Fans of Robert Whittaker may have found his last fight tough to watch.
While the middleweight contender walked away with a win, he also had to survive an all-out onslaught from his opponent, Derek Brunson, in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Melbourne last November.
Whittaker, who will fight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza this Saturday at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis, looked to be in trouble in the early minutes of the first round. A barrage of punches from Brunson seemed to stun Whittaker, who looked wobbly as he tried to circle away from his opponent’s attack. Brunson smelled blood, charging bull-like after Whittaker with such recklessness that he slipped over.
Eventually, Brunson’s aggression fizzled out, giving Whittaker the opening he needed for a TKO via head kick and punches at 4:07 into the opening round.
But Whittaker says it was no comeback victory, and is slightly amused at the idea he was ever hurt in the fight.
“It’s funny, a lot of people said, ‘Oh, you came back after getting rocked like that,’ and, to be honest, I never felt rocked, ever,” he said ahead of his fight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. “I felt quite calm and composed. I was surprised a bit when he came out at me that hard. When I fight someone, I know when I’ve rocked them and when I’ve hurt them. He seemed to have thought he hurt me, I guess.”
The 185-pound standout says he backpedaled because it was the smart play.
“When someone comes at you that hard, it’s very dangerous to enter the storm, to counter fight like that. It’s much better to ride out the wave and just wait for your opportunity, because a lot of people get caught when they try to brave the storm and just put their chin down and beat it out. And sometimes that’s necessary, I’m not saying that’s wrong to do, it’s just not what I felt I needed to do at that point.”
It’s that kind of wisdom that sets Whittaker apart from other fighters his age. Married and a father of two boys, the 26-year-old is an old soul both inside and outside the UFC’s Octagon.
With eight years of experience as a professional fighter, Whittaker has a knack for making smart split-second decisions in the heat of battle, and he will need every point of his fight IQ against Souza.
The No. 5-ranked Souza is the level of opponent Whittaker has been campaigning for. And having won six straight fights, “The Reaper” could no longer be denied.
“When I got the call (to fight Jacare) I was super stoked. I’ve been asking for a top-five opponent for a while and to get a name as renowned as Jacare is a dream come true and I’m really looking forward to this fight.”
Whittaker makes no secret of his game plan against five-time world Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Jacare, who was once considered the best pound-for-pound grappler on the planet: keep it standing.
While the 37-year-old Brazilian is also a dangerous striker, Whittaker believes his opponent will be taking the path of least resistance.
“I think he’ll come out hard, and I think even he would know to an extent he needs to get this fight to the ground and if he doesn’t, that’s my world. I’m comfortable standing up.”
Some BJJ competitors of Jacare’s caliber have failed to successfully switch to MMA because they lack the skills to get the fight to the ground.
But Jacare, who is also a black belt in judo, can put almost anyone on their back. That’s a possibility Whittaker is ready for.
“I train my jiu-jitsu extensively with some of the best black belts in Australia. Obviously, my game plan is to keep it standing, but I’m very comfortable on my back, I’m very comfortable being in that position. I don’t doubt that I have the ability to get up if I need to; that just means I’ve done a couple of things wrong early on.”
Whittaker is also a BJJ competitor, albeit without Jacare’s pedigree. The New Zealand-born Australian recently took home two gold medals in the purple belt division in the Sydney Cup of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Whittaker is a big believer in focusing on his own game and not his opponent’s, and says he never tailors his training for a particular fighter. That hasn’t changed, and Whittaker says his decision to compete in BJJ wasn’t his way of preparing for Jacare.
“No, I try to stay active in competition, always. It’s just a great way to train, to prepare for that competition.”
So how does Whittaker think he’d fare in a BJJ match against his opponent? Well, he knows his odds are far better in an MMA fight.
“I’m under no illusion about how good he is at BJJ, and thankfully for me we’re not competing in BJJ. It’s a fight.”
Come Saturday, Whittaker is looking to end the fight in a way that’s far outside the BJJ rulebook.
And if he delivers on his promise, a shot at the middleweight title in 2017 will become a real prospect for “The Reaper.”
“I think I’m gonna starch him. We’re going to go out there and touch gloves, but I’m gonna hit him. He’s not gonna be ready for my power or my speed, and I’m gonna make him break.”
Number four-ranked UFC Women’s Strawweight contender Rose Namajunas joins Jim and Matt in studio to talk about her upcoming fight against Michelle Waterson, dealing with her loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, having a purpose inside the Octagon, and she addresses Joanna Jedrzejczyk‘s recent comments about her, amongst other things. Later, Rose’s opponent, No. 6-ranked Strawweight Michelle Waterson calls in and discusses exercising her demons through MMA, how she got the nickname „Karate Hottie“, Joanna picking her to beat Rose, and she clears the air with Matt about a joke from years ago. Plus, the guys discuss UFC 210 and the controversial Chris Weidman vs. Gegard Mousasi fight.
Some of the highlights from Episode 85 of UFC Unfiltered include:
Rose on getting over her loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Rose on friction with Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Rose on her motivation to fight
Michelle on overcoming her demons inside the Octagon
Michelle became a better fighter with the birth of her daughter
UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson faces the biggest fight of her career Saturday against Rose Namajunas in the co-main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Johnson vs Reis at Sprint Center in Kansas City.
In this except, Waterson’s whirlwind tour of media outlets in Kansas City gets off to a sleepy-eyed start – and an apology:
Waterson arrives in Kansas City around midnight in mid-March, an hour after a powerful late winter storm spawns tornados and hail in the area. She’s driven directly to a downtown hotel, tosses her bag onto the chair and collapses on the bed in her clothes, asleep.
Hours later, her cellphone alarm fails her. But the phone doesn’t. After the fourth frantic call, she finally stirs and answers.
“Michelle, are you ready? The car’s here.”
It’s 5:30 a.m.
“Oh my God!” Waterson says apologetically, scrambling to tame her dark, shoulder-length hair into a ponytail and wrestling with a duffel bag on her shoulder as she runs out of the Hyatt elevators into the lobby. “This never happens. I set it for 5 p.m., not a.m. I am soooooo sorry. I never do this.”
Welcome to the Michelle Waterson-Rose Namajunas Kansas City Media Tour.
Waterson woke up five minutes ago – 30 minutes after her scheduled meet-up time in the lobby – looking remarkably flawless in a sheer top, jeans, black leather jacket and black stiletto heels. She’s wearing very little makeup “and I just splashed water on myself from the sink,” she says, laughing at how glamorous her life is in pre-dawn, windy and cold downtown Kansas City.
If this looks too easy, it’s because she refuses to be viewed as high-maintenance. In truth, Waterson, 31, is an effervescent marvel, a petite, yet-powerful athlete who, at first glance, reminds you of an Olympic gymnast. One who could throw you to the ground, knock you senseless with a spinning back kick or send you reeling with a right uppercut.
She also may be UFC’s most endearing fighter. She’s certainly among its most gifted athletes: a rare combination of well-trained strength, quickness, smarts and fearlessness. Combined with her exotic, multi-racial good looks, her beguiling personality and a self-titled, proud label as Fight Mom and wife, you’re drawn in to want to know more about her.
Waterson will oblige. She’s proud of who’s she’s become, and excited about where she’s headed.
In just over a month, she and the fourth-ranked Namajunas, 24, will collide in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night: Johnson vs. Reis, at Sprint Center in Kansas City. While flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson’s title defense against Brazilian Wilson Reis is the main event, many consider Waterson’s bout with the 5-foot-5 Namajunas, one of UFC’s most exciting fighters, to be the real featured bout.
The Strawweight division is a fascinating division, filled with a global Top 10 lineup of skilled, self-assured athletes with varying stages of experience. They also happen to be female, but as the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has proved, gender means nothing with respect to box office attraction, marketability or competiveness when the cage door closes and the referee shouts, “FIGHT!”
Among the obligations for fighters are interviews, sometimes packed one after another. The questions are nothing new for Waterson, who has heard them before but skillfully answers each one with a fresh perspective. It isn’t easy.
As the interviews continue, Waterson is asked repeatedly about three compelling subjects: Her ethnicity; whether she’s really as nice as she appears; and what about Ronda Rousey?
“My dad is Caucasian; my mom, she’s an Asian lady. She likes the violence actually,” Waterson explains, before launching into her infamous, widely heard phonetic imitation of her mother’s thick Thai accent.
“She’s always very close to my corner and I can always hear her: ‘Michelle, go! Kick her butt!’ ‘You need a bettah nickname … Why you Karate Hottie? You should be ‘WHITE TIGER!’
“Yeah, my family is all very supportive. We were a martial arts family. We competed monthly, so to me fighting was more of a natural progression. It is a little scary because it can be dangerous and I have injured myself, but you can hurt yourself doing anything. So why not do it doing something you love.”
“No, I don’t think so, but it also depends on the person,” Waterson concedes. “If you lay it all on the line and you know that you’ve given it all that you had, and the person that you fought respects you for doing so, then I think it’s a clean slate. You guys can leave with a part of each other, knowing that you’ve gone in there and given a piece of yourself to that person and they’ve done the same. But if they don’t have that mutual respect, then you can leave the Octagon kind of bitter.
“I’ve left bitter, after fights where I’ve given them all the props and thanked them for getting into the Octagon with me, and they’re kind of dismissive about it.”
“You don’t think she respected you, or gave you respect?” Waterson is asked. Penne, after all, is the fighter who surrendered her Invicta Atomweight belt to her in a stunning upset in 2013, who is now part of the logjam of UFC Strawweight contenders.
“Not at all. She was just kind of, whatever,” remembers Waterson, still bristling after her post-fight handshake, on the heels of a fourth-round comeback armbar submission, was coldly rebuffed. To this day, the two don’t speak.
“We all do the same thing. We’re all in it for the same reason. I’m sure there are some internal issues she’s dealing with that she hasn’t gotten over, but it just didn’t settle right for me,” Waterson recalls. “I mean, I got over it, but at the time I was like, ‘Dang, really? We just went to war and you can’t even acknowledge that? Like OK, whatever.’”
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will attempt to make history on Saturday night in Kansas City when he faces Wilson Reis, as he has an opportunity to tie Anderson Silva for the most title defenses in UFC history.
Johnson is the only flyweight champion the UFC has ever known, and he has stormed through the 125-pound division for several years, but now Reis is the last obstacle standing in his way as he goes for a 10th consecutive successful title defense.
Also on the card, top rated strawweights Rose Namajunas and Michelle Waterson face off in a crucial bout at 115 pounds, while submission specialist Ronaldo „Jacare“ Souza takes on knockout artist Robert Whittaker in a matchup that could have serious title implications.
In today’s fantasy preview, we’ll examine these fights and several more to see who has the edge going into Saturday night and who might be primed for an upset at FOX UFC Fight Night: Johnson vs. Reis.
These are the fights that are just too close to call, but a few minor differences between favorite and underdog could lead one fighter to victory and the other to defeat.
Rose Namajunas vs. Michelle Waterson
While it’s not the main event, the showdown between Rose Namajunas and Michelle Waterson is one of the most highly anticipated fights of the first half of 2017. Namajunas has built a reputation for being one of the toughest strawweight competitors in the world, while Waterson has made a meteoric rise following a first-round submission win in her last fight against Paige VanZant.
These two fighters are very similar in style and approach, with Namajunas maintaining a slight height and reach advantage over Waterson going into this fight. At her best, Namajunas is a slick submission specialist who has shown off an impressive striking attack throughout her UFC career. Unfortunately, Namajunas has come up short in a pair of her biggest fights against former champion Carla Esparza and former title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz. To get back into the title picture, Namajunas needs to look better than ever against Waterson, who could be anointed the next in line for a title shot with a win.
While Waterson’s nickname is „The Karate Hottie,“ this veteran mixed martial artist is every bit as dangerous on the ground as she is on the feet. Waterson hits quick and fast on the feet, but she’s unrelenting with her pressure on the ground. Waterson averages over three takedowns per fight and she hasn’t been stopped once during her two fight UFC career when looking to put her opponents on the mat. Waterson may not struggle much with that game plan against Namajunas either, considering the former Ultimate Fighter competitor had no problem engaging in a ground battle with any of her past opponents.
Where Waterson could take advantage of some shortcomings from Namajunas is by pushing her on the feet with fast combinations and then getting out of the way of her counters. Namajunas absorbs three times as many strikes on the feet as Waterson, and that could come back to bite her if these two start engaging in a kickboxing match.
From there, Waterson can certainly drag this fight to the ground, but that’s no guaranteed victory by any means. Namajunas is a nasty ground practitioner, but she works best when she’s in control. If Waterson can get Namajunas to the mat and maintain top position, she could rain down a lot of punishment that would certainly score a lot of points in the judges’ eyes. In the end, this really is a pick ‘em fight that could steal the show, but given Waterson’s recent performance coupled with a very well-rounded skill set, she maintains a very slight edge over Namajunas in this matchup.
Prediction: Michelle Waterson by unanimous decision
Ronaldo „Jacare“ Souza vs. Robert Whittaker
This middleweight showdown is the true old school grappler versus striker match. Souza is arguably one of the greatest grapplers to ever step foot inside the Octagon, while Whittaker is a fierce and ferocious striker with huge knockout power combined with a tactical kickboxing attack that can give anybody fits on the feet.
While Souza is best known for his groundwork, he’s shown off some knockout power since arriving in the UFC, although playing that game has cost him in the past. Souza got caught with a nasty spinning back fist courtesy of Yoel Romero when they faced off, and that knockdown may have ultimately cost him a decision in that fight. Souza can’t make those same mistakes against Whittaker because he’s just as explosive and packs a serious pop in all his strikes.
Whittaker has to know that Souza will look to drag this to the ground at some point and that could take away his kicking game out of fear of being dragged to the mat. If Whittaker can keep Souza at a distance, he lands an incredible five significant strikes per minute with nearly 42 percent accuracy, and he doesn’t take much damage in return. Whittaker’s best offense could be his defense, because his ability to win this fight could come down to blocking Souza’s attempts to take this to the mat.
Souza isn’t the greatest wrestler in the UFC, but he has a variety of trips and throws that come in handy whenever he wants to take his opponents down. He averages over three takedowns per 15 minutes in the Octagon, and his easiest path to victory will be closing the distance on Whittaker and taking him to the ground early and often. Now Whittaker has shown incredible takedown defense throughout his UFC career, but he’s never faced a submission specialist as good as Souza. The sheer threat of going to the ground with Souza could force Whittaker into making some mistakes, and that could be the difference between a win and a loss in this middleweight matchup.
Prediction: Ronaldo „Jacare“ Souza by submission, Round 2
Louis Smolka will look to get back on track when he returns in Kansas City to face former Ultimate Fighter winner and recent title challenger Tim Elliott. While Smolka has dealt with back-to-back losses, he remains one of the most dangerous and capable flyweights in the sport. As for Elliott, he is a massive fighter for this division who has the innate ability to make any fight ugly, and that always seems to play into his favor.
The real key in this matchup will be Smolka’s ability to avoid the takedown so he’s not stuck under Elliott for three rounds fighting for air. Smolka endured a similar fate against Ray Borg in his last fight. Now Borg is a better wrestler than Elliott, but the crafty veteran is a huge fighter for 125 pounds and that size could play a huge factor in tossing Smolka to the mat and keeping him there for the better part of 15 minutes.
To win this fight, Smolka has to win the scrambles when Elliott looks to get this fight to the mat and make him pay every time he attempts a takedown. Elliott can get a little sloppy when he approaches a takedown, so Smolka has to be ready to counter with a choke or a big strike any time he sees his opponent pressing forward with a lot of momentum.
While Elliott may be riding high after putting up a great fight against flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, the title fight hangover could cost him against a slick submission specialist like Smolka, who can take advantage of the smallest of errors to finish a fight. Elliott has a tendency to put himself into bad positions before capitalizing on a mistake. This time around, Smolka would be smart to pounce on any error from Elliott to latch on to a submission until his opponent is forced to tap out.
Prediction: Louis Smolka by submission, Round 3
KNOCKOUT PICKS
These are the fights that appear to be a little more one-sided, but remember that this is MMA, where anything can – and usually does – happen.
Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis
When his career is over, Demetrious Johnson will likely go down as one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the Octagon, while also probably holding numerous records for his run as flyweight champion. In a video game where a player could build the perfect fighter, Johnson would be the template. He’s a phenomenal wrestler with incredibly fast hands and a devastating submission arsenal to match. There’s nothing Johnson doesn’t do well and that’s why he’s been so tough to topple.
Wilson Reis will look to do what no one at 125 pounds has been able to do when he faces Johnson in the main event. Now there are advantages that Reis may have in this fight, most notably his size, where he’ll enjoy slightly better reach and height over the champion. Reis is a former bantamweight, so he’s definitely a bigger fighter competing at 125 pounds, and he’ll need to use that to his advantage because he simply can’t match Johnson in the quickness department.
Reis has to force Johnson into a grind where he takes this fight to the ground near the cage and then attempts to control him there for five rounds. Reis averages over five takedowns per fight, so that will be his best bet at staving off Johnson’s potent offensive onslaught. Then again, that task is much easier said than done.
Johnson will likely be able to pick his shots in this fight, especially as each minute ticks away that much closer towards the championship rounds. Johnson is a conditioning machine and he loves to wear out his opponents because he has non-stop aggression from the first second of the fight until the very last. Reis may hang tough through the first two rounds, but once Johnson drags him into the third and beyond, it’s his fight to win.
Look for Johnson to start to really take over in that third and fourth round before he either finds an opening to earn a TKO victory or he’ll just wear Reis down by the time the final horn sounds in the arena.
Prediction: Demetrious Johnson by unanimous decision
Following nearly a year away from action, Renato Moicano will return for his second UFC fight against one of the scariest featherweights in the world in Jeremy Stephens.
Stephens is the definition of a knockout artist, someone who can absolutely decimate his opponents with just one punch or one kick at any point from the first round until the last. Stephens has also worked on his technical kickboxing, allowing him to set up those big powerful strikes much better than he did during the early part of his UFC career. Stephens now attacks with good accuracy and volume before unleashing hell with jaw-dropping efficiency.
Moicano is a submission specialist with a high level grappling background that has served him well throughout his career. Submissions have been one area where Stephens has struggled before but the key is Moicano finding a way to get this one to the ground and that’s not going to be an easy task to complete.
Look for Stephens to set up Moicano early by baiting him into a bad takedown, and once he sees an opening the strikes will come in huge, flurrying combinations until he finds the right punch or kick that will put a stop to the contest.
Ashlee Evans-Smith will look for her third consecutive win when she faces off with Brazilian ground specialist Ketlen Vieira. Vieira is best known for the groundwork she showcased in her UFC debut against Kelly Faszholz, but she’s probably going to struggle if that’s the same strategy she tries to use against Evans-Smith on Saturday night.
Evans-Smith is a powerfully strong former collegiate wrestler who has some of the best takedowns in the women’s bantamweight division. Now it’s safe to say that Evans-Smith hasn’t quite matched up her striking to the same level as her grappling, but that probably won’t matter much in this fight because Vieira will probably give her plenty of openings to take this to the ground.
Vieira will certainly try to put Evans-Smith on her back, which is the last place a wrestler wants to be, but it’s really tough to see that happening in this fight. Instead, look for Evans-Smith to control the distance on the feet, where she lands just over four significant strikes per minute, until Vieira tries to drag this to the mat and that’s where she can counter and show off her own grappling acumen. Evans-Smith is a future top 10 bantamweight and this should be another opportunity for her to showcase those skills against Vieira, who may just be outgunned by a better wrestler in this fight.
Prediction: Ashlee Evans-Smith by unanimous decision
Alexander Volkov could be a threat to the top 10 in the heavyweight division one day, but he’s got to get through Roy „Big Country“ Nelson to stay on track and that’s no easy task.
On paper, Volkov has all the physical advantages to win this fight.
He’s a hulking heavyweight with a seven-inch height advantage and a whopping eight-inch reach advantage who hits with power and just under 60 percent accuracy, which is a big deal for this division. Volkov absorbs less damage and has a wealth of experience under his belt to carry him deep into a three-round fight if necessary.
All that said, Nelson knows better than anybody how to topple a giant like Volkov when the odds aren’t on his side. Nelson has crumbled more than his fair share of big, muscular heavyweights who have a size advantage over him. He has a ridiculous ability to sneak inside on his opponents before uncorking a baseball pitch right hand that starts at his hip before making it all the way around to absolutely demolish whoever is standing in front of him. Nelson has silenced more than a few opponents with that punch over the years.
Of course, Volkov could pressure Nelson against the cage and try to wear him down over 15 minutes, but that’s not going to be easy, no matter how hard he tries. Nelson has a granite chin, and while he may not have great conditioning, he’s still dangerous no matter when he unleashes his knockout power. Volkov may enter this fight with a higher ranking next to his name, but he’ll probably leave with a loss on his record and perhaps some questions about how he lost because most opponents don’t see Nelson’s best punch coming until it’s already too late.
From a sophomore appearance more than two decades in the making to a freshman showing in a city that has become the de facto home for Invicta FC, the UFC ventures from Buffalo, New York to Kansas City, Missouri this week, arriving in “The Show Me State” for a star-studded UFC on FOX engagement headlined by flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defending his title against surging challenger Wilson Reis.
This is one of the more impressive collections of fights assembled by the UFC matchmakers this year and not only boasts a potentially historic headlining act, but also a pair of pivotal clashes between contenders in divisions that are brimming with talent.
As always, this week’s show also offers an opportunity for fight fans to get familiar with a collection of less established names who could one day emerge as main card staples or perhaps more, depending on how things shake out.
Here’s a look at the athletes to keep tabs on competing this weekend.
This is On the Rise: Kansas City Edition.
RenatoMoicano
Injuries and the long stretches of inactivity that come with being hurt have limited Moicano to just a pair of appearances in the Octagon over the last two and a half years. He’s won them both, but in a featherweight division filled with familiar names and featuring non-stop drama at the top, it’s easy to understand how the 27-year-old Brazilian has slipped under the radar heading into this weekend.
Saturday has the potential to be his coming out party, however, as the 10-0-1 Moicano shares the Octagon with Jeremy Stephens in the opening bout of the four-fight main card on “Big FOX.” Stepping in against a human powder keg like Stephens usually translates into an explosive affair and if the Brasilia native can keep his winning streak intact, he could go from unknown to inside the Top 15 by the time the rankings update early next week.
Stephens is one of the most experienced members of the featherweight class and a notoriously tough out who has only been stopped three times in 38 professional appearances. Should Moicano hand him a second straight loss while pushing his unbeaten streak to a dozen, he’ll graduate from this series and into the conversation of young talents poised to potentially break through as contenders in the second half of 2017.
Tom Duquesnoy
I can’t tell you the last UFC debut I was this excited for and that’s saying something because I’m easily excitable.
Duquesnoy is arguably the best prospect in the entire sport – not the UFC; the whole damn sport – and after earning double gold under the BAMMA banner, the 23-year-old French bantamweight is finally stepping into the Octagon for the first time this weekend, facing off against Arizona State wrestling alum Patrick Williams in a bout that is being broadcast on the televised portion of the prelims.
“FireKid” has legitimate championship potential, boasting a well-rounded skill set, strong fundamentals and an impeccable resume coming out of the regional circuit, where his lone setback came against current featherweight prospect Makwan Amirkhani. If he continues to advance and develop the way he has in the last couple years, Duquesnoy could be a contender as quickly as next year.
Yes, he’s that good.
Andrew Sanchez
One of the most complete fighters to emerge from The Ultimate Fighter in recent years, the Season 23 light heavyweight winner from Team Claudia followed up his dominant performance against Khalil Rountree Jr. with a similar showing against veteran Trevor Smith in his second official Octagon appearance.
A standout grappler, Sanchez excels by playing to his strengths and not trying to do too much. While some may want to consider that boring and lament his clinch and wrestling-heavy approach, it has produced a string of victories to carry him to the fringes of the Top 15 in the UFC middleweight division just one fight after coming out of the TUF house, and could make him a handful for some of the more established names in the lower third of the rankings in the months ahead.
Before he gets there, Sanchez has to contend with Anthony “Lionheart” Smith, a 28-year-old finisher who has only been to the scorecards four times in 38 fights. Should he push his winning streak to six, “El Dirte” could find himself battling for a spot in the Top 15 next time out.
UFC.com’s Matt Parrino and NESN.com’s Andre Khatchaturian recap the main event from UFC 210, Daniel Cormier defeated Anthony Johnson to retain his light heavyweight title. The analysts also discuss Rumble’s surprising retirement and where Cormier fits in to the world pound-4-pound discussion.
The members of the UFC’s light heavyweight division sleep a lot easier tonight, knowing that Anthony Johnson won’t be around to throw hammers at them anymore.
That was the consensus after “Rumble” announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts on Saturday, just moments after losing his championship rematch with Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 210.
It was a shocking turn of events for a fighter seemingly in his prime. But as he told Joe Rogan in the Octagon, it was something he knew going into the bout at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, as he had decided to go in another direction in his life at the age of 33, regardless of the outcome of his rematch with Cormier.
Maybe it isn’t so shocking though, considering the rigors of the fighting life and Johnson’s admissions over the years that he was in a place he never pictured himself in.
“He’s a hardcore fighter,” Johnson told me when talking about the man he fought in March 2011, Dan Hardy. “I can’t say I’m a fighter; I’m an athlete that turned into a fighter. Hardy was born a fighter. I respect that more anything. I don’t know if he’s from the streets, but when you’re hardcore and just want to fight, fight, fight, whoever he fights is gonna have a problem because that’s what they live, breathe, and eat. I’m an athlete that loves competition. I don’t want to get hit in the face. (Laughs) Who wants to get hit in the face? That hurts.”
Johnson was more than an athlete, though. Despite his protests, he was a fighter, a title earned not just by 28 pro MMA bouts, but by a resilience that saw him overcome several obstacles over the course of his nearly 11-year career.
Of course, he was blessed with power that Hardy recently described to me as unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“I don’t like to throw around the word supernatural, but it doesn’t feel like a natural power,” he said. “It feels like he could quite easily have an X-Men costume on, let’s put it that way.”
That power led Johnson to score 16 of his 22 wins by knockout, 11 of those finishes coming in the UFC. He was also a junior college national wrestling champion for Lassen Community College. But it was when he returned from a harrowing eye injury suffered against Kevin Burns to knock Burns out five months later that the world saw something more. And after issues with making weight prompted the UFC to cut him in 2012, the Georgia native quietly rebuilt his career with a six-fight winning streak that brought him back to the Octagon as a light heavyweight.
“A lot of people would have given up when they got kicked out of the UFC, but I didn’t, and I faced so many demons and had so many battles and I’m still here,” he said in 2015. “I came back and I came back stronger.”
That’s an understatement.
After decisioning Phil Davis in his UFC return in 2014, he won five of seven bouts, knocking out Rogerio Nogueira, Alexander Gustafsson, Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira while establishing himself as the most feared knockout artist in the sport. His only two defeats in that second Octagon run were in championship bouts to Cormier, but it’s unlikely that those fights will be the enduring memory of Rumble.
Instead, when the name Anthony Johnson is mentioned by fight fans, expect to hear stories of those knockouts, that power, and the quiet attitude that accompanied it all. Because when a fighter hits that hard, he doesn’t have to make a lot of noise. The fists and feet speak volumes.
If former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is considered the most influential mixed martial artist to emerge from Canada, then Patrick Cote has to be right behind GSP on the importance scale in the Great White North. And while he never got to wear championship gold in the UFC, having the respect of fans and peers for his nearly 15-year pro career certainly means something to the Quebec native, who announced his retirement Saturday night after his UFC 210 bout against Thiago Alves.
It wasn’t a victory in Buffalo for Cote, but in bout number 35 of a 24-11 run in the sport, he got what he always craved when the Octagon door closed, and that was a fight. There was blood, there were heated exchanges and, when it was over, a smile and a hug for his opponent.
That’s what kept Cote in this sport until the age of 37, long after the point when he “needed” to fight.
“I’m fighting because I want to, not because I need to,” he told me before his fight with Donald Cerrone last June. “So this is 10 times easier for me. I’m just enjoying the moment, and I’m still passionate about the sport. It’s a fun time and I don’t have any stress. I have the pressure off my shoulders that if I don’t win I can’t put bread on my table. It’s a fun life. I stopped being worried about everything, and I’m just enjoying this.”
A respected television commentator who has a real estate company and is a recent father, Cote fought for the love of the game in recent years, and what resulted was the best run of his career, as he moved from middleweight to welterweight and won five of six bouts before a pair of losses to Cerrone and Alves. It was a feel good story that was unexpected but well deserved for a fighter who always seemed to be behind the eight ball for much of his run in the UFC.
Take his UFC debut for example. Unbeaten in five fights in Canada, Cote was scheduled to face Marvin Eastman at UFC 50 in October 2004. Then the headliner of the event, Guy Mezger, was removed from the fight for medical reasons. Cote got a phone call to face former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz on four days’ notice. He took it.
“I was probably the last one they asked to fight Tito Ortiz,” Cote said in 2014. “They probably asked everybody else on the card, everybody else on the UFC roster too, and the last choice was me, and I said ‘why not, let’s do this. Four days later I was in the main event of my first UFC fight against a guy who was on the screensaver on my computer and he wanted to kill me.”
Cote lost to Ortiz, but he rocked the former champ in the first round and went the distance. In short, he made an impression, but he couldn’t find the UFC win column in two more Octagon bouts.
He would get a second shot in the promotion by making it to the finals of the Ultimate Fighter’s comeback season in 2006, but he was submitted by Travis Lutter in that final match.
At UFC 67 in 2007, he finally got his first UFC win over Scott Smith, and after three more wins in the promotion, Cote got a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Again, bad luck reared its ugly head, as a knee injury brought a halt to the bout in the third round.
Cote returned nearly two years later, lost two more bouts and was released.
“That was a tough time,” Cote said in 2014. “I took three months out of the gym, I didn’t go at all, and when I came back, in my head I was like ‘okay, now we’re gonna see if the fire’s still in me,’ and right away the flame came back. I said let’s do it again. I love this sport and I wanted to make the sacrifice.”
Four wins on the regional circuit earned him another shot in the UFC, and from there, he was a different fighter, one who was happy just to be able to compete and continue to make his mark for Canadian MMA. The Alves bout was his 21st in the UFC, tying him with St-Pierre for most Octagon bouts by a Canadian. It’s a record that won’t last long, as GSP will be returning to action later this year, but for now, it’s a satisfying mark for a man who earned it the hard way.
“I have a lot of friends who played in the NHL and they say when you take your retirement, it’s not the money, it’s the thrill of the game you miss, and it’s really hard to pull the plug when you have to,” Cote said in 2015. “I think that’s going to be the hardest thing when I retire – just the feeling of walking to the Octagon, feeling the vibe of 10,000 or 15,000 people who support you. It’s going to be hard, and I’m going to miss that for the rest of my life for sure when I pull the plug.”
It felt like déjà vu all over again in the main event of UFC 210 on Saturday night, as Daniel Cormier submitted Anthony „Rumble“ Johnson to cap off a 13-fight card in Buffalo.
Cormier won the fight in exactly the same manner as he did the first time he faced Johnson in 2015, but this time around he actually got the job done in less than two rounds.
Cormier had to weather an early storm from the heavy-handed Johnson, who slammed home a head kick in the first round that may have broken the champion’s nose in the opening round. Despite being wobbled from the shot, Cormier survived and took over in the second round after an ill-fated takedown attempt from Johnson ended when he gave up his back.
With Cormier latched on to his opponent, he quickly moved into position to wrap up a rear naked choke, and a few seconds later Johnson was tapping out to signify the end of the fight.
While Cormier was the incumbent champion going into the fight while also holding a previous win over Johnson from 2015, only 41 percent of fantasy players picked him to win at UFC 210. Another 42 percent said if Cormier won, he would get the victory by decision.
Cormier certainly proved more than a few doubters wrong with his performance as he successfully defended the light heavyweight title for a second time.
In the co-main event, Gegard Mousasi picked up the biggest win of his UFC career when he defeated former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Of course, the win didn’t come without some controversy after Mousasi nailed Weidman with a pair of knees to the head before the referee intervened and deemed the final shot illegal.
Replays showed that both of Mousasi’s knee strikes were legal and by that time the doctor had already checked over Weidman to determine that he was medically unfit to continue. Mousasi was declared the winner, which proved a lot of fantasy players correct after 57 percent picked him to get past Weidman on Saturday night.
Because it was such a tight matchup, Mousasi’s win also afforded the players who picked him another 120-point bonus.
Appearing in the Octagon for the second time, strawweight Cynthia Calvillo was one of the heavier favorites on the card, with 76 percent of fantasy players picking her to beat newcomer Pearl Gonzalez. Calvillo did an outstanding job in wrapping up her second straight submission win over two consecutive Pay-Per-View cards.
Thiago Alves came through with a victory over Patrick Cote, with 54 percent of players picking him to win and another 54 percent saying he’d get the job done by decision. That’s exactly how he dispatched Cote, who retired after the fight was finished.
In the opening bout of the main card, Charles Oliveira picked up one of the biggest upsets of the night as he submitted Will Brooks with a first-round rear naked choke. Oliveira, who was moving up from featherweight for the fight, was selected by only 39 percent of players, although another 55 percent did pick him to win the fight by submission.
On the prelim portion of the card, Myles Jury returned from an extended layoff to make short work of Mike De La Torre after a whopping 87 percent of fantasy players predicted he would get the win. Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman put on a dominant performance over Sean Strickland after an overwhelming 75-percent picked him going into the night.
While the two favorites capped off the prelims, the underdogs were both on point earlier in the night as Shane Burgos got a TKO win over Charles Rosa after only 43 percent of players picked him. Burgos also earned an additional 120 points due to the tight matchup with Rosa. Patrick Cummins also had to weather a near finish from Jan Blachowicz in the first round to come back to win a majority decision after only 41 percent of players picked him.
Cummins also accounted for another 120-point bonus due to the tight matchup with Blachowicz.
The most shocking upsets of the night according to fantasy players came in the early prelims, as Gregor Gillespie needed less than 30 seconds to dispatch Andrew Holbrook by TKO. Gillespie was selected by only 30 percent of fantasy players, but he made them all very happy with his performance while also getting another 120 points for the tight matchup with Holbrook going into the night. The other major upset came as Desmond Green handed Josh Emmett his first professional loss after only 19 percent of players picked him to win.
All told, UFC 210 was pretty evenly split, with seven favorites walking away victorious while six underdogs got wins according to the final picks made by fantasy players going into Saturday night’s card in New York.
Waterson arrives in Kansas City around midnight in mid-March, an hour after a powerful late winter storm spawns tornados and hail in the area. She’s driven directly to a downtown hotel, tosses her bag onto the chair and collapses on the bed in her clothes, asleep.
veteran Trevor Smith in his second official Octagon appearance.
