Evan Dunham focused on Melvin Guillard
Posted by Staff (01/19/2011 @ 8:48 am)
Jeff Cain of HeavyMMA.com writes that Evan Dunham has put the controversial UFC 119 loss to Sean Sherk behind him and is focused solely on Melvin Guillard.
The spectators in attendance at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sept. 25 for UFC 119 were treated to a great lightweight fight between Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk that ended in a bad decision.
Most had Dunham winning the fight, including UFC president Dana White, who has commented that Dunham got “screwed” by the judges.
“The way I look at Evan Dunham right now is this kid’s undefeated. He got screwed,” said UFC president Dana white about Dunham and the split decision loss to Sherk. “I think Evan Dunham won that fight. So, you know, on his record he’s 11-1, but this kid’s one of the most talented, up and coming kids in the division.”
Dunham felt he won the fight as the scorecards were being read that night, but knows why “don’t leave it in the hands of the judges” is a too commonly uttered phase in mixed martial arts.
“I thought I had won it. My corner men had thought I won it but, you know, in MMA we all know that, you know, stuff happens that are out of your control, especially when it comes to the judges,” said 29-year old fighter.
Read the full article.
UFC 119 Picks & Predictions
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/25/2010 @ 4:52 pm)
UFC 119 takes place tonight from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The card doesn’t have a major fight that will have an impact on the landscape of the organization but each of the five main card bouts should be competitive and entertaining contests. Here are my picks for the show.
UFC Heavyweight Bout – Frank Mir (13-5) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (27-7-2) – Cro Cop took this fight on somewhat short notice as this was originally supposed to be a rematch of Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On top of that, Cro Cop is not 100 percent coming into the fight as he is dealing with an eye injury. Cro Cop is a step slower than he was in his prime while Mir has improved his striking while still being one of the best submission fighters in all of MMA. I see Mir landing a big punch in the second round before jumping on Cro Cop and finishing with a choke.
UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (19-3) vs. Ryan Bader (12-0) – This fight is a big contest for both as each needs the win to really get into the title picture in this division. The key to the bout will be Bader’s wrestling, as his explosiveness should win out against Nogueira. If Bader can avoid the big hit and close the distance in the fight, he should be able to win a decision by grinding out the fight on top with ground and pound.
UFC Welterweight Bout – Matt Serra (17-6) vs. Chris Lytle (29-17-4) – I see this fight going similarly to the first. Lytle is an entertaining and experienced fighter, but he never has been able to get that marquee win in his career. Serra really just has the win over Georges St. Pierre to go bye, but he has always been a tough guy to beat as well. In this fight I see Serra controlling the fight with his grappling. The only way I don’t see him winning by decision is if he gets too confident in his striking.
UFC Lightweight Bout – Sean Sherk (37-4-1) vs. Evan Dunham (11-0) – Sherk used to dominate the division with his strength and wrestling, but recently his opponents have been able to avoid his takedowns with their strength and they have been faster with their striking, which has caused Sherk to lose two of his last three bouts. Dunham has that same style to beat Sherk. Sherk will struggle to get the fight to the ground and Dunham will be a little quicker to the punch. I like Dunham to win this fight by decision.
UFC Lightweight Bout – Melvin Guillard (43-9-3) vs. Jeremy Stephens (18-5) – This fight should be explosive as both have big power and like to swing with everything they have in each punch. The key in this bout will be Guillard’s inability to fight off his back as Stephens trains with Hermes Franca and has some grappling skills that many haven’t seen yet. I see Stephens getting takedowns late to set up for some ground and pound and a TKO finish in the third.
Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC
Tags: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Chris Lytle, Conseco Fieldhouse, Evan Dunham, Frank Mir, Jeremy Stephens, Matt Serra, Melvin Guillard, Mirko Cro Cop, MMA, Ryan Bader, Sean Sherk, Ultimate Fighting Championship
It’s official: Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham for UFC 119
Posted by Staff (07/21/2010 @ 7:00 am)
Heavy.com confirms that Sean Sherk will take on Evan Dunham in UFC 119.
Lightweight up-and-comer Evan Dunham withstood his most difficult test to date at UFC 115, defeating Tyson Griffin. Now, the fast-rising lightweight is set up against another top lightweight, as his match up with Sean Sherk at UFC 119 is now official.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the match up earlier this afternoon.
Sherk has been battling through injuries as of late and has not had a fight since his unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 98. His last win came against Tyson Griffin at UFC 90, which was his follow-up to the technical knockout loss he received against BJ Penn at UFC 84. The former lightweight champion is looking for a resurgence towards another title shot in the 155-pound division.
Read the entire article here.
What a difference 5 years makes in MMA
Posted by Drew Ellis (06/05/2010 @ 9:50 am)
The main event of UFC 115 next weekend would have been one of the biggest fights ever five years ago. Former champions Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell will meet in a fight where in all reality, the loser should retire. The winner won’t have much of anywhere to move up the ladder and the loser will really only deserve to be on a PPV undercard.
It is amazing how quickly things have changed in MMA and looking back just five years ago to see who the UFC champions were and where they are now. On June 4, 2005, the UFC held UFC 53: Heavy Hitters where Franklin won the middleweight title over Evan Tanner. As of that show, here is a look at who the UFC champions were and how their careers have quickly headed south.
Heavyweight Champion – Andrei Arlovski: At UFC 53, Arlovski defended his title for the first time defeating the late Justin Eilers by TKO in the first round after Eilers blew his knee out. It was Arlovski’s fifth-straight win at the time, all of which were by stoppage. Arlovski followed that win with a one-punch KO of Paul Buentello at UFC 55 and was largely considered the most dominant champion in the organization. However, a bizarre loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 59, in which Arlovski has Sylvia beat but then was caught with as straight jab that led to a TKO loss, started the downfall of his career. Another loss to Syliva led to a five-fight winning streak, but the fighter was never quite the same. He lost his aggression and confidence and has since lost three-straight fights and is almost an afterthought in MMA. His most recent fight was a decision loss to Antonio Silva, which was a sad performance where he never showed the aggression that made him the dominant champion of five years ago.
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Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC
Tags: Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski, B.J. Penn, Chuck Liddell, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Tim Sylvia, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship