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

Dana White on Strikeforce: There is not a list of protected fighters

Earlier this week, Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer reported via podcast that fighters from Strikeforce were not allowed to leave the promotion for the UFC when their contracts are up: “They made this list of guys and they said ‘these are our guys’ and, even if their contract expires, they can’t move to UFC. That’s part of their deal with keeping this alive. So these guys are stuck. He could go to Bellator if he wanted to, but he couldn’t go to the UFC. There’s a list of guys, not everyone on

Jake Ellenberger set to face Josh Koscheck at UFC 151

News has broke that the co-main event to September’s UFC 151 featuring Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson is set. Welterweights Jake Ellenberger and Josh Koscheck will square off in the Octagon in a bout of two highly-ranked fighters coming off of a loss. Both looking to get back on track and claw towards the title shot, the fight presents a very interesting dynamic for a division that is currently experiencing quite the logjam at the top.
Ellenberger was one of the UFC’s most talked-about fighters after

Frankie Edgar: 155 Reasons In Defeat Video

In the first episode of Gaspari Nutrition’s Frankie Edgar:155 Reasons series, the former Lightweight champion’s coaches praise Edgar’s competitive nature and tenacity. His boxing coach explains that Ben Henderson cuts weight to roll BJJ at 180, and cuts a ton to fight at 155 lbs. Because Edgar walks around at 155 lbs., this makes his UFC 150 title fight comparable to Henderson fighting Anderson Silva. Edgar is humble and shows respect for his opponent while retaining his razor-sharp focus on the goal of

Sonnen responds to Jackson: You, Page, are not at my level

We reported earlier that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had a few things to say about fellow UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen. Particularly that Jackson wanted Sonnen to retire like he said he would in a challenge to Anderson Silva. Chael Sonnen was quick to respond on FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight, and running true to form, he fired right back at Rampage. He did it in Sonnen style with a classic setup: “‘Rampage’ has one fight left it is not against me. I give you this answer because

Anderson Silva would rather fight Luke Rockhold than Chris Weidman

After his destruction of tough number one contender Chael Sonnen on July 7th, much speculation has been made as to the identity of Anderson Silva’s next opponent. When Chris Weidman took out Mark Munoz with authority on July 11th, many began clamoring for the young Weidman to have the next shot at the belt. Former Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard will also make his UFC debut this weekend at UFC 149 after amassing an impressive 31 wins in 34 fights. With the announcement of Brian Stann versus