The Fight Card
Main card (Showtime)
* Women's Bantamweight Championship bout: Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey
* Lightweight bout: K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson
* Welterweight bout: Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki
* Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Bristol Marunde
* Middleweight bout: Scott Smith vs. Lumumba Sayers
Preliminary card (Showtime Extreme)
* Women's Bantamweight bout: Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis
* Lightweight bout: Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy
* Lightweight bout: Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun
* Welterweight bout: Roger Bowling vs. Brandon Saling
The Fight Card
Preliminary card (Facebook)
* Featherweight bout: Zhang Tiequan vs. Issei Tamura
Preliminary card (FX)
* Bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
* Middleweight bout: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
* Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
* Lightweight bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Main card
* Lightweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
* Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
* Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
* Welterweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
* Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
* Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
* Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Who's Who of the Main Card
(courtesy of
lionsdenu.com)
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Frankie Edgar will finally have a new opponent when he squares off against Benson Henderson. Edgar has fought two guys in the last two years totaling four fights. He defeated BJ Penn Twice and had a draw against Maynard than defeated Maynard in his last fight. Benson Henderson since joining the UFC is undefeated. He is 3-0 and has won all three of his fights convincingly. Frankie Edgar has finally earned the respect he deserved and is in a lot of experts top 5 pound for pound list. The reason why Edgar is so successful in the lightweight division is because he does not really cut any weight. He is a natural 155er and trains at that weight. Edgar has become an all around fighter, he can do it all and that is why he is the UFC lightweight champion. His last fight vs Maynard, he survived an early assault where it looked like he was going to be finished at least a few times. He regrouped than took the fight to where he was comfortable. He then finished Gray Maynard in the 4th round to remain the champion.
Benson Henderson is a former WEC lightweight champion. He has rebounded quite nicely from being on the highlight reels for all the wrong reasons. In his last title defense he was the victim of one of the kicks of the decade, where Anthony Pettis jumped off the fence and did a super kick to knock him down. Henderson though is tough; he has never been knocked out and can take a beating to give a beating. Henderson is on a three fight win streak, defeating top notch opponents. Henderson will be a tough test for Edgar. Henderson is way bigger and way stronger than Edgar and he also can last five rounds. Henderson main strengths are his takedowns and his clinch. He will ground and pound you or just hold you up against the fence and beat you up. Frankie Edgar though has one of the best takedown defense in MMA and is quick on his feet. Edgar is an all around fighter, he can grapple and he can also strike. His boxing is one of the best in his division and he also has one of the biggest hearts in MMA. Edgar also can take punishment and still push the pace while doing so.
Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
The co main event will feature two hard hitting fighters. Rampage Jackson started his MMA career in Japan where he fought in the Pride Fighting Championship. He is a fan favorite and will definitely have the fan support in this fight against Bader. Ryan Bader since winning the Ultimate fighter has done fairly well in the UFC. His two losses have come by submission to the Champion Jon Jones and former champion Tito Ortiz. Bader has not defeated a top 10 opponent. Rampage is not the same Rampage but is still a tough opponent for anyone. Jackson possesses power in both hands and can end a fight quickly. Bader has to watch out for the power in Jacksons hands. Bader also has power, but he has good wrestling skills as well. If he wants to win this fight he will need to mix it up and keep Jackson guessing. He does not want to get in a slug fest with Jackson.
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
This is a fight where we may see some fireworks. Both fighters are aggressive and always go for the kill. Cheik Kongo has not lost in four fights and is looking to get into title contention with a win over Mark Hunt. Kongo possesses great standup skills and can take you down and beat you up. He will have a reach advantage against Hunt. Hunt is a former K1 standout and is known for his striking. He is also known for having a granite chin. Kongo in his last fight was very conservative, he may have been afraid of the power his opponent possessed. He utilized leg kicks and did some damage on the ground. This may be a sign that Kongo is becoming a better all around fighter and not just using striking to win his fights. Mark Hunt is on a two fight win streak, and during that streak he has a knockout of the night.
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
This is an important fight in the Welterweight division. Both fighters are on losing streaks and their jobs are in jeopardy if they lose this fight. Jake Shields was on a 15 fight win streak before losing two straight. He is a former number one contender but in his last fight vs Jake Ellenberger he lost in brutal fashion. Shields is really just a one dimensional fighter and he has struggled since joining the UFC. Akiyama on the other hand is riding a three fight losing streak. If he loses this fight he will most likely be cut. He has a 1-3 record in the UFC and he also has not been impressive since joining. Akiyama will make his 170 lb debut in this fight and it may be the right weight class for him. He was undersized in the middleweight division.
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Yushin Okami is fighting for the first time since losing to Anderson Silva where he fought him for the Middleweight championship. Okami is one of the strongest middleweights in the UFC. His game plan is simple; he wants to grind you out. That’s the type of style that Tim Boetsch has not fared well against in the past. That’s why he made the move to cut weight and move to the Middleweight division. Boetcsh is on a two fight winning streak since making his debut at Middleweight and has won both fights by decision. Okami has fought the best of the best in the division and will have an advantage fighting in his home country.
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Both fighters are exciting and will put on a great show for the fans. Anthony Pettis was the last WEC lightweight champion. He will forever be remembered for his show time kick on Ben Henderson. Pettis though is more than that kick, he is a good overall fighter. He has world class striking and a very under rated ground game. Joe Lauzon is coming off one of the biggest victories in his career. He was a heavy underdog against Melvin Guillard and no one expected Lauzon to win the battle standing vs the explosive Guillard. Lauzon caught Guillard with a left hook than went for the kill by submitting him. Lauzon has had 11 fights in the UFC; he will definitely have the advantage in experience and fighting top notch opponents. The winner of this fight may be next in line for a title shot, or even.
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
(wiki infos)
Hatsu Hioki is a Japanese mixed martial artist signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship competing in the featherweight division. He is the former Shooto Lightweight Champion and former Sengoku Featherweight Champion. Hioki is a long time Shooto veteran and has fought most of his fights in Japanese promotions including the largest Mixed Martial Arts organization at the time Pride Fighting Championships.
Hioki holds notable wins over Rumina Sato, Marlon Sandro, Masanori Kanehara, Lion Takeshi, Mark Hominick, George Roop, and Jeff Curran. All 4 losses have been by very close decisions, however currently all 4 of Hioki's decision losses are controversial.
Hioki is currently ranked the #2 featherweight in the world by Sherdog and #3 featherweight in the world by MMAWeekly.
Bart K. Palaszewski is a Polish-American mixed martial artist. He fought for the Quad City Silverbacks of the now defunct International Fight League. Following the UFC/WEC merger, Palaszewski is now under contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 2011, Palaszewski is ranked as the #9 featherweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.
Posts
Some potentially really fun fights in here
Also I think this card has the potential to be one of the greats.
So tune in and see me be disappointed
Mark Hunt is possibly 2 fights away from a title shot.
Let that sink in, gentlemen.
I don't know, Chilly. I think Stann could be a problem for Bisping.
As for how Stann beats Bisping, probably via the fist to chin method. If Kang and Akiyama can knock Bisping on his ass, then Stann could too. Only he would probably knock Bisping out cold
Potentially fun, but I'd say there's more potential for a grindfest.
Bendo does outsize Edgar and has the gas tank to just clinch and cage lean on him for 5 rounds. He doesn't need the takedown to win, just the octagon control. Let's hope it doesn't go to that.
Hunt vs Kongo is a potential grindfest too. Kongo is not knocking Hunt out, and Hunt has even less of a ground game than Kongo. There's a chance we'll see a Fitch-like Kongo gameplan of ground and pillownd. Hunt's cardio is a bust as well so we might get a TKO from him due to ref stoppage for not doing anything in the later rounds. A good counter to that is Kongo's questionable chin and Hunt's power. If he tags Kongo early on it could be over, but that's even more the reason for Kongo to take him down and grind it out.
Shields vs Akiyama is a fight for their UFC careers, which I feel isn't quite right as Akiyama faced top contenders and Shields last two fights were for the title and right after his father passed away. But again, Shields is a grinder if he can't pull off a submission.
Okami vs Boetsch is probably the highest potential grindfest. If Okami can land a takedown, expect him to grind out a decision.
Pettis vs Lauzon would be great if Lauzon doesn't pull a Clay Guida.
Hioki vs Palaszewski could be fun, but Hioki does have a lot of recent decision wins.
Also, I think he's gonna knock Kongo the fuuuuuuuuuuck out.
Hunt has a granite chin, but not granite balls.
Did we see what Stann did to Leben vs what Bisping did to him?
Stann's not as slow as Leben and hits more than hard enough to turn give us Bispingface 2.0. I do think Bisping could win by taking him down though, as Bisping has severely underrated wrestling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCNum8i97U4
I think Bisping would be heavily favored going into the fight.
Bisping would win the early rounds pretty handily, but not be able to finish Stann off. Stann would land a nice shot or two here or there, but not be able to mount any sort of prolonged offensive against Bisping. Stann would be kept on the defensive for the most part.
Towards the end of the 2nd round (or 4th round if it's a main event), however, a French MMA coach would show up in Stann's corner and lend him support. In the last round, Stann would trap Bisping against the fence in Stann's corner, pinning the Brit between the American fighter and his French support. At this point Stann would drop Bisping and take mount, raining down strikes. Bisping would be trapped with no escape, and the ref would stop it, declaring Stann the victor.
And then the PA system would play "The World Turned Upside Down".
when are we getting a Beel deal
To your first sentence: The Bisping that fought Leben is a Bisping of almost 3 1/2 years ago. In that time, I think he's gotten infinitely better. Also, when Stann fought Leben, I'm relatively sure that Leben went into the fight extremely under the weather with flu-like symptoms (if I'm wrong, please correct me) and went down much easier than he usually does.
Stann does hit very hard, but I just think that Bisping is good enough to stay away from him for most of the fight and outpoint him. Or, as you suggested, take him down and work him there. Stann's biggest weakness has always been the ground and you can see the difference in Bisping and Stann's ground game if you just watch both of them fight Sonnen. There is a massive skill gap between them.
what happens when we're on page 20 or 30 and completely locked in and beel pulls a switcheroo on us and turns the OP into his own little anti-Dana propaganda machine
Why would I wait until page 20
not been able to post my gif for a while
Well played sir. Well played.
Very excited for this card, some really solid fights. I train at a Team Curran affiliate so really really hoping Bart pulls out the win vs Hioki too, he's been training at the same time as Pat Curran so I'd imagine he's very well prepared.
I love south american ground karate
The first OP I saw him do he had an akido propaganda section, which I opposed. It was then that I learned his true nature.
I don't see you talking about akido much these days B:L, do you still train?
Stann's fists are empowered by PATRIOTISM
Obviously this wouldn't work on someone equally as PATRIOTIC like Sonnen
But it sure as hell would against Bisping
Aikido 4 Life
Weigh-ins now:
http://www.youtube.com/user/UFC/featured
Edit: ISSEI pronounced ISSEL for Joe lol
Who's the new ring girl? Miss Japan Maria Kamiyama? She doesn't look very athletic or explosive...
Damn this UFC quality stream is shaky as fuck.
Is it because he's standing next to Dana White? 8->
But seriously this shows he doesn't care anymore...wonder when he'll retire.
You been hanging with AJ?
Looks like he expected it when he stepped on the scale, too. Kind of wondering what happened with him.
I'm sorry 2 my fans, the @ufc and my opponent. Thanks 2 Ryan 4 taking the fight. Sorry 4 not making weight.
so i guess they knew beforehand that he wasn't taking this so seriously
thats why he weighs so much
bushido is not an illegal PED
i dunno man this shoulds like a heap of bullshido to me
I will not disagree with this statement.
Rampage made 250k last fight.
Bader's base purse was 25k last fight.
Ryan Bader is going to make, at minimum, 75k for this fight before sponsors and unlike Rampage, he'll get a win bonus if he takes it.
Yep. I don't think Bader is complaining at all.
As for Bisping Stann, I like Brian but I do think he would struggle to land, for all his alleged chininess Bisping has been stopped by strikes once, it was the biggest H Bomb of all time and it was years ago. Bisping via lopsided grapplefuck / kickfest.