Showdown on UFC 144: Itching to rumble
Posted February 23, 2012 2:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TOKYO, Japan — With UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson just days away, many of the fighters on the main card believe the time has come for the talking to stop, and for the fighting to begin. With the itch to compete on the forefront, some of the guys just want to get down to business, while others have a score to settle.
For UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, it’s a case of deja vu. Once again, there is the talk that he is outsized by opponent Ben Henderson, and therefore will be out muscled. In response, the champ simply smiles, and says, “We’ll see.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Edgar added. “It is what it is. I’m always the smaller guy, it’s no secret. I’ve been 160 (pounds) my whole career and it’s worked so far, and I think it will work again.”
Edgar makes up for his lack of size with a skill set that showcases fluidity in his footwork. While pesky to most, it’s a hybrid use of angles used both offensively and defensively that often times leaves his opponents frustrated and bewildered.
What no one has done yet, was tried to stall his momentum by using timed leg kicks to chop away at the New Jersey native. And if you can slow him down, you can cut the cage off and perhaps corner him or at least trap him against the cage. In doing so, clinch work may be key against the cage, where in theory, taking down the champion could be easier than trying to do so in the open mat space.
While these are just my words, I posed this strategy to Henderson, who responded with a wink, stating, “I think we’ve talked about that once or twice in my camp,” smiling sheepishly while looking around, hoping no one heard my suggestion.
“I think it’s real important for our (team) footwork to be good through all five rounds, not just in the first round, get tired then our footwork fades and we cannot corner him or back him up,” Henderson said. “It’s very important that our footwork remains good for the full five rounds.”
The co-main event sees former light-heavyweight champion Quinton (Rampage) Jackson square off against Ryan (Darth) Bader.
Jackson started the sport with a wrestling base, and through much of his early career (spent in Japan), he chose to instill a strong boxing game plan to encourage excitement for the MMA fan base. In return, many have labelled him as a one-dimensional fighter. He’s taken some of the criticism to heart but wonders why it’s all being thrown his way.
“You know, it’s like a guy tries to put on a show and knock someone out, you gonna call him a one-dimensional fighter?” Jackson said. “If I took people down and held them down like some of those rasslers, would they call me one-dimensional then? Or if I tried to submit them all the time? I’m trying to put butts in seats. I feel like people just need to shut the (expletive) up.”
As for his opponent, a marked improvement in his boxing caught my eye during the media workouts, and I felt as if I was the only one who noticed it. Many in the room turned their focus elsewhere, perhaps getting quotes from the other fighters in the room, but I was struck by Ryan’s technique.
And while looking good on the pads is one thing, executing what he has developed in a live fight is something altogether different. Timing, distance, footwork and the understanding that there is another man trying to do the exact same thing to you.
“It’s that and more,” Bader said. “It’s not sparring, it’s small gloves, be it staying composed and not freaking out when he starts swinging at you. It’s just experience now. I felt great in my last fight and finally felt like I knew what I was doing so I’m just going to continue to get better and better.”
And when you talk swinging and striking, the two heavyweights on the card are planning to do just that and more. Mark Hunt will face off against Cheick Kongo in a pivotal bout in the division that houses the big boys.
For the respectful Hunt he’s ready to stand and bang as well as do what he did in his last fight, which is to take the battle down to the ground.
“It’s gonna be a good match,” Hunt said. “I can fight wherever it goes and I’m really looking forward to the match. Cheick’s a really good dude. All the Wolfslair guys are really good guys.”
And if he had his choice of finish? “I’ll be looking for a first-round knockout or a first-round submission.”
On the flipside, Kongo welcomes any sort of takedown attempts from Hunt.
“He can try,” Kongo said. “You know, I’m just excited to face him. He’s got good skills in MMA. If he sees a weakness on my side, he will go for it. Anything can happen in a fight. If it’s a standup war, let’s do it. But I’m ready for this one to go anywhere.”
There’s also an interesting welterweight fight on the card that will see the most popular local fighter on the card, Yoshihiro Akiyama, square off against Jake Shields.
For “Sexyama,” it will be his first bout at 170 pounds and all seems to be going well during the weight cut, while preparing for the added pressure of fighting on his home soil.
“I was concerned about my weight at first, but now everything seems to be going well,” Akiyama said. “I’m very excited to put on a great show for the fans who will be watching my fight.”
As for Shields, he will be reboudning from a second straight loss, the most recent shortly after the passing of his father Jack. He appears refocused and will be looking to make a statement vs. Akiyama.
“I’m looking to go out there and take him down, pound him out, or hopefully submit him in the first round. I want to make him look bad, but Akiyama is a tough fighter. I’m ready for a war.”
One bout that seems to be flying under the radar is a lightweight tilt between Joe Lauzon and Anthony Pettis. Both fighters are once again moving up the 155-pound rankings, and come Saturday night, there seems to be a bitter score to settle, stemming from what seems to be a misunderstanding, when Pettis apparently called out J-Lau.
“Showtime” said he believed “Lauzon would be a good fight,” but clarified what he said.
“I really didn’t call him out,” Pettis insisted. “I said I recommended I fight Joe Lauzon. He beat Melvin Guillard and I came off beating (Jeremy) Stephens. It made sense for us to fight. He’s a great fighter and it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Lauzon respectfully disagrees.
“He called me out, which has been the pattern lately,” Lauzon said. “Everyone wants to call me out. He basically said he wanted to fight me and I said I’ll do it. Let’s do it. He accepted and agreed, so it’s on.”
And on it will be, as UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson is a packed pay-per-view card with a record seven bouts scheduled during the first ever, four-hour telecast. Add the two hours of prelims airing on Sportsnet, and you get yourself one jam-packed Saturday night of fights.
