Source: usatoday.com

Johny Hendricks claimed his #1 contender status two weeks ago knocking out Martin Kampmann in stunning fashion at UFC 154. We knew Hendricks had power in his left hand but to knock out Kampmann was impressive. And yet, even with the win, Hendricks is still playing the waiting game.

Hendricks said its a title fight against GSP or bust for him right now. He won’t consider another fight. That is all and well, if anyone deserves a shot at GSP, its Hendricks. The only problem is that GSP is on the cusp of a super fight with Anderson Silva. If that fight happens in May of 2013, GSP won’t be ready to fight Hendricks until the end of next year.

I am not so sure Hendricks can go a year without action and miss out on pay days. To further complicate things, the GSP camp wants Nick Diaz next. Diaz is definitely the bigger draw here. While Diaz will make the right villain to GSP’s hero, Hendricks is the more dangerous opponent that GSP’s camp seems to be ducking.

As much as I want to see GSP fight Diaz, it might be an easy fight for GSP. Maybe not EASY, but easier than Hendricks. GSP takes both guys down but Hendricks has the knockout power that Diaz lacks. GSP could dominate Hendricks the whole fight and still get knocked out. That is why Hendricks is being ducked right now. He is the rightful #1 contender and should fight GSP next.

Source: MMA Mania

Well, not exactly, but it could happen. Mike Dolce, Chael Sonnen‘s personal trainer and trainer to other notable MMA stars, revealed that Sonnen has beefed up a lot in preparation for his fight with Jon Jones. In fact, Dolce said Sonnen is walking around at 240 lbs right now.

Lets clarify though, Sonnen is not fat or bloated. According to Dolce, Sonnen is “240 pounds and ripped”. With the fight about 5 months away, Sonnen will be all muscle and ready for Jon Jones when they meet in April. Both are currently annoying each other while they are filming season 17 of TUF.

I cannot wait for Sonnen to fight Jones. I think Jones will win but we finally get to see someone take the fight to Jones. I don’t know why challengers have been giving Anderson Silva and Jon Jones so much respect. I get it, they are great fighters. But you have to take the fight to them. Sonnen is going to fight Jones, wait and see.

If Sonnen loses, why not go after heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos next? JDS already hates Sonnen. And if Sonnen is at 240 lbs, he doesn’t even have to cut weight to fight at heavyweight. Lets make it a trifecta, three consecutive title fights at different weight classes without having to earn it.

Source: Cage Potato

Just when you thought you could just enjoy the last Strikeforce show before it folds, something like this happens. It was confirmed earlier this week that Gilbert Melendez would not be able to fight on the final card due to injury. Today, Luke Rockhold has also withdrawn from the card.

Strikeforce had been hoping to go out with a bang for its final show after having cancelled its final two cards of the year. Having an all champions card would have helped. With two champs having already pulled out, it seems Strikeforce has been cursed by the MMA gods. Nate Marquardt vs Tarec Saffiedine will now serve as the main event of the evening.

I don’t know about you but I have the feeling both Melendez and Rockhold are looking forward to bargaining with the UFC about their future more than defending their Strikeforce titles. Think about it, would you rather defend a meaningless title possibly losing in the process or get healthy and prepare for your future in the UFC?

Everyone would probably take the latter choice. It only makes sense. I’m not going as far as to say these guys aren’t hurt but I think the idea of securing their future with the UFC supersedes their competitive spirit especially when Strikeforce is going to fold anyway. I would rather come to the bargaining table as the champ that is healthy rather than the guy that lost on the final card.

Who knows, between now and then Nate Marquardt could get the hint and pull out too. The idea of a Strikeforce champions vs UFC champions card would be very interesting. Imagine Melendez vs Henderson or Diaz, Marquardt vs GSP, and Rockhold vs Silva, its almost too good to be true. Why risk it? Get healthy and prepare for an amazing year.

Update 11/27/2012: Pat Healy will now be facing Jorge Masvidal now that Gilbert Melendez has pulled out with an injury. Its not the fight that Masvidal wanted but it will at least keep him busy while he waits for Melendez to return.

Source: ESPN

In a surprising turn of events both Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman failed their UFC 153 post fight drug tests. The UFC confirmed both fighters admitted to taking the banned substances. Bonnar tested positive for an anabolic steroid, drostalonone, Herman tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

Well truthfully, I knew there was something wrong with the Dave Herman and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight. At certain times it seemed like Herman was just coasting and playing with Nogueira when he could have attacked him. I’m not saying Herman could have won but he could have tried to fight instead of just smiling at Nogueira the whole time.

The Bonnar news is a bit baffling because Bonnar is such a nice and good guy. Then it was brought up that this was Bonnar’s second failed drug test. He tested positive for boldenone in 2006 after his loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 62. So maybe Bonnar isn’t this clean and good guy that we think he is.

Does this ruin Bonnar’s legacy in the UFC? Not likely. Bonnar was always a fan favorite and put on great fights even though he was usually on the losing end. There was probably some pressure and fear in having to fight Anderson Silva that made Bonnar use steroids. Either way, it didn’t help his career or net him any additional wins. Bonnar is retired so the suspension won’t hurt him. Still, it does make us question him a little more.

Update 11/19/2012: It seems Stephan Bonnar was roiding up to get ready for pro wrestling when he got the call from Dana White to fight Anderson Silva. White said he was upset because Bonnar didn’t tell him and hasn’t returned Bonnar’s calls since the positive drug test.

Source: MMA News

It wasn’t easy Saturday night but Georges St. Pierre was able to unify the welterweight title at UFC 154 in Montreal, Canada. GSP had to survive a scare in the third round when Carlos Condit landed a head kick knocking down the Canadian.

The champ showed heart and resilience weathering the round and dominating the rest of the fight with his wrestling and grappling. Condit was not able to muster much of an offensive to threaten GSP again. Clearly GSP’s ground game was the difference in the fight.

While his dominance was clear, Carlos Condit posed the greatest threat to GSP since Matt Serra. Up next for GSP is much needed time off. The question everyone wants to know is if GSP will fight Anderson Silva next.

In the co-main event of the evening, Johny Hendricks showed much of his usual self knocking out Martin Kampmann in just 46 seconds of the first round. There is at least one person who doesn’t want to see the super fight, thats Hendricks who feels he deserves the next shot at GSP. Here are the full fight card results:

Main Card:

Georges St-Pierre def. Carlos Condit by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann by KO (Punch, 1st Round, 0:46)
Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Rafael dos Anjos def. Mark Bocek by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Pablo Garza def. Mark Hominick by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-28)

Prelims:

Patrick Cote def. Alessio Sakara by DQ (strikes to back of head, 1st Round, 1:26)
Cyrille Diabate def. Chad Griggs by Submission (Rear-naked choke, 1st Round, 2:24)
John Makdessi def. Sam Stout by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Facebook Fights:

Antonio Carvalho defeated Rodrigo Damm by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ivan Menjivar defeated Azamat Gashimov by Submission (Arm bar, 1st Round, 2:44)
Matt Riddle defeated John Maguire by Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Darren Elkins defeated Steven Siler by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Fight Night Bonuses:

GSP and Carlos Condit earned Fight of the Night honors, Johny Hendricks took home Knockout of the Night, and Ivan Menjivar was awarded Submission of the Night. Each fighter banked an additional $70k for their efforts.