thehotcagedaily

[thehotcagedaily]

Justin Gaethje and the cloth he’s cut from.

“It’s wasn’t whether he won or lost that made him great, it was how he fought.”

Jim Lampley said that once of a famous boxer who we lost way too soon and the same could be said of World Series of Fighting, 155 lbs. champion, Justin Gaethje.  Nicknamed “The Highlight”, it’s a moniker that Gaethje seems willing and determined to defend, along with his belt, every time he steps into the cage.  This weekend, in his home state of Arizona, the champion will step into the cage to defend his belt against Luis Palomino in a rematch of a fight that may be the best fight in the history of WSOF.  

Talking to Gaethje there are a lot of things that are surprising, the maturity and insight of such a young fighter, for example, but the thing that was most surprising was the champion’s journey to the belt.  

“I literally just started 3, 4 years ago, before that I had never been in a street fight.  My first 4 amateur fights I had never sparred, never been in a gym.”

So for a fighter who doesn’t seem to have gravitated toward violence as he was coming up, where does the desire to exchange punches in heroic and dangerous fashion come from?  

“I’m a competitor.  My family is unbelievably competitive.  I’m from a small town.  You got a lot of pride when you come from a small town, wanting to represent.  I was always coming up to Phoenix wrestling guys in the city.  This is something I’ve worked for since I was 4 years old, it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

The elephant in the room with the champion is to have such a great wrestling background why not just keep yourself out of harm’s way and grapple these guys out.  It’s the path of least resistance certainly but for Gaethje it’s just not who he is.  

“I don’t think I would be successful if I tried to take that route.  For me, timing and attitude is what separates one man from another in this sport and if you’re thinking, your reactions aren’t there, which is your timing. And my attitude is to go in there and finish people and if I was to change that I would just be a completely different fighter.”

All this is music to the ears of his boss, WSOF President, Ray Sefo, who knows full well what he has in Gaethje.  

“He’s amazingly talented. He’s not only a promoter’s dream of a fighter but I don’t think everyone has seen his wrestling that much because although he’s an all-American wrestler he likes to stand and bang it out.”

He’s having a definitive ascent through the world rankings at 155 but Chael Sonnen cautions Gaethje’s weight class is dangerous and full of killers.  “155 lbs. is the hardest weight class in this sport.  The only one to argue it is 145 lbs.  There are ten Jon Joneses at 155 lbs.”

This is something that the champion is fully aware of and seems “ok” with a future that may include a loss. “I’m gonna lose one day, I’m gonna get knocked out one day but it won’t be because I’m being reckless and taking unnecessary shots.”

That day may come and it may not.  What you can be certain of,  is that day and every day in between, will be a day that you will find Justin Gaethje in the pocket throwing “fight enders” at his opponent and if you are wondering what is behind all those punches, it’s Safford, AZ.  

“It’s different being from Phoenix or Scottsdale, where you are representing 1 million people.  I’m from a small town and I represent 8,000 people. I find pride in representing my small town because we’re not on the map and not a lot people know where Safford, AZ and they will…..soon.”

The fighter that Lampley was speaking about was Arturo Gatti.  The spirit of Arturo Gatti is visible in Justin Gaethje.  In the way that he feels his best defense is to bring the offense.  A willingness to eat a few of yours to throw a few of his.  The first fight with Luis Palomino felt Gatti-Wardesque.  Two guys who bring the absolute best out of each other and if they fought 100 times, it would be a 100 wars.  Safford will definitely being in the building, Friday night at the Comerica Theatre and its favorite son will be throwing haymakers looking to put it on the map.  

�:jW )�

[thehotcagedaily]

David Branch: History in the making

In the history of major MMA, Dan Henderson holds a unique distinction.  He’s the only man to hold the titles at 185 lbs. and 205 lbs at the same time.  He did it in the Pride organization and it’s no small part of why he is looked at as a Hall of Famer and one of the all-time greats.  

The next man in a position to carry this mantle is David Branch.  This weekend in Phoenix, the reigning 185 lbs. champion of the World Series of Fighting, looks to be the inaugural 205 lbs. champion as he takes on Teddy Holder.  Branch a standout fighter for the promotion looks to put himself in a select club historically but also he separates himself in the short history of WSOF. The promotion is still in a phase where their records are being written and their icons are being forged.  

In speaking to Branch in Scottsdale in advance of tonight’s fight, the question begging to be asked was obvious.  What’s the motivation as a reigning champion to go after another belt in another weight class?  

“I saw the opportunity to put myself amongst those few people to do it and even fewer to actually hold it at the same time.  There’s been two or three to hold two belts but maybe only one or two to hold it at the same time.  That’s what made me want to push myself to go up for the next challenge.”

It’s a feat that certainly puts Branch on a short list and while it certainly will deserve praise now. However, Chael Sonnen, new color commentator for WSOF feels it will truly be adequately recognized as time passes.

“It would be a really cool thing if Branch could pull this off. As a commentator I can’t cheer for anybody and I’m not, but as a fan, take the athletes out of the equation, if a guy can pull that off it’s a cool thing.  Particularly in history, history will smile very fondly upon Branch if he can do this.”

Now what does all this mean moving forward?  Branch and his boss, WSOF CEO Ray Sefo, seem to differ slightly on the long term prospects of a two division champion.

“I wanna fight a few more fights at 205 and defend the belt and I definitely want to defend my strap at 85, nobody’s gonna take anything away from me.”  Branch told me.

However, Ray Sefo while he trusts his fighter worries about the effect on both the fighter and the division.

“Here’s what I see.  I think it’s a personal goal.  Whereas he is going to see if he could win the 205 belt. Then I think he’s going to go back to 185.  But I don’t know.  I’m only assuming.  One thing I do know is that David can’t hold both belts.  What I mean by that is there are going to be a lot of guys that are wanting to fight for the title.  If David gets hurt, not that I want that, but it delays everything.  At the end of the day I think David is going to have to make a decision whether he wants 185 or 205.  We are going to do what we can to accommodate him, I just don’t think he’s going to be able to hold two belts and fight in two weight classes back to back.”

For his part, Branch has to be given all the credit that despite being on the doorstep of MMA immortality, he is fully locked in to the challenge at hand and how serious his opponent, Teddy Holder is.

“He’s a powerful guy, he’s a strong guy so I’m not going to sleep on him.  I think that Thiago got a little careless in there and paid the price. That’s what happens when you fall asleep inside the jungle.  You got eaten by a bigger animal.  He earned his shot fighting me and fighting for the belt, but it is what is, I know how to beat Teddy.”

Holder is all of those things and potentially much more.  The place that he holds on Friday night is the gatekeeper between David Branch and history but Branch seems ready for the challenge and prepared for everything that comes with penning a page in the history books.

[thehotcagedaily]

The Throw Back: Hendo vs Shogun 1

"The Throw Back" is a feature where I'll take a historic MMA fight and write it like they wrote about boxing in it's heyday"

On a mid-November night in San Jose, CA, the crowd of 13,173 must have felt as if they were in Tokyo, Japan.  It was in Tokyo, fighting under the banner of Pride Fighting Championships, that the two men responsible for the Fight of the Night on Saturday night established themselves as two of the best 205 lb fighters of all-time.  This meeting of legends, was both long overdue and seemingly right on time.  On this night, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua reminded us why mixed martial arts, when it's great, has the ability to capture our minds, hearts and bodies as well as any other sport in the world.

It was with an official UFC title shot at 205 pounds and an unofficial Pride title, on the line that the two combatants stepped into the Octagon for only the second 5 round, non-title fight in UFC history.  Both men looking fit and ready, Rua was right at the governing weight of 205 pounds while Henderson was two pounds lighter at 203.  Both men arrived at the Octagon looking focused, aware of the gravity of the fight but certainly not strangers to it.  Two men born and bred for cage battle, mirror images of one another in ability and willingness to go where a fight needed to go for victory. Fans of both fighters, who had to wait for years to see the former Pride champions together in a cage, didnt have to wait long for the two to engage.  A Henderson right cross found a home on Rua's left eye, cutting the former Light Heavyweight Champion and wobbling his legs.  Shogun tried feebly to take Henderson down but found himself in a guillotine choke for all his efforts. As he battled himself out, he ended up with his back on the chain link, trying to avoid the type of uppercuts and hooks that Chuck Liddell used to finish Tito Ortiz.  Despite all this early punishment, the Brazilian continued to come forward, after the man who knocked out Fedor Emelianenko. At one point the Brazilian connected behind the ear giving Henderson, his first taste of the canvas.  It would not be he or Shogun's last.  As the round ended, a clear round for Henderson, Shogun was met in the center of the Octagon by Jacob "Stitch" Duran who immediately begins to attend to the left eye. The second round begins with the two men recovering from the previous round.  Shogun lands a solid right against the cage, which Henderson immediately returns to him as a two punch combo.  Then at a minute and half into the second, the Team Quest product goes after Rua in a rush, a left is short but a right cross and an uppercut are both on the money and thrown with enough power and accuracy to have wobbled an elephant's legs.  The Brazilian ate both punches as if they were cooked by his mother.  Rua continued to come forward as he and Henderson continued to spend the better part of the rest of the round, in the pocket, trading punches with bad intentions that are inches from getting either man's hand raised.  The round ends, a Henderson round again, but the gap is closing and you can see the fight is beginning to take a toll on him.  The left eye of Rua, once a mouse is becoming a rat and it continues to get Stitch Duran's attention in between rounds. The third round begins with the third man in the cage, Josh Rosenthal, telling the two fighters that it's the last round and Henderson holds up 3 fingers to not only remind Rosenthal but seemingly showing his awareness that both he and his opponent are here to the end.  Both fighters spend the early parts of the round exchanging solid but not fight altering blows.  That is until Henderson, threw an inside leg kick and a right cross, the same combination that took Michael Bisping's consciousness at UFC 100. The combination dropped Shogun as well, and Henderson got top position and began raining down elbows, hammer fists and a big right hand.  Rosenthal is in great position and begins to Salsa dance at the notion of whether or not to step in and stop the fight.  He lets it continue.  The former champ taking huge punishment, in deep water looking for a life preserver locks Henderson around the waist.  Henderson batters Rua to the rib cage with elbows, Rua withstands and works himself to the back door to find Henderson's heel and attempts to submit him.  The two men return to their feet, breathing heavily and aware that two more rounds of this type of action are a certainty.  The round ends in a flurry with Shogun going for a takedown against the cage, Henderson battering the former Pride star against the side of his head with elbows, Shogun completes the takedown and lands several meaningful left hands to Henderson's face and tries finish him with a combination.  Shogun is really wearing the scars of battle, as blood comes from the eye, the nose and the lip.  In the corner, he is asked what his name is.  He knows, as does the rest of the MMA world for only a handful of men could withstand this type of punishment and still be looking to finish his opponent.  Rua while battered, still has ever bit the look of the tiger that he had when the fight began. As the fourth round begins, the overwhelming feeling is that these are bonus rounds in an already spectacular fight.  Had the fight been scheduled for three rounds, it would have been an all time fight but the fourth was poised to give us maybe the best round of the fight.  Henderson had shown signs of fading in the third and the fourth was where it caught up with him.  The round, began with a Rua takedown that started another flurry. which ended with Henderson working the Brazilian champion into a crucifix to which Rua rolled into a mounted position on Henderson.  The two fighters scramble to their feet, Shogun lands an uppercut which prompts Henderson to take him down.  Henderson lands a right from the guard and then stands up, setting the stage for the most significant strike of the fight for Rua. Rua stalks Henderson and finally lands the big uppercut he had been searching for the entire fight.  A looping punch that looks like it scrapped the canvas on its way to Henderson's chin.  It rocks Henderson and for the first time in the contest he looks hurt.  He goes for a weak takedown attempt, the legs, completely absent from it.  As he retreats, with Rua in pursuit, he eats a left, plants his foot and throws a right hand directly to Shogun's chin.  Rua responds with a left-right combination.  Shogun has the fresher legs, and looks to be coming on as Henderson fades.  The round concludes with Shogun taking Henderson down and trying to finish him from the top with right and left combinations, taking Hendo's back, looking for a choke and being reversed ending on his back.  What may have been apparent after the third became fact in the fourth, both men have decided the other will not finish them.  Rua down three rounds to one, knows he has to separate Hendo from his consciousness to get his hand raised and a shot to regain his belt. The fifth round begins and Henderson is finished.  The look on his face, seems to indicate his hope is to survive the 5th and hope that he carried the first three rounds.  Shogun needing a finish comes out determined, puts Henderson on his back and has him mounted raining down lefts and rights within the first minute.  As the round progresses, Henderson continues to fight off Shoguns attempts to finish him.  The fifth much like the fourth becomes Rua's quest to find the switch to turn the lights out on Henderson's.  Rua is searching for the holes in Henderson's defense and the right combination to end the night.  Henderson gets unmounted momentarily only for Shogun to then regain the position.  Henderson's only defense remaining, a gift from God, that is the only thing that Shogun has not yet broken is his iron chin.  It's Henderson's chin along with the clock that seem to be the things that may prevent Shogun from an opportunity to regain the 205 belt.  As it reaches 10 seconds remaining and clacks ring through the San Jose night, everyone knows Rua has run out of time and Henderson has survived.  Both combatants rise to their feet, arms raised victoriously as the crowd showers them with the praise befitting two men who have given everything they had for their entertainment. As the two fighters, stand in the center of Octagon, their title futures hang on the opinions of three men from ringside. Their faces, a mix of exhaustion and understanding, knowing they have been a part of something that happens only occasionally in a fighters career.  As the verdict is read, 48-47, on all cards, Rua is disappointed but respectful of what his opponent has done.  In the center of the ring, once again, this time with a mic in front of him, Henderson says about his opponent, "That guy can take an F'n punch".  The only way to truly sum up how great a fight these two provided and how even they are is, It takes one to know one, Dan.

[thehotcagedaily]

Sunday Morning Cornerman: Hendricks vs Lawler edition

Hendricks vs Lawler In what was already billed as a great fight, the intrigue got ratched up for this fight on Friday when Johny Hendricks failed to make the 170 limit for the title fight on his first attempt at the weigh-in.  There was a lot of speculation about whether or not he could make it, as he was visibly shaking during his 1st attempt.  It ended up being much adoo about nothing as he put a light workout in and dropped the pound and a half before the next weigh-in 2 hours later.  But then the speculation turned to would that last pound and a half affect him DURING the fight? Which brought us to American Airlines center, the house was packed and rocking and rolling for the main event.  Robbie Lawler made his way to the cage followed by Johny Hendricks, both looking fit and ready, and with a championship look in their eyes.  Johny came out looking sharp, a different fighter than we had seen before.  Mixing it up, changing levels with strikes working in his kicks.  The comparison was made on twitter to Frankie Edgar and while I don’t love it, he was mixing things up like Frankie.  By most accounts he took the first two rounds.  However, in taking those two rounds two things became very obvious, which would tell the story of the next two rounds.  1. Lawler could eat his punches like they were Girl Scout cookies.  2. Lawler's jab was finding a home.  So later in the fight as Robbie started to come on, in the 3rd and 4th, he began to mug to Hendricks.  Showing the swagger of a man who knows his opponents vaunted power can't hurt him.  Only Johny Hendricks knows how that affected him mentally.  Hendricks looked as though he was content to fight Lawler's fight even though it seemed like it was going to mean certain defeat.  A few times in both rounds Lawler had Hendricks rocked and seemed to be a solid 3 or 4 punch combo away from Dan Mirgliotta stopping things.  And as Hendicks' right eye was bloodied and vision was blurred, Lawler's hands dropped.  Unafraid of Hendricks' power and aware of the problem it would pose in seeing where the punches were coming from, Lawler looked sharp.  He and everyone else could feel the tide turning for sure.  All the momentum was on his side and there was really no indication besides a late desperate takedown by Hendricks, that the 5th would be any different than the previous two rounds.  However, something happened between the 4th and the 5th, Johny Hendricks saw his wife.  Johny Hendricks heard his coach, the once maligned Mark Laimon, in his corner imploring him that the time was now and if he wanted to be champion, he has to win the 5th round.  With that Johny Hendricks came out in the 5th, and fought like a champion.  Like a man who didnt want to have something taken from him, that had already he felt been taken from him.  The 170 lb belt.  He was the Hendricks from the first two rounds and it proved too much for Lawler, who despite his best efforts was not as quick with his strikes or his takedown defense. I have said since this fight that it may be the greatest title fight at 170 lbs in the history of the UFC.  I think you judge a great fight by how many times you think each guy is going to win or how many times you think each guy is finished.  There were parts in this fight when I thought both fighters were going to lose and times when I thought both were going to win.  And based on that criteria, you would be hard pressed to find another fight that did that more than this one did. Carlos Condit vs Tyron Woodley In the aftermath of the Condit-Woodly fight, Tyron Woodley has found himself explaining away his victory.  Having won every second of every round, Condit's injury has suddenly given all on-lookers amnesia when it comes to everything that happened before it.  This fight reminds me, for obvious reasons, of the Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva fight.  Both of these victories seem incomplete, and I understand that.  We need closure.  What would Anderson or Carlos have done, if they were still in there?  Well you could certainly make a case that they would have turned things around and had the fight go their way.  They are both former champions.  However, to do that they would have had to turn the fight around. Myles Jury vs Diego Sanchez Myles Jury looked sharp, let’s not take anything away from him.  But Diego just didnt seem himself.  He didn’t do his typical run out at the start of the fight.  He has moments in all his fights where he gets a little crazy, but in this one it seemed more like he was doing it for his own benefit not to get his opponent out of his comfort zone.  Jury is definitely on the rise and this kid is for real but to think that this Diego was the one that fought Melendez or Gomi might be pushing it.  I am not a fan of post-fight excuses but sometimes there is a fine line between an excuse and a reason Hector Lombard vs Jake Shields Hector Lombard is another guy who, along with Tyron Woodly, wants his name thrown in the Octagon as the next man up for Johny Hendricks.  He didn’t look that great against Shields but really who looks great against Shields.  Let us not forget that even though they were split decisions, Shields beat Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley last year.  I just don’t think the Shields win was impressive enough to make me put more stock in the Marquardt win or less stock in the losses to both Okami and Boetsch.  All solid guys but if you are going to compel me to tout you as a real contender for the belt, I have to see a more impressive string than this. Ovince St Preux vs Nikita Krylov I don’t know what to think of either of these guys quite yet.  I think I have Krylov figured out as a guy who should only wish to be a gatekeeper, and then I think about what is going on in his home country of Ukraine, and I wonder.  That aside he seems to flip-flop victories and losses and his last fight was a win so here we are.  Which brings me to Ovince St Preux, he's somewhere build wise between Bones Jones and Phil Davis, so he looks the part and while he hasn’t been super tested in the UFC, it wasn’t so long ago that he went the distance with Gegard Mousasi.  He's 30 so the time is now.  I think the Krylov victory deserves that his next fight be a guy with a name.  Unfortunately for him, the tried and true gatekeepers of Hamill, Bonnar and Matushyenko are gone so we have to find a new sacrificial lamb for OSP. Kelvin Gastelum vs Rick Story If you are in the business of sorting reading the tea leaves to see who is getting a push in the UFC, you would have to believe that Kelvin Gastelum is one of them.  Since he defeated Uriah Hall in the finale of TUF, he has fought guys who are beatable but maybe a little overreaching for him.  He's defeated both Brian Melancon (easy) and Rick Story (a lot more difficult), which leads me to believe a top 15 or 20 opponent is next, depending on what you think of Story.  The decision on this one was split with many thinking that Story may have taken it.  The bigger story to me is not the fight but the weight battle that Gastelum had to overcome.  He missed weight initially and then weighed in, 3 more times before he was "on weight".  It brings up two issues.  The first is a 5' 9" fighter more apt to make weight at 185 and does that make him a tweener in the sense that he's not tall enough for middleweight and can't make 170.  This could be a problem.  However, the fact that he battled the weight as he did and still had the mental toughness to come back the next day and beat a guy in Rick Story who has defeated Dustin Hazlett (who was somewhat relevant at the time), Johny Hendricks and Thiago Alves.  Granted that was a long time ago, but I think Gastelum, if he is being honest with himself will take a lot from this weekend and either move up to 85 or call Mike Dolce. Dennis Bermudez vs Jimy Hettes When looking at Dennis Bermudez' career in the scope of having a 6 fight win streak, with all fights being on the prelims, it's easy to dismiss the win streak.  Factor into that the fact that there are 4 decisions and two of them were split.  You start to wonder, how serious of a guy is Dennis Bermudez?  Upon closer examination, you realize most of the fights were on PPV so being a prelim to a PPV and being a prelim to a fight night, really are two different things.  Most of the guys he has fought and defeated are pretty serious guys.  Certainly not Top 10 or 15 but certainly the upper half of the prelim guys.  Garza, Grice, Holloway, Siler and Hettes are not world beaters but they aren't chumps either.  You have to earn your victories against all those guys.  And as far as the split decisions go, listen the kid likes to bang.  He's willing to take some of yours to throw some of his and in doing so he probably gets hit more than he would if he adjusted that style slightly.  The skills are there and now you see the mindset starting to come around.  And if you check the rankings, he's in the Top 10. Who's next at 170? In determining who is next for Johny Hendricks at 170, there are 4 men who deserve consideration and reasons to exclude all of them.  The list is Rory MacDonald, Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley and Hector Lombard.  The question is what is or should be the end game here? Are we looking for the best matchup?  In that case they all present interesting problems for Hendricks.  MacDonald is from the same gym as GSP, has a lot of his skills and may be a better striker.  Diaz has top level jiu-jitsu and excellent boxing to include a spectacular jab and remember it was Lawler's jab that gave Henricks fits.  Woodley has the skills that most closely mirror those of Hendricks, high level wrestling and power in his hands.  Lombard has the type of judo that could nullify whatever wrestling advantage Hendricks might have and he has power on his feet as well. Are we looking to raise the profile of the current champion?  You have to give the nod here to Diaz.  Nick Diaz is a polarizing figure who knows how to sell PPVs.  He was yelling at Johny at the weigh-in of a fight he wasn’t even involved in.  Nick has already started selling this fight and Nick Diaz saying your name, raises your profile. By fighting and defeating Diaz, more people would know who Hendricks is.  The only hole in that argument is that he fought GSP so he is probably already somewhat known, at least to the extent that Diaz could affect it. Are we trying to make the most money here?  If this is the case again, we have to side with Nick.  This is sort of 1a and 1b with the previous question.  What we do know is that Nick has shown a willingness to trash talk Johny and that would certainly put asses in seats and drive up the PPV buys.  I will say that the idea of Nick not getting the very next title fight, will drive him mad and probably have him trash talking Johny during the promotion of whoever he fights. Where you at, Johny???? Are we going to give it to who is the most deserving?  If we want to go strictly on resumes, you have to lean towards Woodley or MacDonald.  They have both faced the highest level of competition and taken care of all or most of them.  Rory's stumble against Lawler concerns me but the decision was split so it was at the very least, a close fight.  The same case which can be made for Tyron Woodley. If I was pressed I would give it to Woodley and have MacDonald and Lombard fight with their incentive being the Hendricks-Woodley winner.  I like Tyron's body of work.  I think you could better market a MacDonald-Lombard fight than a Woodley-Lombard fight and I think Nick Diaz is at his best when he is fuming.  And if you don’t give him this shot and there's a chance he won’t get the next one, he will be fired up.

[thehotcagedaily]

Sunday Morning Cornerman: Gustaffson vs Manuwa

Alexander Gustaffsson vs Jimi Manuwa

Sometimes I am of two minds when it comes to the immediate rematch.  While I feel that the winner deserves a new opponent, I like the idea of the two fighters staying in the same head space and the next fight being a continuation of the first.  So when I saw Gustaffsson was scheduled to fight Jimi Manuwa, I didn't like it.  I didn't want Gus risking his status in the 205 pound division fighting a guy not on his level but who has the dreaded puncher's chance.  

I do understand the view of some that if you can't defend your place in the division you don't deserve it but sometimes you fight down to your competition.  All that went out the window, however when Gus went in there and made short work of Manuwa, finishing him and keeping himself on course to fight the winner of Jon Jones-Glover Teixiera.  Alexander Gustaffsson may be the best 205 pound fighter in the world.

Tyson Griffin-Jon Jones Twitter Beef

An oft repeated quote is that a lion doesnt concern himself with the opinions of sheep.  Which is a quote I have always liked on a very superficial level.  I have always taken it as being above the fray, not getting caught up with the riff raff.  With that being said, you do have to assess what is being said and determine if it has validity.  As far as Tyson Griffin goes, despite a history of relevance in the lower weight classes, nowadays he is riff-raff.  What he said on twitter was that Jon Jones is ducking Daniel Cormier.  

Full disclosure, I dont agree with the statement and truthfully only Jon Jones knows.  What he said later in the week on twitter was that DC and Alexander Gustaffson should fight to see who gets to fight him.  Which of course, got him blasted on twitter.  He said how can you blast me when I am basically telling you I want the tougher of the two, which makes sense.  

I think Jon Jones uses his twitter as well as anyone in MMA.  He shapes the feelings and opinions of MMA fans toward him. I believe that he and Ronda Rousey are looking at the Floyd Mayweather model and taking steps toward adapting it.  Not everyone can do it but to be a polarizing figure has it's financial advantages.  Floyd Mayweather, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Howard Stern are all love em or hate me kinda guys and they have translated that relationship with the public into a lot of dollars. Rashad Evans-Daniel Cormier Twitter Beef Ill keep this brief.  In a twitter back and forth, Daniel Cormier said that Rashad would have looked as lost as Pat Cummins did.  Which may be one of the most disrespectful things I have ever heard one fighter say to another, in terms of their in-cage ability.  

Comparing a former Light Heavyweight champion, who knocked Chuck Liddell out cold, past his prime or not to a short notice replacement barista lacks merit on so many levels.  Add to that the fact that the person saying it also serves as an analyst for the sport and you have a recipe for this person to have no credibility.  I'm all for hyping a fight but the fight was already hyped, we were pumped for it and you didnt say that the first time around.  Come on, DC.  I'd like to think you are better than that. Gil Melendez is back Competition is a good thing, just as Gilbert Melendez.  He played the UFC, just like Eddie Alvarez played Bellator.  Not to say that the UFC didnt want to have Gil in the fold but I can almost guarantee prior to the Bellator offer they werent sitting around the offices discussing the need to have him on TUF and subsequently give him a title shot.  

But listen for Gil's part, good on ya.  Your worth is determined by what someone is willing to give you and Gil got the TUF gig and the title shot, whether he had earned it or not.  But lets not kid ourselves, the fight nor the TUF gig are particularly compelling.  For me if we are going to give TUF gigs and title shots to guys who should have won a fight, lets start that line with Alexander Gustaffson. Kevin Iole and Fight Pass Kevin Iole turned down a subscription to Fight Pass this week because he said that it was "the right thing to do".  I think is ridiculous on a lot of different levels.  First because Fight Pass much like media credentials is a tool to do your job more effectively.  I know how hard it is to track down fights (legally) to watch before an upcoming card.  Or now with the live fights being on Fight Pass, you wouldnt see them at all without the subscription.  

So when you tell me that you declined that and make it seem like a morally upstanding thing to do, it doesnt really hold a lot of weight with me.  I would have to know what your track record with swag is.  Have you ever gotten something from the UFC, any other promotion or media outlet, that had nothing to do with doing your job more efficently that you accepted?  Thats what I want to know.  I dont care if you did or you didnt, I would just be interested to know what youre reasons were for accepting that.  That's the more compelling thing to me.  Turning down something you need for work and then bragging about it on social media rings very hollow for me.  

If you want to do something morally upstanding, use your twitter feed to promote the work of those mma journalists who are taking these promotions to task, not tell me your spending 10 more dollars a month.

[thehotcagedaily]

Sunday Morning Cornerman: Rousey vs McMann edition

Herb Dean I'm going to start with Herb Dean for obvious reasons.  I am of the belief that if the MMA community is split on whether a fight was stopped early than it probably was.  I understand that some people believe that you should error on the side of fighter safety. While I understand this, the problem is what they call the end of a fight when a ref steps in, is a finish.  

So to me, the question becomes was Sara McMann or for that matter, Urijah Faber before her, finished?  We know TJ Waldburger was but that fight continued.  I'm not one to let how long one fight went determine how I long I feel another should because all fighters are different and their ability to come back from being "rocked" varies.  My issue is that Herb Dean may be allowing one fight to affect another.  That I have a problem with.  It's almost like the famous "get back call" in the NBA.  Make a bad call on one end and you even it out on the other.  MMA doesn’t work that way and what Dean is doing is robbing the fighter that loses of a full chance to win and robbing the victor of the glory of an undisputed victory.  

Right now when I think of Herb Dean, I think of that part in Bull Durham, where Crash Davis is at home plate having an inner monologue and says get the broad out of your kitchen.  Herb Dean needs to clear out his kitchen if he is going to take back his place as one of the best refs in the game.

Rousey vs McMann

While Herb Dean may have robbed Ronda of all the glory she had coming for beating the previously unbeaten McMann, what he can’t take from her is that she dominated the fight.  She answered a lot of the questions about her.  Can she take a punch?  Looks as if she can.  While McMann did lay a full wallop on her, she did hit her solid and Rousey chewed those punches like bubble gum.  Can she win any other way?  Apparently so.  

While a lot feel the stoppage may have been early, the thing that no one can dispute is that McMann fell like a ton of bricks when she got blasted with the body shot and Rousey stood over her, poised to take her out.  Rousey landed three but it could have been ten more.  Or McMann could have got up, like so many fighters before her and turned the tide.  

Because of Dean's stoppage we'll never know.  What we do know is that early stoppage wasn't Ronda Rousey's fault and it isn't Ronda Rousey's problem, she did everything that she walked into that Octagon to do and is still head and shoulder's above every female fighter not named Cyborg Santos at 135 lbs. Cormier vs Cummins I wonder what takes longer making and serving a latte or the Daniel Cormier-Pat Cummins fight.  I wonder if it will take longer to read what I am going to write about this fight than it took for the actual fight to play itself out.  I tried to see if any of Pat Cummins opponents had a Wikipedia page, which is when I found out that Pat Cummins didn’t have a Wikipedia page.  We all know the story about this fight.  Shouldn't have been booked, huge mismatch, Vegas knew it, MMA media knew it, MMA fans knew it, Cormier knew it and Cummins knew it.  But it was a nice payday for Cormier on an easy night's work. He got to make weight at 205, while not really having to sweat his opponent that much.  

Wolf tickets were bought and sold and at the end of the day everything happened the way it should have.  Nothing was really proven.  I don’t think Cormier should be any closer to a title shot then he was.  The word is Pat Cummins will get another fight in the UFC because he took the fight on short notice.  I'm fine with that.  The only thing Cummins did that I have a problem with is talked a ton of shit and didn’t back it up, but I can't get too mad because I wasn’t buying that garbage anyway.  Side note:  Daniel Cormier got a shout out on Twitter from Mark Coleman, calling him a forever member of the Hammer House.  This is relevant because it dawned on me that DC is a new school version of Coleman, they fight exactly alike to me.  Those two with Shogun, are keeping the big uppercut in business. McDonald vs Maia Rory McDonald to me is like that singer that you hear and they are singing and you just know there is more.  There is a high note that they can sing but they aren’t, they could be belting the song out and instead they are just kinda going through the motions.  I have seen in spurts, when McDonald doesn’t feel like their is imminent danger, him just unload on someone(BJ Penn).

When I see that, I say to myself, this kid may be capable of things even GSP isn’t capable of because he likes the destructive component of MMA, whereas St. Pierre isn’t a killer.  McDonald very much is a killer.  I do believe that Maia is as tough as they come and as we saw in the first round, this fight could have been over if Maia had found his submission.  But he didn’t and then McDonald went to work.  

At the end of the day, I want to see guys take McDonald out of his comfort zone and see if he is willing to go to the place you have to, to finish guys that pose a serious threat to your health (Condit, Diaz, Lawler, Hendricks)  If McDonald fought Nick Diaz, Diaz would have him so twisted up mentally that Rory would only have two options.  Either get on the Crazy Train with Nick and see where they ended up or fold.  That’s the way I want to see this kid pushed. Pyle vs Waldburger TJ Waldburger looked like he was getting served at Wahlburgers by the end of this fight because Mike Pyle beat that kid like he was hamburger meat.  And the guy that had the best view of it all was the guy who should have stopped it.  I don’t know what Herb Dean was looking for out of Waldburger that he saw in Urijah Faber but it was getting real silly in their for a couple of minutes.  Pyle looked sharp.  I think he is destined to forever be that guy who cracks the top 10 but never the top 5.  As for Waldburger, sorry buddy, Herb let you down. Thompson vs Whitaker I'll keep this one short and sweet just like Stephen Thompson did.  Whitaker showed up in the Octagon, a game fighter who was ready to go and Thompson was just too much for him.  The striking was on point and while Whitaker weathered a lot of the storm, in the end, in the words of Doc Holliday, "it was more than he could bear" Davis vs Eye The rumored next opponent for Ronda Rousey is Alexis Davis.  I'm not saying that Alexis couldn’t give Ronda a fight, but that opinion certainly would not have been formed based on this fight.  Alexis did nothing in this fight to make me think that she would change the side of the win-loss column Ronda's name appears on.  Depending on Cat Zingano's physical and mental health, she very well could get the next shot, but if she wants to beat Ronda, a different Alexis Davis better show up than the one that showed up on Saturday night. Two young prospects standout Both Aljamain Sterling and Zach Makovsky looked sharp in defeating their opponents on Saturday, they were fighting tough guys but for me to take them seriously in their divisions, I need to see finishes against guys like these. Side Note:  I like the nickname "Baby Bones" for Aljamain.

[thehotcagedaily]

Sunday Morning Cornerman-Machida vs Mousasi Edition

Chris Leben Not sure what to make of the Chris Leben news.  I'm not surprised nor should anyone else be.  You learned everything you needed to know about Chris Leben on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter.  The issues that were exposed on that show, are not going to be resolved with money or a career as a fighter.  They are the kind of issues that self-evaluation and therapy can many times be the only way out.  

With that being said, what do we or more importantly the UFC owe Chris Leben?  In his tweets, which in full disclosure have been deleted and apologized for, Leben says he should have been a truck driver.  He says that he would have been taken care of better if he was a truck driver.  Mind you, he tweeted this out to his 86,000 twitter followers, which I'm sure is way more than any truck driver has.  I can understand Leben saying this because as much as he enjoys the limelight, he is probably fully aware of his inability to deal with what comes with it.  

The story of a "changed" Chris Leben has been told over and over again.  So many times so that he has become The Boy who cried clean.  But it’s not the fans, his family, his fellow fighters, or Dana White that hold the key to Chris Leben's future.  His worst enemy will also be his best friend.  Here is a poem that I'm oft to quote and here's hoping the last lines give Chris Leben some clarity and some inspiration. He's the fellow to please-never mind all the rest. For he's with you, clear to the end And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years and get pats on the back as you pass. But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you’ve cheated the man in the glass. Good Luck Chris Machida vs Mousasi The saying goes numbers never lie.  Well the numbers that say that Gegard Mousasi outstruck Lyoto Machida by a 2-1 margin may not lie but they sure are leaving some things out.  This fight got a little bit of a bad rap, in my opinion.  First it was the last fight after a long and late night of substandard fights.  By the time these two hit the Octagon, the most diehard of fans was ready to call it a night, if they hadnt already.  The fight has been called a chess match, which I think has some validity, despite how cliche it is.  

I think the most interesting thing about how the fight played out is how quickly adjustments were made.  Mousasi lands inside leg kicks and Machida adjusts his stance. There was some action but the way that Mousasi fought was curious.  He was stalking Machida, but not really pulling the trigger.  This again has to be looked at with an open mind.  Mousasi and Machida are two of the smarter fighters who have ever stepped in the Octagon.  

While you have to wonder why Mousasi wasn't throwing more, he is well aware that Machida is one of the best counter-punchers in MMA.  He knows that any punch thrown at Machida could be the last punch thrown by you of the night.  So with that in mind, the fight did have it's moments of action and Machida did look sharp.  He played his game and Mousasi just couldn't find the openings.  

Things that stood out about the 185 lb Machida moving forward.  He's quick as quick as we have ever seen him.  I will say one thing that concerns me is head placement.  At 205, he had a traditional karate stance, with his head further back.  This made him harder to hit but didnt really affect his ability to strike.  At 185, his head seems to be a little closer to the his opponent.  This could be problematic for him moving forward, but he's right there with the best in the world at 85. Jacare Souza vs Francis Carmont Georges St Pierre was back in the Octagon, but not in the capacity we would want him.  He was in Francis Carmont's corner.  If St. Pierre really wanted to help Carmont, he should have stayed in the Octagon during the fight.  That's the only thing that would have given Carmont a shot at beating Jacare.  Although this fight was 29-28 on most of the cards, it was all Jacare.  He looked good but moving forward, I need him to finish a guy like Carmont if I'm to take him seriously as a challenger to Chris Weidman's belt

[thehotcagedaily]

Sunday Morning Cornerman: Barao vs Faber edition

RENAN BARAO VS URIJAH FABER

Coming into this fight, Faber was looked at by some as the 2013 fighter of the year.  While 2013 was a great year as a whole, it was the destruction of Michael McDonald that really had people screaming for the Barao rematch. And deservedly so.  McDonald while clearly outmatched by Barao, hung with him into the later rounds.  So good ole' MMA math (which never works) tells us the Barao-Faber fight should have been great, which it could have been.  

Here's what I saw.  While Barao was for sure the sharper fighter and was always "first" for the short time they were in there. I felt like Faber was seeing his strikes well and didn’t seem overwhelmed.  The slip didn’t help him and Barao landed a solid right.  Which brings us to the stoppage.  The term you hear often in MMA is intelligence defense.  Is a fighter intelligently defending himself?  The way I look at it is this, are you blocking Renan Barao's strike attempts?  Yes with your left hand.  Are you giving the referee an indication that you are willing to continue?  A thumbs up with your right hand should be sufficient.  

My problem with those that call this stoppage valid are their reasons.  1.  Herb didn’t see the thumbs up.  Ok, but he did see Urijah blocking the strikes.  He had two things ignored by the ref, even though either one should have been sufficient to continue the fight.  Also if Herb didn’t see it, it's because he wasn't in position to see it (that’s on him)  2. Urijah should have improved his position.  For what? He was doing what is asked of a fighter to have a fight continue.  How can he know before the fight is stopped, that Dean doesn’t see his thumb or the strikes he is blocking?  If he was comfortable there, he should have been allowed to weather the storm.  3. It was a forgone conclusion; Barao was going to win anyway.  If that was the case, what the hell were they doing in there, if we know who was going to win before a decisive conclusion.  Ask Jamie Varner about who is going to win a fight before the knockout blow is delivered.  

I think Herb is a great ref, next to John McCarthy the best. So he will evaluate this, learn from it and move forward as a better ref.  As far as the future goes for both of these guys, Barao just keeps moving along at 135 defending and waiting for a hopefully healthy Dominick Cruz to come around. It may be time for Urijah to start looking at big name fights against aging superstars.  The name BJ Penn comes to mind.

  JOSE ALDO VS RICARDO LAMAS

So when thinking about this fight, we could sit here and do the round by round breakdown like the others but it was a lot of the same.  Aldo throwing hard leg kicks.  High percentage landed on his strikes.  Throwing a takedown in here and there.  Here's what Jose Aldo's fighting future boils down to.  He's always going to coast against inferior competition, he's always going to fade late, and he's gonna keep getting these decision victories.  

He needs to be pushed.  Which leads to the obvious question, How do we know who is going to push him when we are booking the fights?  Which is fair.  I just think that the move to 55 will do that for him.  He needs a challenge that isnt just another fighter at 45.  At 55 we got Pettis who he's fighting next, Benson Henderson, Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson (should he continue fighting), TJ Grant (if he ever gets cleared), Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone.  These are guys who have shown a willingness to "go" and push their opponents, no matter who the opponent was.  At this point, I think Aldo is going to fight to the level of his opponents so it's time to throw hitters at him.

  Frank Mir vs Alistair Overeem If we truly wanted to pit these two against each other in something that was compelling, it might be a disinterested face competition.  They are both world class at that.  However, they were pitted against one another in a fight.  And the disinterested face in this one belonged to me.  Both guys were coming into the fight with filled out pink slips just waiting for a signature and a stamp so you would have thought there would be fireworks in this fight.  

That’s not where these guys are right now in their careers.  Both know who they are and what they are willing to give and it is going to take a lot to change that.  Frank Mir, either doesn’t have it anymore or doesn’t care.  His level of effort as he moves into the twilight of his career is as compelling an argument for the use of TRT as any.  I just don’t see it.  The desire, the skill set, none of it.  He had a few moments in this fight but they were fleeting.  Got Overeem in a guillotine attempt but it didn’t last long and you didn’t really ever feel like he was in trouble.  

Overeem seemed to take the threat of unemployment more serious than Mir but didn’t come to be the "Demolition Man".  His fight was very strategic to both stay out of trouble and do just enough to win the rounds.  Don’t get me wrong, he had Mir hurt early but took his foot off the gas saying later that Frank is dangerous in those scenarios.  

SMC:  As I have written previously this may be it for Frank Mir.  He likes collecting checks, way more than breaking necks and that doesn’t make him a compelling fighter.  He was kind of stuck in this fight.  There was once a version of Frank Mir who could have beaten this version of Allistair Overeem but that guy is a memory at this point.  For Overeem's part, the path to relevance at Heavyweight was to finish what he started in the first.  It was all right there for him.  He just chose to ease up and in light of what had happened to Jamie Varner, it COULD have been dangerous.  The guy he should of been in that fight, is the guy he needs to be to take on the upper echelon of this division.  He will always get fights based on how great he used to be, but if he doesn’t refocus he may be the guy people pay to watch get knocked out.

  Ali Bagautinov vs John Lineker The talk before this fight was about the stand up game.  Both guys were making allusions during the prefight that they could out strike the other. However, when the fight started a different storyline played out.  Bagautinov wasted no time in taking down Lineker.  

The 1st round was a lot of Bagautinov taking down Lineker and Lineker looking for submissions from the bottom.  He tried a heel hook and a kimura in the first round.  In the second round, Bagautinov felt a little bit of Lineker's power to the body and did a much better job of stuffing takedowns.  In the third round, Bagautinov's respect/fear of Lineker's power is even more on display.  Has one takedown stuffed and gets another.  Lineker is stalking Bags looking to land a big shot, Rogan says it’s the first time he had ever seen one fighter stalk another where it looks like the one stalking has a knife.  Great line.  Three takedowns in this round for Bagautinov, Lineker tries to get Bagautinov to top with a kimura.  No luck.  They do some cage grappling, Bags gets another takedown and mugs for the camera, completely disrespecting Lineker.  

SMC:  Well, what are you gonna do?  Despite all the bravado it was clear that Bagautinov wanted nothing to do with Lineker's power and could you really blame him?  The name of the game in the UFC is get W's.  Bagautinov saw a clear path to victory that allowed him to maintain some manhood and he took it.  The irony of Bagautinov retreating from Lineker for most of the fight and then punking him at the end is not lost on me.

JAMIE VARNER VS ABEL TRUJILLO Varner took the fight on short notice and after what "The Killa" did to Roger Bowling you would have to wonder why.  But Varner's a different guy and early in this fight he seemed to be on a different level than Abel Trujillo.  Trujillo came out throwing fastballs and Varner returned in the exchanges.  Both throwing in the words of Joe Rogan, "what you say about my mama" punches.  The tide in the first changed when Varner got the takedown, took Trujillos back and worked a transition into a North-South choke.  Looked like Jamie had it deep but Trujillo gave the thumbs up and weathered the storm.  During a transition, Varner tried to mount, failed to and they ended up back on their feet.  The round was a good one for Varner, however he was cut under the eye in the round.  

Round Two is more action packed.  Varner wobbles Trujillo early with left hand and Abel comes right back and catches Varner.  Trujillo goes for the takedown and Varner hammerfists.  Half way through the round Varner has Trujillo hurt, The Killa is out on his feet and just swinging for survival.  Varner goes in for the finish, leaving himself open to counters and Trujillo does just that.  He finds Varner's light switch and turns it out with a counter right, which earns him Knockout of the Night.  

SMC:  The easy thing here is say that Jamie Varner got sloppy and there is some validity to that.  However, it's the reckless nature of the fight that put Trujillo on rubber legs and had Varner in a position to finish.  He just forgot the age old adage of keeping his chin down and his hands up, let that left hand drop in the exchanges and Trujillo found it. This fight is what makes MMA great, you are always one great punch away from victory, no matter what has happened beforehand.

[thehotcagedaily]

The Last Call-Frank Mir Edition

The Last Call is a look back at a promotions recent event and whose career may be coming to a close.

Frank Mir has lost his last 4 fights and he hasn’t really been in any of them.  He has alternated TKO losses with decisions in his last four.  It started with Junior Dos Santos, who took Mir out in the second.  We can forgive him that one because at the time, he just wasn’t on Junior’s level.  

His next fight was against Daniel Cormier, a fight scheduled originally to take place in Strikeforce. It was Cormier's first fight in the Octagon and he said after the fight, that he had some Octagon jitters and it showed.  A grappling match for most of it, Mir never seemed to want to engage.  However, again the caveat here is that in most people’s estimation, mine included, Cormier is at a higher level than Mir.

His next fight was Josh Barnett; this was the fight where you felt that Frank had a shot.  Again it was Mir "defending" the UFC's honor against someone who came over from Strikeforce.  However this time, it didn’t go the distance.  In fact, Barnett would need just one round to send Mir back to the drawing board.  This was the point when most in the MMA media started to feel like enough was enough.  While Barnett is a high level guy, Mir was a high priced punching bag and at that point should have probably been cut.

But he wasn’t and a fight with Alistair Overeem was set.  While I thought Mir should have been cut after Barnett, I could see the sense in an Overeem fight.  The once "Demolition Man" had been demolished in his recent fights and if either of these guys had any future in the UFC, we would be shown as much, by them taking out the other.  However, styles make fights and the striker vs. grappler didn’t pay off with the big fireworks we had hoped.  What we did see was a completely neutralized Mir in all aspects of the fight game and Overeem channeled his inner GSP to grind out a victory.  

In the aftermath, Mir’s face was a mess and maybe his career was as well.  Putting Frank Mir's legacy into perspective has always been difficult to me.  It almost seems blasphemous to compare him to Royce Gracie but I will do so in this respect.  A lot of his success came at a time when he knew a substantial amount more than his opponents about jiu-jitsu.  For the bulk of his career, he has worn that mantle of best jiu-jitsu player in the Heavyweight division of the UFC.  It enabled him to break Tim Sylvia's arm, twist Brock Lesnar's leg, squeeze Chieck Kongo’s neck and put Big Nog's career on hold.  However, he also knocked Big Nog and Cro Cop out.  

But for all that greatness, it may be the beatings he received that we remember Frank Mir for the most.  Beatings at the hands of Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett.  As I look across the landscape at Heavyweight, I can't find a fight that interests me for Mir.  Do I want to watch him fight Stipe Miocic?  Or Mark Hunt? Or Gabriel Gonzaga?  Or Brendan Schaub?  These are all the fighters around him in the rankings.  Could they be good fights?  Sure.  Anything is possible but the more I think about these fights, I don't find any interest.  

And the more I think about it the more I realize, I just have no more interest in watching Frank Mir fight.  He's had an interesting career and you can't write the history of the UFC without him but for Frank Mir, I think that his fight against Alistair Overeem should be the last call.

[thehotcagedaily]

Talk is Cheap: Chael Sonnens legacy may forever be his mouth.

Chael Sonnen is perhaps the greatest hype man in the history of MMA.  He has talked his way into fights and can take a average fight and make you think you are going to watch, Hendo vs Shogun.  Not only does he call out his opponents, he does everything he can to embarrass them, their families, their backgrounds and their homelands.  Chael Sonnen can create a big fight.  But can he win a big fight?

This is all at the forefront of MMA because once again he is rattling the cage of a superior fighter in the hopes of getting a shot at him.  He has taken to the airwaves to call out Jon Jones, who has an upcoming fight with one of Sonnen’s mentors, Dan Henderson.   He has called him a punk, lampooned his Nike deal, and made fun of his DUI.  And that was just Tuesday.  He hasn’t even really gone "all in" on Jon Jones, yet.   Presumably, because if Henderson beats Jones, it’s wasted breathe. 

But how much of it ALL is wasted breathe?  If Chael were just a hardworking guy with solid skills, would he not get these same title shots?  If he beat the same guys and performed the same way, wouldn’t the same opportunities come his way?  The short answer is probably not. The reason why is we have a 170 lb example, of what solid skills and a quiet mouth get you.  That’s Jon Fitch.  Sonnen is a little better on his feet and a little better on the ground but he isn’t light years beyond Fitch.  So all Sonnen’s talk may be a necessary evil. 

Sonnen’s talk is positioning himself to get a shot at Jones if he beats Forrest Griffin.  Which is ridiculous, in and of itself, that Chael could convince us that Forrest is one step from the title.  But in the words of Chael, he is doing his level best.  He is beginning to speak of Griffin, in terms of someone who just beat Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, not about to retire Tito Ortiz.  Don’t worry though, Chael will spin it.  No one has both insulted his opponents and touted their credentials in the same breath like Chael Sonnen. UPDATE:  Chael almost talked himself into a fight with Jones and if everything goes according to plan and he continues to call out Jones (which he will), he will eventually get that fight.

Here’s where the Chael hype machine comes to a crashing halt.  He has never held a title.  Didn’t win it from Paulo Filho in the WEC (despite the controversy), didn’t beat Anderson Silva (despite having two cracks at it) and if you asked most people to bet their house, they would say he won’t beat Jon Jones.  That’s the Chael Sonnen house of cards and the card that makes it all fall down is the championship card. 

What Chael really excels at is what he is most likely going to be known for.  Running his mouth.  He will no doubt have a great broadcast job when he is done with the UFC and may even spend some time in pro wrestling.  Someday, 20 years from now, the next generation of fans is going to be watching a UFC event and hear Chael blasting a fighter or a coach and not even know that he fought.  His legacy will be his mouth because when you are not a champion you have to be known for something.  He’ll have the fate of some other sports celebrities like John Madden, Jon Gruden, or Joe Theisman, guys known more for talking then doing.  Difference is those guys are champions, they don’t have to prove anything to anybody.  They cashed the checks their mouth wrote.

Flavor Flav may be the greatest hype man in the history of rap but no one ever says he’s one of the greatest rappers.  He’s a sideshow now.  A reality tv star.  Just a member of the circus.  That’s the same fate, that Chael Sonnen may realize.  We know he can talk the talk but will he ever walk the walk?

-John Franklin

[thehotcagedaily]

The Biggest Loser: Frankie Edgar could gain alot, by losing a couple.

The whispers that swirled around Frankie Edgar in the months after his first loss to Ben Henderson were about one thing, should the smallest fighter in the lightweight division be fighting in the featherweight division.  All the MMA pundits, MMA fans and even the president of the UFC, Dana White, felt Frankie would be better served at 145.  The reason for this is clear.  Frankie is very open about how little weight he has to cut before a fight.

Now we find ourselves, after Frankie Edgar’s second loss to Ben Henderson and the whispers have become screams.  Dana White has made it very clear that Frankie will not receive another title shot after losing to twice to Henderson.  Also Frankie is in one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC and he is only a very easy weight cut from one of its weakest.  Jose Aldo, who is widely regarded as a top 5 pound for pound fighter in the world, has been reduced to fighting Eric Koch.  No disrespect to Koch but he isn’t exactly a household name.  Jose Aldo is nearing his prime and needs to be fighting top flight competition that can push him.  Frankie Edgar fits that bill in its entirety.

Here’s the problem.  A lot of people in MMA circles and Frankie himself believe that he won not just the first fight with Benson Henderson but the rematch as well.  So if your Edgar, a New Jersey guy with a lot of pride, how do you leave a division, you feel you should be champion of?

Here’s how.  The secret to Frankie Edgar’s fighting career and by extension his sanity moving forward is to understand that you may have won those fights but you didn’t finish them.  So what that means is you have to live with the judge’s decision.  It’s also important that Frankie understand that sometimes you have to retreat to come back with a better plan.  And that better plan is the featherweight division. 

The roadmap for Edgar is clear; the UFC wants him very much to rejuvenate its featherweight division so you use that as a negotiating tactic.  He should tell them that he wants to be paid a higher rate, not by much, to fight at 145.  Then he schedules his first fight with Chad Mendes to earn a shot at Aldo and then he fights Aldo.  If he beats Mendes and Aldo, it leaves the door open for Urijah Faber to return to the division.  If he defeats Faber, he has a rematch with Mendes or Aldo, depending on who is on a streak at the time.  That is the next two to three years of his fighting career.  Being in the weight class between 135 and 155 leaves the door open for fights above or below, with fighters coming down or up to fight him. (Cruz, Lauzon, Varner, Pettis, Barao could all move up or down relatively easy)  Finally if he cleans out the 145 division he can always go back up to 155 to settle old scores if he feels there is unfinished business.

This plan works for the UFC and Edgar.   The best way for him to get another shot at the 155 lb title is to go away and let 155 play itself out.  Position himself as one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound and then let the UFC market that he “should” have won the other fights with Henderson.  This could work, I just hope Frankie sees it that way.

UPDATED:  Frankie Edgar has decided to move to 145 lbs but has yet to have an opponent scheduled.

-John Franklin

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The Stacked Deck: UFC on FOX, solves some problems, creates others.

As first reported on twitter by Ross Finkelstein, then confirmed by several other sources(I have no idea how you confirm something without acknowledging how you came to know about it, but don’t get me started), UFC on FOX 5 is going to be an absolutely loaded card.

Here are the 3 main fights.

Benson Henderson vs Nate Diaz(for the Lightweight Championship of the World)

Shogun Rua vs Alexander Gustaffson

BJ Penn vs Rory McDonald

Anytime you have Penn as the third fight down, it’s loaded.  In addition, this card has all sorts of title implications.  Obviously, the main event is for the Lightweight title, but there is a high likelihood that the winner of the Shogun-Gustaffson fight will get the shot after Machida and the Penn-McDonald winner would be probably one fight away.  This card is truly what separates the UFC from boxing and I feel will make it a viable sport for the long term, maybe even becoming one of “The Big 4”. 

One of UFC’s goals is to be a success on free television which is great for fans because if you are a devoted fan and not on a “house rotation” like a lot of fight fans are, you could spend upwards of 600 dollars a year on pay-per-view.  So not only does the UFC want to deliver quality cards every time out, they want to increase the quality of free fight cards.  This is something boxing did very successfully in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

The Fox experiment didn’t start well but now after their last card was a success they are looking to build on that and keep the Fox cards as something the fans can count on for a great free card, almost as a tradeoff for whatever pay per view card underperformed. (ex. UFC on FOX 4 making up for UFC 149.)

The other major factor in the stacking of fight cards is the rash of injuries that the UFC has had to deal with.  The logic being if you put 3 “headline” fights on one card, one or two of them has to survive to the day of the fight. 

This is all being done for the long term success of the UFC and for the fans.  Fans spend a lot more time criticizing cards they have to pay for than applauding ones they don’t.  Despite the fact that the UFC is getting more mainstream, they still have goals and there are parts of their plan that haven’t come to fruition.  It seems as if those things involve great, free fights so we should enjoy this time.  It truly is the golden age of MMA and the UFC.  Someday the fighters will be more skilled but there may come a day when the UFC doesn’t have the power to stack card like this.  So let’s enjoy it while we can.

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Not be taken lightly: Lauzon and Varner appear ready to steal the show.

Very rarely do two fighters come together at the perfect time in their careers to provide a truly explosive fight.  Stephan Bonnar-Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell-Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson-Shogun Rua come to mind immediately.  Jamie Varner and Joe Lauzon might be at that point right now. 

There is a lot of activity at 155 lbs right now.  With each fight there will be movement in the rankings and a new position will open up.  That leaves room for the winner of this fight to face the loser of one of the other division matches such as Henderson-Edgar or Cerrone-Guillard. There is a lot on the line with this fight.  The winner could find themselves one fight from a title shot. 

With whats on the line for the future of their careers and the fact that neither fighter goes to the cards very often, the stage is set for a war.  Both guys looked ready for one at the weigh-ins and I am predicting this will be fight of the night for this card.  The once overlooked lighter divisions of the UFC are really getting their due as of late.  To think the state of this division when Pulver and Penn did The Ultimate Fighter to now is amazing.  The lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions and Varner and Lauzon may put a show on on Saturday that may overshadow the 205 lb division.

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The Redemption Song: All UFC on FOX 4 headliners, looking to avenge some fight history.

It has been said in many places before but bears repeating. The two things that the four men at the top of this weekend's UFC on FOX 4 have in common are:  An opportunity and an opponent.  They all have an opportunity to earn a title shot and they have all faced and been defeated by Jon Jones.  Jones who has been suprisingly  interested in the outcome of these fights and what that means has even taken to twitter to comment on his prior opponents.

 @JonnyBones

Out of the four guys Lyoto was the toughest puzzle, brandon had the biggest mouth, bader felt the strongest, shogun lasted the longest. lol

Jones defeated Shogun Rua, Brandon Vera, Ryan Bader and Lyoto Machida, all very decisively and without controversy. 

Brandon Vera:  Vera was Jones 5th fight in the UFC.  Both were coming off of some controversy.  Jones had just lost his first fight, to Matt Hamill via disqualification, after he used "12 to 6" elbows to the top of Hamill's head.  Vera had just lost a controversial decision to Randy Couture, a fight that many believed he won.  This was a meeting between two guys who had similar backgrounds in terms of their hype.  Jones was in the middle of his "next big thing" moment, while Vera's had already disappointed and was trying to climb the mountain again.  Jones made very short work of Vera taking him out in the first by TKO.

Ryan Bader:  Jones and Bader fought on the undercard of Silva-Belfort.  Bader was coming off a decision win over Rogerio Noguiera while Jones had just defeated Vladamir Matyushenko.  This was a fight to see who's career trajectory was going to continue to rise.  This is the first time that either fighter had faced a high level guy in his prime or at least nearing it.  Jones defeated Bader with a guillotine, the first of two Bader succumbed to (Ortiz).  The very next fight for Jones was a title fight.

Shogun Rua:  Shogun and Jones met obviously after Jones had just defeated Ryan Bader and Shogun had taken the belt from Lyoto Machida in the rematch of their controversial first fight.  Both fighters looked unbeatable and while Shogun looked game for the fight, Jones never really seemed uncomfortable.  He defeated Shogun in the third by TKO.  

Lyoto Machida:  Lyoto is the most recent of Jones opponents and is the one that the champion called the most difficult puzzle to solve.  Machida earned the fight by defeating Randy Couture with a front kick. However, he had lost his two prior fights to Shogun and Rampage and a date with Jones may have been premature.  A herky-jerky kind of fight, Bones ended the night by choking out Machida against the cage.

There are certain things about fighting and fighters that are just understood.  Their next fight is always their biggest and they want you to believe that the only thing that motivates them is the fighter before them.  However, Dana White will continue to motivate guys to fighter harder with title shots and it will continue to work because despite what fighters tell you, they are motivated by external factors.  I think its very reasonable to believe that all four of these fighters not only want a shot at the belt which may never present itself again and would all love to avenge some personal history in the process.  Should make for a great night of fights.

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Sunday Morning Cornerman: Calgary Needed a Miracle

Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan

This was a battle between two of the most athletic fighters in the Heavyweight division. This fight only consisted of a total of 134 strikes and left the entire fight world scratching their heads as to what they had just witnessed. I can’t really comment on what this fight should of consisted of because I am still in shock myself. Both of these fighters didn’t even come close to implementing their game plans. The corners should have been yelling and screaming for these two to engage each other. I should've heard combos, move, give me 3, inside and outside. What I heard and so did everyone else were crickets.

Tim Boetsch vs. Hector Lombard

The case of the UFC first fight jitters has made it’s way to Hector Lombard. His corner should have used everything in their power to wake Hector up and tell him that he was in the most important fight of his life. His performance was the most disappointing effort of all time in the UFC. Tim Boetsch had a game plan and worked it to the best of his ability considering Lombard was standing flat-footed and not doing too much. I think Tim was brilliant and won the fight, with what he had to work with. His corner talked to him and let him know what was going on. I think they get corner of the night for the main card. Tim is now in contention for the belt.

Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber

The best fight on the main card, by far. The worst thing about this fight is that the crowd was so restless, that they started booing. After reading and finding out that Faber had a broken rib, makes this fight even better. He showed the heart of a true champion by going the distance. Barao brought in a game plan, by keeping Faber backed up so he couldn’t go off and that is exactly what happened. Barao looked good but his corner should have smelled blood and had him try to finish the fight. Barao needed the push to install the instincts of a finisher. On the main card this was the fight of the night and should be seen as that.

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Legacy: Can the "California Kid" make his dream come true?

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The Hot Cage Podcast:  UFC 149-Faber vs Barao Prefight Show