gutierrez via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:41

Official Weigh-in Results for WSOF 4

The official weigh-ins courtesy of MMAFighting.com:

NBC Sports Network main card:Tyrone Spong (205) vs. Angel DeAnda (205)
Marlon Moraes (136) vs. Brandon Hempleman (136)
Ray Sefo (255) vs. Dave Huckaba (264)
Tyson Griffin (156) vs. JZ Cavalcante (156)
Nick Newell (155) vs. Keon Caldwell (156)

Preliminary card (stream can be viewed on MMAFighting.com):
Jorge Santiago (170.2) vs. Gerald Harris (171)
Antonio McKee (155) vs. Lewis Gonzalez (156)
Jared Papazian (136) vs. John Robles (134)
Isaac Gutierrez (150) vs. Victor Valenzuela (150)

Any predictions for the fight?

MMATorch Contributor, Christian Walsh On UFC 163

COLUMN: The Legacy of UFC 163 - How the Fights and Fighters on the "Aldo vs. Korean Zombie" Card Will Be Remembered

Ronda Rousey Lands Cover of Maxim Magazine

UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey will be featured on the cover of the September issue of Maxim magazine.  The link for a preview of the photos is listed below:

Rousey's Maxim Photos

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey is definitely the public face of women's mixed martial arts and has gained the attention of all who hear her name.  She has landed photo shoot after photo shoot and is now reported to be staring in The Expendables 3 and currently in negotiations with the filmmakers of Fast & Furious 7.  Rousey seems to always stay busy promoting herself and the sport of MMA.  Rousey is staring along her bitter rival Miesha Tate in the UFC's most recent installment of The Ultimate Fighter reality series set to debut on Fox Sports 1 in September.  She and Tate will fight at UFC 168 for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion on Dec. 28

Josh Burkman States That He Will Be Competing for a WSOF Title Soon

In a recent interview posted on Sherdog.com, WSOF standout and former UFC welterweight, Josh Burkman states that he will be competing in a WSOF title match in October.

Below is a link to the video of the interview:

Josh Burkman: I’ll Fight for WSOF Belt in October

UFC 168: Miesha Tate Believes Ronda Rousey Has 'Jealousy Issues'

Sarah Kaufman Will Need a New Opponent for UFN

It was recently reported that Sarah Kaufman's original opponent for Ultimate Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2, Sara McMann, has been forced to drop out of her fight on Aug. 28.  There UFC has yet to announce a replacement for Kaufman who will be making her UFC debut.  Kaufman is a top contender who has an impressive (16-2) mixed martial arts career with wins over Miesha Tate, Alexis Davis (twice) and Liz Carmouche.

The question now becomes, who does the UFC get to replace the top contender?

 Possible matchups in my opinion would be a rematch with Liz Carmouche, whom she defeated earlier in their careers.  Carmouche was the first person to challenge UFC Champion, Ronda Rousey in the first ever female bout in the UFC.  Liz Carmouche was close to defeating Rousey via choke in their contest for the UFC Womens Bantamweight Championship before Rousey locked in her signature armbar.  Carmouche is coming off of a dominating TKO victory over UFC newcomer Jessica Adrade.  Carmouche showed a wide array of her veteran skills to prove that she is still a force to be reckoned with in the UFC Womens Bantamweight division.  If Carmouche is able to avenge her Strikeforce decision loss to Kaufman she could prove to the UFC that she is ready for a shot at the title with possibly Cat Zingano being the only one standing in her way.

Another option that the UFC could take would be a bout with Amanda Nunes who also is coming off of an impressive TKO victory over Sheila Gaff in her UFC debut this past Saturday at UFC 168.  The spotlight of being in the "big stage" didn't seem to effect Nunes who put on an amzing show and won impressively over veteran Gaff.  I think it would be an interesting match up between two excited Top 10 contenders.

Ready for the Happy Days to Begin

After a mediocre event this fight weekend, I must say that I'm ready to see if the coming Fox Sports 1 cards are going to deliver upon the hype.  I really believe that they can  but more importantly I believe that they have to.  The last two UFC events (UFC on FOX 8 & UFC 168) have not lived up to their potentials.  As I posted earlier this week. The Bellator 97 event that aired on Spike in my opinion had more engaging events than this past weekend which shared the same week as a UFC Pay-Per-View.  Exceptions to the mediocre label would be Demetrious Johnson's performance over John Moraga.  That fight was my favorite of the Fox event.  Sergio Moraes and Amanda Nunes also put on excellent performances at the most recent UFC 168 event.  I think that the Fox Sports cards are put together well and have the potential to be HUGE.  I just hope that the same hype that I've had for fights such as MacDonald/Ellenberger, Machida/Davis & Aldo/Jung isn't crumbled by dull performances.  The fight that I'm most anticipating is the bout between Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann.  I feel that it is a very important fight for both men, especially Condit.  Condit really needs a win over Kampmann to solidify that he is still a top contender in the Welterweight division.  His last two performances were great but not enough to pull off a victory.  I think that both of the top contenders need a very impressive win to get back in the title picture.

What Lyoto Should Do Next

After a controversial decision loss last night, BleacherReport.com has compiled a list of fights that make sense for Machida and I agree that all of them can work (more specifically a fight with a former UFC LHW Champion.)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1726887-ufc-163-results-5-fights-for-lyoto-machida-to-take-next

Aldo Defends the Title Yet Again

Jose Aldo defended his title successfully Saturday night at UFC 163 against Chan Sung Jung.  In a main event for the UFC Featherweight Championship, Jose Aldo proved why he is the UFC Champion.  He won in a dominating, cerebral performance in which he paced himself perfectly so that he could fight the entire five rounds if necessary.

It wasn't the most exciting fight of the night nor was it what I expected.  Jose Aldo was very strategic in his approach to the fight.  He was very patient and cautious of Jung's explosiveness and finishing ability that has resulted in multiple post-fight bonuses.  The first two rounds of the fight consisted of Aldo showing off his crisp boxing against what was like a near-lifeless Chan Sung Jung.  Combinations were landing left and right from Aldo.  Head-body-head.  Body-head-body.  Very crisp boxing from the Champ.

The third round began kind of like the first two rounds with not a whole lot of action but then near the third round the combatants began to open up and the fight was finally began.  Korean Zombie and Aldo were both opening up and landing.  Aldo was getting the better of the exchanges but we were beginning to see the Zombie that earned a reputation as an exciting fighter.

Just when things were getting exciting, in the fourth round, Jung's shoulder dislocated during an exchange with the champ.  Aldo's excellent finishing extinct kicked in and Aldo began to target the shoulder with a series of high kicks that continually landed on the injured shoulder.  Korean Zombie ends up against the cage and Aldo smothers him, gets him to the ground and closes the match with shots to the face.

One thing to note was how Aldo did not throw a huge volume of his infamous leg kicks.  I was greatly looking forward to seeing those destructive kicks.  The absence of those kicks attributed to some of the dullness of the fight.  It wasn't an entertaining bout but I respect Jose Aldo's cerebral approach to the fight.  He knows what it takes to stay a champion and guess what? He walked away with his belt, which is all that matters!  If Georges St-Pierre can lay and pray, why can't Aldo counter box?

I hope that the UFC puts together Aldo vs Lamas or Aldo vs Mendes in a rematch.  Both of those would be exciting fights.  Below is a link to the full fight results:

http://www.sbnation.com/mma/fight-card/124071/ufc-163-aldo-vs-korean-zombie

I may get bashed for saying this but I feel the Bellator event, Bellator 97, earlier this week was a little more entertaining.  I'm a huge UFC fan, but I'm just saying.

Davis Unable to Submit Machida-Still Pulls Off Unanimous Decision

Coming into this fight, Phil Davis said he was going to shock the world by submiting Lyoto Machido.  He was right about half of that philosophy. He pulled off a close unanimous decision in a fight that I personally had Machida winning the entire fight.

Machida appeared to out-strike Davis during the entire fight and stuff all but two takedowns.  When taken to the ground, Machida received no damage or threat of a stoppage from his opponent Davis.

Instantly after the decision was read, the entire crowd began to boo after what appeared to be, in the eyes of the crowd, a Machida victory.  The fight was close but unimpressive. It underdelived on what could've been an exciting fight.  I still wouldn't say that Davis is ready to face Jones in his current state after his performance tonight.  If the UFC puts Davis vs. Jones together I would highly disapprove. He needs an impressive win over another top 5 opponent.

Below are the scores from the UFC App as I was scoring it.

Join Me on MMATakeDown

I play a form of Fantasy MMA via mmatakedown.net.  It follows all of the major MMA promotions.  You pick the winner as well as the method of victory, get a score and move amongst the ranks.  It helps bring a little competition outside of the cage for the fans.  I will post my scores after every event that I play.

Good Day to all!

After an Unimpressive Victory over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald May Face Robbie Lawler

During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Dana White reveals a possible match up between Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler.  I think it's an excellent idea to put this together.  After a less than spectacular fight with Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8, Rory MacDonald will now have the opportunity to validate his Top Ten Ranking in the welterweight division against "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler who is coming off a brilliant K.O. victory over Bobby Voelker.

The following link contains Ariel Helwani's interview with Dana White

http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/7/31/4576602/dana-white-talks-team-rouseys-demands-macdonald-vs-lawler-daley

Official Fight Poster for Rampage vs. Tito.

I think this fight had potential to have been a great fight in 2006 but I will still watch simply because it has attracted my attention.  What are your thoughts?  Who do you think will take this win?  How do you feel about Bellator targeting UFC vets after they stated that they weren't interested in signing ex-UFC stars?