UFC 203, Glory 33, and GGG vs. Brook Fallout

It was another busy weekend in the combat sports world. It was also a very strange weekend in that same world. Each major show featured some type of controversy. The UFC saw a pro wrestler debut and than after he was done a bad episode of WWE Raw break out. The main event saw the loser claim some type of screw job worthy of Vince McMahon had gone on only for the replay to dispel that. Kickboxing saw a world champion more or less give away his own championship. With boxing the most feared knockout puncher in the world under perfomed yet still get the stoppage.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook- The fact this fight was taking place at all was strange a series of dominoes having to fall just right. Golovkin the WBA, IBF, and WBC middleweight champion wanted Canelo Alvarez who said “I’ll fight him” only to stall. He was open to Billy Joe Saunders in hopes of becoming the Unified champion only for Saunders to run away. That left him negotiation with Chris Eubank Jr. a lesser known middleweight from the United Kingdom. Brook meanwhile the UK born IBF welterweight champion has longed for a big fight. Amir Khan a fellow British fighter would make the most sense but has turned down the fight and Khan is still recovering from a KO by Alvarez in May. Brook and his promoter Match Room Boxing attempted to set up a fight with WBO champion Jessie Varguez. Match Room also handles Eubank Jr. Than Britexit happened, suddenly The Varguez fight no longer made finiach sense. At the same Chris Eubank Sr. the father manger and former fighter in his own right began making demand of Match Room including ticket and PPV prices in the UK (The fight aired on HBO in the US) and even things like who could call the fight. Match Room refused. Finally Eddie Hearn the owner of Match Room offered Brook the fight with Golovkin and the fight was made.

The led up to the fight was largely Big Middleweight Brawler vs. Smaller Better Boxer Welterweight. Most expected a fight similar to what we saw when Canelo fought Khan in May. That wasn’t true. Golovkin is hardly a brawler only looking for a big show. He’s a got a great skill set when it comes to his pure boxing. Brook meanwhile is a huge Welterweight also Brook hasn’t shown to be prone to power shots like Khan has. In fact in at ever check of weight Brook outweighed Golovkin. In the first round GGG came out more aggressive than usual looking to end the fight in spectacular fashion. He hurt Brook early on. Soon though it was clear it wasn’t a typical night for GGG. The second saw Brook win the round. The normally super accurate Golovkin failed to land many clean shots. He took several punches and his face was showing damage signs early on. That’s not to say he was losing. Brook took a tremendous amount of damage as well. As the fight went on more and more Golovkin managed to trap Brook in a corner or against the ropes.

After the forth round the corner for Brook seemed frantic. In the fifth Golovkin again had his challenger trapped and appeared to be taking over moving towards the KO. Still Brook was up fighting and appeared unhurt. Than Dominick Ingle the trainer for Brook threw in the towel ending the fight. At the time it was stunning commentator Bernard Hopkins even questioned it. Post fight it came out that Brook had suffered a broken eye socket in the first round. Ingle made the always difficult call to protect his fighter from himself. Golovkin showed even on an off night he’s still dangerous. Brook got a big payday he had been seeking for years and gained great respect for his Daring to Be Great.

UFC 203- It was a bizarre event even before it began. The pro wrestler at 0-0 fighting the guy that was only 2-0 with less than a full round in those two fights. Ian McCall being the victim of a late pull out again. Fighters getting stuck in a elevator and it falling injuring CB Dollaway and forcing him to withdraw. Than the actual event happened. And CM Punk the pro wrestler had to wonder at times “Am I back on Raw?” given many of the almost pro wrestling like moments that took place.

Earlier this year Stipe Miocic broke the curse of Cleveland when went to Fabrico Werdum’s home town and knocked the Brazilian out to claim the title. This earned Ohio Native his own home town title defense. A week before Miocic won the belt Alistair Overeem had just won his forth fight in a row earning the first shot at the new champion. The match up was exciting for fans and nearly perfect. If wanted the perfect fighter to beat Miocic you want someone like Overeem a diverse striker with KO power in any limb and a solid ground game with take down defense. And if you wanted the perfect fighter to beat the Reem it would be a guy like Miocic. A super athletic fighter with good boxing, known footwork and cuts angles, with strong wrestling and a powerful right hand.

In the first minute it looked the UFC was about have yet another new champion. Overeem caught Micoci with a punch dropping the champion. Reem who came out to the old Pride FC theme than used another trademark of the Pride era looking in the guillotine choke he won many fights with during that time. Miocic though escaped and got the fight standing. From there is seemed Overeem abandoned any type of game plan. It was one of the confusing plans by the guy that is the most experienced fighter in the UFC. Instead of effect back peddling, using the bike he just ran away. Not just avoiding the fight he actually ran. When Overeem did attack it was a lot of looping shots that missed. Going into the fight many speculated Miocic would have the advantage in cardio given the pace he can keep. Overeem wasted gas with such moves. Also not helping when Miocic did cut off the ring Reem was to accepting of taking punches. Both men hurt the other but Miocic hurt Overeem more. After an ill advise side kick by The Reem, Stipe took him down. The champion quickly gained mount and hit effective ground and pound. Miocic retained his title. Post fight Overeem didn’t help himself accusing Miocic of tapping out earlier in the fight.

The co-main event was a disgrace. It was bad fighting, awful coaching, poor revering all at once. In the first fight between these two Fabrcio Werdum dominated Travis Browne. Most expected much of the same in the rematch. Since the first fight Browne has gone downhill badly losing badly to Velasquez and Arloviiski. Werdum had won the world title in a brilliant performance. He than lost it when he fought stupid and charged into a Miocic right hand. Once again Werdum fought stupid. Yes he won but it was not in a way impressive enough to demand another title shot. Werdum has gotten away from the very things that won him the title. The solid Muay Thai striking has given way to a jumping bean. If Werdum tried to fight Miocic he fought Browne I see another knock out coming his way.

It’s truly sad to see what has become of Travis Browne. Brian Stann a former training partner of Browne’s posted the following during the fight and it sums up perfectly. “I remember sparring w/Travis Browne, his footwork was confusing and his kicks massive. Now both are gone.” There was a time Browne was seen as a champion in the making coming off strong knockout wins over Josh Barnett and Overeem. Than the first fight with Werdum happened. It exposed big holes in his game. Browne made changes in his training. He left Jackson Winkeljohn to head to the Glendale Fight Club and head trainer Edmond Tarverdyan. It proved to be a huge mistake. Browne technical ability to throw a punch improved so much of what made him a contender has been lost. Even worse Tarverdyan offered no help in the corner anger screaming making no appearance to give actual advice. Post fight Tarverdyan was kicked by Werdum a truly disgraceful fight.

There is a whole lot to really say about Micky Gall’s easy win over CM Punk. Gall did exactly what he should have done take Punk down and work a submission game. People that liked Punk odds are still fans. Those that hated him and found it to be a disgrace to the sport still hate him To Punk’s credit he got in the cage. He made efforts to escape and even blocked a few submission. Post fight he was humble made no excuses. Gall appears to have a real future he shown good striking and grappling in limited appearance. He himself was realistic about who he beat and when making a call was smart. He didn’t attempt to force himself into the top ten before he was ready.

The California Kid is no kid anymore. Uriah Faber is now thirty seven years old with forty three fights in his career. The truth Faber hasn’t been an elite fighter in a few years. His last impressive win was over Michael McDonald in 2013. He’s won fights but that is part in due to a combination of a lower level fighter and a slow decline in his skills. He got his title shot at Cruz based more on name value and the selling point of the rivalry with Cruz. Jimmie Rivera entered the fight on a long win streak and seemed like the person that could beat Faber. In this fight Faber looked slower and weaker than he ever has. Faber out struck him and Faber didn’t move well against it. He couldn't get a take down. In many ways Faber’s best attacks were illegal two low blows and a eye poke. Rivera has skills and I don’t want to make it seem like he only won because Faber is old. No doubt it played a role.

In the main card opening Jessica Andrade mauled Joanne Calderwood. Both fighters came in off big wins. Andade had easily beat former title challenger Jessica Penne while Cadlerwood had dominated another former challenger in Valerie Letourneau. Andrade known for her aggression charged right at Calderwood ate one elbow and than controlled the rest of the fight. Calderwood is known for slow starts and never really get started.

Glory 33- In five years of operation Rico Verhoeven has been the best fighter in Glory Kickboxing. He is now tied for the most wins in the promotion and with five world title deference he is the most successful champion. Despite being a heavyweight he is more known for technical strikes and speed over raw power. The promotion has set up a super fight with former K-1 Star Badr Hari the bad boy of kickboxing with numerous knockouts. Verhoeven though had some business to take care of first. Verhoeven had a title defense Anderson Silva (different Anderson Silva) a long time vet. Verhoeven simply chopped Silva down with leg kicks earning a second round KO. In the featherweight contender tournament former champion Serhiy Adamchuk attempted to earn another title shot. Facing off with Gigi Chikadze Adamchuk took a large number of body kicks. Chikadze scored the win. But the real start of the tournament was the debuting Mike Embry. In the first round Embry knocked out veteran Lim Chi-Bin. In the finals he knocked out Chikadze to earn a title shot.

The Glory Middleweight championship has often found itself stepped in controversy. The first fight between Simon Marcus and Artem Levin was a clinch fest scored a draw. Though many felt Marcus should have won. The rematch was another clinch fest that saw was poor officiated. It got so bad Levin not only walked out on the fight he walked out on the promotion. Marcus was making his second title defense as the main event of the Super Fight Series portion of the card. Jason Wilnis has fought Marcus in a tournament fight losing. Wilnis has always his loss was due to have a tougher first round fight. Marcus controlled the first round and was on his way to winning second until he played games. Late in the round Marcus was in a corner and began moving his head like Ali or Roy Jones. Wilnis caught him with a hook though that sent Marcus’ mouthpiece flying. The referee stepped in and issued a count giving Wilnis as 10-8 round. In the third Marcus came out to brawl moving away from the style of fight he had been using to win. An aggressive fighter though is an open fighter. Wilnis caught Marucs three times which the referee ruled as knockdowns. Three knockdowns in a round ends the fight in Glory. Marcus might of well has handed the belt over. So will argue the referee was wrong. But a ref’s job is to protect the fighter. Marcus put himself in the position and he’s the one that fought stupid.

Biggest Winners

Stipe Miocic- Hey he’s a champion that retained his title. These days that is pretty rare. Rising up the rings Miocic was seen as a fighter with great potential but by no means a sure thing to become champion. Now in consecutive fights he’s beaten two fighters both in the debate for greatest heavyweight of all time knocking both out in the first round. Miocic showed no fear of The Reem’s vaunted striking. He was hurt early on but recovered. Add into that the added pressure of fighting at home he performed brilliantly.

GLORY- The kickboxing promotion has a very good show airing live on ESPN 2. Add into that new investors from China including former NBA star Yao Ming two big land marks for the company. Even more important the Rico vs. Badar is now set. Verhoeven won his fight in dominate fashion. Any time you book a fighter it’s a risk. Anderson “Bradrick” Silva is a tough vet and going in some wondered if Verhoeven could be over looking him. Instead the King of Kickboxing handled business easily.

Micky Gall- “I’d really like to fight that man CM Punk.” With those words Gall jumped into the limelight. It got him into the UFC long before many fighters would even get to fight main event on the local scene. Gall also fought very smart he knew he would have a huge ground game advantage so he took the fight there got the submission. He is now 3-0 with three finishes. Has a huge win will be viewed as the “defender of MMA” by some. And well has another big prefect fight in sights with Sage Northcutt.

Lost but earned praise

Kell Brook- No one would have blamed or odds are ever even known if Brook turned down the fight with GGG. Instead he went into the ring with the most feared man in boxing. He was actually doing very well. On two scorecards it was even and one he was a head. Mostly unknown outside the UK this fight brought him a new level fame around the world. Hopefully Brook can also start getting the bigger fights he craves without having to fight middleweight.

Dominick Ingle- Brook’s trainer made a tough call and should be praised. His fighter was hurt but still fighting back. The crowd was going to boo the stop. And many were questioning what Ingle was doing. It was only after the fight where he learned how bad Brook was hurt that he was proven correct. In many other sports a bad loss where you are “beaten down” doesn’t end a career. In boxing a bad loss really can be a beat down and one bad beat down has ruined a career. With an injury and tons of time left as one of the best was staring to find his grove Ingle saved his fighter.

CM Punk- Many have already written about the praise Punk deserve for simply getting in the cage. So I won’t repete that. But its true. Add into that Punk earned the respect of his teammates and coaches pretty good for someone “who doesn’t belong.”

Biggest Losers-

Edmond Tarverdyan- Tarverdyan rose to fame as the trainer of Ronda Rousey. As Ronda’s fame and success soured so did his and the high profile client list. Its a cycle we often seen in combat sports, as Andre Ward emerged as a star fighter like Amir Khan and Andre Berto sought out Virgil Hunter, As Carlos Condit and Rashad Evans hit the upper level of MMA many fighters turned to Greg Jackson. The problem is Hunter and Jackson have had other success fighters besides there first one to become a star. Rousey fighter is the only high profile fighter to have a winning record with guy as trainer. Jake Ellenberger had already slipped a bit as GFC fighter he slumped badly. Travis Browne has fallen off the map since working with Tarverdyan having awful performances in several fights. Than add in other names such as Jessyman Duke and Shayna Bazler who looked awful under his training.

Almost every fighter out of GFC seems to have the same style. They comes out throwing one or two punches and wait wait wait wait and wait some more. Ironically the only fighter who doesn’t have this style is Rousey. And well as her mother pointed out “He taught Ronda nothing. The things that made her a champion are things she knew before going getting into MMA.” And his advice is the corner is awful. We all remember the infamous “you looking great champ.” At UFC 193. At UFC 203 he was screaming manic in the corner. Only saying things like “he’s got nothing for you.” Browne was a left a lone out there had no help or tips on how to turn a tide.

Travis Browne- Once upon a time it seemed Browne was destined to be world champion. He was 16-1-1 his lone loss in part due to an injury. He had amazing knockout power good wrestling, he was aggressive with a mix of footwork and big kicks. Than he ran into Fabrico Werdum and the holes in the game were exposed. He made changes but really they have only taken away the things that made him so great. Now I won’t tear him down for hurting his finger and having a human reaction. But in a fight it felt like he had to win he wasn’t willing to go all out to get it. He’s 1-3 in his last four fights and it seems like he’s father away from the title than anyone.

Marcus Simon- Simon fought the first round of his title defences against Jason Wilnis so well. You simply can’t play games in the ring. Simon put himself in a bad spot. He was in a corner hands down moving his head but not escaping. He can’t blame anyone but himself for giving the ref the chance to count him. Than he came out stupid in the third. He had won the first round by being tight and not brawling. The third round played right into Willnis hands.

Alistair Overeem- What the hell was he thinking? Going into the fight most expected a battle of Miocic’s ability to set the pace vs. Reem’s one puncher power. Most believed Overeem either needed to finish the fight early or dispute the pace to win the fight. Instead he ran around the cage. Literally broke into full sprints. When he did attack it was a lot of wild looping punches that missed. We often refer to cardio as the gas tank. Reem was wasting gas badly during this fight. Throughout his career Overeem has been prone to be sloppy with his defense and it showed hear. Often his hands were down and he was way to accepting of taking punches. Against a guy like Stipie it’s the worse kind of fight you could fight. Mioci is big athletic and moves well. You also can’t a guy with that much power hit you clean.

What Comes Next- The fight everyone truly wants in boxing is GGG vs. Canelo Alvarez. Sadly unless the buyrate for Alvarez vs. Liam Smith is extremely low it seems that fight won’t happen any time soon. Golovkin expressed an interest in fighting Billy Joe Saunders the WBO champion but again that seem unlikely given the fact Saunders is avoiding “Second tier” fighters. He also turned down career high money to fight GGG already. The WBA one has already orded Golovkin fight Daniel Jacobs. Golovkin holds the super or real version of there middleweight title and Jacobs holds the regular or secondary version of that title. Jacobs has skill and good KO power and could give GGG a challenge. The real issue will be the usual boxing politics. Golovkin has a contract with HBO. Jacobs is one of many fighter working Premier Boxing Championships and Al Haymon. While GGG has made it clear he wants to be the unified world champion that could be enough of a hold up that the fight doesn’t get made.

UFC, Bellator, and Boxing Fallout

It's been a buys week for the combat sports world. The top two MMA promotions held shows while Premier Boxing Championships held two shows in six days. Future title shots were on the line for some, others knew they just needed a win to keep there star power going. Than you had the underdogs fighters looking for wins to change there lives. Who rose up, who stumbled at a key time, were the shows good?

Boxing- Premier Boxing Championships is not like the usual Boxing Promotion. In that officially it's not a promotion. PBC is a TV show that officially doesn't promote the shows instead working other promoters buying TV time on various Networks. Why this had to let lawsuits there is no denying it holds some of the best fighters in the world. The man that mind wind up being it's crown jewel is Errol Spence. A former Olympic boxer Spence racked up a perfect 20-0 record and was coming off a one sided knockout off Chris Algieri in April. PBC set up last Sunday's fight as a clear showcase for Spence. With a huge led in due to the Gold Medal Basketball game Spence would have a number of eyes on him. And a fight taking place on NBC Spence was placed in a title eliminator fight with the winner getting a shot at the IBF welterweight title.

It was clear that Lenard Bundu of Italy was brought to lose to the young American. Bundu is a veteran fighter he's got a good record. But his only fight against any type of elite competition was a one sided loss to future world champion Keith Thurman. Spence took care off business why he got off to a slow start he still won the early rounds. By the six Bundu was done after being knocked down violently. Spence has made it clear he doesn't want to wait long for his shot. Kell Brooke has the IBF title at this time but with speculation is he will vacate it to move up. Who ever Spence faces for the title will have a hard task. Spence is skilled with his boxing and has good knockout power.

On the opposite of Spence is Robert Guerrero. At one time The Ghost was an elite fighter holding two legtiment world championships. Guerrero thought entered his fight on Saturday clearly on the down side of his career. Going 2-3 in his last five fight and many viewing one win a gift/bad judging/screw job. For his main event on Spike TV Guerrero was matched up with unknown Argentina boxer David Peralta. It was clear what this fight was. It was a fight all about getting Guerrero a win on TV, a chance to start rebuilding his confidence. Early on Guerrero looked good. But as the fight wore on Peralta made adjustments. He hurt Guerrero several times in the later rounds. Peralta who admitted post fight he was retired until the call came in won the biggest win of his life. For Guerrero it seems his days as any type of elite fighter or main event fighter is over. He might still pop up on under cards or smaller shows. Its one thing to lose to Mayweather, Thurman, and Garcia but this was career ender for him to many people.

Bellator 160- When Bellator began it's hook was “Fighters much earn a title shot. They have to win the toughest tournament in sports.” Those days are clearly long over. The main event at Bellator 160 was clearly an example of that. Sure the winner of the main event was promised a shot at Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler. The problem is who was in that fight. On one side was Benson Henderson, yes a former UFC and WEC 155 lb champion. Who hasn't fought at 155 in over a year and has won fight at that weight since 2014. Henderson was also coming off a terrible performance in a loss during his Bellator debut. In the other corner was Patricio “Pitbulll” Freire. A former Bellaltor champion at Featherweight and one of the best in the companies history. Still Freire had never fought at lightweight in his career. It was clear Bellator was going for big name vs. guy that had a confrontation with Chandler we can play over and over again. And that is Bellator's MO these days. Slap any card together for any reason and call it a dream or super fight hoping it draws big ratings.

Why it has drawn strong ratings for most “Tent Pole” events the ratings for other shows haven't increased. Another issue has been the fact the “Super” fights haven't been so super. The main event to Friday's show was another example of that. The much bigger Henderson spent the entire first round walking forward but not throwing much. Meanwhile the much smaller Freire spent the whole round backing up throwing counter strikes that never landed clean or powerful enough to do damage. His best weapon were leg kicks. In an anti climatic finish Pitbull suffered a broken ankle and called off the fight in the second round.

Sadly there was a very strong undercard that the main event will over shadow. Derek Anderson out pointed Saad Awad in a thrilling semi-main event. For the second time in his career Georgi Karakhanyan stopped Bubba Jenkins. This time knocking Jenkins out in less than a minute. In the opening main card bout A.J. McKee stayed perfect submitting Cody Walker in the second round.

UFC Vancouver- One week after the epic UFC 202 it would have been easy to forget or ignore the return to Fox. If you did though you missed out on a great card with some amazing action. The main event saw two of the UFC's most respected veterans step into the cage. Demian Maia entered on a five fight winning streak. Carlos Condit entered having a lost a extremely close fight to than champion Robbie Lawler back in January in epic fight for the ages. With Maia its clear what the game plan is. He will use a greatly improved wrestling game to drag the fight to the ground and than use his top notch BJJ to control the fight and work for a submission. With Condit he wants to keep the fighting standing and use his volume of strikes to wear a fighter out. The question was clear could Condit weather the early rounds on the ground and drag Maia out to the later rounds. The answer was no. Condit has never been a strong defense wrestler he is taken rather easily preferring to work off his back and scramble to get back up. With Maia it was to risky. The former BJJ world champion dragged Condit down took his back and submitted in under two minutes. Maia may not get the next shot at the belt but it's hard to argue him getting the shot after that or even being called in for some type of fill in roll should Thompson or Woodley get hurt.

Anthony Pettis entered Canada and the featherweight division in a tough spot. Three losses in a row eliminated him from title contention removed him from the P4P debate. Like many fighters looking to regain momentum he changed weight classes and changed up his training. Charles Oliveira entered the fight on a roll. His lone loss since 2013 was off an injury. The fight was a true mixed martial arts fight. Both men used striking, wrestling, and submissions during the fight. Early on Oliveria took Pettis down and got his back. Pettis though managed to escape and get the fight standing again. A recurring theme in Pettis' losses had been him being gun shy unwilling to pull the trigger. This fight he fired using his trademark striking. Landing good body shots he hurt the Brazilian. Olivera though managed to whether the storm and stay standing even on jello legs. After two close rounds both men entered the third. Again Oliveria took the fight down. Pettis is a great striker but don't sleep on his ground game. Able to reverse position Pettis got a choke and submitted Olivera ending a thrilling back and forth fight.

After taking time off to compete on Dancing With the Stars Paige VanZant returned to the cage. Her her last fight VanZant suffered her first UFC career loss. Some fans wondered if she was getting ready to leave the UFC for Hollywood. PVZ made it clear that wasn't the case even admitting the thing she missed violence. Bec Rawlings leading up the fight made it clear she didn’t' believe Paige was worth the hype or deserved her top ten ranking. At first it appeared VanZant wasn't willing to engage. She was jumping around on the outside often missing kicks. Rawling meanwhile used boxing and landed good compensations.

In round two though the narrative changed. VanZant went for a switch jump kick. Rawilngs who had started laughing at such attack suddenly found her self tasting PVZ's foot. VanZant than hit a number of punches to face ending the fight. According to VanZant she and her coaches wanted to change the game plan. Instead of her normal charging forward trying to out scrap she used distance and her atheism to land a knockout strike. People can dislike the amount of press she gets but end of the day VanZant backs it up. Another thing to keep in mind VanZant is only 22 she a fighter with only a handful of fights. Give her a few more years when she is in her prime and has gelled all her tools together she very well could be a top level fighter.

Back in 2012 Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon engaged in a bloody and amazing fight at UFC 155. Miller won a decision victory. Since than both fighters have had there ups and downs. Both men scored KO wins back at UFC 200 setting the stage for the rematch. Again it was very close fight. Miller won another decision. In the prelims Sam Alvey smiled his way to another KO win, Felpie Silva got his UFC debut win.

Biggest Winners:

Errol Spence- In a showcase for himself Spence came up big. He dominated a fight he was clearly supposed to win. Spence even when he was “slow to start” looked very strong. Spence also scored his second straight knockout in a main event fight. End of the day causal fans in boxing want to see knockouts. Spence already had the credibility with die hard and hopefully fans looking for something to watching post Olympics went “I want to see that guy fight again.”

Demain Maia- Often moving down or up in weight is a move that really doesn't work. For Maia it was a total career rebirth. At welterweight he is one of the bigger men in the division. He's also been able to go back to basic just great BJJ. And his BJJ is miles ahead of almost anyone else in the UFC. At 38 he's on the best run of career. Maia has the skills he can beat who ever the champion is when he get his title shot.

Anthony Pettis- Going into UFC 185 Pettis was on top of the world he was the world champion at 155. He had just beat Gilbert Melendez to retain the title at UFC 181, he was the first MMA fighter to get a Wheaties Box. He was openly talking about superfight with other champions. Than he lost a one sided fight with RDA taking the title. Than he lost to Eddie Alvarez never to get the space to strike he wants to. Than in a striking heavy fight with Edison Barboza he lost yet again. Again I don't think the UFC would have cut Pettis with another loss but it would have put him far away from the fights he wants. Now with one strong when Pettis is already back in title contention after all he beat a top ten fighter at his new weight. Plus it also shows Pettis isn't a fighter going down he's just getting started.

Paige VanZant- In December it all went wrong for VanZant. Rose Namajunaes is a tough match up for anyone. But her style was especially overwhelming for VanZant. The loss lent credibility to fans that feel the UFC pushes her more for her looks than talent. After the loss though VanZant saw her popularity explode thanks to her run on Dancing With The Stars. The truth VanZant was in a spot where she couldn't afford another loss. Fame and fans can be fickle and losing again would have driven causal and fari weather off. He dectros would no doubt again declare “She's been exposed.” Now it wasn't perfect. How much of the first round was Game Plan and how much was Rawling getting the better of her only PVZ know for sure. Still she over came a rough start. Showed she could do more than press ahead and brawl. She knocked out a gritty vet who had only been stopped one other time. All and all a big victory for VanZant.

Biggest Losers:

Robert Guerrero- Going into his fight Guerrero was honest. He admitted this was a fight he was supposed to win. It was a fight he needed to win. Early on it looked like Guerrero was on his way to that win. The truth is even going the distance with such an unknown like David Peralta is damaging. Losing is destroying. It odds to imaging any top level fighter being willing to face Guerrero at this point. Beating him does nothing to put them in demand and losing to him means they lost to a guy well on the down side of his career.

Br

Carlos Condit- Many people including Condit himself believe he should have won the fight back in January for the title. The fight with Maia was a fight Condit could win. To be dragged down and submitted quick was devastating for him. Post fight Condit who had already talked retirement admitted he isn't sure he belongs anymore. Its a some what ridicules statement given Condit has never lost to anyone but high level fighters. But it's clear emotion fueled that statement. Still Condit now see Maia and Thompson be departed as the number 1 contender why he is out in the cold.

What Comes Next- Spence earned a shot at the IBF Welterweight title. That is currently held by Kell Brooke. In a few weeks Brooke move up to middleweight to fight GGG. Brooke has said he's open to returning to 147 after that but nothing is set in stone. Spence and his team clearly want him to fight for a title so unless something changes expect him to wait to face Brooke or face the highest ranked contender for the vacant belt. The UFC welterweight championship picture is also a bit clogged. By all account The UFC wants Tyron Woodley to defend against Stephen Thompson. Woodley though has demand “money fights” even saying “Thompson should fight Robbie Lawler.” Maia has said he's willing to wait. In terms of ranked fighter there aren't much options. Potentially Maia would be a great name to face GSP or Nick Diaz but seem to about to rematch. Maia might just want to hope Thompson gets his shot quickly and than the winner of that fight is looking for a shot turn around.

Anthony Pettis just beat the number six guy in the world at 145. I've seen it suggested he fight Jeremy Stephens. Showtime and Lil Heathen had a great fight a few years ago. It was a close fight that Pettis took the win in. Stephens remains what's he's always been a tough fighter that punish anyone. Now all these years later he and Pettis would be a perfect fight. Paige VanZant is in a strange place from a match making point. She's easily the biggest and most well known star in the Straweight Division. Yet she's not quite ready for the elite in the division. The right name for her seems to be Maryna Moroz. Moroz scored a huge upset win in her UFC debut submitting Joanne Calderwood. Since than she's won two more fights. The Ironlady has proven to be tough and soild in all areas during his UFC tenure. She wouldn’t blow Paige out of the water but by no means would be a walk over. She would be a good solid test.

UFC 202 Fallout

It was a cross roads moments for McGregor, Diaz and maybe the whole UFC. McGregor's rise was a rocket blasting into sky. But in March the rocket crashed back to earth. McGregor was obsessed with getting the win back. Against all advice and logic he demanded the rematch and wanted it at welterweight event with everyone saying he should make it a lightweight bout. He cost himself a spot at the biggest card of all time by refusing to break camp. In the end though McGregor was proven right. In a brutal and bitter five round war McGregor scored the win. For Diaz the win took him to another level. He earned the biggest payday of his career for this fight and another win could put the world in his hands. How ever a lose does not damage his standing. The fight was razor thing and amazing effort no doubt a huge money trilogy is coming.

The Fight Card- It was not a robbery because Connor won! Let's make this clear right off the bat. The main event was extremely close. I myself actually had the fight scored for Diaz but can see why McGregor won. Instead looking for a conspire theory lets enjoy the amazing fight. Round one saw played out similar to the first one. McGregor landed good punches unlike first fight though he used low kicks a long time weakness for Diaz. Round two would prove to be key. Early on McGregor was in control again using low kicks and body shots to control it until just like the first fight he got clipped and tired out. How ever unlike the first fight McGregor didn't panic and foolishly go for takedown. He manged to weather the storm and get to round three. Two judges gave that round to McGregor which game him the win.

In round three Diaz was in control using his boxing and clinch game to wear on McGregor down further. It seemed to be just a matter of time before the fight was taken to the ground and another submission win was going to the 209. McGregor though showed amazing wrestling defense. Round four Diaz a had begun to bleed badly due to year of scar tissue building. McGregor finding a second wind and having found the heart of a champion was back in control. He again used kicks and body shots to wind the round. Five McGregor again wore down but Diaz could only take him down late. The fight was epic and if you haven’t seen it BUY THE PPV replay! It was well worth the money. To the shock of many the two rivals embraced.

The rest of the card though should not be ignore. Rumble Johnson was Rumble Johnson dropping the ultra tough Glover Trexiera with a upper cut. Any follow up shot didn’t' seem necessary as Trexiera dropped like a bag of rocks. Johnson moved to 3-0 since his loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 187 all three via knockout. It seems Johnson has punched his ticket to a rematch with DC. With his raw punching power all it might take is one shot to make Rumble the champion. Than again in the first fight Johnson did land that one shot only for Cormier to recover and take the win via submission. Thus making for an intriguing rematch. Rick Story was supposed to be the big test for Donald Cerrone at welterweight. Story had the style the size and wrestling to take away Cowboy's best weapons. However Cerrone used his own wresting to take Story down. Cerrone also put on a Muay Thai demo. I don’t think ever seen a more perfect combination than the one Cerrone hit at the end.

Lim Hyun-gyu had all the advantages over Mike Perry. He was much bigger, he was the UFC vet he wasn't taking the fight on late notice. Perry clearly held a huge edge in striking power. Time and again the American fighter dropped the bigger Korean before scoring a knockout win. Tim Means put a rough couple of months behind him returning to the UFC. Earlier this years Perry was supposed to face Donald Cerrone in a UFC main event. Than he failed a drug test by USADA. Means means was able to prove it was due to tainted supplement but according to Means he was forced to take a 9-5 job to make up for the lost income. Means faced debuting Sabah Homasi. It was clear the step up for Homasi was a step to far. Means out classed Homasi on his feet. Using his elbows Means sliced Homasi up badly. In the second round referee Herb Dean was simply waiting for a chance to stop the fight and once Means started to throw a combination Dean did.

Biggest Winners:

Connor McGregor- The thing that kept getting repeated leading up this fight was “If he loses this rematch he will never be the star once was.” McGreogr himself seemed to agree admitting (although later denying) that his legacy was on the line. For months almost every fighter declared “It wont' be any different than the first fight.” Another loss to Diaz would forever hang over McGregor. It would used as proof that really wasn't as good as he claimed. Even in this fight McGregor had to over come the odds. He was tired taking hard shots tied up in the clinch. But he never broke. He never panicked. He was able rebound and get the win. Now McGregor is just about back where he was. He has several big fight worth big money for his picking, a rematch with Aldo? A move up to lightweight to face Alvarez? A third fight with Diaz? Who know but McGregor will no doubt tell us in time. OF course it being McGregor time odds he will be a little late after getting the press together.

Anthony Johnson-When a fighter loses a title fight they have no idea if they will get another one. Rumble Johnson took a shorter but very dangerous one. Manawhi is one of the few that could match him in punching power, Bader had the wrestling that has often troubled Rumble, and Trexiera was the tough veteran with all round skill. All three were knocked out. With Jon Jones out and his credibility with the UFC very low point Johnson is in prime condition to get his rematch with Cormier.

Cody Garbrandt- Earlier this year Garbrandt into the top ten ranking with a knockout over Thomas Almeida in his first UFC main event. Since than The Alpha Male prospect has several exchanges with champion Dominick Cruz. This why the fight with Takeya Mizugaki screamed trap fight he was facing a tough vet and appeared to be looking past him. Instead Garbrandt came in and in Mike Tyson style destroyed Mizugaki in less than a minute. There might be fighters ranked higher than No Love but in many ways because of his power, the history with the team, and the trash talk he might be the most interesting match up for Cruz.

Biggest Losers

Glover Teixeira- Way back at UFC 172 Texeira came up short in a fairly one sided fight against Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. After losing to Phil Davis, Trexier changed up training moving closer to home in Connecticut for camp. The result was three wins and three finishes. To his credit he called out Johnson knowing a win would grant him another title shot. The risk with calling Johnson out is exactly what happened to Glover a vicious knockout loss. Now lets over react to a man second ever knockout loss. And frankly Johnson seems like he knockover a redwood with one punch but the fact is Teixeira is 36 soon to be 37. This kind of loss knocks him back from title contention and it doesn’t seem likely he will get another one.

Takeya Mizugaki- Back in September of 2014 Mizugaki was the number five ranked 135 fighter in the UFC. He was ridding a five fight winning streak. But since than he's 1-3. All three losses have been stoppages two have been violent knockouts. While only 32 he's already been in 33 career fights. Meaning he's got a lot of hard miles on his body. Mizugaki may not be done but the days as elite fight might just be.

What comes Next- Dealing with a broken foot McGregor is going to need a break. Frankly it's something that might do him so good. Since return from his ACL injury years ago McGregor has been one of the more active fighters in the UFC. Going from fight camp to fight camp. Think about December of last year was the fight with Aldo meaning he was in camp at least two months out, than he more or less started training for RDA which became the first Diaz fight. Than right into camp for the Diaz rematch. Even without the foot injury he took a lot of hard shots in the two fights with Diaz. As for an actual fight I do think the right thing is a rematch with Aldo based on the interim title system. Plus personally I think championships should mean something.

The key factor could be weight. By all accounts 145 is not an easy cut for McGregor his coach even openly declared after the title win he never wanted him to try it again. One has to wonder if the plan was win the title at 155 and stay there. New champion Eddie Alvarez has asked for the winner of McGregor vs. Diaz. And that could be a great fight. Eddie Alvarez is also the type of durable fight like Diaz where he could take McGregor best shots and still come. On top of that he also has a great wrestling base. While McGregor stuffed all but one takedown in the fight at 202 Diaz is not a great offense wrestler.

Nate Diaz has said he wont' fight until a third one with Connor. And it's easy to understand why he won the first fight and the second fight was close. Also there is no that he will make the same money against. But sitting out is a risk, out of sight out mind for fans, you never know McGregor could get hurt, McGregor could fight someone else the fight is so great that becomes the in demand rematch, or a new hot contender emerges. Why no one can draw the same as McGregor there is a big day that is coming back. Georges St-Pierre the former welterweight champion and one time biggest draw in the UFC. The UFC reportedly did offer Nate this fight but he was said to refuse saying that's his brother fight. But given Nick's still outstanding fine in Nevada that could prevent him getting a licensee. Nate is like his brother in many way including play villain against GSP's clean cut image.

There is no reason not to give Anthony Johnson a rematch with Daniel Cormier. Regardless of what ever good news Jon Jones has gotten from USADA odds are he will faces some type of suspension and with all his outside issues one has to wonder if the UFC shouldn’t' make him earn a title shot. As I said earlier Johnson hurt Cormeir badly in there first fight. Reports form hims camp are hes has worked tirelessly to improve his wrestling and cardio issues. Even hiring his own coach outside of the normal Blackzillina System. Meanwhile Cormier had made it clear he's done with Jones and chasing the rematch and wanted the winner of Johnson vs. Teixeira.

UFC 199 Fallout

UFC 199 was easy to forget about. After all UFC 198 was held in a massive stadium and UFC 200 will be the biggest show the company has ever held. Hell there were even report Luck Rockhold wasn't happy to fight on the card because “Everyone will just skip this show.” Little by little though things started to fall in favor of this card. Due to a PED issue by Lyoto Machida that allowed Dan Henderson to become part of the card. Rockhold vs. Weidman 2 could have been an excellent fight but adding Michael Bisping added new fuel to the build up. And of course his win was a near perfect cap to an event and a career. But something extra special just happened. Maybe it was the fighters wanting to stand out on the smaller show or send a message to the UFC “I should have been on the big shows.” Maybe it was the spirit of Ali. Maybe it was just lighting in a bottle.

The In Ring Action- You know this was going to be an amazing night based on the very fist fight. Marco Polo Reyes and Dong Hyun Kim battled in a movie fight. That is what Joe Rogan called it and he was dead on. Reyes and Kim seemed to only throw hay makers and some how took more punishment than almost anyone could. Reyes got the win via knockout in the third. In the first televised fight of the night Alex Caceres put on one of his stronger performances. Cole Miller had a few chances to pull out the win but in the end took a decision win. For years Jessica Andrade was a tough fight for anyone at Bantamweight now fighting at Straweight she appeared to be unstoppable in her first fight. Former title challenger Jessica Penne is tough but for the second straight fight Penne took a fairly one sided beating. Andrade landed a number of hard shots in a fight you almost have to wonder if her corner or the referee should have stopped it sooner. How can you not feel for Clay Guida. One of the most exciting and beloved fighters in UFC history put on one of his best fights in years. Than with just twenty second left Brian Ortega knocked him out with a knee. Suddenly the fight was no longer Guida's comeback but in stead Ortega’s heart showing moment.

The main card was epic. Dustin Porier has been a wrecking machine since moving up to lightweight. But man did Bobby Green fight stupid. I know the defense is he plays mind games but you would think after the first knockdown a guy would stop playing. Instated Green more or less asked to be finished. Dan Henderson and Hector Lombard have both had some major ups and downs the last few years. Both men have amazing power and can finish pretty much anyone they land on. The first round saw both men nearly get fished with power punches before a dazed Lombard got the fight to the ground and went for a submission. In the second Henderson went for a head kick. Lombard caught the leg only for Henderson to come back with a vicious back elbow and than finished the fight with two more hard elbow shots. Henderson admitted this might have been the final fight of his great career. I can’t think of a better highlight to go out on.

In a sleeper fight Max Holloway continued to show he might be the best featherweight on the current roster. Blessed now has won nine in a row. Facing off with former title challenger Richardo Lamas Holloway used his range to perfection. He didn't get the finish but he should be faulted for the fact Lamas is and always has been though. Only Chad Mendes has ever been able to finish him.

How much fighters truly hate each other is often over played. Not in the case of Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. The two men were almost meant to be foes as they clash on almost every level. The two finally met in a rubber match nearly a decade after there first fight and five years after the second. The first seemed like a replay of the second fight. Fairly close. Faber looking to land big power shots and Cruz moving to avoid them. The first minute of the second seemed say it was going to be another close just like that. Than Cruz landed on big game changing punch. Faber dropped hard. From that point on Faber was pretty much done. Going into the fight Faber time and again mocked Cruz for a lack of power. Cruz's movement made it nearly impossible for Faber to hit him and after getting caught he wasn't willing to take risks. This time there was no doubt who the better fighter is.

Luke Rockhold should have learned from Anderson Silva. When Silva lost the middleweight title it was by not respecting the power of his opponent. And when Silva lost to Michael Bisping earlier this year it seemed he underestimated The Count's talent. Rockhold did both. Rockhold's best weapon standing is his kicks but he kept letting Bisping get into boxing range. Maybe he just listened to much to the experts. Almost anyone breaking down the fight felt Bisping's best chance to win was via decision. He would have to do what he always does set a high pace with a large volume of strikes. But in the UFC anything can happen. Rockhold over committed on a punch in a round he was winning took a shot to the body than a punch to the chin dead on. The man many fans have said has pillow fits. The man that could never win the big one. The man that destined to be the greatest fighter to never even get a title shot is now world champion.

Biggest Winners

Michael Bisping- Well of course he was going led this section. For years Bisping has always just been out of reach of a title shot. Part of that is his fault with mistakes such as circling into Dan Henderson's right hand. Bad judging like his loss to Chael Sonnen or being the victim of a loophole like when a TRT loaded Vitor Belfort KO'ed him. A few years ago when he lost the first fight to Rockhold it seemed he was fading. He hadn't won back to back fights in years, he had dealt with a bad eye injury (That is still visible) he had two awful performance close together in the loss to Kennedy and Rockhold. But rather quietly Bisping strung together a winning streak. Earlier this year he beat Anderson Silva while many only focus on the flying knee most ignore that was one of the best performances of his career. And franking one of the grittiest to get up and survive to the end of the fight.

And again luck went his way. Weidman got hurt, Jacare couldn’t get cleared. Most wrote him off with good reason. He had already lost to Rockhold who had followed up crushing Machida and Weidman. He didn't get a camp so there were doubts he would have his trademark gas tank. Rockhold might have been overly cocky but it was Bisping's job to still win. He read what was going on. He saw Rockhold's chin up and hands down and he landed. And just like that he is a champion. He will has forever erased the “Can't win the big one” knock. Hell Bisping's story almost reads more like a movie now. No matter what happens now Bisping achieved his goal is a World Champion.

Dominick Cruz- The feud between Cruz and Faber is over. Odds are trash talk will still happen but end of the day Cruz has won the feud. And while he didn't get a finish he did much dominated the fight and hurt Faber several times. Having beat Dilliashaw already and now easily beating Faber there is a real question is who could beat Cruz. Who could beat that movement?

Dan Henderson- Why it's not for sure we have seen Henderson for the last time you couldn’t have scripted a better way for him to go out. Close to home with his family watching Henderson landed a devastating knockout. Hell there is legit chance that will wind up being KO of the year.

Biggest Losers

Luke Rockhold- “There are different levels to this game.” “Anderson Silva isn't on my level.” “He lasted to long last time.” “It's his destiny to be my bitch.” Rockhold is always cocky Now when you are winning and looking spectacular its fine but when you lose and get knocked out by a rival its time to eat crow. No matter what Rockhold want to say about over committing the fact is he's no longer the champion. The history books will always read Bisping ended his UFC title reign. The other problem for Rockhold there is not a clear cut path back to the title. Having been KO'ed in the first he can't claim he should get rematch. Jacare Souza seems to be the front runner for the next title shot. And well nothing says “You will get a title shot ____.” We have seen plenty of one and done title holders in MMA.

Urijah Faber- Faber is now the holder of a record no one wants most UFC title shots with out winning a title once at 0-4. He's also 0-6 in title fights of any kind since losing the WEC Featherweight title. Add in the facts 37 with a lot of miles on his body at 42 pro fights. Also you could argue Faber hasn't really looked like an elite fighter since his win over Michael McDonald. Faber most and likely got the last title shot he will ever get. It doesn't help that Faber just looked so off in this fight. Once he got hurt in the second he pretty much did nothing the rest of the fight.

Clay Guida- How can you not feel for The Carpenter. His fight with Brian Ortega was the best he's looked in a long time. He seemed to be on his way to a much needed win over an undefeated fighter. Than with just twenty seconds left Guida took a hard knee right to the jaw and had lost via knockout.

Hector Lombard- Has anything gone right for Lombard since joining the UFC? Is he the biggest bust singing the company ever had? Lombard is now 3-4 with 1 no contest with the UFC. He's been suspended due to a PED test. In his last two fights Lombard has been KO'ed. The fight with Henderson was a toss up for him. A fight he could have won against another fading star. But he came out on the wrong side of a few hard elbows.

What comes next?

Jacare Souza should get the next shot at the UFC Middleweight title. Jacare should be undefeated in the UFC and has a great skill set that makes him a threat to anyone in the company. Also he would have been the man challenging Rockhold if not for an injury at UFC 198 preventing him from getting clear. Although there might be some concerns about if the soft spoken Brazilian can sell on PPV the truth is Bisping's mouth can more than make up for it. For Luke Rockhold I think the perfect fight would be Yoel Romero. Back at UFC 194 Romero beat Jacare but a great deal of controversy surrounded the fight. Including a failed drug test. Both men have knockout power. Romero was a Olympic wrestler and we know how good Rockhold is on the ground.

For Dominick Cruz I think the best option would be for him to face Demetrius Johnson. The two fought way back in 2011. Cruz won a close decision. Since than though Might Mouse has gotten much better is seen by man as the pound for pound best fighter in the world. Now currently Johnson has one title fight booked at 125 and than is supposed to face the winner of the next season of TUF. So if the super fight doesn't work out the best option would be the winner of the rematch at UFC 200 between TJ Dilliashaw and Raphael Assuncao. Dilliashaw is a former champion who had a close and exciting fight with Cruz earlier this year. It would be interesting to see if Dilliashaw could close the gap in a rematch. Assuanco has been cursed with injures for years now but he's on a seven fight winning streak and another win over Dillashaw would no doubt clinch a title shot.

Goodbye Ali

“I must be the greatest… Float like a butterfly sting like a bee… Rumble young man rumble...” The quotas are endless. The talent at times seemed unmatched. The shadow he cast over the world not just of boxing but the world as whole is so large that is seems shocking he wouldn’t be a heavyweight in the modern world of boxing. He was only 6'3 and weighed about two hundred and ten pounds. In today's modern era of boxing filled giants such as the Klticshko Brothers and Tyson Furry he would most and like fight as either a light heavyweight or crusierweight. And in many way Ali would not fit in with the modern world boxing all that well.

Muhammad Ali was all about risk. Both in the ring and out of the ring he risked it all. In 1984 he said “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” But modern boxing so much of the risk has been removed. The records are often padded out. The best rarely fight the best. Just look at Mayweather and Pacqiuo who spent years playing a game of “No you go.” When negotiating a fight and than finally stepped in the ring and board the crowd to tears. If GGG the most feared and avoided man in boxing today were a heavyweight in the 60's I feel Ali would not only fight him he would boldly declared he would turn him into lower case g because the beating would be that bad. After all Ali had already risked it all when he destroyed Sonny Liston.

Liston was Mike Tyson before Tyson was Tyson. He was a viscous knockout machine. He was truly dangerous in and outside of the ring. He had annihilated Floyd Patterson to win the title and than again in the rematch. Few gave the than Cassius Clay a chance. As the famous tale goes only two sports writers picked him to win. He was already viewed as two small and his habit of going backwards was viewed a huge flaw that would cost him. But Ali showed no fear taunting Liston and breaking him mentally before the first bell even rang. Sonny Liston never mounted much offense. But in the fourth Ali was suddenly blinded in his eyes. Some type of substance many believe placed on Liston by his corner got in his eyes and blinded him.

Trainer Angelo Dundee worked to flush the young challengers eyes. Still though Ali would have to fight the fifth round against a destroyer and dangerous fighter unable to see correctly. By the sixth Ali was fine and mounted another blistering attacking. Liston knew it was over he had no chance to win and would quit on the stool in the seventh. In the rematch he knocked Liston out with a single punch the image of Ali standing over the fall Liston is iconic.

In all Ali would defend his world championship eight times until he was drafted. Ali by this time have already rejected his slave name and a member of the Nation of Islam refused to serve In the army sighting his religious beliefs. He was stripped of his title banned from boxing and faced going to jail. Think for a moment of any athlete today that would willing to lose it all for something they believed in. Most avoid given any type of stance at all. Eventually the conviction was over turned and he granted a licensee to fight again. Ali fight outside the ring cost him three and a half years of his prime.

In the interim Joe Frazier had won the championship. The two had actually be friends with Frazier even helping out Ali while he was banned. But with a chance to regain his title Ali turned on him. The first fight was an epic event the kind of which boxing would kill to have again. Ali was lose but the fight was so close a rematch seemed to be a sure thing. Than things changed. Frazier would be annihilated by a than unknown George Foreman and lost the title. Ali would win the rematch with Frazier and than target Foreman.

Much like in his fit with Liston few if any gave him a chance. He was no thirty two years old. Since his return he appeared to have lost a step. Foreman was younger and had so easily blown through Fraser it seemed Ali was doomed. The fight would become the Rumble in the Jungle. With the back off the massive crowd in Zaire Africa Ali would reclaim his title. Using what would be known as the Rope a Dope Ali let Foreman punch himself out. Throughout the fight he be taunting Foreman. “Come on George… Is that all you got George.” Munch like Liston, Ali showed no fear and was once again the champion of the world.

The time had come to settle the score with Frazier once and for all. It would be known as the Thrilla in Manellia. It was a brutal final war between the top two fighters of there time. Both men came close to death in that ring. Going into the fifteenth and final round Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch refused to let his fighter answer the bell. Ali had won the feud and further cemented his legacy as The Greatest.

Ali would lose and regain his title one more time. He retired for a time and than announced his return in 1981 to challenge than Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes. The combination of father time and Holmes own amazing skills were to much for Ali. He would lose when his own trainer Angelo Dundee stopped the fight unwilling to see him take more of a beating. While Ali would fight again for all intensive purposes this was the end. Muhammad Ali would never again challenge for a heavyweight championship.

There is so much more the amazing contributions Ali made to the civil rights movement, his battle with Parkinson, his work for the UN including the time he helped to negotiate the release of fifteen hostages in Iraq. But when I think of Ali. I will think and admire the risk taker. It would have been easy for him to stay Cassius Clay smiled and just fought. Instead he was willing to be unpopular to be hated. He could have taken easy fight or just lived off his reputation. Instead he took the uneasy path. Ali could have been a great champion but by taking risks he became an Icon, a Hero, A Legend. “I Must Be the Greatest!” Yes he was.

UFC 199 Picks

UFC Middleweight Championship Luck Rockhold (c) 15-2 MMA 5-1 UFC vs. Michael Bisping 28-7 MMA 18-7 UFC- A ten year UFC career spent hunting a title shot all comes down to two weeks. An injury had forced Chris Wediman out of his rematch with Luke Rockhold. Instead Rockhold will fight another rematch facing off with Michael Bisping. These have some history. They trained together a little bit and Bisping says he got the better of it when they spared. They had an actual fight in November of 2014 that night clearly Rockhold got the better of it. He really dominated the fight dropping the Bisping with a head kick and than submitting him in the second.

Rockhold last fought in December at UFC 194. That was the fight he won the title from Chris Weidman. It was a close fight. First round real argument either way it got scored. Second round was a pretty clear cut win for Rockhold. He used his great kicks control the round did some real damage to the champion. Third round it appeared to be Weidman's until he threw sloppy spin kick. Rockhold seeing his chance got him down and beat the ever living hell out of him. The result a dominate TKO victory and a new middleweight champion. Rockhold rides a five fight winning streak. Bisping is coming off the biggest win of his career. It was back in February in the UK. He faced off with Anderson Silva. What a lot people forget and ignore he actually put on a great performance. He won the first two round throwing good consistent combinations never got pulled Silva's game never froze up. He hurt Silva in the first and dropped in the second.

What people (mainly people that dislike Bisping) want to focus on is the third round. Late in the round Bisping lost his mouth piece he wanted the referee to stop the action and that allowed Anderson to hit flying knee that badly hurt him and drop him. At the same time the bell rings to end the round. The ref steps in to stop the round. The assumption is he is stooping the fight. Anderson jumps up on the cage the doctors rush in to check Bisping. Finally order is restored. We go back out for the forth round. Now at this point mentally he's left the fight, he's still badly hurt yet he comes out focus and manages win the round. Than in the fifth he survived a lot of big strikes that would have finished a lot of men. He finally won the big one and is now on a three fight winning streak.

Both men these men are very good strikers. But they are very different. Bisping is more bread and butter pressure and pace fighter. He throws a lot of jabs and crosses he mixes in some good kicks. He does have 15 career knockouts but is not often seen a power puncher. A big key to his striking is his pace he keeps guys from attacking him because he can still be throwing high levels later in fights. Rockhold is more a power striker but he only has four knockouts officially in his career. Part of that is due to his ground game. But he hurts guys when he lands. Also he doesn't wind or throw wild. Now I can only go off what I have seen and we know Rockhold can hurt Bisping. Both guys have pretty solid chins each has only been KO'ed twice. I am giving the edge to Rockhold.

As I said a big part of the reason Rockhold doesn't have a lot knockouts is due to his ground game. He often like to use his striking to set up taking the fight to the ground and getting the submission. He has a BJJ blackbelt. He has nine career submission wins and never been submitted in a fight. Bisping has only been submitted once and that was his loss to Rockhold. He does have four career submissions. But I gotta give a edge to Rockhold. He has great control just go back and watch his fight with Machida to see what I'm talking about. Also go watch his fight with Tim Boetsch where he pulled off a inverted triangle meaning he can pull off moves guys don't usually see.

The X-Factors are first Bisping only gets two weeks to get ready. By all account Bisping keeps himself in shape between fights but this being five rounds and he admits he has to cut more than twenty pounds to make weight will make it tough. Most guys also admit good shape is a level or more below fight shape. Now it does help he fought Rockhold before so it's not like he has to quickly figure out the style of a guy. The other one to me is ten years in the UFC a combat sports career that dates back to age 15, the judges giving a gift to channel Sonnen in a number 1 contender fight, having a TRT aided Belfort KO him in Brazil in a fight where if he won he was next in line. Bisping has wanted this fight a long time and he's finally got it. That could be the thing that makes him more dangerous than anyone.

The odds makers are leaving very heavy to Rockhold. I have to agree. Bisping in order to win this fight is going to have establish control early and force Rockhold to press more than he usually does. Rockhold though has that power that can just change a fight in a flash. Plus he will have a full camp that might give him the cardio edge. I think Rockhold wins and I think it could another TKO win using ground and pound sometime in the second round.

UFC Bantamweight Championship Dominick Cruz (c) 21-1 MMA 4-0 UFC vs. Urijah Faber 33-8 MMA 9-4 UFC- It all started with a poster. In March of 2007 Faber was the WEC Featherweight champion and Cruz was set to challenge him. Cruz became upset upon learning his picture was not on the poster for the event. In response during a charity signing he become writing over the picture of Faber an act the champion found disrespectful. Its been all down hill since in terms of there relationship. Its seems like every interview either one does at some point has them talk about the other and insult them.

In 2007 at WEC 26 Faber won with a Gulliteen Choke in 1:38. It is the one and only loss of Cruz's career. It would take Cruz over a year to return the WEC. Now a Bantamweight Cruz would rise up the rankings including two wins over Faber's than teammate Joesph Benavidez. Winning the WEC's Bantamweight title in 2010 and by years end when the WEC was abrosed by the UFC he was named UFC champion. That same year Faber who had lost his title and failed to regain dropped to Bantamweight setting the stage for a rematch. 2011 at UFC 132 it would take place. In a back and forth fight Cruz would win a decision evening the series up at 1-1. The third fight was set for the summer of 2012 until Cruz suffered the first in a series of injures that would limit to just 1 fight in four years.

Cruz last fought in January. It was his chance to regain what he never lost. He had been stripped of the Bantamweight championship due to injury. He would step into the cage with TJ Dillishaw. Why Dillishaw had deprated Alpha Male there was still a large amount of tension going in. The fight itself was a classic Dominick Cruz performance. Beautiful footwork great movement. He really turned Dillishaw into a head hunter he won the decision and is back as world champion. Faber last fought in December at UFC 194. He got a decision win over Frankie Saenz but it the latest in a long line poor performance by him. Now is that the decline of a fighter now in his late 30's or is that a top contender frozen out of the title picture not being as motivated as he should be.

Both men have seven career knockout wins. Cruz has never been stopped due to strikes. Faber has been knocked out three times. Also when he lost to Aldo and the first fight with Barrao while it the distance he was badly outclassed on the feet. Faber when striking tends to be flat on his feet and throw wild looping shots. If you had a fighter that every young MMA fighter should try to be like. He's is always on the balls of his feet. He is always moving. He never get wild instead throw perfect tight shot keeping his defense up. If you try to attack him he is moving out of the way with a slip and odds are coming right back with a counter. I see a huge advantage on the feet for Cruz.

Both men have wrestling backgrounds. Faber went further wrestling in college at UC Davis. Both have used there wrestling to win fights over the years. Now of course Faber beat Cruz with a choke in the first fight. Cruz has always only won once via submission. He does use his wrestling for control also had very good defense. Faber has 19 career submission wins and never been submitted. I see a slight edge for Faber.

I think a huge X-Factor will be Cruz is willing to change. The way Cruz talks he is always looking for the next level in this sport. He want to be perfect. Even when he was hurt he was telling people “You don't understand I am getting smarter I am better than I ever was.” Faber on the other hand doesn't seem to want to change. It seems that led to the falling out with Bang Ludwig and seems to be par tof the reason why a few of Alpha Males top fighters have gone elsewhere. The other X-Factor could be like with Bisping, Faber might be looking at this his final shot and will be willing to do anything to win. Of course the flip side could be Faber over commits to something and gets hurt by a perfect Cruz counter.

My pick is Dominick Cruz. I see this huge advantage on the feet. He's not going to be schooled on the ground. Cruz is not the guy to make a huge mistake because he learned from that one loss. He's finally healthy been able to have back to back training camps. Faber meanwhile hasn't looked good in a while. He's still very much the same fighter he was back in the WEC. I think this goes five rounds and it's another decision win for Cruz.

Max Holloway 15-3 MMA 11-3 UFC vs. Ricardo Lamas 16-4 MMA 7-2 UFC- Name value wise not the biggest fight but for fans that know what these two can do it the potential fight of the night. These are two top fight rated featherweight. One has had a title shot and the other wants one badly. Holloway last fought in December at UFC 194. He scored a unanimous decision win over Jeremy Stephens. It was a clear case of who was the better fighter. He's now won an incredible eight fights in a row. Lamas last fought in November TUF Latin America Finale. He dominated Diego Sanchez badly beat up in a way no other fighter ever has. It was a strong rebound after being knocked out by Chad Mendes in the fight before that.

In terms of power Max is Blessed with the advantage. He's won 6 fight via KO while Lamas only has 4. Lamas also has been KO'ed three times. Now the reach will be tied by Holloway uses more kicks. Now the ground game Lamas appears to have an edge He's got more submission 4 to 2. Also Lamas loves the smother your style. He's more likely to be looking to tie up and grapple. But Holloway can grapple so he won't be just held down.

I'm going to pick Max Holloway. He's the younger fighter but already has tons of high level experience. He's also looked so great during this recent run. Lamas is tough but I think Holloway will be get the better of him.

Dan Henderson 31-14 MMA 8-7 UFC vs. Hector Lombard 34-5-1 2NC MMA 3-3 1 NC UFC- Two of the most experienced fighters in the middleweight division do battle. Both men have won championships in other promotions but never held the UFC title. And both fighters need this win. Both have really some major downs the last few years. Henderson has not won back to back fights since 2011. Lombard is setting at 500 in the UFC and is coming off a long suspension for a failed drug test. And lets be honest one guy is 45 the other is 38 so if they are at that point where you need to win every single fight.

Henderson last fought in November at a UFC Fight Night. It was his third fight with Vitor Belfort. In the second fight he had been KO'ed by a head kick just over a minute into the fight. Well third fight went a bit better. It took over two minutes for Belfort to hit the head kick and KO him. Like I said he's not won back to back fights since 2011. Lombard last fought in March at another UFC Fight Night. It was his return from a PED suspension and he faced Neil Magny. Early on he had Magny hurt and seemed like it was going to be a big stoppage win. But in the second round Magny had recoverd started using his range and hurt Lombard. In the third Magny kept control and finished Lombard with strikes.

When it comes to there striking both men are knowing for there power. When it comes to Henderson it's the big over hand right that scored most of them. Hendo has 15 career knockouts wins. Now Henderson has 3 career losses via knockouts but all three of those come since 2013. On top of that over the years he's been in some real wars and well the chin doesn't get better as a fighter gets older. Lombard 19 career knockouts. He's only been knocked out once. I'm going with Lombard better chin and Henderson game plan these days seems to be charge throw over hand repeat. And it doesn't work.

Both men have great grappling backgrounds. Henderson very successful Greco Roman wrestler won medals in the Pan Americans and the Worlds. Lombard 4^th dan blackbelt in Judo and during his Judo career won numerous major tournaments. The truth is though neither guy really uses those skills in MMA. Number say there is an edge to Lombard he has seven career submission wins and never been submitted in MMA. Henderson has two career submission wins and has four career submission losses.

My head says pick Lombard. He's younger taken less punishment it seems in his career. But than you have Henderson who remains dangerous enough. Just look at his rematch with Shogun he was getting clipped over and over again and than bang hit that homerun shot. Went in a fought Boetsch he got that shot and dropped him for the win. So if Lombard just goes for broke he could win up taking the H bomb. But I'm sticking with the head. I think Lombard wins and gets a decision win.