Ron Chenoy, US
PRESSWIRE
The rest of the card was serviceable and in some places fun. Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard put on quite the show, but Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman didn't tell us or show us much. Ditto for Jared Hamman vs. Michael Kuiper despite 'fans' of MMA suggesting that was a good fight.
All in all, though, it was the fourth UFC pay-per-view event in seven weeks. There's just too much to really get worked up over one way or the other. And the good (or not so good, depending on your perspective) news is there's more MMA this weekend. Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returns to defend her title against Sarah Kaufman. So, dive on in to today's Morning Report. We've got all the news and video from the weekend plus Rousey getting her troll on.
FIVE MUST-READ STORIES
Tyrone Mims, MMA Fighter, Dies Following Amateur Bout in South Carolina. An autopsy is expected today to determine the actual cause of death.
Olympic 2012 Wrestling Results. In case you missed an update on how the U.S. men's freestyle team did, here is the StoryStream with all of the updates.
Phil Baroni's ONE FC Blog: Living With King Mo, Training, Coffee and Asian Chicks. The NYBA checks in to talk about his fighting and life experience as he prepares to fight at the upcoming ONE FC show later this month.
Five Observations About UFC 150. Our own Mike Chiappetta breaks down UFC 150 into five salient points.
UFC 150 Aftermath: Frankie Edgar's Harsh Reality. Dave Doyle makes the case that Edgar's last four fights demand we reevaluate the lightweights career just a bit.
MEDIA STEW
Want some highlights of Cerrone vs. Guillard? Of course you do:
Did you miss any of Ariel Helwani's post-fight videos from UFC 150? Catch up on anything you missed:
Would Alistair Overeem fight Jon Jones? Hear his answer here:
Josh Koscheck continues to take shots at AKA's Javier Mendez. Here's the latest:
Sarah Kaufman is doing a contest with her fans to get the best Ronda Rousey impression. Rousey decided to enter herself:
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today's FanPost of the Day is brought to you by Josh Hall who makes the case that Frankie Edgar is the greatest lightweight in MMA history. Here's part of his case:
The title would remain vacant until 2006, when Shawn Sherk defeated Kenny Florian via unanimous decision on October 14 at UFC 64. Sherk would have one successful defense, defeating Hermes Franca via unanimous decision at UFC 73 on 7/7/07. His reign would end without a defeat, however, as Sherk was stripped of the title on December 8, 2007 for failing a post fight drug test from his fight with Franca (Hermes tested positive for a banned substance post fight as well, also garnering a suspension).
On January 19, 2008 the UFC LW title gained its first champion to finish a title fight, and the first to eventually lose the belt in a fight, rather than getting stripped of it. BJ Penn defeated Joe "Daddy" Stevenson in a bloodbath, eventually winning the bout via rear naked choke, and licking Stevenson's blood from his gloves. A new era of dominance had descended upon the division, with Penn defending the title successfully 3 times, against Shawn Sherk, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez, all by extremely impressive stoppage.
When Penn was booked against Frankie "The Answer" Edgar, fans (including myself) scoffed at the idea of the fight even being booked. Despite Edgar coming off wins over Franca, Sherk, and Matt Veach, he was deemed unworthy as a title challenger, with many people campaigning for Gray Maynard to get the shot instead. Edgar went on to prove the doubters wrong, defeating Penn via unanimous decision at UFC 112. This fight was not without its controversy, as many felt that Penn should have won the decision.
An immediate rematch was booked, and at UFC 118 on August 28, 2010, Penn/Edgar II took place, and there was no dispute about the winner this time. Edgar was able to use superior footwork and boxing to clearly outpoint the former champion (even taking Penn down, which had never been done at LW), retaining the title with a unanimous decision once again.
At UFC 125 on New Year's Day 2011, Edgar met the only person in MMA he had lost to, "The Bully" Gray Maynard. Maynard has outwrestled his way to a decision over Edgar in 2008, and the same was to be expected here. Instead, fans were treated to one of the greatest displays of heart in the Octagon. Maynard dropped Edgar on more than one occasion in the first round, breaking the champion's nose and leaving him a bloody mess. Edgar found his composure in between rounds, and recovered to fight back to a highly contested draw. With nothing settled and Anthony Pettis waiting for the winner (as the final WEC LW champion), another immediate rematch was declared.
In the rematch, Maynard started the fight the same way, destroying Edgar in the first round, but never quite able to put him away. Once again, the smaller champion hung around in the fight until he could regain his senses, but he did not allow the judges to render a decision this time. In the fourth round, Edgar rocked Maynard badly, and followed with a series of concussive right hands, leaving Maynard crumpled in an unconscious heap at the base of the cage. This was the first, and thus far only finish in a LW title fight by anyone other than BJ Penn in UFC history (whom Edgar beat twice).
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