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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

George St. Pierre on Adam Carolla morning show

This morning I happened to catch George St. Pierre on the Adam Carolla morning radio show (FreeFM 101.5). Even though the newly crowned welterweight champion isn’t the most fluid with the English language, he sure tries and was a great sport during the interview. Although Carolla is partially ignorant with mixed martial arts, he seemed to know enough to give a decent interview to GSP. There was one part of the show where a “caller” called in to say that he had a run-in with St. Pierre a few years ago while GSP was a bouncer. He said George was giving him a hard time and ended up fighting with this guy. The fight went to the ground and as part of a submission, GSP stuck his thumb up this guy’s ass. Obviously a fake caller, but pretty damn funny. The same guy called in and said the same thing when Matt Hughes was on the show. Who would have thought 5 years ago that a UFC fighter would be on a morning radio show that reaches millions of listeners? Mixed martial arts is progressing!

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UFC 66 Fight Card

The Utimate Fighting Championship will end the year with a highly anticipated rematch between Tito and Chuck. Along with the Pride FC Shockwave show, there will be plenty of mixed martial arts for all to enjoy! Offical fight card (which will probably change between now and fight night. nonetheless...) Main Card:UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz Keith Jardine vs. Forrest Griffin Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcio Cruz Jason MacDonald vs. Chris Leben Eric Schafer vs. Michael Bisping Preliminary Card: Tony DeSouza vs. Thiago Alves Carmelo Marrera vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Yushin Okami vs. Rory Singer Anthony Perosh vs. Christian Wellisch

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Want to be a MMA movie star?

Auditions are being held for a new mixed martial arts movie called Never Submit. It has been confirmed that on Nov. 19th some big names in the mixed martial arts world auditioned for the movie. You might recognize a few: UFC stars Mike “Quick” Swick and Josh Koscheck IFC fighter Bobby Southworth ISKA champion Cung Le IFL fighter Cole Escovedo Others rumored to be answering the upcoming casting calls: UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and his non-blood brother Frank Shamrock UFC Champions Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, Anderson “The Spider Silva, and Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk (GSP, where you at?) You can argue whether Pride Fighting Championships or UFC has the best fighters. But when in comes to movie stars, it looks like the Pride is the champ. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua are already slated to star in the upcoming film. If you think you have what it takes to be a mixed martial arts movie star, you can contact Producer Cindy Ortiz at cindy@imperiaentertainment.com. I was thinking of auditioning, but I don’t what to upstage Silva and Rua.

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Monday, November 20, 2006

The Champ and the Chump - UFC 65 Thoughts

Saturday at Ultimate Fighting Championship, installment 65, two titles were on the line. One champ relinquished his title and the other successfully defended his. Of course I’m talking about Matt Hughes and Tim Sylvia respectively. In the welterweight division we saw a battle between two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, Matt Hughes and George St. Pierre. This was the fight that justified forking over $40 for the PPPV. There is something inherently exciting about watching the best of the best and no matter what was going to happen, I knew I was going to be treated to a fight bwtween two world class athletes. The new champion, GSP, showed the world that he’s the real deal. I admit that even as big of a fan as I am of St. Pierre’s, I questioned his mental fortitude going into this fight. I thought that he was going to continue to give Hughes too much respect. Obviously I was wrong, very wrong. GSP is the man, period. Look at what he accomplished. He dominated the greatest welterweight of all time. It’s not a scenario of the younger challenger taking advantage of an older champ who is on the decline. Very much the opposite. In fact, Matt Hughes gained a lot of my respect over his past few fights. Most dominating wrestlers (see Coleman, Sherk, and Randleman. Hard to believe that the “Monster” has lost 7 of his last 9 fights! We’ll save that for a later post.) are one trick ponies. Matt on the other hand has grown significantly as a mixed martial arts fighter. He has submitted quality fighters and his stand up game has drastically improved. Matt is at the top of his game. As I just replay the fight I’m still in awe of GSP’s performance. Yes, I’m swinging from his nuts right now, but right now he deserves all the props. He really is the total package. I love the fact that he truly took it to the champ. To be the champ you have to beat the champ and he did that and more. He wasn’t going to leave this one up to the judges. From the moment the bell rang you could tell that he was going to try to KO or submit Hughes. Now that is a true champion. Now, on the other hand we have the complete opposite in Tim Sylvia. This guy is supposed to be the badest man on the planet? I just don’t understand him. He loves and cherishes being the champion yet he didn’t give the paying fans what they deserved. It was so obviously he was fighting to “not lose” instead of fighting to win. I understand being cautious the first round or two. After all you are facing a world class submission wrestler. But come round three it was obvious that Monson really posed no threat. Sylvia, with almost a foot height advantage, made it almost impossible for The Snowman to get inside and inflict any damage. And when the did make it to the ground, Sylvia’s defense was good enough to stifle any offence Monson tried to muster. So here is my big gripe. Why didn’t Sylvia ever go in for the kill? This was such a lopsided match that he should have been able to dispose his overmatched foe within three rounds. Being cautious against Andrei Arlovski is one thing, but there was no excuse for his tentativeness against the The Snowman. To be blunt, he is an employee of the UFC (or Zuffa if you want to be exact). His employer, the UFC, makes money by providing a solid product. The product they offer is entertainment. Entertainment found in exciting fights. In essence, Sylvia’s performance hurt his employer. The entertainment value he provided was almost nil. So why doesn’t he want to do the best he can for his employer? The better the fight he puts on, the more PPV the UFC sell. The more money the UFC makes, the more they can afford to pay their fighters, especially the Champions. Yes, yes, some of you are going to say he did the best he could, he got the win, he did what he had to do to retain his title. Well, that isn’t good enough. This title should be held by the most dynamic fighter in the business. The Heavyweight Champion should be the poster child of The Ultimate Fighting Championship. If Tim Sylvia is the best product the UFC has to offer then they are in trouble. Compared to the Pride Heavyweight Champion you can see why Sylvia is such a let down. Fedor Emelianenko is a total bad ass. He is THE main draw for the organization and he is that because he fights to win. He fights to KO or submit. He is always moving forward looking to go in for the kill. Even if you want to argue that Sylvia could beat Fedor (which I would disagree) but point of the matter is that Fedor is fun to watch. It’s exciting to witness excellence. Sylvia is content on being an excellent witness.

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UFC Weight Classes

Someone wrote in asking for a breakdown of the weight classes used in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Pretty simple, but just incase you didn't know: The UFC has five weight divisions and the current title holders Lightweight: 146-155 pounds (Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk) Welterweight: 156-170 pounds (George "Rush" St. Pierre) Middleweight: 171-185 pounds (Anderson Silva) Light Heavyweight: 186-205 pounds (Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell) Heavyweight: 206+ (Tim "The Mainiac" Silvia)

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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Results - UFC 65

Another Ultimate Fighting Championship is in the record books. Here are the results from UFC 65 "Bad Intentions" which took place on Saturday Novermber 18th. George St. Pierre def. Matt Hughes 2nd round TKO Tim Sylvia def. Jeff Monson Decision (Unanimous) Brandon Vera def. Frank Mir 1st round TKO James Irvin def. Hector Ramirez 2nd round TKO Jake O"Brien def. Josh Shockman Decision (Unanimous) Antoni Hardonk def. Sherman Pendergarst 1st round KO Nick Diaz def. Gleison Tibau 2nd round TKO Joe Stevenson def. Dokonjonosuke Mishima 1st round submission Andrew McFedries def. Alessio Sakara 1st round submission

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Friday, November 17, 2006

UFC 65 Bad Intentions - Fight Card

Another Ultimate Fighting Championship event is upon us. UFC 65 will be held not in Las Vegas as it normally is, but will be held at the Arco Areana in Sacramento on Saturday November 18. View Trailer The Offical Fight Card Headliners Welterweight Title Fight Matt Hughes Vs. Georges St. Pierre Heavyweight Title Fight Tim Sylvia Vs. Jeff Monson Undercard Brandon Vera Vs. Frank Mir Alessio Sakara Vs. Drew McFedries Joe Stevenson Vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima Nick Diaz Vs. Gleison Tibau Antoni Hardonk Vs. Sherman Pendergarst Jake O'Brien Vs. Josh Schockman James Irvin Vs. Hector Ramirez Click here for a list of Bars showing UFC 65

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

UFC 65 - Matt Hughes vs George St. Pierre Analysis

We proudly introduce our newest contributer to MMA News, Jonny T. Not only is he a well educated and articulate fanatic of mixed martial arts, but he also was also one of Robert "The Prince of Leglocks" Fergoson's top students. He comes aboard to help provide his insight into marquee fights. The Ultimate Fighting Championship 65 will bring us one of the most competive fights in UFC history. Two world-class athletes at the top of their game will be vying for the welterweight title. This really is the cream of the crop, a fight that's "as good as it gets." Jonny T, your breakdown... Hughes vs. St. Pierre! Just like my good friend simply put, "as good as it gets". We are looking at the two best fighters (athletes) MMA has to offer anywhere at any time to date. We're going to witness the seasoned champ and possibly the greatest all-time welterweight vs. the hungry, ultra-talented, and relentless challenger fly into battle this weekend. Before 23 SEP 06, I was convinced the champ was going to have enough mojo to get passed BJ Penn, but would suffer a loss to St. Pierre this weekend. After the Hughes/Penn II fight at UFC 63, I have been very impressed with Hughes' composure and sense of confidence during the vicious attack he had to face from BJ during the first two rounds of their second fight. He never panicked or demonstrated a sense of urgency while losing rounds 1 and 2. In the 3rd, BJ was obviously tired and Hughes capitalized as if it were scripted and never, at any point, lost confidence that he would not finish the fight. The laundry list of class A fighters he's dismantled over the past 4 years is overwhelmingly evident of his pure dominance in the weight division. In his first bout with St. Pierre, I had "Rush" up on the score card both on the ground and on their feet before he was caught with an armbar from the side mount. I believe it was purely a mental lapse on George's behalf that put himself in a vulnerable position. Both athletes are improved and more complete fighters exhibiting a clear separation from the rest of the division. St. Pierre: Great conditioning, excellent athleticism, tremendous pressure both standing and on the ground. He made the two time NCAA Champion (Trigg) look like a tune up fight, and was beating the current champ before getting caught in the armbar. He is truly the complete package and the future of the sport. Hughes: Has been there and done that with the best. Experienced, great training camp, excellent conditioning, vastly improved stand up skills, and the single best evolved wrestler in the history of the sport. Poised beyond his years and has the confidence to overcome any adversity in the octogon. There hasn't been anyone better up until this point in time. Analysis: On their feet, advantage to St. Pierre. On the ground, advantage to Hughes. The key to success for both fighters will come down to three key points; 1) conditioning, 2) can Hughes take the fight to the ground and keep it there? and 3) will St. Pierre be able to wash away his image of Hughes as being the next Superman and view him as just another fighter or will he get caught up with the mind games and pre-fight hype? Prediction: The nod goes to Hughes, but I see the pace being fast and furious. The fighter who is able to stay disciplined long enough to execute his game plan will win by attrition. Which fighter is able to expose the other's short comings and/or capitalize on the other's mistake will find their hand being raised in the end. My CHANGED vote will go to Hughes. -Jonny T

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

TUF 4 Winners vs. UFC Champions

Matt Serra and Travis Lutter now join likes of Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Joe Stevenson, Rashad Evans, Kendall Grove, and Michael Bisping as winners of The Ultimate Fighter television show. Serra took home the welterweight title and Lutter took home the middleweight title. In addition to a nice fat paycheck and contract, these two winners will get shots at the UFC Champions. Lutter will fight Anderson Silva and Serra will fight the winner of the upcoming Matt Hughes and George St. Pierre title fight.

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Results - The Ultimate Fighter 4 finale on Spike TV

The Ultimate Fighter season 4 finale November 11, 2006 Results Travis Lutter def. Patrick Cote (1st round submission) Matt Serra def. Chris Lytle (decision) Din Thomas def. Rich Clementi (2nd round rear naked choke submission) Jorge Rivera def. Edwin Dewees (1st round ref stopage) Pete Spratt def. Jeremy Jackson (submission) Scott Smith def. Pete Sell (2nd round KO) Charles McCarthy def. Gideon Ray (1st round armabar submission) Martin Kampmann def. Thales Leites (decision) This was a quality UFC production and I hope to have some opinions posted about the fights soon.

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Friday, November 10, 2006

UFC's The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Spike TV

Saturday on Spike TV we will see the finale of the 4th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Fight Card: Chris Lytle Vs. Matt Serra Patrick Cote Vs. Travis Lutter Rich Clementi Vs. Din Thomas Edwin Dewees Vs. Jorge Rivera Jeremy Jackson Vs. Pete Spratt Scott Smith Vs Pete Sell Gideon Ray Vs. Charles McCarthy Thales Leites Vs. Martin Kampmann

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