Pride Shockwave 2006 - Fight Card

Match-ups are now official for Pride Fighting Championships end of year event. Fight Card Emelianenko Fedor vs Mark Hunt Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Gilbert Melendez Shinya Aoki vs Joachim Hansen Mauricio Shogun vs Kazuhiro Nakamura Takanori Gomi vs Mitsuhiro Ishida Kiyoshi Tamura vs Ikuhisa Minowa Josh Barnett vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Akihiro Gono vs Yuki Kondo

Top 10 MMA Fighters of the Year - Part 2

Jonny T rolled out his top 6 through 10 mixed martial arts fighters of 2006. Now it is time for the top 5. Again, these are not the best fighters per se, but for the best fighters for the year of 2006. 5. Fedor (1-0) The baddest man in all of MMA. The Pride organization had a terrible time trying to find opponents to sign a match with this guy and was able to scrounge up a descending Coleman. After Fedor commenced the vicious beating of the future Hall of Famer, you can see why this guy doesn't fight more. Who in their right mind would fight this man...for any amount of money? When you can't get a fight because your are so extremely bad-ass that fighters avoid you in fear of public humiliation, that tells me you have had a VERY successful year. Your stock is as high as ever, you are well rested, your contracts are substantial due to high demand, and self promotion is not needed through trash talk or other Ali-esque type of antics. He gets the 5th spot, due to inactivity, but there is no better fighter pound-for-pound in the entire sport. 4. Liddell (2-0) The UFC champ should be ranked higher, but doesn't fight quite enough in a division which seemed stacked three years ago only to find but a few challengers standing when the dust has settled. Chuck has decimated the very poorly formulated fight plan of "Babalu" Sobral and has retired the best MMA fighter in UFC history with a convincing knockout of Randy "The Natural" Couture. He has one more fight this year with Tito Ortiz, but I see the outcome very similar to that of their first match three years ago. With the UFC's acquisition of Rampage Jackson, a much anticipated rematch will be very exciting to watch. With low activity and nobody to really fight, The Iceman has missed an opportunity to stand on top of the mixed martial arts podium. 3. T. Sylvia (4-0) The "Mainiac" has done what everyone thought would be impossible...win back the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight belt. He has beaten Ausserio Silva, Arlovski (twice), and Monson to go undefeated this year. Unfortunately, he has earned only one KO and the other three have been very lack luster performances. Still, a win is a win and to fight the best the UFC has to offer has got to say something. With the UFC's acquisition of PrideFC's Cro-Cop, there possbile meeting to determine who is the best banger in the business may be in our future. With a 4-0 record for 2006 and a true challenger now in the ranks, this guy gets the Bronze medal. 2. St. Pierre (2-0) GSP has beaten two of the toughest fighters in all of MMA. For starters, he has decisioned the "Prodigy" to a very tough fight and demonstrated great durability and poise to survive a very fast start from BJ Penn. St. Pierre kept his cool and adjusted his game plan to squeaked out the victory. George then comes back and beats the most celebrated welterweight in UFC and MMA history by picking apart Matt Hughes with a knockout, making a statement that he is the future of the sport. It's only two wins for the year, but you could have not picked a tougher pair of fights to schedule in any weight class. These fights will earn him a Silver medal, but only by a hair. Drum roll please.... 1. Cro-Cop (4-0) Mirko won the Pride Absolute Tournament with Ws over Jost Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Yoshida, and Minowa. His lethal striking coupled with his take-down defense makes him the one of the most exciting fighters to warch. After a difficult 2005, he has rebounded to clear out all challengers in Pride Fighting Championsihp and has now been picked up by the UFC for possibly the largest financial contract in MMA history. In my eyes, the clear leader on my top ten and the winner of the Gold medal. Thank you Jonny T. Til next time...

Top 10 MMA Fighters of the Year - Part 1

Well, its been one hell of a year in mixed marital arts and we've seen a lot happen during the past 12 months. As the sport of MMA grows and continues to push the media boundaries to a much more recognizable sport, we need to reflect on the fighters who have helped mold this year into a great one. Our special guest writer Jonny T is here with his thoughts on the subject: My top ten list is NOT the best all-around fighters, but the athletes that have had the most successful year. My list will goes as follows: 10. Minowa (5-1) "The Punk" only suffered one loss this year at it was at the hands of fellow "top 10er" Mirco Cro-Cop. Minowa did score victories over Legeno, Cesar Silva, Hyunkab, Esch, and Plothle. He has proven he will fight you anywhere, any place, anytime, and has over 80 fights to prove it. He was far too small to be fighting in an Pride's absolute division but he accepted the challenge anyway. 9. Matt. Hughes (2-1) Matt's sole loss this year was to George St. Pierre, the new UFC welterweight champion and also a top 10er. Hughes did beat the legend Royce Gracie in one of the biggest UFCs ever. He also had a win ofer A-level fighter BJ Pen. To his credit this year, he defeated the living legend and redeemed his last loss. His only blemish is that he clearly outclassed by the new champ. 8. Wanderlei Silva (2-1) Loss to Cro-Cop, W's over Arona and Fujita. Knocked out the hardest chin in MMA and redeemed his last loss. Took a beaten from Cro-Cop...tough one to watch. 7. Josh Barnett (5-1) Yet another top fighter who lost to Mirko Cro-Cop. That fight is his only blemish over 2006. He racked up five wins over five solid fighters. Nakamura, Aleksander E., Mark Hunt, Nogeira, and Nastula. 6. Andersen Silva (3-1) He would have been higher in the rankings this year, but he did have a loss to Okami and Rumble on the Rocks. On the flip side, he took out Tony Frykland and destroyed "The Crippler" Chris Leben and Rich "Ace" Franklin (who was considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters) to become the new UFC Middleweight Champ. Up next, and in more detail, are the cream of the crop, my top Five picks. Stay tuned...

Results - UFC's Ulimate Fight Night at Miramar - 12/13

Another Ultimate Fight Night is in the record books. In case you were not able to catch the show live from Miramar on Spike TV, here are the results from last night's event. Diego Sanchez def. Joe Riggs - 1st round knockout Josh Koscheck def. Joff Joslin - Unanimous Decision Karo Parisyan def. Drew Fickett - Unanimous Dicision Marcus Davis def. Shonie Carter - Split Decision David Health def. Victor Valimaki - Split Decision Alan Belcher def. Jorge Santiago - By Strikes Luigi Fioravanti def. Dave Menne - 1st round TKO Brock Larson def. Keita Nakamura - Unanimous Decision Logan Clark def. Steve Byrnes - Unanimous Decision

UFC on Yahoo! Homepage - 60 Minutes coverage

Wow, it is offical, The Ultimate Fighting Championship has "made it." Today "Ultimate Fighting" is featured in the main module on the homepage of Yahoo!. As a former employee at Yahoo!, I know that the amount of traffic that homepage receives is obscene. In one day, that homepage will be seen approximately 12,000,000 times! Talk about mass exposure for the sport. In the Internet world, it doesn't get any bigger than this. Funny note, there isn't even a mixed martial arts category in Yahoo! Sport. Irony, sweet irony. The leader on the Yahoo! homepage is "With few rules, "Ultimate Fighting" is growing fast....60 Minutes video report. " "A New Kind of Fight It's been likened to a street corner brawl: two men fighting, very few rules, and the last one standing is the winner. It may be brutal but "Mixed Martial Arts" is also one of the fastest growing sports in America. Scott Pelley talks with the man behind the "Ultimate Fighting Championship" and goes toe-to-toe with some of the top fighters in the sport today." Definitely check out 60 Minutes' coverage (includes interviews with Dana White, Renzo Gracie, and Matt Hughes) . . .Here Quick note, on that page there is a poll. Further proof that MMA has become mainstream: Poll Do you find Mixed Martial Arts fighting too violent? Yes 18% No 82%

Predictions - Ultimate Fight Night

I took a look back at some of the mixed martial arts fight predictions I have made over the year and I must say I really should have been in Vegas throwing down some big cash. I think my predictions track record speaks for itself.

Come Ultimate Fight Night live on Spike TV from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California I’ll have my eye on a few fights in particular. Admittedly there are a few fighter on the fight card who I am not familiar with and therefore will omit predictions in fight which there are scheduled. Main EventDiego Sanchez Vs. Joe Riggs

I’m calling for an upset on this one. Just in case you weren’t convinced that Riggs in the underdog, check the voting from the UFC website. Sure Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez is undefeated and the clear favorite, but I think he will have his hands full with “Diesel.” Joe is a solid ground and pound style fighter, check out his ground KO of talented MMA fighter Kendal Grove (http://youtube.com/watch?v=vGBFD4bvyFw). Diego is a great g and p style fighter himself but if he finds himself on his back, he’s going to get beat up. Diego’s last three fights have gone to decision. With quality fighters he is not a closer. Unless Riggs is careless on his feet, he won’t get KO’d. Riggs has faced top competition and his recent losses have come to the likes of former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, underestimated Mike “Quick” Swick, and seasoned vet Ivan Salaverry. Joe Riggs is very hungry and has a lot to prove. Diego doesn’t seem to have the eye of the tiger he possessed a few fights ago. He didn’t take out Karo and seemed a little lackluster. Joe Riggs by decision Jeff Joslin Vs. Josh Koscheck I admit I wasn’t an early fan of Koscheck’s as he wasn’t a well rounded mixed martial artist. He was and is a great wrestler and when the going got tough he’d always resort to that. Over the past few fights I’ve been very impressed. He is definitely improving and one of those great wrestlers who is looking to improve his game in other areas. For Josh his hands have gotten much better. Joslin really hands his hands full in this match. He hasn’t fought any stiff competition. When he has lost, it was by decision. He might be a difficult fighter to KO. Koscheck by decision

to come, Drew Fickett Vs. Karo Parisyan . . .

UFC evolution, on the web

It wasn't long ago that the Ultimate Fighting Championship's website was fairly worthless. It really didn't provide anything other than fight cards and schedules. In fact, they didn’t even own www.ufc.com, instead they had to settle for second best, www.ufc.tv. Hard to have a lot of legitimacy with the .tv top-level domain name. I haven’t really paid too much attention to the evolution of the UFC website until I visited the official UFC 66 website yesterday. The site is superior in many ways. The design is strong, the content is deep, and the usability is slick. It really feels like the UFC has made a quantum leap in the last year with its website. For a company that sells “fighting” it is kind of odd that their website is so cutting edge. They obviously are making some good cash these days as sites like theirs are not cheap to produce. With a background in web production, I’d say that most web agencies would charge $200k or more for the UFC 66 site. Now think of how many events they have a year. At this rate, we’re looking at two million dollars a year spent on UFC website. Think about it, the UFC is spending more on their event websites than they are for their top fighters! More props to the UFC for breaking ground a developing websites at this level. They really add to the image of mixed martial art as being the “real deal” and the sport of a newer generation. Video, animation, fight analysis, interviews, I love it! Go to the UFC Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 website and take a minute to reflect on how much the sport has evolved, offline and online. Now let’s see if the PrideFC website steps up.

Roger Gracie - Can he put the Gracies back on the map?

Royce Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Renzo Grazie, etc. All great fighters in their prime no disputing that. They have also been amazing ambassadors to the mixed martial arts world. However, it's been many years since a Gracie has been dominant. Introducing, Roger Gracie. Roger had his first MMA fight over the weekend at BodogFIGHT. He's a 25 year old Abu Dhabi champ who was handed a worthy challenger in Ron "H20" Waterman. In his first match, Gracie was able to submit the strong wrestler Waterman via armbar in the first round. This guy looks legit and I'm excited to see his next fight. We need a new Gracie. Roger, are you the "one?" Here are some words from the new kid on the MMA block: “I thought [it would end] by choke to be honest,” said Gracie following the bout. “I was expecting at some point to get on top of him. I knew he was strong so it would be hard to catch an arm. But I thought at some point I would be able to reverse and I’m on top, him trying to escape, I’m going to be able to put a choke on. But it didn’t go that far.” “I’m a very calm person always,” he said. “When I’m grappling a lot of people come to ask me how come I’m so relaxed. It’s pretty much in my nature; I’m calm like that. Even sometimes when I shouldn’t be, I’m more relaxed. That’s reflected when I fight. With those guys in my corner, there’s no way I cannot be relaxed. The confidence that they pass me is great. Renzo. Helio. My father. All of them.”

Wanderlei Silva is Coming to America

As reported earlier, Pride Fighting Championship's Middleweight Champion is set to make his mark in the U.S. by staring in an upcoming mixed martial arts movie called Never Submit. And if that wasn't cool enough, Wandi is finally coming to the U.S. to fight! The Axe murder is scheduled to fight at PRIDE 33 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Sin City, Las Vegas. Unfortunately we don't know who his opponent will be just yet. Are we going to have a match-up the likes of Fedor vs Coleman? I know Pride will want to have an American fight Silva as that will be a bigger draw to the U.S. audience. I just pray it will be a real contender. It won't be the Ice Man Liddell nor da' Bad Boy Ortiz at this point. So who outside of the UFC world would be a good match up for Wanderlei? Will they bring an existing American Pride fighter over for the match up or will they find some new but recognizable blood? Drum roll.....Ken Shamrock, I pray not! Bas Rutten, I pray so! Wanderlei Silva is coming to America for a reason and he's here to stay. Pride will have a new posterboy. More to come...

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Hunt ? ? ?

Pride Fighting Championship has announced that Fedor Emelianenko will be defending his heavyweight title against Mark Hunt at their Shockwave 2006 show. First off, Hunt doesn't even deserve a shot at the title. Second, what the hell happened to Mirko "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic? With his destruction of Wanderli Silva and his dismanteling of Baby Face Josh Barnett, no one deserves a title shot more than Cro Cop. Does he feel like he needs more time to prepare before facing Fedor? Has he sustained an injury? Will he be facing another fighter on the same card? Is he holding out, again, due to contract disputes? It would be nice if Pride made some announcments. As of now, the only fight listed for Shockwave 2006 is the Fedor Hunt fight. What's the haps DSE? Time is ticking people....