Kenny Florian Hopes Experience Gives Him UFC 136 Edge Against Jose Aldo

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Jose Aldo has had little trouble with any opponent the last three years, but Kenny Florian thinks he might have a solution for the UFC featherweight champ.

Florian, fighting for just the second time at 145 pounds after a long stretch at lightweight - and stints at welterweight and middleweight before that - challenges Aldo on Saturday for the featherweight title at UFC 136 in Houston.

But through a career filled with many ups, and a few downs that include a pair of losses in UFC lightweight title fights, Florian believes it's his longevity that will give him the edge against the Brazilian, who is widely regarded as one of the top three or four pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

"I think, generally, he hasn't faced a guy who's as well-rounded and experienced as I am," Florian (15-5, 12-4 UFC) said Friday during a media call for UFC 136. "I'm going to bring well-rounded skills, experience and just see where the mystique lies. That's it."

The Aldo mystique has been in full force since he stormed the WEC with five straight knockout wins, including an 8-second KO of Cub Swanson with a flying knee. The standup prowess seemed to fly in the face of the generality that Aldo, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who trains with the famed Black House team, should be devastating on the ground.

But his perfect WEC start earned him a shot at Mike Brown's featherweight belt, and once he got that shot, he continued his tear, dispatching Brown in the second. Urijah Faber took him to his first decision in nearly three years, but was never real a threat - Aldo outstruck Faber 138-27, according to FightMetric, and stuffed all nine of his takedown attempts.

After knocking out Manny Gamburyan to defend his WEC belt a second time, Aldo became the UFC featherweight champion and was given his stiffest test as champion from Mark Hominick in April. Hominick dominated Aldo in the fifth round, outstriking the clearly gassed champ 62-3.

Florian who survived a close fight against Diego Nunes in June in his featherweight debut to get his shot at Aldo. And while he didn't say getting into the later rounds with Aldo gives him an advantage, Aldo's fifth round against Hominick might give him hope that the Brazilian is beatable - especially if Florian can weather the early storm.

"He's pretty unique and a very fast, explosive guy," Florian said. "His dangerous weapons are his legs and excellent footwork. He's very, very fast and, I think, dangerous on the ground. He's definitely a unique opponent, and I had to prepare differently for him for sure."

Florian's title fight experience comes from a unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 for the then-vacant lightweight belt, then a submission loss to BJ Penn in the fourth round at UFC 101 when he got another crack after a six-fight winning streak.

After losing to Gray Maynard in a top contenders fight at UFC 118, giving Maynard a shot at Frankie Edgar, Florian dropped to featherweight. He competed on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" as a middleweight, quickly dropped back to welterweight after the show, then moved down to his long-time lightweight home.

But through all the weight classes, Florian said one thing has been the same - constant improvement.

"I think every fight is always going to be different," Florian said. "You're always going to have a different mindset based on your training camp, based on your opponent. I've always learned from each previous camp, win or lose. I've made a lot of mistakes and I've tightened some of those mistakes. My goal is to try and make each training camp better and better each time, and to try and increase my work load capacity and improve my skills, and I think I've done that every training camp.

"I've trained my ass off for this fight, and I'm looking forward to going out there and competing hard."

Florian and Aldo fight in the co-main event of UFC 136 at the Toyota Center in Houston. The main event is the lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Also on the card is a middleweight contenders fight between former title challenger Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/03/kenny-florian-hopes-experience-gives-him-ufc-136-edge-against-jo/

Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo

Hominick on Team Tompkins, Jung and fatherhood

Hominick on Team Tompkins, Jung and fatherhoodMark Hominick has had a roller coaster of a year. He went from a TKO of George Roop to a five-round decision loss to featherweight champ Jose Aldo to the birth of his daughter to the sudden and shocking death of his coach Shawn Tompkins. Next, he has to face Chan Sung Jung, also known as "The Korean Zombie," at UFC 140, and for the first time, will prepare for a fight without Tompkins in his corner.

Hominick, who spoke to Cagewriter as part of a lobbying trip to Ottawa, Can., said that he will use the turmoil of the year in his December fight.

"The passing of Shawn was obviously beyond a shocker. He was the best man in my wedding. He was more than just a mentor in the sport. He became a life mentor for me. That's a huge void, but everyone on our team has stepped up. We became closer because of it, because we know we all have to step up to try to fill that void. It's our duty to carry on his legacy: to keep training, to keep winning, to keep performing in the cage."

Hominick, along with Team Tompkins members Chris Horodecki and Sam Stout (Tompkins' brother-in-law), is focused on continuing the Team Tompkins legacy.

"This is going on 15 years that we've all been together. We're a very tight-knit group, and that's what we're trying to stress right now. To keep that unity. Even Shawn's dad stepped up. Shawn's dad came into the gym and talked to the group, and Shawn's brothers. Just kind of letting everyone know that we're not sitting idly by. We're working for his legacy."

That loss to Aldo came during UFC 129, the UFC's biggest event. It took place in the sold-out Rogers Centre, just an hour from Hominick's hometown of London, Ont. He says that being in that fight taught him what it means to be at the top of the heap, and how much he wants to get back there.

"There's a lot of extra pressure, a lot of extra time and a lot of extra commitment for being the title contender. Being the hometown guy in the biggest show in UFC history in an arena an hour from where I lived definitely overwhelmed me at times, so I have a newfound respect for it. I know I have to make certain changes to make sure that not only can I make it there, but I'm staying at the top."

Hominick's next bout will again take place in Toronto. He won't have the pressure of being a co-main eventer, but he will have to face the always difficult Jung. He plans to draw on the experiences of his WEC win over Leonard Garcia.

"It's going to be pretty similar to the Leonard Garcia fight. Very similar, very wild. The main thing is just getting a wide variety of sparring partners. You've got to get someone who is all over the place."

For the first time, Hominick will come to the Octagon as a father. His daughter was born weeks after the loss to Aldo. He says that his daughter's birth hasn't changed him as a fighter, but does add some perspective to his days.

"She puts a smile on my face. I started learning that it's not your time any more. It's their time. They're the moments of the day that matter."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Hominick-on-Team-Tompkins-Jung-and-fatherhood?urn=mma-wp7552

Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader 

Demetrious Johnson comes up short in D.C. against Dominick Cruz

A UFC championship was defended on Versus for the first time in the organization’s history earlier tonight when the main event at UFC Live 6 unfolded in the Nation’s Capital! Headlined by 135-pound king Dominick Cruz’s successful defense of his title against streaking contender Demetrious Johnson, the card also featured Pat Barry and Stefan Struve striking [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/01/ufc-live-6-real-time-results

Ray Cooper  Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté 

Early stoppage? Johnson head kick ends fight with Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6

Early stoppage? Johnson head kick ends fight with Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6

Anthony Johnson was tired of hearing about his "boring" fight at UFC 117 against Dan Hardy. To silence the critics, he nearly put his left foot through Charlie Brenneman's face.

There was one problem, Brenneman's head is apparently made of granite. The Johnson boot connected right to the middle of "The Spaniard's" face, he went down, but then looked like he was fine. Referee Mrio Yamasaki immediately waved off the fight at 2:49 of the first round. It didn't appear that Yamasaki got a good look at Brenneman's condition. Brenneman looked up in shock, but it was too late, Johnson had the win.

"I'm very happy. I mean everybody was talking crap about my last performance against Dan Hardy," Johnson told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "I figured I had to come here and make a statement."

The stoppage from Yamasaki was somewhat understandable. Brenneman ate another good head kick just 15 seconds earlier and also hit the floor on a good punch. Before he got drilled with the final kick, he was staggering badly against the cage.

Johnson (10-3, 7-3 UFC) has been on the verge of big things for years, but weight issues and a lack of focus on becoming well-rounded has held him back from breaking into the top 10 at 170 pounds. The 6-foot-1 Johnson switched training camps this year, moving to south Florida to join Imperial Athletics. That camp is anchored by fighters like Rashad Evans and an off shoot of Brazilian fighters and trainers from American Top Team.

The switch paid immediate dividends. A much more humble and focused Johnson was on display tonight.

"Like I told Charlie, he was first guy to ever really have me nervous because his wrestling is so good. I respect him and his camp so much. [...] The man is a beast," said Johnson.

Brenneman (14-3, 3-2 UFC) was coming off the biggest win of his career, an upset of Rick Story at UFC on Versus 5 in June.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Early-stoppage-Johnson-head-kick-ends-fight-wit?urn=mma-wp7629

Rob Broughton  Mike Brown  Junie Browning Paul Buentello 

UFC on Versus 6 Live Blog: Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve Updates

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Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve is a televised fight on the UFC on Versus 6 card.This is the UFC on Versus 6 live blog for Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve, a heavyweight bout on tonight's UFC Live card from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

The fight, according to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, is the biggest height discrepancy in UFC history. Struve (21-5, 5-3 UFC) is the UFC's tallest fighter at 6-foot-11. Barry (6-3, 3-3 UFC) is 5-11. Both fighters are coming off knockout losses. Struve was stopped by a Travis Browne Superman punch at UFC 130 in May. Barry fell victim to Cheick Kongo's already legendary come-from-behind knockout at UFC on Versus 4 in June, moments after it appeared Barry had Kongo out on his feet with the fight about to be stopped.

A loss for either will be the first losing streak of his career.

The live blog is below.




Round 1: It's the tallest heavyweight in the UFC, Struve (6-11), against the shortest, Barry (5-11). The size difference has been comical to both fighters leading up to the bout. But comedy goes out the window now. Tentative start for both. Barry eats the first body kick, then throws a straight kick. Inside leg kick from Barry lands. Then another. Straight left from Struve finds a home, but it's Barry coming forward. He throws a left, then another inside leg kick, then another left hand. Outside leg kick from Barry now, and he checks a high kick from Struve in exchange. Referee Dan Miragliotta tells the two big guys to show something. A short flurry has not much there for either fighter, but a Barry right looks good right after. Then another inside leg kick. Strive misses a left hook. Barry comes with another inside leg kick, then tries to push through a couple left jabs. Struve works a couple body kicks, and Barry answers with one of his own. Big knee from Struve just misses, and that may be his best bet given the size advantage he has. Struve throws a kick to the knee, then one to the body. Barry then ducks under a right. Another inside leg kick from Barry is good, but it doesn't seem to be doing a lot of damage. The crowd is slightly restless. Left straight kick from Struve is answered with another inside leg kick from Barry. Struve throws a big kick that lands toward the end of the round. And that might curry favor with some judges in a close round. But we're giving the first round to Barry, just barely, 10-9, for coming forward more and throwing with a little more consistency.

Round 2:
Dan Miragliotta tells the two they have to "step it up." So let's see what happens. Inside leg kick from Struve is answered by a nice uppercut from Barry - and I mean seriously, UPPERcut. He had to in order to reach. Big left head kick from Barry gets to Struve's right shoulder shortly after. Then an outside leg kick from Barry. Combo to the head, then a kick to the outer leg by Barry, and Struve answers with a nice kick of his own. We trade soft leg kicks with about 2 minutes left. Struve briefly tries to tie Barry up in a clinch, but Barry pushes out of it, wary of the potential for Struve's knees. Struve throws a kne, and Barry answers with a left. Struve ties him up and tries for a guillotine. Barry is in side control and in a choke. He gets out, but Struve gets a triangle. It's deep. Barry amazingly picks Struve up with the triangle still on, and drops a massive slam. But Struve still has it, and Barry has to tap. It's the first two-fight skid of Barry's career.

Result: Stefan Struve def. Pat Barry, submission (triangle choke), 3:22 Round 2
"I've been working on my kickboxing and my reach. I'm thrilled with the result. But give it up for Pat. He's one of the coolest dudes in MMA," Struve tells Joe Rogan after the fight.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/01/ufc-on-versus-6-live-blog-pat-barry-vs-stefan-struve-updates/

Jason Guida Melvin Guillard Cody Guinn Jorge Gurgel

UFC on Versus 6 weigh-in: Short guys look to strike back

UFC on Versus 6 weigh-in: Short guys look to strike back

If they were playing hoops tomorrow in Washington, D.C., Pat Barry and Demetrious Johnson would be in big trouble. They're not, so Stefan Struve and Dominick Cruz have a lot to worry about in their fights against what appears to be shrimpy opponents.

Cruz, the UFC's bantamweight champ has excelled because of his confusing herky, jerky movement and cardio. At 5-foot-8, he towers over the 5-3 Johnson, but the little guy is easily the most active fighter he's ever faced. UFC analyst Joe Rogan put it perfectly during the weigh-ins.

"Strap yourself in. This might be the fastest paced fight in the history of the the UFC," said Rogan.

If Johnson looked tiny against Cruz, it's to even put into words the difference between Struve and his 5-11 opponent Pat Barry. The 243-pound Barry is short for a heavyweight, but today was ridiculous. Barry actually stood on the scale to initially stare down with the 6-11 Struve. When he got off the scale, you could see Barry is really going to have to chop down the giant with his powerful kicks.

Both fighters appeared to be in great shape. Barry lost his conditioning a bit at UFC 115 when he weighed in around 250. Struve, who debuted with the UFC at UFC 95 at 240 pounds, is now all the way up to 261.

The heavyweights have the luxury of not really cutting weight, that's not the case for Anthony Johnson. A massive welterweight, who walks around at over 200 pounds looked good at 171, but also appeared extremely relieved. Johnson has missed on two previous occasions with the UFC.

UFC on Versus 6 weigh-in: Short guys look to strike back

The funniest moment of the weigh-in came from Yves Edwards. Celebrating his 35th birthday, Edwards came out with party favors and a tray of strawberry cupcakes.

One fighter missed weight. Byron Bloodworth, making his UFC debut clocked in at 138 for his bantamweight fight. Mike Easton agreed to allow Bloodworth to stay at 138 and was awarded 20 percent of his opponent's purse.

This is a big bounce-back card for several fighters. Barry, Edwards and Shane Roller were all knocked out pretty badly in their last fights. Tomorrow night, marks the return of Josh Neer. Neer fought 10 times for the UFC, going 4-6. He hit the minors and compiled a 6-1 record to make his way back. The best fight of the night may be a rematch of a controversial finish at UFC 115. Referee Yves Lavigne made a bad call in awarding a quick submission finish to Wiman.

UFC on Versus 6 (courtesy MMAjunkie):

MAIN CARD (Versus)

Champ Dominick Cruz (135) vs. Demetrious Johnson (135)
Pat Barry (243) vs. Stefan Struve (261)
Charlie Brenneman (171) vs. Anthony Johnson (171)
Mac Danzig (155) vs. Matt Wiman (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Yves Edwards (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Paul Sass (155)
Byron Bloodworth (138) vs. Mike Easton (135)
T.J. Grant (155) vs. Shane Roller (156)
Josh Neer (171) vs. Keith Wisniewski (170)
Joseph Sandoval (134) vs. Walel Watson (134.5)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-on-Versus-6-weigh-in-Short-guys-look-to-str?urn=mma-wp7566

Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes