Familiar Faces of the UFC
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Belfort verbally agrees to fight 'The Spider'
After his quick win over former middleweight champion Rich 'Ace' Franklin at UFC 103 last weekend, Victor Belfort has verbally agreed to take on the man who has single-handedly taken over the middleweight division. He is apparently set to fight the extremly dangerous Anderson 'The Spider' Silva at UFC 108. Although nothing is set in stone, Las Vegas seems to be the spot for the fight to go down. Previously, it was reported that Dan Henderson would take on Silva for the second time, after losing by submission in the Nationwide Area in Columbus, Ohio at UFC: 82. However, not it looks like Henderson will soon fight Nate Marquardt to see who the real number one contender is. Now, it doesn't seem to matter though, as Belfort has made his way back into the UFC and already has a title shot. Although Belfort did get a knockout win in his first fight back into the UFC, something doesn't seem right about the matchup. But I'm sure, come January 2nd, 2010, this will all be put to rest and we will see if Victor can hang with Silva, or if he will get tangled in his web, just like everyone else who has fought him in the past five years.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Rampage drops a bomb- He's 'done fighting'
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson has officially called it quits when it comes to fighting. His announcement, which came straight from Jackson via his official website, comes upon the wake of some comments that UFC president Dana White has made towards Jackson and his recent career decisions. Rampage was set to face opposing coach on this season's Ultimate Fighter, Rashad Evans, in December. However, after being offered the role as Sgt. Bosco 'B.A" Baracus, in the upcoming movie "The A Team", Jackson asked Dana to postpone the fight due to scheduling conflicts. White obliged, but as today the date was still unknown.
Now the fight between Evans and Jackson will not take place, since Jackson says he is done with fighting altogether. He is currently in Vancouver, filming the upcoming film, with co-stars Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel. Apparently, however, Jackson had time to take to his blog and take the UFC world by storm. It seems like the announcement came out of nowhere, but he makes it known that Dana's comments toward him had a big part of it. White famously 'mocked' Jackson for acting instead of fighting, and it obviously didn't sit well with Quinton, even though this past weekend at UFC 103, White and Jackson had seemed to have made up and were fine with each other.
It will be interesting to see what Dana has to say about this announcement, and I have no doubt that he will have plenty to say. The two had been very good friends for many years now, so this will more than likely put a kink in that friendship. Whether this is just a heat of the moment decision, or Jackson is totally serious, people are going to be talking about it for a while. I, however, believe that he is serious and that those comments could tend to hurt after a while, especially because the movie has a very special meaning to him and his dad. It would be sad to see him go though. He has one of the greatest personalities in the UFC and has so many fans around the world. Hopefully, he will have a great movie career ahead of him.
Now the fight between Evans and Jackson will not take place, since Jackson says he is done with fighting altogether. He is currently in Vancouver, filming the upcoming film, with co-stars Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel. Apparently, however, Jackson had time to take to his blog and take the UFC world by storm. It seems like the announcement came out of nowhere, but he makes it known that Dana's comments toward him had a big part of it. White famously 'mocked' Jackson for acting instead of fighting, and it obviously didn't sit well with Quinton, even though this past weekend at UFC 103, White and Jackson had seemed to have made up and were fine with each other.
It will be interesting to see what Dana has to say about this announcement, and I have no doubt that he will have plenty to say. The two had been very good friends for many years now, so this will more than likely put a kink in that friendship. Whether this is just a heat of the moment decision, or Jackson is totally serious, people are going to be talking about it for a while. I, however, believe that he is serious and that those comments could tend to hurt after a while, especially because the movie has a very special meaning to him and his dad. It would be sad to see him go though. He has one of the greatest personalities in the UFC and has so many fans around the world. Hopefully, he will have a great movie career ahead of him.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Diaz, Quarry among winners at Fight Night
On Wednesday, September 16th, the UFC held it's 19th Fight Night Live, airing for free on Spike TV. Ultimate Fighter season five winner, Nate Diaz and Melvin Guillard were the headlining fight, both promising to give one of the greatest fights of their career. With both fighters known for their trash talk, bragging rights were definitely at stake. However, before they met face to face in the octagon, two Ultimate Fighter contestants were set to compete.
Nathan "Rock" Quarry went up against Tim Credeur for the first televised fight. Quarry, who at one point in his career had to take time off for a spinal fusion, looked better than ever for this middle-weight fight. Family man, Credeur looked ready as well, and determined to give Quarry a knockout reminiscent of the KO he received from former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Early in the first round it didn't look good for Quarry, with Credeur landing shot after shot, causing Nate to start bleeding from the nose. When the second round began Tim landing a head kick to Nate, causing him to be hurt badly again. Out of no where, Quarry lands a shot that took Credeur off guard and causes him to fall to the mat. Wasting no time, Quarry takes shot after shot, blasting Credeur. Towards the end of the round, Tim gets in a few good jabs, but not enough to take the round from Quarry, who was obviously dominant throughout the whole round. By the end of the second round, both fighters look worse for wear. The third round is just intense as the others, still going back and forth, but after the first minute, it is Quarry who is really out for blood. With a couple of failed submissions on Quarry, the round would eventually go to Nate, giving him the fight via unanimous decision. Both Credeur and Quarry, however, received fight of the night, and a few extra thousand dollars in their pockets.
Another very much anticipated fight was Roger "El Matador" Huerta vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard. Huerta, fighting in the octagon for the first time since his unanimous decision loss to Kelly Florian, was convinced that we would be able to come back and get back on the UFC map with a big win. Maynard, who famously went for a takedown on Rob Emerson at the Ultimate Fighter Finale 5, knocking both himself and his opponent out, was looking to give Huerta his second loss of his UFC career. Huerta came out swinging and landing some great shots and combos in on Maynard. Maynard shoots and trys to take Huerta to the ground, but Roger is able to defend it and keep the fight standing. In my opinion, the first round was close, but Huerta clinched it with his great combos. The second round was basically all Maynard. Huerta did land some well timed leg kicks, but Maynard seemed to be able to answer each with a shot of his own. Unlike the first round, round 2 was obviously for Maynard. The third round seemed less intense than the first two. Each fighter was able to get in a couple good shots in on each other, but a couple minutes in, Maynard was able to take Roger to the ground and had him in a very deep Kimura and it was looking like lights out for Huerta. But after looking like Huertas arm was going to pop off, he was able to reverse his position and get out of it with what looked to be like great ease. Once they are both back up to their feet, Maynard gets Huerta down again, but just lays on him, holding him down. Nothing very exciting, but with Maynard not doing anything but holding Huerta down, its uncertain which way the fight would go. With leaving it in the judges hands, its always a risk. But when it came to it, Maynard would defeat Huerta via split decision.
The Diaz-Guilliard matchup was set to take place, and with the two staring each other down and not shaking hands at the beginning of the fight, it was obvious that both were ready to knock the other off their high horse. The start of the fight had Guilliard knocking Diaz down to the mat already giving him a cut above his eye. Diaz was able to recover a also throwing a few hooks to his opponent. Guilliard, however, was able to get a knee in and a powerful elbow, adding to the mess on Nate Diaz's face. Guilliard easily takes round 1. Round two looked good at the start for Melvin. He was able to keep landing shot after shot. But, Diaz was able to pull a guillotine on Guilliard and with every second it continues to get deeper and deeper. After a couple seconds in Diaz' grip, Guilliard taps and the fight is over. Submission of the night goes to Nate Diaz and now he will be able to talk about how he actually won a fight.
All in all this Fight Night was a huge success, with many people all over Twitter talking about it. Even UFC President Dana White, stated that these fights were some of the best on a Fight Night ever, and makes him really look forward to Saturday's fights. Hopefully UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort will be as exciting as the ones on Wednesday, maybe even better. Go Rich Franklin!!
Nathan "Rock" Quarry went up against Tim Credeur for the first televised fight. Quarry, who at one point in his career had to take time off for a spinal fusion, looked better than ever for this middle-weight fight. Family man, Credeur looked ready as well, and determined to give Quarry a knockout reminiscent of the KO he received from former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Early in the first round it didn't look good for Quarry, with Credeur landing shot after shot, causing Nate to start bleeding from the nose. When the second round began Tim landing a head kick to Nate, causing him to be hurt badly again. Out of no where, Quarry lands a shot that took Credeur off guard and causes him to fall to the mat. Wasting no time, Quarry takes shot after shot, blasting Credeur. Towards the end of the round, Tim gets in a few good jabs, but not enough to take the round from Quarry, who was obviously dominant throughout the whole round. By the end of the second round, both fighters look worse for wear. The third round is just intense as the others, still going back and forth, but after the first minute, it is Quarry who is really out for blood. With a couple of failed submissions on Quarry, the round would eventually go to Nate, giving him the fight via unanimous decision. Both Credeur and Quarry, however, received fight of the night, and a few extra thousand dollars in their pockets.
Another very much anticipated fight was Roger "El Matador" Huerta vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard. Huerta, fighting in the octagon for the first time since his unanimous decision loss to Kelly Florian, was convinced that we would be able to come back and get back on the UFC map with a big win. Maynard, who famously went for a takedown on Rob Emerson at the Ultimate Fighter Finale 5, knocking both himself and his opponent out, was looking to give Huerta his second loss of his UFC career. Huerta came out swinging and landing some great shots and combos in on Maynard. Maynard shoots and trys to take Huerta to the ground, but Roger is able to defend it and keep the fight standing. In my opinion, the first round was close, but Huerta clinched it with his great combos. The second round was basically all Maynard. Huerta did land some well timed leg kicks, but Maynard seemed to be able to answer each with a shot of his own. Unlike the first round, round 2 was obviously for Maynard. The third round seemed less intense than the first two. Each fighter was able to get in a couple good shots in on each other, but a couple minutes in, Maynard was able to take Roger to the ground and had him in a very deep Kimura and it was looking like lights out for Huerta. But after looking like Huertas arm was going to pop off, he was able to reverse his position and get out of it with what looked to be like great ease. Once they are both back up to their feet, Maynard gets Huerta down again, but just lays on him, holding him down. Nothing very exciting, but with Maynard not doing anything but holding Huerta down, its uncertain which way the fight would go. With leaving it in the judges hands, its always a risk. But when it came to it, Maynard would defeat Huerta via split decision.
The Diaz-Guilliard matchup was set to take place, and with the two staring each other down and not shaking hands at the beginning of the fight, it was obvious that both were ready to knock the other off their high horse. The start of the fight had Guilliard knocking Diaz down to the mat already giving him a cut above his eye. Diaz was able to recover a also throwing a few hooks to his opponent. Guilliard, however, was able to get a knee in and a powerful elbow, adding to the mess on Nate Diaz's face. Guilliard easily takes round 1. Round two looked good at the start for Melvin. He was able to keep landing shot after shot. But, Diaz was able to pull a guillotine on Guilliard and with every second it continues to get deeper and deeper. After a couple seconds in Diaz' grip, Guilliard taps and the fight is over. Submission of the night goes to Nate Diaz and now he will be able to talk about how he actually won a fight.
All in all this Fight Night was a huge success, with many people all over Twitter talking about it. Even UFC President Dana White, stated that these fights were some of the best on a Fight Night ever, and makes him really look forward to Saturday's fights. Hopefully UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort will be as exciting as the ones on Wednesday, maybe even better. Go Rich Franklin!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Corano Hits the Big Screen
The current face of woman's MMA, Gina "Conviction" Carano can soon add movie star to her resume. "Knockout" will begin filming at the beginnning of 2010 and will be directed by Steven Soderbergh. It is the story of a young girl on the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes. Carano will play the lead role, in her first movie ever. And although by the title and its leading lady, one would believe that it is another movie about fighting and finding a way to get off the streets, but Soderbergh makes sure it is known that is not the case. "Knockout" actually has a lot more in common with Jason Bourne than Chuck Liddell.
Steven Soderbergh has never went this route with a movie before. He's directed action movies, but not to this extent. His "Ocean''s" movies were all hits and indeed including action, however not as much as "Knockout" is promising to produce. On the directors part, I feel that it is a great move by bringing "Conviction" is as the main character. Not only is Gina becoming more and more recognizable to people all over the world, but she is also making MMA more popular. Women's MMA is growing to this day, and she's a big reason why. When the movie is released, one can also be sure that many males will flee to the theaters to see it, even if it is just to watch Corano on screen for a couple of hours. And even females, whether they are already interested in MMA or not, may go to see it just based on the fact that Gina is a strong, determined woman in a male-based career, and she is stil holding her own.
Steven Soderbergh has never went this route with a movie before. He's directed action movies, but not to this extent. His "Ocean''s" movies were all hits and indeed including action, however not as much as "Knockout" is promising to produce. On the directors part, I feel that it is a great move by bringing "Conviction" is as the main character. Not only is Gina becoming more and more recognizable to people all over the world, but she is also making MMA more popular. Women's MMA is growing to this day, and she's a big reason why. When the movie is released, one can also be sure that many males will flee to the theaters to see it, even if it is just to watch Corano on screen for a couple of hours. And even females, whether they are already interested in MMA or not, may go to see it just based on the fact that Gina is a strong, determined woman in a male-based career, and she is stil holding her own.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Matt Hughes signs UFC Contract
Future Hall-of Famer, and fan favorite, Matt Hughes has inked another multi-fight contract with the UFC. After defeating public rival, Matt Serra at UFC 98, Hughes made it known that he was hoping to continue fighting inside of the octagon. By signing this deal, it proves that he will be finishing out his long, successful career with the UFC. There is much speculation about whom Hughes will be fighting, but even he doesnt know yet.
"Nothing is decided yet, so anything you might be reading on the internet right now is just rumors and speculation. However, one name the UFC did bring up is a person I’ve never fought before.” Hughes stated.
Whether he is fighting for a title or not, Matt Hughes is always an exciting fighter to watch and will continue to fill the seats in whatever arena he is fighting in. At 35, he is still able to work hard and fight, while balancing life at the same time. I guess his entrance song rings true, "A Country Boy Can Survive".
"Nothing is decided yet, so anything you might be reading on the internet right now is just rumors and speculation. However, one name the UFC did bring up is a person I’ve never fought before.” Hughes stated.
Whether he is fighting for a title or not, Matt Hughes is always an exciting fighter to watch and will continue to fill the seats in whatever arena he is fighting in. At 35, he is still able to work hard and fight, while balancing life at the same time. I guess his entrance song rings true, "A Country Boy Can Survive".
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