The hype surrounding last night?s UFC on FOX 2 lineup was squarely planted on the tripleheader of tilts scheduled to take place on the popular network. However, by the end of the evening it was a group of preliminary fighters who came away with the card?s most spectacular showings and ultimately a handful of event-specific [...]
02/06/2012
02/05/2012
Fouls lead to an Alex Caceres loss while Matt Brown is back on track at UFC 143
LAS VEGAS -- Twice, Alex Caceres landed kicks to Edwin Figueroa's groin that looked like he was attempting to nail 60-yard field goals. But they cost him an extra point and the decision in their bantamweight bout on Saturday at UFC 143.
Caceres landed his first kick early in the first round at Mandalay Bay, which sent Figueroa rolling across the mat in agony. Referee Herb Dean issued Caceres a "strong warning" after Figueroa signaled he was able to continue.
The rest of the first round was wild, as Figueroa connected with a head kick and nearly finished the fight, but Caceres rallied and went for several submission attempts late in the round.
Midway through the second, Caceres struck again. This time, Dean took the highly unusual step of docking the fighter two points for the infraction as the fight continued.
Figueroa won round three on all three cards. The scores were 28-27 across the board, two for Figueroa and one for Caceres. If there had been a standard one-point deduction, the bout would have been a majority draw, with two 28-28 cards and a 29-27 for Caceres.
"I felt like it was a hard earned paycheck," said Figueroa. "He was a good fighter. I had to dig deep for this one. He came out and landed a few shots early. It was a tough fight but I came out the winner."
The loss was the third in four fights for Caceres, the former "TUF" standout. Figueroa was won two straight.
"Immortal" Brown back on track.
Matt Brown may or may not be "Immortal," as his nickname suggests, but he sure has managed to hang around in the UFC's welterweight division.
Brown has grinded his way through 11 UFC fights since 2008, showing promise, but never quite building enough momentum to break through. But he's hoping to turn the page in 2012 after scoring a knockout victory over Chris Cope at UFC 143 Saturday.
"That's exactly what I need to be doing," said Brown (13-11) "I got away from who I am."
Brown controlled the action in round one against a tentative Cope (5-4), but never got an opening to do serious damage. That changed early in round two, when he feigned a left, followed with a big right hand that connected, then floored Cope with a left hook. He landed a few more shots on the ground before referee Kim Winslow stopped it at 1:19.
The win came as a relief to Brown, who had lost four of his previous five fights. "I've got a right hand to knock out anybody, I hope to see more of that."
Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/fouls-lead-alex-caceres-loss-ufc-143-025033949.html
MMA Top 10 Women's Pound-for-Pound
by Michael David Smith
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.
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/
Media fantasy camp: Where fans get to experience Nick being Nick
LAS VEGAS -- He's the most bizarre interview in the sport. Even the most savvy media member can't really crack the conundrum that is Nick Diaz.
So when some fans took their swings at Diaz following the UFC 143 press conference, they found out quickly even the best questions will probably illicit an answer that leaves you chuckling or scratching your head.
The first fan got up and asked Diaz what it would mean to him if there was a day when both he and his brother, Nate, were UFC champions. Diaz slowly grabbed the microphone and then had Dana White repeat the question. Great question, right? The answer was pretty straight forward.
"Yeah, that's what we're working towards. That's the idea," said Diaz (9:15 mark).
[ Related: Nick Diaz's straightforward fight approach defies crazy rep ]
Fan No. 2 took his shot and asked about Diaz's "Primetime" quotes, where he said to be a successful fighter, you have to love the sport so much that you have to hate it.
Diaz paused for nine seconds and let out a deep sigh before producing this doozy.
"That pretty much says it, what I said. That's what I meant. That's what that means," Diaz said.
White said Diaz is simply fascinating.
"He's knows the answer, 'but [expletive] you.' And that's a fan! '[Expletive] you, I'm not going to tell you the answer to that," laughed White. "You what I mean? 'I don't give a [expletive] what you think. I'm here to fight and I don't care if you people like me or you hate me.'"
That uncomfortable feeling isn't reserved just for the MMA media or inquisitive fans. Even White feels awkward around Diaz.
"It's almost like he hates us. What the [expletive] did we do? It's crazy. He's a fascinating human being."
White has no issues this time around with Diaz, saying the fighter has done everything the promotion has asked him to. Although he did mention it took Diaz missing three flights before he eventually arrived in Las Vegas from Northern California.
You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports
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02/04/2012
With UFC 143 crowd against him, Josh Koscheck takes decision
LAS VEGAS -- It wouldn't be a Josh Koshceck fight without the fans trying to boo him out of the building, would it?
Everyone's favorite UFC villain was it again on Saturday night at UFC 143, frustrating the crowd during his fight against Mike Pierce and taunting them on the mic afterwards. Koscheck took a split-decision victory every bit as close as it sounds, taking two of three 29-28 scores on the judges' card.
"Hey, you guys boo me all the time," Koscheck said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. "I'm the most hated guy in MMA, guess what, deal with it man! I find a way to win."
Round one was a very close affair, a tight positional battle with lots of grappling. According to Compustrike, Pierce outlanded Koscheck 22-16 in the round.
In round two, Koscheck picked up the pace and opened up a deep cut in Pierce's scalp, above his left eye. Koscheck landed a late takedown fairly easily, but couldn't do much with it.
At the start of round three, the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd serenaded Koscheck with a "Koscheck sucks" chant, then another close round ensued. Koscheck further aggravated the crowd with an apparent eye poke late in the round.
Judge Junichiro Kamijo gave Pierce rounds one and two; Jeff D'Amato and Jeff Collins both gave Koscheck rounds two and three.
"Mike Pierce is a tough guy," said Koscheck (19-5) "I knew this going in."
Koscheck has won both of his fights since returning for the broken orbital bone he suffered in his Dec. 2010 loss to Georges St-Pierre.
Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma
