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UFC 6 on Fox: Johnson defeats Dodson

Renko Styranka
Jan 26th, 2013

Mighty Mouse gives his side of the story after soundly defeating John Dodson for the flyweight belt. Photo via screenshot.

UFC on Fox 6 in Chi town had many exciting fights for fans, including the flyweight title fight between Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and John ‘The Magician’ Dodson.

After a brisk first round during which the fighters felt the pace, Dodson found his range in the second and floored the champion. Mighty Mouse recovered quickly and never stopped pushing the pace—his signature.

Throughout the fight Mighty Mouse took the edge in punches landed, takedowns, leg kicks, and Octagon command. In the fourth round, Mighty Mouse got Dodson in a clinch against the fence and landed a barrage of knees. The Thai clinch also worked well for the champ.

When Mighty Mouse looked for a clinch, he worked to damage, when The Magician went to clinch, he couldn’t pull anything from the hat and looked to rest. Mighty Mouse poured it on in the championship rounds, using flurries of knees and punches, falling just short of finishing the challenger.

UFC on Fox 6: Dodson v. Johnson

Renko Styranka
Jan 21st, 2013

UFC on Fox 6 has several fights to drain the saliva glands of rabid UFC fans.

Quick twitch John ‘The Magician’ Dodson matches his formidable skills against 125 pound champ and owner of the best moniker in fight sports, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.

Mighty Mouse persevered through the flyweight elimination tournament and has recently defeated Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall and Joseph Benavidez by using superior athleticism and making few, if any, mistakes.

Dodson tore through TUF 14 and has shown speed, power, and a skill set to rival if not surpass Mighty Mouse’s. This will be an extremely fast fight, so you may need to TiVo or record and freeze-frame to see all the nuanced action.

UFC on FX 7: Bisping v. Belfort

Renko Styranka
Jan 19th, 2013

Belfort waxes poetic after win, slagging Chael Sonnen and calling for rematch with Jon 'Bones' Jones. Photo via screenshot.

The UFC on FX in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was underscored with a pair of  ground fights, a fight that was stopped at least six  elbows too late, and two great headlining fights.

Brit Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping was hoping for a sound win over future hall-of-famer, Brazilian Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort, since UFC president Dana White promised The Count a shot at Anderson Silva if he came out with a win. It wasn’t meant to be.

Bisping came out with masterly use of distance and footwork, making Belfort, a veteran with vast experience, look off on his timing. Belfort has great speed, incredible KO power. Ten of his wins in the UFC averaged 2:00 minutes. Bisping, on the other hand, can and does finish with KOs and TKOs, but with volume since power is not something he possesses in excess.

UFC vs. Street Cred

Renko Styranka
Jan 11th, 2013

In the face of stellar success, the UFC has a credibility problem with many of its fans---especially those fans who’ve watched since UFC 1.

These questions began for me in late 2008 when Brock Lesnar, a former NCAA and professional wrestler, took his unimpressive 2-1 record to a  shot at the heavyweight title. The heavyweight division was thin, and I understood why the UFC would want to raise awareness by bringing in Lesnar’s fans. Also, the Minnesotan looked impressive in the beginning, and has a herculean physique. Still, the move lacked street cred.

UFC heavyweight rumination

Renko Styranka
Jan 5th, 2013

UFC 155: Velasquez defeats dos Santos

Renko Styranka
Dec 29th, 2012

Challenger Cain Velasquez proved Junior dos Santos fans wrong at UFC 155 with a smothering attack that would have made Randy Couture proud. In 1997, Couture---a Greco Roman wrestler and former army boxer---stunned UFC fans by defeating feared striker and BJJ black belt Vitor Belfort, whom many thought was on a fast track to the title, with a similar attack that effectively suffocated  Belfort’s formidable striking skills.

Velasquez took JdS down early but couldn’t keep him down, though that didn’t stop him from doing it over and over. He stunned the Brazilian early with a right hand that floored him. The steady, measured, patient attack, which seems to sap Cain of little energy, had dos Santos weary by the end of the first.

UFC 155: dos Santos v. Velasquez

Renko Styranka
Dec 26th, 2012

Cain Velasquez (L) faces Junior dos Santos before their first championship tilt just over a year ago. Screenshot courtesy UFC.com's Youtube page.

On Saturday, December 29, UFC 155 features Junior dos Santos v. Cain Velasquez II, a heavyweight rematch of the fight where dos Santos earned a stunning knockout of the former champion to gain the belt. A premise to this fight is that the first KO was a fluke. It wasn’t.

Junior dos Santos is the perfect champ. The man came from abject poverty in Brazil, trained with the Nogeira brothers, and has used his black belt in BJJ and athleticism to develop stellar take down defense. He then applies far superior hands and footwork, in combination with powerful uppercuts and shots to the liver, solar plexus, and ears to wear down and finish opponents.

TUF 16 and TUF Australia

Renko Styranka
Dec 16th, 2012

Lately, poor ratings for The Ultimate Fighter had UFC president Dana White pulling tricks out of hats to get the show back on track. For up and coming fighters it’s an excellent vault to the big leagues, with quality production, but I stopped watching the show when it was promoted as ‘Live’ last season but came delayed, and when I grew tired of drunken idiocy and antics of the young fighters forced to bunk together for six weeks.

TUF 16 and TUF Australia had their finales this weekend, and they didn’t disappoint. Great match ups and a slew of great KOs and submissions far outnumbered “Meh” performances. Even if fans can’t stomach the show, the wrap-ups are always worth watching, especially if you like to follow talent up the ranks.

UFC on Fox 5: Henderson defeats Diaz

Renko Styranka
Dec 8th, 2012

A content lightweight champion, Benson Henderson. Photo via screen capture from UFC on Fox.

Something was definitely in the drinking water in Seattle Saturday night, made evident by fight after fight on UFC on FOX 5 living up to all expectations. Starting with preliminary one, the fighters on the card left nothing in the Octagon.

Benson 'Smooth' Henderson v. Nate Diaz

Diaz enjoyed a three  inch height and six inch reach advantage over Henderson, but many were wondering, what's the mind state of the fighter from Stockton California?

Henderson showed his game plan early: leg kicks, and engaging clinches with wrestling, without getting too deep into Diaz’s stellar BJJ. Round one finished without incident, round two began with Diaz scrambling up from the mat, a kick to his head as a reward, and finished with Henderson throwing Diaz off balance with low leg kicks and jabs to the knee, setting up a takedown and attacks to the head.

UFC on FOX 5: Benson Henderson v. Nate Diaz

Renko Styranka
Dec 4th, 2012

Photo via screen capture, courtesy UFC's Youtube page.

UFC on FOX 5 takes place in Seattle on Saturday, December 8th. Get those umbrellas out, for rain and splattering cage-side. The card is absolutely stacked, and features a title fight at 155 between lightweight champion Benson ‘Smooth’ Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz, a scrape  almost impossible to predict.

Benson Henderson has an impressive arsenal of strikes made possible through fast-twitch athleticism, but Diaz has stupendous punches-in-bunches boxing that effectively mesmerizes nearly all his opponents. It’s safe to say Diaz has an advantage in BJJ, Henderson the nod in wrestling.

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