Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Worst Fight of the year

Kingdom MMA Worst Fight of the Year Award 2013: Soa Palalei vs Nikita Krylov

by Ben Heather @benheather

Although 2013 has been a great year for MMA it has also had a few stinkers. So this is the wooden spoon award of the year. Thankfully for us all this was actually quite a hard award to think of a winner for because we really have been treated to some amazing fights in 2013.

However, we had three contenders which were put forward as the worst fight of the year, our first contender was the fight between Jake Shields and Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 where the pair clinched for most of the fight in which Shields failed to get Woodley to the floor in the first two rounds alone with a staggering 11 attempts. The fight was either spent tied up in the clinch or pushed up against the side of the cage but nothing of serious note happened. All in all a stinker of a fight. However, Shawn Jordan must have been watching and gave the fans something to cheer about as he knocked out Pat Barry within a minute in the next fight.

Then in July Rory MacDonald vs Jake Ellenberger met at UFC on FOX 8 was certainly a fight with very little happening during the fight. Rory was waiting for Ellenberger to make the move and when he did, did just enough to win the fight without doing much in the process. Thankfully Demetrious Johnson vs John Moraga came on after that fight and put on a show for the fans to make them rightfully forget that fight ever happened.

Our winner though comes from UFC 164 at the end of August when Soa Palelei faced off against Nikita Krylov. Before the fight both guys had impressive records, Soa was returning to the UFC after a one fight stint years before and Nikita was making his debut in the UFC so both really wanted to impress..... unfortunately for both men and us fans that did not happen on this night. The fans were instead treated to over 11 minutes of fighting between two clearly gassed fighters before Soa put Nikita out of his misery and picked up the TKO win. Soa however announced after the fight that he went in to the fight with an injury, having suffered a fractured rib the week of the fight which led to him putting on a lack luster performance.

Thankfully Soa made up for this recently as the UFC returned to his home nation and he quickly knocked out Pat Barry making people forget all about his previous fight.

We are sorry to do this, but the award for worst fight of 2013 goes to Soa Palelei vs Nikita Krylov. Please forgive us and we hope to see you perform well again in 2014.

Eddie Wineland vs Renan Barao is back on

Barao vs Wineland to co main event UFC 165

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Wineland gets his chance again as Renan Barao v Eddie Wineland has been made official for UFC 165.
The fight will serve as chief support to Jones v Gustaffson and will see the Canadian fans in Toronto get to witness two title fights on the card.

The original bout was scheduled to main event UFC 161 but an injury to the interim champion put a stop to that. Wineland had feared he may have lost his opportunity at the champion due to circumstances beyond his control. Barao was originally expected to be out for a lot longer. If this was the case most people expected for him to come back and battle Cruz to crown a true champion of the bantamweight division.

Dominick Cruz is still somehow the champion of the division despite not defending his belt for close to 2 years now. He is back in training now but with no return date scheduled. This will be Barao's 2nd defense of his interim belt which makes a mockery of what the belt is really intended for. He is by all accounts the best in the division and a deserving champion. Wineland won't care about that and gets the chance he thought he had lost to take the belt away from Brazil. Can he replicate what Chris Weidman did at the weekend and bring another title back to the USA.

Fighter vs Writer: Cage Warriors Champion Jim Alers - UFC 161

Fighter vs Writer: Cage Warriors Champion Jim Alers - UFC 161
by Chris Houten - @KingdomMMAChris 

Kingdom MMA is back with Fighter vs Writer and this time we going in harder than ever.

Gone is Luke Barnatt. We loved working with Luke but as nice of a guy Bigslow is, he knows and we know, after losing back to back event to our guy Ben Heather, he didn't really want it any more.

So in steps Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Jim Alers, to take on late replacement for the injured Ben Heather, Chris Houten also coming out of the infamous Kingdom MMA camp.

Currently on a 6 fight win streak, 26 year old Alers (10-1, 5-0 CW) has shown himself to be a real prospect who can finish fights standing or on the ground having finished all his opponents.

A brown belt in BJJ, Alers is one of the best featherweights in the world at this point, and has been tipped to be fighting in The UFC with just a few more wins.

So without further adieu...... it's time!

The Scoring 

One point is scored for predicting the winner of the bout, with an additional point added for predicting the correct method by which the winner takes victory. For all fights which end by stoppage, an additional bonus point can be earned by prediction the round in which the fight will stopped. For fights than go the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points

Rashad Evans vs Dan Henderson

Alers: Not real excited about this fight I think that there is not going to be a lot of excitement to be honest. I see Hendo going for the famous H-Bomb a lot in this fight but it just not finding it's mark. I have Evans taking this fight by playing it smart and using and youth and speed to stay out of the way of the hay maker and grinding out a dec.

Pick: Rashad Evans - Decision

Houten: I actually find this fight kind of intriguing - 2 great wrestler who can knockout any one in the division with one shot.

Realistically Evans is the better fighter. He fights much more intelligently the Hendo, he faster hands than Henderson, and has an excellent wrestling pedigree which Evans uses better in MMA than Dan. That being said, I wouldn't rule out Henderson ending this fight with one big shot, but I think Rashads athleticism, and better overall game wins him this fight by clear cut decision.

Pick: Rashad Evans - Decision

Roy Nelson vs Stipe Miocic 

Alers: Roy Nelson is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC. I can't go against Big Country.  He is going to go for the kill quick and I have him getting the KO in the second round. Miocic is just not ready for his power or for his chin

Pick: Pick Roy Nelson - TKO RD 2  

Houten: As much as I like to watch Roy Nelson, in fact he is probably in my top 3 of of active fighter, I was looking forward to Miocic vs Palelei much more than I am Nelson vs Miocic. Why you ask if Nelson is one of my favourite fighters? Well I just don't see this fight being that competitive.

For Miocic to win this one he needs to use his wrestling and turn the fight into a snoozefest - hold Nelson against the cage, or pin him to the canvas and hope Nelson left BJJ blackbelt at home.

I see this going the completely opposite way, and Nelson blasting Miocic they way only Roy Nelson can.... this one won't go past the first.

Pick: Roy Nelson - TKO RD 1

Ryan Jimmo vs. Igor Pokrajac  

Alers: I think Ryan Jimmo is hungry since he is coming off only his second loss of his career. I see him controlling the whole fight and also get a unanimous decision in this one.

Pick: Ryan Jimmo - Decision

Houten: This fight is a complete pick 'em, I think either guy could win, and I like that.

While I feel both guys sometimes fail to exhibit there true talents in the cage, I do appreciate the way both are willing to stand in the pocket and trade.

Realistically, either guy could win, but I'll got for Jimmo purely as he is the bigger power puncher.

Pick: Ryan Jimmo - Decision

Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton

Alers: This one is a no brainer. I have Rosi Sexton all the way. Cage Warrior Alumni have to stick together. I always think the female fights are far more exciting then many male fights and I have this one going the distance as well but in a very close back and forth fight.  

Pick: Rosi Sexton - Decision

Houten: While I admire Jim for his loyalty to Rosi Sexton, this fight is Alexis Davis' to lose. 

Although its hard to back against a fellow Brit, I think Sexton might be a little small to compete at 135 in the UFC, and I like Davis to drag this fight to the floor fight and submit Sexton.

Pick: Alexis Davis - Submission 

Pat Barry vs Shawn Jordan

Alers: I like Pat Barry but hey what the heck I'm going to say this is my wildcats fight and I'm going to go with Shawn Jordan for the TKO in the first round. I even think fan might think it's an early stoppage and boo at the refs dec. lol that would be great if I call this one to the T.

Pick - Shawn Jordan - TKO RD 1

Houten: I love Pat Barry, as a fighter and as a person. He brings it in every fight, and this fight has got fight of the night written all over it. 

Shawn Jordan is an athletic guy, and a former pro football player has excellent reflexes and power to match, but Barry is by far the better striker, and has added submissions to his game...... atleast when he is doing random BJJ competitions in Colorado.

Can I see Barry losing to a guy with a tongue ring? Sure tongue ring or not you can't count any heavyweight out, but I've got Barry knocking out Jordan for his first back to back victory since entering The UFC.

Pick - Pat Barry - TKO RD 2

Kingdom MMA would like to thank Jim Alers in advance for his participation in Fighter vs Writer. For more on Jim Alers, check our www.fightjim.com and follow Alers on Twitter - @fightjim 

 

UFC 161 - UK Betting Odds

UFC 161 - UK Betting Odds

With UFC 161 approaching at a rapid pace, we team up with partners William Hill to bring those who fancy a little flutter the latest clear cut, betting odds - Good Luck, and don't miss out on your free £25 bet below!

Preliminary Card
3/10 Yves Jabouin v Dustin Pague 5/2
21/10 Mitch Clarke v John Maguire 4/11
8/5 Edwin Figueroa v Roland Delorme 1/2
8/13 Sean Pierson v Kenny Robertson 13/10
4/9 Sam Stout v James Krause 7/4
6/4 Jake Shields v Tyron Woodley 8/15

Main Card
4/5 Pat Barry v Shawn Jordan EVS
1/4 Alexis Davis v Rosi Sexton 3/1
19/10 Igor Pokrajac v Ryan Jimmo 2/5
2/5 Roy Nelson v Stipe Miocic 19/10
5/6 Rashad Evans v Dan Henderson 20/21
* Blue denotes The Favourite

What has Chael Sonnen got on the UFC?

My thoughts on Chael Sonnen getting to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

When Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, had to drop out of the fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 161 due to back problems Chael Sonnen offered his services straight away.

Shogun immediately accepted, but the fight isn’t going to happen at UFC 161 on June 15th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It will instead be the headlining bout at UFC on FS1 1 on Aug 17th in Boston.
Sonnen announced the bout on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight.

“Shogun and I are going to be the main event on FOX Sports 1 on Aug. 17. We were going to fight in Winnipeg, and they pulled it,” Sonnen proclaimed before getting his digs in at his original target, Wanderlei Silva.

“I like Shogun. I admire him a lot,” he continued. “I wanted to fight Wanderlei. He’s the worst fighter in the UFC. I couldn’t get him. I figured I’d get the guy who destroyed Wanderlei in the practice room for all these years.”

So why does Sonnen keep getting these big fights?
Sure he can sell a fight with his endless ramblings and trash talking but surely there’s someone actually deserving of a bout with a top 10 ranked fighter? Maybe the current 10th placed fighter Ryan Bader?
In my eyes Sonnen has only won one of his last five fights and that was against Brian Stann in 2011. It might say win from the Bisping fight but everyone who has seen the fight says Bisping won two rounds including UFC President Dana White.

So in my opinion I really can’t see why they keep giving him these fights he clearly doesn’t deserve them.

As for Sonnen saying “I wanted to fight Wanderlei. He’s the worst fighter in the UFC.” Silva has had more fights then Sonnen and lost less than Sonnen. Surely “The worst fighter in the UFC” title is a title that Sonnen could actually win.

Chael vs Shogun to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1

Shogun pulled from UFC 161 card to fight on UFC on Fox Sports 1

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Chael Sonnen (27-13-1) vs Shogun Rua (21-7) fight to serve as the first ever UFC on FOX Sports 1 main event on Aug. 17 in Boston.

After shogun was pulled from the UFC 161 card following the injury to Lil Nog the UFC officials announced the fight as the main event for the inaugural event on Fox Sports 1. The fight came about when in typical fashion, Sonnen jumped into the hero role and sent a message to the Brazilian on Twitter stating he was "available" to step in to fight on just 13 days notice.

The fight was not made for the UFC 161 card though, presumably so Sonnen can sell the fight on Fox Sports 1 in his usual fashion. But the official word was the fight couldn’t take place because Sonnen would not be able to get a visa in time.

Sonnen comes into the fight with back to back losses to his name. Both against arguably the best two fighters in the history of MMA UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in very one sided fights.

Shogun also comes in to this fight with a lot of inconsistency. Shogun has not won back to back fights since 2009 with victories over Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman both by TKO and both been fight night bonuses.

In his last fight shogun lost via decision to Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz. There is one thing about the ex UFC Light Heavyweight champion's fights though, there always entertaining and Shogun leaves everything in the cage so Sonnen will have another tough fight on his hands.... has he bitten off more than he can chew again. We will find out in August.

Sonnen Offers to step in to face Shogun at UFC 161

Chael Sonnen wants to replace Nogueria and fight Shogun

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Chael Sonnen has history, he has history with Brazilian's. He has history offering to step in to fight at late notice. Recently he has stepped in on last minute notice to fight Michael Bisping. He also tried to step in at the last minute to fight Jon Jones and in doing so earned himself the chance to coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 17 and a title shot.

Now after Antônio Rogério Nogueira had to pull out of his fight with Shogun Rua due to an undisclosed injury at UFC 161, Sonnen is up to the old tricks again. Sonnen took the media by storm in his efforts to promote his two title fights with Anderson Silva. He has noted rivalry with the majority of the Brazilian roster and was expected to face Wanderlei Silva in the near future.

Sonnen took to his twitter to leave the following message for Shogun Rua making it clear he is the ultimate company man.

"@sonnench: @ShogunRua I HEAR BRAZILIAN
CHICKEN IS OFF THE MENU. AMERICAN GANGSTER IS STILL AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT TO SEND YOUR WAITRESS OVER."

Video: Shogun Rua on Working with Freddie Roach Ahead of UFC 161

Video: Shogun Rua on Working with Freddie Roach Ahead of UFC 161  

Ahead of his UFC 161 bout with Rogerio Nogueira, Shogun Rua has been working with infamous boxing trainer Freddie Roach.  In a video released earlier today by The UFC Shogun discusses the improvements working with Roach has added to his game:

I started training with Freddie Roach because my manager contacted him and his team. For me this is good because I learned some things that can make the difference against Rogerio Nogueira.

I was always confident in my boxing. In camp, I always train a lot of boxing. But Freddie showed me specific details that will help me improve my game.

I am going to go back to Brazil and keep practicing what I learned and hope to apply it to the fight.
He is a south paw and that already makes him harder to deal with. Nogueira is a guy that likes to setup his jab to throw his left hand. I know this and I am going to be prepared when we step inside the Octagon.

UFC 161 takes place on June 15, 2013 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with Rashad Evans vs Dan Henderson headlining the card. Shogun Rua vs Rogerio Nogueira will serves as the events co-main event, with The UKs Rosi Sexton and John Maguire also on the card.

UFC 161 Full Card:

MAIN CARD
Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
Stipe Miocic vs. Roy Nelson
Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton
Pat Barry vs. Shawn Jordan

PRELIMINARY CARD 
Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
James Krause vs. Sam Stout
Ryan Jimmo vs. Igor Pokrajac
Sean Pierson vs. Kenny Robertson
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook) 
Roland Delorme vs. Edwin Figueroa
Mitch Clarke vs. John Maguire
Yves Jabouin vs. Dustin Pague

Barao out of UFC 161 Injured, Evans vs Henderson Now Headlines

Foot injury forces interim champ Renan Barao out of UFC 161

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

The UFC have officially announced that Interim UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, will no longer be headlining UFC 161 after being forced to pull out due to a foot injury.

Barao (30-1-1-NC) was due to headline the event for his Interim belt against Eddie Wineland (20-8-1). There has been no official statement by the UFC regarding Wineland. Whether he remain on the card, or not we will have to wait and see but it could mean he has to wait a little longer to get his shot at the belt.

The headline spot has now been taken by the original co-main event which will see Dan Henderson take on Rashad Evans. It has also been confirmed that this fight will take place over 3 rounds and not 5 rounds which is now the standard for all main event fights. 

Evans (22-3-1) is coming into the fight on back to back unanimous decision losses, first to Jon Jones at UFC 145 for the UFC light heavyweight title and more recently and surprisingly to Antionio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 in February. Dan Henderson saw his title shot against Jon Jones go up in smoke when he lost in a split decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157. This will be a good chance for both fighters to get back into the title mix.

A fight that has also just been announced and added to the main card of UFC 161, which will see Roy "Big Country" Nelson (19-7) face Stipe Miocic (9-1).

Rashad Evans vs Dan Henderson Official for UFC 161

A Light Heavyweight clash between a former Pride champion vs a former UFC champion is now set for UFC 161

In what only seems to be a matter of days since we last saw both Rashad Evans (17-3-1 MMA 12-3-1 UFC) and Dan Henderson (29-9 MMA 6-3 UFC) in the octagon and both pick up losses via decision they have agreed to enter again to face each other at UFC 161 on June 15th.

Last time out Rashad Evans lost to Antônio Rogério Nogueira in the co main event at UFC 156 in an uneventful fight. Evans will be hoping that his quick turn around and return to the Octagon will bring with it a return to the winning ways and get him back in to title contention.

Dan Henderson though will have something to say about that, Henderson who also lost in the co main event at UFC 157 to Lyoto Machida in a number 1 contenders battle in the light heavyweight division. Both fighters will want to improve on the previous performances they put in and do all they can to take the win.

This fight will be on the main card of the UFC 161 card which is headlined by the interim bantamweight title fight between Interim champion Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland and its set to go down on June 15th 2013. It is also the first time the UFC goes to Winnipeg, Canada.

The Fight card for UFC 161 currently looks like this:

Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland - for interim bantamweight title

Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua

Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley

Pat Barry vs. Shawn Jordan

Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei

Sam Stout vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg

Sean Pierson vs. Anthony Waldburger

Renan Barao Meets Eddie Wineland at UFC 161

UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao defend his belt at UFC 161 against Eddie Wineland

A Title bout between interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao (30-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and former WEC bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland (20-8-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will headline UFC 161.

Barao who recently defending his interim belt in London at UFC on Fuel 7 against Michael MacDonald winning the fight via 4th round Arm Triangle, is currently riding 30 fight win streak, including 5 ufc wins over  top ten opponents in Uriah Faber, Scott Jorgensen, and The UKs Brad Pickett.

His opponent Eddie Wineland lost his fist 2 fights in the UFC before bouncing back with wins over common opponents in Jorgensen and Pickett.

It was originally believed following his win against MacDonald, Barao would fight injured UFC Champion Dominic Cruz to unify the Bantamweight title, however the announcement of Barao vs Wineland indicates Cruz - who has not fought since October 2011, will need longer to heal the the originally estimate 6 to 9 months,  following a second knee surgery in December.

UFC 161 takes place on June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnipeg and is the promotion's first visit to the Manitoba province in Canada. Already booked for the event are Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and Jake Shields-Tyron Woodley.

Stay tune for the latest on UFC 161 in the calendar section of our website. 

Heavyweight clash added to UFC 161

Stipe Miocic welcomes back Soa Palelei to the UFC

Stipe Miocic's (9-1 MMA 3-1 UFC) return to the octagon has now been made official for UFC 161 when he welcomes Soa "The Hulk" Palelei (18-3 MMA 0-1 UFC) back to the UFC. Miocic last fought when he headlined UFC on FUEL TV 5 in a 2nd round knockout loss to Stefan Struve in Nottingham England. That loss to Struve was the first loss of his career.

Palelei, who has won his past eight fights, last fought in the UFC at UFC 79 where he was knocked out in the third round by Eddie Sanchez.

The UFC 161 fight card looks like this right now:
Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans
Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
Soa Palelei vs. Stipe Miocic

For more on UFC 160, hit up the Calendar page on our website

Jake Shields vs Tyron Woodley Target for UFC 161 in Canada

A Welterweight match up between one time UFC title challenger, Jake Shields 27-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC), and Tyron Woodley (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is in the works for the summer.

The fight is being targeted for a yet-unnamed event, likely UFC 161, on June 15 in Canada. A host city is not yet finalised.

Woodley who started his career a perfect 10-0 before losing to Nate Marquardt in a bout for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title following Nick Diaz's departure to The UFC, holds notable wins over Paul Daley and Jordan Mein, and impressed in his UFC debut where he knocked out former Bellator tournament winner, and IFL Champion Jay Hieron after just 36 second of the first round.

Shields (pictured), a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, makes his return to Welterweight after a decision over 185-pound vet Ed Herman at UFC 150 in Denver. However the victory was later overturned when the Gracie fight team member tested positive for a banned substance.

For more on the UFC 161 fightcard, go to the Calendar section on our site.