Jones Comments About Belfort Sound A Little Naive

September 10, 2012
Editorials
Leave a Comment

Jon Jones UFC 152

In an interview just a few days ago Jon Jones made a quote that I am having hard time agreeing with, no matter how great the young champions short career has been. Jones said:

“Me and Vitor Belfort are from different generations of fighting. I really believe that in my short career, I’ve already fought a lot tougher opponents than he has. I feel like I’ve had more championship caliber fights than he has.”

Granted I have said it many times in the past, the current run Jon Jones is on is truly remarkable. He has beaten 4 straight former UFC light heavyweight champions. They were in order, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, and “Sugar” Rashad Evans. He even more impressively finished 3 out of the 4 and his unanimous decision win over Rashad Evans was pretty dominant to say the least. Now he is facing another former UFC light heavyweight champion in Vitor Belfort to try to extend the streak to five. I am not taking anything away from that streak at all, but to say he has fought a lot tougher competition than Belfort sounds a little naive to me.

Over Vitor Belfort’s almost 16 year career he has fought a true who’s who list of UFC and MMA legends, hall of famers, and future hall of famers.

  •  Starting in 1997 he TKO’d Tank Abbott at UFC 13. Abbott is not a HOF but was one of the         early pioneers of the sport who had deadly punching power.
  •  He fought UFC HOF Randy Couture 3 times. At UFC 15 and UFC 46, and UFC 49. Couture won the trilogy 2-1 with all fights resulting in TKO’s.
  •  He TKO’d Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil.
  •  Belfort lost a decision to Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 5.
  •  He lost to UFC HOF Chuck Liddell by decision at UFC 37.
  •  Vitor lost to UFC HOF Tito Ortiz by decision at UFC 51.
  •  Was submitted by former K1, Dream, and Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at Pride: Total elimination 2005. Also lost to Overeem in 2006 by decision at Strikeforce: Revenge.
  •  Lost a decision to future HOF Dan Henderson at Pride 32.
  •  Belfort TKO’d possible future UFC HOF Rich Franklin at UFC 103
  •  Was KO’d by future UFC HOF Anderson Silva at UFC 126.

Now I know the majority of those fights resulted in losses for Belfort, and his fight with Jones will most likely end that way too but to say you have fought a lot tougher competition than Belfort is simply wrong in my opinion. I give Belfort credit for moving back up to 205 to take this fight on short notice but to pull off an upset in this fight he will have to channel all that big fight experience and reach down deep and land that perfect left hand to the chin of Jones and if he rattles his cage try to go in for the kill. Crazier things have happened in this sport.

 

The Cancellation Of UFC 151 Has Lots Of Blame To Go Around

August 24, 2012
Editorials
2 Comments

Jon Jones Hendo UFC 151 Cancelled

On Thursday at 2 p.m. ET Dana White made the announcement that shook the MMA world to its core. Dan Henderson had no choice but to back out of his scheduled light heavyweight title fight with champion Jon Jones which was supposed to take place Saturday September 1 at The Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Henderson has a partial tear of his MCL and was unable to resume his training. Usually what would happen in this situation is the UFC would scramble for a last-minute replacement to fill the void that Henderson’s departure left.

What happened next was the truly shocking part of the whole story. The UFC was having trouble finding a replacement but Chael Sonnen agreed unequivocally. On 8 days notice in a brand new weight class against one of the baddest men in the sport. At this point the UFC thought they had a high quality replacement fight that would might even draw more interest than the original fight. They even went as far as to have their PR team start to make new commercials and press releases. Then Dana made the call to Jon Jones. He was presented with the new option and he said he wanted to speak with his coaches and his team. Understandable for sure. His head coach Greg Jackson advised him that If Jones chose to take the fight with Chael on 9 days notice it would be the worst decision of his career. Jones chose to decline the fight with Sonnen.

Dana White stressed UFC 151

Dana White had a rough day at the office trying to salvage UFC 151.

Dana White used the term “disgusted” when he described how he felt about the decision. He said he really didn’t expect that response. He was asked on the media call if Jon Jones was made aware of the fact that if the champ declined the fight the whole card would be cancelled. He said Jones was made aware of all the repercussions. This is an unprecedented move by the UFC to cancel a whole event like that. There is a lot of blame to go around. I am from the thinking that if you are the champion and have that supreme confidence in your abilities the way Jones does that he should have taken the challenge. Especially when he is coming off that DUI charge and had his golden boy reputation somewhat tarnished. He would have gained so much respect from the fans, his fellow fighters, and from the UFC brass.

Chael Sonnen UFC 151

Chael Sonnen steps up and proves he really is a Gangster from Oregan.

Three of the fights have already been rerouted to the UFC on FX 5 card in Minneapolis on October 5. Those fights are Jake Ellenberger vs Jay Hieron, Danny Castillo vs Michael Johnson, and Shane Roller vs Jacob Volkmann. This will make that card that much stronger but what about the fans who have paid for airfare and hotel rooms in Vegas already. Yeah, their tickets will be refunded but dealing with the airlines and hotels might not be so easy. At least it is Vegas and hopefully the fans will keep their plans for the trip and still have a great time.

Jones and the Jackson camp are not the only parties at fault here. See this card was really only one major fight deep to begin with. The co-main event was with a fighter in Ellenberger who was coming off a loss, against Jay Hieron who was a last-minute replacement himself because of an injury to Josh Koscheck and he was making his first appearance in the UFC in 7 years. He is known by MMA hardcores but not by casual fans who only follow the UFC. This card besides the Jones-Hendo fight looked more like a UFC on Fuel card. My point is the UFC is stretched way too thin with too many cards. I am not complaining about having a card almost every weekend because for me the more the merrier, but realistically it might be better for everyone involved to scale it back just a bit. This will only make the fans appreciate the cards that much more and provide much more stacked cards. Take into account all the injuries that have plagued the sport, especially in the last year as well. I totally understand that Dana White is a genius in this game and fully knows what he is doing but I hope he can see that all the blame for this cancellation should not fall on Jones shoulders alone.

When the dust settled, we learned Jones will now face Vitor Belfort at UFC 152.

Then Thursday night the story gets even more interesting. It was first reported that Jones would meet Lyoto Machida at UFC 152 in Toronto. Then Machida said he would need more time to prepare for Jones so instead Jon Jones will now meet Vitor Belfort, who volunteered to take the title shot at 205lbs. Dana White announced that because Machida turned down the fight he would now have to fight another top contender before he would receive his title shot. So now the UFC will have to find another opponent for Alan Belcher at UFC 153 in October because of the Belfort development. Probably the least of their worries right now. The co-main event of the UFC 152 card in Toronto will be Joseph Benavides-Demetrious Johnson for the inaugural Flyweight Title and Michael Bisping-Brian Stann is the third main fight now.

Overall a wild day in the world of MMA for sure. The majority of MMA fighters have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure with Jones decision. Only a small handful have taken Jones side in this matter. Most notably “King Mo” Luwal. I am sure the UFC will do right by the fighters affected by this cancellation, but I just hope lessons were learned on all ends and the sport can move on in a positive manner.

Edgar Makes It Official: Featherweight Is His New Home

August 22, 2012
Editorials
Leave a Comment

Frankie Edgar UFC

It was reported tonight (Tuesday 8/21) on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight that Frankie Edgar has officially made the decision to take his talents to the featherweight division.

 

The writing was on the wall for Edgar after his second straight loss to the current champ Benson Henderson. That second loss at UFC 150 was a very close decision that I had scored 48-47 in favor of Edgar. I felt Edgar was the aggressor after the first round and did enough to take the belt back. We all know the saying though “Don’t leave it in the hands of the judges.” It is all very true, especially when you are taking on the champion. I am a big fan of Ben Henderson, but I feel he has to be more aggressive if he wants to beat a guy like Nate Diaz who clearly knows how to score points and take the fight to his opponents.

 

Back to Edgar’s decision to drop to 145lbs. It makes all the sense in the world for him to do this. He just lost to the current champ twice in a row and in order for him to get another title shot he would have to have like 3-5 convincing and consecutive wins in the talent rich lightweight division. At 145 Edgar will most likely have to prove himself at least once possibly twice before he gets a title shot against whoever holds that belt at the time. Of course there s a very good chance it will be current champ Jose Aldo, but you really never know in this crazy sport where anyone can get caught on any given night.

 

Right now the top contenders at featherweight are Eric Koch, Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson, and Chad Mendes. You also have tough competitors like Dustin Poirier, Nik Lentz, and Charles Oliveira and a growing list of young and up and comers. This division is finally starting to fill out.

 

I can personally see Aldo moving up to lightweight eventually but a fight with him and Edgar would really be a hot ticket. Edgar has the big fight experience, speed, grit, and wrestling ability to truly give Aldo fits. Aldo’s mastery of the leg kick could really be a problem for Edgar though. He had a real tough time stopping Henderson’s leg kicks so stopping Aldo’s would be almost impossible.

 

I would like to see Frankie meet Chad Mendes in his first test. They are 2 high level wrestlers who are both very tough. Mendes did have a shot at Aldo and was faring ok until he ran into a nasty knee by Aldo that ended his night real quick. This would be a good fight for Mendes to justify another title shot if he can beat the former 155 king. For Edgar, a solid win over Mendes would prove he has the ability to cut a little weight and still have his speed carry down to the featherweight division. Some are even saying Edgar can drop down to bantamweight if he really wanted, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Just imagine if Edgar can win belts in three weight classes. Not as impossible as it sounds.

 

Looking forward to this fresh start for the ex-champ. The heart he fights with is unparalleled in this sport. He is a guy who really paid his dues early in his career and upset some very tough veterans on his path to the title. Edgar beat a legend in BJ Penn twice at a weight where some people thought he would be champ until he retired. He has victories over Sean Sherk, Tyson Griffin, Hermes Franca, Jim Miller, Mark Bocek, and Spencer Fisher. He will bring all his tenacity and experience to a new home and it will be fun to watch.

 

Ex-WEC Fighters Proving They Have What It Takes To Succeed In The UFC

August 17, 2012
Editorials
Leave a Comment

WEC Lightweight stand outs in UFC

In October 2010 when the UFC decided to merge all the fighters from the WEC into the UFC ranks a lot of people thought the WEC guys would have a real tough time adjusting to life with the big boys. The WEC with its signature blue mat was looked at by some as sort of minor league of sorts compared to the UFC. Especially in the lightweight division of the UFC which is widely known as the most stacked division in the sport. Guys like Benson Henderson, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, and Anthony Pettis would have to prove themselves in the UFC before they would receive the respect we now see they deserve. In fact these 3 fighters have compiled an amazing 13-2 record as UFC fighters.

“Showtime” Pettis was even supposed to receive an automatic title shot against Frankie Edgar because he was the last WEC Lightweight champion after his thrilling defeat of Benson Henderson. In this fight he executed the now famous “Showtime” kick off the cage and onto Henderson’s face, but Dana White chose to give Gray Maynard that rematch after that epic second fight he and Edgar engaged in.

If you look at the top 4 current contenders in the 155lb division, they were all at one time WEC fighters. Even Nate Diaz, who is definitely considered a UFC fighter and rightfully so, had a 3-1 record in his early career in the WEC. He has fought with the UFC since 2007 so we can’t really count him as a WEC fighter.

Champion Benson Henderson (5-0 UFC) will fight Nate Diaz in December for the title while Donald Cerrone (6-1 UFC) will challenge Anthony Pettis (2-1 UFC) with the winner having a great chance of being the #1 contender after that. That is pretty amazing in less than 2 years to have those 3 guys all at the top of the food chain of the deepest division of the sport.

Also another former WEC vet Danny Castillo is tasting success in the UFC as well. He has a 4-1 record and is on a 3 fight win streak. He is scheduled to meet highly touted TUF finalist Michael Johnson at UFC 151 on September 1, 2012.

Just goes to show you “It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.” While the UFC will always be the premiere MMA organization in the world you can’t always judge a fighter by where and who he has fought in the past. Yes, sometimes a fighters lack of top-level competition will result in “Octagon Jitters” in their first few fights with the promotion but that doesn’t mean they should ever be taken lightly just because they weren’t UFC fighters in the past.

How MMA Helped Toughen Up The Country

August 7, 2012
Editorials
Leave a Comment

MMA training

For many decades the United States has been known around the globe for having a reputation of having tough citizens. Kids who grow up in certain East Coast cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia have had no choice but to be able to defend themselves in hand to hand combat. Kids who grow up in the midwest have that wrestling background ingrained in their bodies that make them country strong and West Coast youths were also raised to be tough and stick up for themselves.

When technology advanced and kids started to get into video games and computers more and more, I feel that the kids and teenagers in this country really started to go soft. Instead of being out there interacting with friends and horsing around, a lot of kids have locked themselves in their room and immersed themselves in imaginary worlds. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy video games myself and can really appreciate the strides these games have made since I was a kid with Atari, Nintendo, and Sega Genesis to todays X-Box and Playstation systems.

Then along came the emerging force that is MMA. The sport was first showed in a semi-organized manner at UFC 1 in 1993. This was a dream come true for fans who were tiring of boxing and had a love for martial arts, whether as a practitioner or just a fan of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris movies.

There is no doubt in my mind that MMA has toughened up this country on a whole. Now you have youngsters dedicating a lot of their time and energy to try to prepare themselves to be the next big MMA star. There are so many different MMA gyms now popping up around every corner of the country. I can guarantee you that the average 15-year-old is a lot more capable of defending themselves now in a self-defense situation let’s say 15 years ago.

A lot of the sports success can ironically be attributed to men that were trying to shut it down. Powerful politicians like Arizona Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain were spearheading campaigns to shut the sport down because of its brutal nature. They were using terms like “human cockfighting” to describe the sport in their efforts to put an end to it. All they did was take it to another level though. This forced organizations like the UFC to make it a much more legit sport. Gone were the freak show match ups of a 180 lb man fighting a 250 lb man. Gone were the nights when a fighter had to win 3 fights in one evening. Gone were the no holds barred rules that became associated with MMA. Now we have weight classes, a set time limit on rounds, and proper insight from sanctioning bodies across the country.

I think things will only get bigger and better for MMA fans in this country as well. Now you can turn on ESPN and see the results of major MMA events right after NFL, NBA, and MLB scores. It is a good time to be a MMA fan. With the Olympic games about to begin in London there will be a lot of chatter about the possibility of future games having MMA as a competition. I don’t know how I feel about that yet, but that is for a future debate.

UFC Should Reconsider Plans For 115 lb Division

July 27, 2012
Editorials
1 Comment

Cruiserweight UFC

On Thursdays pre-fight news conference for UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada Dana White was asked by a reporter about the possibility of eventually forming a Cruiserweight Division for fighters who are too big for 205 lbs and too small for the 265 heavyweight limit.

Dana, always trying to keep everyone off-balance countered by saying in fact the cruiserweight division is not even being discussed, but instead if any division will be formed it will be at 115 lbs. There is no name for this proposed division at this time.

I seriously hope that Dana is not planning on doing this any time soon. The 125 lb (flyweight) is still in its infant stages and only has 14 fighters in its ranks. Out of those 14 fighters, 10 of them have two or less fights in the UFC. We don’t even have a flyweight champion yet. Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavides will meet to see who the inaugural flyweight champion will be on September 22, 2012 at UFC 152.

I strongly feel that it is in the UFC’s best interest to try to build the flyweights and bantamweights before even considering a 115 lb class. I personally like watching the lighter fighters because of their high skill level and speed, but there are still a lot of fans who have not come around to the idea of the smaller guys headlining big cards. Most fans like to see the big guys who can end the fight with one punch, kick, elbow, or slam. I like that too, but I also can appreciate the smaller fighters skill sets.

I can understand the UFC’s thought process, that if they did have this new division a lot of the fighters will be from Asia and South America. These are two area’s of the world that the UFC is trying to win fans. I just feel the UFC has to be very careful not to over saturate fans with a watered down roster. I think 125 lbs should be the lightest we see fighters compete in a high level MMA organization at least for quite some time. The UFC has recently added two fighters to the Flyweight division. They are Ulysses Gomez (9-2) and John Moraga (10-1). These are two solid additions and they will be fighting each other on the UFC on Fox: Shogun vs Vera card on August 4, 2012. I have a lot of confidence that in two years time the flyweight division will be a stacked one. These smaller organizations, like Tachi Palace for example are doing a great job in preparing younger and smaller fighters so that when they get the call from the big show they are ready to perform at a high level.

As far as the option of a Cruiserweight division being formed in between the 205 lb and 265 lb weight limit I think it is something that should garner serious consideration by not only the UFC, but all of MMA to help certain fighters compete at a weight that is much more satisfactory for their body types. This can only create more even matches with fighters that are in the best possible shape they can be in.

I am aware I am in no position to question the thought process and decision-making of the higher-ups in the UFC but every now and then you hear an idea that just doesn’t sound like it will work and this was one of those instances.

Top 20 MMA Fighters From The UK

July 13, 2012
Lists
Leave a Comment

Just last week the UFC made two quiet signings. Tom “Kong” Watson and Jimi Manuwa were both signed to UFC contracts. They are two of the top fighters from the United Kingdom. There are now currently 19 fighters in the UFC who call the UK home. That is the 4th highest total of any country represented in the UFC today behind the United States (187), Brazil (57), and Canada (22).

Fighting has been a great tradition in the UK. Boxing has always been a huge sport there. They have a great history of legendary fighters. You have boxing pioneers like Ted “Kid” Lewis and Bob Fitzsimmons to some of the best boxers in the last 40 years like Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, and Ricky Hatton. There is no doubting the skill and heart these fighters have shown.

Fast forward to the modern age of combat sports where MMA is king. In MMA’s early days the UK fighters were just known as brawlers or strikers. You had Ian Freeman and James Thompson (who is still fighting today) two of the sports better known names. The biggest knock on the fighters from the UK is usually that they lack the wrestling experience and ground game to be highly competitive with their American, Brazilian, and Canadian counterparts. Over the last couple of years though a lot of that has changed.

It all started when Michael “The Count” Bisping was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter season 3 in 2006. The coaches were UFC Hall of Fame members Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. Bisping was on Tito’s team and went on to win the show. This brought great attention to the sport in the UK and new gyms were popping up all over the place. In 2009 they had a season called UK vs US. Bisping coached the UK squad and Dan Henderson coached the US side. They fought at UFC 100 and Henderson won by way of a brutal KO. The UK fighters represented themselves and there respective countries very well.

I just wanted to list the top 20 fighters today from the UK.

1- Michael “The Count” Bisping (22-4) – Fights in the UFC as a Middleweight -England

UFC Michael Bisping

Like I mentioned previously, Bisping won season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. He is a top contender in the middleweight division right now. His biggest career wins have come against “Mayhem” Miller, Dennis Kang, Chris Leben, Jorge Rivera, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Dan Miller, Matt Hamill, and Eric Schafer. He has only been KO’d once in his career to Dan Henderson and his other 3 losses have come against great fighters. Chael Sonnen, who he lost a very close decision that a lot of people would make the argument that he won, former Pride Champion Wanderlei Silva, and former UFC Light Heavyweight champ Rashad Evans which was also a very close fight. Bisping is a fighter who in my opinion is very underrated. He is a guy you love to hate. He is very confident, borderline cocky. I feel that you have to be confident in this sport to succeed or you are beat before you step in the cage. He has very good take down defense that is one of the main reasons he has fared so well against the American fighters with superior wrestling.

Bisping was supposed to fight Tim Boetsch at UFC 149, but had to pull out due to an injury. He  is now scheduled to fight Brian Stann at UFC 152.

2- Tom “Kong” Watson (15-4) – Fights in the UFC as a Middleweight – England

Tom Kong Watson

Tom Watson has just signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC. He was the BAMMA Middleweight Champion before coming over to the UFC. He successfully defended his belt 3 times. There has been a lot of hype in MMA circles about Watson for quite some time now. He has a Muay Thai and BJJ background. Watson fights out of Southhampton, Hampshire, England but also trains out of Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Training at Jackson’s has really elevated his game and has allowed him to go up against some of the sports elite fighters on a daily basis. Like I wrote in one of my earlier blogs, 15 MMA Fights That Need To Happen, I would really love to see Watson and Bisping square off to see who the top dog in UK MMA is.

Watson’s first scheduled fight in the UFC is against Brad Tavares on September 29, 2012 at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England

3- Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa (11-0) – Fights in the UFC as a Light Heavyweight – England

Jimi Manuwa UFC

Manuwa was first offered a UFC contract in 2011, but turned it down so he can get a little more experience. Some would say you never turn down an opportunity like that because if you lose a fight you might throw away that once in a lifetime chance. Manuwa was so confident in his abilities that he made that tough decision and now he feels he is ready to make some noise in the 205 lbs division. He was the UCMMA Light Heavyweight Champion, and defended that belt 5 times. Out if those 11 wins,10 are by way of KO or TKO. Manuwa is 32 years old. He was born in Nigeria, and moved to England when he was 10 years old.

He is also scheduled to fight on the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in Nottingham, England but has no opponent yet.

4- John “The Hitman” Hathaway (16-1) – Fights in the UFC as a Welterweight – England

John Hathaway UFC

John Hathaway has been a prospect for quite some time now. He is just entering his prime at 25 years old, and is poised to make a run in the Welterweight division. He holds notable career wins over Rick Story, Paul Taylor, Diego Sanchez, Pascall Krauss, and Kris McCray. He has good size at 6’1 and his very well-rounded. He trains out of London, but has spent some time in the US training as well with American Top Team and at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu with Eddie Bravo.

He is also scheduled for that Nottingham, England card against fellow UK fighter John Maguire.

5- Paul “The Sassangle” Sass (13-0) – Fights in the UFC as a Lightweight – England

Paul Sass UFCPaul Sass is one of the top prospects to come out of England in quite a while. His submission game is extremely potent. 12 of his wins have come by submission and 10 of those subs have been either a triangle choke or triangle armbar. His biggest wins have been against Michael Johnson and Jacob Volkmann. He resides in the ultra deep, lightweight division so it will take quite a few more wins to get in the title picture, but if he keeps getting big victories he will get there one day. He will have to work on his stand up some to get to the next level.

He is fighting striker Matt Wiman at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in Nottingham, England in September. That card is turning out some of the top talent in the UK.

6- Paul “Semtex” Daley (29-12-2 Draws) – Fights in Bellator as a Welterweight – England

Paul Daley BellatorDaley who is a veteran of the UFC, Strikeforce, BAMMA, and now Bellator is widely known as one of the best welterweight strikers in all of MMA. His fight with Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce Welterweight title was one of the best first rounds that I have ever seen. Daley holds big wins against Duane Ludwig, Martin Kampmann, Scott Smith, Dustin Hazelett, John Alessio, and Jorge Masvidal. He has always had trouble against strong wrestlers, but has shown improvements of late.

He will debut at Bellator 72 against Rudy Bears.

7- Terry Etim (15-4) – Fights in the UFC as a Lightweight – England

Terry Etim UFCTerry Etim is known a great submission fighter. The 26-year-old Liverpool native stands 6’1 which is quite tall for a lightweight. he was on the wrong end of one of the best KO’s in UFC history when Edson Barboza landed a perfectly timed wheel kick back at UFC 142 in Brazil. Etim has wins over Sam Stout, Justin Buchholz, and Matt Grice.

Etim was scheduled to fight Joe Lauzon at the next UFC on Fox event August 4, 2012. This would have been a great match up of submission specialists, but Etim had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Lauzon will now fight Jamie Varner instead.

8- Brad “One Punch” Pickett (21-6) -Fights in the UFC as a Bantamweight – England

Brad Pickett UFCThe 33-year-old London, England native trains with American Top Team down in Florida. He is a top contender in the bantamweight division in the UFC. He has wins over Demetrious Johnson, Ivan Menjivar, and Damacio Page. Pickett is always a very exciting fighter to watch. He was in consideration to replace Dominic Cruz against Urijah Faber for the Interim Bantamweight Title. The fight was ultimately given to Renan Barao who stopped Pickett at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England.

Pickett’s next fight will be against Yves Jaboiun at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in Nottingham, England on September 29, 2012.

9- Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson (13-6) – Fights in the UFC as a Featherweight – England

Ross Pearson UFCPearson was the winner of the TUF UK vs US. He defeated Andre Winner to earn the UFC contract. Pearson is a real tough challenge for anyone in this division. He is always a candidate for fight of the night because of his fan friendly style of striking. He has shown great improvements since he has been training with Team Alliance in California. Ross is a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Brown Belt in Judo. He recently lost by TKO in an exciting fight against Cub Swanson at the UFC on FX card in Atlantic City, NJ on June 22.

Pearson was just named as one of the coaches opposite George Sotiropolous in TUF’s second international season called UK vs Austraila ” The Smashes.” He will move up to 155 lbs for this fight.

10- Che Mills (14-5-1 NC) – Fights in the UFC as a Welterweight – England

Che Mills UFCChe Mills is a very highly regarded striker. He is big for the welterweight division. He does need some work on his ground game as was shown in his last fight against rising star Rory MacDonald at UFC 145 where was stopped by way of TKO in the second round. He does have the ability to put away anyone in the division if they chose to stand up with him. MacDonald really brutalized him on the ground though. Maybe he should take a few months to try to improve that aspect of his game.

Mills next scheduled fight is against Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in September.

11- Jim Wallhead (23-6) – Fights for BAMMA as a Welterweight – England

Jim Wallhead BellatorWallhead is a Black Belt in Judo and he also trains extensively in Muay Thai. He is a long time member of Team Rough House in Leicestershire, England. At 28 years old he is in the prime of his career right now. With 29 career fights he is a real veteran of the sport. His biggest career wins have been against Che Mills, Frank Trigg, and Joey Villasenor. He a has also fought for Bellator and hopefully will return to re-enter their welterweight tournament. Wallhead has one 9 out of his last 10 fights.

He has no scheduled fight at this time.

12- John “The One” Maguire (18-3) – Fights for the UFC as Welterweight – England

Maguire was the OMMAC and UCMMA Welterweight Champions and he defended the UCMMA belt 3 times before getting the call from the UFC to fight in Birmingham, England at UFC 138. He has won 10 out of his last 12 fights. The 29-year-old fights out of Cambridge, England and is a Brown Belt in BJJ. His biggest wins have come against DeMarques Johnson, Justin Edwards, Jake Bostwick twice, and Dean Amasinger. I feel he has potential to be a solid fighter in the UFC for some time.

Maguire is scheduled to meet fellow Brit and #4 on my list John Hathaway at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in Nottingham, England.

13- Conor “Notorious” McGregor (11-2) – Fights for Cage Warriors as a Featherweight – Ireland

McGregor won the Cage Warriors 145 lb belt when he submitted Dave Hill in the second round at CWFC 47 in June. McGregor fights and carries himself with extreme confidence. He has said his dream is to fight in the UFC and I don’t think that is too far-fetched. I think he would be a nice addition to the UFC’s 145 lb stable. He has won 7 straight fights.

McGregor is scheduled to defend his belt against Jim Alers on September 1,  2012 at Cage Warriors Fight Night 7 in Amman, Jordan.

14- Andre Winner (14-6) Fights for BAMMA as a Lightweight – England

Andre Winner UFCWinner was a finalist on TUF 9 UK vs US. He lost to Ross Pearson but did fight in the UFC compiling a 2-4 record against tough competition. He has won two in a row for BAMMA, but the UFC lightweight division is so stacked that it will be tough for him to get back. Maybe should consider a move to 145.

Andre will fight Rob Sinclair for the Lightweight title at BAMMA 10 at London’s Wembley arena on September 15, 2012.

15- Phil “S11″ Defries (8-1-1NC) Fights for the UFC as a Heavyweight – England

Phil DeFries UFCPhil De Fries is a good size for heavyweight. At 6’5 and about 240lbs he is big enough to so he won’t get over powered and just light enough that he won’t be too slow for the lighter heavyweights. The 26-year-old Sunderland, England native is a Purple Belt in BJJ and also trains at Aliiance Jiu- Jitsu. His only loss came in his last fight against rising prospect Stipe Miocic.

He is scheduled to fight Oli Thompson at the UFC on Fox card on August 4, 2012. The card will be held at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

16- Dan ” The Outlaw” Hardy (24-10-1 NC) Fights for the UFC as a Welterweight – England

Dan Hardy UFCDan Hardy is no doubt a fan favorite. He is also a favorite of UFC President Dana White and Matchmaker Joe Silva. The reason I say this is because Hardy lost 4 consecutive fights after winning his first 4 in the UFC. Usually a 4 fight losing streak will result in a fighter being cut or being forced to drop down a weight class. There were a few factors in the decision.

Hardy is an exciting fighter that always likes to go for the KO, he also is a big draw when the UFC has cards in the UK. In Hardy’s losses he has fought some really tough competition too. He lost to George St- Pierre in a title fight. St-Pierre beat him handily but could not get Hardy to submit on an armbar attempt no matter how far he torqued his arm back. Then he lost to Carlos Condit by KO, Anthony Johnson by decision, and Chris Lytle by guillotine. Hardy does need to work on his wrestling and submissions. He has been living in Las Vegas for a while now and has been doing just that. The 30-year-old is also a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He won his last fight in impressive fashion by KO’ing “Bang” Ludwig in the first round at UFC 146.

He is scheduled to meet Amir Sadollah at the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in his hometown of Nottingham, England on September 29, 2012.

17- Ronnie “Kid Ninja” Mann (21-5-1 Draw) Fights for Bellator as a Featherweight – England

Ronnie Mann BellatorRonnie Mann was born in Thailand. His Mother is of Japanese descent. Mann is a Brown Belt in BJJ and 11 of his wins have come by submission. He is 3-2 in Bellator and lost a decision to 145 lb champ Pat Curran. Mann needs to improve his wrestling in order to be successful in North America.

Mann has no fight scheduled at this time. Hopefully he will be in the next featherweight tournament next season.

18- Curt “The War” Warburton (10-3) Currently fights for BAMMA and Total Combat as a Lightweight – England

Curt Warburton UFCWarburton is a 31-year-old from Bishop Auckland, England. He is a former welterweight that has a 1-2 record in the UFC losing to Spencer Fisher and Joe Lauzon. He also holds a victory over Ross Pearson back in 2007.

Warburton last fought in March and has no scheduled fight at this time.

19- Paul “Metabolic” McVeigh (18-7) Fights in Cage Warriors and BAMMA as a Bantamweight – Ireland

McVeigh holds the Cage Warriors 135 lb title. He has defended this belt 5 times. He also holds the Cage Contender Belt as well. He is 5-2 in his last 7 fights. McVeigh is a Brown Belt in BJJ and fights out of Glasgow, Scotland, although he is of Irish descent. McVeigh has 12 wins by way of submission. McVeigh was a contestant on TUF Team Bisping vs Team Miller and lost a close decision to current UFC flyweight Louis Gaudinot.

McVeigh has no scheduled fight at this time.

20- Paul “Relentless” Taylor (11-6-1 NC) Fights in the UFC as a Lightweight – England

Paul Taylor MMATaylor has also fought at welterweight earlier in his career. He has a 4-5 record in the UFC. He was wins over Gabe Ruediger and Peter Sobotta. Taylor comes from a kickboxing background and 6 of his wins have come by KO. Taylor’s losses in the UFC came against some tough competition. Those losses were to Sam Stout, John Hathaway, Chris Lytle, Paul Kelly, and Marcus Davis.

He was supposed to fight Anthony Njokuani at Wednesday’s UFC on Fuel TV card, but had to pull out because of an injury. He was replaced by Rafael Dos Anjos.

This concludes my list. You can see a good number of these fighters compete on the UFC on Fuel TV 5 card in Nottingham, England on September 29, 2012. It’s shaping up to be a great card.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 60 other followers