Dominick Cruz prepared to run through the bantamweight division?again

Many fighters, especially those that are wearing UFC championship belts, seem to prefer not taking rematches. UFC bantamweight title-holder Dominick Cruz is not like those fighters. Cruz, who is recovering from surgery to repair an injured hand he suffered in a title defense over Demetrious Johnson, knows that he will likely have to face many [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/10/15/dominick-cruz-prepared-to-run-through-the-bantamweight-division-again/

Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn Dennis George Kultar Gill

Marcus Brimage TUF 14 Blog: I?m Nobody?s Punching Bag

The tension you saw during those sparring sessions was something that happens pretty commonly when you?re working with guys who you aren?t totally familiar with as teammates. People who watched the episode saw how Akira Corassani acts. When we were working together he zapped me so I zapped him back. And then we just started [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/07/marcus-brimage-tuf-14-blog-i%e2%80%99m-nobody%e2%80%99s-punching-bag

Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle Tank Abbott

Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian discuss UFC 136 title-fight and what?s next

25-year old featherweight champion Jose Aldo picked up the twentieth win of his career Saturday night and it?s hard to argue that any of his past victories were any bigger. Facing Kenny Florian, a seasoned veteran with a high rate of success at 155-pounds, Aldo avoided trouble throughout while delivering enough damage of his own [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/09/jose-aldo-and-kenny-florian-discuss-ufc-136-title-fight-and-what%e2%80%99s-next

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai 

Marcus Brimage TUF 14 Blog: Down but Not Out

For those who are wondering, no, we never got an explanation from Michael Bisping for his absence from the weigh-in on this past week?s episode. It was very weird. As a fighter you want to believe in your corner, you need to know your corner will be there for you at all times. It?s a [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/14/marcus-brimage-tuf-14-blog-down-but-not-out

Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko

Zuffa releases extended preview for UFC 137

Four of the best welterweights in the world will collide at UFC 137, as champion Georges St-Pierre defends his title against Carlos Condit, and B.J. Penn welcomes former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz back to the Octagon. This card has been through several changes, as GSP was originally slated to meet Diaz. But, Diaz was removed [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/10/14/zuffa-releases-extended-preview-for-ufc-137/

David Heath Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks

MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Is Mendes the Man to Challenge Aldo?

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Jose Aldo is continuing to run roughshod over the rest of the featherweight division, improving his professional MMA record to 20-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Kenny Florian at UFC 136. So does anyone at 145 have a chance against Aldo?

So far it hasn't looked like it. It's not just that Aldo has won every single one of his fights since coming to North America at WEC 34 in 2008. It's that none of his fights have been close. He's shifted from being a knockout artist to usually winning one-sided decisions, but he really hasn't been tested by anyone.

Is Chad Mendes the man to change that? He's certainly the most worthy challenger to Aldo's title. We'll run down the top of the featherweight division below.

Top 10 featherweights in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter's previous ranking.)

1. Jose Aldo (1): After struggling to cut down to 145 pounds, Aldo has talked about moving up to lightweight, but I think that would be a mistake. I don't think he has the frame for 155, and I think he'd really struggle against big lightweight wrestlers. In fact, I think he might struggle against a good featherweight wrestler like ...

2. Chad Mendes (2): The undefeated Mendes was a good college wrestler and may be the opponent to put Aldo on his back and keep him there. If there's anyone in the featherweight division who represents a threat to Aldo, it's Mendes.

3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Hioki is the big question mark in the UFC's featherweight division. He's about to make his UFC debut after going on a great run in Japan, and if he can make the adjustment to the cage and the North American unified rules, he could be a title contender: Hioki's reach, high-volume striking and active guard make him a tough puzzle to solve. Unfortunately, the recent track record of Japanese fighters coming to the U.S. has not been good. Hioki makes his debut against George Roop at UFC 137.

4. Pat Curran (NR): Curran has looked sensational since dropping from lightweight to featherweight, and after seeing him knock out Marlon Sandro, I think he's the best featherweight outside the UFC. Bellator has a strong featherweight division, and fights with Joe Warren or Patricio "Pitbull" Freire would be great matchups for Curran.

5. Erik Koch (8): Koch looked good in his September victory over Jonathan Brookins, which improved his record to 13-1, with the only loss coming against Mendes. At age 23, Koch has a very bright future ahead of him.

6. Mark Hominick (7): After taking several months off following his loss to Aldo, Hominick will return at UFC 140 against Chan Sung Jung in what should be an outstanding battle.

7. Kenny Florian (4): It's tough to see where Florian goes from here. He's good enough that he's earned three title shots in his career, but not good enough to win any of them, or even be competitive in any of them. And at age 35, with 20 pro fights under his belt, it's not like he's suddenly going to get a lot better. Still, I hope we haven't seen the last of Florian. He can have a gatekeeper role at either featherweight or lightweight, even if he's done fighting for belts.

8. Tyson Griffin (NR): Featherweight -- not lightweight -- has always been the right weight class for Griffin. It was the right weight class for him when he beat Urijah Faber in 2005, and it's the right weight class for him now, after he's moved back down from lightweight and beaten Manny Gamburyan. Up next for Griffin is a featherweight fight with another former lightweight, Bart Palaszewski, at UFC 137.

9. Tatsuya Kawajiri (NR): Another former lightweight dropping down, Kawajiri put on a good show in submitting Joachim Hansen at Dream.17. I'd like to see the UFC add Kawajiri to its featherweight roster.

10. Dustin Poirier (9): The 22-year-old Poirier is a rising star at featherweight. He gets Pablo Garza on the undercard of the November 12 UFC on Fox event.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/14/mma-top-10-featherweights-is-mendes-the-man-to-challenge-aldo/

Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath

Bellator 54: Makovsky fighting for respect

Zack Makovsky is very good. How good? It's difficult to truly gauge if he's amongst the top 10 bantamweights in the world.

He stormed to Bellator's 135-pound tourney title last year, but even he recognizes that he needs to be more active and face a higher level of competition.

"I don't know. I try not to get caught up in any of that. It kind of is what it is. The UFC is by far the biggest name in the game. I would think to most casual fans, they don't know the sport is called Mixed Martial Arts. To them, the sport is Ultimate Fighting," Makovsky told Bloody Elbow's Matt Roth. "It's frustrating from that kind of stand point. But at the same time you appreciate what the UFC is doing and they're obviously doing good things for their business."

Makovsky (13-2) is one of the headliners against Ryan Roberts at Bellator 54 tomorrow night in Atlantic City.

Bellator's tournament format is great because you control your own destiny, but the television exposure from the WEC might have been more beneficial over the last few years.

"I mean, of course if I fought in the WEC earlier I would have had that exposure so people would know me better but I kind of really started building my name in Bellator. I kind of was under the radar until I got in the tournament and ended up winning it. There's not much else I could have done otherwise. I don't think the WEC would have had me in there before I created a name in Bellator which is a good thing about Bellator," said Makovsky.

Makovsky's story is similar to many of the elite fighters around mixed martial arts. He was a standout wrestler at Drexel in Philadelphia, but unlike most high level college wrestlers he wasn't a big high school star. He walked on at Drexel and when he was pushed to new limits, Makovsky took it as a challenge and made himself into an elite grappler.

The 28-year-old has a bright future and at 5-foot-4, he looks like a candidate to be a hot shot down at 125 pounds when that division blows up. But he's got to get his work done at Bellator 54.

Roberts is big for the weight. He's got UFC experience and been in there at lightweight with guys like Marcus Aurelio, Donald Cerrone and Duane Ludwig.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Bellator-54-Makovsky-fighting-for-respect?urn=mma-wp8265

Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan