Five Ounces of Pain » Ben Saunders http://fiveouncesofpain.com Your Destination for Insider MMA News and Opinion Sun, 27 May 2012 03:58:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Bellator deepens welterweight pool with signing of Ben Saunders http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/02/03/bellator-deepens-welterweight-pool-with-signing-of-ben-saunders/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/02/03/bellator-deepens-welterweight-pool-with-signing-of-ben-saunders/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:45:11 +0000 Brendhan Conlan http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=33309 Although Bellator Fighting Championships has already announced the eight individuals competing this season in the organization’s welterweight tournament it very well may be a 170-pounder looking in from the outside drawing equivalent attention to the eventual winner when Season 4 concludes – Ben Saunders. The promotion announced the addition of “Killa B” to its roster earlier today in a press release.

“Saunders is an exciting, powerful welterweight with explosive knockout power. Ben’s dangerous and always shows up to fight, and I’m excited to see his first fight under the Bellator banner on MTV2 in April.” said CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The TUF 6 alumnus also expressed enthusiasm for a chance to further his career in the Bellator cage, explaining, “I’m here to test myself against anyone that they throw against me. I want to be the best. I want to be a champion, and that’s my goal. I’m here to kick some ass, make some money, and take a belt along the way.”

Saunders is 9-3-2 in the ring with eight finishes evenly split between submission/TKO. During his run in the UFC the American Top Team product picked up wins over Ryan Thomas and Marcus Davis with his most-recent outing having delivered a first round strike-based stoppage against Elijah Harshbarger at a WEF show in November.

Bellator Season 4 debuts on March 5 in Lemoore, California and will be broadcast live on MTV2.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR/UFC

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/02/03/bellator-deepens-welterweight-pool-with-signing-of-ben-saunders/feed/ 6 Ben Saunders triumphant in return to the ring http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/08/ben-saunders-triumphant-in-return-to-the-ring/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/08/ben-saunders-triumphant-in-return-to-the-ring/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:02:45 +0000 Brendhan Conlan http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=29829 This past Saturday night marked the first time Ultimate Fighter Season 6 contestant Ben Saunders had fought outside of the UFC in more than three-and-a-half years, and, in a form similar to that making him a fan-favorite during his run in the Octagon, he walked away victorious after unleashing a number of weapons in his stand-up arsenal.

Saunders, who was released by the UFC after being outpointed by Dennis Hallman at UFC 117, laid opponent Elijah Harshbarger out in the first round of their headlining bout at World Extreme Fighting’s event in Kissimmee, Florida, with a barrage of punches, knees, and kicks eventually forcing his 5-1 foe to tap from strikes.

“Killa B” improved his professional record to 9-3-2 with the win and also broke a two-fight skid involving his disappointing performance against Hallman, as well as a decision-loss to Jon Fitch from UFC 111. Saunders has only been finished a single time in his career (by Mike Swick) while avoiding the judges’ scorecards in eight of his nine total wins. His most notable showing to date came against always-tough Marcus Davis, who the 27-year old American Top Team member TKO’d with a knee three minutes into their bout at UFC 106.

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/08/ben-saunders-triumphant-in-return-to-the-ring/feed/ 9 Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders set for UFC 106 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/09/09/marcus-davis-vs-ben-saunders-set-for-ufc-106/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/09/09/marcus-davis-vs-ben-saunders-set-for-ufc-106/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:08:57 +0000 Cory Brady http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=16955 Marcus DavisA welterweight match-up between Marcus Davis and Ben Saunders has recently been agreed to for UFC 106.

The event is expected to take place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on November 21.

Both fighters have agreed to the contest and at least one has signed the contract for the bout according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.

Davis recently dropped a hard fought split decision to Dan Hardy at UFC 99. Prior to the loss Marcus had compiled back to back victories in the Octagon over Paul Kelley and Chris Lytle.

The sole defeat in the career of Saunders came in his last bout against Mike Swick during UFC 99 where he was TKO’d in the second round. Before the recent loss he had strung together three straight wins with the UFC.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 106 are listed below:

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

Mark Coleman vs. Tito Ortiz

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida

Ricardo Almeida vs. Jon Fitch

Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan

Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah

Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/09/09/marcus-davis-vs-ben-saunders-set-for-ufc-106/feed/ 14 Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders signed for UFC 99 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/28/mike-swick-vs-ben-saunders-signed-for-ufc-99/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/28/mike-swick-vs-ben-saunders-signed-for-ufc-99/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:21:05 +0000 Sam Caplan http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=12480 An intriguing matchup between welterweights Mike Swick and Ben Saunders is now set for UFC 99 on June 13 in Cologne, Germany.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the new bout from sources close to the fight with all indications being that agreements have been formally signed, making the fight official.

Swick, 13-2, last competed at “UFC Fight for the Troops” this past December. Facing Jonathan Goulet, Swick TKO’d the Canadian fight veteran just 33 seconds into the fight. The quick and decisive victory marked the former middleweight’s third victory since moving to welterweight.

A light heavyweight contestant during the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Swick made his debut at 170 at UFC Fight Night 12 last January. Facing TUF 2 veteran Josh Burkman, Swick won via majority decision. He returned at UFC 85 this past June, where he took on another veteran from TUF 2, Marcus Davis. Swick brought an end to Davis’ 11 fight win streak when he was declared the victor by unanimous decision.

The UFC had been trying to match Swick up with Anthony Johnson at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1 but the match never was finalized.

Like Swick, Saunders also last competed at “UFC Fight for the Troops,” where he used a devestating array of knees to TKO former Navy Seal Brandon Wolff at 1:49 of round 1. Capitalizing on the momentum Saunders gained coming out of the strong performance, the UFC signed a match between him and fellow prospect Dustin Hazelett for UFC 96 on March 7. However, the fight fell through as both fighters were forced to pull off the card due to injury.

Saunders is a veteran from the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter and holds a perfect record in his career of 7-0-2. Considered extremely tall for his division at 6’2”, the American Top Team-trained fighter is a perfect 3-0 when competing inside of the Octagon.

UFC 99 will mark the UFC’s debut in Germany and is slated to emanate from the Lanxess Arena. The event is expected to be headlined by a 195 pound catchweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.

Other bouts reportedly expected for the card include Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring, Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno, and Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha al Turk.

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/28/mike-swick-vs-ben-saunders-signed-for-ufc-99/feed/ 3 Ben Saunders looking at a three month timetable for return http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/08/ben-saunders-planning-to-make-octagon-return-in-three-months/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/08/ben-saunders-planning-to-make-octagon-return-in-three-months/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:14:52 +0000 Bryan Levick http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=11854 After being scratched from a welterweight bout against Dustin Hazelett during next month’s UFC 96 event in Columbus, Ohio, Ben Saunders is looking to make his Octagon return within the next three months.

Saunders revealed his plans while speaking during a “UFC Fight Club” question and answer session this past week in Florida, according to a report by MMAjunkie.com. The talented welterweight prospect specifically pointed to the months of April or May as a timetable for his return.

A veteran of the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Saunders stated that he would begin light training in about two weeks and then work his way back to full contact after another two weeks.

Coming off a very impressive win over Brandon Wolff on the December’s “Fight For The Troops” card, Saunders improved his lifetime UFC record to 3-0 and his overall record to 7-0-2. His other UFC victories have come against Daniel Barrera and Ryan Thomas.

The American Top Team member said he doesn’t have a specific opponent in mind but he has a ton of respect for Hazelett, who has created a nice name for himself by winning more than his share of submission of the night bonuses.

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/08/ben-saunders-planning-to-make-octagon-return-in-three-months/feed/ 0 Report: Dustin Hazelett vs. Ben Saunders likely for UFC 96 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/01/06/report-dustin-hazelett-vs-ben-saunders-likely-for-ufc-96/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/01/06/report-dustin-hazelett-vs-ben-saunders-likely-for-ufc-96/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:15:10 +0000 Sam Caplan http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=10693 A matchup between up and coming welterweight prospects Dustin Hazelett and Ben Saunders is close to being finalized for UFC 96 on March 7.

The news comes courtesy of a report on MMAjunkie.com, which is reporting that bout agreements for the fight have yet to be signed.

Hazelett, 12-4, has been rising through the deep ranks of the UFC’s 170 pound division thanks to exciting performances in his last two fights that have earned him a total of $105,000 in the form of three “Fight Night” bonuses.

A member of Team Jorge Gurgel, Hazelett improved his lifetime UFC record to 5-2 with consecutive wins over Josh Burkman during the live finale for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter and Tamdan McCrory at UFC 91. Both victories earned Hazelett “Submission of the Night” honors.

Saunders is a veteran from the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter and has yet to be beaten in nine professional fights. He improved his record to 7-0-2 during UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event last month after recording a first round TKO over Brandon Wolff.

A member of American Top Team, Saunders put on what might have been his most impressive performance to date by catching Wolff in a Thai clinch and delivering repeated knees to his face and body that forced the referee to call a stop to the bout just one minute and 49 seconds into the contest. The win improved Saunders career record in the Octagon to 3-0.

UFC 96 will take place in Columbus, Ohio and emanate from the Nationwide Arena. Other bouts currently expected for the event include Jim Miller vs. Gray Maynard, Shane Carwin vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, and Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day.

]]> http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/01/06/report-dustin-hazelett-vs-ben-saunders-likely-for-ufc-96/feed/ 10 Cage Rage 25: Ken Shamrock and son lose; Imanari retains 145 lbs. title http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/03/09/cage-rage-25-ken-shamrock-and-son-lose-imanari-retains-title-at/ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/03/09/cage-rage-25-ken-shamrock-and-son-lose-imanari-retains-title-at/#comments Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:44:37 +0000 Adam Morgan http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/03/09/cage-rage-25-ken-shamrock-and-son-lose-imanari-retains-title-at/ Ken Shamrock came out with what seemed to be a very poor gameplan against Robert “Buzz” Berry, deciding to stand and trade with him the entire time. The larger and more powerful Berry took advantage of Ken’s willingness to stand and trade and caught him with a stiff left jab that put Shamrock down for the count. He looked bad tonight, folks. Really bad. Had he been in there with Kimbo Slice, it wouldn’t have lasted long.

Here’s the full results from the evening:

  • Robert Berry def. Ken Shamrock via KO (punches) at 3:26 of Rd 1.
  • Masakazu Imanari def. Jean Silva via submission (heel hook) at 2:30 of Rd 1.
  • Rob Broughton def. Neil Grove via Majority Decision
  • Tom Watson def. Pierre Guillet via TKO (strikes) at 2:05 of Rd 1.
  • Mustapha al Turk def. Gary Turner via Submission (strikes) at 3:19 of Rd 1.
  • Ivan Serati def. Roman Webber via TKO (strikes) at :48 of Rd 1.
  • Henrique Santana def. Michael Johnson via Unanimous Decision
  • Aisling Daly def. Aysen Berik via TKO (strikes) at 1:49 of Rd 1.
  • Giorgio Andrews def. Ryan Shamrock via TKO (doctor stoppage – broken hand) at 5:00 of Rd 1.
  • John Hathaway def. Marvin Arnold Beau via TKO at 1:32 of Rd 1.
  • John Phillips def. Jake Bostwick via TKO (strikes) at 4:10 of Rd 1.
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