You are browsing the archive for October 2009.
MMA fan focus on the heavyweight division grew from August to September, fueled by the buzz surrounding the Ultimate Fighter 10 reality show. The show, featuring a cast of all heavyweights including Kimbo Slice, has drawn huge ratings for the UFC and Spike TV and led to the change in weight division focus. [...]
Though not always rewarded in the win-loss column, UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel has been involved in some of the most exciting stand-up battles in the promotion’s lightweight division from 2006 to 2008. Since transitioning to the Strikeforce promotion with a successful debut win over Conor Heun in June, Gurgel is eager to prove that his [...]
Six upsets took place across the major MMA organizations in September, with all of them coming from the UFC. The biggest took place at UFC Fight Night 19 when then 8-1 Mike Pierce pulled out a decision victory against the huge favorite, 26-2 Brock Larson. Paul “Semtex” Daley’s first round TKO of Martin [...]
When undefeated 22-year old Joe Soto entered Bellator Fighting Championships’ inaugural featherweight tournament earlier this year, it was with little hype and even less fanfare. Since emerging from the tournament with the Featherweight Championship and $175,000 in overall prize money, Soto has made a name for himself in one of the fastest-growing divisions in [...]
WEC champion Brian Bowles and former champion Miguel Torres held onto their spots atop the Bantamweight (135 pound) buzz rankings in September in a quiet month for the weight class. The pair have been at the top since Bowles scored an upset TKO victory over Torres back in August at WEC 42. [...]
The top of the featherweight buzz rankings held relatively steady in September, with former WEC champ “The California Kid” Urijah Faber hanging onto first and Jens Pulver staying in second. With the WEC and Japanese promotions some of the only outlets for fighers in this weight class to make a name for themselves, established [...]
Jorge Santiago has rebounded from a pair of losses during a UFC stint to compile a nine-fight winning streak abroad, and is now the defending Sengoku Middleweight Champion. With a scheduled fight against Mamed Khalidov looming in Sengoku 11 on November 7 and a probable title defense on December 31, the exciting Brazilian has his [...]
Diego Sanchez rose two spots to top Tapology’s September lightweight buzz rankings, while UFC champion BJ Penn fell to fifth after having been atop the rankings in August. After “The Prodigy” Penn dispatched top contender Kenny Florian at UFC 101, interest in the Hawaiian fighter surged, but now has settled back down, allowing Ultimate [...]
Despite being nearly two years removed from the welterweight crown, Matt Hughes remains a fan favorite and edged out Georges St. Pierre to top the divisional buzz rankings for September. Hughes inched to the top in a month where only a handful of meaningful welterweight bouts took place. Fighters from those bouts, including [...]
While Denis Kang is one of the most respected middleweights in the world amongst longtime fans of the sport, he is far less known to the vast majority of casual United States MMA viewers. A submission loss to Alan Belcher at Kang’s UFC debut in January did not help matters any. But Kang feels rejuvenated [...]
