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Q101 (formerly on Chicago radio @ 101.1 FM) The Alternative - Chicago's New Rock Alternative - Everything Alternative - Chicago's Alternative - Gen X - Generation X
Way to go, Abe Kanan (Former Q101′er) for breaking this story on a recent “Abe Kanan Show” on Howard Stern’s “Howard 101″ on SiriusXM! Abe and his crew are weekly fixtures and getting more play than ever! Very nice guys! READ THE STORY FROM YAHOO:
One of the most famous NBA players of all time, Shaquille O’Neal, made a shocking revelation during a radio interview with Abe Kanan. The legendary athlete revealed that he is negotiating with the WWE to take part in a pro wrestling match at the company’s biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania celebrates its 28th year in Miami on April 1st, 2012. Shaq is certainly familiar with the popular city. Shaq played for the Miami Heat from 2005 – 2008. WWE is negotiating to get Shaq to brawl with fellow giant, The Big Show. The two athletes had a run-in with one another back in 2009 when Shaq guest hosted an episode of Monday Night Raw. Having seen every Wrestlemania since it originated in 1985, I believe this has the potential to be the biggest celebrity moment in Wrestlemania history.
For hardcore wrestling fans, putting Shaquille O’Neal in a clash with Big Show at the biggest event of the year, may get a negative reaction. Wrestling fans are uptight about outsiders coming into their sport and mixing it up with their heroes. There is a feeling among wrestling fans that Wrestlemania should revolve around the athletes who work hard all year and keep the WWE in business. And although the opinion is valid, the event Wrestlemania has never been solely about wrestling. It’s always been about creating a condition that expands and draws the interest of new consumers. Wrestling is just a part of the Wrestlemania experience.
READ MORE HERE
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-10739505
WWE Champion CM Punk’s Second City homecoming was marred by the underhanded actions of Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis and Dolph Ziggler, while the diabolical Kane finally shed some fire on his recent attacks on John Cena.
Kane explained why he attacked John Cena After two brutal assaults on John Cena, The Big Red Monster finally revealed why he targeted the Cenation leader. The monster’s reason? Hate.
Standing behind a wall of fire, Kane made it clear that he’s disgusted by Cena’s “Rise Above Hate” T-shirt slogan, because humans are hateful by nature. The twisted demon then said he’s going to help the powerful Superstar understand this by leading WWE fans in a chant of “Cena sucks! Cena sucks!” Some members of the WWE Universe followed Kane, others didn’t, but the outcry seemed to shake the confident competitor.
Dolph Ziggler def. WWE Champion CM Punk in a Title-Free Gauntlet Match Still sucking air after his first Gauntlet Match, Punk rallied against the talented, but arrogant Dolph Ziggler. That was until Mr. Laurinaitis stuck his nose in. Distracting The Straight Edge Superstar by making a mid-match announcement, the Interim Raw General Manager allowed Ziggler to steal one and earn a WWE Title opportunity against the champion next Monday night. The showoff was so pumped about his victory, he snatched Punk’s title and taunted a disgusted Chicago crowd.
WWE Champion CM Punk def. Jack Swagger in a Gauntlet Match Forced by Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis to face Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry in a Gauntlet Match, WWE Champion CM Punk knew he had to dispatch of his first opponent early. It wasn’t easy getting by the former World Heavyweight Champion, but even with the shrill Vickie Guerrero attempting to sway the bout for her client, The Straight Edge Superstar put Swagger to bed with a devastating roundhouse kick.
Source: http://www.headlineplanet.com/home/2011/12/26/complete-wwe-raw-results-report-for-december-26-2011/
Mir Delights, Bones Rolls in UFC 140
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (225 pounds)
“Big Nog” looks to gain revenge in this rematch of veteran heavyweights, and comes out with a left jab. Nogueira tries a takedown, but settles for landing a series of right hands on the cage. Mir fires back with a good knee, followed by a takedown. Both men are quickly up, and Nogueira controls the grappling on the cage. Right elbow by Nogueira as both men separate. Quick right/left combination by Nogueira rocks Mir! “Big Nog” drops lefts and rights, trying to finish the fight. Nogueira grabs a guillotine, then tries a gator roll, followed by an arm triangle. Mir somehow slips out. Nogueira gets sloppy, leaving his arm dangling out like a carrot for Mir. Mir quickly grabs side control and a slick kimura. Nogueira tries to slip out by rolling with the hold not once, but twice. But Mir just holds on, and locks the kimura in even deeper. After fighting it for several seconds, Nogueira taps out as Mir breaks his arm! For the first time in his illustrious career, Nogueira has been submitted.
Frank Mir wins by submission at 3:38 of round one.
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (205 pounds)
Similar to his last fight, Jones comes out in a spider-like crawl, but is quickly standing. Jones tries a jumping side kick. Machida is backing up, and Jones is missing with every strike he throws. Both men exchange leg kicks. This is followed by a blitz, with both men landing shots (but none solidly). Jones attempts a head kick. Machida dodges a right hand by Jones, and lands a good left. Machida follows this with a big straight left to the head. For the first time in his career, Jones has been solidly struck. Machida is effectively moving in-and-out, and Jones is becoming frustrated by his inability to land with his strikes, as the round ends. It seems Jones has lost the first round of his young career.
Jones, the light-heavyweight champion, misses with a spinning back kick to start round two. The champ follows with a glancing head kick. Machida fires back with a charge, landing several strikes. In a chaotic exchange, Jones lands a good knee. Jones tries a takedown, lands a couple of big straight shots, and finally scores the takedown. Jones connects with his trademark deadly elbows, and opens a cut on Machida’s forehead. After both men are up, referee John McCarthy calls a brief stoppage to check the cut. Though it is a huge gash, the fight continues. Jones regains controls on the cage on the restart. Machida appears to land with a left, but a short left by Jones beats him to the punch. Machida is stunned, but still standing. Jones sinks in a standing guillotine, and it’s deep. Machida fights for a few seconds, before going limp. McCarthy stops the fight, and Machida collapses in a heap. Jon Jones retains the title.
Jon Jones wins by submission at 4:26 of round two.
Source: http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/WrestlingMMA/tabid/256/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/7930/UFC-140-Recap.aspx
UFC 141 To Ring In New Year With Heavies
AT UFC 141 (Ultimate Fighting Championship) scheduled for December 30, 2011, Brock Lesnar will fight against Alistair Overeem. The match holds significance for the two fighters as the winner of this match will meet the UFC heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos.
The 34-year old Lesnar began his UFC career in 2008 when he faced Frank Mir at the UFC event called Breaking Point. Mir won the match by a submission move, but Lesnar gave a few punches to make an impactful entry into the mixed martial arts division.
Both Lesnar and Overeem would be motivated to win their match for the chance to fight against the champion for the UFC heavyweight title. The players will not miss this opportunity at any cost, as they are in the hunt to capture the heavyweight title one more time and add another victory under their belt.
If Lesnar wins, he would face Junior Dos Santos, who defeated Cain Velasquez within two minutes to claim his debut title win the UFC heavyweight division. Both Lesnar and Overeem would have to watch out the style with which Santos uses in his fights.
For the time being, the two contenders would be looking forward to gain an edge in their match in December 2011. Looking at their UFC careers at a glance, Lesnar has won 71% of his fights while Overeem has won 70% of his fights.
Both fighters are balanced when it comes to winning their matches. But the difference lies in the way they fight on the mat.
Lesnar could become a dominating opponent as he has a 77% striking accuracy in UFC career. Overeem, on the other hand, would have to work hard in controlling Lesnar, as he only has a 55% striking accuracy.
Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Brock-Lesnar-to-fight-against-Alistair-Overeem-in-December-MMA-Preview-UFC-141-a112110
One convict will think twice before attempting to mug anyone again.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that 24-year-old Anthony Miranda allegedly pulled a gun on a driver in a parked car on the Southwest Side of Chicago Friday night.
The thug ended up with two black eyes and a gunshot wound to the ankle.
The intended victim…turned out to be an MMA fighter.
The Sun-Times reports on the Cook County man who now faces charges of armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class X felony:
“After getting some money, he ordered the driver out of the car, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said. At some point, Miranda’s attention was diverted and the victim was able to grab control of the gun and the two wrestled. During the fight, Miranda accidentally discharged his gun, shooting himself in the ankle, Mirabelli said. The victim, who told police he’s a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion was able to pin Miranda down until police arrived. Police arrived to find Miranda with a face full of cuts and two black eyes.
“After getting some money, he ordered the driver out of the car, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.
At some point, Miranda’s attention was diverted and the victim was able to grab control of the gun and the two wrestled.
During the fight, Miranda accidentally discharged his gun, shooting himself in the ankle, Mirabelli said.
The victim, who told police he’s a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion was able to pin Miranda down until police arrived. Police arrived to find Miranda with a face full of cuts and two black eyes.
Miranda had originally asked the man, whose name the police have yet not released, for lighter.
Fox Chicago reports that Miranda has had several convictions in the past, including at least one for a residential burglary. The 24-year-old was taken to the hospital Friday night and ordered held on $350,000 bond Sunday.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/thug-pummeled-after-attempting-to-mug-chicago-man-who-turns-out-to-be-an-mma-fighter/
It’s been a long time coming but Chicago is finally playing host to the UFC again! This will mark UFC’s chance at nationally televised redemption after the disastrous 60 second bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Not only will we get a look at Rashad Evans, but we’ll witness a stiff test for Chael Sonnen (left), who will face Mark Munoz in just his second trip to the octogon after his year-long suspension for performance enhancing drugs.
READ ON:Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (12/9) though a pre-sale period begins on Wednesday.
As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported on Saturday, Evans vs. Davis will be contested as a five-round non-title fight, according to a UFC official. Both co-headliners serve as title eliminators, and each winner is promised a title shot.READ MORE AND SEE THE FULL CARD HERE
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/26388/ufc-on-fox-2-evans-vs-davis-tickets-on-sale-this-week.mma
Jon Jones? BOTH Nogueiras? Q101.com is stoked for this card…but apparently there’s a lack of interest in the fight card in Toronto this Saturday night (12/10). Read On:
Move over Santa Claus, the UFC is coming to town … again!
Just eight months after 55,000 fight fans filled the Rogers Centre for the mixed martial arts company’s first ever Ontario show, Toronto will host UFC 140 on Saturday night.
The fanfare for the event has paled in comparison to last April’s spectacle when the city had been buzzing for months about UFC 129, which was headlined by Canada’s own Georges St. Pierre.
But this time around, it is being held at the much smaller Air Canada Centre.
Still, UFC 140 promises to be action-packed.
“It’s going to be a great night,” promised Tom Wright, the UFC’s director of Canadian operations.
Officials knew the return visit to Toronto would be compared to the hugely successful UFC 129 so they’ve stacked the UFC 140 card with exciting match-ups, including a main event with the phenomenon Jon (Bones) Jones.
“He’s the new face of our sport,” Wright said of the light heavyweight champ, who will fight for the fourth time this year.
Jones, 24, has steamrolled through his first three opponents of 2011 beating Ryan Bader with a guillotine choke in February, snatching the title from Mauricio (Shogun) Rua six weeks later, then submitting Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in September.
Three great fighters and they all looked lost against Jones.
Now it’s Lyoto (the Dragon) Machida’s turn.
“Both of these guys are great fighters, very unpredictable with unorthodox styles,” Wright said.
Machida held the light heavyweight belt until he was knocked out by Rua in 2010. That same year, he lost a split decision to Rampage.
But after sending hall of famer Randy Couture into retirement with a Karate Kid crane kick at UFC 129, the Dragon earned the chance to regain the title.
“He won Knockout of the Night with that front kick to poor Randy’s chin,” Wright said.
The card also boasts the Nogueira brothers.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog) takes on Frank Mir. His twin, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Little Nog) fights Tito Ortiz.
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/04/fanfare-wanes-for-ufc-140
UFC 139 came to us Saturday night from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The majority of the main card was action-packed, and the main event is already being talked about as one of the best MMA bouts of all time. Here’s the recap: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Henderson (205 pounds) Two MMA legends face off in a main event ten years in the making. The fight starts with several leg kicks by Rua. Henderson lands a short right, followed by a huge knee that cuts Shogun. Henderson tries a guillotine, but Shogun slips out. Henderson follows up with a huge flurry of punches with Rua’s back to the cage. Shogun flops to the ground, but Henderson doesn’t follow. Dan Henderson is the more active fighter, but Rua is blocking the majority of his shots. Shogun drops Henderson with a big right hand, followed by a barrage of punches on the ground. Henderson survives, and gets to his feet. Rua controls the grappling battle on the cage to end the round. Both fighters pace the cage to start round two. Shogun again controls the grappling battle on the fence. Both men land strikes solidly as they separate. Big left hand/right hand/right uppercut combination by Henderson. Rua moves forward to control the clinch on the fence. Both men swing wildly as they separate. Now Henderson gets clinch control on the cage, and scores with a short right followed by a big uppercut as the round ends.
Round three starts with another big uppercut by Henderson. Shogun now has cuts on both eyes. Big damaging right hand by Henderson drops Rua. Henderson is now dropping huge bombs on Shogun! A big leaping punch by Henderson nearly ends the fight. Somehow, Rua survives the assault, and actually grabs a heel hook to nearly end the fight in his favor! Both men get up, and both look absolutely exhausted (particularly Henderson). Dan Henderson gets in close, and lands good elbows to the side of Rua’s head. Shogun comes back with big lefts that rock Henderson. Both fighters drop their hands, and are breathing from the mouth, as the round ends.
Shogun seems to have recovered somewhat during the break, but Henderson looks absolutely gassed. Rua tries a takedown, but lands several good punches instead. Henderson works to get Shogun’s back, and sinks in a guillotine, but Rua escapes. Now Henderson scores with a takedown, and gains side control. Henderson attempts a choke from top position, but Shogun pulls guard. Henderson gets to his feet, and Rua invites him back to the ground. Henderson obliges with a big right hand. Both men are up, and Henderson is shaking his hand (which looks to be injured, possibly broken). Rua smells blood, and scores with big punches. Henderson is staggering around the cage, and looks hurt. Shogun knocks him down and pounces, trying to end the fight. Henderson somehow slips out to take top position to end the round.
The final round begins with a Shogun takedown with side control. Henderson is trying to push off the cage with his feet to escape. Big ground knees to the side of Henderson! Shogun now gets a full mount. Henderson is simply trying to survive, but Rua is dropping bombs. Henderson tries a desperation guillotine from the bottom, but Shogun earns another mount. Rua is causing major damage, but Henderson is still coherent. Rua takes Henderson’s back, then transitions back to the mount. Henderson gives up his back again, but can he survive this onslaught?! Shogun is back to the full mount with one minute left. Somehow, Henderson weathers the storm to survive.
Dan Henderson earns the close unanimous decision victory in an instant classic (48-47, 48-47, 48-47).
Reflections: This was, quite simply, one of the greatest fight cards in MMA history. Aside from the Bonnar/Kingsbury snooze fest, all of the bouts were electrifying. Urijah Faber has earned a rubber match with Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight crown. He will need to change his strategy from their last fight, if he wants a chance to defeat the evolved Cruz. Despite his victory, we may have seen Wanderlei Silva in the cage for the last time. Dana White has made clear his desire to see Silva retire, due to the large amount of knockouts he has suffered recently. Going out with a quality victory over an opponent like Cung Le would be a fitting sendoff for the former Pride FC legend. The Henderson/Shogun fight had more twists and turns than a Six Flags coaster. Henderson proved that he is still clearly able to hang with the younger generation of cage fighters, and seems to be in line for a title shot at either Jon Jones (light-heavyweight) or Anderson Silva (middleweight). Shogun Rua could possibly be paired with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at the February card in Japan. It would be a rematch of former Pride FC stars that are still enormously popular in the Orient, and surely wouldn’t disappoint. READ MORE ABOUT THE REST OF THE FIGHTS HERE
Source: http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/WrestlingMMA/tabid/256/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/7825/UFC-139-Recap.aspx
The Ultimate Fighting Championship bought its way into Saturday’s San Jose debut in more ways than one.
This weekend’s UFC 139 (6 p.m., online Facebook stream; 8 p.m. ET, Spike TV; 9 p.m. ET, pay-per-view) card in San Jose includes three bouts involving six former champions: light heavyweights Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua; middleweights Cung Le vs. Wanderlei Silva; and Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber. But they earned most of their accolades before UFC absorbed them.
Henderson leads the pack as the reigning light-heavyweight champion of Strikeforce and one of the most accomplished American fighters in mixed martial arts. He was a beltholder in two divisions for Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships when UFC parent Zuffa bought that brand in 2007, though he subsequently lost title-unification bouts in both weight classes.
His main-event bout against Rua starts the third UFC stint for Henderson, who has had occasional disagreements with Dana White, president of Zuffa, usually during contract negotiations.
“I heard that Dana bought Strikeforce because he missed me,” Henderson joked Thursday.
Rua used to be UFC’s 205-pound champion, but he first became a star in mixed martial arts by winning a Pride tournament in 2005. Henderson also took part in that grand prix; the man who eliminated him, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, lost to Rua in the second round of the tourney.
Like Henderson, Rua and Silva signed with UFC in 2007 after the Pride acquisition.
Faber and Bowles became champions in World Extreme Cagefighting, a brand that Zuffa bought in 2006. The company retired the WEC brand at the end of last year and moved its top talent to UFC.
The winner of their bout likely gets a chance for a rematch with bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who has beaten both men.
But Strikeforce will be represented most of all when UFC makes its debut in northern California’s most populous city. Strikeforce started in San Jose and it used to employ Le, who was the promotion’s middleweight champion from 2008 to 2009. A resident of San Jose, Le was a Strikeforce star going back to the late 1990s when the company promoted kickboxing rather than mixed martial arts. They entered the sport together in March 2006, when Le debuted in mixed martial arts by fighting on Strikeforce’s first MMA show.
Yet he’s more than happy to be fighting for UFC these days.
“UFC’s top of the food chain,” Le says. “It’s like going from the CFL to the NFL.”
By Sergio Non, USA TODAY
READ MORE ABOUT STRIKEFORCE AND BELLATOR EVENTS HERE
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2011-11-17/ufc-139-showcases-acquisitions/568079/1
The reward for stopping Chris Leben after 10 minutes on Saturday should include top contender status in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division, as far as Mark Munoz is concerned.
“I paid my dues in this weight class and I think I deserve a title shot,” Munoz said after beating Leben at UFC 138. “Anderson Silva is by far the best pound-for-pound fighter. I give him all the respect and honor, but I think I deserve a title shot right now.”
Munoz defeated Leben in the main event of UFC’s return to Birmingham, England. Leben’s cornermen halted the bout after two rounds because their fighter could not see, with blood into his left eye from a cut caused by Munoz’s strikes on the ground.
“Hard to fight when you’re choking on blood,” Leben said. “I’m definitely going to need to evaluate my ground game after that performance … He beat me tonight. My hat’s off to Munoz.”
There was no secret about Munoz’s game plan going into the bout. The former collegiate champion wrestler survived Leben’s powerful punches and took him down repeatedly to set up the ground-and-pound assault that has been the hallmark of most Munoz victories.
Leben at times appeared to connect solidly with hooks. He also grappled well early, stuffing some of Munoz’s shots, attempting chokes and even getting a takedown of his own in the first round.
“I knew I had to look out for his left hand, and he came with it,” Munoz said. “I had to get rid of my brawling instincts and I had to stick to my wrestling.”
His persistence paid off. Leben’s face was bloody by the middle of the second round from eating several punches thrown by Munoz from top position. Referee Marc Goddard paused the fight with less than 90 seconds remaining in the round, and although he allowed the fight to continue after a cursory check from the doctor, Leben told his corner before the third round that he could not see.
Leben is now 0-2 headlining UFC shows in Birmingham. He lost a decision to Michael Bisping in the main event of an October 2008 event in England’s second-most populated city.
Whether Munoz’s fight will be for the middleweight title remains to be seen. UFC officials are trying to put together a fight between champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, the No. 2 middleweight in the USA TODAY/MMA Nation consensus rankings after crushing No. 8 Brian Stann last month. The mutual disdain between Silva and Sonnen — not to mention the excitement of their fight last year, nearly won by Sonnen — gives that rematch a natural storyline.
Munoz’s relationship with Silva could not be more different than Sonnen’s. Silva and Munoz trained together for several months and remain friends.
But No. 4 Munoz has a four-fight winning streak, including victories over top-13 opponents in his last two bouts. He has won seven of eight UFC fights as a middleweight, with his only loss a close decision to No. 3 Yushin Okami. Munoz is the top-rated middleweight who hasn’t fought for a UFC belt yet.
In the co-main event, Renan Barao used a rear-naked choke to submit home country favorite Brad Pickett in the first round.
The beginning of the end came when Barao floored Pickett with a left knee strike and a straight right punch. Barao landed several punches on his downed opponent, then quickly climbed his back and secured the choke, which was tight enough to force a tapout although the arm was across Pickett’s chin, rather than underneath it.
READ MORE ABOUT THE NIGHT’S RESULTS HERE
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2011-11-05/munoz-beats-leben-at-ufc-138-calls-out-silva/561753/1
Manny Pacquaio lose by decision? Nevah! And, that’s as its always been: The old unwritten rule in boxing is that you have to pummel a reinging champ if you hope to win by decision. Pummel Manny, Juan Manuel Marquez did not. However…if ever we wanted to see two fighters fight a fourth time, it is now. That is assuming Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t take a fight against “Pacman”. We won’t hold our breath.
On the UFC side of the night’s pugilism, Clay Guida (the Round Lake native who now is announced as “fighting out of Albequerque” which honestly stings a bit, even if we understand his decision to train under the legendary tutelage of New Mexico’s Greg Jackson) lost on all three cards to the incredibly talented Benson Henderson, locking Ben into a title shot against Frankie Edgar (Q101 is picking Henderson to do the things that Gray Maynard wasn’t smart enough or talented enough to do to take Edgar’s title when they face off in Japan in February). Guida, meanwhile, will have a bright future for as long as he continues to wow crowds with his frentic pace and overall menacing and fun demeanor. Gotta love Clay! When he ate a flying knee toward the end of the fight just so he could ensure himself of a take down of Henderson (a strategy that damn-near worked out!), we went nuts! That dude is frigging awesome!
We don’t, however, love the fact that when it comes to fighting, conventional wisdom is that Americans only love the fatties; that is, we only want to see heavyweights figtht. Sorry, but anyone who would rather see a noticeably flabby Cain Velasquez fight a guy who notoriously gasses as fights progress like Junior dos Santos as opposed to a fight between men 100 pounds lighter like Cub Swanson and Ricardo Lamas (Cub put on a great show but got cocky and paid for it when he was submitted by Lamas, btw), then they should stick to watching replays of “Hillbilly Handfishing”. Nonetheless, UFC honcho Dana White fell prey to this tired old notion that the casual fight fan will only appreciate two lumbering behemoths by not only featuring just one lone fight in the first ever UFC Primetime special on the Fox national network, but then making the double folly of matching “Mexico’s First Ever Heavyweight Champion” (nevermind that he is American; never let the facts get in the way of a good story, especially when it comes to fanning Mexican pride), Velasquez, and the Brazialian dos Santos. Boy did that make for one crappy hour of TV compared to the incredibly entertaining undercard, streamed once again on Facebook. For more on the night’s action, Read on:
The nation caught its first network prime-time glimpse of Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday.
But just a glimpse.
Your average channel surfer could have landed on Fox for UFC’s heavyweight title bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos and witnessed everything in the time it takes to cook Minute Rice.
PHOTOS: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
In short — and the fight UFC President Dana White billed as the biggest in his organization’s history was — Velasquez, the defending heavyweight champion, was gone in 64 seconds.
In front of 14,019 at Honda Center, Dos Santos earned a technical knockout and the heavyweight belt after dropping its former owner with a heavy right hook that connected above the left ear.
“My coach used to tell me, I’ve got pretty heavy hands,” Dos Santos said, “so I try to use them at the start of the fight because it’s a good time to use my power because I’m 100% in the moment.”
The fast finish quelled fears that the fight would conflict with the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez boxing match scheduled on the same night in Las Vegas.
“It was my fault I didn’t pressure enough,” Velasquez said. “The game plan was to go in and pressure.”
He added: “You can definitely learn a lot from losses. This is no different. I strayed away from the game plan so I’m going to learn not to do that ever again, even for a little bit.”
Velasquez hadn’t fought in a year after suffering a shoulder injury during his one-round demolition of Brock Lesnar in the same arena last October when Velasquez won the heavyweight crown.
Velasquez said he still had some nagging injuries, but the fight didn’t last long enough to notice.
There were 10 fights total, but by design only the main card was shown on Fox.
“For anybody to [complain] about this fight and [that] they didn’t get to see that fight, shut up,” White said.
“You should’ve bought tickets then if you wanted to see all the fights and you don’t want to watch on Facebook.”
Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ufc-velasquez-dos-santos-20111113,0,3352771.story
Surprisingly snubbed from the lineup that marked the UFC’s network-television debut, Benson Henderson and Clay Guida proved why they belonged on the broadcast.
In an action-packed fight that left the crowd buzzing, Henderson topped his frantically paced opponent and staked claim to a lightweight title shot.
The fight was the featured undercard attraction of UFC on FOX, which took place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
While only the night’s heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos aired on FOX, the entire nine-bout preliminary card streamed on Facebook and FOXSports.com. And no attraction was more anticipated that Henderson vs. Guida, which promised the winner a 2012 shot at champ Frankie Edgar.
Early in the opening round, Henderson dropped Guida with a right hand and then buckled him again during a subsequent firefight. Guida then worked for a single-leg takedown, but Henderson fended it off and delivered some short shots to the body. However, later in the round, Guida buckled Henderson with a crisp right and briefly attempted a guillotine choke before Henderson escaped and delivered a knee and kick to the body.
After the action-packed first round, the frantic pace continued in the second. Each fighter worked for takedowns, and both did damage from the close-quarters fighting. After just ducking under a spinning back fist, Henderson dipped and scored the takedown. Guida scrambled and looked for the guillotine while pulling guard, but Henderson took his back and worked for a rear-naked choke that was cut short by the end of the round. READ MORE HERE
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/26067/ufc-on-fox-preliminary-card-results-henderson-tops-guida-to-claim-title-shot.mma
Manny Pacquiao escaped again, in a decision that left Juan Manuel Marquez fuming once again.
The Filipino sensation was taken to the limit Saturday night before winning a majority decision that infuriated Marquez and most of the sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena. While close, the win helped Pacquiao continue a remarkable run that has made him the most exciting fighter in the sport. (See photos of the rise of Manny Pacquiao.)
In a bruising battle against a counterpuncher who was both accurate and fast, Pacquiao needed the final round on two scorecards to pull out the win. He got it, even though a third judge scored the round in favor of Marquez.
As boos — and cans and bottles — rang down on the ring, Pacquiao celebrated another victory and another huge payday. (Read “Boxing Icon Manny Pacquiao Now Belts Out Love Songs.”)
“My fans are very happy because they thought I won,” Pacquiao said.
He did, but on the narrowest margin. That, perhaps, was to be expected considering the previous 24 rounds the two had fought were just as close.
Pacquiao won on two scorecards, while the third ringside judge had it a draw. It was a narrow escape for the Filipino congressman, who took as much punishment as he got over 12 rounds, and Marquez was so upset he stormed from the ring. (See more on the build up to the fight.)
“This was the second robbery and this one was the worst,” Marquez said. “We won with clearer punches.”
Source: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2099366,00.html
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