Now, it’s pretty much a given that the one-sided beatdown that Michael Bisping gave Jason “Mayhem” Miller isn’t going to rate all that highly. We also didn’t have a coach fight after season two (friends Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin coached, and were in separate weight divisions, to boot), season four (there were no coaches), season six (Matt Serra couldn’t fight), and season thirteen (Brock Lesnar fell ill, forcing Junior dos Santos to fight Shane Carwin). In season eleven, Tito Ortiz backed out of the fight due to injury and Rich Franklin was awkwardly inserted as coach right at the end of the show, but I’ll count that to give us an even ten. Let’s rank them in reverse order:

10. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans (TUF 10)
9. Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck (TUF 12)
8. Michael Bisping vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller (TUF 14)

These three are all grouped together in my mind, and could really go in any order. I ranked them this way because at least Bisping-Mayhem saw a finish, even if it was just one guy collapsing out of exhaustion while his opponent pounded away. Still, we were spared the fight going the distance, which was not a consideration given to us in the other two fights. Also, at least Bisping and Miller fought with a little fire, at least as long as they could (in Mayhem’s case).

The three fights all share something: they were three of the more highly-anticipated coach fights because of the supposed dislike between the fighters in each pairing. However, the hype and the feuds never translated into great bouts. Evans was content to wrestle his way to victory in a by-the-numbers, rather uninspiring win, St. Pierre did the same thing with his jab, refusing to open up his striking even though he effectively blinded Koscheck early in the fight.

7. Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock (TUF 3)

It only adds to the audaciousness of Dana White’s claim that Bisping-Mayhem was the most lopsided fight he’d ever seen that he featured this ridiculous bit of matchmaking not once, but twice after The Ultimate Fighter 3.

In another bout where the hype was better than the actual action (a theme in the fights on this list, of course), Ortiz took down Shamrock and pounded him a few times en route to a quick stoppage at just 1:18 of the first round. It may have been a bit hasty, but nothing was going to change if the bout had been allowed to go on.

After another seemingly unnecessary three month training camp for both men, there was a rematch on Spike TV in order to give the fans their money’s worth…or something. Well, in a fight that was like a carbon copy of the first bout, Ortiz took Shamrock down with ease and got a TKO stoppage due to punches not quite halfway through the second round. This one gets ranked this highly mostly because in each case, it was mercifully short. Still, it was a fight that never should have happened a second time (Shamrock had already had a one-sided loss to Ortiz at UFC 40), let alone a third.

6. Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (TUF 8 )

Even if this wasn’t the best fight, we’re at least out of the territory of awful and/or disappointing bouts. Mir shocked us all in this one, besting Nogueira with ease on the feat before putting Nogueira away midway through the second round in a fight he dominated throughout.

It was only afterward, when persistent rumors that Nogueira had a staph infection going into UFC 92 were confirmed, that fans and pundits started to realize why Big Nog looked so listless in this one (remember, Big Nog had never been stopped before this fight). Still, it’s memorable for many reasons: the surprise we all felt when first watching it, Mir’s strange right uppercut that he kept landing at range, and his great reaction afterward where he called out Brock Lesnar.

5. Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell (TUF 11)

This was a good fight, even if substituting Franklin for Ortiz at the end of the season just because Ortiz couldn’t fight was weaksauce. I’m also tempted to ding this one a bit because it was depressing to see Liddell’s career definitively end, but that’s just part of the sport and a seemingly-inevitable end for a fighter like Liddell.

Liddell looked great for about four minutes and fifty seconds of the fight. He was using a more crisp, clean approach than he had in years and even throwing leg kicks- leg kicks! He seemed to be in great shape and it looked as if he was serious in extending his career by revitalizing his striking, taking care of his body and using his wrestling more.

Then, Liddell over-committed and ran into a short counter right that put him down for the last time.

Even if everything else is on point, if you can’t take a good shot, you can’t keep fighting. The sad thing is, this fight is a reminder that this is the end awaiting every fighter, no matter how good, if they stick around a bit too long. Still, it was a good fight and even a bit historic, as it was Liddell’s last appearance.

4. BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver (TUF 5)

Not a bad fight, if a little anticlimactic. Penn took control of the fight from the start, though Pulver showed his talent in a few choice moments, landing a couple of good shots as well as escaping an armbar and standing back up after being taken down in the first round.

Penn took Pulver’s back in the second round and we all knew it was over at that point. Sure enough, Penn finished it before long, choking Pulver until the tap and beyond before finally letting his adversary go a couple of seconds after the stoppage.

Since then, the two insist that things are cool and much of the animosity the two supposedly shared- as well as the fight itself- have been largely forgotten. It was a pretty good fight and a finish is always appreciated, but nothing extremely special.

3. Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (TUF 7)

This was the rare coach fight where the fight itself was better than the feud beforehand. I never bought into any of the hype during the season, and even when Griffin got frustrated and flew off the handle, it wasn’t quite believable and felt a bit forced.

The fight didn’t have the level of aggression we’re used to seeing from either man, but that wasn’t so disappointing because we weren’t fed a bunch of b.s. about the two hating each other beforehand. Griffin used a strategy that we’ve seen used liberally against Rampage since then, peppering the powerful fighter with leg kicks to keep him off balance. Rampage was never able to land a big shot and won a very close decision in a pretty good bout.

Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell (TUF 1)

Had this been Couture-Liddell 3, it may have topped the list. Their second bout was a good one, but only lasted a couple of minutes before Liddell turned Couture’s lights out. Still, it was a highly-anticipated battle in which Couture was favored by many, as he had shown very few weaknesses in their first battle.

Suddenly, the strategy he employed in his first bout with Liddell wasn’t working so well, though. He was still sticking to mostly straight punches, but Liddell was landing with increasing frequency, which was never a good sign in “The Iceman”‘s prime. Sure enough, Liddell erased Couture from consciousness before too long, finally winning the light heavyweight championship in the process.

1. Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping (TUF 9)

This had it all- it was a great fight with a highlight reel finish that followed an entertaining feud. Henderson was the no-nonsense veteran who didn’t like Bisping’s cocky attitude, and all season long he said he was going to shut Bisping’s mouth for good. He may not have managed to do that, but he did it in the short term in their explosive UFC 100 fight.

Both men fought, well, like themselves- Henderson stalked Bisping, looking for that one big shot, while Bisping used his jab and tried to stay out of trouble while finding openings. Bisping actually turned in a pretty good performance for much of the fight, landing his jab and slipping Henderson’s big punches. He showed very good recovery when Hendo caught him in the first round, as well. However, this fight is all about the finish, which was one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history whether you’re a Hendo fan, a Bisping fan or none of the above. While the unnecessary follow-up flying elbow smash was either really sweet or extremely sour depending on your allegiances, this was likely the best TUF coach fight we’ve seen thus far.

So…who wants to bet where Cruz-Faber will go on this list after TUF 15 concludes?

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For ducking Chuck Liddell and finding every reason from their past friendship (which Liddell still says wasn’t that big of a deal) to injuries to movie commitments to settling the score with Ken Shamrock, the fans had begun to turn on Ortiz. Liddell and Couture were the talk of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, while Ortiz was an afterthought of sorts, despite still being the official champion of the weight class.

In the years to come, the sport would not be very kind to Ortiz. While his contemporaries experienced even greater levels of success, Ortiz floundered through injuries and underwhelming performances. Couture would win the title from Ortiz later in 2007 and go on to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship again, as well. Liddell would take the light heavyweight strap from Couture and go on to have more successful consecutive title defenses than anyone in the history of the division, including Ortiz. Silva would win the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix, beating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson brutally in the final round, then defeating him again the following year in an official title defense.

Meanwhile, Ortiz would win five straight after consecutive losses to Couture and Liddell, but they weren’t the most impressive wins. One was against Patrick Cote, an inexperienced true middleweight; two more were against an aging Ken Shamrock. His two wins against reputable competitors were both by narrow split decisions, as he got the nod over Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin. After that? He went five straight years without a win as a second TKO loss to Liddell kicked off a long slide.

Fast forward to last Saturday night. Tito came in as a heavy underdog against Ryan Bader, a top ten light heavyweight who appeared to be better than Ortiz at most facets of MMA. With greater athleticism, a better wrestling pedigree and heavy hands, the fight seemed to be a bad matchup for Ortiz from the get-go. However, we all know what happened, as Ortiz cracked Bader with a short right hand and tapped him out with an arm-in guillotine in just a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, the formerly dominant Silva competed on the same card and was knocked out by Chris Leben in just 27 seconds. Couture and Liddell? They’re both retired now and watched from the audience as Ortiz soundly defeated a very talented young light heavyweight fighter.

Who would have thought that of those four current or future Hall of Fame light heavyweights, Ortiz would be the last to have any sort of relevancy? Who would have thought that when Ortiz was struggling with multiple back surgeries and lethargic performances? Who would have thought that when Ortiz was losing decisively to the likes of Matt Hamill at UFC 121?

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Ortiz has fought through a lot to get to this point. I don’t know of any fighter of his stature that has probably gone through more in the late stages of his career and rebounded to this level. From having the fans turn on him and becoming one of the most-jeered fighters in MMA to going five long years without having his hand raised, Ortiz has had a lot to fight through in recent years. Let’s not forget the multiple surgeries and even the personal issues with former girlfriend Jenna Jameson, as well.

Sure, a lot of the stuff Ortiz has gone through has been because of his own actions and decisions, but it’s still a lot to come back from. I think that’s why there’s a resurgence right now in his popularity, as many fans have gotten caught up in Ortiz’s improbable win last Saturday night. Maybe for many of us, it’s just fun to see one of the last guys from that old era of MMA actually enjoying a little success. No matter what though, even those who aren’t Tito fans should agree that he’s got a little more in the tank than we had thought. And even if his win last Saturday turns out to be his last in the UFC, it was both surprising and impressive to see that he had outlasted some of his fellow greats, after all.

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UFC legend Randy Couture talks about his loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 and his retirement.

Steven Seagal talks about how ‘amazingly proud’ he is of Lyoto Machida for finishing UFC legend Randy Couture with a flying front crane kick.

Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson

The first fight of the main card will introduce UFC fans to Ben Henderson, the longtime WEC Lightweight Champion and a legitimate elite lightweight in his own right. If you weren’t able (or just weren’t willing) to watch the WEC when Henderson was fighting, you’re in for a treat.

Henderson is aggressive and provides a frustrating matchup to most fighters, Bocek probably included. Bocek is no slouch and is particularly good on the mat, but I have a feeling that scoring points, doing damage or threatening Henderson with a submission will be about as frustrating as trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. Er, for those other than Miyagi-san, that is.

Henderson has an advantage in that he has ridiculous submission defense and can stand to be aggressive without paying for it most of the time. For anyone who can’t get the image of Henderson being kicked by an airborne Anthony Pettis last year, this fight should go a long way toward helping Henderson create some new memories.

Prediction: Henderson by decision

Jason Brilz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

What is easily the least exciting of UFC 129′s main card bouts should at least make for an interesting matchup, as these two fight a very similar style, utilizing wrestling and chipping away on opponents when the opportunity presents itself. Brilz is still probably a bit miffed about being slighted by the judges against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, while Matyushenko was able to rebound after being defeated by Jon Jones fairly recently.

With two fighters of similar age and of similar mindsets, you have to ask simply which one is better. For me, that’s Brilz, who has the cleaner, more effective standup and better takedowns, to boot. I think he’ll be able to win a hard-fought decision, though I don’t expect it to be a contender for fight of the night. To be honest, this one is a fight that I’m not sure should be on the main card.

Prediction: Brilz by decision

Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida

I almost feel like Couture should be the favorite here, as his style seems perfectly suited to give Machida fits. This is particularly true since Machida was willing to let Quinton “Rampage” Jackson dictate the fight much more than he should have in his last UFC appearance. It’s easy for me to imagine the crafty old Couture pinning Machida against the cage, frustrating him and making the judges’ hearts all go a-flutter.

However, I’m going to show faith that Machida has learned from his mistakes and is willing to take a more proactive (yet still elusive) approach. He needs to make it dangerous for Couture to close the distance by hitting him hard and circling away to avoid the clinch. If he can do that, he should be able to accumulate some damage on Couture and work towards a finish. If he can’t do that and lets Couture get his paws on him, it’s going to be a long night. Couture has a fair chance to end his career with yet another big win here, and I’m more than a little uneasy about this pick.

Prediction: Machida by KO/TKO

UFC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick

My odds-on favorite for fight of the night, this one should be a war while it lasts. Hominick is going to absolutely bring it to Aldo, which is about the only thing he can do. A more conservative gameplan just means a slow death via leg kicks, like what Urijah Faber memorably endured against Aldo. Takedowns from Hominick are likely to be avoided and could be met with counter knees that would be more than able to put Hominick to sleep. So, Hominick should come at him and hope for the best.

The problem is that Aldo is one of the best strikers on the planet, a true natural when it comes to exchanges. His great sense of timing will allow him to capitalize on the holes left in Hominick’s defense when the challenger gets aggressive, and you can expect to see Aldo capping off combinations with leg kicks early and often.

Those will be a deciding factor and will open Hominick’s defense up for the rest of Aldo’s game, leading to a steep decline for Hominick in rounds two and possibly three. That’s when I expect Aldo to finally pounce after finally taking the fight out of Hominick, who will be an extremely game- and definitely dangerous- opponent. Hominick always has a puncher’s chance, of course.

Prediction: Aldo by KO/TKO

UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields

This is a great fight, and Shields is certainly an underrated challenger. I don’t know that he’s more dangerous than someone like Thiago Alves…I just think he’s different, honestly. Shields is not going to threaten with his standup, but is masterful on the ground, particularly when it comes to positioning.

The scrambles are where Shields makes his money, and he’s opportunistic when it comes to sweeping opponents or slapping submissions on them like he did with Robbie Lawler. However, I don’t think he’ll have much success with taking St. Pierre down. Will St. Pierre take him down? I don’t think so- at least not early on.

See, the decisive element here in my book is St. Pierre’s excellent and underrated standup. Shields is simply not a good standup fighter; he’s awkward and not very quick with his strikes. St. Pierre will be able to eat him alive with the jab, which will set up some low kick possibilities and the chance to land more powerful punches in the late rounds. Will he get more aggressive later in the fight, unlike in the Josh Koscheck fight, where he was content to stick with just jabbing even when Koscheck showed he could barely defend himself? No one knows.

If he does let Shields hang around, he’ll just make the fight more dangerous for himself. Any possible way of getting St. Pierre to the mat will be attempted, and a successful attempt paves the way for danger, as Shields could definitely put St. Pierre in a dangerous position that is hard to defend. Having said that, I do think St. Pierre can pass those tests if they do occur, as long as they don’t occur frequently.

I’m more hoping than anything that St. Pierre will work to finish this fight once he wears Shields down. Of course, I wouldn’t bet on it.

Prediction: St. Pierre by KO/TKO

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Five round non-title fights are on their way

During the Fan Expo Q&A that was a part of the UFC 129 weekend in Toronto, Dana White gave very welcome news by saying that the UFC is “very close” to implementing five round non-title fights.

Now, this wouldn’t be for all fights, of course, but instead for “big fights”, with White’s example being Brock Lesnar’s upcoming heavyweight title eliminator versus Junior dos Santos. In other words, it sounds like many of the fights that I wished had been given five rounds in the past- Liddell-Wanderlei, Couture-Vera, and most recently Penn-Fitch being examples that come to mind- may be the kind of fights he is talking about.

There are still a lot of questions, for instance: would a big name non-title fight like Penn-Fitch 2 be a five-rounder if there was also a title fight on the card, or will this only be implemented when a non-title fight is the main event? But still, this is a step in the right direction. I may be in the minority on this one, but I wouldn’t mind seeing all main card fights being five rounds. Some would say they’d rather watch the prelims, but in most cases, the main card fights are the ones you most want to see; why not give them more time on the telecast? For every three-round stinker that you wouldn’t want to see two more rounds of, there are great three-round fights that would be even more epic if they had ten more minutes of time.

Besides, since we basically get to see nearly all preliminary bouts on most cards these days between Spike TV, ION and Facebook, what’s the difference? Let’s see some more of these big non-title bouts get decided by the fighters and not by the judges. Lastly, having five rounds to judge gives the judges themselves two more chances to get it right. Of course, it’s also two more chances to fuck it up. Let’s just move on.

Dana White has a lot to say

What else is new though, right? The always-entertaining (and always controversial) UFC president has weighed in on a lot of topics recently. Like what, you ask? Well, how about that he thinks Lyoto Machida’s recent string of bad luck has to do with money (he thinks Machida’s success made him change his style), and that Royce Gracie wants Matt Hughes again, but he’s reluctant to make that fight (or any other fight for Gracie) happen?

He’s also had time to get into a brief Twitter battle with Jenna Jameson, who took exception to jokes about Tito Ortiz not being liked by fans in the recent “Executive Iceman” video White posted (which depicted Chuck Liddell going about the duties of his new job in humorous fashion). Jameson pointed out that White pays Ortiz “a ton of money”, which makes little sense as an argument against Ortiz being disliked by fans (bad guys sell tickets, too), and White told her to kindly “shut the fuck up”, advising Ortiz to “put her on a leash”. White did say that the skit was nothing personal and that the Ortiz portion was just to play up the rivalry between Ortiz and Liddell, to which Ortiz said “thanks”.

Most interestingly, White has indicated that he’s going to talk to Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz about all of his recent boxing talk. “I know for a fact that boxing isn’t for him, because I’ve been in boxing for years. All of the boxers wish they were involved with us.” He added that he’ll be flying out to see Diaz and discuss the issue as soon as UFC 129 is over. On that note, I say good for Dana, as I’m similarly unconvinced about the notion that boxing has greener pastures for MMA fighters than mixed martial arts does. Diaz would not be a big name in boxing, and to depend on MMA fans to support his boxing endeavors is an iffy proposition, as well. He’d have to essentially start all over, and only the big names in boxing are doing extremely well financially, anyway.

Quick Shots

–Randy Couture had some interesting comments for MMAFighting.com recently, telling them that one of his main reasons for wanting to retire while he’s still near the top of his game is to avoid the awkwardness that Chuck Liddell had to deal with at the end of his career. “But I don’t want to stick around too long and have everybody talking behind my back like that and forcing me to make a decision that I really don’t want to make. I want to go out on my terms.” Of course, it would have been easier for Liddell to do so if Dana White would have kept his advice between them and not been preemptively announcing the Iceman’s retirement for him at press conferences and during interviews, right?

–Strikeforce may not be mixing with the UFC completely at this point, but it’s also far from “business as usual”, as Lorenzo Fertitta is assisting in the negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko’s constantly frustrating management team for a possible fight with Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson. It’s a fight both fighters seem to want, but the key here, as always, is whether M-1 Global can feel that they’re leeching off of Fedor enough. After all, Fedor’s only got so many fights left in him, and then M-1 will have to do what every other promotion in the world has had to do and try to make it on their own steam, instead of financing their shitty promotion with money earned by Fedor’s own greatness.

–In a fight that I really like, Matt Hughes will be returning to take on Diego Sanchez at a UFC event this upcoming fall, according to UFC officials. The fight has been verbally agreed to at this point, and should be a good test for both men. I’m excited to see what Hughes has left in the tank against a fighter who fights a somewhat similar style. I thought this fight would eventually happen back when Sanchez had first won “The Ultimate Fighter”, but a lot has changed since that point. Still should be a fun bout.

–Another fun bout that will actually be taking place outside of Planet Zuffa is the one this weekend between longtime MMA standout Jeremy Horn and former UFC middleweight contender Thales Leites. People hate on Leites for the Anderson Silva fight, but this matchup could make for some great jiu-jitsu. Also of note on the Superior Challenge card is a title fight between UFC veteran Rich Clementi and Swedish bad boy Reza Madadi, which should be a furious one if the near-altercation at the weigh-ins is any indication.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

First off is Sergio, who says:

I’m a little annoyed with the whole what have you done for me lately thing in MMA. It seems like everybody who wins a fight is unbeatable and everyone who loses suddenly sucks. Soon enough though, the unbeatable fighters end up losing anyway, and the sucky fighters end up pulling off wins against top comp. What gives?

I’m not sure what it is- whether it’s the nonstop sports media that makes what’s happening RIGHT NOW seem so much more important than everything that came before it, or maybe just the lack of perspective of a lot of people out there, but you’re right. Look at Georges St. Pierre, for instance. He’s fighting Jake Shields, who’s won his last three fights by decision, and who has had half of his career wins (and three of his four losses) go the distance. Yet everyone is pointing the finger at GSP preemptively for causing a fight that hasn’t even taken place yet to be boring. What?!?

Shields has been a top guy for years, but the knock on him is that he was always very methodical, which he is. He’ll take an opportunity if it presents itself (like with Robbie Lawler), but his game is about takedowns and positioning first and foremost. He doesn’t really fight all that differently than how St. Pierre has been recently, honestly. Yet suddenly, St. Pierre is this ultra-boring champion that Shields has come to save us from? I don’t buy it.

The best approach as a sports fan is not to place such stock in what just happened. Fighters don’t just start sucking all of a sudden because of one loss, nor do teams in professional sports. Of course, everyone wants attention these days, and the easiest way to get it, whether you’re on an internet forum, in a sports bar or debating on ESPN First Take, is to present the extreme side of an argument all the time, disregarding any kind of logic or common sense if needed.

Frank from Tallahassee is already thinking about Lesnar-dos Santos:

Even though the two haven’t exactly been talking trash or getting in each other’s faces, TUF 13 has me thinking about Lesnar-dos Santos. The more I think about it, I think that dos Santos will be able to pretty much do what Cain Velasquez did and beat Lesnar up standing. I think anyone who can stop a takedown will be trouble for Brock from here on out. What do you think, and has watching the show changed your opinion at all about the fight?

Well, watching the show hasn’t done anything to change my thoughts so far, since it’s just been your normal personality-driven show so far without a whole lot of insight into the coaches themselves. Lesnar continues to look a little light, but I like that change because he’s still going to be stronger than anyone else in the division. Now, he can be quicker and have better cardio, too.

As for the fight, my preliminary thoughts without really reviewing their previous fights in depth is that dos Santos will have a hard time defending Lesnar’s takedowns. I’d like to see Lesnar use the cage a bit more for takedowns instead of always shooting double legs in the middle of the Octagon, and I think that approach would be easier for him and allow him to take less punishment if he doesn’t get his opponent to the mat. Sure, dos Santos has the better standup and that’s unlikely to change, but I still think this is Lesnar’s fight to lose and if he gets it to the floor, dos Santos is in big trouble.

Finally, a word from Jake about the best gameplanners in MMA:

What do you think as far as who the best gameplan guys are in MMA? Aside from coaches, is Couture the smartest fighter out there when it comes to figuring out how to beat different opponents? I’d have to say he is. Look at the different styles he’s gone up against and how he’s done, especially at his age. Who else would you list?

That’s a hard one because you never really know whether the fighter himself is coming up with his or her own gameplan or not. Some fighters are certainly better at sticking to gameplans, and Couture is one of them. However, I sometimes get a good laugh about how Couture is regarded as this master strategist. I mean, every fight Randy talks about how he’s going to have a good challenge trying to adapt to his opponent’s style, and when fight night gets here, what does he always seem to come up with?

Clinching his opponent against the cage and working some dirty boxing.

Seriously. That’s been his gameplan in just about every fight since his win over Tim Sylvia, right? Honestly, I think he gets a little too much credit in this area considering that he largely remains the same fighter each time he appears. That’s not even really a knock on him; he is who he is. It’s more of an indictment of fans and media who thrust accolades on people that they sometimes don’t deserve. Couture is a great fighter and really a smart trainer, too, but his gameplans aren’t exactly revolutionary. One notable exception was the way he fought Chuck Liddell the first time. Nobody expected him to stand with Liddell, and Liddell certainly wasn’t ready for Couture to come forward and beat him to the punch with straight punches while Liddell tried in vain to land looping counters. It was brilliant and allowed him to wear down Liddell for takedowns and eventually the finish.

That’s it for this time. Keep those e-mails coming!

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Hallman plays hardball on possible third Hughes fight

I mentioned last week that Ken Pavia, who manages Dennis Hallman, was not too keen on a third fight between Hallman and Matt Hughes. Hallman, of course, has submitted Hughes twice in a total of 37 seconds. Well, now Hallman has spoken out with his thoughts on a potential third fight with the former UFC welterweight champion.

“I really don’t have anything to gain from the Matt Hughes fight. I beat him twice,” Hallman said on Sherdog.com’s “Savage Dog Show”.

Confirming my suspicions that this cool response to such a high-profile fight may be at least partially a bargaining tactic, Hallman did indicate that he would be interested if the money was right. “If it’s financially appealing to me, then for sure,” Hallman continued. “But just for another fight for him, it’s not really at the top of my list.”

Now, this doesn’t exactly make me Nostradamus, as it doesn’t take a genius to know that most fighters will fight anyone for the right amount of money. Hallman and Pavia are just being smart about this, as Hallman would not only lose his current momentum but have his previous wins tarnished if he was to falter against Hughes. Furthermore, as Hallman himself noted, it’s not as if Hughes is the only opponent Hallman can face to continue rising up the welterweight rankings.

If anything, Hughes needs this fight more than Hallman. He doesn’t want to jump into the actual fray for a title shot, and there are few fights with a good story that would make sense for him at this point. Who knows, though? Maybe he doesn’t even care to face Hallman again.

Injuries continue to hurt Strikeforce as Valentijn Overeem goes down

Overeem, the brother of Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, has had to pull out of his December 4th bout with Antonio Silva because of an elbow injury. This setback is the third for the card, though not many fans are too worried about the others, which included Jesse Finney having to drop out due to an eye injury and Herschel Walker having to miss the event because of a cut that he sustained in training.

While it’s not exactly a huge bummer to miss out on another installment of MMA Amateur Hour with Herschel Walker, Overeem-Silva would have been a good bout. Here’s hoping that there is someone crazy enough to step in there with Silva on short notice.

More UFC roster cut drama

Matt Brown was the most recent fighter to be cut from the UFC…or was he? On ESPN’s MMA Live, it was stated that Matt Brown had been given his walking papers after a third straight loss at UFC 123, but Ariel Helwani confirmed with sources within the UFC that Brown had not been cut, after all.

Now, I think it’s great that Brown wasn’t actually cut, because he’s a talented fighter and belongs in the UFC. Really, it’s silly that fighters ever get cut due to a set number of losses, regardless of the skill levels of the opponents faced or any other factors.

Of course, since he’s not cut, it makes the release of Gerald Harris even more ridiculous, as Harris posted a 3-1 record in the organization, won multiple “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and even cracked the top ten plays on SportsCenter with his classic slam KO of David Branch.

OK, Devil’s Advocate, get your say in: “So let’s get this straight, Hartley. If they cut Matt Brown, it’s a dumb move because he belongs in the UFC, but if they don’t cut him, it’s a dumb move because he deserves to be cut if Harris was cut? Damned if they do, damned if they don’t, huh?

Well, not exactly. More like “damned if they cut Gerald Harris after just one loss.”

Oh, and in other news, Dana White wins this week’s Captain Obvious Award with this quote: “It’s a dog eat dog world. There’s so many good guys out there. You’re literally fighting for your UFC life every time you fight.” Yeah, I think that’s already pretty clear. Although there needs to be an asterisk with the disclaimer “*unless you have met nonsensical, secret conditions that allow you to lose multiple times and retain your roster spot.”

Couture’s fighting career officially on hold

In what has become at least a bi-weekly feature here on the Roundup, Randy Couture has given us another update on the status on his fighting career, which is now officially on hold.

Citing his busy filming schedule (he’s doing a short part in a movie with Bruce Willis, as well as filming “The Expendables 2″ in the spring), Couture says that he doesn’t have another run at a title in him. He still won’t shut the door on an eventual return for an interesting fight, though: “You never know what [the UFC is] going to throw at me. We’ll see, and if it’s interesting, I might not be able to walk away from it.”

Well, maybe the only thing that can keep Couture from fighting into his 60′s is Hollywood. Not like we can get our feelings all hurt due to him going Cung Le on us, though: the guy is 47 years old. If he can capitalize on a lifetime spent in the gym by making some money without getting punched in the face, more power to him.

Quick Shots

–Speaking of fighters who continue to be employed by the UFC for reasons that escape me, Phil Baroni will be facing Thiago Tavares on a UFC 125 card that is looking very strong, despite the disappointing loss of new UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo from the proceedings.

Baroni, who was brought in coming off of a loss in Strikeforce, has lost his only UFC fight since coming back, a defeat by decision to Amir Sadollah that took place a year ago. Think Gerald Harris will be shaking his head about this one?

–One last thought on the issue of UFC roster cuts: why isn’t Strikeforce gobbling these guys up? Look, I understand that Strikeforce doesn’t want to be cast as the landing spot for guys who couldn’t cut it in the UFC, but talent is talent. You’ve got Todd Duffee, Efrain Escudero, Gerald Harris just sitting there doing nothing. Sign these guys!

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Are you feeling well? I know it’s been a few weeks, but how did we get through Strikeforce without you saying anything about Mauro Ranallo’s hair? What do you think about the slicked back look?
–KC from Toronto

I know! It’s almost as if Ranallo looked at himself and thought, “Mauro, you classy son of a bitch, you, how can you get anyone to take you less seriously?” Then, I imagine him looking around his living room as his eyes pass by rows of leather-bound books, his framed Dennis Miller autograph, and the pile of dead hookers in the corner before resting on a industrial-sized vat of hair goo. Just then, I imagine his eyes widening, then quickly narrowing, as he nods knowingly.

And thus, Slick Mauro was born.

Seriously, between Mauro’s new look and Frank Shamrock’s braces, what commentary team in any sport can even come close to the unintentional hilarity presented whenever Strikeforce’s commentators are shown on screen?

So, Zoila Frausto “beat” Megumi Fujii after “advancing” past Jessica Aguilar in the Bellator women’s tournament. Who do you see winning in a rematch? Would Fujii be foolish enough to stand with her the whole time again?
–Nathan from Chicago

That’s the thing…there’s a chance Frausto will never even defend that particular title. She has already said that the weight cut was way too hard on her, and that she thinks she’ll fight at 125 lbs. instead in the future. For Fujii, who was already undersized in the Frausto fight, it’s clear that a move up of even ten pounds is too tall an order.

Then there’s the lack of takedown attempts, which traces back to that very issue. Fujii admitted after the fight that she was hesitant to work for takedowns because of Frausto’s strength advantage. Personally, I’d have liked to see her go for them, anyway. What’s the worst that can happen? She’d burn some energy going for unsuccessful takedowns, but she’d also force Frausto to expend energy. Furthermore, we’ve seen that judges will favor a fighter who spends literally all round clinching and working for takedowns, even if they never succeed with any of them.

Now, here’s a question: Why not just move Frausto up and make her the 125 lb. women’s champ, and have Jessica Aguilar and Fujii fight for the 115 lb. title? Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has already said that there will be no women’s tournament in season four, but you could still do Aguilar-Fujii next season and then do women’s tourneys for one or both divisions in season five.

To put it lightly, you seem to be skeptical about Michael Bisping. Why is it that you don’t want to give him his due? He should be a top ten middleweight. I also don’t remember ever seeing you pick him to win a fight. What gives?
–James from Stockport

Let’s look at this as a two-fold thing. First there are my comments regarding Bisping, or, if you prefer, my tendency to rip on him whenever given half a chance. This just has to do with overall dislike for his persona. I’m not going to say dislike for him as a person, because I don’t know him personally. As much as I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what the dude is probably like, I know that for some reason, some MMA fighters think it’s a good idea to act like douchebags as if it will help their careers somehow (see: Koscheck, Josh). Maybe that’s what Bisping’s doing. Regardless, I’m not digging it.

Then, there’s the aspect of Bisping as a fighter. He does everything pretty well. Some things, like standing up after being taken down, he does very well. However, it’s sometimes hard to pick him to win fights because he doesn’t have a lot of finishing skills when it comes to pure power or the technique to submit top guys. Furthermore, even things that are supposed to be his strengths have been exposed occasionally in the past (i.e. his striking in the Matt Hamill fight). And hey, the middleweight division isn’t the easiest one to compete in. His opponents over the last couple of years have been fairly tough, which also leads me to pick him to lose.

As far as why he’s not ranked, well, I pretty much went into that in the last rankings post. He lost to Wanderlei Silva (Bisping fans: he did lose) not too far back, and Silva’s not ranked. That’s reason enough, isn’t it? If he keeps surpassing expectations, he’ll be in there in the future.

It seems like there are always superfights that either don’t happen or that do happen, but only after they just aren’t as exciting anymore. What are some fights that you wished would have happened in the past?
–Carter from Pennsylvania

Hmmm, good question. In no particular order and off the top of my head, here’s a few that come to mind:

–Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell, circa 2005. Yeah, the fight eventually happened, but at least two years too late. This needed to happen when both were just about at their respective apexes. Pride rules would have been nice, too. There’s also Wandy-Couture back in 2004, Wandy-Bas Rutten in the early Pride days (Rutten said he’d be interested from the commentary booth, but it was never pursued), even rematches between Silva and Tito Ortiz or Vitor Belfort would have been nice to see at some point. I could write a whole column of fights I would have like to seen including Wanderlei Silva, really.

–Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture, circa 2007-08. This is another one that lost its luster anyway, since both fighters have lost since this fight should have happened, and Couture is mulling retirement. I almost said Fedor vs. Brock, but I think the tactical side of Couture’s game and the similar sizes of the two makes this one a more interesting matchup.

–Urijah Faber vs. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, circa 2006-07. Yeah, there’s a slight weight difference, but a catch weight could have solved that, and these two were absolutely tearing through everybody back in 2006 and 2007. This is a fight many hoped to see, but then Yamamoto decided to take a year off and train for the Olympics. Since coming back, he’s had a tough run of things, and Faber has lost his “invincible” tag, as well.

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Aldo as a UFC lightweight?

One of my often-revisited topics here at Fightmania has been what the UFC will eventually end up doing with the WEC. I know that at this time, the specifics of television deals and other business-related crap keeps much from happening, but surely in 15 years, we won’t have the same setup that we have now.

It would seem that, at least in the short-term, rather than bringing Jose Aldo and all the featherweights with him to the UFC, the UFC has been interested in just getting Aldo. That’s right- Aldo was asked about a potential fight with none other than UFC lightweight Kenny Florian, but his management team nixed it because Aldo wouldn’t have time to properly put on the extra weight.

It’s a smart decision, as Aldo may as well defend his featherweight title a couple more times first. He’s a young fighter and won’t stand to gain much in the long run by getting a pay raise in the short-term and losing a fight or two if he isn’t properly prepared. Furthermore, I think it’s best if Aldo moves for good once he does make such a move. Bouncing between divisions hasn’t worked out that well for some fighters, and what can the WEC really offer him once he’s made the jump?

Hey, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens with this in 2011. Will Aldo be seduced by the dark side of the Force? Will the UFC start making plans in the near or distant future to adopt more weight classes, allowing Aldo and other WEC stars to compete at their natural weights? Perhaps more frequent UFC on Versus cards can be used to replace the WEC if additional weight classes or added. After all, more weight classes will just mean more events are needed, too.

Couture finally done?

Randy Couture had some interesting comments to Fighters Only magazine, which I’m sure is read by people who aren’t fighters at least some of the time. Couture said that while he still enjoys the sport, “it’s probably time to move on.”

Right now, Couture is getting ready to start shooting the sequel to “The Expendables” in early 2011, and he says that while “it’s a fickle business”, he would like to continue exploring his options with acting.

If anything, I could see Couture doing something more along the lines of his fight with James Toney: taking interesting fights against non-contenders with big names when his schedule allows. Can Couture really walk away when he thinks he still has something left to give, or will his competitiveness win out?

Dana White sounds off…again…over teammates fighting each other

Carlos Condit mentioned after his impressive knockout win against Dan Hardy that he is willing to face training partner Georges St. Pierre if it comes down to it. Of course, Dana White not only applauded that sentiment, but also used the occasion as an excuse to go on yet another rant on the subject:

“We have problems with that out of the Greg Jackson camp and AKA, it drives me nuts. So it’s refreshing to hear a kid like Carlos Condit say, ‘Love Georges St. Pierre, he is a great guy, but I would love to have his title, I’d fight him.’ I guarantee you George St Pierre respects that too; you think George St Pierre is saying ‘Condit shouldn’t want to fight me because we are from the same camp?’ Hell no.”

Oh, here we go again.

When asked about the specifics of training such as who would get to train in their home gym, what training partners would do, etc. if two camp-mates fought, White dismissed such concerns off as minor details.

I understand that the culture of this sport and how training partners often refuse to fight one another can make White’s job difficult, but for a guy who claims to “get” the sport and its fighters, White sure doesn’t seem to actually get it. It seems as if White’s frequent talk of how he prefers “real fighters” just boils down to how he prefers fighters who do whatever he asks them to do.

Oh, and by the way: Jon Jones said recently that he will never fight teammate Rashad Evans, even if Evans holds the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for some time. Instead, he says that he would be content in that scenario to be the #2 guy in the division for however long Evans held the strap.

That’s our Brock!

Did you think that Brock Lesnar was done making regular that’s so wrong it’s funny comments now that he’s become a “humble champion”? Oh, silly readers…here’s some evidence to the contrary.

In response to all of the emphasis on challenger Cain Velasquez’s heritage and Velasquez’s own statements regarding wanting to honor his background with a win, Lesnar responded by saying, “When I get done whipping your ass, I’m gonna go drink a Corona and eat a burrito just for your Hispanic heritage, how about that?”

What can you say?

Quick Shots

–Yoshihiro Akiyama is the latest fighter to lob greasing accusations out, this time at Michael Bisping, who he faced at UFC 120. If you’re thinking to yourself, but Akiyama only went for one takedown, that’s precisely correct. Akiyama says that the reason he only tried one takedown was that “Bisping’s body was really slippery.”

–Jose Aldo’s next featherweight title defense in the WEC will likely be Mark Hominick or Josh Grispi, according to several sources. No matter which fighter it would be, the fight would take place at an as-yet unannounced WEC event in January. For Grispi, it would be a pretty short training camp, since he is supposed to fight on November 11th agaisnt Erik Koch. Who knows, though? Perhaps Aldo will be sweet-talked into stepping up to lightweight by then, after all.

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