McGregor came out and seemed liked he was controlling the action in the early rounds. Of course, Mayweather was sizing up his unpredictable opponent, but he was extremely cautious and didn’t seem to be quite up to his championship form. Perhaps age and size would be a factor?

The early rounds added some excitement for the large number of betters that placed their money on the underdog. Who knows what motivation drove all these bets. Many of course love the underdog – it’s always more fun in Vegas to hope for the big payout, versus the approach of pro betters who carefully weigh the odds. Also, you had the Irish fans who love Conor and the fans hoping to embarrass the boxing world. All that led to a ridiculous amount of money coming in on Conor, and the Vegas sportsbooks looking at a debacle if somehow Conor could pull out a victory.

But then reality started to set in. As Conor started to tire, Floyd started to force the action. Despite all the talk of Conor being a big puncher, it became clear that Floyd didn’t fear those punches at all. Floyd started to do some damage with his own punches, and then the length of the boxing match format started to wear on the MMA hero. By the late rounds, it became clear that Conor had little left, other than his big heart.

Some say the fight was stopped too soon, and that is understandable given Conor’s MMA background, but this fight was over. It was just a matter of how much more punishment Conor could endure. Had he fought a younger Floyd or a younger contender, this boxing rookie would have suffered an epic beating.

Still, the fighter put on a pretty good show. Bob Ley of ESPN called it a “long con” as he dismissed the fight, but the fight delivered an interesting battle between two fighters from completely different worlds. I’ve seen much worse . . .

Does Conor McGregor have a real shot against Floyd Mayweather?

Who knows, but this is certainly a spectacle garnering plenty of attention. Mayweather will get richer, and McGregor has a shot to make history. The word out of Vegas is that plenty of money is flowing to the underdog, setting up a potential bloodbath for the casinos if Conor shocks everyone with a win.

we’ll all be watching . . .

Although efforts have been made to expand its reach, with events now being held in every corner of the globe, UFC remains most relevant and accessible to an American audience – the members of which invariably crave entertainment and spontaneous action. As such, eastern styles such as judo and Muay Thai have always been under-appreciated in the octagon. Yet, the history of UFC is awash with famous knockouts that have combined both to great effect.

Here is a retrospective look at three memorable Muay Thai-style knockouts…

#3 Edson Barboza – Vs Rafaello Oliveira

UFC 123 – 20 November 2010

For most UFC fanatics, the perfect warrior is a muscle-bound entity with the perfect blend of western and eastern fighting styles, combined to deadly effect inside the Octagon. From the west, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing bring about the potential for devastating combination hits and groundwork. They provide the perfect foil to the eastern styles of judo and Muay Thai, which rely on the ability to subdue with deliberate, more calculated submission methods and strikes.

The fourth-ranked Brazilian lightweight is one such warrior, and three of his nineteen MMA wins to date have involved the use of leg kicks consistent with Muay Thai. His brutal dismantling of Mike Lullo in 2010 is arguably the most memorable. It was not until the second round that Barboza managed to breach Lullo’s guard with his elbows, but it was the beginning of the end. Targeting Lullo’s legs, Barboza ruthlessly subdued his opponent with expertly timed kicks. So damaged was Lullo, that only three more kicks from Barboza were required to fully incapacitate him, and the fight was duly ended early in the third round.

Barboza in training.

#2 Darren Till – Vs Wendell Oliveira

UFC Fight Night 67 – 30 May 2015

Muay Thai’s main selling point is the liberal use of elbows. In beating Oliveira two years ago, Till demonstrated just how devastating the style can be when elbow strikes are timed to perfection. Yet more remarkable is the fact that Till beat a seasoned professional on his debut, staying true to his primary fighting style. The decision to do so has not always worked for debutants, especially for those unfamiliar with groundwork, but Till was sufficiently shrewd to find an opening and capitalise upon Oliveira’s fatal error.

Oliveira’s attempted half-guard sweep was evaded by Till, who then unleashed hell upon his opponent. A combination of elbow blows sent Oliveira’s head straight to the canvas, and the fight was ended in an instant.

A typically boisterous promo from Darren Till.

#1 Joanna Jędrzejczyk – Vs Jessica Penne

UFC Fight Night 69 – 20 June 2015

Jędrzejczyk, the incumbent UFC Strawweight champion, still boasts a perfect record which (as of 6 June 2017) stands at 14-0. This makes her very popular amongst bettors, including those who seek an exclusive bitcoin-only service, when it comes to UFC sports betting. Such unbeaten runs are a relative rarity in UFC, and the Polish expert of Muay Thai and kickboxing has never once looked daunted when facing off her latest opponent in the octagon.

She won her belt (via TKO) on 14 March 2015, with a flurry of punches, inflicted on Carla Esparza in the final minute of the second round. That win was but a taste of events to come. In her first title defence, which was a difficult match against Jessica Penne, she demonstrated exactly why ‘Violence’ is one of her nicknames. True to form, Jędrzejczyk started her winning process with measured strikes from distance, finding her range like a true expert of kick-centric fighting styles. Once presented with the opportunity, Penne was powerless against a flurry of punches and kicks that not only caused a stoppage but also redecorated the canvas an interesting shade of crimson.

The identity of Jędrzejczyk’s next opponent remains a mystery, but with rumours of a super fight against ONE Championship belt holder Angela Lee gaining momentum, there may yet be someone capable of withstanding some Polish punishment.

“We really like this sport,” said Jon Slusser, Spike’s senior Vice President of Sports. “If you talk to people who like MMA, they love kickboxing. With the growth of MMA and the growth of combat sports over the last decade, a reintroduction of the sport is what we think will give this sport the boost it needs to really climb into the spotlight,” says Slusser.

Middleweight Wayne Barrett finds himself in the perfect place at the perfect time. On the mat is where his opponents have found themselves since the former Golden Gloves boxing champ turned pro.

As an amateur, Barrett compiled a 19-1 kickboxing and Muay Thai record. Barrett’s GLORY debut came in a September when he knocked out Robby Plotkin in the first round. In his second GLORY fight, he toyed with and then knocked out previously undefeated Mike Lemaire in round two. In a total of 23 fights, he has amassed 18 knockouts.

Saturday November 23rd on Spike TV, Barrett faces Schilling at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the inaugural GLORY Middleweight Championship.

Read the full article here.

Somebody other than Anderson Silva possesses the UFC middleweight belt for the first time since 2006.

And Silva has only himself to blame.

Chris Weidman took advantage of some of Silva’s usual showboating early in the second round to knock out the longtime champ. A left hook to the chin of a lackadaisical Silva dropped him and a few moments (and a few more Weidman punches later), the fight was halted.

“We expected him to do things like that,” Weidman said. “He’s done it plenty of times in a lot of fights. I don’t see him as being cocky. He’s trying to mentally defeat you in there. It got to the point when he was doing it, ‘You know what? Screw this. I’m hitting him.’”

Silva’s never shied away from showboating, especially as he ruled the middleweight division where he successfully defended the belt a UFC record 10 times.

You have to respect these MMA fighters, but you also have to wonder how much damage a real boxer could do to these guys if he could learn to handle the other fight aspects. Silva’s sloppiness is shocking and it was just a matter of time before someone clocked him good.

Jones came into the fight as the heavy favorite and he dominated most of the fight. Jones did nearly get caught in an armbar in the early going, but escaped and controlled the fight from there. Jones used his grappling and elbows to bloody up Belfort, and in the fourth round, caught the challenger in an Americana for the victory.

Belfort deserves credit for his effort and taking the fight on short notice in a bigger weight class, but Jones is just the better man.

With Dan Henderson dealing with his injury, there is no clear contender for Jones in the 205-pound division. That champion is becoming as dominant in his class as Anderson Silva is at 185 pounds.

In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson won the first ever UFC Flyweight Championship with a decision victory over Joseph Benavidez.

The fight had a fast pace and was very competitive, as expected. The difference in the bout was the array of leg kicks that Johnson landed on Benavidez. The kicks slowly wore down Benavidez and allowed Johnson to control the pace. Benavidez still did enough to earn the victory on one of the scorecards, but Johnson was the victor on the other two cards, and in the eyes of most of the fans.

Johnson now is the first 125-pound champion in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how this division grows in the near future with a thin roster of talent in the weight class.

In another big bout, middleweight Michael Bisping defeated Brian Stann by decision to improve his ranking in the 185-pound class.

Bisping was able to out-point Stann with his technical striking and wrestling ability. Bisping actually utilized some nice takedowns in the latter stages of the fight to neutralize Stann.

Looking at Bisping, his resume is pretty strong and it appears he deserves a title shot. He has never been given a crack at the gold but has steadily been near the top of the division for years.

Check out the full results after the jump.

UFC 152 Results (Courtesy of MMAMania.com)

Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Canada

Saturday, September 22, 2012

205 lbs.: Jon Jones def. Vitor Belfort via submission (Americana) at 0:54 of round four to retain the light heavyweight championship

125 lbs.: Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez via split dec. for first-ever flyweight championship

185 lbs.: Michael Bisping def. Brian Stann via unanimous decision

205 lbs.: Matt Hamill def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Cub Swanson def. Charles Oliveira via knockout at 2:40 of round one

205 lbs.: Vinny Magalhaes def. Igor Pokrajac via submission (armbar) at 1:14 of round two

155 lbs.: T.J. Grant def. Evan Dunham via unanimous decision

170 lbs.: Sean Pierson def. Lance Benoist via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Marcus Brimage def. Jim Hettes via unanimous decision

170 lbs.: Seth Baczynski def. Simeon Thoresen via KO at 4:10 of round one

135 lbs.: Mitch Gagnon def. Walel Watson via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:09 of round one

170 lbs.: Kyle Noke def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (strikes) at 0:45 of round one

Recently Chris Weidman spoke with our own Bullz-Eye.com about his quick rise in the UFC, Anderson Silva, and cutting 32 pounds in 10 days.

Here’s what Weidman had to say about “The Spider”, specifically:

“Since I got into the sport anytime I’d tell people I was doing MMA they’d ask what weight class and I’d say middle weight and they’d say “Isn’t that Anderson Silva’s weight class? Oh, you’re screwed. You better change weight classes, pal.” That motivated me and he deserves that type of respect ‘cause he’s earned it, but it motivated me to take risks like fighting on short notice and I’ve worked really hard to be the #1 contender and for him to just kind of downplay me, more his managers, it’s kind of frustrating. So I hope the UFC makes the fight happens but if not, I will fight someone else.”

Click here to read the entire interview.