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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=446161" target="_blank">
DFW explains why Chris Carioso got a title shot
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=446161" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=70&q=75&x=10&y=12&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=chris-carioso.png" /></a>
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<p>In mixed martial arts title shots usually go to the #1 contender, unless he, or she, has a fight scheduled or is injured, in which case you go down the line to the next best. Thus fans reacted with surprise when it was announced that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson's next fight would be against <a href="http://www.ufc.com/rankings" target="_blank">#8 ranked</a> Chris Cariaso in the co-main event at UFC 177 on Aug 30.</p>
So did Carioso.
“I was in just as much shock as everybody,” said Cariaso during an appearance on MMAjunkie Radio. “I had to hang up the phone to call them back; I had to go around the house real quick to calm down. It was an ecstatic feeling.”
“I was already in training camp... Every time I’m training, in my mind it was, ‘This is how I’m going to beat Demetrious.’ So when I got the call, it was an easy decision to make.”
“Anything can happen. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old. I’m ready for this matchup. It’s a dream for me to be out there, so I’m ready to go out there and capitalize on this.”
UFC president Dana White spoke recently with UFC.com's The Download, and explained the reasoning.
"The problem is that there is no doubt the fight everybody wanted to see would be John Dodson, but he's hurt," said White. "Ian McCall just fought, Johnson knocked out Benavidez, and he beat John Moraga. People are going to bitch about Demetrious Johnson no matter who we put him in there against. Eventually, he'll just have to keep knocking people out left and right and then he'll earn his respect."
UFC 177 will be headlined by TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao 2.
LOL @ McCall just fought. He fought one week after the Carioso fight was announced. They could have waited a week to see how the McCall/Pickett fight played out, before making a decision on who would fight DJ next. That excuse makes no sense.
I Came I Saw I Lurked - sooo to sum it up. HE got the title shot because the division is weak..
Lol..weird comments from Dana. He basically is saying we are out of options so we are going to throw whoever is available in there for a title fight. No wonder no one has interest in flyweights. Piss poor promoting and matchmaking.
I Came I Saw I Lurked - sooo to sum it up. HE got the title shot because the division is weak..
Lol..weird comments from Dana. He basically is saying we are out of options so we are going to throw whoever is available in there for a title fight. No wonder no one has interest in flyweights. Piss poor promoting and matchmaking.
they should make lineker vs mccall. ali should fight joseph b. then when dodson comes back he should fight winner of chris vs mm
I Came I Saw I Lurked - sooo to sum it up. HE got the title shot because the division is weak..
Lol..weird comments from Dana. He basically is saying we are out of options so we are going to throw whoever is available in there for a title fight. No wonder no one has interest in flyweights. Piss poor promoting and matchmaking.
they should make lineker vs mccall. ali should fight joseph b. then when dodson comes back he should fight winner of chris vs mm
Ali wont be happening pending this suspension...Also I noticed that no one is talking about dustin ortiz. He would be what 3-0 in the UFC if iit wasnt for a horrible call in his fight with moraga
ortiz should fight jorgenson, pickett or someone around #10. They shouldn't they him to the wolves early
sacredhate - isn't it okay to have any of the top 10 guys get a title shot pending their availability?
Dude is ranked #8...he's not the number 1 contender but i have no problem with him getting a shot.
I have a problem with a $60 price tag for this fight and a bw title rematch that no one wanted.
besides the two title fights, most of the card is crap. ufc on fox's are much more stacked. Barao shouldn't be getting an instant rematch, and chris is going to get tooled by mm
What I find weird about the situation is that they had just announced Cariaso as fighting Horiguchi, on the undercard of the Japan event in September, about a week ago then they pulled him from that fight and put him in a title shot, nothing changed in that time.
mm beat all the top contenders convincingly the last time they met.the best available guy(who he already beat) is hurt,the next best guy after that a he beat twice already and the guy after him he beat twice already...let someone else get a crack at it.
SQUEEZIE - mm beat all the top contenders convincingly the last time they met.the best available guy(who he already beat) is hurt,the next best guy after that a he beat twice already and the guy after him he beat twice already...let someone else get a crack at it.
Lol, come to think of it, MM has beat all contenders, more than once.
Fuck it, just let him defend against everyone in the top 10.
I have no problems with the matchup, but I certainly won't be paying for it. I wouldn't be paying for any matchup they threw at DJ though. Save these fights for fox, please. Or the third fight on a ppv.
There is not always gonna be a logical top contender to throw in with the champ. Remember all those years with Fitch as the no.1 contender? There was very little reason to give him another shot at GSP after their first fight.
People complain about rematches all the time, but if you aren't gonna do rematches at the top of the food chain, this is the alternative.
SQUEEZIE - mm beat all the top contenders convincingly the last time they met.the best available guy(who he already beat) is hurt,the next best guy after that a he beat twice already and the guy after him he beat twice already...let someone else get a crack at it.
Lol, come to think of it, MM has beat all contenders, more than once.
Fuck it, just let him defend against everyone in the top 10.
Is this the only division that's this thin?
I happen to find heavyweight really thin...if Cain fought more, we would probably be asking the same things. But it doesnt appear as bad since he doesnt fight that often.
They just retread old contenders, a little past their prime fighters, and they build up guys who are no where close to ready.
They did just bring back Arlovski to add depth
I think the title picture of HW is just as thin, but overall the division is healthier just by virtue of star power and the fact they aren't midgets.
Each has only one guy (Dodson and Werdum) that is even a remote threat to the champ. Dodson is a bigger threat, but at least Werdum hasn't already lost before, so we will call that a tie.
And I'm not going to sit here and say that guys sitting just outside the top 10 HW, like Gonzaga, Schaub or Struve are technically better than the equivalent Oritz, Elliott, Horiguchi.
But at least there are plenty of HWs with a profile. Cain, JDS, Bigfoot, Hunt, Nelson, Overeem, Barnett, Miocic, Browne - those are names people want to see on a main card.
