What's next for the winnners of UFC Fight Night 36

Kingdom MMA look at what’s next for the winners of UFC FN36?

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

Lyoto Machida
Next fight: Winner of Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 173)

Now 2-0 at Middleweight against a pair of the most dangerous fighter on the UFC roster, it would be a bold statement to suggest that Machida isn’t deserving of the next pop at the 185-lbs belt.

His speed and technical striking advantage over former Strikeforce LHW champion Gegard Mousasi were plain to see, meriting him a one-sided decision victory after five rounds. It’s worth mentioning that against virtually any other opponent Machida’s performance probably would’ve earned the stoppage – Gegard ate several huge kicks directly to the jaw which would’ve been more than enough to drop most other middleweights (and indeed smaller African elephants).

Though he hobbled after his victory, this could well work to his advantage in his pursuit of being given the next title shot. Weidman and Belfort won’t be throwing down until May 24th which means either way Machida will be forced to wait and his foot injury will prevent him being given a match-up before then.

Ronaldo Souza
Next fight: Winner of Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch (UFC 173)

There’s no denying that Souza fell behind Machida in the race to secure the next no1 contender spot.

While he was mostly untroubled against Francis Carmont, I can’t help but think he should’ve been able to secure the submission victory from the dangerous ground positions he managed to take against the Frenchman. Going into Saturday’s fight, three of Carmont’s seven career loses had come via submission so expecting someone with Jacare’s BJJ credentials to submit a fighter having taken their back multiple times isn’t a big ask.

I find the UFC’s matching of Rockhold – who looked awesome in his last appearance – against middle-of-the-line Boetsch pretty strange. If, as most fans are expecting, Rockhold beats Boetsch, Joe Silva should arrange the rematch of Rockhold and Jacare, the winner potentially being next in line after Machida.

Erick Silva
Next fight: Brandon Thatch

Silva’s match up went according to the script as he immediately blasted through heavy-underdog Takenori Sako on Saturday night.

Silva can be a tricky fighter to matchmaker for. He looks like a world-beater against lower-level UFC welterweights but as soon as he takes a step-up in competition, he finds his momentum crushed by another loss (admittedly in the loss to Dong Hyun Kim he had been dominating until the KO). I believe that if Silva actually manages to amass a few consecutive UFC wins he could be a real contender in the 170-lbs division.

A clash with the massively-hyped prospect Brandon Thatch – who had stopped all 10 of his last opponents in the very first round – would be an amazing match up. Both fighters have similar offence-based styles so seeing the two in the octagon would surely be exciting from the start. A win for either of them against the other would more than likely buy their place into the division’s top ten rankings.

Nicholas Musoke
Next fight: Winner of Thiago Alves vs. Seth Baczynski (UFC on Fox 11)

Picking up the win on Saturday in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd (and in spite of a horrific looking groin shot in round three), Swedish Nicholas Musoke looked highly impressive.

A fight with the winner of Thiago Alves and Seth Baczynski makes a lot of sense. Alves hasn’t fought for the last two years and cannot expect to jump back to the top of the Welterweight division where he once resided. Assuming he wins against Baczynski, a fight against the impressive Nicholas Musoke would be perfect in his quest to re-establish his status in the division.

Charles Oliveira
Next fight: Felipe Arantes

Charles Oliveira finds himself in a state of limbo, comfortably dealing with opponents outside of the Featherweight division’s top-ten but then stumbling against the likes of Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. He made a difficult opponent in Andy Ogle look second-rate, eventually submitting him in the third round.

Only just coming off his two fight skid, it’s too soon to give Oliveira another top-ranked opponent. Instead, he should be given the opportunity to garner some consecutive wins against respected opponents like Ogle so he can build some momentum and self-confidence.

A perfect opponent for his next fight would be Felipe Arantes who, like Oliveira, was victorious on Saturday against Maximo Blanco. Arantes would be given a hike in competition and the chance to put himself on the map while Oliveira would confirm his talent by acquiring another UFC win.

Shogun vs Hendo rematch announced for UFC Fight Night 38

Shogun vs Hendo II announced as the main event for UFC Fight Night 38

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

A UFC fight for the ages is set be revisited as Dan Henderson (29-11) and Shogun Rua (22-8) get set to meet again at UFC Fight Night 38. It was announced on Thursday that the two veterans will square off in Brazil on March 23.

The pair first met in an instant classic back at UFC 139 in November 2011 in which Henderson came out on the right end of a hard fought decision in what many considered to be the fight of the year. Since then, both men have gone on to suffer a down turn of fortunes.

Henderson has lost three straight since then, most recently suffering the first knockout loss of his career to Vitor Belfort. Before that he lost two controversial decisions to Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.

Rua has similarly been struggling for form, failing to string a winning run together. He spectacularly knocked out James Te Huna in little over a minute back in December. Prior to that he lost successive fights to Alexander Gustafsson and Chael Sonnen.

The fight sees Henderson return to the UFC after entering free agency after his fight with Belfort. It also sees Henderson head south, back to Brazil, to have another attempt at picking up a win.

It remains to be seen how Henderson can bounce back after being brutally knocked out back in November.

Whilst Rua was victorious in his last outing, as always, it all depends on what kind of condition he can get himself into ahead of this rematch.

The fight is between the number six and seven ranked light heavyweights, but it would seem that both men, at least Henderson at 43-years-old, could very well be about to begin their final attempt at a run in the UFC.

If history has taught us anything it's that rematches of legendary fights very rarely live up to the expectation, but the fact is we will be getting Henderson vs Shogu II. All we can do is accept that and hope that the rematch gets close to the first fight in terms of excitement.

UFC Fight Night 38 takes place on March 23 from the Ginasio Nelio Dias, Natal, Brazil.

Vitor Belfort vs Lyoto Machida?

Could we see a middleweight battle between the two Brazilians?

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea



Vitor Belfort's next middleweight challenge could very much be Lyoto Machida, which has been rumoured to be a co-main event at UFC 167.

Machida (19-4) who narrowly lost his last fight to Phil Davis only a couple of weeks ago in what some people saw as a controversial result would be making his Middleweight debut if the fight gets the go ahead.

Vitor (23-10) is only looking for big fights after recently turning down a fight with Tim Kennedy. Vitor is coming off back to back wins with stunning TKO victories over Michael Bisping and more recently a devastating spinning heel kick to knockout top contender Luke Rockhold.

Interestingly the fight could take place at the MGM Arena Las Vegas on November 16th where Belfort's TRT exemption probably wouldn't be given the all clear, forcing Belfort to train and fight all 'natural'.

Machida hasn't fought at middleweight before and would be a great addition to the division, especially now as his friend and training partner Anderson Silva no longer holds the belt. Though this may well change come December when Anderson faces Weidman in a much anticipated rematch!

UFC 167 will see Welterweight champion GeorgeSt-Pierre put his belt on the line when he faces Johny Hendricks.

UFC 163: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

My review of UFC 163

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea

UFC 163 came and went with a bit of a whimper with Jose Aldo retaining his UFC Featherweight belt for the fifth consecutive time at the HSBC Arena Rio de Janiero, Brazil,  and the co-main event seeing a somewhat controversial decision in the eyes of the fans and the fighter!!

Jose Aldo def. Chan Sung Jung (4th Rd TKO)
The Ugly

Jose Aldo proved once again why he is so formidable at 145lbs, Aldo pressed the action from the off, The Korean Zombie was hesitant in coming forward in a relentless fashion we are accustomed too and where he earn't his nickname.

Aldo made the most of this , landing strikes and taking Chan down and taking control of the first three rounds.

Going into the 4th, the Korean Zombie threw an overhand right to the head of Aldo which missed, leading to a dislocated shoulder, you could clearly see the pain Chan was in, and in the process tried to pop his shoulder back into its socket.

Having failed to do so, Aldo took the advantage straight away landing a kick to the damaged shoulder and jumped all over him, with little else to do but cover up under the barrage of strikes, Herb Dean called an end to the action.

Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida (29-28 x 3)

The Bad: The Fight & Decision ? 

Im glad we don't see too many of these fights! It was a stinker. With so much on the line for both fighters it became a very cagey fight where both were hesitant to engage or force the action.
Machida was the more aggressive of the two, and was stealing the first two rounds until Davis managed take downs at the end of the first and second round, but doing little once down.

Going into the third Machida landed the better strikes and stuffing the take downs Davis was gunning for.

When the Judges came back with a majority decision , I think everyone expected a Machida win.

29-28 on all 3 judges score cards, Bruce Buffer announced the winner..................
Phil 'Mr. Wonderful' Davis!!!

Cezar Ferreira def. Thiago Santos (1st Rd Sub)

Blink and you would've missed this fight! Cezar wasted no time in hunting down Santos landing a left hook which staggered Santos. Cezar could smell the blood and went in for the kill, sinking in a guillotine choke forcing Santos to tap after just 47 second into the first round.

Thales Leites def. Tom Watson (29-27 x 3)

Leites made his return to the UFC since being released in 2009, looking very impressive against Watson. Controlling the fight from the first bell, showing superior grappling and wrestling skills to control Watson and taking him to the mat at will and keeping him down.

Landing heavy damage throughout the first and second round, Watson had little success until the they got back on their feet.

Watson landed some good strikes when Leites was tired at the end of the second and third round, but it wasn't enough to earn a round let alone a win.

John Linekar def. Jose Maria  (2nd Rd TKO)

If Linekar carries on to miss weight he will either be forced to moved back up to Bantamweight or see himself in deep trouble with the UFC. Having missed weight by 4lbs on Friday its the second time in his last four fights he's failed to miss weight!

Maria look very tentative on his UFC debut with Linekar walking him down looking to land a right hand to finish the fight early. Though it was Maria that started well, landing a wonder spinning backfist that landed flush on Linekar who was on wobbly legs, Maria sensed Linekar was in trouble and landed some heavy shots which saw him in serious trouble.

Linekar managed to survive the first round , into the second Maria started the stronger and faster of the two until he throw a leg kick which seemed to hurt himself. Linekar pounced on the opportunity handed to him and landed some heavy shots to Maria, forcing the ref to stop the fight.

The Good:

With Joe Rogan away with prior arrangements, ex UFC Middleweight Brian Stann stepped up to take his place. With some concern of how the relationship between Goldberg and Stann would work, I was assured after a few minutes he would be a great replacement.

I was very impressed of how informative Stann was, he came across very well without all the excitement of Rogan at key times. As much as I enjoy Rogan and Goldberg, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Stann in future events! Bravo UFC, good call.

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 163 Main Card Picks Challenge - Mike Wilkinson vs Tommy Strong

UFC Fighter Mike Wilkinson challenges Kingdom MMA in a picks challenge

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.

For this challenge we challenge some of the big names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions. Previously we have challenged the likes of Luke Barnatt, Jim Alers and Phil Harris. Last time out at UFC 162 Phil Harris managed to draw with our very own Jack. Leaving Jim Alers the only fighter to beat one of our Kingdom MMA writers.

For this event I will be challenging Mike Wilkinson, who fought on the last UFC event in Brazil. Unfortunately for Mike it didn't end how we all wanted at UFC on Fuel TV 10 and resulted in the first loss of his career. Hopefully we will see Mike back in the octagon soon where he can get back to winning ways. As yet Mike does not have a fight lined up but I am sure it is only a matter of time before something gets announced.

The Scoring

If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The predictions:

Main Event: Jose Aldo vs Jung Chan Sung

Wilkinson: The zombie has been looking good in his last fights but I don't think he is able to beat Aldo at this stage in Aldo's career.

Prediction: Aldo by TKO Round 3 

Tommy: I see this being a formality for Aldo, even though Jung looked great against Dustin Poirier in May '12, i think Aldo will be too big and too strong for the Korean Zombie. I just can't see anyway Aldo losses unless its by DQ or... actually or nothing! Aldo doesn't lose this.

Prediction: Aldo by TKO Round 2

Lyoto Machida vs Phil Davis

Wilkinson: Machida has come back with a vengeance since his loss to Jones even though I like Davis and his style I don't think he is going to match Machida's stand up.
Prediction: Machida by Decision

Tommy: Im torn between these two fighters, I keep changing my mind on who wins. It really is a toss up. I know Machida is a big favourite, though my head and heart are telling me Davis wins. That probably means I should pick Machida! But I am going for the upset.

Prediction: Davis by Split Decision

Cezar Ferreira vs Thiago Santos

Wilkinson: Cezar has had a big lay off but won the TUF Brazil and is probably looking to win in style.

Prediction: Cezar by TKO

Tommy: Both fighters have not fought for a year, I can't confess to know much about Santos. Though I'm going for Cezar to win.
Prediction: Cezar by TKO Round 1

Thales Leites vs Tom Watson

Wilkinson: Leites is coming back from a lengthy lay off, his last fight in the UFC was in 2009 and he has not fought in over a year. Watson looked good in his last fight in the UK with a win and a bonus.
 
Prediction: Watson by Decision 

Tommy: Leites hasn't fought for the UFC since 2009 but has won his last 3 fights. Watson showed great heart against Nedkov from the brink of defeat to knocking out Nedkov in an epic fight that will be a contender for fight of the year. Though there are two sides to Watson, if he turns up like he did against Brad Tavares he losses, if like he did against Nedkov I see him winning.
Prediction: Watson by Decision

John Lineker vs Jose Tome

Wilkinson: Tome's first fight in the UFC and he is the underdog but being Brazilian and fighting in his home town comes in his favour.

Prediction: Tome by Decision 

Tommy: Having the advantage of picking after the weigh ins, Lineker missed weight by 3lbs. It will be interesting to see whether this will have any effect on him come tomorrow night.

Tome could be a real handful for Lineker though with his style and having home advantage he could pull of an upset here. With that in mind I'm still backing Lineker to grind out a win.
Prediction: Lineker by Unanimous Decision

So that's our predictions for the fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Mike for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

Lyoto Machida returns to Brazil to fight Phil Davis at UFC 163

Machida v Davis added to UFC 163

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

UFC 163 has its co main event. It came as a little bit of a surprise as Machida was expected to fight for the title. That could mean Jon Jones foot injury will put him out longer than first expected or it could simply be Machida has been passed over for a title shot.

With a win over Davis he can't be passed over again so he now knows what he needs to do. He edged out Dan Henderson last time in a fight of little action. So this time out on home turf fans will hope this is a little faster paced.

Davis comes in to the fight off the back of a relatively dominant decision win over Vinny Magalhaes. He was never in any danger at any point to the BJJ expert and will be hoping to nullify Machida's stand up game as well.

UFC 163 takes place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on 3rd August. The event will mark the start of the the new UK tv deal with BT Sport.