Sunday, February 5, 2012
UFC 143 Results: Is All the Hatred for Josh Koscheck Justified?
At UFC 143, former welterweight title contender Josh Koscheck picked up a split decision victory over Mike Pierce.
Koscheck, now 17-5, is arguably one of the best welterweights in the UFC today.
He's also one of the most hated.
From Koscheck allegedly faking being hurt in a fight with Anthony Johnson, to feuding with Tito Ortiz and Georges St-Pierre, Koscheck has often played the heel role in his career.
But is the now-former AKA fighter really all that bad?
Koscheck does come off as being a jerk most of the time.
But is he really that much different than other hated fighters like Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen and Nick Diaz?
Well, the difference between Koscheck and those other fighters is there is at least one quality that people like about them.
Sonnen, although annoying at times, is at least entertaining.
Diaz puts on exciting fights and can even gain compassion from some fans.
Bisping may be one of the few fighters that is more hated more than Koscheck.
But, Bisping is still a bigger draw than Koscheck.
Koscheck may be a completely different guy off the screen.
But we have yet to really see a time, perhaps besides Paul Daley punching him after a fight, where we've really been on Koscheck's side.
But until he makes an on-screen change like Tito Ortiz did, he will continue to be one of the most hated fighters in the MMA.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
UFC fighters make their Super Bowl 46 picks
LAS VEGAS -- Athletes are athletes. Every sport has its stars, grunts and primadonnas.
Super Bowl 46 and the NFL have too many to count and so does the UFC.
Scott Bemis from the local CBS television affiliate in Las Vegas decided to mix the two worlds. Check out Roy Nelson and myself on KLAS trying to come up with our star QB, diva receiver, kicker, coach and the intimidating hitter from the UFC.
Everyone loves the NFL. The audience in the U.S. is expected to top 150 million. Plenty of fighters will be glued to a TV set or partying around Super Bowl 46. The promotion asked a bunch of the fighters at UFC 143 for their plays on the game.
Georges St-Pierre, UFC welterweight champion
"I've not a clue about the rules of football but I will be screaming for New York because it's the closest city to Montreal."
Carlos Condit, UFC interim welterweight title challenger
"I'm going to take the New York Giants. Sometimes being an underdog is the greatest motivation. I'm an underdog against Diaz this Saturday and it's going to be the weekend of the dog."
Roy Nelson, UFC heavyweight
"My picks for game day are Bud Light for the bud bowl. As for the other entertainment on that day, I have not picked my favorite commercial yet but it is usually the one with bigger budget, but the Cinderella story can always happen and that's why I love the tournament format. As for the filler, I don't have a pick but it definitely will be a showdownwith the New York Giants and New England, but my bet is on the one with "New" in their name."
Josh Koscheck, UFC welterweight
"I am mad because those are not my two favorite teams. That said, I think it should be a good, hard fought game. I'm not sure who will come out on top."
Brendan Schaub, UFC heavyweight
"My prediction for the game is it's going to be a good game--high scoring from both teams. In order for the Giants to win, they have to get pressure on Tom Brady from the D-line so he can't sit in the pocket and drop bombs to his monster tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, however even with that being said I think New England will be just too much for the Giants and pull off a late 4th quarter game-winning drive adding to the Brady legacy."
Clifford Starks, UFC middleweight
"I have to go with the Patriots, I know that they remember the last time they lost to the Giants and they are looking to take that bitter taste out of their mouth."
Max Holloway, UFC featherweight
"I'm going to have to take the Giants. I think they've got the defense to hold Brady and his offense down. Also because Eli is one lucky dude I swear. I think he could close his eyes and throw the ball and it would land into one of his receivers' hands. The Giants are just something else when they play in the post-season. Their wide receivers have just been on these last couple of games."
Matt Brown, UFC welterweight
"I predict the Patriots will win simply because New England is title town. My fianc� is from Massachusetts, home of the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins. All the winning teams are from MA so there is no way the Pats will walk away defeated. It also helps that Patriots QB Tom Brady has the best record of any NFL quarterback in the modern era with at least 100 starts."
Chris Cope, UFC welterweight
"I'm picking the Patriots because their offensive line is stacked and Brady is always clutch during the playoffs! Woooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Patriots!"
Stephen Thompson, UFC welterweight
"Eli Manning's offense is very strong which will allow him to move the ball well especially in the air. Their D line is strong which will allow their D-Backs to do their jobs."
Edwin Figueroa, UFC bantamweight
"Personally, I'm from Texas and when it comes to football I bleed silver and blue - Cowboys all the way win or lose! Onlytrue fans can say that! On that note though, I'm rooting for the Patriots to avenge their 2008 final loss to the Giants. Go Pats!"
Ed Herman, UFC middleweight
"I'm going to have to go with the underdog Giants. I enjoy rooting for the underdog plus their defense has been stellar. Go Giants!"
Scott Jorgensen, UFC bantamweight
"Patriots over the Giants! AFC east all the way! If it ain't the Bills in the bowl, I want to see the division do well to justify the Bills performance."
Super Bowl weekend is huge in Sin City. The UFC's decision to hold a Super Saturday card each year in Vegas is brilliant. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is estimating an additional 286,000 people will come to town. Hotels are at near 90-percent occupancy and the non-gaming revenue generated this weekend is $98 million.
You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/fighters-super-bowl-xli-picks-215808439.html
UFC on Fox 2 weigh-in: Weidman ditches the Sloppy Joes to drop 32 pounds in 11 days
CHICAGO -- Dana White had to be smiling inside to see Chris Weidman make weight for his UFC on Fox 2 fight. Weidman, called just 11 days ago as a late replacement, had to drop from 217 pounds to make tomorrow's battle against Demian Maia an official middleweight fight.
It just two weeks ago that the promotion had to endure the embarrassment of watching Anthony Johnson missed weight badly at UFC 142.
Weidman was actually called with the offer while sitting at his dinner table. His wife was making some delicious Sloppy Joes. When Weidman committed to the fight, he had to go right to work.
"I just headed to the gym and ate a spoonful of peanut butter, and that was it," a glum Weidman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The former Hofstra wrestler is trying to make a big step up the middleweight ladder with a victory over Maia. We'll find out tomorrow if the severe weight cut will affect him on fight night.
Phil Davis went with the wrestling theme. Rashad Evans, a former Michigan State wrestler, tried to rip on Davis and his college wrestling career. It was a strange approach considering Davis was a four-time All-American and national champ in 2008. Davis, who's done a brilliant job of poking fun at Evans, pulled out his old Nittany Lions' garb for the fight today.
This from wrestling guru Maggie Hendricks:
So that singlet is Penn State's championship singlet, one that only gets broken out if a guy wrestles in the finals. Since Davis wrestled in the NCAA finals twice, he has at least one. Most schools have them, but PSU's is very recognizable because they don't have a ton of singlet options, like other schools. As a fellow Big 10er, Evans would know that. Wearing that one, and not Penn State's more traditional dark blue singlet, was a sly way of Davis saying, "Yes, I am the better wrestler."
A weigh-in wouldn't be complete with a dust up or some heat arising. Michael Bisping took care of that by angrily reacting to the booing crowd at the Chicago Theater. The Brit flipped off the fans.
UFC on Fox 2 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
MAIN CARD (FOX)
- Phil Davis (205) vs. Rashad Evans (205)
- Michael Bisping (185) vs. Chael Sonnen (185)
- Demian Maia (186) vs. Chris Weidman (185)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
- Evan Dunham (155) vs. Nik Lentz (155)
- John-Olav Einemo (253) vs. Mike Russow (251)
- George Roop (145) vs. Cub Swanson (145)
- Charles Oliveira (144) vs. Eric Wisely (145)
- Michael Johnson (156) vs. Shane Roller (156)
- Joey Beltran (228) vs. Lavar Johnson (252)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
- Chris Camozzi (185) vs. Dustin Jacoby (185)
UFC 143 video: Alex Cacares loves the big time, but misses the days of backyard brawling
LAS VEGAS -- The crowds, money, adulation, safety precautions are all dynamite for 23-year-old Alex Cacares as he fights for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, but the Miami native misses the days of what appears to be a much more barbaric mode of fighting - the backyard brawl.
Those types of fights have been going down since the beginning of time. They recently became headliners again with the growth of YouTube and exposure for guys like Kimbo Slice in the Miami area.
As a hulking stack of muscle and intimidation, Slice fit the part. Cacares is slender and appears to be non-threatening, but when you hear him talk about his teenage experience with those pit fights you realize the kid loves to fight anywhere, anytime.
"I got into it because I was underage to get into professional fighting, "Cacares told Cagewriter just a few days before his 11 pro fight at UFC 143. "I was doing amateur fights at the time. I really wanted to get into a professional fighting, minimize the hand protection, no shin guards and really see what I could do."
The UFC currently uses four ounce gloves which are tiny compared to boxing's eight and 10 ounce models. Cacares still prefers the more primitive style of using bare-knuckles. "I believe bare knuckle hurts less than wearing these UFC gloves. I've been hit by both� and I'd rather be hit by the bare knuckle," Cacares said the gloves increase the surface area of the fist and seem to make the punches stick more. "The bare knuckle slides off more. When you get hit by the whole glove it gives you that little ringing sound."
Cacares did his first backyard brawl at 17, making between $300 and $600 per fight. If he won, he'd get spiffed by the winning bettors. He'd take home as much as $800 on some nights.
"It's a crazy experience. The crowd might not be as big as UFC crowd, but man they sound really loud because they're literally two feet away from you and we're fighting in a chicken cage. It's kind of like a pit fight, a dog fight. But it was a good experience," said Cacares.
He's clearly fearless. There were no structured weight classes, no rounds, no time limits, no doctor to look at cuts and the fights went to the finish. You win when your opponent quits, can't continue or you submit him.
Things are different now in many ways. Most importantly, Cacares is actually fighting guys his size. He fought on Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" at 155 pounds, but he barely walks around above 150. Now he's more comfortable down at 135 and can be a bully in the division.
Cacares was excellent in his UFC bantamweight debut against Cole Escovedo. On Saturday, Cacares (6-4, 1-2 UFC) takes a good step up against Edwin Figueroa. The shorter Figueroa is the only guy recently who's given phenom Michael McDonald a fight, going the distance in losing a decision. The promotion is so high on MacDonald that he's been throw in there with former bantamweight champ Miguel Torres in February. If Cacares takes out Figueroa, that's a big notch on his belt.
You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports
MMA Top 10 Women's Pound-for-Pound
These are uncertain times for women's mixed martial arts. Strikeforce has been the industry leader in female fights, while the UFC has maintained that it has no interest in putting women in the Octagon. So now that the UFC runs Strikeforce, does that mean women's MMA is endangered?Not necessarily. The Strikeforce women were invited to the UFC's recent fighter summit in Las Vegas, which indicates that Zuffa thinks women have a future within the company, and next month's return of the sport's biggest female star, Gina Carano, will result in a publicity boost for women's MMA.
So as I review the top 10 female fighters in mixed martial arts, I'm confident that it's a list of fighters whose futures are bright. Even if I'm not sure where and when most of them will fight next.
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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/14/mma-top-10-womens-pound-for-pound/
Pacquiao vs. Mosley: Why MMA Fans Should Care
We'll have full results and live round-by-round scoring for Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley on Saturday night, which may lead to a few readers wondering, What's boxing news doing on an MMA site? Here are five reasons why you, if you're an MMA fan, should care about Pacquiao vs. Mosley:1. It's the biggest combat sports event of the year.
For as much as the UFC has gained on -- and in some respects surpassed -- the popularity of boxing, the biggest fights in boxing still exceed the biggest fights in the UFC in terms of pay-per-view buys and worldwide media attention. Although the MGM Grand in Las Vegas obviously won't attract nearly as many fans as the 55,000 who came out to see Georges St. Pierre in Toronto, Pacquiao vs. Mosley will surely get more pay-per-view buys in the United States, far more mainstream media attention and far more attention globally, as Pacquiao is a draw throughout Asia and the single biggest celebrity in the Philippines, a country of nearly 100 million people. This is a major worldwide sporting event.
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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/06/pacquiao-vs-mosley-why-mma-fans-should-care/