Aug 30
Check out exclusive UFC 118 pictures from MMA photographer Tracy Lee. Don't miss the photos of Frankie Edgar celebrating, Marcus Davis' eye and Randy Couture's choke of James Toney.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has had his mohawk for 18 years, but he shaved it all off Monday morning on "Fox and Friends." Now, he looks like this:
Liddell shaved his head for a good cause. BIC, the makers of razors, is sponsoring BIC 4 GOOD and encouraging people to shave their head for charity. You can virtually shave your head or send in a video of you actually getting your head shaved here. Either way, BIC will make a donation to Do Something, a charity that encourages volunteerism among youth.
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Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
Who doesn't have mixed feelings about James Toney and UFC 118? Sure he brought a lot of new media and attention to the event but one has to question whether the sport really benefitted from what Toney did in the Octagon. He received a rumored $750,000 up front for his efforts. No one expected the aging boxer to put up a great fight but could he at least pretend like he was going try? For me, all hope for the fight being even halfway decent, was finished as the scale read 237 pounds on Friday. Toney either had no shame or just said "screw it, I'm making my money. So why train?"
He was ridiculed all over the country by folks who rarely buy UFC pay-per-views or attend the numerous viewing parties. Toney was fodder for casual fans like Luke O'Brien, who posted his recap of UFC 118 on Deadspin.
If, over the last nine months, the boxer had trained to defend even one more
takedown than the number of cheeseburgers he seemingly stuffed in his gob, he
might have made the night more interesting. As it was, he didn't get to throw a
single punch before Randy Couture grabbed his ankle and, in slow-motion, dragged
him to the mat. Hitting a "low single" is one of the more insulting occurrences
in grappling, the rough equivalent of winning a chess game in four moves.
He's right. When was the last time a mixed martial artist even thought about a low single? The result would be getting your head kicked off into the mezzanine.
Couture soon had the manatee in an arm triangle. Fat Toney looked so lost on the
ground that he didn't even know how to tap out properly.
Apparently even referee Mario Yamasaki sort of mocked Toney. When Toney was sitting and pinned against the cage, Couture tried to tell the ref that his opponent verbally tapped. Yamasaki responded by telling Toney that he may want to just tap.
After the fight, James Toney offered a few smart words
on courage: "Anybody else in boxing ... wouldn't have done what I done because
they ain't got the heart or the balls that I do. You know what I'm saying? My
balls. ... I got big walnuts. Not little nuts."
Toney is correct, he does have guts but he should've also pointed out that no one else in boxing would've gone into the Octagon in horrific shape and dragged along boxing's reputation to take a beating. There was a lot more at stake here than just a single fight. Toney's lack of desire to take his training and conditioning seriously now makes him a footnote forever in the MMA versus boxing discussion.
Deadspin also reports that Boston backed up its reputation as one of the roughest towns for fans. With the testorone and beer flowing there was plenty of tomfoolery in the stands at the TD Garden.
In non-flack-approved action, a terrifying donnybrook among fat men erupted in
the upper deck before the event started. Bodies went flying. The wife of a pro
fighter sitting near me gasped in horror. One fat man almost plummeted from the
loge to great injury or death. At least two other crowd scuffles broke out
later. Each time, the pros behind me gawked like regular fans. Despite having an
armada of cops on hand, the Garden security staff seemed ill-equipped to handle
the raw New England aggression incited by MMA. In fact, one sleeping security
guard allowed an irate fan to storm up to the octagon and berate Marcus Davis
for shaming his Irish brethren
This is a good read. Go check it out over at Deadspin.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
It might be time for Dana White to make Shaquille O'Neal the UFC's assistant director of fun. Of course, the department's head position will be manned by Chuck Liddell. With the amount of publicity Shaq brought the UFC before and after UFC 118, he's got to get something, right? O'Neal was all over the fan expo on Friday and gave the non-MMA media a savory story by saying he wanted to fight fellow giant Hong Man Choi.
That would be a helluva "Shaq Vs." Or he could just go with three guys who are more Nate Robinson's range.
"Check it out – next year for the last episode of 'Shaq Vs.,' I'll grapple with
Joe Rogan first round, Lorenzo (Fertitta) second round and then Dana White in
round three – in the cage, in the octagon, in Las Vegas," O'Neal
said.
White wants Shaq to concentrate on fighting and beating guys named Kobe, Lamar and Pau.
"
The only thing he needs to worry
about is beating L.A." White said with a laugh.
For the hardcores in attendance at the expo, Shaq spoke and stayed around for plenty of photos.
He was also at the TD Garden during the event. White posted this great photo of himself and Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Big Baby's t-shirt is dynamite. He's clearly jacked up about the news that Octagon girl Arianny Celeste is going to grace the cover of November's Playboy.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
In a battle of two jiu-jitsu geniuses, Demian Maia won by unanimous decision, earning a score of 30-27 on all three judges' cards.
Maia came close to submitting Miranda early, taking him down and applying a choke, but Miranda shook him off his back. The two finished the round off from their feet, but quickly returned to the canvas in the second round. Maia took Miranda down easily early in the round, and showed off why he is one of the sport's best grapplers. Controlling Miranda the entire time, Maia applied both an arm triangle and an arm bar on Miranda, but Miranda was able to defend both.
Miranda's coaches -- including UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva -- begged Miranda to "let it go" in the final round, but it didn't happen. Miranda was tentative, and Maia took Miranda down and came close to an arm bar near the end of the round. Miranda spinned out of the attempt, but it was too little, too late.
With such great BJJ players fighting, a submission was expected. However, their grappling canceled out, and the fighter who had better control won. This was Maia's first fight back since losing in a title bout to Miranda's coach, Silva.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
It was even worse than we thought. James Toney called out mixed martial arts and begged for a fight, but what he showed in the Octagon could barely be called a fight. The out-of-shape boxing legend came out with his left hand at his side and was very stationary. He was a sitting duck for UFC veteran and Olympic-level wrestler Randy Couture, who scored a takedown just 11 seconds into the fight. Toney was helpless on the mat, where Couture moved to a dominant mount position and eventually slapped on an arm-triangle choke to finish the fight in just over three minutes.
"I think, in reality, if he's only been training nine months, it's a real short order to pick up everything," said Couture (19-10). "I give real credit to James. He took the risk. All us MMA guys love boxing. Hopefully there's a whole bunch of boxers who will love MMA."
By the reaction of the fans at the TD Garden in Boston, MMA diehards don't like boxers. As Couture was mauling Toney on the canvas, a chant of "UFC, UFC" filled the arena.
It was a pretty embarrassing display by Toney. It was almost as if he didn't drill at all on what to do if he was taken down. Frankly, the weigh-in was a sign of things to come when Toney weigh-in a career-high 237 pounds. He was nearly 20 pounds lighter for his last boxing match in Sept. of 2009.
Couture did whatever he wanted from the top and it was clear Toney hadn't learned any technique to try and extricate himself from the position. According to Compustrike, Couture landed 38 strikes to just six for Toney.
Couture, speaking during the postfight interview with UFC color analyst Joe Rogan, said he saw this coming. "No surprises. This is exactly what we trained to do. I worked on that arm triangle for over a year."
That's when Couture's grappling coach, Neil Melanson, walked over to his fighter and gave him a black belt suggesting that he'd just earned it.
Toney was gracious in defeat and surprisingly said that he wasn't done with MMA.
"He just caught me. He caught me sleeping. I'll be back. I ain't gonna quit," said Toney, as he was booed by the Boston faithful. "My ground game's alright. He fought a great fight. Randy Couture’s a great fighter."
Toney was a great boxer, piling up 72 wins against just six losses, but he's far from his prime. It's next to impossible for a boxer to cross over to MMA without at least a few years of training in all elements of the sport. And that probably only applies for a guy still in his boxing prime.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
Frankie "The Answer" Edgar left no questions at UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday night. He defended his lightweight championship belt vs. B.J. Penn, winning a unanimous decision 50-45 on all three judges' cards.
Edgar took Penn down immediately in the opening round. Penn would not let Edgar pass his guard and finally rolled out after a minute. Not long after, they were back to the canvas, with Edgar scoring another takedown. When they got back to their feet, Penn had a hard time connecting his strikes, while Edgar finished the round off with a big kick-punch combo.
In the second, Edgar again did what few other fighters have been able to do: take Penn down. Edgar didn't hold Penn down for long, but when they returned to their feet, Edgar was the aggressor. He continued to move well and frustrate Penn.
Early in the fight, the crowd at the TD Garden chanted Penn's name, but by the third round they were yelling, "Frankie! Frankie!" He earned their love as he stayed fresh and fast, winning virtually every exchange with Penn.
Penn finally seemed to come alive in the fourth round, taking Edgar down to start the round. He didn't hold Edgar down for long, though, and Edgar returned the favor with a takedown of his own, sweeping Penn's leg out from underneath him. Edgar postured up and landed big shots, both with Penn on his back and when they stood back up.
In the final round, Penn again started out with a takedown but lost the advantage when Edgar reversed it. Edgar did not let up, landing elbow after elbow on Penn's face.
This fight was a rematch of the duo's UFC 112 title bout in Abu Dhabi. In that bout, Edgar won a razor-close decision. This time, he left no doubt who was the better fighter. Edgar melded tight striking, frustrating movement and excellent wrestling, giving him the exact formula to beat Penn.
"I feel like I can walk on water," Edgar said. "I knew he was going to come in tough. I wanted to make that point."
Gray Maynard won his bout with Kenny Florian earlier in the evening, earning him a shot at Edgar's belt. The interesting wrinkle is that Maynard is the one fighter who has beaten Edgar. Maynard took a unanimous decision from Edgar in May of 2008, and he has a similar style to Penn.
After trash-talking before the fight, Penn was gracious in defeat.
"Frankie fought a great fight," Penn said. "He fought me twice. He walked away with the decision twice."
Despite this loss, Penn's legacy isn't in trouble. He still is one of the most dominant lightweights ever to fight in the UFC. Edgar just figured out the best way to beat him.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
MMA fan and new Boston Celtic Shaquille O'Neal was one of the many stars in attendance at UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday night. He was joined by Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who wore a shirt with a picture of Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste on it.
New England Patriots Tom Brady and Wes Welker were also in the building, but it was O'Neal who showed off his MMA moves for the camera. He is no stranger to MMA, having trained for years. O'Neal even made an appearance at the UFC Fan Expo on Saturday, and has even asked UFC president Dana White for a chance to fight in the Octagon.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
Taking a look at the best and worst of the UFC's first foray into Boston.
No. 1 star -- Frankie Edgar: Few champions have ever had to win two fights to be considered a champion, but that's exactly what Edgar had to do. After beating former lightweight champ B.J. Penn at UFC 112, Edgar was given the task of doing it again at 118. Not only did he respond to the challenge without complaint, he fought better than he did at 112, decisively beating Penn in all five rounds of their bout.
No. 2 star -- Randy Couture: Since his bout with James Toney was billed as boxing vs. MMA, Couture had the job of defending MMA's honor. "Captain America" handled the job deftly, taking down Toney and beating on him before submitting him.
No. 3 star -- Nate Diaz: In his second fight at welterweight, Diaz survived a Marcus Davis barrage early in the fight, added a deformity to Davis' head, and then guillotine choked Davis until he passed out. Though Diaz said he wants to return to lightweight, welterweight seems like a natural home for him.
Dishonorable mention -- Kenny Florian: Fighting in front of hometown fans, Florian was incapable of getting an offense going against Gray Maynard. A win here would have given Florian a shot at the lightweight belt. He even had Dana White saying that he choked in the big fights.
Source:Yahoo Sports
Aug 30
BOSTON, August 28 – It was the first UFC bout between a world-class boxer and an equally proficient mixed martial artist, and the UFC 118 co-main event at TD Garden went as most expected Saturday night, as Randy Couture impressively sent three-division world champ James “Lights Out” Toney to defeat via submission in the first round.
Couture vs. Toney
I worked on that triangle for over a year,” said Couture, 19-10, of the finishing move, one that led him to receive his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Neil Melanson in the Octagon after the bout. “A lot of credit to James for stepping up.”
After a few seconds of circling each other, Couture shot in for the takedown and immediately got it as he took Toney down by the ankle. With the crowd chanting “UFC, UFC”, Couture got into the mount position and fired away. Toney held on, hoping to force a standup, but Couture was relentless, bulling his foe into the fence as he looked to sink in an arm triangle choke. Toney gamely resisted and Couture released the hold in order to go back to work with his strikes. But that was only a brief respite for Toney, as Couture sunk in the arm triangle again, this time forcing Toney to verbally tap out at the 3:19 mark.
Toney, 42, who has won major world boxing titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions, as well as fringe belts in the heavyweight division, falls to 0-1 in mixed martial arts.
Florian vs. Maynard
Unbeaten contender Gray Maynard earned a shot at the UFC lightweight crown as he scored a solid, but fairly uneventful, three round unanimous decision win over Brookline, Massachusetts’ Kenny Florian.
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Maynard, who improves to 11-0 with 1 NC; Florian falls to 15-5.
The action was sporadic at best for the first three minutes, with Florian the busier of the two as he shot out quick punches and kicks at his foe. With under 90 seconds left, Maynard finally sprung into action as he shot for – and eventually got – the takedown, and proceeded to bull Florian into the fence, where they stayed until the end of the round.
Maynard’s potshots began to land with more frequency in the second round, allowing him to free up another takedown. This time, Maynard had more speed on his fastball as he began landing strikes on his foe, cutting Florian over the left eye in the process.
Florian’s striking game finally started to pay dividends in the third round, but even though he was scoring more, he wasn’t hurting Maynard, who again took “KenFlo” to the mat. And while Maynard’s methodical attack wasn’t winning him any New England fans, it was effective. In response, Florian kept battling from the bottom, looking for a submission, and with less than 30 seconds left he got to his feet and searched for a haymaker as Maynard ran out the clock. But it was not enough for the local hero to pull out the win.
“I tried to make him chase me,” said Maynard. “He doesn’t chase a lot.”
Maia vs. Miranda
It wasn’t from a lack of effort, but middleweight contender Demian Maia was unable to submit tough up and comer Mario Miranda, and was forced to settle for a three round unanimous decision win in his first bout since his five round championship loss to Anderson Silva in April.
Scores were 30-27 across the board for Maia.
Maia took control of the fight immediately with a takedown and a series of ground strikes, and looked like he was going to finish it quickly as he fished for a submission, but Miranda was able to keep himself out of danger as he battled his way back to his feet. The remainder of the round featured tentative standup from both men, leading the crowd to get restless.
The dominant ground game of Maia again ruled the day in the second round, with only a late, but failed, armbar attempt allowing Miranda to get back to his feet for the final seconds of the stanza.
Despite the pleas and instructions of his cornerman, the aforementioned Silva, Miranda was unable to turn the tide in the third round, and he was quickly taken down by Maia, who took his countryman’s back. Maia then looked to lock up Miranda’s arm, but Miranda escaped, and moments later got to his feet. Fatigue was evident on the faces of both men, and the pace slowed to a crawl, and though Maia made a last charge for a submission, it was not to be, as the bout went to the scorecards.
With the win, Maia improves to 13-2; Miranda falls to 12-2.
Diaz vs. Davis
Nate Diaz was in top form in the main card opener, dominating the standup against former pro boxer and welterweight veteran Marcus Davis before finishing matters via submission in the third round.
Davis calmly stalked Diaz in the early going, responding to the younger fighter’s taunts with punches to the head that quickly got him the respect of the Stockton, California native. As the round progressed, Diaz began to settle into a rhythm, cutting Davis over the right eye as he put together accurate combinations from long range. In the final minute, it was clear that the blood was starting to bother Davis, as he pawed at the cut in between pinpoint shots from Diaz.
Between rounds, the Octagonside physician had a long look at Davis’s cut, but he allowed the fight to continue, and it was far from foreign territory to Maine’s Davis, who has been cut-prone throughout his boxing and MMA careers. Diaz continued to peck away with both hands, landing much more than he was missing as Davis trudged forward, hoping to land the one punch that would turn things around. It didn’t come though, and as the round closed, Davis’ eye had begun to swell as well.
There was no quit in the “Irish Hand Grenade” though, and his punching power meant that he was still only a solid shot away from getting back in the fight. Diaz’ offense and defense were sharp though, and his unorthodox striking was keeping Davis from getting close enough to tag the rising star. And to his credit, Diaz didn’t take his foot off the gas even though he was presumably ahead on the scorecards, and with under two minutes left, he scored a takedown and sunk in a guillotine choke that finished the fight at 4:02 of the third round.
With the win, Diaz – who believes he broke his left hand in the second round - improves to 13-5; Davis falls to 22-8.