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Thursday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Thursday
3:00 a.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage: Classics Vol. 3
A historic collection of match ups.
4:00 a.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage: Greatest KOs 1
Reviewing devastating K.O.'s and headlining some of the biggest stars in the history of MMA.
4:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FX 6 Preview a preview of all the official news, views, and action for UFC on FX 6: George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson.
4:30 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Fuel for the Fire Long Island native Chris Weidman tours the town he loves; Alexander Gustafsson sits down with Jon Anik; Nate Diaz's submission game in Gracie Breakdown; experience Chad Mendes' dominating performance through the eyes of teammate Joseph Benavidez.
5:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 16 Episode 12: Semifinal Showdown Two semifinal fights determine which two men will move on to fight in the finale for a UFC contract.
6:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Best of Ultimate Insider Behind the scenes of the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the week of October 30.
6:30 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Best of Georges St. Pierre GSP's 10 month rehab; Jon Anik travels to Montreal for an interview with the welterweight champ.
7:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Fuel for the Fire Long Island native Chris Weidman tours the town he loves; Alexander Gustafsson sits down with Jon Anik; Nate Diaz's submission game in Gracie Breakdown; experience Chad Mendes' dominating performance through the eyes of teammate Joseph Benavidez.
7:30 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FX 6 Preview A preview of all the official news, views, and action for UFC on FX 6: George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson.
8:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller Prelims
Prelims for UFC: Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller.
4:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FX 6 Preview A preview of all the official news, views, and action for UFC on FX 6: George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson.
4:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Fuel for the Fire Long Island native Chris Weidman tours the town he loves; Alexander Gustafsson sits down with Jon Anik; Nate Diaz's submission game in Gracie Breakdown; experience Chad Mendes' dominating performance through the eyes of teammate Joseph Benavidez.
5:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Reloaded
Relive UFC 141, Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FX 6 Preview a preview of all the official news, views, and action for UFC on FX 6: George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson.
8:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Fuel for the Fire Long Island native Chris Weidman tours the town he loves; Alexander Gustafsson sits down with Jon Anik; Nate Diaz's submission game in Gracie Breakdown; experience Chad Mendes' dominating performance through the eyes of teammate Joseph Benavidez.
9:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson, Mark Kerr vs. Igor Borisov, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Heath Herring, and Josh Barnett vs. Mark Hunt.
10:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson Weigh-In
Weigh-in for UFC on FX 6 Georges Sotiropoulos vs Ross Pearson from the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Queensland, Australia.
11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Mauricio Rua vs Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafsson vs Vladimir Matyushenko, and Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz.
11:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: MMA Uncensored Live
EPISODE: 37
12:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 16 Episode 12: Semifinal Showdown Two semifinal fights determine which two men will move on to fight in the finale for a UFC contract. Read more -
Postmortem: UFC on Versus 2
By: Jake Rossen
If you want a snapshot that best describes the fork in the road for Jon Jones, look at these two post-fight headlines following his win over Vladimir Matyushenko on Sunday:
Jon Jones Wants a Top 5 Opponent
Trainer Wants to take it Slow with Jones
You can watch the videos, but the messages are fairly on the nose: Jones is getting restless, and coach Greg Jackson isn’t. Both Jackson and the UFC understand that there’s little upside to rushing Jones along, matching him in a tough fight before he might be ready, and tanking his confidence prematurely. This is boxing’s model for grooming: years and dozens of fights to puff up silly records that can attract higher prize purses.
Jones will never be strung along that far, but he’s already flirting with sandbagging. Matyushenko is an incredibly tough, durable fighter, but he also fit the classic archetype of an aging athlete with name recognition that’s fed to the promising younger talent. Thirty seconds in, the difference in speed was obvious, and the ending was inevitable. “I respect him,” Jones said after the fight. “He’s dangerous.” But it was the kind of cursory, empty compliment you pay more out of respect for a man’s career than what he was able to bring on the night in question.
In the end, Jones’ career trajectory will be decided by the UFC, the ultimate arbitrator of who gets spoon-fed and who gets thrown into the fire. After the fight, Dana White was promising a “top eight” opponent for next time. Read more -
Jones' Lofty Goals
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ESPN2 MMA Live: Sonnen & Matyushenko
MMA Live details the signing of Jake Shields with the UFC, and what it means for the 170-pound division.
Chael Sonnen checks in prior to the biggest fight of his career against Anderson Silva at UFC 117, and UFC hall of famer Randy Couture discusses his UFC 118 bout with James Toney and his upcoming role in "The Expendables."
Also, Vladimir Matyushenko joins the guys to talk about his upcoming bout with Jon Jones at UFC on Versus 2.
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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.
