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Posts Tagged ‘Mark Hominick’
UFC Lightweight Champion Jon Jones (Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com)
UFC 145 ended a long draught for the world’s premiere fight league by delivering a PPV of solid action headlined by a blood feud between two former friends.
Mark Bocek and John Alessio kick things off with a lopsided affair where Bocek smothered Alessio with his superior ground game. Bocek rinsed and repeated during the next round, with Alessio powerless to stop him. In round three, Bocek gets Alessio’s back, remaining dominant until he ekes out a unanimous decision win.
Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin strikes next, with Yagin going big only to go home when splitting Hominick’s left eye doesn’t do anything. Hominick finds his range in round two, only for Yagin to drop him and lose control when the two begin trading strikes on the feet. Hominick goes for a home run after that, striking hard whenever he can, only for Yagin to survive before winning by split decision.
Michael McDonald clashes with Miguel Torres next, the two trading fierce combos before McDonald fells Torres. Once he downs him, he sends him to dreamland ASAP in round one.
“I can finally eat some pizza and ice cream.” McDonald joked. “It’s a party here tonight but not with alcohol.”
Ben Rothwell and Brandon Schaub blast off next, Schaub goes for the kill only for Rothwell to flatten him with a hook and wreck him with ground and pound. It’s over so fast, it almost doesn’t register Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills is next.
When it happens, MacDonald takes down Mills after a brief moment of indecision and proceeds to rearrange his face with all manner of striking. Though Mills survives, he gives up his back in round two and MacDonald murders him with grounded strikes for the win.
After a long wait, Jon Jones and Rashad Evans deliver on their grudge match in the main event. The two trade hard strikes in the first round before Jones gets an advantage in round two with elbow strikes. Both men survive the round before trading blows in battle three with no clear victor emerging. Jones toys with Evans for a round just because he can. After that, he goes all out in the last minute but can’t finish Evans. It doesn’t matter though – Jones wins again by unanimous decision.
Rory MacDonald (L) and Che Mills (R) at UFC 145 weigh-ins. (Photo courtesy of mmafighting.com)
MMA DieHards is back with another session of Counterpunch, taking on UFC 145, which takes place Saturday at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
UFC 145 features a light heavyweight championship bout between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. Canadian rising star Rory MacDonald taking on Che Mills, Brendan Schaub meets Ben Rothwell, and Mark Hominick will try to snap a two fight losing skid when he faces Eddie Yagin.
MMADieHards.com put together a team of our finest writers to bring you Counterpunch for the event. The group independently makes its selections for each fight. Minority picks will be defended by one of the panelists making that selection.
Joining us this week will be Robert G. Reynolds, Joe Rizzo, Michael Stets, Mark Hensch and Jason Kelly.
Rory MacDonald, Brendan Schaub, Mark Hominick, Mark Bocek and Maximo Blanco are not covered below, as they were unanimously selected.
Below we list the match, the fighter being defended and the author of the defence.
Chris Clements vs. Keith Wisniewski
Defending Clements: Robert G. Reynolds
First and foremost, I’m slightly bias towards Clements because he is a local fighter from the Adrenaline Training Centre, which is home of featherweight fighter Mark Hominick.
This is to be Clements inaugural performance with the UFC and is guaranteed to be a barnburner. The Canadian is set to face Wisniewski, who fell short in his first appearance with the organization. Clements has yet to hear what the judges think of his fighting skills and I would expect much of the same here.
All 10 of Clements’ victories have come by way of TKO and the same can be anticipated tonight. With Hominick on the same card and in the back with Clements, it makes for a more natural environment for the new employee.
I’m looking for a flashy, jaw-dropping finish by Clements to end this bout midway through the second round; watch for it.
Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
Defending Escudero: Mark Hensch
Danzig vs. Escudero is a battle between two former “Ultimate Fighter” winners who are well-rounded. Of the two, I think Escudero can squeak out a win here given his strong submission game and his history as a wrestler. Though Danzig has solid skills in those areas, his UFC record has a few notable instances were people outclassed him on the mat. As a submission-savvy wrestler, Escudero will have Danzig on his toes the whole match. Should he overreach, this is Escudero’s win for the taking.
Anthony Njokuani vs. John Makdessi
Defending Njokuani: Joe Rizzo
Njokuani has gone from perpetual favorite to mercurial underdog and back to the favorite. The majority of my colleagues opted for Makdessi, who is the betting underdog in this fight. Makdessi criticized Dennis Hallman for missing weight well after losing to him in his last outing, then Makdessi went and did what Hallman did – hit the scales at 158 pounds for a lightweight fight. There was no such drama for Njokuani, who is 1-2 since the WEC merged into the UFC. Those defeats were razor-thin losses to the highly regarded Edson Barboza, who got the decision edge in an epic battle by landing a head kick near the final bell, and to rising contender Danny Castillo, by split decision. Makdessi was exposed when moving up in class against Hallman, and will come up short against Njokuani.
Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson
Defending Brown: Robert G. Reynolds
Over the last two years Brown has compiled a questionable 2-4 record, but with his knockout win over Chris Cope at UFC 143, I believe that things are about to change.
Brown’s next fight against Thompson – believe it or not – plays in his favor. Nine of “Immortal’s” 11 losses have come by way of submission and he has yet to lose via (T)KO. Thompson is a fighter that has predominantly trained in the striking arts of Kenpo Karate and kickboxing, which leads me to think that this scrap isn’t going to the mat.
Having said that, the stars are going to be in line come Saturday night and Brown will take advantage of the timing. I don’t see either fighter finishing the bout, but I do predict Brown winning the fight via unanimous decision.
Chad Griggs vs. Travis Browne
Defending Griggs: Michael Stets
He sport’s a mean set of sideburns, and his nickname is “The Grave Digger,” need I say more why I’m going with Griggs over Browne. My reasoning is simple, both fighters have numerous KO’s and TKO’s on their resume. Which means this fight isn’t going to the ground, or past the first round either. Griggs has dynamite in both of his hands, and will put Browne out via TKO Round 1.
Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
Defending Torres: Mark Hensch
This looks like a competitive fight on paper, but I’m surprised I’m the only one picking Torres here. There’s no denying McDonald is a talented bantamweight and a rising division project, but Torres is easily a top ten fighter in the weight class. For all of McDonald’s potential, Torres has him outclassed.
Torres has won 40 official (and more unofficial) victories in his career. Despite such seasoning, he’s in his early 30s and still going strong. He’ll turn McDonald’s body and head to paste with his Muay Thai, and when it comes to ground game, Torres learned BJJ under a Gracie. It doesn’t get better than that. Some say McDonald can pull a Demetrious Johnson and decision Torres here, but I’m not buying it. Even if it goes that far, Torres is more versatile and experienced. It’ll give him the edge here.
Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones
Defending Evans: Michael Stets
Everyone seems to be leaning towards Jones, maybe it’s just my nature to go against the grain, but here is my reasoning behind picking Evans.
While I don’t think he will necessarily get “Bones” to skip to his lou like he said, he will be one of the first to not allow him to dictate where the fight will take place. Evans’ hands are fast enough to connect, and strong enough to end Jones’ night. Evans is easily the best wrestler he’s ever faced, and Jones’ strength is the Greco and clinch area. Evans will put him on his back, where he has excellent pressure and control from there. The Ultimate Fighter season 2 winner will not stay outside and get picked apart, he will move in and out, and score some take downs. He will not finish Jones but he will frustrate him, and hit him more than anyone else has in the past. “Suga” won’t be intimidated, and will have an excellent game plan. Evans wins by unanimous decision.
UFC fighter, Mark Hominick, training at Adrenaline Training Center (Photo by: Robert G. Reynolds/mmadiehards.com)
Former UFC featherweight No. 1 contender Mark Hominick talks to MMADieHards.com about loss to Korean Zombie, and upcoming UFC 145 bout against Eddie Yagin.
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(The MMA DieHards staff has compiled a list of the best fighter of the year, fight of the year, KO of the year, submission of the year and breakthrough fighter of the year to close out 2011.)
Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58
The best way to cap off a Bellator season tournament is with a candidate for fight of the year honors.
When Chandler jumped in the cage to take a shot at Alvarez’s title, he was anything but intimated staring across at the lightweight champ with the home town, Philadelphia crowd behind him. This was evident with the quick knock down that almost ended the night early for Alvarez.
But, typical of Alvarez, he made an amazing recovery to put his challenger back on his heels. With the momentum dramatically swaying back and forth, both fighters appeared to have the victory within their grasps as the rounds progressed.
Unfortunately for Alvarez, the fight came to an end midway through the fourth round when he succumbed to Chandler’s rear-naked choke, crowning the undefeated fighter- the new Bellator lightweight champ.
Fortunately for the fans, we have a fight to remember.
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Dan Henderson at UFC 139
What were the chances that two fight of the year nominations would happen in the same night?
Immediately following the broadcast of Bellator 58, fans were treated to another event; UFC 139. While there was no
title on the line for this show, the main event between ‘Shogun’ and Henderson had the makings of an old school Pride Fighting Championship brawl; minus the soccer kicks to the head.
Both Henderson and Rua exhausted themselves in a five-round slug fest that left both fighters wilted. Almost unable to stand for the judges’ decision, Henderson was favored unanimously to take the tough-fought win.
Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick at UFC 129
Nothing could stop these fighters, not even a hematoma.
With the UFC making their inaugural appearance with a record crowd in Toronto, Canada, Hominick and Aldo helped to make it a night to remember. Aldo started out the fight with a dominant display of striking, but appeared to run his tank empty and started to slow.
Even with the large hematoma on Hominick’s head, he persevered to take the champ to the end of the fifth round. Ultimately, Aldo defeated Hominick via unanimous judges’ decision, but they were both honored with a fight of the night bonus.
Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley
There was no more time to talk smack once the bell rang.
Both Diaz and Daley came in to this fight with something to prove: Who could talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk.
With Daley landing the early power punches that appeared to have Diaz on wobbly legs, the impeccable recovery skills of the Cesar Gracie trained fighter extended the bout.
The beating continued when a combination of punches had Diaz laying face down, which appeared to be the end of the night.
However, Diaz miraculously recovered and served Daley a technical knockout with three seconds left in the first round.
Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle at UFC on Versus 5
How could we turn the lights out on Lytle?
Lytle has been one of the most exciting UFC fighters to enter the octagon. Always looking to put on a great performance for the fans first, this has led Lytle to being a successful professional fighter.
The majority of this bout with Hardy was a stand up war, mimicking a game of rockem sockem robots. When Hardy could not take any more of the onslaught, he dropped for a rare takedown in the third round, which landed him in the tight guillotine of Lytle. The end result was a submission victory for Lytle.
Lytle may have turned the lights off of his career after this bout, but is now following the light with the new 2012 Softail Blackline from Harley Davidson for his performance.
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photo courtesy of Tracy Lee/Yahoo Sports!
“It’s cool that I get to do something that I love doing and make a living off of it.”
- Daniel “Ninja” Roberts admitted on Punch Drunk Radio that he is content with his career choice.
“I was really surprised by the third one. I felt like I was going to keep slamming him until the end of the round.”
- Rory MacDonald said in a post-fight interview that he surprised himself by continuously slamming Nate Diaz during their bout at UFC 129.
“Machida is like a son to me. We worked hard on that kick and I really wanted him to do that kick. He wanted to do it and he knew he could, and he did.”
– Steven Seagal informed Ariel Helwani that he wanted Lyoto Machida to utilize the front kick that knocked out Randy Couture, at UFC 129.
“I think the last time we had this conversation I had all my teeth.”
– Couture confirms with Joe Rogan that Machida kicked out of The Natural’s teeth in their bout at UFC 129.
“Jake is an amazing fighter, he’s much better than I thought. I give him props.”
- Georges St-Pierre confesses that he underestimated Jake Shields, in the champ’s after fight speech.
“I cannot see with my left eye right now. It’s very blurred. I am going to have to go to the hospital.”
–St-Pierre told Rogan he suffered an eye injury in the second round of his title defense match against Shields.
“Hey everybody, leaving the hospital soon, just finished all my eye tests, I still don’t see anything from my left eye but I’ll be (fine). Thanks for the support!!”
– St-Pierre tweeted shortly after his victory against Shields.
“I hope I didn’t put you into labor, I hope you’re OK.”
– Mark Hominick said to his wife, from the Octagon, after a five-round war with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
“@josealdojunior Round 6?”
– Hominick tweeted to Aldo after their crowd-pleasing battle.
“To go out to that ovation was pretty special.”
- Couture said in a post-fight interview at UFC 129, after receiving a heartfelt goodbye from the audience at Rogers Centre.
On a night when the champions retained their titles, Georges St-Pierre showed his ability to focus, even with just one eye, while Jose Aldo had to hold off 55,000 and one people trying to get him to yield his belt.
St-Pierre’s streak of consecutive rounds won came to an end but he held off Jake Shields to win a unanimous decision at retain his welterweight belt Saturday in Toronto’s Rogers Centre at UFC 129. Aldo racked up an early lead against Mark Hominick to defend his featherweight title, but by the end of the fight was on his back, doing his best to hold off the Canadian’s hard charge, spurred on by 55,000 screaming fans.
The vision in St. Pierre’s left eye was compromised in the second round, but fortunately no one from the commission ever asked him about it. He fought on, thwarting Shields’ takedown attempts with relative ease and peppering him with a jab for the first three rounds.
Shields was able to somewhat turn the tide over the final two frames as St-Pierre clearly was bothered by his lack of vision and, later, a face that was bloodied from Shields’ striking. Shields actually won a pair of rounds from St-Pierre in the eyes of two of the judges, who scored him a 48-47 loser. The other card was 50-45 for the Canadian St-Pierre.
“It was the second round. I think it got scratched or something,” St-Pierre said. “I cannot see with my left eye right now. It’s very blurred. I am going to have to go to the hospital.”
It was clear heading into the fight that Shields’ best chance to win was by putting St-Pierre on the ground, and the champion used his great wrestling to avert the mat. Shields’ boxing became more and more effective as the fight wore on, and it surprised St-Pierre.
“His striking was much better than I expected,” St-Pierre said. “I was expecting to beat him more standing, and then put him on the ground later in the round. I wanted to make a better performance. Jake is an amazing fighter, he’s much better than I thought. I give him props.”
With Shields, a former champion at welterweight in EliteXC and at middleweight in Strikeforce, now history, all the talk about St-Pierre’s next opponent will turn to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Silva will fight Yushin Okami when the UFC goes to Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 27, but after that, St-Pierre might lay in waiting.
“We’ll see. I have not considered anything yet,” St-Pierre said. “Going up in weight class would reconsider my whole career. Maybe there are other ways to do things. We’ll sit down and talk.”
Aldo built up an early lead then held on as Hominick rallied behind his opponent’s adoring crowd.
Aldo won a unanimous decision but found himself in the unlikely position of fighting off his back as Hominick worked a ground-and-pound fueled by the massive Canadian crowd. Hominick was able to survive numerous looks by referee John McCarthy and the ringside physician at a tremendous contusion that went from his right eyebrow to his hairline. He kept pushing, despite being badly bloodied about the left cheek, and nearly got in enough blows to finish Aldo, who could do no more than slow Hominick with wrist control for the final few minutes.
“Congrats to Mark Hominick, he is a hell of a fighter,” Aldo said through an interpreter. “I knew he had great standup skills, but I came very prepared with my Muay Thai. The weight cut was as usual, but because I had some time off, I had put a lot more muscle on, so I had to adapt.”
Aldo, despite looking gassed in the final few minutes, matched Hominick’s traditional post-fight regimen of push-ups. Meanwhile Hominick found fault with his effort which, if nothing else, left no doubt about his heart and gas tank.
Hominick’s wife is due with the couple’s first child, a daughter, this week.
“I hope I didn’t put you into labor, I hope you’re OK,” he said to his wife. “I’d like to thank John McCarthy for not stopping the fight. I was never giving up.”
With no quit, Hominick nearly pulled off the miraculous finish, spurred on by a record crowd more than twice as big as any in UFC history.
“I didn’t throw enough combinations,” said Hominick. “I was throwing single shots. I let him get one up on me, and I was worried about the takedowns too much. I could have attacked more on the ground. I fought hard for you guys.”
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