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.