Cody McKenzie wins, UFC on fuel

McKenzie Wins, Credits Diaz Bros. MAY 16, 2012 by Beau Dure/USA TODAY on May 16, 2012 at 12:10 am ET mmajunkie.com FAIRFAX, Va. – With Cody McKenzie (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), the guillotine remains the same, even as everything else changes. McKenzie beat Marcus LeVesseur with his favorite submission Tuesday night at UFC on FUEL TV 3, finishing the bout at the 3:05 mark of the first round. The Alaska native had won nine straight by first-round guillotine coming into “The Ultimate Fighter 12″ then made it an even 10 with a win over Aaron Wilkinson in the live finale. Losses to Yves Edwards and Vagner Rocha followed, and McKenzie made a few changes. He’s training with the Diaz brothers. And his once-plentiful facial hair is gone. “I was starting to look too old,” McKenzie said after the event, which took place at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. “It was turning gray. I’m only 24 years old, and I’ve got gray hair all over. So I finally had to shave everything and start to look my age.” That’s one indirect sign of the newer, maturing McKenzie. The bigger change is behind the scenes with his new training partners. “Nathan Diaz helped me a lot with diet,” McKenzie said. “I called him yesterday even after I made weight and asked him what to eat. He’s a very smart guy, him and his brother Nick Diaz. I’ll be making the move from Las Vegas to Stockton very soon.” So far, he hasn’t caught the Diaz brothers with his signature move. “Practice is practice – sooner or later, I’m sure I’ll catch them,” McKenzie said. “But overall, a lot of those guys up there just rolled me up into a ball. They’re very good grapplers.” LeVesseur, a distinguished wrestler making his UFC debut, tried to turn the tables and go for a guillotine of his own. “He actually did go for a guillotine in a modified style for a little bit,” McKenzie said. “I was just relaxing, kind of seeing what he had. I could tell he was kind of stressed and tight and tense. He was going a little bit too hard. I was just hoping I could weather the storm and catch him later down the road, and it worked out. “I watched his videos, and he didn’t see as comfortable as I am in there. He’s a tough guy for sure. I don’t want to take anything away from him, I wish him a good career.” McKenzie, now a relative Octagon veteran, didn’t feel the same tension despite coming into the cage on the dreaded two-fight skid. “I was a lot calmer for this fight than most of my fights. There’s always pressure any time you’re fighting somebody in the cage, but I was actually pretty calm. A lot of people are like, ‘This is your big shot, this is the UFC, this is your chance.’ To me, every fight’s just a fight. I don’t look at too much too seriously. “You take life too seriously and you turn gray.”

Gilbert Melendez defends his title against Josh Thompson this Saturday

Gilbert Melendez on Josh Thomson: ‘I Want to Destroy This Guy' MMA Weekly – Mon, May 14, 2012 12:13 PM EDT Gilbert Melendez on Josh Thomson: ‘I Want to Destroy This Guy' Just a few months ago, UFC president Dana White made the announcement that plans were in place to bring Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez over to compete in the Octagon. Unfortunately, with contracts in place, Melendez was instead forced to stay fighting under the Strikeforce banner for the foreseeable future, with a somewhat lacking talent pool available to challenge him. Melendez bested a very tough and game Jorge Masvidal last December, and it seemed like there might be a sunrise on the horizon when the head honchos at Zuffa hinted that a major opponent might be secured for his next title defense. Both B.J. Penn and former UFC title contender Gray Maynard were under consideration to face Melendez at one point, but when those deals couldn't be completed, Strikeforce opted instead to put the champion back in a third fight with old rival Josh Thomson. For a long time following their first two battles, just about everyone was anticipating a third fight between Melendez and Thomson, but as time passes and careers go in different directions, those expectations fade. Since their last fight, Melendez went on to become one of the top lightweights in the world, battling for the top spot with whoever owns the UFC 155-pound strap, while Thomson has dealt with loss and struggling mightily to stay healthy. So it was with some surprise that Thomson, after only one win after getting back in the Strikeforce cage, was handed another shot at Melendez and the lightweight title. The fight didn't particularly interest Melendez either at the time, but he's got a job to do, and that job is to fight. If Josh Thomson is the one in front of him, then fight is what Melendez is going to do. “Initially, I wasn't the most thrilled about it, but it is what it is. I'm cool with it. Now that I accepted that it's going down, I'm looking forward to the challenge,” Melendez said when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio recently. It took some real reflection for Melendez to find the right motivation in order to prepare for Thomson after less than a year ago having the tease of fighting in the UFC dangled right in front of his nose. “I've got my motivation. I just look to my family, I look to my team, I look to my fans, and those people that really support me in what I'm doing. I just have to re-think my goals a little bit. My goal was to become the UFC champ and that might be put on hold for a little bit,” said Melendez honestly. “So now my goal is to do my best, become a better mixed martial artist, and put on a show for the fans, and represent my team well. That's what motivates me and so does the paycheck, so let's do it.” When looking at the fight on paper, most believe Melendez should be a huge favorite heading into his third match-up with Thomson. The incumbent Strikeforce champ has solidified himself as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet over the last couple of years, while Thomson has struggled to stay in the cage as opposed to the doctor's office. With those odds also come heavy expectations, and Melendez understands that just because he's supposed to win, doesn't mean he will win. He still has to go out and face a very tough Josh Thomson, with the understanding that anything less than a dominant victory simply isn't acceptable. “Of course I want to finish Josh. I want bad intentions towards him; I want to destroy this guy. I want to make a statement,” said Melendez. “But if a great fighter shows up and it's a war, then it's a war. I don't plan on sitting back and cruising through a victory, sitting on a lead or something like that. I want to take some risks and I plan on it.” Don't let his words fool you, Melendez is as calculating mentally as he is devastating physically in the cage, but his biggest risk right now may be toiling away against moderate competition in Strikeforce while great opponents still lie ahead in the UFC. Will that ever happen for Melendez? That's hard to say, but for now his goal is clear: beat Josh Thomson, get a paycheck, and head home to his family. Source