After three fights in the UFC, Barboza says he?s in the 155-pound title mix

Edson Barboza may be short on significant wins, but that isn't holding him back from saying he's a contender for the UFC lightweight title.

Barboza looks for fourth win with the promotion Saturday night against Terry Etim.

He's looking to build on dominant wins over Mike Lullo and Ross Pearson, and a tightly contested victory over Njokuani. Barboza was outlanded in that fight 72-46. The young Brazilian is feeling good about his start in the UFC.

"I think I'm already in the mix," Barboza told MMAjunkie.com.

Many would argue with Barboza, who has yet to face a top level grappler yet. That's a big factor considering the top of the division is filled with former college wrestlers like Frank Edgar, Clay Guida, Gray Maynard and Jim Miller.

Barboza (9-0, 3-0 UFC) explained further.

"Anyone who's in the UFC is there because they're very skilled. That's a fact. With every opponent, the more difficult the fight, and I'm working hard so I can always meet new, more difficult challenges on equal terms. I know I have it in me to do so."

His striking can be dynamic at times, but only if he matches it with high volume which he didn't do against Njokuani.

In Etim, he faces his most well-rounded opponent. The young Brit has four "Submission of the Night" bonuses, but he's far from a takedown artist. It'll be interesting to see if Barboza's aggression on the feet leaves his him in any vulnerable positions to set up a sub.

Watch UFC 142 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/two-fights-ufc-barboza-says-155-pound-title-175017379.html

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

UFC 142 vlog: Dana White tells Vitor Belfort about Anthony Johnson?s situation

Dana White's latest vlog does a nice a job of showing behind-the-scenes coverage of how the Anthony Johnson weigh-in miss went down.

Vitor Belfort arrives at the arena (2:45 mark) and is blown away by the fact that Johnson wasn't going to make weight. He explains that his cut was tough. As he thinks about what to do, Belfort begins to intensely chew on a towel full of ice to get a little water into his system.

White gives him the option of not making weight either, but then he wouldn't get 20 percent of Johnson's purse. His nutrition coach Mike Dolce is brought into help make a decision and says Vitor is going to be professional and do his part.

Later in the video, Johnson is informed on stage that he has to weigh in again on Saturday and be under 205 pounds. The exchange between White and the fighter is cordial.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-142-vlog-dana-white-tells-vitor-belfort-205523480.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

?King Mo? Muhammed takes Lorenz Larkin into his realm to force stoppage at Strikeforce

LAS VEGAS - Muhammed Lawal's ready to reclaim his crown. Make that another crown.

Nicknamed "King Mo," Lawal is a nasty ground artist and put the hurt on Larkin, stopping him at 1:32 of the second round in fight No. 3 of the main card at Strikeforce inside The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Lawal got off 15 unanswered shots before referee Kim Winslow saved Larkin. Some in attendance thought it was a late stoppage, including Lawal, who yelled something in disgust about the ref.

"She explained to me that she wants to give us a fair chance to keep on continuing," Lawal said once he calmed down a bit. "If it was me, I'd rather be put to sleep, too."

Lawal, a former star on the international wrestling scene, has developed his striking, but there was little sense in banging it out on the feet with Larkin. Larkin is a dynamic striker with very little grappling experience.

King Mo played to his strength early by scoring a takedown just 27 seconds into the fight. Larkin got back to his feet after a shaky standup by referee Kim Winslow.

Lawal was good on both of takedown attempts and landed 58-of-94 shots on the ground.

In essence, this was a light heavyweight title qualifier. Lawal should be line to face someone for the title later this year. Former champ Dan Henderson vacated the title when he left to return to the UFC.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/king-mo-muhammed-takes-lorenz-larkin-realm-force-043832129.html

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Picture of the day: Clay Guida, sans long locks

UFC lightweight Clay Guida is known for his relentless pace in the cage, love of "The Big Lebowski" and of course, that hair. But in the picture he just shared on Twitter, Guida showed that he hasn't always had that mop atop his head. This is from his prom in 1999, which also explains the super-cool vest and bowtie.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/picture-day-clay-guida-sans-long-locks-172746515.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Luke Rockhold mauls Keith Jardine then calls out UFC middleweights

During the lead up to his first title defense, Luke Rockhold oozed confidence all week. He had good reason. He was facing what turned out to be an overmatched fighter in Keith Jardine.

Rockhold took care of business easily, waiting out the wild style of Jardine to land a huge right and followed it up with 17 more unanswered shots to force the referee to stop the fight at 4:26 of the first round.

The champ was happy to win, but had little interest in calling out Strikeforce's No. 1 contender Tim Kennedy. Minutes after the victory, Showtime's Mauro Ranallo asked about Rockhold defending his title against the Strikeforce roster.

"I like fighting and I like getting paid," Rockhold said then hesitated. "Right now, all the best guys in the world at middleweight are in the UFC. Those are the guys I want. I want to fight the best in the world. I think they should bring over some top contenders. I believe I am one of top guys and I want to take on the best."

That's probably not what Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker wants to hear. Strikeforce, with the backing of its new owner Zuffa, recently re-signed with Showtime. The last thing it wants is to be viewed as a minor league with all of its champions looking to jump to the UFC.

Jardine (17-10-2) getting a title fight and then performing the way he did tonight doesn't help the cause. Jardine, 36, is now 3-7-1 since 2008.

Rockhold (9-1) has every reason to be confident about his chances against UFC middleweights. He trains at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Ca., one of the best gyms in the world. AKA houses a load of UFC fighters, including Cain Velasquez, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick and Gray Maynard.

Rockhold diagnosed Jardine's style pretty easily.

"It played out like I thought it would. I thought I could time him with that right hook coming forward. I thought he was a little slow with that overhand right," Rockhold said. "I started connecting and I started getting confident."

That right hook is exactly what he landed to begin the finishing scenario.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/luke-rockhold-mauls-keith-jardine-then-calls-ufc-051719689.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

The Forward Roll: UFC 142 Edition

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If I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the UFC 142 card, it would be Edson Barboza. While I'm not ready to call him a surefire lightweight contender just yet, he certainly has flashed a skill set that's worthy of cracking the division's top 5. Now he has to continue delivering.

So far throughout his UFC career, Barboza has used his skills the same way Chuck Liddell used to; his defensive wrestling keeping him upright where he has the advantage against nearly anyone he faces.

But there are still questions about Barboza. For one, will his wrestling hold up against the division's best? Remember, this is a weight class heavy on former collegiate wrestling studs. From champ Frankie Edgar to No. 1 contender Ben Henderson to Gray Maynard and beyond, Barboza will have to prove himself able to handle a top level guy before we can anoint him the next great lightweight. That said, it's been exciting to watch his educated limbs deliver violence in new ways.

The comparison has been made between Barboza and featherweight champ Jose Aldo, and in terms of style, it's not all that far off. But lightweight is a much deeper division than featherweight, so Barboza has a long climb ahead.

On to the matchups...

Jose Aldo
It was nice to see Aldo flash the finishing instinct that made him a star in his early days under the Zuffa banner. While he's been accused of playing it safe his last few fights, his perfectly timed knee to the face that led to the finish is a strictly offensive move. If he missed it, he would have been off-balance to defend the takedown that was coming as Mendes went low. Instead, Aldo landed it flush and closed out the show. While many would like to see him move up a weight class, he's still just 25 years old and I'd like to see him cement a legacy at one division before moving up to another. Anderson Silva's become a huge star because he runs his weight class with an iron fist. Fans love dominance, and Aldo's slowly but surely building himself that kind of aura.
Prediction: Aldo fights the winner of February's Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski bout.

Chad Mendes
The bad news for Mendes is that he lost, but the good news is that he's not going to fall very far in the featherweight pecking order. While he struggled to take Aldo down -- he was 0-for-7 by FightMetric's count -- at least we know Mendes still has room to grow his offensive arsenal. That's because he's only been in the sport for about four years. While he'll still be in the upper tier of the division, he needs to work on his striking to be better equipped to deal with Aldo next time around. If there is a "next time."
Prediction: He fights Diego Nunes

Vitor Belfort
We already know Belfort's next assignment. He'll be the head coach of the first Brazilian edition of The Ultimate Fighter, alongside Wanderlei Silva, and after the conclusion of the show, the two will face off in a rematch of their 1998 match, a bout which Belfort won by knockout in just 44 seconds.

Anthony Johnson
What a nightmare of a middleweight debut for Johnson, who pulled off a triple dose of fail by missing weight, losing by submission and getting cut. Despite the disastrous evening, Johnson is just 27 years old and has reached a level of popularity that will make him a sought-after commodity in other organizations. But Johnson also has to take a good hard look at himself, realize that he's blown a couple of opportunities, and find a way to fix it, or otherwise risk never reaching the heights many expected him to.
Prediction: Johnson signs with Bellator

Rousimar Palhares
It's getting harder and harder to ignore Palhares as a contender after a third straight win. Amazingly, it was his fourth heel hook submission win in his last six UFC bouts. Most of the UFC's 10 best has their date book filled, so Palhares might have to play the waiting game for a bit until something opens up. Two available fighters right now though are Chris Weidman and Alan Belcher.
Prediction: Belcher gets the call to face Palhares

Erick Silva
It seems like every time we turn around, there's another Silva advancing into the upper echelons of the MMA world. The latest is the 27-year-old welterweight who lost by disqualification due to punches that were ruled to be illegal. He'll appeal the ruling, and regardless of the outcome, Silva will be treated as the winner when it comes to booking his next fight. Since he is still early in his UFC career, don't expect Silva to be rushed into fights with major names just yet.
Prediction: He faces Seth Baczynski

Edson Barboza
After four straight wins, the undefeated Barboza (10-0) looks just about ready to step into the shark tank against the lightweight division's big guns. He looks to have the complement of skills that make him a scary proposition for anyone, particularly with killer standup and great defensive wrestling. The only potential issue I see from Barboza is that he sometimes tends to step off the gas pedal. I'd match him up against a fighter known for forward aggression and wrestling and see how he does.
Prediction: He faces Danny Castillo

Gabriel Gonzaga
Kudos to Gonzaga, who returned to the UFC with a first-round submission win. Just as impressive was the fact that prior to the fight, he said he wanted to stop engaging in striking wars and return to his jiu-jitsu roots. He did just that. According to FightMetric, he wasn't hit a single time by opponent Ednaldo Oliveira in the 3-minute, 22-second fight. That's about as clean a win as you can hope for. It was a performance that was not only great for career longevity but also came with a finish, something that always makes fans and management happy.
Prediction: He faces the winner of UFC on Fox 2's Mike Russow vs. Jon Olav Einemo

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/17/the-forward-roll-ufc-142-edition/

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Erick Silva DQ puts need for instant replay front and center

Erick Silva rode a roller coaster of emotions at UFC 142. After taking out Carlo Prater in 29 seconds, Silva celebrated with the loud, Brazilian crowd. He was brought down to reality when he was informed by referee Mario Yamasaki that the blows Silva used to knock out Prater were deemed illegal. Though a replay showed that the blows hit the sides of Prater's head, not the restricted area on the the back of the head, Silva had been disqualified.

The UFC confirmed that Silva did receive his win bonus and it's unlikely that this loss will stunt his career's trajectory, but it didn't need to be a loss. Yamasaki admitted when talking to UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he had to make the decision in the moment.

"I have to decide right there and then. There's nothing I can do," Yamasaki said.

In that moment, there was nothing Yamasaki could do. Instant replay does not have a place in MMA. Though he watched the replay on a giant screen just moments after the fight ended, the bout was decided.

With the technology already in place for referees to use instant replay, there is no good reason for MMA not to use it. Instant replay is used in other major sports. Though it isn't always perfect, it gives referees confidence on making calls.

Like in other sports, strict parameters of when it should be used would need to be put in place. For example, it does not make sense to use instant replay to decide if a fighter was truly knocked out or not because of the difficulties in restarting a stopped bout. But in the case of a disqualification, instant replay can and should be used.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/erick-silva-dq-puts-instant-replay-front-center-163905590.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz