#volkanovski vs mendes

[ilovejevsjeans]

Daniel Ricciardo on his passion for combat sports, a walkout song and the time he asked Lewis Hamilton to ‘fight’

McLaren Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, who currently sits seventh in the driver standings heading into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, is among the world’s best behind a steering wheel. But how would he fare if he swapped his racing gloves for boxing or MMA gloves?

“I’d love to do a charity boxing match or something just to feel that adrenaline of walking to a ring,” Ricciardo said. “It’s on my to-do list for sure. At school I had a few little fights but nothing crazy. Nothing I’d brag about here.”

Ricciardo says he learned the sport of boxing from a friend who fought as an amateur growing up. However in recent years his love of combat shifted more toward mixed martial arts, a sport that is “quite beautiful. It’s an art form and I was just taken by it.”

The Australian — who boasts 4.6 million followers on Instagram — rarely misses a fight night, whether that’s a small card or pay-per-view. Every Monday he gears up for multiple MMA podcasts to hear analysis on what just took place in the cage.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Ricciardo opened up about his love for fighting, which driver would make the best opponent and why Lewis Hamilton turned down an opportunity to get in the ring against him.

You’re an avid fight fan. How did this passion for the sport start?

One of my best friends growing up, when he was growing up, he was doing amateur boxing and got very good at it. I was then doing my racing and he was doing his boxing. We were both on a bit of an unconventional path — both individual sports, not really the typical sports the kids at school were doing. We had that in common. Once I started taking my racing more seriously I began taking my fitness more seriously. So I started going to his gym to just train. I really enjoyed doing it. But the truth is — I don’t want to lie to anyone. I’m not a fighter. As much as I would picture beating the bully up at school, it’s not me. But I just fell in love with not only doing it but also watching it.

I enjoyed watching boxing but it was really when I got exposed to MMA … It just had me. It was back in 2011 when I started properly getting into it. It was the quickest sport I had ever been absorbed by. I was all in.

My whole YouTube feed is just all MMA shows, whether it’s press conferences, interviews, podcasts. It’s just full of MMA stuff. I’m a full nerd now.

Being in Australia and traveling a lot, are you forced to get up at weird times for fights?

The beauty was I was in LA when (Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2) was on so it was prime time and I was happy. But normally in Europe, it’s 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., which isn’t as good. Any kind of sporting event that you look forward to, it’s always cool when it’s in the evening because you have all day to get ready and talk about it. If you wake up at 4 a.m. it’s like “ugh,” and then you’re straight into it so there’s not as much of a build-up. But it’s all good.

So do you still train at all?

No. To races, my trainer carries some pads and gloves just to stay a little sharp and change it up. If I’m getting my reflexes with some tennis balls, maybe I throw in a bit of a boxing combination or something. Again, I’m not saying I’m good or anything. But I just enjoy the whole movement part of it.

Boxing was cool and I enjoyed watching it growing up. But there was something with MMA where there’s just so many different disciplines and the matchups … as a contest it was so much more open and for that, exciting. I feel — I know it’s not always the case — you can kind of tell in boxing if someone is getting momentum, the advantage. It’s like “this guy is going to win the fight.” But in MMA, it’s like “this guy is winning standing but if this goes to the ground, it’s back to square one.” So I just loved it. I was really immersed by it all.

Did you have a particular fighter or fight that got you hooked early on?

One of the first events I watched was UFC 116. Chris Leben was on the card and I think he was losing the fight. And then he got a triangle with probably 20 seconds to go in the third round, so that was really exciting. Stephan Bonnar was also on that card and he got a really cool finish on “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski. That was a card for me where I was very taken from that. Then I discovered “The Ultimate Fighter.” I just binge-watched all of those (seasons).

In terms of fighters, Leben was a character, I liked him. Carlos Condit. I’d say Condit and Cub Swanson were two guys I got behind early on. Condit, I love his style and the way he carries himself.

Have you been to a lot of cards in person?

The very first one I did was the best for me personally. To this day, it’s my favorite sporting event I’ve ever been to: (Conor) McGregor-(Chad) Mendes. Vegas in July 2015. Obviously McGregor, but he wasn’t yet a champion and still kind of on the rise. It was the energy and atmosphere. It was just wild.

The whole event too. (Robbie) Lawler-(Rory) MacDonald, which had the fight of the year. Every fight on the main card I think was a finish, so I got very lucky at my first event.

I’ve done (Michael) Bisping-(Anderson) Silva in the UK. That was a great contest as well.

There are a lot of great fighters from Australia and New Zealand like Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker. Have you had a chance to meet any of them?

I haven’t met them. A couple of them I’ve had interactions with on social media. But I love Whittaker, obviously Volkanovski is killing it. I’m fairly patriotic to the Aussie fighters. If they are fighting, 99 percent of the time I’ll be supporting them. But one of my good buddies is roommates with Luke Rockhold, so I got to know Luke the last couple of years. I was trying to do some training over Christmas with him but it didn’t end up working out.

I know you’re a big shoey guy. What do you think of Tai Tuivasa doing it after wins?

I’ve had a bit of contact with Tuivasa as well. It’s obviously great. But one thing I can’t get behind is spitting. That’s a little extra.

Plus he’ll grab some random fan’s shoe.

He definitely takes it to the next level. It’s cool that — as disgusting as it is — we have some traditions like this.

Shifting a bit to F1, have you ever gotten into any big fights on the track? What was the worst fight you’ve gotten in?

Earlier in go-karting there was a bit more. Unfortunately in F1, I guess because you’re on the world’s stage, even if you push someone you probably are going to get a fine or get penalized. At times it’s a little too clean. But I’m still waiting for the day that someone confronts me and I just lay them out (laughs).

You also just seem a lot more laid back than a lot of other drivers, so you’d probably not be my first choice of someone getting into a fight soon.

I’m all talk, it would be nice obviously to not have to fight anyone. But no one would expect it from me. Even when I tell people I’m a fight fan, people are like “oh really? You’re into that? You seem too nice to like that.”

But to get where I have in the sport, you need a bit of a killer streak in you. I do have it, but don’t always show it.

What other driver would make the best fighter?

I know some guys have done — for fitness — hit some pads. Randomly, he doesn’t have a seat this year, but Daniil Kvyat started doing quite a lot of boxing last year for his training. I saw a few clips and it started to look like he knew what he was doing. I would say he would be the guy who has the most idea. I’d put him and myself up there. The rest I don’t think stand a chance.

So if you had a charity event, you don’t have anyone in particular you’d want to go against?

To be honest, I actually asked Lewis Hamilton. At the beginning of 2016, he posted a video on his Instagram hitting pads. I was as well at the time, so I was like “hey, let’s do a charity fight.” I asked him in person. But he didn’t bite on that one so I was a little sad.

I might re-ask the question.

What about Max Verstappen? For people who watched the first season of the F1 show “Drive to Survive” on Netflix, I’m sure they would love to see you guys throw down at some point.

That would have been cool as well (laughs). Max would be a good competitor in the ring. The way he drives, he’s quite stubborn. He’d be a hard guy to put away. He’s probably the guy that you’d choke him and he’s going to sleep and not tapping. That would make an interesting one.

In contrast, is there an MMA fighter you’d like to race on the track?

An obvious one would be Conor McGregor. To hear in his Irish accent all kinds of things, that would make pretty good television. And he loves his cars. It’s obvious, but that would probably be the best.

How often would you say you watch fights now? Not just PPVs, right?

Unless I have something like work or another commitment, I’m watching it every week. Mondays I’m getting ready for every podcast. I sound like a real nerd but it’s just an addiction. I love it. Anyone doing that for Formula 1, I’d be like “you’re such a nerd,” but here I am doing it with MMA.

Is it hard to follow everything during the race season?

If I can’t see it live, then 100 percent I’m going to watch the replay or buy it later. But it’s also a good escape. If I’m traveling and I’m in between races, to get my mind away from my competition, I like to watch it. I also try to pick up things as well. Whether it’s from a mental point of view … I’ll look at the walkouts and how they are behaving. I try to figure out if they are really as calm and collected as they are portraying or if it’s a bit of a facade. I’m trying to work out what I can use in my events.

Do you have a walkout song prepared if you were to fight?

I’ve thought about it. The short answer is no. You typically have to have something heavy and fast, but I fell in love with Chris Weidman’s “Won’t Back Down.” It’s not typically a song that will pump you up but it’s so iconic and now it’s his, it’s very fitting.

I’d go for something more lyrically powerful as opposed to instrumental. I loved Max Holloway’s, I think it’s called Mount Everest (by Labrinth). (X)

[theanticool]

Someone at the most recent post fight presser asked Dana about cross promotion champion vs champion style match ups and Brett Okamoto came out with one of the dumbest statements in saying that Vadim Nemkov was barely a top ten fighter, so Bellator came out with this on Twitter.

Honestly, I only see two potentially competitive match ups:

Vadim Nemkov vs Jan Blachowitz/Dominick Reyes - Would have to think on it more but I’d probably pick Nemkov over either guy right now. Thought that’s not a slam dunk.

Alexander Volkanovski vs Patricio Pitbull - Pitbull has a lot of the same tools that made Chad Mendes, even in the more faded part of his career, somewhat dangerous for Volk. A Volk that’s content to try to pick Pitbull off at range could potentially find himself on the wrong end of some real blitzes. Would still pick Volk but I can see some trouble early on.

Usman-Lima and Shevchenko-Macfarlane just seem mean for the Bellator champs.

[wolf-lundgren]

Alexander Volkanovski Vs. Chad Mendes

[thesportssoundoff]

“Three title fights, some WW and BW violence and a goodbye to 2019″ UFC 245 preview

Joey

December 9th

WHEW! Lordy Lord. The UFC's final PPV card of the year comes to us from Las Vegas and it's either a really great card or a really loaded card.  Depending on how you feel about Usman vs Covington as a competitive fight, Volkanovski as a challenger and GDR's ability to give Amanda Nunes som semblance of a tough fight, this could be a great card with three title fights and a bevy of action fights with familiar names like Matt Brown, Petr Yan, Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes and Mike Perry on the undercard. If you think Usman vs Covington will be boring no matter what, think both Volk and Holloway will approach this fight through the path of least resistance and fear that GDR's natural pop will take some of the aggressiveness out of the recent violent streak of Amanda Nunes? Maybe it's just a really stacked card with a bunch of compelling action fights at the bottom. Truthfully I suppose I'm in the middle. If you remove the bleghness that is Ben Saunders vs Matt Brown, I love this undercard. If Usman vs Covington's personal grudge unleashes the best version of both guys and if Holloway is the Max Holloway of 2016 and 2017 vs the Volkanovski who iced Chad Mendes? You got a card of the year contender. If not? Things get a bit hairy. Either way I got the names and numbers to get on inside and enjoy some ponderings!

Fights: 13

Debuts: Chase Hooper, Punahele Soriano

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Robbie Lawler vs Santiago Ponzinibbio CANCELLED/Sergio Pettis OUT, Brandon Moreno IN vs Kai Kara France)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 12 (Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Max Holloway, Amanda Nunes, Germaine de Randamie, Marlon Moraes, Matt Brown, Jessica Eye, Mike Perry, Brandon Moreno)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: Oskar Piechota, Ben Saunders

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Max Holloway, Amanda Nunes, Germaine de Randamie, Petr Yan, Viviane Araujo, Kai Kara France, Geoff Neal

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 36-5

Colby Covington- 4-0 Kamaru Usman- 6-0 Max Holloway- 4-1 Alexander Volkanovski- 6-0 Amanda Nunes- 4-0 Germaine de Randamie- 3-0 Jose Aldo- 2-2 Marlon Moraes- 4-2 Petr Yan- 4-0 Urijah Faber- 1-0

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Welterweight- 3  (76) Bantamweight- 2 (59) Women’s Bantamweight- 2 (23) Middleweight- 2 (49) Featherweight- 2 (61) Women’s Flyweight-  1 (34) Flyweight-  1 (16)

Women’s Strawweight- (30) Heavyweight-  (39) Lightweight- (75) Light Heavyweight- (44) Women’s Featherweight- (8)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (41-62-1)-  Chase Hooper, Punahele Soriano

Short Notice Fighters (33-42-2)-

Second Fight (58-40)- Brandon Moreno, Urijah Faber

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (23-40-1)- Ketlen Vieira, Matt Brown

Undefeated Fighters (44-40-3)- Ketlen Vieira, Punahele Soriano, Chase Hooper

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (13-11)-

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (33-26)- Jose Aldo

Twelve Precious Ponderings

1- I really do have bad vibes about this main and co-main event. Even if Nunes takes a while, the likelihood that she finishes Germaine de Randamie is pretty damn strong. Volkanovski is a fighter who excels in the clinch and occasionally winds at range with some sharp kicks and a Mendes-y overhand right. He relies on putting dudes against the fence and working them with dirty boxing (arguably the best at 145 lbs) and a bevy of elbows in tight. The reality is that Holloway usually is real good at forcing fighters to beat him with whatever their plan b is. He's also got the sort of jab and long shots down the pipe that allow him to dictate the space and the pace. There's a pretty good chance that Holloway vs Volkanovski is 10 minutes of jabs and leg kicks, 10 minutes of clinch fighting and 5 minutes of intense high drama action. There's also the subtle factor that Holloway seems to be openly admitting to wanting to be a bit more cautious vs Volkanovski's last fight being a dud where he sort of froze up in the lights. I want to believe this will be the fight we all dream it to be but this could be a bit of a funky styles clash. As it pertains to Usman vs Covington, I need to be convinced that whatever we're about to get isn't going to be 25 minutes of clinch fighting. Covington's striking is good but lacking pop while Usman's striking is perfunctory with power. Both guys strike to wrestle and both guys live for the clinch against the fence. Even Usman's breakout performance vs Tyron Woodley was basically 25 minutes of occasional flurry into a takedown into ground and pound into some form or control. It's a tough sell for me made worse by Covington's entire gimmick.

2- Is it fair to say that even if he didn't develop the lamest gimmick of all time that Colby would've STILL wound up here? Like skillset wise, isn't this where he was always going to be? We're talking about a big time cardio machine with the wrestling to keep people off of him and the fundamental striking toolbox to at least be competent over five rounds. I guess what I'm saying is did Colby need to be the Butch Reed/Snowman to Chael Sonnen's Junkyard Dog to get a title shot or was he always going to be in the title picture.

3- If you're Jorge Masvidal, aren't you kind of rooting for Covington to win?

4- Really curious to see how Covington handles Usman's strength. The only guy who was able to somewhat stall that aspect of Usman's game out was Emil Meek. Everybody else eventually succumbs to his pressure and how strong he is and it is of course worth remembering that there was a pretty solid round or so where RDA was able to match Covington strength for strength and get him down as well.

5- Would the UFC give Max Holloway a re-match if he lost?

6- The most interesting question about Volkanovski vs Holloway is really about how Max Holloway on yet another weight cut does against the power of Volkanovski. The last time a "big" guy hit Holloway, he looked really bad vs Poirier. Now to his credit, Holloway adjusted well as the fight went on and made a great showing down the stretch. For me, it's about whether or not that initial system shock is a sign that Holloway's steely fighting chin is about to crack or if he was just caught off guard for how 155 lbers hit.

7- Odds on whether Aldo makes 138 lbs or do they make it a 140 lb catchweight the week of?

8- I have to admit that these two bantamweight fights are seriously growing on me. Faber vs Yan will probably not be competitive in any measure but that also doesn't matter because Yan is always well worth the time investment and Faber wasn't favored to beat Ricky Simon either. Jose Aldo vs Marlon Moraes is really interesting in large part because IF Aldo can make this weight cut safely then it's a winnable fight for him. Marlon Moraes does not like to work too hard so to speak and often fights like a guy who is taking his time knowing full well that he has the stopping power to make opponents pay for mistakes. He's not going to rush or brawl, he's going to keep himself in the range he needs to win the fight and then when the chance arises, wipe out his opponent. Sound familiar? That's basically how Jose Aldo built an empire of wins at 145 lbs. If his speed and his pop carries down a weight class, we could have one of the more exciting chess matches ever.

9- I'm uncomfortable with Mike Perry coming back around before the end of 2020. Dude has had a lot of violent fights and I don't see how you recover from that Luque fight that quickly. Him vs Geoff Neal will be fun while it lasts but it figures to be an uncomfortable watch.

10- Is Ketlein Vieira's knees sapped from the injuries or will she still be as good as she was prior to the injuries? Like an Aspen Ladd, Keitlen is going to be judged almost entirely on whether or not she's good enough to give Amanda Nunes any sort of a challenge in her inevitable or eventual title fight. When she left, she wasn't quite there and she's been gone for a year and change. I think at this point we can all agree that Irene Aldana is not ever going to reach those heights in large part due to gaps in her in fight decision making.

11- I think the UFC is going to be real uncomfortable with how not good Chase Hooper is right now. A lot of talent but dude is JUST too green for the role.

12- Jessica Eye goes from co-main event of a big time PPV to second fight on the card. That's the fluctuating value of WMMA for ya, folks.

[domwankenobi]

UFC Fighters React to Alex Volkanovski TKO Chad Mendes at UFC 232

UFC Fighters React to Alex Volkanovski TKO Chad Mendes at UFC 232

UFC Fighters React to Alex Volkanovski TKO punches Chad Mendes at UFC 232 Alex Volkanovski vs. Chad Mendes Website: http://www.MMACrazyTV.co.uk …

[davemeltzer-observer]

Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski @ UFC 232 Volkanovski stops 3-time title challenger Chad Mendes

[fightguide-blog]

UFC 232 post-fight press conference video live stream

When UFC 232 wraps up later today around evening time (Sat., Dec. 29, 2018) live on pay-per-see from inside The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., battle fans can look at the live post-battle public interview video above for all the best response and authority extra victors.

RELATED

UFC 232 'Jones versus Gustafsson 2' Post-Fight Show

LIVE! UFC 232 Streaming Updates For Jon Jones Vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 PPV

On a night that includes a headliner rematch setting previous UFC champion Jon Jones against adversary Alexander Gustafsson for the empty light heavyweight title, a co-headliner conflict between current UFC ladies' featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and current UFC ladies' bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, a welterweight scrap between previous break UFC titleholder Carlos Condit and previous Ultimate Fighter lightweight victor Michael Chiesa, a light heavyweight fight between hungry contenders Ilir Latifi and Corey Anderson, and an intriguing featherweight session highlighting previous title challenger Chad Mendes and rising contender Alexander Volkanovski, there will be a great deal to discuss after the activity slows down.

The post-battle presser is booked to go live at 1:15 a.m. ET, and highlight the greatest champs and washouts from the card.

[ufcmmapictures]

UFC 232 Clash: Mendes Vs. Volkanovski! FREE $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD

[actutrends]

UFC 245: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight card

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 01: (L-R) Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington face off during the UFC 245 press conference at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden on November 1, 2019 in New York, New York. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

View the full fight card, start time and channel guide for UFC 245: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington which takes place on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas.

The UFC‘s final pay-per-view card of 2019 will be a stacked one, as three title fights, headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington, and star power aplenty highlights UFC 245, which takes place on Dec. 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

The main event of the evening will see Usman make his first defense of the UFC welterweight championship, as he finally collides with his nemesis in Covington.

Having gone unbeaten in the UFC since arriving via winning The Ultimate Fighter season 21, Usman hasn’t lost since his second professional MMA fight. The last year-and-a-half has seen put up dominating performances against Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos and Tyron Woodley.

Covington, also a one-loss fighter, finally gets the title shot he’s desired since briefly holding the interim title after his own win over RDA. Covington returned to the Octagon in August with a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark.

The co-main event will see Max Holloway attempt to make his fourth defense of the UFC featherweight championship, and seek his 15th straight featherweight win, as he faces the challenge of Alexander Volkanovski, a 20-1 fighter who is 7-0 in the Octagon, having defeated Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo over the last year.

Prior to that, champ-champ Amanda Nunes goes for a 10th straight win as she defends the title against former featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie, who won the title shot after finishing Aspen Ladd controversially in 16 seconds at UFC Sacramento.

The main card also features Aldo’s bantamweight debut against recent title challenger Marlon Moraes and Urijah Faber facing Petr Yan in another bantamweight battle.

View the full fight card, start time and channel guide here.

NOTE: The televised UFC 245 prelims will air on ESPN2, NOT the main ESPN channel, due to the Heisman Trophy ceremony and Top Rank Boxing card at Madison Square Garden.

Main card (ESPN PPV, 10 p.m. ET)

Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie

Marlon Moraes vs. Jose Aldo

Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber

Preliminary card (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET)

Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry

Ketlen Vieira vs. Irene Aldana

Omari Akhmedov vs. Ian Heinisch

Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

Early prelims card (UFC Fight Pass/ESPN , 6: 30 p.m. ET)

Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur

Brandon Moreno vs. Kai-Kara France

Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo

Punahele Soriano vs. Oskar Piechota

UFC 245 takes place on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA, who will be on-site for the whole week, for all your live results and highlights.

The post UFC 245: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight card appeared first on Actu Trends.

[dandez-dk]

UFC 237: Namajunas vs Andrade

What a crazy night of fights!

 UFC 237: Namajunas vs Andrade took place on May 11, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 It was a bad night for the Brazilians, they went 1-5 on the main card. But man did the main event make up for it.

 Bethe Correia lost by armbar in the third round in which was a very close contested fight.

 Thiago Alves faced Laureano Staropoli which went the distance in favor of Staropoli. In the first round Staropoli was mixing it up well, throwing kicks, elbows, and constantly switching stances. Alves looked as if he didn’t know when to throw and had trouble reading Staropoli. I gave that 1st round to Staropoli. Alves opened up much more in the second, being the aggressor but Staropoli was game and refused to back down.

I though Alves landed the better shots and did enough to take that round. In the third Staropoli turned up the pressure and was winning all of the striking exchanges up until Alves landed some bombs and a knee to the face that dropped Staropoli. Based on damage I though that last minute flurry was enough to give Alves the round. The judges thought otherwise, scoring the bout 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 awarding Staropoli the win.

 Next up was Alexander Volkanovski vs Jose Aldo in what I was sure was going to be an exciting fight. Alexander Volkanovski looked sensational in his last fight against Mendes, knocking him out in a slugfest. The round started with Aldo taking the center of the octagon and refusing to back down. Volkanovski, although not landing big shots, was just outworking Aldo in what would be the theme of the fight. Volkanovski stayed in the pocket, landed good leg kicks, and basically neutralized Aldo’s offense.

Aldo did land some good body shots, but was basically head hunting, meanwhile Volkanovski was racking up points, putting Aldo up against the fence and at one point landing 10 hard knees in a row to Aldo’s thighs. This was a clean sweep for Volkanovski as he earned a unanimous 30-27 on the judge’s scorecards. During the post-fight interview, he made his case to fight for the title next saying he is the only undefeated fighter in the top three.

 Next up was Anderson Silva vs Jared Cannonier. The fight started off with Jared Cannonier looking tentative. He wasn’t pulling the trigger, meanwhile Anderson was making good reads and throwing flashy kicks and good body shots. But then out of nowhere Cannonier landed a hard-inside leg kick which sent Silva down to the canvas wincing in pain. Cannonier went to follow up with some ground and pound but never got the chance as Herb Dean stepped in and saved Silva.

Cannonier stopped Silva via TKO in the first round. Afterwards Cannonier couldn’t really give a post-fight interview due to the intensity of the boos from the Brazilian fans. Silva later stated that during training his knee was already not doing that well and Cannonier put the stamp on that injury when he landed that inside leg kick. The commentators said that most likely something tore.

 Now we have our Main Event. “Thug” Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade. The first five minutes was just a masterclass performance by Rose. She was too quick and too creative. She kept landing the same jab over and over at will, cutting Andrade open in the first minute of the first round. She was landing kicks, hooks, jabs, and dropped Andrade with a knee to the face. Andrade went for her signature slam, but Rose countered with an armbar attempt. It looked like Andrade wasn’t going to last long if she kept taking punishment like that.

          The second round started with more of the same, Rose dominating the standup by controlling the distance. Andrade went for the same slam and KO’d Rose!! When hoisted up, rose went for the same defense by going for a submission but Andrade adjusted and Rose made the mistake of not letting go, causing her to get piledriven on to her neck, instantly knocking her out. The Brazilian crowd went nuts as all of their fighters before this lost on the main card. The replay was horrible as it showed Rose landing directly on her head. Afterwards Rose said she was relieved to have a huge pressure off her. Andrade def. Rose Namajunas via Slam KO in the second round to become the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion!

 All in all, I was excited and anxious to see Aldo and Silva fight. Aldo just couldn’t pull the trigger, waited to long and got outpointed. Silva, I thought looked great but unfortunately the night was cut short by what I hope is not a career ending injury. The main event made up for the earlier fights that didn’t live up to the hype in a crazy come from behind victory by Jessica Andrade slamming KO of Rose Namajunas to capture the title. All in all, I think the main event was definitely worth the price of PPV.

[thesportssoundoff]

Chad Mendes vs Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232

Holy shit that fight is gonna be awesome. Let’s go. 

[domwankenobi]

Chad Mendes vs Alex Volkanovski UFC 232 Fight Preview (Jones vs Gustafsson)

Chad Mendes vs Alex Volkanovski UFC 232 Fight Preview (Jones vs Gustafsson)

Things are starting to heat up at the top of the Featherweight division and I want to take some time to talk about one that’s being slightly overlooked. #5 ranked …

[wearemmauk-blog]

Backseat Matchmaker: The UFC featherweight title picture

Backseat Matchmaker: The UFC featherweight title picture - http://mmauk.net/2019/03/05/backseat-matchmaker-the-ufc-featherweight-title-picture/

Backseat Matchmaker: The UFC featherweight title picture

With Max “Blessed” Holloway moving up to face Dustin Poirier for the interim Lightweight title, that leaves the 145-pound division without a champion. That isn’t to say there aren’t a list of viable contenders. The way I see it, you have 6 fighters, all in need of a big fight next, setting up two top contenders fights and one fight for the interim or vacant featherweight title (depending on the UFC’s decision regarding Holloway’s current venture at 155 pounds.).

  The first fight on my 145 pounds wish list is a battle between two of the most exciting guys on the division. Yair Rodriguez has had a very stop-start career in the UFC but after his huge win over “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, Yair announced that he was back and here to stay. He finished Jung with a crazy last minute upwards elbow after a back and forth war, putting him into the top 10 rankings. Yair needs to build momentum towards the top of the division and to do that he needs a top opponent who will push him further than he’s gone before.

That opponent is Brian Ortega. Ortega recently fought for the title, going into the clash with Holloway with a lot of hype around him. Holloway frankly put the brakes on the Ortega finish train and showed everyone just how good he is. After a great fight but ultimately a fight that Ortega lost, he also needs to build some momentum in my opinion before he fights for the title once again. It would be easy to throw him in for the interim title or vacant one after he challenged for it last but there are other fighters who have picked up impressive wins in that time who are more deserving. By beating Yair, Ortega can rebuild himself at 145 pounds and put the division on notice that he’s coming to fight for that belt once again.

  The second bout involves an enigma who has all eyes on him right now taking on a man who has been derailing hype trains for years and years. Zabit Magomedsharipov prompted me to write this wish list after his big win at the weekend when he defeated Jeremy Stephens via a convincing decision. The excitement around this guy is at an all-time high and he just beat a staple of the division in Stephens. I can definitely see the UFC putting him right into the title fight due to the hype around him and how exciting he is to watch but in my eyes, he needs a win over another top contender first. Had Stephens not lost to Jose Aldo before this fight, we may have a different story.

After encountering Stephens and making it through, Zabit needs a true acid test and only one man fits that bill to the highest degree. Frankie Edgar has always gone about his business in the UFC but his resume is incredible, he’s still a top contender in the UFC and he’s a very tough fight for anyone out there. Frankie Edgar is the perfect fighter to match up with an exciting prospect. Despite his lengthy UFC career, he is still going strong, picking up wins and smiling whilst doing it. His cardio, wrestling and bulletproof mindset make him a nightmare fight for anyone and if Zabit hopes to get past him, he will need to produce an almost flawless performance. This fight puts either man in title contention with a win whether it be Edgar silencing another up and comer or Zabit proving he really is as good as people think by beating Edgar, who is held in such high regard.

  This leaves the title fight and two men who in recent months have produced striking clinics. They both have looked incredible in their recent fights and with Holloway moving up, we get the opportunity for this fight which may not have happened otherwise due to both men having strong claims to Holloway’s crown. Alexander Volkanovski was one of the biggest success stories of 2018, picking up 3 wins and beating the likes of Darren Elkins and Chad Mendes. Volkanovski is a great striker, with excellent footwork and a good fight IQ. He will happily stand with opponents, often engaging in trades where his footwork, head movement and accuracy will see him come out on top. He’s exciting and worthy of a title shot after his huge TKO win over Mendes in a fight of the night winning bout.

When talking about featherweights you have to mention one name. Jose Aldo. He was the long-reigning king of the division but many believed his time was up after big losses to Conor McGregor and Max Holloway who beat him on two occasions. Aldo had different intentions and instead put himself right back into title contention with a soul-stealing body shot TKO over Jeremy Stephens and a TKO over Renato Moicano. With two huge wins, Aldo has climbed right back to the top, the only issue was Max held the belt and he already beat Aldo twice in dominant fashion. With Holloway moving up, it seems like the perfect time for Aldo to reclaim what was once his and he couldn’t be more deserving of the opportunity. Aldo vs Volkanovski is such a tactical and high-level striking battle that feels like it could explode into a brawl at any moment with both fighters are known to stand and trade shots. It’s a fight I have to see take place. The winner would likely face the winner of Zabit vs Frankie Edgar in their first defence and from there the division will only grow in strength with a great balance of UFC veterans, new blood and exciting, fresh match ups.

  Thanks for sticking with me for another edition of backseat matchmaker. Do you like the way I booked it or do you have a better idea? Let us know and get involved. Bye bye for now.

[johnbattlesca]

UFC 232 Update: Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski Set for Las Vegas

A pivotal featherweight duel pitting Chad Mendes against Alexander Volkanovski has been added to the UFC 232 lineup. from Recent News on Sherdog.com http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-232-Update-Chad-Mendes-vs-Alexander-Volkanovski-Set-for-Las-Vegas-145077

UFC 232 Update: Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski Set for Las Vegas published first on http://thrandythefabulous.tumblr.com

[ufcmmapictures]

Mendes Vs. Volkanovski Booked For UFC 232 FREE $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD

[flauntpage]

Tactical Guide to Brian Ortega Vs. Frankie Edgar

With two feet of different sizes and one eye much lower than the other, the reanimated mishmash of corpses that is UFC 222 stumbles over the horizon to inflict itself upon the fight world this weekend. While Cris Cyborg vs. Nobody has proven an effective draw on televised events, it’s hard to imagine even the most hardcore MMA fan being happy about laying down $60 to watch her fight Yana Kunitskaya—certainly not when it’s so easy to find actual snuff films on the internet without paying for the privilege. There was even a brief, terrifying period where Andrei Arlovski vs. Stefan Struve stood as the co-main event. But Brian Ortega vs. Frankie Edgar has come from seemingly nowhere to provide one of those matchups you had no idea you wanted so badly until it was placed on the table.

The original headliner of UFC 222 was Max Holloway’s title defense against Edgar, but Holloway had to withdraw due to injury. Holloway is in the strange position of having only just won the title and achieved wider recognition and acclaim, but he's also already beaten almost everyone making progress toward a title shot in the featherweight division. Edgar stands out as the biggest omission on Holloway’s incredible curriculum vitae.

Edgar, meanwhile, has always been good enough to beat everyone except Jose Aldo. With Holloway beating Aldo twice and removing him from the title picture, Edgar had a chance to swoop in and pick up his second UFC belt, but Brian Ortega has quietly worked his way into the title picture and now stands at No. 3 on the UFC’s rankings (No. 4 if you include the champion in the rankings in a way that isn’t totally unintuitive). Ortega vs. Edgar seemed to take up zero space in anyone’s head until it became a possibility. Now it stands as an intriguing matchup between the old guard and a guy with the old-school guard.

We have covered Frankie Edgar so many times that you likely have a good grasp on what he does. Lots of movement, lots of feints, building those off feints to hide legitimate strikes, and building off legitimate strikes to make takedowns happen. If he gets top position, he isn’t going to let you up easily, and against many good fighters it only takes him one well-timed takedown to win a round.

Brian Ortega, on the other hand, is someone who we haven’t really had a chance to examine at all. He is undefeated in MMA, spare a No Contest that resulted from a failed drug test. Sadly this was for an actual steroid, drostanolone, and not for a cheeky puff on the wrong kind of cigarette. This was also in the pre-USADA era, when everyone was walking around with capped deltoids and failing a drug test was more an indication of simplemindedness, but to let that distract you from Ortega’s very obvious talents would be a mistake.

Ortega arrived in the UFC by merit of his grappling. In his first eight fights he scored three triangle choke victories, and the triangle became something of a calling card. Since arriving in the UFC in July of 2014, none of Ortega’s fights have gone the distance and perhaps that is for the best. Ortega’s striking has gone from spasmodic flailing to what you could probably call serviceable, but it is still full of glaring deficiencies and bad habits.

Ortega seems to want to fight like an old-school cutie from the golden age of boxing, jabbing and dropping his lead hand low to shoulder-roll off the returns. The part he can’t actually do consistently is the shoulder-rolling. From Clay Guida to Renato Moicano to Cub Swanson, anyone who has pressed in on him with combinations after his jab has caught him clean, often multiple times in a row.

Ortega’s loading up his right uppercut from behind him is another constant cause of grief. A long right uppercut is an invitation for counters, but there are fighters who can get away with it like the rangy and mobile Alexander Gustafsson. Ortega, however, throws it from directly in front of his opponent and often gets cracked while he does so.

Ortega’s ability to take a shot and his jab have carried him through the striking exchanges with decent scrappers, though, and his bodywork against Moicano in the last round of that fight was definitely an eye-opener to how smart he can be, even if he doesn’t have the technical nuts and bolts tightened up yet. Furthermore, by punching straight the majority of the time, Ortega’s height and reach can protect him a bit when the blows come back—he tends to be on the end of his opponent’s counter swings even when he is out of position.

But Ortega’s game isn’t about boxing opponents up beautifully, it is about walking them down and convincing them to go after his hips. Time after time Ortega has snatched up a guillotine or punched through to an anaconda choke and finished a fight in an instant off a poor shot.

Ortega often can force the same opportunity by getting an over-under clinch and waiting for the opponent to throw his hips back, then snap the guillotine on over the top.

This more fluid Rafa Mendes style of front headlock play, wherein the attacker will end up head-to-head with the opponent, looking up at the ring lights, won our Slacky Award for Breakthrough Technique of the Year in 2017. Cub Swanson was saved by the bell as Ortega pursued the anaconda choke in round one, and Diego Brandao was mounted and finished with a triangle from the same position as Ortega rolled back over his shoulder.

Ortega’s guard game provides the most interesting question in this matchup with Edgar. Ortega’s wanting footwork and constant forward movement suggest that Edgar can get him to the mat, but if Ortega fails to snatch up and finish a guillotine on the way down he could be stuck underneath a veteran ground-and-pounder. Edgar has seen most types of guards in MMA and hasn’t really struggled much against them. B.J. Penn provided what was thought to be the epitome of the MMA guard, focusing on the trinity of sweep, submit, or stand up. Submissions from the bottom were rare for Penn but he could almost always stand up by threatening them. Ortega is a fighter who very, very rarely tries to get up from the bottom and that is always interesting.

Every so often you will see some prospect storming through the lower end of the UFC’s cards and picking up gorgeous sweeps and submissions the moment he is taken down—and the commentator will say, “He doesn’t care if he is taken down,” or “He wants you to take him down!” The last time Frankie Edgar heard that was when Yair Rodriguez was becoming the hot property at featherweight. Rodriguez’s philosophy was to constantly attack from the bottom with triangle and armbar attempts, and the occasional overhead sweep if his opponent stood up. Edgar, who spent most of his time on top of opponents keeping them away from the fence so that they could not wall walk back up, decided to smash Rodriguez against the fence and you saw exactly how effective the guard is as an attacking position when the bottom man cannot move effectively.

The exact same thing happened for three rounds between Goiti Yamauchi and Michael Chandler in Bellator a few weeks back. Yamauchi kept holding the closed guard, and Chandler drove him to the fence and kept either stacking up into the fence or driving his chin underneath Yamauchi. The fight was a very easy and convincing decision victory for Chandler.

Alexander Volkanovski’s last opponent, Jeremy Kennedy, suffered a convincing TKO loss, but he hit upon the best option when trying to play the bottom of closed guard along the fence. After some time being smashed and held down, he opened his guard, put in the knee shield, and Volkanovski began passing. The cage served as a barrier to aid the bottom man then: Volkanovski couldn’t sprint around to north-south and he ended up advancing just to half guard, whereupon Kennedy tried to come up on the single leg takedown. Ultimately it didn’t work out for Kennedy, but he was making stuff happen and not content to get slowly beaten senseless from closed guard.

What Ortega does very well from the bottom—which Penn and many others did not—is use his elbows. Not simply swinging upwards, though. Ortega will use his feet and hips to constantly push and pull his opponent off balance. Thiago Tavares tried to tripod up on Ortega, Ortega gave him the old push-pull and had Tavares falling straight onto his elbows. By the second round, Tavares had a pair of cuts in almost perfect symmetry, high above his eyes, and looked as though he was about to sprout a pair of horns.

Hypothetical Gameplans

In this bout you have two extremes of featherweight physique. Edgar is squat and stubby, Ortega is tall and rangy. Those are Schaubian observations, but there’s more to it than that. Edgar’s game makes the most of his stature. The shorter man tends to lose out on range but is quicker on the level change. Edgar is masterful at working up and down in combinations and at ducking in to pick up that lead leg. Often Edgar will stab in the body jab a few times before ducking in, slamming his palm into the lead shoulder, and then picking up the opponent’s lead leg as he forces him back. Ortega’s game is one that consistently punishes opponents for their level changes.

The first question in this bout is how much Edgar can mitigate the guillotine, anaconda choke, and rice bale rolls off said lockups. Edgar is brilliant at timing his shots, but shots seem to be all that Ortega is waiting on. Every time we talk about Edgar, we point out his tremendous sense of anticipation for what the opponent is thinking—as soon as he can convince opponents that they are in a kickboxing match, he’s in on their hips and never a moment sooner or later. In this bout you would hope to see him work more extensively on the feet because it is an area where he has plenty of advantages and it is the process of getting the fight to the floor wherein he stands to get caught. On the feet, he has more tools and experience, and on the ground he can make use of the cage to ride out his advantages and mitigate the threat of a triangle attempt.

While Ortega’s defense is porous and he gets hammered in the head clean in every bout, he can clearly take a tremendous shot. Swanson and Moicano had most success when they focused on hitting the body and kicking Ortega’s lazy lead leg. Peculiarly enough, Ortega has some stylistic similarities to B.J. Penn: he focuses on his jab, often stands pretty bladed, and can be slow on the turn. Against Penn, side steps followed by low kicks worked a treat, and side steps followed by head-body-head flurries. Ortega is nothing like the counter puncher that Penn was, but he will lean back into the shell when he sees something coming. Using the wide right to the body—particularly the kidney when Ortega turns completely side on—Edgar might be able to set up the later overhands that he scored on Penn and Urijah Faber as they leaned back to check hook. The lean back is also a perfect time to pound that lead leg as it is lightened and the opponent can be knocked off balance.

If he can get the takedowns, Edgar should play the part of the old-school wrestler. There is no point passing and creating scrambles against Ortega; pushing him to the fence in his guard and stacking his hips to deny him submission attempts seems like the best course of action. When Thiago Tavares did this, Ortega was forced to abandon the guard strategy and get up—but it took a while for him to realize this. But where Tavares was largely inactive on top along the fence, Edgar proved to be a whirlwind of offense when he put Yair Rodriguez there. Edgar’s lack of height again helps him here. He can assume that classic Kid Yamamoto position, standing in his opponent’s guard and still easily being able to punch their face. Except unlike Yamamoto he doesn’t have to worry about his man sliding out between the ropes—the fence does a great job of keeping his face in place.

Given that he wants to avoid the guillotine attempts as much as possible, it would be good to see Edgar picking up his usual single and standing up as quickly as possible. Against guys with great balance like B.J. Penn, he has been great at picking up the lead leg, standing up, and immediately flowing into a kick or punch as he releases his opponent’s leg.

Also in keeping with this idea of avoiding the guillotine, when Ortega ties up or Edgar finds himself in a clinch, it would probably be best for Edgar to stick to his man and focus on the Cheick Kongo no-risk-no-fun knees to the thigh. So many of Ortega’s opponents have found themselves in a clinch with him, tried retreating from the clinch, and got snapped into the guillotine. Edgar has the disadvantage of being short and barely an inch from underneath his man’s armpit when he’s upright; keeping his ear to his man and trying to keep Ortega’s back to the fence when he’s in close might save him a lot of hassle, even if it makes for a boring fight.

Edgar might be able to do his best work boxing on the counter. He's proven great at catch-and-pitch countering in exchanges. He’s not the biggest hitter (though he has surprised opponents before) but he works very well taking shots on his forearms, or slipping, and returning in combinations. Every time Urijah Faber threw an overhand at Edgar, Edgar blocked it, returned with an uppercut on the overcommitted Faber, and flurried into a combination.

Ortega’s attacks tend to go in one of two ways: he jabs and leans back into his non-shoulder-roll position, or he jabs and follows with an overhand, which takes him off balance. Returning off the jab with a low-high combination, preferably the right hook to the body on the closed side, and a left hook to the jaw behind Ortega’s right hand could be a moneymaker. Catching the right hand and returning with the right uppercut or right straight into the left hook could also work a treat. Counter combinations make the difference in high-level boxing matches—if you start throwing them at someone who is still mastering the rudiments, you have a great chance of overwhelming him and scaring him into passivity.

When we’re talking about these young guys who can take a 2x4 to the head and keep walking forward, it is always good to throw in a line or two about elbows. Walk onto a punch and you can keep going. Walk onto an elbow and there is a great chance of it splitting your head open and you having to contend with blood in your eyes for the rest of the bout.

For Ortega, there’s no point setting aside the things that he has been working on. His jab is fast, flicking, and heavy when he wants it to be. He also shows a powerful and decently quick body jab—something we lose our minds over because it is so rarely used well in MMA. Unfortunately he doesn’t build off that body jab very well, but that doesn’t take much work to do. A few good body jabs, and a body jab to the right straight upstairs is a classic. It’s probably better not to hold your breath for it in this bout, but if Ortega learns to feint low and go high with the lead hand—both as a jab and a lead hook—he will be far more threatening on the feet and able to actually build off his body jab in the style of Alexander Gustafsson and Junior dos Santos.

Ideally, Ortega would work up and down with the jab, stiff-arming Edgar’s chest, or cross-facing him as he steps in to counter, then uncorking the right hand in retaliation. Given his similarities to Luke Rockhold, both in stature within the division and in counter-submissions on the takedown attempt, this writer would love to see Ortega get busier with his kicks. Traditional low kicks against Edgar are always dangerous—he picks them up effortlessly—but body kicks and high kicks could work a treat. Ortega also has decent, if wild, stepping knees, which have the added bonus of taking him into an upright clinch more often than they simply give up the leg. Pushing into a standing clinch and looking to tire Edgar with knees along the fence might also present more chances to snag a guillotine or force a snap down.

The usual anti-wrestler tool kit could work well for Ortega if he wants to get some work in on the feet without having to contend with the takedown attempts. For that, the low-low round kick to the shin or calf is always money, and the low-line front kick or side kick to the lead knee. Edgar is generally light on his feet but keeps a wide stance to bounce around in, meaning a good kick can play havoc with his balance.

Really, Ortega is the unknown in this fight. Despite his lengthy undefeated streak, and handful of fights in the UFC, we just don’t know what he can do. Everything he adds is a pleasant surprise, but it’s hard to know if he has enough tools to deal with a fighter as rounded and experienced as Edgar. Most bizarrely, Ortega's own corner have called for takedowns in multiple rounds where he has proceeded to not attempt any. He really does seem almost a pure counter fighter in his grappling game. Whether he can start taking guys of Edgar’s level down on his own terms is another one of the many, many Brian Ortega facts that we just don’t know.

No doubt a victory over Edgar would be an enormous feather in Ortega’s cap and set up an extremely intriguing title fight with Max Holloway. Either way this fight goes down, it leads to another great Holloway matchup and that is what we were struggling to come up with a few months ago. Watch UFC 222 and get back here Monday for a rundown of all the interesting stuff that happened.

Jack wrote the hit biography Notorious: The Life and Fights of Conor McGregor and scouts prospects at The Fight Primer.

Tactical Guide to Brian Ortega Vs. Frankie Edgar published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/