The Acquisition Curse - Ultimate MMA

As you have all seen in recent weeks, the progression of the status of Eddie Alvarez from Bellator Fighting Championships continues to make headlines.

The UFC is obviously interested in picking up another top level contender to join their ranks, seeing as how Alvarez is still one of the most recognized names on Bellator’s roster. It would be a great acquisition indeed. But with no offense to Alvarez, haven’t we heard this before?

Let’s start with Jake Shields, the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Shields had beaten the who’s who of the Strikeforce roster, including a win over the likes of Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller and former Pride Champion Dan Henderson. The latter fight earned him a chance to join the UFC ranks where he was met with a stiff challenge in Martin Kampmann, at his old weight of 170 lbs. After three hard fought rounds, I and half the people watching the fight had Kampmann edging out a split decision against the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. As you all may know, Shields ended up taking the split decision and earned a shot against GSP for the UFC Welterweight title. Shields ended up losing a 5 round decision, losing 4 rounds to 1 on one of the judge’s scorecards. Since that fight at UFC 129, Shields has amassed a 1-1 record, with 1 NC. Not exactly the fireworks we were expecting from him.

Next on the list is Nick Diaz, the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion. Starting in 2009, Diaz ripped through his opposition including stoppage wins over Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, Marius Zaromskis (In which he won the Strikeforce Welterweight Title), Evangelista Santos, and Paul Daley. Diaz was finally welcomed back to the UFC where he was granted an immediate title shot against GSP. Well after 2 no-shows to press conferences, Diaz was stripped of his title shot and instead given a fight against former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn, who was coming of a draw with Jon Fitch. Diaz battered Penn and took a unanimous decision victory to set up his next fight. Diaz then met Carlos Condit at UFC 143 in February 2012 to determine who would get the next shot at GSP, who had been sidelined with an injury that has kept him off the shelf until just a few weeks from now. Condit executed a well-developed gameplan and was able to win a unanimous decision victory and become the UFC interim welterweight champion. After that Diaz failed a drug test and is suspended till February 2013.

Last but not least, we have Hector Lombard. While we all found out that Lombard fought injured, it was still another letdown for such a big acquisition from another company.  Lombard was on a 24-0 run with 1 NC. He was Bellator’s first middleweight champion. Lombard looked completely unstoppable.  Finally after years of waiting, he was welcomed into the UFC, and Tim Boetsch was selected as his octagon debut. After 3 rounds, Boetsch was awarded a split decision victory. It was certainly not the fireworks we had come to know from Lombard. In this instance, he was not entirely at fault but still another promotion champion fell to the UFC acquisition curse.

I hope that this time it is different. I hope that Alvarez will be able to show the UFC brass and the world that if they choose to sign him, he will not disappoint. Maybe Bellator will retain their inaugural lightweight champ and keep him in their ranks. Only time will tell.

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Lights Out- The Top 10 UFC KOs of 2012

What a year.
The UFC had its share of powerful knockouts in 2012, but 10 KO bouts stood out among the rest. We catalogued them for you. Reminisce and enjoy.


1. Edson Barboza KOs Terry Etim
The No. 1 knockout of the year took place 14 days into 2012.
Edson Barboza’s incredible spinning wheel kick knockout over Terry Etim will go down as arguably the best knockout in UFC history, at UFC 142, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the third round, Barboza threw a leg kick, reset and then fired off an outstanding spinning back kick to the face of Etim, which sent the Brit down immediately. A creative, powerful and thrilling knockout.

Edson Barboza knocks out Terry Etim in UFC 142.

Fastest KOs in 2012

7 SECONDS
Ryan Jimmo over Anthony Perosh
KO (elbows)
UFC 149
July 21, 2012

22 SECONDS
Nick Denis over Joseph Sandoval
KO (elbows)
UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller
Jan. 20, 2012

46 SECONDS
Johny Hendricks over Martin Kampmann
KO (punch)
UFC 154
Nov. 17, 2012

1 MINUTE, 16 SECONDS
Donald Cerrone over Melvin Guillard
KO (head kick & punch)
UFC 150
Aug. 11, 2012

1 MINUTE, 21 SECONDS
Anthony Pettis over Joe Lauzon
KO (head kick & punches)
UFC 144
Feb. 26, 2012

2 MINUTES, 17 SECONDS
Cung Le over Rich Franklin
KO (punch)
UFC: Macao
Nov. 10, 2012



KO Totals
2 - Cerrone

3- Steven Thompson, Chris Weidman


6 - Anthony Pettis

7- Edson Barboza

8 - Cung Le, Johny Hendricks

10 - Nick Denis

13 - Jose Aldo

20- Anderson Silva


By Jatinder Dhoot

Posted By Ultimate MMA Magazine

Damage - Ultimate MMA

Henry Martinez stands in the Octagon during his lightweight bout against Daron Cruickshank at the UFC on FOX event at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington

On this night, cuts, swelling and blood are a fighter’s worst enemy.
Years from now—when the lights, the crowd and the cage are long gone—they will look back with fond remembrance on those injuries and even like the battle scars that remain.
But not on this night.

CREDIT: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Source -  Ultimate MMA Fighting

Simply Stitch - Cutman Jacob Duran

As Talented as Cutman Jacob Duran Is, Passion has Taken Him to the Top of the Fight Game
By Tony Reid

Cher. Sting. Madonna. Stitch.
In this world, there are a handful of people who others know by a single name, and the MMA world is part of that elite group.
Jacob “Stitch” Duran has one of the sport’s most recognizable faces. In the following story, you’re going to meet the man who stitches up the fighters. — Editor

Q: You have said that wrapping hands is similar to putting the armor on the gladiators before they went into battle in ancient times. What is the most memorable wrap job you have ever done?
A: Let’s talk about Meisha Tate the other day when she fought. It was the first time I wrapped her hands. She requested me because I already had Marloes Coenen. They give me five guys, and I end up doing eight. It’s tough for me to say no. So, I put her in my schedule.
As I’m wrapping her hands I said, “Meisha, I wrapped just about every great fighter’s hands in MMA, and it’s nice to have you as one of the people I wrapped.”
She got all excited and said, “Stitch can you sign them for me?”
I have never signed a wrap before they go out to battle so I signed, “Have a blast,” and she ended up winning the fight. She said was going to hold on to them and put them in a special place.
Here is another great story.
We were at the weigh-ins at Abu Dhabi, and you have all of these princes and sheiks. We are in the back dressing room, and I heard one of them talking to security about how he wants Anderson Silva’s autograph. He then sees me and wants to take a picture, which we did.
Come fight night I thought it would be nice to do something special for this guy, so I said, “Do you want to go to the back with me? I have to go wrap BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Renzo Gracie, Mark Munoz and Kendall Grove.”
While back there, I asked Anderson Silva if he would sign.
Anderson said, “Oh, no problem, sure, sure.”
I thought it would be nice to do something different, so I wrapped his hands and had Anderson autograph the wrap. During the fight, the camera zoomed in on him, and he is waving the wrap around. The guy ended up being one of the princes, and he was very grateful.

Q: From Forrest Griffin to Marvin Eastman and everyone in between, you have been there for most, if not all of the biggest cuts in the history of the sport. What was the most challenging cut you ever had to work on?
A: It happens at just about every event. If you give me an event, I’ll give you a story (laughing). Brock Lesnar when he fought Cain Velasquez. I was with Brock, and I love Brock. I have wrapped his hands since day one. But on this one he ended up with a major gash, and I started working on him.
As big and manly as he is, he looked at me and said, “Stitch, take care of me.”
I said, “Don’t worry about it, Brock.”
Those are the moments that I’m talking about … the one only the fighter and I share.
When Fedor got knocked out he whispered to me, “What happened?”
I had to tell him, “Fedor, you got knocked out.”

This is an excerpt from the January issue.
Credit: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Source: Ultimate MMA Magazines

The Top 5 Magical Moments in Canada’s 16 Years of MMA

PHOTO CREDIT: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

By Todd Prescott

Canada’s had a pretty solid 16 years of MMA, so we proudly present the greatest MMA moments in the Great White North.

5.) Carlos Newton Wins the UFC Welterweight Title
May 4, 2011
Carlos Newton wasn’t supposed to win his fight with Pat Miletich at UFC 31—he was the underdog. But like a true Canadian, Newton wasn’t going down easy.
Instead, he choked out Miletich in the third round to steal the welterweight belt.

Did You Know?
Newton also fought on the first documented MMA event ever held in Canada. At age 19, he took on behemoth Jean Riviere at Extreme Fighting 2, nearly winning a grueling battle.
 
4 .) UFC 83: First UFC in Canada
April 19, 2008
The UFC coming to Canada was long overdue, and UFC 83 was welcomed with wide-open arms (and wallets) by the Canadian fans.
At the time, UFC 83 was the largest attended UFC event in North America with an audience of nearly 22,000. The event shattered the record for fastest sell-out time when all tickets were sold in 24 hours. The card was stacked with GSP headlining ... and thankfully wining back his welterweight title from Matt Serra.

3.) GSP Wins the UFC Welterweight Title
November 18, 2006
Georges St-Pierre was destined to be a champion from the get-go.
His meteoric rise included a UFC title just four years from his start in MMA. His record speaks volumes to him being the greatest Canadian MMA fighter of all time—his abilities and prowess are unparalleled. Winning (and monopolizing) the welterweight title put Canadian MMA on the map and acted as a catalyst for other young Canadian MMA fighters.

Crunch These Numbers
MAY 4, 2011

2.) The day Carlos Newton won the UFC welterweight title
22,000
The attendance at UFC 83

1.) The number of weddings held before UFC 129
55,000
Attendance at UFC 129

NOTE: The full list is in the December issue.

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