Ceblogger's Sports Blog » UFC

Brock Lesnar Returns to WWE

ceblogger — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:58:58 +0000

Is Brock Lesnar leaving the MMA world to return to his roots at the WWE? Here’s a video I found in Youtube and my oh my! Just listen to the fans reactions and witness what he did to John Cena.

Lesnar hasn’t been in WWE since 2004. His departure was said to be due to his desire to join profootball. He started his MMA career in 2007, and was signed by the UFC in 2008. He was given a title shot for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in just his fourth professional fight. He defeated Randy Couture and wrested the title.

In 2009, it was confirmed that Lesnar was suffering from mononucleosis. It was also revealed that Lesnar was suffering from a serious case of diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder, which would require surgery. In January 2010, he went on to fight Shane Carwin and unified the title. In October that year, he defended his title against undefeated contender, Cain Velasquez. Lesnar lost by TKO. At the end of 2011, he fought Alistair Overeem but was overmatched. That latest defeat made him to announce his exit from the UFC.

UFC 140 Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida Preview and Results Prediction

ceblogger — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:21:25 +0000

UFC 140: Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida this December 10, 2011 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada will be an exciting fight to watch. The 24-year old current UFC light heavyweight champion will defend his title against the former titleholder and karate expert, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

There were talks that Jones’ next opponent would be Rashad Evans, ex-teammate and also a former champion. But Evans has not recovered yet with his hand injury. Evans had been looking forward for his opportunity to face Jones on the Octagon, since that time the younger man became champion this year by defeating Shogun Rua.

Lyoto Machida

Machida, is a known dangerous fighter who can stop everyone on his way. He is a black-belter in karate and jiujitsu. He also learned Sumo wrestling when he was young. With an MMA record of 17-2 since 2003, his first loss came in the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in their rematch showdown in Montreal last May 2010. It was such a bloody and brutal loss for Machida, who in 2009, was nominated for ESPYS’s “Best Fighter” of the year.

Machida’s second loss was a controversial split decision versus Quinton Rampage Jackson at UFC 123. It was a close fight thought of by many to have gone Machida’s way.

At UFC 129, Machida bounced back by knocking out Randy Couture with a jumping front kick that closely resembled the famous crane kick in the original karate kid movie.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones wasn’t expected to become champion this year. But thanks to Rashad Evan’s injury that he was called up to become the replacement challenger to Mauricio Rua’s 1st title defense. At 23, Jones wasn’t expected to dominate as Rua came out fresh from victory against erstwhile undefeated and champion Machida.

But Jones beat all odds showing why he was called “the bones” throwing flying kicks and elbows and back first rarely seen in other fighters. He became the youngest UFC champion and the fastest at that.

Jones has no black belt of sorts but his wrestling power and unorthodox striking skills bought him victories one after another. His killer elbows do much damage as shown on the fight against Brandon Vera.

Thinking that Jones was an over-hyped fighter, Rampage Jackson swallowed his words and was proven wrong when he met the young fighter at the Octagon. Jones defeated Jackson via submission in the fourth round.

Jones vs Machida Preview and Results Prediction

Jon Jones crushed the two fighters who defeated Lyoto Machida. He’d done these all this year 2011. Now he wants to add another former champion to his trophy. But can he do the same against the guy they called the Dragon?

Jon Jones is unpredictable. His opponents mostly failed to watch his killer elbows. He can wrestle and take down any opponent. He’s young, big, strong and fearless.

I am a fan of Machida despite critics saying his style is boring. Watching him crush Evans with lethal blows and waylaid Couture with a flying frontal kick took me off from my seat. I hate though that part when he squared off with Rua. I think he lost both fights.

Machida will be elusive as usual and if Jones is careless, he’ll be knocked out with a either a flying kick or a barrage of punches. Machida will also have to be wary of Jones turns and lightning quick reflexes. If Machida is careless, an elbow on his jaw will put him to sleep. But if the fight will have to go the distance and to the judges table, my results prediction for UFC 140 Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida is a split decision win for Jones.

UFC 134: Silva vs Okami, Griffin vs Rua

ceblogger — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:06:35 +0000

It’s Brazil vs the world in this Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August 27, 2011. It will mark the long-awaited return of the UFC to Brazil after thirteen years. The main events are Silva vs Okami and Griffin vs Rua.

SILVA vs OKAMI

It’s a homecourt advantage for Anderson Silva, the current UFC middleweight champion. It is a hostile territory for the challenger – no.1 contender Yushin Okami. The two have faced each other before, in Hawaii’s 2006 Rumble on the Rock tournament, with Okami winning by disqualification. Silva protested but to no avail. He went on to win thirteen consecutive fights, and became the longest reigning UFC champion after that.

GRIFFIN vs RUA

In their previous encounter in 2007, Griffin was the underdog, while Rua was a champion in waiting. But the American seized every opportunity and caught Rua via choke in the third round. This 2011, the two have become different fighters. Rua, though coming from a title loss against Jon Jones, will have the crowd behind his back. If he fights like the way he demolished Lyoto Machida, then it will be another title shot for him.

RESULTS PREDICTION

I do think that it will be the Brazilians dominating this event. Silva and Rua have the capabilities to dominate their respective opponents.

WHY BRAZIL?

It’s a wonder why it took so long for UFC to return to this country considered to be the homeland of many UFC superstars. Consider this: The UFC sold out UFC 134: Rio in 74 minutes. It is a clear indication that MMA can succeed in this country and that they should be there more often. Mixed martial arts is ingrained in their culture. MMA fans know what a Brazilian jiu-jitsu is, and they know that Gracie, Machida, Silva, Nogueira, Rua have their roots in Brazil. Gone are the days of Japan’s dominance. So, Brazil is no longer just about samba and football.

UFC 128: Shogun Rua vs Jon Jones Fight Replay Video

ceblogger — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:09:58 +0000

It’s a busy week and I wanted to watch the UFC 128: Shogun Rua vs Jon Jones fight video replay at Youtube or anywhere where there is available. I read the preflight articles and I thought Rua, who outclassed erstwhile undefeated and UFC Lightheavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, would strip Jones off his pants. Being the Champ and a veteran of many fights, I gave him high regard. I was also aware of Jones capabilities, and that the odds were for him. But I thought these were just hypes.

For those who haven’t seen the trailer, watch this:

In the articles I read right after the fight, they reported that “Rua looked like an amateur fighting Jones”. Outclassed, outmaneuvered and knocked out. What kind of monster is Jon Jones?

So today, a week after the fight, I roamed at where the pirates were and was delighted to see UFC 128 in their display table. I paid higher than usual, but I was told that it was already a discounted price. Bad me! But what do you expect in this third world? I wanted to see the UFC 128 fight replay.

The video was clear and crisp. I’m impressed. This must not be a third world technology. I watched the intros and the supporting bouts. I was amazed at the sight of the full house. The UFC will rule the combat sports world anytime soon, even outclassing boxing. The audience and viewers were treated with outstanding matches and jaw-dropping moves. I saw lightning-quick counterpunches that led to deadly knock outs, similar to what I saw in the Donaire-Montiel fight. These guys hit very hard!

Then it was the main event. Jon Jones is young at 23. But he is too tall and too big for Rua. He is said to have the longest reach in any fighters of UFC history at 215cm.

In the first round, Jones dominated Rua. The Champ was seen in some wobbly moments. It looked like his punches were power-drained. He made some takedown attempts, but Jones is a champion wrestler too, thwarting his every move.

In the second round, it was all the same. Jones showed some of his unusual moves. Some missed, but those that connected inflicted damages on Rua’s face. I thought Rua would dominate the ground, but his jui-jitsu was rendered useless when it’s the gigantic Jones on top.

In the third round, Jones was again on top and pounded Rua’s face with his elbows. Rua was able to break free but Jones is a good stand up fighter too. A knee connected and knocked out the Champ at 2:37 of round 3. Jones is the new UFC Light heavyweight Champion and the youngest Champ of UFC history at 23.

UFC’s Tito Ortiz Arrested, Domestic Violence Charge

ceblogger — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:57:54 +0000

Tito Ortiz, the ex-Light Heavyweight Champ of UFC, was arrested on Monday on charges of domestic violence by beating up his girlfriend and mother of his two kids, adult film star Jenna Jameson. The arrest was made at the Huntington Beach home where the couple lived.

The two began dating in 2006 after they purportedly met on the social networking site, Myspace. Later that year, in an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Ortiz stated that he is in love with Jameson, that she is no longer acting in adult films, and that they are in a monogamous relationship. In March 2009, Jameson gave birth to twin boys.

It was reported that someone called up 911 because of some disturbance. When cops arrived, they found Jameson with some visible injuries.

Later after the arrest, Jameson also addressed her fans via Twitter, telling then that she can’t anymore take any abuse from anyone and that she’ll quit Twitter.

UFC 110: Nogueira vs Velasquez: Results Predictions

ceblogger — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:46:25 +0000

UFC 110 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez goes to the land down under. This is the first time a UFC bout is held in Australia. The main card takes place at 2pm, February 21 at the Acer Arena in Sydney. For US viewers, the match can be seen live on payperview on February 20, 2010 10pm ET.

MAIN CARD

* Heavyweight – Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
* Middleweight – Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
* Lightweight – George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
* Light Heavyweight – Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
* Heavyweight – Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Anthony Perosh

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Light Heavyweight – Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
* Welterweight – Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
* Middleweight – C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
* Light Heavyweight – Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna

Nogueira vs Velasquez

Antonio Nogueira – Rio de Janeiro, 6-3, 240 pounds, 32-5-1
Cain Velasquez — Salinas, Calif., 6-1, 240 pounds, 7-0-0

The young Velasquez is undefeated with 7 UFC fights. He knocked out Ben Rothwell in round 2 at UFC 104. Velasquez (of Mexican descent) is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa Central Community College. His strengths are usually in the takedown. But he also throws a lot of punches as he won six of his fights in TKO due to punches. He is current a purple-belter of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The 33 year old Nogueira is a veteran MMA fighter having fought the best of the MMA fighters out there both in Pride and in the UFC. He rose to prominence in the Japanese Pride Fighting Championship promotion, where he was the first Pride Heavyweight Champion from November 2001 to March 2003. He is the first and only heavyweight to have held Championship titles in both Pride and the UFC. His recent victory was a unanimous decision against Randy Couture at UFC 102. Nogueira is an excellent Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and his wins are mostly on submission.

Results Prediction

Although a lot of people predicted a victory for Nogueira, I go for Velasquez. He’s young and strong with his ground and pound technique. TKO in the 3rd round.

Actual results: 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the first round. That’s how quick Velasquez finished off Nogueira with his punches. Now he can face Brock Lesnar for the Championship.

UFC 104 Results: Machida Beats Shogun

ceblogger — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:44:30 +0000

UFC 104 Results: Lyoto Machida beats Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Watching from the video replays, the 48-47 decision victory for the Champ is surely a very controversial one. The match lasted 5 full rounds and viewers can clearly see a battered Machida. Sports scribes also disagrees with the official decision.

Was it luck or some magic hands at the top? Rua was fighting like mad with all the kicks and punches. He surely hurt the champ who had busted lips and was quite limping afterward. Machida had his time too, mostly defending, but not clearly dominating. I earlier predicted a victory for him. But I am now becoming a Shogun fan too.

Here are the other UFC 104 Results

* Cain Velasquez defeated Ben Rothwell by TKO in Round 2.
* Gleison Tibau brushed aside Josh Neer by unanimous decision.
* Joe Stevenson knocked out Spencer Fisher in Round 2.
* Anthony Johnson defeated Yoshiyuki Yoshida by KO in Round 1.

Undercard
* Ryan Bader over Eric Schafer by unanimous decision.
* Pat Barry defeated Antoni Hardonk by KO in Round 2.
* Chael Sonnen defeated Yushin Okami by unanimous decision.
* Jorge Rivera defeated Rob Kimmons by TKO in Round 3.
* Kyle Kingsbury defeated Razak Al-Hassan by split decision.
* Stefan Struve defeated Chase Gormley by submission (triangle) in Round 1.

Some other sites have already provided video replays. Just go search for them.

UFC 104: Machida vs Shogun

ceblogger — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:07:37 +0000

UFC 104: Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio “Shogun” Roa will take place this October 24, 2009 at the Staples Center in California. Watch it live as Machida defends his Light Heavyweight belt against the equally dangerous Shogun Rua.
I have seen a few Machida fights in some online videos. His wins are spectacular and impressive. He is still undefeated at UFC.

Rua, also a Brazilian, is the winner of the PRIDE Fighting Championship 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. He has notable wins against big-name fighters such as Rampage Jackson, Chuck Lidell, Mark Coleman and Nogueira.

UFC 104: Official fight card

Main card

Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Heavyweight bout: Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell
Lightweight bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer
Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher
Welterweight bout: Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Preliminary card

Heavyweight bout: Antoni Hardonk vs. Patrick Barry
Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons
Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer
Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan
Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley

My prediction is for Machida victory. But I am not predicting a knockout. This fight will be won by a decision. If you think a decision is boring, think again. This will be a great fight to watch. Remember, Machida has not yet lost a single round in all his UFC fights. A decision victory may mean that he’ll lose a round this time. So watch UFC 104: Machida vs Shogun live, online if you want.

2009 ESPY Fighter of the Year Award: Pacquiao vs Machida

ceblogger — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:12:51 +0000

Who will be the Fighter of the Year for the 2009 ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards? Manny Pacquiao or Lyoto Machida?

According to the Wikipedia, the ESPY Awards is an

… annual sports awards event created and broadcast by American cable television network ESPN. Begun in 1993, the event confers eponymous awards, fully styled as Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, for individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given ceremony.[1] As the similarly-styled Grammy (for music), Emmy (for television), and Academy Awards (for film), the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is more relaxed, light, and self-referential than that of many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually included.

From their inception until 2004, the awards were chosen variously through voting by fans; sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, collectively experts; or ESPN personalities. Award winners have been selected thereafter exclusively through online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected the ESPY Select Nominating Committee.

One of the awards to be presented is the Best Fighter ESPY Award. It is presented to the professional boxer or mixed martial arts fighter, irrespective of nationality or weight class, adjudged to be the best in a given year. It used to be a Best Boxer of the Year Award. But with the rising popularity of mixed martial arts, they revised it in 2007. Floyd Mayweather Jr won both the 2007 and the 2008 edition. Oscar De La Hoya took the honors in 2006.

Now it’s 2009 and Manny Pacquaio is nominated along with some of the best mixed martial fighters there is. Most notable of Pacquiao’s achievements are his moves to higher weight class and defeating bigger guys like Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton. His victories are not even close. He retired Oscar and turned the lights off Hatton in two short rounds.

Who are the other nominees?

Lyoto Machida MMA – is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter and is currently the Light Heavyweight Champion of UFC. He is undefeated in his MMA career and has notable victories against UFC greats Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, Thiago Silva and recently, Rashad Evans. Machida is I think the closest rival of Pacquiao for this award.

Shane Mosley Boxing – is the current WBA Welterweight Super Champion. He recently clobbered Antonio Margarito despite being a 4-1 underdog. He is reportedly making announcements that he wants to fight Pacquiao next.

Anderson Silva MMA – is the current Middleweight Champion of UFC.

From the looks of it, Manny Pacquiao will take away the honors. Pacman fans all over the world can vote for their hero. I’ll post the voting link later when I see it.

Lashley vs Cook Fight Video Replay

ceblogger — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:49:33 +0000

If you are searching for the Lashley vs Cook fight video replay, youtube must have it. Or maybe some MMA sites out there have it. The fight only took 24 seconds.

Former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley choked and cooked Mike Cook in what could be seen as a brutal response to the mockery of pro wrestlers entering the world of mixed martial arts. Cook entered the ring wearing a Mexican wrestling mask ala Nacho Libre. The 6’3” Lashley, a former national amateur wrestling champion took the insult personally and refused to shake hands with his opponent.

A few seconds after the opening bell, the ex-pro wrestler was already choking his opponent making him lost consciousness. The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, 24 seconds after it began.

I used to be a fan of pro wrestling, but I couldn’t believe that with the wrestler’s size and strength, they could not spill the blood of their opponent. MMA is real. And it could be deadly. Lashley vs Cook is a proof that pro wrestlers can be real fighters too.