You are browsing the archive for January 2010.
For Robbie Lawler, his upcoming fight with feared striker Melvin Manhoef this Saturday night in Sunrise, Florida represents a chance to reestablish himself within the middleweight division of the Calfornia-based Strikeforce promotion following a disappointing first round submission loss to reigning Middleweight Champion Jake Shields last June. Tapology’s Steven Kelliher recently caught up with Lawler [...]
When he entered 2009’s Bellator lightweight tournament, Jorge Masvidal was considered an early favorite–along with eventual tournament winner Eddie Alvarez–to clear the field en route to the first-ever Bellator Lightweight Championship bout. Unfortunately for Masvidal, a veteran fighter by the name of Toby Imada had other plans, defeating Masvidal with a picture-perfect inverted triangle choke [...]
Long considered one of the most devastating strikers on the international MMA scene, Melvin “Marvelous” Manhoef recently brought his unique skill set States-side in signing a multi-year agreement with the California-based Strikeforce promotion. Though he slipped up against both Gegard Mousasi and Paulo Filho, Manhoef finished Mark Hunt and Kazuo Misaki in the first round [...]
When an August title fight with Nick Diaz fell apart after the Stockton, California native missed a mandatory drug test prior to the event, Jay Hieron found himself facing a dangerous opponent–Ultimate Fighter Season 7 cast member Jesse Taylor–on just five days notice. After winning a unanimous decision over Taylor in a workmanlike performance, Hieron [...]
Main events loaded with U.S. talent in December resulted in American fighters grabbing an increased share of fan attention during the month. Headlining fighters from December included Americans Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub, Diego Sanchez, BJ Penn, Donald Cerrone, and Ed Ratcliff. While the K1/Fields New Year’s Eve card helped sustain a healthy level [...]
While his professional record may not yet display the who’s who of the light heavyweight division, the entertaining Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has already established himself as a fighter worthy of recognition. From taking on one of the most experienced fighters in the sport–Travis Wiuff–in his professional debut just 16 months ago, to flattening veteran [...]
The Ultimate Fighting Championship enjoyed a large increase in its share of MMA fan interest in December following two high-profile early month events as well as the lead-up to its January 2nd UFC 108 event. Beginning with the “Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale” on December 5th featuring Kimbo Slice, and followed up with UFC [...]
Lightweight fighters took center stage in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in December, enjoying a surge in fan interest in the weight class following several high-profile bouts. BJ Penn’s successful title defense against Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 was the most notable bout, but other contests including Clay Guida against Kenny Florian and [...]
One of the top three pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre continued his reign of terror in 2009 with dominant victories over Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and top contender Thiago Alves respectively, running his current winning streak to six in a row and earning Fighter of the Year awards from both [...]
Miguel Torres had been perched atop the bantamweight divisional buzz rankings for three straight months until December, when Rani Yahya unexpectedly moved to the top position. Yahya, whose December 19th bout no doubt helped fuel his rise, has fought six times for the WEC and has slowly become a more familiar (and catchy) name [...]
