‘The War Master’ Barnett and Overeem admit their fights weren’t exciting

Tournaments are tremendous, but the one downside may be the fighters trying manage fights a little too much. Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett admitted to fighting smart fights, but not very exciting.

Overeem didn't want to take any risks on the ground against Fabricio Werdum. In the video below, he apologizes for the pace of the fight. Barnett admitted there was a methodology behind his mount without many strikes against Brett Rogers.

"We emphasis a lot with hip pressure and taking the wind out of people. My mount, the drive from my hips was really killing his wind," Barnett told Showtime. "While not super exciting to watch, ultimately [it was] very beneficial to me. It was a matter of setting things up."

Barnett faces a more experienced mixed martial artist in the semifinals. Sergei Kharitonov is 18-4 and has been in there with guys like Semmy Schilt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Pedro Rizzo. He's also 1-1 against Overeem.

"Better all around fighter, sharp boxing and good kickboxing. [He's] very tough, granite chin and better ground game, but I know I have the tools to beat him as well. It's just going to be a different look," said Barnett.

The 33-year-old Barnett also revealed that he's no longer "The "Baby-Faced Assassin." He's now "The War Master."

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Charlie Brenneman Upsets Rick Story at UFC Live

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Charlie BrennemanCharlie Brenneman had a long, strange trip to Sunday night's UFC Live event, with a series of match-up changes leading to him being told on Monday that he wouldn't fight on the card at all, then told on Saturday that he'd fight Rick Story in the co-main event.

For as crazy as things went for Brenneman in the week leading up to the fight, the fight itself went great: Brenneman pulled off a surprising upset and beat Story by unanimous decision.

It was a great grappling display by Brenneman, and an indication that he's a more talented fighter than his previous performances inside the Octagon have suggested.



Story started the fight with a nice throw, putting Brenneman on the ground, but Brenneman quickly got back to his feet, and he soon took Story down and controlled him for most of the rest of the first round. It was a surprisingly effective display on the ground from Brenneman, and a sign of things to come: Brenneman being more effective on the ground was the story of this fight.

In the second round Story threatened with an early submission, but soon it was Brenneman on top and more of the same, with Brenneman staying on top and probably winning the second round as well.

Story appeared to go into the third round knowing he had lost the first and the second, as he was more aggressive going for submissions and attempting to finish Brenneman on the ground. Story achieved full mount with more than a minute remaining in the fight, but Brenneman clung to him, wouldn't let go and eventually got out of the mount and on top of the fight. He stayed on top until the final horn sounded and got up and celebrated, knowing he had won: All three judges scored it 29-28 for Brenneman.

Story, who falls to 13-4, was widely viewed heading into this fight as a future welterweight title contender. Now it's back to the drawing board, as Brenneman exploited some serious holes in Story's ground game. Brenneman improves to 14-2, and he just earned by far the biggest win of his career.

 

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UFC Results: Matt Brown Beats John Howard

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Matt Brown entered Sunday's UFC Live event on a three-fight losing streak. John Howard entered on a two-fight losing streak. Both men were looking at a situation where they may have needed a win to keep their spots on the UFC roster.

Which may mean Howard is out of a job.

Brown beat Howard by unanimous decision Sunday after 15 minutes of close, back and forth fighting, and although it wasn't a thrilling fight, it was enough for Brown to save his job in the UFC. Howard will have to be anxious this week as he wonders if he'll get another chance inside the Octagon.



"I just had fun," Brown said afterward. "Mad props to Howard -- what a f**king warrior he is," Brown said before realizing he had just sworn on live television and asking not to be fined.

Whether Brown is fined or not, at least he can be confident that the win saved his job. Brown hadn't won a fight since beating James Wilkes in 2009.

The win improves Brown's record to 12-10. Howard falls to 14-7.

 

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Before fighting Cruz, Faber takes on internet tough guys

In the age of online gaming with strangers, anonymous internet commenting, and fake Twitter accounts, it can be easy for someone to hide behind a keyboard when ripping on others. With the help of Jareb Dauplaise from "The Hard Times of R.J. Berger," Urijah Faber has an answer for that. (Warning, lots of foul language in the video.)

Dauplaise didn't do much to prepare Faber for his UFC 132 bout, but he did serve up a nice reminder to the internet tough guys and gals of the world. You never know who is on the other side of that keyboard.

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Strikeforce heavyweight GP picks, Vegas-style: Who can pull the upset?

Night No. 1 of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix didn't work out well for one of the big favorites - Fedor Emelianenko. The legendary Fedor entered his fight against Antonio "Big Foot" Silva as a 5-to-1 favorite. He walked away bloodied, beaten and considering retirement. Can Brett Rogers or Fabricio Werdum pull off a similar upset this weekend in Dallas in part two of the heavyweight GP?

Larry Pepe from ProMMARadio.com and Damon Martin from MMAWeekly.com join me on RawVegas to break down the main event between Werdum and minus-350 favorite Alistair Overeem. Below is our conversation about Josh Barnett, a minus-365 favorite, over Rogers.

Strikeforce heavyweight GP betting odds (Courtesy Venetian Las Vegas):

Alistair Overeem (-350) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+250) - Heavyweight

Brett Rogers (+285) vs. Josh Barnett (-365) - Heavyweight

KJ Noons (-320) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+240) - Lightweight

Daniel Cormier (-350) vs. Jeff Monson (+250) - Heavyweight

Gesias Cavalcante (-145) vs. Justin Wilcox (+115) - Lightweight

Chad Griggs (-140) vs. Valentijn Overeem (+110) - Heavyweight

Conor Huen (+145) vs. Magno Almeida (-175) - Lightweight

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WSBK: Corser Undergoes Surgery, Will Miss Brno

Troy Corser will miss the next Word Superbike round at Brno after surgery to repair injuries he sustained this past weekend while racing in Spain. The former world champion, already suffering a cracked rib, crashed in the second race at Motorland Aragon in a collision with Maxime Berger. He sustained a broken ulna and radius, injuries that were suspected after examinations at the circuit. Corser explained, “I braked late at the end of the back ...

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Strikeforce Challengers 16: Card highlighted by first-time Zuffa female fight

Scott Coker put together another solid Challengers card that lands in Kent, Wa. The television friendly slate features what could be some nasty striking fights. The best could be a female fight featuring two muay thai specialists in Julia Budd and Germaine de Randamie. The bout also marks the first time females have fought under the Zuffa banner. The parent company of the UFC bought Strikeforce back in March.

On the surface, a 1-1 fighter facing someone who is 2-1 seems a bit ridiculous until you track what these ladies have done on the muay thai scene. De Randamie is 46-0 and Budd sports a respectable 6-1 mark. They faced off back in 2009 with de Randamie scoring a first-round stoppage.

"I still have to learn a lot in the MMA game. I want to continue to make my ground game better and better so I try to stay focused on my MMA game right now," de Randamie told the Canadian Press. "Definitely, it challenges me. I'm like a newborn, a baby, that needs to learn how to walk. I feel very good. Every day I go to the gym with a smile. I learn so much every day. I'm enjoying it very much."

De Randamie was soccer player as a youth and turned to kickboxing at 15 years old.

Tonight's Strikeforce card also features pro fight No. 3 for Randy Couture's son, Ryan. Keep an eye on Lorenz Larkin against Gian Villante. Larkin looked spectacular in his Strikeforce debut against Scott Lighty. Larkin's scored seven straight KO or TKO finishes.

Strikeforce Challengers 16 weigh-in (courtesy MMAjunkie)

MAIN CARD

Caros Fodor (155.5) vs. James Terry (156)
Ryan Couture (155.5) vs. Matt Ricehouse (155.5)
Lorenz Larkin (205.5) vs. Gian Villante (205.5)
Jason High (171) vs. Quinn Mulhern (169)
Germaine de Randamie (145) vs. Julia Budd (145.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Derek Brunson (186) vs. Jeremy Hamilton (186)
Eduardo Pamplona (170.5) vs. Jerron Peoples (170.5)
Trevor Smith (206) vs. Keith Berry (205.5)

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UFC on Versus 4 weigh-in: Fighters dropping down all look good

The scale doesn't lie, so often times how you look on weigh-in day can be a huge indicator of how fight night will go down. Five fighters on the UFC on Versus 4 card are dropping down to a new weight class and they all looked healthy on the scale in Pittsburgh. A sixth was expected to weigh-in, but Nate Marquardt was dumped from the card for failing his medicals and subsequently fired from the promotion.

Two former UFC lightweight contenders were really worth monitoring on the scale (full weigh-in video).

Both Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson, dropping 10 pounds to 145, looked good. Neither looked drawn in the face or sickly from a physique standpoint. Stevenson simply lost some mass on his upper body and Griffin was shredded around the waist. Rich Attonito, coming down from middleweight, looked good as well at welterweight. And featherweight absolutely looked like the correct move for Ricardo Lamas and Matt Grice.

The heavyweight staredowns were intense. Matt Mitrione had words for Christian Morecraft, who actually appeared a little thrown off by the exchange.

Cheick Kongo got right in the grill of Pat Barry. The Kongo-Barry fight is now the main event. Charlie Brenneman stepped up to fight Rick Story, the original opponent of Nate Marquardt. Brenneman and TUF 12 runner-up Michael Johnson both played to the Pittsburgh crowd. Brenneman wore a Steelers' hard hat and Johnson weigh-in with a "Terrible Towel" on his head.

UFC on Versus 4 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):

MAIN CARD (Versus)

Pat Barry (243) vs. Cheick Kongo (234.4)
Charlie Brenneman (170.6) vs. Rick Story (170.4)
Matt Brown (170) vs. John Howard (170.2)
Matt Mitrione (261.1) vs. Christian Morecraft (261.4)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Manny Gamburyan (145.8) vs. Tyson Griffin (145.8)
Joe Stevenson (146) vs. Javier Vazquez (145.8)
Joe Lauzon (156) vs. Curt Warburton (155.6)
Rich Attonito (170) vs. Daniel Roberts (170.6)
Nik Lentz (155.6) vs. Charles Oliveira (153.8)
Matt Grice (145.2) vs. Ricardo Lamas (145.4)
Edward Faaloloto (155.4) vs. Michael Johnson (155.2)

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