-
Serra & Trigg Discuss Trash Talk
By: Mike Sloan
Frank Trigg says his prefight banter with UFC 109 opponent Matt Serra was just intended to build the fight. Serra is less certain about the words they exchanged.
Soundtrack courtesy of Odin Smith. Read more -
Frank Trigg Reflects on Loss at UFC 103 with Bruce Buffer
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Frank Trigg discussed his TKO loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC on Tuesday with Bruce Buffer.
Read more
The show is available for download here.
While you're at it, check out Bruce Buffer's all new MMA blog. -
New Questions
By: Jake Rossen
Should Vitor Belfort get a title shot against Anderson Silva?
Read more
Only in combat sports could a guy win a 195-pound fight and immediately get thrown in as a middleweight contender. The problem is that Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt -- the two guys who are far more deserving at the moment -- wouldn’t excite fans as much as a Belfort fight, and probably need to fight each other to avoid giving Silva multiple rematches. (One is more than enough.) There’s also the issue of capitalizing on Belfort’s current wave of durability before he fades against another contender.
Should “Cro Cop” hang up the checkered shorts? -
UFC 103 Post-Mortem: Belfort, Daley Issue Statements
By: Jake Rossen
Of all the athletes who promised to reenact some of their better days Saturday, Vitor Belfort might have been considered the least likely to succeed.
Read more
A returning Frank Trigg had amassed a tight 7-2 record since leaving the UFC in 2005; Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic swore up, down, and sideways that surgery had left him a new man. Belfort? Coming off two impressive victories at 185 pounds, he was fighting 10 pounds heavier, was prone to frequently disappointing…and looked somewhat depressed.
A hanging head might be expected. Being Belfort involves a weird amalgamation of having incredible expectations layered on top of none: in 1997, he was considered a blitzing badass with unlimited potential. By 2000, he was written off as mentally knocked out. -
Primer: UFC 103
By: Jake Rossen
In and out of the cage, Rich Franklin is making a career out of lateral movement: bumped from the middleweight division by Anderson Silva, he appears to have settled into a complacent role as filler putty for headlining holes in the UFC’s main events.
Read more
UFC 93 was a light heavyweight bout against Dan Henderson; UFC 99, a catch-weight bout against Wanderlei Silva; now there’s Dallas and UFC 103, which sees him in another 195-pound fence-straddle against a returning Vitor Belfort. It’s hard to ascertain exactly what the fight means: Franklin is supposed to be a 205-pound presence, so beating Belfort -- who eyes the 185-pound division -- can’t influence that much. Belfort has more to gain here. -
5 Questions: UFC 103 Edition
By: Jake Rossen
Will Vitor Belfort shrink?
Read more
Even if you excuse his dynamic debut performance at UFC 13 -- all hands, no effort -- as the product of subpar opposition, Vitor Belfort is still a sharp, tight stand-up artist who can end fights faster than IV sedation.
The ticks of the clock are Belfort’s biggest issues: as the fight wears, he fades mentally, and instructs his body to do the same physically. Whether that’s been corrected at Xtreme Couture hasn’t been discovered. Rich Franklin will prompt him for an answer. -
Trigg Might Get Koscheck in UFC Return
By: Jake Rossen
News out of MMAWeekly: Wrestlers Josh Koscheck and Frank Trigg are expected to square off at a September UFC event, date TBA.
Read more
Good fight. I’m still not a fan of Trigg’s welterweight prospects -- there’s more intrigue for him at middleweight -- but it should prove to be an interesting striking challenge for both men if the matchup is made. Trigg had two sensational fights with another wrestler in Matt Hughes, which followed the pattern of wrestler/wrestler matches usually stalemating each fighter’s strongest attribute and forcing them to use other skills to win.
More importantly, I would expect pre-fight jawing from both men to reach epic proportions. In the parlance of pro wrestling, they’re both “heels.” I would expect the referee to be the only one cheered during the introductions. -
Trigg Returns to the UFC
By: Jake Rossen
Triggonomics apparel wearers, your day has come: Fighter and part-time clothier Frank Trigg has reached a deal to return to the UFC.
Read more
2-3 in the promotion from 2003-05, Trigg was beaten by Matt Hughes (twice) and Georges St. Pierre (once). He’s had much better results outside the Octagon, going 6-1 in his last seven bouts.
One asterisk: Trigg’s recent success has come primarily as a middleweight, but he’ll be a welterweight attraction -- same as before -- in the UFC. His odds against St. Pierre, particularly at age 37, do not appear to make for a good underdog bet. Maybe the weight cut saps him; maybe he’s just more in tune with a 185er’s speed. Either way, I’d be more excited to see him a class up. He seems to operate best after a carbo-load.