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Will MMA lose Matt Hughes, BJ Penn AND Randy Couture in the same year? Could be.
Nick Diaz punched BJ Penn straight out of mixed martial arts competition and followed it up minutes later by talking his way into a immediate fight for the welterweight championship.
Diaz won a unanimous decision against Penn by keeping the fight standing to batter him with punches for the last two rounds of the main event of UFC 137 in Las Vegas. After the fight, Penn announced that it would be his last MMA bout.
“I have a daughter and another on the way,” said Penn, whose left-eye area was bloody was swelled shut. “I don’t want her to see me like this.”
Immediately following the fight, Diaz renewed his call for a showdown with 170-pound titlist Georges St. Pierre. This time, UFC President Dana White granted his wish.
Diaz will face St. Pierre on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas, White said early Sunday.
They were supposed to fight for the belt at UFC 137, but UFC removed him for his failure to appear for press conferences to promote the fight. Carlos Condit, originally slated to face Penn, slid into the title bout.
St. Pierre injured his knee during training, forcing him off Saturday’s card. Following his victory over Penn, Diaz used his post-fight injury to accuse St. Pierre of faking the injury, which infuriated the champion.
“Now I can have a fight with him and settle it with him, because he was very disrespectful, him and his and coach, to me,” St. Pierre said Sunday. “It’s been a lot. He’s been saying that I’ve been ducking him. I’ve never ducked anybody. I’m not a coward.”
Condit agreed to forego his title shot so Diaz-St. Pierre can happen first, White said. Condit will fight another opponent on the Feb. 4 card.
Compustrike counted 239 blows landed for Diaz on Saturday, compared to 76 for Penn. The last two rounds saw Diaz especially effective, as he seemed to hit Penn at will while stalking him around the ring. But first he had to survive early danger.
As he has in past fights, Penn started strong. He took down Diaz in the first round, climbed his back and landed several right hands to the head. But Diaz, an excellent MMA grappler in his own right, avoided Penn’s choke attempt, recovered to guard and regained his feet.
Despite the victory, Diaz criticized his own work.
“I thought I put on a poor performance,” he said. “I didn’t fight a smart fight.”
He found flaws in his timing and defense, particularly his willingness to absorb punches. An inability to find quality sparring partners hurt his boxing preparation for the bout, Diaz said.
But St. Pierre praised Diaz’s victory and described Penn as a worthy opponent to defeat to earn a title shot.
Saturday was Diaz’s first UFC fight in five years. Between his first UFC tenure and this one, he won 10 in a row and captured Strikeforce’s 170-pound title. He’s the No. 5 welterweight in the USA TODAY/MMA Nation consensus rankings.
Critics have pointed to a lack of elite competition for him in EliteXC and Strikeforce, but Penn is the consensus No. 8 at 170 pounds. His last two fights were a draw with No. 2 Jon Fitch and a knockout of former champion Matt Hughes.
If Penn sticks to his word, it will end one of mixed martial arts’ storied careers. One of only two men to win UFC titles in two weight classes, Penn has been one of the most talented all-around fighters in MMA for a decade, going back to the early successes that earned him his “Prodigy” nickname. READ MORE HERE Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2011-10-29/ufc-137-penn-diaz/559516/1
Cro Cop Retired By Big Country
A flurry of strikes put Roy “Big Country” Nelson back in the win column while ending the storied career of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
Nelson recorded a third-round technical knockout of Filipovic on Saturday at UFC 137 in Las Vegas. The 37-year-old Filipovic announced afterward that going into the bout, he had already decided it would be his farewell fight regardless of the outcome.
After two close rounds, Nelson landed his powerful right punch in the middle of Filipovic’s face in the third round. Filipovic wobbled backward and Nelson chased him down with one punch after another. A short left hook sent Filipovic down as he desperately dove for a takedown to buy time to clear his head, but Nelson, a far superior wrestler and grappler, simply slid onto his opponent’s back and started battering him with punches until the fight was halted.
In the first 10 minutes, Filipovic appeared to find some of the killer instinct that made him a legend of Pride Fighting Championships, but appeared only sporadically in the last five years during his UFC fights. Filipovic landed his dreaded left kick to Nelson’s torso twice in the first round, and connected with one to Nelson’s neck in the second.
READ MORE HERE
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2011-10-29/cro-cop-nelson-ufc-137/559408/1
UFC 138 PREVIEW HERE
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Wrestling has been a very big and important part of my life, since I was 7. From meeting Macho Man Randy Savage, to buying The Sandman a beer in 2001, and beyond, it’s always been something I hold very close to my heart. I don’t have much concern for people that say wrestling is fake, because that’s not the point of it at all. If you wish to tell me to my face that it’s fake, then I will hit you in the face with a steel chair, or toss you in the air so you land on your back, and ask you how fake that pain you feel is. [Q101.com Editor Note: This is at least 37% of the reason that we refuse to let Comicbookjockey come to our events. He's just too high-strung and, frankly, dangerous.]
I’m 30 years old, which means my 21 years of wrestling fandom has spanned through the eras that defined wrestling. I’ve been fortunate to live through the wrestling “golden era.” One of the guys that I adored during my childhood, and teenage years, was Scott Hall, aka “Razor Ramon”.
He went from the AWA, to the WWF, where he took off as a superstar, and then went to WCW, and became an icon, that revolutionized wrestling with the New World Order storylines. I’ve always enjoyed him immensely. Not just one of his characters, but him in general. I don’t know him personally, i’ve sadly never met him, but I take a lot of pride, and enjoyment in watching his “tapes”.
Lately, however, he’s had his share of problems, with drug abuse, alcoholism, etc. I’ve seen video of him not at his best. I’ve witnessed fans make ignorant comments to him. I’ve read the bashing of him on sites, profiles, and what have you. It makes me very sad to see people say terrible things about him. Most of the people that are being assholes, probably grew up with him. What, are they disappointed? I’m sure they are. I could say I am, too. But like I said, I don’t know him personally. I don’t feel I have the place to judge another person when I don’t know them. It doesn’t matter if i’ve paid money to see said person or not, they are human beings, and with that, come problems. I would not have been one of those jag-offs in Massachusetts that night yelling shit at him. That hurts my feelings terribly.
After watching the 20 minute video story ESPN did on Scott Hall, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him. I feel like what he said is true. That son of a bitch should have dies multiple times, what with the stories we’ve all heard, and he’s still here for a reason. This isn’t a fucking comment, or statement of belief in particular religions, just that I agree with him. I’m really happy that ESPN decided to make this a story. It makes me happy for people to see that he isn’t just a character that was on tv, and that he’s a person, with problems, just like everyone. Whether you know anything about wrestling or not, I feel that you really should watch this video, it’s very touching, and it reminds you that we’re all human.
Watch the video here
By Q101.com Blogga Comicbookjockey. He is a guy with too many opinions, and too little time. He’s crass and articulate, and enjoys hot sauce, talking about nerdy stuff, and cleaning up after himself. Too see and hear more:
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The Website
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Want to be a Q101.com Blogga? Submit to Q101.com now (not in a weird quasi-sexual or even in a political way. We mean “submit” as in “send us some stuff”): http://bloggas.Q101.com
We were grumpy about the 8p Central start times, too, Dana!
Man oh man, we get that the East Coast is the center of the universe, but it was such a drag for the UFC start times on its pay-per-views starting so damn early! After a seven-month experiment of holding their pay-per-view events an hour earlier, the UFC have decided to revert to the original pay-per-view start time of 10p.m. ET, starting with the blockbuster UFC 141 card this December.
Starting last April, the UFC responded to East Coast fan demand to start the pay-per-views an hour earlier, though the adjusted start time proved bothersome to many West Coast fans, who have swayed he promotion to move back to their original kick-off time of 10p.m. ET.
The start-time move may also be in response to dwindling pay-per-view buys reported over the last seven months.
UFC 141 is still materializing, but has been confirmed by the promotion to take place this December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card is expected to feature a main event between heavyweight MMA superstars Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, competing in a a five-round, non-title main event. In addition to that match-up, welterweight fights between Johny Hendricks and Jon Fitch, as well as Dong Hyun Kim and Sean Pierson and a light heavyweight bout between Alexander Gustafsson and Vladimir Matyushenko have been rumored for the event.
Source: http://www.fightline.com/fl/news/2011/1011/545597/
Gratituitous shot of the UFC Encyclopedia. Not as cool as a coffee table book about coffee tables, but cooler than that Encyclopedia of Encyclopedias you bought on a whim at Costco in 2008.
The UFC is so frigging big, they’re coming out with their own 400 page Encyclopedia that you can proudly display on your coffee table, mantle, or to use to fend off attackers looking to put an arm bar on you.
Barnes and Noble is flying Anthony Pettis (fresh off his victory at UFC 136 last week mind you) in for a signing Saturday, October 22, at their Schaumburg location.
Anthony Pettis, Barnes and Noble, and a Saturday night with nothing else going on? Gold. Look for our man, MMA expert Ted Gruber out there…he’ll be the guy with the “Press” tickets poking out out of the band of his fedora. Q101.com has asked for three copies in all, in hopes this book is cool…and if it is, we’ll give it to you when we see you out somewhere. Be advised, we’ll probably leave it in the bathroom at Q101.com Central for a few days, but it’ll be free, so, you can’t really go wrong.
Here’s what the makers of the book have to say about it:
The fastest-growing sports organization in history finally has an official and definitive resource that will have its fans cheering: UFC® ENCYCLOPEDIA(October 2011, $50).
The first and only official and fully illustrated encyclopedia of the UFC® covers over 300 fighters and over 170 event results. This full-color, 400-page compendium is filled with over 1,500 images and captures all facets of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, detailing the history of the organization from its beginnings in 1993. The encyclopedia includes unprecedented access to the most dynamic fighters in the world, through profile and action photos, detailed biographies, win/loss records, vital stats, and titles held in the organization.
This book reveals:
The UFC®ENCYCLOPEDIA features all of the faces of the UFC®; from the owners, Dana White and Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta, to the Octagon girls, announcers and broadcasters. Fans will relish this informative and comprehensive tribute to the world’s fastest growing sport.Officially licensed, created in conjunction with the UFC®, and featuring spotlights on memorable submissions, knockouts, and battles that made history, this is the book that millions of devoted fans have been waiting for and it is a book no UFC®fan should be without.
Frankie Edgar finally had “The Answer” to Gray Maynard in Saturday’s UFC 136 main event, as Edgar retained the UFC lightweight title with a fourth-round TKO of “The Bully” in another “Fight of the Year” contender in Houston, Texas.
Like their second fight that ended in a draw in January, Edgar was dominated and nearly finished by the challenger Maynard in the opening round, but narrowly survived again. After regaining his composure in the second, Edgar attacked with more combinations and leg kicks in the third and hurt Maynard following a takedown attempt in the fourth.
Edgar chased Maynard down near the fence and dropped him with a right before forcing the referee to step in after a barrage of unanswered punches on the ground.
Edgar improves to 14-1-1 after avenging his loss and draw to Maynard, who suffered his first defeat to fall to 10-1-1.
UFC 136 also saw featherweight champion Jose Aldo top Kenny Florian, Chael Sonnen submitting Brian Stann to likely earn a rematch with Anderson Silva, Nam Phan outpointing Leonard Garcia in their featherweight rematch, and Joe Lauzon stunning lightweight contender Melvin Guillard in just 47-seconds.
The complete UFC 136 results are below, and also check out all of MMAFrenzy.com’s UFC 136 recaps and play-by-play by clicking here:
MAIN CARD
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/26331/ufc-136-results-frankie-edgar-comes-back-to-ko-gray-maynard-retain-lightweight-title/
God is this a sweet pic.
Q101.com has long reviled Larry Merchant. At times he has seemed drunk during his post-fight rambling soliloquies. Between him and the wretch-inducing HBO PBP man Jim Lampley, it’s been tough to sit through boxing on HBO for decades. That’s just our opinion. However…
The recent tussle between Merchant and the equally-addled Floyd Mayweather Jr. had us rooting for Larry. It may have been the only time we dug him. Now he’s facing slings and arrows from all sides, and in this fight, we’re actually rooting for the old coot. Read on:
HBO commentator Larry Merchant is a well-respected figure in the world of boxing.
The sports journalist has called hundreds, if not thousands of bouts in his 30-plus years with the organization, though no moment has been more significant than that of his in-ring encounter with pound-for-pound great, Floyd Mayweather.
After Mayweather knocked out former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17, the colorful fighter drew the ire of Merchant.
After a deliberate clash of heads from Ortiz in the fourth round, the fighters were separated by referee Joe Cortez, who dropped the ball when he didn’t send both fighters to their respective corners. He called for a time-in while Ortiz appeared to distract, and shortly thereafter Mayweather connected on a powerful left-right combination that ended the bout.
Merchant infamously entered the ring questioning Mayweather’s tactics, to which the boxing great did not take kindly, vehemently calling for the HBO representative to be fired. Merchant responded by saying, “If I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your ass.”
Though he runs the largest mixed martial arts organization, UFC president Dana White has long been a boxing fanatic, even operating his own boxing aerobics classes before mogul-ing it up with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
Following the Mayweather-Merchant blowout, White didn’t hold back any punches about how he felt the veteran boxing commentator handled the situation.
“…Merchant gets in there—this babbling, senile, insane idiot. This guy has been around for way too long, he gets on there again and just embarrasses HBO,” the UFC exec began.
“Dude, you’re 107 years old. You have no business being on television anymore.”
Needless to say, White’s comments toward the 80-year-old (not 107) Merchant did not go unnoticed by the HBO representative, who complimented White on his endeavors by becoming a financially successful man thanks to his exploitation of this “Fight Club-esque” sport.
“Anyone who can make a multimillion dollar business out of street fighting has to be respected,” Merchant said when he spoke with BoxingScene.com.
“My opinion is that anyone is allowed to put up a tent, put on a show and invite people to come. And obviously he’s had a lot of success. Good for him.
“I don’t watch it. I don’t get a so-called sport in which you can have a 6-2 record and be called a world champion. I just don’t appreciate the finer points of MMA.”
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/868545-hbos-larry-merchant-responds-to-ufc-president-dana-white
Stay tuned for White’s response. He won’t let this transgression go on without retort.
Ok, so it was Quinton Jackson. Q101.com is not going to annoint the kid, Jon Jones, all-world just for beating a has-been like Jackson. However, it was a dominating performance over a sometimes-dangerous opponent. The mission was to keep the trajectory Jones has been set upon to fight Rashad Evans, and then perhaps a dream match up with Anderson Silva.
We’re thrilled to report: Mission accomplished. We yearn for Jones-Silva. We need it. We can’t wait for it next spring. Here’s a writeup of the night’s main event from Kevin Richardson of http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com:
UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones defended his title Saturday for the first time against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 in Denver. Jones outfought Jackson for three rounds before he submitted him at 1:14 of the fourth round.
Jackson didn’t make any excuses for the loss. “I’m in the best shape of my life,” he said. “I thought he was all hype, but the kid is good. My hat is off to him. I did my best. This is the best Rampage ever, and he had me memorized.”
You could see from the start of the fight that Jackson’s game plan was flawed. Between rounds his corner would yell out instructions for him to get within punching range.
How can you get within punching range when your opponent has an 11-inch reach advantage?
From the start of the fight Jones used his legs, hands and elbows to dominate Jackson.
Jones came out in the first round in a low wrestling crouch, hoping to take Jackson down. “I had a little epiphany last night,” Jones said. “I have a really good misdirection single-leg takedown, where you fake to the right leg and shoot to the left leg, but it didn’t workout the way I planned.
Jones was able to get Jackson against the cage in the first round and throw elbows and knees. Jackson complained to referee Josh Rosenthal that he was hit in the groin, but the ref took no action. Jones ended the round with a wheel kick that didn’t connect, but it showed Jackson his arsenal of kicks.
In the second, Jones continued to land outside leg kicks and straight jabs on Jackson. In the round, Jones landed a sidekick to the midsection of Rampage. Just before the end of the round, Jones tried to land a triangle choke, but Jackson is saved by the end of the round.
Jackson team’s didn’t adjust its game plan when it was obvious that he couldn’t win trying to get within punching range to connect a big punch. This was the difference in the fight.
In the third, Jones once again dominated the round with kicks and takedowns. Jackson was able to land some leg kicks, but Jones had an answered by taking him down and mounting him. Jones landed an elbow on Jackson, creating a large cut of his right eye. Jones missed a flying knee attempt but landed a fast left.
“I was very confident and a couple of times I was getting desperate cause I wasn’t sticking to my game plan like I was trained to do,” Jackson said. “It was frustrating me. Jon’s presence and his reach is really hard to deal with.”
In the fourth round, Jones drove Jackson down against the base of the cage. Jackson tried to turn so that Jones wouldn’t reopen the cut over his eye, but Jones took his back. He sunk in his hooks to flatten Jackson out and executed a rear-naked choke. Jackson tapped at 1:14 of the fourth round. It’s was the first time Jackson had been submitted since Kazushi Sakuraba submitted him in 2001.
Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mma/blog/2011/09/ufc_champ_jon_jones_dominates.html
Boxing took another punch to the gut last Saturday night with the ridiculous spectacle that was the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight.
This was one of the few bouts in recent years that attracted attention outside the circle of hard-core boxing fans, with nearly 15,000 turning out to see the fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and millions more watching via pay-per-view and closed circuit in more than 100 countries.
It was supposed to be a fight. It turned into a circus.
Mayweather, 34, dominated his 24-year-old opponent for three rounds. In the fourth, Ortiz intentionally head-butted Mayweather, causing the ref to temporarily halt the bout and deduct a point from Ortiz, who actually kissed Mayweather on the cheek as part of his apology.
The fighters were moved to the center of the ring and touched gloves. Time was called “in,” but Ortiz still seemed to be looking toward the ref for a signal to resume. Mayweather pounced, tagging Ortiz with a left and then flooring him with a right.
End of fight. The consensus seemed to be that Mayweather’s punches were legal cheap shots. You gotta protect yourself in the ring at all times.
Post-fight, Mayweather grew weary of veteran TV analyst Larry Merchant’s grilling and yelled at Merchant, “You don’t know s— about boxing,” prompting the 80-year-old Merchant to reply, “I wish I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your ass.”
Another sorry spectacle for a dying sport.
By Richard Roeper
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/7739118-417/floyd-mayweather-victor-ortiz-fight-turned-into-a-circus.html
If UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones can beat Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, he needs to face Anderson Silva. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will make his first-ever title defense against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135. That fight will take place on September 24 at Denver, Colorado’s Pepsi Center. Jones vs. Rampage is a very worthy UFC title fight. Jackson is a former UFC champ himself, with some of MMA’s most effective boxing. He’s definitely not a fighter the 24 year-old Jones can afford to look past. If Jones is having trouble handling the sudden money and fame that comes with a UFC title and lets the outside the cage distractions get the better of him, Rampage will quickly bring him down to Earth.
But if Jones continues to live up to his incredible potential we’ll be talking about who’s next for Jones sometime around 11:30 ET on September 24th and hoping Rampage didn’t suffer any permanent harm in the cage. The 6’4″ Jones combines a pterodactyl wing-span of 84″ with a viciously opportunistic striking style that’s heavy on hurtful knees and elbows and the ability to throw 200lb men around the Octagon like he’s a human catapult. He’s complimented his physical gifts with a positive thirst for knowledge about all aspects of fighting. Training under Greg Jackson, the Yoda of MMA, has only sharpened Jones’ dangerous game.
After Jackson, Jones needs to settle his beef with MMA’s #2 ranked light heavyweight (according to the USA TODAY/MMA Nation Consensus Rankings) Rashad Evans. But let’s face it, as skilled as Evans is — and few Mixed Martial Artists can combine boxing and wrestling so fluidly — he’s a natural middleweight and Jones will be heavily favored to beat his former teammate and ex-friend. And if Jones dominates Jackson and Evans like I think he will, it will be time for the fight I’ve been calling for since February: Jon Jones vs. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. It’s not just a dream fight for MMA fans, it would also be blockbuster business for the UFC. Silva vs Jones would be kind of champion-vs-champion mega-fight that gets mainstream media attention and sells boucoup pay-per-views. It could potentially be a blockbuster on Fox TV as well and could make one of both of the fighters a true superstar in the U.S.
Source: http://mma.sbnation.com/2011/9/12/2420432/ufc-135-jon-jones-vs-rampage-jackson-anderson-silva-mma-commentary
Is it Real? To kick off Raw several weeks ago, CM Punk and Kevin Nash once again began to duel on the microphone.
As Punk explained that the last time Nash was relevant was the year Justin Bieber was born, Triple H made an entrance, and quickly brought the sparring match to a halt.
Triple H claimed that he had received security tapes from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and saw someone going into his office where his cell phone was just prior to the message being sent.
The culprit? None other than Kevin Nash himself.
The COO was on the verge of firing Nash, who began to push Triple H, asking if this was about him pushing him down on SmackDown last week. After taunting Triple H, Triple H punched him in the chest, dropping him.
The former friends stared at one another, and Triple H fired him. What did Punk do?
Point, and laugh.
Afterwards, Kevin Nash was seen leaving with John Laurinaitis.
As for the decision to have Nash be the one who sent the text, I believe they ended the debate to move on with the storylines. They’re looking to milk this over multiple PPV’s, but can’t keep dedicating five minutes of air time to Punk only to have him rant about a text message that has become irrelevant to his match with Triple H.
READ MORE AT THE SOURCE HERE: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-9079801
UPDATE:
WWE superstar Kevin Nash was fired in storyline Monday by WWE Chief Operating Officier Triple H. Wednesday, WWE.com reported Nash had been released by the company, but there could be more to the story.
The company posted the following statement on its web site, WWE.com.
“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Kevin Nash as of Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. We wish Kevin the best in all future endeavors.”
Speculation fueled on the Internet that this wasn’t actually a release but rather part of a continuing angle, which was reported by PWInsider.com.
SLAM! Wrestling left a message with Nash seeking his side of the story. Nash returned our call and simply said, “No comment.”
Nash tweeted earlier Wednesday about the situation.
“To set the record straight, I passed physical w/ flying colors. Cardiologist was amazed at my lipid profile. Couldn’t reach financial terms.”
He followed that up with this:
“I will not be addressing this matter again. I am moving forward with my life. Cena, it was great having the chance to get to know you.”
Nash is a former WWE Champion best known as being one of the first members of the New World Order in WCW with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan. He returned to WWE in January for the first time since 2003 with a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble. Nash stayed on the sidelines until SummerSlam, where he showed up following the main event WWE Championship match between CM Punk and John Cena, giving the match winner, Punk, his trademark Jackknife Power Bomb and costing him the championship.
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