Patrick Wyman
UFC 178 Results: Winners and Losers
UFC 178 lived up to the expectations and delivered a smorgasbord of entertaining violence. This is a prime example of the axiom that better fighters – all ten fighters on the main card and three on the undercard were ranked – put on better fights, contrary to that old and hackneyed line, “Don’t judge a […]
UFC Fight Night – Bigfoot vs. Arlovski Results: Winners and Losers
This card didn’t offer much of interest on paper, but it was a fun event in practice, with a whole bunch of finishes, upsets, and some action-packed fights. Andrei Arlovski (?!?!?!) staked a claim as a top heavyweight, Gleison Tibau did what Gleison Tibau does, and firing up Fight Pass turned out to be a […]
UFC Fight Night – Jacare vs. Mousasi II Results: Winners and Losers
Last night was proof that for all of its recent struggles in stocking its events with meaningful fights, the UFC is perfectly capable of putting on awesome cards with relative regularity. Ronaldo Souza justified a future shot at the title with a dominating win over Gegard Mousasi, Ben Rothwell separated Alistair Overeem from consciousness in […]
UFN 48 and 49 Results: Winners and Losers
Another long day of UFC action is in the books. Michael Bisping looked like his old self, Tyron Woodley blasted Dong Hyun Kim out of contention, Jordan Mein stole Mike Pyle’s soul with a crushing knockout, and Rafael dos Anjos became the first man to knock out former champion Benson Henderson in a shocking upset. […]
UFC Fight Night – Bader vs. St. Preux Results: Winners and Losers
As it appeared on paper, so it turned out in practice. This card profiled as a steady, workmanlike effort from the UFC: it lacked any particularly anticipated matchups, but included a number of solid fighters who, naturally enough, put on solid if not outstanding fights. It wasn’t a terrible way to spend a Saturday night, […]
UFC on Fox 12 Results: Winners and losers
That card was everything it was cracked up to be. The prelims were solid if not outstanding, and the main card absolutely delivered on its considerable potential for entertaining violence. It featured several “changing of the guard” fights: Josh Thomson and Bobby Green battled back and forth for three rounds, Dennis Bermudez violently vanquished Clay […]
UFN 43 and 44 Results: Winners and losers
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was a hell of a long day of fights. Some of them were great, some of them were decent, and some of them were downright bad. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the real winners and losers from yesterday’s action. UFN: Marquardt vs. Te Huna Winners: Jake Matthews: […]
World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor preview and predictions
The tenth World Series of Fighting show goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas, and it’s a good one. Headlined by a middleweight title bout between former TUF competitor Jesse Taylor and UFC veteran Dave Branch, it also features a fantastic featherweight championship scrap between Georgi Karakhanyan and Rick Glenn that has a lot of […]
MMA’s Top Unsigned Prospects
This is a quick and dirty guide to MMA’s top five unsigned (i.e. not in Bellator, the UFC, or WSOF) prospects. I’ve picked the list with an eye toward fighters who have beaten good competition, whose skills are deep enough to be ready to face top opposition, and who should be relatively free to sign […]
UFC 174 – Johnson vs. Bagautinov Results: Winners and losers
Whelp, that was sure…something. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the real winners and losers from last night’s action. Winners: Michinori Tanaka: I think we’re starting to see a new generation of Japanese fighters begin to make their mark at the highest levels of MMA. First there was Kyoji Horiguchi, a brick-fisted, brutal […]
The Haters’ Guide to UFC 174
Greetings once again, you awful bunch of Zuffa Zombies, unwashed miscreants, ignorant churls, basement-dwelling trolls, “writers,” mark-ass marks, trick-ass marks, and of course the miserable, self-hating scumbags. Welcome to the Haters’ Guide, an occasional series in which Mookie Alexander and I (Patrick Wyman) shoot the breeze about a variety of topics related to the upcoming […]
Hard Times, Hard People: The North Caucasus, MMA’s troubled pipeline of talent
Ali Bagautinov will be the first fighter from the North Caucasus, but certainly not the last, to fight for a UFC title when he faces flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson on Saturday night. What is it about this region that produces such an incredible concentration of talented fighters? The easy answer is the long- and short-term […]
A History of Violence: the North Caucasus and mixed martial arts’ troubled pipeline of talent
Ali “The Puncher King” Bagautinov will be the first of the recent wave of Russian imports to fight for a UFC title when he faces Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt on Saturday. Calling Bagautinov and his cohorts “Russian” and leaving it at that, however, obscures both the complexity and the textured regional character of […]
UFN – Henderson vs. Khabilov Results: Winners and Losers
What a strange night of MMA action. Fights that were supposed to be guaranteed action failed to deliver, and as for the others…well, Sanchez-Pearson was a thing that actually happened, Bryan Caraway stuck his fingers in Erik Perez’s mouth, and Benson Henderson got a finish (!). Without further ado, let’s take a look at the […]
Searching for Future Champions: June 2014 update
When I set out to do a top 25 list of MMA prospects, I wanted to focus on two different things. First, while I based it on established criteria, a data-driven method, and deep technical analysis, the project was still a relatively straightforward attempt at a scouting report. The second goal, however, was to use […]
Alleged suicide bombing planned for M-1 Challenge 49 foiled
An M-1 Challenge event scheduled to be held this coming weekend in Dzheirakh, Ingushetia narrowly escaped disaster when an alleged suicide bomber was arrested by security forces last weekend. Ingushetia, a Russian federal republic located in the North Caucasus near Dagestan and Chechnya, has become embroiled in the same kind of low-intensity Islamist and criminal […]
UFC Fight Night Berlin and TUF Brazil Finale: Winners and Losers
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we had ourselves one hell of a long day of fights. Twenty-two of them, to be precise, and some of them were great, others were solid, and a few were downright bad. Without further ado, strap yourselves in, and we’ll discuss yesterday’s real winners and losers. UFC Fight Night: Berlin Winners: […]
On Las Vegas and UFC 173
Las Vegas is the fullest expression of Middle America’s id. The overwhelming allure of wealth and unbridled lust collapses into a hedonistic explosion of light and activity set to the sounds of ringing slot machines and alternating cries of triumph and dismay. The values and organizing principles that mainstream American culture alternately adores and abhors […]
Bloody Studies: The Rise of Renan Barao
9-0 under the Zuffa banner. 33 straight fights without a defeat. A 22-fight winning streak. Not a single loss since 2005. The sheer enormity of Renan Barao’s dominance in the last nine years is difficult to comprehend, and yet the idea of the current bantamweight champion as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the […]
UFC Fight Night – Brown vs. Silva Results: Winners and Losers
What this event lacked in name value it more than made up with excitement. With seven knockouts and eight victorious underdogs, including several enormous upsets, this was a hell of a card from top to bottom. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the winners and losers. Winners: Albert Tumenov: After a rough performance […]
Champions in Training: Georges St-Pierre, Jose Aldo, and Chris Weidman
Aljamain Sterling. Pedro Munhoz. Mirsad Bektic. Jim Alers. Alex Garcia. Albert Tumenov. Mike Rhodes. Rashid Magomedov. Justin Scoggins. Sergio Pettis. These are just a few of the enormously talented prospects the UFC has signed over the last eight months as part of a massive wave of new talent. Some of them immediately impressed – Garcia […]
Understanding MMA Striking: The Mechanics of Punches, Kicks, and Knees
Mixed martial arts is a complex sport. By its very nature, it pulls its fanbase from a wide variety of backgrounds, ranging from jiu-jitsu enthusiasts to wrestling die-hards to boxing and kickboxing connoisseurs. Even if you happen to fall into that last category, however, the precise mechanics of punching, kicking, kneeing, and elbowing might not […]
UFC 172 – Jones vs. Teixeira Results: Winners and Losers
UFC 172 is in the books, and it was a hell of a card from beginning to end. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the real winners and losers from last night’s festivities. Winners: Danny Castillo: A guy with proven power in his hands knocking out a guy with a suspect ability to […]
The Haters’ Guide to UFC 172
Greetings once again, you awful bunch of basement-dwelling trolls, disgruntled rappers, mark-ass marks, trick-ass marks, miserable scumbags, miscreants, Zuffa zombies, failed “writers”, and especially the ignorant churls . Welcome to this week’s edition of the Haters’ Guide, in which Mookie Alexander and I (Patrick Wyman) shoot the breeze about a variety of topics related to […]
Searching for Future Champions Prospect Report: April 2014 Update
When I set out to do a top 25 list of MMA prospects, I wanted to focus on two different things. First, while I based it on established criteria, a data-driven method, and deep technical analysis, the project was still a relatively straightforward attempt at a scouting report. The second goal, however, was to use […]
UFC on Fox 11 Results: Winners and Losers
UFC on Fox 11 is in the books. This was a fantastic card on paper that fully delivered in practice, and it was one hell of a lot of fun from top to bottom. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the real winners and losers. Winners: Jordan Mein: Mein looked fantastic after a […]
TUF Nations Finale: Winners and Losers
The TUF Nations finale is in the books, so let’s take a look at the real winners and losers from last night’s show. Winners: Nordine Taleb: Third time’s the charm, I guess. After getting injured mid-fight and losing on TUF Nations and then dropping his preliminary bout on TUF 19, Taleb finally made it into […]
UFN – Abu Dhabi Results: Winners and Losers
The Fight Night card in Abu Dhabi is in the books, and it delivered some solid action on both the prelims and the main card. Let’s take a look at the real winners and losers. Winners: Jim Alers and Alan Omer: That was one hell of a scrap between two of the world’s best featherweight […]
Jim Alers, Alan Omer, and the Prospect’s Road Less Traveled
The clash between featherweights Jim Alers and Alan Omer might be buried deep on the prelims of this Friday’s Abu Dhabi Fight Night, but don’t be fooled by the bout’s position on the card: these are two of the very best prospects at their weight in the world. Alers was sixteenth on my Searching for […]
On Fabio Maldonado, Action Fighters, and the Future of the UFC
A little over a week ago, Fabio Maldonado absolutely pasted Gian Villante. After a rough first round in which he was taken down multiple times and mostly controlled on the ground – Fabio landed all of one significant strike – Maldonado’s cardio and pace took over, and by the end of the second round he […]