MMASucka

At UFC on FOX 7 the UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson defended his title in a very close match against the Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

Many questioned who would be next for Henderson in the lightweight division. Well, UFC President Dana White confirmed at the post-fight press conference that the winner of the UFC 160 match-up between Gray Maynard and TJ Grant would become the next number one contender in the UFC’s lightweight divison.

Maynard (11-1-1) hasn’t fought since his split decision win against Clay Guida at UFC on FX 4. He was expected to take on Joe Lauzon at UFC 155, but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury.

The divisional standout will look to get back in contender status with a win over Grant. Prior to his victory at UFC on FX 4, he fought two wars against the lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. The first bout at UFC 125 won ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Year’ however it ended in a draw, the next meeting “The Bully” dropped Edgar early, but after weathering the storm Edgar was able to turn up the pace and land a clean uppercut which finished Maynard in the fourth round.

Grant (20-5) moved down to the lightweight division late in 2011 and since his debut has gone 4-0. He has picked up victories over Shane Roller, Carlo Prater, Evan Dunham and most recently at UFC on FOX 6 a vicious KO against Matt Wiman.

Beating a lightweight like Maynard will definitely push Grant up that ranking ladder and inch him ever so close to a title shot at 155-pounds.

UFC 160 will go down on May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will be for the UFC heavyweight championship as Cain Velasquez will take on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Also announced for the UFC 160 card is former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt.

The UFC 160 event on Memorial Day long weekend is filling up quickly. A lightweight match-up between former number one contender Gray Maynard and T.J. Grant.

UFC officials announced the match-up late Wednesday evening.

Maynard (11-1-1) hasn’t fought since his split decision win against Clay Guida at UFC on FX 4. He was expected to take on Joe Lauzon at UFC 155, but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury.

The divisional standout will look to get back in contender status with a win over Grant. Prior to his victory at UFC on FX 4, he fought two wars against the lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. The first bout at UFC 125 won ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Year’ however it ended in a draw, the next meeting “The Bully” dropped Edgar early, but after weathering the storm Edgar was able to turn up the pace and land a clean uppercut which finished Maynard in the fourth round.

Grant (20-5) moved down to the lightweight division late in 2011 and since his debut has gone 4-0. He has picked up victories over Shane Roller, Carlo Prater, Evan Dunham and most recently at UFC on FOX 6 a vicious KO against Matt Wiman.

Beating a lightweight like Maynard will definitely push Grant up that ranking ladder and inch him ever so close to a title shot at 155-pounds.

UFC 160 will go down on May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will be for the UFC heavyweight championship as Cain Velasquez will take on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Also announced for the UFC 160 card is former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem.

Two Ultimate Fighter Season 5 teammates will go toe-to-toe, as Joe Lauzon and Gray Maynard will face-off against each other in a lightweight battle at UFC 155 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC officials announced the match-up today.

Two of the lightweight division’s top talents will meet in Las Vegas on December 29, as former world title challenger Gray Maynard and the consistently exciting Joe Lauzon have verbally agreed to square off in what promises to be an all-action fight that will close out 2012 in style.

Lauzon (22-7) became the all-time leader in post-fight bonuses after he picked up “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” for his triangle choke victory over Jamie Varner earlier this month at UFC on FOX 4. In total Lauzon has 11 post-fight bonuses. The Boston native will look to climb the lightweight rankings with a key victory over the former number one contender Gray Maynard.

Maynard (11-1-1) most recently defeated Clay Guida by split decision back in June. He was not very impressed with the way Guida fought in that fight and will definitely look for a more exciting bout against Lauzon. Prior to the Guida win, Maynard challenged for the UFC lightweight title, not once, but twice. The first meeting between Frankie Edgar and him was decided a split draw. The UFC then rewarded Maynard with an automatic rematch and even though he had Edgar stunned early, the champ eventually KO’d Maynard in the fourth round. The former Xtreme Couture fighter, who is now training at American Kickboxing Academy will look to secure a victory over a top ranked fighter in Lauzon at UFC 155.

UFC 155 is set to go down on December 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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John Alessio steps back into the cage March 16th under the Score Fighting Series banner to take on Ryan Healy, brother of Strikeforce’s Pat “Bam Bam” Healy. The Canadian lightweight has racked up nine wins in his last ten fights and is hoping that a decisive win over Healy will mean a return to the UFC, where Alessio already has an opponent all picked out.

Alessio stopped by MMASucka Radio this past week to break down his fight with Healy:

My whole thing is, I don’t want to beat him up too much and get tired without finishing him. That’s my main concern. I feel like I can beat him up wherever i want to and it’s just a matter of me fighting smart until that finish comes. I believe I have what it takes to finish him and not go three rounds. i’d much rather get it done in the first or second and not even worry about the third.

Other than that, he’s got good boxing skills, he’s got an amateur boxing background. But I don’t feel like his punches are overly fast or hard. He puts them together well and he’ll come straight forward and pressure you but he doesn’t seem like he hits too hard or his combinations are too fast. I definitely feel like I’ll be a faster, crisper, more powerful puncher. It’s just going to be a question of me fighting smart, moving my head and using good angles and footwork.

When people talk about the best Canadian lightweight in MMA today, Alessio’s name is always in the discussion. But he’s not a consensus choice. Alessio realizes this and being back in the UFC will allow him to prove definitively just who deserves that accolade.

The guy I’m gunning for is Mark Bocek, that’s who I want. He’s the one who’s the number one lightweight in Canada. I believe that’s my spot. I believe I’m the best lightweight in Canada, so I want Bocek.  Of course that requires me being in the UFC (laughs). Once I beat up Ryan Healy, I’ll take on another ginger and that will be Mark Bocek.

Alessio’s main training camp is at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, which was involved in a minor controversy when Gray Maynard left after his loss to Frankie Edgar. Alessio was able to shed some perspective on the matter, as well as give his thoughts on what happens when fighters blame their camp after a loss.

I think a lot of things got said out of anger when he lost that last fight. It was like the blame game a little bit. I kind of feel like when you lose a fight you need to self-evaluate and not be so quick to blame your trainers and kind of look in the mirror and see what went wrong. Sometimes there is a legitimate case where your trainers made a mistake. But what it comes down to is if you feel like your trainers are making a mistake in camp you need to correct it then and not follow it all the way up to the fight and then blame them for the loss…I have to defend Gil Martinez a little bit. By no means do I think Gray losing that fight was his fault at all.

Alessio will fight for the pride of both Canada and Xtreme Couture when he takes on Ryan Healy on March 16th in Hamilton, Onatrio.

You can listen to the entire MMASucka Radio interview with Alessio here.

Related story:John Alessio Hopes Victory over Healy will Lead Back to UFC

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnAlessio79

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During UFC RIO: Aldo vs. Mendes fight week some of the UFC’s stars took to the waves. Gray Maynard, Arianny Celeste and Junior Dos Santos had the chance to hang out with the kid from the Rocinha Surf School. It’s great to see the fighters give back when they can.

When Jose Aldo needed to fine-tune his wrestling skills he called on a very qualified friend: none other than Gray Maynard. The two met at UFC® 136, and today Aldo is tapping Maynard’s expertise as he preps for UFC RIO™ and his main event bout with Chad Mendes. Watch these two dangerous opponents face off live on Pay-Per-View on UFC RIO™: ALDO vs. MENDES, Saturday January 14, at our new time: 10PM/7PM ET/PT.

“I met Gray when I was going to fight Kenny (Florian), he was the main event against Frankie (Edgar). We were always joking around with each other. From there we started a friendship. I told him it would be great if he could come train with us. Good for him and good for us. It’s great to have such a talented guy come over. And thank god, now was a good time for him to come. He came around now that I am needing a wrestler to train with. Gray is a great wrestler who has a lot of experience and is a great competitor. So it was great to have him test our skills. I hope this partnership will last, and that he will come train for his fights here. For us to learn from him and for him to train with a lot of good lightweights.” – transcription thanks to MMAmania.com

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Last month during the UFC 137 festivities, MMASucka.com’s Nick King had the chance to chat with Gray Maynard. In case you don’t remember, Gray mentioned that he would be traveling to the Bay Area. Nick then mentioned AKA and how they were savages, which was the first hint of Gray moving training camps.

Yesterday confirmed those rumors, as HeavyMMA.com had a chance to chat with Maynard about his departure from Xtreme Couture.

Leaving Xtreme Couture is something that has been going through my head for awhile, I know people want to assume the worst, but that isn’t the case. During my camp for Kenny Florian, I started to think about everything that is out there in this sport. A month before my fight with Edgar in Houston, I made my decision.

Being the guy Gray is, he decided to let the fellas at Xtreme Couture know prior to his title fight with Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 so that there were no questions as to why.

I informed the gym (Xtreme Couture) that I would not be coming back. I felt it was important because win or lose, I wasn’t going to return for my training. I did things this way because I didn’t want to win the title and have people thinking I won the belt and left for something else. I made sure to tell them long before my fight on October 8th, so there wasn’t any confusion.

The rumors of him training at AKA were true, however that isn’t the only place he will be doing his work. He mentions he wants to broaden his horizon, so training at numerous locations, wherever and whenever is crucial.

Right now I’m up in Santa Cruz and things are great. There are a few gyms I have been training at. I’ve also spent some time at AKA. They have a great gym, an awesome team and I’m enjoying my time here. At this point my focus is on broadening my horizons and wherever I feel that can be accomplished is where I will go. There is a huge world out there and so many great camps where I can learn so many things. I just want to get out and train with whoever I can. There are so many other camps and so much I can learn, it became something I needed to do. If that means going down to Brazil and training with Jose Aldo, I’d be excited to go. There are a ton of gyms in Holland and to train with Andy Souwer would be something that interests me. There is so much to learn out there and I want to grow.

What are your thoughts on Maynard leaving Xtreme Couture? Was it the right decision? Does he have a shot at the title again?

While down in Vegas, MMASucka’s Nick King had the chance to chill out with Gray Maynard. Following a night with Morency’s Sports Rage, Gray sat down to do a very relaxed interview. He hints at training at AKA while on vacation to the Bay area.

With a sport that has been proven time and time again that anything can happen, the UFC 136 bout card was put together to manufacture a guaranteed win for all fans.  If you’re the type that picks and chooses which events to watch at home, this one was a no-brainer to get the most bang out of your 59.99 HD pay-per-view bucks.  We knew that the main event was going to be as epic as a Hollywood movie fight scene.  We knew that Kenny Florian was going to be the toughest test Jose Aldo was going to face.  We knew Chael was going to spit some outrageous banter once he had a chance to grab a mic.  We knew that we were going to want to see Phan versus Garcia fight a third time, even though they haven’t yet fought the second time.  Kudos again to Joe Silva.  A job well done.  Now its my turn to take a crack at picking who’s next for the winners and losers of last night.

Frankie Edgar def. Gray Maynard via TKO (Referee Stoppage) at 3:54 of Round 4

Frankie Edgar proved he is the real life Rocky Balboa.  From fighting a larger, unbeaten machine like Gray Maynard for a third time, to making a come back and win in the fourth round by TKO from a devastating set of knock downs in first round, Frankie Edgar might as well have a movie based on him.  It can be the MMA version of The Fighter but I’d get the Russel Crow / Ridley Scott combination to make it so they get a chance to win an Oscar.

Now that lightweight title log jam is cleared, and Melvin Guillard’s title run has been stopped by Joe Lauzon on this card, it makes sense that the winner of the Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight on the UFC on Fox card in November should get the next crack at the title.  Unfortunately for the UFC lightweight contenders, it looks like Strikeforce Champ Gilbert Melendez might get a chance to cut in line, so long as Dana can navigate around the Strikeforce/Showtime contract red tape.  Although never to have stepped in the octagon, 19-2 Melendez is a worthy opponent that has held a Strikeforce lightweight title since June 2009 and has beaten the world’s best outside of the UFC including Tatsuya Kawajiri, Josh Tompson and the controversial Shinya Aoki.

For Gray Maynard, Anthony Pettis looks to be a logical fight.  Pettis needs a win over a strong opponent to stay in title contention, and the fight would be a perfect place for Maynard to start the long journey back to fight for the belt.

Jose Aldo def. Kenny Florian via Unanimous Decision (49-46,49-46,49-46)

Kenny Florian showed his best title fight performance of his career. Unfortunately, it was not enough to defeat Jose Aldo.  Kenny’s game plan of constantly pushing the champ against the fence and threatening take downs made Aldo think twice about throwing his vicious trademark kicks, but Kenny was unable to connect with any significant strikes.  Aldo was able to take charge of the striking and stifle the take downs to win the decision.

Up next for Aldo is expected undefeated top contender Chad Mendez.  Mendez presents to Aldo the same problems as previous title challenger and Team Alpha Male stable mate Urijah Faber.  A strong wrestling pedigree with a grinding pace. I believe if Aldo can get past Mendez, he may take a serious consideration to jumping up in weight to the much more competitive lightweight division.

Florian’s future is up in the air as he has dropped all three of his title shots and he has other avenues to pursue outside of fighting like his school out in Massachusetts, his MMA analyst position on ESPN and his job as an alternate commentator for the UFC.  If he decides to fight again at featherweight a fight against Roufusport product Erik Koch would make sense to help build a young prospect fighter.  Koch needs one or two wins over top 10 opponents to be next in line for a title shot, and Kenny Florian would be a great test to see if he is truly worthy.

Chael Sonnen def. Brian Stann via Submission (Arm Triangle) at 3:51  of Round 2

Stann only landed on significant punch on Chael. It was a hard body shot that caused Chael to immediately think twice of keeping the fight standing.  The rest of the fight was a Text book Chael Sonnen ground and pound that lead up to the arm triangle submission.  There is barely anyone in the middle weight division who has a chance of stuffing one of Chael’s take downs.  Only person I have in mind would be Mark Munoz, who has defeated Sonnen back in their college wrestling days.

Sonnen versus Anderson Silva is the only fight for Sonnen.  With Sonnen stating “Anderson Silva, YOU SUCK!” in the post fight interview, then offering the loser leaves town match to occur on Superbowl Weekend, it would only make sense for the UFC brass to comply.  I hope Sonnen knows what he is doing in provoking the widely believed number one pound for pound fighter in the world.  A pissed off Silva, is a dangerous one.

Up next for Stann, I’d love to see him fight Okami in Japan.  Both fighters are coming off big losses, and both will be looking to get back on track for a title shot.

Nam Phan def. Leonard Garcia via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Maybe not right away, but I do agree with Joe Rogan to see this fight once a year.  Nam Phan definitively one this match out striking his opponent 195 to 197 (as per FightMetric) but I don’t think anyone really cares who wins or loses this fight with the excitement these guys bring together when they fight.

After watching these guys try to punch each other’s heads off it would be nice change of pace to put them against some talented grapplers.  For Phan I’d pit him against Jacob Volkman.  Volkman is on a 4 fight win streak and had a great dominant performance against Danny Castillo threatening Darce choke after Darce choke. Next for Leonard Garcia Id love to see him fight  Josh Grispi.  They are both on 2 fight losing streaks and looking to bounce back into the winner circle.

Joe Lauzon def. Melvin Guillard via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:45 of Round 1

Speaking of classic grappler versus striker matches, the evening started off with Joe Lauzon carrying the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu flag into the fight against the self dubbed “Jiu Jitsu Killer” Melvin Guillard.  This time, BJJ prevailed with J-Lau dropping Guillard with a hard left to the chin en route to a rear naked choke finish.

For Joe Lauzon, another step up in competition like a fight against Evan Dunham would make sense as both have had great last performances.  For Guillard,  Jim Miller would be a great match to give him another crack at a submission specialist.  Both fighters are coming off derailing losses and will be looking to get back on track.

Preliminary Quick Hits

-Jorge Santiago was thrown into the UFC middleweight deep end since coming back from his 11-1 stint outside the UFC.  Loosing to Brian Stann in his UFC return in May and a decision loss at this event to Demian Maia, Santiago is now facing a do or die situation for his UFC career.  Hopefully he will find himself for his next fight and come out with a showing like he did in his second fight against Kazuo Misaki in Sengoku.

- Anthony Pettis edged out a split decision win over very game opponent in Jeremy Stephens.  As mentioned before Pettis versus Grey Maynard would make the most sense for both fighters, but with the possibility of a Strikeforce integration looming,  this gives us a rare opportunity to have a Mortal Kombat style MIRROR MATCH!  Anthony Pettis versus Jorge Masvidal! Both guys are game strikers so it would be an entertaining fight.  I hate to be the judge scoring that if it went to decision just in case I mixed them up.

-When is Joey Beltran going to change is nick name to “the Mexican Zombie”?  Maybe there’s a fight for that title between him and Leonard Garcia.  If that’s the case we can call Joey “El Zombi Grande” and Leonard “El Zombi Pequeño” (translations courtesy of Google Translator)

-Tiequan Zhang is a bit of a one trick Pony.  That Guillotine of his is scary, but I hope he gets more well rounded if he plans on sticking around for the UFC Asian expansion.

-Aaron Simpson had a masterful performance against Eric Schafer.  I was surprised that the submission savvy Schafer didn’t even attempt to even pull guard in the last round where he was clearly behind on points.

-Mike Massenzio had a come from behind win against former WEC light heavyweight champ Steve Cantwell.  On any other card, this would have been a legit contender for fight of the night, but when you have Garcia vs. Phan on the same card, Dana probably had already written the cheque for the FOTN bonus the minute after their bout agreement was signed.

Ed Garcia of Fatlip Radio had the opportunity earlier this week to chat with both Gray Maynard and Matt Mitrione. Maynard is fighting tonight in a trilogy match for the UFC Lightweight Title against Frankie Edgar. While Mitrione is expected to take on a very dangerous striker in Chieck Kongo at UFC 137 at the end of the month. Listen to both men talk about their upcoming opponents below.

Gray Maynard
[audio src="http://emedia.cknw.com/Podcasts/1681/fatlip_radio_-_episode_72_-_october_6.mp3"]

Matt Mitrione
[audio src="http://emedia.cknw.com/Podcasts/1681/fatlip_radio_-_episode_73_-_october_7.mp3"]