Aggression or Elusiveness: Who will win Cruz vs. Barao?

With Renan Barao’s convincing defeat of consensus number-one contender Urijah Faber at UFC 149, talk shifts to his looming bout with current Bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz. Cruz, who still remains on the shelf following major knee surgery, is rumored to be unable to fight until March of 2013 at the earliest. While the main event of UFC 149 has been much-maligned over the past few days as not delivering, the fact remains that Renan Barao is one of the most gifted and well-rounded fighters in the

Passing of the Guard: Why Renan Barao will defeat Urijah Faber at UFC 149

As we all know, this Saturday will mark the inauguration of the very first UFC Interim Bantamweight championship as popular former WEC champ Urijah Faber will face surging Brazilian fighter Renan Barao in the main event of UFC 149. The fight from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one full of suspense as it presents an interesting dynamic not usually seen in MMA. Faber is the one that most casual fans and even most pros I’ve seen interviewed would pick to win wholeheartedly, without much thought. He has tons of

Bellator 72 weigh-in results for Friday night’s card in Tampa

Bellator Fighting Championships will host Bellator 72 from The University of South Florida’s Sun Dome in Tampa on July 20. The fights will be broadcast live on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. The night will continue the Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Finals as Karl “Psycho” Amoussou takes on Bryan “The Beast” Baker in the Main Event. Bellator 72 will also showcase the debut of knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley as well as a bad blood welterweight trilogy

Strikeforce Recap: Luke Rockhold defends his belt, Marquardt wins Welterweight title

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy is in the books from Portland with two title fights. Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold came out and controlled his opponent against the cage early on. He landed some shots, but Kennedy fought back with a good double leg. Rockhold went for the choke early in the econd, but Kennedy escaped. Rockhold continued to use his range and kicks to win the round. The champion landed a right hook in the third, followed by a left. The fourth round saw Rockhold land a hard right and a

Five reasons Chris Weidman is the man to beat Anderson Silva

Less than one week after the biggest fight of the year, and maybe all of MMA history, Chris Weidman burst on to the scene as the best possible option to face Anderson Silva. His transitions from striking to takedowns were flawless. His top game was both smothering and punishing at the same time. Most importantly, he was confident enough to stand in the pocket with a guy with a lot of power in Mark Munoz. Chris showed all the qualities an opponent will need to compete with Anderson. Here are 5 reasons why, i

Chad Mendes: A second fight against Jose Aldo would be completely different

UFC Featherweight Chad Mendes was the last man to face class champion Jose Aldo, and while that fight did not go exactly how Mendes had planned, it has given a wealth of valuable MMA title fight experience. The KO loss to Aldo remains the only blemish on Mendes’ 11-1 record, and he seeks to rebound strongly at this Saturday’s UFC 148 in Las Vegas. Facing Cody Mackenzie in preliminary card action, many believe Mendes will find himself in another Featherweight title fight one day. Speaking to Fightline.com,

Ivan Menjivar on fight with Mike Easton: I just want to have a beautiful fight

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber were opposing coaches on the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter. Thee season would culminate in a rubber match between both coaches. It was slated to be the biggest grudge-match of the bantamweight division and had the full force of UFC’s marketing machine behind it; until trajedy struck.Cruz was forced out due to an ACL injury and Faber was told that Michael McDonald was injured and that Renan Barao didn’t want to leave Brazil to fight him, leaving Faber with the

The Huntington Beach Bad Boy: A look back at Tito Ortiz’s five greatest fights

With Tito Ortiz being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame prior to UFC 148, now is a great time to look back at the impressive body of work put forth by Ortiz. While many newer fans of MMA have seen Ortiz weather many storms that have impeded his momentum, there was a time when he was a nigh-unbeatable champion in the Light Heavyweight division. Before injuries, age, and a bitter feud with UFC President Dana White got to the former champion, Ortiz used a brutal mix of wrestling, conditioning, and