Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosBOSTON -- Gray Maynard secured his spot as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division with his win over Kenny Florian at UFC 118.MMA Fighting spoke to Maynard about his performance, finally getting a title shot and why he feels like he is ready to make a serious run as champion.Check out the video interview below.
Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosBOSTON -- MMA Fighting caught up with Dana White following Saturday's UFC 118 event.White talked about Randy Couture's dominant win over James Toney and why this is the end of Toney's career, why Frankie Edgar deserves more respect and why he believes Kenny Florian doesn't perform well under pressure.Check out the video interview below.
Filed under: UFC, NewsBOSTON -- After a three-round drubbing with a lightweight title opportunity on the line, Kenny Florian dejectedly walked out of the octagon.By all rights, Florian should have at least felt soothed by the embrace of his city. The 34-year-old lightweight graduated from Boston College and he owns an academy in neighboring Brookline. Instead, he heard a chorus of disappointment, led by his boss."I hate to say this because I don't want to take anything away from Gray Maynard, but I think Kenny is just one of those guys who chokes in big fights," UFC president Dana White said. "I'm not bad-mouthing him or trying to disrespect him; I'm just being honest. Every time it's a big fight and there's a lot of things on the line, Kenny just ... Kenny's hands are unbelievable. Kenny's ground is unbelievable. Kenny usually kicks guys to the body and legs so hard that he busts guys up. You didn't see any of that tonight. He stood there and stared at Gray Maynard for three rounds."
Filed under: UFCJames Toney swore that he knew what he was doing with this MMA stuff. Of course, he also said he was the most feared man in boxing, so it's not as if his credibility was in mint condition coming into UFC 118. Toney showed up for his mixed martial arts debut in Boston on Saturday night looking like he'd trained more for a competitive eating contest than a professional fight. Fortunately his conditioning (or lack thereof) never had a chance to become an issue, as former UFC champ Randy Couture took him down with ease and submitted him with an arm triangle choke in less time than it takes to make microwave popcorn.Not that this outcome should surprise anyone. Even if Toney had diligently worked on his ground game since signing a UFC contract, there's simply no way, in the span of a few months, that a 42-year-old boxer is going to learn to wrestle like a guy whose cauliflower ear has cauliflower ear.
Filed under: UFCBOSTON -- Once again, the headlines were stolen from Frankie Edgar, this time by an out-of-shape boxer who was quite predictably beaten.All Edgar did at UFC 118 was beat the guy considered the best lightweight of all time ... again.All he did was silence any believers that BJ Penn was the better fighter the first time around, and that he'd never figure out a way to fool the judges twice.Edgar didn't just shut out Penn; he hurled a perfect game.
Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosOn this week's live edition of The MMA Hour, we will first be joined in studio by Daniel Gracie. The former PRIDE FC and IFL fighter will talk about his MMA comeback and what he has been up to since he last competed in 2006.We will then be joined by Nate Marquardt, who faces Rousimar Palhares at UFN 22 on Sept. 15.Matt Mitrione, who is scheduled to face Joey Beltran, will also stop by to talk about that fight and his progression as an MMA fighter. Kimbo Slice will also stop by to talk about his decision to enter the world of boxing and his MMA future.Frankie Edgar, who defeated BJ Penn for the second time last Saturday, is also on tap as a late addition to the show.Finally, we will recap UFC 118 with our own Mike Chiappetta and, of course, take your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.Download this show and previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here. Watch the show below beginning at 1 PM ET.
Filed under: UFCAfter an interesting night of fights in Boston, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to break down UFC 118 and ask, in its own whimsical style, will MMA fans finally recognize Frankie Edgar as the world's best lightweight after his domination of B.J. Penn?You'd think that would be an easy question, since Edgar just won his second straight fight over the top-ranked 155-pounder. But if we've learned anything from message boards and comment sections, it's that nothing is ever that simple when dealing when Penn and his passionate fans.Join me for that conversation, as well as a few obligatory shots at James Toney, in this week's post-UFC 118 MMA Wrap-Up.
Filed under: UFCThe UFC's grand James Toney experiment is over, according to Dana White. Whether it was a success or not depends on the hypothesis you started with, but unless you happen to be Toney or one of his hype men, chances are you saw this coming. But while this fight was undoubtedly a sideshow attraction from the very beginning, it did have some benefits. For one, it got some attention from the types of fans and media who might not otherwise have cared about this card. It seems a little doubtful that they all became instant converts upon seeing Gray Maynard lay on top of Kenny Florian, but who knows.The important thing is that the opportunity to have a famous boxer compete on MMA's biggest stage finally presented itself, then refused to stop presenting itself, then mumbled some absurd, semi-coherent threats at everyone within earshot, and then the UFC finally made it happen. Now that we've done it, let's not do it again until we find someone willing to put in the work and take it seriously.Now on to the big winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 118.
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC president Dana White saw Kenny Florian's loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 on Saturday night as yet another sign that Florian cracks under the pressure of the big fights, falling short just as he's about to reach the top. But to hear Florian tell it, the defeat was far more physical than mental."I take what Dana said as a compliment because I think he really believes in my skills as a fighter," Florian told MMA Fighting via email Monday morning. "I was capable of winning the fight but I would have to have fought a very boring fight. I felt great mentally & physically. I have more work to do on my wrestling & have already made the arrangements to become much better in that area of my game." It's not the first time White has taken aim at Florian's mental game. After his loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 101, White accussed Florian of being less aggressive in title fights, suggesting he had some sort of "mental block" when a belt was on the line.
Filed under: UFCKimbo Slice is the same person he's always been, the former street brawler-turned-MMA fighter and now professional boxer said Monday, reflecting on his stint with the UFC. "I've always been the same person, UFC ain't done [expletive] to me except put more money in my pocket," Slice said. "Bring me down or tear me up, the UFC was what it was; the opportunity to make some money and feed my family. That's what it was. I've always been humble and I'll still be that way. They [didn't] make or break me."Slice made the comments to Ariel Helwani during an appearance on The MMA Hour Monday to talk about his recent decision to enter boxing."Fighting is just something I love to do whether it's MMA or boxing," Slice said. "I tried MMA, but now I'm back to what my first love was."
Filed under: UFC, NewsWanderlei Silva's surgically repaired right knee is still healing, but it didn't stop the MMA legend from attending this past weekend's UFC 118, nor has it stopped him from dreaming big about the future.Silva, who still has significant rehabilitation ahead of him, said that if all goes well, he hopes to be back competing in the octagon in February or March."I feel good," Silva said during UFC 118 weekend. "I had surgery and in the last year I've repaired my face and my knee. I want to fight six more years, until my 40s."
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to Montreal, and the event will be headlined by the most famous Canadian in the sport.Georges St-Pierre's title defense against Josh Koscheck will take place on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Monday.UFC 124 will happen at the end of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which premieres on Spike TV on Sept. 15. St-Pierre and Koscheck will serve as opposing coaches on the show.
Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, LightweightsNo one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there's no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar's title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I'm sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.
Filed under: Fighting, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsContrary to published reports and the fighter's own Twitter account, Jay Hieron has not yet secured his release from Strikeforce.The fighter told MMA Fighting on Thursday that the two sides are still speaking, but he's looking forward, not backward."I jumped the gun. We're working on it," said Hieron, who was in Boston last weekend to help teammate Randy Couture finish preparations in facing James Toney at UFC 118. "Strikeforce is a good organization. I've had a good time fighting for them but I'm looking to the future. We haven't cut ties yet. We're working on a few things. But I'm in the gym every day and I'm definitely going to fight again in 2010."
The following match will headline tonight’s WWE RAW: John Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Edge, and Chris Jericho vs. Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Michael Tarver, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel in an elimination match.
