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.

Glover Texiera KO's Rashad Evans in Light Heavyweight Clash

April 18, 2016

No. 3 ranked Light Heavyweight Glover Texiera (25-4) defeated No. 7 ranked Rashad Evans (24-5) via a first round KO in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Tampa, Florida.  Glover Texiera extended his winning streak to three straight.  The fight took less than two minutes to decide.  Texiera pressed Evans against the cage and landed a combination that knocked out Evans cold.

Rashad Evans, former training partner of Jon "Bones" Jones, suffered his second straight loss.  Evans has now lost four out of his last six fights.  After the fight was over, he immediately asked the referee what had transpired, which comes as no surprise to anyone watching.  He lost consciousness mid fall.

After the fight, Texiera said that he wouldn't mind a fight with No. 2 ranked Light Heavyweight Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.  As of now, this fight is not scheduled.  However Dana White did nod in agreement with Texiera's idea after the event.  The winner of that fight could end up getting a title shot against either Jon Jones or Daniel Cormier.

Jon Jones returns to UFC with a five round decision; Wins Interim Belt

April 25, 2016

UFC 197 was supposed to be a clash between Light heavyweight titans.  Instead, fans were treated to a Jon Jones return to UFC in the form of a warmup.  No disrespect to Ovince-Saint Preux, the number six ranked Light Heavyweight, that wasn't the planned fight for a reason.  Saint Preux stepped in following a Daniel Cormier leg injury less than a month before the scheduled pay-per-view.  Jones, desperately needing to get a UFC fight back under his belt, continued with the replacement matchup.  Jones won by a unanimous decision, taking down Saint-Preux quite a few times.  Jones is so talented, that even rusty and ill-prepared he can dominate a top ten ranked fighter in his weight class.

Jon Jones (22-1*) showed rust in his return to the octagon, having spent over a year away the canvas due to his DUI and hit and run suspension.  His return is a bittersweet one for the UFC organization.  President Dana White has said on record many times that Jones is a troubled young man who needs guidance.  Despite that, he's probably happy to see the number one pound for pound fighter back in his company.  After all, Jones was the youngest person to win a UFC title, having defeated Shogun Rua for a title at UFC 127 in 2011.

Jones has only one loss in his career.  He took it via disqualification for an illegal downward use of the 12-6 elbow in 2009 against Matt Hamil.  This is a type of elbow strike which UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes should be allowed because it is,"no different than any other type of elbow."  Besides that, Jones has no true losses.  He has the potential to go down as the greatest fighter of all time if he can continue to dominate in his return to the sport.

He can chalk this one up to practice.  He will next fight Cormier in UFC 200 and try to reclaim the belt he was stripped of.  Jones defeated Cormier via a unanimous decision in January, 2015.  This time when they meet, Cormier is the incumbent champ.

Dominick Cruz Reclaims Bantamweight Title He Never Lost

January 17th, 2016

Former Bantamweight champion Dominick "Dominator" Crux defeated sitting Bantamweight champion TJ "Viper" Dillashaw to win back his UFC belt, after relinquishing his title due to devastating groin and ACL tears in 2014.  After making the transfer over from World Extreme Cagefighting in 2010, Cruz won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight title over Urijah Faber in 2011 avenging his only loss, which came to Faber in the WEC.  He defended his belt twice more before suffering a series of brutal injuries.  He tore two ACL's, a groin, and broke his right hand.  He fought only once in four years as a result from 2012 to 2016, with his only match a KO victory against Takeya Mazugaki in 2014.

His opponent, TJ Dillashaw was a finalist on the "The Ultimate Fighter" television series in 2011 which got him a contract with the UFC.  Dillashaw had lost only one fight officially in the UFC before Cruz to Raphael Assuncao.  He won the UFC Bantamweight title in July 2015, when he defeated Renan Barao by a TKO.

Cruz and Dillashaw fought to a split decision which came down to a close scoring of the first round.  Cruz's crazy unique style of fighting made it tough for Dillashaw to land quality strikes and the judges determined that Cruz had been the aggressor in three rounds to Dillashaw's two.

Nate Diaz defeats Conor McGregor at UFC 196

March 5th, 2016

Nate Diaz (19-10) surprised people around the world with his latest victory over Featherweight champion and Irish MMA superstar Conor "Notorious" McGregor (19-3).  The fight headlined UFC 196 after McGregor's original opponent Lightweight champion Rafeal Dos Anjos dropped out two weeks before due to a broken foot.  Instead, McGregor decided to continue with a replacement fighter, declaring that he would, "fight anyone, at any weight, at any time."

The UFC offered the fight to No. 6 ranked Lightweight Nate Diaz while he was on vacation following a unanimous victory against Michael Johnson on December 19th in which Diaz called out McGregor as someone he would like to fight.  For taking the fight on less than two weeks notice, McGregor agreed to fight at 170 pounds to officially be a catch weight fight.  This was seen as an enormous weight jump for McGregor who normally fights at 145 pounds.  Diaz fights at both Welterweight (170 pounds) and Lightweight (155 pounds).

McGregor out-boxed Diaz in the first round, opening up a gash above his eye which bled profusely.  Despite that, Diaz did not go down and took advantage of McGregor in the second round.  Diaz stunned McGregor with a series of punches, which led to McGregor attempting a take down on Diaz.  Diaz, a black-belt in Jiujitsu then set up McGregor for a rear naked choke which McGregor tapped out on.  All three of Conor McGregor's losses at the professional level have come via submissions.

After the fight, Diaz told UFC commentator Joe Rogan,"I'm not surprised", while McGregor admitted failure and vowed to,"take this one on the chin."

The two were set to fight again in July at UFC 200 until Conor McGregor tweeted in April that he was "retiring young".  McGregor exclaimed the next day that he would not actually be retiring but instead would debate his contract with the UFC in regards to his press requirements.  He exclaimed that he was not yet paid to promote and called his high profile media tour a distraction.

Dana White responded by pulling McGregor versus Diaz 2 off of UFC 200 and replacing the fight with Light Heavyweight title match Jon Jones versus Daniel Cormier 2.

Miesha Tate Wins UFC Bantamweight Title

March 5th, 2016

Miesha "Cupcake" Tate (18-5) defeated Holly "Preacher's Daughter" Holm (33-2-3) at UFC 197 by a fifth round submission to claim her first UFC Bantamweight title.  Holm received her first loss in the UFC.  Holm also lead the fight in total strikes late into round five when Miesha Tate got on Holm's back and grabbed on to a rear naked choke.  Holm did not tap out.  The fight was called when she went unconscious.

The fight was Holly Holm's first UFC title defense, fresh off of her two round victory of Ronda Rousey.  Holm immediately stated after the fight that she wanted a rematch, however Miesha Tate was immediately scheduled to fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 200.  There has been talks of a Holm and Rousey and rematch, but UFC fans will have to wait until Ronda Rousey is officially cleared of concussion protocol in July.

UFC 197: Demetrious Johnson defeats Henry Cejudo to maintain Flyweight Title

April 23rd, 2016

Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson defeated Olympian gold medal wrestler Henry Cejudo with a first round TKO in the UFC 197 co-main event.  Johnson (24-2-1) handed Cejudo his first loss in professional mixed martial arts (10-1).  Johnson extended his active record of UFC title defenses to eight.

The fight was called in 2:49 due to knees and punches.  Johnson dominated Cejudo in the clinch, further proving his case as the number one pound for pound fighter in the UFC.  Johnson is currently ranked second behind Light Heavyweight Interim Champion Jon Jones.  The fight was Cejudo's first title shot.  Cejudo was able to get a takedown on Johnson, but he quickly got right back up and took it to Cejudo.

Finding a new opponent will now be a tough task for UFC President Dana White.  Johnson has dominated everyone in his weight class.  Rumor has it that Johnson will either face the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" or go up a weight class and face Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

UFC Notable Fights Results 2016

Main & Co-Main Events: 13

-UFC 196 Co-Main event- Nate Diaz win via 2nd round Submission versus Conor McGregor (Catch Weight: 170 lbs)

-UFC 196 Co-Main event- Miesha Tate win via 5th round Submission versus Holly Holm (New Title Holder: Women's Bantamweight 135lbs)

-Fox: Main Event- Dominick Cruz win via decision versus TJ Dillashaw (New Title Holder: Men's Bantamweight 135lbs)

-Fox: Main Event- Michael Bisping win via decision versus Anderson Silva

-UFC 197 Co-Main Event- Jon Jones win via decision versus Ovince Saint Preux

-UFC 197 Co-Main Event- Demetrious Johnson win via 1st round TKO versus Henry Cejudo (Title Defense: Men's Flyweight 125 lbs)

-Fox: Main Event- Glover Texiera win via 1st round KO/TKO versus Rashad Evans

-Fox: Main Event- Mark Hunt win via 1st round KO/TKO performance of night versus Frank Mir

-Fox: Main Event- Donald Cerrone win via 1st round Submission versus Alex Oliveira

-Fox: Main Event- Steven Thompson win via 1st round KO/Tko versus Johnny Hendricks

-Fox: Main Event- Anthony Johnson win via 1st round KO/TKO versus Ryan Bader

-Fox: Main Event- Ben Rothwell win via 2nd round Submission versus Josh Barnett

-UFC 195 Main Event- Robbie Lawler win via decision versus Carlos Condit (Title Defense: Welterweight)

I'm going to be doing break downs of these fights on my blog.  Stay tuned for more.

Other Notable Fights: 11

Stipe Miocic win via 1st round KO/TKO versus Andrei Arlovski

Travis Browne win via 3rd round KO/Tko versus Matt Mitrione

Edson Barboza win via decision versus Anthony Pettis

Junior Dos Santos win via decision versus Ben Rothwell

Rose Namajunas win via decision versus Tecia Torres

Khabib Nurmagomedov win via 2nd round TKO versus Darrel Horcher

Cub Swanson win via decision versus Hacran Dias

Neil Magny win via 3rd round KO/TKO versus Hector Lombard

Amanda Nunes win via decision versus Valentina Schevchenko

Derek Brunson win via 1st round KO/tko versus Roan Carneiro

Bryan Barbarena win via 2nd round Submission versus Sage Northcutt

UFC Fight Night Recap: March 2nd

Middleweight contender Michael Bisping may have walked out victorious against Anderson Silva during last weekend’s UFC Fight Night London, but he did so with a busted nose and stitches on his face

The bulk of the damage that was inflicted upon "The Count" happened during the dying seconds of the third round when he dropped his mouthpiece. Bisping motioned to referee Herb Dean, notifying him about what happened, but Dean instead let the action continue.

Silva then capitalized on those few moments of inattention by throwing a flying knee that landed squarely on Bisping’s face, immediately opening a deep gash.During a post-fight interview, Bisping pinned the blame on Dean, questioning the latter’s abilities as a referee. Dean has since responded to the fighter’s remarks in his recent appearance on The MMA Hour."Well, I don’t know, maybe he’s not aware of the rules. A lot of fighters, most of them read the fouls but they don’t read all the rules on the mechanics," Dean said. "Maybe he wasn’t aware of that. But the rule is to replace the mouthpiece during a lull in the action."

Dean also explained why he let the fight carry on, despite Bisping’s motions to get his attention."That’s the way the mechanic works, is that you replace the mouthpiece during a lull in the action. And (Bisping) signaled once, and Anderson was actually in the process of attacking him," he explained. For a lot of reasons that are pretty evident you can’t stop to replace the mouthpiece during a heated exchange, and that qualified as a heated exchange."If we were doing that, we’d have guys getting their bell rung, spitting out the mouthpiece to get a little extra time or sometimes you’re feeling a little tired, just spit your mouthpiece out," Dean continued. "So obviously we can’t do that in the middle of an exchange."

As far as determining whether or not Dean should've stopped the fight after Bisping was knocked down, he said Bisping wasn't unconscious when he fell."Well, Silva hit him with the knee and dropped him, and then he walked off and started to celebrate," he said. "He had been dropped, but you know, in MMA we don't stop the match just because someone gets dropped. I saw that when he fell he was not unconscious. He was facing Anderson. Anderson didn't give him a threat to protect himself from, but -- I don't want to start playing what if, what if he attacked and whatnot -- the bottom line is he didn't attack. The round ended and, because Anderson was celebrating, there was some confusion as to what was going on.

UFC 196 Preview

No one is happy that Rafael Dos Anjos was forced to withdraw from UFC 196, but Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz is about as fascinating a replacement fight as you could ask for.

Not only is Diaz the first opponent of McGregor's career to top the Irishman's height and reach, but his technical approach to boxing makes him an interesting test for "The Notorious," who hasn't engaged in a tactical striking battle since the first round of his fight with Max Holloway in 2013.

That's not the only tantalizing matchup on the card, of course. UFC 196 also boasts the first title defense of Holly Holm following her stunning knockout of Ronda Rousey in November of last year. Contending for the belt is veteran bantamweight Miesha Tate. "Cupcake" wasn't happy at the time, but it seems like Holm getting the Rousey fight was the best thing that could have happened to her; now Miesha gets to throw herself at an opponent who has never faced such a dogged, resilient, and crafty mixed martial artist.

Tune in March 6th on Pay-Per-View.