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-The Tough Spar MMA Team
UFC 173 on May 24th was originally scheduled to showcase a title fight between UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, but an injury has forced that match to be postponed until UFC 175 . Now the UFC has put the undisputed Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao in the main event spot against T.J. Dillashaw. Dillashaw is 9-2 in his professional career and 5-2 since joining the UFC. Dillashaw is a technical fighter with enough skills to put on a decent fight against Barao but I see Barao coming away with the victory.
For your viewing pleasure UFC.com has featured the UFC 168 title fight between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate that earned them Fight of the Night honors, to get us ready for UFC 170. Enjoy:
Last night was not one of the best cards that the UFC has put on in recent years. It was a night that went to many decisions and didn't really leave me impressed. As an avid fight fan and blogger it is mandatory that I watch the fight, but I had determined that I wasn't going to watch the fight at all because I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be pleasing. I'll be completely honest and say that I am not a fan whatsoever of the UFC's Bantamweight division and had no interest in watching Faber fight and come up short for the third time for the belt. Contrary to how I felt about the event, I felt obligated to watch anyways as I haven't missed a PPV fight that I was home for in quite some time. Let's begin with the Fox Sports 1 Prelims: The first bout on the Fox Sports 1 card was perhaps one of my favorite fights on the card as it had two young guns in the UFC's Lightweight Division squaring off against one another. The two young men went toe to toe with each other with great technical striking. Al Iaquinta was almost submitted with a tight choke from Lee, but managed to escape and win a close, but obvious unanimous decision victory. The only other fight that stood out on the card was another Lightweight bout between Tristar Gym's John Makdessi and Brazilian Alan Patrick. It was a fight that pitted a lengthy grappler in Patrick and a stout striker in Makdessi. It was a bout that saw Makdessi get work his way through Patrick's reach and close the distance. It was a fight in which you could give the first round to Patrick, but the last two rounds were definitely Makdessi's rounds. After the fight went the distance, somehow the judges gave probably the worst decision since Phil Davis being granted the decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 163. It was TERRIBLE judging of a clear-cut decision that really should have went to Makdessi. The final results for the prelims are as follows:
Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision
Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split decision
Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision
Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision
Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision
Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision
And now to the Main Card:
The main card started off with a classic rising contender vs. seasoned vet scenario as Abel Trujillo took on Jamie Varner in the opening fight. It was a fight in which Varner controlled round one by out-striking Abel Trujillo and rocking him before the round ended. In the second round, we saw what became Silva vs. Stann II as Varner and and Trujillo swung for the fences and threw caution to the wind. Just as Varner was even closer to finishing the fight, he gets countered brilliantly by Trujillo.
The next fight was one that I was looking forward to the most on the card as Ali Bagautinov is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighters in the UFC's lower weight classes. Bagautinov faced the new Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the form of weigh-in delinquent, John Lineker. It was a decent fight in which Bagautinov won the first round. Lineker gained a little momentum in round two as he out-struck Bagautinov. In the final round, Bagautinov took back the fight that had belonged to him in the first round. He out-classed Lineker everywhere that the fight went in the third round and earned a unanimous decision.
Before I even talk about what happened in the next fight, I will just give you some stats and let you put the rest together.
Fighter A had a 3 significant strikes w/ a total of 5 strikes landed altogether. Fighter B landed 62 significant strikes and a total of 139 strikes landed. Fighter A spent most of the fight backed against the cage or on his back on the mat. Fighter B controlled where the fight went and took advantage of every position. This fight is a fight between former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir and former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem. If you couldn't match the numbers with the athlete that they represent then I will go ahead and let you know who they are. Fighter A is Frank Mir and Fighter B is Alistair Overeem. What happened in that match is exactly what I expected to happen and that my folks was a one-sided beatdown by Overeem. Overeem looked great in his return to the win column as he demolished Mir with out gassing. He faught very methodically as he picked apart Mir standing and on the ground. Overeem won a unanimous decision in a fight that was not his most exciting fight, but the fight showed his ability to control his cardio and pace himself successfully.
The next fight was the first of the two title fights scheduled for the night. Jose Aldo was slated to compete against Ricardo Lamas for the UFC Featherweight Championship. Aldo did what he does best. He brilliantly counter-struck Lamas for five rounds. It's that simple and doesn't really require much of an elaborate paragraph on what occurred. It won't be a fight that most people remember as the next Melendez-Sanchez, but if you enjoy watching a champion take no damage and outclass an opponent like I do, then this was your kind of fight. Aldo destroyed Lamas with the leg kicks that he was unable to deliver to Korean Zombie due to the broken foot he sustained in the first round of his fight at UFC 163. As a huge fan of Jose Aldo's leg kick's I was pleased with his performance. His approach to the fight was cautious, but still interesting. Aldo used all of his skills to avoid many takedowns and didn't give up a single round. Hopefully Dana White puts together the fight between Aldo and Pettis that he had hinted at not long ago.
The main event was very anti climactic as former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao. The fight only lasted for one round and was stopped prematurely by referee Herb Dean. The fight was stopped after Faber had been rocked by a beautiful punch thrown by Barao sent Faber to the mat. Barao rushed in to put the nail in the coffin for the victory, but Faber was able to grab a hold of Barao's leg with his right hand and defend punches with his left hand. Faber also threw up a thumbs up to show that he was okay. It is hard to determine whether or not Dean could see the thumbs up. As a man who is tired of watching Urijah Faber fall short in title fights since losing his WEC crown to Brown (see WEC 41, WEC 48, UFC 132 and UFC 149) I can honestly say that Faber didn't truly lose this fight. Herb Dean is an excellent referee, but he stopped the fight too early. Even though I don't want to see Faber fight the belt again in a way I feel that a rematch could be justified.
Renan Barao def. Urijah Faber via TKO due to strikes, Round 1
Jose Aldo def. Ricardo Lamas via unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision
Ali Bagautinov def. John Lineker via unanimous decision
Abel Trujillo def. Jamie Varner via knockout KO punch, Round 2
Preliminary Card:
Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision
Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split decision
Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision
Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision
Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision
Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision
Renan Barao (135) vs. Urijah Faber (134.5)
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Ricardo Lamas (144.5)
Alistair Overeem (257) vs. Frank Mir (256.5)
John Lineker (126) vs. Ali Bagautinov (126)
Jamie Varner (156) vs. Abel Trujillo (155.5)
Preliminary Card:
John Makdessi (155) vs. Alan Patrick Silva Alves (155.5)
Chris Cariaso (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125.5)
Nick Catone (185.5) vs. Tom Watson (185.5)
Al Iaquinta (155) vs. Kevin Lee (155.5)
Clint Hester (185.5) vs. Andy Enz (184.5)
Tony Martin (155.5) vs. Rashid Magomedov (155)
Neil Magny (170.25) vs. Gasan Umalatov (170)
Maxim has began compiling their annual Hot 100 List and 5 UFC stars need your votes for the list. Ring Girls: Arrianny Celeste and Brittany Palmer, fighters: Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate and UFC program host Kenda Perez all made the list. You can vote at http://www.maxim.com/hot100/2014 to make sure they all make it high on the list.
Today the UFC announced that Dominick Cruz is injured once again and will not be able to face Renan Barao. Cruz has suffered a groin injury and after being out with a torn ACL for two years already, the UFC has decided to strip Cruz of his title and crown Barao as the official UFC Bantamweight Champion after defending the interim title twice.
With Cruz out of the Fight, the UFC has decided to book Urijah Faber as the replacement opponent for Renan. Barao and Faber first met each other for the interim title when Cruz firat pulled out of a title defense against Faber in their rematch.
To be completely honest I much prefer to see this fight rather than the original contest. If Faber wouldnt have gotten this fight we would've been stuck watching Faber fight another man who isn't worthy of being in the cage with him in his next fight. Faber has cleaned out the UFC Bantanweight Division on his way back to a title shot. There isn't an entertaining fight in the division left for Faber aside from a title shot. I think that the fight for Faber is overdue considering how he has dismantled all of his opponents that the UFC has put in front of him between title fights. I wasnt looking forward to the "Champion vs. Champion" to begin with considerin I felt the Cruz should've been stripped months ago. We will truly see if Faber can become the UFC Bantamweight Champion in perhaps his final shot at UFC gold.
UFC on Fox 9 was a great event that featured some of the UFC's best talents at 155 lbs and under that was headlined by a title fight in the UFC's Flyweight Division between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.
The main card started with a lightweight fight between two hungry TUF alumni. Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig had a back in forth battle that definitely entertained. Both men were unable to submit the other, but Lauzon tried a few submissions from his guard. It was a fight that you could be scored 100% for Lauzon. Lauzon won by unanimous decision.
The next fight was between Chad Mendes and Nik Lentz. It was a fight in which Chad Mendes exploded in the first round stunning Lentz early in round one. Lentz was able to recover and avoid being KO'd in the first round like Mendes' last four opponents. Though Lentz avoided a KO he did fall victim to repeated takedown after takedown for three rounds. While watching the fight, it was evident from Mendes' performance that there was something definitely wrong with Chad Mendes and it was later revealed that Mendes had been recovering from a sinus infection and was not 100%. Mendes earned himself a unanimous decision.
The next bout was truly a fight of top contenders if there ever was one. It pitted the UFC's #2 and #3 Bantamweights against each other. Urijah Faber had the home town advantage in Sacramento as he was one of four Alpha Male fighters to grace the Octagon along with team mates Danny Castillo, Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez. He stood across the cage from a very confident and calm Michael McDonald. Faber was able to out-strike the more decorated striker as well as out-grapple him. Faber earned a submission victory after rocking McDonald and then sinking in a tight guillotine in the second round.
The next fight had the biggest shocker of all time as Demetrious Johnson defended his UFC title successfully against Joseph Benavidez. Demetrious Johnson brought the fight straight to Joseph Benavidez and did what most people thought Benavidez would do to him and knocked him out COLD! The fight ended so suddenly with Benavidez flat on his back within the the first round.
Post Fight Bonuses:
Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber
Knockout of the Night: Demetrious Johnson
Fight of the Night: Danny Castillo and Edson Barbosa
It will be interesting to see who the UFC would have Johnson face next. What are your thoughts?
Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez via KO
Urijah Faber def. Michael McDonald via submission
Chad Mendes def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision
Joe Lauzon def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision
Preliminary Card:
Ryan LaFlare def. Court McGee via unanimous decision
Edson Barboza def. Danny Castillo via majority decision
Bobby Green def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision
Zach Makovsky def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision
Sam Stout def. Cody McKenzie via unanimous decision
Abel Trujillo def. Roger Bowling via TKO
Alptekin Ozkilic def. Darren Uyenoyama via split decision
Despite losing an entertaining fight to the Chris Holdsworth, Davey Grant has been added as a fighter in the UFC's Mens' Bantamweight Division. He confirmed the news via Twitter stating that he was getting a contract with the UFC.
I think that it was a wise decision for them to go ahead and and bring Grant to the UFC considering how unexciting the UFC's Bantamweight Division is. The division has a champion who has stood on top of the division without even fighting in it for two years. The Bantamweight division is the only division that the word 'blah' comes to mind and doing TUF for that division was the best move for the company to bring in some great talent and Grant is one of those great talents.
Nate Diaz def. Gray Maynard via first-
round TKO
Julianna Pena def. Jessica Rakoczy via
first-round TKO
Chris Holdsworth def. David Grant via
submission (rear-naked choke)
Jessamyn Duke def. Peggy Morgan via
unanimous decision
Raquel Pennington def. Roxanne
Modafferi via unanimous decision
Preliminary Card:
Akira Corassani def. Maximo Blanco
via disqualification (intentional foul)
Tom Niinimaki def. Rani Yaha via split
decision
Jared Rosholt def. Walt Harris via
unanimous decision
Sean Spencer def. Drew Dober via
unanimous decision
Joshua Sampo def. Ryan Benoit via
submission (rear-naked choke)
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Gray Maynard (156)
Julianna Pena (134) vs. Jessica Rakoczy (132)
Davey Grant (135) vs. Chris Holdsworth (136)
Jessamyn Duke (135.5) vs. Peggy Morgan (136)
Roxanne Modafferi (134) vs. Raquel Pennington (135)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Maximo Blanco (146) vs. Akira Corassani (146)
Tom Niinimaki (145) vs. Rani Yahya (145.5)
Walter Harris (244) vs. Jared Rosholt (240)
Drew Dober (170) vs. Sean Spencer (171)
Ryan Benoit (126) vs. Joshua Sampo (127.5)
Twitter continues to method that UFC fighters use to get their fans the latest on what's going on with them. The latest tweet to get attention come from UFC Bantamweight Brad Pickett who revealed to his followers that he was planning a drop to the UFC Flyweight Sivision and is hoping to make his 125 lb debut on the London card in March 2014.
I think that Pickett definitely could make the 125 lb limit and find success there. He will have a power that few men in that division will have. I would love to see a potential bout with John Dodson or Ian McCall.
After a few theories of how the UFC's February Pay-Per-View fight card would play out, we finally have some answers. As rumored before, the UFC's Fetherweight Championship will be on the defended on February 1st by the current title holder Jose Aldo. Aldo will be defending the title against deserving contender Ricardo Lamas. The co-main event for the UFC 169 card will feature Dominick Cruz coming back from his injury which took two years out of his fighting career;he will look to unify the UFC's Bantamweight Championship when he takes on Interim UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao. This is going to be an exciting night of fights for the UFC's lighter divisions and a great way to help bring in the UFC's 2014 cards.
Also confirmed on the card will be a heavyweight clash between Alistair Overeem and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir.
