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Former K-1 opponent Ray Sefo says it'll be 'a mistake' if Junior dos Santos stands with Mark Hunt at UFC 160

2013-05-25T03:30:02Z

There aren't many kickboxers who know Mark Hunt better than World Series of Fighting promoter Ray Sefo.

During his days inside the squared circle while competing in K-1 in Japan, "Sugar" had one of the all-time great kickboxing wars against Hunt at a World Grand Prix event in 2001.

It was the type of fight that turned both men into fan-favorites, and they were easily able to forge a friendship afterwards.

So it comes as no surprise that Sefo is delighted to see Hunt's mixed martial arts (MMA) career resurgence in the past two years while competing with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The former K-1 Grand Prix runner-up said as much this week on The Verbal Submission while speaking exclusively to MMAmania.com.

"I'm super excited for him and I'm really, really proud of the guy because I've known Mark for years, 20 years or so. He's a Cinderella story and to see him come this far. After his last fight in Japan, my biggest advice to him was 'brother, you've got all the skills, the talent, the weapons, the jaw/chin to become world champion in the UFC so your biggest challenge is losing the weight and staying fast and agile. I saw him with yesterday and he looks in shape and he's ready. Talking to him, he's ready to come and to win. His opponent is a tough, tough guy, but Mark Hunt has faced some of the best in the world so yeah, I can't say enough how proud and excited I am for him."

Hunt will be taking on Junior dos Santos tomorrow night (May 25, 2013) in the co-main event of UFC 146 and the improbable Pride veteran will be potentially vying for a number one contender position in the UFC heavyweight division. While "The Super Samoan" is a pretty hefty underdog, Sefo believes that the longer they stay standing, the better Hunt's odds of pulling off the upset become.

"Honestly, if Junior dos Santos wants to do the stand-up game, that might be a mistake for him. Mark's fought some of the best strikers in the world and he likes it. The more he stands, the better chance of Mark putting dos Santos away. That being said, Mark's ground has improved leaps and bounds. It'll be an interesting fight. At this moment, I'm rooting for Mark. Juniro dos Santos is a great fighter and a great champion. I like the guy, but I'm rooting for Mark."

Hunt's Cinderella story includes four straight wins in the UFC heavyweight division including consecutive knockouts over the likes of Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve to firmly entrench himself in the top 10 rankings. Do you agree with Sefo that Hunt has a good shot if dos Santos keeps it standing?

Pic: Updated UFC 161 full poster for ‘Evans vs. Henderson' on June 15 in Winnipeg

2013-05-25T03:00:03Z

In just a few short weeks, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will make its second venture north of the border in 2013, and to a new city at that, with a card carried by some of the world's top light heavyweight talent.

Renan Barao was supposed to defend his interim bantamweight title against Eddie Wineland at the event, but unfortunately the Brazilian suffered a foot injury and was forced to withdraw from the card.

With that said, UFC 161 is still a loaded fight card, so when and where does it all go down?

The pay-per-view (PPV) fight card is set to go down from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on June 15, 2013.

In the new main event, former UFC 205-pound champion Rashad Evans looks to rebound from his career-worst two-fight losing streak when he takes on former two-division Pride champion Dan Henderson in a high-stakes 205-pound affair.

The night's co-main event will see two more of the world's top 205-pound fighters go to war, as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira looks to build momentum from his UFC 156 upset over Evans when he takes on former UFC champion Mauricio Rua in a rematch of the 2005 "Fight of the Year," which "Shogun" won by decision.

Also added to the card at the last minute was a heavyweight contest between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 10 winner Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic.

Good stuff.

For more news and notes on UFC 161: "Evans vs. Henderson" click here.

UFC 160 weigh in photos gallery for 'Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2' in Las Vegas

2013-05-25T02:30:05Z

View this gallery here.

Growing Up Before Our Eyes: UFC 160 featherweight Max Holloway interview exclusive with MMAmania.com

2013-05-25T02:00:06Z

As the youngest fighter currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster, a lot of people look up to featherweight Max Holloway as an example of what's possible if you follow your dreams.

In Feb. 2012, Holloway, 21, made his Octagon debut on short notice against top-10 ranked Dustin Poirier as just an undefeated 20-year-old with only four professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts under his belt.

To this day, that fight with Poirier is the lone defeat on Holloway's resume and he has since gone a three-fight win-streak to prove to everyone that, despite his age and an underwhelming showing in his UFC debut, he is not out of his depth facing the top competition in the world.

Holloway has developed in front of the eyes of the UFC audience over the past 15 months, picking up his most notable win to date last December when he stepped in to face and defeat the gritty Leonard Garcia on just 10 days notice.

The native of Hawaii is improving with each passing bout and at UFC 160 on Saturday night (May 25, 2013); Holloway will cross paths with The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14 runner-up Dennis Bermudez on the preliminary portion of the fight card from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Aside from Poirier, one could make the argument that Bermudez is Holloway's stiffest challenge to date. That excites Holloway, though, and just days before the match up the Gracie Technics trained fighter spoke with MMAmania.com about the road to UFC 160, fighting Bermudez, being the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, family and more.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): You stepped in and fought Leonard Garcia on short notice at UFC 155 and won a close split decision. What are your reflections on that fight and what did you learn from it?

Max Holloway: I didn't do as good as I wanted to, it was a close decision and I don't really like split decisions. I either want to dominate or finish a guy and what I took away from that fight is don't take anyone for granted, you know? I knew Leonard was going to be game - I knew he was going to be super game for the fight, but I didn't count on his cardio being that good and I also learned that I should do a little more cardio stuff if I'm going to take fights on short notice.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): You've fought a few times in the UFC on short notice. What do you notice that's different in your game either mentally or physically when you have a full camp to prepare opposed to stepping in on short notice?

Max Holloway: The first fight short notice, four weeks is really not that short of a notice. Four weeks you actually have three weeks to train for something, I think that that's kind of good enough, but that 10 days man - it's not like the UFC was holding a gun to my head telling me to take the fight or whatever, I asked for the fight, I wanted the fight and it's a learning experience. I got the W and that's all that matters.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): You fight Dennis Bermudez at UFC 160 on Saturday. Where would you rank him in terms of all the guys you've competed against so far?

Max Holloway: He's just a high-end guy, you know? For sure and he's on a three-win streak coming off The Ultimate Fighter finale when he fought Diego Brandao, so I think he's the highest ranking guy I've fought. I think he's ranked right under the top-10 guys in the world.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): He proved in his last fight that he's able to take a tremendous amount of punishment and continue to push forward. He's never been knocked out. What do you think about that quality?

Max Holloway: He took a lot of punishment in his last fight and it is what it is, I'm not Matt Grice. I feel like if I can catch him and get him hurt, I feel like I can finish the fight. But if I can't catch him I'm willing to go the three rounds with him. It's no biggie, I just - it's not a problem going the whole three rounds or even trying to go for a finish. It is what it is and I've just got to go step by step and see what happens come May 25th.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): I wanted to talk a little bit more about your striking. According to FightMetric which tracks UFC stats, you're in the top-10 all-time for featherweight striking accuracy and are tied for the most knockdowns in UFC featherweight history with three. What about your stand up skills makes you so successful in your opinion?

Max Holloway: I'm a kickboxer and that's just what I am. I'm not going to go out there and try to outwrestle a wrestler. I'm not going to go out there and try to out jiu-jitsu a jiu-jitsu guy. I feel great with what I'm doing standing and as long as it's working for me why change it, right? That old saying, "Why fix something if it's not broken?" I'm going to try and keep using my striking and keep my fights standing.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): You're the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster and this is your fifth UFC fight. What's it been like to kind of grow up on this stage against the highest level of competition in the world?

Max Holloway: It's kind of been not real yet, you know what I mean? I still can't get that I'm here, I'm doing what I love. I'm taking it one step at a time and I feel so blessed to be here, to be with what you said, the best guys in the world and the toughest guys are in the UFC, so I feel so blessed to be with the UFC and to be the youngest guy, it's simply a blessing.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): What do you do in your downtime for this camp? I saw you post a Vine video yesterday just hanging out at home with your family and son. Is that what you spend most of your time doing outside of training?

Max Holloway: Yeah my wife and my son, I love spending time with them because we're training and stuff, fight camp I kind of disappear for a little bit. So I love spending time with them, we go to the beach, we go to this thing to do indoor racing, indoor trampoline place. We just like getting out of the house and hanging out, or even if it's at home just watching a move, watching TV together. Taking my son outside the house and push him around in his little plastic cart - I just like to take my mind off of training when I'm not training so I'm not thinking of the fight 24/7.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): Do you feel a lot of added pressure given your age and the fact you have to provide for a child and all the other responsibilities that go along with that?

Max Holloway: Yeah, for sure. Every fight I go in there and always on my mind is my family, and you just want to take care of them. There's a little added pressure, but my wife doesn't put too much pressure on me and she's really, really supportive so I just it one fight at a time and just fight my heart out in there. That's all the UFC wants to see.

Mike Bohn (MMAmania.com): I appreciate the time. Last question before I let you go. Where do you think a win over Dennis Bermudez puts you in the featherweight division? It would be your fourth-straight win which is one of the longest streaks in the division. Does that earn you top-10 guy, top-five?

Max Holloway: With a win over Dennis Bermudez, I'd love to fight a top-10 guy, but I don't know where UFC wants to take my career because I'm so young and stuff, so if I can get a top-10 guy that would be awesome, but it's also be nice to get a maybe top 15, top 20 guy that would also be good. I just want to climb the ladder. I want to start fighting more advanced guys to really see what my game is and really know how much potential I have and just keep fighting the best and keep climbing the ladder. Everybody's goal is not a secret in the UFC. They want the UFC gold so that's what I want to go after.

Mr. Holloway would like to thank his family, friends, training partners, coaches and sponsors for their support in his upcoming UFC 160 fight. Be sure to follow Holloway on Twitter @BlessedMMA.

Video: Jon Anik and Kenny Florian preview ‘Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2' at UFC 160

2013-05-25T01:00:04Z

UFC 160: "Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2" goes down May 25, 2013 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC commentators Jon Anik and Kenny Florian recently broke down the night's main event between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Antonio Silva.

UFC 160 fight card: Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Silva 2 preview

2013-05-25T00:00:42Z

The stakes are raised tomorrow night (May 25, 2013) as Cain Velasquez puts his title on the line against Antonio Silva in a rematch for UFC 160's main event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cain Velasquez
Record: 11-1 overall, 9-1 in the UFC
Key Wins: Junior dos Santos (UFC 155), Brock Lesnar (UFC 121), Antonio Silva (UFC 146)
Key Losses: Junior dos Santos (UFC on Fox)

How he got here: Velasquez, despite being undersized throughout his wrestling career, was able to become a two-time NCAA Division I All-American while competing at Arizona State University. When he was done with college, he immediately transitioned into mixed martial arts (MMA).

Trainers and other MMA fighters immediately began raving about his potential and he was signed by the UFC after just his second professional fight. He was built up slowly, earning victories over the likes of Brad Morris, Jake O'Brien and Denis Stojnić in his first year with the promotion

But, after a spirited effort against Ben Rothwell, it was time for the big dogs.

Velasquez battled Pride FC legend "Minotauro" Nogueira in the main event of UFC 110 for the UFC's debut in Australia, knocking out the former interim UFC champion before the midway point of the first round. This earned him a fight against Lesnar for the title. When they finally met, Lesnar blitzed Velasquez, who held his ground, weathering the early storm and then destroyed Lesnar with punches and knees standing, following it up with precise ground and pound to become the new UFC heavyweight champion.

After taking more than one year off to recover from shoulder surgery, he looked a step slow, suffering a first round knockout loss to Junior dos Santos. He bounced back in a big way, throttling his upcoming opponent Antonio Silva in a violent first round rampage last May. In his rematch for the title, he proceeded to take it to dos Santos for five straight rounds, winning a dominant unanimous decision to reclaim the belt.

Now, he's set to take on SIlva again, who's more than earned his rematch.

How he gets it done: Velasquez is incredibly athletic and has cardio for days. He has the speed and agility to present Silva some serious problems.

The key for Velasquez is to utilize his speed, dance around with terrific footwork and create an opening against the bigger, slower Silva. "Bigfoot" has been dropped by both American Kickboxing Academy opponents he's faced in his career thus far so it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Velasquez could catch him too.

Another key for the champion is to push a relentless pace. "Bigfoot" is very powerful, but if Velasquez can wear on him either in the clinch or on the ground, he'll be setting himself up for a highlight reel finish. Even if he can't get a takedown, he needs to make Silva work extra hard to fend them off, which will take up much-needed energy.

Constant pressure and avoiding exchanges in the pocket will help Velasquez repeat his success from last year. As long as he can stay in top position on the ground and drop those nasty elbows, he could definitely open "Bigfoot" up again and force an early end to the title fight.

Antonio Silva
Record: 18-4 overall, 2-1 in the UFC
Key Wins: Alistair Overeem (UFC 154), Travis Browne (UFC on FX 5), Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva)
Key Losses: Cain Velasquez (UFC 146), Fabricio Werdum (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers)

How he got here: Of all places, Antonio Silva actually began his MMA career in the United Kingdom. "Bigfoot" began his training at the Wolfslair academy in the UK. After destroying everyone in his path in England, Silva branched out, losing to Eric Pele at Bodog Fight before settling at EliteXC.

He would shine in EliteXC, winning four straight over the likes of UFC veterans Wesley Correira and Ricco Rodriguez before winning the promotion's heavyweight title against Justin Eilers. He would be popped for steroids after the victory and never got a chance to explain himself or defend his belt before the promotion folded with the Kimbo Slice debacle.

After a couple easy wins in Japan, Silva signed with Strikeforce to compete against its stocked heavyweight division. Silva would drop a decision to Fabricio Werdum in his promotional debut.

"Bigfoot" has since found his stride, defeating the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Mike Kyle and most impressively of all, ground and pounding Fedor Emelianenko to oblivion this past February in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in a career-defining victory.

Silva would be upset by the eventual tournament winner Daniel Cormier, losing via first round knockout and before he'd get another opportunity to fight for Strikeforce, he was signed to the UFC's heavyweight division. When Frank Mir got a title shot, "Bigfoot" stepped up to the co-main event against Velasquez, but was met with some serious resistance, losing his second straight fight to an AKA opponent inside the first round.

The Brazilian bounced back in a big way, handing Travis Browne the first loss of his professional career last October and he shocked the world by knocking former Strikeforce champ and top contender Alistair OVereem out to earn a shot at the belt as well as a rematch against Velasquez

How he gets it done: Silva has been putting in the time to slim down and improve his speed so he's not as easy of a target, but he's still going to have a nice size advantage against Velasquez.

"Bigfoot" has a reach advantage over Velasquez which could give the American wrestler some serious fits if he can utilize movement and work his jab in the stand-up department. Look for the Brazilian fighter to try and pepper Velasquez with straight punches.

Cain has been hurt before, getting dropped by Kongo and knocked out by dos Santos so Silva definitely has a puncher's chance. If he rocks Velasquez, he can't let him off the hook. Silva will have to absolutely sell out working for the finish. He has to get that big shot in before Velasquez can start to push the pace and outwork him. Silva's window for finishing this fight is much shorter than in his last bout against Overeem, as Velasqeuz will not fade, will not slow down and will not relent. He has to land that clipping blow and follow up or he's going to see a repeat of the last time these two men met.

Fight X-Factor: The biggest factor here is how will each man respond and evolve heading into the rematch. Both men are incredibly dangerous, but Velasquez battered Silva senseless the first time around in one of 2012's most one-sided bouts. If Velasquez comes in just as motivated and just as mean, he's got a very good chance of winning.

That being said, Silva's confidence is likely at an all-time high considering the impressive showings he's put on in his last two fights, scoring very exciting and brutal knockouts of top 10 opposition. If Silva has the confidence to land that big shot, he might just pull it off.

Bottom Line: Cain Velasquez is likely going to be pushing a tremendous pace in this fight. He always puts on a show, is very active and aggressive both standing and on the ground. He's not your typical heavyweight. I expect him to really push Silva to the limit and if Silva can respond and raise his level, we could be in for an extremely entertaining heavyweight fight. There's no way Velasquez gasses so if "Bigfoot" fades, he's going to be in some serious trouble and that's something the fans can get excited about.

Who will come out on top at UFC 160? Tell us your predictions in the comments below!

Poll

Who will walk away from the UFC 160 cage with the heavyweight title wrapped around their waist?

UFC 160 weigh in results and full video replay for 'Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2' in Las Vegas

2013-05-24T23:41:06Z

In case you missed today's UFC 160 weigh in event, or just want to get another look at all the scale-tipping festivities, MMAmania.com has you covered with a full video replay of "Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2" from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cain Velasquez vs. Bigfoot Silva staredown pic from UFC 160 weigh ins

2013-05-24T23:37:38Z

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held its weigh in event earlier today (May 24, 2013) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for those fighters competing at UFC 160: "Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2" event, which is scheduled to take place at the same location tomorrow night live on pay-per-view (PPV).

For complete UFC 160 weigh in results and video click here.

The staredowns were nothing to write home about, as is usually the case, but you can at least get a look at how each fighter chose to square off against his opponent.

265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

265 lbs.: Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt

205 lbs.: Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna

155 lbs.: T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 160 fight card on fight night (May 25, 2013), starting with the Facebook "Prelims," which are scheduled to begin at 6:35 p.m. ET, right on through the FX-televised under card bouts at 8 p.m. ET and then main card PPV action, which is slated to begin at 10 p.m. ET.

For all the current news and notes on UFC 160 click here.