Welcome to the UFC, Jack Hermansson

It’s worth remembering that European prospects often take time to get to the UFC. Back in 2012, Jack Hermansson tried to rush his way state-side, jumping from Cage Warriors FC to Bellator. He went 0-2 for the Viacom promotion, but now with an 8 fight win-streak under his belt, he’s back and ready for his UFC debut. The UFC recently announced Hermansson’s signing, he’ll make his debut against Scott Askham at UFC Hamburg on September 3rd. So…

Who is Jack Hermansson?

“The Joker” is a 27-year old Swedish-born fighter training out of Frontline Academy in Oslo, Norway. It’s a camp that’s produced a number of good regional fighters including UFC vet Simeon Thoresen, and Cage Warriors standout Mohsen Bahari. Hermansson enters the UFC with a record of 13-2, his only two losses coming in his short Bellator stint. He has a surprisingly strong record including wins over then unbeaten Maciej Rozanski and UFC vet Karlos Vemola, among a host of other solid veterans. Outside of MMA, Hermansson has a background in Greco-Roman wrestling.

What you should expect:

Hermansson has a very boxy frame for the MW division standing at 6′ 1″, with a relatively short neck and torso, but looks to have very long powerful arms. He tends to use that build to stay out at range, where he moves well and feints a lot, often switching stances and rarely committing to combinations. He tends to stay reasonably tight defensively as he moves, but can get caught moving into strikes, and doesn’t move his head as much as he does his feet.

When Hermansson does actually sit on strikes, he does well to mix up his approach, and land with power, but he doesn’t do it as often as he gets the opportunity to. His entire MMA game definitely starts to work a lot better when he can establish the jab. In part, that’s also because most of Hermansson’s game is striking. He rarely shoots, and when he does he’s not a complex wrestler. Most of his wrestling success comes when opponents shoot on him and he can stuff the shot and ride from top control. He’s got very active GnP from the top when he gets there and is adept enough off his back, but neither position tends to be his by choice.

What this means for his debut:

This is tricky. Askham’s range striking is… not good. And that’s almost entirely where Hermansson likes to work. But, by a similar token, Hermansson isn’t likely to create a lot of additional problems for Askham with a power wrestling game. Still, given Hermansson’s toughness and gas tank, if he can stay outside and stay active he’s got the tools he needs to take a decision off the Brit.

To get us better acquainted, here’s his most recent fight, at Venator FC 3, against Ireneusz Cholewa:

Fights to make for the UFC: Almeida vs. Garbrandt main card fighters

There are more than a couple fighters who have to ask themselves some hard questions after this latest UFC Las Vegas fight night card. Guys who came in expecting to roll through their opposition who themselves got rolled, and fighters looking for career revitalizing wins who instead got chalked up with another loss. On both accounts, that makes for some careful matchmaking duties.

Who do you set up for another potential setback, who do you give a better style matchup to? What makes the kind of fight that everyone’s still interested in after a bad loss? After all, it’s not half as hard to sell a winner. Those are the questions I’m sure Sean Shelby and Joe Silva are asking, so they’re the questions I’m here to answer.

As usual, I’ll be going after the Shelby/Silva style of booking. Winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured opponents. So, let’s get to the fantasy fights:

CODY GARBRANDT: Mookie’s made my job a bit easier with his post fight analysis piece, and frankly it’s just the fight that makes the most sense. Another action fight between young fighters, a step up in experience, but not a leap into the deepest ends of the pool. John Lineker and Michael McDonald are scheduled to fight. Garbrandt should get the winner. Garbrandt vs. Lineker/McDonald winner.

THOMAS ALMEIDA: Part of me wants to just make some chaos and put Thomas Almeida in with Aljamain Sterling. They’re both 4-1, both coming off a loss, etc, etc… but that feels lazy and wasteful. If we want to go winner vs. loser, I think a fight with Takeya Mizugaki would be great, and a good way to give Almeida a hard fight without putting him against a power puncher. Could also say the loser of McDonald/Lineker, for a complete all-violence round-robin, but I’ll go Almeida vs. Mizugaki instead.

JEREMY STEPHENS: Since Stephens obviously deserves a big bump up in fight notoriety after this win, the cruelest parts of me want him to face B.J. Penn when/if Penn returns from suspension. But that could be years with USADA. Unfortunately the upper end of 145 is pretty booked up right now, or full of guys Stephens has already lost decisively to. The best of the latter option would be a rematch with Cub Swanson, since Stephens broke his hand early in that fight. If Ricardo Lamas beats Max Holloway, that’s a good fight for Stephens. If he doesn’t, however, I say give Stephens the loser of Edgar/Aldo. Sure he’s not likely to win, but he deserves some kind of shot at a big fight and it’d be a nice bounce back for either guy. Stephens vs. Aldo/Edgar loser.

RENAN BARAO: It’s probably time to just go out and make sure Renan Barao can get a good win, still. He looked great in bursts against Stephens, but he also looked overly reliant on his chin and like he couldn’t muscle people the way he used to at 135. He may drop right back down, for that matter. If he doesn’t, I say Barao vs. Siver, whenever Siver comes back. If that’s too long, then he could also fight Clay Guida, if Guida loses to Brian Ortega. Still, Barao vs. Siver for now.

RICK STORY: Somehow I forgot Rick Story… so this is a late addition and I owe the man an apology, because I’m very glad he’s back. So, with Story back now, I really want to see him fight the winner of Hendricks vs. Gastelum. He’s fought both men before, beating Hendricks on Hendricks’ way to the title and losing to Gastelum. With such a long layoff under his belt and both men having changed a lot since then, it feels like the right time for a rematch. I’d also love love love to see him fight Matt Brown, once Brown is done doing terrible things to Jake Ellenberger. But Story vs. Hendricks/Gastelum winner for now.

TAREC SAFFIEDINE: Sometimes a fighter loses and a the sensible fight just falls right into your lap. Albert Tumenov vs. Tarec Saffiedine seems like it makes a ton of sense and gives both men another shot to show off their striking. If Saff wants to test himself against another clinch grinder, Court McGee is out there, but I think we all just want Saffiedine vs. Tumenov.

CHRIS CAMOZZI: It sucks that Leites is coming off a loss, because I really think that would be a great chance to see if Camozzi can overcome the classic “BJJ guy with suspect gas tank” foe that has plagued his career. Same with a rematch against Rafael Natal. But, Camozzi deserves a winner and, what do you know? Thiago Santos deserves a step up. Chris Camozzi vs. Thiago Santos would be great. Let’s make that fight happen.

LORENZ LARKIN: The welterweight division is Lorenz Larkin’s oyster right now. Matchups with Nelson, Magny, DHK, and Story all make some kind of sense for him to try and take a jump up against he fringes of the top 10. Of all those, I think Magny makes the most interesting style matchup. Magny is the kind of dude willing to fight anyone, anytime, so lets book Neil Magny vs. Lorenz Larkin.

JORGE MASVIDAL: Another crushing loss for “Gamebread” and it’s worth wondering what makes a good next step for him, now with two losses in a row and three in his last 4. Do you throw him in the next toughest fight available or try and get him a bounce-back win so he stays around longer? I’ll split the difference and say the UFC should give him Court McGee. McGee is tough and a willing scrapper, who should give Masvidal a good action fight, while still being someone, on paper, Masvidal should beat. Court McGee vs. Jorge Masvidal.

PAUL FELDER: There are a number of borderline top 15 talents in the UFC’s lightweight division, and they’re all clumped together without a fight right now. Paul Felder, Mairbek Taisumov, and Adriano Martins… Oh and Rustam Khabilov too. I actually think Felder vs. Martins would be the best of those fights, since Martins isn’t as likely to piece Felder up or just drown him with wrestling like Khabilov would. Paul Felder vs. Adriano Martins, book it.

JOSH BURKMAN: Assuming he gets another fight in the UFC, this would be as good a time as any to take on Efrain Escudero. If that can’t get done, the loser of Lauzon/Sanchez or Miller/Gomi would be just as good. Of all of those, I’d say I like the idea of Burkman vs. the Miller/Gomi loser the best.

SARA MCMANN: She could probably use another win or two to really cement herself as a true gatekeeper, but there’s no doubt this is the best McMann’s GnP has looked in a long time, which makes her a more difficult opponent than ever. I’d love to see McMann take on the Holm/Shevchenko winner, but the UFC may have bigger plans for them. If that’s the case and since Cyborg won’t be fighting GdR next (from the sound of it), then Sara McMann vs. Germain de Randamie is a great fight to make.

ABEL TRUJILLO: Trujillo continues his run of winning more than he’s losing without ever quite separating himself from the lightweight pack. This was a tough won victory in which he looked more patient, but also less “killa”. This might make him a great next step fight for Kevin Lee, after his win over Efrain Escudero. But if the UFC wants to slowplay Lee a bit more then I’d be fine with Trujillo vs. Madadi… In fact, lets just go with that. Abel Trujillo vs. Reza Madadi.

ERIK KOCH: Koch looked absolutely fantastic in his long overdue return from injury, and as such it’s time to get him a tougher fight. I still don’t know what Nik Lentz is doing, so while I’d love to see that, it doesn’t make tons of sense for me to throw it around with Nik Lentz not seeming to get booked. Otherwise, Koch vs. the winner of Dariush vs. Vick would be great. Or, if you really want to see where he’s at, Rustam Khabilov. I’ll say Koch vs. Dariush/Vick winner.

BRYAN CARAWAY: I don’t know that Caraway will ever get the respect that he deserves for his ability as a fighter. That’s just his cross to bear, I suppose. But this win does set him up for a bigger fight. Assuming the winner of Assuncao/Dillashaw gets the next shot, then this is the time for Caraway vs. Dodson. I wanted Dodson/Lineker but that’s not happening. This is a good second for it. Bryan Caraway vs. John Dodson.

ALJAMAIN STERLING: Sterling’s got some serious kinks in his game to work out. He’s a good kicker, but without a boxing game or good footwork, he’s exceptionally open to being rushed and taken down while off balance. I’d like to see him fight Mitch Gagnon, but Gagnon hasn’t fought for more than a year, so that seems unlikely. Manny Gamburyan would also be a good fight, but I have no idea when Gamburyan will be back from getting quick KO’d by John Dodson. Without a better option on offer, I’m going to say Sterling vs. the Wineland/Saenz winner. Not a typical matchup, but desperate times = desperate measures.

OTHER BOUTS: Miranda vs. Scott, Rinaldi vs. Horcher, Collier vs. Askham, Uda vs. Di Chirico, Milstead vs. Harris

KNUCKLE UP #313: Where Have All the Brazilian Nuts to Jump on Gone? Or: UFC FN + the Damage Done

In Round #313 KNUCKLE UP host EUGENE S. ROBINSON [with the “S” standing for “SS”], straight outta Poland watches like 8 hours of MMA, sleeps for no hours and attempts to coherently link together a series of thoughts about nuts, Brazilians and UFC Fight Night ALMEIDA-GARBRANDT. Above and below the call of duty? Yes.

And for the listener ON THE GO? The KNUCKLE UP TIME LINE.

1] 7:01: CAN I HAVE A VOWEL?

2] 8:52: PUNCHING THE PSYCHIATRIST IN THE MOUTH

3] 30:34: STILL WANT TO HELP OXBOW OUT? DO IT

4] 41:00: AT THE 7-11. MAD DOGGING A DOG.

5] 41:30: MMA COULD STAND FOR MANY THINGS

6] 41:35: WHY DO THEY CALL ME MR. CUPCAKE, MR. CUPCAKE ASKS

7] 41: 37: NOW BACK TO BERLIN

Eugene S. Robinson host of Knuckle Up and author of Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking [Harper Collins], A LONG SLOW SCREW [Robotic Boot] and a play called THE INIMITABLE SOUNDS OF LOVE; A THREESOME IN FOUR ACTS [Southern] also sings for a band called OXBOW and appeared in Bill Cosby’s Leonard Part 6 (and yes, a Cosby story is in the works), a Miller Genuine Draft commercial, and had his own TV show in Germany called? “The Eugene Robinson Show.”

Want to see that video of me and the combat vet on Memorial Day? Of course you do: https://www.facebook.com/Ozy/videos/1788008791415437/

If you like the Sound but could live without the visual Fury? Look for the audio only edition on SoundCloud.

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Watch: Brazilian MMA prospect’s crazy walkout and KO finish

Okay, sure, there’s nothing that scary about a dancing Captain America, or a dancing Spiderman. Mickey Mouse? That’s debatable. But whatever that puffy-faced, Raggedy-Ann, dog-boy creature is, that’s absolutely terrifying and more than enough to put fear into the hearts of the bravest of men.

4-1 rising fighter Gabriel Macario faced Juliano Militao at Aspera FC 38 this weekend, on May 27th in Barueri, Brazil. The fight was Macario’s first since a submission loss to Gerardo Nunez last month in Spain. The formerly unbeaten prospect was looking to jump back on the winning side, and came out with what I can only assume was meant to be a much more intimidating version of the Haka. Check it out below (h/t to MMA Fighting):

Oh, and as for the fight, Macario did pretty well there too,  scoring the KO off a clean counter left hook. No doubt aided by the fact that his opponent had just seen him tear away a dog face to reveal himself:

Welcome to the UFC, Belal Muhammad

Sometimes you see a fight and you just know it’s that fighter’s last time on the regionals before getting a phone call. Belal Muhammad’s win over Steve Carl was that fight. Muhammad dominated the former WSOF champ and Bellator veteran on his way to a 4th Round TKO and the Titan FC welterweight title. Given Titan FC’s open nature about letting fighters jump to the UFC and given the high profile of Muhammad’s win, there was only one logical next step to take. MMAJunkie reports that, indeed, that step has been taken. Muhammad has vacated his belt and is on his way to the Octagon. So…

Who is Belal Muhammad?

The 27-year old Muhammad trains out of Chicago Fight Team under former Strikeforce and Bellator fighter Louis Taylor (who coached his wrestling team in high school), as well as spending time at Roufusport up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He’s run up a stellar regional record, entering the UFC undefeated at 9-0 with wins over Bellator’s AJ Matthews, former CES champ Chris Curtis, prospect Zane Kamaka, and of course Steve Carl. Muhammad has been, largely, fighting the best available talent every step of the way to the UFC. Outside of MMA, Muhammad has a background in boxing at the amateur level and in wrestling.

What you should expect:

While Muhammad may have a background in both, his boxing game definitely takes center stage over his wrestling. In the cage he is largely a volume puncher, tending to work at the edges of range keeping a constant jab going and working behind it. He does well to work a kicking game in with his boxing, and puts some real power behind those kicks, but the focus is definitely on being a combination puncher. To that end, Muhammad does a good job feinting and changing rhythm, to keep his opponent from guessing his timing too easily.

Muhammad uses his footwork well at range, circling away, maintaining distance and not walking himself into the pocket. As such he’s got pretty solid takedown defense. His focus is on accuracy and timing, and he rarely puts himself in a bad position to be taken down. Just because of his style, Muhammad hasn’t been much of a finisher to date in his MMA career, but he’s got the kind of style that’s great for breaking down opponents over time.

The MMA Prospectus: Garbrandt vs. Almeida & other UFC BWs

It’s a great week for potential UFC talent and most particularly the bantamweight division. Cody Garbrandt, Thomas Almeida, and Aljamain Sterling are all in action and all have the look of potential future title contenders. So, we’re taking this chance to really dive into the division structure and why so many of the bright young stars at 135 seem to be rising so fast.

Of course that’s not all we’re talking about, and you’ll find a list below of the other, non-UFC prospects we’re looking out for this week.

As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a “Like” over on YouTube. And while you’re there, why not subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM. That way you’ll be the first to know about all the latest Bloody Elbow videos, interviews, and analysis.

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Quick and dirty prospect list:

EFN
LHW: Kurban Omarov
FW: Movlid Khaibulaev
LW: Ramil Mustapayev

ONE FC
FW: Marat Gafarov **
LHW: Marcin Prachnio **

Eagles FC
LHW: Wojciech Lach
WW: Vlad Popvskiy **
KSW
LW: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Mansour Barnaoui **
LW: Azi Thomas
FW: Filip Wolanski **

M-1 Global
LHW: Stephen Puetz **

Aspera
LHW: Leonardo Silva
HW: Tiago Cardoso
BW: Ricardo Ramos **

LW: Dagir Imavov
LW: Magomed Raisov
LW: Yusup Umarov
LW: Soren Bak
FW: Joey Kuiten
MW: Cezary Kesik

Kid Yamamoto injured again, Soto in against Beal at UFC Ottawa

Kid Yamamoto’s career resurrection tour just can’t seem to get out of the garage. Back in December of 2010, Dana White announced that the UFC had signed the then 33-year-old “Kid” off a win over Federico Lopez at Dream 14. Five and a half years later, and Yamamoto has fought just four times. He has yet to get his first UFC win.

Yamamoto had been scheduled to face Chris Beal at UFC Ottawa on June 18th. The bout would have marked his first fight since a no contest against Roman Salazar in February of 2015. Yamamoto had been scheduled to face Matt Hobar in Japan last September, but the bout fell apart when both fighters withdrew due to injury.

Now it seems Yamamoto is injured again. The UFC announced via press release that Yamamoto has been pulled from his upcoming bout against Chris Beal in Ottawa, he will be replaced by Joe Soto.

Soto enters the fight on a three fight losing skid, still looking for his first victory in the Octagon after making his debut against then champion T.J. Dillashaw. Most recently, Soto dropped a closely contested decision to Michinori Tanaka.

Similarly, Beal is on a two fight skid, having lost flyweight bouts against Neil Seery and Chris Kelades. Beal is now returning to the bantamweight division where he’s spent the majority of his career.

Here’s a look at the UFC Ottawa card as it stands right now.

• Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
• Donald Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote
• Steve Bossé vs. Sean O’Connell
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Thibault Gouti
• Valérie Létourneau vs. Joanne Calderwood
• Misha Cirkunov vs. Ion Cutelaba
• Tamdan McCrory vs. Krzysztof Jotko
• Chris Beal vs. Joe Soto
• Elias Theodorou vs. Sam Alvey
• Randa Markos vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger
• Alex Garcia vs. Colby Covington
• Ali Bagautinov vs. Geane Herrera
• Jason Saggo vs. Leandro Silva

The MMA Vivisection – UFC Vegas: Almeida vs. Garbrandt picks, odds, & analysis

It’s time to get ready for an action packed Sunday night of UFC fights. Cody Garbrandt and Thomas Almeida promise to bring a pitched striking battle to the top of a card that includes Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin, Renan Barao vs. Jeremy Stephens, and Chris Camozzi vs. Vitor Miranda among many more. It should mean a night of stoppages, striking wars, and close close fights. Needless to say, we’re pretty excited to bring you all the details you need to know to get ready.

As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a “Like” over on YouTube. And while you’re there, why not subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM. That way you’ll always be the first to know about the latest Bloody Elbow shows, interviews, and analysis.

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Here’s a look at the complete UFC Vegas card as it stands now:

FS1 Main Card

Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt – 1:26:26

Renan Barão vs. Jeremy Stephens – 1:16:32

Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story – 1:09:32

Chris Camozzi vs. Vitor Miranda – 59:58

Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin – 49:27

Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder – 42:22

FS1 Prelims

Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye – 34:10

Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi – 29:04

Jake Collier vs. Alberto Uda – 22:50

Erik Koch vs. Shane Campbell – 16:33

Fight Pass Prelims

Aljamain Sterling vs. Bryan Caraway – 7:55

Chris De La Rocha vs. Adam Milstead – 2:38

Tweet of the Day: Tito Ortiz attends Donald Trump rally, joins ‘Build that wall!’ chant

It’s no secret that Donald Trump has whipped up some enthusiastic supporters in the MMA community. Dana White, made it clear to fans that Trump has his vote, as did Chris Weidman. But one of his most die hard supporters may be none other than former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Tito got a spot just behind the podium for one of Trump’s recent rallies, which meant he got to spend a bunch of time on TV for the Fox broadcast.

Here you can see Tito briefly joining in with chants to “Build that wall!”:

.@realDonaldTrump: “Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!”https://t.co/lh5XJQgVoI

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 25, 2016

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Holding up supportive bumper stickers:

“Hundreds and hundreds of emails and calls…And she was sleeping.”#DonaldTrump blasts #HillaryClinton for Benghazi. pic.twitter.com/366mWkmOZ5

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 25, 2016

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And generally make it known where he feels the rest of the country stands!

Tito Ortiz at the rally! #TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/99695yHRAm

— MAGS-4-TRUMP2016 (@magnifier661) May 25, 2016

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Michael Buffer: Mayweather vs. McGregor is ‘a very interesting concept’

Mayweather vs. McGregor has quickly gone meta. It’s the sort of narrative dead end that people seem to find themselves trapped in when the parts of a story are too big to be ignored, but the story itself barely exists. Will Floyd Mayweather fight Conor McGregor? There’s practically no way it happens, but that’s not the same as a guarantee and when you’re talking about two of the most popular athletes in combat sports today, anything less than a guarantee they won’t fight is news… sort of.

The latest person to give (have forced from them) their thoughts on a potential McGregor/Mayweather superfight is longtime boxing announcer Michael Buffer. Here’s what he had to say in reference to the highly improbable:

“It’s a very interesting concept and I don’t think it will happen,” Buffer said about a fight between Mayweather and McGregor. “If it were to happen, of course it would be with boxing rules and Mayweather would dominate the fight. If it were in the Octagon, with MMA rules, of course it would last about, maybe, 15 seconds, with Conor dominating the fight. Because it’s two different sports, very different. But, I just don’t see it happening. But, it would be exciting if it would.”

Still, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd says the fight is going down this September. So, if you’re still holding on to that glimmer of hope, there’s another branch for you to grab onto.