Ben Rothwell Defeats Josh Barnett

January 30th, 2016

No. 7 ranked Ben Rothwell defeated No. 8 ranked Josh Barnett via second round gogo choke submission in a clash of top ten ranked Heavyweights.

The win is the fourth in a row for Rothwell (36-9).  He was able to land a gogo choke, which is essentially a front headlock.  Rothwell stuffed a takedown and threw on the headlock from his knees until Barnett was forced to tap.

For Barnett (34-8) it was only his second fight in a two year span, he has now lost two of his last three fights.  Barnett (38) claims to have a record of "over 50-8" when counting sanctioned and unsanctioned fights.

Status of UFC Update - May 1st

Status of the UFC:

Following the aftermath of UFC 196 and today's release of EA's UFC:2 video-game, UFC is currently standing as the the world's premier professional fighting organization.

This week many fans and observers of the UFC have speculated how the results of UFC 196 will affect the company moving forward.  Some believed that the first UFC losses for superstars Conor McGregor and Holly Holm was a negative result for the sport.

While these results may in fact hurt the folklore legends of the fighters individually, the truth is that UFC fighters and their story-lines have generated far more coverage and popularity than ever before.  UFC President Dana White doesn't expect even the best fighters to win every single match they take.  Not only that but being the excellent promoter that he is, White may even be at his best when selling long-awaited rematches.

Currently what we are noticing is that the victors of last Saturday's main events are getting the sort of coverage that we are only accustomed to seeing from the stars of the sport.  Exponentially more people have heard of Nate Diaz this week than they had last week.  Despite the loss, Conor McGregor still remains a staple of the UFC and still has over four million Instagram followers.  Stars like him and Ronda Rousey have brought a world of attention to their competitors.

After Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey she became a celebrity.  She was on Regis and Michael and several other national television shows.  Likewise the same is happening for Nate Diaz, who recently appeared on Entertainment Tonight.  So while you may think that McGregor, Rousey, and Holm losing means less attention and revenue overall for the UFC, it isn't necessarily the case.

UFC 196 financially may have been the sport's biggest card despite not having it's biggest star on it in Ronda Rousey.  Ultimately more attention will now be spread out more among the sports top 5 contenders in each weight division.

UFC 197 which will be take place in April will be the companies first event in Madison Square Garden.  It will feature two championship fights, and the UFC hopes to cash in on the immediate fan following it may have gained.  Dana White is likely to deliver big time cards for all of the soon to come pay per view events in order to keep them.

Fox Sports 1 will continue to broadcast fight nights on weekends and once a month UFC will lay out the top fights on pay per view.  Even though the pay per view effect limits the audience to a paying few, the attention can still be harnessed.  One of the problems of Rousey's stardom was that she would win her fights too quickly.  People didn't have to watch the event live, they could find it on social media in its entirety moments after.  Well now what we have are fights which last more than thirty seconds which are worth more to sponsors.  Quick knockouts are what UFC hopes to turn into what others have made of highlights.  It is now a larger bulk to the fights, because the specialists have been challenged and we now have longer prize fights.

- Updated- May 1st

The game received a 79/100 based on 32 reviews.

Conor McGregor continues making headlines as his fight with Nate Diaz remains on hold.

Robbie Lawler Defends Title Against Carlos Condit In An Instant Classic

January 2nd, 2016

After a a back and forth battle, UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler (27-10) successfully defended his belt against No. 4 ranked Carlos Condit (30-9) at UFC 195 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Both fighters came out swinging and left it all out on the canvas.  Essentially the entire five rounds was a stand up fight, with a few clinches here and there.  To some, it was controversial, as Lawler won by split decision.

Condit was likely ahead on the scorecard going into the fifth and final round.  In the fifth round Lawler landed enough strikes to earn the decision from the judges.  Condit landed 198 of 504 strikes and Lawler landed 98 of 177 strikes.  15 of 20 media outlets scored the fight in favor of Condit, and two others scored it a draw.  Both fighters were awarded "performance of the night."

Condit (32) said after the fight that it may have been his last.  Condit won an interim UFC Welterweight title at UFC 143 in 2012 against Nick Diaz.  He also claimed a WEC Welterweight title.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson Crushes Ryan Bader

January 30, 2016

In a matchup between two top five ranked Light Heavyweights, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (21-5) defeated Ryan "Darth" Bader (20-5) in a minute and a half at UFC on Fox 18 in Newark, New Jersey.  No. 2 ranked Johnson landed a first round TKO on ground and pound punches.

From the gun, No. 5 ranked Bader shot for a takedown on Johnson.  Johnson stuffed the takedown attempt and proceeded to get positioning on the ground.  Rumble was able to lock him in position nearby the cage and repeatedly throw hammers on a stuck and defenseless Bader.

Ranked behind only interim champion Jon Jones and incumbent champion Daniel Cormier, Johnson could potentially earn a second chance at a UFC Light Heavyweight title fight if he were to win his next fight.  Johnson lost to Cormier on at UFC 187 on May 23, 2015 via third round submission (rear naked choke).  Johnson's next fight has not been announced but it is likely that he will face No. 3 ranked Light Heavyweight Glover Teixiera.

Steven Thompson Dispatches of Johnny Hendricks With First Round TKO

February 6th, 2016

In a fight that did not go as long we originally imagined, No. 2 ranked Welterweight Steven Thompson defeated No. 5 ranked Johnny Hendricks in three and a half minutes.  The fight was dominated by Thompson who connected with so many strikes that Hendricks was just trying to remain on his feet.  Thompson pressed him against the wall and landed shots that dropped Hendricks and forced the official to stop the fight only three minutes in.

Hendricks (17-4), a four time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, appears to be going through a rough patch in his career after fighting for the UFC Welterweight title twice.  He has now lost three of his last five fights, dating back to his loss against George St-Pierre in 2013 for the Welterweight belt.  He will next fight at UFC 200 against Kevin Gastelum.

For Stephen Thompson (12-1), this fight now supports his campaign to fight for a Welterweight title.  He is now the 2nd ranked welterweight contender, and he will fight the No. 1 ranked contender Rory MacDonald in the main event of UFC Fight Night 89 in June, in Ottawa, Canada.  Thompson (33) has worked his way up the rankings and will likely receive a title fight if he defeats MacDonald.  Thompson is a long time training partner of UFC Middleweight champion Chris Weidman and former Welterweight champion George St-Pierre.

Donald Cerrone Wins The Battle Between Cowboy And Cowboy

February 21, 2016

In a primetime matchup between two fighters who are both nicknamed"Cowboy", No. 4 ranked Lightweight Donald Cerrone (29-7) defeated No. 7 ranked Featherweight Chales Oliveria (14-3).  Cerrone submitted Oliveira in the first round with a triangle choke.  The American Donald Cerrone landed a take down on Brazilian Charles Oliveira and promptly set up a triangle choke, placing his legs around Oliveira's neck.  Oliveira tapped quickly.

Cerrone is known as the "busiest" fighter in the UFC.  Cerrone has fought at least four times a year since 2013.  His next fight is on June 18th, at welterweight against Patrick Cote at UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa, Ontario.  For Oliveira, he next up against James Moontasri on July 23rd at UFC on Fox 20 in Chicago, Illinois.

Mark Hunt Provides Fans With Yet Another Classic Walkoff Knockout

March 19th, 2016

Mark Hunt is a bad man.  He added another knockout to the collection with a first round knock out of potential future UFC hall-of-famer Frank Mirr.  No. 8 ranked Heavyweight Hunt (12-9) KO'd No. 11 ranked Frank Mirr (18-11) in front of an Australian crowd on UFC Fight Night: Brisbane.  Hunt (42) now has twelve career victories, nine of which are knockouts.  The New Zealand native was happy to please the traveling Kiwi fan base.

Frank Mirr (36) on the other hand has now suffered eight losses on KO's.  The former one time Heavyweight champion suffered at least three concussions and there are inklings of retirement in his near future.  There is a general belief that he will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame one day for his contributions to the sport in the 2000's.