Articles

A Thank You And Farewell To Fight Cove’s Readers And Supporters

I can’t help but say this is an emotional post for me to write. Why? Because it will be my last for FightCove.com.

With over 2000 articles published and an uncountable amount of words written, the site has served its purpose and, as they say, all good things must come to an end.

In July 2011, Fight Cove co-founder Jon Gerow and myself came up with an idea to create a mixed martial arts website. We came up with a vague outline and approached fellow co-founder Erik Jackson to see if he was interested in helping out. The three of us spent hours brainstorming how we could make the site great, writing down all of our ideas on a wooden board, which we signed to make things official.

In just a few short months of work and with the help out our good friend and website designer Owen Hope, Fight Cove was transformed from a basic Word Press site into something unique we could call our own.

As each day and month passed by, Fight Cove grew a little bit more. More visitors would come to the site, Twitter followers would increase and, to be honest, the site surpassed my personal expectations in every way possible.

In a little over one-year with Fight Cove; I wrote over 1500 articles, conducted numerous interviews, attended two major UFC events as media, made tons of new friends and opened doors for myself that I didn’t even know existed.

This is all because of Fight Cove.

However, taking all the credit for Fight Cove’s success would be unfair and undeserved.

While you may not often see their names next to “written by” on Fight Cove’s articles — Jon and Erik (co-founders) and Patrick Weafer (editor) were equally instrumental in the success of the website as myself.

For me, the goal of Fight Cove was never to make money or compete with other major MMA/sports sites; it was to have a platform to present my work as often and freely as I desired. From that, I hoped my work would garner enough attention that I could move to a bigger platform where I could benefit financially as well as present my work to a larger audience.

The result I was hoping for is exactly how it panned out as I was hired to MMAmania.com earlier this month, a website that is part of the SB Nation network.

At the end of the day, as much as Fight Cove will always have a place in my heart, my dream is to be a sports journalist, not operate a website. There’s only so much I can focus on at once and by moving on from Fight Cove I have more opportunity to work on my writing opposed to concerning myself with the day-to-day responsibilities of this site.

In closing, I want to thank everyone who has supported my work here on any scale. Every read and bit of positive or negative feedback means a lot to me and I take those words to heart.

I hope you will continue to follow my work to MMAmania.com and where ever else this great journey of covering mixed martial arts takes me in the future.

Thanks against to everyone — my family, friends and especially Jon, Erik and Patrick for being so supportive and helpful with this move. Also, I must thank MMA Mania Editor-in-Chief Thomas Myers for giving me the opportunity to further my career.

Feel free to leave a comment below. Every bit of feedback is welcomed.

Yours truly,

Mike Bohn Founder and Lead Writer – FightCove.com
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UFC on FOX 5: Henderson vs. Diaz Preliminary Card Thoughts And Analysis

The card dubbed “the greatest fight card ever on network television” certainly did not disappoint as we the fans were treated to some outstanding fights.

The precedent of the night was started on the preliminary card, as all three bonuses, SOTN, FOTN, and KOTN all went to fighters on the undercard.

Catch my UFC on FOX 5: Henderson vs. Diaz preliminary card thoughts and analysis in the full entry.
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UFC on FOX 5 Main Event Breakdown: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz

This Saturday night fight fans are in for a treat with probably the greatest fight card on network TV of the year. All for free! The premier fight for the night will be Benson “Smooth” Henderson making his second defense of the lightweight title against Nate “Don’t Be Scared Homie” Diaz.

This is such an intriguing match up.

Both men have multiple tools to end the fight and have really rounded out their games leading up to this fight in their careers. “Bendo” took the belt from Frankie Edgar almost a year ago, and defended it in the rematch back in August. Nate Diaz has looked unstoppable in his return to the lightweight division, dismantling he’s last three opponents with his fantastic volume punching and expert ground game.

So let’s go in depth and break this two dudes down to see how this fight could turn out.
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UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit Preliminary Card Thoughts And Analysis

The UFC was back in Montreal this weekend for the triumphant return of the welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre.

There were a ton of fights on the card, all of which were entertaining. But before GSP and Condit threw down, before Johny Hendricks knocked Martin Kampmann into the land of wind and ghosts, we we’re treated to seven fights on the preliminary cards.

Catch my UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit preliminary card thoughts and analysis in the full entry.
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UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit Staff Predictions

Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT
Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit (Welterweight Championship Unification Bout)
Mike Bohn: Georges St-Pierre has a ton of pressure to perform at UFC 154 with talks of superfights in his future and a return from the longest layoff of his career. Carlos Condit, on the other hand, is almost expected to lose, which makes him a very dangerous man. Condit has slick grappling and one-strike knockout power that St-Pierre needs to be very aware of or he will wake up on the mat wondering what happened. As most St-Pierre fights do, it’s going to come down to his ability to control the pace of the fight and score takedowns. A think a finish isn’t likely for either side so it comes down to the question of who is more likely to win three of the five rounds. My answer to that is GSP. Georges St-Pierre via Unanimous Decision

Erik Jackson: There’s a glaring variable here, which makes this one hard to predict. How will GSP’s knee hold up, and whether he will be tentative using it. The layoff is not so much of a concern to me as Condit has been out of action for around 9 months anyways. As much as I would desperately like to see GSP vs. Anderson Silva, my heart tells me to go with Condit. Carlos Condit via TKO

Doug Ancey: Such a tough one to call. GSP has been so dominant, so consistent at shutting down his opponents, weather they be strikers or grapplers. After his split decision loss to Martin Kampmann, Condit has found a way to win every fight. His finishing rate (92%?) is the highest in the UFC and I think he employs the perfect mix of sound technique, aggression, and intelligent game planning in his fights. Also the timing in arguable perfect for Condit. GSP is definitely back to 100% physically, but an 18 month layoff will definitely take its toll on a fighter. Also, more often not, athletes coming back form that type of injury have a much harder time mentally, as the doubt remains as to weather or not that body part will function at its optimum level. GSP says the fire is back though, and he’s fighting at home. MY biggest question is, what will Carlos bring to the table the GSP hasn’t encountered before? Georges St-Pierre via Unanimous Decision
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Great Minds: MMA Media Predictions For The UFC 154 Main Event

You read their articles, you watch and listen to their interviews, but often the personal opinions of the MMA media get brushed over.

These experts have inside knowledge of the sport and a unique perspective of the fighters that they have the privilege of interacting with. Before you place that bet in Vegas or with your friends, be sure to check out what those most educated about the sport have to say about the upcoming event.

Read as seven of the sport’s top writers and reporters break down and predict the UFC 154 main event of Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre vs. ‘The Natural Born Killer’ Carlos Condit.
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UFC 154 Preview: 5 Reasons To Watch

There are plenty of things to do on a Saturday night. However, most don’t involve watching two men locked inside of a cage attempting to punch, kick, knee, and choke their way to victory. In reality, though, few things match the excitement.

For the third time this year, the Octagon heads to Canada for an event as UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit takes place this Saturday (Nov. 17) from the Bell Centre in Montreal. A welterweight championship unification bout headlines the event as champ Georges St-Pierre meets interim title-holder Carlos Condit.

If you weren’t planning on tuning in already, here are five reasons why you should invite some friends over, order a few pizzas, grab a couple beers, and tune into UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit this Saturday at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT, only on pay-per-view.
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The 6 Best Photos From UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le

As the old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”. The saying applies to this day and without a doubt, applies to mixed martial arts as some of the sports most historic moments are relived through the images that captured them.

There is nothing better than a snapshot of a fighter dealing with tragedy or triumph, or a picture of a perfectly timed strike, every microscopic fragment of impact relived as limbs and jaws collide. A photo can display a range of emotions, happiness and sadness, victory and defeat. Every picture is different, each having a unique distinction and personal story.

That being said, let’s look back at the 6 best photos from UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le.
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