Tag Archive for MMA

UFC 141: Nate Diaz Has the Right Mentality Going into His Fight with Cerrone

December 29, 2011 Sports No comments

While the casual fan is looking to buy this Friday’s UFC 141 event to see the return of Brock Lesnar, all the MMA addicts out there are looking forward to the co-main event between Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone as much as they are the main event.

Diaz and Cerrone seem to be a fight made in matchmaking heaven, as they both have entertaining and effective stand up to go along with their solid jiu-jitsu skills, but the legitimate dislike for one another has made this fight even more exciting than it already was.

The beef between the two fighters started around UFC 137, where Cerrone was on the card set to fight Dennis Siver and Nate was in town to support his brother Nick prior to his fight with B.J. Penn.

Apparently, Cerrone went to shake hands with the younger Diaz, but Nate blew him off and walked away, something that irked “Cowboy.”

Diaz has defended his actions at UFC 137 by saying that he isn’t interested in becoming friends with guys who he may eventually have to fight, and he alluded to the fact that he has “accidentally” made friends with guys who he later had to compete against before.

After they seemed to downplay the feud at the UFC 141 pre-fight press conference on Wednesday, the two squared up for the traditional staredown and before we knew it, words were exchanged and Diaz flipped Cerrone’s hat off of his head and pushed the Jackson’s MMA based fighter.

While many have criticized Diaz’s actions at the press conference, they have to see things from Nate’s point of view.

The Diaz brothers are part of the rare breed of fighters still consider each Octagon appearance as a fight and not a competition, and they would rather not fight guys who they like.

Diaz himself said after his bout against Takanori Gomi at UFC 135 that he would have rather fought someone else because Gomi was one of his favorite fighters and a similar statement was made by his brother about Penn.

While some call their actions unprofessional or refer to them as “street thugs,” the Diaz brothers are just a different breed of fighter than what the public is used to, and they refuse to change what they are for the sake of their reputation.

At this rate, Diaz will likely be painted as the villain going into the fight, and for some fans he may exhibit an attitude that makes him just that.

But for others, it’s not that Diaz is a bad guy or that he is trying to create drama, the fact is that he’s nothing more than misunderstood.

Nate Diaz isn’t trying to create a rivalry with Cerrone or attempting to disrespect him before they throw leather on Friday, he’s just doing what he’s done his entire life and preparing for a fight.

Duane "Bang" Ludwig Recognized by UFC for Fastest Knockout in UFC History

December 29, 2011 Sports No comments

On January 16, 2006, Duane “Bang” Ludwig fought his second career fight in the UFC against Jonathan Goulet.  The fight was quick, and in fact it was the quickest in UFC history.

The problem is that due to a scoring error, the knockout was officially recorded at 11 seconds and therefore not the fastest in UFC history.

For years, MMA fans have argued that Ludwig deserves the honor of being recognized as the fastest knockout in UFC history, Joe Rogan has even mentioned it multiple times throughout his career as a broadcaster for the UFC.

Dana White, however, was apparently oblivious to this scoring error, at least according to him.  ”I never even realized it until we got into it over this [Duane] “Bang” Ludwig thing,” said White in his most recent video blog.

In the video, they break down the fastest three knockouts in UFC history with a running timer from the second the fight starts until the hundredth of a second when the fight was stopped.  Ludwig was timed at 6.06 seconds, nearly half of what the official scoring time was.

Coming in a close second was “The Korean Zombie” Chan-Sung Jung with his knockout over Mark Hominick at UFC 140, timed officially at seven seconds and unofficially by Dana White at 6.26 seconds.

Third place goes to Todd Duffee over Tim Hague at UFC 102, also officially timed at seven seconds and unofficially timed at 7.56 seconds.

Although the official record is currently shared by Duffee and Jung, White says in the video that he would like the official record changed and given to Ludwig.

“If the kid [Ludwig] really has the fastest knockout in UFC history it should be recorded that way by the Athletic Commission and the UFC,” said White.

Despite White’s pleas, the Athletic Commission refused to overturn their official ruling and will continue to give the record to Duffee and Jung.

I’m Joe W.

UFC on FX 2: Pete Spratt Talks Aaron Rosa’s Match Versus James Te-Huna

December 29, 2011 Sports No comments

When Pete Spratt came into contact with Aaron Rosa four years ago, he insisted that he knew right away that the young light heavyweight had a bright future in the world of mixed martial arts.

“I met Aaron just on the training scene out here in San Antonio,” Spratt, 40, recently explained to Bleacher Report. “We had mutual friends training together and just ended up hooking up. When we did, we have been working together ever since.”

“As an athlete, I was pretty impressed. He has good size, good athletic ability and agility. He is pretty fleet-footed (for) a guy that walks around at about 230 pounds.”

To be certain, Spratt emphasized that Rosa—then-undefeated in professional competition—showed more than athletic prowess and a bright future in 2007.

“When I met Aaron, he was already, like, (9-0) in MMA, so that record in itself showed me that he could excel,” recounted Spratt, who has contested nearly 50 professional matches over the course of his career. “There is nothing ‘potential’ in 9-0—that’s already proving.”

Now, Spratt and Rosa train extensively together under the Rodrigo Pinheiro Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu banner in San Antonio. When preparing for competition, the two train together six days a week.

“[T]he only thing we don’t do is lift weights together,” Spratt noted.

Naturally, Spratt insisted that he wasn’t taken aback when Rosa, 28, was signed by the UFC earlier this year. Prior to making his UFC debut in June of 2011, Rosa had notched victories over notable fighters such as Devin Cole and Abe Wagner, and had fought in several of North America’s top promotions.

“I wasn’t surprised, but I was happy for him,” noted Spratt, who said he had long been campaigning on Rosa’s behalf to UFC management. “That is what he was working toward and to see his dream come to fruition was like being a proud big brother. I told him now that you are there, we need to make the most out of it!”

After losing his debut match in the Octagon—a third-round TKO loss to Joey Beltran at UFC 131—Rosa, after dropping back to the light-heavyweight division, edged out a majority decision victory over Matt Lucas in mid-November.

Now, in what will be Rosa’s next opportunity to “make the most” of his run in the UFC, he is to take on James Te-Huna on the UFC on FX 2 card on March 3rd in Sydney, Australia.

According to Spratt—who is to serve as a corner man to Rosa for the second time in the UFC—a victory in Australia is within his main training partner’s reach.

“I really don’t see any major problems (Te-Huna) brings to the table,” Spratt offered. “From the old fights that I’ve seen, he is a pretty big puncher and likes to press you against the fence. But I don’t see anything we need to overly focus on.”

“For this particular fight, Aaron is going to have to be more technically-sound. He will have to keep his guard tight and throw straight punches inside of Te-Huna’s looping-punches.”

“Realistically, I am going to be biased to my fighter, of course, but I see this fight probably going the distance, with Aaron being declared the winner due to superior technical striking.”

Looking past Rosa’s forthcoming match, Spratt—although he emphasized it would be foolhardy to discount any opponent in the UFC— believes his student can continue to make his mark in the Octagon.

“With a loss, you could be dropped at any time, so to remain gainfully employed he needs to win,” Spratt explained. “A win means everything!

“Aaron can be a champion in this sport. He was one fight away from fighting for the Strikeforce light-heavyweight strap, (so) I know he can get into title contention.”

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