When UFC106 finally gets here, we'll see just how much of a punch Brock Lesner can take. He'll be facing the biggest oppenent ever in Shane Carwin.
Shane Carwin is the only fighter in the UFC that wears larger gloves then Brock. These glove aren't just big, they wrap around fists that are capable of delivering explosive power.
You need only look at Carwin's last fight against Gabriel Gonzaga to see how powerful a shoulder punch was when it knocked Gonzaga down.
I for one can't wait to see Lesner's chin tested.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Who Will be the Next UFC Champ?
At UFC 86 Forest Griffin became the latest to have a UFC Championship belt placed around his waist. With only 5 belts to be worn in the UFC, let's take a look at who might be next.
Lightweight
UFC 87 will be our next opportunity to see who will challenge BJ Penn, as Roger Huerta faces Kenny Florian.
Welterweight
UFC 87 will also give John Fitch a chance at obtaining a title, as he goes up against George St. Pierre.
Middleweight
After his victory at UFC 86, Patick Cote has officially been promised a title shot to face Anderson Silva. UFC 90 (Tentatively set for Chicago) would be the first opportunity for this fight to be added to the card. To think of Silva vs. Cote being the main event seems odd, but Anderson Silva is sure to draw a crowd. If Anderson Silva is able to defeat James Irvin during the next UFC Fight Night, his appeal and the UFC fan base will both surely increase dramatically.
Light Heavyweight
The earliest we will be able to see someone challenge Forest Griffin for the LHW title would be November, but with a series of LHW bouts yet to be scheduled it's difficult to tell when this might happen. There are probably more potential title contenders in this weight class then any other in the UFC. It is by far the deepest division. Many MMA fans believe that Ryoto Machida is the likely candidate to get the next title shot, but some say he needs 1 more win before that will happen.
Heavyweight
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog) won the title (Or interim title) when he defeated Tim Silva at UFC 81 last February. Frank Mir alos earned a title shot at UFC 81 when he submitted Brock Lesner in the 1st round. Frank Antonio will be the coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show to air on Spike.
The Ultimate Fighter 8 will debut in September following UFC Fight Night 14 and will feature lightweight and light heavyweight fighters.
Frank Mir’s assistants are jiu jitsu champion Robert Drysdale, who won the famed open weight Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2007, and conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra, who has recently served as Wanderlei Silva’s conditioning coach.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s assistants include UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and top UFC light heavyweight Lyoto Machida.
Randy Couture is the last of the title holders to still have an interim champ take his place. 2008 saw the lightweight interim champion and the welterweight interim champion both become the official champs by beating the previous title holders.
Randy's legal battles with the UFC have many fans wondering if he will ever fight there again. Couture's primary reason for leaving was to pursue a fight with Fedor Emelienko. Now that the UFC is considering signing Fedor again (Once his 3 fights are finished with Affliction), Couture will probably be able to be pursuaded into a fight in the octagon.
There are just a few too many miracles that would have to happen in order for that too happen, so I suppose the jury will remain out on that.
UFC to Buy Affliction
This is a title that we could see on the headlines by the end of the year.
With everything that has happened in the last 12 months, it is not far fetched for the UFC to consider purchasing the clothing brand Affliction.
They would be able to leverage the overlap in customer-base, have another avenue to distribute their brand image, and squelch any attempts for future MMA bouts.
I'd be interested to see what you think.
It could even lead to the fight that everyone wants to see, Fedor vs. Couture.
With everything that has happened in the last 12 months, it is not far fetched for the UFC to consider purchasing the clothing brand Affliction.
They would be able to leverage the overlap in customer-base, have another avenue to distribute their brand image, and squelch any attempts for future MMA bouts.
I'd be interested to see what you think.
It could even lead to the fight that everyone wants to see, Fedor vs. Couture.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Another UFC Record in the Making
Floyd Mayweather in the UFC
Is Floyd Mayweather coming to the UFC? Some say that this is the big news Dana has been claiming he'll make next week.
I think he is going to have Floyd headline at Madison Square Garden, when the New York Athletic Association sanctions MMA. It could be the biggest Pay-Per-View in UFC history and would attract many boxing fans that have yet to check out UFC.
What is more amazing is that Anderson Silva has decided to try fighting in the Light Heavyweight division.
If he gets 1 win against a top-5 guy, he should surely be in line for a title shot.
I think he should be put up against Machida.
Anderson Silva is currently the most dominant Middleweight on the planet. There is not another middleweight that could come close to beating him.
Is Floyd Mayweather coming to the UFC? Some say that this is the big news Dana has been claiming he'll make next week.
I think he is going to have Floyd headline at Madison Square Garden, when the New York Athletic Association sanctions MMA. It could be the biggest Pay-Per-View in UFC history and would attract many boxing fans that have yet to check out UFC.
What is more amazing is that Anderson Silva has decided to try fighting in the Light Heavyweight division.
If he gets 1 win against a top-5 guy, he should surely be in line for a title shot.
I think he should be put up against Machida.
Anderson Silva is currently the most dominant Middleweight on the planet. There is not another middleweight that could come close to beating him.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
The Fight That Needs to Happen-Couture/Fedor
If you were to take a look a any of the popular site that post world rankings for MMA, you'll see some differences in each list. Some of them have a list of Featherweights, others only have Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight.
The next thing you'll notice is that on every list 1 thing if very very consistent.
Fedor Emelianenko is always ranked as the #1 Heavyweight in the world.
When you take another look and try to figure out who is #2, you see some differences. Some would say that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is #2. Other's would say that Randy Couture is #2. After all he still is considered to be the Heavyweight Champ of UFC.
If you've followed MMA news in the last few months, you can't help but know about the fall out that UFC and Randy Couture had a few months ago. Randy claims that UFC didn't pay him the respect that he felt he deserved and didn't express that respect in the term of financial compensation he felt he should have made.
Meanwhile, there's a side story that Randy simply left because a fight deal couldn't be arranged between him and Fedor. The UFC claims that Fedor's management made completely unrealistic demands including having several fights take place in Russia and signing 4 other Russian fighters as part of the deal. Fedor or his management claim that UFC was completely inflexible in it's negotiations and that he would have to "Sign his life away".
If you were to take the 1000's of forum posts related to this subject there are 5 main vibes:
1. This is the #1 fight that the fans feel must happen.
2. The UFC needs to do "Whatever it takes" to make this fight happen.
3. Fedor needs this fight to maintain his world ranking and stop fighting non-contenders.
4. Randy should have stuck to his commitment with UFC and fought Nogueira.
5. The UFC should recognize 2 things about making Fedor/Couture happen.
This is a fight that needs to happen.
We all know it, it's amazing how much interest there is in this fight. UFC wants to be NFL of MMA. I have to say that as a fan I'm very happy about that.
I suppose, as a fan, I have to come to terms that a true world champion can only be realized when many things happen. I take for granted that fighters like Anderson Silva, and Quinton Jackson are universally accepted as the true world champions in their respective weight classes. There is very little debate about this (Until we see what Hendo can do).
I have to realize that their will always be an asterisk associated with any champion that reads (In this promotion, because we made the contract happen, because his manager was willing to accept our terms, oh....and because he's actually competed....I almost forgot about that.
The next thing you'll notice is that on every list 1 thing if very very consistent.
Fedor Emelianenko is always ranked as the #1 Heavyweight in the world.
When you take another look and try to figure out who is #2, you see some differences. Some would say that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is #2. Other's would say that Randy Couture is #2. After all he still is considered to be the Heavyweight Champ of UFC.
If you've followed MMA news in the last few months, you can't help but know about the fall out that UFC and Randy Couture had a few months ago. Randy claims that UFC didn't pay him the respect that he felt he deserved and didn't express that respect in the term of financial compensation he felt he should have made.
Meanwhile, there's a side story that Randy simply left because a fight deal couldn't be arranged between him and Fedor. The UFC claims that Fedor's management made completely unrealistic demands including having several fights take place in Russia and signing 4 other Russian fighters as part of the deal. Fedor or his management claim that UFC was completely inflexible in it's negotiations and that he would have to "Sign his life away".
If you were to take the 1000's of forum posts related to this subject there are 5 main vibes:
1. This is the #1 fight that the fans feel must happen.
2. The UFC needs to do "Whatever it takes" to make this fight happen.
3. Fedor needs this fight to maintain his world ranking and stop fighting non-contenders.
4. Randy should have stuck to his commitment with UFC and fought Nogueira.
5. The UFC should recognize 2 things about making Fedor/Couture happen.
- This would be the greatest gift they could give the fans
- This single fight would probably double their fanbase in 60 days with no downside.
This is a fight that needs to happen.
We all know it, it's amazing how much interest there is in this fight. UFC wants to be NFL of MMA. I have to say that as a fan I'm very happy about that.
- I want it to be simple, easy, and predictable to watch my MMA.
- I want to watch the best fighters in the world compete every weekend for free on network TV in HD.
- I want to have a single list of rankings that are accurate and go deeper then the top 10.
I suppose, as a fan, I have to come to terms that a true world champion can only be realized when many things happen. I take for granted that fighters like Anderson Silva, and Quinton Jackson are universally accepted as the true world champions in their respective weight classes. There is very little debate about this (Until we see what Hendo can do).
I have to realize that their will always be an asterisk associated with any champion that reads (In this promotion, because we made the contract happen, because his manager was willing to accept our terms, oh....and because he's actually competed....I almost forgot about that.
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