UFC 131 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 131 Results: Sam Stout Is Ready to Throw Stones at Cowboy Donald Cerrone

There’s nothing like winning in impressive fashion in front of your fellow countrymen. Vancouver may be miles away from London, Ontario on the other side of Canada, but that didn’t stop 27-year-old Canadian lightweight Sam Stout from validating his nickname “Hands of Stone” after dropping a vicious overhand left hook square on Yves Edward’s chin.

The fight was over in an instant; Stout’s punch landed hard and Edwards entered the realm of unconsciousness, falling back with no effort and smacking his head hard on the mat. By far, that knockout was immediately thrown on the “Top 10 Knockout” list on about 20 different sites around the Internet—and well-deserving.

Once the excitement wore off, seeing Edwards still crumpled, slightly shaking in the same position he fell in, was nothing to cheer about. A vicious knockout always produces a dichotomy of reactions: an absolute appreciation that a trained athlete has enough skill and might to pull off such a result and instant concern for the guy lying on the ground.

Regardless if fans experienced either of those emotions, pundits became fixated with where such a brutal knockout victory put Stout on the lightweight totem pole. The UFC’s 155-pound division is not for the lighthearted, leaving very little room for error due to its deep talent pool.

Now that Stout has made a splash at UFC 131, will matchmaker Joe Silva reward the young Canadian a chance to elevate his career by facing the next level of competition?

He certainly deserves the shot after holding his own in the octagon for 11 matches, garnering five “Fight of the Night” honors and defeating notable guys like Spencer Fisher, Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon and Paul Taylor.

Needless to say, Stout’s experience at this level, at his age, is an advantage that rarely goes equally matched.

After debuting in the UFC at the age of 22, his five-year ride has produced a seesaw of results, a rough lesson in how to deal with the highs and lows of competing in a sport filled with hungry, talented fighters willing to do whatever it takes to become a permanent fixture on the grandest roster in the game.

As it stands today, Stout has barely stayed afloat in the win column, tallying up nearly as many losses as he has wins. The tides have changed though. Two days after blasting a crafty veteran like Edwards into an out-of-body experience, the lightweight standings got juggled and have shifted in Stout’s favor.

It was exactly what he needed to built enough momentum to snap out of his predictable win-loss cycle, a chance to prove he belongs at the next level.

The prefect test for his next fight would be fellow striker Donald Cerrone, who consequentially clocked in at UFC 131 for a win as well. Timing should not be an issue and both guys have the chins and stand up skills to produce a “Fight of the Night” performance.

Plus, each guy’s sails are being backed by the same large gust of momentum. Somebody is bound to get derailed if they collide, which would created that exciting sense of importance leading up to a potential fight.

“The Cowboy” Cerrone put on a leg kick clinic against his opponent Vagner Rocha at UFC 131, the fourth consecutive victim after Jamie Varner, Chris Horodecki and Paul Kelly. While Cerrone has the physical tools to be a constant threat at the top of the table, his mental strength wanes from time to time.

Despite being on a solid win-streak, he has the tendency to be unjustly hard on his performances, stating a common complaint of not pulling the trigger enough on his feet, as if he has something to prove to himself. A win against Stout would help Cerrone clear his mind, enhance his confidence and help him discover his rightful place in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Even though Cerrone will eventually have to overcome a strong wrestler in the UFC and Stout will have to prove he has enough consistency to remain at the top, this would be a very intriguing fight loaded with fireworks that could be a platform jump into those future challenges for the winner.

For each competitor, this would be their respective fight to win or lose, a step towards top-five competition or a step back into the middle of the pack.

It’s a good fight for both guys and a fun fight for the fans…what could go wrong? Dana White and Joe Silva not reading this article and injury, to think of a few things….

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 131 Aftermath: JDS Boxing, Stout Class and Eating UFC Crow

The dust has settled for me and UFC 131 was a large success in Vancouver over the past seven days. When I touched down on the beautiful place I called home for five or so years in my college days the city was a buzz with Stanley Cup fever. It was there in the air and with flags draped all over cars and the city. I was envious. I live in Toronto and I am a Leaf fan, need I say more? I knew my friends who are Canuck fans would be boasting and strutting and walking the walk.

I was there to bask in the vibe for a week, visit my dad, show my girlfriend the sights and cover UFC 131. Not a bad week in my opinion. I was pumped up for the event but I quickly realized that the city was pre-occupied and it didn’t have the lust and fury for this event that Toronto had in April. You really can’t compare the two because the one in Toronto was the city’s first but it was clear the people of Vancouver had other things on their minds.

As the days went by and the events leading up were held the fans did come out and the buzz close to the event was certainly there. Here are some highlights from the week.

I have shaken a lot of fighters hands over the years, at various events and shows, but this was the first time a fighters hand and grip were something to comment on. Shane Carwin has got some set of mitts on him. I know that is no secret with his oversized gloves and all but his hand crushed mine. He was no match for JDS, and watching that fight was pure poetry. I’ve never seen such a big man like JDS stick and move and shuck and jive like a middle or welterweight boxer. And people say boxing is dead. You want to see world class boxing, watch MMA and specifically JDS.

Time to eat some crow as I was giving it to the UFC match makers for having Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman on the main card of the event and having Canadian Krzystof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski far down on the card comparatively. Well, the KSOS-Massenzio fight was a tough one to watch, and the Einemo-Herman fight was named “Fight of The Night” so I was wrong on that one.

The press conference kicked off with some yahoo at the back of Robson Square yelling out a question and comments about an incident that happened the last time the UFC was there. It’s not even worth mention here because it had nothing to do with the UFC, but I wanted to comment on how they handled it, Dana White and the UFC Press team were calm and cool, and they know how to run a first class event

Watching the fights ringside was again an awesome experience and a highlight was obviously a Sam Stout knockout for Team Adrenaline, my favorite team of fighters. Mark Hominick and Chris Horodecki were on hand during the week to support Stout, and they held a fundraiser with coach Shawn Tompkins to raise money in support of a center for abused women in Vancouver. These guys are the best of the best inside and outside the cage.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Feature Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA

Catch him on Twitter @wakafightermma

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 131 Results: Dana White Furious with the Judges’ Discrepancies

ESPN.uk has reported that UFC President Dana White left the Rogers Centre in Vancouver, Canada angry and mystified over bizarre decisions by the judges at UFC 131.Dana White and the UFC have attempted to minimize errors by the judges sitting cage-side …

ESPN.uk has reported that UFC President Dana White left the Rogers Centre in Vancouver, Canada angry and mystified over bizarre decisions by the judges at UFC 131.

Dana White and the UFC have attempted to minimize errors by the judges sitting cage-side by installing video monitors to improve on the accuracy of the decisions.

Unfortunately, even with the use of monitors and clear vision into the Octagon, White believes that grave errors in judgment resulted in obviously blown decisions by the judges.

In the night’s first bout, Darren Elkins was awarded the win over Michihiro Omigawa, much to the chagrin of Dana White who believes Omigawa won this lightweight matchup.

To further enrage White, one of the judges even awarded Elkins all three rounds over the Japanese star.

“One of the things I want to say—because you guys always hear me, and I did again tonight, smashing the judges—is the guy that was scoring 30-27, seriously?” White said. “I don’t know what the f*** in the world that guy was seeing. He should never judge a fight again, ever.”

Dana White then went on to state that Michihiro Omigawa would be provided his win bonus en lieu of his defeat.

“And now we’ve got TV screens. What the f***? You’ve got a TV screen. How did you judge that 30-27? We’re going to pay (Omigawa) his win money. I don’t care what the judge says, he won the fight. … I say he won. Overruled.”

Further controversy erupted in the Mark Munoz, Demian Maia contest. Maia seemingly controlled the first round. However, all three judges awarded Munoz the first round.

Commenting on Munoz’s controversial decision victory, White added, “I had the first round going to Maia, second round going to Munoz, and the third round was tough to score. Third round was tough. If that went either way in the third round, I could have said, ‘Yeah.’ But 30-27? Come on.”

In swift contrast to the judges incompetence, White was quick to provide praise to referee Herb Dean during the night’s main event between Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin.

Dropping Carwin in the first round, dos Santos followed up with a flurry of unanswered punches. Dean, a respected and veteran referee, allowed the fight to continue as Carwin maintained a defensive posture and was intelligently defending himself from the onslaught of savage strikes.

“Herb Dean is the best referee in the business. I thought it before (tonight),” White said. “When you’ve got a fighter there, sometimes these guys get scared, and they get nervous or whatever, and they don’t want to get booed. You’re in charge in there. You make the decisions.”

White continued to sing Dean’s praises by stating, “If I’m a fighter, and I’m in there, and my record is on the line, my money is on the line, everything, I want to see Herb Dean standing in the Octagon in between me and the next fighter,” White said. “I believe (Dean) is the best in the business—maybe the best referee ever in this sport.”

Strong praise for Herb Dean and undeniable lament for the cage-side judges in Vancouver by Dana White.

I welcome your comments.

Todd Seyler

“Like” me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter @toddseyler

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Some Dude Hit a $50,000 12-Fight UFC 131 Parlay…And in Other News, Vancouver MMA Judge Seen Driving New $50,000 Lexus Off the Lot Today

Okay, we made that last part up, but doesn’t it seem kind of odd that someone randomly picked all of the winners in a 12-fight parlay from a card that was steeped in controversial judges’ scoring?

We don’t even get half of our picks right, and we’re paid to analyze the sport and its fighters.

According to a story from MMAFighting.com an unnamed individual won $51,547 from a $200 bet placed through Bodog.eu.

“Hitting parlays in MMA happens often but to hit every fight right on a 12-fight card in one night is unheard of, especially that the parlay included a mix of favorites and a few medium underdogs, including two controversial decisions that went in the bettor’s favor.” Bodog Sports Book Director Richard Gardner told MMAFighting.

Unheard of unless you’re a judge who has the power to do what it takes to ensure the losers are winners and the winners are losers. We’re just spitballing here, but maybe a crooked official utilized the newly approved video monitors to pipe in other footage from a previous fight for the judges to score. Who are we kidding? They probably just sucked at judging like 3/4 of the posters on Sherdog.

We don’t even get half of our picks right, and we’re paid to analyze the sport and its fighters.

According to a story from MMAFighting.com an unnamed individual won $51,547 from a $200 bet placed through Bodog.eu.

What’s interesting is that four of the five judges on hand Saturday night were ex or current fighters. Bill Mahood (20-7-1), Jason Darrah (0-2) and Dave Hagen (0-3) and Chris Franco (2-3) each made some questionable scoring calls. Even longtime judge and the creator of the 1/2 point scoring system Nelson “Doc” Hamilton seemed divided in some of his scores, which differed completely than some of his peers.

So what can we do to fix the problem?

How about having judges apprentice or shadow established officials for a specified number of fights after the completion of a reputable judging course? That is one of the suggestions on the table here in Ontario and I think it’s a good one considering that Saturday night proved that putting inexperienced local judges in to score a fight for the sake of keeping the work local may come at the detriment of the fighters.

Something needs to be done about the issue. Whatever it is, hopefully it happens sooner than later.

Check out the rest of the scorecards below.

UFC 131: Why Is Junior Dos Santos the Betting Favorite over Cain Velasquez?

The main event of UFC 131 between Junior “Cigano” dos Santos and Shane “The Engineer” Carwin stood up to the hype.During 15 minutes of the seemingly one-sided beat-down delivered by JDS on Carwin, there were numerous highlights.First, Carwin has an iro…

The main event of UFC 131 between Junior “Cigano” dos Santos and Shane “The Engineer” Carwin stood up to the hype.

During 15 minutes of the seemingly one-sided beat-down delivered by JDS on Carwin, there were numerous highlights.

First, Carwin has an iron jaw and is capable of enduring a hellacious beating.

With the will of a champion, “The Engineer” continued to press forward against JDS, even though his strikes were off point and his takedown attempts failed to secure any control.

Secondly, the main event highlighted the fact that dos Santos is clearly the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight championship. As Joe Rogan eloquently states, JDS “is a bad man.”

There is no denying this light-hearted moniker for the Brazilian, dos Santos is an extremely talented mixed martial artist with explosively fast hands and a potentially unmatched boxing prowess within the division.

The thorough annihilation of Carwin by dos Santos has provided “Cigano” with a slight betting edge over current UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez.

It is rare for Las Vegas to side with the contender, especially when, on paper, both Velasquez and dos Santos are almost evenly matched.

Comparing each heavyweights body of work inside the Octagon, JDS is 7-0 with four stoppages by (T)KO. Similarly, Velasquez is 7-0 with six victories by (T)KO.

Clearly, both fighters possess knockout power and the ability to dominate their opponents.

Is there a disparity between the level of competition that would provide dos Santos with the edge in the eyes of bookies?

“Cigano” has defeated the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga, and most recently, Shane Carwin. An elite stable of high caliber of fighters have suffered defeat at the hands of the hard-hitting Brazilian.

Defeating a potentially lower level of competition as compared to JDS, Velasquez has secured victories over Cheick Kongo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and in his last fight, Brock Lesnar, to win the heavyweight strap.

Viewing their fighting resumes, dos Santos has seemingly defeated tougher competition. With that said, Velasquez has little control over who he fights. And, as a champion should, has defeated each and every opponent the UFC has placed in front of him.

With each fighters body of work eerily similar, is the fact that Cain Velasquez is recovering from shoulder surgery the rationale behind his underdog status?

Surgeries performed on today’s elite athletes are technologically advanced. Whereas athletes would typically need over one year to rehabilitate from an ACL tear, because of modern medicine, those athletes are performing in a little over eight months.

Additionally, baseball players who require Tommy John surgery come back throwing harder than prior to being placed under the knife.

Would I expect Cain Velasquez to suffer any long-term effects from his shoulder surgery? Personally, no. He is provided the best surgeons and will endure the highest level of physical therapy to guarantee that his shoulder can compensate for the demands of being an ultimate fighter.

Therefore, both fighters possess an impressive Octagon resume. Both fighters are tremendously gifted on their feet and can finish a fight with one punch. And both fighters will enter the cage on October 8th at UFC 136 completely healed and fully prepared for a heavyweight showdown for the championship.

These facts are indisputable. So why is Junior dos Santos the betting favorite over Cain Velasquez?

I honestly do not have a sound rationale as to why Vegas is favoring the challenger.

Without an answer, I ask you the knowledgeable Bleacher Report readers to justify why Junior dos Santos is supposed to beat Cain Velasquez and proudly adorn the UFC heavyweight championship.

Please provide me with your rationale so that I may have some clarity on this decision by the bookies.

Thank you,

Todd Seyler

“Like” me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter @toddseyler

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Shane Carwin on UFC 131 Fight with JDS: “I Can’t Recall Much of the Fight”

After spending almost a full 24 hours in the emergency room, Shane Carwin updated his personal blog for the first time since UFC 131. This writer personally recommends reading Carwin’s latest post in its entirety, but Bloody Elbow took…

After spending almost a full 24 hours in the emergency room, Shane Carwin updated his personal blog for the first time since UFC 131.

This writer personally recommends reading Carwin’s latest post in its entirety, but Bloody Elbow took the time to find some of the most relevant excerpts.

Speaking about the opening round, Carwin explained:

“As the fight started I just did not feel like myself, I wasn’t able to get my feet moving and Junior capitalized quickly.”

He continued: “As he was pummeling me I kept trying to find a way to defend myself so Herb would not stop the fight. Junior was landing solid shots and that is where probably he broke my nose.”

Nothing too earth shattering there, as that is probably the exact same thoughts that anyone watching the fight had.

Speaking about the end of the fight, and Junior dos Santos in general, Carwin reflected that:

“The end of the fight was pretty much a blur. Junior was a better fighter than I was last night. His boxing was better and he used his boxing to take me out of the fight. I have nothing but respect for Junior and his camp. He deserves the title shot.”

Considering no one ever hurt Carwin even half as bad as JDS did at UFC 131, it is no surprise dos Santos is receiving praise from his most recent opponent.

However, the most thought provoking portion of Carwin’s blog comes from when he was discussing the second and third round of the main event fight.

“After the second round I knew I was in trouble. My nose made it impossible to breathe, my eyes were full of blood and Junior was still coming at me. When the ref stopped the fight in the third, I thought it was over.

“When the doctor came in the octagon I knew it was going to be up to me to sell them on letting me continue.”

So does that mean that Carwin pulled a fast one on the ringside doctor?

“I knew I was in deep trouble but I also knew that all I needed was one clean shot. I wanted to keep myself in the fight. I wasn’t able to see but I said I could and we continued.”

This is not all that shocking, especially considering the heart that Carwin showed in soldiering on for the full 15 minutes, but it should be at least a little concerning.

Especially when Carwin added:

“I have had a lot of time to reflect on the fight and while I have not seen it and due to the damage I incurred I can’t recall much of the fight.”

When is the line drawn between being courageous and gutsy, and being reckless and stupid?

Did Carwin cross that line, or did he do what any other physically capable fighter would have done in that situation?

Was referee Herb Dean remiss in letting the fight continue past the first round?

Regardless of what one’s opinion is on this thought provoking news, it certainly does open up some interesting discussion involving the safety of full contact fighters.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com