UFC 152 Main Card Recap

Jones applying the fight ending Americana on Belfort (Photo by bleacherreport.com)

Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira: This was one of the fights that people we're looking forward to the most. Both of these guys have recently hit their stride in their careers and were looking to make themselves top title contenders at 145 pounds. Oliveira took Swanson down early but Cub has a highly underrated ground game. He got up almost instantly and started to land some solid shots on Oliveira. He eventually landed a sick liver punch that stunned "Do Bronx". He followed it with a monstrous overhand right. It took a second, but Oliveira eventually fell down unconscious. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if it turned out he got a broken orbital bone and was unable to continue.

Possible matchups for Swanson: This win easily makes Cub a top-10 featherweight. Three (T)KO's over 3 really good fighters equals at least top-10 status, if not top-7 or 5. A top fighter that has yet to rebound from his most recent loss is BJJ expert and Japanese star, Hatsu Hioki. Due to the fact that Hioki is still a top-10 featherweight, he will continue to fight top-10 featherweights. If Cub can continue his hot streak against Hatsu Hioki, he could even receive a title shot afterwards.

Possible matchups or Oliveira: Despite the fact that all of his losses in the UFC have come in the first round, you have to remember, Charles Oliveira is only 22 years old still. He still has a lot of time to grow and to mature as q person, not just a fighter. Another fighter that is also just 22 years old is Justin Lawrence. He is coming off a brutal TKO loss at the hands of arguably the most promising fighter in MMA, Max Holloway. Therefore, they are both looking for rebound fights, and this fight could very well be awesome.

Matt Hamill vs. Roger Hollett: Sigh, I really, really don't want to talk about this fight. Absolute garbage. Hollett had no business being in the Octagon. His standup is rudimentary, his wrestling is weak, and he has no submission skills. Like I said, he has no business in the Octagon. Hamill should retire now that he has that last win and Hollet should be immediately cut, if that isn't already clear.

Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann: I have to admit, this fight surprised in more ways than one. The main thing that surprised me was the fact that Brian Stann did so well. He easily won the first round, which was something that I really didn't expect. When Stann landed that huge right hand at the end of the first that almost finished Bisping, I went crazy and so did the Toronto crowd surrounding me. After that though, Bisping utilized his highly underrated wrestling to land some huge double legs and score a tough unanimous decision win. Brian Stann did a lot better than people were expecting.

Possible matchups for Bisping: I felt that Bisping would dominate this fight and earn a title shot against Anderson Silva. Bisping wasn’t impressive enough. It's too bad though, because Bisping has been doing so well and has been with the UFC for so long. The fight that honestly makes the most sense at this point is Bisping fighting the winner of Chris Weidman and Tim Boestch. That winner will get their shot at Silva.

Possible matchups for Stann: Brian Stann looked great against Bisping. Seriously looked awesome. You could possible even make a case for a decision win for him. He is still one of the top middleweights in the UFC. If Bisping fights the winner of Weidman and Boestch, Stann should fight the loser.

Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez: This fight could end up going down in history as the most underrated fight of all time. I personally thought that this fight was amazing. The technical prowess was incredible, the mistakes were few and far apart, the action was constant, and the speed was blinding. Joseph Benavidez was the highly favored fighter heading into this championship bout and was even in the top-10 of most people's Pound-for-Pound list. I thought that Benavidez would dominate everywhere that the fight went. I thought he had superior striking, wrestling, and submissions. The one thing that I didn't take into account was the speed advantage in which Johnson would have. He would easily go in and out with strikes and dodge Benavidez' attacks. I scored every round for Johnson minus the 3rd round. That round, Benavidez almost finished Johnson with a mounted guillotine. But Johnson used amazing defense as he did this sweep I have never seen before, maybe cricket legs or something. Anyway, Johnson looked amazing and he deserves to be the first ever UFC flyweight champion more than anyone.

Possible matchups for Johnson: Now that he has the belt, he needs to defend it against the best (obviously). John Dodson and Jussier da Silva are fighting at UFC on FX 5. That fight has to be a number one contenders bout.

Possible matchups for Benavidez: The final decision for the championship fight was a split decision, even though I thought Johnson definitely won the fight. The Team Alpha Male fighter should be immediately put in a number one contenders bout with Ian McCall. That fight would be a brawl.

Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort: Who would have ever thought that the biggest underdog to fight Jones would actually be the fighter that came the closest to beating him? The 30-45 seconds in which Vitor had that armbar, the arena went absolutely bonkers. There were a couple Brazilian guys in front of us and I thought they were going to go insane. The armbar was so close to finishing the fight that his arm was actually cracking and popping, but Jones showed something that we have yet to see from him (mainly because there was never an opportunity) and that was the heart of a champion. Most fighters would tap out if they felt that their arm was breaking. But once Jones shook his way out of the armbar, he started to dominate the fight. Vitor kept on pulling guard, much to the Brazilian fans in front of us' chagrin, and it added to our confusion. He did it again in the 4th round and was almost immediately submitted by an Americana that looked like his arm was about to be ripped off. Jones truly is one of the best fighters in the world and of all time.

Possible matchups for Jones: This is the next big question. Who is the next number one contender at light heavyweight? Dana announced that Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida have to fight one more time before they get a crack at the 205 belt. But the next big light heavyweight fight that is coming up is between Alexander Gustafsson and Shogun Rua. I feel that the winner of that should fight Jones.

Possible matchups for Belfort: I really highly doubt that Vitor will stay at 205. He was really starting to hit his stride down at 185. Before he accepted his fight with Jones, he was scheduled to fight Wanderlei Silva but had to pull out due to an injury. Although the fight doesn't make sense, it didn’t before and I think that fight could be extremely fun.

For Prelim Recap click here

UFC 152 50% off Ticket Giveaway!!!

We have an extra ticket for Saturday’s fights. It is only $120 which is half off the original price paid. The seat is in section 104, so the seat is amazing! You will be sitting with us, the writers of CR!

If you want the ticket contact us in the comments section! We will accept cash only (no change, exact amount only). We will be getting there very early so, if you can’t make it on time (5:30pm) then don’t bother.

Once it is all settled we will let you know where to meet us at Air Canada Centre.

You only have one day to let us know and we already have people interested so hurry up!!

(FYI once it is sold we will let you all know on here)

UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort Predictions

We are going to this event live and the weigh-ins so be ready for some extra coverage! And let us know what your predictions are!

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort: What a crazy ride it’s been! But here we are with Jones vs. Belfort and we get to see it live! I’m pumped to see Jones fight live again. I can see myself telling my kids when they are grown that I saw Jones fight live (at least twice) and met him (at least 3 times). I think he can become one of the top 3 biggest legends of our sport and it’s a privilege to see him live. I think Belfort has the same chance to win this as anyone else Jones has faced and that is a big overhand bomb landing. But if Anthony Johnson can outwrestle Belfort then Jones will throw him around like a ragdoll. I see Jones taking him down and finishing it there. I love Vitor and it is a honor to watch him live but this will be ugly. = Jones by KO in round 1. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson: Oh baby! This is the fight I am most pumped about. I have absolutely loved every single flyweight fight so far in the UFC and this will be the best so far. I think Benavidez will be stronger, have better striking and will be able to out grapple Johnson. I think Benavidez will win this fight and be champion for a very very very long time. = Benavidez by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann: What a blast this fight will be! I love Brian Stann. I met him recently and he was such a cool guy. Standing next to him, you almost feel not worthy. This guy is literally a hero in every sense of the word. He didn’t just kill our countries enemy. He had to in order to protect innocent people and in a way that sounds impossible. But anyway, I think Bisping is better than him in everyway except for punching power. Bisping could take this to the ground or out-point Stann on the feet. Stann’s only chance is a big bomb but Bisping is usually very good and avoiding those. So, I see Bisping jabbing and landing combos and Stann getting desperate and swinging for the fences and leaving openings for Bisping to land shots. I want Stann to win but I don’t see it happening. = Bisping by unanimous decision.

Matt Hamill vs. Roger Hollett: This fight is the hardest to predict for me because I don’t know a lot about Hollett and Hamill hasn’t fought in over a year due to a short-lived retirement. The fact that he left due to retirement scares me. It is one thing is it was an injury where he would still eat well and work out in any way possible. Retirement can sometimes contain sloth and gluttony. I’m sure Hamill will be prepared but it still worries me. Before his retirement Hamill fought and defeated better competition that Hollett so I am going with him. = Hamill by unanimous decision.

Charles Oliveira vs. Cub Swanson: Both of these guys have really come into their own lately. Oliveira has looked scary good lately, especially against Brookins. Cub has rebounded nicely since his lost to Ricardo Lamas with 2 straight TKO’s. Anything can happen in this fight. Oliveira is only 22 years old and that is a scary thought. I think this fight will mostly be a standup battle but Oliveira should have the advantage on the ground. I’m going with my gut on this one but anything is possible. = Oliveira by split decision.

Prelims

Vinny Magalhaes vs. Igor Pokrajac: Vinny by submission in round 3. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Evan Dunham vs. T.J. Grant: Dunham by unanimous decision.

Lance Benoist vs. Sean Pierson: Pierson by split decision.

Marcus Brimage vs. Jim Hettes: Hettes by submission in round 1.

Seth Baczynski vs. Simeon Thoresen: Seth by unanimous decision.

Mitch Gagnon vs. Walel Watson: Gagnon by unanimous decision.

Charlie Brenneman vs. Kyle Noke: Brenneman by unanimous decision.

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort: I loved Jon Jones. I was supporting him in his Rashad fight saying he isn't as bad as people are accusing him for. I can't anymore. The whole 151 debacle had me lose lots of respect for him. I really want Vitor to win. I love Vitor and have for a very long time. He's a great human being and an MMA legend. The main problem is the wrestling aspect. Anthony Johnson was easily out wrestling Belfort and that is going to be the deciding factor. This is going to be similar to Jones vs. Matyushenko. It would be good to have Vitor win because Jones needs a GSP/Serra fight to wake him up = Jones via 1st round TKO. My pick for KOOTN!

Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson: This is so awesome. Seriously, I have been looking forward to the UFC having the flyweights come and this is the second best possible fight. The first would be Benavidez vs. Ian McCall for marketing reasons. But this fight is an awesome matchup. The speed in this is going to be blinding. Benavidez has the better submissions and standup. So what does that tell you? = Benavidez via unanimous decision.  My 1st pick for FOTN!

Brian Stann vs. Michael Bisping: This is going to be a war! I'm very excited for this. Michael Bisping is, sadly, better than Stann in every aspect of MMA. His standup is crisper and more technical; while Stann holds some devastating power in both of his hands. Sure, Michael Bisping was KO'd by Dan Henderson, but Stann isn't a Dan Henderson. Bisping is going to dominate this fight and most likely earn a title shot vs. Silva = Bisping via unanimous decision. My 2nd pick for FOTN!

Matt Hamill vs. Roger Hollett: I agree with Dave on the fact that this fight is very hard to pick. Hollett is a promising prospect and Hamill is coming out of retirement. Hamill was a wrestling powerhouse but was dominated in his last two fights. Hollett is very promising and I think he's going to win with superior striking = Hollett via split decision.

Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira: It's great to see these two guys making there way up to title contention. Oliveira is looking like an elite fighter since his drop down to 145. His reach is devastating for the weight class and his ground game is world class. Seriously. His last two submissions can be considered for SOTY, especially the calf slicer over Eric Wisely. Cub Swanson's standup has also looked world class lately, but Oliveira should be able to take it to the ground and finish it = Oliveira via 2nd round submission. My pick for SOTN!

Prelims
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Igor Pokrajac: Vinny via 1st round submission.
Evan Dunham vs. T.J. Grant: Dunham by unanimous decision.
Lance Benoist vs. Sean Pierson: Benoist by split decision.
Marcus Brimage vs. Jim Hettes: Hettes via 2nd round submission. My 3rd pick for FOTN!
Seth Baczynski vs. Simeon Thoresen: Seth via split decision.
Mitch Gagnon vs. Walel Watson: Watson via split decision.
Charlie Brenneman vs. Kyle Noke: Brenneman by unanimous decision.

Dana White Mini-Series Part 1: Public Treatment of Fighters

  Dana White (Photo by Sherdog.com)

I am going to do a little mini-series on the man, the myth, the legend: Dana White. He is the face of the UFC to hardcore fans and the face of MMA to the casual fan. He decides the direction in where the sport goes. He controls the most powerful MMA organization in the world. He is the president and partial owner of the UFC and, with the help of the Fertitta brothers, resurrected the dying UFC brand and the sport of MMA in America as a whole. He is complex yet hides nearly nothing from the public. He is so unique and charismatic that people are drawn to him and he is held up as a super star in his own right. So, I will be peeling away the layers of Dana White and addressing each of these layers over the following months.

In our first segment we will tackle the way he handles fighters publicly. First off you all must know that I am a huge proponent for a Fighter’s Union. I think for our sport to go the long haul then our fighters need protection and have more power and say in their own careers. Dana White and Joe Silva (the matchmaker) decide on what happens to these athletes. They have no boundaries, rules or restrictions. If they wanted to they could vacate every title and fire all the current champions and never allow them back into the UFC. That will likely never happen but I think the fact that it is possible at all is scary and wrong.

So that being said, Dana White has complete control of the athletes’ careers. Therefore, when he speaks publicly about fighters, it could influence the public and change the public opinion about the fighters he is speaking about. You would think a man with that power would be careful and choose his words carefully but he does not and it is perplexing at times. I understand that his brashness and flamboyant attitude is what garners him attention and the ability to influence but everyone on earth needs boundaries; and Dana White might be one of the only men in America who publicly has no boundaries. He has said offensive homophobic slurs and swears more than anyone on the face of the earth with nothing more than a slap of the wrist.

However, in a way all of that is somewhat explainable because we are naturally selfish beings. We are born worrying about us and not so much about others.  So, being brash and offensive to others is not so much a worry but what happens when you bash your money makers? One equivalent is Barak Obama saying “I know my Vice President sucks. Biden is just awful but please vote for me. Give me financial support even though you don’t like what I’m putting out there”. Another could be Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills, bashing his players and saying they are bad people and boring to watch. Then expecting people to pay to watch them. It just does not make sense. And White does this constantly. He just did a healthy portion of that this week when Jon Jones turned down a chance to fight Chael Sonnen.

The quick history of what happened with UFC 151 is that Dan Henderson was to fight Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship but injured his knee and had to pull out. Then Chael Sonnen offered to fight Jones but Jones, with the advice of his coach, decided to not take that fight on eight days notice. Now, Sonnen is a deadly fighter. He gave the best fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, a run for his money twice. To face Sonnen without a full fight camp in a dangerous thing to do, but on eight days is a big gamble. So, when Jones denied Sonnen the fight Dana decided to scrap the entire event. So UFC 151 is erased and everyone puts the blame on Jon Jones. Now this is where I have my issues. Dana White announced all of this over a phone conference call. Instead of defending his biggest money maker he decided to bash him and say horrible things about him: “Something that's never happened in UFC history. A guy who's a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight.” Do you honestly think it is a good idea to make your youngest champion who seems to be in place to be champion for a long time, and your #1 PPV king for years to come, look like a coward. Instead you work some PR magic and say “It was just too much to ask of him on short notice.”  You do that even if his decision was selfish and harmful because you want money and stability in the long run.

But Dana White is a proud man and when men have roughly no humility they cannot handle blame. So, Dana projects his own mistakes onto Jones so that he has no blame himself. It does not take a whole lot of knowledge to understand that in this sport people get injured training all the time (too frequently actually). But with that understanding you need to put at least two fights that could be main events on each card; especially on a PPV card. Having Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron as your co-main event for UFC 151 comes with the understanding that if Jones or Henderson were to go down with an injury then you would have to find a fighter not of that card to take the place as main event. That is your fault Dana White not Jon Jones’ fault. If you didn’t have as many cards then maybe you could stock up. For example at UFC 152 (before Jones vs. Belfort was placed on that card) you had Benavidez vs. Johnson for the flyweight title as the main event and Bisping vs. Stann as co-main event. If the flyweight title fight was scrapped you could still go with Bisping vs. Stann. Yes, it would hurt the ticket sales and PPV buys but it could still work.

Jon Jones does not set the cards and Jon Jones is not the match maker. And to ask him to put his health, money and belt on the line when he is not fully prepared is a lot to ask. And when Jones said no to fighting Sonnen, then Dana White needed to suck it up, be humble and understand where he made mistakes. White should not project his anger onto Jones. Due to Dana projecting blame he also made other fighters angry at Jones when they should be mad at Dana.

Jones said this is response to the whole debacle:

“Dan Henderson got hurt, and the fight was canceled. I signed a contract a long time ago to fight Dan Henderson. That's what I studied for, and that's what I prepared myself for. To take a fight with a different opponent in which I would basically have three days of training before traveling and then starting to cut weight I just thought would be the dumbest idea ever. I wouldn't have been properly prepared. I definitely apologize to the other fighters on the card. I feel terrible, but it also wasn't my decision to cancel the whole card. I don't make those decisions. I apologize to the people that lost money on tickets and travel and things like that. I don't apologize for my decision, but I do apologize for the way it affected people. I hope people can understand I was just trying to do the best thing for my career. I'm moving forward. I'm continuing to work, and I'm working on transforming my body from great shape to phenomenal shape. My goal now is to beat Lyoto better than I did the first time. I want to be a better version of myself, and I'm looking forward to it.” (Quote from MMA Junkie)

But due to Dana White’s egotistical response fighters directed their anger at Jones. UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman Tweeted: “@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks @ufc”. Then he later tweeted “Me n @Rick_Story took a fight on 24 hrs notice!! Champ what?!?! @ufc”.

Now like I said before Brenneman’s anger is misplaced. But his example of his fight with Rick Story is not similar. Neither Story nor Brenneman had a belt on the line. Neither of them are the face of the UFC and expected to perform at a near perfect level. It was also not on a PPV or FOX card. Yes, they have to pay the bills just like Jones and they make less then Jones but Jones has way more pressure on him to perform well then they do. I’m sorry but it is not the same thing. Those fighters that tweeted want to stay on Dana White’s good side and would never bad mouth him out of fear of being cut (Fighter’s Union = Freedom of Speech).

Another example starts at UFC 97 and UFC 112 where middleweight champion Anderson Silva put on two very boring fights. Silva is easily the best fighter alive and has a big fan base in Brazil. When he put on those boring performances Dana White said awful things about him. Instead of saying “Well the guy he was facing is dangerous and Anderson was just off that night” and trying to save face. Dana instead points a spotlight on the situation and gives people an excuse not to buy the next Anderson Silva PPV.

My last example was the first FOX card which featured only one fight between, then, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez who was defending his title against Junior dos Santos. Cain is a wrestler and did not take it to the ground and was knocked out in one minute. So, when they went back to the analysts Dana White was there. Instead of praising dos Santos and trying to build a star from this amazing performance, Dana White went off on Cain for fighting stupid and not taking it to the ground. What a wasted opportunity.

It just does not make financial sense to bad mouth your champions. Dana White needs to learn how to hold his tongue and swallow his pride otherwise it will eventually bite him in the butt.

Now, with all of this being said you all need to know I love Dana White. He is at his core a great human being. He gives when it is not necessary, and frequently, to fighters and regular people alike. I have no ill feelings toward him but I just think he could do a much better job representing his brand and his fighters. I met him once in Canada and he was a complete gentleman. He took his time with each fan and was great with the younger kids. I have much respect for Dana and in the following segments of this mini-series I will have a brighter opinion of him in certain aspects.

Let me know your opinions in the comment section.

UFC 152 Press Conference Recap

The poster and stage before the conference started (Photo by David Klass of CR)

On Tuesday July 24^th I made my way to Massey Hall in Toronto for the UFC 152 press conference. The UFC sent out Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright, Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson, Brian Stann, Michael Bisping and Rory MacDonald.

Tom Wright started the event off by telling us about the card and what we can expect to see; which are fireworks. You have Joseph Benavidez taking on Demetrious Johnson in the finals of the flyweight tournament to determine the first ever UFC flyweight champion. Then Michael Bisping squares off against the powerful Brian Stann in a fight that will be as exciting as they come. Then Canadian fan favorite Rory MacDonald takes on legend BJ Penn in which will likely be his last fight.

So, then the floor was opened up to ask questions to Tom Wright and the fighters. There was a great back and forth between Bisping and Benavidez when the reporter sitting next to me asked what Benavidez thought about Bisping saying a few weeks earlier about how his fight with Stann is the main event and the no one cares about the flyweight title fight between Benavidez and Johnson. Benavidez summed it up as saying you can always expect crazy and rude things from Bisping and did not hold back giving Bisping a piece of his mind.

Then Rory was asked roughly 5 times whether or not he would fight Georges St. Pierre in varying ways. Eventually Rory got upset and said “Listen, I don’t know why you guys keep asking me about Georges. I have answered them a million times. I am not going to fight Georges. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to punch my friend, make him bleed, see him cry and make him lose money.” 

Rory also showed some emotion in his response in talking about the VADA drug testing that his opponent, BJ Penn, suggested they do a month ago. Rory also believes that BJ is not taking the fight seriously

“He is all upset because Georges whooped him, but, I am going to hurt him even worse, so. I am training for the best B.J. I am just preparing myself to be the best version. I am going to come out evolved, I am going to be in shape, explosive and exciting like I always do. I am going to be very technical and I am going to be on point. I don't know where B.J. is at. You know, he didn't even show up to this. He is dropping out of the VADA testing. Last time I saw him he looked really out of shape. I don't know where his head is at in this, but, he better get serious or I am going to hurt him very badly."

Then Brian Stann and Michael Bisping both stressed that unlike the boring UFC 149 card their fight will definitely not be boring. Stann said “Come September 22, I am going to draw a line in the sand, I am going to say, 'Mike. Cross it.' He is the kind of guy that I know will step to it and we are going to get after it. I am telling you right now folks. You may have complained about certain fights that were on the card this past weekend, you won't complain about ours."

There was some great conversation and the press conference was informative in getting to know where all the fighters stand in their opinions of their opponents; which can often be fun to hear as well.

After the conference I went over to Tom Wright and asked him “So, at UFC 129 you had the first ever featherweight title fight and now at UFC 152 we will have the first ever UFC flyweight title fight. Is there a reason why you had both of those fights here in Toronto? Is this a place you think will appreciate it more?”

Wright’s honest answer was “No, I think it’s a combination of being at the right place and the right time. I think that if that first fight between McCall and Demetrious had not ended up in a draw then this would not have happened. So, sometimes these things happen for a reason and there is no particular cause and effect why we are here with this fight. But I am just happy that Toronto gets to make history.”

Then the fighters squared off:

Joseph Benavidez (left) and Demetrious Johnson (right)

Michael Bisping (left) and Brian Stann (right)

Rory MacDonald

Then I met:

Demetrious Johnson

Joseph Benavidez

Brian Stann