MMA Combat - Cerrone In, Makdessi Out; Shields vs. Ellenberger Likely for Fall

MMA Combat - Cerrone In, Makdessi Out; Shields vs. Ellenberger Likely for Fall

UFC lightweight John "The Bull" Makdessi (9-0-0) out of the Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada, has been forced to withdraw from his Aug 14 bout at UFC Live 5 due to an undisclosed injury.

UFC officials announced the news on Monday, but a replacement was not difficult to find with the uber-stacked lightweight division; Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (15-3-0) and Paul "Relentless" Taylor (11-6-1) have verbally agreed to meet on the card in a match-up that promises all the fireworks a Makdessi vs. Taylor bout would have produced.

Cerrone last appeared at UFC 131 where he picked apart Vagner Rocha over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision win, but "Cowboy" was his own biggest critic after the performance and at 2-0 inside the octagon, the WEC veteran was eager to have a quick turnaround.

Paul Taylor presents the kind of challenge Cerrone has been calling for, a swift kickboxer that throws caution to the wind in efforts to put together combinations and produce offence. His pressing style will likely turn Cerrone the counter-puncher in this one, but expect the bout to earn fight of the night considerations with these participants. Taylor last competed at UFC 126 - Silva vs. Belfort where he defeated TUF alumnus Gabe Ruediger by knockout.

It has also been reported, first by MMAFighting.com that top welterweight contenders Jake Shields (26-5-1) and Jake Ellenberger (24-5-0) are likely squaring off in what would be a highly anticipated contest later this fall. The bout is yet to be confirmed by the UFC, but speculation is that it's being eyed for UFC 138, November 19, in San Jose, California.

Shields had a 15-fight winning streak snapped by champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129, April 30, 2011, at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada. The submission specialist is 1-1 inside the octagon, but hasn't made the kind of impression on the division most had expected, narrowly defeating Martin Kampmann via decision in his UFC debut - a fight many onlookers had him losing.

"The Juggernaut", Jake Ellenberger is 4-1 inside the octagon since joining the promotion late in 2009. Dropping his UFC debut to Carlos Condit via split decision, Ellenberger has put four consecutive wins together and last appeared at UFC 129 himself, where he knocked out hometown favorite Sean Pierson in the first round. In an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network a couple months back, Ellenberger had this to say regarding the possible match-up: “If they do make that match, and me and Jake get to fight, he’s not a hard guy to figure out... I feel like I can beat him right now.”

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Jon Fitch - Picky Picky Picky

Welterweight contender Jon Fitch

http://www.mmacombat.com/blogs/blog230-jon-fitch-picky-picky-picky.html

In a recent interview with mmaweekly.com, UFC welterweight veteran Jon Fitch (23-3-1) boldly stated that he was not interested in a match-up with rising star Rick Story. Story, who recently toppled Thiago Alves via unanimous decision at UFC 130, May 28, 2011, called out the division's #2 ranked fighter citing that Fitch made perfect sense after defeating a top 5 opponent in Alves (whom Fitch has also handily defeated in past competition). But those words fell on deaf ears at the AKA camp.

“I’m at a point in my career where I need to be fighting main events and main event fighters... If you don’t have a belt, currently, or you haven’t owned a belt in the UFC, I’m not really interested” said Fitch.

Although Fitch boasts one of the most impressive records in the UFC today, and since the formation of the organization for that matter, it is not the fighter's call to decide who he will and will not fight. With increasing pressure placed on promotions to make certain fights happen based on fan sentiment or 'twitter wars' between competitors, strengthening the bargaining power of the athlete will only leave mixed martial arts in a boxing-like conundrum; where the right fights simply do not take place based on individual and/or promoter disagreements. The champion has to take on all comers, contenders should not get to choose their path to the title either.

We now know that Rick Story has stepped in for the injured Anthony Johnson at UFC Live 4, and will take on former middleweight title challenger Nate Marquardt, June 26. What an opponent like Story would have brought to the table vs. Fitch are the same tools that get the Purdue alumnus through each of his fights, strong cardio and wrestling ability.

Waiting for the rematch against B.J. Penn isn't going to do anything to bolster Fitch's resume in this commentator's eyes. It's a fight he should control and win, and a second bout that looks any different from what the third round did in their first would be a disappointment.

Fitch has refused to fight fellow top-10 and teammate Josh Koscheck in the past, which is why I personally feel fighters shouldn't align themselves with training partners of similar size, in the same promotion, unless of course they're willing to put all that aside for sport. The last time Fitch fought a high-level wrestler was in his 2008 defeat to champion Georges St. Pierre. Prior to that, Diego Sanchez and Brock Larson are the only two names under the UFC Fitch has battle with any sort of wrestling credential.

At this point, Jake Shields is the man in the division that makes the most sense for each competitor. He owns a submission grappling victory over the AKA captain, has a solid wrestling base and is more than comfortable on his back regardless. Neither man is particularly threatening on the feet, and both cut considerably to get down to 170lbs. Give Penn a smaller welterweight in his next, and challenge the Indiana native with a skill-set more similar to his own; it's been a while.


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The Prospect of Diaz vs. GSP Edit Blog Entry

UFC 129 saw Georges St. Pierre (22-2-0) once again defended his welterweight title against a top five welterweight, and one that hadn’t lost in nearly six years while compiling 15 wins in that time. Jake Shields was a game challenger, although I personally wonder how he would have fared against a more confident St. Pierre who was noticeably concerned with an irritated/injured eye early on.

The UFC is now faced with a situation where the champion has handily defeated six of the top seven welterweights – accordingly to several credible ranking sites – in mixed martial arts today; Nick Diaz (25-7-1) remains the lone man out, coming in at number six on Sherdog.com’s welterweight top ten, and is the only man currently outside of the UFC banner in the bunch.

If there was ever a time to capitalize on the Strikeforce welterweight champion’s popularity, particularly in the West coast, the time is now. No remaining welterweight inside the UFC has the marketability that Diaz would bring to this main-event; the Stockton native is riding an extreme confidence high on the back of ten consecutive wins, and as a tri-athlete, has the kind of gas tank to continue pushing the pace against the notoriously cardio-strong GSP. His Jiu-Jitsu is of a high level, which will rival if not surpass St. Pierre in that area, and his offensive boxing continues to improve by leaps and bounds with each bout.

It is worth mentioning however, that Nick Diaz has not fought a high-level MMA wrestler in some time, arguably since his TKO victory over Gleison Tibau at UFC 65 in November of 2006. Diaz has never possessed the kind of takedown defense or strength to ward off powerful wrestlers; that blueprint was written by Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs, and Sean Sherk respectively in 05/06, and remains the only time Diaz has lost consecutive matches in his career to date.

Georges St. Pierre is perhaps the best mixed martial arts wrestler in the sport’s short history; his timing and explosiveness is unparalleled and his speed will be on par with Stockton’s favorite son. Taking a glimpse at their most recent victories tells a tall tale; while Diaz has toppled (literally) Zaromskis, Sakurai, Noons, Santos, and Daley… St. Pierre has arguably won every round in his past five bouts – and beyond – against the likes of B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, and Jake Shields.

Bringing Nick Diaz into the UFC without the intention of granting him an immediate title shot, or presenting him with a favorable style match-up first would be detrimental to the marketing value he currently offers. In this writer’s opinion, it’s highly likely that either of Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck, or Jake Ellenberger could derail that hype and Zuffa knows this. Not to mention, with Cesar Gracie Academy teammate Jake Shields dropping the most recent of a growing list of decisions on St. Pierre’s resume, Nick Diaz also presents an attractive storyline in the way of revenge…

It will be interesting to see how Zuffa handles these negotiations, and the extent to which they’re willing to bend. Dana White had initially stated that cross-promotion super fights were not an option for the UFC brand, but at this point, what alternative do they have?


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