Fighters give their take on Kobe vs. Pau

There's a delicate balance in the gym amongst training partners. Teammates in MMA are really no different than those in other sports. We've seen plenty of drama unfold in 2011 between for Jackson's MMA teammates Rashad Evans and Jon Jones, so when we brought up the Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol rumors to several fighters, they had plenty to say.

If you're not an NBA fan, the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. Lakers big man Gasol was underwhelming throughout the postseason and confirmed that he let problems off the court affect his play. Bill Plaschke from the L.A. Times:

"I have to learn from this," Gasol said. ''I have to learn that when something happens off the court, you have to keep it off the court."

He was referring to the report that he stopped talking to Bryant during the postseason because Bryant's wife, Vanessa, had contributed to the breakup of Gasol and his longtime girlfriend. Lakers fans will remember Karl Malone publicly accused Vanessa of interfering with his personal life in a similar fashion.

If the rumors are true, Kobe's reportedly had similar issues former teammates Karl Malone and Shaquille O'Neal.

Rashad Evans, Melvin Guillard and Anthony Johnson were all asked about how much dirt you're allowed to dish to your spouse about your teammates.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fighters-give-their-take-on-Kobe-vs-Pau?urn=mma-wp2253

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MacDonald dominates Diaz at UFC 129


Rory MacDonald pleased the 55,000 fans in the Rogers Centre on Saturday night with a dominating win over Nate Diaz. MacDonald, a native of British Columbia, won on all three judges crowds: 30-26, 30-27, 30-26.

The fight started much more slowly than it ended. MacDonald used leg kicks throughout the first round while Diaz mostly used jabs. MacDonald tried for a takedown, but Diaz reversed him, broke from MacDonald's hold and stood up. Diaz tried for a single-leg takedown late in the round, but couldn't get it. Diaz seemed frustrated by the round, as he taunted MacDonald as the horn to end the round sounded.

As the crowd in Toronto chanted, "[Expletive] you, Diaz," MacDonald started the second with a takedown. Diaz got back to his feet, but MacDonald punished him with short strikes as Diaz stood up. MacDonald then followed it up with another takedown. Again, they returned to their feet, and this time the fight went against the cage. Diaz tried for a takedown, but MacDonald stopped him. In the final seconds of the round, MacDonald worked in a few more knees and punches before the time ran out.

MacDonald made his mark in the third round when Diaz made the tactical error of trying for another takedown. MacDonald stepped out of the takedown attempt, then followed Diaz to the ground. He took his back, and used it as an opportunity to slam Diaz to the ground twice in a row. MacDonald landed several more strikes when Diaz was on the ground. Diaz came close to standing up and then MacDonald supplexed him again. Diaz tried to come back in the last seconds, but it was too late. MacDonald had made his mark, all over Diaz's face. The Canadian crowd exploded, cheering on their native son's win.

Diaz was hoping to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, who earlier this month convincingly defended the Strikeforce welterweight belt, but it was not meant to be. MacDonald, who recently started training at Georges St-Pierre's training home of Tri-Star Gym in Montreal, didn't relent during the fight. Now, the 21-year-old MacDonald's record moves to 11-1, while Diaz is 13-7.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MacDonald-dominates-Diaz-at-UFC-129?urn=mma-wp1815

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Rafael Dos Anjos in for injured Evan Dunham against George Sotiropoulos at UFC 132

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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That didn't take long.

Only hours after the news broke that Evan Dunham has been pulled from UFC 132 with an injury, the UFC has announced his replacement against George Sotiropoulos.

Stepping in for Dunham is 26-year-old Brazilian Rafael Dos Anjos, who will return to action for the first time since having his jaw broken against Clay Guida last August. Submitting to Guida with pain applied to the jaw brought Dos Anjos to 3-3 in the UFC.

After losing his first two fights in the Octagon, Dos Anjos turned things around with three consecutive wins in 2009 and 2010, highlighted by his "Submission of the Night" armbar over Terry Etim at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.

He'll be taking on the Aussie Sotiropoulos, who looks to bounce back from a win-streak-ending loss to Dennis Siver in February at UFC 127.

UFC 132 takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, headlined by the Bantamweight Championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.

Penick's Analysis: This isn't quite the fight I would have liked to see in place of Dunham, as Ben Henderson could have been an excellent option if the UFC wanted to go that route, but Dos Anjos is a good fighter in his own right and will be a definite challenge for Sotiropoulos. It's good that he's getting back into action, and he's still got plenty of time to prepare for this fight, so this should be a good matchup in July.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9240.shtml

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Backlash Following Injury Announcements a Puzzling Phenomenon

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It's been a rough week for the UFC and its fighters. On Monday, MMA Fighting broke the news that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were injured, canceling UFC 130's lightweight championship main event. On Thursday the UFC announced that Brock Lesnar had a recurrence of diverticulitis and was forced out of his UFC 131 matchup with Junior dos Santos. And on Friday, it was revealed that light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones would not need surgery on an injured thumb, but was still sidelined from training until mid-June.

While the news was bad enough on its own merits, it came with its own accompanying baggage: backlash. The phenomenon is nothing new, but it remains as puzzling as ever. Do these men and women who get in a cage and fight for a living really have anything to prove about their courage?

On one hand, it's easy to understand why the sport's followers would be disappointed when fighters are forced out of action. In the event when an entire match is canceled -- as in the instance of Edgar-Maynard -- it's even clearer. We always hope for the best fights, and are disappointed when they don't happen. But on the other, the accusations that are casually lobbed at fighters afterward are often over the line and border on downright hysteria.

Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/15/backlash-following-injury-announcements-a-puzzling-phenomenon/

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Gus Johnson: Any MMA Fighter Would Kill Pacquiao In the Cage

by Michael David SmithGus Johnson, the broadcaster who called the blow-by-blow on Manny Pacquiao's victory over Shane Mosley and who also calls Strikeforce fights on Showtime, has weighed in on the frequently discussed subject of how a boxer would do in MMA. And he doesn't like any boxer's chances.

In a radio interview with Dan Patrick, Johnson was asked how Pacquiao would do in an MMA fight against an MMA fighter, and Johnson said it's ridiculous to even think Pacquiao could last.

"He'd get killed," Johnson said of Pacquiao in the cage. "No question. Tapped out, easily. In a minute."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/13/gus-johnson-any-mma-fighter-would-kill-pacquiao-in-the-cage/

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