Our first item this week is the above embedded, video, which is the latest cartoon from Tommy Toe Hold, which he made for Stephie Haynes’ UFC on Fox picks article at Bloody Elbow. In it, Nate Diaz (well, Tommy’s version of Nate Diaz), one of the show’s most popular characters goes off on a rant stemming from the story of him drawing a self portrait on UFC on Fox posters since he wasn’t pictured.
At Bleacher Report, Patrick Wyman has his usual fight by fight preview/technical breakdown of the week’s UFC card, which, for this week, is UFC on Fox: Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone II. The UFC’s last card of 2015 and its fourth in ten days, it’s an excellent lineup on paper, and as always, Patrick does a great job breaking everything down. Donald Cerrone fans may not be happy with him, though, as Patrick (rightfully) notes.
Meanwhile, at Bloody Elbow, Patrick’s Heavy Hands podcast cohost Connor Ruebusch breaks down Dos Anjos’ pressure fighting game in the latest of his “Judo Chop” articles. For those who have never seen his work, he uses a lot of visual aids (screen grabs and animated GIFs) to explain everything, so they’re an excellent way to learn more about technique. Dos Anjos’ progression under coach Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA has really been a pleasure to watch, and Connor breaks down precisely what he’s changed and improved.
Of course, at Fightland, Jack Slack also has his own breakdown of Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone. Here, he looks at if Cerrone can beat Dos Anjos and, as always, illustrates it with plenty of animated GIFs.
The official UFC YouTube channel always has a ton of content up in the days leading up to a major card. In the latest batch, the most substantive addition is probably the above video where Megan Olivi interviews Junior Dos Santos in advance of his fight with Alistair Overeem. With the degree that Dos Santos disappears between fights these days and the length of those layoffs, it’s almost a little weird to see him. In the interview, he talks about his move to American Top Team, the fight with Overeem finally happening three and a half years after it was originally scheduled, Cain Velasquez gassing in Mexico City en route to losing the heavyweight title, and more.
One of the overlooked stories at this Saturday’s card is the return of Tamdan McCrory to the UFC, and at Sherdog, Joe Myers dives in with an extensive profile of “The Barncat.” McCrory’s explosive Bellator run of quick finishes after five years away from MMA was one of the most pleasant surprises of the last year or so, and it’s nice to get some insight into where he went, why he came back, and how he feels to be back in the UFC.
At MMAFighting, Dave Doyle has an extensive look at the state of Jackson Wink MMA in light of their new facility finally opening, Holly Holm beating Ronda Rousey, Donald Cerrone and Carlos Condit getting title shots in the next few weeks, and more. MMAFighting’s long form stuff is always worth reading in general, and more. Doyle does a great job here, and doesn’t shy away from how the shine kind of came off the gym for a couple years before the recent resurgence in positive perception.
