The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently inked light heavyweight Houston Alexander to a new five-fight contract extension, locking-in the services of the hard-hitting Nebraskan slugger well into 2009 if the promotion decides to keep him on the roster, according to WrestlingObserver.com.
Alexander was relatively unknown to the masses until he burst onto the scene with two destructive performances inside the Octagon, taking out top contender Keith Jardine in his debut back at UFC 71: “Liddell vs. Jackson” in May 2007 and then crumbling Alessio Sakara at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” less than four months later.
“The Nebraskan Assassin,” however, quickly returned to Earth with back-to-back losses to Thiago Silva and James Irvin. In fact, Alexander didn’t last more than four minutes combined in those two bouts.
Despite his recent struggles, Alexander remains a fan favorite and a crowd pleaser win or lose. That’s more than likely the reason the promotion made the decision to keep him around.
He will have his opportunity to get back on the winning track against Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Eric Schafer at UFC Fight Night 15 in front of a hometown crowd at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha. Neb., on September 17.
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CHeck it out MANIACS: Killer of the Amazon!! Jacare Hero1 HL!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kZPX6_B6WU
Good stuff, you know thats my DAWG!
What fighter isn’t your dawg or your boy?
mex dont u have better things to do than continually harass people?
yeah, brendan. This criticizing is getting a little ridiculous. I have found that I enjoy the sport (hell, any sport) far more if I am a fan of more fighters. Colin Cowherd (talking about football),” Why should I have just ONE favorite? YOU have just one. Me, I’ll have six. And I’ll get six times more fun watching.
No brendan, I dont. But thanks for asking.
chef-
I love Colin. He is hysterical. He also puts sports into a proper perspective.
Yeah I listen to him a lot. I enjoy the humor and his mini-rants on things that don’t even concern sports just as much. Hell, I’ve just about stopped listening to music (unless I’m working) in favor of ESPN radio.
I like Mike & Mike and Colin. Kuselias (sp?) is my fav but is he even on the radio anymore? Tirico is bland. Check out Dan Patrick on SI.com. His show has not lost anything since he resigned.
I’d love to see Houston VS Franklin…. I’d bet one of the five has these two meet.
WHY????
It will most likely be a standup war…
I mean why the extension..my bad!
Kev: It’s because he is entertaining/ with an fighting style that appeals to the UFC fans.. the Maintstream know him.. he has feel good story as a single dad raising *6* kids.. and gave a kidney to one of them.. that is why.
kevin you should know by now that its not about record ranking or how good your are in the ufc its about how appealing to the fans you are.
HOuston is a great asset to the UFC as a gatekeeper to match up the up and coming tUF stars up against because HOuston has a bIG NAME with the fans so thats the roll I would like to see him in from here on out.
Because the fans love him. That’s the ‘why’.
why is it bad?!!! I mean how can you not want a fighter like Alexander around? I don’t get some people…
Yeah. Even if Alexander has veeeeeerrryy huge hole in his game, he’s still one excitin’ motherf**k!
Glass Jaw Alexander, Why just cause he beat Jardine.
The hole in his game is so big that he can’t even be a proper gatekeeper. But yeah, either way- whether he wins in 30 secs or loses in 30 secs- it definately is entertaining.
That’s what I said on Rich Franklin’s middle weight gatekeeper blog.
That would be a horrible matchup. franklin would win for sure. houston needs to get some more wins under his belt.
or Wandy/Houston
wandy-houston is even worse
AWESOME!!!…. Houston is going to get back to his winning ways when he kicks the shit out of Eric Schafer!! then he will be on the road back to knocking ppl out
He ain’t gonna get back to his winning ways if he doesn’t work on his ground game soon. Opponents who know a thing or two on the ground would not have 2nfd thoughts on bringing Houston to the ground…Did you see Houston against Thiago Silva on the ground. The dude looked like a squirming worm tryin’ to get away from Thiago! Pathetic…
yeah schafer is no slouch on the ground either
I’d love to see him fight Sokoudjou!! Fireworks on that one.
i agree this one would be good
battle of the assasins
Hope to see this exciting fighter more.
I would have liked to see Franklin fight Alexander.
Franklin would just destroy Alexander.
Franklins striking is too crisp.
It’d be more exciting then the Hamil fight and a an easier win for Rich, he could use a Win right now for sure.
Rich would get overpowered and beaten badly by the much bigger and stronger Houston. This weekend Matt Hammill is going to beat on The Ace.
are you serious? Houston is a small Lhwt.they are probably around the same size. Ace was a huge Mwt and cut a lot weight to make it in the Mwt division. although I think he might have some trouble with Matt Hamill this weekend.the Hammer is a pretty big Lhwt and he is strong as hell.should be a good fight I hope that Ace can finish him before it goes to the judges.because if the fight goes to the score cards I think that Matt wins by UD.but do believe that Ace can defeat the Assasin Houstoun Alexander.
dude ur such an idiot. Houston is wayyyy stronger than Rich and would smoke him like a cheap cigarette. size isn’t all determined by height and weight, Houston could toss “Ace” around like a rag doll!
What?!?HOuston wouldn’t stand a chance against Ace[of Base]Franklin. He has Gurgel working on his ground game, so he’s gonna use that advantage against the Assassin.
ok, Franklin is a good striker sure but thats about it.. If Houston hits him it’ll be over! im not too sure about the outcome if they fight but i do know that Houston is devastating in the clinch!
Rob and Adam, are you guys serious? Houston is bigger, probably stronger. But he lacks experience, by a LOOOONG shot. He also has no technical striking ability, or any ground game whatsoever. Rich is a brown belt in BJJ, has been fighting for years, and is a very unorthodox but technical striker. I would pick Rich 99 times out of a hundred in that fight.
I’m gonna have to agree. Plus Houston doesn’t seem to have much of a chin. I like Houston and his story and his ghetto throwdowns, but good fighters like Sokou and Franklin would annihilate him until he gets more training and experience. I think this Schafer guy is exactly what he needs.
Dave, Rich’s chin isn’t that good either and his striking is not super at all he’s just been fighting guys with poor standup that makes Rich striking look better than it actually is… I do agree that Houston needs to work on his striking he has no defense whatsoever, but hopefully that is what he’s been working on the last months.. and as i said inside the clinch he can knock anybody out!
not a good chin? he took alotta knees, punches and kicks from the spider before he went down. not many people can claim that (irvin…)
I concur. It only took Irvin one punch from the Spider to go down. Rich took multiple punches and knees.
How is Rich’s striking crisp? He has good power and strikes from unorthodox angles, but I wouldn’t call it crisp.
I am on the same boat as you Pat. Franklin has a very pawwy boxing style and almost every punch is a looping and is almost like he is hitting him with the thumb and index finger part of the fist. Besides that knockout punch he landed on Quarry i don’t think I have ever seen a real crisp strike.
he needs to really step it up in my opinion. he can’t take another lose.
Why would they resign someone with a current loss streak of 2, very soon 3? Cmon hes not that popular…
well either way we get to see 5 more knockouts for sure…either houston getting it or his opponent.
I agree he needs to step it up he has had 2 lack luster loses.
lol they werent lack luster at all…losses non the less..but spectacular KO
lol
Simple, Houston is a company guy. Zuffa rewards company guys.
good deal for the fans. houston is a leben like slugger who will win some and lose some, but will probably never be in a boring fight.
He’ll never be in a long fight either. More fight cards with him will always mean time to show an undercard fight or two.
Truth.
PW. good point.
Good point- that’s what he’s good for.
What happens if Alexander wins 2 or 3 in a row? He won’t get a raise no matter who he beats. He shouldn’t have signed such a long contract.
He probably gets a certain amount no matter the outcome. He is one of those guys that is nice to have in the mix because people want to see him win or lose in devastating fashion. He is not the complete pedigree of an all-round MMA fighter but most simply won’t care (including myself).
hes lucky to have a contract
Sometimes you get, while the getting is good.
Can’t comment on Houston’s contract, but generally most UFC contracts have raises built in if you keep winning.
Where did you hear that they have raises built in for winning? I think you should pass this knowledge onto Jardin, that poor sap is probably still on his TUF contract with the money he makes.
I’m an Alexander fan but the dude has a glass jaw, hopefully he will prove me wrong and take a few shots and still be standing and finish this fight in his normal KO fashion.
Sorry like this guys potential very aggressive never a dull moment. But he has a big defect you cant buy our train for he has no chin he gets hit and he is down.
i would like to see you take the shots he did from jardin and then come back and knock him out!!!
I respect every fighter including him I am being realistic will he win more fights in the UFC probably will he lose more fights maybe. Now to your concern both Jardine and Alexander are signed to the UFC which I am not, and trust me if I was and they asked me to fight Jardine I would. Which would probably mean I would get hit by him only then would we know if I could take his shoot, but if I was with the UFC why stop with Jardine, there’s also Liddel, Silva, Shogun if that is my career you have to be ready to be hit by the best could you say the same?
WAR HOUSTON!
i think this guy is a monster gatekeeper for entry level fighters. hes powerful and exciting, but too slow for top/mid contenders.
same reason why Jardine will never be a champ cant string a winning streak because they are prone to being KO because no chin.
actually id really like to see him fight kimbo.
it would be an exiting one thats for sure
Love the guy’s attitude and he seems like a great guy but he is not good. If Jardine didn’t get careless, he would have finished him as fast as the other two guys did,
Schafer going to put Huston to sleep! WAR Wisconsin MMA!
guarentee he dont put him to sleep if anything he will submitt him
Put to sleep with a choke???
shafer can definatly put him to sleep with a choke. i doubt thats what he was talking about.
I think he was thinking that Schafer was going to try and win through intravenous injection. Like the A-team did with BA Barraucus whenever they wanted to get him on a flight.
Schafer wins fight by arm bar in second round. He dodges some wild punches and then snaps houstons arm.
13 more days and I’ll get to see him LIVE and see if he was worth the extension! Possibly going to his after-party as well which will be cool.
Maybe you can buy him a drink and he’ll take you back to his hotel room for a post-fight slumber party!
You would love that wouldn’t you.
knockout power? yes.
chin? HELL NO
GO HUSKERS
GO SOONERS!!!!!
Go MIZZU
*YAWN* another mediocre LHW that White keeps paying to win between 50 and 60% of his matches. I’d rather watch Arlovski. Oh wait, he doesn’t fight in the UFC anymore, Good job Dana, you sure know how to lock up the talent.
I like to see Houston fight because I have never seen him in a boring fight. it doesn’t mattr if he wins or loses I am always entertained.
Thus, you watch and Zuffa makes more money. This is simply a matter of good business.
2 loses in a row and a five fight extension. Can you say affirmative action?
Why affirmative action with all the Brazilians, not to mention Hispanic, and other foreign fighters? Why would the UFC need to appear to be diverse? They already are.
Youre right. I guess the fact that he is a big muscle bound black guy with a bunch of tat’s isn’t the reason they gave him a five fight contract, even though he has lost two in a row. What was I thinking.
You usually post intelligently. Surprised at your sour, bigoted outlook on the Houston signing.
Not sour and bigoted, just true.
Not true at all Mex, just ridiculous. Note that it said he would be on til 2009 IF the UFC decides to keep him on the roster. He hasn’t shown yet that he’s much of a pro fighter. His first two wins: surprising big time KO’s. Same with his two losses. They are just seeing:1-if he develops. 2-will he surprise anyone else with devastating KO’s. 3-Will he himself be KO’ed in amazing fashion. Dana has always said that he wants fighters who excite the masses. This has nothing to do with skin color, affirmative action or anything along those lines. I’m stunned that you even suggest such garbage.
So they gave him, a 36 year old fighter, a five fight contract to see if he developes? Makes a lot of sense.
Wrong. He is charismatic despite his one trick pony status. See: Ortiz, Tito.
Yeah, I’m sure Alexander can pull PPV buys like Tito did.
You’re right OJR- he is a one trick pony with a compelling story and appeals to the casual fan. He has a good highlight reel and has provided some good highlights for his opponents. I am a little surprised by 5 fights, maybe a 3 fight extention….
That was an ignorant statement mexicutioner…
Not really. Whats ignorant is signing a guy to a five fight contract in a division that is already stacked when he has two losses in a row. He is a B class fighter at best. The guy beat two average fighters. And dont make the excuse that Jardine beat Chuck because Chuck was off that night. They are going to regret signing him or just release him after he loses to Schafer.
Got to Agree With Mex.
Agreed Mex. Dana has let so many fighters go recently with better records and who would fulfill a gatekeeper role a lot better than Houston. When Dana has a favorite he holds on with both hands. I don’t even think Houston is a b class fighter. B class fighters win more than 50% of the time, they just will never be elite. Houston doesn’t even have the skills to get past a b class fighter.
So I guess that means that Jardine is a bum…right?
OJR: Did I say Jardine was a bum? Do you honestly think he would beat Chuck again? Don’t let your love for Alexander cloud your thinking. What other B level fighter would get a 5 fight extension with two losses in a row?
You just contradicted yourself. Discussion over.