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Top 5 Stories of the Week
By: Brian Knapp
Stefan Struve has his sights set on a certain heavyweight grappler. | Photo: Sherdog.com
Stefan Struve chewed up Stipe Miocic in the UFC on Fuel TV 5 main event on Sept. 29, scoring a second-round technical knockout on the previously unbeaten heavyweight at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. The 7-foot Dutchman used his fourth consecutive victory to position himself for a bout with far more meaning, as he called for a matchup with two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Fabricio Werdum.
Struve’s ballsy challenge was not the only story splash in MMA this week.
Other stories of interest: the troubling decline in “The Ultimate Fighter” ratings, Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey keeping the heat on Cristiane Santos and veteran Dennis Hallman exiting the Ultimate Fighting Championship with UFC President Dana White’s blessing. In addition, Sherdog.com’s European correspondent, Tim Leidecker, chimes in with his monthly “10 Tussles” feature, chronicling under-the-radar fights across the globe.
Paging Fabricio
Ronda Staying ‘Rowdy’
Downward Spiral
Troubled ‘Superman’
Around the World in 31 Days
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Hallman Compares UFC in 2001 to Now
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Dennis Hallman, on “Beatdown,” discussing what it was like to co-headline UFC 33 in 2001 as compared to fighting on the UFC 140 prelim card in Toronto:
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“The [UFC 33] crowd was pretty sparse. I fought in the semi-main event, and we probably had as many people at that show as there were at the weigh-ins [at UFC 140]. It didn’t seem like a lot of people. I’m sure there was a lot, but to me it didn’t seem like the crowd was anything like the crowds that they have now. I was the semi-main event at [UFC 33] and I could walk all the way through Vegas and no one would ever recognize me. Now I’m an undercard fighter in Toronto and I can barely make it through the hallway without hiding my face.”
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ESPN MMA Hot Button: Who Should Hughes' Last Foe Be?
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Every week inside ESPN.com's MMA section, two scribes debate the most pressing issues in the sport in the Hot Button.
This week, Sherdog.com Administrative Editor Jordan Breen and ESPN.com's Chuck Mindenhall debate what an appropriate retirement bout for welterweight legend Matt Hughes.
Is a rematch with fellow icon Royce Gracie an appropriate swan song for Hughes, or should the longtime UFC welterweight champion get a chance to avenge his two early career losses to nemesis Dennis Hallman?
Click here to read the latest ESPN MMA Hot Button. Read more -
Probst: Injury Perspective
By: Jason Probst
Dennis Hallman (left) says he should not have fought at UFC 133. | Photo: Sherdog.com
Dennis Hallman’s extremely short trunks will probably be remembered most in his loss to Brian Ebersole, who, for his part, had an arrow carved out of his chest hair. It made for the most visually odd UFC combination in recent memory. There is also the all-too-exposed visual of what happened with 2:42 left in the first round, the adult-themed likes of which we will not link here.
Like many fighters, Hallman came into the ring at UFC 133 on Saturday already banged up. Two days before the fight, he claims he awoke with throbbing pain in his elbow; his bursa sack had exploded.
“I had the doctor check it out, and he drained it and put some corticoids in it,” Hallman told Sherdog.com. “Unfortunately, overnight, it swelled up even worse. We drained it and treated it again. On Saturday morning, I convinced myself that everything was OK, but I knew deep inside that it was still very bad. I didn’t want to screw over the UFC, so I made the choice to go for it, hoping that adrenaline would take over. Well, needless to say the injury made it next to impossible to finish those chokes. It was a mistake to go into that fight in the condition I was in.”
In this fast-moving digital world, fighters have taken to the Internet to post pictures of the injuries they have either sustained preparing for a fight or and incurred during the fight itself. They endure a world of pain and privation few could understand, from making weight to shoring up long-term injuries and battling new ones resulting from years of training. Fans often rejoice at a fighter’s rebound from a previously poor performance, but, quite often, it is simply that he was at his best on one night and not so much on another. The excuse factor is a far too simple rejoinder, though it certainly has its place. At the end of the day, only the fighter really knows.
Jason Probst can be reached at [email protected] or twitter.com/jasonprobst.
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Hallman: Parisyan Was Perfect Foe to Test Hands On
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Dennis Hallman, on “The Savage Dog Show,” breaking down his UFC 123 win over Karo Parisyan:
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“You’ve seen Karo grapple. My main thing is grappling from the clinch, and that didn’t sound like a very good plan against Karo. I was kind of figuring I’d work to neutralize the grappling. I’ve been training my hands a whole bunch, and it was time to put them to the test. Karo was the perfect opponent to try that with. … When I hit him with a jab, it turned his head and then I hit him right in the temple because my [cross] was right behind the jab. I was surprised he fell. I actually jumped backward. I was like, ‘Wow.’ He fell, and his eyes were pretty dazed. I figured I could jump and pass at the same time. I don’t think Karo was complaining about it being a stoppage. He was just upset that it went down that way. … I knew I was going to face one of two Karos. Either the Karo of old there to avenge himself or a Karo who’s not back on track yet, and unfortunately for him it was the Karo that wasn’t back on track. That’s pretty much the only negative from this fight. I’m a fan of his and I think he’s a real nice guy and I wish the best for him. I hope he beats everybody but me.” -
UFC 117 Prelims: Hallman Bests Saunders
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Dennis Hallman took a unanimous decision over Ben Saunders to kick off Saturday’s UFC 117 prelims at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
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Hallman, who upped his record to 45-13-2 (1 NC), controlled the first two rounds with takedowns from the clinch and control in the top position. Saunders (8-3-2) took a mild beating from Hallman’s punches and elbows from the top, but rallied to claim the third round on Sherdog.com’s unofficial scorecard.
The official judges saw the contest 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
