Fight Night

Fast-forward to about 24:30 to get to the press conference. The top 8 fighters are there, along with Chael Sonnen and his ?UFC middleweight belt.?

Earlier this week UFC officials announced the first bout for UFC on FOX 3 and today they?ve announced the first bout for UFC on FX 3 as Jason MacDonald and Tom Lawlor will square off in a middleweight bout with both men in desperate need of a victory. The contest is set to go down on May 15 with the Octagon returns to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

News of the bout was first Tweeted by the organization?s official Canadian account.

MacDonald had an up-and-down 2011 that saw him return from a brutal broken leg in April to submit Ryan Jensen with a triangle choke in the first round. ?The Athlete? ran into the power of Alan Belcher in his next contest though, succumbing to strikes in just under four minutes. A veteran of forty fights, MacDonald has 25 victories under his belt including wins over Ed Herman, Chris Leben, and Joe Doerksen, but has dropped two of his last three scraps. Nineteen of MacDonald?s twenty-five wins have come by way of submission.

Known for his entertaining entrances, Lawlor will likely need his hand raised at the end of the night if he hopes to keep his charisma on display in the UFC. ?Filthy? Tom has tasted defeat in three of his last four bouts, most recently losing to Chris Weidman at UFC 139 via submission in the opening frame. Prior to the loss, Lawlor snapped a two fight skid by picking up a unanimous decision victory over former 185-pound contender Patrick Cote.

PHOTO CREDIT ? UFC

Jeremy Lambert is a lead writer for 5OZ. He combines pop culture and sarcasm with MMA knowledge. You can follow him on twitter @jeremylambert88
| All posts by Jeremy Lambert

We posted earlier this week about a report that former pro-wrestler and Strikeforce veteran Bobby Lashley might be the next opponent for Fedor Emelianenko. Apparently there’s not a lot to those rumors. Evgeni Kogan, director of operations for M-1 Global spoke to USA TODAY and threw cold water on the Lashley story:

“There are currently no concrete conversations about Bobby being the next opponent for Fedor,” Kogan wrote, adding that Emelianenko probably will fight two or three times this year. Possible locations for the summer fight include Monaco and Russia, according to Kogan.

The 35-year-old Lashley (7-1, 1-1 Strikeforce) is the current Shark Fights heavyweight champion and went 2-0 since leaving Strikeforce. He’s a far cry from the world beaters that Fedor once faced in Rings, Pride, Affliction and Strikeforce but he’s actually quite comparable to Fedor’s last two opponents: the 41-year-old Jeff Monson (43-13) and Satoshi Ishii. (4-2-1).

Bloody Elbow will continue to report on this story as it develops.

Phil Davis featured on espn.com and also in the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine.

Here?s my fight prediction for Harrisburg, Pa?s Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans:

Phil Davis is 27, has a 9-0 record, grew up in Harrisburg, Pa., is 6?2?, and fights out of Chula Vista, Calif., with Team Alliance and Team Lloyd Irvin. Davis is a four-time NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler. Davis has finished three opponents in the UFC by decision, and two by submission. He?s fast, strong, and has great take-downs, which he uses to set up his ground attack. In his fight with Tim Boetsch, Davis used a modified one-armed kimura, which he later dubbed ?The Mr. Wonderful? to finish The Barbarian. As far as weaknesses, it would have to be his striking, which is typical among wrestlers ? it seems it?s an area they have to play catch-up on. ? and possibly his lack of experience.

Rashad Evans is 32, has a 16-1-1 record, is from Niagara Falls, NY, stands 5?11? and fights out of Boca Raton, Fla. with the Blackzilians. Evans attended Niagara County Community College, where he won the National Junior College championship in 2000. He then transferred to Michigan State University, a Division 1 school, where he wrestled for three years. Evans is a rare breed of wrestler who has developed a powerful and accurate stand-up game, thanks in great part to his time with Greg Jackson?s camp. In the UFC, he has notched several KOs, by hands and feet, but has also been brutally KOed in his one loss, to Lyoto Machida.

What Davis lacks in experience, he will more than make up for with speed and strength. I don?t think Evans? wrestling will be any match for Davis?, and so Evans will look to keep the fight standing and to KO Davis. Davis, on the other hand, does not have the striking skills to trade with Evans and will be looking to take it to the ground. He may not get the take-down immediately, but I think he?ll still be able to get inside on Evans, and wear him down in the clinch. Maybe by the third round, Davis will secure a takedown and will be the first fighter to submit Evans.

Full video of the UFC on FX 1 post-fight press conference.

When UFC middleweight Mark Munoz was forced out of his number one contender?s bout with Chael Sonnen, the organization made the most logical choice they could by taking Michael Bisping out his bout with Demian Maia and inserting him into Munoz?s slot against Sonnen with the winner scheduled to face Anderson Silva sometime this summer.

What to do with Maia was the question at hand. There was an immediate call for Brazilian leg lock specialist Rousimar Palhares to face his fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace, but such a scenario would have given Palhares a mere two weeks in between his fight at UFC 142 against Mike Massenzio and the match-up with Maia on the UFC on FOX 2 card. Even though ?Toquinho? suffered no damage and needed all of 63 seconds to dispatch of Massenzio, it was simply not going to happen.

Enter undefeated Serra-Longo student Chris Weidman. The Long Island native and two-time NCAA Division I wrestler was last seen submitting Tom Lawlor at UFC 139 in November. That night he earned his third UFC win in three tries and ran his overall record to 7-0. Taking on anyone in the UFC on two weeks notice is a daunting task, but it?s even crazier when your opponent is one of the best grapplers in the world.

Questions will arise, such as what type of shape is Weidman in physically and mentally; what is his weight, has he been in the gym, etc. These are all legitimate questions and ones that only Weidman himself can answer. Now he has, and as indicated by his attitude he is definitely a warrior ready to make the most of this opportunity.

?I?ve been training and working hard,? said Weidman in an exclusive interview with Five Ounces of Pain. ?I was preparing to fight April 22, but I got the phone call and I knew I couldn?t let an opportunity like this pass me by. It?s going to be tough, but at this point it?s all mental, being confident and getting my cardio where it needs to be. I?m pretty confident and I know he?s tough, but in the UFC there are no easy fights. I have a lot of respect for Maia, but I?m not going to get to his level of BJJ in two weeks, I have to work with what I have.?

Fans have seen many fighters struggle with weight cuts in the past. Anthony Johnson is the first that comes to mind and he not only had a whole training camp to prepare but he was also moving up a weight class. As such, one would have to think that dropping a decent amount of weight in such a short period of time is not easy and one would be correct in assuming so.

?When I got the phone call I was 216.8 and I am down to 207 now,? explained Weidman. ?A week out before a fight I would normally be around 205 so I am not that far off. I?ve had to cut my meals to very small portions and eat really light. I am eating a lot of tuna, grilled chicken and egg whites. The worst part is we are about to have a party at my house right now to find out if my wife is pregnant with a boy or girl. There?s a ton of food here and cake so I have to watch everyone else eat.?

Weidman spoke briefly of how he felt when he got the call to face Maia, laughing, ?I was home about to eat dinner, my wife was making Sloppy Joes. ?I got a call from my manager that the UFC called and wanted me to fight Maia. Joe Silva mentioned to my manager that the fight was in a week and my manager said, ?Let me talk to Chris first?. Silva said if I accepted the fight they?d try to make it in March or April, but Maia wanted to be on FOX. I knew I had to take this opportunity and said let?s do it. So instead of eating Sloppy Joes I went and worked out instead.?

Everyone in the sport realizes the magnitude of this card. It may be the second card on network television but this time around it is loaded with three exciting fights as opposed to one. Being from New York, Weidman has a large group of family and friends who will be watching and rooting him on. There?s no doubt the 27-year old realizes the significance of being on this card plans on coming out on top.

?I haven?t had time to really wrap my head around it,? Weidman said. ?This being the first true FOX card I realize it?s going to be an awesome experience. Getting a win over Demian Maia will definitely change my life and my career. This is a huge opportunity and opens up a lot of doors for me. I could never let this opportunity go.?

Being confident seems to be in Weidman?s nature. He sees himself putting on a great performance and having his hand raised when it?s all said and done. A win here runs his UFC record to 4-0 and will include a former title contender on his resume. So where exactly does a win over Maia place Weidman in the ranks of the UFC middleweights? In line for a title-shot in 2012 according to the self-assured grappler.

?I can see it going three different ways, I can see me knocking him out in the first round, winning by submission or by decision,? revealed a very confident Weidman. ?I wish I knew how the outcome would be, but I don?t. What I do know is a win puts me as one of the top contenders. This is such a huge opportunity for me. Whatever the UFC thinks, I am down for. I?ll fight Sonnen or Silva. You never know guys get hurt and you have to be prepared for everything. I visualize MMA being legalized in New York and me winning the title here in NY. I want my title shot at the first MMA event in the state.?

Catch Weidman-Maia as they open the card on Saturday night at 8:00 PM EST with Bisping-Sonnen and Rashad Evans-Phil Davis set for later in the evening.

PHOTO CREDIT ? UFC

Bryan Levick is
| All posts by Bryan Levick

A few observations from UFC on FX: ?Guillard vs. Miller?:

-Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov wrecked Kamal Shalorus something fierce.  Which is a pity, because his name is exceedingly hard to spell, and now we?re going to see that badass fight lots more and guys like me have to write about it.  Why can?t guys with names like ?Joe Smith? fight?

-Thank you, Jorge Rivera, for a long and fruitful career in the cage.  You may not have won any UFC titles, but you kicked ass more often than not and always entertained.

-Not since Andre Roberts KO?d Harry Moskowitz at UFC 17 have we seen standing elbows used like that.  Welcome to the Octagon, Nick Denis.  You shall make a fine addition to the bantamweight roster.

-Ah what the heck, if Pat Barry can deliver those colorful knockouts every now and then, I say keep him.  Christian Morecraft, on the other, has got to go.

-Mike Easton: scrapping hard like it ain?t no thang. 

-In case you were wondering, that guillotine Josh Neer employed is dubbed a ?C-otine?, which was the work product of Miletich-trained Mike Ciesnolevicz from years ago.  If you thought TUF washout Cody McKenzie invented it, please punch yourself in the groin now.

-I don?t fault Melvin Guillard for getting swiftly handled once he went to the ground.  No, all credit goes to Jim Miller and his ace jiu-jitsu skills on that.  WAR MILLER!