Article by Jesse Holland
“Forrest Griffin told us that (Alexander Gustafsson) has been out here [in Las Vegas] and he’s been beating the living shit out of everybody. Forrest Griffin said this guy’s the real deal and he’s been out here in Vegas kicking everyone’s ass. He said people don’t even want to spar with him. He came here to Las Vegas to up his game and I guess he’s been beating the shit out of everybody. People are like ‘Yeah, I’m not fucking sparring with him today.’”

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight brawler Thiago Silva recently said he was ready to kill or be killed in Sweden, which is what it might come down to when he locks horns with native son Alexander Gustafsson at the UFC on FUEL TV 2 event on April 14 in Stockholm. According to UFC President Dana White (via Studio MMA), “The Mauler” has been kicking so much ass in “Sin City,” guys don’t even want to spar with him at the gym. Will he be able to carry that dominance over into his main event against Silva in less than a month?

The post Dana White: Alexander Gustafsson is Kicking So Much Ass, Guys Are Afraid To Spar With Him *VIDEO* appeared first on Alliance Training Center.

The Ultimate Fighter LIVE reenactment of awkward moment by UFC Fighters Dominick Cruz (as Himself & Urijah Faber), Ross Pearson (as Dana White), Bellator Fighter Scott Heckman (as Justin Lawrence) and Eric Del Fierro, Phil Davis, Lloyd Irvin, Wilson Reis, Jeremy Stephens, Mike Easton, Tyson Griffin, Shannon Slack all as Team Faber.

The post Dominick Cruz, Ross Pearson and other MMA Fighters Reenact Urijah Fabers Ackward Moment on TUF 15 appeared first on Alliance Training Center.

Article by Shawn M. Smith of Inside Fights

As the number one pick for Dominick Cruz, Justin Lawrence was already facing a ton of pressure before his first fight in the house was even announced. Yet after dominating his way onto the show, the Missouri native drew the unenviable task of facing Cristiano Marcello, a man who in a very successful career has had more professional losses than Lawrence has had professional bouts.

Marcello has been touted thus far this season as the former Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach for Chute Boxe Academy. As the most experienced fighter in the house, many fighters would consider it not only an honor, but some level of punishment to be staring at the Brazilian from across the cage. Simply put, he came in with a ridiculously strong pedigree. He’s blazed a trail in his homeland with his grappling knowledge and with training partners like Anderson Silva, Marcello could be considered by many to have the advantage.

During the week’s preparation, Team Cruz focused on grappling and takedown defense so that the 34-year old Marcello wouldn’t be taking one of Lawrence’s limbs home with him.

Team Faber stressed the knockout power of the “The American Kidd” to Marcello. Coach Urijah Faber identified ways to handle the youthful fighter addressing defensive positions, when to shoot and how to manage his raw athleticism, speed and aggression. Throughout training, Faber’s concern centered on Marcello’s seeming inability to keep his chin down. Maybe that was foreshadowing, maybe it was just used to create drama, but the fight became even more compelling as a result.

At the weigh-in, Marcello and Lawrence got into an intense staredown, nothing that is new to TUF fans. The Ultimate Fighter is built on drama and this battle was no different. Going in to the fight, we knew that this was either a masterstroke by Cruz or sheer luck for Faber. One of them was taking out the other team’s top guy to start the series. That’s unprecedented.

Both fighters came into the Octagon with fervor, ready to bang. The cards were clearly stacked against Lawrence in experience and reach. Early in the first round, Lawrence worked the outside of the cage, moving in and out, testing Marcello’s range. In the opening minutes, a big right hook barely missed for Lawrence, as did a high left kick. Marcello eventually fired forward like a buzzsaw, but the American’s combinations and quick feet kept him out of harm’s way. It was human chess and each man was cautiously taking pieces off the board.

As the first round drew to a close, a push kick put Marcello down, but he was able to pop up easily and fire back with a body kick of his own. With Lawrence continually aiming for the chin of Marcello, it was assumed that we’d eventually see a big shot land. Both fighters threw big kick attempts to end round one, leaving a razor thin call for the judges.

With everything on the line in round two both fighters became more aggressive.
Marcello walked through a punch by Lawrence early, trying for a trademark takedown, but to no avail. Both fighters were swinging hard, but most of their blows were ineffective until a big left from Lawrence dropped Marcello. However, Lawrence’s respect of Marcello’s ground game kept him on his feet allowing the Brazilian to recover.

And then it happened. After a big feint Lawrence landed a mammoth left hand and Cristiano Marcello was out on his back, staring at the lights. The foreshadowing of a major weakness of Marcello’s striking defense from earlier in the episode was his downfall.

Justin Lawrence once again showed why he was the top pick for Coach Cruz and the number 1 pick overall. He proved himself against another experienced fighter in Cristiano Marcello (previously James Krause). It was another major victory for Team Cruz.

The Hammer

If last week’s pick was the weirdest that Dana White has ever seen, this week’s pick was pretty straight to the point. In a week where the pranks had finally begun, this wasn’t a mind game so much as a declaration. Myles Jury was selected for the next bout and will fight Al Iaquinta next week. It was a quick, neat call and another smart one pulled out of Cruz’ bag of tricks. Can the Long Island-based fighter defeat a former Team Lesnar pick from two seasons ago? We’ll have to wait and see.

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Written by Spencer Lazara
Episode 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter Live” was another step in what may be the best season ever. Much of the episode was the lead up to the fight featuring Justin Lawrence and Christiano Marcello.

Round one began rather slowly with neither man overextending. Lawrence sets his range nicely in the first round, doing more damage and landing more of his strikes in a round that was entirely kept standing.

In round two, Lawrence began to gain a bit more steam, although still remaining patient and calm. His jab is landing, and his power punches just missing. Marcello is a bit more aggressive as well, but eats a few stiff jabs and left hooks that have his confidence visibly shaken. Lawrence’s meanwhile is only growing, and with help from his corner barking out for him to throw big left hooks, he finally lands a clean one, putting Marcello out cold on the canvas.

After the win Lawrence thanked his coaches for help with the flawless game plan. “First and foremost, I want to thank the man upstairs. With that said, Dominick, Eric, Phil, Shannon, Lloyd, Doug, Wilson and the entire team, I just want to say thank you for the game planning that you came up with for me,” he said.

Dominick Cruz seems like an amazing coach from what we were shown, not only putting together the perfect game plan for Lawrence, but barking out useful tips in his corner. He kept saying throw the power three and Lawrence obliged, finally landing the one that ended the fight.

“I think again Faber underestimated the way we coach and the way that we fight,” Cruz said in a press release from the UFC. “Regardless of what he says or thinks about himself, he’s a cocky dude. It’s worked out so far for our team. It’s about confidence in my team, about how good they are, and about how good they listen. I’ve got a good team. Lawrence fought a perfect fight; he listened to the game plan perfectly, there’s nothing I can say, everything was perfect.”

On top of a seemingly flawless coaching job, Cruz has managed to instill supreme confidence to his entire team, simultaneously causing Faber’s team to question themselves and their will to fight against Cruz’s best guys. At the end of last week’s episode Cruz chose Justin Lawrence to fight but gave Urijah Faber the opportunity to choose his opponent. Faber was caught off guard and asked his team who wanted to fight and didn’t get a peep out of any member of his team. You could hear a pin drop in fact, as nobody wanted to step up to face Team Cruz’s number one pick in the second week of the competition. While it makes perfect sense that nobody would offer to fight the best right away, it still clearly had an effect on Team Faber and their confidence moving forward. This was probably the slickest coaching move made in TUF history by Cruz because he knew what would come from this before even doing it, and he still was able to choose who he wanted to face Lawrence.

The win puts Team Cruz up two fights to none and gives them the choice of the next fight once again. Dominick Cruz chose Myles Jury to take on Team Faber’s number one pick, Al Iaquinta on next week’s episode.

What really stuck out in this episode is Dominick Cruz proving that he is not only a great fighter, but a great coach, leader and teammate. He commands respect but also gives it. He remains calm and collected at all times, even when annoyed by team loudmouth Chris Tickle as was the case in this episode. This isn’t to take anything away from Urijah Faber, because he too seems like a solid coach, but something about Cruz just makes him stick out as one of the best coaches we’ve seen on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

EXTRA QUOTES:

UFC President Dana White:

“Cruz’s first pick didn’t disappoint tonight. Lawrence fought a cautious but solid fight. Picked Marcello apart from the outside and landed big shots. Marcello literally had no offense whatsoever tonight and Lawrence put him away halfway through the second round. Lawrence came out with a knockout victory, no injuries and very much one of the top contenders for the TUF Live Finale.”

Cristiano Marcello:

“I want to say sorry to my family, and everybody who supports me. This is just one more step for something big.”

Dominick Cruz

“Ecstatic about the win. Justin “The American Kidd” Lawrence fought a perfect fight and I couldn’t be happier with the way my team prepared him.”

Next week’s fighter Al Iaquinta:

“Got called out tonight; not the first time, probably won’t be the last – and I got my ass kicked early that time, then won the fight. Jury’s never been in a war like I have.”

Next week’s fighter Myles Jury:

“I feel great, I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life. Al’s a tough opponent, and it will be the toughest fight of my career.”

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