On Friday UFC President Dana White announced that newly signed Middleweight Jason "Mayhem" Miller (24-7-0(1)) and TUF3 winner Michael "The Count" Bisping (21-3-0) would coach the fourteenth installment of the SpikeTV reality MMA competition series The Ultimate Fighter. The next day after UFC 130: Rampage vs Hamill, it was announced that the bout when these two would face each other in the octagon would serve as the main event for the finale of the season sometime in December later this year. For the second time in the history of TUF, first being Pulver vs Penn II on the TUF5 Finale, the two opposing coaches leading a season of TUF will headline the finale where the next Ultimate Fighter will be crowned.
Information on the some what suspicious decision to make a newly signed fighter like Miller has recently come to light. During this current running season of TUF13, promotion of the show lacked the usual drive and the season's ratings have taken a dramatic plunge compared to previous seasons. The lack of promotion drew suspicion that SpikeTV was intentionally sabotaging this current season to play hardball with the UFC. It has become well known that the current deal between SpikeTV and Zuffa will expire by the end of the year, and has brought speculation on whether a new deal will be signed between the two to keep showcasing free prelims, events, and the series TUF. The partnership between SpikeTV and Zuffa/UFC has always appeared to be the perfect combination with the channel being a perfect draw to the main demographic that the sport attracts, but it seems to have soured. Information has surfaced that Miller was actually signed because of his devoted fan base and that SpikeTV specifically wanted him as a coach for this next season to draw in fans of his MTV based show Bully Beatdown. This raises suspicion that the network was intentionally sabotaging this season to justify leverage in picking a coaches and for when negotiations come up.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
FINALLY THE NEWS WE'VE WAITED FOR! TUF 14 Will Be TEAM MAYHEM vs TEAM BISPING
For some time now, MMA fans have been hounding UFC president Dana White for answers to the major question that has dominated fan forums. With the upcoming fourteenth installment of the major reality MMA competition to be the first to feature either or both the Featherweight or Bantamweight divisions, which are two of the most action packed divisions, this season demands two head coaches who would help revitalize ratings.
Earlier today Friday, May 27, White himself broke the news that a match up fans had been asking for since acquiring Strikeforce would be granted. White announced that newly re-signed fan favorite Jason "Mayhem" Miller (27-4-0(1))will now take on the face of British MMA Michael "The Count" Bisping (21-3-0)as coaches on TUF14 first before eventually taking each other on in the octagon later this year. TUF14is expected to begin filming in June, and by then there will be clarification on whether both Featherweights and Bantamweights will compete on the show returning to the show's format, or if the new format of showcasing only one and continuing to use the wild card will still be preferred.
"Mayhem" has gained great popularity over these few years fighting in Strikeforce, starting a reality show called Bully Beatdown, and started a rivalry with Strikeforce Welterweight champ Nick Diaz. Immediately after news of Mayhem being signed into the UFC once again, he went on a campaign on Twitter to coach against Bisping, or even Sonnen.
Bisping had plenty of promotion behind him as he become the #1 target of American born fighters hoping to beat a trash talking Brit ever since his stint as a coach on TUF9: TEAM USA vs TEAM UK when he led a team of his fellow countrymen to win in both featured divisions and coaching opposite of MMA legend Dan Henderson. Bisping has earned much criticism and resentment from American MMA fans especially after his last fight at UFC 127: Penn vs Fitch when he landed what appeared to be intentional "illegal" knees to a clearly "downed" Jorge Rivera. A highly promotable grudge match was expected between elite contender Chael Sonnen and Bisping, but it was scrapped after the CSAC prolonged Sonnen's suspension to May of next year.
With a fan favorite in Mayhem and a a trash talker in Bisping, the match up with these two as coaches sets up for some good entertainment. Combine that with the fast pace that the Featherweights and/or Bantamweights will bring to the octagon when they compete to become the first TUF winner(s) in their weight class.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Possible Coaches For TUF 14: Stann vs Bisping
The Ultimate Fighter is one of the most important promotional tools in the sport of MMA. Currently the reality competition series is airing its thirteenth season on its home channel on SpikeTV, with the fourteenth installment expected to begin filming in a few months. Candidates for the two head coaching slots have been debated over these last several weeks as multiple choices have been rumored over the web. Candidates have included Sonnen/Bisping, Sonnen/W. Silva, W. Silva/Leben, GSP/Diaz, Mayhem/Bisping, and now Stann/Bisping. Recently 185lb contender Chael Sonnen attended a hearing in front of the CSAC where he was denied his license until he can reapply at the end of June. Sonnen broke the news that should he be denied his license, he would then lose his apparently promised chance at coaching against Michael Bisping in the upcoming season of TUF. With the comissions unfortunate ruling, a potential new choice of coaches has come up.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Is Georges St. Pierre Ruining What Legacy He Hopes To Leave Behind?
For over six years now the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been home to elite Welterweight mixed martial artist Georges St. Pierre, and for over three years now he has been the undisputed champion in his weight class. With a record of of 22-2-0, St. Pierre holds wins over some of the most elite talent to have ever fought at 170lbs in the sport of MMA. Even with an almost flawless record, the Canadian sensation that is St. Pierre has come under tremendous criticism from the MMA community including fellow fighters and fans.
Georges St. Pierre is a two-time UFC Welterweight Champion (excluding the fact that he won the Interim Championship before fighting Matt Serra for the Undisputed title) and is still on his second reign as the #1 fighter in his weight class. The criticism that has plagued his career even with such a dominant streak is the fact that he has not definitively finished an opponent his winning back the title in his rematch at UFC 83: Serra vs St. Pierre 2 against Matt Serra who was the last man to beat him. A reasonable exception is the rematch at UFC 94: St. Pierre vs Penn 2 when Penn's corner stopped the fight in between the 4th and 5th rounds, though there are many who do not count that as a forced stoppage. The greatest criticism has come following that bout as St. Pierre has taken four straight Unanimous Decision wins over all of his opponents since his second victory over Penn.
Georges St. Pierre is a two-time UFC Welterweight Champion (excluding the fact that he won the Interim Championship before fighting Matt Serra for the Undisputed title) and is still on his second reign as the #1 fighter in his weight class. The criticism that has plagued his career even with such a dominant streak is the fact that he has not definitively finished an opponent his winning back the title in his rematch at UFC 83: Serra vs St. Pierre 2 against Matt Serra who was the last man to beat him. A reasonable exception is the rematch at UFC 94: St. Pierre vs Penn 2 when Penn's corner stopped the fight in between the 4th and 5th rounds, though there are many who do not count that as a forced stoppage. The greatest criticism has come following that bout as St. Pierre has taken four straight Unanimous Decision wins over all of his opponents since his second victory over Penn.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Penn Wants Bout With Fellow Elite BJJ Black Belt Jake Shields
Former UFC 155lb & 170lb champion BJ Penn (16-7-2) has called out fellow elite BJJ black belt and Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product Jake Shields (26-5-1) for a Welterweight showdown. "The Prodigy" has gone 1-0-1 in his last two bouts returning to the division he won his first UFC title in. In his return to the Welterweight division, Penn ended his trilogy with fellow former champ Matt Hughes with a 21-second KO that silenced all critics who claimed he had lost his way after being beaten twice in losing and trying to reclaim his Lightweight title. His second and most recent bout in his Welterweight return met with disappointment after he the judges saw it as a draw between him and longtime contender Jon Fitch in a bout that many saw The Prodigy winning with 2-out of-3 rounds. Penn revealed in the post-fight in-cage interview that he felt he might have lost the fight and was considering retirement if the judges had agreed. After a rematch with Fitch fell through with both being forced off UFC132: Cruz vs Faber 2, many fans made it clear that they were not so interested in this rematch and preferred a different opponent.
Jake Shields had been on an undefeated streak for over five years that saw him win a Rumble on the Rock tournament with wins over fellow Welterweight contender Carlos Condit and Middleweight contender Yushin Okami, become the only EliteXC Welterweight champ, and win the Strikeforce Middleweight title. That streak came to an end in the main event of UFC 129: St. Pierre vs Shields when he lost a Unanimous Decision to still reigning Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, but in the process snapped the champion's streak of collectively winning every round in his title defenses on every judges scorecards. After falling short of victory, Shields is intent on getting back to a title shot as soon as he can as well as getting a rematch with St. Pierre. Since coming into the UFC, Shields has been called out by multiple veterans in the promotion with include Condit who wants a rematch, Mike Pyle who also wants a rematch, and Jake Ellenberger who has been climbing strong in the ranks. While fighting in promotions outside the UFC and building his then undefeated streak, Shields himself had called out the elite of the promotion's 170lb division that included Penn and St. Pierre. Shields has responded to Penn's challenge and has even made the suggestion that it be the first non-title five-round bout in the UFC.
While Penn is years ahead of Shields in striking experience and possesses the more dangerous arsenal of strikes, the true excitement that a bout between these two comes from their elite grappling background. Penn is widely recognized as one of the fastest practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to have earned a black belt in the very discipline whose founding family founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Training under masters Ralph Gracie and then Andre Pederneiras, Penn can be considered a true student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Shields began his grappling with amateur wrestling at a young age that defined his intense drive to win and led him to train in BJJ under Cesar Gracie to and eventually earn his black belt. With a strong base in wrestling and combined with his elite BJJ skills, Shields created a focus on American Jiu-Jitsu that emphasizes on no-gi grappling more attuned to MMA and everyday self-defense. Both Penn and Shields are well known for their dangerous grappling skills. Penn is has more of an aggressive style working fast on the ground that he adds strong strikes to pick at his opponents to force them to give up positions. Shields has his own aggressive style where his level of grappling has sometimes already intimidated his opponents to the point where they simply wait for him to shoot in. After getting the takedown, Shields is more patient taking his time on the ground at some points to sometimes wait for his opponent to make a move that he can exploit and sink on a submission. The level of intensity that these two former champions would bring to the cage would be tremendous as this would possibly turn into a pure grappling match with either looking to make a statement to prove who is the better at their own specialty.
http://twitter.com/#!/bjpenndotcom/status/70299162985504768
http://twitter.com/#!/jakeshieldsajj/status/70360549153718272
Jake Shields had been on an undefeated streak for over five years that saw him win a Rumble on the Rock tournament with wins over fellow Welterweight contender Carlos Condit and Middleweight contender Yushin Okami, become the only EliteXC Welterweight champ, and win the Strikeforce Middleweight title. That streak came to an end in the main event of UFC 129: St. Pierre vs Shields when he lost a Unanimous Decision to still reigning Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, but in the process snapped the champion's streak of collectively winning every round in his title defenses on every judges scorecards. After falling short of victory, Shields is intent on getting back to a title shot as soon as he can as well as getting a rematch with St. Pierre. Since coming into the UFC, Shields has been called out by multiple veterans in the promotion with include Condit who wants a rematch, Mike Pyle who also wants a rematch, and Jake Ellenberger who has been climbing strong in the ranks. While fighting in promotions outside the UFC and building his then undefeated streak, Shields himself had called out the elite of the promotion's 170lb division that included Penn and St. Pierre. Shields has responded to Penn's challenge and has even made the suggestion that it be the first non-title five-round bout in the UFC.
While Penn is years ahead of Shields in striking experience and possesses the more dangerous arsenal of strikes, the true excitement that a bout between these two comes from their elite grappling background. Penn is widely recognized as one of the fastest practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to have earned a black belt in the very discipline whose founding family founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Training under masters Ralph Gracie and then Andre Pederneiras, Penn can be considered a true student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Shields began his grappling with amateur wrestling at a young age that defined his intense drive to win and led him to train in BJJ under Cesar Gracie to and eventually earn his black belt. With a strong base in wrestling and combined with his elite BJJ skills, Shields created a focus on American Jiu-Jitsu that emphasizes on no-gi grappling more attuned to MMA and everyday self-defense. Both Penn and Shields are well known for their dangerous grappling skills. Penn is has more of an aggressive style working fast on the ground that he adds strong strikes to pick at his opponents to force them to give up positions. Shields has his own aggressive style where his level of grappling has sometimes already intimidated his opponents to the point where they simply wait for him to shoot in. After getting the takedown, Shields is more patient taking his time on the ground at some points to sometimes wait for his opponent to make a move that he can exploit and sink on a submission. The level of intensity that these two former champions would bring to the cage would be tremendous as this would possibly turn into a pure grappling match with either looking to make a statement to prove who is the better at their own specialty.
http://twitter.com/#!/bjpenndotcom/status/70299162985504768
http://twitter.com/#!/jakeshieldsajj/status/70360549153718272
Friday, May 13, 2011
Lesnar Out Of UFC 131 Main Event Against Dos Santos With Diverticulitus. Carwin Takes Spot As Replacement.
For the third time in TUF history, the original scheduled coach vs coach bout will not occur following the ending of this season of TUF13: Team Lesnar vs Team Dos Santos. One of the most anticipated Heavyweight match-ups this year has shifted with a sudden news break that MMA fans were not expecting. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (5-2-0) has been plagued again with the life threatening sickness that is Diverticulitis. Lesnar was scheduled to take on dangerous Brazilian striker Junior dos Santos (12-1-0) at UFC 131: Lesnar vs Dos Santos to determine the #1 contender to take on current champ Cain Velasquez (9-0-0) in his first title defense. With a #1 contendership on the line, the UFC was quick to replace the former champion in this bout with former Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin (12-1-0), who will be fighting for the first time since losing to Lesnar in a title unification bout at UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin almost a year ago. The event has now been renamed UFC 131: Dos Santos vs Carwin, with the main event between the two still being contested for a shot at Velasquez later this year.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Penn Wants In On UFC 134/Rio Card
Former UFC Lightweight & Welterweight champion BJ Penn (16-7-2) is now added to the growing list of fighters who are personally requesting the opportunity to be featured on the promotion's long awaited return to the homeland of their founders in Brazil. The main event for this event has already been confirmed to feature a Middleweight title bout with longtime reigning champion Anderson Silva taking on #1 contender Yushin Okami in a rematch of a bout that saw Okami take a victory by way of Disqualification. Though not confirmed yet on the UFC website, the co-main event is planned to feature a Light Heavyweight rematch between two former champions with Mauricio Rua looking to avenge a loss to to fan favorite Forrest Griffin. The lineup for this main card has yet to be made official as former Heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former Light Heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida have also put in their requests to be included on this card. Even the original UFC champion and #1 MMA icon Royce Gracie has made a special request to be featured in this momentous event to finish his entire career in his family's homeland in the promotion his family founded.
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