Then and Now: What has changed in MMA since 2005?

A long term dynamic develops in every sport that sticks around for a while. A section of the fan base will inevitably compare the play of today to their heroes from yesteryear.  Whether it is the baseball fan that longs for the day where they didn’t have to worry about someone using performance enhancing drugs after every home run, or the football fan that yearns for the era of hard hitting and less complaining in the NFL. One thing is a common factor; this group wishes things would go back to

One for the record books: Joe Lauzon’s incredible 11 fight-night bonuses

Joe Lauzon (22-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has earned 11 bonuses in his 13 UFC fights setting a new record for that accomplishment. Saturday at UFC on FOX 4, Lauzon earned a rare double bonus by submitting Jamie Varner (20-7-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the third round. He picked up two $50,000 checks for “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night.”Though online databases largely list only nine bonuses for Lauzon, the UFC’s fighter profile page for him lists two more to put him at 11. In his UFC debut, he earned

Ben Rothwell injured, changes made to UFC on Fox 4 event

The UFC injury bug has struck, yet again.The UFC on FOX 4 bout between Heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne has been shelved due to an injury to Rothwell’s ankle just a week and a half out from the nationally televised event August 4, 2012. It is heavily rumored that former Strikeforce and IFL Heavyweight Devin Cole may be stepping up to take Rothwell’s place next Saturday.With the injury to Rothwell, this is the third bout from the original UFC on FOX 4 event which has had to be either dropped or

Etim and Penner injured, changes made to UFC on Fox 4 and UFC on FUEL TV 4

Terry Etim (15-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is one of the latest UFC injury casualties and has had to bow out of his main-card bout against Joe Lauzon (21-7 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC on FOX 4, according to FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight”. Lauzon is expected to remain on the card to face a new opponent. Etim last fought in January at UFC 142, where he was knockouted by Edson Barboza, by way of a head-kick. Ironically, Lauzon is coming in off a loss via a similar knockout at the hands (or feet) of Anthony Pettis.UFC on FOX 4 takes

Where Are They Now? 2007 Pound-for-Pound Rankings Edition

Where Are They Now? A Look Back At The 2007 P4P RankingsIt’s truly amazing to see how fast the landscape can change in a sport that continues to grow as rapidly as MMA does. It’s been 5 years since 2007, which in this sport is practically a generation bordering on an eternity. And yet without fail, our surroundings are once again drastically different from what they were. Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson are all newly prominent parts of the p4p picture,

Oddsmakers place Jon Jones as overwhelming favorite versus Dan Henderson

News comes as no surprise that oddsmakers have Current UFC Light Heavyweight favorite as an early -565 betting favorite over his next next opponent, Dan Henderson. Jones comes in high off the heels of a three-fight title-defense streak, in which he bested a former UFC champ in every match. Victories over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and finally Rashad Evans have started the debate over Jon Jones being the best Light Heavyweight ever, already. No one has been able to get inside the

UFC on Fuel TV 2 aftermath: Who’s next for Alexander Gustafsson?

The dust has settled on UFC on Fuel TV 2, and now many questions arise about where Alexander Gustafsson will go from here. No doubt a promising prospect with title fights on the horizon, just how ready is he for the biggest stage at this point of his career? His decision victory over Thiago Silva in Stockholm was a one-sided affair. Gustafsson beat arguably the best opponent of his young career handily in Sweden, but there are seemingly many detractors to his performance.
Those arguing for Gustafsson say