Aldo vs Pettis "Super Fight" Should it Happen?

Should the Champ vs Champ fight happen? Pros and Cons for both divisions

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

By now I’m sure the news of the proposed super fight between long time featherweight champion José Aldo (24-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and the newly crowned lightweight king Anthony Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has filtered down to even casual fans of MMA. It’s very difficult not to get carried away with excitement at the prospect of this titanic clash – for too many years now the MMA community has clamoured for a super fight, yet the last time we saw a clash of champions was GSP vs B.J Penn II way back in 2009… However, looking past how intriguing this battle would be, there are quite a few reasons why it might not necessarily be the right time for this fight.

From Anthony Pettis’ end there are some notable obstacles.

It must be remembered that Pettis has only just won his lightweight belt and is yet to make a single defence. There is no shortage of potential contenders in the lightweight division; Gilbert Melendez, Khabib Nurmagomedov and T.J. Grant to name but a few are sniffing after the belt. Surely it would make more sense for Pettis to see off a few of these challengers before super fight discussion can begin? While Aldo has seen off all the competition the featherweight division has to offer in some style, Pettis hasn’t even fought as a UFC champion. It could raise the stakes of a future battle between Pettis and Aldo even more if Pettis gets a few wins under his belt, proving himself to be a champion worthy of a super fight.

Aside from this question over Pettis’ dominance as a champion, there is a far more obvious concern preventing the two meeting in the Octagon. Anthony Pettis is currently rehabbing a serious knee injury. A recent interview with the UFC’s doctor revealed that even expecting the champion to return by July could be an overly optimistic estimation. By committing to the super fight the UFC would be essentially side-lining both champions until Pettis makes a full recovery, putting both the featherweight and lightweight divisions on hold. Also, with heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez out until late in the year, this means the UFC would have three champions out of action and would have far less main-event-worthy fights at their disposal.

There can be no denying that of the two fighters José Aldo is the more ready for a super fight. During his time as the top dog of the UFC and WEC he has cleared out the upper-tier of the featherweight division, so in many ways a move up to lightweight is understandable. He simply needs some more competition...

However, the fate of the featherweight belt if Aldo does indeed move up to 155-lbs is problematic. When Aldo first expressed his interest in the super fight at the post-UFC 169 press conference, Dana was fairly adamant that Aldo will be forced to relinquish his hold of the Featherweight belt, opening the vacant championship position up to a battle between the two top contenders (the same scenario scheduled to take place for the Welterweight championship at UFC 171).

While this battle for the vacant belt – most likely between Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson – would be a killer fight, viewers would be left with a strange aftertaste. The new featherweight champion wouldn’t be the ‘real’ champion. Aldo would still be the champion, at least in the eyes of the people. This new guy would be the fighter who was babysitting Aldo’s belt while he attempted to conquer the lightweight division. There is also every chance Aldo won’t even be willing to give up his belt – it would be a huge gamble to drop one championship belt for the opportunity to potentially gain another. Becoming the champion of another division would certainly put Aldo right into the GOAT discussion though.

The fight seemed to be arranged so easily at the press conference. Dana White simply announced “sounds like we got a fight”, though it is clear that there is a lot more arranging to do before a fight of this scale can be set in stone. Aldo and Pettis were supposed to meet at UFC 163 and it seems pretty obvious their paths are destined to cross at some point – will this happen in 2014? Who knows. When it does happen, expect it to be an incredible battle though.

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.

Kingdom MMA review of UFC 169

UFC 169: Barao vs Faber II

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

Boasting two title fights with a brace of the UFC’s most dominant champions topping off a stacked card, UFC 169 certainly promised a lot and in many ways failed to live up to this lofty expectation. Not only were UFC records broken for the most fights to go to decision – ten of the twelve fights would hit the judge’s scorecards – but the night ended in an unsatisfactory manner with a questionable referee stoppage. The disappointing nature of the night is reflected in the distribution of the bonuses with one fight taking all the honours. The Trujillo/Varner matchup would pick up not only the Knockout of the Night bonus for Trujillo but also an augmented Fight of the Night bonus as a result of the lack of a ‘Submission of the Night’ – a whopping $125,000 in bonuses for Abel Trujillo.

Renan Barao (32-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) VS. Urijah Faber (30-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC)

The UFC’s marketing of this fight was such that Faber had a 50% chance of toppling the newly crowned undisputed Bantamweight champion. Not only did Joe Rogan explicitly say this in the promo but they were also very shady about revealing the fact that the two had fought before and that Barao in his decision victory Barao had outscored Faber 50-45 on one judge’s scorecard.

In their second match-up it was all too clear that since they last met in the Octagon, Barao is the more improved of the two fighters. The first two or so minutes of the fight saw some fairly even striking exchanges between the two fighters with Faber’s tutelage under Duane Ludwig clearly giving him the confidence to kick-box with the dangerous Brazilian fighter. However, standing with Barao proved to be a mistake as a solid straight right connected directly with Faber’s jaw, dropping him and allowing Barao to swarm all over him. Somehow Faber was able to get to his feet but the Brazilian blitz continued, a typhoon of knees, uppercuts and body shots. The relentless pressure from Barao paid off as he once again dropped the dazed Alpha Male captain. Faber clung to Barao’s leg and was guarding the Brazilian’s rapid hammerfists but Herb Dean had seen enough, despite Faber having given him the thumbs up. In fairness to Faber, he did seem like he was able to continue and after the fight was stopped he was immediately up challenging the controversial decision.

This ending was undesirable to both Bantamweights – Faber was denied the opportunity to continue in the fight while Barao, who had looked amazing in the fight, couldn’t get the definitive stoppage he may have needed to get his name right up the p4p rankings.

Result: Renan Barao def. Urijah Faber via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:42

Jose Aldo (24-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) VS. Ricardo Lamas (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC)

Some have expressed disappointment in Jose Aldo for not picking up a victory in the distance. I am not one of these people. While he failed to stop Lamas, Aldo looked completely dominant in his unanimous decision victory and showed some of the most technically appealing combinations of strikes I’ve ever seen.

Aldo chained together long, accurate combinations throughout the fight which nearly always finished with one of his renowned thunderous leg kicks. The Brazilian champ also displayed exceptional takedown defence to ruin Lamas’ strategy to outwrestle him. Lamas was mostly unable to threaten Aldo – the only round he won on the judges’ scorecards was the fifth where he was fortunate enough to find himself on top of Aldo in a scramble. Even in this position he didn’t really trouble Aldo who was clearly content to remain on his back and let the judges give him his sixth consecutive UFC win. Critics of Aldo will attribute his losing the fifth round to his tendency to fade towards the end of fights. I tend to disagree with this as he hadn’t slowed down at all until being taken down.

At the post-fight press conference it was revealed that now Aldo has defeated all the top featherweight contenders he would be interested in moving up to 155-lbs to fight Pettis for his Lightweight belt.

Result: Jose Aldo def. Ricardo Lamas (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Frank Mir (16-9 MMA, 14-9 UFC) VS. Alistair Overeem (37-13 MMA, 2-2 UFC)

In what was probably the most disappointing fight on the main card we saw one of the least competitive heavyweight fights in recent memory. Most expected Overeem to come out, rock the shaky chin of Mir immediately and finish him for a quick return to the dressing room. We saw domination of a very different, far more boring kind, however. Clearly in fear of getting tagged as he has been in his past two fights, Overeem fought ultra-conservatively despite having several openings to easily finish Mir. Instead, he lay on top of Mir for large sections of the fight landing just enough ground-and-pound for the ref to not stand it back up. What could have been one of the most exciting fights on the card turned out to be boring and highly uncompetitive. Bad match-making on the part of the UFC.

Result: Alistair Overeem def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Ali Bagautinov (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) VS. John Lineker (23-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC)

This clash of two rising flyweights certainly seemed to be a fight for the number 1 contender spot, pitching the world-class sambo of Bagautinov against the brute power of John Lineker.

The fight was extremely back-and-forth throughout: Bagautinov, as we had seen in his last fight, was comfortable enough on his feet to throw combos at the Brazilian while mixing in takedowns while Lineker was able to cause some visible pain to the Russian, particularly with body shots in the second. Despite this, it was an easy fight to score in the end with Bagautinov’s domination on the mat able to comfortably win the first and third rounds while Lineker’s power shots in the second frame won him a round back. Bagautinov certainly seems like a worthy challenger to take on Mighty Mouse next – he was able to make a man who has been knocking out talented flyweights left, right and centre look slow, plodding and one dimensional.

Result: Ali Bagautinov def. John Lineker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Abel Trujillo (12-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC) VS. Jamie Varner (21-9-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC)

This fight was easily the most entertaining on the whole card and there really isn’t much which can be said about it other than that you should watch it as soon as you get chance.

Imagine two Wanderlei Silva clones slugging it out in the Octagon if you want the best description of this bout. The two had each other hurt on multiple occasions and indeed it seemed Varner had all but beaten Trujillo until he got caught by a massive counter-right which sent him down immediately like a felled tree.

Once again, if you haven’t watched this fight yet, watch it.

Result: Abel Trujillo def. Jamie Varner via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:32

What's next for Renan Barao?

A look at the UFC's 135lb division

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

If you didn't already know, Renan Barao is one of the very best mixed martial artists on the planet.

Despite the very much controversial conclusion to his first UFC bantamweight title defence at UFC 169 against the always game Urijah Faber, all that really happened was Barao chalked off yet another contender for his crown, again.

Barao spent so much time as the interim champion, knocking off the top contenders in the absence of Dominick Cruz, that as champion now he has already defeated many of the top contenders.

Take a second and think who is next in line for a crack at the exhilarating Brazilian. Michael McDonald? Been there, done that. Eddie Wineland? Same. Faber? Again?

The problem is, Barao was too good for everyone before he was the champion. How likely is that to change now that he is the undisputed bantamweight champion?

The rankings are always a good place to start when considering future contenders. From the list of guys not already humbled by Barao we have Raphael Assuncao, Urijah Faber's stablemate TJ Dillashaw and of course former champion Dominick Cruz.

From that list the next challenger seems to be fairly obvious.

Dillashaw, despite the ringing endorsement issued by Faber in the aftermath of UFC 169, has already lost to Assuncao back in October at UFC Fight Night 29, so Assuncao should and in all probability will be ahead of him in the line.

All that seems fine and well, apart from the fact there's only one fight everyone wants to see at 135 pounds. The countdown is on until the former champion is healthy again.

The highly anticipated unification match that never quite materialised needs to happen, if not for anything other than to solidify the belief that Barao is the premier bantamweight on the planet.

And with that, there is a problem. When a champion dominates his division, fairly often they defend their title against people who, quite frankly, don't belong in title fights, just look at some of the challengers Anderson Silva faced over the years.

Barao has beaten the top contenders in his division, with the exception of a couple, so the list to choose from if fairly narrow.

The only fight that matters though is with Dominick Cruz. We have been teased with this prospect for the last two years and I'm fairly certain that it is the only fight anyone really wants to see next.

The quicker Cruz gets himself fit the sooner we can see the best possible bantamweight fight on the planet.

UFC 169 predictions

Kingdom MMA predictions for UFC 169

by Ben Heather @benheather and Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

For this event we will be predicting the fights for UFC 169 including a write up for the big 3 fights on the card and then picking our winners for the rest of the card. Let us know if you agree with our picks.

Barao vs Faber

Chris: The UFC always tends to really stack this card and I'm glad to see this year is no exception. I was disappointed when Dominick Cruz had to pull out, but it says a lot that there is still a buzz about this card. Faber just may be the most popular UFC fighter to never hold the title and I can't really see that changing come Saturday night. Renan Barao is special. I mean seriously, who goes on a 31 fight winning streak? That is ridiculous.

I'm going to go with a Barao decision in this one.

Ben: I really have been struggling to pick a winner for this fight, my head says Barao but my heart is picking Faber. I would love nothing more than to see Urijah Faber crowned the champ he has been on a tear and beats 99% of the division. I think he knows this is probably his last shot and I think it may well be the time that Team Alpha Male finally have a champion in the team.

I'm not confident at all but will go with Faber by decision.

Aldo vs Lamas

Chris: In the co-main event I can't see past Barao's stablemate. Aldo is quite simply a cut above anyone else at 145lbs. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Ricardo Lamas fan and his shot has been a long time coming, but I don't see a specific area of his game where I think he's better than Aldo. Aldo is about as devastating a striker as we have in the sport right now and it'll be interesting to see how Lamas copes with that.

My money has to be an Aldo TKO, probably in the second or third round.

Ben: I agree completely with Chris, I like Lamas and love seeing him fight. However, right now there is two divisions within the featherweight division.... Jose Aldo and everyone else. It wouldn't matter to me who Aldo was fighting if its at 145lbs I am backing him. As i predicted at the start of the year, I think Aldo will end the year as the UFC lightweight champion and on Saturday night we will see him defeat Lamas and then vacate his title. As he moves up for the super fight against Anthony Pettis.

It has to be Aldo by TKO Round 2

Mir vs Overeem

Chris: The most intriguing fight on the card for me has to be Frank Mir vs Alistair Overeem. Billed as a looser leaves town match I really think, with a loss here, we may see the last of Mir. Overeem still has a point to prove and just needs the win more. If Josh Barnett can do what he did to Mir with strikes, I fear what Overeem may be able to do.

I predict an Overeem KO.

Ben: Since Overeem has been in the UFC we have not seen him tested on his back, if Mir gets the fight down he will surely have an advantage as he does against most guys in the division but I just don't see the fight getting there. I think like Chris that Overeem is going to come in to this fight so focused and his preperation in Thailand will be put to get use on Saturday night.

Overeem by KO Round 1.

Predictions for the remainder of the Card

Bagautinov vs Lineker

Chris: Bagautinov    Ben: Lineker

Varner vs Trujillo

Chris: Trujillo          Ben: Varner

Makdessi vs Patrick

Chris: Patrick          Ben: Makdessi

Cariaso vs Martinez

Chris: Martinez        Ben: Cariaso

Catone vs Watson

Chris: Watson         Ben: Watson

Iaquinta vs Lee

Chris: Iaquinta         Ben: Iaquinta

Hester vs Enz

Chris: Hester           Ben: Hester

Martin vs Magomedov

Chris: Martin           Ben: Magomedov

Magny vs Umalatov

Chris: Umalatov      Ben: Magny

Video: Don Frye's UFC 169 Predictions

Video: Don Frye's UFC 169 Predictions

2x UFC tournament champion Don Frye weighs in on UFC 169... who you got?

Lineker vs Bagautinov and Trujillo vs Green Set For UFC 169

Lineker vs Bagautinov and Trujillo vs Green Set For UFC 169

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

UFC 169 has just got better, with the announcement that two of the top fighters in the flyweights division are due to face each other on the 1st February 2014 in New Jersey.

Lineker (23-6) has failed to make the 125lb flyweight limit in 3 of his last 5 fights. Most recently when weighing in at 128lbs when he faced Phil Harris in Manchester England at UFC Fight Night 30 winning via first round KO. He will be looking to make sure this doesn't happen again as he nears that title shot! Another failure making weight would put a massive dent in his title hopes if he was to win.

At the age of only 23, Lineker has amassed 29 professional fights already in his career, only losing 1 of his last 18 fights which came at the hands of Louis Gaudinot.

Lineker will be facing the highly talented Russian Ali Bagautinov (12-2) , who is unbeaten since May 2011 and currently on a 10 fight tear, with his most recent victory coming over Tim Elliot at UFC 167.

With fighting nicknames of 'Hands of Stone' and 'Puncher King' this is surely going to be a highlight of the night!

Also announced for UFC 169, lightweights Bobby Green vs Abel Trujillo are set to face off

Both fighters are coming off victories only last week at UFC Fox 9 and most arguably their best performances to date within the UFC.

Abel Trujillo (11-5-1NC) put on a stunning performance in defeating Roger Bowling via second round TKO in their rematch fight. Their first bout was deemed a no contest after Trujillo landed an illegal knee with Bowling unable to continue.

Bobby Green (22-5) put on a clinical display out pointing the very durable Pat Healy to earn himself a unanimous decision victory and extend his winning streak to 7 fights!

UFC 169 will see the long awaited return of Dominic Cruz who after 2 years out injured, will be putting his Bantamweight title on the line against the interim champion Renan Barao.