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

Will Urijah Faber be in the UFC Hall of Fame?

Urijah Faber has done a lot for the sport of MMA in terms of drawing in fans and popularity. With the serious knee injury to UFC Bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz, Faber finds himself again fighting for UFC gold. Faber will face Brazilian sensation Renan Barao for the Interim Bantamweight title in the headliner of UFC 149 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada this Saturday. While much of Faber’s fame and glory was accomplished during his title run in the WEC as Featherweight champ, the WEC is part of Zuffa

UFC 148 Results Recap: Anderson Silva defends title, Ortiz retires with a loss

The monumental rematch between Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and arch-nemesis Chael Sonnen began as we may have expected, with Sonnen looking for the double leg early and securing it. He spent the rest of the round in top position, scoring some strikes on Silva and looking for a few submissions to no avail. As the second round started, Sonnen pushed Silva up against the cage. He appeared to have gone for a spinning backfist, as he was previously seen training. This one was wild and found no home, as

Zuffa offering refunds on UFC 147, are fans really that fickle?

For the first time in UFC history, the promotion is issuing refunds to fans who purchased tickets to UFC 147 in Brazil. A spate of training-related injuries and a repeatedly altered fight card has lead to a flurry of complaints from fans who bought tickets to see a very different promotion from the one that has materialized.
The promotion published the following on its web page: “With the change on the main card, fans who purchased tickets for the event will now officially have three (3) days to decide

Thumbs Down: 5 fights that didn’t happen in 2012

It is midway through 2012, and it seems to be a bad year for injuries in the UFC. Five important fights have been cancelled or postponed this year due to injury, surgery, illness or suspension. These things are all part of the fight game and have been since day one. The nature of the sport is brutal, but injuries are not isolated to fights. Most fighters suffer their injuries in training.  As well-rounded as a UFC fighter is expected to be, it is quite easy to “overtrain”, that is, put the body

Injury forces Thiago Alves out of UFC 149

News broke today that Thiago Alves is out of his UFC 149 bout with Siyar Bahadurzada. Forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury, it is a disappointing setback for Alves. Looking to bounce back from a submission loss to the surging Martin Kampmann, Alves was set up to face Bahadurzada in an exciting war of two fast-paced strikers. The Brazilian kickboxer had dominated Kampmann on the feet before an ill-advised takedown spelled his doom. Alves was originally set to face Yoshihiro Akiyama on the card

UFC on Fuel TV 3 results: Korean Zombie crushes Dustin Poirier by D’Arce choke

Chan Sung Jung aka “The Korean Zombie” defeated Dustin Poirier in the Main Event of UFC on Fuel TV 3  in Virginia by D’Arce choke in the fourth round. This was a thrilling fight which did not disappoint anyone. Jung’s grappling was much more impressive than it had been in the past and his transitions were simply flawless.Poirier was highly favored going into this match as his performance in the Octagon showed as he listened to his corner and outmaneuvered his opponent on numerous occassions with a

UFC 149: Thiago Alves now faces Siyar Bahadurzada

News broke today that Thiago Alves will find himself with a new opponent at UFC 149 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally scheduled to face Yoshihiro Akiyama on the card, he will now fight surging prospect Siyar Bahadurzada. This announcement adds some fireworks yo the card, as both fighters love to throw leather with bad intentions. The bout holds different but important implications for both fighters.
Alves is looking to get a win streak going,having once been a title challenger against Georges St.

Urijah Faber responds to Dominick Cruz’s injury, wants Renan Barao as a replacement

Earlier today, news broke that Dominick Cruz tore his ACL training for his UFC 148 title bout versus arch-nemesis Urijah Faber. Instantly, the status of UFC 148 as potentially the biggest card ever was in jeopardy. While no longer possessing two title fights, it appears that Urijah Faber does still want to fight on the card, revealing the following via Twitter.com:

Sucks about @thedomin8r hope recovers fast! Sounds like 9 months aftr surgery @renanbaraoufc seems like the best replacement!