Stacked fight cards expected at UFC 129 and 130
Posted on January 7, 2011, 05:20 PM by Joey SantosusFormer Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and TUF 10 alum Roy "Big Country" Nelson have reportedly agreed to face one another in a bout expected to take place as part of the Memorial Day weekend UFC 130 event.
The contractual issues that forced Nelson out of an earlier event were expected to keep him sidelined for an indefinite period of time, however along with news of the potential match-up came reassurance that this would no longer be problematic for the former IFL champ.
Mir will look to continue building momentum after his dramatic third-round knockout of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in his last outing at September's UFC 119. Having posted a 3-2 mark in his last five fights, a win here will be crucial for the veteran as he looks to make another run at the division title.
After knocking out Brendan Schaub in the finale to become the Season 10 Ultimate Fighter, "Big Country" followed up with an impressive 39-second knockout win over Sefan Struve. However, his title hopes were dashed when he dropped a decision to Junior Dos Santos in a bout that was to name the division's number one contender. A win over Mir would undoubtedly put Nelson back on track.
Source: MMAJunkie.com
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Rampage Jackson vs Thiago Silva rumoured for UFC 130
Coming off of a dominating win over Brandon Vera, Thiago Silva made his intentions felt in the Lightheavyweight division. The talented Brazilian striker has lost just twice in his career, to Machida and Rashad, both former Champs. With his previous win, Silva expressed an interest to move up the ranks, and now it looks like he might get his wish, in the shape of former Lightheavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson.
Heavy hitting Rampage was last seen rebounding to a loss against Rashad Evans, by beating another former champ, Lyoto Machida. Rampage rebounded in spectacular fashion, to beat an opponent with only one defeat who many believed would be too much for Rampage. The PRIDE legend showed a return to form that has been lacking in some of his UFC fights.
Silva is currently 6-2 inside The Octagon, 15-2 overall. The former Chute Boxe Protege now fights out of American Top Team. The heavy hitter is known for some of his highlight reel KO's, but also holds a Black Belt in BJJ.
With both fighters known for their stand up skills, fireworks are guaranteed if this bout goes ahead as planned on May 28th.
Rick Story is also expected to face Thiago Alves, while Stefan Struve seems likely to meet Travis Browne at the same event.
Source: MMAJunkie.com
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Matt Hamill vs Phil Davis confirmed for UFC 129
In other news, exciting Lightheavyweight prospect "Mr Wonderful" Phil Davis, will face off against veteran wrestler Matt Hamill at UFC 129. This will be Davis's toughest test to date, as he looks to continue his unbeaten run as a Mixed Martial Artist. Currently 8-0 overall (4-0 in the UFC), Davis is one of the wrestlers who can never be described as boring. Last seen putting a brutal one handed Kimura on Phil Boetsch, Davis will come into this bout brimming with confidence.
Hamill made history in his first UFC fight, becoming the promotions first deaf fighter. Holding a 10-2 record, Hamill has only lost to Rich Franklin and a very questionable decision to Michael Bisping. Last seen putting a beating on Tito Ortiz, Hamill is currently the only man to hold a "win" over hot prospect Jon Jones, albeit via DQ. The Ultimate Fighter three contestant currently rides 5 win streak, holding wins over Keith Jardine and Mark Munoz, as well as Jones.
Source: MMA Weekly
As it stands, UFC have given fans two cards to look forward to.
UFC 129 rumoured card:
Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
* Georges St. Pierre (C) vs Jake Shields
* Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida
* Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill
* Ben Henderson vs. Mark Bocek
* Rory MacDonald vs. James Wilks
* Brian Foster vs. Sean Pierson
* Jonathan Brookins vs. John Makdessi
* Daniel Roberts vs. Claude Patrick
* Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin
* Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia
* Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen
UFC 130 rumoured card
May 28, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
* Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
* Quinton Jackson vs. Thiago Silva
* Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story
* Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve
A third bout between Lightweight Champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard is also rumoured for this event, provided Edgar is granted medical clearance.
Comments
nelson is better than mir on the feet and the ground. im failing to see where mir has any advantages. nelson also has twice the chin mir does.
haha! stated so well. He does have twice the chin Mir does. Infact he has a double chin. Or at least he should for his weight.
Also...Nelson has more spare tyres than the Moto GP... can't say the same for Mir. ; )
@Cowboy...I agree, I give Nelson the edge in this fight I got Nelson via GnP I dont see Mir subbing or knocking Big Country out
well all i wana see is for Mir to lose...
he has the biggest mouth in the MMA and even bigger ego...
i wana see his ass knocked out once again...
I wouldnt be so quick to give Nelson the edge in both those categories. Mir might have the edge in the standup and they're pretty even on the ground, Nelson has a better top game but Mir has a better guard (and before anyone brings it up Im aware of the grappling match between them and we can't read too much into that)
I agree that Nelson is better on the ground due to the fact that he beat Mir in a grappling match.
However, I think Mir is much better on the feet. He is also clearly a much better athlete and I think he will TKO Nelson.
i think mir will win this fight for sure. i just can`t see big country winning this. and i Think Ra,page vs. Silva is one of the most interesting light heavyweight match ups since a long time.
keep thinking or dreaming, nelson wins dis hands down
not sure why cowboy was weaked.. nelson has tapped mir out in BJJ tournaments and mirs standup is a bit behind nelsons still i feel, even though he finished kongo and crocop recently, it can be argued that they are both well past their prime. i like mir a lot but i see this fight going one way, and its not the former ufc champs.
totallally agree, mir will only win dis if nelson lets him get a submission, other than that nelson should dominate mir in every aspect of the fight and anyone who thinks other wise should go back to the wwe where they belong, and anyone on here that thinks mir wins dis is only used to playing the video game lol nelson wins dis handsdown
i no longer have any confidence in mir, ill be picking nelson
Mir would have more clinch power, not sure about long distance. I think mir would be better on the feet though
On the ground it could be a tossup, mir is fighting against people with alot of atypical bodytypes lately
I think Nelson should let his hair do the fighting. Then he'd be a beast.
Roy has power but I won't say his hands are that much better.
Mir is a much more technical striker than Nelson. He also has plenty of KO power. He dropped Kongo with a single punch. That said Nelson is clearly a tough guy to KO as displayed in his fight with JDS. The grappling match everyone keeps bringing up was nearly eight years ago so I agree with the above poster who wrote that you can't read much into that. All in all my pick is Mir for the W but it should be close.
If I remember right, they had pure grappling match last year(??) Nelson won that one.
Think that was in 03.
Ya, a lot changes in nearly a decade, and grappling changes immensely once you add strikes in it.
im glad GSP is fighting again so quickly
Rampage/Silva is gonna b such a sick fight...I dont think Silva's grappling is good enough to keep Rampage down so I think its going to be mainly a stand up battle which I cant wait for
I think page will get taken down too easily and it'll turn in to a snoozer.
Rampage has some sick takedown defense...Evans was only able to take him down like 3 or 4 times n Rampage got bck up rite away when he did get taken down so I dont see Silva taking Rampage downing n controlling him like he did Vera
These would be 2 awesome fights.
Rampage vs Silva **** yeah son!!!
Mir vs Nelson on the ground should be interesting.
im liking this, UFC 130 is shaping up nicely
hmmm mayby by annoucing Mir vs Nelson they are also telling us who the coaches on the next season of TUF are gonna be?
finally, the mircat's road to redemption begins here :P
how long does it take for dis mir's road to redemption to take place, well guess what it will never take place, mir will get destroyed by nelson and then ye will go on about his road to redemption starts again in his next fight after nelson its gettin boring guys
actually it began when he ko'd cro cop :)
i tot it began when he bet kongo? nd den he got ktfo so it started against crocop
@Enforcer...ya I dont see Mir beating Brock, Carwin, JDS, or Cain n I got Nelson in this fight but Mir has a better chance against him but I dont see Mir becoming a top 5 HW again if he ever was
well i think him breaking sylvia's arm in the 1st round and becoming champ would make him top 5. he was even considered number 2 for a while before the title was put on hiatus.
Nelson when still in his prime. Took Mir in a grappling match a few years ago.
when still in his prime???
Even though Nelson took Mir at Grapplers Quest a few years ago, and Mir has decent BJJ, they've been more standup than anything else in their last few fights. If Mir KO/TKO's Nelson, it'll be with knees in the clinch. Otherwise, Big Country wins KO/TKO. Good to hear the end of the contract problems is in sight.
Looks like a great card so far. Nelson vs Mir would be nice co-main event for Silva vs Rampage. Both have potential to be slugfests. Still I see Nelson taking decision or late KO. Cant really say who would win: Silva or Rampage. If Silva dont gas then I think he could take it and raise his rankings A LOT.
Also, Alves has too good stand up and takedown defence for "Horror". BUT if Story can take Alves down and keep him there, he could win decision.
Nelson beat mir at a grapplers quest but that was after his accident looking to be a great card
ive heard it could Edgar vs Maynard 3 aswell
Goodnight Mir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPTgegc19lY
i am looking forward to seeing John Makdessi again he had a great fight in his debut and i think he will be one of the to lightweights in the next year or two.
so struve is fighting browne...i guess this is dana's way of adding a few more wins on to his record to make him look like a better fighter than he is
That fight makes a lot of sense.... They're both rising Heavyweights. Browne has looked pretty good himself and picking a winner between the two is not nearly as easy as you are making it sound.
personally i'd rather see him fight cro cop
Browne is a bigger, stronger, more athletic fighter. His striking may not be as technical, and his ground game is not as good, but he is clearly the better wrestler. I could easily see him pounding out Struve in this one.
still no shogun?
OMG Mir is dead. Nelson beat him in a grappling match tthat has almost no relevance to MMA like 7 years ago.
Every Stefan Struve fight is a good fight
You must be easy to please if you consider those cards stacked.
The Athlete is back?!
Rampage vs Silva is what I'm REALLY exited for.
Davis will run through Hamill.
Mir and Nelson will be interesting, but I think Mir will take it.
All in all, great fights.
Big Country Punch + Mir wilting = round 2 TKO stoppage for Nelson
more excited for 130, 129 is still rather weak for all the hype behind it :/
i couldn't wait for the toronto card,but it doesn't look as big as I expected to be.
Well before anyone jumps to a quick conclusion, at grapplers quest which is one of the greatest sumbission tournaments in the world. Roy nelson actualy beat frank mir, so dont think roy's a slouch on the ground either. I actualy think roy has all advantages other than maybe cardio which hes proved to be decent at so it should be good!
nelson would get smashed against mir standing up and on the ground, who ever thinks roy is better is an idiot................
Nelson beat Mir in a grappling contest, Nelson's stand up is much better and his chin steel and Mir's is not
129 needs to be better considering it will shatter attendance and boxoffice records. The first 2 figthts are amazing, but I'd like to see at least one more fight with top name guys.
not being funny or nothing but id let nelson sit on my face and he would love what i could do to him
last comment wasent me was my bro
haha your brother seems like a very loving child XD
Im so glad Roy got his contract figured out, didn't want to see him go out like that. Good for him. :D
i know im sure hes gay i hope roy wins his fight
very bad choice of fighter for S Struve...
browne will knock s struve out.....
he was knocked out by Jds, nelson.....
fighter with biiig ass power tend to knock him out...
wow
who do u think will .win....?
Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill ????
who cares he beat him in a grappling match dudes fat he just sat on him the hole time, mir will knock him out bottom line.
roy would **** mir in the ass and thats str8 the **** up. maybe mir has a chance but like that guy said its true roy has a better chin better ground game and no doubt better stand up.
frank mir will fu*k roy nelson up any time any day, he has better hands, better jiu jitsu, and hes just an overall better fighter, get your facts straight, its not a grappling match folks, its mma
If you look at their resumes, it's foolish to even compare them. Big Country has fought one elite fighter (JDS) while Mir has rarely fought anyone but the elite. Maybe Big Country has looked better lately, but he hasn't been facing Lesnar, Carwin, Cro Cop, Big Nog and Kongo.
A year or two ago, nobody would have picked Big Belly Nelson. I don't think things have changed that much. I'm guessing there's a lot of fat people on here who support him.