Lawler to Take on Koscheck in UFC 157

 

Robbie Lawler will be taking on Josh Koscheck in UFC 157. The event is scheduled for the 23 of February and will be held in Anaheim, CA.

 

This will be the first fight in the UFC promotion for Lawler since he lost to Even Tanner in 2004. Before that loss, Lawler had earned a reputation as an excellent fighter, taking his first seven fights in MMA.

 

Lawler was also a top fighter in other promotions. He held the 185lb title in Elite XC. He also held titles in ICON Sports and in Superbrawl.

 

Lawler's opponent in UFC 157, Koscheck, has some impressive fights under his belt, as well. He knocked out Matt Hughes and had performed very well as a welterweight fighter in the UFC. He has been fighting in that division since 2005. The closest he came to winning a belt in that division was in 2010.

 

The Main Event

 

Where UFC 157 is concerned, the most popular event is likely to be the first-ever fight in the women's division. That fight will feature Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche. Rousey, a former Olympian, has earned a reputation for lightning-fast wins and is widely considered to be the best female fighter in MMA at present. Liz Carmouche is a former US Marine. The two are scheduled for a five-round fight.

 

ESPN also recently announced that Chad Mendes will fight Manvel Gamburyan at the event. The featherweight fight will see Mendes trying to keep his two-win streak alive. Currently, his record stands at 13-1. Gamburyan won a fight in August against Michihiro Omigawa, ending a three fight losing streak. His current career record stands at 12-7.

 

Other fights to be featured at UFC 157 will include Urijah Faber against Ivan Menjivar, Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida and Muchael Chiesa vs. Anton Kuivanen.

Another Strikeforce Fighter Heads to UFC

 

Karlos Vemola will not be fighting in UFC 155 and will be replaced by Derek Brunson, according to USA Today. The deal hasn't been finalized as of yet, according to the article, but there are verbal agreements in place and it's expected to be formally announced soon. Brunson has a 9-2 record in MMA and will replace Vemola in his match against Chris Leben, who has a 22-8 MMA record overall and a 12-7 record in UFC.

 

Brunson's last two fights were losses. He won is first nine fights, however, and is looking to establish himself in the UFC. Strikeforce will be holding its last-ever fight in January.

 

His opponent, Leben is coming back from a suspension. The fighter tested positive for two prescription pain killers: oxycodone and oxymorphone. This followed his loss to Mark Munoz in UFC 138, resulting in the fighter being suspended for a year.

 

Leben has since been treated for addiction—this was the second time he'd failed a drug test—and said he's ready to get back to his fighting career and that he is more focused than ever, according to the article.

 

The biggest fight of the night will be Junior dos Santos taking on Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title. Other fights on the card include Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami, Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou and Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller. This will be a pay-per-view event. It was recently announced that the dos Santos vs. Velasquez fight will be referred by Herb Dean, who is highly regarded as one of the best referees in the UFC. He recently won the Best Referee honor at the 2011 World MMA Awards, according to Bleacher Report, and has also received a lot of praise from the president of the UFC, Dana White, for his good calls and control of fights.

 

Rory MacDonald Wants Revenge

 

In last Saturday's UFC on Fox5, Rory MacDonald dominated the cage against BJ Penn. In a night of good fights, the BJ Penn versus Rory MacDonald fights stood out as one of the best. Now, Rory MacDonald wants to move on to a new fight, with an opponent against whom he holds a very old grudge. In fact, the grudge goes back nearly 2 years.

 

During UFC 115, which was held in June of 2010, MacDonald went into the cage against Carlos Condit. During that match, Condit opened up on MacDonald during the third round, taking him out with a dizzying flurry of punches and elbows that handed Condit the fight. During the post-fight interview on Saturday, MacDonald described Condit as a man who had "humiliated" him. Now, MacDonald wants to step back into the cage with that same man and, during the interview, he suggested that they do it in March.

 

"I'm going to get my revenge," he said during the post-fight interview.

 

MacDonald proved comfortable with flurries of punches during the fight with BJ Penn. Fast hands, excellent reflexes and a complete control of the cage on MacDonald's part defined the majority of the fight. During pre-fight interviews, MacDonald had mentioned BJ Penn as someone he very much admired when he was coming up the ranks, but said that he was ready to take them on now and, when the two met in the cage, he more than proved that.

 

Carlos Condit is the only fighter to have beaten Rory MacDonald in the cage. In his last fight, the judge's scores for Rory MacDonald versus BJ Penn were 30-26, 30-26, and 30-27, handing MacDonald the win by unanimous decision. The only knockout on the main card was when Matt Brown defeated Mike Swick in the second round with a punch.

Faber vs. Vaughan Looking Good for UFC 156

 

 

Urijah Faber and Lee Vaughan might be squaring off in UFC 156. According to reporting in Tatame Magazine, Urijah Faber could be ready to go by the time the February even rolls around and that might mean that he and Vaughan are destined to meet in the ring.

 

The match would come after Faber lost his last bout at UFC 149 on a decision. That fight ended up going to Renan Barao, giving him the interim bantamweight title. Vaughan also lost his more recent fight. That fight was on FUEL during July and Vaughan ended up losing to TJ Dillashaw via submission.

 

Both of these fighters would be looking to come back from their recent losses if they were to meet at UFC 156. UFC 156 is slated for Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The event will be held on February 2 and has some bit names on the ticket.

 

Faber is regarded as a very good technical fighter, but has lost some of his most important matches. Nonetheless, in his weight class, he's considered one of the toughest guys out there and, even though he's had missteps, remains a force to be reckoned with. Vaughan lost his last fight to Dillashaw due to a rear-naked choke hold, but could be tough competition for Faber.

 

UFC 156 promises to have some good fights on the ticket. The main bouts featured that night are believed to include:

 

• Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva
• Demian Maia vs. Jon Fitch
• Erick Silva vs. Jay Hieron
• Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
• Rashad Evans vs. Rogerio Nogueira
• Urijah Faber vs. Vaughan Lee

 

None of these fights are set in stone as of yet, but these represent what MMA reporting has held to be the biggest fights of the night. Fans will have to wait until February to find out for sure.

Will Women Get a Spot in UFC?

Interviewed after UFC 154, president Dana White said that he sees a lot of potential for having women's fights in the UFC. According to MMAWeekly, the president said that he believes that the 135-pound division has a lot of potential for good fights but that there is nothing official planned just yet.

The problem that the UFC sees with women's fights is the depth of the talent pool. According to the reporting, however, White believes that the bantamweight division has the most to offer in terms of good female fighters. This is also the division in which Ronda Rousey fights and she is probably the best known female fighter out there today. Cris Cyborg is mentioned in the same article as someone who might find herself taking on Rousey in the ring, but White hasn't said as much himself.

Currently, according to most reporting on the matter, the UFC is likely to promote Rousey as a way to build up interest in women's MMA fighting. The divisions, however, will have to fill up with good fighters to make it a commercially viable addition to what the UFC offers and to keep fans interested in seeing women take to the cage.

Some of the other big names in the women's division include Sara Kaufman, Liz Carmouche and Miesha Tate. For Rousey's part, she has said that she doesn't care much about the venue or promotions in which she fights and that she's happy as long as she gets to take on opponents that provide a good match and that, of course, she gets paid for the effort.

Rousey currently fights in the Strikeforce cage, but has recently moved up to the UFC. At present, it's not likely that she'll take to the ring until next year, as there aren't good matches available for the accomplished fighter at present.