Source: http://www.ufcrundown.com/blog/top-quality-mma-gear/
Saturday
Second quarter report card: Who had the best upset, knockout, fight and more?
The second quarter of the year is coming to an end, so it's a good time to look back at the last three months. There weren't as many events in the last three months of 2013 as there were the first three, but there were still plenty of memorable performances. Who stood out? See the first quarter awards here.
Biggest upset: In "The Ultimate Fighter" finale, Cat Zingano pulled out a win over former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. Stipe Miocic's opponent at UFC 161 changed late in the game, but he still came up with the win over Roy Nelson. Speaking of late replacements, James Krause wasn't even in the UFC until weeks before his fight -- and submission win -- Sam Stout at UFC 161. But the biggest upset was definitely in the final of TUF. Uriah Hall destroyed every opponent during his run on "The Ultimate Fighter." However, Kelvin Gastelum was the winner, coming up with a decision win over Hall at the TUF finale.
Best knockout: There were many fine candidates from this quarter for best knockout. You could go with Josh Thomson taking out the previously unknockout-able Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7, or from the same card, Yoel Romero's flying knee to Clifford Starks. Just last week, there was Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal's one punch knockout of Seth Petruzell in Bellator. The one that stood out the most, though, was Vitor Belfort's spinning heel hook to Luke Rockhold's face at UFC on FX 8.
Best submission: Glover Teixeira's submission of James Te Huna at UFC 160 was fast and fierce. Pat Curran's technical submission from a guillotine of Shabhulat Shamhalaev at Bellator stood out, too. But nothing was slicker and sweeter than Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza's arm triangle of Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8.
Best rising star: Teixeira's win over Te Huna, as well as his earlier win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, put him near the top of UFC light heavyweights. It's odd to think of someone who has been fighting for eight years as a rising star, but Matt Brown's dismantling of Jordan Mein did wonders for his standing among welterweights. The winner is Sara McMann, the Olympic silver medal winning wrestler has just seven pro bouts under her belt. Still, she made a huge debut in the UFC with a TKO of Sheila Gaff.
Best fight: The result was eventually overturned because of Healy's positive drug test, but that didn't take away the fun of Pat Healy's bout with Jim Miller at UFC 159. Krause and Stout's UFC 161 bout was fantastic before it ended in a submission with mere seconds left. The one that sticks out more than any other, though, is Junior dos Santos and Mark Hunt's bout at UFC 160. They both withstood ridiculously hard hits before JDS used a spinning hook kick to take Hunt out.
Agree? Disagree? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.
More popular MMA stories on Yahoo! Sports:
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Five questions that UFC 162 will answer
With UFC 162 tomorrow, what are the big questions facing the fighters on the card?
Why are Weidman and Silva's chins touching at their pre-fight face off? Testing each other's chins? We may never know the answer to this one.
Can Chris Weidman pull off ...
Why are Weidman and Silva's chins touching at their pre-fight face off? Testing each other's chins? We may never know the answer to this one.
Can Chris Weidman pull off ...
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/five-questions-ufc-162-answer-160350535.html
Friday
UFC 168: Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate
Image: http://www.scifighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/rousey-vs-tate.jpg
Source: http://www.mmaforum.com/ufc-vbookie-betting/134601-ufc-168-ronda-rousey-vs-miesha-tate.html
UFC 161 ? Roland Delorme On Winning At Home Over Figueroa
Source: http://www.themmanews.com/ufc-161-roland-delorme-on-winning-at-home-over-figueroa/
Thursday
Former UFC fighter sentenced to 13 years in prison for drug trafficking
As mentioned previously on Cagewriter, UFC veteran Paul Kelly was convicted for trafficking heroin in the United Kingdom. He got his sentence. Kelly, who last fought in the UFC when he lost to Donald Cerrone at UFC 126, will have to serve 13 years in prison.
The judge in Kelly's case pointed out the fighter's role as a drug trafficker.
"In my judgement you decided to supply Class A drugs when your contract with UFC was terminated," Brown was quoted as saying in the Liverpool Echo. "You obviously enjoyed the high life and saw selling heroin as an easy way to make money."
An extra wrinkle to Kelly's sentence is that he is 28 years old and riding a two-fight winning streak. Assuming Kelly serves out his entire sentence, he will be 41 when he's released. Kelly's actions have not only cost him his freedom, but more than likely, his career. Crime doesn't pay, kids.
Where do Fabricio Werdum, John Maguire and ?Shogun? Rua fall on Cagewriter?s Hot or Not List?
Who had a good week, and who didn't? Let's get right to the Cagewriter Hot or Not List.
Hot -- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson: He left the UFC on a three-fight losing streak, but found his way to a deal with Bellator and TNA Wrestling. He's getting to fight, do some pro wrestling and will have a reality show follow him.
Not-ish -- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: You be the judge on if Rua's week was good or bad. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira pulled out of their UFC 161 fight because of injury. Rua didn't get a replacement, but did get rescheduled for UFC on Fox Sports 1 1 in a bout with Chael Sonnen.
Hot -- Joe Silva: The UFC's matchmaker has been a busy, busy man. In addition to the Sonnen-Rua bout, Silva put together Benson Henderson's fight with T.J. Grant, Sara McMann taking on Sarah Kaufman, and many, many more August bouts.
Not quite hot yet -- John Maguire: He has promised a cutoff-wearing, flashdancing walkout at UFC 161 if he gets to 10,000 followers on Twitter. Right now, he's at 9,893. Follow him now for laughs next weekend.
Still taking temperature -- Fabricio Werdum: He won over Roy Nelson and Mike Russow in his first fights back with the UFC after a stint in Strikeforce. He'll get a chance to extend that winning streak on Saturday, as he fights Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Brazil at UFC on Fuel 10.
Thank you for reading Cagewriter. Want more? Follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's impact will continue through his coaching
? B.J. Penn considering a return to the cage
? 'Rampage' Jackson makes his Impact Wrestling debut
Junior dos Santos jokingly escalates growing rivalry with Cain Velasquez, saying UFC champ ?hits like a girl?
Junior dos Santos will meet Cain Velasquez in the main event of UFC 166 on Oct. 19 in Houston, the third time in less than two years that the men have met with the heavyweight title at stake.
Dos Santos took the belt from Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 on Nov. 12, 2011, with a 64-second TKO. Velasquez regained the belt and evened the series when he routed dos Santos and scored a wide five-round decision on Dec. 29, 2012, at UFC 155 in Las Vegas.
UFC officials would love for the rivalry to become heated, as it would stoke pay-per-view sales. As it is, both men are affable, low-key sorts who usually have little bad to say about the other.
Dos Santos, though, may have taken the first step toward creating a true rivalry when he said during a lengthy interview done in Portuguese and linked here that Velasquez "hits like a girl."
He was trying to explain his surprisingly poor performance against Velasquez at UFC 155 when he made the remark, which seems like an attempt at humor.
After my last fight with Velasquez, I was too bloated. My face was completely deformed. I went to the hospital. I had no cuts against Cain Velasquez. He hits like a girl. We say in boxing about people who 'catch,' who have that punch that you really feel or that cuts your face or knocks you down. He hit me a lot during the five rounds, but did not open anything, although I finished very bloated and had to go to the hospital.
The term catch is a Brazilian slang term for heavy punching power.
Now, dos Santos already admitted he was overtrained for the fight. And in an extensive interview with Yahoo! Sports, he repeatedly praised Velasquez.
But though he made a joke about it's power, it's likely that he does believe that Velasquez is not the biggest puncher around. He called Velasquez "my biggest adversary" but had some interesting things to say about light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
He is taller than me; he has the biggest reach in the UFC. He is a specialist using his knees and elbows. I like him a lot; I'm a fan of his. I like to watch his fights because he plays offensive and ends fights. But if he comes to heavyweight and if the UFC wants us to fight, I will give the best of me.
A dos Santos-Jones fight would be a massive event for the UFC, as would a Velasquez-Jones fight. The winner of the rubber match at UFC 166 might be the guy who ultimately gets to Jones first.
Hat tip to Fernando Arbex of Yahoo! Brazil for the Portuguese-to-English translation of dos Santos' remarks.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Biggest winners and losers from UFC 161
? Can Roy Nelson, UFC stand more of each other?
? James Krause stands out at UFC 161
? Massachusetts law complicates Boston show
Wednesday
At UFC 160, Mike Tyson shared what Evander Holyfield?s ear tasted like
Remember how Mike Tyson was everywhere at UFC 160? He was cheering on a weigh-in scuffle, congratulating Glover Teixeira, and generally just hanging around the type of fighting he never got to be a part of in MMA. He also stopped in with Fuel TV's Ariel Helwani to talk about what boxing can learn from MMA and how he would do against Royce Gracie. The real winning line? At 2:10, Tyson says what Evander Holyfield's ear tastes like. He follows it up with this sage piece of wisdom.
"My advice, try not to bite anyone's ears, guys."
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
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Lashley, Grove, and Davis victorious at GWC British Invasion
Bobby Lashley improved his mixed martial arts record to 9-2 following a first round submission win over Matthew Larson in the main event of GWC “British Invasion U.S. vs. UK”. Lashley used a highlight reel body slam of Larson before finishing the fight via rear-naked choke submission at 1:38 of the first round. Kendall Grove, [...]
Referee Josh Rosenthal Receives 37-Month Sentence
MMA referee Josh Rosenthal has received a 37-month prison term, 3 years probation, and a $100 fine for his part in an illegal large-scale marijuana operation. The sentence is similar to the plea deal he struck earlier this year, but with his time on probation reduced from five years to three years. Rosenthal?s legal issues [...]
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/90728/referee-josh-rosenthal-receives-37-month-sentence/
Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez Dave Gomez Keith Hackney
Weigh-in Results for GWC?s British Invasion: U.S. VS. U.K.
The weigh-ins for Global Warrior Challenge’s “British Invasion: U.S. VS. U.K.” took place today in Kansas City with all 22 fighters successfully making weight. Headlining the action is a heavyweight clash featuring pro wrestler/mixed martial artist Bobby Lashley who takes on Matthew Larson. Lashley is fresh off a second round submission win over Kevin Asplund [...]
Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/mma/weigh-in-results-for-gwcs-british-invasion-u-s-vs-u-k-67822/
Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito
Tuesday
?King Mo? wins while ?Babalu? retires at Bellator
One fighter got back on the winning track while another decided to end his career at Bellator's summer debut on Wednesday night.
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal was knocked out in his last Bellator fight, which was a surprising result for the onetime Strikeforce champ. Wednesday's fight with Seth Petruzelli was his first fight since then, and he came back with a memorable knockout.
Lawal wrestled Petruzelli to the ground, then finished the fight at 1:35 in the first round with a huge right hook. He needed just one punch to knock Petruzelli out. Lawal will move on in Bellator's light heavyweight tournament to fight Jacob Noe.
"It's kind of highly emotional for me to talk about this right now, but I think maybe I've been in the cage more than everybody in this room here," he said. "I lived the life. That's what I want to say. I have no regrets. I was happy to help this sport grow."
Noe earned his spot in the semifinals with a win over Strikeforce and UFC veteran Renato "Babalu" Sobral. "Babalu" lost in a third-round, standing TKO, then announced his retirement from MMA.
Sobral finished his career with a record of 37-11. He started fighting in 1997, and fought in Brazilians promotions and Rings before fighting at UFC 28. Sobral fought such fighters as Fedor Emelianenko and Chuck Liddell.
One of the more memorable moments of Sobral's career was at UFC 74 when submitted David Heath with an anaconda choke, but wouldn't break the hold when first instructed by the ref. He was later cut from the UFC and fined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his wrongdoing.
Sobral then went to Strikeforce and won the light heavyweight championship before losing it to Gegard Mousasi. He also fought in One FC, and then Bellator before he hung up his MMA gloves.
Cage Rank?s UFC 162 Contest
Prognosticators unite! Cage Rank – the new site that provides rock-solid MMA bout predictions and statistical analysis – is holding a contest, and there’s a cash prize involved. � The Task: Predict the outcomes of all the UFC 162: “Silva vs. Weidman” bouts from Saturday, July 6, 2013. How to Play: Go to this UFC [...]
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/90701/cage-ranks-ufc-162-contest/
Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis Tony DeSouza
UFC 160?s Three Stars: T.J. Grant, Junior dos Santos, Glover Teixeira and some boxer
UFC 160 was one of the year's best cards. Who stood out among even these great fights?
No. 1 star -- T.J. Grant: All he needed to do to earn a title shot was perform impressively at UFC 160. However, this is no small feat when you consider he was up against Gray Maynard. Grant came through by wrecking Maynard in the first round and earning a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.
No. 2 star -- Junior dos Santos: He threw everything his hands could offer at Mark Hunt, but Hunt somehow withstood them. JDS was winning, but he wasn't content to just take the decision. Instead, he involved his legs and gave us a third-round knockout kick of Hunt to remember. He also pocketed an extra $50,000 as he and Hunt won Fight of the Night honors.
No. 3 star -- Glover Teixeira: He extended his winning streak to 19 by running through James Te Huna like a tractor-trailer. Teixeira owned every second of the short fight, right up until he submitted him with a guillotine halfway through the first round. Like the other stars, he also walked away with $50,000 extra, earning a bonus for Submission of the Night.
Honorable mention -- Mike Tyson: The boxing legend played a big part at UFC 160. He cheered on a weigh-in scuffle, congratulated Teixeira in the cage after his big win, plus helped UFC president Dana White decide to give the Knockout of the Night bonus to T.J. Grant.
Who stood out for you? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-160-three-stars-t-j-grant-junior-133512838.html
Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko
Monday
UFC 162 Fight Card: Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch
In the upcoming middleweight matchup set for UFC 162�”Silva vs. Weidman” between Mark ?The Filipino Wrecking Machine? Munoz and Tim ?The Barbarian? Boetsch, we can expect to see some heavy hits and devastating ground and pound. With both of these fighters being former NCAA Division I wrestlers, this bout promises to have ?a lot of [...]
The post UFC 162 Fight Card: Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch appeared first on MMA Convert.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/PAlUpfh5UWk/
Where did Miesha Tate, the Jones family and Brendan Schaub fall on Cagewriter?s hot list?
It's been a slow week of MMA, but never fear. UFC 162 and a championship fight are oh-so-close. Who had a good week, and who didn't?
Hot -- Miesha Tate: She's filming "The Ultimate Fighter" now as a coach against UFC women's bantamweight championship. She will also pose nude as a part of ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue.
Not -- Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione: The one-time teammates started squabbling on Twitter like a bunch of seventh graders. They are fighting on July 27, so the squabbling will likely continue until then.
Hot -- The Jones' jewelry collection: According to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones' Instagram, the Jones family has much better jewelry than most of us.
Hot -- GLORY: The kickboxing promotion will become more available to the U.S. fans. They will start airing fights on Spike come October.
Thank you for reading Cagewriter this week. Want more? Follow Cagewriter on Facebook or Twitter.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Report card: Best of the second quarter
? Jones family jewelry box loaded with goodies
? T.J. Grant mad at Anthony Pettis for trying to take his title shot
T.J. Grant says Anthony Pettis? attempt to take the lightweight title shot was ?disrespectful?
No cuts, no butts, no coconuts. It's something we were taught as we lined up for dismissal in grade school. It's a lesson we live with when in line at the grocery store or the ATM. It's an idea heavily enforced as we board planes by specific groups.
With that in mind, you can see why T.J. Grant was miffed when he heard Anthony Pettis trying to take his title shot with Benson Henderson at UFC 164. After an injury to Pettis forced him out of his featherweight title bout with Jose Aldo at UFC 163, Pettis said he wanted to fight later that month.
?I can be 100-percent ready to fight Benson Henderson in [at UFC 164] Milwaukee. With all due respect to TJ Grant, Milwaukee is my town and the fight with Ben is the fight everyone has wanted for years,? read a statement that Pettis released to Fuel TV. ?If it works out, great; if not, I will get my shot very soon. But I think we all know which fight the fans want to see and the entire city of Milwaukee!?
Pettis' pleas to fight at UFC 164 didn't matter as his injury required he sit out for six weeks. Grant was still unhappy that Pettis tried to take the shot.
?I wish it was handled a little differently. Him of all people, I think it was disrespectful, to do that against someone who has earned the right to fight is not right,? Grant said to ESPN. ?Unfortunately he got hurt but it was low class, I thought. I didn?t want to get into the whole talking thing. I got here legitimately and earned it. Ultimately, what he was saying was that he wanted my title-shot which was incredibly disrespectful. It was pretty dirty.?
On two different occasions, Pettis had and then lost title shots. First, the draw between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard put Pettis back in line, and then the injury. You can see why Grant was upset when Pettis tried to do to him what has happened to Pettis before.
Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber
Sunday
UFC 162: Silva Vs Weidman Live Results And Play By Play
UFC 162: Silva Vs Weidman takes place this Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Fighters.com will be bringing you complete coverage. In the main event, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will look to defend his title for a UFC record 11th time against number one contender Chris Weidman. [...]
The post UFC 162: Silva Vs Weidman Live Results And Play By Play appeared first on Fighters.com.
Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin Jason Hollywood Chambers
Jon Jones and Anderson Silva Nominated for 2013 ?Best Fighter? ESPY
Once again, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (Pictured) and reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva will look to get mixed martial arts off the ESPY snide. Jones and Silva have received nominations in the ?Best Fighter? category for 2013. Both superstars have been up for the award in the past ? Silva in 2009 and [...]
Source: http://www.5thRound.com/148947/jon-jones-and-anderson-silva-nominated-for-2013-best-fighter-espy/
Legal updates: UFC expects positive outcome in Boston, but no MMA in NY this year
Because MMA was once outlawed in several states, a patchwork of laws govern the sport across the country. This week has been a big one for the UFC to wade through legal red tape as it works on Boston and New York.
-- In Boston, there is an issue with the documentation foreign-born fighters must have to work in Massachusetts for the first UFC on Fox Sports 1 show. Basically, the law won't necessarily keep fighters off the card, but it will create a whole lot more work for the UFC. The UFC is expecting a "positive outcome" with this issue.
-- MMA won't have such a positive outcome in a state a short drive from Boston. The UFC has been lobbying to legalize MMA in New York for years, and for a while, it seemed like this year could be the year MMA would finally break through. Unfortunately, the New York legislature failed to bring the MMA bill to a vote, meaning the sport has to wait until next year.
Understandably, the UFC is disappointed. Here's what UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta had to say about it.
This year?s new, absurd, offensive, and completely erroneous charge used to justify the defeat of MMA legislation was that MMA is anti-woman and leads to domestic violence. This is a deception fabricated by a Las Vegas union that is recklessly and callously trying to use an important societal issue to try and punish the UFC. It isn?t honest and doesn?t work.
Fertitta pointed out that one of the fighters the union in Las Vegas has been most upset about is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. This union, which has a problem with Fertitta's Station Casinos non-union status, didn't protest when Jackson signed with Bellator. If they truly thought MMA -- and not the Fertitta-owned UFC -- was the problem, wouldn't they send press releases and fill up Twitter decrying Bellator and World Series of Fighting and every other promotion out there?
Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves Edwards Justin Eilers
World Series Of Fighting Confirms Six Matches For Fourth Event This August
Press Release – LAS VEGAS, Nev. (June 20, 2013) ?Tickets priced from $29, for the star-studded World Series of Fighting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. on Saturday, August 10, go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. PST tomorrow, Friday, June 21 at www.axs.com, Citizens Business Bank Arena [...]
Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko
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