The Good ESPN2 FNF – I have placed ESPN2s Friday Night Fights in GBU more than once this season but never in The Good section, well finally I have a reason to after this Fridays show. The card looked good on paper with two seperate matchups featuring undefeated fighters. Things got off to a fast start in the fight between Javier Fortuna and Yaundale Evans as Fortuna caught and dropped Evans with a huge left hook. A visibly shaken Evans beat the count only to be met by another left hamd that sent him crashing to the mat causing the ref to intervene and wave off the contest. Fortuna put himself on the radar of fans watching with the impressive first round KO.   The main event may have had two fighters without a loss squaring off but there’s no doubt that Ismayl Sillakh was the heavy favorite over Denis Grachev and fittingly so as Sillakh has looked like a can’t miss prospect thus far in his career. Grachev on the other hand is a kickboxer who was not nearly as refined as his opponent. As expected Sillakh easily outboxed Grachev throughout the first 7 rounds. For his part Grachev did land a few right hands on Sillakh. In the 8th round as things were continuing as they had in the previous seven Grachev would catch Sillakh with said right directly on the chin. This time however Sillakh was buckled by the shot as he stumbled back towards the ropes. Grachev seized the moment swarming his opponent with a bevy of punches eventually putting him down with another right as the referee jumpred between the to stop the bout and give Grachev the upset victory. Hopefully this will be the turning point for FNF 2012, if so better late than [...]

  Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson 2 – It’s rare in the fight game where a bout ends under dubious circumstances yet many fans not only are not bothered by it but also have no desire to see it resolved in a rematch. Well that’s the case when it comes to this weekends second meeting between WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and former champ Chad Dawson. Their first fight was long in the making as Dawson repeatedly called out Hopkins who said he had no interest in fighting Dawson, whom at the time was a title holder. Well after Dawson lost his title against Jean Pascal, the same Pascal that Hopkins would go on to have a highly disputed draw against and then beating him in their rematch, B-Hop seemed to have a change of heart. As for their ill fated first contest, well there’s not much to say as it was over in less than two rounds. To no surprise Dawson was the quicker of the two and seemed to be getting the better of things when towards the end of the second round the fighters came together with Hopkins leaning over Dawson who responded by raising up and tossing “The Executioner” down to the canvas. Hopkins writhed around while being counted out by the referee who ruled it a TKO and win for Dawson. B-Hop would protest the result claiming he was unable to continue due to an injured shoulder which would lead to an eventual changing of the result to a No Contest which would allow Hopkins to retain his title. This brings us to Saturday night and not much has changed since the first fight other than both getting older which is more likely to effect the 47 year old Hopkins.   916Chris’ pick – [...]

The Good Jon Jones – It may or may not have been his most impressive performance depending on where you rank Rashad Evans, either way Jon Jones was successful in the third defense of his UFC light heavyweight title in dominant fashion. The highly anticipated fight between Jones and Evans didn’t turn into the all out war that many expected, instead it was a tactical bout in which Jones displayed a more diverse skill set and befuddled Evans for the majority of 25 minutes. The closest the contest came to ending early was in the 2nd round where the champ hurt his challenger with a left elbow on the feet that buckled Evans and backed him up against the cage. Jones attempted to finish Evans with more strikes but Rashad tied him up long enough to regain his senses. From that point on it seemed as if Evans was more content with going the distance as opposed to winning. Don’t get me wrong, the former 205 pound champion did land a few solid right hands as well as a hard high kick but you never felt he was in control of the fight. After 5 rounds Jones was declared the winner by unanimous decision defeating his fourth former UFC champ in the process. I asked earlier this week in an article on this website if Jon Jones can be the Floyd Mayweather of MMA, it still is too early to tell but he certainly appears to be well on his way.   KO central – If you watched both Bellator and UFC this weekend you saw more than one fight end by brutal knock out. The first of such took place in the semifinals of Bellators lightweight tournament where after a tentative opening round Rick Hawn caught an overly aggressive [...]

  Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans – A year in the making or in this instance waiting, this weekend bring us UFC 145 and the showdown between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former teammate and friend Rashad Evans. For those unfamiliar with the history between the two Jones joined Jacksons Mixed Martial Arts, a team Evans had been a longtime member of under the tutelage of coach Greg Jackson. Everything was fine initially as Evans played a mentor/big brother role to Jones. Things changed however when Rashad was injured while preparing for a title shot against then champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as Jones would be offered and accept the opportunity to fight for the belt. Jones would go on to defeat Rua and in doing so setting the stage to take on Evans who was the number one contender. Previously the two had said they would never fight one another but once Jones changed his tune a rift began. Evans would leave Jacksons claiming his former coach disloyal and Jones a fake person while Jon has said Rashad is jealous of him igniting a feud that has only grown in the years time since it began. In that span Jones has twice successfully defended his title defeating former champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida. For his part Evans has had victories over Tito Ortiz and a then undefeated Phil Davis. This will be the biggest fight for both with more than just a title at stake, all that’s left now is to find out who really is the better fighter.   916Chris’ pick – I have gone over and analyzed this matchup numerous times and try as I might I just cannot envision a scenario where Evans wins. It is assumed that Rashad has advantages in the [...]

  Before you jump to conclusions too quickly I am in no way comparing the personality nor potential earning ability of Jon Jones to Floyd Mayweather. No, what I am pondering is if the current UFC light heavyweight champion can be the best fighter of his era in his respective sport. I’m sure many will argue that Mayweather is not the most dominant boxer of the last decade but whether you’re a fan of his or not it is hard to deny his credentials as a 7 time world champion in 5 weight classes and currently having a record of 42 wins and 0 defeats. With a ledger of 15 and 1 at the moment Jones obviously will not be able to replicate Mayweathers undefeated streak even though his sole defeat came via disqualification in a fight he was in full control of before landing illegal strikes which lead to the loss. That does not take away from the fact that at only 24 years of age Jones is already one of the best three fighters in mixed martial arts today.   For Jones to be so far ahead of many of his contemporaries is surprising in that he has been competing professionally for just over 4 years and began training MMA shortly prior to his debut whereas Floyd Mayweather had an extensive amateur background. However much like Mayweather Jones is a tireless worker gifted with physical abilities and an extreme self confidence that is in full display when competing. It is rare in his career that Mayweather has ever been in trouble in a fight, outside of his first bout with Jose Luis Castillo no opponent has seriously challenged Floyd. Similarily Jones has yet to face opposition whom has put him at risk and appears to be improving everytime [...]

The Good Eduardo Dantas – In his first bid at a major MMA world title Eduardo Dantas was not only successful in defeating Zach Makovsky for the Bellator bantamweight championship, but the manner in which he did so may be an indicator of a star in the making. Early on it was evident Dantas’ size and reach advantage were giving Makovsky problems who couldn’t land anything on the challenger who was swift on his feet. The champ wisely used his edge in wrestling to take Dantas down but instead of being in control was forced to fend off numerous submission attempts. The first round closed on the feet with Dantas landing more strikes. Makovsky attempted to take the challenger down once again to open the second round but was reversed and instead ended up on his back. From there it was all Dantas who was putting on a grappling clinic before finally locking on an arm triangle choke on Makovsky who despite defending it well was put to sleep shortly thereafter. At only 23 years of age and training out of the vaunted Nova Uniao camp the skys the limit for “Dudu”.   Mike Alvarado vs Mauricio Herrera – Not many boxing fans were excited for this pay-per-view co-headlined by Juan Manuel Marquez vs Sergey Fedchenko and Brandon Rios vs Richard Abril but those who saw it certainly got their moneys worth with the fight between Mike Alvarado and Mauricio Herrera. With only one loss between the two a competitive bout was expected but what transpired was an all out war as both men stood toe to toe during numerous exchanges. Alvarado was clearly the stronger fighter and his punches did more damage but that never deterred Herrera who landed more than his share of shots to the head of [...]