Where does Urijah Faber go following his loss at UFC 169

What's next for the California Kid?

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

Not many mixed martial artists can claim to only ever falter in major championship fights. Whether or not that is a slight on him or praise is a separate issue, but Urijah Faber is the enduring title challenger of the UFC, always falling shy in his attempts to win the big one.

The California Kid has looked spectacular over the past year, scoring win after win and doing so impressively. However, this past Saturday night he fell at the final hurdle, not for the first time, as he lost another championship fight at the hands of UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao.

In 2013 he notched up wins against Ivan Menjivar, Scott Jorgensen, Iuri Alcantara and Michael McDonald. Had it not been for the returning Dominick Cruz he would in all probability been the number one contender. When injury struck and Cruz was forced out of the Barao showdown, only one man would have sufficed. Faber.

He seems to have been the perennial title challenger at 145lbs and 135lbs for pretty much his entire career. But has he used up his quota of title fights?

At featherweight he was the small guy, fighting against giants, well relatively speaking. A glance over the UFC rankings and there's only one guy he can't beat, possibly two. Renan Barao has his number, it remains to be seen if Dominick Cruz does too. Everyone else? Well, it's been proven, they don't beat Faber.

In effect you can split the bantam weight division into three sections. Barao and Cruz, then Faber, then everyone else.

He has now lost to Barao twice, Cruz once and destroyed everyone else. However, following his most recent loss in a title fight he was quick to shoot down the notion of permanently going back up to featherweight, only for a big fight.

He's not going to get Jose Aldo who seems destined for a collision course with lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Besides, Aldo already beat Faber in the WEC days.

It would seem then that Faber finds himself cast in the Chael Sonnen role. He won't win the title in any of the weight classes he has fought in, although it's undoubted he will fall into that number one contenders spot again somehow.

It's time to simply make fun fights happen.

At bantamweight, where he has spent his UFC tenure doesn't jump out as containing real fun fights we could see Faber in. At featherweight? Yes.

Faber has to be considered the most popular UFC fighter to never hold a UFC title and featherweight holds an array of potential match ups which would prove just as popular as he is.

Anyone who has read this far will already have guessed the match ups which would be nothing but pure gold.

Firstly, what about Urijah Faber vs Cub Swanson or the Korean Zombie? Maybe not the biggest fights available or big enough to tempt Faber up, but it would be a sure fire winner with the fans.

These next two potential fights however certainly address the issue of big fights. Be warned, you may get giddy with excitement just at the prospect.

BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar coach the next season of TUF and face each other later in the year in BJ Penn's featherweight debut.

Any combination of these three guys has to happen. The possibilities of Faber vs Penn or Faber vs Edgar sounds far more appealing than a trilogy with Barao or Cruz.

Faber and Penn are far and away the two most popular fighters south of welterweight and Edgar may well be clear in third.

Yes, you read that correctly, Faber vs BJ Penn. After all, Faber did say a huge fight could tempt him up a division.

Dustin Poirier talks to Kingdom MMA about UFC 164, fighting Cub Swanson in the UK, Conor McGregor and more

Kingdom MMA catch up with Dustin Poirier for a UK exclusive interview

by Ben Heather @benheather

Yesterday Kingdom MMA had the pleasure of catching up with Dustin Poirier to discuss his fights at UFC 164 as well as a lot of other topics. Dustin comes in to the fight off the back of a loss in the co-main event of UFC on FUEL 5 against Cub Swanson in Wembley Arena, London. Since then he has taken a bit of time out after two fights in the space of two months in December last year and then February of this year, but is now ready to get back to action.

Ben: Your last fight was in the UK, did you get chance to get out and see much of London while you was in the UK and what did you think of England?
Poirier: I was not able to see much but what I did get to see was beautiful, aside from it raining the entire time we were there.

Ben: Last time out you lost in a close battle to Cub Swanson, do you regret taking that fight on short notice?
Poirier: I don't regret taking the fight, it was a learning experience and I'm a stronger fighter because of it.

Ben: I caught up with you in the Hilton hotel a couple of hours after that fight against Cub and at that time you said that you thought you won the first and second rounds and did enough to win the fight. Did you watch the fight back and how do you think it should have been scored?
Poirier: I did watch the fight over and  I think the decision was right, we were one and one going into the third and I think he edged me out in the third.

Ben: Do you feel if you had the full camp before fighting Cub the result would have been different?
Poirier: I definitely think that if I had a full training camp it would have gone differently. I would've been in shape to push the third round.

Ben: Who do you think is now the number 1 contender at featherweight? It seems a lot of guys feel they deserve the title shot but who do you think should be next to get the shot?
Poirier: Ricardo Lamas deserves the next shot at the featherweight title.

Ben: If an opportunity arose and you were asked to step in on short notice for another fight like you did against Cub would you still take the fight?
Poirier: It depends on my weight at the time and if the fight is worth taking on short notice.

Ben: I believe in the past your weight fluctuates a lot when you are not preparing for a fight. How much weight do you normally have to lose during a fight camp? Also, on average how much do you have to cut for weigh ins?
Poirier: I lose an average of 15 pounds during camp and another 15 pounds for the weight cut.

Ben: You have now been training at American Top Team for coming up to a year, how do you feel this had improved your game and how different is it to where you previously trained?
Poirier: I feel like my game is more well rounded and I'm getting pushed by top level guys every day. I'm a completely different fighter than how I was a year ago.

Ben: It seems lately the name on everyone's lips in the UK is Conor McGregor, what is your opinion of him and would you be interested in a fight with him?
Poirier: Connor Mc who??

Ben: At UFC 164 you will finally fight Erik Koch. You were supposed to fight him back in Feb '12 at UFC 143 before he got injured. Has it been easier preparing for this fight due to the past preparation you put in for that first fight?
Poirier: No it's not easier because it's a different fight and we're both different fighters than we were a year ago.

Ben: You will be fighting Koch in what I believe is his hometown, does this add an exciting edge to the fight for you?
Poirier: For sure! I get to be the bad guy for the night and he's going to need a stadium full of fans to cheer him up after I beat him.

Ben: Have you been training on anything specific for your fight against Koch?
Poirier: I've been training and preparing for any way the fight could go but have been focusing on my kickboxing. Everyone looks at me as a jiu jitsu fighter but I started as a kickboxer before anything and you will see that in this fight.

Ben: How do you expect the fight to go at UFC 164?
Poirier: Me knocking Erik Koch out!!

Ben: Where do you think a win will put you in an already stacked division?
Poirier: Back where I belong...At The Top!

Ben: Would you say that putting on a show, entertaining the crowd with exciting fights and being known as an entertaining fighter is important to you? Or is it all about getting the win no matter if its a boring fight.
Poirier: It's all about getting the win for me but luckily, I don't know how to have a boring fight!

Ben: UK fighter and team mate of yours Brad Pickett is in action this weekend, how do you think he will get on against Michael Mcdonald?
Poirier: I think it will be a competitive fight first round and then Brad will pull ahead second and third.

Thank you for your time Dustin, we wish you all the best in your fight at UFC 164 and look forward to speaking with you again soon.

UFC 164 is headlined by the rematch between Benson Henderson vs Anthony Pettis for the UFC lightweight championship in a fight which the fans have been hoping to see ever since Anthony Pettis landed the showtime kick in the first fight between the two. UFC 164 takes place on 31st August and can be seen live on BT Sports in the UK.

The Featherweight landscape in the UFC

Whats next for the UFC featherweight division

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

If it wasn't already exciting enough the featherweight division just got a whole lot more interesting, complicated even. Most fans knew Frankie Edgar was a top level Featherweight despite him not ever having won at the weight in the UFC and being on a 3 fight losing skid.

He had forced the FW champion to give him all he had and Jose Aldo had the "the answer" to Edgar edging out a super close decision. Edgar finally got back into the win column that he so richly deserved on Saturday night. He beat a game Charles Oliveira in a competitive but clear decision. Oliveira proved he could live with Edgar but couldn't quite get the better of him wherever the fight went. Oliveira is young and can sharpen his skill set and come back again.

Also on Saturday night a fight originally stated for UFC London occurred. Cub Swanson finally got his hands on Dennis Siver. Congratulations have to go to Joe Silva on this one. He stuck to his guns after the original matchup fell apart and he was rewarded for his matchmaking. Again both men delivered with one man standing tall at the end.

Cub Swanson is on quite a tear now. When Anthony Pettis had to pull out of his fight with Jose Aldo many fans felt Swanson deserved the call up. He took his streak to 5 wins in a row and stopping 4 of them on that run. He has stopped George Roop, Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira and now Dennis Siver. He also earned a decision win over Dustin Poirier in that time. All top competition and Swanson has looked better each and every time he enters the Octagon.

The question that remains locked over his head though is what happened before his hot streak. Ricardo Lamas stopped Swanson 2 years ago at the very 1st Fox event. He's been on a roll of his own ever since and it would be hard to argue that Swanson deserves a title shot over Lamas. Looking slightly further back he holds a decision loss to Chad Mendes, and more importantly a brutal KO loss at the hands of Jose Aldo.

Jose Aldo won by flying double knee KO in just 8 seconds against Swanson. At the top of the featherweight division it is so stacked that it would be hard to sell a rematch between the two. Swanson has two saving factors. The first is he cant seem to stop winning. The second is Aldo has been so dominant he has almost beat all of the top contenders already.

We have Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes and even Anthony Pettis all as viable contenders at the top of the division. A lot of what happens next rests on Pettis' shoulders. Dana White seems to be quite fond of him and let's be honest who doesn't want to see Aldo-Pettis? Pettis will have a lot of sway on the future of the Featherweight division. There will be many twists and turns to come yet so strap yourself in for what has fast become the most exciting unmissable division in the UFC.

UFC 162 Weigh in results

Weigh in Results for UFC 162

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrow nights UFC live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Nevada, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The main event sees Anderson Silva attempt to defend his UFC Middleweight title for a record 11th time against Chris Weidman. Silva already holds the UFC record for most title defenses which currently stands at 10, however a lot of people have been saying that Weidman is different to all the other challengers and could me the man to beat the greatest MMA fighter of all time.  Both men weighed in within the 185lbs limit to make the fight official. Now its just a matter of time before we see if Anderson stays undefeated in the UFC or will Weidman shock the world and defeat the GOAT. All we know is somebody will be losing their undefeated record in the UFC tomorrow night.

In the co main event, we will see a featherweight fight as Frankie Edgar is set to battle Charles Oliveira in a bout which has could have title implications. Both men weighed in under the 146lbs limit at the weigh ins, and they both know that a big win will move them a step closer to a potential title shot. Frankie comes in to this fight needing to get a win, he has no worries for his job but having lost his last three fights (all of which were title fights in which many people thought he did enough to win each time but the judges gave it against him) he is desperate to get back to winning ways and work his way back in to contention.

That is not the only featherweight fight on the card as Cub Swanson will face Dennis Siver in a fight that was originally scheduled to be the co main event on the UFC on Fuel TV 7 event in London back in February. That time Siver had to pull out due to injury but now they will meet in the octagon. Again like the Edgar vs Oliviera fight a big win could put them at the front of the queue for a title shot. Cub certainly has done enough to get one in my opinion.

Also on the main card we have two middleweight contests in Roger Gracie vs Tim Kennedy we see two men making their debuts in the UFC and after Kennedy's comments before this fight he may need a good performance and more importantly a win if he intends on having more than just the one fight in the UFC. The other middleweight contest sees two former contenders try to get back to winning ways as Tim Boetsch and Mark Munoz meet in the octagon.

All of the fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales making all of the fights official.

A full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 3am Sunday 7th July 2013

Anderson Silva (c) (184lbs) vs. Chris Weidman (185lbs)
Frankie Edgar (146lbs) vs. Charles Oliveira (144lbs)    
Tim Kennedy (186lbs) vs. Roger Gracie (186lbs)
Mark Munoz (185lbs) vs. Tim Boetsch (186lbs)
Cub Swanson (144lbs) vs. Dennis Siver (145lbs)   

Prelims - Live on ESPN at 1am Sunday 7th July 2013

Chris Leben (186lbs) vs. Andrew Craig (186lbs)    
Norman Parke (156lbs) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (155lbs)   
Gabriel Gonzaga (262lbs) vs. Dave Herman (242lbs)   
Edson Barboza (155lbs) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155lbs)

Facebook Prelims - Live on facebook

Seth Baczynski (170lbs) vs. Brian Melancon (170lbs)   
Mike Pierce (171lbs) vs. David Mitchell (171lbs)   

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 162 Main Card Picks Challenge - Phil Harris vs Jack Broadey

UFC Fighter Phil Harris challenges Kingdom MMA in a picks challenge

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

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 Luke Barnatt twice and Jim Alers. Last time out at UFC 161 Jim Alers was the first fighter to beat one of our Kingdom MMA writers.

For this event I will be challenging Phil Harris, who is set to fight at UFC 163 will be predicting the fight outcomes from UFC 162 which is headlined by Chris Weidman challenging Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship. 

Before we go in to the details of the competition we caught up with Phil Harris this week and spoke about his fight at UFC 163.

You are fighting at UFC 163 in Brazil and we all know the Brazilian crowd back their fighters more than any other fight fan in the world, how have you been preparing yourself mentally to enter the 'lions den'?
The Brazilian fans are well known for backing their fighters but once the cage door closes its me vs him so no matter who the crowd are cheering for this wont change my focus to win.

You are fighting John Lineker, who is considered a top 10 flyweight in the world. Do you think a win over Lineker cements your place in the top 10 rankings?
Beating John Lineker will definitely put me in the top 10, he's one of the best 125lb fighters in the world.

How has your training camp been for the fight, have you been working on improving any part of your game going into the bout?
Training has been great for this fight camp, just about all of my camp is done at gym01 in Portsmouth we have great coaches and a gym full of small guys so its ideal for me.

I believe you have also been out in Thailand training at Tiger Muay Thai ahead of this fight, is that something you do during most fight camps, or is your striking game something you have specifically worked on for this fight?
I went to Tiger Muay Thai before I knew about the fight, just to improve on my all round game but specifically my striking.

What areas do you feel you have an advantage over John Lineker?
John is obviously a good striker but I'm happy to trade with him but I think my advantage will be against the cage in the clinch and on the ground.

Are you hoping to fight again this year after UFC 163, would the Manchester event be a card you'd like to fight on?
I've not thought about fighting again this year, I want to get this fight done then make plans. It would be good to spend some time with the family after this fight.

Thank you for answering our questions Phil, now its time to start the competition.

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: Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman

Harris: Anyone who bets against Anderson is insane.

Prediction: Silva by TKO Round 2 

Jack: I'm torn on this one. Anderson can't go on forever and he will eventually lose to a top wrestler. I just don't know if that top wrestler will be Weidman. He certainly will take Silva down but can he rinse and repeat for 5 rounds? That's the big question for me. I'm just insane enough to believe he can do it.

Prediction: Weidman by Decision

Frankie Edgar vs Charles Oliveira

Harris: Frankie will comfortably win every round.

Prediction: Edgar by Decision

Jack: This is an awesome fight. Oliveira is no joke but he's no Frankie Edgar. I expect Edgar to stamp his authority on this one and get the finish.

Prediction: Edgar by TKO Round 3

Tim Kennedy vs Roger Gracie

Harris: I am not sure about this fight but I'm going for Gracie.

Prediction: Gracie by Submission Round 1

Jack: I like Gracie as well here. Could look very similar to Maia-Fitch but I also see Gracie eventually locking onto some sort of choke.

Prediction: Gracie by Submission Round 2

Mark Munoz vs Tim Boetsch

Harris: Tim Boetsch will take this fight. 

Prediction: Boetsch by Decision 

Jack: Difficult one to read. Munoz has been inactive for so long but Boetsch isn't all that great either. I think Munoz if he's anywhere near what he used to be should be able to take this down and use his G&P to win this.

Prediction: Munoz by TKO Round 2

Cub Swanson vs Dennis Siver

Harris: Cub will take this, he will out wrestle Siver.

Prediction: Swanson by Decision 

Jack: I Like Siver in the upset here. Siver has looked great since dropping down to Featherweight. I think he's the better technical striker and should be able to keep it up long enough to win a decision.

Prediction: Siver by 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 Phil for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

UFC 162 Predictions

UFC 162 Predictions
by Tom Rooney - @oldmanrooney

The UFC is back in Las Vegas for what we are being told, not for the first time, is the toughest test of Anderson Silva’s career to date. Is the hype behind Chris Weidman genuinely justified or will he prove to be yet another unworthy pretender fed to the Spider, while the Dana and Co continue to dangle the super fight carrot without the slightest chance of follow through?

Elsewhere, the Featherweight rankings are set to oscillate once more with Frankie Edgar, in desperate need of a W, taking on Charles Oliveira and head hunters Cub Swanson and Denis Siver going toe-to-toe. The main card is completed by two Middleweight bouts between perennial contenders Mark Munoz and Tim Boetsch and octagon debutantes Roger Gracie and Tim Kennedy.


Anderson Silva v Chris Weidman
It’s probably a little redundant to highlight the plethora of ways the champion can win this fight; the man operates on a different plane to any other fighter on the planet and even the most casual of fight fans will have been witness to that. Weidman’s path to victory could not be more academic-get it to mat and be quick about it. At this stage Weidman’s credentials as both a wrestler and grappler have been extolled to the point of saturation and, to be fair, with good reason. He mixes his takedowns between Greco and Free-style intelligently and, when on top, he is equally brutal with ground and pound or submissions. But, herein lays the problem; while he has not put a foot wrong in his time in the UFC, on paper his highest ranked and toughest opponent thus far was a bloated, out of shape Mark Munoz. The jump in competition he will experience on Saturday night is so glaring that it’s near impossible to verbalise.

The variety and accuracy in Silva’s striking arsenal is breath-taking, he also possesses a stealth of movement and appreciation of space and angles that is truly unique. If Weidman can take Chael Sonnen’s game-plan from UFC 117 and appropriately modify it, at the very least, we’re in for an interesting night. In all honesty, since that night in August 2010, the champion has not been offered a challenge equating to more than a mid-tempo sparring session. If Weidman loses, but does so competitively, it will at the very least legitimise a division that no longer has anything to offer its champion, bar pay cheques.

My Prediction: Silva by TKO/KO in Round 3.

Frankie Edgar v Charles Oliveira
Frankie Edgar goes into his first non-title fight in over three years, knowing a loss against the dangerous Charles Oliveira could send him into MMA purgatory. His career since capturing the lightweight crown form BJ Penn, has been a litany of draws, re-matches and razor-thin decision losses. He debatably lost his last three fights because he was unable to assert himself in the opening two and-a-half rounds. A return to the three round time limit should compel him to make things happen from the off. He has better boxing and wrestling than Oliveira and has also fought a much higher calibre of opponent-the guy is also impossible to finish. Oliveira has a sound submission game and competent Maui Thai in which he utilises his long limbs to keep opponents at bay. But he has a questionable chin and heart as his fights with Cub Swanson and Jim Miller demonstrated respectively. In the end, Frankie needs it more.

My Prediction: Edgar by unanimous decision.

Roger Gracie v Tim Kennedy
There shouldn’t be too much pressure on Roger Gracie for his UFC debut; he’s only representing the name of a familial dynasty responsible for the entire sport’s existence! Beaten only once in his professional career, he and fellow Strikeforce ex-pat Tim Kennedy know a loss on Saturday means they could be on the chopping block with one more slip up. Kennedy is a powerful striker and decent wrestler, but Gracie’s BJJ is so refined that even the slightest error on Kennedy’s part could signal the end.

My Prediction:  Gracie by submission in Round 2.

Mark Munoz v Tim Boetsch
Mark Munoz looked to be on his way to a title shot until he was unceremoniously knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC on Fuel TV in June of last year, since then he has overcome both mental and physical demons to make his UFC return against Tim Boetsch, also rendered unconscious in his last fight by Costa Philippou. Both guys are strong wrestlers, with seriously powerful, if uncouth striking. Munoz has the better wrestling pedigree and that should prove decisive.

My Prediction: Munoz by split decision.

Cub Swanson v Denis Siver
There is a credible argument to made, considering his last four fights that Cub Swanson should be facing Jose Aldo at UFC 163 and not the Korean Zombie, but the powers that be think otherwise and only time will tell. This one has fight of the night and/or knockout of night written all over it. Swanson is a pure beast and is one of the most destructive stand-up fighters in the division; he combines this ballast with a tapered technique. Siver is an outstanding kick-boxer and loves to brawl and his spinning back kick is always a sight to behold, yet Swanson is just a little better everywhere and will be out to prove a point after being overlooked for a title shot. Fireworks all round!

My Prediction: Swanson by KO/TKO in Round 2.

Stay tuned to Kingdom MMA for the latest on UFC 162