UFC 126 takes place tonight from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and this card is stacked from top to bottom with intriguing and exciting bouts. Here are my picks for tonight’s main card.

UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (27-4) vs. Vitor Belfort (19-8) – This is the first time Silva will be facing a striker that may have equal or greater hand speed than him, so this could be his toughest test to date. However, Silva is much more of a complete fighter, as he mixes in kicks, knees, elbows, and has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. While Belfort has one-punch KO power, I think Silva finds a way to get past him and puts on another impressive performance.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Forrest Griffin (17-6) vs. Rich Franklin (28-5) – Both of these guys are former champions in the UFC and both are trying to stay relevant within the organization. This should be a good scrap as both fighters always bring the fight. Franklin should have the edge in striking with his awkward style and angles, but Griffin has a big size advantage and I expect him to use that to smother Franklin and score takedowns, which will earn him a decision victory.UFC Light Heavyweight Bout: Jon Jones (11-1) vs. Ryan Bader (12-0) – This is a fight of the top two young up-and-comers in the division and the winner will be thrust into the top 5 of the division. Jones is such a unique fighter in terms of style and length while Bader is a great wrestler with good power in his hands. I think Jones has more ways to win this fight and will be able to stay off his back against Bader. I see Jones landing a big knee when Bader comes in for a shot, which sets up a TKO finish in round two.

UFC Bantamweight Bout: Miguel Torres (37-3) vs. Antonio Banuelos (19-6): Torres is one of the top bantamweights in the world and he has changed up his training in hopes to becoming a more complete and patient fighter. I see him picking apart Banuelos, who will look to grapple. I see Torres landing a nice combination in the second round before dropping Banuelos and jumping on him to secure a choke for a submission victory.

UFC Welterweight Bout: Jake Ellenberger (23-5) vs. Carlos Rocha (9-0) – Rocha is a very dangerous and slick submission fighter, but I see him struggling with Ellenberger’s wrestling. I look for Ellenberger to land takedowns and ground strikes while avoiding submission attempts to earn a decision victory over Rocha and continue to move up the welterweight ranks.

According to Jeremy Botter at HeavyMMA.com, Miguel Torres will take on Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

Heavy.com has learned that former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will take on Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

The Super Bowl weekend event takes place on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Anderson Silva defends his UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort in the main event, while perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch takes on Jake Ellenberger in the co-main event of the evening.

The bout will serve as the UFC debut for both Torres and Banuelos and will take place on the pay per view portion of the event. Torres recently scored a victory over Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 after dropping two fights to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez, while Banuelos defeated Chad George.
Torres will appear on tonight’s edition of MMA Live.

Head to HeavyMMA.com for more UFC news.

In case you missed the action, Nate Lawson of HeavyMMA.com has the results from WEC 51, including the Aldo vs. Gamburyan bout.

Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan for the WEC Featherweight Title
Gamburyan started off strong with a big right hand, but Aldo looked completely fine with his power. Aldo looked to get his timing down, while the challenger looked to get to work quickly. Two minutes into the fight, and Aldo seemed content to display his patience. The fans, however, were not thrilled, pleading for some action. Aldo went back to the same style he had in his fight against Urijah Faber, landing several big kicks to the leg of Gamburyan. With 10 seconds to go, the challenger looked for a takedown, but the incredible balance of Aldo prevented that from happening.

Gamburyan came out with some leg kicks of his own to start the second, followed by a takedown, which Aldo easily avoided. Aldo looked completely focused, trying to find his opening to finish the fight. He found one with a quick one-two that staggered Gamburyan. A follow-up uppercut sent Gamburyan to the floor, and Aldo went to work. The Brazilian sensation unloaded on his downed opponent, putting him out after an incredible amount of punishment. Aldo def. Gamburyan via knockout at 1:32 of Round 2.

Read the full article here.

The WEC returns to action tonight on Versus at 9PM ET with WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan. The card is stacked and is a tremendous lineup given the fact this will be on free television. The main event features a title fight in the featherweight division featuring one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Here are my picks for the winner’s in tonight’s card.

WEC Featherweight Championship – Champion Jose Aldo (17-1) vs. Manny Gamburyan (13-5): Aldo is on a tear right now as he is coming off his dominant win over Urijah Faber at WEC 48. He has tremendous explosiveness with his kicks and punches while also being a jiu-jitsu black belt. Gamburyan is a force UFC lightweight competitor, but has found his home in the 145-pound division of the WEC. Manny is coming off a KO win over Mike Thomas Brown and his style could pose a problem for Aldo as he is short and compact with good wrestling and power in his hands. I think Gamburyan will make a fight of things, but ultimately Aldo will slowly break him down with leg kicks before landing a big punch in the third round to get the TKO win.

WEC Lightweight Bout – Jamie Varner (16-3-3, 2NC) vs. Donald Cerrone (11-3, 1NC): Both men are looking to get another shot at the lightweight title as each were submitted by champion Ben Henderson in recent fights. This is a rematch as well from a controversial decision in January of 2009. These two have bad blood and want at each other badly. Varner brings good boxing to the cage while Cerrone is more of a grappler and submission fighter. I look for Cerrone to keep Varner at distance with his length and then close inside and grapple his way to a decision victory.

Read the rest of this entry »

A year ago, few knew who Joseph Benavidez was. Even the hardcore MMA fans knew little about the 5-foot-4, 135-pound bantamweight that trains out of Ultimate Fitness in Sacramento, California.

On Aug. 9, 2009, Benavidez suffered his lone loss of his career to Dominick Cruz and since then has rattled off back-to-back wins, including a second round submission win over Miguel Torres on March 6 that put him on the map.

Now, with the MMA eye clearly on him, Benavidez looks to avenge his loss to Cruz this Wednesday at WEC 50 when he challenges Cruz for the WEC Bantamweight title from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event can be seen live on Versus starting at 9PM ET.

I got the chance to speak to Benavidez and ask him about his title match, having his teammate Urijah Faber drop down to his weight class, and his sponsorship with AMP.

The Scores Report: Joseph, thanks for your time. I know you have a busy schedule.

Joseph Benavidez: Not a problem.

TSR: Tell me about when you found out you were getting the title fight and a chance to face Cruz again.

JB: I kind of felt like I was going to get the fight after I beat Miguel Torres and shortly after the WEC 48 Pay-Per-View event, I found out I was getting it. It was 50-50 at one point but I knew I deserved the fight and I pleaded my case some what and the WEC made their choice to have the rematch and the feeling was just unreal. Becoming champion is the reason most people fight and I felt like I took the right steps to get this opportunity. I remember when I got the contract to sign, I had this feeling that I was going to become champion. That really means everything to me. My goal is to be the best and the hardware will be cool to have, but the recognition that you are the best in the world is really what I am after. When I win that fight, my name will be in history forever.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Joseph Benavidez isn’t on the card for Saturday’s WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber pay-per view, but the bantamweight fighter knows that it is an important night in his career.

As World Extreme Cagefighting jumps into the PPV world, a successful card on Saturday can lead to big things for the promotions other fighters, including Benavidez, who is one of the WEC’s brightest young stars.

“This is huge. It is the start of the WEC growing as big as the UFC,” Benavidez said of the PPV. “I am really excited about it because I know it is going to do well and it is going to give us more respect and it is going to get the fighters more money. I have gotten two bonuses from the WEC for my fights and I know it isn’t anything compared to what the UFC does. We have some great business minds running this organization, so things will be fine. I just need to stay patient and things are going to work out the best for me.”

AMP Energy sponsors Benavidez and allowed Bullz-eye to get a chance to speak with him fresh off his victory over former WEC Bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres.

Read the rest of this entry »

One month ago I had a lot of debate as to who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

After UFC 101, my questions were answered.

Long have I felt Fedor Emelianenko was the best in the world no matter the weight class, but that honor I now give to Anderson Silva following his absolutely flawless win over Forrest Griffin.

The Silva victory combined with Emelianenko opting to sign with Strikeforce puts Silva at No.1 in my book. When making this list I am considering the fighters as they are today, not as they were five years ago. Emelianenko looked a little sloppy in his last fight and is now going to have much easier competition as a whole in Strikeforce, whereas Silva and Georges St. Pierre have fought the best and looked impressive doing so.
So, here is my list. As always, I encourage healthy discussions.

1. Anderson Silva (24-4) – Middleweight/Light Heavyweight – UFC
If you really look at, the Silva vs. Griffin fight was every bit as big as St. Pierre vs. Penn from a standpoint that you had a champion from one weight class facing a bigger fighter that was one fight removed from being the champion in that weight class as well. Silva made Griffin look like Glass Joe from Mike Tyson Punch Out and basically made Griffin quit out of embarrassment (which has caused me to stop reading Forrest’s book, as he know seems to look like a hypocrite). After that display, I truly feel that Silva could not only be Light Heavyweight champion, I have serious beliefs that he is the kind of guy that could actually beat a guy like Brock Lesnar. His accuracy and power while backing up would be a problem for Lesnar in more ways than one. Brock wouldn’t be able to get a takedown without eating a solid knee or punch that could put him down. I know many of you think I am crazy probably, but that is the way I feel.

2. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) – Welterweight – UFC
I used to think GSP could give Silva a fight, but I don’t feel so good about that now. If Silva was to move to Light Heavyweight on a permanent basis, I would like to see GSP move up to middleweight for a new set of challenges. Guys like Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann don’t seem to present much of a challenge and nobody is going to be excited to see rematches with Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. Middleweight could present some intriguing fights and would really test GSP.

3. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1-1) – Heavyweight – Strikeforce
Well, again this is all about present day and Fedor hasn’t done anything as of late to keep his top ranking while guys like Silva and St. Pierre are beating some of the best. Fedor had no control over what happened with Affliction: Trilogy, but the option to sign with the UFC was there and he turned it down. He has to know that UFC has better overall talent and hosting an exhibition sparring match with Gegard Mousasi is not going to get me excited. I think Fedor’s career is probably the best of anyone, but in terms of best fighter in the world today, I don’t see him as No. 1.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- At last weekend’s UFC 101 show, Anderson Silva got his balls back with a stunning knockout of Forrest Griffin and BJ Penn taught Kenny Florian a very painful lesson.

- Brian Bowles scored the upset of the year with his shocking first-round KO of WEC bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres. Unfortunately, Bowles got paid peanuts for the win, and broke his hand in the process.

- Inspired by Nick Diaz’s marijuana-related screwjob of Strikeforce, we counted down the 10 most cursed MMA events of all time.

- The UFC has recently been stockpiling crusty old-timers, including Vladimir Matyushenko and Phil Baroni. Can a “Veterans” season of The Ultimate Fighter be far behind?

- We took a look at some classic MMA moments, crudely recreated in MS Paint.

- Notorious MMA steroid abuser Josh Barnett sold his last shred of dignity in a freaky pro-wrestling bout in Japan.

- Hit up CagePotato.com starting tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET for our liveblog of “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg.” Get familiar with the card by reading our interview with Cris Cyborg, some last-minute betting advice, as well as our always provocative “Ben vs. Ben” debate.

Miguel Torres may be the best fighter you’ve never seen.

At 37-1 in his professional mixed martial arts career, Torres is considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. But, it was only in the last two years that Torres has started to garner national recognition. Two years ago Torres debuted for World Extreme Cagefighting, and in a short time became the WEC Bantamweight (135-pound limit) champion with a first-round submission of then-champion, Chase Beebe, in September of 2007.

In his first title defense, Torres stole the show at WEC 34 in a three-round war with Yoshior Maeda and began to draw the attention of MMA fans worldwide. Now, as he is set for his fourth title defense on Aug. 9 against Brian Bowles in WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles on Versus at 9 p.m., Torres is looking for another exciting fight that will push him up the pound-for-pound rankings and make him an even bigger commodity in the world of MMA.

As Torres prepares for his latest fight, he took some time from training to speak with The Scores Report about Bowles, how he got started in MMA, and his feelings on Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Read the rest of this entry »

At one point following UFC 100 this past weekend, I felt like there are a lot of new questions about who the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is.

Georges St. Pierre certainly raised his stock with a definitive win over Thiago Alves, who was considered to be GSP’s toughest fight to date prior to UFC 100.

Brock Lesnar also deserves some consideration for his dominant performance over Frank Mir, which left many wondering who can beat him.

Here is my personalized top 10 ranking of who I feel are the top 10 overall fighters in the world. In making this list, I consider win-loss record, how convincingly the fighters have won their most recent fights, and their appeal to other fans. Well, here we go:

1. Fedor Emelianeko (30-1-1) – Heavyweight – Affliction
About a year ago, I was one of those people that claimed that Fedor was overrated and didn’t fight the best. Well, after two quick KO’s of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, you can’t argue that Fedor is not the best. The guy has virtually never lost, with his lone loss coming on a cut. The guy never changes his expression and never makes a mistake in his fights. Until someone beats him cleanly, Fedor will be at the top of my list.

Read the rest of this entry »