May 22 2013

Should Vitor Belfort be the number one contender at middleweight?

If any other middleweight fighter had finished two top ten fighters in as spectacular fashion as Belfort has in his last two fights, the question ‘should they be the number one contender?’ would be as redundant as Roy Nelson’s dietician. But, with the overwhelming stench of TRT lingering over the quite spectacular KO of Luke Rockhold on Saturday night, the question becomes a lot more complex. Do the UFC allow a fighter who’s TRT usage they have made concessions for, compete for a title in their promotion or due to the controversy surrounding Belforts wins, do they keep feeding him contenders in the hope he’ll eventually suffer a loss or retire?

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May 21 2013

Is Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva facing an impossible task at UFC 160?

By the time UFC 156 rolled round in February this year, not many people gave Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva a chance of beating the returning Alastair Overeem. They said it was a foregone conclusion that ‘Reem’ would walk through Silva on his way towards a big money fight with the new UFC Heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. Partly because Overeem was outstanding in his previous UFC fight, and also because Silva had been less than impressive in his two UFC fights. What actually happened was a harsh reminder that in the crazy sport of MMA, literally anything can happen.

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May 19 2013

UFC on FX 8: What’s next for the winners?

The UFC returned to Brazil once again on Saturday night and whilst the card wasn’t exactly stacked, it was filled with a lot of local talent, a star in the making and a polarising talent. Rafael Natal and Rafael Dos Anjos both walked away from the event with solid wins for their record, over Joao Zeferino and Evan Dunham respectively, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza introduced the wider MMA community to his fantastic submission game, with an impressive arm triangle choke of Chris Camozzi and Vitor Belfort landed a brutal KO of Luke Rockhold, that left a bitter taste in the mouth of the advocates against TRT. As usual me and Peter, my glamorous assistant this week, will be matching up the winners of the main event, against opponents we feel they should face next.

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May 19 2013

UFC on FX 8 Results: Rockhold v Belfort

Vitor Belfort showed once again why he’s one of the most feared fighters at 185lbs in the main event, KO’ing Luke Rockhold midway through the first round. After a tentative start, in which neither fighter looked to really get going, Belfort landed a sublime spinning heel kick that put Rockhold on the canvas, before following up with six big shots that put the former Strikeforce champion to sleep. Belfort made a statement with this win and it can’t be long before he gets his rematch with Anderson Silva, as long as it’s in Brazil of course. Vitor Belfort walks away from this fight with yet another highlight reel KO to add to his already impressive résumé.

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May 18 2013

UFC fine and suspend Nate Diaz

The UFC have decided to fine Nate Diaz $20,000 and suspend him for 90 days for the inappropriate tweet he posted about Bryan Caraway. Diaz had called Caraway a ‘f*g’ for taking the SOTN bonus that used to belong to Pat Healy from UFC 159. Whilst the language he used is certainly not appropriate from a professional fighter, its probably true that he didn’t use it in the literal sense and meant it to mean punk or bitch. What strikes me the most from this whole ordeal is the remarkable levels of inconsistency shown by the UFC when dishing out punishments. Continue reading →

May 16 2013

Nick Diaz a MMA promoter: A joke or a serious businessman?

The news story that has brought the most amount of laughter to 5th Round Towers this week is undoubtedly the news that Nick Diaz is attempting to start his own MMA promotion. WAR Mixed Martial Arts is Nick Diaz’s latest plan and he has already started his application with CSAC to gain his promoters licence. Whilst Diaz has long flirted with the idea of retiring from MMA, usually after a loss or a suspension, I don’t think anyone could have predicted this turn of events. Continue reading →

May 16 2013

The UFC adds two new heavyweights to their ranks

The UFC would probably be the first to admit that it’s heavyweight division isn’t exactly the deepest when it comes to talented fighters, with the elite of the division being a big step ahead of the rest of the pack. So, it’s always good news when the UFC add some more depth to it’s ranks and following on from the addition of Soa Palelei a few months back, the UFC have added another two heavyweights with impressive records to the roster.

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