Ultimate Fighter 3 finalist Ed Herman will be back in action this weekend at UFC 143 and will no doubt come ready to entertain the crowd. Herman is one of MMA’s most underrated finishers with fifteen stoppages in seventeen total victories and is currently on a two-fight winning streak including a pair of opening round victories.
While Herman may be seen by many as more of a striker than grappler, “Short Fuse” actually has twice as many submissions as he does TKOs. In this MMATraining Technique of the Day, Herman gives viewers a taste as to why he’s a dual threat by demonstrating a slick armbar transition from back mount.
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When it comes to continued employment in the UFC there is no question winning is paramount. Zuffa structures contracts in a way allowing them to terminate a deal following any loss meaning victory is the only sure way a fighter can guarantee he still has a job the morning after having competed the previous evening.
The same set of circumstances hover over Saturday night’s UFC 143: Condit vs. Diaz lineup, as they do every event, and without question more than one Mixed Martial Artist is likely making his final appearance inside the Octagon for the foreseeable future if not forever.
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Last weekend, popular heavyweight Joey Beltran suffered the first knockout of his career in a bout against Lavar Johnson at UFC on FOX 3. Apparently Johnson’s finishing blow was so powerful it not only cost Beltran his consciousness but also his spot on the UFC roster.
According to Beltran via Twitter he has been released by the UFC in response to the defeat, his fourth in the last five times he fought. The 6’1” slugger kept things positive while addressing the situation, posting, “To all my fans, friends, family and supporters I will be back better than ever at a new weight class. Don’t worry about me at all!”
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The last time fans saw Fabricio Werdum inside the Octagon he was a win away from fighting for the UFC heavyweight title before running into a then-unknown Brazilian by the name of Junior dos Santos. Werdum is poised to make his return to the infamous eight-sided structure this weekend at UFC 143 where he’ll face Roy Nelson on the PPV portion of the card.
While Werdum knows he won’t be earning a title-shot by beating “Big Country”, he does feel as though a convincing victory over someone with Nelson’s credentials could propel him into a bout for top contendership given the general shakiness of the heavyweight division.
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Nick Diaz just wants to be recognized as a world-class fighter. While many feel that Diaz is the “bad boy” of MMA, the Stockton, California fighter doesn’t fully embrace that recognition.
This weekend Diaz will meet Carlos Condit in a bout for the UFC interim welterweight title at UFC 143 in the main event. The winner will set themselves up for a match with Georges St-Pierre later in 2012 to unify the titles.
“I’m not the bad guy, I train to fight,” said Diaz, in an interview with the UFC promoting the PPV. “I think I’m the most well-rounded fighter in the world and I deserve a spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.”
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Anyone who tuned in last weekend and caught Charles Oliveira‘s slick submission stoppage of Eric Wisely at UFC on FOX 2 was no doubt impressed by the rarely-seen technique.
Fortunately, Ralek Gracie and Rener Gracie happen to be SLIGHTLY familiar with BJJ and decided to share their knowledge in this MMATraining Technique of the Day where they’ll walk viewers through the Calf-Slicer as well as a few other things they may have seen on FOX/Fuel TV.
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Regardless of who walks away as the interim welterweight champion this weekend when Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz duke it out in the main event at UFC 143, the UFC will still be confronted with the very real issue of what to do with the winner in the 8-9 months remaining before linear title-holder Georges St. Pierre is healed up from his torn ACL. Some would argue it’s a lose-lose situation because the organization has to either put a dynamic competitor (and belt) on the shelf for the bulk of the year or risk losing a marketable match-up with St. Pierre. However, scratching beneath the surface reveals that things aren’t quite as troublesome as they may appear.
Top heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem may make his living off physical aggression but that very characteristic has landed the hulking Dutchman in hot water. The 31-year old UFC fighter’s name appeared on a court docket today in Las Vegas stemming from a misdemeanor battery charge where Overeem is alleged to have shoved a woman’s face with enough power to send her backwards. The incident occurred while “The Demolition Man” was in town celebrating New Year’s Eve weekend as well as his victory at UFC 141 over Brock Lesnar.
While Overeem will not actually stand in front of a judge until sentencing takes place on February 21, if found guilty he could be force to pay $1,000 and spend up to six months in jail.
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