The UFC-WEC Merger – 5 Dream Fights

Now that the WEC and UFC  have finally merged, MMA UK brings you the fights we want to see the most.

Anthony Pettis Vs Gray Maynard

One fighter has some of the flashiest, yet effective striking in his division, plus a killer guard. Whilst the other is everything his nickname claims to be - a bully. Maynard smashes his opponents for 15 mins straight without any let up. , whereas Pettis is looking to finish his opponents, whether it be standing or on the ground – and it’s got to look pretty.

Maynard seems to enjoy complete dominance of his opponents, whilst Pettis is trying to get that Knockout of the Night/ Submission of the night every time.

Frankie Edgar Vs Ben Henderson

I’m not trying to make any predictions on whom is going to win the UFC Lightweight title. However, after listening to Ben Henderson on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, I know that he definitely believes that he can do what BJ Penn couldn’t and beat Frankie Edgar. Whether they face each other for the title is a different story.

Shane Roller Vs Evan Dunham

These two are just straight up savages who will go toe to toe, whether it be the ground or the floor. Evan Dunham lost a controversial decision to Sean Sherk and Shane Rollerlosta hard fought battle to Anthony Pettis. This battle of lightweights could be what they both need to elevate themselves to the top again.

Urijah Faber Vs Clay Guida

Don’t act as if you can’t see Clay Guida going down to featherweight for a dream match-up etween Urijah Faber. These two energiser bunnies will go to war for 15 minutes straight and would probably be a fight of the year candidate. We can only dream.

Jose Aldo Vs BJ Penn

I don’t even have to say anything. The words bring a shiver down my spine and the names should automatically make Dana White think $$$. If BJ can’t get motivated for this, then he needs to retire.

What We Learn’t from UFC 121

After every MMA event that MMA UK covers, we’ll be doing a feature called “What we learn’t from…”.  This time we’re going to be focusing on UFC 121.

5. Court McGee isn’t a one and done fighter

Is it me or does the quality of fighters going into TUF these days seem to be quite poor. There haven’t been any real stars that have left the house since the early days of the show. However, Court Mcgee looks as if  he’s actually a pretty good fighter. His cardio and strong chin were what saved him from being beaten by veteren Ryan Jensen in the 1st round and a half. Then as soon as he sensed that Jensen was tiring. McGee pounced on him and finished him off. McGee is certainly a tough character (Don’t believe me? You go through an addiction to Heroin and Cocaine, then be declared clinically dead and STILL be alive AND an MMA fighter) and his toughness certainly carried him through this fight and might just carry him to the upper echelon of fighters.

4. Jon Madsen isn’t a “boring fighter”

It’s official, Jon Madsen is not a boring fighter. What? Seriously? No, I’m serious! If you haven’t seen him run through Gilbert Yvel and give him  a vicious beating then I advise you to find it. For future notice Mr Madsen,  I know you’re supposed to take your opponent down by any means neccessary. However, when I’m fearful that you may run your opponent through the cage, injuring poor Dana, I get anxious…

3. All The Nightmare need was a little Jackson in his life

Diego Sanchez was back with vengance…or just a really cool looking takedown. What’s the key to making Sanchez into a nightmare? Apparently it’s Greg Jackson. Who’d of thunk it?

2. Tito Ortiz is about as relevant to MMA, as Gus Johnson is relevant to MMA…get it?

I don’t want to say too much besides from… Tito, please retire and become the third man on the commentators team. Or just retire.

1. Brock Lesnar is actually a human being!

Yes, he looks scary. Yes, he can run 40 yards in 4.6 seconds (Thankyou, Joe Rogan Experience) and yes, he has a very large “sword” on his chest. However, Brock Lesnar learn’t an interesting lesson. You maybe the biggest and possibly the strongest Heavyweight fighter, but strength doesn’t beat technique. In fact, technique OWNS strength. Just a shame for you that Velasquez has technique in abundance. Plus a really hard punch. Viva La Mexico

10 Awesome Joe Rogan Quotes

One of the most recognizeable voices in MMA today is the voice of Joe Rogan. The Boston born comedian has been with the UFC for many years and no-one can disputed that Rogan knows his stuff when it comes to fighting. A brown belt under Eddie Bravo and a champion at Tae Kwon Do, Rogan understanding the sport is second to none.

Plus, he’s funny as hell.

Here are some of Rogan’s best quotes from the UFC and his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience”, which I recommend to anyone who likes some form of joy in their life.

10.  “Lady Gaga has a funky mug” from the Joe Rogan Experience, where he and his guests discuss whether or not Lady Gaga is hot

9. ” Nick Diaz is talllllkkkkinnngggg”  Play by Play on Nick Diaz talking crap to Joe Riggs

8. “Oh no, they spilt a bucket over. This is like the goddamn three stooges. What are you freaks doing?” -  The infamous Ice-Spill

7. “Alistair Overeem is genetically engineered to fuck your girlfriend” - Joe’s thoughts on Alistair Overeem

6. ” Real Talk….I wish you motherfucking woulddddddd”  -Joe Rogan impersonating R.Kelly

5. “If I was you, I’d smoke weed and look through a microscope” -Joe Rogan DESTROYS a pastor

4.” WHY DOES IT INTEREST ME! YOU’RE STEALING OTHER PEOPLES SHIT!!!!” -The legendary argument between Carlos Mencia and Joe Rogan

3.”Whoever made paranormal activity 2 I want to shit in your mouth and throw you off a cliff. P.S. FUCK YOU” – Joe Rogan tweets about…well, you can read…

2. No Hey, Hey, Hey …” – Joe before he puts some idiot in a Muay Thai clinch and attempts to Anderson Silva/Chris Leben someones face.

1. “You can go on for 15 minutes about meteors, you don’t have to go to mars first…” – Joe Rogan slaughters a caller-in on radio.

Thankyou Mr Rogan and please continue you with your legendary quotes.

Submission Of The Week – ….And 20 Seconds Later…

I know we’ve put this on the site this week, but  I’m so incredibly enamoured by this guillotine choke, it’s not even funny. I’ve fallen in love with it so much that I’ve started using it on my flatmates when we play fight. Cody Mckenzie, MMA UK salutes you!

Knockout Of The Week – Ultimate Challenge, Ultimate Knockout

Left Hook, Good Night, Enough Said.

UCMMA 17: Kings Of The Cage Press Release

UCMMA 17: Kings of the Cage
December 4th, Live from Troxy, London

· Kelly V Lee (Title Fight)
· Daniels V Smith
· Millar V Chapman
· PLUS: Queens of the Cage go head to head in UCMMA’s first female bout

(London, 29th October) Christmas has come early for MMA fans as UCMMA, the UK’s top MMA Organisation, announces a stacked card for its final event of the year, UCMMA 17: Kings of the Cage – live from Troxy London on Saturday 4th December.

The card features two title fights, plus the first ever Ultimate Challenge female mma bout. UCMMA 17 features crowd favourites Ben Smith, Nick Chapman and Djo Lema alongside hot new prospect Cory Tait.

Fighting out of Shootfighters, Wokingham based former Thai Boxer, Michelle Tyler said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to fight on the UK’s most high profile MMA Organisation and I’m training hard to do myself and Shootfighters proud. I’ve been waiting so long for a fight and opponent. I’m really excited about it… Now, it’s really about getting in the cage and seeing what happens from there.”

Hull based Vickie Watts (managed by Rosi Sexton) said: “This is going to be a really big test of my skills against a very tough opponent. It’s exciting to be a part of such a big promotion.  Right now I’m not nervous but I’m sure as the fight comes closer the nerves will start to kick in.”

Sexton added: “Previously UK fights have been mismatched and one-sided with someone less experienced being brought in to fight someone bigger. What stands out about this show is that it is really well matched. This is a big thing and a real sign of progress that we have got to a stage where we can see competitive female fights. This will be a chance to showcase female MMA at its best.”

We’ve also got the return of the man with the some of the most educated hands in UCMMA, Mark “The Shark” Potter. Coming off the back of an explosive performance at UCMMA Invincible, Potter is shaping up to be one of the UK’s most destructive and devastating heavyweight prospects.

UCMMA Promoter Dave O’Donnell said: “It’s going to be mince pies and black eyes on December 4th – Christmas has come early for UCMMA. We’re so glad to welcome back Ben Smith after his recent injury, he’s hoping to prove that the unbeaten Irving Daniels will taste defeat at the hands of Big Ben and if rumours are true we are also bringing in the biggest ever MMA fighter in this country at 175 kilos … so watch this space. And look out for Millar V Chapman; the trash talk between these two has got the fans talking; Millar his mocking Chapman in a series of YouTube blogs and Chapman is promising his army of supporters that he’s going to re-arrange Millar’s face.”

“I’m also really excited about finally matching two girls on UCMMA, it’s been a long time coming but hopefully this will be the first of many female fights and these two girls are real warriors. There‘s already a lot of hype around this and it’s going to be one of the most talked about fights this year.”

How Does Cody Mckenzie Tap Out His Opponents?

I’m assumig that everyone who reads this blog, also watches The Ultimate Fighter. With the current season airing, we’ve some really interesting characters, but no-one as interesting as Cody Mckenzie. Mckenzie doesn’t look like a fighter, doesn’t act like a fighter – hell, judging what he said about his own qualities against Marc Stevens qualities, he probably doesn’t train like a fighter. However, what we do know is that Mckenzie has an amazing guillotine choke. For those that have been living under a rock and haven’t seen this fantastic choke, take a look.

Pretty awesome right? Well, here’s how the secret to what Cody likes to call the “Mckenzitine”

UFC 121 Review and Opinions

Gabriel Gonzaga Vs Brendan Schaub

Brendan Schaub,  I take my hat off to you. You’ve stepped up significantly, a lot more than I thought you could in your short amount of time in the Octagon. Schaub spent a significant amount of time out-striking his opponent and breaking him down piece by piece. Many people feel that the jab is a tool that is sadly not used anymore when it comes to striking. However, Schaub snapped his jab on Gonzaga numerous times during their fight, keeping the usually aggressive Gonzaga at bay.

What I was most impressed about, was the patience of Schaub and the quality of his conditioning. He unleashed when he felt he had a strong opportunity and never seemed significantly tired during the fight. During a conversation on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, he mentioned that he’d like a fight with Frank Mir if he beat Gonzaga. After watching him convincingly beat Gonzaga for three rounds, a fight with Mir seems more likely and even more appealing.

Matt Hamill Vs Tito Ortiz

I’d said before that this was a fight to see if Tito Ortiz was still a relevant fighter and it turns out that MMA might have just passed the UFC legend by. During the opening rounds of the fight it seemed that Ortiz was ready and raring to go against his protegé. However, once Ortiz got a gash near his ear, Hamill simply schooled him. Hamill was able to take him down at will and out struck him for the majority of the match. I don’t see any fighters that Ortiz could fight besides from a potential fight between himself and Liddell. There isn’t anyone in the top tier of fighters that I truly believe Ortiz could hang with. Age has simply caught up with the future UFC Hall of Famer.

As for Hamill, Dana White has promised him a Top 10 opponent in his next fight. If that’s truly the case, then I see a potential fight between Hamill and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria on the cards.

Diego Sanchez Vs Paulo Thiago

The nightmare returned on Saturday night and it was long overdue. After being soundly beaten by BJ Penn and humbled by John Hathaway, it was high time that Sanchez showed that he truly belonged in the welterweight division of the UFC. He left a huge exclamation mark on his opponent, Paulo Thiago, by beating him in all areas on Saturday. Thiago simply couldn’t deal with the high pace that Sanchez was setting from round to round. Whether it was on the floor or in the stand-up, Sanchez gave Thiago a convincing beating that proves many of his doubters wrong. It doesn’t matter what you heard, or what you think – Diego Sanchez is back.

Jake Shields Vs Martin Kampmann

One of the most interesting fights on the card, due to the debut of Jake Shields and Martin Kampmann’s recent resurgence after his thorough beating by Paul Daley. Kampmann definitely looked dangerous during the entirety of the match, most specifically the third round. However, Shields ground game and ability to takedown his opponent and continuously work from top position allowed him to come away with the win. The funny thing is that it wasn’t a bad performance by Kampmann, but it wasn’t the Jake Shields that we know he can be. Whether or not he deserves a title shot against GSP is up for debate, as I still think Fitch deserves it more than him. However, Shields won a split decision that put him in pole position to face the winner between Georges St Pierre and Josh Koscheck.

Cain Velasquez Vs Brock Lesnar

What an intense and brutal fight these two had. I don’t think people were stunned that Velasquez beat Lesnar as many people had stated that they thought that Velasquez could beat the then champion. However, I think everyone was surprised how convincingly he beat the champion. Velasquez essentially finished off what Shane Carwin started by taking advantage of Lesnar’s limited offensive and defensive striking capabilities and punishing him with some brutal ground and pound.

The most impressive thing was that Velasquez was able to stuff one of Lesnar’s takedowns and when he was taken down, he was able to get straight back up. The first ever Mexican – American champion proved people wrong and was gracious in victory.

Fighter Of The Week – Diego Sanchez

After being humbled significantly by BJ Penn and John Hathaway, Diego Sanchez returned to his “nightmarish” self on Saturday night, defeating Paulo Thiago convincingly via unanimous decision.  While many people may say that Diego is not as technically gifted as some of the other fighters in his division, no-one can doubt that Diego is incredibly explosive and has a tremendous amount of heart.

Whether Sanchez will ever be a UFC champion is up for debate, but he’ll always a remain a fan favourite for his aggression and entertainment value during fights.

Interview with UK’s Top Prospect for Women’s MMA, Michelle Tyler

As the UK MMA scene becomes stronger and stronger, it was only a matter of time before women in the UK would take a liking to combat sports and start fighting in promotions such as UCMMA and BAMMA.. With more people becoming fans of the sport, more people are easing to the idea of two women fighting the cage.

As the British Invasion of the MMA continues, one of the UK’s top female prospects, Michelle Tyler, has taken the lead and will have her first fight in arguably the UK’s biggest fight promotion, UCMMA on December 4th. Tyler faces a tough opponent in Vicki Watts, who fights out of Rosi Sexton’s gym. MMA UK editor Aundre Jacobs spoke to Michelle about how she got into MMA, her opponent and her background as a fighter.

Michelle on being nervous before her fight on December 4th

I’m not nervous yet. I’m sure I will be when it gets a little bit closer. At the moment, I’m just really excited for the fight, so the nerves haven’t kicked in yet. I’m sure they will nearer to the fight. It’s the first female fight on the show and I’m at the fights quite a bit and all the guys know me from Thai Boxing and grappling, so I feel at home here.

Michelle on her background

I started Thai boxing about 7 years ago. I had a really stressful job that I really just wanted to get away from. I wanted to start enjoying myself, rather than focusing on work too much. I absolutely loved Thai Boxing and after 6 months I had my first fight. I contiuted to train in Thai Boxing, went to Holland and had a few fights there. When I got back to England, I didn’t enjoy the Thai Boxing as much as I did I did in Holland and that’s when I realised that it was time to train something else. That’s where I started to learn the ground work, the wrestling and a little bit of jiu jitsu.

Michelle on her opponent

I don’t know much about my opponent at all. Her name is Vicki Watt’s and apparently she’s a very good grappler. She’s been around for a very long time and trains at a really good gym. She also teaches MMA as well, so I think she’s going to be a really tough opponent. Even though her grappling is very good, this is MMA, so I expect her striking to be good as well.

Michelle on her strengths as a fighter

I think predominantly I’m a striker, but I have been working a lot more on my ground work. Obvously, my strength is striking though, so I intend to bang a little bit.

Michelle on Women’s MMA in the UK

It’s coming a long pretty nicely. I’ve noticed from the amount of girls that we’ve got coming to the gym (London Shoot Fighters, Hook’s Gym) that it’s becoming pretty big.  We’ve got female boxers, female wrestlers, female grapplers, female Thai boxers and now they’re at a gym where it does everything. The boxers are now coming to the grappLing side of things and are giving it a try and that’s just going to build more female fighters. It’s all about finding someone with the same experience and same weight, but I think it’s going to come a long really well.

Obviously, there’s still this thing where guys don’t like to see girls fight, get hit or get cut. So depending on how this fight goes will determine whether the guys really love it and want to see another one, or it could all go wrong and they may never want to see anymore female fights at all. I know sometimes that when I’m in the gym and I’m sparring with one of the guys, they get a little bit nervous as I get hit pretty hard.

I think all the guys believe that women should be treated equally and they don’t really see female fighters as any different from any other fighters, but I think it’s just something that’s embedded in men from birth that they need to protect us.  The same way a woman wouldn’t like it if they saw a child fighting, I think that men have that sort of instinct in regards to protection.

Michelle on training at London Shoot Fighters

It’s great training at London Shoot Fighters. They have an excellent boxing coach, their Thai Boxing is great, they’ve got all aspects covered. Everyone their teaches to a high standard.  We’ve got the same coaches that train John Hathaway who fights for the UFC and they’re training us and teaching our classes as well.

To find out more about Michelle visit her site at www.michelletyler-officialwebsite.co.uk

Or

Follow her on twitter @michelle_tyler7