One of the fastest rising stars in MMA gives her thoughts on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s armbars.
Lavar Johnson tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone and epitestosterone following his UFC 157 loss to Brendan Schaub, according to the California State Athletic Commission. It appeared that even when receiving the benefit of modern medical advances Johnson was still no match for Schuab’s determined takedown advances.
The California State Athletic Commission believed that a 9 month layoff would be adequate punishment for Lavar Johnson but Dana White and the UFC decided they would no longer require the talents of Mr Lavar Johnson.
Johnson could not have had worse timing for this event. The UFC has recently announced serious cutbacks from its enormous, current roster. Add that fact to the fact that Lavar Johnson is 2-4 from his last 6 fights and that makes for one very expendable MMA fighter.
Perhaps Lavar will find success in another venue and make his comeback into the UFC but for now we wish him luck at his new endeavors.
Season 18 of the Ultimate Fighter is already getting its ducks in a row with the announcement of the new coaches. For Season 18 Ronda Rousey will coach opposite the winner of Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano, scheduled to take place April 13th.
Not only will this be the first ever Ultimate Fighter with female coaches but this year is also a first in TUF history with female competitors in the 135lb divisions. Dana White also declared there would be males competing in the 135lb division as well. Will the UFC use the same house it always has for both genders? Open tryouts for the show begin April 15.
Rousey and Tate faced each other earlier last year when Rousey submitted Tate via (you guessed it) first round armbar to win the Strikeforce championship for Rousey.
Now that the excitement has come and gone catch all of the fighters responses in the post fight press conference. Get answers to whether or not Johny Hendricks broke his hand, why the referee stopped the Elkins/Carvalho fight so early, where the GSP Diaz feud goes from here, and who is next in line for the welterweight champion. Spoiler, Diaz shows up and tells GSP that he still thinks he can beat the champion. Check out where the bad blood lies in this post fight press conference.
What a night of fights the UFC put on this Saturday March 16, 2013. If you just want to skip all the play by play action scroll down to the bottom to find all the fight outcomes. Trust me when I tell you, though, these fights didn’t lack in excitement to be sure.
Main Card Live on Pay-per View
Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz (Play by Play)
R1 - The two rush to the center of the octagon and the champ hits a leg kick Diaz answers with a few punches and Georges takes Nick down where Nick starts to meet the business end of a GSP elbow. Georges continues to hold the dominant position peppering Diaz the entire time Georges transitions seemingly at will. Nick attempts to get up but Georges holds him down and even spikes him on his head at one point. GSP continues to work Diaz flipping him over at will and punishing him with punches at every opportunity. GSP’s ground and pound continues to work on Diaz’s face as Diaz tries desperately to get to his feet but GSP is having none of it. Georges moves Diaz from the fence and finally finds his back where he chokes him for a moment until Nick finally finds his feet. Georges never gives him space and soon has him in a clinch where he finally dumps Diaz on his head again. Georges starts to get back to work but the horn sounds the end of the round.
R2 - The begin again as Georges holds the center of the octagon and they begin to exchange light leg kicks and jabs. Georges begins to exchange with Diaz and then shoots in on him and takes Diaz down in one swoop. Diaz begins to look like he’s having a relapse of round one eating some big shots and doing little in return. GSP works through Diaz’s guard and holds him in side control. Georges continues to pepper Diaz with ground and pound shots and Diaz transitions from butterfly guard to full guard with Georges holding him down easily and making him pay. Diaz finally finds his footing with a minute left in the round and Georges exchanges with him. Georges lands a nice superman punch and the two continue to attempt to land until the horn sounds.
R3 - The Fighters rush out and it’s Rush jumping up and landing a head kick he continues to land bombs on Diaz’s face as the fighter taunts the champion. The two stay engaged on their feet and it’s Georges getting the better until he takes Diaz down to the ground where Diaz crawls over to the cage and walks up. GSP keeps lighting up Diaz with his jab and Diaz answers with a body punch of his own. The two stay on their feet still where GSP finds the most success on the feet. Georges went for a takedown and was stopped again by Diaz. Georges hits Diaz with a straight right and Diaz starts with some pretty good punches of his own. Diaz starts to pour it on at the final minute of the round it looks like Georges is cut at the bridge of his nose. Georges takes Diaz down where he holds him there and begins to do some work and the two scramble to the bell and then Diaz swings at Georges after the bell and ref stopped the round.
R4 - Both men hit the center and it’s GSP with a leg kick to start it off. The two start some boxing and GSP looks as if he will be ignoring his corners advice to take the fight to the ground. Finally Georges shoots and it’s stuffed by Diaz. Georges continues to land some big shots. Georges continues to land first and then goes for a takedown that is stopped again by Diaz. The two end up in a clinch and Diaz puts together some good dirty boxing that breaks the clinch. Diaz begins pacing away from GSP with his hands down and the champ is on him and eventually gets the takedown he’s tried so often. GSP stacks Diaz up punches him. Diaz finds his way over to the cage and walks himself up it when GSP slams him back to the mat. The make it back to the cage again where Diaz walks up but Georges pulls him down again. Diaz tried to roll up a leg lock and the two ended up in an odd position as the horn sounded.
R5 - The men are back at the center of the octagon and Diaz begins letting his hands fly until he meets some GSP resistance in a couple left jabs. The two clinch and it’s Georges and Diaz exchanging some knees to the body until they separate then Diaz tries a kick but times it poorly and GSP is on top of him in side control. Diaz continues to roll and Georges stays right on top of him punching him whenever possible. Diaz tries an arm bar and the two stand up again where the continue to exchange in a clinch. It’s Diaz as the busier man in the clinch and they soon separate. GSP once again shoots in for a double on Diaz and succeeds where he punishes Diaz from his guard until the end of the round.
All three judges score the fight 50-45 for the Champion Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre
post fight interview has Diaz ready to retire, once again, this being his second UFC loss in a row.
Carlos ‘Natural Born Killer’ Condit vs Johny ’Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks (Play by Play)
R1 - Johnny comes out blasting and picks up and drops Condit then walks off and lets him back up. More bombs from Hendricks find Condit and Hendricks takes Condit down. Condit works off his back and starts to hit Hendricks with some good elbows. The fighters are back to their feet and Condit began to fire off some punches when Hendricks scored a takedown that Condit eventually gets out of. Condit found Hendricks back after a mad scramble and breaks off with a front kick to the face then they go at it to the sound of the horn.
R2 – Both fighters came out throwing bombs in the second. Carlos found some nice kicks and knees to Hendricks and Johnny throwing some heavy bombs. The two keep it on the feet until Hendricks rushed in and scored a takedown that landed Carlos against the fence. Carlos continued to land from his back and got back to his feet where he continued to meet a barrage of punches from Carlos Condit. Hendricks dug in for another double and scored taking Condit back down but he’s quick to recover and lands a head kick and Hendricks answers. Carlos again lands a nice jab cross which Hendricks thanks with another takedown that puts Condit back on his back once again. the two struggle for position but Condit gets back to his feet where he turns on the heat again. it’s Condit keeping the pace on the feet with many more punches being thrown but once he’s in too close to Hendricks he’s back on his back. Condit gets to his feet again and he chases Hendricks until he hears the sound of the horn.
R3 - The crowd gets psyched for the beginning of the round and the two fighters meet in the center of the octagon with bad intentions. Condit takes a head kick which misses then it’s Hendricks with some bombs to answer. Again Hendricks secures another takedown attempt and Condit is fighting from half guard. Hendricks punishes the body and Carlos is using elbows from his back and struggles to, and finds, full guard. Carlos begins to work a kamura and then he jumps to his feet. Condit lands some big shots and Hendricks answers with some big shots of his own. Hendricks rushes in and grabs Condit with another double and after eating a couple of shots completes the takedown. Carlos continues to fight off his back when Hendricks decides to let him up and then Condit finds a big shot that wobbled Johnny and Johnny clinches but doesn’t hold on for long. Carlos continues to walk down Hendricks and Hendricks secures another takedown. Carlos is able to quickly get back to his feet and makes Johnny pay with some big shots but Hendricks secures another takedown and Carlos is able to roll out of it and gets back to his feet where the two slug it out to the end of the round. What a fight.
Hendricks takes it by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28
Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger vs Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt
Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger dropped the kind of bombs on Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt that kept Nate from seeing the light of the second round. A left right combination spelled lights out for Nate earning Jake Ellenberger the KO with two minutes left in round 1.
Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring vs Chris Camozzi
An early onslaught put on by Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring couldn’t earn him a decision over Chris Camozzi. The first round was anyone’s guess as the fighters were in a feeling out process. The second round was clearly 10-9 Ring as Ring clearly pushed the pace of the round and landed many combinations. The third round, however, had to go to Camozzi when he turned on the urgency and paid Ring’s face back for all the prior punishment. The judges gave the split decision to Camozzi.
Mike ‘The Martian’ Ricci vs Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher
Mike ‘The Martian’ Ricci defeated Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher when the fight went to the scorecards and the decision was reached a unanimous 30-27 for Ricci. Though the judges may have shown all three rounds were run by Ricci that does not show how close his fight with Fletcher truly was.
Prelims (Live on FX)
Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote vs Bobby ‘Vicious’ Voelker
Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote edged out Bobby ‘Vicious’ Voelker in a back and forth brawl that truly could have gone either way. Patrick really poured it on in the first round. Voelker even managed to take Cote down only to be overwhelmed by Cote’s Jiu-Jitsu. The second round truly could have gone to either fighter and Voelker earned the third when he took Cote down again but really controlled his opponent and worked a cut in the process. The judges go 29-28 Cote
Antonio ‘Pato’ Carvalho vs Darren ‘The Damage’ Elkins
Antonio ‘Pato’ Carvalho got his head rocked pretty good, by Darren ‘The Damage’ Elkins, which resulted in a first round referee stop giving Elkins the TKO (which many considered early).
Dan Miller vs Jordan ‘Young Gun’ Mein
Dan Miller got outgunned by Jordan ‘Young Gun’ Mein at the end of the first round when Mein finished his debut with a TKO, the story of this fight was Mein’s very impressive jab.
John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi vs Daron ‘Detroit’ Cruickshank
John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi vs Daron ‘Detroit Superstar’ Cruickshank resulted in a decision victory for Makdessi.
Prelims (Live on Facebook)
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story vs Quinn Mulhern
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story put down Quinn Mulhern for the night when he turned the lights out at 3:05 of round 1.
TJ Dillashaw vs Issei Tamura
TJ Dillashaw earned a KO and his third straight UFC fight when he stopped Issei Tamura early in the 2nd round with a big kick turned knee.
George Roop vs Reuben Duran
George Roop earned the decision victory over Reuben Duran in a difficult battle.
Straight Results
Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz – GSP winner by unanimous decision
Carlos ‘Natural Born Killer’ Condit vs Johny ’Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks – Johny Hendricks winner by unanimous decision
Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger vs Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt – Jake Ellenberger winner by KO/TKO in round 1
Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring vs Chris Camozzi - Camozzi winner by split decision
Mike ‘The Martian’ Ricci vs Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher – Ricci winner by unanimous decision.
Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote vs Bobby ‘Vicious’ Voelker – Cote by unanimous decision.
Antonio ‘Pato’ Carvalho vs Darren ‘The Damage’ Elkins – Elkins by TKO in round 1
Dan Miller vs Jordan ‘Young Gun’ Mein – Mein by TKO in round 1
John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi vs Daron ‘Detroit’ Cruickshank – Unanimous decision for Makdessi
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story vs Quinn Mulhern – Story at 3:05 of round 1
TJ Dillashaw vs Issei Tamura - Dillashaw by way of 2nd round knockout
George Roop vs Reuben Duran – Roop by unanimous decision
Watch the weigh-ins video posted below and get ready for the throw down tomorrow, Saturday March 16, 2013 at 7pm/10pm PT/ET Live on Pay-Per View from Montréal, Québec at the Bell Centre. GSP will defend his welterweight belt against the always entertaining Nick Diaz. If the weigh-in face off is any indicator of the type of fight these two will have then this should quite a night for mma fans. Catch all the carnage with the entire fight card post below.
Main Card Live on Pay-per View @ 10PM/7PM ET/PT
Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre (23-2-0) vs Nick Diaz (27-8–1)
Carlos ‘Natural Born Killer’ Condit (28-6-0) vs Johny ’Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks (14-1-0)
Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger (28-6-0) vs Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt (35-11-2)
Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring (13-1-0) vs Chris Camozzi (18-5-0)
Mike ‘The Martian’ Ricci (8-3-0) vs Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher (9-2-0)
Prelims (Live on FX at 8PM/5PM ET/PT)
Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote (19-8-0) vs Bobby ‘Vicious’ Voelker (24-8-0)
Antonio ‘Pato’ Carvalho (15-5-0) vs Darren ‘The Damage’ Elkins (16-2-0)
Dan Miller (14-6-0, 1NC) vs Jordan ‘Young Gun’ Mein (26-8-0)
John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi (10-2-0) vs Daron ‘Detroit Superstar’ Cruickshank (12-2-0)
Prelims (Live on Facebook)
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story (14-6-0) vs Quinn Mulhern (18-2-0)
TJ Dillashaw (7-1-0) vs Issei Tamura (7-3-0)
Yves ‘Tiger’ Jabouin (18-8-0) vs Johnny Eduardo (26-9-0)
George Roop (12-10-1) vs Reuben Duran (8-4-1)
This link will bring you to the UFC page where you can order the events.
Sherdog caught up with trainer Greg Jackson this week to discuss the highly anticipated welterweight match of champion Georges St. Pierre vs challenger Nick Diaz at UFC 156 this Saturday March 16,2013. The trainer had high praise for both fighters but feels that it is unlikely that the champion will play into Nick Diaz’s game. According to a recent Sherdog article the legendary trainer, Greg Jackson, had this to say:
I don’t think so just because Georges is so smart,” Jackson told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I always say that, but I don’t know if people realize just how smart he really is. He understands the game extremely well. Even if he gets mad, he’ll be able to control it and keep his business his business. He’s incredibly smart, like off-the-charts smart. I think he’s going to be much too smart to fall for that.
Greg Jackson was also quick to note that Nick Diaz is also a very clever fighter that excels at imposing his will on opponents. Sherdog goes on to quote Jackson saying,
Nick Diaz as a fighter, I really like him because he’s one of those few fighters that can almost always make somebody play his game,” Jackson said. “He does it in really smart ways. He’ll back you up against the fence and basically have a shootout that he’s probably going to win. If you take him down, you’ve got to deal with some really good ground skills. If you don’t engage that, he throws his arms up. He starts trying to punk you. He tries to attack your manhood so that you get mad at him, so that you do start playing that game. He’s really smart at what he does. He’s very, very clever, but as long as you stay away from those things, as long as you control those elements, you have a good chance of winning. It’s just dealing with that really, really smart pressure that he has that makes this fight interesting.
Up to the fight, I’m sure [St. Pierre] will be emotionally invested in it,” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t want to see Georges upset. I’ll put it that way. He’s a son of a gun even when he’s calm and rational. … I’ve worked with that guy for years, and if you got him really upset and he stays focused, that would be a very dangerous individual.
Check out the interview in its entirety on Sherdog, at this link, and don’t miss out on all the action this Saturday Mar. 12, 2013 live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at 7pm/10pm PT/ET. FX prelims air at 5pm/8pm PT/ET and Facebook prelims air at 3:35/6:35pm PT/ET.
