Jonathan Brookins hasn’t fought since going three hard rounds against Michael Johnson en route to winning the title of TUF 12 champ this past December. It now appears his follow-up to the performance will also take place at an Ultimate Fighter Finale, as word has surfaced Brookins will face 24-year old striker Jeremy Stephens on June 4 at the live conclusion to the upcoming season headlined by coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos.

News of the likely pairing was first reported by MMAJunkie and has since been confirmed by other outlets.

A Pat Miletich product, Stephens is 19-6 in his career with fourteen TKOs. He has emerged with his hands raised in the Octagon three of the last four times he’s fought with the single blemish being a semi-controversial split decision defeat to Melvin Guillard at UFC 119. In addition to owning a brutal knockout of Marcus Davis at UFC 125 “Lil Heathen” also holds past victories over Justin Bucholz, Sam Stout, and Cole Miller.

The 12-3 Brookins will enter the match-up having won his last four fights including his unanimous outpointing of Johnson. Eight of his overall victories have come by way of submission.

Beyond Brookins attempt at going 2-0 in the UFC and the standard scrap between season finalists The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale is also believed to be featuring a bout between top lightweights Anthony Pettis and Clay Guida as well as recent 145-pound contender Josh Grispi seeking a win against TUF 8 alumnus George Roop.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFCSimilar Posts:

• Josh Grispi and George Roop agree to fight at TUF 13 Finale
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Melvin Guillard set for UFC 119
• L.C. Davis not among WEC group headed to the Octagon
• Jeremy Stephens: “I’m still not sure how I didn’t get the win.”
• Tyson Griffin to return at UFC Fight Night 18 vs. Rafael dos Anjos

After being submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 118 this past August – his third loss in four bouts – Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis announced he would be trying his luck at 155-pounds in hopes of entering the cage on the right side of a size advantage. It now appears the former professional boxer has an opponent and date for his divisional debut.

According to sources close to the match-up, Davis will face Jeremy Stephens on January 1st at UFC 125 in Las Vegas. News of the rumored pairing was first reported by MMAJunkie.

The 18-6 Stephens is coming off a semi-controversial, split-decision loss to Melvin Guillard at UFC 119 in late September. Fourteen of Stephens’ total victories have come by way of strikes, meaning the two stand-up savvy competitors should undoubtedly deliver fireworks in the ring worthy of the holiday’s celebratory nature when they lock horns at the event.

Davis, a former professional boxer, is 17-7 in his MMA career and was the last person to beat tough-as-nails welterweight Chris Lytle. The Northeasterner went 9-4 uring his stint in the UFC at 170-pounds, including hard-fought decision losses to Mike Swick and Dan Hardy.
Similar Posts:

• Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders set for UFC 106
• Chris Lytle vs. Marcus Davis rumored for UFC 93
• Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis likely for UFC 118
• Marcus Davis vs. Phil Baroni on tap for UFC 111
• Mike Swick vs. Marcus Davis at UFC 85?

The results from UFC 119 pointed up one the painful realities of  MMA events.

Fights can go to the judge’s cards, and those decisions can be controversial if not downright infuriating.

If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll loudly declaim that “the fix was in.” If you’re a manager, you may opt for the “they don’t like my man” argument.

Is it the scoring system that’s to blame?  The fighter for not putting on a dominant performance or finishing?

Quite likely, it’s a little bit of both.

The real solution lies with a willingness on the part of the parties involved to consider changes to the system.

In the bad old days of combat sports, at least in New York State, fight cards were not judged or decided at all. That’s right, state law prohibited judges decisions entirely. Fight fans were left to grab the morning papers to consult the columns of the various writers on the beat to settle their bets and arguments. It was thought that this system would prevent corruption.

It didn’t.

It just brought the newspapers into the game, and they played by the same rules. The dirtier elements of the fight game were simply extended to the Fourth Estate.

I have a little proposal I like to put forward.

Live scoring. Display the judge’s take after each round, live. In addition, I’d love to see a system similar to Compustrike (and I’ll bet they’d love to provide it) displayed live as well.

Lightweight Jeremy Stephens was the unfortunate victim of the latest of these controversies , dropping a split decision to Melvin Guillard. Stephens seemed clearly to be ahead in the fight right up until the moment the result was announced.

“I pushed forward the whole fight, dropped him a couple times, and I never got hurt or put on my back,” Stephens said following the fight. “I wish he came to stand in the middle and fight. Regardless, I won.”

Jeremy Stephens Post-Fight Video Blog:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Similar Posts:

• Jeremy Stephens: “I’m still not sure how I didn’t get the win.”
• UFC 84: Terry Etim vs. Rob Emerson? (Updated)
• TUF 8 lightweight champion Escudero’s first official UFC fight to take place against Stephens
• Jeremy Stephens to fight outside of UFC (updated)
• Shamrock vs. Le Post-Fight Press Conference Notes

UFC 119 Prediction Hangover

Your boy is up for the second card in a row! I was correct in 3 of my 5 predictions, losing one via split decision, and losing another one that Yahoo Sports had scored 29-28 for my pick. So I was damn close at being 5 of 5. Of course, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And I’m not sure about horseshoes, I’ve never been that bored to play it. If you had bet one billion dollars on each of my picks, you would have won 1.22 billion dollars. You’re welcome.

Melvin Guillard vs Jeremy Stephens

I had picked Stephens in this fight. It was definetly a close fight, with Guillard winning a split decision. I still believe betting Stephens as an underdog in this toss up fight was a good decision. You win some, you lose some, and sometimes the judges cost me money.

Evan Dunham vs Sean Sherk

I won this one on Sherk via split decision. Apparently the fans did not like the decision and agreed with the minority judge. Exposing a man’s skull in the first round doesn’t factor into their judging perhaps, but it did the officials.

Chris Lytle vs Matt Serra

I was surprised this fight didn’t win the second Fight of the Night prize instead of Sherk vs Dunham. Sherk and Dunham put on a good show, but I really enjoyed watching these two guys going toe to toe like they did. It also has the highlight of the night for me – if you still got it on the DVR, look up 4:30 of round 2 and watch Lytle knock out one of Serra’s teeth with an uppercut. Pretty sweet. I was right about something else in this fight, not just Lytle as a winner. Serra needs to drop to lightweight. Watch how Lytle has to bend over at the waist to be on his level. Looks like he’s fighting a hobbit. Love ya Serra, you got the heart of a lion and head of a statue, but fight at lightweight dude.

Rogerio Noguiera vs Ryan Bader

Well I lost this one. I picked Noguiera but Bader’s boxing was just as good, and his wrestling proved too much. My only real saving grace was Yahoo Sports scoring it 29-28 for Noguiera, so at least some believed it was at least close and I don’t regret my betting decision.

Frank Mir vs Mirko Cro Cop

Ugh what a disaster of a main event. Have you ever been so disappointed in a main event that ended in a knockout? Makes me worry that MMA may be going in boxing’s direction of a decision every major fight because the fighters are so cautious. Machida’s method is catching on I’m afraid. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back for UFC 120 in a couple weeks, so stay tuned to CageCraze.com for all my fake news and predictions!

Unfortunately, one of the primary talking points emerging from last weekend’s UFC 119 event had nothing to do with the performance of an athlete but rather the job done by ringside officials. While questionable scoring is not a new topic in Mixed Martial Arts, the ugly issue reared its head again at the show in a significant way thanks to more than one eyebrow-raising result.

One of the victims of the judges’ expertise or lack thereof was lightweight Jeremy Stephens who found himself on the wrong end of a split decision against Melvin Guillard after serving as an aggressor throughout the bulk of the bout. Stephens recently took to popular MMA forum The Underground and expressed his surprise over the manner in which he walked away from Indianapolis a loser.

“ It wasn’t a good/exciting fight like I typically put up, but I always fight to win the KO and FOTN bonus, so sorry he kept running and I didn’t get an exciting fight for you all,” Stephens explained. “I pushed forward the whole fight, dropped him a couple times, and I never got hurt or put on my back. I’m still not sure how I didn’t get the win. It sucks, but I’ll be back better then ever. I wish he came to stand in the middle and fight. Regardless, I won.”

Prior to the loss, “Lil Heathen” had won back-to-back fights. He is 17-6 overall in his career and holds notable victories over Sam Stout and Cole Miller.Similar Posts:

• Helping Jeremy Stephens Dissect What Went Wrong at UFC 119
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Melvin Guillard set for UFC 119
• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell at UFC 111?

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show Jeremy Stephens, who meets fellow lightweight Melvin Guillard on the pay-per-view portion of this weekend's UFC 119 event.

Additionally, former WEC champion Miguel Torres calls in to discuss next week's WEC 51 main-card bout with Charlie Valencia.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Before we get to the predictions, some breaking news…

UFC Championship Fighter Fails Drug Test

Bad Example’s UFC 119 Predictions

This is an underdog betting night for me. Three of my five picks are moneyline underdogs. It can be a volatile night – you could lose a wad or make a wad. Manage your bankroll accordingly. Moneylines stolen from BetRoyal.com. Be sure to shop around for the best line for maximum profit.

Melvin Guillard -160 vs. Jeremy Stephens +130

With a combined 20 fights in the UFC, these two guys have been around awhile, but neither have ever had a 3 fight win streak inside the UFC to be in title contention. This’ll change at UFC 119, as both fighters are on two fight winning streaks. Both are knockout artists, with 13 of Stephens’ 18 wins via KO, and 14 of Guillard’s 24 wins via KO. When two high level brawlers are swinging away, is one really that much more of a favorite than the other? I see no reason to assume Guillard could land the perfect one before Stephens, and with Guillard’s susceptibility to submissions (7 out of 8 losses), if Stephens comes in with a smart gameplan, it may not even matter. This is a coin flip, so why not take the underdog?

Evan Dunham -240 vs. Sean Sherk +200

I was shocked at this line. Granted, Dunham is a stud and has a long, bright future. But out of only 11 fights, only his last three are worthy of mention – and two of those were by razor thin split decisions. This is not an elite resume, not yet. Sherk has been fighting the best in the world for years. He’s got three times as many wins as Dunham has fights. They have a common opponent in Tyson Griffin, who Sherk defeated via unanimous decision but Dunham only by split decision. I personally believe you can make a case for Sherk being a rightful favorite in this matchup, so if someone wants to give me 2 to 1 on my money, I’ll take that bet gladly.

Chris Lytle -130 vs. Matt Serra EVEN

I really like this matchup, but what I don’t like is Matt Serra continuing to fight at welterweight. It’s an MMA rule: you fight in the smallest weight class you can. He’s fought at lightweight before, he’s 5 foot 6, he can make lightweight, go to lightweight, goofball. Now as far as the prediction goes… understand that these two have fought before. In 2006 these were the finalists of TUF 4: The Comeback, Serra winning a split decision. Since then Lytle has went 7-5, defeating the likes of Matt Brown (twice) and Brian Foster. Matt Serra has only had four fights since then versus Lytle’s twelve, but against much better competition, defeating and losing to GSP, losing to Matt Hughes, and knocking out Frank Trigg. Because the first match was so close and with Lytle this time having a huge home field advantage being from Indianapolis, I’m leaning towards Lytle.

Ryan Bader -175 vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira +145

Another line I was shocked at. Perhaps Bader is being overbet as a TUF winner? Who has Bader beat? Someone tell me. Carmelo Marrero, who was cut from the UFC? Eric Shafer, who was also cut from the UFC? Keith Jardine, who has lost his last five matches straight? Bader just hasn’t fought elite level competition yet, but he will at UFC 119. Nogueira holds wins over Strikeforce -heavyweight- champion Overeem. TWICE. Not to mention Dan Henderson and more recently an impressive performance against Luiz Arthur Cane. Granted, in his last matchup against Jason Brilz he laid an egg, but everyone can have a bad night, and often come back stronger for the next one. I just can’t be a Bader believer until he defeats higher level competition. Again I personally think you could make a case that the moneyline underdog should be a favorite, so I’ll take the underdog again.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic +180 vs. Frank Mir -220

Mirko is another guy who I believe is breaking the MMA rule I mentioned earlier – he should not be fighting at heavyweight when he can fight at light heavyweight. I do believe Cro Cop can make another run at a title, but it won’t be the heavyweight title. The heavyweight picture has changed so much in the last few years and is now much too dominated by fighters who are much too bigger. I believe he should fight at light heavyweight or his career may be shorter than we are even thinking now. There’s lots of reasons to like Mir in this fight. He’ll outweigh him by about 30lbs, much of that muscle. Mir is still getting better, while Cro Cop’s best days may very well be behind him. Cro Cop also suffered a “likely cornea abrasion” recently which certainly doesn’t help his chances any. The moneyline gives Cro Cop a 35% chance of winning; Mir 68%, perhaps worse if you can shop a better line. I think Mir should be a slightly better favorite so this is the one big favorite I’m picking.

Summary:

Jeremy Stephens, Sean Sherk, Chris Lytle, Antonio Rogerio Noguiera, Frank Mir to WIN

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC lightweight fighter Jeremy Stephens (18-5) will take on Melvin Guillard next Saturday at UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop on September 25, 2010 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

You can follow Stephens from his website at LilHeathenMMA.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Exciting UFC lightweight fighter Jeremy Stephens (18-5) is set to take on Melvin Guillard in the opening bout of UFC 118’s pay-per-vew card. Stephens has won his last two fights including a great win over Canada’s Sam Stout at UFC 113. He’s earned “Fight of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” in both of those wins.

You can follow Stephens from his homepage at LilHeathenMMA.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Exciting UFC lightweight Jeremy Stephens (18-5) is set to face Melvin Guillard on Sept. 25 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Both men will step into the octagon as part of the pay-per-view card of UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop, in what is almost assuredly the “Fight of the Night.”

HT: LilHeathenMMA.com