Rainer Lee
Beyond the Octagon: WEC great Miguel Torres returns, Mighty Mo KOs Hong Man Choi
Readers, thanks for a lovely time. After over two years and, I figure, a hundred or so columns, this will be the last edition of Beyond the Octagon. When I first started this column I was unemployed, had just moved across state lines, and was going through a divorce. Having a corner of the internet […]
Beyond the Octagon: Ben Saunders’ submission of Jacob Volkmann
Greetings, mutherfukers. As all red-blooded MMA fans should know by now, Ben Saunders is back on the UFC rosterthanks to a lightning-quick submission of fellow UFC vet Jacob Volkmann. The fight, which served as the main event of Minnesota’s Fight Night at the Island, lasted less than 30 seconds, with Volkmann quickly shooting for a […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Amagov, Giagos victorious, former Bellator champ Newton moves to HW
Cheers to Friday, cheers to everyone who successfully bore their bedraggled bodies through another week for some much-deserved rest, cheers to the comeback trail, and cheers to those Russian MMA organizations that so often play host to the champs and would-be contenders of yesterday. Let’s jump in. Headlining the latest Plotforma S-70, Russian juggernaut Evgeny […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former UFC contender Joe Stevenson returns, TUF’s Jesse Taylor faces Seth Baczynski
A solid batch of results for you MMA die-hards this week, with notable TUF alumni and a UFC title challenger turning in performances in smaller shows around the world. But first, let’s check in with a former IFL champion. 13-year MMA veteran Matt Horwich (29-24-1, 7-4 IFL, 0-2 UFC, 0-2 Bellator) has had something of […]
Beyond the Octagon: TUF winner Eddie Gordon rebounds, ‘JZ’ Cavalcante submitted
Alas, there are no UFC results to chew over today, but maybe results from last weekend’s regional action, which includes a couple would-be prospects, a TUF winner, and a Titan FC card stacked with UFC vets, will tide you over. In the main event of CFFC 60, welterweight prospect Jonavin Webb (9-2-1NC, 0-2 UFC) wasted […]
Beyond the Octagon: Rousey teammate Jessamyn Duke drops fifth in a row, UFC vets go 2-5
Last weekend proved one of the roughest for fighters looking to work their way back to the Octagon, with UFC vets managing a paltry 2-5 record against regional competition. Granted, some of those losses came to high-potential prospects who may soon enough be UFC-bound themselves. Case in point: TUF 18’s Peggy Morgan (4-4, 0-1 UFC) […]
Beyond the Octagon: Robert Drysdale returns, UFC vets Rin Nakai, Okami pick up wins
Among all the things MMA fans like to chew over, the matter of wasted talent is probably one of the tastiest. Vitor Belfort and B.J. Penn are, of course, perennial favorites for this dubious honor. There was a time that Robbie Lawler, currently the UFC’s most successful welterweight champion since Georges St. Pierre, would’ve been […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello knocked out
For this week’s look at the continuing careers of UFC, PRIDE, and Bellator veterans, we turn first to Russia, where Absolute Championship Berkut put on its 41st event, featuring a fight between heavyweight talent Denis Goltsov and former UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello. Buentello began his MMA career with a lengthy stint on the […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former UFC star Roger Huerta falls to strikes, UFC vets go 7-5
Welcome to another look at regional MMA action, featuring former talent from the UFC, PRIDE, and Bellator. Our biggest results come out of China, where both ONE Championship and Road FC recently put on shows. In the main event of ONE Championship: Dynasty of Champions, Jadambaa Narantungalag (12-4, 2-0 Sengoku) delivered a lightning-quick knockout of Eric […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Paulo Thiago, Katsunori Kikuno, Mike Rhodes, Rob Emerson in action
When it rains, it pours. On top of the deluge of UFC results you’re still probably digesting, there’s a double-dose of results from the world’s regional circuits coming this week, including would-be prospects, former Top 10 talents, and the usual clutch of TUF alumni. But first, let’s check in with the former Sengoku lightweight champion. […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former Bellator champs Shlemenko, Minakov, Volkov victorious
Last weekend saw a foursome of Russian champions take to the ring in regional MMA action, the most prominent of which was former PRIDE FC heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko. But while he was certainly the most popular of his cohort, “The Last Emperor” also wound up being the most underwhelming, barely staking a claim for […]
Beyond the Octagon, part 2: Cavalcante returns to form, UFC vets go 7-3
Welcome to part 2 of this week’s Beyond the Octagon, in which we’ll dig a little deeper into the latest Titan FC results and check in with a few more UFC vets around the world. Titan FC 39 was a huge card, which featured eight fighters who have at one point or another shared in […]
Beyond the Octagon: Hioki, Gono victorious in Japan as UFC vets falter in Russia
Shout out to Sean, the first guy I’ve ever met, by chance, who is not only a big MMA fan, but a die-hard fan of Bloody Elbow. Zuluzinho for president. Now, some MMA results. Have you ever put on a nice, new Affliction t-shirt before going out on a hot date, caught yourself in the […]
Beyond the Octagon: TUF finalists break even as UFC vets go 10-5
Welcome to another edition of Beyond the Octagon, where we break down how former fighters of the UFC, Bellator, WSOF, and PRIDE are doing in smaller shows around the world. At Kunlun 45, the prolific finalists of TUF: China continued to find success on the Chinese circuit, albeit against the sort of under-experienced opponent that […]
Beyond the Octagon: Pudzianowski loses second straight, former Bellator champ M’Pumbu stumbles
Tonight, Luke Rockhold will look to cement himself as the world’s top middleweight, but in Poland last weekend another 185er continued to entrench himself as one of the best fighters to remain outside the UFC. The big news this past weekend came out of Poland’s KSW 35, where Mamed Khalidov (32-4-2, 1-1 Sengoku, 1-0 EliteXC) staged […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Sokoudjou, McKenzie victorious, UFC vets go 10-8
Greetings, fight fans. You may notice a change to Beyond the Octagon’s format going forward, with less historical context and a greater emphasis on raw information (results, records, and records since a fighter’s last major appearance). If you much prefer the older format, however, please feel free to let me know. Now, on to the […]
Beyond the Octagon: Roger Gracie takes light-heavyweight title, UFC vets go 3-3
In 1995, Rickson Gracie faced Shinya Aoki mentor Yuki Nakai in the finals of the World Vale Tudo Japan tournament. After six and a half minutes, Gracie forced a half-blind Nakai to submit to a rear-naked choke. In the over twenty years since, no Gracie has captured as prominent an MMA title. That changed at […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Roop, Zhang, PRIDE’s Krazy Horse, Dong Sik Yoon in action
Before we jump into the world of fight results, I feel compelled to take you back to a time known as 2004. The Passion of the Christ debuted in theaters, surpassing box office sales of Joe Dirt from three years prior. My pet turtle got an eye infection. And MMA events were still given names […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC’s Caol Uno returns, former contender Jeff Monson wins final bout
Those of us enjoying Bellator veteran Akop Stepanyan mounting win streak will be disappointed to hear that the kickboxer’s run of success was brought to a halt last weekend. The loss came at the hands of Vener Galiev (27-8-0) in the main event of Fight Nights Global 45 out of Ufa, Russia. In the third […]
Beyond the Octagon: Hong Man Choi, Mighty Mo victorious, UFC vets go 5-3
You’ve been binging on fight results all weekend, sure, but there’s nothing like some hair of the dog to make your Monday a little more tolerable. First up are results from Road FC’s latest foray into China, highlighted by the semifinal round of the promotion’s openweight tournament. In the headliner, K-1 champion and k-pop star […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vet Cody McKenzie, former Bellator champ Emanuel Newton in action
For the latest installment of BtO, the big fight news comes under the banner of Fight Night Medicine Hat, which took place inside of, you guessed it, the infinitely small and yet infinitely large space found within a wizard’s cap. In the night’s main event, Cody McKenzie (15-9, 3-4 UFC) sought the promotion’s vacant welterweight […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC’s Thiago Silva advances in LHW tourney, TUF finalist Lima victorious
Even aside from the UFC’s heavyweight-centric Fight Night card, last weekend was a big one for MMA results, so this week’s column will come to you in two parts (plus, we’ll play some catch-up with results from the weekend before last). Things got started with Friday’s dependably excellent Legacy FC where, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dhiego […]
Beyond the Octagon: PRIDE vet Joachim Hansen, UFC’s Soriano in action
For those of us still carrying a torch for the late, great PRIDE FC, last weekend’s batch of regional fight results should prove especially interesting, as Joachim Hansen entered the ring for the first time in over a year. Hansen, a potent kickboxer with strong submission skills, was a staple of the PRIDE lightweight division, […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets go 5-5 as TUF’s Louis Gaudinot wins title
This past week has been a bit rough for UFC alumni, who were just as likely as not to lose their fights. Nevertheless, one or two seem well on their way back to the big stage. Chief among them is former UFC flyweight Louis Gaudinot. Gaudinot (8-4, 1-3-1NC UFC) received his walking papers after going […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former Sengoku champ Sandro upset, Invicta’s Tweet victorious
While we’re all still drunk on power (Mark Hunt’s power, anyway), let’s unwind with some regional fight results, shall we? Following his impressive, title-winning run in Japan, Marlon Sandro (26-7-2, 8-3 Bellator, 5-2 Sengoku) came to be ranked among the best featherweights in the world. However, the last few years have seen him struggle to […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Healy, Elliott, Camus victorious
In the shadow of Diaz vs. McGregor last weekend, over a dozen former UFC fighters took to the ring in hopes of working their way back to the limelight, with Friday’s TitanFC 37 playing host to more than a few. In the co-main event, Steven Siler (28-15, 5-4 UFC), on the strength of a five-fight […]
Beyond the Octagon: Former UFC contender Yushin Okami picks up TKO victory
Saturday’s fight between Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva might have left a bad taste in your mouth, but there’s nothing like more fight results to cleanse the palate. February continues to be a strong month for UFC vets, with former UFC talent, including TUF contestants, going 6-0 in regional shows. This includes, of course, long-time […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC’s Mike Rhodes takes decision, Akihiro Gono knocked out
This week’s BtO sees yet another batch of mixed results for UFC veterans, including JMMA luminaries Akihiro Gono and former Dream champion Michihiro Omigawa. We start, however, with Roufusport prospect Mike Rhodes. Rhodes (9-4-0) was expected to carve out a spot for himself in the UFC’s welterweight division but wound up never really getting his […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vet Scott Smith, PRIDE’s Cyborg and Krazy Horse in action
The fight-results bonanaza continues, beginning with PRIDE veteran and former Strikeforce contender Evangelista Santos. Better known as “Cyborg,” Santos (20-16, 1-3 Strikeforce, 1-1 PRIDE) is the ex-husband of current Invicta champion Cyborg Justino. Over the course of a nearly ten-year long MMA career, Santos has made a reputation for himself as a vicious, go-for-broke brawler–a […]
Beyond the Octagon: UFC vets Hioki, Fukuda turn in mixed performances
Not unlike Sage Northcutt, last week I found myself waylaid by illness. But I’m back this week with a heap of fight results from the regional circuit, beginning with this first installment below. One can only hope that Northcutt, too, can channel this same elite level of perseverance. Among the biggest results coming out of […]