UFC on Versus II Preview: Jon Jones, Vladimir Matyushenko Collide in Main Event Showdown
In the main event of the evening, twenty-three year old National Junior College wrestling champion Jon Jones (10-1, 4-1 UFC) will aim to continue his…
Leland Roling Archives: 07/2010
UFC on Versus II Preview: Yushin Okami Battles NCAA Wrestling Champion Mark Munoz in Co-Main Event
In the co-main event of the evening, former UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami (24-5, 8-2 UFC) will look to regain a spot in the top…
UFC on Versus II Preview: John Howard, Jake Ellenberger Battle for Welterweight Relevance
In welterweight action, Boston-born scrapper John Howard (14-4, 4-0 UFC) will put his current seven-fight winning streak on the line as he meets Midwestern-bred wrestler…
UFC on Versus II Preview: Can Takanori Gomi Prove He’s Still Relevant Against Tyson Griffin?
As I’ve covered extensively in the past, Japan has long been one of the superpowers in mixed martial arts, but it has had a steady…
UFC on Versus II Preview: Lightweights Paul Kelly, Jacob Volkmann Headline Respectable Preliminary Card
After quite a long layoff from any major events in the last couple of weeks, we’re going to head back into full swing as the…
Sarah Kaufman’s Plea Puts Strikeforce in Difficult Situation with Fans, Media
Mixed martial arts is one of the more unique sports in the world when it comes to self-promotion and having the ability to gravitate toward…
The Slow and Steady Approach Will Prevail in Japan’s Declining MMA Market
One of the semi-permanent discussions among die-hard mixed martial arts fans over the last half decade has revolved around the downward spiral of Japanese mixed…
Could Shortage of Enormous, Physically Gifted Heavyweight Talent Be a Blessing in Disguise?
Heavyweight pugilists have long been one of the biggest attractions in combative sports. Historically, some of the most significant and most lucrative fights in the…
Falling Out of the Boat: A Look at the Busted Prospects of 2009
Continuing with this small two-part series of articles looking back at the 2009 list of prospects outlined here at BloodyElbow.com by yours truly, we’ll now…
Living Up to the Hype: A Look Back at the Prospects of 2009
Last October, I wrote a series of articles outlining some of the top free agents and prospects in the market that were available for various…
Weight Class Standards, Weight Cutting a Step in the Right Direction for Japanese MMA
Weight cutting has long been synonymous with combative sports as a way in which competitors could squeeze out extra pounds before a match in order…
Lack of New Talent in Japan Still Apparent Despite DREAM 15’s Success
Japanese mixed martial arts may be on a decline in contemporary times, but the two-headed attack of World Victory Road’s Sengoku Raiden Championships and FEG’s…
Weekend MMA Primer: Josh Barnett, Karo Parisyan Highlight Pool of Appealing Regional Battles
DREAM.15 dominates the landscape of relevant mixed martial arts action this weekend, but HDNet isn’t available everywhere and a lot of fans are unwilling to…
A Retrospective on Fedor Emelianenko’s Momentous Fall From Perfection
June 26th, 2010 will forever be a historical day in the sport of mixed martial arts. It wasn’t a monumental day of greatness for an…
DREAM 15 Preview: Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri Collide in Clash of Top Japanese Lightweights
Following the emotional and physical beating that Shinya Aoki suffered back in April against current Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, most fans felt that the…
UFC 116 Preview: Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin Meet in Monumental Heavyweight Title Showdown
The UFC 116 main event championship showdown between Brock Lesnar (4-1, 3-1 UFC) and Shane Carwin (12-0, 4-0 UFC) could perhaps be one of the…
UFC 116 Preview: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben Collide in Impromptu Battle
In an interesting late twist to the UFC 116 middleweight match-up between Japanese judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1-0-2, 1-0 UFC) and PRIDE legend Wanderlei Silva, Chris…
UFC 116 Preview: Chris Lytle Eyeballing Another Bonus Check Against Matt Brown
Matt Brown (11-8, 4-2 UFC) may or may not be excited to be battling fellow Midwestern-born UFC veteran Chris Lytle (28-17-5, 7-9 UFC) on the…
UFC 116 Preview: Krzysztof Soszynski, Stephan Bonnar Clash in Rematch of UFC 110 Gaffe
It doesn’t happen too often, but the UFC seems to be one of the few places in which incompetence from outside forces can lead to…
UFC 116 Preview: George Sotiropoulos, Kurt Pellegrino Battle for Promotion to the Elite Class
In the opening main card bout of the evening, Australian Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and The Ultimate Fighter season six alum George Sotiropoulos (12-2, 5-0…