Saturday, 12 September 2015

UFC 191 Breakdown - The Importance of Adjustments


                                                     Photograph: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

After a string of dominant wins over developing or overmatched opponents, the only fight left for Demetrious Johnson at Flyweight was a rematch with John Dodson, the man who dropped him multiple times and nearly took 3 rounds from him in their first encounter. The big question coming into this fight was which man would be able to take the information gathered in their first fight and turn that into a gameplan to win the second. Johnson had noticeably improved with every bout, while Dodson barely squeaked past Zach Makovsky in his last fight, but the holes in Johnson's game that allowed Dodson to hurt him were still present, notably his habit of switching stances right in front of his opponents.

Sunday, 2 August 2015

UFC 190: Rousey vs Correia Breakdown + WSOF 22

                                                                               Photograph: Buda Mendes

Bethe Correia got the brawl she wanted against Ronda Rousey at UFC 190, only it didn't quite work out the way she had planned. A massive underdog coming into the fight, her loss was a foregone conclusion to many in the MMA community. Debate abounded, not about whether or not she had a chance, but about how long Rousey would choose to let her last.

Thursday, 30 July 2015

Prospect Watch: Valentina "The Bullet" Shevchenko

                                                                                   Photo Credit: Photographix 

Kyrgystanian Bantamweight Valentina "The Bullet" Shevchenko seems to be on track to the UFC, having already garnered interest from Dana White himself.

A Nak muay and Kickboxer with a professional record of 56-0, Shevchenko has successfully adapted her skillset to MMA, amassing a record of 9-1.

UFC 189 McGregor vs Mendes Analysis : Is The Hype For Real?

Conor McGregor has silenced the doubters. The question looming over McGregor's head since before the Aldo fight was announced is answered. But what about the takedown? Well, Chad Mendes showed that McGregor can be taken down. McGregor showed Mendes that he can get back up. After months of being overshadowed by the great Irish hype, Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald stole the show with a contender for fight of the year and one of the greatest UFC championship fights of all time.

Invicta 13: Cyborg vs Van Duin Technical Analysis

Invicta 13 promised a lot of action jammed into a small card, with three titles on the line. Fresh off an upset over Michelle Waterson, Herica Tiburcio looked to defend her Atomweight title against a legitimate top 2 challenger in Ayaka Hamasaki. Tonya Evinger and Irene Aldana competed for the vacant Bantamweight championship, and Cyborg was fed another victim.

UFC Fight Night Berlin Weekend Breakdown - Jędrzejczyk vs Penne and Pitbull vs Weichel

Since coming off a hard-fought victory over Claudia Gadelha in a title eliminator, Joanna Jędrzejczyk has looked nothing short of a stone-cold killer. That continued Saturday in Berlin as she brutalized Jessica Penne en-route to a late third round TKO victory.

Sunday, 14 June 2015

Velasquez vs Werdum - Cordeiro Crowns Another King

Fabricio Werdum's history in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is as illustrious as any. From battles with the legends of the PRIDE Heavyweight division, to being viciously knocked out by an unknown Junior dos Santos, and submitting the greatest Heavyweight of all time in the first round.